Daybreak

On the parapet of a lonely castle, the cyborg stirs. Electricity hums in his heart; his systems boot to life. But as he surveys his master's domain, he fails to process it. Morning has not broken -- for what purpose is he awakened?
A sound like thunder cracks overhead. Daybreak's metal skull whirls to see it. It is not thunder-- they are dragons, powerful adults playing in the breeze like children! Daybreak does not have opinions on many things, but he is offended when others tread upon his master's turf. Energy crackles in his false lungs, and with a single four-legged thrust, he takes off.

Barry lets out a cry of warning. Demeter turns, her coils shifting -- just in time for a blast of blue static to narrowly miss her, whirling between her loops without striking her at all. A cybernetic dragon hovers beneath the clouds, no emotion at all glowing in his red eyes.
The fight lasts for mere minutes, but the heartbreak stretches it long. Demeter watches, as the cyborg wages its reasonless war, unfazed by Barry's slams and strikes, calmly retaliating with blistering blue lightning again and again. Demeter darts all around, ready to catch her best friend should he fall -- but Barry comes through at last, plunging his head into the challenger's back and then pummeling it repeatedly with tail and wing and claw. The cyborg shrieks, some imbalance in its system failing to save it-- and then its body plunges down to earth.

Daybreak stirs in the rubble of some long-abandoned dwelling. His legs creak as he lifts himself from the ground. The sky is red; his vision, too, flashes red with warning. His system is going out. His tracker, still functional, indicates that he is in Plague territory.
Charms hang in shattered windows. Toys adorn the entirety of the still-standing counter. Still, silent clocks cover the wall. What is this? And how does he know what these things are?
Answers stir in the back of his processor, but they do not come to him. Dangerous creatures lurk outside, and Daybreak is not fit to battle any longer. It seems only an eternity here can answer his queries.

Every object has something familiar about it. With every red sunrise and red sunset, the room feels more like home.
Daybreak roams from one thing to another, always inspecting, always watching. The monsters that lurk outside do not touch the premises. Surely they are not afraid of him, the creaking, injured, imperfect machine?
One day the reason is at last clear. The charms-- the charms protect him! How did he not realize sooner?
A similar experience overtakes him the next day. He knocks a toy to the floor by mistake, and lets out a groan of sorrow-- yet just as soon as he finishes mourning, he impulsively fiddles with the item, splicing its parts with another's to create something new. Could it be that the mechanical creation can create things himself?
Then comes the day he realizes that this place is not a prison. It is a birthplace! His own sanctuary of magic and fun, in the heart of Plague territory. Who could imagine?
Yet as soon as he realizes this, sorrow seizes him. He has discovered his heart, his imagination-- yet he is alone, with no one to share it with! He watches the beasts, as they come and leave. They hate him, but even they have each other.
One day a new old visitor comes through the land. Daybreak bellows at him from the open window. The imperial stops, and turns-- and Daybreak sees it is the same individual that struck him down so long ago. Daybreak lets out a whimper, bending his head low to the ground-- but Barry does not show wrath. Instead, he comes close, observing the broken and changed cybernetic ridgeback before him. Daybreak lifts his pathetic head -- and seeing Barry's mercy, he clutches a single toy in his talons -- the very first toy he ever fixed. He drops it outside the window, and Barry comes even closer.
"…friend, I see you are alone. And I say friend, for it is clear you are no longer foe." Barry speaks with firmness. "I do not know what you are, or what you were, or how you changed. But if you long for company, come with me, and you will belong like any other in our clan of misfits. Do not worry-- I shall protect you."
Daybreak lets out a happy stutter. He turns around, gathering up as many toys as he can hold in his jaws, and leaps out the window to gallop after Barry on the long journey home.