Loving Hate Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue.

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Author's Note: Thank you all for the lovely reviews! I was worried I might be 'overdoing' some of the characters, but it seems you're all enjoying it so far. -huggles the audience-

So this chapter we meet some of the oddball characters that litter the caves. Allow me to provide visuals on the characters that I know I'll be introducing...

48, the leader of the group
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG3TKN…
Property of NightRunner, voiced by Nightrunner. Click the link to see picture and hear voice.

78, the Blind Vagrant (the doll in the blue dress)
fc07.deviantart.net/fs49/i/200…
Property of Castoro Chiaro/Beavergirl
Voice Actress: Gwendolyn Lau, the voice of Sheska from Full Metal Alchemist

Dopple, the Pretender
th01.deviantart.net/fs51/300W/… Property of moi!
Voice Actress: Olivia d'Abo, the voice of Tak from Invader Zim. I realize the trend here, but it shall not stop me!

Odin, the Eliminator
th09.deviantart.net/fs28/300W/… Property of yours truly
Voice Actor: Voice has a deep, dry tone, being rather unused because of a programming loop that will be explained later.

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Chapter 2: Reunions

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They could hardly believe it. Out in the middle of nowhere, amidst the beasts, the danger and hunter units, so horribly close to the Factory was an earthbound sanctuary, rag dolls bustling about outside of the caves like a happy village from long long ago. The five from the cathedral could hardly help but stare in awe at the variety of different colors, textures, shapes and sizes of the ragdolls conglomerating...families, men, women, even...

"Kids!" 6 said with a happy grin, spying a small group of three children playing quietly together, their optics widening at the sight of the five new strangers. One of the nearby adults eyed the newcomers wearily and whispered something to the children, beginning to herd them inside, deciding now would be an appropriate time to tuck them in. "Bye kids~"

"Children?" 1 muttered, quirking a brow at the unusual sight, shaking his head in a disapproving manner. Deciding not to ask any needless questions on the matter, he cleared his throat. "Where is the one you called 48?"

"Inside, she's inside." 111 said in his usual chirpy demeanor, waving them forward as they pressed on through the small groups of dolls, his copper fingers playing over his plastic half-heart necklace.

1 surveyed the area with a frown, taking in the sight of it all. The cave entrance was a natural formation, a gaping hole amonst the bedrock. Whether by the natural chaos that seemed to bring things together or by the work of the scores of dolls, piles of cement, rubble, wires and building framing was built up around the camp, making it surprisingly well hidden. It seemed 111 wasn't exagerating about the security of the place, though the lack of sentries or watchmen made 1 a bit uneasy. "I'll take them to see 48, you go ahead and get back to your lovey."

"Sh-she's not--!" Elm sputtered at the other's comment, his fabric would have turned beet red if it at all had been possible. "Oh...n-nevermind..."

"G'bye Elm!" 111 said with a rather silly wave, continuing up the smooth flagstones that led to the mouth of the cave, the warm flickering of torches being a welcoming sight. The main room of the cavern was massive to say the least, the dozen ragdolls that occupied the room at the moment had more than enough room to spread themselves out, several smaller caverns branching off from the main room and into endless branches and networks of pathways.

"Wow~" 6 finally murmured, his nib fingers clutching at 5's fabric, optics wandering over the natural wonder of the cool cave, the shadows cast by the torch's dull flames dancing on the smooth, grey stones.

"Hallo 48!" 111 said with another trademark wave, looking back at the others before he presented himself to the female rag doll.

"Well hello to you too, 111." she said with a small chuckle, optics flicking over the sight of the newcomers. Though her appearance wasn't fearsome in the least, it was easy to tell that she was...different. But the feeling was so subtle that it was easily ignored, looking over her fair, though scarred appearance. The light tone of her fabric seemed to indicate massive amounts of time in the sun, vaguely reminding 9 of  the warrior of their own group, 7. She even wore a skullment atop her head, though the rat skull wasn't as fearsome as 7's bird skull, a purple feather lightening her aura even further. 48 reached up to run a finger over the blue gem she had fastened to her chest, smiling as she looked over the newcomers. "And you are---?"

1 opened his mouth to begin an introduction, but 9 just had to beat him to the punch, moving forward to greet the female leader with a jovial tone. "My name's 9, this is 5, 6, 1 and 8---"

"I'm fully capable of introducing myself and my followers," 1 said in a voice hardly above a hiss, giving a tap of his scepter against the ground to emphasize the point, annoyed by 9's brash rush into the limelight. "Perhaps you best find something to entertain yourselves while I speak with 48."

" ...lets go look around outside 9," 5 said in a hushed tone, putting his free hand on 9's shoulder, hoping to urge him away. It took another moment of silent urging before 9 finally moved from his spot, walking along with 5 back outside the caves, leaving 8 and 1 alone with the battleworn leader.

"...I just have the sinking feeling that 1's going to make us not welcome here..." 9 sighed once he, 5 and 6 were out of earshot of the other three, his head hanging a bit.

Straightening himself as the other three members of his group made his way out, 1 gave 48 a scrutinizing glance.

"So, you're the one who set up those infernal contraptions out there?" was the first thing that left 1's mouth, tapping a finger on his scepter in an impatient way. 48 didn't quite know how to react, but easily masked her surprise at the newcomer's audacity, speaking in an even and unaffected tone.

"Why yes, I am. I heard it was effective in snaring one of your teammates." 48 said with a small nod, folding her hands in her lap, keeping her emotions guarded.

"And what good does that do? The snares are too small to catch a beast...you put us, and possibly other countless groups in danger by having them out there," 1 replied accusingly.

"Which is why we always have someone monitoring the traps so we can bring them here and offer a bit of protection," 48 replied shortly, tapping a finger on her spear, mimicking 1's nervous action. Was this guy serious? She puts her own teammates in danger to show them a bit of hospitality and he marches in here and begins gnitpicking as though he's entitled to it all!

"A peculiar, wreckless way of going about it," 1 began, but surveyed the caves, noting how many stitch punks seemed to be living there.

"Well, it's how we've been doing things since we got here and haven't had any casualties yet," 48 replied, flipping her skullmet down over her face, standing. "You're welcome to stay, just don't cause any trouble. Just pick a hall or room that doesn't have anything in it."

With that last statement, 48 made a gesture towards the caverns with her spear.

"You might want to reconsider your manners." 48 said darkly as she passed 1 and 8.

The bodygaurd didn't seem to appreciate the tone that she was giving his boss, deciding to establish his loyalty to his leader, leaning into a fierce, 8 style glare. However, 48 remained unaffected by the gaze and in fact, leaned forward, glowering back with an intensity that caused 8 to falter a moment in his own scowl. Seeing 8's reaction, 48 straightened and gave a small laugh, her optics still portraying an intense dislike for the pair already. "That won't work around here, you two had best be a bit more polite."

With that, 48 continued to remove herself from the caves, bounding up the rocks to perch atop their home and gaze at the stars with another hooded ragdoll. "Hmph, she seems like one to speak about manners," 1 snorted, standing up straight and beginning to walk towards the entrance of the cave. "8, gather the others and find a suitable area in the caverns for us to take refuge for the night. We'll be leaving in the morning."

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"6, don't do that, it's rude." 5 whispered, giving the striped stitchpunk a small nudge, trying to discourage him from waving his hand in front of the blind ragdoll's face.

"I...I don't mind. Really, it's okay." the one known as 78 said with a small sigh, the sound of air rushing over 6's hand giving her a firm idea on what he was doing, and really wasn't offended by the gesture. However, her tired tone of voice was easy to mistake for masked displeasure, making 5 uneasy that they had in fact upset her. Elm sat near 78, his gloved hands folded in his lap, simply sitting nearby to observe the new group.

"Sorry," 6 replied, clasping his hands over one another and sighing. "Tired..."

"Me too," 9 replied, rubbing the back of his head, noticing 1 and 8 leaving the caves and walking down their way.

"Come on," 8 grunted, crossing his arms and giving the trio from their group a hard stare.

"...we're staying?" 9 said, tone of voice indicating he was completely surprised that 1's people skills had in fact not succeeded in offending everyone in the room and having them thrown out into the Wastes as bait for some sort of trap.

"For the night," 1 said, beginning to survey the surrounding area. "8 will take you three to where the resting areas are."

"What about you?" 5 asked as he stood, looking up at 8 for a moment.

"It is none of your concern," 1 replied shortly, waving a hand.

"Come on," 8 grumbled at the three, beginning to head back up towards the caves.

"I-it was nice m-meeting you!" Elm called after the new additions to the group, pushing his hat up after he waved.

"Sleep well," 78 called after as well, though her stare was in a completely different direction than the group was in. Realizing the woman was blind, 1 frowned a bit.

"Seems they'll allow anyone in this camp," he mumbled quietly to himself as they continued up the steps. He called after the others before they vanished into the caves. "We'll be leaving first thing in the morning, so be ready to depart once the sun is up again."

There was a general mumble of forced agreement, none of them thinking that journeying to another area was 1's brightest idea, but none of them awake enough to begin arguing with him at such an hour. Pleased with the group's silent compliance, 1 made his way across some of the larger flagstones, finding a spot to settle himself down. At this point, he probably couldn't sleep, even if he had tried, too many things to be concerned about, too many issues to sort through...

The moon was beginning to peek out from its curtain of clouds, illuminating the ravine and the caves below, casting an eerie sheen on the post-apocalyptic landscape. 1 squinted, trying to make out the distance it would be to this fabeled 'library', the looming black landmark hard to determine against the night darkened horizon. Was that smoke---? It had to be his mind playing tricks on him, stressed from the loss and sudden exposure that the Cathedral fire had caused. He settled into his spot, staring off into the distance.

"...what are you looking at?"

"I'm simply... ---!" 1 began to speak, though realized that the voice held no tone of familiarity and straightened with a start, whipping around and glaring at the offender, finding a female doll uncomfortably close to his resting area. His hands clutched at his scepter, eyes narrowed into a hard glare at the intrusive newcomer.

"Simply---?" Dopple replied with a roll of her hand, hoping to get him to continue his thought, blatantly ignoring the vexed expression on 1's features. The feathers that made up her head of hair bobbed with the gesture, a smirk splayed on her fabric features.

"Be gone with you," 1 snarled and turned away, crossing his arms and staring back out onto the landscape.

"...1, huh? That means you were the first one made?" the female said, deciding that the curiosity approach didn't seem to be the best way to play this ragdoll's interest. 1 pressed his lips together, though didn't bring his gaze up when speaking, not liking to pass up an opportunity to brag.

"Yes, that's precisely what that means," 1 said, straightening up and laying his scepter down over his legs. A smile twitched at the corners of Dopple's mouth. Alright, egocentric. Great way to keep him talking.

"And travelled out all this way by yourself, must have been tough." Dopple replied, crossing her arms behind her back. Not many ragdolls were up at this hour, many of the residents of the cave usually retreating inside by now, leaving Dopple horribly bored. However, a newcomer meant someone else to pick apart, to examine and dissect verbally, especially one as tightlipped as this one presenting a lovely and much needed challenge.

"Hmph, travelling alone in the Wastes is suicide. And anyone who says different is a fool," 1 replied shortly. "I came here with my four followers."

"Hn, so you're the leader?" Dopple replied with a quirked eyebrow. Some leader he would seem to make, an old scrap that didn't look like he could overpower a malfunctioning spiderbot. However, he wasn't stupid, and that was more than Dopple could say for some of the raggies she had met. 1 picked up on the incredulous tone, turning on her with sour look on his face.

"Hmph, astute observation. Seems there's half a wire functioning amongst those gaudy plumes after all," 1 said simply, staring her in the eye. "I am the leader because of my foresight and intelligence. When the humans warred with the Machines, it was my wit that kept us together and in a safe haven, when the others were on the brink of falling apart. And THAT is why I maintain the position of Leader."

Dopple wasn't sure what to make of the comment, anger and offense was first and foremost in her mind, however beating up an older ragdoll was like taking candy away from a baby. Her hard glare became a calculating smirk. "How cute," Dopple replied with a tone that was laced with venom.

1 straightened when the female called his efforts 'cute', turning and latching the crook of his scepter around her neck, pushing her up in hopes of getting a glimpse of an ID number. Dopple growled and wrenched herself away. "What was that for!"

"An attempt to determine your number so I can remember who to avoid until morning," 1 said.

"Hmph, don't bother looking for one, the name's Dopple. Short for Doppelganger." she said shortly, adjusting the wires around her neck with a frown.

"An unlabelled creation? How quaint," 1 said with a small scoff, turning away and settling himself in.

"I don't have a number because I wasn't made by a human, thank you very much!" Dopple announced, putting her hands on her hips. Fine, if this old scrap wanted to play rough, Dopple was more than happy to oblige.

"Weren't made by a human...?" 1 said with a quirked brow, turning to look the female over again. If she wasn't made by a human, then that could only mean....

"Product of the Fabrication Machine himself," the female doll said with grandiose bow, looking up at 1 with a rather angry smirk on her lips.

"A...a Machine?" 1 gasped and got to his feet, turning and staring at the female, trying to cover his obvious fear with a scowl. "I'll be alerting 48 immediately about your trickery."

Dopple's smirk dropped until she realized that 1 was serious, the Machine unable to stifle a shrieking round of laughter, holding her sides at 1's accusing tone. "Cease your braying!" 1 demanded, slamming his scepter on the bedrock in an attempt to put an end to her irritating laughter.

"Sorry, sorry..." Dopple said, drawling a bit through her grin. "I'm just surprised you didn't know. 48's a Machine too, and her husband and quite a few other members here. Even have two cat skulls in attendance...but we've all defected."

It took 1 a moment to process the statement. Machines, defecting? Was that even possible? And even if it was, the possiblity of programming taking over would have to be high, leaving 1 very on edge, especially at the mention of the cat skulls. His eyes were rather wide at the thought, the veteran having to take a moment to gather his rushing thoughts and put on an unaffected expression.

"Don't look at me like that," Dopple sighed, running her fingers through her hair as she moved forward, going to look out on the landscape herself.

"I'll look at you however I please," 1 said, glowering and sitting back down, crossing his arms and fixing his eyes on the landmark near the library in the distance.

Dopple opened her mouth to reply, but the dry bark of her partner caught her attention.

"Exist!" Odin called from below, the flickering of his optics conveying a sense of urgency.

"Oh, crap! Gotta go, nice meeting you!" Dopple said with a grin and took off running down the bedrock, going to meet her partner in crime. The casual vulgarity made 1 winced visibly.

"...just going to be here until the morning." 1 reminded himself and leaned back into the rock, hoping that there wouldn't be any other hitches in their departure.

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