Talia hadn't even had time to digest Lev's ominous farewell—or the way he vanished into the fog like a glitch in a love story—when the pantry exploded in glitter.
"Incoming explosion!" Jasper shouted from the espresso machine, ducking with the grace of someone who had definitely seen too many weird things lately.
Xander had already drawn a blade and crouched low, scanning for threats.
The white cat blinked once from its perch and yawned.
To Talia alone, it said, "Oh, relax. It's not an enemy. It's just your emotionally unstable pet bird laying an existential egg."
Talia stared. "I—what?"
Kai, who had been eerily quiet since Lev's departure, suddenly beamed. "She's hatching! Gertrude is finally laying her egg!"
There, in the middle of the sugar nest—which had now expanded to include glitter glue runes, a tea-box drawbridge, and an ominously vibrating marshmallow dome—something was glowing.
The lights flickered. The espresso machine hissed like it was nervous.
Talia took one cautious step forward. "Is that safe?"
"Absolutely not," the cat replied cheerfully, voice only in her head. "But it is impressive."
POP.
A cloud of pink sugar smoke burst into the air, and a perfect, cubical egg emerged from the heart of the nest. It sparkled faintly, emitting a hum somewhere between a lullaby and a system error.
DING!
[New Entity Registered: Gertrude's Egg]
Status: Emotionally Incubating
Hatch Readiness: Unknown
Parental Bond: Kai (Primary), Haven Brew (Secondary)
Side Effect: All spoons in vicinity now slightly sweeter
Talia blinked. "Did that just say emotionally incubating?"
"Like a Tamagotchi with feelings," Jasper muttered.
Kai dropped to his knees in front of the nest, hands pressed together like he was praying. "Be strong, Gertrude Junior. You are born of sugar and chaos."
"Oh no," Talia groaned. "He named it already."
"Her," Kai corrected solemnly. "Gertrude the Second. Or G2 for short."
The egg pulsed.
The floor groaned.
The pantry door whispered open of its own accord.
"Alright," Talia said, rubbing her face. "What do we do with it? Rock it? Sing to it? Sacrifice a cinnamon stick?"
DING!
[New Quest: The Hatchening]
Objective: Provide emotional stability and bedtime stories for optimal incubation.
Bonus Objective: Prevent caffeine overload within 5 feet of the egg.
Reward: ???
The cat's ears twitched. Its voice slid into her thoughts: "This is getting too wholesome. I might combust."
Jasper glanced at the glowing cube nestled in sugar. "What happens if it hatches?"
Kai whispered, "Magic."
Xander groaned. "That's what I'm afraid of."
Later that night, after the café had settled into its usual rhythm of magical coffee and mild existential dread, Talia found herself sitting cross-legged in front of the nest.
Kai curled beside her, blanket wrapped around his shoulders, clutching a stuffed spoon he had named Sir Stirs-a-Lot.
The egg glowed faintly in the dark.
"Do you think she'll hatch soon?" Kai asked.
Talia smiled. "Maybe. Maybe she's just waiting for the right moment. Or the right story."
He looked up. "Tell one?"
She thought for a second.
"Once upon a time, there was a café that traveled through time and space. It looked small from the outside, but inside it had everything anyone had ever lost. A laugh. A hope. A second chance. And one day, it found a boy who didn't belong anywhere..."
The egg pulsed softly with each word.
The lights dimmed.
And for a moment—just a moment—the air smelled like honey and home.
DING!
[Incubation Progress: 14%]
Emotional Stability Detected. Continue bedtime stories to accelerate hatch rate.
Warning: Incoming Entity Detected. Threat Level: Crimson. Category: Apocalypse-Class Beast.
Talia froze.
"Wait. What was that last part?"
The cat's voice hissed directly into her thoughts. "Oh no. It found you. Get ready."
Outside, something howled. Not like a wolf—no, this was deeper. Bigger. Like reality itself had teeth.
Kai stirred, clinging to her arm in his sleep.
Jasper's mug shattered from across the room. Xander was already moving, blades drawn, eyes sharp.
The white cat leapt from the counter, fur bristling. To Talia only, it whispered:
"That is not a timeline glitch. That is an apocalypse eater."
The windows darkened. A claw scraped against the door.
Talia stood, heart hammering. Behind her, the sugar egg trembled.
"Not tonight," she whispered. "This is Gertrude's moment. And nothing is going to ruin it."
She reached behind the counter, hands moving quickly across the barista station. Not the espresso machine—this was a shelf behind the syrups, hidden behind a false panel of caramel bottles.
Inside were four slender, stoppered flasks. Each bottle was etched with glowing runes and swirled with magical foam—special blends she'd brewed herself, long ago, with ingredients no longer found in any sane timeline.
Each bottle bore a handwritten tag: Hearthlight Brew, Velvet Calm, Guardian's Roast, and Café Shield. Drinks not meant to be consumed, but rather poured—fed to the roots of the building like protective nectar.
She uncorked Guardian's Roast first. A warm, golden aroma spilled into the room. Vanilla bean, toasted sugar, the feeling of a long hug.
"Time to serve the emergency menu," she muttered. "House defense edition."
Jasper blinked. "Wait... those are drinks?"
"Technically," she replied. "But they're brewed with memory threads and spell-steamed essence. Think of them as magical espresso shots for the building."
She poured one into a saucer and let it steam into the café floor.
The tiles pulsed. A low, comforting hum filled the air.
DING!
[Wards Reinforced. Integrity at 97%]
Beast Status: Probing.
Time Remaining Before Direct Contact: 03:21
Xander locked eyes with her. "What's the plan?"
"We stall it," Talia said. "Buy time for G2 to finish incubating—or for the egg to do something miraculous. Kai, stay close. Jasper, windows. Xander, doors. And Cat?"
"Yes, O Sugar-Summoning General?"
"Keep Kai safe. If anything gets through, you scream."
"I always scream."
The egg pulsed again, now brighter, now angrier.
And somewhere in the dark, the beast roared.
It was going to be a long night.
The fog outside thickened, pressing against the café windows like a living thing. Talia watched the glowing wards flicker once, then hold steady. She tightened her grip on the last flask—*Café Shield*—and moved back to the bar.
The egg let out a soft chime.
Not a warning. A response.
Kai sat up straighter. "She's waking up."
Jasper peeked out the side window. "Uh, guys? That thing has claws the size of spatulas."
"Focus," Talia said. "Xander?"
"Front's secure—for now. But if it gets through those wards…"
Talia didn't let him finish.
Instead, she knelt beside the egg and placed her palm near it. "G2? Sweetheart? If you have any of your mama's timing, now would be a great time to… I don't know, hatch dramatically?"
The egg pulsed once.
DING!
> [Incubation Progress: 27%]
Environmental Disruption Detected. Emotional Resonance: Rising
Note: Entity developing defensive reflexes.
The windows rattled.
Outside, something massive slammed against the wardline. The lights overhead flickered. A syrup bottle exploded off the back shelf, splattering vanilla all over Jasper's boots.
"That's it!" Jasper said, frustrated. "I'm naming it! I'm calling it Big Stabby!"
"Big Stabby? Really?" Xander growled.
"Better than 'Faceless Doom,'" Jasper shot back. "At least I know what a stabby thing does!"
Talia rolled her eyes and turned back to Kai. "How's she doing?"
Kai leaned in, eyes glowing faintly with emotion. "She's… angry. But brave. She wants to help."
A new hum rose from the egg. The air around it shimmered, bending slightly as if space was warping around a sugar cube's heartbeat.
The cat's fur puffed. "Uh-oh. She's syncing."
"Syncing with what?" Talia whispered.
"With you."
DING!
>[System Alert: Sugar Egg Bond Detected]
Primary Sync Initiated: Barista Core Signature Matched.
Combat Class: Support Familiar (Pending Hatch)
Special Trait: Aroma Aura - Emits magical scent fields based on emotional feedback.
The egg flashed.
A wave of warmth rolled out—smelling like freshly baked bread and morning sunlight.
The monster paused.
Talia saw it—just through the thickest swirl of fog—six gleaming red eyes blinked, then narrowed. The scent had hit it too.
"I think… I think we annoyed it," she muttered.
Kai clutched the egg tighter. "She wants to protect the café. She says she's part of it now."
"Good girl," Talia whispered.
Then the front window cracked.
"Uh-oh," Jasper muttered.
BOOM.
The entire café shook as the beast hurled itself at the wardline again.
"Everyone to positions!" Talia barked.
She poured the final brew—*Café Shield*—straight into the floor drain behind the counter. Golden steam hissed upward. The countertops glowed.
The café roared in return.
Shelves locked themselves. Lights brightened. The door bolted with a solid clang.
A defensive enchantment swelled to life like a heartbeat.
DING!
> [Wards Reinforced. Integrity: 100% Temporarily Boosted]
Beast Repelled: 00:42 Remaining
The beast screeched outside, enraged.
Kai whimpered, squeezing the egg as it trembled against his chest.
Then, from the back pantry, a soft crackling sound.
Everyone froze.
The egg let out a sharp chime—then cracked.
A single piece of sugar shell fell away.
And the glow inside intensified.
Talia's heart skipped a beat. "She's hatching."
Jasper raised an eyebrow. "In the middle of a siege?"
Talia smirked. "Dramatic. Like her mother."
The egg pulsed again.
And with a second crack, light poured out.