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fullmetaldevil-blog · 5 years

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Batim Stitched AU Ch.6

Ok this one took quite a bit to work out, but nevertheless I hope you all enjoy the AU thus far and I will warn you, there may be a part or two that might be viewed as 'offensive' do keep in mind that some of the descriptions are period correct but followed loosely. The other part might be a bit graphic (depending on how squeamish you are) but for the most part kept PG13.

Now on with the show~

Ch. 6 A little light Went Out.

Silence was the only bed fellow of the studio and the facility had yet to wake and open it's arms to welcome it's staff to start the day's operations, yet a lone figure drifted within it's sleeping halls coming to a stop at one it's many hall way doors. The person jiggled the handle to the doorway several times growing frustrated that the room had been locked and disturbed a sleeping occupant within.

Benny looked up from his crate to hear the jiggling of the handle to the room, but it didn't sound like the normal sounds of Allison or Norman opening up the door upon arriving. The way the door knob violently shock and rattled sounded like whomever was outside was struggling with the key. With a small hope that Tom had returned, Benny gingerly hopped back up on top of the desk and laid against the wall keeping a hopeful watch on the wall, his grin wide. He truly hoped that Tom simply forgot that he was supposed to bring him home yesterday and had returned in the morning to fetch him. Benny quickly gave himself a once over making sure he looked his best before he resumed his watch on the door. His smile faded and was replaced with confusion when the jiggling on the handle continued for quite sometime, it shouldn't take this long to open a door. Right? His face morphed into one of anger when he heard a feminine voice uttering small curses as she struggled with the door. This wasn't Alison, it sounded like that woman Susie that Norman had warned him about. He slipped off the desk and quietly crossed the room to a corner hiding within the shadow of the shelving out of the doors line of sight. Small growls escaped the toon, he didn't like this woman at all, and if he needed to he would defend himself. The stitching on his stomach slowly came undone as small white protrusions lined the rim resembling small teeth and the void opened slightly. His teeth took on a slight triangular appearance and the tips of his gloved hands had small protrusions on the ends resembling small claws. This was not his angel.

Susie cursed her rotten luck that Allison locked her dressing room, figures that the woman would lock a room that she felt didn't belong to her. Frustrated at the inability to open the door she wandered down the hall towards Wally's janitorial closet. The man always had random junk stashed in his closet and despite his large ring of keys he could never seem to lock his own closet. She tested the closets door nob and to her pleasure it was unlocked. She gingerly opened the door and dug around the closet till she found a fireman's ax, not sure what the man needed it for but it would suit her needs just fine. With weapon in hand she nearly skipped with glee back to Allison's dressing room. 'Oh I'm gonna love this' Susie chuckled to herself as she gently ran her fingers along the edge of the tools blade with tender love. She raised the weapon high above her head and brought it down harshly upon the the base of the door's handle.

The rattling of the door had fallen silent for a time and Benny hoped that the woman had given up and gone home, but that hope was dashed by a loud banging against the door. She was trying to break in! Benny scooted back further into the corner within the shadows preparing to pounce if he needed to. This was his room that belonged to Allison, not this woman. He stilled as he listened to the door cry from the blows being done to it and heard fragments of it break away. He didn't have to wait long as the door let out a crack for the last time and slowly swung open. Benny's bravado instantly died and was replaced by fear by her silhouette. The woman stood within the doorway with the dull yellow light behind her, now why she herself wasn't particularly frightening it was her weapon of choice that glistened in the dull light. An ax. The toon made a small whisper of a whimper at the weapon while gently grasping onto his stomach which was rapidly sealing itself back up, he remembered all to well what damage a weapon like could do. The only thoughts that raced through his mind was that he had been somehow found out and needed to escape.

Susie scowled as she looked over the room, it wasn't anything impressive, nor special. It was just an old office that had a long mirror installed and a desk, nothing more and nothing less. Well perhaps if the room was trashed a little then maybe Allison would get scared and leave. After all her husband is only a contractor for Joey and therefore isn't part of the official roster for the staff, he's isn't an obstacle like she is. How dare that woman take away her claim to fame. Susie bitterly remembered all the previous roles she had of voicing everything from objects to chickens, all roles that were either demeaning or lack luster. This new role of Alice Angel, that was her ticket to fame and it righteously belonged to her. She worked hard to get where she was and they didn't have the right to take Alice away from her, she was Alice Angel not Allison. She couldn't wait till she finally got a proper meeting with Joey, that blasted man had been ducking and dodging her for a little over a week now. He will hear her opinion on the matter cause after all Alice doesn't like people who lie to her. Susie took one last loving look at the ax in her hand before she strode across the room and slammed the blade into the mirror shattering it, the glass falling to the floor like a silvery waterfall.

Benny could only watch in horror as Susie proceeded to bury the weapon into the remains of the mirror laughing manically as she worked, a joyous, twisted grin splitting her face. Once the mirror was nothing more then shards of glass upon the floor and the wall boards broken she turned her attention to desk itself taking it apart board by board. The chair had been upended and the back and seat completely broken and splintered. While she was decimating the opposite of the room Benny glanced at the open doorway and then back at Susie destroying the room. He didn't want to leave, but he feared that if he stayed he too would be taken apart like all the other inanimate objects within the room. Taking that last glance and ensuring that Susie had yet to turn her attention to his hiding spot he mustered up his courage and fled the room he once called his own, his last thoughts were that he would 'find his angel' before he disappeared down the dark halls of the studio.

------------ An hour Later at the Connor's --------------

The sounds of creaking bones and groans of a worn out man drifted through the house as Tom slowly got out of bed. He felt like he had slept, but at the same time didn't. His sleep had been fitful with his thoughts drifting to Allison's previous outburst and how she had avoided him thereafter. He didn't know why such a small thing as a toy was so important to her, but the least he could do was to try and get the toy before the staff showed up at the studio. He grabbed his robe and covered himself up before sliding into his bedroom slippers and slowly groaned into the kitchen, his body fighting him every step of the way. He turned the corner leading into the kitchen fully expecting to see an empty room, but standing at the stove was Allison. His eyes were wide at the mere fact that she was up, let alone up before him. He had grown used to leaving the home long before Allison woke and would only see her during the lunch break and her sleeping face when he got home.

'M-Morning.” Tom dryly choked out. He didn't know what else to say, he could only hope Allison had calmed down.

'Morning” Allison's eyes widened at seeing him, but she briefly smiled back at him before returning her attention to the stove. Tom taking that as a good sign that she was feeling better.

A small glance past Allison revealed the kitchen table covered in various food items. Tom was completely gobsmacked at the amount, it was just like the previous night except it was a mix of breakfast, lunch and dinner. “Umm...Honey? What's with all the food?”

“It's for the band.” Allison replied without skipping a beat. “We were planning a small picnic after recording later today, so I'll be home late.”

“Oh, ok.” Tom's eyes looked over the foods, he eyed some cookies and turned to look at Allison watching her carefully as a hand drifted towards a cookie. His hand didn't get far as Allison turned around and swatted his hand away from the cookie with precision.

“Not for you” Her stern eyes met his and he took the hint and vamoosed away from the pile of food and sat at the opposite end of the table that wasn't all cluttered.

The man didn't wait long as Allison presented a plate of eggs, bacon and a bagel with cream cheese. Tom uttered a small 'Thank you' while he gingerly accepted the plate and slowly started eating, savoring each and every bite of one of the many things he enjoyed from Allison; her cooking. While he ate he watched her carefully pack all the food items into 2 wicker baskets and stow them away in her day pack before taking up her own breakfast and ate in front of him.

The shared meal was primarily quiet, for Tom feared really trying to ask her about the previous day's event's lest she would get upset at him again. Once they both finished their breakfast Tom offered to wash the dishes to give Allison time to get dressed for work. He watched her disappear down the hall to their bedroom and his mind drifted to the previous day with her outburst. It felt like she wasn't quite giving him the cold shoulder, but it was obvious she wasn't in the mood to talk about it. A long sigh escaped him as he placed the last plate into the dish rack to dry and dried his hands before finally turning to the hallway to the bedroom. He stood in the doorway and noticed that Allison was already dressed and was packing a large coat with her. She looked up at him and smiled briefly before she hefted her pack and coat and walked past him before stopping and gave him a small peck on the cheek whispering 'see you at work'.

Tom stood still as he watched her head out the door before him. He wished they could have both gone together but with the wall that Allison had put up it was perhaps for the better that she goes alone. He ran his fingers down the side of his face before heading to his room to get dressed himself. His mind drifting to the phone call he had received and how that he had no choice but to go back to the accursed hell hole of a facility known as Joey Drew Studios. He never wanted to put a singe toe back in that place, it had done nothing for him except give him a horrid sense of foreboding and hatred. He truly hated Joey with every fiber of his being and wanted nothing more to see the man's downfall, but that pleasure he wanted to see sooner then later. For now Tom had no choice but to swallow the bile of loathing that was building within him and had to report back to his 'former' boss.

The grumpy mechanic retreated to his workroom and retrieved his tool box and drafts, and box by box loaded them into his truck. He pondered over his luggage making sure all was accounted for and sat at the drivers seat glaring holes into the steering wheel. He didn't want to start the truck, he didn't want to drive down the same stretch of road he's taken over and over to get to the studio. He didn't even want to look at the building itself, but against his better judgment he edged the key into the ignition and started the truck with a low grumble. He could only chuckle and the seemingly annoyed groan the truck made and couldn't help but agree with the noise. With the removal of the parking break and the slow release of the break pedal Tom eased out the drive and slowly made his way of the stretch of road towards the studio.

--------- At Joey Drew Studios ----------

Tom pulled up in the studio lot to see that Allison's car was already there along with several other vehicle's that he recognized as the other staff members. He sighed and got out of the truck and grabbed his pack and headed for the doors. As soon as he walked in the staff was hustling and bustling as usual but there were many oddly huddled in small groups whispering to each other and the minute they saw him looking at them would either stop talking and look away, or leave all together. He couldn't hide the confusion on his face as he was normally greeted a few of the animation crew members that he had grown friendly with, but even they were avoiding him. What on earth happened? He tried to approach a few to say good morning and the minute they saw him they all scattered like ants. OK. Something was definitely up.

Tom's thoughts were ground to a halt when he spotted a young ball of energy running down one of the hallways, Leonard. Tom hastily hid behind a stack of crates and carefully peaked around the corner. Right when he knew the boy was in range he swiftly raised his arm up and felt something ram into it. The young mans neck and chin caught Tom's upper arm and and elbow letting out a loud yelp as he fell backwards slamming onto the floor with his feet strait up in the air in a almost comical way. After all they always say to never run in the halls for you never know what may come around the corner. The musician groaned from the impact and tried to catch his breath which abandoned him the minute he looked up and saw Tom looming over him. A small squeak escaped the man before Tom grabbed him by the front of his shirt hefting him like a toy and pinning him behind the stack of crates. Only one word that escaped Tom's gritted teeth, 'Talk'.

Leonard was sweating bullets under Toms frigid glare, he didn't know what he did to get the man upset at him this time. He hadn't been playing and 'accidentally' bust any pipes this time, so what had the GENT engineers goat this early in the morning? “M-Morning Thomas. H-How are you this fine morning?” He squeaked to try and lighten the mood giving a shaky grin. Tom pressing him further into the wall served as a strong indicator that the man was by no sense of the word in the mood for small talk.

Tom sharpened his glare and slowly started lifting Leonard off the ground bit by bit. “Talk, what's going on?”

“S-Someone broke into Allison's dressing room and r-ransacked the place, the room was completely busted up by a blunt object and she's crying in the music department. N-Norman's there now t-trying to comfort her along with the band, but she is beyond w-words sir!” Leonard shrieked in the mans grasp.

Tom's eyes went wide at the information and it explained why everyone was dodging him. He dropped Leonard on the floor the young man immediately nestled himself behind the crates to keep Tom from throttling him. Tom turned on his heel ignoring Leonard and dashed down the hall towards the music department. Everyone was a mere blur as the staff quickly got out of the locomotive of a mechanics way for fear of being run over. The man clearly on a mission and was not tolerant of any obstacles, be it a object or a person. Tom saw the familiar sight of the music department logo and a cluster of people all muttering amongst themselves. Heads turned upon heading Tom's thundering footsteps and all hastily cleared a path for the man, some nearly tripping over themselves or each other. The sight before him made him stop in his tracks and his heart ache.

Allison was sitting on a chair absolutely beside herself, large tears streamed down her face as she was curled in on herself. Norman was sitting next to her trying to comfort her the best he could, trying to talk to her while gently rubbing her back with Aaron and Giovanni both talking to Norman in hushed tones. Edgar and Earl were in the corner both wearing a worried and somber expression neither boy approaching the distraught woman. Aaron and Giovanni both looked at Tom and a small scowl graced their faces before they turned to give Allison and her husband some much needed space leaving the room. Earl and Edgar both watched the older men leave and decided to do the same. Norman briefly looked up at the mechanic and he too had a small scowl before returning his attention back to Allison. Tom stayed silent and slowly made his way to his grieving wife, he had never seen her this upset before. The previous day's emotional episode was nothing in comparison to how she was now and a little voice in the back of his mind told him that it is more then just a simple break in and the ransacking of a dressing room, if the strange looks of disappointment from the band members where anything to go by.

Tom just barely opened his mouth to talk to her when Norman looked at him dead in the eye and shook his head telling him 'no', shutting him up immediately. He looked at the projectionist with worried eyes and Norman's stern look didn't budge and the man had no choice but to back down and give his wife some space. The projectionist looked down at Allison then back up and spotted Leonard whom had carefully edged into the hall, he gestured for the man to come over. The young man was confused at first since Norman didn't say anything, but firmly pointed at him and waggled his finger to come over. Not wanting to question the man, Leonard obeyed and Norman got up from his seat and had Leonard replace him in trying to comfort Allison while Norman gestured for Tom to follow him. Tom was confused why Norman didn't want him to talk to his wife, but decided to hear the man out.

Norman rounded the stairs and went up to his projection booth with Thomas in tow, he unlocked the door and motioned for the man to enter and once he did he followed in closing the door behind him and securely locking it. Norman turned around and let out a deep sigh looking up at tom “ Ah take it ya heard 'bout da missus room gettin' wrecked?”

Tom glanced down out the window at his wife and then back at Norman “Yeah I heard, but she can easily get a new room, god knows there are plenty of them here. I don't think she had anything important or valuable in the room.”

Norma's eyes went wide at the gruff mechanics statement. It truly confirmed what Allison managed to choke out in between her sobs 'Tom left Benny behind', and now her room had been destroyed and Benny was nowhere to be found. He pinched the bridge of his nose to keep his own temper from flaring up, but needed to find out how much or how little Tom knew.

“Well th' only thin' she had that would be considered valuable was her Bendy plush, but da little toy's turned up missin'” he leaned against the door studying Tom's body language to try and figure him out.

Tom hung his head in shame “Well that blew that idea.” he scowled and Norman gestured for him to continue. “See yesterday I forgot to bring the stupid little toy home and Allison blew up on me. I understand that the darn thing was a gift, but for her to get so upset baffles me. If she wants one so badly I'm sure I can swindle one out of Shawn easy enough, plus he owes me a favor anyways for fixing the belts in his factory.” he had thrown his hands up in the air as he vented to Norman whom patiently listened. He had no clue why something so simple mattered so much.

Norman simply watched the man rant, it was clear that he had no clue about the true nature of the 'toy' as he called Benny. He let out a sigh making Thomas still after his venting. “How much did she tell ya?” his face very serious which was unusual for the normally relaxed projectionist.

Tom looked at him and rifled through his memories of the past few days and could think of anything significant. “She just asked me to bring home a toy she had gotten as a gift. I know I promised, but it was an honest mistake. There's no reason to have a full blown meltdown.” he scratched the back of his head in frustration.

“That's not how e'll see it.” Norman uttered softly looking at Tom with eyes full of pity and sadness.

“That's twice now I've heard that phrase.” Tom steadily growing frustrated pointing a finger sternly at Norman “what does that mean!?” The man nearly shouting at the top of his lungs throwing his arms up into the air.

Norman waved his hand nonchalantly and looked down at Tom “That lil dolly that Mrs. Allison done asked ya t' bring home was countin' on ya on doin' so. Lil Benny ain't welcomed dis place he was born in, an' I woulda thought you would 'ave known 'bout him considerin' ya done built th' machin' that made 'em. Th' lil toons been hidin' in 'er room waitin' fer ya t' show up and take 'im home.” Norman's words died down as he looked past the mechanic at his grieving wife below. “Now someone don' broke in 'er room an' he ain't no where t' be found. 'Er precious lil one disappeared. We don' even know if 'es alive or dead.” His sorrowful eyes drifted back to Thomas. “She's like a mother who lost 'er child.”

As soon as Norman's words left his mouth Tom felt his throat dry up and a pit formed within his stomach as he processed the man's words. The little toon was alive, the first one that had been made by the prototype ink machine was alive. He was living in Allison's room the entire time under her care while he had to refine the machine to make Bendy. His little body was fabric not ink, that's how he was able to survive the injury Joey had dealt him, the fabric softened the blow. The little one whom gave him a childlike thrill when he looked at a living toon that was responding to his interactions and was so infant like in response. The little light that had been accidentally brought to life and proved the theory was true, and brought nothing but joy upon creation. A light believed to have been snuffed out for not meeting the standard and for simply existing.

Tom lowered his arms and slowly looked at his hands, he remembered the feel of what he assumed was a stuffed animal in his hands that day he had a meltdown in Allison's room while hugging the plush 'Bendy'. The plush toy that felt oddly warm and solid. His mind drifted to that moment. He had been sobbing and after pulling the toy into an embrace someone was gently rubbing his back to try and comfort him, he had assumed it was Allison, but that couldn't be right she was at the bathroom at the time. It was the little 'Bendy', he was trying to comfort him as best he could. How could he have missed it? He held the little toon he thought had been killed by his monstrous boss in his hands and had promised to take him home. Tom's legs nearly gave out on him as the grim reality hit prompting Norman to grab his arm to keep him steady. He broke his promise. He lied to the little toon whom he brought into the world and the little one had been counting on him to get him out.

“I-I broke my promise. I broke my promise to the little toon, I broke my promise to my wife.” Tom's dryly choked as his mind was still trying to process all the things he missed. Allison's need for a bigger bag was for her to transport him around the studio safely. The two wicker baskets, it wasn't food for the band, it was extra food to feed the toon whom had no other food source. The dried ink all over her original bag, it was from his injury and he leaked ink everywhere. Tears started forming at the edges of his eyes and he slowly turned to look Norman in the eye “What have a I done?”

Norman could feel the regret coming of Tom in waves, the severity of what he had failed to do hitting him like a ton of bricks. He pondered over what would be best for the situation and slowly and carefully started to speak. “'Fer starters apologize t' Mrs. Allison. Then try t' find Benny, the lil boy is alone an' scared. You need t' find 'em before someone else does.” he held Tom's shoulders while looking him sternly in the eyes. “Find 'em.”

“B-Benny?” Tom looked at Norman slightly confused as to the name.

Norman chuckled “The lil toon's name is Benny, Mrs. Allison gave 'em the name since it's similar to Bendy but not. The lil boy is 'off-model', I'm sure you'd recognize 'em as soon as ya see 'em. You did make 'em after all.”

Tom nodded his head, he couldn't ever forget how 'off-model' the toon now named 'Benny' was in comparison to his now living counterpart Bendy. He could only hope he could find the little toon in a facility so large. Norman released his shoulders allowing the man to venture back to the window to look down at his wife below. He let out a sigh and turned back towards the door letting himself out and slowly made his way down the stairs. Step by step felt like an eternity as he tried to figure out his wording when he would approach her. He himself felt like his stomach abandoned him the closer he got and wanted to turn away to compose himself, but he needed to be strong for her, and to let her know it will be all right. He will find their little toon and Joey could go strait to hell for all he cared, Benny belonged with them not to that heinous man. Tom stopped briefly at the doorway at the bottom of the stairwell and was met by the Leonard looking at him with worry. He nodded slightly and the young man slowly edged himself away from Allison and Tom gently took his place and pulled Allison closer to himself.

The mechanic looked down at his wife and was thankful she had calmed down. Her sobs were soft as she was pulled into his chest and he rocked back and forth gently. “Honey.” he softly spoke while running his fingers through her hair pulling them away from her face. “Sweetheart.”

Allison slowly looked up at Tom with tired glassy eyes making the man's heart clench, she looked so exhausted and worn out. Tom uttered 3 small words that made her smile slightly and lean into him. 'I'll find him'.

Norman stood in the doorway and watched the couple in silence, it was heartbreaking that the lack of communication can cause such heartache, but at the same time it wasn't like they could freely tell each other what was going on. With Thomas's sense of professionalism and dedication to his job they feared that he would have turned Benny in if he knew he was still alive, or worse try and kill him like Joey had tried. The man was big on logic and reasoning which at times made them wonder if he had a heart under his stern and stiff demeanor. Allison on the other hand was nearly his exact opposite, while she was very much a professional she was far more compassionate about the people around her. It was obvious she loved Benny like he was her own, but because of the fact that Benny was so off-model she feared that her husband's sense of duty to his job would somehow override his sense of compassion for a toon that was 'only an accident'.

Leonard quietly stood in the corner catching Norman's eye and he motioned for the young man to leave for which he needed no encouragement, it seemed he too knew when to give people some much needed space. Once Leonard was gone the projectionist returned his attention back to the couple and smiled. He didn't know what they were saying but he could see the burning determination in Tom's eyes and how Allison had relaxed into him. He didn't know what all happened between Thomas and Benny at the start of it all, but watching the man slowly get up from his seat and leaving a few small words with Allison the look in his eyes said it all. He will find Benny. Tom turned to face Norman briefly and nodded before making a purposeful stride out of the Music department and disappeared down the hallway and up the stairs.

Norman was very much thankful Thomas left when he did, Sammy had arrived a short time after him carrying one of the Bendy cutouts and placed it in the corner of the room along with a small collection of them. It struck him as odd. While Sammy jokingly commented about appeasing Bendy the man only bothered with the film version of the toon if he wasn't swamped with multiple cartoons at once that all needed music by the end of the day. Sammy had eluded that he hated the smile given to the Bendy cutouts and other homages to the toon devil, saying that they were creepy and wrong, but yet here he was openly carrying one of them around.

Once the cutout had been placed Norman watched Sammy walk up to Allison and have a brief chat with her before she was excused to rest in the corner of the room away from the band. 'Huh' Norman thought to himself as he watched the man motioning to the band to enter the department and take their seats while he stood at his podium. 'Looks like he heard 'bout Mrs. Allison's meltdown and is givin' 'er a break to recoup'. He tipped his cap to Sammy and retreated to his projection booth to set up when he saw a figure standing in the doorway of the department. Susie Campbell. The former actress sashayed up to Sammy clearly pouring on the charm, the man seemed neither impressed nor amused by whatever she was saying. He shook his head and uttered a few words to the woman which seemed to outrage her. Norman didn't know what was said but he could see her face morph into pure anger as she was clearly shouting at him and gesturing angrily at Allison, even the Band seemed to withdraw away from the scene. Sammy placed his hands on the former actresses shoulders and spoke for awhile and whatever he said seemed to calm the woman down somewhat. She shot another heated glare at Allison before giving a sweet look to Sammy before leaving the department as quickly as she came. Norman made a mental note to ask Allison what was said later.

Sammy stared at the doorway for a time to make sure Susie had left and let out a long tired sigh. It wasn't his idea to switch out the actresses, he kinda liked Susie, but at times she seemed very hollow and distant. A stark contrast to her normally sassy and confident woman she carried herself as. He didn't know what Joey was doing with all the sudden changes, but in the end he had to admit he liked Allison's voice for Alice Angel better. He could only hope that Allison got over her distress soon since they had to record another song later in the evening. It was a total shock that someone had to audacity to completely trash the young woman's room, and he had a sinking suspicion that it was Susie, but wasn't in the position to openly confront the woman about the matter. Allison was loved by many in the studio and he couldn't think of anyone whom had any grievances with her, say for Susie whom is thoroughly convinced that Allison went out of her way to steal the role of Alice Angel from her. The former actress would be the only one with a solid reason to go after Allison.

'Ah, well.' Sammy thought to himself. 'I'll worry about this nonsense later, but for now I need to get these songs done and to get Joey off my back'. He tapped his baton on the podium catching the bands attention and raised his arms in the air making sure all eyes were on him, once he had confirmation of attention he struck up the band.

While the band was playing and thankfully only rehearsing to familiarize themselves with the sheet music, Norman quietly slipped out of his projection booth after setting up the projectors for the later recordings. He eased down the stairs as to not be a distraction and quietly crept up to Allison whom sat quietly in the corner of the room studying her sheet music. A gentle nudge broke her out of her concentration and she looked up at Norman who whispered 'I'm gonna go look fer 'em for a bit, I'm not needed fer a lil while so I got a moment'. Allison smiled at the man and whispered a small 'good luck'. He tipped his cap and quietly snuck out of the music department stopping at its entrance. Norman took a glance over his shoulder at Allison who never took her eyes off him and at the small glimmer of hope in her eyes. He could only hope to find her little one, and since Benny hid in dark places, the best place to look was below the studio.

The projectionist knew he was one of the few that not only had proper access to the newer sections of the studio being constructed below, but also of the few who knew about it. It was one of Joey's little secrets that was still in the works and since Benny shy-ed from any excessive amounts of noise and people the toon may have accidentally gone deeper into the studio where it was dark and quiet. Norman paced the halls and thought it was funny how he had grown used to constantly bumping into the various GENT staffers whom would be working on something in the studio, but now it was only the main studio staff. It was strange to not have them fluttering about tapping and banging on some extension of the Ink machine or fixing leaks. However none of that mattered now as the Ink machine was completed and now only Tom remained. He felt pity for the man, it was obvious by his earlier actions that Benny meant a lot to the man even if he may not have been with him long. He wish he better knew Tom's side of the story in regards to Benny's creation it would help fill in the gaps to what was really going on behind the scenes of the studio, he could only hope things don't get worse.

Norman set aside his thoughts for now and knew his focus was to try and find Benny. The rehearsals only last for a few hours and he would have to somehow get to the bottom of the studio and back again within that time frame, and could only hope he finds Benny in the process.

---------Meanwhile----------

Thomas carried a purposeful stride as he hurried down the halls of the studio. There were many places a 3 foot tall living doll could hide, and it wasn't like he can just wander down the halls shouting his name. People would think he was crazy for starters and the toon wasn't supposed to exist so that will put the little one at risk. He stopped at every doorway checking each and every room systematically, he felt ridiculous checking in small crevasses and crates, but the toon was the size of a small child and children can hide in the damnest places. Once Tom was certain the hallway and floor was cleared he turned his attention to the to hallway leading to the stairs for the next level. The man once again resembling an angry locomotive charged down the invisible tracks of the hall to the stairwell when an animator ran up to him shouting his name.

“Mr. Connor! Mr. Connor wait!” The young redheaded man ran up to him clearly out of breath. Tom stopped to hear the young man out, the man grasping his knees trying to catch his breath. “Mr. Drew is demanding to see you. He is raising one hell of a storm in the animation department trying to find you.”

Tom internally scowled, it was just a matter of time before Drew took out his frustrations on the staff in some manner. He let out a long sigh and rest his hand on the tired out animator. “Why don't you go take a break, I'll go deal with Joey. Ok?” The young animator nodded his head and wandered towards the break room with Tom escorting him, and once he was sure the kid was relaxing he steeled himself and turned towards the animation department to seek out the tantrum throwing tyrant.

Tom's trip was by no sense of the word a long one as he neared the animation department he could hear Joey bellowing at the overworked animators. The staff cowering under the dictator director and hurrying their sketches and cells as fast as their hands would allow. The man inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled preparing himself for a tirade and calmly entered the department well within Joeys line of sight smiling calmly at the man.

“Ah, Good morning sir.” Tom sauntered over to the red faced Joey “I heard you wished to see me.” Tom was thoroughly enjoying seeing Joey looking a bit worse for wear.

Joey glared back at Tom with a clear scowl on his face as he stopped looming over a terrified staffer and turned his attention to GENT engineer in full. The older man's clothes looked like they hadn't been ironed and pressed in a week and his hair which was normally slicked back was down and fluffy looking. Joey's normally tall and firm stance was now stooped over as he seemed to be clinging to his cane for dear life rather then making it look like a mere accessory. His eyes were wild and he looked like he was loosing his mind, and clear dark patches were underneath them like he hadn't slept in days.

“My Office. Now.” Joey growled out to the smug mechanic and turned to the department shouting at them to get back to work before he hobbled out of the department and down the hall towards his office with Tom in tow.

Tom watched Joey clearly struggling with walking as the man occasionally pushed off a wall to try and re-balance himself. The last time he saw him he wasn't this bad, it was like the older man was injured or exhausted. Certainly dealing with Bendy for a full day couldn't have taken this much out of the man can it? Sure Joey was always the frail sort, but he couldn't have been this fragile. Speaking of the toon where was he? He fully expected Joey to be proudly parading the little cartoon demon all around the studio boasting about the ink machine's 'great achievement' and how that all the efforts of the staff weren't in vain, but that wouldn't explain why he was forced to come back. Did something go wrong? God he hoped not,cause something about bendy felt a little off. Tom's mind went abuzz with countless possibilities while he followed the man into the office, not noticing the small ink splatters that stained the wall and corner by the door.

Joey slowly hobbled to his desk grasping onto it like it was his life line and edged around it till he was able to reach his chair and pulled it close to himself. He eased his worn body into the chair with a small groan, his joints protesting even the smallest movements and rest his cane on the edge of the desk. He folded his hands together on the desk leaning forward and rest his chin on his hands staring holes in the the still contemplating mechanic. “Now, do you know why I brought you here?” His tone cold and firm as his Grey eyes bore holes into Tom.

Joey's voice reminding the man of another matter, Tom looked up from his thoughts to face the director. “Oh probably you throwing a tantrum about Bendy and the Ink machine, thinking that I somehow screwed up again.” Tom shot back a heated glare. He was by no sense of the word appreciative of being forced to come back to the studio lest he lose his job.

“Precisely!” Joey's sudden shout startling Tom “That damn abomination of a toon doesn't act like Bendy at all!” Joey threw his arms up in the air in rage. “We have never had a voice actor for Bendy and yet that little shit was not only talking, but had the nerve to talk back to me! He didn't recognize the music from his own show and he sure as hell didn't recognize his other toon friends! The way he talks and moves around, he's acting like that pathetic excuse of a animator that left! You screwed up that machine for a second time now and I. Demand. Answers!” Joey slammed his fists down onto the desk at the end of his tirade, his breath coming out hard and labored.

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose taking slow deep breaths to try and school his own temper “Look for as much as you seemingly hate to admit it, he is Bendy. Perhaps maybe not the way you see him, but maybe way his creator saw him. Last I looked you didn't design the toon, you only own him. So maybe, just maybe a bit of how his creator viewed his toon somehow got into the toon upon creation. After all sir what you put in is what you get out-”

“ I don't get what you mean by that! We put in all the reels, cells, sketches and anything we could find of bendy to make him! He should act how he is on the blasted screen, not in the imagination of his maker! ” Joey all but screamed at Tom, the mans eyes wild and filled with anger.

“Its as it means. We put is so much material into the damn machine I was surprised it was able to even handle the intake. What we put in merely provided a mold, it is up to him to fill it. Bendy is still a infant toon barely a day old and you're already pitching fits just like you did with the last one. What is it in your thick skull you don't get? Huh?!” tom waved his arms in annoyed disbelief “We created a mold and empty shell with the machine and the ink and information provided gave him his personality, but he lacks experience with his surrounding cause he has never been in reality. He has to learn what it is to be a living toon and what he is expected to do. We don't even know what all he is capable or incapable of doing cause he is only 1 day old. Why don't you actually spend time with him to get to know him before you condemn him!” Tom's face was flush with anger. This pathetic excuse of a human being had no patience for anything that is still developing. Bendy and Benny both were like children that needed the helping hand of a adult figure to navigate the ways of the world and this man had the gall to think that they would just pop out of a mechanical device 100% perfect with no strings attached. Life doesn't work that way. Everything has a string attached and you have to be willing to sort them out and work with them.

Joey's cold calculating eyes bore holes into Tom, the man had said that the machine was merely a mold maker and it was up to something to fill it? That the toon needed to be taught? Fine, he'll play this little game. For now. “Fine I'll do that, I'll give the toon a chance and try to teach him how he is supposed to behave. For now I want you to return to the machine and make sure everything is in working order Mr. Connor then go back to maintaining it's workings with Wally.” He waved a hand towards the door “You're dismissed.”

Tom scowled not budging an inch. “Where's Bendy?”

Joey grinned “He's fine and is in my care. You have nothing to worry about, he's just fine.”

“Then bring him out here. I want to see for myself.” Tom growled, balling his hands into tight fists. He knew with Joey's little outburst about already not liking the toon that there was no way for the toon to be in good health. He hadn't seen the man parading him like a trophy at all, nor had he heard any additional noises indicating that the toon was nearby. Not only that but to agree so easily without a full blown argument, something was wrong.

“Like I said, he is just fine and is resting from his birth. He is quite energetic and wore himself out. After all toons are surprisingly energetic, more so then on the big screen.” Joey coolly smiled as he leaned back into his chair, chuckling even like it was amusing about the nature of toons.

Tom glared at him and knew he wasn't going to get an answer as to what befell the young toon. “Fine.”

With a quick turn on the heel, Tom turned around and marched up to the door stopping briefly noticing small splatters of ink on the wall and the floor next to the door. Something had been thrown or struck in this spot, and it wasn't very high. Joey's office was always impeccable regardless of the countless pipe ruptures and spills. Something must have happened in the office. He briefly glanced over his shoulder and Joey whom was still watching him coldly, he let out a small huff and walked out the office closing the door roughly behind himself. Tom leaned against the door taking a deep breath before narrowing his eyes down the halls that surrounded him. He now had two lost toons to find.

---------------------

Joey made sure Tom was long gone before he left his office slowly and carefully as to not attract attention from any nearby staff. He cursed his uncooperative body, it was already bad enough that he suffered from weak joints and pain dealt to him from polio he got as a child, but any physical activity didn't help. Restraining that pathetic excuse of a toon wore him out more so then he would have liked, and on top of that the toon struck him during the struggle crippling him. His silent curses were broken by a smooth southern voice.

“Ya alright Mr. Drew? Ya look like yer havin' a bit o' trouble there.”

Joey turned to look up at Norman Polk whom had a worried look on his face. “Ah, just having an off day Mr. Polk. My body isn't exactly old, but I certainly feel old right now.” He lightly chuckled smiling faintly, he was always neutral towards the dark skinned man. Norman was a hard worker, well worth his pay and wasn't a problem child unlike some of the staff. He kept to himself and his projectors. 'Wait' Joey thought to himself. 'Thomas said that the toon needed to be taught. Perhaps he can be educated from watching his own films.' Joey lightly cleared his throat gaining Norman's full attention. “Hey Mr. Polk?”

“yes sir?” The projectionist looking down at him.

“You once told me that you have a little sister correct?”

Norman flashed a big proud grin. “Yes Sir. She's a lil bitty thin', all but 8 years old.” He took pride in his little sister and had to help his mother raise her since their father was no longer in the picture. “She absolutely love's the cartoons we make 'ere.”

Joey smiled listening to Normans answer, children like Norman's sister were the target audience for the cartoons and they would know the best shorts to pick that would describe the toon. After all children know their favorite shorts by heart. “Say if you had to pick all of your sisters favorite shorts, what would they be?”

Norman tilted his head the mans question, but thought back to the memories of his sister happily sitting in his lap at the movie theater cheering and pointing at the toons and their antics on the silver screen. A warm smile crept across his face as he reminisced at all the shorts he himself put together and seeing his sister's loving response. Naturally all the shorts that Henry made and that he put together were her favorites. He never missed a chance to take her to the theater so they could see the latest movie and to see the shorts. While they always had to sit in the back since the theater was segregated it never damped her mood at all. She always commented how she felt a connection to the little devil, always judged by her looks. That no matter how someone looks it was whats inside that counts.

Norman faced Joey and happily gave him a lengthy list of all the shorts that he sister adored, while Joey quickly jotted them down on a piece of paper. Once Joey wrote the last of the titles on the page he looked back up and Norman and smiled while patting the man on the shoulder “Thank you.”

Norman looked surprised by Joey's kindness towards him and seemingly earnest respect. “Yer welcom' sir, but if ya don' mind mah askin' what did ya need the list fer?”

Joey was caught off guard by the sudden inquiry, but was quick with his answer. “I got a group of investors coming later in the week and I needed to showcase some of our best films.” He flashed a warm grin at Norman “After all children know best.”

A chuckle escaped Norman's lip “Ya, that they do sir.”

“well if you'll excuse me I need to start rounding up those reels.” Joey nodded in farewell and started to try and limp down the hall but he got nowhere when a firm hand grasped his arm. He turned to see Norman holding onto his arm, the man lifted his arm up and slung it over his shoulder supporting his weight. “Wh-what are you doing?” Joey stammered out surprised by the sudden movement.

“Givin' ya a hand. Yer not gonna get far with yer legs so I'm gonna help ya. Yer headin' to the vault fer the reels right? I'm headin' that way anyway so might as well help ya along.” Norman laughed.

Joey lowered his head and chuckled softly to himself. “fine have it your way.”

With amused silence Norman shouldered the mans weight and with slow and steady stride he helped carry the older man to the elevator to take to the lower levels. They idly chatted about little things like Norman's family and the different cartoons as the elevator creaked and groaned on it's decent. When they reached the new administration level they disembarked the elevator and stopped to take a break. Joey was worn out just from reaching the elevator so Norman let him rest on a crate until the man was able to steady himself again and then resumed their trip to the vault. At the vault door Joey showed Norman how to open the door since at the moment he lacked the strength to stand for the duration and open the door. Once the door opened Norman was handed the list of desired shorts and the man gingerly rummaged through the collection pulling out the desired reels.

Norman fingered through the shelving of reels and various other items that had been stored in the vault and noticed a door in the far right corner of the room partially hidden by a shelf. He peered over his shoulder to make sure Joey wasn't looking and edged closer to the corner to get a better look. The door was large and partially hidden by an empty book case like someone didn't want anyone to see the door. A large ink splatter was at the base of the door and on the walls. The whole thing seemed wrong, he could only hope Benny didn't somehow make it this far down.

“Did you get them all?” Joeys voice sounded out from outside the vault room.

Norman scrambled away from the corner and grabbed the pile of reels needed. “yes sir! I got 'em right 'ere.” The man strode out of the vault carrying the pile in his arms.

Joey eyed the stack double checking that all was present and accounted for. “Good man. I almost thought you weren't even there for a minute and was gonna lock you in there.” He laughed while patting Norman on the back. The projectionist was slightly disturbed by the notion but chose to chuckle going along with the gag.

Carrying the reels in his arms Norman offered his shoulder to Joey whom quietly accepted and they both slowly made the trip back to the upper levels of the studio. Norman picked up a few additional reels along the way that were needed by the music department for later in the evening, and dropped Joey and his stack of reels off at his office. Joey gave the man his thanks and with the tip of his cap Norman resumed his route down the hall disappearing out of sight leaving Joey to his own devices. He hated having to stop to help the man whom hurt his little friend, and now the time he could have spent looking for Benny got used up by Joey and he had to go back to the music department.

------------------

Joey glanced at the reels that Norman has stacked on the edge of his desk in his office letting out a deep annoyed sigh. He seriously doubted that playing the reels for Bendy would work in any fashion, but anything was worth a shot. He already spent too much on the ink machine and as much as he hated to admit it the damn thing had produced a proper living toon with the aid of the Illusion of Living and the sacrifices. He'll try Thomas's suggestion of letting the toon learn from his own reels, but he needed a back up plan in case Bendy doesn't behave the way he is supposed to. But what?

Joey subconsciously pulled out the Illusion of Living and glanced through it's contents. The mysterious book had aided in the creation of the living toon and helped provide the Ink machine with it's ability to create life, may something within could help guide the toon as it did with the machine. Joey mindlessly flipped through the pages of rituals and summonings until a small excerpt caught his attention:

A human can be divided into two distinct portions: the soul, and the body. The body is merely a vessel, a husk that the soul fills and in turn brings the empty husk to live by providing the life needed. The soul is the heart of the body and the very essence of what makes up the individual. The body cannot function without a soul and the soul cannot be without a body. It is intangible unless given a physical form to be contained within. In rare instances the body can move without a soul housing it by means of magic imitating the likeness of a soul, a personality. An illusion of a living individual and what made that individual unique. In short a doll given magic to imitate the life around it and pass off as a living creature, a golem with a power source of magic. Magic is not infinite making golems only temporary, a soul however is. While it is not recommended and highly dangerous it is possible to give a golem or doll a soul. It requires sacrifices and a ritual.

Joey's eyes lit up at the passage. He saw many similarities to Tom's rough description of the ink machine. It was made a mold in the shape of the toon that the ink filled with information to make a living toon. However once his eyes rest upon the final portion of the paragraph it made his heart race. He had infused the Ink machine with dark magic he gained from the book and the grim fact that the magic was not infinite. How long would it last? Was it a few days? Weeks? Years? There was no time frame given. How long would the toon last? He was certain that Bendy didn't have a soul since he is a cartoon and has no person within him as a 'energy source', but that didn't seem right.

The man rest his head on his hands as he leaned forward on his desk laying the book down and skimming the passage again trying to better comprehend the wording. Bendy claimed that he had some of Henry's essence in his ink from his creation using that as an excuse as to how he somehow knew the man. Was the blood mixed in the ink and acted as a temporary source keeping the toon going, but how long will that last? His mind also drifted to the toon that Sammy has spotted in the music department, the false Bendy. That toon somehow was still alive despite being made from the experimental Ink machine. Was somehow some of Tom's blood mixed in with the dolls fabric when he gave it to the machine? He was the only one to handle the toy prior to handing it over and his hands were banged up from working all day. Bendy claimed he had Henry in him so under that logic the rejected toon must have some of Tom in him as well. Blood must be a energy source for them somehow, but that cannot last forever.

Joey reread the passage again 'Magic is not infinite making golems only temporary, a soul however is. It is possible to give a golem or doll a soul. It requires sacrifices and a ritual.' This caused the man to chuckle and burst into a raucous laughter. He already had the sacrifices and knew how to perform rituals with ease all he needs is the man in question and he will have a soul for the empty husk known as Bendy the Dancing Demon. With a swift motion Joey opened up his desk and pulled out some stationary laying it out, a few strokes of a pen later and he wrote a simple letter of invitation:

Dear Henry,

It's been awhile since we worked on cartoons together, time seems to be slipping away faster and faster.

At your earliest convince come visit the old shop, there's something I want to show you.

Your best pal,

Joey Drew

Joey held up the letter with pride before a hint of concern shot through him turning his smile into a scowl. What if something goes wrong? Would any soul work as a source rather then the creator himself? Bendy already has a personality given to him from the material used in the machine so wouldn't he just need an energy source? This warrants investigation, but first he needs to be educated by his own cartoons to ensure success. If all goes as planned then any random insignificant person will do, he owns the entire staff of the studio so it wouldn't matter if a person or two disappeared. A smile crept across his lips and he slid the paper and address back into the drawer the only thought that crossed his mind 'just in case'.

--------Meanwhile at the Music Department---------

Sammy couldn't help but scowl at the entire band, often losing his temper and nearly snapping his baton from how hard he struck the podium shouting for the band to cease playing. Every last one of them was not playing to the best of their abilities, and most of all Allison. Her singing didn't have that normal heavenly feel to it like it would normally have. It was like an angel who had her wings broken. He understood that her dressing room had been broken into but unfortunately this was a studio and they lacked the luxury of waiting for someone to get their act together after a incident. It was cold but it was a grim truth. It was as if her distraught mood had affected the band. They were playing halfheartedly and that lively energy wasn't there. The feel of the room didn't match the film being played behind them.

After the 5th attempt at the piece Sammy slammed his hands and baton on the podium. “Stop, Stop, Stop! I don't know what is wrong with the lot of you today, but we don't have all day for you to get your acts together.”

The irate musical director pointed a finger at Leonard. “Your violin playing is everywhere, but where the sheet music dictated. You're hitting too many flats and you're off key. Re-tune your violin and watch your damn finger placement.”

“You two Aaron and Giovanni, I don't who spit in your corn flakes, but you both are playing too aggressively for the piece and the notes are coming out too harsh for the piece. Both your respective pieces have many parts that dictate a decrescendo and yet you are blatantly ignoring it. If it says to lighten up then lighten the hell up.” Sammy bellowed at the two men from across the room making Leonard flinch since he was taking the brunt of Sammy's tirade.

“And you blasted twins, your playing sounds like your dragging your feet down the road to your funeral, you're supposed to be playing a lively tune with a skip in your step. Pick it up!” Both Edgar and Earl winced from the mans heated glare and bellowing.

“Most of all you. Mrs Connor.” Sammy took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Look I understand that someone broke into your dressing room and completely trashed the place, but I need you to find your voice. You are singing so softly I can barely hear you and your voice sounds cracked and broken. I'm sorry, but I need an joyous Angel, not a weeping one.” Allison looked at him and nodded at him slightly before bowing her head not looking at him in the eye.

“All right everyone take a 15 and we will try again. Keep in mind we don't have a luxury of mistakes or it's our paychecks.” Sammy shouted out to the band excusing them for a moment, he picked up a handful of the sheet music and left the department.

Norman came out of his projection booth letting out a loud sigh. “Man it's been awhile since I seen Sammy get that worked up.” he grabbed an empty chair and pushed aside the Bendy cutout facing it away from himself.

Allison sat on her stool holding her bag close to her chest. “I'm having a hard time feeling it. I would feel him nudging me and would often try and sing along to where I would have to pat him to get him to stop, but now I don't feel anything. He isn't there by my side. I know Tom promised to go look for him, but this place it huge and Benny is small. He could be anywhere.” The woman curled around the bag gently as if it were her lifeline.

Leonard looked at her worriedly until a little idea popped into his head “Hey It's not all that bad.” his chipper mood causing Allison to look up at him. “See Edgar, Earl and I.” the young man grabbed the twins pulling them close so all three can face her. “The three of us know the studio like the back of our hands, I'm sure with the three of us all running 'round we can find the little bundle of joy in no time.” the three young men all flashed huge mischievous grins at Allison, making her laugh.

Edgar and Earl both spoke in unison sounding in stereo “Yeah! We'll find our little devil in no time!”

“Thanks boys.” Allison chuckled at them. It was no secret that the unholy trio treated the studio like it was a playground and were probably more mischievous then the little devil darling himself. They had this uncanny ability to get into places that most of the older staff cursed their child like nature. Perhaps it took one with a child like personality to find a child.

Giovanni stepped forward and ruffled his hand on Leonard's hair messing it up. “With our little pocket nuisances running around being the local terrors that they are, I'm gonna see if I can lay some of those can of Bacon soup around for the boy. We all know he likes food so maybe if some food is left sitting around he might go for it. That way we can narrow down where he ran off to. With his appetite he is bound to get hungry sooner or later.”

“Oh god no, do you plan on poisoning the boy?” Aaron joked from across the room. “We all know how bad that soup tastes and it will only make the little one sick. If you're gonna leave food lying around you might as well leave something that tastes better.”

“Hate t' break it t' ya Aaron, but those are th' only things that can be lyin' round that Joey ain't gonna suspect. Th' man is pround o' th' soup and 'as no problem wit' them lyin' all over th' place. Anythin' else be obvious and raise an alarm. Plus thay got a shelf life that won't quit, them damn thin' 'ill last ferever” Norman commented from his chair.

“Beside those canned soups actually taste pretty good!” Leonard beam over at Aaron. The man grumbled and commented about how something must be either wrong with Leonard's taste buds, his brain or both.

The group burst into laughter at Aaron's commentary and everyone agreed that now they needed to find their little lost friend for their Angel's sake. With Tom now in the mix looking for the toon the man was like a determined hunting dog, he doesn't let up till he gets his prize. The atmosphere seemed to lighten with the group and the weight on all of their shoulders and hearts a little lighter. The small Bendy cutout collection in the corner all smiling at the lighter mood the small team had found themselves in.

Sammy entered the music hall after the break prompting the group to break apart and resume their positions back at their instruments, mic and projector. Sammy glanced around and it seemed that everyone's faces were brighter and more focused. With the wave of a hand and baton he stuck up the band and the sound that followed was the sound that he was used to, perfection. Whatever happened through the course of the 15 minute break seemed to be enough to help the band get back on their feet, Allison found her voice and the band was playing like normal.

Once the day wrapped up Sammy laid out the new music for the band to collect and wandered off in search of more cutouts. Once Sammy was out of sight and the band confirmed he was gone they all looked at Allison with determined eyes and all split up to begin their search of a little plushdemon whom had gone missing. The group searched for hours until some got caught by Joey and was urged to go home for the day and come back in the morning. While Joey was fussing at Leonard, Edgar and Earl for once again running around the halls like little hell spawns Giovanni had secured a stash of Bacon Soup cans and with Aaron and Norman's help had slowly started leaving small shelves worth of the stuff in random places. Taking mental note of where they had been placed and hoped to check on them in the morning to narrow down the search.

-------late that night within the studio--------

Joey was more then frustrated and exhausted from the day, but at the least he had little 'loose ends' to wrap up. He found his reining in the nuisance trio from the music department a mere setback, god he wished those three had better things to do then run around the studio like it was a playpen. They were adults for gods sake and Leonard was worst of them being the clear ring leader. That one was just as energetic as the little devil darling himself. That mere thought gave him pause. Leonard was just as energetic as Bendy and knew the cartoons like the back of his hand. The man was a known musician, dancer and overall entertainer hence why he was recommended for hiring. He might be a good candidate to offer to Bendy, after all the two were similar.

'First things first' Joey thought to himself as he cradled the collection of film reels in his arm 'I need to give Bendy a proper education after all'. The man strode down the dark halls of the studio with only a few of the pale yellow emergency lights lighting his way. He went down several halls and entered the elevator descending into the depths of the studio. The elevator's decent was slow and creaky leaving the man to be a bit nervous as to whether or not it would suddenly give out on him, but with it's protesting it arrived at the desired destination. Joey swiftly exited the elevator not wanting to be in the cursed contraption any longer then necessary and vowing to take the stairs upon returning to the top floors.

He strode past the new additions to the studio feeling a sense of pride in knowing how his precious studio was progressing faster then he could ever believe. He had an amusement park being developed within its newer walls, the completion of the Ink machine and the production of the living toons which will soon freely roam the park and be living attractions, something that the competitors couldn't ever dream of having. He and he alone had the ambition to make the impossible possible. He just has a small speed bump to take care of and soon Joey Drew studios will reach new heights that no one else could ever hope to achieve.

Joey adjusted the reels in his arms as he slowly unlocked the vault door pulling it open just enough to squeeze through. He briefly set the reels down and moved the shelving that masked the hidden door to the heart of the Ink machine. Though small curses escaped the man as he moved the heavy shelving. He wished he could have just have Norman pull out the reels and left them sitting out to retrieve later, but then that would let on that something was amiss on these floors and the last thing he wanted was for someone to discover the truths within the walls. Few people were allowed this far down and he wanted to keep it that way while the areas were still in development. However with Bertrum's constant boasting about his park development and the little mechanical toy Bendy he had been developing eating up the finances that should go into finishing the new administrative areas and offices, he had to bite his tongue. That man can boast till the cows come home about his fame and prowess in development and design, but he Joey Drew has a living toon. That little mechanical toy that is supposed to be Bendy can never be him cause he had the real one once he has all that he needs to be perfect. So for now he will let Bertrum have his little fun and as long as his staff assists with completing the park and the lower levels along side GENT, then he will be satisfied with that.

The man traversed the short halls and entered the 'Belly of the Beast' that housed the ink lake. He cursed the fact that a proper bridge or platform had not been made yet to allow access to the heart of the machine without walking away like someone lost a fight with an ink well. Yet another little delay that needed GENT's or Bertrum's team's attention. With caution he slowly waded across with his eyes watching the ink as it seemed to grab at his closing like a lake of cursed souls begging for freedom. He was silently thankful that the natural well for the ink wasn't any deeper lest he fall and drown in the ebony substance.

He finally reached the shore and set the reels down to wipe off the excess ink that stubbornly clung to his clothes. Once he got the majority of the excess ink off he scooped up the reels and with a sing song voice that would scare more sane folk, waltzed into the 'throne room' where Bendy sat limp at the chair and to Joey's relief still bound in chains.

“Oh Beeeeeendy~” Joey hummed out reaching his hand under the toons chin lifting his head to face him. “Look what I got for you.” the man held up a film reel reading 'The Dancing Demon' on it's side.

Bendy was unresponsive and didn't even seem to be looking at the man, Joey ran his fingers down the side of Bendy's face marveling at the feel of the living ink demon and then noted that the toons frown was twitching. Bendy lunged at him bearing teeth that were off-model as he tried to bite his hand, Joey thanking his reflexes at pulling away before the toon could bite down on him. The man took in the toons off model teeth, the base of the teeth were the normal blocky look but the ends of the teeth which should be flat were triangular and sharp. Bendy's pie cut eyes glaring at the man and small growls seemed to be escaping is gritted teeth.

“Oh come now Bendy, temper ,temper.” Joey subconsciously rubbed his hand that barely escaped being bitten. “I brought you a little present and this is how you thank me?”

Bendy didn't say anything except small low warning growls every time the man got near him while Joey seemed to be pulling out boxy looking items around the base of the chair. Joey whistled Bendy's theme song for the show while he worked all the while the toon trying his best to once again free himself, but failing since the only thing he could move was his floating head. His hands occasionally grazed Joeys clothes trying to grab a hold on him while he worked earning a frown from the man.

Joey grew tired of the toons rattling around in the chains while he worked, and drifted over to the pile of clasps that still lay in the corner. He found 2 smaller ones and pulled out the small bottle of acetone he carried and coated the rings in the liquid. He turned around to face Bendy and the toons growls ceased when he saw the look in the mans eyes, cold and void of life. His desire for escape escalated more and more as Joey approached him opening each ring, even restoring to begging for forgiveness and he'll behave if he just let him go. The toons begging fell on deaf ears as Joey grabbed Bendy left hand and with assistance from the acetone drove the ring through the button on his hand and then curled the ring around coming out the adjacent button clamping it around the chains holding his hand in place. The toon screamed in agony and pain at the sudden motion, he sobbed loudly with large inky tears staining his face as he begged for forgiveness and that he was sorry for trying to bite the man let alone trying to grab him. The director didn't seem to care for the toons pleas and repeated the same actions to the toons right hand earning more screams and sobs.

“Now that I have your undivided attention” Joey sneered as he grabbed Bendy's head lifting it up to meet his own. “I want you to watch these films and be a good little boy.” He released Bendy's head and the toon quietly sobbed as Joey resumed working on the projectors. One by one each projector came to life showing off the various shorts of the Bendy cartoon. The little smiling devil was a far cry different from the one whom sat crucified to the throne and was forced to watch. “And look! You won't be in a dark room anymore, so have fun.”

The last thing Bendy heard was Joey's raucous laughter as the man slammed the door behind himself. The toon silently vowing to someday wipe that man's smile off his face, he'll have the final laugh.

Authors Notes:

Poor little Benny has disappeared into the depth of the studio, driven away by the false angel. Tom finally learned the truth of the little toon he thought was dead and the severity of his lack of action, but how was the poor guy to know? It is amazing how lack of communication and trust can create so many problems. Now they have to try and find Benny in hopes that they aren't too late and now it seems that Joey Drew is on the move with poor Bendy as his play thing.

#benny the stitched demon #benny the stitch devil #benny the stitched devil #benny the stitch demon #benny #allison pendle #allison connor #thomas connor #joey drew #bendy the demon #bendy the dancing demon #bendy the devil #bendy the dancing devil #batim stitched au #norman polk #batim ocs #sammy lawrence

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bendywackyadventures · 6 years

Text

BATIM SOL AU Book 1 Chap.4

So, Squigglydigg’s new song got me very motivated to work on my BATIM fan fictions today. I wanted to work on my other fanfics outside of BATIM, but looks like my motivation is a Bendy motivation!

I hope you enjoy!

Henry and the toons came inside, Linda turned and saw the toons being quiet and grew worried. “Bendy go to the bathroom, I’ll meet you there.”

Bendy nodded and did what Henry told him too do.

“What happened?” Linda asked.

“Some kids were being mean to us and our new friends.” Alice pouted as she slumped into the couch crossing her arms. Linda felt sorry for the toons and hugged her angel daughter.

Henry sighed, “I’m going to check on Bendy.” He walked upstairs to the bathroom and saw Bendy sitting on top of the counter swinging his legs around. The demon turned and saw Henry. The retired animator opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed out some badges it.

Bendy saw Henry wrap the bandage on his arm, and ripped another one to put over the bruise on his cheek. “Thanks.” Bendy whispered rubbing his cheek where the bruise was patched up.

“You’re welcome.” Henry picked the toon up and hugged him.

Bendy’s eyes widen over the hug Henry gave him. It didn’t hurt but felt relaxing like the tears he held wanted to come out, and it did. Bendy sobbed onto Henry’s shoulder releasing the tears from the pain he suffered from the bullies. Henry rubbed Bendy’s back soothing him to let out all the pain.

“Why.” Bendy coughed. Henry looked at Bendy whipping the tears from his eyes, “why are kids so mean? Why did they hurt me?” He sobbed.

Henry sighed, he didn’t have an answer, well, he did but he knows it wasn’t the answer Bendy was looking for, “Kids can be mean Bendy, as for why. It just depends on what they’re going through.”

Boris and Alice were on the couch sitting down as Linda was on the phone. Once they heard footstep coming down the stairs they saw Henry caring a sleepy Bendy. He sat down next to Boris, as Bendy rested in his arm.

“Is Bendy okay?” Alice asked. Henry nodded silently.

“Okay, thank you.” Linda said hanging up the phone, “Ashley is coming tomorrow morning.”

Boris and Alice were confused on who this Ashley person was. Were they a threat to them, or what? “Who’s Ashley?” Boris asked.

“She’s our goddaughter.” Henry replied.

“Goddaughter!” Alice explained, “What’s a goddaughter?” She asked.

Henry chuckled, “a goddaughter is the daughter to our child.”

“Our daughter to be exact.” Linda added.

“You had kids!” Boris beamed. Linda chuckled seeing the excitement. Henry shushed the toons and pointed at Bendy who moaned and moved around in Henry’s arm. “Sorry.” Boris whispered.

The next morning, Bendy was the first to wake up. He looked around his room and saw Boris and Alice still sleeping soundly. Slowly and quietly Bendy got out of bed, and walked downstairs to see if Linda or Henry was up. To his surprise, both of them were up. Linda was in the kitchen putting what looked like cookies into the oven, and Henry was sitting at the table reading the newspaper.

“Morning.” Bendy said walking downstairs. Henry looked over his paper and saw the little demon walk over to him.

“Morning Bendy, how did you sleep?” He asked.

Bendy yawned and rubbed his eyes, “Good. I needed all that rest.” Henry chuckled rubbing Bendy between his horns. Bendy pulled a chair and sat down next to Henry. “So what’s with all the food Linda?”

“Well, you were asleep when I told the news, but our granddaughter is coming over today to meet you guys.” Linda explained.

“Granddaughter? Bendy asked.

Henry nodded, “your going to like her Bendy. I just know it.” Bendy gave a small smile. Linda put his breakfast down on the table, and the demon started to eat.

“Once Boris and Alice wake up, you three could help me set up for Ashley’s arrival.” Linda suggested.

“Okay!” Bendy replied. With perfect timing Boris and Alice came downstairs and sat down at the table.

“Morning Bendy. Morning Henry.” Boris yawned.

“Morning guys.” Bendy replied. Linda gave the two other toons their breakfast and told them they are aloud to help out once they finish eating. This made Alice excited beaming in joy.

“Really?!” She asked. Linda nodded. The angel squealed in excitement being happy to help. Linda chuckled over the angel’s excitement including a certain little demon’s, which made Henry smile.

After breakfast was done, the toons helped out Linda before Ashley’s arrival. Boris helped clean the house, Alice helped set the table and Bendy helped Linda cook. It was the first time the toons did work, and for starters they were good.

Once everything was set for Ashley the toons hanged out in their room getting games and toys set up for Ashley for when she arrives.

DINGDONG

The toons faced the door knowing Ashley has arrived. The toons ran downstairs, but stop to take a look. What they saw was Henry hugging a young girl and her mother, to what Boris and Alice heard last night was Henry’s daughter. Once Henry’s daughter left the toons walked the last set of steps downstairs.

“Everyone this is Ashley.” Henry introduced. The toons saw a girl roughly around 9-years old with bright orange hair, an orange dress long white stockings, and orange shoes. The girl opened her eyes revealing them to be these bright golden eyes. Her eyes sparkled seeing the toons.

“Bendy!” She exclaimed. Ashley ran to the ink demon and gave him a hug. Bendy almost fell back as the young girl hugged him. He was shocked Ashley knew about him. His cartoons haven’t been on for over 30 years! How could a 9-year old know everything about Bendy and his friends.

The demon smiled hugging Ashley back. “How do you know about me?” He asked.

Ashley let go of the hug and faced the toon, “my mommy told me all about your cartoons, so did grandpa Henry!” She pointed.

“Maybe a little bit too much,” Henry blushed rubbing the back of his head.

The toons laughed seeing Henry getting embarrassed over the fact he gave a lot of Bendy trivia and stories. Once that was done, Ashley went over to the toons room and played a board game. “So how are you guys real?” Ashley asked, moving her piece around the board.

The toons went quiet and looked down. It’s hard for them to answer a question like that. It brought them too many bad memories, “well we were brought to life by a man named Joey, and well…” Bendy trailed off remembering all the pain and torture he, Boris, Alice and the workers gone through. “It was a messy situation.”

“Oh, sorry.” Ashley whispered.

“Its okay. Its hard for us to talk about it right now.” Alice reassured. Ashley gave a smiled and hugged Alice. The angel smiled and hugged her back.

The toons and Ashley turned around and saw Linda come up with cookies and sandwiches. “Thought you guys were getting hungry, so I brought lunch up here for you guys.”

“Thanks Linda!”

“Thanks Grandma!”

Linda smiled, “You’re welcome,” as she was about to leave, she gave one last turn to the kids, “if you need anything just give a call.”

The toons each grabbed a sandwich and cookie and started to chow down on the food holding off their game till later. As they ate, Ashley couldn’t take notice of Bendy badges.

“Bendy?” Ashley asked. The toon faced the young girl, “are you okay? You look hurt.”

Bendy sighed remembering his injury from yesterday. He touched his cheek and felt the bandage was still on, “yeah I got picked on by some kids yesterday.” He explained.

“Oh.” Ashley turned away not wanting to ask anymore. Bendy saw Ashley looked mournful.

“Is everything alright?”

“Sort of, I get bullied as well.” She admitted.

“You’ve been picked on by kids too?” Bendy asked.

Ashley nodded, “yeah, but it gets better,” she added, but looked down again, “sometimes.”

Bendy felt bad for the girl and put his arm around her. “Sorry you’re going through that.”

“Its not your fault. My mommy and daddy know about my situation, and they cheer me up with ice cream, or cake.”

Bendy chuckled. This girl has one lively personality, he liked that, “Henry patched me up, and gave me a hug,” he explained. “It made me feel a lot better.” Bendy explained with a smile on his face. The two then felt another pair of arms hug them tight and it was Boris giving them a huge bear hug.

The two laughed as Boris hugged them tight giving them little nuzzles to cheer them up. Alice sighed and decided to join in on the hug train with her brothers and her niece.

#slice of life au #SOL AU #bendy the demon #boris the wolf #Alice Angel #henry batim #Linda Batim #Ashley Batim

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mook-pooltable · 6 years

Conversation

Spaz Henry AU

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: au where henry is joeyish but still the protaginist

unhealthily talkative skittle:he's completely reckless

entirely

he would want to see what would happen if he ran towards the monster instead of away from it

to see if he could scare the monster

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds-:he licks the record when he finds it

and tries to use norman as a jungle gym

bendy; kills norman in front of bendy

henry, waving both arms to catch bendy's attention; HIIIIII

literally every other henry; why are you like this

Halfus: hdjdddks

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: once he tried to draw bendy in a flame design hawaiian shirt

yknow like the kind guy fieri wears

unhealthily talkative skittle: oh god

Lili: He still drinks all the soup that's the same

unhealthily talkative skittle: he drinks ink instead

regrets it instantly

tries to drink thinner

to get rid of the taste

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: jeufebeh

Lili: Drinks ink again to counter that

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: he tried to dive headfirst into one of the flooded hallways

Halfus: He smashes all of Sammys instruments and axes his way to his sanctuary(edited)

Lili: He breaks the axe faster than in canon because he just swings it at everything

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: y es

he just keeps getting axes

unhealthily talkative skittle: yeah

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: from who knows where

unhealthily talkative skittle: out of nowhere

Lili: The organ groans at him and he smashes it

Halfus: Mango

He wanted to dive into the one where Inky appears at the end of 2

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: y es

Halfus: and he ends up on Demons head

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: ironically enough, he DOESN'T immediately smash up bertram

he tries to play on him instead

Halfus: free ride

Lili: He tries to play with Bendy like he's a cat

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: yes

Lili: He thinks Bendy is adorable

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: laser pointer and all

when THIS henry is high on paint fumes, he's comically serious and does a batman voice

unhealthily talkative skittle: yeah

"WHERE'S THE BLACKSMITH"

that is

the oldest joke

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: yes exactly

Lili; YES THAT'S HIM

unhealthily talkative skittle: but he would say something similar

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: (he was the blacksmith all along)

unhealthily talkative skittle: “WHERE'S THE JANITOR"

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: ncjsndi

unhealthily talkative skittle: “CLEAN THIS SHIT UP"

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: y e s

this henry is just

unhealthily talkative skittle: the worst

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: if markiplier was the protagonist of batim

Rosie: He's a spaz-case.

He would have markiplier's voice and (mostly) his personality.

Lili: XD he's the best I love him

Now the real question is: What's Joey like in this AU?

Rosie: Stone-faced serious.

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: batman serious

Lili: (Rosie you better document this for Mook-Pool)

Rosie: Feck, what's the name of that steel faced guy from Fantastic 4?

He would be like him.

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds:he refuses to swear ever and is a ridiculous dork when caught off guard

Lili: What's his motivation

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: the first thing that comes to mind for this dynamic is henry as deadpool and joey as cable

Rosie: OMG YES

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: joey's motivation would be to revolutionize the animation industry

Lili: Oh my god

But... Murder

unhealthily talkative skittle: ohhhhhh god

oh god

oh fucking god

henry as deadpool

fuck

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: henry is obviously less killhappy

but still as reckless

unhealthily talkative skittle: since he can't die

Rosie: Joey would be the pefectionist guy who has power to control metal (I think that was his power) with the metal mask. The one who's the arch enemy of the fantastic 4.

Why the fork can't I remember his name?!

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: magneto?

no doctor doom

Rosie: THAT"S THE ONE

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: magneto is against the xmen

Rosie: Joey is frigging doctor doom.

Henry is Squirrel Girl

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: jdjxjsndn

Rosie: He's a masculine Squirrel girl

Squirrel girl is canonically the most powerful and undefeated hero Marvel ever created. Henry is the guy version of her

Lili: I don't know where this is going anymore

Also what the fuck

Rosie: She's defeated Doctor Doom with Squirrels.

unhealthily talkative skittle: the joeyest henry

Lili: THAT'S HIM

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: its himmm

LiliL I LOVE THIS AU

Rosie: http://marvel.com/universe/Squirrel_Girl#axzz5GMqiHWGt

Lili: Okay what happens when he meets Alice

unhealthily talkative skittle: he calls her pretty

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: he flirts with her

unhealthily talkative skittle: all women are queens

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: he calls alice a thot when she steals boris

unhealthily talkative skittle: “that freakish, misshapen eye is looking lovely today"

[gets smacked]

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: boris is his precious bean and he loves him

Rosie: “If anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this building and then myself."

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: yes exactly

Halfus: SKITTLE THATS A FUCKING GOOD HENRY

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: how does he react to sammy

unhealthily talkative skittle: I drew it in thirty seconds what are you talking about

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: (also if this joey were to be stuck in a room with all of our other joeys, he would be In Suffering)

Halfus: HES G R E A T

unhealthily talkative skittle: if this hen were in a room with the other hens, they'd be in hell

and same with joeys

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: yes

unhealthily talkative skittle: someone would pick them both up and switch their places

Lili: What do we call this AU

unhealthily talkative skittle: boss swap?

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: Hyper Henry and Serious Joe

Halfus: dick aura swap

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: jdjfnskd

unhealthily talkative skittle: impulsivity

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: I like boss swap

Lili: Boss Swap!Henry and the Lost Ones

unhealthily talkative skittle: for once, he might feel bad

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: the one time hes actually serious for real

unhealthily talkative skittle: he'd try and comfort them

he might be very dadly for a while and gather them for some Wholesome Human Interaction Time

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: yes

hed try to adopt them all

unhealthily talkative skittle: story time with henry

Lili: :) yes

unhealthily talkative skittle: the lost ones would like this happy, giggly man

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: henry; guess im just tough

joey; just yesterday you were crying over the lost ones

henry; THEY DONT HAVE ANY SOOOUUULS

unhealthily talkative skittle: he's actually really soft on the inside tbh

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: hes soft but hyper

hes still henry after all

unhealthily talkative skittle: yeah

Halfus: my joey would be super into that henry like oof

Lili: He's just as much a dad as any Henry

Rosie: He's a cross between Markilpier and Squirrel Girl.

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: y es

unhealthily talkative skittle: oh god

Lili:He adopts everyone but aggressively

unhealthily talkative skittle: “I LIKE HIM! HE'S FUN!" - Halfie's Joey

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: yes

Halfus: XDDD

Lili: “I’m your dad now"

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: this henry is the henry of the chair saga

Lili-: Holy shit YES

unhealthily talkative skittle: “I’m your dad now"

"but-"

"what did i just fucking say"

Halfus: c h a i r s

Lili:I love him so much

Rosie: Squirrel Girl may seem silly, but she can actually be very serious at times and she's very intelligent. So is Spaz Henry.

Lili: SKITTLE CAN YOU DRAW MORE OF HIM I LOVE HIM

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: boss swap henry would absolutely play with chairs for actual hours

Rosie: I’M GONNA CALL HIM SPAZ HENRY

unhealthily talkative skittle: I actually can't

i gotta go home

i'll draw him on paper when i'm there tho!!

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: home in saaafe

lfls hen scolding spaz by dragging him around by the ear

Lili: I don't know that acronym

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: like father like son

Lili: Ah okays

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: aka rp henry

hen; you could get yourself killed!

spaz; yolo

Lili: When Spaz sees all the pentagrams he demands to know why he wasn't involved

Why did he leave anyways?

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: he left because he and joey got on an argument and he overreacted

Lili: It was over something small but Hen just escalated the argument beyond reason before shouting "I QUIT" and Joey is just left completely confused

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: y es

Rosie: That, or Joey lost his patience with his flighty friend.

ShouldProbablyStartTakinMeds: or both

#batim #batim au #boss swap au #bendy and the ink machine #Spaz Henry au

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peachhoneii · 7 years

Text

Kenosis (BATIM)

Fandom: Bendy and The Ink Machine Word Count: 17048 Summary: A soul must be emptied to receive the Lord’s will. No one knew this better than Susie Campbell. A/N: About my one and only Bendy story, and came as a surge to characterize Susie before Chapter 3 is released.

[AO3]

Susie positioned the microphone close to her mouth.

Amazed anything was heard with the projection area’s constant ink droppings plopping about, she smiled a toothy grin. She didn’t think to complain.

Her throat and head were clear, and when her lips parted to vocalize, she felt the lovely tingle down her throat, the sharp vibrations that followed every silly voice her vocal chords managed to create.

Opening her mouth and keeping it so was an important key to her success, she believed. Her teeth protruded awkwardly whenever she barked or chirped or sang an unbearably on-key tune. This was how the job went, how it was supposed to be.

The mechanics were altered during the transition, but voice acting wasn’t that much different from on-screen, or on sage acting. She believed the greatest challenge was getting viewers to feel, as well as hear, the range of emotions present in the characters' voice. They had to feel through their actions, fluid and blotchy, and their voices needed to carry their thought process to the viewers, be it silly or diabolical or simply mischievous.

As expected, their range of emotions was exaggerated reality. Warped to suit comedic and surreal necessities, this outrageous range was vital for the art’s survival.

That was hardly the point. When Susie stepped in front of the microphone, she knew what to do, who to be, what tone and timbre worked, and what volume was necessary to get the job done. Her smiles dimmed during work, as the process was more of a strain than one would expect, and her hands constantly moved in accordance to the script's detail.

Time was a pin drop in the back of her mind. She knew it continued, and she knew they were on a strict time schedule. On the other side of the recording room window, the others sat in silence as she performed. Their eyes, all male, targeted on her, and she kept her eyes focused on the right light above the window. Red during recording, always blinking, she let her gaze focus on that, and she breathed through her nose, holding it for her dancing tree segments.

Soon, the script reached its end, and the red, blinking light above the window dwindled. The recording finished, and she gasped lightly, letting her shoulders slag from the strain of the work. Staring into the window, she smiled softly at her audience, the only audience she would ever see, and walked out of the room to meet them. The routine was second nature to her at this point, and she nodded to them, their applause casual but genuine.

"You're doing great, Susie," Norman chimed at the head of the band. His brown eyes were warm and cool at the same time, and he carried a large, black case with him. She imagined his guitar, something he always seemed to carry even though there was rarely a chance to play, carefully held in its case, surrounded by black velvet.

Norman smiled the same smile he did whenever a recording session reached its completion. Aware the chances of another incident were abnormally high, completing whatever work they could was an achievement in itself, "Look at you, starting at the bottom, and now you're here. You're really out there, you know?"

His raspy voice had a kind quality she never thought it would possess the moment she met him. He was a tall man with a slim figure and a gleaming smile. One tooth was capped in gold, and his black hair was smoothed back with moss, giving it an additional glow that couldn't be seen in the poor light.

"It's more than I thought I'd be getting!" She leaned on the tip of her toes. Her left hand clutched her right arm awkwardly, "you know…on my first day I was so nervous, but there was nothing I could about it! If I wanted to get paid, if I wanted to keep working, had to bring out my best! Just gotta do it day by day."

Norman's laughter was as raspy as his normal speaking voice, "Yeah, day by day, sugar pie. It's all we can do, but day by day gets darker every time I come in," the glimmer in his eye lessened, and she followed his gaze around the music room where their music and voice recordings occurred.

She didn't discuss this with the others. Norman, his band, and countless others spent more than two decades at the studio. She knew two of them, aside from Mr. Drew, were present when the original studio developed, and that wasn't something that happened over night.

But as they walked, she found it difficult to reconcile what was and what could be. Large splats of black ink were smeared on the walls, the floors, and the projectors. No surface was spared from the substance, and though her recording had gone splendidly, the drumming roar of the ink machine over their heads warned very little of what she had recorded would be of use. This nonverbal warning's consequence was another recording session would be due soon, and the final project pushed to a later date.

Susie chewed her bottom lip, and turned to Norman, "We're still making it okay, I suppose," and she smiled a little, not wanting to let him know she was worried. After all, she was new to crew, and she had no room for complaint, "And besides, all of this new material will make Disney jealous, I tell ya."

Norman looked as if he wanted to believe those very words. The dark lines around his eyes and mouth betrayed him, "I certainly hope so, song bird," he sighed, "it'll be a miracle if we're not shut down before then."

Her expression must have written her thoughts clearly to him as he back pedaled immediately, waving his empty hand at her, "Now, now, don't get all worried because of me. Just ol' Norman shit talking, but we gotta be careful of how things turn out. We gotta be smart." He tapped the side of his head two times with a wink.

"I think we're all very smart," she grabbed a hold of the door knob, "but I think we have to make sure we stay talented. No ink machine is going to keep Susie Campbell down."

Upon opening the door stood a small, little man with a crooked grin on his face. Beside him was a bucket with wheels filled with soapy water, and on his side dangled a ring of keys of various sizes. Norman and Susie blinked at the man, then smiled, and then their laughter waned for speech.

"I thought you'd be outta here by now," Wally creaked as he rolled his washing bin, mop included, into the music room, "everyone else is leaving for the night."

"And you aren't?"

He turned too quickly for comfort, and he gripped his neck in response, "I don't know about you, Norman, but I'm a janitor. It's what I do, and I don't clean this stuff up before Sammy comes in later on tonight, then I'm outta here."

It was something Susie had grown used to. Every little thing was an opportunity for Wally to get out of here, and while there were close times when dismissal was evident, as in losing the keys for the fifteenth time, he remained their ever-faithful janitor. He didn't seem faithful as he dipped the mop into the bucket and let it splatter on the floor. The movements were the same. He would dip the mop into the water, sweep across the floor where the ink was most prominent, and it return it to the bucket. But this short observation proved that this method was less than efficient.

The ink merged with the water, and by time Wally splashed the mop back on the floor, it was a mix of inky, black bubbles. It was more liquid than it was before, and Susie covered her mouth at the sight. Wally's tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth, almost oblivious to the greater mess he was making. An idea came to mind, and she passed Norman, whose expression was twisted in similar sympathy and amusement.

"Wait, Susie," she heard behind him, but she didn't want to let this idea pass it up, "where are you going, wait, don't tell me?"

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, Norman!" By time she went up the stairs, he was gone, and she heard his heavy footsteps move towards the exit, that was helpfully free from flooding.

Sammy's office wasn't too far from the main music-recording room. She remembered it like she remembered the back of her hand. Not that she had been there often, many people were not given permission, but she recalled the day she was finally hired as clear as if it had happened only yesterday.

She had been nervous, and yet, oddly secure. She recognized her talent early on, and she needed them to recognize it too. And they had, in a resigned sort of way. They were short of staff, so many had quit due to the circumstances surrounding the studio, and others had retired, their wacky, light-hearted vocal chords had fallen to strain, weak and roasted. They needed new talent, and she was more than happy to supply.

Rounding the right corner, she practiced what she intended to say. Her thoughts were constantly a jumble of potential ideas, never closing in together, and connecting them would be delightful in throwing out her pitch. She would never go to Mr. Drew with this; she was lucky enough to be one of the few Sammy tolerated.

Standing in front of his office, closed for the night, Susie clutched the ends of her skirt in concern. Being in the back of the basement, the furthest side of the basement in her opinion, must have been a raw deal. Sammy didn't seem too troubled by it. From the open window she saw his hunched back hanging over his desk, eyes glued to a music sheet with a dull pencil in hand. At this angle she couldn't see his full face, but the motions of his grinding teeth told her she was nowhere near his present thinking process.

Pepper and salt stubble were speckled along his jawline. His eye sockets were sunken, dark crescents filling the space where skin existed, and Susie's stomach toppled. She could go in right now. He might not mind in the slightest. But common sense told her that when a man was doing his work, his profession, it was best to leave him be.

"After all," common sense reassured her, "it can wait until morning." Feeling more embarrassed than she could ever be had she gone in, she turned on her heels and started away. What a childish thing to do, she chided herself. An adult would have thought it through, and an adult she was, or she tried to portray herself as.

But as she started her way down the way she came from, a harsh tone called out to her, "If you're going to do all that to get to me, you should at least come talk to me."

Spinning around, she saw Sammy's face was no longer aligned with the music sheet, and he stared at her with the same impatience he afforded to all his subordinates. Upon looking at him, a bright smile chiseled on her face, and she nearly skipped into his office, not caring that he could see the full enthusiasm in every step.

"Joey, I'm sorry." She pulled a chair near him and patted her lap excitedly, "And really, this is something that can wait. You're doing a lot of work anyways, and I-,"

He raised a hand to stop her. He fished into his desk drawer and pulled out a lighter that was paired with the cigarette in his left hand, "Now, now, no need for that. I spend all my night here now, and I wanted to talk to you anyways."

"You did?"

He nodded, "It can wait," he nodded towards her, "what did you want to tell me?"

Susie flushed, and she tucked her hair behind her ear, "Well, I had a funny pitch that I thought of, but now that you've mentioned this, I think it takes precedence."

He shrugged casually, taking a strong whiff from his cigarette, "All depends on how you determine your worth, or the worth of what I have to tell you."

"Get on it with it, and tell me," she wanted to shout at him. She held onto her skirt like a lifesaver, and she felt her throat clog in anticipation. He smoked casually, closing his eyes in relief at every puff, and when he opened his eyes again, a short grin formed on his lips.

She would have thought it was handsome had she not been suddenly caught in a bundle of nerves, "Sammy," she teased tightly between her teeth, "what's the news?"

On his fifth puff, the cigarette was ready to ends its life. The bud was met, and Sammy stamped it roughly on the ashtray on his desk. He turned to her with a flaccid expression on his face, sunken so deeply in exhaustion that emotion as it was known couldn't possibly exist, "We've got a new character coming up, and I recommended you," he jabbed his finger at her, "to voice it."

"Okay."

"Okay?" His flaccid, blank look dragged into something more skeptical, "I've just gotten you a gig, and all you have to say is okay?"

"I voice a lot of characters, Sammy." She laughed softly, "It's just another one for me, but I can't say I'm not happy. I like the work."

Sammy, to his credit, didn't roll his eyes, but smacked his lips very loudly, "Yeah, whatever you say, but this isn't some background we're talking about."

"What do you mean?"

Going back to his desk, he opened one of the side drawers, and from there, retrieved a sheet of paper. Where she was seated she saw images scrawled messily on black ink, a name on the upper right corner.

"She's on the writing boards as we speak." He handed the paper to her, "Still modifying her look and character, but she's meant to work with Bendy. His Minnie Mouse, if you want to call it that."

Susie took hold of the paper carefully. The pictures drawn weren't completed. Six female figures were shown, all without faces, and of different body types. An hourglass figure, big feet and big hands were the direction they wanted to go with her, keeping it natural and consistent. In bold, sharp writing, a name was solidified, and Susie eyebrows perked.

"Alice Angel," the name rolled off her tongue delightfully, and the possibilities of what she would sound like floated in Susie's head, "the name's classy. Alliteration really fits too. Bendy is going to have a lot of fun with her."

"That's the plan." Sammy answered, "But we're trying to beyond Disney. She isn't going to be just a cute angel that Bendy's going to flirt with every now and then. She has to have star power, and seeing you've got the stuff, we're using you."

Susie stared at the concept art, and she returned her stare to Sammy. His smug expression told her more than she wanted to know, and her stomach flipped flopped. Alice was still a concept, not fully formed. She had no face, no voice, no character, an empty slate, and she stared at the scrawled pieces given to her. She felt the corners of her lips pull together, and a light bark of laughter slipped through, echoing on the office's creaky walls.

"Wow!" She gasped, and her arm to her waist, "I-I can't believe it, Sammy! Can you believe it? Mr. Drew really wants me to voice her. Wow, just, wow. Golly, wow!"

"I know." He admitted, "I didn't think he'd go with it at first. He hasn't been completely sane these past few months ever since," shaking his head dismissively, "either way, he approved it, so now that you know, you can prepare for whatever comes. I doubt he'll give you a warning when he wants to start recording."

"Thank you!" Returning the paper to him, he tucked it back into the drawer, and she saw the lines around his mouth grow dim, "Aw, shucks, Sammy, I can just hug you right about now!"

"Please, don't." But she had wrapped his arms around his back, pushing her face into his chest, and when she raised her head up to him, he sighed and wrapped his arms around her in return, "Congrats, kid, you deserve it."

"Sammy, you don't know how much this means to me."

"Trust me, I do." He stepped back, "I have to get back to work. These cartoony melodies don't write themselves you know."

Her heart was ready to burst. It could burst right in his office, and she would have died half-content. Leaving his office wasn't a problem, even with the ink machine roaring menacingly above them, and she pressed a hand to her chest, tears swelling at the corner of her eyes. This was more, more than she had ever dreamt of, and better yet, it was happening in real time. Her idea pitch fell through the void of discarded ideas. She would have more in the mean time, and she continued to the exit with her head held high, eyes filled with a new fire in them.

Mrs. Bornstein's Boarding House was a fifteen-minute car drive from LaughDrew Film Studios. Calling a taxi wasn't a pleasure her savings could indulge in, and besides, she told herself as she wrapped her sweater around her shoulders, the walk would give her time to process the news. Her thoughts stirred clearly whenever she walked, and trimming down her absurd surge of bouncing energy would give Mrs. Bornstein little reason to scold her.

Dinner started at eight and ended at eight forty-five. No excuses.

Summer nights were unusually cold. It was different from her youth, stuck in sticky heat at night, forced to throw her blankets on the floor. Tightening her sweater around her, she stuffed her hands deep into the pockets, and the sound of her light footsteps filled the darkened sky. In the distance, the boarding house came into view, and the upper and lower lights were on, signaling she hadn't returned too late. Dinner was already starting, she knew, but Mrs. Bornstein would have no reason to scold her aside from her poor timing.

Up the stairs she went, panting along the way, and she rolled her hand around the curved door handle. Through the glass portion of the door she saw quick movement coming down the stairs. Their skirts were laced in white and lavender, and their hair was curled, styled in the popular fashion. Susie patted down her clothes, straightened her sweater, and did what she could with her hair; aware the wind had done its work on it.

Her reflection was murky, rippled through the glass's design, and she breathed steadily, pulling the curved door handle towards her.

The women came down in swift formation. It wasn't mandatory for them to dress themselves as they did, casual formal, but they knew it would put their land lady in a good mood to see them tidied up. Seeing an opening, Susie fell in line behind a woman she knew as Martha, whose clothes and hair of lemon soap.

"I can't believe it," was whispered behind her, and her shoulders tensed, shooting straight up, "no, seriously, first of all you're late, and now, you're going to cut the line."

"You make it sound worse than it actually is," she whispered back, and made the turn at the doorway. The dining room was much larger than it looked from at a distance, and her stomach growled angrily at her, "Besides, I was at work, and work is important to me."

The woman behind her scowled, and she clucked her tongue to demonstrate her displeasure, "Well, yeah, work is all fine and dandy when they're not having scouts coming in and around."

"Scouts?" Fully turning her head, she grabbed a plate and took her seat, "Did they come for an inspection?"

Inspections were carried every other week. It was a method Mrs. Bornstein enforced to ensure the integrity of the boarding house. In other terms, she made it so that no young men were to be found on the premises. Many tenants had lost their room for those exact reasons, which meant their neighbors changed every other week.

Susie's back straightened as the servants entered from the kitchen, "I have no reason to be afraid. The last thing I would ever do was bring a boy back here," she sniffed quietly, "but someone did?"

"You sound like you didn't want to know."

"Nora!"

"Oh fine." Motioning to one of the waiters for the peas, she spooned them on her plate, "It was Cindy Marks. She had evidence of debauchery, or so they say. It's really hard to tell what's dirty and what isn't."

"Cindy?"

"Yes, I can show you her now empty room." Another wave for the hot rolls, and they smiled as they were placed carefully away from the mashed potatoes and Salisbury steak, "But enough about that, how about you?"

Susie tore a piece of her roll and squashed it into her mashed potatoes, "Nothing much really. It's all very busy, as you know, but I think they're starting to like me."

"I'd hope so. You've been working there for a month."

"It doesn't feel like a month." She went for the Salisbury steak next, slicing it in perfect squares, "With all the singing and dancing and so many other stuff. It just feels so heavy."

"It's show business for you." Nora smashed her peas with her spoon and scooped them into her mouth, "At least you don't have to be pretty to be a voice actress. All those makeup and dance lessons, honestly, I'd lose my mind."

Chewing her steak and bread, Susie chuckled, and quickly downed her food with water, "It isn't easy, even without the makeup and dance lessons, but I'm happy to be doing what I do. Besides, after dinner, I have big news to tell you."

Mrs. Bornsetin watched from her separate table. Her sharp eyes didn't miss a single thing, and she took note of every poor demonstration of table manners. Her sqwuaks, that they knew were the calls of displeasure, made the wince, but even she couldn't ignore her stomach pains. She ate quietly to the side as the rest of them chattered about their day, and what they intended to do for tomorrow.

Nora spoke with their neighbors, and Susie ate quietly, musing. It seemed surreal to think of it. Alice Angel, a leading character in her own shorts. That was the impression she got from Sammy, and she couldn't stop thinking of that impression, of what it entailed. The food was delicious, roasted and steamy, and the juices filled her mouth. But the more she ate, the less driven she felt to finish her meal. The sooner she went to bed, the sooner she would able to go to work the next morning.

"You don't think you can wait for me?" Nora cried to her as she went upstairs to their shared bedroom. Closing the door behind her she discarded her day clothes and found her fuzzy bathrobe and cleaning supplies, "Oh, this better be good, you know," Nora chirped when she spun out of the room a second time.

She returned promptly, taking a thirty minute shower wasn't easy when the shower was warm and comfortably, and Nora was propped in her bed with a magazine in her hands. The dressing table lamp was on, and seeing her in the door frame, she tipped her glasses down the bridge of her nose, waiting for a report.

"Well…"

"You were so excited to tell me the good news." She set her magazine aside and folded her hands on her lap, like a mother would at the end of the day, ready to hear her child's report.

Standing at the dressing table in front of the mirror, her reflection revealed what the shower's humidity had done to her hair. Her hair was naturally wavy, but it grew uncontrolled faster than she could brush it down. Using her best brush, she found a stool to sit on, and she parted her hair as she spoke in rushed, hushed tones.

"You know I've been doing a lot of background work, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I got a chance to speak to Sammy." In the mirror, Nora's confused shrug made her sigh dramatically, "You know, Sammy Lawrence, the guy who writes all the songs. Keep up."

"Oh, you mean your boyfriend." Nora grinned, "Oh, don't give me that look. He's very fond of you."

"Hush, now." Susie snapped without any bite, and she parted the other side of her hair, beginning to brush from that angle, "Sammy is my friend, but he spoke to Mr. Drew about a new character they're working on, y'know?"

"A new character? Don't tell me it's an angel character."

"It is!" Her milk white teeth showed, and she turned to her friend, hopping on her bed with her brush still in hand, "Can you believe it, Nora, they want me to voice her."

Arms grabbed a hold of Nora's neck, pulling her down, and Susie pressed her freshly washed face against hers, "Oh, Nora, I'm so happy. Got a job I love, and a new character! Alice Angel, he told me. She's probably gonna do some songs with Bendy."

"I can't say I'm not happy for you." Nora's arms were skinnier than hers but no less strong, and gripped her tightly as they lied in bed together, "This is a big shot for 'ya, especially if she turns out to have star power."

"I know." Rubbing against her chest, she felt her eyes growing heavy, "I just can't imagine they would've chosen me, especially after all those retirements. Golly, it feels like a dream."

"Good for you honey," Nora murmured, "this dream isn't playing by the book. It's real."

After hearing the click of the lamp, the room was spurned into entire darkness. Nora's breathing soothed her as she drifted far from the bed she slept on, and she trailed after blurry images waiting in front her. Her hands reached for them, grasping at their fitful tails, and she heard children's laughter. But when she went to chase after them, darkness had surrounded her. And she wasn't afraid.

Time was a component. It fluttered around her, teasing her with its potential, and she remained silent, quiet of what she had learned.

The mornings after when she arrived to work, she kept her silence. It would do her no good to confess what Sammy had told her. "Give it time," she calmed the worst case scenarios in her head, "if it all works out, they'll know."

The recording booth was readied in preparation for her. What did it matter that black spots decorated the podium spotted on the flimsy line sheet, now faded to a brownish yellow. Norman's band performed against the ink machine, blasting and fighting for control. The melody trembled, and the instruments dried in protest.

Time was all she ever needed. When her voice echoed in the recording booth, when the band finished their time and waited to listen, she thought of time, and how it would turn its hands towards her. She did not approach Sammy again about the subject. He had given her the needed information.

"Did you lose your keys again, Wally?" Having finished early for the day, Susie closed the door as the band started their beginning prep, "Or are you lost?"

Of the employees, Wally was the last of the original crew to surf top through bottom. His cleaning supplies were useless against the ink that seemed to overrun the place. Dressed in his overalls, he carried an oversized broom and dustpan in his hands. Surprise tightened his face, and the glazed gleam in his eyes wavered when she spoke.

"Susie? Ah, Susie, nope!" He swept the hallway eagerly, "Nah, nah, none of that. I don't think. I found my keys, told you I would, and now I'm coming down…sounds like Norman's picking up again."

"Yes, Sammy just finished a new sheet." Choosing to walk ahead, her long strides met with his crinkled pace, "Norman was upset for the suddenness, but he seems to have taken to the change well."

"And hasn't changed?" Wally barked, "First the ink machine, now donation, weird stuff."

Susie frowned, "I suppose it isn't exactly normal, but after everything that has happened," she scratched her wrist absent-mindedly, "we can only give him the benefit of the doubt."

Wally's hard gaze crystalized, and he jabbed a stubby finger towards his ear, "Benefit of the doubt, we've been giving him that! And look at us, got ink up to our ears!"

It was not an inaccurate observation. Susie had seen photographs of the studio in its prime. Shabby yet pristine, animators at their desk, hurriedly scrawling the finest of animation sheet after sheet. Now, the floorboards oozed black ink every other step. Pipes were recently installed to current the flow of ink the machine produced, but it caused more messes, choosing to squirt a kiss on any poor person happening to be near them at the time.

Unfortunately, the poor persons happened to be the animators, and Wally, from time to time.

"And the offerings," scratching the side of his head, Susie winced at the white flakes that showered off his hair, like dwindled, saggy snow, "or as Tommy likes to call them, donations."

"Offerings?"

They stopped in front of the music department hall where the banner was laid out for everyone to see. Wally stared at her with wide eyes, "Wait, don't tell me you don't know?"

"Don't know what?"

He slapped his forehead and cursed, "Of course, you're not gonna know nothing being down here! Sammy may know, but he's keeping away from Joey at the moment. Still upset about the machine, y'know?"

"Yes, Sammy is not fond of the machine." Stretching, she sent Wally a straight stare through narrowed eyes, "But you haven't told me about these offerings, Wally, what are they?"

He knew more than anyone else on the crew, even though he scarcely realized it. It seemed to Susie Wally's inability to fully comprehend the happenings going on could be used to her advantage, and these offerings, as he put it, were known to everybody except her. She did not want to be out of the loop.

Her pleading stare drew Wally near, and he rolled his neck with a groan, "Now, don't you start the puppy dog eyes. You're as bad as Bendy himself!"

"It isn't like our little devil is going to pop out and scold us." She stomped her foot, "Come on, Wally, please."

"Quit your whining." He snapped, and scratching the back of his head, he sighed, "Look, if you wanna know so badly, help me clean some of this stuff up. It's in the janitor's closet down the way, you remember?"

Susie nodded, "I do. You need the mop, or another broom."

"Broom." He stared around the room and growled, "Makes no sense to even try anymore."

Going down the hall was no easy stitch. Her heels were slightly higher than they were before she moved to the city, and she was careful not to step through any loose holes in the floorboard. Ink swished through the pipes, a harsh swooshing sound rattled against the walls. The utility closet was on the right side of the hallway, and she did not have to walk very far.

"Everyone's been so nice to me," her heels skidded to a slippery stop in front of the utility closet, "can't say I can complain about this."

She opened the door and found the broom, but there was more to that. The room was larger than she expected it to be. Not as spacious as the music department hall, certainly not as large as the upper area. Stepping in, Susie grabbed the broom poll, and the door closed quietly behind her.

Unintentional, she reached for the door but pulled back at the last second. Shelves surrounded her, and although there was elbowroom, she felt confined. Gripping the broom, she grabbed onto one of the shelves to balance herself, and groaned when an oozy substance tied around her fingers.

"Oh goodness," grumbling as she straightened her posture, she pushed forward with the broom still in hand, and she reached for the ceiling light. A beaded string dangled in the darkness, swinging to and fro, and gaining her stance, she took hold of it.

"What the heck is that?" She hadn't realized she spoken until pressure formed around her hand, jerking her arm down, but it was a slight motion. A little bit of weight she would not have noticed if she had not been enclosed in the room.

Unsettled but refusing her nervousness to yield her, Susie pulled the dangling line down, and the light clicked on. The dull illumination filling the room did not settle her imagination, and she stared at the shelves, at the floor with wide, confused eyes. The broom bristled in the palm of her hand, and the splinters that dug through her skin. Her nerves throbbed at the pain.

Faded, black ink dressed her fingertips, and she closed it solidly, feeling the muscles tense stiffly, "I really need some reset," she whispered as she closed the door. Back pressed against the flat surface, her breath rattled in her lungs, and she let her heels click on top of the unsteady floorboards. They creaked underneath her.

Fearing Wally's thin patience, which usually resulted in unending complaints, Susie resumed her path back towards him when the pitter patter of nails scurried past her ears. Stopping short of another full step, she whipped her head to the other side of the hallway, feeling a rush of lightheadedness as she did so, and saw eerie light filling the empty passage. Almost identical to the utility closet's ceiling light, she felt familiarity rather than confusion, and assumed this to be the same with the majority of hallways in the building, upstairs and downstairs.

Watching the dust particles float listlessly within the illumination, a scene lacking in her earlier sightings made her pause, and she tilted her head. They were far more visible as they littered in the light, and they danced towards her, bouncing as close as the light would allow.

At the hallway's end, near the right corner, a light flickered against the wall. She could see its brightness at a distance. It dimmed then glowered then dimmed again, and without processing what she had chosen to do, she fell in line at its direction. The broom handle remained in her firm grip, and it dragged at her side, scrapping softly at the ink beneath it.

Susie did not know what she was intended to find there, and surely, there might have been reason for her to have this sudden fullness in the pit of her stomach. Enthralled by the sight, her senses did not detect the slight alternation in the lair's scent. It had transformed into a less ripe odor than what it was. It tickled the nerves her nostrils, and in response, her nose twitched in aggravation.

Tired of the broom, her fingers released its hold loosely, and the broom fell to the floor quietly. Around the corner, the strange glow brightened hotly, and the reason was laid out for her.

All walls in the building were now decrepit. A combination of materials meshed together to leave unknown stains and blotches on the wood, but what she viewed was an entirely different entity.

A Bendy cutout was propped upwards. Its back was not cut out, but not set openly so that it could stand on its own. She knew that was not the issue at hand. The Bendy cutout was one of many mass produced cutouts sent to theaters and rival studios. She had heard of them, a teasing jest to competitors, and she had seen more than enough down in the basement where a countless amount were stored. It wasn't the cutout itself but what stood behind it, or rather, what its body concealed.

She did not dare move the cutout, feeling an immeasurable pressure on her shoulders, and determined what image the cutout obscured. An encircled star, the recognizable triangle points stuck out beyond Bendy's body, was painted in black ink. Placed precariously on the floor below, the candle's melted wax sunk and stuck to the floor, and their dwindling flames glowed darkly.

The drawing and cutout were unusual together, and the candles, while neatly placed, were unnerving. But it was the objects spread across the span of the cutout, on the floor, that gave Susie pause. Little, tiny trinkets, a strand of hair, a discarded napkin, and an old, worn photograph that was wrinkled beyond recognition were lined in no particular order. It was neither unsightly but confusing, and Bendy's blank, disarming smile did no curb her confusion.

Stepping away, her eyes never strayed from the dancing devil, and she was ready to round the corner when she spun around where alarm stomped on her heart.

"Wally!" Her high pitched hiss echoed down the hall, "What are you doing!?"

His broom in hand, Wally blinked at her, then at the observance.

"Huh, ain't it weird." He said and went back the way he came from, "That's where our donations are going to."

Susie followed him eagerly, "What was that thing?"

Wally shrugged, "Joey's muttered some business about prayer circles, but I think it's all because of…you know," he huffed off his discomfort, and she said nothing more about the reasons.

"If it helps him," quietly said after a moment's time, "if it helps him feel better, then I can't complain."

"But it's weird."

"Yes, it is." She thought of an appropriate, tasteful word, but the words she thought of did not satisfy her, "I don't understand out of the ordinary, even with my voices."

"Out of the ordinary. You wanna call it that, go ahead," using air quotes, he smacked his lips, and stumbled back into the main hall, "I'm gonna call it weird, maybe crazy, and Sammy's getting on it too!"

"Now, you stop that," hearing Sammy's name spoke in such a way made her chest rise, and she frizzled at Wally, giving him her best, firm stare, "Sammy's always been nice to me, and if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have a job. Last I heard from him, he sounded perfectly fine."

Her reprimand did not warn Wally. He rolled his eyes and started back to sweeping, pointing to the other side of the hall where a pile of inky dust had collected.

"Go on and believe what you want," he said, eyes trained to the floor as he swept, "this place is going absolutely bonkers."

With a frown, she forced her snapping retort back. Wally was not a dumb man, and he was not a smart man. He spoke his mind freely, thoughts barfing as they came. These thoughts were not always spoken with the type of clarity others would have preferred, and it did not mean he always comprehended their meaning. And most importantly, hand gripping tightly around the broom handle, Sammy was nothing like Mr. Drew.

She hiked her skirt halfway up, and peeled away the stale cobwebs from the corners. Wally did not pay attention as her olive skinned thigh, dressed in beige pantyhose moved downwards, and she was mindful of its length, concerned if she moved the wrong way it would split.

"He's a very sad man, that Mr. Drew," she said to herself, and she plucked away an inky cobweb with her finger, "and there is nothing we can do about it. We've gotta make sure those cartoons are made in time."

"Yeah, but I don't think cleaning is going to help."

Gasping loudly, Susie glanced up, "Sammy, what-what are you doing here?"

She rose quickly off the floor. Acutely aware of the disarray of her hair and clothes, she flicked off random dust particles, and smoothed the wrinkles from her skirt. The broom lied forgotten in the corner.

"Was trying to find you?" A perfectly arched eyebrow quirked in vague interest, "What are you doing?"

"I uh…," she motioned at Wally on the other side, still sweeping, pretending his boss had not walked in front of him, "was helping Wally clean."

"Clean?" Sending Wally a hard stare, one the shorter man visibly flinched at, Sammy sighed and pinched his temples, "I came looking for you. Norman said you were around here somewhere, even after hours."

His hard stare reprimanded her for her refusal to go home, and the quirk of his lips told her otherwise. He was somehow relieved she had stayed. His slumped shoulders and dangling cigarette told her so.

"I'm sorry, Sammy." A faint flush accompanied her apology, "I wanted to help Wally, and now, I'm making more of a mess."

"Which is why you shouldn't sweep." He said nothing more, going off in the opposite direction that was not his office. Wally continued to sweep at a distance, and she stood helplessly, confused and embarrassed and a little bit excited.

He did not have to say anything to her. She knew it was her time, and she whispered a tender 'Sorry' as she hurried after him.

His feet dragged across the floor, mangling the boards underneath them, and his breath passed through his teeth as raspy, short clipped wheezes. The noises pounded on the thin membrane that made up her eardrum. She reminded herself that it could be worse. He could've started singing.

Quiet during their walk, he maintained a two stepped lead while she worked to keep pace. The hallways had grown cramped and fitting, losing its past magnificence. Her twiddling fingers refused to calm themselves, and she waited with a stuttering heart for any sign of speech. He preferred to initiate conversations as he initiated his songs, although he wasn't the conductor. As they deepened their path, further from Wally's casual sweeps, Susie predicted he wasn't in the mood for talk.

Sammy Lawrence refusal to speak made the silence bearable. Whatever crimes she had unknowingly committed had to have been minor. His guarded, sullen silence was tied to a draining exhaustion that made her heart ache for him. Its ache was similar, she recalled loosely, to the ache she once held for her father when she was a child. A tiresome, sluggish job was, and she watched on the outskirts, careful to maintain a clean house, a quiet house.

Joey Drew Studios wasn't a house, but it had become, in the past month, a home to her. Although the home was in disarray, there was no doubt in her mind of its positive influence. Watching Sammy from afar, his expression slack, dull even, and eyes grey, she felt no words come to mind. She knew whatever tricky voice she concocted would be useless on him, and having seen his rage, more of a dark fire that spurted in quick bursts, she was overtly cautious.

Ahead of her, his head bobbed up and down. His thumbs stuck out of his pockets, and his dragging feet did not go faster or slower.

"I've called you a cab."

Unable to make out the words the first time, she questioned his statement, and pulled back with a faint scowl, embarrassed by his generosity.

"You didn't have to do that."

"It's late. You're a woman, do the math." He kept forward, and smoke trailed from his head where his mouth was, "You're going home, and you're coming in for a test recording."

Her pale cheeks flushed crimson, and she forced her steps to match with his, "What do you mean test recording?"

They went down the stairs towards the exit. He did not look at her the entire walk, and the question appeared to irritate him as his flaccid lips suddenly curled in a crooked snarl. Her refusal to pull back in herself or to dismiss her question all together unnerved him. For him, the answer was obvious, but she stood there, waiting in pleading silence.

He said nothing to her. Opening the exit door, he pointed to the cab that waited for her at the curb. It's yellow body and head lights stood out in the late evening, holding onto its violet glow rather than its impending royal blue. Cool air rushed at him, and she straightened her sweater. Her wide, confused stare did not let him free, and she remained glued where she stood.

He plucked the cigarette from his mouth, stomping on it, "You really are stubborn, aren't you?"

"I'm stubborn about things I care about." And I care about you, she wanted to say, but she knew Sammy well enough the sentiment would not be appreciated, not in this moment.

He huffed. His dark eyes rolled to the side towards the drumming sound of the taxi cab's engine, "We're going to have a meeting in a few days. Short, Alice's final design has been approved."

"She has?" Her lips bloomed in an awed pout, "You mean, I get to voice her now?"

"It's a test." A recent rain left murky puddles on the concrete, and mist lingered in the cool, summer air, "Joey wants to hear you too."

"He does?" Her heart throbbed, clutched, and she could not tell whether fright or validation had struck her. For months she offered her voice, performed even for radio shows, and their compliments stroked her confidence. She purred for them, and when they released her, without reference, she shed no tears. Not a single drop.

Hearing those words, the touch of a man's strong hand tingled on her arms, and she stared down at the raised hairs on her forearms, goosebumps peddling underneath them.

"He likes the sound of the background characters." He opened the back door, "And thinks you've got the potential for a costar. Scripts are already underway for Alice Angel's debut."

Slipping onto the worn leather seats, she stared at him blankly, unsure of how to respond. His far away, sluggish stare told her an embrace would not be welcomed, and she shrunk away, forcing the door in her direction. Other sentences were uttered, sluggishly she believed, but she could not absorb them as she reclined on the seat. He stuffed a handful of bills into the driver's hand, pointing in the direction of where her home was.

"See you tomorrow." She heard in the distance, "And don't let the nerves get to you."

Forcing her head forward, her neck grew stiff from the effort. Sammy was not the type to wait at the curb, and she did not think he would have. As the car drifted ahead, the rearview mirror jumped, and its angle was pushed an inch to the right. There she saw him. Camouflaged in the night, another cigarette was lit between his lips, and he stood with a great crook in his back. His lanky form did not appear so out of place under the street lights, and his eyes, they came to her in vision, were locked on the taxi cab that drew further away from him.

What was it, Susie wanted to know, that caused her heart to leap, which caused her cheeks to flush? She folded her hands on her lap, and listened to the radio playing in the front.

"You work for Joey Drew don't ya?" The driver peered into the rearview mirror, "My kid loves Bendy. Can't get enough of 'im and Boris! Yeah, but as much as she loves the boys—she really wants a dame to look up to! Like Minnie and Betty!"

He smiled. His front teeth were missing, and the gap was immeasurable when he smiled. "My dad used to smile like that too," and her expression twisted into something similar to disgust but not quite. She could not reason why he had appeared in her thoughts, why of all moments, but as quickly as he appeared, just the thought of him, he receded back into her subconscious.

The cab pulled slowly to the sidewalk, and she left with ease. Her skirts blew against her knees, and she thanks the driver, cheerfully grinning at his gap-toothed smile.

"Don't worry, sir, I think your little girl is going to have a dame to look up to soon!"

The same gap-toothed appeared for a final time, and the window rolled up, obscuring it. But she saw it still, saw the lightness and sweetness, and she realized, standing on the curb as it sped off in the distance, that this was something she missed.

"I want to go places." Her chin ducked low, "What's so bad about that?"

Joey Drew was an eccentric, recluse of an artist.

Susie couldn't say how long this was, but she had accepted this as a part of her job. But by time the end of the month arrived, her reservations were teasing at the edge.

Her recording session started smoothly, as they often did, but they lacked the comfortable eyes of the band observing her. Even Sammy's usual lucidity appeared troubled in Mr. Drew's presence, and she understood why, even though she would never say it aloud.

For his eccentricities, there was nothing eccentric about him physically. Taller than Sammy, standing at about 6'5, his pepper-grayed hair was slick black neatly. His skin was swallow, with a tinge of yellow in it. His arms were crossed against his thin, broad chest. His weight loss was obvious, a combination of exhaustion and grief.

His thumb ran along the line of his bottom lip. In spite of his worrisome physical state, there was life to him. It was not larger than life, nothing excitable but anxious and unconstrained. It was a stark contrast to Sammy's annoyance and exhaustion. His glassy eyes stared from him to her.

Their inscrutable expressions followed her voice, and threatened to silence her vocal chords to their satisfaction. Delirium pounced on her nervousness.

Explaining how she succeeded in her performance, giving them what they wanted, was impossible for her. When the last line was spoken, when the red light fizzled down, she let out a weak little gasp, not realizing she had held her breath longer than she meant to.

Like statues they stood. Rain must have poured endlessly on them for she saw the creases and dark lines around their eyes and mouths. Wrinkles folded on their cheeks, and were pronounced on their furrowed brows. They did not share glances, mouthing sentences too quiet for Susie to hear, and her hands fell on the podium, the metal digging into her skin. Which face was harder to read? Which expression was crueler?

Susie tried to determine the expression she was intended to rely on. They did not want to be relied on just as they did not want to carry her on their shoulders. Something existed far beyond them, far beyond what their eyes showed, and she rolled on her heels, counting the seconds until Mr. Drew raised his hand for her to approach.

She walked quickly out of the recording booth. Standing in front of the two men, she laid her hands and arms flat at her sides, and pressed her lips in a needle like line.

Their gazes settled. They settled comfortably on her, and her pale cheeks grew hot under their combined stare.

"Miss Campbell," Mr. Drew said, "you have been working here for one month, haven't you?"

She sent a worried glance at Sammy, and saw absence in his face, "Yes, yes I have."

"And do you like it?"

"Yes, I do." She said with a nod, and her nails grazed her skirt's fabric, "Everyone is very nice."

"I'm glad."

"Me too." A scratchy cough burst through her lips, and she gasped hotly, forcing down the embarrassment with a creaky smile, "I'm sorry. I-you know how it is. Yes, I'm very happy everyone is so nice, and Mr. Lawrence is a great instructor with vocals."

A bushy though finely plucked eyebrow rose in disbelief, and Mr. Drew gave Sammy an incredulous stare. His dried lips parted gently in a smile, and that smile, Susie noticed, made him look twenty years younger.

"I see, Sammy. You're normally not so nice to up and starters." His returned to her, "He must really respect you then."

"I don't need you to speak for me, Joey," Sammy croaked.

"Ah." Smacking his lips, he dropped a hand on Susie's shoulder, "Of course not, I'd never speak for you, but your actions, yes, they are quite telling, aren't they?"

Susie refused to tense. Her sluggish shoulders were unmovable in his grip. While shivers danced down her spine, the faint sense of falling told her of the gesture's significance.

Was she dizzy? Yes, but she wasn't going to show it. The rest of her limbs felt like glue, heavy and sticky, and she hoped the heat didn't reveal too much on her blouse and forehead. Sweat beads dotted her forehead, and she felt the same on the dark curls under her arms.

"I…Mr. Lawrence is a great coach," she murmured softly.

"Sammy has always gone beyond perfection."

He was satisfied. His smooth, easy talk reassured her, but his gentle smile wasn't confirmation. It kept its innermost thoughts to itself. His eyes were salt fragments that tried to be gentle and kind, but couldn't match up. She tried to see the sincerity in his playfulness with Sammy. His strained, quiet voice led to a forcefulness of the same nature. Their banter might have been a regular occurrence in the past but had reached its peak some time ago.

For the sake of this interview, attempts needed to be made. They needed to united.

Sammy rolled his eyes, "We know she got the part. Let's show what else we've got to show her," and on a lower, aggravated note, "I can't afford anymore distractions, Joey. Deadlines are due, and people are talking."

"I see." He blinked at Sammy, "No, I do, but there's more important work to be done."

"I can get back to work." Feeling abandoned between the two men, she watched them carefully, waiting for any physical change her eyes could spot, "If it's what you want, there's no hurry for you."

"Why would we want that?" Mr. Drew asked, "You have to meet her first."

"Meet who?"

"I forgot how it is to be young and afraid," Mr. Drew chortled, and this sound truer to what he used to, or what she believed him to be.

"Alice." Sammy flatly confirmed, "We're going to give you a proper introduction."

Going upstairs crunched down her expectations. The Music Department Hall's recent relocation kept her confined to the basement for the past month and two days. This was not a problem to her, as the circumstances appeared to her to be a grand adventure compared to the other dull aspects of her life. As they moved upwards, the ink pipes trembled with exceeded vitality, and they traveled far longer than she originally thought. Her familiarity with the basement made her unsure of what was in store, and she maintained their quick strides, eager to see the world they belonged to.

"Make a right, kid," Sammy directed.

"A right?"

"We'll be taking the lift."

Her heart skipped a beat, "The lift?"

Rumors of the lift swarmed the lower floor, and most of them were ridiculous. Workers getting locked inside, stuck in there for hours, and returning different, drained of energy. The last part made sense when one took the time to think about it. Hearing she would be one of the person to enter the lift, her feelings were indescribable.

"I've been getting up in age, dear." Mr. Drew explained, "It makes it harder to go up and around like I used to."

Her embarrassment shown on her cheeks, and she coughed roughly, concealing her mouth with her hand, "I am so sorry, Mr. Drew. I didn't mean-,"

"No, no, growing old is a part of life we all must accept." He crossed his hand around his back, and she noticed the way his body bobbed left and right, not exactly balanced, "We grow old, we die, but memories remain. Our creations, Bendy, Boris, and now Alice, will live for us."

Breathing softly, she was at a lost of words, and when he looked back at her, she flinched at his stare. His deep gray eyes were not cruel, not nasty. A watery film threaded them as if his tears webbed around his heart.

An incredibly soft man, Susie observed, and one of the most distinguished animators in the world. His creations brought relief and laughter to countless of people, rising alongside Disney and Warner Bros. during the War, but when his eyes met hers, they were not kind. They were not cruel. A tenderness surrounded them, but their tenderness was not of the kind sort.

When he smiled, his face crumpled like paper, "That is a very wondrous thought, Mr. Drew," she lowered her gaze to the floor, "it's amazing how our actions and choices can affect others."

"And your actions will belong to them, Miss Campbell."

Hearing those words succeeded in stroking her ego in a way that even the most handsome man had failed to do, and she recalled the hours when slender, soft hands curved around her body, her neck and realized pleasure of that nature had never touched her until that moment. It was satisfaction, and her demure smile, afraid to rise too high, beamed.

"I'll be waiting in the lift whenever you're ready," Sammy called to them.

"I'm sorry," shaken, she scurried into the lift, pushing herself against the left side of the wall, "we should hurry. I don't want to keep you waiting."

Mr. Drew entered a slower pace. He stood in the middle of them, "Alright, lets do this. We can't keep Alice waiting."

The lift ride was short, as she expected it to be. It was larger than an average elevator, and Susie reasoned it was for the merchandise that was in constant production, or so she heard. The lights flickered on and off during the ride, and by time it came to its creaky stop, the knots in her stomach had reformed.

On their way to his office, Susie counted the amount of animator desks pushed into abandoned corners. Most of them did not raise their heads in question. She saw the familiar lines at the corner of their eyes and lips, and their unshaven jaws and cheeks sagged with exhaustion.

"Don't look at them, kid," Sammy warned, "we'll never hear the end of it."

"But they look so tired." She waved at one of them, whose face was still light enough to be considered young despite the greyness of his skin, "I can't not wave at them, Sammy. It'd be impolite."

"Now, now, Sammy, think as to why everyone doesn't like talking to you now."

"Sorry for being the person responsible for ensuring our deadlines get through!" He huffed beside him, "If it weren't for me, nothing would get done around here."

His mocking tone caused shivers to go down her back, and she looked to the animators, who must have heard Sammy's mild outburst.

They were aware of what was wrong with the place, but none of them had the gall to state it so bluntly, and to Mr. Drew no less.

Where she anticipated for Mr. Drew's demeanor to change dramatically, he merely shrugged his shoulders and chuckled dryly, "Now, Sammy, you know this is a process. You continue to do what you do best, and I will do my part."

As they neared the office, she noticed an unattended desk. Its differences did not vastly overwhelm the others, but the lack of body was noticeable. Separate from the others, it was tucked into another room they passed, pushed against a wall with a great whole forming next to it. The faded ceiling light revealed the dust stacked on its surface.

Spotting her intrigued expression, Mr. Drew grinned, "He retired some years ago. You may have heard of him at some point."

"If retired is the word you want to use," Sammy drawled.

"It is the word I want to use." Mr. Drew's voice was soft as a feather, and he stopped at the room's entrance, "And besides, it's where we're going to have our meeting."

Sammy frizzled, and his head shook in disappointment, "Really, why not go to the office? It's sensible, Joey."

"I don't mind." She walked behind them, eyes taking in every odd sight in the abandoned room, "It seems…rustic, as if we're traveling back in time. He was a friend of yours?"

"Yes, and when he quit-," a sharp look from Sammy to Mr. Drew told her there was more to the story than they wanted her to know, "he left behind a few sketches and concept art. Unfinished pieces."

"The others thought I should have thrown them away, but he was the best animator on staff." Picking up a yellow sheet off the desk, he stared at it with a fond smile on his thin lips, "It would have been a waste to discard them."

The room was cramped, comparatively larger than the animators' quarters. The office was left in disarray. The furniture was torn and ragged, the walls' paint started to chip, and a stale touch ruined the air, causing her nose to wrinkle in disgust. But it was fascinating to stand in there where the magic used to happen, and she took hold of the sheet he handed to her.

"Oh my." It was just a sketch. She had seen many sketches before, but the smooth lines, the vividness. It almost appeared to be a portrait rather than a cartoon, "Yes, she's absolutely lovely. Whoever designed this was very talented. It's such a shame he's no longer with the studio."

"That's our Alice," Mr. Drew grinned, and he picked several more sheets from the desk, "I had them sent upstairs when he originally departed, keeping them until the right time came. I've heard such great things about you, Susie."

"I don't think I'm that great." She moved to scratch the back of her head, then thought better of it, "I'm just so happy to belong to a great group of people."

"We are glad to have you, Miss Susie Campbell," there was the inexplicable ripple within his watery gaze. She could not describe it in normal terms, and knew there was nothing else to match it. In the decrepit office, pieced together only by thin threads, she felt a swell in the pit of her stomach.

She looked between the two men who held control over her career and future, "I will not let you down."

"I know you won't."

Sammy glared at Mr. Drew, "What do you want us to do now? Alice Angel's first short is due in a few months."

"That gives us enough time for the recording and music, Sammy," Mr. Drew replied, and he received the concept art from Susie, whose face hadn't lost its glow, "Susie can return to the recording booth. We left the scripts there."

Clapping her hands, she licked her lips, "Oh, this is so exciting," the fluttering sensation in her stomach tickled her, "I'm going to make sure I give Alice a really good voice!"

"Let her be sweet," Mr. Drew said.

"She can't be too sweet." Sammy reminded them, "She's part devil after all."

Seated in the booth, she brought the glass to her lips and slurped the beverage down. Not nearly enough to leave her with the wave of tipsiness she had adapted to, she smacked her lips bitterly, and swallowed the rest in one gulp.

"Impressive." Nora smirked and bit into a piece of bread, "I didn't think you had it in you, or anything else really. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She ringed the glass' rim with her finger. Her eyes lacked their luster, the rich darkness that perfectly lined the rest of her face, "I'm tired, and there's no shame about it."

"I didn't say there was shame." Nora grabbed her apple cider and sipped it deceptively. Her lighter colored eyes searched for any clues, and were disappointed to find none, "I'm worried for you. You've been working longer hours than usual."

Her resting head rose in concern, "You've noticed?"

The olives at the bottom of the glass bounced excitedly. Her throat was dryer than she was comfortable with. Late nights were not unusual, and were an accepted method of winning the approval and respect of the staff. But this was the first time her late nights came with irritation, and this must have shown on her face for Nora's expression was sympathetic, concernedly so.

"It's hard not to tell, sweetie." Her milk white teeth matched her complexion, and she raised a glass to her lips, "Your eyes are dragging you down, and I don't think you've heard a single word I've said."

"I don't mean to."

"I know you don't." She reached for her hand, clasping it softly in the palm of her own, and Susie marveled at how sweetly soft it was. The nerves in her center giggled, and she grinned, laughing airily, "Just make sure you take care of yourself."

"It isn't like I'm not enjoying my job." This was the truth, and she said it freely, without remorse or bitterness, "They're still very sweet to me. Norman's always blows his horn when I come in, and…Wally always takes me around the basement. He's too kind."

"And Sammy?"

A twitch of her right eye disturbed the calm of her creamy skin, and her eyes fluttered to the dance floor. People danced to the band's music, swing to and for, and there was a rough gracefulness to their feet. Men flipped women, women jumped over men. It was no less a miracle that no one collided or fell as bodies steamed upon each other.

Her fingers tapped on the glass, and her lips brushed on top of the rim, "Sammy is doing well. He is. I can't say anything else about him, but Norman is tired. They all are."

Nora picked a cherry from her plate, "You have a choice, if it's too much for you. You can leave. You're pretty enough."

"It isn't too much for me."

"But what about that machine-,"

"I worked for this." Her eyebrows furrowed, "There wasn't anything for me on Sicily Island. My family was furious with me. I know they haven't forgiven me, and I know they never will. I can't get my Pops' eyes out of my memory, so angry, so stubborn."

"You came a long way," Nora said softly, ignoring the tightness in which Susie held the glass. Her veins' faded, blue tint peered through the creamy paleness of her skin, "You should be proud of yourself. You're working with one of the best studious out there."

Reassurance often soothed her. Her father's fury, the way he pounded on the walls and thrust a meaty finger at her, "You ain't going anywhere, lil' girl." His eyes were a watery, ruddy blue, and she sat at the sewing machine, abandoning him in mind with an equally watery gaze of her own.

He screamed, spat in her face as she sat at the sewing machine. Her mother was long dead. Her siblings were possibly alive out there, but they had been gone for so long it was like death had already taken them.

But her mind had been made up. She knew what she was going to do, and she knew when she was going to do. She let him scream until his voice cracked over its volume, and when he slept, having drunken himself into a euphoric dream where her mother lived and his other children remained, she crept from the small shack that she had called for sixteen years, home. There was not a lot to pack in her bag, and there was no question of returning.

She knew the distance would save her the trouble of having to explain herself to others. Her creamy pale complexion diverted dreadful questions that could have revealed her. Her dark hair and eyes, so brown they were regularly mistaken for black, led many to assume she carried Italian blood, and this was smarter, safer, than what the truth was.

Wanting to forget pushed her, and she grabbed Nora's hand, dragging the two of them to the dance floor. Lost in the songs and the body aligned with hers, her father's face and fists receded to the depths of her subconscious. They would return, she knew, and she waited for the flashing moments when they would. Their fellow dancers blinked no more than twice at them, the two, seemingly unmarried women dancing freely among them, and Susie doubted they would have cared had they been married at all.

Nora laughed as she spun around; fingers clamped around Susie's, "I don't want you to dry out!"

"You worrisome, little fay!" A flair of energy swept through her arms and legs, and she tossed her thick hair over her shoulders. Husky and thick, her normal voice giggled inconspicuously, and a defiant gleam masked over her murky brown eyes, "I can't dry out. I'm basically made of ink!"

"Damn you, Sammy Lawrence!"

"Aren't you afraid of him hearing you?"

"And you think he gives a damn?" The vein on his bald head throbbed. It pulsed right down the middle of his head as he lit his cigarette, inhaling it stiffly, "We'll wait until he's finished doing what he was doing."

Benny, one of the clarinet players, resigned himself to waiting, and sat with the others whose weary expressions matched his. Susie held a damp tissue, twisting it in and out, and chewed the side of her mouth. She was worried, but this worry was well known to her. It didn't ache, or burn, as this was routine. It was normal. The projector was turned on, and a tranquil voice was heard on the other side, whispering, weeping.

"Just give him a little time, Norman," she whispered, "just give him some time. He'll be okay."

Norman scoffed, "Okay if you wanna say it," he began to pace with smoke floating from the cigarette tip, "I have half a mind to tell Mr. Drew about this."

"And what he's gonna do," chortled Danny in the back. He lied on the floor with his long legs propped up in the air, "He's just as loony as Sammy."

"Don't say that, man." Benny groaned, "We need our jobs. They can always replace us."

"And you think they will?

"C'mon, he can hear us."

"And you think he cares?" Danny scoffed and looked away, "Deadlines aren't getting met, and the cartoons are barely pushing out. Johnny upstairs told me the animators are at their wits end, some of them have already signed their two week notices!"

Her stomach dropped at hearing it, "We shouldn't say these kinds of things aloud, not while Sammy's so near."

"What of it, Susie?"

"Leave her be, Dan," Norman warned. When the puff of smoke cleared, his stare was hard, icy even, and Danny's face reddened, turning away sharply with a huff.

"I didn't need you to do that."

"Can't let them take their frustrations out on you, kid." Norman leaned against the wall, listening to the projector and strange noises coming from it, "And you shouldn't either," his eyes rolled on each of them, the ones whose silence was often taken for agreement.

"Sent From Above did great though." Benny whispered. His stubby fingers plucked at loose strings near his belt, and when he looked at her, his thick eyelashes curled to hide his eyes, "My cousins love Alice Angel, and everyone's talking about it upstairs too, or that's what I've heard."

"Thank you, Benny."

The projector booth came to a sudden stop. Everyone sealed their lips, staring at the stairwell as boots as black as the ink that dripped on the floor came down the stairs.

"What are you doing here?" He clear speech was slightly slurred by an echoing that recently appeared. It slurred his speech, making it difficult to hear, and their bodies stiffened at the slight approach as he descended the stairs.

His skin grew rough, acquiring a grayish pigmentation, and his eyes had sunken completely into his skull. Their looks of concern and frustration made his lips part in a toothy snarl, and she noticed his normally square shaped teeth were filed angularly, sharpened to the top. He would have no problem in biting into tough meat, and Susie stepped back, feeling his eyes on her, a cold, listless stare that made her heart skip three beats.

"Are you okay Sammy?"

"Do you pray?" He asked, and searched their faces for the answer, "Tell me, do any of you pray?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Benny, please," Susie whispered, never taking her eyes off of Sammy.

Sammy didn't seem to hear him, and if he had, it didn't incite anger, just frustration, "We need our savior, and he needs to know we appreciate them. It's time for prayer, for all of us, so this scourge…so we can be protected."

Their silence and worried stares infuriated him. His gray skin flushed a dim, weak red.

"Weak minded sheep." He hissed, but his volume remained neutral. It took a haunting tone, and he shook his head, unable to understand their confusion, "Non-believers cannot dream of salvation, if they don't try to reach Him. He knows our hearts. He knows our souls, and He will preserve those choose to give their hearts to Him."

No one said a word. They stared in deafening silence, and he stared back, blinking at them, seeing them, but seeing right through them. Susie's heart sank, and Norman stepped in front her. Taller, broader, his rich eyes glared at Sammy, and he nodded his head towards the direction of his office.

Sammy's bleak glare was weak but strong enough to match Norman's, and Susie's finger clenched into fists at her side. What was she going to do? What could she do? They wouldn't fight, not here, not ever. Norman was a smart man, a much smarter man than most, and she didn't want anyone to get to get into trouble.

He took one stepped back, leaning on the heel of his shoe, and his tongue slipped over his false teeth, "Fair enough, my apologies for taking up your time, but when He calls, I must answer."

Walking away, he watched them for a while, and when he exited into the darkness, his eyes lingered on them. A feeling of unsettling, of cracking, of breaking, but she did not realize its nature then. She couldn't grasp its meaning, and she watched him disappear, wanting to reach for him instead of Bendy. But she knew he wouldn't reach back.

"He said Alice would be as popular as Bendy someday." She sat on one of the chairs. Her fingers trailed podium's metal, and she stared at the yellow music sheets. She couldn't read the notes, but she read the lines, each happy little word popped at her.

She knew the words. She had sung them more times than she could count. Their melodies swirled around her, became one with her, and she sighed sadly, watching the men pack their belongings. Her nails scratched her skirt, and the light in her heart fluttered weakly.

Norman packed the saxophones, passing the cases to the others with ease, "She's getting there, you know," he handed one to Benny, then to Tony, "all the folks are talking about. She's as cute as Minnie, but as devilish as Betty. Can't get better than that."

"Do you think we can do anything?"

"Can't do squat," Norman said, and he picked up another case, smaller than the others, "Sammy's gonna do what he wants to do, and there's nothing we can do about it."

"Shouldn't we try?"

Handing the last case to another, his sympathetic stare didn't go unnoticed. Lines cradled his smooth brown eyes, filled with warmth and hot foreboding. He was dressed in a loose fitting blouse and pants that were strung together by a tight, leather belt. He seemed older, less filled than he usually was, and Susie was surprised that this was the first time she had realized it.

He pressed his large hands onto her slim shoulders, forcing him to look at her, truly look, and she saw a mixture of sorrow, regret, and a third sensation that sent shivers down her spine, "Susie, you're a kind girl, a good girl. You can make it away from here, and no one would hold it against you."

"Norman, I know you're concerned, but I have to do this." She didn't want to admit what she had given up for this job, what she had offered for the sake of possibility, "I have worked hard for this opportunity, and I am not going to waste it just because the staff is getting a little silly down here."

"It's more than silliness, Susie." Norman released her shoulders and scowled, "Some dark stuff is going on here, and I am not taking any risks."

"What do you mean?" She watched him pick up the last of his cases, stepping out of the orchestra room, and a feeling of dread went down her throat, "Norman, you can't be serious."

"I am, and so should you." He pointed his finger at her. He stopped at the door, staring at the area that had been his place of work for over twenty years. He lived, breathed his music, and did his best to transcribe Joey's words and notes into live music, "This place is not going to be the death of me, Susie Q, and you shouldn't let it be yours."

His sweet face drew tighter, twitching, and he shook his head sadly. She opened her mouth to stop him, to convince him this was a mistake, but the words didn't reach her tongue. The harder she tried to speak, the quieter they grew until he disappeared beyond the door, down the hall, leaving her in the orchestra room, alone.

Sitting there, she knew there were options. She had options. She could change things if she tried. Sammy liked her, and Mr. Drew, she wasn't sure what he thought of her exactly. But she felt he tolerated her for what she brought to the table.

The opportunity, Susie thought in the dusty, ink stained room, was not the complete truth. He knew about her, of what she truly was, and he never said a thing aloud. It was easier for men like him to spot women like her. Their kind was indistinguishable from the rest, but it required an innate knowing rather than close inspection.

He never discussed this with her, and she refused to broach the subject. From that, a unique bond had formed, and if the others had guessed, had suspected, they were kind enough to keep their silence. It was easier, yes, easier for her to work this job. This was her golden egg, and she wasn't ready to let go of the goose. And it was easier to tell him this, that she liked her job with its steady pay and behind the scenes star status.

"But there's so much more." Alice's face appeared in her thoughts. Her doe black eyes, silky black hair was all she needed to see.

With the microphone to her face, the sounds came naturally, and so sweetly. It was never too sweet just as it was never too naughty, and the connection she possessed with Alice, she knew the term was accurate, was one she never had with any other character.

"Alice and I are going places," she whispered to herself, affirming a belief she didn't know she had, "and one day, one day, she'll be as popular as Bendy. Heck, her popularity might shoot above him."

Looking at the clock, 8:30, the time for dinner had passed some time ago. The pain of hunger did not tackle her stomach, and she sighed, picking up her purse and sweater. Walking down the hallway, she twisted the gold band on her left, middle finger, her thoughts were in disarray.

His office was not far from where she walked. He was an odd man, strange even, and his demeanor had changed during the last two months. But his kindness hadn't wavered. He hadn't grown cruel or distant, and she spoke freely, happily, around him. In his presence, she felt safe. Her concern was for him, not her person, and being certain of this, pushed her towards senselessness.

"He won't listen to me," the sound of her heels clicking on top of wood echoed down the halls, and she stared ahead, lips fixed into a thin line, "but he may listen to someone else."

She had visited the outskirts of Mr. Drew's office on the day she was hired. No one was allowed upstairs without his explicit permission, and although she feared what he may have to say about her unannounced appearance, his calmness steadied her. He was a smart man, an intelligent and diligent man, and Sammy, whose aggravations with him were well known, held immeasurable respect for the man.

Instead of heading to the exit where the thick summer air called to her, Susie carried on towards the animators' studio. Ink did not have an odor, but rotting wood did. The further she went, the stronger it became. Her nose twitched in disgust as she rebuilt the building in her mind, remembering which turns to make and which ones to avoid.

Soon she neared the abandoned animator's office, his name familiar as it passed through her mind, and she thought, if for a moment, that she had seen his face somewhere. Mr. Drew's office was past this point, and she saw the staircase ahead, yellowish light flooded the stairs.

"Mr. Drew?" Laying a hand on the wall, she was surprised to see there was a slight crack in the door at the top, "I apologize for coming unannounced."

On the first step a loud creak stretched in the still air, and she swallowed thickly, "I understand if you don't want to talk to me, but I'm…I'm worried about Sammy, I mean, Mr. Lawrence."

She took another step. Its creak was shorter, quieter, and she ventured for a third and a fourth. Losing count of how many steps she had taken, her fingers slid against the wooden wall, unafraid of the splinters that pricked her skin. The sounds on the other side had stopped abruptly, and she saw movement, quick and fleeting, like a shadow disappearing into light.

At the door, she pressed her ear against its cool surface, and the soft scratching, the low mumbles ceased. Heart palpitations made her knees weak, and she counted down from ten, gathering the courage she knocked on the door while holding the door knob with her other hand.

"Mr. Drew?" She said clearly with a light tremor in her voice, "Mr. Drew, may I come in?"

"Of course, Susie, you're always welcome."

Opening the door, she expected Mr. Drew to be seated his desk, arms folded neatly over a small stack of unfinished sketches. She hadn't prepared what she was going to say, and decided to rely on her natural instinct that came through during the heat of the moment.

He wasn't there. When she stepped through the threshold, she visualized his slim frame and thinning, pepper grey hair. He appeared to have been there earlier. An oily cinnamon scent filled her nose, different from the stronger odors she'd grown used to. Unfinished sketches were abandoned on his desk, spread on different parts, and a cinnamon oil scent was draped over them, sweet and spicy. Keeping a safe distance, the discarded papers were a cool gray color, and on them, she saw shapes drawn on them.

On closer inspection, she recognized the star inside the circle, and she tilted her head for a better angle. It held her attention for a minute before she saw the photograph that had fallen near it. She hadn't meant to touch the frame, and she didn't realize what she was doing until she was staring the photograph in its face.

The photograph had been taken some time ago, but at which time, Susie could not determine. The colors were pristine, highlighting the woman's hazel, almond shaped eyes, and through thick curls of strawberry blond, she smoothed her finger on top of silver strands. Her lips were painted a lovely shade of rogue, and were curled into a mischievous, inviting grin.

Age lines had aged her gracefully, and Susie stood transfixed on her face, as if she wanted to come through and show her something special.

"It was taken two weeks before she died."

Susie jumped, pressing the photograph against her breast, and spun around to see Mr. Drew leaning against the door frame. His hands were in his pockets.

"Oh my word!" Susie gasped, "I am," she looked at the photograph and flushed, "I am so sorry, Mr. Drew. I wanted to speak to you, and – please, don't fire me."

"Fire you?" He chuckled weakly and limped in the room. Without nosy eyes, he had not reservations, and he made his way to her, glancing at the photograph, "No, no, I would never do that, Miss Campbell, far too valuable."

"I'll just put that back."

"What did I tell you?" He sat in his chair and sighed, rubbing his eyes, "You're in trouble, ma'am." His sunken eyes crossed to the framed photograph, "What do you think of her?"

"You're wife?" At a loss of words, his patience silence weighed on her. Her purpose did not slip from away, "Well, it's my first time seeing her. I had heard only through the grapevine. I didn't think she was so -,"

"Robust?"

"Drawing." Glancing at the photograph upright on the desk, she nodded in affirmation to the woman's dark curls and piercing but mildly teasing gaze, "You can see, no hear, the characters," she looked back at him, "she reminds me of Alice."

"Well!" His hoarse laughter was muddled under a sheet of pain, "She should. She was the inspiration."

Susie stared at him blankly, and her confusion raised his laughter, "Henry, my dear. He didn't think I knew, but I did. All he had to do was ask her."

"Ask her what?"

"Ask her out." His eyes glazed over. She was quick to realize that although she stood right in front of him, she was no more than stained glass, "She would've said yes. Henry was a good man, not always a nice man, but a good man. But he was shy."

"Was he now?" Henry was spoken of here and there, and hearing him confide in her about him was unheard of now, "I never got that from the shorts."

"Good." He grinned softly, "He wouldn't want anyone to know. Besides, he was a great animator, and she nearly lost her mind when she saw his original sketches. She gave him a big, wet one on the lips." He pointed to his lips and chuckled, "He was ready to faint, I tell you."

"She sounds wonderful."

"She was." His stare fixated on Susie, clearing away the fog that had settled in them, "And her voice, its range was immeasurable."

"So I've heard." And she had heard, seated in the movie theater, watching the cartoons dizzy and dozy about, and she and her friends could never pinpoint exactly when one she had given life to, "Betty Drew was my inspiration."

"But that isn't why you've come here."

"No." It was strange. It was not so unlike talking to a father, if her father had been that cooperative. His smooth voice was calming, and where she expected reproach for entering his office without permission, he changed the course with talks of his deceased wife, "It was about Sammy, Mr. Drew. I don't think he's well."

"You don't think he's well?" Flipping through the pages on his desk, Mr. Drew cocked his head to the side, "I must admit we have been overworking ourselves lately, and Sammy's work ethic has always been a little bit strained."

"He's pushing everyone away." She whispered weakly, "I believe Norman and more than half of the band has quit."

Mr. Drew's dim smile flat line, and his expression turned grave, "Well, that is serious. Norman's music conduction has kept Bendy alive for years, and we can't have Sammy running him off," he pushed himself to the right, "Isn't that right, Sammy?"

Turning around, Sammy stood with an ashen color on his face. His hands were hidden behind his back, and his eyes were wide, sunken completely into his skill. He sputtered for words, then shook his head, and he stepped in with a slight hunch in his back.

"What are you doing here?" He looked to her to Mr. Drew, and said in a darker tone, "What is she doing here?"

"Miss Campbell approached me herself."

"Why?"

"She was worried for you, Sammy," he explained firmly, and the look he gave him, that crooked stare, was one of an admonishing father onto his wayward son, "and hearing this, I am as well. Norman has left."

A low groan came from Sammy, and he stumbled onto the wall, pressing a skeletal hand on it for balance, "No, no, no, Norman, I wanted him gone. He was no good for this," his body sunk to the floor and tears dribbled down his face, "why are you hear, Susie, tell me why?"

Forgetting Mr. Drew behind her, Susie ran to Sammy, kneeling in front him. She grasped his hands and was frightened by how small, how weak they were, "Sammy, sweetie, Sammy, you have to listen to me. We're all worried about you."

"She's right, Sammy." Mr. Dre said behind them, but strangely, his voice echoed when it shouldn't have, "And after all, we have to believe in Him. Think of what He wants."

"I have!" Sammy hissed, and his eyes carried the same faraway stare Mr. Drew's had, "I have, and I have, and you don't think I've given enough. But she's…she's…they're too, oh," he rolled his head to the side and whimpered.

"Sammy, baby." She pressed her lips to his knuckles, "Listen, I know you're scared, but we can help you. We just need you to get up."

"No." Half-lidded eyes fluttered against a weak light, "No, I'm sorry. Please forgive me. It's cruel. I'm sorry, please, forgive me."

"Sammy, what are you talking about?" He wasn't a heavy man, not as heavy as he used to be, but he refused to move. She refused to move without him.

His watery eyes opened, looked ahead, and they were clear, Susie swore, and frightened. He worded something, trying to get her away, but his body was too weak, and so was his mind.

"We must accept His will as our own." A whisper clutched at her ear, and she was jerked away from Sammy. An arm wrapped around her throat, and her hands flayed about, nails scratching at the unusually strong hands, "And you will learn this, Sammy, all of you will."

A napkin was pressed against her mouth and nose. She kicked at his legs, but her feet seemed to sink. When she saw her hands, there were black, a black blacker than night, and what she inhaled, chloroform her mind supplied, caused an almost drowsiness. Soon, her kicks and scratches started to weaken, and the office, with Sammy in it, started to darken.

With her senses numbed, Susie slipped into a slumber so sweet, so kind that she feared she would never awaken.

"It could have been anyone else!"

"There is no one left. We tried and failed with Alice before." A sad, weak little voice said, "We cannot fail again. We will not fail."

Susie rolled to her side. Hearing returned first, and the voices, while audible, were terribly misshapen. Someone was crying, she thought, and a second person tried to comfort them, to dismal success. Touch pursued, and she gasped loudly, slapping her hands around to get a feel of where she was.

Wood, the floor, she was on the floor. But wait. The floor was not clean, something was scrawled on it. The lights were weak, dim, almost shadowed in the room, and she strained to see. Pushing herself up, black marking decorated the floor, and again, yes, in its entirety she understood. The pentagram mocked her as she lied unconscious on top of it. On her knees, she rubbed the back of her head and whimpered.

Where was she? She didn't know. It was another part of the studio she wasn't acquainted with, but that didn't matter. Standing up, seeing her shoes were missing, she circled in her confinement, searching for some kind of sign. The voices were too far away. She couldn't tell which direction they came from.

"I would not do that if I were you." Said someone from behind, and she turned around slowly, eyes clear and lips pressed in a confused but angered frown, "You could get hurt."

"What is this?" Her voice was quiet, still, and she was secretly impressed at the distance, "Where am I, Mr. Drew?"

"You are safe." He explained softly, "I know it appears cruel, but trust me, it is the only way for us to survive."

"Survive?" She marched towards him, and on the edge of the circle, an invisible forced pushed her back. Stunned, it was not enough to knock her off her feet, but one that warned against any future attempts of escape, "What is this?"

She heard his voice, but she could not see him. Where was she? There were no booths or windows from what she could tell, and she breathed harshly, forcing tears back into her eyes. What had she gotten herself into?

"We must make sacrifices." The voice echoed solemnly, and within the voice, Susie heard another, weeping, "His will is our will, and we must accept his divinity in our hearts, into our souls."

The floor and walls began to tremble. It all began to tremble, and somewhere in the distance, growls emitted from the darkness. The circle chimed, a soft bell, and sparks spun to reveal violet flames. She took a step and crunched down. Susie removed her foot, and her heart sank when she saw the picture she had stepped on.

"Lord have mercy." Horror spilled over the ruined sketch, "Please, no."

A mangled scream clawed up her throat, slamming out her mouth as black ink pooled in the circle. Trapped, there was nowhere for her to go, and with little mobility she possessed, she tried to push against the force.

In retaliation a hand, a claw with pointed nails sprouted from the circle's center, and wrapped around her ankle. The sketch still clutched in her hand she tried to free her leg, jerking and fighting against the claw when another, as black as its twin, grabbed ahold of her left.

It called for help.

One after the other, hands formed in ink stained her clothes, snatching at her flailing arms. A larger one, she presumed to be larger in her panic, wrapped around her waist, and hot breath slithered down her neck. Its texture was warmer than the ink, wetter than ink, and she whimpered as the weight began to pull her down.

Legs and lower torso completely submerged, she saw a light ahead. Her weakened grip discarded of the picture, and the picture was swallowed by ink. Using the last of her strength, she forced her arms upwards, fingers stretching as far as they could. The pale cream of her skin was drenched, but she made out their shapes.

Her fingers wanted to blister under the light. Let it bleed and peel, let them be touched, but in that light came a voice, a voice so light and feather soft it sent chills down her spine. It was not a voice but many voices, two voices tied in one, and she saw his face gazing down back at her. His sneer was masked under a perpetual smile.

"You have to believe, Susie."

Her mouth opened for a fraction of a second, and ink poured through, pushing through her pearly white teeth, slipping down her throat, sloshing into her stomach. The ink went wild at her lungs, and the voices squealed in delight above her. She gasped, choked, and gurgled. She flailed, splashed, and started to weaken.

He watched her from where he stood. He titled his head to the side, unable to comprehend her distress, and she supposed he couldn't, with him being a devil and all.

He waved goodbye. It seemed so innocent, so childlike he was in his cartoons. It made seeing him as he now was almost sad. If she could have waved back in return, she would have, but she couldn't see her fingers anymore.

Her fingers, along with the rest of her body, seeped silently underneath the puddle of ink, leaving only a faint, drying stain in its wake.

Her name was Alice Angel.

In a past life, she might have met him. In another life, she could have met him. In this life, she did not meet him, not yet.

He was felt. The moment he opened the door, Alice felt him.

As all of them were, her body was not what it appeared to be. It was not what it was intended to be, but she, unlike so many others, could alter her appearance at will. Not even Bendy demonstrated this sort of ability. His lack of control infuriated him.

He was an envious little devil, Alice thought, and it was expected, for him to be envious.

Bendy wanted him.

He was a smart man, an old, a kind man.

"He's a good man, not always a kind one," a soft, mature voice mingled in her head. It was rich, full, and reminded her of something warm and good, a hot cup of tea although she had no way of knowing what tea tasted like, "We won't let harm come to him. We will try."

Alice agreed. In the heat of their united resolve, sounds were eradicated from her mouth. They were shredded, tattered, and she blushed, remembering why she normally maintained silence inside the building. It was best to be quiet. Bendy was watching, and so was she. She knew what he was planning, and she had to stop him.

At least, she was not alone. A semblance of another person, not complete and whole, mingled in her head, and its presence was comforting. This did not stop Alice from weeping. Always, always, she felt there was more inside, more than one, more than two.

What Alice would have said to the mingling voice that lingered in her head, "I know he isn't nice, and I don't want him to die. We have to try." She decided to try.

Bendy was faster. He made it to the ink machine before she did. Alice was smarter. She was, and they knew it. She boarded the ink machine before he had the chance to strike, and how angry he was! He was angry, and he searched for Alice. Searched and searched, and when he could not find her, he found another.

Sammy was desperate, and a fool. Alice felt him die. His fear was palpable. It was like having your heart ripped apart, crushed in the palm of the killer's hand. He found Henry first. He hadn't realized that Bendy wanted him.

Her anger with Sammy would never sway. Her forgiveness wasn't amendable, and wouldn't soothe her wounds. His dormancy condemned. But she mourned him nonetheless, as Bendy knew she would. Disobedient children needed to be taught a lesson, she supposed, and this lesson was one of many.

She rubbed furious, black tears off her haunted skin, now falsely papery, rubbery under a coat of ivory.

"We cannot save them all. We have to persevere," the voice rich tone tried to soothe, and Alice smudged her tears away, angry she had fallen pretty to emotional weakness. It appeared her humanity persisted through pain and betrayal, and she spat ink onto the floor.

He escaped Bendy, and Boris found him. She was not sure how she felt about that. Could he be trusted? He was not like Bendy, and did not seek to harm others. He called to her through thoughts, and Alice knew the time had come for her to appear.

"Give him instructions, guide him," she whispered through the vents, through the inky puddles Bendy could not claim, "and lead him to me."

In the depths where her tomb lied, decrepit and forgotten, he would find her there, and she would look upon his face. In another life, she had loved him. In another life, she had known him. In this life, she needed him.

"What will I say," Alice asked, and she waited for the response, knowing its directions would be unfair but just.

"Oh, my sweet Alice," the voice that mingled in her head moaned bereft, "we tell him the truth, your old song will teach him."

"What if he doesn't believe me?" She did not like to disagree, but this was a thought she had since he arrived. Her broken wings, dressed in black, fluttered achingly.

The mingling voice grew quiet, and she knew this was a moment the voice preferred to be left undisturbed. Seconds passed before it returned, in a simple but austerely forgiving tone, "If that is the case, Alice, then you will make him believe in you."

#bendy and the ink machine #susie campbell #alice angel #sammy lawrence #joey drew #batim #batimff

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ask-the-friendly-ink-demon · 7 years

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Bendy In Inky Terrors Chapter 2 [FULL]

Here Is Chapter 2 Of My AU of bendy and the ink machine! andddd this is where modern!bendy and henry meet again after 30 years ((though that will happen near the end of this chapter)) again sorry for putting flashbacks but since it is anout bendy the reason why i put these little flashbacks here is because of some of them give more backstory to modern!bendy and henry's ealirer days before he left to serve to take his cousin's place. and also "bendy" has fully appeared now wonder how this would happened in the next chapter where there are two ink demons now in the studo tho one of them is injured but the other is an unholy abomination that will do anything to get rid of modern and henry. also as you guess it chapter 3 will have poor boris being taken away by alice cause this fanfiction is basically retelling the events of the game chapter by chapter.modern BATIM AU belongs to me.the princess toon is my friend as an toon they wanted me to make them as an toon like princessthe wolf ink demon like toon is yours truly XDBendy and the ink machine and the character "bendy" belongs to themeatyhope you all will like this! and again happy halloween or happy late halloween depending on what day you all read this! this was made on october 18th and it was finished yesterday ------- "sheep sheep sheep, it's time for sleep in the morning you may wake or you may be DEAD!" Henry's eyes jerked open as he awoke "oh..... my head.." he said rubbing the back of his head as he tried to adjust to his vision "what happened?" he said as he looked around and realized about his wound but he looked to see it'd been patched up "huh... did someone-" Henry shook his head and looked around he saw his blood stained on the pentagram underneath him and he noticed his axe leaning on one of the coffin doors "well there's only one thing to do now press on see if I can find a way out" the older man said and picked up the fire axe and began chopping down the boards blocking the door and taking one last look in the room he woke up in. He noticed the way he came from before he got knocked out was blocked off "huh wonder how long I was out for" he said to himself and walked carefully down the stairs noticing two boards falling down from the ceiling. he startled remembering an prank that bendy pulled on him with a trick like that he sighed now thinking about where he could be hiding "I wonder how is the little guy doing he must miss me after 30 years of not finding anyone else to hang around with to joke.. heh just good old times they were" he said as he kept on walking. when he got down the stairs he noticed another message written in ink near an couple of candles "what in the..." he saw the message and it sent a shiver down his spine "HE WILL SET US FREE" it wrote "Jesus...... what happened here.... and how did this place get so big?" he said to himself as he saw another tape recorder he went to it and pressed it and he heard an deep distrubing voice and a chill running down his spine as he listened to it "He appears From The shadows to rein his sweet blessing upon me. The figure of ink that shines in the darkness, I see you my savior I pray you hear me. Those old songs yes I still sing them for i know you are coming to save me and I will be swept into your final loving embrace. But love Requires Sacrifice. Can I get A amen?" the tape recorder turned off and Henry gulped and then felt the same voice say again "I said. Can I get a Amen?" Henry turned around gripping on his axe "who th-" he saw nothing he sighed and lowered his axe "this is starting to get weirder and weirder but that voice..... was that Sammy's? oh god what happened to this place to him... he must still be around maybe he can help-.... no... no I can't... from what that sounds it looked like he lost his mind" he sighed and walked on as he was walking through the flooded hallway he saw something passing about holding a bendy cutout muttering something "hello? excuse me! can you help me?" he said and the figure did not turn to see him Henry paced up his walk and turned around to see no one "where the hell did he go?" he said and noticed near the bendy cutout in front of the pentagram was a spot of ink on an hole in the wall meaning whoever walked here went through that wall and was made of ink "you gotta be..... ugh" he said as he walked towards the gate and noticed that it need to be powered on "looks like it needs three switches wonder where I can find them" he said to himself and looked around he found one behind an couple of bacon soups "jeeze Joey you still sell these cans they must be expired by now" he said as he pressed the button and kept walking around to look for the two other switches. Henry kept an close eye out for anything "jeeze why am I getting the feeling that i'm being watched" he said in his head as he turned on the last switch "thank god" he said and quickly went back to turn on the gate and he noticed another way boarded up "why must it always be god damn freaking boards...." Henry said grinding his teeth and as he was going to chop down the boards he noticed an shadow in the light in the room he looked through the boards and saw "bendy?" Henry said and he quickly hid as the figure turned around "huh? who's there?......." Henry did'int said a single word and kept hiding he wasn't sure if this was really bendy or someone else "huh... for a second there I though I heard Henry.... heh..... maybe after being alone for so long in this god forshaken place my head must be playing tricks on me......" he could hear the little devil sigh "I missed ya old man....... I actually hope that was not my head playing tricks on me when I heard your voice and saw you in that room with those coffins" he said and walked off while putting his hood over his head and walking off. Henry waited a few second before chopping down the boards and carefully walking into the room "that was bendy......" he felt guilty now " I hidden from the little guy for no reason..... damn this place what happened to it?" he said as he walked to the stairwell and then saw it was flooded he silently cursed as he stomped the floor "motherf-" Henry then went silent as he heard an chilling sound he looked around carefully hoping that whatever was watching him was not anywhere near him "he quickly turned on the switch for the power and ran up but got stopped by whatever came out of those ink puddles "WHAT THE?!?!" he said as more started to appear and attacked the old animator "STAY BACK!" he said and swung the axe straight down the searcher's head and it flopped to a puddle of ink he kept attacking the incoming ones but he did'int noticed the one coming from behind attacked him his miltary instincts kicking in as he grabbed the searcher from behind and slammed it on the wall and swinging the axe straight down to the head. after seeing there was no more of those searchers Henry started to pant "i'm getting too old for this" he said as he started to hear a tune coming from somewhere as he saw an door opening while listening to the tune he looked to where the door opened and walked down to the corridor and he noticed one room that was open and another leading to the infirmary but it looked flooded "well ain't that dandy how am i supposed to get down there?" he said and decided to go into the other room and looked to see an poster of Boris and he looked to see an drawing of bendy "oh i remember this heh i'm glad Joey allowed me to put other emotions and expressions on bendy's face" he said and admired the drawing that showed the shining little devil himself and he went onwards and noticed an room with another message on the wall inside it and near an lever. Henry saw the way in though was flooded with ink and he noticed another tape recorder he played it and it was wally explaining that he lost his keys in one of the trash cans while he was rambling on about it though Henry took the time to take one glance at the message "IT'S TIME TO BELIEVE" it wrote on the wall and Henry stared at it for a few minutes "believe what?.... something tells me i'm about to find out soon enough" he said and decided to go looking for the key he checked an couple of thrash cans and couldn't find it he went upstairs and noticed an projecter "looks like i'm in the theater room now" he said as he looked at the projecter and turned it on to see if anything still worked turned out it did he remembered doing that little animation for him on an weekend. ~flashback~ "Henryyy is it done yet?!" bendy said tapping his foot quickly "not yet bendy animation takes time and effort to make it's not as easy as it looks" Henry said as he was trying to focus "but your soooo good at doing it though this should be a piece of cake!" Henry laughed "you are right bendy but still even as an good animator you still need an lot of time to work on them sometimes it takes an week just to compete one haft of an animation" he said and he noticed bendy pouting "hey come on I promise you i'd make this as best as possible right besides i'm nearly almost done with it" bendy looked up "really?!" he said his smile returning to his face "yup now if you want you can watch it here with me" he nodded and Henry smiled "alright let me just add a few more touches anddddd there!" he said and he put the tape in "ladies and toons here comes captain bendy!" bendy said pretending to be a pirate Henry smiled and the two watched the little short animation. ~flashback ended~ Henry smiled as the projecter turned off finishing the animation "those were happier times before i had to leave this place...." Henry's smile suddenly turned to a frown "I have to find joey he knows what happens here and maybe he's trapped like Sammy and bendy are... well not bendy but Sammy....." he sighed rubbing his forehead "jeeze this place is making me get a headache" he said as he went downstairs to unlock the closest and he turned on another tape recorder "first it was about praying then rambling about a pump station and now a melody? this just keeps getting weirder and weirder" he said as he listened to the tape word by word "so drum, banjo, drum, banjo" he'd had to remember those words and he quietly repeated the same words as he walked on before getting startled by an searcher he quickly smashed it with the axe as he kept walking and then noticed the drum and the banjo "well that was easy enough" he said as he played the melody by drum, banjo, drum, banjo" he waited but nothing happened then he looked at the projector and faceplammed "shoot" he said and ran up the stairs. After turning the projector on and playing the melody again he heard an loud opening as he noticed another gate opening as he walked towards it he noticed another tape recorder. When he went over to turn it on he heard an voice he never though he heard again "Susie?" He said to himself as he listened to the voice after hearing it he sighed and pulled out an picture of himself with the gang including bendy, Boris, and Alice he smiled at the picture as he putted it back in his pocket it's been so long since he seen this place but now he wished he had'nt but at the same time he wished he came back sooner because from the looks of everything he seen so far it seems that Joey gone and did something out of a honor movie "when I see him I better get some straight answers out of him" he told himself and turned on the value hoping it would drain the flooding he walked out but not before seeing the same person that went through that little hole was now standing there in room where the projecter was "hey! Hello could you help m-" he did' it get to finished "well looks like the little sheep does talk after all how wonderful" the voice said "when I heard the ink machine turning on I though it was my lord but it seem that it was you my little sheep that did it. an celebration must be started and I know the perfect thing to start it" henry was creeped out "Sammy? is that you-" before he could finish his sentence an swarm of searchers appeared Henry reacted quickly and attacked them but one of them managed to get him to drop his axe. Henry tried to keep the searchers off of him when he realized he nearly forgotten about something he pulled it out of his pocket it was his father's gun and shot the searcher right in the head. the searchers were confused now even sammy was took by surprise Henry aimed his gun which was an old revolver that he modified to shoot not 6 but 12 bullets. He shot the ink creatures but more kept on coming when he tried reloading the searchers took that as a chance to attack Henry was pinned down and was slowly overcoming to the darkness "nn-no! g-get off of me!" when all he could see was darkness he though it was all over than suddenly an bight light was seen as he saw an fast shape lunged and attacked the searchers "what?!" he said as he saw another creature made out of ink attacking the other searchers. He saw that it had an worn out ripped hoodie with one green gloved hand and ripped blue pants and he saw that it's face had an smile and horns he'd never forget "bendy?!" he said but the creature did not seem to hear him as he kept attacking the searchers he thrown one at the recording booth the glass broke as the force shattered pieces of glass onto the searcher's body. He stomped one on the back and trapped it as he roared in the air loudly trying to scare the other searchers "my lord" Sammy said as the rather large creature looked up snarling "why are you attacking your minions they are hel-" before he could finish talking however the creature roared loudly and threw the searcher that was on his foot near him but instead it hitted the bendy cutout the creature kept on attacking the searchers he stabbed one straight through with it's tail and thrown it across the room. Henry took an few minutes to realize the monsterized version of bendy was giving the old man time to run he quickly grabbed his axe and ran towards the door mid run however he could of sworn he saw the ink creature gave an short nod but he kept on running "no time to think on that now" he muttered to himself as he kept running he could hear the sounds of the creature that was fighting the searchers he heard an loud thud as the creature had just thrown one searcher hard at the doorway. It must of been more than 30 minutes when the fighting had died down and during those 30 minutes Henry was downstairs in the infirmary panting and coughing he did'int realized how fast he ran that he forgotten about he too has his limits "jeeze what I do to be at leash an little bit younger" he said as he checked to see if his dad's gun is now jammed turned out it was "with ink....... god damn it all" he said as he placed it on a table and started to clean it out not noticing an large figure at the top of the stairs watching him with curiosity as it tilted it's head it's tail swinging left and right. it took Henry 10 minutes to realized he was being watched after he was finished cleaning his dad's revolver he turned around to see the once little hooded toon he drawn was on top of the stairs overtowering him and with an curious look on his face but since he had to be near the light it took Henry an few minutes to adjust his vison ~Flashback~ "Henry..... do ya have to leave?" Henry turned around to see bendy with an sad look on his face "bendy.. I have to go my.. my cousin needs me he can't work with an illness like that so... I have to take his place.... sorry kiddo..." bendy sniffed "Henry... why can't ya just stay for a couple more minutes it wouldn't hurt" Henry sighed and knelt down "because buddy it.... it's a family thing.... you have to understand being here was like working with your son only my son is an cartoon devil that's height is in between of Alice and Sammy's height" he said patting the toon on the head "b-but will you come back?!?" Henry smiled softy "maybe, who knows all I do know is that i'm gonna be gone for a long time and by the time it's over joey... might not want me to come back...." bendy started to have tears streaming down his little face "hey don't cry your in charge while i'm gone alright bucko?" bendy nodded while sniffing Henry sighed sadly "hey how.... how will I know it's you if you come back?" Henry smiled "well give me your arm" bendy pulled his sleeve and pulled his arm out of his hoodie sleeve "okay..?" Henry got his paper with bendy's design on it and drawn something on the shoulder "look at it" he looked at the shoulder and realized it was an tattoo it said "don't lose hope, never surrender" he read it and looked up at the old animator "if you ever hear those words from someone you'll know it's me" he said and bendy smiled sadly and brightly and hugged Henry "i'll miss ya old man" Henry smiled and hugged back "you too punk" they both broke out an short laugh before Henry got up "well. see ya... maybe" he said and bendy nodded "yeah... .take care hen" he smiled "who ya talking to pal it's me I can always take care of myself" bendy smiled "yeah..... I know" ~Flashback ended~ Henry broke out of his thoughts when he heard the sounds of the monsterized bendy walking down the stairs he backed up to an wall as he watched the 7 foot tall cartoon demon stared down at him. Henry could barley make out what has changed he noticed that he was missing an glove revealing an clawed inky like hand and there were ink stains on his glove and clothing he noticed an few rips and tears on his hoodie revealing parts of his inky skin or his shirt. Henry realized that bendy was trying to figure out who he was in the demon's mind he looked so strangely familiar to him Henry quietly muttered the words "don't... lose... .hope" the demon's eye widen so much it could almost be seen. the ink slowly brushed away revealing his one eye with was his normal toon like eye but with an rounded pupil, he was took by surprise and shocked at the words and began repeating them and Henry did too so that he could hear it more clearly "don't lose hope, never surrender" bendy's eyes than looked down the rounded pupil dissapearing revealing the toon's normal eyes and inky tears were streaming down his face "hey there bud..... long time no seen" Henry said as he touched bendy's forehead wiping off the rest of the ink so he could see his face more clearly "there we go i can see your face finally your still the same devil darling I drew all those years ago an little older but still the same...." he saw bendy whimpering and he nodded slowly while sniffing "HEN........ HENRY.... IS THAT.... REALLY...... YOU?" he said quietly and he nodded "yeah bud... it's me" bendy could only smile as wide as he could before reaching out to hug him than the whole room suddenly looked like it was moving than out of nowhere the ink spots form into searchers and a lot of them. Henry and bendy's eyes widen as they were surrounded by them bendy saw an opening but he couldn't let the searchers take Henry "HENRY. GO" Henry saw what he was pointing too "no bud i'm not leaving y-" bendy snarled "GO!" Henry was startled but he nodded and quickly ran as he saw bendy roaring and grabbing one searcher and biting haft of it's body off and throwing it aside before fighting the other searchers. Henry kept running towards where the room with the door was now unflooded as he turned on the pump control but not before looking at an blueprint for the ink machine but after that he kept on running he did'int want to leave bendy by himself tho but before going towards the door to the stairwell he felt an big thud against his head as he was knocked out and his attacker was "sheep sheep sheep it's time for sleep" Henry could only stare at Sammy before passing out to the darkness. ~Flashback~ "Sammy! can ya come here for a minute!" Henry said as the musician walked up to Henry "what is it Henry can't ya see i'm busy?" Sammy said snorting "sorry Sammy but joey said you had something to show me?" Sammy took a few seconds to realized and his eyes widen and faceplammed "shoot. yes come i think you'll like it" henry followed Sammy and he led him into an room "what is it that you wanted you show me?" he said and Sammy pulled out an little book "well it's this really it was a poem that I think will fit in one of the episodes in bendy's show like in sheepsongs" Henry read the poem and he nodded "well Sammy that's a good find i think that will work great in the show" he said giving the now smiling man an thumbs up and a approved smile as Sammy smiled "alright then that will be all thanks hen" Henry nodded "no problem" he said and walked out the door as Sammy breathe in relief "thank goodness i though he would said no it took me forever to find this poem" he said as he rolled the paper up and went to start the poem in a more music like melody. ~Flashback ended~ Henry's eyes opened slowly as he could feel something tight wrapped around his waist "there we go nice and tight we wouldn't our sheep running away now would we?" Henry's eyes widen slowly as he finally saw what Sammy had become "I must admit I am.. honored you came all this way down to see me it almost makes what i'm about to do seem so cruel, but the believers must honor their savior, I will have him notice me" Henry could only mutter out part of Sammy's name weakly but loud enough for him to hear "s....s-....sam..?" Sammy tilted his head "wait... you look familiar to me... that voice.... that face...." Henry could see just an glint of the once sane man known as Sammy Lawarence before realizing that it was just him overthinking this is what Sammy had become. he'd became an messager to this ink demon now "not now shh do you hear him crawling up in the ceiling? the time of sacrifice is upon us soon he will set his blessings upon us. he will set us free. soon i'll be free from this." his voice suddenly changes kinda distrubing and echoing like "i'll be free from this dark, inky, abyss prison i call a body!" Henry gulped as he saw the grin from behind Sammy's mask widening "he is coming now so long my little sheep" he said as he walked into the other room "wait Sammy! it's me Henry! don't ya know me?!" he did'int hear a response as he heard him chanting he gulped but then he noticed an tail peeking out of the vent 10 seconds later bendy popped out coughing as he wiped off the dust "kid!" Henry said as bendy looked up he was as Henry remembered all years ago with his clothing not tattern or worn out and he wasn't overtowering him "Henry!" bendy said as they both heard Sammy's chanting getting more and more weirder "q-quick get me out of this chair!" Bendy nodded and ran up and started to untie him "ah my lord!- w-wait n--no my lord please stay back!" as bendy untied Henry they both heard the last supposed words of Sammy "my lord please stay back! I am your prohet I am your- AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" they heard an distored roar followed by Sammy's screams "RUN!" bendy screamed and he and the little devil did just that with grabbing his axe he and bendy ingored the incoming searchers as he simply swung his axe at both of their heads and they kept running Henry chopped down the boards as quick as he could before hitting the last board the two heard an breaking sound "no.... no no no...... shit..." he said as he dropped the now broken axe "shoot... welll I guess we're done for huh pal" he said and bendy looked up and Henry noticed the large tears forming down him "kid I-" Henry did'int finish as he felt bendy hugging him while sobbing into his shoulders Henry couldn't help but frown and hugged back the sobbing toon "i'm sorry kiddo.... sorry I came too late..." bendy was crying "what took you so long?! I though you were dead-.... just like... Boris was...." Henry had tears starting to go down his eyes and he hugged bendy "i'm sorry bud... i don't know what's going on here but... after this..... i'm getting YOU and whoever else is alive down here out this place... remember what I told you about the outside world kid? with the beautiful blue skies, the calm oceans and amazing landscapes?" bendy nodded "well I promised you after we find a way out of here with or without anyone else you will get to see the outside world" Henry said placing an hand on the toon's shoulder "I promise" bendy smiled "t-t...." his voice was lost but then he smiled brightly at him in his normal voice "thanks Henry....." he said and the two pressed on towards what seems to be the exit then they stopped hearing an faint whistle "is that.... someone whistling?" Henry said and looked at bendy "hey don't look at me Henry, I didn't invite Mickey Mouse to this studio" he kept an grip on the knife he gotten from before I've fallen down "what's that?" Bendy said "oh this? Just an weird big hunting knife I found where the ink machine was at. it's Joey's old knife but it kinda looks like it's brand new. I plan on giving it back to him when I see him" he said and he looked at bendy to see an shocked and surprised look on his face "kid you alright?" Henry asked and suddenly he realized the whistle had stopped the two slowly turned around towards the door and Henry did'int even take one step as something emerged from the inky puddle both he and bendy's eyes widen so hard they were about to fall out there stood the very same creature that made Henry run off from the ink machine and there was no mistake that this was the same bendy that killed Sammy and now both he and bendy got an good look of that thing it looked like bendy's original design before Joey changed it to the hoodie, expect it had no gloves but inky like claws that look like they can slice someone's head off it's evil eerie grin made them shiver as it's mouth did not even move but it whistled like it was waiting form them this hold time Henry took an notice at the thing's leg and realized it had an limp hence the thing being hunched over an bit it was still very tall bendy and he took one step back and the creature took one step forward. "HeRnYyYyYyYyYy" the other Bendy said as it walked closer towards the two "bud i need you to stay clo-" he looked to see bendy was no longer there than he realized what happened bendy transformed and was standing in the other bendy's way of reaching him Henry turned and ran as the fight between two cartoon devils fought as he ran he thought loudly in his head "HOW LONG IS THIS CORRIDOR?!?!?!?!" he though madly in his head as he looked back to see the fighting between the two bends was increasing fast as both were at equal speed despite the other having an limp it was hurting bendy. Henry kept running and he turned and saw an Door leading to an room that was not full of ink he turned back and his eyes widen he saw the limping demon lifting bendy up he saw the other taller demon growling with an scowl like expression on his mouth as he tried getting the other bendy to let go of him he saw that the other demon sliced across bendy's side hard leaving an deep gash with three claw marks on it and he had dents everywhere he saw the demon's unmoving grin as it threw bendy across watching him hitting the inky floor hard as he walked bendy used his inkified hand to attack the other demon by hitting him with an huge claw like fist but that only stunned the demon "come on bud!" Henry yelled and he and the wounded bendy ran faster and they could hear the other bendy's roars of anger and it ran faster despite having an limp he was catching up he lunged and slashed bendy's back hard the demon roared in pain and was pinned to the ground just as they were just a few feet away from safety Henry saw the limping demon's grin grew even wider as it used it's foot to scratch at bendy's back. The ink demon grabbed the wounded hooded 7 foot tall demon by the neck and Henry was trying to find a way to stop that other bendy from killing the toon he thinks for a moment and then pulls out his father's revolver and an loud bang was heard as bendy suddenly felt the weight on his back and neck dropped as he saw the limping copy of him with 7 bullet holes an few that was in his head as it stumbled and fell down snarling in a way that made it more inhuman. Henry helped the wounded devil up as he turned back to normal and they walked through the door and Henry turned just in time to see the demon back up and running snarling with it's unmoving mouth. Henry grabbed the door and slammed it shut as he felt the limping demon's body crashed through the sudden force as it started to bang it's fist on the wall roaring in anger both he and Bendy Held the door tight as they used all their force on making sure the abomination does not get inside. after what seem like forever they heard the demon walking away as the footsteps got quieter and quieter. The Two both sighed in relief and Henry saw his hooded little devil knelt to the ground his eyes squinting and hissing at the burning pain "IT HuRtSSSS!" he yelled out and Henry picked him up "i know bud calm down alright just try to forget about the pain" he said as the two walked on an minute later bendy seemed to forget about the pain but he still winced as he felt the burning sting in his back and side. Henry was about to ask something but the two saw an can of bacon soup rolled to the door "who's out there?" Henry called out and held bendy close "I know your out there come out and show yourself" he said holding his fear back. what next shocked them they saw Boris walking from the other side stopping as the wolf looked at them both henry and bendy's eyes widen and their mouths opened only Henry was able to speak one word to the confused yet cheerful wolf "Boris?"

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fullmetaldevil-blog · 5 years

Text

Batim: Stitched AU Ch.4

Well writing took a little bit longer then I would have liked, but as they say life tends to get in the way.

Some of the scenes I absolutely adore and do plan on drawing them out when I catch a moment.

Anywho without further adieu on with the show~

Ch 4: The Gears are Turning

Allison woke the next morning to her dismay that Tom had once again left before her. She didn't even remember him coming home from work the previous night either. The last thing she remembered was reading a book on the couch waiting for him to come home, she had long since eaten her dinner and vowed to stay up to wait for him. Now she found herself in their bedroom tucked neatly in bed still wearing the clothes from the previous night, and no sign of her husband at all.

She sighed in annoyance while she got out of bed and grabbed a change of clothes. She washed herself up and came out to the kitchen. Despite her husband's questionable behavior irritating her, there was only one thing that tugged a smile out of her. Benny. The thought of coming to her dressing room and seeing the toons excitement as he would throw himself at her in a tight embrace warmed her heart. Her heart danced in excitement at how the little plushdemon would react to the days food choices.

Allison rolled up her sleeves, threw open the fridge and started grabbing ingredients. She laid out a fests worth of food, eggs, pancakes, sliced fruit, ham and cheese sandwiches, potato chips, and soda pop. She eyed all the fixings for breakfast and lunch, but then she realized that the most important meal that lasts the night is missing; dinner. She drifted through the kitchen wondering what her own dinner was going to be let alone her cartooney friend. At a loss, she opened up the fridge and gazed over it's contents. Her eyes ultimately landed on a bag containing fish her neighbor had brought to her the other day saying that her son had caught too much for their family to eat, and that she was more then welcome to have some. She pulled the bag out and examined the fish inside. It was all cod, and the best thing to make with cod for is Fish n' chips.

Allison pulled out oil and poured it in two pans setting the flame on high while she mixed up the batter for the fish. She was thankful she had already cooked up potatoes the night before and set them in the oil to fry. She patted the fish dry and drenched them in batter and gently laid them in the second pan of oil. The house soon smelled of fresh fish and chips. Allison pulled the fish out one by one and laid them on a cloth to drain the excess oil. While she waited for the fish and chips to cool she started to pack her bag.

With the addition of another meal, Allison opted to carry two baskets. The larger one to carry breakfast and lunch and an additional smaller basket to carry dinner. She gingerly picked up all the breakfast and lunch items and packed them carefully so the sandwiches wouldn't get crushed. When the fish and chips had finally cooled enough she pulled out the smaller basket and pack them away. She was more then grateful that the bag was large enough to house both baskets as well as her other personal effects.

With the day pack packed and ready to go, Allison grabbed her keys and headed out the door. She was thankful that the traffic leading to the studio was light since few wake in the early morning hours, but as she neared the studio her road was joined by more and more trucks. By the time she reached the studio there was a conga line of supply and utility trucks with her dead stuck in the middle. To her fortune the trucks were moving at a good pace and her progress to the studio was only slowed down, but not a dead stop. She pulled up in front of the studio to see it overloaded with equipment being loaded and unloaded. She could only stare in awe at the amount of activity that was taking place at the studio, she had never seen so much activity and GENT staff at once.

Allison stepped out of the car and briefly spotted a massive boxy mechanism with what looked like hose attachments and a large nozzle surrounded by gears being loaded into a truck, while another truck was unloading an even larger yet similar device. The other device had larger hose attachments and some sort of nozzle large enough to fit a person, it was more boxy then the previous one and lacked gears around the nozzle. Everything in her gut told her that the glimpse of equipment she just saw was the ink machine, or at least a part of it. Norman had told her that he heard the machine was tested, but the result was Benny whom was a 'reject'. She suspected that the original machine was being scrapped since it was 'experimental'. This new one must be the final version, and it looked like it wouldn't take long to get it operational. In the corner waving the machine into the building was her husband. She wanted to call out to him, but as soon as she saw him was as soon as he was gone. She gritted her teeth, they didn't have a lot of time before the final ink machine was running and their window of opportunity would close.

Allison tightened her grip on her bag and hastily headed for the entrance of the studio, ducking and dodging equipment and staff. She tuned out any and all obstacles as her primary focus was to reach her dressing room, feed Benny and seek out Norman and the band. With her goal in sight Allison heard voices coming from her room yet again. 'This is getting old' She thought to herself as she grabbed the handle throwing open the door to see her entire room full of the band members and Norman.

The group all looked at her initially wide eyed until realization as to whom they were looking at settled, and they all greeted her in unison “Hi Allison”.

With her name barely left the groups tongues, a black blur shot out from the group and attached itself to her chest nuzzling her shoulder. “Good Morning Allison!” her face was met was Benny's, the energetic toon clinging to her in excitement.

Allison laughed as she tried to pry Benny off, but the little demon was like a koala. “Alright Benny, if you don't let go you won't get any breakfast.”

Benny instantly released her dropping to the floor with his hands behind his back and rocked on his heel patiently waiting. Allison couldn't help but be amazed at how the toon's attitude changes so suddenly when presented with food. He can go from a sweet little devil to borderline invasive on ones personal space, if not so. The band members all laughed at Benny's sudden mood change, Norman just chuckled in the corner and commented about 'don' be denyin' a growin' boy his eats.'

“Where's Earl and Edgar?” Allison had noted that the 2 out of 3 'terrible trio' band members where not present, which would explain why the room was far quieter. The 3 young men Leonard, Edgar, and Earl combined were a force to be reckoned with and more mischievous then the devil himself.

Giovanni sighed “Those boys can never be on time even if you paid them.”

“Umm... Gio. They are being paid.” Leonard commented with a cheeky grin, and earned him a stern glare from Giovanni. Taking the hint, he removed himself from Giovanni's 'grabbing range', opting to stand near Allison's desk.

Allison strode to her desk past the band and set her bag on the desk. Leonard and Benny both at her side instantly.

“Ooooo~ What did you bring?” Leonard's face burrowed in her pack, Allison grabbed the back of his shirt pulling him away from the bag. The man seemed to have little understanding over not invading other peoples personal space or belongings.

“Not for you.” She scowled. Leonard sheepishly grinned in her grip, and something in the back of her mind told Allison to check her bag. She glanced over at her shoulder at the bag to see Benny's head buried within it just how Leonard's was a few moments ago. “Not you too!”. Allison grabbed Benny resulting in a small yelp from the demon whom instantly looked remorseful as he dangled in her grip while she looked at him eye to eye.

Allison held both the offending violinists and toon devil at her mercies. She walked 3 full paces away from the desk dragging Leonard before releasing him, but now held Benny with both hands looking at him strait in the eye. “Don't always do what you see. Some people-” she glared at Leonard before looking back at Benny “ aren't really a good influence. Ok?” Benny nodded profusely in her grasp.

“If that ain't the 'ya done effed up son' look I'll eat mah hat!” Norman laughed from the corner. The rest of the band all burst into a joyous laughter and the antics of their fellow member and their cartooney friend. Leonard slunk over to Aaron and stood next to man, making sure he kept out of Allison's reach and far away from Giovanni's. The bass player did 2 small gestures at Leonard. Two fingers to his eyes then pointed at Leonard followed by him cracking his knuckles. The man's message was clear, and Leonard hid behind Aaron.

“I'm sorry.” Benny bowed his head looking thoroughly chastised.

“It's ok sweetie.” Allison brought him into a small hug “You're still learning.” With apologies said, Allison walked back to the desk and set Benny down so she could start pulling out the baskets for Benny could eat. Benny was baffled as to why there was two baskets in comparison to the one she carried the previous day. “two baskets?” The demon looked up at Allison.

“Yep” She pulled the larger basket out of the bag. “This is the basket from yesterday, and it has our breakfast and lunch.” She set the basket down on the table and opened up the basket to let Benny look inside at the pancakes, fruit, sandwiches and other items for the day. She then pulled out the smaller one “This one has dinner.”

“Dinner?” Benny looked up at her in confusion, he thought there were only 2 meals a day.

Aaron tapped Allison on the shoulder “I got this” he smiled at her. He turned his attention to Benny whom was now looking up at him. “See most people eat what we like to call 3 square meals a day. That is breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Now there may or may not be an occasional snack in between, but for the most part it is the 3 meals. Allison made you all three so you won't be hungry while she is gone.” Aaron lowered his voice to a whisper “Now, what do we say?” The man winked at Benny earning a bright grin from the devil.

“Thank you Allison!” Benny once again attached himself to Allison nearly knocking her over, the woman yelped in surprise. Then glared when she realized she'd been had.

“That's dirty pool.” She grinned at the man. She had to admit he set her up, he knew full well the demon would be over zealous when it came to food, especially since she was the one giving it to him. Allison peeled Benny off herself and set him down at the desk. She rummaged through the basket pulling out his breakfast and set it up for him. The demon happily sat and ate while she fingered for the band to follow her to the other side of the room.

“What's up?” Leonard piped up, and was shut up when Giovanni grabbed the man's shirt pulling him down. The bass player finally getting his hands on the overly energetic violinist.

“Boy don' ya know how t' use yer 'inside voice?'” Norman scowled at the now silent Violinist. The last thing the group wanted was for anyone outside to hear them all talking.

“Thank you Norman.” Giovanni smiled at the projectionist but refused to release the violinist. Leonard hung in the man's grip like a small child in the death grip of their mother.

In a low tone Allison recounted what she saw in the studio lot. Each person's eyes were wide while she described the sheer size and look of the 2 mechanical items that were being shuffled around. The overall conclusion she drew that what she saw was the removal of the prototype ink machine, and it was being replaced by the final version. Worst yet, the second machine looked to be already mostly assembled and it wouldn't take long for it to be operational. That meant that they would have to figure out how to get Benny out during the window of the new machine parts coming in, and the old ones going out. Upon reaching the end of her story each man looked at each other, then to Benny, then back to Allison.

“This is one hell of a risk. Joey's got the studio all buttoned up to a point where no one goes in or out without someone noticing.” Aaron spoke before he looked at Benny again whom noticed the man looking at him and he tilted his head slightly. “but for his sake, I'm willing to do what I can.”

The rest of the band nodded in agreement. They all knew with whatever project Joey was developing that the studio was kept under lock and key. Any and all material was being gathered instead of being thrown away like most other studios. Every time a cell or drawing was completed and processed it was immediately taken and never seen again, rumor floated around that a few animators got in trouble for trying to sneak out cells that they had worked on. The only 'safe' place from the art confiscation was the music department since it was only music and not images. Only the music department staff seemed to be able to move about a bit better then the rest of the staff since they had nothing to do with the animation production. What better way to hide a cartoon then in the last place you'd look?

Leonard suggested to hide Benny inside one of the instrument cases, but that idea got shot down when Aaron told him that they have even started checking the instrument cases after a few animators got busted for trying to sneak cells in a lunch box. Giovanni offered to talk to Shawn to see what is being done to the toy factory staff and any of the products being produced there. He suggested that since Benny was originally a Bendy plush that they might be able to swing something with the moody Irishman and get him out through the toy factory and it's supply shipments. The rest of the group had to agree that idea was their best shot at the moment, but Aaron and Norman both suggested having other plans in place, should the primary one be thwarted for some reason.

“Well is everyone is 'bout that time.” Norman gestured to his watch. The group broke from their planning session and watched as Benny emptied Allison's bag prompting wide eyes from the men since it was that infamous taboo of going in a woman's purse. Allison chuckled at Benny whom grinned up at her brightly and opened up his hammerspace. The entire band was stunned into silence while they watched Benny slide Allison's belongings within him one by one and crawled into her bag closing it up behind himself.

Leonard broke free of Giovanni's arm leash and rushed over to the bag and peering inside “Benny how'd you do that!?” The man's eyes aglow with curiosity and excitement.

“Well the cut I have on my stomach I can treat like a pocket, and since I'm a toon a hammerspace pocket.” Benny chimed from the bag.

“Cool. So can you hide just about anything and pull out anything?” Leonard's face nearly buried in the bag. Allison once again grabbed the back of the mans shirt and pulled him away to give Benny some space.

“Well I can't fit any large items, that basket of Allison's is about my limit. I don't know how to pull out anything that isn't in the hammerspace already” Benny sheepishly replied. Even for a toon he didn't know much about how toon logic worked.

Norman relieved Allison of her grip on Leonard, replacing it with his own and turned the young man to face him. “Boy you must love getting' the back o' yer shirt yanked, and do keep in min' that Benny 'ere is only a few days old. He ain't been 'round long enough t' know 'ow toon logic works cause there ain't no other toon t' teach 'em, and we ain't got the luxury to have 'em watch any cartoon's without someone seein' 'em.”

“Well...” Leonard squirmed in Norman's grasp “Actually we do.” Norman raised a brow at Leonard's comment prompting him to continue “Well see you have all those film reels that Sammy makes you play in the screen behind us while we play. Why don't you have Benny hang with you and have him watch the shorts that are being played behind us.”

'So you basically are planning on having a impromptu 'movie night'” Aaron spoke up, raising his brow.

“Exactly!” Leonard spun in Norman's grip to face Aaron, hi face beaming with excitement. “If he doesn't know much about what is it to be a toon then we show him the toon's that star here!”

“Well Benny has made it clear as day that he doesn't like Alice Angel much.” Allison joined in. It seemed that Benny didn't like the image of Alice using the voice some someone whom he cared for.

Leonard finally broke free of Norman's grip and hopped up in the desk, throwing his arms out as if greeting a crowd. “Then we show him Bendy! He is patterned after him so why have him learn from the best!” The man was over zealous about the idea despite the desk groaning under is weight.

“Boy git down from there, we ain't got time fer this. We'll figure it out later durin' lunch.” Norman tried to reach for Leonard in order for Giovanni to beat him to the punch. The bass player snatched Leonard by the collar of his shirt pulling him off the table. Giovanni looked at the struggling violinist and only said one word “March.” Giovanni turned towards the door while dragging Leonard right behind him, the violinist resigned to his fate.

The rest of the group all laughed at the ensnared violinist and Norman commented about how 'that boy is too energetic in the mornin''. One by one the band filed out of the room to head to the department to start the day. Each of them eagerly looking forward to finishing up the session as soon as possible to not only try and find a weakness in Joey's hold on the studio, but to also interact with their new friend.

------

Sammy was completely overjoyed at the quality of the performance the band was giving. Each instrument resonating off the other as they all played a joyous tune with Allison singing along side them. The recording staff all eagerly listening and swaying along to the beat. The recording session was successful yet again, Sammy quietly thanked whatever god was smiling down on him and his crew. With each recording that was on point meant less pressure from Joey and that was something Sammy could easily be grateful for. The only nuisance he had at present was the blasted pump controls that the GENT staff installed in his office, but if that was the price he had to pay to appease whatever was gracing his department, then he was fine with that.

Throughout the entire session Norman was playing all the respective reels that were required for each song as they came. Benny whom would normally would be with Allison, was encouraged to stay with Norman and watch the films as they were played. The toon enjoyed the scenes with Bendy and Boris, but scowled at any and all scenes with Alice. Since Allison wasn't with him and per Norman's encouragement, Benny once again tried his hand at dancing. He practiced all the while watching his 2D counterpart doing the same thing on the screen, imitating him as best he could. However as soon as he heard Allison's voice coming through the speakers in the room he stopped dancing and sang alongside her. Norman smiled at watching the little devildoll singing to his hearts content, it was obvious that Benny enjoyed singing more then dancing.

The lunch break was kept simple with Norman locking the door to his projection room so He, Allison and Benny could eat in peace. Much to the dismay of Leonard who glued himself to the door wailing like a sick animal begging to be let in, till Earl and Edgar each grabbed an arm and dragged him away from the door. Leonard initially protested at his removal, but upon remembering his promised 'movie night' he eagerly told the twins about the planned evening. The 3 young men all dashed off to gather the 'necessary materials' and to cause mischief and mayhem for another department, providing much relief for the older band members whom all separated to eat and socialize on their own. Once the break was over the band members reconvened at their respective instruments and Allison returned to her booth, leaving Benny to stay with Norman to continue watching the shorts.

Sammy called the session to an end after the second round of recordings and passed out the next round of music to the band, surprising them. Normally Sammy left them to their own devices in retrieving their respective sheet music, but the director was in a good mood and passed out the music personally and thanked them one by one for their efforts. With a skip in his step Sammy bid them a farewell for the evening and left.

When the band was completely certain that Sammy was gone and before Leonard got even one foot towards the projection booth where Benny was, Aaron's hand shot out and grabbed a hold of this shirt restraining him. “Don't even think about it.” The pianist firmly grasped the man. “Walk, not run.”

Aaron walked Leonard to the booth like a dog owner walking an over energetic puppy. Norman gladly opened up the door letting the duo inside. Earl and Edgar rushed up to the booth with snacks they had purchased during their lunch break eagerly looking forward to having a movie night with Benny. Benny thanked them profusely for the snacks they gave him, but kept messing up their names since they were identical twins. Giovanni brought spare chairs from the orchestra pit and set them up in the booth while Norman set up the desired film reels per Allison's request. Allison gave Benny his dinner so he could eat while watching the movie wanting to make sure that the snacks the twins brought wouldn't 'spoil his appetite'. The toon happily ate the dinner first so by the time Norman was done with his setup he could enjoy the snacks throughout the films.

Allison sat in the middle of the group with Benny on her lap so he could see, while the youngest members were sitting on the floor in front of her with Giovanni and Aaron behind her. Norman sat off to the side monitoring the projector and the audio that was being fed through the speaker. The group all either laughed or cheered at the antics of Bendy and his friends, from Bendy's failed attempt to scaring Boris, to Bendy using his face to 'roll' cookie dough, they all sat and enjoyed the little devil darling on the screen as well as their little devildoll amongst them. Whenever a dance solo from Bendy came on the screen Leonard, Edgar and Earl insisted on having Benny dance along side his 2D counterpart. Benny was too shy and simply turned them down saying he wasn't as good a dancer. The twins and Leonard vowed to get Benny to dance with them someday.

------- Tuesday through Friday-------

The group soon found themselves in a routine as the days crept by. They all would show up to work an hour early and join Benny for breakfast. Each member brought food of their own to not only eat for themselves, but to offer some to Benny for him to try. Benny learned that he liked pretty much any and all food brought to him, even the vegetables Giovanni brought. The man saying something about him needing to 'have a proper balanced diet' while shooting Edgar and Earl glares while they tried to hide their candy bars. Benny learned that apparently candy and chocolate is not a breakfast item. Allison herself couldn't help but wonder exactly how much Benny could eat in a single day since each and every band member, Norman, and herself would all bring food for Benny, and each and every time he would eat it all. Leonard joked about the toon having a 'bottomless pit of a stomach' which rewarded him getting smacked by Giovanni since Benny got embarrassed about having the internal hammerspace that spans the length of his stomach.

During the lunch breaks the group would split up and socialize throughout the studio. Giovanni would chat with Shawn and learned that much to the groups dismay, that after Tom had taken a rejected doll from the trash heap of Shawn's factory a few days ago, Joey came in hours later bellowing about the immediate disposal of any and all Bendy dolls that were defected. Not to mention the threat of a pay cut or no pay at all if there were any additional mistakes made during production, each and every doll, specifically Bendy, had to be perfect. The toy factory was no longer allowed to have a trash heap and instead had to keep the dolls within the factory. While the Bendy plushes seemed to be the target of Joeys aggression, the Alice Angel plushes were becoming an increasing problem with lack of popularity, which at times resulted in them jamming up the belts when a doll would accidentally get snagged by the moving parts.

No matter how much Shawn complained about the Alice dolls there was no answer given, but if it was a Bendy doll, it was destroyed on the spot. Giovanni quickly vacated the room when he watched Shawn blow up on Joey, the mans Irish accent grew so thick that while he knew the irate Irishman was speaking English it was difficult to discern one word from another with the pace for which he was shouting the words. Just before Giovanni fled the factory he spotted a small pile of rejected Bendy dolls and saw that one little dolls looked exactly like a doll version of Benny, say for the stitches. He quickly ran over and stole the doll before it could be destroyed and pocketed it to give to Benny later. The bass player abandoned the factory and immediately retreated to relay the new information in regards to the factory's status. It was a bitter reminder that Benny wasn't supposed to exist and the hopes of using the Toy factory as an escape route dashed on the spot.

With the Toy factory out of the question, Earl and Edgar proposed the idea of having Benny dress like a small child and use Allison's make up to cover his face to get him out. That idea never even got near the runway to take off since Aaron bluntly pointed out that no children are allowed within the studio. Even more so with all the construction that GENT had been doing. The words didn't sway the twins much as the boys eagerly brought in their old childhood clothes the following day and tricked Benny into wearing each and every outfit they brought. To their surprise the clothes fit Benny perfectly say for the collar of the shirt since Benny's head floated above his body. They liked the outfits on him so much the twins agreed to let Benny keep their old clothes for when he did get out of the studio. So he could look like a normal human child and travel. Benny happily accepted the clothes and hid them within his hammerspace, but not before giving each twin a koala hug.

Allison proposed the idea of sabotaging the ink machine parts so the deliveries would have to keep coming to try and complete it. If they could delay the completion till Sunday where there is little to no staff within the building, then they might be able to get him out with the crates and supplies that GENT transported throughout the studio. She offered that since she was smaller then Tom the lead GENT worker and her husband, she could sneak a spare pair of his work clothes so she could blend in with the staff and sneak Benny out. Allison didn't want to cause more stress to her husband, but she couldn't bring herself to trust him to help her since he couldn't be honest with her about Benny and the Ink machine.

With Allison's proposal being the last reasonable one on the table, with the younger members getting an occasional smack upside the head for stupid ideas, Aaron had taken to talk to Grant Cohen the financial advisor/accountant for the studio. While the man had no control over the comings and going within the studio he was a swath of information about the studios expenditures. The man would rant and rave about Joey's wild and overly expensive ideas, and Joey would tell the man to 'just make ends meet' even though there wasn't much of an end left. It was painfully obvious that the studio was in financial straits, and with the development of the ink machine it was running the place into the ground financially. Since Aaron was on good terms with Grant he would talk to him and lightly encourage him to make small cuts to security funding on the weekends, in particular Sunday since most of the studio didn't work on Sunday except the GENT team. After 2 days of chatting and coaxing, Grant finally agreed to cut the funding for Sunday thus lowering security and saving the studio some money. Joey would be none the wiser, and what he doesn't know, doesn't hurt him.

With Sunday set as a the best day to try and sneak Benny out since only the GENT team will be present within the studio and Grant's cuts to the security funding, the hardest part was sabotaging the ink machine parts while not getting caught. The more energetic members of the group, Earl, Edgar, and Leonard gladly volunteered for the role. One young man individually was trouble, getting all three together was an unholy union of high energy, youth, and mischief. The terrible trio ran throughout the studio and would 'accidentally' bust a pipe, hide tools or cause a GENT team member to slip up and break something. Tom more often then not, was hot on the trio's tail about their 'unwarranted horseplay'. Wally would try to sneak away from the disaster the trio would leave behind, but Tom would have none of that. Wally was often seen cleaning or fixing something all the while under Toms watchful glare. The lead GENT worker clearly having enough of the energetic band members antics, and the laziness of Wally.

Tom even got frustrated to a point and confronted Sammy about keeping his department members in line. Sammy whom had already had enough of the GENT team and the ins and outs of his department, in particular his office, blew up on Tom. Sammy refused to rein in his staff since they had been giving him repeated success after success in the recordings, and who was he to stop the groups fun? As far as Sammy was concerned, as long as his band performed perfectly on stage then he could care less what they do off stage. Tom was outraged at Sammy's blatant refusal to assist him, he didn't have the time nor the patience to be continuously working on the ink machine trying to finish it, especially when he had a threat lingering over his head. Both men shouted at each other at the tops of their lungs and had to be separated by staff for fear of a fight breaking out.

Norman bore witness to the entire confrontation between Tom and Sammy. He knew Tom had a underlying temper but had never seen it boil up in such a manner. There was a sense of desperation and frustration in the mans voice as his drowned out Sammy's. Norman couldn't say anything but watch the entire exchange and quickly disappeared while staff was separating the two bellowing men. He retreated and told Allison about what happened between her husband and Sammy and asked if she wanted to have the trio lighten up on the amount of sabotage they were conducting. His only response was a 'no'. They didn't have the luxury of waiting any more since the improved ink machine was installed and final preparations were being made, their window of opportunity wouldn't be open for much longer.

------- Saturday At the dressing room--------

Allison herself found a strange sense of distance growing between herself and her husband. She hardly saw him, even at home. Tom would leave for work before she woke up and would come home well after she went to bed. The only time she would see him is during the lunch break period, and that would be because she actively sought him out. During one of the couples quiet breaks together they had decided to spend it in Allison's dressing room. Allison had stepped out of the room to use the bathroom leaving Tom alone in her room.

Tom feeling completely famished decided to look for the lunch basket within Allison's bag that she was borrowing from him. He figured he could spare his wife the trouble of getting him his food when he could do it himself. He already felt bad that he hadn't been able to enjoy breakfast and dinner with her at home and that she would go through the trouble to cook for him regardless. He wondered what he did to be blessed with a woman who stood by him, even when at times he felt he didn't deserve her kindness.

Benny could hear the conversation between Allison and someone named 'Tom' that he knew was someone special to her whom she called her 'husband'. What ever that meant. He knew she had stepped out for a moment to 'use the restroom'. The room for the most part was quiet till the bag suddenly started to shift and he knew full well Allison was not in the room, and panic set in fast. 'Oh No! No no no no!' He thought to himself as he listened to the clasps that kept the bag closed being undone. A pair of rough hands gently pried the flap of the bag open and a worn face looked down at him.

“what the?” The gruff looking man uttered as he looked at Benny. The man had tired brown eyes, dark brown hair that was matched by short facial hair and a mustache. Something about this mans face looked familiar to Benny, but at the moment it was the last thought on his mind. The toon remained still hope that the man would think he is a toy.

Tom reached into the bag wrapping his hands around Benny's sides lifting him out of the bag gently. Tom was utterly baffled. He had never seen a Bendy plush so large and that actually looked like he came out of the screen vs. a different iteration of the classic 'teddy bear design' except with a horned head. What really struck him as odd was the fact that this Bendy plush had yellow coloring, off model eyes and large black stitches that ran across the face and stomach. Tom turned the plushtoon over in his arms examining him, running his fingers over the stitches on his stomach and feeling the fabric that made up his body. Tom felt a hint of sadness hit him, this doll that was in Allison's bag reminded him of the little off model Bendy toon that Joey attacked and most likely killed. There was no way the little toon could have survived the blow and was most likely reduced to a puddle of ink somewhere in the studio. The resemblance between the doll and the deceased toon were unsettling and it felt like he was looking at a ghost from his past. Tom turned him over again and started to run his rough but warm fingers over the stitching on Benny's face, sorrow all over the mans features.

The longer he looked at the doll in his arms the more grim reality hit him, he helped bring a little creature to life and watched it get fatally injured and most likely died. He was now tasked with refining the accursed machine with the threat of his wife's life on the line so that another creature to be brought to life and possibly meet the same fate as it's predecessor. Tom's body shook with a growing anger and sadness that was warring within himself. He held a new born life for it to die, the one he cares about will die if he doesn't finish his job, and the next one will most likely die the same way as the first. Everything around Joey dies and that he has no choice to to provide the life that Joey has no qualms about removing. The arrogant director couldn't understand that life needs experience and that it won't have everything at the start, you have to teach it. Each and every time Joey will use the machine to bring something to life, that life will be cut short cause it will never be 'perfect' simply because LIFE ISN'T PERFECT. Tom realized that no matter how much convincing or defending he would do, each and every toon created by the machine will be killed, and each and every time Joey will summon him to work on the machine. No matter how many times he tries he will fail, he is stuck in a loop of misery.

Tom brought Benny close to himself and hugged him, seeking some sort of comfort from what he viewed as a stuffed animal. The man's mental walls broke down and he quietly sobbed resting his head between Benny's horns. Benny was stunned by the turn of events, this man, something about him felt familiar. Benny searched his memories and had little luck till he decided to search his earliest, the ones that gave him such pain. He remembered a rough looking man cooing at him and petting him on his head. Then it all clicked together. This man was the one whom introduced him into this world, showing him such warmth and kindness. His protector from the crazed ax wielding man whom attacked him shortly thereafter. The overwhelming desire to comfort Tom overtook Benny, he wanted to comfort the man whom took care of him at the start of it all. Taking a huge risk, Benny slowly lifted an arm making sure the man holding him couldn't see him and gently rest it on his back rubbing it slowly. This prompted more quiet sobs from Tom, and Benny just continued to rub his back slowly.

Allison entered the room expecting to see Tom sitting and waiting for lunch, she didn't expect to see her husband crying while hugging Benny, let alone Benny rubbing his back. She was utterly baffled by what she was seeing. Tom was such a strong caring man whom would shoulder the world for someone, but to see his strong character break down, it broke her heart. She didn't know what all he was going through, but whatever it was had taken a toll on him. She quietly crept across the room and rested her hand on Tom's back relieving Benny of him comforting the distressed man. Tom seemed unaware of her presence even when she was comforting him “Honey? You ok?” She quietly asked him while rubbing his back.

Tom's sobs quieted down and Allison didn't say anything more while she waited for him to calm down. It took some time for Tom to compose himself and slowly let go of Benny, setting him on his lap. “Sorry you had to see that.” Tom straitened himself back up and looked at Allison with tired eyes.

“It's ok, you're probably just tired and stressed out” Allison warmly smiled at him.

Tom nodded and leaned back in the chair stretching as best he could. “So...what's for lunch?”

Allison looked immediately at Benny, with the toon in Tom's grasp he can't pull out the basket without Tom noticing. A little idea danced in her head and she wondering if Tom would fall for it, but it was worth a shot. “First you'll have to close your eyes” She winked at him.

Tom raised a brow but didn't question Allison's actions and complied to her command. Allison waved her hand in front of Tom's face making sure he couldn't see before nodding at Benny. The plushdemon carefully moved his arms to open up his hammerspace and pulled out the basket handle. Allison assisted him and removed it all the way, all the while Tom had his eyes closed and unaware as to what was going on in front of him. Both Allison and Benny were careful in their movements in the hopes that Tom didn't catch on, but once they were sure that everything was secure, Allison finally spoke up “Good, now open.”

Tom opened his eyes to see Allison holding out the lunch basket packed to the brim with food. A gentle smile graced Tom's tired face and he set Benny on the desk so he could start eating. The lunch between the couple was spent in silence. Allison simply sat next to Tom with her head resting in his shoulder leaning against him, her mere presence provided all the comfort and security Tom needed. He relaxed himself into the chair and quietly ate the food that had been provided, all the while occasionally glancing over at the doll that was laid against his wife's desk. Tom stared at the devildoll on the desk, it was so detailed and carefully made, not a single visible seam, nor blemish in the fabric, the entire body was almost like it was one solid piece of material. Now a little question burned in the back of his mind. Where did she get it?

“H-Honey?” Tom's soft words breaking the momentary bliss of the room. Allison hummed against him in acknowledgment. “Where did you get the Bendy plush? I mean he is very well made, he is too nicely done to have been made by our grouchy toy maker.” Tom chuckled at the mere thought of Shawn actually taking care in the toys he made. While the man was a professional, he did make the occasional mistake that resulted in a tirade from Joey. Though in recent weeks the man would deliberately make a mistake just to irk Joey.

Allison looked over at Benny whom was laying perfectly still, she could tell the toon was looking at her with a hint of nervousness in his eyes. “A coworker made him for me.” She wouldn't dare tell her husband that Benny came from the ink machine. “He was a gift for helping them out with a small project awhile back.”

Tom smiled at hearing her words. Allison had a lot of compassion when it came to people, and it was comforting to know that people showed their appreciation for her efforts, that she wasn't being taken advantage of. His smile disappeared when he saw Allison looking downwards towards the floor and had a small frown on her face “Honey you ok?” He gently nudged her with his shoulder.

“It's just with Joey acting strange lately I can't take him home, I have to hide him here.” Allison sighed leaning into her husband “He is such a lovely gift and I can't enjoy him.”

Tom looked over at Benny then back at Allison. “Tell you what, my project is nearly complete. I have one more day to finish up and afterwards I can bring him home for you. Joey won't be bothering me after his project is done, and I'm sure I can bring your friend home then.” he hugged her gently. He didn't want such a lovely gift ruined by Joey. He only had to endure one more day of hell and he would be free.

Allison looked up at her husband and gave him the biggest smile she could muster, she lifted her hand up to Toms cheek leading him down to her and she kissed him. As she broke away she quietly whispered “Thank you Tom.”

Tom's words were music to Allison's ears. He would be able to easily get Benny out of the studio after Joey has been pacified. Her mind instantly thought of how she would introduce her husband to Benny properly and all the things they would do once they were together. Images of the three of them all together as a family floated through her mind.

Benny sat there watching the scene unfold before him and could see the pure joy on Allison's face when the Tom told her he would take Benny 'home'. From the conversation Benny had concluded that Tom and Allison lived together, and that he will be taken with them in a day's time. The toon could barely contain his own excitement at not only getting out of the studio and away from the man named 'Joey', but to also go to a place called 'home' with Allison. His trademark grin got a little wider at all the thoughts that danced through his head about how a world beyond the studio must be like. He could hardly wait.

Tom glanced at his watch and realized that the lunch period was nearly over and he had to go back to work. Allison cleaned up the remains of their lunches and waved Tom off as he left to resume his task. She turned back to Benny flashing him the brightest grin she could possibly muster and was met with an equal grin from the toon. Both were equally excited to finally see a light at the end of the tunnel and that their nightmare was nearly over. Benny eagerly inhaled his lunch before stuffing the basket back within himself and returned to Allison's bag, his grin bigger then ever as he peered out the bag at Allison. With a spring in her step, she nearly skipped and danced down the hall towards the music department. She couldn't wait to tell the band the good news.

Tom returned to the redesigned ink machine looking over the accursed mechanism. The contraption was far bigger and seemed intimidating compared to it's previous counterpart. Joey had taken to drawing strange patterns around and in the machine, much to Tom's dismay. He couldn't understand what the strange patterns were and Joey's only excuse was that they were for 'decorative purposes' and weren't anything to be wary of. The machine itself was ready, but needed to have a secure supply of ink. The constant pipe bursts and Wally's laziness was the only thing holding the machine back. All of which were quick and easy fixes, but the sheer amount of bursts felt deliberate, but lacked proof or witnesses to whom was the culprit behind his delays. He could only hope that he would be able to secure enough pipe to go through with the activation of the machine tomorrow.

------ After recording------

With the recording once again successful and wrapped up for the day and Sammy nearly hopping down the halls with a beat to his step, the band all came out to play. Allison eagerly told them what Tom wanted to do once the machine was finished, and ironically it was scheduled to be completed on Sunday which is tomorrow. Norman immediately asked if Tom was aware of Benny and Allison told him no. Tom didn't seem to know that Benny was a living plushdemon and seemed to only think he was a gift after Allison told him that Benny was a present from a grateful coworker. The unholy trio Edgar, Leonard and Earl asked if they should cease their sabotaging the ink machine and they got a simple 'yes'. They needed the machine to be completed now since Tom was a oblivious participant in their getting Benny out of the studio. They were to cease their destruction immediately and if possible assist without being seen. If there was an pipe rupture or spill, repair it to the best of ones ability and clean up the mess. The sooner the machine is up and running, the sooner Benny is out of the studio. The band all cheered in excitement at the realization that Benny would finally be free of the hell hole studio and at a place where he belongs. Each member took up their instruments and played a lively tune while for grins Norman played some of the dancing scenes on the walls behind the band to help set the mood.

The band watched in amusement as Benny actually tried his hand at dancing properly. For grins, and use of toon logic, Benny gave off the appearance of him hoping in and out of the screen during the dance solo all the while mirroring his 2D counterpart, and at one point even looked like he was dancing with him as partners. Benny was simply elated at the reality of finally getting a place to call home rather then a crate at the bottom of a shelf. Singing was out of the question when he felt like dancing to show how truly overjoyed he was. The band, Allison and Norman all encouraging him as he dipped in and out of one musical number to another. The sense of relief, happiness, and belonging danced through the air strong and true.

Unbeknownst to the partying group there was a set of eyes staring dumbfounded at the scene before him. Sammy didn't seem to be at all aware of the band playing as his focus was dead locked on Benny, the toon had his back to the director all the while doing a simple little tap dance. Sammy had jokingly commented about how he felt that Bendy was blessing his department with the overwhelming success as of late, but he never thought that Bendy was physically in his department, let alone a real entity. The man stood there in complete shock until Benny finished up his dancing number and took a bow before walking away. The stunned musical director spun on his heel and burned rubber up the stairs and down the halls to Joey's office throwing the door open.

The sudden intrusion into Joey's office set the older man off, he frantically grasped at papers covered in strange circles and writings hiding them from view, all the the while shouting at his sudden intruder. “Mr. Lawrence! What on earth is your major malfunction now!?”

Sammy was winded from his mad dash to the office and struggled to catch his breath “S-Sir! It's-It's Bendy!” The musician rested his hands on his knees still struggling to subdue his gasping for air. Joey lifted a brow and rose from his chair, with cane in hand he cautiously approached the over excited musical director. “What about Bendy?”

“H-He's real! And he's in my department!!” Sammy looked up at him with a excited madness to his eyes “He was tap dancing in my department, hopping on and off the screen!”

Joey frowned at the description Sammy had given him. There was no way Bendy could hop off the screen, at least not yet. That meant that the abomination that he failed to eliminate thanks to the stubborn refusal from Tom was still alive and in the studio, and seemingly in good health. Not only that, but it was playing within a department that only made music and had nothing to do with actually creating Bendy nor ink for it's needs. The music department was the last place he'd look for a freak of ink. Joey's frown soon slipped into a sly grin, which he quickly moved to his 'golden smile' and decided to exercise his 'silver tongue'.

“Why Sammy, you should feel blessed!” Joey helped Sammy to his feet properly and brushed off his shoulders. “Bendy has appeared to shower you with his blessings of success, your department has been nothing short of perfection these past few days, and you have Bendy the thank for that. Your dedication to your role of writing his music has pleased him, you should feel happy that our lord Bendy has ascended the lighter side of hell and now resides in your department.”

Joey's words sunk deep within Sammy, Bendy was a god who ascended from the depths of hell to shine light onto his life. His dedication and wishes had reached his lord and now he was getting everything he ever wanted. He was bathed in a wealth of success, respect and recognition, the very things he never had when starting out in his career. He was used to being the 'bottom dweller' and his only talent was writing music and playing instruments, but now that talent was being rewarded in the most spectacular way. Sammy's eyes were alight with a passionate flame of determination. “What should I do for him sir?”

With his trademark smile back on his face Joey looked Sammy dead in the eyes. “If you find him, bring our lord to me. He deserves a proper welcoming to our world.”

“Yes, nothing but the best for him.” Sammy whispered in agreement and turned on his heel to return to his department to find his lord.

Sammy finally out of earshot Joey burst into a boisterous laughter, he couldn't believe how things were falling into place. He now had Sammy out looking for the abomination for him and will present the failure to him so he can finish it off, and by the morrow he will have his ink machine and the real Bendy the dancing demon. Sure he had a few set backs at the start of the week with Tom's little stunt and the escapee freak of ink, but now none of that mattered. The older man returned to his desk and rested in his chair, his Grey eyes joyfully looking over the papers he had been studying earlier prior to Sammy's intrusion.

Joey by no sense of the word was a religious man, but when he found a strange book called 'The Illusion of Living' and how things can be brought to life with the use of mechanics and magic, everything had changed. A bit of magic here, a few sacrifices there and you have the conditions to make life, and what better way then to use them to bring cartoons to life? He was already well aware of his studio's short comings with the increasing difficulty in animations being completed on time, rising costs and labor, and the grim truth that with other studios introducing color film which his studio lacked, he was falling behind. If he could bring the characters to life then no matter what the other competitors did with their color films, it wouldn't top a real life toon.

He had all the necessary conditions and pieces, no all he has to do is wait til tomorrow when the machine will be complete and he will have his rise to glory.

--------Meanwhile Back at the Music Department------

Sammy made a mad dash back to his department to find that everything was closed up for the day. All the instruments were put away, the projectors were cleaned up and off, and not a trace of Bendy to be found. The director frowned at the fact that he missed his chance, but surely there will be more. As long as his band performed splendidly meeting the demon's needs, then he will reappear. He tried playing the recordings of the band and had the projector running to see if he could summon the demon, but no matter how many records he played, nor reels in the projector, not a single hint of Bendy was to be seen. The man frowned and started to clean up the records when he slipped on a puddle of ink, sending him crashing onto the floor spilling all the accumulated records. He cursed his rotten luck sitting up and spotted something that had his undivided attention. A lone Bendy cutout. It was a cardboard cutout that Joey had made up by the animation department and it sat in the far corner of the orchestra pit hidden by a stack of chairs.

Sammy got up and wandered to the cutout pulling it out of its hiding spot examining it, the thing looked exactly like the devil darling. Then a little idea crossed his mind, what if Bendy only came out when the cutout was present, but now that it was hidden he got upset. Sammy set the cutout in a corner at a vacant chair and went back to collect the fallen records. There weren't many cutout made and they were scattered throughout the studio. If he could gather all the current cutouts and use them to decorate the department and have the band playing with the shorts playing behind them, then surely that must appease Bendy. However that will have to wait for tomorrow since there was no way he could gather up all the needed cutouts after hours since much of the studio was put to bed for the day.

Tomorrow is another day.

#batim stitched au #benny the stitch demon #benny the stitch devil #benny the stitched devil #benny the stitched demon #allison pendle #allison connor #tom connor #norman polk #wally franks #joey drew #bendy the dancing demon #grant cohen #shawn flynn #sammy lawrence #batim ocs #bendy and the ink machine au

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