I swear to god I have the worst habit of writing these things and finishing them up by 3 in the morning... I'm gonna go to bed now but I hope you all enjoy the new chapter.

Next one will probably be fluff... if not expect more angst.

Henry was happy that Boris was alive and well… but he was also concerned at the same time. Last he saw the wolf was when he was cut up and on that operating table… dead. Upside his idea of using the ink from the machine to bring him back worked at least.

The most concerning part however had to be the fact Boris didn't even seem to think Henry was gone for as long as he actually was… like something had blocked out all memories of the past 30 years Henry was gone.

If anything though, the old animator was also just plain happy to see that Boris was just so happy to have him back.

"Both Ben and Alice will be so happy to see you again as well I'm sure! Soon as we can find them of course!" Boris exclaimed excitedly… not noticing the slight twitch of fear Henry had at the mention of Bendy… The twisted image of the thing that chased him coming to mind immediately along with the echoes of Sammy's screams really didn't help at all. Not to mention there was no telling what happened to Alice or if she was even alright.

"... Yeah… I'm sure they will…" Henry forced a small smile, he really didn't want to ruin Boris's mood at all with his own doubts. Though that didn't stop Henry from seeing the wolf's ears lower as he looked down at the old animator.

"... Henry?"

"Hm?"

"Why didn't you tell Ben you were going to be gone so long?"

The sad look on the wolf's face made his own heart hurt, especially from his own mistakes.

"... When you go to war… you never really know when you're gonna come back bud…" Henry looked away… he didn't dare use the word "If" in that sentence. He just… he didn't want them to worry so much.

"Oh…" Boris looked down, thoughtful about it for a moment. The wolf soon had a soft smile on his muzzle as a thought came to mind. "At least you're back now…"

The sound of banging on the door snapped the two out of their moment, especially with the sound of growls on the other side. Boris looked scared and confused on it while Henry's eyes widened… it sounded like there was more than just the monster Bendy trying to get in now. Henry almost froze up again but one look at how scared Boris seemed to be steeled his nerves and he grabbed the tall toon's arm.

"We gotta move."

Boris could only nod and quickly the two hurried away from the door.

As they left the area the door eventually cracked and ink started spreading into the room they once were.

The wolf and old animator ran down the hallway, only pausing for a moment when there were two different directions to take.

Shit, which way? Henry thought, breathing heavily. Suddenly he felt Boris's hand grab his own and start dragging him down the left hall way.

"This way! I got an idea!"

Seeing no reason to deny Boris or even take any longer to think it through from the sounds of the growing noises behind them Henry followed the tall toon as fast as he could.

The duo had turned down the hall quickly before finding a random door that was left ajar and hurried into it before Boris closed the door as quietly and quickly as possible. Once that was done both he and Henry took stock of the room and then moved a few boxes of unsold Bendy merchandise in front of the door, then waited. Henry took the time waiting to scope out any other doors in the room or even openings that could serve as a quick escape…

He nearly forgot to check for ink puddles already in the room… especially the large ones. So when a Searcher popped out and started quickly crawling over towards them almost everything seemed to go in slow motion for the old animator.

Boris had turned around and spotted the ink torso and looked horrified, at least two more pulled themselves out of the ink puddles, Henry had blindly reached for anything he could use as a weapon… and the first searcher was mere inches away from them.

When Henry's hand had grabbed something he used all the force he could muster in his old bones to smash it down onto the first searcher before it could even put it's claws on Boris. That something he used… was a Bendy cut out. Surprisingly enough it did it's job in turning the Searcher back into formless ink but the head of the cut out had broken. Though that didn't stop the man from using the rest of it to take the other two Searcher's out as best he could.

It seemed like it took minutes for everything to happen… but really it only barely reached the two minute mark for it to end, and once it did Henry immediately went to checking over Boris to make sure the wolf was alright, dropping what was left of the cutout onto the ground. Aside from being scared and not knowing just what those things were, Boris seemed to be just fine… now if only Henry could find another exit from this room.

Just as Henry was thinking that both he and Boris froze at the sound of a few more of the Searchers outside the room… as well as "Bendy" from what Henry heard. Both held their breaths and kept their mouths shut, daring not to make any noise as the sounds outside increased… only for it to all fade away slowly as the room was overlooked.

They both waited one, two, three heartbeats long until it was nothing but dead silence on the outside and both breathed out in relief.

Boris didn't know at all what to think now… Hell he didn't even know what was going on here anymore. Last thing he remembered before waking up was meeting with Joey and… and Bendy was screaming something… then…. Then nothing. Boris had no idea what happened after that or anything that followed it aside from him waking up, strapped to a table with an ink pipe practically blasting him with ink, wandering around the studio being confused on why everything looked so run down then finding Henry…

Boris needed answers.

"What… What were those things?" was the first question that made itself known. The wolf watched how the man breathed unevenly, still trying to catch as much of his breath as he could.

"Honestly… I don't know… Been calling them Searchers though," Henry admitted as he rubbed a hand through his hair.

Now that I really think about it though… Boris thought to himself, his pie cut eyes looking Henry up and down… taking in the greying hair and the wrinkles that were not there from the last time Boris remembered seeing him… nor did he remember seeing the man having a few scars either. Henry looks… so different now… Does… Does a war really change someone this much?

Then something else caught Boris's eye… just behind Henry, Boris saw a puddle of ink pulling all the pieces of the broken Bendy cutout back together and into it's original place. His eyes widened at what he was seeing… even as the puddle seemed to stop half way in what it was doing and seemed to be frozen at the wolf's gaze.

"... Boris? What's wrong bud?" Henry asked, growing concerned when he saw the tall toon practically frozen in place.

"Henry…" Boris started out slowly, not taking his eyes off the seemingly sentient ink puddle. He honestly didn't know what else to say… What the hell were you supposed to say when you see something as strange as an ink puddle putting a cardboard cutout back together at a rapid pace only to stop at the halfway point of the head and seemed to stare back at you?

So he decided to say nothing… but that didn't stop him from pointing at it. Henry turned to look and his own eyes widened as he knew for a fact he broke the damn thing… and that there wasn't an ink puddle there last he checked.

Instinctively Henry got in front of Boris, trying to shield the toon away from the… thing as it seemed to just sit there.

Though after a moment of nothing happening Henry and Boris were both startled as they watched it finish reassembling the cutout, good as new and faces it towards them before fading into it. Ink shifted on the Bendy cutout eternally smiling face… making it seem more like a sheepish, nervous smile. Some of the ink dripped onto the floor, and looking down at it both Henry and Boris watched as it formed two words.

Hiya guys.

"Bendy?!" Both Boris and Henry questioned at the same time.