She had opened the door not knowing what to expect. It was a dark place. Not the kind of joint she'd want to spend her day at. Her father had asked her to scope out the place after school, though. He paid her for doing this. That made it all worth it to a fourth grader.

Taking her first steps inside, she heard these strange noises. Her orange hair swished back and forth as she looked for where the sounds originated from. They sounded kind of like... talking? Were hobos living here or something?

"Bendy, why are you following me?" asked a female voice.

"Because I must protect you from Sammy! Surely, his evil schemes aren't over," the higher male voice replied. It sounded familiar.

A deeper male voice answered next. "What makes you think I'd hurt her after what you did to me?! I can barely even stand after how well you mangled your own servant, my lord!"

"I told you not to call me that!"

"Bendy, I'm fine. If anything, Sammy's too scared of me to even consider killing me again," said the female voice.

"But (y/n)! How could you not be the least bit concerned?!"

"Yeah, I might try stabbing you with that katana again. How can you trust me?" asked the deep male voice.

"Because you're trembling in fear and biting your fingernails."

"Oh."

The higher voice suddenly obtained a more foxy voice. "Well, if anything, it's more because of how much I want to be with you and to-"

Thwack!

"OW! Sammy!!! Why'd you do that!?"

"That is an inappropriate use of physical contact! I had to stop you, Bendy!"

She heard giggling from the female voice as the two male voices began arguing with each other. The orange haired girl figured that they were all very weird and that this was pretty normal for them. They're still probably hobos after all.

"Bendy, I respectfully request for you to not do this right now," the male voice said.

"Okay! Okay! Fine. I'll keep my hands to myself! For now...," he replied ominously.

"Oh, rats! I forgot the pen in the other room. I'll have to go get it."

"Well, yeah. Sammy, it'd be kind of hard to write a song without a pen!" the female voice replied.

"Hang on for a moment."

The orange haired girl heard footsteps come towards her. She jumped in fear realizing that she was going to be discovered. Desperately, she looked for a place to hide, but it was already too late. Sammy Lawrence stood in front of her.

At first, they just stared at each other in silence both trying to process what was before them. Then, the young girl started screaming at his horrifying image. She tried to flee for the door, but Sammy snatched her shirt collar preventing her from going anywhere.

"Let me go!! Let me go you... MONSTER! Release me!" she cried.

You and Bendy race into the room to find her in Sammy's grasp. You couldn't tell what Sammy's expression was, but you could tell that Bendy was more than alarmed.

"Hold on a second, Sammy! What are you doing?!" you demanded. He looked over casually.

Shrugging his shoulders and tilting his head towards her he replied. "There was an intruder. I just captured them."

Bendy blinked unsure of what to say. He inspected her slowly. "Well, well, welly, well, well, welly... So a human has wandered into the studio... again. So, what should we do with you? Oh wait, I forgot. Introductions! I'm Bendy, the creep with the mask is Sammy, and this fine young lady over here is (y/n). What might your name be?" he asked trying to sound charming.

She blinked her dark black eyes at Bendy. Recognition flashed in her eyes and reluctantly she stabbed at the obvious truth. "You mean... THE Bendy? I've heard about you! I only ever saw a couple of clips from your show, but it was great! I liked the music. Very well thought out."

Sammy blushed at the comment and let go. "Sh-She likes my work! I am appreciated!"

He started rambling to himself about how he had believed that no one ever cared about what he did for so many years. The orange haired girl still looked confused but much less worried. It was easy for her to pick up that she had won Sammy's trust in a heartbeat. Bendy, on the other hand, was still waiting for a name, occupation, and motive.

"Oh cool. You know us. But what's your name?!" Bendy demanded.

"Hey, be nice. She's just a kid, Bendy!" you retorted.

Bendy huffed and rolled his eyes. "Not that you have to tell me or anything..."

The girl looked around curiously. She seemed a little disappointed. "Where's Boris and Alice? Aren't they here too?"

"Alice... Ah... She's a tragedy," Bendy replied solemnly.

You had no idea what he meant and paid attention to see if he would explain why, but instead, he just moved on like nothing had been said.

Bendy glanced around as if looking for Boris. "That wolf was supposed to be back here ages ago! Where could he be?!"

Last time we saw Boris: The Stone Age.

Suddenly, the door swung open and you heard rapid footsteps come down the hallway. Finally, Boris returned with his tail wagging rapidly and excitedly. "Hey Bendy! I found something cool!"

"Wow! I did too! Although, I doubt your cool thing isn't nearly as cool as my thing," Bendy boasted. Standing in front of the girl.

Boris crossed his arms and shook his head. "I can't show you yet."

"What?! Oh, come on! Spill the beans! We want to know!" Bendy whined.

"Nope." Boris didn't budge.

Sighing and giving up on it, Bendy straightened up. "Well, I still think my cool thing is better than yours. Ta-dah! A human!" Bendy announced.

Boris jumped back in alarm at the girl, but then he realized that she was only a kid. Slowly, he approached her. "Well, I'll be... What's your name, little lady?"

"Uh... Boris, I... My name is Lesla," she answered finally. Bendy seemed relieved to finally know at least that.

"That's pretty! And- What's with Sammy Lawrence over there? Is he... happy?" Boris asked confused. He had never seen Sammy that happy before. Or ever truly happy... The music director was hopping happily around the room.

"Oh, Lesla said she liked his music," you replied.

"Aw! Ain't that sweet!"

Bendy crossed his arms. "I still want to know what we're going to do with her! If we knew why she was here, maybe it'd be easier to tell what to do with her!"

Lesla then ignored Boris and went to Sammy. She hopped up to him and looked up at his mask. " Why do you wear that mask? It looks kind of creepy..."

Sammy touched the side of it and nodded. "Yeah... This thing is old. Trust me, you should be glad that I'm wearing it. I just look scary without it."

"Oh! So that's why!" she chirped. Nodding to herself, she seemed certain about something. "I think you're my favorite character in the show, Sammy!"

Sammy jumped blushing again. "Wha-?! I'm not even in the-!"

"Yes, you are! You made the music, therefore, you're in the show, Sammy Lawrence!" Lesla pointed out. She flicked his mask playfully and he straightened up.

"I think I should start liking you rather than Bendy. Because unlike him, you respect me!" Sammy announced.

Bendy stuck his tongue out at Sammy and brushed up against you like a cat. For once, Sammy didn't seem all that bugged by it. Then, Sammy realized what he was saying and returned to yandere Sammy mode. "YOU GET AWAY FROM HER! She's not nearly as great as me!"

Lesla jumped up and down nodding. "That's right! Sammy deserves more respect than all of you!"

"Why do you even like that guy...?" Boris asked starting to get annoyed.

"He writes music and is cool. Plus, he appreciates my appreciation. All of you are like, 'Oh, we're amazing and nobody could ever compare to all of us because we're above humanity' or something like that. Sammy is a lot more humble than all of you!" Lesla snapped violently.

Bendy blinked. He felt insulted. The more you thought about it, the truer it sounded. All except for the 'Sammy being humble' part. The ink demon looked to you as if expecting for you to back him up, but you couldn't think of anything. Bendy did think he was better than humanity.

Lesla grinned with satisfaction. She then turned to Sammy. "Wait, do you like Bendy?"

Sammy stood taller with his head held high. "Of course I do!" he shouted loyally. He then realized that he was openly admitting he was gay. "Is... Is that a bad thing to you?"

Lesla shrugged. "Personally, I don't care. You're still amazing!"

Sammy remembered Bendy's previous question. "Actually, we still want to know. Why did you come here?"

Lesla thought about going into defensive mode but decided against it. "Um... My dad asked me to scout out the place! He's extremely rich and basically controls the entire town. He pays me to investigate places that look like they need to be torn down and replaced. He was pretty sure that there was nothing in here, but he sent me to check anyway. He was completely wrong about there being nothing here. We also got a report about people going missing in here. But hey, money is money," she replied.

"TORN DOWN?!" Bendy shouted in alarm.

"Yeah."

"Well..., I guess it makes sense because this is an abandoned animation studio, but this is also our home! As dumpy as it is...," he objected.

Lesla looked like an unimpressed cat waiting for you to give it its fish. Like she didn't care about what was really the problem there. She glanced towards the door. "So, uh... I kinda have to go. My parents might start worrying about me."

"Lucky you. My parents only worried about all the money I'd make them just walk out the door when I disappeared...," you grumbled under your breath.

Bendy shot between Lesla and the door. "NO! We can't let you leave, girlie! You're stuck here! We can't let you leave to tell your father to tear this place down!"

"You'll get out of the way. If you don't, my dad will send the police to come and get me in the next half hour. That's how protective he is," she answered.

"Once again, lucky you...," you grumbled.

Bendy growled at her as if saying that didn't matter. "I can't allow you. Not unless if you promise not to let him tear this place down."

"I can't guarantee anything. I can tell him that some people live in here, but he would simply ask who you were and simply try to transfer you somewhere else. However, when he sees you..., I doubt that he will be nearly that generous. I wouldn't be surprised if he just tried to get you all arrested. Except for Sammy because I won't let him!" Lesla said hugging Sammy. The music director grinned daintily.

"Sammy! Tell her to try harder to save us! If you care about us... If you care about me, you'll try to stop her!" Bendy begged.

Looking at Bendy's pleading eyes, he knew he couldn't say no. Sammy inhaled largely and shook his head at Lesla. "I'm afraid I can't let you get away with this. If my lord Bendy requires for me to stop you... then stop you I shall."

Lesla had a hurt expression if only for a minute. She then sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, if you're determined to help your precious Bendy, then I'll see what I can do. Anything for you, Sammy! Now can I go home?"

Bendy stood there silently. Reluctantly, he stood away from the door. "Just get out." He turned his back coldly on Lesla and retreated back to the room you were in previously. You knew he was relieved to have her out of the studio.

After she left, Sammy looked back to where Bendy had left. "Bendy did not seem pleased with having her here. I suppose I should refrain from conversing with her for the time being."

"Yeah, you should. Boris, I need to see Bendy. I think he needs someone to talk this out with...," you said to the wolf. Boris nodded in agreement. And because you were still limping, he lifted you in his arms and away you went.

Sammy didn't move. He glanced back out the door. Was it really worth staying here? Nobody had ever respected him. Slowly, he reached for the door handle as if thinking there was something better for him outside the door. Was Bendy really worth that much to him? The one who mercilessly abused his feelings without consideration of how he may feel? No. He couldn't be. Sammy choked down the urge to turn back. "S-Sorry... my lord..." He opened the creaky door to a life-changing decision. One that would either be for the better... or for the worst...

Boris noticed that Bendy wasn't in the other room anymore and knew he'd have to navigate the entire studio before he could find him again. A good five minutes went by before he figured out where he'd be. The Orchestra Room! That was where the violin was put! Surely he'd be there either playing the violin or gazing up at the large projector and screen. "I know where he is."

"That's good. If you know where he is, then why are you just standing there?!" you demanded. Boris got the hint and ran on.

Down the stairs. Through hallways and screeching to a halt. You were just in front of the music department sign. A few ink puddles sat before it. You knew they were Searchers. So, you called out to them. "Hi, guys! It's me!"

The Searchers gingerly arose from their puddles and gazed up at you with surprise. "Yay! Master's love okay!"

"Yeah, Sammy's been taken care of for the time being. He's not dead, but he won't be trying anything too soon," you replied. You then remembered something and grew worried. "Is Colin okay?!"

The Searchers murmured something you couldn't understand. Finally, one spoke up. "Colin not feel good ever since Sammy chop him... He not okay..."

"Oh no... Will he recover?" Boris asked with worry and sympathy in his eyes. His tail sagged when the Searchers shrugged unsurely.

The black ink blob scuttled closer. It grabbed your hand and tugged lightly. "Colin later! Master need (y/n)! He not happy!"

Colin instantly leaving your head, his desperate voice seemed to snap your mind back to your mission. If you were able to stand, you would have instantly leaped from Boris's grasp to find Bendy yourself. "Is he okay?! What happened?!"

"He look really mad! Almost step on Rudy over there! You calm Master down maybe!" cried the Searcher dragging harder. A loud crash came from the Orchestra room. Boris raced towards the noise leaving the Searcher behind. It shouted something, but you couldn't hear it.

There he was. An ax in gripped tight his hand and the remains of the base drum in front of him. He lifted his gaze to meet yours. His face was expressionless. The ax fell from his hand to the wooden ground. It landed with a hollow thud that rang throughout the entire studio. The dust was stirred a little but fell back once again into its lifeless sleep.

Bendy smirked as if he were proud of what he did. However, his eyes were glaring making him seem almost evil. "I just can't figure out for the life of me why... Why this had to happen. I understand what that little girl was thinking. When she told us, 'I'll do what I can', she meant nothing by it. That's the long and the short of it. I've heard it too many times. I know the phrase like the back of my hand. "I'll do what I can" means I can't do more than what I do normally. So, why did I even bother to stand in her way? This place is going down and we'll all become outcasts anyway. Ain't that how it always goes?" he asked growling the last sentence.

"Bendy... It ain't that bad! We'll find some other place to go!" Boris countered.

The ink demon only laughed at his statement. It was the insane kind of laughter. The 'How can you think that?' laughter. "Boris... Boris... Boris... That's so like you. You're too predictable. I admire that, but it also gets on my nerves. There's nothing we can do. You won't help this out any. I don't want to be mean, but you don't know anything about the people out there. How they view me specifically. Sure, you're a dog. They don't feel threatened by you. For some reason, when they see me, they want to lock me up! Even before I first went outside that door, they still suspected my show of being bad simply because I was a demon. Goes to show that humans don't change... Not really."

Boris was silent. He looked to you for help. Bendy rolled his eyes. "Why look to her for help? Afraid that you'll say something predictable again?"

You couldn't help but feel like Bendy was taking it too far. It was ticking you off listening to him ramble about how hopeless the situation was. You didn't allow him to trash talk anymore. "Bendy, why are you being such a jerk?" you asked firmly.

"What made you think I was nice, sweetheart?" he asked specifically to get on your nerves even more. He succeeded.

"Oh, shut up. This isn't helping anything and you know it! Is this your solution to everything?! Get mad about it and then throw a tantrum?! You have an odd habit of destroying things when you're mad! It's like you think it fixes the situation or something!" you snapped feeling an argument start up. Boris looked worried. He thought he should intervene, but decided against it.

The ink demon knew where this was going. He wasn't about to let you escape from what you decided to start. "Maybe it does! For one thing, it does make me feel like it solves the situation! If I kill someone, then they can't get in my way. If I destroy something, it won't be able to stop me!" he snapped.

Oh great. He's justifying the very things he hates about himself.

"Then why don't you just destroy the animation studio, huh?! Maybe it'll make you feel better about being a monster!" you shot back.

Bendy was silent. He glanced at Boris. "Hey Boris..., could you leave for a minute? I don't think this is a conversation you should get involved in..."

The wolf, still looking worried, completely obeyed. He wasn't about to get caught in the crossfires between you and Bendy. Once he had disappeared down the darkened hallway, you snapped your gaze back to the Bendy before you. It wasn't the real Bendy. Couldn't possibly be.

"I would've been nice... But then you had to go and trash talk your best friend right in front of him. You're lucky that Boris didn't just leave you and this place altogether because of that. If my best friend talked to me like that...," you began to threat. You cut off the final sentence to simply let him imagine what you'd do. He seemed to almost be enjoying this...

Nodding, the ink demon took a few steps more in your direction. "Sorry, but I don't feel quite so friendly. Annoying people tend to show off my destructive side. Verbally, physically, and mentally. And I've had to put up with way too many of them. Sammy Lawrence, Lesla, Henry, Joey Drew, your parents, the police, and even you sometimes. You think I've been breezing through this?! You're terribly mistaken! I'm dying on the inside and you know it."

In your mind, you shivered at how ominous that sounded. On the outside, you refused to let it bother you. "That may be so, but you should've told someone that something was bugging you! I would've listened and Boris would've too. Heck, even Sammy! Do you have to go around and keep your secret grudges against humanity all to yourself?!"

"YES!"

"No, you don't! Your problem is our problem as you can clearly see right now! It's because of you that we're currently stuck in this argument right now. Your stupid insecurities are once again getting to you."

Bendy huffed with annoyance. Not so much about you but more about you being completely right. If you were right, he was left. The two of you were exact opposites. While opposites attract sometimes, they can repel each other just as easily. "Why are you even trying to get me to sort this out? Not like there's anything you can do. My "stupid insecurities" are my problem and not yours. So, you should just leave me alone."

His remark left you feeling strangely ambivalent. One part of you wanted to continue chewing him out for being both an idiot and a jerk. The other half of you wanted to help him out and sympathized with him. The debate left you unsure of what to tell him. But while his words were harsh and devoid of all hope, it was all just giant swirls of emotions shooting through his mind one after another. Anger, sadness, regret, guilt, loathing, annoyance, confusion, fear, and probably more than just that. Thinking about that made the debate in your mind finally start to settle and sympathy won over the anger. "But being alone isn't going to help."

"That sounds like something Henry would say," Bendy told you sitting onto the ground.

"Probably because he cared about people a lot more than most."

Bendy didn't say anything. He phased in and out of reality as he swapped constantly with what was happening and his memories. Remembering the ax on the ground, he picked it up and realized he was earlier swinging this like a maniac. Multiple times. Staring at the ax, he lifted it and chucked it across the room. It wasn't going to help him now. "I don't care what Henry cared about. He's gone. It doesn't matter what he did, what he said, or how he felt. All that mattered is that he once existed and now he doesn't. One less human for me to worry about!"

"There are more humans in the world than you can count, Bendy. You can't do anything about it. One less human for you to worry about just means six more humans to replace the one. You can't escape them."

"For Pete's sake, you had to remind me."

When nothing more was said by him, he stared off into space. He looked completely exhausted and you could hardly blame him for that. What does one do when going insane? He didn't do anything. That was what was driving him nuts. The idea of just standing aside and letting life run you over like a train just didn't seem to do him much good. He preferred to jump out of the way and then run for his life away from it. Maybe shoot at it a few times and keep running. Now, he was giving in to it. You either jump on the train or get flattened by it. And Bendy was standing on the tracks watching it approach in slow motion. Humans were preventing him from running.

The metaphor stood out to you in some way. If you knew the train was coming and that it was going to flatten you, you'd naturally be either afraid or depressed about it. Maybe both. But what if you didn't know that the train was coming? Would that be better than knowing? If you could somehow convince Bendy that everything was fine would it be for the better or the worst?

"Maybe they won't come. I think Lesla will uphold her promise. I mean, as long as Sammy Lawrence is here, she will do whatever it takes to keep his home from being destroyed I'd imagine," you thought aloud.

Bendy shrugged snapping out of his bizarre between reality state. "I wouldn't bet my life on it. As stated before, she told us that she'd see what she could do. She might not be able to do much."

"But suppose that nothing happens! What'll we do then?" you asked somewhat desperate to take his mind off of the present.

"I dunno. I don't really care."

You huffed with annoyance. Anything! You could literally be talking about anything else right now, Bendy! But noooooo... You want to be all sad and depressed and angry with Boris and- BORIS! Maybe he has the answer! "Hey Bendy, what do you think that cool thing was that Boris found earlier?"

"Do you think I know? I know as much as you do? Why? Do you wanna know?" he asked finally breaking out of his protective shell of negativity.

"Yeah, it'll get your mind off of life for a little bit. I'm not concerned about me here, just so you know," you pointed out.

Sighing, he stood back to his feet. Reluctantly, he yanked you back up to your one good foot and helped you stabilize. Thank goodness there was a wall there, right?! Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a small ink puddle inch a little closer. A head popped out of the puddle and then vanished instantly. Now that you had gotten used to them, they were kind of adorable in a creepy kind of way.

"I think one of the Searchers is following us...," you pointed out as you signaled towards the ink puddle.

"Oh, him? That's Rudy. He's the small, cute one. Don't mistake him for Terrence. They're both small, but Terrence is loud and obnoxious," Bendy replied without even having to think about it. The way he could recognize them all astonished you. When did he have the time to identify and memorize all of them?!

"How many Searchers are there in this place?!" you demanded.

"Searchers? Quite a few. Not exactly a hundred, but more than twenty. If I had to make a rough estimate, I'd say about fifty all together," Bendy replied.

50?!? The number was a lot larger than you expected it to be. However, the place was a lot bigger than you expected as well. An underground Orchestra Room? How many places have that kind of space? "C-Can you name... all of them?" you asked wondering how well he did at names.

Bendy saw a challenge and his eyes lit up instantly. "Well, since you're desperate to know, I can certainly try! "There's, uh, Rudy, Colin, Terrence, George, Michael, Damon, Benjamin, Andy, Hanson, Marvin, Steven, Brandon, Evan, Tristen, William, Jude, Maxwell, Simon, Wilden, James, John, Timothy, Joel, Ashton, Markus, Aiden, Lucas, Tanner, Drake, Gannon, Randy, Roland, Rowen, Cyrus, Brycen, Colby, Derrick, Peter, Jaylen, Alex, Alber-"

"OKAY! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

"Aw... I had only eleven and a half more to go!" Bendy replied in a whiny voice.

"Tell me later when I'm not thinking about it maybe," you replied a little annoyed.

Big black cartoon-like eyes looked up at you looking as if he wanted you to give him attention.

Behold. Adorableness. And if this is your picture, I'll tell you that this isn't mine, but I thought it was totally cute and what I was looking for! Plz, don't get mad at me...

Bendy stared at the non-dangerous looking Searcher as if he were still pondering how an ink blob could be so cute. "Huh. I forgot how chibi-like he was."

HOW DO YOU FORGET SOMETHING SO CHIBI-LIKE BENDY?!?! JUST HOW???

You lifted up the tiny blob and it blinked. In a high-pitched child voice, it greeted you. "H-Hi! I be Rudy!" it chirped.

"Um... hello. I'm (y/n). You already know who Bendy is. Although I've heard you can't say his name," you replied glancing at Bendy.

Bendy seemed confused. "I never told them to call me Master. I think Sammy told them to call me that... I wouldn't be surprised."

"Nuuuu! Bendy scary! He stepped on me!" Rudy cried crawling up your arm and hiding on your shoulder. He felt cold, so he started shivering. "Bendy give me chills..."

Not feeling like apologizing, Bendy turned his back on it. "Well, excuse me for being an ink demon! I've probably stepped on all of the Searchers at some point! Just ask Aiden! I step on him almost every day!"

"Aiden always complains about that behind your back. He say 'Oh, Bendy step on my head again! One day when he not looking, I step on his head!" the little ink blob replied mocking Aiden.

You snickered at its acting ability and Bendy groaned. "I've known all along his complaints about it! Believe me, I'll never ever ever let him step on my head! Do you wanna know why? Because he doesn't have any feet!"

Changing the subject was highest on your to-do list, so you got right on it. Sadly, it still paid you minimum wage for doing so. Nothing. "Uh..., Rudy... We kind of have to go upstairs. Why don't you stay here with all of your other inky friends?"

The ink blob shook its head no and clung even tighter. "No! Me not like them... They all make fun of me! Say I not even do my job... Me not want to hurt people! Me not like Sammy either... He always scorns me for being small and too cute. But you not mean to me! I stay right here!" it sang gleefully. It sat unmoving on your shoulder's.

Bendy, now looking somewhat ticked off, looked about to flick the little guy off. "Do you know what I am?" he asked trying to show authority in his voice.

"Uh... Really short?" it asked eyeing him up and down.

Annoyance went to insulted. He now felt what Sammy Lawrence felt from him every day. Insulted. "NO! I'm your "Master"! I am an ink demon! I am Bendy whose name you're not supposed to say!" he snapped at the little ink blob.

Gazing at him a little harder, he seemed unimpressed. "You don't look nearly as scary as the other Searchers say you are. Sure you step on my head, but besides that, not scary at all. Terrence always tells me about all of the people you've murdered and terrorized! I always thought of this giant ink monster that would chase you until finally getting its hands on you and killing you instantly in a fit of blind rage! However..., you don't look anything like that...," Rudy replied narrowing his eyes at Bendy.

Clearly trying not to strangle the ink drop, Bendy cried on the inside. On the outside, he felt depressed again and gave up on life. "I'm going to go find that ax and maybe kill myself maybe..."

"NO! You will not do that! Rudy, you will apologize to him this instant!" you shouted at the ink blob.

It stared back at you confused. "Why? Should I really care? Do you really care? He's not much of a monster if you ask me. I was just disappointed that he's not the hero I was expecting him to be."

"DO IT NOW!! Or I'll strangle you myself...," you threatened it. Satisfaction washed over you when it shrunk back and squeaked with fear.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be rude! It's just in my name! I don't actually want to be rude! Forgive me, Ben- er- Master!" it cried like a little kid. He looked back at you as if to see if the evil look on your face was gone.

Bendy didn't reply. He knew how the thing really felt. "Whatever... Where did I throw my ax?"

Not putting up with any more of that, you snatched Bendy and glared at Rudy. He squeaked again and retreated back into its puddle. Suddenly, it realized that Bendy wasn't the scary hero it was looking for... but you were! It's cartoon eyes sparkled with admiration. "Terrence gotta know about this!"

"Bendy! You're not gonna die! Not so long as I've got a decision in this!" you snapped trying to get him out of his funk.

"I don't care what you say! Because in reality, nothing can help me now!" he snapped.

Wondering what to do, you began to inquire what actually would help anything. Suddenly, you smirked as if you figured out the key to fixing everything. "Oh really? You wanna bet?"

"Why are you smiling at me like that...? Should I be scared? What do you mean by betting anything?!" he asked.

"That's right, you wanna die... I forgot. So then, why do you think you should be worried about anything? Besides..., I thought that your curiosity would be greater than your fear. Am I right?" you questioned wondering if you were taking the act a little far.

"I didn't actually plan on doing it and I-"

"Oh, so you're a liar now. That's fine! It all just means better for me," you told him with a plotting voice. You couldn't help but love the expression on his face.

Bendy's POV

I regret everything! I regret everything! I regret everything!

This was what I was thinking that very second. I could feel my heart race faster than a herd of wild horses running a marathon. Whatever she wanted to do to me, though, I welcomed. I wasn't sure why I felt so, but even though we did fight only a few minutes before, I could still feel this deep desire for her. Maybe even more powerful than just a desire. I never really wanted to die, but pretending like I did made me feel better. I knew she wasn't going to kill me. It was easy to see she was after something clearly different. Whether she was after it for my sake or just for her entertainment, I didn't quite have a clue. Probably both. But standing there right then feeling my heart thump louder than a bass drum, made me come to a conclusion. I lusted after her like my life depended on it. I couldn't tell if I hated the feeling... or craved it.

"Wh-Why are... you...," I started, but she placed her finger over my mouth, shushing me. Eyes gazing into mine, she shook her head slowly. I couldn't make it stop. The feeling only grew stronger and the butterflies in my stomach bounced around as if they were fireworks ready to explode. I knew she could see the blush in my cheeks because she only came closer to me. Intentionally and knowingly. I couldn't move nor speak.

"I know what you want... I can give it to you...," she whispered to me. I knew she was acting. She had to be. This was like her at all... was it? I found myself doubting my every past move and thought. Was I simply oblivious the whole time? But then again, I'm not giving myself enough credit. I pay a lot more attention than one might expect.

A heartbeat later, I found my lips barely an inch away from hers. I thought to myself, 'I can still draw back. I can say that it's not a problem for me anymore. However, it wasn't nearly enough to just get this close to what I want to only slam the door in my own face. And she was simply giving it to me. Bodies pressed together, fingers intertwined, gazing intently into each other's eyes. I wondered if she could see what I was thinking. How ambivalent I felt about this. One side not wanting the awkward moment to stretch out so long and the other begging for it to last forever. I wondered if she could feel my heartbeat racing within my chest.

It's not my heart.

I shoved the thought from my mind. That wasn't important. She seemed to realize that my emotions took a drastic swing because she froze and got this look of sympathy. "What's the matter?"

"Everything...," I whispered.

She squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Well, whatever it was that had crossed your mind, it doesn't matter anymore."

"It still hurts, though. Not much can be done about that. I expect that the only remedy for that is time and I don't really think I have a lot of that at the moment..."

"Well, time is money and you're spending that time with me. Isn't that what you wanted to spend it on?" she asked.

If that's what you wonder... Then the truth must be what you ponder.

"Yeah."

I wanted none more... Is this boat leaving shore?

Or are we weighing anchor? Taking a moment more

To remember we're all on this little boat together?

Hm... I have to wonder.

I find it funny. Joey made me to love all and to be loved by all. However, I love one and am loved by almost none. There are three who love me. One I wish who didn't and one completely platonic. But one... rises above the masses. I've figured it out, Joey. I'm not a cartoon anymore like you said I was. Unlike them, I could care less about making others happy. I could care less about whether if I entertain them or not. I care about only two others in this world. That's what makes me different. I can't love everyone. That's why I've concluded that... I'm a living person now.

Somehow admitting it to myself made me realize that I really didn't have to stay in that studio. I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to. I wasn't a legal-thing to anyone anymore. I am a legal-person. And I love (y/n).

A moment's hesitation and we gave in. Our lips met and possibly our tongues as well. I wasn't paying attention. I could only feel a warm satisfaction and the overwhelming desire to love her. Forget the fight. Forget life. Forget the ax. Heck, even forget Boris. I can be without all of that. This is what I lived all of this time for. This feeling was what I've been craving all of this time.

And I loved it all more than those swag bowties.