The Scientist yawned, waking up alone. But he smelled…No. No! It couldn't be! Well…Nine did have all his memories, so the recipe was fair game. He stood and raced out to see…

"Fried chicken!"

~Maryanna's recipe.~ Nine replied with a smile. The smile disappeared. ~The others are heading over here and One is going to end your world.~

"So?"

~So this is where you position yourself in our group. Are you going to be leader? Or follower?~

The Scientist made a face. "I'm not a very good leader. I make piss poor decisions all the time. If they've survived this long, I would say that One is sufficient."

~Then you will take all One has to dish out without a complaint.~

"…Damn it."

Nine laughed. He paused. ~What do you want us to call you?~

"What?"

~The others used to call you Maker before I told them you tried to get them to call you Father. Now they call you Father. BRAIN will call you Maker no matter what. But you…in the new thoughts I got from you, you toyed with another name. Which do you want?~

The Scientist flushed in embarrassment. "I…Do you want the truth?" He got a nod. "I would like to be called Zero. That is what I am. I came before One."

~Zero it is then.~

There was a strange sense about that message. "Did you just tell everybody?"

~Yes. They will be here in five minutes. Brace yourself.~

Zero sat down, bracing himself. Bracing himself to be a disappointment to yet another leader. Bracing himself to be called failure. Stupid. Worthless. Bracing himself to be thrown away. Again. Those thoughts repeated like a mantra inside of his head. A hand was placed on his shoulder.

"You are not stupid. You are not worthless. You are not a failure. You are not a disappointment. And you definitely won't be thrown away. Look at me, Zero."

"No," he replied in a small voice.

One knelt down. "Look at me, Zero."

The purple eyes were teary, and the cheeks were wet. It hurt them to hear that their maker was so wounded. One pulled him down to kneel in front of him.

"You are the best thing that's ever happened to us. Without you, there would be no us. You mean the world to us. And nobody else's opinion of you matters. Except God's, but that's moot at the moment. You destroyed most of the world, yes, but you tried to fix it. That's the important part. We love you. Do you love us?"

Zero nodded. "Of course I do. I didn't want to live after my sister's death until I held you in my hands…which you proceeded to try and get away from as soon as you realized you were alive."

The Stitchpunks-turned-human laughed at that, coming closer. One smirked. "Yes. Well, you are large compared to a Stitchpunk. You must pardon us for our fear."

The man sniffled, tears still falling. He hesitated. If he did this, he would cement himself as a follower. Did he have a problem with that…? No. He didn't. He fell into One's arms and cried out the pain that he'd been through for the last seventeen years. He was surrounded by family for the first time in his life. When the tears had stopped, One wiped his cheeks, kissed his forehead, and helped him up.

"There. Better?" Zero smiled bashfully and nodded. "Good. Now, lunch is ready."

"Lunch?"

"Yeah, One decided to let you sleep in late," Seven said. "For the record, don't expect that once you're well again."

"I hate sleeping in. Throws off the whole day."

Silence. Two finally laughed. "Well, now we know where One got that from!"

"Can't we kill it?" Eight grumbled. "Sleeping in is nice."

"Every once in a while, yes," Zero said as a large plate of fried chicken was set in front of him. His stomach snarled, but he finished his thought first. "But if you sleep in every day, it is no longer sleeping in. You're just getting up later than you used to." He took a big bite.

One looked excited. "Yes! Yes, exactly! Ooh, I'm going to like having you here! You're just as articulate as Nine, but you share my thoughts!"

"Oh really?" Zero asked, winking at the others.

"And…he's ruined it," One sighed. "You, swallow first."

"Or?"

"Take a vote. Who here wants him to stop talking with his mouth full?" Seven asked distastefully.

One, Two, Five, Six, Seven, and Nine raised their hands, and only the last one was smiling.

~We are with you, Zero~ Three started sadly.

~But we are outnumbered still.~ Four replied.

"Yeah, six to four," Eight said with a laugh.

"No, seven to three," Zero said after he'd swallowed. His eyes were gleaming. "I just did that because, even when he was a Stitchpunk, I wasn't allowed to talk with my mouth full. His reason was funny. Even more so now, in my opinion."

"I can't recall what the reason was," One said then took a bite of potatoes.

"You couldn't do it yourself."

One nearly choked as everybody else laughed, long and hard and loud. Once One had stopped coughing, his face flamed.

"I, er, have since repositioned myself on the issue."

"You mean you've grown up," Zero said with a smile, sipping on what he thought was grape juice. It was actually wine! He took another mouthful of the nectar of the gods.

"Just so you know," Two started.

"I never get drunk," Zero said before the thought could be finished. "I can safely handle two, three glasses get me tipsy. Past that…I don't do that anymore."

"Anymore?"

"I have gotten drunk four times. Exactly four. And I don't plan on adding even one more."

"Too sick?"

"The first three, yes."

"And the fourth?" Six asked cheerily. He looked at Nine, who was making violent gestures, realizing too late that he shouldn't have asked.

"I killed the son of a bitch bastard that raped and murdered my sister." Zero took another bite, the silence singing around him. He chewed thoughtfully then swallowed. "They never knew it was me, either. They arrested Tony because of a very public argument he'd had with Thomas the day before. And the fact that I'd planted evidence in his room. I must say, I'm a clever bastard when I'm drunk."

"You're…joking…right?" Eight asked.

"Nope."

Everybody looked to Nine, wide-eyed. Nine nodded. ~He isn't lying. He didn't mention the torture though.~

"I didn't think they'd want to hear about me cutting the asshole's dick off. Plus another couple bits. While he was still alive, mind you."

~Oh, like they want to hear about you murdering somebody?~

"Hey, Six asked. I didn't volunteer it out of the blue." BRAIN appeared, touching him lightly. "Hello, BRAIN. Come to gawk at me, too?"

"Oh, no. I knew about the murder. Nine was absolutely fascinated with it when he first found it. I have studied it from every angle possible, from your glee at revenge to your horror when you realized what you had done. I have no questions about that. I simply wanted to state an observation."

"Alright then. State it."

"Nine has known this since he first woke up, as your past was one of the first things he started getting when his visions appeared. But the others have held you up on a pedestal since you let them go."

"Your point?"

"You are not perfect, and One through Eight just realized that."

Zero snorted, sipping his wine. "I am far from perfect. I am only a human being."

"Yes, I know. And Nine knows. And now they know, as well. I do have one question, though."

"Yes?"

"How would Maryanna react?"

"A part of me says the typical reaction," Zero sighed, leaning back. "But…I know for a fact that she would have done the same damn thing in my shoes. We both had that…gene. She was a feisty devil. I miss her, but the gaping wound is now scarred over. It no longer hurts, but the flesh is not right beneath it."

"Did you…regret it?" One asked hesitantly.

"No. I enjoyed his screams. Because I can still hear my sister's screams from the night he raped her. I ran as fast as I could, but…Yeah. I didn't make it. Afterwards, I thought I might get caught, but, like I said, I'm a clever bastard when I'm drunk."

The rest of the meal was eaten in silence. Zero could feel their stares, but he was used to stares. The most common stares he got were those of derision. Scorn. Even hatred. But the worst ones were the ones that everybody gave him. That he wasn't good enough to be with them.

"That's not why we're staring at you," Six said, making him look up. Zero was confused as Six laughed. "You're fresh meat. You don't know how to block your thoughts in the bond, and, unlike me, One, and Nine, you have no natural block. We're going to have to teach you. Until then, we're going to hear almost everything you think. Welcome home!"

"It's better than assuming you know my thoughts and lashing out because of what you think I'm thinking. I get that a lot, too."

"Hmph, Humans are so stupid sometimes."

~Hey!~ Nine gasped eagerly, jumping to his feet, eyes gleaming.

"Yes?"

There was a buzz, like Nine was trying to talk to him, but he got nothing. Everybody else, on the other hand, suddenly looked as excited as Nine.

"We must do it at once!" One exclaimed. "I think Nine should do it! His handwriting is best out of all of us, and he has spent less time with him than any of the rest of us. Any arguments?"

"No!" they all called.

"Nine, clean up, if you will!"

The dishes were immediately spotless, flying back into the cabinets, everything else turning to dust. Nine then turned, grinning, to his maker.

~Have you ever thought of being a Stitchpunk?~

"More often than you think," Zero replied. "What's going on?"

~I am going to turn you into a Stitchpunk. Pay attention to the sensations, because you will learn how to do it yourself. Understand?"

"I do. Does it hurt?"

~Going from human to Stitchpunk is like being squeezed through a tight tube.~ Three said with a smile.

~Yes, yes! When you come out at the other end, you feel squished and smaller.~ Four added.

"You can't breathe very easy in the tube. It's best to hold your breath," Eight said.

"Good point, Eight," One praised, and Zero noticed that he brightened. He was going to think it anyway, so instead he said it.

"I see you still like to be praised."

Eight blushed, looking away.

"And there is nothing wrong with that," Zero continued. "I enjoy being praised. But I never get it. Be glad they will give you what you need."

"What do you not get praised for?" One asked immediately.

"Everything right. They mock me when I do something wrong, but that's the only time I'm noticed. I'm…used to it."

"No you're not, and that tone just proved it," Two scolded.

"Wrong." Two blinked. "I am used to it. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, though."

"Well get unused to it," Five growled. "We all know that accomplishments mean something, and everybody accomplishes different things. Take Eight for example. He and Nine—"

Eight slammed a hand over Five's mouth, face completely red. Zero blinked. "We are getting off track. Nine, make him a Stitchpunk. Now, please."

Nine complied immediately, his own face just as red as Eight's. Zero didn't even have time to take in a breath, and he came out of the tunnel breathless, gasping for air to cool his insides down. He cried out as something wrapped around him, grabbing at…Nine's hand. He blinked, hearing a soft click. Zero immediately raised his hand. He hadn't remember constructing it, but it was incredibly like Nine's. He smiled, pleased.

There was a soft noise as Six set down an ink bottle and filled a pen. Zero stared at it as Nine picked it up.

"What are you going to do with that?"

"You are going to hold very still while Nine gives you your number," One said with a nod and a smile.

"My number?"

"You're number Zero, aren't you?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"But nothing. It isn't fair that you run around without a number. You are number Zero. You must wear it proudly!"

"Does it hurt?" Zero asked fearfully.

"It feels awful funny, but it doesn't hurt," Eight answered with a smile.

"But stay completely still," Six said seriously. "Or else he'll splash, and splashes take three months to fade off your back, even when Nine removes them with his soul energy."

"Okay."

Nine shifted Zero in his hand until he was draped over his palm. ~Ready, Zero?~

"I suppose."

There was laughter then silence. Zero hoped that Nine warned him before the pen touched him.

"We always warn," Seven said.

Zero frowned, then thought on purpose, 'This is getting irritating. Could you stop that?'

"No," they all chorused, smiles in their voices.

"It gets embarrassing," Five chuckled.

Zero thought of the rudest thing he could, and everybody laughed again. When the laughter died down, One tapped his head lightly with one finger.

"Do not do that again. Am I understood?"

'No.'

One tapped him again. "Be still."

Zero nodded then stilled himself, which he had much practice with. He couldn't help but recall the situations as Nine warned him. A second later the pen touched him, and he traced the path of a neat zero on his back. The pen pulled back.

"Oh, that's lovely! You're still the best at that," Two said fondly.

~Many thanks. Zero, you can move now.~

"It looks good?"

"Yes. Very."

"Can I…be human again? This is odd. I mean, I wouldn't mind it if all of you were Stitchpunks, but…this is disconcerting. I can see why you were scared of me."

Zero screamed in terror as Nine tossed him forward. He shuttered his optics hard, waiting for pain…Hands touched him, helping him to stand on shaking legs and stagger over to a chair. Zero looked around, eyes wild.

"W-what?"

"Nine will apologize now," One said darkly.

~I'm sorry, Zero.~ Nine said sheepishly. ~I forgot that you haven't done that before. I thought you were one of the others. Forgive me.~

Zero couldn't answer, too busy trying to breathe properly. He couldn't stop shaking. Nine looked at One, who nodded, and he handed Zero a full cup of wine. When that was gone, Zero looked much calmer. He took a deep breath, looked at Nine, then screamed as loud as he could.

"Why in the hell would you do that?!"

"It's fun for us. Not the first time, but it gets better," Seven said. "He really did forget you hadn't done that or else he never would have done it."

~I'm sorry.~ Nine repeated, his eyes on the ground. He looked ready to cry. ~I won't do it again unless you want to. Honest.~

Zero held out his hand. Nine took it shyly, and his maker pulled him close as he stood up.

"I'm sorry, Nine. I don't know if I've ever been that scared before. I do forgive you. Just…I don't think doing that again anytime soon is a good idea. Okay?"

Nine nodded, hiding his face in Zero's neck. Zero held him. He was surprised when One held both of them. It was nice, Zero concluded.

"Don't be afraid. Nine won't let you get hurt," One said softly.

They stayed that way for about three minutes, then One gave each of them a kiss.

~Thank you.~ Zero sighed.

"You are most welcome. You're one of my little Stitchpunks. I love you. And I am impressed that you could say that, not think it. Did you feel the difference?"

"A little."

"Well, we'll just have to work on that right now. Nine, make us a sitting area."