A/N: This story is part of a series. It is strongly recommended to read the first story of the series "Ink Virus" in order to get to know the characters. This is a fanfic of Bendy and the Ink Machine OC's and is made in collaboration with UnKnown294.
Abel the rebel angel: by twisted-wind (on Deviantart)
Benicio (Bendy) mob boss: by thelostmoongazer (on Tumblr)
Elymas: by animal-guardian (on Tumblr)
My own OC's (Gizmo the crow, Fonzy the fox, Luna the wolf, Deeralyn the deer, Diana the fairy, and Jack the faun)
Alice and Boris: By the kindly beast
UK294 A/N: Disclaimer - If you believe that the character's accents are offensive towards you in any way, shape, or form throughout this series, that is not our intention. We're just using accent generators and our heads for experimental purposes. If we get anything wrong, please let either of us know in the reviews. Hope you enjoy the spookiness!
oOo
'Tis but one cold Fall evening that starts this adventurous tale.
These three specific dates have been given many other names over the years, crossing over countries via immigration methods. All Saints' Day, Día de Los Muertos - The Day of the Dead, Wànshèngjié - All Saints' Festival, Zhong Yuan Jie/Yu Lan Jie - Hungry Ghosts Festival, just to say some...
The name known by the majority of humans and toons is All Hallows' Eve... or, more specifically, Halloween.
'Tis but a time where humans and toons, children of young and adults of old, celebrate this ancient holiday with candy and parties galore across the vast globe.
Tonight the moon is partially hidden behind a veil of gray foreboding clouds; a signal of dark comings, and spookiness. The Milky Way, filled to the brim with stars, its haze, and out-of-reach planets, looms ominously above this sheet, hidden away from interested stargazers. The winds create a gentle, chilly breeze, making the colorful leaves of Autumn dance through their wake like gothic ballerinas upon a stage. Branches bounce to the imaginary tune, their fluttering leaves singing and prancing along with them. The darkened symphony as a whole, as melodious as it is, cast a shadow of haunted woebegone, a making of the late seasonal year.
Costumes, having been used to ward off spirits of the dead, now don upon various, roaming denizens for the fun of it all. Decorative black and orange trinkets, fake skeletons, false spider webs, and more are strewn through lawns and porches on differentiating houses, hung upon beams, and pitched into soils. Pumpkins sit on porch steps, their designs and faces lit with eerie candle lights. Many kids ran or walked along the sidewalks, keeping pace with their guardians or babysitters. Their bags crackled and bounced to and fro from their grips as they scamper about from one household to another.
With minds filled with getting the most candy in their bags and partying until the break of dawn, this date holds special memories to all who commemorate it.
However, we're not gonna be focusing on all that.
Our main focus takes us to the outskirts of Toon Town, New York; one of the many hotspots lighting through the spooky nightfall. Here lies a seemingly run-down warehouse with vegetation running rampant over its wooden features; the lawn ornament belonging to Mother Nature. As old and worn the trees became, the branches clacked and swayed, bounced and creaked, as they beat against the semi-busted rooftop when a strong breeze comes rolling in. If it were to rain - which it isn't despite the appearance of clouds, fortunately, then the droplets would've pelted the windows and white garage door hard and may as well ruin the fun atmosphere that the holiday's providing.
Anyway, this is the home of none other than the notorious Benicio family, the proud members of the American mafia syndicate.
At around the beginning of the trick-or-treating session, the boss of this group, known as Benicio, has been working in his office in the duration of searching for new targets to perform heists. More than a few writing utensils and papers are strewn across his desk, some papers being in small stacks on the sides while others overlap one another across the wood in an untidy manner. Earlier in the day, he had called in those who were willing to send over any useful information, all the while marking the dates in differentiating colors on the calendar on the wall behind him and within his handheld notebook.
The black, articulating-arm desk lamp bathes the room in a yellow luminosity, banishing the lingering shadows to the far edges of the room. They intermingle with the twin moonlit windows from the back wall, almost fully blocked by the blinds thanks to the slits. Benicio grabs ahold of its shade to adjust that light onto a couple of papers in his other gloved hand.
After focusing on the documents a little bit more, the contents in them detailing about a heist involving a plausible bank vault on the other side of Toon Town, the cartoon demon sets the two papers down in disinterest. With a sigh, Benicio's body slumps. Since April's months away from now, he will not have to worry about it until next year. There may be one or two pop-ups during November of this year, however, but he decides that they'll be pushed back until the beginning of December - not near Christmas, of course.
Both arms are then lifted above his head in a stretch, the rest of himself leaning backward in the leather swivel chair. It clacks under the demon's weight. A few satisfying, audible pops emanate from his spine and left shoulder and the demon boss languidly resettles in his seat once more. His left cheek then perches on his palm, supporting it by an elbow on the desk. The other hand takes up a random pen and readies itself to write up another additional piece to one of the random documents.
Boredom sure sounds fun right now, eh?
Luckily for him, at that similar point in time, a few knocks rang out from behind the doorway, making Benicio's head look up from the paper. Inquired, he tells them to come in, beginning to somewhat tidy up the desk space to make it more presentable.
The head belonging to Luna the Wolf pops through the opening crack. "I see you are vorking zis late again, Boss." Her moderate Russian accent flows through a jaunty smirk as she widens the door halfway, letting the hallway light pour into the room. The she-wolf then leans against the doorframe, her black tail swishing in amusement as both arms crossed over her chest.
"So... what? Are ya the Work Police or somethin' now?" The mob boss raises a nonexisting eyebrow, mimicking her smirk in a grinning fashion. "Guessin' ya planned a career change without me noticin' ya doin' so!" He bares his wrists to the toon doctor. "If it is ya, I don't mind bein' arrested for overworkin'." His being involuntary shudders a bit at the next dialogue piece. "Just, no involvement with sedatives, alright?"
That gets them both chuckling, the comical atmosphere fogging over the peaceful office space.
"Niet, I am just messing vith you, Boss." A small, fond smile takes home on her face. "I'm still sticking as your guys' doktor, through and through." Luna's light-hearted features then take a turn towards seriousness and concern, her arms uncrossing. "Actually," A finger gets pointed at him. "I need to konfirm if one of my patients is overworking zemselves before heading for bed. You are keeping up on your health, da?"
He shakes his head in mock disappointment, lowering his arms and placing a hand over his heart. "Ya doubtin' me, after all these years, Doc? Ya woundin' me here." He then gestures to himself. "I've been in good health since ya an' Deeralyn came to join us!"
Minutely perplexed, Luna tilts her head. "I'm not doubting you for being in good health, sir. It is great zing zat you are still managing it."
His hands flop onto his lap as a crooked grin presents itself. "That, we can agree on. If anythin', I'd be more worried 'bout ya guys' well-being. Ya know how Jack gets if he doesn't take enough breaks an' how Diana isn't gettin' enough sleep 'cause of her fashion job bein' recently busier."
The small smile comes back to sweep away the incomprehension. "Da, I am vell avare of zeir situations. As alvays, of kourse," Fingers are clasped and thumbs idly play with each other. "Especially since zere is mirroring cirkumstance betveen her and you tovards zese bouts of sleepless nights." She lightly shakes her head at the thought of them not getting better rest.
Readjusting the lamp to its original stance, Benicio quietly tsks. He places both palms on the desk to help himself stand up, extracting an almost inaudible grunt out of him, followed by the immediate sensation of stiffness in his muscles. Maybe sitting in that chair for so long wasn't a good idea, he supposed.
"Yeah, yeah, I get ya what ya sayin'..." Again, with the stretching of limbs, but this time, to his relief, more pops can be heard. "Kept grindin' it in my head ever since we've first met on the train."
Her palms now settle on her hips. "And I'll keep doing so until it stays kompletely stuck in your brain, sir!"
"Oh, joy…" Playfully rolling his eyes, the demon boss spoke with feigning sarcasm on his tongue, passing a chuckling Luna as he treks towards the left where a couple of gray filing cabinets are tucked against the wall. While he opens the second drawer and rifles through the manilla folders, he mutters out, "Speakin' of which, I could use a little break after reorganizin' all this crap..."
"In zat kase, you probably von't mind joining ozers in playing billiards?" Luna prompts with rising enthusiasm. Oh, how he would love to be like that all the time... "Zey vould surely be happy to see you having fun vith zem instead of, uh... being kooped up in here and vorking zrough another night."
"Bet they would be…" She couldn't see the gentle, sadden smile projected on his face; only a serenity-toned voice and fingers idly flickering through flimsy edges.
Closing the cabinet, the top drawer is next to be opened.
"I guarantee it! Before I headed out, Alice vas vinning against Abel. I had looked back just in time to see numbered balls rolling into pockets and everyone giving her surprised faces." Her tail swishes happily while explaining the fun evening.
The mafia boss chuckles. "That's Alice for ya. She's often great at playin' the sport. Became a natural at it, at first, an' because of that, Boris nor I could beat her. We mostly got a kick out of the competitions between us, though." He sighs, too low for Luna to pick up, due the remembrances of playing billiards in the old studio.
"I am happy to hear zat. I hope to be taught by her, or from you, or by anyone else when I have an interest in it." Luna lets the conversation a pause before asking again, a hint of hesitation embedded in her confidence. "So... Vould you be villing to play billiards tonight vith zem, sir?"
After taking out a few more files and shutting the drawer, hearing the tiny wheels squeak as he closes the drawer, rue begins to tug at his brain towards what he'll be saying next. "Maybe… Maybe another time, Doc…" Benicio hated doing this to her and the others, wishing to stop this nonsensical gainsay instead of looking through papers. "Right now, I'm still busy with gettin' another soon-to-be heist ready. Might be one comin' up in November, but with how things are now, it may or may not happen."
Soft as he made his voice out to be, Luna could still pick up on the telltale heaviness of regret. In turn, she could feel her heart hurting in a half dollar coin kind of way. Both of them, however, didn't know that they've thought the same idealism: They both wanted him to have fun with the family once more instead of having his job continuously weigh him down.
The doctor cast her eye - her eyepatch hiding the other - away from the boss, her enthusiasm, as predicted by both toons, deflating at the repeated attempt in getting him to take a break.
The banterous mood was slowly sinking away into a slumbering quietness.
The demon boss heads back to the still messy desk, dropping the files unceremoniously on top of the others. "I'm sure ya well-aware of this…" His left-hand massages his right shoulder, feeling an ache wanting even the smallest of relief done upon it. "The business has, uh... kinda been slow lately." Letting go, he drops back into his swivel seat.
"I am..." Got to stay patient.
An airy sigh escapes the demon, his pie-cut eyes fixated on the left-hand wall instead of the toon wolf. "To fix the problem, I've been lookin' through many potential targets listed on this." He waves a paper that has the names of different places typed onto it. "If there's even remotely one, at the very least, I'll be sure to let ya guys know about it." The item gets put back down.
Luna's ears and tail droop with her frown, her throat growing taunt with a mellow amount of disquietness. "Sir, I'm afraid zat you have been vorking for far too long." The wolf's eye shifts into showing resolution. "Keeping zis up in prologuing manner vill not do anyone any good. As both your doctor and tovarishch*, I don't approve of you pushing yourself. You must be given appropriate amount of time to unvind and be avay from stress." (T/N: *Comrade.)
Befuddled pie-cut eyes fly towards Luna, the look contained in his surprised face.
She shrugs her shoulders half-heartedly, finding the hanging clock above the cabinets more worthy of being watched. "And, so vhat if business has bekome slow? Ve are still making profits, no matter if zey're small. Zere is more zan enough koin to get around for vhile longer. Ve vill be alright."
No response came. She didn't expect to get any. How could one be sent when it's in this dejected oppressiveness?
With a gentle exhale, Luna turns to head out of the door, grabbing onto the knob without looking back. "I vish you pleasant good night… sir." And the creaks call out.
"...Wait."
The doorway abruptly stops at that muttered word.
Luna, halfway out, pauses to swivel herself around. A dull click was heard and the light from the desk lamp disappears, dousing the room in darkness; the moonlight was left to fend it off. Clacking from the swivel chair came next and a quick-footed toon boss strides up towards her, his face gleaming with calm optimism.
Benicio gently clamps both hands onto her upper arms, the sudden contact making her body stiffen. "Ya know, Luna. Ya right... Ya goddamn right." Head shaking, he lets go and bops his temple. "What was I thinkin', blowin' off the proposal that easily!"
Her eye widens in flummox.
A couple of pats on the shoulder were given. "I'll be takin' that break, startin' right now!" He begins speed-walking away, having a finger point in the air. "No more papers for me tonight or throughout the rest of this week!"
A broad smile appears on the cartoon wolf's face, happily satisfied with this possible outcome. She almost lost the rein on the conversation, but in the end, came out victorious. Closing the office door, she briskly catches up to the demon and the two toons stroll through the corridor until they are greeted by three doorways, each one leading to a juxtaposed room. Luna stops in front of the right door that belongs to the henchmen's living quarters, the muffled commotion coming from behind the wood making one of her ears twitch in response.
Benicio, however, walks straight past them, heading for the entrance of the building instead.
Luna looks at the demon in confusion. "Um, Boss? Vhere are you going? Pool table is zis vay." A thumb shoots towards the door.
He pivots on his feet, also casting the same expression. "What's it look like? I'm goin' out."
"Going out?" She becomes more confused.
Out of politeness, he mentally rolls his eyes. "I said I was takin' a break. Didn't say I was playin' billiards. Though, I'll still consider the offer when another opportunity comes up." When he swings open the door, the breeze invites itself in to sweep their gales through the two. Both of them shiver, more so on the demon than on the wolf. "Just needin' some fresh air, is all, Doc. Won't be out long!" With his head turned, the mafia boss heads out, not giving another glance back at Luna.
He can hear the doctor's call behind him. "At least, vear coat, sir! It's cold outside!"
Ignoring Luna's advice, Benicio shuts the door behind him and starts his trek towards the worn and cracked tarmac. He chuckles, imagining Luna glaring and huffing at him for doing so.
Today became a particularly windy one. Fallen leaves, all in various stages of decay and colors, have scattered across the path's surface during the Autumn season. Each one that the demon steps on, as he makes his way towards the entrance where the sentry trees guard it, creates a crunching noise. Small clusters piled themselves in various spots of the lawn and under the baring branches, the brisk wind scattering the loose ones across its wilted surface.
He goes towards the pseudo-sentry tree on the left, coming to a stop as to lean his back against it. Crossing an ankle over the other, rattling can be heard when his searching fingers flit within the trouser pockets. It abruptly becomes silent once they've found what they were looking for: A cigarette box and a silver-polished lighter. Pulling a cig from the former between his lips, the lighter sparks a few times before coming to life as a little, dancing flame. He then lets the cigarette end and fire meet, a hand shielding them from the next oncoming wind.
An inhale and exhale of smoke were taken through his teeth, the lighter now back into its pocket. Both lax eyes follow the hazy tendril until they and the smoke greet the dark, looming sky. Beautiful, was one of the words that can describe the serene scenery. With his thoughts beginning to unravel, Benicio watches the clouds that drift along the windy currents waft across the bright, full moon. By now, he's gotten somewhat used to the chills sent his way.
Now that he has time to think, this night feels… familiar to him. Maybe not completely similar in appearances and atmosphere, but the event was not so different as to dissociate itself from his memories.
The Ink Virus Affair, he begins to recollect, curlicues of an emotion unfurling itself in his chest. Much of what happened during that time is still fresh in his mind. So much so, when he believes that, despite his efforts in allaying his family's solicitudes, he hasn't gotten over the ordeal entirely… I mean, who wouldn't be? Like the night sky with its illuminating stars and pieces of fluffy cotton, so, too, did the scattered pictures hold their phantasmal embellishments.
Taking another swig at his cigarette, the mob boss slowly exhales the next bout of smoke, tilting his back a bit to let it fly above him.
Welp, that's getting him to go down another damn rabbit hole, one that he doesn't wish to sink in again.
Before another thought stream flows through his mind, out of nowhere, a twig breaks somewhere. The sound snaps the mob boss out of his thoughts, causing the cig to drop out of his mouth and plop onto the leaf-covered ground. It gets stepped on in his haste to find the culprit. His sight darts around the area while mafioso instinct gets him to take his beloved gun, Shirley, out of his hammerspace pocket.
Benicio aims Shirley's barrel towards a random direction, believing that the source of the noise came from there. "Who's there?!"
He's met with silent indifference.
The branches on his left clack from the hard breeze, whacking themselves loudly against the headquarter's structure. The sentry ones sway along with them, their soon-to-be colorful leaves quivering, and he watches them become seemingly hypnotized by the currents' lullaby. Bushes waver from their spots and more dead leaves stir through the air. It's as if the plant life itself became apprehensive towards whoever is lurking about.
"I know ya out there! Show ya-damn-self!" His eyes then arced towards the right, nonexistent ears detecting a cat's yowl somewhere distant from his vicinity.
Each noise that the outside creates frays his nerves by the seconds, dwindling them down to the point where he nocks the hammer back on his gun and tenses his being into readiness. If things grow worse, he just may have to sweet-talk his ass through the other or use his abilities to warp them away.
"Look, fuck face!" The tone he uses is one of annoyance. "I'm not in the mood to play a game with ya tonight! Let it be known that I'm not afraid to pull a trigger-happy fire on ya head at first sight!"
The demon's threat was well received.
No sooner did he aim his gun at the bushes, a figure comes out through the overgrown flora, a little limp in their gait made evident while approaching him. Benicio couldn't discern who, or even what, the stranger's supposed to be. All he knows is that the newcomer, standing a foot taller than him, wears an old, raggedy traveler's cloak. The cloth's color blends well with the nightlife, the moonlight unable to overcome it. The hood hides their face well, the shadows helping the guest's disguise.
By his understanding, humans typically were variant in heights, shapes, and appearances, and many take their time to patch any one of those up via gradual, diverse means. Toons, as well, share these given traits; however, an additional attribute tacked onto those details has enabled them to reshape themselves into a facsimile object or duplicate entirely. It's one of those weird understandings that was possibly left up to instincts.
"There we go!" Feigning satisfaction paints his features as he puts away his gun, jeer lacing through his sarcastic grin. "That wasn't so hard to do, was it?" His tail gives a few lazy movements. "Now that ya here…" His eyes instantly narrow in suspicion, demeanor shifting to a business-like manner. "Explain yourself. What business do ya have with me at this late of the night?"
Another beat of quietness is shared between them.
The unfamiliar being, despite the hood over their face, stares at the demon with genteel interest, possibly studying him like a scientist viewing something under a microscope.
"Uh…" He raises a fist as a disconcerted cough escapes, the night suddenly feeling chillier than earlier. Raising a queried eyebrow, Benicio tries speaking again, this time emphasizing his tone of authoritativeness. "Just so ya know, if ya gonna say anythin' jawin' or waste my time on nonsense, I'll be gettin' a new target bulls-eye to practice my gun on before sunrise shows up."
Again, the demon toon is met with more stifling stillness. He makes a soft, exasperated groan and a trail of ink starts to run down his forehead. Time felt like it was stretching itself longer this time. What's it take to get this guy talking? Wanting to rid this sudden linger of awkwardness, along with getting this ordeal done and over with, he opens his mouth in an attempt to continue the conversation.
A raspy chuckle cuts it off immediately.
"That... would be most unfortunate, I'm afraid." Amusement colors the, now identifiable, man's lilt voice. The pitch that the stranger uses irks Benicio, making him think his threat is being treated as some sort of pun. The crackling it produces gets him to shiver slightly. "Here I am, holding onto a request that is equal to a lifetime's worth…" He trails off, leading the demon further into assumptions.
Benicio raises an eyebrow at this action.
The stranger's head then solemnly shakes, seeming to reconsider something. "No, I should not start complaining. It wouldn't be polite to place my worries upon a total stranger, such as yourself."
'You don't say...' The thought passes through the toon's mind and he sends it through via a deadpanned expression.
The guy wasn't fazed in the slightest. "My apologies. That was intuitive of me. I didn't intend to be disrespectful towards you." He merely gives Benicio a light-hearted chuckle, though a dishearten note has etched into the next part. "I am, however, sadden to be threatened by the first person I see in a long while." Somehow, the apology wasn't completely sincere in his eardrums.
Okay, that does it. He can't hold off any longer. It's time to get some actual answers instead of drawing this out any longer.
"Alright, I gotta ask before ya talk any more than what's needed. For starters, what the hell is wrong with ya voice?" Despite him hiding it well, the other's speech was getting to be unsettling for Benicio's liking, especially when he's talking in such a civilized manner that possibly befits royalty, in his opinion. It felt ominous to him, for lack of a better word choice.
If the boss could see the guy's face, he would've known that his eyebrows had shot up. "My voice? I do not know what you -"
A finger is held up, cutting the stranger off mid-sentence. "Just keep hearin' me out, wise-guy. For one, listenin' to it by itself is gettin' to be a tad bit aggravatin' to me. I mean, have ya heard the sound of your voice before? It's as if ya had a nail an' razor smoothie or somethin' before comin' here!" Another finger's raised. "As for the other, my earlier question still hasn't been answered. What exactly do ya want from me?"
The stranger's covered eyes were wide in astonishment, having not expected this consequence.
His arms cross over his chest. "I know I've threatened ya, as well - which, believe me, I don't aim to do towards any potential customer, but come on. Who wouldn't be on edge when somebody, out of fuckin' nowhere, comes out of the bushes while ya takin' a smoke, just to say they have somethin' that's 'worth a lifetime'? If ya ask me, it's oddly suspicious." Outwardly, the toon boss looked exasperated to a degree, but inwardly, he winces at how that last part sounded douchebaggery-esque.
Gotta keep up the image of a mob boss, he reminds himself. This was - no, is - a fortuitous catch and if this one is holding onto some kind of wealth for his dysfunctional family, he'll pounce at the chance. Never mind the consequences of your actions until they rear their ugly heads up.
After he's done speaking, an unexpected roll of thunder makes itself known, a ball of sound unfurling through the condensed blanket. Benicio looks up to the sky, seeing that the number of clouds has increased during his talk with the potential requester. It might rain soon, he guesses, watching the clouds move over the brilliant moon.
The wind kicks up again. This time, it billows into the two with a force that could've knocked them both off their feet. The currents also send a flurry of leaves at the mafia demon. He stumbles slightly, a raised arm hiding his face from the dead plants' assault, and he quickly straightens himself. Unknowingly having them shut as he puts down the limb, his eyes open to see the visitor being strangely still through the gust, not reacting to the breeze's push. The only thing reacting to it, though, was his mantle and hood.
A flood of foreboding crashes in.
Now that he's thinking about the situation more - was it him, or is this guy giving off more warning bells in his head now? Despite the natural quality of being friendly towards others, even for him, this guy was one of those many new faces that he wants to avoid meeting next time. There was just something off-putting of him, something where Benicio couldn't put his finger on and it's just screaming danger zone right in his face without him knowing it.
Besides the shaggy material hiding away the true identity of the newcomer, the ominous, grating voice that sounded like metal grating on windows, and the air of mystery, he looks almost like a pilgrimaging nomad wandering through the countryside. Those traits, and possibly even extras, could warrant mistrust and apprehensiveness to an unsuspected someone.
This situation makes him wonder about the possibility of turning down the offer and returning inside, scot-free of any wrong-doing.
The mystery fellow stays as silent as the dying zephyr. The hood became crooked during the occurrence and the mob boss discovers another additional detail from him. A grin has shown through the parted shadows, the moonlight reflecting off a set of opaque teeth that came down at multiple points, the canines being a touch longer than the others. To make this scene creepier, a flitting burst of cold wind stirs up the man's cloak. Just unintentionally letting this eerie scene play out draws out a shiver from the demon's spine.
A contented hum is presented and it causes Benicio's heart to freeze in his chest. "I am pleased to hear that you're interested in my request. As to discussing your questions, I shall do my best to answer them in full and, hopefully, leave nothing out." The traveler's head inclines towards headquarters. "As it is becoming chillier out here, mayhaps we could continue this conversation in a warmer environment?"
Benicio is already on edge as is and the politeness that the guy speaks in still doesn't help ebb all of his suspicions away.
However…
He takes a glance back at the base, unsureness dwelling in his mind towards him inviting this stranger inside. Yet, his interest in this transaction was the loudest within his doubtful thoughts and he can no longer contain the curiosity that lingered from the start. The business was slowing down to a near snail's pace, he was stressing out on what to plan next, and as Luna had reassured him - tried to, at least, they would be alright with what they have for a while. But, how long would that while take until the next heist is bestowed onto them? The mafia demon couldn't wait.
Benicio tilts his head towards the entrance of the warehouse building, and in doing so, had signed himself and his mafia family up to the unbeknownst game.