✔️Ink Bendy x Reader - Alone Within the Ink #Wattys2019

The Lost Ones

7/6/19, Edited 7/30/19

You let out a small gasp as the inky figures that surrounding you not in a threatening manner, but in a curiously weary one. They just stood there, slightly swaying as if their inky limbs weren't fully capable of supporting their weight, or if the ink was just tearing away at their will to live and function. That seemed to be its tendency.

As they stood there, you slowly began to walk forward. Their sad, droopy eyes followed you relentlessly, but they moved out of your way as you walked closer. You stopped as you did so, realizing they might be more afraid of you then you thought.

Locking eyes with one of the inky people, you slowly turned to them and looked at them with remorse. Your hand slowly extended towards the creature, trying to reach out to him, but he quickly crumbled into a crouching position as he cowered. You heard its voice waver, "I just wanna go home. When can we go back home!?"

You slightly recoiled, not prepared to hear them speak as you had believed they were incapable of doing so. Nevertheless, their question rang in your head. Home....where was home? Was it in the studio? Was it somewhere outside, beyond the studio's door? Maybe it was something else, but it raised the question, where was yours?

Was your home in the studio with Bendy? Was it really your true home, or did you belong back outside in the world, miles away from the studio's door? Could it possibly be something else? If so, then what? Where did you belong, where was your purpose? Until you figured out the answer, you were just like the cowering creature of ink before you. Lost.

Realizing that, you sadly looked at the sobbing creature of ink as you crouched down to its level. You gently put your hand on its shoulder, causing it to flinch as its head snapped back up. Just like Bendy whenever he was frantic or upset, the ink of the creature's body had become runny from elevated emotions of distress.

Looking it sadly in the eyes, you quietly asked, "Are you lost?"

It hesitated before nodding in response.

Smiling sympathetically, you held out your hands to the creature. It eyed your pale skin, gently grabbing your hands and allowing you to help it to its feet. You started at it before turning your head around, looking at all of their eyes filled with dread as the creatures continued to stare helplessly at you.

Turning back to the creature that still gingerly held your hands, you sharply recoiled and took a step back. When you locked eyes with it once more, you didn't see an ink creature. You had seen a clear, spitting image of Bendy, looking just the same as he did before you first became separated from him.

Your heartbeat quickened as you tried to shake off the mirage. You knew for definite you hadn't actually seen the ink demon himself, so that wasn't what truly startled you. Your realization was what startled you, rocked you to the core. These ink creatures, these lost ones with their hopeless statures and weary eyes. Bendy was just like them, a Lost One.

Eyes that bore sadness. Bendy didn't have visible eyes, but you could just feel them. After seeing the Lost Ones, you knew his eyes would be exactly the same. Hopelessness. Loneliness above all else. That was Bendy once everyone abandoned him. Thought to be a heartless monster and left to wander the studio, also even knowing and seeing for himself that his best friend had been killed, torn to shreds. Seemingly so troubled, almost as if painfully confused and tormented. A perfect summary of Bendy's past. So painfully confused about why everyone left him when he was just a creature in the world like everyone else. So painfully tormented by the fact that he would be all alone in the studio forever, tossed aside by everyone that had claimed to love him.

Almost as if they were lost.... Bendy had been lost.

And so, regaining your composure as you looked once more into the sad, glowing eyes of the Lost One in front of you, you saw the group in a whole new light. Every one of them just like Bendy, every one of them just needing help, the smallest of hands to lend. They needed help, Bendy had needed help. This was something you would gladly do again.

You carefully brought the Lost One into a gentle but reassuring hug. It hugged back slowly, unsure if it was doing it correctly. "I promise, I'll help you all." You whispered. Pulling away from the hug, you turned to the rest of them. "I'll get you back home. I'll do it if it kills me."

And just like that, you knew their inner light had been rekindled. They seemed to perk up at the notion, their bodies straightening up slightly. They eyes glowed just a tad brighter and they didn't seem to sway as much. You were confused when they all gathered around you and bowed endlessly.

"Who are you?" You heard a female voice ask demandingly.

As the Lost Ones paid no attention and continued to bow, you saw that a small, rickety boat was now stationed at the dock. Having stopped at the end of the walkway, you saw a girl and a wolf standing on the shore that you had clawed your way onto. The girl had horns but bore no halo, so you weren't sure if she was the completed form of the Alice that tried to rip your face off. As for the wolf, he looked a lot like Boris, just a lot less friendly and he had a mechanical arm.

"Um, I'm (Y/N)." You responded nervously. "You aren't going to....kill me, are you?"

"Normally, the Lost Ones aren't too fond of newcomers down here, neither are we." She responded. "But they obviously see something in you they like, so there's probably no need." The girl didn't mention anything about what happened with the evil Alice Angel, nor did she seem particularly affected by your question. Maybe she wasn't Alice after all.

"So, who are you if you don't mind me asking?" You asked as you began to step forward. The Lost Ones stopped bowing, some moving out of your way if they need to, as they watched you converse with the two strangers.

"Oh, I'm Allison, and this is my partner Tom." She motioned to the wolf that stood beside her. Her name was kinda close to Alice, but since it wasn't exact, you determined she wasn't Alice. As for Tom....that definitely isn't anything close to Boris. "So, how did you get down here, (Y/N)? You don't look like a Lost One, let alone me or Tom for that matter."

"It's a long story." You answered simply before further saying, "I came here through the ink."

Allison gasped. "The ink!? And it freed you?"

"I escaped." You corrected firmly. "I tried like a bat outta hell to get out of it, and by some miracle I was able to crawl onto the shore."

"Incredible." She gawked. "The ink swallows all that steps foot in it, yet you somehow had the consciousness to fight back? And to not emerge as a Lost One at that?"

You shrugged. "I don't know how it happened. But no matter how I actually got out, all that matters is that I'm never leaving this place. I refuse to be recaptured by the ink that made me fight for my life." Turning away from them to look back at the Lost Ones, you finished, "And I refuse to leave these guys alone again. They need me, and I promised to help them even if it cost me my life."

"Even if it means going back into the ink?" Allison asked, posing a valid question. She took your troubled silence as a means to continue. "Nobody leaves this place ever. The Lost Ones come down only to stay lost. There's no escaping this place, no matter whether you're on the harbor or in the ink. We're all lost ones down here."

You hesitated, thinking for a moment before saying, "I fought against the ink and escaped, I survived. If I did it once, I can do it again. We can all do it." You sharply turned your head to look her dead in the eyes, determinedly declaring, "Just because you're lost doesn't mean you can't be found. The only lost ones here are the ones that won't fight back, the ones that don't have anyone to turn to. And now that I'm here, the Lost Ones can finally have someone to turn to."

"The Lost Ones can go back home."