Heh heh heh, good evening, friends. We are back with another exciting chapter of this remake; please enjoy with your favorite confections or maybe a nice drink.
Let's flip the story on ON, shall we?
Chapter 8: The Unnerving Cafeteria
The Nothingness heralded the Batter's return with whispers, the guardian of the second zone purified. Alpha tried not to be disturbed by the voices; Omega however showed clear distress.
"Wha… what are these voices?" he said in a hushed voice, as if scared of offending the unseen. "Are they specters… by any chance?"
"No. There is no threat of specters here." said the Batter. He huffed with relief, thankful that the Nothingness transported him onto the ground, feet first. However, now that the threat of gravity is out of the way, he had a mission to get back to. "Omega, do you know anything about Zone 3?"
"Zone… 3? Hm… I have seen some books talking about it in the library, but.. er, they all seem to be partly censored. Through the pipe of rumors though, I know that there's these huge smokestacks… they seem to be pumping out artificial smoke into the atmosphere as an alternative to the royal smoke mines… though, um, I should mention that it's unconfirmed."
"Anything else? Information on the guardian?"
"...He's sometimes called the "Big Mister"... that's all I know of, though."
"Hm. Let's get to investigating, then."
Yes, Batter, go investigate! Haha, let's go see what excitement this chapter will lead us to!
"...Hey, Narrator guy, is your head on straight?" asked Alpha, more out of curiosity than concern. "You sound weirder than you already are."
Weirdness is an objective outlook, Add-On! Anyway, led over to a spot over in the darkness, the Batter held up the card he recently won off of Japhet and all three of them get spirited away toward the next zone.
They land on a metallic platform, just like the previous zones. This may just be a story, but I'll try my best to describe the settings (or you can play the game yourself!): the Zone's exterior is made of a dark hue of orange, the buildings sharply contrasting against the sky, standing against it, their smokestacks reaching higher than that, releasing breathable air into the open air. On one of the buildings, a giant greeting bore the legend:
ZONE 3
The Batter coughed, feeling the difference in the air. It feels somewhat sweeter, though nauseating. Lovely, isn't it?
"Seriously, are you on something?" questioned Alpha.
Oh, I'm fine. Fine. But please, progress must be made.
"Yes, it should." said the Batter, though he was also a little wary. Then they proceed, directing to the building ahead of them.
Unlike the other Zones, the innards of the building are splotched with dark green, a shift from the relaxing though drab blue. There was nobody behind the desk in the center. A peculiar poster with stamp marks was pasted on the wall.
The Batter ripped it off the wall. "'Attention employees, be sure to follow this exact path when heading in and out of the cafeteria. Though they are friendly, the specters don't like having their boundaries invaded. I hope for your cooperation, and let us meet our quotas!'" signed, the Director." The man raised his eyebrow at the contents of the poster, eyes lingering on the stamp marks and numbers below.
"Friendly specters...? Set boundaries...?" Omega paused. "How.. odd. I've never really heard of any sort of, er, c-cooperation with the specters."
The Batter was quiet. He didn't believe that the ectoplasms could be compliant.
"No one's here, so I guess we're taking it." Alpha snatched the poster, looked at it, and seemed to cringe. "...Omega, you're a puzzle guy, right?"
"By puzzle guy, if you mean a decrypter of puzzles in this world, then... sure." the other Add-On rasped.
The first Add-On shoved the poster over to him. "Here. Make stuff happen."
"...Right then."
There were only two passageways in the room: stairs that led to an underground area and a path outside that connected to another building. First, our heroes go outside to enjoy the serene scenery of molten plastic (at least, I find it serene).
There was an Elsen sitting at the plastic's edge, an abnormal demeanor written on his face: he actually seemed blissful. He swung his legs, staring off into the distance, just enjoying himself with a smile. The pale man looked at the three newcomers. "The plastic is nice today, isn't it?"
"I suppose so." answered the Batter. His stoicism hid his suspicion. The purifier looked over the Elsen, trying to figure out whether there was any ectoplasmic influence.
The Batter was stumped to find that there was anything wrong.
"...Let's go." the Batter said, entering the next building - though, he couldn't shake the Elsen's behavior from his mind.
They continue into the cafeteria, which smells of delicious aromas. The cafeteria was a large room with long tables atop a plus-sign peppered floor; despite the abundance of tables, there were only a few Elsens, some of them walking around in a stilted fashion, staring into nothing, yet oddly serene; the Elsens seated at the tables were eating something - a dish that did not smell of meat - savoring it as if it was a king's feast.
"We should, um, ask them questions…" suggested Omega, too busy looking at the strange puzzle map. "These Elsens seem a bit… different than the ones in my Zone, so some investigation is necessary…"
Quite right, Add-On! The Batter seemed to agree too. "...Yes, good point." said the Batter. He wondered whether this strange behavior was linked with the Zone's guardian.
Alpha urged ahead, floating toward the nearest Elsen. "Hey, you!"
As the Batter followed after him, Omega started shifting his view from the paper and the floor. Then, the connection sparked. "G-guys, wait!"
Unfortunately, his call came too late. As if the first two purifiers crossed the threshold into a different room, two specters appeared out of thin air (from their point of view). Both parties looked at each other in bafflement; the Batter took the moment of hesitation to throw a quick Wide Angle at the specters.
"Those are Mute Specters." the Batter stated, observing the aforementioned ghosts trying to cackle through the tape on their mouths, "They shouldn't be any trouble…" He reached for his bat…
...then he remembered that he dropped it during the fight with Japhet. He is definitely never going to see that bat again.
The Batter cursed himself for spelling his spare baseball bats to Zacharie; what is a batter without his bat? "...It shouldn't be hard for you, anyway."
Alpha would be shaking his head right now if he had one. Instead, he gritted his teeth (oh wait, he doesn't have those either, silly me!) and lunged at one of the specters with a Chain attack, defeating one instantly.
"Taste j-justice!" screeched Omega, flying in on the scene, Blurring into the other specter. The Mute Specter, panicked, tried to fly at the open Batter (who was just watching the purification in progress), but was intercepted by Alpha, getting killed by the Add-On's strike.
Their brief victory was tainted when a light appeared in their visual senses and they were suddenly back at the entrance to the cafeteria. The Elsen briefly broke his gaze from the plastic ocean to stare at them, shrugged as if he's seen this happen many times before, and continued on with his activities.
Omega sighed and starts to educate our dear friends on how not to pull impulsive maneuvers. "I was a-about to explain that we shouldn't run blindly into this place." He pulled out the paper. "These marks all correspond to the floor pattern in the cafeteria... though no exact path is, um, marked, they're implied by the numbers..."
Right you are! OFF newcomers, please take notes!
The Batter frowned at the Narrator's intrusion. "Then lead the way, Omega."
"Okay." They re-enter the cafeteria. There was no visible sign that a fight had happened, and not even the Elsens have any reaction. "L-let's take the nearest path and see where it takes us."
Omega started moving ahead, peering down at the map as he moved. The route was taken in careful steps, leading to a door on the east side of the room. On their path, they run into an Elsen with a dreamy look in his eyes.
"Are you aware that the patterns made by the leftovers of your plate mean something?"
They continue on, ignoring his silly idea. To me, it sounds like something you'd see at a divination class, heh heh. Now, they continue on and on to the back side of the room. What will be there? What unproductive fun times are there to be had?
Then, they pass through the doorway, and - surprise!
It's me!
"Zacharie?" called the Batter. He stared at I in the middle of the storage room, among the boxes.
However, I am not Zacharie, reckless companions! Do you not recognize me?
"What are you talking abo-" Alpha was interrupted when he looked up; the masked salesman no longer wore a froggish mask, but was now hiding behind the face of a cat.
It is I, your dear friend, the Judge! I may have changed, anatomically speaking, but I am just as capable as acting as your guide!
"We know that's you, Zacharie." sighed the Batter.
...Ah. I can't fool your judging eyes, and the meta viewpoint of the Readers certainly see through me as well. Hold on, allow me to change to standard third-person... "That's better." said Zacharie.
"W-wait, are you impersonating the Judge and that, er, talking voice?" asked Omega.
"Indeed. Pablo has been feeling under the weather as of recently, so I've chosen to represent him; the Narrator himself has also been upset by recent events, in-story and real life, so he's in no mood for our antics." explained Zacharie/Pablo/Hyper.
"Oh. Well, got anything to say?" asked the first Add-On.
"Hm... the dormitories on the other end of the room is infested by odd spirits. I assume that some of the specters have escaped from their zones, so to speak."
"We'll check it out, then." said the Batter. He starts to turn but then he remembered something. "Do you have any bats for purchase?"
Zacharie shook his cat face. "No, no. I am just a guide for now! Wait until, oh, say, perhaps the next chapter?"
The Batter didn't really know what that meant, but what he did know was that it'd be a while before he took up his namesake. With inner frustration, he stepped outside and started walking toward the west end of the room...
...when he stepped in front of a specter with a gaping maw and crossed out eyes, resembling an evolved version of the Half-Blind Specter from Zone 1. Whoops, careful, friends!
The two Add-Ons arrived. "Really?" said an exasperated Alpha, who believed that since they were at the back of the room, they could have just walked to the other side.
"Yes. There seems to be... separate paths to the two dormitories." said Omega, giving the map a quick glance over just to make sure.
Although he did not have a bat, the Batter knew that his Wide Angle still worked. "That is a Blind Specter. Its attacks are better than Mute Specters, but it isn't anything special."
The Blind Specter groaned and the Add-Ons flew into battle, which did not take long. Upon the specter's defeat, the protagonistic trio is back at the entrance.
Omega led the way again, this time, taking a different route. It was relatively uneventful (understandable, since they're kinda walking around a cafeteria), though they were alarmed when they heard something from an Elsen.
"The specters are not evil... they are our friends..." said the Elsen; they felt that the Elsen had witnessed the fight they had with the Blind Specter.
The Batter indulged himself with a scoff. The notion that the specters could be friendly was ridiculous to him - the whole Zone was just suspicious to him. Well, I think he could stand to be more open-minded.
They arrive at two rooms: the dormitories. Due to the path they took, they were stuck with going into the door on the right, even though the other door is literally a few feet away. Choosing to deal with it, they entered the dorms on the right.
The dormitories consist of a hallway with connected rooms, rows of beds against the walls. Only a few Elsens were present, though, their sleeping periods were not ready yet.
"There's something at the end of the hallway..." noted the Batter, spotting a light of some sorts.
As they advanced toward the light, they heard chatter from the Elsens...
"I think Zone 3 is the best place in the world."
"I love the cafeteria food. Yes, I love it a lot, yes."
"We must thank those visitors for bringing us more."
"I heard that one of our co-workers disappeared. More dessert for us, I supp..."
At that point, the three crusaders were tuning everything out.
For they were, at the moment, too focused on the Add-On in front of them.
The new Add-On glowed as bright as the others, bobbing in the air cheerfully, though alone. With a light, female voice, the Add-On asked, "Who are you three?"
"I am the Batter." he greeted; if he could have two Add-Ons, was it possible to have three? He might as well see if he could.
"The Batter?" the Add-On seemed perplexed. "You're a baseball player?"
"...no."
"Then why are you wearing those clothes?"
"I've kinda been wondering the same thing." said Alpha.
"..." the Batter had no answer.
The Add-On laughed. "Oh, it's none of my business!" she floated a bit over to Alpha and Omega. "I see you got Add-On buddies! Who are you guys?"
"I'm Alpha. I came from Zone 1 and I've been with this asshole the longest."
"I'm... Omega. I used to defend Zone 2's library in the guardian's absence, but... well, I had to turn my arms against him. Rest assured, it's part of a long-term victory plan for this world."
'Nice to meet you. I am Epsilon, the holy spirit of this Zone!" she looked around and then took a sigh. "Though, nobody seems to pay attention to me. I feel like someone that's left behind and forgotten..."
The Batter saw the opportunity and chose to take it. "Then would you join us?"
Epsilon regarded the Batter with curiosity. "Would it work, though?"
The Batter tried answering by extending his arm toward her.
Upon touching the spherical form, the third Add-on let off a bright light, connecting to the Batter. With Epsilon officially bounded to him, the Batter had a full repetoire of Add-Ons (remember, four heroes is the RPG Maker limit). Now, the savior had a holy trinity to back him up.
Epsilon has joined the party!
(He still didn't have a bat, though.)
Epsilon bobbed excitedly. "Yes! Glad to be working with you guys - I hope we can all be the best of friends!"
The other three look confused; understandable, because I am not sure if the original Narrator even grouped them as friends.
"Nice to have you as our… colleague." said Omega. "If you don't mind me asking… what skills do you have in your repertoire? It'd be, um, nice to know."
"Oh! I can buff people!" exclaimed Epsilon.
"...Buff?"
It is a game term that categorizes skills: "buffs" makes you stronger, more defensive, more faster, or so on. Was that clear enough, amigo?
"...I-I suppose so."
"Also, I can make people cry!" Epsilon added.
"Cry?" said a skeptical Alpha, who had no idea what it meant.
"Oh yeah, I'm good at making people cry." she said, not really answering him.
"I… guess that can be useful." said the Batter, though not seeing the purpose himself.
"So, uh, any specters here?" asked Alpha, wishing to get back to the objective they were originally going for.
"Nope. Just these guys." answered Epsilon.
Heh heh, looks like you guys have to try the other door.
"...masked douchebag." grumbled Alpha.
They exited the dormitories. Despite the other door being just a few feet away, they still had to take a different path for it, much to the ire of the Batter and Alpha. Omega led the way again; as he did so, Epsilon was absent-mindedly whistling show tunes that perked up the walk a bit.
Though the Elsens have been steadily leaving to go to who knows where, they still managed to encounter one on their path: "Be guided with jubilance, and you can avoid the specters." The pale man happily walked away, back toward the entrance, drawing the path from memory.
"Were these weirdos always like this?" Alpha asked Epsilon. "I mean, I guess it's cool for them to be happy, but it's weirding the shit out of me."
"Hm… Kinda." answered Epsilon. "They have been always like this, but it's actually gotten worse. Or better!"
"How?" asked the Batter, wondering if it's connected to the guardian, yet again.
"They've been making more dessert~!"
"Dessert?" said Omega quizzically. "...what… what is dessert?"
"It goes with dinner - more yummier than the meat, definitely!"
The other three purifiers wondered if this 'dessert' induces happiness in people. Oh ho, do not fret, you shall find answers soon. So, deciding to solve this mystery later, they advanced to the other dormitory.
It didn't look too different from the room next door, aside from everything being positioned to the left rather than the right. There was no strange light to be found at the end of the hallway, but regardless, they continued onward, looking to the rooms at the left as they walked. Just the same scenes: mostly empty beds with a few Elsens chattering.
"I… I am not hiding anything over here…"
"Are you sure…?"
"Yes, yes. Don't mind me, I'll keep standing in this spot to prevent you from seeing something that's not here."
"The Director told us to dream sweet dreams at night. How thoughtful."
"Yes. He also assured us that there are no specters under our beds. We all don't have to share beds with them… how marvelous."
"Who are you all?"
The Batter stopped walking, making the following Add-Ons halt; the voice wasn't referring to them.
"You're not specters, right?"
"It's coming from the e-end of the hallway!" alerted Omega. The Batter grit his teeth and hurried ahead, despite not having a weapon.
"You're not bad ghosts, right…? O-of course not. You're our friends."
The protagonists arrive at the room at the end, witnessing a dramatic scene: an Elsen was standing before a trio - no, a quadruple - of specters. Two Mutes, one Blind wearing a ghostly crown, advanced on the Elsen, who looked upon them innocently, though a bit surprised.
Suddenly, the Blind Specter screeched and let loose with a Forejudgement. The illuminated attack sent the Elsen staggering backwards and onto the floor. A hole was blasted into his chest, blood oozing out of the wound.
"This… this isn't a serious injury, I-I'm sure…" he stammered, still oblivious to their malignancy.
The crown glowed, empowering and encouraging the Mute Specters. The Mute Specters looked at each other and nodded. They floated over to the Elsen, who extended an arm to them, believing that they would help him up.
He did not expect his hand to be severed, nor a gash appearing in his head. The Elsen slumped over…
The Batter had seen enough. "Corrupt souls…" his 'greeting' made heads turn. "... face our divine wrath!"
Alpha attacked first with a Chain, Omega flew with a Blur; the latter got lucky with his assault, purifying one Mute Specter while the former made a large dent into the defenses of the other. The Batter could only stand and watch as the battle went on -
And then Epsilon flew in, ready to display her combat prowess. Rather than directly confronting the specters, she stood a few feet away. "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to tell you a story: a Surrealist Tragedy."
Both her team mates and the enemy team were surprised by what she said. What was more surprising was when Epsilon started letting out a hum, generating a certain noise frequency like a tone - that's what started hurting the specters. The specters, hearing the full brunt of her tragedy screeched as she continued her hum. Then, to top off our cake of headcanon surprises, the specters started crying:
Crying with blood. Their own blood dripped down from their faces, and they cringed in pain as they did so; it was most evident when the Mute Specter that Alpha had damaged suddenly dropped and disappeared, leaving behind only a small puddle of red fluid.
"Holy shit." said Alpha, in awe. He really needs to stop underestimating his own allies, don't you think?
The crown, alarmed, glowed, revitalizing the specter who it was atop. The Batter, not wanting to be a complete lay about, used Wide Angle. "The crown is a Crown of the Dead. It uses Aspirating Suzerain to heal its fellows."
"Th-then we must aim for it first! Classical strategy calls for the defeat of healers!" Omega stated. Aiming himself at the floating crown, he lunged, striking it. The crown let out a howl as it was broken in half, the flame surrounding it dissipating. The Blind Specter was angered, though he did not have time to act on it when both Alpha and Epsilon struck it with their normal attacks, defeating it.
The specters were gone, but there was still something worth investigating.
The Batter crouched next to the Elsen, hoping that it was still alive to be interviewed. However, our friend, in a Captain Obvious text box, said, "He's dead."
"No shit." said Alpha. Despite his demeanor, he was in shock; the only Elsens he's seen killed were Burnts.
This was a perfectly ordinary Elsen who was murdered in cold blood.
Omega seemed just as disturbed. Epsilon, however, seemed unperturbed. In fact, she was more concerned about something else: "Hey guys, I did good, right?"
"Huh? Oh yes, that was admittedly impressive." said the Batter. He was too busy thinking about something, though; why was the Elsen so oblivious to the threat of the specters?
For that matter, why were the Elsens in general completely chill? Why did they see the specters as friendly?
"Nobody is scared of the specters here." the Batter realized.
"They even see them as... friends." agreed Omega.
Yes, that is strange. Normally, the Elsens are scared of the ectoplasms. To be honest, I don't know much about what happens here; my customers here are few in number, so I don't know much of their customs.
"...wait, we're supposed to be scared of specters?" asked Epsilon, legitimately unaware.
...it also seems that this rewrite has dictated that things have been this way for as long as this Add-On has existed, at the very least. Heh, the mysteries are just piling up, right?
"Zacharie, you're supposed to be a guide, right?" asked Alpha.
Why yes, as both the Judge and the Narrator.
"Then shouldn't you know this shit?"
Ha ha... true. In fact, I know all. However, I'm contractually obligated not to tell spoilers. However, as a guide, I must point you in the right direction: take the underground tram to the second area of this Zone - they call that place the 'Treatment Rooms'. I'll try to meet you guys there - in fact, let's have a race. First one there gets a prize, heh heh. See if you can outrun me, Batter - I am quite fast on my feet when I wish to be.
"Okay." said the Batter, not really caring about my challenge.
They were about to leave, but Alpha, who was still fixated on the dead Elsen, said, "Er, aren't we forgetting something? Like a fucking dead body?"
"...it's not our problem."
"I… I don't agree with the Batter…" Omega shot a glare at him. "...however, if we tell anyone about it… e-everyone will panic, even if they believe in the specters' benevolence…"
Alpha had to admit that it was a good point. He didn't want to face down a whole room full of Burnts.
"We should leave him be." whispered Epsilon. "Let him have his eternal rest…"
Ultimately, they go along with Epsilon's idea, leaving the Elsen's body all alone. They walked through the hall and navigated through the cafeteria; nobody showed any indication that they even heard the assault - how sad. On the way, Epsilon chose to acquaint herself with her fellow Add-Ons.
"So, um, what are we doing? With the Batter?" she asked.
"Some really stupid and crazy stuff." Alpha answered.
"Yes… though, I have c-confidence in his sense of justice. It'll all work out…" said Omega.
"Hm. I hope I can be of help for this crazy stuff." said Epsilon. "Helping people out makes me feel good… and less lonely…"
"W-what?"
"Nothing!"
They head on back to the first building. The receptionist was still gone, giving the room an empty feeling. This time, the protagonists (with a new party member) go down the stairs. They arrive at an underground station, with a vehicle sitting on tracks and an Elsen standing behind a counter to greet people.
The pale man had that far-off look that his fellows have, but he still greeted our protagonists - how nice of him. "Hello. Do not fret about paying - the tram is free. You can use it to travel all over Vesper, or if you prefer, Zone 3. Sensational, isn't it?"
"Zone 1 had the same thing." grumbled Alpha.
"...Please take a seat."
They all entered the tram, a box lit up with limited lighting. The Batter took a seat on one of the chairs and looked at four buttons near the door that represented the four areas of the Zone. Taking my advice, his monochrome finger prodded the second button.
The tram doors close creakily. The protagonists all relax as the box started to move. Thus, the tram moved down a dark tunnel, chugging along to an uncertain future in the distance.
Let's flip the story on PAUSE.
Hm. What to say? Ah hold on, let me look for the Author's Notes real quick; until then, let us share in some words. Did you know that if you miss Epsilon at this part of the game, the Add-On reappears near the boss' area? How well thought out. It'd be a travesty to miss out on a party member. Hmm.. no, that's APUSH homework... Have any of you frequented the works of John Clowder? His art work is of the utmost quality, and his games Middens and Gingiva are a joy to play; the combat is on the weak side, but the atmosphere and visuals are to die fo- oh, here, I found the notes.
Author's Notes: Let's see here, ah yes, Hyper would like to know whether you've enjoyed this chapter, and once again apologizes for the wait. My, he should stop multi-tasking on four stories, then, but who am I to judge? ...Well, I am THE Judge, after all and... I am not amusing, am I? Well anyway, here are some questions he's scribbled down: where will the tram lead our protagonists? What shall be found in the Treatment Rooms of Zone 2? What is the cause of happiness? What is the meaning of happiness? Is yesterday better? Find out in the next exciting chapter! I'm sure the Narrator will be there to see you, as will I! Please show your appreciation or your middle fingers, if you please!