9 rowed closer to the edge of the drain and took a good look at the figure laying limp on the wooden piece; it was 2!
The Stitchpunk elder laid serenely on his back with his arms crossed over his shoe leather chest. The coin placed over his eyes had somehow slipped off and landed next to his head, revealing his blank, lifeless eyes. The longer 9 stared at the body of his very first friend, the more emotional pain he felt from remembering his moments with the elder from when they first met in the Emptiness when he first awakened to when the elder had died from having his soul taken from the Fabrication Machine after 9 placed the Talisman inside it.
He wasn't going to make that same mistake again, and he wasn't going to let his friend go. Rowing closer to the body to avoid going overboard, 9 reached over to the lifeless body of the Stitchpunk elder and lifted him up in his arms. He got back onto his raft and sailed towards the Library, but then he began having second thoughts. He thought about 7 and the twins and wondered if they were waiting for him at the other side, and they'd be shocked seeing him carrying 2's dead body. In fact, he was certain that they wouldn't believe him if he told them about meeting the Scientist in spirit or how he will be able to revive their fallen friends. With those thoughts, he turned around and drifted to other side of the drain towards the sewers. The water wasn't flowing rapidly since it last rained weeks prior, so he was safe as he drifted down the waters. Once he reached the sewers, he rowed the raft through them to find the drains to lead him to the outside world.
After what seemed to be about an hour later, he found a light at the end of the tunnel. 9 made his way towards the exit, and once he hit the solid part of the drain, he got off the raft and dragged it with him while 2's body rested on it. Once he reached the end, he looked around outside and he found himself in what used to be a forest. All around him, all plant life was dead. Trees were brittle and leafless, bushes were bare and looked as if they were burnt by flames, and the ground was barren and the once green grass had turned an ugly shade of brown.
9 remembered the painting he saw back at the Library of how beautiful the world once was, and he'd give anything to actually see the beauty of that past world. He snapped back into reality and climbed out of the drain while carrying 2's body on his back, and he started making his way up the muddy slopes above the drain. When he was almost to the top, the mud below his feet made him slip, but he quickly grabbed onto a root coming out of the ground from one of the dead trees and stopped his fall as he had a tight grip on 2.
He reached the top of the slopes, and something surprised him; the moth had been resting on the top as if it was waiting for him. He cared less about the moth and more about the flower it was resting on. Instead of it being shriveled up and dead, it's stem was green and healthy and its petals were pure white like freshly fallen snow, although he may not have actually seen snow but he saw what it looked like in the books he read at the Library.
Seeing the moth and the flower gave 9 hope for him, and after giving one last glance at the moth along with a soft smile, he made his way through the forest with 2's body. After 9 left, the moth took flight and disappeared into a small cloud of ashes.
Back at the Library that evening, 7 was tucking the twins into their sock beds in the globe. But 3 and 4 weren't even tired. They were still worried about 9 and wondered if he was ever coming home. 7 assured them both as she tucked them in, "You both don't have to keep worrying. I'm sure he just needs some alone time."
But despite her assurance, she too was secretly worried about 9. Earlier she saw him going into the drains leading to the sewers that he told her about when he, the twins, 5, and 6 all gave 2 his funeral before going off to save her and 8 from the Fabrication Machine. Still, she hid her worries and smiled at the twins, "Just try to get some sleep, okay? We'll look for 9 tomorrow morning."
The twins nodded and 7 hugged them both and kissed them on their heads. The twins began to yawn and laid down in their socks, closed their eyes, and fell asleep. 7 watched them sleep for a bit with a soft and gentle smile, then she left the twins and went out of the globe, her smile turning into a sad expression. She began to worry more about 9 when he went into the fountain's water system, and he never came out of them after that.
She sighed sadly as she looked up at the moon, "9, I don't know whatever it is you're doing, but I hope you're not losing your mind."
Meanwhile, 9 was hiding away in an abandoned house. It was mostly blasted to bits from the war and it's walls and roof were blown off, but there was still enough of it to reside in temporarily.
He stared at 2's body, which was resting on a dark red brick. He had already taken off the fabric sewn onto him from when he was attached to the Seamstress, as well as a wire attached to his lower back that connected him to its tail to make it flash the lights from 2's eyes. Before he got started on him, he was worried that the Fabrication Machine had sliced 2 in half while creating the Seamstress, but his worries went away when he saw they were only sewn together tightly with his knees bent. Right now, the only things he was worried about was that his inner wiring could be fried from when the Seamstress flashed the bright lights from his eyes or his insides could be broken from when 7 stabbed him before removing him from the Seamstress's tail.
With the tools he found in the remains of the house, he prepared to examine 2 for any more repairs. He opened the elder's chest and checked to make sure his inner mechanisms were still intact. He found the spot where 7 stabbed him, and he was relieved that it narrowly avoided his spine and landed only an inch away from it. Better yet, a while ago, 9 learned their insides were protected by a special material when the Scientist created him and the others to protect them from the elements.
He smiled softly in relief at the elder's body. But his smile turned into sadness when he remembered when he activated the Fabrication Machine, and 2 shoved him away from the beams from the Talisman that claimed his soul and killed him, making him the first one to go.
"You saved my life from the Beast, and this is how I repaid you." he sighed sadly. He bowed his head and added, "I wanted to save you from the Beast in return, but I let you down back there. But not this time. When you come back to us, I will make things right again the way they used to be." He took out the Talisman and the wire, and he stared down at them for a while.
He was going to bring those he lost back to this world, whatever it takes.
So what did you guys think? 9 is planning to bring 2 back to life first, and 7 still believes that 9 will return. Little does 9 know that there is something mysterious about the moth following him around. Sorry for the long wait guys, but here's the latest chapter.
9 belongs to Shane Acker and Tim Burton.