Everyone was quick to fall asleep except 0. When she knew the Twins wouldn't wake up she snuck away outside where the moon had completely disappeared. With a heavy sigh she looked at the cracked mirror of the talisman. In it she saw herself, sad and mostly alone, and then behind her was 1, holding his staff, his back straighter than a soldiers.
Slowly she turned. She wouldn't look at him. "I failed…" She whispered.
"No, you didn't." 1's voice sounded soft. "You just need to follow my directions precisely."
"So…there's a chance?" Slowly she raised her head to look into 1's eyes.
He nodded. "Yes. But only if you can create a body. Just one body is all we need."
"What about the others?"
"We have agreed that I should be the one to stay behind."
Slowly 0 smiled and ran inside. She knew exactly what kind of materials she should use. She grabbed some burlap, blue strings, and whatever else she could find and got to work.
She was only a third of the way complete when morning came. 0 knew she needed more time. Quickly, she stashed away the materials and what she had done before the group could wake up.
As usual, 9's morning greeting was, "Are you ready to go back?"
"Almost. I just want to do something for them before we leave. I never really got to make a memorial for them."
7 smiled in that motherly way that she did. She put a hand on 0's shoulder and knelt down to be her level. "Of course. We have as long as you need."
She didn't bother making the body while they were awake. She didn't want them asking questions and potentially dragging her back to the city without her mission being completed. 0 tried to act as normal as possible, mostly for the Twins' sake than for hers.
"She seems to be doing a lot better," she heard 9 whisper while 4 played another silent movie for them.
"I hope she is." 7 responded.
When they were asleep again 0 continued on the body. Everything she did was delicate and had a purpose of being where she set it. She made the new body of 1 taller than her, nearly the same height as 9, with a button on the chest to protect it and big arms so that he could defend himself easily. She found an old faded red curtain to be his cape just to add a little bit of flare.
She unbuttoned the button to look on the inside. The wires hung onto nothing to give it power.
1 appeared in front of her when she was finished. "Follow me." He said. "And bring the talisman and the body."
She obeyed, dragging the body as best as she could with the talisman inside and she even brought her sword which she strapped to her back. 1 led her outside and as far into the forest as he felt necessary. 0 was heaving when they finally stopped and she dropped the body.
"Now listen to my instructions very carefully and exactly. Put the blue wire here, the red goes here and the yellow here." He pointed at each wire to each hole of the talisman. "Got it?"
0 nodded. "Yeah." Slowly she started putting the wires in each hole, not noticing that 1 had disappeared until she looked up to see what was next. All was quiet except for the chirping crickets. They must have just arrived.
The body didn't move for several hours. 0 never left its side. She felt something tug at her hand and she jumped. Attached to her wrist was the body of the new stitchpunk, the new body of 1. He stood carefully and moved around, getting a feel for his new body. When he was satisfied he tried to let out a shout but no sound came out. He kept trying to speak but to no avail. No sound would come out.
"Hang on." 0 became excited. She opened herself up and took out the voice box and zipped herself up again. Carefully she placed the voice box inside the doll and tweaked it until she heard a terrifying, male voice that never belonged to the old 1.
"Finally!" He shouted. "And nobody even suspected. I cannot believe that went so well." He jumped around and checked out the stitches. "This body is actually made quite well. Better than what I expected."
The speech patterns didn't sound like 1. It didn't sound like any of them. 0 tried to demand of the stitchpunk who he was but no sound came out. She gave her only means of communication to him.
"What? Oh right you're probably wondering who I really am. I don't really have a name, actually. Although some called me Satan, the devil, a demon, a monster, and some merely call me evil. I am everyone's nightmare."
0 stared at him, horrified. What had she just done? What monster did she release into the world?
The stranger picked up the sword 0 brought with her. He turned it in his hands. "I lived in the talisman for many years. Not once would the human that held it listen to my words and when she threw me out I thought that was the end. And then you came along, new to the world and scared. An easy one to manipulate." He slowly walked close to 0. "I suppose you're gonna try to tell your friends too." 0 wanted to scramble away but her legs wouldn't move and her arms wouldn't defend her body. The knife was plunged into her chest. "But I can't let you do that now or ever, Creator."
Creator? Who was the Creator? Not 0. 0 didn't make anybody except herself. Was he telling her her role? No that can't be it. Creating was the Scientist's role not hers.
He pulled out the knife and she fell to the ground. Before her body shut down she could hear the words, "Protect, inspire, define, teach, guide, lead, defend, guard, save, and create."
They were words she often whispered to herself in the past.