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

(Henry's Path) 2 - New Friend

She knocked calmly on the door, listening to the frantic footsteps on the other side. "Henry, open the door, it's me." it took a few seconds, but eventually the door opened, and she felt Henry grab her hand and pull her inside, slamming the door shut again. He was over her in an instant, a look blatant fear in his eyes.

"Oh thank God, I thought Sammy hurt you!" she scoffed, shaking her head slowly. She didn't feel like explaining things right now, and he seemed to get the message, breathing a sigh of relief and leading her into the next room. A can of bacon soup slowly rolled forward, and it was Henry who called out first while she bent over to pick it up. "I know you're in here, come out and show yourself."

A cartoony figure poked it's head around the corner curiously, two long ears poking from the top of its head, and a wolf like snout sticking out.

"Boris?" Boris waved casually, pointing to her curiously as he tilted his head. Henry cleared his throat, quick to introduce her with a sense of new trust in his voice. "This is Natalie, she's helping me find a way out of here." Natalie waved, trouncing over to Boris and holding her hand out.

"Nice to meet ya, Boris." Boris stared at her hand curiously, poking it and tilting his head in the opposite direction, right. He must not know about formal greeting gestures. An amused smile formed on her lips, and she retracted her hand, scratching his chin instead and making him lean into her hand. Henry chuckled behind her, making his way over to also pet the wolf.

"Already getting along? That's good. Do you know a safe place we can stay for a while Boris?" Boris nodded, gesturing them to follow as he walked back the way he came. Henry quietly tailed, and she took a look back at the door before making her way forward, did she make the right choice? She had a feeling Sammy and her would cross paths again, much further along. Would she have to fight him? She hoped not, Natalie didn't think she had the guts to bring a weapon down on a fellow lost one.

. . . .

She plopped down on the chair across from Boris, Henry retiring to the other room to rest. She could understand that. It's not everyday some delusional madman tries to sacrifice you to an ink demon. Henry had told her everything on the short way here, and she was beginning to understand now. Sammy worshipped the ink demon of the studio, looks like that alone was his downfall. Natalie wouldn't particularly care about some soulless ink entity wandering the halls of the studio, but seeing what it was capable of made her worry. She herself was made of ink, but Henry was a squishy and vulnerable human, he'd already been injured and she had yet to face off against this ink demon.

She hummed quietly, resting her head against her arms on the surface of the table, and drifting off to the quiet song filling the silence...

"Nat?" she grumbled quietly, cracking an eye open to see Henry and Boris staring back down at her. "It's time to go, think you can manage?" how long had she been asleep? She nodded, pulling herself up and wiping the subtle line of inky drool that had escaped during her slumber. Henry nodded back, sharing a few quiet words with Boris, and made his way out the now open door behind her. With a final stretch, she followed, eyeing the darkened corridor that was their path warily.

"Looks a bit dark. Is there a flashlight?" the subtle click of a flashlight sounded. "Huh, convenient." Boris shuffled behind her, and she felt him cling to her shoulders as they made their way through. "Don't worry buddy, if anything jumps out I'll be the first to knock it down, yeah?" his grip on her loosened, at least her words had their effect. Henry's chuckle was cut off by the sound of rapid footsteps a floor above them, and they all froze.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" they waited a few moments, with buddy shoving his face into the back of her head fearfully, and continued on through the tense silence. A light shone ahead, and Henry was quick to pick up the pace, more than willing to be done with the discomfort in the darkness. A dead end, a closed metal door. Henry sighed, turning to face them, and Natalie's eyes latched to a vent nearby. A sinister thought formed in her mind, and she swiped the flashlight from Henry, making him grumble. "Stay here, I'm going to look for a way to open that door."

Henry and Boris watched her lift the grate to the vent up, and crawl inside, Boris was quick to go after her, but the grate had already slammed shut, making him flinch away, disgruntled. Natalie called out behind her, hoping her voice could reach them. "Relax, just stick together." with a huff, she crawled forward, the light in her hand providing minimal efficiency. The twists and turns made it hard to keep track of where she was going, but she eventually found a way out. A button on the wall, clear as day, sat next to the entrance, and she quickly slid her way out, slamming a hand on it tiredly.

If it did anything she remain unaware of the outcome, but she eventually found the courage to wander forward. This part of the studio looked more old fashioned, and she opened another door, her eyes catching to a pipe leaning against the wall next to a bendy cutout. She plucked it from its spot, deciding here would be a great place to wait. Was this place always so big? But what more could there be? She'd never seen this part of the studio before, then again, all her time was spent in just the music department before the incident.

She leaned against the wall, the silence filling the atmosphere increasing her anxiety tenfold. Were Henry and Boris still waiting for her to find a way through? Frantic footsteps made her jump, and she peeked around the corner to investigate, making Henry jump in turn, and clutch his chest, panting quietly.

"No more jumpscares, please. I don't think my heart can handle much more." she examined his flustered form, taking notice of the abense of their new friend. Boris was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Boris?" Henry bolted forward, grabbing her arm and rushing through the door behind her. She yelped, doing her best to keep up as they rushed straight through. Something was clearly wrong.

"The angel has him, she took him. We need to save him!" she blinked in surprise. Just like that? Did Boris not put up a fight at all to prevent getting kidnapped? Now that she thought about it, she should have let Boris take the vent, maybe they wouldn't be in this mess. She sped her pace up, intent on rescuing that friendly little wolf that was her friend. A high pitched feminine voice crackled over a speaker as they reached a lift.

"Another friend? She's pretty. Tell me, how does it feel being so close to such a... Disgusting creature?" Disgusting?!

"Now listen here angel, just who are you calling disgusting?" she kept her tone sickeningly sweet, and the angel giggled at her reaction, and Natalie decided to push a few buttons of her own. "Oh! But last I heard, it only ever takes one to know one, ya know?" the angel went silent, looks like she hit a nerve. Good. The lift came to a hissing halt on another level, and she examined her surroundings. This obviously must be the angel's floor.

"Whatever. Step out of your cage now, there's a whole twisted world out here..." Henry gulped, putting on a brave face and striding forward, intent on saving his friend.