This Inky Hell (A Multipath BatIM Fanfiction) [Completed]

(Sammy's Path) 2 - Loyalties

Sammy grimaced quietly as she continued her work, panting gently as he struggled to speak.

"Natalie... Why are you... Helping me?" she stared him dead in the eye of his mask, her green eyes full of pity for the fool.

"Because you idiot, Henry wouldn't understand why you did what you did. You're not the bad guy here, Drew is, and Henry has made his loyalties clear by abandoning us." he seemed to ponder her words, and she continued mending his wound in silence, his labored and raspy breathing filling the silence in patterns. A single word left his mouth, his response to her explanation.

"Betrayed..." he understood. They were betrayed, abandoned, and framed as the bad guys. Henry wouldn't understand, but oh she would do her best to make him understand. If Henry was on Joey's side, that made him her enemy too, despite the fact he may believe otherwise. They were damned to an inky hell because of Drew, and Natalie was beginning to see where her loyalties lie. She gently helped him up as she finished with the wound, wrapping his arm around her shoulder to support him as they slowly made their way back to his sanctuary. He grunted quietly, doing his best to stay upright as they phased through a wall.

"Sammy." he grunted curiously, leaning against a wall to breath. "Who is it you worship?" he sighed heavily, taking his sweet time to think about her question, before finally shaking his head, and they continued. She didn't push further, only helping him to his sanctuary to rest and recover. Only when he finally seated himself on the chair did he take a deep breath, startling her with his next words.

"I worship nothing now." he turned his back to her, removing his mask and staring at the battered face of bendy the dancing demon. Natalie pursed her lips, putting a hand on his shoulder comfortingly, and he sighed. "When I recover, we're going on a little trip down to a place I know, and we can take refuge there." she nodded quietly, leaving a small pat on his back as she left him to rest. He called out to her when she reached the entrance to his sanctuary. "Natalie. Thank you. I understand it must be... Hard without him." she grunted quietly in response, unwilling to be reminded as she walked away from the open sanctuary, taking refuge in the projector booth to keep a lookout.

One of Norman's old overcoats sat on a hook, with a thick layer of dust coating the fabric. She slowly picked it up, shaking it off with a cough as dust flew everywhere. At least she could keep this, something of his to take with her on the journey forward. She wrapped it around her waist, tying the sleeves to hold it in place before sitting down, lifting her hand to examine the shiny silver ring. It was surprisingly clean, for her body being made of ink, as if it had some kind of protective ward surrounding it. The small bits of gold embroidering it looked like stars, and she found herself smiling at the thought. Norman somehow found out she liked stargazing at some point, whether through chatting with her family or just stalking her. She chuckled at the thought, quickly putting her hand away to watch over the orchestra room.

Lots of good memories were shared here, old friends and new habits. The days she wouldn't socialize with the band were the days she spent in here on lunch break, humming a tune or playing the violin. Speaking of the violin...

She stepped up quietly, making her way to her old violin and sitting down with it in hand. Some old sheet music, collecting more dust, still sat on the stand, and she blew a hefty breath to clear it away. Dust particles danced in the air, before settling down on another surface again, and she sat down to read the sheet. Natalie plucked at the strings idley, testing its tuning before determining it ready to play, and she grabbed the bow. The sound it produced was sweet music to her ears compared to the deathly silence of the studio, a smile graced her features.

"Simply divine, isn't it?" Sammy called out from his sanctuary, he sounded happier that she was playing. "It's quite the treat listening to you play after all these years." she hummed thoughtfully. As if on a whim, the question slipped her mouth on its own. How long had it been? A moment of silence was shared, before Sammy called out, his voice cracking subtly. "It's been twelve years." he cleared his throat quickly to cover the voice crack, but she'd heard it. A flash of agitated grief ran through her gut, and she pushed it away. Twelve years. She kept quiet, doing her best to keep herself together and play her old violin some more. Sammy eventually began humming along to the music, and for once she felt just a bit happier...

. . . .

A gentle nudge on her shoulder made her grumble, and she quickly opened her eyes. When did she fall asleep? Sammy was leaned over her gently, his mask had been put back on, and his breathing was much more steady than it had been since he got attacked. She blew a gust of air in his face, and he chuckled quietly, holding out a hand to help her up.

"You had me thinking you were dead, Nat." she chuckled with him, grabbing his hand and hoisting herself up.

"Me? Dead? Do you not recall my condition when I quit?" a hearty laugh escaped his throat, his head thrown back to let the sound echo through the empty orchestra room as the memory replayed with him. The atmosphere suddenly felt much lighter, and she found herself joining in. It was true, it was funny now. She'd shown up in the orchestra room after her fight with Joey a bloody and bruised mess, with an anger as hot as a raging fire as she said two simple words. It seems most of the band had severely underestimated her capabilities, because they seemed to fear her strength.

"Now, I am feeling... Much better. Shall we continue our journey?" she held a hand out to stop him. If they were going out there, where anything could happen... "We need weapons?" he finished her thought for her, and she nodded her head. Sammy hummed thoughtfully, sending a casual glance around the room. He gave a small 'aah' after a while, and quickly retreated to the hallway, pulling out a glossy wooden bat and handing it to her. She examined it carefully, small dents in the wood signified excessive use, and another memory flashed through her mind. She quickly evaded it, giving a grateful nod in Sammy's direction as he quickly retrieved an axe from his sanctuary.

They'd work better as a team, no doubt. Sammy took the lead, and they backtracked to a route that would lead further down. She found herself in front of a lift in no time, it looked recently used, though she paid no mind, quickly clambering inside as Sammy picked a random floor, kicking up a conversation.

"We're going to need to work our way down. As I'm sure you can guess, we are not the... Only ones in the studio." she hummed in agreement, though her thoughts kicked in shortly after. What else could be lurking the studio? Sammy seemed to guess her question, resuming his words. "There's the ink demon we must be mindful of, of course. A... Very peculiar angel wanders as well, we must avoid her, as she doesn't take a liking to our kind." so two major threats. She nodded again, shuffling in place as she twirled the wooden bat around in her grasp idley.

She found her loyalties, her kind, her team, and her family. Sammy and others like her were all she needed, and she would defend them with her arm and tongue.