Let Darkness Come

[Katrielle Layton]

The four stood in front of the gate, with Torinin signaling for the monsters inside to pull it up. The crisscross bars in front of the entrance slowly rose, creaking from the movement. Together, they strode inside.

The castle was just as grand on the inside as it was on the outside, with luscious red carpeting trailing along the commonly-traveled routes. Unfortunately, it wasn't as marvelous as it could be, given that countless claw marks had etched themselves into the fabric from years of use. Bendy mentally huffed at the damage; if he were running the place, he'd be having a "polite" conversation with the peons that dared to sully his floor. The carpet was there to provide comfort, and it certainly couldn't do that when it was all scratched up. Have some pride in your work, man!

The bird lady led the group across the countless hallways, and Shackles split up at a certain point, presumably to deposit the woman Bendy had claimed. They roamed between ballrooms, army quarters and various other rooms one would find in an ancient castle, which left the previously-hesitant wolf in awe; even someone as nervous as Boris couldn't help but admire the commanding architecture.

Eventually they arrived in front of an ornately-carved wooden door. Gold trim wrapped around the double doors, trying to improve the look that was ruined by decades of decay. Two monsters stood beside the entrance, wrapped in hastily-donned leather armor. They held no weapons-- their razor fangs and claws were more than enough to ward off intruders.

Torinin pushed the demon towards the door. Instead of opening it, the imp turned to stare at her accusingly. "What? You're not coming?"

"You're the one Draaaculaaa waaants to see, not us," she replied, pointing a feathery finger towards the entrance. "I caaan aaassure you thaaat your wolf friend will be saaafe with us for the time being."

Bendy raised an eyebrow. "For the time being?"

"Of course, he wouldn't be welcome here should Draaaculaaa decide you shouldn't be in his aaarmy. We'd haaave to get rid of aaany... straaagglers."

That veiled threat against his friend finally sent him over the edge. The devil tried his best to "flip the bird" at the bird lady while having only four fingers. "Great. I can't trust you farther than I can throw you. You know what? @%#! you!" What he had intended to be the most intense of swear words instead sounded like the quack of a rubber duck.

"DO YOU WAAANT TO JOIN DRAAACULAAA OR NOT?!" Torinin squawked and shook her hands, causing the two guards to flinch.

The ink monster stared intensely at her bulging eyes. While it really sucked that he and Boris would probably be executed should the vampire deny them entry, they were so close! He'd be an idiot to quit now! And while Bendy was many things, an idiot was not one of them.

He slowly let his gaze lower to the ground, glancing over at his friend's shoes. "...I do. Sorry for the outburst." He wasn't, but it was best not to let her know that.

"You better be." The bird lady crossed her arms and gave him a glare from the side. "Remember what I said about etiquette."

"Right." The demon didn't bother to make a snarky comment as pushed through the antique doors, his focus planted entirely on joining this army.

Someone who had to be Dracula sat behind a marble desk, his red-stained suit preened to perfection. Another red carpet, this time in better condition, led up to him, flanked by several pairs of creatures both human and not. There were no chairs for Bendy to sit in, so he just strode up to his side of the desk and curtsied, also changing his size because he could barely see the top of the furniture piece at his current height. One of the guards snickered, but a glance from the vampire shut him up swiftly.

"Hello, Fang--" The demon caught himself in the middle of his mistake. "Uh, Dracula."

The leader nodded in return, seemingly unimpressed. "You must be Bendy. Shackles told me about you." Ah, that had to be the reason why they were wandering so much: they needed to give the blue giant a chance to discuss their possible newcomer. "He confirmed that you took the woman. Now if you would kindly...?"

Neither of them needed to finish the sentence to know what the vampire wanted. The ink monster hoisted the severed head onto the desk, whereupon Dracula took it to examine the gangrene the cartoon had inflicted upon it. "Very messy," the leader said, looking into the hole where the neck had once been connected to a living body. "Tell me how you did it."

"Well, Dracula, when I took the lady, the guards gave chase. I passed her off to Boris--"

"Yes, he also mentioned that dog of yours."

Bendy wanted to say that Dracula was the only dog here, but he held back. "Right. Him. Anyway, I hid on the top of the wall surrounding the city and I plucked out a guard when I had a chance. We fought outside of Darkshire, I pumped him full of ink until he died, and then I ripped his head off his shoulders with my hands!" He took a moment to display the blood covering his fingers.

"I can see that. I can also see that you've probably gotten a bounty on your head, judging by your story."

"...Yeah."

Dracula did not respond, instead pulling out a vial of blood and placing it on the desk. "...You have potential. But your powers and your temper are unhinged."

"I'm guessing you heard me outside the door?"

"I did. We can, however, redirect that anger into something... productive. Do you promise that you will never betray me or my army?"

Bendy could barely hold in his excitement as he nodded. Then he remembered something. "What about Boris?"

"We will find him a place here as well. Now it's time to perform the sealing. I must drink of your blood."

"Excuse me, Dracula," the demon objected, secretly glad that he could correct the vampire, "but I don't have any blood."

"I am aware of that. I believe it's ink, correct?"

"Yeah."

Dracula placed an inkwell onto the desk and gestured for one of the guards to approach. "A little transmogrification should fix that."

The main who arrived took the two items, pulling a syringe out of his concealing, black cloak. He absorbed some of the ink and blood into the needle, then injected it into Bendy's arm, muttering something.

"H-hey!" cried the imp. "Watch where you're sticking that--" Suddenly Bendy felt warm. He glanced down at his arm, noticing that the inky blackness was turning into a deep red.

A blood red.

Dracula gingerly grabbed the demon's arm and opened his mouth, revealing sharp fangs. The cartoon braced himself as the vampire plunged his teeth into the devil's skin, sucking out his "blood." He struggled to stay on his feet as his life force was drained, but eventually the strain became too much for him; his legs buckled beneath him as he fell into unconsciousness.

Word Count: 8,351/8,000

Goal reached, awaiting results. Success or failure will determine if Bendy lives.