Takes place before 'The Lost Hero'.

Also sorry about it being so long.

Nico was traveling across the U.S., alone. He was almost always alone. He would occasionally visit Hazel at Camp Jupiter, but would just travel whenever he wasn't visiting. He avoided Camp Half-Blood whenever he could, so he didn't have much of a place to stay. So he was just a drifter.

One day, while he was in New York, Nico decided to visit the Dia Beacon art museum. He didn't really have a reason, just wanted to see something new. So, he had Jules-Albert, his chauffeur, drop him off by the front.

He just walked around, just looking for anything that caught his eye. He saw various interesting art pieces, but what really caught his eye was a particularly dark hall of the museum. It looked like some of the lights were out, and it seemed colder there.

Nico gripped his sword hilt, preparing for the possibility that a monster was present. Nico walled into the hallway, only seeing utility doors and employee-only rooms. He caught a glimpse a door closing at the end of the hall, but that was it.

Nico brushed off the strange occurrence as he went out the back of the museum. He found a particularly shady spot overlooking the river and leaned on a tree.

Suddenly, a man spoke, "I remember when this place was a workshop."

Nico whirled around to face him. He had his hand on the handle, but didn't draw his sword. After all, Stygian Iron could also hurt regular humans, and Nico didn't want to accidentally injure or kill an innocent person. But when Nico saw the man, he knew he wasn't normal.

He was a tall African-American man, with a complexion similar to Hazel. Also similar to Hazel, he had gold eyes. However, his eyes looked like they were glowing. He looked to be around his mid-twenties. He had inky black hair, which looked a bit too reflective. His hair was way too unkempt and flow-y for the shine to be caused by hair gel, so either his hair was wet or greasy. He had a grin plastered on his face, and his teeth looked weirdly sharp. He had cuts all around his face, from a split lip to a slit eyebrow.

He wore a nearly all black biker outfit. He wore a spiked leather jacket, a t-shirt, spiked gloves, ripped jeans, and buckled boots, all black. The only hint of anything not black was a sepia handkerchief around his neck, fingerless sepia cloth gloves over his leather gloves, and sepia detailing on his boots. He had a pair of sunglasses hanging off of his shirt, also black. There was a bandolier across his chest, and black cartridges along his belt.

The man simply regarded, "'Sup, kid."

He pulled out his sword, pointed it at man's face, and responded in a calm voice, "Who, or what, are you?"

The man simply chuckled and waved the sword away from him. "Relax. The name's Benjamin Stein. And if you're wondering, I'm not a monster. I'm a demigod."

Nico just glared. "I don't trust you. How can I know you're not trying to trick me?"

"Heh, look kid. You can 'not trust me' all you want. In the end, it doesn't mean that much to me."

"Then leave."

Benjamin's smile became smug, while he said, "Oh come now, brother."

Nico stiffened at the comment. "Brother?" he asked.

"Well, we're close enough to be brothers. And I know first hand that our kind aren't welcome among either camps."

Nico paused, not sure. "What do you mean, 'our kind'?"

Benjamin smirked, "Children of the underworld, of course."

First, Benjamin said he was a demigod, and now he's saying that he knows firsthand that children of Hades were unwelcome. Now, Nico was actually considering what he was saying was true.

Nico relaxed a bit, resting his sword on his side. "So, you're my brother, huh?"

"Yep. We're cut from the same dark cloth."

"Reassuring." Nico sarcastically responded.

"Oh come on. Don't complain about me being right."

"So, I guess you're telling the truth, then?"

"Yep. And since you're my brother, how about you call me Bendy."

"Bendy?"

"Yeah, Bendy. That's what my friends call me."

"You have friends?"

"First off all, ouch. Second of all, my family started it, and it caught on with my friends. Plus, I like 'Bendy' more than 'Benjamin.'"

"Oh, sweet."

"Yeah, I know. By the way, nice sword. That Stygian Iron?"

"Yeah."

Bendy chuckled, "Heh. Look at us. Two children of the Underworld who really should be in the 40s."

"Wait, you're from the 40s too?"

"Of course! Why do you think I said that I remember when this place was a workshop?"

"Yeah, well, I just assumed it had recently been renovated into an art museum right after the workshop was shut down."

Benjamin responded, "Nope. The workshop this place used to be shut down in the 40s, and the people who made it into an art museum bought it in the early 2000s."

"Wow."

"Yeah, yeah. Makes you feel old. Anyways, wanna take a ride with me?"

"Pardon?"

"You know, a ride? On my motorcycle?"

"You have a motorcycle?"

"Pff, of course I have a motorcycle. What, did you think this outfit was for show?"

"Well, yeah?"

"Well, you're wrong. Anyways, wanna tag along?"

"No, I can't. My dad gave me a chauffeur, and he wants him to drive me around."

"I don't think pops would mind you taking a ride with your brother, would he?"

"No, not really."

"In that case, do you want to go or not?"

Nico pondered this before responding, "Sure!"

"Alright then. Just tell your chauffeur that you'll be riding with me, and I'll give him the address of where we're going."

"Alright! By the way, where are we going?"

"Well, we're just going to take a bit of a ride around the city. See, I was on my way to visit my sister before I saw you. So I'll be over to her house in the afternoon, so that's the address I'll give your chauffeur."

"Wait, you have a sister?"

Benjamin piped up, "Yeah! Her name's Audrey, and she's like us, out of time. I met her in the 70s at the Lotus Casino."

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"Trust me, I don't like that place any more than you do. But, I never would've met Audrey, and I never would have heard of you."

"Wait, you heard of me in the Lotus Casino?"

"How else would I hear of you?"

"Good point." Nico responded.

"Anyways, how about we give your chauffeur the address and then head over to my motorcycle, eh?"

"Sure!"

Nico and Bendy walked over Jules-Albert, and Bendy handed a slip of paper with the address to the french zombie. Nico reassured his chauffeur before the two of them headed to the motorcycle."

Nico and Bendy walked to where his motorcycle was, and Nico was impressed. Bendy rode an (obviously) jet-black cruiser motorcycle with two seats.

"Dude, that's a cool motorcycle."

"Yeah, it is."

"And of course, it's black."

"Why you pointin' that out? Got a problem with the color black?" Bendy playfully bit.

"No, no. Just wondering why you're obsessed with that color, since, you know, your everything is black."

"And? Black's a cool color!"

"Yeah, true. I just feel like I'm looking at a bottomless pit when I look at you."

"Not surprised." Bendy commented.

Bendy put his hand on the handlebar of the motorcycle. As Nico was preparing to get on the backseat, Bendy stopped him.

"Kid, wait."

"Why?" Nico questioned.

Bendy simply smirked as he took one of the cartridges out of his bandolier. Nico originally wrote it off as for a gun, but he noticed that the slots in the bandolier held containers of ink, not bullets.

Bendy poured the ink onto the ground on the right side of the motorcycle. The fluid, as black as Bendy's hair, formed a small puddle next to the similarly black motorcycle.

"Why'd you pour ink onto the ground?"

Bendy simply said, "Watch this, kid."

He held his hand out over the ink, and Nico had no idea what he was trying to do. Then, the ink started bubbling, and a form began to emerge.

Nico stepped back as what looked like a large container began forming out of the ink. No, the ink was forming into a shape. As it began rising, the puddle began disappearing. The ink latches on to the motorcycle, and the shape was developing more and more. Then, the form solidified into a jet-black sidecar for the motorcycle, seat and all.

"Whoa, how did you do that?!" Nico asked in amazement.

"Eh, it was nothing."

"'Nothing'?! Dude, you just turned a pile of ink into a side car! That is far from 'nothing'."

"What can I say? I guess I just got used to it. Anyway, hop in."

Bendy hopped on to the driver's seat of the motorcycle. Nico climbed into the sidecar, expecting it to feel fake. To his surprise, the seat felt like real leather, and the metal border felt like metal. He even went to touch the tire, and it felt like rubber. The ink had perfectly replicated both the appearance and the physical feel of the materials in the side car.

Nico complimented, "Incredible! This all feels real!"

"By 'real', you mean that it doesn't feel like it's made of ink?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, get used to it kid."

Bendy revved the engine, made sure Nico was secure, and rode into the city. Nico enjoyed the ride around the city. Soon, they arrived at their first stop. Bendy stopped in front of a convinuence store.

"Here, stay in the bike while I get some stuff."

"Okay. By the way, what are you getting?"

"Oh, just some stuff for my sister, that's all."

"Alright."

Bendy walked into the store, and Nico patiently waited. He wondered if the sidecar would go back to being ink, but the form remained stable.

Bendy took a few minutes before returning to the motorcycle with a few bags. He handed the bags to Nico, telling him to hold it. Bendy said that he didn't mind if Nico looked into the bags, and actually invited him to look if he wanted.

Nico looked at what Bendy had bought. He had bought a few cans of bacon soup, coffee mix, cake mix, energy drinks, fruit, bread, breakfast bars, and beef jerky. Just seemed like general groceries.

Interestingly, he also bought two bouquets of flowers. Nico was able to recognize the three kinds of flowers from his stepmother, Persephone. Of the bouquets, there was one amaryllis and one daffodil. He also bought a single candytuft flower.

The flowers struck Nico as being the most odd. Why'd he get the flowers? Maybe they were for his sister? If so, why'd he get four bouquets?

They continued on their ride around the city, eventually stopping at a graveyard. This time, Bendy didn't tell Nico to stay behind. He just got up, grabbed the flowers, and left. Nico followed him into the graveyard, and Bendy didn't seem to mind.

They walked for a bit before stopping in front of two graves. Nico read the names, and he dound out that the graves were for a couple, Henry and Linda Stein. Nico put two and two together and found out that these were the graves of his mortal parents.

Bendy carefully set the amaryllis flowers in front of the graves, with the flowers leaning more towards Henry. From what Nico remembered, amaryllis flowers meant pride.

Bendy greeted, "Hey mom, hey dad. Was in the area, so wanted to drop by." He paused, rubbing his eyes. "Just wanted to say that I'm proud of you, dad. I'm proud of what you did, building that studio. Even if history doesn't remember, I do." Curiously, Bendy didn't sound like he was sad, more so like a casual conversation. Also, he also regarded Henry more than he regarded Linda.

Bendy then moved on, going to another grave. This one was more secluded, and it was for Joey Drew. He haphazardly set the candytuft flower in front of the grave.

"So, Joey Drew. The man who supposedly started it all." Bendy clenched his fist before releasing it. "Look, the only reason I even bothered to get you a flower in the first place was because of Audrey. I personally couldn't care less, but Audrey loves you, so she wanted me to get a flower for you too."

From what Nico could tell, Bendy didn't much like Joey Drew. Especially since the flower he got him, the candytuft, meant indifference.

Bendy then walked back to the motorcycle, andNico followed him.

"Kid, you wondering about what happened?"

"Well, yeah. First of all, what was with the whole thing about that studio?"

"See, back then, my dad, Henry, he and Joey made an animation studio. It was real big in the 20s to the 40s, but it ended up failing. In that time, Henry's work was what made it successful, but Joey took a lot of the credit, and my dad ended up leaving."

"Oh, that why you don't like Joey?"

"That's one reason. You see, Joey wasn't that great of a guy. From being demanding to being kinda insensitive, Joey was a real dick. However, he somehow got his act together when he was raising Audrey, and now she loves him. Sp, she has me get a flower for him whenever I drop by here."

"Oh, I see. Also, why don't you regard your mom as much as your dad?"

"Well, I was a lot closer with my dad than I was with my mom."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I guess I just liked him more. He even came up with my nickname, Bendy."

"Oh, okay."

The two of them got back to the bike and began riding to Audrey's place. She had an apartment in a decent part of the city, so there wasn't much to worry about.

They got to the address, and Nico already saw Jules-Albert was there. They buzzed in, got to the apartment, and Bendy knocked.

A woman called out, "Coming!"

The door opened, and behind it was a young woman, around her early twenties. The woman, who was probably Audrey, had a paler complexion with slightly curly dark brown hair and green eyes. She wore a blue shirt, dark pants, and black flat shoes. She was a small woman, but didn't look weak at all.

Nico found it sort of funny how Audrey and Bendy were polar opposites. Audrey looked trusting and kind, like a soft-hearted caretaker. Bendy looked threatening and aggressive, like a soldier. Their outfits didn't match either. Audrey dressed like a daycare worker while Bendy dressed like he was ready for war.

Despite this, Audrey's eyes lit up when she saw Bendy. "There you are! I missed you!" she excitedly exclaimed, wrapping the biker in a hug. Nico had no idea how she didn't pole herself with the dozens of spikes on his body, but he didn't question it.

"I missed you too, Audrey. Also, here!" Bendy said, handing her the bouquet of daffodils. From what Nico remembered, those flowers meant regard and unequalled love.

"Aw, thank you!"

"No problem sis. Oh, by the way, meet Nico."

Audrey greeted the young demigod, "Hello! You're Nico, right?"

"Yep."

"Oh, that's nice. Are you friends with Bendy?" Audrey asked.

"Well, not quite. I think he's my brother, which makes you my sister by extension."

"Wait, hold on..." Audrey paused as she looked from Bendy to Nico. "Actually, yeah. I can see you two being brothers. You actually look like a median between me and Bendy."

Nico commented, "Huh, that's nice."

"You boys wanna come inside?" Audrey asked.

"I mean, why not? Plus, I picked up some soup."

"Alright then, come on in!"

The inside of the apartment looked slightly messy, but in a strangely endearing way. There was an art table with strewn drawings and a permanent coffee ring, plushies, and a book haphazardly placed on the coffee table titled 'The Illusion of Living'. Nico had to do a double take before he realized that it was an art handbook, and he noticed that it was written by Joey Drew. Probably why she had it, along with the fact that she seemed to be an animator based on the drawing.

There was a small bedroom with a twin bed, a decent living room with a couch that had holes signaling that Bendy had slept on it with his spiked jacket, a medium kitchen, and a small table.

Bendy walked in and set the bags on the counter, taking out the groceries and putting them away. He put the cake mix in the pantry, the coffee mix near the coffee maker, the bread on the counter, and a can of bacon soup near the stove. Bendy then took the breakfast bars, beef jerky, energy drinks, and the rest of the bacon soup for himself. He got out a pot, poured in the soup, and started cooking it while Nico and Audrey sat in the living room.

"So, you're Nico, my brother?"

"I guess so."

"Wow, you look tired. Have you looked in a mirror lately? I think you should-"

"Stop right there. Don't tell me to go to sleep, cause I've heard it a million times."

"I was going to say that you should invest in coffee." Audrey jokingly responded. "See, I'd be a hypocrite to tell you to go to sleep, as I mainly run off of coffee. I take it that, like me, you barely sleep at all."

"Oh, nice. The part about me relating to someone, not the part about you being sleep deprived."

"Nah, it's okay. I'm an animator, so it'a part of the job."

"Sheesh, that's rough."

"Yeah. But, I love what I do, so there's that."

"That's nice."

Bendy called out, "Soup's ready!"

Audrey and Nico walked to the table, and Bendy set out three bowls of bacon soup.

"Bacon soup, really?" Audrey jokingly questioned.

Bendy defended, "Come o! It's a good soup!"

"Nico, let me tell you, Bendy can run off of bacon soup like his motorcycle runs off of gasoline."

"No I don't. I eat other things."

Audrey asked, "Like what?"

"Like jerky, tacos, hot dogs, really anything with meat. And breakfast bars."

"Yeah, right."

"Well, how about stop this argument and we get eating, alright?" Bendy proposed.

"Sure." Audrey agreed.

The three of them ate in relative silence, for the most part. Bendy would make the occasional joke, Audrey would occasionally ask Nico a question, and Nico didn't really say much.

Bendy suggested, "Hey, how about we go to central park?"

"Sorry, but I can't. I have work."

"Oh come on! We have a new brother, and you can't even take the time off to walk with us in the park?"

"Sorry, but Archgate's understaffed. I need to go in. You and Nico can go without me."

"Ugh, alright."

The three of them finished their meal, cleaned up, and got caught up.

Audrey asked, "Oh, by the way, can you take me to work today? I don't feel like trying to take a taxi."

"Eh, why not."

"Thanks Bendy!"

The three of them head to the motorcycle, and all of them hopped on. Nico went into the sidecar, Bendy got into the driver's seat, and Audrey sat behind him, grabbing his waist to hold on. Again, Nico wondered how she did that without being poked.

The trio rode to an animation studio, Archgate. They said their farewells as Audrey went into the building. Bendy and Nico then rode to Central Park.

Along the way, Bendy listed what he remembered buildings used to he in the 40s.

Bendy pointed at a pair of condemned buildings, stating, "I remember that used to be an old Gent workshop, and that over there was the old Joey Drew Studios."

"Well, I don't remember much. I lived in Washington D.C., not New York."

"Oh. In that case, do you remember anything from what D.C. used to be like?"

"Not really. I barely remember anything from the 40s. The best thing I could dig up was that I remembered the subway being newer."

"Huh, okay."

When they arrived, Bendy dismounted from the bike and helped Nico out of the sidecar. They began walking around the park, just meandering through. Bendy would climb anything he was allowed to climb while Nico would just admire the scenery.

The dup walked around for a while, eventually working up an appetite. The returned to the motorcycle before coming up with an idea for a snack.

"So, since we're both a bit hungry, how about we get something. Chips, maybe?" Bendy suggested.

Nico responded, "No, not really feeling chips. Maybe a burger?"

"Well, there aren't any decent burger places around here. How about hotdogs? There's plenty of good hot dog stands around."

"You know what, sure. Let's go with hotdogs."

"Nice! Here, take this, and just stay with the bike while I get some grub." While he said that, Bendy handed Nico one of the ink vials.

"Okay... why are you giving me ink?"

"It'll help you in a pinch, kid. See you in a bit!" Bendy called back as he walked to the nearest good hotdog stand.

Nico settled down and leaned on the cruiser. He watched people walk by just to occupy himself. His ADHD didn't give him the best ability to cope with boredom.

He did various activities, from counting cars to tossing the ink vial up and down. He eventually remembered why Bendy gave it to him and pocketed it.

However, while he was waiting, a suspicious group of abnormally large people began beelining in towards Nico. He barely noticed them before they clobbered him over the head, knocking him unconscious.

He woke up five minutes later, tied up and hanging. It took a few seconds for the splotches in his vision to clear, but he was able to make out the sight of six cyclopses sitting around a fire. Nico guessed that the fire was meant for him.

He guessed he was in some kind of warehouse that was abandoned. Despite being abandoned, it looked well lit. The cyclopses probably knew about Nico's shadow travel, and knew that he couldn't be helped in bright spaces.

He strained in his bonds, trying to get free, but to no avail. Plus, he doubted if he'd be able to avoid making any sound from the fall. He tried to at least see if he still had his sword, but the one-eyed brutes had been smart enough to take away his weapon.

Nico nearly lost all hope, until he remembered the vial. Bendy told him it would help him in a pinch, and being tied up by cyclopses probably counted as 'a pinch'. He tried to work his hands into the pocket where he put the vial, and managed to get a loose grip on it. However, it ended up falling to the ground, shattering and leaving a puddle of ink.

The noise of the vial made the cyclopses turn around to face Nico. They put two and two together and figured out that he was trying to escape. They quickly got up and walked up to Nico.

One of the cyclopses commented, "Well well well, looks like the little son of Hades can't handle being tied up."

Another mocked, "Aw, what's wrong? Light's too bright for you? Good!"

"Go to Tartarus." Nico spat.

"Ooo~ feisty!" a third heckled.

The largest, most-armored, female cyclops, probably the leader, spoke, "Well, I wanted to season you a bit more, but looks like we're going to have to cool you as-is! Gravel, grab him!"

"Sure thing Big Mama!" Gravel responded, grabbing Nico.

"Let go of me!"

"Nuh-uh-uh! My children need their dinner, and a mama always provides for her children. Oh, how they love the taste of demigod flesh!"

For being a group of cyclopses, they had a pretty good vocabulary, and were probably a bit more intelligent as well.

The cyclops group carried a thrashing Nico over to the fire, ready to cook him. That was, until a loud, thick bubbling started.

One of the cyclopses questioned, "What the..." as she looked back.

It turns out that the sound was coming from the puddle of ink. Along with the bubbling was the sound of a deep, low growl. The cyclopses shifted, either nervous or confused.

"What demigod trick is this? Talk!" Big Mama demanded, ordering Gravel to rattle Nico. When he finally got his bearings back, Nico simply responded, "That's... not me."

As soon as he finished, an inky hand shot out of the dark puddle and slammed unto the ground. One of the younger male cyclopses shrieked as the form pulled itself out. Nico could make out a head, then a torso, then the other arm, and then the legs.

The from quickly took on a more defined shape, and Nico immediately recognized it as Bendy. However, he was different. He had a hunch, his hands were in a clawed pose, and he wore a sneer instead of his signature smile. His hair fell over his face, casting a large shadow.

As Bendy emerged, the area surrounding him became consumed in darkness. What looked like living shadows crawled up the beams, across the floor, along the walls, and onto the roof. As the room grew darker, it also grew colder. Nico could swear that he heard a heartbeat, and that the shadows were pulsing along with the rhythm of this heartbeat. He could also swear that the shadows were reaching for him.

"Let him go." Bendy snarled.

"Fat chance! How about you ask nicely, and I'll consider it!" Big Mama snorted.

A second later, an inky hand grabbed the cyclops closest to Bendy and dragged it towards him, revealing to be coming from Bendy. If you saw it, you'd think that ink had covered his arm and became an extension of it, but you'd be wrong. Rather, his arm became ink and extended.

Gravel yelled out, "Bobby! He's got Bobby!"

Holding Bobby by the throat, Bendy's sneer becoming a sadistic grin. In a gleeful tone, Bendy responded, "Oh, I wasn't asking."

Big Mama, her cyclops children, and Nico could only watch as Bendy snapped Bobby's neck. However, Bobby didn't turn to dust like most monsters did. Rather, Bendy's ink leapt onto the cyclops' corpse. Bendy released the body, and it hit the ground with a sickeningly wet thud. The body was soon entirely consumed by the ink, and all that was left was a large puddle.

"Nooo!" a female cyclops shouted in anguish.

A male cyclops yelled, "What have you done?!"

Bendy was grinning sadistically now, clearly enjoying the pain he was causing. "Now, I'll make this simple for the rest of you. Let Nico go, and I'll consider letting you live."

"Grah! I don't care who you're the child of, I will destroy you, demigod!" Big Mama roared.

"Oh? You don't know who I am?" Bendy amusedly snarked.

Soon, ink covered his body, leaked out of his eyes and mouth, and stained the upper half of his face. He had a grin plastered on his face, showing his now fang-like teeth. The ink also formed horns on his head, formed spikes all over his back, turned his hands into claws, and turned his legs into hooves. Bendy was also much taller, looking like he was twice Nico's height. His eyes were completely gold, with black lines forming the outline of the iris and the pupil.

"I am the Ink Demon!" he roared, now having a much coarser voice, occasionally punctuated by what seemed like gurgling.

The cyclopses backed away, disturbed by the sight. Gravel even dropped Nico. The Ghost King froze for a moment, unsure. He was trying to decide if he should go with the Ink Demon or hide. Yes, the monstrosity in front of him was terrifying, but he was here to save him. Yes, the inky demon staring him down killed a cyclops in a horrific way, but Nico could still recognize him as Bendy, with his messy hair, spiked jacked, handkerchief, and golden eyes.

Before Nico could decide, another arm shot out of a puddle next to the Ink Demon, this one more feminine. It emerged with a but of help from the inky monstrosity. As it took form, Nico recognized her as Audrey. However, just like Bendy, she looked different.

Ink covered her body, staining her hair completely black and trailing all around. Her eyes were completely gold as well, but a lighter yellow formed her pupils as opposed to black splotches. There wasn't much in term of ink growth, except for her left arm. Ink had covered her left arm completely, turning it into a claw. On the back of her palm was a strange symbol. It curled around her fingers and snaked up her arm, and glowed the same color as her eyes. Despite her appearance, she still looked trustworthy.

"Come here, Nico." Audrey softly beckoned.

Eventually, with reluctance, Nico went to his saviors, Audrey and the Ink Demon. He nervously stood at Audreys side, away from the Ink Demon, clearly uneasy. The Ink Demon noticed this, and realized his form was what scared Nico.

"Hey, kid. It's alright. I'm still me." the Ink Demon carefully reassured in a much softer tone. "I'm still Bendy, even if I don't look like it."

"H-hey..." Nico greeted. He was still nervous, but more at ease at the sound of the friendly bikers name. However, when he looked at the Ink Demon, Nico was disturbed at just how well he was able to recognize him as Bendy despite being so deformed.

"You... you killed Bobby! You die!" Big Mama roared.

The cyclopses began yelling as they ran towards the Ink Demon, throwing whatever they could at him. Audrey held Nico as the Ink Demon leapt in front of the two of them in a protective stance. He let out an ear-piercing roar of rage and fury, leaping onto the nearest cyclops.

The Ink Demon began clawing and slashing at the cyclops, eventually ripping its eye out. He proceeded to then bite it in the neck, ripping out the throat. He then moved on to the next cyclops, tearing open its stomach. All of the cyclopses he killed were consumed by the ink. The entire time, the cyclopses were getting hits in on the Ink Demon, but he just shrieked and attacked with more fury after every hit. What the cyclops didn't know was that the Ink Demon was indestructible.

Audrey, after checking on Nico and making sure he was out of harm's way, joined her brother in attacking the cyclopses. She charged at the smallest cyclops, and seemingly teleported onto its back. What actually happened was that she used her inky biology to flow.

She summoned a short pipe-like club with an electrical spike at the top, beefed-up additions, and four charge lights. She clobbered the cyclops, using the energy in the pipe to give it more impact. Then she used her flow ability to get down to the ground and began hitting at the legs. When the cyclops almost got a hit on her, she fled into a nearby puddle before re-appearing in a puddle behind the cyclops.

She'd get a hit in, dodge with flow, confuse with the puddles, and generally be evasive. She had to be, as, unlike her brother, Audrey can't afford to tank big hits. As such, she fights more evasively.

By the time Audrey finished with her cyclops, the Ink Demon had killed his two and was fighting a third. He finished off the third by ripping out the spine and slitting its throat. After, he and Audrey joined together to fight Big Mama.

The mother cyclops put up much more of a fight than the others, so the ink duo had to work together. The Ink Demon would slash and scratch at Bug Mama while Audrey would flow around, using her Gent Pipe to disorient her. Eventually, Big Mama knocked the Ink Demon onto the ground.

The Ink Demon let out another roar before forming some of the ink into a long shape. It twisted and writhed into the shape of a scythe. It had a long, sepia handle with a black knuckle guard where he was holding it. The knuckle guard had four charge lights on it, just like Audrey's Gent Pipe, and cables connected it to the blade. Although, none of the lights were on.

The blade itself was jagged and had the signature look of Stygian Iron. Nico knew that the ink could replicate the appearance and feel of different substances, but was unsure if it could replicate the powers of Stygian Iron.

Both the Ink Demon and Audrey leapt at Big Mama. Audrey would flow around, throwing the cyclops off-balance. Meanwhile, the Ink Demon began slashing at Big Mama, although her armor protected her from significant harm.

As the fight drew on, Nico regained his composure horrific and wanted to help his saviors. He gathered all of his power to summon the dead, but nothing emerged. At least, not at first.

Soon, horrific creatures began emerging from the dark puddles. The dead Nico had tried to summon had been consumed by the ink, and became monstrous ink creatures.

The dead became three monstrosities. One took the form of a severely deformed man or monkey, with only one arm and a pipe replacing its leg. Another looked like a little man whose head was hanging off of a fishing rod, wearing a sign plastered with the word 'LIAR'. The last looked like a massive cartoon spider, except two of its arms were replaced with a hand on a spring and a mouth stuck out of the top of its head. Nico heard the names 'Piper', Fisher', and 'Striker'. It was pretty obvious which was which.

The creatures overran Big Mama, clawing at her and forcing her to the ground. They tore off her armor, chattering and groaning as they did so. Big Mama managed to crush the butchered gang into puddles, but not before they had removed all of her armor.

The Ink Demon took the opportunity and drove the blade of his scythe into Big Mama's eye. However, unlike the others the Ink Demon killed, she wasn't consumed by the ink. Instead, she turned into dust, like she should have. Weirdly, one of the charge lights on the scythe turned on when she died.

Recovering from the battle, Audrey and the Ink Demon began changing. The ink covering Audrey began disappearing, and she looked like she did when they dropped her off earlier.

The Ink Demon began to shrink, his horns, spikes, claws, and hooves disappearing. The ink covering his body receded, and he once more became the friendly biker Nico called 'brother'.

"Kid, you okay?" Bendy asked, now much less menacing.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Nico responded. "What was that?"

Audrey answered, "That... was part of our lineage."

"What do you mean? No child of Hades can do that."

Audrey tried to answer, "Oh, no Nico. We're, well..."

"You're what?" Nico asked.

"We're not children of Hades." Audrey confesed.

"Wait, but you said-"

"I said we were close enough to be brothers," Bendy answered, "not that we were actually brothers."

"Then, who's your godly parent?"

"We're children of Erebus."

"Wait, what?"

"Yep. And, we have human fathers, not mothers."

"Wait, isn't Erebus male?"

Audrey clarified, "Oh, Erebus is male. But, we weren't born... normally."

"What do you mean you weren't 'born normally'?"

"I was born from the darkness, gifted to Joey, while Bendy..."

"I am a piece of the darkness itself, given form by Henry. That's why I'm so powerful. She was born from the dark, I am the dark."

Oh boy, that was a doozy to write. Sorry about it being so long. Just wanted to get it all down.