Chapter Text
Kachus stretched. After hours of sitting at his laptop and moving barely an inch, he finally finished OFF. He had gone into the game with no expectations. Out of pure boredom, the young man had downloaded the game and to his surprise, he thoroughly enjoyed it. There was something about the plot, the twists, and the art style that made him grow to love the game.
With a quiet groan, he leaned back in his chair and then sighed as his joints popped and cracked out of their stiffness. "Well, Batter," he said with a grin and a fond look at the screen as it faded back to the title screen, "I'm glad I stuck with you 'till the very end." Kachus knew that the Batter couldn't hear him; he was a fictional character. Despite that, it didn't stop his mind from wandering. What if he was real? The dark haired male laughed as he imagined his favourite character trying to fit into his world.
"No way." He muttered at the thought then practically fell out of his chair. Sitting cross-legged in a chair did not provide the best circulation for one's legs, he concluded. Hoping no one in the neighbouring condos heard that loud thump, Kachus dragged himself to bed and promptly fell asleep with thoughts full of Off.
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"I'm glad I stuck with you 'till the very end." Those words echoed in the darkness-- the nothingness. It was over. The switch was off. What was there now? Nothing. Nothing but those precious words.
The Batter looked upwards to what would be sky-- if there was one. His player had fought alongside him on this long journey. Clumsy at first but skillful and clever once he got a hang of it, the Batter was glad to be under his control. Even better, when the final decision had to be made, his player had picked him without hesitation. The athlete felt a surge of loyalty and longing. Right then and there, he decided that he was going to meet his puppeteer no matter what.
"Kachus..." The word hung in front of him, seemingly floating in the nothingness. The batter picked up his bat and adjusted his cap. He had another long journey ahead of him.
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The day had been too long. Who thought it was a good idea to make him carry all of those heavy crates? Kachus looked down at his arms, irritated from being rubbed up against rough wood. That would teach him for wearing short sleeves to work. His feet felt like lead as he dragged them across the pavement to his condo. The thought that kept him moving was the food he would eat when he got home. TV dinners weren't the healthiest, but they were better than nothing. As he reached his door, he thought he heard a sound on the other side of the door. He opened it cautiously and was greeted with quiet darkness.
"Hello..?" He called cautiously and mentally scolded himself. Idiot! That's exactly what you're not supposed to do! If you were in a horror movie, you would be dead. In one quick motion, he flipped on the lights. Everything looked normal... Aside from his laptop being on the floor. Kachus gulped, staying alert while he closed the door and cautiously moved over to his poor laptop. Thankfully it wasn't damaged, however, a quick glance at the screen told him that Off wouldn't be playable anytime soon. That made his heart sink; he had been looking forward to revisiting that game.
Satisfied with not being attacked upon entering his home, Kachus placed the laptop back on its proper spot on his desk and turned to go to the kitchen. Upon taking his first step towards his goal, his face, or rather all of him, collided with a wall of... Person?!
With a startled shout, the young man skittered backwards, backing up into a wall. His eyes shot up to try to identify the stranger but was met with a gaze that was not of a human's. It's eyes were white and empty and it's face-- could he even call that a face? composed of a long curved about and giant, sharp teeth. Its body was mostly human, the big claw-like hands were the exception. The creature let out a low, growling sound and stepped closer. At this point, Kachus could only let out a tiny squeak as he pressed himself against the wall, willing it to suck him in.
Don't go down without a fight! Something in him said and before he knew it, his fist was flying at the beast. Mid flight, Kachus knew that was a bad idea and willed his fist to stop, but it was too late. The beast caught his fist. Kachus prepared to get his arm chomped off, but instead his was pulled into an embrace. He froze. He was stunned. He was speechless. He was completely and utterly confused.
"My player... Kachus." Came the low rumble from somewhere deep in the monster's throat. How did this ghastly thing know his name?
"W-what?!" Unintelligible as it was, that was the only thing the human could manage. It took him a moment, but he regained control of his body and tried to shove the thing away. It's grip loosened slightly; it had no intention of letting him run. Unable to bring himself to look at the creature's face, he settled for his chest and noticed that he was wearing what appeared to be... A baseball jersey? It looked familiar.
Kachus gasped and looked up at the thing's head. A baseball cap!
"B-Batter?!" He said with obvious shock. There was that low growl again.
"I'm the Batter." The batter confirmed, wrapping his massive arms around his player again.
"Why do you look like this?" Kachus asked, voice as shaky as his trembling body.
"It's how you see me. Like in the game. I looked human to you. You see me as a monster now, don't you?" He spoke in a thick accent (he wasn't sure what accent it was exactly) and a monotone tone.
"N-no! Well..." Kachus' voice trailed off and the Batter finally let him go. "Wait-- why are you here?!"
"I wanted to see you." The Batter stated bluntly. The other male wondered how he could speak so clearly with no lips.
"But you're a fictional character; from a game!" Kachus cried.
"I wanted to see you so I came here." The Batter wasn't being very helpful. Questioning would have to wait unless...
"... I'm dreaming. I must be." That was logical. Perfectly logical. The Batter? In the real world? Laughable. Impossible. Kachus pulled his way out of the Batter's grip and brushed past him. "I'm going to wake up any moment and none of this will have happened."
"You're not dreaming." The long snout was dangerously close to the man's ear. Kachus could feel the heat radiating off of the other being.
"Not dreaming. Got it." Kachus repeated upon deciding that no nightmare or dream could ever feel as real as the hug he received or the hot breath tickling his neck. "What the hell."