Chapter 29~

To Save Us All

G walked up to the edge of the trench, peeking his head over it to glare hatefully down at the monster, the horrible spawn of hell itself.

He held his knife tightly, gripped it with a finality that prooved his true hate. He was going to kill this thing, this vile creature. And he was going to do it painfully and slowly.

There was a moment in which he and the beast had locked eyes. G made sure it knew what he was going to do to it. The beast whined and looked away, whether it was playing dead or trying to gain G's sympathy he didnt know, but he didn't care anymore.

"You didn't give show them mercy! You didn't even blink! You think that you can pretend to be weak and defenseless and expect me to show you godamn MERCY?!" he screamed, his jaw clenched and his breath now ragged.

The beast made a noise that seemed in between a chuckle and a sneer.

G snarled, but was interuppted by a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see F smiling at him.

"Hurry." she said, giving him a frantic look. "He needs us."

7, who had woken up 8 and had fixed his stomach, picked up on what F had said and rushed over to the female seer. She placed her hands on F's shoulders and gripped them tight, the sheer mention of 9 making her tense. What did she mean, "He needs us."?

"Is 9 ok?" 7 asked, struggling to keep her voice calm.

"Soon." was all she said before walking away, patting G once on his shoulder and twisting easily out of 7's grip. With nothing left to hold for reassurance, 7 looked to the floor, her breathing increasing and the look in her optics getting wilder and wilder.

G watched 7 unravel, her very souls plit in two, like someone had torn her strength, confidence, everything she was, and had just scattered it in front of her.

"Hey..." he said softly, his voice gentle and soothing. 7's head snapped up to him and her indicribable expression was covered up with anger.

"Kill it now. Or I'll kill you." she said darkly, then turning abruptly. She headed back for the Car, holding her head high. She wouldn't let them see her break. She wouldn't ever let anyone see her break.

G looked back down at the Beast, which had been watching them closely. He glared down at it.

"Gladly."

He jumped down, swiftly, his body graceful once more, his cape fluttering in the air resistance that he used to land with. His optics never once blinked, and his footsteps were soft and quiet, as they were made to be.

He walked close enough so that he could look the beast in the eye. And raised his spear, a satisfied smile growing on his face. He had nothing to say to this monster. There was no human in those eyes. There never would be. He wouldn't show it mercy.

With one quick slash, despite his now broken promises of a lasting and painful death, he swiped his blade down and across, shattering the red eye.

Hearing the cry of the machine made him strong, feed him like a leech feeds on blood, like a parasite. He slashed at the eye again, and then again, the beast's body jerking each time. He then jumped on top of the creatures back, staring down at the single thick wire holding everything together.

"Bad place to put it." he muttered, stomping on it with his foot. He took and single moment of a pause before screaming, his blade following his anger and detatching the head from the body.

G looked up, noticing C and D staring down at him, their expressions also hard to read.

G bent his legs and jumped as high up the dirt wall as he could, stabbing his knife into it. He then used the various tools the knife possesed to climb the rest of the way up.

By the time he had reached the top, 7 had everyone in the Car, and had drove up to him, an expectant look in her optics.

"It's done." he assured her. 7 nodded, and gestured with her arm for him to get in, her hard face taking over again, a mask of strength he himself could never master.

As soon as his last foot was off the ground and in the Car, 7 sped off, gripping the steering wheel tightly once more.

9 opened his optics to find himself in the Library's workshop. He already knew it, by the ceiling pattern. He groaned and tried to sit up, but he found he had been strapped to the bed.

"What the-?" he said, his voice sounding rasy and unused. How long had he been out?

And then it hit him. He remembered what he had been doing the last time he was awake. And why he had done it.

"It worked!" he said, his voice hardly above a whisper's worth in volume and his voice box sore. He wanted to rub at it to sooth it, but his hands and arms were strapped down as well as his legs and feet. It was apparent someone did not want him out of this bed.

As he continued to wake up, he was aware someone was holding his hand. He looked down to his right, to where a sleeping 7 was.

God even when she looked like she had sobbed herself to sleep she was beautiful...

"S-7?" 9 croaked, squeezing her hand.

7s optic shot open, and she looked up. A slow smile spread across her face, and she made a few choked sounds in surprise and thankfulness.

"N-9!" she pounced on him, pulling him into a crushing hug that made him realize two things. One, he was still tied up, and two, he was still tender in some areas.

"Ow!" he hissed in pain, but gave her a reassuring smile when she pull away concerned.

"Could you untie me?" he asked with a nervous chuckle, wanting to know the reason why he had been strapped to his gurney in the first place.

7 smiled and nodded, still too stunned for words, and undid the belt buckles that held her lover down. When he tried to sit up, 7 shook her head.

"Don't get out of bed yet. 5 said if you woke up he would like to check on you, to make sure you really are ok." she said, running a hand down his body carefully. "This doesnt hurt, does it?" she asked, smiling.

9 gulped, his optics lidding contentedly. "I-it feels nice... Like a massage." he admitted, smiling back. 7 leaned down and kissed him, a gentle kiss that held a subtile hint of longing.

When she pulled away, she simply rested her forehead against his, still smiling.

"I missed you." she said softly.

9 nuzzled her lips a bit more before a question came into his mind.

"What happened to me?" he asked, his voice sounding calm despite his aniousness.

7 sat up, taking a breath to begin the story.

"5 told me that you ran in front of the BRAIN, like 6's sketch of me, only it was you." she said, her fingers running over his detailed hand. He glanced down at her fingers playing with him.

"Yeah I remember that. I meant what happened when it tried to take my soul?"

The corner of 7's mouth twitched.

"5 said you closed your optics and smiled, and you started glowing. And when the talisman shot out at you, your body kind of jerked toward it, but the green light just stopped, like it was frozen in midair. And it couldn't touch you." 7 looked up from 9's hand. "But then it did something strange. It wasn't like 2, he said, like how the green had been taken from 2, but the opposite. He said the talisman's green light turned back around and went into the BRAIN again. And by the time the monster exploded, 5 had gotten you out of the way."

9 furrowed his eyebrows in thought, trying to remember all of these details. But the only thing he could remember was thinking of 7 before everything went black.

"So... He got the talisman?" 9 asked, looking hopefully up at 7.

7 nodded toward a small chest by the wooden door. "He put it over there." 9 looked to where she had indicated, making sure it looked ok. "But I should go tell him your awake. He wants to make sure you're ok to... go..." her face suddenly fell, and she looked away.

"9... I'm scared." she said.

There was a silence as he thought of what to say. Finally, he found a set of words that would suffice. He finally sat up, surpressing the groan of pain.

"A brave and smart stitchpunk once told me..." 7 looked up, "That fear is strength. If you tried to hide it, you would be a coward." 7 smiled. "I'm scared too, 7."

7 wrapped her arms around the savior, the one who had set everything right. "You're almost there, 9. You'll make it better. I know it."

The two embracing stitchpunks were interuppted by a small noise at the open door.

"5." 9 said, his smile growing brighter. "7 told me everything. What else did I miss?"

5 chuckled as he came in, carrying a small toy cup full of widgets, odds and ends. "Glad to see your awake, 9." he said, setting the cup down and resting a hand on his shoulder, his hearty smile that was souly his present on his scarred face.

9 smiled as he felt his friends comfort sweep through him in that smile.

"7 told me you wanted to check on me." 9 said, eyeing the cup, spotting some needles, screws, bolts, lenses, and even a spool of thread.

5 looked down at the small cup, which ironically had a little pink flower on it's once light blue side. "Yeah. It looked... Well the way it happened... Well just better to be safe."

9 nodded. 7 kissed him and stepped back to give 5 some room to work, but still held 9's hand tight enough to make a question arise once more in 9's head.

"How long have I been out?" he asked, looking to 5.

As 5 rummaged through the cup, he paused a second to count the days. 9 saw 5 mouthing the numbers with his mouth, his optic narrowed as he thought about it.

"Oh, about twelve. At first..." 5 glanced at 7, who looked away. "We thought... And then I checked your 'pulse'," 5 pulled his hands out of the cup to quote the word 'pulse' with his fingers, "And you were definately alive. So we took you back here. I couldn't check you out because you wouldnt stop glowing, and I was afraid if I tried to something would happen. So i just let you wake up."

5 continued to rummage a little longer before seeming to finally grasp the lens. He pulled it out rather carefully, looking it over and making an approving sound before looking back to 9.

"Here, lay back so I can take a look." he said gently. 9 complied, opening himself, laying back on the soft material beneath him.

After agreeing that 9 was indeed in perfect health, 5 and 7 let him out of the room. Greetings of all forms rang through the library's main hall, where everyone had gathered. 9 had taken the talisman as he walked out of the workshop, and it was now stored inside of him, seeming to fit perfectly.

But as conversations about what exactly had happened and who did what carried on, 9 felt himself feeling empty.

2 still wasn't here. And he wouldn't be here unless 9 completed his purpose. It was only one person gone to any of the others, but to him, it was the laughter of the group. 2 made the group what it was, just like any of the others. He would never be content unless everyone was here and accounted for, and he couldnt help but think that could be part of his purpose- to keep everyone together, and to save them if they needed it.

Mistakes happened, but 9 was there to correct them.

7 placed a hand on his shoulder, and he smiled sadly, pulling her into a hug. 7 kissed his chest gently, and he nuzzled her head, his optics shut tight, never wanting to forget the way it felt to have her love, never wanting to forget that at one time he had 7, he fierce warrior, at the same level as he was, at the same level of caring.

He didn't want to lose her.

"A soul never forgets." 7 said, as if she could read his mind.

"Hey," he chuckled, not pulling away from the hug. "I thought only 6 and F could do that." he joked, kissing her head when he heard her laugh.

It was time. He felt it. He couldn't stall any longer.

He pulled away and faced the crowd.

"I'll bring him back." he said, making everyone's chatter die down. 9 looked down in thought. "If I have to do all of this again just so he would be here, I would..."

9 knew it was just best to leave now, before anyone could say goodbye. After all, 6 had said they didn't matter...

9 unzipped himself and took out the talisman. He ran his fingers over the magical item, staring at it thoughtfully before looking up at everyone.

Only smiles greeted him, only loving, tender smiles...

9 pressed the sequence backwards.

One last time.