My Little Devil Darling

What Hides Down Below

The Ink Demon roamed the studio, watching that dreaded Impostor and her new friends. They were getting close to his lair, too close. He was nervous; he held the one thing that could lead to his destruction, and he couldn't let that girl find it. He didn't want to get destroyed. Not without seeing his precious Charlotte one last time. He wished he could go home with her and rebuild their friendship together. Live a happy life with no one to stand in their way.

Bendy watched as the group wandered through the hall to his lair; the layout was scarcely similar to the first level of the studio. He made it that way: he wanted a taste of home if the studio burned. Luckily no one has ever complained about the stranded building; he doubts anyone even remembered the shows; all that work he did for nothing. The Ink Demon noticed a familiar face in the crowd: Sammy Lawrence. What was he doing with that Impostor? He remembered Sammy tried to sacrifice her to him before. Now he was being kind? Bendy couldn't make any sense of it: the director called her an Impostor and tried to get her killed. He was hurting. Why wasn't he feeling those things anymore? Bendy couldn't contain the confusion and punched the wall hard, causing the studio to rumble. He saw Sammy wrap his arms around the girl, protecting her from falling. He growled and left the group alone, returning to his lair.

Charlotte breathed a sigh of relief as the shaking stopped. She thanked Sammy for holding onto her. He hummed in response as they continued through the endless hallways, Allison and Tom following behind. The music director suddenly remembered the thought nagging away at his brain earlier and walked closer to Charlotte to gain themselves some privacy.

"I had a question," he started hesitantly, "Have there been other people helping you through the studio?"

He noticed the girl's nose twitch at the mention of other people, which confirmed his assumption.

"Did something happen to them? Did Bendy do something to them?"

Charlotte remained silent. Sammy huffed in frustration.

"I don't know how I expect to help you if I don't know why you're pushing me away. I agreed to assist you, and I want to protect you in case Bendy attacks you-"

"He's not going to attack me," Charlotte finally spat, startling Sammy, "He will remember me, and everything will be okay. Everything is perfect."

"You expect me to believe you made it all this way on your own? How long were those two with you?" He pointed back towards Allison and Tom.

"They may have kidnapped me after my slight incident with Susie after they-" Charlotte paused for a moment, then sighed, knowing she couldn't keep the truth from him any longer. "After they stabbed her through the chest, it only happened because she shielded me from the hit. Susie died to protect me, and I feel guilty about it."

"You saw the list in the Administration?" Sammy asked, "I heard you behind me. What, or I guess, who did you see?"

Charlotte hesitated, memories of his gruesome death flashing through her mind, "Norman Polk, The Projectionist, I first met him down in level 14 during one of Susie's many tasks. He was the only one who recognized me right away, and he helped me down there. I saw him again through an attraction, and he helped me again." She shows Sammy the bandages wrapped around her arms. "We had a run-in with the Ink Demon; I tried to get him to remember me, but he went to attack me. Norman pushed me into a Miracle Station and fought him on his own. And..."

Charlotte could feel the hot tears run down her face. She wiped them away as best as she could as Sammy held her shoulder, pulling her close. He could imagine what had happened after that; there was no need for the girl to continue. Sammy understood the pain she felt, the guilt of being saved by those who once loved her, dying the only outcome in this cursed studio.

He felt so alone when he drowned; Charlotte wasn't there to rid his mind of the insanity that grew inside him. For a long time, he thought she was dead. Then suddenly someone shows up who looks just like her? It felt like a trick. He felt so much pain and hatred that he couldn't help becoming this psychotic monster. Perhaps that's how everyone else felt? Was Bendy the root? Were his pain and loss reflecting off everyone tainted by the ink? Sammy didn't know. What he did know, however, was that Charlotte was alive, and he will help her convince the Demon as well.

After a few more twists and turns through the seemingly endless corridors, the group wandered across a hallway with a long, glass window overlooking another hallway. Inky shadows soon covered the walls, darkening the hall dramatically, and Charlotte saw Bendy emerge from the wall to the hall opposite them. Her first instinct was to knock on the window to get his attention but chose not to in case he could easily break it down. Instead, she stood still and watched as the Ink Demon limped across the hall only to disappear again on the other side. She sighed as Allison ushered her and the rest of the group toward their final destination.

"You'll see him soon, Charlotte," she said, rubbing the girl's back, "We're getting close. I can feel it."

"Is the word 'DEATH' a good sign for us?" Sammy commented, pointing ahead of him.

Sure enough, there was inky writing on the wall reading DEATH with an arrow pointing to the right. Charlotte's blood grew cold at the sight of the word; the ink looked wet too. She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until she felt pressure in her chest. Taking a deep breath, she continued forward ahead of the crowd. Hardly a minute passed before a dark doorway was spotted, and through it lay a giant inky lake and an even bigger Ink Machine-shaped castle. Charlotte stared wide-eyed, mouth open, at the scene in front of her. She took one step forward, only for her knees to buckle and send her faceplanting into the ground below. As she struggled to lift herself, her head became dizzy, and her vision blurred as the image ahead seemed to smear like a paint stroke over a wet painting. The pain became too much as Charlotte gave up trying to stand and passed out.

"Charlotte!" Sammy panicked as he ran to the girl's side, kneeling beside her to feel for breathing and a pulse.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he stood, facing Allison and Tom, who also held worried faces.

"She's alive," he noted, "Just fainted. Maybe it's the smell? Or got too overwhelmed?"

"Tom will lay with her against the wall until she wakes up," Allison stated as she motioned Tom to do just that and walked up beside the director, "I've never seen anything like this before. Have you?"

"I figured he'd have some sort of lair deep below the studio," he muttered, holding a finger on his chin in thought, "But I could have never imagined something like this. Who knows what it looks like on the inside."

They both walked ahead towards the inky lake, observing the surroundings.

"I don't see any way around," Allison stated, crossing her arms, "Nothing to build a raft with."

"I know how Charlotte is when it comes to the ink. I was the same." Sammy sighed, "Perhaps I could carry her across myself? I'd do anything to get her to Bendy and get her the hell out of here. I'm glad she's not awake, and I can say this: I'd die to save her if it means she gets to leave. I couldn't imagine her forced to stay down here like the rest of us, nor do I want to."

"Well," Allison started, wandering back to Sammy, "Nothing is certain until she wakes up. We'll have to wait. Can you handle that?" She jokingly elbows the inky man's arm.

Sammy chuckles softly, turning behind him to Charlotte sleeping peacefully alongside the serious wolf.

"That's no treble at all."