Devils In Disguise, a BATIM fandom story (REDO)(NEW STORY NAME: Little Devil)

Chapter 3 - Rise and Fall

I slowly wake up in a room and blink. I see a ceiling fan above me and sit up, rubbing my head. I try to remember everything that happened while having a killer headache. I look over at a chest and see clothes and a note. The note reading "Dear Serenity, I figured you'd want a change of fresh clothes as your current clothes are, y'know, pretty wore out. Come out when you are ready. - Boris". It all suddenly comes back to me. I was escaping Sammy and running away from the Ink Demon when I ran into a room and came face to face with Boris before passing out. I get up and change clothes, bandaging myself as well as it is needed. I walk out of the room and slowly peek around the corner at Boris, seeing other characters with him. They all glance over at me and I flinch a bit and Boris smiles softly and gestures for me to come over. I hesitate for a long time until one of the toons walk over and take my hand gently and lead me over. "The clothes fit a bit big on you. But you are still as short as I remember." Boris says with a soft chuckle. I stare at him then slowly look over at the other toons. They looked human but were mangled up and I felt a deep sorrowful pity. I tried remembering their names but my head hurt to much to think and I rub it. "Nngh.." I groan a bit and Boris gestures for me to sit down. I do as Boris says and sit down. The toons look at me in worry. I smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I'm fine. Just a headache." I say softly. Boris blushes a bit and smiles at me softly. The toons blush a bit as well, as they all find my voice very soft and lovely like an angel. I look at them as I hear their stomachs growl and they rummage through my bag. The three all walk over to me and hold out three cans of bacon soup to me. I smile again and get up and almost stumble over but shake it off and take the cans, opening and putting the soup into the pot and cooking it while humming softly. I set bowls down on the table for them and sit back down. I look at them and see they would have trouble eating. "Now- Now wait. Um..." I say as I look around them I grab my pen and take a deep breath and sketch on a piece of paper and I restore their looks, them looking like their old selves again but newer and more handsome-like. They all stare at each other and cheer and eat their soup happily then hug me tightly. I wince but hug them back and giggle softly. "I'm glad you three are ok now. I- I remember your names. Charlie. Barley. And Edgar." I say softly. They smile even bigger. "We're so glad you remember us!" Charlie says, happily. Charlie is a tall young man with a paperboy hat, a coat, and vest with such attire. Barley looked a bit like a sailor, it was honestly quite cute. And Edgar is a tall, slender guy who has formal-ish attire on. The three of them are better known as The Butcher Gang. Boris smiles softly. I look at the door and see the lever is gone. "Boris. Can we go out." I mutter as I give him a look. He looks at me as if I'm crazy. "No way! You're still hurt and the Ink Demon and other things are out there! I'm not risking you to get yourself hurt or-" he says before I interrupt him. "Or get myself killed? Boris, dear. If you have forgotten. I am 14 million years old. I have gone through hell and back. I have gotten tortured, stabbed, hung, and many other things that would have killed any normal person. I have been through it all. So if you think I am going to go and get myself killed, think again. I. Cannot. Die." I tell him and the gang looks at Boris then me then back at Boris in shock and surprise that I just basically told him off. Boris tries arguing back but can't get any words out as he has nothing to say and sighs in defeat and sets a toolbox down on the table, proceeding to cross his arms a bit. I smile at him for his cooperation and open it up, taking out the lever and putting it on. I freeze for a moment. "Wait. Guys? How long have I been out for?" I say as I look at them. "About 2 days." Edgar says calmly. My eyes widen and I start pacing around the room and Charlie, Edgar, and Barley become worried and anxious and watch me pace around. "OH MY FUCKING GOD. OH GOSH OH GOSH OH GOSH. HENRY IS PROBABLY FLIPPING OUT AT THIS POINT, SAYING TO CASANDRA "I told you so" why? BECAUSE HE TOLD HER SO!" I shout and hold my head and groan. "This is bad. This is bad. This is bad." I mutter and take deep breaths. I chuckle a bit and Edgar touches my shoulder and I glance at him and the others, tears running down my face. "Am I a bad person for wanting to leave you all..? I never wanna leave you all again but.." my voice breaks and Edgar holds and hugs me close. "Shhh... shhh... it's ok.. it's ok.. deep breaths, Serenity. Deep breaths. Calm down." Edgar says softly and the others feel a pang of jealousy but they know now is not the time to start fighting. I soon calm down and Edgar wipes my tears away. "There we go... now.. we know how Henry is.. but we promise.. we know you would always come back to us." He says softly as he kisses my head. I blush a bit and Charlie pulls me away and rubs my head. "The sooner we find a way out, the sooner we can all figure this out! Together." He says. I smile a bit and nod. "Ok. You're right." I say softly and grab my things and bag. I walk over and flip the lever, the door opening. "Let's see what's out there. Please don't wander off." Boris says as we all walk out and leave the safe house. We walk down the hall and I squint a bit. "Looks like it's really dark up ahead. Is there a flashlight around?" I say as I look at them. Barley grabs a flashlight and hands it to me. "Thank you, Barley." I say softly. I turn on the flashlight and proceed forward with Boris and the gang. I feel extremely tense as I hear the noise of the loud gears and pipes. Boris takes the flashlight and puts his arm around me. "Don't be scared, Serenity. I'll hold you close so you don't get lost." He says softly. I can't help but blush quite a bit. The gang gets jealous and walk in front close by. "And we'll protect ya!" Barley says, pumping his fist in the air. I chuckle softly and smile at them. Boris looks at them, a bit annoyed. Way to ruin the moment, he thinks. I flinch as I hear some kind of knocking sound. "D-Did you guys hear that?" I mutter. Charlie looks at me. "Hear what?" He asks. I shake my head. "N-Nothing. Just my imagination I suppose." I chuckle nervously. We enter a room and the door behind us closes. "It's a dead end. I don't see any other way through." I sigh. "I don't suppose any of you have any ideas?" I ask them. Boris thinks for a moment then looks at me and the others. "Stay here." He says before taking the flashlight and crawling through a vent. We all look at each other and wait. The door soon opens and we walk through into a big area. I jaw drop a bit and look around in awe as we enter an area with a sign that says, "Heavenly Toys". "Wow. I don't remember any of this." I mutter out loud. The gang chuckles at me softly and we walk up the stairs and to a toy making room. I groan a bit. "Why is there always something blocking the door." I grumble a bit. Edgar giggles at me a bit. "Hey, don't worry. We'll figure out a way through." He says, reassuringly. I walk out and pull a lever and flinch a bit as I hear a faint humming. I shake my head and walk back to the toy room, where I look around and pull out toys that are stuck in the gears. I then proceed to pull the lever. I stop and see a mini room and a audio log and walk over before I pull the lever once more. The gang watch me in curiosity. I press play on the log and hear Shawn Flynn's voice. He helped make the toys. "I don't be seein' what the big deal is. So what if I went and painted some of those Bendy dolls with a crooked smile? That's sure no reason for Mr. Drew to be flyin' off the handle at me. And if he really wants to be so helpful, he could be tellin' me what I'm to be doin' with this warehouse I got full of that angel whatchamacallit. Not a scrap of that mess be a-sellin'! Probably have to melt it all down to be rid of it all." The log ends and I roll my eyes. "Tsk. Tsk. Shawn." I say teasingly and giggle then walk over to the lever and pull it one more time and the entryway is now unblocked and we all walk through. We enter a room and I feel the gang huddle up close to me. The small tvs up on the walls come on as the lights go off and they play a small Alice Angel theme. A light in the room in front of us comes on. A woman bangs on the window and screams. "I'M ALICE ANGEL." she shouts. We all scream and shout in fear. All the lights go out and the sound of glass shattering is all we hear after the screaming. We hear the woman laugh crazily. I flinch as I hear her voice. "I see you there. A new fly in my endless web. Come along now. Let's see if you're worthy to walk with angels." She says. The lights soon come back on and Charlie and the others are holding me very close, even though they were scared, they were willing to protect me at all costs from the lady. I blink slowly and look at them. "It's ok now. You three can let me go now." I chuckle a bit, trying to reassure them. We walk out of the room and down the hall. We reach a parting point with a sign point different ways. One way pointing to one entryway labeled "The Demon" while the other entryway is labeled "The Angel". Before I can even get to choose, Barley grabs my hand and pulls me with him and the others through "The Demon" entryway. I hear the other entryway close and sigh, going down the halls. I stop and play an audio log before carrying on. I hear Joey Drew's voice. "There's nothing wrong with dreaming. Wishing for the impossible is just human nature. That's how I got started. Just a pencil and a dream. We all want everything without even having to lift a finger. They say you just have to believe. Belief can make you succeed. Belief can make you rich. Belief can make you powerful. Why with enough belief, you can even cheat death itself. Now that... is a beautiful, and positively silly thought." I sigh long and shake my head a bit. We walk still and a Bendy cutout pops its head out from the corner and I flinch away and shout at it. "FUCKING LITTLE-" I take a deep breath and bury my face on Barley. "No more jumpscares! I swear!" I groan and the three of them just laugh and chuckle at me and we see Boris around the corner. He is snickering at me. "Boris! You scared me to death!" I say as I swat at him. I cross my arms and look at him. "I don't suppose you found anything that we can use to protect ourselves with?" I ask. He holds out a pipe to me and I take it. "This will do." I mutter and walk through the doorway, annoyed at Boris. We reach the end of the hall and up to a door. "Looks like to open this, we're going to need to throw two levers at once." I say. "You boys get this one. I'll go get the other." I walk off and follow the wires. I walk down a small hall and see a poster for "The Butcher Gang" at the end with their old designs. I see the other lever and start to near it when suddenly a corrupt, mangled up old version of Charlie pops out and screeches at me. I shriek in horror and back away quickly. It chases me and Boris and the others hear me shriek and start to rush over when they suddenly hear the lever be pulled and they pull theirs quickly. I walk off to them and they see me trembling a lot, tears running down my face. I look at Charlie and hug him tightly, crying softly on him. He looks at me in worry and strokes my head softly, hugging me back. "Serenity, what happened?" Boris asks worried. "I-I was just walking to the switch w-wh-when a m-ma-mangled o-o-old toon version of Ch-Charlie p-popped out of th-the poster that was d-down there." I say shakily. Charlie rubs my back and calms me down. Edgar crouches down and I look at him after me and Charlie separate from our hug and I climb onto his back as he was offering. I hold onto him and we walk through the door and through the area. We see a elevator and Edgar sets me down once we get down on the level it's on. Without a second thought, I walk onto the elevator and the others hesitantly follow on. I press the button that closes the doors and I hear the woman's voice again and the elevator starts going down. "You're so interesting... so different. I have to say I'm an instant fan. Looks like you've got a date with an angel! Come to me now. Level Nine. Just follow the screams." She says and I hug Edgar's arm and he rubs my head softly. The elevator soon stops and its doors open and the lady's voice comes on again. "Come on, step out of your cage. There's a whole twisted world out here." She cackles. I walk out slowly and down the steps and see a audio log and click play on it, hearing Thomas Connor's voice. "These blasted elevators... sometimes they open... sometimes they don't... sometimes they come... and sometimes they keep on going to hell and back. I keep telling these people, if Mister Joey Drew keeps cutting corners like this, someone's sure to end up falling to their death. And it sure ain't gonna be me. I'm taking the stairs." I shudder a bit. We walk up the steps toward a room with a Alice Angel sign above it reading "She's Quite A Gal!". The door squeaks open and I flinch away a bit and me and the others look at each other. Before any one of us can take the first step, Boris runs in and I look at him. "Boris! Wait!" I shout as I run after him, the gang close behind. We soon reach an area and my eyes widen in horror. I drop the pipe and cover my mouth as I see tons of dead versions of Boris, Charlie, Barley, and Edgar. I shudder and whimper at the sight and I quickly crouch down, looking at the ground as tears flood my eyes. They all stare at their dead selves then quickly look at me as they see me crouch down. Barley grabs me by my arms and pulls me up then Edgar holds out the pipe to me. I look at them slowly, shaking a bit and I take a few deep breaths and recollect myself before taking the pipe and carefully walking on boards that resemble a narrow walkway, ink beneath me. I hear the woman's voice on some speaker but her voice sounds different. "Look around. It took so many of them to make me so beautiful. Anything less than perfect was left behind. I had to do it. She made me." She says. I see an audio log and press play. "Who would have thought. Me having lunch with Joey Drew! Apparently times are tougher than I thought. For a moment there, I thought I'd be stuck with the check. But I gotta say, he wasn't at all what I expected. Quite the charmer. He even called me Alice. I liked it." The log ends and I recognize Susie Campbell's voice. I shake my head and continue on until I reach the other side and the door squeakily and slowly opens and I glance back at the others who stare at me with pure worry and Boris shakes his head a bit. I hesitate but walk through anyways, the door closing behind me as I enter and I flinch a bit. I walk through the area and soon reach a room where I see the lady with a corrupt Charlie strapped to a table, being as if tortured. I clear my throat and she looks at me. "If you haven't gotten the idea. I'm Alice Angel." She chuckles darkly. "Now we come to the question..." she says. "Do I kill you? ...Do I tear you apart to my heart's delight? The choices of the beautiful are unbearable. How's a girl to choose?" She giggles softly. She looks at the corrupt Charlie and snaps. "Take this little freak for instance! He crawled in here... trailing his tainted ink to my door! It could've touched me! It could've pulled me back!" She shouts. Her voice changes a bit. "Do you know what it's like? Living in the dark puddles?" She says meekly. Her voice changes again. "It's a buzzing, screaming well of voices!" She says. Her voice changes back and forth. "Bits of your mind, swimming... like... like fish in a bowl!" She says in her odd voice. "The first time I was born from its inky womb, I was a wiggling, pussing, shapeless slug. The second time... well..." She says. "It made me an angel! I will not let the demon touch me again. I'm so close now. So... almost perfect." She says in her odd voice. She sighs and puts her hand on her hip. "Yes, I will spare you. For now. Better yet... I'll even let you ascend and leave this place. If you will do a few eensey weensey little favors for me first. Return to the lift my little errand girl. We have work to do!" She chuckles and slams a button, gates covering the area she was in. I shudder and walk out quickly. Boris and the others pace around at the elevator, worried about me. I walk out of the area and they see me and smile big but their smiles quickly fade as the entrance closes and I hear Alice's voice over the speakers. "My machines are hungry. Gather me some spare parts!" She says in a demanding tone. A contraption turns and reveals a wrench. I stare at it and grumble. "Oh for the love of..." I groan and snatch it and walk off, grumbling how it took the pipe away. I walk up the steps but pause as I hear the angel's voice again. "There are so few rules to our world now. So little truths. But there is one rule we all know and respect down here. Beware the Ink Demon. Stay out in the open for too long and he will find you. For if you see him, you better hide. If you don't, well, I enjoyed our date. (AGAIN. NO HOMO.) Now, let us begin our work." She says. I groan and walk onto the lift, muttering "Someone please shut her up." I sigh and rub my head and go to the level I have to go to. The elevator soon stops and the doors open and Edgar grabs my arm, looking at me longingly to not go. I hug them all gently. "I promise to come back." I say softly and step off the lift, the door closing and them watching me from behind the doors. I take a deep breath and walk off. The angel's voice comes on again. "Have you met him? The Ink Demon? They say he hears everything. Every creak of the floor. Every rustle of paper. I wouldn't run so fast if I were you. You never know what will draw him in." She says and I shudder and continue on and I gather the gears as necessary. "Ah, that should be plenty. Return them to me. And try to not die on the way back." She giggles a bit. I can't help but shudder at her words. Try to not die on the way back? What? Is the ink demon going to be there? I think to myself. I walk back with ease and mock Alice a bit before getting onto the lift. The gang snickers at me but Boris facepalms and shakes his head. I get onto the lift and we head back to level nine. "Sammy said I had talent. He was always a good liar. Still, he was once a very handsome man." Alice says over the speakers. I sigh long as I remember the past. I walk off the lift and put the gears into a box thing. "Have you seen them? The swollen ones? They're just stuffed full of extra thick ink. It makes me sick! And yet... it's the perfect thing for keeping myself together. If you're going to catch them, you're going to have to learn to move quietly. Come to my door. I have something that you'll need." She says. The door opens and a syringe is there. I take it and look at it. I walk to the lift and step on and press Level 11. I sit down and pull my knees close to me. "Small break..." I mutter. I hum a tune to try and relax myself and the others. It helps the others but me, not so much. We soon arrive at level 11 and I step off and do what is needed. "How sickening! Makes my skin crawl! But the task is done. Bring me back my equipment, please." She says. "At least you said please." I mumble. "What was that?" She says. "Oh nothing. Nothing. Just talking to myself." I say calmly and get onto the lift. I head to level 9 and do all that is needed. The angel decides to tell a story however. "Once upon a time, there was an angel. And she was beautiful. And loved by all. She was perfect. No matter what Joey says." She says sadly. I feel a bit bad for her but roll my eyes mainly and return her equipment. "I'll make this simple. Look for valve panels. Turn the little wheels. Then bring me their power cores. Please don't make me regret sparing you. I can always change my mind." She says calmly. I groan and take the next equipment which is a plunger. "Oh gee. How helpful. Thanks." I grumble and walk off. I do everything that is needed and sigh exhaustedly. "You're quite the efficient errand girl, aren't you?" Alice says with a giggle. "Not to mention you are quite beautiful. But nothing compared to me." She says. I roll my eyes. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, lady." I snicker. Edgar and the others die laughing from the lift as they heard me. I walk onto the lift and Alice groans a bit and sighs. "There was a time people knew my name. 'It's Alice Angel!' they'd say. Feels like so long ago. But those days can come back. Dreams come true, Susie. Dreams come true." She says. I freeze in horror as I realize that this lady "Alice Angel" is "Susie Campbell". I get off the lift and I return everything. "You see those grinning demons? Let's remove them, shall we? I've got just the tool to make this even more enjoyable." She says. I take my weapon and walk to the lift and clear my throat and cough a bit. I clear out all the Bendy cutouts. "Ah, now that was fun. Oh! I forgot to mention... he hates it when I do that. I would hide if I were you." She laughs and I flinch and look up and see Ink Bendy above me. Mine and his eyes meet for a moment, him studying me and my eyes, there being a somewhat soft look in his eyes. My eyes widen and I quickly hide in a box, keeping as quiet as possible. He looks around but soon leaves and I make my escape, quickly running to the lift and jumping in, breathing heavy. Boris looks quite shaken up but he hugs me tightly. We return to level nine and I step off and return the weapon. "The disgusting wretches have wandered my halls, have gone unchecked! They're trying to drag me back to the darkness! Don't let them take your angel! Purge them one by one! Smash them into puddles! Kill them!" She shouts in slight despair. I groan and do as she tells me and kill the corrupt butcher gang, sadness and despair in my eyes as I can only see them as the butcher gang I currently know. I breathe heavy as I finish and hide my tears that stream down my face and return to the angel's door silently. "So quiet. Like a welcoming grave. I like the silence, don't you?" She says softly then her voice changes. "I hate leaving work unfinished! Fortunately, I have you to pick up the pieces. But you'll have to go even deeper. Down, down, down into the abyss. Take the lift down. Say hello to an old friend. Sending you a little present. A little firepower. Take good care of it. It belonged to someone very special." She says and a gun appears. My eyes light up and I try taking it but it turns to ink and slips through my fingers. "Oops. I forgot. It's a little hard to get a hold of. Oh well. Better luck next time." She laughs darkly. I roll my eyes and walk to the lift and press the button to the lowest level it can go. Level 14. I step off the lift and collect what is needed. I cover my mouth as I see a man with a projector for a head walking around. "Shhhh... there he is. The Projectionist. Skulking in the darkness. You be sure to stay out of his light, if you don't want trouble. Just bring me back the pieces I need." She says and I walk around, being very careful. I soon collect all the pieces needed and walk back to the lift quickly. "Tell me. Were they still withering in your hands? Bring them to me. Now! I don't like to wait." She says sternly. I return to her and give her the things. "It seems we've reached the end of my todo list, my little errand girl. I hope you enjoyed our time together. I'll always treasure it. Return to the lift. It's time to go home." She says. The tone in her voice makes me shudder and my stomach sink a bit and I walk onto the lift and it starts to go up. "Have you ever wondered what Heaven is like? I like to dream that it is quite beautiful. A soft valley of green grass, blanketed by a warm sun. I don't think I'll ever get to see it. Are you ready to ascend, my little errand girl? The heavens are waiting." She says. I hear her as if shes crying a bit but it slowly turns into a insane and dark laugh. My stomach sinks more and Boris grabs me and holds me tightly and close. The gang huddled up close to us. The elevator goes down, fast. I scream a bit. "Did you really think I'd let you steal from me?! Did you really think I'd just let you go?! No, Serenity! I know who you are! And I know why you're here! And you will not stop what needs to be done! Now come down and bring me back my Boris!! He's the most perfect Boris I've ever seen and I want it! I need it. I need its insides so I can be beautiful again! Don't you understand? Don't you get it?! Give him to me!! Or better yet, I'll take him! Once... you're... dead!!" She screams out. I hold onto Boris tightly. The elevator crashes down to the ground on the lowest level beyond the buttons. I blink slowly as Boris shakes me gently yet sternly. "Please wake up! Please wake up! I can't lose you!" He says worriedly. I glance behind him and see Alice humming and slowly walking toward us. She grabs Boris and pulls him away at top speed. I scream out his name and cough up blood, passing out. Charlie and the others stare in shock and horror and they walk over to me and try waking me up, them sobbing as they worry.