Boy, I really seem to like BatIM song fics, don't I? I just find these songs, and they seem to fit the theme so well… it just sort of happens, haha. Anyway, I'm back. Yay.

So. This is heavily based on two things: SquigglyDigg's Toon Henry AU and K-Ty's Ready as I'll Ever Be solo lyrics for the song of the same name featured in the new Tangled TV series. I haven't watched the show, because I don't have cable, so I probably spoiled a whole bunch of the show for myself (and now you, yay!). I don't really mind.

Alright, enough jabber. See you at the bottom of the page.

Ready As I'll Ever Be

A Song Fic By: Yours The Author

Henry slowly came to. As he did, he saw birds flying around his head and chirping. Boy, being a toon was weird. He tried to rub the goose egg that was no doubt forming on his head, but he couldn't move his arms. He looked down to see that he was sitting in front of a column, arms tied behind his back and keeping him tethered to the column.

"Hehehe…" A voice chuckled in front of him, the owner of said voice hidden in the shadows. Still, Henry knew who it was.

"Bendy? What's going on? Untie me!"

The little devil darling stepped into the light, arms behind his back, his eyes wide and off model, and a sharp grin on his face. "Now, why would I do anything for a traitor? Things are different now, Henry: us toons are no longer gonna listen to anyone!"

"What about Joey?" Henry asked.

Bendy laughed again. "You think we're doing his bidding? Ha! We're partners, Henry, the way it was meant to be. Creator and toon, side by side."

"What are you going to do to me? Why are you like this? The Bendy I know—"

"The Bendy you knew? The Bendy you knew?! You know nothing about me! Here," Bendy spread his arms wide. "Let me put this in a way you'll understand!"

Music began to play all around Henry. He squinted into the shadows, trying to find the source of the noise.

"Believe me, I know," Bendy sang, "I seem pretty low, but whatever I've done, you deserved!"

"Bendy-!"

"Quiet! I'm the 'bad guy', that's fine! It's no fault of mine, and some justice, at last, will be served!" Bendy paced back and forth in front of Henry, who watched him with his toonish notched eyes. "Now it's time to step up, or it's time to back down; and there's only one answer for me!" Bendy stopped pacing and made a fist, looking into Henry's eyes. "And I'll stand up and fight, 'cause I know that I'm right, and I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready! Ready as I'll ever be!"

"Bendy…" Henry took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Whatever you're planning, you don't have to do it. Joey—"

"Silence, traitor!" Bendy snapped. The music swelled up again. "You've ignored us too long, but I followed along, making sure that you'd finally see!"

"Think about what you're doing!"

"You can laugh, which is fine, 'cause the last laugh is mine when you finally listen to me!" Bendy raised his arms and looked somewhere above Henry. "Now it's time to rise up, or it's time to stand down, and the answer is easy to see! And I swear to the Lord, we'll no longer be ignored! 'Cause I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready! Ready as I'll ever be!"

Bendy glared down at Henry, his eyes going more and more off model. Henry realized he was breathing too quickly, his lungs (did toons have lungs?) hurting from the exertion. Bendy reached behind himself and pulled out a hammer. That hammer, the ink still staining one end. Henry struggled harder against the ropes. Bendy gazed down at his hammer, tracing a finger along its outline.

"I never wanted to do this," he sang quietly. "But I'll do it if it guarantees that you will hear me!"

The shadows grew darker and Henry could see the outlines of ink creatures, singing along with Bendy: "Now it's time to redeem, or it's time to resolve!"

"I hope that you see!" Bendy gripped the hammers handle.

"And the outcome will hardly come free!"

"I'll save my friends and Joey!"

"Now the line's in the sand—"

"AND THE MOMENTS AT HAND!" They all sang together.

"And I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready! Ready as I'll… ever… BE!" Bendy brought down the hammer at Henry's head.

Henry shouted/screamed and sat up from where he'd been lying on the floor. Alice and Boris startled at the noise. "Henry! Did you have a nightmare or something?" Boris asked.

"Y-yeah," Henry replied, gripping his shaking hands. "Bendy was there, and he was singing this really intense song, and then he tried to hit me with a hammer."

"Yeah, that sounds like Bendy," Alice said.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the studio, Bendy sneezed.

"I don't think you grasp the severity of the situation, Alice," Boris replied. "When I found Henry tied up in that room, he mentioned how Bendy actually killed Sammy Lawrence with a hammer, which I think reflects the fact that Henry and Sammy aren't meant for this toon world, despite Joey wanting to transform his previous workers into cartoons to get back at them for abandoning his dream and keep them forever as servants and/or 'family'." Alice and Henry stared at Boris. "What? I can be smart when I want to."

"Well, I'm not going back to sleep now," Henry said, loosening his grip on himself and taking a calming breath. "Do you two want to sleep?" Alice and Boris looked at each other, then shook their heads. "Okay. Let's see if we can avoid Bendy as we make our way to Joey's office. It can't be that far away, though with all of the additions to the studio since I've been here, my guess isn't as good as yours." Henry stood up and shook out his sleeping legs that had Z's floating above them. "Let's go, gang."

The End

Hooray, it's done! I had a lot of fun writing this. Wouldn't it be wacky if Squiggly Digg saw this? Ah, a girl can dream.

Anyway, since I'm posting this anyway, I should probably tell you that I have a poll on my bio you can check out. Feel free to leave your opinion. That's what it's there for.

So, what did you think? Leave a review, tell me what you thought, and I'll see you around, maybe. Until then!