Later that night, Theodore followed the instructions of his imaginary friend to open a maintenance door in Playcare.

With a stolen GrabPack 2.0 and a Green GrabPack Hand, he made his way toward the restricted area. The Prototype had told him there was something inside-something important. And Theo believed him.

The GrabPack's green hand needed to be charged before use, something he barely understood. He had seen workers do it before, attaching it to power nodes and waiting just the right amount of time. But Theo was impatient. He pressed the hand against the charging station and held it too long.

A high-pitched whine filled the air. The GrabPack's hand began to glow, the energy inside crackling erratically. Theo's grip tightened around the handle. The moment he latched it onto the door's power socket, a deafening crack erupted.

White-hot pain shot through his arm, paralyzing him where he stood. His vision blurred as blue sparks danced across his skin, searing him. The sharp scent of burning fabric and flesh flooded his nose before his body convulsed, and he collapsed to the ground.

His vision went white.

Then, black.

---

Yazmina was in the lab when she first heard the news. She had been monitoring Missy's transformation, documenting every subtle shift, every physical change. But the announcement over the intercom caught her attention.

"Medical emergency in Playcare. Subject: Theodore."

Her expression didn't change, but she quietly set her clipboard down and left the lab.

---

When she arrived at the facility's small infirmary, Theo was still unconscious, wrapped in bandages with burns running up his arm. A part of her noted the extent of the damage clinically-second-degree burns, severe but not fatal. He would recover, though the pain would linger.

Joel Sinclair was standing at his bedside, his arms crossed, tension visible in his shoulders. As the head counselor of Playcare, he had seen his fair share of reckless stunts, but this was different. This was dangerous.

The moment Yazmina stepped inside, Joel exhaled sharply. "You heard?"

She nodded, her expression unreadable. "Of course."

Joel ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know how he even managed to steal the damn thing. Security didn't catch anything. And the maintenance door..." He shook his head. "I don't know what he was thinking."

Yazmina didn't respond immediately. She already knew what Theo had been thinking. The Prototype had told him to do it. And Theo, desperate for something bigger than himself, had listened.

Instead of answering, she pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. Her gaze drifted over Theo's small frame, his burned hand resting limply against the sheets.

He was still just a child. Electroshock injuries weren't uncommon among careless workers, but seeing a child lying there made it a different kind of grim.

A child who would never escape his fate.

----------

Theo woke up hours later, his eyelids fluttering open to the dim lighting of the infirmary. His face twisted in pain, but when he turned his head and saw Yazmina sitting beside him, his expression shifted.

His amber eyes flickered open, hazy but sharp. "Doctor Yazmina...?"

She offered him a small, unreadable smile. "You're awake."

He exhaled sharply, shifting against the pillow. "Yeah... It Hurts."

"That's what happens when you don't understand the tools you steal."

Theo winced. "Guess I should've read the instructions."

She didn't scold him further. Instead, she pulled up a chair, her gaze cool and calculating. "What were you looking for in the maintenance room?"

Theo hesitated. His fingers twitched at his side, as if debating whether to tell her. Eventually, he sighed. "It wasn't about what I was looking for. It was what he wanted me to find."

Yazmina already knew the answer. "Prototype."

Theo's lips parted slightly in surprise, then quickly pressed together. He hadn't expected her to know. "You...?"

"I know more than you think, Theo."

Silence settled between them. The boy's gaze flickered with uncertainty, but there was also something else-curiosity.

Yazmina had never reacted the way adults usually did when he mentioned his imaginary friend. They either dismissed it or looked at him with thinly veiled concern.

But she didn't do either.

Instead, she asked, "What did he say to you?"

Theo studied her for a moment, gauging her reaction. Then, he spoke. "He told me there was something inside. Something important. But I didn't get the chance to see what."

Yazmina leaned back slightly, absorbing the information. "And you trust him?"

Theo hesitated. Then, he gave a small shrug. "He talks to me when no one else does. Doesn't feel like I got much choice."

Yazmina's gaze remained steady, but behind her neutral expression, something simmered. She already knew the answer, already knew Theo's fate. And yet, seeing it unfold before her still stirred something within her.

Annoyance? Frustration? No-she wasn't frustrated at Theo.

She was frustrated at how predictable it all was. She knew what was coming. She had played this game before. She had seen how it all played out.

And she wouldn't change a thing.

She rose to her feet. "Get some rest. You'll need it."

Theo frowned. "That's it?"

Yazmina tilted her head slightly. "What more do you expect? You made a mistake. You learned from it. The rest will happen as it should."

Theo didn't understand her words, not fully. But something about the way she said them sent a shiver down his spine.

She turned, walking toward the door. As she reached for the handle, she paused. Without looking back, she said, "Next time, try not to burn your hands off. It's an inconvenience for the medical team."

Then, she left.

---

Theo stared at the ceiling long after Yazmina was gone. His mind was still foggy from the shock, but one thought remained clear.

She knew.

She knew about the Prototype.

And yet, she didn't tell him to stay away.

But she was angry.

Not in the way Mr. Joel got angry when the kids misbehaved. Not in the way the doctors scolded them when they stepped out of line. No, Yazmina's anger was something different-something colder.

She never raised her voice. Never scolded him. Never even looked particularly upset.

But Theo had seen it-the slight narrowing of her eyes, the way her lips pressed together just a fraction tighter, the way she watched him in silence before finally speaking.

It was controlled, restrained, but it was there.

And that scared him more than if she had actually yelled.

He replayed the conversation in his head, trying to pick apart what she was thinking, but it was impossible. Yazmina never gave anything away unless she wanted to.

She smiled when people expected her to. She spoke just enough to keep up appearances. But there was always something else underneath-something unreadable.

Theo wasn't sure if that made him respect her more or fear her just a little.

The Prototype had told him to open the maintenance door. That was his job. It had whispered to him, guiding him, telling him exactly what to do.

But Yazmina...

Yazmina hadn't asked why. She hadn't pried. She had only looked at him and then left, as if she already knew what had happened and why.

Which meant she probably did.

Theo turned onto his side, staring at the darkened corner of the infirmary. His fingers twitched, still aching from the burns, but he barely noticed.

There was a strange feeling settling in his chest-a mix of unease and something else he couldn't quite name.

Why was she angry?

Not because he got hurt. Yazmina didn't get emotional over things like that.

Not because he had stolen the GrabPack. She hadn't cared about that, either.

No-she was angry because he had done something he wasn't supposed to.

Something that fit too well into whatever she already knew about this place, about the Prototype, about everything they weren't supposed to understand.

And yet, she still hadn't told him to stop.

Theo swallowed hard, his throat dry.

He thought back to the moment their eyes met before she left-the flicker of something in her expression, there and gone too fast to name.

Was it frustration? Annoyance? Or something worse?

For the first time since coming to Playcare, Theo felt like a pawn in a game he didn't understand.

And Yazmina...

She was playing a game of her own.