Breaking A New Cycle

by FNAFpro52

Summary:

Audrey Drew has successfully devised a way to escape from the Cycle. She even managed to bring Bendy into the real world as well.

Hm...

Can she do that to all of the souls trapped in the cycle?

UPDATE: I've moved this work to a new fic where I'm in the process of remastering the first three chapters and then writing the last two here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/61151311/chapters/156256498

Chapter 1: Moving Darkness

Audrey sat at her desk, drawing away at a frame for a Bendy cartoon. Little sketch here... some lining there... and done! Audrey sat back in her chair, letting out a satisfied sigh.

She stood from her chair and set her drawing utensils aside. That was the last of a ton of frames she had to draw. She turned her head to Bendy, who was sitting on the ground and rolling a toy train on the ground, that devilish smile ever persistent on his face.

A smile of her own crossed her face as she walked over to the door of her office, glancing outside. It was pretty dark out, and she doubted anyone was still around, aside from that new janitor that Mr. Archgate had hired a few days ago, mostly because the old one, Wilson, disappeared one day without a trace. No one but Audrey knew why.

She opened the door wide, before turning to the Little Devil Darlin'.

"Bendy, let's get you to the basement." She said. The small ink creature nodded and stood up, before following Audrey as she walked out of the room, towards the elevator.

To be truthful, Bendy's existence was hidden from mostly everyone at Archgate Films... well, there was that Jared guy, who caught a glance of Bendy, but everyone thought that guy was crazy. While Audrey didn't want to mean, she did have to admit that he didn't seem like the sane type.

When Audrey was working alone, she had Bendy come up with her, mostly because she enjoyed his presence. But during the day, she had to leave Bendy in the lower floors of Archgate Films, with the Ink Machine.

They entered the elevator and Audrey held Bendy up so he could hit the buttons. The doors slid closed and began to move downwards.

After a minute of waiting, the elevator dinged and slid open. Audrey had held her breath the whole time, almost anticipating Wilson to appear from nowhere and stop the elevator.

She let out a small sigh. Wilson was gone. When she had reset the Cycle the last time, it had reset to a point before Wilson and the Keepers took over. Not to mention that Wilson had died. But the reseting of the Cycle didn't reset Wilson to the real world, essentially erasing the man from existence.

Audrey and Bendy stepped out of the elevator and walked forward. Bendy ran ahead with the toy train in hand. Audrey grinned as she followed him down the corridor.

She turned the corner at the end of the corridor, seeing that Bendy had crawled onto the top of the Ink Machine, and was rolling the train across the top of it.

Audrey chuckled happily at the sight, before her eyes drifted to the pedestals that surrounded the machine. The objects that were supposed to sit on the pedestals were sitting at the pedestals' bases.

An idea began to form in Audrey's head. She had managed to escape the Cycle and even brought Bendy into the real world, right? Could she do the same with the other poor souls trapped in the Cycle? Maybe not all of them, as most of them had been reduced to mindless Searchers or hopeless Lost Ones, but maybe those who hadn't completely lost their minds?

She debated with herself whether or not to do it, but she eventually settled on an idea. She walked between each pedestal, picking up each object and placing them on the pedestals. Bendy looked at Audrey and tilted his head.

"Don't worry, Bendy. I have a plan. We're gonna save some people." Audrey said with a smile and a nod. The cartoon nodded back. Once all items had been placed, the Ink Machine began to rumble, as Bendy hopped off of it.

Almost immediately, the room began to flood with ink, pumped out from the machine. Bendy stepped over to Audrey and the two started to hold hands.

Audrey's eyes closed as she and Bendy fell face-first into the ink, disappearing into the Dark Puddles.

---

When Audrey's eyes fluttered open, she was now sitting in a chair. Strange, considering that she had been laying on her face last she checked.

She blinked and let out a small groan as she wiped her eyes to ease the exhaustion she felt.

"Hm? Oh, you're awake." Audrey heard from a familiar male voice from next to her. She glanced to the side to see that Henry Stein was sitting in a chair next to hers, drawing on a piece of paper.

"Henry. Uh... hi." She said with a nervous tone. Henry sighed and set the paper aside.

"Hello, Audrey. We have a few things to discuss." He said. Audrey suddenly realized that Bendy was nowhere to be seen.

"W-where's-" But Henry cut her off.

"Bendy? I don't know. Chances are he's turned into the Ink Demon now. Maybe things can progress as normal." Henry muttered. Audrey tilted her head.

"Normal?" She asked, a bit confused.

"The Cycle. When you took the Ink Demon out of the Cycle, everything came to a screeching halt. I've been stuck on this floor for awhile now." Henry said, gesturing to the room around them.

"But if Bendy's turned into the Ink Demon, does that mean you can leave this level?" Audrey asked, the idea of hers beginning to shine brightly as Henry nodded.

"I had an idea. I've figured out how to enter and leave the Cycle. Maybe we can save a few souls? I was also wondering..." Audrey trailed off, staring at her hand, which had taken on its more inky appearance with a golden swirl.

"If we can't get them out, maybe my powers can set their souls free?" Audrey asked. Henry was silent for a few seconds.

"...I suppose it's worth a shot. If it doesn't work, then nothing of value should be lost. The Cycle will just continue like normal." Henry said quietly.

Without another word, Henry and Audrey stood up and started walking into the depths of the building. 

"Is there anyone in particular you want saving?" Audrey asked, just to break the silence. Henry took a bit of time to respond.

"A few. Jack, Sammy, Susie, Norman, Buddy, Allison, Thomas. Basically everyone who's identity I know." Henry replied. Audrey nodded as the two continued walking.

The two soon ended up at the door to the room to the Ink Machine, or rather, the Cycle's version of the Ink Machine. Interestingly enough, the door was boarded up.

Henry approached the boarded door, before nearly being grabbed through an opening through the boards. The Ink Demon's head could be see peaking through afterwards.

"Your plan is purposeless, just like the both of you. You will bend to the Dark Puddles." The Ink Demon said in its demonic voice, before disappearing.

Henry immediately turned around and took off running, grabbing Audrey's arm and dragging her along with him. The two ran all the way through the building and reached the entrance, where the floors suddenly gave in, and the two hurtled into the depth of Joey Drew Studios.

But this time, they had a plan.

Chapter 2: Old Song's Domain

Summary:

Audrey and Henry have continued their trek into Joey Drew Studios, they obey the layout of the Cycle for now, heading into the Music Department. But for how much longer? Especially since there's a particular psycho composer and a hat-wearing Searcher that Henry wants to free?

When Audrey reawakened, she was hoisted over Henry's shoulders and being carried into a big room with ink puddles all around and a large sign that read: "Music Department"

Henry noticed that Audrey had reawakened, letting her off of his shoulders and onto her own two feet. Once she had gained her bearings, Henry handed her a familiar weapon.

"Here. You're gonna need something to defend yourself with." Henry said, an axe of his own in his hands as he handed her a fully-upgraded Gent Pipe, the same one she used during her last adventure through the Cycle.

It felt comfortable in her hands. With a nod, Henry turned around and walked towards the sign. As he did so, several Searchers popped up from the floor boards.

There were about four of them. Henry sliced two of them down with ease, as if fighting these creatures were second nature to him.

Audrey used her Gent Pipe to bash one of the Searcher's heads in, before grabbing the other one around the neck with her hand that had the golden swirl around the back of her palm.

Normally, this would banish an ink creature, but strangely enough, that didn't happen. Instead, the entire area flashed a golden color, blinding both Audrey and Henry.

When it cleared, the Searcher was still there, but it wasn't charging to attack. Instead, it looked rather docile. The Searcher glanced between Henry and Audrey, before disappearing into the floorboards.

The two were left in silence as they stared at the floorboards where the Searcher had disappeared to.

"What? Why wasn't in banished? Why didn't it attack us?" Audrey asked quietly. Henry looked lost in thought.

"Call it a crazy conclusion, but I think you restored that Searcher's humanity. Or, something like that." Henry muttered, heating the axe over his shoulder.

"Really? But if I can't banish them, how are we supposed to save them?" Audrey asked, not sure what to do with this information.

"We're still saving them... just in a different way." Henry said quietly. An idea seemed to cross his mind as he suddenly perked up, but he didn't share it with Audrey.

Without another word, the two continued on.

Audrey dearly missed the adorable, little Bendy, but Henry was a fine substitute as a companion. There was this comforting warmth the man exuded, but there was something about him that Audrey noticed. It seemed that everything he did hurt him in some way. Not physically, but emotionally, or maybe mentally. But she couldn't pinpoint why this was.

While they were walking, Henry stopped and turned to Audrey.

"Oh, by the way, I passed Sammy on the way to the Music Department." He said, pausing briefly to look around.

"Sammy? Sammy Lawrence? The composer? He's here?" Audrey asked, tilting her head. Henry was silent for a few seconds.

"Yeah. Remember that guy with the mask that got shot by Allison while you were controlling the Ink Demon?" Henry said. Audrey nodded, remembering the strange ink man who had been playing a banjo in his cell, deemed as a Cyclebreaker.

"Usually, he just walked past without a word. But this time... it was different." Henry said, scratching his nose. "He wasn't singing to himself, which he always does. He stopped briefly to stare at me, before walking off and disappearing." Henry said, glancing around again.

"What do you think it means?" Audrey asked, hefting the Gent Pipe in her hand. Henry ws silent for a few seconds.

"There's something very different about this Cycle in particular." Henry said, before continuing. The two eventually ended up in the music room.

Henry instructed Audrey to go to the projector room, which was next to the music room, and turn the projector on. Once Audrey did so, Henry quickly ran between each instrument in the room.

In a pattern, Henry played a singular note on four different instruments. Once he did, a gate, just to the right of the music room, slid open.

Audrey walked back down and followed Henry into the room that the gate had been blocking.

"What's this?" Audrey asked, curious.

"Sammy's sanctuary." Henry said. Inside of the room was a desk, a banjo, a toilet, a few pipes, a valve labeled "Flow," and a message on the wall.

"SING A MERRY SONG. WHISTLE A MERRY TUNE. WAIT FOR HIS ARRIVAL. HE IS COMING VERY SOON."

The strange message unnerved Audrey, but Henry didn't seem bothered. He simply walked over to the valve and spun it.

Henry gripped his axe and walked out of the room, Audrey right behind him. He seemed ready for a fight, but there was nothing there, which seemingly confused Henry.

Then, Henry looked upwards. Audrey noticed that the inky man with suspenders and a Bendy mask on his face was standing in the projector room, silent.

"Sammy!" Henry called out, but the man didn't respond. Instead, Sammy just turned around and walked off.

Henry turned to Audrey. "We gotta catch up to him." Henry said with a desperate tone. Audrey nodded and the two took off running.

The two sprinted through the halls. Henry led Audrey down some stairs, into a medical hall strangely enough. 

For some reason, this medical hall led all the way down to the sewers. On the other side of some boards, there was a Searcher wearing a hat. As soon as Henry chopped on of the boards, the Searcher disappeared into the ink.

"That's another person we should save. Jack Fain. He'll be up ahead." Henry said, before walking further down the sewer.

"Alright." Audrey said, following her. She had just learned that the Searchers were also people, but she'd have to worry about it later. For now, it was just another thing to fit into her worldview of this twisted place.

The two walked through the sewer, reaching a small outpost with a desk and music sheets. There was even a audio tape there.

"This is Jack Fain's desk. Apparently, this is where he worked." Henry said, before moving in. Audrey stared at the desk for a few moments, remembering an audio log she had found by Jack Fain. Soon, she continued to follow Henry.

They made a turn, before reaching a room with two large tanks, likely containing ink. On one end of the room, the Searcher with the hat was sitting in the ink. In its hand, a valve handle was clutched.

"Audrey, meet Swollen Jack, the lyricist Jack Fain turned into an monster. Be ready to try and touch him. He's pretty good at moving through the ink." Henry explained. Audrey nodded and clenched her fist.

Henry ran at Swollen Jack, but the Searcher descended into the ink, before popping up next to Audrey. She reached out to grab it, but it disappeared before she could.

For nearly ten minutes, Henry and Audrey chased the Searcher around the room. Thankfully, the idea for it to run off never seemed to cross Swollen Jack's mind.

Eventually, Audrey managed to finally grab it after Henry threw his axe at it. The axe didn't stab into the Searcher, but it whacked it on the head and briefly dazed it.

Audrey grabbed the Searcher around the neck and the room flooded with golden light once more. When it cleared, Swollen Jack still seemed dazed.

Audrey picked up Henry's axe and tossed it to him, who caught it easily. He walked over to Jack, standing next to Audrey.

"Just like the last Searcher you touched. It's still here." Henry said quietly. Audrey glanced at her hand. What was she doing to them?

A few seconds later, and the Searcher loomed up at them, alternating its gaze between the two. Henry cleared his throat.

"Jack? Jack Fain? Is that you?" Henry asked. After a few seconds, the Searcher nodded.

"Do you remember your past life? How you turned into an ink creature? All of that?" Henry asked.

Another nod. Audrey spoke.

"Hi there, Mr. Fain. I'm Audrey and this is Henry. You and Henry have both been stuck in this Cycle for years. We're interested in ending it for good. Could you help us?" Audrey asked. Jack didn't move for several seconds, as if considering it.

After awhile, Jack nodded, releasing a strange bubbling liquid sound.

"Great. Least we have some help now. Although I'm concerned about a potential communication barrier." Audrey said, glancing at Henry. The man thought for a moment.

"I'm sure we'll figure out a way to circumvent that. Now, Jack, could you give me that valve?" He asked the inky creature. Jack nodded and tossed the valve to Henry, who managed to catch it.

"Cool. Let's head out of here and try to find Sammy." Henry said. As soon as Henry said Sammy, Jack let out another guttural sound that resembled a gasp. Immediately, Jack began to crawl out of the room, at a rather fast pace.

He was so fast that Henry and Audrey had to jog to keep up with him.

"What's up with him?" Audrey asked, hoping Henry would have an answer.

"I think that Sammy and Jack were friends back when they were normal. I think what you're doing is restoring their humanity, giving them their memories back. In a sense, you're saving them." Henry explained. Audrey thought about that as Henry started to lead (mainly because Jack didn't know where to go).

She actually preferred it this way. Back when she merely banished ink creature's, she felt a little guilty, as it didn't feel any different to killing them with a weapon.

But now, she was giving them a second chance. That was a lot more satisfying.

Henry led the two up the stairs and into the medical hall again, before walking to a pipe on the wall and placing the valve and turning it. This led to the pipes in the walls to begin groaning.

Henry exited the room and walked over a door that had been previously blocked by a leak. Henry led the two in, and stared at the lever inside.

"Is there really a point to flipping it? It's not an escape..." Henry muttered to himself. Audrey was about to give some supportive words, but Henry beat her too it and flipped it, causing the pipes to groan even louder.

The newly formed trio walked back down the hall and into a new room. But as they walked through, something suddenly striked Audrey in the back of the head.

She let out a pained groan before collapsing to the ground. As she began to fade into unconsciousness, she heard the sounds of a scuffle, but ultimately passed out.

---

Slowly, Audrey's eyes fluttered open. She was in a completely new room, leaning against a pillar. She pulled herself to her feet, rubbing her eyes to try and comprehend the world around her.

Henry and Jack were both standing in front of her, with Sammy Lawrence sitting in front of the two, tied up and looking annoyed. Henry turned to Audrey, a smile crossing his face.

"Ah, Audrey. Just in time. Sammy here knocked you out, but Jack and I were able to get the upper hand and knock him out. You have no idea how satisfying it was." Henry said with a brief chuckle.

"Unhand me immediately. And- why is this Searcher staring at me like that?" Sammy said, interrupting himself with a sudden question.

Jack was staring right at Sammy silently, as if feeling sad. Henry reached over and patted the Searcher on the back.

"Well, Sammy. This is Jack Fain. You might recognize that name." Henry said with a calming tone. Sammy seemed like he was about to say something, but stopped himself.

"...You're right. Why are you right? Why do I recognize that name?" Sammy murmured to himself. 

Henry glanced at Audrey. "Audrey, could you help him out?" He asked. Audrey nodded and stepped towards Sammy. The mask wearing man snapped his head towards Audrey.

"Don't touch me, you ingrate!" Sammy said, trying to thrah around in an attempt to stop her from making physical contact. But it did little to stop her. Despite his movements, Audrey managed to carefully grasp the mask on Sammy's face.

Once she did, he stopped moving, with another flash of golden light covering the room.

Once it subsided, Audrey took her hand off of his mask and stepped back. Sammy was silent for several seconds.

"...Dear... God... What... what have I done?" Sammy asked quietly, his voice constantly breaking. Henry took the axe and carefully chopped through the the ropes that binded Sammy, before pulling the composer to his feet.

"It's alright, Sammy. You're fine. Everything is alright." Henry said with a reassuring tone. Sammy placed a hand on his mask and adjusted it, before glancing at Jack.

"Jack... it's been many years, my friend." Sammy said, placing a hand on Jack's shoulder. The Searcher lurched forward and embraced Sammy, hugging him. After a few seconds, Sammy hugged Jack back.

A few seconds later and the two split from the hug.

"Jack, how'd you end up like this?" Sammy asked. Jack responded with a series of groans.

"Of course it was Joey. Why wouldn't it be?" Sammy said with spite in his voice as stood up.

"Sammy, you can speak to Jack?" Henry asked curiously. Sammy turned to him.

"Indeed. I possess the ability to communicate with these creatures. It's a power I don't know how I got." Sammy said, before glancing over at Audrey.

"Who's this?" Sammy asked, tilting his head. Audrey cleared her voice and smiled.

"Hi, Mr. Lawrence, I'm Audrey. I'm... kind of a newcomer here." Audrey said a bit nervously. Sammy nodded.

"Please, call me Sammy. But you did manag to restore my memories... Dare I say, I think with your power, we could end the Cycle." Sammy murmured.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. It's why we're doing what we're doing." Henry said. Sammy starting staring at Henry.

"I'm coming with you. It's the only way to make up for everything I've done. Especially to you, Henry." Sammy said, nodding to the man he was addressing. Henry smiled.

"I don't harbor a grudge, Sammy. But the help is appreciated. Here, have this. I can handle myself." Henry said, before handing the axe to Sammy. Sammy took the axe and nodded.

"I'm happy to help. Now, we must go. This Cycle won't end itself." Sammy said. Henry nodded and the now group of four took off.

They made their way through a boarded area, with Sammy using his newly acquired axe to chop through them.

"It's strange. Usually, I would've gotten myself nearly killed by the Ink Demon. But now... I'm here. It's strange to think about." Sammy mused to himself. No one really responded, except for Jack, who made another groaning sound.

"And yes, Jack, you would've been crushed by a large crate right now." But before the conversation could continue, the group entered a corridor with the floors covered in ink.

The Ink Demon suddenly popped out of the ground, the ink suddenly coating the walls and ceiling, which startled everyone except for Henry.

"Interesting... You're uncovering your memories... and yet you still lack purpose... You cannot end the Cycle. I will make sure of it." The Ink Demon said, before suddenly charging at the group. They turned tail and ran, with Sammy picking Jack off of the ground so Jack wouldn't be killed.

They ran through the halls, making several turns, all while the demon chased them. They eventually reached another room. Once they all made it in, Henry turned around and slammed the door shut, before locking it with a wooden board.

The door was bashed against on the other side by the demon. But eventually, it ceased and the walls and ceiling returned to normal.

"He's more determined than usual." Henry said, catching his breath.

"Can't he phase through walls? Teleport? Why did that door stop him?" Audrey asked, prepared to run if the need arrived.

"The demon is likely toying with us. It's sadistic and takes pleasure in murder. I can't believe I ever worshipped that thing." Sammy said harshly, before setting Jack on the ground.

Without another word, the group continued on. They walked through another door and walked into another room, where Henry stopped them.

From around the corner, a soup can was rolled. It put Audrey on edge, but Henry didn't seem bothered.

After a few seconds, footsteps were heard. Eventually, a Boris clone walked onto the scene and stopped in front of the group, glancing between them. But this was no ordinary Boris clone.

It was Buddy Boris.

"Boris?" Audrey asked.

Notes:

In case you guys didn't notice, the naming theme for the Chapters are combing the ones from BatIM and BatDR. For example:

BatIM Chapter 1: Moving Pictures
BatDR Chapter 1: Drawn To Darkness
BaNC (Breaking a New Cycle) Chapter 1: Moving Darkness

BatIM Chapter 2: The Old Song
BatDR Chapter 2: Demon's Domain
BaNC Chapter 2: The Old Song's Domain

This naming convention will continue.

Chapter 3: The Eternal Fall

Summary:

With Sammy Lawrence and Jack Fain restored with their humanity, Henry and Audrey set their sights on three more victims turned monsters.

A buddy that they are determined to not meet an untimely demise.

A very bright projectionist that has turned into a feral monster.

And a twisted angel with an obsession with perfection.

Will they succeed? Or is this just pipe-dreaming?

Once she was fully awake, Audrey sat up from the hammock and got off of it, picking her Gent Pipe off of a nearby surface. She glanced at a nearby Boris poster, before standing up.

Across the room, Jack was sleeping under another hammock, curled up under it. Audrey chuckled quietly at the sight, before walking out of the room and opening the door to leave.

Audrey shut the door quietly behind her, before walking down the hall of the Safehouse, the place where they were now residing for the time being.

Apparently, this was a place that Buddy (the name that Henry had designated for the Boris clone) lived. She had already restored the memories of the Boris clone.

After gaining his memories for that, Buddy didn't do much. He acted similarly. Although he did immediately hug Henry.

Using writing, Boris revealed that he was once Daniel Lewek, an employee. Sammy recognized the name and apologized to Buddy, who accepted the apology.

But now, they were lying low. They'd been in the safehouse for a few days. Audrey walked into the central room, where Buddy was sitting at the table, Sammy was sitting across from him and strumming a banjo, and Henry was cooking some soup in a pot.

Buddy waved at Audrey as she walked in, who waved back.

"Good morning." Audrey said, placing the Gent Pipe on the table. She received a good morning from Henry and a half-hearted one from Sammy, who was more focused on his banjo.

"Is today the day we're heading out?" Audrey asked, glancing at Henry, who nodded back while stirring the pot of soup.

"Mhm. But first, we're gonna have a group discussion. And some food. Sammy, could you wake up Jack?" Henry said, leaning to look past Audrey to address the musician.

Sammy muttered something under his breath before setting the banjo aside. He rose from his chair and walked off towards the bedroom. He turned the corner and disappeared.

Audrey glanced over to the door that led out of the Safehouse, the lever right next to it. Henry grabbed four bowls from the cabinets and began to fill them with the bacon soup he was making, all while Audrey grabbed three more chairs and pulled them up to the table.

"JACK! WAKE UP!" Sammy's voice echoed from the bedroom, followed by the panicked sounds of groaning. Audrey sat down as Sammy and Jack walked into the room. 

Sammy sat back down in his seat, while Jack crawled into the one next to him and Audrey. Henry walked over, managing to carry all five bowls and set them onto the table, before walking back to the kitchen to grab some spoons.

He handed one to everyone, before sitting down inbetween Audrey and Boris. The group started eating. Audrey wondered how Sammy was actually eating, considering that he didn't have a visible mouth, but he seemed to be pulling it off. Audrey decided it didn't take matter.

"Alright, let's talk. Where are we going next?" Sammy asked, looking at Henry. Henry swallowed a spoonful of soup before speaking.

"We're sticking to the Cycle's usual path for me. We have a few more people to save, but there's two I'm particularly interested in saving." Henry explained, before eating another bite of soup.

"Namely, the Projectionist and Alice." Henry added once he was finished with the spoonful of soup. Audrey knew who Alice was. In fact, she was probably the second most traumatizing thing in the Studio during her first journey, only second to the Ink Demon. But the second name, she didn't recognize.

"The Projectionist?" Audrey asked, tilting her head. Jack seemed confused to, but Audrey still hadn't gotten all of Jack's expressions and emotions down.

"The Projectionist. A feral and violent creature that roams the lower levels of the Studio. If I recall correctly, he was once an actual projectionist named Norman Polk. Someone I... er... sacrificed..." Sammy muttered quietly with a guilty tone. Jack reached up and patted his friend on the back.

"Thanks, Jack." Sammy said quietly. Audrey noticed that Henry had taken out a piece of paper and was handed a pencil by Buddy. Henry quickly drew a picture and slid it over to Audrey.

"That's the Projectionist." Henry said softly. The picture he had scribbled down in a matter of seconds was surprisingly detailed. It showed an inky creature that reminded Audrey of the Keepers, which made her shudder.

It was fairly tall, although it was hard to tell because of the drawing. The Projectionist had a human-shaped body made of ink with a speaker embedded into his chest and a film reel stuck in his left shoulder. But the thing that immediately drew Audrey's attention was the projector that was where a head should've been. She recalled her last journey through the Studio, specifically when she was going through the Pit, the Keeper's prison.

One of the things kept in the Pit was a glass case with a strange projector inside. When she touched it, the projector had made a screaming sound that had scared her at the time.

"Wait, just for some clarification, is this the same... thing that was in the glass case in the Pit?" Audrey asked. Henry and Sammy both nodded. 

"That's him. And his life was wasted. Norman used to be such a bright man..." Sammy whispered. Henry nodded.

"Yeah. He was a good friend. A good man with honest intentions..." Henry said. Jack placed his head on the table, and Buddy tapped the table with a sad look on his face. Eventually, Audrey broke the silence.

"Well, we can save him, right? I managed to save Sammy, Jack, and Buddy, right? I'm sure we can save Norman and you guys can reunite with your friend." Audrey said, trying to reassure them. It seemed to work.

"Right. We should head out." Henry said, before rising from his seat, followed by everyone else. Audrey grabbed her Gent Pipe and Sammy grabbed his axe, while Henry, Buddy, and Jack all walked over to the door to leave the Safehouse.

Henry pulled the lever next to the door and the group headed out, into a hallway that went left. After a bit of walking, Henry opened a door which led to a dark hall.

"Wow. It's really dark." Audrey muttered. Henry reached over to a table and grabbed a flashlight.

"Buddy, can you keep a hold of this?" Henry asked the Boris Clone. Buddy nodded and accepted the flashlight and started leading the pack into the dark.

They headed through the dark. Everyone could hear Buddy shaking in slight fear.

"Don't be scared, Buddy." Henry said with a calm tone.

"The dark is only threatening if you allow it to consume you." Sammy muttered in an attempt to be reassuring.

"Everything will be fine." Audrey said softly. Jack also threw in a supportive gurgle. Buddy nodded and stopped shaking as much. They continued until eventually meeting with a huge door.

"Dead end. Buddy, you know what to do. Although, I don't want you to go alone... Jack, can you go with him?" Henry said, pointing at a vent nearby. Buddy and Jack both nodded.

Buddy kneeled down and took the vent grate off, before climbing in, still holding the flashlight. Jack sunk into the floor boards, supposedly following Buddy Boris through the vent.

After a bit of waiting, the door slowly slid open, revealing a hallway that led to the Heavenly Toys area. Audrey remembered this location during her first travel, she had been here during the start of her travels, as it had been where she had met Allison.

"One thing at a time, Audrey. One thing at a time." She thought to herself as her and Sammy followed Henry towards into the toy shop.

Sammy and Henry were silent as they walked by towards the back, which appeared to be a toy making area. Audrey couldn't see a way forward, but Henry proved her wrong by easily taking toys out the belts, before flipping a lever that opened the way forward.

In the next room, the lights shut off as they entered. Spotlights turned on that revealed a recording booth with "SHE'S QUITE A GAL" above it.

Sammy stumbled backwards as music started to play. Audrey recognized it as Alice Angel's song. She had a feeling she knew who was about to make their appearance to the group. Sammy kept trying to back away from the recording boothe, as if the song and sight of the boothe was shaking him to his very core.

After about thirty seconds of waiting, the lights all turned off for a second, with a new face now inside of the boothe, ending the song with a loud "I'M ALICE ANGEL!"

Alice smashed the glass with her bare hands before all lights went out. The sounds of Alice's chuckling echoed throughout the room.

"I see you there..." Alice's voice echoed out. "New flies in my endless web... Come along now. Let's see if you're worthy to walk with angels." Alice added, before chuckling once more. The lights turned back on, revealing the shattered glass of the recording boothe.

Audrey had been scared and hadn't moved throughout the entire process, while Henry remained unphased. But during the slight commotion, Sammy had sat down against the wall, breathing heavily.

Sammy seemed terrified out of his mind.

"S-Susie..." He whispered to himself, clutching his head and shaking, his axe dropped to the ground. Henry and Audrey glanced at each other before walking towards Sammy.

"Sammy. Sammy-" But Henry was cut off by Sammy.

"No! No! I don't want- I- I'm- I LET THIS HAPPEN!!!" Sammy yelled out, taking his mask off of his face and throwing it away, before burying his face into his hands, sitting their silently.

Audrey kneeled down next to Sammy and placed a hand on Sammy's shoulder. What she had forgotten was that her left hand, the one with the golden spiral on it, had unusual properties. Really, it was the kind of thing that you forgot at the most inconvient of times.

Audrey's hand began to glow gold. She immediately tried to pull it away, but it was seemingly stuck to Sammy's shoulder. She was worried that she was going to accidentally banish Sammy, but something else happened instead.

The entire area began to glow gold, except for Audrey, Sammy, and Henry. When it faded, they were back in the Music Department, right outside of Sammy's office. But it was different. Everything was in color and looked like it was in the real world.

Inside of Sammy's office was a man with blonde hair, sitting at the desk and writing away on a piece of paper.

"...Who is that supposed to be?" Audrey asked, still trying to remove her hand from Sammy's shoulder. Henry thought for a moment.

"I think... that's Sammy." Henry muttered. After a few seconds, two people walked onto the scene, passing through Henry like he wasn't even there, and turned into Sammy's office. Audrey recognized one of the two as Joey Drew, her father. The other was a woman with blonde hair.

Human Sammy looked up at Joey and the woman as they entered his office.

"Oh. Hello, Joey. What is it now?" Sammy asked, glancing at the woman, before focusing on Joey.

"I'm glad you asked that, Sammy. This is Susie Campbell. She's auditioning for the role of voice actress! Think you can get her through that?" Joey asked with a smile. Sammy nodded. Joey nodded back and flashed a smile to Susie, before walking out of the office and down the hall.

Sammy sighed before standing up. "I suppose this can wait a little while longer." He said, before sliding the paper away and glancing up at Susie.

"Mrs. Campbell, was it? Nice to meet you. I'm Sammy Lawrence." Human Samny said, stretching out a hand towards Susie, who accepted it graciously. The two shook hands. Susie had a massive smile across her face.

"Nice to meet you as well, Mr. Lawrence!" Susie said excitedly. Sammy chuckled quietly before walking out from behind his desk.

"Let's head down to the Music Hall. Then we can get your audition under way." Sammy said, before gesturing for Susie to follow him out into the halls of Joey Drew Studios.

"Is this some sort of flashback?" Henry asked himself. The scene shifted to the music hall, outside of Sammy's sanctuary. 

Human Sammy was sat at the piano, with Susie on the stage in the center of the room, a microphone in front of her. Sammy was playing notes, and Susie was matching them with her singing. Audrey had to admit that Susie had a wonderful singing voice.

After a bit of playing, Human Sammy clapped in applause. Susie smiled as her face flushed red a tiny bit. Sammy had a large smile across his face.

"Wonderful range, Miss Campbell." Sammy says with a pleased tone. Audrey couldn't see any red on his face, but she could definitely see some sparks flying between the two.

The scene began to rapidly change between several different moments. Audrey couldn't keep track of them, but saw Human Sammy and Susie in every single one. She got the point. Sammy and a female voice actress named Susie Campbell were romantically interested in each other.

"...Is... Susie Campbell... Alice?" Audrey asked, before glancing over at Henry, who nodded in response. Suddenly, Audrey managed to pry her hand off of Sammy's shoulder.

The three were transported back to the room. Ink Sammy got back up and was handed his mask by Audrey. He placed his mask on his face before grabbing the axe off of the ground.

"It'll be fine, Sammy. You can make everything right again." Audrey said in a warm tone. Sammy nodded slowly.

"Mhm. Let's move, we're wasting time." Sammy said. Henry nodded before the three of them moved on, walking through a door that had opened after Alice had appeared.

They walked down the hall and made two turns, eventually reaching a crossroads. One pathway that was labeled "The Demon" and the other was "The Angel"

The three stared at the sign for a few seconds, before Sammy made the choice for them and walked down the Angel path. The way to the Demon path was closed by a gate. Henry and Audrey glanced at each other before following Sammy.

The three entered a room that was extremely bright and Alice Angel themed. They moved onto the next room and walked through more hallways.

Walking through one hallway, when they turned the corner, they found Buddy and Jack, waiting for them.

"Buddy. Jack. Good to see you two are in good shape." Audrey said with a smile. Buddy nodded while Jack let out a groaning sound. Sammy looked down at Jack.

"Quit complaining, Jack." He said. Buddy held a normal Gent Pipe towards Henry, but he refused it.

"Keep it, Buddy. I can handle myself." Henry says. After some hesitation, Buddy nodded and the group moved through the door in front of them.

Walking through a small toy workshop, they made it to a locked door that seemingly needed two levers to open. Henry and Sammy jogged to find the second level while Audrey stayed with Buddy and Jack at the first one.

Audrey heard the sounds of combat going down, but soon heard the sounds of an ink creature dying. She nearly assumed the worst, but Buddy suddenly flipped the level, as the door opened and Sammy and Henry returned, perfectly fine.

"What was over there?" Audrey asked, raising an eyebrow.

"A Piper. Don't worry about it." Henry said with a nod. Audrey nodded back as the group then walked through the door and moved on.

Walking through the sepia halls of the studio eventually led the group to an elevator. Audrey expressed her concern over it, but Henry explained it was needed to move on. As the group stepped onto the elevator, it closed behind them.

"Hm... a group? What an interesting development..." Alice's voice rang out. "I have to say, I'm an instant fan. Looks like you've got a date with an angel. Come to me. Level Nine. Just follow the screams." Alice added, causing Audrey to freeze up, but Sammy and Buddy were almost petrified.

The elevator kept going down with a petrified Sammy and Buddy in tow, until eventually stopping and opening. Alice's voice rang out again.

"Come on, step out of your cages. There's a whole twisted world out there." But Henry didn't move. In fact, he stopped Buddy from exiting.

"I'm going in alone. Sammy and Buddy are too scared to go on," Henry said, gesturing to the two. "And as for you and Jack... well, Alice probably won't be very friendly if one of you two come." Henry added. Audrey was reluctant to let Henry go on alone, but eventually agreed with his reasoning.

So, Audrey watched as Henry walked forward, while staying in the elevator. Henry had told her in advance about Alice's tasks during their stay in the Safehouse.

---

After what felt like forever, they had managed to complete all of the tasks that Alice had given them. Henry said that he hadn't detected a change in Alice's behavior or speech.

Now they were on the last task, the only one that mattered to Henry, and thus, the group's only concern.

During their tasks, Alice had made a remark about Sammy saying she had talent and that he was a good liar, which caused Sammy to lash out and yell that it wasn't true, which caused both Sammy and Alice to be silent for the rest of the tasks.

When they had to collect thick ink, Audrey had caught a glance of something with a beam of light emanating from its head walking by a window, but didn't ask what it was.

And then came their last task. Even the task where they had to smash Bendy Cutouts that literally spawned the Ink Demon wasn't as nerve-wracking. Okay, maybe not, but still. It was nerve-wracking. The uneasy tension was so thick that you could cut it with an axe.

"I hate leaving work unfinished! Fortunately, I have you to pick up the pieces. But you'll have to go even deeper. Down, down, down into the abyss. Take the lift down. Say hello to an old friend." Alice instructed. When Henry returned to the elevator, he pressed the lowest button on the panel.

The elevator doors slid shut and began to move down. The first thing Audrey saw when the elevator doors opened was a Piper corpse with its heart ripped out.

They moved out and past the corpse, before making it towards a balcony with stairs that led to a floor coated with ink. From a hallway below, Audrey saw a beam of light.

"There he is." Henry said as he gripped the edge of the railing. "The Projectionist. Norman Polk." He added. From a distance, Audrey got a good look at the Projectionist. The drawing of it was fairly on point.

An inky humanoid body with a speaker and film reel embedded into his body and a projector for a head, skulking through the darkness. It stopped to stare right at Audrey. She could feel the Projectionist staring right into his soul.

Whoever Norman Polk was, these three obviously had a history with him. Sammy had mentioned that he had sacrificed the man, but otherwise, she didn't know. Curious, she decided to ask.

"Who was Norman Polk? What were your guy's relationship with him?" Audrey asked, glancing at the other four, who were all being silent.

"A projectionist. A seeker of dark places. An outside observer. A man with an uncanny ability to notice trouble. A man who avoided drawing attention to himself. A man who saw everything-" Sammy's dramatic description was interrupted by Jack chiming in with a mischievous gurgle. Sammy groaned.

"I respect him, Jack, as a peer." Sammy said, slightly annoyed. Jack let out a sound that Audrey assumed was chuckling. Henry let out a sigh.

"Norman. An old friend of mine. He had a strange sense of humor, sure, but he was generally a nice guy. Ah... I should've asked him to come with me when I left the studio." Henry said with a sigh. Audrey placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe you couldn't save him then, but let's save him now." Audrey said with a smile. Henry nodded, before glancing at Buddy.

Buddy was tapping one of his fingers against the railing, staring at the Projectionist. Henry raised an eyebrow.

"Buddy, did you know Norman?" Henry asked. Buddy nodded in response, before standing up straight, ceasing to tap his fingers.

"Friends?" He asked. Buddy shook his head. He took out a piece of paper and quickly wrote something down on it, before sliding it across the railing and to Henry and Audrey.

"THE MAN HELPED ME. GAVE ME INFO. COULDN'T SAVE HIM." The note read. Henry nodded, before grabbing the note and putting it away. Sammy glanced over at Jack, who seemed a lot less solemn about this.

"Jack, what about you? Have anything to say about Norman?" He asked. Jack made a shrugging motion before letting out a bubbling noise.

"He was good at his job? I suppose you're not wrong. Norman was probably the person I was least annoyed at, except maybe Susie." He said, his voice becoming a bit dreamy. Jack snickered, but was then lightly kicked by Sammy.

"Don't make fun of me." He said. Jack let out an angry gurgle, but Sammy didn't respond.

Audrey glanced among the group. Save for Jack, who could easily fight with his fists, everyone had a weapon. Even Henry had been given a weapon by Alice, being given a Gent Pipe.

Alongside that, Audrey had her fully upgraded Gent Pipe, Buddy had a normal Gent Pipe, and Sammy had an axe. They didn't need to kill the Projectionist, but they definitely could if they needed to.

But all they needed is for Audrey to touch the Projectionist with her left hand. Simple, right?

"Alright, well, if the sentimental stuff is out of the way, shall we restore Norman?" Audrey asked. The group nodded and walked down the stairs, with them all being illuminated by the Projectionist's light as he stared at them.

Audrey was a bit worried what would happen if they touched the inky floor, but nothing happened. Even Jack, who was the least formed out of everyone there, was fine with walking on the ink.

The Projectionist watched as they approached him. Henry eventually stopped the group around fifteen feet away from the Projectionist.

"Be careful. The Projectionist is a lot stronger than anything we've fought so far. Besides the Ink Demon, the Projectionist is arguably the second most dangerous monster here. But don't injure him too much. He can take a lot, but he has a limit." Henry explained. The group nodded.

As if on cue, the Projectionist let out a scream that sent a chill down Audrey's spine and caused the ink to ripple all around them.

The Projectionist went on the offensive and began charging towards them. As the Projectionist got closer, Jack descended into the ink, Henry and Buddy both rolled to the side, and the remaining two teleported behind the Projectionist using Flow.

Sammy and Audrey both stared at each other.

"You can use Flow!?" They both asked each other. The Projectionist turned back to them. Audrey shook off her surprise and ran at the Projectionist, reaching out to touch him, but the monster grabbed her forearm.

The Projectionist delivered an underhanded punch to Audrey's stomach, before letting of her wrist and punching her square in the face, throwing Audrey backwards and onto her back several feet away.

Jack suddenly re-emerged from the ink and clung onto the Projectionist's back. Before the Projectionist could remove the Searcher from his back, Sammy ran at him in front and swung his axe, digging into the Projectionist's shoulder.

But the Projectionist wasn't as stunned by the pincer maneuver as they thought, as the Projectionist managed to kick Sammy away, sending him rolling through the ink, before tearing Jack off and throwing the Searcher into the ground in front of himself.

The Projectionist raised his foot to smash the Searcher's head, but Buddy got close enough behind the Projectionist to grab Jack and pull him out of the way.

The Projectionist spun around and back-handed Buddy, throwing him and Jack several feet away.

Henry snuck up behind the Projectionist and swung his pipe, hitting the creature in the back of the head. The Projectionist turned and swung, but Henry ducked under it, before smacking the Projectionist's chin.

The Projectionist snagged Henry by his neck with both hands and lifted him into the air. Before he could do anything, Audrey, who had managed to recover, stabbed her pipe into the Projectionist's back, delivering an electrical shock that caused him to drop Henry.

The two backed off. Henry ran over to Buddy and helped him up, as Sammy stood back up and Jack descended back into the ink.

The group all glanced between each other, before all running into the halls of the Inky Abyss before the Projectionist could spot them.

"Jesus. I knew he was strong, but not this strong..." Sammy muttered as the group ran. Audrey noticed that they were slowed down by the ink, but the Projectionist seemingly wasn't.

"He's got a big advantage here. I don't think we can beat him head on." Audrey muttered. Henry nodded. He eventually signaled them to come to a stop and guiding the four of them into a corner, next to a crate with ink hearts on them.

"The only way we're beating him is with strategy. The Projectionist has poor hearing and he can be distracted by touching these ink hearts." Henry said, gesturing to the crate.

"We could lure him into an ambush. Combine his poor hearing and his strange fondness for the ink hearts, it's definitely possible." Sammy said, hefting the axe in his hands. Jack let out another gurgle.

"...Jack just said that we'd just get our asses handed to us again. His words, not mine." Sammy said, standing up straight. Audrey suddenly snapped her fingers.

"Don't knock the ambush idea just yet. It could work, we just need the right plan of attack and attack simultaneously. Like how Sammy and Jack had. We should do it, but with all of us." Audrey explained. Henry nodded, twirling the pipe in his hand.

"Mhm. Using this crate of ink hearts, we lure the Projectionist here. Jack hides in the ink and leaps onto his back, while Sammy attacks from the ground." Henry says with confidence.

"Those Gent Pipes were pretty good at stunning him. You and Buddy use them to knock him off of his feet." Audrey says, ideas forming in her head. Henry finished her thought with a warm smile.

"The four of us work together pin the Projectionist down, and then you touch him." Henry says. The two glance at the other three.

Sammy, Buddy, and Jack glance between each other.

"I don't have any other ideas, so we'll have to do it. Go ahead and hide, the four of you. I'll touch the ink hearts when you're ready." Sammy says, before approaching the crate.

Jack crawled down into the ink as Henry and Buddy hide behind walls, so the Projectionist wouldn't see them as he walked in. Audrey spotted a Miracle Station and decided to hide in there until needed. Thankfully, she could still see everything from her angle, so she wouldn't miss the action.

Once everyone was in position, Sammy reached out and grabbed one of the ink hearts. As soon as he did, the Projectionist's scream echoed out in the distance.

About a minute later, the Projectionist's footsteps were heard and soon he arrived, turning the corner, right towards Sammy.

As the Projectionist ran at Sammy, Jack emerged from the ink to cling to the Projectionist's back once more. Sammy rushed forward and struck the Projectionist right in the chest with his axe, causing the Projectionist to stumble, before he chopped it into his shoulder. Both Jack and Sammy began to pull the Projectionist downward, who began to resist.

Before he could escape, Henry and Buddy ran in and swung their pipes at the Projectionist's kneecaps. Combining that with Sammy and Jack pulling at the Projectionist's body, the Projectionist eventually fell onto his back.

Jack sunk into the ink before he could get crushed, before reappearing next to Sammy. Sammy and Jack did their best to keep the Projectionist's arms down, while Henry and Buddy kept his legs pinned.

Audrey took her cue as the four struggled to keep the Projectionist down.

"Any day now, kid." Sammy muttered, clearly struggling. Audrey ran towards them and stepped over the Projectionist's body.

She kneeled down and placed her hand directly onto the Projectionist's light.

"Welcome back, Norman." Audrey whispered as the familiar golden light returned and flooded the area, followed by the Projectionist's scream.

When it subsided, Audrey took her hand off of the Projectionist's head and stood up, as did the other four.

The Projectionist's light had dimmed, nearly going completely dark, which worried Audrey a bit.

"...Did I kill him?" Audrey asked, worriedly. Sammy shook his head.

"No, I think he's just unconscious. We'll have time drag him back." Sammy said. With help from Buddy, Sammy lifted the Projectionist up with considerable effort and began hauling him back, followed by Jack, Henry, and Audrey.

Eventually, the group made it back to the elevator, with the Projectionist still unconscious. They rested him against the back of the elevator, before heading back up with the ink hearts that Henry had collected on the way back to the elevator for Alice.

They moved back up to Alice's floor, before Henry ran out and delivered them. When Henry returned, he looked anxious, as did Buddy. The elevator doors slid shut for what felt like the final time and began to ascend.

"Have you ever wondered what Heaven is like? I like to dream that it's quite beautiful. A soft valley of green grass, blanketed by a warm sun. I don't think I'll ever get to see it." Before Alice could continue, Sammy muttered something under his breath.

"...I dream Heaven to be anywhere next to you." Sammy said quietly, which caused Alice to go quiet. Eventually, she suddenly continued by laughing cruelly. The elevator shuttered before beginning to accelerate downward, screeching loudly against the walls.

It was almost as if... Audrey's eyes shot wide. The elevator was plummeting downward at a very fast speed.

"NO! You know how this plays out, Henry! But I'm going going to make this even WORSE this time! I'm going to take more than just your precious little "Buddy!" I'm going to KILL that DISGUSTING Searcher, RIP out the INSIDES of that girl, and TAKE BACK SAMMY!" Alice shouted loudly, before the elevator suddenly hit the ground, as Audrey blacked out.

After what felt like forever, Audrey's eyes slowly fluttered open. The entire group was on the ground after the elevator crash, on a floor that Audrey didn't recognize. The only person that Audrey could see that was still conscious was Buddy, who was desperately trying to wake Henry up.

She could hear the faint sounds of footsteps and humming, slowly getting louder. After a few seconds, Buddy stopped trying to wake Henry up and stood up, grabbing his Gent Pipe off of the floor.

Eventually, Audrey could see Alice, entering the room. Buddy turned to face her, staring down the angel with the pipe. But even in her weakened and barely conscious state, Audrey could see Buddy shaking. Alice chuckled.

"Oh? The poor little wolf finally steps up against me? Instead of running away, you're finding it in yourself to fight an angel? An adorable, but fruitless gesture, Buddy." Alice says with a chuckle, but before she can move, something distracts her.

"...S-Susie..." Sammy's voice calls out from somewhere next to Audrey. It causes Alice to immediately freeze up, turning to stare at where Sammy must be.

"Sammy?" She asked, but before anyone else could say anything, a familiar loud scream echoed out, causing Alice to back up. The Projectionist had risen from his unconscious state and ran at Alice.

With a single punch, Alice was nearly flung out of the run room. Alice disappeared out of Audrey's vision, but she soon heard running, wh must've been from Alice.

The Projectionist turned to stare at Audrey, but there was something different. The Projectionist's light seemed... warmer.

Norman continued to stare at her until her eyes fluttered shut.

Notes:

If you're curious, according to the BatIM wiki, Henry and Norman were friends, shown through the Dreams Come To Life novel and supported by Alice's dialogue.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of BatIM Fanfics