~}i{~
Miraculous Adventure in Joey Drew Studio.
Chapter 3 Pt 1: Rise and Fall of Revelations.
Quick Note: Since it's been a week since revealing their identities to each other, both Marinette and Adrien are kinda/sorta trying to figure out where they want to take their relationship. So they're somewhere between Friendship and Love Crush at the moment.
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A recording started up and the camera used activated. The camera awoke to a bury image before focusing on Max.
Max waved at the camera with his right casted hand when he said, "Greetings, if you just finished watching the last recording on this phone, then you probably have questions as to what had happened between the end of that and this current recording. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch you up on what happened." Max then turns his phone towards the rest of the group. Where Marinette and Adrien were looking over the blueprints they took from Sammy Lawrence's office, trying to figure out what they were designed to make, while Kim was playing cards with Boris the Wolf and Markov. That was when Max said, "As you can see, all of us are fine, except for our ink-stained clothing, and that we have a new member of the team. Say hi to the camera Boris."
Boris looked up from the game and gave Max a wave before turning his attention back to the game.
Max chuckled before he turned the active camera back onto himself when he said, "Boris isn't much of a conversationalist, but he's been a big help to us. He has a lot of supplies here in his safehouse; food, water, duct tape, and a couple of items we can use to help us get out of the Studio. And yes, he is Boris the Wolf from the Bendy Cartoons! I honestly have no logical explanation as to how it is possible that a cartoon character is "Alive" and standing side by side with us, but then again, no one can explain why there are beings of living ink in this studio," Max's expression went serious when he stated, "Now for the major events. I know that this is going to be very hard to believe, but what I'm going to tell you is the truth."
The bi-sceptical teen took a deep breath when before he said, "That man you saw sneaking up behind me at the end of the last recording was Sammy Lawrence, the former Music Director of Joey Drew Studio, alive and well. Or at least he was... He confirmed it himself when Marinette asked his identity when he had us tied up. We don't know how long he was here or why, but he... Seemed to have a lot happen to him since he was reported missing nearly half a century ago. His mental condition seemed to have been greatly compromised during his stay here in this studio."
"Dude went crazy insane, Max. It's fine to just say it," Kim called out from the table. He might not have been shouting, but he was loud enough for his voice to be heard on the recording.
Max sighed, but he didn't have much of a rebuttal to that comment. The techie then said into the video log, "Anyway, Mr Lawrence knocked all of us out and attempted to sacrifice us to the Ink Demon Bendy, like he was some sort of God, in the hopes of being released from his "Imprisonment", whatever he was implying back there."
"He specifically stated before he tried to sacrifice us, and I quote, "This abyss I call a body". Don't ask us what he meant by that, but it seems like he did truly believe that the Ink Demon Bendy would free him," Adrien voiced his thoughts from where he was as he still looked over the blueprints with Marinette.
Max visibly nodded when he said, "That is true. We don't know how Mr Lawrence came to worship the Ink Demon Bendy, but it's clear that we might not have been the first of his "Sacrifices" he has made to the Ink Demon. Given how prepared he was for us..." He then turned the active camera towards Adrien and Marinette, who finally looked up from the blueprints to look at Max.
Marinette's face contorted in a potent grimace when she said, "As much as I don't want to think about it, I know you're right Max. He was a little too prepared for his "Sacrificial Ritual", and that makes me wonder if there are more threats in this place other than Mr Lawrence, the Searchers, and the Ink Demon Bendy."
With a conflicted look on his face, Adrien then added, "On the upside, we don't have to worry about Mr Lawrence trying to sacrifice us again."
Kim looked up at the blonde when he said, "Dude, not sure if that's a good thing, given how he ended up."
Markov then looked at the active camera on Max's phone when he said, "To clarify, the Ink Demon Bendy had gotten to Mr Lawrence and apparently terminated him before we ran into him. Fortunately, we were able to escape Ink Demon Bendy. Also, I would like to inform the camera that it was incredibly lucky that Marinette had her mini-travelling sewing kit in her jacket pocket, which held a pair of sewing scissors that she used to cut her ropes so she was able to break free of the bindings that prevented us from moving freely. If she had not, there is a high probability that we would have been the next victims of the Ink Demon."
Boris tilted his head to the side a bit, indicating that he was confused. But to the camera, it seemed as though he was pondering his next move in the card game.
Max nodded off-camera when he said, "Affirmative, I theorize that it was the fashion designer in her that made her keep that kit in her jacket pocket. Just in case a clothing emergency was to happen. Although, there's nothing in that kit that's going to help us get the ink out of our clothing."
That was when Kim commented, "Max, given how much ink we keep having to walk through in this place, I doubt we'll be able to keep clean even if Mari happens to have some ink removal soap in her kit. Plus, I don't think a travel size container would be enough for all of us." Max replied that the taller had a good point.
Adrien smiled at the camera when he said as he placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder when he said, "As I said before, Marinette is our Everyday Ladybug and now she even comes with her own little Lucky Charm." Marinette tried but failed, to stifle a laugh. Kim and Max chuckled as Markov gave an amused look. Boris just looked confused, not getting the reference.
Max turned the active camera back on himself, showing a small smile on his face. He then looked at the camera when he said, "As much as I would like to keep my camera recording on and document our, uh, I guess we can call this an adventure of some sort of since we didn't exactly intend to come here... *Shakes head*, Anyway, as much as I want to document this whole thing, our phones have limited battery life. I was the only one here who brought a power bank charger, but both Marinette and I brought along a charging cable to plug our phones into a wall socket. Though truth be told, I do have calculated a 76.81% unlikelihood that we will be able to stay safely in one spot long enough to completely charge our phones once we leave Boris' Safehouse. So I, and the others will be making quick status updates during some safe points in our quest to escape this place. Be advised, there might be some time between each of Our Logs since we don't really know if we will have points that will be long enough to record our logs. So, until the next update. Max of Team Psi, signing off."
With that, the recording ended.
Max then looked up at the rest of Team Psi. What wasn't seen on the recording were two Kwamis floating next to Marinette and Adrien. The techie placed his phone in his pocket before he used his left hand to push up his glasses and said, "Alright, we have logged a status update and we gave a valid reason as to why we aren't going to be recording the whole time, we don't have to worry about any of us not being able to talk to Tikki and Plagg during our exploration or worry about accidentally recording Ladybug and Chat Noir on film."
Boris gave a look that said, "Oh, so that what you were doing." The living cartoon character then tilted his head to the side with a look that asked, "Why?"
"Kwamis don't show up on pictures or recordings, so to anyone who would watch a video recording with any of us talking to either Tikki or Plagg, they'll just see us talking to air or think that we're talking to someone off-camera," Adrien explained to the cartoon wolf, making sure that he was understanding what was being said. The blonde then added, "Not to mention, Mari and I are superheroes and if we need to transform into our hero selves and we don't want to get that on film. Since that is supposed to be a secret. *Looks at Kim, Max, and Markov* A secret that doesn't leave this safehouse."
Kim and Max agreed fully to that. Markov already moved the information into a quadruple encrypted file so it couldn't be accessed by an outsider. They weren't going to tell anyone when they get out of here... If they get out of here.
Boris gave a look that said, "Oh," before he gave an understanding nod.
Plagg couldn't help but say, "Yeah, that's pretty much it. But I gotta say, it's kinda nice being able to talk to others directly and not worried about being seen by others."
Tikki rolled her eyes but didn't say anything. While the Kwami of Creation loved her holder and respected the Guardian of the Miraculous, it was kinda nice to be able to talk to others. Tikki can and could talk to the other Kwamis, but it was rare that she was with them and it could leave her holder defenceless to Akuma attacks.
Kim placed his cards face down when he looked at the Kwamis when he said, "I bet. Xuppu mentioned last time I had him that between me and the other Kwamis, he said that I was at least entertainingly competent. I wasn't sure what that meant at the time, but knowing now that the only people that the Kwami interact with are the Guardian, each other, and their respective holders, I think I get what he was talking about now."
Max pushed his glasses up with his left hand when he asked, "Speaking of, could the Guardian use the Horse Miraculous to help us out of here?"
Marinette sighed when she said, "Easier said than done. We don't know where in the studio we are, and Master Fu doesn't know anything about this place. And don't forget, the blueprints in the public archive won't be any help to him if he were to get his hands on them."
Max lowered his eyes when he said, "Right, Mr Drew made too many "off-the-book" constructions to this studio and rendering those blueprints completely useless. Even if Master Fu could get into this place, he would be just as lost as we are..."
Adrien then added, "And, no offence to him, but he's pretty old and I'm not sure he would be able to handle the Searchers or know to run from the Ink Demon Bendy."
Kim grimaced when he said, "An old man lost in this nightmare of a place. That just sounds like a recipe for a heart attack."
Everyone looked at Kim with a raised brow. Well, he wasn't wrong, per se.
~}i{ A Hour Later }i{~
"I cannot believe that we still have to eat that stuff," Adrien said as he slumped in his seat, only somewhat glancing at the blueprint in front of him.
Marinette sighed when she said, "Trust me when I say, I'm not exactly thrilled about it either. Especially when we consider the expiration date on them. But we don't have much of a choice, we need our energy to fight off Searchers and evading the Ink Demon. And before you ask, the macaroons and cheese are for Tikki and Plagg. Just be thankful Tikki was able to purify the stuff enough so we don't get sick." She wasn't exactly thrilled to be eating the bacon soup either, especially ones that are passed their expiration date, but they didn't have much of a choice.
Adrien groan in annoyance when he said, "Good point..." That was when his stomach decided to grumble. The blonde's cheeks turned pink at the sound and causing the bluette to giggle.
Max looked up from the stove, that was currently boiling water for soup in a huge pot, when he stated, "Well, so far we have not been experiencing any side effects of eating expired food thanks to Tikki."
That was when Markov added in, "I believe the best phrase to use for this is "Do not look a gift horse in the mouth", correct?" Max nodded wirily at that.
"Keyword, "Should"... Now I wish that pigtails brought along more than the treats," Plagg said, plopping down on top of the blueprints. Tikki whacked him over the head at that. "Hey! I meant that so these kids don't have to keep risking their stomachs on the bacon soups! Even if you can purifying it enough to keep them safe." the black Kwami explained as he rubbed the spot where the red Kwami hit his head.
Markov looked over at the table Marinette and Adrien sat at as he heard the two Kwami's fight, or at least that's what it sounded like to the AI. He was able to hear the Kwami's voices, but he could not see them. Markov found that out when Max became Pegasus, he could only hear Kaalki but not see her. He didn't mind so much, he can hear them and that was enough for him. Though Markov will admit seeing a floating pair of sewing scissors when they met Tikki and Plagg nearly caused him to crash.
That was when Kim's voice drifted in from the back when he asked, "Hey, Max, will three cans be enough for all of us?"
Max turned to the doorway when he said, "It should. There is a surprisingly big volume of the soup inside those cans."
Kim came in with Boris, both holding cans of the bacon soup. Although, Kim was carrying two cans in his arms while Boris held one can in his hand. It didn't take long to open the cans and dumping the contents into the boiling water.
"Phew! This stuff still has a strong smell," Kim commented as he waved a hand in front of his nose, trying to keep the smell away. Though Boris smiled happily as he breathed in the scent. Kim then took over for Max as he started stirring the soup. Tikki floated over to purify the stuff so it was safe to eat, mostly.
Marinette picked Plagg up off the blueprints and placed him on her shoulder as she looked over the blueprints once again. She sighed when she said, "I still don't understand what this thing is supposed to do." She then looked at the Signed Off section that was initialled by a TC. "Hmm, TC... I wonder if that stands for Tomas Conners... So he did help make this Ink Machine thing..." Marinette mumbled a bit as she looked at the schematics.
Markov flew over to the heroes and scanned the blueprint. He analyzed it before he stated, "It appears as though this is only a section, or part, of a multi-set blueprint. At least, that is the conclusion I am coming to after scanning this blueprint."
Adrien then said with a sympathetic look on his face, "Can't say I'm surprised by that... Let's put this away and eat..." With that Marinette rolled up the blueprint and returned it into Max's pack.
Kim poured everyone a portion of bacon soup and handed out the bowls to each member of the team (Minus Markov, who happily plugged a cord into a wall outlet for some extra juice). The tables were pushed together and then everyone took a seat.
Boris happily chowed down on the soup while the humans reluctantly ate it.
Well... it's not the worst thing they have eaten, even if it was purified... It's palatable, but it wasn't exactly tasty... Urg, it's just for the energy.
Once the food was eaten, everyone got to prepping for when they leave Boris' Safehouse. They gathered ropes, pipes (as weapons), bolts and nuts (for Markov's gun), some medical supplies (in case of emergencies), duct tape, bottles of water and cans of Ready to Eat Bacon Soups (that Boris somehow managed to squirrel away in the safehouse some time ago, and collected water from a pipe that wasn't leaking ink inside the safe house), and a pair of walkie-talkies (that were found in the chest in the back of the safehouse) that Max refurbished with Boris.
They quickly tested the old-fashion devices by having Kim go to the back of the Safehouse while the rest of the group stayed in the main area.
"*Kshz* Can you guys hear me? *Kshz*" Kim's voice came from the walkie-talkie in Adrien's hand.
Adrien hit the Talk button, causing a Kshz sound to emanate, brought the device to his mouth when he said, "Loud and clear, Kim. These things are working perfectly, minus a few statics when the talk button is pressed."
"*Kshz* 10-4, good buddy. I'm coming back *Kshz*." Kim said through the device before the line ended.
Marinette and Adrien smiled as they glanced at Max when the bluette said, "You did well with refurbishing these. I didn't think they'd work after all this time."
Max adjusted his glasses with his left hand when he said, "While some tech is delicate, they are surprisingly durable to the punishments of time. Um, under the right circumstances that it, and fortunately for us, the Walkie-Talkies were among those. Also, I always carry around an extra pack of batteries just in case they are needed."
"Paw-itively lucky for us," Adrien said with a cattish grin. Marinette giggled, but playfully whacked the blonde in the shoulder at the pun. Once Kim returned to the group, they did a quick re-check of the safe house for anything they might need during their quest to leave the studio. Max and Marinette unplugged their now charged phones before they went on their last search of the area.
That was when Adrien came across a dead-ended area with a strange, mismatched human-looking collage made of different paper pieces plastered on one of the walls. "What's this suppose to be?" the blonde wondered out loud. Plagg floated over and analyzed the weird image. Boris walked over to the two and stared almost hypnotically at the image. Adrien noticed and asked the cartoon wolf, "Did you make this?" Boris nods his head. "Why?" Adrien asked in confusion.
The blonde watch Boris' motions. At first, he thought that the wolf was hesitating, but from what Adrien could tell, it seemed like Boris wasn't sure and was trying to remember why... Finally, Boris pointed at the college and then himself.
"The college is of you?" Adrien asked with a raised brow.
Boris thought for a few seconds before he slowly nodded.
Adrien looked at the collage again when he said, "No offence, Boris, but it looks nothing like you. Unless you're going for an abstract piece."
Boris shook his head as he pointed at the college and then himself.
Tikki flew in and asked what was going on. Plagg quickly explained with a shrug. The red Kwami thought about it for a few seconds before she flew over to the college and then looked at Boris. "Hmm," Tikki vocalized before she floated to Boris and asked, "Would it be alright if I look at our soul aura?"
Boris tilted his head to the side before Tikki explain that because she is the Kwami of Creation, she was able to look at the souls of living things. Once Boris heard that he nodded in agreement. Tikki floated up to Boris' forehead, pressed her stubby hands on it, and closed her eyes. The cartoon wolf closed his eyes, completely at ease at the small Kwami's touch.
Images of Boris' life flashed through Tikki's mind. One strong flash was a human being submerged in ink and then the next thing the image showed was the reaction to realizing that the human turned into a toon.
Tikki gasped as her eyeshot opened and pulled away from the cartoon wolf in shock. Boris opened his eyes, a little confused by what had just happened. "Oh, you poor thing..." Tikki said, antenna drooping as she gently patted the cartoon wolf's snout.
"Hey, Sugarcube, what did you see?" Plagg asked in concern. Adrien was a bit confused by this.
That was when Tikki bolted out of the end. Adrien glanced at Plagg, who replied in a worried tone, "She must've seen SOMETHING bad if she didn't notice that I called her Sugarcube..."
"I take it she doesn't like that nickname all that much?" Adrien guessed. Plagg replied with a 'Yup' before he, the blonde, and cartoon wolf followed the red Kwami.
"Tikki, what's wrong?" Marinette asked the red Kwami curiously as Kim stuffed a water bottle in s makeshift pack. Max and Markov were nearby, with the bi-sceptical teen wearing his pack on his back and the AI was doing an ammunition check. Tikki floated nervously in front of her chosen as Adrien, Plagg, and Boris rejoined the group.
Now worried, Marinette cupped her hands under the red Kwami and brought them up until Tikki was sitting in her hands when she repeated, "Tikki, what's wrong? Do you sense the Ink Demon nearby? Should we postpone leaving?"
Tikki shook her head, antenna still drooped, before she finally said, "The ink is more complex than Plagg and I originally thought..."
The teens now had a concerned look on their faces when Marinette asked, "What do you mean? And how complex are we talking?"
Tikki glanced at Boris before she said hesitantly, "I know... What happened to some of the former employees of Joey Drew Studio... It's... Not going to be good news to hear..."
"Tikki..." was all Marinette got out.
Tikki took a deep breath before she said, "Boris... Was one of those employees... And I think... We've met the others..."
Kim raised a brow when he said, "Yeah, we met Mr Lawrence... Wait, hold on! Boris was a human?" He looked at a confused Boris, who only gave a short shrugged because even he wasn't sure.
It took a few seconds for the teens and AI to understand what the Kwami of Creation was saying... And it was a revelation that caused any mood they were already in to become filled with a feeling that they never thought that they would experience.
"Oh, Kwami... Are you saying!..." Marinette got in pure shock, her face paled and her eyes went wide. The others did the same thing, all completely shocked at this revelation. Luckily, Markov was hovering over one of the tables, because he ended up crashing over this new, horrible information. The poor AI was now having trouble with activating his troubleshooting...
Adrien gulped when he stuttered out, "Y-y-you m-m-mean... That we... That we! Oh, Kwami!" His hands shot to his mouth in complete disbelief, now the horrible realization sinking in. One of his worst fears has come true, but it wasn't because of Chat Noir's Cataclysms. Now Adrien felt like he was going to throw up.
Max was visibly shaking when he stuttered out, "Th-th-the S-S-Searcher! Th-th-they w-w-were! Th-they w-were!" He wrapped his arms around himself to try to calm himself down but was failing.
Kim wrapped his arms around the shorter, quivering teen to calm him down. He swore something quite colourful in Vietnamese under his breath. The tall teen tried to focus on calming the shorter down, more so because he didn't want to think about what they just learned, but it wasn't working on both.
"Sugercube..." Plagg said, not liking what he heard, before he said in an uncharacteristically fearful tone, "Are you saying that the Ink Creatures that we've been defending ourselves from ARE the missing Studio Employees?!"
Tikki glanced at the black Kwami when she said, "Not all of them... I'm just speculating on this, but I also think we've met the other unfortunate individuals who were unlucky enough to end up in this studio. I... I don't know how it happened, but... That's the truth, as horrible as it is..."
With that Adrien bolted towards the loo so he could puke his guts out while the other teens sank to the ground in the realization of real cost their adventure inside this hellhole.
The whole time... The whole time they've been in this place... All the Searchers they've faced... Even the one they had to flatten down in the sewer... Those Searchers... They were... They were once...
The sounds of a toilet flushing broke everyone's thoughts. It was a welcome thing if they were being honest.
In the loo, Adrien shakily washed his hands at the sink. The faucet was one of the few pipes in this place that had water instead of ink, but the water wasn't for drinking. Adrien cupped his hands under the running water before he splashed it onto his face. He did this a few times before he felt just a little bit better. He then looked at the broken mirror that couldn't even reflect anything. With a sad look on his face, Adrien placed a hand on an unbroken section of the surface and mumbled to himself, "Did Boris break this because he didn't see his true reflection looking back at him or because he didn't know who he was anymore?"
That was one question Adrien didn't want an answer to if he was honest with himself...
A few seconds later, Adrien left the restroom. He reunited with his friends, everyone calmed down a bit from the revelation. The Kwamis and Boris helped and Markov finally rebooted. The cartoon wolf played an upbeat silly song on the banjo, more to help the teens to smile and relax than anything.
Tikki assured the group that they only acted out of self-defence and that there was no choice. Plagg did put in that they didn't know what the Searchers really were, and he got whacking in the head by Tikki for that.
The group decided that it would be best to wait a bit longer before they leave the Safe House.
~}i{ Hours Later, 02:22. Césaire Household }i{~
Nora Césaire awoke with a jolt.
The eldest Césaire child rubbed her face as she wondered why she was awake. She took a deep breath before she settled on getting a drink of water before she tried going back to sleep. Nora tossed her bed covers off, slipped her feet into her spider-themed slippers, stood up, and then quietly walked out of her room.
As Nora made her way to the kitchen, she heard scuffling noises coming from her destination. 'A burglar!' Nora thought as she immediately clenched her hands into fists as she tiptoed to the wall before she walked against the wall until she got to the doorframe, eyes completely adjusted to the darkness. Nora took a soft deep breath when she thought, 'This guy's gonna be sorry he ever tried to break into the house of Anansi.' She peaked into the kitchen, to size up whoever had the gust to sneak into HER house.
But who she saw wasn't a burglar. It was Alya!
Nora immediately relaxed when she saw her middle sister, relieved that it wasn't a burglar. 'She must be here for a midnight snack,' the eldest Césaire thought with a small smile as she watched Alya open a cupboard and take out a box of fruit gummies. Nora rolled her eyes as she shook her head, just amused that she was right.
Nora was about to walk into the kitchen when she saw Alya stuff the box into a large camping pack. The boxer paused at this and stayed by the doorway.
Why did her middle sister need that pack if she was just getting a snack?
Nora stayed out of Alya's line of sight as she watched the former blogger gathered more of the ready-to-eat stuff that was sealed inside something to keep it fresh and shove them in that camping pack. 'Why is she doing that?' Nora wondered as she continued to watch her middle sister open the refrigerator and gathered the water bottles inside before shoving those into the pack. Thanks to the fridge light, Nora could see the look on Alya's face. The middle Césaire daughter looked determined.
Something wasn't right here...
Nora quickly went through the reasons for Alya to be packing food and water in a camping pack. 95% of those reasons made no sense to be packing at this hour, but the remaining 5% did, and Nora didn't like it.
Alya closed the fridge door softly. That was when the kitchen was suddenly flooded with light, causing the girl's heart to jump into her throat.
"Alya, mind explaining what your packing for at this hour?" Nora said sternly with her arms folded in front of her chest while giving her middle sister a stern look as Alya's head snapped towards her in shock. The eldest Césaire child narrowed her eyes when she asked in a stern ton, "Alya, were you planning on going to that studio to try to save your classmates?"
Alya was too quiet at this as she avoided eye contact with her older sister.
Nora sighed as she rubbed her temples when she asked sternly, "Alya, did you even think about how our parents would react to this? Me? Or even the twins?" Again Alya was too quiet at this.
Nora placed her hands on her hips when she stated sternly, "It was this exact behaviour from you that got you in trouble in the first place!" The eldest sister might as well tell the second eldest the cold facts as she continued, "You jump on an idea or plan and don't think about the consequences or if there are alternatives! That was how that lying brat played you like a fiddle! You jumped on her tales and believed them without bothering to double-check anything she said! You didn't stop to think how strange it was when Lila told you to give the "Slightly Modified Maps from the Student Council" to Marinette, Max, and Kim when you haven't heard anything from other students about the "new maps"? No, you didn't! You should have asked the other students if they got "new maps" too, or ask your Class President, or even compared it to your own map just to see how much of a difference there was! But, no, you didn't! And how could you forget that Marinette was your Class President or on the Student Council? I'm pretty sure she would've made a class announcement if that was true. Heck, you were practically on friendly terms with Bug-Girl and Kitty-Boy, did you even think to check with either of them after you recorded that first interview with that Liar? No, you didn't!"
Nora took a deep breath before the then said, "Alya, did you really think we wouldn't notice you missing if you'd gone through with this little "rescue mission" of yours? Or that we didn't care what would happen to you?" Nora placed a hand on Alya's shoulder when she said, "Did you even know about the monsters that were lurking in that studio? Stuff that you have no means from defending yourself from?"
"What about Kim, Adrien, Max, Marinette, and Markov?!" Alya practically shouted before the said, "They're trapped there without any means to contact anyone or defend themselves from those things! And like you said... It's my fault that they're in there..."
That was when Nora stated, "I never said that, I said that you should've double-checked those maps before you put them in their bags. You're just as much a victim in this whole thing as they are, it's just you aren't the ones trapped in that place. You were manipulated and used by that liar. She is one you really should blame for this whole thing... And I'm not going to lie, I wish you saw that earlier..."
Alya broke out in tears when she got out, "I w-w-wish I had listened to them about Lila!"
Nora hugged her crying sister close as their parents walked into the kitchen, they heard the commotion from their room and came to investigate. The older Césaires knew they needed to do something to help their middle daughter heal.
~}i{ Inside Joey Drew Studio, 06:29 }i{~
"Psst! Psst! Max! Markov! Wake up!" Kim whispered excitedly as he mildly shook the glasses-wearing teen sluggishly awake.
Groggily, Max replied, "What Kim?" He bearly had an eye open as he saw a blurry image of his friend trying to wake him as Markov started his booting-up sequence.
Max could hear Kim whisper excitedly, "Get up! you got to see this for yourself! I already took a souvenir picture!"
Max let out a groggy groan as he reached his left hand out onto the makeshift nightstand to grab his glasses. He let out a yawn as he put his glasses on before saying, "What's got you so excited at... *Check's phone for time* 6:30 in the morning?"
Now Markov completely booted up and was hovering nearby.
Kim motioned for the dark-skinned and AI to follow when he said in a hushed tone, "You just gotta see this! Quickly! Before they wake up!"
Max yawned again as he stood up from his makeshift bed and followed the taller teen, closely followed by Markov. They gathered at another area as a sleepy Max asked, "Kim, can you please-" but he was cut off by Kim shushing him. The taller teen then pointed inside the room with a wide grin on his face. Confused, Max glance inside the room with Markov. What they saw made the two both smile and stifled a snicker.
Kim folded his arms in amusement when he said softly with a cocky smirk, "You might want to snap a picture of your own. Before they wake up."
Max already had his phone out and snapped a picture of the scene in the room as Markov stated in a soft tone, "How adorable." Max couldn't help but agree with the AI.
Inside the room was a rather sweet but funny sight for the trio in the doorway. Marinette and Adrien were still asleep, and peacefully at that, but what made the scene just priceless was the fact that they were cuddled up next to each other, facing each other. The bluette on the left and the blonde on the right. Marinette's right arm was draped carelessly over Adrien's side as the blonde's left arm looked like it was moved over the bluette's right shoulder as he slept. Marinette shifted a bit as she still slumbered, snuggling closer to Adrien, who in turn did the same thing as he continued to sleep.
Kim snapped another picture when he whispered to Max and Markov, "Aw man, this would be perfect for blackmail."
"Kim," Max scolded seriously but failed because he was still smiling over the moment.
Kim chuckled when he said, "Nothing big, an extra macaroon from her and maybe getting him to do an easy dare."
Max couldn't help but chuckle as Markov recorded the sleeping heroes.
Due to the hushed noise, Adrien sturred a bit before he moved, without opening his eyes. He looked up towards the doorway, opened his tired eyes, and asked, "What's going on?"
Kim snickered when he said, "Oh, nothing too big, cuddle kitty."
Adrien frowned when he said, "Ug, that just didn't sound right when you say it." Max tried to cover his chuckle with his hand at this as Kim smirked as he folded his arms in front of his chest.
"What's going on?" Marinette grumbled groggily, eyes still closed.
Adrien's head shot down at Marinette, who slowly opened her eyes and was now looking up at the blonde. The bluette's eyes shot opened when she realized who she was looking at and where she was. The two heroes stared at each other as their cheeks turn bright red before they shouted and lept away from each other. It didn't even take a second until both were on the hardwood floor.
This action caused Kim and Max to burst out in laughter, much to the dismay of the two heroes. The noise woke the Kwami's up and Boris joined the group a few seconds later. It wasn't that embarrassing for Marinette and Adrien until Markov stated that he had recorded their reactions. While Max did explain to Markov that that was a little too much, he did whisper to the AI to hid the recording.
After the embarrassment wore off and making sure that their phones and the Walkie-Talkies were charged and that their food supplies were sufficient (ie, making sure that there were enough macaroons for Tikki and camembert for Plagg, which there was for a couple of Special Abilities so those were for emergencies only), Team Psi got ready to leave the Safe House. Boris pulled a toolbox out from under one of the tables and opened it. Besides tools, there was the lever needed to open the main door to the safe house. Marinette took the lever and re-attached it to the mechanism to open the door.
The bluette glanced at the rest of her team when she said, "Grab a weapon, we don't know what we'll run into once we leave. Also, we might not be able to return either."
They all nodded when Adrien said, "Maybe you and I should transform. You know, just in case."
Marinette thought about that for a bit. They knew for sure that the Ink Demon was their biggest threat and that the Searchers could be handled with a quick hit to the head. The bluette shuttered at the memory of learning that those Searchers were once humans, once had lives of their own... But she also knew that there so many things inside this studio that they were unaware of... Too many potential threats...
Finally, Marinette gave her answer, "You have a point, Chaton. And I don't think we should take any chances on from here on out. Besides, we don't need to hide our identities anymore, well in this studio at least." Adrien agreed with that.
Boris looked confused as Max, Kim, and Markov looked excited to witness the transformation of Ladybug and Chat Noir.
"Tikki! Spots on!" Marinette said to her Kwami.
"Plagg! Claws Out!" Adrien said to his Kwami.
Tikki was pulled into the earrings while Plagg was pulled into the white ring. In a flash of light, Marinette became Ladybug and Adrien became Chat Noir.
"So Cool!" Kim and Max said in unison with utter joy. Both their eyes were full of sparkling wonder. Markov's eyes were now in the shapes of stars, to show his enthusiasm. Boris, on the other hand, blinked in confusion at the sight, but he then smiled and gave the heroes a cheerful thumbs-up.
Kim and Max quickly grabbed a pipe each, ready for action.
Ladybug pulled the lever, causing the metal door to slide open. Team Psi cautiously trooped out. During this, Chat Noir said, "Alright, let's see what's out there. *Looks over at Boris*. Don't wander off." Boris replies with a nod. The door behind them slid close with a metallic creak.
The first thing they saw were best described as vending machines that dispensed hot and cold cans of bacon soup, three of them. Kim knocked on one before he asked, "Did Mr Drew have some kind of deal with the company that made those canned soup or did he just love the stuff so much that he assumed that everyone else does too?" Everyone just shrugged at the question, after all, they've never met the guy or know what he likes, so they really wouldn't know. Or what the strange fascination with the bacon soup brand was all about.
But that wasn't a priority, so they moved on.
They walked down a short corridor and came upon a wooden station with a blackboard nailed on the top that read "Little Miracle Station" with a white halo over the words Little Miracle, a wooden door with a rectangle cut out at eye level and a black oval painted on the front of it. A wooden box next to the station with another Audio Log on top of it.
"What the heck is this?" Ladybug asked as she opened the door of the station. There seemed to be more than enough room for one person and could probably fit two, but there won't be any wiggle room if two people were inside it at the same time. The red hero tested the hinges before closing the station, the door was able to be kept shut even without the use of locks or magnets.
Max tucked the pipe under his right arm and used his left hand to push his glasses up when he read the sign above out loud, "Little Miracle Station? They look like they've been here a while, but they don't exactly look secure enough to keep anything inside." Markov agreed with that statement.
"There's got to be a reason for it though..." Chat stated before he noticed the Audio Log. That was when the black cat hero said, "Maybe this will tell us."
The moment the play button was hit, a man's voice emitted from the device when he said, "I leave this message for whoever is lucky enough to survive this hell. Hopefully, you'll use the information that I'm going to give you and make sure you remember it well. I'm pretty sure that I don't have to tell you about the Ink Demon and those other monsters, but keep in mind that the Ink Demon cannot be killed, no matter what you do... *Sigh* Trust me I've tried enough times to know... But when you find yourself in a spot where you can't escape, look for these Little Miricle Stations. I know this might sound unrealistic, but once you enter one of them, all the monsters just suddenly forget that they were chasing you or lose interest and they don't even acknowledge you if you're in them, even that Ink Demon. I don't know how or why it is possible, but that's not important. What's important is to keep note of where these Little Miricle Stations are located where ever you go, they'll save you from those ink monsters. Just stay inside them until the monsters are out of range. Please, take this advice seriously. Sincerely, Thomas Astruc (1)." With that, the Audio Log ended with a click.
Team Psi looked at each other before they looked at the wooden station. Could these dinky Little Miricle Stations really protect them from the Ink Demon?
Max rewound the Audio Log before he took out his phone and opened the Audio Recorder app. he hit the record button before he pressed the play button on the Audio Log, playing the voice again.
Once the Audio Log ended a second time, and Max hit the Stop button, Kim asked the shorter teen, "Why'd you do that?"
Max tucked his phone back into his pocket when he said, "I figure I keep a record of all the Audio Logs we find. I already edited the ones we already listened to so they're audio-only, and labelled them accordingly. Just in case we might need the data at a later date, and so we can bring them to the police once we're out. Also... This Audio Log had something weird..."
That was when Ladybug asked, "What do you mean?"
Max gave his teammates a worried look when he said, "Mr Astruc implied that he tried to kill the Ink Demon several times and all of those attempts ended in failure... Well, I doubt that the Ink Demon would just sit back and let him do it and not retaliate, so... How'd he managed to do so and get away alive long enough to make this Audio Log?"
The team glance at each other with an uneasy look. That was certainly a good question... An uneasily good question...
"Damn," Kim got out before he said, "It's like we're getting answers to stuff we don't wanna know but not on the stuff we need to know... Urg, I got a bad feeling that we're going to learn more crap that's going to make our guts churn again..." No one could debunk that theory, in all honesty.
Boris placed a comforting hand on the teens' shoulders, one at a time, trying to bring their spirits up a bit.
Ladybug smiled when she said, "Thanks Buddy, we needed that." Boris smiled in return. And with that their quest continued.
As they walked, Kim couldn't help but ask, "Come to think of it... Does the name Thomas Astruc sound familiar to you guys? Because I sware I've heard it before..."
Markov responded with, "He was one of the individuals reported missing, three days after entering the studio based on the report. According to data gathered, he was a writer on a show and thought coming here would give him ideas for a Halloween Special episode."
"Is the show he wrote for any good?" Chat asked curiously.
Markov scanned the data before saying, "According to the fan reviews, the first and second season of the show got satisfactory, but the third season seemed to have been unorganized, contradictory and undoing a lot of character development. A season four is currently in the works, fans are hoping that it will be as good as the first two seasons and not bad like the third season. (2)"
"Eesh, no wonder he wanted to get inspiration," Ladybug stated with a small wince, before she added, "But if he chose this place as inspiration, then he might have lost his writing mojo. He should've picked the catacombs, those would've been a better place to get inspiration and he would've returned to his loved ones and not have to worry about the threats here..."
Everyone agreed on that.
It didn't take long for Team Psi to come to a room with a work desk, wooden shelf with empty spaces, and a doorway leading to a pitch-black corridor.
"Looks like it's really dark up ahead," Chat Noir said commented suspiciously as he looked through the doorway. He had Night Vision, so he was able to see in the dark. But what he wanted to know was why this particular hallway had no light when everywhere else did.
"Let's see if we can find some light," Ladybug said as she looked around for something to use. That was when her eyes landed on an old-fashion torch.
Kim couldn't help but comment, "That's convenient," before he picked up the device and turned it on. He aimed the beam of light into the darkness, revealing the path they needed to take. Markov used his built-in headlight (that Max installed just in case of a power outage), to add more light on their path.
The group walked into the dark corridor, using the device and AI to light the way. That was when Markov noticed the cartoon wolf cowering a bit. The AI then stated, "Don't be scared, Boris. I'll keep the light near you so you don't get lost," before flying over to the cartoon wolf. With that, the group continued, making sure to keep together and the light in front of them. Ink dripped steadily from the ceiling in a few places and they passed by all sorts of machinery and a few empty shelves, one shelf did have a few cans of bacon soup, but nothing too maj-.
That was when there was a sudden noise echoing off the ceiling, causing everyone to halt in their tracks.
"Did anyone hear that?" Ladybug asked as she glanced at her friends before taking the torch to aim the beam around them. Boris looked around nervously as Kim shook his head. Max moved closer to the taller teen as Markov looked around.
Chat was the one to say, "Yeah. Me neither." More so to lighten the mood a bit... Wasn't working to well, to be honest.
Markov was confused by the statement, but Max explained that the black cat hero was trying to make a joke before they continued on their trek. They moved a bit more cautiously this time.
Soon, they came out of the darkness but were met with a dead end. A pair of metal doors sealed firmly shut.
Max tucked the pipe under his right arm and used his left hand to push his glasses up when he said, "Another dead end. *Glances around the area*. I don't see any other way through."
"Please don't say dead," Kim said with a grimace on his face. That was when the taller teen noticed that Boris walked over to an air vent. Kim then asked, "You got any ideas, Boris?"
Boris looked at the torch before he held out his hand for it.
Ladybug glanced at the device, then the metal doors, and then looked at Boris when she asked, "Do you need to use this to get the door to open?" Boris nodded. The red hero handed the torch over to the wolf when she said, "Good luck, Buddy."
Boris nodded before he opened the vent, turned the torch on, opened the vent and then crawled into it. A couple of seconds later, the metal doors opened with a shaky, metallic groan.
"Boris did it!" Markov said happily, turning off the headlights when more light came in through the now open door.
Max walked over to the vent and called into it, "Boris, you can come out now. We can keep moving."
A tapping noise was then heard coming from the vent.
Chat immediately recognized the rhythm of the tapping and went to translate, "The... Open-ing... Mech-ani-sim... Is Man-ual... He needs... To keep... In place... To keep... The door... Open... So he... Needs to... Find... Ano-ther... Way... To get... Back... To us... After... The doors... Close... So he'll... Meet up... With us... At a... Diff-rent... Lo-ca-tion..." The tapping then stopped and Chat asked into the vent, "Did I get the translation right?" There was a quick series of patterned taps, answering the blonde's question. Chat smiled when he told the rest of the team, "Boris said that I got it right."
Ladybug then said into the vent, "Are you sure about that? There's no way for you to come back while keeping the doors open?" A series of taps were heard. Chat quickly translated the morse code, saying that Boris was reluctantly sure. The red hero frowned at that response. She didn't want to leave any member of her team behind... Finally, Ladybug said into the vent in an uneasy tone, "Alright, find a way out and we'll try to meet up with you at a different location, but be careful. Okay, Buddy?"
A confirmation tap was heard before the team reluctantly continued on their quest. They didn't want to leave their teammate behind, but it didn't seem like they had much of a choice... When they walked passed the doorway, the doors slid close with a metallic groan... How comforting...
As they walked down the new corridor, Chat Noir asked his partner, "Mind if I ask why you keep calling Brois 'Buddy', M'Lady?"
Ladybug amusingly rolled her eyes when she retorted, "You asked anyway, Chaton. But if I'm being honest with myself, I don't know why I'm calling him Buddy... Maybe... Maybe it's Tikki... She saw his soul and I guess that maybe she picked up on a word that he either liked a lot or something like that." That's something that they'll have to ask Tikki during a safe point or a recharge. Either or, but preferably the former.
It didn't take them long before they came to a fork in the corridor. On the wall that causes the split was a worn image of Cartoon Bendy's face. The group looked at each of the paths, and it seems like they just go into the same area. Why Joey Drew used a wall instead of using pillars so it wouldn't look so weird was something the teams' comprehension. So they picked a path and walked into a Massive area that was taken up by a literal toy factory. There were a few wooded railings to probably to control traffic, a few comfortable couches on opposite sides of the lower level, a Miracle Station at the wall that caused the split in the road, a looming waterfall of ink that seemed to start under a sign that read "Heavenly Toys" and a smaller sign that said "Joey Drew Studios", several cardboard cutouts of Cartoon Bendy scattered about, and a few giant plushies of the Bendy Characters were placed in random locations. A big Bendy plushie sat on top of the edge of the inkfall and a giant Boris plushie was prompt against the same base but on the other side. A few puddles of bubbling ink pooled in the area.
"Wow, I don't remember any of this being in the blueprints," Chat Noir commented as he and the rest of the team took in the area.
That was when Markov stated, "I believe we agreed to disregard the blueprints we used for our Haunted House, due to Mr Drew making far too many "Off the Book" constructions."
Max tucked the pipe under his right arm and used his left hand to push his glasses up when he said, "True, but it's still possible that we might be subconsciously comparing all new areas to those blueprints, even if we aren't meaning to."
Kim looked around at the grandiose ceiling when he said, "This must have cost a lot to build, especially underground. Wait... Why'd Mr Drew build this underground?"
That was when Chat suggested, "Maybe it's the same reason why he had those Bendy Statues built inside the studio." But it was easy to tell that even he wasn't sure about what he had said.
Max let out an exasperated sigh when he stated, "It just seems like this place is chock-full of weird stuff that raises a lot of questions... I just wish we'd get the answers we need and get out of here."
That was when Markov finally asked, "But what about Boris? According to the collected data, none of the Ink Creatures can leave the studio. And as friendly and caring as Boris is, he is an Ink Creature."
Chat Noir immediately replied, "We're not leaving Boris behind! He's already been through enough in this place! More than us, that's for sure!"
Kim was the one to ask, "But, how can we bring him with us? Trust me, I want Boris to come along with us out of this place, but how can we if none of the Ink Creatures can leave?"
Ladybug held up her yoyo when she said, "I think that I can purify the corruption of the Ink and hopefully that will allow Boris to leave this place with us." She'll just have to ask Tikki about it, but she was Ladybug! She could do it! She will do it!
The rest of Team Psi settled on that. They might've only known Boris for a week, but there was no way in hell they were leaving the cartoon wolf behind. Especially in a place like this.
So Team Psi continued. They trooped up the stairs and passed an old-style punch-in clock and a power switch before they walked through a doorway leading into some kind of toy workshop with a toy-making machine. Once they walked in, they heard the faint sounds of humming. Not the kind of humming from a machine, but from a person, maybe a woman because of the tone.
Markov commented that the toy-making machine looked to be in surprisingly good condition, considering the environment. Max couldn't help but agree, tucked the pipe under his right arm, and used his phone to quickly snap a picture of the machine.
Ladybug spotted a door behind a wooden shelf full of plushies of Cartoon Bendy, Alice Angel, and Boris. She let out an exaggerated sigh when she asked no one in particular, "Why is there always something blocking the door?" She then looked over the shelf when she added, "There's gotta be a way through!" That was when she spotted the indent in the wall next to the block off the door.
In the indent was a workbench with an Audio Log on top and prompted against the wall. A Bendy plushie covered in cobwebs. A book that looked so old that it might fall apart when touched. A burnt-out candle. A dish of ink that was in the shape of Cartoon Bendy. And a wastebasket underneath.
"What's this?" Kim asked when he saw the strange figure on the desk. He poked it, then it suddenly turned into a Boris shape. "Huh?" was all Kim got out when he saw this before poking the ink blob again. It quickly morphed into a skull before turning into a figure of Alice Angel.
"How weird," Chat Noir commented before he poked the ink blob. This time it morphed into the machine in the blueprints. "Okay, now that's just bizarre," The black cat hero stated before he finally noticed the Audio Log. He picked it up and read the name on the label. "Shawn Flynn. Wonder what he did here?"
Max quickly switched to the recorder app, ready to use.
With that Chat Noir placed the Audio Log back on the table and hit play. The voice of a man with a relatively thick Irish accent emitted from the device when he said, "I don't be seein' what the big deal is. So what if I went and painted some of those Bendy dolls with a crooked smile? That's sure no reason for Mister Drew to be flyin' off the handle at me. And if he really wants to be helpful, he could be tellin' me what to be doin' with this warehouse I got full of that angel whatchamacallit. Not a scrap of that mess be a-sellin'! Probably have to melt it all down just to be rid of it all." With that, the Log ended with a click.
Max stopped his recording and quickly typed the name of the person who made the log and where it was found. As he did, he made the comment, "This Shawn Flynn sounds a lot like Jacksepticeye (3)."
"Jack-who-di-kai?" Chat Noir asked cluelessly.
Max rolled his eyes in amusement when he explained, "Jacksepticeye is a gamer I follow. He's fun."
"And Irish," Kim added with a goofy grin, causing Max to chuckle.
Chat Noir let out a, "Huh, I guess it was the accent that reminded you of Jack-dip-kai."
Ladybug giggled when she said, "It's Jack-sep-tic-eye, Chaton."
Chat gave his partner a grin when he said, "Claws enough."
Ladybug rolled her eyes in amusement at this before she said, "But... Judging from what Mr Flynn said, he must've been a toy-maker or was in charge of the whole toy-making operation here."
Max put his phone back into his pocket when he said, "I'm pretty sure he had this toy workshop to capitalize on merchandising of his cartoons... But it seems like the toys weren't selling as much as Mr Drew would've liked... Perhaps Mr Drew was trying to grow his studio too quickly..."
Ladybug placed a hand to her chin when she said, "That's certainly a possibility and the most likely one too... But it still doesn't explain where all this ink and the Ink Creatures come into play in this... I mean, it couldn't have come out of nowhere."
That seems to be the reoccurring question...
But they had a task at hand, so they focused on moving the shelf that was blocking the door. Cataclysm was on the table, but only if there was no other way. Team Psi looked over the Toy-Making Room when they did they realized that the shelves were connected to the toy machine. Both Max and Markov commented about the impracticality of the whole setup, to which the rest of the team agreed. That was when they realized that they needed to turn the machine on to move the shelves.
Ladybug followed the power cables and saw from the doorway where the power switch they needed was (just pass the punch-in clock). She used her yoyo to flip the switch from the doorway, to move things along faster. The red hero quickly returned to her friends as they flipped the switch to turn the toy-making machine on, or tried too.
The switch was stuck.
That was when Markov noticed that some of the main mechanisms had toys jammed into them, thus preventing them from working. So the team got to yanking the toys out and allowing the mechanisms to function properly.
Now they turned the machine on, and the shelf slid to the side and allowing them access to the door.
"Stay close, we don't know what's on the other side," Ladybug said seriously as she took the lead. As much as Chat Noir wanted to lighten the mood, he knew that now wasn't a good time to crack a joke or pun. Kim, Max, and Markov kept close to the heroes, readying their pipes just in case something were to happen.
With that, Ladybug opened the door.
~}i{ Outside the Studio. 15:45, Césaire Household }i{~
Alya was just sitting in her room. On her bed, just staring at the ceiling with her phone in hand.
She came home right after Collège Françoise Dupont let out. She didn't feel like doing anything else besides wallowing.
Even though her older sister and parents tried to assure her that she was just as much a victim in this, Alya still felt responsible for everything. Even though her classmates told her that they'll still be there for her, even if it might take a while before they're friends again, Alya still felt guilty for not trusting them enough. Even though the teachers and Team Psi's families telling her that they'll forgive her if she puts the effort in to earn that forgiveness, Alya still felt like they were going easy on her.
The guilt, the despair, the anguish. It all just festered inside of Alya.
So much that she didn't even notice a blacken butterfly fluttering into her room from the window. It landed on her phone and sank into it, turning it black.
A purple outline of a moth appeared over Alya's eyes when she heard a voice say, "Hello, Lady Wifi."
~}i{~
To be continued in Chapter 3 Pt 2: Rise and Fall of Analyst.
~}i{~
1) This isn't an Audio Log in the Bendy & the Ink Machine game, but from the teens and AI's povs these Little Miracle Stations don't look like they WOULD keep any of the Ink Creatures away and I had to add Someone to explain to Team Psi what the Little Miracle Stations actually do. So I figured I use this guy.
2) What? I couldn't resist. But I'm sure everyone can agree on what Markov said about the seasons.
3) I most certainly could not resist having the gamer commenting on Shawn Flynn's Voice Actor, Jacksepticeye. He's a Gaming Youtuber (who does have an Irish accent). He's pretty famous in that community, so of course, the gamer of the team would know him, lol.
~}i{~
Gale-Dragon: Yup, I'm splitting Chapter 3 into multiple parts.
~}i{~