Book Eight

## Summary

On a trip to help out Sammy's cousin in Canada sudden tragedy strikes causing the Cupbros and Bendy to be abducted by a mysterious boy in the confusion. The boy takes the trio to Circo Del Piacere, also known as the Dark Circus, a chaotic circus filled with magic, monsters and mysteries. While the boys try to survive the circus the rest of their friends desperately search for them while still trying to uncover the mystery of the missing fallen Angels. As the investigations continue all roads seem to lead back to the circus and new questions arise. Just what is happening behind the scenes at the dark circus? Who is this mysterious young boy? And just how will the rest of the Questers deal with being separated from three of their members?

### Warnings and Triggers

* Graphic Depiction of Illness
* Graphic Depiction of Violence
* Reference to Racism
* Major Character Death
* Near Death Experiences
* Blood
* Burns
* Trauma/Flashbacks
* Depictions of Mourning/Grieving
* Eating Issues
* Kidnapping/Trafficking
* Discussion of War, Imprisonment and Death/Dismemberment
* Human Experimentation
* Murder

## Detailed Information

***Spoiler warning:** Full book plot summary in collapsable.*

It's the day after New Year and life at Dr. Oddswell's house is finally getting back to normal when Sammy gets a phone call during breakfast. After taking the call he tells the rest of the house that the call was from his cousin Danny who got into some trouble in Canada while chasing his dreams of stardom and now needs help getting back home. Concerned, the B-Bros and Cupbros agree to go to Canada with Finley and Sammy. They even stop by the circus to ask Mickey and Ozzy to come with them in the hopes they could have some good show business advice. The group packs their things, say their goodbyes and hops on a train to Tinsel Town, Canada. Once they arrive in Tinsel Town they discover that the whole town discriminates against animal toons. They then meet up with Danny, who explains that he had been cast in a movie called The Lil Ark Angel alongside child star Darla Dimple but he upset her when he tried to stand out in her movie. In revenge, Darla set him up to take the fall for an "accident" on set which led to all the animal toons getting fired and blaming Danny for it which is what led to him wanting to leave town. The group tells Danny he can't just leave things as they are and give up, lifting his spirit. The group begins planning how they can fix things and overcome the various obstacles in their way, such as Darla's zany butler Max. They soon come up with a plan and secretly invite the animal actors to the premiere of the movie and steal supplies from the studio so the animals can do a live performance at the premiere. The plan is going well and even the fact that the movie's main investor is a Demon prince doesn't prove to be a problem until Max catches wind of their plan. The zany attempts to stop them but, after a rooftop fight, Danny sends the butler flying on a giant balloon and they race back into the theatre just in time to start the performance. Danny lies and says the performance is all Darla's idea, which she can't deny in front of an audience. Sammy and Finley entertain the audience while Danny talks the other animals into agreeing to the plan. As the animals begin to perform the Cupbros and B-Bros help out backstage as well as foil Darla's various sabotage attempts. By the end of the performance, Darla ends up wrapped in sound equipment which the Questers turn on so that the whole audience hears Darla yelling at Danny about how she should have drowned all the animal toons when she flooded the stage. The crowd goes silent at the admission of guilt and Darla is sent screaming through a trap door before she can try to save face.

Meanwhile, back in Toon Town, the girls are still looking into the missing fallen Angels. They decide to not only bring Felix into their investigation but also check out a warehouse supposedly connected with the missing Angels. That night the four of them break into the warehouse and begin to look around. Unfortunately, their initial search doesn't turn up much besides a ledger showing that some items consistently come into the warehouse and never leave. After looking at the ledge, Felix uses his magic bag to measure the room and determines the inside is significantly smaller than the outside of the building. Realizing this most likely means there is a secret room the group uses Alice's magic to locate the secret entrance by following air currents. Behind the entrance, they find a large, slightly rusted elevator which they ride down a level to find a hallway with a few rooms that contained the missing boxes of food and clothes they had noted on the register as well as an office. They manage to get into a couple of drawers in the office where they find coded files marked with an unrecognizable rune. The files also have pictures of magical creatures attached to them and Alice makes a choked noise when she sees a picture of her missing friend Polly. A loud bang from outside the room startles the group and Felix says they should get out now since, thanks to Holly's talent, they have perfect copies of all the files already. Holly and Alice don't want to leave since there's a chance the kidnapped creatures could be somewhere in the warehouse, but Felix argues that if they get caught there's no one else who knows what's going on so they and the creatures will have no other rescuers coming after them. The girls, acknowledging the sense of Felix's argument and their own exhaustion, agree to leave and make their way out of the warehouse without incident. Felix says he expects the girls to meet with him while they decode the files, and assures Alice they'll save the kidnapped victims before they all head to their respective homes for the night.

Back in Tinsel Town, the whole town is abuzz about the incredible animal performers which leads to Danny, Sammy and Finley all getting signed with the local production studio. The group leaves the studio office in a great movie until Finley begins having an ink attack. It soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary attack and that Finley isn't going to make it through this one. Finley just tells Sammy to follow through on their dream for him and has Boris promise to finish the Ink Machine for him. After telling Danny he's proud of him and Sammy that he loves him, Finley disappears into a puddle of ink in the blink of an eye. The group is horrified by what happened to Finley and Bendy quickly rushes behind the corner of another building as a panic attack sets in. Soon, the Cupbros find him but before they can figure out a way to pull Bendy out of the attack a new voice calls out to them. The voice says "it's time for the three of them to take a trip together" and, though the Cupbros seem to try to fight back, they aren't successful as all three of them are captured. Moments afterwards Boris enters the alley they were in and finds a letter claiming that Black Hat has taken the trio and will return with them in a few days. Boris is frustrated at the poor timing but still covers for the trio with Mickey and Ozzy. Grief hangs heavy over the remaining group as they make their way back to the hotel to recover. Boris in particular is very shaken since something similar could happen to Bendy at any time as his thoughts begin to spiral into fears of abandonment. Once they've cleaned up a bit they talk with Danny and Sammy. who plan to go back to their hometown to tell Finley's family what happened and set up the funeral. with that decided the group starts making their way out of town with Sammy and Danny saying their goodbyes to the group as they head off their own way. Boris, Mickey, and Oswald climb onto the bus out of town.

As that trio travels home back at Dr. Oddswell's Felix is looking at the B-Bros paperwork in hopes of adopting the boys but it quickly becomes clear that it will not be a simple task thanks to the boy's various legal issues. Boris still has a criminal record that was never fully cleared up and Bendy is considered "unfit" for adoption since he is a Demon. In the hopes of learning about Hell's adoption system, Felix calls Hat's casino to talk with him only to be informed that the place is under new management. Felix decides to go to the casino to personally talk with the new manager, Taffy. Taffy turns out to be a lizard Demon who refuses to tell Felix what happened to Hat beyond the fact that he disappointed their boss and was thus relieved of his position at the casino. Reluctantly, Felix asks Taffy about the laws regarding children and adoption in Hell which the Demon does answer after laughing about it a bit. As Felix goes to leave, Taffy says that Hat won't be coming back, so Bendy will need a new master, offering himself up for the role. Felix leaves, already sure that Taffy is even worse than Black Hat. Felix also runs into Holly while at the casino and the two of them discuss how concerning Black Hat's sudden disappearance is before she gives Felix a copy of the coded files from the warehouse and the two go their separate ways. That night the girls, Felix, and Cazziel head back to the warehouse to continue investigating it. They take the elevator to the bottom level and, after walking for hours down a long tunnel, find a giant stadium-sized room filled with cages covered in tarps. There aren't many guards so they begin to look around but they quickly realize the Angels aren't here since this is only a temporary storehouse. At Cazziel's suggestion, they begin searching for an office with a ledger which they eventually get to after distracting a guard. They find the ledger but when they go to leave the office Cazziel and Alice are prevented from leaving thanks to a magical trap in the room. Alice is eventually able to force her way through, severely burning her hands in the process, but Cazziel does not have the magic needed to perform such a feat. As the group begins to panic at the sound of the guards returning Cazziel tells them to leave him behind and, with no other option, the group does so. Felix apologizes to him as they go and the other girls physically pull Alice away from Cazziel into one of the trucks. The group makes their escape in a hail of bullets as the guards shoot at them all the way out.

Finally, Boris's group arrives back at the house only to find that almost everyone else is out. After calling around to let everyone know to come back to the house to talk an exhausted Boris then heads upstairs with the circus brothers to unpack, and Jerry, having realized something is seriously wrong, helps them out in an unexpected act of kindness. Soon after they finish unpacking Felix and the girls pull up to the house, still obviously roughed up from their night at the warehouse. Both groups decide to wait until everyone is present before explaining what happened to them, and Boris ends up falling asleep as he waits for the others to arrive at the house. When Boris wakes up everyone has gathered and the discussion begins. Felix begins the discussion by explaining what he and the girls have been dealing with concerning the disappearances. Everyone is shocked that they hadn't heard all the details about this serious situation sooner, but agree to allow the girls to stay in the house for a while since they no longer believe their apartment is safe for Alice. Mickey suggests calling the police but the others point out that if they do that then Angels will come to investigate the town, leading to them potentially discovering and confiscating the parts. At this point, all the secrets in his life become too much for Boris and he explodes on the others, yelling about how he thought he could trust them and that they can't hide things from each other anymore. While being comforted by Alice he blurts out that Bendy and the Cupbros are gone and that Finley is dead, launching the room into chaos. Holly almost faints at the news and has to be taken out of the room while the others mourn Finley's loss. They then question where the boys are and Felix becomes suspicious when he hears it was supposedly Black Hat who took them since he has also disappeared. The idea that his brother may not return sends Boris into a panic as the others begin discussing the details. Felix and Dot quickly check out Hat's office in Hell, reporting back to the others that it's been absolutely trashed. They begin making plans to investigate the boys' disappearance as Felix asserts that they'll find everyone. As the days pass, the house members practically run themselves ragged in their investigation, especially Felix and Xedo. Holly, Cala and Granny also leave the house to travel to Finley's hometown for the funeral. Since they are unable to go to the funeral Boris and Alice buy some flowers and head to the local cemetery. They visit the graves of those they have previously lost and place flowers at an oak tree for Finley. At each gravestone, they talk a bit about the person, especially at Finley's tree. After visiting the final grave Alice gives Boris a hug before they both head back home.

When Alice and Boris get back into the house they're greeted by the sight of Jerry's wife Martha, who says they have a lot to talk about. They are immediately put off by her attitude but they still sit down to talk with her. Martha begins talking about how worried she is about her husband, who is seated right next to her refusing to look anyone in the eye, and claims that she needed to come down to check on her investment. As she continues talking it becomes clear she has no faith in the Ink Machine, or magic at all, and disapproves of the B-Bros. Alice attempts to defend the brothers but Martha brushes it off, insisting they could hire someone better for the job than the B-Bros. She tries to claim that it's nothing against the boys personally, but it's clear she looks down on them because of their background. Red soon brings Dr. Oddswell in to speak with Martha and she tries convincing the doctor to go to professional researchers instead of the Questers. Oddswell states he wouldn't trust them to protect his research the way the Questers do. Martha finally snaps at this, yelling about how wolves are violent and Demons are evil. Everyone is shocked by her words as she turns on the doctor once more, questioning if he's even tried any other methods to find a cure. Oddswell calmly responds that he attempted 267 different cures, but all were failures. Martha points out it was her money that funded those attempts and threatens to pull her funding if the B-Bros are not removed from the Ink Machine quest. After seeming to think about it for a moment Dr. Oddswell tells her she can go since there are many ways to get money, but the B-Bros are irreplaceable. Enraged by the doctor's dismissal, Martha begins to storm out of the house, calling for Jerry to come with her. Jerry, finally breaking his silence, nervously tells her no since the house is still the best place for an Ink Illness victim like him to be. With no choice but to accept the truth of that, Martha marches out of the house, yelling to Dr. Oddswell that this isn't over. Dr. Oddswell seems unfazed by the incident as he heads back into the house to do more work. Jerry approaches Boris and stutters through what seems to be an excuse about his wife but Boris tells him to just leave him alone. After Jerry leaves Boris, Alice, and the Warners gather together to have some lunch. As they are eating, Felix rushes into the room exclaiming that he finally cracked the code on the papers.

Elsewhere, Bendy has a dream of when he was young before waking up to the sound of Cuphead yelling at him. He finds that he and the Cupbros have been imprisoned in two separate cages in what appears to be a train car and all three of them have been shackled with magic-nullifying cuffs. Trapped, powerless, confused, and angry the trio has no choice but to sit and wait for something to happen. At one point a man comes in to give them bowls of food and water but he ignores everything they say to him. Eventually, the train comes to a stop. More men come in, putting tarps over their cages, threatening them so they don't make any noise, and moving them through what seems to be a populated area on a truck. Soon, the cages are taken off the trucks and the tarps are removed. Bendy is shocked to find he's at a circus as the boy who abducted them welcomes them to Circo Del Piacere. The Cupbros and Bendy's cages are separated as Bendy is taken away with the circus animals. Bendy is taken to a tent with large spotlighted cages that holds a miniature unicorn and is forced into the cage with the creature. The boy offers to let Bendy out of the cage in exchange for him performing in some shows at the circus, but Bendy refuses. Accepting the answer, the boy starts to leave with a warning not to kill the unicorn since it would upset the owner of the circus. Bendy tries to negotiate with the kid, but he yells that everyone needs to see Bendy for the monstrous murderer he is before laughing at Bendy's confusion and leaving. Bendy doesn't have much time to dwell on the conversation as the unicorn begins to attack him. Bendy goes on the defensive, dodging its lunges as he futilely tries to talk it into a truce.

Meanwhile, The Cupbros have been left in their own tent filled with magical creatures. Cuphead recognizes Circo Del Piacere as Azazel's circus, which he has actually visited in the past, but can't fully remember thanks to the memory/distraction spells that cover the circus. As he looks around the other cages Cuphead notices that the small cages next to them actually has a family of dandehogs in it, which surprises the Cupbros since they didn't know any existed other than Snowball. The boy who kidnapped them soon arrives, taunting them and revealing he knows they work for the Devil. At first, it seems that the boy is just there to taunt them and leave, but then Mugman offers to make a deal with the kid. After some initial disinterest, the boy returns to negotiate, stating that they do have impressive reputations and that as long as Bendy still dies it should be fine. Cuphead is furious at the mention of Bendy dying, slamming against the bars and yelling that they need him alive to do their job. The boy is scared by the display of rage but quickly recovers, saying he'll keep that in mind. He then offers to let them out of the cage if they perform some sharpshooting shows and even says he may spare Bendy. The boy then leaves, telling them he'll be back in the morning to hear whether or not they accept the deal. Cuphead doesn't want to agree to the deal since he may have to shoot at Mugman during the performances but, at Mugman's insistence, he eventually agrees to do it. The next morning they are awoken by the boy opening their cage to give them breakfast and unlock their cuffs. As they eat, Cuphead starts talking to the kid and quickly puts together that he has some kind of connection with the Voodoo Queen. The boy reveals he is her son who has been harboring resentment towards them ever since the trial when the B-Bros were let go. He then warns the Cupbros not to disobey him in any way or he'll do something terrible to Bendy. Once they finish eating, Dr. Facilier tells them that their cover story is that they're there to earn some extra money before taking them out into the busy circus. Facilier leads them to a large tent where some other performers are practicing. A spider-woman gets into an argument with the kid since it's her practice time right now but some clowns offer to let the Cupbros practice with them in the corner of the tent instead. Cuphead is surprised to see Beppi, one of the Devil's other debtors, there, but Cup signals Beppi to pretend like they don't know each other.

Back with Bendy, both he and the unicorn are exhausted by their hours of endless fighting. Bendy asks what the kid is doing there and he says that, since it seems there are some that want him alive, he's there to remove his magical suppressant cuffs to give Bendy a fighting chance against the unicorn. It doesn't take long for the boy to grab the keys and some food for them. Bendy eats and drinks his fill before the kid unlocks the cuffs, allowing his powers to return. Now reinvigorated with his magic, Bendy asks the boy what happened to the others. The kid tells him he didn't touch any of Bendy's other friends and that the Cupbros have agreed to do some shows. Ignoring Bendy's yelling to let them go, the boy tries to feed the unicorn, who he calls Peewee, but it refuses to eat. The boy simply sighs and leaves the tent. After he's gone Bendy and he unicorn start fighting again, though Bendy renames the unicorn Sparks since Peewee is a mean name. The whole time Bendy continues talking to the unicorn and wonders why it's so aggressive when he hasn't done anything to it besides dodge its attacks. He also questions how long Sparks can actually last without eating or drinking.

Much had happened back in Toon Town since the code had been cracked- Felix and Xedo were researching, Boris told Mickey and Ozzy what was happening, and the girls were set to return from Finley's funeral that day. Boris is restlessly shifting through the papers when Felix comes with hot chocolate and asks Boris to come to talk with him in the living room. Felix tells Boris he's worried about how the stress of the situation is affecting the young pup, especially since Boris has begun losing weight from his lack of eating. Boris explains that this isn't the first time this has happened and that the stress of being separated from Bendy just makes him feel too sick to eat. Felix is upset that they haven't heard about this issue before. He hugs Boris, apologizing that he didn't notice sooner and promising to help Boris with the issue. While he is thankful for the help, Boris gets a bit nervous when Felix brings up the idea of him visiting Dr. Scratchansniff to discuss the issue. Boris eventually agrees to try talking to the doctor. Just as they finish their discussion, Granny returns and announces she and the girls are back from the funeral with news. The others, including Cala and Holly, are confused by Granny's behavior, as she seems to be talking to thin air. She soon clears up the confusion by explaining that she is talking to Angelo, who had just returned home after following Bendy and the Cupbros to the place they were taken. Angelo informs the group that the boys were taken by a child named Facilier and brought to a circus full of dark magic. Angelo recognizes the symbol of the circus on the documents, meaning that the kidnapped Angels are also being sent to the circus. Unfortunately, Angelo is unable to locate where the circus is on a map. A couple of hours later, everyone is gathered in the living room, including the Tiptail brothers, the detectives, and the circus crew. Now that they know about the circus they begin discussing what they know about Circo Del Piacere and how they can get there. Alice eventually suggests that one of them goes inside the operation and creates a trail for the group to follow. She volunteers to be captured by the traffickers in order to do so. The others are against such a risky idea but soon are forced to admit they don't have a better option available. The group begins planning a way for Alice to get caught that wouldn't look suspicious to the traffickers, and Cala volunteers to go with her since she is a magical creature that would be of value to them too. The plan is set, and they begin to make a way to track Alice and Cala. It is also decided that Felix, Boris, Holly, Mickey, Donald, and Oswald would be following them. The group splits up to work on their various tasks and later that night Holly and Alice show everyone a pair of magic makeup compacts they have made that can be used to track Alice as well as communicate with her. With the compacts made, Alice decides that she and Cala will head to the warehouse that night and send out a signal to Holly once they are taken. The others are worried about the girls, but they're both already getting ready to go. Once they're done saying their goodbyes to everyone, Alice and Cala leave for the warehouse. Once at the warehouse, they are both quickly captured by the traffickers just as planned.

That same night, Felix brings Boris to see Dr. Scratchansniff. While he is still reluctant about the idea of talking to the doctor Boris goes in and begins discussing his eating problems with Scratchansniff. The doctor points out that Boris can't keep starving himself, or else he might not be strong enough to go on the rescue mission. Boris becomes very upset at the idea that Scratchansniff might prevent him from going on the mission. He promises to force himself to eat, but the doctor goes on to explain that would only be a start to solving the problem. Dr. Scrachansniff says that it sounds like Boris may have some attachment issues with Bendy, which makes Boris incredibly distressed and angry. The doctor tries to talk him down, but it only serves to worsen the situation. Boris shouts that he can’t keep them apart and runs out of the office, convinced that Scratchansniff is just another adult trying to separate him from his brother. Boris races to his room and begins packing his and his brother's things in a frenzy and tossing them out the window. After his talk with Scratchansniff, Boris has become convinced that he can't trust anyone in the house and that they were attempting to separate him from his brother for "his own good" as so many others had tried to before. Boris then heads downstairs, playing cool and entering the kitchen where Granny and Holly are to offer to "help them" clean up while he steals supplies for his journey. He also begins planning how he can steal the magic compact from Holly despite the guilt he feels at the idea of stealing from the girl. While waiting for his chance he begins asking Holly about how it works. The two of them begin talking as Holly attempts to comfort him about his apparent nerves despite his internal belief that none of the adults can be trusted and it is better for him to handle things himself. Boris asks if he can hold the compact and, while distracting Holly with more talk, switches the magic compact with a normal one he took from Red's room. Feeling incredibly guilty, but determined to stick to his plan, Boris and Holly finish reassuring each other that everything will be fine before Boris sneaks out of the house and runs from Baker Street with his supplies. Boris is making his way through the city, crafting a vague plan in his mind about what to do, when the compact finally activates. Boris opens the compact and heads into an alley for some privacy. Through the compact, he hears a woman telling Alice that she will be sent to a Demon tomorrow. The compact goes dark after the woman leaves and Boris begins to worry he may be in over his head at the mention of a Demon. Still, he steels his resolve to save his brother no matter what.

Meanwhile, Felix sits inside the house looking over Boris's clearly doctored paperwork and wallowing in thought about the unfortunate situation they're all in. As he gets up to head to the kitchen he hears the sound of Holly yelling before the sound of glass shattering rings through the house. Holly begins racing through the house yelling for Boris as Felix stares at the broken compact in horror. Holly's frantic energy quickly spreads through the house as they search for Boris, who is long gone, but they eventually get her in one place long enough to ask what's happening. Holly explains the broken compact is not the magical one and, since Boris was the only other person to touch it, he must have stolen it and ran away. Felix then asks Scrachansniff what happened in the session and is horrified to learn the doctor told Boris that it may not be wise for him to go on the rescue mission. With no time to lose, Holly and Felix begin tracking Boris down, Felix with his natural abilities, and Holly with a tracking spell. The two ride through the city, following Boris's trail, as Felix thinks about how deeply this clear show of mistrust hurts. The tracking spell leads them to the train station and they race inside just in time to catch a glimpse of Boris through the window as the train he is on leaves the station. Felix curses the situation as Holly stands in shock watching Boris's train disappear. Holly goes to buy tickets, with money from Felix since she has nothing with her but the tracking spell, and Felix starts making calls to everyone selected for the rescue asking them to come to the train station so they can follow Boris.

After a long morning of practicing their sharpshooting act, the Cupbros are brought to the food tent for lunch. When they walk in, Cup recognizes a number of debtors and even a Demon in the room. They begin chatting with the other performers, sticking to their fake cover story as they do so. During the conversation, Beppi and Cuphead are able to secretly exchange notes without anyone else noticing. After lunch, they head back to practice and the other performers discover Mugman's dodge move. The idea for Cup to shoo and Mug's so he can dodge out of the way is brought up but Cup refuses to shoot at his brother. Facilier notes how upset the idea makes Cup and starts pushing him about it too, even going so far as to threaten to kill Bendy if he doesn't. However, Cup's threats seem to scare the boy enough to make him back off. The Cupbros go through the rest of the day and dinner chatting with the various circus performers, though Mugman handles most of the talking. Things go well and even a run in with the Butcher Gang, who are being forced to work there by Ava, doesn't cause too much of a scene. Soon enough the Cupbros are waiting in the wings to perform their first show, watching the other performers and getting their first glimpse of Azazel's right-hand man, the Ringleader. The Cupbros are eventually introduced and begin their performance. It goes well until the end when Facilier comes out with a target for Mugman to wear that Cup will shoot at. Cuphead is still fervently against the idea but with Mugman's encouragement and Bendy's safety on the line he has no choice. Blinking away the beginning of tears, Cuphead raises his arm, aims at Mugman, and fires.

Meanwhile, Bendy and Sparks face each other, both exhausted and roughed up from their constant battle. Bendy thinks about how at this rate only one of them will leave the cage alive, and he can't even be that mad at the unicorn since it's just as much a victim as he is. He continues to try to talk to Sparks, since he knows unicorns have some level of intelligence, but it continues to rebuff him. Finally, Sparks heads over to its food and water bowls to start eating, allowing Bendy to sit down for a break. The moment he sits down his eyes begin to grow heavy and, in his moment of weakness, Sparks races over and impales Bendy with his horn. Bendy begins coughing up blood but still takes the chance to put his hand on Sparks's head to tell him that he doesn't have to be afraid anymore and that he won't hurt him. A chill goes through his body as the pain continues to grow and Bendy is horrified when he realizes it's the beginning of one of his Ink Attacks. Sparks pulls back and Bendy falls to the ground as his fatal wound and the attack take their toll on him. Just as he thinks he's died Bendy feels the pain easing away and a warmth spread from his core outwards. Bendy abruptly snaps back into his body exhausted, aching, and weak, but alive. A sense of peace washes over him and Bendy passes out. In a half-conscious state, Bendy thinks about how he can't just give up on the quest and die while his friends still need him before snapping back awake at the sound of a calling voice. Bendy jerks back in surprise when he finds Sparks the unicorn happily curled up beside him and is even further shocked when he learns that Sparks has healed him of all his wounds. He questions why and, after some communication difficulty, Sparks explains it was because Bendy didn't kill him when he had the chance. With a truce finally reached, the two begin looking for a way out of the cell. While he's trying to think up a plan Bendy is interrupted when Dimitri, one of the cops he met in Heela, stumbles across their cell. Dimitri begins trying to help them get out and, upon learning they need a magic key, runs off to go get someone she believes can help. She soon returns with Ava in tow, surprising both Demons as they recognize each other. Bendy asks Ava to let them out, but she doesn't want to let Sparks out since he'll try to attack her. Luckily, she does make a deal to let Bendy out in exchange for him taking her on a date in the future. After he is released he promises Sparks to come back to help him before cleaning up and following the girls out into the circus to reunite with the Cupbros.

The trio begins walking through the circus as Ava begins explaining that her brother created Circo Del Piacere to improve the relationship and opinions the Surface people have of dark creatures in the hopes that one day they will accept them. They also explain the concept of soul contracts and debtors to Bendy. After a quick interaction with one of Bendy's fans, they arrive at the tent where the Cupbros are performing. After asking one of the other performers where the Cupbros are they find the brothers huddled in a corner together, Mugs comforting a tearful Cuphead. Mugman is thrilled to see Bendy safe and sound, but Cup still needs a few moments to recover after being forced to shoot at his brother by Facilier. Still, he soon collects himself and both Cupbros end up momentarily distracted by their worry for Bendy as some of the details of what happened while he was separated begin to come to light. Eventually, the group is ready to get going out of the circus but before they can go the Ringleader, with Dr. Facilier at his side, approach them. Once it's revealed the boys are only there because Facilier kidnapped them they are offered to stay the night in the circus as honoured guests as an apology before being personally escorted to the nearest train station the next morning. Despite their mistrust of the Ringleader, and the circus as a whole, the boys agree to spend the night at Circo Del Piacere. The Ringleader happily gives them front-row seats for the rest of the show and, once it's over, are given dinner before being brought to Azazel's personal tent to rest. The moment the Ringleader leaves them in the tent Ava tells Bendy to come with her to Hell to personally talk with her brother about what happened. Bendy is reluctant to go but eventually agrees to go as long as the trip is fast. The others aren't happy about the idea but they reluctantly agree and soon Bendy is jumping after Ava into a portal to Hell. They arrive at Ava's house and, after takin g the chance to get cleaned up, the two of them head out into Hell towards the colosseum where Azazel is. As the two continue their journey they discuss the difference between the Surface and Hell, specifically in relation to children and physical appearance. The walk also gives Bendy the chance to see more of Hell, though what he sees isn't very pleasant. Noticing his discomfort, Ava explains that many of their issues stem from their overpopulation problem and their poor relationship with the Surface/Angels. With that sobering realization, their conversation dies out until they reach the colosseum. Once they get there Bendy waits for Ava and Azazel in the hallway while they finish watching the death match taking place there as he refuses to watch such a bloody event. Finally, the match ends and Bendy officially meets Azazel, who is thrilled to finally meet Bendy. The trio head to a classy restaurant and begin discussing what consequences Facilier will face. Azazel offers to kill the boy but Bendy denies such an extreme punishment. Eventually, they settle on cursing Facilier so he can only use magic on other people and never on himself. Though he's still not comfortable with the idea of cursing the boy, Bendy agrees after being reassured that it won't cause Dr. Facilier any physical pain. Bendy also asks Azazel to free Sparks since he owes the unicorn his life. Azazel is shocked that Bendy has managed to befriend a unicorn and Bendy can't help but dislike the look Azazel is giving him.

With Bendy gone the Cupbros are left alone with Dimitri. who is having a tough time getting used to all this magic/Demon business. She also fills the Cupbros in on the state she found Bendy in and his apparent friendship with Sparks. The conversation moves on to what Ava and Azazel are planning to do with the circus. The Cupbros tell Dimitri that the less she knows the better before telling her to stay put while they go talk to some people. However, Dimitri follows the brothers out into the circus and, after some unsuccessful attempts to get her to leave, Cup tells Mugs to just let her stay since if she gets hurt it'll be her own fault. The trio, led by Cup, heads to the rollercoasters where Beppi is hanging around. When Beppi sees them he leads them toward a tent where they can have a private conversation. Beppi confirms he sent out the message Cup gave him earlier so they begin questioning Beppi on what is happening in the circus since, as Cup points out, it's obvious he was sent there as some kind of spy. However, the Cupbros can't get any straight answers out of Beppi has he just keeps insisting they get King Dice or The Devil to the circus immediately. Eventually, Cup has had enough of Beppi and threatens him into actually explaining some of what's going on. Beppi tells the Cupbros that the Ringleader's "hobby" that has to do with donkeys has started attracting the attention of both the police and the Angels. Between that and all the illegal magic/creatures there it's become enough of a liability for The Devil to shut it down. As the Cupbros continue to push him Beppi admits that the Ringleader and Azazel are working on something big enough to cause a full-on war to break out. When Cuphead tries to get specifics out of the clown Beppi uses one of his dog balloons to get Cup far enough away from him so he can bolt out of the tent with one last call over his shoulder for them to bring the boss there ASAP. After getting rid of the balloon they discuss what they should do. Mugman wants to talk with the Demon Paddywhack, but Cup rejects the idea. Mugman and Dimtri continue to argue that they should talk to Paddywhack though and eventually Cup gives in, turning around to lead the group towards the game booths where the Demon is. As they walk the Cupbros explain that the Ringleader has placed a curse on the circus that turns naughty children into donkeys which he then sells off as work animals. Dimitri wants to stop him immediately but the Cupbros explain that things aren't that simple because she is a debtor. After explaining everything to her, Dimitri says she just has to make sure Ava doesn't get suspicious about what she's doing and she'll be fine. They arrive at the game booths, find Paddywhack and head into another empty tent to talk. After demanding a personal audience with the Devil and a title for his help Paddywhack reveals that the whole dark circus is actually a cover for the fact that Azazel is building a dark army that he intends to use to start a war. The circus allows him to collect a large number of dark beings without appearing suspicious while also giving him the chance to get some of the Surface population on their side for once. With that bombshell dropped, Paddywhack goes back to work and the trio start to head back to their tent. They have one more run in with the Butcher gang before arriving back at their tent. Once they arrive, Dmitri says she's heading back out to "walk off some steam" despite the Cupbros protests. Mugman considers going after her but Cup tells him to just leave it since Dimitri is an adult who can make her own choices. Cup then settles in for the night, thinking that the sooner The Devil shuts down this circus the better.

Elsewhere, Felix sits in a train car with the rest of the members of the rescue mission, looking out the window and wondering once more why Boris ran. They discuss why exactly Boris would do this and some of them try to comfort Felix. Soon, the members of the circus crew head off to bed, leaving Felix and Holly alone in the car. Holly has been strangely silent the whole trip and, when she gets up to go to bed, Felix tells her she shouldn't blame Boris entirely. He tries to explain that they're missing things about the B-Bros but Holly just sees that as an excuse. She's upset at what Boris did because it betrayed the idea of what kind of friend she thought he was. Holly goes on to point out that she lost her big dream to study at Yen Sid University in order to help the B-Bros, and there are plenty of others in the group who have made big sacrifices for their sake. Yet none of that seemed to matter because Boris didn't give any of them a chance before running. She finishes her speech by saying she is done for the day. Felix sadly wishes her goodnight as she leaves the car. Left alone with his thoughts, Felix begins thinking about how he could have done things differently before shaking himself out of the mindset. Still, he resolves to show Boris that he can trust him before suggesting the idea of adopting the B-Bros in the future. Felix then heads to bed before he can think himself into more circles.

In Azazel's tent, the Cupbros argue about whether or not they should follow after Dimitri to make sure she doesn't get into any trouble. Despite Cuphead's protests, Mugman heads back out into the circus and Cup has no choice but to chase after his brother. Cup eventually catches up with Mugs just as he enters a show tent where he is talking with two of the performers, a spider woman and a mermaid. The women are reluctant to talk and start getting defensive at some of the things Cup says before Mugman cuts in to reveal the mermaid Ebi is actually Cala's sister. She rears back, saying that Cala Maria is dead, before diving down to hide away in the corner of her tank. The spider woman then steps in, asking what the Cupbros want to know. She confirms that there are more people in the circus forced to be here and tells the Cupbros that hidden in the back of the circus in the supply area is some kind of shady project. Cup thanks her for the information and turns to leave when she stops him, asking what they're going to do. Cup tells her that the end of the circus is coming and, even if they manage to stop the two of them, it won't stop it from happening. He tells her he's sorry and to start making a backup plan like maybe opening up another circus without all the illegal baggage. The Cupbros exit the tent and, after another argument, head to the back of the circus. They poke around the various storage tents, eventually finding the one they were in and grabbing the dandehogs that are still caged there. Cup notices some shadows moving and tries to urge Mugs out of the tent but before they can get out a dark shape drops from the ceiling onto Mugman's head. Cup tries to help but is kicked away and, by the time he gets back up, Mugman has clearly been possessed by the dark top hat on his head. Cup immediately tackles his brother's body, ignoring the yells that it is actually Black Hat, and doesn't stop trying to force the hat off Mugs's body until the Demon mentions knowing a way to defeat the Devil. Hat explains that his true form has actually been the hat this whole time and the body they regularly see him with is a host body he has been using for centuries. Hat then asks Cuphead to help him reclaim his host body in exchange for telling him how to defeat the Devil. Hat explains that during his most recent attack on the Devil he found a Dish scroll in the Devil's office that detailed a very powerful Dish Super called the Lost Super. This Super was strong enough to almost kill the Devil during the end of the Angel-Demon War, which is what allowed the Angels to capture him and end the war. However, using the Lost Super is guaranteed to be fatal to the user as it burns their soul to power the attack, essentially turning the user's soul into a bomb. Black Hat believes that, if Cuphead were to use this super, he is strong enough to take the Devil down with him, but Cuphead laughs at the idea of using such a thing. Despite Cup scoffing at the idea Hat assures him that he can make the potion for the Super and that the day will come when Cuphead becomes so desperate to save his brother that he will come to Black Hat to obtain it. Still, he agrees to see what he can do about helping Hat get back his body. Hat says he'll be waiting until Cup gets it, but Cuphead tells him that if he's possessing Mugs then he's joining their investigation of the circus. With the promise that Cup will help with his body after they report to the Devil about the circus Black Hat has no choice but to join their cause.

Meanwhile, after days of tense travel, the rescue mission has crossed the border and located the city Boris is currently hiding in. They follow to an alleyway off a crowded shopping plaza where they finally catch their first glimpse of Boris before he darts away. Holly hands the spell off to Felix as he and Ozzy take the lead on the chase, the others dropping off one by one as they are unable to keep up. The closer they get to Boris the more reckless and desperate his escape tactics become, even jumping from the roof of a building at one point. The chase continues until finally, the majority of the rescue crew manages to surround Boris on a street near the shopping plaza they started at, though Felix is has fallen behind a bit and is running to catch up. Mickey and Oswald tell Boris that enough is enough and ask the wolf to just talk to them so they can all work together to save the others from the circus, but Boris yells that they don't get it. This seems to be the final straw for Holly, who grabs his lapels as she angrily rants at him, asking him how dare he do something like this when so many of their friends are at risk and proclaiming he was only thinking about himself when he ran away. Holly is also able to slip the compact off of Boris as she talks. Boris seems to be shaken by Holly's words and, in his emotional state, turns and darts away into open traffic. Felix follows him, dodging cars and screaming a warning to Boris when a streetcar is racing towards him. In his desperation to get to Boris, Felix hops the hood of a car but the windshield breaks under his hand, spraying glass into the air. As the traffic screeches to a halt, the others rush up to check on Felix but he still wants to chase after Boris. Holly tells him Boris got on the streetcar so they'll have to wait for the next one which finally convinces Felix to stomp his way to the sidewalk again. Holly helps him remove the glass and bandage up as Felix fumes at having missed Boris and the careless way the wolf was acting. The whole group gets on the next streetcar as it comes around and begin to talk about what their plan is now that they have the compact. Since the spell indicates that Boris is still heading the same way as the compact is pointing they will follow them both to the circus and will come up with a different plan if Boris starts going a different way. Felix glares at the floor and hopes this whole mess turns out alright.

Back in Hell the Demon twins decide to show Bendy around and explain more of Demon culture to him. They walk through Hell, explaining how it works and why things are the way they are, such as why there is so much violence in Hell, or the title hierarchy in Hell. They show Bendy around one of the exotic public parks located in Hell before bringing him to Hell's Museum. They begin walking through the museum, talking about the history on display there before arriving in the Angel-Demon War section. The siblings begin showing Bendy around the displays, highlighting a set of archangel's wings captured during the war and hung from the ceiling. Bendy's stomach turns at the sight of them, his mind going to Alice and turns to examine the other displays. The whole wing is depressing but informative, though Bendy is uncomfortable with so much anti-Angel material. At the end of the hall are items detailing how the Demons were literally dropped into the pit of Hell after the war. The trio moves past the gruesome exhibit into another room that details the early days of the Demon's life in Hell. There are also stories about early soul contracts and magic trading. Bendy asks about soul contracts and, while Azazel laughs at the question, the two of them explain it to him. Bendy is horrified at the idea of eating souls and denies that he'll ever want one when Ava claims he will change his mind in time. The group continues their tour of the museum, talking as they go until they finally exit the building. Now back out into the streets of Hell the discussion turns to the topic of the quest. The twins offer to help Bendy with the quest whenever he needs it since doing so would improve their reputations, especially with those on the Surface. Though slightly suspicious and surprised by the offer, Bendy accepts it. Azazel then offers to let Bendy and Ava rest at his place for the night before heading back to the Surface. Though he doesn't want to stay separated from the Cupbros long Bendy agrees. They are led back to the upper-class part of Hell where Azazel drops them off at his guestrooms for the night. Now alone with Ava, he begins asking her about relationships in Hell as she softens up his tail barb in order to slip a stuck tail ring off. After hearing that intertwining tails is a very intimate act Bendy becomes flustered as he realizes how compromising it could be if anyone saw his tail in Ava's hands. Ava tells him not to make things more embarrassing for him, finishes softening up his tail, takes off the ring and tosses it at him. She demands he never speak of this again and his attempts to apologize just seem to make things worse so Bendy quickly rushes to hide away in his bedroom for the night. As he collapses on his bed Bendy thinks about how he will be going home soon and that he hopes everyone else is ok.

The next morning Bendy and the Demon twins travel back to the tent but find only an empty tent waiting for them. Azazel tells Bendy he has already sent for food to be brought to the tent and that he'll also send out a message for someone to bring the Cupbros back to the tent as well. Bendy wants to just head back out into the circus, but Ava says that this will also give Bendy a chance to talk with Dr. Facilier, who is being brought to the tent as well. Bendy, not trusting the idea of leaving the boy at the mercy of the other two Demons, reluctantly agrees to stay. Once alone with the boy and the Ringleader the Demon twins explain just how serious a situation he is in for kidnapping and trying to kill Bendy. Bendy also takes the chance to tell Facilier that he is sorry for accidentally killing his mother and tells the boy to move on with his life but the boy just spits on him in response. Azazel then curses the boy as agreed and Facilier is escorted out of the tent. With that taken care of Bendy heads out into the circus to find the Cupbros and rescue Sparks. But, moments after stepping out into the circus, Bendy literally runs straight into Boris. Bendy immediately notices the sorry state his brother is in and begins asking him what has happened as he begins to clean Boris up. Bendy is horrified when he learns he has not been missing a few days like he previously thought but actually two weeks. He also isn't happy to hear that Alice is somewhere in the circus as well, especially with the circus's black market connection. After some discussion the B-Bros decide to start tracking down all their scattered friends, starting with Bendy finally freeing Sparks from his cage. They continue searching around the circus, picking up Dimitri along the way, before finally finding Cup's group in one of the storage tents. Cuphead and Black Hat have also found Cala Maria in a tank in the tent and the two groups catch each other up on the basics of their situations. Hat says that if there are truly Angels being held at the circus then the situation is dire since the Angels will destroy the whole place when they discover it without any concern for which of the dark creatures there were actually involved in the plot or not. With that in mind, Cala and Hat say they need to leave immediately after Alice calls the Angels in order to escape their wrath, so Bendy asks if they have any idea where she is. Cup claims he does and he leads them to the edge of the circus where there is a tent with a suspicious number of employees guarding it. Thanks to Hat and Cuphead they are able to sneak in but find only a tent full of equipment. Still, they begin to hunt around for where Azazel may have hidden the kidnapped Angels.

Meanwhile, the rescue group has arrived at a hill overlooking the circus. Following the compact, they sneak around to the back of the circus, stumbling into an invisible train as they do so, and begin searching around the storage tents until they come across a heavily guarded tent. Using a number of rune bracelets she seemed to have made on the train Holly knocks out the guards and they enter the tent without issue. Inside, they find circus equipment and cages with magical beings locked inside of them. The group searches the area for any signs of the Angels or magic that may have concealed them, but come up with nothing until Donald quite literally runs into a genie named Soboz. Soboz explains that Azazel has used Soboz's magic to hide the Angels somewhere in the tent. Using a description of what kind of person Azazel is, their knowledge of how genies function, and some deductive reasoning the group eventually discovers a portal in a seemingly empty cage that leads them to where the kidnapped Angels are. They enter and are immediately horrified by the bloody scene before them - clearly injured and abused Angels in cages or strapped to tables, blood and body parts littered around, and unidentifiable substances in jars on shelves. The whole group stands stunned for a moment before Holly rushes forward, calling for Alice. Alice answers her calls, coming up to the bars of one of the cells alongside Cazziel and Polly. She is pale and exhausted but seems to be mostly unharmed, while Cazziel has completely lost one of his arms. Felix and Holly begin inspecting the cage Alice is trapped in, looking over the Demon script runes cut into the bars. Between the two of them, they figure out how to change the runes to weaken them enough that Alice can force her way out without causing the whole spell to backfire. Holly then begins altering the runes with a piece of chalk and magically heating the bars to physically alter them. When the alterations are complete Felix tells Alice to give it her best shot at forcing her way out.

Alice successfully forces the cell door open, though she almost falls over from the effort of it, and happily reunites with her friends. As the others begin to help her and the other Angels out of her cage the rest of the Angels protest staying locked up but Alice simply doesn't have the strength to free the others. They help Alice and the Angels who were caged with her out of the portal but are quickly put on guard again when they hear a noise from the other side of the tent. Thankfully, it turns out to be Bendy's group who is just as surprised to see them as they are. The two groups joyfully reunite with one another before beginning to discuss how to handle the current situation. Boris points out that they still have the issue of the Angels slaughtering all the innocent dark creatures if summoned to the circus, though the captured Angels argue that that doesn't matter since they believe everyone there was a part of it. An argument erupts Cuphead cuts through all the fighting, telling the group that he has a contact who can call the Devil so that he can be there to defend the dark creatures while the Angels protect the kidnapped Angels. Some of the captured Angels call him crazy but Cup ignores them, instead telling Cala to go find her sister and escape. He then tells Black Hat and Felix to come with him to call the Angels and The Devil while the others will stay behind to protect the captured Angels in case the Demons try to come to kill them in order to hide the evidence of their atrocities. Sparks also decides to come with them and, with the plan set, Cup's team exits the tent. The call team begins to sneak through the circus, with Black Hat using his magic to cover Alice and Sparks's presence from the dark creatures. They eventually reach the nearby tree line and find a small clearing where Alice can call the Upper from. Sparks helps her by lending her some of his magical energy as she begins to draw out the runes in the air. Felix and Hat get into an argument about Black Hat's randomly taking the boys away in the past since the kidnappers were able to use that as cover but Cuphead cuts them off before it can become too serious by dragging Hat further off into the trees to call the Devil. Meanwhile, Alice finishes her circle of runes and activates them, connecting her directly to one of the Angels in the Upper. The Angel is shocked at her appearance but Alice wastes no time in demanding he call the Council and the warrior Angels immediately so they can be sent to her location. Alice's strength then gives out and the connection shatters. Alice tells Felix that the Angels should be able to use her message to locate the circus and will most likely arrive in ten to fifteen minutes. A couple of minutes later Cuphead and Hat emerge from the trees and tell them that the Devil will be there in a few minutes. As Hat idly wonders if this incident will spark another Angel-Demon War, Alice's head spins and she falls over. Felix catches her and tells the others that they should bring her back into the circus to rest.

Back at the tent, Bendy impatiently waits around the cage leading to the imprisoned Angels. Bendy feels guilty about playing around with the Demon twins while the Angels were suffering and avoids them as best he can since he knows they won't want him nearby. To keep busy he helps Holly set up some protective rune traps. While they work, Bendy asks if there's anything Holly wants to talk about and she says she should be asking him that before going on to explain that she's trying to keep to herself for the time being in order to not start a fight. Before they can continue with that line of discussion Boris comes over and Holly quickly excuses herself to go search the tent for supplies. Boris tells Bendy that Holly hates him now, but when Bendy asks what Boris could have done that was so bad his brother refuses to elaborate. Worried and angry at being left in the dark Bendy points out that Boris also isn't talking about his not eating again and demands to know if Boris would have just starved himself to death if they hadn't found Bendy. Boris snaps back that he was worried about Bendy being gone so long, and then when he does finally find him he's fine. This leads to one of the nearby Angels having a breakdown as they accuse Bendy of having fun with his "Demon friends" while they were being tortured. The others defend Bendy but Dimitri still tells Bendy that he should wait somewhere out of sight from the Angels. Boris isn't happy with the idea, but Bendy tells him that the Angels are half-right since he was messing around with the Demon twins and ignoring their violence. As they get out of sight of the others Boris demands to know why Bendy isn't defending himself and is shocked when his brother admits that he kind of understands where the Demons are coming from. When Boris says that Bendy isn't like them Bendy snaps, yelling that he's a Demon too, he enjoyed hanging out with Ava and Azazel and accusing Boris of never truly accepting or listening to him, especially when it comes to the subject of his potential death. The argument becomes too much for Boris and he runs out of the tent, ignoring Bendy calling after him.

Bendy heads back to the others to tell them Boris is gone, but quickly becomes furious when they let it slip this has happened before. He wants to go after Boris but the Angels don't want him to leave since he's their best chance of fighting off the Demon twins if they come for them. Bendy gets even angrier at them asking him to not go after his brother, but Cazziel and Mickey talk him into allowing Mickey to chase after Boris instead. Bendy gets back out of sight of the Angels and begins angrily pacing until Holly approaches him to ask if he wants to talk. Once again, Bendy asks what happened while he was gone but Holly does want to talk about it. Both of their frustration with each other and the situation start to rise until Holly finally breaks and tells Bendy how Boris ran away with the compact. Bendy tries to defend Boris but Holly continues to argue, asking whether all the sacrifices all of their friends, such as Alice, have made mean nothing. They then begin arguing about how reckless the rescue plan was before shouting about the B-Bro's apparent lack of trust in their friends. This culminates in Bendy yelling that Holly should just leave the group entirely once this is over. Holly flinches back at that before going cold and saying she will before walking back towards the Angels. Bendy is left standing and stewing in his anger, thinking about how he managed to so severely damage both his relationship with Boris and Holly in such a short amount of time. His brooding is interrupted by Azazel's voice behind him. Bendy whips around to find Azazel standing there grinning at him.

Boris runs through the circus crying and wondering how Bendy could say those things. He thinks about his history with his brother and how Bendy seems to be slowly pulled away from him by other people. He stops running and begins to collect himself, deciding to take a moment to breathe and grabs some food for himself and Bendy before heading back. Just as he makes the decision Mickey and Dimitri catch up with him. They tell Boris that they should go back to the others but Boris says he still wants to grab some food and they reluctantly agree since it should be fast. As they buy food, Boris thinks that he's been feeling odd, almost sickly, since he got to the circus but the other two only become aware of this when they're walking back with their food through the circus and one of the workers calls out that Boris looks sick and they should head to the medical tent. Now aware of his condition, Mickey and Dimitri pull Boris away somewhere more private to check up on him and push down his hood only to see that Boris has fallen prey to the Ringleader's curse - he has begun to turn into a donkey. They quickly cover him up and start heading back to the tent where the others are but circus workers keep watching/approaching them to tell them to head to the med tent. They're still managing to make good headway until the smell of popcorn suddenly overwhelms Boris and Dimitri's senses, making it impossible for them to smell the trail back to the tent. Moments later the Ringleader, with Dr. Facilier and Paddywhack in tow, approaches the group. The trio tries to make excuses to get away, but the circus employees aren't letting them out of their sight. Backed into a corner, Mickey draws his sword and jumps into a fight with the circus employees. Dimitri is close behind and they both tell Boris to run for it. Boris does run but is quickly captured by a rope around his neck via the Ringleader's magic. With Boris as a hostage, Mickey and Dimitri are forced to surrender and are quickly restrained. The Ringleader then announces they're all going to see Ava and forces the trio to begin walking.

Meanwhile, Cuphead and his group sneak out of the woods and back into the circus. Once there they quickly duck into duck into the first empty tent they can and discuss whether they should leave Alice hidden there or not. Unfortunately, their conversation is quickly interrupted by the sound of Ava calling for Cuphead and Hat outside and threatening to start burning things if they don't come out. Knowing it's not a bluff, the group leaves Alice and Sparks in the tent while they go out to meet Ava. The moment she spots them Ava attacks and they're quickly in an all-out fight. They're holding their own, but after Cuphead gets a bad arm injury from a combination of Ava's teeth and fire, Black Hat steps in to handle the battle himself. Hat tells Cup and Felix to go save Bendy while he handles Ava. Despite Ava's attempts to prevent them from leaving with her flames, Hat's magic overpowers her and the two are able to escape. As he rushes back to the tent where the others are Cup curses the situation and the fact that he has no choice but to trust Hat to protect both Alice and his brother's body.

Elsewhere, Bendy is confronting Azazel about what the hell he was thinking doing something like this. Azazel explains that he was trying to find new poisons and weapons to use against Angels when another war breaks out, which he believes to be inevitable. He goes on to point out just how cruel a situation Hell is for the Demons, and claims that he will happily kill hundreds if it means saving thousands later. During his speech, Bendy finally puts together that the circus is a recruitment ground for a dark army. Azazel confirms it before going into his plans to make multiple circuses to recruit even more loyal dark creatures by ruling them through love instead of fear. He then asks Bendy to join him so they can save the Demon race together. Immediately, Bendy denies the offer but Azazel keeps pushing, pointing out all the hardships Bendy has had to suffer for the crime of being a Demon on the Surface. Bendy allows himself to imagine a world without those hardships for a moment before rejecting Azazel's offer once again. Azazel says that that's too bad and that Ava in particular will be upset that he has to kill Bendy now. Bendy prepares to fight and calls out a warning to the others as Azazel breaks the protective barrier Holly had set up around the area. Bendy and Azazel begin fighting and the others soon join in. As he fights, Azazel’s form has shifted to be much more monstrous in appearance. The battle soon also moves through the portal as Cazziel joins the fight. While they are just barely holding their own against Azazel, Cazziel gets captured by the enraged Demon and eaten by him while the others are powerless to save the Fallen Angel. As Azazel begins monologuing, talking about how pathetic they all are compared to him, screams erupt around the tent and something in Bendy snaps. Bendy drops to all fours, growling like an animal and using his shadow magic to begin tearing into Azazel. The two Demons begin moving across the floor in a violent, twisting whirlwind and Bendy begins to actually injure Azazel as the shadows around the tent begin to go crazy. Just as he finally gets Bendy pinned Felix and Cuphead appear and block Azazel’s attacks. Cup smugly informs Azazel that he “tattled” on him, which only makes Azazel angrier. As Cuphead and Azazel are talking the Ringleader’s group comes in, causing Bendy to jump at the Ringleader the instant he sees him holding a rope wrapped around Boris’s throat. Still mad with rage, Bendy turns to lunge at Facilier just as a blinding light fills the room.

A legion of Angels burst through the roof of the tent and quickly restrain all the Demons/circus employees. A few Angels even bring Ava and Black Hat to the tent to drop them off with the other Demons. A four-winged Angel named Isaac quickly takes over the scene, delegating jobs to the other Angels and putting the entire circus on lockdown. As the questers all begin to regroup with their various scattered members, including Alice, some Angels come up to them to help heal their various wounds. Alice rushes over to Isaac and the Angel who appears to be the second in command, Michael, both of whom she knows. She tries to speak with them but they push her off to go get healed first before they talk. An Angel comes up to give Isaac a report and they learn of the donkey curse on the circus. Isaac brings the Ringleader forward and, when he refuses to release the curse, places the Ringleader as well as all of his accomplices under arrest. Michael then states that the circus will be destroyed, but Cuphead and Felix speak up in defense of the various dark creatures who call the circus their home. While some Angels dismiss them, Isaac says he will keep what they have said in mind. Later on, Felix and Cup get into another argument with Michael when they learn that the Angels are starting to forcibly separate innocent dark creatures from their non-dark family members which Isaac once again breaks up by saying he will keep their arguments in mind. Felix and Cup head to Ozzy and Donald to talk about the situation with the Angels potentially killing all the dark creatures which Boris pops in to join later on. The group is so busy talking that they almost don't notice the Angels about to execute all the Demons for violating the Treaty. Cup calls Alice over the situation as multiple people jump in to stop the Angels, who are getting very tired of these interruptions. While Michael brushes off many of the other's reasons for not killing Bendy/Black Hat he is stopped dead in his tracks when Alice storms up to him. Isaac, who turns out to Alice's brother, and Michael are both baffled by her strong defense of the Demons and they all become further stumped when Cuphead comes forward to point out that Black Hat is possessing his brother's body so they can't just kill him. This leads to a whole argument about what should be done with the various Demons. Before a decision can be reached the whole room darkens and chills as a dark hole opens in the floor of the tent.

Out of the hole climbs the Devil and King Dice along with the Demons Asmodeus, Anzu and Stolas. The Angels are immediately put on edge as the Devil says he's there to look into the circus incident personally. Michael tries to argue that there is no reason for the Devil to be there but the Devil easily dismisses his arguments. After learning about the circus's purpose as a recruitment centre for a dark army from Paddywhack the Demons point out that just killing the twins wouldn't be the smartest move since they will just become martyrs that will serve as inspiration for other Demons that want war. They also state that many of the Surface people in the tent already disagree with what the Angels are planning, especially considering Bendy's heroic status, and will likely spread the story in an unfavourable light for the Angels. They even point out that Boris is right there and the Questers grow tense as the Devil begins asking Boris if he thinks Bendy should be killed. Boris defends his brother but the questioning quickly becomes too much for the pup so Cuphead steps up to pull Boris away and tell the Devil to lay off. Instead, the Demons suggest trapping the twins in personalized, torturous scenarios. Some of the Angels continue to argue with the Demons that this isn't good enough, and Isaac states they may have to call in the Angel judges. The Demons aren't thrilled about the possibility of dealing with the judges and continue to push their imprisonment idea. The Devil also orders that all of their territories would be revoked and all of Azazel's debtors will be freed, which is the first thing that has actually upset Azazel so far. Quickly shutting down any of Azazel's protests the Devil continues by saying that both of their titles will be revoked and they will be forced to re-apprentice under their old mentors- for Ava it is Anzu and for Azazel it is Asmodeus. Michael still protests this plan of action, but Isaac points out that this situation is very complicated and they have to handle it far more delicately than they would the individual Demon rampages they usually handle. As Michael continues to argue the Demons pipe up, pointing out that handling this his way could cause a lot of problems for the Angels down the line and that there is even a famous author present to spread the story. For a moment it seems as though a fight will break out until Alice staggers forward to Isaac and begs her brother not to create any more bloodshed that night.

Issac listens to her plea and declares that the judges will be called and the Demon twins will be jailed until they are officially sentenced. Meanwhile, Bendy, the other Demons, and the rest of the circus employees will all undergo an investigation to decide what punishment, if any, they will have. As the Demons besides the twins are released Black Hat asks the Devil if this redeems him. While the Devil says it doesn't he still gives Hat back his original host body. After he is released Mugman sways on his feet and Black Hat warns him that he will have some magical sickness for the next few days due to the incompatibility of their magic. Bendy and Boris reunite with a hug but the Angels quickly attempt to separate them again by saying that Boris should be brought to the Upper to fix the donkey curse while Bendy should be locked up until trial. Cuphead snaps at them to leave the boys alone and Felix tells the Angels to just relocate them for the time being until everything is figured out. Isaac says they will be moved to the nearest town to wait, and the questers are relieved to finally have the whole mess over with.

## Characters

* **Appeared:** Alice, Ava, Azazel, Bendy, Black Hat, Boris, Cala Maria, Cazziel, Cuphead, Danny, Dimitri, Donald, Dr. Facilier, Felix, Finley, Granny, Holly, Mickey, Mugman, Oswald, Ringleader, Sammy, Sparks the Unicorn
* **Appeared Briefly:** Angelo, Anzu, Asmodeus, Barley, Beppi the Clown, Charley, Darla Dimple, Dot, Dr. Oddswell, Dr. Scrathensniff, Ebi, Edgar, Featherworth, Gabby, Goofy, Granny, Isaac, Jackpot, Jaziel, Jerry, King Dice, L. B. Mammoth, Martha, Max, Mic, Michael, Minnie, Paddywack, Polly, Pudge, Red, Riliel, Ringtail, Sawyer, Sheba, Soboz, Spindella, Stolas, Taffy, The Devil, Wakko, Wiston, Xedo, Yakko
* **Mentioned:** Archangel Barachiel, Blue Fairy, Demencia, Dr. Flug, Drearia, Elder Kettle, Fireball, Grim Matchstick, Jake, Judge Zadiel, Lady Facilier, Mary Angel, Mrs. Tremaine, Sasha, Slightly, Sneezy, Snow White, Steven, The Devil (past), The Maiden in Black

## Locations Visited

* Toon Town
* Tinsel Town
* Circo Del Piacere
* Hell

## Trivia and Notes

### Notes

* The events in the first 3 chapters of this book in Tinsel Town are based on the 1997 animated movie *Cats Don't Dance*