A/N: I'm so excited for this story! Okay, here we go! Also, sorry for not posting this last night. FanFiction was being a ** and not letting me log in.

Fever

The hunt for the Scorpion was supposed to start at noon, but it was raining too hard to go outside; definitely too hard for any Beasts, who were much less resilient to water than stitchpunks.

6 sat at the open edge of his floor where the bucket elevator would normally be. 0 sat at his side and they both looked down at the open throne room below. He could see 1 sitting at his throne, 8 sharpening his knife, 3 and 4 studying one of his drawings, and 2 and 7 looking up at 9 and 5, who were hanging from the roof. They had tied themselves to the wall, and they were fixing a large leak that had appeared in the roof that night. None of them looked too worried about hunting for a Beast as soon as the rain stopped.

"This is bad, 0," said 6. The little bug chirped in agreement, and 6 gently stroke 0's back. "They'll get trapped..."

0 looked up at his master as if asking him what was going to happen. In response, 6 held up a picture that he had drawn an hour ago. To 0, it just looked like a bunch of lines, but it made perfect sense to 6.

"Should I try and tell them?" he asked 0. "They don't listen... I know they won't this time... but I can try..."

In response, 0 crawled up on 6's back.

"Okay," said 6, standing up. He picked up the picture with the lines on it, along with another, more detailed, picture of the Scorpion. He didn't feel like waiting for the elevator, so he slowly walked down the stairs with his two pictures clutched in his hands and 0 sitting on his back. By the time he made it down to the throne room, 5 and 9 had fixed the leaky roof and climbed back down to the ground floor.

6 slowly crept across the room over to where 9, 5, 7, and 2 stood. He hid behind a pile of books, trying to think of what to say. However, 0 excitedly jumped off of 6's back when he heard the others talking. The little bug's curiosity got the better of him and he went around the corner.

"Well hello, 0," came 7's voice. "Where's your master?"

"6?" that was 5's voice. Slowly, 6 poked his head around the corner. 0 jumped out of 7's arms and ran back over to 6, sitting at his heel.

"Have something..." 6 muttered, holding up his line picture.

"What's this?" asked 2, stepping forward and adjusting his glasses so that he could get a better view of the picture.

"The way out..." said 6. He handed the picture to 2 and looked at the others. "You can't go..."

"Why not?" asked 9.

"You'll..." His voice caught in his throat, and he couldn't find the words to say next. He ended up just standing there, his eyes wide and his mouth open slightly. "You'll..."

7 stepped forward and gently put her hand on 6's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll be as careful as possible."

"B-but you'll... and... danger and... the Fever... and... YOU CAN'T GO!" 6 shouted, on the verge of a panic attack. He wanted to kick himself for stuttering so bad, but he was just too panicked.

2 stepped forward and handed the drawing back to 6. "Did you say something about a Fever?"

Before 6 could answer, 8's voice boomed out from across the room like thunder. "IT STOPPED RAINING!" he shouted. At the sound of 8's voice, 0 jumped nearly a foot in the air and latched himself onto 6's key. 6 hurriedly wrapped his arms around 0 and gently stroked his back, trying to calm him down.

1, 8, 3, and 4 made their way over to the others. At the sight of 1, 0 hissed. 6 quickly shushed him and stepped back into the shadows so that 1 wouldn't see the bug.

"Is everybody ready to go?" asked 1. He was met with nods from 8, 7, 9, and a very tentative 5.

Suddenly, 6 stepped forward out of the shadows. "I'm coming too!"

"WHAT?" exclaimed every other stitchpunk capable of speaking.

6 gulped. With everyone looking at him like he was crazy, it was hard for him to speak. If he couldn't speak, then how would he be able to explain why he needed to come? "N-need to h-help..." he managed to whisper.

"That's ridiculous," said 1, crossing his arms in stubbornness. "Why would you want to go? You don't even know how to fight!"

6 whimpered a bit and tried to show 1 his line drawing, but 1 scoffed and turned away, walking towards the door.

"6, you have to stay here," said 5, stepping forward and gently placing a hand on 6's shoulder. "It's too dangerous."

"Then you stay!" exclaimed 6, grabbing 5's arm. He quickly glanced around at the others and lowered his voice so that only 5 could hear him. "Coming for you... wants revenge for the arrow last night..."

"Wait a second," said 5. "How do you know this?"

"SHH!" exclaimed 6, trying to get 5 to lower his voice so that the others couldn't hear. "I saw it... It knows you..." 6 tried to show 5 the picture of the Scorpion, but 5 shook his head.

"6, everything is going to be okay," said 5. "We'll be careful, we'll find this thing, and we'll kill it."

"B-but you n-need to-" 6 tried to hold up his drawing again.

"We can handle it," grumbled 8, stepping forward. 6 gulped and shrunk back, trying to make himself smaller. 8 had been getting better at not bullying 6, but he still looked terrifying holding a knife.

From across the room, 1 shouted: "Get a move on! Let's find this thing before it finds us!"

"It's funny how he says that," said 7 as she and 9 started to slowly walk towards the door. "It makes it sound like he's actually doing something."

8 grunted a bit and followed them towards the door. 2 and 5 looked at 6 apologetically before making their way to the door too.

6 stood frozen in place, staring after them. He knew that it wouldn't be all right. He had seen it. He had seen the Scorpion trapping them and catching 5. He knew it was going to happen.

Someone tapped on his shoulder. Looking to his left, he saw 3 and 4 staring at him with wide, worried eyes.

"You remember the Fever?" 6 asked them. 3 and 4 glanced at each other before nodding sadly. "Me too..."

3 nervously grabbed 6's arm, his eyes fearful. 4 grabbed 6's other arm.

6 nodded. "It wants 5. It'll get him unless..." Suddenly, 6's eyes widened. 3 and 4 looked at each other nervously. "I think I know how to change it..." He made sure 0 was secure on his back before turning and running off towards the elevator, leaving the twins standing by themselves wondering what would happen next.

6 sat up in the watch tower, standing at the railing. He could still see 5, 7, 8, and 9 off in the distance. They had agreed to at least stay close to the Library in case there was trouble. 6 looked off towards the west. The sun would be setting soon.

Looking back out into the Emptiness, 6 scanned the horizon to see if anything was moving. He didn't want to use the telescope, though, because he was afraid he would break it and make 2 angry.

"There you are!" exclaimed a voice from behind him. 6 whipped around and saw 1 standing next to the stairs, looking angry. 0 jumped between them and started hissing at 1, but 6 picked him up and calmed him down.

"I was up here," said 6 quietly.

1 nodded before turning and shouting down: "I found him! He's up here!" A moment later, the elevator appeared and 2 and the twins stepped out.

"6, we were looking for you for an hour!" exclaimed 2. "What are you doing up here?"

6 pointed out towards the Emptiness. 2 walked over to the telescope and quickly located the others. He then looked at 6. "Are you still worried about them?"

6 nodded, nervously wringing his hands together.

"Come take a look," said 2, gesturing for 6 to come over to the telescope. He did, and he looked through the lens, quickly finding the others. He smiled a bit when he saw 5 standing on 8's shoulders to try and get a better look around. It was about time 5 got a piggyback ride for once.

6 moved the telescope a bit and scanned the horizon. He didn't see anything moving, but for some reason, he found himself bringing the telescope back to focus on a large, crumpling two-story house about 100 feet away from the others. 6 shivered a bit and stepped away from the telescope, wrapping his arms protectively around his chest.

"6? What's wrong?" asked 2.

"Did you see something?" asked 1, starting to look a little nervous.

6 shook his head and went to the railing. He pointed out towards the old house.

"What is it?" asked 2. "What's wrong with it?"

Again, 6 shook his head. "Looks funny..."

"That's it?" demanded 1. "Everything here looks funny! That doesn't make it dangerous!"

0 hissed at 1 to keep him from continuing to yell, and 6 looked back out at the house, nervously wringing his hands together. "Just a feeling..."

2 gently patted 6 on the shoulder before turning to the others. "I think we should stay up here and keep watch until the others get back. That way we can see what's happening."

3 and 4 nodded in agreement, while 1 just rolled his eyes. 6 took another look at the house before silently walking across the room and sitting down next to the stairs. He could still see the sun from here.

2 found a few small blocks of wood that would work as seats. He pulled one over to the ledge so that he could keep a lookout. The twins were happy sitting on the floor playing patty-cake, so 1 took the other seat and leaned back against the wall, starting to fall asleep. He then opened his eyes a bit, looked at 6, and made sure he was sitting on part of his cape. "Stay on your side of the room, boy," he muttered. 0 hissed, but 6 didn't respond. He just stared out at the setting sun.

The sun set about an hour later. 2, who had fallen asleep leaning on the telescope, was suddenly shaken awake by 3. Across the room, 4 had already shaken 1 awake. 0 was frantically running around in circles.

"What is it?" gasped 2, quickly standing up and almost falling over. "What's wrong?"

3 and 4 frantically pointed all around the room, then at 0, then out at the Emptiness.

2 looked around, trying to understand. He looked around the room and out into the Emptiness, but it was getting dark, and hard for him to see.

"Would somebody calm that bug down?" exclaimed 1, standing on his chair.

2 looked over at the panicking cockroach. It was strange; 6 should have calmed him down by now. Suddenly, it hit him.

"Where is 6?"

The striped stitchpunk was gone.

Darkness fell fast in the Emptiness. The sun was setting, and the sky was turning a dark, gray blue. The only light was coming from 9's lightstaff, which he was holding high in the air, creating a small ring of light around them.

"I think we should put the light out," 7 whispered, her weapon held at the ready.

"Why?" asked 9. "We need to be able to see this thing if we're going to kill it."

"Yes, but with the light on, it'll be able to see us from a mile away."

9 gulped and lowered the lightstaff a bit.

"Do you see anything?" 9 asked 5.

"No," said 5, standing on top of 8's shoulders again. "Nothing." He squinted towards the Library as something caught his eye, but when nothing else moved, he looked back into the Emptiness.

"Where is this thing...?" 7 muttered to herself, getting a bit more nervous, even though she tried not to let it show in her voice.

"It should be out by now," whispered 9.

"I'm sure it's seen us already," said 5, keeping his voice low. He looked down at 9. "Can you hold the light up higher?"

"But then it'll know exactly where we are!" exclaimed 9 quietly.

5 checked to make sure his harpoon was fully loaded. "If I can get one good shot at it, I can probably blind it's seeing eye. Then it won't know where to shoot."

"But which eye is the seeing eye?" asked 7, raising her weapon as she heard something moving in the distance. "Both of it's eyes were red."

5 quickly glanced down at 7 before looking back out. "Whichever eye I hit, it's going to make it harder to see us."

"But what if-" 9 started to say something, but he stopped as a strange, scuttling sound filled the dark, silent air. 9 started to lower his lightstaff, but 7 quickly gestured for him to hold it up. The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere; it was all around them, and no matter which way they turned, they couldn't see where it was coming from. 5 hopped down off of 8's shoulders, and soon, all four stitchpunks were back to back, each one facing a different direction.

Suddenly, the sound stopped. The four stitchpunks held their breath, squinting into the darkness beyond the small ring of light. Unfortunately, the light made it impossible to see anything hiding in the darkness.

That was when 5 heard it: a faint crackling noise filling the silence. He could tell it was coming from the direction he was facing. His eye widened as the crackling noise grew louder. The others heard it too, and they all started backing slowly away from where the sound was coming from. Suddenly, a bright blue light flared up no less than 15 feet away from them.

"DOWN!" shouted 5. The stitchpunks hit the ground, and the EMP beam blasted over their heads, smashing into a large metal pile of rubble behind them.

"RUN!" screamed 7. Without hesitation, they all took off in the opposite direction of the Scorpion. As they ran, 9 turned off his lightstaff, and they were immersed in darkness.

"There!" shouted 5, pointing towards the nearest house, which was the same one 6 had been looking at earlier. They ran for the house with the Scorpion right on their heels.

When they reached the house, 8 took the lead and smashed through the rotting door with his shoulder, never slowing down. 7, 9, and 5 lunged through the hole in the door, but the Scorpion stopped, even though 5 knew it could easily smash down the door. Instead, it turned and disappeared.

"Where did it go?" gasped 9 as they ran deeper into the house, trying to get away from the door.

"It didn't break the door," 7 answered as she ran. "There's probably another way in. We've gotta hide!"

They skidded to a stop. Around them, the old house was creaking and moaning. Boards would occasionally fall and crash into the floor around them, putting more debris into the dusty air. "Where are we supposed to hide?" 5 gasped out. "We can't-"

CRASH!

The roof of the house moaned and collapsed, crushing the second floor. It then came down on the stitchpunks.

"RUN!" They turned and started running, but a large beam fell right in front of them and cut them off. They turned and tried to head the other way, but another beam fell. They were trapped. Suddenly, the floor gave out and the stitchpunks found themselves falling through the air along with dust and planks of rotting wood.

5 slowly sat up, coughing in the dusty air. He looked around and saw 7 next to him, slowly sitting up.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. She nodded, but moaned and held her head.

"That's gonna hurt in the morning..." she mumbled. "You okay?"

"I think so," said 5 as he looked down at himself. Other than a long cut down the side of his left leg, he was fine.

"Where are the others?" 7 wondered out loud, slowly standing up, leaning on her weapon for support.

5 painfully got to his feet, leaning heavily on a nearby plank of wood. He didn't see 8 or 9 anywhere.

7 stumbled forward, but quickly regained her balance. "9? 8?"

Suddenly, a couple planks of wood fell aside, and 8 stepped out of the pile, carrying a very stunned yet virtually unharmed 9. He set 9 down and went back to the pile, pulling out his knives.

"Is everybody okay?" asked 5 as he wrapped a rope around his wounded leg. 8 nodded as he pulled some splinters out of his arm.

"We're fine," said 7 as she helped 9 to his feet. 9 managed to shake off the shock, and he found his lightstaff, twisting the cracked bulb and lighting their surroundings. They were trapped in a labyrinth of tunnels, and the way back up to the surface was now blocked by tons of rubble. They were trapped.

Suddenly, something moved in the pile of rubble, trying to get out. They gasped as they realized what was going on.

Something was trapped in the labyrinth with them.

A/N: It's times like these that I like to say: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I love cliff hangers. Don't throttle me!