Thanks so much to all my reveiwers !!! U guys make my day!year. ^^ Please keep reading and see where this goes because I now have it mostly figured out. X3
Merry Christmas!!! and merry 9mas! XD
To Save Us All
chapter 15~
When 5 and 9 had finished preparing the Balloon, and their little man-to-man talk, they climbed in the basket and flew down to the other's to pick them up.
6 was lounging peacefully in the shade, mumbling something about G. 8 was sitting next to 1, his blade put away and his optics droopy, shoulder's slumped. 1 was staring at 7, amazed that he was actually seeing her again- and she wasn't rally dead like he himself had said. He realized that you coud survive out here in the Emptiness if you had the strength. 7 herself was laying in that position 9 liked, the same one she had done when blinded by paint so long ago.
9 pushed upwards on the nail and lowered the Balloon steadily, calling down for the stitchpunks to form a line jokingly.
"Alright, don't push, single file." he called, laughing along with 5.
When the Balloon touched the ground, 1 and 8 boarded first. They climbed in, helped by 5 and 9, and by the time 8 was in, everyone but 1 was exhausted, having just pulled or pushed their own weight doubled off the ground and into the basket.
"5." said 9 panting, pulling up 6, as opposed to 5 resting on the floor of the basket, "Could you put a door in this thing?"
"That would ruin the basket." said 5, smiling that 9 wasn't scolding him for not helping lift 6 into the basket.
"I mean some other way to get us in here without us killing our backs." said 9 in a "you know what I mean" tone.
"Sure, when we aren't being chased by horrific metal monsters I'll put it on my to-do list." said 5. 7 chuckled from outside of the Balloon.
9 smiled to her and lent her his hand. She smiled mischieviously, rolled her optics playfully, and turned away. 9 raised his eyebrows sadly. What had he done? Then, five feet away, 7 turned, spear in her hand, and ran at the Balloon, stabbing her spear into the ground at the last second and launching herself over the basket wall, landing gracefully in the basket. 9 gaped.
"What?" said 7 innocently, sitting down gracefully, cross legged on the floor. 9 relaxed, she had just been playing around.
5 got up and started the fire again, heating up the air around the Balloon as well as in it. The Balloon slowly rose from the ground, resisting gravity, science defeating reality.
"So where are we headed?" asked 5, jumping on 8's shoulder's and taking the nail.
"The Library." said 7 and 9 together, both thinking of the twins.
"OK," said 5 after a moment of awkward silence, in which only 6's incoherant mumbling could be heard, "Then to the Library it is."
When the Balloon flew above the Library, 5 pulled the nail up, letting the Balloon down softly on the roof- they couldn't set it on the ground, there were beasts down there.
1, 6, and 8 stayed in the Balloon, tired and complaining. 6 had every right to stay in the safety of the Balloon due to his injury which was healing slowly and still tinged when he moved, but the other's just seemed lazy- and 7 didn't like that. When they were far enough away that the other's couldn't hear, she kicked at a nail, sending sharp pain through her feet.
"He can't rule us." she said, hiding her face and emotions from the others, yet her voice gave her lack of composure away, "We can't survive with him dragging us down like an extra weight."
9 stopped walking, "Then why did you come back if you don't think he has a purpose!" he snapped, making 5 flinch and 7 glare at him. 7 didn't look like she was going to answer his question. In fact, one would say she was trying to avoid it.
"Do you have any idea what it's like to be contained by that man?" she snapped back at him. She stalked forward when 9 looked down, admitting he didn't know with his look. "I thought not." she said when she passed him, low enough so that only he could hear.
9 snapped his head up and spun around, trying not to glare at 7's back.
"Do you have any idea what it's like to watch him die?" 9 said, his voice low but just loud enough to be heard by both 5 and 9.
7 stopped, and her body slumped slightly. She turned and showed 9 her face. It was enough of an apology.
"9 I-" she began.
"No?" he asked, a rehtorical question. He walked past her now, climbing down the roof on a small lightning rod that had bent down, creating a ladder.
"I thought not."
9 wasn't mad at 7, he was just mad that she wasn't the same 7 that was on the same page as him. The deaths, his mistakes, his feelings... She just hadn't been around to see and feel them, and 9 felt... mad.
All was silent the whole way down the roof, though 5 kept trying to comfort 7, even if she was trying to hide her feelings and kept brushing him off. Eventually 5 gave up. 7 wasn't mad, though that was the emotion she was trying to convert it into.
All her life, she had trained herself to think every emotion she couldn't deal with was anger. Scared? No, she was just angry and had to take it out on whatever was trying to make her scared. Sad? Nope, it was just anger. The only emotions she could deal with were happiness and lighter feelings, one's that had a logical explaination.
Now was different. She couldn't convert the guilt into anger. It just... wouldn't work. And it unraveled everything for her. It never had made sense to change sadness into anger. Sadness was sadness, and fear was just fear. The only place anger lead to was hate, and hate to war. And they all knew the effects of war, because it was now their life, what they took refuge in. War.
When they reached the ground, 9 took another look outside, at the courtard with human statues and what he thought could have been a fountain. It could have once been beautiful. It still was, even when broken and crumbled and different... Even when different...
9 looked at 7 helping down 5 from the ledge 9 had jumped to the ground from moments before. Why was he mad at her again? She was still beautiful in more than one way. She was still 7. He just needed to give her time and patience.
"7?" 9 found himself calling to her, not knowing exactly where this conversation should go.
The warrior turned, not looking 9 in the optics, but still giving him attention.
9 walked over to her, and 5 was forgotten for a second, one foot reaching down to touch the floor, dangerously close to a tangled heap of wire.
"7 I'm sorry." he began, trying to say what he meant but not finding the words. It was OK because he was interuppted.
"No, I'm sorry. I should have known that you've seen worse." said 7 gently, smiling weakly despite the conversation and placing a hand on 9's shoulder. "I've seen 2 die, but not twice, and not the others. You deserve more respect."
9 was stunned. Respect? She gave him plenty of respect.
9 nodded.
"OK." he said awkwardly, "Um... I accept your apology."
7 chuckled in a nice way, "So sweet."
9 knew he would have blushed if his fabric allowed.
"Um... guys?" asked the helpless 5, who had somehow managed to get his foot caught in the wire that had been hanging loose and was now dangling in an awkward pose that made him look like a flying bird. "A little help here?"
7 and 9 turned to see him. Everyone burst into laughter, even 5.
They entered the building when 5 was all untangled. It was dark, but 7 told 9 his optics would adjust.
"I suppose you already know where they are, 9." she said playfully, "you can show us."
9 coughed, "No, my memory is a little fuzzy, you go ahead."
7 chuckled her sweet, hearty chuckle, and 9 closed his optics in the darkness so no one would see him, to take her voice in secretly. He still hadn't the nerve to tell her how he felt, and it was driving him nuts.
She lead them to the small room 9 knew the twins were in, stepping on the books piled neatly upwards to get to the "door".
5 and 9 stepped in after her, and the three walked to the book propped up in the light coming through the ceiling.
"Come on out you guys." said 7, smiling and looking toward the glass jar with the two fighting preserved snakes.
A head popped out from behind the jar, and another from the oppsite side. 5 gasped happily, and 9 smiled, happy to see them again.
"It's been so long!" said 5, brushing past 9 in order to get to the twins, and the twins came at him like two torpedos, hitting and knocking 5 to the floor in a hug. This was different...
9 titled his head, this wasn't how it had happened before. He thought it felt like someone was telling him that things weren't exactly the same, and to take advantage of difference.
Everyone laughed as the twins began to tickle 5, making the inventor beg for mercy. 7 spared him the torture.
"OK, you guys, we have work to do." she said, still laughing. The twins got up and mute laughed, high-fiving each other. 5 was clutching his stomach, out of breath he didn't need.
"Nice to see you too." he said as 7 helped him up. The twins hugged him to show they didn't mean to make him laugh until he hurt. 5 accepted their apology by rubbing their hoods and rolling his optics as he smiled.
"OK," said 7, making sure the twins were listening, "We have to go now, it's not safe. 9 says something's coming-"
But the twins had noticed 9, and were looking at him in a way that made 9 want to run- he knew what came next.
"Ah!" he yelped uncomfortably as the twins cataloged him for what was maybe his forth time. They tested his fingers, his optics, his burlap, his zipper. 5 laughed as he remembered what his first time was like, but 7 was looking around madly, alert.
The twins noticed the lightbulb, and 9 absently let them play with it as he walked to 7, who was holding up her spear threateningly towards what 9 could now hear as a soft slithering sound. 9's optics widened and he acted fast, pulling the twins toward the exit, knowing 5 and 7 would follow. They all dashed out of the makeshift room, pushing themselves over heaps of rubble and streining for the door of the library. The slithering grew louder and louder each time 9 checked for it until-
It stopped.
They were almost out the door when 9 heard 7 yelp. He stopped- almost making the tired twins fall over each other. 9 spun around- 5 was hot on his tail, 7 was not.
"7?!" 9 yelled into the now very quite library, looking all around for her.
5 was stopped now, too, panting as he looked for 7 with 9. Neither of them saw any sign of her.
9 knew he had to save her, he handed the twins to 5.
"Take them up, if I'm not back in five minutes, leave without us." he said urgently, about to dash off.
"Take this." said 5, handing him his launching weapon, his only sense of security. He was telling 9 he trusted him with his life. 9 smiled and nodded before dashing off, hoping he wasn't too late.
9 dashed into the library, back the way he came, being as careful as his feet allowed not to make too much noise.
As 9 walked around a stack of books he began to hear the slithering noise again, and he slowed to a stop and peered around cautiously.
It was indeed the seamstress, and she was indeed in the process of hypnotising 7. 7 stood there helplessly as the beast held up the dead 2, flashing his hypnotic lights.
9 positioned a needle into the launcher, and aimed at the beast's single red eye. He pulled the mini trigger and sent the needle flying towards the eye, but missing narrowly. 9 cursed, he had only given away his general position by missing. The seamstress squeeled and brought 2 away from 7, distracted.
That's what 9 knew he needed- a distraction.
He thought about sacrificing himself to save 7, not recognizing that he still had an important job to do that he had yet to find out from 6, but then 7 was hypnotized anyways- she wouldn't be able to understand what 9 was doing- let alone be able to run right now. He closed his hand into a tight fist and pressed it against his optics, deep in thought. The seamstress went back to hypnotizing 7.
9 lost it- he would not, in any re-do of time, let 7 be taken and fed to that monster! Never!
He flung himself out to where the seamstress could see and charged at it, shooting the launcher at the monster, blind with rage. The seamstress hadn't seen him coming at all, and was now shrieking at the direct hit 9 had shot into it's red eye, shattering it.
But neither had 9 seen 5, who had apparently told the twins to go ahead and had come back for 9 and 7, and was now hiding behind another pile of books, peering out towards 7, a sharp blade in hand. 5's optic gleamed in what little light there was, and though both stitckpunks were now adjusted fully to the dim light, the seamstress was not, and couldn't see clearly.
9 saw 5, 5 saw 9, and 9 felt on the same page with another stitchpunk for the first time since he time traveled. 9 nodded and ran from the seamstress, knowing 5 didn't agree with his plan, but still carrying it out. He had started this, and he was going to help finish it.
Even if it meant endangering his own life for those he loved. Especially if it meant that.
The seamstress followed, as 9 knew it would, but it left 7 behind- obviously thinking since she was hypnotized she wouldn't be going anywhere. 9 saw 5 dash out to 7, and lead her incapable body out the exit.
9 kept running, not sure where he was going until he smacked into something- hard- and suddenly, everything was spinning. He was only aware of two things as the details of things began to blend and he fell to the floor. One, there was a massive pain swelling in his head somewhere, and two- he was going to die.
A/N: But... but... I wouldn't kill off the main character would I? Stick around and find out...
im done with chapter 16 so... ill just make u hang in there for one more day before I post it... cause Im mean like that... XD
Or maybe I won't...