Baldi's Basics: Save The Game - 3/7

3. To Do Your Absolute Worst

9-6  25-15-21-18-5  8-5-18-5  20-15  19-20-1-25  20-8-5-14  4-15  25-15-21-18  23-15-18-19-20

01. PLAYER - 0/7 - 00:00:35
02. PLAYER - 3/7 - 00:04:28
03. PLAYER - 4/7 - 00:02:53
04. PLAYER - 5/7 - 00:04:02
05. PLAYER - 6/7 - 00:05:01
06. PLAYER - 6/7 - 00:05:45
07. PLAYER - 7/7 - 00:06:17
08. PLAYER - 7/7 - 00:07:56 ★
09. PLAYER - ?/7 - ??:??:??

Player appeared, which Baldi hadn't been expecting. He lowered his Think Pad, though smiled widely at Player, greeting them all the same.

"Oh, hi!" Was his signature start, "Welcome to my schoolhouse! Back so soon? Well, regardless, I just wanted to say that I'm so proud of you! You beat my game! You should be celebrating!" From nowhere, he pulled out a noisemaker and blew on it once. Player didn't react much, but Baldi was too joyful to notice.

"Maybe next update, they could introduce party mechanics!" He continued, thinking of the possibilities, "We could invite everyone, celebrate things, play more games... Oh, wouldn't it just be the BEST?" It took a few moments more before Baldi realized Player was nowhere to be found.

"... Where'd you go?"

Meanwhile, Player held up the first Think Pad, thinking about what they were told just moments before.

Do worse. Do worse. Do worse.

On what, math? Probably. Since it's true that Baldi gets angrier (and faster) from every incorrect answer... This'll be a ride, for sure.

Player booted up the Think Pad. Baldi showed up on the other end, as usual.

"Ah, I see!" They heard him say, "Maybe you thought it was so fun, that you decided to--" He cut off mid sentence as Player inputted the wrong answer for the first question. Normally, this would trigger his anger, but shock seemed to allow him a few moments more as Player intentionally incorrectly answered everything.

A new message appeared in place of the math problem.

"I HEAR MATH THAT BAD"

Player gulped. Baldi's Wild Ride has begun.

09. PLAYER - 4/7 - 00:03:14

More faculty rooms, with other items. While in detention for entering the forbidden rooms, Player put their new tape item in the room's tape deck. It emitted a strange tone, as Player watched Baldi march right past the detention room.

Player didn't think about it hard enough and left detention too soon, resulting in Baldi catching them only to

S C R E E E E  E  E  E  E   E   E   E   E   E    E    E    E    E    E    E

10. PLAYER - 6/7 - 00:06:39

Player saw a giant phone in the end of the hall. Using the quarter on it turned it into a tape deck, emitting the same tone. Unfortunately, Baldi was already in range, so it wasn't long until

S C R E E E E  E  E  E  E   E   E   E   E   E    E    E    E    E    E    E

11. PLAYER - 7/7 - 00:07:52

Player had decided to do something unusual; taking their time on the notebook collecting. They kept out of Baldi's radius until they realized Baldi was slowing down. To pass the time, Player allowed Playtime to play with them, rereading the portraits in the detention room, and scouring the faculty only rooms.

This loose, slow playthrough resulted in Player finding out that, by just standing next to Bully long enough, Principal could show up and bust him for bullying.

Everything went wrong after the seventh notebook, because Sweeper decided to barge in with Baldi in tow and

S C R E E E E  E  E  E  E   E   E   E   E   E    E    E    E    E    E    E

Player slammed both their fists on the Story Mode button, first in a while.

12. PLAYER - 7/7 - 00:10:24 ✦

This one had been the most nerve wracking, and Player wasn't sure if they could ever calm down.

They had a good thing going, First Prize as always being a big help, but then Player encountered someone they'd never before.

Arts and Crafters.

With a strange sound, he got to Player, who was now very close to Baldi, and he was keeping up well. On instinct, Player open fired a BSODA they had, only having a Zesty Bar left. With no First Prize, Player ran and ran and ran, reaching the last exit but running out of stamina. They gobbled down the Zesty Bar in a flash and managed a beeline for the exit.

Player threw themself through the doors, landing on their front on the floor. All was quiet as Player took this time to catch their breath, before shakily getting onto their aching feet. In front of them was a sign.

It contained Baldi's head, him frowning sadly, with text around him.

"You Won! There's room for improvement though... Go see Baldi in his office for some tips!"

Upon reading those words, Player was astounded. No. This couldn't be happening. Baldi's Office? It sounded more like Baldi's Death Trap to Player. However, they made it so far and got here, so they decided to see this through to the end, whatever lay in store.

Turning around, Player walked down the empty, silent hallway, a solitary door at the end, aptly named "Baldi's Office". Player shook with fear, wondering what terrible things would be on the other side of the door, but made themself open it anyway. It seemed like it was merely a stretched wall, but Player could go through it somehow.

Inside was a single desk and chair, a floating banana, a chalkboard with colorful wordart, and a new character Player had never seen before. Player would've approached the character entirely, but got distracted by the sight of a warped, stretched out Baldi on the right. He didn't move, didn't act, didn't speak, just stood there as a flat, warping image. Then, Player's attention was caught by the new character again, because he spoke up.

"Oh jeepers, you found me," He began, "Good job, I'm glad you found me, because I have something kind of important to say." He was interrupted by a loud beep, but he continued. "It's about th-the game... Don't--" A beep. "Uh, Eh. Don't--" Another. "Don't, just..." He laughed.

"This is... This is probably looking pretty ridiculous," He continued with another beep, "Don't tell anyone about this game. You wanna... Don't, don't bring attention to yourself. Destroy it, destroy the game. Destroy the game. Before... It's too late." A beep. "What I'm saying is... Is get out of this, while you still can." Another beep. Player found that sentence familiar.

Baldi had said it, too.

"Just, don't..." The character started again, "Just know that you probably-- No, I'm not saying that I'm someone who's trapped inside the game, no, that would be ridiculous. No I'm..." A beep. "I can't... This is... I'm not... The game was... Kind of..." Another. "I got really corrupted. Yeah, I..." Another.

"I don't know what to say," He continued on, "Just... Just trust me. We gotta..." A beep. "This isn't... This seems... I me-I mean it seems... ohh." Another beep, but he seemed to realize something. "They'd know I... They intentionally... That's... I guess... I can't-- They can't tell you, and some... Stuff is classified. I can't say it." A beep. "I wish I could say more. I can't talk normally. I-It's corrupted. There's..." Yet another beep. "...Yeah..." Once more.

"Just... Close the program," He started again, but was finishing, "Destroy it. Never come back."

Immediately afterward, Player had to cover their ears as a long, loud beep sounded. Next thing they knew, it was dark. The game had closed itself, probably at the request (or due to the corruption) of the new character.

When the game opened again, it was as though that didn't just happen. Player floated there in the title screen for a while, before contemplating pressing the Story Mode button.

Destroy the game, eh? Player figured it only meant to uninstall it, and then to never return to it. Although, this game had caused so much suffering, confusion, impossibility, and two-facedness that...

Player pressed the button, a sinister expression growing on their face. They'll destroy the game alright, but in a "different" sort of way...

13. PLAYER - ?/7 - ??:??:??

Baldi was inspecting the last complete playthrough statistic, when he saw Player enter the game. He greeted them as always.

"Oh, hi!" He waved, "Welcome to my schoolhouse! Say, it looks like you completed my game again, but I can't seem to figure out this symbol here. It's not like the other ones where you get a star for completion, and a different star for perfect completion--" Player wasn't there again. Baldi blinked, confused and starting to feel upset. He wondered why Player kept seeming so distant, even ignoring of him.

To see the strange character again, Player decided to get all the problems wrong once more, using similar strategies they had before initially, meaning to take their time. After the first Think Pad was completed, Player scowled down at it, before tossing it at a wall. As it clattered to the ground, Player approached it, stomping on it repeatedly as it broke into pieces. For every notebook afterward, the same process was done.

Later on, in their possession were two quarters, and a Disorienting Tape. Nearby was the Principal, who made his rounds as normal, and the large phone Player saw previously. Player slipped in one of the quarters, initiating the strange tone sequence. Immediately after, they ran to the Principal, who put them in detention for running.

Right in the room, they went to the tape deck, inserting the Disorienting Tape. Now, two were playing at the same time. This caused some reverberation, the angered Baldi somewhere falling to his knees and covering his supposed ears in pain, becoming a confused mess. When detention ended, Player left the room, continuing on their quest.

Along the way, they used the other quarter for a BSODA, found a pair of Safety Scissors, and... An item they'd never seen before. It was a pencil. They wondered what to do with it. Down the hall was Playtime, who felt especially playful, approaching Player quickly. Just as quickly however, Player cut her rope, she looking shocked and upset. She ran off, crying.

Another smirk emerged on Player's face, deciding to try the pencil out on the walls. They scribbled the following messages:

"PROFESSOR BALDI IS EVIL", "EVEN IF HE LOOKS FRIENDLY", "I'M BREAKING ALL THE RULES", and "JUST TRY TO STOP ME, I DARE YOU".

Just at the end of the hallway was Bully, who saw Player write all that stuff, not seeming impressed.

"Dude, what are you doing," He said, "That's just asking for t r o u b l e..." In response, Player gave him a nasty glare, approaching and standing next to Bully, throwing the pencil at his feet. Bully seemed confused at first until Principal made his rounds.

"No bullying in the halls!" He announced, busting Bully.

"I'll get you for t h i s...!" Bully exclaimed to Player, who just looked smug. Vengeance was getting to their head.

Just then, they heard the sound of the ever-so-familiar ruler from the opposite side of the hall. Baldi was coming, and Player knew it well. They turned around, approaching an intersection before Baldi could. They pulled out the can of BSODA, and Baldi paused, readying to cover his face from the impact, but Player had something else in mind.

Player tossed the entire unopened can to the floor, it rolling toward Baldi's feet. Confused, Baldi looked at Player, but moments later came a

"GOTTA SWEEP SWEEP SWEEP!" From the intersection of the hall charged in Sweeper, finding the can on the ground and sweeping towards it. Baldi let out a yell as he and the can were swept away from Player. In all the commotion, the impact had been so sudden, so unorthodoxically triggered...

That Baldi had dropped his ruler, it hitting the ground in his wake. As Player used Spacebar to wave goodbye to Baldi in sarcasm, they too noticed it on the ground. With the tiny bit of time left before becoming out of sight, Baldi watched with horror as Player picked it up. The moment they did, their whole body flooded with... Something. Also, unknownst to them, an extra strand of hair erupted from their head.

The rest of the notebooks, and destroyed Think Pads, went on without any issues. Player hardly needed any help from there, triggering each fake exit until the cafeteria. At this point, they carried Baldi's ruler and a Zesty Bar, just in case anything happened. Their expression was quite off-putting now, bearing happiness, but it was empty.

They entered the cafeteria, finding one last unusual thing. At the doors was Baldi, waiting for them while wielding a metal yardstick. He stood there, not chasing or anything, but he was still clearly angered. This ought to be interesting.

Normally, Player would've tried to find a way to lure Baldi around to be able to exit the school, but they thought of something else. It was a bad thought.

With nothing to lose, they pulled out their Zesty Bar, chomping it down eagerly. Immediately after, with an even wider smile, they charged straight at Baldi, ruler in hand. Baldi managed to block their swing easily, and wasn't deterred, the two proceeding into some kind of ruler swordfight. With the combination of Baldi's rage speed and Player's Zesty stamina, it turned out to be equally matched for a short time.

With a strong strike, Baldi went all out and caused the ruler in Player's hands to snap in half. This had a double-edged sword effect on them both, Baldi suddenly growing weak along with Player, collapsing on their hands and knees. However, due to the Zesty Bar, Player was first to stand again, picking up one half of the ruler, raising it against the vulnerable Baldi in front of them.

For the first time, despite what came with corruption, Baldi was glitched and weakened enough to express fear, as though he was trying to fight through it. Player reveled in it for a short while, before smacking him in the face, tossing the ruler on the ground and exiting the school.

13. PLAYER - 7/7 - 00:03:23 ✦

"Oh jeepers, you found me," The character had started again when Player was in the room with him, "Good job, I'm glad you found me, because I have something kind of important to say... Except, I think-- Yeah, you... You've heard all th-that, right?" Player paused, though nodded expectantly. The character sighed loudly, causing Player to frown. It was also at this point where the extra strand of hair was gone, and Player felt more... Like themself again.

"Hoo, boy, oh boy," He started again, "This is... This is a mess. Oh, what-- What HAVE you done? When I said to destroy the-- the game, I didn't mean to--" A beep. "Well... What you did. I meant to destroy it, from your computer! Your... Your PC. Or Mac. Linux? Whichever..."

"Ah, well, jeez..." He kept going, "I... I'm lost for words, right... Right now. Don't-- Don't expect some sort of, 'good job's from me, because... I don't think what you did--" A beep. "Was right, really I don't. It wasn't worth... Breaking the game, making it try to-- to function in a way it wasn't--" Another. "You know? So, here's the-- The, uh. The issue."

"I don't know what's... What's going to happen from now on," One more time, "Best case, it'll just... Go back to the way it-- it was. Without anything to remember this by. Worst case, you probably... Caused some sort of... Ah, uh... Irreparable damage. To the system. The-- The code. Now I-- I beg you. Don't come back, never come back, because... I'm scared, man. I'm scared." Another loud, long beep, and then darkness.

2-21-20  15-8  23-8-1-20  8-1-22-5  25-15-21  4-15-14-5  16-12-1-25-5-18