Derpy woke to the sound of thread being pulled through metal.

  Not loud.

  Just… careful.

  He didn’t move at first.

  Didn’t open his eyes.

  Because the first thing he always did when he woke up—

  Was listen.

  For paws.

  For claws clicking on stone.

  For breathing near his shoulder.

  For the soft weight against his leg.

  There was none.

  Only castle air.

  Cold.

  Still.

  Wrong.

  He opened his eyes slowly.

  Mk.2 sat across from him.

  One arm detached, laid on the table beside her like something borrowed.

  The joint had shattered clean through.

  Derpy stared at it.

  Memory hit him in flashes.

  Black ice.

  Collars.

  Rage.

  A throne room that smelled like power and fear.

  His hands.

  Her arm breaking.

  He sat up sharply.

  Mk.2 didn’t flinch.

  “You awake,” she said.

  Not a question.

  He looked at her shoulder where the break had been.

  Empty housing.

  Cracked seam.

  He swallowed.

  “I did that.”

  She tilted her head.

  “Yes.”

  No accusation.

  No blame.

  Just fact.

  He looked down at his hands.

  Celica’s embers flickered faintly along his fingers.

  Blight stayed quiet for once.

  Derpy exhaled slowly.

  “I’ll fix it.”

  Mk.2 didn’t answer immediately.

  Then:

  “I requested.”

  He blinked.

  “What?”

  “I requested you repair,” she repeated, slower. Like she’d chosen the sentence and didn’t want it taken away.

  He looked at her.

  Really looked at her.

  “You didn’t have to.”

  She looked away.

  “…I wanted.”

  There was something new in her voice.

  Not programming.

  Choice.

  Derpy swallowed hard.

  And for a second—

  He wanted Mia’s weight against his leg.

  He wanted Sphinx’s judgmental stare.

  He wanted something normal.

  Instead, he rolled up his sleeves.

  “Okay,” he whispered. “Let’s fix you.”

  He worked slowly.

  Carefully.

  Threading magic through fractured rune-cores.

  Celica guided heat control.

  Blight stabilized rot fractures.

  Metal hissed.

  Light flared.

  Mk.2 didn’t move while he worked.

  But her eyes tracked him constantly.

  Like she was afraid he’d vanish if she blinked.

  Halfway through the repair—

  Derpy’s hands started shaking.

  Not from strain.

  From memory.

  He remembered the sound.

  Of ice forming.

  Of Mia barking once when he was taken.

  Of Sphinx’s claws scraping stone as he tried to leap.

  He stopped.

  His breath hitched.

  Mk.2 noticed immediately.

  “Pain?”

  He shook his head.

  “…No.”

  His voice cracked anyway.

  “I just…”

  His fingers tightened on the stitching thread.

  “I didn’t even say goodbye.”

  The room went very quiet.

  Mk.2 didn’t understand fully.

  But she understood tone.

  “You miss them,” she said.

  He nodded once.

  And that was when it hit.

  Hard.

  The habit of reaching down when you sit.

  The expectation of warmth at your feet.

  The way silence feels heavier when something that should be there isn’t.

  He pressed his forehead briefly against the table.

  “I should’ve fought harder.”

  Celica whispered inside him.

  You would have died.

  Blight added, softer than usual.

  And then they would be alone.

  That hurt worse.

  Far beyond the castle walls—

  Mia lifted her head.

  No sound.

  Just sudden alertness.

  Her ears pricked forward.

  Sphinx froze mid-lick.

  What? he asked inside her mind.

  Mia’s chest tightened.

  He’s sad.

  Sphinx’s tail flicked once.

  You can’t know that.

  She didn’t answer.

  But she did.

  Not in words.

  In feeling.

  The thread wasn’t severed.

  But it was strained.

  Like something pulling against distance.

  Sphinx jumped down beside her.

  They pressed foreheads briefly.

  No humans noticed.

  Lenora stood watch further down the ridge.

  Lewd sharpened something she didn’t need to sharpen.

  Ace stretched her wings near the fire like she owned the night.

  But Mia—

  Mia stared toward the capital.

  And in her chest—

  Something tugged.

  He’s trying not to cry, she thought.

  Sphinx went very still.

  He doesn’t cry.

  Mia’s tail lowered.

  He does when he thinks we don’t see.

  Sphinx said nothing.

  Because that was true.

  Back inside the castle—

  Derpy resumed working.

  Slower now.

  Breathing carefully.

  “I used to fix things at home,” he muttered quietly. “Broken fences. Burnt pans. My hoodie…”

  His hands paused.

  “…My sisters gave me that.”

  Mk.2 tilted her head.

  “Sisters.”

  He nodded.

  “Yeah.”

  He glanced at her broken arm.

  “And I broke you.”

  She looked at him steadily.

  “You stopped.”

  He froze.

  “What?”

  “You stopped,” she repeated. “Queen command. You stopped.”

  His chest tightened.

  He remembered.

  The moment.

  The clarity breaking through rage.

  If the queen hadn’t said stop—

  He might have—

  He swallowed hard.

  “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  Mk.2 processed that slowly.

  Then:

  “…You did not break me fully.”

  He blinked.

  “What?”

  “You could have.”

  Silence hung between them.

  He resumed stitching.

  This time steadier.

  When the final rune clicked into place, light pulsed through her arm.

  Flex.

  Rotate.

  Grip.

  Perfect.

  Mk.2 stared at her hand.

  Opened and closed it.

  Looked at him.

  “…Better.”

  Derpy let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding.

  “Good.”

  Then, softer:

  “Next time, I won’t lose control.”

  Mk.2’s eyes sharpened slightly.

  “…Other you.”

  He stiffened.

  “You saw that.”

  “Yes.”

  Silence.

  She leaned slightly closer.

  “Monster.”

  Derpy flinched.

  “…Yeah.”

  But she shook her head.

  “No.”

  He blinked.

  “…No?”

  She searched for words like she was pulling them out of a locked drawer.

  “Protector,” she said.

  A pause.

  “Violent protector.”

  He didn’t know how to respond to that.

  Outside—

  Mia suddenly stood up.

  Tail rigid.

  Sphinx’s ears shot back.

  He changed.

  Mia’s breathing sped up.

  He’s… not alone.

  Sphinx narrowed his eyes toward the castle.

  Someone is near him.

  Mia’s jaw clenched.

  If they hurt him—

  Sphinx cut in sharply.

  We wait.

  Mia growled softly.

  Not loud enough for humans.

  But enough for Sphinx to feel it in his bones.

  We wait, he repeated.

  But this time—

  He didn’t sound certain.

  Back inside—

  Derpy finished the repair.

  Mk.2 flexed her restored arm.

  Perfect motion.

  Perfect control.

  But before she could step back—

  The air changed.

  Cold.

  Not violent.

  But heavy.

  Derpy stiffened.

  Celica whispered.

  He’s waking.

  Blight hummed darkly.

  He’s not asleep anymore.

  The shadow behind Derpy stretched slightly longer than it should have.

  Not a trick of candlelight.

  A presence.

  Mk.2 saw it.

  Didn’t step away.

  Instead she leaned closer.

  “If other you comes,” she said calmly, “I will not run.”

  Derpy’s throat tightened.

  “…Why?”

  She answered without hesitation.

  “Because friend.”

  The word landed softly.

  Like Mk.1’s voice.

  Like thread pulling through fabric.

  And somewhere—

  Far away—

  Mia’s ears lifted.

  Sphinx’s tail went still.

  The thread pulled tighter.

  Not breaking.

  But tightening.

  Sinister Derpy’s presence stirred inside the dark.

  Not unleashed.

  Not yet.

  But watching.

  Waiting.

  Calculating.

  Seven moves ahead.