I'm really sorry for the delay! I'll try to keep it going from now on. (: Hope you'll enjoy!

"Are you alright?" merchant's voice showed he was worried. He walked closer.
No. No no no. He wasn't suppposed to be there. Why didn't he stay in the shop? Why the Hell did he come, why NOW?!
It wasn't supposed to happen, not until the end of game. He didn't understand, but for now he didn't even try to. He could feel how he's losing control. That was bad. He didn't want it to happen... not when Zacharie is near. He closed his eyes and clenched hands, and teeth, and tried to concentrate. But it was for nothing. The beast couldn't be stopped now. He fell forward, and started coughing. He was losing any kind of link with the world.
He felt someone's hand on his back. 'Zacharie run!' He thought.
And it was his last thought then.

It took some time to find Batter. Well, he could at last enjoy the surroundings before they'll go white, destro... PURIFIED, he meant, of course. He was lucky enough to not bump into any big group of spectres, only the ones he could easily handle. He met few Elsens on his way, scared yet working, as always. Luckily no Burnts.
Humming to a song he once knew but forgot the lyrics, having only it's rhythm in head, he was walking through the world. Enoch was hiding underground, so he was save at last from him.
After he lost himself on the streets a couple of times, he heard the sound of fight.
As he got closer, it sounded more like hitting the ground. Masked man turned in the street from where he could hear the sound a while ago, but it was now quiet.
He flinched for a second.
The Batter was leaning against the wall, actually sliding down to the ground, until he sat down. Then he closed his eyes and it looked like he was trying to concentrate really hard.
"Batter?" he asked quietly, unsure whether he should or not open his mouth. The friend looked up at him but there was something strange in his eyes. Like a flame, dancing in his pupils.
He looked at the ground at closed eyes again.
"Are you alright?"

The answer was pretty much clear. Batter fell on the ground and was now on all fours, coughing.
He walked to him and put a hand on his back.
" Batter? " he asked again, now really afraid of what's happening. It was not scripted for this Zone, he doesn't recall anything like that being in gameplay.
Propably the moment he left shop, or even the moment Batter asked an unexpected question, they started breaking the game, creating the paradox. But it didn't mean anything good for neither of them.
If you try to break the game... well, game breaks you.
Suddenly the coughs changed into snarls and growls. Zacharie took few steps back.
Batter started... changing.
His skin started breaking, freeing the slightly darker, more rough and far more creepy skin that lied under his own.
His hands got bigger and his fingers, along with nails, were getting longer and harder, until they were huge claws.
The shirt tore on the back, the baseball hat looked awfully small on now big head with little, white eyes and huge, alligator-like jaws, that due to teeth' sharpness and length, couldn't be fully closed.
" Putain! " gasped Zacharie, as the creature that once was his friend breathed heavily right in front of him. He always felt kinda short when tall Batter was around, but now...!
The beast gave a low growl and stood up, on all fours, shaking it's head, slowly due to it's size. Zacharie wanted to withdraw, but it saw him. Small white eyes stared at him for a while before a loud roar pierced through the sky.
It turned to him and with low growl walked slowly towards him, as if it was a hunter on a hunt.
And since Zacharie didn't really like being prey, he decided to do something.
" Heh..eh... now, Batter, calm down. " he raised his hands, trying to get a grip on a situation. "It's moi, Zacharie! Your beloved and actually REALLY needed mercha- " his sentence disappeared under the volume of another roar.
The quick slam with claws came next.
Zacharie jumped back, quick enough to avoid it.
" Hah, not in mood for any transactions, I see... Au revoir, then! " he saluted and ran, somewhere, anywhere.
But the creature was faster than him. It jumped right before his eyes and slode few meters on the ground, using it's claws to stop, giving off an unnerving screech. The saliva was running down it's teeth and tongue as it gave a snarl and jumped again, this time right at Zacharie.
" ARRÊTER, BATTEUR! " he yelled as he took few steps back. But the claws were far longer than he hoped.

They reached his mask, and ran down it, cutting it deeply, luckily not getting to face. However, the mask itself now had three deep lines running from the forehead to the wicked smile, painted on it.
Beast tried to attack again, this time from down, and all Zacharie managed to do was moving his head.
The claws tore threads and mask fell off, giving a deaf sound when it hit the ground.
After the mask, the blood started falling on the ground too. Zacharie stood there, flinched, and kept one hand on his face, desperately trying to hide it, and the other on his neck, that was bleeding hard.
His eyes were wide open. He coughed and hacked. For a while all got dark and he felt like he's about to fall. Then he shook his head and saw huge jaws, with sharp teeth all around it, striking right at him.
He jumped to the side and rolled on the floor. The creature landed on the floor, and he took his chance to run. He picked mask up and sprinted through the streets, meanwhile trying to put it back on. He couldn't believe what just happened. That... thing... really was Batter? He couldn't believe it. The tall man, the purifier, the so-called hero, was now running on all fours, with teeth too long to close his jaws, and fresh blood on his enormous claws, growling and roaring. He shook his head.
No. Batter was not this monster. This monster was Batter. His true face, the one that only Judge was meant to see.
He prepared keys, and hit the door of the shop, not wanting to lose time on legit stopping. His hands were shaking, the blood dripped on the ground. He couldn't land the key in lock.
" Come on... come on... " he whispered, and coughed again. He could feel the blood in his mouth now.
Finally, he pressed the key into the lock and tilted it. The door opened. He rushed inside and closed the door after him, not even bothering to lock them again.
He knew where he had to go. He got into back of the shop again, and opened up a chest.
After a while he closed it. He stood up, staggering. There was a sword in his hand.
He coughed again, and cleaned his face off the blood with sleeve. Then he took one Luck Ticket from pocket, and after a while the injury on the neck was gone.
He changed masks. The toad one was too damaged, there was a chance it'd broke totally after just a mere hit.
Breathing heavily, he got out of the shop again but to his suprise noone was after him.
He expected Batter, or what was left of him, somewhere around, but all he saw was the strangely peaceful street.
He tried to move slowly and more quiet now, looking around, studying the streets. But there was nothing there, not even spectres. He stopped when he heard an unnice screech. Discreetly, he peeked at the alley from the corner.
The creature was standing on legs now, scratching the wall with it's claws. Then it gave another roar and went back on all fours, lowering it's head.
In the way it scratched the wall, and in that loud roar, was something that got Zacharie's attention. These weren't signs of blind fury, rather signs of pain and anger with oneself.
And the more he looked, the more sure he was that it even shown a bit of regret.
'Interesting.' he thought, looking at the beast, which was now leaning it's head against the wall, and the growls were coming from behind the arms, where jaws should be. 'So there is Batter somewhere inside after all.'
He felt relieved that he could leave his sword there, not having to use it. ...hopefully.
He inhaled before entering the alley, thinking for one last time if it's a good idea actually to go there.

'All this makes me almost forget it's a video game.'