Whelp, if this wasn't the fastest bit of writing I've done. I know it's not as long as my usual chapters, but given all that happens here I thought breaking it up was the better idea. Gonna be an interesting cool-down before we go into the next arc...

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy, and please feel free to leave a review! You can also leave an ask at my Tumblr blog, nemo-draco dot tumblr dot com, that's got some story-related art on it, and I'm more responsive over there. I always love the reviews here though! Trust me, I appreciate every single one of them! Thank you all so much for reading with me this far, and given that we're moving more out of the 'immediate life-threatening danger part' I hope you'll all stick around. I know that one person asking what would happen if the toons were to meet other people is gonna be happy with what's coming.

Dead Hearts:

For an instant, all Bendy knew was dark, gloopy cold. The feeling of sliding through ink was coupled with a tingly-ness that went to his fingers and cloven toes, the little devil trying his best to hold his breath as he was yanked through the cloying darkness. Just as he thought he could bear it no longer, air drifted into the space around him, a wall of heat sending a shock to his chilled arms and legs. Whatever was dragging him through rearranged itself, pressing him down onto…something. Something that felt hard and unyielding, forcing the little devil to sit at a slanted angle despite the cold chill pervading his weakened body.

It could have been hours or minutes later that sensation crept back into Bendy's limbs. The thing that he realized right away was that he was in what felt like a reclining chair. The surface felt like wood against his back, rough and a little splintery. Bendy let his head roll as he tried to reacclimate, mind swimming as his eyes drifted open. At first, the different-colored lights around him were puzzling, the little devil blinking hard as he tried to force the blurry blobs into something that made sense.

But, as he was opening his eyes again, a booming chuckle resonated through the space he was in, Bendy stiffening as he read the somewhat mirthless, distant quality of the laugh.

"How small you are for the lofty purposes he plans. I would have been expecting something a little more…impressive."

Things finally condensed into visibility, though Bendy couldn't say that he was very relieved by that. The chair was in the center of a circle of what almost looked like a ring of glass canisters, each glowing either green, blue, red, gold, gray, and black. The center point of his attention, and the location of the speaker, were revealed to be the canister glowing bright red, the light flickering in a way that reminded Bendy of fire.

No, there were actually small plumes of fire here and there, framing the speaker who'd been talking.

What they looked like, now that was something else entirely. Inside the capsule was a figure that looked like they were wearing a red robe that was somewhat transparent at the edges. The real surprise was the face, which looked like a mask of sharp reds and blacks, with streaks of yellow mixed in-between, that somewhat resembled sharp teeth and angular features.

Apart from the masculine quality of the voice it was hard to tell if it was even a human, something that curdled Bendy's insides because it reminded him of Susie and her frozen, doll-like play at being a toon. But, unlike its face, the rest of its frame was expressive enough, the hand lazily holding up its head suggesting bored dismissiveness.

"Honestly, for some 'savior' figure, you're quite, underwhelming. I was expecting something a little more impressive. Maybe some more spines, some proper devilish features, and a bit taller. But, here you are, after about thirty years of being absent. Suppose even a piddling figurehead is better than none." The creature's uninterested expression melted into something more mockingly conspiratorial. "Not that the man will hear much on the topic, he gets so very sensitive."

"Wh-Who?" Bendy found himself asking, even through a dry, creaky throat and a not inconsiderable sense of fear. "Joey?"

The fiery figure did not deign to answer, instead giving Bendy a glare like he was something dirty and unwanted. Feeling an already prominent sense of discomfort grow, Bendy opted to look away, turning his attention to the room around him. The immediate thing he saw, upon looking down, was that there were inky-black ropes binding him to the seat. The sight was shocking enough, the little devil unable to smother a whimper as he tried to move and found the restraints were too tight.

A faint tinkling noise made Bendy's head jerk to his right, catching sight of a gold-colored capsule that was home to a shimmering glow. But, the more he looked, the more features started to pop out to him. A small, pixie-like body seemingly composed of solid light, the eyes two bright dots and framed by a head of hair that looked like a mix of fire and glimmering sunshine. It whirled around in its cage, occasionally pressing itself to the glass to stare at the little devil. The noises didn't seem threatening, if anything they sounded like bell chimes, but Bendy wasn't sure he wanted to try his luck.

There were two more capsules with moving things inside, Bendy's eyes zipping to the blue first, which looked like an aquarium, and then the silvery gray. The blue one was the most active of the two, though Bendy could not have said for sure if he liked what was in it given that it looked like a half-shark, half-person. Despite not stopping its efforts to swim around it did seem to be glancing at him with jet black eyes, but didn't say anything to the little devil before Bendy's shaky confidence finally broke. The silvery gray definitely had a figure in it, though the outline was…not all there.

At least not to Bendy's eyes, the little devil left blinking as he tried to put together some more coherent image of what he was seeing. It looked…long? Or tall, with long flowing hair. Well, sort of. The edges wavered in and out of his vision, like they were something more ghostlike than real. It was also making noise, an echoey, muted wailing as its hands appeared to press to its face. But, as Bendy peered at it its head popped up, glowing silvery eyes locking with the little devil's. And it stared, it stared for a good while before its figure wavered anew, head shaking back and forth as it reburied its face.

"No, no, it can't be, please just let us out, don't do this…"

"Beg to the man, not the icon, if you're going to beg. Not that he will listen anymore…" The red figure replied to the muffled, echoey pleading, tone flippant and bored. Glancing back at the red capsule, Bendy briefly made eye contact with the mask-like face, only for the owner to give him a dismissive look. "And perhaps you should spend at least a few minutes begging for your life. Not that it would do much good, or would be worth much. You being the missing piece for this whole, blasted machination and all. The only satisfaction I get, and it will be that warped, demented man destroying his own life's work. There won't even be enough of me left to witness it."

The figure turned away, angry, undertone rant apparently done, but the little devil had more than enough to chew on. Destroying his life's work. Him, Bendy, being the final piece needed for this whole messed up plan. Though his eyes filled with tears, the watery film over his gaze did not stop Bendy from getting a look at the green capsule, and halting at the sight. It was almost like someone had put a small slice of the outdoors in there, a rising mound of rock littered with moss, grass, a few flowers, and even a tree sticking up and nearly to the top of the capsule. It seemed to glow with its own light, the sight strangely peaceful though it didn't quite drive away the desolate sadness.

"The purest nature he could find, the mountain itself gave it's lifeforce for this…farce. Or perhaps he stole it. That seems more like him." The red figure's voice spoke up again, Bendy nearly glancing back in that direction before he remembered how that had gone and opted to just let his head fall back, the moisture in his eyes finally escaping down the sides of his face. He could hear the tinkling bells still, the sounds coming slower and softer, almost sad, but for the moment he ignored it. Everything, everyone trapped for this plan, this nightmare, that needed him to be complete, he'd come back and started this, everyone was being hurt because of him, in his name, it was HIS FAULT…

There was a faint, rattling sort of noise, like someone taking in a breath that their lungs weren't quite equipped to hold. Confusion breaking through the despair, the little devil's eyes opened, catching sight of the last capsule on his immediate right. It was so dark, that he made the mistake of believing it was empty.

Or, well, he would have if he hadn't seen a pair of glowing white eyes peering at him from within. The instant those eyes met with his, the little devil felt fear curdle his insides. They were too bright, too keen, and weren't blinking, their slight glow leading to an unfolding of a spindly frame that knocked against the sides of the capsule. It was almost like a spider, and instinctively he knew that it was dangerous and couldn't be contained forever. And it was right there, right where it could get at him, with only the flimsy walls keeping it in.

The creature reared back and slammed itself into the part closest to Bendy, jaw distended and smacking against the glass along with its elongated arms as the capsule leaned threateningly over him. Before he could even think the little devil let out a terrified scream, trying to pull himself away from this thing that was trying to break out, that definitely wanted to do something horrible and he couldn't move, the straps were on too tight!

He could hear the red creature giving an amused chuckle, the tinkling bells growing faster, almost angrier, but the sounds were distant in the face of complete terror. The little devil gave a scream as the spindly creature leapt again, eyes like baleful spotlights as it kept making that grating sound, the rattling turning into a rumbling that reminded Bendy of tumbling walls, cloying dust and smoke, screams as the world vibrated under his feet-

But suddenly there was a new noise, a familiar clopping, that cut through the racket. The sound had a moment to push back against the rest, before the capsules were abruptly skirted away from the little devil, pushed to the sides of the 'room' they were in by an invisible force.

The clopping came closer, Bendy unable to see given that the source was somewhere behind his head. Still, even as his breath stuttered in his lungs, he fruitlessly fought against the bonds holding him as he tried to get a look.

Though the source traveled at its own pace, coming closer, and then around to the side where Bendy could see it. Immediately he recognized the clean, prim-and-proper suit, the angular face, even the dark hair and faint mustache. But…something wasn't quite right. Joey's glasses were covering his eyes, the faint, enigmatic smile the only hint the little devil could get to his creator's mind.

"Ah, Bendy. Glad to see you've arrived," Joey spoke, voice relatively normal though Bendy still found himself bracing for the earlier humming. He still couldn't see Joey's eyes, and a part of him desperately wanted to. Not to mention the way the lenses were catching the light made them look almost as blank and unblinking as the empty portals of that…creature. The rattling one in the dark. Feeling cold lace his insides, the little devil went stiff in his bonds, eyes carefully scanning what he could, looking for some definitive hint that he was or wasn't out of danger.

"You'll have to bear with me for a moment, I'll just need to get some things ready before we get started." The studio head continued, like absolutely nothing was wrong. The strange disconnect between what he'd experienced and how his creator was behaving finally loosened Bendy's jaw enough that he found himself able to speak. Not that he was able to be very coherent.

"J-Joey, I, I don', I don't understand, why is all of this here, what was that, wh-why are you-?"

Bendy had a moment to read the sudden flash of anger that went across his creator's face, before something crashed against his and knocked his perspective sideways. His ears were ringing as his behorned head reeled, a trickle of ink sliding from his mouth as his mind tried to catch up.

A hand briefly pressing to the injured part of his face caught Bendy's flagging attention, the little devil refocusing enough that he could make out the words that Joey was saying to him.

"Oh Bendy, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. It's…been so long, since I've been really able to talk to anyone in here. You know what that's like, don't you? Can't imagine you were able to talk to very many people out there. At least, not without attracting some unwanted attention…"

And, now that Joey's attention was entirely focused on him, Bendy's foggy head cleared enough that he was able to get a clear line of sight to his creator's eyes. And see the faint, liquid gray darkening the whites of his eyes, his already-dark irises ringing pupils that were glowing a bloody-red.

The cold Bendy had been feeling lanced into his throat, making his breath stutter as he froze, both unwilling to reciprocate the effort at comfort and not sure how his creator would take an outright rejection.

And what could Bendy do? He was pinned, weak, and had willingly handed himself over. The thought made the cold turn suffocating as his eyes involuntarily watered, the little devil more than sure he was about to either experience something very unpleasant or meet an equally unpleasant end.

"Oh, don't worry so much, Bendy. Like I said before, you might like what I've got in store for you." Joey said, rounding off the words with a rough pat at the injured side of the little devil's face. Though Bendy winced, he didn't dare speak up again, instead watched as his creator turned away to a table that…he was pretty sure hadn't been there a moment ago. Though Bendy did get to see what was on the table, a book, jars, and a toolbox, he wasn't at all looking forward to what Joey might want to do with any of it.

Not that Joey seemed to notice his creation turning a despairing stare skyward, or the faint trickling of moisture running down the sides of the little devil's face. Instead, he continued to talk, the words washing over Bendy's ears.

"It was rather inconvenient for you to run off like you did, though in retrospect, I can imagine no better lesson about what's wrong with the world than to experience it for yourself. Senseless wars, accidents, wasted years…it's enough to dishearten anyone regarding what they're capable of." Joey took a brief instant to shuffle something around, the little devil hearing papers move before his creator continued to speak. "You have to go through quite the ungodly amount of effort just to get a bit of peace, it's madness."

Much like plenty of other things about this situation, but the thought didn't leave Bendy's lips as Joey went on.

"But even though it's taken so much work and time, I've finally done it. I've finally managed to put together a way for us to leave all of that uncertainty and negativity behind. Just, wipe it away! We will be able to exist free of pains and frustrations. Practically limitless, a whole world at our fingertips. And you, Bendy, are an important part of that." The studio head rounded off, turning back to the little devil still bound to the chair. "You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"

Oh, he understood alright. The issue was that Bendy wasn't sure if Joey wanted him to understand it in this way. As far as the little devil knew, there was no way to just, wipe away bad emotions and problems. The possibilities that Bendy came up with were sounding nightmarish, the blankness in Boris's eyes helping along conjurations of blank, empty smiles and dull euphoria, his own face stretched into that blank, leering grin he'd been seeing plastered around the studio.

In fact, the way he was strapped down in this chair was reminding him uncomfortably of some version of a nightmarish doctor's office, like the little devil was being prepped for some horrific surgery.

"J-Joey, when you say…wiped away, how, how're you gonna do…that?"

It was the wrong thing to say. It was the very wrong thing to say and at the sight of his creator's face going blank Bendy found the tension in his frame ramping up to nearly unbearable levels as he braced himself. Even with the momentary warning the little devil jolted as Joey leaned forward and roughly grabbed the small toon's jaw so they were eye to eye with each other.

"Bendy, if I recall correctly, you have no room to ask questions. You gave yourself over to me, remember?" The familiar hum slammed into Bendy's eardrums on the last word, his eyes watering to the point of dripping down his face as he gave in to a reflexive blink. But Joey wasn't finished, an empty smile curving his face as the entirety of his eyes sans the blood red pupils ran with an inky black. Even with his creator's fingers digging into his face, Bendy tried to listen, to find some way of avoiding the apparent meltdown that Joey was hurtling towards.

"I could just start right now, though I'd rather you…understand why this is so important. Given how smart you apparently are, I would have thought that your thirty-year frivolity would have been more than enough to help you figure this one out. Thankfully, I have another lesson that might be useful." And given Bendy's eyes were fixed on how the black was bleeding from Joey's and over his face, he completely missed his creator's hand coming up until it clawed at a spot just above his pie-cut eyes. Even though there wasn't anything up there to break, Bendy could have sworn he heard something crack, pain sizzling through his senses as he reeled with an involuntary howl. At the same time, there was a strange, floaty disconnect seeping into his brain, not unlike moments of extreme pain, but it came with a bizarre sense of something other. Disconnected senses of bitter anger, righteous fury, despair, serenity, hunger… Bendy's mind floundered, torn between his own pain and all of these other sensations, feelings, that just hadn't been there a moment ago.

Joey what did you do what did you do WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME

But before Bendy could work himself into anything more coherent than wordless cries and whimpers of shock, the ropes binding him were grabbed, the clawed fingers digging painfully into his skin as he was yanked off the chair with the ropes somehow still holding him tightly bound. The little devil was lifted to be face to face with a Joey that he was only just recognizing as his creator, the man's features completely overrun by the black as his eyes burned a caustic red.

Bendy's ability to scream slipped away from him as fear slid into his throat and lungs, his breath stuttering as he stared down this monstrous figure. He could feel tears and ink sliding down his face, framing his eyes as a grin of sickly, corrosive color split the dark features. As he stared it reached forward with clawed hands, something long and red flashing in Bendy's vision as he flinched away and a few fingers were pressed to his forehead. Cool at first, but then warm, it seeped into the skin, a strangely centering thing that made Bendy look up again and immediately regret it as it brought him back to staring at the warped, otherworldly creature. And, in an alien, humming tone, his creator's voice, Joey's voice, emerged from the terrifying maw.

"And now, why don't you spend some time with your…adoring, desperate public? Maybe they'll help you get some perspective."

The little devil's warning was a burst of cold at his back before he was flung through a portal into a whirling, dark hellscape, his limbs still bound as he tumbled into the black. Immediately his mind was assailed by a maelstrom of sensation, despair and desperation clawing into him as he fell down, down, down, screaming the whole way. His vision afforded him no salvation, the little devil able to pick out what looked like the surface of some black ocean, the darkness frothing with motion. It was only when he fell within a few feet that he realized it was made out of grasping arms.

But then something snapped taut, Bendy's scream choking off in a gasp as he was left dangling just shy of the mire below. His body and mind reeled, his eyes briefly catching sight of something that looked like the top of a mountain, or a hill, steadily being engulfed by the not-an-ocean. He barely had a moment to take that in before something reached up from the black and latched itself onto his leg. The little devil's brain quickly grew swamped by the flood of despair, feverish desperation coming from below, his eyes meeting with the empty sockets of the masses of wasted souls as they reached for him, tried to grab him, drag him down-

A tug at the string holding him aloft pulled Bendy up, away from the black and grasping hands. Still, even when Joey drew him back up into his little workshop, the little devil would not loosen from his curled-up huddle, mouth clamped tightly shut though the sounds of broken whimpering and gasping sobs still rattling through his teeth.

"Well, Bendy," Joey hummed, as the small toon jolted at being addressed. "Did we learn anything?"

He gave Bendy a moment to figure out that a question had been asked of him, though when the little devil's only response was to give his creator an uncomprehending, wet stare, Joey merely threw him back through the portal with the flick of a wrist. Again Bendy tumbled down into the dark, his mind smothering in the cloying sense of frantic anguish and misery. His eyes opened just enough to see the grasping hands as one figure threw itself up high enough that it looked like one of the half-formed monsters, its featureless, pleading face the conduit for the whole horror, the cacophony both in his head and all around, demanding that he save them-

This time the little devil threw his head back and screamed for all he was worth, coherency forming in his frantic desire for help, to be taken away from here.

"H-HENRY, HENRY, BORIS, ALICE, WALLY, TOM, HELP ME, HELP ME, PLEASE! HELP MEEE!"

His voice bounced around, a deeper rumble echoing back though it faded into the background of his mind, his mind that shrieked and frothed as much as the black below, more hands, faces, cries fountaining forth and clawing at the little devil, pleading, begging, screaming-

"…please…"

Another tug, and Bendy was pulled away, his frame trembling like jello. He tried to peer up, and immediately regretted it given that it put him face to face with Joey's now-very monstrous features, the sickly, caustic smile now in the hard line of a frown as it beamed in Bendy's direction.

"Why do you still call them? They're no longer here, Bendy. They can't help you. No one can save you now. You're the only one that can make this stop." The words etched themselves into the little devil's brain, Bendy sobbing as he hung at Joey's mercy. And he was right, he was right, no one could help him, no one was coming, because Bendy'd messed everything up, Bendy'd run away and everything went bad and it was his fault his fault HIS FAULT-

"The only reason this is continuing is because you won't do what needs to be done. Why don't you chew on that for a spell?"

And down again he went. Though he still shook and trembled screaming was a forgone conclusion, the thoughts hammering in Bendy's brain about keep your mouth closed or they'll get in as he stopped just above the black. His pulse was roaring in his ears, mixing with the fear seizing his insides and trying to twist him away from the dark, inky hands grabbing at him as his mind screamed with alien thoughts of SAVE US SAVE US SAVE US SAVE US-

"JOEY, HELP ME, HELP ME, HELP ME!"

Immediately there was a tug at the ropes, Bendy nearly sobbing with relief as the sensations and cold of the black were pulled further and further away from him, though upon remembering what was waiting for him the small toon could only curl up in a futile effort at protection. Danger, danger, always in danger, jinx, trouble-magnet, MONSTER…

"You should have done that from the start, Bendy. Was it really so hard?" Joey's voice came, almost teasing, unheeding of the trembling, completely undone state of the little devil.

"H-Help meee…." The soft wail didn't gain too much of a reaction, at least at first, but after a moment Bendy felt his body be moved around until he was lying in someone's arms. It was nearly a comfort, if it weren't for the fact that somehow he could still feel those hungry, wanting eyes all around.

"Shh, shh, you will be helped, Bendy. You won't feel like this ever again. I'll take it away, all of it."

There was something wrong with that notion, the little devil's mind nearly at war with itself as one side protested that no, no that wasn't right, lying, he's lying while the other side whimpered, cried, and begged yes please take this take this I don't want to feel it anymore make me empty if you have to but please makethisstop hurting.

"Now then, let's get to work." The humming voice went, Bendy abruptly placed down on the doctor's chair as his restraints shifted, lashing him tightly to its surface. The sudden shift was enough to stir panic from the little devil, though he had missed his window to even have a hope of fighting back. His vision was mired with a mix of tears and ink, but Bendy could see Joey's warped frame turn away from him, back to that little table he'd noticed before. The once-studio head had opened the toolbox and was rooting around in it, small clanks and clatters reverberating off the walls of the space they were in.

It was when Bendy saw his creator draw out a small, sharp shimmer of a knife that his heart rate climbed back up, the sudden reintroduction of the small bottles on the table just making the small toon fly further into the frenzy of flight or fight.

The motion Joey made as he turned back to Bendy seemed to happen at half-speed, the little devil staring up into the warped, black and caustic colored features of his creator as Joey loomed over his fettered and trembling body.

"And, Bendy, if you could try to avoid struggling it would be appreciated. I'd hate to come this far just to make a mistake."

Silver shimmer came down. Pain bloomed over his chest. Maybe he'd screamed, Bendy wasn't sure in the moment. But it hurt. It burned with a pain that he only half-remembered, from some foggy, nearly forgotten memory in the studio of the past. He barely even recalled the animator's name, but he'd been standing next to the man's desk, asking him questions. Something had happened, a silvery bottle had dropped, the contents splashing on the little devil's arm. He remembered the smell, a stinging, sharp thing that bit into his nose and made him cough.

(Be quiet it could be worse it'll be over soon just buck up and grin and bear it you selfish BRAT)

He didn't actually remember what happened when the stuff splashed him, and maybe that was for the best. He was able to deduce enough given that he'd been rushed to Joey, was unconscious for a good several hours, and when he'd been able to see Boris again…yeah, that had been when the wolf had started…doing strange things like pulling on his ears, occasionally yanking out small handfuls of fur, when he was really upset.

Just another thing Bendy'd broke…

It wasn't until a foul-tasting gag was roughly placed in his mouth that Bendy realized that he'd in fact been screaming. He wasn't sure how long it had been, could have been minutes, could have been an hour. His chest felt sticky and ink was collecting in a little pool under him, the little devil not wanting to look on the grounds that he could still remember lines of white on what should have been solid black. Fear still curdled his innards, but the promise of pain, and the smothering of his own despair, made him want to just stave off the sight for as long as he could.

(Stop crying stop crying you worthless brat you selfish stupid runaway how dare you behave liked you have anywhere else to be your only place to belong is here WHERE I WANT YOU)

He almost wished this would kill him, but he had the distinct feeling that Joey was not going to be that merciful. No, he'd wipe it all away. Wipe Bendy clean and cut out the troublesome bits like bad film. Maybe this was meant to be a cutting room.

It was a faint bit of gallows humor that might've had Bendy giving at least a chuckle if he wasn't currently gasping and sobbing in agony.

(None of you can do anything right none of you are actually of any use selfish selfish SELFISH)

Part of his mind still pleaded, begged for everything to stop, for help, or was it someone else? He couldn't tell anymore. His chest hurt, lines weeping ink that made his short fur gluey.

Why are you bothering anymore, something whispered, Bendy unable to tell if the thought was in his own mind or if it were spoken aloud. Forgotten, coward, worthless, just leave like you left everyone else. Walk out on yourself, it wouldn't be that hard for you.

It took Bendy a moment to notice the faint rumbling that was going through the table under him, as wound-up and crying and horribly injured as he was. But, strangely enough, the sharper parts of the pain paused at the disturbance, Joey drawing back though at this point the little devil wasn't sure if that was really a mercy. He'd just come right back and start over in a minute…

Through the film of tears and ink he caught sight of lights shining down through the material that passed as a wall and ceiling. It almost looked like those times when Bendy had been outside the urban jungle enough that he'd been able to see the stars in their full splendor. A galaxy swirling majestically in a hellscape.

But, was it coming closer?

The hazy glimmers became something solid, slamming into the 'ceiling' with enough force that Bendy definitely felt the table bounce under him. Though he hissed as the rocking made his injuries give a few angry twinges, he couldn't help but notice that there was a new fountaining of glimmering color, coming from somewhere under them?

Now that he knew where this was coming from, it almost seemed like the room was at the center of an ocean, the glimmers of color rising higher and higher, growing more and more wild as they buffeted and slammed into the walls and ceiling. Joey's form undulated, sending out blood-red strings that snaked out to lace themselves into the structure around them. But, every time he seemed to gain traction, another wave would slam into them and he'd be forced to regroup. And, the more the 'waves' of color crashed into the sides of the room, the more Bendy could make out a sort of noise growing louder and louder in intensity. A sort of fizzing?

The little devil barely got a moment to absorb that before there was a thunderous CRACK and then a roar as a little bit of the wave rushed into the room. But, right before Bendy's eyes, the splatters of color started to form up the instant they touched the floor, rising into a human shape.

It was featureless, almost like the half-formed monsters, but it stood upright, resembled an actual person rather than a skeleton, and looked like it was composed of light. Colors both sickly and vibrant danced over its surface as it drew up to its full height, and surprisingly did not even glance in the direction of the little devil strapped down only a few feet away. Instead, the face that consisted of only a pair of glowing eyes looked to the warped figure of Joey, and it spoke.

"LIAR!" It cried, its voice mixing and merging somewhere between male and female, like there was more than one person speaking at once. Immediately the caustically colored features dropped into a scowl, and the red strings flew out to grab at the shape. But even as they rendered it to a diffuse mist, another shape was forming from a different bit of color, and it also had something to say.

"MURDERER!"

Joey tried to go for that one too, but it was like watching a very demented, surreal game of whack-a-mole given that even as that one fell, more were arising.

"YOU KILLED US!"

"YOU LEFT US DOWN IN THE DARK!"

"YOU'RE A LIAR, JOEY DREW!"

The voices, as numerous and blending as they were, started to blur in Bendy's ears, his already abused system not really affording him the energy to parse through any individual cry or shape. For a minute, he simply lay back, head sliding to the side as his eyes slipped closed.

And then, perhaps it was a sort of premonition or maybe there'd been some sound, but he forced himself back to awareness, looking to his right to see another shape rise up right next to him. This one had more to it though, more features that helped ring some bells in the little devil's mind. Maybe it was the curly, somewhat wild hair, or maybe the somewhat hazy suggestion of a freckled face split with an easy smile. Perhaps it was even the faint, kind-of-there-kind-of-not image of a workman's overalls that Bendy could sort of make out.

"W-Wally?" The small toon couldn't help the name slipping out, even if his throat felt like it had been rubbed down with steel wool. And, lo and behold, the figure's smile gained a new, happier edge. Though as he turned more towards the table, Bendy could see that Wally was holding up someone else, this person much less distinct but definitely standing taller than the janitor. But, the one thing that Bendy could note was that even partially closed, the other figure's eyes were unusually bright.

But there was another distraction, another figure rising up on Bendy's other side. This one he didn't really recognize, though the youngish features were distinct enough. The kid's hair was slicked carefully back, making Bendy wonder if it might've been just as wild as Wally's, though the younger's face was rounder, framing a wide pair of vivid eyes that worriedly looked down at the little devil. Though the kid's hand passed through Bendy's, the fact that the effort was made at all teased more tears from the corners of the small toon's eyes. He did get a brief glimpse of another figure forming up next to the kid, this one looking like it had shoulder-length, wavy hair and was wearing some sort of dress, though Bendy's attention was immediately snagged by two new shapes appearing closer to his head.

These were a little crisper and clearer than Wally, and as it turned out, Bendy was pretty sure he recognized one of them. There was a taller, broad-shouldered, kinda rough-looking guy in work overalls, though the other was the one that set of a veritable klaxon in terms of memory. Sammy had been the only man in the studio to go with a longer hair style, after all, and Bendy hadn't really seen that catch on until years after he left. Briefly, he couldn't help the thought about what the music director would say if he'd known that he'd preempted the fashion trend.

But for now all Bendy felt able to do was give a shuddering sob that made his eyes run over again. The noise yanked Sammy's glare from Joey, the musician's features softening as he looked down at the still bound and gagged little devil. A minute look of concentration flitted over Sammy's face as he reached down, fingers trying to grab at the edges of the cloth. When that didn't work, there was a brief flicker of frustration before Sammy changed his tact, gently resting his hand on the small toon's head.

Though Bendy could not feel any proper touch, the light coolness was more than a balm. But even if this felt leagues better, all the little devil could do was softly cry.

There was another round of crackling, Bendy fighting a little to look past the small crowd surrounding him as something enormous dug its fingers into the broken parts of the wall and pulled them further apart. Though there was definitely something beyond, out there in the dark, Bendy couldn't make out much apart from a very, very large head, or at least he hoped that was its head, dotted with a few reflective shines that looked like eyes. Except, there were far too many for it to be anything he'd be familiar with. Seven shines, one set in the normal spot you would expect to see eyes, one above, one below, and a solitary spot right in the middle of the forehead.

It also carried in more color with it, rainbow-ish dribblings running off its hands and fingers and into the 'room'. Though these too were forming figures, it wasn't fast enough to avoid the feeling of the space flooding under the influx.

But a flicker of motion in the beyond drew the little devil's eyes to the shape he'd noticed before, which was rising up like it was standing or pushing itself higher. As it did, its fingers moved to dig into the highest point of the fissure and pull it further, splitting the ceiling of the room like an egg. Though with more of an open view, Bendy couldn't say he really could tell anything new about it, which pricked a worn sense of wariness to life. He did, however, see a glowing spot on what seemed like the figure's chest that resembled an eye, the sight making the little devil's flagging adrenaline levels try to jolt back up again, even though all he wanted to do right now was to just…drift off for a bit. Not feel anything for a while, least of all fear or pain.

The kid was moving away though, along with the dress-wearing figure, and the others were all stepping away too, almost like Bendy was meant to see whoever or whatever this was. And the little devil did try, even with the apparent…otherness of the thing present. The white dots weren't exactly making it easy to tell which way this thing was looking, but Bendy had the unnerving feeling that he was being stared at in particular.

But then the glowing spots seemed to blink, and reopen into fully formed, if not still very alien-looking eyes given that instead of white, the whites were an inky black.

And then the eyes looked to him, into him, all sense of physicality wiped from Bendy's mind as his thoughts were swamped with what felt like a galaxy. Thoughts, emotions, images, sounds, smells, touch, it all seemed to rush over him like water, too quick to make an impression but each felt as equally overwhelming and sublime as the rest.

Bendy could just hear Joey yelling something, but the words were so far away that he couldn't pick out what they were. Not that he had much of a mind to care, his thoughts, if they could even be considered thoughts, were tumbling end over end, half formed things that simply spun and danced on the wind of the sensations that buffeted him. But, much like any wave, there was a point where the sensations started to ebb away, though it left Bendy still staring up at the multi-eyed face.

It kept swimming in and out of proper view, and his own eyes didn't seem to want to focus too deeply on the full thing, details flooding out of his mind the instant they were noted. But what stood out the most were the emotions in the eyes, a softness and gentility that was both confusing, and on a strange level, relieving. Though for the moment the reasoning why was escaping Bendy.

"Hello, Bendy. May I speak to you?" The words rumbled around him, a flitting thought in his mind that they were not unlike the earthquakes he'd been rudely awoken by from time to time. But, unlike them, this was both naturally powerful, and keenly intelligent.

But before Bendy could even open his mouth, Joey's voice reverberated through the room, the humming rattling the little devil's teeth as his creator screamed.

"DON'T YOU DARE! YOU'LL DOOM EVERYONE IN THIS STUDIO WITH YOUR SELFISHNESS, BENDY!"

The thrumming shout made Bendy jump like he'd been shot, the little devil instinctively trying to curl up even as flashes of pain went through his front. His fear only compounded itself as a low growl of a rumble went through the room, the lower half of the enormous, multi-eyed face splitting in a snarl edged in harsh rainbows of color. He slammed his eyes shut just as a roar that sounded like half a roaring howl and half a windstorm ripped into the newly opened space, a violent gust rattling everything from the broken walls to the weird chair Bendy was still strapped to.

But for Bendy, the maelstrom carried on for just an instant before quieting, though it took the little devil a good while to regain enough courage to actually open his eyes. The walls had changed from black to a shimmering sort of rainbow light and at first, it seemed like everyone had left him alone, the immediate area he was in devoid of anyone, or anything, before Bendy realized that the space he was now in was smaller. Not in a new room then. Just a part of the old one.

Before he could really decide if he was to be nervous about that or not, a tall figure cloaked in white drifted into view next to him, Bendy's eyes tracing the livery and seeing the stitched swirls knit into the sleeves and cuffs. His eyes tiredly scanned the robe, moving up to the shadowy face in the hood, and immediately lit on the familiar sight of seven eyes set into its dark head. The more he looked, the more the dark 'skin' glimmered with points of light, almost like a starry sky.

But, even with the alien features, there were small tells of nervousness clear in their actions, their movements. Their arms were brought in front of them, their hands clasped carefully as they stared down at him, a brief hum like a throat clearing before they spoke again. It wasn't the powerful rumbling of before, but the words were still very much the same, flitting somewhere between masculine, feminine, and some sort of natural force.

"May, may I speak to you, Bendy?"

Why did they have to ask? It seemed like such a strange question given how things had been for Bendy this past while. But, a part of him couldn't help but feel grateful for the choice, though by this point he saw no reason to refuse. He'd given up. There was nothing left he could lose now. What more could he break?

Though at the quiet, halting nod from the little devil, the reverse-colored, glimmering eyes started to shine at the edges, rainbows of color collecting and sliding down the starlight skin. There was a slight outpouring of tension, a noise that was half a sigh and half a soft rush of an ocean wave as the being edged just a little closer. Though, before they could fully settle in next to him, there was one more question that they apparently thought they had to ask.

"Is it alright for me to help you?"

Help? The word crashed into the dull, pained haze blanketing Bendy's mind, his expression turning from mired and dour to dawning realization, and a strange blend of horror and relief. Help was good, he'd called, he'd screamed, begged for help, but Joey'd thought he'd been helping Bendy too.

And now he had an open wound to show for that.

"Bendy." The being hummed, eyes beaming a soft but heartfelt sense of aching empathy that almost hurt to look at. "I swear to you, with everything that I am, I will not hurt you. I will listen and do everything I can to keep you safe. You have nothing to fear from me, my little one. Please. I promise I will take care of you and help you, Bendy."

Their multiple sets of eyes were running over quite a bit now with drips of rainbow, mirroring the ink and wetness gathering at the edges of Bendy's own eyes. But, even though the thought of someone else 'helping' made his heart thud painfully against his abused front, the words and the emotion in them, reached some fearful, wanting part of the little devil, the part of him that still hoped.

And so, he nodded.

"Thank you, Bendy." They hummed, the faint suggestion of a soft smile in their tone as a large, long-fingered hand carefully reached out and brushed against the side of the little devil's head. Immediately the pain started to fall by degrees, leaving only a dull sort of exhaustion and faint ache. The straps were simply dissolved, one by one, leaving Bendy lying bonelessly on the chair. He could feel the being's other hand press to his front, a sort of itchiness seeping up from under his skin. He was about to try at least peering at what was happening when they suddenly pulled their hand away, dark liquid arcing off as they swung their arm. The motion almost reminded the little devil of when a person had something stuck to their skin, the hint in what that something might've been in the slight sizzling the liquid made as it hit the ground. It also helped that the pain dropped almost entirely, a sort of cold slickness seeping into his front.

Ink, but maybe not his.

As his eyes gave a heavy-lidded blink, Bendy found himself making eye contact with the being again, and couldn't help seeing the sheer emotion beaming out of those bizarre eyes. They stared at him like he was their whole world, like they simply couldn't get enough of seeing the little devil.

Like he was important.

Before Bendy could really register what was happening, the being's long arms and hands reached out to him, gently easing their way under his body and lifting him off the chair. Cradling him close, the towering, clearly powerful, alien being gave a rumbling sigh before they spoke.

"I have missed you so much, my little one, and I am so, so sorry."

They, they missed him? And they were sorry? For what? Thankfully it didn't seem like he'd be left in suspense for long.

"I am the one you saw that night, when you went into Joseph Drew's office, when you found that book. I am the one that frightened you into leaving the studio. I…I was trying to protect you. I could not speak to you. So I had to show you." The words were bringing something back, little flickers of things leaving Bendy's subconscious and entering the light. A tall, mountain of a figure staring down at him, his body warped into a stretched, malformed shape, a smile practically stapled into his face, like if you smile enough it'll be real…

And Joey had wanted to do that, Joey had wanted to wipe everything away, to cut out bits of Bendy and leave only that emptiness, that dull euphoria where nothing would pierce, nothing would be wrong ever again…

It was horrifying in retrospect, though for now Bendy almost couldn't bring himself to feel too much beyond the realization. The being's voice humming again snatched up the little devil's attention, their words rolling around in his brain.

"Thirty long years I watched you, both at his behest and for my own peace. I could not help you, then and now. You should never have been hurt this way, my little one. Never. I am so, so sorry, Bendy."

The white hood was lowering, a halo of night sky and rainbow ringing the multi-eyed head. Though the little devil's eyes were drawn to the movement, he couldn't help growing lost in the strange patterns of color he could see ringing the dark frame, not helped by the fact that with adrenaline waning, he was starting to feel pretty run down. It almost made him miss their next words.

"I cannot turn back time, or change what has been done, but if you wish, I can act on your behalf now."

"Huh?" Bendy grunted, gaze turning to the being's face. It was still hard to look at directly, at least to do that and remember where exactly he was and why this conversation was important, but he tried. Their eyes glimmered softly as they stared down at him, 'skin' rippling with starlight as they spoke.

"I know what every person in this studio wants, Bendy. I know every wish, every dream…" The shimmers around their head twinkled with the words, Bendy seeing things in the streams of light flowing in and around their frame. He could see a soft glow framing an opulent feast, feel a gentle warmth of a fire, hear the whisper of the ocean as it moved in its age-old dance. The smell of flowers tickled at his nose, the sensations almost lulling him to sink, to grow lost in the pure ecstasy of the moments, the memories, and thoughts. But, before he could, Bendy felt his head be carefully held, steered to look back up into those white, star-like orbs as a large thumb rubbed along the small toon's temple.

"…But, I want to know what you want. What do you wish for, Bendy?" The voice hummed with a gentle sort of care, one that he hadn't heard directed towards himself in years. Except, it was reminding him, of something else, someone else…

"'m not gonna let anythin' happen t'you."

A small, trusting, sightless face, the shaking stilling as the tiny frame tucked itself under the flap of his coat…

Thick, ink-dripping arms wrapping around him, attempting to be light but he was more than grateful for the pressure grounding him, keeping him from floating away on the tide of his grief…

It was too much to think about, almost, but the idea was there in his mind, he only needed to voice it.

"I want…I want this to stop, an' I want everyone t'be safe. Can you save them? Please?" The last was tacked on with the somewhat sluggish, belated thought that this was…probably pretty close to a god, and that he was probably asking a lot given the situation. Could they even do something, anything?

But there was that smile again, a grin made of a glimmering rainbow lighting up the face, somehow avoiding the extra set of eyes. Gently lifting him up, they cradled him in its arms, Bendy blinking as he felt the lower part of the dark face press against his forehead. Surprisingly, the spot where it touched felt, warm, just for a brief instant.

Inside of the moment, something flickered in his memory, of lightly swirling to soft music, a glowing smile over his head as he whirled in a strange dance with no steps but somehow, he knew it by heart…

"For you, my clever dancer, I can."

It was a sweeping feeling that the words brought, a relief that had the little devil's eyes growing wet at the edges as he felt a sob spasm through his chest. The being gently drew him close, tucking Bendy's head under their chin as they rubbed along his shoulder blades, soothing him in a voice that was half shushing, and half wind and softly rushing waves. Nature and personality all in one.

But, as the tears eased down from overwhelmed to merely trickling, the little devil heard a crackling before something made a noise like a blowing light bulb. He couldn't really see what was happening, the being's hand had come up to cup his head, but there were things whizzing around like hot coals, Joey's voice thrumming angrily as he shouted, screamed.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS! YOU OWE EVERYTHING YOU ARE NOW TO ME! ALL OF YOUR THOUGHTS, YOUR VERY PERSONALITY AND SOUL, ARE BECAUSE OF ME! WITHOUT ME YOU'D BE A HEEDLESS, FETTERED CONCEPT WITH ONLY A MERE SPARK OF LIFE!"

Was, was Joey talking about…them? The being holding Bendy right now? It almost sounded like Joey and this being knew each other, had worked together in some way. The little devil was not sure how to feel about that though the instinctive terror he felt at the sound of Joey's voice was making his heartrate climb.

"THEY WILL NOT SURVIVE OUT THERE AND YOU KNOW IT. THEY WILL BE REJECTED, CAST OUT, TREATED LIKE OBJECTS. AND IT WILL BE ALL YOUR FAULT. THE BOTH OF YOU ARE FOOLS." Though Bendy didn't really feel able to come within spitting distance of having feelings about that, especially given the thirty years of isolation and strife that he'd dealt with. An image briefly played in his mind, of Boris hollow-eyed and gaunt-faced, but a rumble coming from underneath the white robe he was pressed against cut those thoughts off cold.

"TEMPT NOT TOO MUCH THE HATRED OF MY SPIRIT, JOSEPH, FOR I AM SICK WHEN I DO LOOK ON THEE. I WOULD RATHER STUMBLE IN THE DARK THAN TAKE YOUR HELP AGAIN." It was almost the same sort of tone, though while Joey was like a spitting volcano, the other being was like a rumbling, thrumming earthquake mixed in with the roar of a windstorm. But, while Bendy could certainly wax about the poeticism of the two, he wasn't feeling all that great being in the center of this!

Though there was another noise, a crack from off to the side followed by a sizzling. Bendy tried to turn his head to look, and was able to catch a somewhat limited view of one of the capsules, the red one, that had been shoved off to the corner of the room when this whole sordid thing started. Except, the surface had just been broken, and was dissolving like burning tissue paper. And, with a wicked edge to his grin the fiery figure was coming out.

"NO!" Joey's voice howled, the shriek of noise reverberating to the point that Bendy felt like his ears were going to bleed. But the being's hand shifted, cupping around his head and covering his ears, as they continued to talk.

"YES. I BELIEVE THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME WORDS WITH YOU AS WELL." More cracks, hissing sizzles, Bendy able to imagine the sight of the other capsules, silver, blue, green, yellow, and…and black, breaking apart. And spilling loose what was in them, the little devil feeling something stammer in his chest at the thought of the black, thing being out in the open. The sensation of something flitting around his horns made Bendy start with a squeaky yelp, the being's hand minutely tightening around his comparatively smaller form. However, before the little devil could panic too much he heard what sounded like a bell tinkling, immediately bringing to mind the little golden creature. He was even able to see it, the being's hand loosening up enough that it allowed him to turn and actually see the flighty wisp. It almost seemed to smile at him, though before the little devil could give a full grin back the sounds of more crackling caught his attention, coming from somewhere at his back.

The scene Bendy found himself looking at was like something out of fantasy. Joey's warped frame had been partially cornered by a combination of the red being of fire and the dark, spindly creature, the half-fish person and transparent figure sort of bringing in the backup. Around them vines and blooming plants were growing, the vegetation having a strange sort of luminescence to it that even Joey's warped colors surged away from. Working in tandem with that was ink, the dark liquid snapping at the red strings still connected into the room, even going so far as to yank them away. And, behind the studio head a fissure was appearing in the air, like space itself was splitting apart into a dark tear. The culprit revealed himself a moment or so later, the red energy pulling at the edges of the rip the underscore to the scene.

"You wanted eternity, you broken man?" The fiery figure jeered, spitting the word 'man' like it was the worst insult. "Eternity you shall have!"

Between a combination of the same red energy, the plants and ink moving in, and the dark creature, the transparent figure, and fish-person moving in closer, Joey was forced back, closer to the black rip in space that sizzled and smoked. Somehow, creator and creation managed to make eye contact across the room, Joey's gaze practically burning with an anger that froze Bendy's insides.

"YOU DOOM EVERYONE WITH YOUR SELFISHNESS, BENDY." Somehow, even with the gap and veritable battle happening around them, the little devil could hear the words perfectly. The moment, however, was quickly swept away as Joey was forced to back entirely through the rift, and he vanished from sight. It was at that point that the being holding Bendy decided that they were going, turning away and simply, heading out of the room.

Though honestly, that was fine for Bendy. He, he was done, with all of this. With everything for a good long while. But as he huddled into the being's front, their fingers rubbed along the little devil's horns, voice humming a tired comfort that reverberated all around them.

"It's alright, Bendy. It's, it's time we leave."