A/N: This one wasn't altered too much, more or less cleaned up. Should read a fair bit smoother though, have at 'em!
Operation Get The Hell Out Of Here:
It couldn't have been more than a few hours later that Bendy began to stir, coming back to wakefulness slowly at first before nearly jumping out of his skin when he realized that he was being held.
"'S alright, Bendy. Just me." The familiar voice did put the kibosh on his fear, as the events of the past few hours came flooding in. Breathing in and out, Bendy finally looked up at Boris, feeling his face settle into a somewhat sheepish grin.
"Figured, sorry about that."
Boris opened his mouth to answer, though a growing rumble in the pipes overhead caused the pair of them to look up, the wolf with confusion and the little devil with trepidation. What now?
But it seemed that the noise didn't herald anything trying to get through the door, as it passed with little to no fanfare. Bendy let out a breath that he didn't realize he was holding and pushed himself to stand, Boris following soon after. The little devil pat down his coat and rearranged his scarf more out of habit than anything else, though in the moment of calm something rattled its way loose from his brain.
"Wait, Boris?"
"Yeah Bendy?"
"Do you…know where th' others are? Alice, Henry…?" When the little devil turned back to look at Boris, he tried not to let his disappointment show at the lack of an answer on the wolf's face.
"Sorry, Bendy. I didn't see anyone when I was runnin' down to th' lift."
"Oh." Came on a quiet exhale. Really, there wasn't much more Bendy felt like offering to that; getting upset with Boris certainly wouldn't solve anything.
"I'm sorry." The wolf offered, ears beginning to lower closer to his head. Bendy blinked, glancing up at Boris and immediately noticing the change from relatively chipper to contrite.
"It's alright, Boris, we might see them later, right? I mean," The little devil tried, putting a considerable amount of effort into sounding optimistic. ", just 'cause you didn't see them doesn't mean they ain't here."
"Good point." Boris offered after a moment of thought.
"Course it was." Bendy replied, keeping his voice flippant as he grabbed his axe. Which really only lasted for a few moments as the smaller toon remembered the situation they were in. "So, how do we get out of here?"
"We could try th' lift." Boris offered, the little devil internally kicking himself at forgetting the earlier mention the wolf had made. Just blame it on the earlier stress…
The pair easily padded their way over to the metallic grate. Bendy tried not to eye it with too much trepidation; Boris had used it with no problem after all.
Still, the clanking noises that the grate made when it opened weren't giving him confidence. But when the alternative was to stay down here with creepy-cut outs, things in jars, and the thing that really didn't want Bendy to get away, well, the little devil figured he could summon some up from somewhere.
It didn't stop him from mentally bracing for the inevitable sounds of the lift groaning as though on its last legs, the shuddering clanks and creaks bespeaking of years without maintenance or upkeep to the parts. Boris didn't look too outwardly worried, but Bendy caught the wolf glancing upwards a couple of times, almost as though gauging how to climb out if they got stuck. The lift eventually ground to a halt at the next floor, grated door sliding open with only a faint groan of aged metal.
Which would have been fine except for the fact that judging from the look on Boris's face, this wasn't the floor he was hoping to get off on. From what Bendy could remember of falling through the floor to the basement, there were at least three floors between them and the ground floor. Could've been more but plummeting through them didn't exactly give him time to survey how many.
He might have actually tried to ask Boris if the wolf had meant to get to the ground floor, but the metal cage gave a sudden, ominous groan that had both toons diving through the door just in time for the lift to break entirely and slide back down with a continuous shriek of metal against metal.
It was old, the little devil tried to reason. It was probably a lot harder coming back up than it was going down. Just an accident.
But, a new, slippery line of thought went, has anything really been accidental for you since you set foot in this place?
"Guess that might'a been a mistake…" Boris quietly murmured, seemingly to himself though in the silence it was certainly loud enough for Bendy to hear. Shoving off the somewhat morbid thoughts, the smaller toon shrugged and attempted to keep his voice light.
"Least we're out of th' room." Despite his summoned bravado, Bendy still couldn't help but glance nervously around the hall. It looked about the same as the basement and ground floor, dripping ink from the odd crevasse and seeming like anyone trying to simply go down the hallway would need to check for rotting floorboards. "They still got th' stairs in th' same places, right?"
"Y-Yeah, they should." Boris put in somewhat haltingly, the unsure tone causing Bendy to glance up at the wolf's face. It suddenly struck the little devil that he really didn't know how long Boris, if this was the same wolf that he'd seen upstairs, had been…out of commission. They could both be dealing with a completely different floor plan, for all Bendy knew. Though the tension stewing in his gut was threatening to come back, the devil quietly mollified it with the thought that at least if he was stuck in here he wasn't on his own.
He just needed to bring his A-game. Boris had been dealing with him having a meltdown on the floor below, it was probably about time the little devil stepped up to the plate. Hefting the axe over a shoulder, Bendy flashed a grin he hoped was more confident than he felt.
"Well, let's get goin' then!"
Almost immediately, a smile pushed its way onto Boris's face, the wolf easily falling into step next to Bendy. For a moment, it was almost as though the scene was something from out of their toons, like the exit was going to be right around the next corner and they would just go walking off into the sunset while the credits rolled.
The illusion was somewhat shattered when something creaked from somewhere off down the hall, causing Bendy to jump and raise the axe to the ready. Boris too looked around, probably more because of Bendy's reaction than anything else.
Well, now he just felt stupid. Even so, Bendy cautiously eased off the idea that there should at least be something there to make him feel like less of an idiot. No need to tempt fate no matter how wounded his pride might have been.
"You think something's here?" Boris asked as they started walking again, not without his own dose of caution to add to the mix. Though it was exceptionally tempting to lie, Bendy couldn't deny the fact that the wolf might need to have more than a bare few clues as to what was happening. Especially if they got caught off guard, like with Sammy…
"Well, so far I've seen these ink-puddle things, they kinda just, sprout, out of th' stuff on th' floor…there's also, this other thing." Bendy paused, swallowing down his unease. How exactly was he supposed to explain that one monster to Boris in a way that wouldn't have the wolf worrying? Perhaps a little worry was good, but Bendy knew he didn't want the taller toon to feel anything like he was currently feeling.
"What thing?" Boris asked, frowning in a mix of confusion and concern.
"Well, you'll definitely know it when you see it, it's way bigger than th' other things in here." Except maybe Sammy, but Bendy wasn't sure how to broach that with the wolf just yet. "It's kind of, a mix of black and white, white on its chest but black everywhere else. It also seems to, well, like following me around. At least so far."
"Why d'you say that?" Boris questioned, and Bendy could make out the wolf looking down at him out of the corner of his eye.
"I first saw it up on th' ground floor, when I got th' ink machine going, and, well, right before I found you I saw it again." The devil managed to keep his voice firmly in the lighter, more explanation-oriented mode. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if Boris had noticed that he was skipping over a lot in his story. If the wolf did, he didn't mention it. Instead, Bendy caught a look of realization flash over Boris's face. Weird, maybe the wolf had seen somethi-.
And then Boris was jumping back with a gasp, and Bendy's heart almost leapt out of his chest because of both that and the sudden appearance of a cut-out round the corner they'd just been turning. It wasn't blocking the way, just sort of sitting turned towards them, though considering what he'd seen Bendy couldn't help entertaining the entirely serious thought of driving the axe through its stupid grinning face.
He probably shouldn't be feeling this way about something that looked like him, but blazes if he wasn't somewhat sick of these things. Boris for his part recovered fairly easily from the scare, gawking somewhat quizzically at the cutout before glancing down at Bendy. The little devil tried to look at least moderately not as bothered as he felt, though chances are he would probably be better off explaining this headache to Boris before they went any further.
Or about as well as he could, anyway…
"That…would be th' other thing I've been dealing with since I got here."
"What, these?" Boris queried, puzzled look slipping between the little devil and his cardboard counterpart innocently sitting near the wall.
"Yeah, they, uh…" Move around, peek around corners, seem to be at least friendly with Sammy, who tried to sacrifice him? "…also seem t'be kind of following me around."
Smooth, Bendy, smooth.
But Boris was nodding, giving the cutout another searching look as the pair passed by. Another long hallway awaited them, though for the moment it remained empty. Granted, that could change in a few short moments so for the time being the smaller toon still held onto his axe.
A sudden squelch from somewhere down the hall caused the pair to jump, the acoustics of the passage making it difficult to tell where the sound was coming from. If Bendy were to be exceptionally optimistic, he would hope that it was coming from somewhere behind them. Still, a quick glance around turned up nothing. The smaller toon peeked up at Boris, as maybe the wolf had seen something he hadn't, and a stomach-wrenching observation immediately made itself known.
Neither of them had thought to grab Boris something he could use to defend himself with before they'd gotten on the lift. If something were to attack them…
Bendy blinked, suppressing a shudder at the image of his friend strapped to the table upstairs, with his ribcage cracked open and pulled apart, that seared itself across the backs of his eyelids.
Hisfaulthisfaulthisfault…
"Bendy, you alright?"
The wolf had kept his voice down, but the sound still caused the little devil to almost snap to attention. No, he'd gotten distracted, had to focus, had to-.
"Y-Yeah, fine." Bendy forced out through a clenched set of teeth that could hopefully pass for a grin if he tried hard enough. He must be losing his touch; Boris wasn't looking too convinced.
And, almost as though it wanted to tap-dance on the little devil's already frayed nerves, another squelch sounded in the hall. This time, it was a little easier to pinpoint; somewhere back around the corner they had just turned, and getting closer.
Somewhere between panic and detached observation, a light bulb flicked on. Grabbing Boris's hand, Bendy led the wolf down to the end of the hall, spotting an archway through which he could see a flight of stairs. Distantly, the smaller toon could only marvel at the sheer elation the simple sight caused, though the sounds of a steady, if slow pattern of squelches coming from behind them dampened the feeling somewhat. Bendy could feel Boris starting to gain more momentum, keeping easy pace with the little devil as the pair tore up the stairs and quickly reached the landing of the next floor. Much to Bendy's displeasure, the stairs only seemed to go up to that floor, the next stairwell blocked by part of the ceiling having caved in. With a noise that crossed somewhere between a frustrated growl and a tense whine the smaller toon changed direction to the hallway, picking the second room on the right and ducking inside with Boris. A few minutes of silence passed before either of them dared to speak.
"Alright, I think we're good for the moment, but we should move on soon." Bendy whispered, quickly turning from the door to scan the room. On one wall there were a bunch of dusty animating tables, storyboards on the back wall, and off on the right side were various boxes kept close to the wall, leaving the center open. There were a few, ink-spotted sheets over things, but ultimately the room had the look of a place where the people using it had just stepped out for maybe a few months or so, like they'd be back any day now. The few, dried smears of ink on the floor, and on the walls, were the only hint to what lay outside.
"…When should we go?" Boris murmured in reply, the sudden speech snapping the little devil out of his brief reverie and back into the moment.
"Uh, in just a second, I just wanted to…" Bendy trailed off as he turned his attention to the boxes, quickly darting over and peering in as he tried to take stock of their contents. In one sat a bunch of cans of bacon soup, which Bendy only lingered on for a few moments in quiet incredulity before continuing. The next was almost empty, with a small smattering of old art supplies littering the bottom. The last was much the same, and Bendy was about to try figuring out if he could jury-rig something out of pens when Boris finally decided to chime in.
"What're we lookin' for?"
"Just…maybe somethin' like my axe…or maybe, oh!" The smaller toon dashed over to the desks, having caught sight of a loose board shoved away under one. It was a little longer than the fire axe, two finger-widths thick, and felt sturdy enough when the little devil gave it a test swing. A grin beginning to show on his face, he turned to give it to Boris. "Here, just hold onto this in case y'need it, alright?"
"Alright…" Boris replied, hesitancy plain on his face as he gingerly took the plank from Bendy's hands. The smaller toon's smile slid slowly off his face as he watched the wolf tentatively handle the board like a bat, giving it a somewhat halting swing. When Boris caught the quiet frown playing across the little devil's features, he gave a small, timidly apologetic smile.
"S-Sorry, Bendy, I was just…" The wolf paused, seeming to let whatever thoughts rattling around settle, then spoke. "It's…been that bad?"
Somehow, no clarification is really needed. Bendy can only recall what exactly has happened since he's gotten here, what he has seen, and quietly nod in response. Somehow it still feels like an admission of guilt.
The pair merely stood in awkward silence before one of them spoke, a small, barely audible 'sorry' slipping out of Bendy's mouth and into the open air. Boris blinked, the oddness of the apology clearing away the earlier hesitation.
"You don't have t'be sorry, Bendy. Pretty sure this isn't a prank." The somewhat feeble attempt did get a faint chuckle from both, though the smaller toon's humor faded much sooner.
"Yeah, I'm definitely not this patient. Even for a gag."
It was small, but the banter did help to ease some of the tension. Even so, the two toons kept their voices down as they went back and forth, falling into a familiar, if significantly quieter pattern.
"Well, if anything ever foiled you, it would be havin' t'wait for somethin'." Boris remarked, glancing into the box with the art supplies. "Remember when Henry said he had somethin' for you, but it took him th' whole day t'actually show you-?"
Bendy already knew what the wolf was talking about and could only rest his head in his hands, the embarrassment from the incident still very much alive in his memory.
"I thought I'd hurry things along by helpin' with th' story boards…" The words were somewhat muffled, but no less understandable, the grin on Boris's muzzle growing bigger as he continued.
"An' Henry came back after lunch, t-t'find you sittin' in th' middle of a bunch'a paper, with ink goin' halfway up the walls-!" Though Boris was still trying to keep his voice low, past hilarity had caused recollections to break down into barely suppressed giggles. Bendy was hardly better off; coat-sheathed shoulders shaking with mirth as he too remembered the incident in question.
"And I h-honestly thought Henry was gonna throttle m-me, but he juh-just-." And even now Bendy could remember the quiet shock and surprise as the animator merely stared at the wreckage, before sighing and giving a somewhat understanding smile to the little devil's attempts to explain.
Not that he had the oxygen to get to that part, the mere recall of the incident sending both Bendy and Boris into debilitating fits of laughter. The pair were insensate for the moment, with Bendy leaning back against the far box and Boris holding himself up on the edge of another just to stay upright. Then the board, which Boris had left leaning up against the box, slid over to clatter to the floor and both toons jumped. The laughter ceased for a moment before they realized where the noise had come from, and relaxed.
The giggles had by that point mostly tapered off, giving everyone room to breathe, and for Bendy to quietly vocalize something that had been rattling around in his mind since they'd started remembering the happier times at the studio.
"Almost makes me wish I didn't leave…"
It was soft, mostly one of those things one says out loud to themselves, but with no one else in the room and it being relatively quiet Boris picked up on it easily.
"Why did you leave, Bendy?" The wolf asked, immediately rushing to clarify. "I-I know you said it was somethin' really bad, you said you didn't feel alright stayin' here, but I don't think you ever told me what it was…you were in a real big hurry…"
Boris trailed off, thinking back to the night that the devil had left. It had seemed like a fairly normal, if quiet night. The wolf had just been thinking about heading off to bed down somewhere when he'd almost been blindsided by Bendy rushing down the hall toward him. Without speaking, the little devil had begun dragging the taller toon by the arm to one of the front rooms of the studio. Henry's, if Boris was remembering correctly. The animator had long since gone home for the night, but Bendy still liked to keep things over there so it wasn't very odd behavior.
What was odd was when the little devil had started to throw things into a small bag, just something that he'd grabbed out from under Henry's table, and told Boris that he was leaving that night. When Boris had tried to pry the reasoning out of the smaller toon, the only thing that Bendy seemed even remotely ready to talk about was that there was 'something really bad' and that he needed to get as far away from it as possible.
The real kicker had been when Bendy had asked Boris to come with him, saying that they could find Alice and just…go. Anywhere they wanted to as long as it wasn't here. He'd seemed so hopeful, though that had been quickly dashed when the wolf had proved hesitant, unwilling to make the decision between his friend and his creator.
It was a decision that Boris didn't want to say that he regretted, though at this point, seeing how things had turned out…
Snapping himself out of the somewhat depressing line of thought, the wolf looked to Bendy, realizing that the little devil hadn't answered his question, hadn't even said a word since he'd asked. That wasn't exactly like him, the low, remorseful feeling being replaced with a nettling worry.
"Bendy?" Boris asked, suddenly noticing the far-off, distraught look on the smaller toon's face. "Everythin' alright?"
"I, don't…remember…" Bendy said, almost as though he didn't believe what was coming out of his own mouth. His voice grew small, incredulous. "…thirty years, when did I forget…?"
"You don't remember what? You don't remember why you left?" Boris asked, struggling to stay ahead of the oncoming flood that seemed poised to overwhelm the little devil. Upon seeing the returning nod, and noticing with dismay how Bendy's expression seemed to grow even more disturbed, the wolf knelt down to try to look Bendy in the eye.
"I-I had no idea I'd even-I barely remember leaving-it's important, I should remember-." The smaller toon was more muttering to himself now, trying to figure exactly where the gaps ended and his own memories began. Even more troublingly prevalent was the paranoid thought that coming back to this place, just walking through the door, had tampered with his mind in some way.
"Bendy, it's okay." Boris tried to chime in, hoping to make up for the upset he had unwittingly caused. "When you remember, y'can tell me. Really it's fine-."
"No, it's not. I ran off because of, whatever it was, and I can't even remember what it was!" If the little devil had hair, his fingers would have been clenched in it. Still, no matter how hard he tried, there was an immutable gap in his memory, somewhere between living in the studio and escaping to the streets. And it was an escape, it felt like an escape, he just couldn't quite remember why, why couldn't he remember-?
The thought was cut off when Boris suddenly leaned forward, sweeping the little devil up into a hug. Once the wolf was certain he'd gotten the smaller toon's attention, he started to talk calmly as he could given the circumstances. "Bendy, it's alright if you don't remember right now. Maybe y'might remember later, and even if you don't, it's still fine. 'Cause we're still getting out, right?"
The tension had unwound in micrometers, and when Boris had stopped speaking, Bendy let a smile quietly take root on his face. "Yeah, 'course we are."
Taking a deep, steadying breath, the little devil let the moment sit before standing, flashing a more confident, if not still somewhat wane smile to the wolf.
"C'mon, let's see if'n th' coast is clear."
The pair regathered themselves, moving to the door as one. Bendy pressed the side of his head to it to listen outside, a hand turning the knob as quietly as he could. Peering out, the smaller toon could see no one, not even one bit of a wet inky trail on the floor heralding one of the monsters. Still, he left nothing to chance, looking in all directions and even up towards the ceiling, which was when he noticed that Boris had moved back towards the boxes, rooting around in one and grabbing the bacon soup. The wolf caught Bendy looking just as he silently shoved both cans into his pockets, shrugging in an apologetic way as he rejoined the devil back at the door, plank in hand. Bendy, for his part, just gave a somewhat sardonic, good-humored eyeroll before looking one last time, and gesturing for Boris to follow as he stepped out.
Their good mood certainly did not last. Every creak, whether it be the building settling or them stepping on a loose board, had the pair stiffening in anticipation of some follow-up, like something flying out of the ink puddles at them. After a few steps Bendy grabbed at Boris's hand, just in case they needed to make a run for it again. It could also be a thing of his imagination, but the little devil started to feel like there was a humming in the floor. At first, he passed it off as pipes under the floorboards, much like the occasional one he's seen running ink to different parts of the building.
It felt much less coincidental when the smaller toon noticed a similar sort of throb starting up towards the front of his head. Bendy blinked against the feeling, resisting the urge to reach up and massage his fingers over his forehead to dispel it. The little devil snapped out of it somewhat when he felt Boris's fingers start to fidget against his hand. Turning his head, Bendy noticed a frown on the wolf's muzzle, his other arm twitching as though he'd like to move it in a way the board in his hand won't let him.
"Boris?" Bendy whispered, fighting against both the odd feeling and the somewhat pervading sensation that they weren't alone in the hall. "You doin' alright?"
"'M fine. Just…itchy, I guess?" There was something in the wolf's tone that told Bendy he might not like the answer, but he asked anyway.
"Itchy how?"
"Just, itchy. Ah-Along here." The stammered clarification had Boris make a somewhat hampered gesture to the center of his chest, and Bendy tried to stop the somewhat sinking feeling settling in his own guts.
It was something that would be afforded more thought, except there was a horrifyingly familiar noise starting up in the passageway behind them. A very familiar, gurgling noise.
Both toons turned in unison, just in time to catch one of the ink puddles a few offices back spew forth an inky, squirming figure, the shape pulling itself forward on its arms. And it was far from the only one. All of the puddles, even the ones they just passed, were disgorging some kind of goopy monstrosity. A quick glance up the hall showed pretty much the same. Bendy tried to do a quick count, coming up with about ten of the inky things.
He and Boris began to shift stances, with Bendy looking up the hallway and Boris looking down. The smaller toon took a shaky breath, before trying to get the attention of the wolf at his back.
"Boris, we're still goin' forward." The inky monsters hadn't quite eased into their 'attack' modes yet, still drifting and forming up into a crowd around the two toons. Bendy gritted his teeth against the pounding in his head, trying to will away the sensation so he could focus. "Just make sure they don't sneak up on me, alright?"
"Alright." Boris whispered, pressing back against Bendy's coat for a moment before leaning forward, like a line-backer getting ready for an oncoming tackle. The tense, almost silent air hung in the hall for a few minutes, before it snapped with an audible reverb. Bendy had a few precious seconds to swing before the ink creature crashed into him, the blade cutting through what seemed like a neck. It dissipated in a few moments. Though it was quickly replaced with another, while a couple more attempted to rush the little devil from the sides. Bendy wound up for a swing, only somewhat listening to the moans from the creatures, and the squelching crash of Boris's plank finding it's mark. He managed to get two with one stroke and clubbed the last one on the backswing. It didn't fall apart as quickly as its brethren though, instead dropping back with its maw opening and closing like a fish.
It wasn't something Bendy would have dwelled on very much, until he heard the thin, reedy gurgle of a voice emanating from the thing.
"My lord…"
Bendy almost stopped, almost, if some instinct didn't have him clubbing another with the axe when it hurtled close. Still, that other one didn't come near, not anymore. It just kept talking, right in time with the throbbing reverberating in between the little devil's eyes.
"My…lord…free….please…lord…free…please…"
Were they like Sammy? Or worse than that? Wasted and consumed by the ink to the point where everything recognizable had fallen away? Though Bendy tried to shove away the thoughts, told himself that they were no good when he and Boris were about to die a horrible ink-covered death, they kept coming, right on the heels of the twitchy, screeching panic that had been threatening to take over ever since he'd picked up that damn letter. Bendy felt his breathing grow faster and faster, the pounding squeeze in his head growing quicker and more overpowering to match. There was another hum, like someone was saying something, maybe it's Boris, but he couldn't answer. He just needed to keep using the axe. It would stop if he got rid of them. It would all go away. Then he and Boris could get out of here and go live a happy life somewhere else far, far away from here...
Suddenly there was ink plastered to one side of him, and his axe was grabbed by three pairs of hands including his own. Another trio had swept in when his swings grew wild, one wrapping itself around his left leg and side while the other two went for his arms. Now all of them were talking, speaking in those maddening gurgles as the one wrapped around his leg slapped an open hand to the side of his face. The cacophony crashed against the little devil's pounding skull, and he tried to yank the axe out of their grip while pulling his leg free. The only thing this managed to do was pull him off balance, sending Bendy stumbling for a few crucial seconds. He crashed into what might have been Boris's leg, though given that the wolf didn't fall Bendy used the perch to brace himself back up on his feet. The devil gave a clumsy swing that succeeded in dislodging both monsters, one crashing backwards into an inky puddle. The other swayed for a moment before also dispersing, giving the little devil free reign to kick at the one still attached to his leg. His foot did leave quite the impression, the gurgling words fading into nothing as that one too fell apart. The pounding in his head had let up slightly, just enough to notice that the plank he'd given Boris has done its job. Though the wolf himself hardly looked proud of that fact. Bendy tried not to read too much into folded-back ears or the stiffened spine, or feel too guilty over his role in that image.
"Boris, c'mon, we can-." His stumbling words stopped dead when he saw what was coming up the hallway, the much heavier, squishier steps somehow calling for quiet. Both Bendy and Boris froze at the sight of the larger monochrome monster, which hung a yard or two away from the scuffle.
The moment only lasted for a few seconds as the thing suddenly bounded forward, coming down on the last few smaller monsters in front of Boris and sending a splattering of ink over the wolf's feet and pant-legs. By then Bendy'd already grabbed his friend's hand, and the taller toon offered little resistance to being dragged down the hallway. Bendy didn't bother to look back, though Boris's eyes caught the tall ink monster reaching after them with a gurgling cry, almost seeming…sad, desperate? Something that definitely didn't belong on a monster.
Not that there was much time to consider the odd conflict, as Bendy had not stopped and despite the error in the script Boris wasn't about to go back. The pair ran all the way to the other end of the hall, and almost into a door. Wide-eyed and more than a little wild, Bendy fumbled with the knob before getting it open and practically flying through, scarf flapping behind him.
Boris followed easily, long legs eating up the stairs as he tried to ignore the renewed bout of itching settling somewhere in his chest. Bendy seemed to be running into a different kind of trouble. The little devil had started to falter on the next landing, near what looked like a closet door, wincing with a hand coming up to shakily press against his head.
"Bendy?" Boris called, coming up next to the smaller toon and resting a hand on the coat shoulder, letting the plank slide to the floor. He tried to get a look at the devil's face, only seeing dripping ink and a pain-contorted expression. "What's wrong?"
It took Bendy entirely too long to answer, a shaky breath coming before he finally worked himself up to speak.
"Jus', hurt for'a minute…b'fine, we still gotta go…"
Boris might have argued, but (un)thankfully, a gurgling squelch on the next staircase did the immediate decision-making for them. Boris only spared a moment to clarify that another ink monster had spawned on the stairs ahead, before steering himself and a still unsteady Bendy over to the door on their right. It opened, and the wolf internally thanked his lucky stars as he hurried both himself and the little devil inside. The luck was short lived, as when he closed the door and turned to the hall Boris saw that a bunch of boards had been arranged over the passage, blocking them from going any further.
It might have been a bit more concerning if they didn't have an axe with them. Boris quietly knelt next to Bendy and reached for it, his voice staying low.
"Sorry, buddy, just need this for a minute."
Bendy didn't reply, only nodded and let Boris take the axe, resting his head on his knees.
"It'll be alright. I gotcha," he said, though if it was for the little devil's sake or his own, Boris wasn't really sure. He made quick work of the boards, just in time to hear something crash against the door at his back, the wood reverberating from the impact.
It sounded so much bigger than the smaller ink monster that had been out there, and somehow the only thing that came to mind was the larger creature he and Bendy had seen downstairs.
"B-Bendy, c'mon buddy, we gotta move." Boris rushed out, turning back to the devil, only to feel his heart sink when he noticed that Bendy was a lot slacker than he had been a few minutes ago.
"Bendy?" Boris called a little louder, kneeling and shaking the smaller toon's shoulder. He did get a small groan for his trouble, Bendy's eyes opening but groggy and uncomprehending. Another loud thud at the door spurred the lanky toon to action, picking up Bendy in one arm and propping him against his chest. The smaller toon secured, Boris grabbed the axe in his other hand before racing down the newly cleared hall.
The first door he came to was ajar, Boris tearing inside and leaning against it to ease it closed. The momentary relief was shattered when Bendy suddenly let out a garbled, painfilled groan into the wolf's shoulder.
"Bendy?" Boris asked, setting down the axe. Sitting and easing Bendy into his lap, the wolf took note of the still contorted expression and the fact that Bendy's eyes had slipped closed. Absently scratching at his chest, Boris checked over the smaller toon's head; had he gotten hurt in the fight?
But, nothing. Apart from some dripping ink which was steadily clearing up, there was no sign of anything that could explain what was happening. After a moment of thought, another idea occurred to the wolf. Winding his arm to rest a hand on the little devil's forehead, Boris put his other hand to his own head, something he'd seen Henry do a few times whenever one of them said they weren't feeling well. Granted most times, especially in Bendy's case, it had been a way to avoid work, but if the animator had done it there had to be some kind of logic to it, right?
Still, nothing really popped out to Boris as 'wrong'. Bendy's forehead felt cool, and maybe a little sticky, but that was somewhat expected. He didn't know what to do, and the smaller toon had passed out leaving him with no one to ask. The only thing Boris could really think of was rub off what looked like a weird splotch of ink on the little devil's face, the more dried parts flaking off easily. It left a darker smear on the white, and Bendy hadn't even moved.
His head jerked up to look around the small room, though nothing seemed poised to help. If anything, Boris would say that he might have been better off continuing down the hall. There was a writing desk shoved off into the left corner, a few boxes on the right, and some dark shape etched out on the backwall. But what really drew the wolf's eyes was the table in the center, and the tool-box seemingly placed on the edge as an afterthought. Sticking out, easily seen from his spot on the floor, was what looked like the blade of a saw with blackish stains on the metal and the handles of a set of pliers in similar condition. The sight made Boris pause, because the last time he'd seen things like those had been-.
"-don't worry, I'm sure we'll be seeing him soon."
"A-Alright, Joey."
"Chin up now Boris, I'm sure Bendy will come back. Besides, we have plenty to do in the meantime."
No, no, he didn't want to remember now…
"Are we doing more, sketches? V-Voice overs?"
"No, nothing like that."
Just leave, don't ask, just go, get out…wait, he couldn't, it's over it's done, just stop thinking…
"We'll be moving on to something more, important, than that."
His breathing was getting too fast, his chest itched, and something in him wanted to scream, pushing back at the memory. Without realizing it Boris had pulled Bendy's prone form up to his front in an almost desperate hug, acting as both a shield and something else to focus on. Don't think, you stopped thinking before, don't start now…
"Like what, i-if you don't mind me asking?"
"A very crucial project of mine. Actually, Boris…"
No, no no no nonono stop stop please.
"…how would you like to help me? Why, I'd be getting twice the work done with you at my side."
No no no Joey stop please hurts stop please. Boris realized that he was crying, taking in deep, gasping breaths of air. He tried to stop, he was crying on Bendy, he shouldn't be doing that, his buddy's had enough trouble, it's over it's done, just let it lie, it can't hurt you now but it does, it does SO MUCH-.
"…Alright, Joey, where do you need me?"