Chapter Text
Joey Drew
What to say about Joey Drew? Well, for one thing, he wasn’t one man. Or was he? Arlo still couldn’t completely comprehend what the deal was with there being more than one of the same person, especially when they are all so...different. No Joey Drew was the same as another. Sure, there were bound to be some similarities, but they all led such indiscriminate lives. Their motivations, their families, their...peculiarities, nothing was ever the same from Joey to Joey. It was a little fascinating, he supposed, but it was mostly just confusing.
Yet, there was always one defining trait that all of them shared and he was almost certain none of them even knew it. An almost tangible supernatural aura wafted off of Mr. Drew. He sensed it, his husband sensed it and Willow most certainly sensed it. They weren’t entirely sure what he or they were up to, but there was no denying something sinister was afoot in the cartoon studio.
Willow, of course, had wanted to confront whichever Drew she could find to get some answers. Marvin and himself had had to calm her down before she went off on a witch hunt with a couple of facts; they had been “summoned” here by the Joey known as ‘Magenta’ with no definitive means of getting home, their best bet at getting home was to stay on said man’s good side, and that angering any Joey could bring the lot of them down on their heads. The hot-blooded fighter in her said she could take them all down if it came to that, and even though Arlo was sure she could, they still didn’t want her to risk anything. Besides, neither him nor his spouse could argue that not knowing why this presence seemed to follow the man wasn’t cause for weariness.
But it wasn’t their business to ask or even think about it, really. They weren’t going to be here forever. Hopefully. Whatever these men were up to had to be heinous, but..what could they do about it? This wasn’t their world. So, it wasn’t their problem. So, they shouldn’t feel guilty for not doing anything…
RIGHT?
A sigh left the Politoed, drawing the attention of his darling.
“Is everything alright, Arlo?”
“Yeah. Just… thinking is all.” And trying not to let the guilt eat away at him...
Joey Drew was a man of many faces to Marvin. And he didn’t just mean that because there were multiple versions of him…
There were so many different sides to the cartoonist that he likened him to a six-sided die. The dream-driven idealist that talked of reaching for the stars and the double-dealing manipulative shrew were his two main personalities, it seemed. How did he know this? Well, the Weavile always paid attention to his surroundings; Arlo called it a ‘nervous habit’, but he just never saw the harm in keeping an eye on things. And suffice to say, this whole “being transported to an entirely different world” ordeal had him on high alert. So he watched when he was certain he wasn’t looking...and didn’t like what he saw.
‘Magenta’ was the name of the Joey of this studio and also the one that had brought them here. Almost immediately upon their initial meeting, he’d been unnerved by him. Seeing Willow bristle as she looked his way confirmed he wasn’t the only one that felt there was something wrong with the man. Aside from the obvious dark aura, his mannerisms just seemed...off? It was hard to explain, but Joey seemed to...fake it? Not always, of course, but it was frequent enough to the point of being worrisome.
The fact that he is their only reliable means of getting home just amplified his worries. But there was also the matter of the other Joey’s. Not all of them gave off the same creepy vibe as Magenta, but they each had their own ways of lying. Unsettling thing about that is their tells were so well hidden that a person who didn’t know any better would write them off as ‘quirks’ at worst. Lying was ingrained in every one of them and Marvin had to wonder just what they were covering up to need to become so good at deceit.
A sigh from his husband drew him from his rampant thoughts. He’d almost completely forgotten he was in the room with him.
“Is everything alright, Arlo?”
“Yeah. Just..thinking is all.”
Words said one thing, but body language said everything.
“We’re going to be okay, dear. Yes, this is all a bit...much to take in, but our family is made of tough stuff! Most of it being Willow, but still!” A small snicker was the reward for Marvin’s little joke.
“I know that, my love. I just. I just feel like we’ve been plopped right in the middle of something seriously sinister. And that we seem to be the only ones aware of it.”
Marvin understood. The employees of this Joey Drew Studios were far from okay with all that goes on here, but it was their jobs. Many probably figured what happened at work stayed at work, so it wasn’t really anything to dwell on completely. Angering their boss could be another reason for turning the other cheek. That and they didn’t know the laws of this world, so whatever Joey’s doing could be perfectly legal. Frowned down on, but legal. And they hadn’t spent any time in the different studios to gauge how other variations of the workers may feel, so no comparisons were able to be made.
“Is it wrong of us to not even try and warn the employees of what they might be getting into?”
“With what proof? All we have to stand on is that we, strangers, feel something is wrong with their boss.”
“But still!”
“Arlo, I know how you feel, but there’s just nothing we can realistically do.”
A worried hum left the Politoed and Marvin sighed. One of the many reasons he loved his husband was his big heart and he just knew the thought of leaving innocent people in the dark didn’t sit well with him. Putting down the small devil toy he’d been fiddling with, the Weavile made his way over to his spouse and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. To try and provide some comfort.
“Listen. For all we know, we’re simply overreacting to something we just don’t understand. In our world, it could be wrong, but who knows what goes here? What we need to focus on is getting back home, all three of us, safe and sound.”
“...You’re right. You’re always right. I just have to keep my thoughts on me, you and Willow.”
…………….
“Wait. Where is Willow?”
Joey Drew was a fucking asshole! And she means every one when she says that. Messing around with some bullshit magic he shouldn’t have been meant that her and her dads were now stuck in this shitty little cartoon studio of his. Fucking skinny ass twig boy. Magenta is what all the other Joey’s called him, need some way to identify between them all, and she did not like him. At all. For more than the obvious.
There was something wrong with him, firstly. The whole ‘playing around with dark magic’ thing didn’t earn him brownie points, obviously, but just everything about him. It made her fur stand on end and her stomach twist into knots. Which was not an easy feat for anyone to accomplish, mind you…
“Ugh! Here for a couple of days and I already miss my punching bag.”
The only other sound that filled the empty studio was her hooves clacking against the wooden floors; all of the workers had gone home for the day, meaning she could wander about at her leisure now. Magenta had told them that she, specifically, would possibly entice a panic from his workers, so it was best for her to stay out of sight. Oh, Willow had had a few opinions about that, but her Pops had stopped the slew of curse words with a hand over the mouth. In hindsight, however, this arrangement wasn’t all that bad; getting gawked at by a bunch of strangers wouldn’t do her bad attitude any favors, so solitude was best. Plus this gives her time to do some snooping on what the hell is going on around here undeterred.
No matter what flowery bullshit Drew spouted, Willow and her parents knew better than to take what he said at face value. Yet, her folks wanted to keep their heads in the sand and avoid causing a ruckus. She, however, was determined to figure out what the man had to hide in these walls. If only for the sake of making sure her family was safe from whatever the hell it was...
Another door was swiftly opened and an irritated huff left the crossbreed. Nothing. Honestly, she wasn’t even sure what she was looking for. A gigantic sign that said “Evil happens this way”? A sigh. As she continued her way through the building, her mind wandered back to the subject of Joey Drew...or rather the other variations of him. They’d been told about their existence in the brief explanation as to what the fuck had happened to bring them here, but she’d only had the pleasure to meet one of them. And if the god of this world was merciful, he would be the only one. The old man’s name was “Hymen” or some shit like that; same as Magenta, they had some black magic aura around them, so she was instantly suspicious and on high alert. Apparently, the ass who had brought them here needed some help searching for a way to get them home, so he called reinforcements. To make a long story short, she and him didn’t get off on the right foot..or hoof, rather. And from what she’s heard about the others, she wasn’t keen on seeing more, so she left those interactions to her parents. Honestly, all this freak shit is just more reason to get home faster...
“Maybe I can find Magenta’s office. What better place to look? There’s gotta be evidence hiding in the-”
The words died on Willow’s tongue as she felt a cold shiver run down her spine. Her hooves made a definitive clack as she stopped dead in her tracks in the middle of the hall. What...what was this? That aura she felt around Drew...it didn’t hold a candle to what she was feeling now. Her ears perked up and swiveled to and fro as she surveyed her surroundings frantically. Where was it coming from? It wasn’t thick per say, but it was everywhere all the same in a suffocating sense, so she couldn’t get a good bead on it. With a harsh shake, Willow steeled her nerves and trotted onward. This was the breakthrough she’d been looking for; find what the hell was at the source and she’d see what Joey Drew Studios was working on besides ‘cartoons’.
A couple of turns to the left, a few to the right and a deep pit was beginning to set itself into the crossbreed’s stomach. The aura was getting stronger and her natural instincts were telling her to turn tail and run..but her natural instincts were a bunch of pussies! She was fine. This was fine. So close. She was so close, she had to be!
Almost there. Almost there. Almost there. Almost there!
“WILLOW!”
Nothing was more embarrassing than getting so startled that you involuntarily change course and run smack dab into a wall, but it’s especially so when the person that startled you is your own family…
“Oh my goodness, Willow! Are you alright?” Marvin asked.
“I’m fine,” was the disgruntled remark. “But I think the better question is: what are you doing here?”
“Looking for you, of course. You don’t usually stay out this late...or travel this far into the studio.”
A snort.
“Well, I wanted to get a better idea of what’s going on around here.”
“Willow.”
“Oh, don’t act like you don’t feel it, Pappy! We’re smack dab in the middle of some fucking demonic aura right now!”
The truth wrenched a flinch out of her father and a twinge of regret was felt in her chest. Dammit, she didn’t...mean for that to come out as mean as it did…
“I know this whole studio is very...very...”
“Creepy? Freaky? Evil as shit?”
“I was going to say ‘peculiar’, but. We’ve talked about this, Willow; we are in a delicate situation here and need to put serious thought into our actions, otherwise we might not ever get home.”
A mean grimace descended over Willow’s face. She hated that he was right, but not more than the fact they were pretty much helpless. She hated feeling helpless. As if reading her thoughts, Marvin stepped forward and placed a hand right between her horns in an attempt to reassure her.
“And I also know that you have a tendency to try and be the hero, the protector. So, I have to stress that you please not do that here. You don’t have to go looking for trouble just to make sure it doesn’t come back to us. Promise me you won’t do something reckless?”
“…………………..”
“Promise me, Willow.”
“……………..Fine, I promise.”
The relieved sigh that left the man said a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Marvin wasn’t sure about getting home, but he was damn sure about making certain his family didn’t get hurt…
“Thank you. Now, let’s get back to our quarters. Arlo must be going crazy from worry and the workday for the studio is starting soon.”
Willow watched as her dad started down the hallway silently before huffing and trotting after him; she was still going to figure out what Drew had to hide around here, but she just had to be a bit more...sneaky about it. Cause for all his worrying, Pappy was right about one thing; if she found something she wasn’t supposed to, her and her family would be pretty fucking screwed. All too easy to make people disappear when nobody would even know they’re missing, you know? Just meant a little bit of espionage was called for, that’s all. She promised she wouldn’t go looking for trouble, not that she wasn’t still going to look into the doings of the studio...
I’m gonna find what you’re up to, Drew. Just you wait.