Mickey and Oswald ran to the source of the noise, completely soaked in the foul ink. It was intoxicating; if they had to breathe this smell in then brain cells wouldn't be the only thing they'd lose. 

"Bendy!" the mouse called. He and Oswald jumped over a fallen board, and towards a balcony in which a staircase led down to the machine. 

There sat the demon, eyes expectant as a large mass plopped out of the spout. It began to wiggle as the demon, in his misfigured state, backed away, giving it room. 

"C'mon, Boris! You can do it!" He urged, voice high pitched and expectant. His smile drooped as the figure lay there, body quite still, 'X's for eyes. "Boris?" his tone was tight. 

"Oh no," Mickey breathed. He started down the steps two at a time, with Oswald following quickly behind. "Bendy!"

The demon placed a shaking hand on the immobile body, face dark as a second form dripped down, slightly smaller and with a broken halo. 

"No," his voice was dead. He began to cry, and slammed the button once again. The same forms dropped out, motionless and quite dead. But he kept pressing the button, an internal scream building up. 

Mickey placed a hand on his shoulder, and the demon belted the scream loose, hugging the corpses. Yellow flames burst, enveloping the room in golden light. The mouse's heart tugged, and his head felt woozy. He fell, and Oswald cried out, as the demon synced with Mickey once more. 

____

The mouse gasped as three figures stood in front of him. Bendy turned, smiling. "Alice, Boris, this is Mickey!" he wrapped an arm around the mouse. 

The angel waved. "How do ya do?" Boris said. Bendy chuckled. "We were about to go over to that hill," he pointed to an already forming hill, but it was black and white. Boris picked Bendy up and shrugged him onto his shoulders. 

"Let's go, Borie!" The demon giggled, and Boris ran towards it. 

The angel turned to him. "Thank you for coming, darlin'." She smiled sweetly. The mouse's eyes saddened. 

¨You aren't real. He's dreaming, isn't he...?¨

The angel stepped back away from him. ¨That's not a thing here, sweetie. We're here when Bendy darlin' needs us most.¨ She waved around. ¨But ain't he having fun?¨ she pressed. 

The mouse glanced at him. The demon was hooting as the wolf ran around with him. The look on the demon's face was pure joy.

¨He's in shock,¨ Mickey realized. The angel said nothing, and just walked away from him, and up the hill to join them. 

Mickey quickly followed. Bend was now laying on the grass. ¨Bendy?¨

The demon turned. ¨Yeah?¨ Boris rubbed his head and Bendy chuckled. ¨Boris, I'm trying to talk here...¨ his attention turned back to the wolf. Mickey sighed. 

¨BENDY!¨ Mickey grabbed his hand. 

The demon flinched. ¨Mickey?¨

¨This is not real, Bendy! They aren't here,¨ he softened as the demon blinked as if for the first time. His face drooped. Tears filled his eyes. 

¨They're gone!¨ he shouted, looking around wildly. He yanked his arm from Mickey's grasp and hastily stood up. ¨Boris? Alice!¨

The mouse's heart seemed to shatter. ¨Bendy-¨

The demon growled, ink dripping from his face. ¨GONE!¨

The mouse grit his teeth as Bendy stood rooted in place, his shoulders shaking. The world around was darkening as the demon then slumped to the dead grassed floor. 

¨They've been dead for years,¨ he whispered. ¨I... I should'a known that they were dead,¨ he muttered. He placed his head in his hands. Mickey approached him and warmed his soul. ¨I'm sorry I brought you to this place, Mick. It was selfish.¨

¨...Did it help you?¨

Bendy hugged his knees. ¨I don't know. Is it supposed to hurt?¨ he winced, placing a hand on his wrist as if his soul throbbed. ¨It's pounding,¨ he grimaced. His eyes closed, and his heart-shaped face dripped. ¨It kinda hurts...¨ he winced and let a tear fall from his face. 

Mickey examined Bendy's wrist. The slowly slipped off the glove, and he gasped quietly. Golden veins were crawling up his arm, and he traced them with a gloved finger. 

The ink demon jerked his arm away, seething. "Don't," he warned in a deep dark voice. HIs eyes fluttered as he groaned, and clutched his head, and screamed, Mickey, swallowed by darkness. He woke with a troubled start. 

___

Oswald was unnerved by the many corpses which filled the room. But what unnerved him most was the synced unconsciousness between the two toons on the floor. It was creepy,  and he suspected there was something much worse going on when Bendy's lethal form jerked awake with a demented cry. 

Mickey awoke, his head snapping up to meet eyes with the demon. He was clenching his wrist, staring at his body in horror. Golden veins were seeping across his chest now, and his breathing hitched. 

The mouse jumped up, horrified. Oswald stepped forward. 

"No, no, stay back!" The demon cried, and his soul began to form in front of him. "Ngh-" he collapsed to his knee. 

"Bendy, we need to get out of here!"

The demon's mouth dribbled ink as his golden eyes squeezed shut, and his body lurched in pain. "I won't last long," he rasped. He glanced up at the mouse and rabbit. "Y-you need... To leave," his hand clenched. 

"Bendy, I won't," The mouse ducked down. "you won't die... Not if you come back with us."

The rabbit grabbed Bendy's shoulder, and he flinched. "Please. Come back with us. We can help you!"

The demon grabbed Mickey's wrist as sudden as a snake lurching to attack its prey. 

"There's one thing I need to do," his voice muttered. His eyes glistened with tears. He ripped the cord that seemed to keep them attached, and his eyes darkened. Immediately, the mouse could fell as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders. 

"Bendy," the mouse's brow furrowed. The demon's eyes were closing.  Bendy then began to slowly slump against the close walls, ink dripping from his face as he relaxed, his body slowly changing back into a small, beaten demon.

"M...Mickey, Oswald?" the veins were still spreading even more upon his smaller body. "I don't think it's gonna stop," he whispered. 

The mouse and rabbit glanced at one another, worry in each other's eyes. "I'll get him," they said in unison. Mickey picked the demon up, and with the help of Oswald, they placed him upon Mickey's shoulders. 

The mouse felt the demon's heavyweight fall upon him as he carried the demon through the flooded halls, and through the light of the projector, back home.

1114 words

To Be Continued...