Phoenix Drop 2: An Inky Situation

Chapter 12: Funtime Frenzy

As we walked in, we were presented with a buzzing crowd of people walking around. Enjoying their time, walking with their kids, eating sweets. It was a place that I could call home; I always felt like festival's represented me on a spiritual level. It's always been known for bringing joy and laughter to its guests. And, I guess that's something I'm told I'm good at, I guess. As I continued to stare endlessly at the magnificent scenery around me, all I could do was smile at it all. That's when I felt a tug from my hand. I escaped my thought to glance down to see Bendy. "Uh... Aphmau? You okay?" He asked. "Oh.. yeah. I'm good. I was just... thinking to myself, that's all" I said. "Woooow..." I heard Boris, Alice, and Kawaii~Chan mutter behind me. "This.. this looks amazing!" Boris exclaimed as I noticed his tail wagging. "Don't you guys have these, too?" I asked, with a slight chuckle. "We do, but this... this looks so.. colorful" Alice said in awe. "Well, yeah. It has to be" I laughed.

"Well, let's not just stand here forever. Let's get a move on!" Bendy said, tugging my hand again to get me going. "Alright, alright. Fine!" I giggled. As we strolled through, only a few people darted their attention to us, but then instantly disregarded it I guess cause they were too busy enjoying their time here. "So guys, what ride should we go on first!?" Bendy asked, clearly pumped for how our rides work. "Uh, I wouldn't want to go on one" I instantly said, trying not to stay on that idea. "Why not? Aren't the rides the best part about festivals?" Bendy asked. "Well, I mean, they are. But, I'm just not that into them" I nervously say. "Tsk. Wimp" Bendy snickered. "Well, what about the games? They're a big part of these things, too" Katelyn said. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I wonder what prizes this place has!" Boris exclaimed. So that's just what we did. We each paid for as many tickets as we could, which was about seven since we were pretty low this time around.

But, thankfully, the tickets were just a dollar each. I was surprised by how cheap this place was. I guess they believed in the 'Pay less, get more' technique in order to make a bigger profit. So we used the first three tickets on Skee-ball, balloon darts, and ring toss. Now that I think about it, why did we agree to use a ticket on ring toss? Freakin' ring toss! That game sucks; it's a game that was born to be rigged! But, at least everyone could get along over our severe hatred towards the game. "That game was total bushwa!" Bendy exclaimed with a huff. "Language, Bendy" Alice said. "What? It's true! I swear, not even Joey allows this cheatsy game to slip on by in his park" Bendy said. "How about we just go and play other games to take our mind off the pique?" Boris suggested. "Alright, fine. How many tickets do we got left, anyway?" Bendy asked. "Uhh.. we have about four left. Where should we go next?" I asked. "Well, Katelyn and I would like to go on a ride before the day ends, so let's all do that" Luka said.

"I never agreed to that, but okay" Katelyn sighed. "No thanks. I'm still not in a mood for rides" I said. "Aph, you're never in the mood for rides. You're gonna have to go on one sooner or later" Luka said. "Nuu" I said as I crossed my arms. "Ugh. Fine, you guys wanna replace her?" Luka asked to the inky trio. "Well, I've been on plenty of rides before, so sure!" Boris said. "I don't see why not" Alice pitched in. "Hold on, wouldn't going on a fast-paced ride affect you? You know.. since you're made of ink?" I asked. "Well, not exactly. We may be made of ink, but we can still remain in one piece. We only deform and dissemble when we please" Alice explained. "You sure?" I asked. "Aph, why are you worried? You made them, right? You should know what they can and can't do" Katelyn said. "Right. I did; I know but.." I tried to say a reasoning behind being worried, but I couldn't. She already told me that I should know everything about them, but... it's not that simple.

When I thought of them, I only thought about their characteristics. Bendy was cheeky and devilish, Boris was goofy and jolly, and Alice was kind and dazzling. But, what was weird was how I never really thought about what they could do. I never thought that much into it. So, seeing them being able to do all these sorts of things is both astonishing, and a little scary. Knowing them, they could use these abilities to, literally, slip away. And then what? What if they're seen? What if they encounter someone that could expose them? What would happen to them? What would I do? He-hey, Aph! You stupid potato, you! My head scolded me. You shouldn't be panicking this much! They'll be perfectly fine! You just have to give them trust. It's as simple as that; that's all you need to do! Well... I-I mean.. yeah, that's true. But.. even though they came out of a story, my own story.. it still feels like I made them.

Like.. they're my own flesh-and-blood, y'know? Or, in this case, my own ink and.. inky, strange children. That's a weird thought to have. But, I want to make sure they're safe and away from harm. After what happened with Travis, it's clear that they don't know what to do when danger's right in front of them. And the fact that Bendy even tried to drown him in ink as a solution, future outcomes could be far, far worse. "Aphmau~Senpai? Are you okay?" Kawaii~Chan then asked. I was brought out of my mind to notice I might've gone silent. "Huh? Oh, sorry. I was just thinking to myself, again. If you guys want, you can go on the rides. I can just wait here" I said. "Are you sure? This might take up all our tickets. After that, we have to go home" Luka said, remembering how many we had left. "That's fine. It's getting pretty close to six, anyway. But, if I'm staying, and there's only four left, who's going on the ride?" I asked. "Well, me and Katelyn are the first two, then who else wants to come with us?" She asked.

"Kawaii~Chan can stay here with Aphmau~Senpai" She said. "I'll stay here too, I'm not feeling it today; the games already made me lose my appetite for thrill" Bendy said. "Boris? Alice? You wanna join us?" Katelyn asked them. "Sure!" Boris said as he wagged his tail. "Of course. I love rides" Alice smiled. "Then it's settled. See you guys in a bit!" Luka said right before stepping over to the line for the ride. "Later, guys!" I waved. As they left, Kawaii~Chan, Bendy, and I sat on the nearby picnic table that lay in between the coaster and a food truck. My eyes were trained on Bendy since he decided to scoot off his seat and lay on the ground, toying with the grassy floor beneath him. I guess the real world was still pretty new to him. Even after I reached him our history. I think I smiled a bit just by looking at him. I then felt a poke on my shoulder. I turned a bit only for the corner of my eye to turn back. "Aphmau~Senpai?," Kawaii~Chan asked, sounding almost.. concerned? "Kawaii~Chan? Is there.. something wrong?" I asked her.

"Oh, no, no. Nothing's wrong with Kawaii~Chan; she's fine. Kawaii~Chan was more so asking if.. you were fine?". "Huh? O-of course I'm fine. Why shouldn't I be fine?" I asked. "Weeell... Kawaii~Chan's been noticing that Aphmau~Senpai has been.. thinking too much today," She began. "Kawaii~Chan is fine with someone thinking, but... it's when they stare so coldly as Aphmau~Senpai does is when it scares Kawaii~Chan. It makes her think you're not alright,". I was a little caught off guard as she explained her worries. How'd she know I was thinking too much? I ask myself, with no answer in sight. "Kawaii~Chan wanted to stay here with Aphmau~Senpai because Kawaii~Chan knows a lot about reading peoples feelings. Kawaii~Chan knows about the old saying: 'the eyes are like the windows to the soul'. Kawaii~Chan could teach Aphmau~Senpai how to read the windows like I do if she'd like, sometime. But, Kawaii~Chan has been noticing that too much is going on behind your windows".

"O-oh. Kawaii~Chan, I-I'm sorry I was making you worry. Really, I wasn't thinking too much about anything too bad. It's just... I've just been.. a little... protective lately. Over Bendy and the others, I mean" I explain. "Huh? Aphmau~Senpai is worried about Bendy?" Kawaii~Chan asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, I know, it sounds weird. But... it's different to worry about someone when you.. made them. It's like trying to watch over.. kids.. or something,". I then heard the distant screams of the people on the coaster as they sped past us. "Since I wrote them, I gave them.. lives, practically; I'm pretty much their.. parent. I feel as if I now have a responsibility to watch over them and make sure they stay safe and make sure no harm comes to them. If anything were to happen to them... I would feel.. I would.. feel.. destroyed, I think. I'd know that it'd be my fault for not doing a better job at being their guardian, and I would only have myself to blame, in the end" I say. Kawaii~Chan didn't respond for a moment.

I guess she was busy taking in everything I had said and make a response out of it. With no one speaking, I then turned my head back down into it's monitoring position. I then stopped. My eyes shot wide. The coaster's passengers shouted one last time, right before ascending back down. "Aph-Aphmau~Senpai.. I-I'm so-". "WHERE'S BENDY!?" I shrieked.