Chapter 22: Changing Roles
All was eerily quiet as they traveled through the Twisted Angel's domain, leaving Linda on edge as Alice didn't seem to notice them just yet. Or perhaps she was aware of the trio's arrival but was waiting for the right moment to catch them off guard.
Boris looked around nervously as Henry lead them into the elevator, letting out a soft whine. Linda placed her hand on the toon wolf's shoulder in reassurance as she gently patted it.
"It's okay, Boris. We'll get through this together."
Boris stayed close to Linda as Henry pushed the button to take them down to the ninth level.
"I wish we could avoid Alice all together." He muttered. "I really don't want to deal with her right now."
"None of us do." Linda sighed as the lift's doors closed and began to take them down the shaft. She then had an idea pop into her head.
"Maybe we don't have to."
Henry and Boris looked at her in confusion, but Linda knew their interest was piqued. However, before she could try to explain, a familiar sinister voice spoke over the speakers somewhere above them.
"Well, well, well. It seems I have some visitors."
It was the twisted version of Alice.
"I'm impressed you made it this far with the Ink Demon rampaging about. Don't be shy, come into my lair and meet with an angel."
The elevator doors opened as so as they reached level nine. Henry lead Linda and Boris out before turning his attention back to his wife.
"You think there's a way to avoid Alice?"
"Yes, it's risky as I don't know where it would take us, but I can create an ink portal to take us somewhere else." Linda explained.
Henry and Boris looked towards one another, seeing what the other thought about the idea.
"I don't know how or when you got such an ability to do that, but like you said it's a risk." Henry replied. "The Ink Demon could ambush us. Not to mention we're probably making Alice suspicious by making her wait. We may want to hear her out first before making a decision."
Linda nodded in agreement and followed him to the Twisted Angel's sanctuary. Boris continued to stay close to her, not bolting ahead as he did in the previous loop when the metal doors opened. However, he did stop at the dead copy of himself strapped to an operating table like before.
Linda's heart reacted the same as it did then as it ached for the poor toon wolf as he whimpered at the horrific sight before them. She hugged Boris to comfort him, tightening her embrace as the room began to shake.
Henry tried to keep his balance on the bridge of planks as he was already making his way across the ink filled room. As soon as everything became still, he hesitantly continued as he looked around.
"After all this time being trapped in this forsaken building, I have never witnessed the demon so upset." Alice had spoken up over the speakers, sounding frightened and vulnerable. "A horrible end is near for all of us. No one is safe from the Ink Demon's wrath."
"Be careful, Henry." Linda called out as he reached the end.
He looked back at her and smiled slightly.
"Always am."
As Henry disappeared into Alice's chamber, Linda turned her attention back to Boris. Knowing he wanted to leave, she guided the toon wolf back to the elevator.
"What's taking him so long?" Linda asked out loud as Henry had yet to return. She was beginning to worry.
"Something's wrong."
"There has been a change of plans." The Twisted Angel announced, Linda knew right away she was up to no good.
"Where's Henry?!" She called out as she glared up at the lift's ceiling.
"Henry's held up at the moment." Alice teased with a slight chuckle. "I'll need you to go and do the dirty work for him. I suggest you do as you're told quickly and efficiently if you want to see him back alive."
Linda's eyes widened at the threat as Alice cackled.
"Come to my door. I need you to gather some spare parts and I have just the tool you'll need for the job."
Without a choice, Linda walked out of the elevator and went to retrieve a wrench from a large machine at the side of the entrance to Alice's lair. She soon returned to the lift and pressed the button to level K as she remembered all the tasks Henry was sent to do in the previous time loop.
Boris was worried about Henry as he whined when the lift started moving.
"Don't worry, buddy. We'll get Henry back." Linda assured. "There is no way I'm leaving him behind."
As soon as the lift stopped, she stepped out to begin her search for the three gears Alice needed for her machines. Walking up the stairs to the balcony on level K, a 'Charley' clone hobbled out from the darkened hall, wielding a wrench and one of the gears. Linda was instantly reminded of the 'Charley' she had befriended and frowned as the ink from her body reached out to the twisted toon.
"I'm sorry."
The 'Charley' writhed as it was consumed by the ink, dropping the gear as the deformed Butcher Gang leader became an ink splatter on the floor. Linda picked up the gear and continued her search for the other two.
A 'searcher' formed out of an ink puddle from the ink splattered floor of the 'Heavenly Toys' storage room, but it was taken care of quickly as Linda's ink made quick work out of it. She approached a metal panel on the wall and used the wrench to undo the screws holding the cover in place. Once a gear was reveal to her, Linda took it and searched the rest of the panels until she found the one tucked in a nook between two shelves full of Alice Angel dolls.
"That should be plenty." Alice's voice chimed over the speaker. "Return them to me."
Not wanting to test the Twisted Angel's patience in fear of her hurting Henry, Linda rushed back to the lift and pushed the button to make her way back to level nine.
Linda had some close calls with the Ink Demon as he would often appear while she continued to perform tedious tasks for Alice, but fortunately she was always near a miracle station before he could notice her in time. With how upset he was lately, Linda wasn't even sure if she would survive an encounter with the Ink Demon like she had before when he would take her to his throne room. She didn't want to risk it for her and Henry's sake.
Taking an axe from the machine by Alice's doors, it was now time for Linda to chop up the Bendy cut-outs back on level K. She remembered how the Ink Demon chased Henry back to the elevator as he screamed at the top of his lungs for someone to open the doors before making a narrow escape.
That was when Linda had first stood up to the Ink Demon, scolding him like a child and making him leave them alone. However, she figured she wouldn't be so lucky this time.
Linda looked at Boris as the lift came to a stop.
"Keep the doors open unless it becomes necessary to close them."
The toon wolf nodded and watched her leave the lift to chop up the cut-out tucked to the side of it. She then climbed over some barrels to get to the stairway.
"I'll be back as soon as possible." She said.
Linda continued to destroy the Bendy cut-outs she came across as she entered the lobby of the 'Heavenly Toys' department. As she chopped up the last cut-out in the room, Alice spoke up from the speakers once again.
"Now that was fun. Oh! I forgot to mention on little detail. He hates it when I do that. If he wasn't enraged before, he will be now. I would hide if I were you.~"
Not wasting any time, Linda quickly ran over to the miracle station near the entrance of the lobby and hid inside. She made sure to keep quiet as the Ink Demon's essence began to spread out before her, covering the whole room as he walked by. She watched as the Ink Demon snarled at the scattered pieces of the Bendy cut-outs and froze as he turned his head over in her direction.
Did he know she was in the miracle station?
The Ink Demon made a foreign sound she hadn't heard from before. It sounded as though it was a whimper.
As soon as he made his way up the stairs at the other end of the lobby and his essence faded, Linda left her hiding place and headed back for the elevator.
A/N: This chapter was a bit of pain to write as I wasn't sure where to end it.
Response to GameFan 335's review: Yeah, 30 years of abandonment issues will make it hard for the Ink Demon to forgive Henry right away. Also you're spot on to the Ink Demon being connected to the Bendy drawing. Which I may explain in a future spin-off fic focused on the Ink Demon's perspective during this story's events.
