IMPORTANT AN: So I'm super hyped for Chapter 5 and it motivated to do a ton of writing for this story. So to celebrate Chapter 5 release, starting Monday I'm going to post a new chapter 3very day through Friday. After that, I'll be busy playing the new chapter and figuring out what I'll work into my story. You don't want to miss it!

Chapter 33:

"Joey, what have you done?"

"Trapped for so long… I can't take it anymore!"

"I just want to go home? When do we go home?"

"The Creator's here. He'll save us."

"Sheep sheep, it's time for sleep."

"Enslaved, can't break out…"

"Dreams come true Susie…"

"Just hold on a little more. Please…"

"It's my job to protect you kids. Even superhero ones."

"I must protect my lady."

"It's time to believe."

"I just want this to end!"

"I'm out of here."

"I will break free!"

"Alright, Joey. I'm here. Let's see if I can find what you wanted me to see."

Henry gasped as he woke up, the remnants of the voices he heard slipping from his mind. Henry wasn't sure how long he was unconscious this time, but he was pretty sure it must have been several hours. Henry sat up with a groan, his head throbbing and his whole body sore. He briefly wondered if getting knocked unconscious was becoming a habit here as he rubbed his temples in an effort to relieve his headache. Then everything from the elevator crash came rushing back.

He looked around and was surprised to see he was outside the elevator. Looking to his right, Henry saw Alya and Nino laid out next to him. It was obvious someone had moved them from the wreckage, he could even see makeshift bandages on them. They were breathing easily and from what Henry could tell, they were fine. But who would have taken care of them? And why would they patch them up only to leave them here?

Realizing he hadn't seen Marinette yet and remembering Alice's words, Henry looked around desperately for her. He finally spotted her sitting in a corner with what he swore was the Ink Demon leaning over her. Henry started to shout at the Ink Demon, but when Henry blinked, he was gone. Brushing it off for now as a result of being knocked out again, Henry carefully got up and made his way over to Marinette. She seemed fine, though she did have a bandage on her head. When he looked closer, Henry was despaired to see inky veins starting to come down from her hairline. A groan from behind Henry drew his attention. It seemed that Alya and Nino were stirring.

"Ugh, Why do I feel like I was hit by a truck," Alya murmmered as she got up.

"Well it was an elevator drop, but you were close," Henry replied with a slight smile, coming over and helping her up. He was relieved to see them that they were alright.

"Remind me never to do that again," Alya joked as Henry helped Nino to his feet. "Where's Marinette?"

Marinette let out a groan before Henry could answer, drawing the attention of the group. They went over to help her up.

"Oh no, Marinette!" Alya exclaimed once she saw the ink veins. "Not you too…"

"What's the matter?" Marinette wondered as she focused on those around her. "Wait… Where's Tikki?"

"I'm right here." The little red kwamii replied sadly, floating up onto Marinette's shoulder with a yawn. "I'm alright, though I'm afraid, you aren't doing so well."

"What do you mean?" Marinette asked, slightly alarmed.

"You have the same inky veins that Adrian had," Henry informed. "You've must have been infected when you went under the ink during the fight with the Projectionist."

"I did notice I got cut on my head from crashing into the statue," Marinette admitted, feeling the injury lightly under the bandage. "So I probably shouldn't transform if I can help it. I'm not going to end up with a link with the Ink Demon too am I?"

"Unlikely," Tikki replied thoughtfully as she looked Marinette over. "Adrian was infected by the Ink Demon himself. You were infected by general ink, so it's unlikely that you will be connected to any of these other creatures. But I'm still not sure exactly what effect the ink will have on you."

"Well there's nothing we can do about it right now," Marinette decided firmly, waving of the other's concerns. "There's still the psycho angel out there."

"And she has Boris," Henry reluctantly agreed. He and the others didn't like having to just drop the subject of Marinette's infection, but there really wasn't anything they could do right now. All they could do was make sure they didn't lose anyone else. "I'm glad she didn't get you too Marinette."

"I think… something stopped her…" Marinette replied slowly, trying to recall what happened. "It almost looked like… I can't remember… my memories to fuzzy."

"That's not surprising considering what we just through," Henry assured, patting Marinette on the shoulder. "Let's just be glad that you're alright and focus on getting Boris back."

The teens nodded in agreement before following Henry down the hallway away from the destroyed elevator. They came to an intersection with a sign declaring they were on Level S. The sign said Grant Cohen's office to the right with the Archives and R&D Access to the left.

"We should go to the left," Henry decided after looking at the sign. "I'm sure we'll find more down that direction, maybe even some answers in the Archives."

The group made their way down the left hallway but didn't get very far because of a steal hatch blocking their way.

"Definitely something missing here," Henry said, examining the door. "It looks like the handle's been removed. We'll need to find something we can use to replace it."

"Maybe there's something we can use down the other hallway," Marinette suggested.

"Worth a shot," Henry agreed. They went down the right hallway and came to a door with a sign saying management on it. They opened the door to discover that the walls were just covered in random words and phrases all across the walls and even on the floor. They couldn't make out a whole lot in the mess of writing, but they could make out the word "taxes" and the phrase "time is money" written over and over again. It looked like the room of a madman.

The group slowly went inside, almost afraid to touch anything. Marinette began looking through a filing cabinet while Henry examined an exposed pipe. Alya and Nino looked over the desk. Just as Henry found a valve they could use for the door, Nino pressed play on the tape recorder on the desk. The room was filled with indistinct noises and sounds that chilled everyone listening. They could hear what sounded like the groan of a searcher just before the tape cut off.

"What was that?" Nino couldn't help but ask in the silence that followed.

"I don't know and it doesn't matter," Henry decided, herding the teens out of the room. "I found what we needed, let's just move on."

The teens were more than happy to get out of the room and leave it far behind.