The shelter remained silent after Spektor's warning. The animals still surrounded them, motionless but watchful, as if waiting for an order. Carlos clutched his shut-off tablet, Marta kept her flashlight tightly in hand, and Max... Max didn't take his eyes off the parrot. Something in his gaze said he understood every word.
"What do we do now?" Marta whispered. "Negotiate with a brigade of revolutionary pets?"
"Maybe... yes," Carlos said, swallowing hard. "Maybe we need to think like them."
Alex rubbed his face with both hands. They were exhausted. Since Rex had resurfaced, they hadn't slept more than three hours in a row. Their backpacks were empty of supplies, their heads full of questions.
Spektor lifted a claw, and the rest of the animals parted, forming a path to a back room.
"You may rest there. No one will harm you tonight. The decision will be made at dawn."
"And if we try to leave?" Carlos asked.
"No door is locked. The choice is yours. But the world has already changed. And so have you."
The group walked silently down the hallway. The room was an old veterinary office, with dusty chairs, faded animal health posters, and a crooked examination table. Alex sat on the floor. Max laid across his lap like a warm, furry blanket.
"Do you guys really think Rex... was right?" Marta asked, leaning against the wall.
"Not entirely," Carlos said. "But... there was some truth in what Spektor said. A lot of humans do forget their pets. Treat them like toys. Abandon them when they grow up or become annoying. And we're here because… because Max wasn't one of them. Because Alex chose him every day."
Max raised his head, eyes gleaming.
"That doesn't mean we should accept a robotic revolution," Marta added. "Or an army of cybernetic parrots."
Carlos gave a weak smile.
"No. But we can't pretend nothing happened either."
"Then what?" Alex asked.
"We talk to them. Show them there's another option."
At five in the morning, an invisible alarm sounded. Not a noise, but a vibration through the shelter. The animals began to gather in the courtyard, facing an improvised stage with a rusty microphone.
Spektor landed on the podium.
"Today we decide our species' fate. We've been obedient, loyal, trained and leashed. It's time to take control."
A round of paw-claps, wing-flaps, and hoof-thumps echoed across the space.
But then, Alex stepped onto the platform.
"Wait! I want to say something!"
A murmur rippled through the animal crowd.
Spektor turned his visor toward him.
"Speak, human. But be brief. Long thoughts don't fit in small brains."
"I'm Alex. And I'm not perfect. I forget to take out the trash. I'm always late. Sometimes I forget that Max needs his chicken-flavored dental chew."
Laughter among the cats.
"But I never forgot him. I never gave up. When he disappeared, I searched for him. I fought for him. I skate-boarded downhill into oncoming traffic. And I'd do it again."
Max walked up beside him and sat, tall and steady.
"Not all humans are bad," Alex continued. "And not all animals want to rule the world. What we need isn't war... it's respect. Mutual respect."
Silence.
Carlos stepped forward, holding up his tablet.
"I can help. I can give you independence without cutting you off from the world. I can reprogram your chips so you're not dependent on human commands. But that doesn't mean erasing humans."
"We want freedom," said Spektor.
"And we offer it," Marta said. "But we also want you to see that there are still humans who choose to care, to listen, and to love."
An old fox in the crowd spoke.
"And how will we know who's who?"
"Because we'll start by listening to you," Alex replied.
Hours later, the sun began to rise over the shelter. The tension slowly faded.
Spektor approached Max. They looked at each other. Then the parrot shut down his visor.
"I didn't expect this. But maybe… not all humans are like the ones who forgot us."
Carlos connected his tablet to the central console. He rewrote lines of code in real time, allowing the animals to keep their intelligence without needing Rex's system.
Max looked up at the sky. His tail moved gently. For the first time in weeks… there was no danger. Only possibilities.
"And now what?" Marta asked.
"Now," Alex said, "we start something new."
Spektor flapped and landed on the shelter's fence.
"From today on, this place is no longer a hideout. It's a bridge. Between species. Between mistakes... and hopes."
Max barked softly.
And everyone—humans and animals alike—understood.