This is my last update for the year as I will be visiting family. Have a Merry Christmas everyone!
Planning
Henry woke up feeling warm and comfortable, with the familiar weight of Bendy curled up on his chest. For those first few peaceful moments, Henry could almost believe that everything had just been a nightmare and they had fallen asleep on the couch again. But the dull throb on the side of his head was enough to remind Henry that everything really did happen and that his family was in danger. As he thought over his situation, Henry couldn't help but grimace. Everything was getting worse with the odds against them stacking higher and higher.
Henry was drawn away from his thoughts by Bendy moving against his chest. Looking down, Henry saw the little Ink Demon slowly open his eyes. The toon demon blinked a couple of times before focusing on Henry's face.
"Good Morning Bendy," Henry smiled kindly down at his toon. At least there was still one bright side, his little Ink Demon was still on his side. Bendy's eyes welled up with tears and clung to Henry, sobbing and letting out relieved whistles. Henry held Bendy close, rubbing the toon comfortingly and whisper assuring words.
"Bendy… what happened when I was knocked out?" Henry asked once the devil was calmer. "Did Allison and Tom fall under Joey's control?"
"Y-Yes," Bendy replied with a slight whistle. He cleared his nonexistent throat and continued normally, "We fought and… I almost killed them! I was so close to finishing off Tom… I had his soul in my grasp…"
"But you didn't hurt them," Henry cut in before Bendy got more upset. "You were able to stop yourself in time and that's all that mattered. What happened after you fought?"
"I got really hurt because I couldn't fight properly without succumbing to the Liar," Bendy continued quietly, rubbing his shoulder as he thought of his crushed wing. "They were about to take you away, but I was able to use the last of my strength to hide you… but then they…. I was too weak to stop them… they took mom to the Liar…"
Henry had known in his heart that something had happened to Linda ever since he realized she wasn't there, but that didn't stop Bendy's words confirming his fears cutting through him like a knife. When Henry had been trapped in the studio, the thought of getting back to Linda had been the only thing keeping him going most days. He had been so glad time and again that she had been spared the horrors he had faced in there. Even with all the baggage he and the others had when they finally made it home, Linda only saw a glimpse of what they went through. But then Joey had to bring what happened in the Studio into his home and has now dragged Linda into the very heart of the conflict.
"We have to face Joey," Henry concluded after hearing what happened. "We have to stop this before it gets any worse."
"He's going to be expecting us…" Bendy whispered in fear, clutching Henry even tighter. "He has everyone on his side… There's no way we can beat him…"
"I know… I know… but we have no choice…" Henry sighed, rubbing Bendy while trying not to let hopeless overwhelm him. Joey held practically all the cards now, with having all the ink creatures on his side and Linda as a hostage. The only bright side was that no innocent bystanders would be dragged into their mess now. Joey knew they would come to him and be waiting for them to walk into whatever trap he had planned.
"We just have to find something we can use to surprise him, just a small detail that he's overlooked that we can take advantage of," Henry said, thinking out loud. "He's defiantly been planning and preparing for this for a long time, so we have to assume he's been gathering information about us and at least knows about your abilities…"
Henry trailed off as he thought about Bendy's powers. The little toon's abilities were pretty mysterious and no one really knew all the details, so there was no way Joey could know all the details.
"Bendy… can you tell who's soul is who's just from a distance?" Henry asked, still looking off into space in thought.
"Not really…" Bendy replied, looking a little confused by the question, but willing to answer if it could help. "It takes a lot of time for me to be around the soul enough to be able to recognize it and pick it out from those around it. I could probably do it with our family, but how would that help?"
"It can help a lot," Henry replied, giving Bendy a hopeful grin. "If we can know where everyone is and who is where we can figure out how to get past them and prepare for who we have to face. But this is still not going to be easy and being at the source of Joey's magic means you'll be more likely to fall under Joey's control, so you'll have to stay back…"
"It's gone…" Bendy whispered so quietly that Henry wasn't sure he heard him at all.
"What was that Bendy?" Henry asked looking at his little Ink Demon fully. The toon had a look of confusion and growing hope on his face.
"The whispers… the Liar's magic… it's gone!" Bendy said, beaming up at Henry. "I don't know how, but it's gone!... I'm not going to fall under his control again!"
"That's wonderful Bendy!" Henry agreed, hugging the demon in relief. "But what changed… what made… of course! I healed you!"
Henry leaned back and cupped his hand, letting some of his golden ink pool into his hand. Bendy stared at it in wonder. Henry had told them about his abilities after he had been able to come to terms with it himself, but Bendy was always amazed whenever he saw it. He and all the ink creatures could tell how special it was, how it felt like a physical manifestation of their Creator's love for them. It only makes sense that it would be able to break the Liar's hold.
"You'll be able to save the others," Bendy smiled, touching the edge of Henry's hand. "You can free them from the Liar's spell."
"Yes," Henry agreed, letting the ink sink back into his skin. "But we need to be careful about letting Joey find out I can do this or he might find some way to counter it. We could grab the others one at a time and free them, but that will only put Linda in greater danger. So we'll have to make sure Linda's safe first before anything else. But with your abilities, we should be able to pull it off. As soon as it's dark, we'll go."
"We can do this," Bendy said with determination.
"We can do this," Henry agreed firmly. For the first time since the whole thing started, they both felt real hope that they'll be able to stop Joey and save the rest of their family.
