A witch and a devout follower of the cosmic fate she uses her talent to predict the inevitable future.
While most fortunes are futures that are thought to be changeable: her talent allows her to predict “canon events;” she often preaches to her clients that you can’t stop the inevitable, but you can prepare!
Thankfully; since joining the traveling Winters Carnival she hasn’t predicted anything terribly catastrophic unless you count the number of breakups her fortunes have accelerated
All is well and her fortunes have been rather mild; well… at least until siblings Bendy and Aiyda show up at her tent.
Another silly IM Oc for you, this one isn’t exactly canon to the main B-sides universe BUT she is part of this mini solo rpg campaign I have going and she’s basically plays the role of the quest master.
Not the first time she’s shown up actually; I used to draw her ALOT earlier in the year and I even used her in a project during my animation degree! I didn’t want her to collect dust so I’ve been using her in what’s basically a dice assisted daydream.
Bendy, Aiyda and Greenies first meeting has been rotating in my head for a while since it happened. I made Aiyda’s charisma stat TERRIBLE and thankfully Bendy was able to save her fumble with getting a pretty high throw on intelligence!
Then it had me rotating a whole other headcanon where Holly starts getting really into becoming a witch and exploring different divination methods; and since she uses bendy as a power proxy Bendy learns about those methods by extension!
10/10 would recommend letting a d20 determine how a daydream goes sometimes; you come across really fun ideas ‼️‼️‼️
The Questers have faced many challenges, and been in many, many fights. Now, it's time to prove whose the strongest of them all! Welcome one and all, and let the Tournament begin!
Set during an ambiguous time during or after Book 27 (chapters 370 to the 400's). Beware of HEAVY spoilers to anything BEFORE those chapters or DURING those chapters!
Tournament style inspired by Teen Titans’s “Winner Take All,” and Kaijudo’s “The Nature of Things.” Some dialogue taken and altered from “Winner Take All.”
Ao3 link here
Full first chapter under cut (only doing this for the first chapter)
The last thing Bendy remembered was going to sleep.
Literally. He put his head on the pillow, pulled the blanket in close, shut his eyes, and then, suddenly, he was no longer in his bedroom. No longer in his bed, and no longer laying down.
Instead, he was standing up right, and staring at a room he had never been in before.
It seemed old, built of stone, with ancient kinds of tapestry and large, colorful (in a grayscale kind of way) paintings adorning the walls. The doors were those large, fancy types, that arched high above you and had huge, hulking metal handles on them. It was mostly barren of any furniture, save for a few potted plants and decorative tables along the walls. The room itself was rather spacious, mostly square but with elongated hallways on two sides, leading to areas unseen, though Bendy spotted a few doors some ways down. It was chilly, but not the kind of chill from a breeze, rather more like a cave deep down below with stagnant, freezing air. In fact, Bendy could see his breath when he breathed.
He turned around, confused, and startled, as he made eye contact with Cuphead, who look equally as puzzled, and then he saw Felix—he hadn’t been there a moment ago, Bendy swore—and then there was Mugman, glancing around with a frown, and Boris, half caught in a yawn, and Holly, who stumbled forward, hands grasping at nothing, like she had just had something in her hands, and then—Alice, too!
Bendy’s tail shot upwards in surprise, but, before he or the others could say anything, a booming voice suddenly projected throughout the room.
“Welcome, questers!”
Bendy whipped around. An ape stood atop a raised platform near the presumed front of the room. He had short white fur and a bare, muscled chest. All he wore was a shimmering belt with a striped loincloth attached around his hips, shiny bands around his wrists and biceps, as well as a striking, red amulet around his neck. He had a fanged grin, sharp eyes, and pointed ears, and had his hands raised in the air like a priest giving a sermon.
“I am the Master of Games,” he announced, “and you are hereby invited to participate in the tournament of heroes! A friendly competition between the greatest upcoming champions, where only one will win! Bendy,” the demon startled as the ape swung his arm to gesture at him, “the Dancing Demon who's taken the Surface and Hell by storm, the master of what lurks in the shadows! The Cupbrothers, sharpshot assassins but rising saviors to those in need! Felix the Cat, renowned adventurer and author equipped with a bag of infinite possibilities and a taste for the thrill! Alice, the powerful healer with the voice of an angel, and the sword of one too! Boris B-brother, the great guardian of the Instrument, a well of untapped potential waiting to burst! And, of course, last but far from least, Holly May, the witch of Nightmare Night, the lady of runes and mystery! Six brave and worthy champions, but only one shall win!”
He posed, beefy hands on his hips, and grinned from ear to ear.
Bendy stared at him.
There was silence around him too.
Until, “Am I dreaming?” Mugman spoke uncertainly. Bendy glanced just in time to see Cuphead pinch his side. “Ow!”
“Nope.” Cuphead popped the ‘p.’
“Cuphead!”
“This is real,” Holly added, though she looked just as mystified as the rest of them, staring owlishly at the self-proclaimed ‘Master of Games.’ “I can tell the difference between my dream memories and my real memories, and the last few seconds—yeah, they’re real. I mean, maybe it’s not real, like how—but it isn’t a dream—”
“Where are we?” Boris asked reasonably. His tail hung low between his legs, and he stared at the Master of Games sadly more than warily. Bendy’s chest squeezed, wanting to comfort his brother. He glanced at Alice too, and his chest felt tighter, seeing the bandages all over her wings, tightly bound to her side. She looked exhausted, but there was a glitter of panic in her eyes. “Who are you?”
“The Master of Games!” the ape toon repeated like it hardly bothered him. “And you’re in the tournament halls!”
“What tournament?” Bendy pressed, starting to scowl. “What do you want with us?” Was this another thing like with Bill? Stars, he was so done with random cosmic beings invading his dreams and pulling him to random places. And now his friends too? And right after everything that just happened—could they never get a break!
“A tournament of heroes! Champions! Warriors! A competition to prove who's the greatest among the great!”
“Yeah, not interested,” Bendy said flatly. “Send us back.”
“Now, hold on,” Felix said, stepping forward and placing a hand on Bendy’s shoulder. He had a frown, brows furrowed, and his tail tip flicked back and forth. But there was a glimmer of intrigue in his eyes. “I don’t think he would bring us here—wherever here is—for no reason. And that amulet…” Felix narrowed his eyes at the sparkling red ruby around the Master’s neck.
“Well, I’ve already stated my reason quite clearly,” the Master of Games mused. He clasped his hands together. “However, my sponsor had predicted you might be hesitant. And so, he has given me a prize to tempt you into joining the tournament! A prize of great interest, that will help you on your brave quest for a cure to the incurable.”
“...Which is?” Felix prompted, ear flicking. He held a frown on his face, seeming both contemplative and distrusting.
“Only the winner may know!” The Master of Games flourished. “But, rest assured, it could lead you straight to what you’re looking for!”
The group traded looks. That was… too vague enough to be promising. And yet…
“So you want us to, what, fight each other?” Holly asked tentatively, now frowning too. She crossed her arms.
”Cuss no,” Bendy spat. “We’re not fighting each other for your amusement.” The coliseum in Hell flashed in his mind, and he tightened his fists. Claws poked at his palms. Cuss, he was already getting too angry. His tail lashed and he tried to take a breath to calm himself.
“Yeah, thanks but no thanks,” Cuphead agreed blandly. “And who, exactly, is your sponsor?”
“A friend of yours,” the Master answered amicably with a smile. “He’ll make his appearance when he likes!”
“That’s not exactly the reassuring statement you think it is,” Bendy responded. “Either you show us proof of this thing that could help us, or send. Us. Home. Now.” He wasn’t dealing with this. He had too much on his plate already! A stupid tournament?! They had bigger things to worry about!
And how did they even get here?!
“Well, I would,” the Master of Games began, “however, my sponsor has the prize. So I can’t show it to you unfortunately.”
“Convenient,” Holly drawled.
“But you could bring your sponsor here, couldn’t you?” Felix pointed out. He stared at the red amulet hanging on the Master’s bare chest. “That’s the Medallion of Displacement, right? I’ve only ever seen it mentioned in ancient writings. It can teleport people from one place to another.”
The Master of Games seemed to brighten. He grasped his amulet—or medallion—in his large hand. “Right you are! It’s how I brought you here. However, my sponsor is not a being easily summoned. He goes where he wants, when he wants.”
“...Convenient,” Holly said again, arms still crossed. Cup snorted.
“Do you really have something that will help us?” Mugman inquired in an innocent tone. His hands tugged at his scarf, pushing it up to his nose as he stared imploringly at the Master.
“Yes!” he answered. “It’s far from the cure itself, but something to steer you in the right direction.”
“And all we have to do to get it is to fight each other in this tournament?” Mugman tilted his head. “What kind of tournament is it?”
“One of heroes! A test of both physical strength, powers, and prowess! Many challenges will be ahead, but, be warned, they will not be easy! There are other competitors here, fighting for something just as important to them as to you,” the Master of Games explained. “You will fight against them and each other. There can only be one winner, of course!”
“We aren’t fighting each other,” Bendy emphasized once again. His tail lashed behind him. He was sick of people trying to pit him against his friends. He was sick of people giving vague as cuss promises of help. Could nobody just speak plainly and honestly?!
“But what if he does have something that can help us?” a voice spoke softly. Bendy turned to Alice. She seemed so downtrodden, with bags underneath her eyes, painfully matching the sling on her arm and wing. But there was a determined glitter in her eyes. “Don’t we have to try?”
“Alice, you’re in no condition to fight, or do whatever challenges he has for us,” Holly quickly pointed out, frowning.
“Ah, I can fix that!” the Master of Games said. He touched his amulet, and there was a blinding flash for a second. Bendy felt suddenly warm, and he jerked, hair standing on end. He could still feel the cold air on his skin, but he was warm inside, like he had just eaten a bowl of Granny’s homemade soup fresh out of the pot.
Then, he realized he didn’t ache anymore, didn’t feel any dull throbs of pain or exhaustion pulling at him and weighing him down and making his brain feel like mush. Small scars and bruises he had were suddenly… gone.
He straightened, tail flying into the air. He looked around, and saw the others looked just as bewildered and caught off-guard as him. And Alice… She blinked, then shifted her arm, then she stretched her wings. It caught at the bandages, but she gasped. Not a pained one, but surprised. Her other hand quickly started to pull at the bandages and sling, ripping it off.
“Alice!” Holly chided, shocked. She made an aborted motion to stop Alice, but the angel had already freed herself. She flung her wings out, stretching them as far as they could go. They were huge, and beautiful. Bendy hadn’t seen them spread out like this in so long. A smile split across Alice’s face, her eyes brightening tremendously. She looked nothing like she had before. She was practically glowing now. If she had her halo, Bendy bet she would be.
Bendy smiled, something in his chest warming—naturally. It was so… relieving, to see her happy like this again. Like a weight he didn’t know was there was gone.
“How did you do that?” Holly demanded, turning around to face the Master of the Games with a suspicious scowl. Yet, of course, because it was Holly, there was a truly curious undertone she couldn’t hide. Bendy could tell she seemed better too, standing straighter with her shoulders puffed. Snowball poked out from her pocket, tiny nose twitching.
Bendy noticed the Master’s shoulders had sagged, and there were now dark bags underneath his eyes. Then Bendy blinked, and the Master of Games was grinning again, tapping the Medallion of Displacement. “Why, the medallion, of course! How else? Now that I’ve got you all in tip-top shape, what do you say? Are you game for a game?”
“A game,” Boris repeated. He didn’t seem too affected by what the Master had done. His ears still sank and his tail was still limp. “Is that really what it is? You said we’re gonna fight each other… Is it just sparring?”
“Friendly competition!” the Master of Games emphasized. “No one gets seriously hurt, and nobody can kill each other, if that’s what you’re worried about! Once the fight is done, you’ll get teleported right back to where you were before! And if any of you truly don’t wish to compete, you need only say the word, and I shall return you home at once.”
A part of Bendy deflated. He guessed he had assumed it would be to the death…. He blamed Hell for that.
But, still, did they really have time for something like this…?
He glanced at the others, realizing they had, maybe, thought the same thing, as they now all looked more contemplative.
“Can we talk about it first?” Felix asked the ape.
“Of course!” The Master gestured at them. “There’s no rush. There’s no time here!”
That un-deflated Bendy. He glared at the ape man. “What does that mean?” His heart started to pound in his chest. Suddenly, the room felt suffocating. Had he seen it in the Labyrinth before? He wasn’t sure.
“We’re in a pocket of space and time!” the Master of Games said like that explained anything. Then again, Bendy was, unfortunately, used to space and time being weird at this point. Didn’t mean he liked it though. His skin crawled and he sneered. “When you return home, it will be as though no time has passed at all!”
He said it so cheerfully, like it was a good thing, like it wasn’t the Labyrinth all over again—months in that place and—
“Bendy.” A hand grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. Bendy hadn’t realized he was growling until the sound cut off, the rumbling fading away from his throat. He looked into Felix’s concerned gaze.
Bendy forced his shoulders to relax, blinking his eyes like he could wash the red away from them. “Sorry.”
“It’s alright.” Felix glanced at the others. They seemed unnerved like Bendy was too, which made him feel better, at least. They moved to the back of the room, crowding together. “What do we think about this?”
“I don’t trust it,” Holly said. “We have no idea how we got here, how we’re supposed to leave if he isn’t being honest with us, and, I don’t really think fighting each other, even just in a tournament, will do us good. For a prize we don’t even know what it is? Sounds sketchy to me.”
“I agree.” Cuphead nodded. “Everything, including us comin’ here in the first place, is on this guy’s whim. That ain’t good for us.”
“We don’t know who his sponsor is either,” Mugman added, frowning. “Even if he says we know him. But who would we know that would do… this?” He traded a concerned look with Cup. “And why?”
“I think those are valid points,” Felix said. “But, we also need all the help we can get…” He rubbed his chin as he thought, brows furrowed. “I don’t know too much about the Medallion of Displacement… But it is able to, well, displace things. The writing on it was hard to translate… So I’m not sure exactly what it’s capable of. But if it can take away our injuries and exhaustion, I’m sure it can do much more. I think there’s a chance he’s being truthful about this prize, but we should be careful. We don’t know enough about him, or this medallion.”
“...He knows I’m the guardian of the Instrument,” Boris murmured quietly. His eyes flickered to the Master of Games. “I think he’s telling the truth. Or… he knows more than he’s letting on.”
An eerie silence fell over the group, their eyes widening. Bendy… hadn’t even noticed that. He’d been so caught-off guard, he hadn’t been listening. Now that he thought about it, he had said a lot of things at the start that not just anybody knew.
“He called me the witch,” Holly grimaced, “of Nightmare Night too. But… some people know that.”
“But no one should know about Boris,” Mugman murmured worriedly.
“I’m beginning to think that a lot more people know things that they shouldn’t than we thought,” Bendy grumbled, then paused. “If that made sense.”
“I get what you mean,” Holly sighed. “All of our work to keep certain things secret, and everyone just knows them anyway…”
“Regardless of what he should or shouldn’t know, he knows it,” Felix said. “The question is, do we accept his invitation, or do we go home?”
“If he will actually let us leave,” Holly said.
“I think we accept it,” Alice said. A fire burned in her eyes. “If there’s a chance there’s something that could help us, could help everyone with ink illness, we should take it. And I don’t think he’s lying about the prize either.”
“But what if he is?” Holly pressed, still looking as uncertain as Bendy felt. “Or, even if he is truthful about the prize, we don’t know what he really wants.” She frowned, staring at the ground. “I just can’t trust him. He just… summoned us here, and told us to fight for a prize. How do we know this isn’t some sort of trap?”
“I think we don’t,” Cup argued, frowning too but looking less worried than Holly. He looked coolly ahead. “We don’t know if it’s a trap or not. We don’t know if he’ll just send us home or not, or if he’s just sayin’ that ‘cause he’s bankin’ on us saying yes to his invitation by bein’ all trustworthy. We only know what he tells us, and it ain’t much.” He shifted, glancing at the Master, who stood on the opposite side, whistling and ignoring them. Bendy deadpanned. He was probably still listening to them.
“And in these kinda situations, sometimes you just gotta agree even if you know it’s a trap,” Cuphead continued. “An’ get more information on ‘em along the way, ‘til you know what you’re dealin’ with.”
“So you’re saying we agree… and if it turns out to be a trap, we try to find some way out?” Bendy slowly rephrased, tilting his head. He wasn’t sure he liked that. He didn’t like knowingly walking into a trap as much as he did unknowingly walking into a trap. Wasn’t that what they did with the Labyrinth? And look how that turned out. No.
He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said darkly.
“We might not have a choice,” Mugs pointed out. “Cup’s right, he might not send us home. He could just make us fight anyway, or do something else. We don’t know.”
“Well, why don’t we just tell him no and see what happens?” Bendy huffed, rolling his eyes. “And if he throws a fit, we can just fight him instead of each other.”
“But we don’t know how strong he is,” Holly said, then stopped. She blinked, mouth open. “Oh. I see Cup’s point now.”
Cup smirked. Bendy scowled. “What do you mean?”
“If we play along, we can see what other powers he has,” Holly explained. “We can see if he has any weaknesses, anything to exploit… or if we can’t, maybe we can at least see more of this place, try to find escape routes…”
“She gets it!” Cup grinned, grabbing her shoulder and shaking her lightly. Holly huffed and shoved him away, rolling her eyes, grumbling under her breath.
“I don’t like it,” Bendy growled, tail lashing.
“I don’t either,” Felix said. “But I think they’re right. We might be safer to play along. Especially if there really is a prize.” His eyes went back to the game master, but Bendy wondered if he was really trying to look at the Medallion of Displacement. “We can’t risk anything that could get us closer to a cure to the ink illness. We should at least stick around and try and see if it’s true or not.”
“I agree,” Alice stated adamantly. Her wings ruffled, stretching and flapping lightly as though she was unsettled. Was she fidgeting with her wings, or just testing their muscles out, Bendy wondered. He hadn’t seen her with wings long enough to really know.
“But what if something happens?” Boris said. His paw reached up to his bandana, then stopped and clutched against his chest instead. He frowned worriedly at the ground. “What if something happens to us here? And nobody back home knows?”
They all frowned at that. Bendy grimaced. But what could they do? They didn’t have any way of contacting anyone back at Oddswell’s—err, Mr. Toad’s house. They didn’t even know where they were anyway.
“The compacts!” Holly said, perking up. She dug into her pocket and took out her compact. “We can call Cala. She’s the only one who has one that’s not here.” She flipped it open, and they all huddled around her, staring at the mirror. A moment passed by, and it stayed dark. Holly frowned. “It’s not working… But why?”
Felix tilted his head back, tapping his chin. “He did say there was no time here. Not that it passed differently. If that’s true… maybe it means there’s no time passing back home. Nothing will change there. The call can’t go through.”
Holly’s frown deepened. She glanced back at the Master with wary eyes. “I don’t like that.”
“That’s what I just said.” Bendy flicked his tail tip.
“That means we’re already trapped here,” Cup said. “Which means it’s up ta us ta find a way out. An’ the only way out lies with him.” He threw his thumb over his shoulder at the Master of Games.
“What if we asked for one of us to go home?” Boris suggested. “He did say anyone who didn’t want to compete is free to leave. Maybe he’ll let one of us go home.”
“But we won’t know what happened to you,” Felix countered. His tail tip flicked agitatedly. “It’s too risky, especially with this whole ‘no time’ thing. Will you also get ‘frozen’ if you go back? Or will he actually send you back? We don’t know. I think it’s safer if we try to escape together, once we know more about how this works.”
“Boris and I aren’t fighters like you guys though.” Holly looked down. “If this is a competition, and there’s other competitors… I don’t think we’ll last long.”
“Give yourself more credit,” Bendy said, looking firmly at her. “You’ve been training. Both of you. And I’ve seen you do incredible things. Some of these opponents might be stronger than you, but I know you can outsmart them.”
Holly blinked. Then smiled. It didn’t quite reach her eyes though. “Thanks, Bendy.”
“He’s right, you know,” Alice agreed with a serious pout. “You are stronger than you think. But, if you don’t want to fight, you shouldn’t have to. Maybe, if we think it’s not safe for you to be sent home, you can ask to stay but not fight? Cheer us on, maybe?” She smiled.
“I get the feeling that’s not an option,” Holly murmured. She shook her head. “Besides, if there is a prize, isn't more of us fighting in this competition a good thing? A higher chance for one of us to win? I mean, I do not expect to win. But I could at least stall a few competitors, or… something?” She frowned, seeming a little lost.
“That’s the spirit!” Alice bumped Holly’s side with her wing. “If it’s just sparring, it shouldn’t be too serious. My family had competitions like that all the time.”
“Are we really doing this?” Bendy interrupted. His tail lashed back and forth agitatedly. His heart thudded in his chest, uncomfortable and anxious. Cuphead shot him a glance. Bendy ignored him.
“It’ll be alright,” Alice reassured him, smiling. “We’ll get through this together. We enter this tournament, one of us wins, we get a clue towards the ink machine, and we all go home!”
“That’s being optimistic,” mumbled Holly. She fidgeted with her skirt, frowning.
“And if somethin’ happens, we tell each other immediately and plan accordingly,” Mugs added. A thought seemed to cross his mind, and he tilted his head. His straw moved. “Do the compacts still work for us?”
Holly flicked hers open, calling Mugs. It only took a moment before it went through, much to their relief. Bendy didn’t really feel too reassured by the plan—he still wanted to just fight the game master and force him to let them go; that is, if just asking didn’t work—but he kept his mouth shut as the group moved.
Boris stepped beside him. “I don’t trust it either,” he murmured quietly. “There’s more to this we don’t know.”
“Isn’t there always,” Bendy sighed. He frowned and glanced at the wolf. Concern coursed through him. “Be careful, bro.”
“I will,” Boris answered. He seemed certain, determined. Bendy felt a small shock run through him. He trusted his bro, of course, but it still seemed a little strange to think that Boris was willing to—and relatively capable of—facing off against potentially very strong foes. That was the point of all their training though.
“Ready to make a decision?” the Master of Games said loudly as they approached, grinning.
“We accept your invitation,” Felix answered, chin raised high.
The Master clapped his hands together, resting in front of his medallion. “Great! Then,” he spread his hands apart, palms splayed out, “prepare to battle!”
There was another bright flash of light. Bendy threw his arm up to cover his arm, his vision completely whited out. But by the time his arm came in front of his face, the white was fading into darkness. He squinted, slowly adjusting to the darker lighting. It was still cold around him, but the breeze seemed stronger, chilling him to the bone. The warmth inside him from the magic, the same as last time, was swiftly chased away by the chill.
Bendy dropped his arm, frowning (though, had he ever stopped since he got here?). He glanced around, immediately noticing he was alone again, in a vast, empty, space. Four stone walls boxed him in, rising high into the… void? There was no ceiling; above him was a dark, vacant sky. It was a black-like darkness, but not pitch-black.
He was staring up at the not-sky when a glimmer of white caught his eye. He looked back down and nearly had a heart attack.
He leaped backwards, tail shooting into the air and claws instinctively rising in front of him, even though the creature was a good fifty feet away. The white fur and mane of a unicorn glimmered and shimmered, sparkles and sunshine radiating around it like a little girl’s make-up set.
Of cussing course! Starfallen moonrocks! It would be a unicorn! The Master of Games WAS trying to kill him! He knew it! Sunblazing damnit! He wasn’t going to let this little starlight pony kill—
Wait.
Pony?
Bendy dropped his fists.
“Sparks?”
The unicorn flicked its ears. Its head was bowed down, sharp horn protruding forward in threat, but it didn’t move.
“No way.” Bendy gaped. “It’s you! I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again, bud.”
The unicorn snorted and stomped his hoof against the ground.
“...You’re not going to fight me again, right?” Bendy said slowly. Then, he smacked his head. “Of course you are. Dumb tournament!” Exasperated, he turned back to the unicorn, gesturing with his hands. “Come on! We already did this! Can’t you just like, I dunno, forfeit? Is that an option?” He glanced around, looking for some kind of referee or announcer. There was nothing but the floor, the walls, and the void above.
He heard hooves start to stomp.
He dodged just in time. “Seriously! Sparks!”
He landed and rolled, dodging a quick whip around by Sparks. Bendy huffed, annoyed. He guessed this was happening whether he liked it or not. He wanted to ask if the unicorn was okay after the circus, if he was with a herd again maybe, or being taken care of by good people. Then again, though Sparks might understand him, it’s not exactly like they could hold a conversation.
He wondered, if they weren’t in this tournament (and how did Sparks get here? Why him, and not some random unicorn?), if Sparks would still greet him this way. With hostility.
He didn’t want to think about it.
So, instead, he pulled at the shadows around him. There was—-not as many as he expected for how dark it was above. He guessed the void wasn’t shadows. It was just the shadows beneath himself and, well, the walls really, since Sparks was a bit too bright to have any meaningful ones.
Bendy forced them towards Sparks. The unicorn was quick to slash at one with his horn, cutting it in half, but another shadow wrapped around his back leg. It yanked him, and the horse whinnied. His front hooves dug into the dirt and he kicked out. Bendy forced more shadows forward, trying to wrap them around his other legs, but Sparks was too smart for that. He whipped his head in an arc, cutting them all in one fell swoop. His hind hoof slipped from the shadows’ grasp and he lurched forward.
Bendy threw a few more shadows to slow him down, running out of the way. He should probably put some distance between him and Sparks before he got impaled by that starfallen horn. The moonlight glitter pony couldn’t shoot magic beams out of his horns—as far as he knew, anyway—so if he could just keep distance between them, Bendy would be fine. Mostly.
“Can we just talk about this?” Bendy asked. Unfortunately, the shadows did not seem to be slowing Sparks down at all, and the horse was admittedly a lot faster than Bendy. He dove to the side right as Sparks lunged forward. Bendy felt the tip of the horn snag his jacket, ripping a sliver of it.
“Sparks!” Bendy barked like he was scolding the animal. Sparks reared his hind legs, bucking at him. Bendy narrowly dodged a future concussion, rolling on the ground. Sparks persisted after him. “Knock it off!”
Bendy pulled at the shadows, gathering as much of them as he could, and threw a whole wall of them at Sparks. The unicorn vanished in a wave of darkness, though it only lasted a second as his horn started cutting and slicing. It at least gave Bendy a chance to stand back up and catch his breath. Cuss. He thought it would be easier to fight the pony when he wasn’t locked in a cage with it.
The shadows were calm too, not a lot of anger. When they were bloodthirsty, they could be unpredictable, but stronger too, in a way. Here, wherever here was, they seemed oddly empty. Quiet. Dull. Was this how they normally felt to other demons? To Murklin and Hat?
He didn’t have much time to ponder it. Sparks had already broken through the shadows, stomping the darkness to the ground. The creature of light galloped forward, whinnying loudly.
Bendy groaned. “I know, I know!” he said. He started running again while also trying to use his shadows to grab onto one of Sparks’s legs. “But I’m fighting to get a prize that’s supposedly going to help cure ink illness! What are you fighting in this tournament thing for anyway? Did you have a choice?”
Sparks neighed loudly. Bendy had no idea if that was a yes or a no as he had to very quickly dart to the side of the unicorn right as Sparks tried to stomp down on him. Bendy gripped onto the pony’s side, pulling himself upwards. Sparks brayed in protest, bucking immediately, but Bendy grabbed handfuls of his mane while sliding onto the other side of him. He landed on the ground and yanked the unicorn down with him.
The glitter pony brayed voraciously, though it cut off abruptly, winded and breathless, as he slammed into the ground. Bendy pinned him down with his knee shoved into his abdomen and his elbow on his neck. Using a lot of his strength, he kept Sparks down even as he thrashed desperately. His horn nicked Bendy’s arm, but Bendy only grit his teeth and held him down harder.
“Stop. Struggling!” Bendy growled. “I don’t want to do worse than this!”
Sparks huffed. His dark eyes glared into Bendy’s, defiant and stubborn. Bendy glared right back. The unicorn heaved another great effort, hooves digging into the dirt and kicking up dust. He nickered and snorted, but Bendy refused to let him budge an inch. He felt bad about hurting his friend—but only a little bit. This wasn’t their first rodeo, after all.
“This is for my friends,” Bendy continued lowly. His shadows started wrapping around Sparks’s limbs, forcing them still. “Please.”
Sparks jerked again, giving a futile kick of his hind hoof. He whinnied in protest, even grinding his teeth. Bendy frowned, wishing he could understand the unicorn. He seemed rather vocal at the moment. Then again, it wasn’t like he could do much else.
Slowly, the unicorn stopped struggling. Bendy knew better than to let his guard down, but he did let out a sigh of relief. His tail flicked, and he glanced around. “So, how am I supposed to know when I’ve won?” he asked…. nobody. “If this is a tournament, why isn’t there a crowd or anything? Who's meant to be watching this?”
“I think you’ll find it’s not watching—”
The voice spoke right next to his ear. Bendy shouted and leaped into the air. Sparks quickly scrambled to his hooves too, grunting as he shoved himself up. He didn’t go for Bendy, though. He started running away.
“—but reading.” A blue face grinned at him.
Bendy’s heart thudded in his chest, and he felt his blood drain.
“Chaos?” he squeaked.
“The one and only!” The cat floated in the air next to him, paws crossed over each other like he was sitting on something. He tilted his head, eyes half-lidded in amusement as he stared at Bendy like he was a particularly entertaining dog doing a trick. “Now, what do we have here?”
“Chaos, what are you doing here!” Bendy exclaimed. His heart thumped wildly in his ribcage. Cuss, if the god was here, that wasn’t good. He wasn’t sure what to think. The blue feline was as unpredictable as a zany, annoying as one too, but undoubtedly more powerful than Bendy could imagine. He’d helped Bendy before, sure, but that didn’t mean he was trustworthy.
Chaos tapped his chin with his paw. “Have we met before?”
“Have we—SUNBLAZE IT, CHAOS! I’m not doing this again!” Bendy roared, his anger boiling over instantaneously. All of his fear vanished. He threw his hands up, exasperated, and whipped around, walking a few steps away. Then, he turned around, and pointed a finger at the cat. “We have met before! We met in Holly’s mind, and we met in the Labyrinth! Twice! You saved Boris and closed up that rift; took all your creepy crawly monsters back with you! You can’t tell me you don’t remember that!”
“Oh, yes, I remember that!” Chaos said. He grinned, rolling over with his wings splayed out and his paws in the air. “All that chaos and mayhem especially was so entertaining! The authors over there really did a good job stirring things up. Everyone really thought they’d never get out of that place, it was such a beautiful pandemonium!” The cat rolled back over and floated forward, reaching out to poke a claw at Bendy’s face. Bendy tried to flinch away, but was too slow. “But that wasn’t you.”
“What the hell do you mean it wasn’t me?!” Bendy spat, tail lashing. “I damn sure remember it!”
“Well, it was you, and it wasn’t you,” Chaos answered like that made sense at all. When did he ever? “If it makes you feel any better, that wasn’t me either, but it also was me. See?”
Bendy deadpanned at him. Then, he turned around and started walking away. “Alright! Sparks! Let’s finish our match and then I’ll find a way out of here.”
The unicorn brayed at him, stomping his hoof in the dirt repeatedly.
Chaos let out a boisterous laugh. “Oh, this is wonderful! He’s perfect. You’re doing an excellent job. Not that I ever had any doubt! Despite your interesting disdain for me, you’ve always been a pure agent of chaos.” He chuckled, wiping a tear away. “Alright, alright. I’ll do what you want. Consider this a favor for Chipmare Night!”
The blue cat clapped his paws together, and, suddenly, Bendy was in front of him again. So was Sparks, who looked shockingly terrified for a horse. “Now listen here! I am the sponsor of this tournament! As you know, the prize is quite valuable! Something to guide you the right way on your quest! It is very important that you get it!” Chaos unclasped his paws, and a glowing white object floated between them. Bendy squinted, but he couldn’t make out what it was. It was…. cylindrical? Was that… Bendy’s eyes widened. A map! But, Boris had—it had been destroyed! Was it a different one, or the same?
“But it won’t be easy! The competitors you face ahead will be strong. The challenges you face even stronger. It’s up to you to prove that you are the strongest. There is nothing more important right now than to win.”
Chaos slapped his paws shut, and the map, along with the bright light, disappeared. He grinned, and glanced at me. “Did I do a good job? Or, rather, did you do a good job? Ooo, how intriguing!” He flipped in the air. “Knowing what you have in store—this is sure to be interesting! Unpredictable! Hardly an outline in sight!”
Bendy ignored whatever Chaos was rambling about. “Was that the map? How did you get it?” Actually, it was Chaos. Of course he could get it. He could get them all the machine parts with a flick of his wrist! Bendy shook his head. “That’s the prize?”
Stars, this was serious then. If he could trust Chaos and this game master, that is. Which he didn’t.
But if it was the map…. he couldn’t risk losing it again!
Bendy turned to Sparks. “Sorry, bud, but I’m not gonna be as nice this time.”
“Oh, you don’t need to do that!” Chaos interrupted. He waved a paw, and, suddenly, Sparks vanished. “You already won earlier! I was supposed to move you forward then, but, well, I couldn’t resist, and neither could she!”
“Who’s she?”
Chaos patted his head, ruffling his hair. Bendy shoved his paw away, or tried to. “Don’t you worry your little horns! For once, you’re much safer with her than you are back with the ghosts and the bird-cat.”
“I AM NOT A TINY PEA-SIZED MIDGET!”
Bendy lunged at the god of chaos. His claws met nothing but air. A boisterous laugh drifted through the emptiness. Bendy growled as he hit the ground. He shoved himself up, tail lashing. That irritating, annoying, mischievous blue little feline! Bendy didn’t care if he was a god! Could he stop pissing him off for once?!
A rumbling interrupting his thoughts. The ground beneath him started to shake, and he stumbled, throwing his arms out to balance himself. He glanced upwards to see that one of the walls was starting to descend.
Bendy tensed. He kept his footing even and his tail out, keeping himself upright despite the tremendous quaking. He narrowed his eyes. If Sparks was the first match, what would be next? Like Chaos said, it was only going to get harder.
Suddenly, bright, burning flames rose from the other side of the wall. It was only halfway down, but claws scratched at the top as a being launched itself upwards. A flaming ball perched on top of the wall, a cackling roar echoed through the arena.
I’m using this to info dump about my Genderfluid Cup AU (I will touch on Runebendystraw I swear-)
It’s not just what Cup wants to be, it is what he is. Cup can physically switch between genders and has been able to since he was a child. It’s a magic mutation that cannot be changed.
Obviously because of the time IM is set in it’s not exactly the most accepted thing even if it is perfectly natural to Cup and not just an identity choice. Even Mugs was iffy about it but he is supportive of Cup eventually.
His parents were unaware as they left well before Cup realised he could change into a she. However, he hid that part of himself as some inkwell dwellers were not accepting of her at all.
But! One day while they were under Hat’s care. Cup shifts in his sleep and wakes up in her female body. Cup was terrified of what would happen if Hat found out because she thought he would get violent about it and was trying her best to change back(it can be difficult for Cup to change while he is stressed or very emotional). Boy was she wrong! Hat couldn’t care less. It’s completely normal for demons to shape shift and change what they are at a moments notice so Hat didn’t think anything of it and was more confused when Cup basically had a panic attack when she was discovered. He told Cup that he didn’t care and that she was free to change whenever she wanted.
This leads to Hat being someone Cup is more comfortable being around because he doesn’t feel like he has to hide this part of himself when she’s around him. He still hates him for what he’s done to him and Mugs but there’s still that part of him that looks up to the demon because of it.
I want to clarify that Cups shift can either be purposeful or completely accidental. He can change whenever he wants to whenever she feels like it! There’s just some issues sometimes about changing while he’s stressed out as he has less control of his body. There’s a lot of Cup shifting in his sleep as he has less control of his body at this time but the second she wakes up she changes back because she is terrified of the house finding out and hating him because of it(they won’t you absolute moron they’re literally the most supportive people in IM).
The order of people who find out:
Elder kettle (sweet supportive old man but warns cup of what others may think)
Mugs
Hat
Oswald
Holly and Bendy(idk who first)
The house
If I ever write a fic about it here’s some scenes I would include:
1. A scene where Cup changes while they under Hat’s care and Mugs gets freaked out because he’s been conditioned by the people around him that is was wrong. Hat actually defends Cup and basically tells Mugs “what kind of brother are you if you hate what your sibling naturally is” or something like that. This causes the shift to where Mugs starts to be more supportive of Cup as they grow up.
2. A scene where a female Cups is crying in the woods because she’s worried about what the house will think of her if it slips she can change. Oswald comes across her and teases her at first for crying before realising that Cup has changed and how stressed she is. Queue the father in Oswald wanting to help and BANG! Father figure Oswald to Cup (I need this so badly I hate that they don’t like eachother in IM). Additionally, Ozzy is the one to help Cup with makeup and more feminine clothing cause there’s no way Ozzy doesn’t have that after how many times he’s done drag. (And just the Bunny kids helping brush and dress Cups gives me joy)
3. Cup going to stay in his room at Hats casino when she doesn’t want to be seen by others or is having a fight with Mugs. Hat has never changed or destroyed their rooms once they left.
4. Holly confessing to Cup that she loves him and the Cup accidentally shifting due to the intense emotion and thought of her finding about about his female self and once she realised what happened she bolts with a severely confused and worried Holly chasing after her.
5. Obviously the obligatory scene where Cup tells the house and they are supportive (some may be a little iffy but bendy and Holly just hold them at gun point so they don’t say anything.)
This all stemmed from me wanting to put Cup in drag to seduce targets for info and then I thought “what if he was literally a she sometimes” and the angst was too good to pass up. (Jazzy you’ve turned me into a monster)
Now for RuneBendyStraw.
Someone posted about it before and I fell in love with it!
From what I remember:
They said something about Cup and Holly being in an initial relationship before they both realised they liked Bendy as well. This lead to both of them flirting with an oblivious Bendy who thought he was just third wheeling on their relationship whenever that asked him to hang out with them. Eventually they both just outright ask him out because he’s dense when it comes to people genuinely wanting him and badabing badaboom we have RuneBendyStraw
For this Cup AU I want to add that Cup thought Holly wouldn’t want to be with him because he’s female sometimes because being gay in the 1930s was a no no. Again Cup, quit doubting your friends. Holly just saw it as a plus cause who wouldn’t want a cute dish woman in addition to an already very hot man.
So yea this got longer than I thought it would 😅 but I hope you like it!
