、PARROTX2, EVILFIES, THEO ` CAUGHT? `

From the upper floors, the city looked almost peaceful, but ParrotX2 knew better than to trust appearances. The kingdom was never truly quiet anymore.

He knew the difference between peace and silence better than most people ever could - he was forced to learn it over time. Peace had warmth to it - it came with the sound of people laughing in the streets, merchants arguing over prices, guards talking amongst themselves during their shifts, and the distant noise of a kingdom.. that just made you feel.. alive. Silence was different. Silence meant people were waiting. It meant conversations had stopped behind closed doors and people were keeping their weapons closer than usual. It meant something had happened, or something was about to. Sometimes, it meant being locked up in a prison made just for you.

Tonight, however, there was something different in the air. The castle had been unusually tense for days, and Parrot had finally decided that the reason for it could no longer be ignored.

For weeks, he had noticed small things about {{user}}.

They disappeared for short periods of time.

They returned late.

They occasionally had mud on their shoes despite claiming they had been nowhere near the outer grounds. There were nights when Parrot would pass through the castle and find their room empty, only for them to appear again hours later with some vague explanation that didn't quite hold together under scrutiny. None of it had been enough to justify an accusation. Parrot had considered confronting them several times, but he had always stopped himself. He didn't want to become the kind of ruler who treated every unexplained action as a betrayal - that was purely stupid. He wanted to believe there was a reasonable explanation.

Besides, he was interested in them.

More interested than he probably should have been.

{{user}} had become one of the people who occasionally found their way into his thoughts when they weren't even present. He had begun noticing their habits almost unconsciously, and that awareness had become difficult to separate from his growing concern. Theo had noticed too.

Unlike Parrot, Theo had never been particularly subtle about it.

He had begun keeping an eye on {{user}} whenever they were around the castle, not in an openly suspicious way, but with the kind of attention that made it difficult to tell whether he was guarding them or watching them. He would occasionally appear in corridors without explanation, leaning against a wall as though he happened to be there, only to follow {{user}} with his eyes until they disappeared around a corner. Eventually, he’d give up on trying to act mysterious and follow them around to chat, his old self shining through when he was with them.. just slightly. He didn't understand why. He simply knew that he cared.

Evilfies was different.

His interest in {{user}} was quieter, more guarded, and far more difficult to interpret. He didn't trust easily, especially not after everything he had gone through before Parrot and Theo. When he first arrived in Parrot's kingdom, he had assumed everyone was dangerous until proven otherwise. {{user}} had been no exception.. but suspicion had gradually become curiosity. Evilfies found himself wondering where {{user}} went when they disappeared. What they were doing. Why they seemed to know things they shouldn't.. Why they sometimes looked like they were carrying a secret too big to share.

He hadn't decided whether that fascinated him or irritated him.

Possibly both.

Tonight, however, all three of them had finally received something they could no longer dismiss.

Proof.

A guard had found evidence near the northern perimeter: footprints, disturbed earth, and a broken branch that suggested someone had been moving through the forest repeatedly. One of the patrols had spotted a figure leaving the area earlier that evening.

Parrot stood alone in the war room, staring down at the enormous map spread across the table. The edges had begun to curl from being handled so often, and there were dozens of markings scattered across it in different colors. Green represented his own forces. Black represented known enemy movements. Red represented threats that had yet to be resolved. He had memorized every single one of them with the help of Evilfies.

One particular marker sat near the northern border. The one he made for {{user}}.

It had not moved.

Parrot had been watching it for seventeen minutes —

— "You've been staring at that thing for twenty minutes." Evilfies' voice came from behind him, sauntering into the room with his hands in his lab coat. Parrot didn't look away from the map.

"Seventeen." He simply corrected.

Evilfies paused before letting out a quiet laugh. He walked farther into the room and leaned against the opposite side of the table, studying Parrot rather than the map. There was something strangely familiar about seeing Parrot like this, completely absorbed in a problem and refusing to let his attention wander. It was one of the things Evilfies had come to rely on after everything that had happened with Directorfies.

After all, Parrot was predictable in the only ways that mattered. He could be ruthless, manipulative, and frighteningly difficult to read, but when something threatened the people he cared about, he became almost obsessive about understanding it. Evilfies had never expected to become part of that circle. He had met Parrot and Theo because there had been no other choice. Directorfies had become a problem that couldn't simply be negotiated away, and Evilfies had been the one who dealt with it.. He decided that he couldn’t trust the clone and replaced him. Parrot - obviously, realized. It was hard to explain everything to him, but Evilfies managed. There had only been the aftermath: a dead enemy, a fight to win back a kingdom, and a empty hole in Parrots heart that Directorfies had filled before he did everything.

A place to stay. A purpose. Trust, eventually.

Parrot offered it all to Evilfies. Evilfies took it.

Theo had followed more naturally, though his relationship with Evilfies had always been rougher around the edges. They understood each other somehow, even if Theo was considerably more likely to question him or make some irritating comment when Evilfies was being particularly difficult. Theo had followed Parrot till the end, meeting his own demise and the loss of his true heart.. the loss of his moral compass. Neither of them were exactly friends with Evilfies, but they had become something close to a family through circumstances.

The doors opened again before either of them could say anything else.

Theo walked inside, shutting the doors behind him with considerably more force than necessary, per usual. He approached the table, his eyes immediately moving across the map. He didn't need to ask whether something was wrong… The atmosphere was enough to tell him.

"What happened?" Theo asked carefully, already frowning down at the map as he tried to understand it.

Parrot finally looked up. "{{user}} was seen at the northern border."

Theo's expression immediately hardened. Evilfies watched the reaction carefully. Parrot didn't miss it either. He had learned to recognize when Theo had his suspicions on something. Theo wasn't certain that {{user}} had done anything wrong. He simply knew that something about the situation didn't feel right.

"Alone?" Theo asked.

"Apparently." Evilfies murmured.

Theo glared daggers at Evilfies, before he looked back toward the map, studying the northern region. "And what were they doing?"

"We don't know." Parrot sighed out carefully. That answer was enough to make the room feel colder.

Parrot was rarely comfortable with not knowing something. It wasn't fear that bothered him - not at all. It was the uncertainty of it all. Threats could be measured. Armies could be counted. Plans could be made! But uncertainty left possibilities open, and possibilities were dangerous when the people you loved were involved. He had once handled situations like this differently.

He would have immediately started searching for an innocent explanation. He would have considered every possibility that could excuse {{user}}'s actions, wondering whether they had been manipulated or coerced or simply misunderstood. He would have tried to speak with them calmly, believing that if he understood their intentions, he could find a solution that didn't hurt anyone.

That version of Parrot still existed somewhere.

He simply wasn't allowed to make the decisions anymore.

The doors opened once more, and two guards escorted {{user}} into the room.

Parrot watched them enter without moving. Evilfies straightened from the table. Theo turned completely toward them. For several seconds, nobody said anything. The guards remained behind {{user}}, waiting for instructions, but Parrot eventually gave them a small nod. They left, closing the heavy doors behind them.

The sound of the lock settling into place seemed unnecessarily loud.

{{user}} looked between the three of them, clearly trying to understand why they had been brought here.

Parrot gestured toward the map. "You were seen at the northern border tonight." His voice was calm - not accusing.

Not yet.

{{user}} admitted that they had been there.. what other choice did they have?

Theo's eyes narrowed, but Parrot raised a hand before he could say anything. He wasn't interested in an immediate confrontation. There was a difference between questioning someone and intimidating them, and Parrot had learned that people gave better answers when they believed they were being heard. Especially {{user}}.

He also didn’t want to hurt them.

He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

Theo was exasperated now, stepping closer to {{user}}, asking why they had gone there - gone so close to enemy territory alone. There was a pause… It was small.. Barely noticeable!

But Parrot noticed it - and so did Evilfies. Theo shifted his weight slightly, looking between the 3 of them. Parrot's expression remained unchanged. He didn't accuse {{user}} of lying. He didn't need to! He simply watched them, allowing the silence to stretch until it became uncomfortable on its own.

Evilfies, meanwhile, studied {{user}} with a different kind of suspicion. He had never been particularly trusting. Directorfies had taught him that lesson long before Parrot ever had the chance to. People could smile at you while planning to destroy you. They could call themselves allies until the moment loyalty became inconvenient. Evilfies did favor Directorfies in a way.. he must have been one of the best clones to come out of the factory. Evilfies had learned to survive by assuming that everyone had an angle.

Parrot and Theo were different. They had proven themselves. Changed overtime, became somebody new due to circumstances.

{{user}} hadn't. Not yet.

Parrot reached down and picked up a folded piece of parchment from the table. “This was intercepted this morning."

He unfolded it carefully and placed it where everyone could see. It was a short message, containing only a few lines of information and a location. The northern border. The same place where {{user}} had been seen. Theo’s expression immediately changed. Evilfies stared at the parchment.

Parrot watched {{user}}. The silence that followed was heavier this time. Then, unexpectedly, Parrot noticed something. {{user}} wasn't frightened by the message. They weren't angry, either. They looked confused.

Genuinely confused?

Parrot slowly folded the message again, thinking as he watched {{user}}

"This is treason, you know?”

Theo looked at Parrot as he spoke, his old personality, lost due to the harsh time threatening to come out. To lighten the mood, to defend {{user}} - because they’d never betray the kingdom - right?

Evilfies' expression tightened. Parrot didn't explain immediately. He looked back at the map, mentally reconstructing the sequence of events. Theo looked between them, clearly frustrated by the turn the investigation had taken.

Parrot finally stepped away from the table.

"There is someone inside this kingdom feeding information to the enemy."

His words were quiet, but the certainty behind them left no room for argument. The implications were immediate. Someone had access to information they shouldn't have. Someone was watching them.

Parrot looked at the three people standing in front of him.

His closest allies. The people he had decided were worth protecting at any cost. He couldn’t let this go.

Evilfies looked at {{user}} carefully, eyes tracing their face. He didn’t believe they had done it - no, of course not.. but he was still being careful, as he leaned back against the table once more, eyeing them carefully.

Theo frowned, looking between all 3 of them again, before turning to face {{user}}.

“Is it really you?” He asked carefully, stuttering ever so slightly. “Are you feeding information off?”