A/N: Wow! Three reviews already! There's something good about this story, I can tell! Anyway, I'm gonna remind you, leave a comment!


Seven Days – Chapter 2 – Discover

7's POV…

I blinked once or twice, still on the fringes of consciousness. Someone was bending over me, casting a shadow onto my face from the setting sun.

"7…" he asked. Actually, it was more of a statement. There was something odd about his voice. It sounded sort of like relief, but it wasn't. "Are you… are you all right?"

I blinked a few more times as my vision began to focus again. I could now tell that it was 9 standing over me. He had that worried look on, as he always did whenever something wasn't right. But wait. That didn't make sense! He should have be happy, since I was awake! But why wasn't he?

"Yeah, I'm fine," I quickly answered, completely out of instinct. I'll admit, I did not feel fine, but I knew that I couldn't tell 9. It would only make things worse…

9 still had that look on his face, and it killed me to see him looking at me like that. He was sad, so sad it made me want to cry, but I could tell he as trying to cover it up. He wasn't doing a very good job.

"What's wrong?" I asked, sitting up. My head throbbed in protest, but I tried my best to ignore it. It didn't work so well.

"7…" 9 slowly began. He was fiddling with something in his hands. I couldn't quite see what it was; only that it was small and round. He suddenly looked up and held the object up to my face. "Do you remember anything about this?"

I took it from his hands. Seeing it up close wasn't much different. It was still small, and round, and shiny… I suddenly dropped it as realization hit me. "It's what that… that thing fused to my chest!"

9 nodded solemnly. I still wasn't sure what was so sad about it. I mean, he got it out of me! Things should be getting better… right?

"9, what's wrong?" I finally asked, after staring at the orb for a while.

"Nothing…" he muttered, his eyes still on the ground.

My headache was receding slightly, and I knew that I had no time for pain in such circumstances. I placed one finger under his chin, forcing him to look up. "Then why won't you smile?" I evenly said, my eyes locked with his.

Well, that was a big mistake on my part. Really big. Enormous, one might say. For a moment later, 9 was in tears. "9… oh, 9…" I rubbed his back a bit. "What is it? I'm not a mind reader!"

But, I couldn't get anything from him. He was completely reduced to tears now, and I knew he wouldn't be able to tell me what I needed to know. I patted him on the shoulder before standing. Another bad idea on my part. My legs felt like jelly, and only supported my weight for a moment. My head gave a painful throb. Why did I feel like this? I clenched my fists and climbed to my feet, locking my knees before I could fall again. I awkwardly stumbled forward. I only made it a few steps before collapsing again. It was almost as if I'd lost the ability to control my legs.

I wasn't quite sure what to do, and I must've looked like such an idiot, sprawled out on the ground with my legs all askew. I was tempted to call out for 9, but resisted. I needed to try at least once more. I focused all my energy on my wibbly-wobbly legs, and stood again. I took a few more steps, and nearly made it out of the small area where I'd been resting, then my knees gave. I let out a short groan of pain, and finally gave in. "9," I called. "Uh… can I get some help here?"

My only answer was a few loud sobs from 9. Wow, that's so helpful. Thank you, 9! I was beginning to feel hopeless. "3? 4?" I cried. "Can anyone hear me?"

I felt… alone. Usually, this didn't bother me, but now… I felt helpless. "H-hello?" I called. "You guys, come in here!"

I heard the soft pitter-patter of feet against the floor as the twins approached. I forced myself into an uncomfortable sitting position and asked them, "What's wrong with 9?"

He was now banging his fist on the bed, with his face buried in the sheets. This was odd behavior, even for him. Oh, yeah. Something was definitely wrong.

When I turned my gaze back to the twins, both of them avoided my gaze. 4 placed her face in her hands and 3 suddenly became very interested in the wood and metal that his hands were made of.

I placed a hand on the elder's shoulder. He looked up, a worried expression clearly visible on his face. "You can tell me," I gently said. "It's ok."

"No, no, no, no!" 9 cried from behind. "Not ok, not ok!" A pillow muffled his words as he sobbed harder.

I was beginning to get suspicious. I hated it when people kept secrets from me, and I thought that I could trust the twins to tell me everything. They always had before.

"Something's up here," I evenly said. "And I'm not going to find out the easy way."

7, I just don't know how to tell you this… 3 clicked, avoiding my gaze again. You don't know how difficult this can be for us…

"Just get to the point!" I cried, then realizing how exasperated I sounded, I evened out my tone and continued, "Don't worry. I won't be mad."

"7…" 9 cried, lifting his head. He took a shuddering breath, and choked out, "You're dying!"

That hit me like a sledgehammer. The impact of those two words, 'you're dying', was unlike anything I'd ever experienced. I entered a state of shock. "W-what?" I exclaimed. "No, I'm q-quite sure I'm not. I feel f-fine; accept for this headache and my legs. But they're probably just asleep."

9 was now kneeling beside the bed, slamming his face into the pillow while chanting, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault…" Every time he said the word 'fault', he brought the pillow up into his face.

"9!" I cried, snatching the pillow away from him. "Stop it! It's not your fault, and I'm not dying!"

7, 3 clicked. I turned to see him looking sad. He's right.

Ok, when 3 said it, it was more affective. Way more. 3 would never lie to me about anything so serious. And he never said something unless he was absolutely sure he was right. "…How?" I finally asked. It was the only logical question at the time.

"It was me!" 9 angrily cried. "They explained it; when I was taking that piece out, I—"

3 cut him off. He is definitely not a medical professional. I mean, his way of disconnecting that orb was prying it off with his bare hands. In his… he paused as he looked for the right word. Er… sloppiness, he accidentally bumped the cord that connects your fraction of soul to your brain. Now, that wire is cracked, and your soul is slowly leaking out.

All I could do was stare. "What?" I asked again. "You mean, I'm dying? Like, right now?"

3 nodded. 4 now took her head out of her hands. We calculated it, and it will take seven days for your soul to leak out completely.

"Seven days…" I whispered. My life flashed before my eyes; there was so much I had to do! I'd spent my entire life fending for the others and myself. I'd never had time for personal goals! And now, I had to accomplish eveything? Oh, fate is a cruel mistress…

Suddenly, something occurred to me. "Wait!" I cried. "Isn't there some way to stop it? A way no one thinks of until it's too late? There's always a cure!"

We're not miracle workers, 3 flashed. And we do not major in affairs of the soul.

But for the next week, it's all up to you, 7, 4 insisted. You can have anything you want! You're in charge. Anything to make your last few days… more comfortable.

My mind was now rushing, making my headache had returned with a vengeance. What was I to do? Seven days… to complete everything? But what did I want? "I— I should teach you two how to fight!" I exclaimed. "Yes, so you can protect yourselves." I then remembered the crying heap next to me. "Oh. And 9, too."

This made sense to me, for I should try to complete some logical things, so 9 and the twins could live without me. I still didn't quite accept that I was dying, but if I was, there's no use wasting time arguing about it! I ran off, the thought of my weak legs pushed to the edges of my mind. I sprinted into my room and grabbed three of my spears, which were all leaning up against my wall. I ran back into the room where the others were waiting.

"I'm gonna train you guys," I told them. "Ok?"

None of them looked very happy, but none of them protested, either. Accept for 9. He just slowly shook his head, and wandered off in some kind of trance. I tossed each of the twins a spear and kept the third one for myself. I began to show the twins some basic moves, teaching them how to adjust to carrying a spear. It always has some weight to it, and you can use it to your advantage.

When I was first learning how, I found that this made it harder to fight, especially having a top-heavy blade on the end. But, as I grew, my style changed. I began to use my spear as a pole vault, propelling myself into the air with it. And if you swing it around enough, you can get quite a bit more force than you'd expect.

Unfortunately, the twins weren't very keen on fighting. They seemed bored, even though they tried their best to look excited.

"You guys need to know this," I tried to convince them. "And I thought that you said that it was up to me now, right?"

It is, 4 replied. We just… don't need to fight.

"I'm sure you will at some point," I rolled my eyes a bit. "Come on! Show me what you can do."

Neither twin was natural in any way with the spear in their hands. 4 kept accidentally letting her's go, and 3 seemed to flat out not care. As the sun began to set – which was pretty soon, since we didn't start until late afternoon – I gave up. The twins hadn't caught on yet, it was beginning to get cold, and my headache had returned. I wasn't one to give up, but with these circumstances…

"All right, you guys," I finally sighed. "I think we'll call it a night. Good progress, though."

As they retreated back into the globe that they still called their home, 4 turned back and hugged me. Her brother quickly followed her. Thanks for trying to teach us, she flashed. I'm just sorry that we weren't better students.

It's just not for us, 3 slowly shook his head. I'm sorry.

"Oh, you have no need to be sorry," I smiled weakly, and wrapped my arms around them in a hug. "I was just a bad teacher. It's ok."

They returned to their globe, leaving me standing alone in front of the gaping hole that they called the entrance. After their soft footsteps had faded from my earshot, I decided to retire to my room. Of course, I could hardly call it my room. 9 and I shared a room, which was more of a gap on a low shelf with a bed and piles of blankets jammed into it. I didn't really mind spending time with 9, I actually quite enjoyed it, but I was slightly unsure of what he would be like. Still sad, from before? Or angry? I hoped he wasn't angry. I think the only person who I enjoyed angering was 1. And 8, maybe.

When I pulled the curtain aside, 9 was curled up in a blanket, staring at the open flame of a candle with his back to me. I stretched over, grabbed another blanket off the bed and slid up next to him. When he felt my sudden warmth beside him, he tore his gaze from the candle and looked at me.

"How'd the training go?" he asked, not blinking, his face remaining emotionless.

"Oh, y'know, the twins aren't really made to be fighters," I said all-too cheerfully. I never sounded that cheerful. Especially not when I'd just failed at something. I took my skullmet off and placed it on the ground near the end of the bed, just as a distraction so I could look away from 9.

"Do you know what you're gonna do tomorrow?" he asked again.

I shrugged. "Haven't decided yet. I might think about it tonight."

"You know, everything you do doesn't have to be to help us," he quietly said, turning his gaze back to the fire. "You can do some things just for fun."

It took a little while for what he said to sink in. For fun? It had been an eternity since I'd been offered the chance to have fun. I wasn't even sure if I knew how to have fun anymore. I slowly stood and made my way over to the bed. I lay down; a blanket still wrapped about my shoulders, and stared up at the base of the next shelf that served as a ceiling.

What should I do? I thought to myself. I began to let my mind wander, just barely skimming over each thought, trying to pick out any that appealed to me. Time seemed to freeze and fly by at the same time. I didn't even notice 9 slipping into bed next to me.

Once his breathing was deep enough for me to assure that he was asleep, I crept out of bed. The candle had burnt down to nearly nothing, but it was still smoldering just enough to cast eerie orange shadows around the room. I sat on the ground with a piece of paper in front of me and began to make a list of everything that had come to mind.

After the candle had completely extinguished, I hid the paper under the bed and curled back into bed. My mind was still jam-packed with ideas, but I knew that I had to wait until morning to continue. I didn't get a wink of sleep, only stared at the ceiling and thought about it. With nothing else to do, it was all that my mind focused on. And I couldn't get it out of my head. The one thing that stuck out in every of my thoughts was:

I'm dying.