Le Note: So, editing on this one was a tiny bit more rushed due to how long it takes to type these (since honestly I didn't take a typing class yet yikes-), so feel free to point out any errors! Aside from that, this is probably the most important chapter in the book so far! I hope you enjoy it ❤️
Art Credit: Dusk Ealain
Freedom was physically close but still locked away for now.
You understood now, understood what kept every ink being, every soul from just opening one of the doors on the first floor and stepping out into the city streets regardless of what shocked reaction the people from above would have.
They didn't know their world anymore.
Memory was and still is a very delicate thing. Each being down in the studio had a set of them. Each monster pushing through the hierarchy of the harsh reality the studio trapped them in had a set of them. Each employee that lived when the inky halls weren't labyrinths had a set of them. Each cartoon who was carefully drawn in a black and white land for all see and to make others smile had a set of them.
The issue with what Joey Drew made was every single memory was mixed. Memories previously from or created in varying "worlds" he should've never brought together. Human memory, memory from the cartoons. Like one was IN the cartoons, belonged in them. Even creatures who kept a perfect set of memories from only a cartoon or human soul would have the experience of their present misfortune as well. Going back on the tape was not an option. People were killed, changed, souls were lost... some even scattered so far they didn't show at all in the reality you previously breathed in. Memories, or rather pieces of souls, were duplicated in the ink, split, rearranged, erased, put through almost anything imaginable in any ink creature. Despite this large problem every ink creature and piece of soul could fully link to one place and possibly even become whole in: the ink abyss.
You opened your eyes to a blur of gold light gently reaching down to you with its rays from far above in the circling darkness. Such light continued to fly down slowly throughout the inkwell like falling stars or dust glowing in the sun. Even though you opened your eyes you had only entered a dreamlike state.
This must be what Henry meant about being reborn. And the whispers from the Bendy statues... they match the whispering in here.
Not everyone could say they remembered dying. You knew deep down it would've happened at one point during your journey, that was confirmed after what Henry confessed to you. Sammy had explained the cycle to you before then as well, and as saddening as it was... dying and coming to the inkpool of revival, the ink abyss as they called it, was just a part of how they lived. Every ink monster. Still... it hurt figuring out they'd never be able to rest. Or at least be peaceful during their time buried in the swirling ebony. ...You knew how bad it was once your eyes moved away from the flashing light and towards the darkness circling around you to the sides, just as present.
Immediately the pain sank in again. Every slice across your skin, pounding hit, slam... essentially everything you experienced during your fight. The feeling of soulless eyes, searchers enveloping and suffocating until air was a myth to your lungs.... Although no ink in the flowing abyss touched you, each drop of coldness seeped into all your nerves until you thought you would freeze where you were floating and sink down to never see the reaching gold again.
Wails and pained cries from other beings wavered in and echoed around you, all of them most likely the only thing keeping the trapped souls (or pieces of souls) sane. ...Or proving they weren't the same anymore. Some of the voices begged to no end; begging to go home, to end everything, erase memory, bring it back, evade danger... evade the ink demon. Evade Alice. Kill her. Kill the demon. To be given anything that'd grant them hope. Some even spoke hushed pleas for power over others. Others wished to be at the bottom of the studio's hierarchy, to move down so far on the food chain they'd forever be unnoticed and safe. Trapped, but safe.
A glimpse of that final goal came through to you; a wish which came past everything else in the speaking shadows and made you imagine yourself for a second, along with Henry and Sammy. Even whoever took the place of you and Henry after you both left. You almost saw them reaching for you or circling around the same ink abyss, spun images of dust and light running from demons and angels and ultimately the work that destroyed them... at least somehow...
Your realization in all these words coming to you brought a stricken expression on your face. In this everlasting well of monsters you never saw anything so raw in others, so human. Desire was at the core of it all; it was amazing how all these beings voiced theirs so freely through all their personal pain.
"You all... you're not monsters," you whispered. Despite how you were whispering all was silent after you spoke. "You're human. You've all just... fallen into despair."
Before, you'd partially this and knew you wanted to help them. But now... now you knew even greater, you had a new and perfect view of what exactly all these ink creatures were going through. If you continued to call them monsters then really you were just as much of a monster yourself. You knew you had to get them all out even more strongly now. Only the ink sounded surging around when you finally put this together to your lips and voiced it.
"I want to save all of you, that's my wish. No matter who you were before. I-I don't know what it will take to do it, but I can say I won't walk away from this place- if I even can or will- until you're all free. Because... well, it's kinda hard to say clearly I guess, but back when I worked here in the earlier days I never felt so excited to come and see so many people, to bring characters in a story. This studio looks like hell now. But it used to be everything in its time before an ink machine came to it and it helped me begin my career. It helped me get a dream I cherished as well as giving me an even bigger shot at a dream I still want to see. So I believe I should help all of you. Save you. I want to save all of you, that's my wish."
Brightness moving past your closed eyelids hinted at gold in the light you tilted your head up to during your small speech, though you were suspicious to find everything surrounding you was gold once you opened them. All pain you felt flood in shed along with any previous cries or whispers. Not only was the light above resemblant to sunshine now, but so was the ink rotating in the abyss. It was all a quiet and peaceful shade of glowing gold. Unknown to you while you looked around, a young woman with swirling hair and bright eyes made of the same golden ink matching a spiral mark on her hand was watching you from where she floated above you. Her smile was clear as you closed your orbs off from the strange tunnel again, taking it all in. She was sure you'd have your time to meet her once you came back.
Again you opened those eyes of yours, seeing something new. This time, you didn't know what to think.
Bendy.
Bendy was in front of you.
He sat on top of a Miracle Station in what looked like one of the open areas of Level K, his legs dangling over the front and swinging through the air in a carefree manner. The demon was also looking straight at you with a smile on his face.
...You didn't know what to make of the situation. To say the least, you didn't know what to make of HIM. Back when you wrote the plot of the show Bendy was your favorite character to bring to life, he had a mischievous yet sweet personality which made him have very interesting goals as a character and in turn made him very fun to characterize. Not only that but the music Sammy composed centered around Bendy always sounded nicer to hear from your department. While you'd grown attached to the other characters Bendy was the start of it all, and you were a smidge closer to him. Then again, you never thought you'd really ever actually meet this character you helped create.
After being startled by all those cutouts watching you in nearly every hall it was hard not to be wary of that smile. The horned creature wasn't innocent- instead of being one the desperate voices in the ink abyss, he was the one who got most of them in such a place. From what the splattered words on the wall read and the frightened whispers mentioned he had every level in a fierce and clawed grip.
"King of the studio," "god," "devil," "vengeful."
"He always finds me!"
"He will set us free."
So, this was Bendy. He supposedly killed countless times and now he just... stood in front of you. Sat. Sat above you.
Although this may not have been the Bendy haunting your thoughts like a knife the whole time, this Bendy watched you evenly through pie-cut eyes and a cartoon form. A "perfect form" as it was put. A smirk played onto his face as he leaned forward and stilled his swinging legs, pressing against the heels of his hands to get an even better look at you.
"Ya scared, darlin'?"
As if your thoughts weren't already conflicting enough, the little demon's light voice just had to come into play. Of course, you had partially expected Bendy to speak- all the original cartoon characters spoke since Joey thought overall it would help boost their opportunities for comic relief. When you met Boris it was honestly a little surprising that he couldn't say anything out loud to you... or at least, choosing not to speak. But it was more shocking to hear Bendy talk directly to you. It wasn't even the way he asked his question; he wasn't mocking or even seductive in his tone... it was the look he managed to deliver in his pie-cut eyes. He looked down at you so evenly it worked out a light red to bloom on your face involuntarily.
Bendy acknowledged your hesitation and new... facial shading, raising an invisible brow (one of the arches framing his face). Another moment and his expression softened, along with his posture slouching as he stopped leaning forward. The little cartoon character directed his eyes to the ceiling of whatever dream-space you both inhabited and his neutrality turned to a small smile. You only realized then he hadn't been smiling moments ago. Bendy not smiling.
"It's alright to be."
Are you scared?
What an odd choice of words... not a single creature here has ever told me so. No matter if they grew close to me or already were or wished me dead.
Silently, you pushed your way to the top of the Miracle Station, sitting down beside Bendy. You knew if he was the same or similar to his inky counterpart he could kill you, but for once you wanted to trust him. Trust Bendy. The memory of Bendy- as the ink demon- attacking everyone was like brushing your hand over a bruise, it hurt to touch. You were tired of touching it. So, you voiced your thoughts to him.
"...How did this all... get destroyed? I... don't just mean the studio. You know what I mean, right? All their memories are gone... their lives... the chances they could've had. Even what this place was trying to do when it was made... when Henry was here before..."
Bendy's smile slipped away quietly again as he glanced from you to the inky sights straight ahead, taking everything in. He had asked himself such a question so many times he could perceive you as a living mirror that came to him. He tried to answer again, feeling himself grow more tired with each word.
"How...? Who can really say apart from Joey Drew? Or why he would go this far. Honestly, I think we all just forgot what we were strivin' for, you know? Joey forgot he wanted to make other people happy as well as himself, Henry forgot about wanting to find joy with the people that grew up with his characters by... leaving them, Sammy forgot his passion for music and even those who truly appreciated him, Susie forgot she wanted to be loved for who she was, not the character she played. And you..." The little demon tilted his head in inquiry, the crescent of his horns dipping in air. "You did the same as Henry and left behind a dream you kept here, didn't you? It's in your face."
"You could say that... I used to want to be a successful voice actress. I mean, I was nothing compared to Susie or Allison, but I was definitely willing to work my way up. Maybe it was dumb of me to try to voice a character... I just felt I should. Like if I didn't it would never happen otherwise if you know what feeling I mean..."
While it was certainly odd to confide your regrets to a demon you spent a chunk of your life writing for, the conversation only gave you further realization in your foggy mind. You'd been pretty content with your life, sure, but some part of it always felt unresolved. Like it was "fine enough," which to you was possibly one of the most frustrating feelings in the world. You didn't feel it was bad enough that you could tell someone else about it, but it was never completely good either. You felt selfish for thinking so... after all, you found success! Good for you! Did you FEEL you did? No, absolutely not. And you still didn't even when you stood in a studio that had failed from bankruptcy and rotted away slowly over the course of thirty years. ...Yeah, you definitely more successful than Joey Drew was. Still, your passion for voice acting never fulfilled even if that radio station gave you progress. Progress most likely gone now.
Bendy watched every expression you formed calmly, laying down on the top of the Miracle Station while drumming his fingers on the wood until they stopped.
"I guess no matter how different we all are we ALL had something- some part of us- taken by Joey. Just this place still existing with all of us in it is proof he has a large collection of forgotten dreams... you know, he'll keep each and every single one of 'em unless we escape. Escape what we ARE now, not just the ink hangin' on every corner."
"Hey," you rested your hand on his shoulder, "we'll find a way to do that for everyone. I... don't really know how. I didn't really know a lot of things when I stepped through the main door... but something has to give, right? This can't continue endlessly..."
"Y/N, you'd be surprised." Bendy's face now curved into a rueful smile. For a second you didn't even recognize him as a kid's cartoon character... he bore such a larger palette of emotion than any child could, or understand. Stunning.
"...Everything changes at some point, Bendy. You can't say I was here before I chose to come back, could you? We all have our chances to escape danger down here at least. In these miracles." You tapped the station with a hum in your throat, a new shine in your eyes. Bendy genuinely smiled at this, a gentle look displayed as if he were speaking to a small child or reminded of someone truly loved.
"Yeah... Alice made these." Propping his gloved hands behind his head, Bendy closed his cut yet circular eyes until he was drawn to look in yours. Human eyes. Kind eyes, he knew. "I miss her. It's hard to tell if she's lost or just completely dead somewhere here, but I definitely know she doesn't show in Susie. ...Frankly, that much ambition in her to get her perfect cartoon form feels like it comes partly from me and my ink. A morbid thought, isn't it?"
Silence was really all you could give him as an unconfirmed answer. Thankfully, you had no idea how the ink worked in each soul. Although now you weren't so sure if the ink was IN you or not. Dying from wounds and fatigue instead of drowning in the black moat like you thought would happen had the advantage of not plaguing your body with as many toxic drops, but at the time you fell you still had plenty of open cuts for the ink to leap in your bloodstream.
Maybe Bendy is seeing me because ink entered me...? He's-he's really confiding in me... this whole vision... he's seeing ME- so complicated. Tch, the weirdest thing is now I'm getting so nervous over this... I'm in a grace period where all pain flew away from me. I should be more relaxed, shouldn't I?
Deep down you knew why Bendy talking to you was tinting your face pink. But it was so... surprising, like how you acted when Sammy wrapped his arms around you. You couldn't really fall for a fictional character.
Could you?
"You remind me of her though... Alice."
He had a soft smile drawn on his face again, which only made your face heat up more like you were looking at a summer sun brushing every blade of grass until it was warm. Bendy sat back up brushing off his unsaid question: the question of if YOU had pieces of Alice in you now.
"I don't know, it's too easy to get reminded of anyone down here nowadays," Bendy continued. "Up above everyone is different, right? Similarities but no actual copies. Same was true in the cartoons. Well, it ain't the same here. A Boris could just fit inside the body of a lost one, a lost one in a Boris, you know? Wrong body they're in... wrong being overall. And the clones... you'd think seeing a face you love so much would be uplifting. It isn't, it isn't a dream. It's a nightmare. Nobody should have to look into such a specific pair of eyes and wonder who it is behind 'em. Standing next to the original copies aren't as good, even if they hold up better they just aren't the same. But if the original is nowhere to be found no matter where you search... it's torture if I'm bein' honest."
His eyes were dull now, aiming nowhere even as he stared at the ground. Your clear concern didn't go through his clouds either... he was as gray as his statues, yet his words wouldn't stop. He spoke so much more.
"All the monsters here too... so many more exist than you've seen, Y/N. Corrupted versions of ourselves. It all just... makes us lost. Things were happier when you and Henry were around... everyone was simply themselves. Everyone owned individual thoughts and purposes. Everyone!"
Frustration broke through him, which you listened to. Before you never really knew it was possible to listen to feeling but... here you were, taking in all the demon spilled. He spun to you, passion in his new question.
"Y/N, do you think if someone was raised under the exact same circumstances as another person with the exact same things happening to them, would they still be the same?"
"Well... no. They wouldn't. Everyone is different at the core and everyone is more unique from what people expect, at least to me. I mean, just look at yourself, Bendy. You're 'supposed to be' a kids cartoon character and here I am sitting down to an unexpected psychological session from one of the most thoughtful people I've met," you chuckled. Bendy laughed back a little, giving you further encouragement.
"It'll be better, alright? It has to be. No matter if we all act differently from thirty years ago or not."
"...Just don't forget about me now. This conversation." Suddenly a warm and smooth touch swept over your hand- Bendy's glove. The cartoon demon had his glove holding the bottom of your palm and squeezed the top of your hand with three fingers. You squeezed back, focusing on his worried face to show how you meant what you would say-
"I will, Bendy. I'll make sure to."
Bendy gave back one of the most genuine and sweet smiles you'd seen, none that any poster was able to capture. Only a drawing, one given hours of love and care...
"Thank you."
Gold ink circled around your vision for a second until the light became yours in your reach-
The abysses of pain and beauty vanished.
...Your eyes opened peacefully (surprisingly) to fairly dim lighting bringing forth a world of amber and impossibility. Staring up at the ink leaking from the ceiling you shifted, analyzing whether anything still hurt enough your nerves to scream or not... Nothing actually hurt anywhere. Like in the golden ink abyss you had no wounds left behind. However, the warm feeling of someone holding your hands was still evident. Your eyes trailed up again to see a tattered Bendy mask hovering over you with ink dripping down from it heavily due to how distressed the inky human who wore it was.
"Sammy?"
"Does anything hurt?!" He rushed in immediately, overwhelmingly. "Do you remember everything; do you remember me?! Do I need to do anything?! Are you able to think clearly or should I help you somehow-"
"Jeez, prophet," you laughed, feeling more at ease than anything with him above you. "Try to calm yourself a little, alright? I understand why you're worried- I definitely would be too- but I honestly feel alright. I remember everything including how you saved me before. Thank you, Sammy."
"You're... welcome, Y/N." His whole posture relaxed and you instantly knew he would be fine again. Sammy thinking rationally would certainly help, as sweet as it was that he was so concerned over you. "...I just thought you...-I mean, I know Henry returned- but you-"
"I did die, Sammy. I... heard them."
Behind his mask, Sammy's face fell... fell far. You could mildly see through the mask's hole how he pressed his lips together as if speaking about death was a curse. It might as well have been one. Although the ink being didn't remember being in the abyss apart from his time lingering in the dark before arriving anew to the recently abandoned studio, the ink whispered about it enough in the back of his head. Whispered in caution, terror, horrified awe and fascination. The wailing always lasted at the mentioning of the abyss.
"I wish you hadn't... Y/N- you had to hear them. I'm sorry-"
"Sammy." You brought your hand to his mask and tapped it in the center, your skin meeting faded scratches on it. "Please, don't blame yourself. I was... going to go eventually that way anyway, you know? I don't feel hungry or fatigued anymore. Plus... I'm a little happy, I heard all their voices and saw everything, it made me realize something new."
"Such as...?" Confusion wormed into the man's voice- as far as he knew nothing was to be seen in the inkwell, nothing was spoken of apart from, well, speech.
Voices.
"The fact that everyone here should be freed, traces of humanity or not. Bendy included."
He had to think about this for a minute, let his predictions and fantasies of happy endings float around. Sammy had never exactly considered Bendy changing or being "freed" in his own sense, he just always pictured Bendy as the one doing all the freeing. He still did even though he believed in you just as much. A soft laugh flew out of his mouth at the attempt to conceive the unbelievable. "If only it were that easy darling. I admire your persistence and faith."
"I didn't mention anything about it being easy. I'm promising you you'll all escape. Finally be free like you've been hoping for for years."
"Oh?" His smile was now sly as he flicked his gaze up and down your unmoved expression. Optimism was a treasure where he now lived, a rarity more of interest than anything else to everyone. "And what exactly would you describe as freedom?"
"Being released from your mental states as well as the ink. Gaining every memory that's yours back but leaving every unwanted memory of the studio behind; everyone having their own individual identity again. Each of you as the unique people and characters I knew and saw every day."
Another laugh, this time more passionate. Sammy sat up fully much to your hidden disappointment- the only other time his face was close to yours and close to being unmasked was when you met him in his new form. "Who would've guessed when my sheep came back to me they'd be so wise? Though your lack of time spent with us has made your answer incomplete; it's something else to us." He needed no further prompting than your look of curiosity continuing, "I would say... more than just gaining what's ours back and leaving some of it to rest. Freedom is remembering. Remembering sunlight, the feeling of the seasons slowly changing before us... For some, it's remembering something they never had with a new outside world appearing before them. But it's remembering."
"That was possibly the most poetic way to say I was wrong you could manage," you spoke in amusement just as he had before, though it didn't make your expression any less gentle when your lips danced to form words.
"I'm sure you'll all get to experience it." A moment later your smile changed into an expression carrying interest and hints of relief. Thinking on his first sentence, you were lucky to have returned whether it was as easy for the other ink creatures or not. Including Bendy.
Bendy is still in the gold one- the gold abyss- wherever that was-
"Don't tell Sammy."
...What?!
"Do not tell Sammy. It isn't time yet."
In a daze, you nodded at an order which wasn't even spoken. The only person you could imagine speaking to you was Bendy since only Bendy conversed clearly without a wailing tone in his voice but the voice didn't sound like Bendy. The voice wasn't Bendy.
"Y/N, I'm not going to speak to you further if you don't show you can think clearly as well as move, you're in need of rest."
"No, no! I was only wondering some things. About them. Like how exactly I woke up if you'd like to tell me."
"...You vanished the same as Henry actually; disappearing with nothing more than an ink puddle on the floor." His smooth voice slipped away in pitch slightly, like he was talking to a blank puddle instead of you. "I've seen it hundreds of times with others but humans... humans always surprise me as to how it's possible. Despite that, Henry and I knew you'd appear before a statue of my lord, so we searched on the surrounding levels where you would be.
...It's distasteful Alice refuses to bear his image in her direct territory. We still were able to find you and bring you back to Level Nine. And... it should be obvious you came back afterward..."
Concern sank in as the prophet turned his head away. As if avoiding eye contact was necessary even though he never actually made it with you in his entire life likely, even when he was human. Already knowing what was spinning around in his mind, you caught his arm and pulled him forward so he was closer above you. Ink blackened your hand, running small trails down your arm with rolling drops.
"Samuel. It was not your fault I was injured and disappeared, alright? It wasn't the best move running away to get the pipe but it was really the only move you could make. And I could never blame you for what you DID do. Which, let me remind you, was save me from drowning. Please think a little more about what you decide to do though. It'll help you be more sure next time."
And hopefully won't get you killed either.
You had to admit you were a bit too out of it to take in everything and give what you could comfort-wise. But hearing... the pure and complete emotion in Sammy's voice was stirring your mind.
"You don't realize how much meaning you bring to this studio, Y/N. You've given... more than I've seen Henry give, even. Mercy. And when you don't it's always with purpose. The very reason you came into this place was not merely for yourself. You're happiness, to me and to others who want you to stay- who want you to live and never go through any circling darkness again but are thankful for what you've done in it Even if you aren't a light in this studio necessarily... you shine brighter than any other being I've met."
Before time to react was given he pulled his mask off in one smooth motion, sending your own eyes wide as you finally took in what was given in front of you.
The prophet's face.
He was... still handsome. Maybe, in a strange way not meant to be but without a doubt it was not the monstrosity Sammy thought of it. Just unique to the ink which remade him. The sweetest gaze mixed with the brightest sunshine in pie-cut orbs to make a warm color, though they were hard to identify in a specific shade, being both honey and gold. What was most beautiful was the collection of memory you had to go along with them; they were a striking contrast to the blue ones he previously had. Blue that could storm up but calm just as easily. Gold shone to you in passion now. The new ink swirled around as hair was like night comparing to the previous strands. And he was smiling down at you gently. In return, you did the same.
"I told you before, Sammy- I'm not going to leave alone. And at the very least I promise you, I'll stay until we can leave together."
Movement was made again. And in a heartbeat, he was kissing you.