An Inkwell's Stain //BATDR Fanfiction\\ [Male Reader]

Chapter Ten: Acquiring Hardware

Continuing forward, you noticed he was walking around again, looking angrier than before. I didn't mean to insult you... oh well. He walked past the miracle station, which gave you the opportunity to sneak past and go back into the other area, perhaps the fuse is in there somewhere?

You decided to check the kitchen and dining area first, since you remember exactly where that was. Entering into the dining space however, made too much noise. 'Who's out there?' Another Lost One who had a more human voice called out, swinging open the kitchen's door. 'Kitchen's closed! No one wants you here...'

You shrunk under the display table, praying that he couldn't see you through the glass. He squinted his glowing, fluorescent eyes in your direction, but gave up. They really are blind, huh? He instead, decided to head out of the kitchen and into the dining room, right where you were. Fear struck you as you clawed your way as silently as possible, away from the room's opening.

'Hello? I swore I heard someone come through here...' You slowed your breathing and made it shallow, trying to quieten yourself. He started to play with the radio set on a table, so you took the risky opportunity.

As fast and as quietly as you could, you rushed through to the kitchen area, straight past the Lost One. You froze behind the counter as he looked up and twisted his head over to where you were. 'Damn rats.' He grumbled to himself as he walked away from the dining room and down the hall, seeming to want to get something.

You stood up from your position and went through the kitchen's door, finding a long corridor ahead of you. Nothing interesting was in here, but you noticed another door at the end of the hall.

Opening it, showed the pantry, with no food left on the shelves. What bad luck... but a cake with flies swarming it caught your attention. Something glimmered in the light, something stuck in the old and mouldy frosting...The fuse! 'My luck's returned, I guess.' Snatching the fuse and shaking off the old cake clinging to it, you head back through the door.

'You're no rat!' The Lost One was right in front of you, wielding a weapon that looked to be for killing rats. He roared loudly and swung the thing at you, making you scream and duck. You dove under his legs and ran as fast as you could out of there. 'Get back here, you cowardly beast!' Does he not know I'm just a kid?

'I don't mean any harm!' you shouted as you hid in a miracle station at the dining area. He came out of the kitchen as soon as you slammed the door, and he looked around. 'If I find you... you'll regret ever coming here.' I already do... He walked back into the kitchen, and you could he the shuffling of some boxes. What is he doing? You jumped out of the miracle station and bolted out of the room, grasping the fuse tightly in your hand.

You slow your pace as you remember the other Lost One is still lurking in the halls. You crouch down and shuffle along the floor, trying to find your way back to the power room. 'Where did you go?~' The raspy voice of the Lost One cooed. How demented are these people? You freeze as you notice him hitting the steel frame tat concealed you earlier with his blunt object. 'Where did you go?!' He repeated sounding angry and fed up. You waited him out until he turned and walked in the other direction.

Finding your way past the Lost One, you end up finding the power room. 'Finally...' you muttered under your breath, exhausted from the chase. You placed the fuse into its respective hole and tapped it lightly, the light breaking through and glowed. 'That should do it.'

You found your way back to where you saw the Gent Pipe, but found that the Lost One was looking directly at the corpse of the "Demon Follower". A sigh escaped the lips of the Lost One, and he let go of the chained fence separating him and the body. You went the opposite direction of him, making sure to stay in the shadows for camouflage. You noticed light was in the Atrium, and you smiled, proud of yourself.

Opening the door, you saw a cassette tape beside another Bendy plush. A note on it read, "Kay Lee", a name you have never heard of. "At the end of every crumbling empire, you gotta hide the treasures!" Treasure? Your eyes lit up with interest. A proper adventure! But Alice's words interrupted your thoughts. "Never believe a tempting offer; this place is full of corrupting demons that want to take advantage of you."

You sighed and looked at the cassette glumly. "...Joey Drew's more special assets." You shook your head and ignored what she was saying. You noticed a few Gent parts lined up together on a shelf, which you took and stuffed into your pockets greedily.

The words written on the wall perplexed you. "The Machine Must Endure". The words... frightened you a little, they felt sinister in a way. Everything here is sinister, idiot, you thought to yourself. Stop getting distracted and get what you came here for. There was a hole in the wall that led to another room, a room that you hoped led to the Gent Pipe. A filtering fan displayed light in the room, it moved slowly with a small whine.

Walking past many locked doors, you noticed a note on a table. Picking it up, you skim-read it for any useful information. "Gent comes in here and puts thick, heavy pipes over everyone's heads", "Joey opens tours to the general public", "Sammy's music department is constantly flooded"... Sammy? That name sound vaguely familiar, but you cannot recall it.

The rest of the note talks about how Joey is taking shortcuts and making bad ideas to gain some money. I thought Joey was all about dreaming, not money... you shake your head. No, he's just had a rough patch here. Everyone has their ups and downs...

Leaving the note back on the table, you keep searching for the pipe, grabbing hold of the stray battery left on the table before you go.

A steel door was left unlocked, and when you looked through the glass on your toes, you saw the familiar corpse hanging from the wall, your treasure dug deep into its side. You swing open the door, and head straight over to the body. A gross and rotting smell filled your nostrils, taking away any victory you felt in that moment. 'Euch...' you said in disgust, wrinkling your nose.

The sudden bang of chain behind you made you shriek, instantly forgetting the stench.

'There you are!' The raspy voice called from the back of the Lost One's throat. He jabbed and thrashed at the chain-link fence, trying to get through to you. You screamed in fear as you grabbed hold of the GENT Pipe and tugged with all of your might. Get... out...!

Behind you, you could hear the Lost One go through the Atrium door and head for your direction. You turned back and tugged harder at the GENT Pipe. The sound of oozing and squelching organs made you want to barf. Come on!