The alchemy guild workshop hummed with the sound of arcane machinery as runes shimmered across glowing conduits.

Vuvi stood proudly over Pip's completed body, wiping sweat from her brow. "Synchronization complete. Frequencies are holding steady. We did it!"

Raenly grinned, dusting his hands. "I can't believe it. It's… perfect."

They exchanged a triumphant high-five.

Raenly sighed wistfully as he looked down at Pip's divine chassis. "There's no way I could've come up with something like this."

Vuvi turned to him, arching an eyebrow.

Raenly smirked. "Doesn't mean you're the better inventor. I'm just biding my time. I'll outshine him."

Vuvi clapped him on the back hard enough to make him wobble. "If anyone can beat me, Mystbern, it's you. I look forward to seeing you try."

Raenly rubbed his shoulder. "Thanks. So… what now? He's built, synchronized, divine core re-aligned. How do we turn him back on?"

Vuvi scratched her head. "The last time… he just sort of woke up on his own."

They stared at Pip in silence.

"…We could give him a mana boost?" Raenly offered.

Vuvi frowned skeptically. "A boost? With that much divine energy in him?"

"Just a little nudge."

"…Fine."

They set up a massive mana battery, brimming with rune crystals and conduits.

Raenly flipped the switch.

The workshop lights dimmed as the current surged into Pip's body.

His frame jolted.

His eyes flickered.

Vuvi held her breath.

Then… nothing.

They tried again.

And again.

Vuvi's desperation grew, her hands trembling, her voice cracking.

She slumped against Pip, pounding his chest-plate. "Wake up, dammit! I did everything right. We did everything right…"

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

"I miss your warmth," she whispered. "I-I can still feel it…"

Raenly, eyes went wide as he murmured, "Well… that's because he's glowing."

Vuvi blinked. "What?"

Raenly pointed. "Look."

A soft divine light was seeping from the seams of Pip's chest plate.

Vuvi's breath caught.

"Pip?" she whispered.

His divine crystal pulsed.

"PIP!"

Suddenly, his body jerked upright, beeping like he'd broken through water after drowning. His eyes glowed faintly. The divine crystal pulsed with rhythm again.

He scanned the room, dazed and confused.

His gaze found Vuvi on the floor beside him, stunned, her face stained with tears.

Then he tilted his head, cocked slightly to one side, and gave a tiny, confused beep.

-----------

A few minutes later, Raenly stood in the doorway of the workshop, arms folded and a smug grin on his face like he'd just invented fire.

Morning light spilled across the stone floor ahead of him, illuminating his wild curls and soot-streaked cheeks. The team, strewn across the alchemy guild foyer in various states of dishevelment, groaned like hungover spirits.

Lula was upside down in a chair with her legs over the backrest. Penelo had collapsed face-first into a rug. Veena and Sera were cuddled under a half-unraveled blanket, and Zora was sleeping on top of a bookshelf, somehow.

One by one, their eyes blinked open and focused on the smirking cat-kin in the doorway.

"What's with the face?" Penelo asked, voice gravelly.

"Did he explode again?" Lula added, rubbing her eyes.

"Raenly," Sera said cautiously, "why do you look even more smug than usual?"

He gestured behind him with a thumb. "Go see for yourselves."

The group scrambled up in a blur of limbs and tangled blankets, practically trampling Raenly as they rushed past him into the workshop.

What they found inside stopped them in their tracks.

Pip sat on the floor, back against the wall, glowing softly with divine light. His plating shimmered faintly like moonlit water, but the most striking image was the woman clinging to him, weeping into his shoulder plates.

Vuvi sobbed openly, both fists clenched against his chest as waves of thought spilled out from Pip. Overwhelming feelings of gratitude, relief and love.

The room erupted.

The team surged forward and collapsed into Pip and Vuvi in a giant, messy, snot-filled group hug. Even Mysa joined, mumbling something about "not crying, just allergies."

Lula climbed onto his back like a koala, while Sera kissed his glowing cheek. Penelo wrapped her arms around Pip's legs and whispered, "Welcome back, my little pervy prince."

Pip beeped softly, overwhelmed but overjoyed.

Then the room shimmered.

A burst of magical static crackled behind them and a crackling portal opened near the far wall. From its glowing frame stepped Bilorial, brushing dust from his cloak.

He looked at the tangled mass of bodies, Pip gleaming in the center of it all, and grinned. "Ah. Excellent! He's back. Congratulations, everyone."

The group turned to him, startled.

Before anyone could speak, Bilorial raised his hands and called out, "Princess Veena! Before we go further, I must beg your forgiveness."

Veena blinked and turned.

"For what?" she asked cautiously. "You helped us."

Bilorial stepped to the side with a theatrical flourish. "For this."

Eris stepped through the portal.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop.

Pip beeped warily.

Penelo hissed like an angry rabbit.

Vuvi's eye twitched.

"Long time no see," Eris said with a wry smile. "You all look... emotional."

No one replied.

Penelo muttered, "What's she doing here?"

Eris rolled her eyes. "I was hoping for a warmer welcome."

Then she stepped aside.

Both Eris and Bilorial bowed.

And through the golden portal came Vexena, The Demon Queen.

Silken robes of shadow flowed around her feet like ink. Her black horns gleamed. Her crimson eyes scanned the room with unreadable calm.

Either due to her magical pressure, or intimidating aura, every person in the room froze.

But, Raenly fainted on the spot.

Mysa slapped her forehead in response.

Vexena looked to Veena immediately, raising a hand in a slow, careful gesture. "I apologize for coming in person. I heard about the construct. I know what he means to you. I didn't want to intrude, but—"

Veena vanished in a puff of violet smoke.

She reappeared beside her mother, facing her head-on, her violet eyes blazing, then softening into something… vulnerable.

Vexena froze.

"I was just worried," Vexena said quickly. "I didn't mean to break my promise, I know I said I'd give you space, but I—"

Veena burst into tears and threw her arms around her mother.

Vexena stood paralyzed.

Then she collapsed into her daughter's arms, sobbing openly. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. For everything. For—"

"No," Veena cried into her shoulder. "You did nothing… I've been too blind—."

Behind them, Vuvi wiped her eyes with her sleeve, then squared her shoulders.

She marched straight toward the demon queen.

"I want to see my mother. Now!"

Vexena turned, blinking through tears. "Vuvela…"

"Is she even alive," Vuvi asked, voice trembling.

"Of course," Vexena replied.

Before Vuvi could respond, the portal shimmered again.

Maribelle stepped through, radiant and graceful as ever, holding the hand of a little girl wearing a tiara made of nether-roses and a frilly pink dress.

Virelle skipped beside her, mid-sentence. "—and if the teacup is cracked, you absolutely mustn't serve anything to a fairy queen in it. It's considered reeeally rude. She might curse you!"

"Of course, darling," Maribelle replied, smiling indulgently.

Then she spotted Vuvi… and was immediately tackled.

Vuvi threw herself into her mother's arms like a thunderbolt, almost knocking the woman over.

Maribelle caught her, stunned. "Oh! Vuvi—!"

Vuvi buried her face in her mother's neck and sobbed. Maribelle blinked rapidly, her hands stroking her daughter's back gently.

She whispered. "How's my little gear-gremlin?"

From her spot beside her mother, Virelle looked around at the room, the hugging, the weeping, the overflowing emotions.

"Why's everyone crying?" she asked.

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