Disclaimer: Still don't own it. Go figure. So don't sue me, k?

Note: Almost a year this time? Ack, well, at least I had a good excuse this time. View my profile for the whole skinny, cause I don't feel like taking your time up with it here.

Note 2: Made a couple minor edits now that it's no longer 4am, lol.

Read & Review Acknowledgments:

15animefreak15 - Yet another long, sparkling review, lol. I'm starting to really love these. I love how you do the review as you're reading it, not after.

adakie and spotty-bee - Thank you so much for your reviews! Please keep reading, and remember everyone! Reviews make me want to write more! (even if the chapters were horrendously late like this one, lol)

Chapter 4

5 was just leaving the workshop when 7 ran by in excitement. He'd never seen her look so in their lives. That determined grin, her flashing glass eyes. He would have grinned as well, the energy around her was so infectious, if not for what she was holding. She wore her bird-skull helm and grasped her spear so tight he believed it might have snapped in two if he didn't know better.

"7? What's going on?" he called after her, following quickly. She was heading for the exit, out into the Emptiness.

She looked over her shoulder, still grinning. "The beast! I know where it is! I can finally end this!"

He gasped, stumbling a bit in his run. "Wait! You… you can't be serious! It's almost dark, it's too dangerous!"

"Do I look like I'm joking? This is my chance, I know I can do this!" She weaved around the door and out into the open.

5 slowed for a moment, looking back into the Sanctuary. 2 had been expecting him to only be gone a few minutes, and he didn't feel safe leaving the building this late. But he couldn't let her go hunting that horrible machine all on her own. What would 2 do? He took a deep breath, knowing exactly the answer. He swallowed his fear, calling out again. "Wait! I'll come too!"

She stopped, turning to him in shock. "What?"

"I… I'll come with you. Just let me get my crossbow. I can't let you fight that thing on your own."

She hesitated. "No. You don't know how to fight, you'd just get in my way."

"I promise, I won't! I'll just help, you know, from a distance! My crossbow shoots far, I don't have to be anywhere near it! Either that or… or I'll tell 1 where you're going!"

She clutched the spear harder, though he hadn't thought it possible. "…you wouldn't."

"I would. And even if you came back alive, you'd have to face him, and I know you don't want that."

7 glared at him a moment before sighing in frustration. "Fine! But hurry up, we're losing time to track it's movement!"

The one-eyed stitchpunk nodded, turning and running back into the Sanctuary, to their workshop.

2 stood at the table, observing one of the drawings 6 had given him for safe keeping. He looked up, however, when 5 ran in. "Is something wrong?" he asked, noticing his agitated state.

5 hesitated telling him. "7 thinks she found something… interesting, out in the Emptiness. I'm going with her, to make sure she doesn't get in over her head."

The older doll looked at him a bit suspiciously. However, he did not say anything about the obvious lie. "It's rather late, is it not? Why don't you two wait until morning?"

"She… er… thinks it won't be there tomorrow. I already asked her not to go this late, but she insists. You know how she gets," he shrugged, forcing a smile while he secured the quiver he made for the makeshift bolts he used in the crossbow he recently finished making.

2 considered it a moment, before nodding. "Very well. But be careful. I do not want to lose either of you."

"I will," 5's smile was genuine this time, as he put a hand on his mentor's shoulder. After a moment, he finally turned to go. "We'll be back, I promise."

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As darkness descended upon the Emptiness, the two dolls hurried along. 5 struggled to keep up with 7, but was determined not to be left behind. He knew her new sense of urgency was so he would become discouraged and simply return to the Sanctuary. However, he wouldn't let that happen. He couldn't forgive himself if something happened to her and he hadn't even tried to be there for her.

"Are we almost there?" he huffed, sliding down a pile of rubble, where she stood absolutely still.

"Shush…" she put a metal finger to her mouth, drawing the skull helm down around her face. She'd heard something.

5 held his breath, drawing his crossbow and waiting for her to make a move.

After a moment, 7 finally let her own breath out, shaking her head. "Must have been a breeze or something. False alarm."

The one-eyed doll released his breath as well, looking at her, helm covering her head, spear in her hand. She looked like a savage warrior, ready to take on an army on her own. He felt inclined to ask, "Why are you so determined to take on this beast?"

She looked at him in surprise. "Don't you want it to be defeated as well?" she asked.

"Well, yes. Of course. But I mean why do you insist on doing it alone?"

"Who's going to help me? 8's the only other one who can really fight, and he wouldn't do it unless his precious leader told him to," she said in disgust. "No offense, but none of you guys are exactly fighting material. Besides, why do you seem to think I can't beat it?"

"7, that thing's gotta be twenty times your own size! There's no way you could take it out on your own!"

"Why? Because I'm small? Just because I'm not as big as it means I can't be as tough? Who says?" the female stitchpunk challenged.

"It's logic! That thing can tear you to pieces if it wants to, and believe me it does! It's not just you, it's all of us! This world was made for humans, people way bigger than we are! It's a miracle we're still here!"

"We're survivors, 5! This is what we were made for!"

"Yes, to survive! Not to try and get ourselves killed!"

7 growled, shaking her head. "We can't just live in fear for the rest of our lives!"

5 was about to answer when the response stuck in his throat. The shudders of his eyes widened as he stared behind 7, mouth opening but words failing him. She slowly turned her head, afraid of what she knew had to be there, of what she knew would stop him so cold.

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6 was taking a moment to stand back and admire his wall, covered many times over with the intricate circular patterns he scraped so carefully, when it happened. He gasped and grabbed his head, unable to stop the horrible image the invaded from behind his eyes.

He ran to the ink and paper, knocking the bottle over but not paying mind to it. He had to draw it to get the horrible image out of his mind. Fear washed over him as he dipped all eight pen-nub digits into the spilt blackness and began feverishly drawing across the paper the ink had thankfully spilt away from. It was different from before. He had never felt such a rush of urgency before, as if drawing it could somehow prevent the horrible scene he witnessed from occurring. Instead of the usual round, sweeping strokes he made, these were sharp and forced. He felt if he pressed any harder with his ink-soaked fingers he would have sliced right through the paper and into the floor.

His desperation was so great, it caught 1's attention, who had been nearby, likely pondering over the past as he often did when the silence overtook him. "What in the world is wrong with you?" he asked, approaching. His narrow shutters traveled down to the paper, almost prepared to need to rip it away like he had the other night. However, what the younger stitchpunk was drawing wasn't the number he hated so. It was something more frightening.

6 didn't wait for 1 to react to it. He was done, panting from over-exertion of his sixth sense. He looked up at the elder fearfully, but it wasn't their leader he was wary of. He simply rested with his hands on the drawing to support him as he breathed hard, shaking from head to toe. "Th-they're in trouble..." he whimpered, not daring look back down at the creature he'd so desperately scratched across the page. "5 and s-7...we c-can't help them now... w-we can only hope..."

"What can't we help them from?" 1 asked cautiously, though the answer was already apparent, lying plainly underneath the artist.

6 swallowed, standing unsteadily and picking up the picture for his elder to see. The hideous creature on it was depicted pouncing on it's helpless prey. "Th... the Cat-Beast..." he whimpered.

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"5, let me go!" 7 snapped as the one-eyed doll dragged her across the Emptiness, heading for the Sanctuary. Though she pulled as hard as she could, she simply couldn't get him to release her arm. Fear was a powerful agent.

"I'm not letting you get yourself killed! You might've had a chance if you'd gotten the drop on it, not the other way around!" he called back. He didn't know he could run so fast, or that he could drag another stumbling stitchpunk without hinderence.

"You idiot, you don't understand!" she yelled, exasperated. "It's not behind us! It's toying with us! And if you keep going, you'll lead it right back to our home!"

5 finally stopped, taking that information in. He hadn't thought of that. In the rush of fright he felt from seeing the beast crouching on the mound behind 7, ready to pounce on them, he had simply let his instincts take over. But she was right, if he'd kept going the beast would have followed them to the Sanctuary and, even if 7 and 8 could have defeated it together, there were good odds it would have killed at least one of them in the process. He couldn't bear the thought that he might've caused such a thing in his moment of thoughtlessness.

"7, I..." he started apologizing, but she cut him off.

"Shush!" she hissed, covering his mouth with a hand and dragging him into a nearby box for cover. She glanced outside and listened for a moment before turning back to him. "Listen," she whispered. "We can discuss the stupidity of your actions later. Right now, this is the perfect opportunity to try and take that thing down. And don't try to stop me. It'll find us sooner or later anyway, and it's better I get the jump on it instead of it killing us both."

5 just stared at her for a moment before finally nodding. So she released his mouth and started out. He caught her arm quickly enough to whisper a, "Good luck..."

She smiled and nodded to him, moving out into the open, crouched like an animal stalking its prey. She moved slowly and carefully, turning her head every which way to listen and watch for any sign of the beast. 5 stood at the entrance to his box-hiding-place, watching while holding his breath. She moved across the area swiftly and quietly, stopping every once in a while to check for it. A minute passed. Two. Still nothing happened. He was starting to believe it had moved on.

That was when it happened. It pounced from behind his hiding place, making a sound like a metallic tiger. 5 stumbled back further into the box, holding his hands over his mouth to keep from yelling. 7 reacted just as feral as the Cat-Beast, leaping nimbly out of its way and landing in another crouching position. The other doll had never seen anything like the dance they performed for the next few minutes. They'd circle each other and one of them would strike, the other leaping backwards or to the side and striking back, the first dodging as well, and they would then resume their slow circle. He was so transfixed by it that he'd forgotten about his crossbow, that he had a perfect shot of it.

7 finally screamed like a warrior woman one more time and charged, leaping into the air this time and bringing her spear down towards the beast's head. It anticipated the move, however, and swatted her out of the air like a common house fly. She landed hard against the side of a large rock, falling to the ground in a daze.

"7!" 5 cried out before he could stop himself. He immediately regretted it as the beast rounded on him, crouching in a position to pounce. It took the doll a moment to realize over the fear that he had a weapon he could use and he quickly reached into his quiver, pulling bolt out as it launched itself off the ground. He didn't even bother to aim, simply raising the crossbow and shooting at it. The bolt ricocheted off of the creature's metal structure and it landed hard on the box, pinning 5 underneath it.

5 tried to yell, but it was muffled by his cardboard prison and he simply waited for the creature to slice him to ribbons. The next thing he heard, however, was 7 yelling instead, and the clang of an object making its mark on the beast. It yowled in anger and turned on the female stitchpunk, 5 pushing the cardboard off of himself. The first thing he noticed was how worst-for-wear 7 looked. The rock had obviously done a number on her.

She still stood proud, however, challenging it to attack her. After a moment of it looking as if it would comply, however, it suddenly flinched, looking around itself. Whatever it had sensed drove it away, leaving its work unfinished, lucky for its victims.

After a moment of shock, 5 ran over as 7 collapsed again, shaking. "7! 7, are you okay?" he asked, bending down.

"Yeah, I'll be f-fine..." she insisted, trying to stand again.

The male stitchpunk gasped as he saw why she was struggling. Across the fabric of her back, exposing her metal internal structure, was a large gash. It ran clear through her number, dissecting it in half. "Fine my foot, we have to get you back!" he managed, looping an arm under hers. He then lifted her off of her feet.

"P-put me down, you idiot! I'm perfectly c-capable of walking on my own!" she snapped.

"Oh, stop it," he huffed back. "You're in no condition to walk, and we have to get out of here before it gets back." He picked up her spear as well, letting her hold it as he ran towards the Sanctuary, not letting her argue further.

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2 sat in his workshop, fretting over the picture still. It was all he could do to keep from worrying about 5 and 7. Though he'd let them go without argument, he still felt as though something horrible might've happened to them.

His fears were confirmed as 5 carried 7 in, her back ripped apart. "Oh, my! 7!" he gasped, limping over. He helped 5 place her front-first on the table. "What happened to her?" he asked.

"The Cat-Beast. It got the jump on us," 5 said morbidly. "She fought so bravely, but it was just..."

"I could have gotten it... if it hadn't surprised me..." she groaned, eyes flickering a bit.

"Now, now. I have no doubt of that," 2 said soothingly. "However, let us see what we can do about this. 5, we'll need extra fabric. See if there is any lying around."

"Sure," 5 nodded, happy to be able to at least help fix her. It still bothered him, though. She was the one who had been mortally wounded, yet he was still the one who had needed saving. What would he have done if she had...?

No, he couldn't think about it. Just get the fabric, worry about hind-sight later.

When he returned to her, 2 had threaded a needle and was closing up the top portion, which needed no new fabric. "Ah, there it is, my boy. Thank you. Now, hold still, 7. I'm going to make this as neat as possible."

Halfway through what felt like the most agonizingly long patch-job ever, their luck went from bad to worst.

"I thought I heard two troublemakers returning from an unsanctioned venture," 1's voice started 5, though neither 7 nor 2 reacted to it. The elder was standing there, glaring at them. "Have fun out there, did we?"

"Now, 1. The girl is already injured, I do not think she needs to be berated at the moment as well," 2 said calmly, simply continuing his work.

"Do not tell me how to lead my people," 1 snapped. It seemed he was making that demand of 2 more and more. "I told them not to go out into the Emptiness. I warned them of the danger. But did they listen to me? Oh, no. And now 7 must pay the consequences."

"She was wounded by the Cat-Beast!" 5 said before he could stop himself. "What more punishment could you possibly give her?"

"A good question," 1 smiled the one he only gave when he was about to assert his authority. "And here is your answer. She will be confined to the inside of the Sanctuary. Not even the watch-tower for her. She will spend it up with 6, 8, and I, where I will keep her under constant watch. She will not be able to so much as snore without my say-so."

"You can't do that!" 7 suddenly tried to sit up.

2, however, held her down gently. "I'm not done yet," he said soothingly. "Calm down." When she finally lay back down, he argued her case for her. "1, you cannot honestly expect a girl such as 7 to simply sit still. She is a doll of action, she needs to move around."

"Oh, is that so?" the leader smirked. He was enjoying this. "Very well, then. While she's up there she may clean. My collection of items has long since needed to be rearranged."

"You cheeky-" the warrior woman began, but 2 squeezed her shoulder gently to stop her. She closed her mouth, simply glaring.

"And that is not all," 1 smiled triumphantly, turning to 5. "Do not think I forgot about you. I expect it from her, but you I thought had at least some sense in your head. You are to be confined in here as well. However, seeing as you had at least enough sense not to get caught by the beast, you may be confined in this workshop. You are not to leave under any circumstances. If I find you wandering around the rest of Sanctuary, you will be joining 7 up with me. Understand?"

5 wanted to be angry and object like 7 had, but he was right. He had known better than to wander off, but had anyway. Sure, it had saved 7's life, but he deserved the punishment given to him. And honestly, compared to 7, it wasn't really that much of a punishment to begin with. So he simply nodded with a light, "Yes."

"Good. At least someone around here has the capacity to follow orders without question. As soon as you are done with your patching, I expect you to join us at the top," 1 ordered, huffing as he left.

7 waited for his footsteps to disappear before growling. "I hate him so much..."

"He had a point," 2 said.

The warrior faltered, looking over her shoulder at him as he finished patching up her back. She then sat up as soon as the thread was cut. "You're agreeing with him? But I thought you were arguing for my side!"

The older stitchpunk shook his head. "I simply said you should not be confined. I do, however, agree that it was not a very smart thing to do, going out into the emptiness in search of that creature."

"I never said...!" 5 objected, as 7 glared at him accusingly.

"No, but it was not very hard to deduce. The way 5 hurried out made it simple enough. His coming back for his crossbow alone simply established it further," 2 assured her. He put the needle down and helped her off of the table.

7 turned herself a couple of times, checking the stitching. They didn't even strain against her twisting. "Well, you do a good patch job, despite being too perceptive," she grinned. She then sighed, looking at the ceiling. "Might as well go begin my punishment. This is so stupid."

"At least you can keep 6 company," 5 suggested optimistically.

2 nodded. "And... well, he never said you could not take a small detour to see the twins before your punishment. I believe they'd like to be informed of your punishment. Otherwise, they would get worried when you would not visit them for a while."

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3 and 4 sat on a further page of the book they were reading the other night, eyes flitting back and forth on the pages. 7 almost didn't want to disturb them, they looked so engrossed in it. She did, however, clear her throat to make herself known.

The two boys looked back at her quickly, then back at each other, eyes flickering. They then jumped off of their books and ran over, both hugging her. "Whoa, whoa, boys! It's nice to see you too!" she laughed. She then felt 4 patting her back where the scar was. He leaned back and glanced around at it, feeling the new fabric there. He then looked at his brother, flickering at him to observe as well. "Whoa!" she yelped as they both turned her so that their candlelight illuminated her back, eyes clicking and recording the new development that appeared on her.

She waited patiently until they were done, then turned back around, noticing their worried faces. She hesitated for a moment, not knowing if it was a good idea to tell them what had happened. She also knew, however, how smart they were, not to mention curious. They'd eventually figure it out themselves, so there was really no harm in telling them outright what transpired. So she let them pull her over to their book, all three sitting down on it, and she recounted the fight with the Cat-Beast to them. They watched her with wide shutters the entire time, grasping each other and jumping in all the right places. She then told them about how 1 seemed to know about why she left the Sanctuary, and about her punishment with him.

When 7 was done, they both suddenly hugged her again, surprising her. She then smiled, hugging them warmly as well, gently petting 4's hood, while patting 3's back. She could feel the relief rush through them, as if they almost expected her to be a ghost sitting there instead of the real thing. "Well," she finally said, untangling herself from them and standing up. "It's time for me to get to my punishment. I'm not going to enjoy this."

They looked at each other then back at her, standing up as well. "Don't worry, boys. I'll come back and visit the second my punishment's over. Until then, maybe you can come up and visit me sometime?" They both shook their heads sheepishly and quickly. She laughed. "Yeah, I know. I wouldn't want to willingly have to spend time around 1 either." She then left them back to their book.

But now neither could concentrate on the words written before them. This wasn't a normal occurrence, but it was because they were so engrossed now with the words she had said herself.

3's eyes shuttered his thoughts out to his brother quickly. 'It turned and ran?'

The other twin nodded, responding. 'That doesn't seem right, does it?'

They both flitted to the bookshelf, each dashing from one book to another, starting at opposite ends. They were doing what they were created for, that which they did best. They were looking for answers.