It was a cloudy January day in Inkwell City. The holiday season had come to an end a week ago and the activities slowed to a crawl like the fall of the snow. At a local coffee shop, Mr. Grounds's Café, a middle-aged man was having coffee inside and appeared to be waiting for someone.

The man was named Joseph "Joey" Drew. He was of medium build with blue eyes, slicked-back black hair with slight grey in his hair, and a sim mustache. He also had a thick, distinctive Western accent whenever he spoke. He's wearing a long-sleeved white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a yellow striped tie, a matching striped, grey vest and pants, and black shoes.

Finally, the man Joey waited for entered the café.

A young man named Henry Stein. He was in his early 20s with blond hair and green eyes. He was wearing a white shirt, brown pants, black shoes, suspenders, and a dark coat.

Henry put the coat on a hanging rack next to the door and sat across from Joey.

"Henry," Joey greeted.

"Joey," Henry replied.

Henry and Joey knew each other after working a few odd jobs together and, despite the age difference, they became good friends.

"So, what's this character you wanted to show me?" Joey asked.

"Well, I know you've been looking for an iconic character for the studio you're planning on opening, and I think I got it this time," Henry said.

"You said that last time with the mouse, remember?"

"I know, but this time I think really got it," Henry said before he pulled out a portfolio and handed it to the older man.

Joey opened the sketchbook and looked over the drawings.

"Hmmm, what's the story behind this one?" Joey asked.

"Alright. When I was 8 or 9 years old, I got really sick, and my parents took me to the hospital. Turns out I had scarlet fever, and I was quarantined in the hospital for about a week."

FLASHBACK

Little Henry Stein was lying sick in the hospital bed, covered in rashes and sweating.

"I was in really bad shape, and I was usually by myself in that room when I wasn't tended to by the doctor and nurses. It got boring quickly, and I felt lonely. That was until I started dreaming about him."

There were no curtains for the window, letting in the moonlight. Henry's eyes fluttered open.

"It happened one night, I was lying in my bed when I noticed something big and black crawl into the room through the window. It looked like an animal with a long tail. I initially thought it was a cat or a raccoon with a thin tail."

The creature crawled into the room.

"When it lifted its head, I saw pointed hair that looked like horns on its head and big yellow eyes."

The creature looked at the sick boy, its eyes were yellow with red pupils. It moved closer to Henry.

"His eyes scared me most. I wanted to shout or scream and tell it to go away but I was paralyzed. Before I knew it, its hands were on the covers."

The creature grabbed a step stool, stood on it closer to Herny, and then it smiled a wide smile at him.

"The little guy tried to talk to me, but I couldn't talk back. The little guy then bent his arm so far backward, that I thought it would snap in half, but he just let go and it just went back into place like he was made of rubber and laughed like it was funny. He looked like a cat with demonic eyes, but he acted like a friendly little kid, and I just lay there listening to him. After a while, I closed my eyes and when I opened them again it was morning, and the creature was gone. I almost forgot about him until the next night when I dreamed of him again and again. Every night I dreamed of him coming into my room and keeping me company. Sometimes I even dreamed of dancing for me wearing shiny black shoes."

END OF FLASHBACK

"After I got better and was discharged, I went back home and started drawing him from memory." Henry continued. "I rarely dreamed of him again after that, but I never really forgot him. And that's how this character was born."

Joey looked back at the cartoon drawing in the portfolio. It had a solid black body with a demon tail and a white face, gloves over its hands, a bowtie on its neck, shiny black shoes, and an oval-shaped head with pointed ears that looked like horns. It also had a small black smile and pie-cut-shaped eyes.

Joey scratched his chin. "Does he have a name?" he asked.

"I call him Bendy," Henry said. "He's a mischievous little devil but with a kind heart. He likes to dance, and he gets into trouble, but it works out for him in the end."

Joey nodded. "You know what. I like it. I like this little guy. I'm just not too sure about his design."

"What's wrong with his design?" Henry asked.

"Not much, I just feel like it needs a little tweaking." Joey pulled out a pencil from his pocket. "Do you mind?"

"Uh, no go ahead."

Joey used the pencil to erase something. Once he was finished, he showed it to Henry. Joey had erased the demon tail and changed Bendy's smile into a large toothy grin.

"Why erase the tail?" Henry asked.

"It would be easier to animate him without it."

"Animate? Does that mean you want him in your cartoons?"

"In the cartoons? I want him to be the star of my cartoons. I'm telling you my friend, this little devil you made is going to make waves and I want you to partner with me in this."

"P-partner? As in business partner?" Henry asked dumbfounded.

"Of course. I don't just think of you as a talented artist, but you're also one of my most trusted friends. If I'm going to share this empire with anyone, it would be you."

"But what about Audrey?"

"My Audrey. Of course, she'll be a part of this, but if I choose her to be my business partner people will think of it as a form of nepotism. Besides, I already asked her, and she just wants to be an animator. So what do you say, Henry, partners?"

Joey held his hand out to Herny.

"Well if you're sure you can handle sharing the spotlight then yes, I accept," Henry said before he grabbed and shook Joey's hand.

Both men were unaware of the chain of events that were soon to unfold thanks to that decision.

Months Later...

It was a beautiful March day in Inkwell City and lots of people were excited for the opening of the new animation studio. The press gathered in front of the stage platform built for the occasion. The owner and CEO of the studio stood forward to cut the ribbon.

"Good people of Inkwell Isle, it is my privilege to declare Joey Drew Studios officially open!" Said Joey. He was wearing a blue suit and white shirt with black shoes and a black tie. He cut the ribbon and the cameras flashed as photographers took pictures for the papers.

Standing to the left of Joey was his business partner and head animator, Henry Stein. Henry was wearing a white shirt, brown pants with a matching coat jacket, suspenders, and black shoes.

Standing to Joey's right was his daughter and animator, Audrey Drew. She was a young woman in her early twenties with curly brown hair, grey-blue eyes, and doll lips. She was wearing a sensible powder-blue dress that reached her ankles and black pumps.

"You'll see that with a dream and a pen, anything is possible," Joey said. "And I'm very excited to introduce our little dancing demon to the world."

Months Later...

In the Underworld, specifically the throne room, The Devil was sitting on his throne looking over some paperwork while his son was on his stomach reading the newspaper on one of the steps to the throne.

The Devil smiled down at his son. To think, he's already sixty-five years old, but he was more like a 6- or 7-year-old in demon years. The Devil may not have appreciated having a child at first but now he loved his little devil more than anything else and he'll destroy anyone who dared to lay a harmful finger on him.

Just as he was refocusing on his work, little Bendall spoke up.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

The little devil held the newspaper higher.

"Yes, son?" The Devil said.

"They're talking about a dancing demon cartoon on the paper," Bendall said.

Intrigued, the big devil took the newspaper and read where his son pointed at. On the paper was a picture of a movie poster showing a glove with a slightly closed fist and a bunch of musical notes around the edges.

"BENDY IN THE LITTLE DEVIL DARLIN'"

"Hmmm, a cartoon about a little dancing devil." The Devil said. "Interesting,"

"Can we go see it, Daddy? Can we? Can we?" Bendall asked with his tail wagging.

"Sure, why not?" The Devil said.

"Can we go now?" Bendall asked.

"No. We'll go after dark. Make it a private screening," The Devil said before handing the newspaper back to his son.

Bendall gasped with a smile on her face.

Later That Night...

The theater had closed for the night hours ago but that was of no consequence for The Devil and his company. The Devil, Bendall, Henchman, and two devil imps had broken into it and were getting ready for the screening.

Henchman oversaw snacks while the two devil imps prepared the projector. Soon the video started, The Devil, Bendall, and Henchman were seated and watching the screen.

The dancing demon's face appeared on the screen as the theme song played before the episode title popped up.

"LITTLE DEVIL DARLIN'"

Featuring Bendy, the Dancing Demon. Cherry, the Charming Cherub. And Boris, the Hungry Wolf.

Bendy, the dancing demon, had a black body, an oval-shaped body, and two black horn-shaped points on his head. He was wearing shiny black shoes, white gloves, and a white bowtie.

At first glance, Cherry looked like an ordinary human girl wearing a white dress with a black ribbon tied around it, but she also had cute little cherub wings on her back and a halo on her head.

Boris looked like a tall wolf covered in black fur and wearing white overalls.

The episode took place on a sidewalk in a city. Bendy and Cherry were dancing together in front of a crowd. The two children danced until Bendy dipped Cherry, and they smiled at the crowd. The people cheered and gave the kids money who collected the money in a hat.

After the crowd left, Bendy pointed at their earnings and then at the bike shop, implying that he wanted to spend the money on a new bike.

Cherry shook her head and pointed at the donation box at the church close by.

The little devil shook his head and tried to take the money to the bike shop. The little cherub pulled the hat back. Soon the two get into a tug-o-war before the hat splits in two and the children fall back.

Boris casually walked by, picked up the money, and used it to buy himself lunch at a nearby diner.

THE END... brought to you by Silly Vision from Joey Drew Studios

The Devil and Bendall clapped after the end of the cartoon. Only Henchman sat there silently, looking surprised.

"That was oddly charming." The Devil said. "I liked that greedy wolf that took the children's money."

"I liked the dancing," Bendy said. "What about you, Henchman?"

Henchman didn't answer at first.

"Henchman?" The Devil asked.

"Uh, sorry boss, what was that?" Henchman asked.

"My son just asked you a question," The Devil explained.

"Uh, sorry little boss. It's just... does anyone else notice that the Bendy character looked a lot like Bendall." Henchman said.

The Devil chuckled. "Don't be ridiculous. That cartoon demon looked nothing like my Bendall." He said before petting the little devil's head who purred under the touch.

"Uh, I don't know, boss. He looked very similar."

The Devil turned his head and looked at the projection window.

"Hey, you two! Play the film again." The Devil ordered.

"Yes sir!" Demon 576 called out.

After a minute or two, they replayed the cartoon and waited until the cartoon demon was on screen.

"Stop the film!" The Devil ordered.

The cartoon was paused, the cartoon demon was frozen with his eyes closed and standing in a dance pose.

The Devil used his pitchfork to carefully pick his son up with telekinesis and held him where he could see the two little devils side by side. The Devil and Henchman scrutinized them both.

"See Henchman," The Devil said. "that cartoon demon doesn't even have a tail. Furthermore, my Bendall doesn't wear anything other than his shoes."

It was true, Bendall had no gloves or bowties on.

"Uh, yeah, but their faces and heads look the same," Henchman said.

"Hmmm, Bendall. Try to mirror that demon's smile." The Devil instructed.

Bendall glanced back at the cartoon image and then back at his father before recreating the same smile with closed eyes.

The Devil could finally see the similarity and he gasped.

"Duh, see it now?" Henchman asked.

The Devil sent the little devil Henchman's way. "Hold this," he said before letting Bendall fall shortly into the purple demon's arms.

"Is that supposed to be me?" Bendall asked.

"I'm not sure, little boss, but it's pretty close,"

The Devil, meanwhile, floated to the projection window. "Where did this reel come from?" he questioned the two devil imps.

"It says it's from Joey Drew Studios," Demon 345 answered. "the address is just a few blocks from here."

The projector got so hot the film reel started to catch fire, and the cartoon image burned.

"Someone's going to answer for this!" The Devil said ominously.

The Very Next Day...

"Ms. Judith wants an answer, Mr. Drew." Miss Rodriguez, Joey's secretary, said. Miss Rodriguez was a stout human woman with curly black hair, a tan complexion, and brown eyes. She's wearing a red dress and red frame glasses over her eyes.

Joey and Henry were standing in the studio office area.

"Ugh. I told that old cow at the bank she'll get her money soon enough." Joey said.

"Joey!" Henry exclaimed.

"What? That bank representative is literally a cow." Joey explained. "Let's go to your office. Miss Rodriguez, go make me some coffee and bring it to my office in 10 minutes."

"Yes sir," the woman said before walking away.

Henry and Joey walked into Henry's office. There was a chair, a sketch table, and drawings on paper pinned to the walls. Henry sat on his chair.

"How can we not have enough money to pay back the bank? I thought sales were doing good." Henry said.

"They are but it's still not enough to settle all of my accounts," Joey explained. "And it's not just the bank. I owe a few other people money."

"Hmmm, have you told Audrey yet?" Henry asked.

"Why would I need to bother her about that?" Joey asked.

"Bother me about what?" Audrey asked as she came in. She was wearing a powder blue sweater top, a black midi long skirt, and black pumps.

Joey flinched before he turned around and smiled at his daughter.

"Nothing, Audrey. Just business stuff." Joey said.

Audrey looked at her father skeptically.

"And haven't I told you not to sneak up like that," Joey said.

"You did but if I didn't then I wouldn't have caught that little tip bit that you don't have enough money to pay back the bank," Audrey said.

"And you asked what we were up to," Joey said.

"Dad, seriously, what's going to happen if you can't pay the bank in time?" Audrey asked.

"Well, supposedly, we might... lose the studio," Joey said. "But don't worry, I'm not gonna let anyone take the studio from me."

"But how are you going to pay the bank on time? And when's the deadline?" Audrey asked.

"Audrey, please. Go back to animating and let the business owners figure it out." Joey said. "It'll be alright,"

Audrey reluctantly walked away back to her station.

Joey was about to walk out when Henry spoke up.

"Joey, how long do we have?"

The older man didn't face Henry and was silent for a second.

"About five days," Joey said.

"Five days!" Henry exclaimed, getting up from his chair.

Joey turned around and smiled casually.

"Henry, I'll get the money, you just do your job and I'll do mine," Joey said before closing the door behind him.

The older man's smile quickly dropped before walked over to his office down the hall. He noticed that Miss Rodriguez wasn't at her desk.

Joey shrugged and walked to his office. It was a large room with three windows. There was a big brown desk, drawers with dozens of shelves, a closet door, and a tall office chair. The man opened the door and when he saw what was waiting inside his office, he froze before he gasped, and his eyes went wide.

Back in Henry's office, the artist was deep in thought until he heard a loud door slam.

"Henry!" Came Joey's voice yelling. "Come to my office! NOW!"

Henry quickly got on his feet and ran towards Joey's office.

The older man was pressing himself against his door, looking like he'd just seen a ghost.

"What's the matter? What happened?" Henry asked.

Joey was taking a deep breath. "I want you to crack the door open slightly, look inside, and tell me what you see on my desk." He said before backing away from the office door.

Henry looked at Joey, confused, but then did what the elder man suggested. He slowly opened the door a crack and peeked inside.

"All I see is a black-" Henry said before he gasped.

There, sitting on Joey's desk, was the little devil child Henry used to see in his dreams years ago, whistling a lively tune and kicking his legs around. Down to the black shiny shoes, yellow eyes, and the demon tail.

Joey joined Henry next to the door peeking at the crack at the door.

"It can't be... I-I thought I made him up." Henry whispered.

"Apparently not," Joey whispered.

Their voices seemed loud enough for Bendall to hear because he lifted his head and smiled at the men. Henry noticed that the little devil now had more teeth in his mouth than last time.

"Hi'ya," Bendall said as he waved at the men.

Henry slowly opened the door and stepped into the office. Joey tried to pull him back silently, but Henry pushed his hand back and kept walking tentatively. He stopped a foot or two from the demon on the desk.

"Uh, hello," Henry greeted nervously.

"Hiya, I'm Bendall," the little devil said.

"'Ben doll'?" Henry asked.

"No, Bendall," the little devil said. "I'm not a toy," he pouted.

"Sorry, sorry," Henry said. He couldn't take his eyes off the little devil. "Wow. Where in the world did you come from?"

"Down that way," Bendall said and then pointed downward.

Henry was confused for a second before suddenly figuring it out.

"You mean like six feet under?" Henry asked.

"Oh no, much deeper and darker," Bendall said.

Henry's face went pale. Joey finally walked over to the desk to get a closer look.

"This is incredible. Even the ears look like horns. Or are they really horns?" Joey said. He reached out to touch the points on Bendall's head, but the little devil leaned back before he hissed fiercely, making the men back away.

Joey shook his finger. "Hey, no. It's not nice to hiss at people." He said sternly.

"I still can't believe he's real," Henry said.

Joey smiled. "Me neither. Imagine. A real-life Bendy sitting right here in my office." He said.

Suddenly the office chair, which had been facing away from the door, spun around and revealed The Devil sitting there.

"AHA!" The big devil exclaimed.

Joey and Henry exclaimed and backed up against the wall. Joey tried to get to the door, but it slammed shut thanks to the pitchfork's power and when he tried the knob, it wouldn't budge.

"So it's true." The Devil said floating off the chair, pointing his pitchfork at the men with one hand and holding a coffee mug in his other hand. "You're using this demon's image, claiming it as your creation, and using said image to make money."

The men glanced at each other briefly as The Devil continued.

"There's a word for that gentlemen. It's called plagiarism! And I, for one, will not stand for it!" The Devil took a sip of the coffee and then spat it out. "Also, you should fire your secretary. She makes terrible coffee."

The big devil threw the mug out the window. It hits a random passing car window, causing the driver to crash their vehicle. The Devil shut the window.

"B-but Mr. Devil, sir, we didn't know," Joey said. "We thought he was a figment of a dream my business partner here had when he was just a kid." He points his thumb at Henry.

Henry glared at the older man.

The Devil turned his pitchfork's point towards Henry.

"So you're the one responsible for this?" The Devil questioned. His pitchfork catches on fire.

"Mr. Devil, I swear I didn't know this demon was real," Henry said.

The pitchfork grew hotter, Joey noticed this and stepped in between Henry and the pitchfork.

"Wait!" Joey yelled. "We really meant no offense when we made the Bendy cartoon. It's really an homage to the idea or should I say the person that is little Bendall here."

The pitchfork's fire went out.

"Homage you say?" The Devil asked.

"That's right," Joey said smiling nervously.

The devil hummed in contemplation for a second before pulling his pitchfork back.

"Okay, when you put it that way, I suppose I don't have to kill you for it." The Devil said. "But if you want to continue using the little demon's image, you're going to have to pay a fee."

"A fee?" Joey asked.

"As in royalties." The Devil said. He then pointed the flaming pitchfork back at the older man. "You have two choices. Collect fifty thousand dollars if you wish to continue using Bendall's face for your cartoons or retract this Bendy character altogether. If you fail to comply..."

He aimed his pitchfork at a large cardboard cutout of the dancing demon and shot a fireball at it. The cutout burned to ash in seconds.

"I'll give you three days." The Devil said before he snapped his fingers.

Bendall hopped off the desk and wrapped his arms and legs around the big devil's left leg.

"You two have a nice day." The Devil said before slamming down his pitchfork. He and the little devil disappeared in a puff of dark clouds.

Henry and Joey stood there in shock for a few seconds.

"Fifty thousand dollars," Henry said, breaking the silence. "We'll never scrape that much money together in time. Should we just retract Bendy?"

Joey just stood there for a moment before turning to look at his business partner.

"We can't," Joey said. "Retracting the star of our show will cost even more than the fifty thousand."

"Maybe we should tell some-"

"We are not going to tell anyone about this. Understand? Not a soul." Joey interjected. "You go back to your office and keep doing your animating like nothing has happened." He pushed Henry out of the room.

"But what are you going to do?" Henry asked.

"I'll tell you what I'm not going to do," Joey said. "I'm not going to let anyone destroy this place. Not even the king of the underworld himself. I'm going to fix the mess you got us into when you pitched the idea of using The Devil's Kid as a cartoon character!" With that, he slammed the door shut.

Henry stood there for a moment before stomping back to his office and slamming the door behind him. He got back to work feeling frustrated.

Left alone, Joey pulled out some files and books from the cabinets and placed them on his desk. They were all about demonology and other religious things. Well, you can't make a show about demons and cherubs without doing some research. Soon, he found what he was looking for... among other things.

Hours passed, and Henry poured all of his anxiety into his work. After looking at the clock he realized that he had stayed in the office later than usual.

"I better get home to Linda," Henry said. As he was packing his work case, he couldn't help but think about what Joey said earlier. "How exactly is he gonna fix this anyway?" he wondered.

Late that night, the full moon was glowing high in a sky of stars over the Inkwell Forest. The forest was usually silent this time of night, but an intruder disrupted that.

Joey Drew, holding a lantern in one hand and holding a map in the other, was walking through the woods. He was wearing a coat over his usual clothing to make up for the cold night air. Soon he spotted three yellowish lights in the distance. He blew out his lantern and walked toward the lights.

Soon he found what looked like a subway station entrance in the middle of a forest clearing. It had three round lamp lights and a sign with red arrows pointing downward. The sign had only one word on it.

'UNDERWORLD'

Joey took a breath and walked down the entrance.

Meanwhile, in the Underworld Headquarters, The Devil was reading a book in Bendall's room while the Devil's child lay in his bed.

"Entire families were wiped out." The Devil read. "The cleanup of the bodies took about ten days, and since most of the bodies were burned beyond recognition, they were placed in a mass grave in the largest cemetery in the country. Ah, such fond memories."

A snore interrupted the big devil's reading, he looked up and saw that his little devil had fallen asleep. The father closed the book, tiptoed out of the room, and closed the door.

A flying devil imp flew to The Devil.

"Begging your pardon sir," Demon 378 said.

"What do you want?" The Devil said sternly.

"I just came from the stairs entranceway. A mortal has just entered the Underworld through the stairs and is heading down right now." She explained.

The Devil's eyes lit up and he smiled widely.

"A depraved soul heading down the Underworld. How marvelous." The Devil said. "Let's take a look at who it is."

The big devil summoned a floating magic mirror in front of him. The mirror's surface rippled and an image of Joey walking down the stairs appeared.

"Joey Drew." The Devil said with a smirk. "Very interesting." He snapped his fingers. "That will be all," he shooed the demon imp away.

Demon 378 flew away and the Devil flew to his throne.

Back in Bendall's room, the little devil suddenly woke up and smacked his lips.

"Dad, I'm thirsty," Bendall mumbled. "Daddy,"

The little devil turned his head and realized that his father was gone. Bendall got up from his bed, opened the door, and went to search for his dad.

Upstairs, Joey was still walking and panting.

"How much longer is this going to take?" the man wondered.

Joey peeked downward on the side of the stairs hoping to see the ground, but the glow of the Underworld fire looked to be no bigger than a candlelight from here. He groaned. But just as Joey was about to take another step, the stairway melted into a slide, and he fell back before sliding. He screamed as he slid down faster and faster. When he eventually reached the bottom of the slide, he flew until he landed in a thud face first.

Joey lifted his head and shook away the pain stars before he noticed he was in the throne room and The Devil was waiting for him at the other end, sitting on the throne.

"Oh, by all means, come on in," The Devil called out.

Joey slowly got up and patted himself before walking forward. He put on a brave face but deep down, he feared the worst if this didn't go his way.

"Let's have a peek at your file shall we," The Devil said before he pulled out a file. He put on some glasses before he read the file papers. "Let's see. Joseph "Joey" Drew, born in Paterson, New Jersey. Current age; 56. Shoemaker father and homemaker mother. Blah blah blah. Joined the army at an illegal age. Blah blah blah. Married to Miss Allison Pendle. Had one daughter named Audrey. Wife leaves to pursue a new life with a more financially stable provider."

Joey felt a pang in his chest being reminded of his leaving spouse, but The Devil continued.

"Raised daughter alone. Worked many odd jobs over the years. Blah blah blah. Made friends with rich and poor alike. And is now pursuing a career as director and CEO of an animation studio that he named after himself to secure his immortality in the entertainment industry history books." The Devil concluded with a slam of the file.

The man cleared his throat.

"Sure," Joey said with a shrug. "I mean, who wouldn't want to make a name for himself."

"Indeed." The Devil said before he snapped his fingers and made the file and glasses disappear. "So, I gave you three days and you come to me in less than one. Why's that?"

"Right," Joey said. He slipped off his jacket and placed it on the floor behind him. "I'll just skip to the point, sir. I wanted to talk to you about the fee. I can't pay for it. You see I'm already deep in financial debt as it is."

"Yes, I know, I saw that in the file as well." The Devil said.

"I did not come to beg or anything like that. I came here hoping we could make a new deal of some kind."

"Go on," The Devil said. He could guess where this was going.

"I know you have a fondness for taking people's souls... for a trade of course," Joey said. "I'd be willing to offer my soul in exchange as compensation."

The Devil tented his fingers as if thinking it over.

"Just so we understand each other," The Devil said. "You're willing to surrender your mortal soul in exchange for using the image of the little demon in your insignificant cartoons?"

"No, I'm willing to give you my soul to use your son's image in my cartoons," Joey said.

The Devil's brows furrowed.

Now it was Joey's turn to smile, and he did.

"Oh yes, I figured it out after I thought; why would the king of demons care if one little demon's image was used in an 'insignificant cartoon'. And then it dawned on me. Little Bendall is your child." The man said confidently. "Oh don't worry, I have no interest in sharing that little tip bit to the public. I'm desperate, not suicidal."

"Maybe I'll just have your studio destroyed anyway." The Devil. "I can easily have it done, and you couldn't do squat about it." He pointed his flaming pitchfork at Joey.

The man just stared unnervingly back at it. "You're right, you could... but let me ask you a question. Have you seen the cartoons?" he asked.

"What's your point, Drew?"

"Well, if you have, you'd see we're not calling him by his true name or telling people who his father is. So what's the danger if this cartoon continues?"

The Devil extinguished the flame on his pitchfork and pulled it back.

"All I'm asking for is a chance to continue my life's work and in return, you can take my soul when I die. Sound fair?"

The Devil slowly got up from his throne and walked forward. Joey did his best to stand his ground and not tremble as the demon king approached.

"Your ways of persuasion are uncanny." The Devil said. He extended out his hand. "Deal,"

Joey reached out without hesitation and shook hands with The Devil. After the shaking, Joey made a bold move and put a hand over the Devil's.

"While we're on the subject of my career, there is one more aspect of it I wish to discuss with you," Joey said.

The Devil narrowed his eyes at the man. Meanwhile, Bendall, who was hiding behind a pillar, looked on in fascination.

"Whoa. He's got guts." The little devil whispered.

The next day, Henry went to his office to drop off his briefcase before heading to Drew's office.

Miss Rodriguez was sitting at her desk typing on a typewriter.

"Good morning Mr. Stein." Miss Rodriguez greeted.

"Good morning, Miss Rodriguez. Is Joey in yet?" Henry asked.

"Yes, and he seems to be in a really good mood right now,"

"Really?" Henry asked. He wasn't expecting to hear that. He knocked on Joey's door.

"Come in," Joey called out.

Henry entered the room and Joey smiled at him warmly.

"Oh good, just who I wanted to see," Joey said. "Please come in and close the door."

The young man did as bid and sat opposite the desk. "Hi Joey, are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm great," Joey answered. "Henry, I want to apologize for my spat at you yesterday. You obviously didn't mean any harm when you pitched Bendy, and I won't hold it against you."

"Um, great, thank you. Speaking of yesterday, you seem a lot calmer now. Aren't you worried?"

"Oh, that. It's been taken care of."

"What do you mean it's been taken care of?" Henry asked.

"I mean The Devil and I worked something out and we can continue with the cartoon as it is for as long as we want," Joey said.

"But what about the fifty thousand?" Henry asked.

"Forgotten."

"How!?" Henry exclaimed.

"I have my ways."

"Joey, I've known for a long time now that you were ambitious and stubborn, but this... this is insane. How did you even manage to convince him?"

"Well, I just gave him something else. Something he wants more than money."

"What could he want that you could just—" Henry then gasped as he pieced it together in his head. "You didn't! You didn't actually give away your—!"

"Henry, calm down," Joey interjected. "It'll be a long ways away until I have to give it up. And I failed catholic school twice as a child. I guess you could say, I ain't too worried about it."

"But Joey... Bendy was my idea. You shouldn't—"

"Henry, you're young, you have a wife, and you're my friend. And I won't let my friend sacrifice himself like that when it was my dream to build this studio."

Henry was taken aback by Joey's words.

"I... don't know what to say," Henry said.

"No need to say anything. Let's just get back to work." Joey said.

Henry got up and walked to the door.

"Oh just one thing," Joey said.

Henry stopped.

"Let's keep this little secret between us. Hmm?" Joey said.

"S-sure," Henry said before walking out and closing the door.

Joey let out his breath and slumped in his chair.

"That went better than I thought." Joey said to himself before he sat back up and pulled out his personal notebook he titled "The Illusion of Living" along with some demonology books. He glanced at a drawing of the dancing demon and then he thought about the little devil. "I hope you'll come visit us sometime, little devil," he said.