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Ink Demonth 2023 Day 1 : Pencil

Collage x art

Credits :

BATDR cutscenes

Shijima Mei’s color palette (for some chapter’s release notice I’m not sure)

Pencil from an office desk

Event by Halfusek

Colored! The color scheme for this.. it just happened to be the bisexual flag.

And it’s the color scheme for the entire video.

Eh, oh well.

Day 3 : Creator

“Don’t you think it’s unfair, Thomas Connor? You’re the creator of the machine, and yet you’re the only one I can’t take, no matter how hard I try. The others don’t even have such a significant connection to me compared to you. Isn’t it only right that creators must take care of their creations?”

-The Ink (Machine)

BENDY : The Untrusted AU

Idk how to do liquid hair.

Ink Demonth Day 4 (late) : Choice

Chucked this straight from The Untrusted AU Act 1

POV : Your boss and your other boss / former friend / now absolute nemesis keeps messing around with some machine + experiments and you’re starting to hate the place that should be your last resort, so you catch evidence of him doing the shitty things on tape to blackmail him into helping you.

Sammy: (low) What are you trying to do!?

Norman: Exactly what anyone would do knowing all those shady things.

Sammy: (oh)

(Heh) So, it's my fault for your intense thirst for the truth then?

Norman: It was my choice.

Sammy: Then leave mine be.

Norman: No.

(Pulls Sammy close) I'm willing to make a deal.

Sammy (angered, another bloody deal): What. Do you. Want!?

Norman: I just need you to stop.

Stop. and help me. Help me take down that.. machine.

(Low, whisper) That cursed machine

Day 5 Ink Demonth (late again) : Benevolent

BENDY : The Untrusted AU

(Pre BATDR)

“O, benevolent machine and ink. 

Hear this plead, from a poor soul crying out.

For this feeling buried deep within cannot be freed, for I cannot be who I truly am. I seek your aid and guide, and I swear on this oath that I will repay you as you have helped me. May your will be heard and done through those that have touched you and mine…”

‘Adam’ whispered this incantation softly at night, being careful to not wake up his father.

What a strange and complicated incantation, he wondered. It should work, though, according.. if Mister Gray’s notes weren’t lying.

He looked up at the old machine.

Quiet.

But he can hear something.

“Hello?”

Suddenly, Adam felt a distorting feeling course through his entire body. It was as if he was being sucked into a whirlpool, deep, deep deep into the cold.. black..

Ink.

“Hello?” The same voice repeated again, a strange, nearly ethereal voice, but sounded like many voices speaking on top of each other.

“Ah.. hah….” Adam panted, still shocked from the sensation. He blinked, his eyes scanning his environment.

Just. Nothing. Just darkness, all around.

“Hello?” Adam repeated again.

“You called me?” The voice spoke.

“Where.. are you?” Adam asked. It was a bit disconcerting to be making a conversation with something you can’t see, or know what it looked like.

Nothing replied, nor appeared.

Then.

“You..” The voice trailed off.

“Yes?”

SWOOSH!!!! Hundreds of ink tendrils swept through the void, reaching for Adam. It grabbed and pinned the young man to what should’ve been emptiness earlier, now a solid wall.

“Ouch!!!” Adam groaned, hurt. What the hell is this thing doing?

A figure appeared from the darkness. Something.. someone deformed, unrecognizable, made out of ink, with the exception of its eyes of glowing, yellow vortexes. It still twisted and contorted as it staggered towards the restrained Adam, but it seemed to be trying its best to resemble.. a man in his early thirties.. someone Adam felt like he has seen before.

“You.. look familiar..” what Adam presumed to be the entity of the machine said. “Nathan Arch?” 

“My.. father.. right..” Adam tried to speak through the restraints. “What..”

“Oh.” The ink mumbled. “Alright then. Nathan Arch Jr? So you.. found the incantation? By how? My interest is piqued.” It seemed to be quite curt.

“..Alan Gray.” Adam whispered. He took lengths to find the man’s personal research, about the machine. It’s half a miracle he’s not dead right now.

“Alan?” Ink sounded nearly surprised. “You’re one skilled boy, then.”

“Thanks.” Adam sighed. 

“So, what were you hoping to say to me?” Ink asked. Although its voice made it seem like it was cheery, Adam could feel a twinge of sorrow in it. As if it was hopeless.

Adam thought.

Cut to the chase. Make it swift. 

He had an outline of his plan already.

“…Joey Drew Studios.”

Ink’s demeanor shifted faster than Adam has ever seen.

“What?”

“Tell me about you, and Joey Drew Studios.” Adam spoke.

Ink went quiet.

“Why?” Its voice dropped low.

“I will use the knowledge.. to heed to your will.” He replied carefully. “I wish to devote myself to you as Alan Gray did.”

Ink stared at him.

“You have something else in mind too, don’t you?” Ink asked.

“…” Adam had nothing to say to that.

“Are you certain that this is the way to… prove yourself to your father?” It asked again.

“Positive.” Adam replied curtly. 

Ink stayed silent for long. So long Adam was starting to get afraid he might get rejected.. and.. what else could he do? This.. this is another level of desperation he held. He can’t even stay shameless in front of the entity.

“Alright, then.” The ink finally spoke. “I see. But are you aware of the consequences that’ll follow once you become one with me?” 

Adam thought about it.

Yes.

Because this man called Nathan Arch Jr.. is a hollow shell of a person he should be.

What the ink may bring out, would not be out of his control.

He knew himself well.

Very well.

“Yes.”

“And are you ready to accept them- of course you are..” Ink cut in the middle, reading straight through him.

“Mhm.” Adam nodded.

“Alright then.”

SKRK!!!!

Adam nearly screamed. One of the ink tendrils grew into a thorn that had pierced through his right eye, or.. more like.. took it from him. He watched as his.. eyeball.. floated over to the entity.

“To seek answers and knowledge.” It said. “Your eye.. I’ll let you share a portion of my sight with me. Is that a first swell deal to start off with, since you’re looking for the truth?”

“Yes… it.. is” Adam was trying his best to keep his cries back. It hurt. It hurt so bad.

“Looking for” and took his eye. Is that supposed to be a figurative joke?

“It’s not a figurative joke.” Ink shot back. “Wait a day or two.. I don’t know. Time works weird here. But what you’re looking for, I’ll give you..”

“Thank.. you.” Adam mumbled through the pain.

Ink narrowed its ‘eyes’ at Adam.. or Nathan Arch Jr.. or.. whatever other aliases he might come up with. What an elusive figure.. it wasn’t everyday The Ink met someone like him.

Did it really trust.. this.. man again?

But beyond the vicinity of Joey Drew, it seemed like those he were close too seemed to know loyalty much better than him...

And, what else, has it got to lose?

If anything.. it means something new is about to happen. Something exciting. Something that will push this stalemate, that it’s on the losing side, forward.

“Alright then.” Ink said. “Off you go, my new disciple.. this machine and its secrets will be unveiled.. to you.”

(At first the art was gonna come before the writing, but I don’t have time to do it today. Please take this Wilson-and-how-he-lost-his-eye-fanfic in the meantime.)

Day 5 Ink Demonth (late) : based on fic from the post yesterday

One of the few things the ink really cared about is the ink demon, its poor, helpless child. Even if he’s a monster to many, a ruthless killer to a lot, the ink will always see the ink demon as.. a young child.. naive about the world.. had his childhood taken away..

So imagine how pissed the ink got when a man of many faces came in singing words of praise to the ‘benevolent’ ink and proceeded to use the power the ink lend him to abuse its own child.

Wilson, oh Wilson..

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 1 : Nostalgia

Nostalgia

A gloomy silence washed over the strange yet homely world of sepia and black over and over again. Occasionally, Henry would hear the scream of a monster being torn apart by another, or the careless laughter of another entity erupting from deep within their madness.

He stared at the world that was once in his control.

The lines he drew, the meticulousness that went into drawing each and every frame, the expressions he made for each character.

Everything was breathing around him now.

He simulated the feeling of drawing in a long breath once again, even though he was already aware that he could never truly ‘breathe’.

Bendy.

It was the work that ignited a spark to a dream, a dream of such a long, long time ago.

Henry glanced over to a scene slowly materializing itself into the space. It was of his old desk, the rickety chair that accompanied it, and the unfinished frame of ‘Tombstone Picnic’ next to a small inkwell.

He watched as the inkwell, without any force nor interference, toppled itself over, spilling ink everywhere but the paper on the desk.

The scene slowly faded away.

“How nostalgic, isn’t it?” 

The mysterious figure opposite to him waved their hand, as if to brush away that scene he just saw.

Henry narrowed his eyes at the figure.

The figure seemed to move its lips in a bid to smile, but the unnatural construct of its being simply made it look like some sort of jarring, weird movement instead.

“Now, can you recall something?” 

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Final Reminiscence (Part 5/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 2 : Tea

Tea

Jack Fain recalled that he used to enjoy drinking tea once in his life. The process making it was rather calming, too. He remembered he would patiently wait for the tea to emit a lovely aroma, and while doing so, he’d write down the lyrics to Sammy’s newest song. Inspiration hit him best, then.

There was just about one downside to tea, though.

The fact that its texture is always crystal clear.

Of course, that was simply a true statement. It is hot water, combined with leaves. What else could it be, if not a pristine, watery substance?

He didn’t like it because it was easy to notice if the drink had been tampered with.

Jack gasped for air.

How long has it been since he switched from drinking tea to coffee?

How long has it been since the thought of growing malice, envy yet reverence towards Sammy, began to slowly creep into his mind?

His memories blurred as he tried to recall. Or perhaps, it began to blur because his breath was slowly wearing thin.

He thought of the black coffee Sammy would always have each morning.

Sammy liked his coffee with just a little milk, causing its texture to thicken slightly, and coupled with its already dark hue, one could barely notice..

Notice if it was spiked with something that shouldn’t be drunk.

….

The lyricist began to miss the time when he favored tea over coffee.

……

Maybe, he would’ve been able to restrain his thoughts a little better.

Maybe then, would he not be in this terrible, truly tragic predicament.

His- ah, could they even be called friends at this point?- Sammy, Sammy wouldn’t have to choke this bastard that stabbed him in the back out of selfish reasons. 

Jack wanted to let out a dry laugh, but he could only muster a cough as his body was thrown ruthlessly to the ground, the splinters in the aged wooden floor prickling his skin, as if they were nails pinning him to the ground.

He quietly looked up as his vision began to blur along with his consciousness.

A face with no facial features locked onto him a gaze that penetrated his soul.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 1 (Part 1/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 3 : Hoax

Hoax

“That isn’t funny.”

Joey couldn’t tell whether or not the sight in front of him was a joke.

Yes, the little devil couldn’t be real. It simply isn’t possible.

It’s all an illusion.

And yet, why did he feel compelled to keep conversing with this obviously very imaginary figure?

The ‘Bendy’ in front of him grinned even wider, spinning in a playful manner atop Henry’s desk sprawled with nearly-done animation frames. His sketch-like appearance leapt from furniture to furniture, leaving a trail of black pen-like sketches behind in each step.

Finally, his shoes landed with a soft thud on the stool next to Joey.

“You should laugh.” His mouth didn’t open, but the twisted voice reverberated in Joey’s head. He was fearful, but also confused, and strangely, quite fascinated. 

The grin widened.

“This is the best show you’ll ever see in your entire lifetime.” 

Bendy reached out a hand in a taunting manner.

Joey hated the way those words are ordered in such a fashion that it would only target him, and him only. 

He felt another emotion entering his whirlpool of thoughts at that moment- anger. The rage began to seep in, turning his shivering body hot.

He opened his mouth to speak, but could only let out a hoarse croak.

“What?” Bendy laughed, seemingly immediately knowing what Joey was about to say. “No, no, no, no! This is not a hoax! Not a lie, not a trick! Oh- you’re laughing too hard, pal!”

Bendy spoke some more words afterwards. Something about “his joke that shouldn’t be praised” or “after all- it is not a joke!”, but Joey could hear none of it.

He could only feel the tears trickling down his face.

Joey eyes wandered as he kept watching Bendy jump up and down in an excited manner. He felt as if he had lost control of his facial muscles at that moment.

He couldn’t help but ponder what kind of expression he was making right now. 

Would his teeth be clattering, or gritting? Would he be frowning so deep, so exaggerated that perhaps it’d be as if Henry had drawn a crooked Bendy smile on his face? Or would he be smiling right now? A smile that mirrored the little devil opposite to him….

“Okay- okay! Are you ready to hear me out now!?” Bendy cried out in an impatient manner, putting his hands to his waist and staring down at Joey from the top of the stool.

Joey’s eyes fell into a daze again.

Bendy’s smile grew so huge, Joey wondered if it would split his cheeky face apart.

“Yes! Yes, of course you are!” Bendy excitedly exclaimed. The little devil darling then slowly, and carefully leaned his back over to Joey, like a snake slowly coiling around its prey.

Joey could hear the voice speak again, in a soft, gentle manner- akin to Henry’s..

“Listen carefully, this is how to bring Henry back to life……”

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Prologue (Part 0/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 4 : Umbrella

Umbrella

Audrey walked out onto the city streets, the rain’s heavy downpour drowning out the chattering noises of the passing pedestrians. She hid her face under an umbrella, avoiding contact with rain as much as possible.

After discovering the truth about her body’s constitution, she began to grew somewhat wary of large amounts of water. Some experiments later, she discovered she could shower, bathe, and pretty much do any daily activities like a normal person, just as she did before. However, the sensation still felt stranger to her, as if the water was slowly dulling and thinning her flesh every time she touched it. Of course, it was probably just some underlying psychological feeling, as no real problems had aroused so far.

Still, she hated being drenched in rain.

Any normal person would!

Audrey walked down the streets casually as a familiar sight of a lush green field slowly came into her view. 

Central Park.

She made her way into the public park, being amongst the few people who still remained after such weather. 

Audrey’s large, curious eyes looked up towards the sky where the sun couldn’t be seen.

She slowly took in a breath of her surroundings.

Everything was peaceful.

Just as she lowered her gaze, a peculiar figure caught her eye.

The figure stood in the rain, a distant far away from her, with no umbrella nor coverage besides a brown boater hat, allowing their body to be soaked entirely. 

Their hand reached for their hat, and removed it, in the midst of the rain.

Audrey made a puzzled expression, carefully making her way over as to not step into any puddles. But just as she was about to offer the person her umbrella, the rain suddenly retreated, and the sun’s warm rays pierced through the gray clouds again.

She couldn’t help but look up at the sight in awe.

“I like the rain.”

A calm, gentle voice of a young man suddenly spoke up. Audrey lowered her head to find the soaked man speaking to her. Everything from top to bottom of this stranger was completely drenched. He casually wiped his glasses, pushing them up to his nose to look at her with a smile.

“Why?” Audrey couldn’t help but blurt out that question.

The man put on his hat again, his smile growing a little solemn.

“Once, a tragedy happened, and the rain arrived a little too late. Since then, I just grew a habit of taking in the weather.”

Audrey still didn’t really understand, but she understood it would be rude to pry.

The man laughed, his black coat shaking along with the motion of his body.

“Sometimes, I think people despise the rain too much. Humans seem to lose their imaginative minds when they grow older. I find admiring the puddles still an entertaining activity.”

Audrey chuckled a little. She also had a habit of watching the puddles, too, albeit from afar.

“It gets cold, though.” Audrey said, worried if the man was going to get sick or not.

“I won’t get sick.” The man replied with a smile again, understanding the intentions behind Audrey’s question. “Don’t worry. Thanks for looking out though, young lady.”

She wanted to refute that the man also seemed to be the same age, or at least a similar age as her. Her mouth promptly shut when she remembered Wilson.

“Say, what’s your name?” He asked casually, brushing away a piece of curly hair stuck to his forehead.

“Audrey.” She wanted to reach out a hand to shake, but retracted when she remembered the man’s state. She also purposefully omitted her last name.

“Audrey..” The man pondered for a second, before nodding. “Nice to meet you. I’m Alan Gray.”

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Epilogue (Part 4/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 5 : Secret

Secret

Thomas winced as the old wooden door produced an ear-piercing sound against the ancient floor. He carefully scanned the room, ensuring nobody was hiding inside.

A king-sized bed by a cabinet just by the door, the floral patterned, dull green walls, a closet with a door that’s barely hanging on its hinges diagonally opposite to the bed, and a large, wooden desk and chair by the window opposite to the door.

Thomas slowly made his way in.

Wally and his wife left to go into town today, so they asked Thomas to babysit the kids. In truth, he was already crashing at their place, so it wasn’t a difficult favor. In any case, they were probably also concerned about him suddenly disappearing again.

He let out a long sigh.

Thomas’ gaze swept across the room again, landing on a single, seemingly insignificant notebook among the piles of paper on the desk. He quickly made his way over, softening his steps as to not wake up the napping children.

The notebook was clearly at least a decade in age, just from the texture of the leather cover Thomas could feel alone. Any paper sticking out was clearly yellow, even browning at the edges.

The cover seemed to be intentionally repeatedly scratched with a sharp object, as there are many marks clustered here and there, and just some marks scrawled around. It was as if someone tried to murder the book.

One of these marks was definitely the place where the original owner engraved his name.

Thomas’ finger swept over one of the spots and tried to imagine a name there.

Henry Stein..

He looked back down, before quietly opening the notebook.

The first few pages were of not much importance. There were sketches of unknown characters, and nearly neat handwriting pointing out the flaws in each design, or to self-memo. Each page was marked with a date.

He then landed on a page.

April 13th.

It contained grievances about Joey, worries, concerns and the like.

The bottom of the page was dyed black.

Thomas’ traced his finger up to the next page.

The next page was entirely black in color, its hard texture indicating that it was dried ink.

Thomas took a sharp breath.

He turned the page.

The handwriting had changed, so did the drawing style. It became sloppy, like an amateur artist attempting his first drawing. It continued on for a few pages.

Until it all became handwriting entirely.

Thomas’ eyes widened as he read the contents.

“[scribbled out date]

The ink machine…”

“[scribbled out date]

Sammy is starting to act strange..”

“[scribbled out date]

Susie has left us.”

“[scribbled out date]

It’s too dangerous. Everyone’s acting too rashly.”

“[scribbled out date]

Joey doesn’t seem to like Alan too much.”

“[scribbled out date]

The meeting with Nathan wasn’t in the appointments. Just how many people is truly in the know of this insane scheme?”

“[scribbled out date]

If someone finds this notebook, here are the things you need to know…”

As the words kept going on and on, and the secrets Thomas desperately tried to hide from the world was laid bare for him to see through the eyes of someone else, he felt his chest tighten.

Just as the sentences slowly reached the date when the near destruction of the ink machine happened, he felt the strong urge to shut the book in shame.

However, the last sentence on one of the pages stopped him.

“If you’re Thomas- god, I hope it’s you, Tom. 

Then you should keep reading.

I’m sure it’ll be useful to you.

Sorry.

Sorry I can’t help anymore than this.”

Thomas stared blankly at those words for a moment.

He carefully flipped to the last page.

It was empty.

He took in a deep breath, then began to retrace back to the latest page.

“Dorothy Newsome is the one who tipped off the news station.

She asked me for intel. This is her point of contact : ……”

After the method of contact, the writings stopped there.

That incident had happened a little over two weeks ago.

Wally was still writing down every little thing, solving, investigating and eliminating the red herrings by himself.

Thomas closed that book gently.

He gazed outside for a long, long time.

The realization that he wasn’t alone to bear the burden of those horrifying secrets began to slowly settle on to him.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 3 (Part 3/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 6 : Drop

Joey felt the wind rushing past him- or at least, he’s believing that there’s wind rushing past him at that moment. Because, abiding by all laws of the Cycle, there shouldn’t be wind here.

He closed his eyes, although it didn’t make much of a difference since his environment was dark anyways, and began to recollect his thoughts.

Alan threw me in here..

After telling me he ‘revived’ me by extracting memories within the Dark Puddles…

Joey blinked a few times.

Did he say that?

He felt as if there was some detail he was missing, but he couldn’t tell what it was.

Joey felt his body plummet faster as his thoughts rushed past him.

Finally, there was a soft thud.

Joey carefully pushed himself up to his knees, looking around his environment, albeit, he didn’t really have to.

His heart seemed to pound as he inspected his surroundings.

The familiar corridor, the ink seeping through the ceiling, the old wooden floor.

It was indeed the Cycle he created.

….

Joey stood up, casually brushing off any possible dust that could’ve come from falling down such a height. He stared at his wrinkled old hands that seemed to be made from a pencil sketch now.

Then, he looked up at the sight before him.

His eyes continued to be blank for a while.

What now?

What do I do next….

Joey suddenly found himself unable to remember the exact details of this part of the ‘script’.

He couldn’t help but feel vulnerable again.

After a little bit of focusing, he gently came to the realization that many chunks of his memory seemed to be missing.

Is this what Alan meant when he said he ‘revived’ me?

He wanted to ponder his own identity now, whether or not he could still be called “Joey Drew”.

Solemnly, he decided to shake those thoughts off for the meantime.

He wondered if he could return back to his old office.

It wouldn’t hurt..

He quietly took a step forward.

His expression turned fearful as he realized the ground beneath him gave away, sending him plummeting towards the depths once more.

That was when Joey Drew finally understood why Alan would reconstruct him incompletely like this.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Intermission (Part 3.5/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 7 : Projection

The projections displaying Norman’s memories reflected on the muddy wall behind the two of them, flashing past quickly akin to scenes on a subway’s windows. Thomas watched those scenes quietly, his expression blank.

The hidden hallways within the walls of Joey Drew Studios, the times Norman endangered himself by trying to probe into the Ink Machine’s matters alone, the times the Projectionist felt agitated, and the times he felt satisfied by a secret’s exposure. Thomas’ attention, however, latched onto a certain expression on that man’s face.

A face of relishing a truth, regardless if it was a pretty one or not.

Thomas turned to lock his cold gaze with Norman, who was simply smiling lightly.

“It hurt, didn’t it?” 

Thomas asked in a clearly blunt tone.

“It did.” Norman nodded.

Thomas narrowed his eyes to a squint. He threw away the fire poker-trident weapon, turning around to face the exit.

“What a pity. Sorry for you. I was hurt as well.” He began to take his leave without another word of consolation. He had no time to apologize to every single soul. Besides, he found someone who begged for pity amidst clearly relishing in their sins to be rather disgusting.

Just as he was about to turn the handle to the door, a faint chuckle emerged.

Thomas carefully glanced back. Norman stood there, his arms crossed, one of his hands covering his curling lips.

“As I thought. That’s still Thomas Connor.” Norman said, his tone mixed. 

“…” Thomas didn’t reply. He pressed on the handle.

Norman’s chuckle arose again, causing Thomas to instinctively pause.

He finally turned around to glare at the man again.

“What do you really want?” He asked, even though he already had a small hunch.

Norman smiled, wide, akin to a grin of the Cheshire Cat’s.

“Since we’re both suffering from this place, why don’t we cooperate?”

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 3 (Part 3/5)

Ink Demonth Day 8 : Line

Alan Gray pressed on a small button, allowing a minuscule amount of light to just about flood into the workshop. The dilapidated yet orderly room became somewhat lively again as the light reflected the colors on each object.

Alan softly took off his hat, caressed it, before placing it on a small hook by the entrance. He didn’t do the same for his black coat, instead using his hands to pull back any off his loose, messy brown hair out of habit.

The man of a tall build approached a board divided into segments at the far end of the room. Each segment clearly drew out theories, hypothesis, and the like. The failed ones were pushed behind the improved ones in a neat fashion.

Alan stared blankly at it for a while, before an exhilarated smile formed on his face.

He reached his brightly-colored bandaged  hand to grab out the piles of paper pinned to the board, stuffing them into folders of various colors, until there was only a single pile remaining.

He stretched out a little to spread out those papers. In contrast to the other documents filled with writings and corrections, these papers only had a few things on it.

The most prominent feature being a long line.

He spread out the papers with a single line accompanied by little notes, as if creating a timeline on his board. He then took out a few more papers from a nearby table, forming another long sheet of paper beneath it. He quickly drew out another line across the sheets of paper, adding a few anecdotes to them as well.

Just as the line was about to reach the end of the board, he suddenly swerved up, causing the two lines to intertwine with each other.

Alan backed off, quietly observing those papers with extreme fascination.

He clasped his hands together in satisfaction.

“Yes, of course.” The man wandered over to one of the folders, pulling out a couple more documents. “Why didn’t I consider this before? It is.. it’s extremely clear.”

His huge, curious eyes glistened in the light.

“If we look at it this way, then..” his tone gradually grew more and more excited.

“Then, it’s completely sensible for fiction and reality to have intertwined at any point in time.”

His eyes slowly casted its gaze on a small object in the corner of the room.

It was a dusty reel. A reel that was simply labeled “The End”.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 3 (3/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 9 : Record

(Splashing sounds of a pair of leather shoes and work boots echo through the sewers.)

(It stops)

(A tape slides around the corner)

(Jack’s hand reaches out, unsure for a moment, then clicks the tape run.)

(Static ambience)

Thomas : The stench..

Joey : Bear with the stench a little bit.

Thomas : (grunt) A little worse than somedays.

Joey : (weary laugh) Come on, now.

Thomas : ..

Joey : So, finished that report?

(Thomas smoothens a paper and hands it over)

Joey : Thank you!

(Thomas watches as Joey reads the report)

Joey : Coherent enough, alright.

Thomas : Mhm.

Joey : When are you free to deal with the cartoons yourself?

Thomas : ….

Joey : If you’re still persistent on doing it yourself.

Thomas : ….

..

Joey : (sigh)

Good we still have help.

Thomas : (under breath) God knows how long he’ll stay.

Joey : Excuse me?

Thomas : …

Joey : ..

Alright then.

So, filling the sewers?

Thomas : No.

Joey : I’ll deal with any external complications.

Thomas : You were the one who wanted to cut corners.

Joey : (about to interrupt, then withhold) It’s a worthy investment.

Thomas : (irritated) Then how about fixing those blasted elevators.

Joey : (sigh) Those’ll be fine.

Thomas : Those won’t be fine. You think a few monologues of “visions” and “ambitions” would help the elevator to work properly?

Joey : (warning) Tom.

(Thomas glares at Joey) 

Joey : Fine. Fill the sewers, fix the elevators. All at once. Sounds good?

Thomas : ..

Joey : I take that as a yes.

Thomas : …

Joey : Tommy, you gotta remember this is all for the machine.

It’s all for it, one way or the other. 

(Thomas’ expression becomes somewhat wear and falters)

Joey : For the studio, Tom.

For the studio.

(Ink noises)

(Thomas looks away. He makes a sharp turn and walks to some secret route.)

(Joey watches)

(He walks away too, in the opposite direction.)

(He passes the tape, possibly ignoring it.)

Joey : Jack!

Jack : (perfect poker face) Oh, hey Mister Drew, what brings you here?

(Joey is stunned for a moment)

Joey : Just checking in.

(Jack peers behind Joey dramatically)

Jack : Where’d you come from?

Joey : Another entrance.

Jack : Gee, guess I don’t know these sewers as well.

Joey : (chuckles)

Alright, glad to see you’re still hardworking!

Jack : (haha) Of course, of course!

Joey : (Heh) Now, to change out of these shoes as well. 

(Joey walks past Jack, and out the sewers. As soon as Jack’s sure Joey’s out he dashes for the tape and stops it.)

(He stares at it for a moment, carefully picking it up and returning to his station.)

……..

(A tape lands in Norman’s lap.)

Jack : There.

(Norman inspects it)

Norman : (Heh) Didn’t think you’d actually do it.

Jack : What? Was all that an attempt at a joke!?

Norman : (smirks) ‘Course not. I’ll get it sorted out.

Jack : (sighs, unamused) 

So you tell me what’s up soon.

Norman : Sure, sure.

Jack : ..

They’re gonna fill my sewers. Overheard it.

Norman : (surprised) What?

Jack : (downbeat) Yup.

Norman : …

Anything else?

Jack : All in that tape. 

Norman : ..

Thanks.

Jack : ..

Anytime.

(Jack walks off, his expression morphs into that of concern)

(Norman pulls out the other tape. He stares at the floor, as if concerned something will pop up from there.)

(He contemplates for a moment, then creaks open the floor tile beneath his feet.)

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 1 (Part 1/5)

Ink Demonth Day 10 : Exhibit

A strange archives hidden within the halls of Archgate. An exhibit displaying the brief history of Joey Drew Studios.

Wilson scrunched his brows, his hand still holding on tight to the broom in his grip. He kept pondering the particular nature of this archives. It seemed to be akin to a museum, immortalizing the legacy of a bygone studio, yet, it was also a hassle to access, having to get through halls of the building before one could see it. It seemed illogical, as if it wasn’t meant for the public. Of course, it could be that Nathan wanted to let the outside world see Archgate’s work environment as well, but wouldn’t it be too risky? A well disguised thief could easily sneak in and learn the insides. Wilson’s expression turned strange as he considered his father’s slacking of being wary. Usually, that man would keep his trade secrets to himself..

Or was it because he was indeed hiding these items from someone? Wilson knew a person or two who would match that description. 

Or..

The fake janitor carefully placed away his broom, examining the items on each shelf casually. He had seen them one too many times, but this would be the first he could examine them up close. Back when he was hiding in Gent, Alan would always switch the location of certain objects periodically, making them hard to track.

He was curious as to how the wonders of that ink machine truly worked.

Wilson had a brief understanding, but that was it, just a brief understanding. It was nothing to brag about against people like Thomas Connor or Joey Drew.

He wanted to investigate deeper into the potency of such a machine.

He tried to see if any of the items was having a strange reaction, but he couldn’t notice any. Failing to gain anything, he went to the far back of the archives to access a locked room.

The room containing the ink machine.

Wilson stared at the particular machination for some time. It wasn’t the first time he came here, but every single time, the machine remained quiet. The gears didn’t turn, nor any weird liquid seeped out of the main tube. It was no different to a big metal box at the moment.

He knew Alan had used various methods and elaborate techniques to activate it all the time, but besides a few loose water pipes and electrical wires, there was nothing that could be of help to Wilson.

Aside from that, the room had three pillars scattered on both sides of the hall. It had pictures to resemble what item should be placed on top, but none of those items existed within the exhibition. Wilson questioned why Nathan would order these pillars to be erected if they had no correlation to the machine. 

That simply meant those pillars were the key to the machine.

Wilson slumped against a nearby wall, sighing out of exasperation.

It seemed a certain janitor would be treasure hunting for a while.

Bendy : The Untrsuted AU - Intermission (Part 3.5/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 11 : Melody

Susie, or would better be called now- Alice, staggered through the dark halls of the music department. Susie seemed a lot more timid and quiet lately, perhaps she had already given up on trying to “do good” in this studio filled with madness. She’d seemed to lost any hope remaining in her after witnessing Sammy’s heinous actions of colluding with Joey Drew.

She just wanted to find a place to rest.

Whether that’d be temporary or eternal was another matter of whether she could hold onto herself well enough.

Just as she forced the door open and pulled herself over to a chair hidden in the shadows, another set of light footsteps emerged behind her.

Who.. at this hour? Alice quickly blended into the darkness of the shadows easily, planning on simply watching the strange person who’s about to come in.

Suddenly, her mind stirred.

At this time.. there could only be one person who would be here.

She quickly turned her head towards the entrance, but instead of the exhausted, tall, blonde man she was expecting, another ink-covered figure trudged into the room, instead.

He was covered head to toe in ink, only barely able to be made out as human, or at least once a human. The figure wore a pair of suspenders equally caked in ink, however, its light brown, almost sepia hue made it easily distinguishable from the man’s jet-black appearance.

The man opened what should be his mouth, letting out loud gasps that came in altering frequencies, as if he’s trying to control his breath to suppress something within himself.

Just as the breathing got more and more rapid, he reached out for a banjo left on the nearest chair, strumming onto it with a force that didn’t belong to a musician.

Only when that melody sounded out did he began to regulate his breathing again.

His breath slowly came to that of a normal pace’s, as he softly took a seat on the director’s tall stool. It was such a natural movement, as if he had done it a million times. 

Alice drew a sharp breath as she realized who the figure was.

Sammy Lawrence.

The music director didn’t notice the angel hiding within the darkness as he kept playing, even though his hands were trembling, and he lacked one finger on each hand.

He still kept playing that wonderful tune like it was second nature to him.

Behind him, Alice quietly watched him.

Her face formed a sinister grin as her mind began to whirl with plans.

Suddenly, she felt something wet on her cheek.

Her eyes turned blank, and her gaze began to wander. The malicious grin still remained on her face, but in her mind, she could only muster a single question.

Why am I crying?

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 1 (Part 1/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 12 - Copy

Bendy had always felt a sense of disconnection from Audrey. In a way, she was his elder sister, but in another way, he couldn’t help but wonder who she saw in him.

He recalled the first time they met over and over again, his cute, plump little figure warily approaching the strange lady, reaching out for a hand. Her desperate apologies he couldn’t hear as he ran away from the pain in fear. 

The little devil knew he was the product of another him- or in a sense, his elder brother’s suffering. He gradually came to realize that, and had accepted that.

He never really knew how he should spend his life. Often times, he felt more like a forceful seal to keep a boiling rage contained than an autonomous identity. He had the urge to live like a child, to be like a child, to be a part of the Ink Demon that never got to experience happiness. Since he knew both their memories are somewhat shared, he wanted to continue being innocent in this world.

But he felt like the Ink Demon had deserved more of what he felt. He seriously thought his elder brother should be experiencing the joy, the laughter, the love by himself, and not through him.

Bendy fidgeted with the toy train in his hands, looking up at the pile of old experiment records Audrey had came back with yesterday.

“The Ink Demon.

Experiment had resulted in a failure. The little devil darling has come out with a disproportionate figure, rendering him useless…”

He shook his head away from those papers, opening the voice in his mind to talk to Audrey, who was half-asleep at her desk.

Suddenly, her hand reached out, patting his two soft horns.

“You shouldn’t think of yourself as his copy.”

Her gentle voice echoed in his mind, causing him to stare blankly at her for a moment.

He couldn’t see her eyes clearly, as a result of his height.

But the little devil could see her kind smile.

“You and him both deserve love no less than the other.”

Beneath her collar was a red bow, just the same as him.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Epilogue (Part 4/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 13 : Bow

Grant wasn’t athletic, nor was he strong. He was just some salaryman who’s been loyal enough to a single company that got him out of a sticky predicament in life, that was all.

He blinked.

A tether of black, sticky liquid rushed towards his neck, solidifying into a sharp blade.

He swung the pipe in his hand without hesitation, just barely blocking off the lethal attack. The tether exploded into droplets of ink, raining down upon him and the room.

He felt his vitality drop in an instant, only to be rejuvenated again.

Grant heaved a sigh, glaring straight at the figure of a man standing on the other side of this strange, metal-walled circular chamber. The pipes on the ceiling spurred, screeching loudly as if they’re ready to burst at any moment. 

From top to bottom, the room was drenched in ink.

Yet his boss wasn’t touched by any of it, as if there’s some kind of barrier between him and the world.

Grant, on the other hand, besides being covered in ink, the pipe in his hand was a prototype of a weapon Thomas had been working on. The colorful electrical sparks danced around the weapon.

But it also was painful to Grant.

“What are you doing this for!?” Grant mustered, trying to stall for time. “This- this place-!!”

“You should stop hurting yourself.”

That man opposite the room coldly spoke to him, yet it was tainted with a sliver of kindness.

Grant recalled in that moment, that Joey Drew once told him the exact same words.

He stopped his entire body from trembling in exhaustion, quickly forcing his head to look up.

The man named Joey Drew lunged towards him without any care in his eyes.

Grant raised his arm, his lips curving into a small smile.

“If only I’d never met you.”

He felt something sharp shatter the back of his head at that moment.

…….

The chamber that was rumbling and screaming just now had quietened down. Joey’s frail hand slowly let go of a handful of wet hair, letting it droop over a lifeless face again.

He watched as the ink began to seep up the corpse, happily consuming it and taking it in as one of them.

He looked down at the disgusting, human heart-shaped object in his palm. Without another word, he carefully placed it nearby the lifeless body.

“This is my final gift.” Joey whispered under his breath, unknown whether he was talking to the dark ink, or the corpse.

He slowly stood up, watching as the liquid that once backed away began to crawl towards him again, only to retract on its own.

The man who lost everything made his way across the chamber to the exit door, his smile growing wider with every step.

He turned around one last time, looking up at the throne he erected himself. It was empty, standing tall and proud like it was looking down on the world.

Joey stared for a few moments, before solemnly bowing down to that throne, saying his final farewell to this dramatic play he wrote, casted, and directed.

A certain broken dream has come to an end.

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Act 2 (Part 2/5)

Ink Demonth 2024 Day 14 : Steam

A cup of steaming tea was placed in front of a young lady with soft, reddish-brown hair.

Her breath trembled as she tried to calm herself down.

Rose carefully picked it up, taking a sip of the slightly sweet tea.

It had been a long time since the incident involving the bizarre ink machine, and that wretched man named Joey Drew. Even though a period of time had passed, her family still suffers from hallucinations often. 

It has gotten better since a while ago, but suddenly, everything seemed to worsen tenfold. The hallucinations now weren’t limited to visual, extending to auditory, and sometimes, Rose swears she could even touch them.

She looked up at her brother sitting opposite to her, fidgeting with his mug of tea absentmindedly.

“I don’t-“ Ollie stopped mid-sentence. “I really don’t understand why..”

That was what they’d say out loud often, to keep themselves glued to reality.

“Don’t understand what?” Rose casually asked. This was a response to begin solving any irregularities in their senses.

“Why.. why it’s suddenly gotten worse.” Ollie concluded.

Rose’s gentle smile froze. It was a question she didn’t really feel like bringing up.

“That’s..” Rose tried to answer, her eyes trying to focus on the tea in front of her.

Suddenly, the color of the tea seemed to darken, until it looked like ink.

Rose turned her face away, focusing her sight on the fridge. Ollie quickly pushed away his mug as well, indicating he was seeing the same thing Rose was.

Rose’s gaze was glued to the fridge.

She watched as it slowly creaked open on its own, a mound of goopy, black liquid seeping out from the edges.

She quickly retracted her gaze, looking at Ollie instead. His fearful expression matched hers completely.

“It’s okay.” Rose, out of habit, quickly denied her sights. “Remember, it’s not real.”

“Exactly because it isn’t real that it could be rewritten.”

Rose and Ollie jerked their heads towards the direction of the voice. Even though they’d come to the agreement to ignore all voices, this voice was new. Usually, they’d hear the same voices over and over again. Some Rose would recognize as Joey Drew, some as Archie, some as Evan…

This was a new voice, a bright, upbeat voice with a tinge of madness.

More importantly, this voice was crystal clear, as if the owner of the voice was speaking to them.

All the other noises they’ve heard so far are always muddled and distorted, like a broken radio.

The two of them landed their eyes on the big window over the kitchen counter, overlooking the streets.

The sky outside seemed to have darkened.

They walked over carefully, drawing the curtains. 

A strange, dark gray fog wafted through the streets, the pedestrians making confused expressions, implying that their eyes weren’t lying to them.

“What is..” Ollie trailed off, covering his nose and mouth out of habit.

Rose slowly backed off from the windows, glancing towards the stairs.

“I’ll go get a better view. You stay here and make sure all the windows are locked.”

Ollie wanted to argue that his sister always threw herself into dangerous situations first, but being given a responsibility, he quickly shut up.  

“Okay.” He replied dryly.

Rose rushed up the stairs, going up to Ollie’s bedroom, which faced the streets. She made sure they were locked, before focusing her sight outside.

The ground suddenly rumbled.

A tall building in the distance, near where Kismet was, appeared to distort in shape. It seemed to bulge and grow, turning into a gigantic mausoleum of some sort. The chutes on top of the roof also extended up into the darkening sky, appearing more like spires which spat out steam and gas, turning it into fog that permeated the streets earlier. 

The steam smelled like ink.

Rose rubbed her eyes.

Screams began to emerge from the streets. Rose couldn’t tell what danger they had encountered.

As she retracted her hands, she saw that it was stained with ink.

Ink began to seep from the edges of her eyes, like tears flowing down her cheeks after being exposed to the strange steam.

Without another moment to waste, she grabbed the pillows and blankets in the room, wetting them with tap water and using them to block the edges of the windows to prevent any more from leaking inside. Rose could feel the uncomfortable sensation in her decrease as she did that.

“Rose, ROSE!!!” Ollie screamed, rushing up the stairs and into the room. “Don’t stay near the windows!!” 

“I know, don’t worry.” She tried her best to reassure herself and her brother. “I will-“

As she turned away from the windows, she heard a loud splat as something collided with the glass.

A frightened expression slowly grew on Ollie’s face. 

As Rose’s expression froze, she took a deep breath, turning back to face the window in a careful stance.

A dove had hit the window, its wings dripping with ink, its body tainted by the dark smoke, turning its usual white color dark.

The dove helplessly slid off the pane of glass, leaving a nasty black trail behind as it fell to its eternal slumber.

Rose and Ollie turned to face each other, knowing well their senses are no longer lying.

“What..?”

Bendy : The Untrusted AU - Epilogue (Part 4/5)