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The fire of the graves were dying, smoke rising into the dark clouds in the sky. Night had fallen, cloaking the abandoned city in a blanket of darkness. Rain provided a comfort in the steady sound of it falling on the walls of the library, 9 and the remainder of his friends inside.
9 himself was looking outside, unable to sleep. The dull light of the candle did little to illuminate the area. He was the only one awake now, the twins and 7 were asleep at the other side of the room. His other friends were dead.
9 couldn't shake the guilt from his head. No matter what the reassurances 7 offered, 9 was certain that he was responsible for the horrible nightmare that plagued the first two days of his life. 1, 2, 5, 6, and 8 were all dead, even if they did go to a heaven of sorts. Nothing could change the fact that they had died painful deaths. And their bodies were too damaged to revive anyway. Hell, 8's body must have been pulverized in the explosion of the factory.
9 looked to the area that the factory used to be at. The inferno that consumed it in the explosion had whittled down to a dull glow, barely visible from 9's location.
However, 9 noticed another glow, this time from the street below.
9 leaned out the window, trying to get a look at the source of the warm light. It was moving, it appeared to be... Another stitchpunk?
9 shook his head, rubbed his optics, and looked again, convinced he had merely hallucinated it. However, he couldn't get rid of the belief that it was, in fact, another of his kind. He could still see the similarities, the size and shape was similar to his own, only this particular doll was wearing a dark cloak of sorts. 9 then made the decision to meet this stranger. He wasn't going to let anyone else get killed, even if it was a stranger. Even if it was surely safe outside. Even if 9 could possibly get killed if the stranger turned out to be trigger happy.
9 snuck out of the bedroom, and out of the library with unexpected ease. The others were probably too tired from the past events to be bothered by simple footsteps.
9 peeked around the corner, spotting the light and stitchpunk almost immediately. It was turned away from him, heading toward where the cathedral would be. 9 concluded that the stranger was interested on why such a structure would burn after the apocalypse. 9 stepped out from the corner, hesitating before speaking.
"Hey."
9 paused. He hadn't really thought up of words to say. Hell, now that he thought about it more, he hadn't prepared at all. Not even a weapon if the stranger turned out to be hostile.
9 snapped back to his senses, realizing that the stitchpunk was now staring at him, hand over what 9 presumed to be a weapon strapped to his side. 9 took a step forward, as did the stranger. 9 paused, then spoke out.
"What's your name?"
Upon reconsideration, 9 realized that probably wasn't the best question. A better question would be something like 'why are you in this area', or 'do you plan on killing anyone you see'.
"Just call me Cardinal. What's your name"
9 looked back up at the speaker. Processing the question asked, he quickly replied.
"I'm 9."
Another pause. 9 wasn't really sure what else to say.
"Well, 9. You're wondering who I am and what I'm doing here, am I correct?"
"... Um... correct."
"I am here to search the area. I have received the reports of foreign activity here. Most likely your cause?"
9 looked to the side, not really wanting to bring up the accidental murder he committed.
"I guess you could say that."
Cardinal seemed to hesitate before speaking again, 9 suspected that the question would be uncomfortable.
"Say, do you, by any chance, have a talisman on you?"
Wait, what?
There was an awkward silence as 9 tried to think of a proper response.
"Why?"
Close enough.
"I sense it. And I can help you if you have suffered losses. If you give it to me, I can bring them back."
9 immediately thought of the ones that died. Was Cardinal really able to bring them back? 9's mind rushed with the hope of that, he barely even considered the consequences.
"Can you? I have it with me now, how long would it take?"
Cardinal seemed taken back at 9's eager compliance. He stammered out a response.
"Well, 'bout a week, give or take a few days. Depends on how many casualties."
9 took out the talisman. He began to regret this already, but he couldn't let himself refuse now.
"If you promise you will, I'll gladly give it to you. There's-"
"I promise, and I know how many are dead and where their bodies are. I can sense that, too. There's five of them, and they're scattered around the city, and by the factory. I will repair them, don't worry."
9 was shocked. He immediately handed the talisman over. Cardinal smiled at him.
"I will get to work now. Thank you for letting me do this."
Cardinal then ran off, into the dark ruins outside the library's courtyard.
It was as 9 snuck back inside that he began to regret his decision. He essentially gave away a thing that was desperately important to the group to some guy he just met. Even if the threat of the fabrication machine was gone, there could always be other situations where the talisman could be used. And maybe, 9 realized with horror, the Cardinal person would revive the fabrication machine, causing this horrible experience to start all over again. This made simply not reviving the others pale in comparison.
9 had made it back to the bedroom, still undetected, and laid down in his makeshift bed. He lay there a while, thinking of how his stupid decision will probably get them all killed, before falling into a quite uneasy sleep.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
9 woke up the next morning to see 7 and the twins had already gotten up, and were now bustling down below. He quickly remembered what had happened during the night, and decided to keep it a secret. He was certain that no one knew he was out, or he would have been questioned immediately. He did his best to casually walk down the makeshift staircase to the main hall of the library.He was greeted by the twins, who were flickering madly about stuff, probably wanting to show him more things they had collected over the years. The entirety of yesterday consisted of a tour of absolutely everything the twins owned, and now, they were most likely wishing to continue that.However, 7 interuppted."Heh, not today. You guys know what we have to do today."The twins paused, looked up at 7, and nodded in unison. They ran off while 7 continued to rumage around a small pack. 9 stood there, unsure of what to do. 7 stood up, pack in hand, and looked at him. "So, are you coming with me?""Oh!" 9 stammered. "Of course!"--------AN UNSPECIFIED AMOUNT OF HOURS LATER--------7 and 9 had been walking for a while. They had gone around a loop, around the main part of the ruined city. 7 had found some things to bring back to the twins, and 9 was able to silently angst some more about the previous night. 7 must have noticed something was wrong with 9."9, you've been acting weird today. I mean, I've only noticed you for like, three days, but this is new. What gives?"9 paused, taking a moment to get back in reality and look around. The two were in what looked like a back yard. The burnt remains of the cathedral could be seen a few streets over. 9 thought about how to answer 7's question without being flayed alive. After a few seconds, he sputtered out a rushed, nearly unintelligeble response."I sort of gave the talisman to a person we don't know who claimed he could bring the others back."7 stared at him. 9 hesitated."We might get killed within the next week or so if he's lying."7 continued to stare at him, probably too bewildered to have a proper reaction, like killing him.After a few more incredibly awkward seconds, 7 finally spoke.".... You idiot.""I know." was 9's only reply.7 paused again, obviously unsure of how to handle the situation."I mean, I didn't expect you to do something like that..."9 sighed. This wasn't helping his apparent depression. He looked at 7, who was begining to head back to the library."Are you going to tell the twins about this?""No. They have enough shit to worry about right now."--------The library was quiet when they returned. Of course, it was probably quiet by default, as the twins themselves were mute. However, the new revelation with the missing talisman had put 7 and 9 on a slight edge, fearing the worst.When they got to their makeshift bedroom, 7 went to put her equipment in her corner. 9 simply looked out the window, watching the landscape. A slight shuffle was heard. 7 and 9 both looked toward it in unison. Fortunately, it was just the twins, hiding in a crevice. They were giggling (Silently, of course), and staring at the two older dolls. 7 smiled, quite relieved. But 9 was still plagued with... well, everything.4 was flickering something at 7. 9 hadn't been around enough to understand the twins, but 7 would have most likely learned it."Really? What is it?"The twins looked at each other, huge grins on their faces. 3 suddenly stepped over and flung his arms into the air in a quite dramatic fashion."I can talk!"There was a pause. Dear god, this day was incredibly awkward.3 faltered slightly."Dammit, I was expecting more of a reaction than that."7 managed to smile again."Oh, that's great! I'm sure 9 likes it too."9 could only nod. 3 smiled and continued."Yeah, we found a voice box at the edge of the library somehow, and since I almost never use my projector, as 4 is the only one who ever does that now, she decided it would be a lovely idea to install it! So 4 installed it. And then you guys came back. And then it was now. And then I don't know what happened."7 laughed."Damn, you're more talkative now that you can actually talk."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It began three days later. 7 and 9 were on another expedition, so alas, they were not able to witness it. However, it was the fact that the twins had not come to greet them on their return when they realized something was wrong. They frantically looked around for the twins, and eventually found them, by the small pond that connected to the sewer. However, 9 and 7 didn't suspect that 2 would be with them.The meeting was indeed a joyous, if a bit confused. There were many questions. Not much could be explained by either party. But 9 was indeed relieved that, apparently, Cardinal was keeping true to his word and reviving everyone. Not only that, but he apparently fixed 2's legs as well.They found a suitible area to be a workshop. They made a makeshift bed. They did all that in the afternoon. It was that evening that 1 returned. It was actually kind of comedic, seeing him try to hold his dominant personality, while soaking wet, stripped of his cape, hat, and staff, in a place he got lost in very easily. He spent most of the night refusing to leave his room.The next morning brought 5 and 6's return. They had apparently formed a team together, fighting the terrible monsters like height, the dark, pretty much anything. They had quite the adventure.8 returned about four hours after 5 and 6. He was indeed quite overjoyed with seeing the others alive and well, which resulted in a group hug.Of course, just because they were all together, didn't mean they were completely safe. There was still the possibillity of a beast, or the machine. They had to plan, and not end up arguing. However, the second part was much harder to accomplish, as 7 and 1 were bickering in record time. Thankfully for the rest of the group, an interruption would cut the fight short.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Aster had been approaching the dim light in a building. Her fabric and her two ribbon ponytails hadbeen muddied by the past rain. She cautiously climbed up the side of the building to the roof. There was a huge gap in the ceiling, so Aster was able to peak in with relative ease. Down below there were others. Other ragdolls like herself. They were sitting and standing around a small fire, most likely talking about something. Aster shuffled to get a better look, and that was when the support wire bent, sending her tumbling into the building below.She hit the floor on her right shoulder, dislocating it. She immediately tried to get up, only to have one of the ragdolls pin her back down. Aster found herself surrounded. "Who are you, and what are you doing, spying on us?"She looked up at the one who spoke. He didn't really look like a leader, no. He simply had burlap and a zipper. But she felt that he must have been the leader, as he was, indeed, the one to question her first.A feminine voice, coming from the one pinning her down, spoke next."Hey, maybe she's with that guy who took the talisman. She might know where it is."Aster immediately remembered Cardinal, her brother. The machine made them to direct the beasts while it was on haitus. Aster's beast, however, died early on. She resorted to staying at the factory forever. Cardinal left shortly after. She had never seen him since. He came up with the idea, at some point, of simply asking the others directly. Pretending to be on the 'good side'. Aster could only assume that he had carried through with that plan, after the machines destruction.Aster looked at the group. A smaller stitchpunk with a key walked up."You haven't seen Cardinal in months, have you?"Ah, the group also had a mind reading psycho with them. That's nice."Yeah, you're right. I don't plan on hurting you guys. I was just curious. I've never seen anyone else."The zipper guy spoke up."Yeah, besides Cardinal, neither have we. Hope that explains the hostility. Sorry." He said, laughing slighty.The lady pinning her finally let up, and Aster got to her feet as fast as possible. Zipper guy spoke for a third time."I'm 9."Aster smiled. "I'm Asterisk. You can call me Aster, though."The striped one with the key nodded. "Yes. We can trust her."And so they did.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Cardinal poured the clear liquid into the vial. Some accidentally splashed on his hand, but he didn't worry. The metal he was made of was more resistant of copper. He had made all repairments to the others with copper, to avoid constantly having to find acids for each stitchpunks metal structure. He was aware that there was also fabric, wood, glass, and other metals to be aware of, but it wasn't really important. The metal was all that needed to be damaged. The solution he had created would be perfect. Of course, he had to dilute it slightly, to increase the quantity. But if he poured it on someones head, it could easily damage their brain to the point of not functioning.He sealed the lid, and whistled. The now repaired cat beast came prancing out of the darkened rubble. It had been easy to repair him. All Cardinal had to do was reconnect the wires of the head to the body, and he was back to normal. The cat beast skidded to a halt beside him. Cardinal smiled to himself. He didn't need the fabrication machine. He could build machines on his own. He would be the leader of his own ways. "Come on, cat. We don't have long."Cardinal jumped up onto the cat beast. They bounded out of the warehouse, into the night, to look for more scrap metal. They could not attack yet. Cardinal had brought back the stitchpunks that were in that 9's group, but he had no way of knowing if they had made it, and he also had to build a machine army. He also had to attack before they got too powerful, as more time to prepare would make it significantly harder to defeat them.Cardinal and the cat beast made it to a junkyard. There was bound to be plenty of metal items there. He signaled for the cat beast to stop, scanned the area for any other unwelcome intrusions, and jumped off. The cat beast immediately stepped into the shadows, to patiently wait for his master to collect supplies. Cardinal immediately approached an old radio. He pried the mechanics open, eyeing the mechanics inside. He pulled out the battery. Dead. He sighed in frustration as he tossed it aside. Batteries were very useful. They could power beasts for longer and more independently than other methods. He also considered using battery acid in his concoction of chemicals. He liked that idea. Battery acid could corrode copper, definitely. That would mean less diluting was needed, as he would have more acid to work with. He continued to look through the junkyard, paying extra attention for batteries and other things that would include battery acid. When he was done, he whistled for the cat beast to come back. Cardinal looked at what he collected. Some metal bases, metal bars, wires, various metal scraps, and seven batteries. He tied the loot to the cat beast's sides. He could always find more things tomorrow night, if the weather was okay. The sun was spouting the first few hints of light when Cardinal and the cat beast made it back to the warehouse. Cardinal took one last look behind him. He had no clue how long he would have to work on the other machines, but it didn't matter, as Cardinal didn't really like going outside, except when it was for looking for supplies or attacking. Either way, Cardinal had pretty much finished the first part of his plan.