Chapter 2:
The next week was a whirlwind of activity while arrangements were made for Adrian and his friends to visit American. Nino and Alya had both agreed immediately to come with Adrian and were very excited to go. Marinette had surprisingly been hesitant but had eventually agreed to come along as well. Adrian himself had some doubts about leaving when it was discovered that both he and Ladybug would be leaving for a few weeks. But later Plagg assured him that it would be alright. That, while he couldn't really explain it, he sensed that Paris would be safe for however long they were away. That had greatly eased Adrian's nerves so when he and his friends were finally relaxing in the first class cabinet, flying to the states, Adrian was able to have fun talking to his friends and leave all his worries behind.
"This place is pretty sweet," Nino commented, leaning back in his seat. "But I'm surprised you don't have a private jet or something like that."
"We do," Adrian replied with a smile at his friends stunned expressions. "But my dad will be using it for his business trips, so this will do."
"Well it's defiantly more than enough," Marinette assured Adrian. "Especially with you here… I mean it's really generous of you to invite us you come visit your uncle."
"So what's your uncle like anyway?" Alya asked, looking up form her phone. "You haven't really talked to him before."
"That's because I haven't seen him in a long time," Adrian replied, leaning back in thought. "I don't really remember much about him, but I know he was really nice and loved to draw. This trip is so I can get to know him better."
"Well I'm glad we get to share this special trip with you then," Marinette smiled, briefly holding Adrian's hand before blushing and pulling it back.
"Us too," Alya and Nino agreed as well, putting their arms around the other two. The group laughed and joked the time away. Before they knew it, the plane landed and they all got off.
"So how are we going to find your uncle?" Marinette asked as they retrieved their luggage.
"He's supposed to be meeting us here," Adrian replied as he leads the way through the airport. "I'm sure we'll be able to find him."
"I think that's him over there!" Alya said, pointing into the crowd ahead. The group turned to see a middle-aged man holding a sign with Adrian's name on it. The walked over to the man and he lowered his sign, smiling warmly at Adrian and his friends.
"Hi Adrian," Henry greeted, pulling Adrian into a brief hug, before getting a closer look at him. "You look just like your mother. It's great to see you. I'm so glad you could make it."
"I'm glad to be here too," Adrian beamed before gesturing to the rest of the group. "Let me introduce you to my friends."
Once introductions were out of the way, Henry showed the group the way to his car and helped load up the luggage. The group then pilled into the car, with Adrian and Henry and in front with the others in the back. Once they were all safely settled, they began driving to Henry's house.
"So what do you do for a living?" Alya asked, leaning forward to better hear Henry's response. "Adrian says you like to draw?"
"Yes, I love drawing," Henry nodded, smiling fondly. "Currently I'm an illustrator for children's books as well as doing the occasional commission. But I used to be an animator and created cartoons."
"Cool!" Nino said, also leaning forward. "What cartoons did you work on."
"And why did you stop?" Marinette asked out of curiosity. "It seems liked you loved being an animator."
"I helped create Bendy the Dancing Demon and I did love it," Henry sighed, his smile dropping slightly. "But Joey, my partner, and I got into a huge fight when I had to leave for war. I don't really like talking about it, but the bottom line is that Joey said I was fired and would never be welcome back so I left. My biggest regret is that I was never able to get the rights back to my characters."
"That's terrible Uncle Henry," Adrian said in sympathy, putting his hand on his uncle's arm. "I remember how much you loved telling be about Bendy and all his crazy adventures. I wish you had gotten to keep them."
"Me too, but that's all in the past," Henry said, brightening up. "And even though bad things had happened, the time is spent working at the studio is still some of my best memories and I will treasure it forever. Come on, I'll show you my personal collection from the studio and then we can get you settled into your rooms."
The group eagerly got of his car and followed Henry into his modest home. He leads them down the hall and into a large room. Old Posters and framed sketches hung on the walls. Videotapes, plushies and other toys filled a large bookcase. And in the center of it all was a drawing table with a Bendy cutout leaning next to it. The teens were amazed at the sight and began to explore.
"You kept all this from the studio?" Adrian asked, glancing back at his uncle.
"Yeah," Henry nodded, looking at everything. "There was no way I was getting rid of it so I've kept it here. Mostly this room is just for memories sake but every now and then I come in here and draw another Bendy adventure."
"Do you think you can show us some of the cartoons you used to make?" Marinette asked, looking at all the videos. "I would love to see your work."
"Let's get you guys unpacked first and then we can have a movie night," Henry bargained, gesturing to the entrance. "How does that sound?"
The teens agreed and reluctantly left the room to retrieve their suitcases. They couldn't wait to learn more about Henry and the cartoons he used to create.