Bendy needs a soul…

Without one, he was nothing but a monster…

Was Ben the part of Allison's essence he could've had if the fusion succeeded? Perhaps, though Bendy didn't understand why his ink brought on a new life, even if it was just a fragment of himself.

Ben was everything he ever wanted, everything he ever needed, and quite possibly everything left to be perfect.

In fact, all that positivity that radiated off the boy only made the monster envy him. It was almost as if Ben was closer to being perfect than Bendy. That wasn't fair. Why did something like Ben, who wasn't - no - isn't even Bendy, deserve to be treated fairly when underneath lies a monster just as foul? Was it because the child appeared human? If that was true, there's no reason for anyone to loathe Bendy because of that.

Just because he has a smile doesn't mean he's happy...

And just because he has no soul doesn't mean he knows what it feels like to suffer.

Bendy returned to his throne, absolutely outraged he failed to combine with Ben. Slowly strolling over to his chair, the monster's heaving echoed within the room before he sat down. The Ink Demon slowly lifted his head to watch the projectors, and he couldn't help but feel angrier. If his own progeny feared him, how can anyone else think otherwise? Family is supposed to love you, no matter what you are.

Stealing Ben's soul was the only way for Bendy to achieve his desire.

After all, the bond family has is inseparable.

When the Ink Demon fled, both Allison and Ben finally crept out from the miracle station. The angel immediately went to retrieve her sword while Ben stayed put beside the station. He quietly watched Allison grab her weapon and inspect it for any damage. Despite this strange lady saving him, the boy was skeptical since he's never come across somebody like her before.

In fact, there was something about her that made her seem familiar.

Allison held her weapon close as she now focused on Ben, who couldn't help but continue keeping his eyes on her. Seeing him made her lips curve into a smile, and she chuckled as he still seemed to be flabbergasted. However, Ben had to quickly knock himself back to reality, and he cleared his throat to get rid of the awkward silence between them.

"I-I want to thank you." he replied, trying his best not to bluff. "For y'know...saving me."

"Pleasure's mine." Allison replied before glancing around their surroundings, "Now, we probably should get moving. The Ink Demon's lair isn't far, and it won't be long until he searches for us again." Ben raised a brow to her response.

"How'd you even get here? Did you fall and hit your head too?"

Allison smiled, clearly amused. "Let's just say it pays to carry a rope."

Ben shrugged. "Well, I know there's a way through the film vault, but -"

"You don't want to go through there. Death lies that way."

Confused, Ben furrowed his brows, but his eyes then slightly widened when he finally understood the memo. "Oh..."

Allison turned her attention back towards the Administration gate. "I'm sure if we find a way to get this to open, we can reach the barge." Ben snickered at the idea, and Allison turned her head to him with a frown, "What's funny?"

"I don't mean to brag, but I've got some magic in me." Ben smiled coyly, "Might wanna step aside."

Allison raised her eyebrows as Ben walked his way over towards the gate. She was even more surprised when he rubbed his hands together and thrusted them forward, using all his strength to break the gate open. He wasn't successful and kept making exaggerated grunts, causing Allison to eventually chuckle at his failure.

Ben heard her laugh and quickly came up with a silly excuse. "Magic's being a little stubborn, but don't you worry! Your boy got this!"

Allison continued to watch Ben try to get the gate open, but after several attempts, the boy realized that his strength wasn't the solution they're looking for. Taking a step back, Ben glared at the gate and folded his arms, slightly annoyed that his plan to impress Alice failed. Allison noticed his frustration and stepped close to him, ruffling his dark hair.

"You know, you remind me of a good friend of mine."

"Please tell me it's not Bendy." Ben huffed.

"Tom."

Ben's eyes widened as he was absolutely speechless. Tom? Tom?! His father? She knew him? How?! Tom never mentioned anybody other than Henry, but even then, the boy had no clue Henry even existed until the wolf brought him to dinner.

Who knows what other secrets the wolf has...

"Y-You know Tom?!" Ben asked, alarmed.

"Of course, he's my partner. Well...he was." Allison sighed dejectedly. Ben noticed her demeanor change and tilted his head, instantly concerned.

"Hey Alice? You alright?"

"I'm not sure. The last time I saw Tom was when...the Ink Demon..." Allison sighed again, squinting her eyes as she tried to not remember that gruesome day, "Slaughtered us when we weren't looking." Ben gasped under his breath. He was completely speechless as Allison continued on, "They say when the Ink Demon kills you, you never come back. That means you're forever trapped inside the dark puddles, constantly being dragged deeper and deeper away from the light. With all those souls trapped inside, grabbing and holding you back, there's no way for you to get out."

Ben didn't like how this sounded, but he stayed respectful as Allison went on. "I tried to find Tom there, but I had no luck. I didn't understand it at first, but I had the strangest feeling that he must've escaped and is out here somewhere. So, I had to find him."

"H-How'd you get out?" Ben asked.

"That's a good question I don't even know the answer to."

There was a moment of silence as Ben and Allison continued to gaze into each other's eyes. One was filled with pure kindness and love, while the other was completely captivated by beauty. Ben didn't know why, but the lingering desire of having a mother in his life made him believe that maybe - just maybe - Allison could be the mom he's always hoped for.

Ben's eyes then noticed something sticking out from Allison's belt. "Hey, what's that?" He asked, pointing at the particular item.

"Hmm?" Allison looked down towards her stomach and pulled out her miniature crucifix. "What, this? It's nothing special. Just something I feel I should carry around. Y'know, to keep the monsters at bay and stuff."

"Can I see it?"

"I don't see why not?" Allison replied before handing the crucifix to Ben. He took it from her and inspected the wooden cross, but he paused as he felt an odd sensation in his hand. It was starting to get a little warm in his hand...and now it's hot. Really, really hot!

Ben hollered in pain, immediately dropping the crucifix that burned the palm of his hand. Allison gasped and took a step back as the two were absolutely stunned. Ben winced and slowly turned his hand to inspect his wound. It sizzled and popped with the shape of the crucifix burned deep in his flesh.

The boy focused hard to let his ink heal the wound, and Allison watched with disbelief upon witnessing the process. Ben's painful grimace then turned back into a satisfied smile. He inspected his hand for a moment before grinning up at Allison. "I'm alright now, see? Good as new!"

Allison was absolutely speechless before retrieving her charm. What in the world did she just see?

"I think I know a way we can get to the other side." Ben stated as he turned his attention back towards the gate, "But we're gonna need to teleport. You can teleport right?"

Allison shook her head. "Not all the time. That's something only the Ink Demon can do."

"Well Alice, I guess it's your lucky day."

"Why's that?"

"Cause I can!"

Without hesitation, Ben reached for her hand and pulled her as they ran towards the gate. Allison begged him not to do so, but before they knew it, a portal of ink appeared before them and they slipped through. Once they crossed over, Ben released Allison's hand and placed his hands to his hips. Allison, on the other hand, was too baffled to even ask how Ben was able to use portals, but she knew they must hurry to the river soon before Bendy finds them again.

The gibberish of Piper could then be heard coming from somewhere down the hall, causing the two angels to jerk their heads. Questions and answers would be resolved later, but right now, there were more important things that needed to be focused on.

"We need to be cautious." Allison declared, "And quiet. Luckily, these guys are not very aware of their surroundings, so as long as we stay out of sight, we'll be able to find that door somewhere."

"So you're saying we have to check every door until we find the right one?" Ben whispered.

"Yes, I'm afraid we have to. There's many doors here, so it's not gonna be an easy find."

Ben frowned in annoyance. Great, this'll be fun. Looking for the door that'll lead them to the barge while trying to not get caught. Got it.

The boy gazed up at Allison and faked a smile with a thumbs up. Determined, Allison smiled and patted his back encouragingly.

"That's the spirit! Now, we'll split up. You go down the right, and I'll take the left."

"Sure, whatever you say." Ben replied with a coy smile, "I'm sure I can get to that door before you ever can."

Allison raised a brow and chuckled. She definitely liked this kid's spunk. "Challenging me, huh? Well, guess two can play that game."

Ben gave her a depraved smile. "And only one to win."

Ben slowly peeked down the right hall just as Piper turned the corner. Allison followed suit on the other side before they took one more look at each other. The angels then shared a smile before they both took off on their race to find the door.

Piper was oblivious to the kid behind him, and Ben couldn't believe that a creature like this lacked so much knowledge. Oh well, whether or not he's caught, Ben knows that his abilities will be useful to defend himself if needed.

Ben continued to silently stroll behind Piper, mocking and imitating him as he slowly opened doors. Piper then stopped for a brief moment to rest, having walked around these halls thirty-five times now, and Ben stopped short right behind him. Impatient and desperate to win the game, Ben angrily gestured his arms and hands at Piper to move, but the monster just stayed put.

Ben threw a silent fit, stomping up and down as Piper wouldn't budge. The kid didn't know what else to do in order to get him moving again. Alice probably found the door by now, and Ben was damned to let someone like Alice Angel beat him at this game. He wasn't going to lose to that lady! He just wasn't!

Suddenly, an idea hit. Since he was the Ink Demon's kin, perhaps there's another advantage to use in order to get this monster out the way. No, not by killing or taking his soul, but by giving him a piece of mind. After all, the boy doubted that the pipe wrench Piper was holding would do anything to him. Grinning maliciously, Ben rubbed his hands together and began towering right behind Piper.

The monster didn't have a chance to react as Ben pounced and wrestled him to the ground. Raging, Piper still managed to retain hold of his weapon, and tried to whack his attacker as best he could. He managed to finally bonk Ben on his head, but the sharp blow only left a small inky wound.

Piper continued to strike him either way.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Ben winced upon the hits before releasing Piper. He decided that maybe this strategy wasn't going to work exactly like he planned. Throwing Piper back several feet, Ben immediately raced down the hallway and opened every door as fast as he could. Piper angrily ranted and sought after him. Ben ignored him. His mind was only focused on finding that door and beating Alice.

"Come on, come on, doordoordoor!" Ben panicked.

"BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH!"

Annoyed that none of these were the right doors, Ben needed a faster method to find where he needed to go. With Piper already pursuing him, the kid needed to stay out of sight since he already screwed things up.

Great. What else can he do wrong?

Ben jerked around to see Piper had finally caught up with him, holding his wrench high to send the brat a death blow from behind. However, just before he could succeed, Ben yelped in alarm before running straight into the nearest wall.

Piper angrily vented upon his failure and Ben slowly poked his head from behind the door window. He snickered seeing Piper stomp his feet and slowly turning in circles. To keep himself from bursting into laughter, Ben placed a hand over his mouth and squinted his eyes shut.

Fisher and Striker then came from the other corner, but they stopped short when they saw Piper on the floor, kicking and angry as he wriggled uncontrollably. Ben still kept his mouth covered as the other two were absolutely baffled by Piper's behavior.

Figuring that he was unstable, both Fisher and Striker knew that they needed to remove this Piper clone from watch duty. With that, the two Butcher clones went for Piper's legs and began dragging him away. Despite the gibberish nonsense, Piper begged them to not remove him, informing them of the trespasser that attacked him.

Ben slowly then emerged from the wall and grinned as Piper continued yelling. He then noticed Ben waving goodbye, and he tried to get Fisher and Striker to turn behind them and look.

"BLAHBLAHBLAH!" Piper pointed with his wrench.

"YEAHYEAHYEAH!" Striker annoyingly responded.

As they finally turned the corner, Ben exhaled happily before continuing the other way.

Ben continued on his mission to open doors, but it seemed like none were leading to any hallways he was looking for. Agitated and quickly losing interest, the young boy sulked around the last hall he was in before coming across two doors opposite of each other. A small round table stayed right in the middle, and it had another one of those tapes on it.

Ben's eyes widened when he recognized the small device. Not even a second had passed as Ben found himself standing in front of the recorder, taking the device in his hands and gazing at it like candy.

And just as he was about to press the play...

"There you are!" Ben nearly inked himself upon Allison's voice coming out of nowhere. Nearly dropping the tape from his hands, Ben managed to catch it and hold it close as she continued, "I found the door just down the next hall. You missed a corner so I beat you to it. But when you didn't show up...well... I figured you might've been in trouble. So, is everything okay?"

"O-Of course!" Ben replied, avoiding eye contact as he tried to hide the device in his arms, "Absolutely!"

"Guess that means I win, huh?" Allison smirked down at him.

Ben smacked his lips as he rolled his eyes. "Yes Alice, you win. But only because I let you off easy!"

Allison chuckled, not believing the little troublemaker one bit. "Right. Alright then, let's go. We need to get going."

As the angel walked away and turned the corner, Ben waited until she was out of sight to take one final look at the tape he found...

"Well, here it is."

Allison and Ben finally arrived at the barge and overlooked the silent river of darkness. If Ben didn't know better, he'd say that teleportation sounded like a better option. But this? This was another spot that the boy was unfamiliar with, and he didn't wish to go through.

Gulping, Ben took a step back. "I-I don't think this is the way."

"It's alright, there are no monsters down this river. At least...none that I'm aware of."

"You do know that-" Ben cut off while pointing a finger at the river, "There IS a monster that lurks in there right?"

"I've heard rumors." Allison explained before shrugging at the idea, "But as long as you keep quiet, like what you should've done back there, we should be fine." Ben slumped and grinned nervously upon the angel giving him the stink eye. When he had nothing else to say, she smiled. "Come on, let's get going."

Ben followed with the playful roll of his eyes. Hopping into the boat, he sat at the end and fake-pouted while Allison turned on the switch, sending them on their way.

The ride down the tunnel was both an awkward and silent one for Ben and Allison. Though they both felt somewhat connected, the two angels didn't know how to start a proper conversation. Allison didn't mind Ben, however, she was a bit intimidated considering that he's some sort of fiend.

Ben gazed around their surroundings, trying to keep himself occupied. Not long ago did it seem that he and Alice were close, but now, it felt awkward and different. The boy figured it had something to do with the wooden cross earlier, but he didn't understand why that happened to him specifically. In his mind, he thought it was just a silly prank.

Glancing back at Alice, Ben furrowed his brows and was eager to talk with her, but he sighed and rested his head against his knees. He was a little shy to start any conversation this time.

"So, how do you know Tom?"

Ben lifted his head to Allison, her back still facing him as she waited for his response.

"Well, I, uhm-" Ben trailed off, unsure of where to begin, "He's my dad."

Allison froze and suddenly stopped the boat. Ben rose to his feet and felt his heart pounding, unsure whether or not he angered her. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you mad!"

Allison turned her down at Ben, who grew anxious upon seeing her speechless gaze.

"I'm sorry Alice." Ben sighed dejectedly before lowering his head, "I didn't mean to offend you in any way. I hope you'll forgive me if I did anything to upset you."

Allison's eyes only widened more when she noticed Ben beginning to sniffle. The boy tried his best to withstand the tears burning his senses, but he succumbed and let them fill in his eyes. Then, Allison immediately gazed up as the sounds of gooping ink came from above them. In less than five seconds, the tunnel began to pour with ink rain.

Allison gasped and held onto the boat as the river started growing waves and began rocking the vehicle. She knew that Ben had something to do with this, and she was determined to make him feel better. Although, she had to worry about holding onto something tight since she didn't wanna risk falling back into the puddles. The angel continued to hold onto dear life as Ben's emotions still had a restraint on him.

Allison knew she had to intervene and stop this meltdown. If not, they'll surely be two unfortunate fates instead of one.

Determined to help this youngling, Allison tried to maintain her balance, slowly letting her hands guide the way to reach the distraught child. "Hey, it's alright! I wasn't mad, but don't let the ink control you!"

Ben lifted his head from his hands and held tears in his eyes. The rain and current only grew stronger as a result of his emotions. "I'm sorry, Alice. I-I really am. But my dad…I know he's looking for me. I miss him!"

Allison bit her lip, unsure of how to respond. She was still confused as to how Ben was Tom's son, but she shrugged that idea off for now.

"Listen, I know you miss your father." Allison began as she stared into Ben's eyes, "But whatever happened to split you, I know he's looking for you. It may seem like he doesn't care, but he's a loving dad who'll do anything for you."

"No, I'm a monster! How could he ever love a thing like me?!" Ben spat.

Just as Ben turned his head away, Allison used her hand to have him keep eye contact with her.

"No matter what you are, you will always be loved for being yourself."

Ben's eyes welled with more tears, and he threw himself to embrace Allison. She was taken aback for a second, but with the boy burying his head in her shoulder, she figured she finally did her part.

The current instantly stopped as the river returned to normal, and the rain vanished along with it. Allison gently patted Ben on his back, despite having felt some protruding spikes underneath. Shushing him, Allison began stroking his back as she hummed the Bendy theme song, rocking both herself and Ben side to side.

Hearing her angelic melody for the first time relaxed Ben. He sighed with relief and kept embracing her. She even began stroking the back of his head to soothe him more.

"You're alright." Allison whispered in his ear. "Everything is alright."

Despite the tender moment, a sudden shift from the river caught her attention behind them. She narrowed at the ink closely before realizing there was something else to worry about. Ben's senses then detected a massive heartbeat, and he quickly jerked his head to see that the underwater beast found them.

Before they knew it, the gloved hand slammed down on the barge, destroying it completely and sending the two angels flying. Ben hollered before splashing into the river, submerging deep under before he swam up to the surface. Gasping for air, and seeing pieces from the boat around him, Ben panicked as his eyes searched for Alice.

"Alice? Alice!" Ben called for her, "Alice, where are you!"

And that's when he recalled something she mentioned earlier.

With all those souls trapped inside, grabbing and holding you back, there's no way for you to get out.

Understanding what that meant, Ben knew that the angel who saved him twice must've fallen back into the abyss. The place of hell where the Ink Demon kept all those poor souls.

The dark puddles.

Now it was his turn to do the saving.

Ben furrowed his brows as he was determined to get Alice back. Taking a deep breath, the young boy closed his eyes and sank back into the ink. He concentrated hard as he descended deeper and deeper into the dark. Then, he began to hear whispers which quickly transitioned into screams.

Ben opened his eyes and was faced with complete darkness. He also felt human hands grabbing and tugging at his clothes, but he ignored it when he finally spotted an unconscious Allison sinking in the abyss.

"Alice!"

Ben swam after her, and the void only filled with angry spirits as they felt Ben's presence. Mistaking him for Bendy, the souls were determined to trap Ben in this prison with them. That way, they can torture him for what he's done.

Ben finally reached Alice and grabbed hold of her hand. She was still unconscious, but he was strong enough to pull her up. Gazing up at the light above them, Ben took one more look at Allison before they began to swim back up. This angered the spirits, and they did the best they could to hold them back, but Ben was far too strong for them to handle.

Ben took another look down, feeling the enraged screams following them. If they don't get back to the surface in time, they'll surely meet an unfortunate end. Ben didn't look back as he and Allison swam for their lives. Determined to escape, the boy held onto the angel tight until they reached the light.

Ben and Allison finally reached the surface, and he closed the portal as soon as several hands grabbed him again. He made sure to keep Allison close, for if not, she'd vanish back into the ink. Regaining consciousness, Allison gasped for air and was surprised to see that Ben had rescued her.

"You okay Alice?" Ben asked, a sweet smile present on his mouth.

Allison was too stunned to speak, but before she could even respond, the sudden shift of something large swam right underneath them. The two angels gasped upon having forgotten about the monster in the river. Letting fear control them, Ben and Allison remained silent when they heard the monster groan nearby.

"We need to get out of this river." Allison warned.

"But there's nowhere to go!" Ben addressed.

"The dock isn't far. Try to swim back…and hurry!" she suggested while continuing to hold onto the child. Despite his anxiety, Ben nodded confidently and began to swim, sensing the monster now stalking them. Ben knew he had to hurry to shore before they ended up dead, or worse, as this beast's meal.

Grunting, Ben came to the realization that using power had weakened his system. He wasn't able to use any more speed or strength to give them a boost. Allison gasped when the giant hand rose from the ink, extending its fingers in surprise when it found them.

"Hurry!" Allison pleaded as the hand darted back into the river.

"I'm trying!" Ben exclaimed through gritted teeth, desperate to reach the dock in the distance. Noticing they were close, his lips turned into a grin before he expressed his excitement to Allison.

"Alice, look! We made it! We ma-"

Ben's voice vanished as the sound of monstrous jaws clamped shut. Everything immediately became silent, except for the groans of the giant monster submerging itself back under.

Ben and Allison screamed as they both plummeted down the monster's mouth. The boy noticed and grabbed hold of its uvula with one hand, and he quickly caught Allison's arm in the other. The echoing sounds from its throat indicated those were the noises of an empty stomach, and Ben winced as he was quickly losing his grip. He used Bendy's ability in growing some claws to latch on a little longer, but he only felt more lightheaded as a result.

"Whatever you do, don't look back!" Allison warned.

Ben looked back at the dark throat of the monster and screamed. Allison frowned in annoyance. Did this kid just not hear what she said?

"Alice!" Ben winced, "I can't hold it anymore!"

"Don't let go!"

"I'm trying!"

Suddenly the jaws of the monster opened, and the running splashes of ink immediately caught their attention. That wasn't good. That was the opposite of good! The sudden current of ink was too forceful to resist, and that's when Ben lost hold of the uvula.

The two angels screamed as they began falling down into the monster's throat.

Back in the village, two Lost Ones were contently enjoying some bacon soup on a balcony near the river. But when a monstrous burp caught them off-guard, it immediately ruined the mood.

"Really?!" the first member shouted, smacking his friend on the cheek, "Right before I eat?!"

Ben screamed as he reached the end of the esophagus, plummeting straight into the murky juice of the monster's stomach. Allison followed soon after as she nearly crashed right into him. Realizing the fate they're now in, Ben couldn't help but have a panic attack.

"Oh my god! Oh my god! Alice! We've been eaten!"

"I can see that." Allison replied. Ben began to exaggerate and fake cry while splashing his arms in the ink juice.

"We're gonna die here! We're gonna be gut soup!"

Allison frowned at Ben's imitation of wailing and sighed. This was certainly not the way to go about things.

"We're not gonna die." she addressed before glancing around, "We just need to see if we can find a way out of this first."

"How?!"

Allison took sight of one of the stomach walls and gestured for Ben to follow. "Over here, come on."

Ben swam after her, but he picked up his pace when more contents from the river entered the stomach. Allison removed herself from the juice and helped Ben up as the monster's moaning sounds filled their ears. Letting her motherly instincts out again, Allison overlooked Ben and began to wipe away the ink from his eyes. Ben felt his cheeks fluff from this, and he couldn't help but gaze into the angel's eyes.

"There's that light underneath that darkness." Allison winked before playfully pinching the bridge of his nose. Ben laughed before the moans of the monster startled him again, sending him to instinctively wrap his arms around her.

Allison chuckled as she knew what to do next. Stroking his back, she shushed him and began humming as she rested her head against his.

Her melodious tune wrapped itself around them, serving as the only form of faith they have left.