A Lonely, Sepia Melody[A BATDR Story]

Part 12

A small head was peeking around the side of the farmer's market stand, pie-cut eyes looking despondently up at the two as a pair of trembling gloved hands gripped the wooden posts. 

Charlie immediately let the pipe drop on his shoulder, blowing out a breath, "Oh, it's you." Just as he was in the middle of sliding the pipe across his back once more, Bonzy was stepping swiftly past him, shoving the box into his hands. Charlie nearly dropped the groceries as Bonzy quickly got on their knees in front of the toon with a wide grin on their freckled face.

"Baby Bendy!" Baby Bendy? "Where've you been little dude?" They held a hand out to Toon Bendy, who eyed them for a moment before turning to Charlie. The artist nodded to the small creature, trying to soften his expression. Soon after, Bendy quickly met with Bonzy, grasping their hands into his own gloved ones with a quietly cheerful whistle, now knowing that he was welcomed by the pair.

"At least we have him now," Charlie commented idly as he adjusted his grip on the box, sliding it under his arm as he reached out, resting a hand in between the two inky horns on Bendy's head. The toon whistled in contentment, nearly cat-like as Charlie gave him a pat, "everything under control now?" An affirming whistle and a thumbs up met Charlie's question and he nodded curtly, "good."

Bonzy got to their feet, reaching a hand out to Bendy and lifting him up as soon as the toon took their hand. Shortly after, Charlie was carrying their delivery, his pipe in his satchel, while Bonzy and Bendy whistled tunes to the tumbleweed breeze of Downtown, Bendy sat upon Bonzy's shoulders. Which really only put them about 2 inches above Charlie, stacked, so he took some pleasure in that.

After Bendy's... breakdown, Charlie was weary of touching him. Mostly worried about the repercussions both of them may experience due to it. It wasn't because Charlie blamed Bendy for the actions of the Ink Demon, they were two separate sides of a shared existence, unfortunately. The way Charlie sees it, the Ink Demon is what protects Bendy in times of great duress, but that doesn't mean the Ink Demon is of good intent. Bendy, however, is only mischievous at his worst.

As they made their way back up to the subway, Charlie on a keen lookout while the two carelessly whistled away and giggled in their own forms, he halted suddenly. They were at the top of the steps originally made to get into Downtown, overlooking the city. And there was a distinct sound around them.

Like bubbling ink and mocking whispers. It sounded like being slowly hunted. And Charlie knew what that sound meant. He quickly set the box down on the bench behind him, ready to warn Bonzy and Bendy when he heard a weird shout come from Bonzy. It sounded like a word but there was no way it was in English.

Charlie twisted around, spotting Bonzy kicking away at a muddled pile of mobile ink as it reached swollen arms out towards them and Bendy, who was settled on their hip and clutching Bonzy's neck tightly. Pipe aimed, Charlie swung downwards and smashed the blunt metal into the Searcher, sending it split into a mass of moving ink as it retreated.

Knowing the next few seconds were absolutely vital, Charlie quickly twisted around and plucked Toon Bendy out of Bonzy's arms, "get your ax," he warned, eyes darting around for a hiding place, "when there's one, there will always be more." There!

A pile of prettily-wrapped boxes sat in the corner of the room under a tree and Charlie darted over to it, securely clutching the shivering toon in his hold as he knelt down next to one of the boxes. He unwound one arm from around Bendy and immediately yanked the lid off one of the bigger boxes, the breath getting punched out of him as he tried to absorb the sheer anxiety that was thrumming into the toon's veins. Behind him, Charlie heard the shink! of Bonzy's ax while he felt the steadily bubbling getting louder around them.

"Easy," Charlie hummed as calmly as he could, releasing Bendy into the box and lifting the lid back up, "stay here, do not open this lid until I come to get you, stay calm." A weak whistle responded and Charlie gave Bendy one final pat in between the horns, making sure his tail didn't get caught outside, before shutting the box securely just as a cold sludge grabbed a hold of the back of his suspenders and satchel strap in one hold, yanking Charlie in a way that left him momentarily winded. Oh shit.

One second his lungs refused to suck in air and the next second Bonzy was cutting through the Searcher with their ax, completely severing the inky fist that dropped to the floor, leaving Charlie's back cold and wet as he twisted around and shoved himself to his feet, pipe in hand as he swung for the nearest moving mass of ink.

Within moments, the two were pressed against one another, back to back as they struck out at nearing Searchers and returned to each other's back for a safe spot, before striking again. It was an uncoordinated dance, but it was one Charlie was growing quickly accustomed to. Back to the way and fists to the enemy. Well, Charlie had put a pipe through a sludge of moving ink so it might be close enough.

"It's like being in an old action movie," Bonzy commented as they twisted away, kicking a Searcher up into the air away from Charlie's leg. Charlie huffed, snapping the pipe downwards into a bubbling puddle and kicking at it to split the thick ink apart.

"A movie, Bonzy?"

"Oh yeah! Well- movies in my time aren't the greatest but- Yes!" Bonzy cheered from behind Charlie, a flash of metal out of the corner of his eye as the sound of ink splashing against the wood floor boards felt sickening, "I wiped the gaping maw off that Kurwa!" The world melded together into ink splashing across white clothes and white skin, boots double and triple stained in dripping ichor that Charlie had to kick off against the grabbing hands and the yanking fingers because it wanted to drag him back into the ink and its painful sewing needles and devilish hammers against his skull. The thought only has him swinging harder.

"This one looks extra stuffed-!" A crude voice whispered over speakers in his mind- "Have you seen them? The swollen ones? They're just stuffed full of extra thick ink! Makes me sick!" He's gonna be sick, and Charlie doesn't even get the chance to do that either, because the next thing that comes out of Bonzy's mouth is a stricken word, "Gówno!" Charlie whips around, watching a heavy-set Searcher get Bonzy by their ax arm and trip them over the ground. They reach over, electricity sparking from their fingers only for a moment before the puddles reach for them like a line break in the dam and Charlie's desperation turns sharp.

Ramming his metal pipe into the swollen Searcher, he sends a heavy elbow into another moving mass of the ink. "Fucking hate-!" He swears vehemently as the pipe is yanked from his hold and he scoops up the fallen ax as he easily slices through ink because it's not skin, cutting away at the hands holding his friend down before going at the ones reaching for his knees and arms and neck. So. Many Hands.

Charlie ditches the ax momentarily, knowing that the Searchers can't retreat physical items with them, and frantically reaches for Bonzy, clasping arms with them and yanking them up. Bonzy holds on almost as tightly, sucking in breaths as they stumble away from the mass, Charlie curb stomping the reaching limbs the same way he, himself, had fallen victim to in the past. He finds his pipe in the mix and fends off hands while he can as the Searchers slowly retreat into their own puddles, giving him a moment to turn to Bonzy, checking them over in distress.

"Anything broken? Bent? Can you breathe?" Bonzy gives him a thumbs up and a stupid smile as Charlie runs searching hands over their arms and their ribs, checking for any hidden wounds. They're breathing as fine as they can be after just being nearly suffocated by ink so Charlie counts that as fantastic.

"Didn't know you cared so much, Charles," they coughed out, rubbing a hand over their neck as they did so. Charlie batted their fingers away, pressing two fingers against the side of their neck to feel the steadily thumping heartbeat. He ignored the comment wholly, not quite ready to give any response to them. Finally, after a few more seconds, he leaned out of Bonzy's space, satisfied.

"If you're well enough to joke, I'd say you're well enough to-."

A heavy feeling fell upon Charlie's back before he felt entirely and completely exposed to the action of being nearly torn in two. And he will say, the words fucking damn it, sped through his mind as he watched Bonzy's eyes go wide. Really it's one of the few times he's ever seen Bonzy look so stricken before and it will be one of the few times he will ever. Because turns out the Searcher that had gotten a hold of the ax had come back to try its luck again at the perfect moment.

It's funny how that works out.