Inkwell City is usually a happy, civil place. But even a friendly city has its shady places. There was a bad side of town known to some as 'The Blot'. Shady things happen around this area and, the heart of it was in an underground pub known as 'Linseed's Oil'.

There you will find cheap drinks, mediocre entertainment, poker playing, and rough, corrupt people.

In one corner of the pub, the Butcher Gang, Charley, Barley, Edgar, and Carley were having drinks and a few laughs.

Suddenly, loud banging cuts through the air and the door flies off the hinges. All activity stopped as everyone looked towards the doorway.

Three identical cyborg-like creatures entered the pub. They had deep-sea diving helmets on their heads with rays of light projecting from their eyes. They wore long, black, sleeveless lab coats, and gear parts wedged on their backs. They had three long arms and slug-like bodies sticking out under the coats.

The creatures scanned the pub and moved around.

Everyone stayed still but secretly readied their weapons as they watched the cyborgs move. They blinked under the harsh lights.

Suddenly, one of the cyborgs spotted the Butcher Gang and slithered directly towards them. It made a clicking sound and the other two followed it.

Charley, Barley, and Carley readied their weapons under the table.

"Get ready fellas," Charley muttered. Then he spoke up, "What do you want?" he asked.

As the creature reached the gang, one of them spoke in a gravelly voice.

"Subject; Butcher Gang, located. Initiate detaining protocol."

"I don't think so," Charley said before he swung his pipe at the creature's helmet.

The helmet clanged but the cyborg was still standing.

Carley pulled out her knives, Barley pulled out hooks, and Edgar barred his fangs. The Butcher Gang and the cyborgs started attacking each other in a huge fight cloud.

A riot broke out in the pub and soon everyone was fighting with each other. The barkeepers tried to break up the fights, but it was proving to be difficult.

The cyborgs left with the Butcher Gang men tied up.

"Let 'em go, you freaks!" Carley yelled as she charged at them.

The first cyborg pulled out a bottle with a cross on it and pulled off the cork. An invisible force pulled Carley into the bottle. She tried to fight it, but the ghost bandit was sucked into the bottle and trapped in as the cork was pushed into the opening.

"Who the hell are you guys anyway?" Charley asked.

The first cyborg spoke,

"We are the Keepers!"


The Next Morning...

At the Kettle Cottage, walked up to his room, where he found Bendy waiting.

"Hey Bendy," Cuphead said.

"Hey Cuphead," Bendy said.

Cuphead blushed as he walked closer and was about to hug Bendy, but the little devil stopped him.

"Wait, not here. Mugman could walk in any second," Bendy said.

The cup sighed. "I can't keep doing this. I don't want to hide how I feel about you just because of Mugsy. Maybe we should tell him."

"Are you sure you want to? He may not get it."

"It's Mugman. He's into those romance novels stuff and he's my brother. Maybe he'll be happy for us,"

"Okay but let's find a better place to tell him than your bedroom,"

"Okay,"

Bendy flinched and he looked at the door. "He's coming. Fix your face," he said.

Cuphead slapped his cheeks until the blush went away.

Mugman stepped in. "Hey ya' fellas," Mugman said. "What's going on?"

"Oh we we're just-... um," Cuphead said.

"We were... talking about how excited I am that Henry is coming to Inkwell today," Bendy said.

"Henry?" Mugman asked.

"You know Henry Stein," Bendy said. "He and his wife are coming to celebrate the holidays with family here."

"Oh yeah. Are you gonna meet them at the docks?" Cuphead asked.

"N'ah I thought I'd let them settle down first then I'll meet Henry after Thanksgiving," Bendy said cheerfully. "But hey, why don't we go out and get some fresh autumn air," he said suggestively.

"Good idea," Cuphead said, knowing what Bendy was suggesting.

"Eh, sure," Mugman said.

"Great. Meet me outside the fence." The little devil then melted into a puddle and slipped under the bed.

A few minutes later...

The boys were walking in the woods but that feeling of peacefulness was cut short after they heard a branch snapping.

The little devil tilted his head and smelled the air with his tongue.

"Someone's here," Bendy whispered. "And it's not normal..."

Cuphead and Mugman gasped before the three boys huddled, back-to-back.

"Where is it?" Cuphead whispered.

Mugman noticed a black shadow run through the woods. "It's there," he whispered.

"Stay behind me," Bendy whispered. "Alright, come on out whoever you are!"

"As you wish, my lord..." Came the familiar voice.

The masked man stepped out from behind a tree and neared the children.

The cups whimpered when they saw the opposing figure.

"Sammy," Bendy said.

Suddenly, Sammy lunged forward.

The boys backed away, expecting an attack. Instead, Sammy just bowed on the ground.

"My lord," Sammy said.

Bendy cleared his throat. "Sammy, you look... okay," he said.

"My lord is too kind, you are exemplary," Sammy said never taking his eyes off the ground.

"Mmmm, thanks," Bendy said, feeling uncomfortable. "We haven't seen you since Halloween,"

"I've been hiding but I was never too far from you, my lord. I've been biding my time waiting for this moment,"

"And what moment might that be?" Bendy asked.

"The moment you set me free,"

"Set you free... from what?" Cuphead asked.

"From my inky prison I am forced to call my body," Sammy said.

"What does that even mean?" Mugman whispered.

Bendy sighed. "He wants me to..." he said before making a cutting motion with his finger across his neck.

Cuphead and Mugman's eyes went wide. The little devil pushed his friends to put distance between them and Sammy.

"But I can't," Bendy whispered.

"So what are ya' gonna do?" Cuphead asked.

"First, I need to get something," Bendy whispered. He walked closer to Sammy. "Sammy, before I can free, I need something from you,"

Sammy lifted his head. "Whatever it is, I'll give you. Even my very soul."

Bendy hummed. "Thanks, but not necessary." He said. "What I want is 'The Illusion of Living'."

"The Speaker's Journal?"

"Yeah, that's right. I know you stole it and I need it back. But you've been hiding from us and when you won't give the book to anyone."

"You mean the long-horned one? The so-called lord of darkness. He thinks he's so great, but he can't hold a candle to you, my lord,"

"Sammy, focus with me here. I really need the journal back. I can't touch it, but will you hand it over to them, for me,"

"Wait, what?" Mugman said.

Sammy lifted his head and looked at Cuphead and Mugman. "And who are they?" he asked.

"These are my friends, Cuphead and Mugman, and harming them in any way is strictly prohibited. Is that clear!?"

Sammy shuddered and bowed his head down again. "Whatever you say, my lord," Sammy said.

"Good," Bendy said. "Now stand up and hand over the book, please,"

Sammy slowly got up, "About that. I would gladly hand it over if I could... but I don't have it," he said.

"You what!?" Bendy exclaimed.

"I hid it in case I ever got captured," Sammy explained.

"Where?" Bendy asked irritably in a demonic voice.

"I hid it back with the Speaker,"

"You hid it in Joey Drew's grave?"

"Yes,"

Bendy facepalmed and groaned. "Okay, we're going to the cemetery," he said before walking away and grabbing Cuphead and Mugman's hand.

"Let me accompany you, my lord," Sammy requested. "I wish to be of service to you,"

Bendy sighed. "You may come with, but don't hurt anyone unless I say so." He said.

"Thank you, my lord, Bendy," Sammy said.

Mugman pulled Bendy close. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked in a whisper.

"Not really, but I need that book," Bendy whispered back. "And I don't think he should be left alone anymore."

"I kinda like the idea," Cuphead whispered. "He could be like a bodyguard or something,"

"But has he ever actually hurt someone with those axes?" Mugman asked.

Bendy chuckled. "Yes," he answered plainly before walking away.

Mugman was frozen before Cuphead pulled him by the handle and the four walked towards the town.

Cuphead leaned in closer to Bendy. "But what about us telling Mugman about... you know what?" he whispered.

"We will tell him. We'll deal with this real quick and then tell him," Bendy whispered.


Meanwhile...

In the suburban area of the city, Henry and Linda had arrived at the rental house and were unpacking their bags. It was a cozy blue house with a small backyard and a white picket fence.

Linda Stein was a middle-aged human woman with reddish-brown hair tied in a chignon style with some greys showing. She was wearing a blue button-up shirt and a white skirt.

"It feels so good to be back in Inkwell," Linda said.

"Yeah, it's nice," Henry said.

"I'm so looking forward to dinner tomorrow and I'm definitely interested in finally meeting little Bendy," Linda said. "Did you tell him where to meet us?"

"Yes, but we won't see him till after Thanksgiving," Henry said.

"Still, it'll be nice to meet him." Linda said. She took out some hair dye from her bags. "I think I'll color my hair today, before we see the family tomorrow."

Henry went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was nearly empty save for some cans.

"Lin," Henry said.

"Yes, Henry," Linda said from the bedroom.

"Those rental people left the fridge empty, I'm going to go into town and get some food."

"Okay, take Bobby's car. I'll be here,"

"Got it," Henry said before he grabbed the keys to the car.

They borrowed a car from Linda's brother, Bobby, and were going to use it while they were in town. It was a simple green car. The man started the car and drove into the city.


Meanwhile in Inkwell City...

The city was bustling with activity with Thanksgiving coming up tomorrow and some shops already breaking out the Christmas décor for the early shoppers. Despite the business, the day was shaping up to be a peaceful one.

That is until they appeared.

From the darkness of alleyways, several Keepers came slinking out and onto the streets. Soon, five Keepers invaded the shopping district. The people screamed when they saw the invading cyborgs and ran away.

The Keepers were flipping cars, looking through buildings, looking under things. They seemed to be searching for something.

"Freeze! This is the police force!" said Officer Well. "Put your hands up!"

The cyborgs ignored the warning and kept searching around.

"I said freeze!" The Officer Bee demanded.

When a Keeper slunk closer to him, the bee had no choice but to strike it with his baton. But the Keeper was unaffected by the baton's strike.

Officer Well tried to pull back, but the cyborg was too strong and instead, it grabbed the baton and the officer, and threw both away.

Officer Well landed in a thud before he ran to a telephone booth and dialed. "This is Officer Well, I got invaders of unknown origin in the shopping plaza, I need backup assistance now!" he said on the phone.

The Keeper held onto the booth with its three hands and shook the phone booth.

"Now gosh darn it, now!" The officer bee shouted into the phone.

The Keepers didn't stay in the plaza though, they soon went further into the city, searching for something.

When Henry drove closer to the city, he heard the screams and saw people running away.

"What's up with them?" the man wondered. He stopped his car when the car in front of him stopped. He stuck his head out of the driver's window and that was when he saw the cyborgs crossing the road. "What on earth?"

The Keeper moved sluggishly as people ran away in terror.

Henry saw the Keepers chasing a black cat in his direction. He lowered his body out of sight, stayed in his car, and watched as the cyborgs cornered the cat and held him up by the tail.

"Please don't hurt me!" The cat pleaded.

The Keeper's lights scanned the feline.

"Incorrect specimen," The Keeper said. "Release it,"

The Keeper holding the cat released him and the cat fled.

"We must find the little devil," The Keeper said.

The Keeper resumed their searching.

Henry backed the car up and drove away from the scene. "Oh god, they're looking for Bendy," he said. "Please don't be in the city," he whispered.

The man kept driving until he saw Bendy, Cuphead, Mugman, and a masked man at the gates of the cemetery.

"Bendy!" he said.

The three children followed Sammy into the cemetery, and they walked towards the graves. Soon, they found the graves of the studio fire victims.

Mugman spotted the plaque.

"To those lost in the great Joey drew studio fire," the mug read.

"Buddy, did you know these people?" Cuphead asked Bendy.

"Yep," Bendy said. "These were people Sammy and I worked with at the studio 30 years ago. Well, most of them anyway," he said as he eyed the gravestone marked for Samuel Lawernce.

Sammy placed a hand on his gravestone.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry, it must've been awful losing so many friends at once," Mugman said.

"Yeah," Bendy said before he walked over to two graves that stood side by side.

Cuphead and Mugman walked closer to get a better look at the gravestones.

One was well preserved with the name Audrey Drew on it. The other stone was crumbled and broken with ink splats on it. This one was Joey Drew's and it looked like the dirt had been dug up.

"Is this where you left the book, Sammy?" Bendy asked.

"Yes, my lord," the man said.

"Get it for me,"

"Yes, my lord," Sammy said before he dug his hands into the ground.

"Hey Audrey," Bendy said, talking to the gravestone. "This is Cuphead and Mugman, I told you about them before."

"Audrey?" Cuphead asked.

"She was Joey Drew's daughter, and she was a friend I made when I was at the studio," Bendy explained. He chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Mugman asked.

"The first time she met me as the Devil's child, she threatened to call a priest and have me exorcised if I didn't leave her alone," Bendy said with another chuckle.

"No, she didn't," Cuphead asked with an amused tone.

The boys chuckled.

"Bendy, why did you work at the studio?" Mugman asked. "You said you'd tell us,"

Bendy went quiet for a second before he sighed. "Joey Drew and Henry Stein opened an animation studio in Inkwell City and made a cartoon about a little dancing demon named Bendy," he explained.

Cuphead and Mugman's eyes went wide with surprise.

Bendy nodded. "They thought they had an original idea with an original character design. But when my dad found out about the cartoon, he got mad and nervous."

"What was he nervous about?" Cuphead asked.

"You see, the whole 'The-Devil-has-a-kid' thing wasn't well known outside of the Underworld, and Dad was worried about my safety,"

"But how did they come up with Bendy anyway?" Mugman asked.

"I... I snuck into Henry's room when he was a kid." Bendy admitted. "He thought meeting me was a dream and he made the cartoon demon based off those dreams."

"Ah," Mugman said.

"Anyway, my dad told Joey and Henry to either shut down the cartoon or he'd shut down the studio. Then Joey made a proposition, he'd sell his soul in exchange for the cartoon to continue and for The Devil to finance it. Not one to pass the opportunity for another soul to collect, my dad agreed. And I started haunting the studio as an excuse to escape the Underworld and have some fun. One day, Joey caught me but instead of getting mad at me, he hired me to be the actor playing Bendy for the animation."

"Whoa," Cuphead said.

"Yeah," Bendy said.

Sammy raised his head. "My lord, the book is gone!" he said.

"What!" Bendy exclaimed.

"I don't understand it, I left it right here," Sammy wondered.

"Bendy!" came another voice. "Bendy!"

"Is that...?" Bendy wondered.

Henry walked by and then spotted the group.

"Bendy!" Henry said as he walked towards them. "Thank god I found you. You need to get out of here."

Sammy stood up, stepped in between Henry and the boys, and wielded his axes.

"Get back!" Sammy ordered ominously.

Henry froze. "What the hell?" he asked.

"No, Sammy, don't," Bendy said stepping between them. "Stand down, now!"

"But, my lord, I just-"

"I said stand down NOW!" Bendy interjected with an earth-shaking yell.

The yell was so loud that it caught the attention of some Keepers nearby.

Cuphead, Mugman, Henry, and Sammy stood frozen in shock for a moment. Sammy backed away from the little devil and put away his weapons. Bendy glared at Sammy for a second before he smiled at Henry.

"Hi, what are you doing here?" Bendy asked. "We weren't supposed to meet until later."

"I know but that's not important," Henry said before he got on one knee and held Bendy's shoulders. "You need to go home, right now."

"What? Why?" Bendy asked.

"Yeah, why?" Cuphead asked.

"Because these weird monsters are stalking around the city and they're looking for you," Henry said.

"Monsters? What kind?" Bendy asked.

"They're huge with diving helmets for heads, and black suits—"

"And three arms, slug bodies, and lights coming out of their helmets?" Cuphead asked nervously.

"How did you know that?" Henry asked.

The cup brothers pointed ahead of them. Bendy, Henry, and Sammy saw three Keepers entering the grave area.

The cyborgs shined their lights on them. The lights turned from yellow to orange.

"Target acquired. Capture the demon child," One Keeper said.

Everyone gasped, except for Sammy. He stood defensively in front of the man and boys and faced the Keepers.

"Permission to defend you from these things, My lord?" Sammy said.

"Permission granted," Bendy said.

Sammy wielded his axes.

"Who is he?" Henry whispered. "And what's with the creepy mask?"

"You remember Samuel Lawrence from the studio," Bendy answered as he gestured to the masked man.

"The songwriter!?" Henry asked in surprise.

"Yepp. As for the mask... I'm not sure actually,"

"I wear it out of loyalty to my lord," Sammy said.

When one of the Keepers slithered forward, Sammy swung his axe at it. He managed to cut off its arm.

"Yay!" Cuphead and Mugman cheered.

But the joy was short-lived because the Keeper simply picked up the arm and the inky black stuff inside the limb reattached the arm to the body.

"Let's go," Henry said as he grabbed Bendy and held him to his chest.

"Let me go, I can take 'em!" Bendy said.

"No, it's you they're after," Henry said. "We have to go now,"

"Agreed!" Mugman exclaimed.

Henry and the boys ran away. The Keepers tried to go after them, but Sammy blocked their way and swung his axes at them.

"Obscene. Erratic. Dangerous." One of the Keepers said. "We've not seen one like this before."

"You call me obscene," Sammy said. "Have you not looked in a mirror lately?"

"Dangerous subject... Very dangerous." Another Keeper said. "Must be taken for questioning."

"Over my dead body," Sammy said.


Meanwhile, Henry and the cup brothers ran while the man still held onto Bendy.

Suddenly, they heard a swishing sound. The group looked up and saw something falling their way.

"In coming!" Henry exclaimed.

The three jumped and the object landed where they were standing. It was one of Sammy's fire axes.

Bendy gasped. "Sammy..." he said.

The four of them heard the Keepers coming.

Henry looked around until he saw the mortuary house.

"In the house," The man said as he grabbed the axe and started running.

Henry and the cup boys ran inside the house and shut the door.

"What are we gonna do?" Cuphead asked frantically.

"Yeah, they're gonna find us eventually," Mugman said nervously.

"First, we're gonna calm down," Henry instructed. "Deep breaths,"

Henry, Cuphead, and Mugman all took deep breaths.

"The hell with the deep breaths, just let me go," Bendy said. "I can fight them!"

"No, you need to get back to the Underworld where you'll be safe," Henry said.

Bendy opened his mouth to argue... but-

BANG BANG BANG

Keepers pounded their fists against the door which made everyone shriek and back away from the door. Henry and the boys ran across the house and found the back door. But the door burst open, it was the Keepers.

Before anyone could react, the head of the Keepers lifted a bottle with a cross on it, pulled out the cork, and pointed the bottle at Bendy.

An invisible force pulled Bendy out of Henry's arms, his body melted, and he was pulled into the bottle.

The Keeper closed the bottle with a cork.

"Bendy!" Cuphead, Mugman, and Henry exclaimed.

"Subject successfully detained." One Keeper said. "We must return to the base,"

"Oh no you don't!" Henry said before he swung the axe at the cyborg.

The Keeper dodged the attack and pounded two fists into the floor.

The weak, old, rotten wood broke under Cuphead, Mugman, and Henry's feet and the three fell into the basement below.

"Threat has been eliminated," One of the Keepers said. "Must return to base."

They left without checking to see if the man or the cups were 'eliminated'.


Bendy was trapped in the bottle and forced to watch as the Keepers took him to some dark place. From what little light there was he could see that he was now in some kind of laboratory.

"from the wretched abyss, a savior comes at last..." came an old man's voice.

An old voice that made Bendy's back hair stand up. He turned his head and saw an old man leaning over a table. The man turned around and Bendy could see his face.

It was Wilson... except he had ink blotches splattered over his body and his once solid white eye was now glowing.

"Hello again, little devil," Wilson said as he looked at Bendy.

To Be Continued...