The demon watched as the Lost One won once again. With some satisfaction that he had helped at least one of the ink creatures, Bendy sighed and stood, stretching a bit. Sammy looked up to him, along with a few of the other Lost Ones. The demon smiled in reassurance. 

"One of yins can play cards with them," the demon stepped away and noticed a tiny Boris plush on the ground that really caught his attention. It was leaning up against a crate. Bendy tilted his head a bit and stepped closer to it, leaning down to pick it up. 

It squeaked, and the demon smiled thinly. He hugged it, and then moved to sit upon the wooden box with the plush toy still in his arms. A Lost One was sitting nearby, and looked up at the demon with an expression carefully read as curiosity. Bendy had already picked this one out of the bunch.

"Hello," the demon spoke softly. It did not respond, which was fine with the demon. He knew that few of these Lost Ones chose to talk, while others didn't. But it was also common for them not to be able to mutter a single word at all. Bendy felt sympathy, for he knew the frustrations of being defected felt like as he looked down at the Boris plush. He then stepped closer and bent down. Bendy then held out the plush, and the inky creature, confused, reached out and took it.

The demon smiled, and for a second he felt as though he had already achieved something- and had even done some good. The Lost One hugged it as well, and jumped a bit when the toy squeaked. With a look of foreign surprise in its ever glowing yellow eyes it hugged the toy once more, a noise coming from its mouth.

"T h a n k  y o u..."

Bendy was taken by surprise with the Lost One's ability to speak, but he nodded anyway. 

"Anytime." 

Sammy heard this exchange with a small smile, and laughed a bit. He placed down one more card, and gasped when the first Lost One slapped a card down with surreal enthusiasm, and held one digit in the air. 

Uno.

The other Lost One hummed, and placed theirs down next, and held one finger up as well. 

"Darn it..." Sammy muttered. "You two are better than me at this..."

Bendy called over. "They must'a had lots of practice!" He smiled softly, a hint of more regret and guilt flashing through his eyes. Sammy looked back, and nodded. 

"I suppose so."

The second Lost One playing this game held two cards, only to reach over, a bit of ink plopping on the wooden floorboards as it grabbed another card. This one must have been a good card, for the Lost One quickly placed it down. Once again, it held two cards. And therefore it was the music director's turn.

Bendy looked away once more, and noticed a small scrap of paper beneath his feet. Curious intentions got the best of him as he picked it up.

N o t  m o n s t e r s

A small drop of ink trickled beneath his chin as the demon crumpled the paper in his fist, feeling sick. "No," he said softly. "No you are not."

I am the monster.

I am the ink demon.

I am the cause of all this.

Bendy breathed slowly in an attempt to calm his nerves. He blinked in surprise.

The Lost One handed him the plush, and for a second the demon knew that it was aware of who he was. He dropped the bunched up paper.

"Th-thank you."

Nod.

The demon stood at his whooping three foot height and hugged the plush to hear its suffocating squeak.

Sammy looked up once again from the card game. "Bendy?" He stood up. "I'll be back guys..."
They nodded as Sammy stepped close to the demon. "Bendy?" He repeated.

The small demon gave him a small, careful look. "Hey Sam Sam..." He said quietly. Gee, he was a quiet toon when be wanted, wasn't he?

The inky man stepped closer and, thinking better of it, took a small step back. "So... You alright?"

The small demon's grip on the plush tightened considerably, and it showed. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I am." he sat back down on the crate, and the way he sat leaned towards Sammy sitting down beside him. Despite this change, the inky human obliged. Bendy tucked his legs to the side, watching the Lost Ones. 

"Y'know... You could have been like them at one point. You could'a died, and had been brought back more reformed." his pie cuts fluttered to the man. "I'm happy you get the chance to be... Different. Now we're on the same page."

Sammy shrugged. "I've always been different. Maybe not in a bad way, but different nonetheless."

The demon did not break the gaze. "I'm a bad different, aren't I?"

Sammy looked quizzically down. "What? Because you're a demon?"

"No!" Bendy lowered his voice to a whisper. "Because of you-know-what."

Ah yes, Sammy thought. That little fact. 

"There are worse kinds of differences. But you don't have to worry about that stuff here. Killers, and-"

The demon broke his gaze, squeaking the toy once more.

"Sammy," he looked back up. "There is only one killer. And that's me."

____

900 words EXACTLY!

To Be Continued.