Look at that, I managed to post chapter two. This took a lot out of me, and the intensity was extreme. If you're wondering, yes, I am serious about this fic. I can't wait to see how chapter three pans out.

There's going to be a lot of mentioning from both movies. It's to create some kind of symbolism, themes, that sort of thing. This fanfiction is going to be one that generations will remember forever.

Hogarth spent his morning doing his chores around the house after breakfast. He kept the stitchpunks in his room, and told them to hide in case his mother came in. While his mother washed the dishes, Hogarth was outside helping Dean haul supplies to the trunk of the car. He was commissioned to do a new sculpture, this one would be for the elementary school; it would be displayed in the main foyer.

Hogarth saw him off as he drove away in his car. He traipsed back inside and headed for his room. Upon opening the door, he found the four standing on the windowsill.

"Come on," said Hogarth, as he grabbed his backpack. He zipped it open, and strolled over to the window. "Let's get going." He held out the open back for them. 9, 5 and the twins jumped inside. Strapping it on, he picked up his binoculars, his camera, and his helmet. Placing it on, he ran out the door, thumped down the stairs and made a break for the front door.

"Bye, Mom!," he called out. "I'm going out."

"Be careful out there, Hogarth," shouted back his mother from the kitchen.

As soon as he closed the door, Hogarth made a turn for the forest path on his left. He picked up his bike, got on and pedaled away. The stitchpunks, with the backpack left half-open, they peered out, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the forest. The majestic trees covered the blue sky, resembling cracked robins' blue eggshell fragments on the grass. The outskirt of the forest was surrounded by shrubs and many different plants and greenery. It left the stitchpunks enthralled.

The sound of twigs cracking could be heard beneath the moss-veiled trail. The crisp smell of dewy foliage met Hogarth's nose. A scent he enjoyed every day he came here. Wherever the stitchpunks looked, each felt like the forest itself was watching them as though it new they weren't from this world. It was true that this a newness to the stitchpunks, and it was not in their everyday lives that the come across a marvel like this.

Hogarth saw his usual spot up ahead and sped up. The stitchpunks grabbed on as Hogarth pedaled faster and the wind whipped against their faces. In a few seconds they arrived at the spot, leading Hogarth to hop off his bike and lean it against a tree. Lifting the visor on his helmet, Hogarth scanned the area, in case someone, or something, was lurking. There was nothing except the serenity of the forest and the clear singing of the birds. Everything was absolutely perfect.

"All clear," he said. He took off his backpack and gingerly placed it on the ground next to his bike. As soon as he set it down, the stitchpunks got out. The twins hopped off, scurrying towards Hogarth's bicycle. Immediately their optics flashed as they ran their tiny hands through the spokes. They then climbed from the wheel to the seat, recording every detail. Hogarth was amused and he sat on his haunches, watching them with a smile across his lips.

"They sure are curious little guys," said Hogarth as he removed his helmet from his head. "Which reminds me, are they boys or girls?"

"4's a girl," said 5.

"How can you tell?," queried Hogarth, raising a brow.

"Look closely at 4," said 5. "You'll notice that she's slimmer than her brother. And her face is more delicate."

Hogarth squinted his eyes at 4. The hooded stitchpunk moved very fast, but he caught glimpses of 4's face. He could see what 5 had said. She had a pert, oval-shaped face. Her brother, however, despite being twins, he could see 3's face was more masculine and more rough.

"I see what you mean," he said. Hogarth reached into his backpack and pulled out his binoculars. Leaning against a rock, elbows planted on the rock's surface and he peeked through the lens.

"Do you think they might've passed through?," asked 9, walking up him.

"I don't know," replied Hogarth. He jerked away from his binoculars, gazing down at the zippered stitchpunk. "Do you think they might've followed you?"

"It's something they would do," said 9, "but I know for a fact that 1 might've stopped them."

"1?," mused Hogarth. "Your leader, right?"

"Yeah."

Hogarth briefly glimpsed at the ground in thought, unsure of what to think.

"And," he said, "you all have numbers for names?"

"That's right," said 5.

"Why did the Scientist give you numbers for names?," asked Hogarth.

"Well," began 5, "2 and I had a theory on that."

"2," said Hogarth, "he's your..."

"Mentor." 5 finished for him.

"I was going to say father, but mentor kinda has a nice ring to it."

5 wrung his hands. "Anyways, about our theory," he said, "2 discussed this with me a few days after I was awoken. He said that the reason we were given numbers was to represent the scale of perfection in humans."

This rapt Hogarth into the conversation. So much that he set his binoculars aside.

"Huh." Hogarth tapped his chin.

"It's like this," said 5, picking up a twig. He planted it into the ground and dragged it along to the left. The line was at least five inches long. 5 drew a ten on one end, then went back to where he was standing and drew a one. "We," motioning to himself, 9, and the twins (who were already making their way to the group), "are all parts of the Scientist who made us."

"That sounds interesting," said Hogarth, arching a brow.

"Yeah," said 5, "now, 1, he got all of the Scientist's arrogance and cold demeanor. 2, got more of the Scientist's caring side. And he's very creative, always inventing things and he studies already-existing inventions to find a way to make them better." 5 scrawled a two next to the one. "3 and 4, being twins, are always together. Their endless thirst for knowledge makes them great for when we need research on something."

"And then there's me," he took a bow, as to be playful. 9 chuckled while the twins stood beside the one-eyed stitchpunk, throwing their arms into the air in the form of presenting him. "I'm cautious, analytical, focused." He quickly scribbled down the three and the four on the dirt. Then he scrawled down the five. "6," he moved over to the line, about a quarter to the end, "now 6 was always fixated on one thing: the source. He knew about it enough to keep drawing it over and over. I didn't understand it, but 2 always took his drawings to study them."

At that moment, 9 unzipped himself and pulled out the talisman. He laid it on the ground, next to the scale 5 drew.

"Didn't you try to ask him?," asked Hogarth.

"I always did," replied 5, "but his answers weren't always clear. I had a hard time understanding him."

"So did I," interjected 9.

3 and 4 flickered their optics, but Hogarth had an idea of what they might have said.

5 scribbled down the number six. "7," he began, "is rebellious, adventurous, she stands up for others when the need arises." He stepped up a little closer to the end of the scale, almost close to the number ten. "She left the sanctuary to kill off the beasts, and she took the twins with her."

"Why?," uttered Hogarth.

"It was to keep them from being controlled by 1," replied 5. "I remember the day; she and 1 got into an argument. 7 had gotten into an accident; she fought a Cat Beast, it tore her back and 2 and I patched it. 3 and 4 stood there, watching them argue. 7 and 1 looked at them, they didn't say anything, but their looks told them: they had to choose. Stay in the sanctuary with 1 or go with 7. They chose to leave with 7, and I never knew where they went."

"But didn't you know they were in the library?," inquired Hogarth.

"I couldn't have," said 5, "our world was barren, unsafe, they could've been anywhere. And I was too afraid to go out and search for them."

"Wouldn't you have wanted to?"

5's face became solemn. Shrugging, he said, "It all worked out in the end, and we got to be back together. You know, after we were brought back." Hogarth didn't say anything, either out of politeness or because he had nothing to say. 5 scribbled down the number 7. "8's pretty much like a bully."

"Oh, I know how that feels," said Hogarth. "I've had years experience dealing with bullies."

5 forced a smile. "I believe your experience was different from ours. 8 teased 6, took his drawings, ripped them."

"Didn't 1 stop him?," asked Hogarth.

"On the contrary, 1 supported him, he even joined him." 5 reined in his surging temper from having remembered that. "But he did protect us from when the Winged Beast attacked us."

"But he also wasn't the brightest," quipped Hogarth. It took 5 several seconds to register that he meant the part where he was captured by the Seamstress.

"Oh! Right, yes," he said, glancing at the ground, "he wasn't, but since he was brought back he learned to be more focused, more alert."

"That's a relief," commented Hogarth, sitting back on the rock, arms crossed.

5 wrote down the the number eight. "And last but not least, 9." The twins stood on either side of 9, raising their arms as though presenting him. The zippered stitchpunk chuckled.

"I'd like to hear from 9 himself," said Hogarth.

9 smiled sheepishly. "Hehe, well," he scratched the back of his head, "all right, all right." The twins clasped their hands and slowly stepped back. "Well, there's not a lot to say," he began, "but from the moment I woke up I suddenly found out I could do things I never did before." He holds up his staff with the lightbulb. "Like this," he says, "my lightstaff. Actually," he glanced over at 5, "we build it together."

"It's true," commented 5.

"Yeah," said 9, "anyways, I just had a feeling, from the moment I opened my eyes, I saw the chance for a future." He rubbed his arm in an embarrassed sort of way. "I...I represent the part of the Scientist that's curious, innocent, and..." He took a breath. "I was the last made. And he made me to save all of us."

5 used the twig to write down the number nine. It was complete. There was something else in Hogarth's mind that didn't add up.

"There's no tenth stitchpunk, is there?," queried Hogarth. The stitchpunks all shook their heads. It was obvious from what they told him, but Hogarth still wanted to know. "I was just...wondering. Cause you know."

"He wouldn't have lasted long to make one," said 5.

"He died after he transferred his last piece of his soul to me," explained 9. "But there's more to this than just fragments of the Scientist's traits and personality." He pointed at the scale with his lightstaff. "The scale represents the level of perfection, like 5 said," he quoth. "And since there's no such thing as perfection, nine is the closest to perfection humans can reach."

"That's why there's no tenth stitchpunk," said Hogarth, a grin on his face.

"Exactly," said 5. 3 and 4 nodded.

"Wow, that's incredible," uttered Hogarth, unable to contain his excitement. "And when you all worked together, you were able to defeat the B.R.A.I.N."

The stitchpunks couldn't disagree with his statement.

"And that thing there—" Hogarth pointed at the talisman. "—the talisman. He used that to bring you all to life?"

"That's right," replied 5.

"Was it...painful?," said Hogarth, grimacing. "When he...did that?"

"It left him drained," responded 5. "And with every stitchpunk he created, he got weaker. It's the price you pay for every life you bring."

"That's some really dark stuff there," said Hogarth. "But your world is safe, isn't it? And humans will come back, right?"

"That's what we're hoping, Hogarth," said 9. The twins also agreed. "It'll take several years for life to return to our world. But it'll happen."

"How can you be sure?," asked Hogarth.

"Because we believe," retorted 5. "And 2 told us that we have to have faith."

"I know what that's like." Hogarth brought his knees up to his chin. "Everyone's always saying to have faith."

"And do you agree?," asked 9.

It took a few moments for Hogarth to gather his thoughts and come up with an answer.

"It's hard to have faith when you're not sure what the outcome will be," answered Hogarth, brow furrowed.

"Well, that's true," said 5.

9 picked up the talisman and hid it back inside himself.

Hogarth turned back to his binoculars, grabbing them, clearing the lenses with his shirt and turned back around.

"Let's keep searching for your friends," he said. None of the four stitchpunks said anything, but they complied if it would please Hogarth.

9 strode towards Hogarth and made the climb onto the rock and jumped onto the boy's shoulders. Hogarth flinched at his closeness.

"Oh, I didn't know you were there," said Hogarth.

"Hogarth," said 9.

"Yeah?"

"I saw a drawing of yours," said 9, "of a robot. A giant robot. Standing taller than the forest. I wanted to say that I liked it."

Hogarth's ears perked. He set the binoculars down and held out his hand. 9 jumped onto his hand, and Hogarth put him down on the rock.

"You wouldn't believe what I told you," he said.

"Why?"

5, 3, and 4 made the climb onto the rock and stood on either side of 9. Whatever Hogarth was about to tell them was interesting enough for them to gather round and listen.

"It all started three years ago..."

There, Hogarth told the four stitchpunks about the Iron Giant. About how he met him in the forest one night and he saw him eating the metal from a power plant that was close by. And then came the part where Hogarth saved the Giant from electrocution by pulling the power switch off. It amazed the stitchpunks, but not as much as when the Hogarth told them the parts where the Giant got hit by a train and then it repaired itself by summoning it's own parts via an antenna in his head. Hogarth also told them the part where the Giant was being pursued by the government and how they had to escape it by hiding in the junkyard, where Dean worked. Then came the part with the flying.

"He flies?," uttered a dumbfounded 9, raising a brow.

"Yeah," replied Hogarth.

"And how did that feel?," asked 5.

"Intense," replied Hogarth. "And then these military jets chased us. And they shot the Giant, and I won't lie, when we went down I thought I was going to die. When we crashed in the snow I lost consciousness. I was glad I did."

9's pupils protruded. 5 raised his only brow and the twins only stared, mouths slightly opened.

"What happened," began 5, "when you woke up?"

"I woke up in the car with Mom and Dean," said Hogarth. "And then I saw the Giant in town, and he was..." Hogarth bit his lip and stood up, stretching his arms. "I, uh, I'm sorry, I need a minute." He waved his hand at them, palming his face with the other.

The stitchpunks watch Hogarth pace toward the tree and pressed a hand against the trunk. He hung his head low, putting his left hand on his hip. Shaking his head, he breathed deeply, and squeezed his eyes shut. Thinking back to that day always left him trying to repress it. But he had to let it in for the stitchpunks' sakes.

"Okay," said Hogarth, turning around, "I'm cool. As I was saying, I woke up, I saw the Giant and he was in this...defensive mode. You know how you explained about the B.R.A.I.N. to me? About how he has all these metal arms and everything?"

"Uh-huh," said 5.

"Well," uttered Hogarth, "he was also...like that, but his defensive mode was scarier than the B.R.A.I.N.'s." He bit his bottom lip. "His head...his head was covered by this dome and his eyes were red. And he had this cannon on his right arm, and there were these cannons sticking out of his back. And on his chest he shot this green ball of energy or something. And when he shot it at the sea, it made this explosion of light."

The stitchpunks were too appalled to respond vocally. Their aghast expressions were answer enough.

"And," said 9 after he managed to regain his voice, "how did he...?"

"After I approached him I reasoned with him," explained Hogarth. "I told him that guns kill, and it's bad to kill. I told him to choose. When he looked at me with his red eyes I was afraid he was going to shoot me right there. I waited, and he turned back to normal; all his weapons went back into his body. And then this guy, Kent Mansley, ordered for this missile to be shot.

"I told the Giant that the missile would kill us once it touchdown. And so, he did what he had to: he sacrificed himself for us. He flew to outer space; the missile followed him, and then came the explosion. I swear, it was quite a show from where we I saw it. And he was gone."

3 and 4 flickered the word "wow" with their optic flickers. It was a single flash, but Hogarth was sure they meant to say that. He then remembered something.

"I want to show you something," he said, crouching down. He picked up his back and lowered it for them to get in. Once they were all in, he plucked his binoculars and stored them inside his backpack. Grabbing his helmet, he placed it on his head, got in his bike and pedaled away, eager to get them to a specific place.

The town square was the centerpiece of Rockwell, obvious from the great statue that decorated the center. It received photos form everyone. Admired by those who saw it. All the residents knew the story of the Giant and will continue to be remembered for years to come. That's what Hogarth told himself as he rode into the square on his bike.

Hogarth reached the parking rack, got off, removed his backpack and pulled out the chain and lock. Once his bike was safely secure, he strapped his backpack back on his back, leaving it half-open.

"Try to stay out of sight," whispered Hogarth. "I don't want anyone wigging out." The stitchpunks took peeks from the safety of Hogarth's backpack with the twins recording very detail of the town.

Hogarth strode to a specific spot he came to visit. It was where he liked to come almost every time he had a free minute. And he enjoyed every minute of his visit.

"Here it is," he said. The stitchpunks, craned their necks from behind Hogarth's shoulder while also keeping in mind what he told them: stay out of sight.

"Is that you?," asked 9. "And the Giant?"

"Yup," quipped Hogarth, smiling. "That's us. Dean made it. It took several months, but it was worth the wait. People come to the square specifically for the statue. Our town became popular after the Giant's sacrifice. People from everywhere come to Rockwell to hear about the heroic Giant who saved us."

"This is quite a legacy," commented 9.

"I know."

Hogarth walked over to a bench and took a seat, placing his backpack next to him. The stitchpunks looked at the statue, keeping an eye out for any passing humans. Luckily, the ones that did only paid their attention to Hogarth, not taking notice of his four stowaways.

"I'm kind of popular around here," said Hogarth. "Obvious, since I was friends with the Giant."

5 chuckled. "You sure think highly of yourself."

"It's a given." Hogarth grinned.

9 looked in every direction he could and thought it was safe to come out. Despite 5 whispering to him to get back inside, 9 climbed onto Hogarth, which the boy didn't mind, and reached his right shoulder. He grabbed onto Hogarth's jacket collar to keep from falling.

"Where is the Giant now?," he asked.

That left Hogarth speechless. He didn't know how to answer that, or perhaps he didn't want to answer. But he couldn't leave them without an answer, so he said what he'd been saving for the right moment.

"I don't know, 9," he replied. "It's been three years since it happened. The last time I really saw him was the day he saved us." Then a smile passed his lips. "But..."

9 glanced at him, at his face. His expression was unreadable.

"I believe he's out there," he said. "Somewhere, but I don't know where."

"How can you be sure?," asked 9.

"On the same day Dean placed the statue here, he gave me a package." Hogarth's smile became smaller. "It was a screw, a screw from the Giant. Dean said the General sent it, that it was the only thing they found of him. But that night, it was banging against my window. It was trying to get out. I opened the window, the screw jumped out and it rolled away. That was a sign, a sign that the Giant was alive."

5 peeked over the backpack and came up with a question. "Um, Hogarth, where did the Giant...come from?"

Hogarth let out a chuckle. "That's what I've been wondering about for three years," he replied. "I don't know. He fell from the sky, that's all I know. But where exactly, I don't know. He crashed in the sea and I heard the local fisherman talk about how he saw the Giant and thought he was the lighthouse." He cachinnated at the memory. "The Giant was certainly big enough to be mistaken for a lighthouse."

The twins covered their mouths, laughing. 9 shook his head in amusement.

"I bet he wasn't expecting that, was he?," he chimed.

"No," quipped Hogarth. Then more wistfully, he said, "But, I believe he's alive. I don't know where he is. Maybe he returned to his old home; the place he was built. Maybe it's for the best, it's been a rough couple of years." He glanced up at the statue. "With time, reality will become legend and legends will be just that: legends." Hogarth's face became solemn once again.

"2 told me," said 5, "that legends are formed from a true life story." He quickly glimpsed at the bench before continuing. "That what was once true becomes legend over time, and those who believe in the legend keep that legend alive."

Hogarth raised his brows. "That's...," he said, "that's quite inquisitive. He sounds like the wisest of the stitchpunks."

"I guess you could say that," said 5.

The twins smiled and nodded their heads.

9 slid off Hogarth's shoulder, landing on the boy's midsection and hopped off. He trotted over to the backpack and climbed his way back in. Hogarth picked up his backpack.

"Come on," he said, strapping it over himself, "there's a lot to see here."

His next destination: the soda shop.

It was hard wrapping my head around the fact that I'm actually writing this crossover. Most of the time, I feel like I'm awake in a dream.

Bet you didn't expect to see a second chapter, right? Well, it's here. Hope you enjoyed chapter two, cause chapter three will be on its way.