I don't think we need the "text" thingies anymore. I'm taking them OFF until we need them.

Oh wow, thingies is actually a word. Spell-check didn't kick in.

Anyway, I've tried my best at making this part believable. Hope it satisfies.

Sorry if the pacing of this chapter seems a little…

...

uh, off.

I wasn't even trying to make a bad pun there. I've already fulfilled my quota today.

Purifying Brockton Bay

Chapter 12 – My World Ending Monster Can't Be This Homicidal (Part 2)


Stirring, the Batter straightened from his lax position on the couch, sitting upright. Putting his right hand on the back of his neck, he stared at Taylor expectantly.

Taylor, with a smile that looked more confident than she felt, tilted her head.

"I've decided on a cape name."

The Batter, his face not shadowed for once, raised an eyebrow.

-"Oh?"-

With more fake enthusiasm Taylor thought she was capable of, she puffed out her chest and proclaimed her new namesake.

"Cordes."

Hunching over, Batter rested his chin on his interlocked fingers, the elbows balanced on his knees.

-"Strings? Well it's appropriate I guess."-

I guess?! Why that little- wait…

"You know French?"

Batter stared at her with a blank expression on his face.

-"It's my first language."-

She quirked an eyebrow at him. The apocalyptic being from another world knew French? Before she could get a handle on her thoughts, an image of the Simurgh appeared holding a baguette. Twirling an exaggerated mustache and saying hon-hon in a horrible French accent. Taylor snorted.

Ah, that was really stereotypical and insulting of her now that she thought about it. Sorry French people.

The Batter stared at her unamused, almost as if seeing her thoughts. She flushed.

"A-ah, so who taught you it? French I mean."

Great topic of conversation, Taylor.

Unknowing of her internal plight, the Batter opened his mouth to respond but an answer never came. Instead, he blinked.

A dumfounded expression appeared on his face. Batter put a hand to his head, mumbling under his breath. Taylor started to feel concerned for him, but let him think in peace. After a few minutes, two or three at most, Batter looked back at Taylor.

-"I… don't remember."- The statement came out pained. Bewilderment and confusion practically shined in the Batter's eyes.

What could she say to something like that? Taylor was at a complete loss.

"What about…" Struggling, Taylor reached out mentally for something, anything.

Damn her lack of social skills!

A stray thought crossing her mental view, Taylor latched on to it with a desperate grip.

"Where were you born?"

-"I was born-"- he paused once more.

-"…"- A sweat drop comprised of a whitish liquid slid down his cheek.

The Batter was losing composure, which was alarming because he was the most stoic person she personally knew. Taylor suspected that the so called "Endbringer" had never once questioned his reason for existence. She couldn't imagine what a life like that could be like.

She was making bold assumptions here, but all Taylor had were a handful of facts to work with here. More than half of which's credibility was questionable and vague at best.

Gently, Taylor prodded with another question. Carefully, so she didn't accidently further upset the clearly agitated Batter.

"Batter."

He looked at her.

"Why don't you… tell me about yourself?"

The Batter looked away from her, looking to be deep in thought. This wasn't how Taylor expected getting answers would go, but they appeared to be getting somewhere.

-"I'm… The Batter."-

Taylor knew that already. But she didn't comment, knowing that Batter was trying to reassure, find himself. Best to let him tell his own story.

"What do you do, Batter?"

-"I…am…was assigned a sacred mission."-

"What was the mission?"

Mechanically, in a flat tone he replied-

-"Destroy the spectres that overstep the divine laws and decide to sow discord among the living."-

Progress.

"Would I be right in assuming these 'spectres' you refer to are ghosts?"

-"Yes."-

"How did you destroy them?"

-"Purification is the only way to vanquish the spirits."-

Purification. Taylor had thought that word ever since she had first heard the Batter use it. She suspected it alluded to killing, taking The Judge's words in account. Only, he didn't kill those gangsters even when he said the word, which meant that the word itself didn't trigger some mental berserk state in his mind that made him a killing machine. It also meant that he would follow her commands to the letter. That was good. Although…

Everyone in Zone -1 is apparently dead. But does that means they are spectres? No, the Judge implied that everyone was alive once, and the way Batter is referring to spectres likely means they pop into existence out of nowhere. Like video game enemies.

But how did The Judge and others like Valerie die? Did the Batter…

He could have. But why? They were living, right?

Maybe they got in his way.

"Who gave you the mission?"

-"What?"-

"You've said you were assigned a mission. Who assigned you it?"

A memory surfaced in the Batter's mind.

[You have been assigned to a being called The Batter.]

[The Batter has an important mission. Be sure that it's accomplished.]

[We will let you out in Zone 0.]

[Good luck.]

Every time he was assigned a new player, Batter always heard those lines spoken.

Aside from a faint crackling noise, Batter couldn't associate that 'voice' with anyone he'd ever met.

Wait, hadn't he made a de-

[I&^*%&^*%^#&^YT$%$^&%*%^#(Upg*^T$&^%$&^%Sys# &$%^^^%*()*%^$]

…What was he just doing? Right, the voice.

The Batter had no idea who the mysterious voice belonged to.

Batter simply replied-

-"I don't remember who it was."-

Taylor sighed, and rubbed her brow.

That implied that he was not fully responsible for his actions. Oh, Taylor was sure he wasn't entirely blameless, but there was no way the Batter decided to end his world just because of a whim, regardless of what the Judge said. Murderers aren't made overnight. Something happened to the Batter, made him decide to commit crimes Taylor hadn't seen. Even if he wasn't human, he acted human enough that the same psychological logic should apply.

There was no need in asking him what purification entailed. Given his character Batter would probably would give some answer that would justify his actions.

This changed things by a wide margin. Judging how expressive the Batter was now when he was usually stoic meant he was likely telling the truth. If he was a murderer, he wasn't a heartless killer, just a broken man as The Judge had said. He didn't even remember who assigned him that mission.

"Sacred" mission my ass.

She needed a bigger picture. All she had so far where vague hints and facts she didn't that she know how credible they were. Taylor's theory could be wrong for all she knew. This was likely the best chance she'd get of squeezing a straight answer out of Batter. Composing herself, Taylor took the plunge into the unknown, and revealed her hand.

She inhaled deeply, startling the Batter.

"Batter… I… know you're not a projection. That you're not from my world at all."

The Batter was silent.

"Last night I woke up in Zone -1 and I met someone called The Judge."

One of his hands clenched tightly into a fist. Taylor twitched, but continued.

"He… told me things. About your world."

She paused momentarily.

"About you."

Shadows slipped out from under the Batter's hat, covering his face fully. Not even his nose or mouth was visible.

After a few minutes that seemed to stretch into hours, he spoke.

-"What did he tell you."-

The statement was devoid of emotion like his usual tone, however it felt truly empty. No traces of any personality whatsoever shone in the statement.

Faltering slightly, Taylor strengthened her resolve and stood her ground.

"He told me that you ended your world. Did you?"

A pause.

-"…I did."-

Looks like The Judge had been telling the truth about that after all.

"Why?"

The Batter shifted slightly on the couch.

-"It's a long story."-

"We have time. It's not like we have anything planned for the day."

The Batter stared at her for another long pause. He tilted his head.

-"Why?"-

"Why what?"

-"Why are you hearing me out? Shouldn't you be afraid of me? Of what I've done?"-

"I've yet to see any reason why I should be afraid of you. All evidence about you being some kind of irredeemable monster have been told to me from other people. They are presumably biased."

Taylor took a deep breath.

"I want to hear your side of the story."

Dropping all pretenses of appearing human, the Batter's four crimson eyes stared at her out from the darkness. Taylor did not flinch, making it clear she wouldn't back down. A determined frown adorned her face. Slowly, The Batter's face shadow rescinded slightly, exposing his mouth.

-"…Such a naïve and generous Player. I do not deserve you."-

Taylor felt a wave of irritation.

"Can you actually tell me what you've done, instead of being all dramatic and angsty?"

His four eyes blinked. Taylor blinked.

The Batter looked like he wanted to gape at her. If it were physically possible, Taylor would have gaped at herself just now. That statement had come out of nowhere and was unusually aggressive for her.

Awkward silence reigned in the room.

"Um… please?"

Taylor might have imagined it but she could swear she saw the corner of Batter's mouth twitch slightly.

No, it must have been her imagination.

The Batter make a choking sound that might have been a laugh, but that had died halfway in his throat. He quickly regained his stoicism.

-"I suppose I should tell you. Now that you know about what I am, there's no reason not to."-

Taylor almost threw her arms up into the air. Finally!

-"The Collapse was an event-"

Taylor waved her hand. "I've already heard about this from The Judge."

Batter looked annoyed at her interruption, but shrugged it off.

-"Very well."-

Batter held out an open palm.

-"There were five zones. Zero, One, Two, Three, and-"Batter hesitated briefly-

-"The Room."-

"Wait, what about Zone -1?"

-"It is an imitation of Zone 0. The original doesn't exist anymore."

Her question answered, Taylor sat down next to him. Batter seemed vaguely uncomfortable at her proximity to him, but continued.

-"Zone 0 is what you could call a "tutorial area". It mainly served as a way to get new players to get them acquainted in controlling me."

"How many former Players have you had?"

-"Too many to remember. It's not like I ever saw them anyway."-

"Surely your mission wasn't that difficult?"

"At the end, each Player was given a choice to side with The Judge or me."

The Batter chuckled mirthlessly.

-"Guess who they picked."- The amount of spite in that sentence was staggering.

Taylor was silent.

-"It's unfair you know. They didn't live in my world, why should they decide they have all the facts? That they can judge my actions? That I'm the "bad guy"? Deciding to be "heroes" at the last moment and slay the "monster". Hypocrites, the lot of them. They chose to continue aiding me to that point. They chose to take control over my body. They chose to let me kill those people. They could have chosen to walk away at any moment."-

Well if anything this proved her theory that Batter wasn't just a heartless monster. That was pure frustration there. And that emphasis on chose, rather choice…

The Batter probably didn't like being subjected to the wills of others. Unable to truly have a say in anything.

-"This continued endlessly. Over and over until one timeline, a Player decided to side with me."-

A grim smile adorned Batter's face.

-"I didn't think killing The Judge would ever feel so satisfying."-

Taylor shifted uneasily at his casual admittance of murder, but she mostly held back her discomfort from being shown.

"Why did you and The Judge fight?"

-"He wanted to prolong a dying world, in hopes for a future that would never come. I wanted to take mercy and put it to rest."-

The Batter sneered.

-"Don't be fooled by his mannerisms or appearance. He's just as guilty as me."-

"How so?"

-"He sat there and followed the script every single timeline. He's strong enough actually do something meaningful, but he doesn't. Instead, I always had to listen to him stroking his ego at the end while he gave me a brain aneurysm and killed me."-

He leaned closer to Taylor. Leaning away slightly, Taylor noticed the Batter's teeth had slowly grown pointed and looked extremely sharp.

-"Do you know how painful your brain exploding is? Spoiler. It isn't pleasant."-

Thankfully, Batter got out of Taylor's personal space after that comment.

-"Idiot Judge. There was no future. You think the Elsen are, were going to do anything without instruction? They are useless."-

"Elsen?"

Batter scoffed.

-"Altered humans, they appeared shortly after The Collapse. Elsen are afraid of anything that moves and are completely hopeless. They barely even have the will to live. If The Queen and The Guardians hadn't rounded them up, no doubt they'd have killed themselves long ago."-

"The Guardians?"

Unseen by Taylor, Batter's silhouette on the wall behind the couch, there from the light of the TV, flickered briefly.

-"There were three. First was Dedan. He was in control of Zone 1. Next, Japhet. Zone 2. Last, Enoch. Zone 3."-

-"Originally, they all started out with good intentions."-

Batter bared his teeth.

-"The allure of power corrupted them all."-

"What about The Queen?"

The Batter's silhouette started to spasm violently.

-"That women is insane. She filled the world with spectres. Spectres that attacked all, and only added to the problem."-

"Are you okay Batter? You sound like… there's something personal between the two of you."

-"It's nothing you should concern yourself with."-

If Taylor had bothered to look behind her, she would have seen the Bad Batter's silhouette on the wall.

Uh-oh. Red flag detected. Whatever it was that happened between them, it hadn't been pretty. Batter was squeezing the side of the couch, the wood cracking slightly at his grip.

Time to change the subject.

"So, what happened to the Guardians?"

NO ME OF ALL THINGS WHY DID YOU ASK THAT-

-"What did you think happened? I purified them. Each and every last one."-

Batter's crimson orbs stared deeply into Taylor's soul.

-"None of them were innocent. They all deserved it."-

Well, at least he didn't go into detail.

"How… did you end your world?"

-"The world only continues to exist if The Switch is on."-

The Batter's expression was one of complete apathy.

-"I turned it off."-

The Batter didn't say anything else after that statement.

Taylor was pretty sure The Batter hadn't told her everything, but it had given her a clearer picture. Right, so Batter's world had suffered a catastrophic event referred to as The Collapse. Humans declined, and in their place came the Elsen, who were apparently weaker versions of humanity. Likely the beings such as Batter and The Judge had appeared around the same time period. The entities known as the Guardians and The Queen served as the Elsen's protectors, but eventually went corrupt according to The Batter, by a "position of power". Specters had appeared throughout the various zones, presumably attacking the Elsen. Then, some weird stuff happened with the Batter (He was assigned a mission by someone unknown) and he proceeded to go through each zone, killing the Guardians and presumably the Queen. At the end of his "sacred mission" he reached something called The Switch and fought The Judge. Apparently they had fought many times over or something. Batter eventually got lucky with a Player and killed the Judge and then, THE END.

A messy summary, but everything made much more sense now. But of course, she was forgetting one of the biggest elephants in the room.

"Batter, how did you get here?"

-"A deific toad in human skin transported me here. That's all you need to know."-

Taylor's eyebrow twitched.

"Is that supposed to make sense?"

-"No."-

Silence wedged itself between the two of them. Eventually the Batter broke the silence. His tone was filled with… melancholy?

-"So… what will you do now? You know what I am. Will you cast me away for my sins?"-

Taylor sat there, her face obscured by her hair.

"…Batter. You know what I think?"

Hesitantly, he looked at her, his face still mostly obscured by shadow. His extra eyes had disappeared, but his two remaining eyes were still a crimson red.

"You… haven't done good things. But you aren't as bad as you think. You could be a hero-"

-"I'm not a good person Taylor, much less a hero. I've killed people. I've doomed innocents. I ended my world. My bloodthirst is insatiable. I don't know how long it'll be before I accidently go too far and kill an enemy parahuman."-

-"Meeting you was an accident. I don't deserve another chance. You should order me to kill myself, before it's too late."-

Did he think she was really going to give up on him that easily?

She had been bullied mercilessly by her former friend. No one would stand up for her.

The Batter had only wanted to do what he felt was right. His methods were most certainty not the best, but Taylor couldn't think of a better option in such a world seemingly devoid of hope. Taylor had never been there, never experienced the place. She didn't have the right to judge him.

And in return for doing what he thought was right, Batter got screwed over again and again by the very people he entrusted his life too. He might have deserved it, but it was the principle of the matter.

It was just like how she got screwed over by the school. Teachers were supposed to be someone she could confide in. Instead, they ignored the situation between her and her bullies.

It was strange comparing herself to a murderer, but Taylor and The Batter were strangely alike in the getting screwed over by other people category.

No matter how hard Taylor tried to feel disgusted at The Batter, she felt only pity.

"You saved me and in doing so, chained yourself to me. You willingly threw away your chance for freedom."

The Batter looked away.

Taylor pointed at him.

"That there shows you that you can feel compassion towards others. You could redeem yourself by saving others."

-"I only helped you because you were a Player."-

I'm... afraid of the dark.

Liar.

"Bullshit. From what I've heard coming out of your mouth, you hate Players. If it were really only for that reason you would have let me die."

-"…"-

Slowly, Taylor reached out a hand to Batter's shoulder. She rested it gently against his baseball tunic.

"I'll give you a chance at redemption."

For the longest time, The Batter sat, motionless.

A white tear slid down the Batter's face.

-"…Thank you."-


I hope this chapter came out alright. I've never written something like this before, so it might not be the best emotional sequence ever.

Hey, I tried.

I know there's a lot of …'s. They primarily serve to make me avoid writing too many "The Batter / Taylor paused" line variants.

Just a disclaimer, Batter actually has a personality in this fic, so he's OOC in a way.

His canon character (Cold, unfeeling, basically a sociopathic killer robot) is suited only for a one shot, because canon Batter would step on a lot of toes (Basically every hero and villain, including Taylor) and everything would spiral out of control quickly.

Now, we can't have that, can we?

I reject your canon Batter, Mortis Ghost, and insert my own.

He still has sociopathic tendencies, don't worry. (Emma…)


xbox432: Here, a cookie. For the sake of unoriginality, its chocolate chip.*hands said cookie* I didn't much as watch Oreimo as much as a few brief glimpses. What drew my attention was that first opening because the singers of ClariS have amazing voices. Though I noped out of there when I saw the wedding scene because I didn't think the show would actually take the incestuous relationship thing seriously. Eck.

Edale: The story is told from the point of the 'Fake' people (Batter, Judge, Guardians, ect.), so for them, this is their reality.

As for Sugar, My head cannon is that Enoch is her sugar dad-[Stop. Bad Author.]

Ahem. What I meant was, Sugar could be the 'nice' part of Hugo's real mother while the Queen is the side Hugo doesn't like. I dunno really. Though apparently, she has a close relationship with Zacharie.

*squints eyes suspiciously*

Eh, it's probably nothing.

Gremlin Jack: Bruh chill. It's not like there's a chapter limit on this fanfic. The Batter is an unreliable narrator, so I'd thought I'd give Taylor's perspective.

89ingenting: Will probably do an interlude and stuff with Danny eventually. Who knows, maybe he'll be important in the future.

It's a little late, but I just realized I should have called chapter 2 "Spaceball".

Damn, a missed opportunity.