#yeah I’m starting to doubt the inner shading ideas but sometimes it works in my head

[sacha-da-1]

Okay I’ve become a little obsessed with my female ginger Master idea. She wears a waist coat with a long jacket with big lapels. The jacket’s medium/dark grey or black with the waist coat mostly matching as well as the pants. The inner sides of the coat are a subtle but noticeable shade of green or red. Grey suit has black buttons and the black has either black or silver.

[badacts]

the water is rising/i’m too tired to swim

There was nowhere else on Earth like Smallville. Or, for that matter, off of it.

Of course, little but the high holidays and complete disaster seemed to bring him back here these days. Sometimes he had to wonder whether regular adults felt the same as him, living so far from the places they’d grown up in. That aching wonder at being able to come home, with the overlapping whisper of a sense that that home couldn’t last forever.

Disaster made Clark Kent more introspective than Christmas, it turned out.

Bruce, who had stripped down to the suit baselayer with a pair of Clark’s sweatpants pulled over top, was leaning against the railing of the porch. He appeared to be watching the sunrise, though Clark suspected that was a front for him staring into the middle distance lost in thought. Clark would swear part of the reason the man kept the lenses in his cowl down during League meetings was to disguise the difference between his absent thinking expression and the force of his focus.

“How’s he doing?” Clark asked, voice kept low. Ma and Pa would be up soon anyway, but after the late night they’d caused it was the least he could do.

“Lantern is fine,” Bruce replied. His only tell was a tightening of his knuckles on the railing, there and then gone.

“And you?”

This earned him a look. “Any word from Diana?”

“She’ll be here by tonight with news. But we have our orders.”

“Orders.” Bruce’s expression was one of immense distaste. “We have a round table for a reason.”

“That’s what I’m usually telling you,” Clark replied, just as he normally would, and then winced. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” 

Now Bruce’s face had gone still, an indication either that he was angry or that he genuinely had no idea what Clark meant. Clark, used to treading that particular line on the side of caution - at least in this one respect - felt his eyes becoming inexorably attracted to his feet. Being back home turned him into an ashamed eight-year-old too easily.

“I should have been prepared,” he said. 

Because he should have been. He should have known. Of all the temptations and causes, there were few other things Hal Jordan would like to throw his life away for with that particular degree of abandon. This had been Clark’s problem, and he should have been able to solve it without ever involving either of these two men, with their particular idiosyncrasies.

Just - kids were a hotspot for both of them, even kids from far-flung planets being trafficked across a variety of civilisations that just so happened to include the human ones. Bruce had long accepted that it was more reasonable to live for children, not die for them, but Hal hadn’t got that memo yet.

“You can’t possibly imagine that I’m angry with you.”

“I,” Clark began, and then stopped. To be honest, he hadn’t really imagined that Bruce wasn’t.

Bruce turned to look at him more fully, coolly assessing. The huff afterwards was indecipherable. 

“Bruce-”

The man had turned back to the horizon. He said, “Clark, have I ever struck you as the type to make excuses for Green Lantern?”

Clark stepped up and leaned against the railing next to him. “There was never any danger of anyone accusing you of favouritism, certainly. Well, not towards Hal.”

The huff this time was definitely shaded with amusement. “Lantern can take responsibility for his own mistakes, Kal. He doesn’t need you falling on your sword for him.” 

It wasn’t a mistake, Clark didn’t say, because he didn’t need to. But Bruce’s anger would translate as it liked to - Clark had known him for long enough to know that.

“Well, what’s a mission without the post-mission pervasive guilt,” Clark replied, an attempt at humour. Because it was Bruce, it didn’t fall flat. That was one thing about the man no one who didn’t know him would guess - humourless he may seem, but he was capable of poking fun at himself. Or maybe it was just because he knew Clark well. 

It was Hal’s bloody victorious smile that had done it, he thought. Or maybe it was Batman’s sudden anger, alien from beneath the cowl which usually presented only the cold judgement of old god. That fierce protective anger usually reserved for Robins, in a situation where there were no Robins to be found. Or that Clark hadn’t known that Green Lantern might be a focus of it, hadn’t known there was anything there to know.

It wasn’t that it didn’t make sense. It’s that he hadn’t considered it, not once. 

“You boys need to get to bed,” Ma said from the door. She was folded warmly into her dressing gown, the one Lois had got her for Christmas a few years back. “Don’t think I don’t know you’ve been up all night.” Her cool hand settled on Clark’s back, like it had from the time he got tall enough she didn’t have to hunch to do it.

“I’m always up all night,” Bruce replied, with a lilt of amusement at himself.

“Well, maybe in those cities that never sleep, that works. Out here, if you don’t sleep with the sun, you won’t get through a day on the farm,” Ma replied. Her other hand pressed to Bruce’s back, there and gone. “You look exhausted.”

“Well, if I need to help milk cows later,” Bruce conceded. It was entirely possible that he had no idea Ma and Pa didn’t keep dairy cows on the property, and hadn’t since their last gentle old house cow had gotten too old to calve. For a man with a seemingly encyclopedic knowledge on many topics, his practical knowledge of farming was limited to desultorily prodding at the inner workings of Pa’s old truck.

“Off you go,” Ma ushered, shooing them into the house like a woman her size shouldn’t have been able to. “I’ll wake you if the world is ending.”

“Not if I hear it first,” Clark said.

*

Bruce retreated to the guest room, feet soundless on the rugs along the hall floor. Martha was right enough, that he needed sleep. As irritating as it was to need it now in particular, he could concede that there was little place safer than Superman’s family home while Superman was in it.

Hal was curled on his side in the guest bed, though he twitched and roused at the sound of the door opening. “Mmff. Hey, baby.”

“Lantern, it’s me,” Bruce replied brusquely.

“Nothing wrong with my eyes,” Hal said. He moved under the duvet, and then hissed out his breath. “Unlike my ribs, fuck.”

“Give me a pillow.”

One incredulous brown eye focussed on him from amidst said pillows. He seemed to have placed them strategically, though Bruce wasn’t sure when.  “Over my suppurating corpse.”

Of course. Bruce picked up his cape from the pile of his gear in the corner and spread it on the floor beside the bed. There was at least a thick rug, some kind of synthetic shag.  

“The fuck are you doing?”

“Sleeping,” Bruce replied. “You ought to do the same. You’ll be coherent enough for a strategic meeting later.”

“That’s a funny way to describe you and Clark arguing in the kitchen while Diana watches and laughs internally,” Hal said, “But it does explain a lot about your personal approach to injury recovery.”

“It’s just a concussion.”

“If you could tell yourself from six hours ago that, I’d appreciate it.”

Bruce wore that like the censure it was meant as. He knelt down on the rug, though it made his spine complain and his hip crack audibly. Another shade of embarrassment. At least this one was in front of the team member most likely to understand human fallibility. 

Hal heaved a gusty sigh. “Just get in.” 

“What?”

The single eye managed to convey challenge as well as the rest of the man tended to. A hand pushed the blankets back.

“It’s a double,” Bruce said. The Kents clearly didn’t have many guests visiting who measured over 5’8”.

“We can snuggle,” Hal replied.

“With those ribs?” Bruce asked, but conceded. The floor had never looked tempting, but it failed to even begin to measure up against a bed with Hal Jordan in it. 

“Unbelievable,” Hal muttered as Bruce slipped in beside him. The mattress was body-warm where he’d sprawled across it, and a touch too soft. It rolled them into the centre together, something Hal seemed eager to take advantage of. Wary of bruises, Bruce allowed himself to be nudged onto his back with Hal’s good side belly-down on him, head cupped into his shoulder.

Once settled, Hal let out a momentous sigh. “Nice.”

“I live to serve.”

“Well, that’s not true, but okay,” Hal said into his shirt. “You scared the fuck out of Clark.”

That’s not at all how Bruce remembered the situation, but it seemed cruel to contradict someone with a head injury. Also, Hal’s good arm seemed to be trying to wriggle between Bruce’s back and the mattress, and it was distracting.

“He thought you were going to produce kryptonite from some orifice and rip his stomach out his nose,” Hal continued. “You told him it wasn’t his fault, right?”

“Of course,” Bruce replied. “I told him it was yours.”

Hal huffed a laugh. “Actually, it’s yours, if anything.”

Bruce looked down at him. After a moment, Hal’s head rolled so their eyes met. There was amusement on his sleepy face. “You really shouldn’t’a started going out to fight gods and aliens in leather and kevlar. Or you shouldn’t have slept with me. One of those two things.”

“Guess which one I think it is.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’ve got regrets. Well, so do the rest of us, you’re not special. And, might I just add-”

“I’m not sure I could stop you.”

- you still ended up in bed with me right now.”

Bruce sighed through his nose, looking to the ceiling. “There’s only one spare bed.”

“You could have shared with Clark. It wouldn’t be the first time, right?” The tone was distinctly lascivious. Hal shouldn’t have had the blood content for that quite yet, but it proved his healing capacity if nothing else. Bruce felt an expression of distaste cross over his face, but doubted Hal could see it from his position.

“This is purely for practical reasons,” he said, like there was anything in his life he’d done out of practicality. And like he didn’t have an arm around Hal’s shoulders, curling him close. 

“Sure, pull the other one,” Hal said, “It’s got an alternate reality where we somehow managed to only ever fuck once on it.”

“The regret gets stronger every time you open your mouth.”

“As if.” To prove his point, Hal gave him a lazy grope. “Did you share those regrets with your-”

“Shh,” Bruce interrupted. He removed Hal’s hand, though not with any particular degree of firmness. 

The truth of the matter was that Bruce was not in the habit of lying to himself - he was firmly of the belief that that particular habit, more than any other, got one killed. And perhaps the best he could expect was dying in a manner of his own choosing, but if he got to pick, being surprised by something he’d willfully ignored was not the way he would go.

He’d known since that night that it was never something that he’d do just the once. Case in point: Hal Jordan wouldn’t let it happen that easily. 

He’d also known that it was a problem. A personal problem. One that didn’t start or end in the bedroom. That had also proven true.

In the quiet, Hal had settled. His breath was warm on the skin over Bruce’s heart.

“You feel so good,” he mumbled. “How do you always feel so good?”

Bruce had been wondering the same thing. He just held back tighter.

[niall-is-my-dream]

Lost Without You - Part Seven

2630 words

"This is perfect." Niall said as he played with the fingers on your free hand. Your other hand was holding the novel you were reading. "You're perfect."

 "And you're a charmer!" You giggled as you turned the page.

 "Hey, I hadn't finished that page." He said, so you turned it back.

 "Didn't realise you were reading it, thought you were just looking at my boobs." You replied smiling.

 "Was doing both, you're very distracting."

You giggled at him again and he gently kissed the top of your head. Both of you had been laying in the hammock in the grounds of the villa for about an hour. A shady spot towards the end of the property boundary with an amazing view of the countryside.

You'd arrived late last night, so had decided to laze around the villa for the day and maybe venture out for a walk or something later when it had cooled down. The weather was warm and you could see your friends from your spot on the hammock jumping into the pool to cool down and sitting on the loungers under the umbrellas seeking shade.

Niall had ushered you down to the bottom of the garden and kept you to himself since lunchtime. The need to just be on your own instead of with the 8 friends you'd come with.

Humming a contented sigh, you closed your book and turned slowly on your side making sure not to fall out of the hammock.

 "Had enough of your book already?" He asked you.

 "No, just wanted to give you a kiss." You replied leaning up to let your lips meet his.

 "Going to miss you so much when you go to Paris." He whispered against your lips.

 "I'm going to miss you too Niall."

 "I'm so incredibly proud of you though."

"I know you are. And I'm proud of you too, your second album is coming out in like two months. I know you've worked so hard on it."

You couldn't help but reach up your hand and cup his cheek, stroking your thumb across his stubble. Both of you were silent now, but you knew he was thinking the same as you. The dreams you were both chasing were different but they would always lead you back to one another.

"When we come to Paris to do some promo in October I've asked to have the day off after so that I can come and visit you."

That meant you'd be apart for at least 6/7 weeks before you'd see each other again and then another 6/7 weeks until you'd be back from the internship and Niall would be taking a Christmas break.

 "I'd love for you to come and visit me." You replied and you held back the tears that were threatening to fall.

 "You know I think I fell for you the first time we met." He whispered his eyes never leaving yours.

 "Is it because I saved you from that stalker girl in the plastic dress?" You smiled.

 "Well that was one of the reasons." He laughed. "But I don't know, I thought the way you stood up to her was hot, I couldn't help but keep glancing at you all night after that."

"I noticed you were staring at my bum while I was filling up the fridges."

"Not going to lie, I did look quite a few times, Willie caught me doing it." He laughed.

It was in that moment that you realised just how serious things had become with Niall in just a few short months. You knew that you were falling in love with him, but there was no way you'd utter those words. The niggling feeling that he would end this soon enough was still in the back of your mind. Even after he had asked you to take things further with him, something more serious. There was still something holding you back from giving him your heart completely.

You had been seeing Niall for quite a while now but the majority of your time was spent in just each other's company. You'd been for a drink with his friends and then a gig and you'd had dinner at his when Willie was home. However seeing him with his inner circle of friends when he was at his most relaxed was the best feeling.

His hand never left your thigh when you were sitting at the outside table. Whether you were eating a meal or just having a drink in the evening with everyone he had to touching your skin in some way. It was calm and comforting and gave you a warm feeling in your heart.

All your friends got on really well, Jess had clearly hit It off with Conor and they kept sneaking off together which was cute. Hannah wasn't interested in anyone but she had formed a bond with Deo of all people. As serious as Hannah could be sometimes, she was the most outgoing of you all. Her and Deo had some great banter going on and would constantly be laughing about something together.

The 5 days in Italy came and went too quick in your opinion. You'd managed to take in the sights of the old town you were staying near without being spotted, no one knew where you all were. Niall was relaxed and you'd spent your days by the pool or lazing in the hammock together. Evenings were spent eating way too much food and drinking too much wine. 

It had been perfect.

Niall was leaving in less than a week for L.A. where he would start his promo for his new single. He was nervous and excited at the same time. Once he was gone you wouldn't see him for over 6 weeks. The thought made you feel sick and you had no idea why you had chosen to share some of those thoughts with Niall one morning. It was a few days after you had got back from Italy and you were in the kitchen making coffee for you both. Niall had stayed over and was in the bedroom getting dressed after a shower.

You were staring at the mugs as you stirred the coffee, your mind wandering off to what you'd both be up to next week.

"Hey you ok?" Niall asked you. "You look like you're in a world of your own love."

You hadn't realised he had been stood at the kitchen door.

"Yeah.....yeah I'm good. Coffees done, did you want some breakfast?" 

"You're not good, I can tell. What's wrong?" He said his voice laced with worry.

It was at this point that your mouth just spoke without you wanting it to.

"Do you want to take a break from this thing with me? Because it's ok if you want to."

"What?"

"I know you're going to be busy and stuff."

"Why are you bringing this up again?" He asked you, his voice sounding annoyed.

"I just want you to know that you can end it and I'll be fine."

"Do you want me to end it? Is that what you want?"

Niall voice was getting angry now and you could feel yourself getting upset. Why had you said anything to him? Hannah had told you to be brave and take the risk with him. Not to worry about being apart and go with the flow. Enjoy it. 

Now you were fucking it all up.

"I don't want you to end it, no. I just thought you might want to take a break from us so you can focus on your work and not have to worry about me." You replied but you could barely look at him.

"Why on earth would you think that?!  Is this just some fling, some game to you?"

Tears were welling up in your eyes now and you quickly wiped them with the back of your hand.

"You know I don't think of this as a fling or a game." You whispered.

"Then what am so suppose to think? We talked about this a month ago, I told you how much I cared for you. Fuck, I poured my heart out to you and now you're trying to end this. I just can't .... " He said and he walked out of the kitchen.

"Niall....." You called after him but he was already shoving his phone in his pocket and grabbing his bag from your bedroom.

"Niall.....please don't go." You sobbed.

"Why's that, when you've clearly already made the decision about us?"

"Please stay and talk to me."

He completely ignored you and walked towards the door, slipping on his converse he reached for the door handle. He paused for a second and you thought he was going to say something, but he didn't. The door closed with a bang and you felt your legs buckle beneath you. You landed on the floor with thud, your hands coming up to your face to try and hold in the sobs that were tumbling from your mouth.

You weren't sure how long you were sitting there for but you managed to get yourself up and walk towards the kitchen. Reaching across the sink to the box of tissues on the window sill, you paused. 

Niall's car was still in the car park below.

Grabbing some tissues you wiped your eyes and blew your nose. Straightening out your hair a little you shoved on your flip flops, grabbed your keys and bolted out the door. Taking two steps at a time you made your way down the back stairs and ran across the car park. Throwing open the passenger seat you quickly sat down and closed the door.

Niall didn't say anything as you climbed into the car, you stared straight ahead, looking at the brick wall of the building next to yours. 

"I'm sorry." You whispered. "This, us, the being together but being apart for months is scaring the shit out of me. Hannah had told me to take the risk and stop worrying about it, to deal with the being apart. I just thought you'd maybe want to just pause whatever we are and pick it back up when you get back."

It was then that you looked at him, his eyes were red and full of tears. His hair was a mess, he had clearly ran his hands through it with his frustration.

"An hour ago we were lying in bed after having just made love to each other and I couldn't have been happier and then you start telling me you've been thinking about ending this with me. Do you know how that made me feel?" He whispered.

You didn't reply, the broken sobs that escaped your lips were enough.

"Having a relationship is hard for me. I thought this was different, I thought it meant something to you." He said.

"It does. Niall I'm so sorry."

"I just need some time to think. I need to go."

"Ok, can we talk later?"

"Yeah."

You nodded, but he couldn't even look at you.

Slowly you pulled the door handle and got out of the car, as you walked up the steps to your flat, Niall reversed his car and left the car park.

Curling up in your bed that smelt like him was both a comfort and a curse. You couldn't believe you had blurted out your doubts to him. 

They were ridiculous.

He had done nothing for you to doubt him. You knew he wouldn't cheat on you, you knew he would message you or call you when he could. He had done it when he was in L.A for three weeks when you first started seeing each other. And you would be busy in Paris with your job and meeting new people, he was probably having his own anxieties about you being away from him.

You were a complete twat who had pushed away an amazing guy over your stupid insecurities.

Breathing in his scent you fell asleep crying.

The loud knocking on your door woke you up, you looked at your clock and noticed it was a little after 3pm. Pulling yourself out of bed you attempted to sort out your hair in the mirror on your vanity. You looked a mess but you didn't care, the sound of a knocking on your door again alerted you as to why you'd woken up.

Niall was stood at your door, you honestly hadn't expected it to be him.

"Hey." You whispered.

"Hey." He replied. "Mind if I come in?"

"No, of course not." You replied as you let him in.

He followed you down the hall to the kitchen where you noticed the two mugs of coffee you had been making earlier were still sitting there. Taking a deep breath you took them to the sink and poured them away. The silence in the room was causing your mind to wander, you had no idea what he was going to say. By the time you'd rinsed the mugs and placed them on the draining board he still hasn't spoken a word to you. It was only when you were drying your hands that he spoke.

"I'm sorry I left like that."

"I don't blame you for wanting to leave after what I said."

"Be honest with me, do you want to end us?"

You shook your head, unable to form any words. You knew as soon as you did you'd start crying again.

"Then why did you say it?"

"I don't know why you're with me. You could be with anyone and it scares me that you're mine. I don't want you feeling like you have to call or message me when you're busy trying to do promo all over the world."

There, you'd said it outright, no more avoiding the real reason for your outburst.

"I'm with you because when you saved me from that girl that night we met you didn't even care who I was, you treated me like I was normal. You're beautiful, kind and you care about everyone in your life. You make me feel relaxed and at home when I'm with you. I don't want to be without you, I don't want to take a break, we can survive being apart I know we can."

Your heart was beating so fast as his words were sinking in. Tears were falling down your face with relief that he had come back to you. You hadn't lost him.

Niall moved closer to you, his hand coming up to your face, his thumb wiping away your tears.

"Please don't cry anymore Petal, it's breaking my heart." He whispered.

You nodded and then he leaned down and placed his lips against yours. The kiss was needy, both of you trying to hold on to the other, both of you wanting to show the other that you needed to be together.

Niall ran his hands up under your cotton t-shirt in search of skin to caress, your hands had been place firmly in his hair. You were both frantic as you pulled at each other clothes, heavy pants leaving your lips as you tried to rid yourselves of the fabric that was causing a barrier between you.

The walk down the hall to your bedroom was rushed, you bashed your arm on the door frame of the living room and let out a pained ouch. He mumbled an apology but you didn't care, you needed to show him exactly how much you wanted him. Your clothes were scattered along the hall way and by the time you'd got to your room you were both naked except for Niall's boxer shorts.

He laid you down on your bed and began kissing along your jaw and down your neck, nipping and sucking as he went. You could hear him mumbling about how perfect you were and how much he needed you. Tears were threatening to fall again as you began to realise how stupidly in love with him you were and how you couldn't believe you had nearly lost him.

As you laid in bed together that afternoon, you finally plucked up the courage to tell him.

He smiled at you and kissed you gently, whispering that he loved you too.

Part Eight

https://niall-is-my-dream.tumblr.com/post/188342533653/lost-without-you-part-eight

[aura-creed]

Bendy and Boris along with their pals Cuphead and Mugman are searching for the long fabled Ink Machine, a machine rumored to be the only known cure for ink illness. Bendy with the illness, finding his days numbered, goes off in search of the missing machine pieces. One piece in particular is caught in a certain jesters cage... -Read here under ‘read more’, or view it on AO3!

Past a curtain of willows, away from the winding road, a set of doors stood tall above the brine of the bog. There were no structures to accompany such a door, no windows or walls to act as a guardian to. Just a dripping, salt-streaked bottom rim and carved decals in varying shades of purple. The centerpiece was the same in both doors -- bars shaped to mark each suite of the cards. Around the edges they seemed to be painted black, but directly behind them the color darkened, almost as if there was something more than just paint there. The decorative wooden slabs were joined by a gray stone glyph in the middle, out of place with the markings on the rest of the door. Squared edges held a carved inner circle with a clown as its centerpiece. The fool's hat was two-pronged with bells on either end, but they did nothing to detract from the hollow eyes or the spiked teeth that eclipsed the span of their grin... Cuphead wasn’t sure if it was from the depiction of the clown itself or the sudden chill in the air that made him shiver as he adjusted his long coat to compensate. He didn't remember it being so cold a moment ago. “Kinda creepy.” His brother Mugman nodded in agreement as he pulled his scarf up to his chin, his breath visible in the frigid air. “Oi! You guys find it?” They turned to see Bendy and his brother Boris trudging through the bog to reach them. Cuphead stifled a laugh as he watched the short demon, waist deep in water, twist his whole body just to get his legs to push through the muck. Bendy’s eyes narrowed as he turned to Cuphead. “There something you wanna say, tea cup?” His tail flicked above the water, a warning if Cuphead ever saw one. He snorted, not even caught off guard by the insult as he looked to Bendy. “C-Coming up short there?” Boris had to quickly grab his brother before he even tried to jump at him and Cups howled with laughter. The wolf sighed. “Ya know Bendy, I can just carry you over this…” They’d been walking for a good hour in the grime and Bendy had been the slowest out of all of them due to circumstances outside of his control. A lot of time had been wasted due to the demon’s own stubbornness and pride in the matter. “I’ve already told you bro, I’m fine.” He crossed his arms, looking to Boris, annoyed that his younger brother kept asking. “I’ve gotten through this just fine so far. S’not like the water’s that deep.” Boris sighed, ears falling back. “Yeah… I figured you were going to say that.” Again. He didn’t know why he bothered. He adjusted his pack, eyes going towards the purple door and his ears perked right back up. “Oh! It looks like you guys did find it!” Bendy turned to the doors as well, giving out a low whistle. “This thing?” His gaze turned to the glyph and he pursed his lips. “Yeesh, that is creepy. Is that supposed to be a clown?” “Yeah, it looks like one.” Mugs spoke up, muffled by his scarf. “I didn’t think any clown was creepier then Beppi..” “Relax Mugs.” Cuphead nudged his brother, hand waving to the door. “Even if there is a clown in there and they’re scary lookin, it won’t be that bad. We’ve fought weirder, we got this.” Mugs nodded, although his gaze still held a hint of doubt.

Boris frowned. “Let’s just hope it isn’t the size of a giant.” Bendy grimaced, water sloshing as he made his way towards the door. “The last thing we need is a giant clown added next to the giant mermaid.” He didn’t even want to be reminded of that ordeal, or what followed it. Nightmare night could stay a nightmare as far as he was concerned. Head tilting as he looked up at the glyph, he shuffled, arm stretching as he reached and reached. He was on his tip toes when he noticed Cup and Mugs -- and even Boris, the traitor! -- laughing. He growled in frustration, turning back to the three snickering questers with a glare. “Knock it off, will ya!” Boris was trying to put the map away, giggles subsiding as he struggled to keep his backpack out of the water. “Sure you don’t need any help?” Bendy slapped a hand to his chest, looking insulted. “No, I don’t need any help.” He huffed, turning back to the door as he jumped to try and tap the glyph. It didn’t work. Cuphead snickered, shaking his head as he walked over to the little devil. “Stop being so stubborn.” Narrowed eyes would have met the Cups if they hadn’t been so intent on staring at the glyph in front of him. “I got -- tHiS!?” Bendy squacked, flailing as Cuphead picked him up from around the waist, holding him up to face the door. “Oh no,” Boris started to move forward, reaching out. “Cuphead I wouldn’t--” “See? Now you can reach--” The smirk gracing the Cup’s features was wiped off in a resounding oof! Bendy, true to form, had squirmed, kicking right into the Cups’ chest in retaliation. The demon hit the glyph from the punch-back, but he’d succeeded in his intentions: getting the blasted dishware to let go of him. He wasn’t entirely expecting the cup to fall back-first into the water, but it was a bonus. The splash hit Boris, however, and Mugs managed to jump out of the way of most of it. Boris gave an exasperated whine, ears dripping. “Beeennnddyy!” “What?!” He threw his arms up. Behind him, the circle in the stone twisted and turned, gouging into the rock. “We’ve been over this! Nobody picks me up, ever, no way!” “Cussing stars…” Cuphead got up, Mugs helping him as he came over, giving the other a hand as he coughed. “You don’t do that when the cat picks you up.” “T-That’s different!” Bendy’s tail flicked, his face turned red. “And he doesn’t just carry me without warning either, so as far as I’m concerned, you deserved that! Don’t--” The door clicked as the symbol stopped turning. Boris’s eyes turned to the door, his one ear twitching towards the sound. “Pick--” the glyph started to shake as it slid over to the side, the pair of doors creaking as they pulled apart. “Me--” They fell inwards with a clack behind Bendy and he jumped, “--Up!?” he squeaked, turning around to take in purple tile and darkness that fell around the corridor like a shroud. He blinked. The doors weren’t connected to anything… how did..? They all flinched back when flames erupted on the walls, blue fire lapping at the ceiling as it seemed to tempt them further inside. Magic. Bendy slapped his forehead and then dragged his hand down his face. It always had to be magic. He turned towards the others, previous argument forgotten. “Well, let’s go then.” He climbed up the edge of the walkway with little difficulty, wringing his tail out as the others followed. Cuphead messed with his hair, realizing some of the salty water had managed to get into his head. He glared at the little devil who only gave a cheeky grin in return.

It was only a couple steps in when the doors slammed shut with a resounding boom.  The outside light faded as said doors vanished. All that was left was the violet tile of the floors, the walls, and the blue torches that lit their way forward. Boris’s ears were tilted back onto his head. Bendy patted his shoulder. “Eh, don’t sweat it too much. Bound to be another exit somewhere.” He hoped. They walked in silence for a time, the torches erupting into blue flame as they approached or going out with a puff of smoke as they continued forward.

It didn’t take them long to find what looked to be prison cells. The ends of the bars were made of hearts, and above the bars was a consistent pattern of spades, diamonds, hearts, and clovers. The place had cracks spidering up and down the wall and the paint on some decals seemed to be fading away revealing the stone underneath. With Boris’s near-constant sneezing, it was evident that no one had been there for sometime. But that wasn’t the strangest part of it. As soon as the rear of their little group had pushed forward a wall behind them slammed down, blocking them in once again. All the torches lit up simultaneously as the strains of a discordant song filtered through the halls.

Mugman’s eyebrows rose. “Is this a circus?”

“Does it look like a cussing circus?” Cuphead asked incredulously. Bendy walked up to the closest cell, his brother walking by him to look around. “Man, even my cell back in Toon Town was nicer than these…” He peered through the bars at a stone slab that made up a bench, eyes flickering to the shackles on the wall. They looked rusted and heavily worn. He shook his head, mumbling. “Feels like we’re walking into a cussing dungeon more than a prison..” They got to a junction when Boris stopped behind them. Bendy turned. “Boris?” The wolf had his hands up to his nose, grimacing. “Something smells rotten,” he muttered through his fingers. He then pointed down the corridor to the left. “Down there. It’s really, really bad.” Bendy turned his head down the way, sniffing the air. Yeah, he had nothing, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Cuphead’s mouth twist. “You smell it?” “Kind of? It’s really faint.” Mugman turned to the kid. “Golly! You can smell that? How strong is it?” “Like I’m in a room with Pete.” Bendy snorted at the remark. “I have no idea what it is.” Cuphead shook his head, frowning. “Probably better if you don’t find out.” He tugged on Mugman’s arm to drag him along. “We’ll go down this way. You guys take the other route.”

“Is that really safe?” Boris’s ears flattened against his head. “Eeh don’t worry about them. They can handle themselves.” Bendy winked as Boris groaned. He looked back towards the brothers, calling out, “Don’t get lost!”

He didn’t need to see Cuphead to hear the disgruntled tone in his voice. “You first, shorty!” Bendy scowled. Boris chuckled beside him before throwing his thumb back towards the hall. “Come on Bendy, let’s go this way.” “Yeah yeah…”

___

“Are you sure they’re going to be ok?” “They’ll be fine, you taught Boris how to fight, remember?” Cuphead stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Well… yeah, but-” “Besides, we’ve been teachin’ them well enough and Bendy’s learning how to use that weird bigger form of his. Sort of.” He still wasn’t sure if Bendy could enact it willfully without Hat’s help. He shrugged. “If Boris can’t handle the fighting yet, he can.” Mugman sighed. “Why’d we take the path with the weird smell, then?” “Cause.” Cuphead spoke, pulling out a cigar. “Smells like a corpse.” Mugman sputtered. “Smells like a -- what!” “We’ve seen corpses before. Made too many to count.” He scowled. “Bendy’s seen one. But… I don’t think Boris has seen something like that.” And that’s the last thing he wanted the kid to ever see. Boris shouldn’t have to deal with any of this, as young as he was, and yet... “Golly…” Mugman sniffed the air. “Eugh… it does smell gross. Hopefully it’s not that.” Cuphead hummed, lighting the cigar with his finger. He took a puff, blowing a ring out. His shoulders relaxed. “Eeeh even if it is, we should be closer to whatever killed it than they are.” Hopefully. He was betting on it, anyway. “Wait… You purposely took the toughest route?” Mugman raised a brow. “You?” “W-What?” Cuphead looked towards him, scowling. “Our whole life’s been nothing but a cussin’ roller coaster, how is this anything new?” Mugman narrowed his eyes and smirked. Cuphead could feel the stare creep up his neck and  looked away. “And you said I was going soft. I thought you wanted to be more distant than that, hmm?” Cuss. “S-Shaddup.” Was he that easy to read? He was losing his touch. “We’ll think of something, right?” Mugs smiled. Hope bled from that smile, a smile Cuphead knew was in spite of their separate stances and his shoulders drooped. “Cup?” His brother was willing to turn his back on him and everything they’d worked on for those brothers. It made his head hurt thinking about it. “Yeah..” His voice was soft and he let the silence linger longer as he took another puff. They’d figure it out. They’d have too. “Hey, have you… noticed anything off about Bendy?” “Off?” Mugs’s brows furrowed. “Off how? You don’t think--” “No no, not that. He just… I don’t know. With the ‘demon puberty’ thing and whatever the cuss Hat put in that contract, with what the Boss wants us to do if stardust goes sour -- which it won’t.” He looked pointedly at Mugs. He’d make sure it wouldn’t go that way. “But with Bendy it’s not the exhaustion he just seems…” Cups scrunched his nose up. “Ugh, yeah ok that is rotting flesh.” “Wow, nice subject change--” Cuphead shoved his brother. “Shaddup.” Mugs laughed.

_____

Bendy huffed, tail swishing behind him as they searched around the prison. The halls continued to criss-cross, leading to more and more cells and Bendy was starting to wonder if they could get lost before the pattern shifted and they entered a big room. At the end was a decorated entrance leading to what seemed to be nothing and off to the side were portable, mini cages decked in red and gold -- the kind you’d see animals in before arriving to a circus. They were filled with bones. Bendy sighed in relief that it was just bones but Boris whimpered. The demon frowned, pulling on his brother’s wrist as he walked him through the room. “Come on, don’t look at em.” They’d seen bones before. He would have thought Boris would’ve been used to... Well... Ok, maybe he was glad his brother hadn’t gotten used to hopefully ancient bones yet. They made it to the end, peering down the staircase. Bendy squinted -- he couldn’t make out the bottom -- but then the torches lit up, the ones in the prison going dark, and he could distinctly hear a squawk from one of the brothers far behind him. Boris jumped, turning back but Bendy kept looking down the stairs, his eyes narrowing. How far did they go down..? “B-Bendy, maybe we should check on them..” Boris fiddled with his bandana. “Nah they’ll be fine, remember? They got flashlights for fingers.” Bendy waved away Boris’s worry, starting down the stairs. “Come on -- that piece might be down here.” Boris’s shoulders sagged but he pulled out his pipe and followed. The glow from the torches seemed to light up the walls more than the stairs. Their footsteps echoed, overlapping on the previous until the sound was all around them. They went down and down the winding staircases. The torches lit up one final time when they reached the bottom and Bendy froze. “Bars..?” Boris walked forward, staring up at the bars that blocked their path. He pulled at them, humming. “I don’t see a…” The bars formed a gate and creaked open. “...door.” Boris slowly finished.

Motes of dust floated by like eye-catching sparks. Purple tile reached into the darkness and vanished. Bendy could smell the fear his brother was giving off beside him. It made him pause. Boris whimpered. “I’ll go in first, Boris.” Bendy turned, resting a hand on his brothers shoulder. He gave a smile he hoped was reassuring. Boris furiously shook his head. “W-We should go get Cups and Mugs.” Bendy sighed, shoulders drooping as he moved his hand from his brother’s shoulder. He went to step inside but Boris grabbed his arm, ears flushed down on his head. “Bendy…” “I’ll be fine, Boris.” They couldn’t just avoid this -- the map was insisting the piece was in here somewhere, and where else would it be if not towards the obvious danger? But Boris was giving him those eyes, determined yet afraid, and his resolve melted. “Ok, let’s grab those guys first.” Boris gave a relieved sigh. But then as they moved to go towards the stairs, they found themselves face-to-face with the bars they’d turned away from. The gate closed with a resounding clack.

“What!” Bendy whipped around as the lights lit up around them. Boris raised his pipe. There was a pillar in the center, raising to a canopy above the whole area. Bendy narrowed his eyes at the poles littered around the circular room. Some broken, some reaching to the top. He couldn’t even tell if the room had walls, or a ceiling beyond the gaps in the canopy. The song that filtered throughout the place seemed to be louder in here. Nothing showed up, and yet the air was distinctively colder. He could have sworn he caught a speck of gold out of the corner of his eye but whenever he turned it was gone. The shadows felt more alive, and darker than they usually were. They weren’t even moving. They just felt more… there. And he wasn’t even using his talent. He knew his brother must have felt it too -- the pressure from them.

“Boris,” Bendy whispered. Boris was shaking like he had been on nightmare night. His ear twitched. “Run to the gate when I say go.” “What?” Boris frowned, glancing down at his brother. “I’m not leaving you here, I-I can’t just--” “Get out, grab the two morons and bring them back here. Tell them there’s another demon down here.” Boris’s eyes widened. “T-There’s a demon? You can’t be--”

“LO AND BEHOLD…” A voice echoed throughout the room. Boris jumped. Bendy shivered as the shadows swirled viciously around them. His eyes flickered to Boris as a spike of fear wedged itself into his heart. He needed to get his brother out of here. With a jingle, a form hopped down, eye level with Bendy from across the room. A jester's hat and attire greeted them, a cape sifting across tile as his feet touched ground. "TWO VISITORS OUTSIDE? OHO..." A spiked toothy grin spread from ear to ear. His skin was as gray as death. “Boris. Go. Now.” The urgency in Bendy's voice was punctuated in a low hiss. His gaze never left that of the jester's.

“N-No. I’m not leaving you alone with him.” Now wasn’t the time to start acting brave! Bendy moved to stand in front of Boris. This guy looked exactly like the symbol on the door. Did he have the piece like Cala did before? Or was he just some sort of guardian like the snake had been?

His tail flicked. There was no mistaking it. The darkness, the cold… It was like Hat’s, but worse. This demon was the reason there wasn’t a hint of warmth in the room. Bendy was half expecting his breath to visibly puff out into the air but it didn’t. The air was growing sweet with the smell of fear and he grimaced, eyes briefly flickering to his brother. The poor wolf was trembling. Bendy’s hands clenched into fists as he stared straight ahead. “Boris the Wolf you get to that gate right now, you hear me?”

The jester tilted his head, watching them. “BOO HOO, HOW CAN YOU LEAVE WITH THE CURTAIN ALREADY DRAWN?” The demon bowed. Shadows started to dance along the walls. “I’M THE JEVIL.” Bells jingled as he popped back up. “HAVE YOU COME TO BE FREE, FREE?” “We’ve come to leave, leave thank you very much!” Bendy shouted back at him. He could hear Boris finally moving behind him and he let go of a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. It was about time the wolf finally listened to reason.

The Jevil’s grin only seemed to widen. “YOU’RE LOOKING FOR THE PIECE.” Bendy froze. “FOR INK ILLNESS TO CEASE. CHAOS HAS TOLD ME MUCH OF YOU, SURFACE DWELLERS.” “Well great, you know why we’re here then!” Bendy threw his arms up into the air. “You know where it is? We’ll take it and be on our merry cussing way!” “I JUST WANT TO SHOW A PLAY, PLAY!” The jester hopped from foot to foot as he spun around. “BUT THE BORING ONES FOUND SUCH FUN TO BE A TROUBLE. AS PUNISHMENT, THEY CRAVED TO IMPRISON MY BODY. BUT I'M FAST, FAST, CLEVER, CLEVER. THEY LOST THE TRAIL, AND LOCKED UP THEIR ENTIRE TALE, BUILDING A PRISON AROUND THE WHOLE WORLD. NOW I'M THE ONLY FREE ONE.” “Get to the point!” Bendy growled. Jevil grinned. “SHALL YOU ACT IN THIS PLAY WITH ME, ME...? I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT IT MEANS TO BE FREE!”

“Cuss no!” The Jevil’s grin widened past the corners of his eyes. Bendy glowered but then noticed the smell of fear vanish completely. His eyes widened. It hadn’t even faded, it’d just disappeared as if it were never there. He spun around. The gate was gone -- the bars had been replaced by the nothingness that seemed to surround the span of the place, and his brother was nowhere in sight. He hadn’t even heard him get the gate open -- he knew his brother hadn’t made it out by himself -- and now the whole previous room was gone! What the cuss! “YOU CAME TOO FAR! YOUR CHOICE HAS RUN OUT!”

Bendy ran to where the gate had been, hands reaching towards darkness but he met no resistance. “No way…” Magic, it was always magic. He’d barely even started his lessons with the cussing schtick and here it was, practically laughing in his face, and now his brother was missing because of it. “BORIS!” Where the cuss did his brother go? Where the starfallen cuss did his brother go?

“BOO HOO!” The Jevil mock cried, hands going to his eyes as he frowned. However, the corners of his mouth were turned up, and his frame shook, as if trying to hold in laughter. “BOO HOO HOO, UHE HE HE.”  

Bendy growled, his eyes flashing red. “What’d you do?!” What did this schmuck do with his brother? Jevil grinned as the floor shook and started to spin. “YOU WHO WISH TO TURN BACK, HOW CAN YOU?” Bendy stumbled but caught himself. He looked up to see the whole room was spinning like some twisted carousel. The Jevil was now standing in midair, a wicked looking blade resting in his hands. Were those teeth on the edge..? Bendy didn’t have time to think about it as the demon laughed and flung it at him. He ducked. It missed him by a hair and stuck itself into the darkness before merging with the shadows. He turned his head, eyes meeting a barrage of the blades. Even the Jevil’s arm had turned into one, and he had it raised up high. “WHEN YOU’VE ALREADY STARTED READING, YOU WANT TO SEE THE END. YOU WANT TO KNOW, KNOW!” “What the cuss is wrong with you?!” Bendy snarled, jumping to dodge some of the incoming blades as he grabbed at the shadows with his talent. They writhed excitedly as they were allowed to take form and he smacked back the last blade. It twirled in the air, end over end before falling, smacking edge first into the ground. “What the starfallen cuss did you do to my brother? Huh??” If this demon hurt Boris in anyway so help him... “CHAOS, CHAOS!” Bendy blinked, squinting. The demon seemed to jump back and forth, almost in double image as spades and diamonds came flying out from the darkness. He felt a tugging at his chest but he tried to ignore it as the shadows wrapped around him, propelling him away from the projectiles. Normally, he’d be put off by the way they were wriggling, thirsty to rip into the demon but with his brother gone, possibly hurt, somewhere he couldn’t get to him? As far as Bendy was concerned, the shadows’ attitude was exactly what he needed right now to get out of there -- to find him. “That’s not an answer!” Thoughts started rushing through his head. What if Boris was hurt? What if the demon had sent the wolf into a death pit somewhere? Poles sprung up from above and below him. Horses made of energy buckled and shoved into him -- through him -- and he huffed, feeling something cut him in his core and he gripped his chest. “Ugh!.. You..!” “YOU SPIN A WEB OF DECEPTION IN YOUR LITTLE BUBBLE OF LIES, LIES, LIES!” Jevil vanished, appearing behind Bendy as he shoved him towards the middle. All around he started appearing, seemingly spitting out spades and diamonds, his tongue extending to seemingly impossible lengths as laughter echoed from everywhere and nowhere. Bendy’s head was starting to spin, but it wasn’t just from the confusion. When had the music changed? He growled. “Sunblazing scum!” Bendy’s voice echoed, deep and guttural. Some of the diamonds caught him on the side, hurting him without showing physical injury and he winced as his anger boiled. He could almost feel it on his skin. How dare he take Boris away! How dare he not tell him where he is! How dare he. The shadows curled excitedly and the darkness swirled around him, spurring him onward. He let the shadows act out when they could, smacking this way and that when the Jevil would reappear. Bendy could feel them coiling around his feet, wanting to reach through him, to cause more carnage. It reminded him again of what they were like back at the warehouse all those months ago -- how bloodthirsty they had been. He breathed in. He knew what they wanted to do. He let them. It was like taking a big stretch, his body felt like it was uncurling even as he felt his gloves ripping and his horns growing. His eyes opened and suddenly everything stood out like a sore thumb. Crystal clear, every sound, every hint of laughter, the horses and now ducks on the carousel sprung forward. Some raised up and others charging right at him and he managed to thread the needle, jumping between them as the shadows writhed. The Jevil came out clapping and Bendy turned.

He couldn’t feel the cold in the room anymore. “BRAVO, BRAVO!” Jevil ducked as Bendy threw a broken up pole right past his head like a javelin. His grin only widened. “YOU’VE FOOLED THOSE IN THE CAGE AND EVEN THE GUIDE! WHAT FUN WHAT FUN! HOW FAR DOES THE RABBIT HOLE GO? DO TELL!” Bendy was able to grab him, pulling the toon up by the scruff of his collar. A hand raised, claws steadily growing sharper. His eyes flashed, whites now black as he bared his teeth. “Where. Is. My. Brother.” He didn’t recognize his own voice anymore, but that knowledge was only a drop of a thought as it got swept away by the torrent of his swirling mind. Jevil just grinned, big and toothy. His eyes glowed a golden color. Spots of a similar color started to rise around them as the shadows danced along the walls. “HOW FAR HAVE YOU FOOLED YOURSELF?” Jevil gripped his arm. Despite not having any leverage he was able to spin them, spin and spin until Bendy was in a room rimmed with black sludge and yellowed wood. It was a disorienting feeling and Bendy lost his balance, grunting as he hit the splintered wood that had replaced the tile. “WHO KEEPS SPINNING THE WORLD AROUND?” For a brief moment Bendy could feel his head clear. His ears rang. He stood groggily. Inky matter dripped to the ground, but he didn’t feel any pain. Each droplet started writhing as it hit the boards, seeping into cracks in the floorboards. The smell of ink filled his nose, the black liquid reminding him of the corrupting rivers from Holly’s head. It entrenched them to a platform he was surprised was still standing at all, with how old everything looked. The ceiling above him was falling inward with obvious holes in it, and yet no sunlight showed through.

“I CAN DO ANYTHING!” The Jevil re-appeared along with the music and Bendy stumbled, his eyelids feeling heavy. He put a hand to his head. He hadn’t the sense to speak before Jevil was once again shouting. “MY HEARTS GO OUT TO ALL YOU SINNERS!” Boxes with hearts on them started falling from the ceiling, exploding into deadlier hearts that surged at Bendy almost like bullets. He startled but the darkness powering him was quicker. It moved his body before the hearts even shot out of the boxes, causing him to jump around. He was even able to get in a swing at the Jevil himself, whose head only came up on a spring and bounced around. Jevil laughed and laughed. “TALENTED, BUT NOT SEEKING TALENT! HOW WILL YOU PUT ON YOUR OWN SHOW?” “What the cuss are you going on about??” Bendy swung at him again, his arm elongating to get a good swipe at him. “How else am I supposed to fight you?” Why was he even entertaining this zany demon’s line of thought? Could demons even be zany? “WITH YOUR TALENT, OF COURSE!” The jester’s head sprang back and forth before righting itself. He waved his arms, morphing them into blades as he started to spin. Bendy jumped over them each in turn, and tried to go for him but there were too many diamonds coming at him for him to get a hit in. “OR PERHAPS WITH YOUR WOLF PET? MINION GAMES ARE FUN, TOO!” Bendy snarled. “Sunblaze that!” This schmuck still wasn’t saying anything about what he did to his brother. His claws itched to tear into him. The shadows were writhing as they aimed for the clowns throat. They tore off the floor, smacking into Jevil and again his head fell away like a spring. A single eye glowed a dark purple color. “UEE HEE HEE! HAVING FUN? JOIN THE CLUB!” Bendy felt heat flaring in his core as he stared forward at the clown that had been the cause of all his troubles today. He was boiling, lips pulling from teeth as he snarled. The Jevil only giggled, twirling as he morphed into a knife. “EVEN DEVIL’S KNIFE IS SMILING!” “I’ll wipe that smile off your sunblazing face!” Low and guttural, Bendy didn’t wait for him to move and pounced. The ink around them bubbled as it poured down from the walls.

____ “Berries!” Mugs was bent over laughing. His brother had squealed just from the lights having gone out. It was priceless and he’d only seen half of the reaction. “W-What was that noise for?” “Stick a lid on it!” Cuphead was scowling beside him, a snap of his hand and his finger lit up the now darkened halls around them. “Wasn’t expecting it, was all.” “You sounded like a b-bird!” Mugs howled. He hadn’t heard his brother sound that startled since they were kids living in the woods. It was like they were still young and innocent and Cuphead got scared by a squirrel again. Cup’s elbowed him. “Would you quit it? The morons might have found something.” That sobered Mugs up real quick. He snapped his own finger, the hall lighting up around them twice as bright. “Something bad?” “Maybe. Might have been the part too. Maybe it was powering the lights on in the place?” Cup hummed, squishing the end of his cigar against the wall before tossing it. “What about the smell?” Mugs raised a brow, watching as his brother turned back. “You said it smells like a corpse, so… Something must have made it, right? Assuming it is a corpse.” He really hoped it wasn’t. “You sure you just wanna leave it?” It might come back to bite them later if they didn’t deal with it now. Cup grimaced. He sighed. “...You think--” “I believe in them.” Mugman said, assured. Boris had really been improving with the pipe and Bendy was also getting to be a good fighter. They both learned extraordinarily quick -- at least by Mug’s standards. He had to admit he was a bit jealous at them learning stuff that took him and his brother weeks in comparison. Cuphead looked at him, staring for a bit and Mugman was about to ask about it when he finally spoke up. “Fine. We’ll keep going, for now. Just… no more humming.” “What?” Mugman pouted. “The tune’s catchy. We should go to a carnival sometime, yeah?” “No, it’s not.” Cuphead frowned. “And no. Really, Mugs, sometimes you act like a…” he paused. Mugman stopped walking. “Act like a what?” He frowned. He was calling him a kid again, wasn’t he? He wasn’t that childish! “Shh!” Cuphead shushed him and he shut up. He listened but couldn’t quite hear anything… That is, until he noticed what was happening with the music. It was getting lower, the tones warping and distorting before cutting out completely into static.

“The.. ah.. record died?” Mugman gave a nervous grin. “...Maybe,” Cuphead furrowed his brows. “Think it’s nothing?” “Probably not.” It was then a roar echoed throughout the halls as if it consumed the whole area. It shook the floors, the walls, and they both had to anchor themselves to a wall or risk falling over. The scream felt like it was rattling their ceramic before it stopped and the dust settled. The static had cut out completely at this point. He and his brother looked at each other and paled.

Cuphead turned around. “Don’t got a choice anymore.” He started running back. “We don’t know what’s happened now.” Mugs followed, speeding up to catch up to his brother. “What on earth do you think that was?” Something that was that loud… It sounded familiar but he couldn’t quite put a finger on it... “Don’t know, we’ll figure it out when we get there.” Cuphead sighed, mumbling, “Better be cussing ok. Making us turn back and risk getting hounded later by the real monster for cussing nothing, I swear…” Mugs raised a brow, smirking. He was sure he wasn’t supposed to hear that last part. His brother was starting to get a lot more open about how much he liked the crew. Not just Bendy and Boris either, but everyone. Apologizing, worrying about making people upset… It was a turn for the better. His brother kept returning more and more to his old self. Minus the rage induced blackouts, at any rate. Maybe... The roar sounded again, more distant still. He’d think about it later. _____ Bendy swiped at the demon, arm stretching to reach and the Jevil moved back in a swift motion and giggled. “WHAT A SHARK!”

Hours. It’d felt like hours. He growled. Energy seemed to course through his veins despite the haze in his mind, but he could no longer tell if it was the shadows or the adrenaline that spurred him forward. His chest ached even through his shadows so he knew it wasn’t from his illness. It felt ominous but he couldn’t focus on the feeling for long. Hearts, spades, and diamonds flew out from all directions and he had to dodge them, moving when he could and dodging still when he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure how -- he should have gotten hit a number of times but he hadn’t. He felt funny. He shook his head and snarled, trying to clear his thoughts. “Get down here, you sunblazing--” The Jevil had started dancing around almost in mirror image. He’d been doing that for the last couple of rounds now, and Bendy couldn’t tell if it was a trick of the eyes or not. “WOLF PET HAD A NAME, RIGHT?” Bendy paused, his eyes honing in on Jevil. “WAS IT FOOD? MEATLOAF?” “He’s not food.” Bendy took a step forward. “HEE HEE! WHAT A GLORIOUS DARKENING!” The Jevil danced around in mid air. “YOU WERE FUN LIKE THIS TOO, AT THE START. BECAUSE OF THE PUP?” Bendy didn’t do anything but the Jevil only giggled louder. “MAYBE I SHOULD BRING THE PUP BACK TO PLAY, TOO! THE MORE THE MERRIER!” “You touch him and you’re dead.” He took another step forward. Everything was tinted red.

The Jevil only grinned. Hollow eyes blending with the darkened room and suddenly he was gone. “MAYBE HE’D MAKE A GOOD SNACK.” The voice sounded just behind Bendy. Something snapped and he whirled around, claws molded and sharpened in an instant as they pierced through flesh. A squelch and a breath. He could feel his fingers sticking through ribs and tapping spine. The glee from the shadows excited him as he dropped the form and flicked the blood off the tips of his claws. The silence was welcoming as he gave a passing glance to the clown laying still on the floor. “Good riddance.” He took a step away, his eyes scanning around briefly as he tried to find an exit when laughter started to echo around the room. Bendy growled. “Oh, come on!” “WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT IS THERE, BUT WHAT YOU’VE DONE? WELL, FAIR IS FAIR!” “Again with this?!” Bendy growled, scanning the shadows. “Enough with the riddles!” “OVER HERE!” Bendy jumped, turning around but all that was left was the body, limp on the ground. The smile on the Jevil twitched before the head turned, eyes glowing the same purple from before. Then he melted. Darkness fell away, revealing a trembling form with fluffy ears and a snout. It whimpered. Bendy’s voice came out as a croak, when he saw who it was. “Boris..?” The same whimper met his ears and he ran over, dropping to his knees. Claws tapped the ground to either side of him and he could see himself shaking as he wrapped his arms underneath the wolf and pulled him into his lap.

A numbing cold swept over him. What had he done?

“Boris…? Boris, i-it’s going to be ok, I’ll get-- I’ll get help.” Boris coughed up blood. It dribbled down his chin, staining fur. “I’ll -- I’ll get Black Hat.” He grit his teeth. “We’re supposed to be connected, somehow. I’ll -- I’ll call him, he can get us back quickly, and, and then--” Eyes looked up at him, tearing and clouded. Boris shook underneath of him before giving a broken breath and a shudder. Then the wolf went limp. Bendy froze, staring.

“YOU CAN DO ANYTHING TOO, EVEN THINGS YOU DON’T WANT TO DO.”

Dulling eyes stared up at the ceiling, blood was turning his shirt completely red. Ribs were projected upward and torn. A heart laid shredded in the chest cavity -- a cause for the blood pooling everywhere, draining from the face, leaving him pale -- Boris. He… Bendy wasn’t stupid. He did this. He lost control. He did exactly what he was always afraid was going to happen, that he had tried to convince himself he’d never do but he did. The darkness he felt, the fledgling moments, the shadows… He killed his brother. A shaky hand reached to touch his muzzle. He killed his brother, he murdered his brother, he was a murderer, Boris was dead, Boris was dead and he was never coming back. “ARE YOU FREE NOW, INK DEMON?” Was it hot in there? It was getting harder to see. His brother’s face was blurring out but he still managed to run his fingers over his cheeks. He tried to breathe in but he couldn’t seem to get enough air, his chest was heaving, his eyes and lungs were burning he couldn’t-- “B-Boris?” His voice was soft, crackling and his throat hurt. It hurt to talk. His limbs felt heavy. He mouthed the next words but he couldn’t even hear himself speak. Everything was getting blurry. “H-Hey… wake up,” He couldn’t think anymore. “W-Who’s my wittle wolfy?” He paused, waiting, seeing if anything would happen, if he’d start breathing again, anything. This couldn’t be happening. Then the whispers started. He didn’t know where they came from. You did this. Monster. You stole a life, you did this. I believed in you. You betrayed them all. Dreams never come true. You’ll never be able to control it. Murderer. You’re alive, you’ll kill them all, then you’ll die. An image of his brother floated to the forefront of his mind, completely blanking him out to the one laying in his arms. Boris smiled. “Bendy!” A wail, shaking the floorboards and shuddering across waves of inky blackness, ripped through the room and back through the walls as it forced everything to shudder with the force of it all. Scratchy and guttural and full of dismay. The black sludge that echoed particles of gold slithered towards him, reaching for him as he screamed and screamed. Short breaths and broken calls turned to hisses and howls. The inky blackness covered him, raising him up, building him up, as the shadows fell into him. Heat and power. What was he doing…? He was protecting something, wasn’t he...? Ah, that’s right. It was gone now. He felt his throat as hot as embers, bubbling up like spitfire. Bloodlust and a new kind of internal fire fueled him. He wanted to destroy everything.

_____

They were in front of the cell gate when the lights reignited. They whooshed, blue fire lapping at the ceiling before returning to a normal height. Cuphead didn’t even flinch as he lowered his finger. He tsked. “Morons made it down here and didn’t even come get us… What are we, chopped liver?” He gestured to the open gate, waving his hands as he looked to Mugman. “Look at this! Does this not scream ‘don’t walk in here’ or what?” He slapped a hand to his forehead. “God, it’s like we’re in some cussing horror show or something!” “W-Well… Maybe it wasn’t open when they got down here?” Mugman frowned. “There’s so much dust down here you can see their footprints. You didn’t notice that they never walked past it?” “That’s beside the point.” Cuphead huffed. He had to explain this to his own brother? Really? “You can clearly see footsteps on the other side.” “And that doesn’t concern you even a little bit?”

“I didn’t say it didn’t.” “You haven’t said it has yet, either.” Cuphead scowled. He scuffed his feet against the floor. Dust billowed. “Look, we clearly have two options. Walking in there ourselves, or trying to go back and see if they went anywhere else.” He raised a brow. “Which would you rather do?” Mugman’s shoulders slumped. “You said it yourself earlier.” He walked past Cuphead and through the gate. “We don’t have a choice.” Well, they were really doing this. Walking into the most obvious trap in the world. He was going to need a drink after this. Cuphead walked past the gate. It clanged behind him, and he knew without having to look that they were locked in. The music kicked back up again, louder than it was in the halls. He raised his hand, finger glowing. He froze -- almost literally. His breath wafted in the air and within the darkness of the room part of the floor was frozen over. The heaviness was akin to only one demon he knew of... “B-B-Boss..?” His brother said under his breath, hardly believing it. Cuphead didn’t. The aura made him feel like he was freezing but there was no way their boss would be there -- not in a million years -- or he’d had sent them to fetch the machine piece months ago. There’s no way he’d be here doing his lackey’s dirty work, but despite knowing that it didn’t stop the shiver that ran up his spine or the way his eyes darted around the room, as if searching for just that slight darkening of shadow… Expecting him to crawl out of hell just to lay into them about another mistake. Another failed mission. It made his skin crawl. He elbowed Mugs, snapping out of his frozen state enough to try and knock some sense into his brother. “Can’t be, you know this,” he said looking around, his eyes squinting into the dark room. Mugs pointed a finger into the darkness lighting the way. His eyes widened, his hands going up to cover his mouth. His brother looked paler than paper. “C-Cup--” Cuphead turned his head to look, willing his finger to brighten so he could see what the heck was going on. If his hand was an actual gun he would have dropped it. Laying on the floor, drenched in red, was Boris. Blood was smeared everywhere, on the floor, on his clothes -- it pooled in his chest cavity like still water. Ribs stretched out of his chest, as if violently torn and ripped into their protruding shape. His head was lulled to the side, marbled eyes staring back at Cuphead and reflecting the light off his blaster. It made him flinch back, eyes turning away, image forever burned into his mind. What… Where was…? Bendy wouldn’t have let this… Drip. Drip.

A low growl reverberated through the room. The brother’s eyes turned towards the source as claws tapped against tile. They had to look up. Dripping, hulking over them, was a giant demon. Arms big and holding it up, the lower half of its body looked like a useless decoration in comparison. Horns curved upwards, and swayed from side to side as it moved. Its chin was practically its jaw, with teeth that spanned upwards towards where its ears should be. They parted, blackness dripping from the maw as it roared. The brothers stood stock still. Air rushed by them, forcing them to cover their faces. The smell of ink washed over them. It filled the air and Cuphead stood dumbfounded, unable to take his eyes off the beast. Even as it swung at Mugman, getting within melee range, he didn’t move. His hair swayed from the force of the swing. His he turned his head to look at the giant arm, eyeing what amounted to spikes on each fingertip. “What are you doing! Run!” Mugs had already poofed to the other side of the room. Cuphead jolted, snapping out of it as he took a step back to be met with a puddle. Something was crawling up his leg and he made a choking sound, kicking off the ink— oh stars, was that a hand? — that seemed to try and grab him. He looked back, just to be met with razor-sharp claws aiming for his face. “Cup!” Cuphead raised his arms just in time to guard. He went flying, rolling across the floor. He grunted and got to his feet. “I’m fine!” He looked around, noticing then the ink that surrounded the platform they were on. Since when was the floor yellow and made of wood? Wasn’t it purple and tiled before? The sound of Mug’s shots popping onto the demon drew him out of his thoughts. “Great, well we need to do something about this thing!” Mug’s was gritting his teeth. “Wait, Mugs! Don’t-!” The demon growled and tore into the floorboards, throwing chunks at them. Cup quickly snapped as his finger gun came to life. He shot pieces out of the air that would have hit him before he aimed at the chunks of wood hurling at his brother. “That’s not what you think it is!” “It’s a beastling demon sent from hell, it’s dangerous! We need to--” “It’s Bendy!” Cuphead yelled. He paled when he saw the beast running at his brother. “Mugs, Mugs you need too--” Mug’s had also frozen, like he had at the realization and didn’t move even as Bendy smacked him into the wall. He seemed to snap out of it as his head cracked against wood, and his eyes widened before he poofed back onto solid ground, stumbling. “W-What?” He wheezed, holding his gut. “That’s Bendy? How—” “There’s got to be someone else in here.” There had to be. That had to be why Bendy had gone beastly. There was no way-- “RIGHT YOU ARE!” It came from just above him. Cuphead jumped out of the way just before a huge knife came down. Teeth -- literal teeth -- on the blade gnashed, as if disappointed they didn’t get to sink into flesh. The tip bit into the wood before being yanked out. Cup stared -- this was also a demon, but he was practically as small as the pipsqueak! His fists clenched. This guy caused all of this? A demon dressed up like he was at some kind of cussing carnival?! “You’re the sunblazing schmuck that did this!?” Cup whipped a hand behind him. His brother was preoccupied dealing with Bendy. He felt his blood boil. “You’re the dead man who killed Boris and made Bendy into hellspawn?!” “UEE HEE HEE! SO THAT’S HIS NAME!” The Jevil threw the blade up. It was swallowed by the shadows in the ceiling. He hopped from foot to foot. “HE DIDN’T WANT TO PLAY! THE PUP WAS NO GOOD AT TAG! OR WAS IT HIDE AND SEEK?” Jevil turned upside down, sticking his tongue out. His grin was as sharp as Bendy’s. “OH WELL! IT’S YOUR TURN NOW!” “You’re a demon, so you should know who we are!” Cuphead had his arms outstretched. “You fighting us is directly against the Devil’s orders! You really wanna get killed by your king? I thought you high lords had more sense than that!” Jevil only laughed and laughed. “KING, QUEEN, KNIGHT, ROOK, WHO’S THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE IN THE BOOK?” A rock felt like it dropped into Cup’s gut. This guy wasn’t even slightly afraid of the king of demons? How had he managed to live this long? He thought his boss always managed to tie up loose ends like this, what the cuss? He raised his hand, “You leave me no choice!” and started shooting. “THE BISHOP STARTS TO DANCE!” Every single shot hit the jester, yet it didn’t seem to affect him at all—  his head was springing back and forth on a spring. "IT'S SO EXCITING... I CAN'T TAKE IT!" The jester disappeared. Multiple clones of the demon showed up around him, spitting out diamonds and Cuphead had to jump up, dodging as many as he could but one managed to clip him. He staggered, gripping his chest. He scanned his body quickly but couldn’t see any new wound. That feeling..?! “Cup!” Mugs came running at him and he turned, his brother grabbing him before poofing back near Bendy. “Wh--” “We’re switching!” “What?!” He was just about to rail into him before he poofed away. Cuphead whipped his head around at the sound of a snarl. He had to jump back before Bendy’s fists came down on top of his head. The boards under them fractured and he was sent balancing on a plank now sticking up in the air, stuck in sludge. He waved his arms around. “Mugs!” He yelled back, and he paused, eyes focusing on his brother’s face. Was he crying..? Then he felt a beastial hand grip around him. It threw him up into the air. “Holy cuss--” The wind was knocked out of him as he hit the ceiling. He grunted, peeling himself off and as he fell he shot bullet after bullet at Bendy, who only growled in annoyance. “Dammit pipsqueak!” His voice cracked. “Don’t make me do this! I don’t want to but you’re not--” he ducked, a stray blade from the clown’s fight nearby flew past him, “helping!” All that met him in response was the demon running him down and he had to leap out of the way, rolling on the ground as Bendy crashed into a wall. He panted, sitting up. His hand clenched into a fist as he grit his teeth. “Dammit, dammit, damn it!” His fist hit the ground with each word. He told himself he wouldn’t let this happen and now look at this! The Devil was expecting them to kill Bendy and he just -- he couldn’t -- But then he thought of his brother, of him getting torn up, lying on the floor like Boris was. He ground his teeth. Their contracts swarmed in his mind and he stood back up. Well, if anything… this made the decision easier. Cuss. He shouldn’t have gotten attached. He snapped his finger, a yellow glow surrounding it and it started to glow brighter and brighter. He fired a charge shot just as Bendy was getting up. A bestial howl filled the air and shook the ground as Cup started charging another shot. He fired. It would have hit its mark too, had another shot not canceled it out halfway. He blanched, looking to Mugman. There must have been something on his face cause his brother almost jumped when he stared him down. “Mugs! What the hell!” “We’re not killing him!” Mugs shouted back, fists at his side. Was he serious? Cup grit his teeth. “You know what the boss said! I don’t know about you but that,” Cup threw a hand back, the beast was shaking his head off, “is about as beastly as it gets!” “I-I know!” Mugs grimaced. Oh, so he did remember they had to kill him if some stardust like this happened. “B-but we can’t!” “Mugs!” Cup groaned, running his hands over his face. He looked back. “Mugs I don’t want to do this either, but if we don’t--” “Cuphead, are you forgetting?” Mugs looked hurt. Cuphead looked harder and then realized there were tears welling up in his eyes. He was still crying? “We can’t! And because you need a starfallen reason to not kill your best friend--” Cuphead winced, “-- he’s the only one left that can read the map!” Any argument Cuphead had prepared died in his throat at that statement. Oh. Right. The other one... wasn’t an option anymore. He looked towards the ground, and then looked back up. His brother’s shoulders were slumped, eyes hard, but Cup knew better -- he knew that look. He’d only ever seen it a handful of times, after all.

“...Ok fine, we’ll try to snap him out of it.” Or do their damndest regardless. He didn’t know what they were going to do if they couldn’t get the demon to snap out of it. He’d think about it later. “Mugs!”

His brother poofed beside him, rubbing at his eyes. “We’re going to snap him out of it! No ‘trying’, only doing!” Cup rolled his eyes, smacking him on the shoulder. He was going to ignore that nitpicking. “Stop with the waterworks, Mugs, there’ll be time to mourn later,” His heart clenched a little. Oh god, they were going to have to explain that to Bendy, weren’t they? If he didn’t realize? He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked over. “What?” “Cup, I thought you said stop the waterworks?” Cuphead blinked. Oh, there hadn’t been something in his eye? Cuss. He shook his head. “Mugs: capture maneuver, go!” “Again,” Mugs gave his brother a half smile, his eyes flashing a bit of concern. “Nice subject change.” He poofed to the side, shooting bullets at Bendy. “Can it!” Cup’s shouted back at him, snapping his fingers. They changed to green as he fired his shots. If his regular ones only annoyed him he’d be surprised if these even got a reaction, but a reaction he got. Bendy shook and snarled, charging him down and he jumped, landing on Bendy’s head before jumping to his back. He had to hold onto the demon’s horns just to stay on, and he managed to snap his fingers back in sequence to yellow, charging another shot. If this didn’t do any damage to him earlier, well… Maybe it’d at least knock him out? He didn’t really have any other ideas, and he was having a hard time getting the demon to still as he was shaken around like he was at a rodeo. “Mugs!!” “Oh my god, it’s Beppi all over again!” Wait, what? Cuphead looked over, seeing the jester preventing his brother from getting over to him with… Were those horse ducks? On a carousel? What the cuss?

The distraction got him shaken off of Bendy, and he flailed, but was caught again by the demon. He was pinned against the wall and he felt and heard a crack coming from the back of his head. His vision swam with stars for a second before it cleared. He grunted, glaring face to face with the demon. Bendy didn’t even have eyes anymore. His horns stretched up taller then they ever had and flopped around with every move he made. His teeth were crooked and sharp -- almost sharper than the clown’s wicked smile. His jaw stretched up past where his ears should be. It was… disturbing. He’d be lying if he said it didn’t make him nervous. Blackness dripped from his maw and for a moment he wondered if Bendy could have been having an attack in that form. There was a crash, and it took several seconds for Cuphead to pinpoint where it came from.  The room suddenly shifted from yellow to purple and Cuphead felt his head slump against the wall for an entirely different reason. He felt dizzy, almost as if he’d just woken up and had all the blood rush to his head. Was… he partially sinking into the wall? Was there even a wall? He tried to struggle but the demon had him good. Holy cuss, so this is how it was going to end: consumed by a cussing wall. He was half expecting someone to put it on his tombstone.

“BORIS?!” Mugman shouted from across the room, so loud it echoed. Cuphead whipped his head around, staring -- the gate had come back, and standing right by it was the wolf. Not dead, not maimed, not bleeding out on the floor. He felt his jaw drop. What in the ever-living hell was going on?!

___ He was wet. His fur was partially singed. He’d dropped his pipe somewhere in the hall where skeletons had attacked him. He was half-asleep on his feet and was planning on resting for just a little when the howling started. He’d bolted through the maze nearly blind just to get back there as fast as humanly possible. Nobody but his brother could have made that scream, no matter how distorted it was -- he didn’t know where the jester had sent him but he had to get back to Bendy, he needed to help his brother. He wasn’t even going to think about the fact that he fell down the stairs. Not right now. Not with the jester in the middle of what looked like a fight with Mugman and what he could only assume was his brother pinning Cuphead to a wall. Boris’s features were tense and suddenly they melted, his ears flattening against his skull. “B-Bendy…?” “Holy cuss Boris is alive!” Cuphead shouted. Boris’s ears twitched. Alive, what…? Of course he was alive! Aggravated and exhausted and desperately wanting a bath but definitely alive. “Boris!” He turned his head, seeing Mugman staring at him, eyes wide. He seemed frightened yet relieved in a way he hadn’t ever seen on the dishware. Were those… tears? “Boris, get out! Your brother’s gone beastly!” “H-Huh?” Boris blinked, looking towards his brother. Beastly... Where had... His eyes widened. “Oh no!” His brother had mentioned it before, back when Black Hat had told him about what being a fledgling meant, about this whole demon magic stuff. He’d remembered his brother being nervous -- still had been -- he… he hadn’t wanted anyone to get hurt. His eyes started to water, his hands going up to his muzzle. His brother… he went beastly? Oh no, he must be so scared… “Boris, Boris no!” Mugman tried to jump past the Jevil, but a carousel stampede met him and pushed him back to the far wall. “PIIP PIIP, LET'S RIDE THE CAROUSEL GAME!” The jester laughed. Boris thought he was weird but if his time with Bendy had caused this, well… Let’s just say the guy wasn’t on Boris’s nice list.

“Boris don’t--” Cuphead was speaking to him now. His brother turned to look at him, his horns flopping around. That was... new. Boris jumped across the moat of ink. It reached and tried to grab for him but he ducked and ran. He jumped up on tiles floating in the sludge where the floor had been smashed and over poles that had broken and fallen over, using the knowledge he had gained from all his years in the back alleyways to maneuver through the wreckage. He’d told himself this plenty a time over the course of their quest, but never was he more grateful he grew up homeless and starving then he was when he was running through the wreckage of a four-way battle between a clown, his brother, and two talking dishes. Ok, so maybe he never exactly worded it like that but it still counted. Bendy pulled Cuphead away from the wall, considering him for a moment before tossing him towards Mugman and Jevil. Boris could see out of the corner of his eye Cuphead crashing into Mugs. Ouch. He came to an abrupt stop, panting, in front of Bendy. The shadows seemed to be alive and he could see them moving all around. Bendy’s form was dripping inky matter everywhere. His teeth were huge, one looked to be the size of Boris’s finger, and he didn’t seem to have eyes. Huh. And… Boris peered, looking to see the stubbly legs attached to a huge body, broad shoulders and massive arms. Boris’s brows furrowed and he looked up at his brother, ears twitching. Bendy didn’t move. A loud, bubbly grumble came from his throat but he didn’t make a move. Boris took another step forward. He snarled. Boris gave a hesitant smile. “H-Hey,” Bendy howled, the room reverberating. Boris jumped, taking a step back, and he chastised himself for even slightly being afraid of his brother. He wouldn’t hurt him, he was sure of it. Not even like… this. Ink was starting to well up around the edges of the room. Glob like masses crawling up from the moat as they formed hands, and then dripping black stained faces. Glowing eyes met his and started to groan. “What the sunblazing…” Cuphead muttered, looking around as more of the inky creatures formed. Bendy stabbed his claws into the ground, vein like ink stretching into the boards as it dragged more of the creatures from the sludge. “HAVE FUN!” The Jevil danced away and vanished into thin air. Cuphead let loose a chain of curses. Boris was staring at the creatures, paws over his muzzle. What on earth were these…? Were they people? They groaned and twisted -- most of them didn’t even have legs. He backed away as one reached for him. They were really slow, but… they radiated almost the same feeling Bendy was giving off now… Boris felt an arm around his waist and he squeaked, struggling. “Calm down, it’s me!” “Mugs?” Boris yelped, struggling. “Put me down! I need to get to Bendy!” “Are you crazy??” Mugs had to move a hand up to shoot at the creatures. They burst and splattered. Boris took advantage of Mugman only having one arm around him to break free. “Boris, no!” “I have too. I’m not sorry!” Boris cried as he began ducking between a pair of inky legs before he got up and sprinted. Bendy was still anchored to the ground with his teeth gnashing. Boris’s eyes were soft when he looked to him. His poor brother… He squeaked again when Cuphead suddenly got in front of him, halting and ducking when he made a move to grab him. “Stop being stubborn!” “I won’t!” Boris twisted his body to get around him, kicking his feet off the ground in a quick leap. “Boris, he’s gonna--” Cuphead almost got an arm around him but then an ink creature jerked him away. “Sunblazing schmucks!” Boris kept running with the sounds of the cup brothers firing happening behind him. Finally, as his bare paws skid and picked up splinters, he was in front of his brother. Only a foot away he was dripping, a guttural growling sort of sound emanating from him, like the steady babble of a brook. He watched as his brother shook, more and more ink being used to send more creatures at the brothers.

“...Bro?” Boris finally got the nerve to speak. Worry and concern went through him like waves, and he wanted to cry but he didn’t. He forced himself not too. He needed to be strong for his brother. “Bendy…” This time the demon didn’t move. Boris took this as a good sign… or at least he wanted too. He took another step forward. He could hear the cup brothers arguing behind him, shouting. “He’s going to get himself killed!” “You don’t think I don’t know that!” “We need to get over there now, Cup--” “You don’t think I don’t know that!?” “I can’t see that again! I can’t see his corpse again, I can’t--!” Boris was tuning them out, his eyes locked on his brother. He managed to get in front of him, watching him wearily but also curiously. He raised a hand, willing himself to stop shaking but it didn’t work. He didn’t feel scared but his heart raced a mile a minute. Boris smoothed a hand over Bendy’s head, above his teeth. Bendy growled but this time Boris didn’t flinch back. “Dang, bro, you got some big teeth this time, huh?” Boris smiled, though it shook into place. Bendy’s maw parted, and Boris grimaced a bit, waving a hand in front of his nose. “Your breath smells. Do I have to start making sure you brush your teeth?” The growl subsided but only a bit. A rumble was all that remained. Bendy’s jaw closed. “And geez, those horns… I don’t even think I can see your hair under there.” Boris looked up. “And your shoulders are all… boney.” He frowned. Had his brother hurt himself turning into this? “Don’t even get me started on the rest of you.” He didn’t even want to look at it. He didn’t want to think about how much it must have hurt. “BORIS!!” He heard one of the cup brothers calling his name, but he wasn’t paying attention to which one. “I thought you said you wanted to look cool once you got this shapeshifting stuff down.” Boris looked eye level back with his brother, petting his head. “I don’t think this is what you had in mind.” The rumbling ceased. Bendy was still. Only the dripping of the ink down his form remained. “...I hope this isn’t another attack.” Boris pulled his hand back, looking to the ink dripping down his fingers to his sleeves. “...I really hope not, but it might be worse, too.” He looked up. He could feel his own eyes watering up and he swallowed. Only a little bit more, he could do this. “We’re coming, hold on!” Cuphead yelled out this time. They sounded like they were getting closer. “...You’re scared, aren’t you?” It came out almost like a whisper. Boris leaned closer to his brother. “You never like to talk about it, but you don’t have too. You’re afraid of yourself. You didn’t want to hurt me, Cup, Mugs, Felix, Holly, Oddswell, anyone at the house…” He sniffled. “This must be so scary…” He hugged his brother, his arms brushing past slobbery teeth. His clothes were getting stained with ink but he didn’t care. Tears were dripping treacherously down his cheeks. “I’m gonna help you, I promise.” His voice broke and he let himself cry just a little bit. It wouldn’t hurt for just a little bit, right? “Finally!” Cuphead had managed to break through the creatures, approaching Boris. The Jevil reappeared, pushing him back with the carousel attack. Cuphead screamed in fury. “WE’RE IN THE FINAL ACT! DON’T BE SUCH A HACK!” “I’m going to kill you, you starfallen hellspawn!!” Boris heard a crash behind him. Laughter resounded and the cup brothers were clearly getting angrier and angrier. He blinked open his eyes, looking at his brother. “H-Hey…” He sniffled, rubbing at his eyes. “I-I just thought of something… H-Hold on.” He ruffled through his bag. If he didn’t know better he would have thought his brother was still watching somewhere. Carefully he took out two large pairs of googly eyes. He shook them a bit, a tentative smile playing across his muzzle. “Y-Ya know… I thought it was stupid.” He sniffled again. “Granny gave me a crafting kit once, when you were off doing whatever. It had glue and sparkles and weird fuzzy wires. I didn’t have fun with it at all, but when I saw these,” he shook the googly eyes, the pupils spinning around for show, “I thought these were hilarious. I thought maybe you’d get a kick out of them… but I haven’t gotten a chance to show you them yet, and now you don’t have eyes, so…” He stretched, placing an eye on either side of Bendy’s inked over face. Miraculously they stuck, wiggling in place for a moment. "There. Now even when you don't take good care of yourself, I'll always keep an eye on you.” Boris gave a big smile, bright as his eyes. “Or eyes, in this case..." The room around him seemed to grow silent. It made Boris a bit nervous and he turned around. Behind him, all the ink creatures that were around or that had been forming stopped. Cuphead and Mugman were also frozen, and the jester demon finished one last attack before laughing and vanishing. “What.. the..” Cuphead was on the floor, hand raised, ready to fire. “T-They s-stopped…?” Mugman was standing to his back, hand pointed at the creatures as well. The sound of something splashing sounded behind him Boris turned. “B-B-Bendy…?” Bendy’s body was falling apart. His body then his arms were dropping into piles of goop, slithering back into the moat of ink around the room. Boris’s eyes widened and he rushed to him, hands grabbing either side of his face. The googly eyes dropped to the floor. “No no no no Bendy I can’t lose you, I can’t--” Arms, tiny but real, wrapped around his neck then. The rest of what remained of the beastial body fell, and Boris had to take a step back as Bendy -- real and warm and absolutely covered in ink -- fell into his arms and started bawling. Loud and unrestrained. Boris felt his own tears running down his cheeks and he fell down with his brother, hugging him tightly and tightly. The room held no noise except for the two of them, crying. And then his brother went limp. Boris’s eyes widened. “B-Bendy?!” He was going to check for a pulse but his brother was still breathing, thank the stars-! Boris almost fell over onto the floor when Mugman’s arms wrapped around him and hugged him tightly. He was sobbing. “Oh, thank the stars! Thank you! Boris you’re alive, Bendy’s alive--” “H-Huh?” Boris blinked, the onslaught of tears dripping down onto his shoulders and he looked over. “Were you… that worried?”

“YES!” Cuphead came up then. His face was also tear stained, but unlike Mugman he looked like he wanted to punch something. He was breathing heavily. Boris frowned. “Are you-” “NO!” He threw his hands up. They were still balled into fists as he threw them back down. “I am NOT OK!” He hissed a breath through his teeth. “What the hell was that?!” “What--” “You could have gotten killed!” “I didn’t--” “Your brother would have killed us!” “Ok I’d come back from the grave just to keep him from doing that.” Boris’s nose scrunched up. “And… I’m not sorry. I needed to save my brother so I did, and… wow I saved my brother.” Boris’s eyes almost sparkled at that and Mugman laughed. “Mug’s this isn’t funny!” “I don’t care! Get down here!” Mug’s dragged him onto the floor, forcing him into now what Boris was starting to consider a hug pile. Cuphead was stuttering the whole time but after being forced into the hug he sighed and wrapped his arms around them. “Bunch of cussing morons…” “Aww, we know you love us.” “You’re so lucky you’re that pipsqueaks brother or I would have nailed you already--” Clap. Clap. Clap. They all froze, turning to the source of the sound. “BRAVO, BRAVO!” Jevil bowed. “WHAT A WONDERFUL PERFORMANCE! TRULY BEFITTING A CREATORS TALENT!” Cuphead raised his hand and immediately fired a charged shot. The jester laughed as his head bounced to and fro. Boris paled as he saw the red enter Cup’s eyes again. Mugman pulled his brother back down. “Bro, don’t--” “LISTEN TO YOUR MUG FRIEND, I HAVE GOOD NEWS TO SPEND!” He twirled, hopping on one foot as the room went back to normal. The ink vanished and the bars had disappeared as if they were never there. His voice echoed around the room. “THE PIECE YOU NEED IS SURELY YOURS INDEED! IT’LL BE A RECORD INSTANCE IN THE CHAPTERS OF YOUR DEEDS!” Cuphead fired again but this time something different happened. The demon poofed up into smoke. Where he was rested nothing more than a measly record. Any and all cold that was in the room seemingly vanished. Collectively Boris and Mug’s sighed in relief. Cuphead was trembling as he stood up. “When I find you I swear I’ll--” “Cup!” Mugman frowned, getting up himself. “It’s over, we got the piece, let’s go.” “Not until we--” “Cup, your eyes.” Cuphead clamped his mouth shut. There was an awkward silence between the two. Boris coughed to get their attention. “So… uhm… Can we go home now?” Cuphead looked down at Boris, his eyes shifting to Bendy. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “The pipsqueak ok?” “Exhausted but I… I don’t know.” He frowned. “He’s alive so… That’s good enough, right now.” He stood up, carrying his brother in his arms. Even passed out like this he was still clinging to him. He huffed. “I got the record.” Mugs came back with it under his arm. “We should get back as soon as possible, we don’t know if that whole ordeal heavily affected him or not.” Boris whined. “I know, don’t remind me!” “Sorry, sorry!” Mug’s waved his hand as Cuphead started walking out the gate. “Need to go to a bar after this, stars…”

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

@theinkymystery A/N: Before anybody asks, Felix wasn't in this because when I originally started writing this I didn't have anything interesting of note to play around with Felix, and I didn't feel like I'd be able to do his character justice. Combined with me being unsure if I could write around more than two characters and having the story already about a fourth of the way written when I picked it back up last week, I just decided to finish it instead of shoehorning him in somewhere. Even if I do now have something I would have liked to have done with him (Felix being a Zany), I haven't seen his show, so it'd be harder to pull off (and I'd have to restructure the whole story for like the 8th time and I wasn't doing that).

Did you know I started writing this (technically) in December of last year? I've been working on it off and on because there was so many good demon tidbits popping up in each chapter (weekly, mind you) that I kept wanting to include them and it was turning into a vicious cycle. What really got me to finish this up was finding out the next machine piece was showing up soon, and I was afraid it was going to be the instrument and I wanted to get this done BEFORE that happened so it at least had a day to be a plausibility. Knowing me, I would have scrapped this if it wasn't what I thought it was or put it back on the drawing board and I did NOT want to let that happen.

The intention with this was even if you were not a reader of BABITIM, you'd be able to understand and enjoy this while (perhaps) becoming curious enough to check out the work it's based off of (please do -- it's long but so worth reading it in it's entirety).

And ah anybody who read this from the Deltarune side, there's no Deltarune characters in the main work and I'm not sure if there ever will be. Jevil's just a character I love and I wanted to write an interpretation of him here in a way I thought would work with his perceived character (playful and mischeivous) while working off what I feel he'd actually be in person (dangerous, acting as if the world is a game) so yeah. He's not a Darkner here, but a Demon to fit the BABITIM world. Counts with his analogies too, since it's a story and not a game.

Thank you to all my lovely friends and editors, Egg, Mewtea, Mewfang, Kifinosi, Glacial Angel for tolerating my spur of the moment worth ethic and reading over this for me.

[theklancecollection]

Do you know any vampire Keith fics?? Preferably longer ones but short fics are good too

Hey there Anon!

Sorry, it took me so long to reply. There’s really no good explanation except... life, I guess?? I am getting back into the fandom though so here’s to hoping this blog gets more active.

Anyways, here are 39 fics I have found where Keith is a vampire. As always read at your own discretion. =)

Happy Reading!

Just Another Trashy Vampire Lovestory - official_klancetrash

Word Count: 1, 961 (and counting)

Summary: Let's be real here. You have been plagued with different adaptations of vampires your whole life. From the well known classic "Nosferatu" to the garbage you call "Twilight". So it's time to add another version to the list. Keith is your almost average teenager apart from the fact he's half vampire. When Keith turned 17 his vampire side started to take form. He began having odd cravings and gained odd powers randomly. When his adoptive mother gave him a letter from his mother left for him as a child he learns the shady truth behind his existence. After learning about his true nature he decides he needs to learn the craft of hunting or well blood hunting. When a classmate and friend of his (that he admires secretly) accidentally cuts himself in science class his thirst gets ten times worse. Can Keith hold back his cravings or will his inner demons take control? 

The vampire's house - Justtokeepreading

Word Count: 2, 704

Summary: Lance is a vampire hunter that wants to help them more than he wants to kill them.

Keith just wants to be left alone.

Long Lost Second Chance - pink_nymphia

Word Count: 71, 968 (and counting)

Summary: Lance is a vampire hunter. But one night, he meets a vampire who challenges what he knows about the monsters he hunts. Forming a relationship with Keith throws him into the gray reality that exists beneath the world’s black and white exterior. 

That's New - Silas_Writes

Word Count: 580

Summary: ANONYMOUS WHISPERED: Hallpween klance. A vampire and their (currently) mortal bf who has a biting kink 

beautiful thinking - ollyalexander

Word Count: 2, 191 (and counting)

Summary: There are worse things than being a fairy of the water, but Lance is starting to doubt it. Especially when a wounded vampire with a revolting haircut shows up on his doorstep, practically, and it becomes increasingly more difficult for Lance to lead the normal life he hates. This is especially evident when the vampire—Keith, that's his name, not Vampy—agrees to Lance's deal, and things go downhill. (Uphill, too, but it's rarer.)

— OR, everyone is supernatural. Keith wants to go home, and Lance is home but wishes he wasn't allowed to be.

What The Hell is a Vegetarian - MaddieLuvsyou

Word Count: 8, 743 (and counting)

Summary: Keith stared at the dark night sky, sucking his blood bag through the straw. He yawned and layed onto his back, glaring up at the stars.

"What a pain in the ass..." He grumbled.-Klance Vampire Au

Meet Me at Midnight - Outerspaceracecar

Word Count: 1, 206

Summary: Keith hasn't seen his boyfriend in weeks and as he stands perched in this tree, he can feel his anticipation growing. 

I'd fall for you - Lennibug

Word Count: 2, 372

Summary: Vampire! Keith and Painter! Lance teasing each other under the clouded October skies. 

Alluring ways - LimabeanTM

Word Count: 4, 835

Summary: "Ah yes, I'm Keith, did you need something?" The priest smiled and held out her hand. Fuck. If Keith touched that hand he might very well die. He awkwardly stared at it and looked back up at her. She didn't seem to be backing down, "Nothing at all, just want to introduce myself"

She knew, she had to, God did exist and was punishing Keith for existing. It wasn't like he was a baby and decided to be a vampire, he kinda was born with it. He looked to the door and the big guy and cute scrawny guy were right there, waiting. He gave his best smile and threw the cup across the room right over her head, the moment he heard it crash he bolted. He scrambled to the back door, and he heard shouting. The owner was probably some Vampire hunter for the church, Keith saw it all now. Why else was their no garlic at the bar? Or shading all along the building, and no cross above the door? How could he be so stupid?

One Killer Smile - girlskylark

Word Count: 9, 165

Summary: After getting blackout drunk at a club, Keith wakes up in Lance's bed, and realizes that Worse Case Scenarios are actually possible.

The last thing Keith ever expected to do was turn a human—that was the vampire equivalent of killing a man, but that might have been a better option in hindsight.

Daylight - Alex (mermaid_lance)

Word Count: 1, 711

Summary: After a lead on his brother's whereabouts takes him to a run down warehouse full of vampires, Keith gets transformed into a vampire himself. He drags Lance and Hunk into the chaos, and Pidge follows right along. 

Dehydration - joidessin

Word Count: 5, 704 (and counting)

Summary: Keith didn't know what he was going to do.

He hadn't exactly planned to leave Earth when he woke up that morning, but now that he had, he wasn't going back anytime soon either. Which was kind of a problem, for many reasons, but mostly because...

Keith was a vampire.

And he hadn't had a meal for a couple days already.

And no one on the ship knew about this._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

In which Keith is a vampire, everyone is clueless, and Lance just wants to know if he can fly.

We Can Try It - vlo9089

Word Count:

Summary: Lance McClain is desperate for work so he resorts to being a feeder in a sketchy hotel

BUT, it's from Keith's POV.

We Wear Red (so they don't see us bleed) - DeerstalkerDeathFrisbee

Word Count: 12, 589 (and counting)

Summary: “Why isn’t Pidge the Slayer?” 

“Yeah, if Pidge was the Slayer those vampires would have been slain.” “So slain.” “If Pidge was the Slayer we’d be getting lattes and binge-watching Mythbusters by now.” “Yeah. Vampires? Done. No problem.” “Why’s Lance the Slayer? It just seems really inefficient.” “Yeah, I can barely get my math homework in on time, this seems like a really poor choice on the part of Destiny.”

Lance didn't ask to be a teenage vampire slayer. Keith didn't ask to be a teenage vampire-with-a-soul. Shiro did ask to be a Watcher but he's seriously regretting it now.

His Pack - orphan_account

Word Count: 3, 491 (and counting)

Summary: Lance had only known Keith for a few minutes and he was already getting on the werewolf's nerves. Did this vampire always have to argue?

"You don't know what my clan is like. They would take pride in murdering you, especially with the pack you're from." Keith spat, eyes burning red with fury. Lance almost wanted to punch him.

But he didn't.

"I don't care what they're like. They killed my family.

I want revenge."

Beautiful Nightmare - artisamu

Word Count: 17, 785 (and counting)

Summary: Every night I rush to my bed 

With hopes that maybe I'll get a chance To see you when I close my eyes.

Lance and Hunk start their new lives at college. Lance meets his former rival, which causes all kinds of chaos to ensue.

Blood Kiss - plumeriafairy14

Word Count: 4, 115

Summary: Lance doesn't like the idea of his boyfriend bent over someone else's neck and he convinces his vampire Galra boyfriend that he's more than happy to help him through.

But Keith's feeding method is, well... let's just say that it's a special one only reserved for Lance.

Sangre - oreosteaks

Word Count: 4, 820 (and counting)

Summary: "You mosquito," Lance shouted, his face flushing red from anger. His hand shot up and clasped his hand over the bite marks.

Keith did a double take. "M-Mosquito? I'm a vampire, you ignor--"

"Blah, blah, blah. Shut up, you blood-sucking cockroach!"

"Oh, so I'm a cockroach now?"

(Keith is a vampire AU)

Witch Cops - TheJollyPiplup

Word Count: 8, 445 (and counting)

Summary: After an accident, 17 year old Lance McClain finds out that he is an Altean, an elite group of Witches and Wizards warriors with the goal of protecting humanity from the supernatural. With his memories of his past life erased, Lance and his new teammates are ready to fight whatever comes their way! Besides, it's not like his past life was any more interesting? Right?

Otherwise known as: the Shadowhunters AU that no one asked for

Vamp - ihaveacleverfandomurl

Word Count: 3, 560

Summary: Lance felt the vampire’s lips first, mouthing over his skin, a touch of tongue sliding over his collarbone. He shuddered at the cold, screwing his eyes shut. The sting of fangs biting into him jolted him, tensing as the pain traveled up and down his body. One hand clenched at the sheets, the other at the man’s back, blunt nails digging in. 

prisoner - orphan_account

Word Count: 997

Summary: Lance glares at him, the hate evident in his eyes. "Keith."

In response, Keith smiles, barring all his teeth, including his fangs. "Lancelot."

Vampire!Keith AU

Deserving (original) - lancemccry

Word Count: 2, 160

Summary: "Keith lunged at Lance, his hands outstretched as if to grab Lance’s shoulders. His body made contact with Lance’s, and suddenly Keith was being swung around. Something hard and metal slammed into Keith’s hip, pain exploding up his spine. Keith tumbled into the open doorway, rolling down a couple of stairs. Shocked noises sprung from Keith’s mouth as he struggled to get up. The air was damp in the cellar, and he coughed on the mold hugging the walls. Keith choked on blood in his throat, and he peered up at Lance standing in the doorway.

“Filthy rat.” Lance spat, saliva hitting Keith’s face. Lance was backlit by the house lights, and the pouring rain splashed down around him."-Keith is a vampire, and all he really wants is Lance's blood.

Delicacy - Diamondisbackbitch

Word Count: 694

Summary: Lance is a tribute, part of the remaining population of humans, regularly taken by vampires as a food source or sometimes as pets. Humans are such fun creatures, after all, susceptible to simple praise and physical pleasure.

Keith just wanted dinner, but finds himself strangely interested in his monthly tribute.

Bliss - vlo9089

Word Count: 1, 881

Summary: Keith makes huge mistakes with his awful communication skills and almost ruins his relationship.

Lance's POV though.

one more off key anthem (let your teeth sink in) - maryams

Word Count: 2, 926

Summary: Keith sucks at being a vampire and Lance is going to hell. Nothing strange here.

or, supernatural boyfriends go shopping and are confounded by The Gayness™.

Sit, Boy - mulletpaladin

Word Count: 1, 091

Summary: “Sit boy,” the vampire commanded which Lance eagerly followed, his arms hanging from the chains attached securely to the bed. “I’m going to ride you all night long.”

-

My first smut, enjoy!

The Last of a Dying Breed - caimani

Word Count: 8, 998 (and counting)

Summary: Keith is a vampire, Lance is a werewolf, and the Bonding Moment is a universal constant. Based on redvioletz's art. 

A Thousand Years - SnowFairies1030

Word Count: 922

Summary: I've loved you for a thousand years and I'll love you for a thousand more 

but we have monsters inside of us - pinklesbian

Word Count: 2, 752

Summary: how long can keith kogane keep a very big secret from his oblivious boyfriend 

On A Midnight Clear - UselessReptile

Word Count: 17, 217 (and counting)

Summary: Keith does not want to do this, he does not want to go live with wolves! But he must in order to preserve peace between the coven and the pack next door. How will he survive? 

bite me (there’s a snake in my boot) - ljghtswood

Word Count: 4, 529

Summary: “But Lance! Doesn’t Keef have to dress up too? Where’s his costume?”

“Wow you’re right!” Lance rummages through his closet. He finds the outfit he wore for halloween the year before and holds it up saying, “Is this okay?”

Keith inwardly groans. Out of all the costumes Lance probably had, lance was making him go as a vampire?! He just gives him a you’ve got to be kidding me look.

Lance shrugs his shoulders. “Hey, it’s not my fault you have the complexion of a porcelain doll.” Plus, he thought, you’d make a hot vampire. Of course he’d never admit that out loud. Keith was still oblivious to his crush, and he planned to keep it that way. It was obvious he didn’t feel the same.

Just Trust Me - lakeshark

Word Count: 10, 793 (and counting)

Summary: “Gee, why wouldn't anyone willingly volunteer to house strangers who transform into wolves but can’t control it yet?” Keith replied sarcastically. There was a long pause where he could practically hear Shiro pouting. He sighed deeply, “Ok fine.” Keith really couldn't refuse the guy a favor if he tried. He just hoped that this wouldn’t end up drastically changing his lifestyle somehow. 

knew from the first - xintong

Word Count: 36, 098 (and counting)

Summary: When Pidge mentions one day that they think their brother is dating a vampire, Lance just laughs it off. The last year of high school may be full of surprises and obstacles, from college dance auditions to senior prom, but vampires are definitely not part of it, Lance is sure of that.

Funny how the universe bites back at him to prove him wrong.

Scarves of Red - Sheksper

Word Count: 29, 981 (and counting)

Summary: Lance is an overlooked and bullied high school student who can't wait to graduate so he can start over again in a new town. Everything changes for him when he meets his new neighbour, the mysterious Keith. They slowly form a close bond, and it soon becomes apparent that there's something off about Keith. Eventually, Lance finds out Keith's macabre secret, unravelling the mystery behind the string of bloody local murders. 

like a fine wine - shipperbitch

Word Count: 3, 625

Summary: Keith is so fucking hungry. It's lucky that Lance lives just a few floors down. 

Bite Me Like That - SageOrijima

Word Count: 270

Summary: Title makes it sound so much worse than it is, this is just two dorks making out 

When wound's are the start. - theospeaks

Word Count: 6, 146 (and counting)

Summary: When Keith's new family insist on him going to public school he finds his new abilities are the least of his worries, as Lance is now all he has on his mind. The boy with the good looks, smooth skin, and sweet scent. Keith could just eat him up. 

You and I - Three-chan (Techno_Zav)

Word Count: 1, 018

Summary: ''I don't care,'' Lance said, putting his hands on his hips and his heart on the table. ''I could never live without you.''

Basically, after fooling around on a generator for awful romance fics, I came upon a short drabble that I just couldn't leave alone.After changing pronouns, adding my artistic flair, toning down the cheese just a little bit, and adding on, here we are.

bloodstream - katsmovingcastle

Word Count: 16, 469 (and counting)

Summary: “Why were you searching for me, Lance?” Keith asks then, and that takes Lance by surprise, and he settles his hands on his knees, looking somewhere behind him before meeting his own eyes again.

“I was assigned a mission to find you, and I knew you were going to be here because I’ve been watching you, for the past few weeks,” Lance says, and Keith looks at him with another soft laugh falling from his lips, seemingly out of his control.

“Did you like what you found?” He asks then, and Lance gives him a slow to grow, genuine grin.

“I very much do, Keith Kogane.”

[doodlewash]

I’ve just launched a brand new Da Vinci Trio that I hope you’ll enjoy as much as I do! (please read on for my marble mixes using these colors as well as lots of sample paintings). Da Vinci Trios are those awesome little artist-curated sets with three 8ml watercolor tubes and mixing suggestions that first launched in April 2018.

My new Da Vinci Trio is called the “Vintage” trio because mixing these colors took me back to my childhood during the 70’s with faded blue jeans, greens and golds, along with pops of orange and brown. Yeah, I contemplated calling it “That 70’s Trio,” but vintage works just fine as well, since it’s not really limited to a decade. But, for me at least, it created a trip down memory lane and the start of a wonderful journey to embark upon.

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Da Vinci Trio

If you did happen to be around during the 70’s, you’ll no doubt remember those shiny kitchen appliances that actually came in a few colors, but two of the most popular colors were Harvest Gold and Avocado Green. These would be nestled into place and surrounded by deep brown wood cabinetry. Yep, even the Tupperware containers were made to match! It was, perhaps, a bit overkill in a single kitchen, but as a palette, I find using Harvest Gold and Avocado green to be really quite lovely. It works just wonderfully for memories of miniature golf or, as it turns out, it’s pretty perfect for painting actual avocados.

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Da Vinci Trio

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Da Vinci Trio

If you’d like to learn more about Da Vinci Trios, please be sure to check out the initial launch post here, or if you’d like to learn more about Da Vinci Watercolors, be sure to read Jessica’s full review here! Read on to learn all about my new trio!

Charlie’s “Vintage” Da Vinci Trio

SO, what are these three wonderful colors that created such fun and nostalgia for me in creating my Vintage Trio? A lovely mix of Aureolin, Vermilion, and Indigo! When I was deciding on what trio to create, I mixed these colors on a whim and was immediately hooked.

Aureolin (Mixture) (PY40/PY3 – Transparent)

This lovely and light yellow is beautiful on its own and creates a nice glow as an underpainting in a light wash. It’s great to add a bit of pop to citrus fruits or to mix with other colors, which is primarily how I use it. Despite its lighter color, there’s a richness and intensity there so a little can go a very long way. With just the tiniest drop of Indigo, you can get a lovely and bright green that almost glows or you can add a bit more to get an earthy shade of green. Similarly, a tiny drop of Vermilion can create a fiery orange glow.

Vermilion (Hue) (PR188/PO62 – Semi-transparent)

This color is definitely one of my new favorites. In lighter washes, it’s a lovely orange shade, but used with very little water or built up with several washes, you can get a beautiful red that can look even redder based on the colors with which you surround it (check out those tomatoes below!) Though this and Indigo won’t combine to give you purple, you will get a gorgeous chocolatey brown that already has a reddish tint to make those food sketches of chocolate treats look even more appetizing.

Indigo (PB27/PV19 – Transparent)

As an illustrator, I immediately fell in love with this deep and rich blue. It’s a wonderful way to quickly add dark contrast to my sketches, while doing so with a hue to keep things from looking too dull. It’s become my a new favorite as well and you’ll find it making an appearance in most of my daily sketches. If you follow daily illustrations, you’ll notice that I like things to look extra bright and happy. In order to achieve those effects, it’s actually the darker tones that make the paper white and lighter colors really pop. So this moody blue is totally perfect for elevating the mood a bit and creating that bright level of contrast.

My Marble Mixing Chart

Here’s a few of my marble mixes you can get from this “Vintage” trio. As I mentioned in my first trio post, my inner child doesn’t like to make swatches, so I always make marbles instead. Because of the quick style in which I paint, often without letting every layer dry completely, these marbles are a bit more accurate to how I actually mix color.

Also, as before, this isn’t a triad, so you won’t be able to get a bright purple from this mix, but you can get just about every single color that was popular when I was a little kid in the 70’s, so that’s why I called this one “Vintage,” which yes, also makes me feel old, but thankfully not old enough to qualify for “antique” yet. Though this trio works quite well when painting them.

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Da Vinci Trio

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Da Vinci Trio

These are not shy colors, so it often takes only the tiniest drop of another color in this palette to transform them. Or a perfectly balanced combo of two of them to get a specific color for a mix. Here’s an example with Aureolin and Indigo. Note, how just a drop of Indigo in Aureolin creates a very bright, almost acid green, while just a drop more quickly moves it to a calmer, forest green. While an equal blend makes for a faded green that I find rather pretty.

When it comes to Neutrals and this palette, you can actually get a gorgeous grey from a delicately balanced combo of Vermilion and Indigo. Adding extra of either color will bring you to the deep blue blacks and deep rich browns that are quite lovely in this mix. And mixing all three with a lot of water can give you some lovely pastel neutrals like a faded green or even a dusty pink.

To be honest, I tend to splash colors about a bit on my palette and don’t approach color in a horribly scientific way, preferring to go by impulse alone. Sometimes, okay most of the time, I grab for the accidental mixes that occur when my paint blends together on the palette. So it’s not easy for me to explain each and every mix, since some of them happen in the messy moment and I’m still finding them and making them up as I go along!

What I always suggest is a fair amount of playing and splashing when you want to try new mixes. It’s in those more playful and less controlled moments that the unexpected discoveries are made. Below you can see some examples of these neutrals at play in an elephant and her baby that was created with only Vermilion and Indigo, and a pen and ink set that adds just a few pops of Aureolin at the very end, simply to give the illusion of having more colors present.

I adore the range that I can get from these colors and the fond memories that flood back to me, harkening back to a time when many of these colors were are all the rage. A bold, yet still more subdued palette before those bright pastels and neons blasted their way into the 80’s.

Charlie’s “Vintage” Da Vinci Watercolor Trio – Watercolor Marble Mixing Chart

Here’s a full chart of my marble mixes so you can get an idea of the range you can achieve with these colors. I make these marbles by first painting with water, leaving white for the highlights, then I jump in with various colors, pushing colors a bit toward the edges to both create the outline of the marble, but also to quickly see the darkest shades as well. The shadow is dashed in with whatever remains on my brush, which often, depending on the colors is a more neutral shade as the colors have then blended together.

I love this technique, because you can create each marble in a quick single pass, an entire chart like this one in less than 10 minutes, and simply wait for it all to dry at the very end to see the final magical color mixes that are revealed. Plus, it’s just really fun to DO!

My “Vintage” Trio – Even More Painting Examples

I had a blast using this trio and found myself reaching for these colors on a fairly regular basis recently. So here are some more examples of what you can make with this little set. When I first began testing these colors, things stayed very vintage, from camper vans to that 70’s sensation of the Pet Rock.

  Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio

I quickly discovered that this Vintage Trio can be used to paint just about anything at all, and decided to give animals a try. Yep, these colors will work well for that too, and allow you to paint all sorts of animals, from parrots to alpacas!

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio

And lastly, here are some examples of the rich tomato reds and glowing amber colors you can get with this trio, and, I did mention chocolate, right? Below are those delicious browns that might look a bit dated today on kitchen cabinetry, but can make chocolate desserts look really yummy! And a vintage trio would certainly not be complete without paying homage to the TV dinner.

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio

  Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio

Conclusion

Painted Using Only My “Vintage” Trio – Available NOW!

I hope you’ve enjoyed my overview of mixes in my “Vintage” trio and I do hope I’ve appropriately wooed you into clicking here to purchase this set for yourself or someone you love! Each trio is only $19.95, with three 8ml tubes, a little brochure with info on the artist as well as a mixing chart (or yeah, marbles in my case). This is a wonderfully fun and affordable way to try new colors, so I do hope you’ll give mine a try and share what you make with me!

I love this Da Vinci Trio project as it’s a blast to do and, most of all, really fun to see what the other artists come up with in their trio. You’ll find many Doodlewash featured artists in the mix, so please check out their wonderful trios and support them as well (dare I say, collect them all!): Jane Blundell, Denise Soden, Kate Powell, Jennifer McLean,and Tonya Lee.

Da Vinci Watercolor Trios are available now! Click Here To Shop Them ALL And Make Your Own #DaVinciMoment!

My NEW Da Vinci Watercolor "Vintage" Trio! has launched! Check it out! - #DaVinciMoment #watercolor #watercolour #artsupplies #artist #doodlewash #WorldWatercolorGroup I've just launched a brand new Da Vinci Trio that I hope you'll enjoy as much as I do!