Chapter 2 Heart in a Jar

There was a list of things that could have gone wrong when Henry returned to the studio, but being kidnapped by a nightmarish version of a cartoon character he used to animate was not on it.

Henry had long since ceased struggling. He was exhausted and it was pointless. No amount of fighting, screaming, or begging would loosen Bendy's grip. He even tried biting Bendy's arm at one point. It was like biting into a rubber tire. Bendy hadn't even flinched or cared.

No, nothing Henry did could faze the inky giant. Currently, said giant was pleasantly humming the theme song to Bendy's old cartoon as he carried the retired animator deeper into the studio. Which, by the way, was a whole other can of worms for poor Henry.

When he left the studio, the building had only two floors. But the hole Henry fell through earlier had been way too deep and now Bendy carried him through unfamiliar halls and rooms. To make things worse, Bendy had carried Henry down eleven flights of stairs and he had a terrible feeling that many more were to come. Every step took him further and further from the exit. Henry tried remembering every hall and room so he could navigate his way back if he got the chance to run. But his brain couldn't keep up with it all. The once familiar studio was now a labyrinth and he was still reeling from everything that had happened.

What had Joey been doing in these last thirty years? What had Joey been thinking? The memory of Bendy chasing Joey out of the room drifted to the front of Henry's mind. Did Bendy kill Joey? The question made him squirm. Bendy's arms tightened in response. Henry didn't want to think about what those arms were capable of, not while they were wrapped around him.

Then a different memory played in Henry's head. The one where he found Boris the Wolf dead on a table. Boris was written as such a friendly and kind character. What did the toon do to deserve that? Had Joey brought other cartoons to life? He said he had sacrificed their coworkers. Their friends. If Joey did that to the people who were close to him, what did that mean for the toons that were brought to life?

Henry could feel the lump building in his throat. It was too much. This was all just too much. He couldn't hold back a sob.

After everything Henry had done to try to free himself, this was the one thing that actually made Bendy pause. It was only for a second, but Henry noticed.

"Aww, don't be scared, Henry. I'm not gonna hurt ya."

Despite how monstrous this creature looked, his tone had been genuine. And Henry had to admit, the creature hadn't actually harmed him. In fact, Bendy had probably saved his life a couple of times. Henry had no idea what Joey would have done to him if Bendy hadn't chased him away. Right after that, he stopped Henry from falling to his death. Maybe... maybe there was some humanity in this creature of ink. If he figured out what Bendy wanted, maybe he would let him go.

"What," Henry cleared his throat, "What do you want from me?"

"What'd ya mean? I don't want anything from you."

"Then what do you want?" He flinched when Bendy nuzzled the back of his head.

"I have what I want. I have you."

Henry recoiled his head away as far as he could, "I'm not a pet."

"Of course not. You're my Creator. You belong here with me."

"So what, you're just going to keep me trapped here until the day I die?"

"Oh, is that what you're worried about? Ya won't have to worry about that anymore."

Confused by that statement, Henry craned his neck to look at Bendy, "What?"

"The dying thing. I have a way to fix that," Bendy beamed down at Henry, "All you have to do is drink some special ink and you'll never grow old or die. You'll be immortal, just like me!"

Bendy preened as if expecting praise but Henry was silenced in newfound horror. A few hours ago that sentence would be laughable. But after everything he saw, he didn't doubt a word Bendy said and it terrified him. Bendy's smile faltered when he noticed Henry's pale face. When he finally found his voice, it came out in a hoarse whisper.

"You- you can't do that. You can't do that to me."

Bendy frowned, as if this wasn't the reaction he expected, "Why not?"

An image of Joey floated to the front of his mind. Joey, who somehow made himself young but completely unhinged. Joey, who was power-crazed and tampered with forces he never should have touched. Joey, who would never again be the dear friend Henry remembered from the past.

"Is that what Joey did? Drink special ink?" Bendy growled at the name but nodded reluctantly, "He's completely lost it! You have to see that! Please, I don't want what happened to him to happen to me."

"That Traitor, "Bendy hissed the title out, "Was already like that before he drank the ink. You're different. You'll be just fine."

Henry found it hard to ignore his rising panic, "Bendy, I'm human. Humans aren't meant to live forever. Please, I have a wife, she's waiting for me! She needs me!"

For a moment, Henry could have sworn guilt flashed across Bend's face. But it was gone just as quick as it came, "You don't need her. Not anymore."

"You can't do this!" Adrenaline came flooding back and Henry struggled and thrashed with newfound vigor, "Let go! Let go!"

"Stop fighting me, Creator." Bendy's voice turned soft as he nuzzled Henry again, trying to comfort him, "It's for your own good. You'll see."

Henry took deep breaths to keep from hyperventilating. Panicking would do him no good in this situation. He tried not to think about his dead friends, his ex-friend that was responsible, or this demonic cartoon character that probably killed said ex-friend. He tried really hard not to think about Bendy forcing "special" ink down his throat. He needed to calm down, he needed to focus. Henry thought of Linda. He needed to focus. For Linda.

Thinking of his wife seemed to help. Henry got his breathing under control and he was able to think a little clearer.

Okay, he was too weak compared to Bendy so brute force wasn't going to work. On the other hand, Bendy didn't seem easily fooled. Henry doubted he could trick the monster into letting him go. Bendy was clutching Henry tight to his chest as if he were afraid the old man would spontaneously combust.

Henry looked around. Maybe he could use his surroundings to his advantage. The hall they were going through was a mess. Papers littered the floor along with a busted radio, one of those creepy Bendy cut-outs laid propped against the wall, and a few inkwells were collecting dust on a shelf. There wasn't anything he could... wait...

Those weren't just inkwells - there were acetone jars on that shelf. In a couple of seconds, Henry formed an idea. Everything about this creature was solid, real, alive. But Bendy was still made of ink. And acetone was used to remove ink.

Bendy walked at a brisk pace, giving Henry only seconds to act. Henry had to stretch his arm out, but he managed to swipe one of the acetone jars. Henry felt pretty darn lucky that Bendy left his arms free.

Before Bendy could say or do anything, Henry had already popped the top off and splashed the fluid all over Bendy.

The response was instantaneous.

Bendy let loose an ear-splitting shriek and Henry was finally able to break free. The moment his feet hit the floor, Henry bolted in a random direction. He knew he'd never be able to retrace his steps and right now he didn't care where he was going. All he wanted was to get away.

"Henry! Wait! Come back!" Bendy's wailing screech was filled with such desperation, it almost made Henry feel bad. Almost. "Henry! I won't hurt you!"

Like I'm going to stick around and find out,
Henry thought.

Henry never ran so fast in his entire life. He could hear heavy footsteps close behind him but he didn't dare look back. Bendy was screaming for him to stop but this only motivated him to go faster.

"Henrrryyy!"

Henry panted as he sprinted through countless halls and rooms. Distance was closing between them and Henry knew he'd tire out before Bendy did or worse, he'd run into a dead end. It was only a matter of time before he got caught. He needed to hide. When he rounded the next corner he saw something that might just work.

Quietly as he could, Henry skidded to a stop in front of some sort of walk-in box. He jumped in and held the handle closed tightly. Conveniently, there was a peephole. It wasn't much and he feared his hiding spot was too obvious. But Henry couldn't run forever. This was his only chance.

He held in his ragged breath as Bendy rounded the corner. Relief flooded Henry when he just kept on going, not realizing that his prey gave him the slip.

Groaning from exhaustion and relief, Henry shakily collapsed on the ground. There wasn't much space and Henry had to pull his knees up to sit, but he didn't plan on leaving this box anytime soon. He had to be sure the coast was completely clear before he ventured out to find the exit. Sweat coated his skin as Henry listened to the fading sounds of Bendy screaming his name.

Henry must have sat there for an hour. He waited until it was completely silent on the outside before he decided it was safe- or at least as safe as it was going to get. Joints creaking in protest, he stood and exited his hiding place.

In the stagnant lighting, Henry eyed the box. If he wasn't just in it, he might've mistaken it for a strange outhouse. A sign was nailed above the door that read, Little Miracle Station. Huh, well it was a miracle Bendy didn't notice it.

Without any clue as to where he was or where to find the exit, Henry set off in a random direction.

Quietly and cautiously as possible, Henry crept down the hallway and was eventually rewarded. At least temporarily. The stairs he found took him three floors up. After that, he was in a maze of more rooms and hallways. Every now and then Henry would find more Miracle Stations and there were certainly plenty of creepy Bendy cutouts but for the life of him, he couldn't find the stairs that would take him up the next levels. It didn't help that every little floorboard creak and every single drop of ink that dripped from the ceiling sent Henry jumping out of his skin. A few times he found himself hiding in the Little Miracle Stations on false alarms.

Once upon a time, Henry knew this studio like the back of his hand. But now this place might as well have been a whole different planet.

Hours went by and Henry was really starting to feel the toll of everything that had happened - physically and emotionally. The adrenalin had long since faded away, leaving Henry dazed, tired, and sore. His eyelids felt heavier by the minute.

While Henry didn't have a watch and he had no idea how long he's been down here, he felt certain that it had to be late in the night. He felt his heart sink. Linda was going to be so worried. He told her he'd call her after his meeting with Joey.

Clunk!

Clank!


Crash!


Henry let out a curse as he froze. He had stumbled into a shelf and everything that was on it was sent scattering to the floor. He tensed, ready to bolt in any direction, ready for that cartoon nightmare to snatch him up and drag him off into the darkness.

But nothing came for him. Henry released a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

And then immediately had to force back a scream.

A few of the items were glass jars. The glass was covered in layers and layers of dust that hid the contents. But one of the jars had shattered, giving Henry a good view of what had been inside.

In a pile of shattered, dirty glass, laid a human heart.

Turning away, Henry stumbled to his knees and vomited. Ever since he stepped foot into the studio, the thick, bitter smell of ink was all he could smell. But now his nose was being invaded by the stench of chemical fluid and decay. It made him retch.

Henry wondered which of his friends that heart belonged to. The thought made him dizzy. His eyes stung and a few tears leaked from his eyes.

Once there was nothing left in his stomach, Henry shakily got off the floor. Keeping his eyes away from the heart and whatever else was in those jars, Henry stumbled into another hall. He was careful not to bump into any more shelves.

Henry stepped into the nearest room and sat heavily against the door. The room was dark with a little of the hall light streaming in from the gap under the door. Henry didn't really care enough to find a light switch.

Choking back sobs, Henry buried his head in his hands. How could this happen? What more could he take? How was he going to get out of here?

His fingers rubbed the smooth surface of his wedding band. It grounded him during the war, it would ground him now.

Feeling completely drained, Henry leaned his head back. As much as he hated it, the best thing he could do right now was rest. Henry suspected it was either really late in the night or early in the morning. If he was correct, then he spent an entire day and night in this hellhole running for his life. If he hadn't just got an eyeful of someone's heart, he might've felt hungry.

The thought of Joey or Bendy finding him asleep and vulnerable terrified him, but he didn't have much of a choice. He felt like he might pass out from exhaustion. Hopefully, a bit of rest would give him some energy and a clear mind.

Closing his eyes, Henry tried to pretend he was anywhere else but in the studio. He was asleep in less than a minute.


Bendy had memories from before the Ink Machine.

Back then he was nothing more than ink on a page. While Bendy wasn't alive or conscious, he could recall memories of that time. It was like remembering lucid dreams. His first memory was one of his favorites.

Kind eyes were the first thing he remembers. The smiling face of his Creator beamed down at him. There had been pride in his Creator's eyes. Henry was proud of him.

Bendy loved that memory. He felt like priceless art being appraised in a museum. He felt proud. He felt loved.

The next memory he didn't like nearly as much. It started off good enough, his Creator was showing Bendy's sketch to a man, Joey. But Joey made Henry frown. He made Henry frown a lot.

Joey hadn't liked the way Henry drew Bendy. His smile wasn't big enough, his horns were too low, and Joey hated his tale.

Changes had been made to his design, but not on the original page. Instead, Henry kept him. His page was taped on the wall over his desk, along with all the other drawings Henry was most proud of.

Bendy remembers every single time Henry paused in his work to look at him. His Creator would often admire his old drawings for inspiration. Bendy loved the attention.

There were days and nights where Henry sat hunched over his desk, working on cartoons. Henry often fell asleep at his desk from too many late nights. Joey constantly overworked his Creator. It went on like this for years. Until it didn't.

Henry and Joey started getting into arguments. Nearly all of them centered around someone named Linda. Whoever she was, Henry wanted to spend more time with her. Joey seemed to hate her.

The arguments went on for a while until eventually, it escalated into a fight. His Creator came into work one day, looking very sad. He had shown a letter to Joey and they both lapsed into silence.

Then Joey started yelling. And for once, Henry yelled right back.

Then Joey threw a punch.

Bendy didn't know exactly what happened after that. During the fight, the two men knocked over the desk and one of them was pushed against the wall, knocking over all of Henry's drawings. Someone even stepped on him and part of the paper was torn.

That was the last memory Bendy had of Henry. At least, before he was given a physical body.

Bendy's picture was left on the ground for a long time. All he could see was the ceiling and the damaged desk. Months passed but no one bothered to clean up the mess. Those were hazy dreams that Bendy didn't care to relive.

Eventually, someone came for him.

Joey picked Bendy off the ground and scrutinized him. Satisfied with what he saw, Joey folded the paper and slipped Bendy into his pocket. Then sometime later, Joey was drawing over him, changing him.

The next thing he can recall (if he tried to remember hard enough) was Joey dropping him into the Ink Machine.

And then he was alive.

That was the start of his conscious memories. It wasn't a happy start. At the time, Bendy couldn't remember anything from Before. It was too disorienting when the Ink Machine spat him up. All he knew was the here and the now.

The way Joey had looked down on him was nothing like the way Henry did. Henry used to look at him with pride, happiness, fondness. Joey's eyes had narrowed and his lips twisted. Joey was disgusted. Disappointed.

And why wouldn't he be? Bendy looked nothing like the cute little toon he had been on paper. His body was tall, lanky, and covered in dripping ink. And it was all Joey's fault! If only he had been born with the memories of Before. He would have dealt with that Liar and saved himself a world of heartbreak and misery.

There hadn't been nearly as many as when Henry worked at the studio, but there were other humans. Only a handful knew about him though. These were the employees that worked on the new levels of the studio, the ones that had nothing to do with creating cartoons. At least, they never created cartoons for children.

They all looked at Bendy the same way as Joey. Some were even scared of him. He was called many things. Failer, Freak, Ink Demon, Monster, Abomination. But not once did anyone call him Bendy. That hurt a lot.

There were two others like him. Alice and Boris were two toons that were from the same cartoon as him. But they were treated completely differently from Bendy. They were perfect, flawless, and everyone loved them. Even Joey seemed to love them.

Bendy tried to be what Joey wanted. He had tried so hard! He sat still while the humans poked and prodded him with sharp tools. He didn't complain when his insides were cut open and put back together. He never resisted when they had locked him away in the dark for weeks on end.

Bendy tried so hard to gain Joey's approval - his love. Why wouldn't he? Bendy thought that was the man who created him. The man claimed to be his creator for years and Bendy had no reason not to question it.

But then on one of the days Bendy was kept locked up, he got bored and decided to dig through some of the boxes that were stored in the back of the room. One of the boxes had old black-and-white photos of when the studio first opened. And one of those photos had a picture of Henry.

That photo was a bullet to the brain.

That one photo had triggered all the memories of when Bendy was just a simple sketch on paper. For the first time, he knew what it felt like to be Bendy the Dancing Demon, the Bendy who was supposed to be loved. And someone had loved him...

And Bendy wanted him back.

Without thinking, Bendy had roared and punched a sizable hole in the wall. Stunned, he had slowly pulled his fist back and stared at it. That was the moment Bendy learned something very important.

He was dangerous.

And for the first time in his miserable existence, Bendy truly smiled.

Oh, he had wreaked such glorious havoc that day. Expensive equipment was crushed, walls and ceilings crumbled, and blood splattered the floors. Bendy became the monster they all saw him as and he relished it.

Bendy felt high on a vengeful thrill as he chased Joey through the studio. When Joey realized Bendy knew he wasn't his true Creator, the Lair had tried to convince him that Henry didn't care about Bendy and that Henry abandoned them all. But Bendy was far from gullible at this point. Bendy finally figured out who really held all the power and it damn sure wasn't Joey.

But Bendy had been sloppy and he could admit that. Blinded by rage, Bendy had been too careless and Joey led him right into a trap. Once Bendy ran onto the pentagram chalked to the floor, he was trapped. Joey and the humans that survived Bendy's rampage successfully restrained him. Bendy's screeches were of pure agony and fury as the humans wove chains through his hands. He was strung up to a chair and left on the lowest level to rot in the dark.

But those chains couldn't hold Bendy forever.

It may have taken a few years but Bendy did indeed escape. He had been surprised by a few changes that were made to his home. Joey apparently had many more failed experiments and dumped them all down here in the lower levels of the studio. But this wasn't a problem. Bendy had a long time to stew in betrayal, anger, and loneliness. This? This he can work with.

The other ink creatures had varying degrees of intelligence but they all understood one thing. Bendy was in charge. Fueled from respect and terror, they followed every order and command Bendy demanded from them. In a way, he was a king ruling over his own kingdom.

His new "subjects" were useful in Bendy's goal of getting his claws on Joey. The filthy little Lair had put up wards and traps to keep Bendy down in the lower levels and well away from him. But the ink creatures were able to get past those and scout out the areas and sometimes bring Bendy useful things. He decided to call his new helpers Searchers.

His Searchers were very handy and thanks to them, Bendy occasionally managed to get ahold of one of his old tormentors. But none of them were Joey.

Bendy should have been more suspicious when he found a hallway lacking any protection against him. Bendy had Joey within his grasp when he got a bucketful of acetone poured over him.

It was a terrible feeling. Bendy had been too shocked and pained to pay attention to Joey. The Traitor had recited one of his horrible spells and Bendy was reduced to nothing but a puddle of ink. His new prison had been the Ink Machine's prototype, repurposed into an inescapable cage. It could only be opened on the outside.

For the longest time, Bendy was fueled with unquenchable rage. But then the years dragged by and it was dulled by unbearable loneliness and hopelessness. His anger was by no means gone, but now he was in despair. There was no one on the face of this earth that would pull the lever and let him out.

Or so he thought.

Years ago he developed quite the neat trick. There were cutouts of his cartoon character all over the studio and if he focused hard enough, Bendy could see through them. One at a time. It was a great way to stalk Joey. But now it just served to pass the time.

Bendy could hardly believe it when a familiar face waltzed right through the front doors of the studio. The human was much older, his hair developing gray streaks and wrinkles lined his face but Bendy would know that man anywhere.

It was his Creator!

Bendy never thought he'd get the opportunity to meet Henry Stien but there he was! Only a few rooms away!

From the cutout in the hallway, Bendy watched Henry discover the dead Boris Clone before heading for the exit. He felt mixed emotions as Joey lured him away from the front door and into the room where he kept the Ink Machine. There weren't any cutouts in that room so he had no idea what was happening. But then Henry was running down the hallway with Joey hot on his heels. It was sheer dumb luck when Henry locked himself in the same room as Bendy.

Henry's shocked, pale face was proof enough that he had no idea Bendy was the one trapped in the machine, but he was no less grateful to him. Before he could make an introduction, Joey interrupted. Bendy saw red.

This time he almost had Joey. The Liar was hiding in one of those accursed Miracle Stations but the room he disappeared in was small enough. If he felt around, Bendy would find it and he could already imagine himself ripping the door off its hinges.

But then he heard Henry scream.

Bendy instantly knew what happened. Right before he was trapped the second time, he had a few Searchers set up a trap door near the exit. Poor Henry must have triggered it.

Joey could wait. His Creator needed him.

Bendy hardly registered Henry's scared expression, it was basically his normal at this point. Instead, he rushed over and embraced his Creator in a hug he'd been dreaming of for years. He was starved for any sort of physical contact. Bendy thought he would explode from euphoria when Henry stopped struggling and actually patted his back. Bendy was instantly attached.

He got a little worried when Henry didn't recognize him at first. But then he did something incredible.

"Bendy?"

No one, not one person in the thirty years of his existence did anyone call him Bendy. It didn't matter that the name was said in the form of a question. Henry had looked at him and recognized him for who he was meant to be. It was all so perfect!

But then Henry tried to leave.

Bendy couldn't - wouldn't - lose the only person who ever really mattered. He didn't like using force on Henry and he hated how absolutely terrified Henry was of him. Nothing Bendy did or said could reassure his animator. Henry just needed time, that was all.

When it was brought up, Bendy thought Henry would be excited about becoming immortal. After all, that was what Joey and all the other humans wanted. That was why he was brought to life and experimented on. But the whole idea only made Henry panic even more.

Henry truly wasn't like any of the other humans.

Bendy did his best to comfort Henry, he didn't mean to upset him. He felt bad when Henry told him about his wife but Bendy decided that he needed Henry a lot more than she did. It really was for the best anyway. His Creator would be young again, he would never age and never die.

Besides, Bendy just got his Creator back, something he had only dared to dream about. He couldn't stand the idea of losing Henry to human mortality. Bendy had been through so much, he deserved to keep his Creator. He would make it up to Henry. He would keep his human nice and safe forever. It might take a while, but Bendy would make sure Henry was happy and content in his new home.

Bendy had been too distracted to notice Henry reaching for a passing shelf. The acetone burned like fire but the disappearance of the weight in his arms was what really sent Bendy into a frenzy.

Henry sprinted away and Bendy couldn't recover fast enough. Despair pierced his inky heart and Bendy flew into a panicked flurry. Bendy tore through the studio but he lost his Creator.

Ink dripped uncontrollably down Bendy's face.

Bendy wanted - no, Bendy needed his Creator. He needed love. He needed affection.

He needed Henry.