It's no wonder the puppet had lost count.
The Batter had so many different hands on his strings, each puppeteer unique. Some past, some new with curiosity and enthusiasm. But the same adventure every time.
In fact, he had long lost his own enthusiasm for his mission. It was basically just 'purify, heal, walk, talk, collect, flip the switch (or not) and repeat'. He was now only focused on his puppeteers. Memorised words flowed from his mouth and attacks landed like normal with him occasionally missing to get a reaction from his puppeteer.
Both fond and dark memories of other puppeteers floated around in his head whenever he stood by a save block -red or yellow- just waiting for his current puppeteer to return. Some were short, some tall, some bright, some dim and some that were interesting. The monochrome man could remember every last one of them, even their names. However, he always spoke to them, even if they never could hear him or his replies to their cries of anger, sadness or joy.
Sometimes, the puppet just doesn't know whether to smile or cry when he reaches 'The End'.
The Batter flips the switch, and all fades to darkness for but a few moments. And when the time is right, he turns around, facing his new puppeteer, high above him with their hands on his strings.
"Welcome. You have been assigned to a being called 'The Batter'. The Batter has an important mission. Be sure that it's accomplished."
The game begins once more.