Chapter 18: Showing Mercy


Waiting for the Ink Demon to return, Linda wondered how much time had passed outside of the studio. It had been three days since Henry went missing when she arrived at the studio, and time seemed to work differently due to the time loops. Thinking too much on the matter would cause one's brain to hurt as nothing made sense, other than the explanation of dark forces being involved as Henry had implied before. It explained everything from the messed up time to the inky monsters lurking in the studio.

Movement from the Bendy drawing was enough to keep her from stewing over her thoughts as she watched the little toon devil. Bendy was pacing back and forth, staring down at his feet with a frown like he was waiting anxiously for something. He soon stopped and perked up at the sound of sloshing ink. Linda also perked up to see the Ink Demon step out from an ink portal.

The Ink Demon froze for a second as he stared at Linda; she wondered if he was taken aback by the fact she was still where he had left her.

She hoped she didn't make a mistake in staying.

Soft growls emitted from the Ink Demon as he approached with his standard limp, making Linda stare at his badly formed leg for a bit out of pity. He brought her attention to a can of bacon soup as he held it out to her.

"Still willing to feed me, are you?" Linda asked, accepting the can from him with some caution. "Are you planning on fattening me up for dinner?"

She was joking, but the thought of being a potential meal frightened her. The Ink Demon only stared at her while she opened the can and began to drink the soup.

Bendy was looking nervously between Linda and the demon from his page, not seeming to trust his monstrous counterpart's intentions. Linda gently rubbed the drawing's head with the tip of her finger, smiling a bit as he reacted to the gesture. She looked back at the Ink Demon to notice he was staring at the on-model drawing of himself.

Was he jealous?


Having the Bendy drawing tucked away in her purse, Linda slowly walked through a section of the studio she had not been in as the Ink Demon followed close behind. It seemed she had earned some of his trust, but not enough to keep his eyes off of her.

Admittedly, despite being around the Ink Demon so often and seeing him as one big child, Linda was unnerved. She couldn't see his movements behind her and his constant ragged breathing and growling wasn't helping either.

She was more closer to death than ever.

But if she were to die, would the time loop send her back to the beginning? Were there a limited amount of times she would resurrect?

Honestly, she didn't want to find out.

It was then Linda wondered at what point Henry was at during his journey through the studio.

Did he remember she was here?

Were 'Charley' and 'Edgar' still with him or had the time loop reset everything?

To her, it seemed seemed more logical than any other explanation and gave her an odd sense of comfort as it would possibly mean Boris was alive. She then remembered him telling her in the tunnel of ink how his untimely death was just how his story was written.

What did he mean by that?

Were they all part of one big story?

Was everything Linda was doing right now being written down to be told later?

Linda found herself starting to go through an existential crisis as she started to think too hard on it. She had to stop herself and tried to clear her head.

The Ink Demon grunted from behind her, reminding Linda he was still there. All the noise he had made had become nothing more than background noise as she had spiraled downward in her thoughts.

"Sorry." Linda apologized. "I have a lot on my mind at the moment."

She felt him give her a nudge, wanting her to keep moving.

"I'm going, I'm going. Mr. Bossy."

Continuing down the hall, Linda spotted a familiar figure. It was Alice, but not the one who turned Boris into a monster. She was the other one.

The Alice who tried to attack her in the cavern before Linda was sent back to when she arrived at the studio.

Alice didn't seem to notice them as her back was turned towards them. She was looking through a glass with a lit frame, studying the walls as if something of interest was to seen through it. All Linda could see were blank spaces.

The Ink Demon let out a shriek, alerting Alice as she whipped around to face them. He knocked Linda down as he charged past her towards the angel.

Linda stumbled on to her feet, wanting to stop him. She ran up to the Ink Demon and grabbed him by his inky arm.

"No! Stop!"

The Ink Demon growled in frustration as he looked back at her.

Alice appeared to be stunned.

"Let her go." Linda said, trying to sound calm as she stared the angry demon down.

She soon released him as she saw Alice was nowhere in sight. Linda hoped the gesture was enough to show the angel she was not her enemy if they were to meet again whenever she was allowed to leave the Ink Demon's sight.

If that time would even come.

She would probably have to sneak away again.

The Ink Demon looked back in the direction Alice was and let out a huff before moving aside to let Linda step ahead of him.

As she did so, she could feel his rage seething from his body, making her more nervous to have him in her blind spot. So far, he didn't try attacking her, but that could change at any moment.

They passed by a miracle station, and Linda was sure it was occupied. She glanced at it, catching a glimpse of yellowish eyes peering out from the lookout and offered an apologetic smile.

Fortunately, the Ink Demon didn't seem to notice the look as Linda had no intention of blowing Alice's cover. He didn't even seem to pay any mind to the miracle station when Linda looked back at him to see he was staring straight ahead. It did make her question why he didn't check the stations, but she was thankful he didn't.


A/N: We all go through an existential crisis every now. Linda certainly did. She wouldn't be the only one in the studio to go through such a time.

I wanted to throw in another interaction with Alice(Allison) for Linda. Maybe she appreciated Linda for saving her, or perhaps Linda has made her more suspicious of her.