Title: His mission

After The BRAIN is destroyed, the world begins to settle once more, everything heals and life begins to grow. One of the fallen gets a second chance to revive what was lost in battle. But can he succeed?

I Still Own Nothing!

_-_-_Part 5: Leaving_-_-_

5 stepped out of the broken down building, the large cylinder strapped to his back. He nearly fell over as he jumped from the steps to a loose rock below. After he had made it down safely he looked back up to the window where he and 7 spent the night talking. Sighing he rubbed the back of his head. He left after the others had gone out to do something, not wanting to stick around too long as they might ask to come. He didn't know why but he felt like this was something he had to do alone, something about making up for his lack of courage when under 1's rule, although he even knew that wasn't an excuse or a reason.

He walked down the road and he could see the extent of the growing world. The streets were all muddy from frequent rainfalls and most of the debris was under mud and dirt, creating a surprisingly calm atmosphere, it was nice to see the mistakes of the past begin to wash away, even though they would never really disappear, there would always be some reminders of the past. He never got to look at it clearly, the clouds were pulling back and a few spots of clouds could be seen, something 5 had never seen unless it was behind large clouds of smog. He wouldn't notice how long he was walking, or more so wandering, and soon decided to check the meter and map.

He reached an open area and set the cylinder down, pulling the map out from under one of the straps he sat down and unrolled the map, looking down at it he looked to the meter that was showing the closest soul, and it was still a while off.

Deep in thought something suddenly caught his attention. Head jerking up he looked around as he heard what it was more clearly, it was the sound of movement. Standing up slowly he rolled up the map and put it back on the cylinder, quietly pulling it onto his back he tried to move for cover.

It wouldn't help that he was in the open, so cover wasn't exactly easy to find, but he quickly spotted a pile of bricks next to a half broken wall and moved to hide under the small cave like formation it formed, looking around, trying to spot where the sound might have been coming from. But it seemed like the sounds were getting louder, and coming from two different locations. He didn't know if any machines survived, but he was sure a few of them might have.

Suddenly everything was quiet, but he stayed still, trying to pick out any new sounds. After a moment he got up from his hiding place. Moving to the edge of the cover he looked out slightly and took a small step out before something came crashing on him from above, or more so, two things.

5 panicked and pushed the objects off of him, scrambling backwards to look for a new place to hide when he saw a stripe pattern from under the dirt and bricks. Moving carefully to it he heard clicking and even saw flashing lights. He made a sound and rushed to uncover what was under the fallen debris, being careful not to hurt what was under it.

After a moment of digging two slightly small stitchpunks popped their heads from under the dirt and began to brush off the material over their heads.

"3! 4!" he gasped and moved to help them. "What in the world are you doing here?!" he put a hand on their shoulders and looked at them. The twins only smiled and stood up, helping each other clean before looking back to 5.

He didn't see it before but they were both carrying slings of material over their backs with pieces of paper and extra sewing stuff, looking as though they were ready to go on a journey. Blinking a couple of times to him he shook his head.

"You two can't come with me…" He said solemnly and smiled. "I appreciate it, really, but…it could be dangerous"

4 looked at 5 and pouted, looking to the wall she projected the small flashback of the fabrication machine.

"W-well…not that dangerous I guess…but there can still be machines out there…better it be someone like me to get hurt instead of you guys." He looked away and 3 came to him and gave him a look.

"I'm serious…I wouldn't save them if it meant risking your safety, too many have fallen already, I don't want to lose anymore."

3 and 4 both looked at him and folded their arms, tapping their feet at him and 5 couldn't help but let out a dry laugh at that. "You're not going to let me do this on my own are you?"

They both smiled and nodded, moving to him as he shook his head. He laughed and nodded, and they smiled to each other, knowing that they were going to get to go with the other.

"You win this time…but…If there are any more machines…you two have to hide and let me deal with them alright?"

They looked to each other and them to him. They knew they wouldn't be able to keep that promise, even though they were both older then 5, the fifth stitchpunk was like an older brother to them, he was always there with them, and they weren't going to leave him without a fight, but in order to go at all, they would have to lie to the other, just this once.

Nodding they waited for his approval, which he reluctantly gave them a moment later with a slight nod. After he responded they moved to look at the meter, blinking as they tried to catalogue the functions of the machine. They would have done it before but it was hidden away until they found the box that the scientist left, which also told them of the location of the item, it also didn't help that when they brought it out, 5 was the only one who saw it and that night he was the only one who really learned about its functions. They tried to study it in the morning but when they went to look at it after looking around the building 5 had already left.

5 let them do it; it wasn't as though they were going to leave, so they might as well become use to the object that was going to help the others. He took it off and placed it down so that they could identify it, going over it and looking at every component of it as they went along.

He moved away from them and sat down as they took their time to record it. He placed his hands on his lap before lifting up a metal hand and inspecting it, just trying to get his thoughts back together. As he looked back up he let out a sigh, he couldn't admit it, but he was relieved that the others decided to follow him, he was actually frightened of doing this by himself, afraid of getting lost or losing something important, but now he felt as though the process wouldn't be as bad as he first imagined.

_-_-_

5 found that after the twins joined him, that the journey was going a bit smoother, he didn't feel so much pressure on his shoulders anymore and even looked forward to seeing which of the others they found first. But after the sky began to change colors he knew that it wouldn't be tonight, they would have to stop moving and try to find a place to hide for the night.

3 and 4 were always a few yards away from 5 so they were the first ones to spot the area where they were going to stay.

5 was looking over what they had found, it was a few broken tires from a car along with broken, splintered boards of wood and pieces of glass, it wasn't sturdy or pleasant but knew that it would serve them well for what they needed. Giving them the 'ok' he began to hollow out an area for them to get inside while they went a little bit off to scout the surrounding area a bit.

Watching as they scurried off to look around he smiled and sat down next to the cylinder and took out some spare material, it was originally for him to use to sleep in, but now he would let the twins use it. He didn't mind, He didn't expect to get much sleep tonight anyway.

Eventually the twins would return carrying a few random objects that they would set up around the entrance to the makeshift shelter. An old torn flag provided enough material to cover the whole area so they could stay hidden from any machines that may have been left.

5 smiled when they helped to set up and moved the cylinder inside, pulling out the fabric for the twins before he set it down and went outside, sitting near the entrance. When 3 and 4 looked as thought they were ready to go in for the night they looked at him, he knew the look, they were wondering why he wasn't inside. He explained that he was going to take the position of look out for a few hours; he wanted to be sure that there was nothing out there before he came in to rest. He told them that he set up a 'bed' for them, and if they were cold to get under.

The twins looked at each other and nodded to him before getting inside and moving to the material spread out for them, 4 was a bit worried, as was 3, they never really spent any time outside of a building before, at least not over night. Both of them would hold onto the other and eventually, would fall asleep there. 5 would too come in after a few hours of watching the unchanging area, unaware of a threat that lurked not too far away.

_-_-_-_-_

5 didn't know how long he was asleep for or how deep he was in it, but he soon awoke with a start to see 3 frantically shaking him, eyes flashing, trying to get his attention. He sat up and looked around.

"3….what's wrong…" he asked trying to calm the silent from panicking. He tried to see what the other could possibly be thinking, as it was clear that the other wouldn't be able to slow his thoughts enough to project his mind for him.

"3…calm down …where's 4-" He stopped, looking around the shelter he noticed that the material that the twins had been sleeping on was torn and the flag that had covered them from the outside was missing, he couldn't see in the dark night but 3 also had a deep gash in his leg along with several small scratches all over the rest of him. Suddenly fear filled his optic and he quickly moved to the cylinder, grabbing the weapon that he had made the night before as a replica of the one he used during the fight against the fabrication machine. He got up and rushed to leave, only stopping as 3 limped after him, grabbing hold of his arm. 5 sat him down and shook his head.

"I'll find her" he said putting a hand on the other's shoulders to calm him before he turned to leave, a few flashes came from behind him as he saw 3 get up and quickly made a dash in a certain direction. He shook his head; the other's limp was noticeable, if any other things saw him he would be an easy target, he ran ahead to stay close to the injured stitchpunk.

Eventually they reached a large clearing, 3 started to look all over the place, the ground, the piles of rubble; anything that may give a clue as to where the other was taken.

The sound of mechanical screeches caught both of the stitchpunk's attentions as they began to run in the new found direction; under a broken down bridge. The sights leading up to what appeared to be another battle field from the human's war both had them fearing for 4's safety.

This area seemed to be covered in sticky glue string traps, looking similar to spider webs. They were strung everywhere to prevent escape and 3 and 5 both got stuck a few times as they tried to hurry down the path. They both stopped to see the huge mechanical beast ahead of them.

It was much bigger than them, maybe even the size of one of the many broken vehicles that littered large streets. Eight long legs made from broken knives and metal, fused together in a way that looked as though it was out of a horror book. Its eyes were piercing blood red, glowing in the cold night air, and it appeared to have hundreds of them. On its back was a large spool of thread, wound up and attached to a sewing needed on the underside of its robotic body. The glue like substance dripped from the string as it noticed the others, but it stayed still; concentrating on its current victim.

3 looked and covered his mouth, 4 was tied, bound tightly together with the string and glue, attached to one of the side walls, she was squirming, trying to break free to no avail, though the string seemed to be weakening with every movement. The large spider machine let out a hissing sound as it moved closer to 4, moving its broken and pointed legs up, higher and higher. It was going to impale her with the knives that were its legs.

5 loaded his weapon with the first thing he could find, even though that just happened to be a pebble that he found laying on the side of the Spider machines lair. He focused on it and let it go. The rock flew for awhile before smashing into one of the machine's eyes, breaking it instantly. 5 saw its attention drawn from 4 as it began to move to 5. The younger stitchpunk moved up the side of one of the piles of garbage, yelling for 3 to get 4 as he distracted the beast.

3 did as he was told and ran to retrieve his sister. Pulling out a piece of broken glass from the ground he began to help release the other from her sticky prison. And as soon as she was freed, 3 helped 4 up before running from the spot. And even though 5 was doing a decent job of distracting the monster, it noticed the change of moment over its webs.

5 ran to 3 and 4, helping 3 to walk, his leg was giving him more trouble the faster they ran, but the huge spider was catching up on them, it was becoming more and more difficult to stay a good distance from it. The third stitchpunk's foot caught onto something and he fell tripping 5 and 4, but they scrambled up as quickly as they could and tried to help 3 up, but it was too late.

Suddenly, the huge mechanical spider hissed and screeched, steam coming from it as it lost its footing and crashed to the ground, scraping over the ground, sparks flying as it came to a violent stop a yard away from the three stitchpunks.

They held to each other, looking at the spider machine. 5 was the first up, holding his weapon as he stood in front of the twins, protecting them from the machine if it was playing a trick on them, but it wasn't.

5 looked at it, trying to figure what had happened to it as 4 helped 3 up, holding him, both moving to 5 and looking at him and then to the machine. 5 shook his head as the twins looked at one another, looking around, and their eyes flashing as they looked for the spider's killer, if there was any. 4 had the expression as if she was gasping, and pointed to around the side.

A lone, transparent figure appeared, hunched over even though it was standing up. It had a striped pattern over its 'skin'; black spots covered the lower parts of its body and head. Its mismatched optics looked at the machine. It suddenly looked to the three stitchpunks and smiled nervously, playing with its pen-nib fingers. 5 stared and took a step to the transparent figure but it looked frightened at this and disappeared.

3, 4 and 5 looked on even after it was gone, certain that they had just seen what they thought it was. 5 looked down in disbelief as the twins began to communicate with each other, pulling up any information that they could on this matter, but 5 didn't need them to, he knew what it was.

It was 6's soul.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Part 5 done

I said I would try to upload a chapter over the weekend but never got around to it. I'm posting this part now on Monday and I'm counting it as Tuesday's post as I'm unsure of if I'll be able to write enough to post anything this Tuesday.

If I can manage it, there will be an update three times a week. If I have free time, the extra day will be Sunday. So there will still be new ones Tuesday and Thursday with Sunday as a bonus if I'm free.

In other news, yes…6's soul defeated the giant mechanical spider to save the others.

Thanks again to all who read and reviewed my story; I honestly get so happy to get reviews and what not, it's really nice. I hope you come back to read the next part, Thank you so much!