Let Darkness Come

[Katrielle Layton]

The S.S Behemoth barreled its way out of the gate with a whistle, puffing smoke into the air as it exited into the dreary wilderness of the Pale Moors. Trees raced by, and before long, the gate faded into the distance. Boris held onto the railing and gazed at the scenery, slightly overwhelmed, considering that he had been brought back to life literally half-an-hour ago. Bendy, however, was not impressed.

He'd like a riotous place with all his friends-- maybe with a little theater where he could reenact all of his favorite skits. The Pale Moors had none of the above. What on earth did Alph have in mind when he suggested this place? Considering that he was already quite far from the entrance though, he figured that it was worth looking around for a while before going back to The Nexus.

The fog that permeated the air was almost nostalgic-- if he disregarded the trees rolling past, he could imagine that he was on a river, much like the one during his first test animation. It wasn't much, but even though the reason for their creation was selfish, it was a memory the cartoon held close to his heart; it was a beacon of a simpler, happier time.

A jolt immediately woke him from his daydreaming, almost knocking Bendy off-balance. A giant tree stood in the way, the bow of the boat wedged into its bark. The little devil huffed and smacked the steering wheel, spinning it wildly before walking over to where his wolf buddy had been admiring the area. Boris was no longer there, but when the inky creature looked down, he saw the lupine sprawled out on the dead, bluish grass.

"Whoops! Sorry, Bo," he said, hopping down and assisting his friend back on his feet.

"No problem," Boris replied, dusting off his shoulders, "but I was telling you to move out of the way."

"I was daydreaming," he admitted, glancing back at the boat. "At least you weren't hurt."

"Yeah, but now we're out a boat." The wolf walked over to the tree and knocked his knuckles on the wooden vessel. "It'll be mighty hard to pull it free."

The demon placed his palm on the stern and paused. "I made this out of Omnilium. You think I can turn it back into that?"

"Worth a shot."

Bendy closed his eyes and focused, imagining that the boat was no longer there. When he no longer felt the ship pressing up against his hand, he opened his eyes again and it was indeed nowhere to be seen. "I'd summon it again, but..." He glanced around at the ever-increasing canopy of trees. "I don't think we'd have enough room to ride it safely."

"I reckon that would be a problem."

"We can just summon it again once the forest thins. Now come on."

Word Count: 489/8000

[Katrielle Layton]

But as it turned out, the forest was not thinning. In fact, it only grew thicker alongside the fog. Bendy had taken a moment to summon a little handheld fan in order to blow away the foreboding mist, but as this place didn't run on cartoon physics, it did nothing. Although he was angry about it, there wasn't much else he could do.

They had continued along their path for a few hours before Boris stopped dead in his tracks, his shoes digging into the ground.

"What's the hold up, Bo?" the demon asked, exasperated and turning to face his friend.

The wolf didn't reply, instead he sniffed the air. His ears swiveled, trying to pinpoint something. He suddenly tensed up, staring somewhere off in the distance. Silence followed, building up uncomfortably.

"Bo?" The inky devil held out a gloved hand towards the anthropomorphic lupine. He had never seen his buddy so nervous-- what was he so scared about? "Are you-"

Boris held up a finger, shushing Bendy for a moment. A few seconds passed. The wolf turned his head towards his partner, lips curled up in a frightened scowl. "Something bad's coming this way."

Bendy tried to peer into the fog where his friend had been watching so intently. At first, he saw nothing, but a shadowy figure began to slowly appear in the distance. It stood on a rickety pair of legs, its two sets of arms plastered on an emasculated torso. Its head hung loosely from its dangling neck, staring back from waist-height with a pair of glowing eyes.

And it was drawing closer.

"Don't you think we should leave?" Boris asked, backing away from the monster.

The demon watched the creature for a moment as it shambled towards them. While the beast seemed unnatural and intimidating, nothing about it struck the cartoon as particularly dangerous. Heck, he could outrun the thing by walking! It'd prove a suitable target to test the abilities of his new body, though. "It's two against one. We can take it."

As if to punctuate his answer, several more creatures emerged from the mist. They clung tightly against each other, forming a wall as they pressed onward.

"I don't know about you," the wolf said, turning around, "but I'm outta--" The barricade of monsters continued around all the way, caging them in a circle of flesh. If he wasn't monochrome, all the color would've drained out of Boris's face.

"You know what?" Bendy asked, his fingers curling into fists. "I take that back."

Word Count: 924/8000

[Katrielle Layton]

Bendy and Boris backed up, glancing around at the mass of monsters surrounding them on all sides. Even more creatures lurked outside of the circle, insurmountable in number. The little demon looked up at his buddy, almost disappointed; as much as he wanted to sweep the floor with these beasts, there were just too many for him to handle. He didn't want to wear himself out without a clear destination in sight.

Grabbing Boris, he extended his legs and walked above and over the living barricade. As soon as he was in a somewhat safe spot, he returned to his normal size and started running for dear life. He turned his head to see if his wolf friend needed help, but Boris needed no reminder as he quickly caught up to the inky demon. The strange creatures served as little more than obstacles as the two fled, and while they occasionally swung an arm towards their prey, they were far too slow to catch them.

The further they ran, the more congested the path became. Monsters only grew in number as they raced past, forcing the two to slow down and locate clear directions to escape the mob. Bendy, frustrated by the hold-up, attempted the same trick he had done earlier. However, the beasts were grouped up close enough that they could cling onto the devil's legs and weigh him down whenever he passed over. He gasped, growing distressed as he desperately tried to shake the predators off of his limbs. They held on tight with vicious claws, digging into his inky body as it started dripping. It wasn't melting  it was hurting his body, but instead it was because the ink demon was panicking. Boris's body was undergoing the same process.

It didn't take long for the horde to surround them again, tugging as the cartoons struggled to break free. This couldn't be the end, could it? Ink splashed everywhere, the duo's bodies emulsifying. The mob of monsters finally converged on them, but by then, the Prime and his Secondary had already dissolved into a giant puddle. The creatures paused, blankly staring at the spot where Bendy and Boris had been. It took them a while, but eventually they began to disperse, vanishing into the fog.

When the cartoons realized that it was safe, they slowly reformed back into their own bodies.

"Gee, that was close," Boris said, cupping a little spot of ink and splashing it on himself.

"Yeah," Bendy replied, picking pieces of dead grass out of his body. "How about we keep running-- just to be safe?"

"I like that idea."

Word Count: 1367/8000

[Katrielle Layton]

"Bendy, I think we're goin' in circles," Boris commented after a few hours of walking.

"What are you talking about, Bo?"

"Well..." the tall wolf pointed at a dead tree. It had three holes presented in a way that made the tree look as if it had a face. "Haven't we passed this tree before?"

"No no no," Bendy said, crossing his arms, "the tree we saw earlier looked like it was screaming. This one's wailing."

"...Is there even a difference?"

"It's reeeaaaal subtle. You probably couldn't tell."

The canine huffed. "Well then! Since you are apparently better than me, would you mind telling me where we are?"

"Of course I know where we are!" the demon countered. "We're not at the gate to the Nexus."

"And?"

"We're not close to those... beasts."

"And?"

Bendy raised an eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"

"You're the smart one," Boris said, turning around, "you figure it out."

The inky monster frowned, trying to understand what his friend was implying. He sighed once he realized. "Fine! I have absolutely no clue where we are! You happy now?"

The wolf stayed silent.

"...Ugh. Alright. Sorry for thinking I'm smarter than you."

"That's better." His voice, while still sounding irritated, relaxed a little.

Suddenly an unknown voice pierced the air. "I think I heard talking over this way." It sounded like whoever was talking was trying to gargle a sack of marbles, but the sentence indicated at least some form of intelligence.

"Finally! Other people!" Bendy beamed at the thought. "Let's go say hi!"

The strangers entered the clearing. One of them was tall and bulky, his blue skin sewn tightly over bulging muscles. A large portion of his neck had been cut out, replaced with a red gem. He wielded a spiked club and only wore a loincloth. His partner barely reached his shoulders, but was just as tall as Bois. She had a large, beige beak and talons. Her hands were feathery, brushing her brown bobcut. Unlike the behemoth of a monster, she wore a blue-and-red-striped dress with long sleeves. She stared down at the devil with bulging, purple eyes.

"Howdy there!" He gave a little wave to the two strangers. "I'm Bendy the Darling Devil. This is Boris the Wolf. Anyway, we've been wandering this place forever and we don't know where we are in the Pale Moors."

The bird monster clasped her hands together and tilted her head. "Aaaren't you cute?" Her tone was one of amusement, maybe derivement. "You're technicaaacaaally nowhere aaat the moment. Whaaat aaare you doing out here in the first plaaace?"

"Oh, some guy named Alphonse said I'd fit right in here. He's probably lying though."

"He's not lying," said the brute, "you're just not looking in the right place."

"Maybe you could point us in the right direction?"

The bird squawked in what had to be a chuckle. "I'm certaaain we can help you aaand Boris here. I'm Torinin. This is Shaaackles."

The wolf glanced down at his friend, frowning. "I'm not so sure about this..."

"Don't worry about it, Bo." Bendy crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. He then turned back to the newcomers. "Where did you have in mind?"

"Haaave you ever heaaard of Draaaculaaa?"

Word count: 1,935/8,000

[Katrielle Layton]

The group of four had taken off in a straight direction, the two strangers seemingly familiar with the lay of the land. Occasionally they would come across a landmark, like a grave or a tree that had leaves, and they would readjust their course.

Bendy started speaking first. "Dracula... that name rings a bell, but I don't know why."

"He's aaa vaaampire," Torinin replied, feigning sharp teeth with her fingers.

"Oh!" Boris snapped his fingers. "You mean that one legend..."

"Yeah! I don't remember the details, but I think we're talking about the same guy?"

"Yes," Shackles confirmed. "He pretty much runs the Pale Moors at the moment."

"Aaall he needs to do in order to gaaain complete control is to taaake over Daaarkshire. We're heaaading there right now."

"Wait, you want all four of us to invade a city?"

"No, no, no. Even though it's been recently invaaaded, it's too much of aaa maaatch for just the four of us. No, if you waaant to meet with Draaaculaaa, there's aaa taaask you must aaaccomplish here."

Bendy crossed his arms and frowned. "There's always a catch. What is it?"

"Nothing complicaaated." The bird monster laced her hands together. "We will be waaaiting outside the city. Get into Daaarkshire however you caaan, preferaaably without draaawing aaattention. Once you're in, you must taaake aaa living person-- maaake it aaa womaaan or child if you caaan-- aaand the heaaad of aaa guaaard, aaand deliver them to us. Then we will taaake you to Draaaculaaa. If everything goes right, you should be aaable to join his aaarmy."

Boris gulped. "Y-you mean we have to kill people?"

"Dracula requires that he can trust his troops not to flake out due to... moral issues," answered the blue monster.

"I... I don't know..."

The demon clapped his buddy on the back. "I can handle it. I've done it before."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh, you weren't alive for that. Let's just say Joey's working the big ol' projector in the sky, if you catch my drift." Bendy winked.

The wolf just stood there, flabbergasted. He put his head in his hands, clearly upset. "Oh, Bendy..."

"Hey, eye for an eye, buddy. He killed you, I killed him."

"Aaare you done yet?" Torinin was tapping her talons.

"I'll do it!" Bendy answered, his perpetual grin growing wider. "As long as Boris can join too."

The two troops stared at each other for a moment. Eventually Shackles glanced back at the Prime. "We'll see what we can do."

"No promises though."

Word count: 2,373/8000

[Katrielle Layton]

"Aaalright, we'll be waaaiting aaaround here. Aaany closer aaand we might be spotted. Daaarkshire's thaaat waaay."

"Any suggestions for  trying to get in?"

"...Well, you might just be aaable to get in through the front gaaate-- you look innocent enough for aaa Prime."

Bendy flashed a cheeky grin. "Being a cartoon can do that do a person."

Torinin rolled her eyes. "I caaan see thaaat. But they might not waant straaange Primes coming in while they try to recover from the laaast invaaasion."

"You mentioned that earlier. Was Dracula involved?"

Shackles spoke instead. "No. I think it was a group from Poenari Castle that did that."

"Poenari Castle?"

"That is neither here nor now. We can explain later."

"Right. Won't be long!" And with that, the demon grabbed his partner by the hand and dragged him away towards Darkshire.

"I can't believe you pulled me into this..." Boris huffed, ears lowered as he freed himself from Bendy's grasp and started walking by him.

"What else could we do? Wander around in these woods until we die? We just came to life!"

Uncertainty danced in the wolf's eyes. "You do have a point there."

The imp put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Besides, I don't think Darkshire would welcome us that much. I assume pretty much all of the monsters here are either braindead or with Sir Fangs, so our reputation's already soiled from the get-go."

The lupine turned to stare Bendy in the eyes. "Are... are we monsters then?"

This question elected a pause from the inky devil, rendering him unable to answer for once. "Monster" had a very negative connotation to it, and he was certain that Boris didn't want to be known as one. Could he really blame him, though? He didn't deserve that title. It took Bendy a minute or two to come up with a response he was comfortable with. "A lot of things are called monsters. Good ones, bad ones. The ones no one can understand."

"What category do we fall under?" Boris asked, more curious than anything else.

"Only time will tell, Bo. Only time will tell."

Word count: 2,740/8,000

[Katrielle Layton]

It didn't take long for the demon and wolf to arrive at Darkshire. They stood in front of a monumentous stone wall, withering vines gnarled in the cracks in a desperate attempt to stay alive. The city, while not quite bustling, could still be heard on the other side. There was no gate, however. They must've arrived opposite to the entrance. Bendy glanced around for a moment, then turned to urge Boris to join him. "Let's follow the wall this way."

They continued along the path for about 30 seconds before the inky imp paused. They arrived at the gate, a little tower serving as a watch station. The guard stood inside the tower, decked out in armor.

Bendy waved up at him. "Hey! Buddy! I'm Bendy, this is Boris, and we've been wandering around for hours and we just need a place to rest. Can we come in?"

The watcher stared down, more than a little surprised at the new arrivals. "...What are you?"

"We're cartoons!" The imp splayed his arms out and did little jazz hands.

"That doesn't really explain much."

"We can't really explain it. We're cartoons, nothing more."

The guard raised an eyebrow at this, but continued. "Either way, you can't come in right now-- we're not allowing strangers inside until we've recovered. The gate to the Nexus is over there," he said, pointing away from the city, "so why not try one of the other universes?"

Well, guess they'd have to find another way. Bendy scowled, shaking his fist at the guard in partially-fake outrage. "Oi, I ask nicely and this is what I get?" He paused for a moment, waiting to see if the guard would respond. When he didn't, the demon huffed and crossed his arms. "Come on, Bo, let's try somewhere else." He took the lupine's hand and they walked into the darkness in the direction the man suggested. As soon as they were out of sight, however, they immediately retooled their stride so they returned to the side of the barrier.

The inky devil examined the wall, flexing his fingers against the bricks as an idea came to him. "Okay, Bo. Change of plans: follow my lead." And with that, he launched both of his hands towards the top of the barricade. Once his fingers latched onto the eroded brick wall, he hoisted himself to the top. His friend followed suit, and both of them stood atop the barrier, watching the town below them, almost invisible to the masses as their black skin blended into the perpetual night. Bendy shuddered when he caught sight of a church, but shook off his anxiety and turned to look at Boris. "Alright. You don't want to hurt anyone, so how about you wait up here and be my sentry?"

His pal hesitated for a moment, but nodded anyway. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Bendy gave him a reassuring smile. "100%, Bo."

"You know I trust you. Just try not to get into too much trouble, okay?"

"I'll try. You know I like trouble, though." The imp melted down into a puddle and began slithering down the wall into the town.

"I know," Boris mumbled, watching his friend disappear into the city below.

Word count: 3,300/8,000

[Katrielle Layton]

As a pitch-black puddle of ink, it was difficult to notice him in the dark. Bendy weaved around the feet of the townspeople, deftly dodging their steps as he searched for a target. Now, he needed to be careful-- if he emerged and attacked at the wrong time, they'd probably hound on him in no time... although, would they even know if he didn't actually belong here? Sure, it was a quaint town, but it didn't seem like the kind of place where everyone knew each other. Then again, he was a monster. Regardless of whether or not the people couldn't tell who lived here, they would certainly be suspicious of a living ink blot.

So he needed to pick a moment and roll with it. Alright then.

He continued on for a while, staying clear of the churches until he came across a tavern. Despite being a place for revelry, it was oddly quiet. But the lights were still on, so it had to be open. Either that or someone lived there. It was the perfect place for a demon of Bendy's caliber; he'd go grab a person, and then maybe go get a drink or something to take with him. Hopefully whoever was inside would be a suitable target, or else he wouldn't have any reason to be in there.

Slithering in, he took a moment to analyze the area. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, giving the place a faint, warm glow. Vacant chairs circled empty tables, some of them piled on top of each other as if the tavern was closing for the night. It probably was, given that a woman with a red bandana in her hair (presumably the bartender) was putting away all of the cups. She briefly left the room to clear her workload, which gave the ink monster a chance to rematerialize.

The woman returned sooner than Bendy expected, which left him in an awkward, vulnerable position as she stared at the half-developed creature in front of her. If she had a weapon, she could've capitalized on the moment. Unfortunately for her, she had been caught empty-handed. Instead, she ducked behind the bar to grab a shotgun kept out of sight from the customers. Once she rose back up, the beast had finally formed.

"Heh heh, you startled me there," he said, chuckling.

The bartender brushed her brown locks out of her hair, unamused, leveling the gun towards his direction. "What are you doing here?"

"What, a guy like me can't get a few drinks and pick up some chicks?" he deflected, adjusting his bowtie.

"Enough with the jokes."

"And you're a chick, are you not?" Bendy began to approach her, casually, but with an air of danger in his stride. "And we're alone, aren't we?" His voice became eerily quiet. "No one would notice."

Suddenly the bartender shot at his feet, strong muscles bunched up in preparation for a fight. She missed, but it startled the imp sufficiently enough for him to take a step back. "That was a warning shot," she said, reloading the gun. "Back off, or else I won't miss the next time."

The monster quickly recovered his senses and gave her a threatening challenge. "That sounds like a challenge. I love challenges."

Word count: 3,860/8,000

[Katrielle Layton]

Bendy rolled to the side as another shower of bullets peppered the door behind him with holes. He dashed forward, intending to wreck her face with a well-placed punch, but but the barista raised her shotgun up to block the blow. Using her weapon as leverage, she knocked the imp onto his back, giving her time to reload.

Sounds of commotion were beginning to grow apparent as the inky monster rose to his feet; the noise of a gun had to have been attracting concerned bystanders. He needed to block off the entrances, he realized as another shotgun blast was aimed his way. This time bits of shrapnel found their way into his body, leaving him to cringe at the sudden pain. But he had to muscle through the agony and find a way to isolate himself and his quarry before he was surrounded.

The chairs quickly came to mind as he searched for a solution. But the main door was a pair of knobless slats much like one would find in a western saloon, so he needed something... bigger. Bendy launched out a hand to grab one of the tables as his target prepared her next shot. With his grip secure, he haphazardly flung the piece of furniture into place in front of the door. It collided with a loud "thunk," but otherwise remained intact as it dropped to the floor and accepted its new life as a barricade. Okay, that was one entrance down, but what about the rest? There were the windows, but they had to be locked-- especially when the tavern had been closing up for the night-- and the other exit had to be for emergencies, so he had his bases covered for now. ...At least, until someone decided to shatter the glass.

Now it was time to deal with the woman in front of him. She stared at the impromptu blockade and scowled, reloading her gun. "You think you're clever, don't you?"

"Why, yes, I think so!" he replied, an absurd plan coming to mind as he watched her weapon bob in sync with her breathing. If he wanted to put it into action, however, he needed to get in close, and he certainly couldn't do that when she had a full clip. And people were freaking out outside and trying to break the door open, so he needed to do it fast.

He dashed in, but juked to the left as she fired, successfully baiting out a spray of bullets as he drew closer. He carefully manipulated his movement so he arrived in front of the counter just as the bartender had another shot up and ready. He hopped on top of the counter, preparing to lunge, when the woman turned and shot him square in the chest.

Right where the demon had formed a hole. The sheer look of panic and confusion on her face was worth it, even though it wasn't visible for long as she was promptly knocked out by a well-aimed bottle to the head. She collapsed to the ground, surrounded by glass and liquor. Bendy adjusted his size somewhat so he could comfortably sling his prize over his shoulder and hold a drink in his hand as he began to back out to the "employees only" room.

But it was then and there the barricade finally collapsed, flooding the front of the bar with a sea of worried onlookers, headed by a group of guards. "Stop!" they shouted, leveling bayonets towards the monster. "Stop or we'll have to use lethal force!"

Instead of stopping, he chose to bust down the emergency exit, barreling out the back door and into an alleyway. He ran into the back streets, scanning the protective wall surrounding the city for any sign of his buddy Boris. He eventually located the wolf and shouted up at him. "Hey! Quickly! Take her!" Bendy extended his arms to the top of the fortification so the lupine could claim his quarry. Boris accepted the hostage, albeit nervously.

"What if she wakes up?"

"Just hit her in the head again! You know where to take her!"

And with that, the wolf descended the climb. Biting down on the neck of the bottle so he could use his other hand, Bendy hoisted himself up to the top of the barricade. He took a moment to convert the bottle into Omnilium, then perched on the wall to watch the street he had just escaped from.

After all, he had one more trophy to claim.

Word Count: 4,621/8,000

[Katrielle Layton]

Guards pushed their way into the alleyways, bayonets at the ready. When they realized that the demon was no longer in sight, they began to split up, a pair for every direction they covered. Bendy muttered cartoonish curses under his breath, sending out a visible stream of symbolic swearing from his mouth; he was hoping that the guards would go it alone to cover more ground, but they were smarter than he had originally thought. Now there would be a witness.

However, this setback wouldn't really change his plans. Sure, the other guard would know if the imp stole away his partner, but the ink monster intended to take away his victim, remove his head, and leave before they could organize themselves. Hopefully he could do it fast enough.

"I remember hearing something over here," he heard one of the guards say, the two making their way into the alley Bendy had escaped from. They examined the dead end for a few moments, poking suspicious areas with their weapons in case their target could turn invisible. If they had bothered to look up, they might've noticed that there was a suspiciously-moving black spot on top of the wall-- of course, they didn't believe the demon could scale the barricade that quickly, so their target went unnoticed.

"There's no way it could be here," the other guard confirmed.

"But I heard something mentioning taking a girl somewhere-- it had to be that thing!"

"Maybe we should check the next alley over?"

The duo turned around and started walking away. It was now or never. Bendy launched both arms at the guard to his left, the limbs coiling around his mark. The target made a disgruntled noise, which elected a glance by his partner just in time to see the guard as he was pulled into the air. The startled law enforcement aimed his bayonet at where his friend was flying to, only to catch a glimpse of his inky target tipping over and falling behind the wall, taking its victim with it.

The demon crash-landed on the grass outside of town, tumbling end-over-end as he and the guard grappled to gain control over the situation. Luckily for the armored man, he found a grip on his weapon. While his fingers were nowhere near the trigger, he could still manipulate the barrel so that he could jab the knife-portion of the gun into the imp's chest.

As Bendy hadn't been expecting the attack, he was unable to dodge it. He took a sharp intake of breath to try and stifle the pain, his opponent kicking the demon free of the bayonet and dislodging a blob of ink. The man stared at the black sludge left behind on his dagger for a brief moment before he rushed the monster. He aimed the gun at the beast's chest, and he would've stabbed him again had the devil not grabbed onto the barrel with both hands.

"I see you've made your point," he spluttered, his grin growing wider as he pushed the weapon to the side just as it fired. Hopping back onto his feet, he landed a right hook towards the guard's chest. The armor, however, painlessly deflected the blow. Bendy, growing aggravated, launched punch after punch, only to be denied by the steel surrounding the human. The human finished reloading and fired, scoring a near-miss hit against the side of the demon's head.

He needed to figure out how to break through his armor-- sure, he was strong, but his powerful fists wouldn't mean anything if the armor negated that. His hands were too large to target the vulnerable chinks in the steel, so he needed to try something else.

What if he still had his tail? He didn't always have it out, but he recalled being able to sprout one in his cartoons. He took a moment to see if it was available, and when it emerged from his behind, he smirked. Now he had a tiny piercing weapon, which was perfect for the empty spaces between his enemies protection. He whipped the barbed tip into the space around the human's neck, but the guard shrugged it off like it was a mosquito bite or something equally inconsequential.

He needed to do more. First he had to get rid of the bayonet. Maybe then he could pin down his quarry and see if his tail could do anything else. He backed up, preparing his body as the man readied another shot. He fired again, but this time Bendy was ready, a giant hole appearing in his body to allow the shells to pass through. As his target tried to recover from the recoil, he snapped up the gun in his hands and ripped it away, an easy feat as his foe had been caught off-guard.

Capitalizing on the advantage, the imp barreled into his target and resumed the grapple, manipulating his form so that the guard couldn't get a grip on him. Slowly, but surely, the man grew tired and stopped struggling-- heavy armor was very exhausting to thrash around in.

"Well now! I have the advantage this time. Isn't that ink-credible?" the demon asked, his tail swiveling in excitement.

The guard said nothing, only glaring at the monster with hatred and fear in his eyes.

"Come on! What fun is banter if only one is participating?" A moment passed. "Alright, fine. It's nothing to lose my head over. You, on the other hand..." He inserted his tail back into the man's neck. "You have a few seconds."

Bendy mentally fiddled around, trying to see what he could do. Suddenly he found that ink was evacuating his body, collecting into his tail and... ooohh, this'll be interesting. The man began to struggle again as ink flooded his veins, burning his insides and choking him as his body lost blood. Veins and organs burst as the amount of ink and blood grew too much for them to handle. He tried to scream, but ink was the only thing that came out, bubbling in his mouth like a prehistoric sludge pit. The demon watched in glee as his victim panicked and eventually stopped moving.

He took a moment to reclaim his ink, then undid the straps that held the posthumous guard's helmet in place. Once he took the helmet off, he wrapped and hand around his neck and yanked as hard as he could. The corpse's head was ripped off, pulling a section of his spinal cord free as well. The imp took a moment to admire his handiwork, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

Time to go.

Word count: 5,756/8,000

[Katrielle Layton]

What Bendy had first interpreted as footsteps were actually the galloping sounds of horses, and as he realized it, he knew there was no way for him to outrun the soldiers. If he had the time, he would've summoned the S.S Behemoth and gotten out of there, but even as he ran parallel to the approaching cavaliers, he only had about a minute before they spotted him. And upon further review, he decided that a giant steamboat would make him even more conspicuous.

His best option would be to hide somewhere until they passed him by. He glanced around and spotted a withered, yet tall tree. Its charcoal-black bark would hide him well, as well as give him a chance to rest. He melted into a puddle, climbed up the tree, and spread himself as thinly as he could along the dying branches.

As expected, the guards on horseback arrived. They raced along, but the horses stopped at a certain threshold and neighed fearfully. The demon was tempted to raise his body a bit so he could see what was going on, but he decided against it since he didn't want to get caught-- not when he was this close to victory!

"Hoo boy, that thing really knows where to hide, doesn't it?" asked one of the humans, his tone bordering on fear and annoyance.

"Just look at them! Hundreds of them!"

"Do we keep giving chase?"

A long pause followed. "...Not through these guys, we aren't."

"So now what?"

"We'll go give Erik a proper burial, that's what!" Bendy  could hear the equines turning and retreating, and as they were about to fade out of listening range, another one said "and we'll put a bounty on that monster's head-- if it ever comes back, it'll be sorry!"

The imp waited for another minute before finally glancing up. It was then he saw what the group had been so afraid of: the same, dangly-necked beasts that had attacked him and Boris were clustered below, their numbers ranging in the hundreds like one of the soliders confirmed. If the monsters were here, then his friends were probably nearby.

Thankfully, he already managed to deal with the creatures earlier, so he remained as a pool of ink and slalomed between the beasts' feet as he started searching for the end of the horde.

Word count: 6,159/8,000

[Katrielle Layton]

After several minutes, the barrage of monsters finally began to thin. Seeing that no one was around, he returned to normal and glanced around. Nothing but trees could be seen beyond the fog, and since Bendy wasn't entirely sure where his friends were, all he could do was wander around until he found them.

And so he did. He eventually located a tree with limbs- a landmark the bird-monster had used to guide them to Darkshire- and continued towards what he believed to be the direction he had taken earlier. Voices were starting to grow apparent.

"He never explained." That had to be Boris. "Joey wanted me for something, but he never told me and Bendy didn't know. By the time we realized, it was too late to do anything."

"So, whaaaat did he waaaant with you?"

"It... well... Joey was into some really creepy stuff. I'm unclear about the details, but I think it was the same kind of thing that brought Bendy to life the second time."

"Occult stuff. Not good-- especially when you don't fully understand it."

The demon brought his group of friends into view. Boris, Shackles and Torinin were there, and the blue-skinned beast had slung the lady the imp had stolen on his back, properly bound and gagged. With a wider smile than usual, he strode in and proudly presented the head he had claimed.

His wolf friend cringed, but the others seemed impressed. The bird monster took the head in her feathered hands and examined it closely, fiddling and pulling on the spinal cord that had come with it. "Not baaaad, rookie," she approved, a tone of amusement still in her voice. "You're the reaaaal deaaaal aaaalright. You went through aaaa lot of ruckus to get this, didn't you?"

Bendy blinked, slightly confused and embarrassed by the question. "You could hear that?"

Torinin broke into laughter, although it sounded more like a vulture trying to get a bone out of its throat than a cheery confirmation. "You kidding? It waaaas so loud, we decided to baaaack up faaaarther-- we were worried you'd leaaaad them to us!"

"But I didn't," the devil countered.

"You're right about thaaaat. But did aaaanyone see you?"

All the pride drained out of his body as she asked about that; didn't she say to keep a low profile? Not like he cared about being seen, but it did minimize his victory a bit. "Yes," he answered, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Well then," she said, annoyance lacing her words. "I don't think you'll be getting into Daaaarkshire aaaanytime soon without aaaa fight." With a sigh, she handed back the severed head. "But you did whaaaat we aaaasked. We will taaaake you aaaand Boris to Draaaaculaaaa."

"What are we waiting for, then?" Bendy asked, his countenance brightening. "Let's get going!

Word count: 6,613/8,000

[Katrielle Layton]

They trekked back into the darkness, Shackles carrying the unconscious woman on his shoulder while Bendy swung the severed head he had claimed around by the spine. "So, Bo, what were you talkin' about earlier?" The imp asked, half-rhetorical.

"We were talking about our life back at the workshop," replied the wolf, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"And what exactly brought that up?"

Torinin slowed her pace to walk in between the two cartoons. "I waaaas mostly curious aaaas to how you even existed. Your friend here said that you lived outside your show before you even came here, so we asked for details." She leaned in to whisper into the demon's horns/non-existent ears. "Aaaaand let's just saaaay your origins might maaaake things aaaa little more optimaaaal for you and Boris."

Bendy beamed at the revelation. "Gee, you sure know how to flatter a guy."

The bird lady shook her head and rolled her eyes, a smirk playing on her face as much as having a beak for her mouth would allow. The moment passed, and then her face turned serious. "Enough joking around-- now thaaaat you got the brute work done, we'll need to go over some etiquette for when you meet with Draaaaculaaaa."

Bendy huffed and crossed his arms. "Etiquette? Etiquette is for goody-two shoes and brown-nosers!"

"Aaaand evil rulers thaaaat prefer to run aaaa tight ship," she added, her tone suggesting that she had this conversation several times. "Try to imaaaagine how tight he needs to run things to keep everything in line when the majority of his troops aaaare mostly thinking of their next meaaaal."

"That sounds like a lot of work," he acquiesced.

"Right. Aaaand it would maaaake aaaa greaaaat first impression if you aaaadded aaaas little to his workloaaaad aaaas possible."

"So how would I do that?"

"Be quiet, only taaaalk when greeting him or when aaaasked. Don't aaaargue with him. Aaaand don't give him demeaaaaning nicknaaaames."

"I'll try," Bendy chuckled, "but no promises for the last one."

Torinin sighed. "Fine. Don't saaaay I didn't waaaarn you."
-------------
The darling devil had to admit that this vampire guy had great taste when it came to architecture; blood-red roofs and turrets sat upon triumphant, gray towers, its windows glaring down at the group as if the castle itself was alive and watching them. Monsters of all shapes and sizes patrolled the walls, staring at the group as well. Torinin waved a hand at them and the guards went back on their patrols.

"Ain't this place awesome?" The imp asked Boris, voice brimming with glee.

"I guess." The lupine paused to look up at the foreboding structure. "It's... really big."

"Drac needs to keep his armies somewhere," the ink monster commented, only to receive a glare from the bird lady for his efforts.

"Okaaaay, boys. Aaaare you reaaaady to go in?"

"Let's do this!" Bendy said, answering for his wolf friend before he got a chance to speak.

Word count: 7,122/8,000

[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.

[Katrielle Layton]

When Bendy came to, he was no longer in Dracula's office. Instead, he was resting in what had to be the infirmary-- several sets of beds stood side to side along one wall, with the windows opposite of it giving the patients a view outside of the castle. Examining his body, he noticed that an IV had been inserted into his arm, steadily refilling him with ink.

He tried to sit up, but was suddenly overcome by dizziness and he flopped back onto his pillow. A comforting hand placed itself on the demon's forehead, and it didn't take him long to realize who it belonged to.

"Boris?" He strained to ask, turning to look up at the wolf standing at the side of the bed.

"Yep!" His friend replied. Before he could say anything else, though, another familiar face stomped in and stared down at the bedridden imp.

"Looks like Draaaculaaa took aaa liking to you," Torinin sneered, seemingly almost displeased. "He's decided thaaat you will join us."

"And Boris?"

"He will be aaa servaaant here aaat the caaastle."

Bendy fist-pumped, giving his friend the widest, most genuine grin he could. "We did it, Bo! We did it!"

The lupine chuckled, giving an unsure smile in turn. "I guess we did."

"Don't get too excited," the tengu interrupted, "becaaause he haaas aaassigned you under me, which meaaans you haaave to listen to me. Got it?"

Bendy tightened his grip around the ratty blanket that covered him and gritted his teeth. "Got it."

"Don't worry aaabout it for now-- you caaan't go out into the field in this condition. But be reaaady for some tough missions once you've recovered." She turned to leave, but glanced back at the two before she passed through the door.

"Welcome to the winning side, trooper."

Quest is a success!