9 returned to the Emptiness later that day. He was about to head back to the Library to tell 7 about what had happened and tell her and the twins how sorry he was for leaving them, but that would have to wait. Right now he needed to find the bodies of his fallen friends and bring them back. First, he wanted to find and bring back the very first person he met and befriended, the one who helped him learn about the Emptiness when he first awakened; 2.

He remembered the last time he saw the old Stitchpunk was when he and his friends set him adrift in the fountain back at the Library to let his body rest in peace after freeing it from the Seamstress. He decided to return to the Library to find 2, but then he thought about 7 and the twins. He believed if they saw him return, they'd see him as a deserter and leave him. He planned to sneak through the Library to get to the fountain without them spotting him. Before heading to the Library, he went over to a partially destroyed building that was once the home of his creator where he awoke.

After climbing the still-intact staircase up to the top floor, he entered the laboratory and walked over to the desk. If he was going to bring his friends back to life with the Talisman, he needed something to help it transfer their souls back into their bodies. He remembered seeing one of the Scientist's blueprints of the Talisman needing to be connected to a small wire to the sockets inside their chests to transfer their souls. He climbed up the desk and over to the transfer device where he first awakened, and he found a small wire lying beneath it. It had a small connecting jack at the end and three tiny buds at the front.

Recognizing the alignment of the buds, he took out the Talisman from his chest and saw three sockets at the bottom of it. Curiously, he inserted the three buds on the wire into the Talisman and sure enough, they were a perfect fit! He took them out of the socket, and he looked at the jack end of the wire. 9 remembered when he first awakened, he noticed a slot in his chest below where his voice box would be, and he knew that this was where the jack was inserted when the Scientist gave him his soul before the old man died. He said to himself, "If I can just find everyone's bodies, maybe I can get their souls back with this and the Talisman."

He stuffed the wire and the Talisman into his chest and zipped the zipper back up to secure the two objects inside him. He was about to make his way out of the room until he stopped and looked across the floor. He walked over to the lifeless body covered in scattered papers that laid on flat on the floor. 9 held his head low and looked down at the lifeless body, which was the long-dead Scientist who gave his soul to him and everyone else before him, leaving his own body a lifeless, empty shell.

He knelt down to the Scientist's corpse and said softly, "Thank you... for giving me this chance to start again with my friends." He took one last moment to look at his late creator before running out of the room and leaving the devastated building. He walked down the path towards the Library, passing by the debris, destroyed cars and Walkers, and human corpses.

Once he got to the destroyed gates of the Library gardens, 9 spotted a piece of black fabric from the flag of the country that the Emptiness once was. The fabric was big enough to go around him and cover up most of his body, but leaving a bit of room for his legs to move around properly. He secured the cloth and made his way over to the Library.

It was already nightfall, and it was a very dark night with the clouds covering the moon, blocking it's graceful light, making him hard to spot even in the Library. After entering the building, he quietly made his way around the scattered books and kept his light bulb staff turned off to avoid being seen in the dark. He reached the fountain and looked at the drain where his first friend was laid to rest. It wasn't going to be easy finding 2 in there, but to 9, failure was not an option, and that was his vow to not fail this new mission he had.

He went to the edge of the fountain and dipped the end of his staff in it to test the depth of its water. It reached halfway up the staff, but 9 didn't want to get wet out of fear his skin would be ruined if it was left to dry in the dark without light or warmth. Looking around, he found a stray cover page of a hardcover book. It was perfect for a raft.

9 grabbed the cover and pulled it towards the fountain. After setting it on the water, he got onto it and pushed against the walls of the fountain with the end of his staff to make it go forward. As his makeshift raft floated towards the drain, he could hear the clatter of footsteps approaching from close by.

7 returned to the Library that evening. She was already tired from her search for 9, and she desperately needed some rest. She made her way back to the globe until she heard the sound of water splashing. She followed the sound to the fountain, and she hid behind a large upright book when she saw a cloaked figure about to enter the drain.

She dashed over to get a closer look at the figure, but he already disappeared into the drain. All she could see from him was a bit of burlap skin, a light bulb staff, and she even noticed a zipper visible from the black fabric he was wearing.

"9?"

The drain was dark and there was nothing but water and trash floating everywhere. 9 turned on his staff to get a good look around the area to search for 2's lifeless body. He wasn't sure how long it took him, but he believed it would have been over a half an hour. He struggled to keep his balance on the raft to prevent himself from falling off, and the water had gotten a little deeper the more he ventured into the drain.

As he went deeper into the drain, he came across pages that came loose from the books in the Library and somehow ended up down the fountain's drain during the war. After drifting deeper, he noticed something laying on a small wooden piece at the end of the tunnel.

What did you all think so far? 9 is starting his mission to bring his friends back to life starting with his very first friend. Will he manage to bring 2 and the others back to life, and will he go back to 7 and the twins?

9 belongs to Shane Acker and Tim Burton.