Chapter Text
By the time they made it through the rubble, Sans was panting and sweating heavily, some of the sweat that dripped off his skull tinged black from the ink that had splattered on his face before. He lifted a final plank to shield himself and Bendy from the deluge of ink on the other side, then tossed it with a relieved sigh once they were clear. "welp, that went well. good job, bendy," Sans murmured, patting the plush on the head.
"Same ta ya, Sans! I wish I could'a helped more with moving things, though. But it should be mostly smooth sailing from here," Bendy replied, his smile stretching a little wider.
Sans snorted. "man, don't jinx us, kiddo," he replied, poking the plush in the belly, making Bendy giggle.
"Right. Knock on wood," Bendy said after taking a moment to calm himself. "Anyway, there's only one way ta go from here," he added, tone turning solemn. Sans nodded, looking to the open door that led on.
The music department was pretty much the very picture of an overly obsessive personality... and that they seemed obsessive over Bendy's image was pretty creepy. "This was Sammy's doing... he worships tha Demon, though he doesn't know that only tha Creator can really help him..." Bendy whispered, sighing. "Maybe... if I can use what little'a tha Creator's power I have, we can get him on our side," he mused.
"uh... not sure i want a guy like this hanging around..." Sans replied slowly.
"He's not that bad. I mean... Sammy was kinda cranky before an' now he's got a few screws loose, but... listen, Sans, he protected me fer ages. Sure, he didn't know he was doing that, but... I can't leave him like he is right now. Tha Demon really hurt him," Bendy murmured, face turned down as they walked.
"okay, okay... we can lend the guy a hand," Sans replied with a soft, disbelieving laugh. The little guy had a big heart, quite clearly.
Bendy let out a happy little sound as they rounded the corner only for Sans to pause. "uh... how'd you get by this?" he asked, eying the flooded hall.
"Makeshift boat," Bendy replied with a soft laugh, pointing down at a little piece of wood and what looked like a stick abandoned at the edge.
Sans blinked at it, then grinned and chuckled. "you're pretty clever, huh?" he asked.
Bendy practically beamed with pride for a moment before turning serious again. "I don't think there's a plank big enough fer ya, though..."
"yeah. nothing for it. my legs are probably already pretty hopelessly stained, anyway. i just hope this stuff doesn't have the same properties as the demon's ink," Sans replied, then unceremoniously stepped into the ink. It was unfortunate, but there really was no other way, what with his magic out of commission for the foreseeable future.
He moved as quietly as he could through the ink, but it still sloshed thickly around him with every step, making his nerves prickle with a jittering feeling. Reaching the other side was a relief, though he couldn't help but stop to scowl at his soggy shoes and pant legs before stepping into the music department proper.
Blobs of ink bubbled ominously on the floor, though Bendy motioned over to a doorway practically right next to them and Sans happily left the burbling blobs behind as he headed down the stairs.
The door at the end led out to a hall and another stairwell that took them down further, letting them out into a large room. A door to the side had an off-coloured puddle of ink seeping out from under it that reminded Sans strangely of the way blood pooled and spread from a human body.
"There's Sammy," Bendy whispered in a shaking voice, hopping down from Sans' shoulder. "I need to leave my plushy... could you keep watch for the Demon's wall shadows, Sans?" he asked. Sans nodded silently, then watched as the plush went limp and a pool of ink seeped out of it. The ink floated up from the floor, taking the form of a three-foot-tall rubber-hose body. The ink that formed the gloves, bowtie and face swirled with white for a moment before the black filtered away from the areas and a perfectly on-model Bendy blinked up at Sans.
Sans shot the little toon a reassuring grin. "go on, kiddo. do what you need to. i've got your back," Sans said softly. Bendy offered a shaky grin in return before turning and marching over to the door of the little room Sammy was in. The ink that had spread under the door retreated at Bendy's approach, disappearing back into the room as the little toon threw it open.
Inside was a mangled, ink-black body, laying in a ruined heap. Sans couldn't help but be sickened at the sight, even if the gore wasn't exactly realistic-looking. That was still a person in there...
He leaned against a wall that gave him the best vantage point of the entire space, keeping watch as promised while Bendy worked. Sammy's body slowly came back together until he was laying, whole and unmarked in the floor, Bendy standing over him and panting heavily from the effort of using power that clearly wasn't actually his.
Bendy stared down at Sammy, trying to get his breathing back under control as he waited, hoping he'd succeeded. If Sammy didn't wake, they'd have to get Henry to fix him properly... but at least he wasn't mangled anymore...
Even as he was thinking this, Sammy groaned softly, fingers twitching weakly and Bendy straightened with a pleased grin. He'd done it! "...my lord...?" Sammy croaked and Bendy's smile softened.
"Please, Sammy... just call me Bendy," he told the former human. He knew he needed to play his cards right to keep Sammy on their side. "I really am sad ta see ya were taken in so badly by tha Liar, but everything will be alright now, Prophet," he whispered, kneeling with a gentle smile and placing his hand on Sammy's shoulder.
"M-my lord...? Bendy?" Sammy asked, voice trembling. "B-but..." he paused, taking a deep breath. "Will you... save me?"
Bendy sighed softly. "I would love ta, Sammy, but I can't. Not yet. I need tha Creator and tha Ink Machine. Tha Liar is keeping both from me. But I promise, Sammy, as soon as I can, I'll help ya. After all, how could I refuse ya when ya spent so long protecting me from tha Liar?"
If Sammy had eyes, they would have widened comically at Bendy's words. "I... protected you, my Lord?" he asked, shock colouring his tone.
Bendy laughed, standing and offering a hand to help Sammy up. Sammy took it reverently, seemingly in awe that he got to touch the Ink Demon, the real one, without being smited as the False Demon had done. "Of course, Sammy. I wouldn't've trusted anyone but my prophet ta guard me at my weakest," he told the man, feeling really bad for spewing so much bullshit, even as he led Sammy into the main room where Sans was standing guard. Sammy bristled upon seeing Sans, but Bendy shushed him, stepping over to his plush before sinking back into it.
Sammy gasped in shock as the plush stood and winked at him. "Tha Liar wants ta destroy me and take my ink, Sammy. This is tha easiest way ta get around."
"Of course, my Lord. I shall protect you as I did before, then. You and your companion," Sammy swore.
"welp, i guess our party is up to three now. i'm sans. nice to meet you, sammy," Sans said, holding out an ink-stained hand to shake. Sammy seemed reluctant for a moment, glancing at Bendy, who nodded before Sammy held out his own hand and shook Sans'. "now that introductions are done, we should get going before the demon finds us. bendy took long enough putting you to rights to make me nervous."
"Sans is correct. Tha Creator, Henry can only keep tha Demon occupied for so long... he'll be here soon..." Bendy murmured before ducking into Sans' hood for cover. "Sammy, we need ta head down ta Level K. Will ya lead tha way? And keep an eye out fer tha Liar's wall shadows," Bendy requested.
"Of course, my Lord," Sammy replied, bowing before turning to look at the raised shutter on the other side of the room. "It is this way. Come," he said, then started walking. "We must be prepared to run at any moment. The false lord travels through the ink, and there are two large pools," he warned. Sans made a sound of acknowledgement as he followed close on Sammy's heels.
The trio fell silent as they walked, Sans pausing when he noticed a broken axe laying on the floor. Sammy noticed the pause and followed Sans' line of sight, humming thoughtfully. "I do believe that was my little sheep's..."
"Henry, Sammy. That was Henry, tha Creator..." Bendy said softly.
"...Henry? I... I know that name..." Sammy whispered, holding a hand to his head.
"hey, think about it later," Sans ordered, stooping to pick up the axe. It wasn't all that great of a weapon, what with most of the handle missing, but it was certainly better than nothing.
"I... yes, of course, you are right. This is not the time," Sammy uttered, shaking his head before moving on. A little further ahead was a flooded, sunken room. None of them got any closer than needed, turning the corner as fast as they could before breaking into a light run as they noticed writhing, inky shadows starting to form on the walls.
At the pace they were going, it didn't take long to reach the end of the corridor maze, though they encountered another issue soon enough. The door wouldn't budge. "shit... think you can do your trick again, buddy? i don't think any of us fancy getting caught," Sans hissed. Bendy didn't reply, simply jumping from Sans' shoulder once again, squeaking as he landed on the floor and again as he squeezed under the door. Sans turned to eye the approaching wall shadows with growing fear, holding his makeshift weapon in front of his chest.
"Sans." Sammy's voice snapped Sans out of his fear, looking up at the former musician. "If my Lord does not get the door open in time, I want you to promise to keep him safe. My Lord will save me again if need be, but I suspect that he would be unable to do the same for you," he whispered, sounding strained. He was scared, that much was for certain.
"i'll do what i can, sammy, but I can't promise. that creature did something to me on the main floor and i don't know how long it'll take to wear off," Sans replied, patting the inky man on the arm.
Sammy sighed. "I suppose that is all I can ask, then. If need be, I will act as a shield for my Lord." At that moment, two things happened. The door clicked open behind them and the Demon rounded the corner.
"Hurry!" Bendy yelped, his voice raised to be heard over the Demon's screech. Sans and Sammy both turned and darted into the room, slamming the door shut behind them and putting the wooden block back into place. The Demon screeched angrily, banging on the door hard enough that it rattled under the force. He gave up astonishingly easy, though, and soon enough, they heard footsteps limping away.
"...that was way too close..." Sans breathed with a tiny, near-hysterical laugh.
"Indeed. Thank you for saving us, my Lord," Sammy said, turning and bowing to Bendy who was trembling somewhat.
"Heh... what're friends far, Sammy. And please, stop with tha' 'lord' stuff. I'd rather not be worshipped. I like having fans... but y'know what I like more, Sammy?" Sammy shook his head, making a confused sound. "Friends. Friends and family are tha most important things. Yer a friend. Sans is a friend. Henry, though... Henry's family. So're Alice an' Boris."
"...I almost did something horrible, didn't I...? Why did you help me, m-... Bendy? After I offered up your family to the false lord?" Sammy asked softly, his words strangled like he was about to start crying.
"Because tha Liar fooled ya. He tricked ya an' he hurt ya. In my opinion, karma's already punished ya enough," Bendy replied with a soft, sad laugh. "Henry's a good guy. I'm positive he's already forgiven ya an' wants ta help as much as I do." Bendy paused, shifting nervously as he glanced around the small room. "Now, we should move on. I'm sure this room is safe, but we shouldn't hang around one place too long. We need ta find tha Creator."
"yeah, let's go. you can apologize once we find henry," Sans tacked on, reaching up to pat Sammy on the shoulder as Bendy returned once again to his plush body.
Once Bendy was ready to go and tucked back in Sans' hood, they exited the small room, finding themselves in a slightly bigger room. Sammy led the way across to another door that led to a tiny lift that the pair of them barely fit into. There were only two buttons, one labelled 'Up', the other 'Down'. Sammy pressed the second and the lift ground to life.
"why in the world is there only a lift? seems like a safety hazard to me," Sans muttered, though he only got shrugs from Sammy and Bendy. Neither of them really knew.
"As far as I remember, this is the only lift that lacks a staircase counterpart," Sammy said, shaking his head.
"good to know," Sans replied just as the elevator stopped with a soft ding. They fell back into walking in silence as they traversed halls until they finally came out in a huge room. A giant sign hanging above read 'Heavenly Toys' and Bendy cheered softly.
"We made it! Look behind us. There's a Little Miracle Station that we can make use of if we need ta," he said, clearly grinning just by his tone.
"perfect. let's hope we don't need to, huh?" Sans asked, gripping his broken axe a little tighter. He'd really prefer to never have to use it, but he got the feeling that there might not be a choice in the matter. "okay. first thing, i think we need to find henry," the skeleton mused, looking around.
"Yes, that does sound like a good plan, though I am rather unsure he shall want to see me..." Sammy near whispered.
Sans shrugged slightly. "whether he does or not at this point is rather irrelevant. we can't do anything but move on." Sammy nodded slowly, sighing but fell into step next to Sans as he started walking.
It was as they were walking through the toy workshop that they ran into another person. Quite literally in Sammy's case, as the person darted through the door and barreled straight into Sammy, knocking both of them off their feet and into a messy sprawl on the floor.
The human, who could only be Henry, gasped, scrambling up only to freeze upon seeing Sammy. It didn't last long, though, the man casting a glance behind him before hissing, "Run!" at them. Sans reached out to haul Sammy to his feet, though the inky man shook his head.
"There will be little room for you and the Creator in that box. Go. I shall keep whatever comes busy," Sammy said, the words surprisingly soft. Sans paused but then nodded, even as Bendy made a soft distressed sound in his hood.
"stay safe, sammy. we'll find you later," Sans promised, then took off after Henry.