To the toons their astonishment, the lobby is filled with glowing transparent figures…..ghosts. One of the glowing entities in the form of a woman wearing a tunik of a patient approaches the group as they recognise the same voice that greeted them upon entry to this accursed place; "You have set us free…..Thank you! Now you are able to leave."
The words echo through the lobby while the victims of the asylum fade into nothingness as they move on, leaving the toons as the only beings present in the entire building, with the exception of the vermin still crawling around the place.
Once the mafia family makes sure the statue is back on its original place, locking the secret passage, they decide to hide the three keys for good. Jack is the one who opens the lobby door leading outside, carrying the three keys in his left hand. Using his right hand, he grabs what appears to be a wooden flute full of carvings out of his hammerspace. He lays the keys on the ground and rests the instrument against his lips, holding it with both hands before playing it. The mystical sound it produces makes the very earth itself tremble as a hole appears next to the graves, which he uses to bury the three metallic objects in, in the hope they never will be found.
Finally Elymas goes demon mode as the slit eyes with the red scar like lines return on his face while he's being shrouded by his purple demonic aura; "well then, i do believe it's time to leave this establishment…." Elymas lowers his voice to sound like an announcer, taking a deep bow; "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN FROM ALL AGES…..I present to you….the way home".
with one snap of his fingers, a small cloud of smoke appears. When it fades, it reveals a long classic looking mirror with a beautiful golden frame, probably from the baroque era. Alice starts to applaud, impressed by the bartender's neet trick. Yet Benicio's too tired to enjoy the act as he rolls his eyes; "Do ya need to make a spectacle out of every time ya use ya powers?"
"But of course good sir…..Am i not 'the entertainment demon'?"
he gives the blue demon a flat look; "Ooh...Touché."
With a grin, Elymas points his left hand towards the mirror as a gesture to the others to enter. Being the third in command, Jack takes it upon himself to go first, noticing that the others aren't sure upon entering the mirror just like with Benicio's ink portal. Abel is planning to go as last since he's carrying the boss.
When Jack nears the mirror, Instead of his reflection, the faun sees what appears to be the small bathroom at the end of the sleeping quarters back at HQ. Surprised, he raises his right hand and gently places it on the glass surface only for it to be sucked into the looking glass. He quickly glances at Elymas, not sure about this whole situation, a hint of panic present in his eyes.
The bartender's grin turns into a reassuring smile as he gives Jack a gentle nod, winking.
The gunsman of the family takes a deep breath, he penetrates the glass surface even further until he passes completely, blinking a few times before he realises he's back in headquarters. He turns around to look into the mirror of the bathroom, as he sees the others standing in front of the Asylum building. "what ze...amazeeng!"
The others soon follow as they go through the mirror one at a time. Upon entering the small bathroom, they all quickly go to the living quarters to make sure the next toon has enough space to go through the mirror. Finally only Abel, Benicio and Elymas are left.
Again Abel makes a small jump to put Benicio higher up his back; "Jeez, hornhead… For someone who's skipped breakfast and lunch, ye sure start to weigh through…"
Elymas laughs out loud; "Well technically speaking, he did have lunch…..I gave him that sandwich, remember? Though I guess, the boss did have to share it with the mouse. You are carrying him for a while now, it is possible that you're becoming tired, making him appear heavy."
The rebel angel replies with a mischievous grin as he's eyeing the boss; "Nah, he's just fat…."
Both Abel and Elymas expect the boss to yell at the rebel angel at this point, yet it stays quiet behind Abel's back. Abel and Elymas glance at each other, their expressions give away the slight presence of worry when Abel asks; "Hey devil boy….. Ye okay up there?"
Silence…"Bossman?"
Elymas takes a closer look at their boss, finding his eyes are closed. "It appears, the poor chap is out for the count."
"Dang! I hope nothin' is wrong with him. Well…. I mean, on top of all the other crap coin' on with him."
The entertainment demon sighs; "That is something only Miss Luna can tell I am afraid to say."
Abel nods his head towards the mirror; "Well, go on then. The faster she can take a look at him, the better."
"Oh no, I am afraid I need to insist on going last. You see, the moment I pass through the mirror's glass surface, it will disappear. I can only keep the portal open from where I am. So, off you go."
"Alright…. No point in dawdling any further." Abel goes to the mirror and gently tries to bend his knees making himself small enough so the ink demon wouldn't hit his head on the mirror's frame while passing through.
Once he finds himself in the bathroom, he makes his way to the back and turns around just in time to see Elymas go through it as well. Just like the blue demon had predicted, the mirror at the Asylum disappears and the reflection of the bathroom mirror shows the back of Elymas.
The blue demon goes to sit on his hands and knees on the white tiled cold floor, panting as the purple aura vaporises and the red marks on his eyes fades away.
The angel raises an eyebrow; "Ye okay there bud?"
Elymas looks at his friend with his black piecut eyes and a gentle smile. " Yes, everything is fine, though it seems I may have been a tad generous with my demonic energy back at the asylum. Nevertheless, I do have spares, which is more than I can say from the boss."
"Speaking of….Let's go to the others so doc can have a look at him."
The bartender nods as he stands up on his goat legs in one smooth move and the three make their way to the living area.
Upon entering the mentioned space, the first thing they hear is the voice of the russian wolf they're looking for; "Zere you are, what took you so long. ve vere getting vorried."
Abel rolls his eyes; "And an hello to ye too doc."
Luna doesn't like the sarcastic answer she got, scoffing at the both of them. She pulls her head away and lays her ears flat on her head while her tail is dangerously swaying back and forth, her arms crossed in front of her chest .
"Look, I'm sorry it took so long okay? Something came up with the boss."
The new tidbit of info picked her interest as her ears instantly perks up and she quickly glances at the demon on the angel's back. Eventually she drops her arms by her sides, her bad mood gets replaced with concern. Looking at the others, they look a bit troubled themselfs. She sighs; "Okay, everyone to infirmary. I'll give everyone quick check up starting vith boss."
Abel leans his head close to Elymas, making sure no one else can hear him as he whispers; "Who went and made her boss?"
Elymas replies with a puzzling look; "No one has, did you forget? If something were to happen to the boss, you are second in command. If something were to happen to the both of you, Jack is third in command. By my personal opinion it should have stopped there, but Benicio insisted that I and Luna are both fourth in command with a shared leadership, just in case."
The bartender is talking loud enough for the others to hear, much to the rebel angel's discomfort as he runs a hand down his face, a grey blush creeping its way on his cheeks; "I know that, bud. I didn't ask to repeat the chain of command. I just said that because Luna's giving orders."
Elymas snickers; "Oh, is that all? Well then, what would you want us to do?"
Looking at the ground, the angel starts to mutter, being barely audible; "Going to the infirmary."
The blue demon chuckles; "Well, you heard the man. Infirmary it is."
The others start to giggle while Abel could sink through the ground with shame. He didn't mean to sound like a child who demands to be the leader of the group, but there were rules and rules needed to be followed. If the family doesn't know who to take orders from, then everything would just become chaotic. Luna feels a small hint of guilt towards the angel, she didn't mean to put the angel in the embericing predicament.
Eventually, they all make haste to the hospital like environment. Accessing the big room Abel asks Luna; "Where can I put him down?"
Luna gives the angel a sympathetic smile, but before she can answer, Fonzy buts in with a big grin; "What….Does second in command need to ask permission as to where you lay the boss?"
Abel doesn't know how to react when Luna suddenly starts to growl at the fox, baring her teeth; "Oh Ha Ha, very funny. How old are you...six? Stop acting like little child. Angel just vants us to follow rules, i respect zat. Now you're gonna apologise to him, or i'm gonna have lot of fun, cleaning zose vounds on zat big mouth of yours. Am I making myself clear Svo-lach?
The rebel angel can barely contain his amusement when he sees Fonzy shaking with his tail between his legs. The poor fox slowly nods at the doctor while taking a gulp before looking his way with an apologetic smile, quickly blurting out an; "I'm sorry."
Abel just nods at him with a smile, making clear things are good between them. To his relief, Fonzy lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding, aiming his attention back at the wolf. She gives an approving hum; "Zere, vas zat so hard?" Thereafter, she looks at the rebel angel and continues; " You kan lay boss on first bed."
Abel does as instructed as he spreads his wings, letting the ink demon slide off his back onto the soft bed. Deeralyn stands at the ready on the other side of the mattress, placing Benicio flat on his back. Luna takes it as her cue to get to work, though she's a bit uncomfortable with the others looking over her shoulder.
Using her trusty stethoscope, she starts to listen to the soothing thumping of his heartbeat. Next, she moves towards his lungs. The others are waiting patiently as they admire her work full of fascination. Taking off the glove of her right hand, she places the back of it on his sweat covered forehead. If she didn't know any better she could have sworn that she could, bake an egg on him, as his body gives off a lot of heat. "Hmmmmm. Deeralyn, be dear and fetch me my ophthalmoscope, vould ya?"
In a matter of moments, the nurse stands by Luna's side with the requested item when she hands her a small device emitting light. Using her thumb and index finger, she opens the eyelids from his left eye, shining the beam of light in it. At first nothing happens, but soon Benicio makes a soft moaning sound when all of a sudden the pupil in his eyes becomes tiny and the mob boss himself jolts awake in sitting position, giving Luna almost a headbut in the proces. Fortunately for him, the wolf has good reflexes as she's able to doge him in the nick of time.
On the other side, the sudden movement makes the ink demon flinch as a thrust of pain goes through his body, making him regret the action as he quickly wraps his arms around his chest to ease the pain. Luna places her hand on his chest and gently pushes him back to make him lay down again, as Deeralyn does the same with his shoulders, careful not to hurt his bad side.
At first Benicio seems confused, not sure on how he got back home, yet he feels too bad to worry about it and gladly lays down again. Luna gives him a reassuring smile. "Hello sleeping beauty...velkome back. I do believe you like to skare living bejesus out of us."
Not saying a word he gives everyone a puzzled look until Abel starts to explain; "Elymas and I where havin' the most instrestin' conversation, when we noticed ye were kinda on the silent side. Ye lights went out just like that, so we brought ye home through the magic mirror.
Diana interrupts the explanation; " wheech was great by ze way...why deed you make us walk as Elymas could've just breeng us eenside ze buildeeng?"
The mob boss is irritated by the fairy's comment, stating in a weak voice; "Well excuse me that my inkportals aren't good enough for ya, your highness. First of all, it's true my portals have only a limited reach but in comparison to Elymas, I can use them whereever the fuck I want….Barkeep on the other hand is completely dependent on mirrors. Secondly, we didn't know what kind of environment we were going to end up in, the place could've been boobytrapped for all we knew, which granted, it kinda was."
The ink demon needs to take a few deep breaths after his clarification as he starts to cough. Luna throws Diana an angry glare, slowly shaking her head as to make clear that it isn't a good idea to get the boss worked up in his condition, filling the cartoon fairy with guilt.
Feeling the tense sensation in the air, Abel clears his throat to gain the attention and quickly changes subject. He grabs the suitcase of money he had received back in the underground cell from his hammerspace, placing it on the bed that the ink demon is on; "I euh, I believe this belongs to ye."
The demon glances at the trunk before his eyes meet with those of the rebel angel, a soft smirk present.
Abel replies with a gentle smile, which soon turns into a saddened gaze; "I….." He quickly glances at the others before focusing on the demon again; "I just hope this…...money…...was worth everything ye went through to get it."
The mafia boss doesn't react, his face is just a blank slate as he won't let the others peer into his thoughts. With a big sigh he grabs the money and starts to make movement's to crawl out of the hospital bed, much to Gizmo and Luna's reluctance. With a low voice, she asks; "Where do you zink you're going? You've got kold and broken rib, your shoulder still needs to heal. You're kovered in kut's and bruises and you're drained...YOU NEED TO REST!"
The demon doesn't answer as he slowly stumbles towards the door, using the wall for support. Yet once in the doorway, his plans get spoiled as none other than the little crow, grabs him by his wrist. It stays quiet as the two hold a staring contest while the others are holding their breath in the tense moment, not used by the idea that Gizmo Opposes the very man he looks up to.
The informant isn't angry at the boss though, just really worried. Benicio can tell how concerned he is by the mere look into his eyes, it makes him feel warm inside. Eventually he surrenders, glancing at Luna as he finally talks; "I-I'm just goin' to bed…..My bed! G-give the three beds he..re to th-ose who need them."
At first the doctor isn't sure about the boss's reasoning, though she has to admit, there were others that needed her help as well. Jack still has a sore arm, Some of the henchmen are covered in bruises just like the boss, Boris got electrocuted, he definitely needed a check up. "Okay, i understand where you're koming from. You vant to protect family, but out of all of us you're one who's most hurt."
The demon softly snickers; "Look, f-for just this once….I'll allow ya and Deeralyn to enter my loft t-till ya find me fit enough, O-okay? …...Just th-is once."
A smile sneaks onto Luna's face as she replies with an approving nod. The others could swear they see her wagging her tail like a dog, as she quickly ads; "Deal, but let Deeralyn at least guide you to your bed."
It takes the demon some time to think about Luna's proposal, yet not wanting a second argument with her, he agrees. And so, Deeralyn makes her way to the boss' side for support as she helps him carry the suitcase and they leave the infirmary.
Abel grins at the wolf; "Well, i'll be …...Normally no one is allowed in his loft, aren't ye a lucky bastard?"
Meanwhile with the boss and nurse of the family, Deerarlyn has managed to help the ink demon up the stairs leading to the second floor. Upon entering the loft, Deeralyn's mouth hangs slightly open in amazement when she's surprised by the big open luxurious space Benicio calls home as this is the first time she's ever been there. The very sight of the deer makes the mob boss chuckle.
The Nurse soon spots a black Baldwin Grand Piano, neatly placed in front of a big window in the corner to their left. "I didn't know you played the piano sir, I bet it sounds wonderful."
"Well, technically I used to play an organ back in the day at the studio, loved the instrument too…..But through circumstances I had to leave it behind. So, I went with an instrument that has a similar touch in playing it, the piano."
Eventually deerlan sees a spiral staircase leading up a platform in the giant space; "I assume your bed is up those stairs? Please, allow me to help you."
The ink demon slowly shakes his head; "Thanks sugarlips, but I think I got things from here."
The nurse doesn't seem convinced; "Are you sure about this sir? Miss Luna definitely instr…."
"Instructed ya, to guide me to my loft….whish ya did. A job well done."
"Euhm…...Yes, sir? I-I'll get going then. Please, call us if we can do anything to help. I'll automatically come check on you every hour."
"Oh….I just realised I made things hard for ya, needing to come to my loft all the time. I'm afraid there are gonna be a lot of stairs in the end."
She giggles; "It's no trouble at all sir. See it as a work out. Well then, if that is all, I'll go back to miss Luna, she's probably gonna need my help."
"I think so too. Good luck."
The deer bows her head at the mafia boss placing the suitcase on the ground and clears out the loft, leaving the ink demon to fend for himself. Once she closes the door, he releases a breath he didn't know he was holding whilst rolling his eyes; "Finally, some peace and quiet."
He grabs the case and drags it all the way to the spiral stairs. Looking up, he takes a deep breath before beginning the task of climbing the darn thing. Only three steps up, he regrets sending Deeralyn down again, as one painshot after the other goes down his body with each step he takes or each movement he does. "I just had to refuse her help, me and my fucking big mouth."
With a lot of cursing and a lot of breaks, he finally manages to reach his bedroom and it only costs him all of his breath and the tiny amount of energy he had. He sits on the floor for a while, catching his breath. Next he drags himself over the floor, towards his bed as he grabs a brown leather briefcase with a golden crest from underneath the bed. The briefcase is sealed with two brown straps.
The golden crest implies that the briefcase belongs to the Benicio family, it contains a spikey letter B in the middle of a circle with thorns, at the bottom there's a rose with a demontail similar to that of the ink demon himself , going towards the letter B in an sideways s-movement. The circle with thorns also supports bat wings or demon wings depending on how you look at it, one on each side. To finish the crest off, above the circle, one can find a knife which is regularly used in mafia families.
The mob boss opens the straps and eventually, the lid from the briefcase. The inside reveals ten sections of the same size, each section carrying the name of a family member. He grabs the very first case with money he had received from Harry, before the crazy Asylumshtick happened and places it next to its identical counterpart he had received from Abel. Seeing the two cases next to each other makes him realise the actual amount they have earned, it conjures a grin on his face as it gets followed by a whistle.
Finally, he takes the money and starts to divide it equally under the compartments, stating; "Ya guys have been through so much lately. Ya'll deserve a bonus, I just wish I could give ya the happy lives ya all deserve. I can't find a better family if I tried, I already have the perfect family."
As he finishes his task, he seals the briefcase with the Benicio Family crest once more, returning it to its hiding spot underneath his bed. He can't wait till the day arrives where he can see the looks on everyone's face when they receive their bonuses, the mere thought makes him very happy. He remembers the question Abel had asked him, if the money was worth all the trouble he went through to get it. What the angel didn't know however, was that he didn't go through the trouble for the money... He went through it, to make his family happy.
The question should have been; "Are WE worth the trouble you went through." The answer, HELL TO THE YESS!
Exhausted and in pain, yet at ease, Benicio puts away the two leftover cases and drags himself onto the comfy mattress of his bed. Not having the energy, he doesn't bother to take off the remainder of his clothing as he lets himself fall and his head ends up in the soft pillow. He snuggles himself till he's comfortable before drifting off in a deep sleep, taking the well deserved break Luna had suggested before he had accepted the miserable job.
The end