9: IF

The Seamstress

Cera recognized the scream immediately.

"That was Odette!"

Like clockwork, 7 and 8 grab their weapons and charge toward the source of the scream. 9 and 5 follow them as well.

Cera, albeit very slowly, stands up to pursue the others. She did not want to feel left out.

The twins stay by the globe, silently praying for the safety of their comrades. 2 and 6 on the other hand...

Even though 6 more or less knew this kind of thing would happen, it still worries him. And knowing that the three human girls are out there and possibly in trouble? All it did was worry him more. "S-stay safe, everyone..." He mutters under his breath.

As for the elderly doll, 2 felt the need to physically restrain himself from preventing the others from charging ahead. He can sense the warning signs again, now louder than before. The only reason he brought 8 back here in the first place was to keep him protected! But now, there's nothing he can say or do to stop 8 this time. The guard still has a duty to perform. But for Cera? With her wounds, 2 needed all the hope he could muster for even the smallest chance of survival for Cera and the other humans.

Until then.....2 really needed to find a way to stop shaking so much.

*********

The wall of dense smoke was still there when 7 and 8 reached the fountain. The duo trend inside the smoke with caution, not noticing Cera jogging to the entrance, having already spotted the human enemy.

Even though it doesn't bother the stitchpunks at all, it still made the bodyguard feel a little uncomfortable...

Is this gas? 8 wondered, keeping his knife in front. Memories of the gas bombs linger in his mind. But after thinking about it more, he shakes his head. No, that can't be it. The deadly gas looked more yellow in color, this looks like normal smoke. But if that's the case...

8 feels a presence right behind him.

The guard turns around to strike, only to have his sight engulfed by a pale blue light. 8 drops his weapon, the light rendering him motionless.

The Seamstress has caught its prey.

*********

7 eventually reaches the other side of the smoke, finding herself near the fountain once again. But something didn't sit right with her. She glances at her surroundings....then to both of her sides...and then behind her.

Nothing.

8 wasn't there.

Where did he go?

Is he still in the smoke or did he get ahead of me? Both theories didn't sound plausible.

There wasn't that much smoke, to begin with, and 7 knows 8 can't be that dumb.

Nor could he match her speed in any way.

Unless.....

7 makes her way to the courtyard.

The sole thing 8 is notoriously known for is his loyalty and devotion to 1. And 7 knows he cares about the leader enough to want to go above and beyond for him.

Why else would he somehow run faster than her?

For 7, it felt like the most plausible explanation.

But then the warrior finally steps outside.....

.....and 8's nowhere to be found.

The only other person out here was Cera, but even her body language suggests she's looking for something too. But if 8's not here then where...?

7's pupils shrink in shock and realization. Then she slaps her forehead with her free hand.

I'm such an i***t!

Without wasting any more time, the pale doll heads back to where she came.

*********

Cera curses under her breath, having lost the tracks of the man carrying her teammates.

"Dammit! How do you lose a guy that quickly?", She grumbles to herself.

He must be taken advantage of the darkness and hid away in the shadows.

Cera scans the city, searching for the enemy.

Then her eyes spot something in the distance.

If she squints really hard, she could barely make out the outline of the factory. But there was something different about the building that grabbed her attention. There was now a tiny red dot in front of the factory, and against the deep blue night sky showed a black smog appearing from the tall chimneys.

The brunette finds herself sprinting back inside. She had to warn the others.

*********

By the time 5 and 9 caught up to the fountain, the smoke has completely cleared off. In its place, the horrific beast with a paralyzed 8 in its grasp.

It was clear that the beast's arms were not for show or attack. True to the Seamstress namesake; the sewing tools, needles, and scissors each had a purpose in tying and wrapping 8 up with the red thread from a spool on its back.

The instant it spots 9 and 5, the Seamstress pulls out the hypnotic bait to distract them. 9 is quick on his feet and ducks his head away from the light.

He tries to pull 5 down with him, "Don't look in the eyes!"

But 5 wasn't so lucky. The one-eyed medic is caught in the lure.

Then, without warning, a spear strikes the decoy and pierces it against a nearby book.

7 had arrived just in time.

Avoiding the beast's attack and stabs, 7 pulls out her spear and slices the decoy clean off the tail. With the Seamstress now occupied with the warrior and 5 stuck in shock, 9 grabs the sole blade from 5's quiver and rushes to cut the fallen guard from the thread.

However, the Seamstress was created to be more cunning and aware of its prey.

After using the damaged tail to smack 7 away, the beast notices 9 cutting and strikes him down with one of its tool arms. But the two stitchpunks don't stay down for long. 7 rushes back up to finish the kill, only to be caught in the beast's clutches. As she struggles to escape, 9 hurries back to resume cutting 8 out of the threads-

-yet he fails to take into account just how in control the Seamstress is of their own body. 9 finds himself suddenly lifted in the air, lower body wrapped and constricted. The snake-like beast has him trapped in its tail.

There was nothing he could do to escape; the more 9 tried to claw out, the tighter the grip got, and the more painful his body felt. It's getting harder to breathe. 9 thought, the agony of his insides getting slowly crushed nearly overwhelming his senses, At this rate, I'll pass out!

At that very instant, a needle is shot straight at the Seamstress's red eye, causing it to drop 9 to the ground. Gasping for air, 9 looks up and turns his head to see 5 with his crossbow. The healer had finally shaken off the hypnosis and used his weapon to fire at the beast.

Said beast screeches in anger, sparks flying from its cracked eye. Immediately, the Seamstress inserts the still-unconscious 8 into its stomach and scatters off with 7 entangled in its grasp.

"7!"

9 calls out, breaking into a sprint. He could hear 7 yelling out his number in return, helplessness in her voice. Desperate, 9 clings onto the very end of the impaired tail, hanging on for dear life. But the creature was too quick and sharp for the small doll. The tail slams 9 into a pile of books with enough force to let go of his grip.

The youngest stitchpunk reaches out in vain; watching hopelessly as the creature escapes through a cracked wall leading to the outside, disappearing into the night.

No, no, no, no, no, no, please no.....

In the distance, a silhouette of a person with two bodies over their shoulders.

9 lets out a mournful cry of despair,

"NOOO!"

*********

1 flickers his optic eyes open, the hypnotic state fading away at last. The ragdoll leader groans and shuffles his sitting position to properly gather his bearings. Almost instantly, the memories of the last few minutes flashback at him.

Odette's smile...

The bright, blue light.....

The anguished scream.....

A jolt runs through 1's body. He is overcome with the urge to get out of his hiding spot. In doing so, he keeps tripping on his own feet trying to crawl out of the book pile and ends up tumbling down to the ground. Yet none of it phases him in the slightest, not even noticing the coin on his hat coming off and rolling away.

What 1 DOES notice in the aftermath of a fight gone wrong.

2, 3, 4, and 6 had come over to see what happened, and they were met with complete despair. The devastated twins were given the sword 7 left behind, with 5 comforting them the best he can. Cera barely made it back, now completely out of breath.

"We have to go after them!"

Even 9, having run back from his failed chase, is now the most desperate he's been in his short life.

But something didn't add up for 1. The leader knew something happened to Odette, but for the invader to be able to get that far would mean it had gotten past-

"8? Where-where's 8?" He asks, frantically searching for his guard.

"That thing has them!" 9 answered, "Odette and Malaika are taken too!"

"Can......confirm....." Cera says between breaths.

Upon hearing this news, 1 covers his mouth with his hand in horror. "Then it's too late...." He gasps. 1 then scurries off his feet, not wanting to stay now that more beasts have found them. "We-we have to get out of here!", The oldest doll stammers, "We must try to find another safe place..."

"No more hiding! We're going after them!" 9 protested.

"All of us," Cera commands as well.

1 is quick to protest back, "Do you listen to the words you say? We don't even know where they're being taken to!" "The factory of course!"

Before any of the dolls could voice their confusion, a giant blur rushes past them.

2 is the first to react. "Cera, where are you going?" He barely catches her reply, "I'm getting my stuff so I can take on the factory!"

"But why THAT destination of all places!?" 1 demanded.

Cera doesn't look up from arranging her backpack. "There's smoke coming out of the chimneys, and a bright red window light was shining in that same spot. What else could it be but the Neos' hiding place? They'd have to make those machines from somewhere."

The human hoists up the finished bag and adjusts it on her back. 5 immediately sees what the human's plan is and tries to object.

"H-hey, maybe you shouldn't-"

"Going after those guys is exactly what I need to do!"

"B-but Cera, your wounds....!"

Cera ignores 5's warnings and dashes to the entrance, being careful not to step on any of her small friends.

"Those Neos won't know what hit-" Snap!

Cera releases a sharp gasp.

The discomfort on her back exploded into complete agony. It felt like fire, a burning sensation that ravages her entire body. Somehow, the gash reopening itself felt far worse than when she first got it.

The pain of the reopened wound was so unbearable, Cera ended up losing her balance and trips, but was able to catch the side of a low bookshelf to break her fall. At once, the stitchpunks ran to her aid.

"I'M OKAY!" Cera stops them with her injured hand, taking big gulps of air to keep herself and her thoughts concentrated. "I-I'm okay..."

The downed human attempts to stand back up by climbing the bookshelf, unaware that she is putting pressure on the bad leg.

A small rip was heard, and this time Cera lets out a loud, painful scream. The pain on the leg felt worse....much worse. Like a poisoned snakebite mixed with lava, it infests and purges her nerves; The stinging pain overrunning Cera's senses like a virus.

The distressed girl lets her body drop to the floor, not caring at all for her glasses falling off or the backpack slipping off her hurt and exposed back.

The stitchpunks watch uncomfortably at Cera clutching her leg while continuously sucking her breath in, clearly in great agony.

1 waste no time in marching over and giving Cera a different type of tearing.

"What were you thinking, foolish girl?!"

Cera freezes up at the sound of 1's voice.

"Did you honestly believe in that messed up mind of yours that you'll be able to save everyone in that state?!", 1 growl, "Even if you did manage to walk that far, there's still no chance to be had of you actually surviving a single fight with the enemy in your condition! I knew Odette and I have a lot in common, but I never would have thought that we'd have common ground in dealing with reckless, incompetent fools!"

"1, STOP IT RIGHT NOW!!"

Everyone stares in shock at the owner of the shout.

2 didn't like getting angry. If anything, it's a rare occurrence for him to get mad at all. But after dealing with 1's stubbornness and rude behavior towards his family and the humans all of today, even the kind inventor's patience was wearing thin. And 1's degrading rant at the hurting human just became the last straw.

"Hasn't the poor girl suffered enough today?" 2 stomps over to 1, poking him in the chest as he continues, "Cera and her friends have done nothing but show us kindness and protection, yet all you ever did was show them nothing but hurt and torment! And you dare call yourself a leader?"

As 1 listens to 2 fuming in his face, the rage inside him begins to boil. But he keeps it down tight and bottled. Sure, 1 could yell at him back. Sure, he could slap or hit 2 for talking back. He could try and enforce his authority.....except he had none.

Not without 8.

Not without Odette.

At this point, 1 has no power over anyone now. All he can do is face the reality and listen to 2's anger. No one is taking 1's side anyway.

"1 is....kinda right..."

.....Almost no one.

The elder dolls look back at Cera, taken aback at her statement. They almost didn't see everyone else walking over to her to soothe her.

1 finds himself talking again, "W-what do you mean...?" He knows he's right, but how is he right to her?

Cera doesn't move from her spot, only turning her head slightly. Her eyes are red from crying. "I know it's stupid and dumb of me to think I can save anyone like this..." Her voice cracks with emotion, she shifts her focus back to the ground, "But if I don't do something, then my friends will die!" Cera slams her fist on the floor. "I've been nothing but the load since my damn accident, and I can't get back home on my own!"

"Cera."

"But what choice do I have? I can't just sit around and wait for them to escape, what kind of a team member would I be?"

"Cera."

"How am I supposed to give my all for my crew when I'm stuck in a position where I can't?!"

"Cera! Look at me!"

Tiny hands grab Cera's cheeks, snapping the girl out of it enough to make direct eye contact with 9. Despite her blurry eyesight, she can still tell it's the youngest doll.

"Listen to me, we are still going after them whether you can come or not." 9 says in a stern yet hopeful tone, "I promise I won't let anything happen to them."

"Swear on it?" Cera asks without hesitation.

"Swear on it."

"Good." The woman gets back on her knees at a leisurely and careful pace, "I'll be counting on you, then." 9 nods in response.

"H-hold on, just like that?" 1 asks in bewilderment, "You seriously think we can pull this off?!"

5, also having enough of 1's doubting and degrading, glares at the elder with the heat of a hundred suns.

"Yes, she does, 1. She trusts us." Venom leaks out from his voice, "She has faith in us! Faith in that we can save everyone! And faith and trust are the most important things to have for any group!" The others nod in agreement.

Even 1 is shocked at the sudden assertiveness from the one-eyed medic. A proud smirk escapes Cera's lips.

"You heard them, 1." 2 says slyly, "The rest of you better get a move on while we stay here."

"We?" Cera asks.

"I'll stay here and tend to your injuries while we wait."

"Oh...okay." Cera complies without much argument.

9 looks over at the entrance ahead.

7, 8, Odette, Malaika.....hang in there, We are coming!