To Save Us All
chapter 8~
9 did'nt know where- or when- he was at all. One second he was in the underground hideout of C, D, E, and F, and the next he was flying through some sort of green vortex, screaming at the top of his lungs due to his speed. He was being thrown, by an angry hand. By the hand of time, who was furious that 9 had accomplished what humans had never had the time to- time travel.
But 9 did'nt care much about what he had accomplished and what he had been good at. That was the past... or the future... 9's head spun. This whole idea was going to take some getting used to. He was still flying, falling now. He was falling into an abyss, one that would allow him to truely be forgiven by himself. He needed to undo the mistakes now.
At first, 9 had thought he had made yet another horrible mistake, that somehow he had sucked his own soul out, and he was now trapped in the talisman, to be floating forever in this nothing because the others did not know how to release him. At that first thought, 9 was terrified at what he had done, and furious at his own nature. But he now knew he was doing something, because he had felt it moving. He did'nt see the walls of this green vortex move, or hear any change in sound, but he felt it. He was moving to someplace, to sometime, hopefully in the past.
He began to hear noises. Small, subtle, but there all the same... the green was fading... Whispers, now. Voices, talking to him, but he was'nt entirely there yet... the green was fading and a familiar scene filled the gaps... voices talking to him, and a song playing in the background... With a jolt that had no cause, 9 blinked away the rest of the green void, letting the scene come into focus.
It was the end of the BRAIN, and everyone was content and relaxed, even 7. 1 was sitting alone on a long empty beer bottle, having his own guilt to worry about. 5 was helping 6 up on his shoulders to stitck his head into the funnel that the song came from, 6 moaning "sooooound" and 7 laughing peacefully. The twins were playing a song 9 instantly recognized, and he froze any movement he had been doing before. The BRAIN.
"Wait! No! Run!" he yelled, making the twins slip off the record and causing the music to come to an abrupt end, and causing them to fall in a pile on the floor. Everyone looked up at 9, who was frantically waving his arms in the air and yelling for everyone to run.
7 was off her post in a second and racing toward him. The others just stood in shock as 9 continued to panick at seemlingly nothing.
"What?!" yelled 7, looking all around him, making sure she could see whatever was frightening 9 before it saw them.
"The BRAIN!" he said, pulling her to face him, looking her stright in the optics as he said, "It's still alive."
7's face was in complete shock, but he could see she belived him.
A scream. A terrifyingly familiar one. Only 5 screamed like that...
"No!" shouted 9 as he ran toward the frightened sound. "5! Not again! I wont let-"
It was too late, the machine had grabbed him, and his screams were piercing 9 in many ways, and 9 was screaming and running, but 1 was holding him back. Why was he holding him back? He had to get free and save 5, it was his job, his mature. He had to save him! but 1 held him, he would'nt let go...
No. This was'nt right... the green wisps of light and whatever else made them up were coming back... all 9 could do was watch as the BRAIN shut itself off to activate the talisman... the green wisps almost entirely had 9, but not before 9 saw 5's soul being stolen from his body, ripped away with no permission.
And then 9 was alone again, stuck in a void, clutching himself into a tight ball, floating in nothing, existing in nothing. There was no pain, no feeling. He did not feel regret, or hate, or depression, or anything. He was numb, safe, in this space. And he thought he would never leave it again...
9 did'nt know for sure, but it felt like several uncomfortable and silent hours had gone by. He did'nt know how to leave this place, but it seemed safer than what was going on outside, so he kept his complaints to himself.
No. What was he thinking? He knew he should'nt give up, for 7, and the twins. And the others. They were counting on him. He had to live for the moment, and he had to find a way to get out.
Or... Maybe he did'nt have to get out.
Maybe all he needed was to find a way to go back farther. That way, he could actually save someone, as his instinct told him to do. He spent about ten seconds modivating himself as he floated in the void, telling himself what time he should go back to. He had to find a way to harness this power, so it would let him decide a 'when' to go to.
9 started saying things out loud that had to do with the 9 of them. He stated their names, but nothing happened. He said what they looked like, but still nothing. He tried many different characteristics about each of the fallen, but not so much as a hopeful movement from the void. Not a wisp of green tendrils started to fade. He never gave up, but only paused to think.
What could he possibly have to do to get to when he wanted to be? He had tried describing the settings, and describing the characters that occupied them, but nothing so far had worked. So he tried his last length of hope.
"I've made so many mistakes." he began, saying each word loud and clear as if the very void could hear him. "I need to correct them. Not only for me, but for G and his family as well. We need to be whole, to be one soul. Both of us. I need to stop a certain event from taking place, to unravel everything that lead up to their... deaths... The only way I can save them is if you help me!"
All was quiet, 9 was'nt surprised. He slumped over and sighed. So the only thing he had't tried was waiting, but he knew doing nothing would never work. He looked around the void and saw only what he knew he would see. Green smoke-like veils, all around him. At first sight, they were purposful and beautiful to look at, but now they were just an optic sore, making 9 dizzy and giving him a headache.
But he could'nt give up. He knew he would get out, he just knew it. But he knew there would be a wait, maybe a very very long time before he could excape this place, and even if he did'nt have to eat, and nothing could attack him so he would'nt have to repair himself, he decided it would be too long to keep him from going insane. It was too quiet. He had to do something.
So he made a checklist in his mind, for when the time came to commence action. What if he should come out into a random place he had never seen before, or what if he did'nt know the time? What would he do then? It took 9 several seconds to work out possible solutions to these problems, and more, and he came up with a short checklist.
One: Find out when you are.
Two: Identify as many people you know as you can. Analyze the situation carefully based on their presence.
He pictured 7's face, just to see her again. All the stitchpunks had photographic memories, but only 3, 4, C, and D were made to display them at command for everyone to see. Thats why they cataloged the important. The rest could only see it in their heads.
So 7's face came very clear to 9, like a picture. In his memory, she had fought the winged beast- they all had- and she was left wounded, 9 letting her mean on him as she walked, their arms around each others shoulders and 5 holding their staffs behind them. 9 had been the newcomer, and even though he had'nt used his intellegence when he had placed the talisman into the machine, she saw something in him. He was like her, but so different. He was a fighter, but he did'nt use force, only intellegence. Mostly. She agreed with many of the things he had to say, they both did'nt agree with 1, they both knew what to do when everyone else- under 1's rule- had gotten used to running, and tried to flee from the scene. They were both quick thinkers. They had so much in common...
But why did 9 have to think about her? Yes, she was one of the strongest stitchpunks he had ever met ( not because of physical strength, but of spiritual), but she was also stubborn. He was'nt saying she was'nt worth thinking about, he actually liked her stubborn qualities. It had shaped them into the survivors they were today, and had sort of turned 9 on to her in the first place. But she also had a gentle quality, one that none of the others had, even though it came pretty close to 2. She knew how to make you feel better when something was making you distressed. She had that 'mothers touch' as 3 and 4 had once put it one day when he was talking to them.
3 and 4... he wondered where they were. And where 7 was. Had she found them?... Where they even made yet? It could be possible 9 was located sometime before they were even made, but he highly doubted it... So was she- the twins, too- safe? Had they come back to F and the others, only to find out 9 had gone on a mission without her? She would be furious.
9 lost track of time, of sanity, and of entertainment. He was bored, and the only thing he could do now was rest. He slumped even further to the cold, moist ground of the library.... Wait. The library? Ground?
9 sat up again, sleep tugging at his optics as he impatiently rubbed it away. He looked around him. He was in the library. He stood, a smile growing on his face as he looked around him with more excitment. Free! He was free!... But for how long?
9 took in the scenery. He took notes of important things to remember in his head.
One: find out when you are, not just where you are. The library, but when...
9 walked to a crack he remembered in the wall. He could see the pink and organge sky, and the sun's gentle morning rays stretching lazily over the Earth and lit up anything it could get it's rays on, glazing it over with the golden paint it was made out of. 9 inhaled, and the cold, damp dew of the morning entered his mechanical lungs, making him shiver but smile at the tickle. Morning.
So he was in the library in the morning. He remembered the second rule on his checklist.
Two: Identify as many people you know as you can. Analyze the situation carefully based on their presence
9 turned and went back inside. He could see three sleeping forms lying huddled together, shivering. he stifled a worried gasp, knowing who they were already and wanting to make sure they were OK. He went over to them and saw that he was correct. 7, 3, and 4 were the forms who shivered. With this information, 9 knew he was in the library, sometime after the funeral for the fallen, and they were still the only ones left. He had been moving in the wrong direction, he had been traveling to the future from the point he was last, not the past...
9 made a frustrated noise, making 7 stir. He froze, and her optics blinked once and then she was squinting into 9's optics. Only then did 9 realize how close he had been hovering to her face. She raised an eyebrow and smiled awkwardly. 9 jerked himself back from her face and returned the smile, thinking about how stupid he must look to her, before getting over the feeling he was now getting used to, and giving her a hug. Of course she was still on the floor and recovering from sleep, so she was quite surprised.
"I missed you!" whispered 9 into her ear, not caring how much pain he would recieve for invading her space.
"What do you mean you missed me?" 7 said, not sounding angry, but confused as she sat up, 9 still hugging her and burying his face in her stomach, and gave him and awkward pat on the back. 9 looked up.
"I mean I have'nt seen you since whenever it was, and now I'm seeing you again." said 9, trying not to give too much away but not trying hard enough.
7 raised an eyebrow again, this time the other, and she held 9 to her, planning to ask him later if it was a dream or not. 9 smiled into her stomach, and 7 laughed. "Hey! H-hey! Haha! Th-that tickles!"
"Sorry." he said, only causing her to be tickled even more. She stifled her laughter as the twins started to wake.
"Uh-oh." she said, shifting a little to rub their hoods, 9 still wrapped around her. He wondered absently how long he could get away with this before she really woke up and thought about how awkward this was. He hoped she never would.
Unfortunately, it was too late to lull the twins back to sleep by rubbing their hoods. They were awake. The got up and looked around, hardly noticing 9, who was getting up from 7 to hug them from behind. 7 smiled and tilted her head thoughtfully as 9 snuck up on the twins and hugged them from behind. Why was 9 so chipper? Why was he treating them like they had'nt been together in a long time?
9 had'nt seen the twins since he left them with the possibly unstable G back at the ruined music store. He knew in the future, where they existed now, if they did, they were probably cold and wondering, looking for 7. Or maybe they had found each other and they were safe. Or maybe even G had'nt abandoned them and they were still on their way to G's home.
9 knew he should'nt want to be here right now, he should be wanting to save his friends, and the others. But he could'nt help but feel loved again, and forgiven, and he knew he would need it if he wanted to get to the past. If he could...
How was he going to get back? He had the talisman, but he did'nt want to trap himself in that void of green doom, so he culd'nt just press the squence backwards again. What should he do?
*scratch scratch*
9's head turned up like a cat stalking his prey. He was extra quiet as he listened for any more sounds. Apparently 7 had heard it too, her head was also pricked up like a dog's ear would be. All was silent as the twins stopped cataloging a drop of candlewax and turned to 7, who's expression silenced any clicking their optics made.
*scratch scratch*
7's metal feet made absolutly no noise as she went to pick up her spear and lowered her skullmet, preparing for battle with a beast, but staying hidden for now. The only light in the entirely library came from the holes in the roof, which allowed the sun's lazy morning rays to sneak into the room, making her invisable to anything except the other stitchpunks, who had adjusted their optics already.
9 did'nt move a metal muscle, for that reason- metal. 7 had trained herself for years in the emptiness for stealth like this, and 9 would never come anywhere near close to her skill at it. It was'nt his way, and he understood, so he did'nt move at all. The twins seemed to read 9's mind. They stood stock-still and 3's optics even closed in fear, the only contact with 4's body being her hand.
7 was sneaking toward the noise, hiding behind a pile of rubble and edging her way each step toward the noise, who's source had yet to be located. 9 watched with clenched jaw. If anything happened to her right now, he would give whatever caused anything to her a good slashing. He would murder anyone who tried to harm 7.
One more silent movement, and 7 was gone, behind the pile of rubble to see what was making the noise. 9 wanted more than many things to run after and see what she must be seeing, but his common sense held him back. After a few seconds that felt like hours, 7's arm came around the pile of rubble. Just her arm, and if 9 saw correctly, she was gesturing for the others to come see. 9 inched his way to her, making sure the twins followed, and very quietly, but not entirely silent, he reached 7's vantage point.
He saw her face, scared and disbeliveing, and her other arm, pointing to what was making her this way. 9 followed her arm with his stare, starting from her forearm and slowly making his way to the tips of her fingers and then finally looking to where she was pointing.
It was 6. Drawing his pictures like it was only yesterday, fingers scrawling something 9 could'nt make out on a piece of paper.
No, it could'nt be. 6 was dead and gone. This was impossible, even 9, who had traveled through time, knew that.
But at a blink, a refreshing redo for 9's optics, he saw 6 was glowing gree. This was'nt 6, not exactly. It was his pure soul, casually scrawling on paper like everything was just fine. But he was supposed to be dead. Everything was not fine.
9 wanted to turn away, or to look at 7 to see if she would explain something he did'nt know to him, but he could'nt move. He wanted to say something, anything, that hopefully sounded reassureing or clever, but all that came out was a whimpered helpless sound from the top of his voicebox.
"6." 9 whispered hopefully. The sound was so small, so pityful, but 6 looked up all the same. His optics widened at the sight of 9 and the others, but he stayed still for only two seconds before smiling and standing. He brought his drawing over to a stunned speachless 9, and nodded to the pitcure when he was close, to show 9 to examine it.
All 9 could do for 6 now was look at what he had drawn. His head slowly moved down toward the paper, as if any sudden movement could blow 6's soul away like smoke. His optics skimmed the papers surface, and he smiled involuntarily. 6 had drawn a picture of all the known stitchpunks, including the fallen from G's family as well, and the fallen from 9's. He had drawn them, silouetted against the sun, walking hand in hand, with 9 ahead of them, a look of determination and success on his face, holding his light staff.
9 understood the picture immediately, like some link he had to 6, he just knew what it meant. 9 was made to save them, and since 6 could tell the future, 6 was saying it was going to happen. 9 nodded, understanding and having much more confidence and belief at what his job was. He was going to do this. He was going to save them.
6 smiled and nodded as well, but something in his look told 9 to wait. 6 walked over to where he had been found and got another scrap of paper. While he was drawing furiously, his fingers surprising 9 by actually making noise as he did so, 9 turned to 7. The expression on her face stated that she wanted to know what was going on, so 9 told her he would tell her later.
6 got up and looked over his own drawing, examining what his visions looked like on paper. He nodded and smiled happily, humming as he scuffled over to 9 and 7. The twins cataloged him, as 9 knew they would, so he and 7 got to examine this piece of work on their own. This was a good thing, because this piece was meant for their optics only.
This picture made 9 both embarassed and confused. He suppossed he was only confused because it made him embarassed, but he coughed nervously and hide his face when he saw it all the same. 6 had drawn a picture of 7 and 9 doing something 9 knew was... intimate. It was instinctual that whatever this action was, it was meant to be private and sacred, not looked upon or captured in an artwork. 9 wanted to hide his embarassed face from 7, but he could'nt help but look at her face for her own reaction.
Her optics were wide, and her mouth was slightly ajar, and it twitched as if she had wanted to say something but nothing came out. 9 knew what she felt, and he rolled up the paper and unzipped himself, placing it inside and zipping it back. He was hiding it from the twins, hiding it from himself. But as strange and embarassing as it was, 9 felt like it was the right thing to do. He felt as if doing this action captured on 6's paper would tell 7 how he felt about her when he looked at her, like she would understand everything if he just did this for her.
She looked at him now, lost in thought thinking of him, perhaps thinking the same thing as 9, but trying to hide it. It was'nt working.
"I- um..." she tried for words, her hand grabbing his upper arm and her optics looking to the floor.
"We'll talk later." said 9 quietly, so no one else's receptors would process it. 7 nodded slowly, her hand sliding down his arm until it met his hand. her fingers intertwined with his and they both smiled.
A sudden laughter jolted them out of their thoughts and they both snapped their heads to find 3 and 4 trying to tickle 6, but their wooden hands going right through him each try, making 6 shake his head knowingly and laugh.
7 laughed as well, making the frustrated 3 and 4 turn on her. Her smile stifled at the look on their faces and she backed away, letting go of 9's hand and putting her arms up to protect herself. The twins smiled evily, and they launched themselves at her, tickling her in the places they had come to know as her ticklish spots. The twins knew her body more than she did, and they knew which parts made her laugh if tickled.
9 laughed at her struggling form being held down by the twins. He knew she could easily push them off her if she wanted to, but he also knew she was hesitating to give them the satisfactiong they craved of conquering someone via tickling. He turned to 6, who was looking at him with an expression 9 knew, but could'nt word.
"Together." said 6, looking past 9's optics, into his soul.
"Yes, um." 9 said awkwardly, walking to 6 away from the others so he could speak to him alone "6, what was that about?"
"Together. You and 7. Together." he said, his optics sadening as if he thought 9 did'nt get it.
"No, I know..." then, thinking better of asking 6 why he would draw such a private thing on paper, "6, how did you come back? Why did you show me the first picture?" asked 9, putting a hand on 6's shoulder, his hand sinking through him, but the meaning still catching on 6's face.
6 just smiled and began to fade, dissolving into the air and nodding. "Show you... To save us." he was saying. "To save us all."
9 spent the entire rest of the day explaining everything to 7. He told her what he had learned, what was going to happen in the future if they did things right, what he wanted to accomplish, and how he planned to accomplish them.
7 mostly listened, staring at him with wide optics, confusion showing up on her face at times, other times a sadness only 9 could understand swept over her face, and she would put a hand on 9's shoulder.
9 told her about the other family of stitchpunks, how members of their tribe had been killed by machines he had awoken, and now it did'nt bother him as much because he was going to do something about it. He told of what he felt, and what he had done on the rooftop when she disappeared, and what he had thought of himself. He did'nt want 7 to pity him, but he could'nt hold any detail in, he needed to release these bad thoughts, and laugh at them. They were the past, or the future, and 9 did'nt want anything to do with them. He had the power to change now. He could save them. He would.
"And now here I am." finished 9, sad now that he again had summed up his past few days in one hour. His whole depression, his feelings that nearly suffocated him, all sprayed out before him in a somewhat organized fashion. He had shared these all with 7, unable to contain one small detail, even if he did'nt want 7's pity.
"9," she said, pity practically controlling her mouth, "Your meant to bring them back? Everyone?"
"Yes"
"Then I'm coming with you." she said, saying it with an affirmity that 9 knew he could'nt fight easily.
"No." was all he could say to that.
"9, you know you can't win this. I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not."
Even though 9 was already debateing in his mind if he wanted her to come, he knew she would win. She was coming with him.
Whether he liked it or not.