A/N: And I'm back with a new story. Another spur-of-the-moment fic, with a tad more thought put into everything since I've gone over it several times. I'm still deciding on a title for this but I'll leave it as 'Howl' for now. Maybe some of you will understand why. Anyway, too many songs and stories inspired this so I won't say any of that. Most likely, this will be a two-parter, but we'll see. Originally, it was going to be like my last fic- a long one-shot. But oh well. The point of view is between the both of them- hopefully it's clear when and where it changes. Either way, hope you enjoy- and as before, reviews are always appreciated, and if they're properly done(constructive crit!), they encourage me to continue writing- something I desperately need.

"I hunt for you with bloodied feet across the hallowed ground.."

A rush of freezing cold air hit me as I opened the makeshift door I'd installed into the front door of our hotel. It was really a pet door, but I'd tweaked it a little with some thought and had made it a draft-free, easy-to-use door for stitchpunks. I shivered a little, pulling my small coat on even more taut around my body. Another object that I had made. These days, it was necessary if we were going to get out of the hotel. And 7 was definitely not going to settle for staying cooped up inside for several months until this weather blew itself out. Her mild case of 'cabin fever' had shown that.

I suppose it's a little odd, even now, years after the war -our war- truly ended, for there to be weather. I mean, we're used to it, it's been there for a long time. But only this year had it started to be really noticeable. Winter, as it was called, had never been this cold or restricting in years previous. Over the years the weather had slowly gotten worse and worse. For example, two years ago, summer was only mildly hot. But last year, and this year, it had been unbearably hot. Enough so that 7 had overheated, and I nearly did as well.

Presently, I stepped out of the door. My snowshoes, another necessary item I'd crafted, prevented me from falling waist deep into the snow. I knew that if I hadn't worn the shoes, I would've ended up being unable to get much further than the edge of the forest due to exhaustion. I couldn't let that happen.

I had a mission and I wasn't going to fail this time.

Momentarily, I recalled a discussion I'd had with my soulmate. Me and 7 had decided that we were ready for a child. Life in the hotel was lonely, even having each other, and we were committed enough to each other now that we felt we could properly raise a child. Nothing had been done about this just yet, however, as we wanted to be sure there were no immediate threats in our area before bringing life to a child.

Which was my mission now. I was going out, in the middle of a snowstorm, to search for a machine 7 said she knew was still out there. And, she had added with some hesitation then, it was dangerous. Even more dangerous than any machine we'd defeated before, with the exception of the Fabrication Machine. One had to keep that in mind while considering the fact we'd cleared out the entire forest around our home of machines long ago.

According to her description, it was fit for traveling miles at a time, it was huge, and only appeared for a few months at a time. Always in the winter. 7 told me that it was always too difficult to find, and had decided that it was one of the smarter machines. She'd only ever caught fleeting glances of it.

I shook my head a little, sighing. I just hoped that the snow would, somehow, give me some sort of sign as to where it had disappeared. No winter had been this fierce before, and there hadn't been much snow any other time, so perhaps that would be an advantage. Mostly, I just hoped I'd find it before it found me.

(Three weeks later)

Drowsily I opened my optics, stretching out and curling up into the blankets, the only source of warmth I had right then.

This took a few moments to register, but when it did, I bolted up, glancing around. This sudden action sent a wave of nausea through me- or at least, what felt like it. I had no stomach to speak of, but I still had a similar feeling. Tightly closing my optics, I held a hand to my stomach, remaining still until it neutralized and I could at least stand up. I pushed myself onto my feet, glancing around. 9 was nowhere to be found. Instinctively, I retrieved my spear. I wasn't risking any harm coming to…

I shook my head. No, that wouldn't happen, and I wouldn't even think about it. My mood was a rather fragile thing at the moment, and there was no sense in causing myself anxiety. Glancing down at myself with a slight smile, I slipped off of our bed and walked out of the room, using my spear to hold myself up; I was still rather tired, as I'd had a bit of trouble getting to sleep the night before.

I glanced around, not quite sure where to start looking. It wasn't like 9 to disappear; that was more something I did. Therefore, I was a bit unprepared for this.

Raising my voice a little, I called out for him. And again. And again, as I walked down the hall, searching. Then, suddenly, a draft hit me, and I shivered. I walked onto the indoor balcony overlooking the lobby of the hotel. Blinking, my gaze fell onto the door.

The makeshift door was wide open, as if someone had left in a rush, and snow had already accumulated just inside the door. I wasn't sure if…something had gotten in or if someone had left. My mechanical heart skipped a beat.

Immediately, I made my way down onto the first floor, grabbing a coat and a pair of snowshoes. The other pair was gone. So, I reassured myself, that meant 9 had left. It wasn't all that reassuring, though. It was still storming horribly outside and I had no idea why he'd left, or how long ago.

I didn't hesitate as I made my way out the door, after strapping on the snowshoes and covering my body as best as possible with the long, trench-coat-like clothing. Despite it, I still shivered quite a bit as I trudged through the snow.

I'd been searching for hours now, and hadn't come across a single thing. The landscape was no more than a bunch of flat spots dotted with little ridges where rocks, saplings and the like attempted to break the surface. Anyone else would have been completely lost, but over the years, I had developed a little bit of an internal compass. With little effort on my part, I knew this forest perfectly, and even without much in the way of landmarks, I could easily retrace my steps. I'd been traveling steadily west for a while now.

Eventually, I came across a large lake covered in ice. I picked my way carefully over it, and as I neared the other side, I froze.

There was a large hole in the ice about two feet away from the shoreline, and only a foot away from me. Slowly, I approached it, knowing I wasn't heavy enough to break the ice. I peered down into the hole, then glanced up and continued walking. I came across another hole closer to the shore, and noticed how it seemed there had been a struggle. Already frozen water was scattered around the edge, the hole having uneven, jagged edges, and claw marks around them.

No, that wasn't possible. I'd killed all the machines within miles of this place, and it'd been years since I'd seen any. Except for one. I shivered a little, shaking my head again. No.. No machine would be so stupid as to come out in this storm, especially not that one. Unless it was sure its prey was going to be easy to take down…

Swiftly, I continued on my way, now hoping that I was on the wrong track, that 9 had gone some other way, and some other creature had fallen into the water. Even though it made no sense at all, it was all I could do to prevent myself from trembling in fear.

Then, there, in the snow, just a few inches from shore, I saw it.

A lump in the snow, the shape too specific to be anything else. Immediately, I knew who it was.

I rushed over, my heart pounding in my chest as I bent down beside him, desperately shoveling the snow away from his body, uncovering his head, then the rest of his body. I quickly rolled him over, and as I did, I felt a pang of grief go through me. His eyes were empty, and all across his body, countless tears gave me a look at his internal mechanics. Nothing looked destroyed, but he was motionless, and through a large tear in his chest, I could see his heart was still.

Below his waist, I saw his legs were shredded, barely more than bare metal skeleton. The joints were twisted in an abnormal manner.

It was clearly the work of the machine, and I knew that, even if he'd somehow survived all of this, the snow would've very quickly covered him, and he wouldn't have been able to stay warm enough for his body to continue working. Unable to climb out, weak from his wounds, he had probably died a slow, lonely death..

I gave a light sob, despite the fact we couldn't actually cry. We could feel grief and sadness, and still act out crying without tears.

The thought of him so lonely… The thought that he was probably just wishing he could be back with me.. The idea that he would never get to see what he'd created… It felt like my heart was breaking, just at the thought of it.

I remained there for a long while, almost as if I hoped the blizzard would take my own life. Mostly, though, I was just trying to figure out what I would do. I could leave this place, live as a loner again for a little while. Try and forget about this..

But, something about that felt wrong and disloyal. I knew I couldn't, anyways. In a short time, I'd have company. Could I really do it alone, forcing him or her to be unaware of their father?

Miserably, I climbed onto my feet, only now noticing that the blizzard had calmed. I blinked in disbelief, unable to help but glare up at the sky. Of course now it stops. Not hours ago when it might have changed my fate.. His fate. And ultimately, our fate.

I grumbled. My emotions were mixed at that moment; a bit of confusion, some fear, a lot of grief, and a lot of anger. Denial. Frustration. Mourning. All were to become a big part of my life now. But soon each seemed to quiet as a new sensation surged through me, stronger than the rest. It seemed to soothe me, give me something else to think about, something to do.

Revenge.

A blood-thirsty, vicious lust for revenge.