The Angel's Gift

Sammy's Sorrow

Henry groaned as he woke up from the blow. Vision was blurry and his head still hurt, but he was starting to come around. He opened his eyes to see where he was, only to find he was in a familiar scenario. He saw that he was tied up again and on what looked like a pentagram. He knew just what that meant.

"There you are! Finally, I found you, lost sheep" Sammy spoke up as he showed himself.

Henry was shocked to see the guy. He remembered he was just torn to shreds a few hours ago. "Sammy? How are you alive?"

"The magic around here keeps us all alive, one way or another. It took some time, but I was finally able to come around. My lord wouldn't let me die. He may have been displeased, but he will surely accept my offering now"

"Sammy! Listen to me! This isn't you!"

"And what do you know about me, little sheep?"

"It's me, Henry!"

The man flinched at that name. He took a closer look before realizing he was right. He remembered his old colleague, but refused to try before. Now he saw why he looked familiar.

"Ah yes, I remember you now. The traitor who dared to leave his own creations behind! My lord was certainly unhappy in the months that transpired after due to how he was now at the mercy of that...Joey" he seemed to grit his teeth at the name. "Then the Acolyte was subjected to so much suffering after countless reincarnations after he had the Queen corrupted"

"I came back to see what Joey had to show me! But now, I want to stop all this madness! Sammy, you can stop right now. It doesn't have to be this way!"

"I'm afraid there is no other option than this. You brought this upon yourself after leaving us all. What do I even have to return up there anymore?" he then began to walk away, presumably to the exit.

He had to find a way to stop him, and then it hit him. "What about Susie?"

The man stopped walking, but didn't turn to him. "She wouldn't want to see me after what I did"

"You were her closest friend. No amount of time that passed could erase you from her mind completely. You can't change the past, but you can learn something from it"

Sammy was deep in thought. He hadn't been trying to appease Bendy just because he wanted to be free, but he wanted to be able to see Susie again. In the time he was alone, he would remember the old days when she was still here. She was so full of light and brought light to the dark studio. He feared what would continue if she kept with Joey. He had to get her out. He missed her deeply, but knew it was for the best.

"Uncle Henry?"

Both turned their attention to the source of the small voice. Angel showed herself, still slightly tired as Battery fluttered around her head. Behind her was the Butcher Gang. When she noticed what was going on, she was fully awake.

"What's going on?"

"Susie..." Sammy spoke.

Angel was surprised when he mentioned her mother's name. He then slowly walked over to her. Battery was defensive as the Butcher Gang prepared to fight, but she gestured for them to stay calm.

"Sammy, that's not Susie. That's her daughter, Angel" Henry spoke up.

The man nodded, but still continued. He then knelt down infront of her to her eye level before feeling at her face. She looked so much like her mother it was heartbreaking.

"My mother told me a lot about you, Sammy"

She told her child about him? That was completely unexpected. He would've thought that if she ever moved on and had children of her own, she would not mention a word of him around them. But here he was, with her daughter. She was every bit as trusting and gave off the same kind smile he saw so long ago. She did remember him, and didn't even depict him as someone dangerous.

Before he could react, the little girl hugged him, ignoring the ink now on her sleeves. "Sacrifices must be made in the name of love"

He knew that phrase. That was his phrase. Since Susie left, he had constantly reminded himself that she was safer this way. It hurt that he would never see her again. He would even move away if she wanted to. And it sure looked like she hated him from the hostility as her office was cleared out. Every day, he regrets replacing her. And every day, he keeps going on. Allison may have taken Susie's role in the studio, but she could never replace her role in his heart.

He began to sob as he hugged her like she was a lifeline. He kept muttering something that sounded like apologies, and Susie's name was sometimes made out. All the while, she just hugged back and tried to comfort him. She nodded to Henry, who understood.

It took some time, but Sammy finally calmed down. He then helped with untying Henry. He still couldn't believe he was actually talking to the daughter of one of his closest colleagues. She was so much like her mother, in so many ways.

They had a bit of a discussion. The Butcher Gang had taken Angel out to safety in the Angel path room. They had a bad feeling about meeting Alice there if she found they had 'trailed tainted ink to her door' but it was a risk they were willing to take. Along the way, they met the Projectionist. He was initially going to attack, but stopped when he caught sight of the girl. Charlie explained what happened, including how she may know how to change them back to their old selves. He was able to help them there to the room. She soon regained consciousness before they all headed around to try and find Henry.

"You know how to change us all back?" Sammy asked.

"I have a hunch, but I need the resources before I could try it" she looked down at the book in her lap. "I need to find the book Illusion of the Living. It will give the answers I need"

Sammy knew just where it was, and gave the book over to her. Through it, she was able to infer how to finally break whatever was corrupting them all. They had to split into different teams due to how the objects were on different floors. The good thing was that the stairs were usable.

Henry and Angel had to go and find cardboard cutouts of all the Toon characters, or a poster would do. The Butcher Gang went about to obtain the extra thick ink from swollen Searchers while the Projectionist grabbed the hearts of the Butcher Gang clones. Sammy found the power valves and core powers.

They took some time, but they were able to obtain all the objects needed. They all gathered back to one of the rooms to see if they would be able to pull it off. Some mixing was done, as well as figuring out the rituals, but they were ready.

"Norman, you go first"

The ink being nodded before stepping onto the upside-down pentagram. Sammy then began to read the text that was re-written backwards. The candles around then began to brighten up more as they rose in size and brightness. Then, there was a blinding light. They waited until it was over before they saw it.

A normal, human Norman stood in the place of the Projectionist.