AN: To make things easier on myself, I'm switching between this story and Falling through the Breach every other week.

Cat and Mouse

Bendy flared his wings to slow down as he approached his neighborhood. It had been a quiet night, which Bendy was grateful for, and he was lazily making his way home to turn in. Just as he was beginning his descent, his gaze was drawn to the side and landed on a particularly corrupt soul. It wasn't as bad as Joey's, which is the only reason Bendy hadn't immediately lost himself in his desire to eat it. But it was very close to that level of corruption and Bendy couldn't help but lick his lips at consuming such an evil soul. Bendy was determined to resist eating it, but he wasn't just let such a corrupt soul wander around his territory, adjusting his course to investigate and drive it off.

Once he was closer he realized the soul was hanging around outside of the windows of his friends, one of the children under his protection, and all bets were off. Such a corrupted soul like that could not be allowed to get away with even thinking of harming what was his so the Ink Reaper fully embraced his desire to eat, to devour, as doing so would keep those he cared about safe. With a noise that was a strange mix of a warning growl and a hungry purr rising from his chest, the Ink Reaper dove at where the corrupted soul was hiding, scythe forming in his hand and raised in preparation to harvest his meal.

Before the Ink Reaper's blade could make contact, the corrupted soul seemed to melt into the shadows they had been hiding in. The blade of his scythe and his claws left deep slashes in the ground as the Ink Reaper came to a stop, looking around for where the corrupted soul had disappeared to. Everything about the Ink Reaper's posture was tense and coiled, ready to pounce at the slightest moment as he searched. Finally, the Ink Reaper spotted the corrupted soul a few buildings down and immediately took off of it, using a combination of running on all fours and gliding as it moved along the roofs of the homes the Ink Demon had claimed under his domain, trying to pin down its prey.

But the corrupted soul was tricky and talented in dark magics as it kept using shadows to slip farther away and attempted to use illusions to trick the Ink Reaper. Whoever this corrupted soul was must have been intentionally drawing the Ink Reaper out as it seemed to be leading him somewhere, but they also didn't seem to know all of the Ink Reaper's abilities. If they did they wouldn't be attempting to use illusions so often as the Ink Reaper wasn't fooled by them in the slightest.

Illusions have no souls after all.

Still, the fact they were attempting to challenge the Ink Reaper meant they were dangerous and he was determined to make sure they couldn't hurt any of his family. The Ink Reaper would make them pay for even thinking they could threaten what was his.

The corrupted soul eventually lead the Ink Reaper into the trees just beyond the playground and the Ink reaper was forced to tuck in his wings so he could move more easily through the trees. Still, even without the ability of flight, the Ink Demon was a graceful predator, easily dancing through the branches and bushes in nearly complete silence despite his large size.

The corrupted soul seemed to slow down and the Ink Reaper pounced, slashing out with his claws to slice this corrupted soul's body open. The corrupted soul stepped back into the shadows once more before the Ink Demon could make contact though, leaving the Ink Reaper to cut deeply into the trunk of the tree. A hidden ritual circle flared to life as soon as the Ink Reaper made contact, making the demon pull his hand back with a hiss at the stinging pain. He could feel whatever spell the circle was supposed to do attempt to attach to him, but he was far stronger than it and able to banish the magic away.

"You'll have to try harder than that," the Ink Reaper growled as he began walking through the trees, searching for the corrupted soul. He knew they were still nearby, but they seemed to be hiding their presence even from his sight. Moving cautiously, the Ink Reaper continued "So why don't you stop all the games and come out and face me. You're the one that drew me out here after all…"

Now the Ink Reaper knew this had to be a trap of some sort, one probably set just for him, but that didn't mean that the Ink Reaper could run away. Whoever this was, was bold enough to try and face him alone and they already showed they knew about those that he held dear. While the Ink Reaper's family had faced horrors together before and had spent years proving how they were willing to do what was necessary to survive and keep themselves safe, the neighborhood children were innocent of all that darkness. He would not let someone drag them into the horrors that lurked in the shadows, so that meant he had to end this threat to them here and now.

The corrupted soul didn't respond to the Ink Reaper's invitation in words, but he did hear the sound of a rope snapping. Following his instincts, the Ink Reaper sprinted to the side, dodging some sort of object that fell where he had just been. The Ink Reaper didn't get to respond as he had stepped on a hidden ritual circle in his attempt to escape. He was only on the edge of it though and he was able to pull himself free even as energy chains tried to drag him to the center, unfortunately, the effort to break free from the first circle sent him stumbling back into the center of the second one. The Ink Reaper couldn't help his screech in fear as energy chains flared up and began wrapping around him, slowly tightening even as he flailed and struggled.

"NO!" The Ink Demon roared in anger and determination, making even the nearby shadows quiver at his rage.

He would not let himself be bound again, not after what the Liar did to him. This circle might be similar to the one the Liar had used, but it wasn't the same. Its hold was weaker as a result and consuming a soul had only made the Ink Reaper more powerful than he had been before. He would not be contained so easily and he proved it as he slowly rose to his feet, snapping the chains trying to hold him even as more and more were summoned. Letting out a chilling triumphant growl, the Ink Reaper began forcing his way out the other circle's center.

Suddenly a burning liquid was splashed over him, a potentate combination of acetone and holy water, making him shriek in pain. It wasn't enough to melt him, especially with how much stronger he was now, but it did weaken him significantly, enough that he wasn't able to break out of the circle. Despite the pain and his draining strength, he still fought, but it was futile as he was eventually bound and forced to his knees in the center of the circle, though it wasn't strong enough to force him to toon form.

"You put up a greater fight than I was expecting," the corrupted soul commented as the approached the edge of the circle. Bendy snapped his teeth at them and grinned as their soul flared in fear. Even bound as he was, the corrupted soul knew was a threat.

"Who are you?" the Ink Reaper demanded, doing a pretty good job of looking threatening even with the chain holding him in place. Between the darkness of the night and whatever magic the corrupted soul was using to hide, the Ink Reaper couldn't make out much more than a human-shaped shadow.

"Oh you don't know me," the corrupted soul replied, doing their best to hide their fear under confidence. "And you won't remember this little meeting either. I just need to set things up right now, but we'll get to know each other quite well once I call you and the others home."

The Ink Reaper didn't like the implication of that but he didn't have time to question any further as the corrupted soul began to chant. The Ink Reaper bent over in pain as he felt the magic seem to set the very ink in his veins on fire, his pained screams echoing through the dark trees.

Meanwhile, back in the Stein household, those that had a connection with Bendy had started squirming in their sleep when they first began to feel his pain. When the corrupted soul began their spell, all of the ink creatures were waken as they felt an echo of pain in their ink, those connected even screaming. Henry and Linda both sat bolt upright in bed with a gasp, their eyes glowing brightly as Henry clutched his chest.

Turning to each other with terror and panic in their eyes, the couple said in nearly complete synchrony, "Bendy's in trouble!"