Inked in Mystery
Chapter 1: Curiosity and Research
Later that night, all ToonTown sleeps peacefully. Even Keffan, lying in a camp bed squeezing his stuffed toy that his official dad, Gandy, had brought back with some stuff for the night. However, a small figure come close to the kitten and, without any warning, it leaps on him. Feeling someone catching him, Keffan is about to scream... when two little hands covered with feathers gag him.
« Hush, silly! » Aiden mutters in a low voice, digging his brown eyes into his friend's blues. « You will wake my parents! »
« Are you crazy? » the kitten grumbles, pushing away his chick friend. « You want me to have a heart attack! I don't have quite the same heart as a Toon. »
« Oh come on, you're not made of sugar! » the little magpie laughs.
« And why are you still up, first of all? It's late, and at this hour, I'm sleeping! »
Keffan rolls into a ball in his blanket mumbling goodnight, wanting to go back to sleep... but Aiden pulls his ears and hair.
« Ouch! What now? » the kitten gets upset as he chases away the chick who flies off to sit on his bed.
« Tell me, would you like to see a real haunted studio? » he says, eyes twinkling with mischief.
The half-Toon freezes as he understands and stands up, as struck by lightning.
« ARE YOU BONKERS!? » he yells.
« Hush! » the chick scowls.
The two children are silent, listening if the magpie parents have woken up, then sigh while still being in the complete silence of the night. But the little Tunman is far from calm.
« Don't tell me that you want to go and get killed in a studio abandoned where a mad ink monster prowls! »
« It's just a story, Keffan! » Aiden smiled. « And Bendy is a Toon like the others! Having been drawn and not being born, he would have needed to be remembered and that his fans continue to watch him! It's been years since anyone has heard about him. And it's not chatter between Toons who will keep him alive! The studio is surely totally empty but nobody goes there because it serves as an example. »
Keffan frowns as he squeezes his stuffed toy... then he sighs.
Aiden was right. Apart from Born-Toons and Half-Toons, all Toons needed to be watched and remembered to keep their hearts. Only those from Disney studios had managed to escape this fate thanks to the magic of Yen Sid* and the love that Mr Disney had put in his first character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Apart from them, no Drawing Toon had survived to being forgotten and the loss of his heart. Bendy must have been gone for a long time now.
« Ok, little genius! But how do we get there? » the little kitten Tunman asks.
« We wait for the night and we slip to the studio! Nothing more simple! » Heckle and Jeckle's son smiled.
« Nobody will give us the address of the studio if everyone thinks it cursed! »
The little magpie freezes and thinks.
« Damn... I didn't think about that ... » he mumbles.
Keffan laughs, amused... but quickly, Aiden looks very sad. He is disappointed because he really wants to see this haunted studio but without the address, it's impossible. Except that nobody in ToonTown can resist to this little sad face! Not even his parents and Keffan! The kitten mutters, trying to look away... but he can't help but look at his friend. Sighing deeply, he thinks on how to help his best friend... when a smile lights up his feline face.
« Aidy! I think I know who can give us the address! » he said, drawing a hopeful look from his friend.
The next morning, after a heavy breakfast, the two magpies went to the TerryToons Studios with the kids. As soon as they arrive, they are greeted by Gandy Goose and SourPuss (even if the cat plays the one who doesn't care).
« Dad ! » Keffan smiled, running to hold the goose in his arms.
Gandy takes his son in his arms and kisses him on the cheek. The kitten gives him a big hug before turning to the other Toon who shares his education.
« Hello, Papa Cat! » he smiled, making the jars and the two magpies laugh but making SourPuss sigh.
« Keffan ... I'm not your dad! Uncle SourPuss if you want but stop calling me ''papa''! » he growls, turning to hide his flushed cheeks and to avoid seeing Gandy's sad face.
Keffan turns to his adoptive father, intrigued. He didn't understand why his "Papa cat" refused that to call him like that when he saw that he and his dad got along well and they had the same look as Aiden's parents. And his friend had the right to call Heckle ''Dad'' and Jeckle ''Mom''. So why didn't he have the right to call his father "papa"? And why his two dads weren't married like Aiden's parents?
Gandy places his adopted son on the ground and advances towards the two magpies.
« Thanks for keeping Keffan last night. » he smiled. « I hope he wasn't too much of a handful. »
« Not at all. » Jeckle answers. « A real little angel. »
« Anyway, these two chums are glued to each other. » Heckle laughed, ruffling his son's feathers.
Jeckle slaps him on the shoulder to make him stop and then kneels in front of Aiden to re-feather his feathers.
« Can you watch them today, Gandy? » the "mum" asks after combing his chick.
« Oh no ! » the goose exclaims. « SourPuss and I need help on Mighty's short, and even though we have no more new episodes to do*, the work of Toons never stops. » he said, shrugging his shoulders.
« So who's going to keep the little ones? We have an episode to turn too. » Jeckle worries.
« Mum ! » Aiden grumbles. « We're big boys now! I'm almost 6 years old and Keffan already has them! »
« Of course you're getting older boys. » Jeckle grinned as Heckle refrained from giggling. « But daddy and I prefer to know that you are under the supervision of a grown up. »
« Dimwit is resting today but he's at the studio. » SourPuss says. « We can always ask him if he can watch our two lads! »
Aiden and Keffan sulk but, as soon as their parents turn their backs, they look at each other with a small smile and wink at each other. Until now, they didn't know who the baby-sitter was going to be, so being under Dimwit's watch was going to arrange them for their business.
After their children have promised to be obedient and listen to Dimwit, the parents went to work thinking of their children under good supervision... but it without counting on the malice of the chick and the kitten. As soon as their parents leave, the two boys turn to their nanny of the day with a big smile.
« Can we play hide-and-seek, Dimwit? » the Tunman asks, forcing the dog to look down at him.
« Um... » he stutters.
« Please... » Aiden adds, making puppy eyes.
The dog Toon would like to argue... but like the others, he can't resist the eyes of the little magpie.
« Okay ... » he smiled, softened.
« You count! » the kids exclaim in chorus before moving away.
« And count to 100! » Aiden shouts before disappearing down the hall.
Dimwit has a little trouble recording what just happened so quickly (a little too fast for him) then he shrugs and sticks against a wall to start counting.
Keffan and Aiden refrain from giggling before running out of the studios to return to ToonTown. Greeting the Toons they meet, the children go in front of a big house with some parts damaged (by the many missed tests of its owner's bad luck) and where many ACME cases are scattered outside.
« Are you sure he'll get what we're looking for? » Aiden asks.
« Yes. » Keffan says. « I often asked Papa Cat why Wile E. Coyote had such a big house when he was a ''loser''* in his episodes and he told me it was because he was a doctor in Toonology. »
« In too no what? »
« Toonology! Papa Cat told me it was a science that traces the origin of all Toons! Even though it is haunted now, Coyote certainly has a folder with the address of Bendy's studio! »
« Hush! » Aiden grumbles, knowing that if we hear them pronounce this name, everyone will be afraid.
Keffan rolls his eyes, finding ridiculous that his bird friend is so nervous. Bendy was certainly a Devil Toon who turned into a Demon full of ink, but certainly not such a terrifying threat to ToonTown. After the "Roger Rabbit" case, the Toons had seen the worst.
«Well! Do you want your address or not? » The kitten smiled.
Coyote is reading a book (especially looking for a way to use a good gag in his next episode) when someone knocks on the door. Intrigued because he doesn't expect any visit, he puts his book on the table and goes to open the door... to see a small Tunman he has already seen. The little guy smiles, hands behind his back and looks innocent.
« Hello Mr Wile E. Coyote! » he greets innocently.
« Keffan, son of Gandy Goose. » the canine smiled. « What can I do for you? »
« Well... in fact, I was wondering about the TerryToons studios, and as my Papa Cat told me you were an expert in Toonology, I knew it was you I had to look for. »
Coyote raises his eyebrows a bit (especially amused by the nickname that the kitten gives to SourPuss) then he turns to take the folder he has on TerryToons Studios, worrying Keffan for a few seconds. Luckily, the coyote doesn't notice the little magpie who has crept into his house through the back window and returns to the kitten as he flips through the pages.
Aiden sighs as soon as Coyote leaves the room and flies to the folders. All are classified by studios and oldest to newest. The chick goes to the top of the shelves and begins to search the small files (those he can move in one wing) but as none of them mentions Bendy, he settles down and starts to look at the bigger ones.
« Not that one, not that one... » he mumbles, flipping through quickly. « Oh come on! If I have to do all the shelves, I will never get it! »
Suddenly, he sees a folder placed in balance on the others. It isn't very thick but very dusty. As if we had filled this file out of curiosity but that it didn't interest anyone. Aiden casts a quick glance to the door to see if Keffan is still distracting the Looney Tune and flies to the folder. He perches on a bigger one and try to pull it out... but when he manages to release it, the strength is so great that he falls, dropping the two folders with him.
The sudden crash startled the other two Toons (well... the adult Toon and the little half-Toon) and stopped Coyote's explanation.
« What's going on? » he wonders as he starts to turn around to see inside when...
« And the first cartoons of Dad!? » Keffan exclaims, stopping him immediately. « When was the first time it was turned? And Papa Cat, was he always with him? »
« The first episode of Gandy Goose? Wait, I have it here... Oh, that's it! Gandy appeared for the first time in "Gandy The Goose" in March 1938. And for SourPuss, he only appeared in 1939 during the episode "The Owl and the Pussycat" and since then... »
Keffan sighed with relief as he listened to the Looney Tune explaining to him the origins of his parents and discreetly watched over Aiden's research. The young bird shakes his head to chase the stars around and then stands up. Luckily, the folder didn't fell far from him. The little magpie opens it and starts reading the slightly yellowed pages, reading names such as Joey Drew or Boris the Wolf when ...
« Bendy! Yeah! » he exclaims in a low voice.
It's finally the good folder! Smiling, he returns at the beginning and retrieves the information sheet of the studio (where we can read the name of the director(s), its dates of creation and the date of the first cartoon made and shown as well as the exact address.) Aiden catch a notebook under his feathers (thanking the fact that his father taught him to master his hammerspace ability) before copying the address. Once it's done, he puts the paper back in its place, closes the folder and flies out of the window before running to the front steps to get his friend.
« Hello Mr. Coyote! » he greets, tumbling down suddenly. « Keffy! Mighty is been looking for us for 5 minutes! If we don't go back to the studios, he will find us and we will be scolded! » he said with a wink.
« Oh right! Goodbye, Mr. Coyote! » Keffan shouts as he walks away with Aiden. « And thanks again for the info! »
The Looney looks at them, intrigued, ... then he smiles shaking his head. Closing the door, he returns to the living room to store the TerryToons folder ... when he sees two folders on the floor.
« What? So that's what made all this noise? How did that fall anyway? »
He arranges these folders... when he notices the small folder left on the ground. Juste with the name on it, a shiver runs through his body.
« Brr... if it wasn't for science, I would have destroyed this folder a long time ago. » he mumbles, taking it to store it safely at the top of the shelf.
He doesn't think to check if the documents inside are always tidy. This folder gave him too much goosebumps (a shame to have those to the coyote).
A little further, Keffan and Aiden stop.
« So ? Do you have it? » the kitten asks.
« You take me for a beginner, Keffy? Admire the artist! »
The little magpie takes out his notebook and hands it to his friend.
The page looks blank ... but when Aiden tips it, the address magically appears.
« Cool! » the Tunman smiled, admiring the notebook as happy as his friend.
« Uncle Gandy has never done as well as giving me this notebook on my birthday! So, are we going now? »
« Maybe not today! The parents will notice if we're going for a short time and don't come back now. »
« You're right ... » muttered the tooned chick, putting his notebook in his hammerspace. « At day, parents or any Toon could see us… you know what? We're going to convince Mom that you had nightmares on Bendy during a nap! That way, he'll convince your dads that you're still sleeping at home tonight and, as soon as they sleep, we run there. »
« But you're crazy! » the kitten gets upset by chasing a lock of his white hair. « At night, it's even more risky to see a monster! »
« Sissy! » the magpie mocked.
« Hey, I'm not a sissy, bird brain! »
Aiden begins to flap his wings, cackling like a chicken and avoiding the annoying strikes of Keffan's claws.
« Ok ok, stop! » The kitten yells, forcing his friend to stop. « We'll go tonight then. »
The young bird starts to jump of joy, squealing... but the little Tunman has the impression that this is only the beginning of trouble.
Chapter 1 ended :) Here are the searches of Aiden and Keffan to find Bendy's studio. But what will they find there?
Ah! Here are the notifications noted *
2 * Sorcerer of the "Sorcerer's Apprentice" in Fantasia who also appears in "Epic Mickey"
3 * The episodes of Gandy Goose stopped in 1955.
4 * "Loser" in the sense that he can not catch Road Runner
Here! : D see you soon and please don't forget to leave a comment :)