Little Dreams and Hollow Nightmares

Ph1 Ch32: The Journey Continues

Mono took heavy breaths as he recovered from the pain he felt when he was glitched. He didn't know what to do next. He needed to recover first, but how would he find the knight? Suddenly, the light in the sky vanished, leaving the dark gray sky. Before Mono could figure out what was going on, the ground beneath him began to violently shake. The Signal Tower was collapsing. There was no time to think. He had to get out of this place as fast as possible. 

He sprinted down the stairs of the crumbling tower, as the angry eyes and flesh tried to crush him. It was just like last time. If the Signal Tower went down, it was going to do everything it could to take Mono down with it. But he didn't have any time to spare. Mono needed to find out where the knight was, and get out. That was the plan. He ran inside the crumbling Signal Tower, and frantically looked for his friend.

"HEY!" he yelled. "KNIGHT! WE NEED TO LEAVE NOW!"

A large chunk of rubble fell down right next to him, and Mono remembered he needed to leave. He ran as fast as he could down the tower, the flesh close behind, trying to consume him. Mono's path soon became blocked by a large blob of flesh. He leapt onto it, his feet hitting the squishy, icky flesh. Trying not to puke, he continued running down the stairs, doing his best to avoid the rubble and flesh. He wanted to glitch, but due to the extreme pain he felt from last time, glitching just seemed impossible.

So he kept running. Down, and down he ran, the Signal Tower crushing all around him. He came to a floor where the stairs ended. He looked around for a possible exit, and saw an open hallway. He sprinted through the hallway, his lungs breathing heavy breaths as he ran. The flesh swelled up behind him, surging forward towards him. Don't stop running, don't stop running, don't stop running. Mono thought as he ran. 

He kept on running down the hall, until he came to a long piece of flooring, above a giant gap in the tower. In front of him was exactly what he needed. An exit. As the bridge crumbled Mono ran as fast as he could towards the exit. A piece of the bridge broke off in front of him. He was going to have to jump for it. He leapt off the edge, towards the exit, his hand flailing, trying to grab onto the edge. He landed on the edge, and grabbed on tight. He tried to pull himself up, but the ledge he was on was breaking off. He needed the knight to save him! 

But the knight wasn't here.

The ledge broke off, and time slowed down as Mono fell into the Signal Tower. No one was there to save him. No one to grab his hand. No one to stop his fall. Six wasn't there to catch him. The knight wasn't there to catch him. Mono fell. Into the Signal Tower, into his destiny. Even with a different friend, he still couldn't escape his fate. He was doomed to become the Thin Man. Forever.

Suddenly, something caught his arm. He looked, and saw three black tendrils, latched onto his left arm, holding him up. He looked up, and a tear escaped his face. A deep black figure, with six tendrils, was grabbing him. And while they looked different, the look from their eyes made it clear who they were. It was the knight.

"You....you came to help me," Mono said, more tears running down his face.

The knight nodded, and the two stared at each other in the eyes. The sound of falling rubble reminded them of the urgency. The knight pulled Mono up to the ledge, and the two ran towards the exit. Mono pressed his hands onto the static door, and zoomed through the TV, away from the Signal Tower.

Mono fell to the hard stone ground. He stood up, and looked around. He was back in the Pale City of Tears. the TV he came from shut off, and he looked outside. He was at the bottom floor, so he was able to walk outside. The refreshing rain poured all over his face as he saw the Signal Tower fall to the ground. It was glorious. 

Suddenly, he remembered something. Where was the knight? They came with him didn't they? Mono looked around the streets for his friend, but found something heartbreaking. The shell of the knight, cracked in two. Mono stumbled over to the broken shell of the knight, and fell to his knees.

"No...No, please tell me it isn't true," he whimpered, as he picked up the two halves of the shell. "Please tell me it isn't true!" He cried out. "I CAN'T LOOSE ANOTHER FRIEND!"

He burst out into tears as he looked down at the knight's broken shell. They were gone. All that work, all that effort to bring down the Signal Tower, and he lost another friend. He didn't want this. He didn't want to keep doing this! He wanted to end his life. Nothing seemed to be worth living for anymore!

Then, a black particle fell of the shell. Followed by another, and another, and another. Mono looked up, and almost burst into tears again. The Shade of the knight, loomed above them. It flew down to the shell, and a burst of black energy flew around it. The pieces came together, and the crack mended, disappearing completely. A cloak came out from under the shell, and a gleaming nail rest upon the back. Its body formed, and the knight landed on the ground, restored.

Mono fell onto the knight, hugging it.

"I though you were gone," He cried, tears flowing down his face.

The knight hugged back, comforting its friend.

"You actually caught me," Mono said. "You actually caught me!"

The two friends stood back up, and looked at the pile of rubble that was now the Signal Tower. 

"It's over," Mono said. "It's finally over."

The knight looked at Mono, as if to ask, What now?

Mono thought, and remembered Six. She could still be out there. And with this world becoming more dangerous, she could be in great danger.

"We need to find Six," Mono said. "She's my friend, and she could be in trouble. That's what we do next."

The knight gave a nod of agreement.

"But, where do we start?"

The two thought, and a poster came up to them from the running water on the streets. The knight picked it up, and Mono read it aloud.

"Come to the Maw. Where you are safe, and can satisfy your hunger," He read.

Suddenly, a loud noise came from above them. It sounded like a large boat had arrived. In the distance, Mono saw a bunch of big, large bugs walking up towards the noise. Mono remembered how much Six loved to eat. If this Maw was a place where you could satisfy hunger...An idea came into Mono's head.

"We're going to the Maw," Mono said. "That's where we can find Six."

The knight shrugged, and stood next to Mono as if to say, I'm here with you.

"I don't know what's going to happen, or what we'll find there. But what I do know, is that whatever happens, we'll face it together," Mono said.

The knight nodded, and the two held hands, walking off towards the Maw, ready for what came next.

A little boy, looking for his missing friend. A paper bag over his face, looking to make amends

A little knight, behind a shell, and hollow soul. Nor beast nor bug, with no voice, and void control

Band together, you two. There is so much you can do. If you're afraid, don't be scared.

We'll make little dreams from these hollow nightmares

End Of Phase 1