Neverending Loops

Chapter 10.

Unknown to the pair, they had been watched. Silently walking alongside them had been a toon, far more on model than that of Alice and Bendy. His name was Buddy, and that was all he could recall. He thought he knew the voices that he walked alongside, but it was a though his head was full of stuffing, thick and stifling his thoughts.

They seemed lost, and he contemplated assisting them for a brief moment. But if they were dangerous, he didn't want to risk it. Better to watch and wait. Even if they were dangerous though, it was getting easier to simply resort to violence. Creatures of both ink and flesh tore incredibly easy under knife sharp teeth after all.

It seemed that as time went on, the less Buddy remained. But Buddy Lewek was a fighter, for his mom, his grandfather, for Dot, who slipped away every minute he was trapped. That wasn't what he had to focus on right now though, as he heard the footsteps come to a stop.

Then screams filled his ears, forcing his to cover them with this hands, even is it did nothing. He heard everyone, and for a brief flickering moment, Buddy Lewek remembered.

But just as quick they were gone, filling his head back up with fuzz. He was Buddy, and he was Boris; stalking the intruders. Their voices rose and fell in conversation, before one got noticeably higher in volume. Then the other chimed in again, softer and reassuring. As the two newcomers' footsteps faded, laughter grew. Buddy wanted to know what was so funny.

. . .

They had found his old safehouse. It was strange to see other people find his scribbled writings on the wall and react, with sympathy. Buddy didn't need sympathy, did he? All he needed was to get out. Out of the the body that wasn't his own, back to everyone else. No matter how hard he tried to tell himself that, the thoughts would melt away into incomprehensible puddles.

Right now all he had to do was observe, then report back to Alice. She would know exactly what to do with the intruders on her level. The Angel was never violent towards him, only holding great distaste for the Demon. She could see easily through its lies and promises; for every favor it fulfilled, the Demon would take something far greater in return, forced by the Machine.

The two didn't seem to notice the door hidden under the paper collage, only accessible from behind the wall. From their muffled voices, it sounded like they were going to spend time getting some rest. Which meant Buddy could wait until they were asleep to determine the level of threat they fell under.

He found himself nearly nodding off as one of them hummed, keeping time with the Bendy clock he assumed still hung on the wall. But the tune eventually stopped, and the false Boris took that as his cue. The door made no noise as he opened it, footsteps light and quick. Living in the Studio had some advantages.

Buddy made his way through the small space quickly, finding all the doors save for the main entrance to be wide open. Coming to a stop in the doorway, Buddy felt his pie cut eyes widen in recognition. He knew them. He knew the intruders.

The one closest to him, in the hammock, was Henry; the friendly animator who normally hovered around Joey whenever he had the time to spare. When Buddy had asked about joining the team in the animation department, he'd immediately asked Joey to let him, looking excited as all get out to help him learn. Buddy smiled for the first time in a while at the brief flash of memory that he could hold on to.

The other person, farther away on the cot meant he had to walk further into the room without disturbing anything. He breathed out a silent sigh of relief when neither of the two stirred, then went back to his admittedly creepy staring.

It was none other than Mr. Joey Drew himself, the bright eyed owner of the Studio. He'd been teeming with energy every time Buddy had seen him, a wide grin of some variety spread across his face. He accepted every idea, no matter how outlandish they might have sounded to anyone else. Buddy appreciated that about him. The longer he lingered however, the more a feeling that wasn't fondness grew.