Chapter Text
1.1
Four times.
Four times, this had happened.
Four times, Pest had woken up to a much emptier den. All his work, gone. All his supplies, gone. Everything he'd worked for in the last two years, gone.
Four times then, he knew, staring at that same stupid calendar, he'd been sent back in time.
He almost wanted to tear the damn thing off the wall. He didn't. Instead, he forced himself out of bed, and grabbed the notebook he knew would be in the desk drawer. It was empty, of course, of anything prior to that day's date. It didn't matter.
He wrote all that he knew.
2 year time loop. Floors are not consistent, except for when someone calls the elevator. (Strange. Elevator outside of time?) Unsure how to break.
Last attempt:
Saved Melanie. Went with Retro, got the timing right that time - slightly later than attempt 2 to intercept, about 2 days earlier than original timeline. Floor ticket needed.
Folly more aggravated as a result. Tried to kill Split at one point, but Poob was with her, so she survived.
Poob still annoying and oblivious to danger. Somehow has not been killed. (Protected? Likely.) More tired than usual after Split incident, but was back to their normal behavior after a few days. (Irritating.)
Still unsure of Null's origins. Possible threat. (Check the heights more thoroughly? Protection from sandstorm?)
No evidence of others noticing. Tell Retro?
He shook his head, crossing the last part out with a neat line. No use bothering her with this, he barely saw her as is. I'll figure it out, he told himself. Like he'd been telling himself for the last four loops.
He hissed, stashed the book in his desk, and prepared to head down to the subway station once more.
-
The elevator was quiet. More than usual. It made sense, it was quite late.
Floors passed, colorful yet empty. Shops closed, homes silent. Pest continued to lean against the back corner, watching the door.
It had been a few weeks since the loop restarted, and nothing important was meant to happen for another three or so.
They couldn't sleep. Nor did they really want to - because once those three weeks pass, they wouldn't be sleeping for a while. Not if they didn't want her to go digging around in their head again, invading every moment of their nightmares. Better to get used to it now, they supposed.
The elevator chimed again as it hit a familiar floor - the Gumball Machine. To Pest's surprise, Dr.Retro stumbled into the elevator on shaky legs, not even bothering to drop down from the top of it. She looked exhausted - haggard, even, with heavy bags under her unfocused eyes. She barely seemed to register the chitter of acknowledgement from Pest as she settled into an adjacent corner, standing still rather than rotating with her typical energy.
Frankly, she looked like shit.
Usually, Pest would just leave her be. If the doctor looks that bad, then she probably doesn't want to talk - just wants space. He paused, though, when she started muttering under her breath.
"Mrowr… mew…? (Stupid… stupid loop, damn it… what have I not tried yet? Am I missing something…?)"
Loop.
A loop. Something she's missing. Pest turned the overheard mutterings over in his head, trying to make sense of them. Could it be that she was stuck too?
Normally, he wouldn't go for something like this. But damn it, he was tired. Physically, mentally, what have you. This was his seventh year stuck in this mess, and he'd already been considering it.
"Hey."
"HISS- Mrr… (ACK- Oh. Hey, sugar…)" She said, startled out of her reverie. "Mew? (Need something?)"
He paused. Then, he threw rationality out the window.
"Are you also in this… this loop." He paused, as she processed. "Repeating time. Two years."
"…Mrow. MROW?! (You. You REMEMBER?!)" She seemed to finally process it, fur standing on end. "Mew- Miau- (I- how long have you- it's been-)"
"Calm down," Pest hissed, harsher than they intended. They winced, then tried again. "We should go somewhere safer. To talk. I have a ticket, we're going to my den."
"Mew- mrrp… (I- yeah, alright…)" The doctor conceded with very little effort, exhaustion rearing its head once more. Pest punched the button for the subway without another word.
-
"Meow? (So. How long?)"
"This is my fourth loop. I think. Not counting the original timeline." The mutant's eyes narrowed slightly. "We managed to save Melanie last time, but it seems it wasn't enough to break… whatever this is."
"…Mew. Purr. (…I see. I didn't realize you were… aware, last loop.)" The katball sighed, looking at Pest with tired eyes. "Meow… mrr? Hiss. (This is my… gosh, my… twenty-third? I think? My twenty-third loop.)"
Pest's eyes widened, running the numbers in his head. "You've been stuck in this loop for forty years?"
"Mew, (Forty-four,)" Retro corrected. "Hiss… (Nearly my own age…)"
"What have you tried?" They grabbed their notebook from the drawer. "We should compare notes. I'm still trying to figure it out myself."
The doctor laughed, humorless. "Meow? Hiss… (What haven't I tried? Saving people, gathering intel, telling people about the loop, talking to the cultists myself, even.)" Retro tried to continue, but interrupted herself with a yawn. "…Mrrp. Mrow- (…Maybe we could talk more in the morning, sugar. We both need sleep. She shows up in-)"
"In three weeks, I know. And we need to save Melanie in five, a couple days before we tried to visit the first time," Pest nodded. "I doubt I'll be able to sleep. You take the bed."
"Mew- mrr… (Oh, sugar- I can't just…)"
"No. Take it. I'll be awake," Pest insisted. "Go to sleep. We need to talk tomorrow, and you need to be coherent for that."
"…Mew,(…Fine,)" Retro relented. "Meow. Purr, (Goodnight, sugar. Try to rest yourself,)" she said, eyes taking on something a bit softer. Pest just sighed.
"Goodnight, doctor."
1.2
"…これ、マジでクソくだらねえ…"
"Mrrp? (Pest?)"
The beetle glared at Dr.Retro a moment, before sighing. "…Have you found those… loop apples, yet?"
Retro's eyes lit up in recognition, snickering a bit. "Mew, mrow, (I sure have, sugar,)" she replied in turn. Pest continued to grumble in annoyance as he leaned against the railing, only to flinch away - it was red hot. Stupid elevator events.
Pilby watched on in confusion, glancing between the two of them. "Loop… apples?"
"黙れ、馬鹿、" Pest spat, and Pilby shrunk away.
Retro gave the beetle a withering glare, which he pointedly ignored. (In his defense, it was a pretty stupid-sounding code phrase.)
1.3
Dr.Retro sighed, seeing her cozy but much more bare office. It wasn't unusual for her to "wake up" in these loops while standing in her office, just as it was two years prior, but it was still disappointing.
Just over fifty years, she'd been stuck in here. Investigating, testing things, trying to break the loop - to no avail. It had only been a couple of loops since Pest properly joined her, too. She felt bad for the beetle, being stuck with her in this… mess, but…
Well, at least she wasn't alone anymore.
She rubbed at her eyes with a paw, walking tiredly over to her desk. Luckily, there was still a cup of hot coffee on the coaster, so she could properly wake up. She reached for it, white lab coat hanging off her arm-
Wait. Arm?!
She nearly knocked her coffee off her desk as she realized - she had arms. And not just arms, but a whole body! Her usual round katball form with only two floating paws and two stretchy legs was replaced with a body almost similar to Gnarpy's - a chubby humanoid form with yellow digitigrade legs and a big fluffy tail.
She bolted across her office to the bathroom, somehow not stumbling - as if she had lived in this body all her life, muscle memory carrying her across the tiled floor. As she crashed through the door, she turned to face the mirror.
Her head looked almost the same as ever, earrings and head mirror still intact, but she had hair! Hair, thick and curly, pulled into a ponytail that trailed down her back. She was wearing a turtleneck the color of doctor's scrubs, a long white lab coat, and black pants with the cuffs rolled up. She had actual arms, covered in the same yellow fur as the rest of her, and a fluffy tail swaying agitatedly behind her. Seeing all of this, she said the only thing she could think to.
"Meow MEW?! (What the FUCK?!)"
-
"Doctor, I have some-" Pest nearly choked on his words as he burst into the office, seeing Retro's very different appearance. "You too?!"
"Mewo - mew? (So - I would assume you're aware of the loop, then?)" Retro managed, a bit startled. Pest brushed some of his long white hair out of his face as he nodded. No need for the code phrase this time, it seemed. "Mrrp. (This is new.)"
"It's everyone. Or at least a lot of them," Pest groaned, shaking his head. Retro motioned for him to take the armchair across from her, which he gladly flopped back into. "Poob has curly hair, Bive has a tail, Prototype looks almost draconic. I spotted Enphoso, too - he's humanoid like you." The beetle scribbled furiously in his notebook, trying to make note of all the changes, more and more hair falling into his face. "くそ-" He brushed it away again, annoyed.
"Mrrp? Mrowr, (Do you need a hair tie? I have some spares in my desk,)" Retro offered.
"Yes," Pest grumbled in reply. "I left mine at home." He paused as Retro got up to get the hair ties. "…Why do I remember leaving them at home?"
Retro froze, contemplating this as well. "Mrrp… mow? (That's… wait, why do I remember where these are, too?)" She rummaged around in a desk drawer, and sure enough, hair ties. "Mew... meow. Mrrp. (I remember these… and I remember having this body. Besides the initial shock, it's familiar to me.)"
"…Is the time loop fucking with our memories now?" Pest scowled, realizing that he also remembered having hair, even though he knows he didn't before. "It better not be."
"Meow mew, (I guess it could be, but I can still remember the last loop,)" Retro said as she handed Pest the tie. He quickly tied his nearly waist-length hair back with practiced ease he shouldn't have had. "Mrow…? Mow? (Maybe this is a… timeline shift thing? Or something?)" She dragged a paw down her face, trying to rub the exhaustion out of her eyes. "Mew… hiss. (Ugh, I don't know… this is new.")
Pest chittered in frustration, writing and scratching things out over and over again. "Maybe, but… urgh, なんて面倒なんだ. We need to figure this out," he grumbled. "Who knows what else could have changed?"
Retro sighed, but agreed. "Mrow? Mew. (Maybe it's only for this loop? We'll have to see.)" She shook her head. "Meow… (There's still so much we don't know…)"
"…I don't like it," Pest growled. Retro gave him a gentle pat on the back, having to actually lean over to do so. Familiar, yet unfamiliar. How strange.
1.4
Poob gleefully danced out of the elevator, off to explore the Cardboard Mansion. They were blissfully unaware of how much lighter their pockets were, as well as how a sly beetle snickered gleefully at his haul in their wake.
"Hiss, (You shouldn't pickpocket them so much, sugar,)" Retro hissed exasperatedly, tail swaying in annoyance. "Mew mrr! (Eventually you're going to get caught!)"
Pest just shrugged his upper set of arms, the lower ones still turning the coins over to inspect them. "They won't miss it, and more arms means more opportunities for me. It's good practice," he insisted with a smirk. "Pizza? You're paying."
"Mew, (Greedy,)" Retro grumbled, but there was no malice to it. They were only a few days from resetting, anyway, so it's not like she had to pay next month's bills. Small mercies, she supposed.
1.5
A few more loops had passed since the first of what Pest and Retro had taken to calling "variants". A few more loops with variants, specifically. Pest had written them down in their notebook over and over, adding to the list each time.
Variants (in order):
-
Lots of small tweaks, like hair or tails. Retro, Enphoso and the rock had bodies.
-
Lampert was bronze instead of… steel? Whatever metal he usually is. Was also bulkier. Steampunk?
-
I had 4 arms. Pilby only had 2. Good for picking pockets.
(Build robotic arms?)Irrelevant. -
Melanie had a different coat pattern on her rabbit parts, and her ears were floppy.
-
Retro had a body again, but different this time. Fully human/robloxian (? inconsistent terms across iterations. Research more) save ears and tail.
They nibbled on the end of their pencil, pincers scratching at the wood. It was nearly the end of the loop - just a few more minutes, give or take. Best to memorize this so they could rewrite it again.
With just a minute or so left, they sighed and stuck the notebook and pencil in their jacket pocket. All that was left was to wait for the inevitable.
It felt like blinking, and then a shift - darkness, a twist in their stomach, a blip of uncertainty, a moment of "loading". All so instantaneous as to be scarcely noticeable, but present enough to be remembered. Not forgotten. Nothing forgotten, as the memories saved, solidified, as the body changed and stretched and reloaded to something old and new all at once. Stretched like taffy and squished like slime and swirled like batter in a mixing bowl until-
Pest opened his eyes, and his den was empty once more. He sighed, shaking the last of the static from his head, and took stock. No hair. No extra limbs or eyes. Nothing felt amiss with his physique. He stood, stretching, before settling his hands into his jacket pocket.
His full jacket pocket.
What?
He grabbed whatever was in the pocket, dragging it out. It felt as though it passed through more than just fabric, coming from somewhere else. Somewhere empty and cold.
He grabbed the objects, and paused.
A pencil and notebook.
He checked the drawer in his desk. Same pencil and notebook as always. Not going past the current date.
He checked the pencil and book in his hands. The pencil was scratched, chewed upon by his pincers just moments before. The notebook was full past the current date, full of notes about loops and variants and strange occurrences.
It stayed.
And for the first time in quite a while, Pest outright grinned.
1.6
"…Are we even aging?" Pest glanced across the room at Dr.Retro, who was staring down her whiteboard like it owed her money.
"Mrrp?" The katball briefly turned to her companion before staring her board down again. "Meow? Miau, (I mean, not really? At least not physically,)" she said, shaking her... well, her entire body, but that counted as her head. "Mrrp? Mewo, mew. Miau. (Mentally… sort-of? At the very least, we seem to retain our memories, and some skills. Still the same age otherwise, it seems.)"
Pest paused, mulling that over. "I can see how that would be useful, even if it doesn't make much sense. ずいぶん奇妙だ。" They shook their head. "At least we also have the pockets, now. They're helpful." Pest, of course, was storing quite a bit of money in theirs, along with some small projects, and their notebook. For now, though, they retrieved an apple, biting into it with a satisfying crunch.
Retro handed them a napkin without looking up from her whiteboard musings. "Mew. Meow. (Here, sugar. Don't get juice all over the couch again.)"
"Sorry," Pest muttered out of habit. They weren't often one to apologize, but Retro was not one they wanted to upset.
"Mewo. Hiss… (All good. Now, if I could just figure out this chemical's makeup…)"
"What are you even doing?" Pest pulled some little doohickey they were working on from their pocket, moving to tinker with it with their claws. "Not like you to go full-in on the science of your work, doctor."
"Hiss. Miau, meow. (Oh, hush. If I can synthesize this medicine myself, I'll save the both of us a lot of money and trouble in future loops.)"
"Whatever you say, doc," Pest muttered. They continued on in companionable silence, only occasionally interrupted by a chitter or purr.
1.7
"A-are you sure about this, Dr.Retro?" Melanie stuttered. "Mozelle is…"
"Meow, mew! (I know she can be a lot, but I'm sure you'll get on just fine, sugar!)" Retro gave the anxious rabbit her best trustworthy smile as she led her through the castle doors. "Meow mrow. (She's been a great help against Folly as well.)"
The one downside to saving Melanie, it seemed, was that Melanie wasn't as close with Mozelle. After a few loops of Melanie being more withdrawn, still traumatized by Folly's attempt on her life and left without the more extroverted princess to support her, Retro had started re-introducing the two as soon as she could. It also helped that Mozelle was usually on their side anyway, disliking the nightmarish Folly as much as she did.
Speak of the devil, the PNG princess descended the stairs in front of them in a flurry of pink sparkles. "Dr.Retro, how lovely to see you again! I take it this is Melanie?"
"U-um… yes? Y-yes! Yes, I'm Melanie, nice to meet you!" She gave a small curtsy, with Mozelle nodding in approval.
"Charmed! Now, come along, I have prepared plenty of treats for the both of you! I even pulled some more interesting recipes from my book for this - would you fancy some bytes and drives, perhaps?"
Melanie's screen lit up a tad brighter at the mention. "B-bytes and drives? How thoughtful! I would love to try them," she said with a small grin. Retro gave them a smile of her own, knowing the pair were bound to grow close once again. She'd rather keep that one a constant.
1.8
Across all their time in these loops, Retro and Pest had gained quite a lot of knowledge, practice, and experience.
Pest had looped for nearly thirty years, now, and had advanced his mechanical knowledge greatly. Retro, in her seventy or so extra years, had researched more and more treatments and medications, amassed quite a few different ways to treat a myriad of injuries, and gotten a decent amount of field experience as the resident medic.
One thing they hadn't gotten quite as good at, though, was fighting.
That was a mistake.
Folly loomed over them, an ominous shadow cast upon them from where she stood holding the severed, still-sparking head of Melanie. The rabbit's body laid limp on the stage behind her, blood and wires pouring from the lifeless form. Pest grimaced, bracing himself as best he could, as Retro stared at the scene in horror.
"Mew… (No…)" Retro barely managed.
"We're too late," Pest hissed through gritted teeth. "We need to go, Retro."
"Hmhmhm… Come to join the fun, have we?" Folly sneered at the two, dangling Melanie's shattered face by the ears. "Her precise fate may not suit you two, but breaking you will be just as entertaining."
Pest grabbed at the doctor's arm, trying to drag her back to the elevator. "Retro, we need to move, NOW! 走る！"
Retro couldn't move. Could barely think, with the way those piercing red eyes pressed on her mind. She was already exhausted. It was so easy to freeze, to be paralyzed under that glare. So paralyzed that she didn't even register the clawed arm heading straight for her, so paralyzed that she couldn't move out of the way -
- So paralyzed that she couldn't react fast enough to stop Pest from taking the blow for her.
The beetle grunted in pain as Folly's claws raked across his chest, crimson blood staining the now tattered text on his jacket as he collapsed. Retro gasped, freed from the spell, only to howl with rage at the sight of her companion. She dropped to the floor, cradling his weak body in her paws as he spluttered and coughed.
Folly laughed, and laughed, and laughed, echoing on in the seemingly endless empty room. It was nauseating, the way Retro's head swam, the way it grated at her ears, the way her vision blurred with tears. Her dear friend, her companion, her charge, on the brink of death. Because of HER.
Slowly, carefully, the katball laid the now limp body of Pest on the ground. She pulled his hat over his eyes before standing, quaking with fury. She didn't care what happened to her. Didn't care that it would all reset in just a couple years. Didn't care that it wouldn't last, that Pest would return.
She wanted revenge.
Folly's laughter turned to echoing screams of pain as Retro blasted her lasers directly at the nightmare's eye, blinding her. The eyes surrounding her seemed to scream as well, so she turned her ire towards each one, forcing them shut. They shriveled and cried and wept, but she did not care. Once all were gone, she turned back to Folly. To the source.
She shot with every last bit of energy she had left, hearing the scream of absolute agony the nightmare released in her final moments. Then, it was over.
She knew no more, leaving four corpses in the empty room as the universe dissolved.
1.9
When Dr.Retro opened her eyes, she was back in the elevator. Safe. Alive. She could have cried in relief, then.
Until she paused, that is, and glanced around again.
…This was not the Regretevator.
It looked similar. Tan walls, metal door, railing. But the floor was… tile, maybe? With a different pattern, and the walls lacked any wooden grain. Not just that, but it was… smaller. Much smaller, and much more cramped. There was barely space for, what, three more people in here? She took up a considerable amount of space, sure, but usually not that much.
Before she could fully process this, the elevator doors opened to somewhere… very different from any floor she'd ever seen.
It looked like some sort of factory or bank, with a cold blueish-grey as the only real color. Columns lined the walls of the hall, with only dim light to see by. A doorway sat at the far end, directly across from the elevator. She stared as a figure she didn't recognize walked briskly through the door and headed for the elevator.
The man(?) was tall, almost as tall as Wallter if she had to guess. He had pale greenish skin, contrasting with his rust-red pinstriped suit. Most oddly (though not too strange to her), his head appeared to be a… wedge of cheese? And he smelled like it too, she discovered, as he neared the doors.
The man took his place next to her in the elevator, standing rather still as the doors shut behind him. She couldn't help but feel he was looking at her, despite his apparent lack of eyes.
"…You're new," the man said in a rumbling, gruff sort of voice. "I don't suppose you're feeling loopy at all?"
"M-mrow? (Uh- loopy?)" She stared at him, trying to figure out what that meant - was he calling her crazy? Or…
Loop apples, went their code phrase. Not loopy. But still.
"Ugh, are you new?" The man scoffed, adjusting his tie. "I rather dislike having to explain the Loops, you know. This is rather inconvenient," he grumbled.
"Meo- (The loo-)" Retro started, but was cut off by the ding! of the elevator doors. Outside was a new floor, this time being a seemingly endless grassy field, with the only building being a small structure with three plates of chicken. Next to it stood a yellow-skinned man with curly brown hair, a white shirt, and blue striped shorts, who seemed to light up upon spotting her.
"Ah! Just the cat I was looking for! Sorry, Big Cheese, she's new," the man began. "I'll be taking her for a bit, you'll see her later!"
"Hmmf," was the only response the man got from the supposed "Big Cheese". Retro started to speak up, but instead yelped in surprise as she was teleported behind one of the plates.
"Seeya!" The man waved as the elevator closed, ascending to places unknown. Retro stared at the man with wide eyes, praying she wouldn't need to pull out the lasers again. As if on cue, the man turned to her. "Ah, where are my manners! The name's Shedletsky, I'm an admin with the Roblox department! Dr.Retro, right?"
The katball stuttered and stumbled, trying to form a sentence. "Mew- hiss- meow?! (But- what- how do you know my name?!)"
"You never give them time to breathe, Shed," came a voice from behind her. Turning, she saw a tall man with brown antlers poking out from a white hood that shaded his face. His large white wings nearly blocked her view, but the figure behind her was undoubtedly Pest - looking a bit disoriented, it seemed, but thankfully unharmed.
"Aw, you're no fun, Luke," Shedletsky chuckled. "Though I guess that's fair."
"Could you please explain what's going on now?" Pest seemed to have regained his bearings, hissing distrustfully at Shedletsky and Luke.
"One moment, I promise we'll explain," Luke replied before facing Retro once more. "I'm StickMasterLuke, nice to meet you. I'll be the admin in charge of your particular branch."
"…Meow? Mew. (…Um, nice to meet you? I'm Dr.Retro, but you probably knew that already.)"
"That I did," Luke chuckled. "Well, time to explain then. Welcome to the Loops."