Work Text:
Woooooshhh
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Woooshh
The boy's hairs were blown by the wind, as he struggled to maintain his walk in this dry desert. How much time has it been since he started this journey? This journey of seeking answers, this journey of hope and ambition. Nearly 6 years since he left that wretched tower's grasps. Since then he started to think, as time went by he started to develop all sorts of emotions, as his mind developed with his body, he became taller..stronger..faster, he by some luck found a cool blue jacket since the one he owned didn't quite fit him now. In his 6 years long journey he also figured out that people were put off by his eyes and not really the face, so he just wore sunglasses which added to the entire Detective look, and so finally he became. Detective mono. And so ever since he escaped the tower, he started to ask a bunch of questions. where..is he? How can he get back to where he came from? Who's behind all this? And why was he brought here? Under all these questions, there was one which was almost buried under all the big ones. a tiny question, why did she-
A powerful gust threw him upside down as he struggled to stand back up, the map in his hand started to slip by. A map? No, it could barely be called a map. It was just some scribbles in the shape of a map. In his 6 years long travel he met many other kids, many clues and abnormal monsters. Barely surviving because of his…gifts. In this long time he figured out quite some things.
First: everyone came to this world through a dream, some willingly some not so willingly.
Second: the candleman, also known as ferryman or the boatman is very important (mono personally referred to him as Whiteman when he first met him).
Third: he was advised by lots of kids to seek the all knowing computer if mono was seeking answers, the computer belonged to a dog named Courage.
And thus, the map about to slip by from Mono’s hand is supposed to lead him to Courage the cowardly dog.
Big dream vs little nightmares
Act 1 dreams vs responsibilities
Begin.
The map flew off with the wind at high speed, mono could barely see where it went before it was gone. And so the boy was left in the middle of a desert, officially lost, he was pretty lost even with the map, but now he is lost lost. Carrying a heavy bag without even a drop of water in this desert, might just be enough to kill him. All he can do now is to continue walking forward, like he has always done when lost.
Walking
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Walking
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Walking
Mono walks..and walks…and….walks as his shoes sink into the sand….deeper…and deeper. As he continues the repetitive cycle of putting his one leg forward after another, absolutely nothing in his mind but the sensation of the burning sun and the drops of sweat traveling his head in a desperate effort of cooling it down.
Walking
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Walking
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walking
walkin
Walk
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Wal
Mono’s eyes started to slowly shut, as his mind went blank and his steps became slower, but just then. He saw a black shadowy figure, a soul to be exact, wearing a crown looking at the desert with its hands gracefully folded behind its back. Indeed it was a soul wandering the empty desert with its hollow pride. And just like it came, it disappeared with a blink of an eye. Mono couldn't care less at the moment, he continued walking, after all he didn't have any energy to fight back even if the shadowy figure appeared again to attack him. All he can do now..is walk. And so he did.
Walk
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…..walk…w
A…….lk
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Walk..
Untill, he reached a door, the door belonged to a mysterious house, a mysterious house in the middle of a desert. Honestly understandable in this economy. Mono didn't have the liberty to bargain for a much safer place, who knows what would come out of this door? Courage the cowardly dog? Or a monster hungry for fresh meat? Only one way to find out.
Mono knocked on the door. After a few seconds, a slight arguing was heard. And then a loud and clear shout “OPEN THE DOOR STUPID DOG”. It was a man's voice, but mono didn't even notice, his mind had gone almost numb. Shortly after tiny steps were heard approaching the door, and then.
*Gchak*
The door opened, and on the other side of it, stood a 2d dog, cartoonishly standing on 2 legs. And in front of him, stood a boy, dry lips and completely 3d. A wild duo about to be formed indeed.
“AAAHGGG” the dog shouted, his jaws reaching comically huge heights. The dog very rudely shut the door on Mono's face.
“Who is at the door Courage?” a calm womanly and sweet voice was heard.
And so the door was opened once again, this time by Muriel.
“Oh my”
Standing in front of her was a boy, his eyes barely managing to stay open, weak arms, a bag much heavier than he had the energy to carry, his legs on the verge of giving up. And so his body gives a final effort to stand still before he…
*Thud*
Eyes gone dark.
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Accompanying him in this darkness is.
A Mirror.
He can almost see it.
Lights turn on revealing a dressing room.
He's on a Cabot.
He reaches for it, the mirror is almost in his grasp..come on.. COME ON..just a bit more forward, leaning more and more forward, he falls to his demise.
And wakes up immediately from the weirdest dream of his life, or maybe not. He definitely had worse, or perhaps not, he can't remember. Memories are such a mystery, by the time they reveal something important…it's already gone.
“Oh my! You're awake” the woman in front of him says with relief.
Mono’s eyes widens, as his barely awakened mind tries to comprehend this.
It's an adult!!!
He frantically gets out of bed, trying to slide past the adult from the open space, he jumps in desperation.
“Oh no you shouldn't get up so quickly”.
The scary adult tries to put him back to bed, trying to catch him mid-air, but he just simply teleports through the adult's arm. The moment his boots finally hit the ground, It's time to run. And so he does. Running from the bedroom to the living room, he just then spots the door to get out of this house, but it's blocked by another adult called “Eustace”, he seems to have some tools in his hands as if trying to fix the handle of the door. On the other side of Eustace, stood a set of stairs. From behind mono came the footsteps of a worried Muriel, the boy was now surrounded by the adults, the only way out of this situation? Stairs. But that was a risky option since the two adults could easily trap him upstairs. But no time to think, the boy immediately ran for the stairs, climbing each step with a hurried run. The moment the boy reached the 2nd floor he immediately took cover in a room, panically closing the door behind him. He turned around to look where exactly he was now.
He saw the same dog from before, playing doom on a computer. On the lowest setting possible. the LOWEST settings I tell you. The boy couldn't believe his eyes(not the lowest settings part), the computer, The all knowing computer! He did it, he will finally be able to answer all the questions he was eager to know the answers to..his 6 years long journey has finally come to an end. And so he took a slow step forward, cautious of the mysterious dog.
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It's alright.
He'll just strangle it to avoid any trouble.
Nothing should go wrong.
Nothing can go wrong.
This is it, he made it.
He did it.
Yay.
He takes slow and steady steps, closer..closer..closer.
And so standing behind the dog he-
“Hey you finally got a real friend other than me, I'm impressed.” The computer says to the dog upon seeing mono.
The dog raises an eyebrow and turns around. In front of him stood a tall 3d mono (with cool sunglasses) and his hands stretched out. After seeing that, the dog turns back to the computer.
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“AAAAGHHHH” His eyelids comically pop out and go in again. As he dashes to one of the corners in the room, shivering with fear.
“Guess not then” the computer says worriedly.
“Ok. Stay there and it'll be fine” Mono says. Finally revealing his voice. It's sturdy, more mature and commanding than what he had when he was a kid.
Mono turns his head to the computer to his side.
“My business is with you.”
“Sadly I'm not a businessman” the computer says sarcastically.
“I need answers,” the boy states.
“Sure thing, type out your question, and i, a highly intelligent life form will answer it for you.” the computer says, if he had a face he would surely be giving a welcoming smile right now.
Mono squints his eyes, as he tries to comprehend what this talking metal box is asking him to do.
“Go ahead, type it on the keyboard. Come on, you young people are experts at that aren't you?” The computer says.
“Uhh-” Mono is completely dumbfounded upon seeing the “keyboard” he can barely read or write.
“Perhaps my friend can help you. Come on Courage help a kid out”
Mono drops a stare at the shivering dog. And immediately pulls out an ax from his backpack, shining silver in the yellow light of this room.
“Help” Mono says ‘mono’tonously.
“Why always meee” the dog rips his hairs in frustration.
He walks to the chair, and positions himself to sit comfortably, who knows? It might be the last seat of his life.
“What do you want to ask?” The dog asks.
“He can't understand you dumb dog,” the computer says sassily.
“Oh yeah” Courage agrees.
“What do you mean? I can understand every word” mono states, ‘mono’tonously.
“How? Do you have some special qualities which might be important later in the plot? Well that's not fair, it took me 3 weeks to learn dog” the computer complains.
“Enough of useless exposition, answer my questions” mono pleads, ‘mono’grily.
“Ok, what's your question?” The dog asks, way too casually.
“What is this world?” Mono asks.
“Woah, woah, hold your horses kid. I'm a computer, not a god.”
“I don't own a horse,” the boy states.
“Yeah yeah sure, why don't you ask something more specific?” the computer requests.
“Ok” the boy states.
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An awkward silence falls on the room.
“So are you gonna-”
“Who's the ferryman?” the boy asks.
“Now we're talking,” the computer says.
Courage starts typing.
*Enter*
“Definitions of ferryman. noun. a man who operates a ferry. types: Charon. (Greek mythology) the ferryman who brought the souls of the dead across the river Styx or the river Acheron to Hades.” The computer just pulls out the literal google paragraph.
All the words went straight over the boy's head.
“He's talking about the ferryman who brought us to this weird world,” the dog says to the computer.
“Oh that ferryman, yeah perhaps I could help if we know what this world is called exactly” the computer says disappointingly.
“Nowhere.. we're in the nowhere” the boy states.
“Well then, let's try to search “ferryman nowhere” I guess" the dog starts typing.
*Enter*
Both the dog and the boy watch in anticipation as the information slowly loads.