Inky Conscience (BATIM Sammy x Reader)

Desecration Leads To Pain

When Sammy had left the studio, Wally had managed to clean the ink off the wall without any problems. So you can imagine his surprise when he went back in the next day to find another message written in the same place as before.
And Wally had remembered to lock the door and keep his keys on him.
I HOPE YOU HAVE A LOVELY AND QUIET DAY
There was even a black rose resting innocently on his desk.
He remembered screaming at Wally till he was blue in the face. The poor guy looked like he peed himself and was barely able to get a word out that he had nothing to do with it.
"SO HOW DID SOMEONE GET INTO MY OFFICE AND DESECRATE IT?!" Sammy screeched "UNLESS THE INK IS ALIVE, SOMEONE WOULD HAVE TO UNLOCK THE DOOR AND WRITE IT OUT!"
"If that's the case, then how did they lock it back up?" Wally replied"because last I checked, no one has broken into the studio, no locks were broken, no windows shattered either"
Needless to say, Sammy stayed away from everyone after that, and no one dared to go near him lest they encountered his wrath. Even Joey Drew.
He threw away all the black roses. Never noticing that their texture was off.

This was beginning to get rather disturbing if Sammy was honest. Over the week, he would find a new message on the wall with another black rose resting on his desk.
Music is Life. Wouldn't you agree?
Your music makes me happy
You have nice eyes. I could stare at them all-day
Sammy has a nice ass so shut up
That last sentence was the creepiest one out of all of them. And he was not looking forward to meeting the person behind the messengers. They sounded like a stalker. He just hoped it was one of the workers. Because then he had a reason to get them fired and easier to put in prison.
Whatever the case, that message had been on full display when he had come into the studio. He had to cover up the window and get Wally to clean it up ASAP. He had to resort to using some leftover candles until it was finished.
And for once, he didn't complain about the distraction as he worked through the cleaning and the fact that Wally didn't say anything through the whole process.

He was certain everyone was laughing at him. There were more whispers than normal every time they passed his office. And it was beginning to get tiresome.
That is until he heard someone say 'what the hell?' further down the hallway, followed by a few other murmurs of agreement.
He did his best to ignore it, but it was useless when someone decided to knock against his door and claim that he had to see what the commotion was.
"Someone has a twisted sense of humor" Norman Polk continued, the projectionist "someone has written a threatening message this time"
"And this should involve me because?" Sammy replied without looking behind him.
"Because it involves you" was all Norman said before leaving him alone.
Frowning, Sammy got out of his chair slowly. What could have happened that it involved him? Besides the fact that he was their boss and was, well, bossy with everyone he met. He didn't think he had done anything to cause a commotion.
So with this thought in mind, he walked out of the comfort of his office, and down the hall towards the department's entrance. And boy was he in for a sight.
All of his workers were staring at a wall near the stairs that led to the animation department. But what was on the wall caused Sammy to get concerned. There was more writing, but this time it was messier, like a completely deranged person did this.
So he pushed past the people to get a proper look at the message, he felt light-headed.
ALWAYS WATCHES. NO EYES. I AM EVERYWHERE
INSULT SAMMY AND I WILL DROWN YOU IN THE INK. SAMMY IS MINE
Sammy had to take a few calming breaths to make sure he was still breathing "this wasn't here before" and he wasn't lying, he had only been down here once to talk to one of the musicians, and it had been completely free of ink.
Just who the hell put this here?
"Has anyone left their work-places during this?" Sammy asked, keeping his eyes on the wall as if it would provide some clue.
"Only me Lawrence" replied Norman "I was on my way to ask you something when I saw it, and then these guys came out to see what the commotion was, you know the rest"
Sammy nodded, trying his best to keep the fear and quickened heart out of his voice and mind "alright, I'm going to talk to Joey about this, I suggest everyone stays where they are, don't talk, just do your jobs until I get back"
"Do you really expect us to just go back and pretend this never happened?" someone called out "because that's not going to happen"
"We don't know if this is a joke or a serious threat" Sammy stated calmly despite how he felt "I am going to talk with Joey to sort this out, unless you want to be kicked out of the building, you will do as I say"
"Your a right idiot" the person replied.
THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. HISS
Everyone practically jumped out of their skins, some even shrieked.
"Where did that come from?" squeaked Susie.
A sound of rattling could be heard, like someone trying to break out of their cage. Then silence.
Sammy's voice sounded cold and lifeless "Norman, get Wally and Tom to check the pipes, we might have another rupture if we aren't fast enough"
He barely got the sentence out when Norman ran as fast as he could to find the two.
"All of you, be careful with what you say and do, I don't like this as much as the next person but something really messed up is going on and I don't like it" and for him to say that really put everyone on edge.
Sammy had always been a stickler for rules and logic, so for him to take this seriously wasn't the issue. It was the tone he was using and the way his eyes looked around the walls as if someone was going to jump out at them.
"Back to your work, now" with those words, Sammy bolted for the stairs and out the door, leaving everyone paranoid and scared.

Sammy didn't care if anyone saw him biting his knuckle as he marched towards Joey's Office. He had other things to deal with.
Like what the hell was living in the pipes? He had known something was off the first time he heard it, and now with other people hearing it, he could easily cross it off as his imagination and stress.
Could this banging have something to do with what Joey was doing? It was no secret that he was becoming obsessed with 'opessing the gods' for 'something greater' and some other bull crap.
But if it wasn't Joey, then what else could it be?
No, he couldn't think like that right now, he had to focus on what was on the table. Something was living either behind the walls or in the pipes and seemed to be defensive of him when people 'attacked' him.
How could he tell? Well if the wall writings and 'compliments' were anything to go by, then when the trumpet player complained about going back to work as if nothing had happened, the hiss and thumping started, as if it was trying to escape.
Joey Drew had to do something about this otherwise everyone could be in danger.
He brushed past anyone who tried talking to him until he got to the office door. He had to hold back the urge to storm in as if the devil himself was chasing him. So instead, he gave it three shaking knocks and barely registered the 'come in' as he rushed to get inside.
He felt like someone was watching him, and he wished he was feeling paranoid.
When he entered the room, he was shaking, looking close to passing out, and looked like he was swaying on his feet.
"By the gods Sammy, are you all right? You look like you haven't eaten today" why the man showed 'concern' was beyond Sammy at this point.
"There's something-" he stopped for a moment to clear his throat when it croaked, now was not the time to look like a crazy person "someone has been writing threats on the walls of my department, then there was a thumping noise coming from either the walls or pipes followed by a hissing sound"
"Now Sammy, I understand that you are not happy with the upgrades to the place, but this is going to help us in our success," he said sternly.
Sammy did not stop the gawking expression from appearing on his face "Drew, my entire department heard the noises, and NO ONE left their areas until the words were written"
"You know how people are, jealousy can do that to us" the so-called man leaned back in his chair "however the threat thing I am willing to sort out"
"They are both the problem" Sammy continued "I don't know what crap your pulling Joey Drew, but if this keeps up, people will quit faster than you can say 'sheep, sheep it's time for sleep', so you either do something about all of this or you will find half a department short on staff"
With that said, he turned around and left, slamming the door behind him. He was going to be working late as 'punishment', but he didn't care. His crew came first as far as he was concerned. Sure they could be a pain in the neck and incompetent to work with, especially when he was in a foul mood. But they didn't deserve the risk of being hurt.
And if he had to suffer the wrath of the beast, then so be it. It was just a pity that in his frustration, he never saw the blank wall that once held the threatening message.

It came as no surprise to him when Joey to his office and state that he was staying longer because of the 'false accusation of death threats'. He just accepted it and continued his work as if he hadn't done this song and dance before.
And so, many hours later after the Studio was nothing more than an empty one, Sammy was still sitting at his desk and finishing the final notes needed for the episode. With only Wally and his occasional whistling for company. Even if it was bad and distracting.
Placing the pencil down, he leaned back and stretched as far as he could to the point some joints clicked from the lack of movement, Sammy's reply was to grunt and sigh in the content of having to move after so long.
He picked up the papers and placed them in the case he used for his work, locked it, then picked it up along with his banjo and made his way for the door. Trusting Wally to lock it up before he left for the night too.
He walked at a leisurely pace until he reached the stairs entrance of his department, his leg just about to move down towards the first step when it happened.
THUNK!
Sammy grunted, gravity in motion and stopping him from grabbing onto anything to help with his fall. With the sound of something hitting wood, his body felt bruised and battered, and the pounding in his head rang through his ears, his limp figure lying at the bottom of the stairs as he felt something wet trickle down the side of his face.
"Another one...get...oth...."
He couldn't hear anymore after that, the ringing and pain in his body became too much and he passed out.

I could have saved him, I could have saved Sammy. Why did they do that? Why did they hurt him? They hurt my Sammy... I'll make them pay.
No one can hurt my sanity. My Sammy. No one.
I ' L L M A K E T H E M P A Y !