I blame 5 for why this chapter took so long. I also blame the Art Institute for ending my break, and Timothy Beeler for not allowing us to use electronic devices in class. The scoundrel… :/

The original idea for this chapter has been split in two. Partially, because I've been struggling with it, and I'm getting sick of looking at this first part of it. But, more importantly—if I split it, I can leave the next chapter on a delicious cliffhanger. 8D

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Watching

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9 had to admit, he was impressed with the base on the second floor. It had been designed and built for warriors, by a warrior. He had never guessed that 8 would take the initiative to put something so useful and elaborate together. He had expected the giant to plunk himself down before a reasonable vantage point, and sit and wait patiently—at rest, it was what he did best.

But no. When asked about it, 8 shrugged and stated that he didn't want to keep watch for a witch and her ilk with no shelter, no weapons, and no way to call for help. He said that sounded foolish, so he built himself a fortress. It seemed like the smart thing to do. 9 had to mentally kick himself for underestimating his brother like that. They were all still surprising him in small ways like this. Almost nothing he knew of them before was the same now. And for the most part, that was a good thing.

And, apparently, 8 still had plans for the fortress. He had made plans in his head for a tower, for a higher, better view. He also wanted to add on a whole room for an armory—because the tangle of projectiles on the floor wasn't good enough for him. It was heartwarming to see him working on a project of his own. It was equally heartwarming that he was so proud of his work, he had personally invited his brother to survey it.

For a bit, 9 just let his brother tour him around the fortress, listened to him babble on about its details, its ingenuity, and the way he saw it in the weeks to come.

"I hope my sister likes it," the giant commented in his bumbling voice. "I made sure there were plenty of spears up here, just for her. Oh, and look at this."

He took 9 by the wrist and pulled him over to the window frame. All the glass had been blown out long ago, letting a strong, cold wind blast freely over the floor. The view was perfect, and amazingly clear; even from the height, buried under snow, 9 could still make out small details on the statues in the courtyard. Beside him, 8 took in a deep, full breath of the cold air, filling his lungs as much as he could, and slowly releasing it in a puff of mist.

"The wind is so strong right here. It feels like we're flying. 7 will like that. She'll like it a lot."

Feeling a little overwhelmed by pride, 9 leaned back against the window frame and took a moment to admire his largest brother. In the end, 8 had turned out to have one of the bigger, softer hearts of the whole clan. That was wonderful.

"What are you looking at?" the giant asked after a moment.

"Oh, nothing. Just thinking," 9 answered with a smile.

"You do that a lot."

"Yeah, I suppose I do…" He also got the feeling that they were being watched, and he could guess by whom.

"Who's on watch after you tonight?"

8 looked off into space for a second, remembering. "5, I think. He'll come up soon. But I don't really want to see him. He's been scary lately."

That was the oddest remark; 9 wasn't sure if it made him want to laugh or cry. 5? Scary? It was ridiculous. That fact that it was true made it all the more so. He wasn't looking forward to it… But he needed to speak with his brother again. Whatever had gotten into him since Pi had been sent away, it had to stop. Now. He sighed heavily, thinking about everything.

"I'll take watch after him tonight, then," he decided.

"6 wants to watch this time. Four shifts is better. We can all get some sleep. A long time ago, I hated doing all the watching by myself. We don't have to be like that again."

"I don't see any reason why he shouldn't take a shift, if he wants to," 9 agreed, reaching up and patting his brother on the shoulder. "you've done a really great job with this fort, 8. Thank you."

The giant grinned down at him, extremely proud. A sudden noise distracted them—but when they looked up, they didn't see anything. 8 seemed bothered by this—his genius fortress being infiltrated by one of their own. But 9 rolled his eyes, unimpressed.

Who does 5 think he's fooling? I love the man to death, but he is the least subtle person I know, and he couldn't hide himself to save his life. You certainly can't hide from me, brother.

Darting his eyes around a little, looking for the source of the noise, 8 headed back toward the elevator.

"I'm going down. Are you coming?" he asked over his shoulder.

"No, I'll stay up here for a bit. I'll see you downstairs, 8."

8 shrugged in response and went on his way. As he listened to the elevator inch down toward the ground floor, 9 went on admiring the courtyard, wondering what he might say to coax his brother out of the shadows. It wasn't like he had anywhere to run to now that the elevator was so far below them. They were rather trapped together now, with the topic of 5's unusual behavior hanging in the air. He felt as trapped as he was sure his brother did.

I am not looking forward to this…

"You know something, 5? I've always liked the rain."

He paused for a moment, let his brother realize exactly how he couldn't fool anyone, before continuing, "Ask me why. Go on, come out here and ask me why."

5 took his time inching out from behind the fortress and into the open; 9 heard and felt it rather than saw it, because he couldn't bring himself to look at his brother yet. Now that they were alone for the first time in days, he realized that his own frustration and anger were much greater than he had thought.

"…Why do you like the rain?" 5 finally, petulantly asked.

"Because it was the only time I could come home," he snapped, finally turning to face his brother. "I could wander around out there for weeks, all by myself, before it rained hard enough to come home. I was out there looking for you, and I had to leave my family behind to do it. Do you know how hard that was? Do you understand at all how much I sacrificed to get you back?"

5 was finally startled out of his petulance, and looked frightened—maybe even a little apologetic, understanding where this was going. He had nothing to say for himself. But 9 still had plenty to say, and advanced to his paralyzed brother's side.

"We were supposed to be a family again. We were supposed to be healing. But you… 5, you've been sick. Something's been hurting you for months, and you won't let us help you. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"I'm certainly not under a spell, if that's what you're thinking."

"This has nothing to do with Pi," he exclaimed, grabbing 5 by the shoulders and shaking him hard. "This isn't about her, or me, or anyone else—it's about you. I'm tired of seeing you like this, and I'm not going to sit by and allow it anymore! Just tell me what's going on. Let me help you."

5 shook his head, refusing to meet his brother's gaze. "It's nothing."

"Yes, it is. 5… It's me, isn't it?"

He looked up, startled and perhaps a little terrified.

"Just say it—it's me you're mad at. Just tell me what I did to you, so I can fix it. Please. I'm trying to help you. Brother…"

5 sighed heavily and walked off to the window, staring absently down into the snow. He looked exhausted and lost as he leaned heavily against the window frame, sighing sadly.

"I just… For that whole long, terrifying day, I watched you do something amazing to my sister. She changed so much, so suddenly, just because you loved her like that; and she was falling in love with you, as well. It was wonderful to watch, and I was so excited for you. And when I died, I was sad that I would never see what would become of it. And then I came back, and I saw how far you had come, and… I wanted that, too. I wanted to know what that was like. And knowing that it was completely impossible…

"It made me so angry," he confessed, sounding close to tears. "You have no idea how angry I was. And I knew that it wasn't right to be so angry at you, just because you were so happy. I hated being that way, but I couldn't help it. And then 7 got pregnant, and it was like—just another wonderful thing that I would never know for myself. I'll never have a wife, or children like you do. And that hurts, 9. It hurts a lot."

9 supposed he could understand why his brother would be so jealous. And he had to admit, knowing the joy he found in his family, that he would have felt the same, had their roles been reversed. He hurt for and with him, knowing that such a big heart with so much love in it was being wasted like this; he felt his own heart breaking a little. 5 slowly turned to look at him, but couldn't look him in the eye.

"I haven't liked being so angry at you, 9. That's hurt, too. And I know how much it's hurt everyone else. I'm sorry."

"5… Why didn't you just tell me?"

"What was I supposed to say?" He absently ran his hand over the wooden window frame. "I had hoped if I could ignore it, focus on the virtues of our new life, on all the possibilities we have now, maybe I could be content again. The idea of a love that big used to terrify me; even watching the two of you was almost too big for me. But it never went away. I'll never be content with that again."

"Pi didn't help much with that."

5 looked down at the floor and shook his head. "I thought it was a miracle. In what felt like the depth of my despair, she appeared out of nowhere and… She was so beautiful. You fell in love with my sister the second you saw her; and I thought, this must be what it's like. This must be what it's like…

"She never loved me, though."

"She was a monster," 9 agreed right away. "We saved her life, and she thanked us by lying to us, and hurting us—maybe even trying to kill us.

"9… I still love her."

"…What?"

"I know what she is, and I know what she did—even I can't rationalize that. I should be angry at her, not at you. I should hate her as much as the rest of you do. But I just can't. There's still love for her in my heart, and I simply can't explain why. It's confusing and frustrating, and…"

"Painful."

"Yes. Painful." With another sigh, 5 turned and stared back into the snow-covered city.

"Maybe it's just as well. Who could ever love a loser like me, anyway? 2 was right—I don't deserve to have a family."

"Stop that," 9 insisted, putting his arm around his brother's shoulders. "That wasn't what he meant."

"Something doesn't sit right with me. Pi turned out to be very different from what she seemed all along. But I think she might have been even more than that."

"I don't understand."

"I can't be as simple as that. There's something else going on. I can feel it. What if I could still help her?"

"She's someone else's problem now. You don't' need to worry about her anymore. You just need some time, and you need us. We're your family; we're here to help you, if you'd just let us. I know it's not exactly enough anymore, but… can't you try?"

5 looked up and offered him a weak smile. "Of course I can. Thank you for listening. I know you don't understand, but—"

"Maybe I do, a little bit. Love makes people do strange things, sometimes. It's unfair how badly its hurt you; but I'm glad you got a taste of what it's like."

"Yeah… I am, too. Will you stay up here with me for a while?"

"Of course I will. I'm your brother, aren't I?"

Well. That hadn't been as painful as he had expected. Now they could mend the ragged ends of their friendship. Now they could be a family again.

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The twins watched in relative silence as the weeks went by, and soon it was March. The snow was melting away, leaving patches of green springtime in its wake. And they surprised themselves by having changed as much as the rest of their Stitchpunk family. Once upon a time, they would never have dreamed of leaving the shelter of their home; outside, it had been dark, desolate and frightening, full of danger they couldn't protect themselves from, and largely irrelevant to their true purpose. But when that same danger had forced them out of that shelter and into the world, they discovered something amazing about the world.

They needed it—in all its dark, desolate dangerousness—if they were really to live up to their purpose. Cataloging the world, in order to organize it, in order to understanding it. That was what they had been made for. Surrounding themselves with mountains of books, pouring through them all, memorizing everything they said about the world beyond was good and well. But amid the terror and trauma and death that they had found, they also saw life, and hope, and promise. And reality, in all its glory. They could study, read and catalog every book that had ever been written; but they would never truly understand the world until they went out into it. Until they experienced it.

And experiencing it had been wonderful, if not at times difficult. A year of mixed up, confused weather had followed the first rain, as the world tried desperately to right itself. The fact that this winter had been a suitably snowy one was promising. The world really was healing itself, gaining its bearings, remembering its seasons and where they were supposed to be. This year, 3 and 4 would experience something else they had never known before:

Springtime.

And their baby sister would experience it, as well. She would never have to know what the world had been like before her father had awoken. They could all learn the joys and pains of the naturally changing seasons together, as brother and sisters. Being much older, the two of them intended to study the heck out of their new surroundings; being a baby, 10 would probably just be enchanted by the soft green grass, the bright colors of flowers, the gentle rush of the breeze, the warmth of the sun…

10 hadn't been outside the library yet. It was too cold and snowy for a little baby to be outside. All she had ever known was the looming shadows and perpetual darkness of cavernous library. She had never seen the sun. That was an exciting thought, though; 3 and 4 had barely seen the sun in months, themselves. They couldn't wait for their sister to experience the world for the first time. If she was anything like their dad, she would soak up every ounce of it and revel in it—even if she was only a few months old.

As the weeks marched on and the weather began to grow warmer, the twins were secretly working on plans for something very special. And now that the snow was melting, revealing the useful findings that had been impossible to reach, surely their project would come together in a… "jiffy", was the human term they liked best to use. It sounded more fun. It was the middle of March when they finally took a step back from their plans to survey their very careful work. Each twin critically scanned his or her set of blueprints, searching for any error or flaw, before they turned to face each other with a nod of approval.

"Finished." They chorused.

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It was so nice for everything to be back to normal—the way it was supposed to be. Surrounded by her brothers, with the witch banished from memory and the snow melting away outside, 7 felt like she could finally raise her daughter in peace. Ah, peace. The very idea made her feminine heart soar like an eagle. She had never felt so… free before.

10 didn't seem to have a problem with that. The child had never known a cage— unless her parent's safe, secure embrace counted as such, and 7 didn't think that it did. It was only a few weeks into March—about three months since she had been born—and one day, quite suddenly, she stunned everybody by joyously squealing her first word. It had been evening, and they were all gathered in the common room. Then 9 had walked in, returning from his watch, and the baby's little eyes went wide.

"Adadadada!" she cried, reaching for her father. Her sudden ability to speak (sort of) didn't seem to concern her as much as it did everyone else. It wasn't important or monumental to her at all. All that mattered was that her daddy was home.

She was only a baby, still; but she was already growing up so fast. And she was completely free to do so, as fast as she wanted. 7 was so proud of her. But at the same time, the idea that she could blink, or turn her head for a second, and look up to see her baby had grown up all of a sudden… She thought she would cry; but she couldn't decide from what emotion.

Another night, not too long thereafter, it was the twin's turn to surprise everyone. After disappearing for the entire day, they walked into the common room, each carrying a rolled up piece of parchment in their hands. Sort of ignoring everyone else, 3 scanned the room until he spotted 2, working with some findings in the middle of the floor, and marched right up to him with a very serious expression. Being a rather goofy child most of the time, it was difficult to take that seriousness seriously. It was adorable, but at the same time… What could be up with them?

"2," the boy announced matter-of-factly, "my sister and I have made a very important decision, and we need your help."

Behind him, clutching her rolled up parchment nervously, 4 nodded her head earnestly.

"Is that the truth?" 2 answered evenly, setting his work to the side. "Well, you have my full attention, then. What decision might that be?"

3 handed over his rolled up parchment, struggling to hide his obvious excitement behind that uncharacteristic seriousness. 2 unrolled it and looked it over for a moment, and his eyes widened in surprise. He looked up at them in wonder, unable to speak for a moment.

"…After all this time?"

"we've been this way for far too long. We thought we'd be this way forever; and we were fine with that, once. But now…"

4 stepped up and finished for her twin, "We're finally ready to grow up."

The rest of the gathered clan sat and listened to their conversation in silence, piecing together what was going on. And while 7 marveled at her adopted children, she had to wonder at them. Had they spent all this time designing new bodies for themselves? Why hadn't they told anyone, or asked for any help? 9 hopped up from his place beside her and walked over to look at 4's paper. After looking it over carefully, he looked back at them.

"This is a very big choice you've made," he agreed. "Are you sure you want to do this? It's not a choice to be made lightly, you know."

"But we haven't made it lightly," 4 insisted. "we've thought and thought and thought about it for weeks. And we've worked really hard on these designs."

"Yes, I can see that…"

2 rose to join them and added, "If we go through with this—build these new bodies and transfer your souls into them—you can never go back to the way you were before."

"That's the beauty of it. we've been like this for almost seven years, now. And it's just… It's just time, now. I think we've outgrown these bodies," 3 explained. "I know that sounds funny, since we don't grow and all, but it's the only way I can explain it. We can't stay this way forever, you know."

"Dixie's going to grow up," 4 put in helpfully. "We need to set a good example for her. It's not a scary or terrible thing to grow up. But she'll decide in her own time when she's ready to do it, just like we have."

Indeed, they put up a good argument. Still looking unsure, 9 brought 4's blueprint bck to the sofa for 7 to look at.

"What do you think of this?" he asked.

7 looked the drawing over as critically as she could while her husband held it steady. It was a remarkable design, sketched in attentive detail, with specific important notes made in the margins. It was 4, basically, though her new body was designed to be about an inch taller and more femininely defined. It was a body in its mid-teens, she supposed.

"Their work seems… Sound," she said with a shrug. "I don't see any problem with this. Is there a problem with this?"

"No, no, not at all. It's just… Strange, and wonderful."

"So this is doable? You can build their new bodies and—"

"Oh yes, absolutely! It will be no different from when we built Dixie, just on a bigger scale. And I suppose I could use the practice—she'll be ready for a new body soon, herself," 9 explained with a smile. "In fact, if the twins would be willing to help us, I think we can be done by their birthday, in May."

'Well, how perfect is that? What do you say to that, kids? Would you help them?"

As if she needed to ask. The twins beamed, and 4 clapped her hands delightedly.

"Of course! That would be wonderful!" she cheered.

"When can we start? Can we start in the morning? We have all the other blueprints drawn up, and lists of materials, and everything."

"I don't see why not," 2 agreed, giving them both a hug. "All my other projects can wait for a bit, then. I had always wondered if this day would ever come; and now that it has, I'm not sure what to say. I'm very proud of you both. This is a very big decision to make, and one that I never got to make for myself. I'm sure that it took a lot of courage."

"It did, a little," 3 admitted. "There are some things I think we'll miss, I guess."

"But this is going to be better. Much better. Just wait and see."