To most, the silence of the emptiness when travelling alone was simply deafening. To 9, it actually calmed his nerves. He knew that he was breaking the rules by leaving the cathedral, but he had his staff, and an old kitchen knife which he had found lying around in 2 and 5's workshop. All he wanted to do was to be outside for a little while, and to breathe in somewhat fresher air. He could hold his own if any evil approached him. Of course, that is exactly what happened.
9 swung his knife around wildly at the Cat Skull Monster which closed in on him. The neophyte of the ragdolls, however, was smart, and had a plan. He backed into a corner, bluffing fear. As soon as the monster reached in to take him, 9 planned to run the knife into his eye. The Cat Skull Monster was falling for the trap, as 9 backed further towards the wall. Suddenly, the plan went haywire.
"Get out of here, 9!" 7 shouted as she landed in front of him. She swung her spear at the Cat Skull Monster, scratching hit several times across the face. 9 didn't move, afraid that he had gotten 7 into terrible danger. The beast swung a paw ferociously at the pair, which 7 stabbed with her spear.
"ARE YOU LISTENING? GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" she screamed at 9, who refused to budge. Fury flooded his mind as he swam the deep waters of self-humiliation. The Cat Skull Monster gave up, running away before 7 could catch up. She stopped chasing the monster, and stomped towards the neophyte furiously. She whacked him on the head with the flat side of her spear.
"YOU SUICIDAL IDIOT! I TOLD YOU TO GET AWAY, BUT NOOO!" she screamed.
"I am NOT a SUICIDAL IDIOT, 7!" 9 retorted, storming away angrily. 7 caught up to him once they were in the cathedral's foyer, not seeming to care if she woke everybody up.
"YOU WERE BACK OUT IN THE EMPTINESS! ALONE! THAT SAYS SUICIDAL IDIOT TO ME, 9!"
"I'm not as dumb or as gentle as you may think I am, 7." 9 said quietly- dangerously. By now, 2 and 5 were standing at one end of the foyer. 6 was peeking out from behind a pillar, afraid. 3 and 4 flickered to each other nervously from the doorway that led to their quarters. Only 1 and 8 had not appeared, but they were sure to appear sooner or later, they way 7 was losing her temper.
"Well then," she began, taking deep breaths. ", please explain to me WHY YOU WERE JUST STANDING THERE, 9?!" 7 was no good at keeping her voice down. She was trembling.
"MAYBE BECAUSE I HAD A PLAN, 7! MAYBE I DIDN'T ACTUALLY NEED YOUR HELP!" 9 shouted at her, causing a great silence to fall upon the cathedral. 6's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. 7 was shocked, and mad. Instead of screaming at 9, she was so mad and humiliated that she simply walked away briskly towards the room which she shared with the twins, slamming the door as loudly as she could. 9, realising what he had just done, clapped his hands to his mouth. Backing away from the eyes which stared at him, he tucked himself in an empty corner, hidden from view. What had he just done?!
***
Never before had 9 found it so hard to make his presence known in the cathedral. Everybody except 1 and 8 were aware of what had occurred the night before, and 9 was sure that, being the newest, everybody who knew would be on 7's side. He felt that he deserved it, too. He only needed to remember the one look that the warrior had given him before storming off- the look of a person whose heart has just shattered into fragments- to know that he would have to keep to himself. There was no point in trying to get anyone else on his side... so what was he going to do?
"9." 2 said gently as he approached the neophyte. His look was firm, but it didn't look like the elder was going to chastise him. 2 sat down beside him, not looking at 9. 9 stared ahead, waiting for 2 to speak. They were alone in the room, sitting in the shadows.
"Would you like to tell me what happened last night, 9?" 2 asked, not giving him any eye contact.
"I'd rather not... I was in the wrong, and nothing can change that." 9 said. 2 sighed, patting 9 on the shoulder. The youngest ragdoll shivered, shrugging off the elder's touch.
"If you think you were in the wrong, then perhaps it's best to apologise to 7." 2 suggested, retracting his hand. 9 put his face in his own hands, letting out the tiniest of moans.
"She'll never forgive me." he mumbled. 2 frowned apologetically, even though 9 couldn't see anything at that moment. Out of nowhere, 5 came in. His one eye was tight as he bobbed down in front of 9. 2 held out his hand silently, as if to say, 'Leave him. He's beating himself up enough.'
"9..." 5 started, biting his lip. 9 looked up at his best friend.
"You got to make up with 7. I mean it." 5 said gruffly. 9 sighed sadly.
"Jeez, 9! It isn't that hard!" 5 pointed out, giving him a friendly clout to the head.
"Then what am I supposed to do?" 9 asked. 5 shifted to a more comfortable position.
"Well, first of all you have to find her, because I have NO IDEA where she is. Then you need to take her hand- get her attention focused on you. Once you have that done, you need to look at her deep in the eyes..." 5 trailed off. 9 looked at 5 fearfully. Where was this going?
"And then... YOU NEED TO KISS HER, DANGIT! PUT US ALL OUT OF OUR MISERY AND KISS HER!!"
"WHAT?!" 9 yelped. The high pitch of his voice echoed through the cathedral. 2 blocked his ears.
"It's really quite obvious that you and 7... Well, you know." 5 pointed out.
"No! Nonononono, you got it all wrong, 5. 7 and I are just friends... were just friends." 9 stammered. He suddenly felt quite warm inside- especially on his face.
"You sure about that?" 2 muttered, sounding quite out of character as he stood up, rubbing his head. He gave one last nod to 5 before walking off.
"You better have done something by the time I wake up, 9. You gave me a headache." 2 called out. It wasn't long before 5 gave 9 a friendly punch to the arm and walked off, leaving him alone in the room once more. After what seemed a long silence, 9 spoke aloud to himself.
"How do I really feel about 7?"
***
7 lay face down in her bed- a comfortable pile of soft rags in a box. She could hear 3 and 4 flickering to her- her mind pictured the concerned looks on their faces. 7 was normally an early riser... this time she had just rolled over to block out the light. She just didn't feel like it, not today. She couldn't face 9. Maybe she had been a little rash in yelling at him... she rolled over to glare at the twins.
"What is it?" she grumbled. Her voice rasped- it seemed she had lost it. 3 pointed to the blank part of the wall, where 4 was staring at intently. Her eyes had become projectors again, this time showing a scene from their favourite movie. 3 and 4 loved the animated movies designed for human children, especially those with songs. This movie showed the mythology of a very ancient society. The pretty woman on the screen was singing, denying her love for the main character... was there a point to 3 and 4 doing this? She sat up slowly, letting her optics focus onto the projection.
"If there's a prize for rotten judgement, I guess I've already won that..." the woman sang. 3 motioned for 7 to come closer, pulling her next to 4. 3's own eyes became projectors- and, just like that, there was footage of her and 9 on the screen. 7 hadn't realised the twins had the ability to project their own memories.
"No
man is worth the aggravation...
That's ancient history- been
there, done that!"
7 glanced at 3, who was smiling happily. 7 had a feeling that that
particular part had no point, but it seemed that there was urgency in
the way 4 played the next lyrics. 3's memories focused on 9- when
the twins had met him.
"Who'd
you think you're kidding?
He's the earth and heaven to
you!
Try to keep it hidden,
Honey we can see right through
you!
Girl, you can't conceal it,
We know how ya feel and
Who
you're thinking of!"
7 drew her breath sharply as she glanced at the new memory projected from 3's eyes as the characters sang. 7 was in the background, smiling... wistfully? That couldn't be right!
"No
chance, no way, I won't say it! No, no!" "You swoon, you
sigh, why deny it, uh-oh!"
"That's enough, girls!" 7 growled, though her voice barely went louder than a hiss. 3 and 4 kept projecting their feelings on the wall- 9 stared back at the trio, smiling bashfully. He was so cute when he did that... 7 shook her head, getting up. There was no way that this was true... 3 and 4 were just children! What did they know? Again, she collapsed upon her bed, ignoring the song in the background. Sadly, with nothing else to distract her, she listened again. Those persuasive voices were back- and images of 9 floated in her head- making her confused once more.
"You
keep on denying,
Who you are and how you're feeling
Baby,
we're not buying
Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling!
Face it like
a grown up,
When ya gonna own up?
That ya got, got, got it
bad!"
7 blocked her ears, only to let the thoughts torture her slowly. Ironically, 7 had not had to avoid thinking of anything like this before- and so she hadn't realised that as hard as she tried not to reflect on her dear friend, the more the subject pestered her head. She turned over onto her face again, pulling a rag over her for warmth. 3 and 4 didn't hear her dry sobs in the midst of their game. They enjoyed the song too much.
***
"Well?" 2 asked. 5 shook his head. Neither 9 nor 7 had emerged from their shells the entire day, and 1 refused to help. 8 was faithful to his leader, and he was no use anyway. 6 was acting particularly strange, drawing mysterious images over and over again. This left 2, 3, 4 and 5 to work on their scheme to stop the fight. 2 had just woken up, groggily stumbling around the workshop.
"2, I think you need to sit down before you trip over your own feet." 5 said, laughing a little. 2 smiled at his pupil, easing himself upon the stool which sat in front of their latest project. 5 joined his mentor, before looking up to see 3 and 4 looking particularly afraid and concerned.
"Come in, girls." 2 said. They rushed to his side, flickering nervously. 2 frowned.
"What's up?" 5 asked. 3 projected the memory of 7 crying onto the empty space on the workbench. In the projection, 7 was sitting up, and leaning against the wall. She looked absolutely haggard as she rocked back and forth, ignoring the twins at that time. She was biting her lip, and shivering. 5 and 2 exchanged a look of heartbreak- never had 7 been so affected by anything before. When 3 finished the projection, she buried her face into 2's shoulder. 5's eye became stern and tight once more.
"We need a plan. They won't like it, but I'm not going to let 7 be so upset anymore. At least 9 isn't crying." he declared, standing up. 3 looked up at him, curious. 2 smiled, standing up as well.
"I already have an idea."
------------------------------------------
9 stared at the pink horizon intently, glad for the soothing wind which blew gently around him. Up here, he could almost forget all of his troubles... almost. The guilt gnawed on his soul, threatening to consume his whole being. He swallowed the tight lump in his throat, refusing to let himself cry. 5 would never let him live that down. 9 perked up at the sound of the bucket and pulley system in action. Maybe 7 had appeared again... he didn't move his gaze from the sky.
"Now... don't take that off until I say so. It ruins the surprise." 5 said happily. 9 rolled his optics. Whoever was being surprised would know where they were. There were 2 sets of footsteps behind him, before somebody ran back to the bucket. 9 understood just by using his hearing that somebody was nearly freefalling with that bucket (probably 5, as he liked to do sometimes). He turned to face whoever had been 'surprised' by being abandoned up here with no means of getting down until the bucket was not in use, and nearly fell off the balcony in fear. 7 was pulling off the blindfold slowly, not saying a word. Her tired eyes widened at the sight of him, before she made a strangled gasping noise. 9 didn't realise that she had lost her voice, and the guilt bit harder.
"7... I know you probably won't forgive me, in fact, you can pummel me half to death right now if you want to, but I'm really, really sorry. For everything." he said as she looked into the opening where the bucket was. She seemed to freeze at the very place she stood, shaking. 9 continued, stammering in embarrassment. He knew that he wasn't very good at delicate things like this.
"I didn't mean what I said. A-at all. I-I mean, I did have a plan but- but that's not what I meant! Um, what I'm trying t-to say is that, that, that... I'm just really, really, sorry. I am- I am an idiot. A big, stupid idiot." he finished lamely. 7 put her hands over her mouth. 9 rushed forward as she slumped down in shock. He didn't like this- didn't like it one bit. Again, he blurted out words which he didn't really plan to say. 9 hadn't even thought about saying it at all- but they tumbled out anyway.
"7, I really
don't expect you to forgive me, but I'd really like you to. I've
been thinking really strange things lately, about life. About us.
What I'm trying to say is that 7, I've never needed anyone else
more than I need you right now. I love you, 7!"
It was 9's
turn to gasp and clap his hands over his mouth. Where had that come
from? Had he really said that? 7 moved his hands away suddenly,
pulling his face towards her own...
***
Neither 9 nor 7 had known what exactly a kiss was until they tried it out for themselves. The neophyte was- in a word- breathless as he fell onto his backside. He hadn't experienced passion of that calibre before. 7 smiled back at him- though it was the saddest smile 9 had ever seen. She looked back down the shaft where the bucket was, clearly hoping to make a getaway. 9 looked on, concerned for the female warrior as she made jagged breaths. She avoided eye contact; looking on towards the horizon once she had turned back around. An embarrassing silence dragged on as 7 stared at the pink sky. 9 decided to take a chance, closing the distance between them so their issues could possibly be sorted out.
"7, I-"
"You are an idiot. A great, big, lovable idiot." she murmured. 9 grinned at this comment, leaning back against the wall. 7 moved closer to him, draping his arm over her shoulders. With her free hand, she actually took off her helmet, so 9 wasn't positioned so awkwardly. That kind gesture hadn't been offered to anyone else. He felt the ticker inside of him skip a beat or two as 7 leaned into him. Her head was resting on his shoulder lightly, and her optics were closed.
"So... does this mean I'm forgiven?"
"Maybe," she rasped, "if you tell me you love me again."
"Really?" 9 asked, his smile growing even wider. 7 nodded, as not to hurt her voice more.
"In that case, I love you, 7." he said, quite seriously this time.
"Huh?" she breathed.
"I said that I love you!" 9 repeated, raising his voice.
"Sorry 9, I think I'm going deaf. Repeat that again." 7 whispered jokingly.
"I LOVE YOU, 7!" he screamed. 9's voice echoed down into the bucket shaft, and all through the cathedral.
A long ways down, 7 other rag dolls were in the throne room. 5 shouted in delight as the echo wound its way into his ears, jumping up and pulling 3 and 4 into a little dance (which was really just the trio jumping in a circular motion). 1 looked up at the ceiling, rolling his optics. 8 snickered while 6 jumped- before bursting into jumbled applause, laughing childishly. 2 looked up from his latest project and smiled. The long and tedious wait was well and truly over.