The broken, bloody body of the cat was hurled against the wall one final time, and then it fell to the ground with a wet thud of finality. The silence that followed was crushing, marred only by the Batter's unusually loud breathing and the steady, rhythmic drops of blood from his bat. He had almost done it. His quest, what he had been made for. He could literally reach out and touch it. All that was needed now was the flick of a switch. He took an unsteady step forward before faltering slightly. The bat fell to the floor and the Batter with it, dropping to his knees in a pool of blood. He knew his quest needed to be completed. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would get up and end it. But for now… He sighed. For now, he could just rest. For a moment. He just needed a moment of rest.

From behind him there came footsteps that weren't really there, and a shaky sigh. "Well." The player said, sounding horrified yet still resolute, "We did it."

"Yes." The Batter replied. His voice was monotonous. "We did it."

The player shook their head. "Batter, I… I'm…"

"You don't need to apologise." He cut them off abruptly, "You didn't know what you were getting into."

"I know, but still. That was your wife. That was your son." Their voice hitched slightly, but they regained composure quickly. The Batter didn't look up. "They were nothing to me, in the end." He said simply, "Just impure beings that got in my way." His voice wasn't cruel, or sad, or menacing. It was plain, and matter of fact. The player wasn't sure if that was worse. They took a step closer, hovering over the Batter awkwardly. "I'm sorry I made you do these things." They said, "None of this would have happened if I didn't let it."

"It had to be done."

"I know that!" The player tensed. "I know they all had to die to achieve our goal. But I'm just saying sorry because those were the people that were close to you, and I made you kill them." They broke off with a laugh, "And we don't even know why. Not really."

This time, it took a while for the Batter to reply. "I kept things from you so you would lead me to the goal I desired. You were played as much as I was."

The player smiled ruefully. "Look at us," They said, glancing up at the plain white switch, strangely untouched by the carnage around it, "Two broken puppets, dancing round each other, fighting for control."

"It was always going to end this way," The Batter said. "Why did you choose me though?"

The player frowned. "What do you mean?"

"When we faced The Judge and you found out what we had truly done. I could sense your horror. You knew something was wrong when we killed that Elsen in the train tunnel. Why didn't you destroy the monster I'd become?"

It took a while for the player to reply. The Batter felt something beside him; the player sat down so they were shoulder to shoulder. "I didn't turn on you because of what we'd done together. We've… I've done terrible things. It doesn't make sense for all that loss to be for nothing. Yes, you lied to me- or hid things from me, and I'm kind of pissed about that, but I controlled you. I could have stopped this, but I didn't. I didn't stop it because deep down I think I wanted to purify just as much as you did. I couldn't destroy you because I'm as much of a monster as you are." The confession left them in a rush, and the Batter could sense the tears welling up in their eyes. It was strange to be so in tune with their emotions despite not being able to see them at all. He looked up, and although he couldn't meet the others eyes he was sure the gesture was noted. "We are both monsters, then." He said. There was the distinct feeling of a nod. "This time the bad guys won."

"I wish we knew why we did all this though. What was it all for?"

"We're going to purify the world."

"Yes, but why? What started it? What put the idea in your head?" The player ran a hand through their hair. "It's frustrating not having any answers after all this time."

The Batter looked up, his eyes distant. "I don't need any answers. I just need to complete my quest."

They drifted into a momentary silence. Then the player stood up, smiling a little. "Well then," They said, "Shall we end this?"

The Batter nodded. He stood, using his bat for support. He squared his shoulders. Then, slowly, purposefully, he laid a hand on the switch. It was humming faintly. All he had to do was push and it'd be over. Everything. His whole existence- the one he could remember anyway- had led up to this very moment.

But he couldn't make his hand move. No matter how hard he tried, the force wouldn't come. He looked behind him at the player, who was frowning in confusion. "I… I thought this was a cut-scene." They said. "I'm not supposed to do anything."

"Did we miss something?" The Batter asked. Panic flickered in his chest. He wouldn't lose this. Everything else had been ripped away from him; he had to keep his only purpose. He had murdered his wife, his baby son. It couldn't be for nothing. This was all he had left. The player had their hand on the switch too now, pushing experimentally. Suddenly the Batter growled menacingly, which surprised both of them. The player backed away instinctively. "Batter?" they asked, "What was that?"

Despite not really feeling any kind of rage, his body curled protectively round the switch. "This is mine." He snarled viciously. The player had their hands outstretched in surrender, eyes wide.
"Okay, Batter. I never said it wasn't. Just calm down, okay?" Their voice was tense, trying too hard to remain calm. The Batter frowned. What was wrong? Why did they look so
scared all of a sudden? "We need to find what we missed." He told them. They nodded quickly.
"Okay, fine, we can do that. Let's just retrace our steps; it can't be too far off, right? We wouldn't have been able to progress this far if we'd missed something two Zones ago."

The Batter nodded, visibly relaxing. The tension seemed to leave the player too, and they breathed a sigh of relief. "Let's go back then."
They turned simultaneously and headed towards the door. They were stopped abruptly as a familiar face appeared from the dark corridor.

Zacharie laughed. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked. It sounded like he was grinning but it was impossible to tell with his froglike mask covering his face. The Batter regarded him suspiciously. "What's going on, Zacharie?" he gripped his bat tightly, "Why can't I push the switch?"
Zacharie tilted his head. "The switch can be turned off when you purify all the Zones." He said, cryptically as usual. The player rolled their eyes. "Yes, we know that. We've purified all the Zones, I know we have. What more does it want?"
Zacharie laughed again. "Have you, though? Have you really killed all the monsters in every Zone?"
The player frowned. "Are you saying there are more bosses to fight?"

If Zacharie had visible eyebrows, they would have been raised. "In a way."
The Batter growled. "Stop being so bloody vague, Zacharie. Tell us what needs to be done."
"Oh, come on, dear Batter! I'm only ever a few steps ahead of you; surely you can work it out for yourself."

The player put a hand on his arm, stopping him from lunging at the merchant. "Listen, Zacharie. We're going to need a little more information, okay?"
He sighed heavily. "Fine, if you insist on being so painfully slow."

There was another growl. The player stepped backwards a little. Zacharie was silent for a moment, and then he spoke quietly. "A Zone is purified when all impurities have been eradicated, correct?"

"Yes…"

"And the impurities are 'monsters' that have performed, shall we say, unspeakable acts?"
The player went cold. Their eyes slid up to the Batter, whose face remained carefully blank. "What are you saying, Zacharie?" he snapped. The merchant shook his head and laughed again.

"Go on, Batter. I want to hear you say it."

The tension in the room was crushing. The Batter felt something inside him grow and twist, and also the sudden, sharp sense of fear from his player.

"Would you like to buy anything?"

The phrase was familiar and seemingly casual, but now Zacharie's voice had an edge to it. Cautiously, the player opened up his store. They closed their eyes, now certain of their fate. Rows upon rows of weaponry lined the merchant's rucksack. Knives, axes, bows and arrows. Zacharie raised his head to meet the player's. "Choose wisely, friend."

With a cold, heavy sense of foreboding, the player turned to the Batter. "You know what he wants us to do, right?"
There was a curt nod. "Yes."
The player drew in a shaky breath. "Well… what do you want to do?"
The Batter closed his eyes. "I need to complete my quest. It is my only purpose."
"Okay… Do you want me to…?" They trailed off and gestured at the pile of knives. Zacharie chuckled softly.
"Like I said before, choose wisely. All monsters must be slain before the switch will move."

The player frowned. "What do you…?" Their eyes widened. "How is that even possible?"

"Just in game, my dear."

"Are you sure?" They were breathing hard now, struggling to wrap their head around the concept. Zacharie nodded. The Batter tapped his bat on the ground impatiently. "What is he talking about?"
The player looked up again. The Batter had changed so much- more monster than man now- but they could still see the person they had started out with. They were still a team. "Zacharie said all monsters, Batter. That means me as well."

It took a while for the Batter to comprehend what had been said. "But… I can't even see you."
Tears were flowing freely down the player's cheeks now. Even though it was only a game, the concept of dying wasn't exactly appealing. "We'll do it together, okay? Just like we started it."
They selected their weapon. It was a long metal rod, spiked at both ends. This would do nicely. They approached the batter, who hissed menacingly and backed away. "I don't understand." He said, the words garbled through a rapidly elongating mouth, "How am I going to flip the switch?"

Zacharie shrugged. "Not my problem. Lean on it dramatically as you face your doom, perhaps?"

The player held the rod in their hands. It was heavy, and cold. It felt real. Would dying feel real as well? What would happen? The Batter was growing now, roaring and snapping with massive, terrifying jaws. His tail snapped backwards and forwards. He didn't want to die. He wanted to live in this pure world that he had created. But the player wouldn't stop coming towards him. He hissed, and with a clawed hand he swiped the player aside. He couldn't see them but he felt their body crack against him, he heard their cry as they spun across the room, spear rattling to the floor. The player sat up, spitting blood. That had hurt. Honestly, genuinely hurt. Zacharie was watching the pair from the edge of the room, offering no assistance to either party. They got to their feet, wincing at their obviously cracked ribs, and limped towards the Batter once more. He roared, obviously not expecting the player to try again. He clawed at them again but this time they dodged and continued forward, leaning on the spear for support. "I'm going to make this right, Batter!" They yelled over his howls, "We'll end this together! Like it always should have been!"

They were close enough to touch them now, although they only reached chest level. His batting uniform had been torn, leaving only pure white flesh. The player closed their eyes. They would end this together. "Ready?" They called. Without waiting for an answer (or even confirmation that the Batter had understood), they wrapped their arms around his stomach. As they did so, the spear pierced the flesh of both players, and their sudden, abrupt cry seemed strangely out of place amongst the enraged howls. There was a brief silence, the pain startling the Batter into a standstill. Then, slowly, he reached his arms around the player and returned the embrace, shrinking as he did so. They stood together, using each other to remain upright, until the pain was too much and they collapsed. The Batter raised an arm weakly, using the last of his strength to cling onto the switch above them. It moved almost without any force, sliding into the OFF position almost like it had been there all along. The Batter's arm fell back to the ground and he lay there, panting. He had done it. His quest was over. Suddenly, existing in the pure world didn't matter anymore. He realised that it was always meant to be this way. The player was still attached to him; he could feel their erratic heartbeat and their blood pour out onto the tiled floor. It was strange- the player was still invisible but as soon as their blood touched the floor he could see it, bright black on the tiles, mixing with his own. But he decided not to worry too much about that. Soon the both of them would be at peace. The room was darkening now, as if the world was fading around them. He supposed that made sense really. The Batter took one final look at the player and smiled. "Thank you for your sacrifice." He said. Then he closed his eyes and spoke no more.

The Player watched as the Batter closed his eyes for the last time and smiled back, trying not to let too much blood dribble past their lips. Not that it mattered, they supposed, when they had a gaping hole in their stomach. They wondered when they would wake up. Would it be when they were officially dead? Or would it happen just before? It was getting very dark. The switch was no longer visible. The Batter stirred for a moment and the player was briefly worried he had come back to life, but the movements were too random. He was glitching. With one final twitch of pixels, the Batter disappeared, leaving the player alone in the dark. This wasn't fun at all. Why weren't they still together? They were supposed to be together until the end.

From the blackness, there was a familiar froglike grin. "Are you ready?" He asked. The player frowned. "Ready for what?"

The spear disappeared. So did the wound. Suddenly, the player was floating, still surrounded by darkness. Their clothes began to fade and change, until they were completely white. A tiny pinpoint of light appeared in the distance and began to get brighter and bigger until it was all the player could see, all they could think, all they could remember. The light was endless, and it asked them one simple question.

"Are you ready for your quest?"

The new Batter gripped their bat in one hand and nodded.