Nuit blanche [A Batter x Puppeteer Story]

A puppeteer works alone, anyway.

As you slowly became conscious again, you realized the bright light was piercing your eyelids, and the ground was smooth and cold. The sounds of water flowing and trickling around you was barely audible in the deafening silence.

"You're a bit more daft than I expected, Puppet," you heard a voice close by.

"She seemed lonely. I only granted her a favor," replied another. Your eyes slowly opened, greeted by a sheer yellow palette.

"A favor that could permanently cause harm to our dear Puppeteer. Batter, you do not understand the consequences of your actions." Your eyes focused on two figures, standing a few centimeters away from you. One was a white cat, with a huge grin and sharp fangs, looking up at a tall man wearing.. a baseball uniform. The cat turned to you and offered a greeting purr, before licking your face and nuzzling himself against you. 

"...You look like the Judge." you mumbled, stroking the cat. 

He ceased the affection and looked at you. "Almost like how you look like our Puppeteer, no?" 

You were just about to be shocked by his response (and the fact that a cat was talking) when you could feel a stare focused directly on you, digging into your skin. You turned to the man in a baseball uniform to find him watching your every move. 

The Judge noticed, and spoke up. "Ah, you know our Batter, who speaks little compared to his violence levels. I trust that you-"

"What," you whispered to nobody in particular. Your eyes moved between the two figures, before focusing on 'The Batter'. "Are you trying to tell me that I'm in the fucking game,"

"We'll have to ask The Batter for that explanation. Care to enlighten us, Batter?" and the Judge turned to him as well.

The man grumbled. "If you must know, I just thought that (Y/N) was lonely in an empty home, so I went and carried her here."

"The Batter is a video game character," you said, slowly getting up on your feet. The man offered you a hand and helped you up. 

"Correct. At least you know that. Now I've got a mission to carry out and time is not for wasting."he continued, impatiently tapping the tip of his bat on the ground. 

"Holy shit this is crazy awesome!" you squealed, jumping around and circling the two characters and picking up the Judge, stroking him and nuzzling him. 

"My, at least you make up for your sailor's mouth with mighty handfuls of affection," commented the Judge, loving the attention. You blushed and set him back down on the ground. "I wasn't trying to imply that I did not like it, however you must be on your way now. Puppet and Puppeteer are a pair. I trust that you know your way?"

"More than I should," you grinned with glee. You looked at the Batter, who had just a hint of a smile playing across his lips before it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. 

"Can we go now?" he said. 

You giggled, "Yeesh, who spat in your bean-curd today?  C'mon Batter don't be a wet blanket,"

A hand wrapped around your waist and pulled you up onto his shoulders in one swift movement, catching you off guard. "BATTERRRRRRRRR!" you screamed. "FUCKING PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN!" You hated heights, and you were afraid he would drop you. 

"Well if you're not going to move then I'm moving you." he said, straightening his jersey. "Something you should be doing to me," he added in a mumble. 

"If you fucking drop me I swear to god-" you pouted, wrapping your arms around his neck. From your perch atop The Batter's shoulders, you could see the whole zone. This was much better than seeing this through a screen. 

"(Y/N), I would never hurt you and I would never let anything hurt you." he waved goodbye to the Judge and carried on through the door towards the red save block. 

"That better be a promise," you muttered. 

The Judge followed behind the two of you and offered the last piece of advice for his zone, before you made your way towards the save block. You waved goodbye to the Judge, knowing you'd see him in Zone 1 when you acquired Alpha, but still cherishing the moment when you were taken into your favorite video game by your favorite character. 

What you couldn't hear was the last sentence uttered under a single breath by The Batter, "It's only a promise with you."