Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The batter was unsure of how many times he’s retraced through his story before, how many times he ‘reset’. Different puppeteers, different routes taken, it was blending all the same to him.

He tapped those black cleats on the bright flooring, bat resting over his shoulder as he stared out at the newest puppeteer.

Cecilia was not expecting to be thrown into the game like this. It was a moment to adjust to the bright, saturated colors, and the soft noise of the ‘game’. The music. So it turns out that the characters can hear the music…? Eyes moved from place to place before landing on a baseball uniform. Slowly tipping her head back, she gazed up up up into the blank face of the puppet. “Le batteur?” Came her soft voice as she tipped her head.

That’s right! The pitch black space from her beginning, as she wrapped herself up to play a nice game. He was ‘The Batter’! He was...much taller than she was expecting. This was going to be interesting.

The larger man’s eyes narrowed, mouth set in a straight line. “You don’t look puppeteer material to me,” he said, voice deep. It sounded like it once held warmth and kindness, but something sucked the emotion, turning it into a mere parody of itself. It gave Cecilia the creeps, and she shook her head in response.

“I’m not sure what you were expecting,” her voice danced with an accent, words pulled and clipped, yet almost sing songy, “but I’m your puppeteer, ma marionette. Let’s get going,” she huffed, starting to walk with him. He fell alongside her, letting her wander a moment before they triggered the dialogue from the Judge.

Faintly, the Batter could hear something akin to the spacebar being rapidly mashed, and their dialogue went by quickly enough to almost make him dizzied. When the Judge leapt off, he turned and fixed his player with a look. After a moment, she looked back up at him and grinned. “What?”

“Stop doing that,” he responded, and her brow furrowed. “Making the dialogue go by like that. Don’t do that,” he scolded, and she shook her head. Leading him around, she soon grew to dislike his speedwalk. She ended up ramming him into the walls around the stairs after opening the chest, sighing impatiently.

“Christ, hang on,” she was suddenly on him, making the Batter quite confused. Her little body scoured up his own much leaner one, and he had no choice but to carefully move himself as to allow her to cling on. Which turned out to be on his shoulders, hands curling into the brim of his hat. “Alright, now we can do this,” it was a bit smoother when they were together like that, when she was able to see over his head.

Naturally, Cecilia skipped the combat dialogue, explaining that she could probably figure out when it actually matter. The Batter merely shook his head, trailing down the stairs. “Okay, Batteur, do you just have to tap the boxes?” She asked, studying the numbers on the wall.

“I’d assume so, yes,” he responded, fingers tapping against her bared skin. Considering Cecilia had been expecting to stay in her own home, she didn’t bother to wear any pants. All she wore was her underwear and a large sweater. None of the characters seemed to mind the outfit, therefore she didn’t either. It wasn’t even that chilly, so she was delighted.

Nodding, she moved him flawlessly, his hand tapping the boxes as they went and thus soon solving the puzzle. It was the same with the next room, though Cecilia paused at the final puzzle. “Okay now what the hell,” she huffed out, steering him outside.

After picking up meat from the chest outside, which the little deity wrinkled her nose at, she perked up at the little room jutting out from the front. “Go in there,” she said, and he did. Staring at the numbers on the wall, she gave a huff and pulled out her phone, snapping a picture. “All right, go back.”

Her gaze was on her phone as she steered him, softly counting boxes as they passed them. The puzzle was soon solved and she cheered, shifting and causing the Batter to hang onto her legs a bit tighter. “Stop that, you almost fell,” he warned, and she wiggled his brim. “You stop, spoilsport! We finished all the puzzles, that’s exciting!” She giggled and guided him from the room.

Quickly mashing through the Judge’s dialogue, she huffed softly as the Batter exhaled in a rumble.. “Cecilia. What did I say about mashing through the dialogue?” In response, her knees pressed into his cheeks and she gave a little squeeze. “You’re so mouthy for a marionette, Batteur,” she huffed out, urging him to touch the red box. Delighted as they landed in the cool darkness after a save, she exhaled pleasantly.

“Okay,” Her gaze went around the nothingness, her fingers almost absently clinging onto the taller man under her. The nothingness was a little disconcerting, large like her home. The Batter could feel her hesitation and he squeezed her thigh under his hand. “Cecilia. I am here,” he said, and then tapped his foot to draw her attention to the green webbing under them.

Her gaze dropped and she understood. “Okay,” she repeated, and the Batter was steered to the first zone.

Thus, it began.

Chapter Text

The Batter, despite not showing it, did enjoy the weightless feeling of the nothingness, and enjoyed portalling from one zone to the next. The soft feeling of falling, the neat landing, everything felt familiar and easy to him. Even with his player perched on his shoulders, nothing ruined the feeling.

He landed with ease, and Cecilia exhaled, her body moving to offset his so she didn’t fall over. The first thing she noticed about the Zone was the fact that it was green, and it was less bright than the first round. Gazing out, she soon felt her curls getting damp and she looked up, swearing softly. “Ah, Batteur, come on,” she started to steer him, wanting to get out of the rain.

Ignoring the Elsen, the Batter paused outside of the monorail. It wouldn’t be high enough for Cecilia to be able to duck in with him on his shoulders like this. Tapping a white finger against her copper skin for a moment, he pulled suddenly, making Cecilia squeal as he fluidly cradled her in his arms, trapping one of her arms between his body and hers, the other clutching his jersey.

“Batteur!” She gasped as he walked inside the rail, sitting right on down in a seat, feet positioned apart. Essentially, a manspread. He set her on his thigh, hand open on her back. She sat for a moment, clearly gathering her bearings before her gaze turned to the man.

“And I thought you didn’t like me,” she said softly, almost joking before she set her hand on his arm, balancing herself. “Nonsense. Despite your annoying habit of tapping the spacebar rapidly and skipping tutorials, you’re not that bad.”

Cecilia grinned, a little blush darkening her cheeks. Her hands moved to cover her face, nervous giggles bursting through as the Batter huffed with slight amusement. Nice to know this was an easy way to quiet the chatty Player.

Her gaze turned to the outside as the monorail rumbled on, a tip of her head as she gazed at the words printing briefly in her mind, Zone 1. Straightening, she glanced to the man she sat on, studying him. He was poker-faced, staring straight ahead. What a determined man! The fickle deity was tempted to make an attempt to distract him, but soon the monorail stopped and she was scooped back into his arms.

Stepping out, he lifted her back onto his shoulders and she perched, fingers curling back against his brim, his hands resting on her thighs. She steered him once more away from the Elsen, wanting to get out of the rain. “Why does this have to be the rainy zone, damnit,” she huffed to a wordless reply from the Batter below.

As they approached the mines, Cecilia groaned as the Elsen walked on out. Once more, the dialogue went by rapidly for just a moment before his nail dug into her soft flesh, making her jump and yelp, the dialogue going by at a much more manageable speed. The clicks of the spacebar were much more pronounced, clearly from irritation.

At least, until the background momentarily fell away, leaving Cecilia and the Batter floating in almost nothingness again, though the Elsen’s words and the pictures indicated otherwise. The noise of the spacebar started up again, and a loud groan ripped from the Player as she was unable to fast forward through any of this.

“Cecilia. Enough. Tapping like that is not going to make this go by any faster. And I’m trying to read,” he said, nails digging in again, making her squeal and kick her feet, and then suddenly her back was against his and the Batter was swearing, holding her by her ankles. “Christ,” he moved his arm and dangled her by her ankle, allowing her to see that the Elsen was just standing, paused since she was unable to hit the spacebar to continue.

“Batteur!” She squealed, squirming. Unseen to her, a little quirk of the lips and he held her up a bit more, grip loosening. Her eyes widened and she screeched a bit, arms flailing to grasp at him. “Batteur! Don’t, lift me back up!!” He held her up a bit more, a look of mock-innocence on his face. “I am,” he retorted and she was reaching for him. “Come on, set me down!” Her face was growing darker, and he suddenly grinned.

“All right,” and he let go briefly, letting her screech before catching her again. “This is what you get for being a brat,” he tossed her up before catching her neatly, setting her back up on his shoulders. “Now stop mashing the spacebar.”

It took Cecilia a moment to catch her breath, but soon she was back to tapping the spacebar to get through the dialogue. Finally when it ended, she paused a moment. “Well. Let’s go,” she turned him and they headed down into the little cellar space. “Oh look, it’s the Judge!” And she was back to mashing like she hadn’t just been dangled upside down. The Batter simply sighed, squeezing her thighs again and making her squirm a bit. But she was smart, not flailing like before.

Walking to the ring illuminated in the darkness, the two gazed at the item sitting there. “Ah…” she nudged him and he tapped the ring. “Add-On Alpha has joined you,” was printed on the wall, and she tipped her head. “Alpha,” she murmured, and glanced down at the Batter. “Now where did they go?” She asked, and he shook his head for a brief moment before pointedly looking to the Judge.

Tapping through the dialogue confirming that they needed to go into the mines themselves for this, she paused before looking down at him again. “Where did Alpha go?” She asked again, and the Batter guided her fingers to the base of his neck. She gasped soft, a little worried, but she felt the warmth of the Add-on, the sleek feeling as compared to the Batter’s soft skin. For a moment she was distracted with the sensation of being able to feel his skin, fingers gently tracing the area just around the Add-On.

There was a few countless moments of allowance before his gaze was on her. “Cecilia. We have a mission,” he reminded in his usual tone. Like he was constantly annoyed. Well, whatever, it wasn’t going to bother Cecilia one bit.

Steering him right back up and to the Elsen before, she mashed through that dialogue before leading him down. She perked up with a little smile at the sight of the yellow box, guiding him towards it. But out of goddamn nowhere the Batter suddenly called out, “Show yourselves, corrupted children!” And the spectres appeared, surrounding them. Startled, Cecilia unconsciously held onto the Batter a bit tighter, not catching the rest of his words.

He squeezed her leg a moment before pulling again. Neatly, he swung her into his arms before setting her down gently. “A-Ah, Batteur - !” she held onto his arm for a moment before he spoke - at least, spoke in the gameplay. “Prepare yourselves to suffer my judgement,” his voice was hard spoken, and she winced. The spectres moved to clump together, and not-so-faintly, Cecilia heard a pretty funky beat.

“Batteur,” she started, and he dropped his gaze to her. “Remember the battle tutorial you skipped? Time to put that assumed use to work,” he sounded teasing in his own gruff way, making the little player blush. “Go away!” She shoved him before staring out at the adversaries. Her mind was flooded with the presumed battle menu, and soon she was shouting commands, consisting at this point of “Attack!”

In the corner of her eyes, she could see Alpha and, upon seeing they had no competence, shouted for them to attack as well. It was interesting to watch the puppets fight, the Batter simply stepping up and swinging his bat as hard as he could, usually taking out a spectre with one hit. Alpha moved differently, going straight up to the adversary and driving their body straight into the other’s, knocking the spectre like a balloon and making Cecilia wheeze with laughter as the spectre bounced off the ground and faded from defeat. The battle was soon over, and spoils were distributed.

Walking back to Cecilia, the Batter dropped his gaze to look down at her. Not quite in a bad way, considering there was a height difference. “Good job!” The player beamed up at him, making a slight bit of pride flutter in his chest. “Merci,” he replied simply, and she moved to climb into his arms. At his raised brow, she smiled a bit. “It’ll get tedious trying to go up and down off your shoulders, so I figured that until we get to where we won’t be randomly attacked, I’ll ride like this,” she hummed, directing his movements to the block.

Healing and saving, she gazed out at the rest of the mines, resting her cheek against the Batter’s chest. His fingers curled and tightened on Cecilia’s body, getting a good hold on her little body. “Are you ready?” He asked, voice a pleasant rumbling when against his chest. Nodding with a soft hum, he too looked out at the mines. The gentle push that came from her direction propelled him forward, leading the two deeper into the mines.

Chapter Text

“Batteur, these mines all seem the same,” Cecilia stared at her phone, trying to go through the walkthrough to help them out. Glancing up, she blink at the bead of sweat rolling down the man’s cheek. Reaching up, she wiped his face with the side of her hand before huffing gently. “Do you need to take a break, Batteur? You’re absolutely sweating,” she scolded gently, wiggling in his arms. His grip tightened unconsciously around her as he took his head.

“Batteur,” Cecilia started, and he quieted her with a simple “hush.” Huffing, she guided him through a doorway and shuddered at the sudden chill from being in the rather hot mines. Why were they so hot? One would think that being underground would make them chilly, but they were both a little hot from purifying so many spectres.

His head tipped back, eyes closed and for a moment Cecilia was struck at how he looked from her angle. Like this, she could see how he saw himself as a savior. If this were a book, it would be the baptism, the preparation to a battle, something pure. Straightening a bit, she gazed at him a moment before she leaned over, kissing his jaw gently. Some of the water stained her lips as she pulled away, his eyes dipping down to gaze at her. Exhaling softly, he lifted up his hat and rubbed at his forehead, dabbing off sweat before setting his hat back on.

Swinging her up, she perched on his damp shoulders, shuddering. Curling his fingers into her thighs again, he started walking with her gentle guidance, strolling down to the Elsen standing outside of the barn. Tapping through the dialogue, her actions were met with another squeeze to her skin, fingers kneading at her soft flesh. Wiggling uncomfortably at the motion, she huffed before tapping the save block.

Speaking to the Elsen again, she studied the assignment before she looked down at the Batter. “All right, spectres right? This shouldn’t be too bad,” she dropped to cling to his back, his hands moving automatically to hold under her thighs. “This would be easier if you just wore shoes,” he said in deadpan, causing her teeth to dig into his neck, making him jump a bit.

Pushing him forward, she blinked at the visible spectres and guided the Batter to them. The battles were quick when she used the Competence, as she found. It was interesting to watch him move, to watch his back flexing with the swings of his bat as she yelled for him to use Furious Home Run, watching Alpha move almost double time, slamming into the large ghost left and right, knocking it all over the place. The speech bubbles with the little “ah ah!”’s amused the hell out of Cecilia, causing her to giggle softly.

They were able to get through the spectres with ease, only a few bruises to show for it. Stopping the Batter’s movements, she got off his back and turned him around, pulling at the Jersey. “Your health?” She asked, and a simple box popped up. Okay, that wasn’t too bad. Satisfied, she peered up at him. “Do you need a break, Batteur?” She asked and he answered by simply shaking his head. Climbing back onto his shoulders, they trailed back through the barn, Cecilia faintly humming a little tune. Pausing at the door, he suddenly he pulled Cecilia off his shoulders. She let out a shocked squeal before she was pressed behind the male, her head peeking out only to see under his arm. Pressing her cheek to his side, she didn’t even mash at the dialogue, a little startled by Batter’s sudden reaction to hiding her. Staring at the inspector, she pressed more into the taller male’s side, staring out at the Elsen and the inspector.

Instinctively, her nose wrinkled with irritation at the harsh tone used by the taller, sassy looking beast. Fingers curling into the slightly stained jersey, her brow furrowed as her jaw worked. As if he could sense Cecilia’s irritation, the Batter pushed her head into his side, pressing her against his firm body. Within mere moments, the inspector was gone and the player was released, pulled back on top of the puppet’s shoulders as they strode out. Tapping slowly through the dialogue, she bit her lower lip when the name of the man was revealed. Looking down at the Batter as they were dismissed, his face was impassive.

“Dedan,” she said slowly, repeating the name of the harsh man before. Merely nodding, the Batter squeezed her thigh. “Proud of you for not mashing the dialogue,” he teased absently as she started to guide him. “Shut your mouth, Batteur,” but she was smiling, the corners of her eyes crinkled.

Setting off again, the duo went back into the mines, Cecilia having caught sight of the work and she had no desire to even explore close to that area. As they headed back down, the Batter gently eased her back onto his back, holding under her knees as he was guided through the twisting mines.

Naturally, they were lost and ended up back in the same place a few times, but she swore enough for the both of them that the Batter merely huffed in annoyance every once in awhile. When there were new areas, she paid rapt attention to their surroundings. However, that proved difficult when the headed into a barely lit area of the mines. Pressing closer to him, the little player didn’t like not knowing where they were. The small amount of light that seemed to illuminate straight from the male under her only cast so much light. His sure hands squeezed her knees gently, head turning slightly.

“Are you scared?” He asked, voice a bit softer than it usual was. “Nnn...Non,” she bit her lower lip, because she wasn’t afraid per sey, but apprehensive. Anxious. She didn’t know what was going to jump them, and she didn’t know if there were any blocks close enough. “Cecilia,” he bumped his head on hers gently, “I am right here. Nothing’s going to hurt us,” he said before looking ahead once more. “Ah, except for that,” he said as the battle music cued,  setting her down.

The battle was short and sweet, and Cecilia was soon grasping at him again, back on his back. Mercifully, they only had to repeat that four more times before they found a switch. “The switch is ON,” he murmured to her. “Turn it off,” she responded, and he threw the switch down. “The switch is now OFF,” and she gave a little grin. Oh man, that was kind of funny.

Guiding him down a few more paths, she paused as a doorway opened up a new room. A block floated there, but that wasn’t the first thing she noticed. There was a male standing off to the side, a frog-like mask on, messy black hair, a white shirt with a heart on it and a slight slouch in his posture. Guiding him first to the block, her brows furrowed as she pressed a bit harder against the Batter. “Who is that weeaboo fuck?” She huffed softly, squeezing him a bit tighter. Shrugging, he was guided over.

“These characters are really starting to pile up, aren’t they?” Was the first line he had, and the Batter’s response of “Pardon?” Made a little giggle leave Cecilia. “He’s not wrong,” she responded, and the merchant simply nodded. “I know I’m not,” was his response, startling the player. “Hey, don’t worry about me attacking. I’m Zacharie, the merchant needed in every game,” he straightened a bit. “But I’m not one of those protagonists you need to listen to for hours,” he finished, causing the Batter’s brow to furrow and a smile to rise on Cecilia’s face.

Every damn time this man confused the puppet. “Lemme see the color of your credits,” was the final line, making the puppeteer wheeze. “Get outta here, creep!” She hissed, and the Batter shook his head. “Cecilia. He’s the merchant. Be nice,” he scolded, squeezing her knees before setting her down. Almost petulantly, she cut her eyes at the new male, pushing the Batter out in front of her as a barrier between them. Leaning out, she squinted at the menu options beside him. Reaching, she cut her eyes at him once more before scrolling down to check the purchases that were available for the moment.

Purchasing a couple new Symbols, Auras and Defense items, she drew back behind the Batter as they items were transferred to their inventory. “Nice doing business with you,” Zacharie seemed unbothered by Cecilia’s prickly reaction, though it was merely because of the game’s dialogue that had freaked her out. Pulling the Batter by his tunic despite it being unnecessary, she pulled him back to the yellow box. “Here,” she pushed the recently purchased jersey at him, turning slightly so he could change without having her eyes on him. Honestly, the puppet wouldn’t have minded it, but if that’s how she was he wasn’t about to complain about it.

When he finished changing, he set the discarded tunic right on her head, making her yelp and pull it off. “Gross, Batteur! It’s covered with your sweat and spectre!” She complained, holding it between her two hands. “Mm,” he hummed in response before he was pulled down to the little player’s height. “Pull down your collar,” she said, and he obeyed, revealing Alpha chilling around his neck. Reaching with the Radius Epidermis, she placed and smoothed the item over the Add-On. After a moment, the previous epidermis slid right off into her hands, making her shudder. Picking up the two discarded items, she strolled back to Zacharie, the Batter following behind. Nice to see her walking around for once, though he found it weird to not have her added weight on his strides.

“Here,” she shoved the discarded items right at Zacharie, making him chuckle out his trademark laugh. “Ah, you completely skipped my dialogue,” he teased, though he took them and transferred the credits to her. “Nice to have you actually talk to me,” he added, eyes crinkling behind his mask. A little blush crept onto her cheeks and she merely shook her head at him. “See you later, weirdo,” she waved to him, moving and grasping the Batter’s arm again. Pulling him along, he gave a huff as he followed, a reminder on the tip of his tongue that he didn’t need to be pulled around like a dog.

As they stepped through the door, Cecilia wanted to go straight past the Elsen behind the desk, but that didn’t seem to be possible as ( an admittedly kind of funny beginning ) dialogue popped up with a simple “...???”

That seemed to accurately describe her entire reaction to the game thus far. As the dialogue was tapped through, she climbed back onto the Batter’s shoulder once the potential of threat was gone. Groaning as yet another slow moving explanation popped up, she covered her face as she attempted to click through it. The Batter’s nails dug into her thighs once more, making her squeal and just pull off his hat. “Cecilia give that back,” he broke through the explanation, head tipped back. His white-blond hair was messy against her sweater, yet made the male under her look so much younger. Irritated, but younger.

“Then stop digging your nails into me!” She scolded, pushing his head forward again and setting the hat back on his head. Finishing the dialogue, he tapped his foot a moment at the Elsen blubbering on for a few more moments before letting them through to the elevator. Pulling at Cecilia’s leg once more, she was swept into his arms, cradled as they stepped inside. At the choice in rooms, she looked a little dismayed. “9999?” She repeated, and he merely hummed in response.

“This might take a while.”

Chapter Text

The predicted ‘while’ turned out to last only a few moments until the Batter’s player hissed out, “Oh dammit, hold on!” And shifted a bit on his shoulders. He held her still, though, waiting patiently. After all, how could he be anything but? They were still going to get through the projected mission, play through everything, the only spice being her responses and the goddamned mashing of the spacebar.

“All right I got it,” she directed him over to the elevator again, completely ignoring the Elsen in the room for once. Inputting a number that he deemed slightly random, they were whisked up and deposited in the package area. Tromping on out, they popped open a chest and got the meat from there. While he was expecting her to open the other one, she hummed and pulled him away.

“You don’t want to open the one on the right?” He asked, and she shook her head. “No, I heard there’s impurity -” she started, and he snapped his head in that direction. “We have to purify it,” he hissed, and a slightly annoyed sigh left the little player on his shoulders. “But then I have to get dow-” she was cut off by his nails in her thigh again, making her gasp, legs stiffened as tears pin pricked at her eyes. That was a different grab than usual, one that actually hurt her. A little whimper left her and he immediately stopped, deep crescent moons in her thigh. They turned a grotesque looking dark, and she let out a soft gasp. “You brute…” the insult didn’t pack a punch, but the soft tone she used certainly did.

Turning his head, he caught the welled up tears in her eyes and dipped his head, kissing the gouges in her soft thigh. Gently she eased off, and he moved with her gentle guidance into the battle that would follow the call of “there’s impurities enclosed!”

The battle was swift and easy, and a simple Luck Ticket was rewarded. Turning back to Cecilia, he leaned down a bit, expecting her to climb back on. Instead, she folded her arms and glared daggers at him.

“What?” he asked, brow furrowing. What the hell was she doing.

“I want an apology, Batteur,” she huffed, little fingers massaging the indents away from her copper skin.

“What for? Trying to continue with my mission that you agreed to go on?” he asked, rather agitated. Why was she doing this - why did she have to fight with him?

“No! For hurting me!” warmth trickled over her cheeks, creeping through her face and burning her ears. She was getting upset as well, tired of him squeezing her.

“I kissed your wound, isn’t that enough?”

“No! I want to hear you say you’re sorry!”

“Why do you need to hear it?”

“Because if you say it, you mean it!”

“I’m not apologizing, Cecilia,” he narrowed his eyes at her, jaw working. This was going nowhere, and he wanted to get going already. Why did she have to do this.

“Then I’m not moving,” she folded her arms petulantly. As she made a move to sit on the chest, he snapped his arms out and scooped her up. “Hey!” she squealed out, squirming in his arms. He trapped her little squirming body against his chest, holding her tight.

“Cecilia,” he tone was hard, snagging her attention as she looked up at him with furrowed brows, “stop acting like you’re five. This is stupid,” he scolded, hands dipping to pull her up over his shoulder. Gasping, she let out a yelp as he put himself on auto, starting to walk to elevator.

“Batteur, set me down! This is cruel, this is awful, I might go far as to even call it bullshit!” she cried in irritation, hot tears of anger welling up as the doors closed behind them. As she was set down, she moved to shove him when he grabbed her hands, pulling up so she was dangling, a look of offense on her face.

“Stop,” he said, and pulled her closer, nosing away her tears. “Enough. Don’t cry, Cecilia,” he said, voice unusually soft as he moved so her arms were wrapped around his neck. A strong hand rested against her back as he sank to the ground, both puppet and player ignoring the question of which floor to go to in favor of just. Being.

“Listen,” he murmured, hand going through her hair before he leaned back against the wall of the elevator, giving her a squeeze. “Listen...I’m on a mission to purify this world. I need to clean up everything - leaving one thing left could ruin my mission,” he said, voice smooth. Convincing.

“Which means we couldn’t leave that box unopened. You know that,” he gave her another squeeze. “Which means we had to open it and purify the adversaries. You know that.”

Cecilia hated this. He made her feel silly for getting so upset - though it was less about the mission and more about the act of hurting her. Causing pain. Resting her head on him, she blinked a few times, letting herself relax a bit at he held her. Indulgent.

And then the numbers were dialed into the elevator and there was a little jerk as they headed up. Disentangling, he eased her back up onto his shoulders before they exited. Raising a brow as they both glanced around, Cecilia gave him a slight squeeze. “No one…?” he frowned, and they plodded on.

Okay. There was someone there. An elsen, but he gave Cecilia the creeps. His voice was much higher, much more labored in breaths. Clutching onto the Batteur a bit tighter, she dropped off his shoulders to stand behind him.

As predicted, a battle begun, but she was confused. He stood there for a moment, looking dismayed. As his labored breathing grew, the Batter suddenly pushed his player behind him, making her gasp and curl her hand into his jersey, peeking around his body with wide eyes.

The elsen was breathing harder, eyes staring listlessly about. Blank, sweating, he looked awful and she didn’t know what was happening.

But then.

His eyes latched onto the player. Blinking, the elsen’s mouth dropped open and suddenly his head was mottled and black and practically exploded upwards, making Cecilia gasp and press her face into his jersey. “Cecilia, direct me,” he spoke softly, gently unwinding her fingers from his tunic. Shakily she did as she was told, covering her eyes as she listened to the hits land.

Soon it was silent, Batter gently pulling her onto his shoulders once more. Slowly Cecilia opened her eyes and cringed. Black goop splattered absolutely everywhere, on the boxes and the walls and most of all, on his bat. “B-Batteur…” she exhaled softly, clutching to his hat. He seemed to walk a bit faster, sensing her discomfort over the burnt elsen. He, on the other hand, felt numb to it. He had seen it so many times before, there was no need to be alarmed much longer.

As they ascended, hand thumb absently ran over her soft skin, making her shiver a bit as she held on a bit tighter. Glancing about the room, she perked up and guided him to a paper on a desk littered about. Inclining his head, his eyes flicked over the page as he read in a dry tone. They continued this, though Cecilia once stopped him and asked “What the fuck is this story,” to which he responded with a simple, “Shut up.”

Fuming quietly, they approached the elsen at the desk. Triggering his dialogue, she stared blankly a moment at the secret code. “Oh. That’s what the story was,” she murmured, tapping away and inputting the code. The air stilled after she did so, making her stomach turn. Slowly the Batter eased her off his shoulders, placing her firmly behind him.

“Th-The code is...exactly correct,” such a phrase never felt like a failure. Especially after the Elsen was screaming, and Cecilia flinched into his jersey as she heard the telltale noise of his head exploding outwards, splatters of matter staining the surroundings. Covering her eyes once again, she yelled out commands to her puppet, listening to the gruesome noises and wondering, faintly, if this was really worth it.

But it had to be, why else would they be on this mission?

Something fell against her hands and her legs, but she heard the music change from battle to normal. Slowly uncovering her eyes, she looked up to see the Batter gazing down at her. His face was impassive, though he reached down and gently took her hand, lifting it. “I don’t want to alarm you, but you got a bit messy,” he said calmly, and Cee felt her stomach drop, knees buckling. His hand moved swiftly to grasp her elbow, pulling her to him so she could lean against him. “It’s all right, Cecilia,” he murmured, dropping to his knees in front of her and giving her a little startle.

Gently, so gently, his pale hand eased over her dark skin, wiping off the remains with ease. His gaze dropped to the black coating his fingers, his jaw aching, nose throbbing as he held back revealing his face, his true face. He knew he needed to keep himself vaguely humanoid - that was the most trustworthy, the best for his mission. His head was bowed, leaving Cecilia only with the view of the top of his hat and the few pale blonde strands. And of course, Alpha, wrapped securely around his neck. Her fingers reached, teasing the uncovered stands gently. His pale hand reached back and snagged her hand, bringing it to his face, lifting his head.

Studying the black staining her fingers, he dipped his head and made her gasp. His lips were surprisingly soft, if not a bit chapped from the harsh air. Lightly easing off the stains from her hands, his tongue darted out only once. It was cold, soft, like a piece of fruit. It felt unbearably intimate, made heat creep up her cheeks as she had to advert her gaze.

After giving her cleaned thigh a squeeze, he stood and scooped her up, holding her against him as he carried her into the secret elevator. Gazing out as the elevator rose and deposited them, she gasped softly as they stood in a purple room, watching Dedan battle the spectres. She cringed at the foul language, not expecting to hear it from such a game.

And then that angry gaze was turned on them, and she was shoved behind the purifier almost immediately, pressing against his back. Dedan’s voice was grating, and almost immediately Cecilia was straight mashing through the dialogue, trying to just get him out of there. His tone got angrier as Batter pressed her a bit closer, his face invisible to her but set in a rather hard expression to the guardian of the zone.

“FUCKIN’ STOP!!” Came the sudden roar, and Cecilia flinched, clutching to his back. “I don’t know how you’re doing it, but you better STOP!” clasping her hands over her ears, she closed her eyes once more. The Batter turned once Dedan portaled away, taking her hands from her ears and sighing.

“With the bosses, it’s probably best you try not to mash through their words. Or else they’ll get pissed like he did,” he warned, drawing Cecilia up into his arms once more.

“All right,” she exhaled softly, and he gave her a small squeeze. Treading back to the elevator, he gave a very slow and soft sigh.

“Alma it is, correct?” he asked, and she hummed in agreement. “Alma it is,” she repeated. Stepping into the elevator, the doors slid shut behind them.

Time to go.

Chapter Text

The third monorail ride felt different. Cecilia was still perched on his knee as he sat in a manspread, but unlike last time, she leaned against him, practically cuddling up to him as she closed her eyes, relaxing against him. His cheek rested on the top of her mop of curls, the pair silent, the only noise their breaths passing. His hand rested against her hip, long fingers drumming absently on the soft skin under his hand.

When the monorail screeched to its stop, he patted her hip before sitting up, scooping her up and carrying her out, soon pulling her up onto his shoulders. Blinking as she felt the rain dampening her hair once more, she groaned and pushed him with a little more force than necessary. “God I am so sick of this rain!” She complained, shaking her fist at the sky as the puppet merely rolled his eyes, taking her into the only building there.

Smoothing down her curls, Cecilia pushed down those emotions she felt earlier, the peace of being against him. Completely ignoring the elsen, considering she was afraid he was another exploding head, she directed the Batter to the flyers hanging on the wall. Squinting at the small print, the male below murmured, “Do you want to look closer?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, and immediately regretted it as he stepped straight up to the wall, causing her face to quite literally be right on the paper. It was an incredulous moment of resting her cheek on the paper that smelt of old books and overwhelming ink before she spoke slowly.

“If you do not pull me away from this goddamn wall right now, I am going to kick your finely shaped ass into the next zone.”

He stepped back. Rubbing at her face, she squinted at them before nodding. “All right, what do I do with this knowledge,” she asked as her gaze trailed to the Elsen standing there, waiting. To answer her question, he merely walked over and triggered the dialogue. Almost immediately, they were prompted to answer questions, and he merely looked up at her. “Do you want to answer them now or later?”

“Now?” She hadn’t meant for it to sound like a question, but it was and he quirked a brow at her.

“You sound unsure.”

“Batteur. I want to answer them now,” she frowned at him in irritation. Goddamn sassy marionette and his monotone and his finely shaped ass. Huffing softly, he looked back to the Elsen and repeated her response.

The questions at first were confusing, and the first round she was certain they got a few wrong. Cringing, she waited for the other living being’s head to explode. It was a few moments and a pinch from the Batter before she jerked and stuck her finger in his ear. He made a little guttural noise and swatted her hand away, making her laugh as she pulled out her phone.

With the power of Apple, she was able to get the answers and the Elsen fell silent. Cecilia’s stomach dropped as his breathing got louder, and it was a momentary scramble to get down and for her to hide as he spoke, “That’s...That’s correct…” and another pause that had Cecilia clamping her hands over her ears as she heard the faint pop and gush from the Elsen’s head. Yelling out attacks, she kept her eyes squeezed shut and hands over her ears.

A splatter of something hit and dripped down her face, dabbing and easing down the bridge of her nose. She focused on it a moment, eyes opening and hands dropping. The battle wasn’t over - she could see the exploding head still gushing and the Batter was charging up, but there was something on her face. Dripping. After a moment and a dodged attack, the puppet turned to look at his puppeteer.

What was she doing? He was momentarily confused until she saw the oily black easing down the unpierced side of her nose, about to fall to her upper lip. “Cecilia,” he called out then, and he thought he saw her eyes focus. “Cecilia! Focus!” he shouted, and she blinked, life coming back to her like nothing happened. She yelled out another attack, Alpha zipping and adding weight to his attacks.

As gruesome as it sounded, he liked the battles. He liked swinging his weapon, knowing that where it landed, he was one more step towards purifying the land.

Plus it was good stress relief.

He was able to get in two more hits before the Elsen was completely purified, laying in a oily, garbled mess of himself. Turning towards his player, he strode over and reached, rubbing at the black on her face because he was not going to risk putting his mouth anywhere near hers. That would mean he was attached, mean he loved her. He didn’t want to give off that impression so soon, he couldn’t, not when they were focused. Later he could establish something, not right now, not in the first zone. He wouldn’t allow himself indulgence.

But it was weird. The black wasn’t going away - it seemed to just smear onto her dark skin.

“Uh, Batteur?” and there was that voice, holding slight amusement. Narrowing his eyes slightly and briefly, he rose a brow to convey his question. “You realize that trying to wipe my face while having blood on your hand isn’t going to help matters, right?”

That explained it. Retracting his hand, he found she was indeed correct. His paper white skin was smeared liberally with black. Dipping his head, he lapped at the skin. As he did so, Cecilia looked away, reaching up to thumb away both the original mess and whatever more he put on her face. His hand took hers and he lapped at her thumb as well, making her startle and blush, looking away once more. Once more with the intimacy!

Lifting her onto his back, he sighed softly. “There are many burnt here, like the spectres earlier. This might be easier since you like to duck behind me so much,” he sounded teasing, squeezing her knees.

“Oh, leave me alone,” she hissed, holding onto him. Huffing in what could have been a laugh, he followed her gentle pushes and paused outside, chuckling as she squealed in irritation.

Before they could get much further, an Elsen strode on over, pausing. “You...You, uh…” he sounded uncertain, though she cringed nervously. Oh no. As the game-programed conversation was spoken, Cecilia grew a bit more restless before blinking at the sudden darkness surrounding them. “No. Nooo,” she moaned, pressing her face into the curve of his pallid white neck. Faintly, he heard her trademark spacebar mashing, at this point it was so common for him to faintly hear it that at this point he merely huffed and ignored it.

A few more pieces were thrown about before there was another pause. Oh no. Please no.

“Well then...could you liberate me?”

Cecilia climbed off his back, shaking a bit. “I’m gonna smash Dedan’s face in,” she said softly, shakily. He turned and merely gazed at her, levelly. “I know,” he responded, nodding, because he knew how she felt. It was odd, feeling faint inklings of her emotions rolling off so tangible. He could practically taste the bottled rage inside of her and how hard it must be for her to see the suffering that was his world.

Disregarding those thoughts for the moment, he instead turned, bat held at the ready. Poised. Ready for his strings to be pulled like they would be. He didn’t have to wait long, her shouts of attacks guiding him towards the Burnt, his bat hitting soft, pliable flesh that made him think of her thighs on his shoulders. The spray splattered on his face, making his eyelashes stick together. He had to pause in his charge to wipe at his primary set of eyes as she directed Alpha into an attack. A glance thrown to her showed that, for once, she wasn’t covering her eyes nor her ears. No, she was looking head on into the battle.

Which made him smile a bit. Finally, she was acting like the puppeteer he wanted - someone who wasn’t going to look away from battle, someone able to guide him and assist his mission. The new feeling made him attack harder, wringing out harsh attacks that ended the battle rapidly. More so she didn’t have to look at what he knew she didn’t want to look at. Ignoring the dialogue, he merely moved to her once more, lifting her neatly into his arms. Snapping out of her gaze, she screeched at the black absolutely painting his front, squirming in his arms. “Batteur, this is disgusting!” she complained, and he merely huffed with amusement, a pass of a smile on his face.

Her gaze traveled to the fallen Elsen, her stomach turning a bit. “How many more do you think there are?” she asked softly, making him tip his head down at her curiously.

“Probably many more, Cecilia. There’s always a lot in every zone,” he responded, adjusting her and thus smearing some of the blood onto her sweater sleeve. A look of horror crossed her face, fingers pulling and discarding the sweater.

“And here I thought you were in your underwear,” he murmured, eyeing her pink gingham print shorts that were hidden under her large sweater, which was discarded outside of the game. He then, for the sake of it, pointedly looked down at her tank top. A little sun was printed there with a smiling face, the words, “SUN’S OUT GUNS OUT” printed on the top and bottom, two words per spacing. Scowling at him, she stuck her little hand in his face, pushing him to look out at the zone again.

“Stop, just walk.”

And he began to walk, leading them deeper into the final area of the zone.

Chapter Text

“Hello, Cecilia!” Perking up at the familiar tone, she squirmed from Batter’s arms and scampered to Zacharie, actually excited to see him for once. “I’m glad you’re so excited to see me,” he cast a glance towards the Batter and rose a brow, though the movement was lost on the other side of his mask. “In good shape? ...Perhaps you could spare some credits?”

The player rolled her eyes and laughed. “Yeah, we fought some exploding head guys -” “-Burnts,” Batter cut in quietly, making her roll her eyes again, “- and Batteur got all goopy and disgusting, so I’m glad to see you!” she chattered as she scrolled through his inventory. Purchasing a few things, she paused a moment. “Is there any way to get him a replacement tunic? Because I am not gonna get goop all over my arm again like that,” she pointed to the faded black.

Though what took more interest was the bandages wrapped around her arm, stained in grey and looking a bit soggy due to the rain. Whistling faintly, Zacharie cast another glance to the puppet before back to the puppeteer. “Well. . .I’ll give it to you if you pay credits,” his eyes crinkled as he let out a trademark chuckle, making her scrunch up her face in irritation.

“You’re such a capitalistic dickhead,” she scolded with irritation despite purchasing another tunic. Drawing her hand away to indicate she was done, she glanced to the merchant before reaching and hooking a finger under his mask, giving him a momentary scare before he realized she was just flicking him as she walked to the save block.

The Batter tapped it for her and then she turned to him, and he stared down at her. Offering him the clean tunic, he pulled off his own and dropped it on her head, making her squeal. Now that she realized he kept that undershirt on, a moment of minor disgust rose as she wondered for just how long did he have that on, jesus christ. Holding the dirtied one in her hands, she indicated for him to lean down once more, which he did so. She paused a moment, quietly admiring the taller man.

His lashes were long and dark, darker than any male’s she’s seen. Some of his silvery blonde locks escaped from under his cap, dangling slightly over his brow. His mouth was colorless, he was like a blank sheet of paper. A true marionette. Reaching, she lightly grazed over the smear of black under his eyes, much like how a batter would paint their face. She was curious, interested, though he almost immediately shied away from her touch, shaking his head. “Non…” he murmured, guiding her hand to where his skin melded into Alpha.

A very light pout rose before she guided the new defense to the Add-On, watching it settle on the skin before she drew her hands away, holding the old. Now for the Colors. Dipping her head, she stared at the swirls in her hand before back up to him in confusion, hoping he understood. Gently, he took his color from her and lifted his shirt up, both shirts, revealing a rather muscular abdomen, making Cecilia coo with delight. He shot her a look, grey tinting his skin before he pressed the Color to his skin. The Color etched into his skin, spreading and winding into intricate symbols on his chest. The player marvelled for her allotted moments, refraining from touching and skittering her puppet away from her.

Slowly he lowered his shirts, fixing the fabrics over his lean body. Proceeding to light Alpha up on his neck, she admired him a moment before scampering back over to Zacharie, selling the old items and waving as she scurried off with her larger puppet.

Blinking at the set of blocks, she started to turn to him when he scooped her up, cradling her in his arms. “The blocks are impassable,” he murmured, and she gave him a confused look. What? “The blocks are impassable,” he insisted simply, and she scoffed.

“Batteur, they come up to your knee!”

“The blocks are impassable, Cecilia,” he said, squeezing her little body.

“Batteur, I could hope over them! You could step over them!”

“What part of impassable do you not understand?”

An irritated squeal left Cecilia as he squeezed her again. Heading off, she blinked at the Elsen standing there, in front of some sort of switch.

Naturally, they triggered the battle and the player once more had to be tended to in order to get the blood off her little face. When the button was uncovered, the Batter stepped up and simply jabbed it, a little portalling noise sounding. Turning, Cecilia’s jaw dropped at what was there.

“Ho-ly SHIT!” Her sudden squeal startled the Batter, making him squeeze her a moment before letting her leap down. She, naturally, took one touch of the meaty ground and was right back in his arms, but she was no less excited. “Batteur! It’s a duck!!” She squealed, kicking her feet as he strode to the edge. Crouching, he pulled the seat closer before turning, practically falling back into it with her in her lap. Letting out a little grunt as he did so, she squirmed at the uncomfortable pose they were in, letting him adjust his long legs so he could steer the pedalo.

Sitting in his lap, she giggled with dizzied delight as she pulled the puzzle up on her phone. Cheating, as usual, with the power of the internet. As he steered them along, Cecilia’s eyes closed as she relaxed, practically dozing against the purifier as he held her carefully, making sure she wasn’t jostled too much. Steering them aimlessly for a few moments, he steered around a few shadows before guiding them to the ground.

Before he could say anything, those ultraviolet eyes popped open and she smiled up at him, eyes crinkling with delight. Assisting her out, he held her as they approached the two Elsen. She was less afraid of them the more they came around, battling them with ease. She seemed to like when he tended to the blood on her, which he tried to not pay too much attention to.

Despite her eyes closing every time they were in the pedalo, he was still guided and pushing, solving the puzzle and then carrying her back down to the beginning of the zone. Opening her eyes as they approached the building, her lips parted as they gazed up, and suddenly he turned around and was pushed back to the block. “Just in case,” Cecilia laughed nervously.

And then they were inside the building, and she was perched back on his shoulders. Staring at the lay out, she guided him through the northern door before perking up upon seeing the little kitty cat. “Kitty!” she grinned, triggering his dialogue and, predictably, going straight through it. Squeezing her thigh, Batter rolled his eyes before being guided through the hallways.

The maze took a lot longer than Cecilia wanted, mostly consisting of her hollering “SHIT” every time they were deposited either in the same room as the Judge, or when they went outside. Admittedly, he was getting a bit annoyed as well, though it was less at her and more at Dedan. Goddamn puzzle - he hated it every time. Slowly though, Cecilia was able to catch on that the music would get noticeably louder when they were going the right way.

And then he was pulling her down, pushing her behind him. The beginning was triggered, and finally, Cecilia moved from behind the Batter and pointed to Dedan. “In the name of the moon, I shall punish you!” to which was met with confusion by both males. “WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT,” came the roar as Batter merely shook his head, readying his bat.

Lips parted as she started yelling attacks over Dedan’s words, further pissing off the Guardian. Unfortunately, his rage lead to harder attacks - Cecilia wanted to choke when she saw Dedan swing and cause her Batter to stumble. Her attacks were carefully calculated, though after a few attacks, both men were rather bruised, Dedan worse off that Batter. She used a couple opportunities to throw Silver Meat to her puppet, his head turning and catching it neatly in his mouth as if he were an animal. He also got Luck Tickets, which she was a little worried about because she didn’t know how they could be eaten.

But he ate it, making Cecilia pause with complete confusion for a moment. But then she was back to shouting attacks, careful now with their health. She didn’t want him to die, didn’t want anyone to get lower than 80 in their health. The battle was getting on her nerves though, she hated how long this was taking and the goddamn ‘cackles’ he would call out, a mockery of the cute ‘ah ah!’s from before.

She could tell they were nearing the end - Dedan was starting to slow down, and the Batter seemed to be just as done as she was. His hits were taking more points from the boss, and then suddenly it was just over. She had been on the verge of throwing another piece of meat the puppet’s way when he suddenly went down, the battle spoils announced as she slowly stepped closer to the Batter, reaching and gently grasping at his arm. Grunting, he wiped the sweat and blood from his face, dabbing at his nose.

“I...I’m sorry,” Cecilia spoke softly, cutting through Dedan’s ending as he faded. The Batter looked down at her, raising his brows. “I’m sorry, I could have...done better,” her little hands grasped at his larger one, bringing the pale digits up to her mouth as she simply held him there, heart pounding. She could still see Batter struggling, in need of the Luck Tickets with his smooth, inky black blood dribbling down his face. “Batteur…” Her heart caught in his throat, and he ran his free hand through her hair, drawing her close as the white, purification surrounded them. After all, the Guardian was gone, leaving the Zone unstable and gone.

For a moment, Cecilia could only see red through the darkness. A little cough sounded, before the soft words of, “That ended badly,” in a little childlike voice sounded. Turning to look blindly in the darkness, she, for a moment, lost herself and lost her puppet. A small scramble had her suddenly pressed against something warm and lean, her eyes closing, or the dark merely blotting her vision enough that she thought her eyes were closed.

And then she felt the cool air of the Nothingness on the bottoms of her feet, strong arms around her waist. Pressing herself against the Batter for a moment, she caught her breath before pulling away to look up at him, to study her failure in keeping him safe. But...there was nothing, no suggestion that a battle happened at all. Well, except for the rough shape his jersey was in, there was no bruises, no blood, not a thing on the Batter.

“How…?” she drew her brows together and he shook his head, leaning down to rest his chin on the top of her head for a moment. “Don’t question it,” he murmured, squeezing her after a moment before pulling her up onto his shoulders. It was odd, after being pressed to his warm chest for so long, only feeling his warmth through her thighs.

Well, at least thunder and lightning would be happy.

Grasping his cap, she stared down at the webbing. Trailing over them, she perked up at Zone 2 before looking down at her puppet for confirmation. He merely inclined his head, and she inhaled.

And off they went, dropping into the second Zone.

Chapter Text

This zone had soft, melancholy music. That was the first thing Cecilia noticed, settling against his shoulders as they landed. Setting a hand on his head, other on her thigh, she glanced about the purple zone, blinking slowly. It was nice, soft and almost saddening. She didn’t know if it was still leftover from the guilt of letting him get hurt so bad, or if it was just the mood of this place or even a combination of all of it. Biting her lower lip, she steered him first to the save block before down the only place they could go. North.

Staring up at the large building greeting them, her lips parted and she blinked, gazing up before down to her puppet. Blinking at him, she glanced away before guiding him into the library, moving and getting down from his shoulders so she didn’t hit her head. Grasping his arm, they strode inside and she gazed around. It was dark, really dark, the Elsen and the Batter standing out starkly against the background. Cecilia…not so much.

When the pair approached the counter, Cecilia was dismayed to find she was shorter than the Elsen - though she thought she was taller. She definitely didn’t come up to their chins, much how she was about nipple-height to the Batter. He glanced down at her and huffed softly, seeming to notice the annoyance of being the shortest. At least she was taller than the cats.

As the dialogue passed, Cecilia moved and clamored into the Batter’s arms, curling against him. “I,” she started decisively, “do not like walking around this goddamn game anymore,” she folded her arms with a huff, wringing a slight smile of amusement from her puppet despite him not responding past a little squeeze. Heading up the stairs, he paused as the two inspected the shelves.

“This is a fake shelf,” he commented quietly, and she furrowed her brow. “Why in the hell…?” she sighed, shaking her head. “There’s visible socle under the real ones,” he pointed out, drawing her gaze downwards. Sidestepping, Batter stepped up to a real bookshelf, Cecilia reaching out and taking a book. “Do you want to read it?” he asked patiently, and she figured it was the game itself asking. Why would he even ask that anyway?

After picking out and reading a few, figuring that the Elsen too scared to listen to the pages turning disallowed her from, you know, turning the pages and reading the goddamn book, she grew irritated with the book that remained upside down. “This is a shitty zone,” she hissed to him, and he murmured in quiet agreement. Her irritation was quelled from reading the scrawl of the final real book on the floor, her mood dropping once more. Maybe even farther than before? Leaning her head on his chest, she stared at the jumbled scrawl shakily declaring that the authour has “run out of oxygen” for a few moments.

She was certain that if the Batter hadn’t taken the book from her and set it back, she would have been moved to tears.

Drawing her upstairs, they immediately went to work solving the puzzle, and after a confused moment of trying to search for the heart suit page, Cecilia stealthily checked her phone after setting Batter on auto during one of the many spectre battles to find out where to go.

As they tromped outside, she frowned at the dismal music again. Damn, this zone was bound determined to get her upset, huh? Trailing down the path jutting away from the library, the Batter absently adjusted Cecilia so she was contained in one arm. “You sure are small,” he commented, squeezing her and making her whine indignantly. “Leave me alone, you titan!” she moved back onto his shoulders as they continued on.

Speaking with the Elsen, she let out a little swear at the extortioning they had to deal with. “I’m gonna deck this guy! Let me at him!” she squirmed, the Batter holding fast to her. “Stop, you can’t touch him,” he squeezed her plush thigh before turning his head and biting again, making her still once more and huff. She wanted to ignore how that felt, especially since he had been licking and grazing his lips against her skin so often.

Trailing up and down the steps of the library when they returned, Cecilia mostly stayed on his shoulders, curiously silent. The Batter didn’t mind at first, though soon it grew almost bothersome. It was weird to not hear her chattering, though it changed when they laid eyes on a cat.

Sliding her from his shoulders and setting her down, she blinked at him curiously before perking up as she realized that there was a cAT HOLY SHIT SHE WANTED TO PET IT. As she moved towards him, her arm was snagged and she was pulled backwards. “H-Hey!” she sounded offended, but the Batter did not care one bit. That was one cat animal she was not going to pet. He knew that for damn sure.

“Who...Who are you?”

Clicking through the dialogue in her usual speedy way, she blinked at the battle music before turning and huffing at him. “Why are we fighting the cat!?” she asked, mildly put out, and he merely stared at her. “Cecilia. If you paid a damn bit of attention, you would have caught him confessing to being the guardian of the zone,” he reached and pinched her cheek, pulling and making her whine. Withdrawing his hand, she rubbed her cheek with a petulant expression before turning to look at the little unassuming cat.

“It seems pretty early to be fighting the guardian!” she remarked just before Japhet spoke. “I do not need any spectres yet to eliminate you, you poor sport pajama-wearing clown. I will finally get a taste of justice!”

Pausing with a moment of offense, she planted her hands on her hips. “Oh hell no! We’re gonna kick his ass, I take all that back!” As she started shouting attacks, the Batter felt a sense of satisfaction. The sad feeling she had been carrying around seemed to fade with this type of battle, the battles that actually mattered. She didn’t seem too concerned with attacks that he could easily take, she made sure to keep his HP up.

It was only when there was the serious damage after he realized no spectres were coming to him did he feel that stab of Sad she had been holding on to. Cursing softly through gritted teeth, he met her worried gaze and merely inclined his head. He was fine. Puppeteer me , his gaze said. That is all I need.   Nodding absently, she tossed him and Alpha another few Luck Tickets before she was back to yelling attacks.

The battle was soon over, Cecilia immediately by his side, worrying over his bruises and scrapes. Ignoring Japhet’s words, she checked Alpha around his neck as well, pulling at his collar and just. Worrying. It made him growl a bit, grasping her and holding her at arm’s length. “Cecilia. I’m fine,” he set her down, ignoring the odd expression she had on her face as she turned away. Perking up instead at the glowing ring in the room, she headed towards it, Batter following merely because he had to.

Tapping the ring, the game announced that the Add-On Omega joined them! How exciting. The Batter was expecting her to want to see Omega, but she wordlessly headed to the stairway, catching him by surprise. Following her despite the shock, he gazed at her little form as they trailed through the library and outside. She didn’t look back at him, didn’t make conversation, was oddly quiet. It was disconcerting, and he found himself wondering if there was something more, if she was being affected by something else. Reasoning to himself, he wondered why the hell he worried so much before remembering, ah yes, he needed a sound player to get through this mission.

But every time he tried to get closer to her, to grasp her, she cringed away and sped up. This was annoying, and despite the primal urge to slam into her and make her talk to him, he had to suppress it for now. Shit. Watching her practically bounce up the stairs to the mall, she completely ignored the Elsen standing there in favor of walking right in, him following soon after.

“Buenos dias, little miss sadface!” A little laugh came from her, unbidden but relaxing. “What better place to shop than a shopping mall, eh? He he he,” he leaned against the counter, making a little smile rise to her face. It felt nice to see someone other than Elsens and the Batter, especially since she wasn’t in a good mood to deal with the sour man behind her. Purchasing a few things, she leaned momentarily against the counter, pressing her face into his mask.

“Are you a frog knight?” She asked, remembering one of the books. “Or are you the king?”

He gave a chuckle, leaning back a bit after catching the deadly look the Batter shot the two. What the hell was this display, dammit. “Which do you think I am, Cecilia?” Zacharie tipped his head, folding his hands together, fingers twining. Her gaze dropped, her hand resting over his. Quietly marveling that their skin tones were rather similar, but she was darker, he gave another chuckle.

“I don’t know yet. I’ll tell you later. Au revoir,” she stepped away, moving towards the block. The Batter followed, already starting to pull at his jersey, knowing she would want to change it. As she handed him the new one, he settled the old one over her head once more. What a routine. Merely inclining her head to let it drop to her shoulder, he leaned down to grant her access to Alpha. As she equipped and settled with the old, she paused a moment. “Okay...show me Omega.”

“You didn’t ask to see him before,” the Batter stroked his chin and Cecilia made a jab at his stomach, causing him to wheeze. Pulling at his shirt, she was dazzled once more with the hint of the Color on him before she paused. Oh, there was Omega, around his upper arm. Reaching, she was momentarily embarrassed to feel the corded muscles of his bicep, all too used to seeing his neck. “Man...you might as well strip completely,” she teased, and he blushed a deep grey. “Enough,” he quickly pulled his top back on, following her as she sold back the old items.

Bidding Zacharie a little farewell, they trailed into the actual mall. Looking dismayed at the winds and turns, she wanted so bad to ask the Batter to lift her up again. But she didn’t want to touch him anymore, the Sad starting to creep up on her.

They roamed for a while, the turns and twists stretching. Chests, open chests, doors she could have sworn they went through before rising, nothing new. Her heart was pounding as they just kept. Turning. Into. The goddamn same places as before. Dead ends, another goddamn huge rat, she was getting overwhelmed.

There were a few breaks, getting to new chests and new doorways and a save point. But then they hit the save point hallway again and slammed into a few more rats and dead ends and she could practically feel the annoyance rising off of the Batter and she could not take it anymore. Between him being hurt, between being pushed away, between the winding turns, Cecilia was done.

Hitting their dead end, he exhaled softly and she fucking lost it. Covering her mouth, her shoulders shook as her face crumbled, heat rushing to her face as making hot tears roll down her dark cheeks. Letting out a sob, she heard him inhale sharply and she felt embarrassed. Moving more towards the crates, she made a move to collapse against them when he scooped her into his arms.

Turning her to face him, he wrapped his arms around her, sitting down on top of the crate she was going to fall against. Holding her in his lap, essentially having her straddle him as he pressed her against his chest. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked gently, a lot more gentle toned than he’s used in a long time. A soft little whimper left her as she merely sobbed again, fingers shakily curling into the front of his jersey. “Shh,” he hushed gently, deciding instead to just stroke her hair, try to alleviate his player’s tears.

His palm was splayed open, rubbing her back, the other hand petting down her wild curls as she whimpered out softly, “You fuckin’ hate me.” He blinked in shock, looking down before gathering her closer. “No, Cecilia, I don’t,” he started, and she whimpered again. “I can’t stop fucking up. You keep getting hurt, I-I don’t --” she coughed and sobbed again, shaking in his arms. He squeezed her to him, petting her hair as she sobbed. There wasn’t much he could do.

She kept crying for a few more minutes and the puppet merely held her and continued to pet her hair, letting her get it out before he spoke again. “Cecilia, you’re doing just fine. It’s okay, there isn’t a way for me not to get hurt in this mission,” he drew her away from his chest briefly, rubbing her face before leaning and mouthing the tears away. This was probably the first time he’s ever had to comfort a puppeteer like this, had to hold them against him and reassure them. “You’re okay,” he gave her a gentle squeeze, sitting back against the crates. She leaned against him with a soft sigh, fingers curling to his jersey.

“C...Could you take off your hat?” she asked after a moment, and he gingerly did. Sitting up just a bit, her arm rested over his shoulder and her fingers slowly massaged and scratched at his scalp. His mind blanked as he exhaled, leaning into her hands before resting his cheek on her head, letting her scratch his hair. That felt incredibly nice, and she found it comforting to be able to touch his hair like that and make his lean body relax. Sniffling, she closed her eyes as she pet his head gently, playing with the soft strands.

They stayed like that, relaxing and comforting, for a countless amount of minutes. Bonding and reassuring. But it had to end, the Batter gathering his player into his arms and putting her on his shoulders. Maybe that would help them navigate together much easier.

“Batteur,” she murmured as he started walking. He hummed, looking up at her as he fixed his cap back on his head. Her face was soft, shiny from the tears. But her expression was soft, softer than he’s ever seen before.

“Thank you.”

Chapter Text

The tension was cleared, making it easier for Cecilia to focus and lead him around. Being on top of the tall man’s shoulders made it easy to see the turns and the boxes, and she almost screamed when they went into an unfamiliar room. Upon only seeing an Elsen it in though, she disappointedly drew the puppet away, not even bothering to talk to him. After a bit more back and forth through the maze and straight running away from the huge rats, it was almost a relief to see the Judge.

“Oh, thank god!” Cecilia clamored down, going right over to the cat. Before he could start the game’s dialogue, the little deity’s hand smoothed gently over the fur on his head, scratching behind his ears. A loud purr started up as the Judge rested his head on her little knee, his tail swishing from side to side.

“I suppose I should continue your storyline but ah, your scratches feel absolutely divine,” the cat spoke after a moment of her petting, and the Batter cleared his throat in agreement. Standing behind his little player, he gazed down at her as she rubbed at the grinning cat’s fur, barely paying him any mind. Reaching down, he grabbed her under her arms, making her squeal and cease for the moment, jumping.

“Batteur!” She cried before pausing, and then repeating her call with a much more irritated note. The Judge straightened, going through with the dialogue, “Is not this publicity so effective and efficient whilst defying the basics of consumer marketing?”

As the Batter attempted to respond, he was accosted by his little player; her arms were around his shoulders and she was pinching at him. “Ah, haha, ow,” he wrapped her up and crushed her to his chest, responding by reading off the wall while the little deity squirmed in his arms. The two went through the conversation quickly thanks to the impatient tapping of the spacebar, and then she squirmed enough to lift her head.

“Dammit, Batteur!” Her face was darkened, considering she had been shoved into his chest for quite a bit of time. But he wasn’t afraid that she would die, and she hadn’t been either. “Do that again and I’ll -”

“You’ll what?” he rose a brow, head tipped down to gaze at her. Even if he didn’t show it, he was interested to see what the little thing would come up with. She always kept him on his toes with her comments.

After a few moments, her little face scrunched up and she huffed, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. Leading him through the exit, she paused at the doorway, glancing over. “Oh, a pedalo recovery...point…” Cecilia paused a moment before she exchanged a look with the Batter. Quickly pressing it, she was scooped up under his arm and he started running, his player laughing and cheering loudly as they ran.

Sprinting down the docks, he kept her under his arm as he leapt into the pedalo, feet landing with a loud ‘thud’. As their weight suddenly hit, the pedalo jerked and tipped, the two landing in the plastic. Floating - if it could even be called that - in the plastic, her lips clamped tightly shut as she flailed her arms a bit, the white liquidy-solid crackling as she moved, the plastic clinging to her skin.

Hands shot out, grasping the player under her arms. She started squealing and squirming as she was pulled before arms were wrapped around her, familiar and causing her to settle almost immediately. Panting against the familiar baseball jersey, he pulled the plastic off of her, sitting her in his lap as he tended to her.

While he worked, she looked up at his face. Carefully she pulled some of the plastic from his face, fingers touching at his pale cheeks tenderly. “So next time, don’t throw me into the plastic, yeah?” Cecilia laughed, and the Batter scoffed. “More like throw you farther so you can’t complain,” he grumbled, holding her to his chest as she gasped and smacked his hip.

“Oh, you keep that up monsieur and I’ll let you die in battle!” she huffed, and he rolled his eyes. “No you won’t. You’ll cry if I get a scratch on me,” he grinned at her, and she made an offended noise. “But that’s not a bad thing,” he added, steering their pelado to the small island a few paces away. He could have easily walked it, but plastic was not something he could walk through. Absently, he rubbed at Cecilia’s face, making sure there wasn’t any plastic left on her face.

“Pwah! Stop, weirdo!” she batted at his hand and he proceeded to splay his hand over her face. She squealed, squirming against him for the remainder of the ride over. When the pelado bumped up against the island, the Batter let her face go and hoisted her out, setting her on the smooth island. Turning, she took his hand and helped him up, though she was standing where he should have been getting out and they proceeded to collide. She laughed as she fell back a bit, his arms hastily wrapping around her little body as they stumbled.

“Don’t fall back!” she gasped with another giggle, wrapping her own arms around his waist as they stood a moment, basically hugging each other for a moment. They drew away from each other and Cecilia simply took his hand a moment, humming pleasantly. “Um, no,” he grabbed her and put her up on his shoulders, making her laugh as he grasped her thighs once more.

“I think you like my thighs more than me,” she commented, and he huffed softly. “They don’t talk like you do,” came his response, and she scoffed.

“You love my chatterbox mouth.”

“Never said I didn’t.”

That shut her up as he descended the stairs, leading them through to the park. Pulling him to a balloon, Cecilia cooed quietly and reached to take it. Instead, it popped and she gasped, grabbing his hand as he resisted the urge to chuckle. Retrieving the Luck Ticket, they wound through the line area, Cecilia almost hitting her head on the sign. She ducked and squealed quietly, making it harder for the Batter to resist laughing.

“Aw, this is disappointing,” Cecilia pouted as they arrived at the park area. Moving to the left, they were greeted with the dismal rollercoaster area. “I...hang on,” she started moving to get down, but he squeezed her thighs gently and shook his head. “No. Stay there,” he said, walking and moving, letting her talk to each of the Elsen. Or, almost each of them. She was rolling her eyes at a couple of them, mumbling, “this is such a shitty rollercoaster,” and he hummed in agreement.

Trailing back to the main area, he carried her upwards, revealing a balloon popping game. “Oh hell yeah!” Cecilia grinned, dancing a little on his shoulders. Holding her still a moment, he rubbed her thighs before agreeing to play the game.

Naturally, it took the pair a couple of tries. She was mumbling a few times, trying to figure out the correct way to be able to win the game. When the Elsen had five balloons, the Batter slid Cecilia gently from his shoulders, alerting her to a battle.

Gazing, she heard him throw a tantrum for losing and she gasped softly when the head erupted, grasping the Batter’s shirt for a moment before she straightened and started calling for him to attack. The battle was easy and he left behind two neckties. Taking one, from the balloon that was paired with the meat, Cecilia paused before taking the other that had been around the Burnt’s neck.

When the two strode back out, the Batter pulled Cecilia to his side, looking out at the Elsen running around. Pulling her up to his side, he carried her like she was a child, cupping her ass for once.

“Are you an ass man?” she asked as he walked to the right, making him blush and grunt in response. “Hey, it’s okay. I know I have a great ass. You can hold it as much as you wanna~” she chimed, and he made her squeak by giving a squeeze. Smirking a bit, he set her down outside of the pelado and climbed in. Opening his arms for her, she blushed a moment before setting her hands on his shoulders, climbing in carefully. She wobbled and collapsed against his chest, his arms wrapping around her and holding her tenderly.

“Are you so used to me carrying you that it’s hard to walk?” he asked, teasing a little. She huffed, pinching him a few times and making him squirm, stifling unmanly giggles. “Stop,” he turned her around so her back was to his chest and he pinned her there, holding her securely as the pelado started moving.

They coasted around, Cecilia tossing random things to pop the balloons so they didn’t even have to get out. A couple times, he leaned pretty far and they almost fell out.

When it happened for a third time, Cecilia swatted him down and moved, standing and leaning, booty at eye level. It was an interesting thing when she felt his hand cup her ass, but she merely shrugged it off, though she was blushing deeply. It became a routine, him ‘supporting’ her by resting his hand on her ass.

When they got to the switch, Cecilia herself got out and pulled the switch to OFF. Cooing excitedly, she hopped back in, wrapping up in his arms once more before they went back to the entrance.

Once more upon his shoulders, she ignored the elsen running around in the main area, pleased that the ones in front of the rollercoaster weren’t so upset. She let out an excited squeal when the barrier from the actual roller coaster was removed. “Run! Run!” Cecilia urged, so he pulled her down and tucked her under his arm. Sprinting up the stairs, she laughed loudly once more before they slid into the rollercoaster seat made for three. Wrapping his arm around her, the player and marionette cuddled up a bit, though the majority was from the little player.

“Holy shit!” Cecilia squealed as they went down the coaster, the two putting their hands up. The Batter looked less than impressed, which was amusing to her. Getting out, she was delighted by the kiosk Elsen, taking the photo and giggling at the image. “Oh cute! C’mon I wanna do it again!” she grabbed his hand, practically towing him up the stairs once more.

Noticing the Zacharie statue, Cecilia pointed at it and smiled at him, tapping her feet against the ground. Getting the nonverbal hint, he shoved the statue into the coaster, stepping out and opening his arm to let her go in first. She marveled a moment over his muscles before she slid in, beaming at him as he got in next to her. Holding onto the rail, she set her head on his shoulder and pretended to be asleep when the picture went by again.

Smiling once more, she held the Batter’s hand when they got out, taking the picture. “Lucky, you got to ride with the owner…” the elsen murmured, and the two exchanged a glance. “Zacharie manages to run something? Interesting. Wait hang on,” Cecilia started pulling him along, walking rather fast. Her own little speedwalk. Letting her lead a moment, he scooped her up and took over, walking for the two of them.

Taking her into the office from the pelado game, they both proceeded to ignore the elsen as they opened the chests up. “Oh, this was kinda lame,” Cecilia frowned as he shrugged, taking her back out of the office. Trailing back through the park, she whined quietly.

“Our first official daaate,” she moaned out, and he scoffed.

“That was not the first date. I would not take anyone to a date in there,” he grumbled, making her blink at him. “What, too many scared elsens for you?” she asked, curious about the hostility.

“I guess. Their ignorance, their simplicity...it’s annoying. Impure,” he responded, and she made an odd face; brows furrowed and a half smile.

“Here I would think that would be pure to you. Ignorance and simplicity - bliss. “

“There comes a point where they are too careful, unable to indulge,” he punctuated that with a squeeze to Cecilia’s ass, making her squeak, “and run around like chickens when something disturbs their peace,” he responded, making her pause.

“That’s true. They were easily frightened,” she agreed as they settled into the pelado, coasting back over to the other side.

When they got out, he lifted her upon his shoulders and carried her off to the east side.

Chapter Text

Heading over to the East side, Cecilia perked up at the tie-wearing elsen, holding onto the Batter’s hands a moment. “Wait,” she squirmed a bit until he got the hint and pulled her from his shoulders, setting her down with a curious look. “C’mere,” she said, procuring up a tie for him. He gave her a confused look as he leaned down, allowing her to put the tie around his neck and tie it carefully.

The moment was ridiculously intimate; he was close enough that the brim lightly tapped her head, close enough that Cecilia could see his lashes once again and feel a soft stirring in her chest. Leaning, she kissed his eyelid gently, drawing back as she stroked his cheek.

She really did care for the man. Pulling the other tie around her, he paused and then cleared his throat. Reaching, she blushed as his fingers grazed her chest gently as he scooped up the tie, holding it gently. Rubbing it with his hand, he ran his teeth over it a moment, scraping off a bit more goop. His fingers trailed up the tie, moving to touch around the collar. “Ah, there’s some…” he murmured, leaning over.

Cecilia was pretty sure she was going to die as his nose pressed against her jaw, his breath on her neck as his teeth lightly scraped over both the tie and her skin, making her shiver and grasp the front of his shirt, panting quietly as he worked on cleaning off the fabric.

Her eyelashes fluttered when he moved, skimming over the other side.

“You can’t do that anymore,” she said breathlessly when he drew away, making him raise a brow. “Oh, stars, I’m dizzy…” she panted, unable to look him in the eye. Turning away, she was stopped by him taking her arm, pulling her back.
“Dizzy?” he repeated, taking her chin and lifting it, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Do you need to rest, Cecilia?” he asked, and she blushed harder.

“No. Stop being so romantic!” she turned away, waving her arms a bit before she huffed, walking towards the entrance.

Paused at the block, forcing him to save and heal a little more. He scooped her up then, in his arms, holding her to his chest as they headed in.

Right off the bat there was Jasphet, yelling at Elsens. Cecilia held onto her protector a bit tighter, gazing out at the scene with mild trepidation, she knew damn well the cat was going to throw a tantrum.

She was proven correct when the spectres appeared, making her gasp and hold the Batter a moment, said male gritting his teeth. “How impure. Calling upon more impurities…” he snarled, grabbing Cecilia around the waist and practically running with her directions, not even letting her go as he swung with his free hand. They didn’t care to waste any time, running about and smashing the eight spectres that had appeared. When there was one left though, they did have time.

So Cecilia was let loose and they started smashing the Burnt elsen as well, acquiring more extra equipment. After getting through the final spectre, the player completely ignored the dialogue for the moment.  Instead, she moved and wiped the Batter’s sweaty brow, taking a moment to make sure he was okay. Then they proceeded to high five, a huge grin on Cecilia’s face.

“We did so well!” she cheered, and then they were promptly kicked out.

“Ungrateful bastards!” she gasped, and he grasped her around the waist as she tried to hop the blocks, pinning her to his chest as the Judge strode up.

Immediately she wiggled down, settling to pet the cat for a few moments, nuzzling his grinning face.  The Judge purred, “And you continue to pet me whenever I am in your sights...Cecilia, you are such an interesting girl,” he commented, resting against her leg as they proceeded through the dialogue.

A squeal came from Cecilia when the Judge revealed he would follow, the cat jumping into Cecilia’s arms. “Usually I would ride with your puppet, but your scratches are quite delightful,” he purred out, making her smile and then wink at the Batter.

Clamoring into his arms, the little player spent most of her time petting the cat in her arms. As they passed through the library, climbing up, she hummed absently. Looking up when the coloring changed, they paused as she stared out at the view from the balcony, lips parted in awe. “Oh my stars!” she gasped, making the Judge purr. “Yes, it is exquisite, isn’t it?”

The Batter remained silent, his face impassive when Cecilia looked up at him. Maybe he was in a mood? As they trailed further up the stairs, Cecilia ignored the story, instead allowing herself to enjoy being in the Batter’s arms and hold the Judge for a long period of time.

At least, until they came across a whale.

“Wh...what the hell is this?”

“A whale,” Batter said with a note of amusement in his voice. “A marine mammal of the order Cetacea.”

Even the Judge couldn’t resist a chuckle as Cecilia fumed, hopping out of his arms.

“You’re an asshole,” she retorted, standing back while he took care of the mammal. “I totally love sharks though. I don’t think there’s any sharks here though…” she pouted a little as he scooped her back up, taking the two further up the tower. Blinking at the block puzzle, the Judge purred softly as Cecilia jostled him slightly, starting to tap the blocks. She might have has a walkthrough up as well, memorizing the code here.

Perking up when it worked, she giggled in delight and the trio headed out to the final balcony. First they tapped the red box, and then Cecilia perked up upon seeing Zachary. “Hey!” she hopped out of the Batter’s arms, setting the Judge upon her head, nestled in her mess of curls while she pulled up the inventory. “Buenos dias, Cecilia! The view here is nice, isn’t it?” he asked, and Cecilia had to agree. Taking the tunic and few defensive items, she smiled and paid, scampering off with the Batter.

This time she watched him take his shirt off, unabashed as she handed over the new tunic. Predictably, he set the old one over her head, making the Judge huff and Cecilia giggle. “Is this a usual occurrence?” he asked, and she hummed in response. “Everytime.”

Selling back the old things, Cecilia rested the cat back in her hands, before resting up against the Batter’s back, hanging on as the Judge hung onto his shoulder. “Hey, you’re gettin’ arm day in,” she teased the Batter, making him roll his eyes. “Yep. you know me,” he responded in deadpan, carrying the two up to the top of the roof.

Carefully, he crawled a bit away from the ladder, the Judge hopping down and beginning the dialogue with Japhet. Standing, the Batter pressed Cecilia into his side, Watching the two, Cecilia gasped as Japhet suddenly poked his head from Valerie’s mouth, pressing more against the Batter. “What a horrible bird….” she whispered as the Batter grunted in agreement before he spoke as well.

And then it was the battle.

Ignoring the words from Japhet, ignoring the sight of the bird crawling from the cat’s mouth, Cecilia closed her eyes and shouted the attacks she needed. Naturally, she worked with their HP, making sure everything was alright.

The battle progressed as usual, the evolution into the final form.

But then.

“You are the puppeteer of this damned fighter!” the scream came, making Cecilia open her eyes. Tipping her head back, she gasped when the bird was looking directly at her. And then it lunged, knocking into her marionette and taking the short woman down.

She screamed, loudly, smushed under a flurry of feathers. Her hands clawed at the offending mass, rolling under him and squirming out, rolling away as the Batter put himself in front of her. A thin line of ichor ran down her cheek as she gasped, the Add-Ons slamming into the bird while he wormed around.
“Cecilia!” the shout from her Batter made her turn her head, blinking at him with wide eyes. He caught sight of her blood and he growled softly, reaching and touching her cheek a moment before he went after Japhet once more, seeming to slam his hits harder.

Cecilia was breathless from the attack, watching Japhet fight a moment before she started shouting commands to them once more, tossing him a few recovery items before the bird’s eye fell upon her again.

“Wretch!” his voice pierced the air and he went for her once more. That beak fell upon her, sliced her arm and she let out a screech, moving and gripping his head. She heard an enraged yell come from her Batter, could feel his bat slamming into Japhet’s neck as his head writhed in her grip.

Blood dripped down her arm, and she was pissed . Turning her head, she snarled and sank her teeth into the softness of his eye, the piercing caw deafening her a moment as she started tearing at the bird with her mouth and fingers, working with her marionette as they whittled away that bird into nothing but a mangled memory of what it was.

Cecilia wobbled through the silence, still unable to fully hear. She did feel the Batter grasping her, holding her against his chest as they fell through the nothingness again. Her arm seemed to zip up, healing into a scar just like the extremely faint one on her cheek.

“The...the bird left too…”

Her eyes were still closed as they landed in the nothingness, but instead of moving straight into the next zone, they crumbled into a small heap. “Cecilia,” he said, his voice so loud in the pure silence. “Cecilia, you…” she could see the fear in his eyes, the concern, and she merely leaned against him. “I just need a moment to rest, Batter. I’m sorry,” she breathed, and he almost automatically crushed her into his chest. He seemed to almost tremble, resting his head on hers. His hand skimmed up and down her back, holding her tight.

“It’s my fault. You were hurt because I was not strong enough,” he said hoarsely, pressing a kiss to her curls as he held her still.

“No…” she breathed, moving and climbing more into his lap before she kissed his cheek gently. “You were just fine. Japhet is a jerk. It’s not your fault at all…” she murmured, curling up against him.

They remained like that, pressed against each other, for a few minutes. Just taking comfort in each other, in knowing that they were almost done, that something between them was changing. He had been so concerned for her, had gotten angry when she was attacked. It...was nice. He protected her, he cared. She liked him a whole lot for that.

Slowly they stood, the Batter pulling her up into his arms as he carried her to the third zone, holding her more secure than usual.

Something was changing, indeed.

Chapter Text

Zone 3 was more orange than Cecilia was expecting. And green. It kind of reminded her of vomit, which was a little disgusting. Gazing out at the landscape, she looked up at the factory and held close to the Batter a moment before they saved. “It’s...a factory…?” she gazed, and he squeezed her gently.

“Are you afraid?” he asked, fingers skimming over the scar on her arm.

“A little,” she admitted, and then she looked up at him, “but you’re here, so I have nothing to fear,” she said, and she was pleasantly surprised to see him blush and simply smile at her.

“You’re right. I will not fail you,” he said, and he began to walk. They headed through the train station, picking up the stamp card. Heading out,  she was surprised to see another elsen just hanging out in the conjunction between the two buildings. Glancing at him, she looked up at the Batter before urging him onwards. Let the man have a smoke break in peace, it was alright.

Blinking at the next building, the Batter set the stamp card in her hand. “This should help us,” he murmured, rubbing her back a bit with his thumb as she gazed down at it. “Alright. The first seems close enough, so let’s follow that,” she said, keeping the map in her hands as she directed him. She checked the map ever so often, making sure they were on the right track. Glancing up at the rules on the wall, she rose a brow before she ignored them in favor of the room.

“...Huh?” The player and puppet both gave the merchant an odd look. What was with the new mask? Curiously, Cecilia moved from the Batter’s arms to lead him over, looking curiously at the male. “Zacharie?” She asked, and the grin turned slightly to look at her.

“Hello my reckless accomplice!” he said before letting out a little ‘miaou’ at her.

“...Zacharie, I didn’t realize you were a weeaboo…” Cecilia hid behind Batter a bit, the two comically making a wide eyed look; Batter more doing it because Cecilia was and he knew damn well his player was messing with the other man.

“A what? No, no, I’m the Judge!”

“Stop. You don’t have his, um, eloquent selection of simple selections of words in order to string together a carefully crafted sentence , my dear fellow, ” the player mimicked the Judge’s purring tone almost perfectly, and the two men had to swallow laughter. Zacharie was a little more obvious than the puppet, his shoulders shaking as he put his hand up against the mouth of his mask.

“Y-You’re right...I am, I am taking over Pablo’s position for the time being. He is not in the best of positions at the moment. But that means we get to have more fun together!” Zacharie’s arm went around Cecilia’s shoulders as he pulled her over, holding out his other hand as if he was painting a picture.

“Ah ah ah! I can already smell the good times!” he sounded delighted, making Cecilia laugh. When he let her go, the Batter drew her back to his side as he spoke with Zacharie, continuing the game’s dialogue. Time to search for the clues!

Nodding as they left, the player walked next to the Batter for a few moments. When they left the room, the taller male let out a sharp sigh, drawing her attention to him. “Batteur? What’s wrong?” she asked gently, taking his hand. His breath went funny for a moment before he simply scooped her up, holding her against him as they traced back to the start of the little maze. He didn’t answer her question, which made her a little suspicious.

“Batter? Can you hear me?” she asked, poking at him as he walked down the next path. She didn’t even seem to need to guide him as he carried her, almost knowing the path by heart. Which he probably would, since he was controlled so often.

Carrying her into the dorms, he peeked at the areas before settling for the one with the chest in it and no one in there. Cecilia squirmed out of his arms, shaking her head at him before she went over to the chest. “Hey! I wanna try opening this one. You always touch it,” she said, and he merely grunted. Giving him another confused look, she wondered faintly if he was upset about something. What could it have been?

Disregarding it for the moment, she pushed open the top of it and leaned over, sticking her bottom out a bit as she did so. Reaching in, her little fingers closed around the two luck tickets when she felt a large, familiar hand cup the booty. She gasped a bit, hitting her head on the top of the trunk as she pulled out the tickets. Holding her head, she heard a soft chuckle from the Batter as he squeezed the handful he had, making her gasp and forget about the pain. “Ba-Batteur!? I-I know my ass is grabable, b-but..!” she was embarrassed, and he merely let go in favor of scooping her up again. Carrying his little player over to one of the beds, he flopped her down into it, making her squeal before she looked up at him, feeling her cheeks grow hot as he gazed down at her from his vantage point.

Her mouth was dry as she absently clung to the luck tickets, hands over her head for the moment as she quietly gazed at him, a sudden curling feeling of warmth going through her when she realized what he seemed to have in mind for her. “W-Wai- t, let me put these away,” she pushed them into his back pocket, grasping his ass as well. His hips pressed forwards as he groaned, making her squirm under him.

Skimming her hand up that familiar jersey, his body moved down with her hand, his body pressing against her as he bit at the curve of her neck. It was a surprise for her - he was being gentle yet hard, holding her tight as he started marking her neck up, completely noticeable as well. “Batteur! What are you - “

“ Je suis désolé, ” he breathed into her neck, making her confused. “ Quoi? ” she turned to look at him, but it was a little hard to do from their angle.
“ Je suis désolé. Je suis désolé. Je...Je te veux. Mal ,” he pressed against her, making her gasp as she held onto him. “ Je veux seulement être celui qui vous touche, ” he continued, pulling at his jersey as he sat up. He tapped his head on the top bunk, making Cecilia gasp and giggle a little as she reached up to cup his face. Stroking his cheeks, she eased off his hat before she touched over the colors on his skin.

“ Prenez-moi, Batteur, ” she breathed.

...hueh

The two held each other tight, Cecilia’s curls a complete mess against the pillow under her. “I can’t believe we just messed up an Elsen’s bed,” she mumbled, making him rumble with a chuckle, his lips grazing over her shoulder gently. Quietly she touched at the bruises she left on him, some matching with the ones sprinkled all over her body. Her fingers curled gently into his hair, trying to smooth it down after she messed it up so badly. After a few moments of allowance, he carefully moved and sat up a bit, rested still between her legs.

“Batteur?” She gazed at him, watching him look her over.

“Mm. Let me think a moment,” he murmured to her, his hand resting on the underside of her bruised thigh. She rested her arms over her chest, tipping her head to the side. “You are so holy...and I touched you. A pure being…” he murmured, starting to rub her thigh.

“Batteur, you are holy too. You are a beautiful man, haven’t I told you before?” she asked, touching his hand on her thigh. “You better not be thinking that you tainted me,” she said, sitting up to be about the same height as him. “You are, aren’t you?”

“Non...I just think I am less holy than you. You are supposed to be the one controlling me. Do not think of this as regret. In fact, I feel...power,” he gave her a primal grin, arms going around her and pressing her into the color of his chest. “I had you under me,” he murmured, more to himself than her as his hand traced over the large scar on her back. “I had you begging for me -”

“Batteur stop,” Cecilia blushed, and he grinned again.

“What? You don’t want me to talk -”

Her lips on his stopped him from continuing, his body pressing her back down onto the bed.

---

They were soon back on track, though Cecilia had to be carried very carefully. Gazing out at the scene in front of them, the two quietly witnessed the elsen’s death by the spectres. Setting down his little sore player, he withdrew his metal bat, scoffing softly. This was what he had been distracted from, his mission. He wasn’t angry, because it was worth it, but...the inevitable had been delayed.

“Taste my holy wrath, corrupt souls,” he growled out, almost a parody of the voice he used moments before. Cecilia seemed to be able to jump right back into the mood as well, immediately calling out attacks and guiding her Batter straight on. But there was still something different. They seemed to be in sync, seemed stronger. The battle was over in mere moments, the Batter uttering soft words to the spectres before they faded with defeat. The player strode over carefully, and he lifted her into his arms once more. “People around here are strange…” he murmured, his eyes fixated on the elsen that lay mauled in front of them.

“Yes…” Cecilia agreed softly, holding onto him as she studied the remains for a moment. “I wanna leave now,” she said softly to him then, looking up with wide eyes. He nodded wordlessly, holding her a bit closer before they trailed out.

“Ooh, maybe we could just walk over there?” she pointed to the door, and he scoffed.

“No, Cecilia,” he responded, ignoring her little urges to walk over there.

Instead, the rogue puppet walked back around properly. “Get over it,” he responded to her pouting look, and then he made a noise when she started pinching his neck, wiggling a bit and bringing his shoulders up to his ears. She giggled at him, settling as they walked through the door. There, justice was served.

Heading in, Cecilia didn’t want to talk to the elsens. In face, she was rather adamant about it, making noises of complaint when he took a step towards them. He looked down at her and rose a brow, which she turned her head away from. No explaining for him! Instead, she guided him to the end of the hallway, perking up at the add-on there. She squirmed with excitement, making him squeeze her bruised thigh and squeal. “Ow! Be careful!” she complained, settling as Epsilon joined their party. The final member.

“Is that one on this arm?” she pointed to his right bicep, squeezing the muscle a bit.

“Oui,” he responded simply, adjusting her and putting her up on his shoulders again. He rested her head against her thigh, making her purr softly.

“You only like me for my thighs,” she mumbled as they walked, to which he puffed out a soft laugh.

“Not quite. But your thighs are a plus,” he responded, squeezing them.

Cecilia leaned over as they passed through the doorway, straightening soon after. “Well thanks, I guess,” she responded, resting her hands on his hat and leaning forwards a bit as they walked. “Now…” she jerked a bit, purposefully almost falling off his shoulders. He let out a sharp sound as he caught her, stepping off the path.

“Cecilia, god damn it, don’t do that again!” he pressed her close to him as the spectres abruptly appeared, spacing around the two.

“Sorry, sorry, I didn’t realize you’d react like that!” she gasped, holding onto him a moment before she was set on her feet.

“We’ll discuss this later,” he growled at her before turning away. “Lead me, puppeteer,” he spoke, leading Cecilia to wonder just who was in charge at the moment. She pushed him through the attacks, utterly delighted when Epsilon was able to rocket itself and slam into multiple spectres at once. She was still excitedly squealing over the newest addition as they were transported out, her jump starting and ending between the two places.

“Batteur that was so cool-!” she started before she was cornered against the wall of the factory, brought back to what led to that battle. She tucked her chin down and gazed up at him, her back pressed firmly. His hands rested by her head as he loomed over her, leaning over slightly and gazing at her, his brows furrowed.

“Do not. Ever. Do that again. You could have fallen off and injured yourself,” he said, tone hard as he pressed his face against hers, his lips crushing against hers. Before her hand could come up to rest against his cheek, he pulled away and growled at her. “Swear that you will not do that again. Cecilia,” his hands were grasping at the sweater she pulled on, grasping her to him. “Tell me.”

“I-I won’t do that ever again. I’m sorry for scaring you. I thought that would be the surefire way to get you off the path since you ignored my controls,” she said, pressed against his chest.

“I don’t care,” he growled out again before he picked her up again, hands rough on her bruised skin. She let out a wince and he gave her a little bite. “You’re lucky that elsen is there,” he spoke, making Cecilia blush as hard as she could as he headed back into the factory. This time, he threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, making her squeal as he held her booty while he picked through the puzzle. Setting her down outside the room, he followed an embarrassed player into the room to speak with Zacharie again.

If the merchant noticed the change in atmosphere, he didn’t comment. Instead, he simply laughed and triggered the game’s dialogue. However, his eyes sparkled with amusement under his mask and Cecilia was pretty sure she saw a big grin behind that mask from her vantage point.

“We should have a race. You better run, Batter,” he laughed, reaching and patting her marionette’s shoulder. “If you get there first, I’ll give you a free item. You get a head start, now,” he made a little shoo-ing motion at the two, making Cecilia giggle a little before they both left.

“You heard him!” Cecilia said as the Batter walked, making him pause. He gave her a sudden grin, “Oh, I did?” and then she was under his arm and he ran like she wanted him to. She squealed and started laughing, holding onto his arm as he ran them both to the monorail. Bypassing the elsen, he pulled her up into his arms and all but jumped into the monorail. She had a feeling it was less for his amusement and more to make her laugh, which she appreciated strongly. Holding onto him, she giggled as he sat down, placing her on his thigh again. Holding her gently, he closed his eyes as she relaxed against him. Holding on as the monorail seemed to rapidly shoot through the zone, she was careful to not fall off again.

When the ride ended, the Batter lifted her up and carried her out, placing her up on his shoulders again. They once more bypassed the elsen, Cecilia more interested in trying to be first and win the race.

Which, naturally, they weren’t. “You cheater!” Cecilia fumed, making Zacharie laugh.

“Ah, ah ah, it was scripted little Cecilia. Here, to soften the blow,” he gave them the golden meat, their free item before he wandered off into one of the houses.

Guiding the Batter into the first house, not the one he went into, she blinked at Zacharie walked over, wearing the old mask. “Um..” She was set down as Zacharie spoke of getting money, making her squint and huff at him. “Swindler!” She complained, making him laugh again as the store was opened.

Buying the colors and symbols, she made a little face at the prices before shaking her head, turning to her puppet. “Come on,” she murmured, drawing him over to the side once more. “Ha ha you have no tunic to change this time!” She grinned, making the Batter smirk and take off his jersey anyway, depositing it on her head. She squealed and complained a moment before she pulled the tunic on herself, the cloth hanging low on her little body.

Noting the little grey blush rising on his cheeks, he pulled off his undershirt, keeping it in his hand as Cecilia applied the color to his body. “Let me see all the add-ons,” she said, making him tip his head to the side.

“Try calling for them,” he responded, “I want to see if you can,” he added, making her blink and then blush.

“Well fine. Alpha, Omega, Epsilon, je veux te voir. ...S'il vous plaît,” Cecilia spoke carefully, figuring the Add-Ons may only understand French.

It was a moment, and Cecilia started to blush, but suddenly the rings were gone from around the Batter, lighting up around the little player. Her eyes widened, stars appearing with a large grin rising. “ Bonjour! Salut! ” she grinned, starting to apply the colors and symbols to the Add-Ons. They glowed different colors when they were applied, thrumming slightly as they casted glows on the little player.

“Batteur! I did it! They like me!” She cheered, putting her arms around the rings as best as she could, giggling.

“I figured you could, Cecilia,” he said with a surprising note of tenderness in his voice. He rubbed her curls as the Add-Ons returned to his skin, his undershirt following after they were settled. “And of course they like you,” he added, pulling lightly at the tunic the little deity was still wearing. She started pulling it off, but he stopped her. “Non, it’s fine. Keep it on for a bit,” he said, following her over to the counter again.

Selling back the symbols and colors, she thought for a moment before she purchased another, cleaner tunic for him. “Here we go!” She took it out with them before she beckoned for him to lean down. He went the extra mile and dropped to his knees in front of her. That would have been something if Cecilia was taller, but now he was at her chest level. Blushing a bit, she put the tunic over his head, his arms pushing through the sleeves. Resting her hands on his shoulders, she leaned over and carefully gave him a kiss.

She felt his face grow hot as he drew away after a moment, turning his head away to press into her chest a moment.

“Not yet, Cecilia,” he said softly, holding her a moment. “I can’t do that yet. Not so soft. Not yet,” he murmured, making her blush a bit herself.

“I’m so-”

“Non. No need. It’s fine,” he rose back up to his height, taking her with him. He held her to him, her arms around his shoulders as he carried her into the treatment centre. She looked over her shoulder at it, squinting at all the green.

“It looks like vomit in this place,” Cecilia said quietly, and he merely hummed in response. Noting that it was a switch puzzle, she turned in his arms and he merely set her on his shoulders, giving her a little more of a vantage point once more.

She led him carefully, starting to flick switches left and right. Blinking at the elsens, they finally paused to talk to them.

“If...If I pierce the pipes, I could make it come out...But if it escapes, I’d never get any of it again..”

“The director said if we work properly, we’ll keep getting it. All the better! One should work his job wholeheartedly!”

Blinking at the words from the two elsen, she turned to ask the Batter what the hell they were talking about when he suddenly pulled her down, setting her down as he drew out his bat.

“What-” she started before she let out a little screech. “What the hell is THAT!?” she jumped behind him as they started to battle the Von Gacy spectres. She made a few noises of discontent afterwards, amusing the Batter as he put her back up on his shoulders.

“Those were Von Gacy. Unbridled haircuts,” he responded with a tone of amusement in his voice as she shuddered, leading him back to the switches. Perking up when they flipped the one under the ‘C’, she heard the chime before perking up. “The treatment room!” they headed over there, Cecilia a little nervous to see what was in there. She was expecting something odd, something gross from the sound of whatever IT was.

Pausing him outside of the door, she bit her lower lip in worry. “What if it’s something gross or bad?” she asked, looking down at him.

“Hm? Even if it is, you know I won’t let anything hurt you,” he responded, looking up at her and holding her legs gently. “It won’t be as bad as you’re expecting,” he said, and she took a soft breath.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Chapter Text

“Ah, it’s just like the last room…” Cecilia felt a little embarrassed for being so afraid, gazing around at everything in the room before looking up at him again, the impassive expression on his face not giving anything away. Glancing around, she didn’t want to talk to the Elsens meandering about. Not to mention the air - it smelled sweet, dangerously sweet. Giving a little cough, it drew his attention and he gave her a look for a moment before starting off.

“In case you thought I know what I’m doing,” Cecilia said as they started flipping switches at random, “I really don’t,” kept an eye on the blocked door, giving a little noise of delight when they were removed. Trekking back over, the room was barred with a security question. “Ohh -” she frowned before leaning over to look at it, and then she typed the answer. “Thank god you told me what they were. V-O-N….why is the keyboard so slow?” she mumbled as she typed, a little noise of amusement leaving the marionette.

“To make you stay longer,” he responded simply, making her wonder if that was a flirt or a simple joke. “Hmm,” was her only response, concentration clearly on the keyboard instead of bantering for once. Once granted access, she guided him inside and immediately jerked back upon seeing the already burnt elsen. They were squaring off with a spectre, and oddly enough it made her feel more sorry for the ghost than the elsen for once. Clamoring down, she ignored the delusional chatter of them stealing sugar and instead straightened as the music began, raising her hands to start to give commands.

The attacks were frantic, almost embarrassingly easy to dodge and retaliate. A spray from the arm of one skidded over Cecilia’s cheek, but she paid no mind as she simply called for its destruction. Once the burnt were all purified was it that she brushed her thumb over her cheek, the miasma feeling gritty and thick under her finger. Rubbing it between her index and thumb, she was studying it so hard she missed her marionette approaching until his paper-white fingers caught her chin, tilting her head up and leaning himself down to brush his lips over her cheek. “What a mess they’ve created,” he mused before straightening as footstep pattered in behind them. Turning, she saw their merchant with the cat mask on, Zacharie giving a little ‘miaou’ before speaking. “Mmh, smells awfully good around here. Without doubt, that is due to the piles of immaculate white and granular powder,” he tapped at his chin.

“That’s a funny way of saying -”

“- That it seems like sugar, yes?” she could practically hear the smile in his voice as his eyes glittered under his mask.

“Seems so,” the Batter mused, lifting his player’s dirtied hand and wiping the sugary gunk from her fingers, wiping it off soon after on his own tunic. “Um, gross,” she said delicately, Zacharie making a little noise of agreement. “Well, there must be something going on. The production of these sugars must have something to do with how they’re acting, right? I’ll go first, hurry up,” turning, the man started off before he paused, turning on his heel to face the two. “Ah, may I suggest that you be careful? The elsen out there seem to be a bit under the weather. They’re in a bloody bad mood,” he gave another laugh after that, resting his hands on his hips casually. “Okay,” her puppet nodded, the player giving a shrug as well. “Merci, Zacharie,” she said before they bade goodbye. Turning to look at the piles in the room, she sniffled a little before started to explore a little around the room, scampering just barely out of reach when the Batter reached out to lift her. Darting to a chest in the corner, she lifted a Fortune ticket before she was cornered against the wall.

“Why are you being a brat?” he asked, eyes gazing at her with amusement colored in them before he reached down, wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her against his chest. “I am not being a brat mon amour! I just wanted to explore a little in the sugar factory,” she giggled in response, laying a brief and sweet kiss to his cheek before clamoring atop his shoulders.

Setting off, she gasped when the sight of the elsen reappeared. They were twitching violently, heavy breathing filling the air before their eyes locked onto the pair. The Batter’s fingers curled instinctively tighter into her thighs before he started to walk. “I don’t want to touch them,” Cecilia said, guiding the Batter to dodge the erratic movements. It was less startling in the entrance room, her urging him to get through the door was enough to throw some of the elsen off their trail. The high-tailing really worked wonders. “I’m glad you didn’t try to make us stay and fight,” she remarked as they walked to the monorail station, the man merely humming as he drew her off his shoulders and into his arms. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she smiled absently as he sat down, resting her on his thigh and lightly squeezing her hip. Looking out at the passing dark tunnel, she lowered her eyelids and hummed softly, pursing her lips absently after a moment. The tip of her marionette’s cap hitting her temple was the only warning she got before his lips were brushing her cheek to her earlobe, giving an absent kiss. “Ow,” she said flatly, hitting the brim of his hat before turning to smile at him a little, laying a light kiss to his nose. “My hat wanted to kiss you too,” he murmured, setting his head on hers briefly for the rest of the ride.

Rising, he carried her out before putting her on his back, the two looking out at the landscape. She was almost reminded of sandcastles, though it was banished when she realized something like snow was falling. “What is this?” she murmured, lifting a hand up to touch the particles before they started off towards the smoke stacks. “Hang on to me,” he cautioned as he reached up to take the rungs of the ladder, his puppeteer nodding as she clung onto him like an octopus.

Glancing out at the view as he climbed, she parted her lips and exhaled softly before looking skywards, realizing that the height was enormous. “Oh my stars,” she whispered, and he gave a simple hum in response as he continued. Shutting her eyes, she tucked her face into his neck and did her best not to be a pain while he climbed.

It took a few minutes, and then he cleared his throat and she opened her eyes. Looking out at the surroundings around them, she exhaled softly before looking at him, raising her brows.

“We have to go down, I want you alert,” he warned, and she nodded before looking down into the shack. She couldn’t see the bottom, which made her stomach pinch with worry. “O-Okay,” she said, holding him a bit tighter.

He gave no warning as he pitched forwards, making her cry out in shock as her hold loosened, the wind pressure making her let go almost completely. “Cecilia!” their hands both snapped out, clasping onto each other as she faced him, her curls swaying around her face. “Batteur!” she looked down between them, gasping when she saw the spectre. Moving their arms, she pulled him out of the way and glanced upwards after it, lips parted in surprise before she looked down again, watching for more of them. Each time they appeared, the two would pull each other so it would pass them, sometimes going right through the little ring their arms made thanks to their hand holding. After what seemed like an impossibly long time, the Batter drew his player into his arms, turning to land feet first. Holding her close to his chest, she felt the heat tickle before they landed, the man rolling and ending up under her. Laying atop him, she shut her eyes briefly before reopening them, gazing at the man below her. Pushing herself up against the grating next to the side of his head, she exhaled softly before standing, offering him her hand. He took it, paper white skin standing out against her darker hand as he stood, keeping his hand clasped with hers a moment before he lifted her onto his shoulders again. Looking around, she felt hot in the burning orange area, rubbing the back of her hand over her forehead before they started walking. “Where are we?” she frowned, musing mostly to herself as they observed the elsen frantically shovelling sugar into the tubing in front of him. Not wanting to disturb his work, they started down the stairs, the color changing from the burning orange to a darker green that felt like a forest, much more like the previous areas they were in. Turning her head to look ahead, Cecilia let out a little cry and jolted, the Batter’s hands curling tight into her thighs so she didn’t fall off.

Bodies were piled, the white skin of elsens mingling and making it hard to distinguish where one body ended and the other began. Most were heavily beaten, dark shades over their skin and eyes. It all looked fresh, if not in the beginning stages of rigor mortis. The soft glow of the fire the living elsen stood in front of cast a warm wash over the deathly pale, also highlighting the pools of blood under the stacks and the smears on the floor from assumed dragging. Holding onto him a bit tighter, she trembled wordlessly as the living elsen noticed them, looking in haunted surprise. “You...what...where did you come from?” he asked, straightening from where he had been tending to the flames, stepping closer to him. He smelt heavily of rot and smoke, the stench making the player want to run away.

“I’m the Batter and I jumped down the chimney,” he responded simply, fingers massaging his player’s thighs gently to calm her. It was odd how there were so many pauses between their dialogues, the mashing of the button missing. Turning his gaze up, he could see that she was staring off into space facing the elsen, wondering if she went briefly offline.

Swallowing absently, he continued to rub her legs as the scenery grew dimmer, the brief amount of time seeming to pass for a long while. Soon it merely felt as if she were a quiet pressure, the silence unnerving. He never liked when his players left, the darkness boring and soon making him feel as if he couldn’t feel anything at all. Not her touch, not the floor under his feet, not the heat from the mock flames.

Where did his player go?

***

All at once, everything was back. The soft feeling of her weight had returned, but something was amiss. The patterings of the spacebar started again before the woman let out a little hum of concentration. Turning his head back, she looked a little different. Her hair was still curled but seemed longer, tied back messily. There was a scar over the bridge of her nose, and he realized that there was metal against his chest, her legs prosthetic. Parting his lips, he started to speak before they were jolted into the ramblings, the words flitting up as the elsen spoke of the sugar mill. Resting her arms casually over the top of his head, she whistled as the words and images flitted by, acting as if she hadn’t left for a nameless amount of time.

“Who’s responsible for this?” the Batter asked, though he wanted to say something to his player instead. The banter was flicked through before he was guided into checking the furnace. “It’s fueled by corpses,” he commented absently, and she made a little ‘ew!’ and giggled. “That’s terrible,” she hummed, guiding him upwards through the staircase. He paused in the middle of it, pulling her down and setting her on the step above him. “Woah! What are you doing?” she asked, facing him with her brows raised. Her eyes sparkled a little, she seemed just the same yet so different.

“You left, and now you’ve come back and have metallic legs. What happened?” he asked, squeezing her a little before his arms wrapped around her shoulders, pressing her head into his chest. She wrapped her arms right back around him, nestling in with a little hum. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. I got really distracted after seeing the bodies and then I got really busy,” she responded, lifting her head and planting a sweet but brief kiss to his mouth. Drawing back, she moved and hopped up onto him, clamoring back up to his shoulders. “Let’s finish our mission!” she cheered, watching the colors change from green to orange.

In her brief time away she had almost forgotten how beautiful the world in the game was, even the soft heat from the fire below. Glad her hair was tied back, she gazed at where the sugar was being discarded, moving him closer to the opening. “Would you like to jump down?” he asked, his answer being her dropping onto his back instead, holding him tight. Ducking, he hopped down through the hole, landing neatly on his feet in front of the monorail once more. Stepping back, she hopped down and perked up as Zacharie stepped out, lightly amused that he was still in the cat mask. She had almost forgotten about it.

“I’m here, I’m here! That trip took a long time!” he sounded surprised, then the background changed as he started to dive into the explanation. Cecilia started giggling, then broke into laughter when the Batter cut him off with “I know, that’s already been explained to us.”

He looked startled by that, blank a moment. “...Ah.”

Laughing through the rest of the bantering, she hopped back onto the monorail. Perching herself on the seat next to Zacharie, she watched as the Batter started pacing about, almost seeming to be too full of energy. Swinging her legs, she leaned back on her hands and glanced at Zacharie, giving a little grin. “It’s kinda weird travelling with you,” she commented, the other turning his head to look at her through the mask. “Is it? Do you not like it?” he responded, and she gave a ‘pfft.’ “Did I say that?” was her response before the train screeched to a halt.

“ Attention. Attention.

Obstacle detected.

Vehicle is unable to move forward. ”

Hopping up, Cecilia stretched her arms over her head before taking the Batter’s hand. Hopping out at Zacharie’s direction, she swung their hands as they walked in the darkened tracks. Blinking at the elsen that stood there, he seemed almost lost. Confused. Raising her brows in surprise, she was wary as they approached the heavily breathing elsen, wondering briefly if he were another burnt one.

“What are you doing in the middle of the track?” the Batter asked, and their only response was a soft “..hhhhh….”

Cecilia paused, the monorail achingly empty. There was only the soft breeze, the noise of metal ringing soft upon metal. In a blink of the eye the elsen’s head grew cartoonishly large, the two having to tip their heads to look at his face. Parting her lips in surprise, she had been expecting to hear the music but heard nothing.

“U-Um,” she swallowed before starting to direct his attacks. She seemed almost confused the entire time, prepared for an injury when the elsen cried out “HELP” but felt nothing.

It was strange and melancholy.

The battle was swift and soon the head was dissolved back to normal, and then he was just gone. Was that a ghost? She felt a little spooked, standing back as her companion turned. There was a blotch on his arm, his bat boated in the dark miasma mess. Swallowing hard, she merely beckoned him over before they walked back to the monorail. That seemed to suck the fight out of her puppet, the man slumping wordlessly next to Zacharie as he ignored the inquiries. Sitting on the other side of the merchant, she remained silent as well, setting her hands in her lap as she kept a rather serene expression. Undisturbed, less frightened now by the game. Maybe because of the break, the immersion not as full as it had been. Either ways she still felt the same though, interested still in the story and the mission.

Standing, she was scooped up and blinked, smiling at her puppet. “Oh, what, did you miss holding me?” she teased as Zacharie stepped off, leaving them briefly alone. She didn’t expect the honest answer, “Yes,” before he kissed at her neck, making her hum and giggle softly again. Clasping her hands together behind his neck, she turned and kissed his temple gently. “I’m sorry for leaving, I won’t leave again until the story is over. I promise,” she drew back with a sweet smile, pressing another gentle and brief kiss to his lips before directing him outside.

“I’ll go ahead again. Take care, you two. Don’t leave us all waiting,” Zacharie teased lightly at the end of his sentence, pushing his hands into his pockets. “Be careful,” he murmured then, giving Cecilia a little chill before he turned, giving a little ‘miaou’ as he left.

Standing briefly a moment, she moved to sit on his shoulders once more and they headed out. It was familiar and easy, nothing feeling different despite her extended time away. Smiling absently, she rose her brows at the long hallway. Starting to try the doors, she immediately was annoyed with damn near all the doors being locked. “Oh my stars and fucking garters,” she swore before perking up when one opened.

Gazing at the darker green table, she rose her brows before pointing at the table. “Why can’t we read that?” she asked as he thudded absently on the chair. “Not allowed. Want to push the table?” he asked instead, and she made an affirmative noise. She pushed the bottom of her feet on the table as he leaned down to shove at it, making his work a lot easier surprisingly. Straightening, they headed to the adjacent room and she peered at the paper.

Oh dear lord what the hell.

“Wow,” she made a mental note of it before heading out, the two walking down the hallways.

Oh, she did not like how that one elsen looked. It met eyes with the Batter and moved almost inhumanely fast, barely giving the player enough time to get down before the battle began.

The fight was brief but nonetheless annoying, the little player hopping back up onto his shoulders. “We aren’t doing that again. Don’t look at them,” she pouted a little, walking with him through the hallway.

Going through the hallway, she was really quick to literally turn them around to make sure that they didn’t even accidentally meet eyes with the elsens walking beside them. Treading through, Cecilia was starting to get bored, slumping over his head as they walked through the locked hallway. “I don’t even care about checking anymore,” she said tiredly, absently pinching at his chin and ears. He took her hands, holding them instead and shaking his head. “Quit pinching me,” he responded, and she squirmed on him in indignation. “Oh boo!” she pouted at him.

They went through to another section, Cecilia putting her hand up to block out the elsen walking parallel to them. Going through doors, she perked up when she saw the controller. Leaning over him, she opened and closed her hands rapidly for him to hand it to her. Obeying the wordless wishes, he lifted it and placed it in her hands, mildly surprised when she remained resting over top his head. Mashing at the buttons, she gave a pout when it didn’t quite work, tossing it back onto the table in annoyance, slumping with a pout as he pet her thighs soothingly, almost teasing. Wiggling at him, he turned and headed back out, walking through the halls once more. “This place looks all the same,” she mused, obviously bored from it. As they entered another door, she rose her brows at the elsen they found there, clamoring off his shoulders.

Her jaw dropped at the almost violent explosion after the soft cry that his legs stung, stepping back at the almost mostrous form. “Woah,” that transformation was terrifying, leaving her momentarily stunned before raising her hands, guiding his attacks. It was smooth, the two working well still despite the hiccup in time between them. When the head popped out, Cecilia let out a half shriek and half laugh, delighted to tell Omega to cut the shit out. Having to command each one to do it, after the fourth time they smashed the head in did the burnt finally perish. Stepping forwards, she moved and leaned over the chest, opening it and pulling out the music box. Blinking, she gazed at it with a soft fondness before turning to her puppet. He stood over her, towering as always and she merely rested her head back, winding up the box and opening it, listening to the soft tune as it began to play. Shutting her eyes, she relaxed against him as the music played on, his arms wrapping gently around her after a couple notes.

Feeling an utter sense of relaxation and peacefulness wash over her, she exhaled in soft delight.

Not wanting it to end, a frown rose when it did, her eyes reopening and locking onto his. Parting her lips, she took a low breath before stretching up, pressing her lips to his once more. It felt nice, she held it for a moment before drawing away, turning around and shutting the box, keeping it in her hands.

He lifted her up, holding her close to his chest. It felt intimate, making her feel a lot more relaxed. It was sweet, she was happy in that moment despite the odd situation they were in. As he walked, they tried other doors, soon opening to a much smaller hallway. He treaded down the stairs, setting Cecilia down once they got to a bunker-like room. Walking with him, she perked up when she saw Zacharie, scampering on over and leaning forwards, smiling. “Hello!” she greeted, and she wondered if he was smiling under the mask. “Hello. The music box...it feels familiar. May I have it? I’ll give you something helpful in return,” he held out his hands, and she nodded and set it gently in his palms. “Sure,” she rose her brows when he pulled a paper from his pocket, setting the note in her hand. “Pleasure doing business, Cecilia,” he tipped his head to the side and she knew he was definitely smiling. “It’s very pretty sounding, Zacharie. It’s nice,” she inclined her head to him before returning to her marionette, opening the paper as they walked together. “Ah,” it was a note, reading a simple code. “Lift me up,” she said simply, his hands grasping her under her arms and pulling her up, letting her rest on his shoulders.

Directing him back to the room with the controller, she didn’t have to lean down this time before the controller was placed in her palm, her fingers curling around it as she set the paper in his hands in response. He patiently held it open for her while she pressed in the pattern, then his lips parted. “Access to the lower floor is authorized,” he murmured, and she tossed the controller back down. “Fucker,” she scoffed before they turned, walking down to the newly opened area.

Glancing at the papers that lined the new hallway, she could faintly see the lettering. “You must not be here.”

“Fuck you, paper,” she responded to it, making him hum soft. Walking through the hallway, more letters were posted, the same sentence over and over. As they got further down the paper began to accumulate until by the time they were at the exit, the wall was buried under litters and litters of paper. “That’s very wasteful,” Cecilia commented, and the Batter made a noise of agreement as they stepped through the entrance.

Gazing at the floating blocks, she rose her brows before moving, guiding him to press the blocks. “Ah, it’s upside down!” she perked up after a mistake, easily getting him through it when they tried once more. Stepping through, she noticed the red block and moved off his shoulders, tapping it gently before looking up at him.

Taking a breath, she reached up and touched his cheek.

“I’m a little nervous,” she admitted, and he leaned down, putting his arms around her and drawing her close. “Why?” he asked, his face so close to hers that she wanted to kiss him again and again. “I don’t know what to expect. I don’t want you to get hurt,” she said, and he merely smiled.

“I’m your puppet, Cecilia. I will be okay. We’ve made it this far,” he spoke reassuringly, and then he pressed his lips to her forehead. Leaning her head back, she pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth before giving another hum, nodding to him. “We can do this,” she agreed then, feeling a lot more confident after being held. Drawing back, she wondered why it was so nice and easy to hold him and calm down.

Turning to face the door, she took a breath and held his hand. Together, they stepped through to the executive director’s room.

Chapter Text

Gazing at the odd pattern the floor was cut into, the player’s lips parted briefly before she climbed upon his shoulders again, able to see where there were gaps a lot better from that vantage point. “Well, this is some shitty interior designing,” she commented, the puppet merely grunting in response. Starting to walk, she made sure to guide him around the awkward gaps and spots, not willing to dip back into the plastic more than one time. At the second room being the same, she gave a little frown as she guided him along the path, gaze dropping to study the layout.

“Oh, I feel like this is going to cause us problems,” Cecilia said as they stood in front of the final doorway, the woman tipping her head back before she moved off his shoulders, standing beside the Batter. His gaze dipped to look at the woman next to him, his gaze cool on her expression. She rubbed her lower lip almost absently, studying the door in front of them before she turned to meet his eyes, her brows raising. “What?” she asked, reaching up to graze her fingertips against his cheekbone.

“Nothing,” he responded, setting his hand on her upper back before he lifted her into his arms, scooping her up and she had almost forgotten how used they both were to her being carried. Merely wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she guided him forwards and promptly gasped when she saw the zone’s guardian.

He towered over the two of them, his mouth seemingly permanently locked in a wide, toothy grin. He was round, doughy and almost a reminder of a snowman. “Oh my fucking stars and garters, he’s huge!” she gasped, covering her mouth in surprise as he held her a bit tighter on instinct, his jaw set.

“Who...Who are you?” his voice was loud and deep, making the player startle in her puppet’s arms.

“I’m the Batter, and I’ve come to purify you, Mister Director,” came the level response, the simplicity something Cecilia didn’t realize that she missed. It was almost amusing, everything being revisited emotionally for her. This was probably why she loved him so - he was straightforward yet still soft for his player; he showed it soon by setting her down while he spoke with the director, standing in front of her protectively. Maybe he learned his lesson in the last zone, her arm still tingling at the memory of Japhet’s beak tearing her skin as if it were mere paper.

“No matter how strong you are, you can’t overcome my massive physique!” the final bellow caught her attention and she yelped when their adversary jumped his desk, still towering over the two of them. “Fear me like the menacing shadow of your inevitable extinction!” he laughed, causing the player to cover her ears before she felt the controls arise.

She wasted no time giving attacks, but it wasn’t somehow faster than him. He swatted the Add-Ons as if they were pesky flies, batting them into the player and taking her down briefly, Epsilon managing to get under her and stop her from hitting the ground. While they struggled, the Batter stepped up to plate and ended up with his own smack, his ears ringing and jaw clenching. He swung at the behemoth of a man, soon joined by the other members of their little party. But around his second turn after another attack then nearly sent them sprawling, he turned to Cecilia. “Crud, he’s monstrous. I think fleeing is our only option this time…” his words made her eyes widen, and then she looked offended. “Are you kidding me!?” she responded, turning and pushing him to send another attack out. The Batter managed to parry off another one of his attacks, but while the Add-Ons fought harshly, he reached out and grasped her arm. “Cecilia! He’s far too strong!” he shouted over the noise of the man battling the rings, pulling her closer. “The option of the coward will be ours, we should flee quickly!” he looked up at the larger man before back down at his dumbstruck player, her lips parting before he finally felt the rush go through him of fleeing. Scooping her into his arms, he felt the rings singe back into his skin and he took off, running back through the door in the way they came. “Damn,” he hissed, holding her securely to his chest and nearly crushing her there, her arms wrapping around his shoulders and holding on so he didn’t have to hold so hard. “This lardass is beefier than I thought. We’ll have to find another way to defeat him,” he mused aloud, shaking his head.

Cecilia clasped a hand over the back of his neck, readjusting herself to let him run better. As they got to the start of the odd little gapped path they had to take, she heard a rumbling behind them. Looking over his shoulder, she let out a surprised shriek at the sight of the man leaping down from atop the building, hellbent on getting to them apparently. “Run, Batteur!” she urged, shoving through the dialogue. She was frantic in her directions, pointing and bumping them into the invisible walls. “Why can’t you just jump over the damn gaps!?” she asked in clear frustration, and he squeezed her until she yelped. “Stop complaining or I will toss you into the plastic,” he threatened, narrowly avoiding being caught by the large man. Jogging, they were accosted abruptly, the Batter knocked off his feet as the Add-Ons materialized, the player caught under the marionette. Calling out her attacks from under him, he flinched at her voice so close to his ear. Turning his head, he pushed himself up and off, pulling her up. “We should go,” he spoke, but it was drowned out by one of Enoch’s attacks hitting Alpha. The ring fizzled and flew, Cecilia reaching her hands out and catching it before it flew off too far, tossing it gently back in. “What?” she asked, guiding him to give a Furious Home Run.

“We should RUN,” he yelled over his shoulder as he swung his bat into the man’s large stomach, knocked backwards with a slap and sent stumbling back, shaking his head.

“WHAT?” she yelled back, pointing afterwards at Omega and leading that one to strike at Enoch’s shoulder harshly, managing to whiz back around and avoid getting knocked in response.

“CECILIA WE SHOULD FLEE THE BATTLE!” his yell was over the noise of Epsilon swinging hard into Enoch, batted down harshly and bouncing off the ground, the player opening her hands and grasping the side gently.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?” she hollered back, and then he was walking over to her in such a dangerous stalking motion that she paled and started backing up, gesturing at the other Add-Ons. Taking off, she ran in front of the Batter for a moment to indicate their fleeing before he caught up, lifting her and running through the doorway. They darted about the gaps, the heaving breaths following them.

Managing to get back to the entrance, he set her down and leaned over, holding his knees briefly before straightening again, shooting her a look. “He’s very robust and fast. We’ll have to be inventive to get rid of him, but not that foolish ideal of letting us fight him,” he walked closer to her, towering over her as she straightened. “I do not like fleeing, but it’s the safest option. I would have expected someone who worried so much about me getting hurt to have listened immediately,” he growled, grasping her face between his hands and pulling on her cheeks.

“Um, ow!” she whined, irritated at him being so grumpy. She had forgotten about his grumpiness, forgotten nearly a bit. It was easier to get into the swing of things, but now-!! She didn’t miss this part!

“Stop! I didn’t know if you would be able to fight him or not, and you’re not hurt now, so it’s no harm no foul!” she responded, reaching up and grabbing his face in response. He gave an irritated growl, his hands burrowing into her curls as he yanked her forwards, pressing her harshly into his chest. Her hands curled into his cheeks a bit before dropping to grasp his shoulders, a muffled noise of complaint leaving her. “All harm and all foul,” he growled back, and she realized quickly that he was acting like a child. Trying to squirm away, she made a little noise of irritation as she failed, her arms too awkwardly positioned upwards to give her any leverage away from him. “When I want you to let us flee, please just do it, ” he hissed out, and she jerked back to where there was a bit of space between them, her hands resting flat on his chest. Glaring up at him with a scandalized expression, she huffed angrily, wondering just where this temper of his was coming from. “Vous excusez! You are ma marionette, no? You are getting too mouthy, Batteur, and I don’t like it!” she pushed him back, turning on her heel and starting off to the next hallway with in huff. “I refuse to talk to you unless you start being nice to me!” she called over her shoulder, her footsteps pronounced with the sound of metal on metal.

She only got a few steps away before she was pushed, roughly, pinned up against the wall. Letting out a yelp, she squirmed hard before her hips were pinned by his, hands accosting her curls and pulling her head to the side. “I am not nice,” he responded lowly, a growl before blunt teeth dug into her neck. She hit the wall with her hand, letting out a little noise of complaint before she was swatting at him, trying to get herself off of the wall. “Batteur! Why are you acting like this!!” she complained, shaking her head as he pressed her harder into the wall. “Ow!” she smacked his hip and was treated with a harder bite. “Ow!!” she reached back around, tapping on his neck rapidly before she felt the hum of the Add-On around his neck. Turning her hand to hit his upper arm, he jolted before releasing her neck, then completely stepping back from her. Moving her hands against the wall, she drew back from it, turning around and realizing he looked rather distraught all of a sudden. “Batteur?” she asked, though she stayed firmly close to the wall.

This wasn’t the best time for this, but there was definitely something wrong.

“We...should go,” his voice fell back into the usual echo of warmth, much different from the harsh growling from before. Parting her lips, she took a breath to speak when he rose a hand up, shaking his head. “Please,” it was a soft plea, so she closed her mouth and nodded, moving away from the wall. Starting to walk, he trailed almost lost behind her, their steps out of sync and the lack of touch making everything feel awkward. Turning slightly, she reached back and her hand found his, a pause before he was lifting her up again. Cradling her in his arms, he looked straight ahead as their surroundings changed from the lime green to completely white. Giving a gasp at the lack of color, she looked around. “There’s nothing?” she asked, and he merely grunted in response. Walking through the empty hallway, the lack of...well, anything was truly eerie. She couldn’t help but nestle in closer, holding on just a bit tighter in case, somehow, the emptiness would pull them apart.

It was pure. The thought was sudden and unbidden, arriving moments before he stepped to the monorail station. Turning her head, she gazed out at the pure white walls, the pure white flooring, the pure lack of anything, the pure sterility and realized that the area was purified.

The return of green was jolting, but even worse was the sudden rise of Enoch from the underground, causing the player to let out a little shriek and grab onto her puppet all the bit tighter. “What the fuck!!!” she hollered, shaking her head when he made the move to set her down. The Add-Ons burned bright a moment before they flashed out, surrounding the two as Enoch insulted the Batter, his voice booming enough to make them both flinch. Finally she was set down, ignoring dialogue in favor of getting started. Tipping her head back, way way way back, she could only really see him over anything else. “Jeez, he’s huge,” she whispered, and then cleared her throat. Raising her hands up once more, she started to call for attacks, watching the status carefully.

Most of her strategy was to keep Enoch blinded, trying to make sure that none of the fighters were poisoned or hurt for too long. His attacks mostly felt like wind pressure, especially when he moved his arms. Any hit on the fighters was painful, so she was sure to give directions of where to run.

At one point, a particularly hot gust shot through and hit the Batter directly. He let loose a low growl, snarling violently as he started ignoring Cecilia’s calls to him, instead swinging with a blind rage. A look to her status bar stated he was “furious”, and she realized that must have been why he was acting so strangely earlier.

“Batteur!” she shouted at him, hissing when he ignored her and was nearly knocked over by a gust. He was taking far too much damage for her liking, and he wasn’t stopping. “Omega,” she gestured for the Add-On, pulling out a piece of Belial’s meat. Moving, she carefully set herself on the edge, lifted and carried easily into the fray. Ducking and weaving neatly, she felt a little smile raise when at how in-tune the Add-On was with her. Adjusting her hold on the meat, they waved and bobbed before she wound up her arm, throwing the meat directly at his stupid face. It caught him by surprise, his mouth opening before he caught it, placing it in his mouth. His demeanor changed immediately and a glance to the menu saw that he was back to normal.

“Nice!” she tapped Omega before starting to head back where it was safer. However, something gathered the four fighters and their player, a white aura coming down upon all of them. Cecilia let out a shriek, pressing up against the Batter’s back before a hard current lifted and deposited her harshly on the ground away from the fight again. Laying there, she shut her eyes tightly and merely pushed out the commands through the game, trying to focus more on not getting sick from the pain. Turning her head, she caught Omega pulling itself towards her, sneaking under her arms and helping her stand well enough that it could flip over and capture her inside of it. Holding the sides, she panted before looking up at the fight. She was in time to catch Alpha and the Batter swing at Enoch’s neck at the same time, tearing his head clean from his body. Her jaw dropped in shock, a soft gasp leaving her as his head landed with a thud.

But the Batter didn’t seem to care about that, instead running over to his puppeteer immediately and wrapping his arms around her. She had expected to feel pain but realized that Omega had been healing her, so she didn’t feel very sore at all. As their Add-Ons faded, he didn’t let go, muttering his line about the area being purified before their surroundings went dark. Standing in the Nothingness, he didn’t let go even as he dropped to his knees, taking her down with him.

“Cecilia,” he spoke her name as a soft reverent thing and she realized quickly that this had hurt him. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she turned her head to look at him before shutting her eyes, hugging him back. “Cecilia. I’m sorry, that Furious affliction, I should have never said those things,” he spoke, voice still strong and unwavering but it was very clear that he meant it. She squeezed him gently, turning her head to press a kiss to his temple. “I forgive you,” she responded, because she understood. He didn’t mean to be like that, it was the affliction. It wasn’t him, couldn’t have been. She knew he was capable of being cruel, but having it turned on her accidentally wasn’t quite all his fault. So she could forgive this.

“You do it again though and I will beat your ass,” she said then, and he merely chuckled weakly, pulling back. He laid a hard kiss to her mouth, as if he were proving something, head tipped to the side. She kissed back, less rough, but that didn’t seem to be the right thing. He bit her lower lip before pulling away and standing, holding her. “Are you okay? The hit from the Director, it was painful for you,” he was clearly worried, but she figured because he needed her to direct his movements.

“I’m okay. It was more startling than anything,” she responded, kissing his cheek because she liked the fact that he was worrying over her. “I’m fine, I promise,” she reassured, smiling at him when he drew back enough to see her face. “Let’s get going, okay? I want...I want to see Zone 2 very fast. I want to see if the Judge is still there,” she said, turning her head to look at the point where that Zone began. Gently, he lifted her into his arms and merely nodded, seemingly content with putting off going to the next place for a revisit.

He carried his Player, taking her to see what the purification of an entire zone looked like.