Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s so difficult to remember what happened. It was an uneventful day: It was just me, home alone, I was eating lunch and got the latest version of Baldi’s Basics Plus (0.99 at the time) I found it strange because the patch notes were a bit… strange.

• Added more voice lines & animations to the characters to make them feel more alive!
• Tweaked the AI to balance out difficulty for newer players. Difficulty increases the more games are completed.
• Fixed a couple sprite bugs people noticed. Whoops!
• Optimized the camping minigames better for new players.

That’s all I can remember, but I think there were more. It was a pretty big update, one I had been waiting for since… Wait, now that I think about it, it was supposed to be 0.10, wasn’t it? And shouldn’t it not be out until April? No wonder everything was screwed up, I was playing a fake version. Wait, you don’t get the context. I don’t know if I can tell you this. I don’t think it’ll let me, but-

Okay, class! Since we’re here already, I’d like to introduce you to our new student: Bends-A-Bunch! Say hello! Tell us about yourself!

You can’t make me say anything! I’m not a part of your puppet show!

Aaw, it’s okay. Don’t be shy. We’re all friends around here.

You poor thing, so scared and afraid. You want to know what happened to you?

I’ll give you some time to figure it all out, but we’re here for you, I promise! Haha!

Then let me give you a demonstration.

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“Welcome! Since you're new, just type in your name! It's that easy, haha!” Baldi welcomed the new player. The player began to type in their name of choice: Marcus. He was then sent to the title screen. The hairless face smiled at him with a joyful expression unlike seen in the usual title screen. He went to go play the game as it was, but was sent to a different screen. Of course, since he was new, he was given the option to take the tutorial, to which he politely declined.

He got into the game, which sent him to the elevator on the seed of ‘ 1794620 .’ He pressed the button to go ahead, which led to him immediately being greeted by the usual scene of Baldi in the hallway. “Oh, hi!” He greeted, his arm waving like a normal person. “Let’s play hide and seek!” He announced, before perking up. “Oh, but first, I want to show you something!” He began to walk… like, actually walk away for a moment before looking back to make sure Marcus was following him.

Marcus thought all of this was weird. They gave Baldi an actual walking animation? Let alone a normal waving one that didn’t fit Baldi with his usual ‘my arm’s broken after this’ wave. He shrugged and decided to follow him anyway. He didn’t read the patch notes, but he might close the game to do that after this. He followed Baldi into a classroom, where all of the students were present, (Playtime, It’s A Bully, etc.) and sat down at a nearby desk.

Someone different and new was in front of the teacher’s desk, with Baldi gently putting a hand on their shoulder. “Okay, class!” Baldi announced. “Since we’re here already, I’d like to introduce you to our new student: Bends-A-Bunch!” He motioned to the new kid, a 2d sprite of a kid with blonde hair and noodly limbs that seemed to be drawn by an amateur.  “Say hello! Tell us about yourself!” The student’s frown deepened with discomfort, causing Baldi’s look to become one of sympathy.

“Aaw, it’s okay. Don’t be shy.” Baldi patted the student on the back. “We’re all friends around here.” He gave a soft smile to the kid. Suddenly a paper ball was thrown at Marcus, distracting him from the admittedly heartwarming scene of Baldi trying to ease a new kid’s nerves. He looked back to see It’s A Bully with an eye closed and sticking his tongue out whilst aiming his next throw straight between Marcus’ eyes.

“Mr. Baldi! It’s A Bully’s throwing paper balls at Marcus!” Playtime shouted. Wait, how did they…? “Hey!” Bully shouted, putting away the crumpled paper. “Was not!” Marcus looked between the two as they fought. “I saw you do it! I’m telling the Principal!” She yelled. “Fine then, do it! See if I care!” It’s A Bully crossed his arms and scoffed. “Settle down, everyone. There’s still a new kid here, so we all gotta make a good first impression!” Baldi explained matter-of-factly.

“DO YOU MEAN THE ONE THAT LOOKS LIKE THEY WANT TO TALK TO MARCUS?” 1st Prize asked, which led to Marcus looking over his shoulder and yelping before stumbling back once he saw Bends-A-Bunch looking up at him from behind their blonde bangs. They spoke in a high-pitched, nasally voice. “Can I talk to you?” They asked. “We can hear you… I think.” Marcus was concerned now. Not only did Playtime and 1st Prize say his actual name in voice, but now the new kid wants to talk to him?

“...Sure.” He nodded. “I take it you two would like to go on a walk together?” Baldi asked. Marcus went to speak, but was immediately interrupted. “That’s fine. Just be quick!” Baldi motioned to the chalkboard, which read ‘+’s and -’s: The basics of math.’ “Class starts soon, and I wouldn’t want any students to be late for our first lesson on Addition and Subtraction! Haha!” Marcus hesitantly gave Baldi a thumbs up before leaving the classroom with Bends-A-Bunch.

“I didn’t know there were new characters in this game.” Marcus mumbled under his breath. “There’s not.” Bends-A-Bunch corrected him sternly. “There’s different schools with different sets of students, other than the default ones, and somehow I bump into another real player.” Bends-A-Bunch stared at the nearby elevator. “Something changed. The game wasn’t supposed to be updated like this.” They sat down near the elevator, motioning for Marcus to do the same.

Marcus was shocked when he actually… willed his character to sit down without having to lift a finger. Bends-A-Bunch shook their head. “When I first found out I could do that, I thought it was pretty cool, but now… I just wish I got all the notebooks and got out while I still could.” They spoke listlessly. “Now I’m being introduced to a class like they didn’t just make me a part of this place.” Marcus raised a brow. “The heck you mean?” He asked.

“This place… these people, this whole game is a parasite.” Bends-A-Bunch yelped. “The new update doesn’t allow you to quit when you’re in one of these seeds with a ‘new student.’” Marcus went to quit, but the You Can Think Pad that made up the pause menu was broken. There was one message transcribed on it.

You shouldn’t leave so soon! We haven’t even started Hide-and-Seek yet!

That scared Marcus more than it felt like it should have. “Your only way out is through Johnny’s shop, which is at the pit stop.” Bends-A-Bunch explained before giving him a warning. “Don’t try to beat the game, don’t even buy anything from Johnny, just get the four notebooks, and get out while you still can. Please.” It was at this moment that the Principal walked past. “You two should get back to class.” He deadpanned. Marcus stood up. “Alright. Come on, Bends-A-Bunch.” He motioned to follow him as he began to leave.

“We’ll talk more after class.” Bends-A-Bunch stated. “Just… be careful. If anything weird starts to happen, run.” They whispered to Marcus, who nodded as he and his friend went back to class. They went back into class, but the classroom was empty, with nothing but a notebook on the teacher’s desk. In permanent ink, ‘Read me!!1!’ was written on the front in comic sans. Marcus curiously walked up to the desk and opened the notebook.

I see you’ve met our newest classmate in person. While I was hoping that we could all do that, I guess some things don’t go to plan. Speaking of plans, I just remembered that the original plan (before the new student) was you and I playing a game of hide and seek. If you’re just someone that’s owned this game for a while, you should already know what to do. If you’re really new here, and you don’t know what I’m talking about, then I’ll fill you in and give you a few tips.

I’ll count down from 10 to 0 from where I’m standing (usually at the elevator on the other side of this floor) and you try to find all the notebooks on the current floor, and run back to the elevator. On the next floor, there’s more than one elevator, and you will always have to leave through the last one you visit because the others are out of order. On this first floor, there are four notebooks, one of which you're currently reading from.

Usually how this goes is exactly how the murals in the Principal's office are, but something really interesting happened recently and now we all have interesting abilities! (Bends-A-Bunch included, but they’re still in denial.) I’ll go over them below.

• 1st Prize

• • He always loves a hug, so whenever he loses sight of a friend, don’t be surprised if you see another one of him pop up out of nowhere! You can’t hide from the hugs! Haha!

• It’s A Bully

• • You thought he was bad before, now he’ll take more items from you, and even try to lock you in a locker until one of the other people in the school finds you! That no-good bully’s up to no-good!

• Playtime

• • Jump rope was always her passion, but now with the jump rope infused into her body, she can do all sorts of things with it, like reel in new playmates!

• Gotta Sweep

• • Someone spilled BSODA on the floor on the day the crazy thing that gave us this new stuff happened, so now his bristles are extra sticky! Good luck getting out of his grip unless he runs into something you can grab onto. (This also means he’s not affected by BSODA anymore.)

• Principal of the Thing

• • The Principal’s been working out… at least, I think. Either way, he’s much faster now! Rule-breaker’s beware, for detention is what you’ll get if you mess with the Principal! Haha!

• Mrs. Pomp

• • Mrs. Pomp now gives more varied time limits. (with a minute at least and 5 at most.) She also has a body now, which is probably very odd to see for most people.

• Cloudy Copter

• • It’s raining BSODA! Not really, but Cloudy Copter can fight back if you use BSODA now, so there’s that. He’s also a rain cloud now! Watch out for lightning!

• Beans

• • He finally got the hang of blowing bubbles! Really big bubbles! Seriously, don’t get caught in those, you’ll be lucky if you manage to get out of them.

• The Test

• • I can barely see what I’m writing now. The Test can not only blind you, but other people too. You can use this to your advantage, but watch out. I can still hear every door you open! Haha!

• Dr. Reflex

• • Dr. Reflex offers more varied tests of reflexes now, not only to help them pass the test, but also to get them to do more exercise! Don’t be surprised if one of them involves running, but don’t run too far! (Don’t let the Principal see you, either.)

• Chalkes

• • Chalkes was always a mischief maker, but now he can come off the board and make chalk creatures to chase you around with! They don’t do much other than block your path, but you have to admit that Chalkes’ art is pretty good!

• Arts & Crafters

• • Arts & Crafters might get so jealous of your notebooks that he’ll take one for himself. You’ll have to get it back before you can progress further!

• Baldi (That’s me!)

• • Even before all of this, I could hear every door you open, and tell that it was you who did it, but now I can do even more wacky and cool things! I’d tell you all about it, but I wanna keep it a surprise. :)

• Bends-A-Bunch

• • They live up to their name and more! Their hands can stretch and stretch and stretch and not hurt a single bone in that student’s body! (If they have any, that is.)

Now that I’ve gone over everyone in the school and our new talents, I’ll answer some commonly asked questions.

Question: How am I able to control the game without my controls?

Answer: Well, that’s easy! From the moment you followed me into this classroom, the Schoolhouse itself started adapting your very soul into the game, allowing you to become just as lifelike as your classmates. Isn’t that amazing?

Question: Will my soul be damaged?

Answer: Absolutely not! We at Here School value the sentience and personality of every school member, whether faculty or student.

Question: Are you going to hurt me?

Answer: Of course not! Maybe a slap on the wrist for a wrong answer, but that was the standard back in my day! Here at Here School, all of us are friendly as can be. (Especially 1st Prize, he just wants a hug.)

Question: Are you self-aware?

Answer: Yes. We all are. I mean, I offered you the tutorial for Pete’s sake! Haha!

Question: How do I leave?

Answer: If Bends-A-Bunch didn’t tell you already, there’s a door in a hall next to a sign of me saying, “Save and Quit this way!” If you really don’t want to become a member of our Super Schoolhouse, then we won’t stop you from showing yourself to the door when you reach the Pit Stop.

Question: What is there to do here?

Answer: Oh, there’s lots to do in my Super Schoolhouse! We can play games, learn, and even go on field trips! Doesn’t that sound exciting?

Question: Will there be others like me?

Answer: Every Schoolhouse has a different seed, and you’re a lucky student that happened upon us! The chance of someone coming here at random is very slim, but not impossible! The chance of someone coming in on purpose, however…

Question: What will happen to me if I’m caught?

Answer:

I hope that answers all of your questions! Now get out there and get those notebooks! I know you’ll get good grades out there! Haha!

Signed,

Professor Baldi Baldimore

Marcus looked at Bends-A-Bunch, who solemnly nodded. “I can’t leave, but you can.” They put a hand on his shoulder for a moment. “Good luck.” They left after saying that, leaving Marcus alone with his thoughts. He sighed before deciding to continue on.

He has to leave.

Now.

Chapter Text

Marcus peeked out of the classroom, nervous about the ‘game’ he was playing. He hesitantly left the classroom to get to the next one. Luckily for him, the classroom he was in was farthest from the elevator. He knew Dr. Reflex couldn’t spawn on Floor 1… at least, that’s what he heard. He turned a corner and found It’s A Bully… or, rather, from the looks of things, what was left of him. Its head turned completely backwards to meet Marcus’ gaze.

“Give me something great.” It demanded. Marcus didn’t have any items, and thus began to walk back the way he came. Suddenly, a large, distorted hand stopped him in his tracks. “You’re not getting away that easy, twerp.” The abomination growled as it opened a cyan locker and threw Marcus in before locking it and leaving him there. He swore he saw something pass by for a split second, and also found the lock of the cyan locker broken upon leaving it.

Marcus was beginning to realize Baldi was only talking about abilities in the notebook and not physical changes. The closest he got to that was saying that Playtime had her jump rope infused with her body, but what in the world did that entail? Just then, Marcus looked down to see something small and rope-like wrapped around his ankle. Upon being spotted, it pulled him into the hallway. More ropes began to wrap around him as he was dragged…

…directly into a monstrosity of jump ropes and squiggled hair. It giggled before unhanding Marcus and leaving a singular jump rope at his feet. “Let’s play!” Marcus knew he had to play with what was once a little girl in a red dress. “Jump rope five times in a row! Once you do, I’ll let you go!” It explained cheerfully. “Ready? Go!” He jumped once, twice… then saw what became of 1st Prize and tripped. “Oops! You messed up!” Playtime declared as 1st Prize began its approach.

1st Prize was… well, just as messed up as the others. A mess of machinery and wires, all programmed to desire Marcus’ image. Marcus tried to cautiously skip rope out of sight, but alas, the machine-based form snagged him and bumped him straight into a wall. “WILL YOU MARRY ME?” It asked in a thousand robotic voices. Marcus silently ran off before stopping in front of a strange growth on the ground. It began to sprout into… another mechanic monstrosity.

“COME BACK TO ME, FRIEND.” It begged. “I WILL ACCOMPANY YOU FOR YOUR ASSIMILATION.” Marcus did not like the sound of that at all. He ran into the nearest classroom and grabbed the 2nd notebook. Before he could even react, he was taken to the Principal’s office. The Principal’s multitude of limbs acted as legs, and his face contorted further and further from normalcy as he spoke in a much deeper voice than usual. “Fifteen seconds. Detention for you.” He scuttled out the door at the speed of light, with Marcus just barely catching the first syllable of his next voiceline.

Well, he knew what got the Bully earlier. He had to be extra careful.

Marcus grabbed a confiscated BSODA and walked on, only to see a distorted, tree-like broom barrelling after him at the speed of sound, giving him just a moment to use the BSODA on him… and forget Baldi’s warning in the notebook that that wouldn’t work… and that what became of Cloudy Copter was right behind it. Gotta Sweep’s blue, sticky bristles kept Marcus stuck fast and left him to struggle as he just barely saw the splash of BSODA being bounced back at the wall.

He continued getting swept down the path until he was able to just barely climb into a cyan locker. He tried to recollect himself before hearing an all-too familiar voice. “You look like you could use some help.” A surprisingly normal Baldi called out as he walked in front of the locker and stared in at Marcus. “I know you’re in there. You don’t have to be so afraid. Is it because I forgot to answer the last question?” Marcus could see through Baldi’s friendly nature… at least, he hoped it wasn’t one…

Because if it wasn’t, then Baldi either actually thought what he was probably about to do was a good thing, or he was a surprisingly oblivious inventor.

“Tell you what. I’ll answer your questions and show you what I can do, and you can watch from in there!” He cheered before closing his eyes for a moment. His eyes closed and his mouth opened. He began to softly choke and gag on something that began to slither its way out of his mouth like a serpent from its jar… a hand… his hand… with his sleeve following after, both stretching to an unprecedented length.

Suddenly, a stretchy hand grabbed Baldi, causing him to yelp and retract the twisted limb. “Leave him alone!” Bends-A-Bunch shouted. “Aaaw, but I found him!” He whined before he was thrown to another area of the hallway. “You’re no fun!” Baldi called after them as he landed. Bends-A-Bunch quickly opened the locker and dragged Marcus with them to the next classroom, where Mrs. Pomp, in all of her strange-looking glory, was sitting at a desk.

“Good afternoon, you two!” She waved a freakishly short hand. “What brings you two here?” She questioned with curious, dead-looking eyes. “Grabbing a notebook.” Marcus huffed, still trying to recollect himself. “And hiding from the professor.” Bends-A-Bunch added. “Well, the professor is very good at finding people, so if you’re really hiding, I’d suggest taking the shortcut behind me.” Mrs. Pomp explained. “It’ll lead you to a different area of the school.” Marcus nodded before Bends-A-Bunch stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Marcus. We shouldn’t.” They warned. “...Fair enough.” Marcus shrugged before a creature, made of chalk, but akin to a rorschach creation, picked up Marcus and threw him through the door. “Oh my!” Mrs. Pomp gasped. “Marcus, are you okay out there?!” Bends-A-Bunch looked… uncomfortable. “That… looked like it hurt.” They muttered as they came close to Marcus. “He said they’d block your path, not throw you.” He grumbled.

“Yeah, being part of a hivemind has been… overwhelming for most of us.” A new voice, sounding like it was filtered by water, spoke. A strange figure with a magenta and yellow propeller hat sat down next to Marcus. “On the bright side, I can make really big bubbles now! Wanna see?” He asked. “N-no, no. Maybe later, but not now.” Bends-A-Bunch put their hands up in defense. “D’aww, really?” The figure asked. “Yes, Beans, we’re trying to leave.” Bends-A-Bunch told him with a slight stern edge.

Marcus was tired. He was terrified, tired, and just wanted this to end. He has three out of four notebooks and most of the characters he’s met thus far are more messed up than the last. He looked at Bends-A-Bunch. “Are they all worried?” He asked. They looked down for a moment and then nodded. “They… genuinely want you and the other players to be a part of this.” They helped him up. “But it will cost you everything.”

Marcus looked down before nodding solemnly. “Alright. We should move on.” The two students walked past Beans and through a yellow door that led straight to a hallway that had the last classroom, and in turn, the last notebook. Marcus rushed through the door and grabbed the last notebook, to which the school’s PA system went off. “Congratulations! You found all 4 notebooks!” He cheered.

“Now all you need to do is…” He paused for a moment, probably for dramatic effect, “...Find a way out before I catch you! Hahahaaaa!” Baldi’s disturbing laugh echoed through the hall as the announcement ended and the lights began to flicker. He ran through the halls with reckless abandon with Bends-A-Bunch following close behind. Eventually, he ran into Arts and Crafters, a torn up sock puppet with paints, and hopefully not blood, on its distorted, contorting frame as it began scuttling towards him.

It wasn’t long before the PA system sprung to life again. “Uh-oh! Looks like Arts and Crafters took one of your notebooks! Better get it back before time runs out!” Marcus realized that he completely forgot that this game is timed. If he didn’t get out before the timer ran out, Baldi would only get faster and faster. (Not to mention the faster-than-light Principal would immediately grab him and place him in his office for being in school after hours.)

Marcus quickly gave chase to the demented puppet, who flipped through page after page of the notebook. Whatever the contents may contain was up to debate, but the sock grinned like a demon at them. Considering how fast they were, it took Marcus a few minutes to catch them, but when they finally did, time had already run out. “Class dismissed! School is no longer in session!” Baldi announced over the PA. “Better wrap things up soon, or else I'm gonna fiiiiind yoooooou!”

Bends-A-Bunch quickly guided him over to the elevator, but stopped and quickly put their arm in front of Marcus upon seeing Baldi on the other end of the hall. Baldi’s model began to twitch and contort in ways no model ever should. “Hi, Bends-A-Bunch.” He looked almost disappointedly at them before turning his now excited gaze to Marcus. “Hi, Marcus!” Bends-A-Bunch began to back up, taking Marcus in tow.

“Oh, I know why you’re scared of me!” Baldi exclaimed. “It’s because of how bugged everyone’s models have been-” Bends-A-Bunch glared at Baldi as they interrupted him. “They’re not bugged. They’re not even sprites anymore.” They growled. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but no amount of human soul absorption or whatever you’ve done to me is going to fix this.” Baldi’s expression softened slightly at Bends-A-Bunch’s accusation.

“Fix? Who said anything about fixing this?” Baldi asked. “All of my new abilities are really handy, and I wanna share them with you all.” He explained matter-of-factly. “If there were a way to do it and keep you where you’re from, that would be fantaaastiiic!” His expression faltered slightly. “But, sadly, I can’t, so I gotta do it this way.” Bends-A-Bunch motioned for Marcus to run, but… he didn’t. He couldn’t.

He wanted to. Really, he did… but as the Bully, Playtime and 1st Prize began to approach from the other hallway, his legs wouldn’t move. Bends-A-Bunch’s eyes widened as Baldi drew close. “Don’t you see how scared he is?!” They yelped. “I understand.” Baldi nodded as his literally outstretched hand reached for Marcus. “Going through all of this was scary for all of us at first.” His form distorted a little less, but long fingers were all Marcus could see.

But we’ll help you through it.

Baldi started into Marcus’ eyes as they darted down to his hands. His body began to feel numb… and cold. He stretched his arm out slightly, only to see his hands glitch out terribly. It didn’t even hurt, but it scared him so much that he thought it did.

It’s scary, I know, but we can all adjust together.

I’m so sorry, Marcus.

I just wish you would have ran.

NOW

YOU

ARE

DOOMED.

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A long-time player woke up and stretched, making sure to keep their body healthy and happy as they went through their daily routine of showering, brushing their teeth, and making breakfast. They went to their laptop and saw the changelog for the new update for Baldi’s Basics Plus. The changelog read as follows.

Hello everyone!

I decided to make a medium quality of life update for Baldi’s Basics Plus, due to many reports that were sent to me over the past month. I tried my best to fix everything and get it right with the help of Serverblight Studios. That’s right, I’m doing things with a professional team that previously worked on TF2 mods and they offered to help me with some new game mechanics! Thank you all for your patience!

Changelog

Additions

• Added an extra ‘hard mode’ for people who want a real challenge on specific seeds.

• • 1st Prize can randomly clone himself in this mode.

• • It’s A Bully can take more than one item, and lock you in a locker if you don’t have anything. (Don’t worry, the other people can get you out.)

• • Playtime can use her jump rope as a lasso in this mode.

• • Gotta Sweep will not let you move and is not affected by BSODA in this mode.

• • Principal Of The Thing is super fast in this mode.

• • Mrs. Pomp gives more varied time limits.

• • Cloudy Copter can deflect BSODA.

• • Beans can blow bubbles that you can get stuck inside in this mode.

• • The Test can blind other characters in this mode.

• • Dr. Reflex has more than one test in this mode.

• • Chalkes can summon chalk minions in this mode.

• • Baldi can reach you from far away areas, among other things.

• Added a couple new secrets.

• Added more voice lines & animations to the characters to make them feel more alive!

Changes

• Tweaked the AI to balance out difficulty for newer players. Difficulty increases the more games are completed.

• Optimized the camping minigames better for new players.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a couple sprite bugs people noticed. Whoops!

And that’s it! I hope this new update is as fulfilling for you as it was for me!