Bendy and the Imp's Survival

Episode Eight: Elevator Straight to Hell (Or Close To It)

(Warning: this is a ridiculously long chapter. I even lopped out most of the canon events and it's STILL over 25 pages long. It's like a super special that I didn't intend to be a special at all. BATIS the movie? I don't know, take it anyway-
Also, TW for source events.)

"Oh, crumbs..."
Moxxie grit his teeth, his tail lashing furiously as he stared at the broken wooden portion of the wall-the end result of something trying to break in to the safehouse. Boris was going to freak when he saw this.
"Hoookay," he heard Henry say behind him. "What do we do now?"
"We have to go."
"We can't leave Boris-"
"We can't exactly stay here either, now can we?!"
Henry raised his hands when Moxxie spun towards him, likely in an attempt to pacify the agitated imp. "If Boris comes back and we're not here, he's going to panic. We should wait here."
"What if it comes back?!" Moxxie violently motioned towards the broken boards as he spoke. "What if it attacks before he returns?!"
"Then we block off this room."
"And then-"
"And then as soon as he comes back, we leave."
Moxxie ran a hand along one of his horns as he looked back at the wall. "I don't like this. It could break down the door. I don't feel safe."
A gentle hand on his shoulder made him flinch and look up. Henry gave him a reassuring smile when their eyes met.
"We'll be fine," he said. "Don't worry."
"You don't kn-"
"I do."
Moxxie grumbled slightly, doubt still nagging at his mind. Henry patted his shoulder (which was a nice different surprise from the shake he was expecting) before stepping away.
"Come on." The older man grabbed the nearby trunk and started dragging it towards the doorway. "Help me out here."
Moxxie dashed to the other side of the trunk and pushed against it until it was up against the wall, then ran off to grab a chair from the "kitchen". He and Henry stacked as many things as they could on top of the trunk until they were sure the items would buy them enough time to wait for Boris and talk him into leaving. Henry gave the imp an exhausted thumbs up, they turned away-
And there was Boris, items in hand and looking very confused. "What're you...?"
"Boris, we need to go." Henry walked over and put his hand on the toon wolf's shoulder. "It's not safe here anymore."
"He-Henry's right." Moxxie stepped up next to the human to physically back him up. "Something tried to break through the wall in that room. They would have succeeded, too, if something hadn't come along to distract it."
Boris looked from Henry to Moxxie, his ears slowly going back. "I don't get it. Why do we need to...?"
"Did you not hear me?!" Moxxie motioned to the stack of items. "Do you think we did that for FUN?!"
"Easy, Moxxie," Henry warned. "Boris, trust me. I saw the aftermath. This isn't just Moxxie being paranoid. This was a real attack."
Boris looked conflicted now. "...One more day?"
"Today."
"In a few hours?"
"Now."
"But I'm hung-"
"For Hell's sake, Boris!" Moxxie growled. "We can find another safehouse!"
"Heaven's sake," Henry corrected the imp (who rolled his eyes). "But he's right, Boris-we can find another safe space. We've been here too long, we've made too much noise, we put a target on your back."
Boris whined slightly and looked down at the cluster of items in his arms, then at his friends. The fact that they were both pretty clearly freaked out seemed to finally sell him on the idea.
"Fine," he said with a heavy sigh. "We'll go. I think I know where one is anyway."
The sound of something smashing through the wall in the blocked-off room made Moxxie jump. "Just in time," he mused. "Let's get out of here."
"What should we take? Food?"
"You and your-" Moxxie growled. "Fine! Grab food! Just hurry up!"
"We can go without food," Henry said gently. "Moxxie, is your pipe nearby?"
Moxxie nodded and darted off to get it when Henry motioned him away. The trio gathered what they'd need in nervous silence before they went to the door-and didn't get far.
"The lever's missing," Henry said (most likely thinking out loud). "Where did it go?"
"I-I hid it away," Boris said nervously.
"Where?"
The toon shrugged, hunching his shoulders and glancing around nervously. It was clear the shrug was a silent lie. He knew where it was, he just didn't want to tell them.
Henry crossed his arms. "Boris..."
"Okay fine, it's in a tool box!" The toon spoke quickly. "I hid it b'cause I thought having it in the door would make it easier for something to get in!"
"How can something get in from the other side of the door?" Moxxie asked.
"That's not the point. Can we have it back, please?"
Boris nodded regretfully and walked over to the table, reaching under the chair. He pulled out a small tool box, grabbed the lever inside, then closed the box again and brought it with him.
"What?" He asked defensively when Moxxie raised an eyebrow at him.
"You're bringing that...Why?"
"It could be helpful!"
"Uh huh. Unlock the door."
Henry moved aside as Boris moved to do so, sticking the lever back in place and pulling it down. He then backpedaled away from the door as it slowly swung open. The fearful look on his face said it all: "I don't want to take the lead".
To be frank, Moxxie didn't either.
"Sir...?" The imp gave Henry a slightly hopeful look. "Could you lead the way?"
Henry seemed caught between yes and no, starting to answer and then stopping himself the same second. Eventually he nodded and motioned for Moxxie's pipe (which he gave up, albeit very reluctantly).
"Let's see what's out there," he said. "Don't wander off."
Moxxie raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know where we're going?"
"I do!" Boris chirped.
Whatever was banging around in the blocked-off room stopped suddenly. The feeling of being watched sent chills down Moxxie's spine. Whatever was in there probably couldn't see them, but it was certainly listening for them.
Boris seemed to suddenly change his mind about not taking the lead and bolted out the door. Moxxie ran off after him and grabbed his arm to stop him just as Henry showed up.
"What did I say about not wandering off?" The man asked, clearly frustrated.
"I'm sorry!" Boris whimpered. "It scared me!"
"Bolting may have saved us when there were just two of us, Boris," Moxxie said. "But now there's more. When he says 'don't wander off', that means stay close. Even if you get scared. Alright?"
Boris nodded, clearly near tears. Moxxie patted his arm. "Let's keep going."
Boris' ears pricked suddenly. "Wait! My bone!"
"Your what?"
"I had a bone-I'll be right back!"
"Boris, we just said-"
Moxxie smacked his forehead as the cartoon wolf darted off back the way they'd come, then ran off after him. Boris was already moving things away from the door when he arrived.
"Boris, stop!" He tackled him back as well as he could. "You can't go in there! Are you crazy?!"
"My bone!" The wolf toon whined. "I need my bone!"
"We'll get you a new bone! Get away from there!"
"I want my-"
A large gloved hand punched through the boards, making Boris yelp and scurry away at last. The hand pulled more of the door away as it drew back and a familiar grinning face greeted the two when the Ink Demon poked it's upper half through the hole.
"How did he get in here?!" Boris yelped.
"It must have broken through the wall-get OUT! Get out!!"
Boris went for the door out again as the Ink Demon started climbing out of the hole faster than Moxxie thought it could. He ran for the door himself and tripped when his hoof caught a gap between the floorboards, landing on his face. Mentally cursing, he pushed himself up and froze when a shadow fell over him; causing him to turn around against his better judgement. The Ink Demon took it's moment of opportunity to lunge, he ducked and covered his head with his arms, oh fuck, here we go again-
Someone hauled him up by one of his horns and he found himself under their arm, the environment around him a blur. Twisting around, he hitched onto their shoulder and looked over it back towards the safehouse. There was no sign of the Ink Demon giving chase.
It wasn't following them. 'Why does that disturb me?'
"Okay, you two. New rule." Who Moxxie now realized was Henry set him back on the ground and handed him back his pipe, which he was grateful for. "If you aren't going to stick with me, you stick together. Got it?"
Boris and Moxxie both nodded, the toon wolf looking apologetic.
"Good. Then let's press on."
Boris took the lead again, Moxxie falling back beside Henry. The toon wolf leading the way suddenly pricked his ears and sped over towards a familiar tall box. "Hey, look! A Miracle Station!"
"Looks pretty battered," Moxxie noted, stopping a little ways away from it. "Who even makes these?"
"The angel did."
Boris and Moxxie both looked to Henry-one looking terrified, the other confused. "Who?"
"Er-no one." Henry rubbed the back of his neck. "It's-no one."
Moxxie started to reply when the feeling of being watched washed over him. He glanced around before shooing Boris onward again, eager to get away from the invisible eyes.
"It gets dark up ahead," Henry noted when they came across a dark hallway. "Let's find some light."
"I can lead," Moxxie offered.
"I'm afraid of the dark," Boris whined.
Moxxie facepalmed.
"There's a flashlight right here." The human held it up for Moxxie to see. "We'll use this, you can scout ahead."
"With the hallway's twists and turns? Nooo thank you."
Henry snorted a laugh and Moxxie motioned Boris foreword, into the dark. "Don't be scared, Boris," the man said. "I'll keep the light on you two so you don't get lost."
Boris' tail wagged slightly, though even with the reassurance he slowed down a little. Moxxie put a hand on his arm to urge him on and gave him a smile when he looked down.
Footsteps running around over their heads made Boris flinch and look around while Moxxie glanced upwards, then back at Henry. The human nodded-he'd heard it too.
"Did you hear that?" Henry asked Boris. The toon wolf glanced back fearfully and shook his head.
"Yeah, me either."
"I don't think-" Moxxie cut himself off with a shake of his head. "Never mind."
They came into a well-lit portion of the hallway once again at last-and hit a dead end. A huge metal door had them blocked off and there was no visible lever to get it open again.
"Another dead end," Henry noted. "I don't see any other way through."
Moxxie eyed the large hole in the wall directly next to the door (presumably where the lever used to be). "I do."
"I don't think Henry can fit through there," Boris said. "If you can, maybe you can get the door open again!"
Moxxie looked back at Henry, who nodded. The imp set down his pipe and made his way into the gap in the wall.
"It's...Really loud in here-OW!" He winced when he smacked his head on something solid and ducked under it. "Also very dark. I can't tell if it goes anywhere, though I found some dead wires, the lever may have been here."
"Don't touch them!" Henry warned.
"I'm not, I'm not."
"Is there another way out to the other side?"
Moxxie squinted into the darkness. "Doesn't look like it."
"Then get out of there! It's not safe!"
The imp rolled his eyes slightly and turned around, carefully working his way back out from the gap. He dusted himself off in annoyance. "Do you have any better ideas, Boris?"
Boris grinned and nodded, then motioned for Henry's flashlight. He then wrenched the nearby vent open and shone the light inside. "Here's another way."
"Er...I don't think he'll fit through there, either."
"No, but we will!"
"I'll catch up with you," Henry reassured Moxxie.
"We don't even know where it goes!"
"I think I do." Boris turned to Moxxie, unintentionally shining the flashlight in his eyes as he did so. "I've used vents to get around before!"
Moxxie crossed his arms and drummed his fingers, staring at the vent like it was going to bite him. Henry's hand appearing on his shoulder made him jump and turn around.
The human hid a smile before he spoke. "If you're nervous about the vent, you can stay with me."
"But Boris-"
"Can manage himself. Right, bud?"
Boris saluted Henry in a cartoonish way. Moxxie snorted a laugh. "Alright, fine, go..."
Boris crouched down and crawled into the vent, it's cover clanging shut behind him absurdly loudly. Moxxie picked up his pipe again and leaned back against the door.
A brief awkward silence fell before Moxxie cleared his throat. "Hey, uh...Sir?"
"Henry."
"That too. About yesterday-"
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
Henry pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry about what happened the other day. I've been stuck in this loop for a long time, I was hoping you were my way out."
"Yeah, that's...That's what it was for me too."
Another awkward silence. Moxxie rubbed the back of his neck. "How did this...Thing, this time loop-how did it happen?"
Henry shrugged.
"How do we contact the outside world?"
He shrugged again. Moxxie sighed. "I guess I'm not going to be getting answers from you..."
The door behind him suddenly started to shake. Moxxie jumped and moved away from it, almost tripping over his tail in his haste. The door opened with a painful shrieking sound, making him cringe and cover his ears.
"That...Was...Louder than I expected, unholy Heaven." The imp rubbed his ears as he spoke, glaring at the doorway.
"Everything in here is loud," Henry said, an amused tone in his voice. "You learn to get used to it."
"Remind me to stay away from the doors next time."
The human outright laughed at that. Moxxie grit his teeth and led the way through.
Two double archways later, the duo came across a room so big Moxxie had to crane his neck to see the ceiling. Wooden airplanes hung suspended from the ceiling, a massive plush of Boris slumped against the wall, there were cutouts everywhere and two staircases half-wound around a huge pillar with a giant sign reading "HEAVENLY TOYS" on it. Moxxie turned in a semicircle to take it all in as Henry spoke, his tone mirroring Moxxie's own awe: "wow, I don't remember any of this."
"You haven't seen this before?" Moxxie turned to the human. "Seriously?"
"If I have, I can never remember."
The idea of losing the memory of a place like this in the time loop made the imp shiver. 'What could have happened to make him forget this?'
The duo made their way to the staircases, Moxxie almost tripping over his tail multiple times as he looked around the place. Heavenly Toys was huge. There was so much to look at! It took almost tripping up the stairs to make him stop.
The sound of a voice humming made the imp and human freeze. Moxxie tightened his grip on his pipe and looked for the source, only to almost jump out of his skin when he was met with big black eyes. There was a giant print of Bendy on the back of the Heavenly Toys pillar.
"You're jumpy," Henry teased him.
"Do you want to explore the rest of this by yourself?" Moxxie turned to him with an angry lash of his tail. "Because I will go back and try to find Boris again."
"Uh huh."
"Lead the way, oh smartass one."
Henry made his way past Moxxie through the door at the top of the stairwell (that looked more like a hole busted through the wall). Moxxie grumbled to himself and pantomimed doodling on the floor with his metal pipe before his companion made his way out again. "You're going to want to look at this."
Curious, Moxxie followed Henry through the door again. The human motioned to a row of shelves full of toys blocking both a doorway and what looked like a little side office.
Moxxie groaned and rubbed one of his eyes. "Of course the way is blocked..."
"Why is there always something blocking the door?" Henry ran his fingers through his hair in a stressed-out way as he spoke. "There's gotta be a way through..."
"It looks like they're mobile." Moxxie put his pipe on a nearby half-table and wandered over to the shelves. "See? There's wheels on the top of the thing. Which means we should be able to-"
He cut himself off when the first shelf he yanked on didn't budge. "Which means we should be able to...Um."
The second shelf he pulled on didn't budge. Neither did the third. He tried pushing on the one at the end of the row and wound up falling over in the process, knocking loose a few stuffies-but the shelves didn't move. Growing frustrated, he turned to tell Henry he had no idea what to do, only to find he was gone. "Oh for-WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT NOT WANDERING OFF?!"
He heard the man's laugh from somewhere in the hallway and his companion appeared in the doorway. "I'm sorry! I figured I'd try to find something that could help while you pushed-"
"DON'T TELL ME THAT, EH?!"
Henry tried to force an apologetic smile as the imp lashed his tail. "L-Look, just give me a moment, okay?"
"Hurry up! I'm going ahead without you next time."
The human disappeared into the hallway again. Moxxie crossed his arms and fumed to himself until a flash of light at the corner of his eye caught his attention. What he thought was a trail of ink turned out to be a wire running from some kind of machine to something around the corner of the doorway. A live wire, by the looks of it.
Henry made his way back into the room as Moxxie fought with something caught in one of the machine's cog. "What're you doing?"
"Check th' other machine," he grunted in response.
"Why?"
"Humour me."
Henry shrugged and walked off to do just that as Moxxie freed what he was fighting with. Upon closer inspection, he found it to be the stiff leg of a toy. How that got in there, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
The second cog had something a little more sensible stuck in it-a toy plane. One of the wings broke off when Moxxie pulled it free but he must have done something right, the cogs were turning smoothly now (which is odd, considering the entire place was covered in cobwebs so who knows how long they were stuck like that).
"You freed your side?"
Henry's voice coming from behind him made the imp jump away and trip over his tail, landing hard on the floor. He swatted Henry's hand away when he reached out to help him up.
"Just clear the stupid doorway," he snarled. "I want out of here."
Henry raised his hands in defeat and pulled the nearby lever. Old mechanisms shrieked and groaned, the mobile shelves heaved, and with a lurch the three blocking the doorway moved over one. Moxxie took his chance and jumped into the now freed little side space.
It looked more like an office now that he got a better look. The ink-stained desk held nothing but an ink blot in the shape of Boris, an inkwell and a tape recorder.
"Ah, Shawn Flynn's thing."
Henry's voice coming from behind again Moxxie made him jump and turn around. "Will you stop doing that?!"
The human laughed and raised his hands in surrender. Moxxie took the silent apology and turned back to the ink blot, giving it a curious poke. It melted down suddenly and transformed into the shape of an angelic character. 'Strange.'
"What even is this?" He asked Henry when he reached over him to grab the recording device.
"Just an ink blot." Henry shrugged. "Shawn worked with ink an awful lot, for all I know that's what became of him."
Moxxie poked it once more. This time when it melted down, it briefly took on the shape of a human skull before transforming into the ink machine.
Something about the visual made Moxxie eye Henry worriedly. Could that have been a threat towards him? A warning?
'Or maybe I'm just taking this sentient ink thing too far.'
Rolling his eyes, Moxxie left the office to pull the machine's lever again and free up the doorway. Henry noticed just in time and ducked out before he could get trapped in "Shawn Flynn's thing" by one of the moving shelves.
Beyond the doorway was an audience room facing a door with a star on it behind a glass window. A slew of plushies sat on a shelf off to one side and a cutout of an angelic character stood on the other-both of them also behind panes of glass. Moxxie started making his way towards the cutout when the lights suddenly went out.
He backed up towards his human friend as several TV screens in the front corners of the room turned on, giving off just enough light to screw with his ability to see in the dark. "What the Heaven?!"
"Can you see anything?" Henry asked.
"No, I-how do you know I can see in-?"
"Your eyes glow in the dark."
"What does THAT have to do with-"
A lighthearted female voice started singing, cutting off the imp. He tightened his grip on his pipe to the point that his knuckles turned grey. The entire room felt like it was holding it's breath while the character sang.
A light turned on in the star room, illuminating the door behind it. Moxxie jumped and put a hand to his chest, then started to comment on it when-
"I'M ALICE ANGEL!!"
Moxxie shrieked and jumped into Henry's arms as a twisted-looking human appeared in the window, slamming her hands against it until it shattered. The imp dropped his pipe and used his arms to shield both him and his human companion from the rain of glass.
The room was shrouded in darkness again when he lowered his arms, though this time there were no TVs on to mess with his ability to see in the dark. He locked eyes with a woman that looked horrific enough to have crawled straight out of Hell. The woman smirked and Moxxie felt a chill run down his spine.
"You can see me," she said.
"I-I can. What're you-"
"Shhh..." The woman took a step foreword. "Quiet, little demon."
"Excuse m-" he swatted Henry's shoulder. "Back up, back up! Don't let her touch you!"
"How lovely," the woman purred, stepping foreword as Henry took a step back. "Some new flies in my endless web."
She backed Henry up against the wall, ignoring Moxxie's warnings to give them space. She reached out for the man's neck, carefully trailing her fingers under his chin. Henry tightened his grip on Moxxie and the woman chuckled darkly.
"Come along now," she purred. "Let's see if you're worthy to walk with angels."
"Get away from me," Moxxie snarled.
The woman laughed and poked the place where his nose would be, then flinched back when he swiped at her with a clawed hand. Smirking, she waved at Henry and made her way out the side door.
The lights flickered back on as Henry knelt down, letting Moxxie stand on his own hooves again. He gunned for his pipe before turning to his human companion. "Are you okay? Did her touch hurt you?"
Henry rubbed at the place where the "angel" touched him and looked at his hand when it came down. His eyes widened fearfully. Moxxie started making his way over to him to ask again when he stuffed his hand into his pocket and walked past him without a word.
The duo were quiet for another several moments. Moxxie let Henry take the lead and wisely kept his mouth shut, even when he led him through an ink-soaked path messily labeled 'DEMON'. (Though he did make a mental note to ask why since the 'ANGEL' path was much cleaner and more put-together.)
During a longer stretch down a hallway, Moxxie finally decided to speak up. "Sir, are you okay?"
"That shouldn't have happened."
"I'm-what?"
"She's never done that before."
"Spoke to you?"
"No, the-why are things changing suddenly?" Henry ran his fingers through his hair, looking stressed. "First Bendy acts up, then you arrive, then she-the only one who hasn't started acting off is Boris!"
"Don't you think that's a good thing?"
"It's never good when things change like that. It means he's planning something."
"Who?"
He didn't answer. Moxxie rubbed the back of his neck, then cleared his throat.
"Well, for what's it's worth...I'm willing to stick by you for it."
"Why."
"It's-I, well-just figured I'd-you're my best shot at getting any answers out of this, alright?"
Henry laughed a little and playfully nudged his shoulder. "You like me, do you?"
"We could be beneficial to each other, that's all!"
"Whatever you s-"
A Bendy cutout suddenly poked it's head around the corner, making the two flinch. Moxxie motioned Henry back and drew his pipe before stalking over to check it out. A snickering wolf hiding behind the corner was not what he expected.
"ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS RIGHT NOW?!"
Boris barked another laugh and raised his hands to try and pacify the imp as he started ranting at him. He only went quiet again when Henry finally arrived.
"Boris!" The man let out a shaky sigh. "You scared me to death!"
Boris snickered again. Moxxie hissed at him.
"I hope you found something we could protect ourselves with."
"Actually, I did!" Boris reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pipe labeled GENT. "This was just layin' around but I thought it could be useful."
Henry gently took it from the toon wolf and gave it a few practice swings. "This will do."
One winding room stuffed with toys and knickknacks (and enough loudly ticking clocks to give Moxxie a migraine) later, the trio found themselves looking at a large elevator. Moxxie perked up a bit at the sight. "Hey Boris, that kind of looks like yours."
"It's huge!" The wolf rushed over and skid to a stop at the gates, his eyes wide. "You could fit the whole studio in here!"
"That was probably the point, Boris," Henry said with a laugh. "A lot of people used to work here."
Boris grinned back at his human friend. "We should use it!"
"Where would we even go?" Moxxie asked.
"I have a few ideas!"
The imp shrugged somewhat uneasily. "I don't see why not, I guess..."
Boris hit the button to open the elevator doors and went inside. The thing swayed a little uneasily and bumped against the floor with his added weight. Moxxie swallowed hard and pulled at his bowtie. 'This thing feels like a death trap.'
He decided to hug the wall for the trips. The less chance there is of them falling to their deaths, the better.
"You're so interesting," a female voice spoke over some kind of intercom as soon as Henry entered the elevator. "So different. I have to say, I'm an instant fan."
"Thank you?" Moxxie said in confusion.
"Looks like you've got a date with an angel!"
"No thanks, I'm married."
Moxxie and Henry shared a look as they spoke at the same time, then laughed. The female on the intercom groaned before regaining her composure.
"Come to me now, level 9. Just follow the screams."
"Wh-What screams?" Boris whimpered.
"Don't worry, Boris." Henry rubbed the toon wolf's head, making him move closer. "She's just trying to scare us, that's all."
The elevator started moving with that, making Moxxie flinch and bolt towards a corner.
The three went down to level 9 in silence. That coupled with the elevator shuddering to a stop like it was on it's last legs didn't do much for Moxxie's nerves.
"That thing is going to send it's occupants plunging to their deaths one day," he grumbled as he left it. "I just know it."
"Me too, buddy."
Moxie stiffened and turned to Henry. "Please don't tell me it falls during this loop."
Henry didn't answer. Moxxie grinned in an "oh fuck" kind of way. "We're using the staircases from now on."
They made their way up to a little landing under a giant angels head with a banner reading "SHE'S QUITE A GAL!" under it. The metal door beneath that slowly groaned open and Boris' ears pinned back against his head. Moxxie gave him a curious look and was about to ask about it when the toon wolf bolted through the gap between the doors.
"I swear to fuckin' Satan-BORIS!!" Moxxie ground his teeth as he ran after the wolf. "Do you forget rules that easily?! You're almost as bad as my boss at this point, what the Heaven is wrong with y-"
He cut himself off when he caught up with the toon wolf...In a room full of mutilated copies of him, all of them tied down on upright tables. Moxxie's stomach turned over as he looked around at them all. "Oh what the fuck...? What the fuck?"
"This is what the angel does." Boris looked over at the horrified imp, his expression unreadable. "To all of us. There's not just me in here."
He was right, Moxxie realized. There were also other very disturbing toons around, also torn open and left tied up. "Satan...Boris, I am so sorry-"
"These are the screams she was talking about."
Moxxie bit his lip and went quiet, catching on that he wasn't helping. A hand on his shoulder made him look up. Henry motioned to a nearby wooden board bridge. "This way."
"Should we really be crossing those things?" Moxxie asked, following the path with his eyes. "It doesn't look safe."
"I could carry you across-"
"No, no, I'll walk."
He led the way over to the board and hesitantly tapped it with his hoof. Then he put all his weight on it. It held and didn't even bend under it, though it definitely bent when Henry joined him. The groan of the thing made him grit his teeth with anxiety.
He rushed to the other board and turned to wait for his other companions, only to find Boris wasn't following them. He tapped Henry's arm and motioned to the toon wolf when he was close enough. "What about him?"
"You don't want Boris to come with us," Henry replied.
"We can't just leave him by himself!"
"He'll meet us in the elevator." The human gave him a little push. "Now go."
Moxxie wanted to argue, but the wolf's expression still haunted him. Besides, with all these clones around...No. It was better if he didn't meet this "angel".
"Look around," a childish female voice came from another intercom. "It took so many of them to make me so beautiful. I had to do it! She made me!"
Moxxie turned to ask who "she" was, then bit back the question for another time. At a time like this, it was best to keep going.
They came to a second landing after a few more perilous balancing acts on more wooden boards. The floor felt too stiff under Moxxie's hooves now, so he jumped up and down to remedy it-then snapped at Henry when he snickered at him. He had to admit he probably looked like a fool but his nerves were already grated, let him be!
A nearby doorway with pained gargling sounds coming from a corner led the two to where the "angel" was, standing at a control box with a fucked-up cartoon tied to a surgery table nearby. The woman waited until the two were close enough to her windowed-off space before she spoke.
"Now we come to the question...Do I kill you? Tear you both apart to my heart's delight?"
Moxxie eyed the smelly barrel near him nervously and shifted closer to Henry. "You...Certainly are ready to, aren't you?"
"The choices of the beautiful are unbearable," the angel went on, evidently ignoring him.
"Must be easy for you, then," Henry muttered.
The angel was clearly getting aggravated at this point. She slammed her hand on the control panel and pointed at the twisted cartoon.
"Take this little FREAK for instance!" She spat. "He crawled in here, trailing his tainted ink to my door! It could have touched me! It could have pulled me BACK!"
The angel hunched over like a frightened schoolgirl. "Do you know what it's like?" She asked in a small voice. "Living in the dark puddles? It's a buzzing, screaming well of voices! Bits of your mind, swimming...Like-like fish in a bowl!"
The way she started flipping back and forth from the flamboyant murderess Moxxie met earlier to a young child put him even further on edge. He didn't realize he'd been unconsciously winding his tail around Henry's arm until he gently pulled it off.
"The first time I was born from it's inky womb," the angel went on, "I was a wiggling, pussing, shapeless slug. The second time...Well...It made me an angel!"
"Oookay, you're nuts." Moxxie pulled at Henry's arm. "Let's get out of here, sir-"
The metal door leading out suddenly slammed shut, making Moxxie jump. He looked back at the angel, who was clearly shaking with fear as she raised her hand from a button on her control panel.
"I will not let the demon touch me again!" She said fearfully. "I'm so close now. So...Almost perfect."
She straightened up again and stared down Henry when he moved in front of Moxxie, as if to shield him. The imp peered out from behind his friend and the angel's lips (those that weren't torn off, anyway) twitched into a smirk.
"Yes, I will spare him. And you." She put a hand on her hip. "Better yet, I'll let you and your little pet ascend and leave this place."
"PET?!" Moxxie seethed. "You little-"
Henry crouched to his height and pulled him against him with his hand covering his mouth as the angel went on, seemingly undeterred.
"That is...If you do a few eensy weensy little favours for me first. Return to the lift, my little errand boy. We have work to do."
Moxxie freed his mouth from Henry's hand and bit it to make him let go as shutters closed on the angel's room at the press of a button. Henry grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him away as he started spitting threats, then he seemed to get fed up and threw him to the dirt when they were out of the room. "SHUT UP!"
Moxxie spat out dirt and whirled on Henry, his pipe in hand. "Let me back in there!"
"Moxxie, no, she'll kill you!"
"So what?! I'll just end up here anyway!"
He ducked around Henry-or tried to. The human grabbed his thin shoulders and pinned him to the wall with an almost pleading look on his face.
"Moxxie, if she kills you, you'll just end up back at the beginning again! Everything from that point on is written in stone! Do you want to go through all that again?"
Moxxie winced and shook his head. Henry relaxed his hold somewhat.
"Get ahold of yourself," he said sternly. "This isn't over yet."
The two were silent once more as they crossed the wooden boards and made their way back to the area with the large angel head. They had just gone down the small flight of stairs when a wooden board popped across the gap leading out, blocking them from leaving.
"Oh, for-" Moxxie rolled his eyes and turned towards the angel head. "What?"
"My machines are hungry," the angel said bluntly over her intercom. "Fetch me some spare parts!"
Moxxie mocked her under his breath as Henry went for some sort of display that was holding a wrench. He took it down and offered Moxxie the pipe, then motioned him back to the elevator when he took it.
Boris was already in the thing when they arrived. The poor wolf was sitting on the floor with a haunted look in his pie-cut pupils. He looked up at the two but said nothing.
Everything about this rubbed Moxxie the wrong way. He jumped out of the elevator before Henry could close the doors, startling him. "What're you doing now?"
"I'm not willing to do her any favours. Not after she did that to Boris." Moxxie motioned with his pipe at the cowering cartoon wolf.
"So you're just going to walk off."
"No, I'm gonna look around for another exit."
"Oh. Well..." Henry rubbed the back of his neck. "Be careful."
Moxxie gave him a salute and stepped further away so his tail wouldn't get caught on the elevator door when it closed. "You too, sir."