Hey! Chapter three's here! 8D You're gonna love this chapter. :D It's really cool. Probably the longest chapter I've written. XD
Null and 7 try stopping the Stag, though they fail. And meanwhile, the others begin to worry about 7. Hmm. Gee, I wonder why. Well, we see the Stag in this chapter, you all were probably wondering when he was going to appear. ;)
Well, enjoy chapter three. ^_^
"Have you ever wanted to have a twin brother?," mused 7, looking up at the sky.
"What?," uttered Null.
"Have you ever wanted a twin brother?," repeated 7 as though he wasn't listening, which he probably wasn't. Null carefully worded his response.
"No," he said after mulling it over. "Why?"
7 leaned back against the window and crossed her legs. "Ah, I dunno," she said. "I was just saying—if you had a twin brother, his name would be Void." She gave him her trademark look.
It took Null a few seconds to process what she was indicating. "Oh...Oh!" He laughed. "Yeah, I get it. Null and Void." He chuckled. "That's funny."
7 looked out the window, the sun was peeking through a sea of clouds. Two hours ago, 7 left the library to find Null waiting for her outside the gates. He was hiding from behind a rusted can. He was serious when he said he didn't want anyone to know of his existence. After the two made their trek to Null's home, they immediately headed up to his room to keep watch for any signs of the Stag. So far, all was quiet.
Then Null noticed some movement.
"Hang on," he said as he leaped from the windowsill to the table. Null immediately went you the telescope and took a peek.
"What is it?," asked 7, sitting up.
Null looked from the telescope to 7, he waved her over, indicating that she see what he saw. 7 stood and jumped off the window, landing on the table with precision. She sidled over to him and she looked through the telescope. Somewhere far from Null's dwelling was the beast. THE beast. The Stag. The one Null had been talking about. 7 looked at it from every detail. He was exactly the same size of a real deer, having seen a picture of one from the books in the library. And just like its name it did have a deer skull for a head, antlers extruded imposingly. Its eyes were indeed glowing red, possibly from red glass lightbulbs. 7 looked at its feet. It did have horseshoes, and its legs were made of pipes. She saw its fan blade for a tail. 7 pulled her optics away from the telescope, unsure of what to make of this discovery.
"We should try and stop it," said 7, picking up her spear and lowering her bird skull.
"Good idea," said Null. He jumped off the table and ran under the bed. 7 jumped off the table, curious to see what he was rummaging for. Null emerged with a letter opener. It had a cobalt handle with the blade made of silver.
"Nice," said 7, admiring Null's choice of weapon.
"I found it in rubble after you left," said Null. "Now let's go."
He and 7 charged out the room. The two ran down the staircase a fast as they could. Exiting the remains if the front door, and the two stitchpunks were ready to fight the Stag. They knew that he was west of Null's home, so they ventured there and when they were close enough, or at least far enough away, so the Stag doesn't pick up their presences. 7 and Null crouched behind a soapbox.
"There it is," said Null, optics squinting.
"Yeah," said 7.
The two watched the Stag scrounging around the ground, as if it were grazing. The Stag suddenly looked up, eyes still glowing red. He walked over to the remains of a dead tree. He scratched his antlers against the trunk.
"What is he doing?," 7 asked, turning to look at Null. The grey stitchpunk hesitated before answering.
"I read this in the book I found," said Null. "Deer sharpen their antlers to display intimidation, mark their territories."
"He must think this area is his territory," remarked 7, quirking a stitched brow.
"Well, he's gonna have to find a new territory, cause this one's mine," rasped Null, gripping his letter opener.
7 looked around the mountains of rubble.
"I have an idea," she whispered. Null turned around, watching her slink through the debris. He kept an eye on the Stag to make sure he didn't hear 7. Luckily, it was distracted by rubbing his antlers against the dead tree. He heard a rustle and he turned and saw 7 dragging what appeared to be a slingshot. She was holding it from the pocket.
"Come on, help me get this up," she said.
Null placed his letter opener against the soapbox. He crouched and lifted the handle and carried it over to a brick. The two set it up.
"Let me try something," said Null, standing on the brick. He grabbed his bearings, looking down at every possibility and came to a solution. "Keep it steady," he said. While 7 held the slingshot, Null went to get something to hold it upright. The pale stitchpunk watched Null push a large rock towards them. He placed it to the left side of the slingshot. Then the grey stitchpunk found another one, a much larger rock and carried it instead of pushing it on the ground.
"You sure you can carry that?," queried 7.
"Don't worry about it," said Null. He dropped the rock next to the slingshot's right side. He swayed it to make sure it wasn't going to fall. Despite being sandwiched between two rocks, it still moved. He decided to find a better solution. Catching a glimpse of the Stag, he was no longer rubbing his antlers against the dead tree, and was now searching around the ground. Null crouched down and pushed a mound of dirt against the slingshot's pole. 7, with her role of holding the slingshot still taking place, waited for Null to finish what he was doing.
"There," said Null, "that should hold it."
"Let's find out," quoth 7. She let go of the slingshot, relieved rushing through her. She had been holding it up for a long while.
"Now what is it you were going to do?," asked Null, putting his hands on his hips.
"Ah, yeah, here's what I've got," said 7. She looked around the debris and found a spherical paperweight next to an oil can. She ran towards it and rolled it over to Null. "God, this feels heavy," she said, after she rolled the paperweight to the slingshot. She took a deep breath.
"Let me help you with that," offered Null.
"Thanks," said 7.
The two picked up the round paperweight. It was indeed heavy. 7 and Null placed the paperweight in the pocket and stretched as far as they could. 7 stole a glance at the Stag. He was still distracted. Surprising. Wishing for the best, 7 nodded at Null, letting him know it was time it release. They let go and the sphere went darting like an arrow, ricochetting against the hood of a car. The noise got the Stag's attention. The two stitchpunks ducked. The Stag's held his head up, alert. He turned around. The Stag walked towards the car, intent on finding the source.
"What now?," whispered Null. Apparently, he was thinking throwing the paperweight was a waste of time until 7 spoke.
"Find something else," she said. She got up and sidled to the slingshot. Null, unwilling to continue with the charade, searched for something anyways. He spotted a small chess piece. Since it was the closest thing in sight, Null picked it up and took it to the slingshot.
Together he and 7 put it in the pocket, only this time, they were aiming at the Stag's head. Null was adamant about this, he shook his head seriously, genuinely scared. But 7 wasn't backing down, she was sure about this. She nodded to him. As much as he hated it, Null released the projectile. The chess piece went flying at the Stag's skull and it ricocheted off the side of his face. The Stag, now alert, turned to where the chess piece came from and locked eyes with the slingshot. The Stag didn't see the stitchpunks on account of the hiding before it spotted the location of where the chess piece hit it.
Null and 7 were hiding on one side of the path: 7 was on the left, hiding behind a broke end table; Null was on the right, hidden behind the remains of a brick wall. Both were holding one end of a silver chain. They were surprised the Stag didn't notice it, but they guessed he will once he's close enough. Null took a peek and saw the Stag getting closer. He bobbed his head to 7, the signal to pull the chain. They pulled and now they waited for the Stag to trigger it. The Stag—once in view—tripped over the silver chain. The Stag let out a mechanical bleat as he fell. Seeing their chance, 7 and Null, still holding the ends of the chain, ran around his forelegs. As the Stag bleated and kicked his hind legs, the two stitchpunks tied the chain around him.
"Gotcha right where we want ya!," cheeped 7, keeping her optics on the Stag. The beast glared at her, red eyes glowing.
"Yeah, you said it," quipped Null. He tried to tie the chain into a knot, but seeing how this was a chain and not a rope proved to be hard to do.
While Null was busy trying to knot the chain, 7 trotted to the soapbox, where her spear was at. The Stag, seeing the white sticthpunk with her back turned, saw the opportunity and struggled against chain wrapped around him. He stood on his hind legs with Null dangling from the silver chain.
"Whoa!" Null hooted, grabbing on to the two ends of the chain. He looked over his shoulder, focusing on 7. "7!," he shouted. The white stitchpunk turned around at the sound of her name being called. She looked and saw the Stag on his hind legs and Null hanging from the chain.
"Null!" With her spear in hand, 7 ran towards the Stag. Once she was close enough, she leaped into the air. She grabbed onto Null's foot with one hand and her spear in the other. She didn't think this through, as the fear rushed through her. Suddenly 7 and Null found themselves back on the ground and then back in the air.
"What is he doing?" 7 shouted, trying the hold on.
"He's trying to get rid of us and the chain!" Null hollered back.
The Stag thrashed his head, kicking his forelegs. He bleated angrily. 7, with fire coursing through her, aimed her spear at just the right angle and jumped. The spear impaled the Stag's left side. She hoisted herself and climbed up to the Stag's neck. With her spear in her mouth, she made it to the top of his head, trying not to lose her balance. 7 grabbed on to one of his antlers, holding her spear in her right hand. She looked down and saw that the Stag had managed to free his right foreleg. One more try and he would be free. 7 had to act fast.
She pointed her spear at the Stag's skull and thrusted it in. The Stag let out a shrill bleat. Electricity cracked from the spot where the spear stabbed him. The Stag's red eyes searched crazily, trying it find the source of the pain. With his free leg, he kicked at the ground, picking up dirt. Null, with one end of the chain held, he jumped off and looked at 7.
"Catch!," he shouted, he threw the other end of the chain to 7. The white sticthpunk, while keeping her spear in place with her foot, caught the end of the chain while Null grasped the other. She tied the end of the chain into a knot around the Stag's antler. Meanwhile, in the ground, Nul pulled his end of the chain. The Stag bleated with fury, kicking his front legs. Then he took off in a gallop. Null, holding the other end of the chain, was being dragged. He tried to run, but he kept tripping. He found a television antennae and grabbed it. Pulling the chain, the Stag kicked at the dirt, thrashing his head. 7, while hanging on to the Stag's antler, watched as Null tied the other end of the chain to the T.V. antennae. She pulled out her spear out of the beast's skull, which got a mechanical bleat out of him. 7 slid down his right side. She pierced her spear into the spot where his leg was. She disconnected a few wires from that leg. A few more stabs and it would come lose.
Null in the meantime, got what 7 was trying to do and found a Tuareg knife. He leaped on to the Stag's back left leg and held on. With the knife in one hand, he calculated the angle on which way he should do it. Hoping for the best, he plunged it between the kneecap. Electricity crackled.
"Come on," he rasped gruffly. He dug the knife deeper. He heard a click. Then the Stag's leg fell off, wires sticking out. Null looked over at the chain. It won't hold for much longer and eventually with all the struggling from the Stag it would snap in half.
"Yes!," hooted 7. The right front leg snapped off. She pulled her spear out of the spot and climbed her way back up his head. With only two legs—the front left and the back right—the Stag looked indeed vulnerable. He collapsed onto the ground, creating a cloud of dust.
"All right!," cheered Null, running over to the Stag's left side. The best snorted, with a bleat followed through. He watched the Stag try to free himself with his front left leg, which looked silly to the two stitchpunks.
7, on top of the Stag's head, pointed her spear at the beast's right eye. The moment she stabbed his eye, the moment the Stag made a one last act of desperation. He thrashed his head, causing 7 to almost fall over, but she grabbed on to the antler, with her spear out of his punctured eye. The chain snapped. Null grabbed the broken end, keeping the Stag from escaping. The Stag thrashed his head. With one final swing 7 went flying. Null let go of the broken chain, ultimately freeing the Stag. The Stag limped away, with only his two legs, it looked ridiculous when he hopped. Ignoring the beast, Null went to find 7. At the direction she went flying, she was somewhere behind those heaps of rubble behind him.
"7?," he called. "7!" Null scanned every possible spot she could've landed.
"Over here!," shouted 7's voice. Null looked and saw her dangling from her spear, which wedged into a car tire. Null stopped and saw the car was on top a mountain of debris.
7 planted her feet onto the tire and pulled. She felt her weapon loosening, so she pulled and she fell. On the way down, she scraped her left leg with a stray nail. She fell flat on her back, the pain from the scrape circulating her.
"7," said Null as he ran towards her. The white stitchpunk sat up, feeling around the open fabric on her leg. It was a three inch cut, but still needed tending to. "How's it look?," he asked once he knelt beside her.
"I'll be alright," she said. "Nothing I can't handle."
"Well, we still need to get that taken care of," said Null. He glanced over his shoulder. "We almost had him." He sounded genuinely disappointed.
"We'll get him next time," said 7 as she tried to stand up. She had to use her spear's polearm for support.
"I've got ya," said Null. He picked her up in his arms, getting a startled reaction from 7. She looked at him with protuberant pupils. The grey stitchpunk in turn smiled and walked down the path, back to his home.
The Cat Beast's skull fell to the cobblestone ground, the rest of its body collapsed, lifeless. 8 hopped off the beast's motionless body, raising his pepper shaker cap. Holding his butcher knife by his side, he looked down at it and then at the stone wall. Another beast taken down and without much ease.
"That's the seventh one this month," said 5, inspecting the Cat Beast's retractable limbs. The twins, 3 and 4, sidled over to the dead beast and flickered their optics.
Suddenly 9 joined them. "Speaking of which, where is 7?," he asked. His question brought up an interesting point.
"I don't know," said 5, straightening up. "I didn't see her this morning."
9 looked at the twins. "Do you know where she went?," he asked.
3 and 4 flickered at him.
'We saw her go out this morning with her spear,' said 3.
'We thought she was going out on her patrol, so we didn't bother asking her,' explained 4.
"Come to think of it," said 5, tapping his chin. "She has been going out into the Emptiness more and more than usual."
"I've noticed that, too," remarked 8. 5 and 9 looked at him as though he had two heads. The taller stitchpunk in turned gave him a quizzical look.
"Well," said a new voice. Everyone turned and saw 1, 2 and 6 approaching them. It was 1 who spoke, and he continued with what he was saying. "Wherever it is she is going, it's not like her to miss a beast when she sees one."
"I hate to say this, but 1's right," said 2, which coming from him was true and convincing enough.
"Where has she been going all these times?," asked 5 rhetorically. Whether it was rhetorical or not, they all wanted to provide an answer.
"Well, let's head back inside," said 9. "We can ask 7 when she comes back."
Ignoring the dead Cat Beast, the stitchpunks made their way back to the library.
"M-Maybe...7...doesn't...like us...anymore," squeaked 6 meekly, fiddling with the key around his neck.
"Oh, don't be silly, 6," said 9 reassuringly. 4 wrapped her arm around him and nodded, trying to convince him. The striped artist, appeased, smiled and walked with her up the stone stairs.
8 picked 3 up and sat her on his right shoulder. Startled at first, she smiled at him before glancing down at her sister.
'Lucky.' 4 flickered.
'Jealous?' 3 flickered back with a smug smile and a brow raised.
The twins put a truce to their sisterly teasing. But that didn't mean they still weren't worried about 7 and her constant absences.
Null walked down the dusty road, carrying 7 on his back.
"You know, you don't have to carry me," reminded 7. "I can walk by myself."
"No, no, you're not walking on that leg," said Null.
After Null stitched the cut on 7's leg, he insisted on piggybacking her back to the library. He made progress since he started. The two were only a few blocks away from 7's home.
"What are you going to tell them?," asked Null.
"I'll just say that I got banged up killing a Cat Beast, and that I patched myself up," replied 7. She obviously had enough time to rehearse that since Null began his trek through the Emptiness.
"Will they believe it?," queried Null. There was a thread of worry lacing his voice.
"There are still some Cat Beasts around," said 7, shrugging. "Besides, once I say I was killing a beast, they won't question it any further."
"I hope you're right," replied Null.
"Me too."
Null ducked his head to keep from hitting himself or 7 on the handle bar of a broken bicycle. He continued on the road until he reached the corner of a building and the library was in sight. 7 craned her neck, knowing she was home.
"Are you sure you don't want to come inside?," she asked.
"No," responded Null, shaking his head. He crouched down. "I think you can make it from here."
7 got off his back and looked down at the stitching Null made. He used cobalt blue thread to sew the cut. Knowing this was done by another, 7 prepared herself to explain her injury to 2. She hoped he would understand.
"Well, this is where I got off," said 7. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"
"I'd like that," said Null, smiling. 7 chuckled.
With their goodbyes made, 7 strolled down the path to her home. She looked at Null, who waved to her. Se returned they wave, and as soon as her back was turned, Null walked away. As 7 entered the iron gates, she noticed the dead body of a Cat Beast. She knew that they've been fighting it. 7 felt guilty for letting them fight it off on their own. She wished she hadn't left, but she felt her urge to see Null ate away at her. Giving the dead beast a side glance, she continued her way to the library's entrance. Once she made the climb up the stairs she prepared herself for the flood of questions that come her way. Waltzing inside, all seemed quiet. She raised her bird skull, detecting nothing wrong.
Footsteps echoed. 7 turned and saw 2 walk up to her, using cane for support. The white stitchpunk felt sorry for him and instead approached him.
"Hey," she said, wrapping an arm around him. "I saw that dead Cat Beast outside. I'm sorry you all had to handle it alone."
"It's alright," said 2, chuckling. "It'll take more than that beast to keep us from you." 7 chuckled uncomfortably, nervousness lacing her voice.
She led him to a hardcover book for him to sit down. As she sat down next to him, she was feeling the tension and the question that followed through.
"7," said 2 after catching his breath.
"Yes?," replied 7, raising a stitched brow.
"What's that you got there?" He pointed to her left leg, at the cobalt blue stitching. 7 looked down at her leg, guilt eating away at her. She knew he was going to point that out, so she prepared herself for his reaction.
"I...I scraped myself taking down a Cat Beast," she said. The beast part wasn't a lie, she just didn't tell him what kind of beast made that scrape.
"Oh?" 2 uttered. "And...the stitching?" He examined the stitch work. It looked well-made, no rushing with the sewing.
"I sewed my cut by myself," responded 7, chuckling, hoping he wouldn't notice anything. "Don't think I can't handle myself out there?"
2 continued to study her stitched leg. It looked like something the inventor himself would perform and yet, it was made by someone who wasn't him. But he also wasn't believing 7's answer.
"You didn't do this yourself, did you?," 2 questioned. 7's optics blinked, surprised.
"W-What?" She inched away from him, catching on to his pragmatism. She was caught and she didn't feel a way out. "O-Of course I did." She forced a smile. She reached for her spear, ready to be anywhere but here.
"I'm not a fool, 7, and you know this." 2 said with that trace of fatherly guidance. The white stitchpunk darted her optics at any direction but his optics. "Tell me the truth, 7. I won't be mad."
Tell the truth. 7 wished she could do that, but her promise to keep Null's existence a secret crept inside her mind. It couldn't hurt to embellish a few things. Breathing in, she closed her optics and got ready.
"I can't tell you," she said, scooting away. She snapped her head away unable to look him in the optics. "I...I can't." She closed her optics, fear enclosing her.
"7, you know you can tell me anything," said 2, clapping her shoulder. 7 only nodded, too disgruntled to speak. 2 sucked in a breath and continued with his spiel. "I'll leave you alone for now, but know that you're not off the hook."
"I know," said 7, not turning around to look at him.
"Well, until you're willing to talk, I'm going to recommend that you stay here," he said. "And that means no patrol."
7 glanced up. Turning around, she faced him with wide pupils. "What?"
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have you stay in until you are willing to tell me the truth," said the inventor. He stood up.
"But...but..."
"I'm sorry," said 2. He made his way back to the workshop. "But my mind's made up." He looked over his shoulder. "I'm going to have 8 step in and take your patrol. I'm hoping by then you can talk to me." With that off his chest, he continued his walk, disappointment fogging his thoughts.
7 sat there, optics protruded. For the first time in her life 2 was putting his foot down with her. She felt like a scolded child. How long was she going to have to stay home? Null would probably think something's happened and would want to find her. What if the Stag finds him, but what if it finds them? What is she going to do when it all snowballs? They'll know about Null and they'll know she was lying. Keeping promises was hard when the other insists on staying hidden from the world. If she was going to see Null again, she was going to have to get clever. 7 would have to do something unimaginable. Something no one has tried. 7 pondered this as she's made her way back to her room.
Surely something will come up.
Ooh, tough luck for 7. O.O I never thought 2 would act like that with her. Well, he does worry about her, and we all understand that. I wonder what 7's going to do in the next chapter. Let's hope we learn more about Null in the fourth chapter.