Alive. I'm alive.
It shouldn't have been possible. Nobody had ever survived passed nine. Some hadn't even made it to that all encompassing number. He coughed. Dust was everywhere, thick cloying dust. When he moved to sit up, it poured off of him. He finally got into an upright position, which sent him into a heavy coughing fit. How was he alive?
Hunger exploded within him. It was so acute that it was more like starvation. He moaned and crawled his way to the kitchen. He managed to open a can of soup and slowly drank it out of the can, trying to sate the burning hunger in him. Several cans of food later, he forced himself to stand. He was shaky, but he was standing.
He slowly made his way back to his workroom. His mind was fuzzy. What had happened? He paused in the doorway and looked around blearily. There, in the Transfer Device, was a small figure hanging by one arm.
"Nine!" he rasped, staggering awkwardly over to his creation.
He freed the Stitchpunk's arm, cradling him close. He jolted the poor thing lightly and optics flashed open. Nine stood immediately, looking around. He ended by looking up at his maker. He smiled.
"Hello Nine," the Scientist said, his voice still scratchy.
Nine responded in kind, only there was no sound. He tried again, but still there was nothing but silence. He touched his throat and looked up at the Scientist, looking a little upset.
"Oh, I forgot to put your voice in. Here," he said, placing the small creature down on his worktable. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
Nine watched with great concern as his maker stumbled away. Was he hurt? He needed a voice so he could ask. He looked around at some papers on the table until the Scientist returned.
"Lie back and hold still, little one."
Nine settled right in front of the Scientist, then tried really hard not to move as he was gently handled. It tickled a little bit sometimes, but other times there was enough pressure to make him wriggle uncomfortably. When the Scientist was done, he carefully zipped Nine up.
"There. Better?"
Nine looked up and hummed lightly. He had a voice!
"Hello. Are you in pain?"
"What?" The Scientist was surprised; all of his other creations, save Two and Five, hadn't really cared much for his wellbeing, too wrapped up in exploring their surroundings.
"Are you in pain? You were walking strange."
"Well," the human said slowly, testing his limbs. "I'm rather sore. I collapsed after giving you what I assumed was the final piece of my soul. I expected to die, honestly. The soreness is wearing off, however."
"Die? You would die for me?"
"Yes."
Nine smiled. "You said you gave me your soul. How did you do that?"
"I built you and used the Talisman to give you it."
"Does that make you my maker?"
"Yes."
"Am I to call you Maker?"
The Scientist thought about that for a minute. It sounded too impersonal. "You may call me Father."
"Father?" Nine asked, testing the word on his lips. "Yes, that sounds good. Father. I like it." He paused. "Father, what is that?"
The Scientist looked at the picture his little creation was pointing at.
"That, my little one, is the BRAIN."
"What is it?"
"A failed creation of mine," the Scientist sighed, falling into a chair and rubbing his temples.
"Failed how?"
Nine sat and listened as his father explained how his machine had been corrupted. The Stitchpunk was thinking hard when he finished.
"But Father, couldn't you fix him like you fixed me?"
"I wouldn't know where to begin."
"Can you make him new?"
"No, I—" The Scientist stopped mid-sentence. "That…might be possible with the Talisman."
"You sound hesitant."
"I have not been with my creation since the Chancellor took him from me. I was forbidden. If I could get close to him with the Talisman and let him into my mind again, I could probably purge most of the destructive programming. If he could only recognize me, it would be simple, but I fear what the Chancellor did to him made him forget me."
"Can we take that chance?"
The Scientist frowned. "Maybe. I feel too weak to do much of anything right now. Let me rest for a few days. Then…we'll see."
"Father?"
"Yes, Nine?"
"Thank you for making me."
"You're quite welcome. Now, bed."
"Can I come with you?"
"I don't see why not."
Nine stood in the outstretched hands, wobbling slightly as his father began to walk. He was taken to a bed where the Scientist lay down and quickly fell asleep. Nine snuggled close, breathing in the lovely scent that came from his father. It promised safety. He slept for a while, but soon woke and decided to explore.
The Scientist woke to find himself alone in the bed. He felt much better now that he'd gotten a nice long rest in. He hadn't had that since before he created One. He stretched, delighting in the pops he got from the action. That felt good! He stood and walked through the rooms, looking for Nine. He found the little creature on the windowsill.
"Good morning, Nine," he said, having absolutely no idea what time it was.
"Good morning, Father. Feeling well?"
"I feel much better, thank you."
"Father, I have a question."
"Yes?"
"You mentioned something called a Tali…something."
"Talisman."
"Yes! That's it. What is it?"
"A very special object that I used to bring BRAIN and you and the other Stitchpunks to life." He paused and retrieved the device from the Transfer Device. "This is it, here. You put it inside you for safe keeping."
Nine unzipped himself and stored the Talisman safely inside. Zipping himself back up, Nine smiled at the Scientist.
"So will we try to recreate BRAIN today?"
"Not yet. Give me a few days."
Nine obliged, but every day he would ask the same question. Each day the Scientist would simply shake his head and say the same thing. But Nine was more persistent.
"So Father, shall we try to recreate the BRAIN today?" Nine asked a week later.
"I…I suppose we can try Nine," the Scientist said with a sigh. "But it might kill us both."
"Can we take that chance?"
"Well, he is my creation…I suppose we must. If we are doomed to die, then nothing shall change that."
After the Scientist ate, he set Nine on his shoulder and began to walk through the rubble to the factory. Nine had the Talisman out and was studying it. His father had taught him how to use it already. There was a growling noise and the Scientist paused. Suddenly he was hit hard and went sprawling. He grabbed his glasses from the ground and slipped them on in time to see Nine picked up by a cat-like machine. The Talisman was hooked onto a collar like form on the creature's neck.
The Cat Beast snarled at the Scientist and took off. The man yelled and raced after it, running full speed into the dark tunnel that the beast had gone into. He ran blindly, tripping and stumbling along the way, but came out into blessed light after only a short while. He saw the cat creature run into the factory. His chest was heaving as he tried to breathe, but he had no time to rest. He found a way in and got there just in time to see the Talisman fly open as the Cat Beast held Nine in front of it.
"No!"
The Scientist leaped in front of the two small creatures just as three beams of electric looking light came out. He was hit, glasses flying off in the fray. He gasped and then…nothing.
He awoke to metal arms grabbing him. He felt absolutely horrible. Everything ached and he just wanted to lay there and fall into a deep sleep, never to wake again. There was a soft static noise that almost sounded questioning. He forced his eyes open to see his first mechanical creation staring at him. BRAIN pushed his creator to sit up, but when he removed his hands, the Scientist almost fell back again. He was caught by his creation again and gently lowered to the ground. Small hands touched his cheek.
"Father? Are you alright?" Nine asked softly.
"What happened?" he asked blearily.
"I don't know. That green light hit you and you collapsed. Then the big machine came on. He looked around and turned the Cat Beast off."
BRAIN made a static noise again, prodding the Scientist lightly.
"BRAIN?" the Scientist asked. "You aren't trying to kill me."
The machine shook himself side to side. Then he made another noise.
"He's thinking," Nine said, turning to look at his maker.
The big machine took one hand and wrote in the dirt. The Scientist searched for his glasses, and BRAIN handed them to him. "I do not wish to kill you, Creator." When that had been read, he swept it away. "I feel clean. I don't want to kill anymore."
"Well BRAIN, you won't ever have to again. I won't make you, like the Chancellor did," the Scientist said firmly. "You're free to be at peace with everything, and you could even help rebuild."
"I would like that," BRAIN wrote.
"Good."
"Is that little creature yours?"
"Who? Nine?" the Scientist forced himself to sit up, groaning deeply at the pain it caused. He gingerly picked up Nine. "He is very special to me. He and the rest of the Stitchpunks."
"May I see him for a moment?"
"Do you mind, Nine?"
"Not at all," the small creature said, reaching his arms up to the machine.
He was picked up gently and held in front of the great optic. Suddenly he lit up green and a tickling, buzzing sensation filled him. He laughed, wriggling. The sensation stopped and Nine found himself lightly panting from the unexpected pleasure of laughter. He beamed.
"What was that for?" he asked curiously.
The machine wrote in the dirt again. "Now you are going to be recognized by the machines I reprogram as being one to listen to." He swiped it clean. "Your turn, maker?"
"If you think it is good for me to."
BRAIN nodded then placed four hands on his maker's arms. The Scientist turned green and laughed just as Nine had at the sensation. When that was done, the machine turned and picked up the Cat Beast. He hooked up several wires to him then the creature's eyes, which were dull, flashed several times. Then they powered up completely. He was set down after the wires were removed. He shook hard then walked over to the Scientist. When the human picked him up and set him in his lap, the cat purred and nuzzled him.
"Kitty! Can we keep him, Father?" Nine asked, still in BRAN's hand.
"I suppose. If he doesn't mind of course." The Cat Beast purred again, nuzzling the Scientist. "What will you name him?"
Nine studied the creature, humming to himself. "How about Skull? You like that?" The cat nodded. "Skull it is then."
The Scientist smiled, amused at how fast Nine was making friends with the machines. Then again, he hadn't been around when they were destroying everything that lived. The human and Stitchpunk stayed with BRAIN for hours, but headed home before dark. BRAIN seemed sad that they left. So, after a week of coming and going, the creator and creation began moving things into a small room off to the side. There was a bathroom attached, and BRAIN created some small robots to get it working again.
The Scientist was grateful for a long, hot shower. Nine played in the water, having never seen so much of the substance, especially clear and clean. He also studied his maker. Humans looked strange without clothing, he concluded. The Scientist caught him staring and smiled gently when the Stitchpunk shared his thoughts.
"You look quite different without your burlap," he said with a nod. "You'd probably think the same thing about yourself."
Nine nodded. "That's definitely possible."
When they were done in the shower, the Scientist dried himself off and dressed, sighing.
"That was much needed," he said.
"It was very wet," Nine said, still wringing water out of his burlap.
"I'm afraid you don't have human skin. You'll be wet for a couple hours."
"I don't mind. I feel clean. It's nice."
Skull came bounding over, nuzzling Nine. The cat had taken quite the liking to the Stitchpunk. Nine smiled, petting the cat.
"Father?" Nine asked softly.
"Yes Nine?"
"Am I the only one left?"
The Scientist looked sad. "I don't know. I hope not. All of you are so unique, so wonderful, that I couldn't bear to lose any of you. I wish I knew if they were still alive."