~Balance is Something Fragile~

-And it may never be found. –

~But it doesn't mean we should stop looking~

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"One must be sacrificed for the good of many."

"Get out of the way! We don't know what it does!"

"Run Away!"

"Find the Source!"

"..."

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"Why must we pay the price for the past? They've left us nothing but a broken world."

"A broken world and a barren wasteland… are we all doomed to die?"

9's optics widened in shock as he jolted from his 'dreams'. Stitch-punks did not need to sleep, but they tended to fall into a dream-like state if they stayed still for awhile.

The events of the last few days, the first week of his 'life', replayed in his head.

9 remembered that after 3, 4, 7, and he had lit the pyres of the other's 'graves', he went to 'sleep' with them, and he had 'dreams' of the last thoughts of the others.

Well, 1's thoughts anyway. The others had been exclaiming their thoughts as they 'died'.

9 didn't realize that 1 had reasons as to why he'd been so cold to the others. It had seemed that 1 was lost from the moment he 'awoke'. He had been untrusting of the Scientist, their creator, and he had gone out alone into the cold, cruel world.

He alone had truly experienced what the humans had done to themselves.

The killing, the war, the mindless violence: it all could've been avoided if not for the Chancellor's greed.

9 gazed out from under the overhanging he, 3, 4, and 7, were living from at the moment. The rain hadn't stopped since the days before.

The world was renewing itself, it seemed to him, and yet, thoughts of the past plagued him.

He looked back at the little pile the other three made. He was with them for a little while that night, and the spot next to 7 was empty, he didn't want to wake them once he started having the 'dreams' again.

9 smiled despite himself, he was thankful he still had them.

"It's strange… the only fact that we exist is because of all of the pain and greed of others… We were made only to renew what was lost. It seems that we don't really have any reason to exist now, do we?" he thought.

His optics narrowed. That one question kept appearing in his thoughts. He hadn't told the others, since it would only cause them worry. After all, it was his curiosity that had revived the Fabrication Machine in the first place… he didn't want them to remember that.

9 shut his optics as thought about that event.

"Why, why did I ever place the talisman into that machine… why did 2 save me? I killed the one who saved me, all of them who saved me…"

9 sighed.

He still didn't know how 7 was able to forgive him for everything he'd done. The twins, they were upset, but they weren't able to communicate it very well. 3 and 4 had just been lost in books ever since the others were 'burned'.

"Uh…" 7 groaned as she rolled over.

9 looked back. 7 seemed to be restless; her arms were searching for something not there.

9 got up and went back to his spot in the 'bed'. The twins were curled up around each other as usual.

He lay down, 7 woke up for a moment.

"Where... were you..?" she asked groggily.

"Just getting some air 7, sorry I woke you up. Let's just get some 'sleep'." 9 said.

She looked at him for a moment.

"It wasn't your fault 9… You were born curious, you couldn't change that. Get some 'sleep'."

7 closed her optics and hugged 9.

"She's making sure I don't get up again, huh… I might as well get some 'shut-eye' as humans would've called it." 9 thought.

The 'bed' became silent, and the stitch-punks slept.

The rain continued, silently, and the moon started to shine through the dust-filled skies for the first time since the earth had been ravaged.

9 wasn't plagued by his 'dreams' again that night.

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Note: Wow. Two updates one day. I surprise myself. R+R please. ^_^