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

Chapter Sixteen: The Ink Demon

Another rumble of the room made you hold onto the wall for support. The lights flickered, things fell off their shelves, and boxes tumbled to the ground. Whatever this demon was trying to do, you know he was also trying to scare you. And you made sure not to give him any satisfaction.

In the corner, you saw a locker under a flickering light, which piqued your interest. Opening it, you found a rubber duck toy, a toy that was worn and old. Decayed old soap littered the poor thing, so you knew it had been used well, with a lot of memories to share. You picked it up and squeezed it. It gave a weary squeak in response. You gave a small, sad smile and placed it into your pocket.

A dark hallway stood before you, with dull flashing lights overhead. You crept through it, feeling an unsettling dread overhanging the corridor. A pull switch was beside the door in front of you, so you tugged on it to drag it down. It wouldn't budge. Frustration started to filter inside of you as you hit it with your fist to try and get it to move. A squelching footstep beside you made you freeze. You craned your head to the side, only to see a monstrous foe stand at the beginning of the hallway, staring at you.

You tried to scream, but couldn't. The size of the beast intimidated you terribly, and your breathing stopped. He snarled and took a step toward you, flicking you back into motion instantly. You tugged and pulled with gasping and grunts, trying your hardest to get it to move.

Checkmate...

Its voice boomed in your head, making your eyes widen in terror. Adrenaline kicked around in your body, and you suddenly had the strength to down the lever. The door opened, and you ran inside, closing the door behind you with your body. The hand of the abomination reached out and stopped you from completely locking the door in place. You shoved with and hit all of your body weight against the door, making him grumble in pain as he drew his hand back. The door shut completely and locked in place.

You sighed with relief as you heard him walk away. You turned around to assess your surroundings, but then you heard clawing above you, making you cease in your tracks.

You cannot stop my deeds... child... your soul makes you weak in this world of demons... while you may be an Angel to us, you will be overridden by our sins...

You shuddered and gripped your Gent Pipe with strength and perseverance. I'm not scared of you.

Lying to yourself won't get you anywhere...

'...' you didn't know what to say or even think to that. You can hear my thoughts? ...he didn't reply. Don't flatter yourself, ink creature. He continued to move above you, but you decided to just keep moving. The creaking of the floorboards above was unsettling, but you tried to ignore it.

You were startled by a hanging Lost One, strung up like a decoration. The writing beside him was even more unsettling: "He walks among the Believers". Believers? So, this is all a religious thing?

Angels and demons, young one... symbolism is important. Joey's symbolism, our symbolism...

What are you going on about? You thought in frustration. Stop being cryptic and give me answers! A low chuckle rang out in the halls, and you walked around. Demons... You noticed a poorly made painting sitting on a drawing board, and you remembered what you were here for. 'A picture!' you exclaimed out loud, and then froze in terror. A sudden banging sounded throughout the corridors, making you jolt. He was coming. You dashed for the picture and picked it up, and then ran.

"There's no point in trying to kill the Ink Demon, Y/N." Alice had told you a while back. "Why not? I can with everyone else, apparently." She shook her head. "His powers and evil are infinite, there is no end to his misdeeds. If he finds you... you will be consumed." She said this as seriously as possible. "C... consumed?" You gulped at how scary that sounded. "Consumed." she repeated, and then she caressed your cheek in a reassuring way. "If you know he's coming, just hide. So long as he can't hear, see or smell you, you will be fine."

You saw a barrel and had an idea. Hitting it as hard as you could, you made a hole and gutted into it with your Gent Pipe. His roar could be heard from anywhere in this studio, you thought. It was so loud... you climbed inside and held your breath. Listening, waiting.

An angered growl sounded throughout the place, and you could hear him depart. Climbing out of the barrel, you sighed with relief. Wandering around for a while, you were startled by his voice ringing in your ear.

Y/N... what are you doing? Hiding will do you no good.

I'm not hiding, far from it actually. I'm out in the open. Searching.

Searching for pictures... you cannot hide forever...

Whatever... you keep searching. After walking down a long hall, you found another picture, and held it in your grasp. Two down, three to go. An amused grunt could be heard from far away. I'm going to get away with this, you know. You won't find me.

We'll see, child...

The floorboards beneath you creaked and moaned with intensity and you froze. How did he... You ran for it. A miracle station was around a corner, which you dove into and slammed the door.

My ink swells and boils... it consumes... I am the Ink Demon, Y/N... Heed our warning...

Leave me alone... you pleaded and begged, but deep down you knew it would do no good. This charade continued, you would somehow make your presence known and he'd try to attack, but you would find a hiding place before he could catch your scent.

Eventually, you found the final picture and sighed with relief. You turned around and saw him across the room, sniffing for you with hunger on his mind. You stood in terror as he saw you, and he smiled wider than you thought was possible. He ran at you, flicking saliva and ink as he crawled. You screamed and cried as you ran away, holding the things in your hands tightly. He was gaining on you, you were only a small child after all.

'Leave me alone, please!' you cried in sorrow as he ran. You fled around the corner and dove into the ventilation system that would take you back to the Lost One's door. He swiped for your legs but narrowly missed as you crawled away crying. An enraged snarl erupted from him as he banged on the wall.

You cannot hide from me forever, worthless child... you were born from it, you belong to the Dark Puddles...

I just want to go home... you were bawling your eyes out as you crawled away. Eventually, you made it back to the door of the Lost One. You knocked once more on the door, and he peered his head out angrily. 'I told you-' 'Here you go...' you sniffed back you tears as you held up the pictures to his face.

'W...what? My pictures!' He yanked them out of your hands and hugged them tightly to his chest. He then closed the door's window and opened it fully, revealing him to you. 'Thank you, thank you, thank you!' He said as he ran out and placed them onto their easels. You walked through the door as you tried to choke back your tears.

Suddenly a head poked out from the room, making you jump. Bendy was staring at you, perplexed. 'Oh, Bendy...' you mumbled, wiping your eyes. He looked so upset, but not because of him. He ran to you, embracing you as tightly as he could. Tears ran down his face, which you assumed was because you were crying too. 'No, no it's okay, buddy... it's not your fault...' This only made him sob harder into your shoulder. 'It's the Ink Demon's fault, not yours, bud.' He would not take your words, for reasons unknown to you. These waves of emotions coming from both of you was too hard to take. You started to cry again, holding each other .