Miraculous Adventure in Joey Drew Studio

by Gale-Dragon

It was just supposed to be a fun Halloween event. All they were going to be doing was going through each class's Haunted House. The only condition made was that they never go to the original location of that studio. But thanks to Lila, they were in Joey Drew Studio. Now Mariette, Max, Adrien, Kim, and Markov must survive the studio and escape, all without blowing their identities.

11. Chapter 4 Pt 1

~}i{~

Miraculous Adventure in Joey Drew Studio.

Chapter 4 pt 1: Colossal Wonders of Visions.

~}i{~

The voices were just swimming around in the air. It was chaotic yet soothing at the same time. When one voice ended another started, like some kind of loop.

Marinette's Voice: "The sound effects are perfectly timed."

Kim's Voice: "Remember, right now we're brave adventures exploring Joey Drew Studio."

Adrien's Voice: "Wow, I think we did too good a job at this."

Markov's Voice: "Is there a possibility that one of the other classmates wrote this?"

Max's Voice: "Maybe one of the workers wanted to add a little flare?"

Kim's Voice: "Gah! What the hell is all this ink doing here?"

Adrien's Voice: "Looks like this is the only path we can use."

Marinette's Voice: "Urg, I sympathies with whoever wrote that."

Tikki's Voice: "Normally, I would suggest that we go to the guardian, but that will leave our holders defenceless from whatever vile threats that are here. Also..."

Markov's Voice: "Inquiry, did you guys also see weird images of a strange machine, that Bendy Ink Demon, and a circle with ten pillars of lights?"

Marinette's Voice: "Something about this place... Just seems off..."

Kim's Voice: "Looks like backtracking is no longer an option."

Adrien's Voice: "Let's not go overboard with the shooting, okay Markov."

Adrien's Voice: "I wonder who the "He" in that sentence is referring to?"

Sammy's Voice: "Can I get an amen?"

Max's Voice: "Y-you guys d-don't need me to t-tell you that THAT c-couldn't be a hallucination, especially since we all saw him."

Markov's Voice: "It seems like Kim's hypothesis is indeed correct."

Plagg's Voice: "Hey! That's not always true! Besides, this place is putting me on edge. ME! The laidback Kwami of Destruction! That alone should be telling."

Sammy's Voice: "But the believers must honour their savour."

Sammy's Voice: "Wait! You look familiar to me..."

Sammy's Voice: "He will set us free."

Marinette's Voice: "Tikki, what's wrong?"

Tikki's Voice: "The ink is more complex than Plagg and I originally thought..."

Adrien's Voice: "Y-y-you m-m-mean... That we... That we! Oh, Kwami!"

"What the heck is this?"

Max's Voice: "I figure I keep a record of all the Audio Logs we find."

Ladybug: "Thanks Buddy, we needed that."

Kim's Voice: "Please don't say dead."

Shawn Flynn's Voice: "I don't be seein' what the big deal is."

Twisted Alice: "I'M ALICE ANGEL!"

Joey Drew's Voice: "There's nothing wrong with dreaming."

Kim's Voice: "What kind of scumbag would fire someone from something that they adore like that for little to no reason?"

Chat Noir: "Damn! It's going to bother me for a while, isn't it?"

Markov's Voice: "Are you indicating that the voices in this Audio Log sound familiar to you?"

Max's Voice: "I really don't feel comfortable taking this old thing... It looks like it could fall at any moment."

Marinette's Voice: "Oh! My-! Who would do something like this?!"

Adrien's Voice: "Wh-wh-wh-what h-h-h-happened to all of th-th-them?!"

Markov's Voice: "The match for Ms Campbell's voice... Is the Alice Angel we're going to see shortly..."

Twisted Alice: "Hmm. Now we come to the question…"

Twisted Alice: "Dreams come true, Susie. Dreams come true."

Grant Cohen's Voice: "And it ain't cheap."

Chat Noir: "I never noticed this before, but he's got a limp."

Norman Polk's Voice: "They don't even know when I'm watchin'. Even when I'm right behind 'em."

Ladybug's Voice: "Time to Purity!"

Max's Voice: "Umm, before we can answer that efficiently, could you tell us what year you think it is?"

Mister Bug's Voice: "We'll find something out, so both you and Boris can escape with us."

Norman's Voice: "Yup, Henry was the talent behind this whole thing."

Adrien's Voice: "Yikes! That sounds both scary and painful... You think that this was recorded when Mr Cohen, or whoever this is..."

Susie Campbell's Voice: "They told me I was perfect for the role. Absolutely perfect."

Markov's Voice: "Umm, guys! Something's missing, and I don't like it one bit!"

Kim's Voice: "Wow, that looks like it's a long way down."

Norman's Voice: "This doesn't look like it's gonna be able to hold all of us."

Max's Voice: "Okay, that was both intriguing and... frightening..."

"Creator?"

"For forty years, I've built attractions that sagger the imagination!"

Marinette's Voice: "How did Mr Drew!? Urg, you know what, by this point, I think the guy's just dreaming about insanity."

Markov's Voice: "Exactly how was all this made without any of the employees knowing? The whole construction would've made a lot of distracting noises."

Norman's Voice: "Hehe, Wally was always smarter than he let on. Surprised that hardly anyone else noticed when the studio was open."

Twisted Alice: "Tell me, are you having fun?"

Adrien's Voice: "Umm, please tell me she was imagining things when she said that it moves when no one is looking."

"But I'm Still Here!"

Max's Voice: "Um, this is going to sound bizarre, but is Norman with you?"

"He tried to kill you! Twice!"

Kim's Voice: "Maybe, a second chance is all someone needs. Especially if they been manipulated that badly, Ink or no Ink."

Adrien's Voice: "But no third chance unless YOU want it. And we'll be watching."

Marinette's Voice: "Did Mr Conner just say that..."

Adrien's Voice: "If so then... Why would the Ink Demon even care about..."

Markov's Voice: "There has to be more to this than what we already know."

Kim's Voice: "The Ink Demon has something we need."

"There's nothing to use to get across."

Ladybug's Voice: "Maybe I can fix that. Lucky Charm!"

Norman's Voice: "Oh God! I remember this place! This place was..."

Max's Voice: "You're not a monster! So don't become one!"

Adrien's Voice: "This time around, things are going to be different."

Consciousness slowly returned to Team Psi as the voices faded away into the light. Marinette, Adrien, Kim, Max, Markov, and Norman slowly sturred awake. Their movements were a little sluggish, but considering what they went through, it was nothing short of a miracle that they even survived. That Lucky Charm really did save them.

"Oh thank heavens you all are awake," Tikki said as she and Plagg floated over to them. The team spotted a sign near the doorway that read "Level S" behind the Kwami and cartoon wolf. (Quick Note: this lift area is going to be thrice as big in this story because there's a group).

Kim rubbed his head when he said, "Whoa, I feel like I've been hit by a truck or something..."

"Close, it was a lift plummeting down," Plagg said with a little snark before Tikki whacked him over the head.

Markov checked his systems for any errors or misalignments. He found one. "My systems indicate that the barrel of the modified gun has been compromised. Can someone check to see if there a way to fix the issue?" Markov asked as he held out the gun in question.

Max carefully looked over the gun component before sighing and saying, "Sorry Markov, but unless we can find an exact size pipe to replace it or find some kind of tool to fix this, it's too damaged for you to use safely." When he moved his right arm slightly, he suddenly flinched. Max looked down at his cast only to see that it was coming apart.

Norman looked at the broken cast when he said, "That can't be good."

Tikki quickly explained that she, Plagg, and Boris could only apply bandages on open cuts, they didn't have the knowledge to rewrap a cast.

"I know how to-" Marinette said as she tried to get up, but she didn't seem like she could move so much. Seems like the side-effects of the Purification coupled with the near-death from the lift crash still has a stronghold on the bluette.

Adrien practically leapt towards Marinette when he said, "Bugaboo, you still need to rest. We'll re-wrap Max's cast, just tell us what to do, okay?"

Marinette reluctantly nodded before the others fussed over Max's cast. The bluette looked at the cast before she groaned in annoyance and said, "Shit! We're going to need to cobble together a make-shift cast. We might be able to reuse some of the wrappings for the new cast, but we need something to use to keep his wrist in place."

Norman and Kim looked around the immediate area, for something light to use for the make-shift cast. The projectionist moved a large piece from the lift, they found some rather thin, short, lightweight metal poles and an old shirt that looked like it would fit an adult man, and an old first-aid kit.

Kim looked up at Norman, who carefully moved the lift part away so it wouldn't fall or hit anyone, and asked, "Okay, I'm a little torn on being happy we found stuff to make our own cast and unnerved that these are conveniently here."

Norman placed a hand under his projector when he said, "I'm findin' it a little weirder that they're in relatively good condition considerin' what happened around them. There should at least be a little damaged on 'm."

Overhearing the conversation, Tikki and Plagg brought up how Twisted Alice nearly got their Miraculous and Boris. The disbelief reactions from the rest of the team were understandable, and so was the puzzled looks when they realized that Twisted Alice didn't take the Miraculous or Boris. That was when the Kwami told them about the ink pipe that broke weirdly and coated the wall that made it look like the Ink Demon was coming through. Boris showed them the Sound Effects Device and demonstrated how it worked. Plagg said that maybe some debris fell on the heart button after the pipe broke, but it was a good thing it happened when it did because it made the so-called angel think that the Ink Demon was coming.

"That's..." Marinette started and then said with suspicion, "A little too convenient... *Places a hand to her chin*. In addition to the pipes, first-aid kit, and shirt being places where they wouldn't be damaged..." She then looked at the rest of the team when she said, "All of these had to be placed or altered beforehand, but that's not the creepy part of this..."

"I'm afraid to ask, but something tells me that it's important..." Max said as he pushed his glasses up with his left hand.

That was when Tikki understood what was being implied and said, "Someone knew that the lift was going to fall with us in it! And knew that Alice was going to go after the Miraculous and Boris! So they placed what was needed where it could help us!" That was when the red Kwami asked in confusion, "But... How would they know that any of that would happen? And why would they help us?"

That was when Markov asked, "Inquiry, do you think that the same person who left these objects is the same one that called for help in the block-off room that lead us to Mr Cohen's Audio log, Mr Lawrance's pen, and Norman's watch? Because that can be labelled as the kind of "Helping" like the help received here." The AI then noticed something shiny on top of a wooden box near the doorway. He quickly flew over to the object and looked at it with a raised electronic brow. "What are these doing here?" The AI asked as he motioned at the shiny object he found.

Adrien went over to look at it and said, "Huh? *Carefully picks up the objects* Looks like a pair of wedding rings." He then showed the two nice-looking silver bands to the rest of the team. Adrien then looked at the inside of the band and read the inscription out loud, "From T to A? I guess that means someone who's name starts with T proposed to someone who's name begins with A."

Norman couldn't help but say, "Odd place for a pair of wedding rings, unless... Someone left them here for us to find."

"Like with Mr Cohen's Audio Log," Kim said as he folded his arms. The tall teen then said, "Seems like our secret helper has some kind of Future Sight to know what going to happen before they do and can teleport inside this place, but why keep their identity hidden from us?"

Tikki couldn't help but say, "There must be a reason for it and why they're helping us."

That was when Plagg added, "But wouldn't either of us sense this person?" He then glanced at the Ink, shuttered, and said, "Then again... That Ink is kinda giving off a lot of bad mojos, that it might be messing with our senses."

That was when Boris got everyone's attention and pointed at Max's unravelling cast. Ah, right... That needed to be taken care of...

So at Marinette's instructions, they took off Max's old cast very carefully and then started on their make-shift cast, also very carefully. The shirt was cut into strips (thanks to the scissors in the sewing-kit) to use as the bandages, the small pipes would be used to keep Max's wrist straight, and they agreed to use whatever was in the first-aid kit that wasn't expired. Which was a rather surprising discovery to the team.

Markov couldn't help but say after scanning the objects inside the first-aid kit, especially the expiration date on the medicine, "Judging by the technology and type of medicine inside this kit, it is highly probable that this is from the person or people to have ventured into this studio. Maybe even the ones right before us."

Norman folded his arms when he said, "That's a possibility."

Kim looked at the bottle of rubbing alcohol when he said, "If I remember that first aid course, and Ms Mendeleiev's class correctly, rubbing alcohol has a shelf life of two to three years." He then looks at the expiration date labelled on the bottle and said, "Looks like this stuff expires next year, so this kit has to be at least a year or two old."

Max pushed his glasses up with his left hand and said, "Well, at least we can use the medicine without worry."

That was certainly a plus and something not to worry about.

With that, they started working on the make-shift cast.

~}i{ Outside the Studio }i{~

Life went on as usual, but not everyone liked it. For the friends and family of Team Psi, it was like being in limbo. They didn't know if any of them were alive to be saved and keep hope for them or they were dead and would have to start the grieving process.

However, there was a glimmer of hope that sparked not only joy but also confusion.

The cell phone of Lê Chiến Kim was found by the gate of Joey Drew Studios by an officer on their new patrol route. The device had a few splotches of in on it, but it was functioning just fine.

The police immediately unlocked and downloaded any recent data from the phone. They found some strange stuff on the phone. An audio recording that was labelled "Mr Joey Drew Audio Log. Found on the Demon Path", a timer set for a minute that would play the audio recording once the timer hit zero, and a couple of pictures taken inside the studio. The police weren't sure why Kim recorded an "Audio Log" or why he used it as an alarm for a timer, but the pictures told a different story. That was something that they were willing to share with their families.

The Dupain-Chengs, Lês, Kantés, and Agrestes were in the police station looking over the pictures.

They were more fun pictures taken during the week they were in Boris' Safehouse.

"Is this a joke?" Gabriel, in person, asked as he held up a printed out version of the phone pictures. The picture he was holding was an image of Boris the Wolf teaching Adrien how to play the banjo.

The officer told the family that they analyzed the pictures four times to prove authenticity. "Look, we thought the same thing you did when we saw those pictures, but there was no editing or alterations to the photos," the officer told the families. Another sighed before saying, "Listen, from what we were able to get from some of the past case files involving Joey Drew Studios and the photos from Mr Kim Lê's phone, the cartoons are real. Completely warped from their original cartoons, but real. Though, it seems like your kids found one of the few cartoons that weren't warped."

Tom glanced at the picture in his hands, which was an image of Marinette teaching Boris how to sew and was fixing a pair of overalls to demonstrate. He thought it was a nice picture, though the fact that there was a living cartoon next to his daughter was a little hard to believe. Then again, he and his family were living in a city where there was a terrorist causing mayhem with butterflies and heroes wearing animal-themed jewellery to fight him.

"But," Claudie Kanté vocalized before saying, "This is proof that our children are alright." She then looked at the photo in her hand and said as tears leaked out of her eyes, "They're still alive."

"Agreed," Sabine said with a giggle as she showed her husband the photo she had. He chuckled with a smile when he saw the picture. It was a picture of Marinette and Adrien cuddled close to each other as they slept.

The Lês happily looked at the pictures of Kim's Selfies with the other members of Team Psi, they were glad that their oldest was trying to keep a positive light on things.

Gabriel looked at another photo of his son. In the photo, Adrien was playing a card game against the AI that he Akumatized into Robostus. That was a lesson that Gabriel made sure to remember, never Akumatize any AIs. But Adrien seemed to be enjoying whatever game he was playing with the little robot. Gabriel looked up at the officers when he asked, "Can you keep up informed of any updates to our children's' case?"

The police promised to keep the families updated on any news regarding their children and the families soon left the station.

"I know you promised to keep them in the loop, but..." one officer said to the other as they made their way to the office that has been deemed "The Joey Drew Studios Investigation Room".

When the officers sat down at one of the desks the 2nd officer said, "I know, I know, but it makes them feel better. Plus..." They then picked up one of the photos from Kim's phone that they hadn't shown the families. In the image was Team Psi with Marinette, Adrien, Kim, Max, Markov, Boris, and Norman working together to make a new cast for Max on Level S in front of the destroyed lift. The 2nd officer then said, "Considering the weirdness of the last two pictures taken on the phone."

The 1st officer picked up the last photo taken on the athlete's phone. To the officers, it looked like drawing of a Ferris wheel with ten passenger cars that were painted on the wooded wall in black ink. This picture made little sense to the police. "I think this picture is the weirdest," the first officer commented, placing the photo on the desk before adding, "Why take a picture of a bad Ferris wheel drawing?"

The 2nd officer disagreed when they said showing the other the photo in hand, "This one is weirder. Take a look at it and tell me what you see."

The 1st officer did as told and looked at the photo. They then said, "I just see the kids, the AI, and the two Ink Creatures. Not sure how they got that projector-head to join their side though."

The 2nd officer folded their arms when they asked, "Notice anything strange about the picture?"

The 1st officer raised a brow when they said, "I told you. The Kids, AI, and the two Ink Creatures that joined them!"

"Then who took the picture?" the 2nd officer pointed out, and then added, "Not to mention, look at the angle of the picture."

The 1st officer's eyes quickly darted back to the picture. Everyone that was apart of Team Psi was in the picture and it looked like they didn't even know that they were being photographed, and the picture looked like it was taken from above. Right over where the lift as if the angle was right. That was when the question was asked, "Wait! Then... Who took this picture?"

That was why the last Group Picture of Team Psi wasn't shown to their families, and why this picture was so strange. Someone outside the group used the phone to take the picture without the owner or his friends knowing.

~}i{ Inside the Studio }i{~

"Done~," Kim said with a smile before he asked, "How's it feel, Max"

Max lifted his right arm and carefully turned it so he can see how it holds up. It wasn't as appealing as his old one before it got caked in ink, but it was doing the same job just as well. Max pushed his glasses up with his left hand and said, "Feels fine, a little tight, but fine."

The rest of the team sighed relief. Glad that their teammate's new cast was working as it should. However, there was some bad news mixed in with this. When Adrien and Marinette opened their respective snack storage for their Kwamis to check on their current supply, they realized that they only had three macaroons/cheeses left. That meant that they had a limit to the number of times they could use their Powers. That meant Kitty Noire and Mister Bug were absolute emergencies only from here on out... That was something no one was looking forward to. They also had to remove the AI's gun from his form, more so that he doesn't use the blocked barrel by accident.

Now it was time to continue on their mission of stopping the Ink Machine and saving everyone in the studio. Since there was only one path to take... So Team Psi made their way down the hallway, well, Marinette was leaning against Adrien for support. The bluette was still feeling the side-effects of the Purification.

A few seconds later, they came to an intersection with a directional sign for Level S, which was labelled Accounting & Finance. To the right was the office of Grant Cohen and to the left were the Archives J-L and R&D Access.

"So which way should we go?" Plagg asked the group as he looked left and then right.

Norman looked to the left and said, "I'm pretty sure we'll find somethin' more useful in the Research & Development or Archives rather than Grant's office. All that should be there are financial documents from when the studio was open, doubt it'll be of any use to us now."

That was a good point. So the team trooped down the left hallway but had to stop because the steel door was blocking their way. And it looked like something was off about the door.

Markov took a quick look and said, "Definitely something missing here. The handle must've been removed to prevent us from proceeding forward."

"Must've been Alice, thinking she was preventing the Ink Demon from following her," Adrien commented as they looked around the immediate area for a replacement.

"That may be, but we need to find something to use to replace the handle," Tikki said before she leads the team back to the fork. She then added, "Since we didn't see anything to use in the Lift area, maybe we should check Mr Cohen's office."

Fair enough, so they made their way to Grant Cohen's Office. Kim easily opened the door and let it sway open. But what they saw froze them in their tracks.

"I stand corrected about just financial documents bein' here..." was all Norman was able to get out as he took in the scene before him. Boris somewhat coward behind the projectionist at the sight.

Every single centimetre of the walls were covered in inky words. While most overlapped one another and were illegible, some words could be made out. "Taxes", "Time is Money", and a few numbers were the words that could be made out.

Marinette was the next to say, "Seems like the financial strain took its toll on Mr Cohen... And that's putting it mildly..."

Kim couldn't help but gulp and say, "It's like Mr Lawrance's Santuary but less controlled and more insanity..." He then noticed the Audio Log on the desk with a small pool of bubbling ink and added, "Maybe that'll shed some light on this "Writing" or hopefully a clue to shutting down the Ink Machine and getting out of here." Kim noticed a piece of paper that was somehow spared from the ink, so he quickly took the paper and shoved it into his pocket to look at once they were out of the room.

Max pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and got the recording app ready. Norman looked over the techie's shoulder when he did, more to observe how it was done. Max hit the record button as Kim pressed the play button on the Audio Log.

A horrible, garbled, bubbly, scream was heard as soon as the Audio Log started. Everyone flinched when they heard something shatter in the background noise of the Log as the unearthly screams continued. When the screaming stopped, the sound of something splattering was heard. The final thing that was heard on the Audio Log was the familiar groan of a Searcher before the Audio Log clicked off.

After the Log ended, Adrien couldn't help but say, "Yikes! That sounds both scary and painful... You think that this was recorded when Mr Cohen, or whoever this is... Was turned... Into an Ink Creature?" Markov did comment that the Audio Log must've accidentally been switched to record when the changing took place. Adrien then said in an uneasy tone, "I guess whoever it was must've knocked into it during their, uh, "Transformation"... Urg, that didn't sound right."

Marinette replied, "In more ways than one."

Max switched off the recording, labelled it accordingly, and then said, "Changing topics, can we see if we can find something to use as a handle to get to past the door?"

It didn't take them long to find a valve that they could use to open the door, so they took it and backtracked to the door, all glad to get out of the office. After attaching it, they managed to open the door with ease. They walked through a short hallway. When they passed the arch to the Archives, the spotlights turned on, one by one, illuminating the new "shrine" before Team Psi. A Bendy statue stood in the centre of the "alter" surrounded by six ink statues that seemed torn between worshipping the statue and trying to move away from it, and there was a banner above the statue that read "He Will Set Us Free".

That was when Plagg asked, "Should I find it worrying that we keep running into this kind of stuff to the point that it's starting to become normal?"

Tikki rubbed her face when she said, "Let's try not to think about it too much. We've got bigger things to worry about."

Norman was the one to suggest that they just keep moving and lead them to a circler library. It was surprisingly free of ink and was rather nice looking. In the middle of this Archive was an Audio Log. The handwritten label read that it belonged to Susie Campbell.

Team Psi looked at one another when they realised who's Audio Log it was. But the pursuit of information to shutting down the Ink Machine and getting out with everyone outweighed their dislike of the former voice Actress. So Max got his phone out to record the Audio Log and Adrien pressed the play button as soon as he got the okay.

The familiar voice of Susie Campbell filled the air, but this time around she sounded completely angry even though she was speaking clearly when she said, "They told me I was perfect for the role. Absolutely perfect. Now Joey's going around saying things behind closed doors. I can always tell. Now he wants to meet again tomorrow, says he has an "Opportunity" for me. I'll hear him out. But if that smooth talker thinks he can double-cross an angel and get away with it, well, oh he's got another thing coming. Alice, ooh, she doesn't like liars." With that, the Audio Log ended with a click.

Marinette let out a small groan before she said, "Something tells me that the "Opportunity" Mr Drew had something to do with Ms Campbell getting turning into a twisted version of Alice Angel?" She seemed to be getting some energy back.

Norman folded his arms when he said, "I wouldn't doubt that. The man was good with words, and only words it seems. He always managed to get people to do what he wanted. *Places a hand under his projector* Wait a minute... If my memory is workin' right... I think he might've buttered her up to her role of Alice Angel and then had her replaced just so she'd be desperate enough to want to reclaim the role she loved so much. To the point where she even referred to herself as Alice."

Kim growled when he said, "Another match to Lie-la! The more we learn about Mr Drew the more he sounds like Lie-la! They're just too much alike it's almost as creepy as Mr Lawrance's Sancuary!"

Marinette couldn't help but growl out, "I swear, it's like they're the same person or something." She then folded her arms in frustration.

Boris snapped his fingers as a theory formed in his mind.

"What do you have, Boris?" Norman asked the cartoon wolf.

Boris moved to one of the wooden and started tapping in a particular pattern. Recognizing that it was morse code, Adrien quickly translated, "May-be Joey Drew is some-how re-lat-ed to Lie-la (1). Wait, what?" Boris held up a hand and indicated to let him explain. The cartoon wolf then resumed the morse code. Adrien, now with a look of both confusion and concern, continued to translate, "Think abo-ut it. Their sim-ilar-ities are far too co-in-ci-den-tal to not be re-lat-ed. Both are liars, both are char-ming man-ip-ulat-ors, both do not care about oth-ers un-less it is for their own gain, and both hurt peo-ple with their lies. What are the odds that two un-re-lat-ed peo-ple so a-part in age wou-ld have near ide-nti-cal com-mon-ali-ties?"

Now that Tikki, Plagg, Marinette, Adrien, Kim, Max, and Markov thought about it... Boris' theory made some sense.

That was when Norman said, "Wolf's gotta point there. Granted, I haven't heard all your comparison to Mr Drew and this Lie-la, but even I was able to tell the similarities between them when you told me how you ended up in the studio." The Projectionist placed a hand under his projector when he added, "If it has been over 60 years since this studio has been closed, then then it might be possible for Mr Drew to be Lie-la's grandfather (1)."

Markov quickly ran through the collected data of Joey Drew Studios before he said, "Nathaniel did more than required research on the animators of Joey Drew Studios, so I have what he found. While he did make a note about the "oddly lack of information of Henry", he found a lot on Mr Drew. And it shows that Mr Drew has stayed in France even after the studio closed, apparently all the ongoing investigations on all his missing employees caused the police to be more than suspicious of him and ban him from travelling outside country borders. He also never married, at least legally. So it is ambiguous as to how Mr Drew had a granddaughter in Italy."

That was when Norman asked in confusion, "When did Italy become a factor in this?"

Max pushed his glasses up with his left hand when he said, "Lila Rossi, the liar who practically sent us here, is originally from Italy. That's the one thing about her I know to be true."

Marinette raised a brow at this when she asked, "Uh, how WOULD you know that?"

Max replied with, "The principle hired me to help with digitizing the student files a while back, a little while after Lie-la's first "World Trip with her Mother for her Job", so I had to read them. She wouldn't have had the time to alter her school files since she was literally only in school for a day before that "trip". I still don't know how she convinced the school about that "sudden trip" without proper notification or paperwork." Markov backed up that statement as a witness.

That was when Norman said, "I'm noticing a lot of "*Airquotes*" in your answer. I take it you didn't believe that Lie-la was travelling with her mother for her job? Whatever it is that involves a lot of travel."

Adrien replied by saying, "Lie-la "claimed," that her mother was a "very important Italian diplomat" working at the Italian Embassy here in France and that's why she "travels" a lot and has to miss school. I looked it up, the only travelling any Diplomats do is between the Host Country and Home Country, nothing about "Globetrotting for Work", but I don't know how she was able to convince our Principle or teachers that that was what she was doing." Markov suggested that Lila forged her mother's signature on school paperwork. The blonde huffed before he said, "That wouldn't surprise me, considering she made the maps that sent us here."

Kim also added in an annoyed tone, "She also claimed to be "total besties" with all the famous people we happen to know, and that she "bonded" instantly with Ladybug and became "Total BFF", Uh, that means Best Friends Forever. Then there are all the "Charities she worked with" that eats up the time she's supposed to use for her schoolwork." Boris actually had a frown on his face after listening to all this.

That was when Max added, "And let's not forget all the "Disabilities" Lie-la "claimed" to have. All of which have been rather inconsistent on severity."

Marinette then named off as she counted them on her fingers, "Tenitis from "saving" a rock star's "kitten" on an airstrip, arthritis, sprained ankle, allergy to almonds only when I bring in macaroons, allergy to unrefined flour only when I bring in croissants, an off-and-on intolerant to unnatural sugar when I bring any other sweets from home, short-term memory, and what was the one that she told so she wouldn't have to help with the bake sale? Ah right, she breaks out in hives if she touches anything with gluten."

Max noticed that he left the recording on and shut it off, then edited and labelled it accordingly.

Tikki folded her arms when she said sourly, "I'm surprised no one bothered to call the nurse or her doctor to confirm all these disabilities, especially since they "conveniently" start acting up whenever Lie-la doesn't want to do certain activities or it makes someone look bad." Plagg gave the red kwami a surprised raised brow at the comment. Tikki noticed and said, "What? One of my former Chosen had a major disability that she worked her butt off to overcome but she never made an excuse out of it and Lie-la has been using all these fake disabilities to make Marinette look like a terrible person! So sorry for being a little moody over some brat using a fake disability because it's "convenient" for her!" Plagg actually flinched at the sudden anger from the normally sweet and calm Kwami.

Norman held out a hand when he said, "Hold on just a second, I know I'm an outsider in all this and while I know I'm only hearing your side of this, it sounds like she would've been caught as a liar within the first week with all these tales."

That was when Markov said, "Technically, Lie-la was only in school one day, then disappeared for three months on her "first globetrotting adventure" before she returned as a student full-time. However, every time she was called out as a liar, she would "Turn on the waterworks" by crying and fake being "bullied" get the others to "turn against" whoever was "bullying" her. She has been doing it to Marinette and had started doing it to Max. Although, her need to harm anyone who out her lies had escalated... There is also Lie-la's issue with being told "no" or consent in general."

"Dare I ask?" Norman asked in a wiry tone, not liking how the AI specifically mentioned issues with "No" and "Consent".

(Insert the teens and AI telling Norman and Boris about Lie-la's sexual harassment towards Adrien, who gave his consent to telling the Ink Creatures about the "Photoshoot". Insert "WTF" reactions from Boris and Norman. Insert Adrien telling them the worst part being that his father believing the words of his "spy" over than his own son and staff. And insert Norman and Boris' reaction to that and Marinette telling them that she already has a plan to remove Adrien from Gabriel's custody).

After cooler heads came through, Team Psi explored the Archives to find a clue to getting to the Ink Machine or getting out. During the search, Max found a door with five unlit lightbulbs over it and a book that was a little out of the shelf. The techie pushed his glasses up with his left hand before he slid the book back into place. When he did, the first of the five lightbulbs lit up. "So that's how it works," Max commented before he called for the others. When they arrived, the techie explained what he found and what they needed to look for.

With that, everyone split again to find the misaligned books and pushed them back in place. The three along the outer loop and pushed them in. Markov found the last one in the centre where the Audio Log was and pushed it in. The moment he did, Max let out a shout in shock.

"Max!?" Everyone gasped as they raced back to their friend, who looked pretty spooked as his eyes never left the centre of the Archives.

Kim shook Max by the shoulders when he asked, "Max? Max! What's wrong?"

Max snapped out of whatever trance he was in and stuttered out still in fear, "Why did the lights start flickering and moving around?!"

The rest of Team Psi looked at each other in confusion before Norman asked, "What are you talkin' about? The lights are old but they're still workin' properly?"

"H-huh? But!" Was all Max was able to get out before Markov assured him that the lights remained on and did not move from their fixed locations. Max then let out a whine when he said as he ran his left hand through his hair, "Maybe I'm starting to hallucinate from the all this stress."

Adrien couldn't help but say, "Except that it was a little too in time with Markov sliding the last book back into place. Maybe it was a vision of some sort."

That was when Marinette asked as Max wrapped his arms around himself to calm down, "But why did only Max see it? We all helped in putting the books back in place."

Everyone pondered this a bit as Kim wrapped a comforting arm around Max to help calm him down.

That was when Markov said, "Maybe I should go back and get the rest of that first-aid kit. Just in case we might need them." With that, the AI flew out of the Archive and noticed something even stranger when he vocalized with fear in his tone, "Umm, guys! Something's missing, and I don't like it one bit!" The rest of the team rushed to see what the AI was talking about and saw what it was.

"Where did those Ink Statues go?" Plagg asked as he hid behind Marinette once he realized what happened.

Tikki gulped before she peaked over Adrien's shoulder before she said, "H-how about we get back to that door? The ones with the lights? It should be open now that all the books are back in place!"

Everyone agreed to that as they hurried back to the door. Marinette felt a little dizzy from all the sudden running, Adrien quickly helped her along to make sure she didn't fall as they made their way to the Archive Door. Once Team Psi made it through, they were greeted by the sight of a cave-like structure with chains from the ceiling that were attached to cages big enough to hold an adult. Only wooden beams sticking out of the wall seemed to be their only support from falling to the dark abyss below. Bendy cutouts seemed to be wedged in the stone openings in the wall.

Kim carefully looked over the edge and said with a short whistle, "Wow, that looks like it's a long way down." He noticed a nearby create and nudged it over, just to hear how far down the pit goes when the wooden thing hit. They never heard the crate hit bottom. Kim gulped when he said, "Okay, irony aside from me saying this, but let's hug the walls to be on the safe side."

Max, Markov, Marinette, Adrien, Tikki, and Plagg definitely would've found that hilariously ironic, if it weren't for the fact that they were who knows how many meters up and the wooden boards looked old.

Norman scratched the side of his projector when he asked, "How'd the heck did this place get so big?"

Adrien gave a nervous chuckled when he said, "We gave up on finding that out when we realized how many "Off the Book" construction was done. Ie, nothing matched up with the blueprints we got from the Paris Public Library Archives." When Norman asked if that was true, the blonde sadly nodded.

Soon Team Psi was carefully walking over the ink-stained planks of wood until they came to a rock ledge big enough to hold all of them as well as two machines. Once looked like a lift to cross the abyss and the other was a device around Max's height that was backed against the rock wall.

Norman examined the lift and said, "This doesn't look like it's gonna be able to hold all of us. I'm hopin' this will be sturdy enough to make two trips, three if needed."

Max examined the mechanism of the lift before he said, "We can get across there if we can find a way to fix this. Looks like we just need to find the right-sized gear to make this work."

Kim, on the other hand, was looking over the weird device near the wall. He found a picture of a bone on the side that over a dial. Kim moved the dial and the picture switched to an image of a wrench. He moved the dial again and the picture switched to an image of an old fashion radio. That was when Kim noticed a blob of Thick Ink just sitting under the dial. Kim looked at the blob, then the machine, and then the blob again. He carefully picked up the blob of Thick Ink and placed it in the device and turned the handle on the other side (2).

The device dinged happily as it spat out the ink, that quickly morphed into an old fashion radio.

"Whoa!" Kim got out in an impressed tone before he pressed the button on the radio, causing it to turn on and play a peppy tune (3).

All of Team Psi gathered around the radio to both listen and be amazed that the device made a working radio. However, after about a minute of working the radio turned back into ink.

"Okay, good news bad news time," Marinette said as she looked at the device and turned the dial until she saw an image of a gear. She then said, "The good news is we have the means to get the gear we need. The bad news is it's not going to last long and we don't know where to find the Thick Ink we need to make this Ink Maker work."

Boris noticed the hole in the wall and called attention to it. Plagg nodded when he said, "Yeah, maybe we can find some Thick Ink in here."

With that, Team Psi made their way into the rocky pathway. They turned a corner and came to a small room with a large pipe taking up the majority of the space inside. There was a lever close to the doorway. Kim pulled that, which caused the large pipe to slowly open and revealed the bubbling vat of steaming ink inside.

Plagg looked at the vat and said, "Looks like the type of Ink we need, but I don't think we should just stick our hands inside that. It looks pretty hot."

That was when Tikki replied with, "But how are we going to get the ink if we can't touch it." She looked around the room before saying, "And I don't see anything we can use to scoop some out."

Markov flew around the space until he came to a smaller pipe with a valve. The AI then asked, "I wonder if this valve will be of some assistance?" Boris was the one to turn the squeaky valve.

Suddenly a Swollen Searcher emerged from the vat with a groan. Boris and Markov quickly fled to the rest of the team as the others got ready to fight, even without any weapons. But the Swollen Searcher didn't move from its spot, not even to acknowledge that there were others in the area.

"Uh, hello?" Norman asked the Swollen Searcher in confusion, more to get some kind of reaction from the thing. But the Swollen Searcher didn't move. Norman looked at the rest of the team when he said, "Okay, I'm goin' to admit, this is a little anti-climatic. Not complainin' too much about it though."

Adrien notices an abnormal lump on the Swollen Searcher's back. Out of curiosity, the blonde quickly snatched the lump off the creature, causing it to retreat into the vat. Adrien smiled before he showed the team what he got, it was a blob of Thick Ink.

"Gross, but effective," Marinette said with a slight grumous before she added, "We're going to need two more blobs if we're going to get that lift to work so all of us can get across." The others nodded in agreement. They knew that the Ink Maker's creations wouldn't last long enough for the lift to make a round trip.

So they repeated the Thick Ink retrieval twice and got two more blobs of Thick Ink. They backtracked to the Ink Maker and placed one blob into it and turned the handle. The Ink Macker spat out the ink that quickly morphed into the gear they needed. Boris installed the gear and looked over the lift to make sure everything else was fine. Once Boris gave the thumbs up, Adrien corraled Marinette, Max, Markov, and Boris into the lift and activated it before any of them could protest, Plagg quickly followed the bluette since she was the one currently wearing his Miraculous. The lift smoothly made it to the other end before the gear turned back into ink. The four got out of the lift on the other side and waved at the others, signalling that they were okay. Kim plopped another blob into the Ink Maker to get another gear to bring back the lift. Once the lift was back, the second gear turned to ink. Norman dropped the last blob into the Ink Maker and got the last gear to put into place. Once that was done, Adrien, Kim, and Norman got into the lift and it started moving slowly towards the other side with Tikki floating over Adrien's shoulder.

Suddenly, the lift started shaking when they were at the halfway mark. Adrien, Kim, and Norman kept a hold on the lift railing for balance as the lift stuttered. The ones that were already across gasped in worry and fear when this happened.

But despite the shake-up, the lift made it across without another issue. The team reunited with a group hug, glad that the scare was just that, a scare. And after a few calming breaths, they continued on their journey. Norman opened the door, revealing a narrow, shabby hallway. Looks like they're going to have to walk in two at a time through this. So they all trooped in, the door automatically closed behind them before they realized it. They saw the Ink Machine being lowered by chains at the end of the hallway.

Suddenly Max let out a shout in terror as he looked down the hallway in fear.

"Max?! What's wrong?" Marinette asks as she, Adrien, Plagg, and Tikki whipped around to their frightened friend.

Trembling where he stood, Max stuttered out as his eyes were wide in fear, "Y-y-you d-d-d-don't s-s-see th-th-them?!"

The rest of Team Psi looked back at the shabby hallway, the only thing they could see was the walls and the chains from the Ink Machine. They looked back at Max with concern in their eyes.

Tears started leaking out of the corners of Max's eyes when he stuttered out in that same scared tone, "N-n-not a-a-again!" The tears started falling as Kim quickly wrapped an arm around Max, trying to calm the frighten teen down.

Adrien placed a hand on Max's shoulder when he said, "I hate to do this to you, but tell us what you saw?"

Max closed his eyes as the tears continued to fall when he said with a few hiccups, "Inky hands were jutting out of the walls from all the openings *hic* and they were reaching out to grab us *hic*! They wanted something! *Hic* I don't know *hic* if they wanted something from us or *hic* us!" He then buried his face into Kim's chest as the taller hugged him close to comfort and calm the techie down as he continued to cry.

No words were spoken as Adrien, Marinette, and Markov moved closer to Kim and the distraught Max. They slowly sank to the floor and just comforted their friend. Their missions can wait, one of their own is too unnerved to do anything. They'll rest for a while, they needed it anyway.

Boris and Norman looked at each other at this. They understood why the kids and AI were doing this but it made them realize something that was staring at them in their face(s) the entire time.

Marinette, Adrien, Kim, Max, and Markov were just teenagers... They were still children (Yes, even Markov chronologically). And two of them were Heroes that protected Paris! They should be in school fretting over what they should do with their future with the worst thing that should happen to them is a failing grade. They shouldn't be trapped here in this place where terror and death could be around any corner, waiting to strike.

Boris and Norman slowly moved into a sitting position as the projectionist said, "Kids, how about we take a break. You kids rest and Boris and I'll keep watch for trouble, okay."

"You sure?" Kim asked the two Ink Creatures.

Norman nodded when he said, "Yeah, I'ma sure. I know you kids wanna complete your mission as fast as possible but you're not going to do much when you're wearing yourselves out. 'Sides, when was the last time any of you got in a good rest?"

Markov timidly answered with, "When we were in Boris' Safehouse... A while ago..."

Norman tapped his hand on his leg when he said, "I rest my case, we'll take a break and you can rest. Like I said before, Boris and I'll keep watch." Boris nodded vigorously at that.

While they didn't like it too much, the teens ended up dozing off. Max fell asleep first, Marinette was next to fall asleep as she leaned her head on Adrien's shoulder. Kim held Max close before he then dozed off as he leaned his back against the wall. Markov landed next to Max as he powered down enough to enter sleep mode. Adrien leaned back against the wall with Marinette still on his shoulder before he too fell asleep. The Kwamis floated to the laps of their current chosen and were the last to fall asleep.

Norman glanced at Boris, who smiled at him. The projectionist would've returned the smile if he could. They could rest for now before they continued on their mission.

~}i{ Outside the Studio }i{~

The best word to describe the tension between Chloe and Alix was awkward. It's been that way between them ever since Future!Alix blew the biggest bomb when she practically told them Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities. Not to mention each other's identities... It didn't bother them that much that she told them, what bothered them was the question of WHY Future!Alix told them, and just them...

Chloe texted Alix to meet her on the roof of the school during lunch to just talk about it. So that's what they did when lunch came around. They went up to the roof separately so not to draw attention to themselves. Both passed by the school's library and saw that Kagami and Nino were working on their project together.

When both Chloe and Alix were on the roof, they started on their conversation.

"So... How should we start this?" Alix asked the blonde with a raised brow. Though truth be told, she didn't quite know how to start the conversation either.

Chloe shrugged before she said, "Maybe we should start with, "What good would us knowing do?" I'm sure there's something that's supposed to happen with us knowing."

Alix folded her arms when she said, "Well, I know one thing that came of this, Me punching the lights out on whoever gave teenagers Miraculous without proper training! I mean, you saw how clueless they were during their debut as heroes, it was obvious that they didn't get any training beforehand."

"Okay, you got a point there," Chloe admitted, before she said, "But that aside, what else?"

Alix suggested, "Well, now we know why Mari and Adrien bail on events and activities when an Akuma shows up. And why they're sometimes so tired before school starts or after school when nothing happened there."

That was when Chloe realized, "Oh God, this also makes their love-lives a trainwreck!" When Alix asked what she meant, the blonde said, "Think about it, Adrien loves Ladybug."

Alix shrugged when she said, "Yeah, makes sense since he's Chat."

Chloe then added, "But Ladybug claims to be in love with someone else in her civilian life, right?" Alix replied with a Right. That was when the blonde said, "And who is Marinette in love with?"

Alix was about to answer when she realized the whole picture. "Shit! Those dorks were in love with each other and didn't even know it!"

"Exactly!" Chloe said with a sigh before adding, "They're both idiots. They've been pining for one another but rejected them because they didn't know who the other really was!"

That was when Alix said, "Hold on, I just remembered something Future Me said." When Chloe asked what it was, the pinkette replied with, "She said something about Chat and Bug escaping the heck hole with Kim, Max, and the others. What did she mean by that?"

"That they'll get out of there by their own means without blowing their identities to Kim, Max, and Markov," Chloe said with a raised brow, wondering how the other got on that topic.

Alix shook her head when she said, "I mean, who was she talking about when she said "the others"?"

Confused, Chloe replied with, "Didn't she mean Kim, Max, and Markov?"

"Except she specifically said "Kim, Max, and the others", so it couldn't be them," Alix said, getting a bit more serious.

That was when Chloe said, "She probably meant Mar-, Wait, "Others" is plural... That means more than one?" Alix nodded with that serious look on her face. With a rather shocked look on her face, Chloe asked, "So who else is trapped inside that studio with them?"

Alix stiffened her shoulders when she said, "I think... We'll find out when that happens..."

~}i{ Inside the Studio, a Few Hours Later }i{~

The younger members of Team Psi started to wake up. They were a little stiff from their sleeping positions but they felt a lot better. Guess they really did need a little sleep. Max apologized about his breakdown, but the others told him that it was alright, they understood. While the Kwamis were a little puzzled over why Max was the only one to see these visions, they knew that they had to mean something.

After a few quick stretches to wake up their muscles, everyone was ready to continue their quest.

Team Psi quickly made their way out of the shabby hallway and came to another cave with a darkened pit below, probably bottomless like the last one. Once they took a step on the wooden walkway they heard the Twisted Alice Angel say over the speakers, "I see you there, my little errand boys. Your angel is always watching. And I saw how you've grown in numbers, all thanks to those jewellery and the fairies." Team Psi went tense at that. The so-called angel continued by saying, "I saw how you used them to Heal the Projectionist's mind." Team Psi started moving up the winding ascending path to wherever it leads. Alice Angel then said in an almost forebodingly cheerful tone, "Enjoy them while you can. Boris too." She then laughed. The cartoon wolf gulped at that as the group glared at an Alice Angel poster that they came across on their climb up. The so-called angel then said, "Those will help be become perfect, and I'll enjoy it so~ very much when I do."

That was when Team Psi reached the end of the wooden path and stood in front of an entrance to a nice looking room. There were two nice and comfortable looking couches, one of which had a gramophone sitting on it.

Plagg couldn't help but say, "Wow, this room is nice. We should've napped here rather than in that hallway." As everyone walked into the room, Tikki whacked Plagg over the head at the comment. "Hey!" the black Kwami protested.

"I wonder what this room was used for?" Adrien asked out loud to no one in particular.

"He's going to find me..." a voice from above said in a worried tone. Team Psi froze and quickly looked up just in time to see an inky figure on the balcony above. It just looked like those ink statues from the Archive but with glowing yellow eyes. The ink person didn't seem to notice the audience below as they continued talking, "He always finds me..." The ink person started looking back and forth around the balcony as if expecting someone to appear. "I just want to go home! When do we go home?" the ink person said in a pleading voice before walking out of view of Team Psi.

Team Psi just stood there with their eyes still glued to the now-empty balcony.

After a good minute, Max pushed his glasses up with his left hand when he said, "Okay, that was both intriguing and... frightening..."

Kim nodded in agreement when he said, "Yeah, he looked like a Searcher but more human-like..."

Tikki was the one to say, "It seems like the Ink can be a bit random in afflictions..."

Plagg shuttered as his ears drooped, "Or that poor soul has been repeatedly afflicted by the Ink..." Team Psi glanced at each other at this comment.

That was when Norman asked in an unsure tone, "I hate to bring this up, but who's the "He" that fella was talking about?"

Markov scanned through some of his memory files before he said, "We have come across a couple of graffiti that read "He will set us free", though we haven't quite understood what it really means."

Adrien then added, "I remember asking about who the "He" was when we first came across that. However... We did think it might've been the Ink Demon, but now it starting to become clear that it isn't..."

Boris scratched his head when Marinette said, "And it's starting to become apparent that there might be more than one "He" in this. More because we now know there are more people involved in this whole thing. And now that we know that Henry was the real talent behind the Bendy cartoons, it puts a new meaning behind the line "The Creator Lied to us". That line has to be referring to Mr Drew."

Max couldn't help but add, "That doesn't surprise me, we've already proven that Mr Drew is just like Lie-la." Markov commented that that was too true.

Marinette then said as she scratched her cheek, "I'm not sure if it's just me, but... That Ink Person seemed... Lost... Like... Lost all sense of awareness or just felt lost..."

Adrien couldn't help but say, "It did seem like that. A real Lost One." This time, Marinette whacked the blonde over the head. "Owch! Okay, I get it! Too soon to joke on that," Adrien said as he rubbed his head.

Norman suggested that they continue on their path as he pointed out the door under the balcony the Lost One was on. So Team Psi walked over to the door and then opened the door. What was on the other side was something they would never have expected.

~}i{~

To be Continued in Chapter 4 pt 2: Colossal Wonders of the Shadow's Darkness.

~}i{~

1) Did you guys really think I wouldn't add this theory after dropping how much Joey Drew and Lila Rossi have in common? Also, Kudo's to Crimson assassin for coming up with this crazy thoery~.

2) There isn't a blob of Thick Ink next to the Ink Makers in the Bendy & the Ink Machine game, but Team Psi aren't going to be able to figure out that they need to use the Thick Ink right away without it.

3) The Chapter 4 Hidden Radio! The song playing is called "Can't be Erased'. Also, sorry about not adding the other radio songs to the story, but I figured I give you all the location of the hidden radio of Chapter 4 since it's waaaay to easy to overlook or don't know about.

~}i{~

Gale-Dragon: Yup, splitting Chapter 4 into multiple chapters too. Feel free to ask any questions or let me know any constructive criticism.

~}i{~