Mable: This is a short four part fic I've meant to post for a while, but decided to finally do so. I don't own, 5- Err... I don't own 9, Enjoy!

Finding the Way

Chapter One: Losing

Maybe it was a little discouraging that Nine spent so much time with Seven recently, because this meant that Five was left alone. Thinking of this fact caused him to let out a soft sigh and drop his head into his hands. He couldn't say he didn't miss Nine incredibly every second of every minute that they were apart. Especially when Nine was still in the Sanctuary, perfectly fine, just spending so much time with Seven.

That was when the healer heard them, laughing, in the hallway, and felt a sharp pain inside. He crossed to the door and looked out to see the two looking like they were having all the fun in the world. It left Five feeling worse and he knew that Nine felt nowhere near the same way; Nine didn't need him to be complete. But Five wouldn't lie, he did need Nine, he always had needed Nine.

That second was when Five noticed Nine coming towards their room and quickly headed to his own bed where he pretended to be fixing the blankets. Though, it was already made, as Five was quite precise when keeping everything neat and such. "Hey Five!" Nine was upbeat as he entered the room and carrying some sort of pole. "Look at what Seven found in the Emptiness. I was hoping to use it to make another light staff, but I need a few more parts. We're going out tomorrow to find them."

Suddenly Five realized what that meant, "You're… You and Seven are leaving?" He asked cautiously and Nine nodded, "Yeah, but don't worry, we'll be safe. I'm sure she can fight any beast." Five now nodded and looked away sadly, hiding it from Nine. He always talked about Seven instead of about anyone else and it made Five feel a bit jealous, which made him feel guilty. Nine began to sound tired as he talked about something that happened with Eight earlier and Five decided to point it out to him.

"You sound tired," He smiled, "You should get some rest if you plan to leave tomorrow… When are you going?" Nine began to climb into the blankets, "As soon as the sun comes up. We won't be gone long." Soon he was relaxing in bed and the healer found himself watching him sprawl out messily. He liked that, he liked when he could see Nine relaxed, with his optics shut, and a small smile on his lips. Because Five loved Nine, and had only recently been able to admit it. It was a hard thing to admit though, being in love with someone who loved someone else.

As Five began to lie in his own bed his mind raced with thoughts, fears, and he was nearly frantic with wonders of the future. Maybe Nine would stop liking Seven and find Five more suitable; the chances seemed slim to none. But Five was more of a believer than a realist and was willing to believe they would be together if it meant he could get a good night's sleep again. "Good night, Nine."

There was no response and Five glanced at the other bed to see Nine was completely asleep. He wanted to cross over to the bed and embrace the other, hold him, press into his burlap and forever be complete, but it wouldn't work like that. Instead it worked it the same pattern as usual. A cold, lonely bed with a one eyed Stitchpunk awake until early morning. However, today was different, because he immediately found himself falling asleep as well, and managed to keep his dreams somewhat at bay.

Because all the pleasant dreams did were make him feel worse in the morning.

It was always cold in the morning around this time of year and Five tugged the blanket over him to try and get more sleep. It was only then that he suddenly remembered that Nine was leaving today with Seven. He had the urge to make sure Nine was in bed and wrestled with that urge and the one that insisted for him to sleep longer. Finally he looked over and gasped when he saw the bed was completely empty.

He then noticed the sound of footsteps and realized that Nine had to still be nearby, just left, and he exited his bed as quick as possible. The sheets were a nightmare to wrestle with, but it was worth it, because as he looked down the hall he caught a glimpse of Nine's form. He followed and made sure to be quiet in the hall as the others had to be asleep still. Five caught them at the bucket lift and forced his voice above a soft panting from waking so fast and running afterwards, "Nine."

Nine looked back and smiled, "Seeing us off?" Five forced a matching smile, "Y-Yeah… Be careful." Now Seven spoke, "We will, and we shouldn't be gone very long. We won't be going too far out so expect us around noon." Perhaps she could tell that he would be counting the minutes until they came back. Whether or not this was true wasn't important, but at least Five had a time when he could expect them back. "If you see a beast that you can't… That could… That's dangerous, just come back."

Nine nodded, "We'll be back by noon. I promise." Then he entered the bucket lift and began to use the crack to lower them down and out of the New Sanctuary. Watching the decent was nerve wracking for Five who just wanted to scream for Nine to come back, or to take him too, but he had plans with helping Two today so he couldn't do so. Once they were completely gone he turned away, sluggish as he walked back to his room. His insides felt empty and it was as though something cold was eating a hole inside of him.

It was miserable so he decided that there was only one thing to do, which was sleep, and so he lay back down. It took a little while to fight the shadows that seemed to play on the walls and Five wondered if this was how Six felt when he was alone. He now felt sympathy for Six along with the same jealousy of Seven and love of Nine. It truly was just a mess and the healer couldn't understand why, after everything with the Fabrication Machine, why it became so complicated.

He must have then fallen asleep because the next thing Five knew the room felt less cold and the light was on in the hallway. Though there was no drive to get out of bed and start the day when his mind continued to torture him. The bed felt so warm, so comforting, and he rolled over to face the wall so he could get a few more minutes of sleep. He obviously fell asleep again because the next time he awoke Two was there, above him, gently shaking him.

"Five?" Five slowly looked up, "Two? What time is it?" The Inventor smiled, hiding the concern, "Around ten o'clock. You slept in quite later than usual. Are you feeling alright?" No, he felt lonely misplaced, and he wouldn't be complete without Nine. "Yes, I'm fine, just tired." As he began to get out of bed he noticed that Two was clearly watching him, studying, and knew that Two had already seen past the lie. Two saw through almost all facades, as did One, and when he showed serious concern it was because there needed to be concern.

As though Two couldn't act anymore as though he knew everything, he then spoke, "Is this about Nine?" Five briefly pause, "No…. Why would it be?" Five refused to look at Two though; he couldn't lie to his mentor while looking into his optics, so instead he stared at the ground. How Two's feet had the same effect as his eyes was a mystery to Five. "Five," The Inventor's voice softened, "I know what has been going on." He sat down beside his apprentice on the bed and rested a hand on his back.

"I see how you act around Nine, I see how you act around Seven, and I've certainly have seen how you act when they're together." Naturally Two would previously have known everything and Five was waiting for him to mention the feelings. "I know that you have feelings for Nine." Five was starting to believe that the more he believed Two knew, the more Two would actually know. "It is not something to trouble you. This happens, it is common, and is actually a very good thing."

Five shook his head, "No it's not." He unwittingly admitted then that Two was right, "Nine has feelings for Seven. If he knew about my feelings he would hate me and wouldn't speak to me again." He sounded like he was about to break down by how hysterical he was growing. "Now, now. Don't talk like that." Two reassured, stroking Five's back, "I think you'd be surprised about how much Nine looks to you for." Still Five felt hesitant and leaned against his mentor, "Really?"

Whether or not a lie, Two smiled and held him, "Of course. Perhaps all you need is to tell Nine." Five looked horrified and Two corrected, "Without using words. When he gets back, just do a few things to show how much you care." This actually sounded like a good idea and Five tried to think of something, anything, and eventually his mind went to the time of year. "It's going to get cold soon…" He murmured to himself and Two smiled, "Come, I can help if you need me to." The two exited the room and headed into the passage before entering the workshop.

"I have some fabric over here if you were thinking of sewing something. It is very soft." Two tempted and went to where the new fabric was placed. Five didn't remember it being there before, "When did you get new fabric?" Two smiled, "Seven brought it-." He cut off as he realized mentioning Seven doing something that he was proud of might upset Five. Surprising to both, it didn't.

The only thing that bothered Five was when Seven was mentioned along with Nine, as though they were together, so simply mentioned the Warrior seemed to keep the jealousy at bay. The healer was glad because he cared about Seven like a sister and didn't want their relationship ruined over his and her feelings. "That was nice of Seven. It does look nice."

"Very soft." Two reassured, "And very warm. It would be perfect to use to make a coat for the winter, so that whoever wore it would be able to go out in the Emptiness without being cold." Five knew what Two was suggesting and the male decided to take the suggestion and use it. However, soon Five found himself with the cloth, with a pair of scissors, and with a needle and thread; though he found that his mind was too filled to work. Filled with thoughts of what exactly Seven and Nine were doing out there.

Perhaps a beast would attack and they would fight it together. Then Seven would trip and Nine would somehow catch her, they would smile, he'd be her hero, and then they would lean in under the blue sky and their lips would…

"Stop it, Five." Five muttered to himself with a sigh, as to scold himself into submission. It worked barely and he began to start working. The cloth was cut and stitches were made. The work took a while and only when the healer was almost done did he realize something a bit strange. He glanced at the pocket watch that Two hung on the wall like a clock and was disturbed to see that it was one thirty in the afternoon. Nine and Seven were almost two hours late and he felt a little worried. Still, he brushed it off and continued to work.

In the short time until it became two hours Five finished the coat and found that without something to do his mind tended to wander. He sat down on the medical cot and attempted to calm his mind down. It didn't work and instead he thought of those same thoughts. Either three things were occurring while they were out. They could be fine and Five was just overreacting, just spending a nice friendly time talking. They could have been attacked by a beast and were now injured. Or, the worst thought, they were out there because they wanted to be alone together; Realizing that they only wanted each other and were willing to spend the rest of their lives together.

Five had the urge to return to his and Nine's room and stood before slowly heading down the hall. Once entering the room he found himself drawn to Nine's bed which he sat down on. Nine's bed was a mess, the blankets were in a lump, and he fell over onto the bed. Strangely enough, Stitchpunks were born with a good sense of smell, and in the bedding and pillow he could smell Nine's scent.

He knew it was probably weird that he was attempting to take in Nine's scent, but it was the closest he could get to Nine, he just didn't even feel comfortable touching his shoulder now. It was like he was violating Nine's trust by being in love with him. Stretching out on the bed he exhaled softly, "What's wrong with me?" Two's words meant nothing now as he laid there. Time passed, he wasn't sure how much, but by time he eventually got up he realized that clearly something was wrong.

When he passed One's bedroom to head to the throne room he could hear the leader speaking with his mentor. "What could they possibly be doing that would take this long?" Two seemed calmer by far, "They probably just got sidetracked." Five didn't want to hear any more and entered the throne room. He could see Eight getting his weapons together like he was leaving, "Eight, you haven't heard from Nine or Seven?" The guard sort of shrugged, "That's why I'm heading out. One's sending me down to look."

Five and Eight had relatively little to no problems with each other and were usually able to speak pleasantly. Eight never bullied Five exclusively, Five had the feeling it was because of his missing optic, and he tended to appreciate the company of someone who was younger than the leader and closer to Eight's range of maturity. "Did Seven say anything about how long they would be gone? Nine promised they'd be back by noon." Eight seemed a little confused; he probably knew the most of what Seven was thinking as they usually spared in the early mornings.

Their relationship was close, very close, but unfortunately for Five it wasn't romantic and more of a sibling relationship. "She said she'd be back by ten to me. Hold on." Five knew immediately that Eight was going to do something when Six passed by toward the hall, slowly sliding his foot out while Six was too busy trying to juggle an inkwell and a stack of paper. "Six wait-." Five attempted to warn, but failed, and soon Six was sprawled on the floor while Eight was chuckling a bit.

Five quickly helped Six up and helped him carry his things to his room before returning. "I wish you wouldn't do that." Five voiced in disappointment, "It really upsets him." But Eight shrugged it off as he tried to fix the handle of his knife which seemed to keep slipping out of place, "Seven told me that they weren't going anywhere far." Five now grew worried, "Maybe something happened…" Again Eight shrugged it off, "Probably got lost or something." This was half agreed upon. Five more or less just hoped that this was the case.

Eight then left down the lift and Five was left alone once again. He watched the bucket lift lower and turned to head back to check on Six, managing to force himself to keep walking. Upon entering the Artist's room, he immediately heard what had been hid from him before. The soft sound of Six crying was audible and Five entered to attempt to comfort him. The Artist was trying to draw while soft whimpers escaped him. Six heard the footsteps and looked back towards the healer with a look of guilt at his own actions.

Five approached without saying a thing, sat beside the male, and embraced him. Perhaps because Five knew that he needed an embrace as well and wanted to give the other the comfort he wanted.

Five heard the sound of footsteps and saw Two enter the room looking upset, and he was having this forewarning feeling as he saw that look. By now he was sitting cross legged against the wall with Six resting his head on his leg. The Artist was asleep and the Healer was pleased to see that for once he was actually getting to rest. That is, until Two came in, looking rather flustered. "Five, I need you to assist me. There was an incident."

Five calmly nodded and slid out from under Six, being handed a pillow from the nearby bed by Two who didn't wish to wake Six. Though Five acted calm he felt like his insides were all clenching, moving, as though he was in turmoil. The thoughts appeared, "An incident. Something happened. Something happened to Nine. I shouldn't have let him go."

"What happened?" Five asked when they entered the hall and desperately tried to hide the way his voice rose in panic. Two led him along, "From what he said, it looked like a Cat Beast, and it looked rather old which explains why it was able to attack. The older ones always learn the best ways to hunt. He killed it, but it got him in the arm and on the back." Five was bracing himself for seeing Nine on the medical cot and so was a little taken aback when he realized that Nine wasn't the one laying there.

Instead it was a very annoyed, most likely unnerved from the prospect of being sewn, Eight. He had a nice wound on his arm where the metal could be seen and seemed to be resisting leaning his right side back against the cot. That's when he knew why Two actually got him. Eight was a decent bodyguard, he trained himself to know how to fight, immense strength, and he absolutely hated getting sewn. He would become resistant at the smallest pricks from the needle and would adamantly refuse treatment.

So Two ended up having to usually resort to something else. "Come up behind with the magnet. If we can get him down quick then we can sew him up before the magnet actually causes him to go unconscious." Magnets were used frequently for progressed injuries, such as when Seven nearly got her '7' torn off, and seemed to make said Stitchpunk unable to feel anything and become quite happy. If under too long the Stitchpunk would go unconscious.

Five learned most of this from when he had to use the magnet on One to fix his hand. One went from agitated to laughing in second, said a few things about the others, and then suddenly collapsed and fell into a deep slumber. Being a good healer, Five kept certain things private for his patients. That's why he decided against telling Two what One said, especially that part about how he enjoyed when Two bent over. He never mentioned it to One either or the leader might as well never face him ever again.

However, Eight was a different case, as he used a magnet frequently. He would feel nothing but would still be quite active. So Five knew to get the bigger, more powerful magnet to use. Two kept Eight distracted with a needle while Five did the deed. Then it was time to work and Five handed Two a needle that he threaded beforehand. Two was quick as Five tried to keep the thoughts of Nine at bay. They came out though, "I hope Nine's okay… What if it attacked him too?"

Two shook his head reassuringly, "Nine and Seven are more than capable of escaping a beast. This one only got Eight because he was wearing his- well- that." He gestured to the odd metal piece that Eight had been using as a helmet. "They would've heard it and managed to either destroy it or escape. However, if they would've fought it they would have left some damage, but Eight said the creature looked old, but still well put together. He would've been able to tell if someone had attacked it. I'm sure that Eight's run in was just a bit of bad luck."

"Really bad luck." Eight mattered, "Some seriously bad luck. The worst luck, really bad, it was like I saw my life in front of my optics. Kind of short…. That's a weird word; luck." He began to sound out 'luck' various ways and both of the others knew he was too affected by the magnet to act normally. Five was still worried, "But wouldn't that mean… Couldn't there be another beast nearby?" Two shook his head, "I highly doubt it. Cat Beasts are very territorial."

This helped a little, but Five still noticed the clock, and realized it was ticking through the late afternoon. Meanwhile, Eight still rambled, "You know what would've been worst luck? That thing, you know, the one with the tail, that thing appearing, coming out of somewhere."

"A Seamstress." Two pointed out, having named the creature some time ago, and then drew his attention back to Five, "Don't fret Five. It isn't good for you." He finished the sewing on Eight's arm and went to address the slice on his back. "Would you help me keep him up?" Five nodded and went to help, Eight being nearly useless in the mind frame he was in presently, and Two continued, "They are both fine. Nine would never break a promise to you."

The healer spoke softly, "But he said he'd be back at noon." Two smiled, "That doesn't mean he broke his promise. He's just a little late. Perhaps he got distracted with something he found." Five nodded; Nine was quite focused but had been known to get drawn into something and lose track of time.

"Perhaps we should move Six into bed when we get done." Two suggested, "I'm surprised he got to sleep after last night. I was up with him for most of it." The healer watched him stitching as he answered, "It had been weeks without a nightmare. He never has gone so long." Two exhaled gently, "I know. I think that's why it scared him as much as it did." A few seconds and Five went to speak only to fall flat.

Because once again Nine was plaguing his fault, "What if he doesn't return? I don't want my last word to him to be 'If you see a beast then come back'. I can't live without him." Then suddenly, "Yeah, Stripes, he could probably climb the wall one of these days. He's cute, but he's going to fall on someone. You know?" Silence as Five and Two slowly looked at Eight. Both agreeing, inside, that this was possibly the weirdest thing that Eight had ever said while under a magnet.

Though neither decided to point out how strange it was that Eight said that about Six, it was obviously not about Nine, Five felt tension. It was obvious that it was because of Nine still being in his mind. He finally let out an exhale and decided to again try to block it out. Soon, Eight was finished, and promptly fell asleep on the medical table. At this time Five told Two he was heading to his room. Two continued to try and reassure him, but it didn't help. Nothing helped now.

Nighttime, beginning of a long night, Nine never returned. Five was a wreck by now and decided to sleep in Nine's bed instead of his own. He was tempted to go to Two, to cry to Two, but he knew that Two was mostly likely in bed with One and didn't want to awaken the usually cranky leader. Instead he just laid there on the bed and stared at the ceiling, scared, so scared that Nine wouldn't come back. Through everything he just wanted him, Nine, to be safe and now he couldn't even guarantee it. He could do nothing but wait.

It was the middle of the night, early morning, when Two was awoke to the sounds of the bucket lift coming up to the sanctuary. He immediately filled with joy; they were home. He pushed off the covers and One's arm before quickly leaving to greet them, making it into the throne room around the time Nine and Seven stepped off the bucket lift. They looked tired and a bit dirty, but alright.

"You're home!" Two rushed to attempted and hug them both at once, it was a bit awkward with his height, "Where have you two been? We've been worried sick!" Of course he was nearly laughing in relief and Seven exhaled suddenly. "We found a board across the trench and went to search over there for parts. When we came back the board slipped with us on it, almost fell into the trench but managed to get off the board in time."

"We were stuck looking for another way." Nine continued, "It took a while." Two smiled, "At least you're alright, both of you, hurry inside before-." He went silent and suddenly regretted throwing One off of him so hard. The leader was standing some ways behind them, looking ready to lecture someone, and now it was angled to Nine and Seven, "Where have you been?" He was being seemingly calm so Two spoke, "I'll be right back, Five's been waiting so I should get him."

Nine nodded and turned to One to defuse the ticking explosive device glaring at him while the Inventor hurried into Nine and Five's room. He hurried to Five's bed and froze, through the dark he noticed something that looked like a piece of paper on the floor and lifted it.

He immediately scanned it, gasped, and then rushed to Five's bed where he ripped down the covers. Under them was some cloth molded to look like a Stitchpunk. The note's words plagued him.

"I can't wait anymore. I'm going to find him. -5."

Mable: Chapter two will be posted tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoyed and will continue reading!