Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"SAMMYYYY!" The frustrated ink demon's yelling echoed through the entire second floor of the studio. Sammy, his loyal prophet and somewhat friend, of course came running like it was the only thing he ever did. "Y-yes my lord?" The ink covered man adjusted his mask and bowed in front of his superior, so fast that it fell off anyways. "Lawrence, get the alcohol!" Bendy whined and pointed at a chest on top of a very fragile looking shelf.

While Sammy got himself a ladder from the nearby supply closet, using Wally's spare keys to get inside, the sentimental demon dramatically threw himself onto a squeaky couch. The musician sighed, he already knew what was upsetting Bendy. Searching in the dim lit storage and also listening to his lord's complaints about having feelings, our inky man eventually had enough of multitasking. He sighed fretfully.

"My lord, dou to all respect, maybe instead of chasing after Mr.Stein you might wanna try and talk to him!"

The ink demon turned around with a skeptical expression and faced the musician, who was now holding two bottles of thirty years old red wine.

"I can't just do that! What would he think of me if I started communicating after all this time?!"

"I mean, that's better than killing him over and over again...?"

"I'm nervous okay! You wouldn't understand, Sam! You have never been in love before!"

Lawrence didn't know what to think of that statement. He wanted to disagree, but stayed silent because Bendy suddenly snatched a wine bottle from Sammy's hands and chucked the red liquid down his skeletal throat at once.
Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

"My lord, drinking alcohol doesn't solve the problem-"

"But at least it isn't running away from me!"

Bendy threw his fists in the air to make his point, the first emptied wine laying on the floor besides his sofa. Sammy and him had a long argument after that, in which neither seemed to get through to the other. Eventually, the masked prophet ended their conversation with:

"Aww come on now, the worst thing he could say is no!"

After this final statement, the ink demon decided to give it a shoot. However, not before drinking the last bottle of alcohol.

...

"Hiiiii Henryyyyy~"

Bendy greated the animator, while stabilising himself with a wall. He was pretty wasted after all.

"What's such a handsome man like you doing around here~?"

He apparently skipped the normal talking part and went straight to flirting. Henry Stein turned out to be completely caught off guard by that, because it took him several minutes to respond.

"Wait, YOU CAN TALK?!"

Chapter Text

Henry loved every single one of his creations. He cherished them. Maybe Bendy a bit more than the rest, however that doesn't matter at the moment. Right now it matters that Boris hid one of his cards! "Boris, I know you have five cards. Don't play tricks on me, I'm not that old! I know you snuck one into your glove!" Boris blinked in scepsis, he got caught? After 20 games of UNO, in which he used this trick every time? He couldn't believe his ears.

"I'm not mad, I'm just very disappointed. I thought you'd stop cheating at some point yourself!"

The cheeky wolf was now a sobbing wolf. He didn't mean for his creator to be upset with him! Boris just wanted to test out what his friend had shown him years ago. That friend being none other than Bendy, the king of trickery himself.

"Oh- Boris, there's no need to cry."

Boris seemed to have immediately forgotten about feeling blue, because the head pats of his animator were always a great comfort. Henry smiled as he saw that his wolf friend's ears perked up again.

"Can I please get us some bacon soup now? I get that you're trying to protect me, but I am able to take care of myself, okay?"

After a while of thinking, the wolf slowly nodded his head to indicate his agreement.

"Great! I'll be back in an hour!"

The man quickly made it through the safe house door, before Boris could change his mind. He didn't know why is friend was so overprotective of him...
Almost as much as his wife...

"I hope Linda is doing okay while I'm gone..."

After a while of wandering aimlessly through the hallways of the 'abandoned' studio, Henry made it to Level K and since Alice Angel has been absent, dou to unknown reasons, he got there without her interference. How fortunately.
Then the walls turned black.

"Oh shit-"

The animator fastly ran to the next miracle station and slammed the door shut. Right on time, because the ink demon entered the room just a few seconds afterwards. Henry's heart was beating against his ribcage and his body was shaking like a leaf in the autumn wind. Unfortunately for him, Bendy noticed his presence. Our big guy slowly staggerd towards the man's hiding spot, who was wishing he would've stayed in the safehouse. The demon stopped and held onto a wall, presumably trying not to fall.

"Hiiiii Henryyyyy~"

...

"Wait, YOU CAN TALK?!"

The human was completely stunned by Bendy's words. All along this motherfucker was able to speak and didn't do it?! Not once?! Henry was in disbelief.

"Yeaaaah?"

"Why didn't you say so sooner?!"

"I was scared?"

"Of what?!"

"That you wouldn't want a conversation with me anyway? That you'll eventually run away again? Leave me? Abandon me?"

The ink demon would've never said that, if he was sober. However, he wasn't sober. He couldn't even stand upright.

"Oh... I didn't know that..."

He couldn't know that. It's not his fault, right?

Chapter Text

"Why did you leave in the first place? Did I do something wrong?"

The demon asked as he anxiously fiddled with his fingers, catching Henry off guard. He had never seen Bendy like this before. So emotional. Usually when they encounter, the twisted toon just picks the man up and snaps his neck. Quick and painless. One snap. Drop dead.

"No, you didn't. Joey fired me and told me to never come back or he'll either kill me or call the cops. Not both of course, that would be stupid. Haha..."

I did, Henry thought as silence filled the level. Only the butcher gang could be heard, coughing on their own spit. The animator debated whether he should step out of the miracle station or not and in the end he just kept on staring at the ink demon who glanced down at his bowtie.

"How have you been those thirty years?"

Bendy's head went up again, painfully slow. He shouldn't have drunken the old juice, it messes too much with his mind. Twenty one bottles in total. Since he's not a human he could technically consume alcohol like it's water all day and not die, but Sammy wouldn't let him.

"Honestly, it was complete shit. I was mostly stuck in a room, without any company and the moment I was out, the studio was already going downhill fast. I have spent at least half of those years desperately searching for you. Hah! I was so stupid, believing that you might return! Satan, I was naive! So naive! Haha!"

Ah, there he was, the sober Bendy. Only for some brief seconds. His booming laugh echoed through the halls, making nearby ink creatures turn their heads. Frightened. They were usually his targets, when it came to his anger issues.

"But hey, now you're actually back! You son of a bitch. Left me waiting like that~"

The man didn't know how to respond, he was deeply concerned, about what Bendy had said and the intense alcoholic smell coming from the demon's maw. Then his brain eventually started to function again.

"Hold on, you got drunk?! Is that the reason why you're communicating so openly?!"

"Maaaaaaaybe?"

"What do you mean 'maybe'?! I can smell the wine from inside this miracle station!"

"Wow, I wasn't aware of your high working smelling senses! Impressive!"

"Don't change the topic! You know alcohol isn't good for anyone, even for you!"

"Okay mom, I will be a good boy from now on~"

'He really doesn't take this serious, huh.' Henry thought, carefully getting out of the little safe space he was in. He wasn't afraid anymore, not fully at least.

"I know this comes sudden, but, would you like a hug? I know it doesn't make things better and-"

Bendy tightly embraced him, snuggling with his hair. The man too surprised about the sudden affection to react. After a while faint purring could be heard, which grew louder and louder as time progressed. Someone began to weakly cry, it was the human.

"Why do you have to be drunk the first time we speak again...?"

He said this more to himself than the demon, pressing his forehead against the other's collarbone. Multiple minutes past, maybe hours even, before our drunk devil let go and grabbed the man's hand. His expression seemed to have changed, but Henry couldn't make out what it was. Then Bendy lead him towards the wall from where he emerged.

"Where are we heading, bud?"

No response. The taller dragged him rather harshly through the new ink portal. Why isn't he saying anything? It got him very anxious. As they made it, the animator became the anxiety itself. A door with locks. A still open door with locks. Nothing special, however, the fact that the ink demon was practically dragging him there was not a good sign.

"Bendy?"

They stopped, with Henry's back facing the dreaded door. He wanted to turn around and shut it, but his counterpart held the human by his shoulders, probably intensely staring at him. After a short eternity something unexpected happened, Bendy pressed his wide mouth onto his. The man quietly yelped, as he had to step back a bit. That was a big mistake, he realised, because the demon used this moment to release his lips from the flustered animator and push him away, inside the room.

"I'm just making sure you're never ever gonna leave again~"

"WAIT, BENDY, NO!-"

That's when the door slammed shut.

Chapter Text

Banging. Loud banging. Desperate banging. This wretched door wouldn't budge, no matter how hard Henry rammed his fists against the thing that held him captive.

Bang!

He screamed in frustration.

Bang!

bangbangbangbang...

But nobody came.

The human didn't want to give in to his despair, even though it's been hours since he last saw the outside of this bleak room. How he hated the demon for what he's done. I'm kidding, he could never. The animator sighed heavily, dropping his arms. He was just scared and confused.
Oh, so very confused...

Henry finally stopped trying to free himself, at least momentarily, and took a closer look at the room he was in. Well, he wasn't really able to see. The only source of light came from the crack in the door, which was fortunately still big enough to see that this room was quite large, if not a waste of space. Compared to some people's offices, this room was huge and seemed to serve no purpose.

"Wait a minute, are those...?"

The animator walked a little closer.

"...oh."

He only then noticed the claw marks all over the room. Large inky claw marks. From the floor to the celling everything was covered in them. Even on the door, which the animator had previously rammed his fists against. Whoever had done this, must've been in a similar, if not worse, situation than him.

Henry let his hand wander from the start of one of the mark to the end. It was one whole step long, he figured. Click.
He didn't think to much of the noise, until he felt someone staring at him. It gave him the creeps, since this person apparently came through the vents. His blood ran cold. Was the ink demon back? No, he would've definitely came through the door.

"Who are you?"

The human whispered in the dark, not taking his glance of the scar of the wall he was in front. Maybe it was just a rat? No, rats can't use screwdriver.

"I could ask you the same, mister...?"

"Stein. Henry Stein."

Finally getting the courage to face his opponent, he suddenly turned on his heels and saw the figure of- an unknown angel? The animator rubbed his weary eyes. Was he dead? Is this angel here to guide him to the promised land?

"Okay, I get it, I'm an angel! No need to stare at me like that... Not even I can deal with my fucked up appearance..."

The angel, who appears to be a young adult male, folded his arms. He had short curly black hair with a yellow glowing halo above it. On his back he wore white wings, so it was a wonder how he got in and out of the ventilation shafts.

"... I'm Kim, by the way. Kim Aniol. But I don't think that matters anymore."

Henry didn't know what to say, talking to humans isn't necessarily his strength. Especially when they just so happened to be a teenager, who were ruthless in nature.

"Why are you here anyway? This is usually my place to hang out..."

Oh no, he's gone into a pubertal kid's room, now the animator is officially doomed. The man's sweat ran cold down his forehead, as he watched the other sit down on a thin mattress.

"Sorry about that, it wasn't on purpose, I swear!"

The grown child rolled his eyes.

"Sureeeee, that's what my mom says too!"

"No, seriously! I'm literally stuck in here! Or was... I guess? Can I use your vent?"

"Oh, I don't know, can you?"

A small smile flitted over the saints face for a split second, then he groaned.

"Of course, what were you expecting? Leaving you here to rot? I'm not an asshole."

Kim doesn't seem to have neither anger issues or claws, so he wasn't the one responsible for this messy room, which is odd as well since teenagers are the biggest messies in existence.

"Do you know who was in this room before you?"

The human asked curiously, still getting the creeps by how torn it was. The angel thought about what he's said for a while, until his halo seemed to shine even brighter than before and he flicked his fingers.

"Ah! Now I remember! Well, since Alice doesn't come anywhere near here and this isn't his territory: I think it was...
The ink demon's room or to be more precise, where he got trapped in."

That's when the animator became undeniably aware of what Bendy had confessed to him. This was his former prison.

Chapter Text

(Warning: This is my first smut (?), Be prepared for cringe.)

"Did you hear that?" The projectionist nodded heavily, accidentally hitting the ink covered man with his projector on the forehead.

"Argh-"

"Oh, sorry Sam, are you alright?"

It was pretty dark and he didn't calculate how small the space they were in truly was. Sammy didn't respond. The two were initially going to make out in the same supply closet where the funny juice was stored, but neither of them felt comfortable enough to do anything. It's been awhile since they've done something like this, 20 years to be exact.

"Sammy?"

"...yes, Norman?"

"Sammy, we don't have to do this if you don't want. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do! Stop questioning my decisions!"

"I don't question your decisions, it's just..."

"It's just what?!"

"Sammy... We haven't done anything like this for two decades now and... We aren't human-"

"Don't. Don't say that! I know it's hard to have a relationship when we look like... When we live in... Hell..."

The taller turned his dimmed projector light on, getting the aggrieving sight of a slowly melting ink creature, also known as his partner. He instinctively took his hand and the musician's anxiety seemed to fade a little.

"Sammy Samuel Lawrence, I love you. Okay? Not because you were human, but because you're a being of loyalty and kindness. And that didn't change to this day."

*Sniff*

"Norman Polk, you cheesy fuck!"

Lawrence exclaimed and dramatically held his other hand to his chest, which caused a nearby object to fall from the shelves. Sammy picked up the wine bottle, that he accidentally kicked down with his elbow and to inspect it furthermore, he held the thing closer to his face. This stuff was older than the author of this book, he shuddered at the thought of his lord drinking such old buzz. He put it back on the rack and brought his attention back to his lover, Norman Polk, the man who loved him unconditionally.

"Do you wanna...?"

There was a moment of silence after his question. However it didn't last long, because Polk decided to pin his boyfriend against the wall with their intertwined hands, then he took the other arm and held it in place at the wrist. The musician exhaled audibly, this felt very intimate in its own separate way. Almost unrealistic.

"Always, my love."

And that's when Lawrence bend down and licked over the taller's speaker, earning a low groan from his counterpart. He smiled to himself. Who could've thought this thing was just as sensitive as the projectionist's lips were? Sammy looked up and saw that the light flickered a little.

"I didn't do anything and you're already losing it? Wow, Norman, I thought such a big strong man like you could handle more~"

"You know what, Lawrence? That's it. You won't be walking for days, when I'm done with you!"

Huh. That made the smaller regret his words pretty quickly, or not, since he's somewhat of a masochist. A few minutes later Norman rammed his inky member in and out of Sammy's ass, who was swearing like a sailor. "FUCK!~" The musician exclaimed, digging his hands further into the other's shoulders. "Scream my name, like the little slut you are!" Polk wouldn't usually say something as bizarre as that, but he knew his boyfriend was into it. "N-NORMAN!~" The ink covered man yelled in pleasure and pain, throwing his head back as he came on their stomaches.

"I barely went inside you and you've already lost it? Wow, Samuel, I thought such a strong man like you could handle more~"

"F-fuck you!"

"Maybe later... I gotta get back to Level 14 now, don't want Susie to steal my hearts again..."

He muttered, setting Lawrence on the ground, who's legs were still shaking. The shorter fell over into his lover's arms. "C-can I join you?" He whispered against the taller's speaker.

"I don't know, Sam... What about your lord?"

"He'll be fine without me. If he needs a shoulder to cry on, he could just use one of the searchers."

"I suppose you're right...
Can you walk?"

"Sadly no, you made good on your threat ."

"Then let me carry you, my prince~"

"You still remember that, huh?"

"Your face when you found out the walls of the tower were made out of thin cardboard was priceless."

"I was eight for Bendy's sake! I thought it could hold me!"

"Yet it didn't and you went face first through the window...
Luckily, I was there to catch you."

"My knight in shining armor." Sammy rolled his non-existent eyes and the projectionist chuckled at the memory. They decided to take the secret staircase down, so the angel doesn't notice their presence.

"Are you sure she's there? Haven't heard her annoying voice in awhile..."

"She has to be. Maybe she's just taking a nap?"

"You know what they say, evil never sleeps..."

...

"Lawrence, get the- Lawrence?" The ink demon looked around the room, however his prophet was nowhere to be found. He sighed. "Might be better this way, he'd only tell me to stop drinking anyway..." His head went to the closet. "Let's drown those shitty memories..."

Chapter Text

"And why are you here anyway? You're certainly not someone who used to work here." Henry remarked, his legs starting to feel rather numb. They've been crawling for quite some time now, however Kim didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. He wasn't responding to Stein, who thought the angel just couldn't hear him. "HEY-" The young adult turned his head and gave him a very enraged look from the side. "Jesus Christ, can you be quiet? If someone hears us we're as good as dead!" Aniol loudly whispered at the animator, unintentionally hitting him with his right wing in the process. Henry couldn't tell by what he was hit, since the vents were as dark as ink. "Ouch!" The man exclaimed and stopped. "Did you just hit me?!" He rubbed his cheek in pain. "No, I didn't! That was my stupid wing! Get over yourself, you're a grown adult!" That reaction seemed a bit over the top, but who knows what Kim has been through to snap like that. Henry continued to follow the angel, who didn't stop when he did. Rude. They took a turn left and passed by a ventilation grille, Stein's heart almost dropped. He saw the silhouette of what looked terrifyingly close to Twisted Alice. "Dear god, can't you hurry up a bi-" Aniol's words stuck in his throat, as he couldn't help but stare at the shadowy figure as well.

"Shit."

"You know her?"

"Kind of. That woman punched me
into the river on level 9."

"Yikes, that thing's deep."

"How the fuck would you
be able to tell?"

"I've died a million times before and falling into that river is one of my least favourite ways to respawn."

"Respawn? What are we,
in a video game?"

"...more like hell you
can't escape from."

"Huh... Why can only you respawn?"

"To be honest, I have no ide-"

"Finally, she's gone!" Kim cheered and his halo somehow glowed brighter than before. "I thought we were going back to Boris's?" The animator responded, raising an eyebrow. "Change of plans, we stop here. After all, that bitch didn't pay for what she's done..." The not-so-saintly angel muttered bitterly, apparently wanting revenge. Henry gulped, he wasn't really in the mood to face her. She could be easily killed by the stab of a sword, he knew that very well, however, they did not possess such item. "Vengeance isn't always the solution, you kno-" He got another hit from the wing, intentionally this time. "Now I actually regret taking you with me." Did it suddenly get colder in these vents or is that just Aniol speaking? "Like, seriously, what is your fucking problem?! That's the fallen angel we're talking of! It's not about me getting payback, it's about retribution for everyone down here!" He paused and slightly bit his bottom lip. "Don't you hate her? Despise her with all your heart after seeing how many people she has on her non-existent conscience? ...didn't she make you suffer?" Stein wasn't sure, if he should reply. How could he even reply to this? It's not like he liked Susie or anything, but he didn't necessarily hate her either. "Look... Susie might be a monster down here, but... She wasn't always this way. And deep down, she's still a woman with the dream of becoming a star." Kim wasn't having any of it, however he didn't object either. "'kay, now let's see how we'll get down there without breaking our legs..."

Around five minutes later, the angel had made it safely to the ground by lowering himself out of the vent until he hung by his hands, before letting go, only falling a meter and a half to the floor in consequence.

"What are you waiting for? Are you afraid of heights or something?"

"No, actually, I'm an old man, I don't do jumping from tall things."

"Sucks to be you, I guess."

Sighs

"And sucks to be me, because I
can't just leave you behind..."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want to be a bad person. Also, have you seen yourself? You look beyond miserable! Like a kicked puppy! Someone's gotta help you, and I guess it has to be me."

"Jeeze kid, do you always insult people like that, or are those just the hormones in your brain talking?"

Completely ignoring the animators comment, Aniol got a better view of the room he dropped into. The room didn't own a door, which was odd, since this seemed to be a changing cubicle. Alice Angel's dressing room, he soon realized. "She really thinks Make-up is gonna save her from looking like a weathered beast, huh?" Kim picked up a vial of bloody red nailpolish and unnoticeably cringed at its sight. His gaze wandered over to the broken mirror, which belonged atop a golden dresser. The gold was fake, as much of a dud as his confidence. The angel's eyes went down and he saw a rather tiny stool. His halo shined luminous.

"Okay mister Stein, time to face your fears for the sake of my nerves!"

"That's what I'm supposed to jump on? Kim, I don't mean to disappoint, but that thing's gonna break on impact..."

Uuurgh!

"Fine! I'll just move on to the next rooms and see if there's any ladder nearby..."

"Alright, be careful out there."

"Don't tell me what to do, mom!"

...

The ink demon had been unconscious after overdosing the alcohol, which also lead to him having a nightmare. Bendy didn't calculate this to happen, but how could you blame him? He wasn't good in maths to begin with.

"Dear fucking Satan... Next time I might as well ram my head against a wall, would've be a more pleasant experience!"

Now the mentally unstable ink being needed comfort, perhaps squeezing the butcher gang in a tight embrace before they could become fluid? Nah, he wanted more than that. He wanted to hug something solid. He wanted to hug Henry. Unknowing of the fact that the man was long gone, the ink demon began to walk back to his former prison.

Chapter Text

"Heya Henry, sorry for locking you up and stuff, but I just didn't feel like letting you go after such a long time of not seeing eachother- Nah, that won't work either..."

The ink demon tapped his non-existent chin in thought. "-or maybe? No-" Bendy hit his forehead with the heal of his palm. "Dammit! No! This has to be perfect for him!" He pulled his hand back. Sticky strings of ink spiderwebbed his white glove. "This has to be perfect for him..." He said in a small voice. This would never be perfect enough. Did it even matter anymore? His thoughts resolute, the demon set off to find Henry. Going through a wall his horns, also functioning as ears, heard something. Someone. "The fuck is that bitch doing around here...?" He peeked around the corner, where the voice was coming from. Nobody was there. How strange. "Huh, must've been my sleep deprived mind playing tricks on me..." After all, people's speeches were hunting his dreams. A few minutes later and the oversized cat arrived at the door of his many nightmares. He carefully unlocked it and stepped into the dark room.

"Henry, I'm back! Sorry for locking you up in here and stuff, but you gotta believe me, it was for your own-"

He saw the open vent.

"Hen-... ry?"

The animator would've never been able to get it to open on his own. There was no screwdriver in this room to get the tight venting grille to open. Then he saw the white feathers on the floor surrounding the shaft. That's when he realized. An angel, set from above, has taken his precious creator away from him!

"HENRYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!"

In a fit of uncontrollable rage, the ink demon tossed the next best metal shelf through the room. BANG! It hit a wall and fell to the ground in a matter of seconds. The metal where Bendy has grabbed it was bend. His breathing was shallow. If he had a heartbeat, it would sound like a machine's hammering. He growled aggressively, like an animal with rabies. In his raving madness, the only thought circling around his head, was how he's going to tear that ruthless angel apart.

They took his maker.

They took his crush and former best friend.

They took his Henry!

Bendy wouldn't just sit around and wait until he gets the man back. He'll hunt down whoever has stolen his love! He'll rip their head off and punch their guts so they'll squirt out of their mistake of a vessel!

So the ink demon decided to use the vent. ඔ

...

"Jesus fucking Christ... As if Mr.Drew never heard of ladders before!" Kim stared at the empty closet in disbelief for three minutes straight. "Stupid closets, they can't even provide me a simple stepladder... Let alone a safe space..." There wasn't any lock on the door, it wouldn't be able to secure you from anything, not even from the below zero IQ butcher gang. Speaking of which. "Oh shit-" The angel immediately recognised the sounds of those loathsome and despiteful creatures. To him, they almost sounded like his gossiping schoolmates. Just as vile. Our angsty teen had no other choice, but to hide in the closet again. Coming out was his death penalty, he'd already learned that lesson before.

"!ereh saw eh nrows ev'dluoc I"

"...legab tsal eht tae ot ton
erows uoy ekil tsuJ"

"!tesolc eht ni s'eh kniht I ,syuG"

"?tesolc eht ni llits
lla ew tnerA"

"!ereht ni mih draeh I
kniht I ,ylsuoires ,oN"

Aniol quietly yelped, quickly trying to come up with an escape plan.
Vent? None.
Trapdoor? Also none.
However, he'd better try or else he'd be a goner. So Kim tried. His left and right wing slowly unfolded themselves. It felt as if you were to stretch your arms after a long and tiring day at the nearest grocery shop. He slowly rose up and-

"!syob ,mih tog eW" Striker declared, after he bashed the door open...

"!toidi ,ereht si ydoboN"

Well, dear reader, unfortunately for our gang of dumbasses with no functioning minds, the teenager was way up there and out of their limited range of vision. Obviously, they didn't have the brains to look up. Aniol may not be in heaven yet, but the ceiling of the supply closet is almost as good as that. His wings made sounds that could be heard all the way down the hall. Flap. Flap. Flap. Flap. Kim wondered if there were any other angels in this world. Real angels, not whatever this shitface version of Alice was.

The minutes went by like hours, until finally, the mindless freaks saw something else and left.

...

"I wonder if Kim got a ladder yet... Now that I think about it, has he ever been in one of the loops before? Maybe I just never met him..." Thought Henry out loud, because when he's alone that's what he tended to do. Thinking, no, overthinking. Since his legs eventually gave up he had to lay flat on his belly. It was very unpleasant and Stein's stomach would probably complain about it. Waiting any longer would be dangerous, on the high chances he'd either fall asleep or get killed by a creature in the vents. "Welp, time to keep going... I hope Kim didn't die..." The man was genuinely concerned for the teenager. Aniol might be a fighter, but even knights can be killed by a well-aimed shot through the helmet. The animator gulped at the images his brain created. The angel's body resting dead on the floor or even worse, gutted for Alice into little pieces, with his head on a golden plate. Perhaps he was already devoured by the ink entirely? Or what if- The vents began to tremble slightly, almost unnoticeably under his sticky palms. Something large must've entered to make the metal shake this far down the line, with the nearest vent opening hundreds of meters back. And at the rate the shaking was increasing, it was bloody fast too.

"What in the..."

Henry was curious to what that thing was, however he ain't gonna stick around to find out. So he crawled as fast as his weary legs would let him. Shit, he thought, quickly gliding down a shaft and turning left afterward. The noises didn't get any less, if anything, they became louder. He panicked. There hasn't been a loop where he was in the vents longer than 20 minutes and maybe it was a huge mistake not to follow that pattern this time. Stein heard something bang. It's getting more speed. Fuck. He took a turn right and had to make his way over a vent opening, which lead to an ink filled room aka his demise. Where even was he? He lost all sense of direction. The man found himself in front of two ways he could choose. The left way looked suspicious, so he went with the right one. Dead end. "Damn it!..." The animator cursed under his breath. The left path it was. He turned around and another bang could be heard. Poor ventilation system, it's getting banged without consent. Creeping forward, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something.
Something black.
Something big.
Something furious.
Something-

"HENRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!"

The enraged demon roared and Henry's skin went paper white. Now he was in serious trouble. Stein's elbows hurt like hell, but he kept going nonetheless. Bendy got closer. The animator grew more desperate. Eventually he saw his escape, a ventilation grille. He could've cried of relief, however, when he arrived, frantically clasping his hands around the bars and shaking them, he discovered the vent was tightly shut, and there was no hope of escape unless he only had more time. Henry heard the demon right behind him, slowly and anxiously turning his head in defeat. "Got you!~" The beast cooed darkly. And with that, he was forced to the bottom of the vent by two inky hands. From this angle, he could fully view Bendy's chest heaving up and down, and not much else. They were both pretty out of breath, Henry only just realising how exhausted he was.

"YOU REALLY THOUGHT YOU'D GET AWAY FROM ME THAT EASILY?!
HUH, HENRY?!"

Stein was shocked by what he heard.

"I had every right to get out of that room! You can't just lock me up!"

The ink demon laughed bitterly.

"Oh ho~ but I can! I was trying to keep you safe and THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY ME?!"

His boming words made the entire shaft shake.

"I- I didn't know-"

"SILENCE."

Bendy hissed and dug his claw deeper into the man's flesh, who made a silent scream.

"Listen up, Stein. You're going to follow me back and you will tell me who freed you."

The human didn't respond, instead he was working on a plan to get his counterpart to open the ventilation grill for him. Then it made click in his head. "I- I don't know their name!" He blured out, squeezing his eyes shut and looked away. Bendy would hit him any second now, right? "Then. Bring. Me. To. Them!" He responded coldly, tightening his grip. Henry nodded slightly, daring to see the one above him again. "T-they're in this area-" He gestured with his head in the diretion of the opening. "-they wanted to get me a ladder to-" He abruptly got caught off by the already pissed demon. "I DON'T CARE! Just show me where they are!"

Bendy was always a good liar, that's why he was so good at fooling people in the first place. However, he's not as confident as you may think. He's scared too. Very scared. Clunk. The exit to this labyrinth would've sounded like heaven to Henry, if it didn't mean he'd also have to find a way to flee from the ink demon. That shouldn't be a problem for him, right? But this loop was different. He should've thought this through. Damn it.

Chapter Text

When our partners in crime arrived at level 14, everything was painfully quiet. Just as usual. The musican didn't like loud noises anyway. Sammy thought this place was a gift from heaven, despite him not believing in anyone else than his lord. He sighed. "Ahh, the silence in this area is wonderful~" Neither of them have ears, but that's besides the point. "Wonderful? Don't you mean aggravating?" Norman's voice slightly echoed through the huge hall they were currently standing in. "Nothing against a quiet place, however... Isn't it driving you mad?" Because it sure drove him nuts. The shorter guy laughed. It sounded like he just recalled a few memories of the days he used to overwork himself. The rash, tired bark echoed through the tunnel eerily. When he spoke next, he nearly sounded like his old self. "Besides the fact that I already am? No."

"I know, Samuel, but there's always a chance it can get worse again..."

As the projectionist debated whether or not he should ask if Sam needed a hug, he spotted a heart laying in the ink.
It was beating.

...

"Sammy... What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to see if your projector can play this fancy reel I found!"

Norman's projector cupped in his hands, Sammy tried to insert the spool.

So that explained why Sammy has touching him like that... "What reel?" Polk asked. He gently took it from the musicians hand to inspect said object. With realization, he snapped the plastic in two and quickly threw the broken circle away. It was consumed by the burbling ink in seconds. Now at a loss, Sammy directed the light of the projector straight into his eyes. "Heeey! What was that for?"

"It gave me ptsd." Norman responded in the most dead-pan voice he had. His normal voice, which reflected his broken dreams bluntly.

"Seriously Norman, what's the
problem? Don't tell me it's-"

"The expensive reel I bought from
my own pocket money? Yes."

Behind them, the ink swirled in an abyssal whirlpool. The reel reemerged, in mint condition. Norman snatched it up and repeated his past behavior. The reel came back.

"How come it's-?"

"I have no clue... " Norman then gave in, bitterly handing the disk to Sammy, who still got joy and intrigue from it.

Sammy studied the plastic, tracing his fingers across it's uneven surface.

As he watched Sammy, Norman speculated aloud, "Maybe it was my dream coming to life? Since this place is built on damned dreams..."

"Your dream..." the glossy black spool spun as Lawrence fidgeted. "I thought it was a hobby of yours?"

"Nope, I always wanted to be a filmmaker when I was younger... that's how I got mixed up into this mess..."

"...why did you never tell me that?" The musician looked up, meeting the projectors gaze.

"I wanted to keep it to myself, it's nothing major anyway..." The taller quickly broke the stare.

"It is, well, was... Did you not tell me because of the attitude I had?"

"I always knew you were just hiding behind that wall of fake ignorance, so no, that's actually not it..."

"Wait, now I get it- it's because you
and I were different ethnicities and
so you thought..."

"...that you wouldn't understand my struggles? Yes."

"Oh, Norman..." Sammy walked up and embraced his partner gently, trying to ease the others uprising feelings. "S-sammy, I- I was so naive..." If the older man could cry, he probably would, but instead his voice started glitching and he became more fluid. "Shhh, let it out, it's okay..." He whispered, subconsciously rubbing circles into the projectionists back, who continues to spill all his pain. "I- I was so young and stupid! I thought I could just b- become a film producer, just like that! But I was wrong! I was so wrong! The other children laughed at me! They mocked me for what I wanted to be, because they- they knew from the start..." He hiccuped, which sounded like it came from another room. "Kids are truly cruel..." Samuel muttered into the others shoulder, thinking back to the time where he got bullied for having a crush on a guy in elementary school. "Y- yes. But not as absolutely shameless as our former boss. Joey. He gave me hope just so he could crush it for his own fucking delight..." His melting stopped and was replaced by the ink on Norman's arms, which began to boil almost imperceptibly. "He told me I could help accomplish his goals and in return... He'd let me get one step closer to my dream job and I was hopeless enough to help him... After all, nobody else around town wanted to hire me. I just didn't fit in their white little bubble. Luckily, Drew never knew about my queerness. Well, not until that one unfortunate day where Susie told him..."

"She did WHAT?!"

"Sammy, that was years ago and I'm sure-"

"That she regretted it? Norman, this is Susie Campbell we're talking about. She would do anything to get what she wants!"

"I know, it's just... Before she grew obsessed with you, we were... Good acquaintances. Maybe almost... Friends?"

"Wait, you were friends? Are you sure she didn't just exploit you to get to me?"

"She was very amicable and almost a bit shy, that's why she turned to me for help. So I could show her around..." The taller man seemed to be floating in memories, when he said that. "On her last day as a 'new comer' I showed her the music department and..." His light good dimmer, as if his expression turned into a frown. He sighed. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't your great personality, that made her fall for you... From what I've heard, her mother-" *clack clack clack...*

"...someone is on level 13?"

"Three people actually."

"How can you know that?"

"..."

"Pfff- that was a wild guess, Normy~

Don't just believe everything I tell you."

"Now that you mentioned it,
I think it's four people..."

Chapter Text

Footsteps could be heard. One quietly and hesitant, the other loudly and determined. One sounded like a nice visitors, the other as if they owned the place. Which technically speaking was true.

"Man, this sure is a nice hallway..."

"Every hallway looks the same."

"Yeaaah, I suppose you're right. Heh." Henry tried not to start an argument with the still rather pissed demon. "Where is that chicken who's freed you?" Bendy growled, thinking about the feathered fuck, who almost took away his only ray of sunshine in this hellhole he calls his life. "Chicken?" The animator almost chuckled at the thought of Kim wearing a chicken costume. "That. Angel." The taller spat out the word 'angel' like it was sewage and Henry coughed in response, hiding his uprising anxiety. There weren't any angels with wings in the studio, up until now, so the options of who it could be are unsurprisingly low. "What? Angel? I don't recall Allison getting me out of my prison." It's not a lie, but it obviously wasn't the truth either. "Of course she wouldn't, she's a selfish little bitch and besides-" He summoned one of the feathers he's found. "She doesn't have wings, now does she?~" Henry thought his heartbeat stopped for a second when he saw what the other had found. Fuck. "Maybe Allison finally grew the pair of wings she deserved?" Henry replied, sounding as confident as a rabbit in front of a snake. "'She deserved'? Seriously?! You're telling me the woman, who leaves you behind every loop and only uses you, deserves the sign of a saint?!" Bendy's anger issues are showing off like models on a stage. The animator realized that continuing on this topic will only lead to him getting strangled or worse.
So he shut up.

Minutes passed by and the demon was getting rather impatient. And he didn't like the fact that his love wasn't speaking anymore either. Therefore the taller decided to stop, which forced the anxious human to do the same. "Henry, I know what you're doing. I was hoping you'd stop eventually and yet-" He slammed the man against a wall, grinning like a shark. "-you keep fooling around with me, pretty boy~" Henry's throat felt as dry as desert sand, he gulped in response. The demon continued. "You know what? I'll lock you up again. But this time somewhere with no lights, no doors and... no stupid vents for you to escape through. How does that sound, mhm?~" The demon's gaze on him was that of intense coldness, but something else as well. Something that had been staring Henry in the face all this time, yet he only now came to comprehend. ...Bendy liked him. With this new realization, a crazy idea came to mind. An idea so crazy, it just might work. "T-that sounds perfect." he began slowly. "You're right, I deserve it..." He studied the demon carefully before making his next advance. Fingers trembling, Henry reached up and planted his hand on the demon's chest. Bendy's horns perked at the touch, and Henry knew immediately he had gotten his attention. "In reality though, it's not perfect." A low rumble beneath the demon's inky skin warned him of the thin ice he was on, and he continued quickly. "What I'm saying is- it's not perfect because you won't be there." His previously diverted eyes stole a glance at Bendy, who stood in terrifying silence as just he stared at the man's hand. "I l..." Guilt and embarrassment burned holes in his chest. No, he couldn't say it. "...I...will just get lonely and come looking for you again! No matter where you lock me up." Bendy's grin was slack with shock. Then, just for good measure, Henry gathered every last bit of courage he had to throw his arms around the demon's neck, and place a kiss on his lips. And well, that certainly got Bendy's attention.

Henry would have felt guilty if he wasn't scared for his life. The rumbling beneath his hand crescendos, his fingers tingling with the vibration. A snarl escaped the demon's fangs. Henry tried to remove his trembling fingers. The Ink Demon caught his wrist. He felt sick to his stomach as he gazed into the inky abyss where his creation's eyes should have been. He could feel its hungry, almost sultry gaze on him. In one swift movement, he was against the wall, the twisted Toon's body flush against his. He was immediately taken back to the awful time they had gotten tangled up in the vents, but this was so, so much worse. A fanged maw smashed against his from above, disgusting slimy sounds filling the air as it forced its way down his throat. Clawed hands searched him eagerly, pinching and poking and tugging and touching at every last inch of his torso. He could feel the ink demon's hips slotted against his trousers. Feel how their bones scraped together awfully as a thick black goo consumed his lower half. He shivered, violated in every sense of the word. He began to panic, pain and inky patterns dancing tauntingly in his mind. Do something, Henry! Thoughts screamed in his head. He wrestled for control over the situation, but the ink demon held tight, a low sultry vibration racking his body. If anything, he seemed to be making his day. He slammed his head against the ink demon's as hard as he could. The ink demon, in return, nuzzled their foreheads together at Henry's violent act. The toon simply adjusted his grip on Henry's face, deepening the kiss to a degree where he could swear its awful tongue was exploring his lungs. He swallowed in fright, nerves taking over. The demon grunted in reply, yanking at his shirt collar. Dizziness flooded his mind and he teetered on his feet. The animator pushed against the demon's boney ribcage with all his might, but to no avail. He was the ink demon's now, and there was nothing he could do but give in. He bit down hard on the ink demon's tongue in retaliation, and it nearly hummed in response. It was inside of him now. Leeching and warm, thick and slimy. Almost scalding. He whimpered, trying to be disgusted with himself but not having the strength to do so. Hot tears flooded down his cheeks. His body wracked with silent sobs. He didn't know when it happened, but the numbness gradually faded as he realized his was sitting in the demon's boney lap. Soft bites were being pressed onto his neck, the ink demon cooing to him softly as he could with his rough voice.

"Oi fuck face, leave Stein alone!"

It felt like someone hit you over the head with a metal bat. As if you fell from heaven itself. Bendy couldn't help but wonder what kind of shitty abomination would do something like that to him. Then he remembered what his initial plan was. He let the tired man sink against the wall, standing up tall in the process. The demon slowly twisted his head around, bloodlust already infecting his mind like a virus.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the chicken who stole what's dear to me!"

Chapter Text

The demon and the angel might be complete opposites, yet they share the same belief.

No matter what you do or don't,
you will always be the bad guy.

The demon helped Henry many times during every loop and he still gets defeated every time. The angel doesn't even try to be nice, she knows that being a good person is impossible for her.

...

The floorboards creaked and groaned under her feet.

She had no reason to hurry as everything ends as it starts.

She had only one goal.

One thing that kept her running.

It was neither love nor fear.

It was pure. burning. hatred.

Vile disgust and overwhelming jealousy.

She wants what is hers.

Her title, what she was promised.

The only thing she had left.

Gone. Ruined. By someone who didn't fight for it.

He got it.

As soft as absorbent cotton and as white as nothing.

That wasn't supposed to happen. He should have become a voice in the belly of eternal damnation. He was just a pebble, not a diamond!

Didn't she remain faithful to God? All she ever wanted was to see the holy paradise. That's what she was after for her entire existence. But now?

She was murdered in cold blood, a poor soul, forgotten and lost.

No one remembers her true name.

Her reflection is a lie. But she is only vaguely aware of that.

Her mouth twists into a shuddering smile.

Why hope for freedom? She was trapped her whole life.

Was manipulated and despised by others.

Those who want to be pretty must suffer for it. She has suffered far enough.

Her mother was obsessed with beauty.

She stopped in her tracks.

And so was she.

She, a desperate soul trying to crawl out of the underworld on all fours.

She once had angel-like golden hair, but that was not enough to experience God's grace.

Instead here she is.

In a place for which even the title hell would be too innocent.

She grabbed her forehead.

Why him? Why not her?

She had no hope left.

No one will save her.

So at the very least she'll take what's rightfully hers.

A pair of what belongs to her and her alone.

Wings.

She has driven her conscience, all her humanity, out of her body.

All that was left of it was an unnecessary burden for her.

She wants only one thing and she will get it.

After all, you can't lose when you've already lost everything.

You can only win.

Then muffled voices interrupted her train of thoughts. They came from behind one of the many doors in this claustrophobic nightmare of a hallway. The fallen angel put her ear against the door from where the noise came from, concentrating on what was being said in the studio of Joey Drew. Using information from others to her advantage is like breathing to her.

"...Wally, I don't think we should-"

"I know what I saw! I swear, the guy was flying! And the ink demon was after him!"

"Wally. Seriously. Not even Allison got wings and she's probably one of the kindest souls down here!"

"But Jaaaaaack! I can prove it!" Alice hears someone going through a pile of stuff, apparently searching for the so-called proof. "There! See? A feather! And chickens aren't a thing down here, soooooo-"

"It could literally be from a pillow."

"Maybe, still, have you ever seen that big of a pillow feather?!" The energetic one jumped on the floorboards, excited.

"Heavens, Wally, stop being so loud! Or this will probably be the last time we're able to meet up in ages..." The other hissed, sounding upset.

"Aww Jack, I'm sure we'll be fine! Besides, if we can come back from the abyss once, why not twice?"

Alice raised her eyebrows in disbelief. They, simple peasant folk, were allowed to come back? Impossible!

"I- I suppose... However, I believe our second rebirth has something to do with the glitch that happened a while ago. You know, when the loop broke and everyone gained control of their actions?"

"Sheesh, babe, don't remind me! Remembering that I was a mindless searcher still gives me goosebumps!"

"Well, Wally... We're still ink beings, just a little less miserable for some reason..."

"Maybe it's because of the feathered guy? What if he came from the world of the living and brought his life force into this place by dying at its core or something!

"Or maybe the script has holes in it? Or simply got changed? Considered?"

"Maaaaaan, you party pooper! Let me craft a fairytale! Don't come at me with your stupid logic!" The being seemed to be overly pretending to be mad, the other laughed. It sounded like, well, a dead person laughing. "Alright, babe. Wanna visit the partners in crime now or what?" Jack asked, raising an imaginary eyebrow. That was Campbell's cue to quickly run away and hide in the next best room.

...

When Henry regained his ability to stand up, he immediately looked out for a hiding spot. Or a first aid kit. Both. Both is good, he thought, examining the many wounds the demon had left on him. The tired man brushed a finger over his dry and bruised lips, a tear rolling down his face.

He dragged his body down a staircase, feeling like a truck had hit him. He also felt dirty in a way, as if he was covered in invisible mud. The animator sighed, not wanting to think about what happened any more. Henry's heart felt heavy, guilt and shame washing over him like waves. He eventually sat down on the bottom of the stairs, hugging his knees.

The sound of him weeping could be heard through the entire floor, it sounded like a searcher's cry. The man wasn't sure how to continue this loop anymore. Should he try to go back to his usual routine? Find Kim? Or... What if he talked to Allison?

Henry suddenly felt a death grip on his shoulder, making him freeze in fear. Please don't be him, he thought. "Oh, hello my little errand boy~ Haven't seen you in a while, how are you?" Susie's voice sounded like liquid honey, giving him a strong flashback to her living self. The man's heart pounded against his chest.
He was ready to take his chances and run.

"What do you want from me, Alice? The loop is broken, you can do as you please... so leave me alone." The animator replied coldly, still feeling like shit. "Awwww, don't be like that, Stein~" The fallen angel chuckled, putting the back of her hand to her mouth in a polite gesture. It looked like she was mocking him.
"Can't I visit an old friend?"

Henry rolled his eyes, placing his crossed arms in front of his chest. "What do you really want, Miss Campbell?" He tried to pronounce her last name just as maliciously as she did, which didn't quite work. The man still sounded like the good guy that he was. "Nothing in particular, just wanted to let you know that your little friend is in trouble. It would be a shame if he got sent to the void~" The fallen angel put on her best impression of an empathetic being. The animator pressed his lips together, clearly concerned about the teen. What happened after he blacked out? Henry only had blurry images left in his mind. Yelling. Loud footsteps. The sound of something hitting a wall... He put his hand against his forehead, grabbing onto his hair. Should he try and get more information out of Alice or should he try to find him by himself? He briefly gazed up at her, trying to read her expression. She looked very amused at his situation and he immediately knew that she had more knowledge to help him out. But can he trust her? Fuck no.

"Well, if I'm your friend, help me out. After all, that's what friends are for." The fallen angel understood what he was trying to get across and couldn't help but smile viciously behind the man's back. You fool, she thought. "Alright, let me give you a helping hand~" She responded as she held out her inky gloved hand. Henry looked up at her with a resting bitchface and took it faster than she could've seen it coming. The animator used her hand to stand up, however, at the same time he lashed out with his clenched left hand and gave her a violent blow to the distorted face.

While Henry takes Alice's moment of processing as an opportunity to jump down the stairs and run for his life, she put a hand to her cheek. If there would've been glass between them this wouldn't have happened.

"YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD, STEIN!!!"
She was so filled with rage, that she couldn't think straight. The fallen angel sprinted after him and despite wearing tight shoes she was eventually faster than him. As she came close enough, the inky woman gave the animator a taste of his own medicine, making him almost fall over. But the man was smart and ran to the next hallway door and when the enraged witch wanted to rip his eyes out he simply shut the door right in her visage. He heard her slam into the door, groaning in pain and probably getting a bruise on her forehead. She aggressively pulled and clawed on the door, roaring in fury.
"YOU'LL NEVER FIND HIM ON YOUR OWN!!!"

She stepped back, trying to make out if Henry was still standing there. Then she continued, using her impression of Alice Angel. "My dear, leaving a friend to die is not very heroic of you~ The little abomination of an angel is struggling to escape the demon's deadly claws." She chuckled like she just told a joke. "He'll be ripped to tiny shreds and be hung up in the lair of the beast. Do you really want that? Leave an innocent teen to rot?" She gasped dramatically, putting a hand over her mouth. "Huh, I thought you were the good guy in this story~" And with those final words the fallen angel went away, leaving the man with a cold feeling running down his back. She was just messing with him, right? Aniol isn't that helpless, he could just hide in a miracle station- No, he'd eventually starve to death and not return.

Henry didn't know how he felt about the boy. After all, he's been nothing but rude towards the animator. Or has he? He seemed to have his reasons and he definitely wasn't a bad person. The man sighed, grabbing a fistful of his chestnut hair, staring down on the floorboards that all looked the same. He chuckled, thinking about how everyone is just cardboards, trying to keep it all together. All the time. Non-stop. Holding people's feet, while not breaking under the pressure.

Maybe Kim was just a broken piece of floor?

Wandering aimlessly through the unknown level, the blond arrived at an open miracle station. It had the golden ink all over, like a bomb exploded inside of it. Why was he able to see golden ink without his Seeing Tool? The man rubbed his eyes and the shiny colour vanished, like it was never there. Moments later, Henry's curiosity eventually got the best of him and he went inside of it, closing the door. Nothing happened. Magikarp would've been proud.

The animator rolled his eyes at his own joke and stepped outside again. Then the air around him suddenly turned icy cold, which can only mean one thing:
The Ink Demon was near. Not necessarily on this level, but definitely in the man's radius. Sensing the proximity of the beast became a ninth sense over time. However, as fast as the feeling occurred so it vanished. Henry shrugged and went left, that's when it got chill again. "So we're playing hit the pod, huh?" He said to himself, following the invisible force.

...

"Holy shit." Henry exclaimed, now floating mid air. His exclamation echoed through the entire area. The only thing keeping him from turning into a fleshy pancake is his iron grip on the door handle. So turns out there's a huge gap that splits at least 20 floors in half. There seems to have been an attempt made to connect everything with bridges, I'm saying attempt since none of them are longer than an inch. Do you know what else isn't longer than an inch? Sphaerodactylus. Also Joey Drew's di-

This can't get any worse. The man clenched his teeth together, trying to think of a way not to die. He didn't have the strength to pull himself up again and waiting until his arm went numb wasn't an option. While Henry thought of a way to swing himself to a nearby open door, through said door a coughing figure dragged themselves out.

"Powinienem był zostać z Henrym, a teraz pewnie nie żyje, bo zostawiłem go samego. Cholerny atramentowy demon!"

The person sounded enraged, standing on a little ledge that used to hold one end of a bridge up. The animator could barely make out who it was, as he had to look over his shoulder. He put all his energy in a cry for help. "HEY!" The figure jumped, turning their head to the source of the yell.

"HENRY?! HENRY IS THAT
YOU UP THERE?"

However, before the two could find a solution to the problem, the air around them became as frosty as a popsicle. Suddenly, an inky hand tightly pierced its claws into Kim's neck, holding him up like a trophy. "You're gonna wish you'd never been born when I'm done with you."

And if that wasn't bad enough, a twisted woman made her way towards the hanging man. His fingers slipped, but she caughed his wrist just in time. The cheap copy of Alice Angel couldn't help a sinister smile. "So we meet again, errand boy~" Henry's wrist felt sore, reminding him that he initially wanted to live. Now he'd rather not. "Alright, just drop me." He was officially done with this loop. Maybe he'll hit his head hard enough to reset it entirely? "Oh, you wish. But no... HEY, TALL GUY! You want him alive, don't you?" The demon's non-existent eyes widened, like he just awoke from a trance. He wanted to beat the living shit out of the boy, but Henry was more important. More important than anything else. Bendy harshly dropped the teen, who almost suffocated. "YEAH, WHY DO YOU ASK, TITLESS?"

"How about... a trade offer?"

"Why the fuck would I ever
trade with your ass!?"

"Well, it's either that or your
little doll will get cranial trauma~"

While the two sides of the same coin argued, the guys took the time to try communicating via eye contact and gestures. Eventually, Aniol held three fingers up.

Then two.

One.

Stein understood, grabbing onto the part of Twisted Alice's arm he could reach with his free hand and pulled himself up. "What are you-" He harshly bit her wrist with all his might. She cried out in shock at the sudden pain and reflexively let go, losing her captive in a heartbeat.

Everything screamed in Bendy's head, he wanted to jump after his love. However, the angel was faster and spread his wings to fly and catch the man, who was heavier than Kim had expected. The teen couldn't stop them both from falling, only slightly slowing them down and he started to lose his grip on Stein as well. "Fuck! Fuckfuckfuckfuck..." He tried his best to get the man on the ground safely, but he eventually couldn't feel his wings anymore.

Henry fell the last 3 floors and landed head first on the floorboards. It seemed like he just got a headache and maybe a few bruises. Relieved, they both sighed.

That's when the cardboard underneath him gave in.

Chapter Text

Do you know the feeling of free fall? It's hard to describe, because most people who felt it are now dead as a doornail. It is so traumatizing that you forget it immediately. It's like your organs, heart, lungs and other innards fly out of your body. You can't breathe, let alone think clearly. You may feel light as a balloon, but the fear of death is stronger.

The feeling of powerlessness would perhaps even describe the man's condition more accurately. As his own soul mends on and off in his mind's eye. He feels sick as hell, he would like to implode. Everything is spinning. He spins with and against it in an instant. His headache is like a never-ending migraine and it is more than unbearable. Thus he sinks deeper and deeper into the infinite abyss of his self....

...

Something warm, almost friendly, caresses the skin of his face, a ray of sunlight. His eyelids lift as if by magic and he sees the plain white room of a hospital. It was small but nice, with a window to his right and a door to his left. A glance at the alarm clock next to him showed that it was already noon. It was yellow and even had a second hand. This pleased the man very much, because at this time he gets company. He can't get up, which is why he lies in bed all day. He was very lonely, but now a visitor comes to take care of him. The nurse, who always comes on time. She reminds him of an old friend, which only increases his euphoria. When he heard a knock from the door, he immediately called out, "You can come in." Or at least that would've been appropriate at that point. She was now standing in front of his bed, all still and staring. Her wild black hair tied up in a bun, her outfit a colorless dress, a factor that clashed a lot with her unusual skin color. She didn't seem to mind that and neither did the man. "Hello, mister ... it's good to see you again!" Her enthusiasm was as warm as an angel's aura and her smile as trusting as a puppy's. "Oh come on, ... you can call me H-" Someone yelled as shrilly as chalk on a blackboard, it stopped as quickly as it started. "Of course, ..., but I hope you know, that this is not actually allowed," She gave him his medicine and put his favorite tea on the bedside table, where the alarm clock was also. It now showed 4:14. His house number. Linda- "Are you still worried about your wife? I'm sure she'll be fine." She put a kindly hand on his shoulder. "You'll definitely see her again, in fact, I can assure you of that. Because your condition has improved a lot the last few days!" She suddenly disappeared and he was once again all alone. Only the quiet ticking of the clock, which now always showed 4:14 o'clock and the subliminal feeling that everything here is fundamentally wrong. Well, he still had his black tea. Black. Black? What about the word? It has seven letters and describes a color, what's funny about that? Is it the fact that he drinks it every time after a hard day's work? Work? What work? How long has he been working? He can't think of it. Strange. Except- There was another knock. He instinctively looked at the door. What door? Since when did this room have a door? Where was the knocking coming from now? He turned to the- "HENRY! WAKE UP!" A boy? Why is he behind the window? His room is on the fifth floor! Can he fly?! "Why are you outside my window?" The black-haired didn't answer this and hit the glass.  "DAMN YOU, STEIN! THEY'RE GOING TO TORTURE US, WAKE THE FUCK UP!!!" He was irritated, so first he drank a cup of something bitter. Ink. Pitch black ink. He had to gag and spit the stuff out again. "I don't want you to die, okay?!... SO SNAP OUT OF IT OR THEY'LL GET YOU!!!" What is he talking about? Why would anyone hurt him? Everyone here is so sincere. Everyone? Here? There's no one here but him. He looks at the clock. "Huh, it's already.... Nine? Maybe? This thing shows too many hours." Overtime. Unpaid overtime. A man with a vision and one with a dream. Who was he again? His mind was as blank as this room. "Hey honey," the man winced as he heard that voice right next to him. He saw out of the corner of his eye a person in black clothes. That's all the detail his brain could take in, except for a grin, which brought out a feeling of uncomfortable recognition. It looked familiar to him, too familiar. "What are you doing here? We both know that ... will call the police if she sees you." His counterpart didn't answer, just silently took his hand. "I know." He then replied curtly, giving the man a kiss on the back of his hand. "I couldn't care less," he chuckled in his own personal way. "You're really stupid, you know that?" Retorted the man, having to suppress a small smile. "Of course, so stupid even to fall in love with someone who is married!" The other seemed slightly angry as he revealed this. "Because honestly, Henry Stein, you let me down. Was my affection worth nothing to you? DID YOU EVER GIVE A DAMN ABOUT ME?!!!?!" The room became very quiet, only in a neighboring room someone seemed to be crying. No, he was crying. "I didn't mean to, Bendy, I'm sorry-" the clock dropped to the floor and was gone. His eyes slid to the window, the noon sun was shining. Twelve o'clock. The special knock on the door told him that his girlfriend appeared to be visiting. She hadn't been able to bring herself to do it before. "Hello..." It was ten to eight again, the sun rising and then setting. Meaningless is also free, his father had once said. He was right. "Henry, please get up!" It came from all directions. No one said it and yet everyone was standing in front of him. His nurse, the boy, his wife, and.... That was all of them, wasn't it? His nurse and the boy, the two of them exist. Didn't they? His nurse and he, they were now alone in his room. She sat down in the visitor's chair. "Listen, you're not getting any younger either, so go take control of your destiny! I don't want you to be stuck here anymore." She laughed lightly, her sadness palpable. "Will we ever meet again?" Asked the man, his mood rather clouded. "Haha, you're really funny," she stood up, "we live in the same house."

...

When Henry awoke, cold sweat was running all over his body. Loud ringing in his ears. Miraculously, he was still alive. He couldn't see anything, because ink had gotten into his eyes and he had a bad feeling in his stomach. Where was Kim? And more importantly, where was he now?

Chapter Text

As the fallen man slowly regained his consciousness, he heard several beings, whispering. They didn't sound like the voices he usually hears when he dies. Way more... alive? He didn't move just in case he could use the element of surprise at any moment. They sounded agitated, like someone just declared that an entire episode had to be redone. Henry remembered all too well the day that had actually happened.

"Should we, you know... help him?" A soft mutter was heard, they sounded like a human. "I don't know, should we???" Another responded, seeming rather rude to the first. Before the two could start anything, a third one stepped forward. "You are so immature sometimes, Apollyon! Mel, you brought us all the way here, so of course we're gonna help."

The animator felt two pairs of arms grab his wrists and ankles, carrying him to who knows where. He still couldn't see a damn thing. Should he try to communicate with these creatures? "Inkfuuuuur, can you carry them for me? Please?" The human, could feel the person the other called 'Apollyon' losing their grip on him. Inkfur sighed, switching places with the other to not get into any arguments. Their hands, which were paws covered in fuzzy fur, felt out of place. Not even Boris got fluff, just a silky body. "I wonder if he's dead-" As the dog-ish being put their thoughts into words, they quickly got interrupted. "Don't even think about that! I definitely saw him breathing when I got there!" Mel suddenly sounded confident, catching the man off guard. He raised his eyebrows and blew his advantage of being considered unconscious. A loud gasp escaped Apollyon, who didn't carry him and therefore had the capacity to focus on the human. "Drop him!" They exclaimed, not sounding phased whatsoever. "No, we're almost home! I mean, as a last resort, we could eat him-" Mel gave Inkfur a slap across the face. It wasn't strong, but the furry got the message.

...

"Oh goodness, they look horrible! What happened?!" Foxia, a kind Lost One with a yellow flower crown, asked. Mel responded, after they safely put Henry on a camp bed. "We don't know, they didn't tell us. Can you bring me a towel?" The Lost One nodded, making her headgear almost fall off. A few minutes passed, however, they eventually managed to give back Henry's ability to see. He felt so relieved to not have gone totally blind, he straight up hugged the Lost One, who squeaked in surprise. "U-uh, you're welcome?" He quickly let go of Mel when she said that. She didn't have a mouth, but if she did she'd be smiling awkwardly. "What's your name?" The Lost One slightly tilted her head, making her long wavy hair dangle. After a moment of perplexed silence on the man's behalf, he slowly sat upwards stretching out his hand for Mel to take it. "I'm Henry. You know, the enemy of the state so to speak?" He tried to be funny. The joke didn't land, but the realisation hit the woman like a brick. "Wait... You're THE Henry? Henry Stein?! I only heard rumours about you! Wow! You're actually real! The man in the flesh! What brings you down here?" She said, violently shacking the poor guy's hand. "Holy crap! Guys! You won't believe who got down here!" Oh boy, the human thought and scratched the back of his head.

The reactions ranged from underwhelming (Apollyon) to straight up getting on their knees in awe (Foxia). Inkfur just shrugged and went back to building weapons. "Foxia, I think you can get up from the ground now." Mel suggested to her friend, making them stand up and salute. She chuckled at the display, but Henry got 'You're the chosen one' vibes, which made him cringe. Some people in this hellhole really need to realize that he's not that special or that he's evil for that matter. He suddenly remembered what got him into this situation in the first place. "Have you by any chance seen a moody teenager lately?" The man was hoping to reunite with his feathered companion. How long did he even lay unconscious after the fall? His drifting thoughts were interrupted by the answer to his question. "Yes, I see them every day." The Lost One pointed at Apollyon, who was currently busy building a pyramid made of empty cans. Henry shook his head and tried to visualize what Kim looked like. "No, he looks different. He has wings, a glowing halo and a black and white suit... Are you sure you've never met him?" Mel put her head sideways, a common habit it appears, narrowing her yellow eyes. "Well, I don't really keep track of the wanderers around here..." She put a finger on her chin, tilting her head to the other side. "But I'm sure he'll end up here eventually! After all, this is quite the hotspot!" The Lost One spread her arms, whilst talking about their hideout. She was obviously trying to make the human less worried. "Thanks Melanie, however I don't think that's going to be the case. For all I know, Kim could be dead already..." For a moment, the woman's pupils widened and she looked like she just swallowed a frog. "Oh. I'm sorry for your loss-" Mel stopped herself mid sentence. "Well, most likely... I'm sorry, but you know better than anyone that the chances of survival are low up there... We're currently on a level that is so uninteresting to the two 'overlords', as I like to call them, that neither bother to bogart it!" Man, once she starts to really spill the beans, she's not stopping.

"Thank you for your help, but I have to get up there again." The man pointed to the ceiling, determined to find his buddy and kick some other angel's ass. "Well Mister, you're in luck. Because Inkfur needs a new supply of batteries from Level P." Apollyon crossed their arms, leaning against the entrance's door frame. Meanwhile, Inkfur wrote something down in a journal, which seems to be his personal diary. "Are you sure you don't want to rest a little longer?" He asked, not looking up from his book. "No, I can't rest. Not now." This loop was different. Henry had a permanent ally. He had... hope. He can't just lay down and let this hellhole turn back to what it was before!

Chapter Text

Old title of this chapter: She's as perfect as god could be

Also please go check this author out: @StRaWbErRyErRoR on Wattpad, they inspired me to change the title )

The sound of the ascending elevator made Stein wonder just how deep down they truly were back at the safehouse. He was clinching to the bars, his legs on the constant verge of giving in to his fear of this uncanny way of transportation. The man didn't know when exactly he had developed this unsettling feeling, but he was certain it formed after his first elevator drop. Yippee.

...

"...and what do we do when we feel like this?" Samuel asked, sitting on a box next to the occupied couch.

The demon raised his wine bottle in response.

"My lord, no!-" His warning was left ignored and another bottle was emptied. The prophet shook his head in defeat, putting his pen and paper away. How was Lawrence supposed to therapy the lunatic if all he did was drink? "My lord, could you please try to vent your feelings through words instead of liquid?" A hiccup was heard from the room, making Norman, who hid in the supply closet, giggle to himself. "I fucking had him, Sam! In my grip! And now that stupid chicken is gone! And I don't know where Henry respawned either..." Bendy's mood turned from angry to whiny in the span of a sentence. Cans dropping was heard from the pantry, but the saviourn't was too drunk to question it. "My lord, how about I chase down the chick while you attend to the more serious business?" Sammy offered, knitting his own hands in a therapeutic manner. It's like someone turned on a light bulb in the ink demon's head. He jumped up, making everyone in his radius flinch. "That's it!... I think..." He held his head, stumbling to the bar counter. Lawrence didn't like this at all, he didn't want his lord to go into a possible battle in this condition. "My lord, are you sure you can do this alone?-" Claws dug into the wooden piece of furniture. The songwriter gulped, knowing what it meant. "Good luck." He muttered as the demon sank through the cardboard floor.

...

"Drip.
Drop.
On the floor.
I'm stuck in here
'cuz of a whor-"

Aniol paused, listening for potential footsteps. Strange, he thought. If this was supposed to be his punishment for wishing upon a star, he'd accept it. But now it's almost becoming boring. "Hey, I don't have all day! I should've gotten tortured an hour ago!" Silence, only occasionally coughing and whining from other prisoners. He huffed, being tied to the ceiling and floor with chains eventually starts hurting your wrists he discovered. His partners in suffering all had cuffs around their necks instead. This hall was like the waiting room for the torture chamber. "First time?" A Lost One spoke, golden scars gracing their body. Huh, so there is a chance of escaping. "Yeah... What about you?" Kim replied, trying to be nice. These were possibly his last moments anyway so he might as well. "Oh, I've been captured a lot by her, but this seems to be a thing for some. I guess she likes the thrill of hunting us down and showing mercy just as much as she loves to torment us. Unlike the other, he doesn't really do either. He only has eyes for one. You probably know who I'm talking about." He winked with his yellow glowing eye. The rest groaned in union, wishing the yakking lost soul would be next to go. The angel chuckled, finding the guy almost sympathetic. "What's your name, Mister Chatterbox?" Everyone went dead silent, which confused Kim. Did he say something wrong? Are names a no-go in here? That's when he saw what every soul was staring at. A slow yet large shadow passing through one of the hallways behind the glass. Was that...? "Damn, I thought this loop would be different! Now would you look at that!" His neighbour exclaimed, sounding off-puttingly cheerful. "What was that thing?" Aniol mouthed to the Lost One, a shiver going down his spine. "The Brute, as we like to call it..." Mister Clutterbox seemed to be in awe, disturbing the angel some more. That didn't sound very friendly to him. A metal door started creeping open when the Brute had already moved on. The souls around the teen started whaling on cue. Either for freedom or the sweet release of death, Kim wasn't certain. He stayed silent, anticipation running through his worn out body.

Someone was humming to themselves, a rather soothing sound. However, the person humming was not quite... The gal. "Sorry for keeping you all waiting~" She showed her teeth in a malicious smile. Hands on hips and splatters of inky blood and organic remains smeared on her apron. "Guess who's next?" It was a trick question. "That's right! You." She pointed her finger at the unsurprised Aniol. Yep, he's gonna die. At least he did something good before vanishing into the endless womb of screaming voices forever.

...

Someone banging against metal could be heard from all over Level 9, a rather upset Stein was hitting the mechanic door to Alice's lair, but without much luck. "Alice, you stupid bitch! Answer Me! Give me back my friends!" He actually searched for Boris beforehand and found a 'lovely' note from Ms. Angel instead of his trusting buddy. That's when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He flinched, raising the axe he had found on level P to strike the person down. "Woh, woh! Stein, I get that trying to sacrifice you several times wasn't cool of me but-" Samuel dodged the attack by jumping back. "I'm pretty sure we can come to some kind of agreement!" Henry paused, staring at the inky being in distress. "Why are you here, Sam? Did he order you to get me?" Lawrence raised his hands to say 'calm down'. "I suppose my lord wouldn't mind, but I was initially here to kill the chicken." The human crocked an eyebrow before swinging his weapon again, almost cutting the prophet's mask in two. Now they were both on edge. "Leave Kim alone." Everyone's favorite musican gulped, knowing damn well what Henry was capable of. "Alright, maybe I won't kill him today... By the way there's a secret entrance to Susie's hideout, however, it's quite small and guarded by several butcher gang copies."

...

Someone was near his second most prized possession, 'the end' reel, the ink demon could sense it. He groaned, thinking it was just Allison and Thomas were trying to get it across the ink river again. He continued to follow the scent of his man up to level P, but only found three beings that weren't Henry. In a fit of drunken rage, he ended their lifes. Now he was coming close to the entrance of Alice's place, stalking up the stairs until he just ripped the door open. If she didn't notice him arriving on her level, she won't bat an eye if he straight up invaded her domain he thought. Bendy was convinced she stole his property, blocking out his sense of smell that told him otherwise.

Was it a bad idea to go in a trap spiked area that was specifically designed to use his own powers against him? Maybe.

Did he care? No.

Screaming could be heard the closer he got to the heart of this place. He thought it might be Stein, although he doubted that Alice would consider doing something to hurt the demon without announcing it to taunt him. He avoided several trapdoors that lead into nothing and fought his way through the army of Lost Ones that seriously believed the angel wouldn't hurt them if they complied to her every wish.

The ink demon was almost completely sober as he stood before the door leading to the origin of the yelling heard a while back. Whoever had been in pain was presumably dead now. Instead, giggling could be heard. Childish laughter, like someone just won a staring contest. It soon became crazed laughter and that was the moment where Bendy slammed the door open.

She became quiet, turning on her heel.

"Well, hello there, mister ex ruler of the studio~ Tell me," Twisted Alice spread her new wings and ascended into the air, golden blood dripping from her back. "What's it like feeling completely and utterly helpless?" She grinned from one perfectly formed ear to the other. Shit, Bendy thought. His non-visible eyes scanned the room and found the corpse of the chicken, who was now a fricassee. Under different circumstances, the ink demon would've laughed his ass off at the gory display.

The human stormed into the scene, behind him a rather worn out prophet. "Susie Campbell, get your greedy hands off-" He cried out when he saw whose lifeless body already laid on the table. "You bitch..." Stein crumbled to the floor, shaking and sobbing. He had hoped that he'd make it in time, but he was too late. He couldn't save either of his friends. Bendy wanted to comfort the man, however, taking down the bitch in question was more urgent at the time. He climbed onto the table and launched himself at her. He only caught her leg. Alice tried to shake him off, but it was no use. Slowly, he weighed her down to the floor. The angel was starting to panic, dreading that her plan had failed.

...

(About an hour prior to this.)

Heavy footsteps made the ground shake.
It was the Brute and it could not be stopped making its way towards the vault room.

Ripping the round door off its handles and throwing it to its right, the Brute dug its head to fit through the opening.

All the boxes were empty, except for one.

Since this loop was different, Alice figured that the reel would still be in its former place and not snatched by the ink demon.

The Brute gargled as it felt the object it was ordered to search for.

Now it only has to get to the throne.

...

She won. A triumph for the angel at last.

"Bye, losers! See you on the flip side!"

And with that, everything started to shake, glow and dissolve into nothingness. Bendy let go of her and ran towards Henry and Sammy, trying to get a grip of them. But it was too late. Everything disappeared.

Chapter Text

Have you ever wondered where all the ink is coming from? I mean, yes, the ink machine, or I suppose ink machines, but they can't just make matter out of nothing.

The ink itself is made out of souls or whatever force is keeping humans, animals, plants and other creatures up and running. You'd think that our life essence have no volume, having no weight to contribute to the universe whatsoever, however you'd be wrong.

Souls have matter. Souls... matter.

And guess who found out about it and cheated death itself?

Okay, you probably already know. Actually, several people already know this...

...

The clinking and clanking of the chains rattling above was almost deafening to his ears. He had been sitting in a pile of ink since he woke up in this strange place, feeling dizzy and as if something had been ripped away from him. He sighed, placing a shaky hand on the cardboard wall next to himself, getting on his wobbly feet before throwing up. The substance going up his throat was inevitable. It was gross.
It was bloody red.

A hint of a smile formed on his face.

"Well, at least I'm still somewhat human..."

Henry finally took the time to actually look around the room, having been in too much shock and fear to move for an unknown period of time. This was definitely not the studio... Or at least, not the studio he knew. What was this place? It didn't look like it served any purpose. A normal cupboard stood just a few feet away from him, almost comforting his fuzzy mind.

Staggering, still trying to remember who exactly he was and what he was doing here, he opened the cupboard's drawers just to see various organs spilling out, making him jump. Images of corpses flashed in the man's mind, to which he probably had a connection, but he couldn't think of their names. As he turned his head he was greeted by a ladder made of pipes. That was odd, he thought, but beggars can't be choosers.

So he climbed this unconventional way to get out of a room, but he made it up without any creature jump scaring him. For now at least.

Following a narrow path, Stein eventually made it to a cafeteria labeled 'Little Devil Lounge', stunning him with awe and fascination. Several barrel-tables and stools to accompany them. Multiple boxes filled with bottles of unknown substance, probably just ink, lying around and plates without food in sight. Henry had to glide his fingertips over every single surface and try to engrave the image of this new area in his foggy head. There was even a vending machine in the far back for coffee! Coffee! The man couldn't believe his tired eyes! He took a cup from a pile of them and put it in its destined place, pressing one of the buttons just to see if it will work. The anticipation almost killed him, but he was waiting patiently, until he noticed that he needed to insert a coin as well to make it work. He frowned, feeling a small sting in his blood pumping organ.

Maybe, he thought, maybe it was for the better. Something was telling him that his relationship to caffeine wasn't the healthiest. So, he stepped away, tripped over a box and fell on his butt. "Argh- damn it... What's wrong with me?" Henry looked upwards as if talking to a divine entity, but all that was staring back at him was a rather ugly ceiling light. He held his head, a familiar ringing disturbing his mind with its presence, letting him know that falling wasn't the worst thing that could've happened. He envisioned someone who looked just like... That cheeky grin...
He couldn't remember. Did something happen? Surely something happened. Something that tore him apart.

As Stein walked past the inviting sign of the lounge above him, this time armed with a bottle, he noticed that one of the many doors had opened. The man sighed, unable to do anything else other than going through it.

Arriving at a door with a round window, Henry peaked inside to see a Lost One drawing a painting. They used yellow ink and it seemed to be glowing. Were they hostile? Some were, so Stein wasn't eager to knock. However, this was the first entity he came across, so he yet again saw no other option as to make himself noticed.

"...Hello? Can you hear me?"

The Lost One turned their head, the noise coming from their door snapping them out of their creative process. They slumped to the entrance of their sacred four walls, opening the little glass hatch. "Yes, I can hear you. Can you please go away now? I'm trying to concentrate here." Perplexed, the human took his sweet time to respond. He put his hand in the gap of the window, making sure that his voice will be heard. "Wait! Please... Do you know anything?" Making their head turn sideways, the Lost One put a hand on their non-existent chin, eventually replying. "I do know... things. But I don't know anything, so I don't think I can help." Feeling like someone was playing a sick joke on him, the man inhaled audibly and nodded to himself. "I forgot how some of you were functioning, my apologies... Do you know what this place is? And who is in charge? And I don't mean your room, I mean all of this." He extended his arms to underline his speech. The Lost One chuckled at this, putting their hand in front of their ink covered skull. "Oh, I thought you'd be aware, my bad... This is... A studio. Or at least it was a studio. Now it's her eternal kingdom... I probably shouldn't be telling you this, it could get me in trouble..." Holding their head, the Lost One appeared to be battling with themselves, unsure of how to continue. The man, not able to make much of this information, held out his little finger. "I won't tell anyone that we talked to each other, pinky promise."

...

You'd really think that anger issues would go away after being stuck in a room for...
Time is a tool. But it doesn't matter in a place where time is completely absent.

Roaring and scratching at the walls, the former ruler of the studio couldn't be bothered to stop.
He will get out.
He needed to get out.
If she somehow finds a way to break them too, it's all over...

"My lord, could you tone down the agony a bit? I know this is awful, but I'm sure-" The voice of Samuel started, coming from the ventilation grill connecting the cells.

"I'm not talking to you, Sammy! Just because I'm trapped in a cell next to you and can't rip your head off, doesn't mean you get to command me!"

"...I wasn't trying to command you, my lord. Please, try to understand that panicking isn't the solution. We have to try and be cooperative if given the chance-"

"When will you finally get it?! That ain't happening! Henry is gone! She got rid of him, permanently! And without him this will never end!" The demon yelled, not letting go of his anger. Because when there's no anger, only his pain and despair remain.

He sat down after a while, soothing himself by wrapping his lanky arms around his legs and rocking back and forth. The ink creature should be used to getting locked up. This was basically the same situation than thirty years ago- well, back when time had power and meaning. Shouldn't he just give into the madness once more? Wasn't he already completely and utterly insane? He didn't know. He wished he knew more in general... Well, there was one thing he will never forget. The warmth he felt when being close to the people who didn't run away screaming or tormented him. There weren't a lot, but he appreciated them.
Especially the guy who is now dead for all eternity.

Silently, tears of what he was made of ran down the demon's half-moon shaped face, dripping into the floorboards to accompany the older ones. Crying won't fix anything and he felt so weak for letting it happen. Nobody was watching him and Lawrence wouldn't comment on it either out of respect or fear. Does the musician respect or fear him in general? He hoped it wasn't fear, despite everything they've been through together. However, respect doesn't really fit. Sure, there was respect involved, but it lost its initial authority a bit over time. Holding his head, Bendy felt like he just entered existence for the first time again. Overwhelmed and scared.

There was no use in trying to stay awake, as his mind got too exhausted with functioning full time in this prison. The demon fell asleep hugging himself as per usual, having successfully avoided thinking about his biggest pain for too long.

Unfortunately for the demon, his nightmares weren't known to be kind to his worn out non-physical heart. He quietly groaned in agony as he turned in his sleep on the cold hard floor.

...

Stein found out through the drawing Lost One that there was a prison not far from their atelier and that they were secretly part of a rebellion against the twisted lady. Since the Lost One wasn't very skilled and didn't want to die, they never attempted to leave their room after having been separated from the others. So Henry obviously had to help them out. Encountering multiple hostile Searchers who tried to trap and kill them on their way, they eventually made it to a special painting with a golden handprint on. Moving the painting aside revealed a little tunnel leading to a secret hideout. The Lost One was so overjoyed they clapped their hands and spinned around, making Stein chuckle. "You will always have my gratitude, human." They frankly searched around a chest before pulling out an axe, kneeling down to solemnly present it to the man. "Here, take this sacred weapon for it is now yours." At first, Henry didn't want to take it, since that would mean the Lost One would be defenseless. However, the nameless creature told him that due to their skeletal form, they were incapable of effectively using the axe anyway. "Please make the rebellion proud and get the prisoners out. They might not join us, but an enemy of her will always be an ally to us." Convinced, the human slowly got a grip of the weapon. Before he could even say thank you, his mind once again was flashing memories in front of his inner eyes. Henry remembered. He remembered everything up until now. The loops. The pain. His friends. His enemies... The ink demon. Stein was trembling with fear. Sure, his supposed arch nemesis wasn't in control of this place, but would that change anything? What if, despite the diar circumstances, the demon would still try to get a hold of him and never let go?

Guess there's only one way to find out.

Chapter Text

Henry stumbled and took a moment to sit down on a nearby box, one hand gripping onto the axe while the other held his pulsing head. Stein's facial expression changed from shock to anger to despair as his eyes stared at the cardboard floor. His breathing was almost rapid and sweat started to appear on his forehead.

"Are you alright? You look a bit troubled." The Lost One sounded genuinely concerned when they said that, stepping forward to gently put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Is the burden of heroism weighting you down?" They asked, waiting for the human to regain his composure. It took Henry a good while to stop his head from spinning, but eventually he managed to reply: "Thank you...". The soul covered in ink withdrew their hand from him and walked back to the chest, searching for something again. "Oh, not for that..." They mumbled to themselves as they picked up several bottles and put them back, seemingly on the lookout for medication. After pushing aside multiple bottles they found what they've been searching for. The Lost One shook the bottle, it's glass dark brown, not revealing what colour the liquid in it might have. They stood up straight, holding the bottle with both hands. The man was still sitting on the box, feeling a bit dizzy and older than he probably was. Without a word, the soul covered in ink went over to him and unscrewed the object they held in one swift motion, handing it to Stein. "It might help, but don't drink too much..." The human didn't consult about it and took a sip. The stuff inside the bottle tasted just as bad as you'd expect medicine to taste, however, it wasn't poisonous, which Henry greatly appreciated. He almost instantly felt better. "I-... What is this exactly?" The man raised the object in question and his left eyebrow with it. "Oh, I think it's a painkiller of sorts, although I usually use it to heal outer wounds..." They trailed off, taking the bottle back and putting it to the other medicine in the chest again. Now Henry had the strength to stand up on his feet, a new surge of energy overcoming him. "Is there any way I could repay you?" He uttered sheepishly, glancing at his weapon. He felt guilty for having been absent in this world, despite that not being his fault. "You could cut the twisted lady's head off." The Lost One responded, sounding almost melancholic.

...

The sound of someone screaming woke the demon from his slumber. Then a loud bang could be heard and everything became quiet again. Strange. Bendy slowly raised his body off the ground, standing up tall and turning his head to the glass window of his cell, not expecting to see much and still half asleep. After all, the lights were still out during downtime. His non-visible pie-cut eyes traveled over the usual scenery of the prison. It was a big room with at least twenty cells, however they were mostly empty. Sammy was the only other prisoner that the demon knew of. Speaking of which, did he notice anything? Bendy went over to the wall that separated them, whispering: "Sammy?". Nobody responded.

The demon jumped when he turned his head back to the glass window and suddenly a humanoid figure stood behind it. Was he dreaming? He violently shook his head. That action made the person raise their shoulders, setting one foot behind them. "Wait!" Bendy exclaimed, reaching out his hand, stepping as close to the figure as physically possible. The person didn't like that and walked backwards into the dark. "Shit- I'm sorry!" This felt weird to the demon, not being able to just chase after the unknown intruder. He no longer had any real authority over anyone either, probably making him as fearsome as a Lost One. So what could he possibly do? Bendy sighed, grabbing his horns in frustration.

Pacing in circles, Bendy thought out loud about what might have happened, letting the now awake Lawrence speculate with him. They were soon reaching a point of coming up with super unrealistic scenarios.
"...Imagine if it was Joey! That fucker would probably kill just to see me suffer!" The demon snarked, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms. Snickering could be heard from the ventilation grill from a rather amused musician. "Okay, okay... But what if-" The moment of funsies was quickly interrupted by the lights suddenly turning back on. This happened way ahead of schedule, making both of the inmates freeze in uncertainty.

The only two doors of the prison were huge and made of steel, elegant in their simplicity and only serving their purpose. Just like the Lost One who was currently walking through them. She jumped when the door closed behind her again. Walking forward, they anxious played with their long hair. The feminin presenting being made of ink brought a certain sense of familiarity with them. A nostalgia of another life if you will. After rightening her brown dress, they eventually stopped before the two inhabited cells. The inky individuals inside were still utterly baffled.

"Who the fuck-"

"Language, my lord!
...So, who the hell are you?"

"I-" The Lost One was taken aback, her yellow glowing eyes appearing to look down as she interlaced their fingers together. "I'm Mel. I'm not supposed to be here though." They seemed to hate herself for revealing too much the second the words left their mouth. "Please forget I said anything." She teared up when she said that, golden tears trickling down their face. Lawrence was the first to react to their emotional outbreak. "It's okay, we won't tell anyone... Thank you for coming to this place. Mel, was it? How did you get in here?" He sounded awkward, trying to be comforting despite not feeling well himself.

"I- I just used the key that was left on the floor, next to an ink puddle which most likely used to be a guard..." The Lost One looked back and forth between the prisoners. "She actually forbade me from coming here and- and I really tried not to, but I felt like she was keeping secrets from me!" Having regained some composer, they wiped their stained face with their arm. "Well, I would've never doubted her on my own, of course." Unholy hell, this soul has issues, the demon thought to himself.

The musician thought for a moment, then he responded: "...Well, Mel, we're really glad that you came here. Now would you mind unlocking our cell doors?" He tried his best to sound casual about it, like they weren't meant to be locked up for all eternity. The Lost One played with their hair again, trying not to glance too obvious at the other prisoner who hasn't said much to her yet. "I don't know... My partner- the queen told me that she overthrew a demon, who ruled this place with an iron fist. Many people suffered because of it." Bendy immediately stopped fake smiling when they uttered those words. He couldn't let that statement stand on its own. "Listen, Mel." Moving towards the glass window, the demon tried not to seem imposing. That was hard, considering that his appearance makes him look like a bad guy regardless. "I did many terrible things, everyone knows that, but I'm trying to better myself-" Coughing could be heard from the other side of the ventilation grill. "Alright, I get it!... I'm still pretty awful. However, I do wish to better myself... eventually..." Why was he opening up about this again? Oh yeah, to win this person over. Hell, this was embarrassing. "My point is-" The demon put the tip of his claw against the see through barrier between him and freedom. "-She is not good, either. We basically had a turf war going on and she cheated!" Sammy raised his hand and Mel turned her head to him. "If I may, she didn't cheat by definition. The loop was just vastly different than the once before it. That could've given you the upper hand as well, my lord." Groaning could be heard, specifically from the lord Lawrence was referring to. Who was now leaning his moon shaped head against the window. "As you can see, Mel, I'm not an evil mastermind. I was too busy chasing after... Doesn't matter..." The Lost One sympathised with the sadness that overcame his voice. They stepped forward and put her hand against the glass, right where his head was. "You really don't seem that menacing... Which is odd. Even the wingless bird warned me of you." He doesn't seem menacing? Excuse you- But Bendy pushed the thought aside. It was loud, but it didn't help him. He took a deep breath, despite not needing air, and exhaled loudly. "Who is the-? You know what, nevermind. How about you just set Sammy free and leave me here? Would that be alright with you?" The former prophet was utterly shocked when he realized just what exactly the other prisoner suggested. "My lord- Bendy, what are you doing?" He genuinely hoped the other was joking. As smart as that proposal might be, he still didn't want to leave this demon behind. They were basically best friends, although not always good ones and the title of friendship doesn't really fit their bond. Still, Lawrence didn't have many people in this nightmare and he wasn't ready to lose them.

Mel didn't reply and instead started pacing in circles, clinging onto one hand with the other. They can't just break rule after rule, but she already disobeyed so many orders, why not go all out? She'll never be able to step under their lovers gaze ever again once she were to find out though. And she definitely would. The Lost One has to come up with something else! Keeping those two people trapped would be cruel, yet her partner told them that anyone she doesn't bestow her mercy opon deserves to suffer. And her goddess wouldn't actually lie to them, right? Right. However, the wingless bird did make some good points as well. The only thing these two agreed on without knowing was not to trust the demon. Mel made a sound like she was in pain, digging their fingers into their hand. Alright, this was a difficult decision to make. But she had to. She- she mustn't give in to total chaos. She will not make the queen unhappy and commit one unforgivable sin. Those shall be committed by another. Maybe by the person who killed the guards comes back to save the two?

"I'm sorry, I can't let you out. The queen would hate me and I couldn't bear that... However, I will talk to her about it. I promise." They didn't dare to look back, not wanting to see the disappointment or anger reflected in the locked up's expressions. Without uttering another word, she left the prison. Only leaving behind the key where they found it.

Chapter Text

The air around him was rigid and neither warm nor cold. His breathing was stagnant and his forehead shined with sweat. He panicked. He was so close and yet so far. Even if the demon didn't mean any harm, he still couldn't get the bells in his head to stop ringing in alarm. They made him hesitate and then the opportunity to let the two prisoners out was gone. Henry's head was on a sack of flour that he used as a pillow, it wasn't comfortable and his neck will surely be stiff after having laid on it since he got here.

"What's the matter, Stein? You've been really quiet since you got back. Were you not able to get into the prison?"

The man in question raised his aching upper body, looking at the projector next to him on the table with a mix of guilt and relief. "I- I was able to get in. That wasn't the problem... The prison guards were just coming back sooner than I expected..." If the words Henry uttered upset Polk, he was really good at hiding it. "Well, you could try again? Or maybe take me with you this time?" The man shook his head before laying down again. "Norman, you only have your head left, I don't want you to lose it too." Frowning, the man vaguely remembered what the projectionist used to look like, long before the studio turned into hell. A tall man with sparks of curiosity reflecting in his dark eyes. Now all that was left of him was the object that had led to his demise. Stein snapped out of the gruesome imagery that violated his mind when a Lost One came crawling through the vent that was also the entrance to the hideout he was currently in. As they got out and put the ventilation grill back in its place, they immediately sank to the floor. Seemingly exhausted. Other souls covered in ink came rushing to them, helping them stand up and getting them on one of the many medical beds in the room. "What do you think happened?" Henry asked the projectionist, knowing he had been in this area ever since the loop reset. "They're part of the group who is spying on the castle, the fact that they had to flee to this hideout probably means that theirs was busted." That's horrible, Stein thought. He didn't think that these safe spaces could actually be found out.

The resistance desperately needed people who could fight, but most Lost Ones stood no chance against the Searchers. They outnumbered them by thousands, since the Queen could create as many of them as she wanted. At least she didn't figure out how to make them more resilient other than giving them armour. Yet. It's a race against the clock. Their biggest advantage is the Angel not knowing how to wield her powers to their fullest extent. Henry sighed, more aware than ever that he should step up and set the demon free. And also the prophet. Especially the prophet, the man thought, as he glanced at the head of his friend, who was currently being held by one of the Lost Ones to communicate with the newcomer.

Hours later, after the ink covered souls who guarded the area around the hideout gave Stein the go, he once again made his way to the prison, this time with more than just his axe equipped. "I can't believe I agreed to this..." Stein muttered to himself, feeling the weight of the backpack on his shoulders. "Well, you need to listen to the voice of reason sometimes. Besides, it's been way too long since I've been out." The voice of reason, in this case Norman Polk, responded. So the human travelled once more through places without purpose. "It's pretty bland out here, why did the 'twisted lady' not put any effort into the scenery? I thought she cared about looks." The projector chuckled, it sounded glitchy and muffled through the bag. "She does care about looks, but only about the places that she actively visits. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't bend everything to her perfectionistic will." They continued to wander in silence, both thinking about other things. The projectionist hoped that his partner was okay, while the animator actively tried to avoid letting the task at hand occupy his mind. "Why didn't she succeed in making everything beautiful in her eyes? Didn't she basically become a goddess?" Henry wondered, turning corners left and right, following the hints of golden ink that undoubtedly will lead them to the prison. "I don't know, I'm just as baffled as you are. My current theory is that the studio can only be what you imagine it being. And since Susie doesn't really think of anything other than herself, her kingdom reflects that. Drew on the other hand..." Stopping in his tracks, Stein heard two or more Searchers growing near and swiftly went the other way until he found a wardrobe to hide in. Waiting in the dark without making a noise, the man gripped firmly onto his only defence. Sure, he could fight, but chances are his trusty axe will eventually break. The weapons in this twisted place never last. "Are they gone yet?" The projector's light grew stronger, faintly illuminating the closet walls. Responding with a "Mhm" the man slowly leaned forward and opened the wardrobe door. It creaked a little, which might've been his death sentence if the Searchers were still around. Luckily for our favourite protagonist, they weren't.

Growing exhausted with the extra weight wearing him out, the human was more than thankful to finally arrive at the entrance to the prison. For some reason there weren't any guards this time. How odd. Stein put the backpack on the ground harsher than he wanted to. He opened it and asked: "Are you alright?" After not hearing a reply, the man panicked, unzipped the bag and picked the projector up, trying to search for any damage. The other laughed, making Henry stop. He placed his friend's head down on the floor. "Normaaan, that wasn't funny! Quit scaring me like that! Please." Stein took a few deep breaths, then pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and pointing finger. "Please... don't do that again." The tone of his voice was on the verge of breaking. "I'm so sorry, Henry. I didn't mean to actually frighten you." Polk genuinely felt bad, he wished that he could give his friend a hug, something the head of a guy wasn't able to do. However, his fully bodied friend could. Henry gave him a faint smile and embraced the projector. "I forgive you, old pal."

Stein left the projector on a high shelf so that his friend wouldn't be noticed and made his way to the prison's big metal doors. He once more collected the key that remained on the ground where he last put it. As the doors slid apart in front of him, the man was yet again greeted by the sight of the jail. This time however, the lights were on. Walking straight forward, he clenched his axe in one and the key in the other hand. Alright Henry, he thought, let's do this. Nausea almost overcame him, his legs felt like they might turn into jelly and give in. His heart hammered in his chest and his eyes stayed fixated on the demon who stood behind the glass window.

All this time, the human tried pushing his fear away. He nearly forgot what it was like, to stand face to face with his own creation. This was so much worse than when Bendy couldn't see him. When the demon couldn't pinpoint who stalked up to his cell. Now Stein would need every bit of courage that he could muster up.

The ink demon's grin was impossibly large, shredding into his hollow cheeks with a painful force. "Well, well, well, look who we have here. Couldn't help but come crawling back, could ya~?" He stepped away from the wall he had been leaning on for so long his limbs audibly creaked, stalking closer to the man on the other side of the glass. The man who had abandoned him not once, but so many, many more times. He didn't fail to notice how Henry knew exactly where the key was, and what it did. He was the mysterious intruder from an unknown time before. The demon skillfully hid his trembling hands behind his back, projecting nothing but cool, uncrackable facade. "You sure took your sweet time. But that's always been your style, hasn't it~?" He said, tongue trailing over razor sharp teeth in a vulgar manner as he raked his eyes over Henry's trembling form. His creator's face was nearly as pale as his knuckles, whitened from clenching the axe so hard. Bendy's heart screamed as he found himself once again tormenting the only one who ever meant anything to him. Oh, how differently he had imagined this conversation in his head! Henry's eyes darkened without a word, and soon he was almost out of the demon's sight, completely disregarding him for Sammy. "Hey Sam, looks like somebody paid your bail." His attempt at humor was joined by the jangling of keys, the clicking of a lock.

Lawrence, who had been sitting on the ground for hours, heard the sound of his cell door opening. The prophet didn't pay any attention to his surroundings, having been in a trance-like state. He blinked, perplexed, and slowly rose up. Is he finally about to be set free? And he didn't care in which way. To his surprise, it was none other than Henry Stein. "Henry?" The inky man uttered, unsure if this was real or not. "Yep, it's me, still in the flesh. Are you alright, Sammy? I'm sorry that I couldn't get here sooner, I missed a lot of the developments in this place." They put their arms around another platonically, something that they didn't do in ages. "I can't believe you're here... But I'm glad you're back. Is Norman...?" As the musician let go, his eyes seemed to glow with the weak hope that his lover was still around. Stein smiled and nodded. "He's with me, although-" Before he was able to stop Lawrence, he already ran past him. Presumably to the projectionist. Henry sighed deeply, knowing who he had to return to.

The human bit his bottom lip, fighting the tears that were trying to make their way through his eye sockets. This demon has been tormenting him every since he came back to the original studio. He tore his flesh apart too many times to count. He made the man anxious to no end, never knowing what the other might be thinking. Bendy locked him up, so why should he let the demon out of his cell? Was this really benefiting the rebellion? What if this twisted version of the character he created tries joining forces with the angel who is the same type of nuts? "Come ooon now, you know what you need to do. Don't keep the others waiting~" The voice of the ink creature was as sweet as honey and sharp as a dagger. Henry felt torn between doing what's presumably right and what he personally would prefer. He was hurt, so so incredibly hurt by what his counterpart did. But, he had to remember, this wasn't him forgiving what Bendy did. He's merely doing this for the greater good. Nothing more. Stein gritted his teeth together and muttered through them. The other tilted his croissant-shaped head, not having understood a word. "I'm sorry, handsome, but can you repeat that?~" If the demon was trying to hide his uprising anger, he failed miserably. The man stared at him blankly, raising his axe at the level of Bendy's throat. "I'm only letting you out to help the rebellion. Don't forget that. And if you're not doing that, you will certainly end up locked up again or worse. Understood?" Henry tried his best to sound intimidating, despite his hands shaking noticeable. His heart was racing, and he desperately attempted to seem composed. His body language probably gave him away anyway. He was a terrible actor. He lowered his weapon, holding onto his head. "Listen, if you want to get out of this place, we have to work together. Can you do that..." His eyes searched for the ones of the taller, which he could feel resting on his face as usual. "...for me? Or more importantly, yourself?" The response to his pleas was the ear-splitting noise of Bendy dragging his claws over the glass that kept them apart, making Stein jump. "You really got some nerves, Henry. Walking in here like you own the place and demanding me to do your bidding. You're no better than Joey." As if ashamed, the human held onto the arm that clenched his axe, eyeing nothing in particular. This made the demon laugh, like he was amused. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? There's no way out of this mess." For a second his forced grin faltered, but he quickly composed himself. "But sure, let me out and I'll do whatever you want~" His silky tone was less than appropriate.

Henry sighed, thinking the conversation was officially pointless. He turned on his heel to make his way to the other two. This made the demon more than panic. He threw himself at the window, desperately trying to dig into it. "Wait! Henry! Please!" He felt like his non-existent stomach dropped several feet. This can't be happening. He had to find a way to convince the other to stay. Stein stopped in his tracks, waiting for his creation to continue. "I'm sorry!" Bendy actually sounded genuine in that moment, catching Stein off guard. "I missed you so much! I thought you were dead..." Inky tears started pouring down the demon's cheeks. The human didn't budge, but he responded: "How am I supposed to believe you?" He asked, sounding more sad than anything. "How am I supposed to believe that you actually care about any of this?" He wiped his empty hand over his eyes. The demon leaned his head against the glass. "I don't know. I'm sorry. I was the worst!" Bendy really didn't appreciate how he got the cold shoulder treatment. If only he could see the other's reaction to figure out how to act. The man walked back to the glass window, looking worn out. "You... You don't even know how horrible you were." Salty water was flowing through his eye sockets and he didn't meet the other's non-visible eyes. "You don't even realise how badly you hurt me." He absentmindedly graced his throat with his fingers. One snap. Drop dead. "You have the worst ego imaginable and I hate how you make me feel." Which the other had to silently agree on. Henry didn't want to forgive and forget, however, he did want to get out of this hell and he could never leave his creation behind. His creation, who seemed to have a very conflicting mind and could kill him out of pure frustration- Stein inhaled deeply, grazing Bendy's pie-cut orbs with his. They weren't filled with sadistic tendencies for once. They looked scared. "Are you going to leave me again? It's not like I could blame you..." The demon covered his face, stepping back and sinking to the ground. He felt pathetic in every sense of the word. A surge of sympathy overcame Henry. Oh, he really can't stay mad at this guy, can he? "Bendy... I don't despise you... I wish I could, but I don't believe you're terrible, despite what you did... I'm not willing to forgive you, however, I am willing to set you free." The other couldn't reply except for his uncontrollable sobs.

As his cell door opened, the demon immediately threw himself at the human, knocking them both on the floor. He cried and cried, ruining Stein's already stained clothes. Bendy clung onto the man as if he could evaporate at any moment. Overwhelmed, the human simply rubbed the taller's spine, having to let go of his weapon. The back of Henry's head hurt and he figured he might be bleeding a little. The demon eventually calmed down, whispering endless apologies and doubled the speed when he saw the man's chest nut hair turning crimson red.

"B-buddy, it's super sweet you want to kiss it better, but, uh, could you use less teeth please?"

Chapter Text

A loud scream rang through the halls of the castle, making every servant stop in their tracks. Two looked at each other, fleetingly, as if trying to communicate. Trying to reassure one another. But neither said anything, since they couldn't talk. Then everyone immediately went back to what they were doing. What they have been doing since coming back from the dead. Cleaning. Quietly. All day in.

Storming up to her throne, the queen was rather upset. Any creature in her path jumped aside and those who didn't exploded into loose ink. Her perfect face reflected fury. Her empty chest yearned and longed. She sat down, trying to compose herself. Her wings moved ever so slightly, as if having a mind of their own. "Mirror." She snarled at one of the unlucky Searchers, who happened to be nearby. They quickly obeyed, grabbing a mirror as big as their body and carefully held it up for the angel to inspect. It didn't show her reflection. "Show me-" She was interrupted by someone coming through one of the smaller side doors of the room. It was Mel. "I'm so sorry, my angel! I- I got caught up in a fight in town!" Despite her lie, she sounded very genuine about angering the other. They threw themselves on the ground in front of the queen. "Please forgive my foolish behaviour!" She started crying, but not because she got caught up in a fight. They were shaking and keeping their glowing eyes darted on the floor, which is neatly covered by a rug. "Oh dearest Mel..." The angel firmly yet gently grabbed the Lost One's chin, making her look up. "I'm just glad to have you back ~" Her sentimental smile felt like a punch in the guts to the one below her. I messed up, they thought, this time she's going to end me. Because if the queen can't fully have her little sweetheart, no one can. "Come and sit with me, my Mel ~" Her tone was not comforting to the other's non-existent ears, but they complied and stood up. The queen tilted herself to one side to yell at the people behind her partner. "Leave!" Making everyone, including her sweetheart flinch. The Searchers scrambled away in a hurry, but not before putting everything back in its place. Giggling with glee, the angel appeared to have calmed, taking her lover's hands and guiding them to sit on her lap. Mel blushed, despite knowing this was going to happen. "Oh dearest... What happened in town?" This made the other freeze, having completely forgotten to think of a cover-up story. She snuck away during a time where the queen and her royal assistant were busy with deciding how to treat the towns folks, which were just glorified slaves. There was no way to get out of town, except if you were a Searcher on duty. Or the angel's favourite. "There- they were fighting over bread. I tried appeasing both sides but that just made them both target me! Luckily that led to them finding a common ground and the fight was eventually resolved with the help of some other people nearby." Goodness, this sounded more made-up than what Mel came up with last time. She really had to brainstorm more ideas with the wingless bird when they get the chance to chat again. "Mel... You should've told a guard about it! What if something happened to you! I would've executed every last one of them!" The spark of enjoyment from seeing people in pain lit up the queen's eyes. "You should really tell me who those buffoons were ~" Oh no, I should've thought of something more abstract! The Lost One didn't see another way out but to kiss their counterpart. It probably looked weird, considering that she doesn't have a normal mouth. Mel leaned back, attempting to estimate if this won the angel over. It didn't faze her much. Okaaaaay, at least she's not fantasising about murder anymore. "I can't recall who they were, my angel. But I'm sure the guards took care of them by now." Their eyes indicated that they were smiling or at least pretending to be. "Please, let's not think of the past and enjoy the present instead." The queen chuckled at that and ran a hand through her partner's long wavy hair, asking in a silky tone: "You sure can't wait to indulge, mmh?~" Blushing a bright yellow, Mel's gaze wandered to the hands who were still gripping onto her wrists. "Of course..." She muttered, putting her forehead against the other's "...you're beautiful."

...

"...what happened to the rest of your body?" Samuel gave voice to the question that had been nagging at his mind the moment he laid eyes upon his lover. He sounded downhearted, grieving the feeling of embracing the other. He hugged the projector even tighter to his chest, if that was even possible. He then stopped squeezing, fearing he might break Norman's head. Polk didn't mind the man's clinginess, however he certainly didn't enjoy seeing Lawrence so sorrowful whilst doing so. "I don't know, I just woke up like this... But I'm okay." He reassured, wanting to pat the former prophet's shoulder. The no-longer-taller man changed the subject. "Do you like it here? The hideout I mean... Since the Lost Ones found me here, I'm basically considered the guy in charge, so I took some creative liberties." Sammy considered the projector's words, letting his eyes sway through the room. It reminded him of the old studio, it had a certain sense of familiarity to it. "I suppose... It's quite nice..." The musician muttered, tracing a hand over Polk's head. "I didn't know you liked decorations." Chuckling at the comment, his partner replies: "Just things that I found intriguing."

The human had a shaky grip on the expired bacon can soup in his hand, feeling a pair of pie-cut eyes staring holes in the back of his head. His hair no longer looked like he dyed it red, the wound was only surface level, so a few wet towels did the trick to stop the bleeding. They used vodka, since water wasn't currently available. It burned, but not as much as the gaze the ink demon gave him. At the moment, Henry was making dinner for anyone who wanted to have something in their stomach.

"Could you stop that?" Stein asked, without turning around and facing the other. Feeling caught, the demon decided to play dumb. "Stop what?" The man sighed, as he stirred the pot he was standing in front of. "Staring at me."

"I'm not staring at you." Bendy protested, folding his lanky arms. Henry added another dose of bacon soup to the mix. "Yes, you are." Rolling his non-visible eyes in a sassy manner, the demon replied: "How would you know? You're not even looking at me." Stein didn't let that faze him and continued to focus on cooking. "I don't need to look at you to know that you've been staring at me non-stop for the past 20 minutes." Knowing that it's true, the taller fell silent, engraving little hearts into one of the wooden tables with his sharp claws.

When the food was at least somewhat digestible, which is a very low bar in this hellscape, everyone sat down at a table and the human went around to give each their plate with bacon soup. Sammy obviously sat next to his partner and two Lost Ones he faintly recognized as Gent workers, who used to operate in the area of the music department. Almost all individuals had someone to sit with, except for the ink demon. He sat down in a corner of the room, on a stool next to a barrel. It was a rather sad display. Stein almost pitied the guy, but he knew that once he gave in and showed too much sympathy towards Bendy, surely he will use it against the man. So he just grabbed a full plate, put it down on the makeshift table and left without giving his former worst enemy a glance. This made the demon whine and he saw himself wanting to grab onto the man's wrist. Luckily, he used his brain before his arm and didn't. He knew that the human would avoid him even more then. So Bendy just watched as Stein joined the table where his two old friends were seated. Now the being made of ink certainly didn't feel like eating, not like he needed to.

...

Everything felt cold, if that was even possible in a place that doesn't have weather. Sure, there were clouds drawn on the unreachable ceiling of this place, but above that was probably nothing. No different levels like in the former studio. Just absolute limbo. Now you certainly aren't able to ascend, even if you were ready to. Heaven can wait. In vain.

His foot chain rattled as he moved his little stool to the only window in his cell. It was as big as his nursery was and it felt just as lifeless. Back then he wasn't allowed to have posters of his favourite metal bands or read books that actually interested him. Now in his cell the walls were covered in posters from Alice Angel and the book 'The Illusion of Living' was the only lecture found. Why aren't those things destroyed yet? Well, he tried to destroy them, but every time he stopped looking in the direction of an item it would just regenerate. Frustrated, he stepped on the stool to get a view outside, closing his hands around the bars of the window for support. The window was on the bottom back of the enormous castle. There was only perfectly trimmed paper grass on what looks like earthy ground as far as the eye could see. You'd expect a beautiful garden, but you'd be wrong. He put his head against one of the pipes that stood between him and potentially freedom. Then again, What's the use of breaking out of the castle, when you can't get out of this world?

He tried to shout for help many times, but to no avail. The sound doesn't echo far. It once again was a cruel reminder that this whole place wasn't actually real. He would've lost his mind by now if it weren't for- "Melanie?" He heard the sound of someone walking down the spiral stairway and immediately jumped off the stool to get to his prison's gates. Overjoyed, he couldn't help but smile a little. Their meetups currently were the highlight of his existence. His heart fell into an endless abyss and his body froze when he saw who actually decided to visit him.

"Oh. It's you. Didn't see you in a while." He sounded annoyed, whilst treacherous goosebumps covered his skin. The twisted lady who stalked up to his cage had a vicious spark in her eyes. "Oh dearest Kimberley, it is such a delight to see you again." Her angelic words didn't fit the expression on her face in the slightest. She was uncannily good at changing her tone of voice. Then again, that's something you'd have to expect from a professional voice actress.

"What the hell do you want from me?" Kim uttered, his eyes not darting away from the pretentious woman who paced in front of his personal prison. "What I want? From you? Oh please, I don't want anything from you." She batted her eyelashes at him.

The wingless bird growled. "Cut the shit chat, why are you here?" This earned him a light-hearted laugh, it definitely sounded more mocking than cheerful. Putting the back of her palm up to her perfect lips, the lady in black seemed rather amused. "Kimberley, I just wanted to see you. You're a very special guest and I want to make sure you're feeling welcome ~"

"Well, I don't feel welcome. And quite frankly, I still don't get why you locked me up!" Kim shook the bars that kept him from making a new deformation in the queen's visage. The twisted angel tilted her head to the side, putting her pointing finger to her chin in a clueless manner. "Locked you up? Me? Now why would I do that? That doesn't sound like something a gal like me would do ~" She sounded so much like Alice. Maybe she was too good at her job. It's like she swallowed the character whole in a desperate attempt to become her. Like the voice of the cartoon comes out of her stomach. Aniol felt like throwing up. "Why don't you just kill me again? Third time's the charm!" Yelling isn't going to get him anywhere, but he couldn't help it. Being trapped in a room was eating away at his sanity more than he would admit to himself. The pretentious woman turned away, seemingly deep in thoughts.

"Because there's no fun in giving you what you want, angel."

...

It was the middle of the night, at least if you trust the Bendy themed clock on the wall. The lights were turned off and only the lit candles that were placed on almost every shelf faintly illuminate the hideout. Some Lost Ones restlessly tossed around whilst others were sleep talking. Some held hands and some embraced one another for comfort. Polk was held by his lover, cradled adoringly in his muscular arms. It felt rather alien to him not being able to return the affection. The projectionist wondered if he'll ever get to have a body again. "Sammy?" He uttered, barely a whisper. The musician grunted half awake, which he took as the man having heard him. "I love you." He continued, feeling like he was going to cry. Not that he was able to. To his surprise, Lawrence responded with a soft "I love you too, Norman." Making Polk's heart melt.

On the other side of the room, a certain ink demon was unable to rest. He tossed from one side to the other, clinging onto himself and feeling lonely. Eventually, the demon gave up. He groaned as he sat up, scanning the hideout with his non-visible eyes until he saw a certain chestnut haired individual laying on a bed in the corner. Bendy couldn't see Stein's face, because he had his back turned to him. He could only see his shoulders rising and falling with each breath. Now the ink demon had to decide between giving the other space and getting sleep. Well, he told himself, I'm important to the rebellion. Therefore, my sleep is, he thought. He knew this was a weak excuse, but he missed the feeling of the man being close to him. He needed this feeling of comfort or he might just die and wouldn't that be a shame?

As Bendy quietly made it through the candle lit place, he made sure to avoid bumping into anyone or anything. It was weird for him not to run at Henry like he did so many times before. Like nothing else mattered. But right now he didn't want to collide with any arms that hung over the edges of beds. It felt silly to him. If he were to imagine the situation he was in right now beforehand, he would've called it a silly vision. After almost tripping over someone on the ground, the fearsome demon made it to the most important person in his miserable life.

Bendy stood there for a moment, awkwardly fiddling with his hands. He didn't think this through. Henry was asleep, he can't just lay down beside him, the guy would get a heart attack next morning and die! Okay, maybe not die, but he'd tell Sammy about it and then the ink demon would hear an earful from the prophet. So instead, the demon stretched out his arm, hesitantly putting it on the man's right shoulder. Then, he gently shook it.

Stein woke up in a panic, nearly jumping out of his skin. He didn't dare turn around, a feeling of apprehension nagging at his heart. This didn't bother the taller in the slightest. "Can I sleep with you, Henry?" Bendy's question surprised him, so the human reacted accordingly. "W-what? No!" Tired out of his mind, the man turned around to face his demon. "I don't want to sleep with you!" He whisper-yelled. The other whined, leaning in closer to Stein. This made the animtor almost upset, pushing Bendy back with all the strength he could muster up. "Pleaseeeee, I can't sleep!" The ink demon complained loudly, which earned him a 'shhh!' from a Lost One nearby. "Then get yourself a plushie that doesn't mind being torn to shreds."

Pretending to give up, the taller started to slowly walk away, making the human relax again. Henry audibly exhaled, pulling his old cotton blanket a little higher. That's when the demon came back and practically threw himself in the bed.

The two became a tangle of limbs. "Get off me!" Henry protested. "Just let me sleep here!" the ink demon whined. The Lost One from before shushed them so aggressively this time a small spray of ink splattered to the floor. "Yeah Henry, quiet down!" the ink demon hissed, trying to wrestle himself over Henry, to get safely onto the side of the bed pressed against the wall, so he couldn’t as easily be pushed onto the hard floor. A boney elbow hit the struggling cartoonist in the face and he let out a groan of annoyance. "Like hell I will!"

Fighting in a candle lit room, how romantic. Arguably Bendy could easily overpower the man, but he didn't for obvious reasons. However, he did eventually pin the man down when he ran out of patience. "Listen..." He started, looking away in shame. "I really can't sleep alone. When I was still locked up I at least knew Sam was just a wall away..." The man still seemed very much upset. "How about... I move my bed here? That way you still have your space and I'm not lonely... Does that sound good?" He really tried to appease Stein.

Henry let out a loud, grumbling sigh. He was shushed again. "...Fine." The demon’s request was startlingly reasonable, if you didn’t consider the history between them. The ink demon perked up so quickly that he immediately regretted uttering a word of even slight approval. "Hey, don’t get ahead of yourself. I want a solid meter of space between our beds. I won’t have any funny business, you hear?" The old man’s voice was disregarded by the demon, who had already scrambled off and picked up his cot. He plopped it a few centimeters away from Henry’s.

Finally, some peace and quiet settled over the hideout once more. Stein turned to face the wall again, trying to go back to sleep after all the hassle. Bendy looked at the animator with almost a sliver of hope. Hope that maybe one day, they could be friends again. But that day has yet to come. Still, the demon appreciated the human's generosity. The lanky being made of ink put his newly found blanket over his head. It was way too small for the eight foot creature. That's probably because he accidentally grabbed a kitchen cloth. He screamed internally.

A sickeningly familiar, firm, cold and wet object pressed itself against the back of Henry’s neck. "Stop that!" he snaps. "I’m cold!" complains Bendy against his neck, horned face attempting to burrow deeper into the man’s neck. Ice cold knees press against the old man’s back and he thrashes around in bed to face the demon. "One meter. Now." The terrible ink demon glowers at him. "I can’t help it if I’m cold and you’re warm!"

Stein's hand covered his face, but a frustrated sigh betrayed his stoicism. "You’re cold? Here, have my blanket. Good night." The woven cotton in question was pushed roughly into the demon’s arms, who did not like his response. "Are you mad at me, Henry?" He whined. "Take it." The human replied, gazing away. "Go to sleep. You have everything you want now, don’t bother me again. Please."

When Bendy crawled back on his cot, he clung onto the obtained blanket around his body. The freezing feeling of loneliness persisted nonetheless, although it wasn't as icy anymore. He pushed his luck. Still, this could've gone far worse. Then again, Henry was too kind to actually get pissed at someone. He hated himself for not having thanked the animator. "Sleep well..." Was all he could get out, barely a whisper.

Staring at the wall in silence, Stein felt his heart clenching together. Why does this have to be so difficult? He frowned, as he got slowly pulled into the land of dreams.