Chapter Text
It was a stormy night, and a tall, slender, feminine man ran as if his life depended on it. Yelling voices could be heard behind him. There were gunshots and barking dogs. Spotlights searched the ground for the feminine man. A little farther along was the village the man was running towards. He entered the village and ran for a nearby alley; it was abandoned, save for a dumpster he hid inside of. He could hear the humans and the dogs running by.
One of the men however, stopped at the opening of the alley. The feminine man slowly lifted the dumpster lid, just high enough to see the man. The man took out a walkie-talkie; "This is Chris calling to prison headquarters, I'm afraid that lunatic of a cult leader got away."
For a moment it was quiet, nothing but static noise coming from the walkie-talkie. Then it replied, "Prison headquarters to Chris, message confirmed. Here are your new orders; gather the officers and get back to the prison. Tomorrow we'll hang wanted posters in the village and warn the villagers by putting an article in the newspaper."
"New orders acknowledged," Chris replied. He called for his colleagues and headed back for the prison.
The feminine man waited for a while before crawling out of the garbage container. He slowly walked to the entrance of the alley and peeked around the corner; the group of officers and their dogs were heading back towards the prison. He waited till they were out of sight, then he dashed away.
He wanted to go back to the church so badly, but he knew the police would be searching for him there. He sneaked around the village for a while until he ended up on the outskirts. There he found a meadow with a shed at the back. It was still raining and the man was soaked from head to toe. "Well, it couldn't hurt to take a look," he muttered to himself.
He ran towards the shed; fortunately for him it wasn't locked, and when he got inside he knew why—it was abandoned. Some of the windows were broken and the wooden floor creaked here and there, but the shed itself was still in a pretty good shape. The walls were sturdy and the roof wasn't leaking despite the fact that it was storming outside. There was even a big pile of hay in the corner of the shed.
He grabbed a bit of the hay and made himself a makeshift bed out of it. He also wanted to make a campfire to create a little more warmth and to dry his prison uniform, but fire would create light and he didn't want to signal the villagers where he was hiding. Still, he needed to take his prison uniform off—it was soaked, and if he left it on he would get sick.
He got undressed, grabbed his wet prison uniform, took a paper out of it and laid it open on the floor. Then he took a large old piece of cloth that was lying in the corner. He walked over to his makeshift bed, laid down on it, and draped the cloth over his naked body.
He looked at the paper that he had taken out of his uniform earlier, and to his relief it was still dry. He unfolded it to reveal a news clipping with the headline, "Bendy, Alice and Boris, the New Inhabitants of our Village". With it there was also a picture of the toons receiving their ID cards.
He remembered reading it for the first time. That was six months ago, when he had just been placed in prison. He was so angry at the cartoon devil that he ripped him out of the picture. That's why he stole the newspaper from his neighbor and cut out the entire news clipping. He'd "borrowed" a red marker from an officer and circled the image of Bendy with it, and underneath it wrote "pure evil".
Every time the man was close to losing hope and felt empty inside, he looked at the picture of Bendy, and it filled him with anger and purpose. He was going to destroy that demon before it destroyed the world. That was what God wanted of him. He folded the news clipping and put it down on the floor next to him.
He looked up at the ceiling and though out loud, "Of course I need to deal with that poor misled man first. That bastard of a devil manipulated him into thinking that he is his father. As long as that man is filled with his delusions, he will try to stop me from destroying that demon. I know what to do, I just need a few hours to prepare."
He started to laugh maniacally as he threw his hands up in the air and exulted, "Dear God, I will fulfill the task that you have assigned to me, revenge will be mine, that demon will DIE!"
Just at that moment, a bright lightning bolt lit up the heavens and the loudest crack of thunder made the village shake.
*At that exact same point in time, in Bendy and Boris' bedroom*
Bendy jolted awake; there was bright lightning and the loud boom of thunder outside. Tears were running down his face and his entire body shook. He looked around the room; Boris was still asleep. A soft smile appeared on Bendy's face, relieved that he didn't wake up the cartoon wolf when he woke up from his nightmare.
It had looked so real, the man that tried to kill him was free again. The little demon guessed he was dreaming—more like having a nightmare.
He slowly crawled out of bed and sneaked towards the window, as to not wake up his best friend. He stared out the window; it was still dark outside. The streets were abandoned and it was so quiet that you could hear every drop of rain fall to the ground. Bendy wiped away the tears that were still running down his cheeks. He liked the sound of rain, it helped him to relax for some reason.
He turned around to look at his bed as he groaned, "I guess no sleep for me tonight." The cartoon demon wasn't really scared anymore, but he had this nagging feeling that something was about to happen. He slowly walked over to the door as he glanced at Boris. The toon wolf was still sound asleep. Bendy chuckled and opened the door as silent as possible, not wanting to wake anyone up, but to his surprise he saw Henry standing in the door to his room across the hall.
"Bendy, you okay? I heard a scream," the old animator said groggily as he rubbed his eyes.
Bendy sighed. "Fudge nuggets! Sorry, Dad... I didn't mean to wake you up."
"It's fine, but why did you scream?"
Bendy looked at the floor in embarrassment, not saying a word. Henry could have sworn that he saw a drop of water falling on the floor. Was Bendy crying?
He looked at the little devil darling with a soft smile. "You had another nightmare, didn't you?"
Bendy didn't dare to look at Henry, but nodded.
Henry gently took Bendy's hand and the duo walked down the stairs. Bendy went to sit on the sofa in the living room and Henry headed for the kitchen. He took two mugs out of the cupboard, filled a cooking pan with milk, and warmed it. He poured the warm milk into the cups, took it to the living room, and sat down next to Bendy. He handed one of the cups to Bendy and watched the little devil blow at the milk to cool it down and drink it. The old animator followed his example.
Henry looked at Bendy again and had to chuckle.
Bendy looked confused at him. "What?"
"You have a milk mustache."
Bendy wiped away the mustache and looked at Henry with his typical cartoony grin. Henry chuckled again as he slowly shook his head. He looked at the little devil and his face turned serious; Bendy noticed this and stared at the floor in response.
Henry placed his hand on the little devil's knee. "You want to talk about it?"
Bendy slowly shook his head as tears ran down his face again. The old animator took the cup from the devil darling and placed it together with his own cup on the coffee table, then lifted Bendy up and placed him in his lap; Bendy buried his head in Henry's chest. Henry started rocking back and forth a little, rubbing Bendy's back. The father started singing:
Ooh, ooh, ooh
Ooh, ooh
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dream of
Once in a lullaby
Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dream of
Dreams really do come true
Someday, I wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney top
That's where you'll find me...
Henry slowly stopped singing as he noticed that the little devil had fallen asleep. He gently got up with Bendy in his arms and carried the little devil up the stairs, back to his bed. Just as he had placed Bendy under the covers, he could hear a sound from behind him. It was Boris. Henry held his index finger against his lips to tell the wolf to keep it quiet. Boris nodded and went back to sleep. Henry gave the toons each a kiss on the forehead and went back to bed himself.
The following morning, Henry got up early. He went to the bathroom to get ready and finally made his way downstairs, only to find all three the toons already on the sofa, wide awake. Henry stood there in surprise as Bendy grinned at him, Alice and Boris following the little devil's example.
"Geesh, it's about time you got here old man. A second longer and Boris here would have woken you up with a bucket of water," Bendy joked.
Boris looked at Henry and shook his head and hands rapidly, making evident that he wasn't going to do that.
Henry playfully crossed his arms, looking at the little devil with a grin. "First of all, please stop calling me 'old man', I'm not that old. Second, I'm pretty sure Boris is smart enough to realize he can't go near water since he would melt if he did do so, and last but not least, mind telling me what you three are doing up already? This is early, even by your standards."
The toons laughed as they looked at each other and then Henry. It made the old animator feel uneasy.
"Close your eyes," Alice encouraged.
Henry did as he was told. "Okay, what are you three rascals up to?"
He heard the toons giggle as he felt someone grab his hand. By the feeling of it, it was Boris. Henry was guided to what he assumed was the kitchen; the air was filled with the smell of coffee, eggs and bacon.
"Okay Daddy, you can open your eyes on the count of three," the cartoon angel instructed. "One...two...three!"
Henry opened his eyes to find the toons sitting at an already set table; there were four plates with omelets and bacon, and one of them also had a mug of coffee. Henry knew it was meant for him since the toons weren't allowed to drink coffee. The old animator found the cartoons already hyper enough without the extra caffeine, so they each had a glass of orange juice instead.
Henry went to take a seat as he looked at the table in awe. "Did you guys do this all by yourselves?"
The toons smiled and nodded. "SURPRISE!"
"For what?"
"We wanted to thank you, Dad, for taking care of us," Bendy replied.
Henry thanked them and they started eating their breakfast and having fun conversations.
Suddenly the phone began to ring. Henry and the toons locked eyes with each other, not knowing who would call them this early in the morning. Henry got up from his chair and made his way to the living room to answer the phone.
The old animator was gone for almost half an hour, and the toons started to become worried as they could hear Henry raise his voice. Just as they were about to go see why their dad stayed away for so long, Henry came back into the kitchen. He was biting his lower lip and didn't make eye contact with the toons as he sat back down in his chair.
The toons looked at him, and the old animator could feel their curiosity. He sighed. "That was Doctor Johnson. Apparently he's been thinking about you three for a while. After he did the medical tests with the three of you to create your medical files, he came to the conclusion that he needs more ink for if one of you gets hurt. He doesn't like the idea that you keep donating ink to each other like you're each others' private blood-slash-ink bank. Unfortunately, I know he's right. There's only three of you—if two of you got hurt at the same time or if someone became sick, there wouldn't be enough ink to treat all of you."
Henry stared at the toons, who were looking worried. "John has asked if it's possible to go get more ink from where it originated," he continued. "I explained to him that it would be suicide to go back to that hellish studio, I told him everything that had happened there. He understood, but the only other solution he has is if one of you would be willing to donate some ink. He could examine it in the lab and try to recreate it."
Before anyone got the time to react, Bendy had already volunteered. "I'll do it!"
Boris and Alice watched the little devil as Henry asked, "You sure about this Bendy?"
"Look, Alice and Boris already donated ink once to save my life. It's only fair that I should be the one to donate some ink now," Bendy replied.
Henry turned to the cartoon angel and the wolf. "What do you think about this?"
Alice and Boris locked eyes before looking back at Henry. Boris shrugged his shoulders, making clear he didn't mind.
"If that is what Bendy wants, it's fine by me," the cartoon angel agreed.
Bendy smiled at everyone.
"Okay, it's settled then. I'll go make the appointment," Henry stated.
The old animator went to the living room, to the phone again, and this time he only stayed away for five minutes. Henry made his way back to the kitchen and went to sit in his chair.
"Tomorrow at ten a.m., that's when he expects us at his office in the hospital," Henry informed the toons.
The family continued their breakfast, when all of a sudden they heard noise coming from their front door.
"Now what?" the old animator said as he stood up and went to check what the noise was. The toons followed him. He opened the front door to discover that Rudy was trying to pry open their mailbox.
Tina, who was standing right next to her dad, saw the four standing confused at their front door. She nervously pulled on her father's shirt. "Um, Dad?"
Rudy ignored her and continued to work on the mailbox.
"Daddy?"
"Not now honey, I almost got it," Rudy answered.
Henry shook his head and came back to his senses. He cleared his throat. "Can I help you?"
Rudy froze in place. He stayed like that for a while, and then he slowly started to turn around and nervously looked at Henry.
"Hello Henry, nice weather were having today, isn't it?" Rudy said with a nervous grin.
"Oh no mister, don't you dare to change the subject on me. What was that all about?" Henry asked, pointing at the mailbox.
Rudy sighed and asked Henry if he would take the newspaper out of the mailbox. The old animator reached for a key in his pocket and went to the mailbox to take the mail. He went back to the front door and gestured to Rudy and Tina to follow them inside. The group went back to the kitchen, and they all sat around the table.
"Well, I'm listening," Henry demanded.
Rudy pointed at the newspaper.
Henry opened it; the first thing he saw was a large picture of the feminine man that had stabbed Bendy with the headline, "Wanted". Henry stared at the paper in disbelief.
"I wanted to tell you the bad news in person," Rudy explained as he looked sadly at Henry.
The toons saw the newspaper as well. Alice and Boris didn't understand what the problem was, until they noticed that Bendy was shaking. Everyone in the room stared at the little devil, while Bendy was on his turn looking at the picture of the guy that had stabbed him. In a flash, all the events that took place in the church passed before his eyes.
Bendy's head started to hurt, his breathing became faster and he slowly started to back away.
Henry jumped out of his chair and wanted to go to the little devil to comfort him, but before he could react, Bendy had already left the kitchen. The cartoon demon ran to his room as fast he could and locked the door behind him. He leaned his back against the door and let himself slide down. The little devil rested his head on his knees and started to cry.
Henry was about to follow his devil darling, but Rudy stopped him by placing a hand on the old animator's chest, slowly shaking his head. "I think it's better if you give him some space. You know, give him some time to process the bad news," Rudy explained.
"First John and now this." Henry rubbed his temples.
"Wait, Anthony? What has he to do with all this?" Rudy asked.
"Let's just say we've had an eventful morning," Henry replied as he gestured at the sofa, offering a seat to the visitors.
Everyone went to have a seat except Henry, who went to the kitchen to get some beverages for his guests and the toons. He came back to the living room, placed the beverages on the coffee table, and took a seat on the sofa. The old animator explained what had happened before Rudy and Tina had arrived, from Bendy's nightmares to the appointment with John.
Rudy whistled. "Poor Bendy, he's under a lot of pressure."
"I know, but he's not talking to anyone about it; not doctor Johnson, not Boris or Alice, and not even me. But I did have a breakthrough last night—he had another nightmare, and though he didn't want to talk about it, I was able to calm him down when I sang for him. It's not much, but it's a start," Henry replied.
Rudy nodded. "Speaking of Anthony, is it safe for Bendy to go there? You know, with that nutjob on the loose?"
Henry thought about it for a minute. "Well, he's only just escaped, I don't think he's going to show his face anytime soon. If he's smart he'll probably wait till things have cooled down a bit. Besides, everyone's looking for him, it's not like he can just wander around without people noticing him. However, to be sure, I want to update our security system a bit, just in case. Unfortunately, I would need some time to do so and Bendy has that appointment tomorrow."
"Say no more—I'll be happy to take the toons to the hospital for you tomorrow. At least, if that's okay with them," Rudy stated.
They looked at Alice and Boris; they had the biggest grins and puppy dog eyes on their faces as they looked at Tina. who was staring back at them with a big smile. Henry and Rudy had to laugh.
"Guess that's settled then," Rudy chuckled, ruffling his little girl's hair.
Henry looked at his watch; they had been talking for nearly two hours and Bendy was still locked in his room.
"I think I'm going to go give him the update," Henry said, pointing at the ceiling.
The gang nodded. Henry made his way up the stairs, going straight to Bendy and Boris' room.
"Bendy? Everything okay in there?" Henry asked, knocking on the door.
It was silent. The old animator sighed; he went to sit on the floor with his back against the door, not knowing that he was sitting back to back with his little devil darling. Not sure if Bendy heard him or not, he started to explain the fact that Rudy would take them to the hospital tomorrow, while he would stay home to update their security system. All of a sudden Henry heard the door unlock, but it stayed closed.
The old animator was confused. He stood up and slowly opened the door to find Bendy sitting on his bed with his legs pulled up and his face resting on his knees. A soft smile appeared on Henry's face. He walked over to the little devil's bed, picked him up, sat on the bed himself and placed Bendy in his lap. Just like last night, Henry slowly rocked back and forth while he hummed the song. This time he also stroked the cartoon devil's horns—Bendy downright loved it when someone rubbed his horns, it felt great.
Finally the cartoon demon spoke. "I'm sorry that I locked myself in my room."
"Don't be, it's normal to want some time for yourself to sort things out. I just want you to know that whatever is going on, you can always talk to us. You know that, right?"
Bendy slowly nodded. "It's just... I was scared, when I saw his picture, it was just as if everything that had happened in that church was happening again."
Henry was surprised—that was the first time Bendy actually talked about his feelings. Bendy was actually opening up to him. The old animator wrapped his arms around the little devil, hugging him. "Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you. I promise."