(1) Ink Distortion (BATIM/EPICMICKEY)

34- What's Left of Allison Pendle

"Have you guys seen Oswald, anywhere?"

"No, I haven't seen him since Wasteland...Why? Did—Did something happen?!" Mickey exclaimed.

"I..." Bendy trailed off. What did happen? Nothing good, that's for sure.

"I...Nothing happened, I just haven't seen him in a while."

It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth either. The machine had a grasp on Oswald.
Bendy could see it the moment the two made eye contact all the way back in the flooded hallway. He could see the look of not just horror, but a look of loathing...

Bendy almost swore he could see a swirl of ink surround the whites of his eyes, but he couldn't stick around long enough to really check.

What if the ink got to his head? What if the souls still trapped in it corrupted the rabbits mind? Then what would he tell the mouse?

The demon felt a clawing sensation from the inside of his chest and gut. The longer he'd been around the machine, the more stronger the mesh of souls melded with his ink had become, and they fought to release themselves.

Bendy clenched his teeth as the clawing turned into sharp stabbing. He smiled through the pain, discreetly hugging his torso in hopes of dulling it.

"Bendy, you alright, pal?" Mickey asked, ears flattening with concern.

So much for discreet.

"Yeah! Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Bendy flashed his signature grin which—back in the day, would have people of all genders swooning. "So, Henry..!"

Bendy quickly turned to face the tired man in an effort to change the subject.

"What brings you around these ol' parts?" Bendy said, forcing a playful laugh that racked his chest in pain as the sharp stabs continued on.

"That's...a long story..." Henry chuckled slightly, averting eye contact.

"Well, we got time, old man!" Bendy replied, anxious to make another conversation.

"Well, I just so happened to receive a letter from...Joey Drew 'imself. Say, have any of you folk happen to know where he went?"

The question floated in the air for a little bit, before Allison, surprisingly, spoke up.

"I remember bits and snippets of...what I'm assuming is a life before this one," She started, taking a step closer to be part of the little circle Henry and the toons had created.

"I remember pain, very vividly. I also remember Joey, and...Frankly it's all a blur. There was murder, that's for certain." She finished, leaving everyone stunned.

"There can't have been, actual murder, right—?" Henry protested, but was interrupted by our favorite dancing demon.

"There was. A lot more of it than you'd think."

"Wait, what exactly are you fella's saying?" Mickey asked, looking back and forth between Bendy and the woman.

"I—well..." Allison tried to answer, but found herself at a loss for words, so Bendy decided to chime in.

"It was a cruel human and toon experiment of sorts," Bendy began, taking a deep, shaky breath, "Joey tried to bring us to life, but the machine couldn't do it on it's own. He needed actual substance to support us...substance of the body...and soul."

"What exactly are you...implying?" Gus asked.

Bendy bit his tongue, "Remember that doctor guy at Disney?"

"Vaguely..." Mickey replied, and the other toons nodded in agreement.

"Doctor...Doctor Sherman something—Anyway, him and his team ran some tests on me, and figured it out."

"Figured—figured what out? And—And we didn't authorize any tests.!"

"I know, I know, like I was sayin'...They discovered...How do I say this..?" Bendy stalled, and the stares of anticipation burned into the demon's skull.

"Ink can't live on it's own, it needs help..." The demon reiterated.

"What kind of help?" Jiminy chirped.

"The physical base of a body would help," Bendy answered, anxiously intertwining his fingers, "When Joey created me, he used the limbs, and organs of...former employees. It—It was to replace the naturally created organs and bodily functions of normal toon."

"Are...are you saying that, I'm filled with the organs of murdered people?" Allison croaked, her hands cupping her mouth in shock.

"Even more than that...you are a dead person. I believe you are Allison Pendle."

"I—I'm...oh my god..!" Allison exclaimed, leaning back into a wall, delicately but firmly covering her eyes in hopes that the temporary blindness would make it all go away. Tom rushed to comfort her.

"It's...it's all coming back to me. The life, the job, Joey Drew...I—I..!" She stuttered in shock as the wave of forgotten memories hit her.

"If...if I'm Allison Pendle, then—then who are you?" Allison asked Bendy, and the demon knew what she wanted to hear. She also knew that what she wanted to hear, wasn't the answer.

"I'm...I'm a morbid collection of the animators who specifically worked with Bendy. I'm everyone, and no one at the same time." Bendy answered softly.

"So I'm alone...right?" Allison's soft, tender voice broke as she spoke.

"No, no, I think that, Tom here...was Tom."

Tom lifted his head, and looked back and forth between the demon and the angel, until he finally sighed, and nodded his head reluctantly.

"You knew?" Allison squeaked in shock.

Tom nodded in response.

"I—I...How did Tom associate with Boris?"

"I dunno...I think Tom was a janitor or mechanic or somethin'...I forget his last name." Bendy finished, and he relished in the newfound lightness that had come with lifting the weight of his past off his shoulders.

"Wait, Bendy...If the same thing happened to you, then why aren't I a toon? I'm just...Allison Pendle. I'm not Alice, but you...Your Bendy. Why is that?" Allison inquired.

"I...I don't know." Bendy answered in all honesty. He'd never really thought about it. He's just Bendy, not Norman, or Sean. Not even a mix of people. He's always just been Bendy.

And then Mickey Mouse answered, and a whole new set of undesired confusion flooded the air.

"I think I do."