#i also love that they use the same logic i do. sorry couldn’t redesign him he wouldn’t let us. sorry rock insisted on being drawn this way

[kinokoshoujoart]

the sos awl development team really looked at rock and said “even if we could fix him (we can’t) he would never agree to it, carry on king”

[casualpastelgay]

Title: Good Ending?

Pairing: Zen(Hyun Ryu) x Cherry (OC of @darkta)

Rating: General

Word Count: 1704

Type: Angst

Notes: I wrote this piece for @nostringsdetached! It was a collaboration piece with the owner of Cherry, @darkta! I don’t write angst very often, it was a very nice change for me. You can get the entire zine for no cost [here]!

~*~*~*~*~

“I’m home.” Cherry sighed as she opened the door to her apartment. A small twitter was the only response to Cherry’s announcement, but it nonetheless turned her dreary expression into a small smile.

Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she made her way over to her parrotlet’s cage. “Hi, Skittles.” She cooed to the little, sky-colored bird. Cherry inserted a finger between the bars of his cage and stroked his neck, which Skittles leaned into happily. “Work was tough today.” She murmured, idly twirling her fingers in Skittles’ cage as he begged for more attention. “You know what that’s like, right?” Cherry asked, earning a small sneeze in response from her companion.

Cherry giggled at her bird’s antics as she removed her fingers from the cage to open the artfully crafted door. She then let Skittles hop onto her finger then flitter up to settle in one of her large hoop earrings. “The manager was hard on me today.” Cherry spoke softly as she squatted down to remove her heels, careful not to stir Skittles from his resting spot.

She placed her shoes on the rack by the door to her apartment as she continued to relay her day to Skittles. “All of my designs were declined today, and on such short notice.” Cherry placed a kettle on the stove and picked an English breakfast blend teabag out of a rather large selection. She was sure the powerful black tea would cure her conscience of any doubts in her own abilities.

“The building process of the costumes was supposed to start last week; I can’t believe they had the nerve to ask for a redesign!” Cherry fiddled with the purple ribbons in her light auburn hair. “This is going to be so stressful for the whole team.”

The kettle sang as the water boiled, Cherry quickly picked up the kettle and poured it into an ornate teacup. It was one she had painted herself, she was very proud of it.

“You think we can do it, Skittles?” Cherry asked her parrotlet as she stirred her tea with a little silver spoon. Skittles pecked softly at her earlobe in response, like he was scolding her for doubting her skills. “Thank you for your honesty.” Cherry chided the bird lightly, raising the teacup to her lips and taking a dainty sip.

Once Cherry had finished her tea and returned Skittles to his cage, she padded towards her workspace. Fabric swatches and sketches adorned the walls of the small area, some spilling onto the floor. She tried to keep it tidy, but when she stared at her muse she sometimes couldn’t help but let her ideas overflow.

In the center of the room, he stood proudly, her muse. Or at least, what Cherry could create of him. Donned in an elegant white and gold suit was her prince, Zen. In reality, it was a mere mannequin. But with how bold and beautiful her suit design stood, it breathed life into the figure. It started as a small project, just sketching and dreaming, but in Cherry’s heart there was so much love for this man that a magic seemed to take form.

“Zen…” Cherry sighed, running her fingers along the golden trim of the suit’s sleeves, imagining his hands and the warmth they would hold. Her eyes traced up and down the mannequin, fingers quickly following as she fixed any tiny imperfections she noticed. With how long she had been working on the suit, there were little things to change or fix, but it had to be perfect. He was perfect.

A buzzing sound startled Cherry. She fished through her pocket for her phone, smiling to herself. Cherry had installed the pockets on this dress herself after agonizing over it for what seemed like ages. On her phone screen was a single notification, one from the app Mystic Messenger. It was Zen.

Her love, yes, was sadly a fictional creation. However, Zen had helped her through so much in her life that she barely minded. It would be lovely to see him, to touch him, to be held by him. But some things couldn’t be helped.

Cherry tapped on the notification to open the app, seeing that she’d unlocked a new chatroom. As she read, tears budded in her eyes.

“I wish I could be there to help you, but I still can’t cross over dimensions…”

“Oh Zen, if only you could. If only you could be here, standing in front of me.”

“I want to get to know you better… but it’s sad that all your answers are already determined.”

“If I could, there’s so much I would tell you. There’s so much I would do with you. There’s just so much…”

“I’ll always be here so that you can come see me whenever you want… use me.”

“Don’t hesitate to come find me…”

Cherry choked back a sob, a stray tear curling down her chin as she continued to read.

“I realized that our thoughts and feelings…”

The stray tear glistened like a glass heart, falling so delicately to crash into the screen of Cherry’s phone.

Heat suddenly coursed through her hand, causing Cherry to gasp and drop the phone to the floor. She stared down at Zen, his hand pressed up against the screen as he smiled at her through the cracks in the screen. Lights blinded Cherry, almost causing her to stumble backwards into a workbench, but she caught herself just in time. Time seemed like it stopped but was racing forward at the same time, it was nothing she had ever felt before. What was this sensation?

“Transcend dimensions.”

Cherry gaped as she heard a familiar voice, though this time… It wasn’t coming from her phone.

Her eyes slowly raised from her phone, now shattered on the floor, to the mannequin that stood before her. Though now, it wasn’t merely a mannequin.

“Zen?!” Cherry let out a strangled noise, half way between a gasp and a cry.

“Jagiya~” Zen breathed, a smile stretching across the face that hadn’t existed there moments before. He took a step towards her like he had never been trapped in a lifeless prison. Like he was real.

“Zen…?” Cherry said again, incredulous. Had she gone mad?

“Cherry,” Zen wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him.

The tears that had been stunned into stopping spilled over with new fervency as Cherry was held by her love, something all logic told her was something that would never happen. Could never happen.

Zen pressed a loving kiss to her forehead, stroking Cherry’s hair as she sobbed. “Shh, Jagi, I’m here.” Zen cooed, allowing his love to press her face into the princely suit she had made for him.

His heart beat, she could feel the heat of life in him. It all made no sense, could she allow herself to be convinced this was real? But it all did feel… So real. “How did you get here? How…” Cherry choked out, deep blue eyes meeting shimmering red.

“I’ve always been here.” Zen spoke softly, peppering soft kisses down Cherry’s cheek to clean her of tears. “I’ll always be here.”

Cherry hiccupped as her mind continued to attempt to process what had happened. Even if this wasn’t real, she could still allow herself to enjoy it. Right?

Zen stopped short of pressing his lips to her. No, no, he was taking things much too quickly. They hadn’t even been on a proper date yet. “Cherry?” He asked, releasing her and taking a step back.

“Yes?” Cherry asked, a timid blush creeping across her features as the handsome man slipped down to one knee.

“Would you care to join me on a date?” Zen held a hand out to Cherry, hoping with all the light in his heart that she would take it and come with him.

Cherry balked, fingers trembling as magnets seemed to draw her hand to his without her mind needing to process his words. “Of… Of course, Zen.”

Zen smiled when Cherry took his hand, leaning forward to press a kiss to her fingers. “Jagiya, thank you.” He rose to his feet, his own fingers intertwining with hers. Should he abandon this pretense? Just sweep her off her feet like he had yearned to for so long? Or was that too much for right now?

The blush on Cherry’s face deepened as her prince stared down at her, he seemed to be considering something. “Where do you want-“ Her question was cut off by a surprised yelp as Zen lifted her off her feet into a princess hold.

Cherry averted her wide eyes when Zen’s face was once again, so suddenly close to hers. “Sorry, Cherry, I have waited so long for this day.” Zen chuckled, pink caressing his own features. “All men are wolves, you know.”

“I trust you.” Cherry murmured, meeting Zen’s eyes for a moment before looking away again.

Zen blinked, taken aback for a moment by the honesty in his love’s words. “Then what are we waiting for?” He spun to face the front door of the apartment, still easily holding Cherry’s small figure in his arms.

Cherry stared wistfully into the smiling man’s handsome face as he strode towards the doorway, a faint skip in his step. All true meaning slipped away, all that mattered was him and her. He was overdressed to be outside, she wore no shoes; but still the door opened to a new life, a new path.

A familiar warmth spun through Cherry, like the heat of her phone before she dropped it. It seemed to resonate from Zen. A sparkling light blinded her for a second time, though she stared through it to meet Zen’s gaze. A weightless feeling surrounded her, like Zen had let her go but she still floated in the light. She could still feel him against her.

The couple seemed to evaporate there in the doorway, the light encasing Zen brighter than ten suns but as gentle as a lamb. Were they here? Were they there? Were they anywhere? Neither could tell, but since they were together, no reality mattered anymore. To Cherry and Zen, this was perfection.

Good Ending?

~*~*~*~*~

Want more? Visit my [masterpost]!

If you enjoyed, please also consider donating to my [ko-fi]!

[shellheadtm-a]

Bucky x Tony @involuntaryspy​ / send me a ship and-

Who asks the other on dates:  okay, it's time i was real with y'all.  tony didn't even know they were dates until date #3.  he didn't.  he had no idea.  he thought they were just hanging out.  i mean clearly that got cleared up and bucky learned a valuable lesson in how you need to be absolutely clear with tony and not let his brain fill in the blanks (i mean to him it was logical they were just hanging out), but.  it's true.  (i think it has to do with the fact that tony doesn't see cues if he's not the one doing the pursuing - i don't think a lot of people have pursued him like that in seriousness.)  anyway, they go on dates, though it's mostly bucky that has taken over their social dance card, tbh.  when tony's in new york it's usually for work or avenger things, so there's not a lot of fun to be had and besides, bucky's back in indiana usually, though if he's in new york they do things.  but bucky's the one with the connections when tony's home so it just ends up that tony comes home and finds out he's doing a thing.  it works for them.

Who is the bigger cuddler:  tony is absolutely the cuddle fiend in this relationship.  if they're both home in the same room, you can believe some part of tony is draped over some part of bucky at all times. you would think tony wouldn't be so intent on that kind of thing but considering his past history, especially all that time in the chestplate, being touchy with his person is a big deal.  he even does it while he's asleep, he latches on and has to be untangled from to get out of bed (sorry, bucky).  he likes being Close.  

Who initiates holding hands more often:  bucky might initiate it more often, but tony never hesitates, not even once.  he's schmoopy like that.  and like, yeah, he makes sure he's on the side that bucky's comfortable with, because he gets it, but also consider:  he likes to make it exceedingly clear that he's not worried about bucky's metal arm.  i mean, it's already been said, but he built it.  he loves and trusts bucky.  there's nothing in that that he remotely thinks is something to be wary of.  and you can be sure when he does cute shit like kissing the palm of bucky's flesh and blood hand he does it to the metal one, too.  it's not about being able to feel it, it's about normalizing it, associating it with daily life, as a help aid and a prosthesis instead of a weapon, as a part of bucky himself, like he's done with the upgrades he gave it to make it make daily life easier.  making sure bucky knows he loves all of him.

Who remembers anniversaries:  people need to literally let tony live!!!  he might not be able to tell anyone when they started dating, because, again, he didn't even know those were dates, but he does remember things like birthdays (just...not his own, usually).  and the stuff he can't remember, he has friday for, and since she and bucky are apparently so buddy buddy she's not likely to let tony get himself put in the doghouse by letting him forget.  he tries, though.  he just only has so much ram and processing speed and there are a lot of programs running in the background.

Who is more possessive:  that's not a thing with them.  tony doesn't really have much of a possessive streak in that way, for the most part i'd argue that he's emotionally too submissive in a lot of respects (especially in romantic relationships) and skittish because of bad experiences.  he doesn't try to keep bucky all to himself, it's why he's doing this double household thing to begin with, you know, and why he's setting up camp in another city that's becoming a tech forerunner (so he can have his office closer to home and actually be home).  he'd rather it be that they're actually living together full time, but he knows bucky loves being in indiana and loves his house and wouldn't try to take it from him for the world.  wouldn't ask him to change things, he'll change things as much as he can (i mean he still has to be in new york for weekly meetings but iron man kinda negates flight time there), but otherwise he's nested so hard himself it's sad.

Who gets more jealous:  i mean it's a fact tony has a jealous streak.  but it's not...it doesn't come out that way.  he withdraws, pulls back, instead of clinging tighter, because of the way tony's brain works and likes to lie to him (it's the depression and anxiety).  but he's forever grateful that bucky will absolutely save him from situations he'd have a hard time extracting him from with them both knowing it definitely looks like jealousy, because it's not.  bucky's teaching tony how to say no when he'd have reluctantly said yes and not wanted to and how to start learning and putting up his own boundaries.

Who is more protective:  tony can be ridiculously overprotective, if you want me to be honest.  it's because he worries.  he's redesigned bucky's gear at least twenty times and then never says anything because he doesn't want it to be taken as an insult, he just wants to keep bucky safe.  and he knows bucky won't take it the wrong way but...it's tony, it's how he is.  he doesn't want to be as overbearing as he's been accused of in the past.  but bucky's team normal and tony has a vested interest in making sure he stays unsquished.  i can also say that he's literally never made the connection between bucky running interference and it being a protective thing, at least not consciously.  subconsciously he's starting to put those boundaries in place when he just can't - though not enough to give him some breathing room yet - so if nothing else it's actually doing some good.  baby steps.

Who is more likely to cheat:  tony stark is no cheater.  it would literally never occur to him to even consider it, like...ever.  this is a guy that wasn't even sure if his girlfriend was still his girlfriend (she was ghosting) and he still turned down other people because as far as he was concerned, with no clear answer, he was still in a relationship.  tony stark is loyal.  fullstop.  tony stark married?  ten times as much.  he's someone's Person, bucky picked him, and that's it, that's all, bucky's stuck with him now forever, because tony is in reputation a playboy, in reality a mate for lifer.  and despite the fact that he's had such horrible relationship experiences - including being cheated on - he's literally never given it a thought whether bucky would, because his faith in the people he loves is unshakable.

Who initiates sexy times the most:  they're idiots, okay, i don't know what to say other than that.  it's a game, it's all a game to them, and they're both horrible little shits who get it in their heads they must have the upper hand and then nobody gets laid because they can't use their words.  it's amazing they ever actually have sex at all considering how big of idiots they are with this.

Who dislikes PDA the most:  there's pda, and then there's excessive slobbery pda.  like, they're married, they're allowed to hold hands and have the occasional cute smooch in public, they're allowed to casually touch each other but let's be honest, they're both entirely too grown to be slobbery and gross.

Who kills the spider:  the only member of this household that kills spiders is probably alpine.  you kinda feel bad about it when you know so many spider hyphen people.

Who asks the the other to marry them:  bucky, it was bucky.  and it's so funny, you know, because honestly before bucky did, tony was thinking about it and telling himself not now because it was too soon, way too soon.  like it was honest struggle, it's really kind of sad.  and funny.  like i'm still laughing at the entire thing, because tony never had a clue, never suspected a thing, never guessed, like bucky needs to put a feather in his cap about that because it's hard to keep things from tony, his thing is as much information as it is engineering and innovation, so the fact that tony showed up to his own wedding not knowing it was a wedding was.  chef kiss.  

Who buys the other flowers or gifts:  tony, we all know it's tony, because he doesn't know how to not.  he honestly wouldn't know what to do if he couldn't like.  overdo this.  and he does overdo it.  buying out a flower shop for two weeks straight?  done.  reserving an entire restaurant for a night so it's just the two of them?  double done.  paying attention to little details and wants and likes and then turning that up to eleven?  you remember the chocolate thing, you remember.  but like...for tony it's not a big deal?  he's not good with Talking About Feelings and it's easier and more comfortable for him to express things in other ways, and he has the money to do it. and if it was just spending money because he can that would be one thing but it's very specific, very pointed, he uses all those little details he pays attention to in order to do it.  and to be honest, bucky will never stop him.  he will continue to be That Way because it's what he knows and it's part of his love language, so...it's nice that it's appreciated in the spirit it's meant rather than what it has been in the past with other people, i don't think tony's ever otherwise been in a real relationship where it was a nice surprise when he does stuff like that instead of expected because he's tony stark.  

Who would bring up possibly having kids: kids aren't really a thing that's part of the bucky and tony show, and honestly, in this case i don't think...tony feels that loss as acutely as i'd have expected?  it's not a thing he thinks about much at all, to be honest.  their lives are utterly insane outside of their happy little bubble, the work will literally never be done, and they have a good life, you know.  they both have enough going on, with themselves, with the world, it's better not to add that unpredictable and vulnerable element into the equation.  and they have al.  tony's never had a pet, not really, so this is new and novel and he can direct those feelings to her and he's satiated.  he's happy.  he loves that cat so damn much, it's ridiculous, even if she's a complete and utter traitor and a bed thief.

Who is more nervous to meet the parents:  it might have been bucky but honestly i don't know that he had anything to worry about.  or maybe he did, amanda is feisty and isn't afraid to like.  take somebody out with a guitar, i love her sm.  plus she is...awesomely protective of tony and his feelings now that they've connected so of course she's gonna give bucky a shovel talk but...anyway, overall it's all very strange to tony and he has no idea what to make of any of it because he doesn't have much of a frame of reference there, so he considers bucky and amanda things to be bucky and amanda things and stays out of it, for the most part.  they seem to have made up their minds about each other and no one's getting beaned with instruments, so he'll take it as a win.

Who sleeps on the couch when the other is angry:  they don't fight.  it's weird.  they actually talk things out like adults and reach an understanding.  crazy, right?  it's like they understand they won't agree 100% on everything and have figured out a way around that.  amazing.  besides, sleeping on the couch is for the naps tony won't admit to and claim he does not take that he actually really does take.  why would he do that when he can fight the cat for dominance and sleep with bucky?  he wouldn't, that's what.

Who tries to make up first after arguments:  tony likes to have a good sulk and pout session first, to be honest.  so it's entirely reasonable that bucky would because honestly in most of tony's interpersonal relationships he's not going to open the floor to talking about his own feelings.  he's going to keep those where he thinks they belong, which is with him, but bucky will push for it which is actually a good thing.  instead of letting tony stew in whatever it is, it gets addressed.  he's safe to Have An Emotion and then Express He Has That Emotion without feeling like he's being ridiculed.  

Who tells the other they love them more often:  you know that post.  the one about "where's husband" "here's husband! here i am!"  that's it, y'all.  that's them.  that's them in a nutshell.  they're unbearably gross, it's awful, i love them.  tony takes a while to get over that hurdle, you know, admitting it out loud because he's got his issues.  but once he's past that he has no issue using it at every given opportunity.  part of it is the superhero lifestyle is unstable and once it's out there he wants to make sure he reiterates it while he can.  part of it is it becomes this ridiculous little talisman for him, that he has to say it.  part of it is because tony stark is a romantic at heart and needs bucky to know at all times that he loves him, does bucky know he loves him, because he loves him.  it's gross, it's disgusting, someone please make them stop.

[bendy-dreamland]

“Ahoy-hoy.”

“Hey, it’s me! Yer favorite ink de-”

“Nope. Good bye.”

“DON’T YOU DARE HANG UP!”

“Fine, fine! Uhg, da least you can do is call me more than… oh, I dunno, never! What do ya want anyway?”

“I need a favor.”

“As I expected, what is it dis time? You still owe me for da last one, and it was a doozy. We almost got caught.”

“I-I know, don’t remind me. But dis isn’t a bad one. I just need you to meet me an’ a friend of mine at a portal, possibly da one over on main, near da ol’ oak tree? It comes outta da statue.”

“It’s public.”

“I’ll be in human form, an’ I’m bringin’ my friend Henry wit’ me. You’ll be playin’ escort.”

“Hhhh… fine, but you’re buyin’ me dinner!”

“I’ll even buy ya dessert, baby~! See you tomorrow mornin’, nine o’clock sharp! Bye!”

“W-wait, Bendy! Don’t you hang up on m-! Oh, come on!”

--

Henry wasn’t sure how this happened, but Bendy somehow wormed his way into spending the night at his place tonight. He couldn’t even remember how it happened, damn toon logic. Well, now he’s stuck with a roommate for tonight in his small apartment. Luckily for him, Bendy was fine with taking his old couch.

As Henry worked on stirring a pot of bacon potato soup, he heard Bendy humming a song to himself as he looked around the living room. “Not much here, big guy. Ya live alone?”

“Yes, I do.” Henry replied, keeping his attention on the food.

“Hmm… wait, I thought you were datin’ someone. Or did dat end since we last chatted.” Bendy commented as he looked at some books on a shelf. Uhg, no comics or picture books, how boring.

With a heavy sigh, Henry looked over at him. “We broke up ten years ago, shortly after I left. How did you even know I was datin’ someone beforehand? You don’t like romance.”

“Oh, I don’t, but the office was gossipy.” The imp chuckled as he approached his creator. “You overhear stuff if everyone talks about it. People knew you were sweet on someone! But, uh, sorry about da break up.”

“It’s fine, it was mutual and necessary, something came up. This is done. You’re lucky this stuff is easy to make. Also, learn to peel potatoes better, you’re gonna be tastin’ some skin.”

Bendy blew a raspberry at him. “I ain’t a cook! I’m a dancer!”

“That reminds me.” Henry reached for two bowls, moving to dish up their dinner. “What exactly were you doin’ to get by here in Over World? You weren’t… stealin’, right? Never designed you to be a straight up thief.”

He scoffed, shaking his floating head. “No, no! I did a song an’ dance act at a really nice club, owned by a lovely couple. Sweetest people, took me in, thought I was an orphan, heh. I’d go out, perform stuff from the show as a human, wit’ out da toon stuff, an’ people loved it. Lived with the couple, da Andersons, but they moved to New York, an’ I stayed here, livin’ in da abandoned club fer six months now.”

He took the bowl when it was offered to it, he was already drooling over his favorite dish. “Fed mahself on donations I’d get from dancin’ in da streets. Collected cans an’ metal for da war effort, they’d give me change, it helped. Sometimes… I sneak into Toon World an’ take what I could get, pretendin’ to be some bum toon.” He followed Henry to the small dinner table in the kitchen, taking a seat. “Now, I got a question fer you, one ya didn’t answer earlier.”

Henry sat down, looking up at him. “Ask away.”

“Why do ya only got nine fingers? What happened to yer hand?”

The detective looked at his right hand. He only had four fingers, his pinky was completely missing, there was a huge amount of scar tissue where it was supposed to be, traveling down the front and back of his hand. He glanced over at the toon, seeing the curious look in those big, black eyes. “The war.”

Bendy shuddered visibly, his black outline wiggled as he did this. “I heard nothin’ but bad things about dat mess. Humans an’ toons, sent overseas. Lotta… lotta bad stuff, my contacts in Toon World have told me dat some toons come back pretty messed up.”

He looked at the bowl before looking back up. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, wasn’t there long enough for shellshock to really get me.” Henry replied as he put a spoonful of stew into his mouth. “Sometimes, loud noises get me. Makes me think of the grenade that sent me flyin’ about ten feet in the air. Woke up four days later in a hospital, cute British nurse told me that I had a concussion, damage to my right leg, hip, and… lost my finger.”

A small smile came to his lips. “Some of my buddies from my troop visited me, they gave me my finger. One of them found it. Knew it was mine cause it still had the blistered finger nail from when I closed a jeep door on it a few days before. Nice gift, we put it into a jar of beer we found and threw it into a river. As a little… screw you, I guess.”

Bendy let out a nervous chuckle. “Heh, dat’s funny. Sorry dat ya, ya know, got sent over to fight.”

Henry just waved it off, shaking his head. “Nah, it’s fine. It happened, my dad fought in the previous one, and he came back fine. I’m fine, I lived to tell the tale, I’m here. With a small limp in my step, but I’m alive and kickin’. Gonna take more than an explosive to send me to the pearly gates.”

The demon laughed more, an honest laugh. Yet there was a small sense of dread with those words, what was it that could cut Henry’s life short? He looked at his creator, who returned to eating his soup, his attention on the newspaper he had set on the table earlier.

It’s been ten years since he last saw him, had watched the man leave Joey Drew Studios with a sad good bye, and a promise that they’d meet again. When Henry left, Bendy was banned from seeing him, with a threat from Joey. He had missed the animator, they were great friends, heck, Bendy saw him as his best friend!

And then Henry was fired, banned from the studio, because something happened between him and Joey.

After Henry left… well… Bendy noticed changes in the studio. Things took a strange turn, and he can’t… he can’t really figure out what to make of it all. And it wasn’t just at Joey Drew Studios, there was The Studio, in Toon World.

He had only visited once, and he knew there was something not right about it at all.

Bendy remembered the unsettling, unnatural air of Da Studio, of how everyone seemed to be almost in a trance-like state, that many of them had left the studio in Over World. And ink, it was everywhere, it was constantly flowing in the pipes. He didn’t get far, he just remembered seeing where the Ink Machine was located, and he never wanted to see it again.

It was so much bigger and more powerful than the original one in Joey Drew Studios…

Bendy shook his head and shoved a spoonful of soup into his mouth, deciding to just ignore those thoughts and forget about the Studio for the rest of the evening. He was gonna catch up with his creator, that was a much more enjoyable plan!

As the ate, Bendy asked Henry questions, like what he had gotten up to in the past ten years, how some of his cases went, if he was really as good of a P.I. as some of the humans and toons claimed him to be. Henry answered his questions and tried to ask his own of the demon, but Bendy only answered questions he wanted to answer. He was vague on the stuff that involved him getting into trouble, or how he got Henry back to his office. He also avoided questions about the studios.

Henry was suspicious, but figured that those were sore topics, or things Bendy couldn’t tell him just yet. Yet, that was a word he knew would be common with Bendy. The demon was always a mystery, Henry hadn’t been there when the toon first came into this world, not like the others, but Joey had. Joey said he appeared just like all the others one had and would, something had just… delayed the little guy.

Toons don’t get delayed in coming into creation unless if editing occurs at the same time of the creation, but that is rare. Then again, Bendy went through a lot of rough drafts from Henry’s original designs.

The mouth was a huge change, same with him losing and then gaining a tail, he even use to have a set of wings at one point. And the human appearance… Henry had made notes that he wanted Bendy to take on a human form for pranks, since demons could shape shift, but Joey never liked that idea.

But seeing Bendy with a tail now, and the ability to become a real human, not a toonish one, is mysterious.

Joey, what were you doing these past ten years?

After the meal and talking, Henry set up a makeshift bed on the couch for his unexpected guest. “We gotta get up early, I want to get to work on this case as soon as possible. And didn’t you say we’re meetin’ with your friend at nine?”

“Yep! He an’ his brother better be there, or they’re cruisin’ fer a bruisin’.” Bendy moved to begin removing his vest.

“What are you doin’?” Henry asked as he unfolded an old blanket for Bendy to use.

“Gettin’ undressed! Normally, if I ain’t in Over World, I’m as naked as da day ya created me, but here? Gotta wear clothes, only really got da one set and I don’t like sleepin’ in it. Besides, you’ve seen me in mah normal attire, so don’t make a fuss.”

“Hm. I just thought it was a redesign to spruce you up before the show got cancelled.” That happened sometimes, when series try to continue after having low ratings, they do redesigns of characters to get more attention. It doesn’t always work.

Bendy shrugged. “Nah, it’s my own work. Got some clothes from mah friends, fixed up da left sleeve cause I can’t really use it.” He tossed the shirt aside. “Even gave it mah li’l patch, ol’ dish face thought it was a good idea.”

Henry raised an eyebrow but didn’t question it. “Alright, whatever you say. Time for bed, don’t stay up and get into anythin’. If you need anythin’, I’m in the other room. Good night.”

The imp grinned, giving a nod. “Night Henry!” He waved, watching the human head to a different room before seeing the door clothes. He let out a small sigh, rubbing at the back of his head as he looked around the apartment from where he stood. He hoped they could figure out what’s up with Joey and where he went soon, he didn’t want anything to happen to Henry. Joey would do something to the guy, he just knew it…

--

“Okay, this is da spot.” Bendy pointed to a small area, where a man stood in dark clothes. He was clearly a toon, though he appeared to look somewhat like a dog. He stood before a fenced off brick wall, watching Bendy and Henry with careful eyes.

“Reason for business?” The dog asked, his voice as stern as his face.

“Detective Henry Ross.” Henry approached, showing his verification to enter Toon World. “I am investigatin’ the disappearance of Joseph Drew. We have permission to enter to continue the investigation to find any clues to his whereabouts.”

The dog looked over the verification, seeing that it was certified between the mayor of this town and the one in Toon Town. “Alright, you can go. But what about this guy?” He pointed at Bendy, who put on a plastic grin.

“I am his assistant in da case!” Bendy continued to smile. “Benjamin Daemon, I knew Joey Drew an’ am a friend of Mr. Ross here. I’m also in contact wit’ da people waitin’ fer us on da other side of da portal.”

He got a hard glare from the dog who turned and approached a phone attached to the brick wall. It was cartoony in nature and after he dialed a number, the mouth piece began to move as a voice came through. “Yeah, what is it?”

“Got a couple of guys wanting to come over, are there people waiting for a Benjamin Daemon and a Henry Ross?”

The phone was quiet for a moment before the mouth piece began to speak again. “Yeah, two guys are waiting on this side. Let ‘em through.”

The dog hung up and opened the gate of the fence with a key from his pocket. “Just walk through the wall. Watch out, it’ll try to pull you back in.”

“Don’t worry, I know mah way around a portal.” Bendy chuckled and grabbed Henry’s hand, making his grab at the back of his vest. “Do not let go of me until we pass through. Dis one is a doozy.”

Henry didn’t like the sound of that, he didn’t usually use this portal, he often used the one near his office. But Bendy insisted on this one and his contacts knew it, so he was stuck with it. He followed after him, holding onto the golden vest tightly as he watched his creation push his hand against the bricks. He watched as Bendy’s hand morphed through the brick, as if he was pushing his hand into gelatin, before his upper body went in.

Soon enough, Henry was being pulled in, the sensation was cold and weird. He never did like traveling through wall portals, they always felt so weird. He closed his eyes, it was always blindingly bright going through these, and he knew that it would be too colorful on the other side.

Bendy had no trouble though, he was so use to this sort of travel that he was immune to the blinding white and then the sudden surge of colors that was right ahead of him. He could hear the corny, upbeat, happy singing of something as he approached before a cartoonish hand shoved through the swirling portal of colors in front of him.

“Here we go!” Bendy grinned, grabbing at the hand as he was tugged forward. He felt the familiar chill of the portal as he was pulled through the colors. It stuck to his body as he was pulled towards a very familiar figure.

“Hey there, short stack.” The figure smirked, seeing Bendy come through with someone. “And you did bring yerself a friend.”

“Yep!” Bendy laughed, stumbling forward after Henry smacked into his back. “Sorry about dat, ol’ man, I forget about da landin’.”

Henry huffed, straightening himself out before he looked at the other toon. He was taller than Bendy, an object head, a cup. He wore red pants with a black shirt, a red and white striped bandana was around his throat, though Henry knew there was nothing under it. Like Bendy, his cup head floated over his shoulders.

“Cuphead!” The imp laughed again as he hugged onto the toon. “Mmmm~! Did ya miss mah sweet face, baby?” He planted a big, wet, cartoony kiss on Cuphead, who shouted and shoved the other off. Bendy just landed on the ground, laughing even harder than before.

“Hehehe, been a while, eh Bendy?” Another toon approached, dressed similar to Cuphead, though in a blue color scheme. He turned his attention to Henry, smiling. “Ah, good morning, Henry!”

Bendy stopped laughing abruptly and looked up at his creator. “You know Mugman?” He asked as he got to his feet.

“Yeah, I know him and his twin brother. We worked a case together last year, and Mugman here helps develop my photos for me when I can get into contact with him.”

Mugman chuckled. “I do it more as a hobby, but I’m happy to be of help.”

Cuphead and Mugman, former stars from Studio MDHR’s biggest hit, Cuphead: Don’t Deal With the Devil. They were two kids who made a deal with the Devil himself at his casino and had many adventures fighting baddies to get their soul contracts in order to save their own skins from the prince of darkness.

It had ran for a while and did well, but after the big fight with the Devil and a bonus set of episodes, the studio lost funding and didn’t do well against other competition. So, the two cup brothers and their cast of colorful characters moved on to Palomino City, a place known for housing lost toons.

When a studio goes under or decides to remove characters from their casts, the Toons move to Palomino City to live. They can find work in Toon World and Over World, but they no longer have studios to return to in order to continue their shows. Sometimes, rarely, do they find work in other studios, but most just get simple work.

They are, however, not treated well.

Many humans, specifically the higher class and those of a certain heritage and standing see them as being on the same level as those of lower classes, the poor, and those of different races and cultures. In other words, toons are a minority group and are treated as such.

It actually surprised Henry that Bendy was able to find stage work in Over World as a performer, most usually work behind the scenes, or as staff members of clubs. It wasn’t often they got to perform unless if the business was owned by toons.

The cup brothers got lucky, they were able to become bounty hunters of sorts. Just like in the show, they tracked down cartoon characters, only this time it wasn’t for their contracts, it was for people skipping out on payments and such. They still worked for the Devil himself sometimes, who lived in Toon World, somewhere.

Henry wasn’t sure where the Devil was, he was a strange toon, one that the animator didn’t understand. He knew people at Studio MDHR and had asked about that character and how he came to be. No one could ever give him a straight answer. How… peculiar. But that isn’t his business of other animator’s work and choices, he wasn’t going to dwell too much on a cartoon demon that isn’t his own.

“Hey.” A voice spoke up, catching the group’s attention. A human stood near the portal, glaring at them. “Alright, you’re all here, now get! No loitering around the portal!”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get yer britches in a knot.” Cuphead snorted, turning away with the others following after him. “So, Henry, what brings you here and how is Bendy involved? Must be pretty big to have him using a public portal like that.”

That last comment caught Henry’s attention, Bendy doesn’t use public portals? Are there hidden ones? Probably, most likely in seedy areas. He probably uses those since he’s on Toon World’s most wanted. “I’m here on a case, Bendy is here to help me. We’re lookin’ for any information on the disappeance of Joey Drew.”

Mugman frowned at this. “Joey Drew? Must be a big deal for you to bother with that, no one here cares that he’s gone. In fact, when people found out, I swear there was cheerin’. Newspaper said a great evil was missin’ and that we don’t have to deal with it.”

“I was hired to find him, I think there is somethin’ big happenin’ behind the scenes. Bendy’s filled me in on what little he knows, and I even went back to Joey Drew Studios to see for myself what happened.”

“And whatcha found wasn’t enough?” Cuphead asked as he put his hands behind his head.

Henry shrugged. “I found a strange machine before the place flooded, called the Ink Machine.”

This got the cup brothers’ attention as the looked at one another, before looking at Bendy. “He knows?” They both asked.

“He knows just as much as I do an’ what I’ve told you two about.” Bendy snipped, glaring. “I don’t want him gettin’ anywhere near dat screamin’, metal death trap! He almost got himself killed in da place cause of da machine.”

“You two know about it?” Henry asked, ignoring Bendy’s shouts.

Mugman waved his hand a little. “As Bendy said, just what he knows. We only really know that Joey Drew created it to speed up production for shorts, but that’s about it. But Bendy doesn’t seem to like it all that much.”

Henry glanced at his creation. “Clearly. Anyway, Mugman, I’m gonna need you to develop the pictures I took. Sorry, it’s got some ink on it, hopefully the film is still good.” He held out the camera he had used in the studio, which Mugman carefully took.

The mug toon looked it over, giving a little nod. “It’ll be a small challenge, but I’m sure I can clean up anythin’ that needs it. Still seems to be in good condition.” He shifted it a bit in his hold, but almost dropped it. Quickly, he caught it, but hit a button, blinding the four with a flash of light.

“Ow! Mugs, what was dat fer?!” Cuphead rubbed his eyes, uhg, he was seeing spots.

“Sorry, butterfingers today, it seems! I think I took a picture, terribly sorry, Henry. I’ll get rid of it when I develop the film.”

“It’s alright.” Henry replied, blinking a few times. “So, we need to sit down and plan things out, figure out how to go about gatherin’ up information here.”

Cuphead nodded, smirking. “Well, we can go to Tizzy’s Diner, since a certain someone owes me dinner like he promised.”

Bendy rolled his eyes. “You said dinner, it’s too early fer dat!”

“Nope, I want breakfast, didn’t get a chance to eat it this mornin’!”

“Cause you woke up late.” Mugman rolled his eyes, ignoring the stammered defense from his twin. “Let’s just go, I’m gonna need a coffee to get through a conversation with those two.”

Henry chuckled, following after the taller twin. “No kiddin’, didn’t realize that those two liked to argue.”

“They’re good friends, but they are always at each other’s throats. Come on, I’ll buy us breakfast, my treat.”

The four arrived to a small diner, called Tizzy’s. Henry had been here once before with someone from his past, they shared coffee and the best peach cobbler he ever had. Tizzy herself was there, a bat toon who always had her curly locks pushed out of her face by a polka dot bandana. She had a stern look on her face when she saw Cuphead, crossing her arms as she tapped her foot.

“You gonna finally pay off that tab, Cuppy?” She narrowed her eyes at him as he sheepishly laughed.

“Y-yeah, don’t worry…! I’ll get da money real soon, just got hired fer a new job, dontcha worry dat pretty head of yours, Tiz!”

“Ha!” She smirked, hands on her hips now. “I’ve heard that song and dance before. Mugs, at least I can trust you. So, you ordering?”

Mugman chuckled a little, saying that they would be as he ushered the other three to a quiet booth off to the side, away from most of the other customers of the greasy spoon. Once they were seated and given menus, along with everyone ordering themselves some drinks, Henry got right down to business.

“I’m gonna need as much information on Joey Drew and Joey Drew Studios as you two can get. Everythin’ from the past ten years.”

Cuphead gave a nod as he leaned forwards, resting his arms on the table. “Gotcha, we’ll ask around, keep it on the downlow. There’s a lotta people here who won’t give up what they know without a price, but Mugs an’ I got our way of gettin’ info.”

“And if it becomes too much trouble, I’m sure our boss will help.”

Bendy shook his head. “No, we ain’t gettin’ dat guy involved, too much trouble wit him, and I already owe him enough as it is… don’t even let him know I’m back here.”

“We’ll keep our mouths shut then.” Mugman frowned, but smiled when Tizzy walked over with a tray, giving them their drinks before taking their orders. Once she was gone, he turned back to the group. “I know a guy, we often use him to find out if a bounty has been seen or if they’re in hidin’. We can probably get a few things out of him, but he’s really stubborn.”

“You mean Mike?” Cuphead asked, getting a nod. “Great, don’t like askin’ him fer information, gets real snippy about it. Won’t even tell us his source! But he’s a man with connections.”

“Mike?” Henry asked, taking out his little notebook and a pen.

“Sarsaparilla Mike, he owns Candy Corners. We know him through Baroness von Bonbon, use to work under her, a background character from our show.” Mugman replied as he took a drink of his coffee, seeing Henry taking notes. “He’s a man who is tight lipped, but can get information from just about anyone, he’s a man who knows what he’s doin’. Really scary how well he is at that.”

“I think he’s got good connections, but like hell he’s gonna tell us who or what they are.” Cuphead huffed.

Henry nodded, making note of this. “Bendy, is there anyone you know who can help?”

“Ehh… not really, tried to keep myself on da downlow these past few years, lost a lotta connections, but I still talk to these two. I told ya, I’ve been in hidin’, can’t have anyone know I’m Bendy da Dancin’ Demon. So call me Benjamin here.” Bendy whispered.

“Right.” Henry frowned. “Well, maybe we can give Mike a visit after we’re done here, could make things a little easier. Or we could check out The Studio, see what we find there.”

“No!” Bendy hissed, slapping his hand down on the table. “We ain’t goin’ there just yet! Only as a last resort!”

“But what if he’s hidin-!” Mugman started but the look he got from the human-toon made him clamp his mouth shut. “R-right, we’ll… leave it for last…”

Cuphead got up from the table and grabbed Bendy by the back of the shirt, much to his protest, and dragged him outside. He pushed the demon into a small alley next to the building and shoved him against the wall. “What the hell, man? You looked ready to jump an’ slaughter my brother!”

“I did not!”

“Your tail is out!”

Bendy glanced, seeing that, yes, his tail was out and looked sharp as a knife. He hissed through his teeth before returning his attention to the cup. “Listen, brat. I don’t want either of you or Henry goin’ to Da Studio. Not until we have a better idea of what happened to Drew. If he’s there, fine, we’ll leave him there to rot in da hell he made, but I don’t want any of you guys goin’ there. Who knows what horrors are inside.”

“Horrors?”

“Believe me when I say dis, but Da Studio is nothin’ like the one in Over World. I only went back once since da show ended, an’ it ended up wit’ me losin’ an arm an’ gainin’ you-know-what. I don’t remember what happened in there, but I’ve got nightmares I never recall later, just phantom sensations of fear an’ pain. Bet you don’t want yer li’l brother bein’ in a similar situation. Or worse.”

Cuphead stepped back, looking about ready to argue, but he bowed his head. “I don’t want anythin’ happenin’ to Mugman.”

“Then trust me, Cups. We stay as far away from Da Studio until its our only option, or things get a lot worse.”

END OF ACT ONE SCENE THREE