Mable: Here we are at chapter fourteen! There's not much else I can say, as per usual, so instead I don't own 9 and Enjoy!

Fabric Runs Shallow

Chapter Fourteen: The Wistful Travels

The curtain opened and light fell in upon One's face. He released a low groan and slid downwards. His arms were already clinging around Two's frame as he steadily moved downwards to press his face between Two's neck and the pillow. For a few seconds he simply laid there for a few seconds before he heard movement beside the bed. He glanced back only to come face to face with Eight standing tall above him, arms crossed and eyeing down at the Leader. "Gah!" One jumped a bit and stared upwards at the Guard, clutching Two like a large pillow.

"What are you doing?!" He asked in shock to which Eight spoke quick, "You told me to wake you up." One blinked in confusion, "What are you doing awake this early?" The Guard gestured back with his thumb, "The kids were awake so Six took them into the throne room." Now the Leader sat up straight and stared at the empty cribs in concern while Two started to rouse. "I'll get them.' He groggily insisted, stumbling out of bed and nearly dashing out of the room. "Two?" One called after him to which he called back, "Going to get Twelve and Twenty-One!"

He was nearly frantic even though, out of everyone, he should have been calmed. One assumed it was from the recent birth and turned over before laying back down. "I'll be getting up shortly." He insisted and closed his optics, to which Eight simply stared before asking, "You're not going back to sleep, are you?" One waved him off and the guard silently walked away. He now headed back into the throne room where Two was now located, checking in before continuing his job.

On the floor in front of the throne was Six. He was holding Twelve close to his chest and petting Twenty-One who was resting against his thigh. Two looked torn standing there; his hands twitched like he wanted to intervene, but he was smiling and holding back. He knew that they were safe in Six's hands and yet his budding separation anxiety screamed to hold his children. Finally he forced himself to dismiss himself, "Eight, let me go wake the others. It will help me stretch my legs." He insisted and took off down the hall.

Naturally the first person he went to see was Five who was in bed still. None was asleep as well and so was Nine who was laying on top of his blanket, tucked in with Child's cape. The Inventor began to cross to Five's bed, not noticing someone creeping behind him until he heard the sound of creaking wood. Looking back he noticed one of the twins by the door and gave a knowing smile, "Spent the night with Five, did you?" He asked coyly and she jumped a bit before he waved it off, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Though as she smiled and ducked out he noticed something that immediately caught his attention. The number on the Stitchpunk's front wasn't a 'three' but a clear 'four' instead. He nearly stopped and questioned her, but stopped himself and let her go. "Two?" Five groggily spoke and the Inventor replaced his confusion with a smile. "Good morning, Five. Just waking you all so that we can leave bright and early." He insisted before walking to Nine's side and gently rousing him, "Rise and shine." Nine soon awoke and the action was repeated to None's as well.

Five immediately went to pack while Nine sluggishly followed behind him. "Didn't get much sleep?" The Healer offered with amusement to which the zippered male agreed, "Unfortunately not. I spent most of last night trying to figure out the best route to Belgium." He rubbed his head tiredly before reaching down to pet Button who was scurrying around on the floor. "I think that taking the streets would be quickest and easiest." Then suddenly asked, "What about taking him?" The Healer looked confused and Nine explained, "I mean Button."

"Oh… I don't know." Five answered unsurely, "He's still sort of young, and his leg…" Now Two suddenly spoke, "Just because something has a slight short coming doesn't mean he won't adapt to become better than before." He smiled and Five shrugged a bit, smiling, "I guess that's true…" He knew Two was nudging at him, but was still unsure, especially when Button came over to rub on Five's leg with a soft squeak. "Alright." He caved with a soft sigh, "He can come. We just need to be careful with him." He insisted as he reached down to lift the smaller into his grasp. "I'll bring Toto to keep an eye on him."

"If you're sure." Five murmured and Two turned to None who was getting out of bed. He didn't say anything, but he looked a bit more alert than the others, and was so eager that he took out of the room. Maybe Two's resolve suddenly dropped as he too took out of the room, most likely to go find Six and reclaim hold of his new infant. Nine and Five headed into the hall, the former sluggishly moving and rubbing his head tiredly. He pulled Child's cape off, which he had been casually keeping draped over his shoulders, and approached Child's room.

"He must have tucked me in last night and left this behind. I hope he didn't stay awake all night." He pushed the curtain open and peered in to see Child collapsed on the bed. "Or he tucked me in and… came back here to sleep?" He was a little confused, but noticed two, small Beasts over in the small pet bed to the side. "Toto? Pet?" He called and the two peeked out of their bedding before crossing over to him. He smiled down at them and reached down to pet Toto who affectionately rubbed on him while Pet headed over to Five who set down Button.

Pet immediately began to play with the smaller in a gentle way as he could tell his offspring was still young. It brought a smile to Five who somewhat considered the relationship like his and Two's. Nine, meanwhile, crossed to the bed before bending over the bed, "Child?" he spoke quietly while softly shaking the pale one's frame. Child's optics opened slowly, tiredly, and Nine tried to explain about what was going on. Of course it wasn't nearly as easy when the other male was trying to somewhat grapple him, putting his arms around the zippered male's waist and trying to cuddle him.

"We need to go." Nine insisted as Child began to liter light kisses on his zipper pull, "and Five's sort of watching." 'Sort of' was correct; Five looked once and then unsubtly looked in the completely opposite direction while standing there awkwardly. Though around this time Seven wandered by with Cat in tow, which caught the Healer's attention, "Are you sure you're ready for this, Cat?" The male dismissed the concern, "Yeah, I'm good. It's starting to wear off; I only feel like I'm going to pass out when I do anything other than sleep."

Five chuckled at the joke, he hoped he was joking, and Nine gave another tug at Child. "We can celebrate when we get there, okay?" He pressed his lips to the top of Child's head and the pale male's somewhat aroused behavior took a turn to something much calmer. He pulled back and sat upwards as Nine put the cloak around his shoulders and fixed it. "You'll be needing this, it's a sunny day today." Child released a somewhat low grumbling noise of disturbance which amused Nine.

Yet at the same time, something about taking care of Child like this, about this little acts that came with being mates made him feel significantly happier. Child stood and the two entered the hall, Five joining with them and heading into the throne room. One was out of bed by now and was standing by the throne that Two was sitting in, holding Twelve and a squirming Twenty-One, and was clearly wanting to leave. "It's about time the rest of you awoke." He pointed out to the group, including Seven who was obviously awake for a while, and he looked back towards those who were waiting.

"Come along. The sooner we leave, the sooner we arrive." He reached down to lift Twenty-One who was glad to be doing something and kicking his legs around as he was lifted. Two had Twenty-One's old carrying bag that he quickly tucked Twelve into so she could sleep peacefully. Julius was there as well, but looked a bit tired, and boarded the lift with the others. The twins went in with him, Three waving in a friendly fashion while Four was quietly watching the floor, which none other than Two noticed.

The lift was boarded by most of the group and started to head downwards. Nine and None were left behind and staring down at the lift quietly when None suddenly asked, "Are you sure about this?" He asked his twin who looked surprised, staring at him for a few seconds before giving him a kindly smile, "Of course! This is going to be great, I promise." He insisted and None immediately believed him as usual, trusting his twins. "Yeah, you're right." He looked back to the lift and they waited for the lift to return. Yet for a second Nine suddenly wondered if he had made the right decision.

If one thing was beautiful about the Emptiness it was the areas where nature still thrived. Soon after passing out of the city they entered into a stretch of road that ran along a large green field and a crystal lake that was slightly lower than it was supposed to be. It was quickly agreed to stop there as the noon sun was high and they had been walking for hours. Setting a small camp on the shore of the lake, they rested for a bit. While One was still eager to leave he patiently sat down and let them rest.

He held his young daughter who was more than content to look around for a few minutes before falling back asleep again. Twenty-One was trying to play with his toys in the grass and was having an entertaining time hiding in the reeds. Five and Two were sitting nearby looking at the maps, but they were really chatting and laughing about other things in particular. Eight was still sitting on the edge of the concrete road watching the others protectively while Six sat beside him and drew, preferring drawing on the hard surface than the mud.

Julius had been standing by the twins who were near the edge of the water before heading over to speak to One. Seven was walking along the edge of the water by the twins while Nine sat nearby, Child to his right and None to his left. It was at this point that Three and Four noticed something on the opposite bank. The lake wasn't completely round so it wasn't too far across which was why they noticed it. There was a patch of purple flowers that they wanted to see more of. They immediately turned to Seven and pointed them out, making movements in a way to show fawning.

"Those flowers?" Seven made certain, hoping it wasn't what they wanted, and they nodded. They gestured around the edge of the lake and pointed to themselves and Seven. They wanted Seven to protect them and walk them around the lake to get to the flower patch. "It's a long way around. Are you sure you wouldn't be happy with those?" She pointed to some small white ones in the grass nearby and they looked over interested, but not exactly as pleased with them as the purple ones.

Before they could have a chance to ask more, Seven started to strip off her armor, "I'll go get you one, alright?" They immediately brightened and thanked her with flickering from their optics. Nine and None seemed to notice the scene and the latter offered, "I can go get it!" Seven raised a brow, the twins blinked, and Child asked, "Quite eager to go running for flowers, aren't you?" None flinched at Child's tone and decided not to look at him. "I- Sure! Come on, Nine, let's go." He covered and Nine willingly agreed before standing, "Coming, Child?"

The pale male glanced at None before answering, "No, go on ahead." None looked downwards at the grass and Seven exhaled, "Still, I'm going to head over there as well, maybe we'll meet on the other side." She suggested and suddenly dove into the lake water before immediately having her head pop out to gasp some air and shivering briefly. The twins giggled in whispers before silently inquiring if she was alright to which she waved off, "I should have tested it first, I'm fine." She began to swim over towards the other time, the warm day eventually making the cold water seem less troubling.

None then asked, "Think she'll get there first?" Nine watched her before he finally offered, "Well, we're not going to know unless we get over there." He turned to the short route and began to sprint, his twin soon smiling and following behind him. It was seldom that Nine and None actually had a moment like this, but it was enjoyable. Yet as he was running through the thick grass he started to hear something coming up from behind and realized his twin was already beginning to catch up to him.

He never noted None as particularly fast and started to push himself a bit harder. After all, he was the older technically since he was the ninth, so it only made sense that he would have a slight advantage. Yet as he continued around the loop None was catching up on him. The footsteps were pounding behind him and slowly started edging to the side before coming closer. Nine decided to be mischievous and slowly edged to the side to get in front of his twin, only to suddenly have None dip around from the other side.

Now None and Nine were beside each other and his younger twin gave him a playful smile before suddenly picking up speed. Nine must have looked shock as None looked more confident than usual. That wasn't the only change; Nine himself was suddenly feeling very competitive. His body that felt like it could give no more suddenly got a second wind and he began to push himself a bit harder, gaining lead once again. None playfully slowed down just a little bit to give his older twin a head start and resting slightly so that he could soon overtake him.

The next time he did left the two head to head for a short while, rounding along the edge of the bank before Nine suddenly stumbled. He knew he was falling to the ground and he was willing to take None down with him. He wrapped his arms around his twins' waist and drug him down. Both fell face down into the grass where None promptly turned over and attempted to shove his twin down. The next few seconds was a bizarre wrestling match, but instead of the fierce competitiveness, Nine felt laughter bubbling in his chest.

Every time None got on top he knocked him off, every time Nine had None pinned he was rolled to the side, and in the end the two were just lying in the grass tiredly. "So which of us won?" None asked, too tired to be playful, and Nine promptly suggested, "Maybe we both won at the same time?" To which his twin agreed. They stared upwards into the blissfully blue sky for a few moments, just resting, before Nine sat upwards, "None, you know that if anything was wrong you could tell me, right?"

None stared back; he looked like he wanted to deny but either didn't have the strength or the willpower. "I…" He started slowly, fidgeted a bit, and looked back upwards to the sky. "I know, Nine. I trust you." This promptly gained a smile from the zippered one himself. "Just making sure." None smiled back with a thankful look and Nine laid beside him, "Think Seven made it across by now?" He offered and None shrugged, "I don't think so. It was pretty far across." None nodded before suddenly asking, "Can I ask you something about you and Child?"

The zippered male eventually flinched, "None, I know what you're think and I don't know what Child's told you-…" He cut of mid-ramble when he realized that None had no idea what he was talking about. "Umm… Continue." The younger twin gladly did, "When did you realize that you wanted to be with him in that way? That you wanted him as a mate?" Nine paused before shrugging, "Well, it's a long story, and a little confusing, but it was before I met you and after the Fabrication Machine Incident."

It was going on standard procedure that all of the Stitchpunks were told about the Fabrication Machine Incident so when None didn't look confused it wasn't a surprise. "Back all that time ago I had feelings for Seven, and I thought they were real, but things were different when I met Child. I sort of considered him one of my best friends quickly and I guess I didn't really think of him in that way, or maybe I didn't know I was, because I was pulling him closer and closer and didn't even realize it." He explained with amusement.

"I think if it wasn't for my feelings for Seven I would have realized I cared for Child more than I did. I just thought she was what I wanted, and so I didn't notice it when I started to seek out Child for things like emotional support and relied less on Seven." None responded with, "Child gives emotional support?" To which Nine answered, "He does, a lot of it, except he's upset about something. Like going to Belgium." None chuckled lightly before rolling over, clearly interested, "Did you finally tell him?"

"Not exactly. I was determined to tell Seven I loved her, which of course meant that I went to Child to tell him. I think Five was busy, or maybe I purposely chose Child, but either way Child was clearly upset about the news. He even thought that a gift I made for him was hers and had some sort of an episode. Then he calmed down and helped me figure out what I was going to do; I thought he was in love with Seven too. I thought we were rivaling for her affections when she wasn't even in the equation at all…."

He exhaled a bit and propped himself up slightly before continuing, "So the next day I took Seven out to the Phonograph and decided to state my love for her. Maybe she knew, probably just wasn't interested, but she turned me down. I wasn't upset, I accepted that we would just be friends rather quickly, and the second she left Child appeared." He then looked to None and stated, "He was stalking me, again." None chuckled again at the little joke and Nine continued, "We start talking about nothing in particular and I ask him how he would've fixed the confession."

His breath caught for a second. It was a rather fond memory and thinking back made that same little spark appear again. "Then he kissed me." He inhaled, exhaled, "He told me that he had been pining for me for longer than I had him, since the beginning, and I thought maybe it was wrong, but I couldn't turn him down. I knew everything about him and I knew that I loved every single perk, every flaw, and that I didn't care that he was male. It's different, I won't lie, but it doesn't feel very different…" He trailed off and None sat upwards.

"So even though you knew it would be different, that you knew there was a chance the others might not accept, you stayed together because you really cared about each other?" He asked in almost a desperate fashion and Nine smiled, "Right, but it was worth it, it was worth the risk to be together." This seemed to brighten None considerably and Nine rested a friendly hand on his shoulder, "Let's go. Three and four are waiting." He didn't feel the need to ask anymore about None's problems. He had a small bit of a feeling that he knew what was going on anyway.

The two stood and continued along to the flower patch which wasn't too far ahead. There they sought out Seven, "She still hasn't made it?" Nine asked himself in confusion before None tapped his shoulder and pointed across the lake. There, on the other side, they could both see Seven's form and a bit of purple clutched by one of the twins. There was a moment of silence. "So we didn't beat her?"

It was so strange how quickly nature could turn to destruction. The days into their journey had been long and hard, but they were finally coming upon something. Unfortunately it wasn't what they expected at all.

"Look at that tree." Six murmured softly and caught the attention of Eight and soon the others. The tree was right on the side of the road and nearly charred completely to ash. "What a wonderful sight to lead us into the city." One spat grumpily as he stared at its gnarled branches. Dead trees weren't uncommon, but this one looked somewhat forewarning. Especially since Six himself had noticed it and he was the one who usually noticed odd things that played a bigger part later on. "Let's just keep going." Seven insisted and put her arms around the twins before leading them down the road.

From the sudden mass of houses it was apparent that they had now entered the city. Though they couldn't see most of it as low walls lined the roads that were already showing wear. Cracks along the concrete, broken cars that were either tipped over or with their bodies completely smashed in, and the building were mostly falling apart. Though nobody felt the need to speak or point this out as there was something looming over them. Only worsened by the fact that the cloudy sky didn't hide that it was growing dark.

"We'll need shelter." One voiced to the others, "Any ideas?" There was a second before Five pulled out his spy glass and began to look in the distance as far as he could. Two, meanwhile, spoke, "Perhaps there's a hotel. They usually have more bulk onto them and have more rooms, which would make them more than adequate for a shelter." One hummed to himself before agreeing with the assumptions. "Yes, perhaps." Two looked back to Five, "You might need to find higher ground to see anything."

"I'll just climb onto the wall. That should be high enough." Five pointed out confidently before looking around, "Can someone- ah- give me a boost?" Eight stepped forward with Nine, though it was clear that Eight was the one who would be really assisting. They headed to a low part of the wall and the Guard cupped a hand under the smaller males' feet and lifted him relatively easily. Five was able to get hand grips on the wall and then was able to climb the rest of the way. He sat down at the top and pulled out his spyglass again before gasping.

"Five?" Nine called to him in confusion and after a few seconds Two called as well, "What did you see? Is there a Beast nearby?" But Five merely looked down, shock still laced on his face, before staring back out. Finally Nine looked to Eight and asked, "Can you help me?" The Guard silently leaned down and lifted him like his friend, balancing him over to the wall and pushing him upwards. The zippered male quickly climbed the rest of the way to the top, beside Five. He looked out immediately and was suddenly thrown into the same silence of horror. Staring out across the city, or what should have been the city.

Instead of buildings the world seemed to erupt in an incredible crater. More feet down than Nine could estimate, nearly as wide around as the factory and lands surrounding it, just a large hole missing out of the earth itself. He couldn't believe this and looked back down to the others, "You have to see this! It looks like there was some sort of explosion!" He called down and immediately they were joined by Seven who managed to climb upwards on his own and Two who got assistance from Eight. "Creator…" Two muttered as he stared out at the catastrophe and Seven asked, "What… What is this?"

Five looked at Two beside him, "Did the Beasts cause this?! It's- the city is completely gone!" Down on the ground Three and Four heard and clasped their hands over their mouths, Julius covered his face with his hand as he shook it gently, and Child was the one to speak with a cynical, "Welcome to Belgium."

Mable: Welcome to Belgium; home of the gigantic crater and nearly completely devoid of anything worth saving. Seriously though, Belgium is a lovely country, the reason it got some of the worst is- Well, all humans are dead, so I guess there's not really 'worst' in this situation. Anyway, the next chapter will be posted tomorrow, I hope everyone enjoyed!