A Search at Hand

A/N: I am so very sorry for the long wait, everyone; writer's block up again. Well, I'll try to get the next one up sooner; I promise.

My thanks to Freida Right for beta reading this chapter for me.

Sonic belongs to SEGA and 9 belongs to Shane Acker.

"Tommy? Tommy, can you hear us?"

"Tommy, what happened to you?

I opened my eyes to find Sonic and Sally staring down at me.

"...Sonic? ...Sal?"

"Tommy, are you okay?" Sonic asked, helping me up. "What happened? When we got here, we saw a flash of green light and then we found you lying unconscious."

"I-I... I'm fine, Sonic," I said, swaying slightly where I stood. Then I suddenly remembered. "The Stitchpunks?! The Stitchpunks, where are they?!"

"What?" Sonic said, looking puzzled. "Where are what now?"

"Thomas, we're over here!" 9's voice came from the desk where I'd seen him and the others had been. Sonic and Sally both jumped in shock.

"Where the heck did that come from?" Sally asked.

I didn't answer, hurrying over to the desk. All nine stitchpunks were there, but something was wrong. 1 and 7 were both lying inactive on the desktop with the others gathered round them.

They all looked rather panicked. 3 and 4 were crouched next to 7 and were trying to reawaken her, to no avail. 5 and 6 both looked as if they'd seen a ghost and didn't know what to say. 8 was looking at 1 with apprehension on his face and he suddenly looked less threatening and more cute, despite his size. 2 was examining 1; he looked a bit calmer, but still rather afraid. Then, I noticed that 9 was looking at me with fear and... was it anger?

"9? What's happened?" I asked.

"I'll tell you what's happened!" 9 said, loudly. "Your foolishness has seriously hurt both 1 and 7. I told you not to fiddle with the Talisman, but you didn't listen, you fool!"

He suddenly stopped and looked away.

"Tommy, who are these little guys?"

I started in shock. I'd almost forgotten Sonic and Sally were there. They were both standing there, staring at the stitchpunks with a mixture of amazement and confusion.

"They look like ragdolls," Sally said, "and yet, I sense life forces from within them."

"Never mind that now!" I said impatiently, waving a hand at them. "1 and 7 are hurt and it's all because of me!"

"1? 7? What kinda names are those?" Sonic said confusedly. "Those are numbers."

But none of the stitchpunks took any notice; they were too focused on 1 and 7.

"Will they be okay, 2?" 5 asked.

"What exactly happened to them?" I asked.

"Well," 2 said, "when the Talisman burst open, energy exploded all over the place. 1 will live; that, I'm sure of, but I can't say the same for 7, I'm afraid. She got the full blast and her structure is too badly damaged to repair." He looked down sadly at the female stitchpunk. "I'm so sorry," he said, "but there's nothing we can do to save her."

"No!" 9 grabbed 2's shoulders, his optics brimming with emotion. "It can't be true; it can't be! There must be a way to save her! There must!"

I was amazed at this outburst from 9. It seemed so genuine and heartfelt; there even appeared to be real sadness in his optics.

"Is there anything we can do?" 9 pleaded. "Please, 2; there must be something!"

2 stroked his chin. "Hmm, well, I think there could be a way to save her, but I don't know if it will work or not."

"I'll try anything," 9 said firmly. "Just tell me."

"Well, from what 3 and 4 have read from the Scientist's books, it could be possible to transfer 7's essence to another body, but we will need the Talisman for it."

9's eyes widened. "Of course," he said slowly. "The Talisman is what gave us life. But did you say another body? Couldn't it just repair the one 7 already has?"

"It could," 2 said, "but we haven't found anything that says it can; I'm more prepared to try something we know could work rather than something we don't know whether or not it could work. But we can save 7, 9; that I promise you."

9 suddenly looked overjoyed. "7 can be saved?!" he cried, grabbing 2 by the shoulders. "Oh, that's wonderful!" And he hugged 2 very tightly.

"Don't be excited yet," 2 said, easing 9's arms off him. "Like I said, we need the Talisman to save her and last time I saw it, Thomas had it."

"Oh, right," 9 said. He turned to me. "Where is the Talisman?"

I turned to look for the Talisman at the place where I'd fallen. There was something lying on the floor that for a moment I thought might be it, but when I picked it up, I realized it was a flat panel with a mirrored edge.

"What is this thing?" I said. "This can't be the Talisman!"

"Hang on," 9 said. "Show that piece to me."

I held out the mirrored panel for him to see and he looked at it.

"I think that's part of the Talisman," he said, taking it from me. "I noticed that it could split in two while examining it. But how it split in half, I can't say."

"Well, we'll need both pieces of the Talisman if we are to save 7," 2 said. "We need the part with the symbols and hatches, because that is where the soul goes through."

"What could have happened to the other half?" I said. "It doesn't appear to be anywhere." I looked at Sonic and Sally. "You guys didn't see another small piece lying somewhere in this room, did you?"

Sonic and Sally both shook their heads.

"Then it must have been taken!" 2 said.

"By who?"

"More like what," 2 replied. "There are dangers in this city that I cannot describe to you."

"Whatever the dangers are, I must find the Talisman," 9 said. "I won't lose 7! I love her too much for that!"

Then, all of a sudden, he realized what he just said and maybe if he'd been human, he would have blushed.

"Did you just admit that you loved 7?" 5 said, rather slyly.

"Um... no, I… didn't say that..." 9 said uneasily. "I didn't say it at all."

"Yes, you did," 2 said.

"Oh, well, I meant the one I loved as a sister," 9 said. "You know what I mean?"

"Oh, sure, sure," 8 said teasingly. "We really believe you there, 9." And he sniggered. The others rolled their eyes at 9, all except the twins, who appeared to be laughing as well; it was hard to tell, but their eyes were flickering while they were bent over. Did that count as laughing?

As for me, I was still confused. 9 loved 7? How could these ragdoll-like creatures know love?

"Oh, that's adorable, 9" Sally said.

"Hmm, yeah," Sonic said, with a shrug. "That's pretty cool."

9 shook himself and cleared his throat. "Ahem, people, we really should be getting out of here and find the other half of the Talisman before we lose 7 for good. In fact, I should go and find the Talisman myself."

"Wait a minute, 9!" 5 said, grabbing him by the shoulder. "You can't go alone; it's too dangerous out there!"

"I must go, 5," 9 said. "It's the only way we can save 7."

"Then I want to come with you," 5 said.

"Why?"

"Because you're my brother, 9."

9 looked concerned. "Are you sure, 5? I don't want to lose you again, like I did before. I don't know if I'll be able to bring you back a second time."

5 smiled. "9, what matters now is the journey I make before I die; if I die while trying to help 7, it'll be worth it."

9 looked at 5 and then smiled warmly. "We're like two sides of the same coin, aren't we?" he said.

"Or the two halves of the Talisman," 5 said. "We can always find each other when separated."

I suddenly felt a warm fuzzy feeling inside; despite my lingering doubts about these creatures, 9 and 5 did seem very close. Then, something 5 had said clicked.

"Wait a moment," I said. "Are you saying that we can find the other half of the Talisman with the piece we have now?"

9, 5 and 2 all looked at me and then shrugged.

"Well, of course," 9 said.

"Then I want to come with you," I said. "I'm the one who did this to 7, so I should help fix it."

"If you're going, then so am I!" Sonic said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. "An adventure, eh? Count me in!"

I gazed at Sonic in amazement. "You want to help me with this little rag dolls? But you don't even know what they are."

Sonic sighed. "Yes, that's true, but you know me, Tommy; I love to help others, whoever or whatever they are."

"What about me?" Sally asked.

"You stay here, Sal," Sonic said. "Tommy and I can handle this."

Sally looked very disappointed, but then, 2 stepped towards her. "Excuse me, miss," he said. "Could you lend me here with making 7's new body? My usual help is 5 or 9 and they're going off to find the Talisman, so I could use your help."

Sally stared at him. "Um, okay," she said. "But I must warn you; I'm not very good with machinery."

"You can still sew, Sal," Sonic pointed out.

"Alright then," 9 said. "Now that we know what to do, let's head out and find the Talisman."

At this, the twins 3 and 4 ran over to 9 and hugged him tightly, their eyes flickering brightly. 9 patted their heads gently.

"It's alright," he said. "5 and I will be okay; we're no strangers to adventures like this."

4 looked 9 in the face, eyes flickering.

"Yes, 7 will be fine, I promise," 9 said, stroking 4's cheek. "Now you be a good little girl while I'm gone, okay?"

4 nodded.

"Find the Source," 6 said, as 9 released the twins. "Bring back the Source. Be careful."

"We will," 5 said.

"And be as quick as you can," 2 said firmly. "7's time is seriously limited; she has two days at the most, so hurry!"

"Let's go, then," I said. I stretched my hand for 9 and he stepped onto it. I placed him on my shoulder, as Sonic did the same with 5.

Again, I wondered to myself: Are these ragdolls really alive? They do seem to genuinely care for each other, don't they? And will I have the chance to fix my mistake here? If 7 dies, I'll never forgive myself; she seems very important to 9. And what could have stolen the other half of the Talisman…?

What Thomas didn't know was that activating the Talisman had attracted the attention of a machine; a machine that none of the Stitchpunks had ever seen. It had started as a mere drone serving the Fabrication Machine; following the death of its creator, it had started scavenging parts from other machines to keep itself alive. It had grown bigger and bigger over the centuries. It was no mere drone anymore; it had now become the Chimera Machine.

While the drone had started out with no personality, it had now developed a sense of vengeance towards the Stitchpunks and especially 9 for killing its master. It had roamed the Ghost City searching for the Talisman for centuries; this was the beast that haunted the place.

The Chimera Machine had followed the Mobians when they had come to the city, curious, for it had never seen their kind before. When Thomas had activated the Talisman, awakening the Stitchpunks, the Machine had immediately been drawn to the flash of green light. Just when it had arrived at the building where the flash had come from, there had been another flash.

When the Chimera had entered the building, it poked its head in through the hole in the floor. The Mobian feline was lying on the floor, either unconscious or dead. The Chimera's eyes scanned the floor and there, lying on the cat's front was the Talisman. It had been found at last.

The Chimera lowered one of its claws into the room and extended it out towards the Talisman using coils of steel rope build into its body. It picked up the Talisman in its claws and gazed at it for a moment. Then, its hearing sensors picked up noises; more Mobians were coming in. Time to be off!

The Chimera was now several streets away from the Mobians and it felt confident it had not been seen by them. However, it had no idea that it only had half of the Talisman, because it didn't know the Talisman even had two parts. It didn't know, either, that two Mobians and two stitchpunks are now on its tail, using their half to track it. But it would find out soon and it would be in for a big surprise when it did.

And so, the search for the other half of the Talisman begins. Will our heroes find it in time or will 7 be lost? And what will happen when they encounter... the Chimera Machine?!

With all due respect

Thomas Holmes