Daddy's Hands, a 9 fanfic

This is a sequel to Freaks. It's a nice oneshot about their maker coming home.

"So we're really doing this?" Five asked Nine.

Nine nodded. ~I think it would be a nice surprise for him when he comes back.~

"Then let's get to it!"

Five and Nine approached Two first. "Two? I have a strange question for you."

"Yes, Five?" Two asked, pausing in his work.

"Well…it's about Father."

"Father? What about him?"

"What do you remember best about him?

"Do you mean what parts of him I remember the best or do you mean the parts of him I remember and love the best?"

"The second one," Five replied.

Two looked thoughtful. "He was impressed by me. He encouraged me like I encourage you. He always patted me on the back with two fingers when I showed him something. It was nice. I miss that." He screwed up his face. "I can't remember much of anything else. I wish I could."

"I'm sorry Two."

Five got into a conversation with Two off topic and Nine spotted the twins.

Three! Four! Come here for a moment.

They scurried over, smiling at him. Yes? Three asked.

What do you remember about Father? You know, the parts you loved the best.

Four clapped happily. Oh! He would keep us fed, right brother?

Three nodded eagerly. Yes, he would feed us lots and lots!

But…we're Stitchpunks. We don't eat human food. Nine responded in confusion.

No, no, silly. He kept us fed with knowledge. Four scolded lightly.

Yes, yes! Three sighed happily. He would brave the war, going to other houses and even the library to bring us new books to read!

Oh yes, I remember that. Nine said with a nod. He would grab as many as he could carry in his little satchel and several in his hands, too. You went through them so fast though!

We have learned our lessons. Now we peruse books leisurely. Four said with a laugh.

Good! Nine said then tilted his head curiously. Anything else?

They were shaking their heads when Three grabbed his brother. He bled.

What? Nine asked.

He bled. He worked on Four until he bled one time. He just bound his hand and finished fixing Four.

Three and Four sighed wistfully and Three spoke sadly.

We miss him. We never paid enough attention to him, so we never really learned about him.

Yes. Four murmured. We are sure he did many, many things for us to be grateful for, just to show us he loved us, but…we don't remember.

I'm sure when he comes back, you'll have plenty of time to learn about him. Nine assured them. They got strange expressions on their faces. Nine frowned. He is coming back. He promised me he would.

We'll see. They both said at the same time then left.

Five was patiently waiting for him, having finished his conversation with Two. Nine told him what the twins had said then they stood there contemplating.

"This is turning out to be interesting, and we're only three people in! We've still got four more!"

~Five. You forgot yourself.~ Nine said lightly.

Five laughed awkwardly. "I can't contribute anything."

~Of course you can. You remember Father better than any of them.~

"But it's still not good compared to yours. And you never even met him."

~What do you love the best about Father?~

"His hands," Five said softly. "I woke up in his hands. I was held in his hands. They were rough and callused from all of his years, and they spoke to me, telling me of a time before I existed. I think we added some of those lines and calluses, but he loved us anyway." Five sniffled. "I'll never forget the love that was in those hands."

Nine smiled. ~That's so beautiful, Five.~

They ran into Seven next. "Seven!" Five exclaimed.

"Yes?"

"What did you love most about Father?"

Seven leaned against the wall and looked thoughtful. "He prayed a lot. I don't know to who, but he always prayed," she said, folding her hands together as she remembered. "It was nice to see him like that. Made me realize that I can't do it by myself either."

Nine smiled as Five embraced Seven, kissing her softly. "You don't need to do it by yourself, Seven. We're all here for you. Even One and Eight."

"I know," she said with a shake of her head. "You know…I can't remember much of anything else about him. That's too bad. He seemed like a nice enough man."

~He was.~ Nine said and Five translated.

Seven patted him on his head then left. They went to Six.

"Father? He'd always wake up and hold me after a nightmare, pet me while I was crying. He was so kind to me. I wish I could remember more."

~Nothing else at all?~ Nine asked.

"Well, I remember him holding the green girl."

"Green girl?" Five asked.

"You know, the one that Nine showed us with Father that one time."

"She…was green…" Five muttered. "Why?"

~Her name is Maryanna. She was Father's sister, but she died a violent death when she was only twenty years old. Her soul was around Father for a long time. She roams the city now, and I meet her occasionally. She's very nice. Father based us on their childhood toy dreams. She's pretty much our mother.~

They both stared at him strangely for a few moments then Six spoke slowly. "Well, he used to hold Maryanna really tight when either of them was crying. Past that, I can't remember anything else."

They nodded and were about to leave when One and Eight appeared behind them.

"Oh! One, we were just coming to find you," Five said.

"I figured. So Eight and I saved you a trip."

"Who first?"

"Eight."

"Okay Eight, what part do you remember best about Father?" Five asked eagerly.

"I'd rather One go first and me go never."

"Come now Eight," One said as the others came up to listen. "We're all sharing. Answer the question."

Eight shifted in embarrassment. "The thing I remember most about Father is that he would spank me for my mean streak."

"What?" Everybody besides Nine, who nodded solemnly, gasped.

"You were spanked?!" Seven laughed. "How did he manage that?!"

Eight looked humiliated and mumbled something.

~It's not funny in the slightest Seven. He'll do it to you if you misbehave, too.~ Nine said sternly; Five translated.

Seven sobered up. "I'm sorry Eight, it was just so surprising," she said kindly. There was a long pause. "So how exactly did he do that?"

Eight didn't answer so Nine did. ~He held Eight tightly in one hand and used two fingers of the other.~

"Oh…Strange," Five said.

"The only thing that's ever hurt as much as that was when Seven hit me with that steel pipe. Usually Father was nice and soft, but he hurt as much as steel when he was angry."

"Oh. Can you remember anything else?"

"Not really."

"Okay, One, it's your turn," Five said, turning to his leader.

"To be honest, I didn't pay much attention to him," One said with a shrug. "I detested being touched by him, but even when he did touch me, he was gentle. He loved us. All of us, and it showed in the way he handled us. If I could go back, I would do it all differently. I would never take him for granted. Ever. And I would desperately try to remember every little detail of our time together."

Nine could sense where this was going and quickly went to his room, pulling the curtains closed. He wasn't going to show them their own time with Father. Not until he came back, at least. Nine sat down and put his 'pen' to paper and began to write the words that came to him. Fifteen pages later, he had the final copy. He would ask Five his input later. He was tired. He crumpled up the misprints and fed them one by one into the flame on his candle. He then hid the finished version and blew out the flame before crawling into bed and falling asleep.

Time passed with its steady beat and soon a year had come and gone. They had all soul bonded by this point, with strong ties all around. The strongest ties were the ones between Three and Four and the ones between One, Six, and Nine. One, Six, and Nine gladly shared their visions between themselves, and the others if they ever wanted to hear about them.

But things between One and Nine had been getting tense recently. Well, actually between everybody and Nine. Nine was getting more and more excited, claiming again and again that their father was coming back soon. He went on and on and on about how he was getting closer to them and that they would see him soon. The water boiled over on a dreary day in spring, where rain was pouring from the heavens.

"HE WILL NEVER COME BACK, NINE!" Seven shrieked at the top of her vocal capacity, spinning around to face him.

Nine blinked at her, surprised. ~Of course he will. He's coming back right now.~

Seven yelled in anger. "No he won't! He's dead! He's dead and gone! What do we have to tell you to get you to believe that?!"

Nine stared at her. ~…We?~ he asked, turning to look at the others. They all looked away. ~B-but…None of you believe me?~

There was silence. Five stepped forward after a few seconds. "Nine, if he was going to come back, he'd've done it by now. Please stop this. You're just driving yourself crazy."

Nine's mouth fell open. ~W-what? But Five—~

"No, Nine," One said firmly. "Put this foolish fantasy behind you. You're just going to be disappointed."

They all nodded in agreement and Nine's bottom lip trembled. Suddenly a fierce look appeared on the wounded Stitchpunk's face, and he slammed all of his bonds shut. He spun around and marched to his room, dropping the curtain behind him. He sat there until dark, pain assaulting him. They didn't believe him. They couldn't sense their father coming ever so close that it hurt. He should arrive any day now. So Nine stood, grabbed his cloak, and slipped from the church.

Skull, Talon, and their newest addition, a wolf named Fang, took him to the house. Nine let out a burst of power and spent the next few hours cleaning everything up. When the house was as neat as it could be, Nine climbed up onto the bed and fell asleep on the pillow.

He awoke to a steady beat pounding against his audio receptor. He was lying on his belly on something warm and soft. It was very comfortable. He shifted and something rough ran down his back, making him sigh contentedly as he gathered a handful of cloth. He slowly woke up all the way and opened his optics to see a plain brown shirt…Shirt?

Nine yelped in his mind and sat up, looking up into the face of his maker. Shock floored him. Despite the fact that he had felt their father coming home, it was surreal to finally see him in person. He stared for a full minute, and his father stared back, before Nine sobbed and snagged the hand that was still lightly stroking his back to hold it. The Scientist sat up, easily catching Nine and holding him close as tears slipped down his cheeks.

~I knew you'd come b-back!~ Nine sobbed.

"I promised you I would. 'In soul or in flesh, I will come back to meet you, Nine.'"

~I knew you weren't dead! The others didn't believe me! They told me it was foolish! They yelled at me for it! But I was right!

The Scientist laughed, but it was chocked with emotions that didn't belong with a laugh.

"Of course you were. You'd know if I were dead."

Nine laughed. ~I know. I told them so. I think they believed me at first, but…now they don't. But it doesn't matter because you're here!~

"Yes, I'm here. And I'll never leave you again," the Scientist replied firmly.

They spent their tears and then the human just sat there stroking the Stitchpunk. Nine sat there contentedly, loving the feeling of his father's touch. He reached up and grabbed the hand again, pulling it in front of himself to look at it. He spread the fingers' out and traced the lines on his maker's palm. Nine smiled at the story told there. He suddenly noticed how dirty the hand was. He turned to look up at his father's face. It was filthy.

~You need a shower.~

"Can I take one here? I mean, everything on this whole street looks like it was just built, but does the water system still work?"

~Most assuredly. I fixed it myself, you know, with the soul energy. I got it all fixed up for when you came back. You also have a whole new wardrobe, and the kitchen is stocked with all the food you could ever eat, including fresh meat and spices.~

The Scientist stared at Nine in shock. He finally unfroze. "You certainly have the soul energy down to a science."

~Everything is basically made of dust. All you have to do is manipulate the particles with the soul energy to create anything you want. It is tricky, though. Besides myself, Six and One are the only two who can create anything at this point, and they're really slow if it's not basic.~

The Scientist nodded as he stood and walked into the bathroom. He gently set Nine on the sink and began stripping his worn clothes off. Nine had seen his maker naked before, both in the past and in the memories, but he watched curiously anyway. The Scientist paused when he was done to let the water heat up and he stared at Nine.

"You need a bath as well," he stated pointedly, gesturing at Nine's muddy body.

Nine looked down. ~I agree.~

He ran hot water in the plugged sink, stripped his burlap off, scraped some soap into his hand, and began to bathe as his father got into the shower. They cleaned themselves thoroughly and finished about the same time. Nine dressed immediately, but the Scientist dried off and slung a towel around his waist before picking up Nine and going to look over his wardrobe. He selected a pair of jeans and a blue shirt. He sighed happily as he sat down on the bed, feeling extremely comfortable in his new clothes.

"I'm exhausted," he admitted.

~Then sleep. I'll sleep with you. I'm tired, too.~

Nine lay right above the Scientist's heart, which had been the steady beat from earlier, and they both soon fell fast asleep. They woke about the same time to hushed voices.

"Nine was right, One. There's no denying it," Five whispered.

"Obviously, Five. I mean, we're standing on him," One replied dryly.

"I can't believe it," Two murmured. "Father, right here with us again!"

"Should we wake him up?" Seven asked hesitantly.

"I think that's rude," Six said. "Who knows how far he had to travel."

~Oh brother,~ Three sighed. ~We get to catalogue him!~

Four sounded unsure. ~Maybe, if he's not too angry with us.~

"Why would I be angry?" the Scientist muttered tiredly.

They jumped. ~"Father!"~ they exclaimed.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry," One said quietly. "We didn't mean to wake you."

"That's fine. I'm hungry anyway. You awake, Nine?"

Nine sat up and yawned, nodding. ~Yes, Father. I'm awake.~

One cleared his throat. "Nine?"

Nine frowned and turned away from them, crossing his arms.

"Nine, we're sorry," Seven begged. "Please forgive us."

~I told you he was coming back. I could feel him. But no, you didn't believe me.~

Five approached and kissed his face softly. "Forgive us, Nine. Please?"

Nine still looked stony through several increasingly imploring kisses before relenting. He nuzzled him back and slipped his arms around Five's shoulders in an embrace.

~Fine.~ Nine said when he'd pulled back. ~I forgive you.~

"So you do soul bond for. I wasn't quite sure how to design that into you, but I tried."

They turned to look at the Scientist. Five smiled. "Sorry if our affection bothered you."

The Scientist shrugged. "I don't mind. You were made to do that. It doesn't bother me at all."

There was a rumbling noise and the human flinched and touched his stomach.

"I am starving," he said, sitting up and catching his Stitchpunks in his arms. He lightly put them on the bed. "I'm going to go make something."

The Stitchpunk scrambled to follow him, unwilling to have him out of their sight. The Scientist gave a yell when Talon swooped around his head.

"What the hell is a machine still doing here?!" he yelped.

~Don't hurt him! Don't hurt him! He's my pet, Father!~ Nine cried out as his father searched for something to hit him with.

The Scientist paused. "Prove it," he said distrustfully.

Nine gave his three burst whistle, his long whistle, and a short, quick whistle. The Scientist pressed fearfully against the wall when Fang and Skull came bounding in. Nine gestured at the others, and they all began to pet the machines.

"See, Father?" One said with a smile. "They're nice. Even your first metal creation, BRAIN, is nice, though Nine won't let us meet him."

"B-BRAIN is nice?!"

~Who do you think fully reprogrammed them?~ Nine asked cheerily.

The Scientist stared at his little Stitchpunks as they happily pet and cooed at the machines.

"This is the strangest day I've had in a long, long time," he finally said then turned and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

Everybody followed. The Stitchpunks climbed up on the table that was in the kitchen to watch their maker go through the pantry. He seemed shocked by just how much food there was, and his stomach rumbled again.

"Nine, you are amazing," he finally said, picking out a nice steak, some potatoes, and some corn. He thought about it for a moment then grabbed some flour and milk from the refrigerator. "I take it all my pots and pans are sparkling clean and right where I left them?"

~And they look brand new.~ Nine replied, grinning. ~Though they're not where you left them. I reorganized.~

"I need two saucepans, two skillets, a cutting board, a knife, and a masher," their maker said as he looked over his future meal.

~The pans are in the second cabinet to the left, cutting board one to the right, knives are in the third drawer, and the masher is on the other side of the stove in the holder.~ Nine rattled off easily.

The Scientist laughed. "So do you all live here or something?"

"No. Nine did for a while, but that was before he met us," Two said, watching curiously as their maker began cooking.

Three suddenly touched Nine's shoulder. ~Nine? I have a question and it's been bothering me for a while.~

~Yes?~ Nine asked, tilting his hands curiously.

~How long were you alone?~

Nine didn't answer. The Scientist turned to stare at him.

"Nine?" he prodded gently

Nine sighed. ~Before Father panics, I had best tell you all, or remind you at least, that I am five years younger than you, in terms of being awake.~

~That does not answer my brother's question.~ Four said pointedly.

~Depends on if you mean alone with the machines or alone alone.~

~Both.~ Three said.

Nine crossed his arms uncomfortably. ~I was alone with my visions for three years. I met BRAIN after that, and he reprogrammed Skull and Talon to keep me company. I met Five when I was five years old. I am now six.~

They stared at him. They were horrified.

"You were all by yourself for three years?!" the Scientist gasped.

~You're steak is about to burn.~ Nine said, looking up at him.

"Oh, Nine," Five moaned, embracing him. "You knew where we were! Why didn't you come to find us?"

~I didn't want to bother you. You didn't need a freak anyway.~ Nine said softly.

"You are not a freak, Nine!" their father said firmly as he flipped the meat. The aroma was very enticing.

~But you said I was.~

"I most certainly did not!" the human said indignantly.

"Yes you did," One said. "You said it to Maryanna after that black fellow left your workshop. 'Nine'll have so much of our damned soul energy that he might just explode!' That's what you said."

"Yeah. Then you said, 'How can I willingly create a freak?'" Six said, frowning. "You did call him a freak. And if you don't believe us, then Nine can show you."

The Scientist was silent, poking the steak several times with the fork. He finally looked back.

"I didn't mean it, Nine. I was stressed out. I hadn't gotten much sleep since I started making the others. Forgive me for my stupidity."

~So…I'm not a freak?~

"You're no more freaky than me," the human said with a smile.

For the first time, Nine fully believed that he wasn't a freak. He smiled back and watched as his father made the corn, the mashed potatoes, and the gravy. He finally set a full plate on the table and pulled up a chair. The Stitchpunks watched as he began to eat. He was trying to be polite about it, but he hadn't had a fresh meal like this in over three years, and even then it hadn't been nearly as good. He finished and sat back, sighing contentedly. Suddenly the plate, which had residual food left over on it, cleaned itself and floated back where it belonged. The human blinked at the Stitchpunks. They all pointed to Nine.

~What? You don't look like you want to do dishes.~ the youngest creature said with a shrug.

"I certainly appreciate the thought," the Scientist said, reaching out to stroke Nine down his back. Nine pressed back happily.

~No problem.~ He suddenly grabbed the hand and smiled. He turned to look at Five. ~Ready?~

"I…maybe we should practice a few more times," Five muttered.

~Nonsense! We've been practicing well over a year. Besides, Father won't mind if you mess up once or twice, and we can always start over if you forget the words.~

With that, music began playing. Five was shaking nervously, but his voice came out steady as he began to sing.

"I remember Daddy's hands,
folded silently in prayer
And reaching out to hold me,
when I had a nightmare
You could read quite a story,
in the calluses and lines
Years of work and worry
had left their mark behind

"I remember Daddy's hands,
how they held my Mama tight
And patted my back,
for something done right
There are things that I've forgotten,
that I loved about the man
But I'll always remember
the love in Daddy's hands

"Daddy's hands were soft and kind

when I was cryin'
Daddy's hands, were hard as steel
when I'd done wrong
Daddy's hands, weren't always gentle
But I've come to understand
There was always love
in Daddy's hands

"I remember Daddy's hands,
working 'til they bled
Sacrificed unselfishly,
just to keep us all fed
If I could do things over,
I'd live my life again
And never take for granted
the love in Daddy's hands

"Daddy's hands were soft and kind
when I was cryin'
Daddy's hands, were hard as steel
when I'd done wrong
Daddy's hands, weren't always gentle
But I've come to understand
There was always love in Daddy's hands

The closing notes played and then there was silence. Five was acutely embarrassed as he was stared at intently by everybody there except Nine. Nine was being stared at, too, but he didn't mind.

"You wrote a song about what we said?" Two finally asked.

"Nine did most of the work. I just sing it. He's the one who put pen to paper, and he put the music together, too," Five muttered, hugging himself.

"There's no reason for you to be shy, Five," the Scientist said firmly. "That was beautiful, and you have a lovely voice, too." He turned to Nine. "So you wrote a song about my hands?"

~Pretty much everything everybody said about you involved your hands in some way. I figured it was a good thing to write about.~

"But you had never felt my hands before? Didn't it upset you?"

~No. You promised you'd come back. I said to myself that you would hold me then. And I was right.~

The Scientist laughed and picked Nine up, stroking him lovingly. "I love you, Nine. And you don't mind me touching you. Only Five really let me touch him. Everybody else shrugged it off."

"Sorry," they all chorused.

"You're just so big! It's disorienting and scary to have a giant reaching for you," Two laughed.

The Scientist smiled then focused his attention on Eight. "You still don't talk much, do you?"

Eight shifted and shrugged.

"It's alright. You're the strong, silent type. I don't mind. But I'm always willing to listen if you do want to talk."

Eight stared at him for a few seconds. "I'll keep that in mind."

"That's all I ask."

They stayed in the kitchen for a while, just talking. Suddenly something bumped the Scientist's leg. He jumped when he saw the Cat Beast, who stared up at him expectantly. He stared back.

"Go away," he finally said, but the machine stayed. "Shoo!"

~Up!~ Nine said and signed. The machine easily leaped onto the table.

"Nine, I'm trying to get rid of it."

~He just wants you to pet him!~ Nine said, stroking him. ~Skull's a very nice kitty.~

"Why is his name Skull?" the Scientist asked, hesitantly stroking the metal.

Nine turned to glare at Seven. ~Well, up until about four months ago, he had a cat skull for a head instead of metal. But some bitch split his skull so I had to fly him to the Factory with Talon and have BRAIN replace it. There were no available cat skulls, so he had to use metal plating.~

"How many times do I have to apologize?!" Seven exclaimed. "It was an accident!"

Skull turned and nuzzled her, licking her with a metal tongue and purring.

"See!" Seven said emphatically. "He's forgiven me! Why can't you?"

"BRAIN gave him a tongue and a purring mechanism?" the Scientist asked blankly.

~That was part of the upgrades he got when his head was rebuilt.~ Nine replied. ~I had mentioned to BRAIN how nice it would be if he could lick me and purr for me. He easily complied. He really likes me, BRAIN does.~

"But you won't let the others meet him?"

"Well...I've met him," Five said. "It's my fault the others aren't allowed to meet him. I kinda panicked and screamed then I sorta fainted. He turned out to be real nice, but Nine was sure the others would have worse reactions."

"Why did you faint?" Two asked.

"Well…if you think Father's big, you should see BRAIN," Five admitted. "And he's a machine. He's kinda scary if you don't know him."

"Nonsense," One said. "We want to meet him."

"I…Is it safe for me to visit him?" the Scientist asked quietly.

~Yes. He is very eager to apologize to you. He didn't mean to disappoint you, you know.~ Nine replied. ~If you're all insistent that you meet him, then I'll take you to him whenever Father feels like visiting him.~

The Stitchpunks, minus Five and Nine, began to beg and plead at their maker to go and see the great machine. He was reluctant, but finally conceded.

"Fine. I've lived a good life, anyway," he ground out.

Nine whistled for Talon and he, Five, and Six got on his back. One, Two, Three, and Four got on Skull's back, while Seven and Eight, who liked the rough ride he provided, got on Fang. The Scientist watched this, and his mind started hurting. They really trusted the machines. They basically owned the machines. It was backwards from the way the world had been for the past eleven years. He shook his head and set out, needing no instruction on where to go. His heart rate quickened as he approached the Factory. He was almost one hundred percent sure he was going to die a bloody, violent death.

The human hesitantly pushed the door open and walked in behind the three machines. Everything was dim. Nine whistled a high-low whistle and suddenly a great red optic looked directly at them. Lights flared on and the blinding sting of the glare forced every eye to adjust. Seven suddenly screamed as her optics focused. The other Stitchpunks were frozen in terror. The Scientist stared at them then looked up at BRAIN. He was the main focus of the optic's gaze. He swallowed as the machine drew so close that the human could reach out and touch him. So he did.

"Please tell me you remember me."

The Scientist and all of the Stitchpunks, excluding Five and Nine, jumped as BRAIN actually replied.

~Yes. You are the one who created me. But they took me away from you and hurt me, in the way that I can be hurt at least. I wanted you back, but I did not see you again until now. They twisted my mind and made me do terrible things until that was all I knew. I did not like the war, but I knew nothing else, so war became my life. I suffered in the Chancellor's care and finally decided that they should all die.~

The machine stopped talking and drew the Scientist close. It took a few seconds for the human to realize he was being hugged. He awkwardly embraced the machine, relieved that he wasn't about to die. He pulled back and frowned.

"How can you talk to us? And why are you not hell bent on killing humans anymore?"

BRAIN reached over and picked Nine up, setting him on the top of his casing. ~Nine gave me a piece of his soul, which is essentially your souls. Since a piece of each of the Stitchpunks' souls and a piece of the core soul, which is the essence that is mostly you, Maker, is contained in Nine's soul, I am connected intimately to all of you without effort. Nine could have communicated with all of the Stitchpunks when he first met them, but it would have taken an effort to break through the barrier, and Nine thought it would be rude.~

They stared at the two creatures, one extremely large, and the other extremely small. The Scientist shook his head.

"This is the weirdest day of my life. By far."

"You did what?!" One sputtered, staring at Nine. Nine blinked at him, so One turned to the machine. "I want to sit by Nine."

The machine lifted the eldest born to sit next to Nine. One stared hard at Nine.

"You gave him a piece of the most vital part of your being?"

Nine nodded. ~I put the Talisman onto him. He tried to suck my entire soul out. I became one with his essence for some amount of time. I don't know how long, and I don't want to check. He was in pain, though his experience with pain is different than our own. He just wanted peace, with himself, with the world, with everything. He didn't want to kill or be electrocuted anymore. He wanted his maker back, who spoke kindly to him and encouraged him, not the humans who forced him to make things that killed other humans. I gave him a piece of myself to help soothe the gaping hole in his very being.

~When my soul split, I was thrown back into my body. BRAIN seemed confused and disoriented. I didn't feel too well, myself. Up until that point I had been alone. I was shocked to feel another's presence touch mine and actually speak words into my mind.~

Suddenly there was a strange swooping sensation and they all disappeared. They saw the Factory lit only by the moonlight. BRAIN and Nine were both on the floor. Nine pushed himself up weakly. BRAIN's optic flashed on and Nine turned to look at the red glow. There was no fear in Nine as he stared at the machine, and BRAIN stared back. The machine suddenly looked at himself, slowly moving all his parts. Nine watched. He looked back at Nine, and Nine jolted as a strange feeling came to him, and he didn't know where it came from. It felt like a question mark, if a question mark had a feeling to it.

Nine blinked and looked down at himself then back up at BRAIN. BRAIN's optic became small as a question mark feeling hit him as well. They stared at each other for another few moments. Nine remembered something from one of the alchemy books.

~Can…can you hear me like this?~ Nine asked hesitantly.

The machine's optic dilated and he moved himself up and down in a nod. ~What is this? I do not understand.~ BRAIN thought slowly, experimentally.

~This is…a soul connection I think.~

BRAIN hummed. ~What is a soul connection?~

~A connection between souls.~ Nine replied.

~What is a soul?~

The spiritual or immaterial part of a human being.~

BRAIN shook his casing. ~That does not compute. Neither of us are human beings. Therefore, we do not have souls.~

Nine shook his head. ~Of course we do. Father gave me a piece of his soul, and I gave you a piece of mine.~

~Who is Father?~

~He is the one who made me, and you I think, if you are the BRAIN.~

~I am. That is what Maker called me at least. Binary Reactive Artificially Intelligent Neurocircuit. He called me BRAIN for short.~

~Well it's nice to meet you BRAIN. I am Nine, youngest Stitchpunk of Jasper Brice Embry, or simply known as the Toymaker to most, and the Scientist to the Rebels.~

BRAIN sent a feeling over the link that felt like a smile. ~It is nice to meet you, too, Nine.~

Suddenly everything popped back the way it was. BRAIN was petting Nine gently. They stared at them. The Scientist shifted first.

"Thank you, Nine. A soul is what he was missing. Both I and the world will be forever grateful to you for your selfless actions."

Nine shrugged. ~I don't mind. He was my first companion. Then he called Skull to come to him and surprised me with him. And he had a pretty little speech for me, too.~

"What was it?" One asked; all of the Stitchpunks looked unafraid now, and Nine was relieved.

BRAIN looked up towards One. ~Here you are, Nine. Since I cannot be with you away from here, take this creation of mine to be your constant companion. He shall do whatever you say. He is my gift to you, friend of mine. Take him and use him well.~

Nine snickered. ~There was only one, teeny weenie, ever so small problem with that.~

"What?" Five asked curiously.

~I can't say anything. And they have no souls, so I couldn't make a soul connection. I spent the next year developing a form of sign language for us Stitchpunks. I shared every single sign that I could with BRAIN, and he programmed Talon and Skull with the knowledge. Things went much smoother from there.~

Five suddenly stepped forward. "Would you mind, you know, picking me up, too?"

BRAIN did so without hesitation. ~Where would you like to go?~

"Up beside Nine and One."

He was soon settled there happily, nuzzling Nine lovingly.

The others slowly trusted the machine to lift them up and place them on his casing. The Scientist pet the machine softly, happy to have all his little creations together.

"Five?" the human asked after a while.

"Yes, Father?"

"Could you sing that song again?"

Five looked embarrassed. "I…I don't want to."

"Five, honestly, you have a wonderful voice, which compliments the wonderful lyrics," their maker said softly, reaching over to rub Five's belly. "Please?"

The other Stitchpunks pleaded with him, but it was Two's gentle, encouraging smile that had him relent.

"We're going to do it with memories this time," Five said softly. "Okay Nine?"

Nine nodded and played the opening notes of the song. Suddenly they were back in the house again, and there was Seven peeking around some books. Their maker, who looked much older, had his head down and his hands folded, and he was silent.

"I remember Daddy's hands,
folded silently in prayer"

There was a flash and it was dark, a faint scream echoed out and they saw a shadowed Six sit up. Their maker, who was lying on the other pillow, quickly reached out to grab him, cradling him lovingly to his chest.

"And reaching out to hold me,
when I had a nightmare"

Suddenly Five was lazily sitting in his father's hands, tracing the deep lines that were there. He ran his hands over the roughness of the fingers.

"You could read quite a story,
in the calluses and lines
Years of work and worry
had left their mark behind"

Six appeared again, and he was watching their father embracing Maryanna. Both of them were crying.

"I remember Daddy's hands,
how they held my Mama tight"

It was Two's turn, and he was being lightly tapped on the back, a very early project beside him.

"And patted my back,
for something done right"

There was a flash between everybody's face and an echo of, "I wish I could remember more."

"There are things that I've forgotten,
that I loved about the man"

There was a picture of Five again, being stroked lovingly by their maker.

But I'll always remember
the love in Daddy's hands

"Daddy's hands were soft and kind

when I was cryin'

Another scene of Six being held as he sobbed over a vision.

Daddy's hands, were hard as steel
when I'd done wrong

Eight rubbing himself after a punishment.

Daddy's hands, weren't always gentle
But I've come to understand
There was always love
in Daddy's hands

Five again, watching his maker drawing on a sheet of paper to show him how something worked.

"I remember Daddy's hands,
working 'til they bled

Their maker's hand being sliced open by a moving part inside of Four. He simply wrapped his hand in cloth and continued working.

Sacrificed unselfishly,
just to keep us all fed

Books being dumped in front of an excited pair of twins. Their maker collapsed into his chair, looking very tired, but he smiled as the two Stitchpunks tore open a book and began to devour it with their optics.

If I could do things over,
I'd live my life again
And never take for granted
the love in Daddy's hands

One looking wistful as he stated that same thought a year before.

More scenes from their lives passed in a blur, each showing infinite tenderness on their father's part. They felt very emotional as they watched long-forgotten moments, sometimes as fleeting as a smile, but always full of love.

The song ended, and they noticed with glee that their father was crying, smiling at them with that same love. It was good to know that, even after all these long, hard, lonely years, he still felt the same way. He held out his arms, and they scrambled onto him.

"I love my little Stitchpunks," he said fondly.

"And your little Stitchpunks love you," One replied. "Even if we never showed it. I believe we thought you'd be around forever, so we didn't feel pressured to make a big show of it."

He held them tight, knowing he could never leave them again. And they held him back, as well as they could, knowing they would never want him to.