Uploads nothing for about (insert number here) months.

Suddenly uploads at 11pm.

This feels so weird' Shale thought as she tried to coax Edward out of his box fort. Shale had never had a reason for kind words other that flattering storekeepers into lowering there prices or to gain the sympathy from strangers Surprisingly, being kind for the sake of someone else's well-being was much more difficult.

"Hey Edward, it's me! Look-red hair!" She shook her head in front of the boxes to try and catch his attention. "Those guys are gone now. You can come out."

Just in case, she looked back to check in anyone else was following her. She would have sheathed her knife but years of unprovoked fights made holding her blade second nature. Gladly, the boys didn't come back.

Still, he kept himself pressed against the back wall of his fort. Pretending to be nice was already grading on Shale since she wasn't getting anywhere.

She scanned the box for Edward's face. "Okay I'm just going to be direct cause we're clearly not getting anywhere. Long-ish story short; I think I might have found out what happened to your friends."

That caught his attention. "You did!"

The joy in his voice almost made her forget what she saw and what she had to say. But it did help her to form a more genuine smile. "Yea, so if you come out. I can tell you." Also to see what those bastards might have done to you.

There was a slight shift in the pile but Edward still didn't come out. Shale only managed to get a better view of his shaking frame, from fear, cold or hunger, she couldn't tell. He looked through the hole and saw Shale crouched down in front of him, knife still in hand. When he saw that, his smile faded and he shrunk back again.

Now Shale started to get annoyed. But then she noticed that she was still holding her knife which she immediately re-sheathed.

"Oh right, sorry. But I swear those guys arn't gonna hurt you anymore."

This surprised Edward, didn't the girl see what she did? "Huh? They didn't hurt me! You hurt them first! Why did you do that?"

"They didn't, oh." Her anger changed from guilt from her actions. Aggression or apathy were her primary reactions to similar situations though after hearing the rest she wondered how many of those unnecessary fights she may have started.

She added weakly. "I thought they were hurting you."

"But they weren't! Why didn't you just talk to them?" Edward stood to his full height which was at least a head taller then herself.

Shale took a deep breath and tried to explain herself. "Look Edward, I'm sorry for what I did but that was the only way I knew how to make sure you were safe. I didn't want to take the chance that they were hurting you. And even if they weren't, I didn't need to let them see you and panic. One of them could have called the police and then who knows where you'd end up."

'Probably sent back to whoever made you. And I'm sure you wouldn't want that judging from what they did to your friends.'

Edward seemed to calm down after that. But he was still confused "Okay, but then why do you stay here if you need to hurt other people?"

'Bless his ignorant soul.' She sighed inwards. "It's because this is all I've got. Either this, or the crap foster care system."

"Is it really that bad?"

"From what I've heard, yea. Anyways none of this is relevant. We should go." And with that she grabbed Edwards arm and started to lead him out of the alley.

"But what about my friends?" Edward asked.

'Crap, I almost forgot.' Shale really didn't want to talk about what she saw but Edward deserved some closure.

Turning briefly she added "I'll tell you once we get somewhere safe. Let's get out of here before we actually get mugged."

:==========:

It was already mid morning so avoid any extra stares, Shale stuck to the outermost alleyways and any remaining shadows. Anyone that did happen to cross there path received a hard stare from the former and occasionally thumbed the hilt of her knife.

Edward didn't seem to notice the attention but occasionally he did see groups of girls eying them. He didn't know why though, so he asked Shale.

"Shale, why are those other girls staring at me?" He gestured to the closest group who were giggling and pointing in his direction.

"Okay, now if we're gonna blend in you-" She poked his bare chest playfully "need some new clothes."

Edward looked down at his soaked and shrunken pants, confused. "Um, why? Isn't this enough."

She just rolled her eyes after his comment "No, no it is not. Some guy with grey skin and a giant number 2 printed on his back, yea. You'll totally blend in."

'Not to mention your a walking eye candy.' Obviously she didn't add that last part. Both in part because he wouldn't understand it and it would have been incredibly awkward to explain.

"Here, take this for now." Shale removed her jacket and asked him to sit down.

Shales jacket was already far small for her so she just draped it onto his back like a cape and tied it loosely around his neck.

'That really didn't do much but at least that tattoo is covered.' She stood up and motioned for him to follow.

'Where was that clothing store again?,

"Umm, Shale?"

"Yea?" She turned to see Edward fidgeting with the loose knot that tied the jacket around his neck. 'Did I make him nervous? Maybe he doesn't like something around his neck. But it's the only thing I could think of until we find something that fits. Hope he doesn't lose that, It was a pain to try and save up for that.'

"Are you cold?" Edward asked.

She was taken aback by some thing so simple."What, no. I'm fine. C'mon, there's a store ahead that might have something." Besides, since it was around early Spring she wouldn't be in danger of hypothermia but there was still a chill to the air. It was just uncomfortable, that was all.

When the pair walked inside they were immediately greeted with a skeptical look from the cashier. No surprise there. Shale kept her hands in her pants pockets and lead Edward to the small clothing section.

The store wasn't the most popular but there were still some people shopping which meant more people staring. This time, Edward took notice and stuck closer to Shale. The later not caring for the extra looks. Besides, there was no way a scruffy, underfed teen with a man obviously older then her wearing next to nothing and a glaringly inhuman skin tone wouldn't attract attention.

When they made it to the small corner with the clothes Shale started to pick through the selection. The majority of chooses were simple black pants, some T-shirts and a few sweaters. She didn't know Edwards exact size or preference (though she made an effort to make a majority of the choices blue) then brought him over to a small pile of clothes she made near the change room.

"So, here's some suff that might be your size. Pick out what you want and try it on in the change room." He shuffled through the pile and picked out some clothes and walked over to the change room. It took a moment, but Edward managed to figure out how to open the door. Shale made sure to stand by the door in case he forgot to lock it.

Shale took the time to look through her bag for any extra cash. She pulled out some bills and a few coins. 'Dam, that only about ten bucks.' She folded the bills and placed the coins in carefully. Then she undid the knot holding her bandana and unfolded the fabric to reveal at least 20 more dollars and a pair of razor blades.

She could actually buy a shirt and maybe some pants but then she probably wouldn't have any money left. Then again, it's not like she needed that much and if it came down to it she could always just raid an open clothesline.

'I could probably hide the pants in my bag. The shirt might be harder. Maybe I could wear it under my jacket-'

"Shale, I'm done."

"Kay, just give me a second." She re-folded her bandana and made sure that the money wasn't poking out. After tying it behind her head. She opened the door to the change room.

The room was scattered with most of the clothes turned inside out or only partially unfolded. The clothes he did choose was a blue polo with red stripes and some simple black pants. There weren't any shoes in the store but she could probably dumpster dive those some later.

"Good, at least you look a little normal now. Turn around, let me check the price tag." She noted the number, twenty bucks. 'Seriously!? Twenty bucks for one shirt? Geez, no wonder there are so many homeless.' Then she noticed something. "Wait, you're wearing the shirt inside out."

"Oh, is that bad?" Edward asked.

"No, no, not really." He stoped but she added "But it would look better if you wore it right."

"Oh, okay." He took it of completely and held it out to Shale. "How do I wear it properly?"

"Just turn it inside out. I'll do it." She pulled the shirt right side out and handed it back.

Then she checked the tag for the pants. They were harder to find but after a bit of awkward searching she found it near the cuffs. The pants itself were about ten dollars so that was a small blessing.

"So, this is your final choice?" She stepped back.

"Yes sir." He nodded.

"Wait, sir?" She didn't expect him to be so formal with her. 'Must be instinct to him I guess. Poor Ed.'

"I-I mean, uh." Edward was unsure where that came from but it felt right. That's how he was supposed to address his controlle- wait, no! No,no,no,no, not again. Not him again.

"Edward? Edward! Are you alright?" Shale started to panic. Edward just started mumbling 'no' over and over again while slowly sinking back into the corner of the dressing room.

'Is he having a panic attack? Can engines even have panic- no duh he can, he's having one right now. Help him! How?' She scrambled to try and think of some way to comfort him. She tried to grab his shoulders but when she did he ripped her hands of and just curled in further. 'Okay don't do that.'

Instead she kneeled down to his level and tried to her him to look at her. But made sure not to touch him. "Edward? Hey, look at me. Your safe. I won't hurt you, not-" 'not like that prick, Topham Hatt' She caught herself before she said his name. It probably wouldn't help.

"-not like anyone who might have hurt you before."

Edward kept hugging his knees, mumbling to himself. His head did tilt up slightly but his eyes were still shut tight. "Not again, not again, not again, please, don't leave me there again. Please, not again."

"Eddy, I'm not gonna leave you. I'm still here." She shifted forward but still didn't touch him. Tilting her head, she ruffled her hand through her hair. "See? Still here, red hair and all."

That gained a response. But not what she expected "James?"

'Who's James? Wait, I think he was one of the engines. Yea, the vain one, number 5. But if he was one of the engines then that means- oh no.'

"I- I'm sorry, but James isn't here now. I'm Shale, remember?" Edward moved from holding his knees to grabbing at his head like he had a headache.

"Red, James was red, Shale is red to? But Shale isn't a engine? Am I a engine? But I'm not a engine. What am I then?" He voice cracked slightly as he voiced his thoughts.

This gave Shale an idea.

"Edward, Edward please look at me." Gently she moved one of her hand and laid it on his. He flinched hard but didn't pull away. "I know what happened to you. You were a engine, but someone- I'm not sure who- but whoever they were turned you and your friends into humans." She paused "Well, at least mostly human. I don't know why but I don't think they expected you to survive so they left you for dead, but you escaped."

He looked up at Shale, his eyes were tinted red slightly and there were wet lines running down his face. "A-and my friends? Do you think they'll survived to?"

Shale breathed in deep before answering. "I found one of the labs where they turned you into humans. Th- there were these tubes and they looked like they were left in there for a long time. I'm sorry, but there's a chance you might be one of the only one to survive whatever they put you through."

Edward just stared at her, looking for any sign that she was joking. But it was the truth, wether they liked it or not. He started to cry harder now and Shale could feel him shaking. For a moment she though about leaving him alone to grieve but she decided against it. He'd been alone for long enough.

Instead she simply squeezed his hand and rubbed small circles into his back. She tried to think of something optimistic. Defiantly her strong suit.

"Hey, look on the bright side. Since they think that the experiments don't work then they won't try it on anymore machines so some of your friends might still be alive. Besides, maybe it did work for a few of them, your still here."

Edward didn't say anything but he nodded slightly. They stayed there, one trying to comfort the other? The store owner would probably be suspicious but neither of them cared.