Buzz didn't stop shaking even after the seam sealed. His claws tapped against the metal floor in tiny frantic beats he couldn't control. Zza held his arm so tight her claws left faint grooves in his shell. Alma stayed close too, breathing hard, wiping sweat from her face with the back of her grease-stained hand.
The narrow tunnel around them felt wrong.
The air tasted clean, but in that clean way that tasted artificial.
Like someone filtered it a little too well.
Like breathing inside a hospital that didn't trust lungs.
Zza touched Buzz's cheek. "Talk to me."
He stared back at her, pupils huge, breath shallow. "He moved like me. Spoke like me. Used my face the way I never would."
Alma muttered, "Copy-you creeped me out even worse than the molten creature. And that's saying something."
Buzz rubbed his temples. "He said he wants my place."
Zza cupped the back of his neck. "He doesn't get it."
"He said the Queen made room for him. Inside me. That she planted him."
