Archive of Our Own

Henry could feel the small tug of consciousness pull at him, urging him to finally wake up from his well needed slumber.

He slowly opened his eyes, the first sight being that of the oak panels that made up the wooden ceiling and a large metal fan that provided the room with some much-needed oxygen. The stench of the ink in this place could be far too overpowering sometimes, so he appreciated the soft breeze of the air.

As the older man sat up from his make-shift bed, he could barely make out the soft but muffled tune of a piano playing somewhere nearby, it was actually quite a pleasant thing to wake up to, instead of the usual dread filled silence that he had gotten used to during the past few…weeks? Months? It was hard to tell. Time just seemed to…somehow warp down here.

The pleasurable melody was starkly contrasted by the sharp and very loud ticking of a nearby clock that was shaped like the little devil darlin’ himself, Bendy. Henry couldn’t help but tiredly glare at it.  

The clock was cute enough and probably sold well back in the day due to the smooth swinging movement of its little arms and legs, a really nice choice in design, but God it was so…loud.

Henry sighed and decided to finally get up and stretch his limbs, not to mention get some proper clothes on. Being in only a tank top and boxer shorts, he was starting to feel a small chill.

The room that was provided for him was very small and pretty cramped with little knick-knacks; a hammock that was dull in color and musty with age hung across the room from one ink splattered wall to the other, and underneath was a large brown chest that Henry hadn’t even bothered to open yet.

In all honesty, he wasn’t really sure he wanted to even know what was inside it.

Still, he felt like he didn’t have much incentive to complain, after all he had actually re-gained some desperately needed sleep over the past week or so. He and Bendy had been in a desperate situation, and it was probably thanks to their savior that they had managed to last this long and get the chance to regain their strength and stamina.

He side-glanced the poster of Boris that hung up near the bed and smiled slightly before he stood up and made his way out of the room, although not before giving the clock one last glare. The ex-animator opened the door and made his way to the bathroom.

Unlike Henry’s sleeping quarters, the bathroom was actually relatively big, although empty. There were only two stalls that held toilets that were nearly filled to the brim with black ink mixed in with murky water, creating a less than pleasant look and smell. Luckily though, the three sinks that were on the opposite wall from the stalls, had fresh running water.

Something else that Henry was more than grateful for.

He splashed his face with the cold liquid to try and wake himself up before he glanced forward into the long, shattered mirror that lined all three sinks. Henry couldn’t help but frown at his appearance, his eyes held small dark bags under them, and his face looked quite a bit more grizzled and thinner than when he had first come back to the studio, probably due to lack of nutrition. Wait, was his hair a little longer too? It was hard to tell.

Suffice to say, he had seen better days.

Once he had finished mentally insulting himself in front of the mirror, he decided to head to the main room, where it seemed to be a little livelier. The muffled piano tune from before quietly played in the background while the all too familiar voice of Bendy chatted away.  

‘Guess they both must be up then.’ Henry thought to himself, he always seemed to be the last one to wake up. Though he had been pretty exhausted, maybe it was about time he should cut himself some slack…

As he entered the main room, stopping quickly to check on his clothes that he had hung up to dry on the barbed wire that was near the door frame, he was met with the sight of a familiar, overalls-wearing cartoon wolf sitting at a table. The toon was eagerly watching the piece of paper that was leaned upwards against a mug, his long, floppy ears pricked up eagerly as Bendy seemed to be telling some sort of extravagant story.

Henry smiled at the sight, his mind wandered back to the fairly recent but very fateful day when they had run into the cartoon canine.

He was so close to giving up.

Every inch of his muscles was burning with searing pain as he kept pushing himself to run, it was just a little further, just…just a little bit. The door was only a few hundred yards away now, but the closer he managed to get, the further away it looked, and every inch of ground he covered felt like a mile.

He could also feel Bendy fading away, the little toon looked as though he had passed out, but he was barely conscious, trying desperately to hold out, should something happen to Henry. A screeching roar filled the hallway, vein-like ink splatters spread out quickly along the walls, indicating that the monster was incredibly close now.

Henry glanced a look over his shoulder, his eyes widening when he saw just how close 'Bendy’ was. It’s grin grew wider and more giddy as it closed in, reaching out an ink splattered hand to finally catch it’s prey. It was only then that the older man felt the swift surge of adrenaline kick in, gaining him a little burst of speed that managed to get him just out of the monster’s reach and to the door.  

He quickly slammed it shut, and collapsed to the floor in utter exhaustion as 'Bendy’ let out a frustrated snarl from the other side. A few thumps and growls later, Henry was once again met with the deafening sound of complete silence.

‘Looks like it’s finally given up for a while…’

Henry’s eyes widened slightly when he felt something, a part of his mind went completely blank like it had been…severed in some way.

'Bendy…?’

His eyes fearfully wandered down to the page that he still had clutched in his hand.

“Bendy!”

The demon, not having the strength to hold out any longer, had completely passed out. Luckily though, it was only sheer exhaustion that seemed to have got him, there were no clear injuries on the little toon’s body and he looked like he was at peace. A small snore emanated from his still body, a flood of relief came over Henry like a wave.

However, it was instantly replaced with panic as a loud clang sounded out from the darkened hallway in front of him, and only after a beat of silence, a can of the all too familiar Briar Label Bacon Soup came rolling out.  

Henry looked down at it for a moment, blinking in surprise before quickly glancing back up at the sound of clear and almost casual footsteps. He clutched onto Bendy’s page as a shape formed from the gloomy darkness of the hallway.

It… looked like some sort of dog, or was it a wolf…? It was wearing faded, light brown overalls and ivory white gloves. It tilted it’s head to the side as Henry backed up as much as he could against the door, but the creature made no move to attack.  

'Maybe it’s friendly.’ Henry thought, before squinting to get a better look. 'Wait a minute…is that…?’

“Boris…?”

Henry let out a deep sigh, thank God he showed up when he did, if he hadn’t…well…

It was probably best not to think about that.

A small surge of pure joy came through to Henry as Bendy noticed the man standing at the doorway and waved him over.

“What'cha doin’ just standin’ there, Henry? Come on over, Boris made ya breakfast!” The little toon exclaimed as he waved his arms in an enthusiastic manner. The human just smiled and gave a little wave back as the feeling of delight went both ways through their connection. It was something that both he and Bendy hadn’t felt in quite a while.

As he entered the large room and made his way to the table, Boris waved eagerly at the human before pointing his thumb to the little pot and stove that was nearby, a small chimney of the rising steam that came from it indicated that it had just been used.

“Ah…thanks pal. But you didn’t have to go through all that trouble.” Henry stated as he grabbed a bowl and spoon from the cupboard, the wolf simply waved a dismissive hand, as if to say, “It’s no trouble!”

The older man poured the hot contents of the pot into the bowl, the sharp scent of salty meat hit his nostrils, making him wince slightly. He would have killed to eat something even just a little more substantial than…this. 

Why did the company even fund the stuff? None of it even sold, resulting in the build-up of cans in the studio. Although…perhaps that was a good thing, as disgusting as the soup tasted, it had certainly kept him from starving during his time here.

'Ah well…at least it’s hot.’ Henry tried to positively think as he picked up the bowl, before making a move for the table. Something caught his eye though, slowing him to a stop.

In the small corner tucked away next to the stove, was what could only be described as an amalgamation of faded black and brown posters, all messily stuck to the wall to form some kind of mismatched toon.

It had the eyes and trademark grin of Bendy, which had been eerily flipped to make it look as though it was frowning. One of the makeshift toon’s arms looked like it belonged to Alice, while the other clutched a clarinet, clearly indicating that it belonged to one of the Boris posters. A small fat body and long, spindly legs made up it’s lower half, and the whole bizarre look was completed with some sort of tutu skirt along it’s waist.

Henry shuddered at the strange group of pictures that made up the creation, it was so…strange. He still wondered how it was even made, it was hard to believe that it could have been Boris, he just…didn’t seem like the type to put together something like this. Although honestly, at this point? Nothing would have surprised him.

Henry shook his head, it was probably just best not to question these things anymore.

The animator sat back down at the table and sipped at his hot, salty breakfast and tried to start up a bit of small talk, “So, what are you guys up to? Nothing too mischievous, I hope.” He teased with a grin, to which both Bendy and Boris replied with a huff.

“'Course not! Who do ya take us for, Henry?” Bendy retaliated, Boris backing him up by crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes a tad. Henry chuckled slightly at the sight, trust these two to go on the defensive about something like this.

“I’m kidding.” Henry reassured, Boris blinked for a moment while Bendy just let out a silent, “Oh.”

“But uh…we were talking about what we could do today!” The little demon suddenly exclaimed, looking quite giddy. “Boris and I are comin’ up with a new card game!” Henry rose an eyebrow.

“Oh?” Both demon and wolf nodded excitedly.

“Yeah, so basically…”

As Bendy pointed to the pile of cards that were scattered across the table and started explaining, Henry’s eyes wandered over to the left before his sight settled on the exit door.  A small frown came across his face as he stared at it, a conflict raged inside his head.  

He had never seen Bendy so happy and relaxed, it was clear that he enjoyed it here, Henry was grateful for the time spent in the safehouse as well since both it and Boris had saved his and Bendy’s lives but…they had to move on now. They were well rested and fed up, and Henry’s injuries had pretty much healed up at this point, so time was wasting now.  

It was time to move out.

“But…But Henry…”

The older man jumped slightly as he was abruptly snapped out of his thoughts, and turned his head to the source of the small, timid voice.

Bendy looked down with a nervous frown and twiddled his thumbs as he glanced back up with a small but trying grin.

“We should…we should stay. It’s safe here.”

Both Henry and Boris blinked in mild surprise at the little demon’s sudden statement before the human mentally smacked himself for forgetting the crucial point that both he and Bendy could read each other’s thoughts now. He had never gotten used to it, and he probably never was going to either.

'God, I’m such an idiot.’ Henry internally reprimanded himself before a small gasp came from the toon.

“No, you’re not! Don’t think such a terrible thing!” Bendy gently scolded.

He let out a deep sigh. Yep, he was never going to get used to it.

“Look…” Henry started, not exactly how he was going to go about this. “I know that it’s safe and don’t get me wrong, we’re both very grateful to you, Boris.” He said, giving the wolf’s arm a small pat, “But we can’t just start…living here.”

“Why not?” Bendy bluntly asked with a tilt of his head.

“Because we just can’t, Bendy.” The older man replied rather curtly, though he instantly tried to make up for his harsh tone, “We have to get out, remember? Besides, the longer we stay here, the more chance that…thing might find us.”  

Though he was actually pretty surprised that it hadn’t already, guess the safehouse really lived up to it’s name.

Bendy just looked down in silence while Boris seemed to be deep in thought. Henry could feel the small hint of worry at the back of his mind, he really hoped that at least one of them would agree with him.

Boris was the first to make up his mind as the toon suddenly turned around on his seat and leaned back to grab something. Both Henry and Bendy looked at him curiously as he pulled out a metal toolbox, before nudging it towards the human.

Henry blinked at it in surprise before looking back up to Boris, who silently gestured for him to open it. As he did so, the box revealed to have a large lever inside, the same one that…

“Is this for the door?” Henry asked, quite bewildered. Boris nodded enthusiastically with a fanged grin, to which the animator replied with a small smile of his own and a nod back.

“Thank you, Boris.” The canine nodded again but quickly held up a gloved finger, indicating that he would be back in a moment.

As Boris got up and strolled out of the room and into the small hallway, Henry and Bendy were left alone for a few minutes.

He glanced down at the small demon, who had his head hung with a small frown, Henry could feel a swirl of fear and frustration run through him, making him feel just a tad bit guilty. They had both been through so much already, Bendy probably just didn’t want for them to go through such an ordeal again.

'Everything’s going to be fine, bud. We’ll make it.’ He tried to mentally reassure.

Bendy simply looked up at the man with an unreadable expression, not saying a word back.

The silence was soon broken however, when the sound of footsteps echoed throughout the room, indicating that Boris had returned.

Henry sighed at the lack of communication from the demon and turned to talk to the canine toon instead, but stopped and raised a brow when he saw what he held in his muzzle.

“Is…is that a bone?”  

Boris nodded and chewed on the item, small dribbles of saliva dripped from his fangs as he did so, making Henry flinch slightly.

“Where did you even get it from- You know what, I don’t think I want to know actually.” He stated, deciding it was best just to drop the subject entirely. The wolf seemed to agree with a small shrug and continued to nibble on it, sending a tiny shiver up Henry’s spine.

Well…at least it was a possible weapon if things got desperate.

Luckily though, the dog had also brought back Henry’s clothes which had finally dried from their recent wash, for the first time since he arrived they actually looked pretty clean. With a quick change, he was ready to head out.

Picking up Bendy’s paper, who at this point was sitting on the line with a sullen expression, and the lever, he made a move towards the door. He took a moment to glance up at the sign that read 'Exit’ before taking a small breath, slotting the lever in place until a small click sounded out.

 Pushing the lever down actually proved to be a little more difficult than Henry would’ve liked to admit, as the small contraption was pretty stuck in place, but after a few attempts, the door finally swung open with a loud creak.

Henry swallowed a dry lump that had been lodged in his throat for quite some time, this was it, time to move back out into who knows where. A strong sense of fear overcame him when he took that first step out, he didn’t even need to look down to know that it was Bendy, although to be fair he was feeling pretty nervous himself.  

Trying his best to keep the toon and himself as calm as possible, he walked out slowly and cautiously, making sure to get a good look at his surroundings. The corridor started with a few large vending machines, which at one point would have served hot and cold snacks, although he couldn’t really recall anything like this being in the studio…

Huh. Maybe he just couldn’t remember.

As he glanced around, a sudden presence loomed over him from behind, sending the hairs on the back of his neck bristle just a tad. It couldn’t have…it couldn’t have found them already. They had just left! Had it been waiting out here this entire time? Shit, maybe Bendy was right…they should have just stayed, they should have-

With a terrified grimace, he turned around to face the crooked demon with his arms up, bracing for whatever attack it was about to inflict.

Only to be instead be met with a confused Boris, who was still happily chewing on his bone.  

Henry blinked in surprise and slowly lowered his arms, a wave of relief washing over him, which was almost immediately replaced with the feeling of complete humiliation. Only two minutes out and he was already getting scared by nothing. Bendy’s sniggering didn’t help matters either.

'Can’t believe you got scared by Boris.’ The demon mentally and sarcastically joked.  

Henry simply glared down at the little devil, 'Don’t think I didn’t feel that little twinge of fear from you as well.’ He retorted back through the bond, which immediately shut Bendy up as he glared back up at the human.

“Sorry Boris, didn’t see you there.” Henry apologized, before adding, “Now, are you absolutely sure you want to come with us? We don’t know what’s out there and… well we can’t really guarantee your safety. We’ve had a few really close calls ourselves.” He explained, wanting to make sure that the canine fully understood the danger he was about to put himself in.

Boris didn’t exactly seem fazed though as he just nodded eagerly and tried his best to smile, even with the bone still in his jaws, which made for a pretty amusing sight. It took everything in Henry’s willpower not to chuckle.

“Alright then, let’s see what’s out there. Don’t wander off.” Henry said with a smile, even though the wolf just strode ahead of them immediately after, making both human and demon give a small sigh. Thankfully though, the canine stopped soon after to observe something at the far end of the corridor.

As Henry caught up, he was curious as to what was intriguing Boris so much, and decided to have a look for himself.

Tucked away in the corner of the hallway was a large wooden box, big enough for a person to fit in. The few dapples of light that shone from the ceiling above revealed a small sign that hung above that read, 'Little Miracle Station’, and a huge oval shape that looked as though it had been hastily painted on with black ink. Henry couldn’t help but squint at the strange name, he…he had never seen this around the studio before either…

Running his hand over the rough, splintered wood, his curiosity got the better of him as he pulled open the door and decided to have a little look inside, only to find that it was completely bare.

“What is this thing even for?” Henry asked, hoping for some kind of answer from either Boris or Bendy. The wolf simply tilted his head while the demon shrugged.

“Beats me.” Bendy simply answered. Henry rose a brow and stepped inside before closing the door. The space was incredibly cramped, he barely even managed to fit inside. A small open slit allowed him to peep out to his surroundings, though it made his line of sight very limited as all he could see was Boris curiously peeking back in.

“Hm.” Henry hummed as he opened the door and stepped back out, “Maybe it’s just a storage cabinet or something…”  

But still…why did that large oval shape look so familiar? He could’ve sworn he saw it on one of the posters…

The all too cheerful grinning face of a Bendy cut-out jarred him out of his thoughts however, as it stood just opposite of the miracle station, as if waiting for the next unsuspecting soul to blunder around the corner.

Henry gave it a little glare, while it simply stared back, it’s haunting huge grin mocking him.

'C'mon…’ A small voice echoed through his head, he looked down to the paper. “Best just to keep away from that thing, eh?” The toon suggested. Henry reluctantly agreed with a small nod.

“Yeah…you’re…you’re right, bud. Sorry.” Snapping out of his strange trance, he moved on further down the corridor, leaving the cardboard cut-out behind.

Boris had already moved silently ahead and had stopped right outside another doorway, which seemed to lead only into a dark abyss, there was no way they were going to be able to move forward without some kind of light source.

“Looks like it’s really dark up ahead.” The older man muttered as he glanced around. “Let’s find some light.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, a gloved hand almost instantly held up a small boxed contraption with a large circle lens. It was…It was a flashlight. Henry blinked as Boris held it out again, gesturing for him to take it.

“Uh…” The human drawled out as he took the light. “How did you find this so quickly?”

The cartoon hound quietly pointed to the nearby table before giving Henry an expectant look, as if he was anticipating praise of some sort.

“Heh…good job, bud.” The animator said with a smile, earning a beaming grin from the dog, looking very proud of himself.

'Still…a little too convenient if you ask me.’  Henry mentally noted before turning to the dark doorway, with a flick of the switch, the flashlight created a small wash of light through the shadow filled passage, although dimly. At least it was something.

“Henry…” Bendy spoke up, catching the man’s attention. “There’s still a chance y'know, we can just turn back now and return to the safehouse, we don’t have to go in there, it’s…it’s too dangerous…please…” The demon pleaded with a timid tone, his expression matching it with a hint of nervousness.

“I…I got a really bad feelin’ about this.” He finished, earning a look of sympathy from Henry.

“Bendy…we discussed this.” He replied with a soft voice. “The only thing we can do right now is press on.”

'We’ll be fine, I promise.’ He added through the bond, making Bendy glance up at him for a mere moment, before looking back down the dimly lit hallway with nothing but worry written all over his face.

With the guide of the flashlight, they started to traverse through the darkness, the silence was quickly broken with the loud clanging of live machinery in operation, the fact that he couldn’t really see much of what was going on made Henry feel extremely uneasy.  

The faint glow of the flashlight did manage to illuminate a few things though, like rusted cogs turning, ink splattered pumps compressing and processing the ebony liquid and lines of wooden shelves that held cans of bacon soup and large inkwells.

The space was also very compressed, allowing Henry to feel along the walls to find his way through. He could also feel something wet splashing on his face every few seconds and looking up to see what it was, he could feel his heart sinking.

'Ink…’

Suddenly being in the presence of the live dripping liquid really brought his old instincts and anxieties back now, it had been a while since he saw so much of it, splattering the walls, pooling along the floor…

'Just ignore it…’ Henry tried to reassure himself. 'Ignore it and keep moving…’

'A little hard to do in a place like this.’ Bendy’s voice reminded him, but just as Henry was about to retort, a loud creak in the pipes above stopped everyone in their tracks.

All three of them stood there silently like deer that had been caught in headlights as the creaking echoed throughout the area, eventually getting quieter as it seemed to move on to somewhere else.

“…”

As soon as it had come, the source of the strange noise was gone, leaving only the sounds of the machinery to continue on.

“Did you hear that?” Henry asked as he turned to Boris, turning the light to the canine to see what his reaction would be. A small smile came across his face when the toon simply tilted his head to the side, his floppy ears pricking up ever so slightly

“Yeah. Me either.” He finally concluded, a little concerned that he didn’t really get much of an answer from Bendy.

As they continued on, Henry was starting to feel a slight frustration as he still had to feel his way around the place just to get an idea on where to go, this torch wasn’t helping much at all. He could feel his anxiety slowly getting worse, though he actually couldn’t really tell if it was his or Bendy’s at this point, which was one of the cons of this…connection thing. It was hard to tell who was feeling what sometimes.

A loud splash swiftly attracted his attention, a small sigh escaped his lips as he realized that he must have stepped in some sort of ink puddle.

“Great. Fantastic. Just washed these trousers too…” The old man grumbled as he attempted to step out.

Only he couldn’t, the ink appeared to be sticking to the bottom of his shoes, making it increasingly difficult to even move his legs.

“What the hell…?”

He tried again and again, until something eventually tugged back, hard. An almost silent moan came from beneath.

Henry’s eyes widened as he quickly realized the dire situation he was suddenly in. Panic overcame his entire body as he kept trying to pull his feet out of the gloopy liquid, which was starting to curl it’s way around his ankles, making it extremely difficult to maintain balance.

“Boris!” He called out as he tried to keep himself from falling over, “Boris, give me the bone!”

He reached out behind him to grab the makeshift weapon, but he only grasped at air.

“Boris…?!” The older man looked over his shoulder to see where the toon was, only to find himself staring into the dark, empty corridor.

“Shit…! Boris, please- Argh!” The ink pulled Henry’s feet from underneath him, forcing him to slam onto his back, both the paper and flashlight slipping out of his grasp as he hit the floor.

He could barely hear Bendy’s shouting as a deafening ringing filled his ears, his head felt like it was filled with air, needless to say there was a vague sense of deja vu about this.

As the flashlight clattered to the ground, the beam of light managed to illuminate what was attacking him, as expected it was one of the many ink monsters that made this studio their home, but it wasn’t like any he had ever seen before. It was absolutely huge, with a hunched, bulking back that was supported by two thick arms. If it wasn’t for it’s terrifying and monstrous face, it almost reminded him of…

'Bendy…Bendy, where are you?!’ Henry mentally called out as he tried to look around for the paper.

The animator barely got a chance to though as a large, dripping hand latched itself onto his head and pinned him down completely, it’s heavy body pooled over him to prevent him from moving even a single muscle.

 Henry grimaced as he was forced to look at the creature, it’s emotionless, socket-like eyes stared back for a few seconds, before it opened it’s huge, dripping maw, as if to consume the poor man.

It’s mouth slowly stretched further and further open, it’s breath was freezing cold and was rank with the strong stench of the black liquid that made up it’s body, making it incredibly difficult to even get a breath of air. Henry soon felt something else tugging at him from just underneath his shoulders.

God, not another one.

The being from behind roughly pulled him out from underneath the Searcher, earning a confused snarl from it. Henry could only watch what the flashlight showed him, which was a flurry of ink flying everywhere as the two huge monsters battered against each other.  Ear-splitting roars drowned out the sounds of the machinery, one of which sounded incredibly familiar, Henry could feel his body wrack with relief.

The sounds of the creatures soon died down as a loud thump sounded out, followed by the splatter of something being thrown against the wall.  

“…Bendy…?” Henry called out to the black abyss, he could barely make out the shape of something coming his way. He tried again, through the bond, which seemed to be undisturbed.

'Bendy, are you alri-’ His question was suddenly cut off as he felt a large hand wrap around him and swiftly lift him up, before the creature turned back around and made a beeline for the sanctuary, blowing through the dark hallway and into the light.

“Bendy! Bendy, just wait a minute…!” Henry tried once more to reason with the demon, only to be completely ignored. On the plus side they finally found Boris, who was cowering back at the Miracle Station with his hands covering his eyes. When did he…?

Without even stopping for a moment, Bendy hastily grabbed Boris before rushing to the door. The fact that said entrance was closed posed no problem for the large demon as he set both Henry and Boris to the floor before shattering the doorway down in a single punch.

Bendy quickly ushered the two inside before squeezing through the doorway himself, breathing a small sigh of relief when all three occupants were inside. Henry blinked in disbelief as he tried to process what the hell just happened. Bendy looked quite pleased with himself while Boris kept his eyes guiltily trained on the floor with his ears flat against his head

“Bendy…” Henry slowly started, still a little dazed and out of breath. “You saved me again, bud. He said with a grateful tone, "But…why did you bring us all the way back here?”

“Safe.” Bendy simply replied in a distorted, garbled voice.

“…We’ve already been through this, pal.” Henry softly said. “Yes, it’s…dangerous out there…” He reluctantly agreed while unconsciously rubbing his now ink-covered arm, “But…we don’t have any other options.”

Wanting to drop the conversation completely, Henry started towards the doorway, “Now c'mon, I think we were close to-” He blinked as he was forced to stop due to Bendy moving himself in front of the exit so that his hulking body completely blocked it.

“Bendy…please, let’s not do this.” Henry almost pleaded, the demon shook his head.

“It’s…safe here.” He repeated, struggling ever so slightly to get the words out.

Boris silently watched nervously as the two of them stood off against each other.

“So…this is what you want? To live here forever, in fear?” The older man asked with a frown, earning a small flinch from Bendy, before his single eye solemnly wandered down to look at the ground.

“Because I think I’d rather not eat bacon soup for the rest of my damn life.” Henry tried to joke to lighten the mood up, both Boris and Bendy smiled a little at the weak attempt at humour.

 "We’ve been through a lot, I know. Which is exactly why we need to leave. We shouldn’t have to be doomed to sit in this room forever, wondering if or when something’s going to kill us.“  

"Boris.” The canine in question perked up, still somewhat sheepish. “I don’t blame you for running away but…well now you see why we have to be careful, alright?” The toon nodded his head in silent agreement.  

“I think we can all agree that we don’t want to stay in this place, yeah?” Both toons glanced at each other, before reluctantly nodding again.  

“Then we just have to get back out there, work together, and get the hell out of this damn studio.” Henry finally concluded, he wasn’t exactly the greatest at speeches, but he hoped this at least would change their minds.

“I…lead…”  

Henry looked up at Bendy. “Huh?”

“I’ll lead us…to the other side…until there’s enough light.”Bendy softly demanded.

“Alright, that’s fair enough.” The animator agreed, before turning to Boris, “You ok to- Wait, what happened to your bone?”  

Boris’s ears drooped as the wolf shrugged his arms, indicating that he must have lost it when he bolted. Poor thing looked quite upset.

“Hey, it’s ok. We’ll uh…get you another one…” Henry couldn’t help but squint at himself at his choice of words, but it seemed to cheer Boris up quite a bit.  

With a lot more caution than before, all three of them set out once again. Bendy quietly led the small group through the dark hallway, thankfully without a confrontation this time. Eventually they reached the end of the short area, as small dapples of light shone across a large metal door. Dusty cobwebs decorated the rusty steel shutters, signaling that they hadn’t been used in quite a while.

Bendy, satisfied that they had made it into a more lighted area, quickly dissolved into a large puddle of ink, Henry wordlessly bent over to pick up the piece of paper that floated on top, and as he did, the doors behind them immediately slammed shut, making all three of them jump slightly.

“Well…another dead end. I don’t see any other way through.” Henry muttered, mostly to himself, “You got any ideas, Boris?”  

He only received silence as an answer.

“Boris?” He tried again, looking over to the cartoon pooch, who was intently gazing down at a nearby vent. “Well…that could work but…we don’t have that flashlight anymore. I uh…kinda dropped it back there.” He sheepishly admitted while rubbing the back of his neck.

Boris shook his head and gave Henry a quiet thumbs up and a fang filled grin before prying open the cover for the vent, proceeding to crawl through the cramped space.

After a few moments of tense silence, a loud clunking from the other side indicated that Boris had made it through. This was only confirmed when the doors slowly struggled to open with a shudder. Henry was grateful that they could finally make some progress, but was slightly concerned that there was no sign of the canine on the other side.

“Boris?” The older man called out, frowning when he received no answer.

“Maybe he’s just ended up somewhere else. We should keep going so we can find him.” Bendy calmly urged.

“Yeah…he’s probably fine. Hopefully.” Henry walked through the opening and towards a wall that was covered with a huge, splattered print of Bendy’s head. It grinned maliciously at Henry as he got closer, before he finally reached it. Th corridor split into two paths, both seeming to lead into the same room.  

Not really wanting to debate it for too long, he decided to go left. He soon arrived to what could only be described as an enormous hall. Huge posters were plastered across the walls, several couches decorated with countless Bendy dolls were dotted about, while a few life sized plushies sat up lazily against the wall. Three barbed fences separated the large room, all lining up towards the same thing:

A towering pillar that held a massive, boldly lettered sign that oozed large blobs of ink.

'Heavenly Toys.’