(1) Ink Distortion (BATIM/EPICMICKEY)

22- Oswald the Unlucky Rabbit

         Bendy and Dale cautiously entered Oswald's house, stepping over glass, and puddles of ink.

The once tidy little house looked like it had been hit with a violent tornado. Furniture was turned over, picture frames in broken messes on the floor. Inky dents in the walls...

And the quiet sound of sobbing, coming from the kitchen.

Bendy's mouth was dry, and his eyes were becoming glossy. The sound was unmistakably the muffled sounds of Oswald's weeping.

The demon's chest twisted inside itself, as he imagined what he's find on the other side of the kitchen door.

He took a deep breath of courage, and slowly twisted the door knob. With a swift shove, the door swung open.

The lucky rabbit was hunched over Ortensia's inky body, which was brutally mangled. So much so, she hardly looked like a body, and more like a puddle. Bendy choked, as he saw her face.

It was the face that had reassured Bendy during a time where he didn't know what to do. It was a face that believed Oswald's hysterical rants about Sillyvision, when no one else would. It was a face that her children watched leave the room, after kissing them goodnight.

And now it was the face of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit's dead wife.

The rabbit slowly looked up, his face dripping with tears. Bendy couldn't take it anymore.

The demon loosened the knot in his chest, and sobbed alongside his best friend.

He cried into his gloved hand, making no move to stifle the sounds. An arm slowly wrapped around Bendy, pulling him into a hug.

"Oswald, I-I'm so sorry..." Dale, with his arm around the little demon, whispered gently, fighting with all his strength to keep his voice steady.

Oswald didn't acknowledge Dale, and started crying hysterically.

"Wh-What," Oswald sniveled, and took a deep breath, "What,w-what am I-I gonna tell my kids?"

Oswald shakily got up from the floor, and wiped his face with his hand.

"I-I..." Oswald's head fell back into his hands.

"Oh, Ozzie." Bendy whimpered, and reached for his friend, pulling him into a hug.

Dale stood and watched as the two friends hugged, his own eyes brimming with tears despite his internal protests.

Wasteland was falling apart, both literally, and figuratively. Signs, barely hanging onto their hinges, in front of inky shops. Not a single glass window lay untouched.

And in the suburbs of the town, families dealt with the losses of their loved ones, as the survivors of the attack, and the community lost their faith in their beloved king, Oswald, who didn't come to their aid in their time of need.

At least things for Mickey were okay.

• • •

      Things for Mickey were not okay.

What first started out as cooking, turned into a full out battle with searchers, using the pots and pans.

Before the incident, Mickey and Boris, failed to noticed the ink, that was slinking in through the walls, and under doors, and they were surprise attacked.

"WHACK!!"

The clanging of a pan, that sounded too close to the Mickey's head, startled the mouse.

"GAH!!" Mickey spun around, blindly swinging his pot at whatever was behind him.

Boris let out a loud whimper, as Mickey's pot collided with the wolf's snout.

"Oh my- Boris, I'm so-" Mickey panted, bashing in the head of a searcher that got a little too close to his still-unconscious friends, "-I'm so sorry!"

The whistle and clangs of kitchen wear filled the room, until Boris finally beat the last searcher to the ground.

"Is-Is that all of them?" The mouse struggled to catch is breath, adrenaline still pumping through his veins. Mickey's heart dropped, as Boris shook his head.

The wolf immediately went to work, packing up things like soup, and lighters.

Mickey was dazed for a moment, before snapping out of it, and assisting Boris.

"Where are we gonna go?" Mickey asked quietly, as if more searchers were right outside the door.

The only acknowledgment of the question Boris gave was a mere glance.

And the wolf and mouse were off, carrying Gus and Jiminy on their backs.

• • •

      The studio only got dimmer, the deeper they went, and the ominous sounds of the creaking pipes became quieter, until a void of noise filled the yellowed hallways.

'Tap,'

'Tap,'

'Tap,'

The sound of Mickey and Boris's footsteps echoed.

'Tap,'

'Tap,'

'Tap,'

'..tap...'

And then the echoing became quieter, and quieter, until the hallway they were traveling opened up into a huge room. Old, poorly made, plush toys lined the walls until they reached the ceiling.

Some were small. Some were big. Some were...unfinished. Whatever happened here, everyone left in a hurry.

Mickey, gently carrying Jiminy, nearly lost his balance, trying to maneuver his way over fallen shelves. Boris set down Gus on a giant plush, like a makeshift bed, and Mickey did the same with the cricket.

The wolf took a deep breath, looking in the direction of a door. A door no one could possibly miss. It was in the back of the gargantuas room, like it was the center of attention.

The metal doors were huge, and almost shimmered, despite the rust, but what really caught Mickey's eye, was the giant statue of a character's face on top of the door, which may have been cute at one point, but was now unsettling, as the eyes were drooping and distorted with neglect.

The mouse gaped at the sign above it, which read:

"She's Quite A Gal!"