AN: Who's ready for a little angst?

"Found you!" Chris laughed as he finally spotted Bendy hiding in the bushes. The Little Ink Demon laughed himself as he came out of his hiding spot and joined the rest of the kids who had already been found. Bendy, Boris, and Alice were playing hide and seek with the neighborhood kids. They were playing at the edge of the forest by the playground. It allowed the toons to play more freely without having to worry about someone seeing through their disguises but close enough that none of the kids would get lost or in trouble. Besides, the woods were just full of great hiding spots.

"Bendy's the last one," Kevin said once Bendy and Chris were close. "You know what that means."

"I'm it!" Bendy smiled, heading over to a tree to start counting. "Ready! 1… 2… 3…"

Though Bendy couldn't see anything, he easily heard the kids scatter and run into the trees to find their hiding spots. Bendy's smile widened as he continued to count. Never in all the time he had been trapped in the studio, even when he had first been created, had he even dreamed his life would turn out like this. He would never imagine he would have people that truly cared about him and friends he could play with who wasn't scared of him for what he was. It was so wonderful and there were still days when he thought this might all be just a dream and he wakes up back in the depths of the Studio. But as hard as it was sometimes to adjust to the outside world, Bendy would never do anything to give it up.

"Ready or not… Here I come!" Bendy shouted as he finished counting and began walking into the woods. He snuck quietly as he searched for the kids, looking back and forth for any sign of them. His heart beat in excitement as he walked. He loved this game so much! The mystery of searching through the woods… the thrill of the hunt in searching for prey… the power that comes from instilling fear into the victims… the satisfaction of proving just why they should be afraid…

Bendy didn't even notice as his thoughts took a darker turn nor when his form began to grow, tearing through his clothes and leaving their shredded remains trailing behind him. The forest fell silent as ink shadows began to spread across the trees, the critters hiding within sensing a very dangerous predator had just entered their midst. The Ink Demon's horns wriggled slightly as he stalked forward in search of prey to rip to shreds. He soon heard a heartbeat nearby that belong to something much large than a squirrel or a bird, two of them in fact. He immediately went towards the closer one.

The Ink Demon could hear the heart beat faster, though it wasn't in fear. Oh well… they would learn why they needed to be afraid soon enough. The Ink Demon came around the tree and loomed over the one that had picked such a foolish hiding spot. His prey, a small human girl, squeaked in surprise at being found.

"Bendy! You scared me," Emily gasped, smiling up at the Ink Demon. For a moment, the Ink Demon thought she seemed familiar but it was soon pushed aside. "I wasn't expecting you to be in this form. So am I the first one you found?"

The Ink Demon ignored the small girl's rambling moving so that she wouldn't be able to escape if she tried to run. It had been a while since he hunted something, so he was going to take his time with this one to fully enjoy it. His grin vibrated briefly as he had a strange feeling that this wasn't right…

"Bendy?" Emily asked nervously, her smile faltering as the Ink Demon towered over her. The Ink Demon was going to enjoy tearing his prey to shreds. Flexing his claws, the Ink Demon moved to strike as the girl's mouth opened in a silent scream. No… Stop…

"BENDY! DON'T!"

The shout surprised the Ink Demon and threw off his aim, though he still tore through cloth before his claws gouged the tree. For an instant, he felt great relief only for it to be drowned by his mounting fury. The Ink Demon whirled around and growled at the one who shouted. How dare that angel to challenge him! It seems he was going to have to teach her another lesson…

A whimper behind the Ink Demon reminded him he still had prey to deal with. He turned back around to finish the girl off but froze when he looked at her. Tears were streaming down her face as she clutched her shoulder, red blood staining her fingers. The Ink Demon… Bendy… stumbled backward as the realization came to him, letting out a heartbroken whine. He had been about to kill one of his friends… someone who had never hurt him and whom he cared about… all because he had lost himself to his instincts…

Bendy gripped his head as his bloodlust tried to overwhelm him again, demanding that he take the life from his prey. The Liar was right… he was nothing but a monster… He had to get out of here! Before he hurt someone else…

Bendy turned and started running deeper into the woods. He had to get as far away from everyone and everything as possible. He couldn't risk anyone being near him.

"BENDY!" Alice called, attempting to chase after him. "Come back! We'll work this out!"

But Bendy ignored her, getting farther and farther ahead as he ran. Soon he left her far behind, but he didn't stop running. He was too dangerous to be around…

Henry sighed as he crumpled up another piece of paper and tossed it into his overflowing trash can. He just couldn't concentrate as he had a growing feeling that something was wrong. He got up and headed toward the front door. Maybe he'd feel better once he checked on the toons…

Just as he was about to open it, a frantic knocking came from it. His heart skipped a beat as he wrenched the door open to find Matt and Beth holding Emily between them, Emily holding a bleeding shoulder.