A/N: I've kept y'all in suspense for long enough. ;)


Fever

6 slowly blinked his eyes open, squinting against the light streaming through the window. Once his eyes adjusted, he saw that the sun was low in the sky; it was either early or late. Looking around, he realized that he was lying on a makeshift bed in 2's workshop. He was alone. Not even 0 was there.

Slowly, 6 pushed himself up on his elbows, trying to remember what happened. Suddenly, a burst of pain shot through his midsection. He looked down, and his eyes widened. There were two long cuts stretching across his chest. He had been sewn up with black thread, which stood out against his stripes. His key was laying next to him.

"Oh no..." he whispered, remembering the Scorpion attacking him. He remembered blacking out right after it cut him open, so he didn't see if it... if it..

6 gulped and carefully ran his dry finger along the lower cut. When he reached the end of it, between his right hip and ribcage, he was rewarded with another stab of pain, confirming his suspicions. 6 just sat there, not wanting to believe it. But there was no way for him to ignore it. He was going to die.

6 sighed and sat all the way up, resting his head in his hands. Should he tell the others? After a minute, he shook his head, no. It would just upset them. There was nothing they could do about it. He lifted his head and looked at the back of his right hand. He pressed down on the two buttons on his hand, and a small panel on the back of his hand popped open. He looked at the tiny, cracked screen.

87.

He still had time. Maybe a week; but that was it.

He quickly snapped the panel shut, not wanting to look at the little screen counting away his life. He shivered, suddenly cold. He picked up the blanket that he had been laying on and wrapped it around his shoulders. Slowly, he stood up. He saw that 2 had fixed his ankle, so it didn't hurt his leg to walk anymore. Well, it still hurt his side. He picked up his key and hung it around his neck, hoping it would hide the cuts. With the blanket still wrapped tightly around his shoulders, 6 carefully made his way to the stairs, not wanting to alert the others with the elevator.

6 slowly and lethargically made his way down the stairs, leaning against the wall for support. He stumbled twice, almost falling, but he managed to make it down to his floor. He slowly made his way to his room, looking for 0.

To 6's disappointment, his room was deserted. No sign of the cockroach anywhere. He was probably downstairs. Before turning and heading back to the stairs, 6 took a nice long look at his bed, and how comfortable it looked. He wanted to crawl in it and fall asleep again, but he needed to find his bug first.

6 returned to the stairs, and as soon as he started to head down, he heard the voices of the others. Making sure to stay quiet, he crept down the stairs to the floor below. He hid behind a pile of books that the twins had brought up and looked out across the room.

All the others were there. 7 and 9 were arguing with 1, 2 was pacing back and forth, 8 was nervously fiddling with his knife, and 5 and the twins were sitting off to the side, watching the argument unfold. 0 was sitting in 4's lap, his antenna drooping sadly.

6 slowly stepped forward out of the shadow. As soon as he did, 0 saw him. The little bug hopped out of 4's lap and sprinted full speed over to 6. When he was about a foot away, he jumped into the air and soared into 6's arms. Before 6 could even blink, he was nearly glomped by the twins, 3 on his right and 4 on his left. 6 winced a bit when 3 hugged his right side. The twins both noticed this, and they looked up at 6 with worried eyes, immediately knowing what was happening.

However, before they could do anything, they were all pulled into a giant hug from 5. "You're alive!" he exclaimed happily. 2, 9, and 7 also joined the group hug. Suddenly, they were all lifted off the ground by 8, who happily hugged them all at the same time. Poor 6 was almost crushed by that hug.

When 8 put them all down again, 1 stepped forward. "I'm... uh... glad you're not dead," he said. 6 smiled a bit, because that was 1's equivalent to a hug.

7's smile faded, and she turned back to 1. "I've still got a bone to pick with you!" They went back to arguing, and 9 lead them to the other side of the room to argue in peace. 8 followed them in case there was a fist fight.

"H-how long was I asleep?" 6 asked.

"Not long," said 2. "You were attacked last night."

"Do you... remember what happened?" asked 5 nervously.

6 nodded. He set 0 down and hugged 5. The one-eyed stitchpunk tightly hugged 6.

"I'm sorry," 5 whispered. 6 nodded a bit.

After a minute, 6 stepped back and and turned to 2. "What are they arguing about?" he asked, pointing to 1, 7, 9, and 8.

"They're trying to figure out what to do about the Scorpion," 2 elaborated.

6 shook his head, his mind foggy. "It won't attack again until... u-until..." 6 couldn't bring himself to finish. His legs felt weak, so he sat down right on the floor, gasping and shaking, his head in his hands. 5 knelt down next to 6 and pulled him into a hug.

"Shh, it's okay," whispered 5, gently rubbing 6's back to try and stop his sobbing. By now, the other across the room had noticed what was going on, and the arguing stopped. 0 cautiously stepped up beside his trembling master and affectionately rubbed his head against 6's leg.

6 shook his head. "It's n-not okay... i-it's n-not okay..." he whimpered, his voice cracking.

"Calm down," 5 whispered, pulling 6 onto his lap and gently rocking him. "You're safe now..."

Again, 6 shook his head. "N-n-not s-safe yet... N-not... n-not... s-s-safe..."

2 bent down and carefully placed his hand on 6's shaking shoulder. "Can you tell us why we're not safe?" he asked quietly.

6 gulped, but managed to stammer out: "I-it's c-c-coming b-back..." He gasped as another jolt of pain shot through his side. 5 picked up on it.

"6? Are you okay?" asked 5. But it was already too late; 6 had gone limp as he lost consciousness.

5 looked up at 2. "Is he gonna be okay?"

2 could only shrug. "He's probably just scared... but I guess we'll just have to wait and see..."

5 sadly looked down at the unconscious little stitchpunk in his arms. Only time would tell.

90.


The Scorpion sat on a large pile of rubble, staring at the Library. It could see the stitchpunks, but it knew that they wouldn't be able to see it. Each little stitchpunk was glowing like a flame; red against a green background. But the Scorpion could easily pick out which one was glowing a little bit brighter...

That one would be it's first target.

The Scorpion looked down at the small, six-sided object in it's claw.

My first Keeper... Master and Brothers would have been proud...

Oh yes, time would definitely tell...


A/N: I've never written from a Beast's point of view before... Uh, anyways, at least 6 is awake... for now... Sorry it's so short...