Jasper: "So… this is the one? The room right next to mine is the only one you haven't checked?"
Jasper: He can't help but feel off about all of this. How the monochrome halls and doors contrast with the colorful interior of where he started, and how the robot's face remains blank as she replies.
???: "Correct, Jasper."
Jasper: He blinks. Did it just…?
Jasper: "W-Wh– How do you know my name!?"
???: "Labeled rooms." She points towards the door before them. "Each one has a name on it. But the name on this… unusual. This is not a normal prota name."
???: Her antennae both blink as she presses her head to the door. If someone's in there, she'll hear some sort of movement, surely.
Jasper: "Oh," he nods. "Well, ah… do you have a name? What is it?"
???: If she could sigh to show annoyance, she would. Alas, she does not have lungs.
???: "I am Unit MX-Z0, typically known as 'Mixzo'."
MX-Z0: There it is. The sound of movement. Shuffling, just barely heard behind the door.
MX-Z0: "Now stand back before you become collateral damage."
MX-Z0: Without a moment to spare, she breaks the door down in one swift kick.
MX-Z0: "Found you."
???: "W-Whuh–"
MX-Z0: BONK.
MX-Z0: Without even a thought, the robot leaps forward and pins the grey prota to the floor. She knows her weight might just crush the guy; not that she cares.
MX-Z0: "You. As the last person I have interrogated, you are the only remaining one who could be responsible for our kidnapping. State your name, occupation, and location."
MX-Z0: She cocks her gun of a hand in front of his face, unmoving even as the guy goes stiff in fear. Tears well up in the corners of his eyes as he coughs.
???: "I'm–" He gags. This metal guy on top of him makes it almost impossible to breathe. "I-I'm… fuck… can't…"
Jasper: As he watches the ensuing chaos, trying to stay out of it as Mixzo instructed… Once again, that urge to do exactly as she dissuaded pops up.
Jasper: Something about this feels wrong. This guy seems too confused and out of it to possibly mastermind an apparent mass kidnapping. And he can barely talk!
Jasper: "Mixzo– Uh–"
MX-Z0: "What?"
MX-Z0: She still refuses to look back at Jasper, focusing far too much on the two-toned eyes of this guilty man.
Jasper: "If you lie on top of him like that, then I don't think he can really, uh… get words out. R-Robots are normally heavy, right?"
Jasper: He grabs onto his tail nervously.
Jasper: "Maybe, uh… let off a little so that he can at least say something?"
MX-Z0: …Well, she isn't one for a fair trial, but the weak one has a point.
MX-Z0: She carefully pries herself off of the tom, yet keeps her narrow gaze right on him. One wrong move, and she's prepared to strike.
MX-Z0: "Go on, then. State who you are."
???: He gasps and heaves, trying to regain his bearings as he stumbles to his feet. His chest hurts, his mind's fuzzy, and… his name.
???: "I… don't remember who I am." He replies.
MX-Z0: "That is unlikely." She snaps back.
???: "I-I'm serious!" He stammers, stepping back. "I don't recall… ugh…"
???: He tries to force something out of that foggy brain of his. A name. A memory. Something, anything, that gives him an identity. But as soon as he feels like he's grabbing on to something, he feels a sharp throbbing pain as it slips from his grasp. He grabs his head as another thought escapes him.
???: He's fucked, isn't he?
Jasper: "Are… Are you okay?" Jasper sheepishly asks. The answer is obvious, but, this now feels even more wrong. His gaze swaps between the unknown prota and Mixzo.
Jasper: "Mixzo, this, uh, doesn't seem like you've got the right guy! I mean, I'm not as smart as you, probably, I d-don't know how smart a robot is, but are you sure?"
MX-Z0: "Am I sure?"
MX-Z0: She stares back at the robed figure as he continues to recoil, fighting against both his terror and pain. Every so often, his green eye stares right at her, wordlessly begging for mercy.
MX-Z0: …
MX-Z0: She lowers the gun again, as it turns back into a regular hand.
MX-Z0: "I am not so sure. Truly, this one is too pathetic to be a mastermind type."
???: "H-Hey! I'm– ghh…"
???: Ouch. Another headache. This one's enough to knock him off his feet again, and he feels himself spilling onto the blank, carpeted floor.
???: At least, until someone catches him.
Jasper: "Careful, uh, guy!" He says, mustering all of his strength to keep him from getting toppled over. "I really don't want you to faint or something… sorry about all of this."
???: "It's… fine, kid, gah."
???: He's able to stumble back on his own two feet, finally feeling stable for once.
???: "Still can't remember anything useful about me, sorry. Not even a name, or how I got here… and you said there's more people then you two? What the hell…"
MX-Z0: "Correct. In total, I have found 18 protas present without explanation, including myself. None of them have shown suspicious activity, besides your rather convenient amnesia. Can you truly not remember anything?"
???: He shakes his head. "Nothing."
Jasper: "Well, the door was labeled 'Stranger' from what I remember. Could that be your name?"
Stranger: "Stupid name if it is. But, what else do I have to work with? Sure, I'm Stranger. Call me that if you want."
MX-Z0: She beeps.
MX-Z0: "Understood. If you are not a threat, then, I must go check the rest of this place."
MX-Z0: She turns around.
MX-Z0: …Only to be met with a door.
MX-Z0: A door that she broke down mere minutes ago.
Jasper: "Huh?"
Jasper: He blinks. Wasn't… wasn't the–?
Jasper: "You broke the door down, right? Why is it… fine??"
MX-Z0: "Unknown. I did not hear or see anything bizarre while we were talking."
MX-Z0: She walks up to the door, pressing a metallic hand onto it.
MX-Z0: "…No. It is not an illusion, this is truly your door. Perhaps, I should kick it down again, and keep a good eye on it this time."
Stranger: "M-Maybe don't do that, please–"
Jasper: "Wait!"
Jasper: It hits him in a flash, a possible explanation for all of this.
Jasper: "We might be in a ripworld, yeah?"
MX-Z0: "... Possible." she says. "It would explain the odd rooms, the strange atmosphere, and the apparent self-repairing doors quite well."
Jasper: "Yeah! That's what I was thinking! But, uh, how'd we get into a ripworld? Do you remember doing anything that'd get you into one?"
MX-Z0: "No. My whereabouts are classified."
Stranger: He watches the two of them talk, speaking in what sounds like riddles and rhyme.
Stranger: "Hey, guys… if you don't mind me asking, what's a ripworld?"
MX-Z0: She turns to face Stranger.
Jasper: As does he.
MX-Z0: "…Confirmation received. He really does have amnesia."
Jasper: "You don't know what a ripworld is!? Really?"
Stranger: "Not my fault! I told ya, kid, I can't remember!" He snaps. "Just fill me in real quick, please. My head's going a mile a minute…"
Jasper: "Well it's, ehm, really not that complicated! It's just temporal distortions in our relative space-time, causing pocket dimensions to form in our atmosphere. That sort of thing."
Jasper: He gives Stranger a confident smile, which seems reciprocated by only a confused glare. He huffs.
Jasper: "I mean, ah… it's a rip in the planet that leads to another planet. Happens a lot, but I don't recall ever hearing about one like this."
Jasper: Eerily familiar dorms. Greyed-out halls, and an aura so uncanny it continues to nag at him… where did a ripworld like this even come from?
Jasper: He stood there for a second trying to ponder, but it was as if Mixzo heard his thoughts before they could wander off.
MX-Z0: "We can discuss that later," she spoke. "But I must continue my exploration of the premises."
MX-Z0: She turns to take her proper leave, opening the door.
MX-Z0: "I request you stay in your rooms, as I have instructed the others to. But I suppose I cannot stop you from following along."
MX-Z0: Off she goes.
Jasper: Jasper looks at Stranger, swishing his tail low to the ground. "…Do you want to follow her?"
Stranger: "Is she gonna blast my head off if I do?"
Jasper: "N-No! I don't think so."
Stranger: "…Yeah, fine. This room makes me feel wretched, anyways."