So, the Torminator returns! Ha ha…ANYWAY! I gots me a better keyboard, which means more fun with the fics! Anyways…I also recently saw the movie 9. Great movie, by the way. And my new fanfic is on this movie. Well…it takes place RIGHT BEFORE the movie. RIGHT BEFORE. Ahem. 'Tis a little A.U. You'll see how sure enough. I'm also going to make a not-so-serious ficcy of 9 after I upload all the chapters of this one. And, two more after THAT one. The plot bunnies won't stop gnawing at my mind. Thank God for notebooks…
A note for fans of my other stories. Wait. I have fans? Oh, well, I have no idea where those are going. They seem hard for me to get to the punch line already. I mean, I have never been really all too good at ending these things.
GREAT NEWS! This will be my FIRST fanfic I actually finish! Woot! It's 9 chapters, 9 omake (bonus stories…like fillers), an epilogue, and an Afterward. I'm sooooo excited to get it all done. I'm going to miss those little stitch punk dolls, though. Maybe I'll write another. Oh, wait I am writing others…ha ha ha. Ah…wow…just checked out the 9 community. 176 fics? Holy crap. The movie hasn't even been out that long! Ah, well, mustn't dwell on it too much…
And FINALLY! Copyrights: all 9 characters, merchandise, and whatever else belong to Shane Acker and his awesomeness. Tes belongs to me. Tori belongs to me. Ashley (Bellatrixkale23) belongs to herself. I have no idea who Morgana belongs to…O.o (NOT a 6 face. His is more like: o.O lol) Oh, yeah. Jumper belongs to whoever made it…I forget. Sorry! XD
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Chapter 1
Date: August 28 20XX
I did it! I finally did it! I got that thing from the scientist! He was fast asleep. I took it and the designs for one of those dolls he had been making. It was labeled "5". Odd to name something living by a number. Ah, well. Anyway, I'm sure he won't mind my borrowing these things…just for a little while. She'll be the best thing I've done since this whole war started…
Date: August 29 20XX
My own stitch punk doll is complete. I had to Jump to safety, though. Just for a little while. Those damned machines were after me…too close for comfort. I bet I gave them a surprise when I disappeared. If something that cold can even feel surprised at anything. Now, I'm just outside that scientists hideout. It's easier to borrow things when you're a Jumper. I hope Tes inherits this ability. I'm going to use that thing today…
"I'm alive…" were her first thoughts. She tried to clear her vision by blinking. It was still a little blurry.
"Shhh…" a female voice murmured above her. "Tes, keep quiet…"
Tes realized she had said her thoughts out loud. She finally cleared her blurry vision and looked around. There was rubble everywhere. A whirring sound was continuously humming. When the sound finally died away, the girl spoke again.
"Tes," she smiled. Quite a sad smile, really, Tes noticed. "I'm Tori. I created you."
Tes blinked. She looked Tori over. She had long, brown hair and worried, hazel eyes behind slightly cracked glasses. She had a cut across her cheek.
"I'm very obliged," Tes said, "but where are we? What happened here? What was that noise?"
Tori was about to answer, but was interrupted. Tes sensed…something…and another girl appeared. She was shorter with shoulder length dark brown hair.
"Damn…" Tori muttered before the girl walked up to them.
The girl held out another stitch punk doll to Tori. "Here," she said, handing the doll to Tori. "The hair is from a doll, don't worry…"
Tes looked at the doll with immense interest. Sure enough, there was hair in a ponytail-like bundle on the back of its head. The doll was slightly shorter than Tes and had the number 23 on its chest. It stared, lifelessly, back at Tes. Tes shivered; it looked strange looking at her like that.
Tes looked into a broken, discarded mirror beside her, assessing herself. She had eyes like that, too…optics was the word that suddenly appeared into her head, like she understood, but still did not, entirely. She had no number written on her, anywhere. She sighed in relief. She wished not to be numbered. She wanted to be known by something more. By a name.
Tes, she thought, I like it…
"Twenty-three, Ashley?" Tori asked. Tes turned back to the others. Tori was placing the doll on a strange, crudely made device. Then, she set a strange talisman-looking object in front of the doll, in a mask-like contraption. Tes could make nothing of it.
"It's…my favorite number…" Ashley explained, offended. Tori stepped aside and Ashley stepped up to the strange device.
What happened next was like a wonderfully terrifying light show, that ended in a tragedy. Something white and ghost-like leapt from Ashley and into the doll, which twitched violently. Tes looked away, horrified that she had once been in that situation. She heard a thump and looked to see that Ashley had fallen to the ground.
"Ashley!" Tori wailed. The other doll sat up and looked around, silently. Tes felt an odd feeling looking at this other doll. Was that…malice…malice that she had seen flicker on the other doll's face? No. No, she must have imagined it. Everything looked terrifying in this world they had awoken in…
"Hello," a voice broke into Tes's thoughts. She noticed the other doll had walked up to her. The voice was fluid-like and female. Tes shuddered. "I'm Morgana…"
"Mor…Morgana…" Tes echoed.
"Ashley!" Tori wailed again in desperation, shaking her friend wildly. No use. Ashley was gone… "Damn," Tori muttered again.
"Tori…" Tes murmured.
"Tes," Tori looked sternly at her. "I made you and Ashley made Morgana because…" She gave a trembling sigh. "Humans have been at war. At war with terrible machines. We didn't want to die…and leave nothing." Tes furrowed her brow. Was she talking about herself and Ashley? Or the whole of the human population? "You are outside the hideout of a scientist making other stitch punks like you. You, however, are Jumpers. The other nine will need this ability…if they wish to save the world that is already so corrupt." Tori paused to chuckle. "Although, that's kind of a lost cause, now, isn't it…" She turned her attention back to the stitch punks. "I'll Jump you inside. I need to return this anyway…" She picked up the strange talisman and held out her other hand. "All aboard…"
Tes hesitated. Was what she said…true? Were they to help…save the world? Again…save the world? Tes had only just been "born", what was she supposed to do?? But Morgana was already climbing up onto Tori's shoulder. Tes followed. Then, the three of them teleported into the building!
"What was that just now?" Morgana asked. Tes felt too dizzy to add any other questions.
"Jumping…" Tori answered. "All you have to do is imagine going somewhere and concentrate on that will to just go there. And…it just happens. You'll figure it out soon enough."
Tori placed the talisman on a desk. She set the two dolls down on the same desk, and smiled. Stop looking so sad…Tes thought. It'll be over soon…we'll see you again…soon…But there was something telling her, as she looked up at Tori, that this might not be fully true.
"And this is when I say farewell…" Tori sighed. "Good luck."
"Who's there?" a man called, his voice filled with worry.
"Bye…" Tori Jumped away.
Tes and Morgana huddled together. Someone was walking towards them from the darkness of the room! They stepped into the room. It was a tall, skinny, old man. Tes shook with fright.
"More dolls?" he asked himself, sounding tired. "They must have been made by someone else…left here…" He studied them. "Who are you? Who made you?" The questions sounded like the answers did not matter, entirely, that the old scientist was just trying to quell his curiosities.
"I-I'm Morgana…" Morgana stammered. "This is Tes, sir…"
"T-Tori and Ashley m-made us…" Tes stuttered. "T-they thought you would like our help, sir…"
The old man sat down, a kind of humor dancing in his eyes. "So…she was the one who took it…I should have known…"
"B-but," Tes said, defensive of her Creator, "you see? She brought it back…"
"So she did…" the scientist looked at her with slight surprise and amusement. "Well, she did so just in time, Six is ready…" He placed the talisman in a device that looked like the one Tori had used, only better made. In the device was yet another stitch punk doll, made of a striped fabric. It had bits of short yarn for hair and its optics were disproportional.
Tes looked away as the man stepped up to the device. Don't die…she begged in her mind.
When she looked again, the man was looking out a window and Six was cautiously looking around at his surroundings.
I don't want to be here! Tes screamed in her mind. I want to be somewhere else!!