Bendy and the Imp's Survival

Episode Ten: Reunited

(TW: SUICIDE MENTION)

His head pounded with every beat of his heart. His arm throbbed along too-a kind of chorus of pain doing it's best to rouse Moxxie from unconsciousness. The fact that something seemed to be ticking(?) almost in rhythm to the pain did not help.
The imp groaned and forced his eyes open. The hallway in front of him slowly came into focus, as did his nerves slowly starting up again. At least his body hadn't joined the pain chorus-other than his lower arm, he felt...Relatively okay.
Leaning his weight against one arm, Moxxie moved to get up-then almost fell over again when a memory snapped into his mind. He sat back on his haunches again and held his hands out in front of him.
Two hands.
Two elbows.
Two arms.
But that wasn't right. He distinctly remembered losing half an arm to that "Angel" creature. His left sleeve was even cut off at the elbow as proo-
Oh no.
Moxxie started pushing himself to his hooves again, the final jump coming from when whatever he'd been leaning against shifted. Luckily, it was only Henry. Even more lucky, it seems he was still alive-albeit barely.
Moxxie grabbed the front of his shirt and started shaking him. "Come on come on come on get up! Please!"
"Moxxie...?" Henry's eyes were foggy when he opened them.
Moxxie let go and took a step back before slapping him as hard as he could. "Get up! We have to go! Now!"
The older man cringed and put his hand to his cheek. Moxxie grabbed the front of his shirt again and yanked him upright. Henry finally got the hint and shakily pushed himself to his feet.
The gash on the side of the man's head caught Moxxie's eye again. "Oh crumbs. You don't look so good, sir."
"I'll survive. Boris...He's...?"
Moxxie glanced at his regrown arm, then shook his head. "Maybe he's still got time. We can catch up with him, let's go!"
He started off down the hallway, then paused and looked back. Henry had to brace against the wall just to walk foreword. "Are you sure we should keep going, sir? You're in bad shape, maybe I should-"
"I'll survive," Henry cut him off.
"Your head-"
"I survived loops like this before, Bendy. Er-Moxxie."
Moxxie crossed his arms and tapped his hoof, then he grabbed Henry's hand when he tried to walk by him. "You should sit down and rest."
"Moxxie-"
"Sit. Down. Sir."
Henry glared at him, yet still obeyed-sliding down the wall to sit against it. Moxxie started to speak again when the older man pointed into the next room.
"There's a metal door leading out," he said weakly. "On the left. You can't open it unless you find the metal valve. It's in Grant's office. On the right."
"Where's the door lead to?"
"Out."
"Where?"
"I don't remember."
Helpful.
Moxxie started to head off when Henry grabbed his arm, making him jump. The older man gave him a guilty look when he looked back. "I'm sorry I have to leave this to you..."
The imp finally softened. He took Henry's hand off his arm gently and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It's fine, sir. You did enough by yourself. Now it's my turn."
He slowly dropped his hand with that and turned away. Enough touchy-feely moments. Back to the task at hand.
The room the hallway led into was pretty tiny and forked off in two directions-a metal door and a wooden one. The wooden one led to an office (with a loudly ticking clock) of some sort with writing all over the walls and furniture that was...Interesting, to say the least. Part of the wall had been knocked out for some odd reason, revealing a large black pipe.
Moxxie poked his head in and almost immediately regretted that decision. An array of whispers joined the chorus of the obnoxiously loud clock. Like the office wasn't homey enough.
Swallowing his fear, the imp made his way further inside. The glint of something metal near the pipe caught his eye. The valve!
"Well that was surprisingly simple," Moxxie mused as he picked it up, ignoring the way the whispers seemed to get louder the closer he got to the pipe. "I thought this place would play the run-around game with me."
Shaking his head, Moxxie turned back to the door-then the flutter of something on the desk gave him pause. He tucked the valve under his arm and headed over to the ink-splattered desk to get a better look.
What looked like a faxed letter had been left there, drenched in ink yet with just enough of the page left clear for anyone who walked in to read. Batting away the worry about how it was a little too convenient (almost seemed deliberate), Moxxie peeled it off the desk to read.
"Mister Drew," it began, "I really do need to speak to you as soon as possible. Like I said in my last note, we're running $48,128 short this quarter."
Moxxie couldn't help letting out a whistle at the number. Vaguely fixing it to Hell's current inflation, that number would be almost in the millions. 'The Heaven have you been doing?'
Shaking his head, he continued to read.
"We won't be able to cover our taxes; I'm fielding daily calls from the IRS looking for our payments. There's not enough in the accounts right now to cover everything, even if I move some funds around and fudge the numbers. I've also received several sizable bills from Gent, which I'll need to account for, besides the Bendyland payments, which we won't be able to make again this month."
Jeez, this thing reads like it was made during an anxiety attack. Which with how much seems to be on this poor guy's shoulders probably isn't too far from the truth...
Moxxie skimmed the last line and tossed the letter back on the desk, then reached for the recording. He hoped it wasn't the accountant having a mental breakdown and pressed the play button.
"It's now-"
"Grant?" Another voice cut off the rougher one, making Moxxie flinch a little. "Ah, I was hoping I would find you here."
"D-Drew." Grant sounded a little taken aback at (who Moxxie presumed was) Joey's sudden entrance. "You, uh-need me?"
There was a brief silence, and then: "What is this."
"It-I-um-you-I-I-"
Moxxie moved into the desk's chair as Grant continued stammering, clearly reluctant to answer his boss's question. The imp couldn't help the sinking feeling that something bad was going to happen.
"Grant...Why is there a rope in your office?"
"N-No reason. I was just, um-fixing something. It's to-hang up the-the, um..."
Grant trailed off. Even Moxxie could see straight through his lie. There was nothing in this room to hang up, unless he counted himself.
The recording went silent. Moxxie thought for a moment that it had ended until Grant started talking again. "What're you-?"
"You were wondering what I was going to say. Does that mean you weren't about to tell me?"
"I-I would have, I was just trying to-"
"To weasel out of it with suicide."
"I wasn't!"
"I don't like liars, Grant..."
The recording suddenly erupted with sound, making Moxxie wince. It sounded like Grant was fighting a losing battle for his life. It finally ended after a few painful seconds with what sounded like his choking suddenly being cut off. 'What a way to go.'
Something cold touched the back of his neck, making him jump and turn around. An inky figure with glowy grey pits where it's eyes should be stared back at him. "You're in my chair."
Moxxie shrieked and threw the recording at it's head, taking it off and sending an ink-covered skull rolling across the floor. He darted out the door and slammed it shut behind him before leaning against it, his chest heaving.
Henry was now standing in the intersection room and giving him a weird look. "Are you...Okay?"
"Oh. Hey." Moxxie took a deep breath to slow down the hyperventilating. "You're on your feet."
"I...Am."
"Good." The imp walked over and handed Henry the metal valve he'd managed to keep a hold of. "I'm never going in that room again."
"Recording shook you up, did it?" Henry asked with a teasing smile.
"Oh it wasn't just the recording. A warning about who came after it would be nice!"
Henry gave Moxxie another confused look. Moxxie pushed past him and walked to the metal door, then turned and watched him expectantly. Henry muttered something the imp didn't hear and got the door open.
The room it led to looked more like a library-there were books everywhere, lining the shelves that made up the walls in some places-the walls that didn't have cracked-open safes in them, at least. A handful of skeletal ink creature statues stood on a stage around a stone statue of Bendy and a ratty banner above them was haphazardly painted with the words "HE WILL SET US FREE".
It was strange, but not the strangest thing Moxxie's ever seen. It didn't seem strange to Henry, either-he walked right by it without a word.
Moxxie followed him through to another circular part of the room-and they came to a dead end with doors that wouldn't budge no matter how much he pushed on them. The frustrated imp slammed his hand against the stubborn wood. "DAMMIT!!"
"Hang on." Henry put his hand on the imp's shoulder when they slumped. "I may remember how to get out of here."
Moxxie watched him walk over to the book case and run his hand along it. A book sticking out near his foot seemed to catch his eye and he crouched down to push it in, making something behind it click. He looked up at the door and smiled a little. "So that's how you do it."
Moxxie looked up himself. It was barely visibly against the light brown wood that made up the doorway, but it looked like one of the lights lining the top was turned on. "Oooh, now I get it..."
"Wait-Moxxie wait-"
Moxxie ignored his human companion and darted off in the search of more books sticking out of their places. He'd found two more and was heading for a third when he heard a body hit the floor, giving him pause. "Sir?"
Henry didn't answer. Shaking his head in confusion, Moxxie made his way back to where he last saw the human and was somewhat alarmed to find him sitting against the wall with his head in his hands. The imp cautiously made his way over and nudged his knee, flinching when he abruptly looked up. "Uh...Sir?"
"Oh. Moxxie." Henry sounded relieved-though with the shape his foggy eyes were in, Moxxie wouldn't be surprised it was because he couldn't see anything. "I'm sorry, I didn't know who was in front of me at first."
"Can you even see me?"
"Yes-no. Sort of."
"Sir...Your eyes-"
"It's not by choice. Just..."
Henry grabbed Moxxie's hand. "Stay here...For a moment. I can explain after."
Moxxie ground his lower lip between his teeth. They didn't have a moment, Boris has already spent too much time with that angel-who knows what shape he was in now!
The imp impatiently crouched beside his human companion, pulling his hand back and dropping his chin in his hand to glare at the world. His mind only had a few seconds to go off the rails before Henry was pushing himself back to his feet. "Come on. Back to work."
"So we're just gonna pretend that didn't happen?" Moxxie asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Please."
He grumbled but stood up himself, shoving a nearby book back into the shelf in the process. Guess he's not getting an answer for that.
Three books, an unsteady (and unsafe) walk on a walkway, one fat ink creature mutilation and a frightening ride across a chasm later, Henry had to pry Moxxie off him. The imp had latched on to his shoulder when the cart carrying them across threatened to fall...Then it did fall as soon as they left, plunging into the depths of the studio (and for all Moxxie knew, straight down to Hell). He gave up after a few moments and let him hitch a ride on his shoulders as they went through the metal door, then Moxxie dropped down and almost lost his tail to the closing door.
"This place wasn't built for people with tails," the imp griped, rubbing his tail like a precious pet and glaring at the door.
Henry laughed a little, then froze. Moxxie watched in confusion as he backed up until his back hit the door. "Uh...Sir? What're you doing?"
"The...The hands..."
Moxxie flinched a little and spun back towards the hallway, only to find...Nothing. He looked back at Henry and raised an eyebrow. "What're you talking about?"
Henry swallowed hard and shook his head. "R-Right, you...Can you guide me?"
"Sir, it's just a straight walk-"
"Please..."
Moxxie rolled his eyes a little and offered him his hand. Henry took it and squeezed it a bit tightly. The imp winced at the pressure and shot him a dirty look before starting down the hall.
Henry had to keep a hold of him until halfway down the hall. Moxxie was quick to throw his hand down when he let go and ran ahead of him down the rest of the hallway until the sound of something clanging made him jump back and land on all fours. Something large, boxy and familiar descended down past the chain-link "wall" in front of them.
"The Heaven?" Moxxie made his way back towards the wall and peered down into the abyss below. "Who's lowering the machine?"
Henry caught up with him and nudged his shoulder with his hand. "Don't worry about that right now," he said. "Come on. We've got a wolf to save."
"In other words, you don't know." Moxxie tucked his arms behind his back as he followed his human companion.
"I...No. No, I don't. But-"
"I see you there, my little errand boy. Your angel is always watching..."
Moxxie and Henry both looked up when the "angel" started talking, her voice coming over some kind of intercom as soon as they'd entered a room with a spiral staircase. Moxxie felt his blood start to boil as he went for the staircase, Malice's chatter stopping any more conversation from happening.
"I see your little pet survived our...Altercation. What is it that keeps you two going? Is it the thrill of the hunt? The thirst for your freedom? Or perhaps, you're just looking for a little...Friendly...Wolf."
Moxxie ground his teeth as the angel's voice took on a false concerned tone. "Better hurry, errand boy. Boris is having trouble staying in one piece!"
"I'd be surprised if he was still in one piece to begin with," Moxxie grumbled.
"Don't say that," Henry said, an audible wince in his voice. "Please don't say that..."
"Oh-what?" Moxxie turned on the human as they reached the last landing of the stairs. "You honestly believe Boris is alive?"
"Moxxie-"
"How often have you gone through this loop? Has he ever survived?"
Henry sighed and moved past the imp. Moxxie speed-walked to keep up with him as he went through the door on the stairwell. "My arm doesn't grow back in a short span of time, sir! It takes several hours! It'd be a wonder of all wonders if she let him live this long, not when she wanted him that badly! If you're so delusional..."
He trailed off when a dark figure appeared in the walkway above them. Why what looked like a lounge would have a walkway over the next door, he had no idea, but he had no time to dwell on it now.
"H-He always finds me!" The skeletal creature sobbed, falling against the railing. "I just wanna go home! Wh-When do we go home? When do we go home?!"
Moxxie bit his lower lip and rubbed the back of his neck as the poor creature stumbled away again. "I...Guess that's a general feeling around here, hm..."
"Now who's the delusional one," Henry muttered.
"I'm not-hey?!"
Moxxie speed up to walk backwards in front of the human and tell him off, though his argument died on his tongue once the next door was opened. A cluster of other skeletal ink creatures were there, all of them more or less huddled together and most of them shivering despite the fact that the room was lukewarm at worst. A majority of them had yellow eyes, some had blue or green, two or three had grey and the one standing in a corner didn't seem to have any eyes at all.
"Who're...Who's..." Moxxie cleared his throat and tried again. "What is all of this?"
"They're Lost Ones." Henry's voice took on a gentler tone. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you. I don't think so, at least. Stay close and don't look any of them in the eye."
Moxxie's tail seemed to take on a mind of it's own as it wound around the older man's arm. The imp himself swallowed hard and looked to the ground.
The two of them weaved through the ink creatures slowly, at points coming close enough to touch them. There were weak whispers about Moxxie being Bendy and he was subconsciously aware of one of them reaching for his horns, though they seemed to back off when he hunched his shoulders to brace himself. He didn't look up again until Henry stopped at the other side of the room and the sound of sobbing reached his ears. "NO ANGELS" was written on the wall, "HE WILL SET US FREE" underneath it, an opened vent had a flashlight inside...
And the crying was coming from a Lost One curled up behind a box, their only company being a small candle inside a Bacon Soup can that was cut in half.
Moxxie unwound his tail from Henry's arm and made his way over, grabbing a Bacon Soup can off a nearby crate and trying to wrench it open as he went. The Lost One looked up at him almost fearfully when he was close enough, so he crouched down and gave them a small smile before using his teeth to get the can open-which resulted in him getting splattered with soup.
The Lost One laughed a little and sniffed before reaching for the can. Moxxie handed it to them and patted their shoulder before standing up again and almost walking into Henry.
"You were pretty nice to him," he said.
Moxxie looked over at the cluster of Lost Ones-all of which were watching, some of which looked interested. "Someone's gotta be."
"I...Gave up trying to help them."
The imp glared at him. "The fuck-why?!"
"Why try if I can't change anything for them?"
Ah. Yeah. For a moment, Moxxie forgot he was in a time loop. Then again, the hopeful-ish looks in the glowing eyes of the ink creatures...
"I think a little bit of repeated hope is better than none."
He walked off with that, heading into the vent ahead of Henry.