Drowning (A BATIM fanfic)

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Henry woke curled up on the Ink Demon's throne, which startled him. Ink was draped around his arms, and trailed down his head. He shivered, feeling both confused and scared. What the hell was going on? He sat up, with some difficulty since the ink was kinda gooey. It stuck to his clothes, his hair, his very skin. Once your in it, it's near impossible to get out. Just one of the many things wrong with this place. Henry stood, pulling himself out of the chair.

The ink tried to pull him back, but he broke free, somewhat. The ink settled into his hair, onto his clothes and skin. Henry gazed towards the exit, feeling wary. He was in the Ink Demon's lair, after all. He cautiously peeked out of the throne room, seeing nothing but the familiar entrance-way, lined with tubes, where the ink creatures that lived here were created. Henry didn't understand the specifics of how this machine worked, but he knew it created living ink creatures, usually humanoid blobs of ink he called Searchers, or the more human like forms of the Lost Ones.

It bothered Henry, but he'd taught himself to stay numb to it all. Focus on escape. Er, the loop. Henry made his way through the hall, purposely not looking at the tubes around him. The machine thrummed under Henry's feet, and he realized the machine must be working. He could hear the ink gurgling around him, but he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the exit. Then he heard it. A muffled scream. Henry closed his eyes. There was someone in the tubes.

Something rammed against the glass, and Henry realized that whoever, whatever it was, they were trying to get his attention. Henry glanced over, only to find himself staring into one of the tubes. Thick ink was pouring down, and the tube was already partly full. And-There was a hand, pressed against the glass. Pounding desperately. Henry froze. The figure inside was already covered in ink, they were clearly trying desperately to get out. Henry glanced around wildly. He didn't know if it was a good idea, but he couldn't just stand by and let them suffer.

He ran back to the throne room, looking around wildly. Then he saw it. A lose pipe, halfway hidden between the wall and one of the projectors. He rushed forward, grabbing the pipe and wrestling it from the wall. Then he ran back, smashing the glass. Ink spluttered out, and the figure fell onto the floor, coughing up ink. They sounded human, but Henry stayed on guard. The figure looked up, their eyes looked bloodshot, only without the color. Their eyes were human, dark gray. They coughed again, then croaked; "H-Henry?"

Henry froze. He knew that voice. He rushed over, kneeling beside the man. He coughed again. "Wally?" Henry whispered, feeling shocked. The old janitor blinked at Henry, his expression disbelieving. "What're you-" Henry grabbed onto his arm. "We have to get out of here." He hissed in a low tone. "Stay quiet." Wally stared at Henry, eyes wide, then nodded. Henry put one arm under him, helping him stand. Then they both made their way towards the exit. Wally froze, his eyes wide as he gazed at the lake of ink, the huge cavern that hosted the Ink Machine. "The Hell." He muttered, looking around.

Henry started to step into the ink. "Henry, stop!" Wally gasped. Henry looked back at him, knee deep in ink. "It's not that deep." Henry reported, blinking at Wally. Wally shook his head. "Get back here." He hissed. Henry frowned, then waded back, pulling his legs out of the ink. "What is it?" He asked, then paused. "Can you not touch the ink?" He asked. Wally swallowed. Henry could see his skin around his eyes now, it looked normal. He seemed to still be human, maybe Henry had stopped the process in time? He wished he knew more about how the Ink Machine worked.

Wally blinked at Henry. "That's how it captured me." He whispered finally. Henry blinked in understanding. He'd remembered how the Ink Demon had appeared in a puddle of ink, back in the music department. Henry wadded back into the ink. "Henry!" Wally pleaded. Henry held up his hand. "Hang on." He muttered, looking around. He spotted an old crate and waded over to it, pushing it over towards were Wally stood, in the entrance of the Ink Demon's lair. Henry swallowed. "Jump on the crate." Henry called. "I'll push you across." Wally gave Henry a believing look. "You? Really?" Henry scowled. "Yeah." Wally frowned at Henry. "You sure? Your not exactly-" Henry glared at Wally. He knew what the janitor was about to say. "Get on the crate, Franks." He snapped.

Wally jumped onto the crate, crouching to keep his balance. Henry rammed his shoulder into the crate, pushing it and Wally across the lake. Wally yelped. "I didn't actually think you'd be able to move me." Wally muttered. "Shut up Wally." Henry grunted, ramming his shoulder into the crate again. Before long, Henry had pushed the crate close enough to where Wally could jump through again. Wally jumped, landing easily on the other side. Henry waded around the crate, headed to join Wally in the hall.

Then he felt it. A stabbing pain flared in his ankle, making him screech out loud in pain. "Henry!" Wally yelled, panic in his voice. Henry stumbled, falling down into the ink. He surfaced, coughing, wiping the ink out of his eyes. A hand swam before his vision, and he grabbed it, pulling himself out of the ink. The ink gripped him, then let go with a splat. Henry coughed, blinking at Wally, who was kneeling beside Henry. "Oh my God, that scared the shit out of me." He muttered, looking at Henry. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Henry nodded, coughing. "Yes, i'm fine." He said, blinking at Wally. "Thanks." He added, making Wally grin. "Yeah, sure." He mumbled. "No problem. You did save me." Henry shrugged. He moved his foot closer, studying it. Crimson blood mixed in with black ink, making him wince. There must have been a glass shard in the ink or something. It didn't look like an attack from an Ink Creature. Henry had been attacked so many times, he'd know if it was. Wally knelt next to him, eyes wide. "Was it.." Henry shook his head. "Glass shard. I think." He said, reassuring Wally.

"I'm not that badly hurt. Been through way worse at this point."