Theatre Room
This room appears to be a massive theatre. Countless seats litter the room, more than the silly little cast could ever fill. You seem to have come in through the lower entrance, right next to the stage...there looks to be an entrance to the upper floor somewhere, but it's inaccessible for now.
Stranger: It didn't take long for everyone to get to the theatre room...it seems like it gets shorter every time, with less and less people that anyone needs to wait for.
He sighs, looking around at everyone.
Dax: Dax quickly moved over to Tarnish and Rue, looking to signal them into some sort of group huddle...Stranger was curious as to how Dax was able to rope Rue into some sort of "buddy" thing, but didn't question it.
Arsenic: Having been rather quiet lately, Arsenic stands near the back, tail thumping. Firestarter comes over to her, and she huffs, but doesn't say anything as Stranger watches Firestarter hold her hand, the two then hiding those intertwined hands behind their bodies.
She notices Stranger staring at her and glares. He averts his eyes, saving his questions for later.
MX-Z0: And then he notices MX-Z0...beeping. Softly, but still beeping.
Stranger: "Something wrong, Mixzo?"
MX-Z0: "...I sense something...a signal...but I do not see anything yet."
The Destroyer: "Oh, don't worry, miss MX-Z0! You won't have to wait too long!"
The prawn shows up, spinning and whirring around as always. "Hello everyone~! Hope you had a wonderful three days of rest, but now is time for the cards to come right back out!"
The Destroyer: And so, those cards re-appear, flying out into the crowd...
Stranger: ...And Stranger watches as a card titled The Survivor lands in front of him.
"...The Survivor?"
Ivan: "E-Eh? I got that card last time-" Ivan comments from nearby, when a card appears before him as well.
"And now it's...The Lovers?"
Stranger: "Huh, funny. Got that one last time, too...any idea what these cards could do?"
Ivan: As the card fades away, a strange feeling seems to wash through him.
"...I don't know...but now I feel even more alone."
He hugs himself tightly, wishing for the feeling to go away already.
The Destroyer: "Oooh~! And look who got the Wren this time!"
It flutters over to Firestarter, who looks back at it with annoyance.
"Now, don't try to use this to circumvent the rules, okay? I wouldn't go along with it anyways!"
Firestarter: "...Whatev. Can you get to the point now? What's your new dumb- motive- thing?"
The Destroyer: "Sheesh, you really are a hot head," He replies, heading back to the stage. "Anyways, let me ask...doesn't it feel empty in here?"
Arsenic: "Of course it does! About four of us are dead!"
The Destroyer: "Exactly!" It giggles. "That's why I'm adding some fresh blood!"
Stranger: "You're- what?"
Stranger furrows a brow slightly. "What does that mean?"
The Destroyer: "I'll show you what it means!"
He spins and spins and spins....and then, a puff of smoke rises from the stage, obscuring it...
MX-Z0: ...Her beeping gets louder. Her metallic body stiffens, and she mumbles.
"The...The familiar signal...is that...?"
???: The smoke dissipates. Some violent coughing is heard on the stage from an unfamiliar voice.
"C-COUGH...COUGH...Aaah...Where...am I...? Is this...heaven, at last...?"
MX-Z0: "...Dad!?"
Don: A new prota appears on the stage for all to see.
"...Mix?"
A shaky, nervous smile appears on his face. He seems to be softly laughing to himself, fiddling with his hands as he looks around.
Stranger: "D-Dad!?" Stranger yelps. "Is that your-"
Arsenic: "What the hell!? Is that Don Donnet!?"
Arsenic yells from near the back. "You're supposed to be dead! You've been dead for 20 years!"
The Destroyer: Chaos instantly erupts in the room, confusion and panic spreading. The prawn does not care. In fact, the prawn laughs, spinning away with a sparkly flair to his exit this time.
MX-Z0: "Everyone. Quiet."
She lets out an ear-piercing beep, her antennae glowing brightly. It's enough to give anyone a headache...including the new arrival, Stranger, and everyone else here.
Once everyone has finally shut up, it is she who goes on the stage first.
Don: "A-Ahh...M-Mix...Mix...zo?"
It's as if he forgets how to speak mid-sentence, only to relearn how to over and over again. He's still fiddling with his gloved hands as MX-Z0 approaches him.
MX-Z0: She glares at him...and then, sighs.
"You absolute idiot. Even after the accident, I can't seem to rid myself of you."
Stranger: ...Accident?
Stranger, despite not wanting to interrupt, can't hold back his questions. "Uh. M-Mixzo...what the hell is going on here?"
MX-Z0: She looks back at Stranger...and her body seems to soften.
"...This is my creator."
She stares at him again.
"...Also known as Don Donnet, number 127784. A clone of the famous roboticist who died 20 years ago."
Clober: "Huuuh? Clone??"
Seven Stones: "Those are real? The hell...!?"
Don: "W-Well, the only clone, now!-"
MX-Z0: "Shut up," she snaps at him, "I don't want you making yourself look worse in front of everyone."
Don: "...Ahh...ahahah...yes, Mix."
MX-Z0: Taking his hand, she leads him down the stage closer to everyone else.
"It is true, however. He was a clone created by DonCorp, to continue creating high-quality robots...myself included."
She gives a long, electronic sigh.
"...And then he blew the entire corporation up. And 1/6th of the city. And now we're here."
Stranger: "H-He did what!?"
He stares at Don, as if looking at a fucked up beast. "You did what!?"
Don: ...He just waves in response.
Arsenic: While most of the group seems confused or just uninterested in this blatant drama, someone in the crowd seems to feel something else.
Someone in the crowd seems to be mad. Very. Mad. She lets go of Firestarter's hand, stomping forward.
Firestarter: "W- Hold on a second-!"
Arsenic: Too late. She walks up in the middle of Stranger and MX-Z0 conversating, Don just staring at her.
Don: "Uh...hello! Nice weather, yes?"
Arsenic: She growls, and picks him up by the scruff on the contraption on his neck.
"So it was you who did this to me, huh!? Finally found you, fucker."
Don: "Ggghhhk- Hhhk-!"
He's choking. The ends of his "scarf" flail wildly, before one of them unfurls into a claw-like hand. It grabs Arsenic's arm, and tries to throw her off.
It doesn't work.
Arsenic: "I've been meaning to find who took all of my shit from me, but looks like the prawn brought them right to me. You piece of shit- I don't care who the hell you're a clone of or if I get killed after this. You're getting what you deserve, right. Now."
She brings up her tail, and gets ready to slam it down.
WHAM.
MX-Z0: ...It hits MX-Z0 instead.
...But doesn't do any damage.
It's as if she's completely invulnerable. She, herself, seems surprised, but quickly focuses on Arsenic again.
"Stop this at once." She beeps. "I am equipped to deal with aggressors like you."
Arsenic: "Gh-"
She reels her tail back. "Get the fuck out of my way! Do you have ANY idea what that city-destroyer did to me!?"
She gets ready to swing her tail again...
Stranger: "Wh-- Hey! Hey!!"
Firestarter: Firestarter charges over, bringing Arsenic to the ground.
"ARSENIC!!" She yells, pinning her to the floor.
"Stop with this BULLSHIT! The only person you're allowed to fight is ME!"
Arsenic: "A-Aahk-!"
She growls, staring up at her. "You don't understand...none of you fuckers understand! I'm getting my revenge, I'll fucking-"
MX-Z0: Ssshhhk. Crrrk. Wrrr.
Arsenic: "...Huh?"
Arsenic looks over at MX-Z0.
MX-Z0: ...Only to see one of her hands has turned into some sort of gun. She points it at Arsenic, her eyes looking almost glazed over.
"Cease your assault, or I will do it for you."
The room goes completely silent.
Don: Clap clap clap. "Get her, darling! Ahaaah-"
Firestarter: ...Sigh.
She picks up Arsenic, as the poor blue prota remains frozen in fear. Both of their eyes are on Mixzo, who watches them leave the room.
MX-Z0: As soon as they do, her hand whirrs once more...slowly turning back into a regular hand.
"I have been given the card of The Protector. I suspect this may provide situational invincibility." She explains, staring at everyone.
"...If anyone attempts to harm others in my presence, I will not hesitate to apprehend you. Do not forget this."
Stranger: There's some mumbling heard, and the whining of Clober seems to pierce it all as everyone slowly disperses. It's certainly awkward, without the usual sense of cameraderie that seemed to be holding on by a thread.
Stranger, however, remains, as well as MX-Z0 and Don.
...He notices how her antennae have dulled. "Are you alright, Mixzo...?"
MX-Z0: "I feel....awful."
She beeps again. "I do not enjoy reverting to my more violent functions, but I could not allow dad to be hurt like that. Even if he is an idiot..."
She glances at him again.
"...He's well meaning. The eruption he caused at DonCorp was an accident he caused trying to gain his freedom...as well as mine."
Don: Nod nod. "...So...is this your boyfriend, ah, Mix?"
MX-Z0: "No. Never say that again."
Don: "Okay...where am I, ahah? Nobody ever really answered that, uh..."
MX-Z0: "We are being forced to kill each other without getting caught. I would advise you to not kill anyone, however."
Don: "HHhaah..." He seems to stiffen. "Ok."
And just like that, he just...waltzes off, to go explore most likely. This leaves Stranger along with MX-Z0 again, a common occurence.
Stranger: "...So your creator was the motive." He says. "...Although I can't say the guy is that threatening. That makes me wonder what the little guy's motivation actually is..."
MX-Z0: "...I suspect that it's targeted. Specifically at me and Arsenic."
Stranger: "Eh?...Now that I think about it, that does make sense, but...why? Why you and Arsenic? Why does he want the two of you gone specifically?
MX-Z0: ...Some whirring is heard. She sighs.
"Even I cannot calculate a reason behind that. It is possible he is trying to eliminate everyone who provides us with hope, or simply anyone who annoys him. It might be smarter then we think."
Stranger: "...Probably..."
The idea nests in his mind, and her wonders...did the prawn somehow influence Bryan to kill Jasper? Did he know that whatever secret Lotus had was bad enough to kill over? ...And would his plan succeed again? Would Arsenic or Mixzo...
"...Can you promise me somethin', Mix? I-If I'm allowed to use that nickname, too..."
MX-Z0: Her antennae blink. "I do not mind. What is it?"
Stranger: "...Can you promise me nothing will happen to you? That you won't kill anyone over this?"
MX-Z0: ...It takes her a while to say anything. But when she does, she is unable to meet his gaze.
"I can't. I can't promise you that."
Stranger: He's caught off-guard. Stumbling back a bit, he asks with concern. "W-Why?"
MX-Z0: ...She begins to walk off, still refusing to look at him.
"I will do what I have to, Stranger. Even though I care for you, I cannot guarantee I am stronger then the tricks of this world's master."
She reaches the theatre door, only to notice that Stranger is still following her as she peeks back at him. She grips the door handle with a tense ferocity.
"After all, I am really only made of predictable algorithms, am I not? It's easy...It's easy to control a machine."
She sprints out the door, Stranger calling out to her.
Stranger: "Mixzo! Wait!"
MX-Z0: But she doesn't look back. She can't see him. All she sees at this moment is the past. The cold, hard past.
And the cold, hard future.