Hold On To Me

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Little Nightmares franchise. All rights go to Tarsier Studios.

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Everything had clicked when the door had shut, and he was condemned to his destiny. The Thin Man wasn't the enemy at all. In fact, he was trying to save Mono. Save him from this never-ending cycle of torment and anguish. His mind was flooded with the memories of his predecessor, his older self, the years he had spent at the mercy of the Tower. It was almost like he had experienced it himself.

There was one thing that shocked him to his core, a revelation that he could not have guessed in the slightest but was ultimately not surprising. Time and time again, Six, his only friend, let go of his hand at the edge, tossing him aside like a tool that was no longer useful. It made sense, of course. Six was not the most compassionate of people. He had seen her savagely snap the neck of that porcelain bully, watched her methodically snap off the fingers of a prosthetic hand, witnessed her warming her hands from the ashes of the Doctor. Seeing her treating him so casually felt like punch to the gut, but in the end, he really couldn't blame her. Six was Six, and he couldn't change that.

But something had changed. In previous iterations, he was dropped to his doom. In previous iterations, he was not tied to the chair. In previous iterations, he slowly grew older as the years ticked by. Something was different this time around. The abyss must have figured it out: it knew that the outcome would be different this time, so it acted to reinforce the loop. It needed the loop to survive, to stay in this world and continue to feast on its inhabitants. Because of his connection to the signal, it needed him to broadcast its demented transmission warping the minds of its victims to consume, like cattle raised in a slaughterhouse.

Binding him to the chair was just another means for the beast to anchor him inside its confines, as if to prevent anything from taking him away. Which made him wonder: would Six come back for him? Judging from the creature's precautions, it was highly likely. The chances of her succeeding were significantly less likely.

There was a far-off ticking sound in the background. Time passed slowly and torturously. He knew that time was broken inside the Signal Tower. The beast had definitely made it so that it passed slower than the outside world. However, he didn't grow older. Because of this, it was difficult to tell how much time went by. It could have been a year already and he wouldn't notice.

The incessant ticking was the only thing that filled the silence of this empty room. It was maddening. The space he occupied was too small, the walls seeming to close in on him. He found it harder to breathe, desperately dragging air through his over-worked lungs. These four, bare walls, this suffocating loneliness... it was getting to him. He had been trapped here for too long, he needed the sun and fresh air.

He didn't know when exactly he had started struggling. He just remembered the panic overwhelming him, pleading and screaming at the creature to let him go. All he received was silence, which was answer enough. He bawled like the child he was, his wailing contained within his small prison cell. His heart would beat rapidly, drawing breaths in faster than what was normal. It resulted in him passing out several times, only to wake to the same situation each time. He had twisted enough in his binds to make his wrists and ankles bleed from the rough rope. He cried and begged all he liked but there was no response. Just the ever-present ticking.

He continued like this for who knows how long. Before long, his energy waned, struggling ceasing entirely. He slumped his body into the chair, exhausted and despondent. He hadn't felt this devastated since he had first woken up in this cursed room. Any fight in him drained away, hope snuffed out completely. Eating and drinking weren't necessary in here – the signal waves seemed to sustain his body enough on their own – but his belly ached, and his throat was dry. His lips were cracked and bleeding. The light had left his eyes. If it weren't for the steady rise and fall of his chest, people might have mistaken him for a corpse.

He let the tears fall silently. There wasn't much else to do at that point. He knew now that it was pointless; his struggling had proved that. The Tower had broken him. Nothing but a shell of the boy he used to be. A prisoner slated to rot in his cell for the rest of his life.

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Controlling the engines of the Maw proved more difficult than she anticipated. She had just gained these powers, and she wasn't entirely sure how to correctly use them. Regardless, Six directed the Maw back to the mainland. Her subsequent arrival was hardly adequate, as she crashed the metal behemoth onto the shore near a mountain, miles to the north of where she needed to be.

She took the time to absorb the life-essences of any guests who still happened to be alive on board. The twin chefs were nowhere to be found; perhaps they had fled the moment the Maw touched land. Someone had decided to free all the children still held prisoner in the depths. She had to admit, their lives were the last things on her mind, but it intrigued her. Her investigation led to a discovery that surprised her. A group of children who were like her, with special abilities that other souls didn't seem to possess. The only other person besides her who had these talents was Mono. It was almost... comforting to know that they weren't the only ones.

This group hailed her as their liberator, dethroning the tyrannical menace that ruled over the Maw with an iron fist. Her only interest, however, was getting back to the Pale City, much to their dismay. "I have unfinished business there," she gave in answer.

They immediately tried to sway her mind. They kept mentioning a North Wind that ripped apart its prey once caught. That did not concern her. "What, pray tell," one of the girls asked, which caught Six's attention, "what sort of business would you have there?" The girl was miniature like almost everyone else. She wore a simple, blue work dress underneath a burgundy-colored shawl, encircling her shoulders and flowing around her like a cloak. The hood of the shawl was pulled up over her head, partially obscuring her face. Her flowing blonde hair peeked out from the hood's folds. Six could detect a hint of blue under the shade the hood cast.

The young girl in the yellow raincoat pondered her answer. She had no business affiliating with anyone in this group, but that didn't mean the truth wouldn't hurt. "I... I have to..." She wondered if this was a good idea. "I have to rescue my friend."

The ringleader, clothed in a coat similar to her own, perked up. "We could help you," she offered. Six's face twisted in indignation. "No thank you," she said coldly. "I can manage just fine on my own."

"You won't reach the city alive on your own," a boy piped in. Six turned her sharp gaze to him, clearly conveying her irritation. But the threatening glare didn't deter the boy. "You have no knowledge of the monster that resides in these lands," he continued. "The North Wind is too powerful of an enemy to defeat or escape from."

Six frowned hard, acknowledging that the boy made some valid points. To her knowledge, she had never been north of the city before. She had no idea what sort of creatures stalked the prairies up here. She could easily drain them of their life-essence, but there might be some who could be particularly resistant to that. Despite gaining the power to topple the Signal Tower, out here, she was still quite vulnerable. Like how Mono wouldn't be able to teleport without the TV screens.

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms. "You can help me reach the city. However," she held up a finger, "once we do, you are not following me in. My mission there is mine and mine alone."

"We understand," the ringleader agreed. "I apologize for what happened to your friend. They must be very important to you, if you're going to travel such a long way to save them."

Six adopted a melancholic look, turning her gaze towards the horizon. "You have no idea," she muttered. It was too soft for any of the others to hear.

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Author's Note: So yeah, the group in the comics from 2017 have a cameo in this. I personally haven't read it, so bear with me. I figured today would be a good day to update this.

Yeah, Six doesn't really care much about anything else than saving Mono. I wish this was how the game ended, dammit.

Praise is appreciated and constructive criticism is encouraged.

See you next time!

-The_Mayflower