"Audrey!" Joey exclaimed before he, Henry, and Miss Rodriguez ran into Joey's office.
They found Audrey taking slow breaths to calm herself.
"What happened?" Joey asked.
"That," Audrey said before pointing at the closet. Hanging from the ceiling was a scary fake spider. "I guess our mystery prankster left that for you Dad."
Joey saw the fake spider and took it down. He hummed in thought.
"What are you thinking?" Henry asked.
"Just wondering who could've left this here," Joey said. But deep down, he already had an idea. "Well, are you alright?" he asked his daughter.
"I'm fine," Audrey said.
"Good," Joey said.
"I'll get back to my desk," Miss Rodriguez said before she left.
After Imelda left, Joey sat behind his desk.
"So, how can I help you two?" Joey asked.
"I just wanted an update on the next episode," Henry said.
"I needed ink. I'm all out." Audrey said.
"Again?" Joey said. "I gave you two extra bottles yesterday."
"I don't understand it, but one of the extra bottles is missing. I bet Wilson took it and put it away somewhere else." Audrey said.
"I suppose he would. I'll have a talk with him about that." Joey pulled a desk drawer, grabbed an inkwell, and gave it to Audrey.
"Thanks, I'll see you later," Audrey said before she left the office.
"So, about the update," Henry said.
"Ah, yes, I'm meeting the writers in an hour. I'll let you know as soon as I head down there," Joey said.
"Alright," Henry said before he left the office.
As soon as his business partner was gone, Joey got started writing some papers... but a few seconds later, he heard a shuffling in the closet and a soft "ow". With a sly smile, Joey walked to the closet, he swung the door open, and there, on the floor, was Bendall holding his elbow.
"Hello again, Bendall. Are you alright?" Joey asked.
"I'm fine," Bendall said as he rubbed his elbow. "I was just-... um."
"Were you looking for this?" Joey asked before he held out the fake spider.
The little devil blushed and looked away.
"Oh don't worry, little guy, you're not in trouble. It was just a harmless prank." Joey said. He placed the toy on the floor and walked back to his desk.
Bendall was still trying to get used to a mortal man being this nice to him, but he figured Joey was only doing it for his dad's money. He picked up the spider, stuffed it in his pocket, and then sat opposite Joey at the desk.
"Who was that shrieking lady?" Bendall asked.
"That was my daughter, Audrey," Joey said. "She works at my studio as an animator. Like Henry. She was there when you posed as Bendy yesterday."
"Oh yeah. Her scream was funny." Bendall said with a soft chuckle.
"You like pranking people and making them scream?"
"Yepp, it's fun,"
"I see. So, apart from that, what brings you here today?"
"Well, I wanted to see some more of the studio. You said I could walk around, right?"
"Certainly. I can show you around. But first, you got to put on the disguise, remember?"
"Right oh,"
A few minutes later, Joey walked out of his office with Bendall, who was wearing gloves, a bowtie, and a belt again and with the black kitten nose on his face.
"Rodriguez, I'm heading to meet with the writers after I show my little friend around," Joey said before he left with Bendall following him. "The studio has three floors. There's the 2nd floor where we have the administration, writing, and accounting departments. Henry and I work up here along with the head writers and accountants. The 1st floor is for the artists, animators, editors, and music composers. It's also where we keep the break room. And then there's the cellar. It's mostly where the maintenance workspace is."
"What's maintenance?" Bendall asked.
"It means they keep things in order and clean messes," Joey said. "It all goes to an old friend of mine. Wilson Arch."
The two walked around and sometimes they got looks from the employees but only because they were not used to seeing the boss with a kid next to him but the two didn't pay them much mind. Bendall had been sneaking around the place before, but this was his first official tour, and it was different walking around the place instead of crawling through the air ducts. They took the elevator down and stopped by the music room.
"We have to be really quiet while inside, okay?" Joey said before putting his finger to his lips.
"Okay," Bendall said.
The music department had a band area, a director's stand, Samuel's office, and a balcony for the projector operated by Norman Polk.
Samuel stepped out of his office and then walked up to Joey.
"Can I help you with something, sir?" Samuel asked.
"N'ah. I'm just showing my little friend around," Joey said.
Bendall and Samuel stared at each other for a moment.
"And does this 'little friend' have a name?" Samuel asked.
Joey was about to answer when Bendall spoke up.
"I'm Bendall Scratch."
Joey was a little impressed at how casual the little devil could lie like that. Then again, the little devil could be used to lying to others.
"That's right. Bendall, this is Sammy Lawrence. He's the music and song director." Joey said.
"Samuel," the younger man said.
"Sammy's a good name too," Bendall said.
Joey chuckled. "Lil' Scratch here filled in as our Bendy actor yesterday and he'll continue to play the part as our little devil. So be nice."
"Very well," Samuel said.
"Now let's hear some music Mr. Lawernce while we're all on the clock," Joey said.
Samuel nodded and glanced at the kitten one last time before he stepped onto the director's stand. Joey and Bendall stood back by the door.
"Alright everyone, let's give it our all," Samuel said.
The music director signaled Norman, who was on the balcony, to start the projector. The cartoon played silently on a screen above the band who played their instruments in Samuel's direction.
Bendall couldn't help but smile and move his hips to the music.
Joey noticed this and smiled. 'So, he's a music lover too. This will be useful.' He thought. Then he tapped Bendall's shoulder and silently told him they needed to head out of the room.
Just as they turned a corner in the hall out of the music room, they accidentally crossed paths with Wilson. A middle-aged human man who seemed to be blind in his right eye, with a scar that extends from his blind eye to his mouth. He had brown hair in a combover style, a green left eye, and a narrow face. He was wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit, an identification tag on the chest area, brown shoes, and a white undershirt underneath. He was also wearing a utility belt with a set of keys on one side and a pouch on the other side.
"Oh, hello, Wilson," Joey said.
"Joey..." Wilson spoke in a raspy voice. He was carrying a bucket with water in one hand and a sponge in the other hand.
"Clean up again?" Joey asked.
"Yes, someone found another one of those ink writings on the men's bathroom wall on this floor," Wilson said. "I swear if I find whoever's been doing this, I'll- I'll... whose this?" he looked at Bendall.
The little devil felt a little nervous about the man and hid behind Joey.
"Just a fill-in for the actor who quit the other day," Joey said. "Well, we best get going so good luck with the graffiti."
Joey took Bendall's hand and took him away from the janitor who eyed them suspiciously.
"Oh, I'd like a word with you later actually. Meet me in my office before closing," Joey said to Wilson.
Bendall and Joey made it to the elevator.
"So that was the maintenance guy I told you about," Joey asked. "I take it you're not a fan, huh?"
Bendall looked away and shook his head.
"Yeah. He's a bit weird and that eye, yeesh," Joey said with a cringe. "Lost that when we were in the army together. But still, he's a friend and I'm friends with his dad too."
"Is he any good at his job?" Bendall asked.
"Most of the time," Joey said.
Soon they were back on the 2nd floor. Henry walked towards them.
"Joey it's time for... You?" Henry said after he spotted Bendall.
"I was just showing our friend around," Joey said. "You're here for the writer's meeting, right?"
"Yeah," Henry said.
"Alright, let me just get Bendy back to my office real quick and I'll meet you there," Joey said before he whispered to Henry. "I strongly suggest you get used to seeing our devil darling at the studio more often. He is our star after all,"
Before Henry could reply, Joey took Bendall by the hand, and they walked away to Joey's office.
"I have to go to a meeting with the writers," Joey said. "It'll probably be pretty boring so, in the meantime, I want you in here." He led Bendall to his office. "If you need to leave, use the air ducts to move around the studio otherwise stay out of sight. Okay?"
"Okay," Bendall said.
"Good boy," Joey said before he closed the door, leaving Bendall alone in the office.
"Um, Mr. Drew," Imelda said.
"What is it, Rodriguez? I got a meeting to go to," Joey said.
"It's just about that kitten boy. Who is he? And why are you leaving him in your office?" Imelda asked.
"Oh, that's Bendall Scratch, he's a friend of mine. He's also working part-time as our animation model for Bendy." Joey explained. "He's just gonna wait around in my office for a while. Don't disturb him or let anyone in my office while I'm gone. And I do mean anyone, is that clear?"
The woman nodded.
And with that, Joey walked away.
Bendall quickly took off the belt and wiped away the fake nose but kept the gloves and bowtie on. He walked to the closet and climbed up to the vent. Bendall traveled through the air ducts around the second floor until he found Audrey's office. The woman wasn't inside so Bendall opened the air vent on the wall and slipped in.
It looked a lot like Henry's room. There was a chair, a sketch table, and drawings on paper pinned to the walls... but there was also a large window where you could see some of the city.
Bendall smiled when he looked out the window. It was mostly industrial, but the little devil didn't care, any view was better than none. Usually, whenever he looked out a window there were screaming skeletons, dragons swimming in seas of fire, and old sinners suffering eternal torment... so this was a nice change.
Bendall's hearing caught the sound of soft footsteps coming from behind the door and the doorknob turning. The little devil quickly fled into the air duct and closed the vent, but he stayed behind to watch.
Audrey stepped in and closed the door behind her. She went to her sketch table and started drawing after taking a sip of coffee from her mug.
Bendall stayed and watched the woman draw with fascination.
"There you go, little guy. And only eight hundred more frames to go." Audrey said. "Oh well, it's a start at least. That kid acting as you yesterday was interesting. The way he moved so fluently, like he had no bones, was impressive. And his hair looked like yours too. I swear if it wasn't for that nose, I'd swear I was looking at the dancing demon himself." The woman chuckled. "But that's just silly. I mean, what are the chances that such a demon exists?"
Bendall chuckled but then shut up.
It was too late though, and Audrey lifted her head.
"Whose there?" Audrey asked. She stood up and looked around, but she didn't see anyone. She had heard that there might be a giggling ghost in the studio, but she brushed it off as just a rumor. But what if...
"Um, what time is it when the clock strikes 13?" Audrey asked aloud. "Time to get a new clock."
Bendall stifled a laugh.
Audrey heard the sound but couldn't pinpoint it.
"How do you talk to a giant?" Audrey asked. "Use big words."
Bendall stifled another laugh. His tail wagged and tapped against the duct. He grabbed his tail and held it... but Audrey heard it already.
"Why do devils make terrible chefs?" Audrey asked. "Because they always overcook everything,"
Bendall did his best to fight it, but he couldn't hold it this time and laughed openly.
"I got you now," Audrey said. She took a footstool and set it under the air vent. She managed to get a peek at the little intruder but could only see the eyes. She gasped.
Bendy gasped before he backed away.
Audrey quickly tried to pry off the air vent, but it was stuck pretty tight. After a few tugs, she managed to pull it off, but it was too late. The intruder was gone.
"Damn it!" Audrey cursed. "What was that thing? I better tell Dad,"
The woman left her office and went to Joey's but before she could get in, Imelda stood in the way.
"I am sorry Miss Audrey, but I can't let you go inside this time," Imelda said.
"Why not?" Audrey asked.
"Mr. Drew said no one is to disturb this room while he's in the meeting. Sorry."
"But why?"
"I can't say, I'm sorry. Mr. Drew was very clear about that."
"But..."
"Audrey," came Joey's voice. He was now standing behind Audrey. "Good job for following my instructions, Miss Rodriguiz." He walked into his office, and Audrey followed him.
"Dad, we need to talk," Audrey said.
"Just a second, Hon," Joey said before looking around his room. He looked under his desk, behind the chairs, and then in the closet.
"Lose something, Dad?" Audrey asked.
"Umm... nope," Joey answered. 'He left again,' he thought. Then he sat behind his desk. "So, how can I help you again, Audrey?" Joey asked.
"I saw someone hiding in the air duct in my office," Audrey said. "I didn't get a good look at them, but I know I saw someone."
Joey gulped softly. "Did you? Huh?" he said. "Well, how can you know you saw something when they were 'hiding'?" he asked.
"Because whoever was in there also laughed when I told a few jokes," Audrey said. "I investigated the vent and saw a pair of yellow eyes with red pupils. Like the eyes of... The Devil."
"The Devil?" Joey asked. He chuckled. "Why would The Devil waste his time in our air ducts? He's probably got better things to do."
"I know it doesn't make sense, but I swear I saw demon eyes come from behind the vent."
"Audrey, maybe you're just—"
"Dad don't try to blindside me. I know what I saw, and I know you know something."
Joey chuckled. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."
CLICK
Audrey and Joey looked at the closet that soon closed on its own. The woman quickly walked to the door.
"Wait!" Joey shouted.
Audrey ignored her father and opened the door. At first, she didn't see anything, then she turned on the light. Suddenly, something black rushed past her and ran behind Joey's desk.
Joey scooted his chair closer to his desk and smiled at his daughter.
"What was that?" Audrey asked suspiciously.
"I don't know," Joey lied.
"What are you hiding?"
"Nothing,"
"Move aside,"
"I can't,"
"Why not?"
"'Cause I don't want to."
"Dad!" Audrey snapped.
"Look, Audrey, it's nothing you need to worry about," Joey said. "You don't need to waste time with him— This! It! I mean, there's no him!"
Audrey pushed her father away and leaned down to look under the desk. It was dark under Joey's desk, but she could make out the familiar silhouette and faint yellow eyes.
"You," Audrey said. "The kitten from yesterday,"
"Y-yeah," Bendall asked.
"Well, there's no need to hide under there. Come on," Audrey said. She reached for the little hands.
"I wouldn't do that," Joey said.
"Dad, please," Audrey said before she pulled Bendall out from under the desk. That's when she noticed that the black nose was gone, the yellow eyes with red pupils, and the demon tail behind Bendall. She froze.
The little devil smiled nervously. "Heh, surprise," he said.
Audrey pulled her hands away, backed up, and gasped.
"Y-you... Y-you're a real—!" Audrey nearly screamed before Joey placed a hand over her mouth and held her around her waist with one arm.
"Shh. Shh. Honey, if you promise not to scream and stay calm, I'll let you go and explain everything," Joey said. "Blink twice if you promise,"
Audrey glanced at Bendall and Joey before she blinked twice.
Later...
Joey and Bendall were at one side of the desk and Audrey was sitting at the other side. The man told his daughter the story from start to finish.
"And so, in the end, we were given the okay to continue the show." Joey concluded. "and I got my debts cleared in the process as well, so, it's kind of a win-win."
"A win-win? What about the biggest debt in your story." Audrey said. "You now owe The Devil your soul."
"Honey—"
"You shouldn't have done that. You could've talked to me,"
"What good would that do? Unless you had the money lying around somewhere this was our best bet."
The woman huffed and stood up to leave.
"Audrey wait," Joey said, "I can trust you to keep this secret, right? The last thing this studio needs is for people to go around and talk about real demons or devils in the building. Imagine if the press found out."
"That's what you care about? The press?" Audrey asked with disapproval in her voice.
"I care about the studio, the employees, but mostly you. You really want to be known as the daughter of the man who made a deal with The Devil?"
Audrey shook her head. "I feel like you need to get your priorities checked." She said. "But fine, I'll keep your secret. I think it's wrong, but I'll keep it. And you," She pointed at Bendall. "Stay away from me and out of my office, or I'll call a priest. They know how to deal with evil things like you," she walked out and slammed the door.
"Audrey!" Joey exclaimed. He got up and went to the door. Before he left, he turned to look at Bendall. "Please don't mind her. She's just probably upset." He said and then left the office.
Bendall stood there for a moment before he glared and blew a raspberry. He hmphed before marching to the closet.
A While Later...
Bendall was riding the elevator down to the Underworld... still in a sour mood.
"Dumb lady..." Bendall said as he removed his gloves and bowtie and put them in his pockets. "Call a priest on me, huh? Oh, I'll show her. I'll get a dozen real spiders next time. I'll put them in her office overnight, and when she opens the door, there will be cobwebs and icky spiders everywhere. Ha!"
DING
Bendall stepped out of the elevator once the door opened. He walked down the carpet to The Devil who was sitting on his throne.
"Ah, Bendall. You're back early today." The Devil said. "Did you have fun?"
"Yeah... but," Bendall said.
"But what?"
"Dad, would it be okay if I don't go back for a while? Maybe take a little break?"
"Of course you can. It's your haunt, son, but feel free to take a break now and then. But did something happen?"
"No, I just don't want to go back for a while."
"Alright." The Devil said with a shrug. "You want to pick up on music lessons then?"
"Yeah!" Bendall said cheerfully, his tail wagging with delight.
The Devil chuckled.
Bendall hadn't yet told his father that he had been found out at the studio. But it's not like that was anything to worry about right now, right?
Audrey sat in her office, thinking, and animating the bendy character as usual but with a look of dislike on her face. It took everything in her not to scribble over the little devil's face. After learning the true origin of Bendy yesterday, Audrey soon didn't like her work as much as she did when she started.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Audrey, are you in there? It's Henry, may I come in?" came Henry's voice from behind the door.
"Come in," Audrey said.
Henry came inside and closed the door behind him. "Can you spare a minute? I want to talk to you about something." He said.
"Sure, what is it?" Audrey asked after she put down her pen.
Henry pulled up a chair and sat down, facing the young woman.
"I just talked to Joey, and he told me about what happened between you and the little devil yesterday."
Audrey scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, he said you were still mad. Now, I'm not here to tell you what to do or what to think, I only ask that you hear me out."
Audrey crossed her arms. "Okay, I'm listening." She said.
"I understand that you're upset about Joey selling his soul, so am I. But it was his choice, and he did it to protect us."
"Doesn't mean I can't worry about him," Audrey said. "He's my father, Henry! The only parent I have, and he's facing eternal damnation."
"I know. But there's not much we can do about it ourselves." Henry said. "And about Bendall, I realize having a real little devil in the studio is nerve-wracking, but I think threatening him and calling him evil was... unnecessary."
"Unnecessary!?" Audrey scoffed. "He was sneaking around in my office. He's probably sneaking around the air ducts right now, doing only god knows what. What if he hurts someone? What if he wants our souls?"
"I don't think he will or does. I know he's a devil but, honestly, I think the most devilish thing about him is how he looks. If he really wanted to do something, I'm sure he would've done it by now. If you spent time with him, maybe you'd see he's actually not so bad."
"And exactly how much time have you spent with him?"
"Longer than you. You know the story of how I came up with Bendy. If those were real memories and not just me dreaming, then it means that I was just a kid when I first met him. Not only that but I was sick and defenseless against the little devil who snuck into my room at night. He could've hurt me just for the heck of it, hell, he probably could've even killed me, but he didn't. Instead, he spoke to me, danced for me, and kept me company."
Audrey opened her mouth to speak but Henry kept going.
"And recently, when he showed up at the studio, he hadn't done anything too bad. Joey told me how he suspected that Bendall was our serial prankster all along. The little guy is just pulling a couple of pranks. Nothing serious. He's just a kid, Audrey. A little kid whose outlets include pranks and dancing."
Audrey turned and looked at her drawings of Bendy.
"You do what you want. Thank you for listening at least." Henry said before he got up from the chair and left the room.
A few days later, Bendall and The Devil were at the organ, playing haunting melodies but for some reason, Bendall couldn't sync in the melody with his father's playing. The little devil couldn't focus. The Devil finally stopped, and he noticed the troubled look on Bendall's face.
"Bendall, son, are you alright?" The Devil asked.
"Y-yeah, I'm okay Dad," Bendall lied.
"Bendall," The Devil said sternly.
"Okay. When you asked me if something happened at the studio and I said no, I was kinda lying..."
"What happened?"
"I got caught... and seen... and I think Joey gave me a job at the studio as an actor and showed me off around the studio employees as a cat-boy-thing and then his daughter threatened to get a priest if I don't stay away from her because Joey told her the truth."
The Devil sharply inhaled through his nose and tapped on a few keys.
"Is that right?" The Devil asked.
"Yes," Bendall said.
"And you didn't tell me this sooner, why?"
"I was worried you were going to stop me from going back."
"Well, there's no point in you haunting the place now. Now that you've been found out and threatened."
"But I can still spy on them for you. And only Joey, Henry, and Audrey know I'm a devil. Everyone else thinks I'm a cat,"
"How?" The Devil wondered.
Later...
The Devil sat on his son's bed before Bendall came out of his closet and showed the kitten disguise to his father. Gloves, bowtie, belt, and the painting nose.
"Ta-da," Bendall said as he posed.
The Devil slammed down his pitchfork and made a platform appear under Bendall's feet. It rose off the ground bringing Bendall to the big devil's eye level. The Devil circled the platform, taking in all the details of the disguise.
"Hmmm. It's not bad." The Devil said. "The nose is a bit crooked but I'm sure that's only because you rushed it. And the rest. Hell's bells, you certainly look more like that cartoon demon with these." He said as he looked at the gloves and tie. "But what's the belt for?"
"To hide my tail," Bendall said.
"Is that comfortable?"
"Not really, but Joey said it was better to hide it. Audrey nearly screamed when she saw the normal me,"
"And she threatened to get a priest?"
"Yeah. She was really mad at me and Mr. Joey after he told her everything."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
The Devil lowered the platform, and Bendall got back on the ground.
"Dad?" Bendall asked.
"I'm going to need to talk to Joey about all this." The Devil said. "And I got to make sure those other two don't talk. Audrey and Henry, right?"
"Can I go with?" Bendall asked.
"You want to go back?"
"Yeah! I mean, yes, I-..."
"What is it?"
"I don't want to stop going there actually."
"Really? After everything?"
"Well, it's not so bad over there. Joey's kinda nice and it's fun acting as Bendy."
"Hmmmm." The Devil hummed and stroked his chin. "Tell you what, we'll go back to the studio together and talk to Joey, and if things work out, maybe you can keep going to the studio,"
"Yay!" Bendall exclaimed and lept with excitement.
The Devil caught his son in his arms and held him before he slammed the pitchfork. They disappeared in a puff of dark smoke.
Ever since the little devil abruptly left the studio, Joey felt anxious. At first, he was hopeful Bendall would return but after three days he began to worry. By the fourth day, Joey thought he was going to lose it. Henry and Joey were walking to the older man's office.
"How are the new prints?" Henry asked. Joey didn't reply. The young man snapped his fingers. "Joey?"
"Huh? Oh! Yes, the prints are great." Joey said.
"What's wrong with you? You've been absent-minded lately."
"I just got a lot on my mind right now,"
Joey opened his office door... and once again they found the two devils waiting for them inside with The Devil slicing an apple with a knife while sitting on Joey's chair and Bendall sitting on his father's lap. The little devil was wearing most of his disguise except for the nose.
Joey nearly smiled when he saw the little devil but tightened his lip when he saw the big devil glaring at him.
Henry was startled but remained quiet.
"Hello Drew, we need to talk." The Devil said with a serious tone as he passed a piece of apple to Bendall.
The little devil nibbled on it.
"Sure thing," Joey said after gulping. "But um, you're in my seat."
"I know. Remind me which one of us is paying the bill around here and who owns your soul." The Devil said.
Joey didn't say a word and sat across the desk.
"Thought so. And you! Sit down," The Devil said, looking at Henry.
The young man sat next to Joey.
The Devil slammed down his pitchfork. The door slammed shut, and chains surrounded it and locked it.
"So, my son has told me some very interesting things about what's been going on around here lately. Cat disguises, acting, tours, your daughter threatening him,"
"Audrey was just—" Joey tried to say.
"Shut it!" The Devil interjected loudly.
The older man quieted down.
The Devil spotted a framed picture of a young woman on the desk. He reached for it and held it in front of Bendall.
"This her?" The Devil asked.
The little devil nodded affirmatively.
"Very pretty," The Devil said. "When I gave you consent to using Bendall's image for your show, you agreed to keep his identity secret and then you told your daughter the truth," He placed the picture flat on the desk. "If it were entirely up to me, I'd keep my son far away from this place. But for whatever reason... my son seems to like it here and wants to continue acting."
"He does?" Henry and Joey asked at the same time.
"Yes, but first, have you told anyone else?" The Devil asked.
"No sir," Joey said.
"Good, because this will be your only warning, Drew. If you, or you, or your daughter, tell another living soul about Bendall Devil or our deal, there will be hell to pay! Do we understand each other?"
"Yes." Henry and Joey said at the same time.
The big devil then handed the rest of the apple to Bendall.
"Bendall will continue to play the role of Bendall Scratch, child actor, at Joey Drew studios." The Devil said. "And it'll be up to you, Drew, to look after my son now and then when he comes in. If even a single hair on my child's head is harmed under your watch, I'll personally make sure that your child will suffer far worse," The Devil plunged his knife into Audrey's picture. "Understood?"
Joey gulped softly. "Yes sir," he said.
"You may go now, son," The Devil said.
The little devil hopped off his father's lap, walked into the closet, and shut the door.
The Devil stood up. "Be sure to pass the message to Miss Drew," he said before disappearing with a slam of his pitchfork and the chains on the door disappeared too.
The men sat there frozen for a second before Joey got up and tried to pry the knife off the desk.
"Holy spit," Henry said.
"I'll tell Audrey," Joey said before he got the knife out. "Ugh, I really like this picture."
"So, I guess that's it. We're stuck with the kid now."
"Oh, relax Henry. It's not the worst thing. We just got to make sure to be careful with him while he's here."
"We!?"
"We are business partners, Henry. And since Bendall is now a part of the business, you and I are going to watch him together."
"I don't know the first thing about looking after kids. I barely knew what to do last time and that only lasted a few minutes."
"We're partners Henry, but I still outrank you so I'm ordering it."
Henry groaned. "Well, why did he go in the closet?" he asked.
"My guess is he went into the air vent in there," Joey said before going to the closet. He opened it and Bendall was gone. "Yep, he's probably in the ducts now."
"So what do we do?"
"He'll come out when he wants to, or I can call him over and we'll see if he listens. Either way, we continue to work as usual. I'll go talk to Audrey now, you get back to your office and animate." Joey said before he pocketed the knife and walked out of the office.
Henry went back to his office and when he opened the door, he was surprised to find the little devil there looking at his drawings on the walls. He closed the door behind him.
"What are you doing here?" Henry asked.
Bendall looked at the young man. "I wanted to see," he said.
"You're not setting up another prank, are you?"
"N'ah," Bendall said while shaking his head.
Henry tapped his fingers on his hip before heading to his animator table and took out a pen.
"I'm going to start working now, can you try not to distract me please?" Henry asked.
"What do you do?" Bendall asked.
"I'm the head animator and I animate the Bendy cartoon," Henry said. "And I need to focus,"
"Okay, got it," Bendall said before he sat on the floor.
Henry started drawing before he suddenly heard humming. He stopped drawing.
"Please don't hum," Henry said.
"Okay," Bendall said.
Henry started up again but was again interrupted when Bendall made popping noises with his lips. 'Don't get too mad, Henry. Now's your chance to prove to yourself that the kid is not all that evil.'
"Don't you have a toy you can silently play with?" Henry asked.
"Nope," Bendall said.
"Hm... Oh!" Henry said before he pulled out a stack of note sheets, a spare pen, and an inkwell, and handed them to the little devil. "Here. Use these,"
"And do what?" Bendall asked.
"Write, draw, whatever you want," Henry said.
The little devil took the stuff and spread the paper on the floor before taking the pen.
Henry went back to animating after making sure Bendall was occupied. As he worked, Henry would occasionally look over his shoulder, to check and make sure Bendall was still there.
At one point, the little devil scribbled on the paper while his tongue stuck out to the side of his mouth.
Henry thought it was a cute sight and couldn't help but let out a chuckle before going back to work. A while later, Henry felt his pant leg being tugged. He looked over just as Bendall handed him a paper. The young man took the drawing and looked at it.
It was crude but he could make out the stick figure drawing of the little devil next to what was either a kid in a bed or some strange four-legged creature.
"That's you," Bendall said as he pointed to the other figure.
"It is?" Henry asked. "What am I doing?"
"It's you when you were sick,"
Henry looked at Bendall with astonishment. "Does... does this mean you remember me from back then?" he asked.
"A little bit. Like the day after you asked. You didn't talk to me at all, but I was okay with it. It was only after you slept that I left but one day you were gone so I thought you either got better or you were dead."
Henry handed the drawing back.
"Why did you come into my room anyway?" Henry asked.
"Eh, I was bored and yours was the only window that wasn't locked," Bendall said with a shrug.
"But why that hospital? Why sneak out of the Underworld?" Henry asked.
Bendall tapped his fingers on the paper nervously. "Can you keep a secret?" he asked in a whisper.
"Yes," Henry said.
Bendall beckoned Henry closer. The young man leaned in closer.
"Have you ever spent a day in the Underworld?" Bendall whispered in Henry's ear.
Henry shook his head.
"Well, just try to imagine spending years in there," Bendall whispered. "It's nothing like the surface world. There are no seasons, no day or night, and no plants. Just fire, rocks, demons, and screaming sinners. Sometimes I just want to get out of there and see different things," he stepped back. "Dad barely lets me out because he worries about me. It took a lot to convince him to let me hang here. I love my dad and I love my home, but I really want to see new things. You know what I mean?"
Horrific stuff aside, everything else the little devil said got to Henry. His parents certainly got overprotective after the scarlet fever, but they let up after a while. He smiled and patted Bendall's shoulder.
"Sure I do, little guy," Henry said.
"You'll keep this secret, right?" Bendall asked.
"I will. But I think if you really feel this way, you should tell your dad you want to go out more often. And not just at the studio."
"That'll be hard," Bendall said as he scratched the back of his head.
"He's your dad. I know he's scary but after what I saw back in Joey's office, it's clear he cares about how you feel," Henry said. "Which is not something I ever thought about when describing The Devil."
"The fact that he's a dad surprised ya, right?" Bendall asked with a smile.
"What surprised me was that my imaginary demon friend turned out that it's the devil's son."
Bendall snickered. "Yeah, even other demon kids get freaked out," he said before he walked over to his pile of paper and resumed his scribbling.
Henry smiled and then resumed his work.
Meanwhile, Audrey and Joey had a chat. He told her what had happened in the office, but he saved the part where The Devil threatened her life.
Audrey shook her head but stayed silent.
"It's not a big deal Audrey, we just got to keep it secret and check on the little guy once in a while," Joey said. "And you absolutely cannot threaten him like that again or it's my head on the line."
"I was just—"
"No excuses, Audrey," Joey interjected. "I'm sure Bendy will keep his distance for now but next time you two meet could you please try to get along, for your dear dad?" The old man batted his eyes.
Audrey turned her head away. "Yes Dad," she said eventually.
"Thank you, honey," Joey said before exiting. "See you later,"
Audrey balled up a piece of notepaper and threw it at the door before she got back to work.
Joey didn't like leaving the studio in the middle of the day, but he was confident that the workers wouldn't slow down if he was absent for just an hour or two. Besides, he had a lot of research to do. He went to the library and searched for any decent book he could find on demons, devils, and the underworld.
Sadly, not much was to be found. After half an hour of searching, Joey went to the librarian.
The librarian was a large female weasel wearing a green dress and glasses over her eyes.
"Excuse me, are these three books all you have about demonology?" Joey asked.
"Yes sir," Miss Weaseling said.
"Do you have any more in the back?" Joey asked.
"Sorry sir, but we haven't housed many books of that nature in years."
Joey sighed. "Okay, I'd like to rent these books please," he said.
After a while, Joey stepped out of the library. He stepped by an alleyway...
"Psst," came a voice. "Pssst. Mr. Drew,"
Joey stopped and spotted a man standing in an alley.
The man was slim, and tall, with a long red nose. He wears a long coat, a scarf that covers his mouth, and a tall blue hat.
"You are Joey Drew, right? Of Joey Drew Studios. I recognize you from the paper."
"Whatever it is you're selling, I don't want it," Joey said firmly.
"Oh but I think you will, Mr. Drew. Especially if it involves demonology."
"And what's it to you."
"Call me Jerry," the shady man said. "Anyway, I overheard you asking about demonology books, and you seemed disappointed with the results."
"You're point?" Joey asked.
"There's a shop in the woods that sells high-quality black-market goods. If you need something under the radar, that's the place to go."
"Hmmm, if I needed a book on demons and spells protecting me from demons, could I find it there?"
"Most likely," Jerry said. He held up a rolled-up piece of paper. "I can give you a map. For 10 bucks."
"10 bucks! That's highway robbery," Joey said.
"That's the deal. Take it or leave it."
Joey glared at Jerry.
'C'mon Joey. You've got to protect your little girl against that beast,' the man thought to himself before he handed the money.
Jerry handed him the scroll after he took the money. "Pleasure doing business with you sir," he said before he disappeared in the shadows.
Joey looked at the man skeptically before he walked away with his books and the map.
At the end of Henry's shift, Bendall had finished his drawings and set them under Henry's desk.
"I'll see you tomorrow then?" Henry said.
"Yeah, see ya' Henry," Bendall said before crawling into the air duct.
Henry smiled.
"Maybe having him around won't be so bad after all,"