Two days had passed since they received the call from Joey. Sammy couldn't say the days were exactly... relaxing... but they weren't exactly the worst either. Ever since the call, he could see a difference in Susie. Sure, she had tried to hide it, she was almost doing well, she was an actress, after all. Still, there were... subtle hints as to the truth.

He could tell that she and Alice were fully communicating. It was a strange thing, really, going for so long convinced that the Legendary Spirits were not real to finding our your friend is one and you're probably one as well. Before, he was unconvinced on himself, but now that the creature's silhouette was appearing so often, he was starting to question things more and more.

It was morning. Nine in the morning to be exact. Normally by this time, Susie would be up and be talking with him. He had yet to see her today. Something must be wrong. He got dressed and left his room.

The building was quiet, a bit too quiet. The staff didn't like making sound much, but the silence was eerie and deafening. His footsteps creaked as he anxiously wandered the empty hallway. Wasn't there normally someone vacuuming at this time? Where were they?

Something reflective at the very end off the hallway caught his attention, prompting him forward. As he got closer, he could make out more of it. It didn't appear to have a stable shape, rather a hap-hazard one, and it's color seemed to be a very dark red. It was at this point that he was close enough to see what it was. Blood.

His first impulse was to run, run forward for no logical reason. The closer he got, the clearer things became. He could see a hand, a human hand! Just laying in the doorway, the rest of the body obscured by the door frame. He stopped just as he got to the door, staring at the corpse that seemed to stare back at him. The dead man's chest was ripped open, ribs exposed as his blood soaked into the carpet.

It was only now that the full reality started to sink in and Sammy backed away from the corpse, hand over his mouth just as the smell of blood hit him. He wanted so much for this just to be a dream. He'd do anything just to wake up and find everything back to normal, but it didn't appear that wishes would work.

He tried to wake up, pinching his skin, reading, causing himself physical pain, everything pointed to this being real. He took a final look at the corpse before running towards the stairs to the lower level. He knew he needed to get out. He was probably the safest there as he could tell this was Susie's doing, but he didn't want to find out if she really would harm him.

Blood was soaking the stairs, dark drips forming in the carpet as it seeped through. His feet barely touched any though as he continued to run. The screaming had started, he could hear the voices of the staff and guards, some crying, some pleading for help, one screaming in a horrible pain. It was when he made it to the main level that he could see the carnage.

Bodies lay everywhere, all with their chests ripped open and organs spilling out to the floor, all missing their hearts. He took a glance towards the exit, seeing a figure running towards it as well from the window. Whoever they were, they were still far away and he couldn't tell if they were here to help him. He chose to run from them, too, running towards the screams.

He soon found Susie, dressed in a simple black dress with a cute bow on top and long black gloves and shoes to match, dripping in the blood of many people and holding a man up in the air by his throat. She let out the most maniacal laugh he had ever heard, putting all movie villains to shame, as she rammed her hand through the man's chest and ripped out his heart, throwing the body to the ground in near a pile of more corpses.

"Su-Susie?" he asked, voice shaking as he stared around at the carnage around him.

The woman turned to him and smiled brightly. "Oh, hello~!" she called with a wave. "I'll be just a second, I have a little more work to deal with~!"

Sammy just stood there and watched as she ripped the heart out of another poor person, discarding the body and holding the heart close so she could watch it slowly die in her own hands. "Susie," he called again, getting her attention. "Susie, please stop this. This isn't like you!"

"What are you talking about?" Susie asked, standing up straight after kneeling next to her last victim. "This is me, Sammy. I swear it."

"No, it's Alice," Sammy replied. "You're acting like Alice. I know you, Susie, you're a sweet woman. You'd never kill anyo-" he didn't get to finish as a hand covered his mouth and he felt himself being pulled against the chest of a bigger and stronger man. The hand released him and he turned to see Joey standing there behind him, smiling down upon him.

"Ready to go?" Joey asked casually, as if blood was not ruining his nice shoes at this very moment.

"Yeah, just a sec," Susie called to him. She brutally killed the last person and turned back to the two men with a smile. "Alright, now I'm ready~!"

Sammy pulled away from Joey. "Y-you're both crazy," he choked out. He turned and began to run again, trying to escape them both now. His legs were really starting to tire but he couldn't afford to stop.

"Oh, come on, Sammy!" he heard Joey call to him. "Don't be like this!"

He still didn't stop. He could hear the two of them chasing him, both trying desperately to catch up to him. He refused to slow, mind racing to think of an escape plan. He spent so long trying to learn about the Legendary Spirits, he never once looked for an escape, and now he was regretting it. He figured if he made it to the stairs, he could escape Joey anyway, Susie he wasn't sure about.

He started to head for the stairs when he stopped. The figure from his nightmares was there, guarding the stairs and watching his every move. He could hear the two behind him catch up. Still in fear for his life, he stood still, frozen in his spot.

Arms wrapped around him and he found himself in a warm embrace from Joey. "Caught you!" Joey laughed. His laughter died down slowly. "What's got you so spooked?" he asked, concern and worry in his voice.

"D-do you not see it?" Sammy asked, pointing at the figure in front of the stairs.

Susie caught up and looked around. "All I see is one of my earlier victims," she commented, voice sounding a little unsure. "H-hey, you're not that scared of what you saw, right?" she asked. "You know I'd never hurt you..."

"I don't think he's talking about the body," Joey cut her off. He turned Sammy away from the stairs, leading him back towards the exit. "Come on," he whispered soothingly. "I promised I'd get you two out and here I am, now let's go home."

.~.~.~.

The ride was eerie. Joey drove, Susie sat next to him in the passenger seat, and Sammy sat in the back, hands in his hair as he continued to just stare in space in shock. The three were in silence for the longest time before Joey spoke. He didn't expect Sammy to listen to him so it was mostly to Susie that he was speaking to. "I swear, I had nothing to do with this."

"With what? Him?" Susie asked, glancing behind herself to check on Sammy. She turned back to the road with a sigh. "Whatever it was, it must have been terrifying," she stated.

"I almost feel bad with what I've put him through and need to put him through soon," Joey said. "But I must be sure as to his role in my plans. Boris or an innocent person I've forced to suffer, just the first of my massacre."

"You're Bendy... aren't you?"

It was the first they had heard him speak since they left the stairwell at the building and it caused both of them to freeze. Joey pulled the car over and he and Susie looked into the back seat.

Sammy wasn't exactly back to normal but he wasn't shaking or whimpering anymore, so they supposed he was doing better. He peered up at them, hair falling over his face. "Well?" he asked nervously. "Are you Bendy?"

Joey exchanged looks with Susie before turning back to him and nodding. "I am," he answered. "And I'm so sorry."

.~.~.~.

The rest of the ride had been silent. Not long after Joey spoke to him, Sammy slipped into unconsciousness and soon began shaking and whimpering again as the nightmares returned. Upon arrival at the studio, Joey carried him inside while Susie walked beside him, looking around.

"It's a work day," Susie stated. "Where are the employees?"

"I gave them the day off," Joey answered, setting Sammy down in a chair and walking towards the room that hid his prize. Susie followed behind him. He could feel her excitement radiating off of her. "Here it is," he said as he walked into the room. He threw his arms up to emphasize his masterpiece, the Ink Machine.

"Interesting," Susie commented. "What's it for?"

"This, my dear, is the Ink Machine," Joey explained. "It amplifies our spirits to their max potential. With it, we will finally rule the world as it was always meant to be." He smiled softly at his creation, his beautiful creation. "And with it, we'll finally know who Boris is."

Susie smiled as well, more of a smirk at his words.

"Now we just have to do one final thing," Joey sighed. He really didn't want to put the poor blond in the other room through more, but he had to be sure.


{~ Sammy suffers, poor Sammy. But don't worry, Sammy, the editing isn't fun for me either. Anyway, just about halfway through, I think! ~}