The fact that the Ink Demon hadn't killed Henry for his stupidity was the most surprising thing he had experienced in this place in a long while. Stupid meaning stumbling around in the dark until the skeletal being had cornered him and pinned him to a wall with its clawed hand.

Henry had expected pain then, as well. Instead, he had experienced the sensation of the Ink Demon giving him a curious sniff. That had been weird as hell, and yet there Henry was, still breathing and uninjured, his hair being snuffled by a nightmare.

The weird crawling feeling that had started up in his right palm and left shoulder were more of a distraction than the Ink Demon sniffing him.

Something very weird was going on this loop.

But Henry couldn't think about why, because he continued to be menaced by the skeletal being.

Really, why would the Ink Demon even bother bringing Henry closer to a lit area of the studio? It was as if the inky creature somehow knew that Henry could not see in the dark.

But this didn't make sense.

Why would the Ink Demon bother with Henry being able to see, if all it was going to do was re-pin him to a wall? Henry wondered if this meant the Ink Demon going to kill him now? Then, the creature decided to blow Henry's mind by brushing ink out of its face with a free hand.

Holy shit.

The revelation of all too human-looking eyes on the Ink Demon was terrifying. And the way the creature studied Henry showed that it had with an intelligence that Henry hadn't anticipated at all. Being literally stared down by the Ink Demon, who happened to have real eyes, was a surreal experience.

But most unexpected of all, the Ink Demon spoke directly to him, in a grinding, hoarse 'nightmare from the depths of hell' voice.

Henry had never heard anything resembling words come from the demon, apart from it screaming and growling at him.

This brought a lot of questions to mind, and yet there was no time to focus on any of them.

Henry's legs locked up even as he sagged against the wall. The Ink Demon's right hand had just let go of him.

It had just told him to run.

Damn.

Was that why the Ink Demon hadn't killed him. The skeletal being wanted to chase him down first?

Henry very carefully scooted along the wall in the direction of the light, as he kept a careful eye on the now softly growling demon. Those creepy eyes tracked Henry, and there was something like satisfaction within them.

It was almost as if the Ink Demon was pleased with itself for communicating its wants.

Henrt knew for certain that any nightmares he had from then on would be worse with that sight burned into his mind. If he could even manage to find a time and place to catch more sleep in this hellish place.

The Ink Demon let out a low, almost impatient sounding hiss.

Henry didn't hesitate. He didn't want to look at those eyes any longer.

A parting shot, however, was in order.

"Bad demon." Henry repeater from earlier, as he dared to slap the Ink Demon's right hand. "No speaking without proper warning."

The Ink Demon's jaw opened before it snapped sharp teeth back into flat ones a scant inch away from Henry's face.

"Oh yeah?" Henry taunted. "How about this?" The inky being reeled back as Henry introduced it to another crotch shot. "Yeah, don't like that, do you?"

Henry didn't stick around for the result. He just booked it as quickly as he could to reach the nearest little miracle station. Henry was grateful that it was there, just like always.

The Ink Demon let out a garbled shriek of fury moments later, as rapid limping footsteps signaled it giving chase.

Henry wrenched the station open and shut himself inside, falling back from the door, as if expecting the Ink Demon to forcefully open it.

Or break it into pieces.

Neither Bendy nor Boris were inside.

Henry was all alone.

The Ink Demon spat out something that suspiciously sounded like 'hurt' as it drew closer.

Henry moves further back from the door. He hoped that the little devil would stay out of the Ink Demon's path. And Boris too, if the toon wolf happened to actually back track this time to come look for him. Henry took a few cautionary steps back as inky tendrils of darkness drew nearer on the walls.

The Ink Demon suddenly appeared in front of the slot in the box with a pissed off growl.

Henry pressed himself firmly against the back of the the box as the Ink Demon leaned over to presumably peer inside. Its eyes were still uncovered but it looked as though it made clear eye contact with him.

The Ink Demon knew Henry was inside.

It had to have known.

A tapping of claws against the wood of the station sounded out amongst the whispers in the ink. The demon's teeth rattled in a rather unsettling way as it stared.

Henry began to second guess if the Ink Demon could actually see him, the longer nothing happened. The claws continued to scrape against the wood lightly, as if trying to coax him out. Henry didn't know what to think of that, so he waited. Henry didn't relax until he saw the Ink Demon vanish from immediate view, taking with it the darkness that always followed it. Henry lingered in the little miracle station awhile longer, until the tense feeling in the air waned.

Was he safe?

Henry let out a very shaky breath. His two wounds inflicted by the Ink Demon ached terribly now that the creature was gone. Henry tried not to think about why that was and focused on the idea that Ink Demon had seen him. Because if it had...why did the inky being not just open up the little miracle station door?

Run.

Henry felt an unexplained chill as realization set in.

The Ink Demon wanted to chase him. Not just chase Henry to the little miricale station. The Ink Demon wanted to hunt Henry down in the studio until it cornered him again. Stalk him, until there was nowhere left to hide.

Henry felt a little ill at the thought.

Oh boy.

This wasn't good at all.

As if Henry didn't already have enough things to worry about. Like his more than likely infected injuries acting oddly, not to mention keeping his two toon friends safe...

A timid knock sounded out on the door.

Henry cautiously opened the door, only to have Bendy leap into his arms and frantically close the door again. Henry fell backward onto his ass from the unexpected weight. Henry sucked in a breath over the way the Ink Demon slammed into the door with its whole body. Henry held the trembling toon close. Henry tilted his head back and narrowed his eyes at the growling demon.

There had been no warning.

It had just appeared.

There had not even been the telltale sign of the swirls of darkness that accompanied the Ink Demon's arrival, nor any whispers or snarls.

Only silence.

That was...concerning.

Henry held Bendy closer to him, patting the toon's back soothingly, as if to reassure the little devil and in turn, himself. But Henry was anything but reassured.

Dread.

Henry felt only dread.

The Ink Demon appeared to not only want to go after him, but Bendy as well. The inky being hissed into the slot in the door, as its claws dragged harder against the wood, jostling the station.

Bendy twitched.

The uncanny, too close for comfort smile parted, making the Ink Demons appearance even more sinister, as its left hand exposed its hidden eyes again, which blinked and then zeroed in on Henry.

So it could see him.

Bendy hastily pressed his face into Henry's ruined sweater, trembling.

The Ink Demon issued out a rough hiss before it spoke. its voice was stilted, as if working around unfamiliar words.

Ḑ̵͇̲̌͌̄́̌̓́̚̚o̸̢̙̜͙̲͓͉͕̗̍̓̈̂́̒͠n̴͓͈͕̞͍͙̤̟̔'̵̛̤͖͓͖̜̄̉̄̀̂̈͛̒ţ̵̛̯̠̰͎̱̼̖͔͛̔͌̏͂̕ ̵̹̼̼̈́͒͒̽͐̃͒͝͝h̴̄͌ͅĭ̶͙̿͌̀͌̈́͐d̵̼̙̦̔̆͆̓͂͝e̷̡̯͎̤̊̒̓̽͜͝͝

Henry pressed his back firmly to the back of the box.

Ṟ̴̢̦̼͍͕̗̘̙̳̟̥͙͇̱̪̞͈͉̐̎̽̽̈́̆͋̇̽̑͜ ̴̧̧͖̰̣͙̞̺̼̤̙̹͕͍̹̦͍͈̤̘̭̈̀͒̈͋̆̒̈̽̓̔̓̀̆̿̚̚͝U̷͇̠̜̝͐̏͛͛́͗̐̇̒̂͑̓̆̾̿͑̐̚̚͝ ̸̢̧̨̟̝̞̜̟̠̙͖̰̅̌̒̆̇̽͐̀̍͆̇͊͗͛̓͠͝N̷̢̗̯̜̬̝̙̬͕̭͓̬͕͐̒̋̃

The Ink Demon's teeth snapped back together into show its usual eerie grin. Coupled with the eyes watching, it made for an unsettling sight. Then, the skeletal creature stepped away from the little miracle station. The Ink Demon limped away and vanished into an inky wall a short distance away, after casting a final glance back.

Then, it was gone.

Henry didn't leave that miracle station for a very long time. He scooted backwards to one corner and curled up, Bendy still held in his arms.

The toon snuggled closer, seeking comfort as Bendy hugged Henry tightly in return, shivering now and again.

This was very bad, and Henry didn't have another weapon for protection yet, either. And Henry had so many questions.

Since when did the Ink Demon…have an awareness of anything but death to those who were unfortunate enough to cross its path?

To make a shitty situation even shittier, a horribly familiar voice rang out in a sing-song voice.

"Sheep sheep sheep, wherever did you go?" Sammy continued to sing like the psycho he was. "My lord seems to be impatient to see you. So much so that it almost looked like He might have killed me for interfering...but that can't be. He wouldn't hurt His prophet."

Joy.

So in addition to avoiding the Ink Demon and its increased awareness, Henry now had to also deal with Sammy, who was currently too close for comfort.

Did little miracle stations work on him?

Hopefully.

Bendy issued out an odd whimpering noise and curled tightly against Henry, his face still pressed to Henry's chest.

Henry's mind raced even as he made attempts to comfort the toon.

Now what?

This was so much worse than before. But after the scare he'd received from the Ink Demon, Henry found that he couldn't help but fall into an uneasy doze.

Everything would turn out all right.

Henry just had to believe.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N: I picture the Ink Demon's eyes as kinda like the ones in that sfm heavy metal remix of can't be erased. But in this fic, the Ink Demon has more slitted pupils-like a cat (which are like a thin line while looking at Henry in this chapter, because the Ink Demon isn't used to looking in the light with its own eyes)

Also...Bendy pov next chapter. ^^ Poor Henry needs a very long nap.