Kitten: Hi guys! Ah, I've loved this weekend! Don't you guys love just laying back and writing and relaxing when you get the chance? I hope you had an amazing weekend! Anyways, on with the show!
Kitten: Disclaimer- I don't own BATIM. I of course only own the story.
Kitten: Please Enjoy!
~Chapter 9-More Secrets Uncovered~
Joey's eyes widened and he stifled a startled yelp when he saw Henry walking toward his office. The man put the book he was holding on his lap down under his desk. pulled out some paperwork and began working on it.
"Joey!" Henry exclaimed as he slammed open the door; Joey flinched and sighed.
"What is it, Henry?" He was beyond tired, and he really didn't feel like being yelled at right now. /Just a guess,/ He thought. /But he must've found out about the workshop being shut down in a few weeks./
"What are you thinking, huh?" Henry hissed, fuming with rage. "What's this crud I'm hearing about you shutting down the workshop!?"
/Yup. I was right/ The blonde sighed again, running a hand through his locks. "It's not a big deal, Henry. It's just… I feel like I've done all I need to do and all I can to try and save it."
This response made Henry pause. "Wait, what do you mean by 'save it'?" He asked, perplexed. "Do you not have enough money to keep it going or something?"
"No," Joey started slowly, "It's not that. I have plenty of money"
Henry glared again, "So you're just closing it down for the fun of it, huh? What about Susie and the others? What will happen to them when they lose their jobs?"
"Susie left early, Hen. I already paid her before she left. The others will get their final paychecks a week before they are released. You can't stop me, Henry. I'm sorry, but this is the route I'm going to choose to go."
Henry didn't say anything, just stood there, looking away with a glare, muttering names under his breath.
Joey rolled his eyes before walking back to his desk. "Speaking of which," He huffed, pulling out an envelope. He walked back over, holding it in front of his face. "Here."
The brown haired scowled and pushed it away, "I don't want money, Joey! I want answers! How could you be so foolish as to shut the workshop down after the hard work everyone has done!? And Bendy and Alice and Boris… what will become of them?!"
"I'm not fighting with you right now," Joey stated calmly. "It's a waste of time. We both know that neither of us ever win, so why do you bother picking a fight?" He smiled. "Besides, there's tons of other places for you to go work at as an artist. Better than me. Why don't you try those?"
"I don't want to try those. I like it here. I know tons of people, and… the toons… this place is their home. I just don't get why you're throwing it all away." Henry uttered, looking away.
Joey's smile fell. "If there was another way, I would take advantage of it and try to keep it open, believe me… but I can't. Too many things are happening right now. I just don't want to get anyone involved. But Henry, if you can't understand the fact that I'm doing this not to push anyone away but to do what's best for the business," He held the check out one more time. "Then I guess there's nothing else to say"
It was silent for a few minutes. After a while, Henry snatched it out of his hands. "Yeah," He said. "I guess not"
The young man turned and walked out of his friend's office. Joey sighed, leaning against his desk. "Man…" He mumbled. "I feel like I can barely stand…"
Abruptly, he saw a figure standing outside of his doorway. Joey glared at the figure.
"You won't win, you know." He growled.
The figure smirked, "Oh? Then how come I already have?" In the next minute, the figure was gone.
Henry leaned against the wall, panting as he clutched at his right arm in pain. There was a rip in his upper sleeve, revealing a nasty slice that was gushing out crimson sticky blood.
"Shit..." He muttered under his breath. "Stupid Demon... Grabbing my axe and using it against me... ugh, bringing him back is going to be impossible!" He caught his breath; "Well... good thing is I think I lost him. For now"
The young man stood up away from the wall and sighed in annoyance. "Bad news is I lost Boris and Alice too. Damnit!" He groaned, running his hand through his brown locks which were damp with sweat. "Okay... I can make it back to them. I just need to find out where I am first. And... find my axe..."
The brunette, who was still clutching at his bleeding arm, walked into the darkness, feeling dizzy now and then, but managed to stay standing. Sweat trickled down the sides of his forehead, but he didn't bother brushing them away.
"I thought that Joey wasn't going to make this many floors" He commented to himself as he walked down a staircase. "Actually, maybe they were here before. I just didn't notice." He quickly corrected himself. What the young man didn't notice is that he had just walked through double doors that read "She's quite a gal" at the top.
After fighting off some ink monsters, Henry looked up and his blue eyes widened at the sight. There were multiple figures of Boris... dead. Just floating around in the ink, motionless. "What the hell is this?" Henry muttered, horrified. Looking around even more, his heart pounded when he noticed Alice Angel Posters all around on the walls. "No... this isn't Alice's room, is it...? It can't be... she couldn't... she wouldn't... would she?" Finally, his migrain and the nausea got to him and he threw up in a corner.
Gasping and gagging, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Not being able to stand being in the room any longer, he turned on his heels and ran out.
Alice watched with disgust as Bendy disappeared into the floor, the searchers turning back into normal puddles of ink. She sighed once she was certain that the Demon was gone. "Boris, you still there? Are you alright?" She asked, turning around.
"Yeah, I'm good." Boris riposted, coming out from behind the corner. "You were amazing, Ally. Nice job" Alice smiled, blushing slightly. "Oh, it was nothing. I...I..." Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Henry!" She gasped. "We have to find Henry! Bendy's still after him!" "I'll go look real quick. Stay here and stay hidden away from Bendy." Boris ordered and was about to go look for Henry, but paused as he saw a figure walking toward them. The figure was carrying an axe and walking steadily.
Boris grinned, "Henry! You're okay!" The two toons ran over to him. Alice giggled with joy, "Henry, Bendy's gone for now! That means that we can-" She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed the look on Henry's face; his skin was pale, his blue eyes were clouded over and he looked like he had just seen a ghost. Boris noticed this and his smile fell as well.
"Henry...?" Alice asked, concerned. "Are you... Are you alright?"
"Why were there figures of a Dead Boris in your room?" Henry asked colorlessly, not blinking.
Boris's eyes widened, and Alice looked startled. "Wh...What? What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean." Henry riposted, eyes narrowing slightly as he took a few steps toward her and Alice gulped, backing up. "In your room. I saw at least more than 5 figures of Boris, dead floating around in ink. And other weird crud. Why?"
"Henry,I-"
"Answer me, Alice!"
Alice whimpered, backing up even more. Her creator had never snapped at her like that. Blinking back hot tears, she looked away. "I...I created them."
"You what!?" Henry exclaimed wide-eyed, causing Alice to jump. "Why the hell would you do that!?"
"I...I don't know."
"You're lying. Tell me."
"Henry, please-"
"NOW!" Henry yelled.
"OKAY!" Alice cried and sniffed, wiping away her tears. "I created those figures of Boris dead in the ink that you saw in my room. I swear, I don't know why I did it, Henry, I just lost my mind for a minute there at the time!"
"So what, do you collect dead people or something?" Henry questioned. "Do you make them? Did you help out in the real Boris being killed?"
"No!" Alice wailed. Tears were running down her cheeks now. "Henry, believe her." Boris said, taking a step forward. "She didn't kill me. She wasn't involved."
"It doesn't matter!" Henry snapped. "They were still there! And it's sick, damn it, it's fucking sick! Why would she do such a thing in the first place!? Hey, Alice, you don't happen to have Joey's dead body in your closet, do ya!?"
Alice gasped. "H-Henry, why would you say such a thing!? I would never kill Joey! I cared about him just like you did!" She sobbed.
"Sure, you did." Henry said sarcastically with a roll of his blue eyes. "What's next? Are you gonna kill me too? Here's the thing; can I even trust you?" Alice and Boris gazed at him, shocked. "I mean, here I am, on a freaking suicide mission to get your friend back, and I find it kind of funny that your on my side instead of his. Why is that? Why aren't you trying to kill me like him?"
"Henry, we're on your side because we know that you can stop him." Boris stated, taking a step forward. "We know that you're the one who can snap him out of his trance. You're the one to do it!"
Ignoring Boris, Henry looked to Alice, who was sobbing into her gloved hands. "Alice." He said, unwavered by her tears. The Angel looked up at him. "Did you kill Joey? Tell. me. The. Truth." Alice sniffled and looked at Boris who gazed back at her solemnly. She then looked down, tears hitting the floor. "I...I didn't mean to..." She sobbed; Henry's eyes widened. "Oh my God... why? Why would you do such a thing!?" He exclaimed, his tone changing from abruptly horrified to angry once again. "I don't know, alright!? I just... broke for some reason! I just went nuts for no good reason! Henry, I'm so sorry!" She continued to sob.
Henry sighed. "Me too." Both toons looked up at him. "I'm sorry I got involved with your little mission to save Bendy. I should have never come back to this forsaken workshop in the first place." He uttered, looking away.
"Henry..." Boris whimpered, hurt by his words.
"Sorry. You're on your own."
"But...! You promised!" Alice gasped through her sobs. "Henry, you promised! You promised that you wouldn't leave us again! You promised, you promised, you promised!" She sobbed all the harder.
"Well, I'm breaking my promise, alright!? I can't handle all of this! I'm sorry, but I just... can't. Goodbye."
Henry began to walk away, and Alice tried to run after him, but Boris held her back. "HENRY!" She screamed. "HENRY, DON'T GO! PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE US! HENRY!" Before they both knew it, the young man was gone. Alice sobbed as she fell to the ground. "No..." She cried. "No..." Boris kneeled down and hugged her, the Angel instantly hugging him back. Tears poured out of his eyes as well. They stayed like that for what felt like forever. The two cried until they fell asleep.