(1) Ink Distortion (BATIM/EPICMICKEY)

7- Boris

Bendy didn't move. He stayed still, listening for a response. Oswald sitting down next to him was the 'response'.

"Bendy.. Your dripping-" Oswald reached out to touch Bendy's forehead, which was dripping with ink, out of reflex, but Bendy swatted it away.

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." Bendy shifted his head ever-so-slightly out of Oswald's view.

"Why does it do that?" There was an awkward silence that draped over them all, Mickey and Gus behind them, listening to the conversation silently. It stayed like that before Bendy replied with;

"I dunno.." It wasn't much of an answer, but it seemed like it was the only answer, therefore, Oswald left it alone.

"So, are we gonna go, or?" Mickey added in awkwardly.

"Yeah, sure." Bendy replied, before standing up.

Oswald also stood up, catching another look at Bendy's ink-stained forehead. Mickey, Gus, and Minnie trailed behind Bendy and Oswald.

"Does anyone know which way to go?" Gus asked uncertainly.

Bendy only raised his hand. Everyone then followed Bendy. Oswald realized, with the rest of the toons, that Bendy traveled deep into the cursed forest.

"GAH!" Minnie jumped at a sudden sound coming from the bushes. Everyone turned around, except for Bendy.

"Leave it alone, what ever it is." Bendy stated firmly, he began walking again, the others rushing to get behind him again. After a while, they reached the end of the forest.

"How are we even going to reach the real world?" Bendy asked without much curiosity.

"Projector screens."

"Wha- okay, yeah." Bendy decided not the question Mickey's answer.

"The sooner the better, we go there, so when?" Bendy said to the group, not as bitterly as before, but it was still harsh.

Oswald looked at the other toons behind him, as if communicating with their minds, and he answered with; "How 'bout tonight?"

Bendy stumbled in shock, but regained himself.

"Tonight?!"

Oswald looked at the other toons for confirmation, They all nodded 'yes'.

"Yes, tonight." Bendy thought for a moment, going through his options.

He did say 'the sooner the better'.

"Well then. Take us to one of the projector screens." Bendy stated firmly, trying his hardest not to freak out.

"Right over there." Oswald pointed to a white screen, with a Mickey Mouse, on it.

'So soon!' Bendy panicked internally. He had to drag his feet in that direction. Once the reached it, Bendy asked.

"How does the thing work?"

"Well, they all have specific places they lead to, but some can take you to requested area!" Gus, chimed in, who was silent almost the whole time.

"O-oh. So, how to you do that?"

Gus explained, but Oswald, though intrigued, wasn't really listening. He was wondering was was so bad at this so-called Joey Drew Studios that had Bendy acting all squirrel-ly? Even though Oswald hadn't seen Bendy in a long time, he knew this was beyond out of character.

"Okay so, I just state, the place? No address, no nothin'?"

"Correct."

Oswald discreetly tucked the little paper, with the studio's address on it, into his back pocket. He might need it later.

"Okay, umm..." Bendy walked a little closer to the projector, partly to procrastinate.

"Joey Drew Studios?" The projector screen flashed a bright like, and then turned back to normal.

"Did it work?" Bendy looked over to Gus.

"Yeah, it should."

"And I just walk through, right?"

"Right."

Bendy turned back to the screen, and shook his head slightly, saying, rather to himself, but loud enough for the others to hear; "Here goes nothing." And Bendy, in one swift movement, was through the projector screen. Soon enough, Oswald, Gus, Minnie, and Mickey followed.

• • •

Bendy came through another projector, and landed on a cold gravel road. A road all-too familiar. He heard the others come in behind him.

"So, this is it?" Bendy looked down the road, to the old abandoned animation studio.

"Yeah, this is it."

"Well then, let's go!"

Mickey started practically skipping down the road, and the others had to jog to keep up. Once the reached the door, Mickey stopped his weird skip-walk thing. A hole formed in Bendy's gut. His hand's were shaking as he reached for the doorknob.

"Creeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaak..." The door made and ear-splitting creak, and they all looked inside.

It smelled musty, and like ink, the worst part is it smelled like fresh ink. Everyone split up. The Disney toons were all looking around, at old posters, chairs, the pipes, everything the abandoned studio had to offer! It went on for a while, all the toons coming out empty handed to why Bendy was acting so strange, well, at least Oswald was, until the heard Minnie's terrified shriek come from a few halls down.

Everyone ran to her aid. As they neared the source of the scream, Bendy felt ink begin to drip from his forehead, he fell behind the others, not wanting them to notice. Not wanting to be there.

Mickey was by her side first, he embraced her into a hug, and was about to ask her what happened, but his voice was caught in his throat.

The other's soon went to them, but all stopped, looking at one thing, with horrified and confused looks.

Bendy was inking badly. It was covering his whole face, and the ink slid down to add to the ink stains on the floor, which he focuses his gaze on, a few feet behind the toon's, keeping Boris's corpse, out of his sight.

Bendy slinked near the wall, hoping the shadows would consume him. Mickey was the first one to let any sound come out of his mouth.

"Oh my gosh.." He whispered, but it was quiet enough that everyone could hear.

"Bendy?" Oswald's voice cracked.

"Is, is this Boris?"