Sammy's POV. I tried to relax, but I couldn't. The shadows were staring at me. Staring into me. Trying to figure me out, as I tried to do the same. Aubrey, Buddy, and Lucky were asleep. What time was it, anyway? Did it really matter? What day was "today"? What year? What was I before I was... Ink? Who? I know I was and still am Sammy, but who was Sammy? It felt like an empty label. All I remembered was music. Wait... Music. That was somewhere to start. Something with music, but what? A director, I remembered that much, but why? Something to do with the cartoons... Across the room, Aubrey stirred. I must have been talking to myself out loud. Half asleep, they shuffled over and sat down next to me. It was silent for a few minutes. "...Whatcha doin'?" "I... Don't really know, honestly." "Mhm." Aubrey sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I haven't really taken into account the situation I'm-- well, we're-- in until now. Y'know? It feels like a dream or something until you wake up, and you're still in an old animation studio with two anthropomorphic wolves and an inky guy." They laughed quietly while I nodded. "I understand that." "You do?" "Yeah. I never really thought about my past until now. I don't know who I was." "Nothing?" "Nothing. The ink took whatever was left of my humanity." Aubrey hummed in acknowledgement, thinking. "Did you work here?" "I think so." "Did you have any friends here? Close co-workers?" "I... I don't know. I think I remember Buddy, but, he wasn't a wolf before. And I remember Susie-- well, Alice. But that's because she remembers me. I think the ink connects us like that. Connects our memories." "Hmm. What do you remember about Buddy?" I sat there, staring at the wall in thought for what felt like an hour, but Aubrey was still next to me. Waiting. "He worked in the Art Department. He was a gofer, delivered stuff around the studio." "Good job! That's a step in the right direction." Aubrey's enthusiasm startled me. It was my memories we were trying to uncover, but still, they wanted to know more, wanted to help me. It felt... Nice. Like venting to a friend. "And... Ugh. I think..." They silently urged me on. "I can't remember." "Well, maybe you'll remember later. Give it some time." "Yeah." It was frustrating, not knowing who I was. Made me feel small and useless. Helpless, even. But then suddenly it clicked. "He used me." "What? Who?" "He used me. He used Buddy. He used us all." "Sammy, what are you talking about? Slow down." "Joey." "The guy you told me about?" "Yes. He made the machine and made me go crazy, made me look like this." "The ink machine, yeah? You also told me about that..." "It took me over the day Buddy started working here. It made me crave it. Made me crazy. Made me worship that demon like an insane person. It corrupted me." Aubrey patiently put their hand on my shoulder. "What did, Sammy?" "The ink. Don't let the ink get to you, don't let it touch you. Whatever you do..." I looked down at Aubrey's left arm. It was covered in ink. "What? Oh, this?" They said, pointing at it. "It's been like that for a while now. Since Bendy tried to kill me. But when did it start spreading? It was just my hand before." "This is bad. Very, very bad." "It's kinda cool, though! Look at it!" They moved their fingers around, smiling like an idiot. "Look at 'em goooooo!" "Aubrey, I'm being completely serious. If that continues to spread, you won't be you anymore. Just ink. Like what happened to me--" Their hand started to morph into a claw, like Lucky's. Aubrey gasped and fell backwards. "WHAT THE HELL? I-I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED- I WAS LOOKING AT LUCKY, WORRIED WE WOULD WAKE HER UP BY TALKING AND--" They stopped as it clicked in their mind. They looked at Buddy for a moment, thought hard, and sure enough, their hand morphed into a gloved one. "That. Is. So. AWESOME- OHMYGODSAMMYDIDYOUJUSTSEEWHATIDIDEEEE--" "Oh, I saw. And we need to get it fixed FAST." "Nahhhh! I don't even want to be normal again! This is fun!" They laughed and made their hand Lucky's claw again. "If it spreads, will I be able to completely mimic people?" "Probably..." "YAAAAAY!" They bounced up and down in excitement, waking up Buddy and Lucky. "GUYS! LOOK WHAT I CAN DO!"
om-nomnisexual panic-
