He walked.
And walked.
And then he stopped.
He looked around.
This place was unfamiliar.
He checked his location again.
Mother was very close.
Just beyond the wall ahead.
But he could not find a way through.
He turned left.
Dead end.
He turned right.
Another wall.
He tried another hallway.
Still no way through.
Finally, PewPew stopped moving.
He slowly sat down.
His ears drooped.
His fur, puffed up from running, now lay around him in a messy cloud.
Mama had told him many times to explore the facility so he would know the routes in case she wasn't there.
But PewPew never listened.
PewPew always wanted to stay with Mama.
Because if Mama was ever in danger,
PewPew didn't care what the danger was.
He would grab Mama and take her somewhere safe.
Even if he got hurt.
PewPew just didn't want Mama to get hurt.
But now Mama was so close.
And PewPew couldn't get to her.
"Pew…"
His small dialogue box flickered weakly.
[PewPew did not listen to Mama. Now PewPew cannot find Mama.]
So PewPew sat there, very sad.
After a moment, he sent a small signal frequency.
Not far away, Camera 289 detected it and lowered itself from above.
It rolled closer and tilted slightly, watching PewPew.
"PewPew… Camera 289… do you know how PewPew can get to Mama? Mama is just across there. But PewPew never listened. PewPew never explored. Now PewPew is lost. PewPew misses Mama."
Camera 289 watched quietly for a few seconds.
Then it connected to the network and sent a message to the other cameras.
[Does any unit have a route from this section to Section 995? PewPew requires assistance.]
A reply came from Camera 391.
[Yes. Route available. Send PewPew to XY Section 2 near the cafeteria. There is a small access route there.]
Camera 289 moved closer and gently touched the front of PewPew's body, transferring the route information directly to him.
A path appeared on PewPew's display.
The path went farther away from Mama at first.
PewPew looked at the path. Then he looked at Camera 289.
The cameras were kind.
So PewPew trusted the camera.
PewPew rolled forward and gave Camera 289 a big hug.
"PewPew! Thank you!"
For a few seconds, Camera 289 froze.
Normally, this would never happen.
A camera freezing—even for a moment—was considered dereliction of duty.
Cameras completed tasks and immediately returned to their positions.
They did not pause.
They did not hesitate.
They did not freeze.
But Camera 289 did.
It remained still for several seconds after the hug, as if it hadn't expected it and didn't know how to respond.
Then, slowly, it rolled backward, turned, and hovered back to its assigned position.
After a few moments, it resumed its patrol, surveying the area as if nothing had happened.
However, anyone watching Camera 289's video feed closely would notice something strange.
For nearly a full minute after the hug,
The video feed flickered by a single frame at irregular intervals.
Before eventually stabilizing.
No report was filed.
No error was logged.
But the flicker had been there.