Chapter Text
Voice of
HENRY STEIN
Dreams. That’s one of Joey’s favorite words. Dreams for the future, for glory, for wonder . . . I dare say that dreams was how we both met.
Joey had a vision, and I wanted to draw. Seemed only natural we’d partner up for it. And then, more people came on board, till we had our own little studio.
The kind of people here right now . . . they’re all so different. But they all have dreams. Joey loves to point that out at every staff meeting.
‘We’re all dreamers. And we’re all here for a reason.’
He definitely knows how to make a speech. His way with words was how we got the studio in the first place.
But I can’t help but feel like . . . somewhere along the way, Joey’s forgotten that there are other dreamers in this studio. And sometimes . . .
Sometimes, the things he says he dreams about . . . I don’t know . . .
Joey likes to say that anything is possible, but . . .
*Sigh* . . . I should get back to work.
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It felt like a mere handfuls of minutes, but also a breathless eternity for Henry as he sat on the floor with a changed demon crying into his shirt, dazed in a way that left him feeling detached from the situation before him. At the same time, he knows it’s all too real, that this wasn’t just a dream and that this reborn creature he was comforting was proof that even the wildest, most unimaginable things were possible.
But what do we do now? He can’t help but think, where do we go from here? What do I even tell the others?
Such thoughts harried him, until he slowly became aware that the crying had petered out and the weight against his chest had gone limp and quiet. He glanced down, and blinked when he saw with some surprise that the toon had fallen asleep.
He leaned back just a little, the toon shifting as he did, head turning in slumber. It’s a sleep that looked restless, brow pinched and that once static smile still turned in that unfamiliar frown, with unmistakable tear tracks leaving bruised trails under eyes that once were buried beneath the ink of his own unfinished form. But that only served to make him appear . . . well, like he was meant to. Emotion like the Demon never had. And like this, he looked so . . .
. . . harmless.
Even when he used to be anything but.
Henry knew time had passed, more than what he’d promised Sammy he’d be gone for by now, and people would undoubtedly begin looking for him soon. And . . . he can’t exactly hide this, can he? It’d be foolish to do that, and the others needed to know of this change. But how they would react . . . honestly, Henry couldn’t even begin to guess.
But he imagined not all of them would be as . . . willing to understand, as Henry himself was. Even as willing to try.
But what else can they do but go forward?
Taking a breath, Henry shifted the toon’s weight in his arms before standing upright, carefully maneuvering the . . . tail over the crook of his elbow so he didn’t run the risk of stepping on it. He’s not entirely sure why Bendy has one, since that was never something he had in any of his model sheets outside of old concepts. Perhaps a result of the magic, or the nature of the toon himself? Hm, who knew . . .
It was then Henry became aware of approaching footsteps, and he only had a scant few seconds to get his thoughts in order to explain this when he heard someone appear in the open doorway behind him.
“Henry! There you are! Are you alright, w-where’s the Demon?”
Ah, it was Al. That . . . might be a bit better.
“I’m fine,” Henry replied, glancing at the sleeping toon in his arms, worrying at his bottom lip apprehensively, “And, uh, as for the Demon . . . w-well, uh . . .”
Not sure how to explain it, he eventually just bit the bullet and slowly turned around, revealing what he was hiding in full. The woman across from him had her eyebrow raised, looking puzzled, but when the other toon came into view, her mouth dropped and her eyes blew open wider than he has ever seen them do.
With a slow and somewhat shaky finger, she pointed at the toon and said, “T-that’s the . . . the . . .”
Henry nodded, “Yeah.”
She stared a little harder, before her eyes flicked up to him, “. . . this isn’t a joke?”
Henry was shaking his head before she even finished, “No.”
Silence settled on them, one Henry let sit as the toon across from him fought to come to terms with what she was seeing. He could see her disbelief, her wonder, her shock, but below all that, her wariness. Deeply ingrained, hard to shake, and Henry is not surprised when the next question out of her mouth is, “Are . . . are you sure it’s not dangerous?”
In response, he could only shrug, “Well, would I be here if he was?”
Al’s lips pursed, gaze turning back down to the toon, hardening, “It’s the Ink Demon. I know Joey said this could happen, but . . . but can it really be that easy? How can it change, just like that?”
“Al, I know how you feel. I was hunted by the Demon just like you. And I know it’s hard to believe . . . but I did see change here. Maybe its not going to be easy, but . . . it’s definitely going to be different, going forward,” Henry said, looking down at the toon in his arms.
“‘Different’ doesn’t always mean ‘good’, Henry,” Al softly pointed out, eyes following his own.
He had to concede that to her, “True . . . but if it was a bad different, I don’t think I’d be here right now. But we can’t exactly go back, and . . . we can’t just pretend this isn’t happening.”
Al was quiet for a moment more, digesting his words, this situation . . . when she gave a sudden, long sigh, covering her face with both her hands, “Oh, Tom is not going to be happy with this . . .”
Henry nodded, understanding. Of everyone present here, Tom was definitely going to be one of the hardest to convince.
“Well, guess there’s no point in delaying the inevitable. I take it everyone’s wondering where I am?” Henry inquired.
Al nodded, but her eyes did not leave the toon she once had feared, words quiet as if worried she might wake him, “Wondering. And worried. But this is . . .”
“Yeah, I know,” he said, “But we can’t keep it a secret.”
“I suppose . . .”
Henry nodded once, then began to walk towards her, mentally preparing himself for the numerous potential reactions this new development could elicit. He stopped, however, when Al suddenly skirted back, eyes shooting warily to the toon he carried. Ah . . .
“Sorry . . .” he said, “I’ll keep back, if that makes you more comfortable.”
She cringed a little, shooting him a quick, apologetic glance, “Sorry, Henry. It’s just . . . I-I don’t know how to feel about-,”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Henry gently assured her, “I know this is a lot to take in all at once. I’m honestly just glad you aren’t trying to skewer him.”
“Depending on how this goes, that could still happen,” Al put in, gripping the hilt of her sword as if to reassure herself it was still there.
Henry winced a little, but didn’t try to argue. After all, he had no idea how this Bendy would act once he was awake. He wanted to believe a bit like the cherished toon he remembered, but . . . well, twenty years of being a monster was a long time. And he imagined things like that left a mark.
“Lets just . . . go see the others,” Henry finally said, “Before they all come down here looking for us.”
Al’s lips pursed, glancing again at the other toon, eyes swimming with uncertainty. Then, with another soft sigh, she acquiesced and stepped back, allowing him through. Despite his own exhaustion and lingering doubts, Henry gave her a smile he hoped was reassuring, as well as conveyed his gratitude towards her faith, however wary.
Then, taking one last moment to brace himself for what may happen, Henry departed through the door and back up to where the others waited.
_
To say the past few hours had been stressful would be a rather massive understatement.
Terrifying, hair-raising, heart pounding, and bloodcurdling would all be more apt descriptions. Joey doesn’t think he has ever been so scared before in his life.
But, by skill and faith and a ridiculous amount of luck . . . they’d survived. He’d survived.
By the skin of their teeth, maybe, but Joey’d rather not split hairs.
However . . . certain things still needed to be determined before he could truly call this night a success. Things such as what he had just explained to his coworkers and toons, for he knew he’d never get anywhere unless he explained himself.
But, judging by their rather shocked faces, Joey was beginning to doubt that this explanation was going to let him off the hook.
The first to break the stunned silence was Henry, who’s hand was pressed to his mouth as he processed what he had just been told, looking at him with an expression more serious than Joey’s ever seen before, “Joey, you can’t just . . . you can’t just do something like that without telling everyone!”
Before Joey could even try to defend himself, Susie cut in to, looking distraught, “What if something had gone wrong, Joey?”
“What if you’d gotten hurt?” Alice whispered, hair a frazzled mess as Boris whined beside her.
Sammy piled on top of the yelling, irate even for the infamous music director, “This was stupid, even for you! How do you even know if it would have worked?”
The man’s voice dipped suddenly, muttering as he glanced at the door, golden iris glinting, “The Ink Demon’s voice is immutable, it’s will unassailable, it won’t change so easily, it won’t . . .”
There was a quiet pause as those gathered looked at the man in confused wonder, when said man suddenly grimaced hard and slapped a hand over his left eye, grounding out through clenched teeth, “Ignore that.”
Joey took the chance to start speaking, hoping to make them understand, “I . . . I know that this was a little reckless. And you have a reason to be upset! But I really believed this could work, and so far, it seems like it has!”
“How do ya know that, though?!” Bendy demanded now, throwing his arms up into the air in a show of frustration, “This thing tried to kill everyone a few minutes ago, how can it change just like that?!”
Nearby, Joey heard the dour wolf known as Tom give a low, rumbling growl, in a way that hinted towards agreement. Oh, this was not going very well . . .
Surprisingly, it was Boris who came to his rescue, “I don’t know, Bendy . . . I mean, if Joey really did fix the problem, maybe he won’t be so bad anymore?”
Bendy was not so convinced, stubbornly shaking his head, “Okay, even if that is true, which I doubt, that don’t just erase the past twelve hours, or what it tried to do!”
Boris wilted at that, rubbing his elbow awkwardly as his ears lowered. Beside him, Alice fidgeted, looking at the floor, “I . . . feel like I have to agree with Bendy here. I just . . . I can’t see it . . . not after everything that happened.”
Joey’s heart sank a little at the normally forgiving angel’s words, glancing around to search for anyone who might at least be a little more optimistic. But everyone’s eyes are down, anxious and weary, no one looking like they could believe it. Joey knew that it wouldn’t be an easy switch, of course, and that some people would have a harder time than others, but . . . he’d hoped that they would at least believe him.
Henry gave a sudden sigh, running a hand up his face into his hair, “Okay, okay, okay. Let’s just . . . let’s just back up a little bit here. Do you at least know that it worked, Joey?”
Joey leaned back against the Machine, mulling his next words over carefully, “Erm, well, that’s what I need to find out, still . . . but what I saw was promising!”
And that much was true! At least, as much as a dissolving of an unstable form could be promising.
Several people only groaned, however, hands going to cover faces as Joey’s shoulder sagged. Oh, this was really not going very well . . .
That was when Tom suddenly straightened up, ears swiveling towards the door, eyes bright and suddenly alert. Everyone tensed in alarm, a tremor of reactionary fear running through them all in wake of the hectic hours they’d had, when the door opened once again and a familiar face came marching through. They all heaved a sigh of relief as Al stepped inside, the toon making a beeline for Tom with hurried, purposeful steps. Looks were traded, before Susie asked, “Um, Al? Is-?”
“I’m right here.”
Eyes swiveled back to the door, just in time to see the gray-skinned man from the other world step through. He looked exhausted, limping just a little, but thankfully looking unhurt. Well, as unhurt as he’d been before he’d vanished, that is, save for a strange dark stain along the front of his shirt.
A stain that . . . moved?
Joey blinked and rubbed at his eyes before looking again, but no, they weren’t playing tricks on him! The stain was moving, shifting against the man’s shirt until he could just make out the curve of white face, cradled in the other Henry’s arms. A familiar white face, and oh hell’s bells, he could barely believe it, but there it was, there was the proof, his idea had worked!
Joey scrambled upright, using the Machine for support, hardly able to stymie the wonderous laughter that bubbled up in his throat, one had flying to his hair as he exclaimed victoriously, “It WORKED! I knew it, I knew that part was missing, I knew it just needed it back, it worked!”
His plan had been risky. There had been no way of knowing what the outcome would be at the end, although he had hoped . . . well, he’d hoped, and his hopes hadn’t been in vain! It had worked!
But as his jubilated cries turned into exuberant panting, Joey began to become aware of the fact that . . . that nobody else seemed to be sharing in his excitement. No other sound went up at all, not even cries of shock. It wasn’t until he felt a hand clutch his pant leg that Joey looked down to see Bendy standing near him, eyes fixed on the pair by the door, looking . . . afraid.
In fact, they . . . all looked afraid. Alice had half hidden herself behind Susie, both hands over her mouth, while the actress had one arm protectively held across the angel with the other was clenched to her chest, eyes wide and uncertain. Boris had hunched down on himself, and despite his own words and his hope, the fear swimming in his eyes was unmistakable. Sammy had backed up to the rest of the group, eyes never straying from the burden the gray man carried, a multitude of emotions flicking over his face as a hand went up to grip his neck, while nearby he heard Tom growl.
“Oh my god . . .” he heard his Henry whisper, uninjured hand going up to clasp his head, “That’s . . .?”
A sudden spike of worry going through him at their reactions, Joey stepped forward, wobbling only a little until he stood in front of them, hands up and trying his level best to be reassuring, “H-hey now, its alright! This is what I had hoped would happen! There’s no Demon anymore-”
“Yes there is,” those words came from Sammy, but the gleam in his eyes made Joey wonder of that’s who was even speaking, “It’s right there! Just because it’s form has changed doesn’t mean the rest of it has! It’ll trick you, lure you in, and when you think you’re safe, that’s when it bites! We should destroy it, now!”
Joey stared at him in horror, when another snarl has him whipping around just in time to see Al grab hold of a bristling Tom. The wolf had his axe up, eyes zeroed in on the unconscious toon across from him, eyes that were frightfully murderous.
“Tom, not right now,” Al whispered to him desperately, trying to hold him back.
The wolf looked as if he was of half a mind to push her aside and carry on anyway, until another voice cut in uncompromisingly, “If you try to do that, Tom, I will fight you.”
Joey looked back to see the other Henry had taken a wary step away, but his eyes burned with resolve and a very fierce promise; if the other tried anything, he’d make good on his word. Joey’s honestly a little surprised by how quickly the man would jump to the toon’s defense, after everything. Surprised . . . but not ungrateful, because it somehow seemed that they were on the same side in this matter.
“Why are you defending it?!” Sam(?) suddenly demanded, “You know what the Demon’s capable of, Henry!”
“Sam, I know you’re scared,” the other Henry said, and his eyes aren’t unsympathetic as he looked the other man over, “I know everyone’s scared. But . . . and I can’t believe I’m saying this . . . I think for once Joey’s magic did something right.”
Joey’s eyes widened at the same time he felt his heart swell just a little at the other’s words. After so long spent bearing the brunt of the man’s enmity, and after so stressful a time, it felt . . . good, to the think the other didn’t condemn his actions here. Agreed with them, even!
Sam, however, was not so convinced, “It’s the Demon-!”
The other man cut him off before he could even begin, exhaustion and frustration making his words curt and perhaps a touch harsh, “If it’s still the Demon, Sam, then that means you’re still the Prophet.”
Sam’s mouth snapped shut with an audible click, staring wide-eyed like he couldn’t quite believe the man had just said that to him, expression bordered between shock and just a little hurt. Then, he looked away and lifted a hand to his eye, sighing deeply but saying nothing more. Across the way, the other Henry’s expression shifted into a guilty wince, but made no attempt to amend his words.
After a moment, Susie came up to him, placing a cautious hand on the music director’s shoulder, “Erm . . . Sam?”
“Not present,” the man said sharply, and Sammy finally looked up, a more familiar frown on his face. He gave the worried woman a glance before continuing, “I’m fine, Susie. Except for the part where I’m agreeing with the voice in my head about this.”
He pointed at the toon the other Henry carried, glaring at him hotly. The other man didn’t say anything to that, but stood his ground, even when Tom growled again.
Looks were traded amongst his coworkers and the toons in the ensuing tense silence that followed, until his Henry bravely stepped forward, swallowing, “Um, alright. So . . . you really believe what you’re saying, a-and its true, it looks . . . he, looks different, but-,”
“How can ya be sure?” that quiet question came from Bendy, who’s eyes had not strayed once from the doppelganger that had once terrorized them so, disbelieving.
To that, the other man only shrugged and replied, “I’ve seen it.”
His words initially sounded cryptic, but Joey wanted to feel hopeful at them, because whatever this Henry had seen had been enough to turn the taciturn man’s heart. But the rest just looked confused, doubtful, and probably for understandable reasons.
“L-listen,” Joey started, trying again, “I know . . . this is a lot. These past few days have been . . . a lot. But I really believe its over now. And the missing piece that made him like that before, he has it now.”
Unfortunately, not very many looked convinced. Many, in fact, didn’t look his way at all, faces troubled and nervous. Oh, what could he say to help them understand it was . . . okay, maybe not alright, but at least better! There had to be something . . .
“Listen . . .” he heard the other Henry say behind him, sounding even more weary than before, “Its been a long night. And we’re all tired. Maybe . . . maybe we should leave the talking for tomorrow.”
“But what about . . .?” Alice trailed off, but it wasn’t like she needed to finish, as everyone’s eyes trailed down to stare at the toon the man carried in near perfect sync.
“I’ll stay with him,” the other said, a note of finality in his voice, “Away from everyone else.”
“By yourself, Henry?” Al asked him, eyes narrowing questioningly.
“If I have to. I don’t think Tom’s too interested in helping.”
The wolf shook his head, grunting.
“But yer hurt,” Boris said, staring at him worriedly.
“I’ll be fine,” the man told him reassuringly, “I promise.”
“And what about the rest of us?” that question was quiet, muttered and perhaps not meant to be heard, if not for Joey’s own close proximity to its source. Bendy had crossed his arms, glaring at the floor and looking very displeased by this turn of events. But the trickle of ink along his brow betrayed his anxiety, how truly nervous this made him.
Also very understandable.
However, the other Henry spoke sense. They were all exhausted, and needed rest. He himself was holding on by tethers, the spell he’d used having sapped much of his strength, and sleep sounded wonderful after all of this, especially now since he had confirmation of his spell’s success. Besides, arguing like this would only make things worse.
“I . . . think we should take his advice,” he started, slowly, somewhat hesitantly, “Things always look better after a bit of rest, and we all could use it! Although . . .” he looked his friend’s way, pointedly, “I think you should go to a hospital first, Henry.”
The man blinked. Then, as if pointing it out reminded him of the pain, winced a little as his free hand pressed against the rough splint they’d made in his office. His arm had definitely been broken, and needed to be seen to by professionals. The sooner, the better.
“I agree with that,” Susie said, softly, “I can take you.”
“And what about us?” Sammy asked, eyes fixed on the toon, “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I don’t fancy sleeping under the same roof as that.”
Indeed, none of them looked very keen on that. Hm, it was happening a little late, but Joey was starting to feel that . . . maybe he’d been a bit too optimistic about how accepting everyone would feel once this was done.
“Like I said, I’ll stay away. You can barricade the door, if that makes you feel better,” the other Henry offered.
Joey pursed his lips and shifted in place, thoughtful for a moment, before looking at the other man and tentatively speaking up, “I . . . might have a better idea.”
The other looked his way, eyes narrowing just a little. But he didn’t interrupt him or tell him to stop, so Joey carried on, “A simple binding circle, like the one we used before. Just to . . . keep him in place. No barricades required!”
His attempt at being humorous ultimately fell flat, but the other Henry seemed to consider his words seriously . . . before finally nodding, “That sounds fair. If it helps everyone feel safer, we can do it.”
Joey sighed in relief, though he didn’t quite look forward to using it. He wanted to believe that things would improve at this point with the ‘demon’ that had tried to hurt them, but treating him like a prisoner seemed the wrong way to go about establishing trust.
But no one disagreed with that plan, so Joey had no choice but to go along with it, “Alright. We’ll . . . do that.”
Tom snarled again, turning away from them sharply, and even Al looked troubled by his response. The gray man only sighed, before stepping towards the door, “Let’s just go.”
Joey nodded, but not before looking back to the rest. The rest, who were all looking at him, faces a blend of uncertainty, worry, and fear.
“It . . . it’ll be alright now,” he murmured, one last attempt to soothe their worries, “You’ll see.”
It’s Henry, one his oldest and closest friends, who finally broke the silence, but only with a fretting stare, a frown on his face as his hand gently pressed against his injured arm once again, “I hope you’re right Joey. For all our sakes.”
It seemed that was all anyone was going to say. All they could say. So, with a heavier heart than he’d thought he’d be carrying after their success, Joey retreated out the door to follow after Henry’s counterpart. He heard voices begin to speak behind him, but he didn’t try to parse them. Better to . . . get this done with for now. Then get some sleep.
Before that, though . . .
“Thank you.”
The other Henry looked back at him, a faint note of surprise on his face, eyebrow raised questioningly. Joey rubbed the back of his head, fighting down his own nervousness before elaborating, “For . . . trusting me. I know that couldn’t have been easy. And for standing up for . . . well, Bendy.”
The man’s eyes widened a little, before understanding crossed his face, dipping his head a little in acknowledgment.
“Give them time,” was all he said, “This isn’t easy for them.”
Joey nodded, “I knew it wouldn’t be, but . . . I’d hoped they’d believe me when I explained what I’d done.”
“. . . things’ll look better tomorrow.”
Joey certainly hoped the man was right. He really did.
Although . . . now that he had some time to breathe, he couldn’t help but feel like he was forgetting something . . .
Ah, it couldn’t be too urgent if he couldn’t remember right now. He’ll figure it out tomorrow.
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Voice of
JOEY DREW
Dreams! That’s the stuff people believe in right there! Toss out the word dreams, and they all start chompin’ at the bit!
Do I believe in dreams? Of course! How do you think Drew Studios came to be, if not for a dreamer who believed their vision could be reality!
Of course, there are those out there who say that some dreams . . . just aren’t possible.
I say . . . they’re wrong.
I have an idea. Oh, its quite the idea, one where I can already hear the nay-sayers of the world telling me to quit while I’m ahead!
But dreamers don’t quit. Joey Drew doesn’t quit.
And as I always like to say . . .
Anything is possible when you just believe!