Chapter 28~

To Save Us All

G panted and gasped for breath, laying flat on his back and staring up into the brown sky. He didn't just not want to get up, he couldn't. His body seemed to know he couldn't take any more fighting and had gone limp. He decided it didn't scare him too much, for now at least.

His chest heaving, he noticed the sound of the beast getting louder, like it was coming back. He cursed, trying hard to pull his exhausted body up and off the ground, but even the task of lifting his head to see what the beast was up to prooved nearly impossible to do.

He blinked slowly, his jaw set tight, the only thing in his body that he could still control, and when he opened them, prepared to be ripped apart just like the others, he saw something he knew he would probably never forget.

A chunk of the top of the previously only bent wooden telephone pole to the north of him was swinging down onto him, snapped off from the rest of itself.

He could hardly scream, but he did manage to gasp, though he was still barely able to breathe and it was partially to get some more oxygen into his body.

But the swinging chunk missed him, swinging just above him and crashing violently into something that had been just next to him, sending it flying with a loud roar.

The beast? Had it really been the close to ripping him to shreds?

The roar got quiter as the beast was blown back by the crash, but that was all G could tell. Where it landed, he had no idea.

7 watched it upmost shock as the telephone pole's chunk splintered loose and then separaed alltogether, then swinging down and knocking the beast off it's feet, like a golf put to a golf ball.

Her optics were wide, her mouth was gaping, her jaw almost to the floor in surprise and disbelief. Her surprised optics followed the flight of the beast, not knowing the two brothers were still clinging together on the wooden hammer that had hit it.

The beast screamed in rage, but there was nothing it could do, for even machines could not disobey the law of gravity, friction, and air resistance.

It flew over 7's head, but her optics still followed it. With one last flip in midair it disappeared behind the floor- wait, the floor?!

7 made a disbelieving sound, a choked sort of "what the hell just happened?!" sound, before running after it, her spear out readily.

When she reached the trench, she peered over cautiously. The beast had landed right in the middle of the trench, now a mangled mess, it's only red eye left twitching and beginning to fade.

7 panted from running, but continued to stare down at it, both still shocked and smiling a little, knowing it was weak now, and would probably die soon.

G took a few moments to lay there, gathering his strength. After maybe ten minutes went by, 7 was sure enough that the monster wasn't going to die by itself, but was quarantined for now, trapped, and that allowed them all to rest. She walked back to where G and 8 still lay on the ground, limping slightly because of her leg.

She caught sight of G, and noticed 8 had fallen asleep. Her breath calming down, she limped over to G, to check if he was ok.

"We have time now." she said softly, rubbing his arm gently. He winced, but looked up at her.

"What the hell just happened to it?" he said weakly, his voice cracking slightly.

7 looked away and thought about it, her face then softening. She chuckled at first, shaking her head. And soon she was full-out laughing, looking back up at the telephone pole that was just that now- a pole. She looked back to the trench, her optics catching on something.

Her face went from one of amusement, to one of concern, then one of horror.

C and D felt the light airy feeling in the pit of their bodies when they were falling, and hugged each other in fear. As they fell, the position of the hunk of wood kept chaning, tilting upward to the point where they were hanging on by only their arms.

But just before they hit the beast, C let go, and D fell off of the "ride" with his brother. There was an earsplitting crash as they landed, but it wasn't their bodies making the sound.

It was the beasts'.

C and D landed not too far away from G and 8, behind a small pile of debri, and hadn't been injured in the process.

D had landed on C, like a cushion, but neither of them minded. They were both too winded and shocked to care, and just lay there for a few minutes, trembling, too scared to care if their plan, their purpose, had even worked.

7 rushed over to the still brothers, a worried expression on her usually composed face.

"C! D! Are you guys alright?! What did you do?!" she said fraqntically, pulling them into a hug they both accepted eagerly.

"F told us to! Our purpose!" D said, dry sobbing, still shaking with fear. C was the exact opposite, radiant with triumph and happiness at what they had accomplished.

"We did it! We trapped It!" he exclaimed, hugging 7 tight and shaking with joy.

7 chuckled at C but continued to hold D when C pulled away and got up. "Will you go see if G's ok?" she asked as D continued to sob into her shoulder.

C nodded and ran off to G, who still lay contentedly on the ground, tired and in great need of sleep.

As he saw C run from around the small pile, he smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

"You little rascal! Did you and D pull that off?" he asked, trying to sit up once again, finding he could at east now move his own body. He winced but continued to push himself from the ground, beckoning C closer.

Like a child to his father, C flew into his arms, laughing when G rubbed his hood effectionately. "Me and D. F told us to cut it. And we did! We did it!"

G chuckled and nodded, "You sure showed that monster. Good job, C."

7 soon emerged from around the corner as well, D clinging to her waist and burying his face in her side. 7 was rubbing his back gently as she brought him over to G.

"Hey, you did a good job, D. That took a lot of courage." G said. D immediately smiled and straightened up.

"Really?" he asked, kneeling down with C and hugging G.

7 wached them for a second before noticing 8 was still sleeping not too far away. And F was still hiding. 7 looked back down at G, tapping his head, now unhooded, to get his attention.

"I'm going to find F. You'd better keep an eye out, though. That thing may be trapped, but it won't stay weak forever. Whenevr your strength comes back you should take care of it." she said, about to turn away.

G grabbed her wrist, letting go of the two stitchpunks previously in his arms. Their eyes met, and they both smiled and nodded, knowing there was nothing to say anyways. They had both done a good job, so neither needed congratulations.

7 turned around, to take off and begin searching for F, but instead almost fell back, for F was standing right behind her, staring gratefully into her optics, a huge smile on her face.

7 gasped, but eased into a small smile. "Well hello, F." she said, putting a hand on the trembling seer.

F nodded, wrapping 7 in a hug. "It's almsot over... But not yet..."

7 blinked as she pulled away gently, raising her eyebrows. "What else do we have to do?" she said with concern, looking down at G. He shook his head, getting up.

"I'm fine." he grunted as he pushed himself up off the ground, not with his usual grace. He brought himself to a standing position, wobbled for a moment, and looked strongly back at F. "What do I have to do?"

F smiled and nodded her head toward the trench. "The only thing left to do." she said simply, "For you..."

7 turned to G with a small concerned smile, but she placed a hand on his shoulder and the smile turned into one of amusement. "Fullfill your purpose, in other words."

5 watched with terror, uncertainty, and disbelief as 9 was inches from the talismans green light. There was a pause, and in that, 5 could see 9's determination, his will to do this for the sake of everyone coming out. 9 truely was a hero, and though he only one time in his life lacked the common sense, he sure did have the bravery.

"Thank you." 5 whispered, just loud enough so he could hear, but directed at 9.

9 took the pause to calm himself down, preparing to be taken, and hopefully not to actually be taken, unless that was supposed to happen.

But instead of going into what he thought was supposed to happen to him, he began to think about 7. He didn't think about what he was working towards, or what he had already accomplished, he just thought of 7. He didn't think about how she might not even know him when he went back, or IF he was going back...

He just saw her, in his oddly calm mind, kissing him. Her beautiful optics were closed, and her beautiful soft lips were flowing over his own burlap ones.

The 9th ragdoll in a series of 9 closed his optics, kissing her back.

Everything went green, and then black.

Such a dark, black, dead world...