Ok this chapter was hard because I...don't like chapter three in the game? Like sure the puzzle looks hard but they threw...ugh Joey in it...so I had to think new things up so like...which is why I didn't update yesterday like I had planned.
But anyway here is chapter four! Hope you all enjoy! also spoilers for Dreams come to life
Izuku bites at her lips, fidgeting and sweating but staying still as much as she could in her chair. Her heart beat quickly in her chest and she was surprised that it hadn't jumped out. Wringing her hands, she jumps as another person storms out grumbling in anger, "Its just a stupid picture! I drew him right! He was fucking perfect!"
Izuku blinks in confusion but jumps quickly out of her chair when her name was called. Gulping she walked over, the very air felt thicker as she spotted the two men at the desk. One she recognized as Nathan Arch, the man who she was hoping would hire her. The other was an elderly man with slicked back grey hair, wearing a pinstripe vest suit and looking like at any moment he was going to knock over and die.
"Ah Midoriya!" Arch smiles at her, waving her over, "Come in, come in. This is Joey Drew, the owner of Bendy," he gestures to the man who looks at her with his blue eyes as she sits down, "And he's giving me the wonderful opportunity to bring his characters back to life. But he wants to make sure the very best is drawing Bendy and his little friends. That the right people…" he stops when Drew holds up his hand.
Izuku stills when Joey drew looks at her before he handed her a piece of paper, "Midoriya…what do you see?"
Izuku looks down and sees it was her picture of Bendy holding a fire extinguisher with Boris's face palming and Alice glaring down at the little devil. "I see someone wanting to help people, Mister Drew," Arch blinks while Drew raises an eyebrow, "I grew up watching Bendy…I saw him wanting to help others, but everyone tells him no. That all he can do is mischief, and he fails at wanting to help but just causes trouble. But that's okay because sometimes he is able to put a smile on people's faces and that's what he wants. To make people happy,"
"Yes!" Izuku eyes widen once more flinching as Joey Drew smiles at her, "Exactly, so many other artists have come here and said, 'oh it's my drawing' or 'oh it's a cartoon' but no…you see the bigger picture," he smiles, "No… you see the heart,"
Izuku groans, her head throbbing in pain. Shaking her head, which made her groan, she looks clumsily around for her Gent Pipe finding it in front of her. On shaking and wobbly legs, she slowly sits up finding herself in some sort of sewer that was filled with…black pods.
Her nose scrunched up, not liking their smell… no she didn't like them at all. Izuku tenses, hearing something scurrying looking down she gasps, seeing some sort of ink spider…if a spider had a mouth in the middle of its body. It hisses at her and leaps for her ace, but Izuku swings her pipe smacking it against the walls.
Heart pounding her eyes widen as she sees more of the small spiders coming towards her. Not knowing what to do, she smashes each one with her pipe, squishing them into goo but they kept coming for her.
A roar echoes through the chamber…nothing like the Ink Demon's and she turns her head to see a giant version of the spider emerging from underneath a grate, "Oh ya gotta be kidding me!" she rolls out of the way when the Spider swings its legs at her, crying out in pain when it slashes at her arm.
Hissing in pain, Izuku backs up as the giant spider approaches her, hissing and growling at each other. Her heartbeat quicken but it was drowned out with a roar of anger and fury "How dare you…creation of the damn intruder in my realm!" Dark shadows formed on the walls, the smaller spiders scurrying out of the way back into hiding while the bigger one screech, "You do not belong in my Kingdom~" Izuku falls on her butt staring with wide gold and green eyes as the Ink Demon emerges, crouching down like some beast…like a lion. He creeps in front of Izuku, his body protecting her from the Widow, easily clawing at its leg which tries to stab him, "And you dare hurt my Queen?!" he lunges forward with a roar, stomping one hoof on another leg which cracks echo harshly in the chamber.
"Hey!" looking over her eyes widened at the sight of Boris waving at her from an open door, "Over here! Quick!" Izuku nods her head, smashing her pipe into a smaller spider that tries to lunge at her, making it back up in pain before she leaps over it, running straight for the door. Once Boris slams it shut, the clicks of the security lock lock the door making her slump in relief. Wincing in pain, she leans against the wall, almost sliding to the floor before an arm gently grabs her arm, holding her up, "Wait...not here," Boris whispers, placing her arm over his shoulder and begins to lead her away.
Whimpering in pain and exhaustion she couldn't even fight him if she wanted to. Limping, she was led to a small room that was hidden on the side, empty but for a small couch that Boris gently placed her in, "Shit…damn it your hurt…just…" Izuku wheezes, her tail lashing out in pain. She watches him run through the cabinets, "Oh thank the Dark Puddles," he pulls out a first aid kit and quickly goes over to her, kneeling down.
She hisses in pain her clawed hand going to slash at him when he dabs a napkin with some sort of potion on it. Izuku recognizes it as a potion that heals and cleans wounds, but it stings terribly. But Boris with what looked like years of practice, dodge her attempt to cut him and kept tending to her wound. He then passes her a can of Bacon Soup and giving her a look, Izuku quickly downs it.
"Alice is right, the after taste is terrible," Izuku thought, sticking her tongue out but the soup did its weird healing thing like the rest of the food did down here. Blinking her eyes, her vision focuses on Boris…who looked like Boris but at the same time not. For one he was fluffy, having fur cheeks poking out along with a long fluffy wolf-like tail coming out of his suspenders. He was wearing a turtleneck sweater, the sleeves rolled up along with a baseball hat.
"Sorry about that," Izuku said slowly, sitting up, breathing in relief when she didn't feel pain from her side.
The Boris shakes his head, "Its fine...you were in pain…I just glad that I caught sight of you going into the elevator earlier," he rubs the back of his neck, "That…was a serious bad call…the Keepers monitor them, they don't like any of us going to the upper levels…its easier for them to control us,"
"Duly noted…" Izuku rubs at her head, looking at her bandaged arm, "My name is Izuku…I guess you're Boris?" she tilts her head at him watching as his ears flopped a bit.
"I'm a Boris…the first Boris made I think...at least the one perfect' he growls a bit before shaking his head, "But call me Buddy, that was my name when I was human. Buddy Lewek,"
"Nice to meet you Buddy," Izuku holds out her hand to him, which Buddy shakes, smiling at her. "Wait, you said you were the first…. Do you know how to get to the upper levels? I was told they were safer"
Buddy frowns, "At this low in the studio? At the bottom," he shakes his head, "The only way up are the elevators, but the Keepers won't allow you to use them…" Izuku frowns at this, shoulders slumping, "But if you're looking for a safe place I know where one is down here. I can take you there,"
Izuku looks at him, the last time she trusted someone is what got her into this mess. But looking at Buddy…she could tell he was nice. She nods her head, "Alright…"
Buddy smiles, his tail wagging, "Great! Can you stand up?" Izuku blinks and slowly does it, she wobbles a bit before getting her footing. He nods happily before he heads out of the room, Izuku following him. "I just need to contact a friend of mine, to tell her that I'm ok,"
Izuku frowns but nods her head watching as Buddy goes to the speaker phone, "Alice?" Izuku blinks, eyes widened, "Are you there? Alice?"
"Buddy? Shouldn't you be back in the city by now?" Izuku tail shoot up at the sound of Alice's voice.
"I was…but I was helping a new friend," he looks over his shoulder at Izuku, "She got caught in a fight between the Ink Demon and the Widow King,"
Izuku comes over, hearing Alice huffing in annoyance, "Hi Alice,"
"Izuku?! What are you doing at the bottom of the studio?"
"Well I was going to the upper levels like you told me to…" Izuku grabs the edge of the speaker, "But kinda got off the rails with the Lost Ones, Butcher Gang…and oh the Ink Demon coming after me and wanting me as his wife..the Keepers," she turns to Boris who was staring at her with wide pie-cut eyes filled with shock but he nods his head at her questioning glance, "Didn't take well with me using the elevator."
"Wait…hold up…" Alice voice was filled with shock and horror, "You saw the Ink Demon…and he wants you as his…wife,"
Izuku's shoulder slump, "Yep…he calls me his Little Gift…his darling…future Queen of the Dark Puddles...I've been lucky enough to escape…I …I don't know what to do…"
"Buddy…get Izuku to the city now! Me and Tom will meet you there as quickly as we can,"
"Right…" Buddy grabs her hand and begins to run down a passageway to the right. The grate begins to slowly open and he ducks down, Izuku doing the same but she accidentally bumps into his back. Rubbing her nose Izuku looks at him, his eyes widen in fear before she leans over to the side.
"Bendy?" the little devil darling blinks before he smiles at her but his eyes flicker to Buddy whose teeth were now bared. Taking a few steps back he runs around the corner.
Izuku looks at Buddy in confusion before he shakes his head, "Keep your Gent Pipe up…we may need it," confuse, Izuku nods her head before the two move forward. Buddy was keeping his guard up, smashing at any pods they see as they headed towards the R-shaft.
Izuku looks at Buddy, "So…you said you were the first Boris made…how did you...what is this studio?"
Buddy sighs, "Dreams come true," he shakes his head, "That's what Mister Drew told me all those years ago…when he hired me But I learned that so do nightmares. I was just a delivery boy, delivering a suit he ordered but he saw something in me…took me under his wing as an apprentice and thrusted me into a world I never thought I would ever be a part of," wading through some ink they climb some ladders, "Mind your step. This old place is full of surprises," he sighs, "I should know I worked here a long time.
"This whole place is a cycle, an ink-stained nightmare forever stuck on repeat. From what I know with just a pencil and a dream and a little help from Gent Corporation this place came into being. From notes that we've been finding over the years, it exists in parallel to the outside world but completely removed from the march of time and like a record, played over and over again. It started to crumble, wear down over the years," he gestures to himself, "I used to not be able to speak…I was so tired...I wasn't Buddy I was Boris and he was getting tired..I was descending deeper into the world of aging and yellowing madness…following the script of helping a friend before being taken and turned into a monster…" he turns to her and Izuku gasps seeing that one eye was slowly turning into a stitched up X.
Buddy takes a deep breath blinking his eyes which changes the X back to a normal pie-cut eye, "This studio is a monument of revenge...against one man…the Creator…Henry Stein,"
"Henry Stein?" Izuku whispers following Buddy through a door.
"Yep…you see Izuku…the truth is that Joey didn't create Bendy and his friends…it was Henry…Henry Stein, the Creator. And out of all the people that Joey Drew blamed for his mistakes, he blamed Henry, his best friend the most for abandoning their work years and years ago. Because without Henry the studio was slowly falling apart...in Drew words, Henry new how to push Joey into being the best he could be. In his anger and greed, Joey used an evil machine that he had Gent created. It was supposed to create real version of Henry's characters…and it worked but at the same time didn't…you saw how he acts,"
Izuku blinks at Buddy, "The Ink Demon...he was the first, wasn't he,"
Buddy nods his head, "From what I know he wasn't always like this…used to be harmless but was considered a failure because he was off model, because he had no soul…but that all changed after how Drew treated him...locking him away..." Buddy sighs, shaking his head, "after many attempts, using the souls of his own workers..he used the machine one last time, to create a word of paper and ink to lock us all away….and then tricking Henry in here…to torture us all for his failures,"
"But for the last year…the spell...the urge to follow the script that was written for us started to break. I got my voice back…and Henry started to not be the only one who remembers the cycles…" Izuku blinks at that, "But then he came, messing with the story. Making bad things emerging from the puddles, creatures more wicked than Drew could ever draw from his pen. The worst ones call themselves the Keepers, dangerous deadly folks. They took over the old Gent Workshop that was created along with the city, just beyond the sewers. They said they're trying to bring what they called order to this world, freezing the cycle in place and changing the script…and grabbing those who are part of the story and locking them away…calling us the Cyclebreakers…"
Izuku's stomach churns as she listens to the story, listening about the horror and dread as they walk along the bridges, watching as Buddy turns the wheels and presses buttons to drain the ink. Leading her through the sewer with expert steps, probably from years of staying in this nightmare of a studio.
"Us of the Cycle…we formed a group together, led by the Creator. By Henry…for the last 200 days we have been fighting Wilson and his Keepers…trying to take back control," Buddy gulps, "He captured Sammy…and Shawn…Bertrum…" he growls angrily, "That damn Malice betrayed us all so she can be perfect," he rolls his eyes, "It gotten worse since the Keepers captured Henry a month ago. He never believed what Wilson said about the Ink Demon being dead…even after all the years of killing each other, of being forced to fight…Henry still loves Bendy…he still loves the Ink Demon and he went searching for him, knowing that even if he had to follow the rules of the studio…this realm belonged to him, that the Ink Demon would be strong enough to defeat Wilson if he had the chance to actually attack…" Buddy shakes his head, opening a door. Izuku stops staring at the Bendy plushie that was sat on the grave. Sighing she looks around and finds another door pushing it open. Her eyes widen catching sight of Bendy again but before she could call out to him, he run off again
While Izuku updated her Gent Pipe again, Buddy pulled down the lever, a large gate creaking open, "We need to be careful down here," Buddy said as they headed deeper in the sewer. "This group of Lost Ones was led by Sammy before Wilson took over…but when he left to join us the few that didn't follow created a new group led by a Lost One called Amok…there…kinda crazy,"
"Yeah… I can see that," Izuku mumbles, staring at the sign about this place being an unsafe area with Dead being painted on the sign in Ink. Following up the ladder, she stills a bit when she hears a growling coming from the ink.
"Ok so this tunnel is pretty tricky to work..." Buddy said, "We have to drain the center duct into the overflow, but we need to make sure the duct hatches are all open," Izuku nods her head, using her Gent Pipe to unlock the door and pulling the lever down. Clicks and clanks of gear rang through her ears. Coming out of the room she watches Buddy break the chains of a door and open it. The sounds of something draining were heard when he pressed a button and looking over the railing Izuku watched as the large amount of ink began to drain.
Going into the next room and being jumped by three Lost Ones with spiky stuff emerging from their head, the two split up, Izuku to find any supplies while Buddy went to push open the duct hatch. Pushing open a door, Izuku froze in place as once more the wonderful smell of the golden pods. Looking around frantically she spots several growing on the desk, the golden ink dripping out of them and pooling underneath. With a screech she charges forward and grabs one of them and biting into it.
Vision turning gold she didn't notice Buddy crawling out of the small tunnel that she came through. Didn't notice him gasp as black spikes rip through the back of her shirt, as the legs of her jeans rip as the black ink went up more, tufts of black fur growing on the legs. She was so busy eating the golden pods, she didn't realize that she began to scratch at her neck, patches of green fur forming on her shoulders. One of her horns began to twist and turn transforming from a horn shape like Bendy's into what Buddy thought was a ram horn. Her tail swishes back and forth, as a large arrowhead-like tip looking like a nib from an ink pen emerges from the green fluff.
Izuku gasps, taking a step back as she comes back to herself. Gulping down the golden ink that was still in her mouth she flinches, hissing as she turns but stops when she sees Buddy, "Sorry…I'm," her body shakes as she wraps her arms. Buddy's ear flop but he gently grabs her shoulders.
"It will be alright…once we get to the city, it will be safe," Izuku looks up at him but nods her head. The two pull apart but Izuku's eyes widen as she sees the sight of the shadows forming. Looking around frantically she grabs Buddy by his sweater and throws him into a locker shutting just as a chuckle was heard behind her.
"I don't know why people think lockers will be able to hide them from me," The Ink Demon rumbles as he steps forward, Izuku turning around to brace her back against the door, as if to protect Buddy, "They aren't Miracle Stations that can block their scent and hearing from me…Wison destroyed most of them on his quest of capturing the others of the cycle…now many Lost Ones use the lockers in blinded fear in hoping it would save them," he shrugs his shoulder, mirth in his voice, "I so do love the game so I allow them to believe so…"
"Game?" Izuku growls her own shadows emerging from her hooves, "You think this is all a game? These are people's lives…heck you're eating people!"
"No, I'm not Darling~" The Ink Demon chuckles as he leans closer, his warm breath dancing on Izuku's face, "The Lost Ones…the Searchers…even the Butcher Gang…they are all just memories…imprints of the peoples who were sacrificed to create the Dark Puddles. Their souls had passed on many years ago, only their magic remained which left the imprints of their original users in my Kingdom. Sometimes that magic leaks out, forming into beings that you've been seeing. The Searchers are the weakest, having not enough strength to fully form out of the Dark Puddles nor having enough strength to act other than killing on sight. The Butcher Gang is the next…they along with the many Boris beside the little wolf your hiding," Izuku growls at him, "They have enough strength to pull themselves free and to give themselves a form…but not enough to act like themselves…the Borises acted like the wolf from the old show…and I guess the Butcher Gang would do the same if they weren't experimented on but they like the Searchers attack anything on sight…unless they are being control like they are with Wilson,"
Izuku then stills when the Ink Demon nuzzles her face, a purr erupting from him..her tail twitches as he wraps his own around it. Heart beating, she looks up at his face, his smile seems to be wider, "The Lost Ones are third…they are on par with the Butcher Gang but a bit stronger. The old habits of the owners of the magic truly bleed through them and they seem to go through the motions of what those people do. When I eat them they return to the Dark Puddles and once they have strength again they pull out, restarting once more. They have no souls, they are not alive…"
"Is that you talking…or is that Drew," the purr stops at what Izuku said before a growl of anger erupts replaces it. The Ink Demon pulls his tail away as it lashes back and forth in anger.
"Do not mention the Liar's name!" Izuku stares at him, watching his body tremble in anger. Izuku, who was used to anger being shown at her (Thanks Bakugou) knew it wasn't directed at her. Slowly, she raises her hand at him, stopping a bit when he flinches, his gaze staring at her intentionally as she slowly and gently places her hand against his cheek, softly rubbing her thumb against his inky skin. The Ink Demon tenses but soon his growls become rumbles and purrs.
"Buddy told me why this studio…this world was made to torture those who Joey blame for his mistakes…it wasn't just his employees though…it was you as well,"
The Ink Demon was silent, "You are correct…the script had me play the villain…the Creator will turn on this world's version of the Ink Machine…unleashing me from it and I will hunt him down as he tries to escape…leading him to the End," Izuku raises an eye at the way he hiss the end, "Over and over me and the Creator will play our parts...until recently whatever spell that held us started to loosen…to crack..and then that Parasite came in…forcing me into something vulnerable and weak…until you came," Izuku's eyes widen as he leans closer into the hand, "You free me my little Gift…my Darling~ My Queen~ The Dark Puddles had bless you with my form…and it whispers to me…your fate…your purpose…with you by my side I will control this world, I will be able to fully break the hold that the Liar has on us…no more will I be playing the villain…no more will I be force to kill my Creator…this world and you will be mine~" he pulls back watching her, chuckling ""And you will come to me, when the time comes…when you will accept your fate before the end,"
Izuku watches as he turns, face growing hot when his tail whip and rubbed underneath her chin. Her eyes stay on his form, body tense as he walks into the wall, thick ink slowly forming on the wall, absorbing his form until a growl bounces off the walls. Taking a deep breath she pulls away from the locker, allowing Buddy to get out who was looking at her with wide eyes.
"Alright, we need to get you to the lost city…now" he whispered hoarsely before he went to the button once more, filling the thing with ink. Using flow Izuku was able to use the platform, and pulled down the lever to open the gate. Izuku and Buddy then find them in Amok's chamber, the leader, Amok ordering the two Lost Ones standing beside him to kill them. It was quite easy to defeat them, and Amok who leapt from his chair once his two men were killed. Izuku was pulled away by Buddy when the other Lost Ones started calling her the new Amok. But it did led them to getting plenty of supplies of SLUGS, food and Gent Parts that Izuku placed in her bag.
Izuku gasps in awe as Buddy pushes open a bar gate, revealing a city shown through the large window, "What in the world? How big is this place,"
"We really don't know," Buddy whispers, "This city wasn't in the original cycle…Tom thinks that it formed when Wilson brought stuff that belonged to Gent. He said that this city is parallel to the city that Gent built when they were in contract with Mister Drew…" he looks over the couch staring at the city, "A city built on broken dreams… many Lost Ones…at least those who don't cause trouble for Wilson took over the city, forming lives in it. As long as they don't break Wilson's rules…they can do what they want. The Cyclebreakers hid ourselves in the city, making attacks on the Gent building that the Keepers own, hoping to find the place where Wilson is hiding so we can…"
Izuku turns her head to him as he sighs but before she could say anything a sound of something rummaging was heard. Turning their heads, Buddy gasps, taking steps backwards but Izuku smiles, "Bendy! Its you," she kneels down in front of him, "I'm glad that you're ok…I'm sorry if I hurt you with that static shock earlier…I didn't mean to hurt you..and," she blinks as Bendy jumps off the couch and runs over to her, wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling into her chest, his little tail wagging. She laughs wrapping her arms around him and giving him a gentle squeeze, "And I guess you don't want to hurt me!," Bendy pulls back and shakes his head, a shocked look on his face, as if couldn't even think of hurting her, "I guess we're friends now huh?"
Bendy's familiar smile, the one that Izuku had drawn so many times before appears on Bendy's face as he smiles. Izuku giggles and picks him up, resting him on her hip. She blinks at the sight of Buddy's look of shock, his mouth dropped open wide. She rolls her eyes, "It's ok, nothing bad will happen. I found this little guy in the animation alley and I unfortunately spooked him off.." she rubs her hand between Bendy's horns, a purr erupting from him as his small tail wags.
"I'm…just shocked…before you there has only been one thing taking the form of Bendy…and that was the Ink Demon…the fact that there," he gestures to Bendy, "Is a Bendy who is…perfect…it's just…" he shakes his head, "One step at a time…come on Alice and Tom must be waiting,"
Izuku nods her head, keeping a tight grip on Bendy as she follows Buddy. Neither of them notice that the drip of ink on Bendy got thicker, his smiles more wide as he wraps his tail around Izuku's arm, gently squeezing it.
deep breath why did they make Joey explained it to Audrey you know the liar when ya had a good boy Buddy Boris who was one of the first of Joey's victims! So yeah Joey is dead dad and no memory cartoon version because I hated that so much! So very fucking so Buddy Boris got his voice back and was able to explain the truth to Izuku (I totally believe that Joey lied to Audrey in the game, cause he doesn't want his daughter to think he's a monster when he really is)
Also I want to thank Iridescent Snake for the wonderful fanart! it gave me so many ideas for Izuku and Buddy. Like its definitely help for me thinking of Izuku's final form when she's done transforming!
Also so what Inky was explaining is that the Dark Puddles are like how All For One works...while once the souls were there they slowly burned out, passing on but the magic remains. Like Quirks they leave an imprint of their user behind. In Inky's mind they aren't alive, They'll just come back once they reform but to Izuku with Portor and the artist with their pictures...Inky is just pushing his trauma from Drew onto the Lost Ones. (The boy has a lot of trauma)
Anyway next chapter will have more changes from the game, because while I love the game I was very salty that almost all the original characters were not...big in the game...so I'm changing that!