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It starts with Buddy. The understudy, a poor imitation of the studio's shining star. Profits are dropping steadily as the cartoons come out later and later, less people tuning in with each new episode. Joey was at his wits end with the brat. It wasn't going to matter when Bendy came back if the studio went bankrupt. Something had to be done, and soon.
The idea comes from Henry, ironically enough. Specifically, from one of his old concept sketches that had been stored away in a dusty box. Rough designs of how the main cast might have looked as children. If a few details were changed young Bendy would be a near perfect match for the understudy. All they would need to make this work was the rest of the gang. “Henry, you always have the solution my friend.” Joey says, vicious amusement in his voice.
They’d need music for the new show, and that was brought him to Sammy Lawrence. He’s making his way through the winding halls to the Director’s office but stops when he sees a woman seated at a desk just outside Sammy’s door. She has her hair pulled back in a ponytail and a pair of glasses in a thick black frame on as she uses her typewriter. Joey clears his throat and she looks up with a small start. “Oh, Mr Drew! Mr Lawrence isn’t currently busy, you may head on in.”
He slams open the door and slams it shuts again, it’s his studio after all. “Goddammit!” Sammy exclaims, clutching at his chest as he breathes heavily. “What was that for!?” Joey does what he normally does when Sammy speaks, and ignores him.
“Lawrence, I need some music for a new project. We’re putting a new spin on Bendy’s copy, the guys down in writing are whipping up something as we speak.” As he talks, Joey looks out of the window at the woman still typing away. He glances back to Sammy who is rooting through his desk for the bottle of aspirin he keeps on hand for whenever Joey pays him a visit. “And by the way, since when do you have a secretary?”
Bottle of pills in hand, Sammy quickly swallows two of them dry before glancing up at the other man. “Her name is Angela Downings, I just hired her last week. With the amount of work I need to redo after it gets soaked in ink I require a second set of hands.” Joey tunes out the rest of Sammy’s bitter grumblings. He leaves with as much noise as he made coming in, but stops at Angela’s desk.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms Downings,” He says, shaking her hand with a warm smile. “I’m always happy to see new faces here at Sillyvision. Though you look more like a starring role type, not a secretary. I don’t suppose you have an interest in performing?” The question is phrased casually, a way of testing the waters.
Angela fidgets in her seat, obviously nervous about making a good first impression. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Mr Drew,” She laughs nervously, face flushed red. “It’s… Kind of embarrassing, but I’ve always wanted to be in one of those broadway musicals. I like to think I’m a good singer, and I’m not half bad at dancing either.” She smiles wistfully before sighing. “But I’m a practical gal, Mr Drew. Performing ain’t gonna pay my bills, but a girl can dream.”
Joey has to contain his excitement. He’d been considering Susie Campbell for the ritual, however the voice actress had been getting more and more erratic lately. But here was a suitable candidate for him on a silver platter. He must have the devil’s own luck. “Now, Ms Downing, you’re in Sillyvision Studios, the place where dreams come true,” He smiles at her, hands behind his back so he doesn’t start celebrating in front of her. “In fact, I have a character debuting soon that I think you’d be perfect for. Could you come by the recording studio after closing tomorrow night and give me a small audition?”
As expected, Angela’s eyes light up behind her glasses. “I would love to! Oh, thank you Mr Drew, you won’t be disappointed!” It turns out that catching angels is easier than it sounds.
Angela has a heavenly singing voice.
She screams like The Morning Star as he plummeted into Hell. Full of rage to mask the fear, she dies cursing his name.
The new Alice pushes herself up on shaky legs. She is, thankfully, more on model than Buddy. The picture of innocence with a cherub like face. But her halo is a little crooked, and her hair is still blonde. At least they could pass that off as a design change with little effort.
Joey kneels down by the angel who is still dripping ink inside her pentagram. She squints up at him as he holds out a hand, as though struggling to focus. It seems as though bad eyesight is a lingering trait. Unfortunately for her, the glasses went missing in his struggle with Angela. Besides, Alice doesn’t wear glasses so the brat would just have to make do.
She keeps staring up at him, her gaze intense. “%#$$#@&%” What may have been words turn to garbled static as she tries to voice them. It seems like this problem isn't exclusive to their resident understudy. It’s probably for the best, no voice to clue people in, although she can no longer sing. However, this does mean that they’ll need to hire voice actors, and therefore expand the budget.
“Well hello there Ali,” he grabs her wrist and hauls her up. She tries to jerk her hand back but he tightens his grip, ignoring the pained noises she makes. “Now, let's get you settled in, shall we?” He drags her along, not bothering to wait for her to catch up to his long strides.
Buddy jolted backwards when his closet door was slammed open and Joey stepped in. Joey’s visits never ended well for him. However, the other just tossed something inside. It was a girl made of ink, like him, gingerly rubbing her wrist. “Bendy, this is Ali. She's your new co-star. I suggest you get to know each other.” And with that, he leaves, as though he couldn’t stand the sight of them.
The two of them sit on the floor, looking at one another. Everything, down to her name, points to her being like him. An understudy for Alice, small and off model. Buddy feels harsh grief grip at him as he realizes that she won’t be treated any better than him. He wouldn’t wish this fate on anybody. Distantly, he realizes he’s shaking.
“Hey, are you alright?” The question jolts him out of the beginnings of a meltdown and he looks up. Ali has closed the gap between them and is looking at him with concern. He gives her a wobbly smile and gets a grin in return, which helps calm his nerves. “So you’re Bendy? That’s what the man called you.”
He shakes his head. “I’m not Bendy, I’m his understudy. They just call me Bendy until the real one comes back.” He doesn’t know why he’s even explaining, all that will come out is garbled static.
Ali tilts her head to the side. “So what do I call you then?” Buddy freezes up with shock. She… understood him? Noticing her expectant gaze the only answer he can give is a shrug. He doesn’t have any names that belong to him, only ones he’s holding onto until their owner returns. Ali hums thoughtfully, chin in her hand. “Well, if you were the first, and we’re made of the same stuff, does that make you my older brother?” She asks him, then continues before he can answer. “So, can I call you big brother?”
Her eyes light up as though she’s solved a difficult puzzle, and she looks at him with such pride that he can’t say no. “Okay, little sister.” She squeals happily at the progress they’ve made, throwing her arms up above her head. Buddy looks around the closet, noting that, at the moment, only one drawer had a bed in it. He’d have to go and find some more for his sister. Thinking of Ali as his sister was easy, and he found himself smiling. Big brother is a title all his own, not Bendy’s, his. It’s nice not to feel like a replacement for once.
Joey doesn’t even have to search for a candidate for Boris, he has one at home. His daughter, Nina, loves Boris. She has a impressive collection of Boris themed merchandise, and his wife made her a Boris costume for Halloween which she wears regularly. The studio keeps most of his attention, so he isn’t home much. But despite not having talked to his wife in a month, he doesn’t think it would go over well if he took Nina somewhere and came back without her. So he lingers on the sidewalk of the more secluded part of Nina’s walk to school, waiting. “Daddy?” Nina asks as she turns the corner.
Joey kneels down and opens his arms. “Hey there buttercup,” He grunts as she vaults into his arms, giggling. “I’ve missed you sweetheart,” He really hasn’t, but children are easy to fool. “You know daddy’s work keeps him very busy, but I’m still sorry we haven’t spent any time together in so long. So that’s why I want you to come to work with me, I’ve got a surprise for you.” Nina’s eyes light up at that and she practically bolts into the car. Too easy.
When she asks him why she’s standing in all of these pictures he tells her he’s about to do a magic trick. Her smile doesn’t stay for long and she starts to scream. “No more magic tricks daddy, I don’t like them I don’t like them!” Nina attempts to stumble out of the pentagram but Joey stomps on her left leg, feeling it give unnaturally under his foot. Nina sobs and sobs until her voice is stolen from her by the ink.
“Damn it all, off model again!” Joey curses as he stares down at the ink creature. It’s ears as all wrong, instead of pointed they’re huge and floppy, and there’s a patch of grey over the left eye. He tries to back away from Joey, but his left leg gave out under him and he fell backwards. “Alright, Bo, come here.” Joey growls as he grabs the pup and slings him under one arm. He squirms in his grasp, crying static, so Joey smacks the back of his head. “Stop that! Or I’ll hit you again.” Bo whimpers and goes limp in his grasp, motionless except for the tremors.
He literally drops the pup in the closet before stomping off without a word, infuriated. Bo, however, doesn’t move from where he hit the floor. Two sets of footsteps approach, coming to a stop in front of him.Buddy motions for Ali to stand back a little and crouches down beside the pup. “Hey now, don’t cry. It’ll be alright.” He holds out a hand, waiting patiently as Bo hesitantly reached out.
Ali slowly approached and took his other hand. “Hi there, I’m Ali and this is my big brother. What’s your name?”
The pup looks at them with wide eyes. “The man… he called me Bo.” He mutters softly, ears flopping onto his face when he moves his head.
“Well you look pretty hungry Bo. Do you like bacon soup?” Buddy lets go of the pup’s hand and instead follows behind as Ali pulls him to their food stash, talking a mile a minute. He notices that Bo walks with a limp, which was concerning. Ali rummages through the box before turning to him. She holds a can out to Buddy and he opens it with his tail. “Alright, eat up little brother!” Ali says, handing Bo the can and a plastic spoon.
Buddy opens a can for himself and Ali, the three of them sitting in a small circle on the floor. It feels familiar but he can’t figure out why, like it happened in a dream once. One word sticks out to him, though he’s not sure how he knows it. Family. His own little family. For the first time Buddy doesn’t feel the oppressive weight of the studio, as though this moment took place somewhere else. He just wished it would never end.