Showtime Showdown (Reversed Story, BATIM + SB)

Chapt. 2 |☆| Part 11 - The Ritual Must Begin

Henry had awoken first.

First to the sound of ropes, first to the sound of footsteps, and first to the sound of wood thudding softly against wood.

His mind was hazy, unable to process at first, though his eyes hastily snapped open when he heard a voice.

"There we go, nice and tight." Sammy hummed, standing over someone.. familiar.

'That puppet..' Henry realized, just as the other's eyes clumsily opened.

"Whhuh.. Lawr? What's goin' on-"
"Shhh," He cooed, placing a hand on the dazed puppet's chin to tilt his head upward. "You are safe, Little Lamb. You will help in setting us free."

"..Helpin'.. I like helpin'."

Oh, this guy had no idea what was going on, did he? Henry's face paled when he started to realize that poor guy must be as clueless as him, seeing the puppet quickly regain his senses and realize almost instantly after that he was tied up.

"Wait- LAWRENCE! What's goin' on?! Wh-"
Bandit glanced over trying to look around, freezing up like a deer in headlights upon seeing Henry as Sammy tilted to look towards the rumbling pipes.

"Now, now-"
"Lawr- That's a human, I- We gotta get 'em and get outta here!"
"-We wouldn't want our sheep roaming away now, would we, My Lord?"

Bandit was visibly confused, terrified, overwhelmed- Henry furrowed his brow, unable to find anything to say as the pipes went quiet again.

Thump.
Sammy smiled as the pipe let out one small noise in response, hand still slipped under Bandit's chin as he moved to grasp it, as if getting a better look at the other's face as he cooed out a "You're right; We wouldn't."

The sweetness in his tone did nothing to hide his bad intentions.
Letting go as realization hit the puppet, he allowed the other's head to droop as he stared at the floor almost.. stunned, stepping back to speak.

"I must admit, I am.. honored, you two came all the way down here to visit me. Quite honestly, It makes what I'm about to do, seem... Cruel."

Stepping over towards Henry, Sammy grabbed the man's axe from the wall beside him, turning it in his palms as Henry glanced up at him.
"..Why are you doing this?"

"It's simple; The believers must honor their savior.
And I, the prophet, must sacrifice so much more then any of them combined to keep Him content.

But this time, I have done everything right. I have found the best of sacrifices, and there is no doubt that-!"
Realizing he was losing composure, Sammy clears his throat and breathes deeply.
"There is no doubt that these sacrifices will be the ones to set us free."

The prophet chuckled smoothly, composure returning fully to soothe his once manic voice.

"For you," He leans in towards Henry, grabbing the man by his forehead and pressing his head back against the wooden post. "You, he tells me; are a special one. Much like the old man, the creator- You are human, but you.. are from here."

He let go, stepping back before leaning closer to Bandit- who, at some point, had started pulling his knees close to his chest as he panicked.
"And you- You're not from here."

'That solidifies it', Henry decides; This puppet guy.. had no idea.
Fuck, he could've almost killed the poor guy. An innocent.

"You're... Naive. Pure, one would say- Innocent." Sammy chuckles.
"Yet at the same time, you're not too foolish, are you?
You're quick to react, quick to protect, quick on your feet..
Dare I say it, you might be a perfect vessel."

"VESSEL?!" Bandit finally broke from the daze, squirming slightly. "I swear on my strings I ain't no vessel! This puppet ain't got room for two puppeteers!" He protested.

"Oh, don't worry." Sammy chirped, moving to place the axe against a couple wooden boards nearby.
"You won't have to worry about two; If you really are a puppet, all you need is a change of strings."

Bandit went quiet for a moment.
"You.... I AIN'T EVER GUNNA FORGIVE YA', Y'HEAR ME?!" Bandit shouted as the man made his way to a door off to the side.
"YOU NO-GOOD, LYIN'...!!"

Click.

The door shut, Bandit kicking at the floor harshly and taking a deep breath.

"...Hey," Henry started after a small pause, the puppet side-eyeing him for a moment before glancing away.
"What's your name?"