Strange Ones: Volume 3

The Illusion

"Huh?" Bendy raised an eyebrow and gave his spear to his tail, which held his cherished weapon for him, looking around at his new environment.

The short, demon-like teen was surrounded by nothing but pitch black. There was no light, no sound and no one else. He could only see the darkness. He was only seeing a dark void. But as he walked, he could hear his own footsteps echoing loudly.

"Um..." Bendy clicked his tongue. "Uh, hello?" He called, but no one responded. So, he yelled louder. "Hey! Is anyone here besides me?"

Still, there was nothing. Bendy didn't hear a reply, or a laugh or a cry for help. It was all nothing but black and silence. As he walked further, he suddenly felt himself accidentally hitting his head on something hard. He let out a yelp and rubbed his forehead to ease the pain. But when he opened his eyes, they widen when he sees in own reflection in what seems to be a mirror.

"Okay, this is starting to get creepy." Bendy crossed his arms and looked around at the darkness. "Ugh. Some stupid Strange One must be using their illusions on me. Whoever is doing all of this, I'd like you to stop! I think it's better if I go back to reality so I can-"

When he looked back at his reflection, his red eyes were now facing a more horrifying version of himself. It was Bendy, but leaking from his head and eyes was a black liquid that stained his clothes. Some of it was even trickling down his mouth and behind him was his spear, which was in pieces. Even his gloves were ripped and his goggles were missing their lenses.

The short Monster let out a scream of shock, falling onto his back. With his crimson eyes wide again, Bendy watched as his reflection placed both his hands on the mirror's glass. Snatching his spear from his tail, he aimed it's sharp point at his reflection as his hands shook.

"This...this isn't real!" He shouted. "You're not real, right?! Please tell me you're not real!"

Bendy let out a whimper from the moment he spotted his reflection curl his right fist into a ball. Then, the reflection began to pound on the glass with his fist. The short teen stood up and aimed his spear at the mirror, which began to show a small crack. As the reflection repeatedly pounded on the glass, the crack grew bigger and bigger until suddenly, the mirror shattered to pieces. With that, Bendy fired his spear at the now-broken mirror. But nothing came out.

"What the...?" Bendy raised an eyebrow at the broken glass.

But then, he flinched when he felt someone tap his left shoulder. His crimson eyes widen again and he slowly turned around, only to find what seemed to be a taller version of himself. From his forehead, eyes and mouth trickled the same black liquid that was leaking out from the reflection's body. His red irises glowed and his scleras were nothing but voids of black. A set of sharp teeth were visible in his mouth. His gloves were ripped, exposing his fingers, and his whole attire was stained by the strange black that oozed out of everywhere.

"Hey, buddy..." The tall figure said in a dark and creepy voice.

Letting out a scream, Bendy aimed his spear at the figure and fired. But when it struck him, he didn't fall over. The blow just left a big hole in his chest, but it slowly closed up. This left the teen shaking with fear, he even dropped his favorite weapon. He slowly walked five steps backwards, only tripping on the floor and falling onto his rear. The taller and creepier version of himself approached him with the scariest smile on his face.

"Did you miss me?" The horrifying version of himself said.

"Stay back!" Bendy shouted, using his right arm to protect himself. "I-I'm warning you!"

"Oh, is that fear I smell?" The tall figure violently stomped his foot onto the short one's chest. 

The demon-like Monster's eyes widen when the taller figure's right arm turned into a sharp weapon. The tall one lifted an arm, but before he could strike him, Bendy was hit with something cold and wet. With that, he opened his eyes and jolted, only to find himself lying down on a bench inside Team USA's locker room. Surrounding him was Alex, Jonas, Michael, Clarissa, Nona and Ren. He placed a hand on his face, then put both on the top of his hair, finding that his hair was wet. He looked at the humans who surrounded him, only to find Ren holding an empty plastic bottle over his head.

"Did you just spill water on me?!" Bendy said with a glare on Ren, who gave him a shrug and a nervous laugh.

"Are you okay?" Alex tilted her head.

"What the heck do you mean by that?"

"You passed out during your fight with Team Austria." Nona explained. "But despite that, you guys won."

"Yeah." Clarissa nodded. "Petra and Weiss gave Aria a powerful blow that was enough for them to win."

"Speaking of Petra and Weiss, where are they?" Bendy asked.

"Those two brought Sans to the cafe." Jonas answered. "They thought getting him an iced coffee could spark him out of exhaustion."

"I passed out during battle." He looked down at his hands. "How?"

"Honestly, we don't know." Ren shrugged again. "You were about to fire at Aria until you suddenly fainted. After you guys won, we had to take you here."

"After we arrived," Michael crossed his arms. "You started screaming and squirming in your sleep. You were like, "You're not real! You're not real!" during that nap of yours. What were you even dreaming about anyway?"

"I..." Bendy stopped to think about the dream he just had. The thought of seeing that horrid face gave him the urge to shudder. "It...it was just one of those stupid nightmares. It's gone now, so there's no need to worry. What matters now is that I'm okay. I just..." He let out a sigh, and the others just gave him confused looks.

"Let's just go, guys." Alex said. "He just needs some space."

Soon, Bendy watched as the six humans that surrounded him made their way out of the locker room. He watched as they walked out of the room one by one until they were out of his sight. Letting a sigh escape his lips, he lied down on the bench again and thought, What just happened?