A/N: Alright, back again! Bit of a belated Halloween story for this series, partially based on a thought I had about how Bendy might not like certain holiday traditions and themes given that they remind him of things he'd rather not think about. As always, Bendy and the Ink Machine does not belong to me, and the Vigilante AU is the brainchild of kkolg on Tumblr, and the Sea of Blue Ink AU is the brainchild of blottart414, also on Tumblr. Both post wonderful art and comics, definitely take a peek if you can!
Hope you're doing well, and if things aren't going well, I hope they get better for you soon!
A Night of Fright:
Halloween was a…mixed night for Bendy Stein. On one front, he was glad to have somewhere to be on the night of spooks. Hanging around on his own, or shmoozing various rich investors, generally wasn't how he liked to spend his evenings.
On the downside though, when you gathered a bunch of random folks in one place for Halloween, they tended to default to the old, standard tradition of what to do on Halloween night, which was tell ghost stories. And, though he would only admit it under pain of torture, Bendy really, really did not like ghost stories. He stayed away from spooky books, avoided the occasional theater act that involved a ghostie, and while he'd definitely tried not to pay attention, the fact that this was happening at the Vigilante, and people would likely talk if he tried to duck out too soon, had kept him in his seat.
And therefore he'd been able to hear every word of a grisly little number involving a story about a woman who was hanged and came back to drag her boozing and whoring husband to a similar fate. Granted, Bendy liked to think he wasn't as bad as the boozing and whoring husband, he'd definitely not wrong a dame by declaring her a crazy witch and getting her killed, but the tale left some fun mental images floating around his brain.
Especially when, in order to get to his hopefully safe bed he'd had to briefly go outside, and seeing the bare branches of the trees swaying in the autumn wind reminded him of the pantomimed description of the husband's first glimpse of the ghost in a bough of tree limbs…
Shuddering, Bendy hurried for the door, realizing just how badly he was shaking when he'd had to close and lock it. He'd also come in the side entrance; in order to get to the second floor he'd need to go through the kitchen and side hall, cut through the front entryway, and head up the stairs to the hall that would take him to his room.
Simple enough in practice, though it couldn't help feeling like so much farther in the here and now. Especially when the lights, apart from the ones in the kitchen, were either low or completely out, leaving the rest of the mansion shrouded in darkness.
A fact which was not very great for a mind that was still stuck on spooks and ghouls, Bendy's spine growing stiffer and stiffer as he considered the black in front of him.
But if he wanted to get to his room, he'd have to go through. No one was here to lead him through it. The thought felt, well, powerfully lonely, but Bendy let it galvanize him, the demon taking in a deep inhale before tearing through the kitchen and coming to a brief stop at the door leading out into the hall. It could've been a trick of his hearing, or perhaps some part of the mansion settling — maybe? — but he could've sworn he'd heard something, be it an odd creaking or rustling noise.
Just as quickly Bendy decided that he wasn't going to do more than notice it, getting to his room was far more important. So the inky-black demon tore through the hall, trying his best to stay on the carpet though he knew his mad dash had made some sound. This brought him to the front foyer, where the stairs were, and thankfully there was a small light on there. It gave Bendy a moment of reprieve, the demon coming to a halt at the foot of the staircase and letting out a deep breath of air.
Only a little bit to go, Bendy turning his gaze to the top of the stairs…right before a renewed rustling came from behind. Fighting a freeze rolling up and down his spine, the demon turned, singular eye peering into the black of the hallway he'd just come from. Was it his imagination, or could he see something moving back there?
Even as he took a preparatory hop onto the first step of the staircase, Bendy still tried to look, maybe getting some sense of what might've been coming. The more he stared, the more he had some certainty that there was something moving in the hall, a big something…
Or did it look bigger because it was getting closer?
The thought had Bendy's eye growing even wider, breath speeding up as he took another step on the staircase. He couldn't really make out what he was seeing, but he definitely knew it looked like a person, or it at least had the shape of one.
It also looked like it was reaching, pulling its way further down the hall by its hands, Bendy immediately making the association between that and the story he'd heard before. While he was fairly sure he hadn't done anything to piss off a ghost, well, in the throes of fright it didn't seem likely that he could reason with whoever, or whatever was coming.
So Bendy did what felt like the perfectly sane thing to do at the time and ran right up the stairs, heading for the second floor of the mansion. The sounds of something dashing up the steps behind him made the demon's heart gallop in his chest, a shout of fright staying locked in his throat by sheer terror alone.
Still, even though it was bigger, and definitely sounded quick, Bendy was the one with the head start. The demon tore down the hall like a bat out of hell, rushing to his door and throwing himself inside, flipping the lock just to be on the safe side. Even still, a more frenetic part of his mind couldn't help pointing out that couldn't ghosts go through walls, the realization driving Bendy back to his bedroom and closing that door too. Perhaps he could detect a faint thumping noise from the hallway beyond, but for the moment the demon sagged against the closed door, trying his best to catch his breath.
He'd nearly done it too, right before something came flying out from the wall and faceplanted onto his bed. The sudden movement and noise, especially since Bendy hadn't bothered to turn the lights on yet, had the demon finally letting loose with a scream. He then turned and ran straight into the doorway, having completely forgotten that he had, in fact, closed the door not five seconds ago.
The impact cut off the scream, Bendy toppling to the floor with his mind a confused whirl as he tried to work out what was going on. It helped that the light somehow switched on, a more familiar voice calling his name with increasing worry as the source hurried closer. Bendy's blurrier vision could make out a blue smear with an eye at first, the light helping to fill in enough particulars that the young demon didn't feel too unable to make a guess as to what he was looking at.
"L-Lolligo…?"
The blue shape finally swam into proper view, convalescing into Lolligo's somewhat worried face. At the sound of his name the azure demon looked a touch more relieved, though there was still a good amount of worry in his expression even as he carefully reached out to the younger demon.
"Yes, yes, it's me, here—" The words were accompanied by a gentle touch sliding underneath Bendy's back, though as he tried to reel upwards Lolligo forced him to slow down. "Sit up carefully, you hit your head on the door."
Oh. Well. Bendy could concede that that made sense, the helluva headache he'd just been noticing was only now starting to fade. And there was also a telltale splatter of black ink on the door, at about where his face would've been, the similarly colored demon looking back around and making eye contact with Lolligo, eye slightly wide as the implications sank in.
"Oh. Whoops." Was all Bendy really felt able to say to that, not that Lolligo seemed to mind overmuch. If anything, he seemed faintly relieved, a softer chuckle slipping out as he replied.
"Yeah. Whoops." The bigger demon carefully reached under Bendy's frame, levying him up even as he went on. "Here, sit with me."
Gently pulling Bendy up to sit on the bed next to him, Lolligo quickly dipped into a more worried, mother-hen mode, grimacing lightly as he tried to spot any potential injuries under Bendy's ink.
"How are you feeling? You did hit the door pretty hard…"
"It's, it's fine…" The younger demon quickly responded. Though the why of his whole misadventure rapidly came back, Bendy's expression dropping as he recalled, "S-Someone was chasin' me…"
"Chase—" Lolligo started, confused and a little worried at first before something about the past few minutes, and his own journey up here, came back, the azure demon resting a hand on the younger demon's shoulder to calm him. "Oh, Bendy, it's okay, don't panic, I'm sorry. That, that was me."
The more hesitant admittance had Bendy's head snapping to look in Lolligo's direction, expression openly perturbed and even slightly hurt as he mumbled, "Why were you chasin' me? Couldn' even see you, it was spooky…"
Though just as quickly as Bendy had the reaction he seemed to realize that it was a little much for any regular person, the younger demon hurriedly looking away as he shrunk down and made excuses.
"N-Not that I was scared, just wanna make that clear."
"Bendy, it's perfectly alright if you were scared. And you were right, I should have called out to you, let you know who I was." Lolligo was quick to mollify the other demon's fear, and, yeah, if anything he wouldn't have been far behind Bendy in the utterly terrified department if someone had been chasing him in the middle of the night. "I, ah, admittedly didn't think of it at the time. I apologize for that. It wasn't my intention to frighten you."
Though Bendy didn't seem to be too relieved, hurrying to again deny any fear with a too-wide, tense smile. Lolligo could see a faint twitch run through the younger demon's eye though, probably a sign of pain from smacking into the door…
"I wasn't scared though! Really!" It didn't take long for the tenser energy to falter, Bendy's body slumping a bit with either exhaustion or sheepishness as his eye roved to the floor. "And, yeah, I could'a called out to you too, so…"
"It really is okay if I scared you. Most people probably wouldn't be too fine and dandy being chased by someone a foot taller than them." Though, given his worry, it wasn't long before Lolligo spoke up again, potentially cutting Bendy off as he gestured for the younger demon to come a little closer. "Actually, here, let me see your head for a second."
"It's not hurting so much now…" Bendy replied, even as he scooted forward to let Lolligo brush at the curtain of ink covering his face.
"Still, you ran headlong into a wooden door, Bendy. Pretty hard too, at least let me make sure there won't be a bruise." Though, while he wasn't seeing a bruise, Lolligo was spotting an odd quirk to Bendy's physiology that he couldn't help commenting on, the azure demon's head tilting as he tried to puzzle out what he was looking at. "Is the, lack of another eye, normal?"
Thankfully Bendy didn't seem bothered or even really offended by the somewhat awkward question, the younger demon's shoulders shrugging as he replied, "Uh-huh. Was made like that. I'm just off model, that's all."
"…Alright, as long as it's, supposed to be that way." Lolligo's reply was hesitant, still taken somewhat off-guard by the odd quirk before continuing on, falling into something a little more sure. It did bother the azure demon a bit that Bendy seemed so open about the oddity, though more of his discomfort came from the manner in which the younger demon referred to it. The utterly frank use of the words off-model was, not something he'd been expecting to hear from Bendy of all people…
Albeit, while Lolligo wasn't sure how to push back against that term without potentially making Bendy feel like he'd done something wrong, he found that he did have at least one option at his disposal. "Though all things considered I don't really mind this model."
And it did hit its mark, Bendy giving a heartfelt, happy smile as he tried to verbally brush off the compliment. "Aw, you're just sayin' that…"
"I am. But I mean it too. You're alright in my book, Bendy." Lolligo replied, a hand coming up to automatically rest on Bendy's shoulder again, jostling the younger demon with a friendly camaraderie. Even still, the good humor didn't last long, as Lolligo still felt like he should apologize, and make sure that Bendy understood that it definitely hadn't been his fault that he'd panicked so badly. "And, I, ah, again, I really shouldn't have chased you like that, especially in the dead of night. I know, you probably don't want to admit that it scared you, but it was wrong—"
"I wasn't scared!" Bendy broke in, eye wide as he realized he might've revealed a little more than he'd wanted to let on. The younger demon shrunk down, feebly attempting to soften his earlier reaction. "Th-That much…"
Lolligo's hand had been sliding off of Bendy's shoulder at the movement, though the azure demon reaffixed his grip, giving the younger demon a bracing squeeze. "…It's alright if you were, Bendy. I think getting chased through a dark house would scare anyone."
Though, even as Bendy leaned into the touch, he couldn't help turning an utterly hangdog look up at Lolligo, murmuring dejectedly. "But, they were all tellin' scary stories down at the bar, and, they didn't seem scared…"
"Oh, Bendy…" Lolligo murmured, taking a bit of a chance and pulling the younger demon into a brief hug. "Firstly, you would be surprised. People might be able to handle a scary story, but being in the middle of a frightening situation is a completely different thing. Secondly, well, now I'm feeling really, really bad that I did that, clearly you already weren't having a good night."
"It, it wasn't that bad, they were just tellin' a lot of stories about ghosts, and…" Bendy's voice was still quiet and halting, though at the very least he'd been talking. When he trailed off, the tension in the younger demon's body ramped up to the 11th degree, like he was standing on the precipice and trying to work up the will to finally jump. Finally, the words came out. "I, I don't like stories about ghosts. They give me the creeps. Dead people oughta stay dead."
Like a few conversations they'd recently had, Lolligo had the feeling that there was a reason Bendy was feeling the way he was about this. However, he wasn't sure where to begin in terms of asking, or at the very least he didn't feel able to ask much that wouldn't veer into uncomfortable territory immediately off the bat.
"In many cases, I can't help agreeing. Some people are real pieces of work." Lolligo murmured, giving the younger demon a gentle squeeze as he let out a heavy sigh. It was a fear that most younger folks would have, but somehow Lolligo had the feeling there might've been a little more to this particular terror. It was something he was realizing a lot now when it came to Bendy, especially after finding the younger demon wandering downstairs following what must've been one helluva nightmare.
Sometimes he wished he could just ask, though given Bendy's resistance to discussing anything about his past, the azure demon knew he'd have to just stick to gentle prods and questions. When it was well-timed, it was often the best way to get any sort of information out of Bendy.
"…You, you won't tell Nick and the others down at the bar about it, though?" The younger demon suddenly asked, turning a worriedly fraught eye up at Lolligo. The azure demon automatically felt his mouth drop open a little, both from the implications that Bendy was worried about what they'd say, and secondly that he apparently thought Lolligo would just let loose with secrets in what basically amounted to a crowd of strangers.
"Bendy, no. Absolutely not. Everyone's afraid of something, even them. And besides, it's none of their business." That covered most of everything Lolligo thought pertained to the current situation, though a moment later he found he had something to add. "And, well, if someone's tried to make you feel like it was their business, they were wrong. If something makes you uncomfortable, especially something like that, you don't have to put yourself in those sorts of situations. Especially to appease others."
Even more so given that Bendy had such a desire to appease, something that Lolligo couldn't help mulling over even as he tried to offer the younger demon solutions. Hopefully no one had tried to pressure Bendy into anything he wasn't comfortable with, but knowing this crowd…
"Maybe next time, just tell them you're tired and want to go to bed. You're a newer hire, and they keep you busy, don't think anyone would question that."
But Bendy still looked despondent, eye trailing away even as he murmured. "They will, people notice…"
"You would be surprised what they don't. And if anyone chooses to give you trouble, let me know." Lolligo tried, letting the younger demon lean onto his shoulder. His words didn't totally alleviate the dark cloud hanging over Bendy, but he did lapse into more of a tired sort of calm.
"…Okay, but—" The younger demon had been saying, when something appeared to go through his mind, his eye blowing wide as he abruptly gave Lolligo's shoulder a hard tap. At Lolligo's quiet but curious look, Bendy went on with a strained grin. "…III, just…"
The azure demon found himself staring, waiting for Bendy to elaborate. But when he didn't, Lolligo simply came out with the question: "…Bendy, what's wrong?"
"Y-You came out of the wall." The younger demon stammered, face still pulled in that strained smile as his ink seemed to grow more viscous. "But, you, you seem solid so, definitely not a ghost, right?"
Immediately it struck Lolligo that, well, given what they'd just been talking about it was fairly understandable that Bendy would have some reservations about his…method of entry. It wasn't like he'd freely advertised that he could do that, after all.
"Oh, no no no, Bendy, I'm not…that's…" Though as the azure demon stumbled through his efforts to put together an explanation, one that would hopefully calm Bendy down, he couldn't help feeling a little guarded about his own abilities. Again, it wasn't like he'd gone around telling people that this was something he could do. Mostly because, well, it was a good thing to keep some cards close to your chest. Also, he'd compromised himself enough working for Allen, the last thing he wanted was to be even more exposed. But, when it came to Bendy… "Can you keep a secret?"
"Okay?" The younger demon hummed, head tilting in confusion. The sight did briefly make Lolligo grin, right before he had to get down to the brass tacks of what he'd wanted to say.
"I can, jump from place to place, almost? Especially if I've been there, and, well, I'd already been in here so I knew where I wanted to go…" And, while a part of him was uncomfortable being open about this, Bendy hardly seemed the type to use it against him. Lolligo had to trust someone in here, right? "It makes me dizzy, but I'll walk through a sort of portal and, end up where I want to be."
"Really?" Bendy asked, eye wide and earnest. It honestly felt like Lolligo was entertaining a kid with a party trick, a feeling that mellowed the azure demon's harsher emotions and teased a bit more from him.
"Mhm. Honestly, I'd, I'd thought something had happened to you, so I created a portal and came through. Didn't realize I was the one scaring you though. Again, sorry about that."
"It's okay." The younger demon immediately replied, grinning widely as he went on. "So you can make portals for yourself? That's berries!"
Giving a softer smile of his own in reply, Lolligo concurred, even if he had to point out the side effects, he was the one more affected by them...
"It can be. Though, considering that it does make me dizzy I try not to use it that much, I'd rather not really talk about it so much…" A thought occurred to the azure, older demon, his curiosity piqued as he spoke up. "Can you do anything similar?"
The question got an odd but perhaps not entirely unfounded reaction, Bendy tilting his head curiously while also giving a smile that looked bemused, if not slightly nervous, at the question. "Uh, no? Why would I know how to do that?"
"I did do some reading, and what I've found is that toons, demon toons, like us, they may have special abilities. Of course, this often depends on how they were summoned." Lolligo couldn't blame Bendy for not knowing this; he'd had to do some digging in order to figure this much out. It wasn't something widely known about, probably because making your own demon was something generally frowned upon by most circles of polite society. Of course, that didn't mean people didn't try, hence why there were notes to begin with.
All things considered, Lolligo could understand why Bendy suddenly looked uncomfortable at the topic; he'd heard everything from human sacrifice to soul-stealing as a way to create demon toons, the azure demon could only imagine what Bendy had heard. But what surprised him was Bendy's exact response, even as the younger demon shrunk down and avoided eye contact.
"…I, I don't like thinkin' about that."
While the discomfort felt, somewhat expected, the words Bendy had used were a bit… less so. It sounded like he was referring more to an event rather than mere information, something that seemed more than a little odd to Lolligo.
But then again, the older demon's memories of his past ranged from nonexistent to hazy. Bendy seemed to have a much better recall, for better or for worst.
Right now, it seemed to be for the worst, Bendy's eyeline having dropped to his lap as his shoulders rolled inward. It was a sight Lolligo was becoming regrettably familiar with, the azure demon readily agreeing that he wanted to dispel the fear as quickly as possible.
"That's okay. I'm sorry. We don't have to discuss it if you don't want to." He punctuated the words with an arm over Bendy's shoulder. The gesture did seem to loosen something in the younger demon, Bendy eventually relaxing into Lolligo's side.
And, strangely enough, it also seemed to tease a rare bit of honesty from Bendy. With a shaky, faint sigh, the inky-black demon haltingly spoke up.
"…Maybe I, have something. I don't know, I, I was in a bad place, and, somehow I made it stop? I don't really remember how."
"It's alright, Bendy, it's alright…" Lolligo replied, giving the younger demon a gentle squeeze. There was a bit, much, to unpack there, and it could mean anything from Bendy being in a bad place and managing to escape, to him somehow fighting his way out. In a way that probably wasn't the best for his mental state. "We can figure it out later, you don't need to worry…"
"Y'think so…?" Bendy replied, leaning into Lolligo and finally letting out a deep, relieved sigh. The sound immediately calmed the azure demon's own nerves, him bringing up his other arm to turn the gesture into a full hug.
"I know so."
There was a moment of quiet, after which Bendy spoke up again.
"Hey, Lolli?"
"Mhm?" Lolligo hummed, considering the wall with a more languid gaze as he tried to refocus on listening.
"I'm glad you're here."
The words completely knocked the metaphorical wind from Lolligo's sails, though not in an awful way. If anything, given what he'd had to leave behind, Bendy's open acceptance was a lifeline in this uncertain sea, something that Lolligo was more than glad for. With a smile curling at the edges of his mouth, he gave the younger demon a tighter, hopefully warm hug, speaking in a voice that radiated gratitude and tenderness.
"I'm glad you're here too, Bendy."
They didn't talk much after that, apart from the usual, more banal stuff that veered in and out of the more lighter parts of Halloween. Lolligo learned that Bendy had dressed up for Halloween before, but never trick-or-treated, and did wish that he had but worried that him being 'older' would disqualify him from trying. He was interested in Halloween parties, though didn't want to deal in anything that went into seances or ghost stories, which Lolligo agreed with on the former. Ghost stories, he didn't mind, but actually summoning a spook went a bit beyond the pale. But Lolligo didn't let things linger on that for too long, being sure to distract Bendy with more lighthearted stories about the fall season. He'd gotten Bendy to laugh, smile, and seemingly leave the earlier fear and paranoia behind.
A little while later, Lolligo left, admonishing Bendy to get some rest, and that he'd see him tomorrow. It left the younger demon with a warmer, less-lonely feeling, though his earlier fears crept back in as he had to go back through his living quarters, turning off the lights as he went. Leaving the door of his bedroom open, and therefore letting in the scant moonlight coming in through the balcony window, did help alleviate some of his nerves. Though as Bendy huddled under the blankets, looking out at the sliver of light he could see as well as the railing of said balcony, he couldn't help wondering if having that window to the outside world might not have been a poor choice.
Because, while he wasn't seeing anything now, Bendy's imagination could easily conjure the creepy image of a hand, reaching over to rest on the railing. Pulling up something long dead and decrypt, grasping fingers hunting for the demon's throat—
Slamming his eye shut, Bendy shook himself to get the image out of his mind. However, the brief cutting off of his sight just made the fear worse for a long, long moment, Bendy unable to fight off the idea that now that he'd done that, some horror would be waiting for him when he opened his eye to look.
But, well, if he didn't open his eye, then nothing could happen, right?
It was a fine thought to start, but as the minutes wore on Bendy couldn't help feeling like simply keeping his eye shut might be harder than he'd initially considered. Especially since there was an itch building around his nose, the demon fidgeting for a moment before the annoyance exploded into a thunderous sneeze that made his eye fly open.
It took Bendy a moment to realize he'd done that, and another moment to realize, he was completely alone in his room. The younger demon stared around, even going so far as to check his ceiling just to be safe, but there was nothing.
Even with a trembling of panic sitting somewhere behind his breastbone, Bendy laid back on the mattress, staring up at the ceiling. Faintly, he could hear a creak or two, the faint sounds of wind blowing through the trees outside. Hardly anything that sounded any different from any other night.
…Maybe it'd be fine. The thought was both a relief and vaguely tenuous, Bendy catching himself after a moment and realizing that he was holding his breath.
Maybe it'll be fine. He let the thought play about his mind like a soothing lullaby, the demon rolling over onto his side and curling into the mattress. Despite his fears, sleep eventually stole over Bendy's mind, carrying him on to a thankfully calmer morning.