An Off-AU bit based off of this Comic (cacoethic. tumblr post/ 48003869161/ this-comic-contains-spoilers-for-the-ending-of) by the wonderful Cacoethic! I suggest you take a look-see before you read, or else you'll be quite lost.
I'm trying a bit of an experimental style, so not everything in the story will be as lavishly worded as it is here. Enjoy!
There were very few things that could turn the Judge's lips down from his eternal smile. The only people left alive in this colorless universe he was indifferent to at worst, but the purifier was more than deserving of his unbridled hate. The monster even had the courage to regain human form, although the cat could still see the man's shadow morph into the frightening creature that threatened to chomp and chew away at everything.
"And so malice rises up from the dead. You have some gall to come here," spat the Judge, baring his fangs. How was the Batter alive? He distinctly remembered skin tearing beneath his claws, and watching life seep out from glassy white eyes. The Batter had squandered his best weaponry during their fight, along with all his items-
…Ah. How could Zacharie have slipped his mind? As close as he was to the merchant, friendship did little to quell unpredictability. But those ideas were for later. With a flick of his tail, the Judge dismissed all extra thoughts and prepared himself for battle.
He was a mere cat, but a cat with great power. He had defeated the Batter before, and he was willing to shed blood to protect what little was left. His white fur bristled with energy, prepared to let loose some of his Competences and reduce this man to bloody shreds once more. "You have nothing, you pathetic crusader. Come. I'll rid you from this world again."
The Batter glanced at the cat, but did not answer. The Judge expected at the very least, a look of hate, or a lunge forward for one handful of fur, but all he met was a bland look of disapproval. Instead of facing his enemy with rage, the Batter seemed to be as bothered as if an ant were crawling over his arm. "I don't have time to fight you."
"As blunt as always, but your way with words is poor at best. There would be no other reason to visit my humble being unless you planned to continue with your misguided quest of purification. I will not fall without a fight." Still, no attack came.
"No," flatly replied the Batter, and the Judge paused mid-declaration to shoot a bewildered stare at the monster. "I came to talk."
Talk. The very concept was a joke in itself, almost enough that the Judge could feel his Cheshire grin perking up his cheeks. Here he thought the only way the Batter knew how to talk was with blood! Scratching a mark onto the floor- a precautionary activation for Critical Aneurysm, just in case - the cat settled down on the floor, tail swishing back and forth. "Very well. Speak."
"I intend to keep everything pure-"
"Indeed, you did a fine job of bleaching this world into a wasteland."
"…But purity shouldn't be so flat."
The implications were steep, and twanged at the Judge's suspicions. His clever words left him as he thought, thought, thought. As strange as that sounded, for once the chime of purification rang with hope. "I see. You wish to rebuild." He couldn't help the chuckle that slipped out of his throat, "Isn't that dreadfully impure to you?"
"They will be pure. I guarantee it." The Batter spoke with frightening resolve, not even the slightest waver in his voice. It was enough that the Judge nearly activated the Competence, before he caught his paw a mere inch from the seal.
How foolish. To think this man had been defeated, and all death had done made his resolve stronger. If it became any more powerful, that resolve would consume everything again. With a wave of his paw, the sealed Competence vanished, and the Judge rose up to pad on his paws. "I see. But you need help. Even our late Queen was unable to build an entire realm by her lonesome self. The smallest number of people needed to create a universe is two. You need my help."
"Essentially."
"I will do everything in my power to correct the err of your ways. The power to create is infinite, a magical miracle that gives birth to something from nothing. This miracle isn't to be wasted on you and your thoughtless destruction."
The Batter responded with a flippant shrug before their forms dissolved into the Void.
Deep darkness was almost comforting after blindingly bright whites and grays. The Judge found his eyes trailing towards the green blossoms stamped on the bottom of the Void, reflecting the dead worlds they held in their centers. The flowers lay there, dried and preserved to be trampled on. Pitiful, so disgusting! The sooner they had life returned to them, the better, even if it meant following in the shadow of a monster.
"How do you plan on reforming these?"
"She gave me a few hints."
"The Queen?" The Batter didn't answer, keeping his back to the cat, staring off into the black expanse. Doing anything but reforming worlds, if the Judge had anything to say about that.
A warp twisted the space next to the Judge, and out emerged a single Elsen with a crooked back. Even without spectres to haunt him, the boy looked as if he was about to curl into himself, and could hardly stand in one place without shaking. "I…decided to say yes…" wheezed the Elsen, wringing his hands together, "I want to be forever safe…but…I don't want someone else…to make things unsafe for me."
Even the frightened Elsen had a startling amount of resolve for someone reduced to shaking fits. For a moment, the Judge felt a bit shameful that he had resigned himself to being a hermit in a wasteland so easily, instead of seeking out a solution. "Another one of your candidates for Guardians?"
A slight nod was all the answer he needed. "One Zone for each of us, and Zone 0 will broken apart and assimilated into each of the three zones."
Almost instantly, the Judge's claws were out. "Zone 0 is my home."
"Whatever," sighed the Batter. Politics were so unbecoming of him.
Pain erupted from his ankle as cat claws dug deep into flesh. "It is not a trifling matter, Batter. You are not destroying my home so you can throw it into your pool of bets!" Man and feline shot hateful glares at each other, almost ready to lunge at each other, before a cracked voice cut through.
"Hhh…Why don't we make it…a neutral zone? No fighting there…or something like that."
The Judge seemed surprised an Elsen had said something intelligent, but settled to scratching at his ear instead of preparing to claw the Batter to shreds. "An acceptable idea. A single constant in a sea of newborns will be a relief to us all."
The only indication of agreement the Batter gave was a tilt of the head, but set his gaze off the small flower of Zone 0. There was nothing fantastical during those few moments when the Batter stared and stared at the Zones. No great spells, no swinging of a magical bat, just a deep stare that yielded nothing, until all three heard a great snap.
The spotless void of the purified Zones warped, and cracked, dissolving into white dust that swirled out of the green flowers. Entire worlds now danced atop the flowers, mere particles before the moment of creation. To give birth to a universe, at least two minds were needed, but this time, there were three; two guardians and a new King.
Even in the yellow-walled basement of Zone 0, Zacharie felt the waves of power, the final burst of reformed worlds coming back into being. The wave of power burned his fingertips, but even that made him laugh. They had succeeded. It was time.
Reaching for his backpack, he turned it upside-down. What was once empty now spat out Luck Tickets, jars of eyes, and prizes locked in small chests. Restocked and back in business, Zacharie slung his bag over his shoulders, and set off to prepare things on his end.