9 finished setting up the makeshift bed for 2 outside the house. 2's body was fixed up and ready for revival, and his arms were laying beside him while the wire was connected to him and the Talisman, which 9 was holding in his hands. It was already sunrise and 9 was tired from repairing 2 all night, but he didn't care. He was ready to see his friend again.

He looked up at the sky where clouds were gathering over him, then down at the Talisman. He sighed and said to himself, "I know I can do this."

Remembering the sequence the Scientist showed him, 9 pressed the metallic markings one by one slowly; first the lower left marking, then the top marking, and finally the lower right marking. After pressing the third one, the Talisman began to hum and shake, but 9 kept a tight grip on it. He aimed the Talisman to the sky, and the Talisman opened up and the green beams shot up into the sky.

The beams glowed warm with energy and they were getting stronger every second, but 9 kept his arms straight and he noticed the beams glowing lighter when they went back into the Talisman. He looked over without moving his head and noticed the wire glowing green as it streamed into 2's body. The beams returned to the Talisman and it closed back up again.

9 looked back at 2's body with a smile of hope, knowing that his first friend was about to come back to life. He took the wire out of 2's chest and waited for a few seconds, but there was no movement or breathing. 9's smile began to fade away into sadness. He stammered in disbelief, "I-I don't understand! I followed the directions he gave me. It should've worked." He took 2's hand and held it, but it felt cold and when he let go of it, it fell limp next to 2.

2 was still dead!

9 collapsed on his knees in shock and disbelief next to 2 and laid his head next to him. He cried, "2, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He got back up on his feet and looked at the Talisman at the end of the bed. He felt a mix of anger, grief, and sadness as he picked up the Talisman.

"You lied to me! You told me I could bring everyone back, but you lied!" he yelled at it in anger and grief. He dropped it to the ground, and he fell on his knees and began to cry. Although he didn't cry tears from his eyes like the humans did, he felt like there were tears flowing down his eyes and he could still feel sadness.

While 9 was crying, he failed to notice some movement coming from 2's body. His fingers started twitching, then his feet and his entire body. Finally, a small gasp for air came from the Stitchpunk elder's mouth and his eyes began to blink. 2 shot up from the bed and panted softly. He looked around and wondered where he was until he noticed 9 down on his knees and crying.

"9?"

Hearing the old man's voice, 9 gasped in alarm and slowly turned his head and his sadness disappeared and turned into joy to see his friend alive. He cried, "2?"

The old Stitchpunk nodded, "Yes, lad. It's me." 9 felt his heart racing when he got back on his feet and ran back to the bed. 2 climbed off the bed and tried to keep his balance when he set his feet on the ground. 9 looked at 2 for a second, then he embraced the Stitchpunk elder. 2 returned the embrace with a smile and rubbed 9's back.

"I can't believe it. He really was right the whole time, and you're back." 9 cried softly as he released himself from the embrace. 2 smiled, "I knew you could this. He was right about you."

9's eyes opened wide in curiosity. He asked 2, "Wait, how do you know about this?"

2 nodded, "Back in the Heavens, our creator told us of your task, and we were ready to return home." 9 had no idea that the Scientist told 2 and the other deceased about him, but he didn't care. His first friend was back in his life, and a part of the void in his heart had been patched up a little. He embraced 2 once again and didn't want to let go of him for a long time.

"I'm so sorry I got you killed. It was stupid of me to activate the Machine." 9 sighed. "I just didn't know what would happen after I put the Talisman in it. Please forgive me."

2 let go of him and smiled softly as he placed his hand on his shoulder, "I do, 9. You just didn't know a thing about the war or the humans. And you were still learning because you have already awakened by then, correct?" 9 nodded. 2 continued, "Well, what's done is done, and now the past is all behind us."

9 shook his head, "No, not until everyone is back here. I need to get you back to 7 and the twins in the Library while I look for everyone else."

"7? Do she and the twins know about this?" 2 asked him.

9 shook his head and responded with regret, "No. In fact, a couple days ago, I couldn't stand the painful memories of you and the others dying because of me, so I ran away from home so that they can be safe from me. I didn't go back because 7 would never believe me about you or the others coming home." 2 said to him, "Well, now she'll believe you now that I'm back. She and the twins need to know."

9 sighed. If he returned home with 2, things would be much better, right? No. He still had a long way to go before his slate would be cleaned and his heart will be filled again. He looked over at the moth, which had for some reason stayed nearby him and watched him revive 2, and it was resting on a slab of concrete that was positioned at the direction of the Library. Then he made his final decision.

"I'm going home... with you."

Back at the Library, 7 woke up early before the twins did. She watched the twins stirring a bit in their sleep and smiled at them before jumping off the shelf they slept on and landed on the ground with ease. She stepped out of the globe and looked up at the hole in the ceiling, noticing the sun coming up. Her mind was more focused on searching for 9. She barely got any sleep last night due to thinking about him and his sanity.

The silence in the Library was broken when she heard the sound of footsteps clanking on the floors in the distance. She heard them coming from the entrance of the Library.

Recognizing the footsteps, she ran towards the entrance with a hopeful smile on her face and her heart racing. She stopped on top of a pile of books when she saw two small figures walking past the books; one that had a red cloth over them, and the other she instantly recognized and made her heart race faster. 7 jumped off the pile and raced towards the two.

She crashed into 9, nearly knocking him off his feet, and embraced him tightly. She cried, "9! You're back! I was so worried about you." 9 returned the embrace and smiled softly, "I'm so sorry I ran off, 7. But I came back to show you something." He turned to the figure under the cloth and nodded assuringly. 7 gasped out loud and she felt her heart stop when the figure removed the cloth and showed himself.

7 stood still in confusion and joy when she saw 2 standing in front of her, alive and well. She didn't know how long she stood there in silence, but after a minute or two, she managed to let her words escape her mouth.

"2? You're..."

She couldn't finish her sentence and exclaimed, "I don't believe it! You're alive!" She came over to 2 and embraced him tightly, almost knocking the old man off his feet. 2 didn't know how to react. It had been so long since he saw 7 besides his last time seeing her at the Factory. He returned her embrace as she started crying softly.

"I missed you so much." she sighed.

"Ah, lass. When you left, it was like a hole in my heart that couldn't be mended. It's so good to see you again." 2 said to her as he remained in her embrace.

"I'm so happy you're back." 7 smiled at him, but then her joy turned into confusion. She moved away from 2 and exclaimed, "But how is this even possible?! You died, but how come you're alive again?" 2 reassured her, "7, you're not going to believe this, but we're coming home."

"We? You mean the others are coming back to earth?" 7 said in disbelief. 2 nodded, "Yes, but you should ask 9 about it, because he's the one who brought me back." 7 looked at 9, and she asked him, "9, how did you do this, and what is he talking about?"

9 explained how he ran away from home and into the outskirts of the Emptiness, meeting the Scientist in spirit and learning that the others haven't completed their mission on earth and he sent him to find those who lost their souls to the Fabrication Machine and bring them back to life with the Talisman. 7 couldn't believe what she was hearing from him.

"Are you crazy?" 7 said to him. "You can't pull off a stunt like that! It's impossible. Haven't you seen what happened to everyone? 6's body's in that trench, 1 and 5's are probably crushed, and 8's might be burnt to a crisp." 9 protested, "But there's still hope that they're still out there."

"9 is right, 7." 2 added. "We're going to look for everyone's bodies, even if it does sound impossible. After all, I am back, aren't I?" 7 thought for a minute, then she turned away from 9 and 2. 9 took her hand and said to her as he put his hand on her chin, "7, please. This could be our chance for all of us to start all over again."

7 looked at him, then back at the globe, thinking about the twins sleeping in their beds. After some thinking, 7 heaved a huge sigh, "Alright. But I'm coming with you to help you. You can't do this alone."

"Yes." 2 nodded in agreement. "We will help you every step of the way, and you and I can make up for all the time I should have spent with you." 9 smiled at the feeling of 2 being with him, but then his smile turned to fear when he had a flashback of 2 getting killed by the Fabrication Machine when he activated it using the Talisman and seeing his dead body on the ground.

9 snapped out of his trance and panted heavily. He said to 2 as he backed away in fear, "No! No, you can't. I'm not going to risk losing you again." He was about to run out of the corridors when he said sadly, "Good-bye, guys." 2 and 7 didn't know what was coming over 9, and 7 called out to him as she tried to stop him, "9, wait! You can't do this alone. What part did you not understand about that?" 9 thought for a moment, remembering that 7 told him he couldn't do his mission alone. He sighed and said to her, "Get 2 to the globe, and meet me at the remains of Sanctuary later."

"Alright." 7 nodded. "Just be careful out there."

9 nodded at her with an understanding smile. Before leaving, he told 7, "Oh, and by the way, tell 3 and 4 I said 'hi', and I'll be back to see them again later."

"Don't worry, I will."

9 smiled at her, then he darted off and went back into the Emptiness. 2 watched him leave, and he smiled with a sigh, "He can do this. He's just like me, only younger and braver." He looked over and noticed 7 walking away, and the Stitchpunk elder watched as she sat down on a book.

2 knew something was on the warrior's mind. He walked over to the female Stitchpunk and sat beside her. He asked her, "7? What's wrong, lass?"

7 sighed and answered without turning her head to look at him, "When I left with the twins away from you and the others long ago, I could never forgive myself. If I didn't leave, then 1 wouldn't send you out to die and you wouldn't be dead just like the others." She looked at the Stitchpunk elder and added, "You have no idea how much grief and regret I've bottled up inside. Even the twins didn't get to see you one last time when you died." She rubbed her arms as if she was freezing and she looked down at her feet in shame.

2 scooted closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He assured her with some comforting words, "It's alright, 7. All that matters is that I knew you were still alive and well, and now you're the strongest fighter I've ever seen after watching you take down the beast." He remembered when he, 5, and 9 were cornered by the Cat Beast until 7 came and saved their lives and sliced its head clean off.

2 continued, "I missed you more than you missed me when you were gone. You were like the daughter I never had." 7 smiled at him, feeling so much better. They jerked their heads up when they heard the sound of clattering coming from the globe. 7 gasped softly, remembering about the twins.

Taking 2's hand, she went back to the globe with 2 and found the twins awake and wandering around the globe. She called to them, getting their attention, "Guys, there's someone here who you'll be happy to see again." The twins looked over at 7, and they gasped silently when they saw 2 standing next to her. The twins happily ran over to them and hugged 2.

2 chuckled as he returned their embrace, "Hello, twins. It's great to see you again, too." 7 watched the touching moment and smiled. She could feel the hole in her mechanical heart heal inside. She said outloud, "If only 5 could see this, and maybe even 1 will have a better perspective this time."

2 looked at 7 and laughed, "1. Wait until that old goat gets here. He's going to have so much explaining to do for sending me out to die on that ridiculous scouting mission." 7 didn't know how he knew 1 sent him out to die, but she laughed and nodded in agreement.

The Cat Beast sat on top of a beam in the factory and watched the sun rise in the horizon. Something caught its eye when it saw strange green beams shooting into the skies. The creature figured it came from the Talisman that the Stitchpunks kept.

Jumping off of the beam, the Cat Beast ran out of the old factory and made its way towards the source of the lights. The beast arrived at the spot just as the sunlight was shining on the Emptiness, but it saw nothing but a makeshift bed and small footprints. There were two sets of footprints on the ground. The Cat Beast sensed one of the survivors was here, and it recognized the other set of footprints as the one it took to its master. It followed the footprints to their owners' destination, but they were cut off at piles of debris and scrap metal.

The beast roared furiously that its prey got away before it even arrived and slashed its claws at the bed, destroying it.

So how was that? Our beloved inventor 2 is back and reunited with our heroes, but 9 feels worried that he'll lose him again. And now the Cat Beast knows of 2 existance. 9's next destination gives us a clue to who he's going to revive next. Can you uys guess who it is?

9 belongs to Shane Acker and Tim Burton.