Chapter 14:

Alya groaned as she slowly returned to consciousness. The back of her head throbbed painfully as her eyes fluttered open. When she caught sight of what was in front of her, she let out a scream, causing Nino who was tied behind her to man a little but not much more. The figure before her looked like an ink-covered man. He was wearing an old pair of overalls and was wearing the head of a Bendy cutout as a mask. A hole was cut in Bendy's teeth to allow the man to speak clearly.

"There we go now," the man, who Alya recognized his voice as Sammy Lawrence, said as he adjusted the ropes around Alya and the still unconscious Nino. "Nice and tight. We wouldn't want our sheep roaming away now, would we?"

Alya was unable to respond, just staring at Sammy in shock and fear. Briefly, she wondered what was wrong with her. She had faced down all sorts of monsters before. Doing everything from scolding to interviewing them. But with these ink creatures… there was just something about them that was more instinctually frightening then akumas.

"No, we wouldn't," Sammy continued, uncaring that his prey was unresponsive. "I must admit I am honored you came all the way down here to visit me. It almost makes what I'm about to do seem cruel, especially to those so young. But the believers must honor their savor. I must have him notice me."

"P-please…" Alya said, struggling to find her voice. "Please just let us go… I promise we won't bother you anymore."

"I can't let you go, not now," Sammy replied, dismissing Alya's plea. "For our Lord is calling to us, my little sheep. The time of sacrifice is at hand! And then, I will finally be freed from this… prison. This inky… dark… abyss I call a body. Shhhh…"

Sammy paused and tilted his head as if listening to something. A moment later, Alya could hear something thumping toward them.

"Quiet! Listen!" Sammy said, almost sounding excited to Alya as the thumping continued to get louder and closer. "I can hear him. Crawling above. Crawling! Let us begin. The ritual must be completed! Soon he will hear me… he will set us free."

Sammy turned away and walked to a side room, shutting the door behind him. Alya looked down at the ropes around her and noticed a pentagram drawn beneath her.

"Nino wake up!" Alya shouted as she began struggling with the ropes. "We have to get out of here!"

Nino moaned again but showed no sign of returning to consciousness. Alya continued to struggle when the speakers in front of her crackled to life.

"Sheep, sheep, sheep. It's time for sleep." Sammy chanted through the speaker. "Rest your head. It's time for bed. In the morning you may wake. Or in the morning, you'll be dead."

Alya tried to ignore him as she continues to struggle, but it got harder as Sammy's voice turned darker and more serious.

"Hear me, Bendy! Arise from the darkness! Arise and claim my offering! Free me! I beg you!"

Alya jumped when she heard a rattling should, looking over to see a door in the distance rising.

"I summon you ink demon! Show your face and take this tender sheep!"

Alya almost screamed when a figure came through the door only to sigh in relief when she recognized Ladybug running towards them, followed closely by Adrian and Henry.

"It's about time you got here," Alya smiled, feeling a lot more confident now that her friends were here.

"Don't worry, I'll have you out in a moment," Ladybug assured, kneeling down to untie them. They all froze though when they heard a loud noise come through the speakers.

"No! My Lord!" Sammy shouted in fear. "Stay back! I am your prophet! I am your…"

Sammy's voice cut off with a scream. They all looked at each other in fear.

"We have to get out of her now!" Henry said, picking up his axe that Sammy had taken and put nearby. "Move Marinette!"

Ladybug moved to the side as Henry sliced through the ropes. Alya got up with Ladybug's help while Adrian lifted up Nino.

"What's going on?" Nino murmured as he finally started to wake up, holding his hand to his head. "And why does my head hurt so much?"

"I'll explain it to you later," Adrian replied, making sure he had a good grip on his friend. "We have to go now!"

The group began to run out of the room, Henry and Ladybug easily taking out the half-formed monsters that tried to stop them. Their progress was slowed by the boards blocking their way, but Henry was chopping through them. Just as he destroyed the last one, his axe snapped in half.

"That's not good," Henry grimaced, looking at the broken axe. "Marinette, you'll have to take point. Adrian, give Nino to me. I can carry him easier than you and we need to be able to move as fast as possible."

The teenagers complied and the group moved on. They had just entered an ink flooded room when the monster Bendy rose from the ink in front of them. The group screamed and Ladybug threw her yo-yo at it. IT bounced harmlessly off the monster and "Bendy" began to charge towards them.

"Move! Move! Move!" Ladybug ordered in a panic, herding the group down a side hallway. They sprinted down it and seemed to get away, as the inky lines on the walls began to fade. As they turned a corner, "Bendy" once again appeared from a puddle of ink and lunged towards them. His claws were extended and he was about to kill Ladybug, who had briefly frozen in surprise and fright.

"Ladybug!" Adrain shouted as he acted instinctually. He shoved Ladybug out of the way, letting out a pained yelp as "Bendy's" deadly claws grazed his shoulder.

"Adrian!" Ladybug shouted, snapping out of her stupor. She turned angrily to "Bendy" and threw her yo-yo. The yo-yo wrapped around "Bendy's" feet and caused him to trip. The group used that distraction to get away, running through the first open door they could find. Ladybug slammed it shut and quickly blocked it with a nearby board. At that moment, Marinette's transformation ended, having finally used up Tikki's energy after so long. Marinette cupped her tiered kwami as she and the others sank to the floor, all exhausted from the day. Their rest was interrupted by the sound of a thunk, followed by a soup can rolling out from around the corner.

"Hello? Someone there?" Henry called, getting up and standing in front of the teens. "I know you're in here. Come out and show yourself."

Whoever was there seemed to comply as the group heard footsteps coming closer. They were shocked to see a cartoon wolf come around the corner and come to a stop in front of them.

"Boris?"

AN: For those that were wondering, my comic is called The Ibk Demon's Playground. It can be found on my Tumblr or DeviantArt accounts, which have the same name as this account.