CHAPTER 2: THE REALIZATION

9 heard voices, or at least a voice, distant in the darkness. His entire body felt numb, and just as he felt like he may regain conciousness, his vision went bright.

Oh no, not again!

He thought, but he somehow knew that this...dream? Yes, that was the word, he somehow knew that this dream was different from the one he seemed to have had seconds earlier. From the white void he saw himself, looking dazed and confused, possibly scared. He remembered the twins reading something about this, what was it called? "An out of body expirence" the book had said. But didn't that only happen with humans? 9 quickly dismissed the question when he saw another figure enter the void. 9 would have gasped, but no sound seemed to eminate from his lips.

He watched.

The figure, though green and transparent, was still easy to identify. His signiture yarn-like hair was still easily noticable, even in death.

"6!" the other 9 cried. It looked as if this other 9, this other self, was going to say more, when one tranceparent pen-nib finger hushed his voice.

"No time! No time!" 6 replied, "Must go back! The first room!"

"But 6, the B.R.A.I.N. is dead, I already did go back remember?"

"No No!" 6 said, growing lowder " More to see! More to do!"

"What 6? What do I have to do!"

By this point 9 thought that 6 would be shacking his other self, trying to get him to understand, but instead he reached for something that wasn't there, something that 6 had always kept on his person.

He was looking for his key.

"My key! My key!" he cried, "My key is the key! Go back, bring the key! The KEY!"

The other self looked more confused, but before he could ask another question, 9 felt himself being violently shacken awake.

9 opened his optics to see 7 with a concerned look on her face.

"9! 9! Can you hear me? Are you alright?"

As his vision cleared, 9 realized that he was on a makeshift bed of fabric, in some building he didn't recognize. He sat up, and upon doing so muttered, "I'm fine 7, I'm okay."

9 noticed 7's gaze change from one of concern to one of relief.

"Oh thank the creator you're safe, you where scaring me for a while."

"What happened 7? Where am I? Where are the tw-"

"They're fine 9, we had come outside to check on you when we saw you on the ground shacking, I thought the rain must have short circuted you or something, so I brought you inside. You where really quiet for a while, but then you started screaming nonsence, you sounded just like 6."

That triggered something in 9's mind, bringing the dream back to him in vivid detail. But had it been a dream? Or was it something more? He stopped thinking for a second and noticed 7's hand on his shoulder, he turned and gazed deep into her optics, seaching for answers he knew she didn't have.

"Tell me what happened 9." she said, in what seemed to be a pleading tone, one that 9 could never remember 7 using.

"I'd be glad to tell you, but I think that I have to think for a moment..."

7 seemed reluctant to leave, but then eventually just nodded and left.

9 sat on the bed, in thought, for what seemed like hours, untill finally he came up with a conclusion, no, a realization: Whatever that rain did to him, that single raindrop, allowed him to have some sort of "flash" or vision that seemed to give him the ability to speak with his friends, or at least 6. 9 felt crazy just thinking it to himself, and yet he knew that it was true. He also knew that he should never doubt the truth of anything, like so many had done with 6, when he had truly known how to save them all. With this realization came a hope: Could this be a second chance? He didn't know. But he was going to persue it, and hopefully he'll not only get an ending to this story, but instead: Get the right one.