The elevator groaned as it descended past levels long forgotten. Dust drifted through the beam of Catnap's flashlight. The deeper they went, the colder it got. Like the place itself didn't want to be remembered.
DING.
The doors slid open.
They stepped into an enormous underground lab. Screens flickered. Machines hummed weakly, like they'd never truly powered down.
REVERB CORE – AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
The sign was cracked. Beneath it, a glass hallway led to a massive spherical chamber glowing faint blue. And in the center...
A mirror.
Not broken.
Perfect.
"Is that it?" Dogday whispered.
"No," Catnap said, stepping forward. "That's the original."
Poppy tapped rapidly on a console nearby, her voice tense. "This was the test bed. Project Reverb's goal was to create memory backups through reflected imaging. The idea was simple: reflect the mind. Store it. Restore it."
"But something went wrong," Catnap murmured. He was already beginning to remember.
Images flickered in his head.
Needles.
Whispers.
A cold surface.
His face—staring back at him, smiling when he didn't.
"They didn't just copy thoughts," Poppy said. "*They accidentally copied will. Intent. Self. And when they tried to delete the experiments—the reflections refused."
She pointed to the glowing sphere.
"The Mirrorborn came from this."
Catnap stared at it. The surface rippled.
Then a voice echoed from inside.
"Return to me."
A figure stepped forward in the glass—an exact mirror of Catnap. But darker. Smiling. Empty-eyed.
"You left me down here," it said. "But I never stopped becoming."
Dogday stepped in front of Catnap.
"You're not him."
"Not yet," the Mirrorborn purred. "But I could be better. Cleaner. Whole. With your help."
The room shook.
"It's destabilizing," Poppy shouted. "If it merges fully with the core, it'll spread through every reflective surface connected to Playtime Co's old network!"
"How do we stop it?!" Dogday yelled.
"You shut the core down," Catnap said.
"That'll trap it inside," Poppy warned, "but someone has to do it manually."
Catnap stepped forward.
"I'll go."
YOU ARE READING
The Silent Paw and The Gentle Bark
RomanceIn the quiet corners of the whimsical Playtime Co. factory, Catnap, a sleek and mysterious cat, and Dogday, an energetic and loyal dog, share an unbreakable bond. Best friends for as long as they can remember, the two are inseparable-exploring, play...
