Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Despite the hardships of college and part time job thrown at you all week, there's nothing like unwinding on a friday night.

You gingerly reach your tiny apartment with a jump in your walk, locking the door behind you as you prepare your evening routine. Warming up a kettle on a tiny but effective electric stove, switching your ordinary clothes for a pair of comfy pajamas, and dropping your backpack to a spare room that once belonged to an ex-roommate, now refurnished into a work space... or gaming space. Most people would go out and have fun tonight but the number of sticky notes scattered around your desk told you otherwise. This specific project has been absorbing your attention for a month now, you'd cancel lunch meetings with friends (who are probably as overworked as you are anyway) and been drinking so much caffeine you're pretty sure it's part of your bloodstream already. 

"Show time," you plop down on your squeaky desk chair, flexing your fingers before turning on the pc. 

It's amazing how absorbed you become in your own work, typing the final script lines before dragging your cursor to the preview option. Childishly crossing your fingers for good luck "Let's see if I can do this without depending on my notes." you childishly cross your fingers together for good luck, but maybe a rabbit foot would've been more effective. 

ERROR!!! 

A word you've been dreading and partially expecting at this point. The warning flashed on your screen with it blaring colors and excessive exclamation marks. Your forehead thumps against the desk table as you shut your eyes, groaning in annoyance at another failure.

You clench and unclench your fist, resting your check on the harden surface as your eyes trail to your backpack sludged on the floor, carelessly spilling out your notebook. The expression on your face is indecisive, reluctant, before eventually giving up and accept defeat by retrieving one of the recent notebooks scribbled with class notes, skimming through the pages to compare it to your work on screen. "Arg! I missed another diagonal line right there.. okay it's just one mistake surely it won't affect..." your jaw fell open at the jumbling mess that a single mistake created. 

You shut the notebook and toss it on the desk. "I need a break." is the most sensible thing you've said to yourself all day. "But not any break, just something that won't take too much of my time... like one of those simple indie games." you reassure yourself out loud. Another person would worry about your mental state cause you talk to yourself but you insist it's easier to pretend you're a protagonist talking to the audience, like something out of the Truman Show.

By the time you pick whatever game you heard from a 'Top 5 indie horror games' video on YouTube, your kettle started hissing. You rush to turn it off prevent it from evaporating, using the now heated water for whatever you're in the mood for, tea, coffee, instant noodles, you're alone and free for the night. Go wild. While you're preparing your beverage you could've sworn you heard a high frequency noise, at first you think it's a mosquito but it's unlikely due to the season. I mean, it sounds more like static. That wasn't the last time you heard it, you're brushing your teeth when the noise came back and lingered long enough for you to follow it. It led you to your work room, which is odd because you turned off everything half an hour ago, still, you're cautious enough to double check your electronics just to make sure. Even after all that searching, there wasn't anything out of place. Easily shrugging it off as a product of your imagination. After getting rid of all that foam in your mouth you head to bed without falling asleep automatically, you lay there peering into the dark ceiling as the street lights sneak past the single sheet you use as a curtain. 

If only spring break was right around the corner, that way everyday would feel like a weekend. But such vacation was still a month away. You groan, tossing a blanket over your head, mentally counting sheep before falling in slumber.

"I gotta get up for school-" is always the first thing that comes to mind when you wake up even though it's the weekend. You open your eyes to find yourself under your mountain of blankets, surprised you didn't die of dehydration. So far so good, but the second you stretched a hand towards your night table to grab your phone, you paused, hearing footsteps echo through your room. If you had a roommate this wouldn't be a huge deal, but you live alone without any family members nearby to pay you unsuspecting visits. You pull your hand back into the covers pretending you're still sleeping despite the growing panic clawing at your chest. A robber maybe? It's impossible to get a good view from beneath all these blankets and sheets, but the looming shadow walking past you is still intimidating in a way. The odd figure walked past you and headed for your closet. You carefully slid off the opposite side of your bed without making a noise, tucking your hand under your bed to grab a baseball bat you're thankful for keeping.

While the man rummages through your closet, you slowly tiptoe behind the stranger getting close enough to raise the bat and knock the man over the head with as much strength you can muster. The strike emits a grotesque snap as it makes contact with the man's skull, but he didn't go down easily. Either he's tough enough to handle a blow without flinching or you're too weak to confront him, both options are absolutely terrifying as the man turns around to face you. He lacks any pigment in his body, not only his clothes but also his skin, the only reason you know he might be of this world is due to the red oozing from his forehead. The stranger lungs at you, tugging the baseball bat from your meek hands but you resist, nothing a kick to the gut made you reconsider as you cower away in fear. The stranger's stance is something you've only glimpsed at professional players, but this is no ball game with the bat raised over his shoulder ready to beat you to death...

Until.

He stops.

He will stop this instance.

It's like he's stuck in a daze, reading something over your head before gasping in surprise. His stiff shoulders loosen up, your ear straining when he dropped the baseball bat calling out your name in a tone only close friends would use. "It's you, it's really you..." his stern voice reaches your ears. "Yes, there no doubt about it, it's you. My trustworthy puppeteer." he spoke confident, evenly fondly at you. 

While the stranger was reciting some reunion bs from a novel you're too busy freaking out to make sense of his words. "What are you talking about? How do you know my name!? Who are you!?" you demand answers.

"It's me, your puppet." he kneels down, extending a bloodied hand to help you up.

Once the fear and the adrenaline rush clear out from your system did you finally use your brain to connect the dots. the conclusion you came to was bizarre, for all you know a madman broke in your house, but somehow, deep inside you knew who this is. The color palette, the stern expression, the outfit and even his familiarity with the baseball bat. "Y-you're..." you swallow roughly. Unable to even finish the sentence due to how bizarre it sounded. "...You're The Batter."

Chapter Text

Is this real?

"You've got to be kidding me. It finally happened. I went nuts! I'm hallucinating with characters I haven't thought about in years. I just wanted to play a quick short game but nothing was scratching that itch so I went back and played OFF-" You groan. Shutting your eyes and laying your back on the carpet of your bedroom floor. You start ranting to yourself, either in denial or reassurance. Not even the Batter could tell as he awkwardly stays on one knee, waiting for you to finish your rant. "Like I know I haven't dated in years but that's no reason to start having dreams of hot fictional men!" You roll back and forth, covering your face with your hands. Speaking of the Batter. You peek an eye from between your fingers, uncurling from your fetal position to crawl towards the man, eyeing him like an intriguing oddity. It's then that you fixate on the details of his baseball uniform, the stripes on his loose jersey, teasing the black long-sleeved shirt underneath, perfectly hugging his lean and athletic body. The face attached to it isn't half bad either, or well, maybe if it wasn't giving you a deadpan expression. So, your attention went back to his body.

He's quite athletic and well built.

"Wow, I don't consider myself much of a lucid dreamer but damn-! Never knew my subconscious could dream something so detailed." you admire the man in disbelief, even going so far as to grip his forearm to feel the muscle underneath it his uniform.

"That's enough." he snapped back at you. Lightly smacking you hand off him, instead gripping it to help you stand to your feet.

The physical contact sent shivers down your spine, but it also gave you an idea. “Punch me," you told him blankly.

"Pardon me?" the man eyed you in confusion.

You grew eager at the thought, defying your treacherous subconscious in away. "If this is a dream, the shock of the punch should wake me up-" you didn't get a chance to deliver your explanation when the Batter complied with your order, sucker punching you in the face, practically knocking you back a few steps. "FOR THE LOVE OF-!" You curse, raising a hand to hold your now bloody nose.

The pain feels too real to your liking. Although you're happy you didn't go insane overnight there's still the fact there's a man in your bedroom who's an inch close to sending you to get rhinoplasty. "You really didn't think about holding back on that did ya!?" you snapped back visibly angry, even though this was your idea.

"I don't hold back on an order." the Batter reaffirmed shaking his hand, not a drip of regret in his voice.

"Yeah, no shit," Geez, was he always this stoic? it's not like there's a lot you can work with in in-game dialogue. "You're more of an asshole than I remember." you remarked.

The Batter responds with a frown, wiping the blood from his own forehead. "You attacked me first," he mutters in annoyance, wiping the blood from his forehead. Technically he was the one who appeared in your room uninvited, how else were you not supposed to confuse him for a robber?

"Alright, alright you got me on that one," you raise your hands in defeat. Although you couldn't wrap your head around the fact you had a fictional character in front of you, he still closely resembles a human, I mean he sure bled like one. You already had sympathy for the guy when he was nothing but pixels, there's no way you don't have a stronger feeling now that he's physically in the room with you. Another thing you can feel is the blood dripping from your nose. You head to your bedside drawer with a sigh, retrieving a pair of cotton balls and disinfectant gel. Using one cotton ball to stuff in your nose and the other for the Batter. "Come here, let me clean that up for you." you said in a calmer tone, taking a seat on your bed while patting the spot in front of you.

Despite his initial reaction when he recognized you, the Batter eyes you suspiciously but he eventually complied. Sinking the mattress as he obediently sits right beside you, face facing forward. You removed the black baseball cap from his head, placing the wet cotton ball onto the splotch of red where you smacked him. Batter hissed at the sensation, unconsciously grinning to yourself at his reaction. He can withstand a smack to the head but disinfectant gel stings him. Makes him feel a bit more human "Stings a little?" you tease while disinfecting the cut.

"I never had this trouble with luck tickets," he mumbles.

You tilted your head to the side. "Luck tickets...? oh right, the health items in the game," you remembered with a chuckle. "It's been a long time since I touched a rpg maker game."

Batter nods in agreement as he fondly reminisces. "I know," he said bluntly. "You tend to hoard items you don't use." Batter adds, looking back at the baseball bat he took from you.

"How do you..." you trailed off, lightly shaking your head to the side. He may not be THE Batter, but at least you take comfort in the fact he's YOUR Batter, the one from your playthrough last night. "Actually, now that I think about it. Why are you here?" the question finally dawned on you, it was just something you causally went through without actually questioning it.

The Batter didn't respond immediately, keeping his lips sealed as he internally struggles to make out the right words. "I... don't know," his tone is solemn. "All I remember is pulling down the switch and everything fading to black. But then, I woke up here." So much for getting answers right away. He sounds just as lost as you are. Once you cleaned up Batter's cut you handed him his baseball cap once more. Realizing how much you'll miss seeing him without it after all the games' low resolution obscured most of his face and hair. "And your first thought was to rummage through my closet?" you arch a brow.

"I was just trying to get the item chest." he reasoned, pointing to the interior of your closet.

"Item chest?" you repeated in confusion. "I don't have a chest in my closet..." you turned your head to look at your closet, only to see a bright purple chest stand out from between your shoe boxes and other junk. 

Huh. That wasn't there before.

You scramble to your feet faster than your brain could process this new information. The Batter stays behind to watch you open the chest and dig inside for its contents before pulling back with a terrified scream, fearing for your safety, he quickly grabs the baseball bat as he rushes to your closet. The man calmed down when a black box appeared right above the chest, not as in a cardboard box but as in a digital 8-bit text box.

'Obtained Eye' 

It was like trying to understand a math question within another math question. You turn towards the Batter for answers once more, but this time he knew what to respond. "It's an item. Try opening it up in your inventory," he suggests.

"And how am I supposed to do that!? I can't exactly use a keyboard," you stretch your arms to touch the air in front of you, proving your point. "How does it look like when you do it?"

"I would just pull out a black box from my pocket." Batter shrug nonchalantly, unable to understand your distress with games and reality.

"From your pocket huh?" you said to yourself. You dug your hand into your pajamas, cursing yourself when noticing your pajamas don't have pockets... and yet, by just doing the gesture itself summoned the black box in your hand as if you really just pulled it from your pocket. As reality bending as it is, it's pretty dope. You opened the box to see the disembodied eye you picked up earlier. Touching it as a way to interact with the item. The eye scanned the only other individual in the room, The Batter, there were a few flashes of light in the room before the same black text box appeared above Batter.

The Batter (x1)
A stoical man who likes dad jokes, potential interest, Add On meant to assist you.
HP: 110/CP: 30
No known weaknesses.

You gasp excitingly at the action, it was completely new to you but for the Batter, it was as common as to breathe air... or smoke. If you didn't think you were going crazy a while ago, now you feel like you've gone borderline schizophrenic, you take a moment to sit down and take it in slowly. "I don't even know anymore," you rub the side of your head. "Is this some Alice in Wonderland nonsense? Was I hit by a bus and reincarnated in a different world!? I can't understand what's happening Batter, I was already gripping with crippling emotions and now this."

The Batter was really feeling out of his field now, the man crouches next to you. "Remember when I was about to hit you with the bat? In that moment, I used my competence wide angle."

"What are you talking about?" you almost sob.

"I don't have all the answers you seek, but I do know what this reality depicts you as." The Batter performs the competence once more, but this time the text box was visible for you too.

(Y/N) The Player
Protagonist on a mission, easily stressed college student specializes in coding.
Hp: 150/ CP: ???
No known weaknesses.

You hug your knees to your chest with a groan. "Ah great, even the text box knows I stress out. Doesn't sound like protag material." the information did little to reassure you at first but then you read through it again. "Wait, it said you're supposed to assist me, but assist me to do what?" you wonder.

"To accomplish your mission, I assume." The Batter stood up in front of you once more, stretching his hand out to you.

"But I don't know what my mission is..." you slump slightly. You didn't even know what you were going to cook next week.

"Whatever it might be. If that's my purpose in this life, then so be it. I will company you and eliminate anyone who dares intrude your path." the Batter reaffirmed with a furious loyalty. You're still lost and confused but having the Batter by your side made things feel less intimating, you take his hand as he helps you stand to your feet, hearing a chirpy text box appear above him.

The Batter has joined your party.

Chapter Text

Alright. I can do this, I can do this, I can-

"I can't do this!" you pace back and forth, eventually curling up in on yourself once more. You've come to accept the Batter is in your room, chests contain disembodied eyes and text boxes pop up out of thin air, but this next thing is a different beast of it's own.

"You're overreacting." the Batter shrugs, his lack of understanding making a comeback.

You gawk at the man in disbelief, almost like he insulted your family and your cow. "Overreacting??" you repeat. Getting up to angrily stomp your way towards the bedroom door, opening wide open to reveal an unnatural endless pitch black void. "How can I be over-reacting? my entire department is gone!" You point at the dark space. The Batter shrugs once more, so you stomp towards your bedroom window, pulling back the sheet to show the same, starless dark mass.

"There's nothing to fear about the nothingness, it's just a convenient means of transportation," The Batter attempts to minimize the issue, but his monotone voice makes him sound like a condescending teacher. "We have a mission, you can't let every scary thing stop you from accomplishing it." he reaffirms.

You puff your cheeks, pointing a finger at him ready to argue but you knew he's right- to an extent. "I just think it's freaky. Even in the game I never liked being in the nothingness for too long, the creepy whispers get to me ya know?" you rub your arm, feeling a shiver run up your spine.

"What whispers? I never hear anything."

You could only feel another shiver crawl up your spine.

Batter grumbled under his breath. "Okay, I can admit it's a bit intimidating at first but it's nothing to fret," Batter sighs, deciding to take a more amicable approach. "Here, I'll show you." he walks past you and heads into the dark void.

You cautiously followed behind him, afraid that the flooring would give in and make you fall. But luckily that never happened. It feels like what you've imagine space travel to be like, slow steps when running in a pool, jumping higher than normal and even feeling lighter. It would be ten times cooler if the scenary wasn't too lacking. Just a vast dark room, like a starless night sky. The only thing you do see is the words 'world map' floating in the distance.

"What's that?" you ask the Batter, catching up to inspect some color marks on the floor.

"Different zones I assume." he touches the spots, unable to access them.

However, things reacted differently when you interact with them.

Bathing Room.

That was enough to raise an eyebrow from you.

You checked out the other zones, going one by one in each in order.
Consumption Room.

Coexisting Room.

With Employment Room being the last in line.

The other zones remain inaccessible, with the exception being the first Room. You held a hand to your chin, contemplating the meaning behind these 'rooms'. Why did your department disappear? Who knows, but it's something you can get to the bottom of it. "Let's start here. I want figure out what's going on and get some reasonable answers," You told the Batter, crouching in front of the first colored spot.

"If we have a goal there's gonna be things that might stop us, doesn't that scare you?" Batter asks you, if you listen carefully you can tell he's teasing you after your breakdown.

"Of course it does, I'm absolutely terrified," you chuckle. "But I have you by my side." you smile at the man.

The Batter kept his eyes on you for a moment. Although you couldn't see it there was a modest smile painted on his lips, glad to see you take initiative.

Chapter Text

A pair of white rings surrounded you and the Batter, transporting you two to a familiar save point manifested by a familiar floating red cube on a creaky dock. On one side there's a vast white sea, while on the other is a huge wall blocking your sight. There's a ladder leading upwards the wall, your hands feel clammy on the old, rusty thing as you climb upward Hopefully, your tetanus shot should protect you from any cuts... Hopefully.

The top of the ladder offered a way more interesting sight of the main land, or more appropriately, the island. A crude L shaped patch of land surrounded by a blank ocean and a pastel yellow sky, there's a nearby path leading to a downwards staircase but the main eye catcher is the imposing building not too far from you. Its high stature comfortably reaching the pale-yellow cloud lines, you admit the architecture is impressive, built in a way that would almost remind you of an oriental structure but it's plagued by an industrial aspect instead of something more organic. But you know there's nothing organic here, even the plastic plants feel more artificial than the building. The sea side scenery is relaxing and peaceful, although there's a pit in your stomach telling you it's artificial in a way. Like eating strawberry taffy but tastes like anything but strawberry.

You turn around to see Batter right behind you, refusing to take a step forward if you don't. You shake your hands beside you, contemplating where to go. Going to the nearby staircase on your right prompts the message.

Railroad closed under construction.

So that's an inaccessible area for now. Your first instinct is to head to the large building, walking up closer to its main entrance, it isn't exactly welcoming despite the huge sign saying WELCOME above a pair of modern glass doors surrounded by smooth tiles, judging by their shine it looks like something completely new. Porcelain? Clay?. The walls surrounding the entranceway and the entire building in general looks like the metal you touched earlier, but rusted away by the ocean mist in a mix of orange and blueish green hues. But hey, you can appreciate atmosphere, the rusty walls compliment its industrial vibes with the tubes running up the side of the building, spewing hot steam or spilling liquid into the ocean. Speaking of the sides of the building.

Your hand lingers on the door handle, contemplating something for a second. The Batter peeks over your shoulder, watching you retrieve your hand from the handle in favor of turning around and sprinting to the left.

"Where are we going?" The Batter asks, jogging right beside you as the two of you surround the building. "Have you ever seen a horror movie? It's obvious we're supposed to go inside the building first, so I'm curious to know why'd there be an open path here," you explain to the man although he may or may not understand the concept of a horror movie. The narrow walkway you're referring to is crammed with metal crates, dumpsters, and cylinder containers, sometimes there a small dock that extends out from the walkway and leads to a dead end towards the ocean, but your keen eye caught sight of a cylinder container at the edge, sticking your hand to find a small number of credits inside. "Sweet!" you show them to your companion. "This means we're meant to find secret stuff here." The Batter isn't a greedy man, but he finds a ting of joy at watching you react positively, so he follows your lead at checking through any containers he sees. "A luck ticket." He says out loud, presenting the item to you.

"A health item," you ponder lightly, a reminder of dangers lurking about. "Let's be careful, and keep an eye out."

These dangers would present themselves as platforming obstacles, cracks in the dock breaking into holes into the ocean, large pipes that would periodically erupt hot steam demanding you to pay attention to timing, even the occasional loose tile would fall from the building's crippling walls. Batter keeps an attentive eye on you and the environment around you two, that's why he's the first to notice something stirring from within the liquid plastic, immediately pulling you aside.

A boney fish jumps out to attack you, but Batter instinctively smacks it away. Dragging the two of you into battle. "What is that?!" you cower behind the Batter who used wide angle on the creature.

Marrow Hopper(x1)
A skeletal fish that hops high enough to catch unsuspecting prey.
HP: 50/ CP: 25
Weaknesses: Metal

The fish tried to hop once more towards the Batter, baring its pointy dorsal fins to take a bite outta him, only to fail as it sucked a mouthful of metal. You jump back in surprise, watching the fish's teeth clattering against the ground, you almost forgot he brought that weapon from your room. Once the fish is dispatched by that blow there's a pop up text in front of you, not only did Batter gained a few xp points, but also a few credits and a luck ticket.

"Oh would you look at that! You leveled up!" you jump to your feet, noticing a small detail. "Huh... you're the only one who gained xp points." the revelation upsets you. 

Due to his limited vocabulary and his  sensibility of a rock, Batter pats your shoulder in consolidation. "Maybe next time, when you're part of a fight."

"Whatever." you shrug, collecting the teeth on the ground.

The further you two walked down the dock, the more enemies started piling up against the Batter. You were also consistently dragged into battle with him,  but you'd often panic and constantly hide behind the Batter until the fishlike enemies were gone. It's not like he was bothered by it anyway. "The coast is clear, you may come out now." Batter raises his arm to check on you hugging his side, your hands unclench his baseball uniform while peeking your head from behind him like a meek child. "Sorry for chickening out on you... again." you apologize with a sigh, shamefully lowering your head to the side. The man places a hand on your shoulder, but that's not the only thing surprising you. 

The Batter already signed up to be your puppet long ago, he understands his role as a tool, but this new role of companion (and now caretaker apparently) brings him a sense of joy greater than cleansing lands. It makes him feel like a guardian angel. This giddiness is something that doesn't fly under your radar. "It's not an issue, anything to keep my puppeteer safe." his tone is confident, content even. It's obvious by his smiling eyes and the raised corner of his mouth.

The thing about Batter's appearance is that he doesn't have any discernible facial features. Sure he has a mouth that spouts a comment or two but that's about it, he's mostly quiet all the time so you forget he can even talk. There's also two black stripes painted across his cheekbones, from what you've heard it's often used by baseball players to avoid the sunlight's reflection from hitting their eyes- BUT HE DOESN’T HAVE ANY SO WHAT'S THE POINT!? Angry rant aside. The reason you were shocked to see him was because of that, while he talks about protecting you, for a split second you can see his fond expression. Eyes, nose, eyebrows, everything!

"Batter-! your..." but when the man turns to you his expression is gone. Back to that indecipherable, lack of a face of his, doesn't help that his tone is always monotone too. Makes him impossible to read. "...Never mind." you shrug, crouching down to pick up the loot left behind from the fight.

If there's anything good coming from so many enemy encounters is the fact that there hasn't been any platforming obstacles ever since they started showing up, as if the area knows there's better obstacles than a loose tile falling on your head. Just when you were getting tired of seeing the same fish enemy type, you were greeted by a new creature.

Sludge Serpent (x2)
Resistance to plastic
HP: 120/ CP: 50
Weaknesses: none.

You immediately rush behind Batter out of force of habit, something he's grown used to and enjoys apparently. He outstretches his hand to the baseball bat hanging on his belt, going into auto mode as you stay behind like a passive spectator. "Never seen those before, be careful!"

"I'll dispatch them in a whiff." Batter reassures you.

They go back and forth with rowdy smacks and scratches, turns out those sea snakes can tank hits like a boxing bag, forcing you to back away from the Batter so he could fight without constantly worrying about you. There's not much you can do during auto mode but keep track of the attacks they've been landing, a debuff, an a standard attack, so far they haven't used any competence and that worries you more than it should. One of the sludge serpents howls in defeat, melting into a puddle on the ground, it's now that the remaining serpent pulls out a trick, it does a little twirl and shouts in a high pitched screech. Although Batter couldn't see it, the warning was as clear as day to you.

[Sludge serpent used Nautical Nausea] the Batter is now confused.

"Oh no, Batter!" you take a step in his direction, only to stop as the serpent threatens you with it's blank eyes.

The Batter grips his stomach, speaking through the waves of nausea. "Stay back puppeteer... Ugh, I don't want you to get hurt." the man exclaims, readjusting his hold on his bat, but missing his attacks completely. Its painful to watch him at the serpent's mercy, he stumbles, looses his balance, miss his shots, all while being bitten and scratched by the darn creature. 

You dig through your inventory before your hand feels your saving grace. A silver flesh!

A warning vibrates through your head. 

You only have one. If you use it and the enemy casts the same competence again it'll be pointless. At this rate Batter with pass out. You're left biting your nails out of desperation. 

What do I do?
What do I do?
What do I-

He's your puppet and you're his puppeteer, it's time you start acting like such.

A menu screen manifests in front of you, providing you with options only available to the player. Inspiration struck you like a bolt of lightning, swiping your hand to select the manual option instead of keeping it in auto. The Batter felt invisible strings wrapping around his arms and legs, keeping him in place rather than letting him tumble due to the nausea. "Puppeteer-?" he wonders. 

"You'll defend from now on, I'll heal you with luck tickets in between." Your hand temptingly grazes through the silver flesh, but you immediately reconsidered and grabbed the eye instead.

Sludge Serpent (x2)
Resistance to plastic
HP: 120/ CP: 35
Weaknesses: none.

The CP stats give you an idea. Just like you said, you rip tickets to help Batter recover health every time the sludge snake bites him, when you're not doing that you're defending yourself whenever the snake targets you with it's Nautical Nausea attack, you feel like you'll throw up but beside that it's not physically harming you, your hp is safe. It uses its confusion attack on Batter again, shutting his eyes with a groan to keep his head from spinning. But soon the headache went away.

[Y/N used the silver flesh]

"Attack normally during this turn, in the next use a competence. If it doesn't die by then keep attacking normally." you point at the monster with an index finger, practically ordering the Batter like a Pokémon. "It's nausea attack is strong but it uses alot of cp, I'm afraid it won't be casting it anymore so you're free to take em outta the field!" 

The Batter clenches and unclenches his metal bat, the only movement he has control over as the metaphorical strings sent subliminal vibrations into his body.

The corners of his mouth raise up in a side grin, if you were close enough you'd see his joyful expression. "Just like old times."

Chapter Text

"This is whack!" you exclaim. Again and again you forcefully try to shove your newly attained loot inside the black box of your inventory but all it does is spit out a warning text about full inventory. You've tried everything, shoving it with your hands, placing it on the floor so you could stomp your objects into the box, reorganize the items like something out of re4 but it was proving pointless. You toss your head back with an exasperated growl, raising an imaginary eyebrow from the Batter.

▶ [ "ꜱᴜɴʙᴜʀɴᴛ, ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴍᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴏʀɢᴏᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴘᴀᴄᴋ ꜱᴜɴꜱᴄʀᴇᴇɴ?" ]

Zacharie raises the sleeve of his shirt, noticing how much he extra baked. "Unfortunately so. Guess I should've packed some if I knew fishing would require so much patience." he shakes his head with a sheepish chuckle.

▶[ "ʜᴀɴᴅꜱᴏᴍᴇ, ᴅɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ɴᴇᴡ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴀɪʀ?"]
Batter ⬇♡
Zacharie ⬆♡

"I did, thank you for noticing~" he responds in a smug tone, closing his eyes while placing a hand under his chin, like a model trying to get his best angle for a picture

▶[ "ᴄʜᴏɴᴋʏ, ᴄᴀɴ ɪ ꜱQᴜɪꜱʜ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴇᴇᴋꜱ?" ]

Zacharie scratches the back of his head. "If you're talking about my face I'm afraid not even for a million credits, that's rich, even coming from me. But if we're talking about something else, I'm willing to bargain." he winks from under his mask. Or at least that's what you think, it's hard to see his eyes properly. You hear Batter awkwardly cough into his hand.

▶ [ Say nothing.] aka skip event.

You quickly snap out of it, returning to the main question on your mind. "Actually, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be standing behind a vending stall?"

Zach lightly tilts his head downwards. "I would if I was a vendor, but unfortunately that's not the case anymore."

"What! Why? What am I supposed to do without your cheap prices?" you almost cry out, Batter places his hand on your shoulder in a comforting grip, an action he's grown accustomed to.

Zacharie kicks up in-existent dirt on the dock, shoving his hands inside the pockets of his pants with a shrug. "Beats me. For whatever inexplicable reason I woke up in this area without any indication as I'm a shop keeper, I have my own inventory but I'm incapable of accessing any features that let's me sell properly, just store things like this fishing rod." to prove his point, Zacharie frees his hands to grab the forgotten rod on the floor and fits it perfectly inside his comically huge backpack.

" Huh, store things you say?" you rub you chin in thought, turning to look at the Batter. "What a coincidence, we're having issues with our inventory space. Isn’t that right batter?"

Batter nods. "Correct."

"But you can't sell us your backpack nor your fishing rod, so how about we strike a bargain for your services? You can still accept money right?" this is an odd idea and you're not sure if it will work, but you got nothing to loose. Except maybe some money.

Zach leans forward in interest. "I'm listening."

Batter didn't like the sound of this conversation, he's better off having you tag team with him like the good old days, the classical duo, the unstoppable purifiers, but he's unwilling to voice out his concerns let alone do anything about it that might go against your will. However, he thought of a loophole. If Zacharie is meant to do something else then that would be more than enough to keep him at bay from your little group.

"I could use my wide angle on him, figure out more about Zach's role in this new world." the batter explains. You give him an odd look, almost like he interrupted your thought train.

Surprisingly, Zacharie is the one who immediately agreed, turning his body from you to the monochrome baseball player. "If you would please Batter." he removes his hands from his pockets, purposely keeping himself open wide. Batter's stern gaze shows up long enough to keep eye contact with Zach's smug "try me" look, a few white flashes of light later the expression disappears altogether from Batter's face. The text box pops up, leaving the surprised man with his mouth slightly agape.

Zacharie (x1) 100 HP/60 CP:
Mysterious but amicable man hiding behind a mask, has studied the way of the blade. Potential interest, Add on meant to aid you... For a price.

No known weaknesses.

You jump happily at the description, although the "interest" part is still unknown to you. Your hands already elbow deep into your personal inventory as you fish out your credits, glad to find a newest addition to your team. It takes a moment for batter to recover, lowering his cap to keep his expression hidden, especially with the way Zacharie was giving him grinning eyes.

"Is this enough?"

"Why of course dear player, it's more than enough. It will be an honor to travel beside you, even if it's as a pack mule." he laughs, but you reassure him with a friendly smile and a welcoming hug.

"Hey you're not just a pack mule Zacharie, you're part of the team now!" you pull in Batter with one arm as you use the other to keep Zacharie close, happily sandwiched in the middle like the glue that keeps the team from falling apart. "We're gonna kick so much ass!"

Batter mumbles something incoherent from under his breath while you remain positive about the whole situation. Zacharie feels the warmth from both your hug and your welcoming words.

"It's good to not only see and hear you player, but to also travel alongside you."

[ Zacharie has joined the party. ]

Chapter Text

"Amazing, I didn't know you had tattoos!" you exclaim in excitement.

"I'm just as amazed as you are." Zacharie chuckles. 

Batter grumbles under his breath. Since he is the strongest member in the team, Batter wanted to take the lead in case any enemies catch them by surprise meanwhile Zacharie would keep an eye out from behind. The only flaw he didn't predict in his strategy is that now you and Zacharie are close to each other, distracting him with conversation.

"Did you notice this Batter? You guys have color and texture now! I can't believe I missed it for a second." you continue to admire the man beside you.

"It's not important to the mission so I didn't bother with it." the Batter responds in disinterest.

Your reaction is the complete opposite from Batter's. It's like seeing new 3D models of your favorite video game's remake.

You continue to admire the mask man. How his skin has a tan pigment, with fun doodle like tattoos littered all over his arms and hands, his mask looks smooth to the touch even though you haven't had Zach's permission to touch or hold it yet. But by just looking at it you assume it's thick and layered with plastic. His clothes weren't too colorful, but the red heart and the cotton like texture on his shirt is nice to look at. However, the odd thing is that the knitted pattern looks like someone tried to recreate a sweater but has never seen one in the flesh.

"Well it is to me! I live for these kinds of details, it's like looking at a 3D remake of you guys~" you chime joyfully. "Come'on Batter, you gotta admit you're looking pretty slick." you compliment the man, but he remain apathetic. 

He shrugs off his new appearance. Strangely enough, he did enjoy having your attention on him instead of Zacharie. Yet, he looked you up and down before commenting. "If color equal to slick, then I have bad news for you."

You looked at him baffled. "What are you talking about, I'm always lookin slick." you pout, figuring he was just messing with you. 

The Batter opened his mouth to say something, however he decided against it and kept it closed.

Zacharie was the one to speak up instead. "Player, I hate to bring bad news but maybe you should have a look at yourself." he said carefully. 

Now you were really starting to get worried. 

Crouching in the edge of the walkway so you could see your reflection in the ocean liquid. With all the new color in the world it was easy to tell you are the only one lacking it, from your skin tone to the pajamas you are still wearing now drenched in a monochrome palette. 

"I-I don't get it. Is this bad?" you ask worryingly, searching answers from your add ons. 

But even Zacharie, the 4th wall destroyer didn't have any answers. 

"This is weird." you mumble, feeling bummed out for a second. 

The Batter isn't the best person to comfort others, but he knew he didn't want to see you upset. 

"You had color back at your bedroom," batter brings up, remembering how much he contrasts to the colorful room. "We could go for a while if you like?" he suggests. 

Zacharie raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his chest "My, and here I thought you were the reserved one Batter." he teases. 

The Batter clenched his teeth together, lowering his head so his cap could obscure the blush on his face.

"That's not what I meant." he growls.

You try to interject in the conversation in a passive way, the last thing you need is Batter lowering Zacharie's hp.

"He's right though, maybe my room is like the starting point in this world?" you tried to comprehend before diminishing the problem. 

"It doesn't matter though, seeing the color on you guys is way better than my own." you smile, standing up from the edge of the walkway while dusting yourself .

Batter took a second look at his own clothing and pigment, maybe these new designs aren't so bad after all. Zacharie also adjusted the mask on his face properly, as a way to make himself more presentable.

Especially because the player likes the color on them. 

Chapter Text

Letting the Batter take the lead and go auto mode is a blessing in certain occasions. Mostly when you're attacked by a small group of enemies or just grinding experience points and those sweet credits.

However, you can't just stay behind and watch the fights unravel in front of you.

An odd occurrence happened when three dust bunnies joined together and turned into a larger and intimidating creature.

"What is it Batter?" you ask the man in front of you.

Rabbit King (x1) 
Weakness to plastic, high resistance to Metal. 

The rabbit sneered at the three of you, its elongated maw showing grotesque overgrown buck teeth. Whatever that thing is, it resembled more a group of furless rabbits meshed together by the tail.

"Rabbit King." He held out his arm from preventing you from getting any closer to the monster.

"Looks like a nasty conjoined version of our little dusty friends." Zacharie observed, taking a step in forward. "If they can learn how to fight like a team, then it's no reason for us to do it as well. Don't you think player?"

You frantically look back and forth between Zacharie and Batter, cowering behind the athlete at the sight of the Rabbit.

But suddenly the sound of a familiar song started playing in the back of your head, you tap your foot to the irregular but pleasant beat.

BATTLE TIME.

You raised your hand to the option present in front of you, muscle memory making you choose auto like earlier times, but you swiftly aimed to the opposite.

"Engage." you say out loud, holding your ground side by side with your add ons.

"With pleasure." Batter grins, preparing his stance.

"At your command mon amie." Zacharie nods. 

"I'll defend this round, Batter use a plastic attack, metal won't do shit to this sucker."

"On it." the athlete pulled out a plastic baseball from his pocket. You can tell it's not like a usual plastic toy, it has some heavy weight to it as he tosses it up and down in his palm.

"And Zach..." you turned to the ex merchant. "This is my first time seeing you in battle so, show me what you got!" you motivate the masked man. Genuinely excited to see his moveset in action.

"I'll do my best." Zacherie finger guns you.

Batter grinds his teeth at the exchange, tossing his ball in the air before furiously hitting it with his  baseball bat. The ball whistles through the air before striking on the Rabbit monster in the snout with a disgusting crunch.

"Whoa a critical hit! Nice one Batter." you cheer on. "Zacharie, give him a hit, let's see if that was enough to knock'em down."

The Masked Man followed your order, smacking the monster with his backpack before retrieving back to formation.

While you wait for your team to recover and attack again, the rabbit king ready its claws. The batter is its major threat, aiming to scratch over his chest but the batter took it like a champ, raising his bat to shield his chest from the claws and taking minimal damage along the way.

"Batter!" you called out to the man, taking a quick glance at the stats your are only able to see, told you he is fine. Mostly. "Think you can hold out a little longer?" you ask worryingly.

"That was but a scratch." he smirks.

"Alright, let's attack the three of us." you says.

Coordinating your team is easier than you thought since you understand how the think and work. Batter is aggressive, he aims directly for the blow he believes is the weakest while Zacharie takes a moment to figure out how to imbalance a target, attacking multiple spots at once.

Because you and Zacharie don't have weapons you two resorted to using your fists, but where Zacharie had extra damage because of the weight of his backpack, you had nothing.

Your fist didn't do significant damage when it landed on the Rabbit King's face. The proximity allowed it to slash at your stomach, sending you tumbling back.

Status: Paralyzed.

Both add ons cried your name in worry, you internally started to panic the second you couldn't move your extremities. But the music kept playing inside your head, the battle must go on, so for both yours and your teams sake, you tried to keep yourself steady.

"Don't let it distract you I'll be fine in a few turns!" you warned both men, reminding them of the battle in hand. "Batter, keep using plastic competences and Zacharie, keep attacking like you did before. Everyone has an hp that goes to 0 at some point!"

You gulp. Processing your own words.

'Even mine..'

By the time you could feel your body again, Batter landed the finishing blow to the rabbit king. Leaving behind a mush of flesh, credits, a silver flesh and the typical experience points. But now that you can actually see them, they manifested themselves as small blinking lights (like fireflies) flying straight into the three of you.

Zacharie was the first to run towards you, helping you stand to your feet.

"(y/n) are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine... Just feeling really tired." you try to resist the urge to yawn. "Let me see how you guys are doing."

Despite your state you checked the party's stats.

Batter is the one who went through the most damage, having a 2/4 of his hp down while Zacharie was thriving with a 4/4 of his hp intact. Yours however, was a low 1/4.

"You don't look fine to me." Batter noticed. He suddenly picked you up bridal style, jogging in a light pace towards the floating square you two started on.

"Where are you going? The building is over there, we need to head there to continue our journey!" you raised your voice in confusion.

But Batter stayed strict and firm, hearing how agitated he really was. "We need to take you to the save point to recover health."

Zacharie was following behind, unable to keep up with Batter's legs, for every step he took Zacharie had to take 20. "He's right, we can't continue if our leader is down. Well, we could if we drag you around... but you know what I mean." Zach agreed.

Batter slowed his pace once the save point came to view, lowering you to your feet so you could interact with the floating block.

Health and Competence Recovered.

The familiar message flashed before your eyes.

You checked your add ons stats again, fortunately finding them at their max health. A ghost of a smile graced your lips until you noticed your own health bar once more, still at 1/4.

"It didn't work." you admit solemnly.

Batter didn't outward say it but you could see the way he held a tight grip on his bat. He's worried, both of them are.

However Zacharie reacted in a different way, he dug through his backpack pulling out a handful of luck tickets. "It's no biggie, with one of this babies you'll be at full health in no time." the Masked Man said hopefully. He approached you with one of the tickets, ripping it on your chest and waiting for it to do it's magic.

You checked your stats once more to see nothing has changed. You didn't have the guts to tell him so you simply shook your head.

Zacharie remained quiet. "That one was probably defective, let me try again." he ripped another luck ticket on your chest, letting the white sparks land on your body without any avail.

"Zach stop, you'll just waste them." you told the man.

You turned around to look back at the floating red block, unlike the yellow ones these take you back to the nothingness. To your room.

Your raised your monochrome hand, admiring how much you contrasted with this colorful world. How it's rules don't apply to you.

Maybe I'm the issue?

"How about I rest a little at my room?" you comment.

"It's worth a try." Zacharie looked back at Batter.

"At least you'll be safe there." The Batter nods.

Chapter Text

Batter crosses his arms as he keeps his eyes glued to your bedroom door, paranoid that another one of those rodent enemies would barge in an interrupt your sleep.

Speaking of which.

He spared the door for a second to glance at your direction. Your peaceful figure sleeping safe in sound on the comfort of your plush bed. Batter looked away, returning his broad stare at the door.

"Would you relax already? This is a safe zone after all." Zacharie pokes fun at the athlete. Unlike the Batter, Zacharie was right beside your bed. Making himself comfortable on the fuzzy floor rug around your bed while he reorganized the contents of his backpack.

"I won't relax until I help (y/n) carry out their mission." Batter said in a stoic way.
"You're quite something, aren't you?" Zacharie chuckles at the other man's behavior. Making sure he didn't disturb you with the volume of his voice. "I believe the player wouldn't want you tensed up 24/7, they would want you to rest as well."

Batter narrowed his eyes at the masked man, something about his comment jagging inside of him. "And what makes you think you know more about (y/n) than me?"

"I just do, we get along quite well." Zacharie says with a dry chuckle. "What about it anyway?" he asks, intrigued by the Batter's sudden attachment towards you. When the athlete stayed quiet, Zacharie raised an eyebrow from underneath his mask, lowering the items in his backpack to fully focus on the topic at hand.

"Sure you two have similar interests, but I'm the one who spent the most time with them." Batter reminds Zach, almost proudly. "I've been with them ever since we fought together, i know them more than anyone."

Zacharie waved a hand in the air nonchalantly.

"But that was back in our previous lives my friend. The player now can make choices of their own. How do you know (y/n) still trusts you after revealing the truth behind your, so called, sacred quest?" the ex-merchant puts emphasis on his quest, pointing at the bat in Batter's hands. "They could kick you out of the party if they so choose to, have you ever thought about that?"

The mere suggestion that his puppeteer no longer believed in his actions inexplicably caused Batter's blood to boil. Even feeling offended that Zach would suggest such a thing about you.

Batter knew his player would never do that.

Right?

"Because in the end, they choose me. They choose to fight by my side and that's all the proof I need." Batter reaffirmed with the same unwavering loyalty.

Zacharie didn't reply at first.

Instead his eyes landed on your sleeping form with a sense of melancholic longing.

"I know." Zacharie sighs, his hands unconsciously touching the frog mask on his face. Remembering the one he wore to mourn with pablo. Zach could only hope his friend didn't suffer too much before dying. "If player didn't help you, the world wouldn't have ended in the first place." he added as if stating the obvious.

"You saw how miserable everyone was under his rule. It had to be done." Batter states firmly without regret, still believing he did the right thing.

"...It's all in the past." the ex-merchant shook his head lightly. Zacharie didn't seem to hold a grudge against you two for practically killing everyone and even a few of his loved ones, he isn't that kind of man, instead opting to try to move forward.

But Zacharie does admit, there were times when he questioned what it would've been like if you had chosen him as your puppet instead of the Batter. The adventures you two would've had, the silly situations you would've shared. Would you have made the same decision if you saw things through his perspective?

Zacharie had no way of actually knowing back then, he was just an npc who wasn't coded to even fight, he considered himself lucky to even be able to see you. But now, he has a chance. A chance to help you, a chance to create new memories and have fun... a chance to...

His hand unconsciously went to the heart on his shirt, the small action providing him with a sense of comfort. "All that matters now is the present and helping the player." Zacharie reaffirmed his priorities, staying true to his own goals.

Chapter Text

Going out into a different world with only your pajamas isn't a wise choice.

Just look at Batter.

You don't know how, but his jersey shirts manage to protect him like armor! Something you need after fighting your first enemy.

You hold up a nice looking shirt from your closet. Eyes landing to the text box that pops up when you interact with an article of clothing. You sigh at the description, tossing it to the side when it didn't have the stats you were looking for.

"What do you think of this one? Does it make me look intimidating?" you ask your add ons for advice. Holding up a different shirt with little hedgehogs on it, pressing it against your chest.

"Oooh, it's cute." Zacharie comments happily, swinging his feet back and forth while sitting at the edge of your bed.

"So, so," Batter shakes his head, standing opposite of the room where Zacharie was sitting.

You look back at the cute shirt placing it back inside the closet as you continue to rummage through.

While Batter stood patiently in his spot against the wall, Zacharie was more curious.

Taking in the details of your bedroom, looking at your stuff on the shelves of your drawer with a keen eye, the more he looked at your stuff, the more he learned about you. The empty food wrappers beside your bed made it noticeable you like to snack occasionally, the books on the shelves told him what kind of literature you like, and the desk piled with notebooks and desk supplies made it clear you were a student. Zacharie loved learning more about his player, like an interesting book to read through.

His fingertips graced through your notebooks before a bright object caught his attention. Zacharie made his way to a shelf primarily storing a couple of plastic figurines resembling bright characters he was unfamiliar with. The top shelf however, had the object that caught his attention. It was, much to his surprise, an un-sheath samurai sword perched on top of a wooden base.

"Excuse me player, but why do you have a sword in your bedroom? You never struck me as a sword wielder." Zacharie asks, seeking your attention before aiming to grab the mentioned object.

"Oh that old thing? I bought it at a convention some time ago. I thought it would be nice to have if I ever cosplay for Halloween, but I never got around with it. So I just hang it in my room as decoration." you shrug.

"Interesting. Would you mind if I try it?"

"Knock yourself out." you say in a sing song voice.

Zacharie grabbed hold of the sheathed sword, pulling it from its confinement to show its pristine metal. It was obvious you have never used it, with the exception of dust and a few scratches on the handle the blade is practically brand new. The mask man looked at himself in the reflection, his excited eyes looking back at him.

While Zacharie messed around with his weapon of choice, Batter stood away from his spot on the wall to walk up to you.

"Why are you so concerned with your choice of clothing?" Batter asked you.

You pressed your lips together.

"I just want something with good stats you know?" you tried to reason, even though everything in your closet was low-level. However, the Batter could see through your bluff.

"Anything looks fine on you, just pick something you're comfortable with." Batter suggested.

You looked back at the monochromatic man with a slight shocked expression, before shaping into a smile.

"Alright, though I need you two to go outside first so I can change." you gently tapped Batter's shoulder towards the door.

Zacharie followed Batter to the nothingness, still keeping a hold of his new sword.

"Do you even know how to use that thing?" Batter asked Zacharie. "The last thing I want is for you to slow down the player's progress."

"Let's just say i have a good feeling about this. Like someone made me for it." the masked man chuckles, tucking the sword inside his spacious backpack.

You eventually opened your door, no longer in pajamas but in an outfit you usually wear. Batter is right, if you're gonna be running around and being active, you might as well feel comfortable.

"Alright, let's get this bread"

Batter and Zacharie looked at each other in confusion, much to your amusement. "I'll explain it later." you chuckle, stepping in the portals once more.

Chapter Text

The zone name is a dead give away. Must be a bathroom right? easy as that.

"Huh. Well... this is a thing apparently." You say out loud with a curious hum. Arms crossed over your chest as you read the sign above your head, trying to grasp the concept present in front of you. Hour trustworthy add ons are right beside you, reading the sign as well but not finding anything out of the ordinary.

"Tell me Batter. Do you know what a bath room is? I mean, do you even use one? I know you only have a visible mouth to eat meat and all but it has to come out someway..." you go into a tangent that surprisingly irks the Batter.

"I KNOW what a bathroom is." he grunts.

Zacharie could be heard chuckling in the background. 

You un cross your arms with a silent nod. "Good, because apparently someone doesn't know the difference between a bathroom and a bath house." you state firmly, pointing at the sign in front of you.

[ Welcome to The Bathhouse! Please leave your shoes by the entrance and register in the reception.] 

Crossing through the porcelain doors takes you to a room you identify as a reception area, with baby blue and white tiles placed in a checker formation like the main entrance, there's rows of chairs across one wall, a single clock hanging over a desk with its own receptionist. 

You can't explain how but the smell of chlorine, soap and humidity lingers in the room like a natural odor. Almost like a pool. Even stranger is the fact the decoration reminds you of your own bathroom, making you feel homesick. 

"Welcome to the Bathhouse," the receptionist greets you kindly. "You must be new here, we have pamphlets on the various activities we have to offer." he points to the stack of folded items beside him. "Or can I interest you in a contemporary membership that provides access to everything?"

Zacharie is the first to grab a pamphlet and skim through it while you huddle Batter close to you. "Batter did you notice it too?, the receptionist looks like an elsen... But he looks way too happy for a normal elsen. Something is already rubbing me the wrong way." you comment suspiciously, taking a split second to look at the elsen contently waving at the three of you. "This is enemy territory now-" 

"Oooh, a spa sounds nice don't you think player?" Zacharie cooed at the sound of that, interrupting your outer monolog. 

Batter obviously wasn't on board with the idea. "Stay focused, we are on a mission here!" the taller man scold Zacharie by poking him on the chest. "Isn't that right (y/n)?" he looked back at you, waiting for your confirmation. But you don't respond immediately, instead you're peeking over Zacharie's shoulder to read the pamphlet. 

[Sauna: perfect for relaxation and respiratory issues, requires obligatory bathrobe. Spa: Beauty options and body massages to removes muscle tension. Pedalo ride: Enjoy a pleasant ride through the tunnel system connected throughout the entire bath house. Liquid Park: Decorative fountain display and public pools for swimming exercises. Requires obligatory bathing suit.]

"Ooo look at that there's public pools!" you chime excitingly only to hear Batter's stern dad voice. 

"Ahem." Batter taps his foot impatiently. Zach doesn't add to the conversation but he does an eye roll towards the batter. 

You step away from Zacharie, pulling yourself together from any more distractions. "Right, right, we have matters to attend first..." you start to say earning a firm nod from the Batter momentarily before breaking your wistful act. "...Buuut, we don't know much about this new area so we should cover as much ground as possible. You know, poke around and figure out what's going on." you give Batter a look that only gained a heavy sigh from him, reluctantly nodding his head. 

"Of course."

You stride your way to the receptionist, casually leaning an arm on the desk. "Do you accept credit?" you ask, ready to flaunt your wealth after your previous grinding at the docks. 

"I'm afraid not, here at the bath house we use the currency leviathan coin but I can gladly exchange your credits." for demonstration the elsen raises the currency to you, a porcelain rectangle the size of a cookie but with a different symbol on atleast three variations. A droplet for the lowest amount, a swan for the middle, and a spiral conch for the highest amount. 

You pat your pockets for your loose change, only to find them empty after an expensive purchase called Zacharie. 

Zach on the other hand was swimming with the money he made from you, already making his way to the receptionist, raising three fingers. "Three prime membership cards please." he says confidently, already pulling out his wallet. 

"Excellent~ that'll be 9000 credits." the elsen recepcionist claps his hands together, unaware of Zacharie's bewildered eyes. "Come again?" he replies with the tilt of his head. 

You gently push Zacharie aside as you grab his wallet. "We'll take the basic membership,"

"But player, those don't give us access to the entire bath house. How about we collect the money back at the docks?" 

You feel your face grow hot in embarrassment, memories of barely scraping by buying cheap food crossing through your mind. "Screw that I'm not going back to grind those annoying fish!" you raise your voice a tad more than expected. "I mean... We'll figure something out along the way."

You exchange Zacharie's remaining money for the proper currency and hand both men their respective cards, listening to the receptionists instructions about the changing rooms down the hall. It's a simple room with pale blue and gray lockers lined up in rows, Zacharie sat on one of the benches so he could drop his backpack while Batter simply leaned his baseball bat against the wall.

Another small sign hanged over the entrance.

Please check your pass card for your assigned locker to store personal items. Clients are not allowed to enter the bath house with outside items, shoes or clothing not adjusted to the indoors. 

You huff to yourself in annoyance. "I can't believe it, after all that time choosing an outfit." you begrudgingly kick the locker beside you.

"If we're unprotected without our weapons or equipment, it would be the perfect timing for an ambush." Batter reasons, either out of paranoia or logical thinking. 

You rub the side of your head, sitting on the bench too. "I know, I know. That doesn't sound ideal, maybe you can hide your baseball bat in your bathrobe?"

The Batter gives you a visible quizzed expression. "And how am I supposed to do that?" he emphasizes on the bat size. 

You hum in thought, "Hmm, you got quite the long legs."

Zacharie butts in. "I have an idea. What if we split?" 

"How so?" you indulge yourself in Zacharie's plan. 

"We're only supposed to access the sauna and nothing more right? We'll have to branch off from the sauna at some point to look for clues or anything of value, it'll be difficult to do that as a team but what if only one of us does it?" 

"And how would we split?" Batter asks, looking interested.

"Our dear player can scout the rooms while we avoid suspension and go to the sauna." Zacharie answers. 

"Ooh sounds interesting," you pip up but Batter is quick to turn down that idea. 

"There's a huge flaw in your plan Zacharie, our puppeteer can't recover health. I don't want to imagine what might happen if they get hurt along the way." The athlete crosses his arms across his chest. "I'd agree if either one of us stays with them while the other scouts."

Zach waves a finger at the man "That would be up for them to decide." he nods in your direction, acknowledging your agency. 

You could feel the humid air grow tense between the two of them, both are competent enough for the job and although you're excited about trying out the sauna you also feel like you left out on doing a thrilling scouting mission.

In the end it's up to your preference.

╔═════ ∘◦ ⚜️ ◦∘ ══════╗

ᴄʜᴏᴏꜱᴇ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴘʟᴀɴ ᴛᴏ ꜰᴏʟʟᴏᴡ:

▶ [ ᴛᴀɢ ᴀʟᴏɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʙᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ]

▶ [ ᴛᴀɢ ᴀʟᴏɴɢ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴢᴀᴄʜᴀʀɪᴇ  ]

▶ [ ᴇxᴘʟᴏʀᴇ ᴏɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ]

╚═════ ∘◦ ❉ ◦∘ ══════╝

Chapter Text

Your eyes land on Zacharie.

If there's a chance things could go wrong and you two end up ambushed, then there's no doubt the combination between Zacharie and you could handle the hardest of situations. After all, he's more than familiar with the internal workings of video games.

"Zachaire, looks like you're coming with me." you tell the athlete with a cheeky grin. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." you joke around.

"Oh, on the contrary, you are the one stuck with me." Zacharie played along.

You turn to face the athlete. "Okay Batter, me and Zach will pretend to be normal clients while you scoot off and find something of worth. Think you can do for me old friend?"

"Of course. I'll do everything in my power to carry out the task." the batter nods.

"Excellent."

"I'll leave (y/n) in your sneaky hands Zacharie. Take care of the puppeteer for me and don't screw this up." Batter warns the ex-merchant with a firm tone. Grabbing his baseball bat from the wall and heading to the opposite direction of the sauna.

You turn around to face your temporary undercover partner. Standing on your tip toes to ruffle his black hair.

"It's showtime." you say to your add on, heading to your assigned locker while Zacharie went to his.

The masked man flipped the card in his hand, eyeing the piece of plastic before placing the key card in front of the locker, opening it without any trouble. Inside the metal locker is a pair of sandals, a towel and a bathrobe made of an unknown texture.

Most likely the same material as puppeteer's clothes. He assumes.

Zacharie turned around to ask you what was the name of said materials until the question got stuck in his throat, seeing you are already a step ahead of him by removing half of your clothing. You were a little oblivious to the fact Zach kept staring at you, it wasn't until you were in your underwear when you finally noticed him.

"Something wrong?" you ask with a hint of concern in your voice, tilting your head to the side as you fold your clothing.

"Oh! no, nothing is wrong." Zacharie sheepishly responds, scratching the back of his neck.

"You still have your clothes on though." you notice. Nodding towards his own clothing, an amusing smile crossing on your lips. "Don't tell me you've been wearing that shirt for so long it's glued to your skin?." you giggle at the thought.

"Not at all mon ami, in fact I could easily prove you wrong." the masked man tugged the edge of his shirt collar with a sigh, aware that his neck has a darker tone than the rest of his body. At least he could still keep his mask on.

"You sure?" you ask all of a sudden, closer than Zacharie anticipated.

The man jumped to his feet, unaware on how you approached him so quickly. At some point you slipped on the bath robe, it was still parted lightly enough for him to catch a glimpse of your chest, not to mention his taller height made it so he had a distinctive view.

"But what about the mask?" you wonder, your eyes trailing across the item on his face as you raise your hand to touch it. "Can you remove that?"

Zacharie stood still in his spot, his eyes refusing to leave your form. He gently grabbed your hand in his, lowering it away from his frog shaped mask.

"I can. But I'd rather not." he muses, caressing his thumb across your knuckles, drawing your attention away from his mask. "Can't a man keep his secrets?" he asks you innocently.

"Yes, yes he can."

It was then that something finally clicked in your brain. "Ohh I get it. I'll give you some privacy if that's what you need." you nod in sympathy, storing your clothes in your locker. "I'll be waiting outside the hall when you're done." you tell the man before leaving.

It wasn't until you were gone that Zacharie leaned back against the lockers, pressing his hand against his chest as he felt his heart beating against his rib cage. He can't stop your curiosity, but he'd rather avoid having you see his true self.

What if they don't like what they see?

"A1, A2, A3..." you count the doors of the halls to find, leading the way while Zacharie trails behind you. "A4, A5... A5! It's this one." you tell your add on, who proceeds to open the door for you, catching you by surprise.

"You first, mon amie."

"My, my aren't you a gentleman?" you snicker at the gesture.

At first glance it's a normal sauna room, lacking anything out of the ordinary. Nothing but a cauldron with hot metal stones and a bucket of liquid beside it, other than that there's just benches on the walls for you to sit.

After you headed inside, Zach closed the door behind you to allow the both of you some privacy. Zacharie walked up to the liquid bucket, making sure it wasn't poison or something similar, finding it made out of plastic, or at least some variation of it.

"Is the room safe enough to use then? it would be cool to test it out, I've never been in a sauna before." you release a dreamy sigh.

"It looks safe to me." he agrees, pouring the liquid on the metal stones.

It didn't take long for the temperature to rise up along with the steam filling the room. You lay back against the bench, rejoicing in the change of temperature. Even blissfully closing your eyes to let the warmth relax your tense muscles.

I wonder if Zacharie ever gets tired too? He does carry that backpack everywhere after all.

You peak an eye towards the masked man, feeling your face grow warm, but not because of the steam around you. Zacharie followed your lead by imitating you, leaning his head back on the bench in a relaxed position. At some point he popped the collar of his bathrobe apart, it wasn't too much but it did allow you to see more of the ex-merchant. You were able to tell the difference between them. Unlike the Batter, Zacharie seemed more relaxed, leaning himself a more on the chubby side, most noticeable by his tummy and thicker arms than Batter's slim build.

Someone once said that the most attractive part of a man is his naval. How the curve of the hips look slightly feminine in nature, dragging your eyes down the crevices of the naval, like an arrow pointing down to... well... the point of pleasure.

"(Y/n)"

You quickly raise your view towards the man in front of you.

"Huh?"

"Que travieso~ I said, is there something that catches your eye?" Zacharie's voice was low, leaning back with one hand while the other played with the rope tied around his waist.

Were you so engrossed that you didn't listen to him calling your name? then again you didn't mind hearing him say it... oh geez. There you go again with the daydreaming. But who could blame you? you haven't had a date in a while, too much schoolwork and games taking your time.

That made you wonder.

"Depends. You got anything eye-catching?"

Zacharie tossed his had back in a soft laughter, enjoying how your skin started to gain a dark hue. Either because of the heat of the sauna, or because of something else.

"Maybe i do, maybe i don't. Wouldn't you like to find out~?" he lowered his eyelids at you, just as much as he lowered his voice.

"I have a lot of interesting items in my backpack!"

You quirk an eyebrow at the man, but at the same time he pulled an amused smile from you. Looks like he's making you ask for it.

"I was referring to what's under that mask of yours."

Zacharie didn't reply right away, but he did land his eyes directly on you. That look. You know it's the one that speaks of mischief, but there was something else hidden behind them, something that sent a chill down your spine.

"You can reveal any part of me you want player, but the mask, it stays on." he purrs.

Boy, did that mess you up more than it should have.

Something just snapped inside you.

Zacharie has always been surrounded by mystery and intrigue. Not only because he was the only merchant in the game or for his familiarity of the 4th wall, but also because of that one book in Bismark Library that spoke of a masked hero. He's seems open to flirting and teasing, you can deal with that, but there's so much more of that you want to know about him. Especially with the mystery under his mask.

"Wait, so you'll willingly let me undress you but not see what's under-"

A light knock came from the door. Zacharie's attention shifted to the door, ignoring your question.

Looks like you're not getting answers anytime soon.

"Ah, there you (y/n)." Batter causally opened the sauna door, stepping inside but not without using his baseball cap to fan himself. "I believe i found something of worth for you."

Chapter Text

Your eyes land on the Batter.

If there's a chance things could go wrong and you two end up ambushed, then there's no doubt Batter will be able to hold himself together with your guidance. Just like in the old days.

"Batter, looks like you're coming with me." you tell the athlete with a cheeky grin. "You're not getting rid of me that easily." you joke around.

The Batter didn't seem to mind, shrugging his shoulders. "Wasn't planning to."

"Okay Zacharie, me and Batter will pretend to act as normal clients while you scoot off and find something of worth. Think you can do that buddy?"

"For you mon amie, I'll climb literal mountains." the masked man chuckles with a wave of his hand. "Go on without me, I'll be sure to find something." he reassured you.

"Excellent."

"I'll leave (y/n) in your holy hands Batter. Take care of our dear player." Zacharie warns the Batter with a firm tone. Where Batter simply nods. Zacharie went to the bench and equipped his back pack once more, heading off to the opposite direction of the sauna.

You turn around to face your temporary undercover partner. Patting his shoulder.

"Let's go on with the show." you say to your add on, heading to your assigned locker while Batter went to his.

The athlete placed the key card in front of the locker, opening it without any trouble. Inside the metal locker is a pair of sandals, a towel and a bathrobe made of an unknown texture.

Ever since the beginning when you first met him, Batter always portrayed himself as a pure man. Untaintable by any ill intentions, not even the thought of doing anything he would consider unholy. Although being pure doesn't mean he's innocent of any past sins, and yet, he still views and portrays himself as clean as his pristine uniform.

You never doubt him as that kind of man, but only once did the thought ever occurr to you.

"Hey Batter, I bet you've been wearing that outfit so long that it's glued to your skin-" you jest into the empty and silent room. But Batter play along to your goofy mood.

"I have no reason to change clothing as much as you do."

You huff at his serious tone, unprovoked by your taunts. "Oh, so you never shower either? Dang Batter, you probably have an ocean amount of sweat on you." you giggle, pinching your nose as you wave a hand in the air in faux stench. 

"I never said I don't shower-" Batter tried to look at you in the face, but upon catching a glimpse at your bare back did he immediately return his view to his locker. The movement didn't go unnoticed by you, barely catching him with the corner of your eye. That's when you asked yourself.

Is he as pure minded as he makes himself out to be?

A malicious smile creeps up on your face, wanting to test this theory out since this looks like the perfect place for it. I mean sure, maybe he's just being modest and respects your privacy, but you still wanna test it out.

"Hey Batter-" your sing song tone echoes through the changing room. "Can you help me tie the bathrobe strap from behind? I can't reach it. Unless, this task is too much for you~" you taunt once more, but this time Batter does catch the bait. 

"This is nothing compared to anything else I've done for you puppeteer." he tries to shrug it off lightly, and yet there's something unnerving him from the action. 

The athlete forces himself to look at your form once more, with the top of the bathrobe barely covering the front of your chest while the back portion is left loosely dangling on your shoulders. The Batter feels his throat constrict slightly, feeling his mouth go dry. It's just a bathrobe, nothing too complicated for him. Or is it because it belongs to his puppeteer? Apparently his thoughts have been running miles per hour when the task itself only lasted about 5 seconds, neatly tying the strap in shape of a bow behind your back. 

"Thanks." you chime, raising the bathrobe properly in place before facing the Batter. He's avoiding eye contact with you, lowering his face so a shadow could cast under his features. 

"Told you I could handle it." he grunts monotonously, tying the strap on his own robe in a quick knot. "I'll go ahead to check the corridor is clear, meanwhile store your things in the locker." he left without another word, leaving you to sigh in disappointment. 

What were you expecting anyway? For him to blush like a schoolgirl at the sight of your bare torso? You shake your head with a laugh at the absurdity of the scenario in mind." Maybe it's because of the bathroom setting." you muse to yourself before storing your clothing away. 

However, what you didn't see was the way Batter leaned against the wall out in the corridor, far from your taunting eyes. His chest rising and falling, dropping a sweat and feeling his face grow warm, like he just ran for miles non stop. 

What's this sensation? Did he grow sick? 

Either way he couldn't let this status effect interfere with his current mission. His puppeteer needs him. The Batter hits the brakes and  stopped in his steps. 'What if his puppeteer is provoking this?' the athlete felt a bit reassured by the thought. The fact this is probably just a prank they pulled on him instead of something capable of endangering the mission made him feel a bit better.

He has nothing to worry about.

"A1, A2, A3..." you count the doors of the halls to find, leading the way while Batter trails behind you. "A4, A5... A5! It's this one." you tell your add on, who proceeds to open the door for you, catching you by surprise.

"My, my aren't you a gentleman?" you snicker at the gesture.

But before you could take a step inside Batter was the first to peak his head in the room, taking in the details of the room to make sure there was nothing suspicious around. "Can't be too careful, this could be a trap after all." The batter explains. At first glance it's a normal sauna room, lacking anything out of the ordinary. Nothing but a cauldron with hot metal stones and a bucket of liquid beside it, other than that there's just benches on the walls for you to sit. "It's safe, you came come inside now." Batter side-stepped, allowing you to walk inside the private sauna room as he close the door behind you.

"My hero-" you roll your eyes. "You sure are paranoid." you point out, taking a seat at the bench.

"I'd prefer to call it being cautious."

Batter walked up to the liquid bucket, making sure it wasn't poison or something similar, finding it made out of plastic, or at least some variation of it. "Is the room safe enough to use then? it would be cool to test it out, I've never been in a sauna before." you release a dreamy sigh.

The Batter checked under the benches, nodding once the room is cleared out.

"It's safe." he agrees, prompting to sit across from you. Once he gave you the green light, your hands gingerly went for the liquid in the bucket, dozing it over the hot metal stone, filling the room with steam.

"You call me paranoid but if I remember correctly, you would save around 10 times before exploring any new room." now it's Batter's turn to try and joke at you. 

"In my defense that's because I never knew when we would get cornered by ghosts! Everything was a goddamn hazard, even the balloon game."

"Really? Cause I saw that coming a mile away." he boasts. 

"No you didn't!" 

The athlete cracks a grin at your reaction, finally finding something to poke at you. No wonder you do it all the time, it's fun. 

"I bet you didn't expect your picture getting taken at the roller-coaster ride~" 

The corners of Batter's mouth lowered a bit. "Okay maybe that caught me of guard but-" you burst in a tiny laughing fit before Batter could even finish his sentence. But strangely enough, he didn't mind hearing that joyful sound of yours.

"Well, I liked it alot. You looked really cute in that photo." you compliment after your laughter dies down. 

"I'm not cute." Batter huffs, feeling his face grow warm again like earlier, but this time he suspected that it was probably due to the rising temperature. 

You lay back against the bench, rejoicing in the change of temperature. Even closing your eyes to let the warmth relax your tense muscles. The Batter didn't let himself loose focus, instead leaning forward so he could rest his elbows on his knees. 

"Don't you ever relax Batter?" you ask mindlessly, despite keeping your eyes closed, you can tell he's restless by listening to the way his feet tap against the floor. 

"I'm on a mission, there's no time for me to relax."

"You already checked the room, it's safe, no need to get so uptight."

"There's nothing 'uptight' about your safety puppeteer." Batter responds in a stoic voice, completely different from his behavior a minute ago. You found yourself missing that part of him, wishing to have more friendly moments with him than just all work and no play. 

The Batter stopped tapping his foot when he saw you crawl on the bench, making your way to sit right beside him, even casually leaning on his shoulder. "There. Now you can keep a good eye on me from here right? Relax Batter, you'll end up with sore muscles through the rest of the level." you comment lightly.

Batter wonders if this is another one of your tomfoolery, but there's no denying the authenticity of your calm voice and serene expression.

There it is again, that warm sensation in his stomach. The athlete allows himself to loosen up a bit, in your presence, even leaning back to rest his back on the wall behind him, even closing his eyes for a moment. You peak an eye open at the man beside you, wondering if he really took your advice or is just pretending. But during your curiosity did something else grab your attention, the quick knot Batter tied around his waist wasn't fully tighten, becoming loose with every step he took from the changing room. You didn't pay it any mind until you caught a glimpse of what's underneath, the firm body of an athletic man, with toned muscle due to countless fights and running around.

It's natural you felt yourself drawn to the sight before you, but you never contemplated that it would belong to someone as the Batter.

Upon feeling a pair of eyes on himself, the man himself opened his eyes only to unknowingly end up making eye contact with you. It's an odd moment, you were just caught ogling the Batter's indecency where he barely bat an eye to yours back at the changing room. You wanted to say something, like maybe apologize or crack a joke but there's something behind his eyes as he viewed you from above, a burning curiosity, just like yours. 

It's then that the sensation he felt earlier came crashing down even stronger, realizing this probably isn't a joke of yours. If this were anyone else he would've give them a scowl and that's it, but the fact that his puppeteer that was caught staring at him indecently... He likes it. 

A light knock came from the door. Batter's reaction was immediate, sitting up and stiffening his muscles if an intruder came in.

"Geez, is it hot in here or is it just me?" the ex-merchant chuckles. Zacharie peeks his head inside the sauna, his eyes smiling at the sight of you two. You could even hear the Batter's exasperated sigh. "Anyway, you guys won't believe what I just found!"

Chapter Text

"A map?" you unfold the object in your hands. It's synthetic qualities felt rough and unfamiliar against your skin, but it was by no means uncomfortable.

You extended the map over one of the benches, having a good view of the outline of the bathhouse. Apparently, it's larger than you expected, the first floors are dedicated to spa and sauna properties, pools, but the lower floors take to an underground water canal system, most likely connected to the water park the receptionist elsen talked about.

"This is insane, look at all these sections we can explore!" you admire the bathhouse architecture in both awe and fear.

"It's gonna take us a while to search each nook and cranny," Batter hums thoughtfully. "Where do we start?"

"I just hope it isn't another maze." you dread, rubbing a hand over your eyes after remembering a specific mall.

Zacharie took in the details of the map, analyzing each passageway, corridor, and canal. His eyes growing wide at a specific room, landing a finger on the location. "This room is the only place that lacks any description, maybe they're hiding something valuable?"

"You're right." You turn the map in your direction to look at the room Zach mentioned. "Boys, we have our first destination."

"Or maybe it could be a dead-end..." Batter murmurs.

Your team went back to the locker rooms to recover your normal equipment, wearing the bathrobes over them to go unnoticed.

There's an odd feeling you can't shake about the bath house's interior. It feels reminiscent of a place you've been before, like visiting a place you've never been before but you've seen it in your dreams. Until you wake up and forget about what you dreamed about.

Whatever it was, it was giving you an uncanny sensation.

Your focused your view on your two add ons.

"Hey batter, can we talk for a second?" you pull in the athlete to the side, away from Zach's earshot.

"Of course puppeteer, what seems to be the problem?" he asks.

"Although the three of us have been traveling for a short time, I've noticed you've been acting a bit... rough on Zacharie lately."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for example, whenever he tries to help you always seem to push him down," you explain. "I get you're not used to having someone else in our party but we're a team now, we have to work together and that includes getting along."

Batter stayed quiet, his mouth in a straight line while he turned his head to look at Zacharie, contently studying the map.

"We don't know anything about him, that's untrustworthy enough to me." The batter tries to justify.

You shook your head in disapproval. "Oh please, you weren't exactly an open book when we first met. All I knew was your name and your goal." you eye him up and down.

"That's true," Batter sighs in defeat. "I didn't know anything about you too, yet that first moment we met I knew I could trust you."

That felt surprisingly heartwarming.

"Can't you do the same for Zacharie?"

"He hasn't done anything to prove himself trustworthy... to me at least."

"Batter," you pinch the bridge of your nose. "Back then he gave us stuff we needed. Jokers, meat, weapons, armor..." you mention a few in an exasperated tone. "We wouldn't have made it far in our journey without him."

"Then I guess you remember what we did when we were far enough?" Batter told you in a hushed tone. "The elsen may not remember what happened back then, but we do and so does Zacharie, who's not to say he holds a grudge for what happened to Sucre?"

You looked away shamefully, remembering how much you wanted to get that Ashley bat. If you've known the 'in-game' consequences would follow you today, well... You would have listened to the game over screen song.

"He doesn't seem like the kind of guy to hold a grudge." you defend.

"How do you know that?"

"I just do."

Batter kept quiet once more.

"You two done? We have a lot of terrain to cover." Zacharie calls out, tucking the map inside his backpack.

"Yeah we're done here for now," you shot Batter a quick glance.

You definitely weren't done with him though.

Although the grotesque dust bunnies and rabbit kings were terrifying, they were no match for the most fearsome obstacle you have ever faced in a videogame.

"Out of all the puzzles, why did it have to be maze??" you groan.

Batter took the lead as usual, with you sandwiched in the middle and Zacharie in the back. The merchant held the map in his hands, trying to make sense of it even though it didn't exactly show the layout of the maze.

The map guided the three of you to a flight of stairs that lead to the lower levels of the bathhouse, a maze of water canals, and tubes, it almost looked like a sewer, fortunately, it didn't smell like one.

"Hey!" a voice called out.

The three of you froze on the spot.

An elsen with a construction hat caught sight of your party, rushing up to you.

"Are you lost? The sauna is upstairs." the elsen smiled kindly.

"We're not lost." Batter interjects.

Zacharie hid the map behind his back.

"We're here to uh... solve the pest problem... Yeah! get rid of those dust bunnies and such," you said casually.

The elsen scratched the top of his head under his hat, before smiling once more.

"Ah, we don't have an issue with pests. Don't worry the exterminators should handle that problem." The elsen reassures kindly. "But you're our guests, and if our guests want to explore the underground plumbing system then enjoy yourselves!" the worker even tossed keys in your direction. "Here, have my copy of spares keys, it should make navigation better."

And with that the elsen merrily made his way back, leaving you dumbfounded.

"Huh, looks like today is our lucky day." Zacharie laughs contently.

"And to think I was about to knock him unconscious." Batter nods.

"C'mon, you know what's the first room I want to check out?" you eagerly ask your add ons.

"I think I have a fair idea." Zacharie chuckles, he held the map in his hands as he motioned for the two of you to follow him.

That mysterious room marked on the map has always piqued your interest, finding out what's inside was the first thing you wanted to do.

Chapter Text

You could barely contain your excitement, the keys shaking in your hands as you try to unlock the door.

There was a small 'click' and you carefully push the door forward.

The room is dark and menacing, but once you flicker the light switch it becomes painfully average, just like a normal storage closet for brooms and other cleaning products. The enthusiasm left your body in a single sigh, kicking an empty bucket.

"This blows! there's nothing here," you said upset. "The workers are happy, the enemies we fought are just pests, secret rooms are empty, what if there's nothing wrong in this place for us to fix?" you turn back to your add ons, searching for an answer.

"We all have a purpose (y/n), whenever some figure it out quicker than others." Batter explains, trying to comfort you in his own way.

"He's right you know. Maybe there's a deeper reason to all this?" Zacharie tried to motivate you as well.

"I guess so, I mean, you guys already come with purpose as my add ons but I have yet to find my place in this weird-ass world," you stood to your feet. "Come on, let's keep moving."

Before you could turn around and walk through the exit, a single elsen worker was blocking the exit. He stood completely still, due to the odd lighting it made it difficult to see his expression.

"Oh hey, sorry for barging in your closet. But then again you gave us keys so..." you said nonchalantly.

The elsen took a single step forward.

"You're not supposed to be here yet-" he mumbles softly.

"I uh, what?" you ask.

"92825718230002404"

The elsen's voice grew louder, but his speech was nothing but distorted gibberish, something akin to TV static. You didn't move from your spot, believing that maybe this elsen has a number puzzle for you, but his eerie presence kept your add ons tense and on guard.
When the elsen stepped into the light you could see how disfigured his face is, covered in static and deform like a bugged character model in a Ubisoft
game.

Č̡̛͎̟̟͍̑͑̾̇͐̈͐͑͋̕̚͝o̸̻̦̠̼̩͎̻͗͒̾͑̽̚d̷̡̞͔͓̙̈̐͛̇̌̕͝e̸̛̪̝̜̞̎̓̏̓̌́͌̔͗̈́̈́̾̌͝ ̵̨̗͈̍͑̾̈̉n̵̨̛̪̜̖̼̖̲̤̝̗̓̋̊̄͜͠o̸̧̡̢͙̣͇̩̥̼͙̪͛̉̿̄͆̐͌͝ͅẗ̵̢̡̧̗͙̱̺͍̖͕́̑̌̋͘ ̸̧̢̛̺̫̳͚̥̻͈̭͔͙̠̯͔̦͌̃̈́̓̒̒̒̽̈́̿̀͘̕͜͝f̵̨̠̈́o̵̠͛̓̐͌̈̄̎͂̆͑͘͝ṵ̸̢̖̳̤̥͇͖̓̇̈́̍̍̑͝n̷̯̳̂̇̋̈͘͘d̸̢̧̪͕̬͈̜͖̪͖͈̿

It screeched painfully loud at you. Immediately backing off to join your add ons, covering your ears due to the pain the high frequency caused you. The battle theme rang in your head as the distorted elsen dragged the three of you into battle, the options hovering in front of you.

The run button isn't an option.

"Batter, what does your wide-angle say about this one?"

The Batter performs his competence, giving you a nod.

Glitched Elsen (x1)
Error found in the game's code.
HP: ??? CP: ??
No known weaknesses.

The glitching elsen screeched once more, the attack landing on Batter. The athlete grew furious, attempting to swing at the elsen with his bat only to miss every shot and even getting hurt in the process. You ran up to the Batter, holding him back the best you could. You didn't carry any molch meat to remove negative status effects, so you're left to wait out Batter's furious effect .

"Shit! Zacharie the Batter is hitting the bench, you'll be taking the lead for now!" you cry out to the masked man.

"You can count on me player, I'll have his health depleting in no time." Zacharie pulled out his sword, recognizing it as the same sword from your room.

While you tried to hold Batter with one hand, you used the other to look at his competences, eyes growing wide at the variety of attacks he has at his disposal. They aren't many, but it was more than the ones he had previously. The furious athlete slipped from your hands, forcing you to grab him with both arms.

"I leave it in your hands for now." you gave Zach the heads up. Placing him on auto.

The masked man felt his joints loosen up, rolling his neck with a pop as he stood in position. It's the opponent's turn to move, the glitch took the opportunity to perform a basic swipe with its claws but Zach dodges it by crouching below him, giving his legs a quick swipe.

"Short stack."

He stood back up to cover his ears, having the glitch screeching at him just like before but not enough to induce fury. The glitch tried stomping in Zacharie but he's too slow, easily predicting his moves and having the young man roll out of the way. Another distorted screech was sent his way, barely covering his ears on time.

"Let's get rid of that annoying ability of yours for a moment," Zacharie skillfully twirled the sword in his hand, positioning the blade vertically before taking a good slash at the glitch. "Cut off."

The glitch opens his mouth to screech once more, but not a single noise came from him. If his facial features were visible, you know he would look shocked.

You spare the opponent a quick glance, noticing how its opacity was becoming more and more transparent. But as the enemy grew weaker, you noticed how Zacharie's competence was lowering too. "Zach, watch your cp!" you exclaim, keeping your arms wrapped around Batter's torso. The athlete was struggling in your hold, cursing up a storm that would put any sailor to shame.

Although this isn't the time. You found it hilarious how Batter's curses came out in windings text symbols.

"Relax (y/n) I got this in the bag, in fact, we can play a gamble," Zacharie spoke calmly while the glitch walked around him. "If I finish this guy off after this attack you have to wear my shirt for the rest of the bathhouse."

"And what if you don't?"

"Then I'll show you what I have under my mask."

You grew excited at the aspect of knowing how he looks like, but the thought of having to wear his shirt felt a little odd and even embarrassing, though you would be lying to yourself if you didn't admit he has a cute taste in clothing.

"Fine, it's a deal!"

The corners of Zacharie's eyes raised a bit, evidence of a smile.

The glitch stopped walking around Zacharie and lunged forward.

"Quadrille."

His performance is quick and clean, delivering an array of four stabs with the tip of his blade in the center of the glitch elsen's body, keeping him immobile and on the spot.

"Save the others..." the elsen whispers his last words. Disappearing as he faded away out of existence.

Memories of the burnt came flowing back. The victory left a bittersweet flavor in your mouth, trying to distract yourself from the implications. But if there are more glitch out Elsen's out there, then you'll make it your purpose to help them out.

Batter's fury died down along with the glitch, becoming relaxed in your hold. The athlete lowered his baseball hat to cover his face. "That was embarrassing."

You removed your arms from the young man with a light-hearted laugh, patting his back in reassurance. "I thought you would be foaming at the mouth any second." you laugh.

Zacharie came up to the two of you, securing his sword in its sheath.

"Zacharie! You were amazing out there!" you compliment the young man. "And here I thought you were the pack mule of the group. Looks like you have quite the trick up your sleeves." you playfully bump his shoulder.

"It's the least I could do since your hands were, full." Zach's eyes landed on the Batter.

The athlete didn't respond, just avoiding his glance. "You did great handling the situation Zacharie, you have shown yourself dependable in dire situations."

"Enough for you to trust him~?" you nudge an elbow at Batter.

The man nods sliently.

"That's good enough for me," Zacharie says nonchalantly with a shrug. "Speaking of sleeves, player I believe we have a deal."

You groan. "Fine, let me have it." you extend an arm.

Zacharie lowered his backpack, pulling out a spare t-shirt of his. You order the both of your add ons to turn around, changing your outfit and slipping on Zach's merch.

"Huh, this isn't so bad," you fold out the wrinkles on the shirt. "Why did you want me to wear this anyway?" you ask.

"Well, if everyone sees the prominent protagonist of this world carry my merch I'm sure it will bring in lots of costumers," Zach replied with a sly eye, rubbing his hands together.

"Your sales tactics are bizarre Zacharie," you shook your head with a smile.

"Well that, and also because I like seeing you wear my clothes," he admits.

Batter rolled his eyes while you tease him gently. "Oh come on Batter, no need to get jealous. In fact, you can give me your pants to complete my fly outfit."

"I'm not giving you my pants!" Batter exclaims. He ponders for a second, removing his baseball cap and placing it gingerly on your head. "There, happy?"

You smile at the two of them, beaming with joy. "I am actually~"

Your attention went back to Zacharie. "So, you name your competences after poker and gambling?"

The masked man nods. "To be a master in a game of poker you need a keen eye and bucket of confidence."

"Sums you up pretty easily."

Chapter Text

The aftermath left behind by the glitched elsen changed many aspects in the room. The most noticeable ones being, floor tiles out of place, steam tubes bent in odd shapes and random doors spawning all over the walls but thry don't lead to anywhere. Almost as if they were taunting your lack of an exit, considering a stack of glitching crates were now blocking the only functionable doorway.

Basically locking the three of you inside the closet.

"This is strange, very strange, then again it almost feels like a new puzzle" you noted, taking a few steps back.

"You think so? To me it looks like an unintentional mishap." Zach adds.

You and your add on's split up to find a way out, or at least investigate what's usable and what isn't.

"Look over here!" Batter gained your attention towards a portion of the room.

Batter points at a once solid wall, which is currently splattered by a blotch of static-like particles, identical to the ones on the glitched elsen's face.

"There's something sticking from the wall," The batter tries to dig his hand inside the static mess, only to immediately pull back his hand with a pained hiss.

"Batter!" you worryingly made your way to the athlete.

"I'm fine," he reassured you. "It felt like a static shock." the man rubbed the skin on his hand.

You pressed your lips together in thought, an idea striking inside your head. "Give me your bat,"

The Batter followed your order, handing you his bat and using the item to poke the glitching hole until the object fell from the wall.

"Bingo," you grin, picking up the item without any trouble.

From the corner of your eye you noticed the Batter tense up, fearing you'll get hurt like him, but quickly dismissed it once he saw you're fine.

"What is it?" Zach asks curiously.

"It's a laptop," you turn the object in your hands to give it a good view. Finding every dent, scratch and sticker in place. "But it's not any laptop, It's the one I have in my house."

If that's the case, what's it doing all the way here?

You opened the lid, powering up the device from hibernation mode, finding the screen already filled with green text against a dark background. There was something familiar in the screen however.

You took your time with the device. Taking a seat and crossing your legs on the floor.

Neither Batter nor Zacharie interrupted you, unwilling to interrupt your thinking process.

"Aha!" you snap your fingers together. "No wonder this looks familiar."

"What did you find?" Batter inquires, standing and crouching behind you.

"This is coding used to make video games. All the commands and controls are here but it's messy and cluttered up, it's like a newbie made it. Heh just like me in my first years," you shook your head. "No wonder this place is buggy and glitches out, and here I thought I was going mad."

You raise a finger to your chin, noticing how the code shares the room's characteristics, describing the same color, size and layout.

I wonder...

You bog inside your memory for a moment, trying to remember a specific command before typing away on the laptop, making the text less cluttered and more efficient by erasing any unnecessary content. Your add on's observed in amazement how the room changed again, reverting back to its old shape. Easily figuring out its all your doing.

"Outstanding~" Zacharie clapped his hands together.

"Well done puppeteer." Batter added his two cents.

You gave a good look at your surroundings, no longer seeing all the glitches that plagued the room and the exit.

"Huh, didn't know it would work... I mean, yeah! that should do it." you close the laptop, satisfied with the results.

"How joyous, I bet we can cheat through this world with your computer knowledge in no time!" Zacharie rubbed his hands together.

Batter is quick to bump in the conversation. "No Zacharie, cheating is bad. We'll use (y/n) talents for the glitch elsens, isn't that right?" the athlete turns at you expectantly.

You however, just kept your eyes locked to the ground, sheepishly rubbing your shoulder.

"About that... You see, I'm pretty forgetful when it comes to this coding stuff, all I memorized was the basics. But if I wanna make any big changes, I'm gonna need my class notes from my notebook." your face went hot with embarrassment, noticeable by the dark gray hues on your face.

"Don't worry, we'll just take you back to your room. What do you say?" Zacharie pats your shoulder.

"Really? I mean, that's a good idea, I just didn't want to bother you guys with all the backtracking," you shook off your embarrassment.

"It's no issue, after all you could use some rest as well." Batter agrees with Zacharie's idea.

"Alrighty then. Let's get out of these sewers first. Zacharie, lead the way." you nod towards the masked man.

Zach pulled out the map from within his backpack, giving it a quick view before tracing a path with his finger.

"There's an exit on the back of the building that will lead us to the docks, it's a few rooms from here." Zacharie informed you.

"Excellent, let's head out team!" you lead the way.

While the three of you walked out of the closet, you handed Zacharie your laptop for safe keeping in his backpack. However, you couldn't help but keep wondering to yourself.

"Whats the matter puppeteer?" The Batter asks.

"A credit for your thoughts?" the masked man chuckles.

You pout your lips in thought before speaking. 

"I was just wondering. If this is a game, then who created its messy coding?"

Chapter Text

The three of you transported back to the Bathing Room zone after an unsuccessful search through your bedroom. So many notebooks on your desk but none of them was the specific one you're looking for.

You slump with each step you take, just feeling down in the weather.

Zacharie and Batter shared a glance before returning their attention to you.

"It's not your fault puppeteer, everyone grows forgetful sometimes." Zacharie tries to reassure you, patting your back from your left.

"Indeed, we can continue on without your more advanced coding techniques." Batter adds from your right. Only serving to bring a sadden groan from you. Because of it, Zacharie shot Batter a glare from behind your back.

Batter shrugs, unsure how to work in this kind of situation.

"And here I thought I could provide a bonus to the team, but nooo I left my notebook in my work studio before turning my department upside down. It could be anywhere in this world by now." you lament.

Zacharie opened the door to the Bath House for you, walking inside just to be greeted by the receptionist elsen again.

"Ah, welcome back. I see you came back for more of our attractions?"

Zacharie made a so, so hand gesture while Batter responds instead. "Somewhat. By any chance have you found a notebook around here or something?" Batter asks.

"A notebook?" the elsen raises a hand to his chin. "I'm afraid not, but we did receive new machinery from the Employment factory just a while ago, it dispenses many useful items. I suggest giving it a go, who knows? you might find something of worth." the elsen points at the vending machine at the corner of the room.

Now that's something new.

Zacharie was the first to approach this machine, immediately reacting with shock and surprise.
"This machine sells you items-!" Zach gasps, studying it with a judgmental eye. "And this machine, is it limited to this reception area or can you access it from different locations?" Zacharie asks the Elsen.

"It's a fairly recent device, it was just redistributed to many sections of the bathhouse and even other zones from what I heard of." the elsen nods.

Zacharie shakes his head as he continues to complain.

"So this is my replacement huh? A soulless machine without any charisma that you mindless spend on with its many counterparts," Zacharie rests his hands on his hips, a sigh of defeat leaving his mask. "It's both maliciously offensive and a genius strategy, well-done machine, well done." Zach claps sarcastically.

Batter lowers his hat as he attempts to hold back a chuckle.

The promise of new items intrigues you, drawing you towards the vending machine.

"What kind of stuff does it have?" you meekly ask from behind Zacharie.

Zacharie places his finger on the list, reading each item's name out loud in order. "Let's see, luck tickets, fortune tickets, silver flesh..."

You read a few articles yourself, surprised to recognize one of them. "Batter look, there's a jersey upgrade available for you," you call the athlete.

The Batter made his way to the vending machine, eager to upgrade his equipment.

Zacharie pulls some credits from his backpack, counting the currency in his hand before handing an equal amount to both you and the Batter.

Batter used his money to buy gear for himself, like a jersey shirt and a new baseball bat.
How did a baseball fit inside the vending machine?

You'd rather not question the logic behind it.

Zacharie sold a few extra luck tickets to the vending machine, planing to use the bonus amount to buy silver flesh and fortune tickets until something caught his eye.

At first, you thought the vending machine sold the standard items from the previous game, but much to your surprise there were new additions. While Batter's defensive and offensive gear consists of jersey shirts and baseball bats, the new gear for Zacharie is masks and swords.

Zacharie hums in interest, depositing the credits in the machine before it dropped the new mask. "Hmm," he holds the item in his hands, testing its durability. The mask is white, but it has smudges of red and orange on it, looking oddly similar to kitsune masks. It feels out of place, but it also ties in with the semi-oriental feel the bathhouse is going for.

"It looks resistant, and the quality isn't half bad, I guess I can keep it around for a while." Zach ties the new mask over his toad one.

"It looks cool," you comment. "I just find it weird..."

"The design?" Zacharie inquires.

"No, no the design is fine because I made it. That's what I mean, it's oddly similar to an idea I originally wrote and sketched down in my personal notes."

"So you think someone stole your notes?"

"I don't know, maybe?" you lightly shake your head, counting your own amount of credits. "I'm sure other people came up with similar ideas," you shrug.

You huff. The list didn't include any items you could use, from consumables to protective and offensive gear. However, there was one thing that stood out from the rest.

"Notebook page 1?" you read the description in confusion.

Zacharie and Batter paused from testing their new weapons to look at your reaction.
You type the numbers according to the desired object, dropping it lightly as you held it in your hand.

"This..." you check the item in disbelief. "This is a page from my notebook, it has my handwriting and everything!" you flip the single page, finding a piece of coding you could use.

Looks like this vending machine does have something valuable to you.

Chapter Text

"Can you remind me again why we're here?" Batter asks in a grumpy mood.

You don't blame him, being cramped together in a pedalo would make anyone turn into a sour puss.

"We're looking for collectibles~" you chime. "If there's only one notebook page per vending machine, then that means the rest are hidden."

The swan-shaped pedalo floated its way down the smooth plastic currents, passing by a few elsen enjoying the oddly oriental-themed water park (or would it be a plastic park? Doesn't have the same ring to it) , either resting on a bench or happily interacting with each other.

Now that you think about, maybe having the Spirited Away movie in your files wasn't a bad idea.

Batter tried to adjust himself on the seat, struggling to find a position where Zacharie's sheathed sword isn't poking him in the ribs.

"This blows," Batter grunts.

You offer him an apologetic smile.

"I have an idea," you suggest, crawling on top of the pedalo head. "There ya go, now it feels less crammed right?" you smile.

"Puppeteer get down from there, you could get hurt." Batter waves a finger at you.

"Nah, I have a good view from here," you stick your tongue out.

During your tomfoolery, you failed to notice how the pedalo picked up speed with the currents making a steep dive into a tunnel. There's a reason why you're not supposed to surpass the height limit. The tunnel entrance smacks you on the back of your head, knocking you off the pedalo. 

"(y/n)!" Zacharie and Batter shout in unison, but they couldn't stop the pedalo from its intended course. Vanishing in the dark, and leaving you floating in the artificial river.

But not all is lost, your unconscious body was recovered by a bypassing stranger holding a lantern. They pulled you out of the river and laid you on a sidewalk inside the tunnel, even giving you mouth to mouth in case you swallowed some liquid.

You jolt awake, coughing as you tried to recover your breath.

"Where am I?"

"Oh you're in the pedalo tunnels," a sing-song voice informs you. "Glad you didn't drown, that would've been embarrassing since the river isn't that deep tee hee~" they giggle.

The tunnel is dark, only illuminated by the single lantern the stranger holds. Even if you can't see their face, you have an eerie feeling that they talk with a smile on their face.

"That means... You saved me?"

"That's right~" the stranger giggles.

"Thanks for that, but who are you?" you ask, standing on your feet and getting closer to the stranger.

Their hand is stretched out in a way the lamp only illuminated you, however the closer you leaned towards them the more the light shines on the stranger's body. Seeing short hair, dark lipstick, a feminine waist, and a charming smile attached to it.

"I'm just a gal who loves to see people pass by in pedalos, you can call me Sugar~" she giggles once more.

You gasp at the reveal, taking a step back.

"What's the matter? It looks like you've seen a ghost, tee hee~" Sugar smiles at you.

Your eye twitches slightly, giving her a nervous smile. "Oh you have no idea," you shake your head.

Sugar's smile falls into a straight line. Her hair bangs didn't let you see her eyes but you knew she's staring at you, causing you to squirm in your spot. She takes a step closer, edging you to take a few steps backward until your body meets with the wall. Sugar remains quiet, placing her hand on the wall beside your hand, blocking your escape route.

"That shirt," she eyes your choice of clothing, raising the lantern to your chest. "Where did you get it from?" her tone is deep and menacing.

If her presence wasn't scary enough, then her mood going a full 180° certainly is terrifying.

"I... I lost a bet with Zacharie and he made me wear it. I didn't hurt him if that's what you're thinking, I swear!" you stutter nervously, but Sugar doesn't respond. "...Do you know who I am?" you ask cautiously.

The young woman tilts her head to the side.

"I do..." she responds in a serious tone.

You immediately tense up. Feeling dread invade your stomach.

'That's it, this place is my grave', you thought.

"You look like someone clumsy enough to fall off their pedalo~" she boops your nose, breaking the tense atmosphere. And yet, the building anticipation made you flinch at the harmless gesture.

"Other than that, I don't know who you are clumsy stranger." She shrugs.

You sigh in relief.

"Any friend of Zacharie's is my friend too, tee hee~" Sugar removes her hand from the wall, giving you some space. "Come' on the exit is this way~"

Sugar leads the way, providing an easy walk thanks to her lantern.

Although she's been rather nice to you up to this point, you couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved and awkward with her. You killed her. Sure she's alive and well in this world, but the guilt doesn't leave you alone.

"Sugar, I have something to confess," but she interrupts you before you can start.

"Shhh, stay back clumsy," Sugar keeps you at an arms distance from the river.

You couldn't understand why until the liquid started bubbling, with three new enemies emerging from it.

"The hell-?" you step back.

"They're sludge spiders. Looks like we're in for fight tee hee~" Sugar giggles, stuffing her hands inside her jacket before pulling out small little puppets tied to her fingers. "Get ready clumsy,"

"Wait what? But my add ons aren't here...!"

<hr>

Batter and Zacharie panicked the moment you fell in the river. Every time they tried to get off the pedalo ride they were interrupted by an annoying text box that prevented them to move.

"Please keep hands and feet inside the ride, thank you."

They didn't get a chance to jump off until they reached the end of the ride. The athlete was the first to jump off, recklessly heading straight for the tunnel.

"Batter wait," Zacharie tugs the Batter from his sleeve.

"What are you doing? We need to fetch them as soon as possible,"

"I know but it's pitch dark in there, we need something to shine our way through. Otherwise we'll be as useful as blind cows,"

"We'll just walk in a straight line, simple enough," Batter tried to tug away from Zacharie's hold.

"Or we'll fall and get carried away by the currents,"

"But if we don't hurry up they might get attacked by something even worse!" Batter raises his voice. "We don't know what happens if (y/n)'s health bar goes down... We already know normal items don't work on them, so if something happens to them..."  

"I understand, in fact I think I'm the only person here who can relate with you. But if we're out of commission or too weak by the time we reach the player, then there's no way the three of us can make it out." Zacharie manages to reason with the Batter. 

He's worried about your safety too, but that doesn't mean they can act recklessly. 

Batter calmed down a little, but he's still on edge. "Where can we find a lantern? It's not like someone will just give one to us."

Zach taps his kitsune mask in thought, eyes smiling at a nearby pedalo worker elsen. 

"Or maybe they will."

<hr>

Sugar is absolutely extraordinary. 

She tanks hits like a walking fortress, and her hands puppets give her advantages to attack more than once. But her fighting moves are the sauce on the steak, she combines dancing with her kicks, delivering both fatal but graceful attacks. 

The only issue is that the waves of spiders don't stop coming. 

"Don't be shy clumsy, join in on the fun. I could use an extra pair of hands tee hee~" Sugar chimes as her foot one shots a spider. 

"Oh me? I don't really know how to fight..."

"Oh come'on, don't be that way. I can tell you have a moveset~" 

Three sludge spiders crawl from the river, heading straight for you. 

"I'm being serious, I can't attack nor use health items," you back away fearfully. One of the spiders attempts to snap a bite out of you, but you kick it before it could try. That didn't stop it from scratching you though. You yelp, grabbing Sugar's attention. 

The spider saw an opening and took the opportunity to each strike at you in unison, dropping your health in half. 

"Oh no you don't-" Sugar takes a swipe at the two spiders. 

She held you right behind her, realizing you're probably on a low level or something. The single spider wasn't willing to give up until it took a bite of you, heading straight to you until Sugar blocked it by using her own arm. She winces slightly, but her stance doesn't waver. 

"Is that all you got~!?" Sugar challenges, facing the final wave of sludge spiders alone. 

You stare at her in awe, however you notice one of her puppets got knocked out. 

What if-? 

You dig a hand inside your inventory, cursing to yourself that you didn't check earlier. 

An eye, a notebook page and a single luck ticket. You use the eye to check Sugar's status, she's not one of your add on so you can access her info manually. You skipped through her base information because there was two things that alarmed you immediately. 

Status Effect: Poisoned

"Sugar, you're on 1/4 on your health!" you panicked. "Take this luck ticket and let's get out of here," you beg, but the dancer refuses to back down from the stage. 

"Not in a million years~" 

You used the luck ticket on Sugar, but you can tell the poison is affecting her. Her once powerful stance now faltering, her attacks didn't hit as strong but her hand puppets kept delivering the best they could. Sugar pants in exhaustion, slipping on her next kick and missing it completely, if it wasn't for the critical hit with the finger puppets, you don't know if she'd still be standing. 

"Sugar hold still," you kneel beside her. "Don't move, maybe that can slow down the poison," 

Sugar shakes her head, her charming smile still intact. 

"I'm fine clumsy, let's go take you to your friends they're probably worried for you," Sugar attempts to stand up but falls halfway through.

"They can wait, right not you're my priority," you insist, keeping your hands on her shoulders. "Why did you take that bite for me? We could've run off."

"They would have chased us, they're fast swimmers," Sugar states. "Besides, I would hate to see Zacharie loose a dear friend~"

Something about that sentence stabbed through you. Maybe because you've already seen him loose her? 

You're heartbroken at seeing her like this. Although you two just met, she still kept you safe just because you're Zacharie's friend. But the fact you sent Batter to kill her without her knowledge was sickening you with guilt. Zacharie might be chill about it, but you had no idea how Sugar would react if she knew you're also responsible for her death. If her brutal fight demonstrated anything, it's that you should be afraid of her.

"Sugar, I'm so sorry this happened," You lament. "It's my fault..."

"You didn't do anything clumsy~" she gives you a gentle smile.

"It is, I'm the one who sent Batter after you. All because I wanted a stupid bonus item... if I had known you guys... I wouldn't have..." you start to hiccup, tears falling down your face.

"What are you talking about clumsy, who's the Batter?" Sugar tilts her head to the side.

You eye the woman in disbelief. "You... you don't know what happen?" you raise a hand to your mouth with a gasp. "Just like the elsen..."

A pair of footsteps echo from beyond the tunnel, it sounds like running.

"(Y/N)! there you are," Zacharie's voice bounces off the tunnel walls, joined by another light source. 

"Zach! Batter!" you scramble to your feet, rushing towards the masked man.

Zacharie held his arms open for you, but you didn't go to hug him just yet. Instead your hands went straight to his backpack.

"I missed you too player, we were worried sick," the young man chuckles sarcastically.

"Oh? Sorry about that my dude but I need some luck tickets asap," you tell the young man.

"Luck tickets? Are you hurt?" the Batter inspects you carefully.

"No no, I'm fine. They're not for me they're for-"

"Sugar?" Zacharie asks, raising the lantern in his hand to get a better look at the woman on the ground.

"Hi Zacharie, it's been a while hasn't it~?" Sugar giggles, but it's strained.

"It sure has," Zach chuckles. But you can hear the brief crack in his voice, holding back a sob. "What are you doing in a place like this?"

"I was helping this little friend of yours, but alas a few creepy crawlies got in the way tee hee~"

"Do you remember anything from before?" Zach asks but you place your hand on his shoulder, shaking your head as if answering for him.

Batter walked up to Sugar, handing her a fistful of luck tickets.

"Here. You kept our puppeteer safe, we're thankful for that, " he says in an honest voice.

But Sugars smile falters for a split second, before raising into a more forceful one. She grips tightly onto Batter's wrist, a bit too tight. 

"Ducky..."

Chapter Text

You held your breath the moment you heard that nickname, Zach could only watch in silence how the Batter immediately froze. Sugar lunges at Batter with a battle cry, tackling him to ground while Batter tries to keep her at bay with his baseball bat between them.

"Batter don't you dare lay a hand on Sugar, she's hurt! and I would hate to see her die again." you scold the man with a stern, almost motherly tone.

"Can't you see she's trying to kill me?!" the athlete responds.

You're unsure about getting between the two, knowingffull well how strong they are. Without speaking, you turn to Zacharie with pleading eyes. 

"Don't worry, I'll handle this," Zach reassured you. Even raising the sleeves on his shirt to make himself look tough.

He confidently made his way towards Batter and Sugar. 

"Alright, cut it out you two before someone gets hur-"

A loose foot accidentally kicks Zacharie in the face, sending him tumbling back with a faint stream of blood running on his shirt.

It's not looking pretty.

While you rush to Zacharie's aid, Sugar and Batter keep wrangling each other like a pair of wild cats, with one trying to overpower the other. Sugar claws at him with her hand puppets constantly scratching his face. Batter on the other hand, allowed Sugar to take her frustrations on him, if this were any other situation he would retaliate without hesitation. But his puppeteer gave him an order, and he'll follow it no matter how fast he's feeling his health drop

Feeling just as exhausted as Sugar is.

However, Sugar still has the strength within her to wrap her hands around Batter's throat, choking him whole smacking his head against the floor. Causing black spots to appear within his eyesight. 

Zach seems to be fine. Better than what the Batter is going through. You could feel your eyes sting at the sight of him gasping like an elsen. If you're gonna intervene, then this the time for it. 

"That's enough, both of you stop it now!" you try to shout in desperation. 

"Stay out of this clumsy," Sugar said in a firm voice. Almost sounding like a different person. "If I don't get rid of him now, then he might take me away from you and Zacharie again."

Your shoulder slump, your mouth going dry as you try to reason with her. 

"Sugar I know he's was a bad man before but..." you pause, unable to justify everything you two did.

Maybe you don't?

You helped the Batter purify the world, there's no justification for that. 

"In that case kill me too! I'm his puppeteer," you confess. "I controled everything he did, so that makes me responsible for your death. If there's anyone to blame then that should be me,"

Sugar eyed you in disbelief loosening her grip on Batter as she let him fall. 

"Clumsy...No, the puppeteer. You're the one who took me away from Zacharie...?" she asks, with a voice lacking any trace of emotion. 

You swallow the lump your throat, nodding solemnly.

Sugar removes herself from the Batter body. Her attention focused directly on you, taking slow and steady steps towards you.

"(Y/N), stay away from her-!" The Batter called out to you, trying to stand up but unable to move due to the paralyzed effect. "If you cause any harm to them I won't hold back, ya hear me dancer!" Batter threats, but Sugar doesn't hear him. 

Zacharie took it upon himself to stand between you and Sugar, trying to calm her down. 

"Easy now Sugar, let's not get too impulsive," the mask man tries to sound relaxed, but he's on edge just like you and the Batter. 

Sugar didn't take another step forward with Zach's interfierence, looking at you from above his head. 

"It was you wasn't it? The puppeteer Zach told me of?" She asks. "The reason Zacharie kept me hidden in zone 0"

You nod shamefully. "Yes, that was me."

"You killed me, and yet you apologized for something I couldn't even remember..." Sugar says, mostly to herself. 

"I'm deeply sorry for what I... We did to you," you spare Batter a side glance before returning to Sugar. "Batter may not show it, but I do regret what I did to you, to Zacharie and to everyone involved."

"I'm glad to hear that, but that's not what I care about," A faint smile decorates Sugar's dimple face. "I'm not gonna harm you if that's what you're thinking (y/n)," 

It's like everyone visibly relaxed at the sound of that. 

"Please let me make it up to you, we can heal you and even pay a pedalo ride for you. Isn't that right Zach?" you include the ex merchant, hoping to convince her. 

"Of course!" Zach places his hand on Sugar's shoulder. "You love swans don't you pajarita?"

"I do~" she nods.

You hold out the tickets for her, but Sugar rejects them by gently pushing your hand away. "I accept your apology puppeteer, but I don't accept your gifts. There's some things I need to contemplate, for now I'm just glad Zacharie is safe," she walks past you and Zach, weakly grabbing her own lantern. 

A single pedalo passes by the four of you, with a lone elsen noticing the whole situation. "Oh golly, are you fellas okay? Did you get stuck?" he asks worryingly.

Despite her condition, Sugar limps her way to the elsen, easily toppling the boat and carelessly tossing him in the river. "Sorry, Sugar needs this boat-" she apologizes, "I'll be taking my leave," 

"But you're hurt!" you insist. 

However, the dancer ignores your statement, dropping inside the swan that's already floating away. "Don't be sad clumsy, we'll meet again in the next chapter of our story together~"

"Story? What are you talking about? Sugar? Sugar!" you shout, but the dancer is gone.

Something about her choice of words unnerved you, and yet you don't know why.

Zacharie chuckles behind you. "Ah, just as enigmatic as I remember... And somewhat loony,"

You heard a pained groan behind you, rushing straight to the young man sprawled on the floor. You crouch beside him, opening up your team stats to check the damage.

"Damn Batter, Sugar pulled a number on you," you whistle, impressed at how fast his health dropped. Normally you'd get upset at knowing your friends are close to death, but your add ons have jokers and health items, they'll be fine.

"I agree, you're looking all battered up," Zacharie taunts.

Batter groans. "Player, do we happen to have any spare jokers? Cause I feel Zacharie might need one," his serious tone made you laugh more than it should have.

Chapter Text

You find it strange how there isn't a tutorial at the start of this world (or even the sight of the judge in that matter) to introduce you to how this game will function.

It just tossed you in completely blind.

But it makes sense, can't teach you about something that hasn't shown up yet.

"Zacharie, how much do you know about the outside world? " you make small talk.

"Hmm, not much. All I know is the concept of a video game and that we're in one,"

"Alright, so you know this one is a rpg with puzzles?"

Zacharie nods, only pausing mid-way to think and raising his hand in a so-so gesture.

"Basically it's the turn based fighting we've done, add some storyline and you're set. But let me tell you a bit more of your game," you start. "It's made with this tool called rpg maker, which the name alone says it all. It's easy to use but it has limited game play and visuals, however most games make up for it by creating clever puzzles," you continue to explain, even with Batter one-shoting a wall of sludge spiders so you three can pass. 

"I see, though we haven't stumbled into any puzzles besides the one with your laptop and the maze... If that's considered a puzzle," Zach notices. "Does that mean this game wasn't made in the rpg tool?"

You give a quick glance at the detail on Zacharie. "I'm not sure. You guys alone look high def, but I don't know if it's due to the game engine or because I'm here too,"

Batter gave the last sludge spider a splat, clearing the walkway for the team.

"Let's keep moving," he says sternly. 

You remove yourself from the wall you and Zach were leaning on, walking over the leftover sludge.

"Puppeteer, are you bored?" Batter asks all of a sudden.

You look up at the Batter.

"What makes you think that? It's not everyday you get isekai'd into a video game, I'm having the time of my life," you reassure the athlete.

"But this world- game, isn't of your liking. You said it yourself, it's game play and game design is lackluster," Zacharie finishes Batter's sentence, almost as if the two of them where thinking the same thing.

"True, but I'm happy enough being here with you guys~"

A noise got caught in Zacharie's throat while Batter lowered his cap over his face.

"I have an idea," Batter states sternly. Without warning, he scooped you on his shoulders and giving you a height boost.

"Batter what are ya- whoa, you're taller than you look-!" you held to his head, trying to keep yourself balanced.

"Let's look for those secret pages or a secret passageway," he announced, scampering off towards the walkway.

Zacharie catches up, glad to see some of your personality rubbed off on the 'ever so stoic' Batter. It's confusing at first, but with the way you're bobbing on Batter's shoulders was starting to feel kinda fun. You start giggling in delight when the man picks up speed, jumping over a few crates and barrels, it's like riding the back seat of the bus when it goes over a speed bump.

"See anything player?" Zach asks, barely catching up to the baseball player.

"Nope, not yet-" you giggle, eventually catching sight of a wall up ahead. "Wait I do see something!"

Batter slowed down his pace, lowering you to the ground as you study the wall. It's an elevator but it doesn't have a number pad, there's a switch but it doesn't do anything when you flip it. As in, you can hear mechanics shifting but nothing visible seems to happen.

There's no way around the wall, and backtracking only leads back to the pedalo ride you just got off from. You did the only thing you can do in these situations, you continue to explore. 

"Alright, I think I have an idea on how this works," you sit down and draw an imaginary map with your finger. "Remember those archways we saw before stumbling into the sludge spiders? Well there are fourth distinct ones that look like switches, two need to be activated at the same time while one needs a specific attack to turn on."

"In short, that means...?" Zach asks. 

You crack a smile. "It's a puzzle, and I'll need one of you to help me solve it."

Chapter Text

One of these puzzles unlocks the elevator. But which one?

You raise a hand to your chin. Contemplating your options, it isn't until your eyes land on the Batter that made up your mind. "Zacharie, you stay here in case something changes. Batter, let's swing~" you sing, waiting for the athlete to join you before leaving.

The Batter stood straight, following behind you like a chivalrous knight. While the two of you walk down the alley, you raise your view to Batter's stern expression. You couldn't help but playfully bump your shoulder against him in a silent way to catch his attention. "So... you still have a thing against Zacharie?"

Batter keeps his mouth in a straight line, humming to himself. "He's still alive isn't he?"

You chuckle. "Yeah, he sure is,"

"That should be enough."

You lower your view to the ground, your mind trailing back to his neutral and even helpful attitude in the first game. "Wait a minute, you weren't like that with Zacharie back then," you point out. "What changed?"

The Batter kept his mouth shut in a straight line, trying to avoid eye contact with you. Batter picks up the speed in his walk while you jog behind him, it's clear he wants nothing more than to reach the puzzle and avoid the topic.

The alleyways are narrow and plastered in a soft blue, matching with the bath house's squeaky clean design. At the turn of the next corner is the puzzle meant for the Batter. A row of floating rings meant to look like targets slowly float up and down just in front of a wall, it reminds you of those shooting gallery games at a carnival.

You step aside, allowing the man some space."Go ahead, you know what to do,"

The Batter silently nods in response. He pulled out a baseball from his inventory pocket, tossing it in the air a few times before catching it. He tosses it in the air and takes a swing, but he misses the target by just an inch. The Batter growls in annoyance, attempting to try it again.

You've known this man for a while, his skill is nothing to scoff at but after missing the target for the 3rd time you know something is bothering him.

It's not like you can talk it out like your previous attempts, so you pick on something more approachable and just... you.

You crouch down beside him, clapping your closed fist against your open palm like a catcher. "Let's play ball!" you chant. "Heeeey Bata bata, swiiiing~"

Batter cracks a smile at the gesture. He grabbed another baseball from his pocket, focusing on the puzzle at hand. He tosses it in the air and gives it a good hit, sending the ball flying into one of the targets before it disappeared in a blast. But the explosion triggered the rest of the targets to move slightly more frantic than before, haphazardly floating in horizontal directions. The Batter doesn't let it phase him, managing to hit another target which changed the movements of the rest again. They're almost blurring out of sight due to the speed, now rushing vertically this time which makes range all the more complicated.

The Batter keeps his attention glued to a specific one, following it with his eyes even when you couldn't. He tried batting a ball in their direction but it didn't work as the previous time. He bit his lip in frustration, trying again only to fail.

He quickly turns around only to hand you the baseball bat with a grunt. You were about to ask why but your question was silently answered when Batter used his dominant hand to pitch the ball straight into the moving target.

You know he's strong, but you can't fathom how strong he truly is.

The pitch sent gusts of wind ruffling your clothes and bits of hair, it even blew back his baseball cap off his head. The final target erupted in a small firework display, even hearing gears shift from under your feet.

"I knew you could do it!" you express with a joyous laugh. Unconsciously wrapping your arms around his torso from behind.

The athlete stood still, tensing up before relaxing in your hold.

You're worried you overstepped his boundaries and made him uncomfortable, but Batter raised his hand to hold your own, gently caressing the back of your hand.

"Anything bothering you?" you ask softly.

"It's nothin," he shakes his head.

You tighten your hold on the Batter's sides, not enough to cut his oxygen supply but just enough to comfort him. "Come on, I know you better than anyone. What's on your mind?"

The athlete sighs, opening up due to your physical attention. "Back then it was just you and me. But now you and Zacharie have full conversations about gaming things I don't understand, and it makes me feel..." he pauses.

"Jealous?" you try to finish for him.

"Left out,"

Ahh, so that's what it is.

"Well, it's hard to add you into the conversation when you're so focused on the mission. But there's no reason to feel that way. Sure Zach and I get along, but it's not the same as what we have."

"Even with everything I did...?"

"What we did," you correct him.

Batter envelop you in his arms, causing you to drop the bat out of surprise.

Even if I'm a monster? He wanted to ask but lacked the courage to do so.

You apologize, removing your arms from him only to wrapping from in front of him than behind. "Well, if it makes you feel any better you have all my attention."

Batter tried to hide the blush on his face by automatically grabbing his cap, but to his surprise, he forgot it blew away. Leaving his expression open for you to enjoy.

"I don't know what to do," he admits.

Your lips curl upwards in a smile, releasing him from your hold. "I know, how about you teach me how to swing?" you grab his baseball bat and his forgotten cap on the floor, imitating how Batter looks like.

"Purification in process," you even try to imitate his voice in a deeper tone.

This gained a small laugh from the Batter, patting the top of your head rather fondly. "You're right, I'm more thankful for what we have."

Chapter Text

One of these puzzles unlocks the elevator. But which one?

You raise a hand to your chin. Contemplating your options, you didn't make up your mind until your eyes land on Zacharie.

"Zach, I hope you're as sharp as that blade-" you sing, pointing a thumb in direction of the alley. "Batter I'm gonna need you to guard the elevator until we solve the puzzle."

The athlete stood straight, keeping watch while Zacharie confidently stood beside you.

While the two of you walk down the alley, you take a peek at Zacharie, humming an unknown tune whilst keeping his eyes shut. You unconsciously stare at him too long, humoring him as he opens his eyes to meet your own.

"See something you like?"

"Heh-" you shake your head with a silly smile. Breaking eye contact after getting caught staring. "I was just wondering... About Sugar..."

Zacharie placed his hand on your shoulder, stopping your walk.

"Player, I don't blame you if that's what you're thinking," his tone is calm and understanding, yet you couldn't stop feeling your stomach sink.

That's not what you're thinking of.

"I was wondering... since you two seem to know each other from before..." You rub a hand over your nose, too embarrassed to ask. "Uh, nevermind."

Zach raised his free hand on your other shoulder, gently rubbing your forearms as a way to calm you down. "Let's continue with this puzzle before Batter goes on a killing spree again okay?"

"Okay," you agree.

The trip to the puzzle itself felt farther than you expected, maybe because of the sudden topic about Sugar and other things that have been swimming in your head. There's not much to look around, just plain walls and a clean floor with the occasional piece of garbage in the way, it's no wonder you returned your view to Zacharie once more. His mask, his hair, and that hilarious bulky backpack.

"Hey, Zacharie-" You start, but the young man only hums, listening to whatever you have to say. "Do you miss being a merchant?"

Zacharie contemplates his answer even though it's a fairly simple question, well, to you at least.

"Sometimes. "

You notice a shadow casting over his eyes, you wanted to touch his shoulder as reassurance but you two are interrupted by a clicking sound reached your ears, pulling your attention to the storage building by the next turn. The area is empty except for a slot machine and small closed doors on the side of the room, the main focus being the puzzle that had Zacharie's name written all over it. It has a spinning cylinder and a lever to the side, reminding you of those slot machines at casinos or arcade games, but more minimalistic.

You step aside to allow the man some space."Go ahead, I feel this is your kind of thing. "

Zacharie eagerly nods in response, he released his backpack straps and placed them on the ground. You offer to keep an eye on it as Zacharie gives the machine a closer look. Meanwhile, you just play around with a loose string on your shirt until you hear the clink of the lever. The built-in cylinders stopped one by one, you squint your eyes as you try to make out the symbols on the machine. Once the third, and final cylinder stopped it landed on a mismatched pattern composed of a swan, a coin, and a ghost. An impaired pattern.

Automatically, you heard a buzzer ring through the machine, almost like a consequence of getting a mismatched pattern. Not only did the machine stop buzzing, but you heard something else open, at first you think it's the elevator door but the smaller compartment doors opening up told you otherwise.

You feel your skin crawl the moment a dozen or so sludge spiders craw through the small door. You shout in surprise, acting by instinct and tossing Zacharie his sword while you grab the backpack to use as a shield.

"It's no use they just keep coming-!" you kick one of the spiders away. "Where did they come to begin with!?"

Zacharie slashed four of them with his blade, leaving behind a puddle of sludge that became overrun by another group of sludge spiders. He turned his eyes to the machine, an idea clicking in. "The slot machine, we need to gain a matched number!" The young man stomps over a few to reach the lever, pulling it down just in time to avoid getting overwhelmed by the critters. But he stopped by, instead of clearing his way towards you.

"What are you doing?"

"I can leave you unprotected-" he insists.

"Forget about that. Focus on the slot machine, it's our main priority," you interject with a grunt, feeling the critters scratch at your legs. Your attempt to push them off results in losing your balance, getting knocked off your feet and to the ground. The backpack is the only thing keeping a sludge spider from gnawing its teeth at you, you feel your arms giving in slowly but surely- you'd be a goner by now- if it wasn't for a pair of dark eyes as sharp as the blade stabbed through the spider.

"You're my main priority."

Zacharie twisted his body to the left, raising the embedded

spider over his head and tossing its carcass directly to the lever, successfully firing up the slot machine once again.

A strangled gasp escapes your mouth, your eyes filled with disbelief at the perfectly matching pattern on the slot machine. A row of coins. The sludge spiders stayed right in their spot, trembling slightly as they rush back to their compartments almost like under command. But you didn't pay mind to that, you were too busy flipping out at Zacharie's cool move, and he's more than happy to accept your attention.

"That was amazing!" you express with a joyous laugh. Unconsciously wrapping your arms around his torso from behind. The masked man stood still, tensing up before relaxing in your hold. You're worried you overstepped his boundaries and made him uncomfortable, but Zach raised his hand to hold your own, gently caressing the back of your hand.

"How did you know it would land on a perfect match?"

"I didn't," he admits blatantly, eyes closed in a sheepish smile while ruffling his hair. "It was a risky gamble." Your mouth drops in shock, a part of you didn't want to believe it but another part of you knew it was something he'd do. "Are you nuts! But what if it was another mismatch pattern? We would've gotten overrun by spiders." you voice your concerns by raising your tone a little too high.

"I would've used my body to shield you until we were out of reach," Zach confesses without hesitation, without a chuckle neither. While you freaked out, the masked man approached the hypothetical situation more calmly, retrieving his sword and shaking it clean before sheathing it.

You felt your body slump at the confession, your anger dying down as you realize the implications of his statement. "But what if they poison you?" Zacharie turns to look at you, his mask covering shadows over his eyes. You didn't get a good look at them until he was up close to you, forehead pressed against your own.

"Even if they kill me."

At the mention of danger, you inevitably wrap your arms around his upper body, tightening your hold on him, not enough to cut his oxygen supply but just enough to physically manifest your appreciation for the man. "Don't say that..." you murmur. Zacharie didn't seem to mind the gesture, wrapping his tattooed arms around your shoulders. "Player..." Zacharie whispers. You mentally pray he doesn't ask you to stop. "You asked me if I missed being a merchant, to be honest, I don't miss it in the slightest... What I have here as your add on, is ten times better."

Chapter Text

"Ow ow ow,"

Zacharie complains while you examine the bruises on his arms, almost as dark as his tattoos. If you were able to see his face you know he's most likely bruised there too since his mask is littered with dents. You hope those can be fixed with the miraculous healing block.

The puzzle you pick seemed easy at first. It's a plain storage building with a checkered platform floor, there are heavy cannons inside the building walls that fire every time you make a wrong step unless you guess the right pattern. The reason your team has been struggling is that each hit takes away 1/4 of your maximum health.

You were left out from trying this dangerous puzzle. But there are only a certain amount of tries your add ons can take before they're left bruised and beaten.

It's too painful for you to see them keep going on like this.

Batter isn't looking so good either, but he's trying to play the tough guy in front of you, you bet he'd keep the pain to himself even if he had a couple of broken ribs. Meanwhile, Zacharie is the complete opposite, letting you know how hurt he is so you would attend to him.

You raise a hand to your chin. Contemplating your options, you didn't make up your mind until a pleasant memory regarding a certain pedalo came up. "I think I know who can help. But while I'm gone, you two are gonna rest up and watch the elevator door."

"Fine." Zacharie grunts.

"Normally I wouldn't allow you to leave of your own-" Batter tries to give you a stern fatherly speech, but you gave him a small poke to the ribs before he could continue. "Hng- but I'll make an exception this once." he winced at the pain.

______

It wasn't too hard to find Sugar again, thankfully. After that mess at the tunnels you were terrified at the thought of finding her passed out over the edge of the river, but she looked as fresh as lettuce when you saw her chilling near the stationed pedalos.

"Clumsy, so happy to see your tee hee~" the woman giggles happily, laying comfortably on the swan-shaped boat.

"Likewise, how are you feeling since... Ya know."

The young woman waves a hand in the air, "I'm splendid, just needed a nap. Well, that and a few consumables from that thingy~" she points to her far right. You follow her finger to notice a broken down vending machine, left completely wrecked, unfunctional and empty. It's not too hard to connect one and one.

"Heh I can tell. You look rather refreshed," you nod." Anyway, I came here cause I wanted to ask your help with something."

This sparked Sugar's interest, crawling off her pedalo in record time before you even said a word. "Tell me Pajarito, what am I good for~?" she giggles once more, almost sensually even.

During your walk through the alleyways, you try to explain the current puzzle to Sugar the best way you can while she walks at a steady pace, almost looking like ballet prance, covering a good amount of terrain due to her height. Now that you have a good look at her, Sugar is most likely taller than Batter.

"What a woman~" you found yourself sighing pleasantly.

"What was that?" Sugar turns to look at you.

You blush slightly, waving a hand in their air. "Oh, uh nothing. Just wondering how the guys are doing." you half-lie since you do worry about them, but Sugar didn't seem to tell the difference.

"Ooh, that's right. I should've noticed your cavalry isn't here tee hee~" The young woman walks a tad closer to you, unconsciously leaning you against the wall. "Someone like you shouldn't be left alone, silly." Sugar gives you another smile, but this one feels more mischievous in a way.

Is it you or did her voice lower an octave?

"Why? Is it because of the weird monsters or those glitches out elsen?" you ask her, feeling yourself getting passively pushed towards the wall.

"Not exactly," She hums. Almost immediately after Sugar starts humming, her hand slams against the wall beside you, placing her arm in front of you and forcing you to look at her. "Who knows what other weirdos are out there preying over pretty birdies... like you~"

Is she threatening me or flirting with me?

You could feel your mouth go dry, barely swallowing as you feel your face grow flush and warm. "It's a good thing I have you here with me," you reply smoothly, tucking a strand of her hair bangs behind her ear, eventually patting her shoulder.

Sugar's smile didn't move an inch, but you do hear what sounds like rumbling coming from her chest.

"True, almost like someone wanted us here~" she removes her hand from the wall like nothing happened, giving you some space as she prances in the direction you two are heading for.

"Wha-? uh, Let's keep going I guess? " you cough in your fist, trying to avoid the way your ear is ringing.

By the time you catch up to Sugar she's already inside the storage building and it's checkered like platform. The young woman eyes the platform curiously before taking a step on it, you're freaked out, afraid of seeing her get hurt.

"Be careful of the-!" you didn't get a chance to finish your warning when a cannonball shot directly at Sugar. She bent over slightly after the shot, trembling a little, but even then she didn't stop giggle.

"Tee hee, so this is what's troubling you canario," the young woman stands straight despite the attack. "It'll just make this task all the more fun~"

You're left awestruck, there was a slight suspicion that Sugar can tank hits but you never imagined how much until now. Despite the battlefield around her Sugar started dancing ballet, dodging or tanking any hit sent her way with every incorrect step. If Batter was here, he would never admit that Sugar managed to cover half of the platform in less time than both he and Zach did. You're left at the edge of your toes, unable to peel your eyes off of Sugar. Both worried and amazed at her dance.

Before you knew it a small ding! the sound pulled you from the spectacle, reverting to your current reality. It almost felt like a dream. The checkered floor cleared out, turning into one solid color as the cannons retrieve back inside the walls.

"Sugar you did it! You solved the puzzle!" you clap proudly at her.

"Easy peasy~" Sugar giggles. She looks fine, but the marks on her abdomen tell you otherwise, rushing to her side.

"Oh gosh Sugar are you hurt? Let me patch you up!" you rummage through your inventory for any spare luck tickets.

Sugar tilts her head to the side, amused with your worry for her. "Did you like it~?"

You lift your head. "Did I like what?"

"My dance, I wanted to perform a choreograph for you"

"Wait, really?" you ask flabbergasted. "I don't know what to say..."

Sugar nods happily, taking sitting on the floor with her legs crossed together. She's somewhat tired, panting lightly as she wipes the sweat off her forehead. You're more than flustered, your whole body feels warm, cozy, and mushy on the inside. But your attention switched from yourself to Sugar, she's bruised like Batter and Zach, and although she's holding up stronger than both of them she still looks in pain.

"I love it! It's the first time someone has ever giving me a gift like that, though I would've preferred you wouldn't get hurt after performing." You dig out a luck ticket from your inventory, ripping it near Sugar, letting the sparks heal her.

"I don't mind getting hurt for you pajarito," she leans forward, resting her forehead on yours. "In fact I also wouldn't mind performing for you a little more."

Before you could ask what she's referring to, you hear another ding, a noise designated to when a text box pops up.

Sugar has joined your party.

Chapter Text

Elevator music already tends to trim the fine line of being both nonchalant and/or boring, but here it's just abusing its powers. It's almost like you're gonna fall asleep. Maybe it's due to the waiting? With all the hype building after solving the puzzle and hearing the elevator doors open up, it's no wonder all this waiting is leaving you restless.

The four of you are just standing there quietly, Zacharie taps his foot to the beat, Batter gives Sugar the occasional glance of suspicion while Sugar hums to the music despite the looks she's receiving from the Batter. "What do you think we'll find on the top floor~?" She wonders, standing to your left while Batter supports you from the right.

The masked man lowered his backpack so he could lean on the wall behind you. "A faster transport I hope," Zacharie adds with a snicker.

The Batter turns to you, wishing you'd join the conversation. "What do you think puppeteer?"

"Hmm," your face shifts into a thoughtful look.

"This is usually the part of the game where we'll find the boss of this level, you know- whoever is responsible for brainwashing the elsen and whatnot." you scratch your chin.

"Ooo a final boss, how exciting~!" Sugar claps her hands together.

"I don't expect we'll meet the mastermind this soon, even back then there were four zones and four guardians before the final fight." Zach remains skeptical.

"Whoever it is, we'll fight them and return puppeteer's home to normal." Batter crosses his arms over his chest. 

This statement made Zacharie choke on a gasp, it was too faint for anyone else to hear except for Sugar, out of everyone in the group she's the more perceptive. "Something wrong Zacharie?" Sugar pokes the smaller man with one of her finger puppets, Zach kept his lips shut tight, but the curiosity was gnawing on his insides. 

"What do you think will happen... when we reach that point?" his voice is low, almost too uncertain of the question himself.

Batter kept his eyes on the ground while you fidget in your spot, Sugar starts giggling but it sounds like it's more out of nervousness. The elevator music took over the confined space once more, no one has thought about that, let alone dared to answer. But it's at that moment where the elevator finally stops, with the metal doors opening up to show the lone white corridor awaiting for them.

"Ladies first." was the only thing you could say to break the awkwardness, extending your arm towards the door.

"Don't mind if I do~"

Chapter Text

How many times can you say you've successfully been isekai to a video game without being hit by a bus? The last thing you want to obsess over how it'll all come to an end and yet here you are mulling over it until you stubbornly shook your head. Your footsteps faltering to a slower pace, whispering to yourself in the process. "Nothing has changed. I'll keep playing it like any usual game, talk to npcs, defeats bosses and collect power ups." You whisper to yourself, it's all you can come up with by the time the elevator closed behind you.
Batter was the first to notice you're lagging behind, slowing his pace to match yours. "Puppeteer are you alright?" his question picked up by the other teammates. It's then that you popped out of your thought bubble and looked back at them, although their faces are partially obscured you can tell they're feeling worried.

You strode past them and into the new room with a surge of confidence uncontaminated by any lingering doubt, Zacharie scratches his head at your mood shift but Batter and Sucre shrug it off and glady followed right behind you. Unfortunately the elsen secretary is the only one who has to deal with the unexpected guests, but it's not like there's much he can do about four armed strangers strolling past his desk and straight to the office down the hall.
"Excuse me dear guests you're not supposed to be here, hey! Security!" the elsen called out to your team of four but it was like talking to a wall.

"Call whoever you want blub we're not going anywhere!" you raise your voice like a battle cry. Just in time for the beginning of a fight.
An array of elsen security guards come rushing to the secretary's call, a group of five all lined up, clad in uniforms and batons. They're more of a fighting type that keep attacking consistently without any negative status effects, saving your team some time. The second wave of enemies were much more varied with two different guard types, an elsen clad in protective gear and armed with a police like shield company by an elsen with a blocky weapon.
You squint your eyes at the object, immediately recognizing it from your modern world. "Is that a stun gun?" you ask a bit too late, the attack was directed to Sucre, she jumps at the foreign projectiles piercing her skin and electricuting her body. She dropped on a knee, glaring at the security guard elsen, the only reason she hasn't knocked him out yet is because of the paralyze effect. "I ask of you to kindly turn around and leave." one of the elsen warn in a passive aggressive tone.

Your hand hovered over to the silver flesh item in your holographic menu but decided against it at the last moment, if there's a boss nearby then it's best to save resources.
"Batter direct your attacks to the stun gun elsen, meanwhile Zacharie I need you to stick with basic attacks until their hp is low enough!" you instruct your remaining team mates. It took about three enemy waves later before reaching the end of the hallway. The last few elsen guards laid beaten and defeated on the pristine floor, one of them reaching a hand out to your team as you walk past them. "Please don't hurt our boss."
You spare them an apologetic look, but Batter pulled you away by placing a hand on your shoulder. "They're being brainwash remember?"
"Right, right." you nod to yourself, letting him guide you to the imposing doors with the words 'Dedan' written on them.

Chapter Text

One of your add ons died. Just when you starting bonding with them which only hurts you even more. It's like the world froze for you. There's a fuzzy noise ringing in your ears, blocking out any muffled voices that tried to get pass you without any luck. It's your teammates, or at least the other two aren't dead. And just like that you bolted back awake, as if you're waking up from a dream within a dream.

"The fight." you remember, attention returning to the glitch Dedan attacking your remaining team mates. He was already intimidating with his face and his tall height, but now he's just uncomfortable to look at, with dislocated portions of his body held together with strings of static. It's impossible to look at the guy without getting goosebumps. Despite your fear, you fill out the missing spot in your team until the can get their hands on a joker... If they had any.

Once your turn came up you deliver a punch to Dedan only for a heartbreaking amount of zeros to tell you it didn't do any damage. Dedan returned the attack, knocking you back to the ground. You heard one of your teammates shout your name, but your senses are still too fuzzy to know who it is. The two of them defend this round so you could recover, standing back on your wobbly feet. What are you supposed to do if you don't have any attack damage?

A text box popped up over your head, you rubbed your eyes to read it better.

New competence acquired.

The laptop that was once in Zacharie's backpack manifested itself in your hands with all your notes taped to the monitor like sticky notes. Although you're unsure of what it does, you summon your first competence without a second thought. The flashes of white light scan the corrupt Dedan before plastering the details on the device in your hands. The information plastered on the screen told you everything you need to know about him, it's almost like looking into his soul.

With a new-found resolve, you direct your attention to your add ons. "You two, defend and use this round to heal. I'll do the attacking from now on." They try to object, but they eventually followed your orders and played along. By the time your turn came up you already had your second competence ready and fired without mercy.

Funny enough, this reminds you of something. It's like this one time you played a seemingly harmless pixel game made by a certain fox, it's simple but charming, however not only did it inspire you to take game design as a hobby; it also gave you a different perspective for approaching a game. Being a pacifist for both enemies and allies a like. It's definitely a harder path, but it's more rewarding.

You would've absolutely destroyed Dedan if you wanted to, but something changed your mind. You didn't want to commit the same mistake twice, this time you'll save him... All of them.
The corrupt Dedan twitched and groaned, falling to its knees as you finishing cleaning up the errors in his code, closing the screen with a tired smile. "And it's finished." you sigh, watching your work reflect on the man curling in on himself on the floor. Eventually the glitches and static on his body faded away, like breaking away pieces of water that froze up into ice.

The fight is over.