Author's Note

If I owned '9', 6 wouldn't have died.

Hello again! I would like to thank my other buddy, 'hrhowling', for also reviewing on this, so thanks, buddy! I hope y'all enjoy!

Chapter 4: Cat-Beast Visitor and 2 is Back

After explaining what 'rain' is to 0, and the fact that she stubbornly insisted on calling it 'Sky-Water', they weren't able to coax much more information out of her. Instead, they decided to bunk down again; for awhile, at least. 0 could barely sleep though. She didn't want a nightmare to plague her, as usual. So, she got up and wandered around.

Near the entrance, she found a roller skate, with a few lengths of rope and a few other odd bits and bobs, like wet candles and springs and bits of metal. 'Hm, so they use this to bring back supplies? That could be handy for me.' thinks 0, pulling on it slightly to see how well she can heft it. Not that bad. Could come in handy. Picking her way outside the Library, she began to list more of what she would need.

'Rope, thread, needle, my knife, my armor would be nice, but probably not such a good idea, um. . .whats that?' she peered through the early morning mist at something. It was moving, a surface on it glinting in the late afternoon light. It finally showed itself fully, and 0 stepped back slowly.

It was the Cat-Beast, fixed up to its former 'glory', but. . . it didn't have claws as large or long, had a bird cage for it's chest, and it's one eye was. . . green? And was that a . . . .a black 'C' on its bone forehead? 0 smiled widely, leaping forward towards it. Startled, the Cat-Beast growled quietly, getting low to the ground in a crouch. It had actual shutters in it's eye, like a Stitchpunk, and they were wide with fear.

[Cat! Cat, its me, 0.] she clicked and flashed happily, jumping a bit so that she landed on the Beasts head. 'Cat' grabbed at her, placing her back on the ground gently, lowering its whole body until it was almost laying down, on eye level with 0.

"Hello, 0. How ya' been?" the voice was feminine and young. Small ears, made of brown burlap and wire and placed where they would have had she been a creature of flesh and blood, perked up from Cat's head, angled toward the smaller creature.

[Pretty good, but you should go. I don't want 7 to try and cut you head off again.] 0 replied, rubbing affectionately on the bony muzzle. Cat shuddered.

"Yeah, that wasn't very. . . .pleasant. . . I think. . . well, uh, how's you mission coming along?"

[Pretty good, actually. I managed to find the Source. Now all I have to do is find the others and bring them back.] Cat made a snorting sound.

"Yeah, 'all'. Hey, I was able to scout around the Factory Ruins like ya' wanted. Only a few Spiderbots here and there, but nothing too dangerous. Just let me know when I can join the fun." said Cat, blinking fast two times, winking. 0 gave Cat's snout a final rub before stepping back.

[Okay, Cat, until then. Then you can hear my real voice and we can be a true family, everyone together. 'Bye!]

"Goodbye, small friend." Cat returned, standing and nuzzling her head gently against 0, purring softly. 0 smiled and rubbed her hand over her muzzle again. Turning, Cat ran off into the late afternoon sprinkles and out of sight. Smiling, 0 hurried back inside. She hadn't seen her buddy for a week. She'd missed her. Shaking her head real quick, 0 sat just under the overhang the Library made, leaning out just enough to feel the soft, misting rain on her face and hands.

She closed her shutters, enjoying the feeling. Opening them again, she scooped up a little water from a small puddle on the ground. Looking more closely at it, she gasped, stumbling to her feet and letting the water splash to the ground. It had glowed green. . . .it had glowed green!?

'The mission, the mission. I have to stay focused on the mission. Remember when the Sky-water first fell?' she thought. Scooping up some water again, she cupped her hands close to her chest and leaned over, casting the water into slight shadow and peered into it. A small whisper, in her mind maybe, she could just hear it. . . . . . . 2! It was 2's voice!

{ . . .the water inside. . .pool. . .the water inside. . . }

She could just barely make out the words, but it was clear enough what she had to do next. Letting the water splash back down, she hurried inside. She had to do this now. It didn't take long for her to find some rope and a small plank of wood, but she woke up 9 in the process.

"0? What are you doing?" he asked tiredly, stifling a yawn. Freezing, 0 looked at him guiltily. She couldn't very well mime anything out while she was lugging a plank of wood around, so she shrugged and carried on her way. Losing her grip on the rope, she tried to get it back. She only managed to lose both it and the plank, however, and sighed silently before reaching down to pick it back up.

9 helped her lift up the plank with a small sigh. 0 eyed him with a warily before shrugging it off and leading the way. "You're a real mystery, you know that?" 9 stated suddenly. 0 gave him a baffled, curious look, raising an eyebrow and shrugging.

"What I mean is, you just come out of no where, and we don't even know where you've been doing or what you've seen. . . or even your purpose out here." 0 tilted her head, mouthing 'Healer'. Lightly pulling the plank, she looked over her shoulder, walking backwards. It didn't take her too long to find the pool. 9 peered at the bars at the far end sadly.

0 put a comforting hand on his shoulder before pointing towards the bars and raising a stitched eyebrow. "This is where we had 2's funeral. We floated him down that way," 9 pointed towards the bars. "I always get kinda depressed when I come over here. It was. . ." 9 trailed off, looking blankly at the ground as he remembered what had happened.

A loud splash brought him back to the present. 0 was climbing on the plank of wood, one end of the rope tied to the leg of a chair and the other wrapped around her belt. Using her hands as paddles, she made her way towards the bars. 9 grabbed the rope, ready to pull her back.

"Hang on, what are you doing?" he called. 0 looked back at him, waving her arms frantically towards the bars, before pointing to him and placing a loose fist over her heart with a smile. Giving a quick salute, she paddled the rest of the way in, quickly engulfed by shadows.

"H-hang on! You can't just go in there!" shouted 9, beginning to pull the rope in. A soft plop noise, and 9 ended up pulling the rope in all the way. "Oh no." he muttered, looking around for another plank of wood. More splashing noises came as he searched frantically around, unable to find anything big enough to hold his weight properly.

Even more splashing brought him back to the pool, and he was horrified to see 0 half carrying and half dragging 2's body behind her. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" he shouted at the top of his mechanical lungs, lunging towards her. 0 jumped and spared him a terrified look before running. She was quick, but hampered with the weight of dragging the limp, older Stitchpunk.

9's shout had awoken 7 and the Twins. 7 immediately tried to tackle 0, who managed to skid to a halt and ran a different way through and around and under books and tables and overturned chairs, slipping into crevices only she could fit into.

Actually managing to give them the slip for the time being, she hurried towards the exit. If she could bring him back before the others caught her . . . 0 skidded to a halt as the Twins leapt in front of her. 0 was barely an inch from the entrance, but she couldn't go forward.

[0, what the heck are you doing?!] demanded 3, looking at 2 before looking at the offending Stitchpunk.

[0, please, whats going on?] 4 clicked a bit more calmly. She, too, looked at 2 sadly before returning her attention to 0.

[Pl-please, let me through! I'm g-going to Heal him! The S-source-! H-heal-!?] 0 clicked, panic and urgency messing up her message. The Twins stared at her for several long moments before stepping aside. 0 nodded a quick thanks, but instead of stopping directly outside, she dashed off to the side and behind a statue; out of sight.

7 and 9 ran in a few moments later, panting. "Where is she?" growled 7, looking quite angry and even a little hurt. "I'll cut her to bits." 9 shook his head slightly at her words, but a flash of familiar bright green brought their attention outside. 9 suddenly felt light-headed and dizzy, and stumbled a bit with a groan. He probably would have tripped if 7 had grabbed his shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked, and 9 nodded slowly, the light-headedness going away, as well as the dizziness.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just dizzy." he replied. He felt a bit more tired than before, too, but didn't mention that. The green light went away with, accompanied by a BOOM of thunder in the distance. They froze in a tense silence, which was soon broken by a happy shout, the voice eerily familiar.

"You've done it, my dear! I knew you could!" the voice shouted out, followed by a laugh, and the others ran into action to see what the Creator was going on! Skidding on the wet ground, they raced to the other side of the statue and stopped dead, mouths agape. They could have been statues themselves, they were so still.

There before them stood 2, alive and well, standing upright and trying to pull 0 to her feet. 2, had had been killed by the Machine . . . . was alive!? 2 looked up, a grin stretching across his face when he saw them. He waved them over joyfully.

"Come on over, already! Don't be a stranger!" 3 and 4 immediately crowded around him, tugging on his shoelace and tapping on his metal head cover. 9 and 7 were more hesitant, and approached slowly. 7 was suspicious.

"How do we know that he hasn't been reanimated? Like before with the Seamstress?" she asked warily, gripping her staff tightly. 2 frowned at this but smiled brightly again.

"I know that you saved both me and 5 before we would have been crushed by the Metal Behemoth, when 5 first lost his eye before we found the Sanctuary." replied 2 evenly and with a touch of worry. He again tried to lift up 0, but she was limp, unresponsive.

"I guess she really did bring you back. . . but, how? How did she do that?" asked 9, crouching down to feel 0's chest. Her heart was still beating, and she was still breathing. . . 0 blinked her optics open and groaned silently, trying to get up. 2 tried to haul her to her feet again, but she couldn't hold her own weight very well.

0 looked at 9 in an tired way before making an effort to stand on her own. "Are you sure that you should be standing yet? It must've been draining." 2 pointed out, as he was supporting most of her weight; which, admittedly, wasn't much.

She shrugged, finally settling with sitting down instead of leaning on the Inventor. Unzipping herself, she tucked the Talisman inside before zipping it back up. "How did she bring you back?" asked 9. The rain was still coming down, but no longer as gentle sprinkles; it was beginning to pour heavily.

"Perhaps we should take this inside." 2 pointed out gently, trying to pull 0 to her feet. "Come on, 0, get up. We should probably tell the others now, right?" 0 looked at him as defiantly as she could in her drained state, shaking her head adamantly. 2 raised a stitched eyebrow.

"Well, why not?" he asked, in an almost playful manner, ruffling her hood. 0 glared at him, crossing her arms and shaking her head again, moving her mouth as if trying to speak; which, of course, she couldn't. 2 frowned at this.

"You can't speak? You could in-" 0 immediately covered his mouth with her hand, glaring at him dangerously. 2 easily pulled her hand off and stood again, nodding with an understanding look.

"Fine, fine, maybe later. Whenever you're ready, then we'll tell. Can we go inside now?" his tone was joking on the end, as he, with assistance from 9, dragged the small Stitchpunk to her feet, but getting inside was another matter. It wasn't that 0 was resisting, her legs seemed to be suddenly defective. She couldn't seem to coordinate them or move them quick enough to avoid small stones, stumbling every other step.

2 eventually whispered to 9 to just carry her in. 9 obliged, scooping her up into his arms. She struggled a little the whole way, but didn't give to much trouble. They all wrapped up in cloth and blankets to help them dry off and warm up while 2 explained a little of whats going on.

"I can remember what happened after the Machine took my soul," 0 and the others winced. "up to when 0 brought it back. 6 was right; we were literally trapped inside the Machine. We were able to see a little of what was going on, but not much. The Machine was after us because, with a soul, or even a part of a soul, it can fuel itself and anything else forever; theoretically." he added, seeing the Others looks of horror.

2 looked at 0, who was sitting to his right. She nodded slightly, just enough to be seen. "That's why the Cat-Beast didn't just kill either of us outright, I believe; me and 9, I mean, when we first met. Long story short, when 9 used the Talisman on the Machine, our souls were sucked into it, then released later. When we all went into the sky, and we brought the rain, well . . . our spirits went looking for our physical forms through the rain, but-"

"Then why didn't you come back when it first rained?" questioned 9.

"I was getting to that." he returned with humor. 0 was cuddled up at 2's feet, trying to stay awake. The others, even 3 and 4, had never seen her relax so quickly around someone like that, or even at all. Even when she had visited them in the Library, 0 had never stayed for more than a few days, and had stayed up high on a shelf in sight of the door, armor on and staff ready.

"The Scientist put our souls into us through the Talisman; and since we had been released from it, we had to be brought back through it. Which is where 0 comes in. She knows how certain things with the soul and spirit work, but I should let her tell you what when she's ready to."

"But she can't speak." 7 pointed out bluntly. 0 looked up and shrugged, moving her mouth again, as if she were talking, and a bit of sound came out. A small sigh, but no one else heard it. 0 froze, then closed her mouth and curled up again with the blanket. She almost looked. . . scared.

"I believe that she disconnected her voice-box. Something happened early on, when I first met her, and she couldn't speak. A certain wire or something, but she can safely take it out, to an extant, so that she can't speak. I'm not sure why she's kept it that way, but I'm not gonna argue with her." 2 finished, reaching down to ruffle 0's hood again.

0 didn't react this time. "Do you know what her purpose is?" asked 9, looking down at the sleeping Stitchpunk. 2 shrugged.

"I would've thought that she would've given you some hint, at least. Has she done anything to communicate?" replied 2, gently prodding 0, who only rolled over in her sleep.

"Well, she did act some stuff out, and she wrote a few messages . . . she mentioned something about Healing." answered 7.

"Well, its been a long day. I think that we should get some rest for now and continue this tommorow." said 2, ending the conversation. He was right; it was getting dark outside. They made a pile of blankets in 9's room for 2, and they moved 0 to 7's room again. The Twins went to their room, and everyone was soon fast asleep. Except for 0.

She was asleep, but was in the dark, shadowed place again, that was always familiar yet foreign, in her dreams. A tall figure, more than three times her size probably, loomed out of the darkness. He was see-through and ghostly green. A see-through, green '8' stood out from his right shoulder, floating in place. She trembled slightly, unsure whether to fight or flee, as it approached.

Me: Well, that's that. Just another part of the mystery of 0. More questions than answers, especially now. Please review! Reviews are like hugs for us! *goes off to see what loud noises are*

Cat: Yay, I'm finally in!

0: Yep, you're in. Ugh. . .*leans against Cat tiredly*

Cat: She's just tired, don't worry. Please review and keep on Readin', folks! *shakes head, getting hyper and bouncing about* I always wanted to say that!

9: Calm down, already.

9, 0, Cat, and Me: 'Bye!