An Inkwell's Stain //BATDR Fanfiction\\ [Female Reader]

Chapter Sixty-Three [Sammy's Sanctuary]

'Get away from him!' you yell at the Keepers, and they listen to your command reluctantly. Sammy coughed and looked to you, confused. 'What the hell are you doing back here? Where is my lord?' His anger registering on his face, but you kneel down and survey his wound. You can't fix this...

'He's fine, Sammy. Worry about yourself for once, you're dying!' Sammy shakes his head reluctantly. 'If it was to preach my God's gospel, then so be it.' You sigh and look him down, dead in his mask. 'What happened?' you ask quietly, and he looks away from you. 'I managed to free myself, if only for a little while.' Was all he said. You rest your Gent Pipe down on the ground beside you and look at his seeping, bleeding wound. The muck was getting on your clothes, so much was billowing out.

'Sammy...' you muttered before ripping off his mask. At your action he clawed at your hands, trying to grab it off of you. 'Snap out of it! This isn't you.' You say sternly, but he looked to be too far gone. The ink had taken this shell of a man long ago. He was enragedly yelling at you, and laughing hysterically, clutching his stomach as inky tears poured from his eyes at this strange array of emotions. You didn't know what to do. You leaned down and hugged him tightly, and he stopped rambling immediately.

'What are you-' he started to say, before relaxing. 'Stop doing this to yourself.' You say quietly, but he only listened. His breathing was shaky. You hadn't known this man long, but you knew he had to die for the Cycle. Maybe that's why this happened. You thought about ending his suffering, but you couldn't find it in yourself to kill him. 

While he was deranged and worshipped a cartoon, you saw what was going through him. This "Dark Puddles" nonsense had gotten to him, and you knew that was what had happened to Susie, to the Lost Ones, to everyone who seemed to have lost all hope or humanity in their system. And the Puddles were trying to do that to you, too. 

You rest your left hand on Sammy's wound and looked him in the eyes, smiling. 'What is your favourite thing?' You asked, and Sammy stared at you with pain and sadness. 'Music...' was all he croaked out. You exhale quietly, before humming, low and softly. Sammy lowered his head back as he listened. Without his mask, you saw that was just a regular Lost One, but Allison was right. While the Machine made most look the same, they're all pretty different inside.

'That's... my song...' he said quietly, and you remembered that he was the Music Department head of Joey Drew Studios. 'Jack...' you whispered with upset in his voice. Jack Fain was the lyricist, or his co-worker. You hum louder, and he piped down, relaxing his shoulders. As you sang with your voice, you felt your hand get warm as you saw his breathing get shallower with each breath. 'You...' he finally said, a look of realisation on his inky face. 'You're setting me free...' you coughed, and his eyes looked so happy as more tears bellowed down them. 'Thank you.'

His face melted down into the gross floorboards as you felt his soul rise. The whole studio shook at this, overwhelmed by this action you just took. That wasn't part of the script. This place was slowly falling apart with how much you were changing everything, but that act took a lot.

You look up and notice that the Keepers were gone. Everyone was gone. Looking around, you noticed all of the windows were either broken or their corresponding door was opened, so all of the prisoners escaped. Most. You looked back to Sammy's puddle and close your eyes. He's at peace now.