Chapter Text
2.1
Pest blinked, trying to get his bearings. He wasn't in his den - why wasn't he in his den? He always woke up in his den. But no, he was at the subway station, waiting for the elevator.
Loop memories. Right. He glanced back though his memories, and saw that Dr.Retro had already managed to save Melanie. They were a few months into the loop now. So he Awoke late, then? Another new term he had learned from those admins, just like -
Right, he should ping. He sent out the psychic signal that Luke had taught him to do, receiving just one in return - Retro, most likely. Sure enough, the katball promptly called him on his cell.
"Meow. Mew? (Hey, 1314. Feeling loopy by any chance?)"
"You heard my ping, doctor," Pest replied. "But yes, I am. Should we meet at your office?"
"Miau. Mewo, purr. (Yes please. See you soon, sugar.)"
Pest gave a chitter of agreement as he hung up, fishing a ticket from his pocket - his actual pocket, rather than his looping one. Quicker this way, anyway, and they had a lot to talk about.
-
"Mewo? (You took notes, right?)" Retro busied herself with her whiteboard, planning something to do with Mozelle it seemed. Pest chittered in response.
"I did. I have my notebook," he added, pulling it from his Pocket - the looping one this time. He flipped though the slightly tattered thing, reaching the page with the bulk of his notes.
The Infinite Loops - stuck in eternal time loop because some supercomputer that runs the multiverse broke, and will take eternity to fix. It's called Yig Ygdra Yggdrasil. (Why is it spelled like that. Annoying.)
Loopers - those who remember. Anchor always loops, other loopers don't. If they remember, they're Awake. More loopers will join overtime. "Feeling Loopy" is a code phrase, anchors will respond with "I'll keep you Anchored".
If the Anchor dies, the loop will crash. (Loop prior to last loop crashed due to Folly.) MLE - Malicious Looping Entity. Cannot loop, because if they did, they would be incredibly dangerous. Folly and the rock are MLEs - will never loop. (Good.)
Subspace Pocket - "inventory" that stays through the loops. Will expand over time. Can hold basically anything, even entire planets in some cases.
Ping - Psychic signal all loopers can send, only sensed by other loopers.
Baseline = original timeline. Variants are common, change various things - appearances, roles, abilities, etc. Unique memories for each loop (Loop memories), which you can check.
Fused loops - merged or swapped with other worlds. (We were in The Normal Elevator.) Can have more than one world fused. Hub loops are loops where all looping worlds are fictional. (Strange.)
Admins = Gods. Run the place. StickMasterLuke runs our branch - Regretevator branch.
There were more notes, going into the specifics of various common loop occurrences, but that page contained the most important parts. Dr.Retro skimmed the page, nodding in approval. "Miau, (Looks about right,)" she said, turning back to her whiteboard.
"We're stuck here forever," Pest growled. "What do we even do with all that time?"
"Prrp…" Retro considered that for a moment. "Mrr… mew. Mewo, purr. (I suppose we just… keep going. Prevent as many disasters as possible, and have some fun with it.)" She shrugged, as best a ball could shrug. "Meow mrrp. Mrow? (I'm going to learn as much about medicine as I possibly can, to keep busy. How about you?)"
"How are you taking this so well," Pest hissed. "It's eternity. That's - it's an infinitely long time."
"Mewo, mew. Hiss, (I was stuck in this loop for fifty years on my own, Pest. At least it's infinity with caveats,)" she sighed, shaking her head. "Miau hiss. Meow. (You haven't been Awake the last few loops, either. I've come to terms.)"
"Wait - I wasn't awake?" He stared at her. "You didn't mention that."
She raised an eyebrow. "Mewo. Mew. (It's not like you remember it. And nothing interesting happened, really.)"
"I-" Pest closed the book, hissing in frustration. "くそ。You should still mention it next time."
"…Meow. Mew- miau, (…Sorry, sugar. I guess I just - figured it wouldn't matter,)" Retro sighed. "Mrow, mrrp? (I'll let you know next time, okay?)"
"Fine," he grumbled. "何かすることを見つけなきゃな。"
Retro stared a moment, trying to puzzle out what the bug said, before shaking her head again. "…Prrp, mewo. (…Note to self, learn Japanese at some point.)"
2.2
Dr.Retro blinked a few times as she Awoke somewhere unfamiliar. She was sat in an old booth seat of some diner or other - not Reddy's, but somewhere new. More pressingly, there was someone sat across from her - someone with white skin, red horns, and a cut under their eye. Sword, her mind supplied.
"-all? Inpherno to Gumball," Sword said, jolting her from her thoughts.
"Ah- Sorry, sugar! Just feeling a bit loopy is all," she managed. She was caught rather off guard by her voice as well - she wasn't meowing! That was a new one.
"Oh! I'll be happy to keep you anchored then," Sword replied with a grin. A quick ping revealed a handful of loopers - Sword, of course, and a few more distant ones. "Welcome to the Phighting loops! You're replacing my friend Medkit this time."
"I'm… well, apparently I'm Gumball Gatling Gun for this loop, but I usually go by Dr.Retro. Just Gumball is fine for this loop, though," the cat-like inphernal decided. Sword's eyes lit up in recognition.
"Oh! You're from the Regretevator loops, aren't you? Makes sense you would loop here, our games share some developers in the hub loops," Sword raved excitedly.
Retro Gumball found that pretty interesting, but felt "Oh - I haven't actually been to a hub loop, actually. This is only my… er, second fused loop I believe? So sorry if I'm a bit new to all of this."
"Oh, no worries! I'll give you the rundown of what usually happens in the loop, so you're prepared for the baseline events, and you should be fine." Sword stands, beckoning for Gumball to follow. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to Rocket - he's awake already."
-
"…Are you sure siccing her on Subspace was a good idea?" Boombox winced as yet another explosion rang out from the mostly-empty Phight venue below them.
"Gumball's taken pretty well to the Phights, even without any past experience," Rocket reasoned, laying back on his magic carpet. "And it sounds like she's doing just fine!"
"It's not Gumball that I'm worried about, Rocket," Boom clarified. "We don't want Subspace to die!"
Valk and Dom, both Awake this loop, had helped trap Subspace and Gumball in the dodgeball arena after the most recent Phight. It had been a… special request from Gumball, after she'd made sense of her loop memories. She held one hell of a grudge, it seemed - though she didn't exactly seem like she wanted to kill him…
"-GET BACK HERE, YOU ROTTEN BASTARD!" More loud gunshots and explosions rang out from the arena below, followed by pained yelps from the rotting scientist. Gumball just laughed, maniacal. "I NEED TO HEAL YOU SO I CAN DESTROY YOU AGAIN!"
"…Eh, he'll survive. And it sounds like she needs this, anyway." Sword shrugged, pulling something from his pocket to offer to their newest looper. "Popcorn?"
Another explosion and a muffled cry of "WHY?!" rang out from below. Boombox glanced down at the manic battle, then at Sword's offered snack.
"…Sure, why not."
2.3
It was really just a normal day on the Regretevator. Nothing odd or out of the ordinary, at least not more than usual.
Dr.Retro yawned as she waited for her buggy companion to arrive, swaying gently back and forth as she usually did. The elevator came to a halt with a soft ding! doors opening to reveal the usual dingy subway beyond. Sure enough, in stepped Pest, in all his… bumblebee glory?
"…Mew?? (Pest??)"
The bee buzzed in irritation, glaring back at the doctor. "Yes, I'm feeling loopy. Yes, this is weird. We're moving on." His translucent wings fluttered in annoyance as he leaned back into his typical corner.
Retro just shrugged. "Meow. (Alright then.)"
-
The elevator doors opened as normal to reveal the subway. Pest, of course, walked in, on his many, many legs. His various arms were mostly crossed in neat pairs, with a few holding random items.
"Don't ask," he clicked, muttering to himself about how many limbs was too many. Retro just stared, deciding not to question it.
-
Another loop, another floor rotation. This time, when the elevator doors opened on the subway, Pest stumbled in, their bulb's light flickering. They readjusted their wings and shell, mumbling something about stealth.
"…Mrrp? (…You loopy today?)"
"はい。How am I supposed to steal anything like this?" They chirped in frustration, light finally spluttering out. "And Party asked me to act as a disco light, of all things. Annoying idiot."
Retro just shrugged. "Miau mew? (At least there's no moths around?)"
-
Retro couldn't help but chuckle at Pest's misfortune as they pulled their hat further over their face. "Mewo… (Spoke too soon…)"
Pest was a silk moth this time, red wings dotted with spots of white, black and brown. Their fluffy antennae drooped over their hat's brim, further obscuring their face - trying to avoid looking at any lights in the room.
"あの忌まわしい木が憎い… Just keep me away from Lampert. I refuse to embarrass myself like that," they muttered. Retro giggled again, to their dismay.
2.4
"Doctor, I don't suppose you have a few minutes to spare?" Mozelle's small voice made its way to Retro, who was currently a bit more humanoid than usual. She glanced down at the little paper princess, who had horns this go around.
"Prrp, mew. Miau? (I should, yes. Did you need something sugar?)"
"Nothing much, just a question or two," The princess replied cryptically. "Would you be so inclined to talk over tea?"
Retro paused, sparing a glance at Null, who had been watching the two through their last few interactions. They usually appeared about a year in, with this loop being no different in that regard. She turned her attention back to the princess, choosing to ignore them for now. "Meow. (I don't see why not.)"
Mozelle nodded approvingly, pulling a ticket from her bow and calling the elevator to her castle. Null stared at them as they left, the elevator doors smoothly sliding shut behind them.
"Mewo mrr? (So, what did you want to speak about?)" The two made their way to Mozelle's grand dining hall, passing 2D stone statues that seemed to follow their movements. The princess herself paused, seemingly hesitant for once.
"Well, it's a rather strange sort of question. I don't suppose you've noticed any… temporal disturbance, as of late?"
Retro's eyes widened. "Meow? (You know about the loops?)"
"Is that what you call them? A rather simple name," Mozelle commented. "I have not experienced them myself, but yes. Being the princess of hell, of course I am able to detect disturbances to the flow of the world. I was certain that Melanie would pass through my domain at one point, for instance - but she didn't. That was what tipped me off, so to speak."
Retro nodded, understanding. "Mrrp. Miau, mew. Hiss… (So you're 'loop aware', then. That makes sense, I suppose. We saved Melanie from Folly…"
The princess raised an eyebrow. "We?"
"Mrowr. Mew, purr, (Pest and I. We're the only ones looping right now, though more may supposedly start looping in the future,)" Retro explained. "Miau, mewo. (The loops are infinite, so there's really not much to be done about it.)"
"I see," Mozelle said daintily. "Well, so long as nothing is thrown too far out of balance, it shouldn't become an issue. Perhaps you could inform future versions of me of the loops as well, as I'd likely know regardless."
"Mew, miau, (That may be a good idea, actually. I'll keep it in mind,)" Retro said with a nod. "Meow? Mrrp, mew. (By the way - would you like to meet Melanie anyway? You two are great friends in baseline, I was going to ask soon regardless.)"
Mozelle gave the doctor what appeared to be a smile, a laugh best described as "glittery" ringing through the air. "Oh, that would be delightful! I've got some new recipes I'd love to try."
2.5
"Ghhk - what are you looking at?" Pest glared at the robloxians in front of them, who stared at him strangely. "くだらないループ。Leave me alone."
The one with a Bloxxer shirt seemed surprised by that response, for some reason. They bumped their companion on the arm, signing something that Pest couldn't understand. The other, a girl with a pink beanie, nodded before turning back to them. "Sorry to bother you, but we wanted to ask - are you feeling loopy by chance?"
"…Yes. How did you know?" The first one, who appeared to be mute, signed something again. "I can't understand you," Pest grumbled.
"Ah - sorry! I'll keep you anchored, don't worry. I'm Kyoko, and this is Player - welcome to the Block Tales loops! We're pretty far into the loop now, it should only last a few more weeks." Player bumped her on the arm again. "Oh - and we knew you were looping because you said something different. Are you visiting?"
"I am," Pest nodded reluctantly. "I'm Pest, from the Regretevator loops. We're new, apparently."
"Oh, I think I heard something about that from Zuka a few loops back when he was visiting! Is this your first fused loop?" Pest, already getting tired of this conversation, simply nodded.
Player started to sign again, before pausing, instead pulling a notepad and pencil from their Pocket. 'Do you want to tag along with us? We're getting the Firebrand next.'
"I'm not much of a fighter, if that's what you're asking," Pest grimaced. "Not trained, anyway."
Player scratched out a reply on their notepad. 'I can teach you basics, or you can sit out with Kyoko. More interesting than staying here.'
"…Fine," Pest relented. "Don't expect me to help much. Or talk. もうすでに、うんざりだ。"
"That's fine! Oooh, maybe I could teach you some sign language while we travel. It's useful to know in the loops, since we have our own standardized signs," Kyoko rambled. Player seemed to chuckle at her enthusiasm as they began to walk through the town.
Pest chittered in annoyance, but followed. At least they wouldn't be stuck in this shitty little desert town anymore.
2.6
"see u later pest!!" The partygoer waved excitedly before hopping out of the elevator, no doubt headed to whatever event they had next on their schedule.
"あなたに会うたびに私の一日は悪化します。" Pest glared after them. Even well over a hundred loops into this, Poob was still a major irritant to him. They were annoyingly loud and persistent, no matter what he tried.
Dr.Retro, who had picked up quite a bit of Japanese over the last dozen loops or so, glared at him. "Mrow? (Do you have to be so rude to them all the time?)"
"They're insufferable to be around. Won't leave me alone," Pest chittered. "Even though I don't protect them anymore, they still find a way."
Retro frowned at that. "Meow, mrr. Mewo. (We still need to protect them, sugar. You know that.)" She shook her head. "Miau mew? Hiss- (What if the loop throws something different at them? The rock-)"
"I know, Retro. That doesn't mean I want to do it, or that I'll just suddenly start liking them," Pest spat. "Try being around them all the time and see how fast you get tired of them."
"Mew miau? (And what if they start looping?)" Retro glared at him. "Mewo, hiss. (I know they can be a lot, but you need to at least be civil with them.)"
"I am civil with them," Pest snapped back. "As civil as I can be when they're up in my fucking business-"
The elevator doors slid open, Bive rushing in from the Scary Maze floor before spamming the 'close door' button. Pest and Retro continued glaring at each other as she stared at them uncomfortably.
"…この話は後でしよう、レトロ、" Pest grumbled. Retro, getting the gist, just nodded. This was not a conversation to have in front of Bive, of all people.
2.7
"So, this is a hub loop," Pest noted, staring at the experience portals set up in the grand space. Loopers crowded everywhere they looked - some familiar, some not. They turned away when they spotted Kyoko in the crowd, while Retro waved to some red-horned warrior in another corner. "Seems… messy."
"Meow, mew, (Interesting though, what with all the different loopers here,)" Retro replied. "Mewo mrr… (Though it seems different than how Sword described it to me…)"
"Oh, he was probably talking 'bout th' other kind of hub loops," an unfamiliar voice said behind them. Retro yelped in surprise, the two turning to see a tan-skinned robloxian clad in a magenta sheriff's uniform. "Ah, did I scare ya? Sorry, sweethearts."
"Who are you?" Pest chittered angrily, Retro placing a hand on his arm in an attempt to calm him down.
The stranger just shook their head with a chuckle, extending a hand to shake. "Apologies, newbies. The name's Loveshot, anchor of th' Die of Death loops. And you are?"
Retro accepted the handshake, Pest still grumbling behind her. "Meow, mrrp. Miau, (I'm Dr.Retro, anchor of the Regretevator loops. This is Pest, our only other looper,) Retro explained.
Loveshot's eyes lit up. "Oh, y'all are really new then! Gosh, you two probably haven't even passed a thousand loops yet. Nice to meetcha!"
"Miau? Mrrew, (Gosh, a thousand? I think we've only just reached two hundred,)" the katball admitted. "How about you?"
"Oh, wow. I'm a few thousand in myself," Loveshot told them. "Wonder why it took so long for y'all to start?"
"Our admin said something about the elevator messing with baseline," Pest told them. "It's too variable, or something like that. あのエレベーターは変だ。" He shook his head, changing the subject. "What were you saying about the hub loops?"
"Oh, that! S' a quirk of our branch, actually," Loveshot explained, fiddling with their hat. "This is a Roblox hub loop, th' kind where you can join experiences as a physical player. Only Roblox loopers end up here, for th' most part. The main hub loops are a lot more mundane - we're all just video games on a platform there!" Loveshot chuckled. "Or so I hear, anyway. Haven't seen em' myself quite yet."
"Loveshot! We're gonna check out Natural Disaster Survival, you in?" Someone wearing an orange helmet and a gray shirt was waving them over, standing with a few other similar looking robloxians.
"Be there in a minute, Hotdog!" Loveshot called back to them, shaking their head again. "Say, y'all wanna join us for a few rounds? I can introduce you to my crew."
Pest sighed, but shrugged, and Retro nodded. "Meow, mew! (Sure, why not!)"
"Well, c'mon then! Don't take all day, now," Loveshot chuckled.
-
The hub loops were quite fun, Retro thought. A nice break from their usual format.
They'd gotten quite a few new items for their pockets - gears, weapons, and the like. Met quite a few people, too. Loveshot had introduced them to their crew, of course; Hotdog, Caretaker, Carepad, and their newest looper Banana Peel were all perfectly nice (if a tad chaotic). She'd gotten to introduce Pest to the Phighting loopers, and he had reluctantly introduced her to the Blocktales ones in turn - also having a new looper in the form of a healed Brad, or "Griefer" as Player called him sometimes. They'd met some others, too - some alternate versions of the Admins, the Work At A Pizza Place loopers, and a few "toons" who looked like something out of their world but were apparently from Dandy's World, to name a few.
Admittedly, it was sort of a lot. Pest was certainly overwhelmed, opting to stay silent around most loopers, not even trying to steal from them - the vast majority were much older than them, after all, and more than capable of fighting him off. Retro would be lying if she said she didn't feel a bit out of place herself. Even then, they were further estranged because they were the "newbies." Fresh faces were something to celebrate, evidently, and they were invited to join in all sorts of shenanigans. Mostly fun, often overwhelming, sometimes requiring her medical expertise, and occasionally incredibly esoteric. (She's still not sure what the fuck kind of chess Valk and Elliot were playing the other day. Why were there multiple dimensions?!)
After all of that, she was exhausted… but also curious. "Mrowr? (Who do you think will loop next?)"
Pest glanced up from his tinkering with what looked to be a gravity coil and a jetpack, considering that. "Hm. Melanie, maybe," He reasoned. "We save her a lot. She helps us with investigations. Makes sense."
"Meow, (Maybe,)" Retro agreed. "Mrr… mew? Miau. (Not sure who else would even loop next… Mozelle, maybe? She's loop aware.)" Pest nodded in agreement, going back to his tinkering.
"Maybe. As long as it's not Party, I don't care," he grumbled. "それはあまり楽しみではありません。"
"Meow mrow, (They're not that bad,)" Retro argued. "Mewo. (And they're bound to start looping eventually.)"
"Don't say that, you'll jinx it," Pest muttered in annoyance. "I'd rather not deal with that."
"…Meow, mrr. (…Whatever you say, sugar.)" Retro sighed, rolling over on the couch. She was too wiped to deal with this right now, in all honesty. There were bound to be more games and messes tomorrow, anyway. She needed some sleep.
2.8
"So they're just… here, this loop?" Pest narrowed his eyes at the strange new people in the elevator, dodging as one jumped near his head. "Inconvenient."
"Mrr, meow… (I mean, they don't seem too bad…)" Retro said with a shrug. "Mewo mew. (They don't seem to mean any harm.)"
"I don't trust it," Pest grumbled, staring at the over-full elevator. The strangers moved in odd, stilted ways, running and jumping with an odd sort of uniformity despite their varied appearances. One of them, who reminded the loopers a bit of Infected in the way they dressed, approached Dr.Retro.
Before she could ask what they wanted, the newcomer pulled out a paper cone full of… rose petals? And proceeded to throw them over Retro, where they landed gently on her head. "Meowr… mew? (Oh, er… thanks?)"
The stranger spun in place, throwing out more petals, then going still. Pest took that stillness as an opportunity, nicking some coins from their pocket with a chittering laugh.
"ありがとな、カモ。Maybe they're good for something after all," The beetle laughed. Before Retro could admonish him, the stranger pulled out a spray bottle, spritzing Pest in the face with cold water. "Argh!"
Retro couldn't help but laugh. "Mrowr! (That's what you get for stealing!)" Her laughter was short lived though, as another passenger proceeded to hit her in the face with a snowball.
"What were you saying? 'That's what you get?'" Pest smirked, before being spritzed again. "停止！Annoying freak!"
"Mew, miau… (Oh admins, this is going to be a long loop…)"
2.9
The first call Retro got after waking up was one from Poob. That alone was enough to tip her off that something was different, this time.
Warily, she accepted the call. "Mrow? (Yes, sugar?)"
Static crackled on the other line. The normally energetic partygoer seemed… subdued. "retro. shes back again. in dreams n nitemares," They told her. "we gotta get pest movd again, okie? hes not safe n the safehouse anymor."
Scanning through her loop memories, Retro quickly realized what was going on. "Mewo. Miau mrr. (Right. I'll go get him, he can stay with me for a bit.)"
"r you sure? wouldn wanna attract her attention to u," Poob responded uneasily. "we can find somwhere else. uno dos n tres offered…"
"Mew, mrowr. Miau mew, (No, it's alright. He can stay here until we find somewhere safer,)" Retro reiterated.
"…if ur sure," Poob sighed. "talk later, doc."
Retro said her own goodbye and hung up. A very different loop indeed.
-
Pest had been hanging around her office for a couple of weeks, now, and frankly? It was starting to get exhausting.
For one thing, he wasn't Awake. For another, he was much more reckless than baseline. He kept stealing things from her office when she wasn't looking, and making up completely bullshit excuses for why. "I don't owe you anything," he would say with a sneer. "I'd be just fine on my own."
Poob dropped by a few times, and for what it's worth, they were pretty good at dealing with him. They seemed sad whenever he rejected their kindness, but mostly they just tried to be optimistic. It was strange seeing them so calm, but evidently they had to be.
"Retro?"
The doctor dragged a hand down her face, preparing to deal with whatever Pest had done now. "Mew? (Yes?)"
"I'm feeling loopy," they said, deadpan as ever.
"…Miau. (…Oh thank admins.)" Pest seemed to pause, checking his loop memories, pulling a disgusted face.
"Wow, I was irritating this loop." He paused again. "Swapped with them. Makes sense. See what I mean?"
Retro frowned, but relented. "Mrow. Mew, meow hiss. (I suppose, but that's not an excuse. I can help you more with them next loop, but you still shouldn't be so hard on them.)" She shook her head. "Meow - mrr. Miau. (They don't deserve this mess - and they were worried about you this loop, you know. They brought you here.)
"Urgh, fine," Pest said, rolling his eyes. "…I guess I can see why they'd be so obsessively ignorant, at least. These memories are… unpleasant, to put it lightly." The beetle grimaced, shaking his head. "They're definitely protected somehow, though. Strange."
"Mrrp, (Makes sense,)" Retro mused. "Mew, mow. Meow. (Well, the loop should end in a few months. Let's just lay low for now.)"
2.10
"HAPPI BIRTHDAY RETRO!!" A loud party horn sounded out from the doorway as Poob poked their head into the elevator, throwing confetti everywhere and startling Dr.Retro. "i got u a gift!"
"Mrrp? Miau! (Oh, that's today? I'd nearly forgotten!)" Dr.Retro accepted the box, opening it to find yet another pair of cute earrings - and not one she'd seen yet, these being strawberry shaped ones. They varied loop to loop, so it was rather nice to have a new pair for her collection. "Purr! (Why thank you, sugar!)"
"no problem!!" Poob bounced the rest of the way into the elevator, swaying as usual. "so, u doin anythin special for ur special day? ur forti-fiv now, rite?"
Forty five. She'd turned forty five dozens upon dozens of times now - how old was she, really…? Well, regardless, she wasn't doing anything crazy for it. "Mew - mrow. Meow. (Oh, nothing much - just having a night in with my favorite foods, hah. Taking a break from work is enough for me.)" Pest would also be there of course, but she didn't want to make Poob feel left out.
Poob nodded, not too disappointed by the lack of party - it was Retro's birthday, after all, not theirs. "ooh, okie. hope u have fun!" Retro just nodded in agreement, going back to her usual habit of rotating in the corner.
…But really, how old was she now?
-
"Hey," Pest greeted as he stepped out of the elevator. "Happy birthday."
"ありがとう!" Retro responded, trying to practice her japanese a bit.
"…Your pronunciation is improving," Pest said, nodding approvingly. "So. Strawberry cheesecake and trash TV again?" He was carrying said cheesecake, so Retro opened the door for him.
"Mew, (Yep,)" Retro nodded, letting the door fall closed behind her. "Mrew, mrr? (What a way to spend my forty-fifth birthday, right?)" The joke wasn't all that funny. Pest did seem to pause at it, though.
"…How old are you, actually?" Pest squinted. "I haven't always looped with you, but it's over three hundred."
"Miau, mrr? (You're not supposed to ask a lady her age, remember?" Retro joked. Pest just hissed in response.
"We're well past that, and you know that's not what I meant." He shook his head. "How long has it been? At least two hundred loops, right?"
Retro, not for the first time that day, considered it. And this time, she decided to do the math.
"Mrr… (I suppose, well…)" She remembered each time she had been somewhere else, and then all the times she hadn't. "Meow… mew? Miau… hiss, mrr. (Looped outside the elevator… maybe a dozen times, so far? And in the elevator… two hundred and fifteen, just about.)" She grabbed her favorite whiteboard from her pocket. "Mrowr… meow… (So two years for each home loop… and the others…)" She finished crunching the numbers, and paled.
Five hundred.
Pest glanced over, eyes widening. "嘘だろ、" he muttered. "Five hundred?"
Retro just stared at the number numbly. "Meow. (Five hundred.)"
"…Fuck," Pest chittered. "We're really in this forever. もうそんなに経ったの？"
"…Mrew. (…I think I'm going to sit down.)"
-
They were nearing the end of the loop, now. Only a few more days before everything would restart again, and again, and again.
Retro sat on the top of an office building in the city, legs dangling over the edge. Unsafe, sure, but she could handle herself. She'd used a magic carpet she got from the last hub loop to get up here in the first place, she could catch herself on it if she fell.
"大丈夫？" Came a voice from behind her. She didn't turn to look; she knew who it was. She heard their practiced, quiet footfalls as they walked up, the rustle of their jacket as they sat next to her.
"Mrow, (The sunset is nice,)" she said. The skyline sprawled in front of them, brick buildings punctuated by metal and stone as far as they could see. The sun seemed to gaze upon them as it dipped below the horizon, bathing the world in gold. It was the same sunset as always, but it had yet to stop being beautiful.
"You're overthinking again," Pest said bluntly. They were right, of course; the rooftops had become Retro's safe haven, on harder days. "Is it about the loop?"
Retro sighed, gazing out across the city. "Mrow, (Five hundred years,)" she said softly. "Miau, mrr. (And we've barely seen anything compared to the other loops, 1314.)"
"We have eternity to catch up," Pest reasoned.
Retro laughed, humorless. "Mewo? (And that doesn't scare you?)"
Pest stayed silent for a long, long moment. Only the rustling of wind and cloth filled the space, as they watched the sun dip lower and lower on the horizon.
"It bothers me," they finally said. "But - what was it you said, once? A hundred loops or so ago?" They shook their head. "'I've come to terms.'"
"…Meow, mew? (…I guess I did say that, huh?)" Retro felt the breeze brush against her fur, breathing slowly. The gravelly texture of concrete beneath her paws. The faint warmth of the bug beside her. "Mrr, mow. (Maybe I was wrong, then.)"
Pest chittered, shaking their head. "いいえ。You hit a milestone. It scared you." They hesitantly placed a hand on where Retro's shoulder would be if she had one, cautious as ever. "It's… normal. To have bad weeks. Or bad years, for us." They chittered again. "Getting old is scary. Getting older than should be possible, with infinity to go, is still startling. Even this far in."
"… Mrrp, (… I guess you're right,)" Retro conceded. "Miau. (Doesn't make it less terrifying.)"
"It doesn't need to," Pest replied.
The two sat there for a long, long time, until the sun had long disappeared from the sky, only stars above to light the rooftops. And if any tears were shed - well. That would stay between the cat, the beetle, and the city skyline.
2.11
Things had settled a bit, since Retro's last milestone. They hadn't even really had any variants the last few loops - just bog-standard baseline.
Retro had taken a break loop right after that milestone, staying out of everything and leaving Pest to handle things. For all he grumbled, she made absolutely sure he was fine with it (and he was), so she tried not to worry about it too much. He could handle himself just fine.
The last couple of loops had seemed… off, though. She couldn't put her claw on exactly why, but something was different. She was sure of it, but she couldn't find a single thing wrong. She tried to ignore it, to no avail.
This loop, it seemed, she had woken up a bit late. She was in the elevator, not her office, with Poob twirling across from her as usual. Without much thought, she sent out a ping, and got her usual singular response.
Poob flinched.
She shouldn't have been able to notice it. Such a brief moment. Such a small break. But she did, and that's when it hit her.
She pinged again, getting a delayed, slightly confused ping from Pest. Poob flinched again, this time more noticeable. They glanced around for a second, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from, before going back to their normal swaying - a bit more uneasily.
"Mreow? (Did you hear that?)" Retro asked them outright. They flinched again, before answering.
"u also heard the weird noise??" Poob seemed relieved. "i thought only i could hear it. u didn' react at all!"
Retro just shook her head, getting straight to the point. "Mrr… miau? (Sugar… has time been looping for you?)"
Poob froze for a second, before exploding with noise and shock. "ITS NOT JUS ME??!?!" They started pacing, flailing around wildly. "i thoght it was just me!!!! nobody els seemd 2 notice last time, or th time b4, so i thought it was somthin i was imagining, but then split n fecti didn't remember thins, n pest was acting weird, and- and-" They shook their head, party hat falling askew. "i KNEW i wasnt crazy!!"
Retro chuckled, preparing to explain to the poor partygoer. Pest was not going to be happy, that was for sure - but honestly? She was just glad to have someone new with them. It would be a welcome change, she thought. "Meow, purr. (Welcome to the loops, Partynoob.)"
