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

(Henry's Path) 3 - Bittersweet Bargaining

"Look around, it took so many of them to make me so perfect..." this woman was heartless. Boris clones, all on different standing tables, all meeting the same fate... "I had to do it, she made me..." her voice switched to a higher pitch, full of remorse. She didn't want to be here. She was here to save Boris. Henry sped up his pace, making it across with Natalie close behind, and they rounded a corner down a hallway to the worst possible sight. Boris strapped to a table, getting tortured. She ran forward, slamming her fist into the glass and making the angel chuckle.

Natalie observed her, half of her face was distorted, the other half clean and shaped. A dim yellow eye reciprocated the observation, a grimace stretching her lips. The other half of her face was full of holes. A darkened eye socket accompanied by a missing cheek, revealing straight and clean teeth underneath. She looked horrifying. "Can't get me in here, can you? But now we come to the question..."

"Let him go."

"Don't you know it's rude to interrupt a lady when she's speaking?" her hissing didn't phase Natalie in the slightest, and she stared her dead in the eye challengingly. Alice flinched under her glowing emerald gaze, and it almost looked as if she shrunk back." Your eyes... They're so... Unique." Natalie didn't move her gaze away, and Alice seemed to shy away from the challenge. "Tell me, what's it like seeing through those eyes?" Natalie smirked, she'd gotten her on a hook now.

"Release Boris and I'll tell you exactly what it's like." Alice shook her head, but stopped short in deep thought. "No? I guess you'll never know, will yo-"

"Look! I'll make you a deal." she was desperate. Natalie gestured for her to continue, and the angel heaved a sigh. "I'll release Boris, but on one condition." she waited patiently, what could she possibly want? "Give me your eyes."

"What?"

"Your eyes... I wouldn't mind a change in color, they're absolutely beautiful. But, I suppose Boris won't mind if..."

...

They stared each other down. She didn't want to be blind again, her eyes were her greatest asset. But Boris didn't deserve to suffer a twisted fate. But... Her eyes. She grimaced at the thought. She'd be completely useless blind. "I can sweeten the deal if you'd like~"

"Boris and Henry get immunity from your... Methods."

"Those eyes really are valuable to you, aren't they?"

"They don't come for cheap." Henry shuffled quietly behind her, yet she paid no mind. The sacrifice she'd be willing to make to keep them safe. The angel hummed thoughtfully, looking from Boris, to Henry, to her, and back to Boris.

"It's a deal."

. . . .

Natalie whimpered quietly, horrible memories of her fight with Joey surfacing in her mind while the angel hummed a merry tune. "The world looks so bright in your eyes, so sharp..." they probably didn't suit her in the slightest, but well, she was blind. "As promised, I'll hold my end of the bargain." she better. Blind or not, she'd kill her if she didn't. A pair of hands were on her a moment later, and she felt herself getting hoisted up and carried off in a rushed manner, the angel calling out to them. "Return to the lift, my little errand boy, we have work to do~"

"Natalie... Are you ok?" she felt dizzy, disoriented. Without eyes, all sense of direction or stability was lost to her. She shook her head, attempting to keep a sense of self awareness. The lift screeched to a start, but everything felt like a blur. The Angel's voice crackled over the speaker, but she was too out of it to comprehend. It was black, everything was black. She groaned, feeling her consciousness slip.

"Hah... Am I dying?" a hand latched to her shoulder, shaking her gently...

...

"Natalie?" she hummed in response, her hand twitching involuntarily. "Thank goodness... You've been out for the majority of our run. How are you feeling?" she sighed, recalling the events before she passed out, and impulsively reaching up to claw at the empty sockets where her eyes used to be. A pained screech left her throat, and a staticky scree echoed through the silence in response, making them jump. Natalie was already on her feet, writing and stumbling blindly with Henry doing his best to direct her. Something hit her foot, and she felt herself freefall momentarily, the vertigo making it all the worse.

With a heavy splash, a sharp pain jolted through her back, making her wheeze carelessly as another scree sounded, much closer, followed by footsteps sloshing in the ink. She pulled herself up, Henry crying out fearfully above her, and something snatched her wrist, pulling her up. The soft clicking of a projector filled her ears, and she found herself trying to stare at her newfound captor. Oh... Right... A long silence ensued, before she felt something pull her left arm up, grabbing a hold of her wrist to presumably examine her hand. The soft click of a speaker sounded, followed by static, and she found herself getting pulled into a hug.

"Stop right there, unhand her! She's not a threat!" Henry's voice sounded nearby, his panic quickly dying down to silence. She found strength to wrap her arms around this being, it seemed to be hugging her. "I never thought I'd see the day..." she hummed curiously, and she felt her hand get grabbed again. "There's no way..." now she was confused.

"Henry, what's going on? Give me some eyes." Henry was speechless. She felt something fiddle with the ring on her finger, and she furrowed her brows. "Yes that's a ring, it's my ring thank you. Someone very special gave it to me..." the creature scree'd quietly, a fuzzy static resembling a chuckle, and she felt even more confused. She was put down a moment later, and her hands were guided over something metal, covered in, probably, more ink. She tilted her head, allowing this creature to take the lead of her hands, and she felt her fingers brush against a cold metal. A projector, maybe?

Natalie stretched her fingers over it cautiously, retaking control of her hands and sliding them back down to the speaker, painting a visual in her head. Her hand slid down its arm, to its hand and she fiddled with its fingers. This creature was behaving strangely, but maybe it was taking pity on her blindness. Her finger brushed against more metal on its finger, and she stopped. It almost felt like a ring. She grabbed its hand, bringing it close and fiddling with the object, tracing a line over the obscured pattern carefully. It was a ring.

"But it... Is it?" were her suspicions correct? A soft static pierced her thoughts, almost like a confirmation. She couldn't believe it. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, testing his reaction, and felt him reciprocate a few moments later. A quiet cry left her throat, and she buried her head into his shoulder, hitting a hard object. She didn't care. "Norman... I never thought..."

"Aww, what a heartwarming reunion. I still need those hearts, errand boy. You know I don't like to wait." Henry sighed, muttering incoherences as he trudged off, but she refused to move. She may have lost her eyes today, but she was not losing him, not again. She yelped, feeling him hoist her up and cradle her, the icy lens of the projector pressed against her forehead softly, making her shiver. Was that a kiss? She stretched her hands up, feeling for something to grasp, and brought his head down, leaving a kiss of her own just above the lens. She would cherish this. A small scree left his speaker, and she felt him nuzzle deeper into her.

Yes, yes she would cherish this.