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 16: Prophecy _-_-_

5 quickly began to moving to the large stitchpunk who was carrying the once missing visionary as he looked over 6 to see the damage done to his small body. He wanted to do a thorough check on him but 8's shivering brought his attention back to the guard.

He glanced at 7 before telling her to help them to the small infirmary he had constructed on a rainy day. It was never used as 5 did all his repairs outside of their home, but knew they needed one in the building. He wasn't happy that he had to use it. Using it meant that someone was injured, but it couldn't be helped.

They reached the infirmary that sat positioned under the scientist's desk in a large wooden crate. It had a hole on the left corner of the portion that faced the room that was cut into a doorway with the help of 8. Inside was surprisingly big; there was a lot more floor space and even beds.

Inside in the corner next to the opening there was a small thimble that held an assortment of needles of various sizes and thicknesses. The farthest wall had three makeshift beds that were spaced about six to eight inches from each other, composed of cloth and pieces of broken plywood.

He let 7 lead 8 to place 6's damaged body on the bed sitting against the left side before leading the larger one to another so he could lie down as well. 8 had some difficulty lying down as the beds were much too small for him, so he settled with sitting up. As a guard he didn't mind, He was used to sitting up even when he was hurt or injured.

After 5 began to collect the supplies he would need to repair both 6 and 8 the twins came in and stood in place looking back and forth. They didn't know whether they wanted to see 6 or 8 first and they looked back and forth between the two before they decided on 6 and started to go to him.

They would have to wait for their cataloguing as 7 handed them some material and pushed them to 8, giving them the job of drying the guard as 5 took the time to collect the tools he needed. Both 3 and 4 pouted but moved to the large stitchpunk.

8 was exhausted and it showed on his face as sat there and he didn't make any movements when the twins dried him off. 5 came back to him with a needle and a bit of material a few moments later as he kneeled on the floor and propped the others leg up against a small chunk of wood. The eighth stitchpunk held the material that covered the bed tightly as the other began to sew his leg up. 3 and 4 looked to each other before moving on either side of 8 and took hold of his hands.

8's injuries were minor and wouldn't require much work, all 5 had to do was sew up all the loose seams and sew a small patch over a hold that was forming over the others left shin. All together, the repairs took no more than ten minutes. When all of the repairs were done 5 made sure nothing else would trouble the other before moving to get to 6 while 3 and 4 stayed with 8.

Even before 5 reached 6 he could see the extent of the damage to the visionary stitchpunk. He was soaked with water and the closer 5 looked the more he could see that it wasn't just water that went through the other. 6 was also caked with sand around the joints that were visible. His wrists and ankles were rusted and could hardly move on their own.

5 was also saddened to discover that the others pen-nib fingers were also orange and brown with rust. He didn't know if he would be able to find eight spare pen nibs that were in decent enough conditions to attach to his hands.

"Where on earth did you find him?" He asked in wonder as he continued to examine 6. 8 looked up from where he was resting to rub his head.

"Near water…a lot of water…" 8 gestured with his arms a large circle. "It was really far around and you can only see the other side a little bit. He was stuck under the water with a lot of mud and sand…his key was holding him to a big machine that was sunk too. Had to take off the key…It was rusted too."

5 nodded when he heard the eighth describe where 6 was found. He nodded in agreement as 8 got off the makeshift bed and walked over to him, the twins trailing close behind him.

"The water from the rainfalls must have brought him there…He doesn't look like an easy fix…he has tears and excessive damage from the rust around his hands…I may need you three to look for some parts around the scientist's desk…I have a lot of the things here, but you need to find some more pen nibs…if you can't then I'll have to give him normal fingers, but let's hope it doesn't come to that. You think you can do that for me?"

3 and 4 nodded to themselves and flashed information back and forth about the whereabouts of the pen nibs. Luckily 3 had spotted a few in a box on the book shelf and 4 saw about two or three in a drawer on the desk. They both turned and scampered out of the wooden infirmary to search for the items, while 8 just stood there looking around for something to do.

"You can rest now 8…you've diffidently earned it." He chuckled as 8 seemed to look troubled by his words. "It's alright…were not in any danger here, you don't have to take guard duty until you feel up to it."

The large stitchpunk looked at the other before nodding and moving to the bed he was sitting on for his repairs. He wouldn't lie down, but instead sat as he did before, still standing guard as he rested.

5 couldn't help but smile as 8, despite his best efforts to stay awake, fell asleep sitting on the bed. The fifth stitchpunk got up from next to 6 and moved to the sleeping guard. He grabbed some of the material that was to be used as a cover on the beds and moved it over 8 to keep him warm.

Turning to the other bed he grabbed a small pair of scissors that were hanging from a rusted nail on the wall and moved to 6. He began by pulling down the metal rings that bound the material around his wrists and his ankles before lifting the pinstriped material up, cuffing it until he could reach both his knees and his elbow joints. He sighed in relief to see that the once hidden joints were only slightly rusted, though were still caked with sand and muck.

Knowing the new extent of the damage 5 was able to go around the container to collect what would be necessary for the repairs. He had the usual supplies: scissors, needles, spare pinstripe material and thread. He also carried two new additions; a small jar filled with a blackish liquid and a piece of metal no bigger than one of his fingers. He brought over a wooden spool containing a few strands of thread and sat on it before taking the cork off of the jar. The aroma of oil soon filled the infirmary as 5 took a piece of material and dipped it in.

Using the cloth he covered the rusted joints with the liquid to help them move better as he tried to chip off the rust with a piece of metal. After every few seconds of the oil treatment, 5 would put down both the metal and the cloth and would try to move the joints, using his knee to help bend them. It was painstaking work as he had to stay cautious not to break any of the fragile mechanics. After two hours he was only able to move 6's left knee and ankle and his left wrist.

By that time 8 had already left. The one-eyed stitchpunk didn't know where he went but he did warn the large guard to take it easy and not to push himself any more.

Soon after 5 was able to get 6's left elbow to work again and the twins returned. 5 was taking a break to sweep out all the chips of rust he had scraped from the other as the twins carried a small pouch filled with small metal objects. They moved together to the spare center bed and sat down while they waited for 5 to finish sweeping. When he was done he turned to see them playing little hand games with each other and he chuckled before slowly walking to them.

"You guys seemed to have had good luck." He stated sitting back onto his spool. Both twins smiled and nodded before opening the satchel and pulling out shiny silver pen-nibs. 5 smiled and took one into his hands, examining it over.

"These are wonderful! Thank you so much." He grinned brightly as 3 and 4 got off the bed and began to lay out all the nibs they found, setting them out for 5 when he needed them. Placing the nib down the healer turned his attention back to 6; he still had a lot to do before he could start on the others hands.

As they set up 5 turned back to 6. He still had to open his chest to make sure that there was no other damage to his mechanics. When he turned back to the twins they were already running out the door. 5 laughed and shook his head, they were the next oldest and they still acted like children.

_-_-_-_

Hours would pass and 5 would still be working. He didn't bother to take breaks as he wanted to try to finish the other as soon as possible. Somewhere around mid afternoon he completed the others arm and leg joins on both sides. He had since then taken and cut the seams around the others opening and took the material off to examine the others inner chest.

5 was shocked to see that most of the metal inside of the other was still safe and in one piece. There was hardly any rust and the only thing that needed treatment were the shoulders, which received oil and regular rotation every few minutes.

After he finished inside the other he sewed him up tightly and went to fix the artist's hands. He felt he had the most enjoyment doing that as this was the part of 6 that meant the most to the other. If any other part of 6 was severely damaged 5 would think that 6 wouldn't have minded, but once something affected the key to his art, that was what would hurt him the most.

The hands would be simple compared to all other work. 6 had a lot of things wrong but he was able to fix them before night fell. By the time he was done with the visionary's body, he would have sewn up two giant holes, given the other stitches around his left arm and a few on his right leg, sewn together the large gash under the others right eye, fixed his rusted joints and change the others fingers to the new shiny pen-nibs.

5 nearly collapsed on the floor of the crate when it was all over. He was completely wiped out by all of the repair work. He stood up from his spool on shaky legs and moved to collect the discarded and rusted fingers along with any spare thread that had been cut or damaged before looking over to make sure there was nothing he forgot to repair.

Cleaning his work area wouldn't take long and soon he would be off, walking back to his container to collect the cylinder. While he was walking he caught sight of 8, who was sitting on the window sill, carving away at a small metal object with a piece of metal. 5 found he was becoming quite curious about what the other was working on but continued to go on his way; he knew he had a job to do at the moment.

He returned to the infirmary crate to see the twins poking and cataloging 6's repaired body. 5 laughed, startling both 3 and 4 as they jumped away from the bed as if they had been caught doing something they shouldn't have, their hands up slightly.

Shaking his head the one-eyed stitchpunk moved to the bed and sat the cylinder down next to it.

"You couldn't wait could you?" he asked, still chuckling to himself as the twins looked to each other and then to him, nodding sheepishly. "Can you two help me? Go find 6…Its just about time."

Smiling brightly they twins ran out the door again, leaving 5 to finish the small details of the other, like polishing the fingers before they were used for the first time, knowing they wouldn't stay shiny for long once the artist got a hold of some ink.

Moments later the twin stitchpunks and 6's soul would return, along with 7 and 9. 5 could see that 8 was waiting outside the door, holding the metal object he was working on earlier.

6 gasped when he came in the doorway, looking at his body he ran over and looked at all the damage to it. He looked sadly at it and then noticed the fingers.

'My…my fingers…where are the old ones?' He asked softly as he looked to 5. He had an odd mixture of happiness and sadness as he looked on.

"The old ones were rusted badly, I couldn't save them…but 3 and 4 went all around the room to find these for you. Their lighter and thinner so they shouldn't be much trouble to manage." 5 explained and the sixth soul responded in a soft tone.

'I understand…' he said and then a smile broke out. 'I can go back now? I want to try them out.'

Nodding 5 moved to the cylinder and tool the meter off of its resting spot before he placed it onto the others physical chest. Pressing onto it he watched it light up as he turned to look at 6. The artist's soul face was lit up by the glow and was smiling, waiting to be pulled in.

Suddenly there was a large grinding sound as a few hot sparks flew from the meter. 5 gasped and pulled the sparking instrument from the others chest. 6 held his hands to his mouth as he made a small pained sound. The fifth stitchpunk quickly looked over the mechanics to see what had gone wrong. When he didn't see anything he looked to 6's body and suddenly he remembered something. When he undid the others chest to see the inner mechanics he noticed there was a small cluster of wires that seemed to be fine. What was catching up to him was what was behind those wires.

5 quickly grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the thread binding the others chest. He pulled the cloth back and gently tugged at the wires to find a small talisman-like object behind them. Pulling it out a bit he examined it. It was damaged; the wires connected to it were severed partially and there was much and sand crammed into every small line and hole.

"This…this is the soul receiver…" 5 announced sadly, looking at the others. "This is what holds our souls to our bodies…it's what keeps us alive…unfortunately, this one is broken…"

6 looked at him and bit his lip, whimpering out as the twins moved to him to try and comfort the saddened soul. 8 looked upset at the idea of the receiver being broken and moved into the container and looked at what the healer was holding.

"I saw one of those around here." He said simply. The statement made 9 look up with curiosity as he moved to take a better look at the broken object.

"I think I did too…on the very top of the desk right?" he asked as 8 nodded in conformation. "I'll be right back."

With that 9 took off to get the new receiver. 5 looked to 7 who had since then moved to him, patting him softly on the mach as the fifth let out a sigh.

"I don't think I could have ever fixed this. The wires are torn and it's just been damaged too far from the water and sand…" he said softly as he continued to look over the receiver.

"You don't need to explain yourself…you've already done so much, don't be so hard on yourself, You can't get everything right every single time. You have to take a rest every so often, right?" 7 said softly as she gave the other a warm smile. Rest… that would be nice. He knew 7 was trying to think of his wellbeing, but 5 knew he couldn't rest until he was sure that the remaining two were safe and returned to their bodies in one piece.

9 came back after a few minutes carrying the small receiver in his hand. He smiled as he gave to 5 who took it and began to look it over, holding it to the old one and making comparisons to make sure it would work.

"Well…is it the right one?" 7 questioned looking between the two pieces of metal.

5 nodded as he continued to go over them. "Their identical…I can substitute the one in 6 for this one, It should work." he said as he brought his spool back to the bed and sat on it. Fiddling around with the old wires he was able to cut the ones inside of 6 and attach them to the new device. Carefully he tugged on the wires once they were attached to make sure they wouldn't come loose when placed inside. Not that 6 really did that much physical activity anyway, he was perfectly content with drawing all day, though he would probably want to see the world now that it wasn't as dangerous.

After the receiver was in place and the sixth was sewn up again 5 stood above the bed and held the meter. It began to glow as it was held and as soon as he placed it onto 6's chest it flashed brightly. 5 made a short pained sound before he had to cover his optic from the flash of green. 3 and 4 wanted to catalogue it but it was too bright for them to see and they had to turn to each other, blocking the light. After a few seconds of the meter glowing, 6's soul began to fade in and out before it was sucked sharply into the meter.

There was one final flash before the room settled and the light faded out. The crate was quiet for a moment before the sound of groans came from the pinstriped stitchpunk. 3 and 4 both looked to where the sound came from before running to the bed and helping 6 to sit up. The artist whimpered and reached up to rub his head before he froze; he remembered that he had new fingers.

Holding up his hands he began to check over each nib, the look of wonder and amazement filled his face as he began to move them, laughing at how light they were. They felt perfect to him; they were longer then his old ones and wondered how well they could help him to draw. He looked at 5 and smiled a nervous smile.

"T-thank you…i-ink?" he asked with a grin. 5 laughed and nodded as 9 began to clean up the old wires for 5 and the fifth began to move away so the twins could get 6 on his feet.

Before they could set out to bring 6 to his space, 8 finally moved from his spot near the opening and held out something for 6. The artist looked at the guard before looking to the object and reaching out for it as 8 held it to be taken.

"My…key?" he asked and reached around his neck, never noticed that the old one was missing.

"Not your old key," 8 replied. "It was rusted over…this is one I found on the desk."

6 nodded and looked at the new key. It was silver, like his new fingers and had carvings in it. He looked at the swirls that formed along the end of the skeleton key. He made a small sound and pointed to the carved figure in the center.

"6?" He asked and smiled as he looked at the small number carved into the center of the key as 8 nodded in response to the others question. 5 made a face as he fully understood.

"That's right…the number on your back…it was faded from the water damage. It's still there but it's very faint…8 would know. After all, he was the one who brought you back."

6 smiled and then looked to 8 before giving him a big hug. 8 smiled warmly and pat the smaller stitchpunks head before the twins moved to the two to drag them to 6's nest like space.

7 turned back to 5 and gave him a hug before running to the others to make sure they didn't push the newly bonded 6 to much as they led him away. The only two left in the room were 9 and 5. They both looked at each other and gave the other a look of relief before they both worked together to clean the small space before they left, no longer needing to be inside the infirmary.

_-_-_-_

For the next few hours 5 sat with 6 in his space as the artist sketched away at the paper that he lived so long with. The older stitchpunk watched as 6 hummed happily and dipped his fingers into the pitch black ink and began to draw swirls and squares, every pattern imaginable turned up on the pages that were neglected for so long.

5 had to admit it; he liked to watch the other draw. It was really relaxing to see 6 happy when drawing. He never saw 6 draw without the visions that haunted his mind, and he hoped to never see that 6 again. The other was so much more into his drawings. He seemed to sketch with his whole body, and it wasn't long before he had the same ink spills and scratches around the sides of his head, his forearms and parts of his newly sewn up hips. 5 laughed at the way the artist looked, 6 would always be 6. The ink was merely an extension to his body.

Eventually 5 would doze off to the sights of flowers and trees as 6 drew mountains and forests. He was surprised that the rest came quite easily, though after thinking about it he was sure he shouldn't have been. His optic drooped before he shut it completely and his body relaxed.

Before he fell asleep he had a sense of peace, and he only hated that it had to be so short-lived. A few moments later he was woken up by the sounds of a confused 6.

The artist was hunched over paper, his fingers twitching nervously as his eyes moved all over the paper, as if trying to find the spot that fueled the madness that was slipping into his head. 5 blinked and moved over to see what the other was drawing over long pages of torn paper and was taken aback to see that instead of flowers and trees, there were scrapes of a human like figure, buried under what looked like water. Above on the opposite corner was a soul looking figure, almost identical to the one under the water.

Trying to figure out who the figure was 6 shoved him back a bit as he finished the drawing. Nearly falling over, 5 was able to regain his balance before he stared at the other. Standing up the artist's knees shook as he turned to 5 and held out the picture to him.

There was a loud crash of lightning from outside and it made 6 jump before he ran back into his nest. Soon the small pitter patter sounds began to hit against the window and the sounds of 9 running up to 1 to make sure the elder didn't get flooded out of his space filled the small area. Soon 7 was also running around, making sure that everything was set up for heavy rainfall.

Taking the picture 5 forgot about everything else that was going on as he studied it over wondering what the other could mean with his new vision. He sighed and ran his metal fingers over the drawing.

"I never know what you mean…If only 2 were here…he always liked to study your draw-"

5 froze in place as his mind finally began function after the shock he just felt.

"2…6 this is 2 isn't it?" he asked and held up the picture for the other to see.

6 nodded and played with his nub fingers.

"Rest 5…tomorrow is long…harsh…time isn't kind to anyone…even you are no exception." He whispered, walking to his ink. He took a small vile of black ink out of the small pile of ink bottles and handed it to 5 who held the drawing in his other hand. "Pack this for your satchel…tomorrow is going to be hard…time will try to defeat you…it knows that you have fought and hurt it in the past…it will get back at you…"

5 looked on and took the glass vile. Looking at it and then to the artist he lifted his hands up in confusion before 6 shoved him in the direction of his container.

"Go now…sleep…rest…"

"6…what do you mean…" 5 asked as he tried to turn to the other. He needed more information about why the other was having visions about 2 of all stitchpunks. He turned with the hope in receiving one more clue but 6 only looked at him solemnly. After he waited for a few minutes, he was sure that 6 wasn't going to tell him anything, so he turned on his heel and began to walk to his container before the others voice brought him back to the desk.

"5…you can no longer save him."

5 felt a cold chill run down his mechanics and he turned to the other quickly. He wanted to try to ask him about what he meant, but 6 was already back in his space, drawing duplicates and new sketches of his new found vision.

5's brows furrowed as he tried to think of what the other said. He couldn't be right could he? There was no way. He read all the notes on their souls and knew the time period that would take weeks more to count down. He still had a few weeks before 2 would be beyond all help, but just to be certain, 5 would check the meter.

_-_-_-_

As 5 traveled to his container he was happy that he and 9 moved the cylinder after its use, he really didn't feel like walking to the infirmary to see the meter, he was already feeling quite numb from 6's drawing and the thoughts that went with it.

Moving into his container, the first thing 5 did was roll up the ink vision before putting it and the ink vile into his satchel. Moving to the cylinder he took hold of the meter and let out a sigh that he didn't know he had building inside of him as he saw the last soul on the meter, still healthy and bright.

Putting down the object he thought to himself before he moved to sit on his bed. He drew his knees to his chest and rubbed his head; He knew whenever 6 had a vision he was usually right. But for now, 5 would believe he was wrong. After all, he could only hope for the best and try his hardest, the rest was fate.

Lying down on his bed he sighed as he drew the spare material cloth over him like a blanket, knowing perfectly well that sleep would be a luxury that he would have no pleasure in partaking in. Despite this, 5 still tried to sleep. His mind still heavily troubled as he thought of 6's words.

Even when he tried to shut them out it didn't work. He wanted to tell himself that 6 was wrong, but he learned from his mistakes about listening to the artist and took his visions into mind as he laid down to fall asleep. He found out then and there how tired he was. After a few minutes the entire building was quiet…For the most part.

The only sounds came from the scientist's desk, eerie scratching and humming, Sounds that were all too familiar to 5. The sounds that were once brushed off by everyone now concerned him the most. He wouldn't find sleep so easily that night.

Part 16 done!

Sorry for the late post, this one took a while to write XP. That and I had to do my school work which always comes first.

Big chapter! This one is officially second place in the longest chapter competition with over 4,800 words! I had so much to write for this that I actually typed half of it on a car ride across a few states…even if it resulted with me getting a little carsick .

Thanks for reading this chapter! Only four more to go! I really hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you come back next week when I post the next chapter. Thank you very much!