Robin turned on her helmet's light as soon as the village was completely out of sight behind the rowboat. As she, Mikey, and Jake looked around the tunnel, all they could see was brick and stalagmites. This only made Mikey far more curious about what was going to be ahead.
It wasn't long before the trio reached a clearing in the tunnels, a lake-like area surrounded by rocks. There were strange black pipes in the upper area of a rocky wall, and another large tunnel on the far right.
"I'm guessing that's where we're supposed to go?" Jake, who had stopped rowing to take a look around, asked. "Mikey?"
Mikey, who had been lost in awe of the clearing, immediately rolled out the map and observed it carefully. "Yeah, yeah, it is," he replied. "That's the way."
"How 'bout we take over on the oars for a little bit, Jake?" Robin suggested as Jake began to row again. "I don't want you doing all of the, uh, boatwork."
"It's fine," Jake said, "don't worry about it. This tunnel doesn't seem much longer, so I'll be fi - "
The Lost One paused as a faint splashing noise rose up behind the boat. The trio turned toward the noise, and were filled with dread when they saw the source of the noise.
An enormous, gloved hand had risen from the inky river at the mouth of the previous tunnel, and was now inching toward them, groping for something to drag down with it.
"Jake, go! GO!" Mikey shouted, but Jake was already rowing as hard as he could, propelling the rowboat towards the next tunnel. But the boat wasn't fast enough. The trio had barely gotten to the other tunnel when the arm caught up with them.
It raised its deranged hand slightly higher as it balled up into a fist. In only a few seconds, the fist smashed down into the boat, whose contents were pushed into the ink as well.
Mikey resurfaced with a gasp. He frantically tried to stay afloat, fully expecting to become one with the river. After a couple seconds, he calmed down.
He hadn't disappeared into the ink. Why hadn't he disappeared into the ink? Was it possible that it was okay to touch the ink?
And where was the map? Thankfully, the map floated by the Searcher on a piece of what used to be the rowboat. The arm, whatever it belonged to, had completely destroyed it.
Wait. Where were Robin and Jake?
Right as an ounce of fear began to settle in, Mikey heard a splashing sound on his right. He turned, and saw Jake emerging from the blackness toward a small porch-like ledge, carrying Robin, who still had her helmet on somehow, in his arms. Mikey grabbed the map and slid through the ink toward his friends, raising the map high above the ink.
"Jake!" Mikey called out as the Lost One was setting Robin down next to him.
"Mikey!" He replied, and helped Mikey onto the porch. "I couldn't see you anywhere! I thought you were gone! I thought we were all goners! I don't know how we didn't become...a part of...the lake, or WHAT that thing was, but we lost our boat and our stuff!"
"But," Mikey panted, "at least we're okay. And we still have the map. There's got to be a way to avoid that thing. And get new suppli - "
Before Mikey could finish his sentence, the arm rose up from the ink once more, and this time, it wasn't too far away. As it crept closer, the trio found that there was nowhere else to go. They were trapped.
Robin moaned as she finally came to. "Ugh, guys? What happe - HOLY CHRIST IT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!"
Suddenly, a creaking sound rose up behind the trio. They turned, and saw a metal door slowly but loudly opening. Another gloved hand then emerged from the other side.
"In here," A voice behind the door whispered, its hand beckoning to come closer. "Quick! Before he pulls you under!"
Mikey and Robin started towards the door, but Jake hesitated. "Guys, wait," he said, "it has the same glove as the arm. How can we trust it?"
Said arm was now within poking distance of the porch. It again rose higher and balled up into a fist, ready to strike.
"I don't think we really have a choice!" Robin said, and hurriedly slid through the doorway, immediately followed by the boys, just as a large portion of the wooden platform was destroyed. The door then closed with a metallic slam, leaving the trio and their savior in darkness.
As the group tried to catch their breaths in silence, Mikey started to worry a little. The arm, whatever it belonged to, had almost done him and his friends in. If they were that close to losing their lives, what else would try to stop them on their way to Exit? Maybe even the Ink Demon himself would show up and...
No. He couldn't think like this. He assured himself that they had to keep going, that they had to try.
Suddenly, the mysterious voice started to speak again, louder this time.
"Boy, was that a close call!" It exclaimed. "Good thing I showed up before the Demon took ya down for good, eh? What were ya guys doing out there, anyway?"
"Um, before we answer any of those," Jake said as Mikey and Robin both heard him get to his feet, "We've got a couple questions of our own. Who are you? WHAT are you? And how do we know YOU'RE not with the Ink Demon?"
"Now, that's a lot more than a couple," the voice chuckled. "First, I would rather get shut down and turned to scrap metal than ever work with that hellspawn. Second, name's Army. Army the animatronic. Lemme show you exactly what that is, in case ya don't know. Hang on, where'd I put my light? Oh, here it is!"
A bright yellow light was then turned on, shining directly at the trio, who immediately recoiled.
"Sorry!" Army said, and turned the light around. As the trio blinked repeatedly, they caught sight of Army the animatronic.
Army had long metal legs that ended with black shoe-like feet, a single arm with a glove that resembled the giant arm's, another arm that looked as though it had been ripped off long ago, and a small black-painted torso with a white bowtie painted on the chest. As for his head, it had two sharp points on the top, and the right side of his face had a sharp-toothed grin and an empty black eye. The other half vaguely reminded Mikey of the cartoon demon he had discovered only hours earlier.
"Whoa," Robin said, "I've never seen anything like you before. None of us have."
"Well, I don't really know what to say to that, but thanks!" Army said gleefully. "Now, who are YOU guys? I already know what you are; I've seen plenty of you 'round here."
"Well, my name's Mikey, and this is Robin and Jake," Mikey said. "It's nice to meet you, Army. So, we were out there because of this."
He handed the map to Army, who observed it for a full minute before saying, "I can't read. What is this?"
"It's a map. We're trying to find a way to this place called Exit to escape the Ink Demon forever. We were just about to go through that tunnel over there when the arm attacked us."
"Well, that's certainly not the way to go," Army explained. "That tunnel will get you nowhere. I've gone down there myself, so I know. If you guys really wanna find a way out, then just follow me. I know a place that'll get you where you need to go."
And with that, the animatronic started down the dark hall. When he saw that the trio was holding back, unsure, he said, "Don't worry, the Ink Demon won't find you there. I'll get you guys what you need, and help you get where you need to go. Let's go."
Mikey, Robin, and Jake looked at each other, then proceeded to follow Army down the hall to whatever place he was talking about.