Author's Note: Hyper is back, to bring you more unexciting bullshit - hooray! In this chapter, we meet new party members and go shopping! I hope you enjoy!
The story is now on ON.
Chapter 5: The Uncooperative Brother
The Batter stared at the new Add-On in the room, nothing but silence shared between them.
The Add-On is pleased by this. "T-That's better... this library is best to be left in humble silence."
The Batter looked from him to the blacked out, dead Alpha, who automatically floated without will. "...Who are you?"
"I am the Add-On, Omega. I've been policing these... upper floors, ever since the guardian disappeared..." the Add-On whispered in response.
'The guardian disappeared?" the Batter said with a raised eyebrow. "He was the one confronting me just earlier."
"...The... cat...?" the Add-On shook, as if saying no. "He... is not the guardian. He calls himself Japhet but he does not resemble him in the slightest."
"Then who is the cat?"
"I do not know... he... is most likely delusional. As for the guardian... I'm not sure where he went..." Omega stopped. "O-oh... pardon my m-manners. I forgot to ask for your name."
"I am the Batter. I am here on a sacred mission to purify the world of evil."
"You're... an agent of justice, then?"
"That's one way of putting it."
"H-how admirable! It's nice to see somebody who pursues justice in this haunted,. paranoia filled world!"
A thought entered the Batter's mind: could he have multiple Add-Ons? It wouldn't hurt to check, he thought. "Since you're so interested in justice, would you care to join me?"
"Well, I'm not bonded to anybody..." Omega floated closer to the Batter. The capped figure stretched his arm out toward the Add-On and touched him. The touch created a reaction, a burst of light.
Add-On Omega has joined your party!
The Add-On backed away from the Batter and flew around madly, alarmed by the announcement made by the voice unknown to him. "W-who's there?"
"Don't mind him." the Batter answered. "We have some work to do."
"But... who is..." in his frenzy, Omega flew into the dead Alpha, bumping the blackened shape back; this further unnerved the new party member. "...E...excuse... me. B-b-but who is this...?"
"That is Alpha, my other Add-On."
"Why is he... ummmm... dead? Do... you not have any... Jokers?"
"No." Once again, the Batter cursed himself for not buying any.
"Wh-What? You don't have any? Why? Why don't you have one? Jokers are a basic need, an essential! All weary travelers carry one!" The Batter ignored the rambling Add-On, heading back downstairs (with the dead Alpha being forcibly dragged along) since the staircase to the next floor was blocked. Omega followed them, continuing his rant. "They are needed to revive lives that are cut short by the specters! Why, t-to be an agent of justice without owning at least one Joker is a death sentence; one cannot fight without one! B-Batter, your mismanagement has cost the life of one of your allies! Do you not have any shame? Do you not have any regrets, you impetuous fool? I... I am starting to regret joining with you, now. What if you accidentally get me killed and-"
The Batter interacted with the yellow cube floating in the stairwell. The cube flashed and it healed up the Batter's wounds. The light then drained into Alpha's body. The light that glowed within the Add-On's body slowly grew brighter until he was a radiant lightbulb.
"...or... you could just interact with one of those cubes." Omega muttered.
It took a few seconds before Alpha regained consciousness. He seemed to be dimly aware of what's happening. "...Why are we here? What happened to that cat?" He looked away from the Batter and took notice of his new fellow Add-On. "...and who's this asshole?"
"I-I am Omega, your new acquaintance." Omega greeted humbly.
"...Batter, what did I miss?"
"You died, Japhet, or whatever his name is, mistook Omega as a specter and fled, and Omega joined us." the Batter answered plainly.
"Oh." Alpha confronted Omega. "Hey, I'm Alpha."
"It's nice to meet you. I-I suppose." the other Add-On answered. "I hope to be a valuable asset to this team."
"Hmm... what can you do?"
"Um... well I have three Competences, which I've learned in my time of, um... defending this library. I have Optimised Blur, which does an attack of random impact - unconventional and luck-based, but it's useful at times. I also have Inverse and Overdone Perspective, which cures Blindness and Muteness and Poison and Sleep, respectively. Yes."
"Those last two Competences sound useful." the Batter said with a nod.
"Yes. I've been, um, learning how to cure Fury, Madness, and Palsy - I'm sure that I'll learn it... eventually."
"Right. Now then... since access to the upper floors are still blocked off, we need to look around for the cat that claims to be Japhet. He's admittedly the only lead we have." the Batter said. He took the lead as the trio started to descend the library.
While they moved about, Omega moved over to Alpha. "So, er, Alpha-"
"Don't stand close to me. We only met a minute ago, man." Alpha hissed.
"S-sorry!" he backed away. "What I'm wondering is..." he briefly glanced ahead at the Batter before finishing his question. "...what are the Batter's goals? His goal of purifying the world seems interesting, but I'm curious as to what it... entails."
"...As far as I know, we need to kill the guardians."
"K-kill... the guardians? I... I do not understand why he would do that."
"Well, the first one was sort of an asshole anyway."
Omega was silent before he was realized that Alpha used the past tense - he was appalled. "Y-you already off'd Dedan? The first guardian? The tall mister? The director of Alma? H-how-"
"I can hear you guys talking." the Batter interrupted.
""O-oh! Sorry, er, boss, leader... I-I'm not sure what to call you..."
"Just call me the Batter. I don't need any other title." he answered. "If you're curious as to why I'm eliminating the guardians... it will all make sense in time."
"A l-long term plan, then?"
"If you want to call it that."
They were now on the bottom floor of the library. The librarian Elsen just finished checking out a book (a real one) to another Elsen, who immediately walked out, muttering about taking a pedalo back to a place called Vesper. The librarian noticed the Batter as he and his party came down the stairs. "Ah. Are you... um, satisfied with the fourth floor?"
"Sort of. Have you seen a cat in the lobby?" the baseball uniformed man asked.
"Um... no... s-sorry. I thought I heard meowing outside, but, um, it might be a vivid hallucination." he paused. "Never sleeping while doing my job, um, tends to give me hallucinations."
"That's... nice to know..." the trio slowly backed away before turning around and going outside.
Standing in front of the tall pink building when they emerged was a white cat; however, it was not the feline that claimed to be Japhet, but rather, the Judge. The cat looked up at them, and although the look on his face was welcoming, there was anxiety in his eyes. "Ah, we meet again, purificatory crusaders and their metaphysical observers. I can see that you have recruited another Add-On to your righteous cause, Batter."
"Erm, yes. I am Omega." the new Add-On greeted.
"Salutations. I go by the title of The Judge."
"Hey Judge." Alpha called. "Have you seen another cat around here? Preferably one with wind powers that cuts like a bitch?"
"Cat?" the Judge's eyes widened in surprise. "I take it that you've met Valerie, then?"
"Valerie?" the Batter said in an intrigued tone.
"Yes, Valerie, my brother."
They were struck silent by this turn of events."...Isn't Valerie a girl name?" Alpha pointed out, ruining said silence.
"Look, it hardly matters." the cat shook his head. "I've searched all over the Zones for him; I managed to narrow his location to this Zone, but I still haven't encountered him yet. From the information I've acquired, I discovered that he's gone under the delusion that he's Japhet, the guardian of this Zone."
"That's the cat we met." the Batter answered.
"Oh really? Is he gone now?"
"Yes. We're trying to track him down. He might lead us to the real Japhet."
"Ah. I've been informed by an acquaintance that Valerie's marked the Zone's shopping mall as his territory. He apparently paces the halls, scratching up the plastic mannequins and hissing at any specter that dares to interrupt his good time. He might have gone there."
"The shopping mall is technically public domain territory... but d'aaaw." Omega cooed.
"Yes, the antics of my kind are quite endearing, are they not? However, that is not the matter at hand. I propose we join forces and search the mall for him; our goals lie in finding him, after all."
The Batter thought about the proposal a bit. He then offered a nod. "That sounds like a good idea."
The Judge grinned and jumped up the Batter's leg, clambering up to his shoulder. "Right. Lead the way, comrade."
The Judge has temporarily joined your party!
"...There's that voice again..." Omega murmured.
The party, on the instructions of the Judge, walked around the library, heading north. While doing so, the Judge started talking with Omega and they excitedly talked about literature, much to the annoyance of the Batter and Alpha. They took the northern path and after a minute of walking, they found themselves in front of the mall. The mall was a big blocky building, with a set of stairs leading up to it. There was an Elsen standing on the steps, looking up with frightful eyes at the building.
The pale man noticed the newcomers, looking at them quizzically. "O-oh... I haven't seen you people here... before. Welcome to the Gomez Galleries, in the northern part of Zone-"
"Y-you don't need to educate us on this..." Omega interrupted, having read about these kinds of things.
Unfortunately, when there's unnecessary exposition, it cannot be stopped. "-2. It is here where luxuries can be acquired. People who are unsatisfied with what they currently have come to this den of consumerism in order to seek better things. As the first of the three comforts, the mall is the most important.
"Without the mall, there will be no luxuries to be had. The people will increasingly grow unsatisfied until dissension breaks out."
The entire party stared at the Elsen blankly. "...I'm not sure that there's a holy trinity of comforts, sir." The Judge said in response.
"...O-oh. Well, regardless, t-the shopping mall is in... hhhh... bad shape right now."
"The stores are closed?" Alpha said, probably raising an eyebrow (if he had one).
"N-no... t-the specters have infested the mall... it is rather... um, unsettling..."
"Specters are in the mall?" the Batter said. He took out a baseball bat and slung it over the shoulder that the Judge wasn't occupying. "We'll deal with the specters."
The Judge's smile briefly turned into a frown. "Um, while your cause may be noble, we have more important goals to be attending to."
"Fine. I'll still be purifying every specter we come across, though."
They head up the stairs and enter the mall. A catchy beat seemed to be playing over the intercom, apparently to entertain the shoppers. However, there didn't seem to be any customers around, scared away by the specter infestation. There was one familiar person present, though, standing behind a counter.
"Hello again, my friends!" Zacharie greeted, waving at them from behind the counter.
"Goddamn it." Alpha groaned.
"I can see that you joined the Batter, my feline friend. Care to buy some equipment?"
"Oh, no." the Judge chuckled. "This is only a temporary partnership, so I won't be needing any armaments."
"Ha ha, of course. What about you, new Add-On? Typically, new party members need to be re-armed, as their starter equipment - if you have any - tend to be lackluster."
"...Uh..." Omega stammered. For once in his life, Omega could not understand what somebody was saying. "I'm not sure what you mean, but, uh, I guess I'll buy some armor. ...I don't have any credits, but..."
"I'll be paying." the Batter sighed, pulling out crumpled credits from his pocket and laying them out before Zacharie. "Do you have any new equipment for me?"
"Why, of course I do! After all, my inventory is tailor-made for all playable characters." Zacharie said, pulling out his inventory from the counter shelves; among them was a stack of different colored Luck Tickets. "You'll be happy to know what I now have Fortune Tickets available - it heals much more than Luck Tickets."
"Right. I think I'll take seven of tho-"
"D-don't forget the Jokers." Omega sternly reminded.
The Batter glared at him, making the Add-On back off. Zacharie made a hearty chuckle as he brought the Jokers out anyway.
After purchasing everything that was needed, they proceeded to the next room. As they walked, various members of the group occasionally glanced at a poster lining a wall: advertisements for baseball bats, plastic furniture, plastic mannequins, all sorts of interesting commodities. The next room had a barricade to the immediate left, which practically forces them to take the door on the far right of the hall. However, there seemed to be something peculiar behind he barricade - a button that looked like the walking signal for crosswalks.
"Is that a device that summons a pedalo?" the Judge asked, squinting his eyes to get a better look at it.
"I think so." the Batter replied.
"Why would there be a button here if there's nothing to ride the damn thing in?" Alpha questioned.
"I'm not entirely sure. It's worth investigating later. For now though, we're still on the lookout for my sibling." the Judge jumped down from the Batter's shoulder (who immediately started brushing cat hair off his tunic). "Now, I've heard that the shopping center has a labyrinth-like structure, and, when combined with the uproarious specter contamination, exploring the area will be quite tedious. So, if I may suggest, we should split into pairs to give the place a quicker excavation."
"Good idea. Omega, you're with me." The Batter started to walk ahead with a serious stride.
"Er, yes, I'm coming. We've already wasted enough time as it is, and justice cannot be hindered by time..." the justice minded Add-On quickly followed.
The Judge looked up at the leftover Add-On. "Ah yes, what an appropriate set-up; if I recall, I was the one who first located you."
"And you were frustrated like a goddamn baby that you couldn't join up with me." Alpha said, in a mocking tone.
"I won't deny that happened - I was quite surprised to learn that we couldn't properly bond and join forces." the cat shrugged as he started to trot toward the door. "However, you were the least of my worries. I was searching for dear Valerie in the rain filled Zone, and I was quite anxious - my dear sibling might have gotten soaked, and that's unbecoming for a feline."
"Blah bah blah, yap yap yap, let's just get this started."
The blue hallways seemed to stretch into infinity, at least, it looked that way to the Batter and Omega. The two justice-seekers were seemingly lost in the den of consumerism. Crates, posters, and mannequins lined the walls, seemingly staring at them as they passed.
A befuddled Batter looked at his companion for some help. "Do you know anything about this shopping center that could help?"
"Um... unfortunately, no. I only know basic facts that I've learned from the books in..."
"Hehehehe..."
Omega got agitated. "H-hey now, you don't need to laugh at me. I know that it's unorthodox to learn about... such an important place from books, but-"
"I wasn't the one who laughed." the Batter interrupted. "I never laugh."
Knowing full well that laughter doesn't come from nowhere, the two immediately scanned the surrounding area for the sound of the laughter. They heard another giggle; the Batter's eyes fixated on a box of metals, which rumbled a bit.
Then, the side of the crate burst open. Two rodent like ghouls crawled out, chewing on bits of metal while giggling through their teeth. They looked up at the two purifiers and immediately became agitated - they don't appreciate it when other people show up on their turf.
The Batter stepped away slowly as they started to inch toward them, using a Wide Angle while doing so. "Those ghouls are Massus, ghouls of fulminant chakra. There is nothing notable about them, other than their weakness against smoke."
"R-right..." Omega was a bit unnerved by the rodent like ghouls, but regardless, he was floating up towards them, ready for his first foray into combat. "Alright you loiterers, h-have a taste of my might!" The bright light that radiated from Omega started to blur, and the air around him seemed to shimmer; he was using Optimised Blur as his first attack. The blurred out Add-On flew at a Massu, hoping that the attack would be of incredible impact, or perhaps even cataclysmic. Putting all of his hopes in the attack, he struck the Massu.
Unfortunately, the attack was of little impact. There was only a small scratch on the Massu. The ghoul seemed more annoyed than anything.
"I... perhaps t-that wasn't the best example of myyyaaargh!" he screamed as the Massu bit him.
The Batter came to his rescue, delivering a Special Homerun to the Massu, knocking the ghoul away. The baseball themed warrior stepped around the Add-On and gave one last, normal hit to the Massu, who screeched as the bat finished him off. Omega recovered and turned toward the remaining ghoul, going into Optimised Blur mode again (perhaps to make up for his embarrassing first attack). He charged at the Massu, and this time, the attack was much stronger, creating a gash in the Massu's stomach. The Batter swung his bat once more, finishing off that enemy as well.
"Adversaries purified." the Batter said, slinging his bat over his shoulder. "Let's continue on."
Meanwhile, the Judge and Alpha took a different route from the others. Unfortunately, like them, they had no idea where they were going. While the arrangements of set pieces changed, the galleries still looked like never ending hallways.
"This is worse than Dedan's stupid musical maze." Alpha growled, knocking over a mannequin to emphasis his anger.
"I agree. I am compelled to hope that there is an individual watching us with an overhead perspective of this place, so that we may be guided toward the correct destination." the cat shook his head. "Unfortunately, even if we are being observed, they can't do much to help. Perhaps this "Narrator" being might, though."
"Hey, Hyper, do us a favor and help us out?"
Hm? Did you say "send in a specter to deal with you?" Why, of course you did.
Just then, they spotted something turning the corner up ahead. An enemy. The ectoplasm spotted them and she giggled - the thought of ripping them apart was appealing to her. The ghoul, who looked like a grown up version of a Tiburce, started to step towards them.
"Oh fuck you, Hyper."
However, despite this sudden change, the Judge looked very unconcerned, giving the advancing enemy a thoughtful look. "Ah, I believe that the specter charging at us is a Gilles de Rais, a mundane ghoul that happens to wield Heavy Silence. This type of ghoul has the honor of being unaffected by attacks from Add-Ons - it's rumored that their skin negates the powerful glow of an Add-On. Alpha, I recommend that you shall leave me to handle this."
Alpha was very skeptical. To him, the Judge was just a cat, after all. "Oh yeah? What can you do?"
"I could do this." the Judge said in a cheerful tone as he bounded toward the Gilles de Rais. The cat closed his eyes and chanted, "Critical Aneurysm." He opened his eyes and a target made of light developed on his head. The Judge leaped forward, claws outstretched.
Then, with a single slice, the Gilles de Rais was already letting out a death screech. Blood spilled from the ghoul's chest, which was cut into ribbons from the superpowered scratch. The Gilles de Rais twitched a bit in her last moments before disappearing.
The Judge licked some of the blood that got on him before looking back at Alpha.
The Add-On was completely dumbstruck.
He silently followed the cat, who had taken the lead.
The Gomez Galleries was a treacherous maze. The Batter and Omega, though having found several lost treasures in the process, have not managed to locate the cat yet. They occasionally heard pacing behind a wall, but there didn't seem to be a way to get to the other side. To add to this wild goose chase, they were constantly under attack by the specters residing in the shopping center; as frightening as they were, though, they were more of a distraction than anything.
"H-hey!" Omega called to the Batter after a battle against a Massu and Gilles de Rais. He was floating next to a doorway. "I don't think we've explored this room before."
The duo entered. Unfortunately, they were disappointed by what they found. It seemed little more than a storage room, with a trapped Elsen inside.
"O-o-oh. H-hello." the Elsen made a nervous twitch. "Do you know how to ward off.. the specters? I-I've considered starting a fire to scare them off... but... it seems too dangerous..."
"Yes. It's dangerous and illegal." Omega said. "I commend you for not going through with your act of... um, arson."
"...T-thank you...?" the Elsen replied in a confused tone, wondering why a floating ring was talking to him.
Omega was already leaving, but the Batter remained in the room. He looked at the crates in the room (bearing, "WARNING: FLAMMABLE), fingers at his chin. "Hmm... are the specters really frightened by fire?"
The Judge and Alpha did not have much luck in locating Valerie either. The ghouls were less of a nuisance for them, however, as the Judge simply steamrolled through them, while Alpha could only watch in awe. They did, however, manage to find...
"Amazing." the Judge said, mesmerized by the image on the wall.
"Oh, for the love of..." Alpha muttered.
Standing before them, painted on the wall, was a happy, cartoon cat used for an advertisement for Alma cat food.
"The fine form, the precise brush strokes, the composition... truly, this is a work of art that will be remembered by decades to come." the Judge gushed. If he didn't have any self-control, a tear would be rolling down his cheek.
Alpha decided to ignore him and advanced to the next room; he was back at the room near the lobby of the mall, this time, on the other side of the barriers. He pressed the now accessible pedalo button; while the barriers dropped, the pedalo was still nowhere in sight, which was rather obvious.
Alpha poked back into the room, where the Judge was still admiring the "work of art". "Hey, I pressed that button from earlier."
"How splendid. Perhaps we have to..." the Judge's nose crinkled. Suddenly, a look of fear took over his face, even suppressing his smile. "...we need to abscond from the premises. Immediately."
The Add-On watched the cat scurry toward the entrance room. "Hey, what's the rush?"
The Judge looked up at him and simply answered, "I smell smoke."
Omega floated aimlessly, trying to keep out of sight from any malevolent specters (aka, all of them). He was immensely pleased to see the Batter again. Even if he was gone for just a bit, the specters of the mall were a bit too terrifying for Omega's standards. "Batter, thank goodness you're here! I can no longer take the rather... terrifying giggling from these phantoms by my lonesome! Just hearing their treacherous, um, giggles from all directions is a paranoia-inducing experie-"
His rant faded into stutters as the Batter simply ran past him.
He slowly turned. "Er... B-Batter?"
Without breaking his base stealing run, the Batter slightly rotated his head and mouthed, "Run."
Omega looked back down the hall, where the room with the Elsen was.
Smoke was drifting down the passage at an alarming rate.
"...H-h-he didn't...!" oh, the Add-On was getting riled up now. How dare the Batter commit arson - or, even worse, convinced the Elsen to go through with it? The Batter's methods are getting more and more questionable; sure, this may ward off the specters, but at the price of the establishment? Omega was already thinking of a scolding rant to give. His boss needed to be educated of the errors of his ways!
At the moment, though, he needed to escape. Even if Add-Ons can't breathe, it would be terrible if he burned to death. So, Omega started to fly after the Batter, screaming like a little girl.
The Batter was already coughing. The building material seemed to be catching fire easily, as if it was made of paper. Imperfect. Yes. The world that the Queen had built is imperfect. Can't even withstand a fire.
"Oh well... why live in an unsafe world where our buildings can set aflame...?"
Those were the words that the Elsen said before the Batter left him behind in the flames. The unstable man didn't even try to follow. However, upon mere reflection, the man wasn't unstable.
The whole world was. The Batter is going to fix that. A purified world will solve all its problems. However, the world can't be purified if he was going to let himself burn up in a measly fire.
The Batter's resolve strengthened. He ran as fast as he could, so fast that his floating companion could not keep up.
A scratching noise was heard. Then, as if floating through a wall like a specter, Valerie appeared. The Batter was so absorbed in dealing with the specters that he completely lost sight of his original goal.
"Valerie! Halt! Do not cause me to resort to force!"
The cat merely shot him a glance - a cold, unforgiving glance - before he started running.
"H-hey! Y-your brother's worried about you! W-We are only trying to help!" the worried Add-On exclaimed.
Valerie did not stop. He bounded down the halls and streaked past an intersection.
Before the purificatory heroes followed, something appeared. Taking the other path in the hallway intersection, a large being floated, knocking over the groups of boxes strewn around the place. A single horrible eye, positioned over a large set of teeth, stared into their souls as it passed by.
Then, just like that, the monster was gone. In the midst of the moment, Valerie had disappeared.
"I... w-what!" Omega had recognized the being. He was not sure whether the creature was a horrible illusion cast by Valerie, or a hallucination among the smoke.
The appearance of the thing even halted the Batter's progress. After a second of being in disbelief, he shook his head and continued. If he couldn't find Valerie, he at least needed to escape.
However, the Batter and Omega escaped the place without encountering Valerie again. From a safe distance away, they saw the Judge, Alpha, and Zacharie watching in shock as the Gomez Galleries burned down while the Elsen that was on the steps earlier was running away, frightened.
Zacharie was the first to notice them and was welcoming. "Hahaha, what did I tell you? Of course our main characters would survive, despite the unexpected change in plot!"
"Goodness, what could have been the catalyst for the fire?" the Judge questioned loudly.
Omega shoved the Batter.
The Batter changed the subject. "We saw Valerie, but he got away from us."
"W-Why is your br-brother so hostile?" Omega asked the Judge. "All he d-does is run and hide from us!"
"And kill us." Alpha quietly added.
"I am not entirely sure myself. In fact, if I didn't know better, Valerie could have been avoiding me the whole time I was searching for him." the Judge said, looking down on the ground, almost sad.
Zacharie looked around at the group of heroes before chuckling feebly. "Well, I'm not one for emotional torment and frustration... I also need to find a new place to set up shop... so... I'll be leaving for now. I'll see you again in two more chapters." The fourth-wall breaker quickly left the scene.
"...Well, at least the shopping mall was desolate to begin with, so there won't be a large amount of the populace losing their heads over this horrible incident." the Judge said, looking on the bright side. He looked back to the Elsen; the guy had knocked himself out running into a wall.
"Yes. Plus, at least the specter infestation has been dealt with." the Batter chipped in.
"B-Batter, n-not only were the ghouls, well, completely irrelevant to what we were doing, but did you really have to resort to committing ars-"
"Hey, sorry to break this up." interrupted an unapologetic Alpha. "Look, before everything started burning and shit, I pressed that pedalo button. Maybe the pedalo will lead us to Valerie, wherever it is."
"W-what makes you think that?"
"Look, it's the only fucking lead we have so far and I'm tired of running around looking for a stupid cat." the aggressive Add-On noticed the displeased look the Judge was giving him. Remembering the Judge's Competences, he frightfully added, "N-no offense."
The talking cat nodded. "I apologize to you as well for my unsettling glare. However, that's not important. Right now, we must locate Valerie. I'll scour the city to see if he's taken refuge there, while you investigate the matter of the pedalo - surely, it must be of some importance."
"Agreed." the Batter said, although, he briefly wondered why the Judge would take the seemingly harder task - to him, he was just a cat, after all.
"Right. How about we reunite at, oh, say, the residential district on the East side of Bismark after we have all our business completed?"
More agreements.
"That's settled then. I shall be seeing you all soon, and I profoundly wish you the best of luck." the Judge cast one last glance of the radiant glow of what used to be the mall before trotting away.
The Batter took a short moment to watch the fire he had started. He watched the fire-started smoke trail up into the air before it chemically breaks up into the smoke breathable by the Elsens. He was sure that the Gomez Galleries would just fade into nothing more than a memory; if anything, the Elsens would be happy that the den of phantoms is gone. Behind him, Omega had just finished up recapping what had happened in the mall, and both Add-Ons, despite their personalities, united to stare at the Batter in complete shock, wondering what kind of a person he was.
Finally, the Batter took up his namesake and turned to confront his spiritual comrades. "Let's get going. I have an idea where the pedalo might be."
The story is now on PAUSE.
Author's Note: Sometimes I like stamping on canon boundaries but the rest of the time I'm scared of alienating people that would take my stories seriously.
This chapter was originally going to contain both the mall and amusement park segments, but this chapter is already longer than the last one. I really don't want you people to feel bored.
Remember to leave your reviews, be they praises, complaints, or death threats! I appreciate them all the same!