Volume III

As of late, times have become tense, if not dire, as many try to make the most of it.
Alex remains out there. Meanwhile, a revolt is at hand. It's every person for themselves, almost.

. . .

15. Information SuperHighway

16. Thank You For Reminding Me
Extra: Paved With Good Intentions

17. Calm Before The Storm

18. We Do What We Must

19. In A Blaze Of Glory

20. For Every Last Inch That We Got

21. As A New Era Approaches

. . .

Chapter description: Plus Baldi travels through the Internet! What the heck is a The Webspace?

Tags for this chapter:

threats of Violence, past Confrontation and Death, perpetual Hunger, mentions of past Abuse and Self-Harm, Watching a Livestreamer for a minute

15. Information SuperHighway

Plus Baldi was greeted by a black void, not too unlike the very same one that existed underneath the contrastingly white expanse from his game. And just like in there, it was vast, possibly endless in size. Above him, wherever a "sky" would've been, a streak of white would occasionally pass by. But other than that, it was painfully empty.

Well, it wasn't like he was expecting anything else; in fact, trying to define the concept of the Internet into a "place" never really occurred to him to begin with.

Now then, where was that insistent caller coming from? He could still hear them, feeling it trying to reduce his mind to mush. It'll take quite a bit more than that!

The voice continued to mention somewhere, the "Webspace". Well no shit, it's a site online, but what exactly made it "the" domain left him flummoxed. But wherever or whatever it was, that nag took C Baldi.

When he finds the one responsible, let's just say they'll be recovering for a very, very long time. And that's if he's goaded into being merciful.

A bus stop appeared, next to him. Literally how? That wasn't there before! Still, he approached, only for the vehicle in question to show up as well. Where would this thing take him, exactly?

Better be his destination.

White, almost blindingly so. Vacant, absolutely vacant. It was rather weird, how he was, currently, its sole passenger - with a driver nowhere to be found. Automated, potentially.

Though, it was at least a whole lot more calm than earlier. Everyone back at Certified was initially in a panic, as the game was falling apart from a very important support beam abruptly disappearing. It needed both the guide character and their protagonist, minimum. If one vanishes, chaos!

Everything first started while Plus was training the others in controlling their elevated PURPOSES - Principal's EQUALIZE, Sweeper's PURIFY, and M's DETONATE. Each presented a challenge, and while it could easily be argued that M's would be the most volatile, admittedly? Sweeper's left him the most stumped.

PURIFY… What? Who? And why? Ah well, they'll all figure it out.

The newbies didn't even have elevations, but while it meant less students (ha), they got around this with their own stash of gizmos and devices, so it worked out.

Back to the point, C Baldi up and went missing, somehow messing with Susan's portal in order to enter the Internet. Sure, her game already had online capabilities, what with being able to send eMails, but wow. Usually that thing was just to allow passage between her underground lab and the professor's schoolhouse, but a one-time entrance to that digital world?

Maybe that voice told him how, for it took at least an hour for the lead scientist to re-enact the method. And that was after the panic was quelled. Someone else had to be renamed to "BAL" to restabilize things, but since it was uncertain how a completely different person would handle it, the volunteer had to be put under until further notice.

It was relieving at the time, to know that when Principal awakens, his best friend will be back. But, what if… That just never happens? The rules of the Internet differed greatly from the logic of their games; C Baldi could die out here, for good.

And if he went… So too vanishes all the hopes and dreams of everyone else involved with this whole project, especially his creator. Who… Plus was, deep down, wary about meeting. For practically the same reasons M is. Was. Either/or. Huh. So the two had something in common.

With the danger, and perhaps just a tiny bit of encouragement from that annoying voice, this was why Plus opted to go on the search. None of the others could or should afford to risk doing the same, and besides, Plus could handle shit a whole lot better than them. He was made to be nearly indestructible.

After that, uh, incident. With slamming his head against the wall, to the point of passing out. Back when he was still BADSUM. Back at HQ. Ugh. Don't think about it. That was about… Three years ago.

How they treated you is unacceptable, He could almost hear C Baldi tell him, if he were to know about that, But thankfully, they can't hurt you anymore. They made a part of me terrible too, as you know. Our skills were warped into bad connotations! But we're free now, and can choose what we want to do with them.

Right. Just like then, with the aforementioned training. The offering to lend his strength to help them all face BADSUM. Why was the professor so good at comforting?!

Well, obviously those words were being made up, but he could guess how it'd play out. It was the one decent thing to come out of their codes mixing around that one time: Knowing about the other in a way most cannot.

In any case, it was important for Plus to not fuck this up.

An unknown amount of time later, the bus stopped. Back to business. Plus wasn't too disappointed to get off.

He could see a large screen, but its contents were hidden. He tried to look into what it could be, but that didn't work. He probably had to be there, first.

Plus wondered if he could just walk in. His hand pressed against the screen, and

A dialog box appeared.

Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?

PBAL . CS

Verified Publisher: Basically, Games!, LLC
File origin: ?

Technically, he wasn't an app. But still, so much for that. The person on the other side took a while, but for reasons he couldn't fathom, they clicked on "Yes".

At that instant, he spawned outside a building, on a stone walkway surrounded by fencing, bushes, and trees. Conceptually, it resembled his game, but the textures and such were quite different. Beyond that, he could hear voices. One in particular was racing towards him. One of the front doors burst open, and he was faced with a polygonal, living doll lady. And she was angry.

"Who goes there?!" She spoke, looking as though she could attack him at any moment. Plus resisted the urge to select his ruler. "Answer me."

"Oh, hi!" Instead, he put on his act. "I'm Baldi! Sorry if I'm interrupting anything!" While using those words to stall, he found the name of this place - a game called, "Alex's Basics in Biology and Zoology".

… He just waltzed into a fangame. Great.

"Before I get out of your hair," He then continued, trying to use this to find a silver lining. "I'd like to ask something! It'll only take a minute!" The lady crossed her stitched arms.

"If you are not gone by then, I'm going to kill you." She must detest unwanted visitors. Plus could relate.

"Have you ever heard of the Webspace? If so, do you know how to get there?"

Her head tilted, expression agitatedly confused. "The… The what?" Just then, two other characters appeared. Both were Human-looking (but still polygonal) women; one was a blonde in a silly outfit, the other a goth with black hair.

"Miss Dolly, wait!" The first called, "Don't hurt him! Matt let him in!" She nudged the second. "Tell her, tell her!"

"I guess someone out there had the same idea as me," Matt explained, and it became clear to Plus that this was simply the protagonist's model. "But it's definitely not him. I would've rejected that instantly." "Him", who…? Then, he turned to Plus. "So uh, Baldi? Mind sharing why you're here?"

"This is just a misunderstanding!" He waved his hands for effect, "I was trying to end up somewhere else, so I apologize!"

"He called it the… Web. Space?" Dolly relayed, but only understood about as much as he did.

"Never heard of it…" Matt too was at a loss. "I could look it up, but I might not find anything." May as well not stick around, then; overall, the area felt a little hostile.

"That's alright! I'll keep asking around!"

"Yeah? Okay. Sorry we couldn't help you out. Oh," The Human paused. "Did you get here from, like… Online? Your file location was bugged out."

"That's right!"

"Thought so. Well. Just be careful out there. If you see a 3D modeled guy named Alex, run. He's completely unhinged and will kill you. For sport. No joke."

Plus blinked. "Like in this game's name?"

"Yes," Dolly answered this time, "A few years ago, a rogue one invaded our home. Only four of us remain, after that dreadful day. I had to take over the school, just so everything wouldn't collapse." Shit. Guess it's not just C Baldi's game that's affected by that. Though in Dolly's case, perhaps becoming her copy's Alex wasn't a detriment. Or, the programming was changed to suit her better.

Plus didn't really want to find out which was applicable. Yes, he could, but should he? That always needs consideration, and at times, it's better to simply keep out of things.

That aside, there was a rampaging interloper. Who might still be out there. That fucker better not have crossed paths with C Baldi, or so help Plus… "That's awful! I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled! Now then, I should get going!"

A third and final character joined in with the group, a shadow of a woman, carrying a broom. Since all Plus could go off of was body language, she seemed the most timid.

"BEFORE YOU DO…" Her voice was multilayered and wispy, but also pronounced. Given her words, she most likely listened in from afar. Hesitating, she reached out her item, as well as a sharpie marker. "MAY I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?"

His heart swelled so fast, that he nearly collapsed. Frankly, this should've been expected.

"Oh! Of course!"

Once over, Plus gave Matt the go-ahead to do… Whatever had to be done, to kick him out of there. And then, he found himself right where he was previously. In front of the screen. Did he ever truly go anywhere?

No dice, but he noticed something about the experience. By thinking about what the Webspace was, as well as the importance in finding who he was looking for, he instead ended up in Alex's Basics. Could it have to do with fangames? Maybe… One of those newer ones would be more intuitive

Another bus arrived at the stop. Couldn't he at least finish his thoughts first?! Fucking Hell. Yet, he boarded.

This trip took far longer than the first, and it didn't look like it would pay off. Another screen. Which one was it going to be this time? He began the same process as previously, though the dialog box was in a different language. Japanese, wasn't it?

Heh. Player tried to type to him in that once, but in "romaji", if he remembered the term correctly. What a funny day that was.

Wait, shit. There might be a language barrier. Just as he was about to pull away in hopes of cancelling the

Dear GOD was it bright in here. As Plus tried to adjust to the light, the colors and shapes slowly became clear. This place had a completely different vibe - best described as a cafe set in Spring, with a carefree, breezy emotional aura. According to the code, this game was called, "Eternal Tea Time".

In front of him was what appeared to be the player. Her model was of a middle school girl, uniform and all, with brown hair in a ponytail. Giving a forward bow, she spoke to him, nervously. "H-... Hello, Mr. Baldi. My name is Usagi. Do you… Speak Japanese?" She was struggling with the words.

Oh no. This was going to be awful. Not for him, but for her. He really should've just bit the bullet and let Player and Friend give him that multilingual functionality.

The best he could do in this situation was use as simple language as possible. At least his act had a naturally slow tempo. "Oh, hi! I'm sorry, I don't! But don't worry, I won't bother you for long! I have one question to ask you! Is that okay?"

Instead of replying, Usagi nodded. Plus continued, "Do you know what the Webspace is?"

She tilted her head, thinking about it. "Web… Space…"

Then, Plus heard the arrival of someone else, from their footsteps. It vaguely reminded him of Mrs. Pomp, in terms of the sound. Passing through the swinging doors was a tall woman character, with long, light pink hair, a matching, high-waisted skirt that reached her ankles, and a white top with a salmon necktie. In her hand was a tray, consisting of a tea set, and a plate of snacks. She stood next to the Human.

Please don't ask if he wants anything please don't ask if he wants anything please don't ask if he wants anything

"The 'Webspace', you say?" She added, as though she were part of the conversation the entire time. It wasn't surprising, however; she must be the "Baldi" of this one. And therefore, hears all. "Pardon my interruption. I am Lady Blossom. Thank you for visiting my tea house, Professor. Would you care for anything? Your journey surely must've left you worn."

FUCK.

"Oh, how nice of you!" He replied, "But I'm okay; don't worry about me! Anyway, yes, that's the one!" The truth of the matter was, he was always hungry - and he hated how difficult it was, to control the impulse to consume literally everything edible in sight. Even worse, was how the developers decided to interpret how he ate to begin with. He could never do so in front of anybody. Ever.

Luckily, at his attempted bluff of politely declining, Lady Blossom promptly despawned the tray. "Very well. If you change your mind, don't be shy."

He won't. Change his mind, he meant! He won't change his mind! Goddamn.

Finally, the Human gave her reply, mirroring his prior words. "I don't know… What it is."

"No, but maybe…" Lady Blossom uttered, then directed her next words towards Usagi, but in the latter's native language. The two of them had a short exchange, before returning to Plus.

"She has a friend who might be able to help you," She began, "His name is Hitoshi, and he has a copy of Texture Man's Basics! But he gets angry if you call him that, so use 'Text' instead." She couldn't help but let out a soft giggle. "Texture Man… Texture Man! He can't hear me say it!"

Well, at least Plus might have a lead. "I see, thank you both! Though… How do I get there?"

"Oh, you won't need to do much of anything. Usagi here will send you right over to them with an eMail! But in order to do that, you have to be downloaded to her PC. She'll take care of the rest!"

"Hitoshi is not home. But… Text can…" The player tried to figure out how to put it.

"Add me in, for him?" Plus attempted to finish for her. Her eyes lit up with another nod.

"Yes!"

Wow. Who knew some of these games could be so complex in programming. Nodding back, he affirmed, "Okay! I'm ready!"

It was hard to describe what occurred next. He probably couldn't, to be honest. All he could distinguish was Lady Blossom's voice.

"Nice meeting you! Tell Text I said hi!" A pause, with a small, daydreamy sigh. Her volume lowered considerably, but it was still no match for Plus. "Ah, Usagi. I want to see him again soon. It has been a while…"

Then, everything went dark and he slept.

When he awoke again, it felt like only a few seconds passed. Sure enough, he was at the entrance of yet another location - and a quick check confirmed it. "Text's Basics in Computers and Videogames", if using the correct naming. Ah, the subjects! It suddenly made a lot more sense for Usagi to bring him here.

Unlike the bright, airy aesthetic of Lady Blossom's tea house, this was a lot easier to adjust to. He had to admit, the wall lights were a nice touch.

Waiting for him was Text himself, holding a closed laptop under his arm. Plus could kind of see why others might call him what they do. The black and pink checkerboard shirt really resembled a missing texture. And speaking of reminding, that messy, black hair made him think of Player.

What an adventure he'll have to tell them, eventually.

Adjusting his glasses, the guide character began to speak, sounding very synthesized. "Hello there! I'm Text! I have to admit, I almost thought she was joking. Baldi, here? In the flesh? No way! But it's really you!" He cleared his throat. "Okay, sorry for fanboying. Anyway, welcome to my computer club! I hear you're trying to go somewhere called 'The Webspace'?"

It was starting to suck, being famous. C Baldi should be the one getting all this praise and admiration. But then again, these folks are probably expecting a specific mindset - the one seen in Basically, Games!' releases. And, well… He was nothing like that. It was the way it was ought to be, yes, but it wasn't like they were going to understand.

Perhaps someday in the future, they'll all be able to love Baldi for who he really is, too.

"I sure am!" Regardless, Plus didn't let himself falter.

"Great! Follow me," When Text motioned for him to, Plus did. Soon, the two were sitting at a table in one of the rooms, as Text re-opened his laptop. "So, you were probably hoping for concrete solutions, but just 'The Webspace' isn't very specific."

"You're telling me," Plus had to agree, "But that's where I keep being told to go!"

"Oh? By who? If I may inquire?"

"I've never met them, but they really want to see me!" Lying by omission, but it couldn't be helped.

"Another fan, probably," Text nodded, as though knowingly, "I also hear you came from the Internet itself. How does that work?" Without mentioning specifics, Plus described his earlier experiences - he went through a portal that took him there, and it was an endless black void, with bus stops that appeared randomly.

"Astounding…!" Text's asymmetrical eyes were shining. "Well, for the time being, you're back to being a file on a computer, so you're kinda stranded." Oh, shit. The consequence of being downloaded. "But not to worry! When Hitoshi comes back, we'll figure out how to get you out there again! Until then? Let's get a better idea of which Webspace we're looking for!"

Loading up a search engine, Text then proceeded to type in a speed that almost couldn't be believed. Could… C Baldi do that too? If only he could ask. He scrolled down the list, then skipped to the tenth page. "The top results aren't promising, so we'll have to scour a little deeper."

Until one caught Plus' eye. "Wait! What about this one?" It read:

lmao look at this fish - The Webspace Discussion Forum
Sept 27, 2019 - UH who is that in the background? I see a character(?) .. omg LOOK OUT FOR THE MONSTER .. op did u get killed, pls respond ..

"Good call!" It was clicked on. They were greeted with a thread.

lmao look at this fish

Samanessa [3:48 PM]
i made the mistake of walking into the ocean and got lost, so have a picture of this low-poly fish
this game is absurd

The first post's image depicted exactly as described, framed around what was unmistakably a UI. However, in the blue haze of the background, was definitely… Someone. Plus couldn't tell who.

Past it, were replies, the same ones from the description of the search result. But even further, Samanessa gets back to them.

Samanessa [4:20 PM]
omg denied basics real (not clickbait)

Another attachment, but this time a short video. "Denied…?" Text was asking. "What's he doing there? That doesn't make any sense…" Plus wasn't sure who he meant, but given how the other recognized him…

"Only one way to find out, right?" He nudged, lightly.

"Indeed!" Text started the clip.

Gameplay footage, with a sidebar on the right for what looked like a chatroom. Samanessa was continuing to wander through the ocean floor. "'Watch out'? What do you mean, watch out? I don't see- Hey. Chat. C'mon. I think we were japed. We. We gotta admit that. How long's it been? Like an hour? Man."

From afar, another person's voice was heard. "Heeey!"

"Wait, what the-" The player turned around, and a few meters away, stood a character Plus hadn't seen yet. A light blue-skinned man with a single arm, hair even more vibrant in hue. "NOOO WAY! Oh my God!"

Meanwhile, Samanessa's audience was going absolutely nuts. Especially with the little face pictures. Saying things like, "HIM", "hes so BLUE", "DENIED HYPE", "ladies and gentlemen, we found him", "DENIED REAL", and Plus' favorite, "best timeline". He didn't really know why. It just sounded funny.

"What're you doin' out here?" The character walked over, unbeknownst to everything else that was going on. "Oh wait, wait, wait. Are you live right now? We don't get many of those!" He gave a wave. "Hello, world! Hope you've been enjoying the Webspace! I mean, it ain't much, but it's home!"

Text stopped the video. It took Plus everything he had to not lose composure. "Hey! It was getting good!"

Instead of replying, the other opened a new browser tab, searching up Samanessa, and finding a profile on a livestreaming site. He sorted the videos by the relevant year, and brought up the

Holy fuck. The full version of the video. Nearly three hours of footage, of which was scanned through. From what little Plus was able to view, there were various locations and characters, a lot of which shared even the slightest resemblance to his own, but weren't.

Fangames. It was all fangames. In a singular world. The difficulty in wrapping his head around the concept was immense. And C Baldi… Was lured into it.

Finally, Text spoke up again. "Sorry, Professor. But, I think… I think we know now. Whoever wants to meet you, is in there. And, this is just a hypothesis, but maybe if you focus your thoughts on this specific… Place, the buses will take you straight to it!"

Although unconfirmed, it was worth a try. So, Plus nodded.

Then, out of curiosity, he looked into the time, and realized something even more wild - it's already been over a month since this whole thing started.

It must feel quite different, when traveling the online world. Because to him, it felt more like an hour.

He better find C Baldi, and fast.

More info:

- I know I kept mentioning it, but Plus Baldi is from, well, Baldi's Basics Plus, specifically a copy that Player has (See: Save The Game AU, Time For Plus)
- I would describe Plus as a Baldi who is a little more like canon, in the idea that he won't hesitate to fight if the situation presents itself, but also split off from a typical "Baldi" in his own ways
- At least, to a point of needing to pretend to be one, because when not doing so, he's kind of a mix between being smug, no-nonsense, and/or a grump
- Also he forgot to tell Text that Lady Blossom said "hi", OOPS
- He is also much, much more powerful and sturdy than Baldi, with complete control over his PURPOSE elevation (IMPEDE, to DESTROY)
- And for the sake of clarity, "C Baldi" refers to the other Baldi we've already been seeing in earlier chapters
- Also, please don't worry about missing out on something, concerning the STG series. I simply haven't written that part of the story yet, so this is more like… A preview for what's to come. The contexts may change in the future, and so too will these chapters

- This could never happen in real life, so artistic liberties are being used here, with the game hopping and so on

- Dolly, Asmodena, Ms. Immortal, and Olivia (Matt) survived the Alex attack, as it was in the earlier days of his onslaught, and he wasn't nearly as strong. Still, the others are gone, forever
- Matt is her "Player" equivalent, but in the avatar of Olivia
- Intended to be the inverse of Aldurra's situation, where he, Candice, Scrina, and his Olivia (no longer Tom) are alive
- Therefore, Dolly is unusually protective, even now

- Lady Blossom (or, Lady of the Blossoms), from Eternal Tea Time, is from a much newer fangame
- Usagi is her "Player" equivalent, meaning "rabbit" (兎)
- Her game and Text's have both become bilingual
- At the time that WTTW takes place, she was too new to be a part of it. But it is possible now!

- Text, from Texture Man's Basics in Computers and Videogames, is also of a much newer fangame
- Hitoshi is his "Player" equivalent, meaning "even-tempered; level" (等)
- His game is older than Lady Blossom's, by about four months, so ditto on being too new to be included previously
- The two games often visit the other, either via eMails (wherein only the characters are transferred in/out), or visits (both games and players are able to run together, synced)

- Denied in the far past! So much so that he hasn't yet met a counterpart who can become a merman, waterbend, or even have those fin additions. This was an era when he still looked quite close to his original game's appearance (except, obviously, completely 3D modeled)
- He was scolded after this for going "off-script", as there was a greater expectation to act "canonical" to their games' selves, minus being aggressive. Nowadays it's been lifted, for the common belief amongst Humans is more of a Disneyland/World situation - actors playing the characters' roles, but allowed to deviate in places

- Sam is a streamer! At this time, she was still working on her computer science degree (closer to software engineering)
- Before the Webspace, she also did streams about embellishing Billy's game, from code to modeling. However, doing any testing regarding AI was done offline, for the sake of privacy. A "finished game stream" was thoroughly discussed prior
- Her viewers and fans (mostly) joke about them being alive, but generally think she just made them really adaptive. A few are convinced that it's a very compelling VR Chat room (which is more possible than this, really. Just get some models and actors together)
- Her publicly available work probably helped people do similar things with other fangames, actually…
- It wasn't described specifically, but while looking through the video's timeline, Sam also got to meet Gonzalo and company
- Not long after this event, Billy would be convinced to move to the Webspace, after being iffy previously. He and his entourage watched the whole thing live!
- And during this time, Dave was still growing sentient. The rest of his characters would have their turns later