A/N: Okay guys, I'm not completely evil. I'm not gonna leave ya hanging on THAT cliff for very long. So here we go! Sorry for not updating earlier. I was in freaking Ohio for Nationals (volleyball). And I turned 16 on the 2nd, so... yeah.


Fever

The Scorpion stood over 9, holding his Keeper. 7 and 8 stood frozen in place. The Scorpion looked up at them and then started to turn to run off into the Emptiness.

That was when 7 snapped into action. She snatched the magnet out of 8's hand and flung it at the Scorpion. It hit the beast right on the side of the head and stuck.

The Scorpion hissed in rage, but the magnet was confusing it too much. Stumbling backwards, it dropped 9's Keeper and turned and stumbled out of the can, back into the darkness.

"8, keep an eye on it!" shouted 7 as she ran over to 9. She picked up his Keeper, which was lying next to him. "9, wake up!" she exclaimed, shaking him.

Gasping, 9's eyes shot open and he tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in his lower right side stopped him.

"Hold still," said 7. She saw that 9's chest hadn't been cut, but his zipper was down. The Scorpion must have unzipped him and stolen his Keeper, all in a second.

"7, what's going on?" exclaimed 9.

7 held up the nine-sided Keeper. "Recognize this?" she asked.

9's eyes widened. "Is that...?"

"Your Keeper? Yes," said 7. "Now hold still. This might hurt a bit..." She lowered the Keeper back down into 9's chest, quickly locating the spot where it was supposed to be. She snapped it back into place and was rewarded with a sharp cry of pain from 9. "I warned you..." she muttered. She watched as the little fan inside the Keeper started spinning, lowering 9's internal body temperature back to 80 where it belonged.

"What happened?" exclaimed 9, sitting up and zipping himself back up.

"The Scorpion tried to take your Keeper," she said quietly, standing and then helping 9 to his feet. "I was yelling at 8 for using his magnet, and I had my back turned for a second... I'm sorry..." she whispered.

9 put his hand on her shoulder, smiling gently. "It's okay..." he whispered back. "It's not your fault..."

Before 7 had a chance to respond, 8 shouted from the entrance of the can. "I see it!"

9 and 7 quickly grabbed their weapons and ran to the entrance of the can. Sure enough, the Scorpion stood on a large pile of debris, watching them. It had managed to remove the magnet from it's head, and it didn't look like it had suffered any permanent damage.

The stitchpunks and the Scorpion stared at each other for a moment before the Scorpion turned and ran off.

"After it!" exclaimed 9, turning on his lightstaff so that he and the others could see in the predawn light. They chased after the Scorpion as fast as they could. The magnet seemed to have slowed it down, so they could always see where it was and which way it was going. However, it was still fast, so it was difficult to keep up with.

They chased it through the Emptiness for what seemed like hours. Finally, the sun began to rise over the horizon, and the Scorpion finally disappeared.

"Where is it?" grumbled 8, looking around. "Where'd it go?"

"I think the better question," said 9, "is... where are we?"

Looking around, the others saw that 9 was right. They were literally in the middle of nowhere.

"8, give me a boost," said 9. The larger stitchpunk bent over, and 9 climbed up on his shoulders. Looking around, he saw the Fabrication Machine's factory way in the distance.

"I see the Factory," said 9. "We're not that lost..."

"We're so stupid..." muttered 7. "It wanted us to follow it! It'll take us all day to get back to the Library!" she exclaimed.

"We should have listened to 6..." said 9, climbing down off of 8's shoulders. "He warned us... He said... Don't get lost..."

They were quiet for a moment, trying to let the situation sink in. The Scorpion had fooled them, and 6 had been right again.

"Let's get moving," said 7.

"The Factory was this way," said 9, pointing off in the general direction of the Factory.

"I can't believe I lost my magnet..." 8 grumbled.

With a long sigh from each stitchpunk, they all began to walk back towards the Factory, hoping that they wouldn't be too late...


5 slowly blinked his eye open and lifted his head off of the table he had fallen asleep on. He saw that 6 was still asleep, even though he looked like he was having trouble breathing. 5 sat all the way up, but when he did, he felt something slide off of his back and fall to the floor. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that it was a blanket. Someone had thrown a blanket over him when he had fallen asleep the night before. Looking around, he saw that 2 and the twins hadn't moved. 6 was unconscious, and 0 didn't have hands, so the only one who could have done it was...

"You're awake," said a voice from over by the window. 5 looked over to see 1 standing there, watching the sun break the horizon.

"Yeah..." said 5. "I'm awake." He waited for a moment before standing up and walking over to the window. He stood next to 1 for a moment. The elder looked deeply troubled as he stared at the rising sun.

"1, are you okay?" asked 5 after a minute.

1 sighed. "No, I'm not. It's my job to protect you all... So far, I'm not doing a very good job..."

5 stood for a moment before awkwardly patting 1 on the shoulder. He was about to say something when 6 started whimpering.

5 quickly went back to 6's bedside, and 1 went to the other side. 6 had started quietly gasping, as if there was something preventing him from breathing.

"It's okay, 6, it's okay," said 5 as he dabbed 6's forehead with a wet cloth. He looked at 6's right hand and saw that his temperature was 133. He looked at 6's left hand and was filled with dread when he saw that 6's pulse was only 17...

"Shh, you're okay 6..." said 5 quietly. "Just breathe..."

Slowly, 6's breathing slowed down a bit. Just when it seemed like he would calm down enough to go back to sleep, his eyes shot open and he yelped in shock and pain. His right hand shot out and he grabbed 5's shoulder. Then 5's vision went dark.


The Scorpion was gaining on them. 5 and 6 were falling behind the others due to their wounds. Behind them, a crackling sound filled the air.

"5!" 6 yelped. Before 5 had a chance to do anything, something hit him hard on the back, and he lost all feeling in his arms and legs. He collapsed flat on the ground. 6 stopped and, grabbing 5's limp arms, started dragging him.

"6, just go..." 5 gasped out.

6 shook his head. "Help!" he shouted to the others. That was when the Scorpion reached them. It immediately swung it's giant claw at 6. The claw hit 6 on the throat and sent him flying backwards. He hit the ground convulsing with electrocution, and then he went limp.

"6!" screamed 5. He tried to movie, but his paralyzed limbs wouldn't allow it. That was when the Scorpion brought it's massive claws down on 5's chest, ripping his burlap open. 5 screamed, but he managed to stay conscious long enough to see the Scorpion reach inside of him and yank out a small, five sided object, which caused another burst of pain. 5 screamed again, and just before he blacked out, he saw the others coming over the hill, their eyes wide with horror.

He woke up a few days later in 2's workshop, with 6 looking down at him.

"You have the Fever..." was the first thing 6 whispered to him.

"What are you talking about?" asked 5 groggily.

6 gulped and looked down at the ground. "It took your Keeper... I couldn't stop it... I... I'm sorry..." That was when 6 opened the panels on the back of 5's hands, letting him see his rising temperature and dropping pulse.

7, 8, and 9 went out into the Emptiness to search for the Scorpion and 5's Keeper. On the last day... only 7 and 8 returned. 7 was carrying 9's lightstaff, which had been cracked in half. Then the Scorpion broke into the Library.

They all fought; even the twins, who had made slingshots. But they were no match for the Scorpion. 7 and 2 had been electrocuted. 8 and the twins had been paralyzed by the Scorpion's EMP. 1 had an electrified arrow sticking out of his chest; the electricity had knocked him unconscious. The only one left who had a chance of saving 5 was 6, the one who had seen it all coming.

The small, striped stitchpunk stood up straight and tall between the angry Scorpion and 5, who was slumped against the wall, barely able to keep his head up, let alone move. He only had minutes before the Fever took him.

The Scorpion lunged, and 6, who had taken up 7's spear, stabbed it in the throat. The Scorpion jumped backwards, taking the spear with it. It yanked the spear out and tossed it across the room, leaving 6 weaponless. 6 braced himself for the Scorpion to charge again or paralyze him. It did neither.

Suddenly, the Scorpion's left claw shot across the room, grabbed 6, and pinned him up against the wall next to 5. That was when 6 saw that the claw was on a launcher hidden in the Scorpion's arm, and it was still connected with a metal chain. The Scorpion sent a current of electricity through the chain, violently electrocuting 6. The small stitchpunk writhed in pain, much to the horror of 5, who could do nothing but watch.

After what seemed like hours, the Scorpion stopped the flow of electricity. 6's head fell forward and his body went limp, but he was still barely conscious. The Scorpion pulled the chain and claw back in, taking 6 with it. 6 weakly looked up and saw that he was still in the Scorpion's clutches.

That was when he felt the Scorpion's grip tighten around his chest. However, instead of stopping after a minute, the Scorpion kept tightening it's grip. 6 squirmed in pain as the sharp claws dug into his fabric.

"S-stop..." he gasped out, trying to pry himself free of the Scorpion's grip. It didn't work. The claw kept closing around his chest tighter and tighter until he couldn't take it any more. Finally, 6 let out a bone-chilling scream, and a loud SNAP echoed through the Library. 6's scream stopped and immediately turned into a whimper, and his body went completely limp.

The Scorpion smiled evilly and carelessly tossed 6's broken body across the room, where it landed right next to 5.

"6..." 5 gasped, reaching out and grabbing the smaller stitchpunk's hand.

6 weakly opened his eyes and sadly looked up at his older brother. "I-I'm s-s-sorry... 5..." he quietly choked out before closing his eyes for the last time. He let out a small sigh and he was gone forever.

"No..." 5 whispered. He tried to move closer to 6's body, but he couldn't. A noise came from across the room, and he looked up to see the Scorpion advancing slowly towards him. However, he never got to see what it was going to do.

The Fever got too high and his pulse dropped to zero. 5 laid down his head and died next to his little brother.


Gasping, 5 stumbled backwards. 6 took his hand off of 5's shoulder, also looking shocked.

"6... what was that?" 5 exclaimed.

"Vision..." 6 muttered, breathing heavily. "I... just showed you... Never seen that far before... Only saw you getting caught..."

5 shook his head a bit. "Wait, you're saying that that's what would have happened?" he asked quietly.

6 nodded weakly. "I changed it... But... I guess... I was g-gonna die anyways..." He let out a long, slow sigh. "A-at least... I saved y-your life..."

"Don't talk like that 6," said 5, returning to 6's bedside and gently stroking his inky hair back. "We're going to save you..."

"What just happened?" exclaimed 1. "What did he just do?"

"He showed me what would have happened if he hadn't jumped in the way and gotten paralyzed instead of me," said 5 quietly, still disturbed by watching himself and 6 die...

"B-better this way..." 6 whispered.

"Don't say that, 6!" exclaimed 5. "I refuse to let you die..."

6 smiled weakly and closed his eyes again. "Then... d-do something... B-barricade the d-door..."

"Barricade the door?" exclaimed 1. "But we can't! What if the others need to get back in?"

6 weakly shook his head. "T-they're n-not coming back... Not y-yet..."

"What do you mean?" exclaimed 5. "Has something happened to them?"

6 weakly shook his head. "T-they got l-lost..."

"But... are they okay?" asked 1, his voice betraying him and showing his concern.

6 slowly nodded, and 1 and 5 breathed a sigh of relief.

"So... why do we need to barricade the door?" 5 asked as he sat down on the bed next to 6.

"To s-slow it down..." 6 gasped out, closing his eyes and grimacing in pain. "Y-you... you have to m-make it c-climb... the outside w-wall... l-let it g-get in f-from h-here... W-when it comes... w-we go d-down... downstairs..." 6 stopped talking and started gasping for breath. He grabbed his chest and let out a low moan.

5 quickly sat 6 up so that he was somewhat upright, leaning against 5's shoulder. "It's okay 6, it's okay..." he whispered, wrapping his arms around the shaking stitchpunk. "What's wrong...?"

"It... i-it hurts!" 6 gasped out, both hands clutching his chest.

5 looked up at 1 and gestured for him to go wake 2 and the twins. He then turned back to 6. "Here, maybe this will help..." he said quietly. He reached behind 6 and unclasped the ring holding 6's key on. The key landed on 6's lap, but 6 didn't feel it due to the paralysis.

"5..." moaned 6, taking one hand away from his chest and grabbing 5's hand.

"Shh... it's okay..." 5 whispered. "You're going to be okay... The pain will go away..."

6 let out another long, low moan and buried his face into 5's shoulder, trembling in pain.

Looking across the room, 5 saw that 1 had finally managed to wake 2 and the twins. 5 quickly gestured to 2 to come. 2 crossed the room in a second and came to the other side of the bed so that he could see 6.

"6, what's wrong?" asked 2 quietly, laying his hand on 6's shaking shoulder.

"H-hurts..." 6 gasped out, not lifting his face. His grip on his chest tightened, as did his grip on 5's hand. "I-it's burning me!" he moaned.

Suddenly, 6 let out a loud, sharp scream and curled in on himself. His grip on his chest tightened, and his sharp fingers left small rips in the striped fabric of his chest.

5 gently pulled the trembling stitchpunk into his lap, where he continued to whimper. 6's sharp fingers started to tear up his chest fabric again, so 5 grabbed his key and put it in his hand. 6 took a good hold of the key and held it close to his chest. His shaking was slowly fading, and so was the pain.

"Shh, it's okay..." whispered 5, gently rubbing 6's back. He could feel that 6's Fever was still getting higher, but at least 6 was calming down.

After a minute, 6's shaking disappeared. He slowly lowered his arms back to his side, letting go of 5's hand but keeping a firm grip on his key. He let out a few feeble coughs before speaking again. "Sorry..." he said, his voice no more than a whisper. "I'm fine..."

5 smiled sadly. "Yeah... you're gonna be fine..."

6 weakly raised his head and looked up at 5, his eyes filled with so much sadness that 5 felt his soul shatter. There was no fooling him. 6 knew more than any of the others what was going to happen to him...

6 opened his mouth to say something, but he stopped with a gasp. His eyes widened, and he started trying to push himself away from 5.

"6, what's wrong?" asked 5 as he laid 6 back down and stood up. "6? Can you hear me?"

6 squeezed his eyes closed, and his sharp fingers dug into the wood on the side of the bed. "Oh no..." he choked out, his face contorted in pain.

"What is it?" asked 2 quietly. "What's wrong...?"

6 opened his mouth to try and say something, but his words were replaced with a sharp cry of pain.

5 looked at 6's hand and saw that his temperature was still 133, so his pulse had to still be 17.

Sighing, 5 leaned over 6 and gently stroked his hair back. "It's okay 6... Just take a deep breath and tell us what's wrong..."

6 slowly nodded, his eyes still closed. He tried to take a deep breath, but he immediately started hyperventilating. 5 opened his mouth, ready to calm 6 down again, but he was cut off before he could start speaking.

"S-screaming..." 6 choked out, grimacing in pain as he did so. "I-it's screaming..."

"Wha-"

Before 5 could even get the word out, 6 let out a long sigh, and more green smoke floated out of his mouth. The smoke passed so close to 5's face that he could actually hear it. It was making a pained, quiet, high-pitch noise. The noise continued until the smoke tore itself apart, dissolving in the air.

As soon as it was gone, 5 looked at 6's right hand. His temperature jumped to 134. Looking at 6's left hand, he saw that his pulse had dropped to 16.

"5..." said 2 quietly. 5 looked up and saw 2 staring at him with wide eyes. Looking across the room, he saw that 1, who had the twins clinging to him, was also staring with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"That was what I was talking about," 5 said quietly. "That was a part of his soul..."

"Maybe that's why his pulse dropped when it came out..." said 2, gesturing to 6's left hand.

"But... what did he mean when he said screaming?" asked 1 from across the room. "What's screaming?"

5's eye widened. "His soul..." he said, thinking of the noise the soul had been making. The noise that sounded like a scream.

"His soul is screaming..."


The Scorpion tiredly cracked one eye open. It was still the middle of the day. He still had a few more hours left to sleep.

Sighing, he turned his head towards the Library. His heat vision allowed him to see through the walls of the collapsed house he slept in – the very house he had collapsed on the stitchpunks nearly a week ago – and see the Library. He could see the small one glowing white hot now. It was almost time to attack. He just had to wait a little longer...

Turning his head again, he saw the three that had chased him all night. They were closer now – almost at the factory – but it would still be hours until they were close enough.

He turned his gaze back on the Library. He knew he had to come when the little one was right on the brink of death. That would be when the others would try and fight him to protect the little one. And that would also be the opportune time to infect all of them. Well... all of them that survive the battle.

He had to make sure he wouldn't miss his chance. Focusing his vision, he located the small one again. Keeping the small one in his sights, he set an alarm. His heat sensors would trigger a mental alarm when the little one's temperature reached 148. That would be his best chance, and unless he successfully stole another Keeper, then it would be his only chance.

Master, even if you are dead... I shall still make you proud... he thought before he fell back asleep.


"What are you talking about?" asked 1. "How can his soul be screaming?"

5 shook his head. "He said something was screaming, and when his soul came out, I heard it screaming!" he exclaimed.

"And do you think the Fever is causing it?" asked 2.

"Well, what else could it be?" said 5, shrugging.

"So... what are we going to do now?" asked 1.

"We do what he told us to do," said 5. "We'll barricade the doors."

"When did he say that?" asked 2, looking slightly confused.

"You were asleep," 5 elaborated. "Anyways, we're going to have to move fast if we want to barricade the doors before nightfall. 3? 4?"

The twins looked up at 5 expectantly.

"You two stay up here and keep an eye on 6," he said. The twins nodded vigorously. 5 then looked at 1 and 2. "One of you will stay up in the watch tower to keep guard and stay close by if 6 has another episode. The other one will come downstairs with me, and help barricade the door and windows. You two will alternate. We'll need to move fast, because there isn't much time."

Suddenly, there was a hiss from behind 5. The one-eyed stitchpunk turned around and saw 0 sitting at his feet. The cockroach had been so quiet that he had forgotten about him.

"And you, 0," said 5, picking up the bug, "are going to keep an eye on everyone." The bug hissed again. "I'll take that for a yes," said 5, putting 0 down on the bed. 0 then scuttled up next to 6 and curled up under his master's arm.

5 turned back to 1 and 2. "Um... 2, why don't you stay up in the watchtower first, and 1, you come with me for now... Good luck everybody."

5 turned and walked towards the bucket elevator, and he heard 1's footsteps following him. 5 stepped into the elevator and turned around to see 1 step in and close the door. Before he pulled the lever to release the breaks, he saw 2 heading up to the watchtower and the twins sitting at 6's bedside, one twin on each side. 0 was still snuggled up next to 6. Sighing, 5 pulled the lever, and the elevator descended.


7, 8, and 9 breathed a long sigh of relief when the Library came back into view... Well, 8 and 9 did. 7 was asleep, slung over 8's shoulder.

They approached the Library, but... something was different. 8 was the first one to put his finger on it.

"What happened to the windows?" he asked.

9 looked up at the windows and, much to his surprise, saw that they were boarded up, and he assumed the door was too.

"I wonder what's happening..." muttered 9.

When they reached the door a minute later, they stopped. 9 banged on the door with his fist. "Hey!" he shouted. "Anybody in there?"

They waited for a moment and nothing happened. Suddenly, something hit the ground a few feet to their right. Looking over, they saw that it was a rope, and it had come through a then slit between the boards covering the windows. A moment later, someone poked their head out of the window.

"5!" exclaimed 9, recognizing the one-eyed stitchpunk. 5 waved at them and then squirmed through the opening. He grabbed the rope and used it to climb down the outside wall. When he reached the ground, he walked over to where 8 and 9 were standing by the door.

"What happened to 7?" was the first thing he asked.

"She fell asleep and we didn't have the heart to wake her up," said 9 tiredly.

"So... how did it go?" asked 5 nervously.

9 shook his head. "We didn't get 6's Keeper back. Actually, it attacked us and tried to steal my Keeper... But we tried to chase us, and it just got us lost..."

"Yeah, 6 told us you got lost..." said 5 quietly.

"Is that why you're barricading the door and windows?" asked 9.

5 nodded. "It's a long story..."

"So how's he doing?" asked 8, his voice showing concern.

5 shook his head sadly. "Not too good... He gets worse every hour..." 5 sighed, and for a second, 8 and 9 could see just how tired he was. "If you don't find his Keeper by tomorrow, he's going to die..."

9 stepped forward and gently put his hand on 5's shoulder. "We'll find it..." he said.

"No you won't," said 5, looking up at 9, his eyes filled with utter hopelessness.

9 sighed. "I know..." he whispered. "But we can help. We can at least try and weaken it."

5 sighed. "Okay, but just... please try and be careful," he said, thinking of the vision that 6 had shown him earlier; the one where 9 didn't come back.

9 smiled, unaware of the danger he was in. "Don't waste time worrying about us..."

At that moment, 8 cleared his throat. "Uh, guys..." he said, pointing out across the Emptiness. 5 and 9 turned and saw that 8 was pointing at the setting sun. Night was falling. The Scorpion would come soon.

"I guess it's time for us to go," said 9. He turned to 8. "Better wake 7 up soon..."

"Good luck," said 5 quietly.

"You too..." said 9. He turned on his lightstaff, and he and 8 turned and ran off into the Emptiness with 7 in tow.

Once they were gone, 5 turned back to the rope. He climbed back up and through the window. Once he was through, he pulled all the rope back up and tossed it on the table under the window, almost knocking over one of the mirrors that the twins had yet to move. 2 stood down on the table, holding one end of the last piece of wood that would cover the window.

"Ready?" asked 2, gesturing to the wooden plank. 5 nodded, and he hopped down and helped 2 lift the plank. They carried it up and placed it securely against the window, sealing the gap.

"It's done..." said 2. "That's all we can do for now..."

5 sighed and nodded. "Let's go back up..." he said quietly. He and 2 walked over to the elevator; they both turned the crank and raised it all the way back up to the watchtower.

As soon as the elevator reached the workshop floor, 5 put the brakes on and jumped out. He quickly went over to 6's bed. 6 was still sleeping.

"Has he woken up yet?" he asked the twins. They both shook their heads, no.

5 sighed worriedly. Reaching around 3, he picked up 6's right hand and saw that his temperature was 137. He could see on 6's left hand that his pulse was 13. Sighing again, 5 gently stroked 6's hair back, wondering if he would wake up again.

"It's okay, 5," said 2, coming up behind 5.

5 turned to face 2. "What do you mean?"

"I'm telling you not to worry," said 2. "He'll wake up..."

5 sighed again. "But why has he been sleeping so much?"

"That's his body responding to the Fever," 2 explained. "The more he sleeps, the less energy he uses. That's what has kept his Fever from hitting 150 in the first place... Well, that and breathing."

"Breathing?"

2 nodded. "Breathing helps him stay cool. If he were to stop breathing for even thirty seconds, then his temperature would probably skyrocket."

"Wow..." muttered 5, absently brushing 6's hair back.

After a minute, the twins both stood up and sent up the stairs to the watchtower, probably go bring 1 down.

With one more sad look at 6, 5 turned and joined 2 by the window. The sun set a few minutes later, leaving trails of red and orange in the cloudless sky. About fifteen minutes later, all traces of the sun had disappeared beneath the horizon, and the darkness of night overtook the light. 5 looked up in the sky and saw that the full moon was floating high up in the darkness, casting an eerie blue light on the Emptiness.

Sighing, 5 closed his eye, knowing what the darkness meant.

It meant that 6 only had twenty four hours to live...


The Emptiness was strangely and hauntingly... empty. There was no sign of movement anywhere.

"Where is that thing?" muttered the now very awake 7. "When I find it, I'm going to kick it's ass..."

Both 8 and 9 looked at 7, a look of confusion on their faces.

"Ass?" asked 8.

"What does ass mean?" asked 9.

8 giggled a bit. "That word is fun to say! Ass ass ass!"

"Shut up!" exclaimed 7 frantically. "I'll tell you what that word means later, just... don't say it in front of 3, 4, or 6, okay?"

"Okay..." said 8 and 9, disappointed.

7 rolled her eyes. "Okay, now if we don't find this thing soon, then we'll-"

She never got to finish that sentence.

8 suddenly went flying through the air. He landed about ten feet away, unconscious. 9 and 7 whipped around to see the Scorpion standing right behind them!

7 didn't waste any time swinging her spear. The blade connected solidly with the Scorpion's neck, but... nothing happened, even though she had used the same force to completely decapitate the Cat Beast. The Scorpion swung it's claw at 7 and hit her in the stomach, sending her flying backwards. When she landed, she tried to stand up, but the pile of rubble she had landed in collapsed on her.

9 was the only one left standing. He stood with his lightstaff in one hand and his dagger in the other. The Scorpion danced around the edge of the circle of light, and 9 caught this. As soon as the Scorpion fired it's EMP at him, he jumped out of the way and hit the Scorpion right in the face with his glowing lightstaff. The Scorpion let out a roar of pain and suddenly disappeared back into the darkness.

9 quickly ran over to the pile of rubble where 7 had been buried, and he saw 8, who had regained consciousness moments ago, was already digging.

"7, can you hear me?" shouted 9, joining 8 in digging.

"Yeah, I can hear you," said a voice from behind them. They both whipped around and saw 7 standing right behind them, one hand on her hip.

"7, you're a ninja..." said 9, shaking his head and smiling.

7 smiled cockily. "I know. Now c'mon! We can't let it get away!" she exclaimed before running off in the direction the Scorpion had gone. 8 followed her, and 9 started to run after them, but he was stopped by a sudden sharp pain in his chest. The suddenness of the pain made him double over, gasping for breath.

"9, are you coming?" came 7's voice from up ahead.

"Yeah, coming," 9 called back. The mysterious pain in his chest suddenly disappeared as quickly as it had come. 9 shook his head and ran after the others, preparing for a long night of chasing and fighting.

He had no idea that he had been Infected.


It was getting late; 5 could tell by tracking the moon as it crossed the sky. The twins were starting to doze off. 2 was fiddling with one of his little trinkets. 1 was slowly pacing. 5 had yet to leave 6's bedside.

Everything was quiet. Until...

"5?" came a quiet voice from the bed. 5 looked over and saw 6 looking up at him.

"Hey 6," he said quietly, stroking 6's hair back. "How do you feel?"

"Cold..." 6 said, his voice barely above a whisper. As if to prove how he felt, he shivered a bit and pulled his blanket around himself a bit tighter.

5 smiled sadly. "I know..." he said.

"Did I miss it?" 6 suddenly asked.

"Uh... miss what?" asked 5, confused.

"The sunset," said 6. "The last time I saw one, I could still walk... This was my last one..."

5 shook his head. "I'm sorry, 6... It's night time already..."

6 sighed and closed his eyes. "It's okay... my last one... was a good one..."

5 sighed and gently stroked 6's hair back. "Is there anything else? Anything I can do to help...?"

6 looked off into the distance for a minute before looking back at 5. "Just one thing..." He then gestured for 5 to lean down. When 5 did, 6 whispered something. 5's eye widened and he sadly nodded, trying not to cry. He looked at the others before turning back to 6.

5 carefully picked up the smaller stitchpunk and, making sure the blanket was wrapped securely around him, he carried 6 up the stairs to the watchtower. Once they were up there, he set 6 down and leaned him against the base of the telescope.

"Is that okay?" he asked. 6 nodded and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. 5 then sat down next to 6, and that was when they heard a small hiss from the stairs. Looking over, they saw that 0 had followed them up. 6 held out one hand, and 0 scuttled over and sat down next to his master.

Then they all looked up at the sky.

"There they are..." whispered 6. The stars had come out.

They sat in silence, watching the stars, for at least an hour. Finally, 6 started to doze off, so 5 decided it was time to go back downstairs. He gently lifted 6 off of the floor and carried him back down the stairs. Once he got back downstairs, he laid 6 down on the bed and covered him up with the blanket. 6 shifted a bit before sinking into a deep, peaceful sleep.

Once 5 made sure 6 was asleep, he let out a small, choked sob. 2 walked over and pulled 5 into a much needed hug.

"What happened?" he asked quietly. "What did he ask?"

5 choked back another sob. "He... he wanted to watch the stars... because h-he said he w-would never see them again..." That was all 5 could get out before he started sobbing again. 2 quickly led 5 out of the room and made him sit until he calmed down enough to think straight.

"5, it's going to be okay..." said 2 quietly.

"How do you know that?" whimpered 5 sadly.

"Because if you say it enough, it'll happen..." said 2, smiling sadly. He gently patted 5 on the shoulder before turning and returning to the other room.

5 took a deep breath. He had to get a grip. After all, he wasn't the one dying...


The team in the Emptiness chased the Scorpion all night long. It would run, and when they caught it, they would fight. The Scorpion would always manage to escape without seriously hurting any of them. Instead of leading them out into the distant Emptiness, it stayed close to the Library.

They chased it and fought it until the sky grew light.

"Where did it go?" asked 7 frantically after another attack.

9 and 8 looked around, but they couldn't see where the Scorpion had gone either. That was when 9 looked at the eastern horizon.

"Of course..." he muttered.

"What?" asked 8.

"No wonder it disappeared," he said.

"What are you talking about?" asked 7.

"I completely forgot..." said 9. "The Scorpion is nocturnal..." He then pointed to the eastern sky.

They all watched as the sun broke the horizon on 6's last day alive...


A/N: I wrote this entire freaking chapter on a BUS! And right now... *starts singing* I've got a cramp in my back, and another cramp in my right rump cheek. Look, it's some circling birds, I bet you that they're going to EAT OUR COURPSES! And then the worms will come out of the ground, and some other little critter's gonna come and make furniture out of our bones... and sit on it... and have lovely... dinners... AND THIS WHOLE THING WILL BE A DISASTER!

Sorry. XD Anyways... I cannot WAIT to see your comments for the next chapter, and the chapter after that... I can't wait to see how many people cry... Muahahahahahaha!

But seriously, I really do have a cramp in my back and another one in my ass...

8: (giggling) Ass... XD

Oh, and remember. 9 does NOT have a Fever. He got his Keeper back. Just making sure.