Silence. Unbroken and haunting stillness. Not a single sound, not even the wind, penetrates the quiet air of the old room. Nothing has, not for a year and a day. A thick layer of dust coats the many tools, loose papers, and other objects that lay askew on the floor, to further illustrate this fact. Not one creature, one noise, nothing, until finally there is a voice.

"6... 6, what are you doing?"

5 trailed after his companion, not risking the creation of too much movement from running, and therefore falling behind slightly. 6 had his key in hand, and with a pace much faster than normal, was making his way across the floor of the abandoned room. Alerting himself to 5's hushed call, 6 stopped and turned back toward his friend.

"5 was worried," 6 said, smiling almost matter-of-factly, "so… so I'll help him."

Exasperated and in barely a whisper, 5 replied "Yes, 5 was worried. But, but 6... You shouldn't be here. We shouldn't be here. You can't-"

But 6 had already turned and continued on his way, seeming not to hear 5 at all. He was directing all of his attention toward a small object that, 5 discovered upon drawing closer, was a little wooden box. It's top had been opened already, and it appeared that whatever was inside had already been taken. But still 6 looked eager to inspect the box, running his pen-nib fingers over the lock before hoisting his key to it.

Finally, 5 caught up to where 6 had stopped at the box, and touched his friend gently on the shoulder. "There's nothing here, 6. Our duties are done. We have to go back to-"

Again, 5's sentence was cut short, but this time by a finger gently pushing against his lips. "Shh, 5." Said 6 in a soft, barely audible voice. "You were scared for the others. Don't… don't have to be. Safe. They're safe." And with this, 6 slid his treasured key into the small lock and turned it slowly. With a click and a creak of hinges, a second door was opened within the box. 6 gestured to 5, inviting him to come and see what wondrous thing they had unearthed. Peering into the newly discovered depths of the box, 5 couldn't help but be surprised.

Inside, there lay a small device of which 5 had never seen the likes of before. It was in the shape of a cylinder, and wrapped around it was a long, thin paper dotted with little bumps. Suddenly, yet sluggishly, and without assistance, the cylinder began to turn.

"6, what is this?"

"Look." 6 answered, inching closer to the device. "Listen."

And then, as if by magic, a tiny, punctuated noise began to emit from the patterned dots as they turned. Slowly, a smile crept across 6's face, a wider one than 5 had ever seen, and he whispered into the box.

"Sound," he said, lifting out a cupped hand as if to catch the notes as they came. "Sound."

"That isn't just sound, 6." 5 gasped, inching slightly closer to the reverberation. "It's… it's music."

The song floated gently from the box's core, each note a tiny pinprick in the air; short, high-pitched. And yet somehow the melody flowed, weaving it's way through 5's body, caressing his senses, soothing him. The tune was bittersweet, and yet beautiful, painting a picture of life, and loss, and rebirth, despite it's lack of words. Slowly, forgetting his previous worries, 5 began to lose himself in the harmony.

"I… I haven't heard music since…" 5's voice caught in his throat. He had been about to recount that day at the record player, but then he remembered the machine, and the terror, and the feeling of metal claws closing around him, crushing him… How peace had finally blossomed and then twisted itself back into war in less than a heartbeat, how hopeless and afraid he felt then, in his last moments… He and 6 had listened to music like this then, too, bittersweet and beautiful, and they had smiled and held each other then as they were doing now.

But then, it was different this time. There was no more death, no more terror. The only feelings that the air still held were full of love, and promise for the future. The days of heartbreak, of watching your world fall apart beneath you, those were over. Finally, peace had won, and here it would stay, forever and after.

With these thoughts, 5's face slowly lit up again, and he wrapped an arm around 6, clutching the younger's hand in his. Beneath his touch, 5 felt 6's shoulders relax, and one body leaned into the curve of the other's, enjoying their partner's warmth, and that great, beautiful feeling of togetherness.

"Hope," 6 whispered, grinning and squeezing 5's fingers, lovingly intertwined with his own. "Hope."

And as the music glided gently throughout the empty world, bringing life to it for one final time, the two souls slowly faded away, almost resembling one single entity as they departed back to their resting places.