((AN: I'M NOT DEAD I PROMISE. xP I know I haven't updated this fic in a little while; real life's been kicking me hard, and it was difficult finding the motivation to write anything at all. But lately I'm in a better place mentally and my work schedule is stable, so I can focus on my creative endeavors. And I had the itch to get this thing going again, especially since we're about at the climax. Also, I've read a few of the supplemental books that came out since then on the world, and I've been careful to incorporate them in this head-canon too, which thankfully was pretty easy. x3

So, onto the next part of the story! The gang has a plan...but will it work? It's all down to time and luck...and everyone has to be accounted for beforehand.))


Chapter 8

It was a hard thing for Henry to wrap his head around, just how much he'd gotten used to the sight of the dismal studio surroundings, before he'd gotten to the Toon side. Even now, looking around as he sat and caught his breath for the first time in ages, he still would feel the twinge of doubt that he would ever leave, sadness at what he inexplicably left behind, confusion at why this had to happen, why Joey couldn't just let it all go...

He was pulled out of his mood then by a gentle touch of gloved fingertips on his shoulder, and he looked up to see the concerned pie-cut eyes of Alice meeting his gaze, her head tilted to one side. "Y'alright there, Henry? You look as if you have a headache."

Just hearing the voice of one of his toons, seeing her there alive, again made him feel a good amount better. He shook his head and smiled back. "Nah, I'm okay. Just too much time to think, I guess."

"Ahh, b'lieve me, I know th' feelin'," Boris quipped from the nearby stove as he adjusted the temperature and took a taste of the bacon soup to see if it was ready. "'Course, if this place ain't good fer restin' yer head, might as well rest yer feet."

Henry chuckled. "Amen."

They had finally reached the safe house perhaps a little over an hour ago (it was good to see the ticking Bendy clocks on the wall still keeping time, though whether it matched time on the outside was something not worth thinking too much about), and decided to have a moment's respite. At least we're going UP again, the human thought with a hum, simply breathing in the smell of the bacon soup amid the old wood-and-ink smells of their space and feeling his stomach rumble just the slightest.

"Durn things're always loud here on this side when yer hungry," Boris had to comment with a cheeky grin as he twirled a few bowls onto his arm and spooned up the soup. "This here oughta grease them engines."

Henry smiled as he gratefully took the bowl. "Heh, back in the other studio, with the other Boris, I was the one cooking him food, or else he'd hide things from me."

"Golly; sounds pretty in-character for the old Boris," Alice giggled.

The wolf gave her a raspberry as he slid her bowl over. "Yeh, well, prob'ly fer the best, if'n them clones couldn't cook worth their own salts."

As he swallowed a spoonful, Henry massaged the side of his head. "I don't quite think he was a clone, though. Heck, if Thomas Connor could become a clone...and mine had been smart enough to avoid being cut open by A...well, the thing Susie became," he glanced apologetically at Alice, who only shook her head with a smile; anything having to do with animosity back on the other side was long forgotten and forgiven. "At least, before I came along, and he insisted on following me down to help...I still can't forgive myself for what happened to him..."

"You must," Alice urged gently. "You did not know what would happen. Or how dangerous Susie really would be. Plus, if he did have a human mind on that side, it's possible that he could end up back here as something else! You never know."

Henry nodded, a little numb as he just concentrated on his food. "That's a good thing to think, I suppose. Right now, honestly...I'm just worried to death about the ones we need to find, still. Bendy...and Betty, now."

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Suddenly, the three of them were jarred out of their seats by a succession of something pounding slowly at the metal door. Not that they worried about anything getting inside—Alice had warded the exits—but it still sent a shock through their spines, their hands instantly on their respective weapons.

"Oh, hold on," Alice held her hands up as she turned and started toward the noise, "I think that might be one of the Searchers I sent out. I did tell him that we could be found at the safe house if they were looking for us with news about Betty."

"Heh, speakin' a' th' devil," Boris snorted.

The boys were nevertheless cautious as they kept behind her, their weapons brandished, as Alice turned the handle and pried open the metal threshold.

There, indeed, stood a large Swollen Searcher, sporting a hard hat. He gave a bit of a pained groan as he simply waited, staring blankly with an expressionless face at the angel before him.

Henry and Boris carefully relaxed as Alice listened to its rhythmic groaning and moaning, every bit a ghost of whomever it had been before. She nodded with a few hums, her fingers holding her chin, before smiling (and leaving her friends wondering how on Earth she understood those things). "Oh, good, thank you! If you wouldn't mind, try to keep an eye on her from a safe distance. We'll try to be right after her soon."

The expressionless creature raised its hand slowly and gave a thumb-up, before disappearing into a large, bubbling puddle on the floor.

"Well?" Boris blinked as she shut the door and turned to them, "Don't keep us in suspense, now! What'd it say?"

"Well," she sighed, "the good news is that they found her...she's locked up in a cage, here on this side, somewhere back down near the archives."

Boris wiped the large sweat-drops that had formed on his brow. "Oh thank goodness...I knew she couldn't easily be taken apart like th' others in th' Ink."

"Yeah...but what's the bad news?" Henry asked with his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow.

Alice grimaced and hissed nervously through her teeth. "Sheeee is being watched over by the Ink Demon."

"Oh, consarn it...!" Boris growled as he whirled around and kicked at something invisible on the floor in aggravation. "Things can't ever be easy."

Henry shook his head. "Well...at least we know where she is. I'd mount a rescue mission right away, but...we've already gone so far up, with a job of our own to do, and nobody's in any kind of shape to face that creature. Not yet."

Alice nodded her agreement. "Yessiree...perhaps the others will find her instead, when they're done," she pointed out with a snap of her fingers. "Besides...the Searcher also said that the Demon isn't interested in harming her...she's actually been conversing with him some."

Boris barked a laugh at that. "Oh, that clever gal! Considerin' what she's done fer us, I durn well believe she could talk down that meanie herself."

"Indeed," Henry hummed thoughtfully, a mirthful grin on his own face at the thought. "She should be moderately safe; that's a weight off my head."

"Literally!" Boris exclaimed, and the other two turned to see him waving a tiny weight in his fingers while grinning.

"Where did you...? Oh, nevermind," Henry snorted as the other two giggled, the laughter of their companion having been achieved. The Toon World, always full of surprises.


Once they were done with their food and had a little rest (Henry could even find the will to nap for a bit), the true Creator and his toons moved onward swiftly from the coziness of their little hovel in the walls of the Studio and carefully wound their way back to the main areas, where they could simply catch the elevator straight up, thanks to the renovations done by Alice's Searchers.

They were quite grateful for the fact that none of the ink monsters were around to pop up and hinder them...probably because the Demon could have been too distracted to send any. The button sounded its cheerful ding when the doors closed, and the creaky old thing wound its way upward through the inky innards of Joey Drew's nightmare. It seemed to take its sweet time before stopping into a small, nondescript room, probably a hastily-built side journey from one of the top floors. And indeed, upon getting out, they beheld the lopsided sign above the entryway with many a sigh of relief: Floor 1, the studio proper.

As they walked carefully on, listening to their echoing, creaky footsteps along the old wooden corridors, Henry couldn't help but behold it all with a new eye, as if he were stepping into another studio but his own. The pathways, the signs, the doors, the desks, they were all there, still the same...perhaps it was the different black-and-white tone, but he didn't feel a sense of haunting dread, but more like fascination.

"I almost want to walk to the front door...just to make sure," the old animator mused. "But even then the floor might give way under me."

"Don'tcha worry none, Henry," said Boris as he led the way along. "It's a bit safer up here. Ain't seen the Searchers goin' past th' second floor."

"Yet," Alice corrected, sighing as she crossed her arms. "I do hope Betty can keep the Ink Demon busy while we're up here."

"At least until we turn things off...oh, that reminds me," Henry raised a finger as he turned to look at a half-closed door. "I should check the animation department. Maybe we can find me an ink vial."

"D'ya really think you'll find yers here?" Boris questioned as the door creaked open, echoing along inside the office. "I mean, ain't Creator inkwells typically on real-world desks...?"

Alice hummed. "This studio is still a part of his cartoon world, or at least what's left of it..." she sighed, reminding herself to be more hopeful. "It's worth a look."

"I wonder how we'd know the ink's mine, if we do find it," Henry pointed out as they spread out to look along the desks. He found lots of old inkwells (alongside pots of acetone, which he made sure to remind the toons not to touch), but the ink inside all just looked like the familiar black concoction that dripped and flowed along Joey Drew's maze of walls. "What did Betty's do, again?"

"Well," Alice tapped a finger on her chin as she inspected a desk, and curiously flipped the pages of a sketch of Bendy on the light table. "Just splashing it on Boris healed him all up...she used a pair of scissors from her own bag to free me where the ax wouldn't cut the cords...it could basically just override anything created here."

"Hm...the Fleischers' ink overrode things here...probably also because there's something very wrong with the Ink Machine's ink. It's kinda...alive, that stuff, and in all the wrong ways..." Henry sighed and rose from the desk he was searching. He ran his hands thoughtfully through his scraggly hair. Then, he snapped his fingers. "We just need older ink, not from the Machine. There could still be some in the supply closets. Let's go."

But as they were exiting, Henry had to stop over at his old desk in front of the animation department. There came a faraway look in his eyes as his hand brushed over the light table, empty of paper, but full of notes that were his own. Then, his vision seemed to glaze over as he peered at the shelf beneath, where his supplies would have been kept.

It was like something was jostled in his memory...and suddenly, one of the ink pots seemed to have a gentle golden glow to it.

"...Henry? You okay?"

Alice's concerned voice and touch on his shoulder seemed to jar him out of his trance, and his brow rose. "Yeah, Alice, I'm fine, don't worry...but I just had a feeling." He reached into the desk and plucked out the inkwell. The liquid inside looked as black as any of the other ink, but as he turned it this way and that in his hands, the weight of it seemed to bring back the familiar, early days of his career, where he enjoyed the countless hours of sitting in that chair, making drawings that moved slowly. He felt no malice from this bottle of ink...he felt something innate. Something that he put his soul into.

Behind him, the toons exchanged glances and shrugged, hoping that whatever Henry discovered was a good thing. "Could that be yer ink, Henry?" Boris inquired, reaching around him to look.

"Could be, but I have to find out," the man hummed as he looked around, furrowing his brow and puzzling for a way to prove that he had what they were looking for. Then, his eyes fell on Boris. "You still got your ax?"

"Oh, yeah, always," the wolf nodded as he reached back to grab the weapon from his back, holding it up with a light "whoosh" as it appeared. "Why?"

"C'mere."

Bringing the inkwell with him, he led the toons out of the corridor and walked until they reached the studio's rather welcoming front entrance. He pointed at a wooden chair that was sitting next to an old projector. "You said that you couldn't destroy anything belonging here with that ax. You can't break that chair, can you?"

Curious as to where this was going, Boris nonetheless raised the ax high, and with the others backing up a few steps, brought it down as hard as he could on the seat.

WHAM!

...A blow that would have splintered a block of wood instead only left a smear on the surface. The wolf shook his head. "Nothin' doin'."

"Hm; lemme see that."

Then, Henry took his paintbrush and dipped it into the well, which he was happy to find still had wet ink. Carefully, he just drew a single extra layer down the ax's blade. He waited a few seconds for it to dry, and the tip seemed to gleam, as if newly-sharpened. He handed it back to the wolf. "Try it now."

And so he did. Boris raised it high, grunting as he brought it down with full enough force for him to hop briefly off his feet.

SMASH!

The chair was splintered at the seat, falling neatly in two, with a crash that echoed across the corridors.

"...Well I'll be gosh-darned," the wolf said with wide pie-cut eyes as he twirled the ax in his hands. "Wh-what in tarnation didja do to it?" He looked back up at his Creator, shocked and impressed.

Henry was grinning, popping the cap back on the well. "Sharpened it, I guess. I definitely found my ink. Now we can properly change things around in this place."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Alice cheered, clapping her hands and hopping a little on her feet. "How'd you know it was yours?"

"It was at my desk," Henry shrugged. "And...I dunno, when I looked at it, it just seemed to...call to me. But, we can question it later. Now...we can finally look for the Ink Machine controls and shut the damn thing down, once and for all."

As he said that, though, there came a loud splash against the wall, followed by a familiar voice. "Oh, I wouldn't be doing that just yet, Henry."

At the sound of a newcomer, Henry and the toons quickly whirled around (with a little flailing on Boris's part) to see the usual masked form of Sammy Lawrence standing with his hands on his waist.

Still rather cautious to see the man, the old cartoonist raised his Gent pipe weapon. "What now, Sammy, you're trying to stop me?"

"I still scare you, do I?" the musician chuckled. "Sorry; I don't blame you. But, yes, I'm here to stop you. With good reason, I assure."

On either side of the real human, the toons gently grabbed his arms. "Hear him out, Henry," Alice soothed.

"Yeh, he did say he'd be th' one t' signal us," Boris pointed out.

"...That's right," Henry sighed, lowering his weapon arm. "Okay, then; hopefully you got everyone out on the other side?"

"Everyone we could find," Sammy nodded his confirmation, raising his hand up to face behind him. "But, we also found something else. And it's not me you should hear out about it."

Right then, Sammy's inky fingers wiggled as a portal of black appeared on the wall, admitting none other than his two compatriots. It was Tom who shoved his way out first, looking much less stoic than Henry was used to seeing, his pie-cut eyes wide and frantic. "Henry, do NOT touch the Machine!" he growled, then held onto his knees to catch his breath.

The toons audibly gasped together upon hearing the new voice, and Henry's brow rose. "...Could you talk the whole time?"

"No, that's a new development," Allison coolly remarked as she came up behind the other wolf, letting the portal close behind her as she carefully carried a few things in her arms. "The Toon World really is some kind of magical."

"Toldja so," Boris grinned.

Tom let out a cough before giving his chest a pound and standing up straight again, facing Henry. "Yeah; long story short, I found out who I used to be. I'm Thomas Connor...and...I helped build the Ink Machine."

The cartoonist nodded calmly. "Yeah, I know your voice from the interview tapes, scattered around the studio in the real world. Should've figured it out sooner, to be honest. But anyway, what's the big change in plan all of a sudden? We have to turn off the Machine if we have a chance of getting to Bendy, don't we?"

"Not necessarily," the wolf-man grunted as he nabbed the things that Allison was carrying (with a hastily-muttered "thankya, darlin'"), which seemed to be a few rolled-up blueprints, a book, and a folded map, holding them all in his arms with unusually-fantastic balance. "Get over here to the table and let me explain, all a' you."

He took his things over to the long desk in front of the Joey Drew Studios logo, the reels chugging away at their backs with silent clicks and whirls as he spread the blueprints and the map out apart fully in front of him. The humans formed a little half-circle to his right, and the toons to his left (Boris had the urge to curiously tap on the clone-wolf's metal arm, to which he quickly raised it away and glared briefly).

"A'right..." he tapped his gloved finger hard onto the parchment, "These are the blueprints for the Ink Machine...when I found 'em, I immediately remembered everything about it. Including the fact that Mister Drew never wanted it to be turned off. The ink had to keep flowing, making everything work." He looked up into the eyes (or lack thereof) of his old co-workers. "Researching these only solidified my memory. Old bastard could never be argued with...but in the end, he made me a compromise. Only a complex procedure by yours truly could turn it off once it's been powered up. To anyone who tried to do so the same way it was turned on...he had me install a fail-safe. And considerin' how things here in the Toon world matches things back there...safe to say it's the same."

Henry groaned. "Of course it couldn't be that easy."

"So what exactly is this fail-safe, Mister Suspenseful?" inquired Sammy with his arms crossed.

Tom grimaced. "The ink would overload...and the whole thing would be rigged to explode. Pipes bursting everywhere, ink flooding...one giant mess to clean up, if it wouldn't destroy the studio outright and everything in it."

The toons were gaping collectively and Alice let out a small gasp. "That...that is mad! Would Mister Drew have really put his studio in danger just to keep anyone from turning off the Machine?"

"Sadly, I wouldn't have put it past him," Henry sighed, rubbing his temples. "He was a man of grand ideas and action, but not of forethought. And he'd put a lot at risk to make sure things were running smoothly, or as much as he could make it."

"Whatta durn fool," Boris growled, then he turned to Tom. "Well, what was th' procedure a' yers ta turn it off?"

Tom stood up straight and tried to think back. "...I had to set the ink control pumps on the Machine to drain the ink from certain places in a certain order, and then turn them off first. And the control pumps are all the way down underground in the chamber."

"Where the big one is?" Alice blinked.

"With th'..." Boris gulped, "Th' chambers fer trappin' people an' creatin' clones?"

Tom's fists clenched, and his expression was wrecked with anger and guilt. "...Yeah, exactly."

Allison hummed. "So then...the plan is, we go down there, we let you do your thing..."

"Ah, I hate t' remind everyone a' this, but..." the toon wolf piped up, his ears drooping sadly, "...That's the place that's also flooded t' kingdom come. We...we can't go in there, Mister Tom."

The wolf-man's brow shot up, and he loudly smacked the table with the side of his fist. "Son of a...! That room can't flood, I designed it that way myself...!"

"Unless Joey figured out a way to have it flood, so that nobody could turn it off," Allison concluded. "...Even you."

"So...there's no way to drain the ink from that room...?" Alice practically whimpered, clasping her hands together. "...And no way to rescue Bendy...?"

"No...no, there has to be a way," Henry's head shook. "We can't leave Bendy here, and we certainly can't leave the Toon World...your world," he looked at his creations, "And mine, under this curse."

"I'd love to get these kids home as much as anyone, Henry," Sammy nodded. "But how the Hell can we now?"

Tom then started to furiously pour over the notes he'd gathered in front of him. And indeed, it seemed that the Ink Machine room in the underground was eventually meant to flood, preventing him or anyone from messing with it to Drew's satisfaction...he still couldn't stomach the thought of such sabotage and betrayal, but then again, it now seemed that everyone would have a reason to punch the old studio head in the face, if not do worse.

Then, when he opened a book and flipped through the pages (the Gent Corporation manual for the ink pipe network, incidentally), he paused and read a few certain passages over and over again, just to make sure he knew it was true. There was a way...a risky one...but a way.

Tom's brow furrowed with determination and he slammed the book down on the table, gathering everyone's attention again.

"Okay, I have it. There might just be a way to pull this off, but it's gonna take some real good timin', because no matter how ya slice it, the pressure's gonna be too much for the pipes to handle. So we have to make sure we are all safe somewhere by the end of it."

"Safest place I can think of, other than out of here, is underground in the caves, at the Lost Ones' shanty town," Sammy pointed out with a tilt of his head. "Those cave walls should withstand an ink explosion. What's the plan, Connor?"

He pointed to various places on a map of the studio layout, where all the main pump controls were marked on each floor. "I go and do some creative flood control, and reconfigure the pipes' circulation, enough to clear out the Machine room underground...only just enough. That will require the ink pressure to be turned off from up here, so Henry can still do his job...after that, I can give all of us about an hour's worth of time to get down there, do what we can to get Bendy out (if that's where he is), and get back to the caves. The resulting pressure buildup will eventually break the Machine."

"And close us off from the real world," Henry hummed in thought.

"Yes...but we have a chance to escape in the Toon world...and then we'll see," Allison pointed out with a hopeful smile.

"I'm all for doing anything to get away from this place," Sammy clapped his inky black hands together. "Count me in."

"We got us a plan," Boris nodded, looking back at a smiling Alice.

"Oh!" the angel then exclaimed. "But remember, we also have to rescue Betty, if we can!"

"An' that means facin' th' Ink Demon," said the wolf as he remembered that little detail, his teeth starting to chatter at the thought.

It was then that, for the first time, the rest of the ink-humans realized that they were missing a toon. "Hey, wait, where is Betty?" Sammy demanded of Henry. "She was with you guys, the last time we checked!"

"And what's this about the Ink Demon?" Allison asked, a little more calmly, though her eyes still bore through the group for an explanation.

Henry sighed, raising his hands to placate the others. "Long story short, we ended up having to escape a massive surge of Searchers down in Administration. We couldn't stop them from taking her into the Void."

"But my Searchers tell me that she's down in the warehouse somewhere, watched over by that monster," Alice added.

Boris scratched his chin. "He wanted 'er alive, though...and she's been conversin', from what we hear...so maybe th' Demon might be able t' cooperate."

This immediately made Allison and Sammy scoff, but surprisingly, Tom looked thoughtful. "...I do remember having to keep the Demon inside around my offices down there by the vault, even cooped in a closet. He was creepy as literal Hell, but he wasn't dangerous...until he was let loose. It sounds crazy, but I think he's angry at the world for treatin' him like a monster...not really evil."

"Well, if anyone can get through to him...perhaps to a part even connected to Bendy...Betty certainly can," Henry mused, with nods of agreement from the toons. "Either way, however...now that I've found my ink," he held up the little well in his hands, "I'm making something that could incapacitate him if need be."

"Ooh, a Tommy gun, like ya said b'fore?" Boris asked, giddily hopping from the soles of his feet.

"We aren't killing him if he's connected to Bendy!" Alice practically growled at the wolf (which made him lower his ears) and tapped her foot in agitation. "Maybe something that can knock him out. Or tie him up."

"A net ball," Allison suggested. "It'll open up to catch him when you throw it."

"If it'll work," Tom hummed. "How does Henry's inkwell have anything to do with helpin?"

Alice giggled and winked playfully. "You have a lot to learn about the Toon world for someone who spent enough time in an animation studio, Mister Connor."

"Betty had 'er own Creator's inkwell with 'er, remember?" Boris laughed. "Cut through this place's ink like a hot knife in butter. Henry found his, an' it does all th' same things!" He pointed with a wide, smug grin on his snout to the broken chair. "My ax did that, after 'e painted th' edge t' sharpen it some."

"I'll be damned," Sammy had to let out in an impressed breath. "Nobody'll mess with you now, Boss."

"I'm not your boss, Sam," Henry chuckled.

"No, but you should've been, all things considered."

"Alright, boys, this is sweet, but let's get back on track," Allison cut in. "Henry, you should make your thing, and quickly. Then we gotta figure out a path through the studio, down eventually to the caves. And..." she gave a somewhat exasperated sigh, "The real Ink Machine."

"Already marked the map," Tom said, raising a particular piece of large rolled-up parchment. "No need to do that fancy teleportin' either. I know the mechanic tunnels like the back of my hand...I can get to all these side pump stations in no time. You," he pointed to Henry, "Turn off the ink pressure—not the power, the pressure—and then get down to Administration. If y'can find Betty on the way, grab 'er. Be ready to get into the Machine itself. Sammy'll take ya."

"Tom, what about me?" Allison stepped up, her face contorted in concern. "The Demon still has Searchers that'll probably stop at nothing to slow you down."

He grit his teeth. "Allison-"

"No. I go with you. We never stay apart for long, and especially on big jobs, so you're not talking me out of it, mister. You're stuck with me. For..."

She then paused, and her eyes widened, as if the light had come back into them again. Another memory, it seemed, had slid into her thoughts. Her voice softened as she looked at her compatriot again, her expression falling. "...For better or worse."

"'Til death do us part," Tom softly finished the familiar oath, nodding. "I remember too. S'why I'd rather have ya be safe down there, with the Toons."

"We're going with Henry," Alice then stepped up. "Boris and I came here to find Bendy in the first place. And Betty freed us from our prisons so that we could keep going."

Boris nodded, a determined look in his dark pie-cut eyes, "We owe it to 'em ta be there. Not ta mention, make sure Henry's okay."

Tom let out a long, gruff sigh. "Darlin', that angel you gave a voice to is as crazy as you are."

"We're in a world where crazy is the best way to go," she grinned back, holding her hand up to his cheek. "Let's do this together, Tom. Like always."

For the first time that anyone had seen, it looked like the old man in wolf's clothing was on the verge of emotion. He briefly covered her hand with his gloved one, closing his eyes for a second as everyone watched with small smiles and silence for the two of them.

Then, he nodded, and turned to face the others, producing a large wrench and clapping it decisively in his mechanical hand.

"...Let's send this damn place to Hell. Henry, y'got your weapon, whatever it is?"

On cue, Boris handed the Creator a neatly-wrapped little net bomb that he'd plucked from the floor from where it was drawn. "Right here, Tom. It'll slow the Demon down at least."

"Then go do your thing; just crank the wheel in the projection room. And hey...good luck."

"...You too. Both of you."

With that, the group again split in two, this time at a running start...and they could hear the clocks ticking all the louder.


Betty was usually quite a patient Toon; there were times, of course, when she would be pushed past the breaking point, and it would get her into trouble. But she also always saw a way out of those times.

This time though...this time it was getting hard for her to see a way through. Still trapped in a cage, still waiting for any sign of rescue, and still trying to get through to a hard-headed beast made of malevolent ink, his mind so twisted that it was hard for him to even fathom the goodness in the world. She'd finally decided that enough was enough, and that if nobody was going to find her, she was going to get out her own darn self.

She'd poked around in her bag for something with which to pick the lock of the cage (which was at least in easy reach, though it was hard to find; it was hidden on the side of the corner bar, rather than in a conspicuous padlock), and of course could only find some bobby pins. Well, these always did th' job in a pinch. C'mon Betty, let's see if ya still got that ol' luck…

But as she was in the middle of picking the thing, grunting with the effort and every so often wiping sweat from her brow, she heard the telltale sounds of a portal opening, and the shifting, sloshing sound of ink being moved about. Quickly she replaced the bobby pins into the Hammer-space behind her, and tried to look innocent as the Ink Demon once again approached.

"Hello again, Bendy," she still cheerfully waved. "Come back t'chat with lil' ol' me?"

The Demon regarded her by raising his head, that unsettling smile still frozen on his face, before he again leaned on the banister and raised his inky hand. Hearing the shifting of the liquid forming words on the wall again, Betty glanced over.

I admit

Speaking to you is

Engaging.

"Aw, shucks," Betty waved her hand in a "get outta here" motion with a high-pitched giggle. "Yer very interestin' yerself. I'm happy ta hear I'm makin' yer day bettah, at least."

The aura the Demon exuded even seemed...benign, for lack of a better word. Where she could just feel the malice and anger dripping from him before, whenever she and her friends had been running from him, here and now he actually seemed more...calm. I dunno...maybe I'm on the right track now, just keepin' on conversin'.

Before she could say anything else, he raised his hand again, and she read his words.

I do not know this feeling

I am unsatisfied now

Walking alone

In this place.

What is happening?

Betty rubbed her chin and hummed. "Well...best I can figure, yer getting so used ta talkin' with someone now, that you find it nice, and not doing so makes ya feel lonely?"

Lonely...that is

This unsatisfaction?

"I think so, yeah. I mean, I can't say I ever been in your big ol' shoes, the way you been shut away a long time from people, so ya don't know what it's like ta have friends. Or...just someone ta talk to. But I do get lonely if I don't have people ta talk to for a long time, or ta sing to…" she sighed, her eyes glancing upward in reminiscence. "Y'could say I been lonely more often these days. But, I could just make more friends, or go visit my old ones...havin' friends is what fixes the loneliness, ya see."

Friends…

"Yeah, exactly! You wanna friend right now? How 'bout me?"

The Demon let out a long, slow, dreadful hiss, and Betty almost winced, wondering if she made him angry again. But instead, he just seemed thoughtful. I think I'm doin' good...don't wanna mention th' others again yet though, but if I can find th' right words

But then, he surprised her.

Your...friends…

If they were here…

Would not speak to me

Would they?

"Well...I admit you intimidate 'em a little, hon...but I could convince 'em to talk to ya, and listen t' yer side a' things...I know if I told 'em you were lonely, they would try!"

There was a long, heavily-pregnant pause...and then, the Bendy amalgam's words came more slowly, hesitant and cautious, letter by letter.

You are

Sincere

?

Betty nodded instantly. "Yes, absolutely! Cross m' heart an' hope ta die," she said with the accompanying gesture, "I'll get 'em to talk to ya, if you let me go."

She could tell that he was heavily in thought about it. Betty's own hope came rushing back...she knew that even this poor creature could be influenced by the positive, optimistic energy exuded in the world of the Toons. Even more so if a part of Bendy were still inside of him, reaching out and clinging to that energy like nothing else in the world. She wanted to help now more than ever.

Finally, it seemed like he reached a decision. He straightened up and made the words appear once more.

Very well.

One chance

To talk.

Then, in his slow and ambling way, he walked over to the lever that controlled her cage, and pushed it back up, aiming to lower it again.

The cage gave a lurch, which threatened to make her fall over, but she held on to the bars as it clank-clank-clanked back down to the floor level. Once it was settled onto the ground, he was already finishing his slow hobble to stand in front of her. With a wave of his hand, the ink on the ground flew up around her feet, forming what looked to be a portable black hole.

Suddenly, she gave a little "eep!" as she was pulled down into it, effectively back into the Void...and then found herself easily spat back out of the ground in front of the cage, and in front of the beast.

He lowered his hand, and the ink retreated, leaving her on solid ground as she shook her head and regained her focus after having suddenly been teleported. "Oof, whatta ride...ya know, I could've probably opened th' cage myself…but, uh, I thank ya, so very kindly, Bendy."

His head only tilted down at her (good GOSH he's tall, she found herself thinking). After a second of awkward silence, Betty decided that he was letting her do the talking...after all, it still looked like communicating was taking a bit out of him, not to mention opening the ink portals in general.

"So! Uh...I guess we have a deal, then. Since ya helped me, an' were so nice to me, we can go find my friends, and I'll convince 'em ta talk to ya...an' we should make some headway inta this whole situation. Just try not ta scare 'em, or get angry, okay?" She extended out her hand. "Let's shake on it."

The Demon raised his non-gloved right hand, regarding it for a second, before looking back at her. Then, slowly, he started to extend it to meet hers.

But, before they could shake on the deal, he paused, and suddenly looked up and around, as if hearing something. Betty blinked and looked around too, trying to figure out what it was he could be sensing...but she didn't hear anything.

And it hit her. She didn't hear anything. The occasional dripping of ink, yes...but that dripping was always drowned out by the sound of liquid rushing through the blackened pipes in the walls, like a pulse, background noise to get used to as much as the hum of electricity in any building. Now it was eerily silent, and without the constant thrum, everything seemed to stop.

"Oh!" Betty exclaimed, remembering what she was doing before. "I guess Henry an' them managed ta go ahead and turn off the Machine."

There was no immediate response from the Demon. He was frozen solid, as if trying to think about this new development. Then, she heard a growl that quickly grew louder and higher in pitch, as if he were also screaming. He clutched his head, the walls pulsating with a thunderous beat, covered in tendrils of shadow. And she felt it again, his monstrous anger seeping through and making the environment rain ink.

"Oh, oh dear!" Betty exclaimed and quickly reached into her bag, pulling out a small umbrella to cover herself. "Bendy, are you okay? Calm down!"

But he didn't seem to hear her. His head whipped around, and paying no more heed to the toonette cowering next to him, he made an ink portal open under him.

And in a flash, Bendy was gone, the oppressive atmosphere moving along with him.

Betty stood still for a moment, just breathing and trying to make her own heart cease its nervous thunder, before carefully putting away her umbrella. "Hmph," she pouted with her hands on her hips, "An' we were makin' such progress. Well, at least he didn't shut me in a cage again…"

And then, she immediately regretted making that statement out loud, as suddenly, an other ink portal opened in the wall below the stairwell. She covered her mouth with her hands and backed up to the statue, quivering. Oh, NOW what…?

But, she didn't feel that angry energy again, nor did she see the walls covered in shifting black. Instead, what arrived through the portal, she didn't expect at all in that moment. Stepping out of the expanse of the Void were the dirty and exhausted forms of Henry, Boris, Alice, and Sammy Lawrence, who had conjured the way to her.

She sagged to the floor in instant relief. "Oh my stars…"

Boris was the first one to spot her. "Betty!" he exclaimed, rushing to the toonette in tears and gathering her up off the floor in one of his bear hugs as the others came along behind him. "Betty, yer okay! I'm so sorry we left ya, we didn't know you were taken until it was too late! Please forgive us!"

Betty couldn't help but laugh, releasing her hands to hug the wolf back. "Boris, I'm okay, really! C'mon silly, put me down, yer gonna squeeze th' air outta me!"

As she was placed back down, she was surrounded by the others. "Betty, oh thank God…" Henry was muttering in ardent relief as Alice also gave her a hug.

"What happened?" the angel asked as soon as she let the other toonette go. "Were you hurt? Did the Ink Demon do anything bad? How'd you cope? How are you free, did you open the cage yourself, or…?"

"Alice, Alice, honey, please, one question at a time!" Betty giggled, also reaching up to pat Henry on the shoulder in reassurance. "I was fine. I was kept in that cage, yeah, but Bendy didn't do nothin' ta hurt me. Actually, we spoke ta each other."

"Spoke?" Henry blinked. "That thing can talk?"

"Well, sorta," Betty nodded. "He can form words with th' ink. He's not actually bad! Just hurt, an' confused, an' lonely! At first he wanted ta keep me here as bait, but after a while, he agreed ta let me go, an' I told 'im I'd get you guys to listen ta him."

The toons looked among each other, wide-eyed and surprised. Henry stood up and crossed his arms, looking rather skeptical. "The Ink Demon wants to negotiate? About as likely as Joey Drew wanting to go straight."

"It ain't that impossible," Boris argued. "Lookit where we are, remember? If there's a shred a' Bendy in there somewhere, he's also gotta be healin' up."

Alice nodded slowly. "It makes sense...Tom told us about the Ink Demon's beginning...I know I'd probably be like that. Oh, I knew that there was a way to get through to him, somehow," she sighed, feeling like she was going to tear up in relief upon hearing it.

"It's true, alright!" Betty nodded ardently. "He told me he prefers ta be called 'Bendy' too, not th' Ink Demon 'r whatever. He said he was tired a' walkin' around alone. But now, he seems ta have noticed that th' Machine's stopped! He got all mad again and disappeared into th' Ink! We have ta find him, I made a promise!"

"What we have to do is get to safety," Sammy piped up, after a moment of watching the reunion unfold. "We didn't turn off the Machine...some kinda fail-safe that prevents that, long story...but we did turn off the main pressure so that the chamber holding the actual Machine can be drained. We have to get to it to actually turn it off, but it's gonna blow the hell up afterward. So if we gotta find Bendy, we have to get there, and right now. Tom only gave us about an hour."

"But…" Betty whimpered, still looking hesitant and worried.

Henry stepped in and placed a comforting hand on the toonette's shoulder. "Alright, look...more than likely, we'll run into him at the Machine, since he's sensed that the pressure's gone and the room's not flooded. If that's the case, we can try to talk to him...but either way, we also have to get to the controls on that thing. So if Bendy tries anything, I have this," he took the net ball and showed it to her.

"Ooh…" Betty hummed curiously as she looked it over. "Where'd ya get that? It ain't a bomb, is it?"

"I drew it," the man relayed with a grin. "And no; it'll just toss a net over anyone it's thrown at. Slow 'em down, not kill 'em."

"Yeah, we done found Henry's ink!" Boris triumphantly declared. "Now there ain't nothin' that can stop us!"

Betty gasped. "Really? Oh, that's so swell, Henry, whatta good piece a' luck! Oh, I really missed too much; alright, we can go, but you guys have gotta give me all th' details!"

"We'll tell you everything," Alice promised, "But right now, we've got one more thing to do." With a grin, the angel turned to the patiently-waiting music director. "Let's go, Sammy."

"Heh, yes ma'am," the inky man said with a short salute and started to open another portal (though grunting a little from the continued work of doing so) back down to the further reaches of Administration.

It felt like walking into the final confrontation, which was basically the case...the one place that a couple of them had hoped to never see again, but the only place left that could possibly be holding the answer to the fate of their good friend, the last Toon.

Finally, it was as if they could see Bendy at the end of a long, dark road.