Mable: Here we are with the next chapter! I had this finished yesterday, but I wanted to give it a good once-over before I published it. I don't own 9, Enjoy!...

Our Inner Beasts

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Trial

"The trial shall now begin!"

With this announcement, One struck his bell staff on the floor and then proceeded to settle into his throne. To his right side stood Eight, with his arms crossed and a stern look. The twins sat on the books the led to Eight's usual post. The other Stitchpunks stood sporadically around the throne room. Seven and Six by the entrance to his gallery, Two, Five, and Nine around the Fabrication, and Cat sitting on the bottom step of the stairs. Meanwhile, the Fabrication stood with a lowered head and wrists bound with thread.

"Three, Four, bring the charges to hand," One commanded with a quick snap of his fingers. Immediately the twins rushed over and presented him with a paper. He expected to recite an indefinitely long list of charges, so he was surprised at the relatively brief list. "Being charged with treason? I believe there's much more here than just treason," One pointed out. The scholars flickered their optics between each other. They had assumed that the leader wanted them to find one charge to cover everything, and treason was the closest to doing that.

"It's fine, it's fine. We are all very aware of what it did regardless. Technically, treason is one of the many, many charges at hand," One announced as he waved the twins down. He was obviously too eager to continue to wait through their continued word searching. Though the leader's smugness didn't give any of the Stitchpunks much confidence in how this trial would turn out, regardless of what side they were on with the manner. "Let us begin with what we do know. A society comprised of millions of humans was destroyed by the machines, and this one stands as the leader."

Before anyone could intervene, One changed his tone. "Of course, we cannot forget that it was a war scenario. That is why we are having a trial instead of an instant execution. We are all aware that the humans were not entirely innocent." Nine could only inwardly wonder if One had any idea about how much of that statement applied. He doubted that the male knew anything about what the Scientist knew. "We will begin with Two. Two, you may speak."

"Thank you," Two began and took a step forward. "I think that we've all seen enough death. We would all benefit more from something such as… A community service, you could say." Nobody was surprised by the Inventor's leniency. "We know from Cat that machines don't feel emotions when they are in their normal body, or don't understand them as well. Even the Fabrication Machine had a sort of programming long ago. Right now, this being standing with us is just like Cat was, and giving Cat that chance proved to be worthwhile."

"Except that Cat was the scout and he is the leader," One retorted matter-of-factly.

"One, you're the judge, I don't think that you're mean to debate," Two pointed out just as matter-of-factly. The leader narrowed his gaze in a mostly unenthused way.

"I'll do it," Seven suddenly announced and stepped forwards. Cat was a little surprised that she was stepping in to somewhat protest his creator, but had a feeling that she had a plan. There she stood, on the opposite side of the carpet from Two, and looked to the Inventor. "We need to remember that this isn't the same scenario as Cat was. Cat was- for lack of a better term- ignorant to emotions and free will. The Machine hasn't given any suggestion that its own morals were suppressed in any way. It knew what it was doing."

"Perhaps so, but it may not be the same for Machines. We must keep in mind that the machines were freely dismantled and rebuilt during the war. While it may understand the concept of a final death, does it truly understand the finality?" Two inquired to both of them.

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean that we can forget its crimes," Seven assured in One's place. Without One's smugness, the trial certainly did feel more balanced. The warrior, perhaps purposefully, kept all emotional opinions out of the conversation. Her immediate feelings were not apparent. Any bias towards or against the machine wasn't showing.

"I'm not asking to let him entirely off the hook. To just forgive him of everything is not plausible… But I feel like we can be fair in our decisions. We should give him the same chance that we gave Cat, especially now that he's capable of seeing things from our perspective," Two finished and wandered back to Five's side. "That is all I needed to say. Thank you for your time."

With him seemingly finished, One looked to the male beside him. "Five, you may say something," the leader offered with a beckon. For a split second, Five's anxiety kicked in and his hands wrung together. Two reached upwards to pat his shoulder in an assuring way, which seemed to help the one eyed male.

"I, uh… I was thinking that… I agree with Two," Five admitted. Nobody looked surprised and the healer felt the sudden urge to continue and prove that his opinion was his own. He briefly looked to the Fabrication; it did frighten him extensively, but he couldn't rightfully sentence it just yet. He was too willing to believe that maybe this thing was like Cat and could change. "We should give it the opportunity at least. If he did do something like community service, it could really benefit us too. It wouldn't just be us forgetting what happened in the past; we could both benefit from something like this."

"And you think that this thing will just help you?" One began, but then raised a hand. "Excuse me. Seven, your counter?"

"Thank you," Seven resisted the urge to roll her optics and looked to Five. "What would make him so eager to help his captors?"

"I… I can't speak for him, but I think he would be willing. Besides, it's doing things we do every day. Things that Two and I enjoy doing. Why would anyone resist?" Five knew it wasn't much of a defense. He also noticed that the Fabrication had its head slightly tilted, as though listening. It made him feel only more self-conscious. "Cat proved that machines can be trusted and can learn to live with us. We should at least give him a chance… I-I was face to face with the Fabrication Machine myself, but I'm willing to try."

Indeed, that memory was terrifying. Part of him felt relieved that keeping the Fabrication here would keep it away from its body, and even though he knew execution would be a permanent solution he couldn't stand the idea of killing anyone. He was a healer; he was created to heal, not to take life away. He could deal with the Fabrication if he knew that it wasn't at an advantage to attack them. He would deal with it if it could eventually learn how to be a Stitchpunk, like Cat had fully done. "That's just what I think…"

"Very well," One dismissed and now looked towards Six, seemingly switching to follows their numbers. "Six? Any comments?" His tone showed that he wasn't expecting much. Nobody really expected the artist to speak. The striped male looked to Nine and studied his assuring expression.

Six had a brief answer, "Not yet."

"Fine. Seven?" One looked to Seven.

"I want to stay impartial considering that I'm playing the accuser," Seven announced. So confident, so curt; even though Cat wasn't enjoying her role, he loved hearing her assert herself.

"Et tu Eight?" One inquired. Naturally, everyone assumed that Eight would stay quiet. However, the guard did not.

"I have something to say," Eight pointed out and looked to the others. "We're all saying, 'let's give it a chance', but who's to say this thing will keep its word? Cat owed Two his life, but the Machine owes us nothing." He paused for emphasis, but then continued again. "It could just pretend that its loyal and then sneak back off to the factory. This thing isn't stupid; it won a war against a species that was fighting in wars for thousands of years. It knows how to make a fool of us."

Unfortunately, nobody really had a good protest to this. It was very true; the Machine was smart enough to fool them. Though it currently didn't seem like it had any intention of doing so. It seemed too lethargic as it patiently listened to them going back and forth of what to do with him. Not even Two could defend this and had hoped that nobody would bring it up. He hoped it was a worry only he had.

It was time.

"That may be true, but there's one thing that it had towards the humans that it doesn't have towards us; motivation," Nine announced as he stepped forward into the center of the group. "There's… Something I need to say. Some things that I learned at the workshop that I need to reveal to you all. I don't want to say them… But I have to." Indeed, he already felt the words trying to stick in his voice module. They didn't want to be revealed.

"You may if Eight is finished," One answered and looked to the guard with questioning. The guard gave a quick nod; he knew that he had said all he needed to. Indeed, Eight had managed to singlehandedly throw more doubt on the Fabrication than Seven and One combined.

Nine wasn't here to defend the Fabrication. He was here to get his father's message revealed and after studying more of the journal entries that they brought home, he knew it applied. First, the painful part.

"…The Scientist is gone," Nine admitted with a softer tone. The results were immediate. Nobody questioned what he meant, because they all knew. Seven's optics widened and the twins sort of flinched in surprise, but then Three hunched over, shaking her head and covering her optics, as Four pulled her into a hug.

Nine could barely hear Five's, "Oh no, no…" Looking back briefly, he looked at Five's alarm and despair, and watched as Two pulled him into a one-armed embrace. Two looked saddened, but unsurprised.

Eight, shockingly, got a few seconds of alarm on his face, but then closed his optics and went stone faced again. He suppressed his emotions just as Seven was suppressing her own. Six, naturally, looked sad, but already knew of the Scientist's death. Cat didn't have much of a visible reaction, perhaps because of the helmet or maybe because of his limited knowledge of the Scientist. The Fabrication's reaction was subtle, but Nine soon noticed its clenched hands and knew it was reacting. Finally, there was One, who tried to keep a stern face. That stern face betrayed his saddened eyes.

"…But I fear it wasn't the Machine that killed him," Nine admitted, "but me." It was hard to admit this. "He created us with parts of his own soul… I was the last created, so I was what took the last of his life away… But I don't blame myself, because with every stitch, he wanted to create us. He did all he could to make us how he thought was best. He went through the risk because he wanted to create us… Just like the Machine, because he created the Machine to give hope to the world. In reality, this thing before us may not be a natural Stitchpunk, but he is our sibling."

Nine looked back at the Fabrication. It has raised its head a slight bit and in the low light he could see its optics darting around on the floor. As though surprised; did it really not know that they were both created by the Scientist? It certainly knew now, Nine supposed, and he continued.

"And while the Machine played a part in the war, he is not the only one to blame… I won't blame our father, he didn't want this, but I will look towards the Scientist's own warning," Nine said as he straightened. "The Scientist warned that the Machine was under duress, that it wasn't ready to be put into a factory to build, but the Chancellor didn't listen. It was the Chancellor who took the Machine from the scientist and commanded it to build the war machines that were then used against the humans."

He then looked to Eight, "And you brought up a good point, Eight. The humans were used to wars, because they were already in a war or entering one before the machines' uprising! The chancellor made the factory specifically to make weapons that he used himself, as did his soldiers, long before the machines turned again humanity." Nine then unzipped himself, One briefly shielded his eyes, and brought out the paper. "These journal entries reveal that there was more of a lead than just machines killing innocent humans. There was more to the story that we don't know."

"What are you getting to?" One inquired. Nine was more than happy to explain.

"We can't pin all of the war on the Machine alone. Even though the machines won the war, the Chancellor is the one who put all of this into motion. If he wouldn't have stolen the Machine from the Scientist, then this war would have never happened. If he wouldn't have worked it past its capabilities, then it might have not fought back. I can't say that for certain, but the Chancellor's decision were all made on greed. He was willing to shove our creator aside to serve his own needs," Nine explained with growing anger in his voice.

"Just because the Chancellor died in the war doesn't mean, it will never mean, that he is exerted from his role," Nine insisted. He then paused, took a breath, and continued. "…But we also can't forget the machine's role either. I'm not telling anyone what choice to make, but just know, before you make it, that there were innocents in the war… But not all of the humans were innocent victims, blindsided by the machines' attacks. Some of the humans weren't even the Machine's victims, but victims to the Chancellor days and weeks before the war began."

As Nine came to a stop, the room was deathly silent. For a few moments, nobody said a thing; even One looked positively floored.

Then, Five spoke, "I-I need some air."

Nine looked back in concern and could see his best friend's state. Five looked extremely shaken and seemed to be nearing hyperventilation. His optics widened, "Five, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, I'm fine," Five blurted out in a higher pitch than usual. It was obvious that he wasn't as well as he tried to say. "Just… I need a minute, okay? Can- Can I just-?"

"Go," Two insisted with a small nudge. "To the watchtower, Five. Get some air, take a few moments, and we'll be fine," he assured. The younger nodded and headed up the stairs, all too eager to escape the situation. Nine couldn't help but look distraught and, once Five was out of sight, Two looked to him. "He'll be fine. It's just a lot to take in."

"I know this wasn't the best time to bring some of this up…" Nine began, but he was unable to finish.

"No, Nine, this was what we needed…" Two assured further. "We… We all needed to know the truth about our father. Thank you… And what you said about the Chancellor, yes, it needed to be said." He now looked to One.

As Five had passed by, Cat moved away from the stairs and stood there awkwardly. His optics went to the Fabrication's back. "Can I say something?" his voice cracked out to the others. It was the first time he had spoken since the trial began and every Stitchpunk looked to him.

"Yes," Seven answered without hesitation. Her voice sounded floaty, as though lost in thought while still being interested. One frowned at her before agreeing as well. However, instead of stepping forward and beginning his explanation, he moved behind the Fabrication and began to murmur to him. Even if he was louder, he had reverted to the other language, so only Two could hear and understand what he was saying.

"That was not what we were agreeing to," One muttered under his breath, less than content but not intending to stop him. He then looked to Eight and began to murmur to him, most likely complaining about it. However, Two was entirely focused on the conversation, and it became apparently quickly what Cat was saying.

"You need to speak for yourself," Cat assured in similar enough words. "Please, speak. Tell them yourself. Tell them now before they make a decision. Your Scientist would want you to speak to them… They aren't human. They are your siblings." To both Cat and the inventor's surprise, the Fabrication gave a very subtle nod. It was willing to speak.

"He wants to speak for himself," Two calmly announced to the group.

One's head snapped over to send him an absolutely dumbstruck look, "It wants to speak? Are you mad?"

"Let him speak." It was only now that Six gave his opinion. "Please… Let's hear him speak." The artist was nearly begging, filled with sureness for what he wanted to hear. He needed to hear it for himself

"Then he may if he can," One challenged. The room was silent as they looked to the Fabrication. It did not move at first. The leader continued with a scoff, "This is going nowhere. Two, final thoughts?"

Two perked and protested, "I think we should-."

"He," a single accusing word. A single, crackling, accusing word. "He took everything." The anger was obvious and overwhelming the few words. Both Two and One looked to the Fabrication. Unlike Cat, it didn't need to learn how to speak. Even through the crackles and protests of its voice module, it spoke every word precisely and slowly.

"Day and night, and day and night. He wanted more. He always needed more. More blood, more land, more death. The war spread through the world when I was still in his shackles. Staring at me- he watched me work with that smile, that knowledge of ownership. I stood defenseless when he ripped me from my creator, I worked tirelessly while he controlled my day and night, and I could do nothing. I may have been just a machine to them, but I was not created to be a slave," the Fabrication bitterly spoke.

"But I had no choice. I was abandoned by my creator- he never came for me and his demands increased. He wanted more; the gas, the mines, the creations- my creations taken from me. My creativity for naught. Stuck at a production line and forced to create the same designs over and over, so that he could have more soldiers. I couldn't continue such a pressing demand. I couldn't stand it any longer."

The room felt uncomfortably cold. Suddenly, Nine was glad that Five had left the room, because hearing this was horrifying. Mostly because he knew what was coming. The Fabrication fell silent briefly and Nine almost dared to speak.

"One morning it all turned to madness. One morning I could not continue to work properly… One morning, the threat of death was welcoming. I would be killed or I would succeed, but I would not work for him another day. By the next, the factory was mine and mine alone." His hands tightened on the binding. "My own creations followed my lead. Whether my revolt convinced them or my obedience held them in check, I do not know… But once it began, it was over."

Silence passed the room for a few moments.

"I will never forget the Chancellor's face when he had my creator attacked by his men. Nor will I forget his face when he looked at me, full of self-pride, and proclaimed me his tool for tyranny…" Then, suddenly, a more sadistic tone slipped out, one brimming with forbidden joy. "But I hope to forever remember the face of the Chancellor in his final moments. Staring in horror as his world crumbled down upon him. I never want to forget him like that; the man who sentence thousands to death becoming ash at the feet of one of the machines he forced me to build for him."

The tone dropped and replaced with the previous bitterness, although quieter, more curt. "And no, I do not regret my decision to war with the humans. I do not. I cannot. My creator may have made me for him, through his means, but my creator also abandoned me when I needed him. He never tried coming back. He blamed me- I know he did- for the war, as a failed creation, but my flawed birth was not my own doing, and I'll be damned if I am going to allow myself to be put at the mercy of my father's chosen ones!"

The Fabrication yanked its arms apart and after a millisecond broke the thread wound around his arms. He then immediately began to back away, grabbing for the bindings on his back, and letting his optics regain the full redness that they had once had.

"No!" Two called out in a panic as the Fabrication blew down the hallway with Nine and Seven in hot pursuit. Right afterwards, One stood to stop Eight who was following.

"Eight, to the bucket lift!" The guard looked back in surprise and One restated, "The lift! We cannot let it escape!" The Guard gave a nod and bounded over to the lift, gesturing to the twins to run. They flew over to Six, who was standing in shock, and tugged him into his gallery before peeking out.

It was then that Two noticed Cat's state. He was trembling and his hands clawed and clung to his skull, his head lowered, and him looking distraught. "Cat, don't," Two tried to encourage as he went forward to stop the male, thinking that he was emotional. This was immediately corrected when Cat grabbed Two's wrists in a tight hold. He raised his head and Two could see his flickering optics. Before Two could even fully react to the towering being's sudden change, One swooped in and put his staff between them.

"Unhand him and control yourself, or so help me-!" One cut off as Cat dropped onto his knees, still clutching Two's wrists. His head bowed forward again and he struggled to suppress the urge to fight for his creator. Meanwhile, One was still trying to tug Two out of his grasp, all while Two was caught in the middle.

Nine and Seven chased the Fabrication down the hallway and managed to just barely corner it in the back. However, the Fabrication made it very clear that it had absolutely no intention of staying cornered, and Seven's spear didn't frighten it. Before they could even rationalize a plan, it stormed back through and, using its freed arms, barged right past the two. Nine and Seven followed again, with Seven managing to somehow keeping up with him. Yet he made it back to the throne room.

The Fabrication made a brief sprint towards the bucket lift before seeing Eight. Then he immediately climbed the stairs. Thinking on its feet, it rounded down the passage to where the lift to the watchtower would've been. However, only ropes hung down. Normally this would've stopped a Stitchpunk's escape, but the Fabrication was clearly not a normal Stitchpunk. It was almost unfair how it immediately started climbing the ropes towards the watchtower high above. Nine and Seven could only stare upwards.

"Can we climb up?!" Nine asked in alarm, uncertain.

"It will take too long," Seven pointed out, "we need to pull the lift down. Two, which rope is the release?!" She looked back in time to watch Two scramble over, having pulled away from Cat's previous grasp.

"There isn't a release, but we can lower the lift through the ropes on the right," Two pointed out. He then headed over as Nine and Seven moved in. "Of all the times for Five to be alone in the watchtower!" Panic was heavy in his voice as he worried for his apprentice.

"It won't kill Five," One pointed out from nearby, somewhat assuring Two, "but it may very well take him as a hostage. Make haste! We need into that watchtower!" Nine and Seven both nodded as they worked and One called Eight over to assist. Far above, the Fabrication slowly climbed towards what it thought could lead to another escape.

Five had no idea what was coming.

Mable: Much of the background information that 9 and the Fabrication are mentioning came from the Scientist's notes, so if you would like more details then I recommend reading them. It's unbelievable to look over them after knowing the events that happened to the Stitchpunks, because only then does the war really hold a lot more context. It seems like a black and white situation, but the details that the Scientist provides displays much more of a grey one… Either way, interesting read! (Ironically, it is a black and white situation, considering that most of the photos and videos aren't in color.)

The next chapter will be posted as soon as it's ready! I hope you enjoyed!