In a lone room, lit by golden yellow light there was no one. It was mostly empty except for the pipes that flooded the floor with ink and glowing flowers scatter across the room.

Then suddenly the ink began to bubble, before a claw hand emerge from the depths, trembling and clenching as if trying to grasp onto something. Reaching forward, it claws against the wooden stairs, before gripping as hard as she could, Izuku pulls herself free from the clutches of the ink, gasping for breath and coughing out the ink that had lodge in her throat. Wheezing for breath, trembling in pain that emitted from her head and legs, Izuku scramble up the stairs until she reach the landing, rolling onto her back.

Chest heaving as she breaths deeply, Izuku squeezes her eyes shut, her head throbbing in agony. After a bit, catching her breath, Izuku slowly opens her eyes, a growl escaping from her as she spotted pictures of Wilson hanging on the walls. Each one saying "Wilson knows your Purpose," but she couldn't think of the rage and anger she felt as her eyes landed on her hands. Bringing them up, she stares in horror at them. They were both still covered in ink, and no matter how much she rubbed, she couldn't get the ink off, it was like the ink had become her skin. Her left hand was fully covered, with sharp claws ending at the tips. The right though, looked more like an she was wearing a black fingerless glove that ended at her elbow. "What's...what's wrong with my hands?"

Trembling, Izuku took a deep breath before she pushes herself up and she had to hold back the scream that wanted to escape from her throat. Her legs up to her knees were covered in the same ink, but her feet...well they weren't actually feet. Instead Izuku was staring at a pair of hooves, almost like that of a goats. Shivering, eyes widen in horror, Izuku took many deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heartbeat, "Oh Izuku...what's happening to you,"

Slowly pushing herself up, Izuku stumbles with each step, her legs trembling and feeling unbalance on her hooves. She squeaks, hands going to cling to the desk as she almost falls over. Her shoulders shake, squeezing her eyes to stop the tears from falling as she took another deep breath. When she opened them, Izuku blinks at the sight of the note that laid on top of the desk.

Every great story begins in mystery.

Although times may be dark in the start, the truth will illuminate your way.

Don't be afraid of you will become.

Fear only what others will try to force you to become, and banish them away

-Your best Pal

"My best pal?" Izuku mutters to herself, "I don't have a best pal. The only reason I got my own office was because to keep me away from Wilson and to make sure no one messes with my sketches… it would have messed with the deadlines," Izuku frowns a bit, before shaking her head. Looking around while keeping a steady hold on the desk, she spots her bag, laying on the part of the floor she had drag herself to. Grabbing it, she rummages through the desk. Opening the shelf above said desk, Izuku finds another memo.

To Grant Cohen, Accounting

Please inform Mr. Drew that despite his insistence that rumors of Joey Drew Studios going bankrupt are untrue, I want to remind him that if his studio does indeed fail, all equipment and experiments produced through our partnership, by contract, belong to Gent Corporation. We will reclaim these assets forcibly if necessary.

-Alan Grant, CEO of Gent

"Gent Corporation?" Izuku frowns, holding the old memo to the light, "isn't that the company… Dad works for?" She mumbles sadly. Her father had left her and her mother when she was four, after being declared Magicless. Though he did say he wasn't, that he had just got promoted to work in the branch on Mogo but she hadn't heard from him in years, though one of his friends, Giran, was the one who recommended working at Archgate. "But Gent… they're a building corporation… not one that would partner up with a studio…"

Shaking her head, she opens the drawers of the desk, finding nothing but two pipes. Looking around, Izuku spotted a step ladder and looked down to the pipes in her hands. Wobbling over to the ladder, she pushes the two pipes into the holes, and smiles as they easily fit. Climbing up, and ignoring the crying she heard, Izuku lifts herself up. Looking about a bit, she notices another desk, which had a note laying on top.

Geeze! You think I was drowning kittens the way these people are lookin' at me! I've never seen such disappointment in a person's eyes.

But this is the way of things, if management can't pay the bills, the bank takes the goodies back. Still, it does break me a bit, knowing how much I loved them good old cartoons, and Joey Drew Studios definitely knew how to make them. Oh well, times change. Life moves on.

-Telly Wester

"This must have been when the studio was getting shut down," Izuku whispers a bit, stuffing the note alongside the other two in her bag. Crouching down underneath a broken grate that was half shut, she walked further in, only stopping in her tracks when a speaker screeches to life.

"Attention Children of the Machine!" Eyes widening, Izuku almost stumbles and falls on her face at the sound of Wilson's voice. But she held herself up by leaning against an old locker, "This is Wilson. Your friend, your protector. For two hundred and eleven days," Izuku pales at this, her eyes wide, and she felt her knees shaking. Seven months...by the Gods she hopes that it hasn't been seven months. "You've lived without the Ink Demon haunting your steps. I banished him away, tore his body in two. In return, I ask just a little favor. Among you, there is a stranger, a young lady," Izuku swallows, realizing it was her that Wilson was talking about, "Bring her to me,"

Taking a shaky breath, Izuku stood up straighter, "Goal...make sure not to be brought to Wilson," looking around to make sure no one was near, or sneaking up on her. Izuku notices another note laying on an old barrel and picked it up, her eyes moving along the parchment, reading it.

Joey,

Jack and I were wondering if you could meet with us considering the current situation? We have been with you for many years and we feel that we have contributed to the success of Bendy in the past.

Our interest is purely in keeping this company strong. We just want to help however we can. Let's talk.

-Sammy Lawrence

"Sammy Lawrence...wasn't that the composer for the music of the Bendy show?" frowning at this, Izuku headed deeper in, going up a slope that had ink sliding down, "So much Ink...where is it all coming from," she complains before squeaking as she slips, almost falling onto her face. Once she reach the top, Izuku found another note, laying on top of a wooden crate.

The Ink drips

Darkness has spread through this studio

the reaching shadows creep around you

Something hungers for your corrupted flesh

It is close, so very close

It strains to grab you, choke you from behind

You will feel its breath upon your neck

It is close

"What kind of warning is that?" Izuku mutters to herself, walking a bit before she stops as she heard some clunking sounds, "What's happening now?" she watches with a frown as a grate slowly rises up, revealing another hallway. Sighing Izuku slowly creep forward, keeping her eyes open before screaming a bit when none other than Charley falls from a vent in the ceiling. She couldn't help but shiver, backing away from it. Charley's eyes were mutilated, with the right one being gorged out and filled with ink that oozes out while the left seem to have been sewn shut, shaped like a X. His mouth was wide open, as if he was screaming in agony, exposing his rotten teeth. Izuku swallows down the bile that she wanted to hurl, seeing intestines hanging out from his body. Fighting the urge to throw up, Izuku takes a few steps back before she all but runs past him.

Stumbling to a deadend, Izuku couldn't hold it in anymore and she hurls, bile rising from her throat. She spews it all over the floor, shoulders shaking as her eyes burn with tears. Feeling her knees grow weak, and worried about falling to the floor, she headed over the desk, gripping it tightly as she wheezes for breath. Blinking her eyes, Izuku stares at the recorder. With a shakey hand, she presses play, to turn her attention away from the...body she just saw.

"I just received the call. Joey Drew… is dead. What a quiet end to an extraordinary life. Last I heard, he was staying at some old crap apartment in the Musutafu Kingdom. You could practically hear the rats from the telephone when he called me last April. Despite of that, old Joey sounded quite happy from the last time we spoke. More like the excited, hopeful young man that I knew once upon a time...though I did hear frustration in his voice...something not going his way? Well, farewell my friend, what will become of your creations now?"

The voice of her boss, Nathan Arch, the man Giran had introduced her to rang in her ears. Making Izuku blink a bit before she sighs, "I am really wishing I took Carmilla's offer at working at her shop. Being a delivery girl for her potions would have kept me away from all of this," Izuku mutters, shoulders slump before she opens the cabinet that hung above the desk. Finding a few batteries, but having no use of them for now, she slips them inside her bag before turning around.

Finding a few bricks sticking out of the wall, Izuku grips them tightly, ignoring her clawed hand, and climbs up. Turning this way and that, Izuku frowns when she sees a dead end, and the only way that looked to be the way out, was shut tightly by a grate. After a bit of looking around, Izuku found a lever which when she pulled, the grate slowly began to rise up.

Rubbing her arms, Izuku bites at her lips, "Where does this all end?" she whispers, listening to the sound of the ink dripping down the walls, her hooves clacking against the wooden floors, walking deeper and deeper in the seemingly endless studio, "Does this place even have an exit?" she felt a shiver going down her spine at the thought, jumping when a loud clatter was heard, but when she looked around, she saw nothing. Frowning at this, she quickens her pace, tripping a bit as she turns a corner.

Izuku's mouth drops open, staring in awe at the sight before her, only slighly catching the sight of a bird flying overhead. But she was too focus at the sight of what could only be the old toyshop, "Heavenly Toys" a sign proclaim the room that she had walked in. Banners of Boris, The Butcher Gang, Alice and Bendy hung proudly on the walls, even though some were rip and stained with ink. A plushie of Boris, almost as tall as Izuku and something she wanted to hug, blocked some stairs while a Bendy plushie sat in front of a fountain, where a waterfall of ink dropped into. Looking around in amazement, Izuku shook her head.

"Have to focus...have to focus," she reminded herself as she climbed up the stairs that wasn't block by the Boris plushie. She found a broken punch card machine and a lever, but when she pulled it, only sparks flew out of it. Hissing in pain, Izuku turns her head towards the brick wall. Going over to it, she saw a few bricks sticking out and began to climb up. But when she pulls herself up, Izuku tilts her head, eyes widen at the sight of a alive...breathing...living...Charley.

He screeches at her, swinging his arm down at her and smacking it in her face. Izuku scream turns into a grunt of pain as she landed on her back. Eyes flickering open, Izuku gasps scrambling backwards as the Charley leaps off the landing, hitting the place where she had laid a few seconds ago. Swallowing back the fear, Izuku pushes herself up, scrambling to get onto her hooves before running as fast as she could. To her horror, Charley was following after her, grunting with wheezing breath.

Izuku felt her heart beat against her chest, looking for a place to hide before spotting what looked like a wooden outhouse. A little Miracle Station. Panic building up in her throat, she pulls the door open, and slamming it shut behind her once she slip inside. Shaking, with quick breaths, Izuku looks out of the little hole in the door, and screams in fear as Charley pops up, roaring at her and trying to squeeze his head through the hole.

"Oh gods...oh gods...oh gods," Izuku mumbles, backing up a bit until her back hits the wall of the station, "Help...help please...I don't want to die...not again," she whispers, tears streaming down her face as Charley bangs on the door with a wrench in his hand.

"Wingardium leviosa," a voice calls out, and Charley shrieks as he was lifted into the air. Izuku watches with wide eyes as he flails about, before he was slammed into the floor. Before he could even lift his head up, he was once more lifted up and this time slammed into the wall. Izuku let out a tiny gasp as Charley slowly...melted, turning into a glob of ink that dripped down the wall.

"Its ok now," the voice calls out, kind and gentle, "you can come out now...there no more Pipers around," frowning Izuku slowly opens the door, blinking at the sight of the woman who stood before her. At first, Izuku thought Alice Angel was standing before her, but soon she realize there were some differences between the two. Her black hair was tied up in a ponytail, her halo being use as a headband that sat behind her horns which was broken. She was wearing a black dress with straps though it had a brown stain over it, giving it the impression of a top and tights, but she had on boots with a belt buckle each. Her arms were covered in ink, resembling black opera gloves while she had a belt wrapped around her waist, a messenger bag attached to it. In her right hand, she held out a wand, blinking in shock at the sight of Izuku.

"Woah...I never…. The Ink Machine never," she shakes her head, placing her wand into her sack and held out her hands, "Easy now...I'm not going to hurt you," she walked a bit closer to Izuku, gently grabbing her clawed hand gently, "You look like you needed help,"

Izuku pulls her hand away, holding it close and fighting the urge to growl at her. Shoulders shaking, she swallows, "Where am I...who are you...what...what is this place? Its...its so,"

"Horrible?" the woman smiles gently, "Yeah, I remember my first day down here. I know its scary but you're actually pretty lucky...you still have your memories, and the Machine didn't turn you into a Searcher,"

"A… Searcher? Was...was that Charley thing," Izuku gulps but the Alice lookalike shakes her head, "And what do you mean by...keep my memories,"

"No that's a Piper and he's part of a Gang, so where there is one the other two are close behind. And by memories…" she sighs, wrapping her arms around herself, "Well all I can say is welcome to the Cycle,"

"The Cycle?"

The woman nods her head, "The Cycle...it is its own dimension...a little pocket dimension, inside the real world's Ink Machine...originally it was created to imprison the Ink Demon,"

Izuku's eyes widen, remembering the voice she heard as she fell deeper in the Ink, "The Ink Demon...what's an Ink Demon?" she then grimaces, holding her arm in pain, looking down to see blood dripping down from it, where the...Piper had smack her.

"Lets get you patch up first, then I can explain," the woman gently led her over to the fountain, and had her sat down before she opens a crate. Izuku notice the grimace on her face as she pulls out a can of soup, bacon soup if Izuku saw correctly, "I wouldn't drink too much of this stuff...but the crisps and candy bars are harder to find..and its better than eating the pods," she hands it over to Izuku who sniffs at it a bit, before she slurps the little bit that was in it down. Sticking out her tongue in disgust the woman laughs, "Yeah...it helps patch you up...but the aftertaste..but Bacon Soup is the easiest food to find here...and the best option," she smiles as Izuku watches in awe as the wound on her arm slowly closed up, heal, "Now...the best place to begin...the cycle is an ink stain nightmare, forever stuck on repeat, existing parallel from the outside world but completely remove from the march of time, like a record playing over and over again."

"So...it could still be the day that Wilson drag me here...or much longer than seven months…" Izuku thought, trying to hold back the fear that churn her stomach.

"Once upon time...there was a bitter, old man. Who had lost just about everything...Joey Drew...he blame everyone but himself for his mistakes but mostly he blamed his old business partner...his old friend...and the true creator of Bendy...for abandoning their work...their dreams years and years ago. A man by the name of Henry Stein...when Henry left...it started everything. Joey had never been happy with how the animators that he hired after Henry left drew Bendy...ranted how Bendy lost his spark of life...so with a help of Magic and Gent Corporation he decided that if the drawings can't bring Bendy to life...he would,"

Izuku stares, having a bad feeling about this, "It went wrong...so incredibly wrong...their first and only time they tried to bring Bendy to life...it created the Ink Demon," Alice brought her fingers to her mouth, forcing a smile on her face, "He likes to smile...and attack anything in sight..they had him lock up in the lower levels of the real studio, but after a child mistakenly let him out, and then killed the poor boy...well…Joey created this place...as a prison for him" Alice leans backwards, sighing and Izuku could see pain in her yellow eyes, "because of that incident, they realize that the reason the Ink Machine created the Ink Demon that way was because he had no soul…but if you give the ink a soul..say a child who was dying...the Ink Machine could turn them into an almost perfect copy of a toon...almost,"

Izuku stares in horror, "He...he used sacrificed magic?" she whispers, mouth dry… and then her hand went to her neck, the other to her stomach, remembering how Wilson had sliced open her neck...remembering how the knife had stabbed into her stomach.

"Correct...both him and Gent...they did things...terrible things until the studio shut down. We never even knew...we all thought that they decided to quit and go to better places...no one batted an eye when Sammy left...he started going crazy before the incident… he fired Susie.." Alice's eyes looks down at her knees.. "So many lives were given to the Ink Machine...and we never knew...when the studio shut down...and Gent was pulling back from the deal they made with Joey...he decided to...torment all of us...forevermore," Alice closes her eyes, "One by one he brought us back...Norman...Jack...me…"

Izuku blinks at her, and brought up a hand to place on Alice's shoulder, but stops herself. Biting her lip, she brings it down, waiting for Alice to compose herself, "he brought us to his apartment, one by one...killing us, pushing our cooling corpses into the ink...and trapping us here...he did it to all of us until he finally was able to bring Henry here...and then he created the Cycle...with Henry trying to figure a way out...but never truly escaping...him as the Hero...and the Ink Demon as the villain...over and over again...until recently...with Wilson's arrival,"

At this, Alice stood up, "Look...its not good to stay in one place for too long around here. My advice is to keep moving and stay close to the shadows," Izuku's eyes widen at this, and she scrambles up, "Head to the upper levels. Its...safer there"

"Wait," Izuku stutters a bit, "Can't I come with you?"

Alice frowns, and looks sadden, "I would..believe me I would...but I...my husband...Tom...he doesn't care for strangers...he was one of the first besides Sammy and Buddy to be brought here...and he defiently wouldn't trust you...not with who the Ink Machine decied to make you as,"

"Make me as," Izuku asked preplex, "What...what did the Ink Machine turn me into?" she asked in dread, looking at her hands.

"It...it turned you into a Bendy...or at least something like him," Izuku's head snaps up, staring at Alice with wide eyes, as the angel points at her head, "Your horns are a different shape than his...more ram-like...but you got his hooves…"

"I have horns?!" Izuku screeches, her hands going to her head to feel that Alice was right. While she couldn't see them...she could definitely feel them...they curled from the top, twisting to the side of her head, just barley touching her ears, "Oh Gods…" she whispers, gripping the horns tightly and barley fighting down the urge to pull, to try and rip them off.

"Don't worry...you'll get use to it," Izuku looks at Alice like she was crazy, and the angel grimaces, "I do hope we meet again...just remember my advice and above everything, if he is still alive and Wilson is lying to us all..won't be the first time someone lied to us...stay away from the Ink Demon,"

Izuku nodded her head, biting at her lips as Alice began to leave, "Wait!" she held out her hand, watching as the angel turned her head, "What's...what's your name?"

She stares at Izuku, before she smiles, "I was called Alice for many years...I was never fond of it...but with the return of my memories… I'm Allison,"

Izuku smiles, nodding her head, "It's nice to meet you Allison...I'm Izuku,"

"Well Izuku," Allison spreads her arms, "Welcome to the Studio and its Horror Show," a loud bang, almost like thunder rumble out, making Izuku's head snap towards the roof. Seeing nothing there, Izuku turns back to where Allison had been standing, to see that she was no longer there. Shoulders slumping, Izuku sighs, holding back the whimper that wanted to escape from her.

"I guess there is...nothing more I can do here…" she whispers, looking up the flight of stairs, "I need to follow Allison's advice...press on and keep moving forward,"

The sound of her voice echoing in the room, did not give Izuku a vote of confidence in herself.

At first I wanted to finish this chapter with Izuku meeting Bendy, but I decided to finish it here. It would filled up the chapter too much and I want to take my time with these chapters, build up the story.

Anyway Allison was here! And she remembers who she is! In my au, Allison is Allison Pendle, not an ink copy because I'm sorry I hate the redemption of Joey Drew and I hate that the books are not canon...because I like Buddy Boris thank you very much! In this, with Joey's death, the grip the Cycle has on all of them has weaken, giving them back their memoires and yes Allison did use Magic (I'm still thinking of her Signature/Family Magic I'm thinking it will have to do with singing) but it does show the beginning of the magic in this world...and Allison using wingarduim leviosa to smash a Piper into the floor and wall was hilarious.

And yes, she left Izuku on her own...but Tom...would probably hit Izuku with an axe if he saw her with just his wife...

Anyway! I hope you all enjoy this! Please leave a review! I love comments!