Author's Note
I don't own 9
Well, I've been typing up stuff for awhile now and I may as well publish it. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: The First Numbers
0 wasn't sure how long she had been running since her last encounter with the Cat Beast, and she didn't really care. There was a storm approaching, and while she loved the rain, She hated the thunder. It boomed with a sound like bombs and gunshots from the first war; it terrified her. So she hurried along, hoping to get to the Shelter before the storm fell upon her full force.
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9, 7, 3, and 4 had begun to make a new home in the Library after the destruction of the Machine. It had been two weeks, and already, they had found materials to help them build many things. 9 gazed out the window, lost in thought. He was thinking about his first few days awake, and how he could have done things differently.
4 looked up from her book, frowning in concern at 9. 3 looked up at her and clicked, [What's the matter?] 4 shook her head and pointed to 9, who sat staring out the window. 3 didn't have to guess what was wrong. 9 was thinking of the Others. Even though it was the Machines fault that the Others had died, 9 blamed himself for it.
HE was the one that put the Talisman into the Machine. HE caused the others destruction's. It was HIS fault that they died . . . . he told 7 and the twins that he knew it wan't his fault, but the way he stared into space, and his nightmares, proved him otherwise.
[Well, what should we do about it?] 3 clicked back, and 4 got an idea, and clicked it over to her twin. He nodded, grinning, and the two crept up silently on 9. When they were within reach, they pounced on him, tickling his sides and stomach as he struggled and laughed, trying to push them off or tickle them back. But he was outnumbered; it was a pointless fight.
"O-o-okay-!" he finally shouted, trying to wriggle from their grasp, gasping with laughter. "I-I give! S-st-stop-!?" the two finally relented, letting him collapse on his back, gulping down air. He finally lifted his head, giving them a rueful, yet playful look. Scrambling to his feet, he raised his arms above his head, wriggling his fingers spookily, hunching his back and narrowing his shutters for added effect.
"I shall capture you all!" he shouted out, running at the twins with a playfully imitated growl as the two scattered. He chased after them with large, overly exaggerated, stomping footsteps, pretending to be some sort of Beast. The two looked back with fake fear, but their grins between betrayed them. They stumbled into 7, who had been come to see what the noise was about.
The twins barely paused, only waved wildly towards the room before running at top speed for the nearest cover. 7 pushed her bird skull helmet, or skullmet, over her face, hands made into tight fists. She stayed where she was, listening to the pounding footsteps that were rapidly approaching, the growls and snarls with it. She saw it come around the corner, and knocked its feet out from under it!
"Rrroooaa-Ahhhh?!" yelped 9, his mock roar cut off as he suddenly found himself on the ground. 7 spared the twins a small glare from their hideout of books, before helping 9 up.
"Sorry." 9 waved it off.
"That's okay. I probably would have down the same thing." he smiled at her, and 7 pushed her skullmet up and returned it. 3 and 4 came running over, clicking rapid apologies. He ruffled the two's hoods with a soft smile.
"It's okay, you didn't know that would happen." his expression saddened, looking off into the distance. 4 and 3, sensing 9's turn of thought, grabbed the two taller Others and dragged them over to see a book that they had found. It was a simple story book, about a magical fantasy land. It helped to get 9's mind off of the Others that were lost, and soon, they all grew tired and went to their sleeping places for the night.
Had they stayed awake a little longer, they may have heard the quiet click-cli-CLUNK click-cli-CLUNK approaching between bouts of thunder.
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She struggled through the mud and puddles, trying without success to brush some of the runny, wet earth off, with little success. Her armor was growing heavy, and her sharpened staff slippery, but she pressed on. She had to reach the Shelter she had been to before. Jumping at every bit of thunder, she looked through her red goggles nervously, adjusting the cat skull on her head before continuing.
She had managed to construct her metal-over-cork armor through long trial-and-error over the years, with a little assistance from three friends. Two of them lived in the Shelter, as she liked to call it, and the other lived in what they called the Sanctuary. His name was 2 and he was an inventor, and had helped her with her staff and a lot with her armor.
The other two were twins and Librarians, always cataloging whatever new thing she brought back with her, Teaching and Defining things for her when she was confused. She could flash her shutters with light like they could, and thus talk with them. She had once been able to speak out loud, before.
She had long ago disabled/broken her voice box, when she awoke from a nightmare, her screams luring the Cat-Beast right to her temporary hide-out. She could have fixed it, but chose not to. She only ever really talked to the twins, and they talked with flashes and clicks from their eyes like her.
She knew that there were more of the Others -as they called themselves- besides the Twins and 2, who lived in the Sanctuary, and one who lived alone, like her, wondering about and doing what they were made to do.
They were Stitchpunks; made by the Creator and sent out into the world for different reasons. She had helped the Scientist, the Creator of each of the Stitchpunks and the Talisman, make drawings of them as he created each one and gave them his soul. She had only been awake before 6, though, and had helped with 7, 8, and then 9. She knew what each task they were supposed to give to each other as a whole.
Most of the Stitchpunks were gone, now. Not dead, but their spirits were disconnected from their bodies. They could not preform the tasks they were made and sent out for, and now it was her turn to do hers. Her metal armor, cat skull and red goggles were so she would have the protection of camouflage; whenever any of the Beasts had seen her, they had left her alone, for the most part.
But recently, she had been contacted by the spirits of the Stitchpunks. They had all, one by one, guided her to their bodies, which she had brought back to the First Room. She had found spare parts, but could not figure out how to properly fix them. That's why she was now looking for the last of them, and the Talisman. She needed to find 2, but his body had been put somewhere in the Shelter.
She was close, and could see the walkway, but between the pounding rain, heavy, water-logged armor, and her fatigue, she didn't see an obstacle in her path. Tripping over a bit of broken statue, she let out a silent cry of surprise and pain as her right ankle twisted round. She started to push herself back up, but nearly collapsed again.
Her ankle was twisted, probably sprained.
She didn't have time for injuries! She had a mission to complete!
Getting up, biting on her lip to try and distract herself from the pain, she limped forward with a noise she couldn't bear. It was in no way stealthy and was very nerve-wracking for her. She didn't want the Beasts to find her.
click-cli-CLUNK click-cli-CLUNK click-cli-CLUNK click-cli-CLUNK
As she struggled to move forward at a fast pace, she kept near-falling, the armor around her right ankle hitting the ground with loud CLUNKs as her foot twisted painfully. Scrabbling painstakingly inside the entrance, she let herself collapse. She was tired and in pain, and could feel a tug on her mind.
They were calling her, needing to speak with her. She groaned silently. Couldn't it wait? Couldn't it wait until she was dry or at least hidden? Apparently not, as the tugging got more insistent, a ghostly green fogging up her vision before all went black.
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0 looked around herself. She was somewhere very dark, yet vaguely familiar. Her leg didn't pain her here, and she was free of her armor, but not the red stitches that were her scars from fights and accidents. Two figures approached her, whom she recognized as 2 and 6. They were a ghostly green, their numbers standing out from their on backs, and they were somewhat see-through.
"6, 2. . . ." she murmured, voice rusty from disuse. The Inventor smiled kindly and laid a ghostly hand on her shoulder, which was rather solid-feeling. It didn't surprise her; she'd seen this before. 6 looked at her shyly before looking back down at his feet, clasping and unclasping his ink-stained hands. Out of the other Stitchpunks she'd met in this place, she understood 6 the best, it seemed.
"Yes, 0, it's me." he chuckled, giving her shoulder two pats before taking a pace back. 6 stepped forward hesitantly and gave her a hug, which she kindly returned, but she was beginning to feel frustrated.
"Why did you call me now? I'm out in the open, what if the Beast shows up?" she asked in a slightly accusing, mostly worried tone. There was a trace of fear, too. 2 shook his head sympathetically. 6 only looked down, guilt evident on his face as he played with his ghost-key.
"I'm sorry, 0, but we had to before you saw them. I didn't want you to mistake them for enemies and attack." 0 tilted her head.
"I would never attack 3 and 4. They're like my brother and sister!" 2 shook his head.
"I meant 7 or 9, but we can't talk long."
"Y-yeah. Our bodies, the stream, rising high . . . very high . . . water . . ." stuttered 6, meeting her eyes before looking down again. He was having one of his times again. He had seen something, but without pictures to show her, he was trying to tell her. 2 patted his shoulder in a comforting way.
"The trench that 6's body fell into has a stream at the bottom. When the others gave me my funeral, they floated my body in a plank of wood in some water. It ended up next to 6's body down there."
"And all the sky-water is making it rise higher. . . your bodies will be dislodged, won't they?!" she exclaimed, desperation clear in her voice. 2 nodded, smiling a small, hopeful smile.
"You are on the right track, my dear. If you can get us out and back to the First Room with the Source, we'll all be able to come back." he replied, laying a hand on her shoulder again. Only for it to go through her!
She gasped at the freezing cold she felt go through her right shoulder, sending violent shivers throughout her entire small frame. 2 stepped back, shock written across his features. 6 swayed where he stood, fear and terror spreading across his features.
"No, no. . .why now? It wasn't supposed to . . . .to happen . . . y-yet." he mumbled, swaying in place before falling to his knees. 2 crouched down next to him in concern, and 0 got closer, to.
"6? Are you okay?" she asked, fear creeping up on her. 6 bolted to his feet, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her roughly.
"You have to-!" he yelped out. "You have to find us! He's fading away, he's fading away! Soon he'll be gone! Nothing left! Nothing-!?" exclaimed 6 in fear and desperation, his striped form shaking and shuddering, and he fell back to his knees with a sob. 0 crouched next to him.
"Why is 2 fading away, 6?" she asked softly. 6 looked up at her forlornly. She seemed to understand his cryptic messages when few others did. It just made him feel more frantic now, to get his message across to her.
"He's been here to long! To long!? Soon he'll be gone f-forever! You won't be able to save him! You have to save him-!?" explained/yelled 6, who clung to her like a scared little kid. 0 gently pulled him off and turned to 2.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, holding out her hands, palm up, in a seeking gesture. 2 shook his head.
"I didn't know that it would come so soon, and I didn't want to worry you to much. Take caution, and don't beat yourself up if, on the slim chance, you do fail. It'll be okay." 0 stared at him, before throwing herself at him without thinking, trying to hug him again; but she passed right through him. Her entire form was racked with shivering shudders.
She had never felt so cold before. For a moment, she was afraid, very afraid. She let herself fall first to her knees, then to her side, curling in on herself until she was in a firm ball, shivering and shuddering as she tried to get warm. She felt damp, and a cold she was more accustomed to. Her right leg ached as it had last night, and she felt hands shaking her shoulders.
She looked up to see 6, shaking her carefully, trying to get her attention. 2 peered over his shoulders worriedly. She gave them a weak smile. "D-don't worry," she began. "I'll s-save y-you. I'll s-save y-you all." she let her head fall back, and no longer felt 6's pen hands on her. She let darkness wash over and fell asleep.
Me: Well, that was a lot.
9: I'll say it is. Why's you drop an OC Other on our doorstep?
7: Yeah, I thought that you were going to do a author inse-*0 claps hand over mouth*
0: Shut it, already. She doesn't want people to know yet.
3 and 4(Twins): [When are we gonna show up again?]
7: . . . .
9: What are they saying?
3: *face palms*
4: *waves hands about in frustration*
0: They're asking when they're going to appear again in the story.
7: *blinks* you can understand them. .?
Me: Well, yeah, that's how I designed her.
Me, 9, 7, 3 and 4: *arguing and yelling over eachother while 0 watches them with a 'what are these idiots doing' look on her face*
Rebuilt Cat-Beast: * walks up and observes the chaos before lumbering up behind 9* Uh, what are you doing?
9: *looks behind him slowly* AAAHH!? *runs away yelling while grabbing the Twins with 7 and hiding underneath Liliana's bed*
Cat-Beast: . . . . what did I say?
Me: *Rolls eyes*
0: They don't know that you're on our side yet, Cat. Forgot to tell them.
Cat-Beast: . . . oh. . .
Me: *sighs* You two wrap this up, I'll go get the others out from under the bed. *goes to get the others out from under the bed.*
Cat-Beast: Liliana Doesn't own me or any of the characters from the movie '9'.
0: Yeah, she only owns me, so if you try to steal me, she'll send Cat and the rest of the Stitchpunks to hunt you down.
Cat-Beast and 0: *0 on Cat's back and both waving* 'Bye!