8. PURPOSE is what You Decide

15-11-1-25 23-5 7-15-20 20-8-9-19 13 23-9-12-12 8-5-12-16 21-19 15-21-20 19-15-15-14

... We should probably just run and gun it.
Player ultimately decided, after much discussion on the matter.

And then keep running?
Sweeper asked in reply.

Yeah, that sounds about right.
As soon as that countdown ends... I remember what his subtitles said.
You're next. Maybe as long as I'm there, he won't be as eager?
In theory, and on paper, sure...

At the cost of your power tubes?!
And then, he had a point.

Eventually, something was settled on, and the two began the final floor. For Baldi and M, they remained inside their elevator room. However, when the doors slid open, M hid behind him, floating and curled up in a fetal position. Baldi forced himself to stand straight, still a little tender from before.

Luckily, M's much thinner frame was easily covered behind Baldi's rectangular torso. That, and his Plus counterpart was still doing his countdown. Strange, he hadn't been anywhere near the elevator last time.

Hey! We didn't say you could get off yet!
Sweeper subtitled, and probably would've been barking it.

We forgot one, tiny, itty-bitty, microscopic detail.
... It opens by itself.
It took a lot out of Baldi to hold it together.

"Ready or not, here I come!"

Is this the part where we get deleted?
He hoped the janitor was joking.

No! We have everything under control! Not to worry!
His mind was telling him to panic, though.

Baldi's other self uncovered his eyes, unimpressed by who he was seeing. "And what are you doing here? I thought I told you to stay. Put." When he got no answer, he shook his head. "Can't even follow simple instructions... Alright. I've had it with you and your miserable attempts at meddling-"

What- Did he just say what I think he said?
Are we "those meddling kids" now?
Professor. Help. I'm trying not to laugh. Oh God.
M interrupted. It almost broke Baldi's concentration.

PLEASE do not!
He was practically begging.

"-And I think," Plus continued on, before snapping his fingers. The "Out of order" wall of bars fell, closing Baldi and M off from the rest of the level. "If you want to be up here so bad, then stay a while!" He heaved a sigh, before brightening up again. "There! That should hold you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a broom and a player to catch! I'll just... Make Jason come out of a different one. Good-byeeee!" In a blink, he left them, at an alarming speed.

Baldi released a breath he'd been holding, slumping down a bit again.

Okay, he's gone.
He subtitled. M came out of hiding, before the two left the elevator, which shut behind them.

The music teacher approached the bars, successfully phasing an arm through them.

Haha, idiot.
Check it out!
He pointed. Baldi looked, stifling a chuckle.

Well then! What're we waiting for?
M pulled back in, took the professor by an offered arm, and together, they passed right by the barricade.

Okay. I'll catch up with Player and Sweeper.
Are you good to go? I'll need you to distract that guy.
To the question, Baldi nodded with a thumbs up, determined.

Yes. I'll be alright.
Be careful, M! And don't get caught, whatever you do!
At the first chance he got, M flew past the ceiling.

Baldi took another breath, staving off the last remaining soreness. A jog became a run, and then a sprint. Soon enough, his other version was in sight, but he too was racing toward him.

And he was furious.

Baldi selected his ruler just in time to block Plus' many, many strikes. However, he stumbled and fell when his counterpart tripped him up with a low sweep kick, yet still managed to block the next attempt of hitting with the measuring tool.

"You poor excuse of a predecessor..." Plus Baldi was snarling, as the both of their arms and items shivered from the pressure. "I don't even care how you got out. Whatever happens next, you have no one to blame but yourself!"

Baldi glared, pushing his newer iteration off of him, immediately standing again. As Plus readily remained upright, Baldi replied, "So that was you making me feel like garbage!"

With a huff, his Plus self went for him again, voice raised, "WAS THAT NOT OBVIOUS, YOU INCOMPETENT FRAUD?!"

Fraud... Oh. He really wished he never had to hear that word again.

Instead of blocking, Baldi dodged. "I'm just as real as YOU! We're BOTH Baldi, whether you like it or not!" The bell rang, distracting him. The next hit came so fast, that the pain flaring up on his head, and the loud sound of a distinct snap was all he could register. He was left in a daze.

His ruler broke! M, now's our chance!
He was barely able to comprehend Player's subtitle.

He felt himself being thrown down the hall, unleashing a yell. He collided with the wall, before falling to the floor, his entire body aching. He struggled to make out his surroundings.

Or... Not! It didn't faze him at all!
The next thing he knew, he saw Player, as they used a BSODA. It forced his other variant further away from the both of them.

They approached, checking on the professor.

Baldi, if you can see this, hold onto me!
The only question he had was why Sweeper wasn't with them.

When nothing happened, Player grabbed him from under the arm, pulling out a grappling hook. They tried to aim down the adjacent hall, but Plus was steadily returning, new ruler and all. They fudged their target, trying to aim a second time. Thank goodness it had five uses. Player fired it off again, the hook going all the way down to the next end of the corridor. But not fast enough.

The malicious professor got right in front of them both, ready to attack. Player panicked, letting go of and shielding Baldi. Seeing this woke him right up.

On instinct, he rose, jumping over Player and ramming into his counterpart. The two rolled a few times, settling on Plus on the ground. Right after, he heard the grappling hook land on its target, taking Player with it.

PROFESSOR...!
He saw their message, but there wasn't a moment to spare in answering it.

Plus Baldi pushed him off with ease, both rising to their feet again, before a smirk crossed his face. "Ah. So it's happening to you too. But if you think that little trick is going to scare me, well, you're out of luck." What did he mean by that? The professor glanced at his ruler, of which was still in his hand. It was green. Just like how Principal's bat was navy.

PROTECT mode was active.

His other self feinted another strike, and Baldi went right for it. "I'll bet you don't even know how to control it, just like he didn't. Let's face it - your copy is safe. No real danger could ever come to the player, the students, or the faculty." He hated that he was right. "Well, then; consider this your first lesson!" With a terrorizing look, Plus' black eyes snapped into green irises, the rest of them aglow.

His free hand squeezed Baldi's throat, then promptly choke-slammed him to the ground. All the while, he bellowed, "YOU CAN'T JUST DEFEND, YOU IDIOT!" Once more, Baldi was left as a stunned heap. His other version released his neck, staring down at him before growing offended.

"Your feebleness is disgusting," He spat, his eyes returning to normal. "If we really are one and the same, you're definitely the worst Baldi I've ever seen. I'm 100% certain that literally any other copy of Classic would've at least gotten back up to try and fight me." He knelt down, voice lowering. "But you can't do anything but waste. My. Time."

However, what he didn't realize, was that this was the whole point.

His counterpart stood, raising his ruler. He paused mid-swing when he heard Baldi grunt a reply.

"Then... That's what I'll do!"

Elsewhere, M was finishing up helping Sweeper, in spite of his utter confusion over the janitor and Player being separated. If it was supposed to be some kind of strategy, he didn't understand it. Maybe there were subtitles he missed on account of literally everything going haywire.

Okay, now just... Player! There you are!
He'd went above the ceiling once more, until he found them. It had to be in a corridor.

Faintly, he could hear both Baldis fighting, though it was probably more accurately described as one attacking, the other impeding. Yet, he could not let himself be distracted, even for a moment.

M! It's Baldi! He's…! We gotta help him!
Player was beside themself, and while the music teacher couldn't blame them, he tried to stay on track.

I know. But he'll be okay. He's holding that Plus guy off, you know?
Anyway, I have something for you.
This.
M tabbed over to the modified whistle. Player stared, unsure what to make of it.

Were those two professors getting… Closer? No, it had to be nerves.

... That, can really help us?
M truly hoped it would. The code says so. He nodded.

One of the Baldis was yelling a lot. He couldn't imagine that it'd been his friend. Though… It was a little… Loud. Better wrap this up quick.

Heads up! They're getting dangerously close to spotting you two!
Sweeper subtitled. How did he know that? Was he nearby?

I won't let him.
Baldi replied. His sentence structure was hollow, M could sense it.

Got it!
Yeah! All you have to do is use it, and then he'll come back!
Since everyone's back to their senses again…
Nothing will be able to stop us from winning!
Regardless, he tried to sound confident. Where did the others get it from? The whole "fake it 'til you make it" thing was a load of crap.

Player's eyes lit up from the explanation. They went to take the item, but there was a crash. They and M both turned to look, and saw the professor and his double at the end of the hall. The latter pinned him to the wall with a leg, and the former squirmed to escape, irises in a green glow. Interestingly, the other iteration's were not. Then, Plus Baldi saw something from the corner of his eye, gazing toward it.

And saw the both of them, plain as day.

"Oh-" M failed to subtitle, interrupted by a beep. "I guess the jig is up."

Baldi's other self clenched his fists, focus back on the professor. The latter seized up momentarily, then increased his attempts of breaking out tenfold, eyes flickering between green and his natural blue. So too, did his ruler - green, and yellow. His panic was messing with his modes. He struggled to speak, it only amounting to raspy, breathless "No-! Don't-! Leave him out of this-!"

"So that was their real plan all along, huh?" Plus ignored the pleas, his words slowly getting more and more angry than ever. "After messing with MY game, by removing the version check, they didn't like that I fought back! So they had to do more! Getting rid of the Filename2 protocol, making all of YOU-" He swept a pointed arm around him, "Infiltrate and get in my way, throughout every single FLOOR!" No one could say anything in response.

"All the while knowing that even if everything went to-" A beep. Whoa. M never thought he'd hear a Baldi do that. "They could fall back on their secret weapon! One that was disguised as some new character, so that I wouldn't NOTICE!" He paused, pressing a hand to his chest in mock worry. "For if I don't heed their demands then, they'd have that thing destroy it all." He turned to look at Player, yelling, "Well, jokes on you, Jason! If it DETONATES, you lose all your precious friends too! DO YOU WANT THAT?!"

"Please...!" Baldi begged a second time, only to be met with his other iteration staring upon him with apathy.

"And you just let it happen. You're even more brainless than I concluded. You will pay for this atrocity." Plus Baldi's model altered, into the farmer outfit. Wait. How. How could he do that?! In his hand appeared a pitchfork. Oh God, don't do what it looks like he's about to

The professor was skewered to the wall, through the torso. His eye and ruler colors reverted completely, only able to collapse onto the pitchfork's handle. He was in too much pain to yell. Then, he fell still, ruler clattering to the floor.

No. This couldn't be happening. M dropped the whistle, grabbing his head and squeezing his hair. "No... No no no! He can't-... He said- He told me- We're- We're characters! We don't die! We don't-!" His voice was panicked. "I swear to G-GOD, if he's...! I- I will-!"

"You'll what?" The malicious Baldi challenged, going back to his normal appearance. "Act on your true purpose?"

"F-" A beep from M, getting riled up. "You-" Another. "I'll have you know that-!"

"Oh, spare me the 'lore'," Plus waved it off, beginning to approach. "I don't care what you go by, or who you think you're supposed to be. You were designed for one, singular thing, and I will not allow you to fulfill that destiny." With his ruler equipped, it and his eyes went green. He placed his free hand on its end, pulling away as the measuring stick grew longer, until it was yardstick-sized.

"Here's a fun factoid: I'm programmed to be able to DESTROY Filename2s," He continued in declaration, holding the new weapon in both hands like a heavy blade, "I'm the last line of defense. Therefore, it is you who will be 'dying' today."

Hey. I know you're rusty, or uh. 1/4 rusty, 3/4 no experience at all.
But... Okay, this is going to sound like the WORST possible idea.
Go and kick his 999 for us. If I remember right, Principal can help Baldi.
Then, all of us will confront that 9999999 together!
M was about to lose it until he saw Player subtitling. He looked down at them, listening, until they finished.

Their words managed to calm him out of his spiral, especially when he saw Player holding the very item he intended to give. They must've picked it up. Finally, he nodded.

That might be the best chance we got.
Okay. I'll beat the 9999 out of him.
But, I'm gonna need some space. Hold on.
Unsure what M meant by that, Player hugged his leg.

The first thing the ghostly teacher did was set his feet on the ground. In one second, the hallway opened up, the entire level becoming one, giant room with a high ceiling. In the distance, were rectangles of carpet, patches of white bricks and wood paneling, paths of diamond tiles. The loss of the inner walls revealed Sweeper, who really wasn't too far off from them. In the far corner, Baldi still lay, seemingly undisturbed by it all. Good, M had hoped for that.

Plus staggered, whipping his head around, before growling. "You DARE desecrate my floorplan?!"

"Oh, come on; as if you really wanted to keep fighting in such tight spots." Was all M said in reply, paired with an eyeroll.

Player, run.
He directed to them, who nodded, let go and bolted.

Baldi's other version dashed over to M, but with frightening accuracy, the latter grabbed him by the chest. With the direct contact, he copied the malevolent professor's maximum speed, using it to throw him into the nearest wall. He hit it, hard. It took nearly ten seconds for him to recover and try again, this time dodging the maneuver and striking the once corrupted character, who was tossed off into a classroom.

Thankfully, he phased himself through the desks and chairs, before crashing onto the ground. He grunted, before rising up and telekinetically lifting all the wood furniture, spinning them around himself like a tornado. Good thing too, because it stopped the violent iteration in his tracks. M ejected them one by one, the first few hitting his opponent, but the rest getting sliced in half by the green yardstick.

What was that thing made of, anyway? M decided that it was better off if he didn't ask.

Plus then cut through the remaining protection M had, attacking him once again. Just as he was being flung into whatever was left of the room's furniture, he grabbed the other's arm and both were promptly assaulted by it all. They landed on the carpet, the debris slamming on top of them. It'd been too much on M to keep control.

While he passed through the pile of wood without trouble, Baldi's counterpart exploded out with a war cry, and the fight continued. Another idea came to mind, M pulling the lockers from their posts, hurling each of them at his target. These could not be broken apart, but dents were practically carved into them, once Plus caught on.

Then, among the remaining items for the floor, were a few Quarters... And a payphone. M brought all of these toward him, but not close enough that his opponent could interfere. With the coins in his inventory, he gave the best smirk he could.

"Hey. Idiot. Check this out." He used one of the Quarters. The payphone emitted a tone, one all-too-familiar to anyone hearing it. Plus stiffened, covering his supposed ears and dropping to his knees, screaming with rage. Perfect. There was one last locker remaining. M brought it close, touching it. It was now taller than at least two stories, clipping through the ceiling. With effort, he lifted it up high, before setting it barreling down to Baldi's other self. "Try and stand up from this, you heartless-" A beep. He forgot that he wouldn't be heard.

It was a direct hit, shaking the entire level. A few moments passed, M panting from it all, slumping over and standing on the tile. He waited, but nothing further occurred. Did... Did he do it? Did he win? He honestly didn't realize how much messing with code and properties would affect things. He knew, but not to this extent.

M turned away from the area, looking over to where Baldi was. He was joined by Player, Sweeper, and... Principal! How did he not hear the whistle go off? Maybe it was from the altercation. Regardless, he floated over to the group, lazily. Man, he was exhausted.

Principal was slowly pulling out the pitchfork from the wall with one hand, the other propping Baldi up so he wouldn't fall. The professor himself was still unconscious, but given how everyone else looked, it was at least safe to say he was still, by all accounts, "alive". Player took M's arrival as an excuse to divert their attention to him.

Are you okay?! That was CRAZY!
They subtitled, the others noticing and looking over in turn. Though, Principal's was brief, which was understandable.

"Haha, yeah..." M began, softly, "I'm a little banged up, but I think I'm good." He glanced over at the professor again. "Is he... Really gonna be alright?"

"Once I get this thing out, I can start healing him," Principal grunted. "God. He certainly went all-out. Now I really know how Baldi felt. Probably thought the same would happen to me."

"Pardon my ignorance, but if the other him's out cold too, how can he release us, exactly?" Sweeper found himself asking, and the rest of them pondered it.

"... Oops," M uttered first, then chuckling. "I guess I went a bit overboard. But in my defense, that guy's so-" A beep. "-ing durable. I wasn't sure that last move was gonna do it, to be honest." The pitchfork finally came out, and Principal tossed it behind him. Carefully, he lay Baldi down, beginning the healing process.

"There. He's on the mend now," He confirmed, "It's going to take a while, however." Minutes later, they all heard clanging, their gazes falling on the giant locker M used earlier.

No way.
You're 9999ing KIDDING me right now!
Player subtitled immediately.

"Boy, you're telling me... Mother-" M replied, warily, then a beep was emitted. "Just won't give up, will he?"

Unfortunately, it's up to you three. I have to stay here.
But please be careful.
Principal added, no less perturbed than the others.

I... Don't think we're who we should worry about.
Sweeper mentioned, knowingly.

Yeah, well, as much as I'd love to have a round two, I'm kind of out of ammo?!
This place is a mess of garbage!
M's tone was becoming frantic.

Can you bring up stuff from the other floors?
Player suggested. M looked over at them, eyes wide.

You're a GENIUS!
Oh, ah... This'll take a lot outta me to do, though.
But it'll be worth it!
He got down onto his hands and knees, concentrating.

The bottom-most portion of the locker's door tore open, and out stepped Baldi's other version. He scanned his surroundings, finding his target. He made haste, model altering again, this time the camping attire. In his hands appeared bear traps.

M was nearly done selecting everything from the previous floors when Player abruptly reached his side.

Sweeper! Two teleporters!
At the command, the janitor pulled them out, tossing both at them. They caught the items, grabbing M by the arm, and used one.

But I wasn't
WHOA!
The changing locations were too fast to register.

New plan! Put the walls back up!
As soon as it ended, M was left dazed for a second.

Uh, okay. You're the boss!
The level was put back to normal, construction-wise. Well... As close to "normal" as it could be.

I'm sure he saw us though, so we'll have to use another.
After that, we'll hide out until everyone's ready.
Without waiting for an answer, it all happened again. M shut his eyes this time, otherwise he'd probably end up getting dizzy.

Once he was able to look once more, they ended up in a classroom, one of many that'd been left in a battle-torn ruin. And yet, floating where it should, was a notebook. Checking into Player's stats, this was, in fact, the final one.

... I don't think completing the game's gonna change anything.
Player admitted, making no move to take it.

From afar, they heard a loud yell.

He took an item from me! Just straight-up STOLE something!
It. It was... A. Portal Poster.
Do NOT make a sound!
Sweeper then subtitled in warning. God, so that was him. And Plus...

M saw something from his peripheral, looking up. A Portal Poster appeared on the... Ceiling. Oh no, oh God, how did he DO that?! Is that even ALLOWED?!

M checked Player once more, this time concerning their items. A Zesty Bar, a Swinging Door Lock (once called a Yellow Door Lock, but now's not the time for explaining), and a Dirty Chalk Eraser. Maybe he could bash Baldi's counterpart around a bunch if the lock was bigger, or hit him in the eyes with the eraser's chalk dust, or try to run while completely zested up-

No, he couldn't eat. Great job turning down a mouth, past M!

Plus fell through the new hole, landing with ease and eyes still glowing menacingly. Okay, now was really the time for spontaneous turnarounds!

So. Here's what I got.
Give me the lock, use the eraser, and go. I'll handle the rest.
Player did everything as asked... Except for the last part. However, even he couldn't tell the difference.

When the clouds of dust appeared, M enlarged the lock. He planted his free hand into the chalk bits and threw it all at his target. Baldi's other self simply put away one of the bear traps to snap his fingers. The bell rang.

Immediately after, the clouds sank to the carpet, like a fine layer of powder. At the same time, M fell and landed on his knees. This was... The gravity chaos event. He tried to get up and float again, but failed miserably. In his disoriented state, he was left unprepared when Plus threw his remaining bear trap, painfully shackling one of M's arms to the ground, causing him to drop his makeshift weapon. He was unable to repress a scream.

He couldn't phase through it. How...

More came for his ankles, producing the same results. Not that he could've flown off like this anyway, but it seemed like the twisted duplicate was no longer taking any chances - if he had to resort to chaining down his enemy in order to destroy him, then so be it.

One final metal-toothed device came for his remaining arm, but Player got in the line of fire. It automatically latched onto their leg, rooting them to their spot.

No...! Player! I told you to go...!
M struggled to subtitle, too much in agony to try speaking.

I'm sorry. I just couldn't let him...
Player replied, realizing their own doom.

However, all that camper-clad variant did was stare down at them. It wasn't until the bear trap wore off that he approached, but Player simply continued to cover for the ghostly teacher. The malicious professor's eyes reverted to normal, switching to his ruler, now regular-sized and yellow. Player tensed, as if expecting to be pushed out of the way.

M pulled at his restraints, but couldn't break through them, and GOD did it hurt. What good would it matter that he still had an arm to work with? He was out of options, out of items, out of furniture and structures; and one hand wasn't going to be enough to pull up things from below, not when gravity was at this madman's will, and especially not with all this biting agony.

Please... Just run. You have a Zesty Bar. Use it...
You really... REALLY. Shouldn't have to see this.
Tell the professor that I'm sorry. For breaking my promise. About not leaving again.
He pleaded, utterly hopeless. Yet, he saw Player shake their head. What could they possibly be thinking?

Baldi's counterpart lifted his ruler. When it came down upon Player's head, it was merely a tap. For them though, it must've looked like the usual jumpscare. Their form dithered away, left behind by one, tiny message that left after five seconds.

-1 POWER TUBE

12-15-19-9-14-7 1 20-21-2-5 9-19 6-15-18 20-8-5 2-5-19-20 16-12-5-1-19-5 20-18-21-19-20 13-5