Chapter two is here! I got really excited over the reception that I was receiving after the first few days of chapter one being out so I quickly started on this new one! 5,000 words worth! I'm so happy to hear that people are liking what I've written so far! I want to do this story right and I want to be able to do Bendy right. It'll be a real challenge when I get to that point and I'm thinking about plot points all the time (like literally at work or out on the town lol).

Anyways, thank you everyone for being patient while I get chapter two done! Currently working on three as well right now and I can't wait! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and added me on favorites and alerts! It made me so thrilled to see the messages pop up! Please let me know what you think or if you have any useful tips for me. It's also a good confidence boost that helps me when I'm writing! Thanks guys, enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Bendy and the Ink Machine. That belongs to the Meatly! I only own my OC, Jane.

Review Responses: Wow! I wasn't expecting all of those responses in the first day! It made me really excited to hear from you guys! Seriously, you guys are amazing! ^_^ And like I said before, I always try to reply to your reviews and questions.

SpringBorn: Thank you! Yay! I'm glad you liked how I portrayed them! And yes, they are the worst parents ever.

TheAmazingAuthoress: Yay! That makes me so happy to hear this! Also, I'm glad that I'm describing Jane right. I have a few friends who are introverted and some of my students act the same way. I just let them have their space if they need it. Thanks for letting me know that I was on the right track.

Majestic Yo Kai Fauntleroy: I'm still working on the details of Bendy and who he really is. Sadly, I'm not going to spoil it for now. I need that reveal for later chapters. But hopefully it will make sense to you. Thanks for the question! :)

Dancing-Ink-Demon: Awww thank you! I'm glad you liked it! (by the way, love the name and the pic. Long live Bendy! lol)

After rereading over the letter for about the twentieth time, Jane slumped back into the chair, completely in shock. Henry knew Joey Drew? Joey Drew, the famous cartoonist, knew her uncle? They were friends?!

Her head was swimming with so many questions and theories at this point. Was this a dream? No, Jane would remember falling asleep. Besides, she could feel her head throbbing with all of this information she discovered. Nope, it wasn't a dream.

Why didn't Henry tell her? Was this supposed to be some big secret? Didn't he trust his niece? Did her parents know? Why didn't they...oh yeah, they were selfish and didn't really care about what she knew or wanted.

The letter lay on the table while she gently massaged her temples. "This was the last thing I needed on my mind. Suddenly my uncle is friends with one of the most well known cartoonists in the world. How...how does this even..." she groaned deeply to herself, dragging her hands down her cheeks. "Calm down, Jane. This isn't much of a big deal. Just ask Henry about this and get some answers. Maybe it's just some random joke and it's a fake letter."

The back door opened and Henry stumbled inside, bags of food nearly falling over. "I think I got too much! Can I get some help before I destroy it all?"

Jane quickly shot up from her seat to help him unload everything onto the counter. "What did you do? Buy everything on the menu?" she managed to laugh, catching a heavy bag that threatened to fall off off the edge.

"Well...I wasn't sure what you liked these days, so I got just got about everything that you used to enjoy as a kid. Well...a smaller kid." he corrected, earning a smirk from Jane. "And that means, tons of leftovers for later. Besides, if you spend the night, what are you going to eat tomorrow?"

"True." she nodded, grabbing the box of rice. "This is better than eating gross cafeteria food."

"College food not that great?" he asked, digging out the containers with noodles and egg rolls. "Thought they were known for the food."

Jane snorted. "Yeah, pretty sure that's a lie they use to get students to come there. Food was absolutely disgusting." She shuddered at the thought of their chicken stir fry where the rice was so dry and how it stuck together while the chicken was always over cooked to the point where it was too hard to eat. Even the soy sauce was bitter.

"Well not to worry, The Paper Dragon makes excellent food. It's probably much better than anything you've ever eaten. In your life!" he emphasized loudly with a laugh.

Jane smiled at his excitement, but there was a slight hesitance in her face that made his laughter fade.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, no. Nothing's wrong." she lied, moving over to the table to avoid looking at him. "Just happy that you're excited about the food."

There was silence for a moment before Henry came up behind her. "Are you okay? Did something happen while I was gone?"

Jane kept quiet, trying to devise a way to ask her uncle about the letter. "No no...it's just well...I..."

There was another pause before his eyes widened and a small gasp left his lips. "Oh..."

She stole a glance over her shoulder to see Henry staring down at the letter that was lay on the table completely open. Well...that was easy.

"So...you know..." Henry sighed finally after the long fifteen minute silence since they began eating. It wasn't really normal for Henry to be so quiet around her, but it was a little weird that he stayed silent for this long. He helped her get dinner started and made sure that each of them got an equal helping. Then they just started eating. Not a word was spoken or a joke was made about how Henry managed to immediately spill something on himself.

Jane stabbed the pile of noodles with her fork. "Is the letter real?"

Henry's eyes cast down at his plate. "Yeah...it's real."

Pursing her lips, she slowly nodded. "Sooooo...you know Joey Drew."

"Yep."

"The famous cartoonist."

He bit his lower lip for a moment before releasing it. "Yeah."

"And you're friends?"

A shoulder shrug this time. "Used to be."

"Used to be?" she questioned, stuffing a clump of rice past her lips. "Why's that?"

Another shrug. "Things change."

"Thirty years?"

A nod. "Yeah."

After a moment, Jane set her fork down before leaning forward on the table. "Soooo...can I at least know the story? I mean, what's going to hurt? I mean, it's not like I'm going to call the local papers and spread the word around the world. Heck, I won't even post it online." Not that she really used social media that much. In fact, she was avoiding it.

Henry sighed exasperatedly. "Fine...just don't tell anyone. Especially your parents."

"Don't worry, they don't listen to me most of the time anyways." she promised before resting her elbows on the table, forgetting all about table manners. Then she perched her chin up on her wrists. "Come on, tell me. It'll be the ultimate bedtime story."

Finally lifting his head, his eyes scanned over her. "You're not in your pajamas."

"I can always go and change. My pajamas are right upstairs." she suggested, pointing to the stairs, a grin creeping onto her face.

Henry's lips quirked. "Nah, you don't have to. Unless...you want to."

After a few minutes and a very sore and stubbed toe later, Jane was back down at the table, wearing her pajamas; mainly because she could do whatever she wanted. Nobody would judge her here and Henry always found her goofy. A pair of red and black plaid pants and a baggy grey shirt that had a picture of a sleeping cat with the caption "I love Cat Naps".

Henry twirled a few noodles around on his fork before he began. "Well...Joey and I were best friends in college. We were both in business and I was taking art classes on the side. After graduation, the two of us rented out an old apartment and became roommates for awhile." His hand smoothed over his hair. "We had small jobs at the local newspaper. He wrote articles and I did a few cartoons. Things seemed pretty down for awhile since we weren't making too much. But then, my cartoons were beginning to become a little popular and suddenly Joey had the great idea to start publishing my animations."

"And thus...Joey Drew Studios became a thing." Jane finished for him.

A wry smile appeared on his lips. "Yeah, well...not at first. It had a different name." Then he let out a short laugh. "Inky Brothers studios."

A laugh bubbled in her chest. "Seriously? That's all you could come up with?"

He shrugged. "Hey, that's all we could think of at the time. We were amateurs and we didn't really know what we were doing." Taking a bite from his pork dumplings, he went on. "Anyways, so we didn't really have that much success for the first year. Our studio was in our little apartment for a couple of years. I created a few random cartoons and a couple of them were popular. But...it just wasn't working."

"So what did you do?"

"Well...we were nearly broke and almost shut things down." When he took a sip of water, he met her gaze. "Then one day, I came up with the idea that took things to another level. That was the day...I created the Adventures of Bendy the Dancing Demon."

Jane's jaw dropped in shock. "What?!"

Henry chuckled, nodding his head slowly. "Yep."

"You..." she started as her mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to comprehend the information she was just given. "You...created...Bendy the Dancing Demon?"

His lips curled back, revealing a wide toothy grin. "Yeah, yeah I did."

Jane was nearly losing her mind. Her uncle. Her slightly timid uncle who lived in a tiny house in the middle of town, created one of the most famous cartoons! The cartoon that she grew up watching all the time as a child! How did she not know that?! Why didn't he ever talk about it?! Shouldn't he be proud of creating Bendy and the crew?!

"I...I...I'm completely speechless!" she gasped when she tried to calm her nerves, but wasn't succeeding. "How could you keep this away for so long! I mean, do my parents know?"

He nodded slowly, hiding his face behind his glass as he took a very long drink.

Of course, everyone knew this amazing secret except for her. Why was life so cruel?

That explains why he was so good at drawing. She could remember Henry drawing Bendy on that sketchpad that he gave her as a child. How did she not put the pieces together so long ago?

Oh yeah...she was five.

"I can't believe you never told me." she finally said after the long silent pause. "Me...of all people..."

He frowned when she said that. "Look...I'm sorry I never told you. I just...I kind of wanted to push that side of my life away."

Jane stuffed a forkful of rice and chicken into her mouth before trying to speak. "But...why...why would you?"

His fork stabbed into his food, a little harder than necessary. "Thirty years ago...I would've been overjoyed and I would probably be introducing myself as the man who created Bendy. But...that was someone else's job."

Her brows knit together in confusion while she swallowed down her food. "What does that mean?"

Henry gently pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut at the same time. "After Joey and I became well known, he...changed the name of our business. To this day, I'm still not sure how the name suddenly changed. But what I do remember was the day when Joey took the credit for creating everything. Bendy included. Suddenly, his name was on the studio and he was the 'animating extraordinaire'. Only thing was, he couldn't create his way out of a paper bag."

As she continued to eat, her brain slowly put the pieces together. "So...Joey let the fame go to his head and he started taking all the credit."

A long sigh escaped his lungs. "Yep...I never got the credit for creating most of Bendy's world. Even when we started hiring other animators when we expanded, he took credit for everything. I mean, our names were mentioned in the credits after an episode, but nobody really paid attention. The public just believed that Joey came up with everything."

"Then why did you stay with him? Honestly, if it were me, I would've left a long time ago."

He shrugged in response, slumping back into his seat. "Well...I think part of it was because of guilt. About five years after we started things, Joey suddenly became sick. Lost the ability to walk and was bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. I felt bad for him and I ended up staying. I mean, he was my friend."

I had almost forgotten about Joey Drew's sudden illness. Shocked the world when it happened.

"I guess the other reason why I didn't leave was because I just liked what I did. Getting to paid to animate. Made a couple of friends there, but in the end...I was slowly losing my best friend." His grip of the glass was tightening. "After he was bound to that chair, Joey was becoming more demanding...colder...arrogant. He made people stay later than normal and most of those people barely got to see their own families."

Jane frowned. "That's terrible."

"Yeah, I even had a girlfriend for awhile and she was getting really worried about my absence. In the end, I'd had enough and told Joey that I was leaving. He begged for me to stay, but...the damage was done. I was finished at the studio and I walked away without turning back." He sighed again, taking another long drink. "When I left, there wasn't much of a life to go back to. My ex, Linda, left me and kicked me out of her house. I didn't have anywhere to go and I wasn't sure what to do."

"So what did you do?" she inquired, wondering how anyone with that kind of life could go on.

"Well...I begged your parents if I could spend a few weeks there until I found a place to stay. They weren't married yet and they had a couch for me to sleep on. I ended up staying there for about a year before I managed to find a small job at a local grocery store. Then I managed to find this place and well...three years later, I suddenly had a niece to look after."

This made a smile appear on her lips. "And then you had another person to pass the pen to."

"Yeah, and you really took after me."

"So I'm guessing that Dad wasn't creative like you were?"

Henry laughed, shaking his head. "No of course not! Your dad was more into crunching numbers and looking at old Playboy magazines."

Just the idea of her dad looking at perverted magazines nearly made her gag. "Ewww...I didn't need to know about that."

"Sorry." he mumbled, a light chuckle leaving his lips. "Your dad found it annoying. Wasn't into art and made fun of me. That was...until we opened the studio. When I came home, your dad was a little nicer to me, but still didn't like me teaching you about art."

"Well that explains a lot." Jane grumbled, eating a little more of her chicken.

"So yeah, that's my crazy past."

Jane was still surprised by this new information. Her uncle just became even cooler than he already was.

But...there was still one thing that remained. "Soooo...what are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, twirling a few noodles.

"What are you going to do about Joey's invite?"

Henry nearly choked on his food while he began beating on his chest. Finally, when he was able to breathe again, he stared at Jane, trying to catch his breath. "A-are you...serious?"

"What? I mean, are you going to meet up with your old friend?"

"You have to be joking." he coughed a few times before continuing. "Why should I go...meet up with my so-called friend who ruined my career and nearly destroyed my life?"

Jane shrugged, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Uh...I don't know. Maybe he just wants to meet with you to make up for everything."

Henry let out a loud dry laugh. "That's a good one. Joey has no remorseful bone in his body. He stole my ideas and ran those workers into the ground. Heck, he sunk the whole studio into the ground."

Jane's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "What?"

Henry ran a hand though his hair. "Yeah, did you not hear about that? I thought everyone knew."

"Well...I was kind of drowning in college and didn't really hear about it."

"Oh...well...apparently, they went bankrupt. Joey kept using money for weird things, but oddly enough, that money wasn't being used to create decent cartoons anymore. Some suspected that he was stealing funds for personal reasons. Medical bills apparently. Joey got in trouble for embezzlement and couldn't come up with the funds that he stole. Almost a million dollars stolen from the company. So the workers demanded their money back. After that, I kind of ignored the media."

Jane was silent for a few moments as she tried to piece things together. "Sooo...why do you think he wants you to come back to the studio? I mean, if it's abandoned."

Henry rose from the table and began throwing away the containers. "I don't know, Jane. It's best if I just let the past go and just move on with my life. Joey buried himself in that hole a long time ago and betrayed me too many times. I don't want to reopen old wounds and go face him again." he explained, moving over to the sink.

"But Henry, what if he really wants to make up after all these years?"

Turning on the sink, he talked louder over the running water. "I highly doubt it."

"But what if I went with you? If he met me, maybe I'll get to see what sort of person he is. Either that, or I could just give him a piece of my mind about how he treated my favorite person."

After he was done washing his hands, he turned to grab the dishtowel. "Yeah, I'm sure you would scare him away. But my answer is no. I appreciate that you would like to help and possibly get an autograph from him, but my mind is made up."

"But...I mean, it wouldn't hurt for the both of us to go-"

"I said no!" Henry suddenly shouted, making her jump back. Immediately, he stopped yelling and dragged a hand down his face. "I...I'm sorry, Jane. I just...I'd rather not speak to Joey again. I just...it was just a bad time in my life and I'd rather die knowing that I put that past behind me."

Jane frowned in response. She had never seen him like this. It was beyond unlike Henry to be so frustrated and disgusted towards someone.

When she didn't say anything, Henry walked over and crouched in front of her chair. "Hey, look...I'm sorry. I just...I haven't thought about him in a long time and I don't like opening old wounds. Do you understand?"

She understood that analogy very well and wholeheartedly agreed with him. God only knew how many wounds she had that were threatening to open.

"Yeah...I get it. But still...closure can be a good thing." Jane tried to assure him.

He sighed. "True, but in this case. I'd rather leave things the way that they are." Then he rose back up. "Now come on, let's finish up with dinner. We can watch something on the late night game show network."

As Henry left the room, Jane couldn't help but look at the letter that lay on the table next to her, a frown setting on her lips.

That night, all Jane could do was toss and turn. No, it wasn't because her phone kept lighting up with text messages from her parents, wondering where she was and why she didn't she call them. Mainly because she didn't want them to know where she was and why she wasn't home yet. They knew school was out and students had to clear out of their dorms. So why wasn't she home? Oh yeah, she was hiding out at her Uncle's house becasue she was afraid to go home.

No, it wasn't that. Shocking enough.

Most of the reason why she couldn't sleep was because of that letter and Joey Drew. Why was she so curious about this? It wasn't really her business. This was all on Henry.

But...why did she seem so drawn to this? It sounded like a real mystery. From what she found out about the studio, she was beginning to wonder. What was Joey's purpose for reaching out to Henry? After all these years? Did he want to apologize? Did he want Henry to work with him again? Did he want money?

It was beginning to drive Jane crazy as she flipped over onto her stomach for the fifth time in the past half hour. Her eyes glanced at the digital clock to see the number three staring back at her. "Ugh...this is useless..."

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus. 'What did he want? Wait...wasn't there a reason why Joey wanted Henry to come meet him?'

Unable to keep this off of her mind, Jane slowly got out of bed and crept downstairs. She hoped that Henry was still sleeping and that he was still the heavy sleeper she remembered. All those late nights when she would wake up and sneak into the kitchen to steal some ice cream from the freezer.

As soon as she made it to the kitchen, she began searching through the pile of envelopes on the table. Even if it was dark in the kitchen, Jane tried to avoid turning on any lights. She pulled her cell phone out and shined a light over the table.

"Bill...bill...another bill...swimsuit ad..." she mumbled quietly as she sifted through the copious amount of envelopes. Then her face scrunched in disgust when she found an ad for 'spicing up your dating life'. "Ew...seriously Uncle Henry." Like he had much of a dating life. Then again, Jane's love life at the moment was pretty scarce as well.

When there were no envelopes left, Jane was confused and shocked. Where did the letter go? Did Henry throw it away?

Her eyes trailed over to the nearby trashcan and nausea crept over her. "Oh no...please don't tell me..." she dreaded softly, creeping over to the covered can. Reluctantly opening the can, she found the letter. However, it was covered in lo-mein noodles and red sweet and sour sauce. Swallowing her pride for a few moments, she carefully pulled the letter out, groaning at the feeling of the sauce on her fingers. "Ew ew ew ew ewwwww..." she squeaked in a crescendo of high pitches, using her clean hand to delicately open the envelope to pull the letter out.

Thank goodness the letter was back inside the envelope whenever Henry threw it away.

Once it was out, she quickly tossed the ruined envelope back into the trash before she rushed to the sink to scrub her hands about three times. One thing that she really didn't like was reaching into the trash. After she was finished practically turning her hands pruned, she went back to the letter that she left on the counter and skimmed over it.

He had something to show Henry? What could he possibly have to show him? For a man who lost his entire company, what could he have? A new idea for a cartoon? But why reach out to Henry?

Jane's mind started creating several scenarios of Joey and Henry meeting up after all these years. One idea had Joey begging Henry to come back and work with him to revive the studio. Another had Joey showing his friend the new cartoon idea that he came up. Then of course, the third one, Joey admitting that there was no surprise and he only said that to get Henry there to speak in person.

Well...whatever it was, there was a specific reason why Joey was reaching out to Henry thirty years later.

And if Henry wasn't interested in finding out the end of this mystery, then Jane was the girl to do it. Yeah, she would go see Joey and find out what he wanted to show her uncle. And then she could go back home and tell Henry!

"Wait...why would you do that, Jane?" She whispered to herself, sitting down in one of the chairs. "That would be insane. Drive all the way to Joey Drew Studios just to find out why Joey is reaching out after all these years.." Her eyes caught the letter again, making her sigh. "Then again, if you don't...then you'll always think 'what if'."

Jane picked it up and read over the letter.

Pursing her lips, she made up her mind. "Guess I'm completely insane."

Early the next day, Jane got up and quickly repacked her bags. She didn't want to waste a moment of discovering this secret. This was so exciting! At the same time, this was completely insane, since she told herself that she was for the hundredth time since last night.

Why was she doing something so ludicrous?

Deep down, Jane was upset with herself. She was always isolated in her own little world. Of course, she liked her 'little world' when it came to drawing. But...maybe it was time for a change. Her life was practically over at the moment, being a failed college student who lost practically everything. Kind of like how Henry lost everything when he quit. Maybe she should try and change her life as well.

Do something spontaneous! Go on an adventure! Live life to the fullest!

Well...now she had that chance.

Henry was waiting downstairs by the door, watching his niece bring the rest of her things down. "You're really going back right now?"

Jane hated lying, but she knew that Henry would try to stop her from leaving. His tone last night about speaking to Joey again pretty much summed all of it up. He didn't want to see his friend nor did he want his niece to meet him.

"Yeah...uh...I figured that I shouldn't have to keep it for much longer. I'll just...go home and well...get it over with." she replied, brushing her hair behind her ear, gently dragging her nails over the back of her neck. A habit that she did whenever she lied or was trying to hide a secret.

He frowned at her, rubbing his neck. "You know...if things don't work out with them. You can always come live with me."

Hearing that made her heart lift a little. "Really?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind having a roommate." he chuckled softly. "I bet you'd be...interesting to live with."

She snorted. "Yeah, I'll hog the bathroom and fill the fridge with chick food."

"Hey, if it's Chinese and ice cream, then I'll completely agree to those terms."

They laughed softly before Henry pulled her in for a hug.

"Is it bad that I'm sort of hoping that you'll come back in a few days?" he asked, his voice laced with guilt.

Jane still smiled, squeezing him back. "No. I'd honestly stay here if I could."

Henry pulled away, pushing her hair back. "Then why don't you just leave your stuff here and it'll be upstairs when you get back."

"Really?" she asked, watching Henry pick one of her bags back up and tossed it onto the couch.

"Yeah, just leave it upstairs and I'll keep your room ready."

Her teeth bit her lower lip in excitement . "You're the best uncle ever, you know that?"

"Eh, I don't really hear it that often. Especially since you're the only niece I have. But yeah, I think I'm pretty awesome."

"Just pretty awesome? You're a secret animator who created the greatest cartoon character ever, a wizard when it comes to trivia game shows, and of course...the only guy who knows how to eat a whole large order of lo mein within one night."

Henry laughed, shaking his head before muzzling her hair. "Hey, it takes real talent to eat that whole container."

Yep, living with Henry was going to be fun.

She made her way to the door and opened the door. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay, be safe. And don't forget to call...or text...preferably that you call. I don't know how to text really well. Your uncle doesn't really know much about technology the way that the rest of the world does."

She shook her head. "Don't worry, I won't make fun of the fact that you're an old man."

He smirked in response. "Just make sure that you're safe out there. Call me."

"I will, I will. Don't worry. You know I try to be careful." she assured her uncle, pulling the duffle back over her shoulder. "I'll see you hopefully in a few days."

They said their goodbyes before Jane walked out the door and climbed into her pick up truck. She waved at Henry, who stood on the porch waving.

"See ya, Kid!" he shouted as she backed out of the driveway and started driving down the street.

It was really sad to leave Henry so soon, but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel excited.

One reason was because she knew that she had a place to stay if her parents threw her out. She could live with the one person who would be proud of her no matter what. Then she could figure out what to do with her life from there.

The other reason was because of the adventure that she was about to embark on. She didn't know what could come out of this, but she was anxious to see what was going to happen. Getting to meet Joey Drew in person! Would he be nice? Welcoming? A selfish jerk like how Henry described?

She quickly typed the address of Joey Drew studios into her GPS and allowed the directions to lead her there. A long six hour drive, but deep down, she hoped that it was worth it.

And that's the end of chapter two! Joey Drew Studios, here we come! Next chapter, Jane will finally come to the place that was created for dreams that turned into nightmares. I can't wait to start writing what happens in the factory! It'll be a challenge, but I'm hoping that I'll succeed!

Don't forget to leave a review! I hope this chapter didn't seem too rushed at all. Guess I was anxious to start working on the next chapter! I'll try to have chapter three done soon! Thanks guys! ^_^