Return To The Machine

Chapter 38

Henry and Wally stood next to each other and fist-bumped each other as a greeting. "Are you serious? Wally! You were down here the whole time and didn't find me?!" Tom snapped. Wally rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry! Being chased down by a monster made of ink isn't exactly the reason to go exploring for survivors. But... I hope you know that I was worried about you. Nothing's been the same down here..." he sighed. Tom's expression softened hearing the words coming out of his mouth. Wally turned to Henry who shrugged. "I escaped after the last time we had a revolt against Bendy. Audrey's battle with him weakened him. It didn't stop him. Now with you here, he'll only get stronger. Which is why we need to work fast." Henry explained.

Parker nodded his head. "We will. We're going to stop Bendy. I know more than I did before I came in. There's still hope! All we have to do is find Sammy. Joey isn't really a threat to Bendy right now."

"How can you be so sure? You'd be surprised how easily that con artist can fool you. He's tried to fool all of us. He has fooled all of us. Now we're down here. You're not wrong though. Sammy should take first priority." Tom told them. Parker nodded. "That shouldn't be too hard. Thankfully I know exactly where Wilson has taken them. Hopefully, he hasn't made any harsh adjustments to the musician. He'll want to get to work on him as soon as he can... Sammy doesn't have a lot of time. We'll have to take a shortcut to get to the prisons where they're keeping him and Buddy." Alice told them.

"Do you know the way there?" Rosa asked her. "Why else would I have suggested it? Although we'll have to be careful. It's shorter but that doesn't mean it's not any less dangerous." Alice replied. "Then let's not waste any more time. Let's go!"

...

The group discovered the path that Alice was going down was somewhere Joey had taken them years ago. Henry scoffed seeing everything. "I remember this... It's been a long time." he said. Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement while Parker and Rosa could only look around. There were several old-timey posters hanging on the walls. Alice finally made it to a large compound where there were several prisons that had glass allowing you to see inside the rooms. Tom, Audrey, Wally, and Rosa kept watch while Parker and the others went inside. Henry and Alice were the only ones who knew the place well enough to know what to do.

Heading into another hallway, they found two cells in opposite rooms. "You go that way, I'll go this way, Allison, you keep watch." Henry instructed them. Allison held her pipe as Henry and Parker went down the left and Alice to the right. Knocking on the window, Alice peered into the glass seeing the musician sitting there on a bench holding his banjo. "Sammy! Sammy!" Alice hissed. Sammy groaned and turned around. He was somewhat surprised to know Alice of all people was here to save him from harm. "Who would've thought the she-demon would come to rescue me? Or are you just trying to get me out to use my organs?" he asked her in a demeaning tone.

"I should really just leave you here." she snapped, turning around. Sammy shrugged and picked his instrument back up, plucking at it. Noticing he didn't respond to her, Alice turned around quickly to see him ignoring her. She growled and stormed towards him. "I didn't waste my coming all the way down here just for you to ignore me! Now get moving!" Alice snapped. "Or what? You'll kill me? Please, that's already happened before. Besides, you didn't have my back previously. Why should I help you?" he asked Alice. "Because you idiot, I'm not here alone! That boy with the lack of skill and his little companion has threatened me along with the others."

Sammy's attention perked up as he heard the descriptions of Parker and Rosa. "They're actually here?!" he exclaimed. "Why else would I be here?" Alice replied.

Meanwhile, Buddy sat there in his cell, fidgeting with random items he found in his cell. He heard the tap on his cell's glass and snapped around to see who was behind him. He stood up excitedly and raced to their side after seeing Parker's face. "Don't worry! We're here!" Parker told him. "We're getting you out! We're getting Sammy too!"

Henry pulled on a few panels, pressed a few buttons, and opened up the door. "That should do it." he said, looking at the cell's door. It opened up right away, making a slight hissing sound as it released him. Buddy ran out and embraced Parker in a hug. Parker returned the favor and smiled. "It's good to see you too." he sighed. Buddy then stepped back to see Henry. He was taken aback but was also relieved to see him after all this time. "Hey Boris, I'm sorry I haven't been around. This place isn't exactly easy to maneuver in." Henry sighed, slightly ashamed. Buddy gave him a smile while waving a hand at him in a relaxed matter. He wasn't angry with the artist at all.

"Alright, come on! We need to get Sammy and get out of here." Parker told them. They nodded in agreement before racing to the other side to get to find Alice still bickering with Sammy. "For the last time, I didn't hurt anyone as of now! Please will you just come with me! I need to get out of here before they find a reason to stab me through my chest again!" Alice snapped. "I won't believe it until I see it." Sammy retorted. Alice clenched her fist trying to restrain every ounce of fury to not punch his cell. "Alice! What have you been doing?!" Parker exclaimed. "I'm trying to get him to come out! But he won't! He's being unbearable!"

They turned to Sammy who shrugged. "I just wanted to know if you were actually here. You can't really believe a word she says." he replied. Parker rolled his eyes as Wally walked into their area. "Ey, is everything okay? You've been takin' a long time y'know. If you don't hurry up, we're outta here!" he told them. Henry sighed and unlocked Sammy's door so he could come out. Sammy walked out of there slowly but surely and was relieved to see them all back together again. "Great, I have familiar faces... Never thought I'd say this but... It's good to see you after everything that's happened." Sammy told them, specifically looking at Parker. "I'm sorry it took us so long. We had a few bumps in the road." Parker responded, glancing at Alice briefly. "Good to see you too by the way. Even though you kept running away from us." Sammy chuckled.

Henry scoffed, amused. "I promise, I was just trying to protect you." Sammy nodded his head. "Okay, let's head out!" Parker told them as they all left the section together. They reached the end of the prison area where their friends were waiting.

"C'mon, let's get outta here!" Wally told the rest of their friends that were waiting for them. But he stopped along with the others when he saw what was happening.

Tom was knocked out, draped over a Keeper's arm. The Butcher Gang surrounded Audrey's limp body that lay out on the ground, Alice was being held back by Two Lost Ones, one of them covering her mouth. Then lastly Rosa was being held back by a Middle Aged man with a glowing eye and regular clothes who was smiling at them sinisterly. His arm was wrapped around her neck and his hand was over her mouth as she struggled against him.

"How interesting. I thought the Ink Demon would've gotten you all by now but clearly not. Come with me now. We have to have a chat."