We've Been Here Before (Henry Stickmin Fanfiction)

Chapter Twelve: Locked Below

Henry's heavy eyelids managed to flutter open, bright light causing him to hiss as his head painfully throbbed. His sore body lay uncomfortably on the cold, concrete floor.

He groaned, and tried to get up, failing due to the tight, metal shackles that were covering both of his hands. He managed to raise himself into a sitting position, and made note of his surroundings.

He seemed to be in a high-tech cell, with bright green beams of light standing between him and his chance of freedom.

He examined his shackles, noticing that a thick chain ran from them. His gaze followed the chain across the cracked concrete and up the cell wall, where it was secured.

Great. Henry sighed and leaned his back up against the wall. How many times have I been kept prisoner? Two? Maybe three times? I forgot ...

He shook the shackles a little, the chain clinging on the floor.

Too strong to break.

Suddenly, he felt the hair on his arms stand as he realised something important.

The remote.

Henry lifted his restrained arms above his head, craning his neck to look down at his hoodie pocket.

The pocket was flat and empty.

No.

No. No no. Nonononono!

He glanced around the entire cell, desperate, hoping to see it in the corner or something.

The device was nowhere to be seen.

Shit. Right Hand Man must have taken it while I was knocked out ...

At that moment, there were three things Henry needed to do.

He needed to get out of this cell.

He needed to get that remote back.

He needed to get off this stupid, god damn ship.

"Ahem...." a quiet voice tried to get Henry's attention.

He gazed up, seeing a Toppat member dressed in lilac. He looked pretty young, maybe in his late teens to early twenties. His blond bangs were so long, they covered his eyes. How he could even see at all was a miracle.

Henry also noticed that the boy's left leg was a prosthetic. He must have lost his leg somehow ...

Henry leaned foward. "W-what do you w-want?" He tried his best to sound intimidating, but that stupid stuttering problem prevented that from happening.

The boy answered. "I see you are in need of help. And maybe ... I can provide it ..."

Henry scoffed. "A T-Toppat? Help me? Y-you can't be s-serious ..."

"But I am!" He put a gloved hand on his chest. "My name is Tobias. Tobias Kace. You must be the infamous Henry Stickmin."

Henry's stuttering got worse as he got more nervous. "S-s-so what if I-I am?"

Tobias leaned down so he was eye level with Henry. "I have heard about the things you and your friends did with this clan, sending them to a complex and all ..."

Henry raised an eyebrow at him, not sure where he was going with this.

"The fact is ... I kiiiinda need your help ..."

Henry shot up straight. "Why?"

The boy hesitated. Then, he began to explain. "I'm not supposed to be here ... I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and was forced to join the clan against my will ..."

Henry wasn't sure if he believed this story, but listened anyway.

Tobias continued. "I've been trying to get off this ship for months, but now that you're here, both of us can leave!"

"W-what makes you t-t-think I can help you?" Henry asked, tilting his head.

"Because I know about you! You've managed to get out of these messes before!"

Oh, you have no idea, Henry thought to himself.

"The fact is," Tobias said. "We can help each other. I can help you get that gadget back, and we help each other escape!"

"What!? H-how did you-" Henry was completely dumbfounded at how he knew about the device.

"I saw the Right Hand take it from you before he put you in here." Tobias stood up, and smiled, holding out his hand to Henry. "What donypu say? Do you trust me?"

Henry didn't know what to think. On one hand, he was definitely nice enough to be telling the truth.

The other hand, however, was that he was a Toppat, and could easily be lying to him. He had dealt with way too much betrayal in the past, and didn't want to go through that again.

Only two options appeared before him.

>Trust.         >Do Not.