So... I'm back AND I SWEAR TO GOD THIS WAS FREAKING EXHAUSTING-

So I watched, bought and played Chapter Five. I'd say Chapter Four was creepier but Chapter Five brought me to my knees screaming in confusion. The ending was a stupid cliffhanger (honestly, it was amazing, hands down) but hats to theMeatly for this amazing piece of work! Leo's now finishing up chapter one and heading towards chapter two. Maybe if I get a creative spark, I may change things and create the Archives as some last hurrah before Leo gets out. ANYWAY! I'm behind schedule so let's get on with it!

Also, Bendy Toon, I love your idea. But to clarify, we're going with some theories alongside this canon in-game stuff. First, I think this is a time loop (as you clearly go back at the end of chapter five, you go back to the start of chapter one) that Leo broke by falling into. Same things clearly happen here, same events will follow, but since Leo broke the time loop, he has the power to change events little by little. I like the idea of befriending Alice and then going towards and generally having a conflict... I guess you'll just have to find out in the next chapters ;)

Disclaimer: I will not be writing on FFN and would be creating the sequel 'IFFFFF' I owned the game. But for the sake of those who don't get it, I DON'T OWN THE GAME.

Warning: Canonical in-game events will be mixed with theories; ToA will be canon in this, except that Calypso never went on a quest, Apollo went alone, Piper stayed behind after Jason's death and... just that. (P.S Caleo is semi-canon)

Should he find the drain or listen to the tape recording?

Looking for the drain would mean he'd find his way quicker by finding the drain. Draining the flood would help Leo run faster and it wasn't that safe to be stuck in a flood in which the one he was running from was made of. But last time, the tape recorder helped him and gave him instructions. Those instructions weren't helpful right now from his perspective, but it was all he had. Maybe it was some employee yelling last-minute instructions on how to get out.

He made a decision.

Leo walked through the waist-length inky flood towards the bookshelf where the barely seen tape recorder currently was laid on.

Glancing at the boarded walls and the chipped tiles running around the edges, he involuntarily shivered. The studio was old, the heater (if there was one installed; heck, probably if there even was invented in the time period the studio seemed to be in) was probably rotten and impossible to fix, but add that and the slimy old and very cold ink. It was very cold in the studio.

He pressed the play button on the tape recorder, hoping it wasn't as messed up as the last one. He was wishing that he wouldn't have to fix a screwed tape recorder.

"It's dark and it's cold and it's stuck in behind every single wall now. In some places, I swear this godforsaken ink is clear up to my knees!" The tape recorder rumbled as a middle-aged man ranted on grumpily. "Who ever thought that these crummy pipes could hold up under this kind of strain either knows something about pressure I don't, or he's some kind of idiot. But the real worst part about all this... are them noises the system makes. Like a dying dog on it's last legs. Make no mistake, this place... this... machine... heck, this whole damn thing... it just isn't natural. You can bet, I won't be doing any more repair jobs for Mister Joey Drew." The tape recorder blared out static before it turned off.

Leo grudgingly stomped forcefully through the flood. Well, that wasn't exactly what he expected to hear. All he heard was an employee complaining again (he couldn't really blame them) about this studio and his employer and being suspicious about the machine. What he needed to hear was a nice long piece of advice...

Snap out of it, his mind scolded him. Complaining like a baby won't do anything. Use your head!

I'm trying, he thought back, glancing around as he brought out the drachma to inspect his surroundings in faint light. But there's always something that could help me out during quests. Oh, right. This isn't a quest! Just an adventure full of death and suffering.

Spotting a door to the side, he made his way towards it. To be safe, he peeked at the corner, sighing in relief that there wasn't any Bendy cutout. Bad news, it was leading towards a small hallway that had a small staircase swamped with ink. He looked around for a valve that could drain the flood. He found it and turned it.

"Awww," he groaned as he stepped forward. "Don't tell me I have to go down and get more cold and slimy ink on me."

Well, buddy, the staircase seemingly taunted him. If you wanna live, this is the way.

The inky flood began to go down slowly, allowing Leo to walk properly down the stairs to whatever creepy place this was suppose to lead to. He winced at every step he took, the wooden stairs groaning. He gripped the walls with what part of his hands wasn't covered in slippery ink as he carefully went down. The light above him continously flickered, giving him an indie horror game vibe... wait... light?

Leo looked up and squinted. True enough, there was light. How had he not notice it? "How did light just show up?"

It flickered off long enough to make him not to question it. He was just grateful that light just decided to show up. He pocketed the drachma, wishing to save it for later.

He continued on, lowering the flood with the use of another valve. "Man, how deep is this place? Joey's crazy to build this much underground where everything would have collapsed," He noted as he trudged along, turning the valve at the very bottom of the stairs, completely lowering the inky flood.

He glanced around, finding more boards on the walls and a door. Oh, boy. Here goes nothing, he thought as he clutched the doorknob and twisted it. Surprisingly, the door did not resist and opened wide. It revealed a room full of storage crates and another entrance boarded up.

Leo involuntarily stepped away from the boarded up entrance, internally cringing. Last time a doorway was boarded up, some creepy ink creature charged at me and almost killed me, he thought as he looked around for something or some clue.

He turned around to find himself looking once more at a message slathered in ink on the wall. He stepped away from it again. Some kind of magic forced him to read it even if Leo looked anywhere but that wall.

'The Creator lied to us'

"Nope, nope, nope," Leo turned around, a hand on his forehead. A simple little fall and exploring just turned into an indie horror game in a few... hours? Minutes? Days? Leo didn't know the time. If he was truly in the Labyrinth, where time was seriously messed up, for all he knew, his adventure could take a decade or a few seconds. He had no way to tell time.

But seriously, an indie horror game themed adventure? First, a decaying studio. Then creepy Bendy cutouts. Then a dead Boris. Then a creepy ink monster who almost killed him by falling. Now creepy ink messages?

Just survive was all he could do. But even he knew, indie horror game themed adventures were no good. Unlike those games he played so much with Jason or Piper, there was no reset or save or checkpoint here.

He spotted a glint on the wall, getting excited. Maybe some picture that indicated something? Something someone left behind in a hurry to get out?

He made his way closer and found an axe hanging from the wall. "Score!" Leo grinned and grabbed it from its place. The axe wasn't heavy or out of balance. It was somehow perfect. Leo gave a small swing to test it. It had a little more weight than he anticipated. Well, that was fine. Besides, he'd willingly carry a perfectly good weapon that was a little heavy than be defenseless. A sharp blade and a nice handle. It'd do more damage and help than his malfunctioning toolbelt could.

Leo approached the entrance, ready to swing the axe. "Whatever's in there, can I axe you? Are you prepared to meet my little friend?" He snorted at his own joke, filling the silence that nobody responded.

"Well, ready or not, here I come," he swung the axe, chopping the boards easily and shattering them into pieaces as he smiled. He found another hallway, making his way down, whistling as he faced another door blocked. Who was boarding up these doorways. The last time, he found the boarded doorway helpful but this time, what the purpose? Prevent another weird ink creature from charging or escaping? Or just to make people like him alert down here?

He swung the axe, leaving nothing behind whole as he approached the room, turned the knob and almost dropped his axe.

Almost.

He jumped back in horror (and let out a manly scream) as he cussed out Joey Drew's name. There were coffins, candles... even a summoning circle in the middle of the room! "Aw, c'mon! Don't tell me I have to deal with this ritual stuff down here!" He gasped for breath as he held the axe in front of him. Why can't he just take a nice, small break from life? Like just chilling in his bunk, eating delicious Fonzies? Or just playing a game? Or drinking some nice hot chocolate while reading/translating Archimedes' scrolls?

"Don't tell me someone's worshipping this monster..."

He cautiously took a step forward, staring grudgingly at the black ink on the floor in the shape of a pentagram. The other door across the room was suspiciously boarded up. Three chairs surrounded the design on the floor. Six candles were lit and burning, the only light source in the room, were glowing softly and casting shadows across the room and the coffins in which he hoped he wouldn't have to open and find it possessed disemboweled bodies inside and across his ink-stained face, making everything seem more sinister and creepy.

He listened carefully to the creaking boards as he walked slowly forward. Just one, tiny, small movement.

Look down, genius, his mind reminded him.

He slowly looked down to find the tip of his foot across the summoning circle. His grip on the axe suddenly loosened and it slipped from his fingers. He lurched forward hard and stumbled, as he struggled to regain his balance. The axe clattered beside him as it seemed like the whole room shook with force, forcing him to the ground.

He let out a yelp as he clutched his head, visions shooting through his mind, orange and yellow flashing in front of his eyes. A blurred image of the ink machine flashed before his eyes. He stumbled around, facing the coffins when an image of a rusted wheelchair suddenly came to mind, making him turn abruptly and fall to his knees.

A final image came to mind. A creature coated in ink, maliciously grinning, standing in the doorway, towering over him like a predator would do to its prey. An ink stained white flopped on its chest. It was reaching for something... someone... for its prey. The curved horns and the face looked strikingly familiar. It was the ink monster that chased him upstairs. It was the mascot of the studio he was in. It was the familiar cartoon demon that made everyone laugh.

"Bendy..." he whispered in a low tone of voice, his voice shaking with fear.

Suddenly, the urge to sleep overtook him. It blocked all coherent thoughts Leo tried to form as he tried to move, to scream, to do something... anything! But as Bendy seemingly approached him, his body gave out. Arms and legs failing, he sprawled out on the floor, aware yet not fully awake. He gratefully and silently slipped into darkness that consumed him.

Leo's eyes opened, yawning as he glanced around.

Somehow, he was back at camp. He felt happiness explode. It was all a dream after all.

The cabin counselors (the remaining left at camp) were all gathered around the ping-pong table, looking somehow serious. He looked around. Piper looked like she lost a lot of sleep, Nyssa looked tense and Calypso... Leo's heart suddenly yearned for her. The beautiful demi-titaness had now circles under her eyes and had messy hair. She looked like she was nearly on the verge of kicking or punching something.

He hesitantly waved a hand in front of Chiron's face, who didn't respond and didn't move. So, this was the dream. Which probably meant he was still back at Joey Drew Studios. And hopefully alive and not eaten by Bendy yet.

"Nyssa?" Chiron called her attention from the front of the table. "Status update on Leo?"

Nyssa rubbed her forehead as she sighed, throwing a sideways glance at Calypso. "It's his third day gone, there's no sign of him... yet," she said slowly. "We could probably use someone to translate the scrolls, maybe that could hold something that could help us in finding him."

Piper frustratingly banged her head on the table. "What is up with him missing? First to Calypso's island, no offense," she said, messing up her hair. "Then, him dying, then this? What kind of trouble is he in now?"

"Hey, stop that!" A cabin counselor laughed. "It's wrong to speak ill of the dead."

Piper's hands clenched into fists. But she was too late. Calyspo came first and swung her fist as hard as she could. Just as about as she was about to murder him, a voice spoke.

"He's not dead, if that's what you're saying," Nico piped up from the shadows, appearing and sitting on his seat beside Will Solace, the son of Apollo.

Chiron looked immensely relieved. "Calypso, please take a seat and calm down. You, Sherman, however, probably have to go see a medic," he said with a pointed look at Will Solace, who immediately responded and proceeded to patch up his bloody nose.

He approached the table, leaning on a chair that was occupied. "That's my girl," he grinned as he saw the smug look in Calypso's eyes as she sat back down.

Leo watched the events happening before him. He never realized he woke up Cloven, who was now staring directly and intensely at him.

"Leo?" He whirled around, to find the sleeping counselor staring at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I dunno. This seems like a dream," Leo replied as he grabbed an empty seat and leaned back on it.

"Seems like it. I'm asleep in the real world, so you're probably in a dream. So since you're here and Chiron'll kill me if I don't ask you what's happening to you, so how are you?"

"Terrible. I'm stuck in a haunted studio, with some creepy ink monster chasing after me. It's giving off an indie horror game vibe to me."

Cloven looked mildly interested. "What studio? And monster?"

"Joey Drew Studios. There's this ink thing that chased me and kinda looks like the studio's mascot, you know, Bendy the Dancing Demon? Also, there's some crazy cult stuff in here that looks like they're worshipping Bendy."

Cloven looked at him in surprise. "Bendy? That old cartoon and cult stuff happening? Seems like Piper was right. What kind of trouble are you in now?"

"Serious trouble. I fell in the Labyrinth, which opened some kind of chute into this old workshop."

"Oh, the Labyrinth. Isn't the studio so far away from here and so old, probably... half a century old now?" He looked him up or down. "Oh, seems like you're being pulled back into the studio," he pointed at his fading form, yawning. "Well, good luck, Leo. Any messages you want to pass on?"

Leo looked at his hands, which were evaporating into thin air. "One last thing," he told Cloven. "Tell Calypso I'm still alive and hopping, alright?" He told Cloven as he faded into thin air.

He woke up with a start, groaning as he lifted his head off the floor, his whole body aching. He pushed himself up, confusedly looking around. "What happened?" I swear to the gods of Olympus, the last thing I remember was... Bendy?

Wait, BENDY?!

He jumped up and stood straight, alert all at once, spinning around to find himself standing in the summoning circle. "How am I even alive?!"

WHAT THE ABSOLUTE HADES, LEO? YOU JUST SLEPT. IN. A. SUMMONING. CIRCLE.

He cringed as he backed away from it, making him bump into the coffins. Something clattered to the ground and he whirled around, spotting the axe.

He sighed in relief. "Seems like he's a nice monster after all," he smiled a little as he handled the axe, holding it tightly in his grasp.

He turned towards where he came from. Maybe he could go back? He did lower the flood after all and he could probably build something out of scraps that could get him out of the hole and out of this building.

As he approached the door, his hopes sank. The hallway had caved in, jagged boards sticking out of the large pile of something that blocked the way. So, he could only go forward and into more dangerous territory?

"Sounds like a plan," he trudged forward, stopping in front of the boarded door. He raised the axe and whacked it two times, enabling him to move forward and to walk down another staircase. "Uh, whoever or whatever you are, can you give me a warning please?" He yelled, his voice bouncing off the walls, silence responding to him.

Great. That means me and that ink monster are the only living things stuck here.

All the time Leo had spent here (he was sure it had been a few hours, but at camp, it had already been three days), he came to accept the weird possibility that cartoons were real. Gods were real, so its possible other things could be real too, right? Leo was very open-minded about the fact that certain things could exist... but not the fact that something could create something out of ink and what seemed like dark magic. How did they come to life? Did the man, Joey Drew, made a deal with something dark? Or did he just had the power to do it, like how Nico Di Angelo could make skeletons come to life? Was he a demigod?

Leo shook his head. You're overcomplicating things again, Leo. Be simple.

He hurried down the stairs, dodging a conveniently falling board on top of him. Gods of Olympus, this place is falling apart at its own.

He reached the bottom of the stairs, convinced that the Fates were seriously about to make this ten times more worse when he turned around and got it right.

He stared horrified at another inky scrawl on the wall. "This is getting more ritualistic at the moment," he muttered as he gripped his axe tighter as he read it slowly.

'He will set us free'

The scrawl was complete with an image of Bendy, candles illuminating the writing on the wall softly and bowls filled with... whatever ritualistic stuff or sacrifice it contained decorating it. Was this some kind of creepy shrine for the ink creature or the cartoon character?

He approached closer. Examining the shrine, he found another tape recorder hiding among the bowls and candles. Since there was basically nothing guiding him, maybe this time he'll get lucky and actually receive instructions.

He peered on the name scrawled on the tape. It was a little hard to make out but he read it anyway: Sammy Lawrence: The Demon's Prayer.

He gave a sad sigh at the name. Sammy. The namesake of his bisabuelo, the former crush of Hazel Levesque, a good friend of his. The time period in which this studio seemed to be built was probably the same as the time period of Hazel and Sammy. He wondered whether his bisabuelo enjoyed watching this, if it already existed in the short period of time that this studio seemed to be popular.

He shook his head. No nostalgia for now, Valdez. But on the bad side, somebody did go crazy in here and was doing all these ritualistic stuff. Way to go, Joey Drew, he thought as he hesitantly reached over and pressed play.

"He appears from the shadows, to rain his sweet blessings upon me. The figure of ink that shines in the distance. I see you, my Savior. And I pray that you hear me," the radio blared out loud a voice of a man in a slightly crazed tone, making Leo cringe away from it as he looked at the tape with confusion.

What. The. Hades?

"Those old songs, yes, I still sing them. For I know that You are coming to save me. And I will be swept into Your final loving embrace. But... love requires sacrifice."

WHAT. THE. ABSOLUTE. HADES?

"Can I get an Amen?" The tape recorder let out a short burst of static and turned off, signaling the end of the recording.

Leo looked at it, repulsed. "No, you sure as Hades won't get an Amen from me-"

"I said... CAN I GET AN AMEN?" The too familiar voice of Sammy Lawrence echoed in the empty halls, causing Leo to whirl around and wildly swing his axe and to whip head around to see if the Sammy guy was in the same room as him. The voice couldn't have come from the tape. But the room was empty. "HOLY HEPHAESTUS!" He yelped as he backed against the shrine.

His stomach plummeted. So he wasn't alone in this studio. Great. More monsters to deal with and more monsters wanting to come after him. The bigger part of his mind was ordering him to move NOW and be safe.

But a small, sassy part of his mind couldn't resist it. The temptation was too great. He just had to do it. This was stupid, but he could afford to act stupid since he had nothing to do anyways, right? Well, acting stupid would probably result in a more painful and gruesome death but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity...

He casually propped up his axe on the wall and cupped his hands. "I DON'T KNOW," He yelled, inwardly snickering. "CAN YOU?" Truly laughing for once in this haunted studio, he bent over as he picked up his axe, listening to his laughs ringing through the halls. Now in a good mood, Leo moved down the hall, wondering when was the last time this studio had heard someone laugh.

Leo, are you completely crazy now?

Yeah. He probably was. He was in the Labyrinth after all. Or some part in the Labyrinth.

He did his best to ignore the other alters and few tall coffins lying around, trying to keep up his good spirits. He whistled a tune as he trudged on through a flooded hallway (again) and tried to not drown. He was distracted on making sure he didn't lose his axe in the flood when he heard something...

His head snapped up when he heard someone's mutterings up ahead. A black humanoid figure wearing some overalls reminiscent to Boris' overalls with something strapped on his face walked across the door, carrying a... Leo squinted in the faint light to see it. A Bendy cutout? What insanely brave or incredibly stupid person would want to touch those creepy cardboard cutouts, much less even carry it. Nevertheless, it was a human (or humanoid) that might offer him something. He didn't know what? Advice? Help? Just not the Bendy cutout...

"Hey!" Leo waved his arms to get its attention, careful to not let go of the axe. "Excuse me? Can you help me out of here? Hello?" He rushed through the ink as fast as he could, grunting as he pulled himself up, turned the corner to find the mystery dude had disappeared. "Where the heck did he go?"

Oh, great. Now we're bringing a creature teleporting into this. This is not funny, Fates. Leo stared at the wall at which the direction of the guy had been facing and walking towards. The Bendy cutout had been set up and propped against the wall, offering him that haunting and seemingly innocent smile of his. Behind him was another ritual circle painted in ink. Leo had enough of these cutouts. He raised his axe and whacked the cutout into tiny little pieces.

Beside him was a collapsed shelf of Bacon Soup.

At the exact moment, his stomach growled at seeing the food. He reached for a can, before stopping himself.

Dude, that thing is expired. That's as old as your bisabuelo, even older! His mind argued.

But come on! His stomach complained. That's food standing in front of us, and for your information, according to the dream we had, we had no food for three days!

But that's expired! Who knows what might happen to you! His mind furiously reasoned with him as he reached for one and held it in his hand. For all you know, you'll die of severe food poisoning faster than Bendy would kill you!

Too late, his stomach smugly as Leo opened the can, tilted his head back and drank the contents. Surprisingly, the contents didn't taste that bad, but a little bit of salt and maybe some spices could help...

Suit yourself, his mind grumbled as it settled back down.

He turned around from the shelf and dropped his jaw. The Bendy cutout was still smiling and standing up, whole, as if he didn't destroy it a couple minutes ago. "How the heck- you know what?" Leo turned around and walked the opposite hallway. "I'm done. I'm not even questioning anything anymore."

Where was he even going? He had no sense of direction. Was he just following the paths that weren't blocked (presumably controlled by Bendy) so that he could fall into his miserable death? Or was he on another scavenger hunt for something useful?

Oh, for the love of Aphrodite, just move forward.

He didn't get very far. Before him was a metal gate, blocking the way.

Why though? Blocking something creepy again? This time, he might actually not open those... but he had to move. Bendy was probably tracking him down right now and staying still wouldn't help.

He looked at the opening mechanism beside the metal gate. Maybe he could figure out a way without losing his mind in here.

For that old meme, I am completely and terribly sorry! I haven't updated for a month and I give you this?! What is wrong with me!? I don't know what I'm doing, pumping out horror or writing y'all some Valez humor. Please send help to me XD

The subtle changes that Leo would bring to the game to destroy the loop would happen next chapter. I swear, I will work overtime just to pump it out on November 28. See, it's a special day for me. Nothing important for you, but to me, I'll celebrate it by giving out a new chapter of this, a new chapter of NEW LIFE, a small fic for BATIM and writing something that has been severely overdue for Marrione.

I hope you liked this long chapter. Leave more ideas in the reviews, and don't forget to favorite and follow! It'll keep Bendy happy enough to distract him long enough from finding Leo... or would it. ;)

Also please tell me if somebody was ooc in this. Cloven was incredibly OOC and I hope the dream sequence was good enough. Please tell me the errors!

-Louise