Chapter Text
She opened the door to a place that was familiar, a place that she knew deep in her heart and soul, even if her mind couldn't truly identify it at the moment. She had come here looking
for her fa
for someone important that had gone missing. She searched the building from top to bottom but found nothing wrong or out of place. It was just empty, as if those who were supposed to be here had simply vanished into thin air.
Heart heavy and tears beginning to form in her eyes, she couldn't help but sink down in the middle of the living room as she mourned those she lost
but couldn't remember
. She wiped away her tears and rested her hand on the floor, only for something to flare to life under her touch. She gasped in surprise and scrambled to her feet as a black circle of some kind continued to form on the floor.
Before she could truly process what was she was seeing, something grabbed her from behind with cold, wet hands. She struggled, but she couldn't escape its grasp, though she did manage to maneuver herself around so she could face her captor. Towering over her was some kind of creature made of black ink and what seemed like a light for a face, blinding her from seeing the rest of the creature clearly.
"You carry the mark of the Demon," the creature hissed, examining the hand that she had touched the circle with, the one that had the bracelet that
Bendy
someone had made for her. "You shall be returned to the Machine as well."
She didn't have time to even wonder what the creature was talking about before she was pushed backwards, falling towards the circle that was still there. But instead of hitting the floor like she should have, she found herself splashing through a deep puddle of ink, falling far deeper than should be possible. She flailed and tried to swim to the surface, but it felt like something was purposefully pulling her down by the bracelet on her wrist. She clawed at it in an attempt to pull it off and save herself, but her limbs were getting sluggish as her lungs burned.
Instinctively, she inhaled only to panic as ink flooded her mouth and throat.
She couldn't breathe!
SHE COULDN'T BREATHE!
She cou-
She gasped as the ability to breathe returned, her heart racing as the remnants of the… dream?.. memory?.. faded away. She instinctively coughed and hacked as her mind convinced her that she should still be drowning in ink, though her airways were perfectly clear. She moved to get up from the floor, but she just realized she was lying on when she got distracted by the sight of her hands.
"M-my hands…" She gasped in panic, her hands trembling as she stared at them. "W-what's wrong with my hands?!"
The palms of her hands and forearms were completely black and shimmered slightly as if they were made of wet ink, leaving only her fingers to still look like a normal human's. Forcing herself to calm down as she couldn't afford to be panicking in an unknown, probably dangerous place, she forced herself to rise to her feet. Looking around, she found herself in a sketched room of some sort with a dark, inky pool nearby and the ominous words of "Welcome Home" scrawled on the wall.
Shivering slightly at the implications of those words, she looked away and studied the rest of the room for more clues about where she was. She paused when she noticed what seemed to be propaganda posters saying things like "Hail the Overseer, the Ink Demon has been tamed" or "Join the Overseer and you shall be given power and remade". She wasn't sure exactly what they meant, but something about them sent a jolt of fear through her heart. With nothing else to gain from this room, she fixed a ladder nearby and went deeper into whatever place she had found herself in. She didn't get very far before the intercom system crackled to life.
"Attention children of the Machine!" came the announcement, though the static from the speakers made it hard for her to tell if the voice was male or female. "This is the Overseer! It's been nearly a year since I've brought new life into this world! Since I tamed the Ink Demon! Since I tore him in two to keep you safe!"
"No!" she couldn't help but gasp in fear and despair, though she wasn't sure why.
"In return for all I've done, I've only asked for your loyalty," the voice continued. "And you can prove it to me now… There is a stranger who has made their way into this world. Bring them to me and you shall be rewarded."
She felt fear as the announcement ended, knowing instinctively that she was the one the voice had been talking about. Feeling watched by unseen eyes and hunted by whatever may be roaming these halls, she picked up the pace as she wound through the dripping halls. She screamed when a vent opened and some sort of twisted toon hung there in a mess of wires. It didn't seem to be moving, but she didn't wait around to see if that would change.
Flipping some sort of switch, she went deeper and came to an area called "Heavenly Toys". She couldn't help but pause and admire it as, despite its obviously worn-down state, there was still a sense of grandeur to it. There was something familiar about it, too, like someone had once described this place to her.
Not wanting to stay put in the open too long, though, she made her way up the stairs and got shocked when she tried to pull the switch to open the door to the toy room. With no other choice, she began to climb a nearby wall. The same twisted toon from before was there, snarling at her and swinging a pipe at her. In her panic, she let go of the wall and fell back onto the floor below. The twisted toon was still intent on getting her, though, as it leaped off the wall and swung its pipe toward her.
She barely managed to roll out of the way in time and scrambled to her feet, fleeing back the way she had come. Nearly tripping down the stairs, she sprinted across the room and flung herself into a weird little closet-like box with the words "little miracle station" over it. She shut the door behind her and held it tight as the twisted toon rammed it repeatedly, trying to reach her through the narrow eye gap.
Just when she thought all hope was lost, a woman's humming filled the air. The twisted toon looked away, almost like it was terrified of the hummer, before it ran off and out of sight. The humming faded soon after, and she felt it was safe to leave after a few minutes of silence. Stumbling out of the weird box, she realized that she was actually really hungry. Looking around, she found a can of bacon soup in a crate. Eyeing it dubiously, she took a hesitant sip. Her face scrunched up at the stale taste and slimy texture, but at least it didn't seem dangerous.
"I wouldn't drink too much of that if I were you," came a voice from her side. With a startled gasp, she dropped the can and whipped to the side. Standing there was some kind of toonified woman. She had horns coming out of her head, an inky dress, and all sorts of supplies to help her survive. The strangest part, though, was how her headband seemed to be a glowing gold.
"It'll help patch you up, but the aftertaste is not so good," the toon woman, the angel, said with a slight smile, clearly trying to put her at ease. "Easy now, I'm not going to hurt you. It looked like you needed some help."
"Don't touch me!" She couldn't help but snap, backing away a little. She was terrified and alone and apparently with a target on her back, though she had no idea why. She wasn't sure if she could trust this angel or not yet."What are you? What is this horrible place?"
"I know it's scary, but you're actually pretty lucky," The angel assured, though it did little to comfort her. "The machine could have turned you into a searcher."
"You mean that thing that attacked me?" she asked, gesturing wildly.
"No. That's a Piper," the angel explained. "And he's part of a gang, so be careful."
"I don't understand any of this," she sniffed, clutching her head. "I can't think. I can't remember… it hurts."
"You'll catch on pretty quickly if you can stay alive," the angel went on. "And I have the feeling you've got what it takes. Lesson One: Searchers don't have legs, and they tend to swarm, but they can usually be destroyed with a strong hit from a sturdy weapon. Look, it's not good to stay in one place for too long around here. Keep moving and stay close to the shadows. Take my advice, head to the upper levels. It's… safer there."
"Can I come with you?" she asked, unwilling to leave the first friendly creature she'd come across.
"You can't, I'm sorry," the angel replied, looking genuinely apologetic. "I've been working to… I've got a lot of enemies after me, and larger groups attract more attention. You'll be safer on your own for now. Good luck. I hope we meet again."
The angel began to walk away.
"Oh! And one more thing!" The angel said, turning back around. "Above everything else, stay away from the Ink Demon. He's the strongest creature in the studio and would kill anything that moves. The Overseer has him under control now."
"Shouldn't that be a good thing?" She asked even though her heart already told her the answer.
"The Overseer did something to him," the angel said, looking surprisingly sad for talking about what seemed like a deadly monster. "Something that made him even more twisted, and now he hunts and kills all those who oppose the Overseer. Don't let him see you, and you might survive."
"Wait!" she called as the angel turned to leave again. "What's your name?"
"Allison," the angel replied, gently touching her headband and making her eyes flash gold for a second. "I still remember my name is Allison. What's yours?"
"My name…" she replied, realizing that she had almost forgotten it too. It took longer than it should have, but her name did come back to her mind.
"Julie… my name is Julie…"