Mon chou [A Zacharie x Reader Story]

He's trying to send her back.

Zacharie set his feet down in the monotoned zone 2, dropping his wares and racing as fast as his sprite's feet could carry him to the library, his tears streaming away from his eyes by the wind, hidden by his mask. He couldn't lose her again, not after he--he--

He stopped on the floor she had claimed for herself. On the floor, black blood spattered mercilessly, leading up to a small picture frame on the shelf, one of a 13 year old girl before she was left alone, and her best friend the Merchant. The blood didn't drip, it barely made its way there, also scattered along some of the rest of her belongings as well. What was once bright color was now black and white.

On the floor, an open book with a loose paper falling out. He stepped closer to read it, his expression turning dark.

"The Toad King and the PUPPET"

The title of the book was hastily altered and scratched into the front leather of the book.

"I've renamed the title of the book for you, Cat. I think it best suits the tale you now find yourself in-- although, I believe it is a bit too late for writing fables and telling stories.

For unlike your previous tale, I am no Toad King, and your mask is gone."

No sign-off.
Nothing about (Y/N).

He slammed the book down, stumbling out onto the roof top after walking for what seemed like forever, almost becoming undone as he reached the top, throwing himself down against the hard brick, holding his hands under him as his nails dug hard into the ground. The moment he slipped the mask off, fat tears began falling from his eyes.

"It was a bad idea, wasn't it, my friend?" A familiar paw rested upon his clenched hand, tiny claws digging in slightly.

He inhaled deeply, sitting back on his folded legs. He wiped the water away from his eyes and laughed.

"Indeed, Pablo, she is but a treasure I seem to sinking further into the ocean the closer I get to her."

"Feeling philosophical, are we?" The Judge sat down on his hind legs, looking out on the stagnant black and white scenery.

"You know, this is only going to get worse, right?" He added, his grin threatening to fall.

Zacharie looked at the cat, and offered him a gentle pat on the head.

"I almost forgot how much I needed you to point out the obvious. Like I'm naïve."

"You are." The cat nodded.

Zacharie sighed, sitting down properly with his legs folded in front of him.

"I am, aren't I?"

"Reset the game, mon ami."

Zacharie laughed even louder, tears trickling out the corners of his eyes even more.

"I really wish I could, but only she could reset the game! One of us would have to turn that cursed switch off, and then she would make a new save file, like she always used to," He leaned forward, still laughing, "And now we don't even have that option because I killed her! I killed her, Pablo! Me!"

The Judge hopped into his lap, purring softly.

"You're a selfish merchant, Zacharie."

"Only the most."

"I'm sure you can get her to reset the game somehow. Alternatively, go into the coding yourself and do it."

Zacharie looked out one last time on the horizon, before carefully removing the Judge from his lap and setting him down on the floor, before standing up himself. He stretched out his limbs, picking up his mask again before dusting himself off.

"Ah well, it's been nice chatting with you, amigo. I left my wares near the save block, so I'll see you later."

The Judge turned his head to look at the man, amused.

"You have a customer to serve?"

Zacharie smiled wide, letting a small chuckle slip through his teeth. He turned on his heels and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Baseball isn't just a game anymore, Pablo!" He shouted as he walked away.

((A/N: First off, Happy 413! I'm so excited to see if Hussie will release the game today or just update us, or even give us an epilogue! The stakes are high, this 413.

Secondly, the pun I made with chat- cat in French is chat. But, all fancy, like...shat. I'm sure it has the little ^ on top of the a, but I couldn't be arsed to write that.

Thirdly, I'm trying to get the reader to ask questions. A few good ones would be:

Who is the bad guy here?

Are the reader's feelings for Zacharie genuine or self-coded?

What are the Batter's actual motives?

And so on.

All questions will be answered in the comments unless they're spoilers. Gear up kids, it's about to get rollercoaster-y.

ONE MORE THING.

I made a pun with 'serve' at the end. As in, serve the ball. Somebody be my friend, I'm a hoot!