04's Dorm
Clober: And she awoke to the sound of knocking.
For a moment she was whining in annoyance, stumbling out of her soft bed and making sure to not trip on any of the plants surrounding her. But then, she remembered. Ah...could it be them? Oh, gods, they have to get to the door before anyone notices that--
...
She opened her door...and there were two people there.
Hitori: One she had accounted for, who was sheepishly waving at her.
MX-Z0: And one she had definitely not.
Clober: "Wh- huh- Mixzo! You're not even supposed to be here!!" She squeaked, snapping at both her and Hitori. "Hitori, why is she here? The note was just for you!"
Hitori: "I know that! But, uh- no offense, Clober...it's kinda suspicious to ask someone to go to your dorm alone, so I..."
They shuffle a little where they stand, shrugging. "Y'know?"
Clober: "B-B-But it's...it's a super big secret." She pouts. "And what if someone hears, y'know!? Like Paradi! That'd be awful, so-"
MX-Z0: She beeps, making a small noise of recognition at Clober. It cuts her off.
Clober: "-- Huh?"
MX-Z0: "You cannot hide anything from Paradi, I am afraid. They have stated that they can see everything we do."
She has a hand on her hip, although her pose gives off less that of confidence and more that her hip hurts.
"Also, if you're about to say something about Wren...we have learned about all we can about her already. Between me, and some others."
Hitori: "Wh- Wren? Like the- huh!?"
Clober: Oh. Shit.
"Mixzo!? You can't just say all of that outloud!? What if someone we don't want to hear that hears it, like, uh- the mastermind! That's a thing, right!? We don't know who they are yet!"
MX-Z0: "Like I said, Paradi already knows about it. So they likely would, too."
Clober: ...She was right, damn. Her disappointment-- her fear, too-- was palpable as she stood there. Her neck leaves were twitching as she thought to herself, mind racing, eyes darting away...
...But Mixzo eventually spoke one more time.
MX-Z0: "...What did you learn? I do not recall anyone knowledgeable of Wren saying anything to you."
Clober: "Well, uh, I don't know much, actually...but I saw her do something, and... it has to do with Hitori."
Hitori: It was as if even their censor bar was startled at that statement. They took a step back. "Me?"
Clober: "Well, yeah! We were talking about you in the big empty room and stuff. You were, uh...being compared to an apple."
She paused for a moment, glancing at Mixzo as if waiting for her to interrupt again.
MX-Z0: "Go on." She mumbled, her antennae flopping closer to Clober's face. Guess she was all ears, too, as perplexed as Hitori looked right now.
Clober: "Well...one of the deities said Hitori's censor bar, thing, was like...obscuring who they really were. But they kind of had to dance around it, 'cause someone- Wren, probably- was blocking what they were trying to say. And, then..."
Her tail whipped around from the confusing memories...The Destroyer's fear, the noises...and that damn apple. Despite it happening yesterday, that apple was the clearest thing Clober could remember in her entire life. Even her own vision seemed less clear than it.
"...Someone broke in, and The Destroyer started panicking. We ran out of the room, and when I came back in...the deity that told me everything was gone. And there was an apple...I tried to grab at it, but it vanished."
Hitori: For a majority of Clober's speech, the prota looked absolutely enthralled. But then came the realization...by gone, did she mean...dead? Ceasing to be? They were already a bit off balance where they stood, and almost stumbled over from the sheer weight of it all.
"Wh-Wh-" They stuttered, but nothing they wanted to say would come out. Why them? Were they implying Wren killed a deity? How could whoever this Wren was do that? Why was there an apple!?
A kind hand from Mixzo pat Hitori on their shoulder, which was enough to keep Hitori's mind from spinning out of control. They gave a deep breath.
MX-Z0: "You appear to be confusing Hitori a little, Clober. Are you implying Wren, who could possibly be watching this whole game as a ghost, managed to remove a deity from this place?"
Clober: "Ah...yeah, that's what I was thinking. Sorry, Hitori, but... it made me really worried. What if this guy went after you next!? Those deity people were super interested in you, so you have to be important somehow, right?"
She sighed. Man, even when trying to do nice things... looks like it still gets people all stressed out.
Hitori: "It's..."
They took a moment to stand up straight again, shaking off their tension like a wet dog. "It's fine, Clober. It's just...now I feel bad. Those deities...were so nice to me, y'know? And even they aren't safe here? I just..."
A small whimper escaped their throat. "...maybe I should visit them again."
MX-Z0: Mixzo herself seemed to be deep in thought. Her hand was stroking her chin, and her antennae twitched.
"What do you mean by the apple vanishing?"
Clober: "Huh?"
MX-Z0: "You said it just... vanished. How? Why?"
Clober: "I just tried to touch it, and it was gone! I don't know why!"
MX-Z0: "...Mhm."
She went back to thinking, a quietness settling upon the group as they all pondered. The possible death of a deity, the apple, what any of it even meant for Hitori's "hidden identity"...
Hitori: But Hitori spoke up first.
"...Could... Could I be the mastermind...?"
Clober: "Huh?" Clober blinked. "What makes you say that!? You don't act like a mastermind would!"
Hitori: "E-Exactly," They stammered, tail slunking nervously behind them. "But, if this bar obscures my identity...then maybe- maybe it's obscuring that I'm the mastermind. Because...nobody here really acts like a mastermind, right? Besides Paradi, but we know it isn't them! So..."
They were trying to hold it back. But, as they speak, voice quickening with each breath, tears begin to trickle out from behind the censor.
"What if...what if I censored myself? What if I'm actually the one hurting all of you, and I don't even know it! What if...what if--!"
MX-Z0: "Easy, Hitori, easy," Mixzo said, putting a hand on their quivering shoulder. "That sounds... far too unlikely, even if it is possible. You are a very kind person at heart; not to mention the fact that your origins here do not correspond with everyone else, if Paradi is telling the truth."
She stops. A whirring noise is heard from the back of her voice box.
"...But that apple...if it vanished without a reason, then it must be important somehow. And it has to have gone somewhere...we just don't know where."
Clober: "Well, where could it have gone!? They probably just made it poof out of the ripworld where none of us can get it."
MX-Z0: "...That feels the most likely. But..."
Blink blink. Blink blink.
"...I have a feeling for the contrary. Perhaps I can get dad to assist in attempting to locate it."
Hitori: "You mean... sniff... Don? Would you really do all of that, even with these... dumb, stupid hallucinations everywhere!?"
MX-Z0: She nods. "I am unable to hallucinate, don't you remember? I do not breathe. And dad, well... he appears to be envisioning rather mundane things, as opposed to everyone else. We will be fine."
Hitori: "Oh...ooouh..."
The still sobbing prota can't help but come in to give the robot a hug, tail now wagging like a dog. A stark contrast to their stature moments before, though not one Mixzo minds.
"Thank you, Mixzo! I, uh, really want to figure this out, so, thanks!! If you need my help, I can give it!"
Their gaze shifts to Clober, in the middle of the embrace. "You'll help too, right? You, uh, don't have to if you don't want, but..."
Clober: Is... someone genuinely asking her for help? She's almost as stumped as she is surprised, but gives a hasty nod.
"Yeah, sure! Uh- I can make sure nothing bad happens to you, yeah? So that Wren guy can't do anything bad!"
MX-Z0: "H... Hitori- you're hugging me rather tight."
Hitori: They freeze, before giving a slight chuckle. "Shucks, sorry!"
As they let go, Mixzo composes herself again, clearing her nonexistent throat.
MX-Z0: "I will be informing dad and Stranger about this, for better assistance. Although..."
She turns around, mumbling to herself. "I'm not sure where Stranger is right now."