Same Story, Something New

24 - Dependent

Tom's POV

I sighed. "So let me get this straight, that lunatic used to be Wally Franks?! The annoying janitor who got on my nerves frequently?"

Allison sighed. "Yeah."

"Well that's a rather cruel form of irony," I muttered. "Well it's good news the Wolf is dead. Now we have a new problem, his damn Ink Demon. Hopefully the Demon isn't strong enough to tear off the Film Vault's door."

"So what happened to you Mr. Connor?" Susan asked.

"Just call me either Thomas or Tom." I grumbled. "To answer your question, aside from all those times your mother tried to kill me, not much."

My wife suddenly looked around. "Speaking of which, where is Alice?"

***

Alice's POV

I had gone to find somewhere private so I could calm down. I really needed privacy. So my instincts took me to the one place I knew I could get it. The giant Ink Machine. When I arrived, I entered, made my way to the throne room, then sat down on the chair that used to belong to Joey Drew.

It was so quiet, I was able to focus on my daughter's heartbeat. I listened to its slow and steady rhythm. It was calming, and reassured me that Helen was alive. She was safe. I felt myself revert back to my normal self. My scepter was at my feet, and my daughter was in my arms. When I looked down at her, I was astounded by what I saw.

My baby girl had shrunk greatly to a height of 4'3. I knew that if both of us were standing, she'd barely be taller than my leg. Heck, she was cradled in my arms. She woke up, and let out a precious yawn before she opened the adorable chocolate orbs she had for eyes. Her eyes looked up at me as she smiled.

I cooed at how adorable she was. "Sleep well baby?"

She nodded, then looked around, then back at me. "Mama, where are we?"

"Home. At least, it will be our home once the Ink Demon's gone."

Golden tears welled up in her eyes. "Does Bendy have to die?"

I stroked her head. "Bendy's gone," I gently told her. "He died at the hands of the Wolf. The Ink Demon isn't our friend. "He's a monster who wants to kill us. Do you understand, baby?"

She nodded, then burst into tears. It was like a dam had burst. All the trauma from our recent ordeal had finally sunk in, and as a result, she cried for a long time. When Helen's tears came to an end, she had hiccups. The 'hic' sounds she made were utterly adorable. She had stuck a thumb in her mouth as well.

"My baby..." I cooed at her. "My precious little baby." Helen had already been very cute, but her smaller size had managed to make her flat-out adorable. She was so small, and easy to hold. The adoration I felt towards her knew no bounds.

As I gave her affection, I noticed her reduced height seemed to have been accompanied by a mental change. Earlier her mentality had made her the equivalent of an 8-year old. Now Helen was in a sense, even younger. When it came to the knowledge in her head I suspected she didn't lose much of it, her ability to comprehend that information seemed to suggest she now had the mindset of a 3 or 4 year old.

I knew this wasn't an intentional decision on her part. Our recent ordeal seemed to have caused her to reject what little remained of an adult mind. However, I suspected that instead of completely tossing it out, those remnants were given to her Little Ink Angel persona.

I was also worried about Helen. I adored her 8-year old mindset. She was so cute, and was just independent enough that she would've tried to show me she was a big girl. Now she was at least half that, and was more dependent on me than before. Although I suspected that if she had been given time, Helen might've ended like this anyways since there's a possibility that the remnants of an adult mind she had would have faded away on its own. However, now I had no way of being sure of how accurate that theory was.