The ink spreads.
The Ink Machine endures through all hardships those in the studio face.
Henry's right arm is covered in ink. It changes him, but he does not see how.
The ink is spreads.
The darkness takes hold.
Henry's left shoulder burns.
Aches.
Henry's body is all sharp, jagged pain.
The ink spreads, and then-
...
...
...
Henry woke with a sharp exhale, his body jerking fully into wakefulness after that unsettling dream.
Or was it a nightmare?
Henry's hand and shoulder ached, so he checked on them. Nothing seemed out of place...nothing apart from the ink stains on his skin. It appeared as though they had spiraled out another inch or so from beneath the bandages. When Henry was satisfied that he wasn't transforming into a monster, he looked up to find himself still in the little miracle station. Luckily, Bendy was still there, which meant the toon had been safe while Henry had been conked out.
Bendy stood a short distance away, as if giving Henry space. The toon wore a worried little frown, until he saw Henry was awake. Bendy's expression changed in an instant. The little devil offered an encouraging, if oddly insincere, smile.
"Sorry for falling asleep like that." Henry was worried about Bendy, as it was clear that the toon didn't feel encouraged in the least bit, but hoped Henry would be. It made Henry feel bad that Bendy wasn't as chipper as before.
Bendy moved closer and reached out to pat near Henry's bandaged shoulder, a questioning look passing the toon's face.
"Oh, I feel all right. That little impromptu nap seems to have helped."
Bendy looked unconvinced but he stepped back as his grin widened to hide the toon's concern.
Henry didn't know what to say to that, so he kept quiet as he stood up and stretched out any kinks he'd received while asleep. Then, Henry moved over to the slot in the station, knees popping in protest as he crouched a little in case he needed to back away. Henry braced himself and then peered out.
There was no sign of the Ink Demon, or Sammy.
It was quiet.
Good.
Henry carefully opened the door, and cautiously exited the little miracle station, Bendy close behind him. Henry was still wary, as if expecting the Ink Demon to show up out of nowhere.
It didn't.
"Time to move on." Henry said softly, mainly to himself. He couldn't help but smile at the way Bendy skipped over to the large Boris plush, the toon's good mood seemingly restored. "That's a pretty big one, huh?" Henry actually laughed when Bendy came back over to him, grabbed his hand, and eagerly tugged Henry over to the plush to show him.
"The studio seems to have made a lot of them, but not as many as large as this guy." Henry reached out to pat the large Boris plush for emphasis.
Bendy flashed a cheerful grin, patting the Boris plush before he continued on. The toon hopped up the stairs, head swiveling to and fro as Bendy took in everything around him.
Henry, not so much.
After having passed through this place so many times, Henry had already seen everything there was to see of the toy factory. But that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy watching Bendy he happy with the sights. Henry even let out another chuckle when he entered the next room and caught the way Bendy bounded energetically over to one of the walls of toys.
The joy the toon was currently feeling made it worth going through with the quick puzzle to press on.
Henry methodically unjammed the conveyor belts, before he went to flip the switch outside the room. Henry returned before the toon noticed his absence.
Bendy had taken down one of each plush, and had positioned them next to one another on the floor.
The Bendy plush was in the middle, with Boris and Alice Angel on either side.
While the toon was admiring the plushies, Henry quickly opened up the path to the blocked door with another lever in the room. The sound of the shelves moving out of the way with a jerking motion didn't even startle Bendy part from one quick look.
"Ready to go?" Henry questioned the toon. Henry himself wasn't looking forward to what came next.
Bendy looked down at the plushies. With a determined look, the toon picked them up. Bendy promptly began to drop them as he attempted to juggle them in his arms, without too much success.
Henry scrounged around in the room and produced some fabric hidden away in a corner. He fashioned a little backpack, and went over to Bendy. Henry put the plushies in the bag and then slipped the uneven backpack straps over Bendy's shoulders.
Bendy beamed as he twirled around happily, head turning completely backwards in order to examine the roughly put-together backpack. The toon's head snapped back forward, the grin incredibly happy as Bendy showed his appreciation by jumping up to give Henry a great big hug.
Henry caught the toon and gave him a quick hug in return, glad that Bendy was still so carefree and happy. Henry hoped the happiness would last, even as things in the studio inevitably went south. Henry set the toon down and watched the way Bendy bounced on his feet alongside him as they went through the now unblocked door.
Joy.
Back here again.
Bendy perked up at the sound of Alice Angel singing over the intercom, and on the screens. Bendy moved along with the song, wearing a happy little smile.
"I need you to go over by those barrels, ok? on the left there? A path will open up after the lights go off and then on again. Stay there for me?" Henry moved a little closer to Bendy, and motioned to the blocked off path. "Make sure to stay away from the recording booth."
Bendy tilted his head at the explanation, taking it in, but made no indication that he questioned Henry about it. The toon danced over to the door, humming a little ditty as he went.
Henry ignored his own advice about the recording booth as he stamped up to the window.
The room was still dark apart from the screens.
Henry ignored it, left hand clenching into a fist. This was the same song and dance over and over again, and honestly, he was damn tired of it all. Henry knew who would be there when the song came to an end. He knew which version of Alice Angel would appear. Henry didn't even wait for the song to end, as he usually did. He just yelled at the yet to be broken glass window instead.
"You're not her, Susie, no matter how hard you try to be!" Henry snapped in a harsh tone. "You will never be anything more than a twisted monster here!" Henry really should have expected the furious shriek that came from the other side of the glass.
Alice appearing in the dim light to shatter all of the glass in her fury instead of only a small portion of it was not expected. Another incoherent feminine scream rang out, before everything went completely dark in the room.
Well, well. It seemed as though Henry had pissed off an 'angel.'
Not that he cared anymore.
His lack of response should have been concerning, but really...
Alice was too far gone to be reasoned with, no matter how many times Henry tried in past loops to reason with her.
As soon as the lights came back on, Alice was standing there in the room with an unhinged expression. She was shaking with barely suppressed rage, her ruined face twisting up into a horrid snarl.
Henry took one look and decided not to tempt fate any more that day. Had he a weapon...well...that would have been a different story. Since Henry had no way to defend himself or the toon with him at present, Henry seized Bendy's gloved hand and ran through the hall to the left that he always took.
Alice likely would have followed had Sammy not shown up, hacking the door down to enter the room like the madman he was.
"You! You are the one who dares to insult my lord's image!" Sammy proclaimed loudly at Alice as he crossed the room and swung his axe.
"That demon will never touch me!" Alice stepped out of range, her anger switching targets to one who was closer to her.
"My lord would not sully His hands by touching a such a twisted, ugly angel as yourself!" Sammy snapped back, charging forward again with his axe.
"I am beautiful!" Alice shrieked, in what sounded like denial of the other's words. She threw herself at Sammy, regardless of the axe. "The demon will not send me back to the screaming well of voices!"
Sammy reeled backward as Alice tackled him, throwing him off balance. Both toppled to the floor, inky hands grappling for the axe as the two beings hurled insults at one another.
"I'll tear out your heart!"
"My lord will punish all nonbelievers, including angels!"
"I will be beautiful with every heart collected. One step closer, with all that I tear apart. Even a fool that worships that thing will bring me closer to perfection!"
"You dare insult our savior and call Him a thing?!"
As much as Henry wanted to stay and watch the show that was unfolding, he felt it best to continue on with the distraction he had been provided with.
Bendy looked frightened over Alice's appearance, but did nothing more than cling to Henry's hand as they both ran down the now-clear hallway. Once a safe distance away, Henry and Bendy slowed.
They had reached the crossroads.
Or what Henry liked to think of as a crossroads.
The sign that stood between either open doorway. One inky scrawl indicated 'demon,' that pointed to the left. The other pointed to the right, the writing indicating 'angel.'
Henry didn't think about which path to take this time around. Henry instead found himself preoccupied with consoling a very distraught toon.
Apprently, Alice's face had been so terrifying that it had caused tears to steam from those pie-cut eyes.
"It's okay. Well...it'll be okay." Henry muttered as he hugged Bendy's shaking form to him. Henry glanced back the way they had come. "If it makes you feel any better, I can tell you with certainty...that was not the real Alice Angel."
Bendy just sobbed harder as he pressed his face against Henry's chest, seeking comfort.
Henry hugged Bendy more snuggly to him.
So much for keeping the toon happy.
