Author's Note: I'm here. Sorry, Zacharie's no longer going to be the Narrator, but at least he's still the Judge! Hm, where's the real Judge...
Anyway, OFF has recently had a bit of a revival following Markplier's Let's Play of the game. Normally, I fear big Let's Players playing small games like OFF, since a once small fandom would end up getting rocked by a bigger one (ex. PewDiePie fans), but my fears have been misplaced, and I even watched his Let's Play and enjoyed it. To all you new OFF fans, I welcome you to the fandom, and I hope you enjoy this story.
The switch is now on ON.
Chapter 10: The Unsafe Halls
The Batter, Alpha, Omega, and Epsilon ascend, leaving the furnace rooms behind them. The sickeningly sweet smell of sugar that wafts through the place is now genuinely sickening, now that they know the truth.
"S...shouldn't we be getting this place… shut down?" whispered Omega nervously. "I doubt this place meets basic health st-standards."
"That will be done when we purify this Zone." the Batter answered. "Besides, even if we remove these workers, I doubt that it'll stop production."
"And you've seen those dudes - if we stop the sugar supply, they'll be upset, and that's just no good." added Epsilon.
"Tch… this place is just fucking disgusting. We need to show the Guardian what for." said Alpha.
They reach the place where they had landed after falling into the chimney. The Batter looks up at the sky above and frowns - there doesn't seem to be any ladders or anything that can get them back up. But then again, that fact pleases him. There seems to be only one way around…
"Where does this hole lead to?" the Batter asked the Elsen that is shoveling sugar into the tube.
"I… Into the sewers." he rasped deeply.
"Would you mind if we go in, sir?" asked Epsilon.
The Elsen did not answer, a bit busy with licking the sugar particles in his hands.
"...I take that as a yes!" she said excitedly, shooting into the tube. With no other option, the Batter shrugged and jumps in, followed by his fellow Add-Ons.
…
…
And so, somehow, they manage to end up on the subway platform of Area 3. The Batter, Alpha, and Omega feel disgusted, as they are covered in sugar that was in the tubes. Epsilon on the other hand was absorbing the sugar into herself, too carefree to care that it's made out of dead bodies. "Scrumptious~!"
"So, we're off to Area 4, then." the Batter said.
"We c-can't do that, remember? We need a card to enable passage." said Omega.
The savior vaguely remembers a slot next to the button for Area 4. "Hm, then let's go back to Zacharie and see if he has anything to sa-"
Speak of the devil, the monorail doors open, revealing Zacharie wearing his Judge mask. "Surprise!"
The Batter isn't very surprised. "Right on time."
"Yes yes. Friend, I've been digging around and I uncovered some information on this "sugar"." Zacharie cleared his throat, and begins: "We're in the sugar ovens of Vesper, in the northern part of -"
"We already heard this." Alpha rudely interjects.
"...Ah." Even with the mask on, they could tell that the merchant is disappointed. "Well, that saves us from another exposition break. Seeing as you know this already, you successfully passed Area 3. Fret not, I have a card to allow us access. Now, come along now, heh heh."
The party of protagonists follow him into the monorail car and take a seat as Zacharie swipes the card and punches the button. Chuckling, the merchant sprawled out on the seat.
…
…
"...How have you guys been?" Zacharie asked, to pass the time.
"..." the Batter isn't interested in answering.
"Same old shit." grunted Alpha.
"I… I've been doubting o-our holy mission, but…" Omega admits, "- there is undeniably corruption in this land. I'm happy to assist, short of total destruction."
"Heh heh heh, how admirable." replied Zacharie, "How about you, Epsilon?"
"Sugar tastes good~!"
"Fantastic."
…
The monorail continues to roll along the tracks.
…
"...Are we there yet?" questioned the Batter, giving into impatience.
"Stop fidgeting we're almost ther-"
The monorail suddenly grinds to a halt. The swiftness of the action ejects the Batter out of his seat and onto the floor. In the midst of bewilderment, a voice crackled into the monorail: "OBSTACLE IS IMPEDING PROGRESS. THE MONORAIL WON'T PROCEED UNTIL THE OBSTACLE IS REMOVED."
The Batter groaned, getting up, clutching his bat. He felt a bit angry - what could possibly be stopping them?
Omega tries to peer through the windows to see what was up. However… "The tunnel is… too dark to see anyth-thing…" Visibility was only as far as the light of the car could reach.
"This seems a bit like a horror video game." said Zacharie, adding to the uneasy tension. Then he let out a hearty chuckle and said, "Well, you people have fun investigating."
"What?" snapped Alpha.
"Somebody has to stay to watch the car. And after all, as a recurring NPC, my life must not be cut short, you must understand."
"Are you saying that there's something dangerous outside?" the Batter asked calmly. The merchant answered with a playful shrug.
"...Well, what are we waiting for?" Epsilon bursts. "Let's go, we mustn't be wasting time!"
"I-I'm not sure…" Omega, though having fought fearsome foes before, is scared of whatever is outside due to the air of uncertainty.
"No, she's right, we shouldn't be wasting time." the Batter said bluntly, going to the door, Epsilon eagerly following him and Alpha trailing in annoyance. Omega sighed and followed his fellows out.
They step into a cold tunnel, which seemingly stretches on for miles in the darkness. There is a strange echo shouting through the area; a monorail car elsewhere, or perhaps the sound of transporting sugar?
Though, there's something else that could be heard, in the darkness beyond the reach of the car, hiding like a bug in the dark. Footsteps…
"What are you doing on the tracks?" the Batter called out, unperturbed by the atmosphere.
…
The steps came closer…
The purifiers get on guard…
Then, they see him - an Elsen. They could see his legs and torso, dirtied up, feet nervously twitching.
"Sir, please get off of the track; we can let you ride in our car if you want." Epsilon offered.
"..." a horrible rasp echoed from the darkness that obscured the Elsen's head. His hands twitch.
"I.. I don't think it's an E-elsen anymore." said Omega nervously.
"Come toward us, now." said the Batter, now holding his bat cautiously.
"...I…" the Elsen said.
"Yes?"
"...I need… sugar….."
Then, the Elsen stumbled out.
The Elsen's head - if you can even call it that - is several times more bigger than its body, made out of horrid smoke, glowing eyes bored into it. He opened his mouth and a grumbling noise comes out, accompanied by a visible word:
"HELP."
"...Christ…" Alpha was too much in shock to properly scream.
The Batter treated the creature before him as yet another enemy and eyes him with a Wide Angle. "This is a Critic Burnt, an Elsen deprived of sugar."
Epsilon seems to be in a stunned silence.
"Regret eating that sugar now, huh?" said Alpha, nervously turning his attention to the monster before them.
The Batter adjusts his cap, confronting the screaming Burnt. "Purification in progress."
And so they attacked.
"HELP."
They press on with their strongest attacks, a flurry of buffs, bat swings, chains, and perspectives.
"HELP."
The Critic Burnt is a Burnt with rather high fortitude…
"HELP."
But then, they realize…
"HELP."
The Critic Burnt hasn't been attacking at all.
"HELP."
With every hit, the Critic Burnt just screams out:
"HELP."
Omega hesitated. He knows that this is all wrong, beating up a panicked Burnt. "B-Batter… we have to stop our assault… t-this man clearly needs support…"
The Batter, who had been prepping for another swing, only sighs. "This is the only way we can help, Omega."
"N-no, there has to be another…"
"We are granting this man mercy." he said - perhaps with sincerity.
With that, he turned his attention back to the Burnt. The Critic Burnt is now on the floor, slowly crawling, giant smoky head screaming captions into the air, an alarm that won't stop.
And so, the Batter steps up, raised his bat, and flips his off switch.
The cries for help stop. The Critic Burnt twitches. In a normal, Elsen voice, it just gave one last gasp for air before fading.
"..." Alpha didn't know what to say.
"..." Omega is conflicted.
"...So, um, I guess that obstacle is out of our way." Epsilon said, trying to bring out a bright side in all this.
"Right. We have to move on." said the Batter, heading back toward the light.
Zacharie, still at his seat, waves at the protagonists as they enter. "So, what was on the track?"
They didn't seem to be interested in answering. Not that it mattered - the car starts to move again, so who cares, really?
The monorail whirs to a stop.
Zacharie is the first to exit, though he seemed a bit anxious to do so. "This is where we part ways for now, friends. This time, I'll precede. Please, stay safe." The false Judge turns away from them and entered the fourth area proper. His footsteps could be heard breaking into a run.
They cautiously go down the stairs. There was no Elsen at a kiosk to greet them this time. Instead, there were hallways, eerie noises echoing down the halls. In the unknown area, they didn't want to try splitting up, in fear of what's hiding, so they all take the west hallway together. There are doors all over the place, however, the majority of them are:
"Locked." confirmed the Batter, trying out the first door, which made a clanking noise as he pulled on it.
They test more westward doors until they find one that actually opens.
The room contains two chairs, which blocked access to a paper atop a long table. How is access blocked? I don't know, but it is. The Batter observes that the table seems to push into the other room. "If I push this all the way in, I could read the paper in the next roo-"
"That's silly," said Epsilon, who proceeds to simply float above the table, "Hm, looks like a diagram? Oh well, let's take it!" She then proceeds to do what the Batter should have done in the game and grabs it.
"That... is one way to get around a puzzle." stated Omega.
They leave the room to continue checking doors. Predictably, the next room is unlocked, with part of a table poking through; however, the room is now useless because forget puzzles. As they continue checking doors, however...
An Elsen is walking toward them, this one wearing a long coat that drags on the floor.
"Hey. Could you tell us which doors here are unlocked?" asked the Batter, not wanting to waste his time checking doors.
...
"Are you listenin' to us?" asked Alpha.
"...hhhh..."
It's only then do they notice his abnormal eyes. The Batter curses and reaches for his bat, but the Elsen is already turning into a Burnt. It lunged like a beast, screeching horribly. While the Batter is beating him back, the Add-Ons attentions are turned to Mute Specters that had silently sneaked up on them.
And then.
The battle is done.
The specters are easily purified.
The bloodied Cavalry Burnt with a labcoat did not even make a noise as it fades away.
The uneasy silence settles back in.
"Let's carry on," said the Batter, now more cautious.
The protagonists continue on their way.
More doors remain closed.
Another severely stressed Elsen wanders aimlessly like cattle. They easily sneak past his horrible and pitiable form.
...
The Batter opens the door and sees a brick wall.
"...I... I don't want to know what's behind that," said Omega, several theories running through his mind.
They proceed.
They head out into another hallway, where yet another Elsen is. This time, the Elsen's reaction time is faster, and he rushes toward them with a roar. The battle ended with yet another dead man, another possible mercy kill.
"Hey, look what's this way!" Epsilon looks over at a group of blocks, which barricades a stairway that leads further down into the world.
"It's stupid puzzle time," grumbled Alpha. Ah, he's understanding the formula now.
"Maybe it has something to do with this, friend!" she cheerfully waves the paper she had taken.
Omega pokes in, looking down on the paper. "The Judge, Zacharie, the Batter, and the Director.. all corresponding to... directions..."
While the Add-On ponders over that, they continue. There are more hallways in the eastern wing of the area; a door sits on the left.
The Batter noisily pushes through. The room is devoid of life and the unlife, however, it's notably aesthetically different from the past areas. Important looking bookshelves line the walls, with books unlike the plastic ones of Bismark, and in the back of the room, with a screen flashing bright...
"Ah, a vidcon!" exclaimed Epsilon, excitedly heading to the vidcon console, the tense atmosphere destroyed.
While she goes to engage in unproductive funtimes, the others investigate. The Batter walked up to one of the bookshelves, eyes scanning over titles. All of the books had one thing in common: "These books are about sugar."
Alpha, who is also investigating via tossing the books on the floor, added, "Same." Among the books are ones that look as if they were stolen from Zone 2's library and journals and documents of some kind...
Omega and Epsilon bounces under the glow of the screen. "What, er, vidcon is this? And..." He noticed a small detail, "...why is the controller... splattered in blood?"
"I dunno and I dunno!" She presses buttons in an attempt to make something happen; after 8 button presses, the screen angrily beeps - nothing happens beyond that. Her carefree demeanor temporarily shifts to that of annoyance when she makes a connection. "Hey! These names - they match up with the buttons!"
"Aah! You're right!' Omega takes out the paper and looks at it and the controller. "T-they likely coincide with the face buttons!"
"Oh, and I bet we have to enter some sort of code which will open up that path, right?"
"Yes, I believe so! You... you seem as excited as I am!"
"Well, puzzles feel fun~!"
The two latter Add-Ons start speculating on codes together, rapidly inputting commands, while the first Add-On could only scoff. "Nerds."
"Those 'nerds' are trying to help, Alpha." Said the Batter, watching the two think things over.
Unfortunately, the two fail to reach a code. "There are 16777216 possibilities... we... we have to find out the code elsewhere, w-we can't brute force it."
"I see..." the Batter said, slowly nodding.
And with that..
They're back in the unsafe halls. The eastern side of area 4 is as unsettling as the west, now with a fresh set of shambling, addled Elsen.
...
Another dying, wordless Elsen lays at the Batter's feet.
"What are their coats for?" Alpha questioned, while watching the Cavalry Burnt fade away with some feeling of guilt.
"I... i believe they're labcoats.. E-Epsilon, do you know.. anything?"
"Hm? Well, I think they were scientists working on something super top secret; why else would we need a card to get in~?" She points out.
"Let me guess." The Batter cut in, "These men worked on the invention of sugar, didn't they?"
"Um... probably."
"And.. and they all went m-mad from their own creation.. um, presumably. ..Meanwhile, the Guardian sits on their laurels below... we, we musn't let this stand." Said Omega.
They continue their investigations.
Doors, doors, doors...
And then...
The Batter opens the door to a lone Elsen, back turned to them.
The Elsen gives a slight twitch, turning. "My legs, sting me..."
Then, he becomes a Burnt. However, it was no Cavalry Burnt, but an evolution of it. The claws remain as the body completely shrivels up under the coat, yet, like clay, the smoke is molded into a shape - a reptile like monster with a gaping maw.
The Batter quickly uses Wide Angle. "This is a Pastel Burnt, also victimized by suga-"
The new Burnt interrupts by taking a powerful swipe, and in the room's small quarters, it managed to strike all of the purifiers.
Alpha gagged, feeling something burn within. Omega realized this to be a symptom of poison and heals as the Batter and Epsilon spring into action. They bat at the Pastel Burnt, laying blows onto its head and body as claws swipe. However, to their surprise, the Burnt seemed to be tanking the hits.
"Our attacks don't seem to work..." said the Batter. Thanks for repeating what I said, Batter.
"We're just not trying hard enough!" chirped Epsilon, gleefully chipping at the Burnt, refusing to accept that their attacks are ineffectual.
The Pastel Burnt bats her away. Then, in the monstrous mouth, the Burnt throws something up - a pained looking Elsen head, the true head. The Elsen head stares them down with demented eyes and stated, "You... you cannot hope to purify me... I... I will lead them! I am a champion among men! Complacency shall no longer hold us down!"
The Pastel Burnt roared from both heads, flying into a rage.
The protagonists wisely choose to run.
The Batter closed the door behind him, but it did little to slow down the Pastel Burnt, who sent the metal door off its hinges with a ram. Its eyes lie on Alpha.
"Get away from me, you piece of..." the Add-On threatened (though it seemed more like pleading). The Pastel Burnt crouches, clawing at the floor in a bestial stance. Alpha starts flying away as the Burnt pounced.
When it did so, it dropped something from its labcoat.
While the Pastel Burnt charges down Alpha, Omega picked up the fallen book.
"This... this is from the library..." said Omega.
The Batter got close and recognized the book. "That's the book I had no time to read."
"'How to become super combat master of the universe in 5 lessons'? This must be how that guy got super tough!" said Epsilon.
"Does this mean he's invincible?" the Batter asked Omega, who was flipping through the pages, while his own eyes absent mindedly read them.
"N-no. There's, um... there's no such thing as invincibility." lectures the Add-On, while looking at the last pages, "This book gives a guide on bolstering strength and defense, however, it mentions that not even gods are invincible. All living things have an Achilles heel or, or a limit...Yes... it says that not even the book c-can teach how to get rid of limitations..."
That's when Alpha comes back, still being chased, the pursuit now being aided by several of the Zone's specters and a few normal Cavalry Burnts.
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS JUST STANDING THERE HELP ME" screeched Alpha, who saw that he had no chance taking them all on alone.
"Ah, those guys are in need of some entertainment." Epsilon said in a pleasant tone. She generates a noise, a drama, as they approached. The encroaching enemies were hostile canines hearing a dog whistle, displaying discomfort, and they begin to bleed; the weakest of the specters are even killed outright.
The most noticeable effect, however, occurs on the Elsen head. While the Pastel Burnt's body normally did not react to pain, it started cringing alongside the head, which was subjected to the song. The Elsen head managed to retreat before any more damage is done.
"The head. The head's the weakness." said the bat wielder, realization dawning.
"Oh? But the head looks like its hiding, now." said Epsilon.
Alpha, who is crouching behind the group to heal up from damages, says, "Then let's force it out!"
The battle was an odd game of tug of war, with pushes instead of pulls. The Batter and crew take turns to attack, advancing on the specters. However, when things got too hot to handle, the specters manage to push back, led by the Pastel Burnt. What put this game in the Batter's favor, though, is that he had healing skills and healing items of all sort; while the other side did have Crowns of the Dead, they were easily eliminated. While the protagonists throw Fortune Tickets all willy-nilly, the side of the specters were progressively whittling down...
The Pastel Burnt showed no apparent exterior injuries with each holy blow, yet, the interior injuries were what's important. When the insides are damaged and twisted up, it throws up its true head. Out in the open, the head gets struck, forcing it to seek refuge back into its decaying body.
Eventually, the battle dissolves to that of the purifiers versus the Pastel Burnt. The Burnt though had quite the pushing power, and even without allies, it managed to force the group to the end of the hallway.
The Pastel Burnt screeches and clawed. An unfortunate Epsilon gets caught and pinned against the wall.
Before the Pastel Burnt could do anything else, Omega strikes, getting the malevolent creature to relinquish its hold.
Then, Alpha attacked, roaring; his body connected to a shriveled up stomach.
Then, the head pops out.
"The... the land is corrupt... before and after..." the head wheezed.
The Batter had no interest what it had to say and swung, the bat colliding with its face.
The Pastel Burnt stumbles backward, injuries finally taking its toll, the brain defeated. It fell without grace as it started to fade, "The city is ours..."
With the Burnt gone, the Add-Ons started to rest. The Batter, noticing a door at the end of a hall to his left, heads on over.
The room is seemingly empty, aside from a counter.
Then, a frog like mask pops up from under it. Relieved, Zacharie sits up. "Ah ah ah, it's nice to see that you're still breathing, but of course, that's to be expected. What's a story without a protagonist, after all?" Noticing the Batter's injuries, he offers, "Why don't you purchase some healing items, hm?"
The Batter nodded, fishing out credits to buy tickets and meat, and perhaps some new equipment. While Zacharie retrieves his desired objects, he said, "Zacharie, we've hit a wall. We can't go on without a code."
The merchant chuckled, placing the items on the counter. "I am not in my Judge garb at the moment, but I'll point you in a direction: go back to the room where you encountered that Burnt and claim the prize within, then head to the west end and find a passageway. You'll find answers there."
The Batter nodded, taking his stuff. He headed back into the hallway, while applying Fortune Tickets to himself. For whatever reason, he could hear a tune. A faint melody of chimes and xylophone. It felt childlike.
It felt familiar.
"..." he listened to it wordlessly as he followed the song.
He finds the source; the three Add-Ons had gone ahead and retrieved the treasure themselves - a music box.
"This music is terrible," complained Alpha.
"Really? I find it calming." replied Epsilon.
The Batter swiped up the music box and hands back healing items and equipment in return. "Come on, we need to bring this elsewhere."
They start heading back to the west wing. The halls are now truly silent, the specters and Elsen that were once there now purified.
They check doors until they find an unlocked room with a staircase, which led to an underground passage...
...
Ascending, they emerge from the tunnel in an isolated storage room. There, hiding behind a shelf is...
"Ah ah ah, how are you all?" Zacharie asked, now masked as a cat. I wonder if all his isolated locations in this area was so that he could hide from the Burnt.
"...why did we have to come all the way here to trade the music box?" asked the Batter.
"Do you wish for this transaction to occur or not?"
The Batter begrudgingly hands the box to him.
"Excellent!" Zacharie held the music box delicately, as if it were precious china. "Now, a deal is a deal, and I will uphold my end of the bargain. Now, listen to my hint..."
...
Nothing but awkward silence.
"Erm... so... that hint?" Omega said quietly.
"...I realized that my hint will not work in this medium. There's no README files to be had in a fan fiction." The false Judge sheepishly scratches the back of his head.
"..." the Batter glares at him.
"Not to worry. I suppose we need some help... from beyond the fourth wall. Narrator?"
Yo. You want the code? Of course you do. It is down, left, up, right, Z, J, B, D, then start. Also, pro-tip to the Readers: you can just enter this code from the start and bypass most of the work you have to do in Area 4. PRO SPEEDRUNNING TACTICS.
"Thanks. I suppose." murmured the Batter.
"Hurry along now, the Director will be waiting." said Zacharie.
...
After traversing the halls, they arrive at the room with the lonely console. Epsilon eagerly punched in the code...
Somewhere, they hear something move in confirmation.
"We did it!" cheered Epsilon.
"Finally, we.. we can leave this dreadful place behind us." said a relieved Omega.
They leave the room. Lo and behold, the blocks that once blocked the way further into the Zone are now gone. They head down, only to find another hallway.
Alpha goes on ahead, and after flying a few feet, he noticed a paper plastered to the wall, "Executive suite's notice: You must not be here. ...Yeah, like that will stop us."
The Batter walked past, and he found another paper. "Executive suite's notice: You must not be here."
"Er, guys..." Omega gestures toward the end of the hall.
Down the hall, more and more papers appear, bearing the same warning. They increase in frequency further down, until they are ominously plastered around the doorway at the end of the hall, one last big bid to tell intruders to leave.
But as Alpha pointed out, that's not going to stop them.
The story is now on PAUSE.
Author's Note: Don't worry, we'll be getting to the guardian soon enough! The next chapter will probably be shorter than this one. Maybe it will also have Attack on Titan references, I don't know. Oh, and by the way, "vidcon" is a reference to Charles Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden. It's a quality game and I ask that you guys play it.
Anyway, I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this chapter. If the formatting is off, please tell me; due to computer problems, a majority of this chapter was written on a tablet. So, I hope that you're looking forward to the next chapter!