AN: ITT au is mine ask-joeydrewstudios au is not.

Chapter 2

Joey didn't get the chance to respond to Henry as the Ink Demon holding him down perked up at the sound of Henry's voice, letting him go and lunging at Henry. Henry staggered slightly as he suddenly found himself engulfed in a hug by the Ink Demon, the weight nearly knocking him off his feet. Henry patted the Ink Demon awkwardly while the Ink Demon let out what sounded like a sobbing wine, his large body trembling as he clung to Henry desperately. Henry looked over at Joey, concern and confusion filling his face at the Ink Demon's extreme reactions.

"Joey… what did you do?" Henry asked quietly as he continued to do his best to comfort the Ink Demon, ignoring how ink was starting to stain his clothes.

"I didn't do anything," Joey defended as he rose to his feet, rubbing his neck gently. "At least not exactly… though I am responsible for accidentally pulling him here from his home but…"

Joey didn't get to continue his explanation as him speaking seemed to remind the Ink Demon that he was still in the room with them. The Ink Demon immediately straightened up and tucked Henry under one of his arms, Henry scrambling to make sure his glasses didn't fall off. He turned to give Joey one last growl, flexing his free hand in a silent warning, before turning around and striding out the door. Joey stared in surprise for a few moments before realizing that it was a really bad idea to have the Ink Demon wandering around unchecked.

"Wait!" Joey called, scrambling after Henry and the Ink Demon. "Come back! Please!"

But the Ink Demon ignored Joey, continuing determinedly down the hall.

Now the workers at Joey Drew Studio were used to a lot of strange things. Between living toons causing mischief and Joey's continued magical antics, there wasn't a whole lot that could truly surprise them. But even with all that, no one was prepared for what they were about to see today. First, there were the inky shadows that slowly spread across the walls, bringing a feeling of foreboding that made anyone who was in range pause in surprise and even fear. Then came the Ink creature, who was the source of shadows, making several of the newer workers shriek in fear and even the veterans shuddered.

It looked like something Bendy could turn into when given enough ink, something he liked to do around Halloween or whenever there were power outages. But while Bendy had been scary like that and could unnerve a few people, there was always the subconscious assurance that he was ultimately harmless. He was basically a kid in a scary costume. But this creature… this Ink Demon… had a dangerous edge that had never been felt around their own devil darling. This was not just a costume to scare people. Though the Ink Demon made no obvious aggressive movements or sounds to anyone in the hallway, everyone pressed themselves to the sides as it walked past them, staring in pity and fear at Henry who was being carried by it. Some couldn't believe that Henry didn't look scared at all, only mildly annoyed and confused.

Then Alice stepped into the Ink Demon's path, seemingly unaffected by its dark aura. Her hands were on her hips as she glared at him in disapproval.

"Bendy! You need to stop this!" She scolded, making the creature pause and tilt his head as he looked at the toon angel. "I know you love doing pranks, but you're taking things too far! You're scaring people! So quiet it right now! I mean it, Bendy!"

At first, it seemed she had gotten through to the Ink Demon. The inky shadows disappeared and the dangerous aura had lessened significantly, much to the relief of everyone nearby. But then he scooped Alice up and tucked her under his free arm, making her squeak in surprise, and continued on his way.

"Bendy!" Alice protested, trying to escape. "Put me down! This isn't funny!"

Alice protests continued to be heard as the creature turned down the next hall, leaving the workers staring after them in shock, including a certain janitor who had completely forgotten the broom that had fallen from his hands.

"Wally!" Joey called as he came down the hall, snapping the janitor out of his stupor. "Have you seen Henry?"

"Yeah… he was with Bendy…" Wally replied, blinking as he tried to process what he had just seen. "What is up with Bendy anyway…. I've never seen him like that. Did you do something?"

"Why does everyone just assume it's something I did?" Joey sighed before focusing back on the issue at hand. "it's a long and pretty complicated story that we don't have time to get into right now. Which way did "Bendy" go with Henry?"

"Uh, that way…" Wally said, pointing down the hall. "And he took Alice with him."

"He didn't hurt her did he?" Joey asked in alarm. He didn't think the Ink Demon was actually going to kill anyone, as he had spared him after all, but he really had no idea how the Ink Demon would react.

"No… of course not…" Wally immediately denied, looking surprised Joey would even suggest such a thing. "Bendy would never hurt anyone."

"I know but… It's complicated… We just need to stop him before he leaves the studio!" Joey replied, hurrying after the Ink Demon because there was no other place the Ink Demon could be headed now.

"But Bendy knows better than to leave…" Wally began, but Joey was already running down the next hall. Not wanting to miss out on what was happening, Wally hurried after him. They came around the corner to see the Ink Demon halfway down the hall and to the front door.

"Please! Stop! You can't leave here!" Joey called desperately, knowing that even if he caught up to the Ink Demon he would have no way to stop him. "Bendy!"

The Ink Demon didn't respond to Joey calling his name, but another little devil did. Opening a side door right in the Ink Demon's path, Bendy came walking out to see what all the commotion was about. Bendy and the Ink Demon both froze as they caught sight of the each other.