#they’re so cutie! I wish Felix was still alive!

[g0ttal0ve101]

PICK YOUR FIGHTER 💥

Felix: “I messed up the recipe again…”

Lucian: “Kai, do you need help reading the recipe?”

father and son duo 🤭 tap now when the skrunkly!! 💞

[theangelofvengeance]

A Wish Among The Stars

Midnight had officially been broken around what seemed to be the remains of Garreg Mach Monastery. This great big building which had been home to Fodlan's archbishop, Lady Rhea, was nothing more than reduced to ruins, all thanks to a sneak attack that had been planned by former student and the current emperor of the Adrestian Empire, Edelgard Von Hresvelg. It had finally been five years ago ever since that incident occurred, and safe to say, a lot of the students, teachers and everyone who have worked closely with Lady Rhea, had never forgotten that fateful day.

No doubt Ashe Ubert was one of those students who experienced that unforgettable sneak attack just five years ago. It was also five years ago that his dear professor, Byleth, had been presumed missing. Yes, he had been found ever since, and he had been working all day night with the rest of the Blue Lions to get even against Edelgard herself. And tomorrow was gonna be the day that their professor would take the class he lead in his life over to the Adrestian capital of Enbarr, where they can finally overthrow Edelgard's bloodthirsty regime once and for all.

And it was gonna be the final battle too. That was the one thing Ashe didn't expect, but was expected anyway since the archer himself didn't know how long he wanted to keep fighting this way. Right now, he just wanted to keep both Fodlan and Faerghus, the towns that he resided in in a state of peace. At least on this night Ashe was having all to himself, he only managed to get a brief taste of that peace as he found himself all alone in the middle of the night, stargazing down from the greenhouse he was slumbered inside in. It was mostly Ashe's thing whenever he found himself bored or just wanted to get away from the madness outside the monastery. There was something about being roomed inside a greenhouse while looking at the stars through one of the windows that made it sound so hauntingly beautiful. That and mixed with the sweet aroma of flowers around him made for a perfect nighttime setting.

Of course, he also couldn't forget the warm aroma of chocolate chip cookies that was cooling off in the box that was sitting next to him. This definitely sounded like a peaceful moment to him indeed, especially when he let his thoughts out all to himself.

"I can't wait for this entire war to be over and done with. It almost feels like a long time too..."

A calm sigh broke from Ashe's lips, one that spoke out of pure peace and yet out of uncertainly. He couldn't quite help but think that this upcoming battle with Edelgard could possibly be his last, should he have to die in that final war. He also couldn't help but think if this war would be the final time he would ever see his friends again if they were to fall in battle. Throughout the years in the monastery, he had made friends with his fellow Blue Lions like Felix, Ashe, Ingrid, Mercedes, Sylvain, Annette and their trustful King of Faerghus, Dimitri. Not to mention the students his dear professor recruited into the group like Dorothea, Ferdinand, Leonie, Lysithea, Hilda, Marianne, Balthus and Constance. Ashe had treated everyone of them more than friends.

They were his family. The kind of family that Ashe never got the chance to have even though he was adopted. The kind of family that even though they weren't related, they were bonded by blood and blood alone. What he wouldn't do for any of them that's already been said enough. He continued to reminisce for a little while until he felt the inside of his stomach rumble out of hunger.

"Okay, I hope those cookies are cold enough for me to eat now..." Ashe said to himself before putting his hand inside the box of cookies.

But as he did though, he somehow touched what seemed to be a silk-like glove instead of a baked cookie biscuit. This feeling gave Ashe a grim gulp around his throat as he quickly turned his head to see who he was touching.

The mysterious figure Ashe was touching smiled right to him, "Hi, Ashe."

'GAAAAH!" shrieked Ashe as he nearly fell out of the ledge he was sitting on.

The archer managed to keep his balance long enough to refocus on the person that was sitting next to him, which just happened to be one of his Blue Lions teammates, Annette.

"Don't do that, Annette! You really scared the heck out of me!" Ashe said with his heart palpitating.

"I'm sorry to scare you like that, Ashe." The cheerful girl replied back to him, "I kinda smelled chocolate chip cookies and I was wondering where that smell was coming from in the first place."

"Oh, that..." Ashe chuckled with a blush on his face. He then looked down at the box and said, "Yeah, it was coming from this box. Mercedes kinda made me a batch full of cookies, and I'm trying to cool them off."

"Well, they definitely look scrumptious." Annette nodded before asking, "You don't mind, do you?"

The silver-haired archer then nodded back, "Oh, go ahead."

"Thanks," She smiled sweetly, taking a freshly-baked cookie out from the box. Munching on the cookie itself, Annette then asked the archer, "By the way, I didn't know you hung out here at nights."

Ashe fought out a nervous chuckle as he said with a cookie in hand, "Yeah, sometimes I need to find a good place to get some space and clear my thoughts. What with this being a crazy world due to all of the battles we've fought in so far."

"No kidding," Annette nodded with her mouth full, "Hard to believe we've been through so much, it's no wonder we're still alive in one piece."

"Indeed," Ashe nodded back, "The hardest part of every battle is realizing the fact that in every fight, we have to lose every one of our friends. The ones we grew up with in this very monastery. The fact that they're not with us anymore still hurts."

Annette felt that very same thing Ashe was feeling: Hurt. And no doubt that taking their friends lives in the middle of this tragic war hurt so much like a bloody dagger straight to the heart. It jams in there back and forth before it sinks right into the womb, leading to the brink of nowhere when it comes to life. Sometimes, it even led both Ashe and Annette to wonder themselves if this was hardly worth fighting for. The cold hard truth was that it wasn't worth it, but at the end of the day, it was the way this war had to be.

Minutes of silence passed between both Ashe and Annette for a good while, only for the auburn-haired songbird to break the tension by staring right up to the skies and said, "You know Ashe, maybe they're not really gone at all."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ashe raised his eyebrow, looking at Annette with such curiosity.

"Maybe they're up there in the skies," Annette said as she pointed up the starry sky, "From the way I see it, I like to envision the friends we lost in those battles as stars. Maybe the goddess reincarnated them as such. Sure they may not be with us on this Earth, but up there, they're watching above us in this starry night." She then pointed to the exact moon itself and said, "And see that moon upthere, Ashe?"

"Yeah, I see it." Ashe nodded.

"That moon, in my mind, represents the goddess itself." Annette pointed out once more, "And those stars in the sky are joined with her in perfect harmony. Because like us, those friends fought and gave their lives for a higher purpose. We honor her and them with our hearts, because we all know they never went away no matter what their fate on Earth lies."

Ashe let out a brief, yet relieved smile as he nodded. "Huh, you're right. I really never thought about it that way."

Peaceful solitude began to break out between the two young Blue Lions themselves. Neither Ashe and Annette knew how peaceful their time looking at the stars was. Oh, if only it could be like this between the two friends themselves without any kind of war breaking out, then they never get tired of each other's company. Ever.

That solitude would only last for a bit while before Annette was surprised by the image of a shooting star falling from orbit. This excited the cheerful overachiever so much that she tugged Ashe right by the shoulder to get his attention.

"Hey Ashe, look up there!" She said as Annette pointed up to the right.

Ashe immediately followed suit as he looked up once more, only to see that shooting star shine right between his pale green eyes. It looked quite beautiful from afar, even going so far to shine even more brightly than a pearly white smile.

"I can't believe it's a shooting star," The archer chuckled out, "I hardly ever get any of those at night."

Annette chuckled once again as she said, "I guess we're lucky then, now we get to make a wish."

"Yeah," Ashe smiled back with a nervous blush growing between his cheeks. Soon as his blush faded away, the archer then asked Annette, "What did you wish for, anyway?"

The auburn-haired cutie shrugged before saying, "I don't know, nothing special. My only wish is that I just want this war to be over and make it in one piece with everyone on our side."

"That's a really good wish you thought of." Ashe nodded reassuringly.

"I did, didn't I?" Annette said, blushing a bit herself before asking him, "You make a wish yourself, Ashe?"

The archer, truth be told, possibly didn't know how to respond to that one simple question, leading him to shrug back at her in response.

"I wouldn't know to be honest," He finally replied, "I mean, there are so many things I'm looking forward to in the future that I couldn't possibly think of what to wish for and all. I thought so many like leaving Fodlan to mark a path of my very own, maybe become a knight that I've always dreamed of being for in a famous House, or maybe retire and spend all my days shooting apples with my arrows and whatnot."

Annette broke out in a giggle saying, "You thinking of being some sort of mountain man? I can't imagine what you'd look like with a beard."

"I probably wouldn't say I'd go that far." Ashe chuckled back, sharing a laugh with the girl sitting right close to him.

All that laughing and stargazing ended up making Ashe even more hungry then usual. He decided to pick up yet another chocolate chip cookie when all of a sudden, he felt Annette's hand touch his yet again, resulting in both Ashe and Annette exchanging a blush between each other.

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said, apologizing to her.

"Oh, don't apologize, that one's on me." Annette said, pardoning the archer.

But as soon as they touched hands, something weird started to happen with the two of them together. Well, Annette most of all though as she felt a warm resonance coming from Ashe's own hand. It looked quite soft yet so warm for someone whose hands felt a little dirty after a day of training or perhaps a day of battle. Ashe felt the same way about Annette's hands too. They were smooth, creamy and inviting like feeling a cloth of silk for the first time or perhaps a cloud that Ashe could feel himself touch from where he was sitting at. The feeling felt amazing for the two of them, so much so that they never escaped each other's gaze at all.

Annette quickly wiped her blush away before replying to Ashe, "I really like spending time with you, Ashe."

"Same here," Ashe nodded with a whisper escaping his lips. He composed himself with a deep breath before he said to Annette, "You know, seeing that shooting star up in the sky, I realize I did make a wish after all."

"Really? What's that?" Annette asked curiously.

She didn't wait too long to get an answer from him.

In fact, Annette got his answer in the form of his lips meeting hers in an unexpected kiss. The auburn-haired overachiever felt her eyes bloat up out of shock and surprise. The shock of course came from the fact that she never expected Ashe to pull a gesture off like that, and the surprise was from the fact that the kiss he gave her felt so calm and sweet to her. It was clear that the time inside her mind clearly stopped the longer the kiss was going on. And deep down, Annette found herself enjoying it to the very last.

Although not for long as Ashe quickly broke away from her just to whisper to Annette, "My wish was to spend this moment with you."

She felt her heart completely melt from his words, leaving Annette to blush in response and lose a bit of feeling in her legs, realizing that the boy she had been friends with for such a long time had romantic feelings for her with just one single wish. It was all in perfect timing, knowing if this moment between the two was gonna be the final time should either Ashe, Annette or the rest of the Blue Lions not escape this final war with Edelgard unscathed.

Annette, who was still speechless from that kiss, continued to relish in this sweet moment by returning Ashe's gesture with a kiss of her own. Unlike Ashe though, her kiss felt much more passionate, yet much more deeper than his by a step forward. His insides immediately melted in response to her warm sweet lips intoxicating him per second. That proved to be more than enough for Ashe to wrap his arms around Annette and cock his head to the side, taking in more of her kiss with his in return. The two of them knew that if they were to die tomorrow by the hands of Edelgard and her tyrannical Adrestian Empire, at least they would be together as boyfriend and girlfriend no matter what fate would take them next.

Right now, relishing in this sweet moment was all that mattered to both Ashe and Annette, knowing that it was a wish worth making to them among the stars.

[bendy-dreamland]

(Warning: chapter contains mild gore, death, and blood, mentions of medical procedures)

--

“Boris! No, no! What have they done to ya?!”

Henry pulled Bendy away, keeping him from looking at the dead Toon. “Bendy, we need you to get out of here. Mugman, think you can take him back to Candy Corners?”

“NO!” Bendy screamed. “No, no, no! I’m not leavin’ dis spot! Dat’s mah buddy up in dat dang tree! I wanna know why he’s up there!”

“Hey, calm down, calm down!” Cuphead grabbed at the demon, turning him around to face him. “Look at me, brat! If yer gonna freak out, you’re gonna call da wrong sorta attention here! We need to block off da area and get da police in on dis. We’ve got a straight up murder on our hands, and it might be part of our investigation.”

Bendy looked at Cuphead before his face scrunched up as big, black tears came to his eyes. “B-But… Boris is…” He was cut off when the red-themed cup pulled him into a tight hug, rubbing his back. The demon started to cry, wrapping his arm around Cuphead.

Mugman gulped, looking up at Boris before looking at Henry as he approached him. “S-Should we get someone to call the police? I can go back to the shop…”

“Give me the camera I gave you earlier, I’m gonna take a few pictures. Go call for the police, please.” Henry replied, holding out his hand. Mugman didn’t say anything as he took the camera from his person, giving it to the detective before running back to the shop.

He got inside and went up to the counter. “Mike, I need to use the phone, gotta call the cops. We’ve got a possible murder on our hands.” He whispered, not wanting to cause a panic in the soda shop. Mike didn’t say anything as he let Mugman go behind the counter to use the phone.

As the mug was doing this, Henry was taking pictures of Boris’ body. It wasn’t easy, the sight was making his stomach curl, and Bendy’s crying wasn’t helping that unsettling feeling.

In his short time as a P.I., Henry has learned that death was a rare, but possible, event for cartoon characters. He’s learned that death comes in a variety of ways, some worse than others. Cartoon characters can be killed with acetone or Dip, something like acetone except ten times worse, and it’s not a pretty or pleasant death for anyone. Even humans have trouble when it comes to Dip, it burns something terrible.

Another way to die is from a weapon infused or soaked in either of these liquids, but it can’t be a Toon weapon, it has to be a human one.

Then there’s the simple death of a character due to script writing, and sometimes it’s for the best.

The saddest death is when a Creator gives up on a character and just kills them by ignoring them and cutting them off, leaving them to suffer. They cannot survive this way, they can’t continue to be a character, they’re not even allowed to stay alive in Toon World.

One of the worst cases is when Walt Disney and Universal Studios gave up on Julius the Cat, from the Alice shorts. The poor character suffered so much hate from people accusing him of being a rip-off of Felix the Cat that Disney let him be forgotten.

But that wasn’t his fault, he was an Original Idea that happened to be a black cat who was an imp, personality wise.

Original Ideas are the very essence of a Toon, they exist but they have no true form, no way to come to life, until they can make contact with the mind of a Creator. This is how cartoons come into being, this is how they can access the Over World.

When a Creator gets an Original Idea in their head, they draw the character on paper, then animate them. This gives them the kick in the pants they need for something called Life Ink to get them to come to life, to come over to the real world to live as a living drawing, a Toon.

Toons live in Toon World, that’s their home, but they can’t come into being until a Creator gives them life. It’s always been this way, even with comic characters. They exist in Toon World once they are brought to life through the medium they exist in.

Henry has had many Original Ideas he’s brought to life, just like Boris up here. It hurts to see his creation mangled like this, and maybe it’s the shock of it all, but Henry was keeping himself level headed about all this. He had to, he found his friend murdered and he knew that he had to be the one to find out why. Boris was an Original Idea he gave life to, and it hurts to see that someone snuffed that life out.

That made him worry, was something going to happen to Alice, the Butcher Gang? Did something already happen to them… and Bendy? Oh no, what about Bendy?

Bendy was, for the most part, a difficult Toon to bring to life. He was an Original Idea, but nothing Henry did could give him Life Ink. Until Joey took things into his own hands and told Henry that he’d help bring Bendy into this world. The next morning, he found Bendy sleeping at his desk, completely alive. Henry had asked how Joey did it, and all his friend had said was,

‘You just had to believe hard enough, Henry. Belief can make dreams come true, it can make magic happen.’

Lowering the camera, Henry looked over at Bendy, seeing him sitting a distance away, his back turned to face the body. Cuphead was quietly talking to him, patting his back. Henry could still hear crying from his demonic creation. He didn’t blame Bendy, he was reacting how anyone else would after finding the corpse of their best buddy in a tree.

There were loud siren sounds and Henry looked over to see police cars and the police force making their way over. He wasn’t too keen on the cops themselves, especially the ones here in Palomino City, but he was going to need their help.

He watched as a poodle in a chief’s uniform approach. He looked at Henry and cleared his throat, his voice heavy with a French accent as he spoke. “I am Chief Louis Baton, we were called here because of, eh, murder? Yes?”

Henry nodded. “I’m private detective Henry Ross, and the murder victim is my creation, Boris the Wolf.”

Chief Baton looked at him confusion. “You are a Creator?” He asked, sounding suspicious.

Reaching into his pocket, Henry pulled out his wallet and pulled out an ID card. It showed an image of himself from years ago, and had information about himself and his position at Joey Drew Studios. Chief Baton looked it over before giving a nod. “I have heard of you, Mr. Ross, just needed to make sure. Have had humans pretending to be… well… Creators, yes? Trying to sneak into places. Where is the body?”

Pointing up, Henry gestured to the tree and Chief Baton’s face paled, which was funny to see since he was a white poodle. “Mon dieu…!” He squeaked out as a bit of Boris’ entrails slipped out and dropped down, hanging about three feet down.

Henry felt like throwing up as he looked away. “I-I… let me get the clean up crew…” the police officer stammered out as he turned away. The animator looked down at the ground before walking over to Bendy and Cuphead.

“How’s he doin’?” Henry asked as he sat down next to Bendy, only to have the devil latch tightly to him, crying once more.

“Bad.” Cuphead sighed loudly. “What do ya think’s gonna happen, Ross?”

“He’ll be taken to the morgue where the coroner will look him over.” Henry frowned softly. “I know the coroner, he’s a friend, I’ll be able to get information about what happened from him easily.”

Bendy sniffed loudly before pulling away, his face was stained with inky tears. “Please… please figure out what happened… my best buddy’s dead, I can’t…”

Henry pulled him close and hugged him, sighing softly. “I know, I know, it hurts a lot. I wish I hadn’t seen it either. But I promise that I’ll figure out what happened, and I’ll take down whoever dared to kill Boris.”

Golden eyes looked up at him and Henry watched as a small smile came to Bendy’s lips. “I-I’ll hold ya do dat, ol’ man.”

--

Henry had spoken to several police officers about what he knew of Boris’ body, and he was able to interview both the ram and his wife about what happened. Apparently, they had taken a stroll through the park and the sheep had wanted to sit under the tree for a little break, only for her to find the blood and ink.

Now, that had Henry curious.

Blood and ink do flow in Toon veins, but the problem with the situation is that the blood was too dark, too deep a shade of red to be cartoon blood. Most characters bled a very bright, very loud shade of red, though some bled different colors, and some bled straight up black if they were a monochrome character.

In this case, that was where Boris fell. He was black and white in color, so his blood should be black. But this? Boris had blood that was the same color as that of a human’s, that’s… that’s not right. Did Joey make changes to Boris that were internal rather than external in design? Toons do get upgrades and design changes to match with the times, explains why Bendy wore a colored outfit, but Boris?

Boris was different, he looked just as he had years ago, and was even in his signature overalls. Last Henry had heard, Boris wore a shirt now and had a change in pants as well. He was even sporting a tail, a design choice that Henry fully approved of.

Did Boris change back to his old look before his death?

Henry sighed and rubbed at his eyes before getting up, grabbing a cup of coffee from the offered pot and cups across the room. He, Cuphead, Mugman, and Bendy were sitting in the waiting room at the coroner’s office, waiting to hear anything from the doctor in the other room.

Sitting at a desk in the room was a white cat with a long, fluffy tail and big, gold eyes. She had a cute smile on her face as she typed away at her type writer to the beat of the song that played on the radio. She was the secretary and wife of the doctor, Tabby. She was a sweetheart and liked to call Henry cutie whenever he came in. He let her do it because she was too nice to be angry with.

He poured himself a cup of coffee before looking over at the boys. Bendy had finally passed out from the emotional stress and was currently sleeping against Mugman, who was also napping quietly. Cuphead was the only one awake, flipping through a comic book he had pulled from his hammerspace.

“Want some coffee?” He asked the cup, who looked up and nodded. Walking back over, he handed Cuphead his drink, who happily poured it into his head, enjoying the boost of caffeine.

“Thanks, Henry.” Cuphead said as he closed the comic. “Maybe I should take ‘em home, Bendy’s had a rough time.”

“Yeah, maybe y-” The door behind the secretary desk opened and a black cat dressed in scrubs came out. He had a bored expression on his face as he looked over at the group. “Oh, hello, Dr. Fish.” Henry greeted, before hearing a loud snort from Cuphead. The cat was named Doctor Claudius Fish, and yes, his name was a set of puns. Happens a lot to cartoon characters.

Dr. Fish rolled his eyes, sighing loudly through his nose. “I didn’t choose my name, boy, don’t make fun. Henry, can you come with me, I need to show you something.”

“Right.” Henry set his cup down and looked over at Cuphead. “You gonna come with?”

“I… suppose, yeah. Miss, do ya mind watchin’ my baby bro and friend?” He asked, looking at Tabby, who happily nodded. He followed the doctor and detective through the door and into another part of the building. They entered an examination room and Cuphead made a face as he looked at the body on the table.

Boris was cut open and some of his organs rested on trays, even his head seemed to be cut open. But Cuphead was shocked to notice something with the body and the organs. “Oh, sugar honey iced tea… those aren’t right.”

“I take it that you figured out the problem here, yes?” Dr. Fish asked, looking at the cup headed Toon.

“Yeah, uh, I ain’t da smartest guy here in town, but I know what cartoon organs are suppose to look like, and these ain’t right.”

“What do you mean?” Henry asked as he approached, before realizing what they were getting at. “These are human…”

“Yes, and they seem to belong to Boris, as they were physically attached to him naturally.” The mortician replied, adjusting his glasses on his nose. Henry and Cuphead looked at him with equal surprise and he continued. “I have never seen anything like this before in all my years of working with Toons and humans. Toon organs may look like human ones, but there are obvious differences. For one, the heart is meant to look like one you see when a character is in love.”

“I’m guessin’ Boris’ doesn’t look anythin’ like that?” Henry asked as Dr. Fish held up a tray. He cringed, staring at the heart that was clearly human, except it was yellow in colored, stained in ink. What made it worse was that there was a giant bite mark in it. “What the hell…?”

Setting down the dish, Dr. Fish reached for his notes. “From what I was able to gather, it seems that this wolf has a human chest cavity, and bleeds human blood but toon blood as well, that’s not ink. Though he does have ink in his chest, but I doubt it’s his.”

“What’s… the cause of death?”

“Looks like he was attacked by a beast of sorts. He was clearly torn open by teeth, and most of his organs have bites and tears. It seems a monster had gotten to him, if you want to believe that. I think it was a wild animal Toon, one that has simple intelligence, like a wolf or lion from the Over World.”

He pointed towards the chest, at what looked like long marks in the black fur. “Seems that claws were used, or at least one set. I can’t find much in terms of evidence that two sets were used, just one that appears to be from the right front paw. That, or a hand from a Toon with very, very dark tendencies.”

“Gross.” Cuphead grimaced. “Hopefully it ain’t dat, don’t wanna be dealin’ with a crazed murderer. But if dat’s da option dat’s right… why would a Creator make such a character?”

“Because some people have dark minds that attract such Original Ideas.” Dr. Fish scoffed. “It’s why we have bad guys in Toon World, adds drama to a world full of sugar and smiles. I don’t mind the drama, gives me work.”

“Dat’s a dark outlook on da situation, Dr. Fish.”

“I deal with death and gore, boy, I am desensitized to much of what I see in this office, and I don’t mind it compared to the blinding world of cartoons outside of my office. If I want sunshine and rainbows, I’ll spend time with Tabby, at least I enjoy it from her.”

“Boy, you must be fun at parties.”

Henry sighed and slapped his forehead. “Anythin’ else you can tell us about this, doctor?”

Dr. Fish nodded and moved to another part of the room, grabbing a tray before returning to the table. On the tray was a large wrench, but there was something so wrong about it. It was solid, physical, but it appeared to be stuck as a sketch in appearance. It had all the tell-tale signs of a sketched-out design, like the marks of trying to make straight lines, the areas where things didn’t look even. And it was covered in dry ink and blood.

“This was found in his chest, behind his lungs.” The cat stated. “I’m not sure why it was there, but I suspect that it has a big thing to do with what happened to him. I am still going for his death being caused by an animal, but it is possible that this was used in the process. I’ll keep looking over anything else that seems suspicious.”

Henry nodded, looking from the wrench to Boris, seeing the familiar face, but the unsettling unfamiliarity of the X’d out eyes. There was a soft cough, catching the detective’s attention as he looked back to the doctor, who was giving him a look that meant that he understood how he was feeling.

“I’ll let you know more soon, Henry. I’m still needing to examine things and run tests, give me a day or two. Go home and rest, you look exhausted.”

He did feel exhausted, this is a lot to take in. “I know, I mean… this is my friend, my creation, layin’ on this table, right in front of me.”

Green eyes stared at him before Dr. Fish removed his glasses, cleaning them off a bit. “I understand, it is a hard thing to take in, people sometimes forget that Toons can die as well. We’re not meant to last forever, we all have to go at some point, even if it seems to happen before our time. Go home, you two, get some rest, continue work in the morning.”

--

Stepping out back into the office, Henry was surprised to find Linda waiting there with a now-awake Mugman and Bendy. She smiled sadly and got up, approaching him. “How are you doing, Henry?”

“Terrible, but I’m tryin’.” He tried to smile back at her and she gently patted his arm.

“Come on, let’s go to my place. I’ll make you boys a nice, hot meal and you can relax a bit. I’m sure you all need it after what happened tonight. If you want, you can spend the night!”

“Oh, I don’t wanna be a bother…”

She shook her head. “No, no! It’s alright, I’m offering! Besides, it’s getting late and traveling through the portals at night isn’t always the best. Also, when’s the last time I made you a good dinner, Henry?”

He wanted to say no, he wanted to reject the offer, but how could Henry say no to Linda? He chuckled as he shrugged. “Alright, alright, we’ll come over, is that alright with you boys?”

“Hell yeah!” Cuphead grinned, giving a thumbs up. “I’m up for a free meal!” He ignored his brother, who told him to stop being rude. Bendy looked over and smiled, he looked so tired and worried as he got up, walking over to Henry.

“Thanks fer da offer, Ms. Linda, real nice of ya to do fer us.” He told her, and she nodded, frowning softly.

“It’s the least I can do, it’s a terrible thing to have happen, losing a dear friend like that. Come, let’s head to my place.”

After saying good bye to Tabby, the small group walked out into the dark streets. People were out and about, many coming home from work, others going out for a good time. They could quietly hear people gossiping about a murder in the park, that’s the problem with cities like this, word travels fast.

Bendy bit his lip, trying to ignore the talking of strangers, instead trying to focus on the quiet chatter of his friends. He glanced around as he quietly walked before something caught his eye, a flash of black and blue. He stopped, looking about, what was that? Had he seen who he thought he had seen?

“Ben?”

Blinking, Bendy turned to see Cuphead looking at him with concern. “You okay there, short stuff?”

“Yeah, I thought I saw… hey! Don’t call me short!” He huffed and quickly moved to catch up to the laughing cup, his mind no longer on what he had thought he had seen.

As they walked on down the street, someone peeked around the corner of a building, watching from under a hood. Black, pie-cut eyes looked on in worry before looking about, making sure that there was no one watching from above.

With a loud gulp, the figure ran off. This was bad, he just knew it, he could feel it in his feet that something terrible was starting.

First Joey disappears, now there’s a mutilated body, and he knew there would be more very soon…

END OF ACT ONE SCENE FIVE

[stonersolana]

Baby Butterfly - (miracusims)

hey Bully!! Papa!Louis!! @bullysquadess @miracusims

Louis -

“Ten more minutes, Mari. Okay? There should be ice cream there,” he grinned and made a slow turn into the neighbourhood. “But remember our deal.”

“Sandwiches first, then ice cream,” Mari smiled and started giggling when Louis tickled her tummy with one hand.

Her black hair fell into her face as she wiggled, her face flushing pink as she squealed. “Papa! Papa, stop!”

Louis pulled up to the large Gothic house and parked behind his parents car, turning off the engine. He unbuckled his daughter and held her on his lap, facing him. She wiggled around impatiently, her rounded bottom lip sticking out.

“When we go in, please stay by my side, okay? I know everything is new, but I would really like it if you stayed next to me until I can find your cousins, okay? Then I’ll let you go play,” Louis said, holding onto her little chubby hands. Three years of being her father had gone by so fast and he can honestly say he has not gotten any less protective of her. She was just so small and curious and he always remembered how she used to fit safely into the circle of his arms.

She had the Agreste eyes, that’s how he was sure she was his. He never even asked for a test. Now, she was three and meeting the whole family for the first time and even though he trusted everyone in that house, some part of him would always worry. Mari always had a habit of getting herself into trouble, just like he used to. He could never tell if he was proud of that or worried.

“I promise, Papa.”

That promise was immediately broken minutes after they walked through the doors. His sister Emma nearly pounced on him, locking him into a hug like a vice. After years on the team, her body was pure muscle and could easily crush him. God, how he had missed her.

“Hey, little brother! It’s been so long. You live in the same damn city now, where the fuck have you been? Everyone’s been worried about -” Emma started but she cut her sentence off when she noticed the little girl at her brother’s pant leg, looking down at the floor. “Oh, hello! I’m your Auntie Emma. Your cousin must be around here somewhere. Lotte? Baby, have you seen Nova?”

Louis placed a hand on Mari’s head, letting her know he was there. Lotte walked over after hearing her wife’s voice. “They’re probably playing with Plagg and Tikki in the garden. I can go check - oh, who’s this little cutie? Louis, is this your daughter? Hello, Mariposa. I’m Auntie Lotte,” she smiled and held out her hand to shake. Mari wrinkled her dark brows at the woman’s hand then walked away without saying a word, head bowed. Louis reached out for his daughter but narrowly missed her because Hugo showed up to see him. He clapped a hand on his shoulder and pulled him in for a hug he hadn’t been ready for.

“Finally, you cut your hair! You were starting to look like dad during his midlife crisis, no offence. Where’s your daughter?”

“Well, she was just here. She walked away. If I could just go get her -”

“Louis, she’ll be fine. We’re all family here. Let her be. Trust me, it’s really difficult to let your kid go for the first time. But this place is super safe. Now, let’s go see Bri. She’s missed you a lot,” Emma smiled and led him away. That’s how the first few hours went: Louis trying to sneak away to keep an eye on Mari and someone steering him away to catch up. It was driving him a little crazy.

Piper -

She gently rubbed her eye, careful not to smudge her makeup. Her little brother had invited her to his anniversary party and she couldn’t be happier, she just wished he could’ve picked a better date. Just when she thought she was on this hacker’s tail, he slipped through her fingers again last night. This game of cat and mouse had been going on for a year and it was wearing her thin. But she had to put on a happy (and well-rested) face for her brother and his partners. It wasn’t about her today.

She wandered the house, sipping a triple espresso and just hoping to stay awake for the party when she spotted a little girl with curly black hair and ocean green eyes. Was she a new child of Emma and Lotte’s? She hadn’t seen her before now but she sure was cute in her little purple dress with a large butterfly on the front. The little thing looked lost so Piper went up to her and squatted down to her level.

“Hiya. I’m Piper. You look a little lost. Do you need help finding your mommy,” she asked gently. The little girl looked at her and slowly smiled.

“My name is Mari. I don’t know where my papa is. I went to look for the garden so I could meet my cousins but I don’t know where it is,” she said. Piper stood up and held out her hand until Mari took it, wrapping her hand around two of Piper’s fingers. Piper thought she had to be Emma’s. She had the Agreste eyes and was obviously named after the matriarch of the family.

“I’ll take you to the garden, okay, Mari? Maybe your papa is waiting for you there,” Piper smiled gently and walked with her, saying hi to people as they walked. The house was large but they made it to the garden without any problems. Until one problem showed himself.

Louis.

He looked better than she remembered. He had stubble and his hair was cut short and swept to the side, as if he had actually tried to look decent today. Her chest squeezed painfully at seeing him again but he didn’t seem to be looking at her, not until she spoke.

“Louis.”

“Piper.”

“Papa!”

Mari dropped Piper’s fingers and ran over to the man Piper had grown up with. Then she saw the resemblance: same eyes, same forehead. Louis scooped the little girl up and placed her on his hip in a move so natural, he must have done it a thousand times.

“Papa,” Piper asked, still unable to believe it. Louis’s cheeks slowly turned from pink to red, looking from the little girl in his arms to the woman he hadn’t seen in five years.

“Piper, this is my daughter, Mari.”