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.

15. Chapter 5 Pt 1

Gale-Dragon: Time to start on Chapter 5!

~}i{~

Miraculous Adventure in Joey Drew Studios.

Chapter 5 pt 1: The Last Reel of Trust.

~}i{~

A blurry image appeared before it focused on the person in front of the active camera. From what can be seen on Kim's face, it was obvious that something bad had happened. The athlete held Max's phone in front of him as he watched the video recording feature kick in. He then gave a small, unenthusiastic, wave to the active camera before he said in a saddened tone, "Hey... Kim here... And, uh, I guess you're wondering why I'm doing the Video Log this time around rather than Max..." Kim glances off-screen at the mention of his buddy as he gave a deep sigh. It was clear to whoever would be watching this recording that something bad had happened. Kim swallowed his saliva before he said with a heavy heart, "Well... Max was... Was taken by the Ink Demon..." He runs his free hand over his face before he says, "We had a run-in with one of Susie Campbell's, or Twisted Alice as we've been calling her, evil creation and it... Was difficult to take down... It managed to knock Max out during the fight... We were able to defeat it, but... Shit... The only thing that makes sense was that the Ink Demon was lurking nearby, just waiting for the right moment to snatch Max up while our backs were turned..." Kim quickly wiped away a tear that threatened to drip down his face before he said, "Just saying that we don't know why he was after Max would be a lie." He looks at the camera when he adds, "Though it's more of a theory than anything."

Off-camera, the voice of Marinette could be heard saying, "Kim, how about I say what we found out with the Lost Ones." Kim looks off screen and nods before handing the phone, with the camera still active, over to the bluette. During the handoff, the active camera was able to catch a depressed-looking Adrien being consoled by Buddy Boris while the blonde was leaning on Norman's side, the Projectionist was carefully rubbing Adrien's back. Now the camera was on Marinette, who was also sporting a sad look, when she said, "Hey... If you're curious as to who the Lost Ones are, we completely understand... Max and I were about to talk about them when Mr Piedmont's... Uh, "Ride" came to life, as you saw in the last video..." Marinette took a deep breath before she continued, explaining who the Lost Ones are, what they learned from them, and who they thought Max was. She finished off by telling the camera that Max's Grandpa Ri was the Henry that co-founded the studio with Joey Drew and that Henry was the talent behind all of the characters created for the Studio.

Marinette looked off camera before she said, "As Kim explained, Twisted Alice's monstrous creation, Borkis, that she made from *Shutters* other Boris', was a lot harder to take down than Mr Piedmont. *Sighs* It managed to knock Max out, and... We thought he would be safe where we moved him, you know, to keep him safe while the rest of us handled Borkis... Well, we took him down, but while we were distracted, the Ink Demon appeared... By the time we realized that he was there, he already had Max... We tried to go after him, but... The Ink Demon can teleport through the Ink and... That's what he did..." Marinette took a deep breath as she paused. She noticed something off-screen, her face contorted into an expression of annoyance when she snapped, "Do you mind!"

Marinette accidentally switched the active camera from the front of the phone to the back and getting the Serious Boris on film. The other cartoon wolf was just standing there, watching Team Psi from behind a make-shift cell door. The camera angle was a little crooked because of how Marinette was currently holding the phone, but the camera could still see the stern look on the Other Boris' face. He had his mechanical arm leaning on top of the make-shift cell's ledge that was used to hand off food between the two sides of the cell. The Serious Boris just stared at Marinette as he tilted his head to the side like he was curious as to what she was doing.

The Other Alice Angel appeared from behind the Other Boris when she asked, "What are you doing exactly?"

The camera panned to Kim as he shot the newcomers a glare when he said, "We're just making an update to our Logs, to keep a record of what has happened. Like those Audio Long or tape recorder things that you sometimes find around this place."

Markov glanced up from the table he was laying on when he asked, "We are also logging our stories as warnings to those outside the Studio about the dangers in here, the real dangers... We have data about cameras and video recorders somehow making their way outside the Studio, while we have no data as to how it is possible, we know it happens." The camera panned to the AI halfway through while he was talking.

The then panned back to the Serious Boris and the Other Alice Angel glanced at each other before the Angel asked, "It sounds like... You were already aware of what was lurking here. So, why did you come here?"

"Why are you two suddenly so curious about our predicament?" Marinette asked, not even trying to hide the suspicion in her voice.

The Other Alice looked at Norman when she said, "You children seem... Different somehow..." Norman glanced up at the Other Alice, he had an idea what she was talking about. That was when the Other Alice said, "You are children and yet you were able to make it as far as you did. You also were also able to... Befriend a Projectionist..."

The camera panned towards the Projectionist. It was more so because Marinette was following the Other Alice Angel's gaze than anything. "I got a name, ya know," Norman stated coldly at the two newcomers.

The camera suddenly snapped to Kim when he glared at the two on the other side of the cell when he said, "Which is another reason why we're not exactly trusting of you, neither of you ever introduced yourselves to us... On top of not bothering to help us with Borkis..." Kim grumbled the last part out though.

The camera panned back to the Serious Boris as he glanced over at the Other Alice as she tilted her head to the side when she asked, "Introduce?"

The camera suddenly turned upsidedown, because Marinette dropped her hands to the side, and caught the other members of Team Psi glancing at each other before Marinette said, "Yeah, uh, neither of you told us your names. Meaning that you didn't introduce yourselves." She watched the Serious Boris and the Other Alice Angel's reactions before she asked them, "Uh, you two do have names, don't you?" Now all of Team Psi was staring at the Serious Boris and the Other Alice Angel.

Marinette brought her hands to her chest out of a bit of nervousness and accidentally bringing the phone's camera back to the right side up. The camera caught the Other Alice and the Serious Boris looked at each other before the angel then looked at Team Psi when she said as she placed a hand on the Other Boris' shoulder, "He seems to respond to the name "Tom", so that's what I've been calling him... He, like all the Boris', doesn't talk..." The Other Alice Angel was quiet for a bit before she said as she glanced away and rubbed her left arm with her right hand, "I... Don't... Remember my name, or if I had one, to begin with..."

Team Psi glanced at one another... None of them knew how to respond to that... ... ... ...

That was when a thought came to Adrien. He looked at the Serious Boris, or Tom Boris, and then at the Other Alice Angel. 'Wait, if he responds to the name Tom, then... Then he might be...' Adrien thought before he asked out loud, "Does the name "Thomas Connor" mean anything to you?"

Tom Boris' interest perked up almost immediately.

The others of Team Psi caught on to this before Marinette looked at Tom Boris when she got out, "Wait! Does that mean that... You remember who you were?"

The camera caught Tom Boris glanced to the side for a few seconds before he made a motion with his right hand (the non-mechanical one). The motion was just his right hand moving up and down in a tendering motion from his pinky and his thumb. "Somewhat, huh?" Kim translated. Tom Boris gave a nod. The tall teen glanced at the Other Alice and a thought came to him. Kim looked back at Tom Boris when he asked, "You remember who she was before the Ink turned her into an Alice Angel, don't you?" Tom Boris nodded again, surprising the Other Alice. That was when Kim asked, "Why didn't you try to tell her? I get that the Boris character doesn't talk but there are other ways to communicate without speaking. Our Boris uses Mores Code when he wants to tell us something long and uses hand signals when he wants to tell us something quick."

Marinette couldn't help but say, "Maybe we should just call our Boris, Buddy."

"Don't we already?" Adrien commented cluelessly. No one could respond to that.

That was when the Other Alice told Team Psi, "Tom's handwriting is... Rather unreadable..." She quickly moved towards a nearby desk and pick up a sheet of yellowed paper. She brought the paper to the make-shift cell and showed Team Psi what was written on it.

"Uhh... That looks like a toddler's first attempt at writing," Kim commented as he looked at the "writings", but they looked no better than squiggly lines that seemed to go in random directions that only vaguely looked like letters if you squinted a bit.

Marinette looked at the lines closely before she said, "Looks similar to some of the papers we found in Buddy's Hideout..." A realization hit the bluette when she said, "The Ink must've not only turned them into Boris' but also reset their motor skills! Maybe to match the character they turn into!"

Norman placed a hand under his lends when he said, "That might be it... But I remember that in the Bendy cartoons I've seen, Boris didn't write that often, mostly basic block lettering. He could read though, but the other characters were usually the ones doing the writing." He remembered watching clips of the old cartoon, but he didn't know if he saw them as Norman Polk or a Projectionist. Though, to be honest, it didn't quite matter to him at the moment.

That was when Marinette took a closer look at the paper, she noticed something. "Can you turn the paper upside down?" she asked the Other Alice. The angel complied and turned the sheet of paper. Now the scribbled looked a little more legible, at least to Marinette. She squinted a bit as she read, "Al...li...son... Allison?" Realization sank in almost instantly when she said, "Wait a minute! As in Allison Pendle?"

The Other Alice's face contorted into an expression of shock as she looked at Tom Boris, who nodded in response. And that answered that the Other Alice Angel was Allison Pendle.

The camera panned to Kim, who couldn't help but say with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair, "Should we even be surprised that both voice actresses for Alice Angel were turned into her by the Ink?"

The camera panned to Norman as he gave a shrugged when he said, "Given this place, not really."

Adrien, who was in the camera's view, pulled his knees to his chest when he said a little coldly, "So... We now know who they are now, but that still doesn't excuse their lack of actions with Borkis..." That brought back some unfavourable memories as they looked at each other...

"Dude... Never thought you'd be someone who would hold a grudge," Kim grumbled towards Adrien. The camera then panned to the tall teen as he pulled his left knee to his chin when he mumbled, "Though... Can't really blame you about this one..."

Adrien hugged his knees when he said as the camera moved back to him, "The Ink Demon took Max... It could've been prevented if Borkis was taken down quicker... If we had extra help..."

That was when Kim realized something when he asked, "Why did the Ink Demon take Max?" The camera moved back to the tall teen when he continued, "I mean, from what we learned about him, as limited as it is, the Ink Demon attacks on sight no matter who or what they are. So don't you think it's weird that the Ink Demon would do something like take a living person with him to, uh, wherever he goes when he's not stalking around the Studio?"

Markov started his copter blades when he asked Kim as he started hovering over to the tall teen, "Do you have a hypothesis on this behaviour?"

"Hypo-what now?" Kim commented cluelessly. Markov quickly replied with the word "Theory", which made more sense to the tall teen.

"Your friend is making a very interesting point," Allison Angel stated, getting Team Psi's attention and the camera back on her. She took a deep breath before said, "Listen, Tom and I are truly sorry about your friend and maybe we should've helped you, but down here, things aren't what they seem and they can be dangerous so they must be approached with caution."

"And the point of what you're saying being?" Norman asked in a suspicious tone.

Allison Angel then said, "I'm sure you've been here long enough to know that danger lurks around every corner, and if you want to stay alive you learn to be suspicious of everyone and everything."

Team Psi glanced at each other at this. Well... She had a point there, especially in a place like this.

Kim looked at Allison Angel when he asked, "Okay, and the point I made is interesting how?"

Allison Angel explained, "You're right about the Ink Demon killing anyone he comes across, whether they are aware of his presence or not. The Ink Demon can just destroy others affected by the Ink with just his... Ink Webs as you called them. We've seen it happen multiple times, and... It nearly happened to us a few times... The Ink Demon doesn't care who they are, just that they are in his way." She looked at Team Psi when she said, "So it is strange that the Ink Demon would just... Take someone... And alive too."

Marinette placed her free hand to her chin when she said, "Maybe... The Ink Demon thinks that Max is his grandfather too... Like how the Lost Ones thought that he was Henry."

Adrien perked up when he said, "But he hated Mr Drew to the point of wanting to just kill him."

"Except, Mr Drew wasn't the one to create Bendy," Kim brought up. He then pointed at Norman when he added as the camera panned back to him, "Remember what Norman told us? Henry was the real creator behind the Bendy cartoons, Bendy's True Creator." Kim stood up when he said, "Mr Drew took Bendy, Boris, and Alice Angel away from Henry. The Ink Demon knew that, somehow, and that has to be why he despises Mr Drew but seems caring towards Max."

"Henry?" Allison Angel vocalized cluelessly.

Norman was the one to say, "Max's grandfather and my best friend. The two of us use to work here back when it was open, he was an animator and I worked the projectors. Henry was the talent behind all of Joey Drew Studios' successes, no matter what that rotten liar said."

Allison Angel rubbed her head as if a small headache was forming when she said as the camera panned back to her, "Joey Drew Studios... That's the name of this place... I... Remember... Being in a voice booth..." Tom Boris looked at her in concern.

Markov was the one to say, "That makes sense. From the data we've collected during our research for our haunted house, Ms Pendle was a voice actress. We have some proof that you are her. Therefore, you having memories of that makes logical sense."

Allison Angel clenched her head when she got out in pain, "Ow! My head!" She took a few steps back, still clenching her head. Team Psi gathered at the make-shift cell bars as Tom Boris tried to comfort Allison Angel as she knelt to the ground as continued to clench her head in pain.

"Miss Allison!" Marinette called out in worry. She was worried about the other woman because the headache just happened so suddenly.

Allison Angel grunted in pain as Tom Boris tried to rub her back to try to ease the pain she was in with a worried look on his face. After a few more seconds, Allison Angel seemed to have calmed down from her sudden headache.

"Are you alright?" Adrien asked through the cell bars.

Allison Angel slowly stood up with Tom Boris' help when she said, "I'm okay... I just... Got some of my memories back..."

"I hope they're good ones," Kim commented. The rest of Team Psi glanced at him. When the tall teen noticed and said, "What? I figured it would be nice if she got some good memories." No one could find a response for that in all honesty.

That was when Allison Angel said as she rubbed her head with her right hand, "I... Remember that Tom and I received a letter from Joey Drew... He... He wanted us to return to the Studio... He wrote that he had a surprise for us there..."

Markov couldn't help but say, "I seem to have a sensory bug that the "Surprise" that Mr Drew had for you has something to do with the Ink Machine and your transformations into a Boris and Alice Angel."

Marinette looked at the AI when she said as the camera focused on the AI, "I think all of us have that feeling too. Wait! Didn't Max say that Henry got a letter from Mr Drew six years ago?"

Kim nodded when he said, "Yeah, but Max didn't read that letter, so he didn't know what Mr Drew wrote."

That was when Norman said, "But what if Joey wanted to try to lure Henry here? That he wanted to bring Henry back to the Studio for some reason."

Marinette placed her free hand to her chin again when she said as Tom Boris and Allison Angel looked at the Team, "Markov, did any of our classmates keep any record of the people who "Disappeared" because they entered the studio when we did our research on this place? Including Nino's side project with Mr Fain."

Markov nodded when he said, "Affirmative, I have that data. I assume that you have a theory?" Marinette nodded before she told Markov to tell them how many people were reported missing between this year and when the Studio closed. The AI gave them 10884 people reported missing that involved Joey Drew Studios. Kim couldn't help but let out a whistle at that number. Marinette nodded before she asked Markov to subtract the files where the individuals went into the Studio by accident or were unaware that it was the Studio. The AI complied and gave them 7827 remaining files.

"Only that many for unintentional?" Adrien asked out loud before he said, "I expected more of the reports would've been because they didn't know about the Studio."

Kim let out a "Ditto" when Marinette asked Markov to subtract the files that involved the City of Paris (because of their job for the city. Ie, police patrol, surveyors, building inspectors. You know, the city jobs that would involve going into buildings to report damages and safety inspections). The AI nodded and complied, and gave them the number 6486. Marinette thought for a few seconds before asking Markov to subtract all the files that involved going into the studio because of a dare or because of dumb decisions. Markov raises a virtual brow before complying and giving them 5771 remaining files.

(There was a low hanging fruit for a joke there, but no one wanted to take it).

Marinette told Markov to subtract the files that involved the individuals going into the studio because they wanted to either find or save their loved one(s) that were reported missing because of the Studio. Markov nodded before complying and gave them 2297 remaining files.

Norman placed a hand under his lends when he said, "So during the 60 years since the Studio shut down, close to 11000 people were reported missing that had to do with the Studio. That's still a lot... But what're the remaining files categorized as?"

That was when Markov gave them the answer, "According to the data, the remaining 2297 files report that the reason that they went to the Studio was that they received an invitation from the former owner, Joey Drew, to return to the Studio for some kind of "Surprise" that he had for them. Thomas and Allison Connor's files are included in those reports."

"I thought as mu-. Wait?" Marinette vocalized before she asked as the camera shook a little, "Thomas and Allison CONNOR? You mean they're married to each other?"

Markov gave a small shrug when he said, "According to their Missing Persons Files, a friend of theirs told the police that one of the reasons why they went to meet with Mr Drew after receiving their letter from him was to thank him for the opportunity that brought them together. I guess they "Fell in Love" and married after they left the Studio."

A flash of memory flew across the blonde's eyes at this. Adrien quickly dug into his pocket and pulled out the two wedding rings. That was when the blonde said, "These rings had the inscription "From T to A", how much do you want to bet that the "T" stands for "Thomas" and the "A" stands for "Allison"?" The camera moved on Adrien, getting a bit of the rings in his palms.

Norman snorted as Buddy Boris chuckled silently when the Projectionist said, "No need, I'm sure those rings belong to Thomas and Allison."

Adrien held the rings out so Allison Angel and Tom Boris could see them better. Their eyes widen when they saw the rings. They knew immediately what those are! "Our... Our..." Allison Angel got out in shock as small tears peeked out of the corner of her eyes. "Our wedding rings!" the Angel said through the tears.

Tom Boris reached his non-mechanical hand out towards the rings as the camera panned back to the newcomers, but Adrien closed his hand with the rings and pulled his arm back when he said, "Sorry, but we can't give them back. We got lucky with Norman when we found out how to bring his mind back, so we're keeping these just in case the Ink take the two of you over like he was."

Tom Boris and Allison Angel didn't like that much, but they understood the reason behind it.

A few seconds later, Allison Angel unlocked the cell before she said, "Listen, we understand that trust is going to be an issue here, but we are going to have to work together if we're going to rescue your friend. Also, if... If the Ink Demon took your friend alive, there must be a reason behind it. We need to act fast because we don't know what it is." Tom Boris nodded at that.

Team Psi glanced at one another at this.

Yes, trust was going to be a problem between the two groups but... If they wanted to save Max, they had to work together.

Marinette noticed that Max's phone was still recording. She switched the active camera to the one facing her as she said, "Might as well sign-off on this Video Log". She then turned off the recording. Now the screen was black.

}{

The police officers looked up from the blackened screen to look at the families of the trapped teens. It... Wasn't hard to figure out what they were thinking...

The Dupain-Cheng family were holding each other. The Lê family had their hands to their mouths, unsure what to think. Claudie Kanté was crying into her hands as Aunt Cassy and Uncle Greg tried to comfort her. Gabriel Agreste... Was actually showing emotion. Nathalie had a hand on his shoulder during this.

"I know this isn't what you were expecting when we told you that we recovered Max Kanté's phone and asked you all to come here to view some of the videos on it... But... We thought you should know what has happened..." Roger said as clearly as he could. He then sighs and added, "And maybe... Answer a few questions that arose when we watched this the first time..."

The families nodded as Claudie wiped the tears away from her eyes.

Roger rubbed the back of his neck when he asked, "Well, our first question is that "Norman" fellow that had the projector for ahead..."

Cassy nodded when she said, "I can confirm that he's my brother. I never could forget his voice." She took a deep breath before she said, "I... I don't know what happened to him to turn him into... Whatever that was! But I can't help but be relieved that he's still alive despite that."

Roger nodded as he wrote something down on a pad of paper. He then asked, "And did you know a Thomas Connor and an Allison Pendle? Er, I guess I should say a Thomas and Allison Connor since they're a married couple."

That was when Greg said, "Not directly, but their folks were members of our victims' group and their close friends are still members."

"Were?" Roger asked with a raised brow.

Cassy responded with, "They passed away close to 27 years ago, natural causes." Now Roger understood the meaning. That was when Cassy said, "They were some of our members who were rather... Blunt about their dislike for Mr Drew."

Roger's interest perked when he asked, "Can I ask why that was so?"

Greg was the one to answer, "We're not too sure about the finer details of it, but from what we've heard, Mr Drew never bothered to contact the Connors before he "invited them for a surprise". I think they did send an invite to Mr Drew for their wedding, but he declined to attend. I don't blame them for their feelings towards him in all honesty."

Sabine looked at the two elders when she asked, "Like what was mentioned in one of the videos?"

Cassy replied, "Little Markov had the right numbers, and yes, a lot of our members have shared that their loved ones were invited back to the Studio by Mr Drew himself."

"Invited Back? May I ask what that means?" Nathalie asked with a raised brow.

Greg responded with, "From what we've learned from our members, the ones that were "Invited Back to the Studio" had worked there in the past at one time or another."

Claudie eyed the floor when she said, "My father included... Even though he never responded..." That was when a memory came to her when she said, "Come to think of it..." She places a hand to her chin when she added, "I remember that the new owner of my parents' old home called me a few times after we moved out, asking about letters they've been receiving that were addressed to my father. I told them to send me the letters if they're still getting them."

"Do you still have those?" Roger asked.

Claudie nodded before she said, "Yes, and I've admittedly haven't gotten around to looking at them. You know, life and all that."

Roger nodded before he asked, "And for our next question, about one of the prior videos..."

~}i{ Inside Joey Drew Studios, Three Hours Earlier }i{~

(After a good hour or so of explaining to Allison Angel and Tom Boris how much time has passed since the two entered the studio, and then letting allowing the new information sink in).

Marinette was glad she had a few bigger thread needles in her Travel-Sized Sewing Kit. Because the threads that Tom Boris and Allison Angle had gathered were a lot thicker than the normal sewing threads but not as thick as a thin rope. Don't get the bluette wrong, the thread she was using might not have been what she was looking for but it was still getting the job done. Marinette tied off the last stitch before she snipped off the excess with her sewing scissors. She then turned it right-side out and held up her finished work to see if there were any imperfections. Satisfied with the make-shift satchel, Marinette placed it on a table with two other make-shift satchels.

Plagg, who was floating nearby, watched this before he commented, "I'm just going to say it. You could totally beat Adrien's hard-ass dad in a "Make Fashionable and Functional Clothing From Random Fabrics You can Find" contest." This cause Marinette to giggle.

Everyone else was bringing all the supplies out to go over what they needed for their Rescue Quest. First-Aid and food were the import stuff, however...

"Okay, seriously, why are there so many cans of bacon soup in this place?" Kim couldn't help but vocalize when he saw how many cans of Ready-to-Eat Bacon Soup Cans Tom Boris and Allison Angel already had stored in their hide-a-way. 30 full cans of bacon soup...

Adrien couldn't help but add, "Yeah, and remember that there were vending machines full of Bacon Soup cans right outside Buddy's Hideout. I'm also sure that I've some of those cans scattered about during our time here."

"I am positive that we have. We were simply too occupied with our missions to care about them," Markov vocalized as he looked over the medical supplies, to make sure that they were still visible.

Marinette sighed when she said, "Normally, I'd question why this place has so many bacon soup cans laying around, but... Considering what else is happening here, I doubt it matters that much."

Norman then said, "Considerin' that the cans of bacon soup are the only edible food in this place, should we really be concerned 'bout the "Why" they're here?" Everyone glanced at each other at this. The Projectionist had a point.

As everyone else started organizing their supplies and which bag will be carrying what, Kim was just staring at the phone and pack that belonged to Max... The smaller teen took off his pack before he stabbed Borkis with the prong he made and his cellphone fell out of his pocket when the Ink Demon took him... Markov noticed and flew over to the tall teen.

"Kim..." Markov vocalized timidly. Kim glanced at the AI. "We will rescue Max from the Ink Demon, then we will shut down the Ink Machine, and finally we will leave this place with everyone," Markov said, trying to cheer Kim up.

"I know we will Markov. But... I can't help but worry about what could happen to Max. If the Ink Demon did take him under the idea that Max is Henry, then what do you think would happen when the Ink Demon realizes that that's not the case?"

Markov calculated a few scenarios of that before answering, "I understand your point. I am worried about Max too, but right now, we must pack our supplies so that we can save him before that can happen to him." Kim gave a soft sigh before he nodded and walked over to help the packing. That was when Markov noticed something shining in the corner. The AI flew over towards the object. When he got there, he found a device that looked like a squared magnifying glass. Markov picked up the device with his claw to look at it better when he said, "What the heck is this?"

Allison Angel looked up to see what the AI was talking about, when she saw the device in Markov's claw, she said, "That was something I found a while back while I was mapping one of the upper levels. I noticed something reflecting off the glass. It's... A strange piece of glass. Tom fitted the glass the frame so it would be safer to handle."

Markov held the device when he asked, "What does the glass do?" He held it up to his visor. He looked through the glass and saw something... Strange indeed. Markov blinked at what he saw before he looked again. A glowing, yellow angel halo was hovering over Allison Angel's head and written in glowing yellow letter on the wall behind was the sentence "Trust them".

"Who wrote those glowing words on the wall and where did that halo over Miss Allison's head come from?" Markov questioned, still looking through the glass.

Team Psi looked at Allison Angel and then the walls, not seeing either when Tikki asked in confusion, "Markov, what are you talking about?"

Markov pointed at the words on the wall when he said, "The words in glowin- Huh?" That was when the AI noticed that the glowing letters weren't there and neither was the halo over Allison's head. Markov tilted to the side when he said, "Are my visional systems malfunctioning? I am positive that there were words written on the wall in glowing letters." Was the AI spoke, he waved the device. But that was when Markov noticed something and looked through the device to see the glowing letters. He moved the device away from his visor and saw that the words were gone. Markov then said in a curious tone, "Huh, it seems like the glowing words are only visible when viewed through this Seeing Tool device."

The other members of Team Psi took turns looking at the Seeing Tool and saw the sentence "Trust Them" written on the wall.

"Did you find other messages like this?" Marinette asked Tom Boris and Allison Angel.

Allison shrugged when she said, "We have, but they can only be seen through the glass. Those messages are everywhere throughout the studio! But they don't lead anywhere." Tom Boris nodded at this. Allison Angel then said, "We kept the glass because we found some of the messages we found were helpful to our endeavours."

"How?" Plagg asked as he looked through the glass to see Allison's halo.

"Those messages have helped us find some good supplies and warn us what sections were dangerous or not," Allison Angel said with a small shrug. She then said, "We don't know who has been writing those messages or how they're able to." Tom Boris nodded again.

That was when Norman asked, "Maybe, whoever is leaving those invisible messages is the same person who's been helping us?"

"A helper?" Allison vocalized in confusion as Tom Boris raised a brow in confusion.

Tikki was the one to say, "Someone who lingers in the background and seems to know when we're going to need aid. They've left stuff for us to use or to find. I can feel them in the background but they've kept their distance so I can't pinpoint who or where they are exactly." Allison Angel and Tom Boris were still getting used to the little fairies floating about.

"Someone else is trapped here? And they know what can happen?" Allison Angel asked in shock. She then raised a brow when she asked, "But, why are they helping you? Especially if they might know how to escape?"

"Guess that means you know as much as us about them. We only found out about them because of all the coincidences," Kim said as he shoved a Ready-to-Eat can of bacon soup into one of the satchels. He looked at one before ask, "Tikki, Plagg, are you sure this stuff will replenish your energy if Marinette and Adrien have to use their powers?"

Plagg gagged a bit before saying, "Unfortunately they can, as much as it pains me to admit. *Bleck* But they're nowhere near as good as the wonderous camembert, or anything else in all honesty."

Marinette couldn't help but add with a sigh, "By this point, we shouldn't complain about having something edible to eat for energy. *Grimaces* Even if they aren't palatable."

Adrien sighed when he said, "Given the life-or-death situation here, yeah I agree with Bugaboo on that." He then closed the satchel he filled with medical supplies when he added, "I guess those stories about what people do to survive don't seem as exaggerated now than they were before... It... Scary to be honest..."

Marinette looked at the blonde when she said, "Considering that your dad practically had you on house-arrest until you started at Dupont and all you heard before that is probably from books and tv shows... It must be very hard for you to comprehend all this and the willingness to survive." Adrien glanced away from the bluette as he gave a small nod. The bluette could understand, even though she had a lot more freedom than Adrien, she can understand how he was feeling. Kim subconsciously rubbed his left arm with his right, he uses to make fun of those survival stories, about how exaggerated they seemed but now that they're in a place like this, he just... Felt bad about what he said in the past.

Norman placed a hand on Adrien's shoulder when he said, "Kiddo, there are just something that can only be understood when you're in the same situation. So don't feel bad that you either completely understand or underestimate the situation." Adrien looked up at the projectionist with a small smile as he gave a short nod. Marinette and Kim felt better about hearing that too.

Now, for the weapons.

Pipe wrenches, pipes, and an axe were what was available. "Not a bad arsenal you two got here," Plagg commented as he looked over the weapons. "Got enough for everyone here," the Kwami of Distruction added as he looked over everyone present.

Buddy Boris picked up a pipe wrench when Marinette said, "Let's pack a few extras, just in case something happens. And we'll have one for Max once we find him." That everyone could agree on.

As everyone took a weapon, Marinette noticed one section of a wall that had ink drawings on it. The bluette walked over to it and looked over what was on it. The word HOPE written in big bold letters next to a drawing of a door. Some small sentences could've easily been overlooked by some of the drawings, one being "THERE'S ALWAYS A REASON" that was written under a short music score. A cute little drawing of a Boris' head. A list of levels, those being Level 4, Level P, Level X, Level 32, and Level B. The words "CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY" were written under a nice sketch of a farmhouse with a windmill. Marinette looked over at Tom Boris and Allison Angel when she asked, "Who wrote all of these?" as she pointed at the ink art.

Allison Angel looked at what Marinette was pointing at before she responded with, "I did."

Marinette looked at Allison Angel before she looked back to the wall when she asked, "Were you and Tom the ones writing on the walls throughout the Studio?"

Allison Angel shook her head slightly before she said as she glanced at a bucket of ink with a paintbrush sticking out of it, "We all write them when we can. For some poor souls down here, it's the only way they can be heard..." Her expression went hard when she added, "But you don't want to touch the ink for too long! It can claim you! Or at least... The ones who are already corrupted by the Ink." She glanced at the two Boris and Norman.

"Thanks for the warning..." Adrien muttered as he hands his right hand over his left ring finger out of habit, only to remember that his Miraculous wasn't on his finger. He then moved his hand to his right ear, touching the Ladybug Miraculous as Tikki patted him on his left hand. Adrien then said, "But our main issues after we save Max are the Ink Demon and finding a way to purify everyone affected by the Ink... Our current option is pretty much a double-edged sword and it only seems to affect one target at a time."

Tikki's antenna twitched a bit when she said, "Maybe if we shut down the Ink Machine, we won't have to do that Purification Technique and we could use the regular purifying."

Plagg then added, "And if you can't?" That earned him a wack from the red Kwami. Plagg rubbed the spot where he was hit when he said, "I'm asking out of curiosity! What if we can't find a way to undo everything the Ink did?! I mean Cataclysm only worked half the times we used it here and we don't know enough about the Ink to know how to purify them without draining the Ladybug Holder!"

The Kwami of Destruction was bringing up a point...

"We'll find a way to save everyone affected by the Ink," Adrien said as he gave a test swing of the pipe he was holding. He then said, "Even the ones that are... You know..."

Norman was the one to say, "Kids, hows about we do things one step at a time. So no one get's overwhelmed by thinkin' too much at once."

Kim raised a hand when he said, "That would be good for me." Which caused Markov to chuckle. The AI couldn't hold a weapon, instead, he opted to hold onto the Seeing Tool.

Marinette turned towards the rest of the team when she said, "Well, we know the first step in our quest. Finding the Ink Demon's lair. It's the most likely place the Ink Demon would keep Max."

Adrien couldn't help but say, "Hopefully, it'll be easier to find than Hawkmoth's Lair."

Norman tilted his head to the side when he asked, "You've mentioned that guy before. He really that bad?"

Kim was the one to answer, "The guy's been terrorizing Paris for a year by turning regular citizens, who are having a little emotional trouble, into Akumas. He's been trying to get the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous the whole time."

Norman scratched his head when he asked, "How's he "turn regular citizens into Akumas"? And what are Akumas?"

After a quick explanation of who Hawkmoth was, what he can do, how he can do what he can do, and how the Heroes have been trying to figure out who it is for a year. There were also some comments about the drama in their civilian lives, more on Kim's end than the heroes.

"Sounds like...It complicated your regular lives often, and everyone else," was all Norman could say. He then scratched the side of his head before he asked, "So this Hawkmoth guy has had Paris under emotional hostage and causes a panic whenever someone gets angry or sad?"

"Basically," the rest of Team Psi responded in union.

Norman then folded his arms while still holding his pipe when he said, "I'ma guessing Hawkmoth is also the reason why you two haven't been able to get together sooner." He motioned to Marinette and Adrien when he said that. The two in question turned pink upon realizing what those words meant.

Kim snickered when he said, "Oh, that's just the obvious reason. The other reasons are a little embarrassing to these two to talk about."

Markov got a little giddy when he said, "I am aware of those reasons. I have analyzed all of them to understand how "romance" work, but I didn't quite understand how those would function. So I decided to use the data to create a logical list of things that could assist in a romantic pursue that have a higher probability of working."

Adrien couldn't help but ask, "Do you have that list on you right now? Just to find out what you've compiled." "Chaton!" Marinette scolded in distress with red cheeks. Kim couldn't stop himself from laughing. Buddy Boris couldn't help but snicker. Norman cocked his head to the side out of amusement. Tom Boris and Allison Angel just glanced at each other in confusion as the mechanical armed Ink Creature gave a small shrug.

The pleasant feeling that everyone had plummetted when Plagg suddenly shuttered as he commented that it felt like he was suddenly submerged in a bucket of ice water. Not even five seconds later, they heard the familiar terrifying sounds of the Ink Demon's roar.

"The Ink Demon! He's found out where we are!" Allison Angel exclaimed before she quickly motioned for the others to follow her when she said, "We need to get out of here, NOW!"

No one wanted to argue with that, so they all hustled out of the hideout and made their way to a dock with a rather large barge waiting for them as it sat still on top of a sea of ink. The barge looked like it was large enough to hold everyone comfortably.

Marinette's eyebrow twitched when she commented in a rather baffled tone, "I'm sure we already know that this place is crazy, but I just gotta say it. Why is there a boat dock under an animation studio?"

As everyone rushed towards the barge as the ink webs and the faint sounds of a heartbeat started, Kim said, "Should we even question this kind of crap by now?" As they ran, Max's phone slipped out of Kim's pocket. The tall teen paused when he realized what happened, but the others urged him to keep heading to the barge since the Ink Demon was getting closer. Kim bit his lip before he sprinted to their destination and leaving the phone behind.

Markov noticed a glow on the ground through the Seeing Tool. He paused and quickly looked through the Seeing Tool to see what the message is. "There's something in the river?" Markov read out loud before he flew over to the barge just in time for Tom Boris to cut the rope holding the barge to the dock before he leapt into it as it slowly pulled away from the dock.

The sudden movement of the barge caused Tom Boris to lose his balance as he landed on the edge of the barge. Tom Boris almost fell backwards into the ink river, but Buddy Boris quickly grabbed him by the arm and saving him from that inky fate. One Boris clone carefully pulled the other back onto the barge. Once everyone had their feet solidly on the barge, they looked back to the docks to see the Ink Demon staring back at them.

Team Psi and Tom Boris glared at the Ink Demon as Allison Angel steered the barge. They saw the Ink Demon's teeth chatter as they pulled further and further away from the docks. Since the Ink Demon couldn't do anything, he sulked off. As Team Psi watched the image of the Ink Demon get smaller and smaller as he left the docks. It didn't take long before the dock was no longer in sight.

The barge wasn't fast, which was typical among large boats with small motors, but they were making a steady pace towards wherever their destination was. When the barge passed through the tunnel, Markov finally vocalized, "There was a strange message that I found through the Seeing Tool. It was a strange one..." When Tikki asked what it was, the AI responded with, " "There's something in the river". From the implication of the words, it's logical to assume that the "something" is dangerous... But the river is ink, what could be "in the river" that could be considered dangerous? Or could "live" in the ink?"

That was when Marinette said, "Besides the Ink? I would guess maybe something that would damage the barge." She then walked up to the front where Allison Angel was and asked, "Where are we headed?"

Allison Angel kept her eyes forward as she kept the barge on track and said, "Since we're looking for the location of the Ink Demon's Lair, we need to find information that can help us find it. To do that, we're going to have to ask some of the Lost Ones if they might know where the Ink Demon lurks a lot."

Plagg floated over when he asked, "Do you think they're reliable enough for this? The ones we ran into were a little out there if you know what I mean."

"Some of the Lost Ones still remember some things from their lives before the Ink. They might be of some use to us," Allison Angel said as she carefully steered the barge. She then added, "And some of them have actu-" Suddenly the engine sputtered to a halt, causing the passengers to lurch forward slightly. Allison tried to start the engine again, but when she got nothing but the straining engine, she turned to the others and said, "There must be something stuck in the paddlewheel. Someone go check and try to fix it, but do it carefully. Don't get too much Ink on you."

Norman, Kim, and both Boris went to check the paddlewheel. "What the heck?!" the tall teen vocalized when he saw what was stuck in the wheel. Several blobs of thick ink were wedge in the spokes of the paddlewheel. Kim grimaced when he said, "Well, looks like Mari was right about the "Something" being something that would harm the barge." Tom Boris quickly hacked his axe on one of the blobs, causing the thing to splatter on contact. Norman assisted with his weapon, clearing his half of the paddle wheel.

"Eep!" Plagg shuttered a bit before he said, "I feel ice being jammed in my back." Tikki's antenna dropped when she vocalized, "Uh-oh..." That wasn't a good sign...

Suddenly, there was a splash from behind the barge. Everyone looked towards the sound just in time to see a giant Bendy hand rise from the ink river and slowly moved towards them.

"Oh, Shit!" Norman shouted before Allison gunned the engine. The barge started moving away from The Hand. It was a good thing that the barge was a lot faster than The Hand.

Adrien's eyes were glued to The Hand when he said, "I think we found out what the real "Something" that that message was referring to. Kwami! What the heck was that supposed to be?"

Markov chimed in with, "The most logical hypothesis would be that it was to be either part of a ride or a giant mechanical Bendy facsimile that was to greet the guests to the amusement park if it were to open."

Kim scoffed when he said, "If that's the case then it seems like Mr Drew's big ambitions were the cause of his studio's downfall." Everyone looked at the tall teen in amazement. Kim noticed when he asked, "What? Think about it, when you consider the toy factory, the amusement park, and now this river, it's easy to-"

The barge came to a sudden halt again and causing everyone to lurch forward slightly again. Norman and Tom Boris quickly moved to the paddle wheel and saw the ink blobs gunking up the mechanism, again. And like before, they tried to clear the blobs from the paddlewheel. But the fact that the barge was stationary allowed The Hand to catch up. As the last ink blob was cleared from the paddle wheel, Norman quickly turned his head towards the front of the barge and shouted, "Start the engine!" Allison Angel quickly gunned the engine and the barge started moving, leaving The Hand behind.

This pattern repeated four more times before The Hand gave up the chase and the barge drove into a large cavern.

"Whoa," everyone from Team Psi uttered as the sight of a make-shift shanty town came into view. They passed a wooden shelter that was built over the ink with a Lost One sitting on the ledge, just fishing for anything in the ink. That Lost One watched the barge as it pulled into the dock to the shantytown. Everyone on the barge carefully got off and slowly walked on the creaky wooden boards of the dock. Allison Angel then said, "This is Lost Harbor. The Lost Ones made this place to serves as their main living area and as a way to hide from the Ink Demon since he doesn't come to this area." Team Psi muttered a few lines of "makes sense" as they all walked up the dock.

As soon as the last person walked onto the solid land part of the dock, the boards to the boat section of the dock broke into pieces. Staring at the now inaccessible path, Plagg asked in an almost sarcastic tone, "Why does that make me think that's some kind of foreboding warning?"

"Maybe because it broke as soon as everyone crossed it," Tikki responded, taking the question seriously. Plagg sighed in response as he shook his head. The Red Kwami could be so literal sometimes. But they couldn't deny that the boards suddenly breaking was a little too timed...

That was when Adrien said, "Let's all agree to keep an eye out for any signs of danger, okay?" That was something Team Psi could agree on.

That was when Allison Angel said, "You don't have to worry about these Lost Ones. They're mostly harmless."

"Keyword in that sentence being "Mostly", good to know," Marinette grumbled as they walked up to the entrance of the shantytown.

Team Psi looked around the Losy Harbor in both amazement and uneasiness. Despite the make-shift look to everything, it all seemed well constructed; however, it was that very make-shift look that made the whole place have a rather creepy vibe to it. The graffiti in ink on the walls of some of the building walls didn't help that uneasy feeling. Those were "WHAT AM I?", "DOWN HERE WE'RE ALL SINNERS", "HE WILL SET US FREE", "IT'S TIME TO BELIEVE", and "THE CREATOR LIED TO US".

Norman looked around. He could see a few Lost Ones watching from inside the buildings through the holes in the wall that acted like windows without the glass. "I'm not sure if I'm gettin' a bit paranoid or not, but it feels like I'm gettin' a look from the Lost Ones that we can see," He said as the group made their way deeper into the Lost Harbor.

Allison Angel glanced at Norman when she said, "Given that some here have had a bad experience with a Projectionist, it's not hard to guess that those would have told the others. Those tales might make them a little wary of you... Norman, right?" The Projectionist nodded as they kept walking.

It wasn't long before they came to what looked liked a blocked-off shrine that was decorated with papers with ink handprints, a few scattered candles keeping the "shrine" lit, and written above the "shrine" in big, bold, inky letters that read "NOT MONSTERS".

"That's a double standard right there," Kim said as he read the sign.

Markov looked through the Seeing Tool to see the words "ONCE PEOPLE, NOW FALLEN INTO DESPAIR" where the "NOT MONSTERS" sentence was written. The AI then said, "That's a rather sad thing to write..." When he was asked what the Hidden Message was, Markov read it out loud to them, and they couldn't help but agree with the Hidden Message. That was when Markov asked as he floated over to the "Shrine" to get a better look, "I wonder why this is boarded up?"

As soon as Markov got close enough, something began smashing through the bords from the other side of the "shrine" and startling everyone in the group. As the AI zoomed back to the group, everyone got into a fighting position, more out of habit by this point more than anything.

"BETRAYED! ABANDONED!" an angry and distorted voice shouted as they hacked away at the wooden boards blocking their way. A second after the bords were hacked off, the familiar figure of Sammy Lawrence walked out brandishing an axe in hand.

Adrien, Marinette, Kim, Markov, Tikki, and Plagg gasped in shock at the sight of the former Music Director standing before them. "How?!" Marinette gasped out as she took a step back. "He was attacked by!?" Adrien shouted in shock as moved closer to the bluenette. "The Ink Demon!" Kim finished as he gripped the pipe he was holding tighter. That was when Markov squeaked out, "But... We only heard the attack, we never witnessed it." The AI had a good point there...

"I trusted you! I gave you everything!" Sammy Lawrence shouted in rage as he raised his axe. As he charged forward towards the teens with his axe ready to strike, he shouted, "And you left me to rot!"

The teens just froze. They froze because they were shocked by the fact that someone they thought was dead was right in front of them. They froze because they were shocked by the fact that the "dead man" was charging at them. And they were shocked by the fact that Sammy Lawrence thought they were the reason why he's the way he is right now.

Norman leapt in by parrying Sammy Lawrence's axe with his weapon. The Projectionist kept the position as the former Music Director as the latter chanted, "Why? WHY?"

With a grunt, Norman snapped, "Sammy! What the hell?! These kids haven't done anythin' to you!" He then pushed Sammy back with another grunt before saying, "You're the one who tried to sacrificed them to the Ink Demon!" The former Music Director staggered back, slightly dazed from the push back.

Allison Angel and the two Boris' quickly leapt into action to aid Norman in fighting off Sammy. Marinette and Adrien took a few deep breaths before telling Kim and Markov to stay out of sight while they help out. "Tikki/Plagg! Spots On/Claws Out!" the blonde and the bluenette called out. As Mister Bug and Kitty Noire took the field, Kim and Markov ducked behind a couple of wooden crates to keep out of sight. It was a little weird seeing Buddy Boris actively participate in a fight like this, but considering who it was against...

But it ended up being a good thing because Sammy Lawrence was a surprisingly competent fighter despite him seemingly just waving his axe around. And it ended up being Buddy Boris who managed to knock Sammy's Bendy mask off when he swung his pipe at him. "No! Don't look at me!" Sammy screamed as he covered his now maskless face with his hands. The former Music Director then raced towards the "shrine" as he got out in an almost fearful tone, "Stay away..." He then stood there, facing away from the others as he continued to shield his face from them.

Allison Angel, Tom Boris, Norman, Kitty Noire, Buddy Boris, and Mister Bug glanced at one another in confusion. They couldn't help but think that this sudden change of behaviour was strange, even for this place. That was when Kitty Noire remembered that Sammy Lawrence was trapped here for close to 60 years having to deal with all kinds of horrors and had to have suffered a good number of psychotic breaks during that time... It had to be the reason why Sammy started worshipping the Ink Demon... Sammy Lawrence was a victim of the Studio too...

Kitty Noire took a few cautious steps towards Sammy Lawrence as she asked, "Mr Lawrence? Are you okay?" When she didn't get a response, she took another few steps closer as the others moved a little bit closer, just in case something happens. "Um, Mr Lawrence? Listen, while you did attack us first, we really didn't want to fight you, we still don't, but... If something's wrong, you can tell us and maybe we can help," Kitty Noire said as she got just a little bit closer to the former Music Director.

As soon as Kitty Noire was in easy reach of Sammy Lawrence, he suddenly grabbed her by the collar and stopping everyone's hearts when he did. "You lied to me!" the former Music Director seethed as he lifted the current Black Cat Hero into the air. He then snapped, "You said that I'd be freed!"

"What are you talking about?!" Kitty Noire gasped out as she struggled to break free of the former Music Director's surprisingly strong grip. The bluette then said in a strained tone, "We only interacted with you when you tried to sacrifice us to the Ink Demon!"

"Don't try to lie to me again, Bendy!" Sammy snapped as he tightened his grip, making the others both nervous. Then they realized what he called Kitty Noire and became pretty confused.

"Um, Mr Lawrence, I think you might be a bit confused," Markov said as he hovered above his hiding spot with Kim. The AI then added, "Kitty Noire is most certainly not Bendy. She is a cat-themed hero, while Bendy is a demon."

"DON'T LIE TO ME AGAIN!" Sammy Lawrence shouted as he held up the axe with his free hand. He then said in rage, "I'll free you. I'll free your head right off your shoulders!"

Anger flared in Mister Bug as he rushed towards Sammy Lawrence as he slammed Kitty Noire to the ground. As the former Music Director got ready to follow through with his threat, Mister Bug tackled him at full force. The impact caused Sammy Lawrence to drop the axe and stagger back. Kitty Noire recovered from her blow from the ground to see what was happening. Tom Boris then helped the Black Cat hero to her feet as Allison Angel, Norman, and Buddy Boris gathered around her as Mister Bug was going all out in a fistfight with Sammy Lawrence.

Mister Bug then activated the Purification of his yo-yo and then aimed at Sammy Lawrence. Kitty Noire, Buddy Boris, Kim, Norman, and Markov knew what their friend was thinking when the Black Cat hero shouted, "Adrien!"

"Time to Purify!" Mister Bug shouted before a bright beam of light shot out of the yo-yo and hit Sammy Lawrence dead on. The former Music Director shouted in pure shock as the white light enveloped him completely. Mister Bug focused on the light, he had to maintain it! To save Marinette! To save the poor soul that was still suffering inside. That was when Mister Bug closed his eyes as he pushed the beam of light forward a little more. A few seconds later, the blonde thought he heard the familiar sound of a pen scratching on a paper... Was someone writing something?

'Marc? What's... He... Doing... Here...' were Mister Bug's final thoughts before he fell into black and missing his allies calling out to him.

~}i{ Outside The Studio, Master Fu's Message Parler, Present Time }i{~

While Wang Fu worked on healing Emilie Agreste, the other Heroes (after revealing their identities to each other) were going over possible plans on saving Team Psi from Joey Drew Studios. With the help of the available Kwamis.

"Okay, obviously, the damn place has some kind of mechanism that somehow allows it to keep itself closed off from the rest of the world," Alix stated as she looked over the blueprints of the layout of Joey Drew Studios. She then said, "But I don't recall seeing any security cameras on the exterior. This means that there's got to be at least a 70% chance that someone is just constantly watching the exterior to make sure no one can get in and a 100% chance that someone is watching on the inside to prevent anyone from escaping."

That was when Nino said, "Dudette, you're kinda talking like Max."

Alix sighed before she said, "I just miss him and Kim..." She looked at Kaalki and Xuppu before she added, "It just makes me feel a little better when I try talking like Max... It... Makes it feel like they're still kinda here..."

Luka placed a hand on Alix's shoulder when he said, "And they'll be back once we find a way to get them out."

That was when Chloe said with a loud sigh, "Of all the info that Future Alix dropped on us, you'd think she would've at least dropped some kind of hint about how to save them."

Kagami looked at the blonde when she said, "You seem to be very "hung up" on what Alix's future self said. May I inquire why?"

Chloe shifted a bit before she got out, "Well... Future!Alix only told me and Alix that "Ladybug and Chat Noir have everything covered", that kinda implies that they'll somehow find a way out on their own." She then folded and rubbed her arms self-consciously before adding, "But... That last bit about "the others" is still a bit unsettling..."

Nino tensed before he said, "That can only mean that there are other people that got trapped in that Studio before our buddies did... And they're still there... Man, that just..." He shook his head as he picked up a recent photograph of the outside of Joey Drew Studios. Nino looked at the picture for a few seconds before looking at the blueprints, and then back at the picture when he asked, "These are the same blueprints Max got from the public archive, right?"

Chloe nodded when she said, "Yeah, I remember he said that the multiple librarians confirmed that these blueprints are for that studio. Why are you asking that?"

Nino looked at the blueprints when he said, "These blueprints show that the studio has two stories."

Kagami raised a brow when she said, "They do, and didn't your class build your Haunted House the same way?"

Alix took a breath before she said, "Yup, I remember that we had to combine a few rooms to make sure we finished on time, but we kept the two floors. But, I'm going to agree with Chloe on the why are you asking, Nino?"

Nino flopped the photo of the studio on top of the blueprints when he said, "There's a reason for my question, dudes and dudettes. Take a look at the picture."

Everyone, Kwamis included, looked at the picture. At first, they didn't see anything off, but after looking at the blueprints... They started to see what Nino was talking about.

Trixx was the one to point it out by saying, "There are three floors in the picture but the blueprints only show two!" The fox Kwami looked at Alix when he asked, "You sure Max got the most recent copies?"

Alix nodded when she said, "They should be. I mean, the place was closed down in 1959, so any building construction that was done had to be added to the studio's blueprints would be in the public records now."

Pollen was the one to say, "But, Mizz Alix, it's obviously not the case. There's an entire floor missing from the blueprints! How's that possible if what you're saying is true?"

"It might've been off-the-books?" Luka suggested. But then he thought about the facts available and then said, "But to do an entire floor off-book is more than a little suspicious... Oh crap!"

"What?" the Kwami asked in confusion at the same time.

Kagami caught on when she said, "If an entire floor has been constructed off-the-books and never added to the blueprints, then... What else has not been recorded in these blueprints?"

Chloe punched a random spot on the blueprint angrily when she snapped, "Shit! Markov has these blueprints in his files, and I'm sure they thought that they could use them like a map to get out!" She let out a growl before she pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "They must've learned first-hand that these blueprints are worthless! Utterly worthless!"

That was when Wayzz shrank a bit when he said, "And that also means that... These blueprints aren't going to help us with locating our friends..."

Everyone was completely silent... And they remained silent until Luka asked in a serious tone, "Is it possible to combine two Miraculous that can be used to search someplace without actually being there?"

~}i{ Elsewhere, A Day Later }i{~

Consciousness came to Adrien at a snail's pace. Everything was just... Fuzzy... Like a big, fluffy pillow covered with black feathers...

"Hey, kiddo, can you open your eyes? I prefer to talk to you while you're not half-asleep," a voice said to Adrien as he slowly opened his eyes. Why did the voice sound so familiar to the blonde? Has he met the voice before?

When Adrien opened his eyes completely, he realized he was standing in a strange void. It seemed pitch black but it was strangely lit. "Where... Am I?" Adrien asked as he looked around the void, trying to find out who was speaking to him.

Adrien heard a chuckle before the voice said, "Behind you, kiddo."

Adrien quickly whirled around and saw the owner of the voice. "Max?" the blonde managed to get out. True, the stranger looked identical to Max but he looked a decade older and was wearing a white collared shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pair of well-worn pair of grey jeans being held up by a pair of black suspenders, and black shoes.

The Max look-a-like brought his right, and castless, hand to his chin as he chuckled. He then said, "Not exactly, kiddo." Adrien blinked in confusion at the comment. The guy looked like Max but he didn't sound like Max, but his voice still sounded familiar to the blonde for some reason. The look-a-like smiled before he said, "I can understand the confusion though. Maxie does have a rather strong resemblance to me when I was younger."

Adrien was still confused, but he tried to think about what this person was talking about... Maxie... Resemblance... Younger... Ah! Realization hit Adrien like a tidal wave when he said, "You're Henry! Max's grandfather!"

The Max look-a-like took a small, polite bow when he said, "Henry Stein." He then looked up at Adrien when he added, "I never thought that I'd be coming back like this. Or at least meeting one of Maxie's friends under these circumstances."

Adrien just couldn't believe his eyes. Not only was he talking to a dead man, but he was talking to the Creator that all the Lost Ones are hoping to save them. The blonde tried to speak, trying to ask all his questions that he had, but all he could ask was, "How? How am I talking to you right now?"

Henry gave a small shrug when he said, "If I had to make a guess, then I'd say that the Ladybug Miraculous had a part in helping with that."

"But..." Adrien got out before saying, "The Ladybug Miraculous is the Miraculous of Creation! You're..." The blonde paused, not sure if he should say it or not.

"Dead?" Henry responded with an amused tilt of the head. He then said, "It's okay to just say the word, it won't bother me too much." He let out a small sigh as he glanced away from Adrien as he said, "I'll admit, it did hurt that I left my family the way I did."

Adrien looked in the direction Henry was and saw an image of Henry in his eighties with a woman around the same age who was probably Linda, Claudie Kanté was in the image, and Max was there too. The blonde then looked back at Henry, who now had a sad look on his face, when he said, "I'm... Sorry, that happened... I... Can relate in a way... But... At least you were with your family... My... Mother disappeared... And is still missing."

"She's not missing," Henry stated suddenly as he looked back at Adrien before adding, "In fact, she's never left your home."

Adrien gave a small smile, "I always felt that her spirit was still with me at home... Even if it can be a little hard to feel it with Father being, well, himself..." He thought the Spirit was trying to cheer him up with gentle words.

Henry gave the blonde a weary smile when he said, "Uh, sure, let's go with that." Adrien had a strange feeling that the spirit meant something else entirely. Henry rubbed the back of his neck before he said, "So... You're trapped in Joey's studio, with some of my old co-workers and other victims..." Henry let out a deep sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "God, what has Joey been up to that would cause such horrors?"

Adrien replied, "Something with ink, apparently... How close were you to Mr Drew before you quit the studio?"

Henry folded his arms in front of his chest before he said, "I thought we were good friends but it turns out he was just using me for my talents. *Sighs*. I was able to get out of that toxic relationship, but..." Henry pointed towards another image. This time, Adrien was looking at a gathering of Lost Ones. "It seems like others weren't so lucky..." Henry finished as the image switched to an old image of him, Norman Polk, and Sammy Lawrence. Adrien was surprised by the fact that he was looking at those two before they were affected by the Ink. When the blonde's attention snapped back at Henry when the spirit said in an angry, "If I had known what Joey was really doing to my friends, I would've made sure the damn police got involved. Make them do an entire search of the studio to stop him from harming all these innocent people."

Adrien gave the spirit a sympathetic look when he said, "You didn't know what he was doing when you were alive. Which makes me ask, how did you find out about what's been going on at Joey Drew Studios?"

Henry keep his eyes on the image of him, Sammy Lawrance, and Norman Polk when he said, "After I realized that I died, I thought I could finally see Norman and Sammy again. Tell them about how I've been and how their families have been doing... But..."

That was when Adrien said, "They've been trapped in the Studio the whole time, even after they technically died. That's how you knew something was up. You could've tried to tell someone alive, I mean, you can do that via entering their dreams or, or could send them a vision, right?"

Henry chuckled before he said, "You have obviously seen way too many movies, kiddo. But to answer your question, we Spirits have Rules we have to obey, especially when communicating with the living. *Smiles*. Apparently, you've managed to adhere to the Rules with your actions and the Ladybug Miraculous, so now I get to talk to you."

Adrien scratched his head in confusion when he said, "I'm not sure what I did to get you to come to talk to me..." He then shrugged before he added, "But I'm not complaining, and you can maybe answer a few questions to fill in a few missing pieces to this Studio's Mysteries so we can save everyone, especially Max!"

Henry looked confused and concerned when he said, "What happened to my little grandson?"

Adrien looked at the ground (was there a ground?) when he said, "The Ink Demon took him, and we believe that he may have taken Max to his lair. We've been thinking that he might've mistaken Max as you."

"Ink Demon?" Henry asked in confusion. That was telling to the blonde.

Adrien thought for a second before he replied, "A major demonized inky version of Bendy. We've been thinking that the Ink might either be someone who knew you created Bendy or has some major connection to you or even Bendy himself."

Henry looked at the blonde in shock when he said, "It's... Been a long time since I've heard that name before..." He then took a deep breath before letting it out slowly, and then said, "Maxie was five when he found my old sketchbook of Bendy, Boris, Alice Angel, and all the other characters I've created for Joey Drew Studios."

That was when Adrien said, "So THAT's where Max saw the original concept for Bendy from before we came to the studio."

Henry nodded before he said, "I haven't drawn Bendy or any of the other since I left the studio, since I somehow "Didn't have the rights to them" even though I created them. *Sigh* Guess that was just another reason why I ended my "friendship" if I could even call it that, with Joey... And it felt like Joey took a part of me when he took my creations from me..."

Adrien placed a hand to his chin when he muttered, "A part of you..." The blonde looked at Henry when he asked, "The last letter you got from Mr Drew, what did it say?"

Henry frowned as he folded his arms again when he said, "Popmus bastard wanted me to return to his studio, said he had something to show me." He then flicked his wrist towards the blonde, and a paper that was yellow with age appeared in front of him.

Adrien took the paper and read what was written on it.

"Dear Henry,

It seems like a lifetime since we worked on cartoons together. 54 years really slips away, doesn't it? If you're back in town, come visit the old workshop. There's something I need to show you.

Your best pal,

Joey Drew."

Adrien raised a brow at what he read before he looked back at Henry when he asked, "Did he really... Write this?"

Henry scoffed before he said, "Yeah, he did. Infuriating, isn't it. Bastard has the audacity to think that I still consider him "my best pal" after everything he's done!"

'That seems to be another parallel to Lila,' the blonde thought. He then wondered, 'But still... Even if Lila and Mr Drew are somehow related... There are way too many similarities as it is. It's a little weird... Almost unnatural as to how much alike they are...' He waited for Henry to calm down a bit before he continued. "So he wanted you to return to the studio too?" Adrien asked as the letter vanished. He then asked, "Is Mr Drew trying to silence everyone who worked for him or something? And why use the Ink to do it?"

Henry gave the blonde a sad look when he said, "I'm sorry, but I don't have the answers to those questions." There was a sudden ripple in the void. "It seems like our time is almost up," Henry said softly before he told Adrien, "You might want to ask the important questions you have before then."

Adrien quickly thought over what he'd just learned from Henry. He didn't know anything about the Ink or know the whole story on what has been happening in the Studio, so any questions regarding those were out. But maybe... That was when Adrien asked, "Do you think you would know how to use the Ladybug's Purification technique without it draining to the holder so much?"

Henry could help but respond with, "At least your asking if I know rather than assuming that I know." "Do you?" Adrien asked, not sure how much time he has left with Henry. With a weary smile, the Spirit responded with, "You're not going to like it, but practice makes perfect for all of you."

Adrien frowned at the answer. The Spirit was right, he didn't like that response. Adrien thought quickly when he asked, "After we free everyone from the Ink... Are they... Going to die right away?" That question was more to get an idea of what to expect when they eventually free everyone from the Ink and after they get out of the Studio.

Henry gave a small, sad, smile when he said, "Kiddo... You, Kim, Maxie, Markov, and your girlfriend are the only ones alive inside the studio... But until these grounded souls find their Peace, they aren't going to be leaving the Living Plain anytime soon."

Adrien only understood half that answer. Then he blushed when he realized what Henry referred to Marinette as. Adrien waved his hands nervously when he got out, "Marinette isn't my girlfriend! She-she's just a good friend and superhero partner!" Henry only gave an amused raised brow at the blonde's response.

The rippling in the void happened again. Henry watched the ripples for a few seconds before he said, "Well, time's up." He then looked at Adrien before he waved and said, "If you're going to have trouble convincing your friends that you talked with me, just tell Norman that I still think he needs to wear a bell." That was when the rippling started turning the void into the light.

"Wait!" Adrien called out before he shields his eyes from the sudden light. He then shouted, "What's this Peace thing?! Mr Stein!" The light got brighter and brighter as he kept calling out, "Mr Stien!" It didn't take long before the light was just too bright.

And the next thing Adrien knew, he was staring at a wooden ceiling.

~}i{ Inside Joey Drew Studios, Present Time }i{~

Adrien groaned as he slowly brought a hand to his face. As he rubbed his face, he realized that he was laying on some kind of make-shift bed. He tried to push himself to a sitting position, but he didn't have the energy in his arms to do so. 'Did my talk with Mr Stien really drain me that much?' Adrien wondered as he glanced around the room he was in. 'How... Where am I?' the blonde thought before he let out a low groan when he couldn't remember anything before his talk with Henry.

"Adrien?" Adrien slowly turned to the voice who called him and saw a worried-looking bluebell eyed, bluette teenage girl wearing ink-stained clothing. She quickly moved over to his side and put her hand on his forehead when she asked, "You're awake! Good. Are you feeling right now?"

Adrien stared at the bluette for a bit before he asked in a dreamy tone, "Am I in heaven? Because you're an angel."

The bluette sighed when she said as she rolled her eyes, "Nice to know you're okay after being out for a full day, Chaton. But let's keep those kinds of jokes on the backburner for a real long time, even after we get out of this hell hole."

'Chaton?' the blonde thought in confusion. That was when memories started flooding Adrien's brain. He then jerked up into a sitting position, felt woozy from the sudden motion, and then asked while trying to not hurl, "Urg! You were attacked! What? What happened to Mr Lawrence?! Urg!"

Marinette placed a soft hand on Adrien's shoulder, causing the blonde to look at her. She then said, "Adrien, I'm okay. And as for Mr Lawrence... Well first, how are your legs feeling?" Tikki and Plagg flew into view of the blonde, both had worried looks on their faces.

Adrien tried moving his legs. He could move them easily enough, but he could barely hold himself up. Marinette helped Adrien stand up and allowed him to use her for support as they slowly walked out of the room. It took a few minutes to walk out of the wooden structure, but that time wasn't wasted. Adrien asked questions, more about what happened while he was unconscious. To which Marinette answered by saying, "Well, the Lost Ones are a lot friendlier than we thought. They're still a little wary of us, but a lot more open than we could've hoped for despite that."

Adrien nodded before he asked, "Okay, that's good for our quest, but... What about Mr Lawrence? I remember fighting him as Mister Bug, but... What happened during our fight?"

Marinette paused her movement, causing Adrien to wobble a bit, before she said, "You don't remember?"

Adrien shook his head when he said, "No, I just remember waking up in a void of some sort and met Max's grandpa."

Marinette raised a brow in concern when she asked, "You've met Mr Henry?"

"Mr Stien, actually," Adrien corrected before adding, "He introduced himself as Henry Stien, and we talked for a while. He doesn't know anything about what's been happening inside this place or anything about the Ink, but he told me a lot of stuff that we can use to save everyone!"

Marinette stared at Adrien for a bit before she finally said, "I'm going to have to have Markov scan you over for any signs of a concussion, in case you hit your head during your fall."

"It's true!" Adrien vocalized as they walked out of the wooden structure, then added, "I really did talk to him!" They ran into Kim at the entrance. The tall teen greeted them and asked how Adrien was doing. That was when the blonde said, "Besides my legs feeling like Jell-O, I'm peachy. But Bugaboo isn't answering my question about what happened to Mr Lawrence."

Kim gave Adrien a concerned look when he asked, "You don't remember?" He then sighed before he added, "Well, I'm not surprised. *Looks at Marinette*. You didn't remember what happened when you Purified Norman." Kim then motioned for the bluette and the blonde to follow him.

So Marinette and Adrien, more the bluette letting the blonde leaning on her for support, followed Kim. During their walk, Adrien noticed the Ladybug Earrings on one of Marinette's ears. "Looks like the Miraculous were swapped back while I was out," the blonde comment.

Marinette responded with, "Well, you did that with me so it's only fair I do it to you." She then glanced at the blonde when she added, "My energy is back to normal, so I'll be fine with the Ladybug Miraculous. You now need the Black Cat to balance yourself out." Adrien grumbled out that he agreed as Plagg patted him on the cheek as Tikki sat on top of Marinette's head.

Adrien saw all the Lost Ones around their make-shift town, going about their normal business, only looking up for a bit to see the teens before going back to what they were doing. It took a few more seconds before Adrien, Marinette, Kim, and the Kwamis came to a wooden pillar with Sammy Lawrence, without his Bendy mask, sitting in front of it with his knees pulled to his bound chest, but was tied to it with a thick rope with his arms behind his back.

"What happened?" Adrien asked cluelessly as he just stared at the weird scene before him.

Markov flew over when he explained that Tom Boris and Allison Angel felt it necessary to tie up Sammy, it was more for every ones' piece of mind than anything. "Oddly, Mr Lawrence did not put up any resistance of any kind," the AI stated before a question mark emoji appeared on his visor when he asked, "I find that behaviour odd. Since Norman did not display that behaviour when he was Purified and I cannot think of a logical reason for Mr Lawrence lack of resistance." Allison Angel and the two Boris walked over to the group halfway through the conversation.

Adrien, Marinette, and Kim lept out of their skins when Norman suddenly said from behind them, "From all that mutterin' he's been doin' for the past day, pretty sure he's been doin' a lot of regretting for all the stuff he did."

Adrien placed a hand over his heart, to try to get the rhythm back to normal, as he said out loud to Norman, "Mr Stein was right! You do need a bell!" Norman froze as Marinette, Kim, and Markov asked what the blonde was talking about. Adrien replied, "During my talk with Henry, er, Mr Stien, he said to tell Norman that he needed to wear a bell. Not sure what it meant at the time, but now I understand."

"It was because I was too good a sneakin' around..." Norman said softly. Everyone turned their attention to the Projectionist when he added, "Henry use to joke that I needed to wear a bell so I wouldn't scare the other workers... And the fact that you know his surname... You... Really did talk to Henry, didn't you Adrien?" The blonde smiled as the others looked at him in shock.

"So... Henry's alright..." said a whimper that sounded like it came from the pole that they had Sammy Lawrence tied to. Team Psi, Allison Angel, and Tom Boris turned to look at the Former Music Director, who appeared to be curling up into a ball while still being tied to the wooden pillar. Sammy glanced away from the group when he muttered, "He... He escaped Bendy... I... I can apologize to him for... For trying to... To sacrifice him to Bendy..."

Team Psi glanced at each other and the newcomers during this muttering rant by the former Music Director. Norman rubbed the back of his neck when he said to the group softly, "Speakin' from experience... I'm guessing that Sammy is also unaware of how much time has passed since this place got taken over by the Ink, or that it wasn't Henry that he was about to sacrifice..."

Adrien then whispered, "Considering how much Max resembles his grandpa when he was younger, I'm not surprised that Mr Lawrence thought he was Henry." The blonde glanced at the former Music Director with a glare before adding, "But still... What the hell happened to make him think that the Ink Demon of all things would help him? Or even why he even worshipped the Ink Demon?"

That was when Markov whispered, "All things considered, I have made the logical conclusion that Mr Lawrence had to have suffered a high amount of "mental breakdowns" during his time here. Therefore, it is logical to assume that he must have made some positive connection to the Ink Demon during one of these breakdowns... ... ... Is it wrong to feel sorry for Mr Lawrence right now?"

Buddy Boris scratched the side of his head before he shrugged. Tom Boris, on the other hand, kept a hand to his chin as if he was trying to think about this whole thing. Allison Angel seemed conflicted, she had some memories of Sammy Lawrence back when the studio was open.

Marinette stared at Sammy as he continued to mutter the same thing under his breath as he kept himself curled into a ball in the awkward position. The bluette bit her lip as she thought, 'Damn it! The guys are right! My big heart can be a hindrance sometimes!' Marinette knew that she shouldn't, especially given what the man tried to do, but... She mentally kicked herself when she finally said, "Maybe we need to give Mr Lawrence a chance to prove that he truly does want to make amends for what he did."

Everyone around the bluette gasped out in utter shock at those words, Sammy especially.

Allison Angel got over her shock the quickest when she said/shouted, "He tried to kill you! Twice!" She made a few exaggerated gestures with her arms when she added/shouted, "And you just want to just! Just untie him and allow him to do it again!?"

Marinette stared at Sammy, who was staring back at her with a disbelief look on his face. The bluette then said without her eyes moving from their target, "Listen if he truly does regret what he did, then he does deserve a chance to prove to not only us but to himself as well."

Kim rubbed the back of his neck when he said, "Mari's kinda right, Mr Lawrence is the only one who can prove to us that he's willing to change... So... Maybe, a second chance is all someone needs. Especially if they been manipulated that badly, Ink or no Ink."

The others did have to agree on that, even if they didn't like it. Adrien, who was on the dislike part of this whole idea, glared at Sammy when hr snapped at the former Music Director, "But no third chance unless YOU want it. And we'll be watching." Norman then walked over to Sammy and started untying the former Music Director.

That was when Tikki and Plagg flew in front of Allison Angel and Tom Boris when the red Kwami said, "And speaking of Chances, I think we can agree that you two proved that we can trust you."

That was when Plagg snipped, "Still sore about the not helping with Borkis thing, but hey, the past is in the past and we need to move forward to get everyone outta this hellhole."

"That means a lot, little spirits," Allison Angel said as Tom Boris nodded in agreement.

Markov quickly recalled the Hidden Message back in the Bunker and wondered out loud if this is what that "Trust Them" words were talking about. The AI then held up the Seeing Tool and looked around the immediate area and found two new Hidden Messages on a nearby wall. "Forgiveness is Earned Through Actions and Deeds, Never by Words Alone," Markov read the first Hidden Message out loud and did the same with the second one, "The Hardest Things to do is to Admit One's Error and Learn to Forgive One's Self."

Kim scratched his head when he said, "That's a little too on point of what's happening right now... It's making me think that our Mysterious Helper is the one writing these Hidden Messages too."

Marinette placed a hand on her chin when she said, "You're not the only one." She then looked at Norman and Sammy interacting. From what Marinette could tell, Sammy seemed to have realized that the Projectionist before him was his old friend and co-worker. Marinette could see how shocked Sammy appeared to be after realizing this because of the body language he was showing. Marinette could hear that Sammy was asking Norman what happened to him, the Projectionist replied that the Ink did. Marinette could hear Norman say that the Ink also affected his mind as he looked at the palm of his left hand. Marinette let out a small breath when she said, "But our "Hidden Helper" is going to have to take a backseat, for now, we need to find the Ink Demon's lair."

A few seconds later, Sammy and Norman walked over to the group. The former Music Director seemed a bit nervous about it, but no one could blame him in all honesty.

[New Team Members Have Been Acquired! Allison Angel, Tom Boris, and Sammy Lawrence!]

First on the list at the moment was catching Sammy up to speed on how long he and the others have been trapped here in Joey Drew Studios. Sammy denied that that was possible and claimed that Henry could tell them the whole story. The teens, AI, and Norman had to tell the former Music Director that Henry Stein passed away 5 years ago and that the person he thought was Henry was actually his grandson. "No! No! That can't be true!" Sammy declared in shock before saying in a frantic tone, "Henry and Linda don't even have a kid, let alone grandkids! I mean, I know they were planning on having one, but they don't have a child yet!" The teens were a little worried, since they lost Max's phone they didn't have solid proof that he was Henry's grandson to show to Sammy.

But Markov saved the moment by saying that he was synced to Max's phone and could show Sammy the proof that was needed. The teens were thankful that Max gave Markov a holo-projector so he was able to show Sammy the picture of Henry and Linda's 50th Anniversary photo and a family photo of the Stein/Kanté family that appeared to have been taken 8 years ago or 3 years before Henry's death. Realizing that he nearly sacrificed Henry's grandson to the Ink Demon, Sammy broke down in tears, literally.

The teens, AI, Angel, and the Boris' didn't know how to react to this. Norman, on the other hand, seemed to know what to do. The Projectionist kelt next to Sammy and then placed a gentle hand on the former Music Director's shoulder before slowly and guiding him into a soft hug. Norman then rubbed small circles on Sammy's back to help calm him down. The Projectionist said nothing during this whole thing, he simply gave comfort to his distressed old friend. Buddy Boris then knelt next to the two and placed a soft hand on Sammy's other shoulder, giving the other a little extra compassion. The teens then joined the little comfort gathering. Marinette was first along with the Kwamis, Kim was second along with Markov, and Adrien was last. The blonde might not like Sammy at the moment but... Adrien knew how it felt to lose a loved one and he wasn't petty enough to allow another to wallow in that feeling. Lastly, Allison Angel and Tom Boris joined the group.

Somehow... This... Felt... Right... And... It felt... Freeing...

~}i{ Elsewhere Inside Joey Drew Studios }i{~

The sound of teeth chattering echoed through the air in the area.

The Ink Demon look down at a film reel packet in his oversized left hand that was labelled 'The End' in black letters. The Ink Demon knew what this item was and knew what it was for. He needed to keep it away from that group. However...

That wasn't important at the moment. They won't be here for a while. There's still time.

The Ink Demon tossed the Film Reel onto the seat of a throne-like chair in the centre of the room. Dozen of tv screens scattered or hanging inside the room were continuously playing the old Bendy cartoons. Was there a way to shut those damn things off? Meh, not important now.

The Ink Demon growled as he walked through an Ink Portal into another room. A room without the annoying blare of the sounds and lights of those tv screens. Yes, it was nice a quiet here and the light wasn't harsh on the eyes. It was perfect.

The Ink Demon hobbled over to a make-shift bed. Laying on the make-shift bed was the still unconscious Max. The Ink Demon let out a soft, low growl as his boney index finger of his right hand traced up the edge of the make-shift bed up until it reached the teens head. The boney finger then lightly traced along the side of Max's cheek. The teen didn't stir.

The Ink Demon's teeth chattered once more.

He had plenty of time before the others arrive.

~}i{ Back With Team Psi, an Hour Later }i{~

After a good cool down, Team Psi was ready to continue their quest on finding the Ink Demon's Lair.

One of the Lost Ones opened a gate leading out of Lost Harbor when they said, "I don't know why you want to find the Ink Demon's lair, but beyond the second gate passed this is the area where he seems to lurk a lot. Not sure if his lair is around there though."

"It's not much, but at least it's a lead," Marinette said before she thanked the Lost One as she walked past the gate with the rest of Team Psi. It took less than a minute before they came to their next hurdle. The flooring ahead had rotted away and left only a few scattered wooden boards connecting the remaining sections, and further up was an Ink Maker.

Plagg couldn't help but say, "Anyone else thinking that this screams "Don't Look Down"? Or am I the only one thinking that?"

That was when Allison Angel said, "Let's just agree on just treading with caution." Everyone nodded at that as the ink angel looked at the boards before saying, "I think it would be best if we go one at a time. These don't look like they would hold more than one person."

Adrien looked at the boards and said, "I don't know if these can even hold an adult..." He then glanced up at the other boards before saying, "I wonder why the Lost Ones didn't think to make a drawbridge or something more sturdy but movable for this section?"

That was when Sammy said, "They don't use this pathway often enough to make something like those. As they said, the Ink Demon lurks up ahead, so they would want to avoid using the areas where he ventures the most."

Kim shrugged when he said, "Makes sense, but they could've used better boards to use."

They decided to go one at a time starting with the lightest and treading VERY carefully. Marinette was first as Tikki flew by her side as she carefully walked across the first board. As soon as the bluette was completely across, she started on the second board as Adrien started on the first with Plagg floating by his side. Kim slowly started next as Markov flew beside him. They were slowly making progress across as Sammy started on the first board and Marinette starting on the final board.

SNAP!

"Kids! Sammy!" Allison Angel and Norman shouted as they and the Boris' watched as all the boards suddenly broke and cause the teens and Sammy plummeted to the dark depts below. Markov and the Kwamis quickly flew after them.

After a few seconds of falling, they suddenly splashed into a large mountain of feathered-filled pillows (1). The impact from the three teens and adult caused the pillows to burst open and causing the feathers shot up everywhere. Markov and the Kwamis hovered over the mass of now floating feathers as he blinked in confusion before asking, "Is everyone functioning?"

Marinette, Adrien, Kim, and Sammy burst out of the soft mass as they spat out the feathers that got into their mouths.

"*Pftw*! Yuck! What the hell?!" Kim shouted as he spat out some of the smaller feathers that also got into his mouth.

Adrien spat out a feather when he coughed out, "I know we shouldn't complain *pftw*, but why the hell would there be so many pillows here?!"

Marinette and Sammy swam out of the feathers first as the former Music Director said as he brushed off the feathers stuck to his person, "I remember that we had pillows for the employees so they could take a quick nap so they could remain at the studio, but I didn't think we had THAT many in the studio."

Kim and Adrien managed to join Marinette and Sammy as the Kwamis and Markov flew to their side as the feathers slowly rained down over everyone. The bluette looked around the dimly lit area before asking, "Where are we now?" She then sneezed as a falling feather tickled her nose.

Adrien spotted a drawing of the Seeing Tool on the wall right in front of them. 'What's the- Wait!' The blonde's head snapped towards the AI and said, "Markov! Use the Seeing Tool on this wall!"

Markov nodded as he pulled the Seeing Tool in front of his visor and read the Hidden Message out loud, "It's Inside the Vault!..." The AI lowered the Seeing Tool when he asked, "What is inside the vault? And where would that be located?"

"Something important, I guess," Kim suggested before he looked over to an open doorway and added, "Well, it seems like we'll find out soon enough if this vault's nearby."

Not seeing much of a choice, the group trooped through the door arch. Sammy looked around what appears to be a foyer area and uttered, "This is... The Administration Area, but... What's it doing all the way down here?"

That was when Tikki said, "We gave up on finding any logical reasoning on the locations inside the studio when we came across Bendy Land. I mean, who builds an amusement park under an animation studio?"

"There's an amusement park in here?" Sammy asked in confusion as he looked at the red Kwami.

Marinette took a deep breath before she said, "Yeah, there is. As to why... *Sigh* Too big a dream I guess." She then looked around and asked, "I wonder if finding this vault is going to be easy?"

Kim rubbed the back of his neck when he said, "Somehow I doubt it, based on the track record we've had."

Adrien gave a slight shrug before he said, "Well, seems like our only option at the moment is to trek on." And with that, the group continued.

~}i{~

To be Continued in Chapter 5 pt 2: The Last Reel of Truths.

~}i{~

1) ... I don't have much of an excuse for this change, except for a pool of ink might be enough to pull Sammy back into it if he falls in.

~}i{~