The Archives [a BATIM Fanfiction]

Compromises

Tom balled his mechanical fist up, glaring daggers at the Angel. She wasn't an Angel. That woman was a demon.

Henry walked out before Allison, trying to reason with Alice. Before he could speak, she perked up.
"Ah, Henry." She spoke softly. It was Susie.
"Susie." He nodded.
" I AM NO- I, I mean," She laughed, stepping down and sashaying over to the group. Allison and Tom looked ready to attack.. Sammy simply held his fists up, then grew distracted over a Bendy plush.

"You are- let me guess.. Taking the little 'sheep' back to his pen, hm?"

Henry looked at Susie, his gold eyes illuminated by the overhead light. "What are you planning, Angel?"

Susie grinned. On one side of her face, at least. It was hard to tell what expressions she made on her left. "Oh,a simple trade, really. In case you haven't noticed, this little 'loop' of the Ink Demon's was recently broken! An interesting thing, really..."

Sammy ducked behind Tom, knowing fully well what the Angel was getting at..

"I am free, free to choose where to go and who to help," She spoke plainly, "But, passage out of my domain won't be free. I'm not asking for your little Boris, you backstabbing bitch, Allison, I need... something stronger. To fix the mess the Ink Demon caused me."
She turned to Henry. Henry stared back.

"No! You can't possibly-" Allison said in her soft toned voice. Susie waved her arm at her.
"Hush! He isn't ink. He... he could fix me. And, if it fails, then he will just reset, wont he?
The room fell silent.
"She isn't wrong--"
"Samuel Lawrence!"
"Bing! Sammy agrees with me for once! Oh, give the man a pat on the back and a kiss from Bendy!" Susie spoke sarcastically, "You can't choose for Henry."

Henry stared down, his mind spinning. He's been here before.... No, he hasn't. Has he...?
"I'll- Ok. I'll do it," Henry raised his hand, "But you must grant them full passage up to the music department. No catches, no nothing, Susie."

The Angel scowled before shrugging, then crossing her long arms. "A deal is a deal. You three, continue on. I'll let you through doors with my panels. Oh, and while you're at it, grab the Boris on your way out. He seemed terribly frightened when he woke back up..."

Tom grabbed Sammy by his inky shoulder, then stormed off with him. Allison turned to Henry a final time.
"Henry, are you sure you know what you're doing?"
Henry smiled, "I broke the loop, Allison. Try and save everyone. I've done all I can."

Allison gave Henry a last, lingering smile before running off. Henry blinked. In that short second, he had been thrown, then knocked out, then woke up in a dark room tied to a table.
Knives. There were many knives.

He hard Susie speak into... something, before she walked slowly back to Henry. "Where do I start?" She grinned.
Henry was so nervous. It would give the others time to find more workers, though. Everyone must have gotten some bits of their memories. They must be confused.. Scared. Henry had hope for Allison.

Henry's eyes watered as Susie approached him. Susie. Alice. Same difference, really..
She grinned up at him eerily, "Where do I start...? Your guts? Your eyes? Your heart?" She giggled, then Alice spoke, "How's a girl to choose?"
Henry screwed his eyes closed, pressing his back into the table. The faster she got this over with, the faster he could re-spawn. Problem was, she was going to most likely make this the most painful experience for Henry...

There was a thud, then a screech. The room around the two turned an even darker black, inky veins and shadows lining the wall. Susie shrieked.
"How DARE you come in here?!" She shouted. Henry closed his eyes again.
There was a snarl. Then, from somewhere, a distorted voice piped up. That voice...
"Oh, shut it, Susie," The ink demon snarled. His words were barely audible. It's. Their's? It was.. difficult to choose pronouns for Bendy. Or whatever pronouns Bendy wanted to use. Huh.
Henry could feel Bendy's gaze shift onto him. He just knew he was staring at him.
"You think eatin' him is gonna make a differen'ce? Henry's dangerous. You could just'a asked me, Susie!" The voice said. Henry, listening closer, could hear several voices mixed in with the demons. One stood out. He couldn't remember his name, but he was there.
There was hints of Allison, and of Wally, and lots of... his own voice.
He heard himself in there. Somewhere.

Susie stared up at the Ink Demon. "As if YOU'D help ME. Psha! Get out of here! Leave me to my-"
"Listen, Susie," Bendy snarled again. It sounded more like... her this time. "Do ya want me to'a fix you or na? It's a simple offer really, just give me Henry."

Henry's eyes widened. He was right, Bendy had been staring at Henry the whole time. It made him shutter.
"Alice-" Henry said.
Susie raised her finger to the man, her lips pursed. She was considering it. Seriously?!
"Alright," Susie said quickly, pushing a button to her side. The straps holding Henry down released.
"Make me beautiful, Bendy."

Henry yelled as he was grabbed by the Ink Demon. His body was thrown over his shoulder, his face slamming into his inky back. Henry struggled around a bit, but fighting was useless. After all, Bendy could easily kill him.
He probably knew what would happen if he did.

Susie eagerly stared up at Bendy. "C'mon! Make both sides the same! Fix my face!" She chanted.
Bendy stared at her, then gently held her by the chin with his gloved hand. He rubbed the one side of her face, then the next. He then pushed her away.
"I mean," His grinned widened, "You didn't say which side needed to reflect on the other."
Then he walked into a wall, leaving the Angel with her broken face as he took what he wanted. What he wanted to destroy.