AN: I told you I was just waiting for BATDR to come out.

The Apprentice

What used to be the home of Joey Drew was quiet, everything untouched as the owner was no longer around to plot his latest schemes and to believe that all his dreams were just out of reach, only requiring a few sacrifices and a little magic to achieve. Though it had already been months now, the dark forces that had last been used here still left a stain, giving the entire place a feel of a haunted tomb. The few that had visited in the passing, mostly those taking stock of the possessions to determine their worth, were always quick to finish up their business and leave as quickly as possible, feeling hunted by things they couldn't understand.

But the newest visitor wasn't frightened by the unnatural feeling in the air, instead feeling quite at home even as the lingering magic brushed over their skin. They let the door fall shut behind them, glancing around the place with knowing eyes. A grin stretched across their face as they spotted the ink machine through a nearby doorway, looking more pristine than it had the last time it had been intact.

"I'm surprised they didn't destroy it again when they left," The figure commented to themselves as they got closer and inspected the machine. "They must have forgotten to in their haste to escape… or believe no one else would know how to use it's true potential… Fools either way."

Leaving the machine, for now, the figure went further into the house. Weaving around furniture with the ease of someone who's been here many times before, they approached a wall that to anyone else would seem like an ordinary wall. Taking out a pin, the figure drew a drop of blood and pressed it against the wall. An inky black circle spread across the from beneath their finger, dissolving into the wall a second later and opening a hidden door that hadn't existed there before.

Reverently, the figure reached in and took out the objects that had been hidden within. First, they took out the spell books, black leather-bound things that just oozed evil-corrupting magic strong enough to affect even those not sensitive to supernatural forces. The figure ran their fingers over each one, feeling a surge of energy and an unspoken acknowledgment that they are a student of these magics. All the spell books were here except for Joey's personal journal full of his custom spells and rituals, which would make the figure's goals difficult but not impossible. They had been learning under Joey after all and with enough time they'd be able to recreate the rituals they needed.

Next, they pulled out a bottle of ink, the figure shaking it and watching it shimmer with power. This was ink saved from the first batch of ink made with a sacrifice and the figure knew it could be used to kickstart the restored ink machine's true power. Placing the books and bottle aside, for now, the figure pulled out the final object, a sketchbook. Gently, the figure held it close, not needing to open it to know it contained the designs for the cartoon studio and what the characters were supposed to look like under their corrupted forms.

This was the most important object because this was the true anchor for the cartoon world that Joey had created. When the Demon and the Creator had rewritten the script and broken the ending, they had managed to pry open the doorway that normally only let the Creator through wide enough for the strongest creatures to escape. When the Demon had torn apart the ink machine, it had destroyed the ability to affect the world from the outside, closed the door in and out of it, and released most of the souls that had been trapped within. But the world was still there and with the restored ink machine and their own collection of souls that they had been slowly gathering under Joey's instructions, the figure could now take over the cartoon world for their own purposes.

"You always said I lacked the proper vision," the figure chuckled as they looked at the sketchbook. "But your own shortsightedness is what made you fall to the Demon in the end."

They had always disagreed with their master on how to use the ink machine and its creations. Joey was obsessed with creating perfect toons, longing for the fame and potential immortality they promised. When he kept falling short of perfection and lost more and more to his obsession, Joey switched to punishing all those he saw as responsible for his failures.

They on the other hand didn't need to strive for "perfection" because they were far more interested in the power the machine could grant. Joey had been the god of a world he had created and had a powerful demon under his command and he wasted it by sending his creations on a never-ending loop of torture. They would be different, they would rule this world and all the souls within. They would get back the Demon and the Creator and learn to harness their power and command it for themselves. And once they had complete control and learned to use the power for themselves… why would they settle for being the god of just one world?

Picking up all the objects, the figure returned to the ink machine. They couldn't move it by themselves and there wasn't a lot of time before Arch and his people would be swooping in to claim all of Joey's things. They couldn't let the ink machine be taken from them so they cast a concealing spell on it. It would keep it hidden and ignored by those that would be coming and they'd be able to reclaim it once all the vultures were gone.

"Soon…" the figure whispered to the machine before they left.

The Demon and the Creator thought they were free forever from the cartoon world just because they had managed to rewrite the script Joey had created, but they were wrong. The Demon and those under him had been born from the machine and would forever be it's children. The Creator, while not born from it was forever tied to it thanks to the role Joey had given him. It would be a simple matter of calling them all back to that world when the time was right.

When they were ready, they would call all the children of the machine home.