((AN: And finally, back with the next chapter! I apologize for the long wait on this one; I'd hoped to write the chapters quickly and put them up week-by-week as planned, but I've completely run out of buffer and now just writing as I go...and as long as these get, it'd take a while to do. x3 But at least it gives me time to make sure these chapters come out as well as I can try to make them.

So now we have our heroes again...along with some more familiar faces, and the appearance of a special one. :3 I sorta gave a slightly vague description for Henry on purpose, as there are a lot of good headcanon appearances for our faceless game protagonist; so, I might as well let the fans imagine their own versions of him in the scenario.

There's not much to really say about this one, so I thought I'd go ahead and give a nice little shout-out to my reviewers, who all had such lovely things to say about the story!

TheAmazingAuthoress: Thank you so much for your lovely words! I'm glad you enjoy my story, and I hope it keeps entertaining! ^^

Dawn: Glad you enjoy! I'd LOVE to see artwork of the story actually. XD But I'm really just happy to have some nice words about my work. ^^

theAlmostPorcupine: Much obliged for the welcome! Always happy to dip my toe into the community pool of stories. :3

foxchick1: Hope you're still enjoying, glad you found the story! ^^

With that, on with the show, and stay tuned in for the hopefully thrilling conclusion, in progress! ))


Chapter 6

While everything else was going on, a certain trio of toons were mulling around inside the gate that marked the entrance to the lot of Joey Drew Studios. Having had quite the time getting themselves out once they were pointed in the right direction, fighting off a few Searchers along the way (though Barley would turn the few into a horde of them in subsequent stories about it), the Butcher Gang were more than eager to leave the place behind them and return to their own world.

Except, with a look around...they had soon noticed that their world was very different indeed.

Now, with an angry and thoughtful thousand-yard stare out onto the empty road and dirty wasteland of the area all around the dark building, Charley was leaning with his front against the fence and his arms crossed, while Edgar was kicking a few rocks around in the lot, even using them with a makeshift slingshot against a few soup cans on the fence. Every so often though, the young spider would cast worried glances back at the building, and then over at the quiet leader of the gang, and the question that was forming in his mind would be quickly forgotten.

Soon however, Barley came stomping back up the road with a loud grumble.

It jarred Charley out of his daydreaming, at least. "There y' are. Any luck?"

"Arr, not a pittance," Barley growled as he adjusted his pipe and kicked angrily at a part of the fence. "Ain't many people a' millin' around here, an' th' few that are, they haven't a clue about any part a' our world. S'like it vanished inta thin air."

"We were down there a while," Edgar piped up as he joined Charley by the fence. "Maybe our world's not here anymore."

"Eh," the well-dressed Butcher leader mused with his chin in his palm, "Or maybe we came out into th' dreaded Defunct Land."

"Aaarrrr, say it ain't so!" Barley snarled and pulled at what was left of his hair. "It couldn'ta been that long!"

"Oh, stow yer whining," Charley sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "That has ta be it. Our world's disappeared in th' span of a few years, not even a familiar pile a' rocks...only this junkyard of a studio. Well, if the others do manage ta get out, they're in fer a real shocker, that's fer sure. Ain't nothin' ta go back to."

Edgar pouted. "S'no fun watching them get all worked up if we have to, too."

"Whaddya reckon we do then?" The old sailor asked as he turned to the side and spat on the ground. "Jus' look fer a place ta eke out a livin'?"

There was a thoughtful beat as the trio went silent; and when they did, there was a sudden sound that echoed from the inside of the studio that made them all jump and turn. It sounded like a deep, faraway impact, like something was ramming into the walls and making them shudder to their very core, though there was barely a shiver from the building itself to denote such an impact.

"Sounds like somethin' in there is on a rampage," Charley observed with a quirked eyebrow.

"Ooh," Edgar frowned, "I wonder if Miss Boop an' them are okay. Hope they found the others and are getting out too."

"What, ya suddenly worried about 'em?" Charley huffed. "Th' studio's their problem now."

"Aarrr...yeh, but fer once, I'm on th' kid's level," said Barley as he took his pipe from between his teeth and eyed the building. "There still be a heap a' trouble goin' on. Can't help but ponder as to their fate."

Shyly, the spider tapped his front legs together. "This might sound crazy, but...maybe we should go back and help?"

His two companions gave him a quirked eyebrow, traded glances, and frowned in his direction. "What for? That place is full a' nothin' but monsters. We got out, an' we're done," Charley crossed his arms.

"Yeah, but...we ain't got nowhere to go," Edgar argued. "And the only other toons we always knew are trapped in there. It's just not the same without them."

"Mmmh...th' whelp's got a point, 'e does," Barley hummed. "Better that toons a' th' same crew stick t'gether."

"Oh, you don't even know how t' swab a deck, an' yer sayin' them jerks are like a boat crew?" Charley snorted. "I still don't see th' point a' goin' back fer the ones that always wreck our plans."

It was then that Edgar got a decisive look on his face. "Well, you guys can do what you want...I'm going back in. I wanna help 'em, especially Miss Boop. If she can help the others, she can help us."

"Heh, whaddya say, Cap'n?" Barley grinned with a little elbow jab to the leader. "A second chance a' showin' th' lady that yer more sophisticated than a lubber in ratty coattails, eh? Ya used ta jump at any chance at an opportunity a' fame. B'sides which, like th' kid said...there's nothin' ta do up here. Might as well do nothin' along with th' others a' our world, until Miss Boop can lend 'er ink ta th' cause."

Charley hummed and tapped his foot while he thought over things. He was almost certain that going back to that Hell would mean a chance of never coming back. But after having another look around their dismal wasteland, around which used to be a bustling city block full of people and riches, it was clear that maybe it was better fighting for a place to come back to.

Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed through his teeth, picking the spider up by the nape of the neck like a kitten. "Edgar, yer stayin' with us. I'm th' leader, an' I decide where we go." Then, he smirked. "An' we're goin' back for those jerks."

"Hooray!" the youngster squeaked with all feet clapping together, "We're gonna be heroes!"

"I likes th' sound a' that," Barley grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Glory an' riches."

"Glory nuthin', heroes nuthin'," the leader huffed as he dropped the spider again. "I just wanna have our home back. Boys, grab yer weapons. Let's show 'em how ta really raise Hell."


The boat ride back was incredibly tense; as the toons rowed as fast as they could go through the meandering tunnels, they were more than expecting the hand-beast to make an appearance, at least to follow along in the wake and wait for a chance to bring them under.

But...there wasn't even a hint of noise as to its presence. There was the fleeting consideration that the Ink Demon, while he traveled through the void to get to them, had disposed of the beast...or perhaps, it was in hiding from the monster. Either way, the trio were thankful for that much luck, and were mostly silent on the way back.

They arrived at the dock to see the town of Lost Ones as lively as ever, some of them fishing off the side of the river and some others keeping watch for any sign of their comrades that waited to be coming through. Once the boat was docked, Camilla spotted them and came running.

"Oh good, you're back!" she breathed out. "I'm gettin' pretty eager to see what comes of all this. C'mon, tell me what happened and..." Suddenly, she went quiet and looked around, before slowly turning back to them. "...I thought you'd have Henry with you? And where's Morty?"

They each had regretful looks as they climbed out with the projector slowly in tow. "'Fraid we had a bit of a run-in," Betty explained with a timid look, her hands behind her back. "Th' Ink Demon found us, an' tossed Morty back in th' river."

A few of the nearby Lost Ones who overheard gasped in unison and started murmuring, and no doubt the word of the Ink Demon would spread to the rest. Camilla was frozen in shock for a few moments...her voice was quivering with both sadness for Morty and fear for everyone else. "Th-the Demon? But...but h-how? How? I never thought he liked coming down in our parts, or ever s-saw the need to..."

"S'what we thought too," Boris grunted as he and Alice set their weight down and faced her. "But he was there, all th' same...thankfully, Alice was somehow able t' ward 'im off."

"I...don't know if it was me, Boris..." the angel said, looking very troubled. "But, at any rate...before that, we did manage to speak to Allison. She does have Henry, and made a deal with us...meet her here, and open the portal, and she'll send him through."

"Yer forgettin' somethin', Alice..." Boris reminded her with a grimace before looking back at Camilla. "Where's Sammy right now?"

"Oh, he left not long after you did..." Camilla said, suddenly a bit hesitant. "It's been about an hour; we haven't heard from him since. He could be anywhere in the..." suddenly, she grasped the full urgency of the situation with a gasp. "He was supposed to distract the Demon...you don't think...?"

"We don't want to say it," Alice interrupted. "Just, please, try to find him if you guys can, look all over..."

She was interrupted right then with a loud BANG, metallic and echoing, that seemed to be going on above all of their heads in the recesses of the studio proper.

"...The Demon's rampaging...we can hear him do that sometimes, though we don't know why," Camilla said with a whisper. "Something has him disturbed."

The angel had determination set on her features, her pie-cut eyes dangerously narrowed. "Then we have no time to lose. We have to set up the projector, and somewhere that Allison and Tom would set theirs."

"Tom?" the Lost One tilted her head.

"Seems Mister Thomas Connor became a clone a' me," Boris relayed with a little snort.

Camilla echoed it. "Ah...I very much remember him. Seems fitting...especially considering he's with Allison. And...yeah, you're right...well, if they're expecting Sammy, maybe they'll set up in his shack...that or on the dock, against the cave wall, away from the village's general interest."

Another BANG made the others crane their heads upward. Alice sighed. "We can't risk having the Ink Demon try to come back down here. We'll try the shack...close it up, and I'll ward it. The rest of you have to hide until it's safe. If Sammy hasn't been caught, then we'll have to trust that he'll be back."

Without even a command from Camilla, the Lost Ones that heard the conversation would immediately heed Alice's directions and spread the word to go back inside and lock the doors until the coast was clear; even the single utterance of the word "Demon" sent them running.

As for the former receptionist/animator herself, she insisted on staying with the toons. Quickly as their feet would take them through the loud commotion going on above, sometimes near and sometimes far, they ran across to the head of the little town and tried to set up inside, while Alice took a moment to draw the symbol of a halo on a hastily-made door (a giant wood plank that about covered the entrance).

A single electric light flickered inside as they settled in, along with a few scattered candles at their feet; thankfully, there was just enough room for the projector to make a nice-sized square of its own illumination on the side wall when it was turned on. The ink flowed through its power cord, the blank reel inside acting as a conduit to allow a picture to form: the picture of the inside of the same shack on the other side, only facing outward so that they could see a little of the village.

And to their relief, it looked like Allison and Tom had the same idea, looking winded as the one-armed wolf set it up on their side while the human-angel kept a watch out into the town and the sight of the troubled Lost Ones watching them.

"Look at all those others," Camilla whimpered as she clasped her hands. "I swear...if Sammy doesn't show up to convince them, I'll go out there and do it."

Right then, the clamorous sounds of the Ink Demon's rage seemed to echo on that side, too...made all the more real by the two swerving their heads upon hearing it, to witness the army of ink people shambling back to their own doors. "The Ink Demon's here somewhere...Tom, let's hurry; if this works, we'll have a better chance of getting out of here." Then, she called out the door. "Henry! In here, hurry!"

As his name was called, the toons all watched on with wonder. Boris comfortingly held Alice's shoulders, the two of them shaking in anticipation, while Betty stayed next to them with a hand on Boris's wrist.

Then, quickly, in stepped a man that looked to be in his late forties to early fifties in age, and yet still believably fit enough to have braved the studio's messes on his own. He seemed all the worse for wear, splotches of ink covering the bottoms of his trousers and shoes and randomly darkening his shirt and places on his skin. His short hair was a mess and he was sporting the beginnings of a beard from his no-doubt long stay, but in his eyes there was a weathered exhaustion, something that told he was afraid of his surroundings and circumstances, everything he'd gone through...but far too tired to show it, determined instead to just fight through whatever he could.

"Henry..." Alice whimpered, smiling as tears threatened to sting her eyes. "Oh golly...he is okay..."

"Our Creator..." Boris whispered in awe and sniffed, fighting back his own tears. "I ain't seen hide or hair a' him fer my entire life, an' now there he is, plain as day, Alice, plain as day!"

"Ooh, I knew you guys had a true Creator that wasn't that ol' Joey Drew, I just knew it," Betty gleefully clapped, and then opened her bag again for her pen. "Oh gosh, I'd better be ready with this thing."

They watched as, on the other side, Tom got the projector finally set up, but had his finger paused on the button as Allison carefully ushered the man inside, giving one more look around. "Okay...he's gone quiet, but who knows how long that'll take. We'd better make sure this thing works, and hope that they had the same idea to try the shack."

"...I still can hardly believe what you said," Henry said as he faced the human-angel with his arms crossed and a questioning furrow of his eyebrows. "The cartoon characters themselves talking to you? Probably not the strangest thing I'd have seen down here, but still..."

Suddenly, Tom whirled around and raised his right fist in a rather threatening way. Allison was quick to put her hand between it and his face, however. "Tom, relax; if this works, we'll all be out of trouble. You should try to give him a little trust, since he hasn't run off yet."

The wolf seemed to slowly acquiesce, but kept his eyes on the man as he lowered his fist, and then he quickly turned his back on him with his arms crossed.

"He certainly doesn't have to speak to get his words across," Henry calmly observed, with just the slightest hint of humor in his tone.

Allison sighed. "Anyway, it's true, I promise it is. It's something I'm putting a lot of hope in right now." She reached onto her belt and grabbed the seeing-eye glass, holding it up to the wall with a hum. "Doesn't say anything this time...but it's still worth a shot. We'll try every surface here if we have to, permitting the Lost Ones allow us."

"They don't seem to want to hurt me," Henry assured. "It's you they're glaring at."

"Well, without Sammy, they don't have much of a path to follow other than their own," she said. "We'll see what he says, if what the toons say is true."

"Hardly believe that, either..."

"I think you will," Allison countered with a smile, and the toons could feel that she was putting a lot of effort into her hope, even through the screen...it made all of their own hearts a little warmer, and a little more willing to believe anything.

She reached up and pushed the button. "Here goes nothing."

The flash that came was as blinding as before, causing those on both sides to quickly shield their eyes as the projectors worked together to come into focus. The rest of the room seemed to go dark as the two groups opened their eyes again, finally to glimpse at the bright open window.

"Oh, by God, it worked," Allison could be heard breathing in relief as the toons came to, each looking up. "There they are, Henry."

The man's jaw was hanging open, working to form words from a choking, disbelieving throat, and couldn't...at the same time, the toons were standing silently, in reverent awe, with Betty awkwardly standing a little off to the side with her hands behind her back. She was waiting for someone to say something...though she couldn't be impatient, even in jest. This was a big moment.

As before, Boris was the one to break the heavily-pregnant pause with a wave and a jovial (though emotional) smile. "H-hey again, guys! An' hey, Henry...good t' finally meetcha!"

"Yes, very much a pleasure," Alice said next with her little curtsy.

Henry was still trying to find his words, but the corner of his lip did tug back into a smile as he awkwardly waved back. "I-I really don't believe this...I...it's really you guys? I'm not dreaming?"

"Yeah, it's really us!" Boris gleefully nodded. "Yer toons! We been waitin' t' meet our Creator fer so long...our real one..."

"I do imagine you have questions for us," Alice giggled.

"...Yeah, a ton, actually," said the man as he seemed to snap out of his daze, a full smile now on his face as he straightened up and went up to the screen, placing his hand there, palm pressed onto it like it was pressed onto glass. Boris and Alice followed suit, placing their gloved hands over his own on their side, and feeling only the wall.

Henry was breathing a little shallowly at this point through his wide grinning. "My God...my own characters are actually communicating...alive, through the projector... How the heck is this possible? And...what are you doing here anyway? And why did these guys say you need my help? And..." he frowned suddenly, one hand going up into his hair, as the full extent of his situation dawned on him. "And what the hell did Joey do?!"

"Mister Henry, relax!" Boris raised his hands and chuckled. "I know this all seems real confusin'...heck, it's confusin' ta us, too! I think we can answer everythin', at least, from our view a' things..."

"But...not here," Alice interjected. "I know it's a lot to take in, but...please, listen. We do need your help...but to do that...you'll have to come over to our side of the reel. Our world."

"...Your world."

"That is..." Boris nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "If ya could, we'd really 'ppreciate it..."

"Waitwaitwait..." the man waved his hands. "You're saying I can not only talk to you...but actually...step into your world."

"Well...the world that the toons inhabit together, yes," Alice nodded, her smile wide and hopeful. "I know it sounds impossible, but...we might have a way to open a way in, right here."

That was when Betty took that moment as her cue to step in with a flourish and a wave, holding her ink pen in one arm like one would carry a musket. "Hey there! Good ta meetcha, Mister Henry!" she said with a wink.

He then barked a surprised laugh, while behind him, Allison and Tom traded confused looks. "You're kidding me! Now I know this is real, and not something concocted by Joey, or something...he'd have never had a cameo, even from Fleischer, he was too full of himself...oh wow...Miss Boop, it's an honor, I gotta say."

"An' not only that, I got Uncle Max's inkwell! Been doin' wonders here so far, now I'm bettin' it can getcha...an' the other people...outta that dingy studio. Waddya say?"

"...I think I might have to sit down..."

"Alright, time out for a second," Allison then piped up and stepped in front of a slightly-dazed Henry, while Tom could be seen crossing his arms in the back, "I hate to be interrupting, I really do, but...you guys still have your part of the agreement. Where's Sammy?"

"Actually, I'll keep standing for a minute," Henry quipped from the sidelines at that.

The toons, however, lost their good humor for the moment, and traded guilty glances between themselves. Boris was wringing his fingers nervously. "Well, ya see, Miss Allison...we don't know where he is right now...some a' th' Lost Ones 'r searchin' fer him, but...see, after we talked to ya, we had an unfortunate run-in with..." he gulped, "Th' Ink Demon."

Three sets of eyes widened on the other side. "But...you said Sammy was trying to...oh, but then...oh no..."

"Yeah...we managed to fend him off, but...I don't know for sure, but the outlook isn't good for Sammy," Alice shook her head, and clasped her hands in a plea. "Can't we still try this? Please? We'll still let you out too...and the Lost Ones on our side can help the others, maybe."

"I know I can try," Camilla then said with a raised hand as she stepped in. "Hello, by the way."

Henry stared in response to the ink-figure entering the conversation. "...She sounds familiar."

"Oh, believe me, you might find a few of us here that you remember," she chuckled. "We've got one big story for you, Mister Stein."

Henry hummed. "Well...sounds like it might be the kind of story I've been waiting to hear."

And then, before anyone could get another word out, suddenly there was another loud smash that came from outside the shack on the real side, and into the village. A cacophony of crunching metal rang out through the cavern, along with several splats that told of ink beings being tossed against the walls and ground, out of the way of whatever was coming. Those who could scream were doing so as they ran, trying to find their own hiding places.

Allison and Tom were already standing at the entrance, the former with her sword out and the latter producing the ax that had been hanging on his back. "It's the Demon," the human-angel said through gritted teeth in frustration. "He's tossing anything—anyone—he comes across away like trash!"

"Oh no, no..." Camilla whimpered, covering the space where her mouth would be as her head shook. "Oh please, please let most of them come here through the ink void, don't let them be lost, oh dear God, please..."

"There there, Camilla," Betty said, immediately holding her calmly by the shoulders as she turned back to the others. "Oh, can't we open th' way now? We need ta get everyone outta there!"

"Oh, Allison, please!" Alice pleaded, both hands flat against the screen. "I have the shack warded against this side; you at least have to save yourselves, and Henry!"

The former voice actress bit her lip as she kept glancing outside and back, before sheathing her sword. "Okay; I'm making an executive decision, here...and Tom, don't try and stop me. Miss Boop, right? Whatever magic you're thinking of doing, better do it now!"

"You got it!" said the toonette with a salute as she raised her pen and made sure to fill it with the over-sized inkwell from her bag.

Then, with everyone else practically praying behind her (and the others nervously watching from the other side), she quickly etched a simple door onto the projector-screen wall.

"Let's hope this works," she then murmured and reached down to the knob. As expected, she managed to grab it...

But it wasn't moving. She pushed, pulled, and turned every which way, but the door just wouldn't budge. "Gnrr, it's stuck!" Betty whined helplessly. "It's a door, but it ain't goin' nowhere!"

"Dammit!" Allison sighed. "Now what? We're going to be monster food!"

Beside her, Tom would've growled if he could, throwing his hands up in frustration as he turned back to the door and prepared to brandish his ax—and anything else he could use as a weapon—against whatever kind of monster the Demon had made himself out of sight of the others.

Suddenly, Henry, who'd been watching the whole thing with a mix of every emotion between frustration and wonder that you could think of, stood up. "I have a crazy idea. That door's not working because there's no other side to it; it's as good as a drawing. There has to be a door on this side, too. Allison, do you have your ink brush on you?"

"Pretty much always," she nodded quickly and took it from her belt to throw to him. "Hurry up, he's coming!"

As fast as he could manage, the old animator quickly dipped the brush in whatever ink puddle he could find nearby, and started carefully tracing the door on the screen. I really never thought I'd be doing this again...I must be crazy, but dammit, I really, REALLY want this to work...!

"Henry, he's charging this way!"

The earth started shaking at their feet when another slam rang out, this time much closer. They could practically hear the Ink Demon breathing, and a monstrous hand was seen clawing around for anything that it could grab.

"He's about to find the shack...!"

Trying to steel his well-trained nerves, Henry finally finished the copy of the door with one final brush-stroke of the knob. When he looked over his work, he felt tempted to try opening it himself...but he dared not smudge the ink, as careful now as he remembered having to be with his cels in the old days. This was indeed a job for a toon. "Okay...Betty, try it now!"

"Roger!" she replied, and with a gulp, clasped the knob...

And was surprised when it gave with a turn and a click of an invisible latch.

"It's openin'!" Betty gasped and started to pull. "Guys, it's openin', c'mon!"

Cheers rang out from the toons which mingled with the harried commands of Allison and Henry...only for them all to coalesce into screams as the Ink Demon, now having transformed into a monstrous, hellish black beast with a grimacing maw of sharp teeth, came slamming against the open entrance.

"No time to waste, move it!" Allison roared as they all pushed through the door, barely noticing the bright glow it took as they crossed over the open portal to another world. The Ink Demon kept pushing its eyeless head through, barely fitting that and one hand through to grasp whatever it could.

Tom had roughly pushed Henry out of the way to go in first...then, as an afterthought, reached back and pulled the human in behind him by the shirt. Their last companion fended the monster's outstretched fingers away with a swipe of her sword before she turned and jumped through herself, leaving the real world behind them for one that was blinding and brilliant, their very senses leaving them awash for the briefest of seconds.

When both groups could see again, they were all practically on their knees, their eyes having turned back to the screen to see the room from where they'd just come. Courtesy of Allison, the door had closed behind them quickly, and again looked like naught but a simple imprint of ink.

They watched with stifled breaths as the Ink Demon seemed to stare at the sight before it, a hand hovering in mid-air. They heard it let out a slow, seething growl, lips curling around its teeth, before the hand dropped hard onto the ground in frustration and he turned to slink back out, disappearing as if exiting stage-right out of the shack.

"...Good heavens," Betty said as everyone let out their collective sighs of, if not relief, respite. "What on Earth was that?"

"The Ink Demon's other form," Allison breathed out as she got up to her feet. "He's almost always in his first one...but I've only ever seen him do that once before, after he caught a glimpse of one of the cartoons playing randomly in places. He seemed...distraught...and transformed to wreck the place. Well," she shook her head and waved dismissively. "I would say distraught, if I didn't think he didn't have emotions in the first place."

"He does," Alice immediately stated, but then wrung her fingers together, uncertain. "...He must..."

"Alice," Boris interrupted her with a gentle hand on her shoulder as he helped her up as well. "We can think on that later. But lookit th' bright side...look around," he said with a breathless, undeniably-giddy laugh that was bubbling from his chest, "It worked."

That was when the toons, ink creatures, and human all really regarded each other. There they stood in the same space, on the same side of the reels, and even still it was hard to believe.

"...It did work..." Allison said with a smile of her own forming, trading equally-wide-eyed looks with Tom. "It really did..."

"Oh golly..." Alice couldn't help but chirp quietly.

Betty, meanwhile, was full-on laughing and clapping once the situation hit. "Oh, I knew it would work, I just knew it! Y'see? That's what a true Creator can do with ink."

Eyes all turned to Henry now, who at first wasn't noticing that he was getting the most attention, as a human having successfully crossed into Toon World. He was standing and looking up, all around, taking everything in. Everything that he could see and feel. Sure, it was still Joey Drew Studios, or at least one just like it...but already he felt quite a bit younger here...he could almost remember the elation he felt when he first started as an animator, the excitement and anticipation of what they could and would accomplish...of what he could accomplish.

"...Well...I'll be..." he murmured, before his eyes set back onto the others; Allison and Tom, who already looked more hopeful themselves...and then the toons, who were in equal states of frozen anticipation, at a loss for exactly what to say, exactly like children to a much-unknown parent.

With a smile and a wink toward the man, Betty ushered the other two forward to him with a light push to their backs. They glanced at her, then at each other, and then back at Henry, who started up to them himself in a state of awe...there, as real as anything in the world, only so much so on a piece of paper back home, were his own creations; he was berating himself for even forgetting that they were his, and not Joey's.

"...Boris..." he spoke to the wolf first, reaching up to him, and he felt almost weak in the knees from his emotional wreckage in the other world. "...Is that really you, buddy?"

The wolf's jaw gave a little quiver as he nodded...he did remember that he'd taken in one of his clones before...how must it be feeling for him to meet the real thing?

"Yeah...yeah, it's me...th' one an' only," he said with a sniff as he took Henry's hand to shake it. "Good t' finally...OOF!"

Boris didn't get to finish his sentence, as he suddenly found himself drawn into a tight hug from the man. With only a moment of surprise, his arms were also thrown around him, tightly, and the toon could feel waves of familiarity, a connection, washing over him, so forceful that he could cry; and so he did. He was almost sure Henry was, too...but it didn't matter. They had him, and he was safe, and so were they.

Alice watched the emotional reunion for a second with welling tears of her own, hesitant to say anything, even a mere greeting of her own to the Creator...but nothing needed to be said. Boris broke from the hug to invite her into it, too, and Henry gladly took them both in, like would have his own children...and the angel not only cried, but laughed; they all did.

"Awww..." Betty sniffed and blew her nose into another handkerchief as she started welling up, just by watching. "Ain't that th' most beautiful thing ya ever saw?"

"Well, it's certainly a happier ending than I thought for all of us," Allison had to chuckle, facing the toonette with her lip quirked up. "So, I'm guessing we have you to thank for getting them here, Miss Boop."

"Aw, shucks..." she waved her hand dismissively. "They were here already, I jus' saved 'em from their traps. I'm sure you'll hear th' full story from 'em soon. An' by th' way, call me Betty, alla my friends should!"

At that, Tom's eyes widened a little, as if he recognized her name right then. Allison, missing his reaction, nodded with a smile back. "Well, glad to meet you then, Betty. Now...I guess the question is, what do we do now that we're here?"

"M' sure a breather would be nice for everyone," Betty shrugged as she turned back to Henry and the other toons, who were now simply talking. "Some time ta think. We got th' Creator here...an' we still have a door for th' Lost Ones. Now, how t' help out lil' Bendy, wherever he is."

Meanwhile, as they came out of their hug, Henry simply looked at his two living creations with a shake of his head, breathing out a sigh of disbelief. "Well, I guess coming to the studio was worth all of the horror I had to go through, after all."

"I'm still sorry about that," Alice bit her lip and looked at him with sadness in her pie-cut eyes, "I couldn't control Susie, when I was in her head...I could only watch."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, if that's the case," Henry's head shook. "I'm just glad you're out of it...however you got into it."

"Y'can thank Miss Betty Boop fer that," Boris said with a large grin. "But uh, now I'm right curious...why didja come back to th' studio?"

He sighed and ran the fingers of one hand through his unkempt hair. "Joey sent me a letter, inviting me back. Said he wanted to show me something. Well, I saw a lot, alright. Enough to make me question so much about what went on after I quit...but now," he looked them in the eyes again, "How in the world did you two get in here? This also looks like the old workshop, even though I know we're on the toon side," he had to grin when he said that; they figured he was fighting back the urge to laugh like a kid in a candy store.

Boris grimaced, and Alice placed her hand warmly on his arm as he spoke. "It's...a long n' sad story, really."

"Well, like I said...I wanna hear it. Especially if it concerns you guys." He then looked around again, his gaze lingering a little on the others watching them before turning back to Boris and Alice, one hand on each of their shoulders. "...And I notice there's only the two of you. Shouldn't Bendy be around?"

Again, the question they were dreading. Henry noticed their crestfallen, worried looks and got a frown, himself. "I'm guessing he has something to do with the Ink Demon, like Alice did with Susie."

"Well...that's what we're thinkin'...but we honestly don't know," Boris practically whimpered. "He's missin' either way, lost in this cruel place, an'...that's why we might need yer help."

Henry nodded slowly, pressing his lips together thoughtfully. "Alright," he hummed, "I definitely wanna hear everything about this, then."

Camilla stepped into the conversation once she had taken another look out of the shack. "I think the town's safe...everyone's coming out. I think the Ink Demon might've finally calmed down."

"Which could be more dangerous," Allison pointed out with crossed arms, "Means he's calm enough to plan his next move."

The Lost One nodded. "Gives us time to plan, too, so there's that...anyway, there's benches all around the central area, if you want to go out and have some room to talk. I want to go through that door, if I can, and find some survivors to bring back."

"Oh, good luck, Camilla," Betty smiled with a little wave. "Th' door should work fer goin' back too. Jus' be careful."

"Camilla?" Henry then stepped up to her with a quirked eyebrow. "I knew you sounded familiar. Camilla Jones, right? Weren't you going to be an animator?"

She gave a little gasp (having not remembered her last name for ages), and nodded. "Y-yeah...but I was later stuck as a desk clerk for Administration. Honestly, I got used to it...it was a job, and I needed one...even if I couldn't do what I dreamed."

"You had some talent, though," Henry's arms crossed. "Why wouldn't you even be considered?"

She shrugged. "Maybe Mister Drew didn't like the thought of a woman on the animating team. I'm happy to know at least you'd have had me there, Mister Stein."

"Call me Henry," he smiled, and then huffed. "Yeah...sounds like him. He was a real selfish ass. And now that I've seen some things...maybe much worse than that."

"Well...that was then, and...now I'm actually in the cartoon, sorta," she chuckled softly. "Crawling out of Hell and building our Heaven. Anyway...go relax and make yourselves comfortable; and don't worry, the Lost Ones don't mind any of you, anymore, or shouldn't. I'll have someone bring you out some soup."

"Ooh, suppertime," Boris said with his fingers wiggling in anticipation, which caused the others to either chuckle or roll their eyes.

"Don't worry," Betty whispered an aside to the human and ink-humans. "I also got tea an' sandwiches on me fer those a' you who're tired a' bacon soup."


The entirety of the village seemed tense and quiet as the group walked out and settled down; most of the ink beings were still being cautious, staying in their ramshackle houses and peeking out through the doors and windows, casting moving shadows in places.

The rescued people tried to pay no mind to them; they were far too busy looking around at the newer, larger town that seemed more lovingly put together and decorated, which somewhat matched the hopeful atmosphere of the toon world. Dismal as the sight was, it still made for a fair introduction to what was different about the studio.

Once they were sitting together on a bench, Henry with his toons and Betty in front of them in a fold-out chair she'd brought in her impossible bag (Allison and Tom were still standing, mostly just looking around them and also wanting to keep guard against any more surprises, though they too were listening closely), Henry gave the toons a little more clarification on why he was there and what he'd seen in his journey down into the depths of the dreary, abandoned studio. And when he was done, with them confirming things that they too knew, they began their tale from the beginning to that moment, with Betty speaking up once her part came. All throughout, Henry's stoic and thoughtful facial expressions were changing, to something ranging the gamut from sad to horrified to angry and back through again.

Once they were finished, there was a strong silence in the air, where Henry briefly rubbed his face with both hands, his frustration coming out in a somewhat growling hum...they guessed that he was probably trying not to swear, or cry, with the way a shudder crawled down his back. And then he spoke, low and direct.

"...When I see Joey again, I'm going to punch him."

The toons immediately voiced their agreements (along with a few passerby Lost Ones who overheard), and Boris turned to Betty with a little smile. "See? Toldja I thought he had dibs."

"Aright, aright, fair enough," she giggled and waved him off. "You kids an' yer Creator can get 'im, jus' throw in a good slap fer me."

"It's still amazingly kind of you to help them when you stopped by, Miss Boop," Henry had to smile. "You could've just turned around and walked out." He wrapped an arm around each of his toons, Boris to his right and Alice to his left. "I can't thank you enough."

"Aw shucks...it's like I told 'em, I'm glad ta help, Mister Henry. S'what I was there ta do, find 'em and get 'em outta th' Land of the Forgotten, an' back home. Sure, it's terribly scary, what happened...but I'm seein' it through to th' end. We got one more t' find, an' then ya can leave this place fer good."

Henry sighed. "Well, at least it's good to know that you guys can leave...I've...been having such bad luck, that I don't know if I'm meant to. Though...I've been having this weird feeling of deja-vu all throughout. I..." he held his forehead and rubbed it, "I may have actually been in there for longer than I thought."

"Well, yer in th' toon world now," Betty shrugged, though kept her mirthful smile. "So that oughta be better than back there. An' who knows...you may jus' find yer way into th' real world from somewhere here, an' you'll never see that place again."

He laughed. "I dunno...I may never want to leave. This is like being able to walk in the world I just came up with in my head one day...and now I might be able to walk in multiple worlds that were created for the silver screen. What animator would wanna get outta this?"

"None, in my experience," she winked. "But, s'up ta you. I do at least hope ya plan t' help yer toons out, now that yer here."

"I don't see how I possibly couldn't," he immediately said with a nod of finality. "We'll find Bendy. We'll get him out...somehow, if you really think he is just trapped down in the machine."

"S' our best guess," Boris nodded as he gulped down another can of soup. "I really don't wanna see th' thing again, but...I made a promise when I was revitalized. We ain't leavin' him."

"Absolutely not," Alice agreed. "It's not the same without Bendy. Now...it's just a matter of getting back up to the Ink Machine controls and shutting it down, then coming back...all while avoiding the Ink Demon. I hope Camilla can convince the rest of the Lost Ones to cross over first."

"Doesn't help that we don't have Sammy," said Allison as she paced nearby. "It's disconcerting enough that he's been brought back."

"He is changed, Allison," the angel toonette insisted. "I promise."

"Or was," Betty sighed and shook her head. "Th' poor man...taken out by th' Ink Demon..."

"Again," Boris whined a little.

"...Now I'm a little disappointed. Really? None of you believed me?"

Everyone in the vicinity whipped their heads over to the sudden, familiar new voice that entered the conversation with a humorous edge. There, leaning rather nonchalantly on the large statue of Bendy with his arms crossed and mask replaced, was none other than Sammy Lawrence, a splash of ink just behind his feet to show exactly from where he'd popped up.

Allison and Tom were already on alert, brandishing a sword and an ax respectively, while Henry was on his feet with a defensive glare.

The toons, however, were completely opposite in their attitudes.

"Oh, there he is!"

"Mister Sammy!"

"SAMMY, YER OKAY!"

That last comment was courtesy of Boris, who'd leaped from his seat to tackle the old music director in a hug.

"Nononono I don't do hugs...! AGH!" Thump!

The toonettes immediately burst into laughter upon seeing their friend having dropped him to the ground, while the humans and once-humans slowly lowered their weapons, glancing at one another in confusion.

"...Well," Allison hummed as she placed her sword back, "Uh...looks like they were right." Henry, in response, just let out a little snicker.

Sammy, his mask a little askew, nudged Boris off of him after giving a pat on his back. "Alright, c'mon, enough...geez, you toons are affectionate." He stood back up, with the wolf shyly poking out his tongue in apology, as he faced the others. "What exactly went on in my absence?"

Then, he caught the narrowed eyes of the others.

"...Ah."

"Yeah...not all of us are as excited as the toons are to see you," Henry was the one to say, with his arms crossed as Boris sat down again with Alice. "But, they told me everything...and I'm inclined to believe them."

"I'm not so easily swayed," Allison huffed, with Tom punching the palm of his mechanical hand in warning. "Are you really changed?"

"Well, I'm still partial to the mask...but you don't see the Ink Demon anywhere with me, do you?" Sammy quipped back. "Trust me, you'll be feeling the effects of this place soon enough, too, Allison."

At hearing her old name again, she was staring, frozen, for two seconds before coming out of it quickly with a shake of her head. "...I trust my own gut. The toons are the only reason I'm holding back from running you through."

He simply chuckled. "They are remarkable kids, aren't they? You should be proud, Stein."

Henry gave a little grin. "More than you know."

"...And look," he hung his head a little, "You know I was never much for apologies, even when I was human..."

The animator held up his hand to stop him. "Don't. I kinda figured that you weren't in your right mind...especially after I've heard everything. So, I can give ya one more pass." He held an index finger up. "One. We'll see what happens after we take care of everything else."

"Aw, I knew Henry was gonna be reasonable an' kind," Boris said with a bright grin, which was matched on the others.

"We however," Allison pointed to herself and Tom, "Are keeping an eye on you, so no funny business."

"Considering I just overheard you were ready to ask me for help," he said, and they could hear the smirk that he couldn't show, "I'd be holding back the funny business just for curiosity's sake, anyway."

"...Oh yeah," she muttered through clenched teeth, having forgotten.

"So, then," Sammy continued, turning to the toons, "I'm guessing that your plan to get a door up to the other side was a success."

"It was!" Alice said with a little clap, before deflating slightly. "But...we ran into some trouble, which is why we were surprised to see you in one piece."

"Th' Ink Demon," Boris said with an angry grimace. "We thought he gotcha."

Sammy jerked up in surprise. "You're kidding. Augh," his head shook, "Slippery beast. No, he didn't get me again, as I've said...but I was having a hard time finding him. I've been leaving offerings in summoning circles all over the place, traveling the void, listening...and then I sensed that he'd transformed...and disappeared. I couldn't get a read on him from this side, nor could my Searchers."

"That's because he ended up back on the other side," Allison said with a jerk of her thumb, "...Nearly had us cornered when the door opened."

"They gave 'im th' slip, though," Betty said with a swing of her fist, "That monster can't compete with a team a' toons and creators."

"If he can turn into that monster," Henry hummed through his fingers as he laid his chin in his palm, disturbed, "Then I don't really know what to make of him."

"Time to be prepared for anything, then...the Demon, too, can summon Searchers," said Sammy as he reached back into the puddle of ink, moving his arm around like he was looking in a random cartoon hole, before snatching up the handle of a Gent pipe. He turned it around and offered it to Henry. "I believe you've used one of these."

"I tend to prefer the ax," said the man as he gratefully took the tool; even in the toon world of the studio, where the Ink Demon and the Searchers can apparently roam, he still felt a bit helpless without some kind of weapon. "But, this definitely does the job."

"Good; now then, to the business at hand. Allison," he turned to her with his arms crossed, "What exactly did you need my help for?"

The woman sighed, trying to get past her annoyance at his smug replies...and at the mounting ache in her head. "The toons, in return for letting us through the door, asked us to get the remaining Lost Ones through as well. But, you know how they treat angels," she tapped her halo-headband, "So I was hoping that if you could help, they'd listen to you. That Camilla girl might have a head start on you now, though."

His head shook. "Not much of one...some are stubborn, and others are too caught up in their own misery to listen to anyone else, and still others are stuck in cages and behind walls and halls of glass. But...I could get them out. I guess if I cannot keep up with the Ink Demon, I can do that much."

"How very kind of you," Allison huffed.

"Oh now, quit yer bickerin'," Betty said as she stood up and put her fists on her hips, "We all got the same goals now, don't we? Gettin' outta here in one piece? We oughta put aside th' past an' work together. Surely you're startin' ta remember how it was in th' studio before?"

That's when Allison started to rub at her head. "Not really, but...some things are starting to come into focus. What about you, Tom?"

The angry-looking wolf hung his head, pondering the question; then he glanced back to the former voice actress with a slow nod.

"Look, Betty's right," Henry stepped in. "We can all fight out our differences later, if we have to. But we now have a way to save everyone who's trapped that we can. It's probably not going to reverse their appearances, but...living here has to be better than leaving them in that Hell."

"It sure is," the toonette nodded. "An' once we got 'em, we can get Bendy, last but not least."

Allison traded glances between Tom, Sammy, and Henry, and rolled her eyes upward, wondering how she ever gets into such things...in fact, her mind was fighting to remember how she got into it in the first place. "Alright...we should hurry and get down to business, before the Demon tries to corner us again. What should we all do?"

"Well, we don't have to worry about the village," said another voice, and everyone turned to see Camilla walking in from the shack, ushering in about five more Lost Ones. All were hunched over and shaking, two were holding their upper arms tightly, and all looking eternally hopeless. "The door works," she said with a smile in her voice, "I managed to find all the survivors that I could from the Demon's rage. There should just be a few hiding in the rest of the studio there now...oh!" she owlishly blinked, "Sammy! You're back!"

"Will this doubt of me ever cease?" he shook his head in mock despair.

"How 'bout when you cease with the theatrics for a second?" Allison grunted.

"I shall never, dear lady."

"Anyway," Camilla interrupted with a cough as she noticed the newcomers looking around nervously, casting suspicious looks especially towards Allison and Alice, and finally resting their eyes between their once-prophet and the one who saved them. "You guys are free...go look around, find a house...or build one, whatever you want. You'll feel better soon."

They looked between her and Sammy, and the masked ink-man decided to add to the speech. "If you can trust me, my little sheep, you can trust her. Go on."

And they did, albeit slowly, shuffling along in a little group toward some of the others waiting at the water's edge, who were already fishing a few more of their own out of the void.

"Ain't done with th' 'sheep songs', eh?" Betty asked him with a giggle and a wink.

The music director sighed. "They're used to the act...I'm only making them feel at ease. Not because I'm still finding it hard to come out of the habit."

"I knew there was a sweet side to you somewhere," Alice observed, which caused a bout of quiet snickering among the boys and Allison. She ignored the would-be glare from him by rolling her eyes up to the side with a knowing grin.

"Now then," said the angel-woman as she cleared her throat and straightened the forming smirk, "Guess we just gotta look for the stragglers."

"As I've stipulated, I can do that," Sammy hummed. "But since you and your pet over there are keen on keeping an eye on me, you'll have to come along. Somebody has to make sure that the door and the projector stay functional."

"What about us?" Boris inquired. "I know I ain't about t' go back t' that side again."

"Me neither," Alice shuddered.

"And I make three," Henry frowned.

Camilla then hummed. "Well...you and the toons can go back through this studio, Henry, and find the Ink Machine controls...and whatever else you think would help. I can watch the projector on this side...plus anyone who wants to volunteer to watch the ink river."

"Sounds like a plan t'me," Boris smiled.

"But," Alice spoke up with a hand raised, "How will we know it's time to turn off the controls, if we're doing that while you guys are still rescuing the others?"

"There should only be a few left," Allison reassured. "We'll signal you somehow."

"I'll signal you. I'm the only one who can travel just as well as the Ink Demon, sans crossing the other side," Sammy pointed out. "You just get to that machine and do what you have to. And we'll be ready down here with the cavalry, as Boris put it, since I'm certain the monster will try to stop us...speaking of the toons, I assume you have weapons?"

At that, Betty immediately pulled out her frying pan. "Right here."

Boris reached behind him for his own, only to grimace at feeling nothing. "Uh, Betty, y'still got my ax in yer bag."

"Oh, sorry," she giggled and pulled it out by the handle. "There y'go."

"Much better," the wolf grinned as he gripped it tightly.

"I don't need a weapon," Alice smiled. "I can ward off Searchers, at least."

"Still, it's better we all stick together," Henry ordered, looking each of the toons square in the eyes. "There's no way in Hell I'm letting you out of my sight."

"Aw, gee, Henry, we'll be fine," the wolf shyly chuckled. "We've been fine so far."

"...Then I guess we've got ourselves a plan," Allison said as she took her sword from its protective sheath with a metallic shing. "Good luck."

"Same to you," Henry nodded. "Don't any of you get caught. We've got some catching up to do later," he said with a little smirk.

"I'd count on it," she gave a laugh, and even Tom couldn't help but grin himself, albeit with a "what did I get myself into" roll of his pie-cut eyes. "But, if one or any of us don't get out of this alive...I'm sorry about having to imprison you, Henry. We didn't have much of a choice at the time."

"I understand," he nodded with a little smile. "If our roles were reversed, I'd have probably done the same, before Tom would have killed me and escaped."

The sentiment made both ink beings snicker, and Tom even gave him a confirming nod with his arms crossed.

"Bring the flock back together safe, Sammy," said Alice with a little wave.

The ink man huffed quietly, but there was a gentle smile that they heard in his voice. "I'll do what I can."

"Good luck to all of you," Camilla said with her hands clasped together, praying for it in her mind as she watched the groups divide up into their respective destinations.


Although it was pointed out to Henry that there was a safe way back up into the studio proper, there was always the lingering thought from the Ink Demon's various unpredictable attacks that nowhere was quite safe anymore. And so, in lieu of taking the lift back up into the intersecting rope-ways and carts that the Lost Ones had constructed, he had instead insisted on going through the offices.

"If the Ink Machine I saw making ink isn't the real one, then I oughta see where it is, myself," he'd reasoned as they went on, finding the secret door in the village that could surprisingly be opened by one of the many keys on Wally's old ring, which Boris still had. "Who knows...maybe there'll be a way in that nobody saw."

Boris's hum sounded like a whine as he led the way. "I doubt it...it looked purdy locked up from when I was in there. An' t' be honest...I ain't keen on takin' a second look."

"We'll just peer through the door, Boris," Alice assured while taking his arm, "Just one look...then we'll head straight for the elevator, and back up."

"I'll give anything to go up at this point," Henry muttered.

"Take it from an angel," the young toonette smiled back to him, "No matter what happens, you're heading up, Henry."

He had to chuckle and shake his head. "I created a devil too, you know. But, we'll see, I suppose."

"Oh, I'm sure y'are, hon," Betty then piped up from next to him. "Yer the one who'll make all th' difference here. Now, I gotta be th' worrywart, it's just my thing...y' get enough t' eat? I still got sammiches, an' a can a' bacon soup here somewhere. S'not bad stuff when yer used to it."

"No...I'm good." Henry gave her a quirked eyebrow. "If I may ask, Betty, I thought you were Jewish, at least by proxy of the Fleischers?"

"Eh," she hand-waved, then whispered in a conspiratorial fashion, "Between you an' me, I don't think that's real bacon in th' soup."

"Considering the company, I'm really not surprised," he laughed.

It was a bit of a walk through an empty corridor, their eyes wandering all over and ears peeled for anything resembling a hint of danger. There was still ink dripping from somewhere far away, and a few puddles in corners...but other than that, Henry was slightly surprised to find that things in this version of the studio were...well, for lack of a better word, cleaner. It still had a decrepit and abandoned feel...but there was also something newer about it too. He decided that it was probably something having to do with being in the world of toons.

Finally, they made it to a staircase with signs that pointed down towards the lowest point of the studio proper: Administration. Carefully, shoes creaking on the old wood, they opened the door and entered another staircase, this time diverging from another floor up that was directed towards the archives and R&D.

"Elevator's back up in there," Boris nodded. "Good t' know my sense a' direction's still good." He stood in front of the door that would give them entry into the offices, but for some reason he couldn't move to open it. Alice looked down to notice that his hands were shaking.

"It's just one look, Boris," the angel patted his arm to calm him down. "We're all right here with you."

"Yeah," Henry added as he placed a hand on his shoulder, "We won't let anything happen, buddy."

The wolf smiled weakly at all the reassurance, and with a deep breath, opened the door. Do it fer Bendy.

The waiting room for the offices was quite a bit bigger than what Henry was expecting as they entered and looked around, taking in all the posters for the workers and for advertising the most popular of the cartoon episodes, amid the clean and organized look of the benches, chairs, and reception desk.

"There," Boris pointed to another door, above which sat the logo for the apparent contracted engineers of the studio and the Ink Machine, the Gent company. "Th' entrance to th' real Ink Machine's in there, just beyond th' secret film vaults."

Henry's eyes narrowed; though he was pretty sure he hadn't seen this area before, he was starting to feel that sense again, that he did. It was starting to nag at him, and pretty badly. "Makes sense," he muttered as he started toward the door and peered into the glass. It definitely looked like a room that only an engineer could have built, with ink pipes, gauges, and valves that looked to carefully direct and manipulate the flow of ink throughout the building. He tried the door and wasn't surprised to find that it was locked...but again, it was another easily opened by trying the keys until one fit.

"Goodness; that janitor a' yours sure got around," Betty giggled as the door swung open.

"Yeh, Mister Franks was a real spry guy," Boris chuckled back. "Hope he got outta here b'fore everythin' went t'...well, you know."

The vault was easily located, a door that sat to the left of the pipe controls and labeled clearly as such. However, upon looking into the glass window, Henry and the toons visibly deflated; the room was completely flooded inside with ink. There was no way in; and the pumps all seemed to be working overtime to keep it from over-flowing through the door.

"Well, I'll be a sheep's uncle," the wolf muttered and scratched his head, "Camilla was right. It is flooded, all th' way through th' vaults."

Henry grimaced. "And I don't know just how extensive the system is, really...it could take ages to find the right pumps for this. There's only one thing to do: we gotta turn the Machine off."

"I second that," Alice hummed. "And we'd better get up there, before..."

Splooshsplooshsplooshsplooshsploosh.

"...We really have to keep our mouths shut when we discover something."

"...Oh no," Betty gasped. "Did you guys hear that?"

Henry groaned. "Oh yeah. Better take out our weapons and stay close to each other. We're gonna have a fight on our hands."

Each doing as they were told, the small group whirled around to the entrance, brandishing their various tools...only to see not only an army of Searchers piling up into the room and turning their attention to them...

But their blood ran cold when the room darkened with clouds of inky shadow wrapping every corner and nook.

Henry's heart immediately pounded in his chest, keeping in time with the eerie and familiar sound. "Oh you've got to be kidding me..."

"Th' Demon's in th' stairwell!" Boris exclaimed, his knees shaking as he held his head in urgency. "We can't go there no more!"

As the Searchers started surging forward, Alice stepped in front of the others, her halo glowing brightly as she put her hands up. "Back! Get back!"

The ones in the immediate front fell away to her light, as expected...but even more were popping up and swiping at the group, determined now to drag them down with them. One even managed to get past the girl's luminous barrier to nab her legs, only to be cut down quickly with an ax swing from Boris.

"I don't think we can easily get outta this one!" Betty practically stammered as she swung her pan to knock one away. "We hafta run!"

The room was filled with splashes and groaning as the ink beasts were fought off and a path cut through. "Where, though?!" Henry grunted with every beast he dropped back with the pipe. And the more they did, the closer the Ink Demon seemed to come to the room...

Alice's head swung around as she tried to stay within the group's circle, catching sight of the sign above the large corridor in the back. "The offices! We can run to one and I can ward it!"

"Then move!" Henry roared as two, three, four Searchers came grabbing at once, to be cut down or knocked away, the lot of them coming in waves enough to blacken the floor and prevent any escape outside.

It was now just a blind decision to turn and run, a small group of toons and one human, all the way into the quiet maze of offices and storage closets. More Searchers popped up in their path, but they were cut away as the urgent groaning sounds still covered the way behind them, along with the constant thrumming of the Ink Demon's aura, so palpable his malice that it could be felt in their very blood.

They ran, barely paying attention to anything else...no sounds but their own pulses and footfalls in their ears.

Finally, they reached the end of the maze, where stood the largest office of all, easily distinguished by the owner's ever-present logo above the door.

"Mister Drew's office!" Boris exclaimed.

God, I never thought I'd see this place again. "Inside, quick!" Henry said as he kept up with his toons, scrambling to the entryway. Boris fiddled with the key as Alice hastily drew her symbol on the front, and Henry practically grit his teeth so hard that he feared they would crack. The Demon's aura was rushing ever closer, and the Searchers were popping up again at their feet...

"We're in!" the wolf huffed. "Let's go!"

In they tumbled, just out of reach of several ink beasts, and the room was cast into darkness as the door swung tightly shut against the intrusions with a loud SLAM.

For what seemed like a long time, the toons huddled together with Henry against the door, each one breathing hard from worry and running, as they heard the Searchers popping in and out of their puddles in pursuit outside...only to come up short. The Demon's thrumming pulse was there now, just out of sight, tendrils casting through anything that it could. Henry swore that he could even hear its raspy breathing.

And then...it vanished.

Silence stretched on as the group waited. Then, the man stood slowly to give a cautious peek out of the window.

"I-i-is he gone?" Boris stammered, his eyes blinking in the dark as he held on tightly to a quivering Alice.

"...Yeah...but we still have company..."

There were still Searchers standing sentry at the corners of the hall...but now they were just the large ones, which he remembered never really attacked...some seemed to carry little mementos of when they were human, like hats. A normal Searcher popped up...only for Henry to see a Swollen One pound it back into the ground, out of sight.

"Uh...this is gonna sound crazy," Henry's eyebrow quirked up as he whispered, "But, I think some of the Searchers are actually on our side."

Curiously, the toons stood up to look, and Alice hid a quiet giggle. "I recognize that one, in the hard hat! I think by trying to ward them off, I called up my own little army."

Henry cast a wide-eyed glance between the toons, and Boris shrugged with a shy grin. "Toldja she could do that."

The human laughed. "Alice, you're a wonder."

"At least someone thinks so," she said with a prim and proper flick of her fingers through her hair.

With that, they stood up fully, and Henry decided to flip the light switch to get a better look at the place in which they hid...the office of Joey Drew, the leader of his own personal kingdom of Hell.

"God, I remember when Joey had a little room back near the animation department for his office," Henry sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Now look...living like a butter-and-egg kinda guy..."

He was so distracted for that moment, that he didn't notice the toons suddenly looking around with a rising, frantic panic.

"...Betty? Hey, where are ya? Betty...? Oh no...oh no...Betty!"

"Oh God, please, no...!"

"What is it?" Henry turned back to them, only to now notice that he could only count two toons in the room...his own.

They'd all run so quickly, so determinedly, that they didn't stop to think if they'd heard anyone screaming, and they'd been so scared that they hadn't noticed they were missing a voice.

The Searchers had taken Betty Boop.