Hold On To Me

Chapter 7

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

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The Pale City was just as she had remembered it. Piles of trash, empty clothes, flickering TV screens. Still just as somber as when she'd first entered it with Mono.

The Viewers this time weren't much of a problem. Their life-essence was just as succulent and easy to absorb as the Guests. She was on a war path now, effectively carving a way to the blinking Signal Tower in the distance. Black particles swirled around her as she walked, tendrils reaching out to any soul who happened to pass by. It would keep her strong enough to do what she came to do.

Her newfound friends – and yes, they had assimilated into the category of "friends" now, realizing how nice it was to have them – had stayed behind at the city's edge, like she had told them to. She crossed the border completely on her own, much to their still present apprehension and concern, but her life wasn't in any danger. She hoped that the events she triggered were getting the Tower's attention. She wanted it to tremble in fear of her power, a tiny, mortal girl above a seemingly endless god-like entity. The thought came with a pleasant buzzing feeling spreading throughout her whole body.

Finally, Six reached the street that led directly to the Signal Tower. She imagined Mono standing in front of these very same double wooden doors, determined and confident after defeating the Thin Man. She adjusted the hood of her raincoat as if it were a battle helmet, ready to plunge ahead to return the favor. This time, they would leave together.

Climbing up the steps, she placed her palms on the entrance, pushing her weight against it. It didn't budge. The black particles churned around her in a frenzy, probing at the heaving mass that took the form of a broadcast tower. The building seemed to shudder, doing its best to resist her will. But, eventually, something gave, and the doors opened, the purplish-pink hue emanating from within. She made her way inside, the doors closing behind her.

She found herself at the base of the structure, underneath the winding sets of stairs stretching to the top. The miscellaneous objects were gone now. Instead, dripping flesh seeped between cracks in the wall, pooling out onto the floor. There were no eyes this time, only TV screens embedded into the mass. Cautiously, she approached one of them, since it had caught her attention by flickering between static and a certain image. What she saw sent her boiling up with anger and guilt inside.

The TV was showing Mono, tied to a wooden chair in a small, barren room. The light from above cast him in an eerie way. He was slumped forward in the seat, so she couldn't make out his face. The only way she was able to tell that he was alive was the minute rise and fall of his chest that she could barely make out. The whole scene suggested more time had passed in the Tower than it had outside. What was a month for her was probably several years for him. Her fists clenched. He had been trapped here for so long. Did he still believe she was here to save him?

The image faded back to white static, cutting off her view of her friend. Rage beginning to simmer, she turned to make her way to the depths of the Tower. This creature wouldn't make it easy to find him. It would deliberately confuse her, making a path that led to anywhere but Mono. However, that was fine. She didn't need to spend years wandering the labyrinth corridors that made up the beast. She was different now, no longer the defenseless, mortal girl who tried so hard to survive. The Tower wouldn't give her a path? She would make her own.

She had once promised to tear this building down brick by brick. Well, that's exactly what she did. Her power tore through concrete walls like paper, scattering bits of plaster and stone in every direction. She dug her nails into the beast, ripping and tearing her way to Mono like a hungry animal. The life-essence that the abyss had consumed over thousands of years was a never-ending well of energy for her. She felt like she could gorge herself on it until she would burst, and there would still be plenty left over. She heard the creature shudder and wail as she plowed her way forward.