((AN: Finally, time for a chapter update! x3 This one's a bit late, because it's probably the longest to date, and I've been working hard mostly on getting character interactions right with the new characters we meet...specifically Sammy, who at first wasn't going to be in the story, because I wanted to keep the ink monsters from the game mostly out of it for the focus on the toons. But after some thought, I found that technically, he COULD escape into the Toon World as well as the Lost Ones, and that he might be useful for the plot to continue. I was worried about how to write him at first...but his dialogue kinda wrote itself after a while, which I think works! It's in-character for him to take over and get involved, even on a story, and it was just fun. x3 I just hope I did him right by the standards of fans...and made his transition into the Toon World believable.

Also, I'm changing this story from a crossover into a regular BatIM story, because though technically it's a crossover, Betty Boop doesn't have her own section. x3 So this can also technically be a story with her as a special guest star. :3 Plus this may go to a few more readers if it's in the main section.

As usual, please take the time to comment if you like the story, I appreciate it, and it keeps the muses going! =) Enjoy! ))


Chapter 5

After a moment of waiting (and trying to listen for any discernible words in the upheaval below their temporary roost), the toons couldn't help but try to be nosy. Boris, being the tallest and able to reach the sole window carved out in the shack, was leaning up on the tips of his shoes, his ears swiveling about almost like radio antennae as he peered out. Betty had taken a step-stool out of her bag to go join him.

What they could see was something of a mob of Lost Ones, many of whom were forced to stay back in the sidelines as they seemed to fawn over someone. He was walking up toward the largest shack at the head of the town, a figure of ink with a slightly-more-put-together build and a pair of suspender pants in a different style than those of Boris. He was clutching what appeared to be a mask in his left hand as his right was cradling his head.

It appeared to be Sammy Lawrence as he had been on the other side, indeed...Boris was just waiting to hear him say something, if for confirmation.

"Can ya see anythin' better?" Betty asked Boris as she lightly nudged him out of the way to see for herself. "I can't make out heads 'r tails of th' ground."

"Jus' that Sammy's retreatin' inside th' big house..."

Alice stayed by herself at her place on the couch, just watching the other two do their spying with a sigh as she picked at what remained inside of a soup can. She wasn't sure what to feel right then about the news of Sammy's appearance. On the one hand, she knew what he'd become after the Ink Machine had gotten to him. And who knew what he was like now, having heard from the Searchers that the Ink Demon had seemingly torn him limb from limb to send him back?

On the other hand...she knew how Susie used to feel about him before. And had still. As was the power of an angel, Alice could always feel the light of love inside someone. It was the only kind of light that had still lingered, flickering like a weak candle, inside of the actress's heart.

"Oooh...all this waitin's just gettin' to me," Betty huffed, stepping off the stool and crossing her arms. "I just hafta see what's goin' on!"

"But we can't!" Boris argued. "You heard Camilla. What if...what if he's still a monster? We oughta jus' stay an' wait for some word back."

"Oh c'mon, yer really not curious?" the toonette asked with a raised eyebrow, her hands settling on her hips. "That's one a' yer creators down there!"

Boris's ears lowered a little, and he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Yeah, but...I toldja what happened, Betty. You don't know what the Machine does, how it changed everyone. He may not even remember himself!"

"He did," Alice finally spoke up, though quietly. "But...in little pieces. Even as a human, he was losing his mind. As an ink being, he became heartless and razor-focused on only one thing: his delusion that the Ink Demon—or Bendy—or both—would somehow save him and the others from this fate." Her head shook. "Don't think I really wanna meet him."

Betty's expression fell, and she let out a thoughtful hum. "Well...that was back in th' other world. What about here? Th' toon world has a habit a' kickin' some cheer into ya, or don't you guys remember how it used ta be?"

Alice's brow furrowed. "It's...how I thought I could save Susie. By bringing her here." Her lips pursed as she had a thought. "...The Lost Ones do seem to have more energy here. If I recall, most of them couldn't even speak. Now we've met many that do."

"Exactly!" Betty clapped. "This place heals ya, through hope an' joy an' laughs, even down in this dingy place. What if it does so t' Sammy?"

"Perhaps..." Alice bit her lip. "I'm still not so sure it could get through to Sammy."

"Say," Boris scratched his chin, "If Sammy can be brought through, an' th' Lost Ones, all who were once human...maybe th' others can too." He cast a sad look toward Alice. "'Fraid I don't reckon Susie's in enough a' her mind t'be saved, true...but there's prob'ly still Norman, an' Mister Fain, an'..." he gasped, gripping his head with urgency. "Henry! He's still there, an' still all human!"

The angel's eyes widened a little. "Yeah...Sammy met him." She then seemed to get a good amount of determination and stood up, a frown on her lips. "I guess we might have a reason to talk to the old music master-turned-sacrificial prophet, after all."

"Uh...but...we still gotta stay here..." Boris objected again, though weakly. "...Don't we?"

The girls exchanged glances, and took on equal innocent rolls of the eyes. "Camilla said we gotta stay...didn't say we had t' be inside," Betty pointed out."What if we jus' looked from th' roof out there?"

"I'd say that might work, Miss Boop," Alice said in an all-too chipper tone, with the underlying knowledge to it that it wasn't going to be a suggestion.

The wolf just had to smirk and roll his eyes. "Pa always said, never argue with a woman. Definitely can't argue with two."

The toonettes both snickered in agreement as each took one of his hands and dragged him out the door.


"Alright everyone, go on, get outta here...give the poor guy some room to breathe!" Camilla ordered as she stood before the crowd, still gathered around Sammy's adopted roost at the head of the shanty town. "You know our prophet...he'll speak up when he wants to. Shoo!"

There were a few defeated grumbles from a few of the ink-people, but eventually they all turned without a fight and spared only a few looks back as they wandered off, either back to their homes or to keep watch on the edge of the abyssal water.

With a little sigh, Camilla then turned back to the subject in question who, aside from a terse thank-you to the one who pulled him out of the ink, hadn't said a word to anyone—and from the look of the slouch in his back, as he fell to his knees in front of a Bendy poster in the hovel, probably still wasn't in a talking mood.

It was strange to see him like that, when normally (both now and past) he spoke as if he liked to hear himself, singing a song or reciting a monologue. Always, he was as much a performer as he was a director.

"Sammy?" Camilla ventured, tilting her head. She was a little cautious, knowing how volatile he could be. "How're you feeling? Can I getcha something?"

The old director seemed to ignore her, instead casting his eyeless gaze to the scratched and worn Bendy mask that he always kept with him. He made a move as if to put it back on...then seemed to hesitate.

Just as Camilla thought of giving up and turning away herself, he spoke, quiet and even in tone.

"I am...such a fool."

The Lost One felt that he was speaking to himself more than to her; but she stayed to listen anyway as he went on, gesturing with his mask.

"Amazing how for so long I thought that our Lord would save us. Save me from this wretched existence. But no...no, I've been deceived. Betrayed. Instead of bringing me into his arms, he sent me back." He raised his head to the poster. "Why was I cursed like this?"

Then, to Camilla's surprise, he did turn his head to regard her, even going so far as to meet her eyes, when usually he didn't spend much time acknowledging his subjects beyond referring to them, or issuing orders. "Why...were we cursed like this? What was the point? I...don't remember, anymore."

There was a bit of a silent beat, and when she figured he was actually awaiting an answer, she gave one. "We were fed into the Machine. And lost ourselves. There was no point, other than to feed Joey Drew's madness."

"...Ah...yes. The name...the name's familiar. The so-called Creator. Yes. I remember."

There was a little bit of hope that lit up where Camilla's heart would have been, if she were sure she still had one. Perhaps his mind could still be saved. "...You don't look any the worse for wear, at least."

There was a long-suffering sigh before he looked himself over. "At least...hah. At least I haven't become a Searcher, or anything else. Somehow, I'm still...me, in this body. My mind...actually feels a little clearer now, come to think of it. But," he flexed his fingers, four on each hand, like the toon that he seemed close to being. "I'm not so sure how well I can keep going."

"Well...you were just pulled back...makes sense you'd be exhausted."

"No...I mean, with this," he gestured to the mask, and then to the poster. "With my sacrifices, and my prayers...with my hopes...to a false idol." With an angry huff, he tossed the mask aside. "The Demon does not accept me. I cannot keep trying..even to exist."

Camilla winced at his abrasion, but carefully tried to continue conversing. She at least had to bring up the subject of the toons...and that meant bringing up the world he was now in. "Well...y'know, there's a very good chance now that you're here...that things will be better."

"Clinging to false hope...as always," he softly intoned, his back turned fully to her again. "All of you sitting on the precipice of darkness, waiting for freedom, like the good flock that you are. Me...I know better...there is no freedom yet. I know now that I'm not worthy." His head shook. "I gave my Lord a perfect sacrifice...and he ignored it...and took me, dragged me back into the abyss. Either it wasn't worthy...or I wasn't...either way..." one hand went up to the poster, and he dragged his fingers down over the old, worn face of the toon. "I still can't help but feel...an attachment, to the Demon...perhaps...it can still be salvaged...he could still look upon us with favor."

The Lost One nervously played with her fingers as he spoke, so softly and sadly. She wondered how he'd take the news...especially the part about how now, he may someday see the true Bendy. Even more, if he would even agree to help the Lost Ones all cross over from the other world, to feel the energy of the toons' home.

"Sammy," she began, "You really should know something..."

"-Please," he suddenly raised one hand behind him to interrupt her. "Go back with the others now. Leave me in peace...I must regain myself. My mind is...all over, wandering and remembering things that were...lost. I have to think. Perhaps it would do me good to visit my old office...my sanctuary, my music..."

"...Well...I do wish you luck if you do that, sir. This isn't the same studio you know. Everything's here, but...you'll find it to be very different."

His head quirked back up, curiously. "...How do you mean, different? Speak. What has happened?"

Camilla would have gulped if she could. Though it was necessary now, getting the direct attention from the prophet could still be either very good, or very bad. I really wish the Ink Demon could've stayed back there. "You see...it seems by chance, as many of us left the ink void...we reformed in a different version of the studio...on the other side of the reels, you would say."

"...The other side? This does not feel like death..." he murmured. "But...it does feel...somewhat different here, now that you mention. But...the reels? Don't be cryptic with me now, little sheep."

Guess there's no other way to put it. "My prophet...you're in..."

And that's when a few familiar voices from not too far away and up on the rooftops piped in.

"...Oh, no, Boris, don't get that close...!"

"WAAAA!"

"Oh dear...hang on!"

The voices were joined by a cacophony of loud banging, like upon the thin metal sides of a shack. Immediately, Sammy peered out of the entrance as Camilla turned to see her three guests having left the house...and two of whom were now trying to pull a third back up onto the parapet by his hands as he'd slipped, his feet kicking and trying to climb back up.

Oh great... Camilla thought as she cringed, holding her forehead in one hand and peering sidelong at Sammy for his reaction.

There were a dead few beats of quiet. Then, the prophet spoke, his head turning back to Camilla. His voice seemed to get an...interested edge, now.

"Guests, have we? Do bring them to me. I would love to hear more about these...differences."

"...Of course, sir."


"I'm so sorry about this," Camilla whispered weakly to the three toons as she ushered them through the town, the glowing eyes of almost every single ink being now upon them. "Sammy seems to actually be rethinking himself right now, but...try to be cooperative. Remember, ultimately, all the Lost Ones answer to him...however good I am at persuading them."

"It's okay, don't be sorry, Miss Camilla," Boris whispered back, trying to keep his own eyes off the onlookers. "This was my doin'. I'll face th' music if I hafta." Though it's a good thing Betty let me keep th' ax in her bag...

"Y'ain't goin' to th' gallows, Boris," said Betty as she kept in step beside him and actually let herself glance at their unsettling audience, "Much as it feels. Maybe we can reason with Sammy."

Alice huffed with skepticism, but said nothing; by the look on her face, she was rather determined to play hardball with the prophet if it came right down to it. Boris was praying that she wouldn't, however; the angel could hold a nice temper and found it hard to back down from an argument. Whatever was about to happen, it had a very good chance of having them end up back in the Machine, and the Ink Demon's mercy.

As they approached the shack, Sammy, with the Bendy mask back on his face, was kneeling on the ground...and the toons each gulped as they spied a drawing of a familiar summoning circle etched in front of him, using the ink from his finger. He was frozen though; there was just one line to draw, and he looked conflicted about finishing it, though he was muttering lines of something under his breath.

"S-Sammy? Here they are," Camilla softly introduced, once more breathing a hushed apology to the group as she stepped to the side.

"Good...but don't you go anywhere yet," he calmly ordered, holding his hand up. Then he looked up to the toons, standing up without finishing his artwork and crossing his arms. "Well then...we seem to have some ink clones running around where they shouldn't...an interesting development indeed...could someone explain to me why you are all the way down here?"

Though each of them were a little shaky facing him, Boris was the most so, his kneecaps practically clicking together. "H-hey, Mister Lawrence..." he tried for a wide, placating grin as he stepped up in front of the girls, "What's happenin'?"

"Lawrence," the inky prophet practically chuckled, "I haven't heard that name actually spoken in forever...I only know it as mine from the signs on the old doors of my office. But now, you intrigue me. Unlike the other clones of the wolf that used to wander around...you speak just like he does."

"W-well...that's b-because I ain't a clone," he tried to explain without getting tongue-tied, "I-I'm real. Th' real Boris th' Wolf."

"Real? No." Sammy sounded confident, though he did place his fingertips to his forehead through the mask. "The Creator tried to make you real, like the asinine cartoons. All failed...though, brilliant in his failure, in his own way, is the Demon. Still...I can't recall him ever making the...angel life-like," he said, the word coming out with incredulity. "And you," he pointed to Betty, "...Aren't familiar in the slightest."

Alice simply cast her gaze aside, and Betty grimaced with a bit of a huff. Boris held his hands up, pleadingly. "But, it's actually true...we're th' real toons, that you an' everyone else brought t' life in th' studio, way back when...an', matter a' fact, yer in th' world a' toons...s'why we're here...we were stuck here too, an' we're tryin' t' get back out. We're down here t'...find help, if we can..." He kept up his innocent smile as he spoke a little faster and cast a thumb behind him. "But, uh, y'know, if we ain't wanted, we can just skedaddle outta here, no trouble..."

"Boris," both toonettes hissed.

"Oh, no...nobody's going anywhere...yet," Sammy practically hummed. "See...it's not easy to trust anyone down here if they're strangers. If you're not of the Ink, you're not familiar. And I have no way to tell if I'm being lied to. And if it turns out I am...well..." he pointed to the unfinished circle, "You can guess. The Demon likes taking the sinners apart."

"Sammy..." Camilla timidly interrupted, "What they're saying is true...I can tell you that...it's what I was trying to say before we heard them. We've somehow used the ink to cross over into...their world. The world you helped create...surely you wouldn't sacrifice our own toons to the Demon?"

"Toons? Those meaningless clones...no, of course not...the angel would do that, but not me...now, you on the other hand," he said as he suddenly grabbed a whimpering Camilla by the wrist, "Sheep go back to the void if they're defiant...fodder for my lord."

"NO!" all three of the toons suddenly shouted, and their insistence suddenly made Sammy freeze in place...there was never anyone who really cared for the Lost Ones...hell, they didn't show much care for each other. He was the only one they looked up to. Just who were these creatures?

"Look," Boris hastily spoke, "Mister Lawrence, we can prove that we're in th' toon world, we can. Alice an' me, sure, we came from th' studio, but...Betty here didn't!"

There was a long beat. "...Betty?"

"Y-yeah," the toonette herself then spoke up, giving her little curtsy. "I'm Betty Boop, Mister Sammy...from Fleischer Studios. I was visiting, an' found th' toons all in bad shape 'round here...no lies t' be had, y'can trust 'em, an' me! Now please, don't hurt Camilla! Y'can't have wanted t' hurt anyone before!"

"Camilla..." Sammy echoed, and his free hand again went up to rub at his temples before he met the eyes of the Lost One still in his grip. "Camilla...that name's...familiar now too. It wasn't before."

"Yeah...Camilla...th' secretary to administration, right?" Boris asked, and the Lost One nodded her confirmation, secretly hoping that the toons' pleas would strike through the holes opening up in Sammy's head.

And then...it was like a few more lights had indeed brightened in the prophet's mind, as he stood stock frozen...lights that had long since dimmed, or burned out altogether, since he was transformed into one of the monsters in the studio. Lights that turned into random, but familiar, faces that he worked with or among. Some he could name, others he couldn't...but Camilla was indeed one of them. The real world, his humanity, much more that he'd forgotten, flashed quickly like a slide show...and it became too overwhelming for him to bear. The curtains of the prophet were cast off...and there lay only the musician, cringing in a cold body of ink.

"...Oh dear Lord!" he exclaimed as he instantly let go of her and ripped off his mask to toss away again, holding his head in his hands. "What...what was I going to do? What...what's...happening to me? I can...remember. I can remember! So much!" He fell to his knees, right onto the circle. "N-no..." he practically wept. "No...I'm not supposed to remember."

Instantly, the toons were by his side, taking him by the arms and helping him up carefully, and off of the circle before it could be accidentally finished and the Demon actually summoned. Camilla, still a little shaken by the threat and the sudden release, watched all of this go down with increasing wonder as they spoke to him in gentle tones and ushered him into a nook of the shack, just out of the sight of the curious throng out in the town. She thought it best to just stay in the entrance to ward off anyone coming to investigate the outburst, while still staying in earshot.

"There now, there now, take it easy," Betty soothed as she patted his back along with the others, himself still balled up a little from the overwhelming flood going on in his mind. "Yer okay, Mister Sammy...here, just take deep breaths, don'tcha get a headache, now..."

"Is it really such a good idea to help him like this?" Alice inquired quietly, nonetheless staying close by.

"Well...like Betty said, he is one a' our creators. We're bound t' try, so we might as well while we're in this deep," Boris pointed out, though feeling a little conflicted himself. The prophet had seemed to turn from jaded to broken in seconds.

And the more he wept, the more the wolf felt like he should care...and care he did.

After a few long moments, letting him take in his new reality and regain his composure, Sammy let his hands slip from his featureless face and sat back, meeting the eyes of the toons—their toons. His voice was quiet, but now weak, no longer tinged with a sadistic confidence. "What...have you done to me? I can suddenly remember...almost everything of my past life."

"Uh...w-we didn't do anythin', I don't think," said Boris as he looked at the others curiously.

"Nope, wasn't us, Mister Sammy," Betty's head shook. "The toon side a' things just has some kinda zing to it, brings yer hope back up...an' you helped create a part of it, makes sense it'd give somethin' back."

"...It's true," Camilla soon added, once she made sure things were clear outside. "Most of us, before we came here, couldn't even think straight, much less speak...now, suddenly...we're trying to make the most of what we have left."

Sammy seemed to furrow his brow. "...The lot of you did seem a bit more...lively. I guess...there's no denying it. We really are, so to speak, on the other side of the reel."

"Magical, ain't it?" Betty said with a cheerful smile.

At that, he snorted. "Magic. That's the kind of junk that Joey Drew always sold to us. What would be magical is if this place could give me my old body back."

He looked over the three toons again, who were all showing various signs of worry. He hummed. "You'll have to excuse my cynicism, of course. I remember that...we were all made to work so hard on these cartoons. Day and night, barely any sleep, working towards impossible deadlines. Song after song...it wasn't a labor of love...it was just labor. Especially when Joey Drew kept the credit for himself." He let out a harsh sigh. "I was even seeing Bendy in my dreams. Just smiling. Wordlessly saying to keep going. That everything would...be...okay."

He then glanced to where he threw his mask in the dirt. "...Perhaps that's why I became so devoted to the little thing when I was...fractured. Bendy was all I knew, besides the vague history of this place, and the people who...all became trapped. And now that I remember...it's done nothing but rob me of what purpose my bleak life had. I can't...ever...go back."

"So, go forward," Betty gently suggested, "Make somethin' of what ya got, like Camilla an' yer other friends here."

Sammy hummed. "I would...have to think on it. Like I said...I didn't associate the cartoon with happiness. But..." he got back up to his feet, "Perhaps...there's a way to salvage this." He then turned to the Lost One, who'd been quiet for a little while, and she seemed to wince involuntarily. "...There are many things to salvage, it seems. Miss Camilla...I won't try to ask for forgiveness. I'm not worthy of it, not after everything. But maybe there's at least something I can do."

Stunned at first by his sincere words, the inky person snapped out of it after a second and cleared her throat. "Well...I had something in mind. We all did, really. We want to bring the rest of the Lost Ones...and whatever other humans might be stuck...over to this side. They could be more at peace, if not healed. If you could help..."

"That...would be a start, yes," he nodded slowly. "Of course...there's still a matter of avoiding the monsters."

"Y'do still hafta beware th' Searchers...and th' Ink Demon," Boris pointed out, "Even here."

That's when Sammy gave him the impression of a quirked eyebrow. "The Searchers I don't worry about. I can command them better than I could some of my band in the old days. But...the Demon...I'd have thought by all your praise of this place that he'd be changed here, too. Say...why isn't Bendy with you?"

That's when the toons passed each other nervous glances, and shook their heads, their gazes sadly on their feet. Boris spoke next. "Bendy's...trapped here somewhere, like we were, b'fore Betty saved us. Th' Ink Demon was made as a copy on th' other side...so I'd think they ain't associated none...an' so, we're here lookin' fer our friend."

At that, Sammy seemed quite troubled. "The Bendy I knew...the Demon...truly nothing but a copy all this time...I really was a fool. Then, the real Bendy...where could he possibly be?"

Boris gulped. "Well...th' only place we haven't looked is...back in th' Machine itself, on this side."

"Which, again, is flooded," Camilla reminded them. "I want you to save your friend as much as anyone, but...if you really want to try your impossible plan of turning the Ink Machine off, you'll have to let us get everyone from that side that can be saved here before the connection is severed. Especially, remember, if Henry's still there."

"Henry?" Sammy suddenly whirled around to her, one hand whipping back up to his head. "...That name rings a bell too. A...rather large one, in fact."

"Th' Studio's head animator," Betty offered.

"Our true Creator!" Boris added.

"The one you tried to sacrifice to the Ink Demon before you were sent back."

Everyone turned to Alice then, hearing her cold tone with gaping eyes and mouths, but she was firm in her matter-of-fact reasoning. Her angry, accusing pie-cut eyes rested squarely on Sammy, and nobody else, fists balled at her sides.

He was frozen at that moment, and even though he'd seemed to be more himself, there was the fleeting sight of his fingers flexing, like he was on the edge of his own anger. It was like Alice's voice had jarred something in him; more hidden emotions, more humanity. He was deep in thought now, the memories of his actions returning...and indeed, when recalling Henry, the face was familiar enough; one he'd only ever seen and known a few times before, but it was once as much a presence as Joey Drew in the memory of the studio.

And then, how he was the last time he saw him, helplessly tied up with a pleading face as he was left to die...

"...So that's why..."

Finally, Sammy let out a breath—still in disbelief at himself—and fell to his knees before the angel. Her fists uncoiled in slight surprise at his prostrating, but she still kept her brow furrowed as she listened to him speak again, broken and soft.

"...I really don't deserve redemption...do I? After all my complaining...it seems that keeping this body would be...a fitting punishment for what I tried to do...Hell, feeding myself again to the Ink Demon would be fitting...having him send me back and tear my mind apart, so that I can't remember what I've done to human beings and souls...I wasn't worthy for him, nor am I for anyone." He hung his head. "Saying I'm sorry...wouldn't be enough...would it...?" his voice trailed off, like the words were stuck, or refused to show themselves. There really was nothing he could say.

The toons were quiet at that, deciding to let Alice have the final say in whether or not he could be forgiven. The angel's angry face fell slightly into one of sad pity, and then she took a breath and knelt in front of him, her gloved hand resting on his shoulder. "Redemption really isn't out of reach for you, Mister Lawrence...your actions weren't all yours...it was the Machine. The only one who has to beg for forgiveness here is Joey Drew. And if you really mean to redeem yourself...then helping out the Lost Ones should be enough. Your toons can forgive you, too," she glanced at Boris with a smile, "Right?"

The wolf got a grin on his own face as he nodded. "Sure can...an' I'm sure Bendy would say th' same if he were here. I know y' didn't like it much, but...y'still were an important part of us an' our world. Nobody better could write our music, an' you should know that, right now. Nobody better."

"Mister Drew couldn't say that, for his own pride," Alice reminded him, patting the ink-figure on the shoulder as he looked up to her eyes. "But we can, and we mean it. We wanted to meet our creators very much...that meant you, too." She then giggled a little. "Uncle Sam."

The old musician snorted and shook his head; probably the closest to a laugh that the toons were gonna get out of him. "Please don't call me that."

"Okay, yes, bad joke...but still," she grinned primly and stood back up again, her hands behind her back, "I mean it."

It was hard to tell with a faceless visage of ink...but from his posture alone, they could tell that he was about ready to cry; though it would be senseless as there were no tears to shed. He settled for a loud, disbelieving huff. "Then...thank you for that, I suppose."

Betty broke the quiet after that with a little sniff, taking out a handkerchief and wiping her eyes. "Oh goodness, these reunion-type things get me all teary."

Boris chuckled. "Better have more a' them napkins handy, 'cause when we meet Henry, it's gonna be a doozy."

Alice hummed. "But, now, how are we going to get him here, if he can't travel through the void? And especially under the notice of the Ink Demon?"

"That monster'll be a problem for us, too, getting our comrades back on this side and freed from their cages," Camilla muttered.

Sammy got back up, and slowly started pacing as he let out his thoughts. "The Ink Demon might be able to hear everything...but really only stays in the studio proper, if I remember. If he's anywhere on this side, I could possibly help keep him here with my own distractions," he gestured to his unfinished summoning circle. "The Lost Ones can quickly shuffle their brethren out of the studio. And you three toons can do what you do best...the impossible, apparently."

Betty snapped her fingers. "I do have my pen! If we find Henry, maybe I can make my own portal to th' other side, an' bring 'im here!"

"That did almost work for Susie..." Alice cautiously pointed out. "Going through the projector windows."

"In that case, I could lend you my projector," Camilla added. "Just place it in any ink puddle in the studio and play it, it'll give you a window."

"It'll still be near impossible to find 'im!" Boris groaned. "Th' studio's huge."

Alice shook her head. "No...I don't think he'll just be any random place. He was there in front of Susie and I when we were attacked from behind. Whomever did that must have him now."

The angel then heard a quiet but quick shuffling, and she turned to see Sammy once again with his full attention on her, now looking somewhat...bewildered, and pained. "...Susie? Susie Campbell?"

There was a pang in Alice's heart at the way he said her name. She turned and gave a solemn nod. "My mind was trapped with Susie's for a long time, on the other side...together we made up a false Alice Angel, as she insisted she call herself...the one you and the Lost Ones despised."

"I...felt I knew who she really was," Sammy nodded. "But to hear it now confirmed..." he took a breath to steady himself. "You said she was...attacked?"

She tried to continue while ignoring the ache of her heart; he had to know. "She was trying to kill Henry in a rage. Someone quickly caught her from behind, with some sort of blade...right through the chest. We went down instantly...and she felt no pain."

"...A blade...I see..." he murmured quietly, falling again into silent thought. "Here I was...sure that maybe..." He shook his head rapidly. "At any rate. From that, I believe I know to whom that blade belongs. You may have a chance of finding Henry if you find the other angel. She calls herself Alice, too…but I'm almost certain her real name is Allison."

Alice gave a little gasp, while behind her, Boris and Betty gave each other questioning looks. "Allison?" Betty echoed.

"Allison Pendle," the angel informed. "...My voice actress to replace Susie. She's the one who gave me the voice I have now."

"Only two people could have the right to call themselves by your name...though, I personally thought that Susie was a shoe-in for you," Sammy sighed. "It should have been her voice that gave you life...as she brought life to many other things, and would have probably made you a star. But, of course...Joey Drew, in all his genius, broke her heart last minute, and threw her aside. Miss Pendle was great, of course, but..." he hung his head. "What I wouldn't give...to hear Susie sing one more time..."

Alice sadly hummed, touching his arm. "Susie...was a victim too...and driven to anger, knowing only betrayal. I wanted to save her, and failed. And so, I'm going to make sure Henry makes it to this side; that's my redemption. If any of our creators deserve to never be a part of that studio's horror, it's going to be our real one."

"Now that I can give an amen," Boris said with a swing of his fist.

"In-deed," Betty agreed. "But now, where can we find this Allison?"

"...That I'm not certain of," Sammy's head shook. "I've seen enough glimpses of her to know she exists...and that she travels with the only remaining Boris clone that hasn't been taken apart."

"Yer kiddin'," the wolf gaped.

"Nope," Camilla snickered. "And I think I know where they are. They have a safe house on the other side of the tunnels, on the ink river, only accessed with a boat. I can have Morty take you to the equivalent place, if he hasn't tripped on himself again."

"Then it's time the rest of us got to work," Sammy said with finality. "I'll keep the Demon off of you. It's all I can do, and yet, the very least."

"...Mister Lawrence?" Boris raised his hand.

"All of you can just call me Sammy, like the rest of my shee...augh...like the others." He then muttered under his breath, "That'll take some conditioning."

The toons giggled, and the wolf continued. "Well then, Sammy, uh...jus' wanted t' say, make sure y' don't get caught by 'im again, okay? Y'just got here an' met us...an' all...can't have our creators gettin' hurt again..."

Sammy huffed. "I never once thought that a moving drawing would suddenly make me feel like I'm needed. Don't worry...I can only be caught by surprise...and I'm not easy to surprise. I have the same power to traverse through ink portals...and leave without a trace. You three go do what you need to do, and we'll be around to help next. If we need to take that Machine apart to find my lor...to find Bendy...then so be it. We're all leaving this damned place."

As Betty did a little "woop!" of excitement, Alice and Boris hugged one another in their own. "Hot dang, we got ourselves a cavalry!" the wolf practically howled.

"Let's get moving then, you crazy kids," Camilla ordered, turning out from the shack and back into the shanty town, surely to face the questions of many a Lost One who'd managed to eavesdrop.

But before the toons could leave, Alice lightly tapped Sammy's shoulder to get his attention. "Sammy, I got somethin' else to let you know, just in case we don't see you again."

He chuckled. "The lady's always the one with the worry. What is it?"

"That...if it's any consolation...regarding Susie. Deep in her heart, she still liked you too. Very much."

She really did wish that she could see his facial expressions play out as well as their outlines did on an empty, inky slate...but even without them, she could feel that there was a small, though sad, warmth welling up in him.

"...I appreciate knowing that. Thanks, Alice."

"Anytime. Hey, maybe someday you can at least stand to hear me sing."

He snorted. "We'll see. There might still be songs to write after all of this. But you should probably know that I did always like you, as a character, though I could never admit so."

And with a warm smile cast to the musician, she turned to catch up with the others, and get the last part of their rescue plans into motion.


"Y'know, I do kinda envy those on the other side who could travel this river," said Morty as he grunted in paddling their makeshift boat forward. "They had an actual electric paddle-wheel boat. Real spiffy!"

The boat didn't look like much; it was a wide wooden rowboat built like one would have built a toy, though with a thick hull. But it floated fairly well enough on the ebony swells, and it held all of the toons' weights, plus one Lost One, and of course, the extra-heaviness of Camilla's projector. Alice and Betty kept the thing steady between them while Boris stood up to help row and steer.

"I could prob'ly help ya build a paddle-wheel boat," the wolf offered. "I ain't too bad at buildin'."

"Aw, it's fine," Morty chuckled nervously. "It's just a real honor to have you guys helping me...that is, after Miss Camilla explained who you were."

"It's our pleasure," Boris grinned happily.

Betty gave a little clap. "Ooh, this is so exciting...you'll get t' meet yer Creator, if this works!"

"Hopefully," Alice couldn't help but grin too as she kept a hold of the projector through a bumpy wave, "Things've been working in our favor so far...still...I can't stop wondering as to how in the world Allison got involved in the studio's trouble. That one was a tough girl with a lot of sense; I thought she'd have escaped it."

"Joey's doin', prob'ly," Boris sighed. "Man's gotta lot t' answer for."

"Ooh, I swear, if I ever meet th' man..." Betty grumbled and gave her palm a loud slap for emphasis before crossing her arms. "It ain't right."

"He ain't your problem now, Betty, don'tcha make it so," the wolf advised with a little chuckle. "We'll have first dibs on 'em. Unless Henry does, then second dibs."

"Save a piece for us," Morty sighed as he kept up his rowing. "Ah well...ever since making it to the toon world, we've all felt a little better about things. It's a blessing in disguise, really...like getting a new life."

"How'dya get on this side anyways?" Boris asked, tilting his head at the Lost One. "Just outta curiosity."

Morty paused. "Y'know, I can't really say. Every one of us at some point has faced going back into the ink void, if we got unlucky enough to get caught by the Ink Demon, or Al-...uh," he paused with a glance at Alice, "Well, just caught...and most of the time we come back as ourselves, sometimes we come back as Searchers...but at some random point, some of us wandered out of this very ink river...and...somehow wound up across dimensions."

"Well, th' Machine's ink did create this one..." Alice murmured. "It isn't too impossible for there to be a hidden path. The Searchers did find it too."

"Heh, probably. We didn't even realize it was a different studio until we looked around and noticed how things worked differently, like the projectors. It was Miss Camilla who put it together that we might be in the cartoon's world."

"How's that?" Betty asked next.

"Well, things just looked more...bright, and painted-on...and we actually felt a bit more cheerful. Then we saw the real Butcher Gang wandering around arguing with each other," he chuckled. "A-also, one time I saw a rat that stopped, shook its head with a 'tsk-tsk', and walked off again...the sheer weirdness just made me laugh. Suffice it to say, it couldn't be anywhere but the toon world."

"Yeah, that'll do it," laughed Alice, along with everyone else.

"Th' ink river's th' ticket, then..." Boris hummed with thought after he got his mirth out, scratching his chin as he looked into the black depths.

"Yeah...but, it's a risky one," Morty sighed. "Those of us who are made of ink just get pulled back into the void if we touch it for long. Some can make it through, and some get their minds wandering lost until it crawls back into the world, and only at a random point of either place. That's why it'd take a long while to get us all back. Unless we found a better way."

Betty smiled hopefully. "Well, that's what I'm hopin' ta test with my inkwell, then. If we can get Henry across, we can get anyone across."

"Of course, that depends perhaps on what Allison says," Alice sighed, looking thoughtfully down at her gloves. "I hope she didn't turn out like Susie."

"She can't've, if she's wanderin' around with one a' me," Boris pointed out with a guffaw. "This I gotta see."

Morty laughed. "Gee, I do hope this all works out...thankfully, you may have met all the monsters that made it across to the toon world. We won't have any trouble."

"Wonder how much further it is," Betty then mused, peering between the two rowers to get a look ahead. "These tunnels are pretty dark."

Morty grunted again as he stopped his rowing to look ahead. "Shouldn't be too much..."

RRRRRRRRRRR...

"...Further. Oh no."

The sudden noise was like a cross between a growl and the roar of a boat engine, so encompassing the echoes in the tunnel that it felt like it came from all around them. Morty was shaking, and the toons were looking every which way for the source.

"W-what was that?" Betty whimpered.

"Oh please oh please oh please don't tell me that thing came through too...!" the Lost One whispered harshly as he started rowing again, at a much faster place. "Boris, help me get through here faster, there's only one tunnel left!"

The wolf did as told, but grimaced through his panting. "Morty, what's goin' on?"

"Well, uh...I spoke too soon about not having trouble. There's a beast that lives in the ink river on the other side, and...well...let's just say you don't want to be caught idling."

Alice's eyes narrowed, also looking around behind them in the swells. "How come? What is it?"

RRRRRRRRR...

The answer came with another growl and a loud splash of inky water from behind. The toons all slowly looked, only to crane their heads upward at a massive gloved hand, covered in warty protrusions, hovering menacingly with wiggling fingers.

"Holy moly...!" Betty cried, while Alice just yelped behind her hands.

"Hang on, time t' haul outta here!" Boris yelled and started rowing again, so frantically that his arms were wheeling about as fast as a propeller. With that, the boat's bow briefly lifted from the water before it shot forward, just out of the giant hand's reach as it slammed down onto the surface, where the boat just was.

The force from the impact created a wave that surged on behind the vessel, making it move even further along the darkened path, until finally, land was spotted.

"O-okay, you can stop rowing now!" Morty shouted, having to drop his own oar in the boat and put his hands up to stop the frantic toon, "We're in the shallows on the other side. The beast doesn't go in the shallows."

Boris sagged so much with relief that the boat rocked with his nearly-toppling movement. "Oh thank goodness."

"Oh golly..." Alice breathed out once her heart stopped its nervous pounding, "I'd heard rumors about a beast that hunted in the ink rivers on the very lowest point, but...never thought I'd see it."

Betty was standing up, looking back out into the black, shady depths of both the cavern and the liquid. "Oh my stars...it was just a giant hand! Wasn't even attached ta anythin', was it?"

Morty let out a nervous laugh. "We...don't know, honestly. All we know as that it likes to drag down anything on the surface, and we never see it again."

"Hoo boy..."

"Welp, we can stop worrying about it for now," the Lost One waved off the event like it was nothing and pointed forward. "We're at the far dock."

The toons weren't really expecting to see much in the line of anything once they made it; but there indeed seemed to be an entrance to an underground part of the studio, or something that would have been a part of it, that had been entirely abandoned by a mining team. Several tools and crates were lying about a wall of rock, where a tall, cavernous hole beckoned, framed with rows of steel arches to hold the rock in place. Morty and Boris carefully paddled the few feet needed to reach the shoddy docks, and tied the boat to one of the wooden poles.

"Alright, uh..." Morty awkwardly hummed, "I guess you three can go do your thing; I'll be here waiting to take you back...never been in there before, but I'm super not wanting to find out, so yeah. Good luck on finding your Henry fellow."

"Thank you kindly," Alice huffed as she tried to lift the projector out of the boat, only to have much of the weight relieved by Boris, who'd gotten out first. "We may need it."

The toons couldn't even begin to guess what that tunnel was supposed to be used for, as they traversed through it with a heavy projector that two of them had to carry at a time, and using it on every puddle of ink that they came across. In some nooks, there seemed to be storage crates lying around, and one even had a bed-frame almost half-submerged in a puddle. The section after that had holes in the wall so big and evenly-squared that they likened it to a morgue. It kept sending shivers up Betty's spine, and this time it was Alice who tried to be comforting with a hand to her shoulder and a brave face set up front. The light of her halo still kept any Searchers at bay; plenty of bubbling puddles sat at their feet, but none of them admitted any monsters.

For Alice, that was good; her prayers were so far going answered.

We're GOING to find you, Henry. I promise.

The projector did work at least; the puddles gave them muddy pictures of a sepia-toned world on the other side, different from the black-and-white tones of their side of the studio, but only in the colors. In the tone, of false hope and forced cheer, the two places were very much the same. In each opened window so far, they listened for activity, found none, and kept going.

The end of the tunnel held what they believed was a storage and rest facility for any underground workers, with rickety cots here and there and lots of random items strewn about. There was only one puddle of ink in a corner, plenty of it flowing down like a cavern stalactite and coalescing on the floor.

"Please let this be it, fer heaven's sake..." Boris grunted as he, with Betty's help, set the back of the thing down into the liquid and let it seep into the power line.

Betty cracked her back as she stood straight again. "Oof...never did I have such a workout...I'll do a few rounds a' sittin' on th' couch fer once when I get back."

The wolf guffawed as he fiddled with the switch. "Me, I'mma sleep all th' doggone week."

"Make it a year for me," Alice sighed. "I swear I won't ever sleep again until Bendy's safe."

"We'll get 'im, hon," the famous toonette reassured. "But first, let's get yer Creator. Then there ain't nothin' ya won't be able ta do."

"...That is, if he wants ta help," Boris added with a little whimper as the projector turned on with a loud and echoing click!

Betty scoffed. "A' course he will! What true Creator wouldn't?"

"Even I believe that now, Boris," Alice smiled, "You must, too."

The wolf just cast his gaze idly to the floor in thought, his ears drooping. I WANNA believe, I really do...but dangit if Mister Drew didn't make me skeptical with that word.

As the reels turned and the lights started to flicker on the wall where they pointed their screen, the toons were seeing into the room as it was on the other side...and it was perhaps the most different that they'd yet viewed. It had been made into another safe-house, a bunker, where a little semblance of a living seemed to have been built, with a table and settings, a couple of cots, and even a door that shut them away from the outside cave.

The wall was what drew everyone's attention inside: written with ink, all of the musings that were left by a scattered mind. Notes about the studio, drawings, thoughts, questions...it was like a diary's pages had been lifted to life on the stone.

"Looks like we found it..." Boris started to whisper.

"-Shh!" Alice hissed. "I hear someone."

"I do too, everyone, stay quiet," Betty chided, and they all stood to simply observe like hidden spectators in a theater.

The voice that they heard was down to a mutter, but it came closer with the sound of footfalls. "I think this thing's leading me in circles...it's so strange. I wonder where it even came from...?"

And then, she appeared in the frame: a feminine being of light build and strong countenance, an angel akin in appearance to Susie, but with small horns and her halo worn like a headband with long hair done up in a ponytail. She carried many a tool on a belt like an arsenal, including the very sword that Alice had remembered. Allison, to her surprise as well, had indeed turned into a being of ink: her hands and legs were pitch-black, bound to the stuff like she'd crawled out of it herself a time or two.

"...That's her...I don't believe it...!" Alice said with a gasp, holding her hands up to her mouth. "Oh golly, Allison..."

"She does sound like ya, 'cept deeper," Boris observed. "Same kinda gentle sound."

Betty was about as astounded as her friends to see the once-human voice actress. She vowed to herself that when she got out, she'd spend a little more time with her voice actress. "D'ya think we'll be able t' get her attention?"

Alice started stepping up towards the front of the projection, hesitantly at first, then quickly. "I have to try and see."

The woman on the other side was busily looking around her space and continually whispering to herself, perhaps just to keep more information in her mind for later. The angel at first tried tapping the wall...tapping turned to knocking, then to calling, then to practically shouting.

"Allison! Miss Pendle! It's me, Alice! Can't you hear me? Hello!"

But, her efforts were in vain; it seemed that even though they could see her, the same wasn't true on the other side.

Boris and Betty traded glances as they watched the young toonette get more and more frustrated, before the wolf stepped up to lay a comforting glove on her shoulder. "M' sorry, Alice, don't reckon she can hear ya..."

"Welp...maybe we'll hafta say hello ourselves, then," Betty stated, looking around in her bag. "Jus' gotta get out my pen, an' we'll see if our idea works..."

"Wait..." Alice suddenly held up a hand to stop them with a little gasp. "She's looking."

And indeed she was; the other angel was turned to the screen with a very perplexed look on her face right then, holding up a device that she'd been curiously looking through the whole time. It looked like an over-sized magnifying glass, and one built like something from out of a junkyard.

Alice, with a curious hum, decided again to try tapping on the wall. "Hey, can you hear me?"

But there was no response from Allison. Whatever she was confused about, it was nothing she could hear. "Strange," the human-angel murmured, scratching her chin. "What's that supposed to mean? Hm..." she then turned quickly to go off-screen, walking at a brisk pace and disappearing from the room with the looking glass in tow.

"No, wait...! Ooh," the real Alice groaned in frustration, rubbing at her forehead a little before turning back to her friends. "Maybe we should try the direct approach...I don't really want to, but we have to get her attention somehow."

"Don'tcha worry, I got my pen ready," said Betty as she whipped out the large fountain pen from her tiny bag (which made Boris chuckle; it was hard not to enjoy when the toonette used her impossible powers), "Jus' gimme th' word, and I'll draw us a door."

"Hang on," Alice held her hand up again, "She's coming back, I think."

And indeed, there she appeared...and to boot, helping to carry a large projector of her own. She was walking backward into the room, and her helper—another Boris, to the wolf's shock—was lifting the other side of it and giving his companion a questioning look.

"Well I'll be!" Boris exclaimed. "Sammy was right; a clone a' me! Hrm...betcha he can't talk either, though."

"An' look!" Betty pointed with a gasp. "He's got a metal arm!"

"What?"

"Everyone hush!" Alice ordered with a wave of her hand; Allison was speaking again, though for some reason her voice wasn't raised above a whisper.

"Here, Tom, let's set it here," the woman huffed and made eye contact with her toon-like companion, who was still giving her a skeptical head-tilt. "It's what the glass says on that wall: 'projector here'. The ones we got from the Projectionist's lair seem to have weird properties, if they can run in the ink. I wanna give running this one a try, see what happens."

The Boris, apparently called Tom, just blinked, gave a soundless sigh, and nodded.

"'Tom'? Why's she callin' him that?" the real wolf scratched his head.

"Gotta be an explanation," Betty patted his arm. "We might find out here in a sec."

Alice's eyes widened. "Oh...they're going to aim a projector back at us! Boris, that has to be how it was set up on Mister Drew's side!"

"Golly, yer right!" the wolf gaped. "I did see projectors when I managed t' get through on my own..."

"Ooh...I gotta see how this works!" Betty clapped, then blinked with realization. "Ooh, but I better get outta th' light here first."

The other two looked back toward her, questioning. "Why, Betty? You oughta see this too!" Boris insisted.

"Yeah, you're one of us," Alice smiled.

The famous toonette just gave a little giggle and waved her hand. "Naw, that's sweet a' ya, but I still oughta be outta th' frame...yer prob'ly about t' meet another one a' yer creators. It's like it was with Sammy; yer more familiar to 'em than me. An' I know better than to stand in another star's spotlight...so go on kids, wow 'em, let 'em see ya!"

At this, Alice gave a wide, but shy grin. "Oh, I do hope this works...I'm so very nervous..."

"Let's jus' be ourselves, Alice," Boris said as he came up next to her with a smile of his own. "We'll see what happens...an' I'll be here t' pull ya back this time if'n things go south."

With that, on the other side, Allison gave a hum as they set up the projector's alignment and she found the switch. "Let's see what happens...but let's be quiet. Our guest's still sleeping."

At the mention of the mysterious guest, Tom seemed to scowl deeper as he lightly clapped his toon-glove fist into his metal hand with a clack in a threatening gesture.

"No, you won't disturb him," Allison chided. "It's enough we locked him up and don't know what to do with him, the poor guy. We'll figure it out later. Let's do this."

And before the toons could wonder any more about the nature of the conversation, the switch on the other side was flipped, just as echoing and encompassing as on their side. With it came a flash that practically blinded everyone involved on both sides.

When the toons' visions appeared again, they were looking still at the running, more brightly-bordered projector screen, now with the two on the other side looking rather perplexed.

"It's...it's one of the cartoons!" Allison tilted her head. "How's that happening? The film in the reel's blank."

Tom, in response, didn't seem to have a clue either as he rested his chin on his fingers and his elbow on his metal arm, foot tapping as if impatiently.

The toons themselves, blinking and standing still at first, stepped forward after a beat. Alice waved her hand with a cheerful smile. "Um, hello! Can you see and hear us now?"

"Oh my word!" the other angel jumped back slightly and put her hand on the hilt of her makeshift sword. "Are they...speaking to us?"

Tom's fists clenched a little, and he stood in front of Allison, the look on his face demanding an explanation.

"Howdy," Boris was next to speak with a wave. "Uh, an' yeah, we are speakin' to ya, from in th' Toon World! I'm sure ya know who we are. An' we know you too!"

At this, Allison's jaw practically dropped, while Tom still kept up his defensive staring. Carefully, she let go of her weapon and went up a step. "Okay...this is either a very strange dream, or we've stumbled onto a breakthrough!" she spoke with an amazed, but still hushed, tone. "But...how? How can you guys speak to us? We didn't think the cartoons could actually come to life. They're illusions."

"Oh believe me, we were as shocked as you were when we found out we could look and hear into the real world," Alice explained with a smile. "We have our own version of your studio on our side, that we've been trapped in. Long story. But now...we have a way to get people who are trapped on your side out."

The flabbergasted ink creatures traded glances with each other for a moment, with Tom giving a very suspicious quirk of an eyebrow back.

"...I know it sounds crazy, but...I promise we're tellin' th' truth," Boris ventured with a cautious smile. "We all waited so long t' meet our creators...an' now we are, an' we know your whole story, an' we wanna help."

"...Help? Our story?" Allison stepped closer, her hands on her hips. "We don't even know our story. Tom and I seem to have just been...born here. There are...flashes of things, sometimes, sure...of another life...but...it doesn't seem real, or even like ours. The only thing we also really feel is that we shouldn't be here." Her eyes narrowed. "How do we know you aren't an elaborate trick?"

"...We're replying to your every word," Alice pointed out. "Shouldn't that be proof that this is real?"

"Sorry," Allison's head shook, "It's just...things down here aren't trustworthy, not all of it. It's hard to take anything at face value, especially something as strange as this happening."

"Completely understandable," the angel nodded. "That is what Mister Lawrence said too, when he got here."

"...Mister Lawrence?" the woman's eyes narrowed again.

"Sammy," Boris supplied.

"Sa..." Allison blinked, jaw dropping again, and this time with Tom doing the same. "Sammy? As in the Ink Demon's lackey, leader of the Lost Ones and Searchers, that Sammy?"

"I-I know how it sounds, but please, listen!" Alice pleaded, clasping her hands together in front of her. "Sammy's changed now! He remembers who he was, and he was one of our creators too! The music director. And you..." the angel smiled widely, "You gave me my voice, Allison."

That was when the woman reeled back again a little, giving a gasp. "...Allis...on? That...oh my God, that name...it...it's familiar."

"It's you, ma'am," Boris revealed with a shy expression, "Yer real name. That oughta be proof fer ya...like we said, we know you...the people of our studio. Th' people who brought life t' us on this side. Please, y'gotta believe us."

At this news, there was another long beat of silence as Allison took this all in. Tom's hard expression softened a little as he watched his companion with a bit of concern, and he seemed to be in thought as well, as if it were all making some form of sense.

"I..." Allison whimpered once she came to, looking into the toons' eyes with wonder...the kind of wonder that they were made to see. "I...think I do believe you. I don't remember having my name, but...it's still familiar. Too familiar to forget again. Yeah...Allison. That feels like it works. And..." she furrowed her brow, "You say Sammy's...different? And over there now?"

"Yeah!" Boris nodded. "Turns out th' Searchers an' Lost Ones have been slowly crossin' over t' our side, an' gettin' back their ol' minds in th' process. Sammy stumbled on th' path back by accident, an' it took 'im some kinda headache, but he's more himself again."

"...Huh," she locked eyes with her companion again. "How 'bout that, Tom? Everyone's actually...escaping. Maybe not this place, per se...but a place in the...cartoon. Intriguing. Wonder how we didn't stumble on it before?"

"Ah, well..." the wolf nervously scratched his neck, "Y'wouldn't've found it if'n y' stayed away from th' ink void. Searchers an' Lost Ones that somehow died an' were findin' their ways out were...doin' so on our side."

"Oh," the woman harshly sighed and shook her head, while Tom nearby did so with his eyes hidden in his gloved palm. "Here I was starting to hope a little more."

"Well...there might be a better way," Alice spoke up then. "And...that's why we came to find you. We need your help."

"As always, a catch," Allison chuckled. "But...this could be our best option now to set ourselves free. What do a bunch of toons need our help for?"

"Well..." Alice paused as she thought of about a million ways to ask and just grasped for one, "...We know you know your way around the Lost Ones' lairs. And that you might actually...have one of our creators there somewhere with you."

"We do?" Allison and Tom both tilted their heads. "Who's that?"

"The true Creator of our world, and us," the angel smiled hopefully. "Mister Henry Stein."

The woman and her wolf traded wide-eyed glances again. "...He did say his name was Henry..." Allison mused. "And you wanna help him too, I imagine?"

"Very much so, Miss," Boris nodded. "One a' our other Creators was already lost to that place, maybe more of 'em...we wanna help all we can. An' Henry as a true Creator, an animator, would have a lotta ways t' help on this side. Namely t' help the last of us that's trapped here somewhere."

"...Guessing that's the little demon, Bendy. Since I don't see him there with you."

"Ayup."

The scowl returned to Tom's face again, but he crossed his arms and turned to Allison, awaiting her word on the matter.

The human-angel hummed. "So...how exactly would you get Henry...and probably us...outta here? Assuming we have got him."

"We have another toon with us, from another studio," Alice said with a giggle. "She has a real honest-to-gosh Creator's inkwell with her, and with it she helped us out of where we were trapped here. She can create a portal through this projection, right now."

"That is, if you an' Tom 'r willin' ta try," the wolf chuckled shyly. "Like we said, we wanna help, an' that includes you two, an' all th' Lost Ones."

Allison shook her head. "The Lost Ones here won't listen to us. They don't like angels. Thankfully, we got rid of the bad one, at least."

At that, Alice flinched. "I...I know. I was...in her head. But...you helped set me free because of that, so...I owe you a lot of thanks, Allison."

The woman huffed, but there was a quirk of a smile on her lip. "Don't thank me...I don't think I'm any sort of angel myself. As for the offer...give us a second."

With that, she and Tom turned their backs on the toons to converse on the matter. The two of them seemed to communicate very well with each other, despite only one being able to speak. Boris had to hum. "Wonder if Tom's also another former worker."

"I think he was," Alice nodded. "I do remember an engineer from another company working for Mister Drew. The only Tom I know of: Thomas Connor."

"Oh yeah, Mister Connor...shoot, not gonna lie, th' guy's scowl reminds me a' him."

"Has to be him, then."

The conversation seemed to be a heated one, though they could barely hear through the hushed whispers. Tom seemed adamant not to trust anything of this, but Allison was adamant to at least give it a try. His posture softened as he gave it some thought. Then, with a snap of his finger like he had an idea, he pointed outward to the door. A beat passed, then Allison nodded, and the two of them turned back to the projector, and the toons' eager faces.

"Just one more question," Allison started. "Where's Sammy now?"

Alice hummed. "We last left him in the Lost Ones' shanty town over on this side. He could still be there, but...I should warn that he said he'd keep the Ink Demon busy while we were gone. Knowing his powers, of course...he could be anywhere."

"Hm. Could still work. Okay, here's the deal," the former actress pointed, "If you're really sincere, then we're going to just ask a show of proof. We'll take our projectors and meet you guys back at the shanty town. Have Sammy meet us and show us he's changed...he's the best bet of making the remaining Lost Ones see reason, if he is. We try your portal trick...and we'll have Henry with us."

Alice looked rather unsure at the terms, and she turned to the wolf. "It...sounds like it could work."

"I don't like th' odds of 'sounds'," Boris hummed. "But...these guys are pretty reasonable. We ain't got much t' lose, an' all th' more t' gain if it does work."

"...You're right." Alice turned to the former humans with a serious look on her face. "Alright...we'll hold our end of the bargain, if you hold to yours and bring Henry in one piece. 'Cause I'll tell you right now, this little angel is not going to lose any more than I have already."

Allison blinked in surprise and laughed, a sound which briefly had the toon's own chime to it. "Yeah...I can definitely see myself having voiced a spitfire like you...Alice Angel. Don't worry...we'll hold our end. I promise."

"Then it's a deal," Alice confirmed with a perky thumbs-up. "I'd shake your hand, but, y'know," she tapped the screen lightly with her knuckles, "Fourth wall."

That got a chuckle out of everyone present (except for an impatient huff from Tom), and with a nod, the parties on both sides of the reel turned their backs.

Betty, who'd been bouncing on her toes and barely containing her excitement from nearby, let out a little happy squeal when the meeting was done. "Ooh, this is gonna be so interesting! I can't wait for ya t' meet more a' yer people, at last!"

Alice had to giggle. "Even if our people have been changed with cursed ink." She couldn't stop the smile she had. "I'm so glad Allison hasn't turned out like Susie."

"Well, we still gotta make it happen, so let's get a-movin'," Boris announced as the projector turned off with a swift click and he reached down to pick it up again, with Betty trotting over to give him a hand and Alice leading the way back.

It seemed like a shorter walk than before back to the boat. Morty, who'd probably gotten a little bored and antsy just sitting there on the lapping ink sea, was now waiting for them on land next to the dock. He perked up from his slouched position when the toons came exiting the darkness. "Oh, good, you're back, I was starting to wonder about you guys. Any luck...? I don't see Henry with you."

Boris grunted as he hefted the projector. "Well, th' good news is, we made contact with th' other side, an' th' other angel, Allison."

"The other good news is, she has Henry!" Alice happily exclaimed with a little bob on her toes.

"Buuut," Betty finished with a little eyeroll, "We hafta meet 'em again back at th' town. They wanna see Sammy, so's they can get th' rest a' yer pals t' follow him in, an' then they'll give us Henry. Wow, that sounds so very dire, like we're rescuin' a prisoner 'r something."

Alice chuckled. "I'm sure if he's a prisoner, it's not out of malice. Would you blindly trust a stranger, if you were down here for that long?"

Betty thoughtfully hummed. "Well...y'trusted me."

"Heh, things are changing," Morty mused with a laugh. "Here, I'll help ya get that on the boat..."

But he hadn't taken two steps forward, when suddenly, a figure exploded from out of the ink...not the giant hand-beast, but a figure much smaller...and so much worse.

The toons practically dropped the projector as they all backed up several steps.

"Oh no...!"

"EEK!"

"Not him, anyone but him...!"

The room itself was bathed in shifting shadows as the Ink Demon dropped forward with a loud hiss, his heartbeat filling the ears of all around, and his gloved hand shot out to the side to nab Morty by the neck.

"AAAAH! The Demon!" he choked as he was briefly lifted in the air and tried to weakly pry at the creature's grip. "No, please, please...!"

"Morty!" Boris yelled, and just about shot forward toward him, only to be held back on both his arms by Betty and Alice. "No! Please, let 'im go!"

The Ink Demon simply stood there in the wavy shallows, tall and imposing, as he seemed to consider the plea...and he did let Morty go, by way of a swift fling back into the ink river.

"NO!"

"AAAH!" the Lost One screamed, the echoes of his voice the last thing to linger as he splashed into the darkness.

"Oh, oh nononono..." Betty whimpered, hands to her mouth in horror as she backed away with the other two. The monstrous Demon, his forced grin quivering, raining ink in his wake, started on a slow hobble towards the toons.

"I thought Sammy was takin' care a' him..." Boris whimpered.

Alice was breathing harshly, frozen with fear; she never did get rid of the shiver she had from the first time she met the creature, and from what he did. "...Something might've happened to Sammy, then..."

"Oh, say it ain't so," the wolf whined. "An' we're next...nowhere t' run..."

The Demon looked unrelenting in his slow advance, his gloved hand raised again in preparation to nab the nearest toon. The ink puddles around him shook with his apparent annoyance...fury...whatever it was he was feeling that made him want to confront them.

Boris and Betty still backed away with fear...but Alice, at that moment, stopped. She was shaking like a leaf, looking up into the inky visage of her little friend's doppelganger, an abomination made in the cursed ink of a fake Creator. She gulped as he approached still, but her halo glowed a little brighter...she had to try something. Had to know.

"Stop..."

He appeared not to hear the command. His gloved hand raised to strike, her halo flashed brightly...

"Bendy, please, don't!"

...And he froze.

There was a long, tense moment when everything froze. Boris and Betty watched right behind her, the two having taken out their respective weapons. Alice was breathing like she was about to sob, her eyes wide and bright.

And the Demon's aura quelled...much to their disbelief, the shadows slowly vanished. It was hard to tell, but...he seemed to regard her with confusion, as his hand drew slightly back.

"Bendy...I don't know if you're in there, but...you gotta remember us...don't you?" she asked with a broken voice. "Don't...don't you remember me?"

Betty's hands were clasped together, a quick prayer playing in her head that nothing bad would happen. "Alice..." Boris whispered in warning, urging her not to get closer.

But she did anyway, just one step, and a short, pleading reach of her hand. "This monster isn't you..."

This seemed to snap the Demon out of his frozen state, as suddenly he reared back from them with a loud hiss, holding his head with both hands as he backed up to a portion of the cave wall. A black portal opened to admit him, and he kept backing up, out of sight until he was swallowed by the darkness...vanishing, as always, without a trace.

A long few seconds passed as everything went still. Alice, hands clasped, was staring after where he disappeared, looking very conflicted; she didn't know whether to feel dejected, relieved, sad...it only told her that she really wanted her little Bendy back.

"...C'mon," Boris said, breaking the silence as he rapidly shook his head and went to pick the projector back up. "If he's able t' hang around here after all, then we've gotta go back to th' town."

Betty was more than a little shaken, but she nodded her head, pausing in going back to the boat only to grab Alice by the wrist to tug her along with them, and to jar her out of her own spell.

Suddenly...things seemed much more urgent.