The tower shook beneath Captain CutiePie’s feet as Dorkitty clung to his arm, eyes wide. Overbyte’s form — half-data, half-monster — crackled with blue lightning, towering above them.

  “ANOMALY PAIR DETECTED. REBOOTING ANNIHILATION SEQUENCE.”

  “Nova, any bright ideas?!” CutiePie yelled, tightening his grip on the spoon-sword.

  Nova’s voice came through sharp in his ear. “Cutie, the PiePatch destabilized the fortress, but Overbyte is adapting. You need to hit the Core — it’s the only way to shut him down for good.”

  CutiePie glanced at Dorkitty. She was still groggy but determined, brushing strands of hair from her face, cat-ear headphones slightly askew. “I’m not sitting this out,” she said, grinning despite the danger. “What’s the plan, dork hero?”

  He smirked. “We speedrun it.”

  The chamber around them was a maze of shifting platforms, spinning laser grids, and crumbling data bridges. Together, they sprinted — CutiePie slicing through corrupted code-spiders, Dorkitty vaulting over collapsing tiles. She hacked terminals on the fly, opening doors seconds before they were crushed.

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  “Left!” Dorkitty called.

  “No, my left!” CutiePie laughed as a blast nearly singed his hoodie.

  As they reached the Core, Overbyte roared, sending a shockwave that knocked them to the ground. For a moment, everything blurred. CutiePie tasted copper in his mouth, blinking hard to clear the haze.

  “Hey— hey, stay with me,” Dorkitty’s voice pulled him back. Her hands were on his face, eyes fierce and bright.

  CutiePie coughed, managing a weak grin. “Man… you’re even cuter when you’re worried.”

  “Shut up, hero,” she whispered, but she didn’t let go.

  Overbyte loomed, preparing one final strike. Dorkitty pulled a shimmering cookie charm from CutiePie’s pocket — the one he looted earlier.

  “Think this’ll work?”

  CutiePie’s grin turned sharp. “Only one way to find out.”

  Dorkitty hurled the charm at the Core. The world seemed to pause — then the charm burst, sending a wave of pure, uncorrupted code rippling through the fortress. Overbyte shrieked as his body unraveled into sparks, the tower collapsing around them.

  Alarms blared. Nova screamed in their earpieces: “GET OUT NOW!”

  CutiePie grabbed Dorkitty’s hand. “Ready?”

  “Always.”

  Together, they ran toward the light as the fortress crumbled.