Vingt-sept [Gifted.]

\

After being stuck on Bertrum twice now, Henry could confirm that he was never setting foot on another octopus ride so long as he could say no.

And he would say no, even if it was funny after it was over.

The good news? He got a good look at the giant head and found that it did in fact have a marking! A balloon, of all things, smack in the middle of his forehead. If that was all there was for the fragments, then this new task of putting them together may not be so difficult. It beat gathering hearts and turning gears.

Then... there was Bendy.

One thing to keep in mind was Bendy's changed behavior since his confrontation with Norman some loops back. Norman made it his duty to follow Henry to the lower switches. Not like Sammy or Buddy would fare better against the angry ink demon.

If Henry went to get the switches down below and Norman stayed nearby? Bendy would show up and grumble at the man, staring into the booth and hissing half-proper words while Norman would either back off or fight back, coming away alive either way, even if he got laid out. If Norman went to get the switches instead of Henry? No change, just… Bendy growling and wandering off.

This time?

Well, Henry was sure he had been stuck in a booth longer than this. But the reason was new.

The ink demon had punched Norman's lights out, as usual, then plopped himself in front of the booth door. Not usual. It breathed a low rumble at each exhale, but nothing else. It didn't twitch, moan, writhe or scream. It held a sit-in protest of sorts. Norman was either down for the count, dead, or faking until the ink demon went away.

And with Henry trapped in the booth by ink demon backside? He didn't know which.

The cartoonist let his head fall back against the booth wall with a slow exhale. Good thing that Sammy wasn't here; despite being a protective cushion when they had to double up in the booths, he had a feeling the poor guy would melt down or snap completely if he was stuck in here with Henry while trapped by his previous lord.

But ten minutes was long enough. Sammy could still sense Bendy when close, but was he in the right range to sense it? He'd have shown up by now… or he was too scared to move. Since he couldn't count on Sammy for help right now, and Norman wasn't awake? "Bendy." he whispered into the damp air of the booth. It had all the force of a puff of dandelion seeds.

The demon did nothing.

"Bendy." Henry tried again, voice stronger now as he stood and gave the door a little kick. "You need to move." The door gave a little, but only as much as the inky body holding it shut would allow.

The demon jolted back into view as it hopped to its feet. It stumbled forward, gloved hand held in a tight fist, head swinging about to find the thing that startled it. It turned its face to the booth and leaned in until its head pressed to the slot. How could it see without eyes?

The man swallowed. "Bendy."

The demon pulled back a bit, head tilting curiously.

"Do you… know what's going on?"

It rumbled lowly and stepped back from the booth slot.

The cartoonist braved getting closer to the slot, only able to see out enough to get a great look at Bendy's mangled neck and some periphery of mouth and chest. "Do you…" What was the point in talking to this thing when all it did was growl and attack? But… if that's all it did, why did it change its pattern? Why was it standing still, letting him speak, if all it did was want him dead? "Do you want to get out of this place?"

The ink demon sighed, forehead thumping against the door, which made Henry flinch but not back away. Its gloved hand drummed slowly on the roof of the booth. While its smile was fixed as ever, its slumped shoulders said it wasn't having any kind of good time.

"I don't know if what I'm saying'll make sense… but." He leaned a little closer to the slot, hazel eyes wide and fixed on the clashing cartoon grin among the muck. "I am trying to free everyone. Everyone means you, too."

It let out a hum.

"But I can't help you if you don't-"

The demon warbled slowly, mouth vibrating as it rose tall, giving a slow headshake. Like it had before, it let out two rough grunts, and slunk slowly out of sight at last.

Henry stayed standing, sweat prickling his neck and back as the ink demon and its markers of being close faded away. A sharp exhale and he hung his head. How was he supposed to figure this out if the ink demon couldn't talk?

There was a sharp series of knocks to the booth door and he lifted his head. The familiar light of Norman's projector filled Henry's vision.

He winced. "Ah, Norman, lights."

The light dimmed as the Projectionist pulled the door to the booth open.

The cartoonist stepped out of the booth and stretched, his back giving a horribly loud crackling noise. Standing hunched over like that hurt like hell after a minute, and he'd been stuck that way for three. "How long have you been awake?"

A grumble of static followed by Norman holding his hands up in a circle, index fingers raised. Sign for Bendy, that part was obvious. Then a rectangle made of hands that framed Norman's light.

"So… since Bendy looked in at me." He nodded and smiled tightly up at the amalgam. "You're good at playing dead, Norm."

The Projectionist patted Henry's head and hummed static.

A swat and the hand was gone. "Let's get back to Sammy and Buddy. I got a feeling Sammy's not having a good time."

Norman gave a nod and loped over to the haunted house, Henry following close behind.

He came around the corner to spot Sammy and Buddy at the opened haunted house; the wolf patting Sammy's back with wide eyes. The ink man had his arms crossed over his chest, amber eyes narrowed and mouth drawn tight. Both their heads snapped up to see he and Norman come into sight.

Buddy perked immediately and pointed their way before sprinting over. Sammy followed and made a beeline for Henry.

"We're g-oof!" The hug knocked the breath clear out of him, but the man returned it.

The ink man holding Henry lowered his voice, quiet and cold. "He was so close. He was near for so long and I couldn't help you. If I came he'd have killed me, I know it." Sammy's grip remained tight.

"It's okay. He acted different. More than before."

"Tell me."

"He… I think he fell asleep? But, when I talked to him, told him I was trying to help everyone, and he was part of everyone, he shook his head at me and left." His brows lowered. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that, but he hasn't actively tried to hurt me for so many loops. But what if he wants freedom as much as everyone else here?"

"Oh no. Henry, that can't be."

"Why not? What's wrong?" He asked, pulling away to see Sammy's face.

Sammy shook his head a little, frowning. "Henry, he… Bendy has no soul."

"What?"

"I can't believe we haven't talked about this… That's the reason he's so different from other creations from the machine. Feared and hated because there is no soul to bargain with. Everyone trapped here has a soul, but… not him."

The implications grasped his heart and dragged it to his shoes. "We can't… save him?"

"I… I don't honestly know. I should be delighted that he's deviating, but…" His face grew pinched and his left hand tapped out a nervous tango. "But he's so different from everyone else down here." Amber eyes glowed as they glanced to Henry. "I wish I knew what that means. The more of me that comes back, the less I remember of how this place works."

Henry swallowed. "We'll figure it out. We've figured everything else out so far."

A nod. "You're right, my little-"

"Henry? Sammy?" A woman's voice called out from deep down the track and past the shut doors. "Are you out there?"

"Allison?" Henry called back, stepping onto the platform and looking down the track. He frowned to himself. He couldn't see anything but the shut doors and darkness.

"Henry! We're coming to you this time! Tom has one of the clones!"

He glanced over his shoulder at Sammy to find Norman approaching with a tilted projector. He looked back to the tunnel and called out, "Which one?"

"Uh… you'll see! I don't know the names like you do!"

He looked over at the approaching ink man with a shrug. "She's not wrong."

Sammy managed a tired smile. "This should be fun- Norman, are you kidding?" Curiosity turned confusion.

Norman stepped onto the track and pulled the doors open, his light shining into the dark tunnel. He propped the right door open with his back, waiting for the new party to come into view.

Buddy cocked his head and smiled. Nobody liked the dark, save for Norman. The more he and Norman worked together, the more Norman seemed to glean that no one could see the studio how he did. He used his light to help more than harm as time went on.

Allison came through the doors first, her cutlass out and ready. She managed a sheepish smile at the Projectionist as she sheathed it. "Thanks for the light."

Tom came in soon after, holding a rope with an angry clone on the other end. Its head swung from a rope tied to a pole, like an angry fishing lure. He set it on the ground with a thud and a scowl.

The cartoonist raised his brows and blinked, before reaching behind him for the seeing tool. "Fisher. Okay." The seeing tool lifted to the Fisher, framing it. The thing's head swung and chattered, legs flailing uselessly on the ground. A glint of gold got his attention. A circle of gold with a scraggly dollar sign in the middle. "It's… a coin?" His brows furrowed then lifted, turning to Sammy. "It's a circle on the right temple. The lost one from the vents."

The musician's jaw fell open. "Grant." Sammy sighed and rubbed his eyes with finger and thumb. "This is Grant, it's… just cruel."

Allison's frown tugged into concern. "Who is Grant?"

Pulling his hand away, the ink man pointed to the Fisher with a pinched brow. "Grant was the man in charge of money for this place before it became corrupted. I, ah… when we were human. He had hung himself in his office after Joey's secret spending took out a sizeable chunk of money. I'd been who found him." Well, him and another. Funny, he hadn't really thought about that irritating janitor since Norman showed him some memories. Where was Wally in all this? But, the clone. "Someone had a sick sense of humor."

The horned woman gasped and raised a thin hand to her mouth. She shut her mouth and closed her hand into a fist, eyes downcast. "That is cruel."

"Yes, but it means that we can unite fragment and soul. Well, if we can get the clone into the vent at all." Sammy smirked. "And if it doesn't run off."

The clone took a chance to run, forgetting the bound arms and short leash. Tom grumbled and reeled the clone back to him, nudging it with a foot when it got close to biting his knee. It fell over ad kicked its legs uselessly once more.

Allison frowned. "Even tied up, it fights back." Her wide eyes turned back to the two men. "You said you got the Piper and its lost one together? How?"

Henry lay a hand to Sammy's arm. "We figured out that the clone and the lost one have to willingly touch for it to work. So, we need the clone, lost one, and a… tape." Right! "Buddy?"

The wolf perked from where he stood next to Norman. He held the cable around his wrist in that same hand.

Henry grimaced. "Do you know where to find Grant's tape? It's on level nine in that boarded up room."

The wolf blinked and gave a slow nod. He pointed to Henry and then himself. Then he made a mocking mouth with his free hand with a tilt of his head.

"I do want you to get the tape, but only if you're up for it."

Buddy flashed a thumbs up and headed the way he and Norman had come. Norman happily lumbered behind.

"Why do we need a tape, Henry?" Allison asked.

"It jogs a memory for the clone and lost one to remember."

"How did you even figure this out?"

The musician answered for him. "There was a lost one in an alcove down the stairs. She had a matching marking to the clone." Sammy tilted his head back and smirked. "I threw the clone at her."

Allison turned with an incredulous stare. "You threw it? Why?" Over her shoulder, Tom gave Sammy the most disapproving look he could.

The ink man shrugged, smirking. "Not much else to do! The lost one refused to cooperate. Had to lock her in there with it while Henry played the tape!"

She gaped. "You're crazy."

"Crazy works." And it was sometimes your only option. Especially if Joey Drew was involved.

"If it shows up next loop, then check it for markings. If it doesn't show up? Then it worked."

"I hope it worked. I'd really rather not throw that snappy thing again."

The cartoonist grinned. "Yeah, well, we still have two clones, the hand and Bertie to figure out."

Sammy snorted a laugh. "Fantastic!"

"Who's… Bertie?"

Right! They had to get her up to speed. "Bertie is, was, Bertrum Piedmont. We think he's like the giant hand? We're just… not sure how to find his lost one. Or how to get a lost one to Bendy-Land."

The horned woman cocked a brow. "You mean Bendy-Hell?"

"Wait, did you repaint the sign?"

She shook her head before shooting Sammy a look. "I know I never wrote that."

Sammy scoffed. "Don't look at me. We all write on the walls, but I don't like heights!"

Henry blinked. "You don't?"

"I… I don't trust ladders. But! The clone." He held up a hand with a raised finger. "Soon as Buddy and Norman get back, we can… figure out part two of this." A flicker of a question danced cross his thoughts. "So… how did you two catch this thing? Norman caught the Striker, but how did you get this one? It's… squirmy."

The wolf and horned woman looked at one another, and Allison sighed. "We didn't. The clone was tied up and sitting on a crate in the haunted house room. Someone set it there, knowing we would find it."

"Susie," Sammy said without hesitation. "She tipped Henry and I off about the Striker clone earlier. It's how we even knew to look for it."

"Susie is-" The horned woman's dark mouth turned sharp scowl. "Is that the look alike that I have to stab in the back half the time I meet up with you two?"

"Yes." Henry answered bluntly. "She's also who turned Buddy into a brute."

"I've… never seen him turned into one. You've told me, but I've never been able to see it." It was hard to believe anyone would want to hurt the friendly creature… though, considering her companion, she might have been biased.

The cartoonist nodded. "Consider yourself lucky." He ran a hand through his hair and shot her a pained smile. "The hard part now is how to get the Fisher into the vent so it can join Grant."

"Getting the tape's not the hard part?"

"Grant is on the other side of a grate. At an angle." He blinked. "It's cramped and it won't be easy. But the tape first. We can't do anything without-"

The hot sepia of Norman's light splashed against the wall as the two of them came back. Norm at a steady gait, Buddy at full tilt.

Henry frowned. "Did you get lost?"

A sharp head shake from the smiling wolf as he pulled a tape recorder from his overall pocket. He hit play with a bright smile.

"They say the real problem with Mr. Drew is that he never actually tells us little people anything.-" He hit the stop button before it could fully play.

Sammy leaned closer. "Where'd you get that? Was it where it should have been?"

Henry squinted an eye. "That can't be right. It'd take thirty minutes or more to get there and back. They were gone maybe five minutes." He fixed the wolf with a worried frown. "Where was this tape?"

Buddy held up a hand near his shoulder and one further out, the one extended out, cupped like it was beneath something. He jerked a couple times and lowered his arms.

"It was… on the shooter game?"

An excited nod and the wolf thrust the tape into Henry's hands before giving a thumbs up.

But… how? And why? "Sammy. Do you think Susie did this, too?"

"... maybe." He frowned. "But best to not look a gift horse in the mouth, my little sheep."

Allison's quiet cough drew their attention. "So now what? The lost one in the vent?"

Sammy nodded. "I have a plan." His grin grew as his gold gaze landed on the clone that had given up kicking and merely wiggled. "But we're going to need more rope."

The horned woman reached behind her back and tossed the coil to him with a soft smile. "It pays to carry a rope."

His grin glowed as he clapped his hands together. "Fantastic. Come along."

/

If anyone but Sammy suggested he do this, Henry would have turned them down flat.

But Sammy had suggested it, so here he was, on his belly in the vent, crawling backwards to find Grant.

At least he had a pipe to knock the vent out with. But having a pipe, the tape, and the seeing tool in a cramped vent crawling backwards with his left hand tied to the end of a rope?

How the hell did Sammy create this plan? It was almost as bad as crawling through trenches.

Almost. Not as bad as being flung into a pipe wall. How long ago was that?

Henry shimmied as far back as he could before beating the vent open. Grant didn't slow his pattern of head-bashing. Scooting further back, the cartoonist grunted as the tape pulled free and set to one side. Then he turned on his side and pulled the rope with both hands. The clone chattering in rage drew close, and once it was in arms range? Henry gave it a push into the room and hit play.

"They say the real problem with Mr. Drew is that he never actually tells us little people anything. Oh sure, according to him there's always big stuff coming, adventure and fame and the like. But I'm the guy, see, who has to make sure our budgets don't go all out of whack just cause genius upstairs went out and got himself another idea. Speaking of which, and this is top secret, apparently Mr. Drew has another large project in mind now, and it ain't gonna be cheap."

The clone fell quiet, a good break from its furious jabbering.

In Henry's sight, the lost one finally, after hundreds of blows, paused. He blinked and looked down. "Cheap… huh." He blinked again and bent out of view.

A splattering, and Henry held his breath.

It took a minute, but it happened. The lost one stood, rapping a fist to his right temple with a wince. "Thanks for that, but I lost count."

Henry blinked. "Count of what?"

"Head bangs."

The cartoonist stared in shock. "You counted?"

"I know numbers, mister… Not much else to do but count or cry." The lost one- Grant. Grant blinked and pointed his way. "Hell are you doing in there? Who even are you?"

"My name is Henry. Your name is Grant."

"I know me, but you? You, uh, might wanna get outta that vent." Grant drawled with a squint. "There's a demon around here that hates too much noise."

"I'll keep that in mind, Grant." Henry smiled and pointed behind him. "There's a lot of lost ones in the lounge. I'll get out of your way if you wanna join up?"

"Sounds good. Oh, and uh… thanks again. You be safe out there."

"You too." Henry gathered the remaining items and crawled out to the vent exit. He heard Grant head out behind him and smiled. "Sammy?"

"Yes?"

"Your plan worked!"

"I knew it would!"

Allison chuckled. "He's been shaking like a leaf the whole time!"

"I have not!"

Henry ducked his head and laughed softly. What a wonderful group of people to have in hell.

\