Return To The Machine

Chapter 26

A little while later Parker woke up. He looked around at the table he was lying on and saw Rosa from the corner of his eye. Parker tried sitting up to see them but saw that he was strapped down to the table he was laying on. Immediately he panicked. Out of habit, he began kicking and flailing. "HEY! LET ME GO!" he shouted. Rosa noticed this and rushed to his side. "ROSA!" he shouted terrified. Rosa rushed over and took away the strap away that was holding him down. "Sorry sorry! We had to put it on you because you kept leaning towards the edge!" she told him. Parker took a deep breath and was able to sit up. "I promise you you're safe Park."

Buddy raced into the area seeing what the yelling was about. To his relief everything was fine. "Oh, thank God! You can't do that down here! You scared the devil out of me!" Buddy exclaimed. "We're sorry! Parker here got startled but I can't say I blame him." Rosa replied. Parker sat up and saw him. "Hey Buddy, you okay?" he asked him. "Pft! I'm fine! You were the one screaming your head off." Buddy pointed out.

Eventually, the others came into the room, and the trio of Lost Ones came out from the dark. He recoiled in shock. "Don't worry, they're on our side!" Buddy reassured him. Parker nodded his head. I don't think I want to be here. How long are we going to be here?" Parker asked them. "We're not sure, we just got here. Is something wrong?" Rosa questioned. Parker sat there silently wondering what to say. The vision he witnessed not too long ago had scared the wits out of him.

His fists clenched against his knees as he looked down at the ground at his shoes. Buddy knew what was wrong but felt it wasn't right for him to say anything. Sammy stayed in place the entire time. "Park... What did you see?" The images of the hands reaching out for them and someone calling his name angrily made him barely tremble in place. "Park?" There was still no response. Buddy decided to get closer to Parker and took one of his hands. "It's the voices isn't it?" he asked. Parker looked up in shock. "They're calling to you, telling you to Set Them Free, right?" Hearing what he was being told, Parker nodded his head. "Is it... is it him?" Parker cried. "Bendy? I doubt it. There are several souls trapped in this studio... Including me... The only reason Sammy and I can't hear it is that we've already converted. It's not too late for you and they know that. We've gotta keep you safe."

"Are you saying he is... the one?" Bill asked him. "I'm not too sure. But clearly, we have no choice. If it means Bendy doesn't expand beyond this property, we'll be fine." Buddy replied back. "If we don't do something we'll be trapped here forever. Except if we're not careful... Bendy will win this war forever..." he told them. Brant shook his head in disbelief. "Every day has been the same since we first came here. I'm sick of living in this world of pure darkness and ink! Does anyone even know we're trapped down here?" he ranted. Constance sighed and sat down on a chair. Parker fiddled with his fingers thinking about everything.

Sammy sighed and adjusted his mask. Then he started heading towards the door. "Well, come on. Sitting here and moping like children isn't going to give us any answers." he grumbled. Rosa almost stumbled as she chased after him. "No! Wait! We're getting so far into the studio at this point! We can't just walk into trouble! Bendy knows we're scared and that's why he wants us to walk in blind! We've gotta stop and think about what we're doing or else we're dead!" Rosa cried out. Groaning and rubbing the front of his face, Sammy paced back and forth. "It'll be okay, Rosa. We shall find a way no matter what." Constance reassured her.

Parker then stood up and approached the door too. "Well, it's me he wants right?" The whole room went silent as they stared at him. "Then let's go to him. We need to find out where he's lurking around in order to stop him. There's something else we're not seeing! There's something that has to be more powerful than anything! What are we missing?!" he ranted over and over again. Rosa walked over and calmed him down by placing her hands on his shoulders to convince him to sit down. Her touch made him soften and not want to cry out and shout in frustration.

"Park... You know we won't give you up to the Ink Demon. One, we can't risk giving Bendy what he wants. The devastation that'll come from him releasing this- this curse! It's too strong. If he wins we'll never break free from any of this. Ever. It's irreversible. Second, you're... you're too special Parker. We need you here." Rosa explained. Parker smiled softly as Rosa struggled to maintain eye contact without turning a light shade of red from her cheeks.

Buddy and Sammy looked at each other noticing this behavior. Brant, Bill, and Constance approached the two of them. "Uh, is it just me, or are those two decently and yet comfortably close?" Bill questioned. "Oh no, trust me, it's obvious." Sammy replied. "Are they- dating?" Constance asked. "No no, if they were, there would be way more affection in this scene." Brant sighed. Buddy rolled his eyes and walked over to the two. "Well, if you two are ready, let's head out and get out there to find our answers. After all, it's no good if we wait here sulking for years on end am I right?" Buddy acknowledged. Parker nodded and smiled. He then turned to their new friends. "Do you have any weapons or tools we could use? We're also going to need any resources we can get our hands on.

Bill nodded his head and motioned for them to follow. With some help, they got tons of boxes and bins off a shelf. They spilled out the contents onto the ground. Each of them grabbed something, filling their pockets or bags. For weapons, they had pipes, tools, and a pair of axes at the ready. "Let's go! I'm ready to deal with this stupid devil!" Buddy declared as everyone else began to run out of the room. Parker and Rosa looked at each other playfully. "Race ya!" she teased as she began to run. Parker sneered and then raced after them to catch up to his team.