Mono... admittedly... had a hard time trying to comprehend what his friend told him. Wait, were him and Seven still friends? He hoped so, he hoped he didn't hurt him.

"You don't remember trying to kill me?"

'I tried to kill him.'

By the stars, he had so many questions he wanted to ask; but it would be just a waste of breath. Seven said he wasn't the person to ask about what happened. If he wasn't then who-

Rain.

But Rain was being held captive somewhere in this schoolhouse.

Three years worth of memories, how in the world-

Mono shook his head, he couldn't afford to begin to worry right now. He would help rescue Rain and whoever Seven said was with her, and they could head back to the forest.

Oh, right, what happened with those wolves and all of those kid sized footprints?

"You're spacing out again."

Mono flinched as Seven's voice cut him out of his thoughts. He looked down at the floor, a hammer once again in his grasp, smashed porcelain surrounding him. How long have they been smashing these kids? It felt like forever since they started looking for Rain and the feral, bashing bully, and trudging forward.

This was, what? The twentieth time they were jumped by these dolls? You'd think they would understand the first nineteenth time.

"Sorry," Mono muttered. He kicked a shard to the side, dragging the hammer behind him. His messy hair stuck to his forehead with a thin film of sweat from all of the swinging and running when the hits miss and he was forced to get away before they caught him and possibly bash his head in in return.

That's where it's good to have a partner who had your back. Sadly, Seven wasn't one of those people, but Mono was able to make do.

Speaking of Sev, Mono looked as the boy in blue scanned the room. "That should be all of them. No sign of Rain and Squeaks though..."

"Where do you think they're at?" Mono asked, having to force himself to speak over a weak whisper.

Seven gave a shrug, already walking off to where the hall was leading them to. Mono caught up to him, falling in place a few steps behind him, continuing to drag the heavy hammer behind him.

The hall was finally quiet, there were no sounds of running footsteps or clunky bodies. Only creaky floorboards every once and a while, along with unwanted thoughts accompany their minds. Well, for Mono, anyways.

He wanted to ask. About the rebellion, being Commander. He wanted to know what he missed in the past three years. He wanted to ask for forgive for whatever he's done to them, even if he had no clue as to what made them seem to fear and hate him.

"Mono."

The boy blinked his eyes, looking up, not knowing he had been staring at the floor again.

Seven stood just a few feet away, and even with the low lighting, Mono could see a glinting dark blue eye from under his thick mess of bangs.

His voice rumbled low, like a wolfish growl, slightly rusty by the sounds of it, "You look like a kicked puppy."

Yeah, like he didn't just had his whole world spun on its head and then broke into a million pieces right in front of him. Of course he probably looked hurt and dazed or confused!

"You can ask me things, just know I'm not gonna bother with sugar coating it." He gave a small, almost dark sounding chuckle after he spoke, turning back to walking away. Mono followed behind him, his mind now reeling once again.

Should he ask him? Did he really want to know what he did? Well, no, not really, a piece of him dreaded what the other would say. He hurt them, right? Why would he want to know how he hurt the two younger scouts he rescued when he was younger? The two who became his best friends, one he saw as more and one he saw as a brother to him. Knowing he hurt them already made his stomach twist.

But... he wanted to know what he did to make Rain have that look of fear on her face when she saw him. The anger and hatred in Seven's eyes that had swirled in them since they first started out.

"I want to know... but I'm scared of what you might say," he muttered under his breath, hoping the other heard him.

The boy in blue did, seemingly take a moment to gather his words.

"I can only tell you what you did to me, Rain has a more in depth scoop since she was there for almost all of it. Think I see a small vent up ahead we can climb through, we can talk in there."

Mono trailed his gaze upwards, seeing the spot the other was talking about. It was just above a tall stack of old backpack. By the looks of it, they weren't the only ones who knew about the vent, judging by the scratch marks behind it from where bullies tried to break into it but to no avail.

Seven climbed up the stack, placing his hands on the grating and pushed. It took a bit of a struggle, but it finally popped open. The two settled inside, Mono replacing the grating after.

The vent was oddly spacious, but not enough where they could stand up fully.  Seven pulled out his now beat up and scuffed flashlight, flicking it on, and going first like the many times before.

"So, like I was saying, I can only tell you what you did to me," he began.

"You started acting a little funny right after we got home to the rebellion from the hospital. Rain named you Commander, don't ask me why, I don't have a good answer for it. Probably a mistake or something. Back on track, me and you didn't have a good relationship after the elevator, so we never seem to have a moment to really get over it,"

"Jump around a bit of you just blankly staring and having bad headaches, I finally got my special Molotoves done. I reported to you like normal, but this time you offer to go to see how they worked."

Mono made out the outline of Seven's shoulders tensing, his free hand clinching for a second before he seemed to try and calm himself.

"You came with me, and after exploding an Adult Settlement, I saw the raw power of those Molotoves. They weren't safe, so I tried to get rid of them. Low and behold, you followed me to the creek, and ambushed me. Tried to drown me and were able to knock me out with a rock to the head. Next think I knew I woke up on The Maw. But really, I'm sure that doesn't scratch the surface of what all you did."

Mono felt his mouth dry, his heartbeating faster. That sounded nothing like him! No, no he was lying, he should kill him right here for lying like that.

Mono shook his head, hearing that darker side of his mind ringing out. He couldn't kill him, but he also couldn't believe him. He would never try and hurt them...

Right?

But if he did hurt them, it made sense.

"Then, after I came back with Squeaks with me, I'm pretty sure you made your mind in either committing a public execution or throwing me out for the adults. The last one you did try to do, by the way. Me, Rain, n' Squeaks were able to escape, got to lead you to a ring of TVs, and I thought we finally killed you. Looks like life has a different plans."

That was what finally made the boy in the trenchcoat stop following behind.

"I woke up in a ring of TVs... I thought I just teleported through the TVs wrong,"

"Well, now you know the real reason why, because you were an asshole."

Tears stared to swell at the lining of his eyes, having to blink them away before he could be caught. He couldn't cry, he was one of the older kids now. He was Commander, and Commanders don't cry.

But, knowing his two dearest friends tried to actively kill him... it stung, a lot. He knew he probably deserved it, but hearing it so bluntly, it made something move him in.

He couldn't trust them now, what if they try o kill him again? He should kill them first, who knew when they would jump him.

Seven stopped after he noticed the silence behind him. He glanced over, before groaning.

"If you really are my Mono, the one who rescued me from the net and the one who brought my twin to safety... I'm willing to at least try and push it off. Not forgive, but just try to ignore the trust that hangs over us."

What?

"How do I know you won't try and kill me again?" Mono stated.

"Because I don't want to if I don't have to. Somewhere and somehow, buried probably under a mountain of whatever the hell is still inside you, the Mono who at one time was my friend is still there. Bleh, that's so cheesy sounding," Seven groaned.

Friend? He still saw him as a friend?

"You still see me as your friend?"

"No,"

Oh...

"But so far you have proved to be a bit of help. Pretty sure I wouldn't be able to swing that hammer with how much strength I lost on The Maw. Probably be dead by now. So thanks, I guess."

They spotted a vent grate up ahead, the pair going towards it. Mono peeked over the side, looking down. A library by the looks of it. Books were on all the shelves, some on the floor, or in what looked like columns of sorts.

There was also a woman, more aged than most monsters he'd seen. Her hair was oddly neat, despite its frizziness. A smile was on her face, happily humming as she made her away through the rows of books. A teacher? Yeah, he's going with a teacher.

A noise from below caught the Teacher's attention, Mono having to put a hand to his mouth as he watched a rather very unsettling sight as her neck stretched in unbearable way, twisting as her bones cracked and her muscles strained as she slithered her head like a snake.

Her head went searching for the noise, while her body just continued to stand and wait for her neck to come back to her. The sight behind them made Mono want to scream, his skin crawling as he watched her.

A scream cut them off, his brown and green eye not able to look away as the Teacher's neck slithered back to its normal position, a small bully in her jaws. She picked him up by the back of his shirt, looking at him.

"Travis, why are you out of class? You should have been in history ten seconds ago,"

"!yrroS" the small bully said. He hid his face with his hands, shaking in her grasp.

"Now, now. This is only your first strike, just a warning. No need to cry, I'm not going to hurt you for this time. I know, to help cheer you up, I'll make a deal with you. You past this history exam with a one hundred, and I'll bring you a little treat. Okay?"

The small bully in her hand looked through his fingers, up towards her face. He gave a small shy nod, before reaching out for what looked like a hug.

The Teacher brought him closer, gently patting his back. "I know this is all very new to you, dear. Try not to give up hope, we're still trying to find a way to turn everyone back. The rumor of the kids in the forest finally rising up is true, and we can't let them down. The Abandonment Policy will fall with the Tower, we just have to wait a bit longer. The boy with the paper bag as already called war on us first, it won't be long now."

The bully seemed to give one last squeeze to her, before he was settled down onto the ground. He started walking off to a door, the sound of it closing behind him as he left greeting them.

The Teacher stood there for a moment, before looking straight up to the vent. Mono and Seven both tucked out of the way in order not to be seen.

"Your friends are in the bathroom just outside this next room. You two need to stop talking so loudly to one another or you'll both find yourself between a rock and a hard place."

The boy felt his blood chill as he knew the voice was directed at him and Seven both. Had she heard the whole thing?

"What you and your friend are going through is called Tranmissional Aftermath, it happens after you're exposed to the Tower's transmission for any length of time. That's what Hank as hold me at least. It works like radiation, as he put it, the longer we're exposed to it the more monstrous we all become,"

The grate opened, the Teacher's head slithering inside the vent. Mono jumped back, hitting his head on the top of the metal duct, a ringing noise sounding in his ears. Seven stepped back as well, grabbing the end of his flashlight like before.

The Teacher noticed, giving a small chuckle in response. "You wouldn't be the first person to try that. Why are you boys here?"

Mono tried to speak, but his mouth felt too dry to even utter a word. He could only glance at the other in hopes he would speak for them.

"My sister and friend were kidnapped, I'm just trying to get them back," Seven answered.

The Teacher gave a small nod. "Ah, so I was only half right. I'm guessing it's the girl with the braid hair, I doubt you'd be related to the yellow squeaking one."

"Yeah. Did those bullies hurt them?"

"Bullies? My students? Dear, don't jump to conclusions so fast. You only been here for maybe half a school day, and barely got to know my students. I guess you ran into Tazzy and his group then, they normally are the mean ones I have the most complains about. I'm sorry if they gave you such a hard time, dears."

"Look, miss, we need to keep going-"

"You're part of the forest kids, aren't you?" She asked.

Mono gave a small nod. The Teacher's pale amber gaze turned to him, staring at him before seeming to remember something about him. "The boy with the paper bag! You plan on attacking this soon? My, my, an outcome I didn't see, a brave boy you are. Tell me, what are your plans? I won't tell a soul about them!"

Seven gave a growl, baring his teeth. "Hell no, why should we tell you anything? Why the hell are you being nice to us?"

The Teacher turned her gaze to him, snapping, "Watch your tongue, boy. I'm on your side during this whole thing. Not every adults hates the children you know."

Finally, Mono found his voice. "What do you mean?"

"Being a teacher isn't a job set for bad adults who want to hurt the children. Those of us who still care about them actively try to help them in any ways we can. I have heard grueling stories of what some of you kids gave faced. Death of friends or family, cold night alone, starving and dying of thirst. I can understand why you kids would do what you are doing. I try to do my best here with my students, I work hard on them because I love them and have to show them how to fit in back into the city,"

"You brainwash kids into hating other kids!"

"No, far from that. I tried to teach my students to care for one another. Hank told me in the past hundred years of so, more and more adults are losing maternal instincts to care for them. I'm not sure what is making instincts go away, but those of us who do still care as doing the best we can."

"Likely story," Seven hissed. The Teacher gave a small sigh, closing her eyes for a moment.

"I had a feeling you won't believe me. It's fine, however, you may believe what you want to believe. Like I said, your friends are just in the room over, in the bathroom. I was going to fetch them, but now that you're here, I don't see much of a reason to."

She started to lower her head back down through the grate, before stopping as Mono sprung up.

"W-wait! Miss Teacher, what was that thing you said me and Sev had?" He asked quickly, hoping she'd at least answer that.

The Teacher came back up, her unblinking gaze making the boy feel small.

"Tranmissional Aftermath. That's what Hank has been calling it. Everyone is effected by it nowadays. It's just an effect of the Signal Tower we have all just grown and accepted. It twists and morphs your body until you look like a living nightmare. Most of my students are going through the same think as you two, only less extreme by the looks of it."

"Your students are literally living dolls,"

"They weren't like that before, they were regular kids once. Right now, I'm trying to find a way to reverse the effects. They are just too young to be hurt like this,"

"What about ours?"

Her amber gaze flicked over to Seven. "You know about it, you seems. How does it effect you, dear? Buzzing in your ears, headaches?"

Seven stayed quiet for a moment or two, staring back at the lady in front of them.  He shuffled his feet, before glancing to the other beside him.

"Hunger spells," he said in a more quiet tone, "I lose myself and attack things, I can't control it, and I've tried in the past."

The Teacher gave a small disappointed noise. "I was hoping it would be something I've seen before. I never heard of a person growing so hungry. Is there anything else?"

Mono looked to his partner, seeing him stay quiet for just a second too long. "No, nothing else. Look, we need to get going, so just get out of our way."

"Rude. You forgot your friend. He must be suffering from it too,"

"He isn't my friend, okay!"

Mono flinched at the harsh words, but couldn't find the courage to try and argue with him. He nearly killed him, he deserved the blunt snap.

The Teacher seemingly ignored him, turning her attention to Mono with a gentle smile. "You look like you've been through a lot, dear. Those scars on your face have a story to tell."

The boy in the trenchcoat gently touched his fingertip under his green eye, feeling the warped and poorly healed skin. The phantom feeling of claws scratching and tearing into the tender skin around his eye made him give a small whimper.

"Were you effected by the transmission?" She asked.

"I... I don't know," he answered, his other arm grabbing onto his sleeve, "I don't remember a lot of anything right now."

The woman had a sympathetic look in her glossy gaze. "I'm sorry to hear that, dear. I do hope you remember one day."

She looked over the boy one last time. "You remind me a lot of my son. You were in the forest, right? Did you know of a boy named Thirteen?"

Mono was a bit taken aback by the statement. Thirteen? Like, Commander Thirteen or some other Thirteen?

"Ah, no matter. He's grown by now, and probably doesn't remember me. Just a price to pay in living in this cruel world. You children take care, and if you ever need help, I'm right here and by your side."

With her last words said, the Teacher withdrew her neck one again, the sound of her heels clicking off to somewhere in the schoolhouse fading away. That was... a weird encounter.

Mono looked over to the other with him, seeing Seven staring down at the vent grating. He wanted to ask if he was okay, but he was left not saying a word to him.

"I want to forgive you," Mono looked at him, meeting Seven's blue gaze, "I want to forgive you, but I don't want to be hurt again."

Once again, he couldn't speak back to him. Seven broke his gaze from the other, continuing to walk off down the vent.

Mono followed behind, off to finally help Rain and the feral.

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Finished - August 28th, 2021

I finally got this done. The fact I got over 3000+ words dobe since this morning amazes me because I thought I would be sitting there and only get about 1000 done.

It's so weird writing on a phone, but it has slightly better auto correct, so let's hope not a lot of mistakes.

Hope you all enjoyed!

Take care!