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Bendy stood on the balcony of the ship, looking out at the approaching city of New York. He felt anxiety overcome him, bad memories overwhelming his already clouded mind.
"You need to keep smiling Bendy, don't let the audience see you frowning," Joey said, a cold, fake smile spread across his face. Bendy nervously looked in the mirror, the frown still plastered on his face, he didn't want to smile, he was sad but Joey kept on insisting.
" But Joey, I- I don't feel like it, I don't feel like performing right now, can we continue later? please, I'm tired-"
"Stop complaining and suck it up, I have a tight schedule to keep too and remember I created you, Bendy. I gave you life! I can take you out of this world just as quickly as I brought you into it." Joey said, his tone filled with irritation and disappointment. Bendy looked down, that familiar anxious feeling overwhelming him as he looked away from Joey's judgemental and cold, hard gaze.
Bendy hesitantly nodded, forcing himself to smile as he looked up at his 'creator'.
Joey's mouth contorted into a malicious grin, pleased that he got what he wanted. He always did, all he did was take and take but never gave.
"See? Much better!" he grabbed the demon's arm tightly, pulling him up to eye level "Now, finish up recording or you'll be locked in that room again." he snared, Bendy nodded rapidly as Joey smiled "Remember to be that 'beloved' Devil Darling!" he dropped him to the ground, the demon landing on his knees as his creator walked out of the room. He stared down at the ground, the grin still on his face as the ink dripped down his head and small droplets fell onto the light brown wooden floor, bound to stain the already flimsy floorboards, his eyes watering.
"Bendy?"
"Bendy?" Bendy snapped out of the traumatic memory which plagued his mind, wiping the ink from his forehead as he turned around to see Cuphead looking towards him worried. "You've been up here an awfully long time, it's past early in the morning" Bendy turned around but his eyes wouldn't meet Cuphead's, no not yet.
"I just- I needed some fresh air" he stated, crossing his arms as he finally met the cup's gaze.
"You sure? Yah didn't have another one of them Nightmares again, did yah?" He asked. Bendy paused. his face gave it away, no matter what Bendy did, no matter how cold his gaze was, Cuphead could always read him, read his facial expression or even his mind at this point.
"I- well-" he sighed "Yes. . . I did" he responded hesitantly, Cuphead walked over to him and leaned over the ledge of the boat railing, the cool night breeze blowing his straw to the other side of his head.
"Wanna talk about it?" he asked, Bendy just shook his head, Cuphead knew that was coming.
He wasn't one to open up and probably never would, Bendy disliked the thought of being vulnerable by opening up to people. Cuphead took a moment and then skooched closer to Bendy.
"I get nightmares too," he said, Bendy looked at him.
"Really? About what?" he questioned curiously.
"I told you I made a deal with the Devil, right?"
"Yeah, you did. Are the nightmare's about him?"
"It's not the Devil who gives me nightmares, it's the people's souls I've taken, it takes such a. . . huge toll on you, the fact you've killed and taken so many people's souls, some were only trying to get out a rough place, others did it for a quick laugh, some did it cause they had no other choice" he started, spiralling into a rant "I regret it, I really do but I did what I had to do to save my brother's life. . . when I was a young adult, maybe. . . 18-19, I went into the Devil's casino. I've always had good luck, you know? So, I decided to give my go at gambling, I was on a streak at the craps table, and the Devil challenged me if I won this next roll, I got everything in his casino, if I lose. . . he gets mine and my brother's soul" Cuphead took a deep breath "I was blinded by greed and threw the dice. I rolled snake eyes." His voice trembled as he gripped the side of the boat tightly "I couldn't let him go threw that, the guilt I felt instantly was already killing me, so, I got on my knees and begged him to spare my brother, I stated that since he didn't roll the dice he shouldn't face punishment, I said I'd do anything. He agreed, I was now the Devil's debt collector and. . . immortal. I was so useful he made it impossible for me to die by age because he wanted to keep me around I- I tried to end it all, I really did but no matter what I do. . . It never works" Cuphead lit a cigarette, blowing the smoke through his teeth, ending his rant.
Bendy stared, he felt pity for him. Cuphead handed him his cigarette, Bendy took a drag and sighed, the smoke going with his breath, and he handed it back to the other toon.
"You. . . never told me all that" He responded, Cuphead nodded.
"I hate talkin' about my own past, it was years ago, I'm over it. . . mostly." he responded.
Bendy knew that feeling, the feeling of not wanting to confront your past and wanting to bury it deep down inside you, not wanting it to even be a memory, wanting to erase it from you as a person like erasing the lead of a pencil on a sheet of paper to fix the mistake of your drawing.
Bendy went to speak, then hesitated.
"Cuphead- If you don't mind, I want to ask a more. . . personal question" Bendy finally muttered. Cuphead turned, laughing at the demon beside him.
"Hah! What can get more personal than telling you my whole life story, huh Toot's?" he threw his cigarette bud into the ocean "go on" Cuphead urged him, a smile on his face to treasure the imp he was okay with being asked another question.
"How long have you been collecting souls?" Bendy asked, Cuphead froze, tensing up as his smile dropped, a blank, wide-eyed stare plaguing his face.
That question was something he wasn't expecting to be asked, he didn't want it to be asked. He didn't want to answer it. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"You really wanna know?" he asked, his voice dead.
Bendy nodded, patiently waiting for the Devil's pawn to answer.
Cuphead took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out.
"Over forty years now" he muttered, Bendy's body went stiff, usually even when he was just walking around he had a smooth almost fluid-like movement, maybe it was due to the way he was animated or the fact he was still dripping with ink or the way his limbs stretched strangely, allowing him to defy the laws of physics which his companion couldn't.
"You don't look forty" he responded, Bendy wasn't aware Cuphead was a 1930s cartoon, he was so vibrant in colour, he always forgot cartoons went to colour so soon after his creation. Bendy himself was a 1920's cartoon being created in 1928, Cuphead shrugged.
"Neither do you" he chuckled.
"Are you scared?"
"Scared of what?"
"Outliving the people you love? Like I did. . ."
". . . Eh, I ain't too worried about it"
Bendy could hear the hurt in his voice, thinking about the death of his loved ones. Bendy knew how it felt. Henry had passed away only a year ago at seventy-one, leaving Bendy alone. . . again.
"What family do you have left?" he asked, Cuphead turned to him.
"What family do I have? Well, my brother, his wife and kids, I've never tried to settle down, too scared of getting attached to someone whos bound to die cause, let's face it, my brother's gonna die, my sister-in-law will die and then his kids too" he sighed, looking down.
Bendy scooched slightly closer, and he placed a hand on his back.
"I'll be here for you, I promise," he said, giving Cuphead a small smile, something he only did every now and again these days. "I mean, we're both immortal, aren't we?
Cuphead smiled back, the ship finally arriving at New York's harbour as the sun started to rise.
"Yeah, we are, ain't we?" He chuckled "Well, this is our stop Toot's, ready?" he said, tightening the bandana around his handle.
Bendy groaned.
"Wish you'd stop callin' me Toot's" he huffed, Cuphead laughed as he grabbed Bendy's bag, throwing it to him as people began to get off the ship, Bendy and Cuphead following in the mix of people and toons, on their way to Joey Drew's Studio.