Chapter Final: The Purification of The Batter

The story is now on ON.

The Readers have made their decision. Four of them choose to side with the Batter, to finish the job that he had started and they were witness to.

But five of the Readers refuse to do so.

And so, the Judge grinned at the Batter, the demands of the Readers and the narration of I, the Narrator, being heard by his feline ears. "It appears that the verdict's been decided."

The Batter is a bit annoyed by this turn of events. "No."

"Sometimes fictional works have to cave into the demands of the fans, my former customer." Zacharie let out a chuckle, stepping toward him. "The fans have chosen wisely, I say."

"W..what is the point?" Omega stammered, staying at the Batter's side. "We have to finish our… j-job. There's nothing left to save."

"You'll be dragging me down, and these guys too, asshole!" Alpha shouted, a bit surprised that Omega had actually decided that the Batter was correct; he fully expected the second Add-On to take the more moral choice.

"We know… it's unkind to do this to you guys, but…" Epsilon murmured sticking next to the Batter, "There's no future for you. I'm sorry, but there just isn't!"

"Epsilon…" Alpha whispered to himself in shock. While he was disappointed in Omega, to see that Epsilon crossed over the despair event horizon is a shock.

"The Queen built the world once, the cradle of the Son, Hugo." The Judge lectured. "She somehow reconstructed the world from the ashes of the past - the possibility of yet another revival lingers."

"This world needs to be purified." The Batter countered insistently, through clenched teeth that looked sharp to his opposition. "The old world fell and this world was falling apart before I started my holy mission. All you'll do is continue the cycle."

"Fuck you and fuck the cycle - we'll fix the world after we're through with you!" Alpha declared.

"Indeed. Now Batter…" The Judge stretched out, back raised, ready to pounce. "Taste our revanchist thirst for justice!"

"Purification in progress." The Batter said.

And then the fight began.

The Batter and Omega launch themselves at the interrupters, while Epsilon hung at the back. After many a battle, Alpha recognized what she was doing. He flew toward her, dodging to avoid the swing of the bat, to collide with Epsilon to interrupt her from putting up buffs. Omega attacked the Judge, who gained a cut in his side. Showing no mercy to the erudite Add-On, the Judge leapt toward him, unleashing an Aneurysm Rupture; of course, Omega didn't have internal organs or bones, but it still hurt.

As for the Batter, he was confronting his former arms dealer. He swung his bat chaotically, trying to land a hit on Zacharie, who kept jumping back. Then, however, the bat wielder forced him against a wall, and with his bat raised…

Clang.

As he brought it down, Zacharie had brought out a sword; wow, an actual JRPG weapon, what a shock.

"Wait, you have swords?" Epsilon yelled toward him as she flew around Alpha - who seemed to be attacking his former teammate half-heartedly - distracted. "How come you never sold us swords?"

Omega pushed Pablo back, quickly applying a fortune ticket on his wounds. "W-we don't have hands, why on earth would we need swords?"

"It was in my concept art, friend, if that's still an appropriate thing to call you." Zacharie answered Epsilon. The Batter applied more pressure on his bat, as if his metal bat and pure genocidal belief could shatter the sword. In response, the shopkeeper kicked at the Batter's stomach, knocking him away. With flighty steps that could be seen as almost gleeful, Zacharie hopped toward the Batter, swinging his concept art exclusive sword at him, the Batter blocking every slash. "Ah, just imagine if I was a bonus boss!"

"Whatever. Your video game talk ends here." The Batter grunted. He gripped his bat tightly, preparing to use a homerun skill on the man before him…

...but as he swung, the Batter spun on his heel, and instead, struck a nearby Alpha, who had been too busy fighting Epsilon to catch wind of the surprise attack. It collided with Alpha roughly, sending the poor ring into the wall. The misleading target, glancing between Alpha and the Batter, quickly thrust his sword out - this time, he managed to catch the purifier in the abdomen.

Epsilon froze, looking at her ex-comrade, unsure of what to do. Her growing despair says finish him off, but her feelings of comradeship shouted mercy.

"Epsilon!" The Batter shouted, stepping back from Zacharie while applying fortune tickets over his wound, crouching to the floor. "Do it!"

"I… I don't know…" She admitted.

Sensing her hesitation, the cat turned toward her."Add-On, if you're not sure of your allegiance, join your hands with ours!" The Judge called to her. Turning his head to the more hostile Add-On, who tried to approach while is back was turned, he unleashed yet another Aneurysm Rupture.

The force of the competence had Omega shrieking and shaking, shying away from the Judge. "N-n-no! G-get away from me!" He tried to see if he had any recovery items left on his person - but there were none. Practically crying, he admitted, "I… I'm afraid! I don't want to die!"

"Then you too can become our ally!" Pablo offered, sympathetic for the fearful Add-On.

"N.. no. I'm… no, we. We're as good as dead. All of us." Omega sniffled, feeling defeated. "Either the Batter ends all of our lives… or… or we wander the wastes until we pass.

"But… I don't want to help be the world's end… and… and… I don't want to die a slow death."

Then, the second Add-On, shaking, began to blacken, the light radiating from his form fading away. Even the Batter turned to face his party member (which allowed Zacharie to strafe around him to help out the heavily injured Alpha), to watch as Omega shook violently.

"This… this is preferable…" He murmured, as he willed his own body to accomplish his last wish.

A crack appeared in Omega, who did not say a word. And would not say another word as the cracks began to spread through his darkened body. With one final great shake, the Add-On Omega simply shattered like glass, the broken pieces of his body fading away, leaving no trace of the neurotic being.

The Judge looked at the blank space where he used to be with wide eyes, knowing full well what he was trying to do. "I can't believe it… through sheer force of will, he's killed himself…"

After some medical aid (which Zacharie expects to be paid back assuming that they survive), Alpha is up again - and is upset rather than happy. He found Omega annoying and thought he was an asshole for siding with the Batter - but he felt extremely bad for the Add-On. "Hey Zacharie, we can revive him… right?"

The shopkeeper shook his head. "...I'm afraid there's no intact body to give a Joker to." Zacharie murmured to him.

However, in contrast to whatever everyone else felt, the Batter just said a callous, "Whatever." He stood, his wound healed off. His eyes surveyed the room, focusing on the switch on the other end. "Epsilon and I can manage this."

"..." Epsilon is silent, also staring at where Omega used to be.

"...Epsilon?"

Then an Add-On tackled him. And it wasn't Alpha.

"I'm sick of you, Batter! You… you callous jerk!" Epsilon exploded as she floated over him. "Is that all you have to say about Omega? He's done nothing but help you, and that's all you say? It's your fault he did this, you know!" She punctuated each word with further strikes. "I! Hate! You!"

The Batter staggered back, somewhat taken aback by her change of heart. Now seeing her as yet another obstacle, knowing that she's too furious about Omega's death to rejoin him, he rose his bat, prepared to strike.

He was too focused on the Add-On in front of him to see the other attacking him from the side. The strike knocked him to the ground, cutting into his side. The Batter swiped with his bat, keeping the Add-Ons back, jumping up to his feet. Before he could press on with the assault however, Zacharie jumped toward him with the vicious pounce of a jungle cat, sword swinging down onto his bat. The Batter found himself frustrated as Zacharie forced him into a duel, the blade flurry making him keep his attention on him.

Which allowed the Judge to assault him with his strongest competence from behind.

The Batter felt something inside of him rupture, striking him at his core. He froze momentarily to process what happened - which allowed Zacharie to thrust his sword into his chest. He fell to his knees after the sword was drawn out of him, thinking that if his former Add-Ons chose to attack as well, it'd be salt in his wounds; so of course both of them ganged up on him before he could so much as take out a ticket.

The purifier is on the ground, collapsed in a heap, coughing blood, red painting the bleak gray. A paw poked at his head, nearly knocking his cap off; he felt that everybody was standing/floating around him. "Batter, your genocidal crusade comes to an end. May your sins sink your boat across the River Styx."

"N-no…" The Batter stammered, coughing. "I need to… finish my sacred mission."

"Give it up, Batter!" Epsilon, of all people, snapped.

He ignored her. His eyes searched desperately for his bat; he glanced up and saw that it was in Zacharie's hands, back to the guy that sold it to him.

His eyes instead darted over to the end of the room. The switch. Perfectly unguarded.

Screw fighting these guys.

The Batter, seeing his last chance, summoned up the last of his energy for a second wind. He backhanded the Judge away and hopped onto his feet; he stood, his back hunched, blood streaming from his mouth and chest, teeth looking absolutely monstrous.

"I must finish my sacred mission!" He declared, in genuine desperation.

His hands were like claws, swiping Zacharie and Epsilon aside as he started a mad dash toward the switch, going as fast as he can despite a limp. The Batter's hand was outstretched as he approached, prepared to pull the switch to OFF…

"That's enough!"

It was his most vocal critic, the first ally that left him, that shouted that.

It was Alpha that knocked him to the floor, grounding into the Batter's back with his strongest competence.

"Just fuck off and die already!" Alpha screeched, continuing his assault.

Despite the attack, the Batter tried to reach up, to the switch on the wall, trying to ignore the pain as he reached for oblivion.

His arm went slack against the wall.

The Batter could no longer summon up the energy or effort to reach further.

Alpha pulled away from the Batter, dripping in his blood. He stared down at the humanoid purifier: the Batter's back had been absolutely shredded, all the red staining his tunic. He was already bleeding internally and externally by Pablo's and Zacharie's attacks - if Alpha's last attack didn't kill the Batter, blood loss surely would.

The Batter laid on his stomach, letting out choking noises. His hat had fallen off, revealing eyes that blinked erratically as he tried to stay conscious and hair that is as messy as he is now. A familiar furry friend walked up to the side of his head, where he could see him. The Batter looked at him, keeping a blank expression on his face. "It's too late." He coughed. "Everything is lost."

The Judge sighed, glaring at the Batter. "Even if that may be true… this is much more preferable than your victory."

Summoning his mental energies, the Judge let loose with one last strike.

The man that was the Batter slid across the room, colliding to the side, well away from the switch that he sought. The Batter only sighed back, not even having the strength for words.

And so, the purifier, with no one left and covered in his own blood, closed his eyes and died with a frown.

Everybody's eyes linger on the man that crusaded across the world. The man that ended three Zones and almost ended it all. Zacharie put his sword away, murmuring something about Sugar. The Batter's two remaining ex-teammates did not feel pity. Epsilon, in fact, refocused on Omega, and Alpha had to calm her down. As for the Judge, he reflected on the Batter's goals; he hated what the Batter wanted, but he had to admit, the Batter genuinely believed that he was right, and he could honestly see why the Batter would believe that ending the world was the only course of action.

The world was awful, full of specters and suffering. Dedan indeed created stressful lives that caused Elsen to become Burnt at an alarming pace. The peacefulness of Japhet's Zone couldn't prepare its people for when an actual threat appeared. He himself didn't see what was going on with Enoch, but the others would probably confirm that it was awful. Finally, there was the Queen, ultimately neglectful in taking care of the world and Hugo.

However, the Judge was not a defeatist.

The cat believed that there is hope. That they can rebuild the world from the ashes like before. The world may be awful, but it can be better. Together - he, Alpha, Epsilon, Zacharie, and perhaps even the survivor Elsen - they can avoid the pitfalls that the other guardians had fallen into on the road of best intentions. He believed that somewhere, over the horizon, over the rainbow, is a bright future; a world that the guardians originally dreamed of, a world without specters, a world without suffering, a world that the boy Hugo would have been happy with, a world that Omega would be proud to be in, a world that his brother would love, a world where somebody like the Batter would never go to extremes to harm.

The Judge began marching out of the room, the shopkeeper and Add-Ons following him, leaving behind the switch and the corpse of a destroyer, marching toward a new future. The Judge looked back on the remains of the old world, offering these last words:

"Hence, nothing remains, except for our regrets."

The story is now on OFF.

...

"...Would it ruin the mood for me to ask for payment for my healing items?" Zacharie asked as they walked down the pale hallway.

"Shut it Zacharie." Alpha complained.

"Ah, don't be so rude to him - he's our friend now." Epsilon said, still sniffling.

This will be an interesting future, the Judge thought.

Author's Note: And so, it's finally over. Apologies if this last chapter seems a bit short, but I don't know how to stretch, like, three minutes of gameplay across 5000+ words.

As you can see in the author's note in the first chapter, I thought that I could finish this story in a year. Well, here we are, more than two years later. But hey, it's all over. I started this story during my high school years and now I end it off as I head to college - a new kind of despair. Yay.

If you aren't aware, the creator of OFF, Mortis Ghost, is currently working on a comic called Dr. Cataclysm and has a . If you enjoyed OFF, I urge you to please support his endeavors. If OFF's got you interested in other RPG Maker games, I want you to go check them out. Yume Nikki (+ fangames) and Middens are my top suggestions, but there's also OFF fangames, and HOME is definitely the best one (not saying that the others are bad, though). Even though this story is over and OFF is not likely to ever have a sequel, it'd be nice for you guys to support things related to it.

Thank you for reading this story, I appreciate you!