BATIM: The End (Some BendyxHenry)

Joey

Joey sighed. He stood in the middle of a cemetery, holding some flowers and standing in front of a grave. The grave itself wasn't that old, only about a year or two. He felt a stab of guilt, thinking of his brother. He'd splurged on a grand tombstone for Henry, as well as the funeral. Three years after Henry had disappeared, he had been presumed dead and the investigation was closed. But Joey never forgot. He couldn't. 'How could I have been so selfish?' He wondered, gazing at Henry's grave. 'It's my fault he's gone.' Joey never should have made that deal with Gent. He felt a tinge of anger at their lying words, before grief wrapped around him again. They'd said that no one would get hurt! Honestly, Joey should have realized their lies as soon as Susie went missing. But he'd turned a blind eye. And as more employees went missing, Joey ignored it all. He'd been so focused on bringing the cartoons to life, he'd forgotten how he'd gotten so far. Henry showing up at his door had been a complete surprise. At that point, Joey had been stuck. He'd threatened to go to the police, but they'd just laughed in his face and pointed to Joey's signatures on the contracts. Joey couldn't break free of them without going to jail as well. He was an accomplice. They'd sent Joey a letter, saying that a new person would be coming to his apartment. Joey never dreamed that it would have been Henry. They'd must have gotten his name on some old paperwork. Henry was friendly and completely trusting. And when he'd turned to leave, Joey had struck him in the head, tears threatening. He hadn't had a choice. So why did his chest ache with guilt? Joey sighed. He was a terrible brother. He set the flowers on top of the grave. "Joey!" A woman's voice, sounding surprised and pleased. Joey turned, and was face to face with Lynda, Henry's wife. Beside her was a little girl around five years old. "Hi uncle Joey." She said, waving at him from behind her mothers arm. "Hi Hope." Joey said, smiling at the little girl. She was the mirror image of her father, with Henry's brown hair and gold flecked eyes. Lynda smiled at Joey, her blue eyes shone. "So your the one who keeps leaving tulips here." Joey smiled sadly. "Well, I miss him. Also, he used to pick tulips with our mom, so I thought they were a good choice." Lynda nodded, her eyes misty. "Hi daddy." Hope whispered, looking at the grave. A stab of pain erupted in Joeys chest. Henry had never even known he had a daughter; Lynda had discovered she was pregnant only about a week after his disappearance. Joey closed his eyes and put a hand on the little girls shoulder. She blinked up at him. "Uncle Joey?"
"Hmm?" Joey said, looking down at her. "Can daddy really hear us?" She whispered, gazing at the grave. Joey gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Yes, he can." Joey told her softly. She blinked at the tombstone. "Hope, honey, we have to go." Lynda spoke up from behind them, her voice soft. Hope nodded. "Ok Mommy." She turned to the tombstone. "Mommy says we have to leave." She whispered to the tombstone. "Bye Daddy." She waved goodbye to Joey and ran up to Lynda, who hugged her and nodded at Joey. Joey nodded back, feeling sad and guilty. The girls left. "I'm sorry Henry." Joey told the tombstone softly, before leaving himself.

Joey made his way back to his apartment, feeling somber. It didn't seem fair that Henry was gone, but Joey was still alive. 'If I could take his place, I would.' Joey thought. He came up to his door and was surprised to see the young woman Dott, her red hair (she often dyed it) pulled back in a ponytail. "Joey." She said curtly. Joey blinked at her. "Dott." Joey fiddled with his keys before letting them both in. Dott walked inside with barely contained excitement. "Ok, what's this about?" Joey asked, raising his eyebrows at Dott. She hesitated, then grinned. "You still have that old machine, right?" Joey blinked in surprise. "Well, yeah. Why?" Dott sat down on the couch, still grinning. "I've been spying on Gent." She announced. Joey was shocked. "What?" She nodded. "Listen:" she said, the smile fading somewhat. She spoke fast, as if she was worried Joey might stop her. "I was going through some old workers notes, and it kept referring to some kind of loop. I did some digging, and, well, I don't think Gent's victims are completely gone." Joey gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?" She gazed at him excitedly. "I think they may be trapped inside some kinda ink world. The papers kept talking of "inky recreations" and "souls connected to inky hosts". Besides, no one has ever found any bodies, right?" Joey was quiet. He understood what she was saying, but couldn't quite believe it. Was it possible? They were still alive? Trapped in an "inky world"? What did that even mean? For the first time in a long time, Joey felt something like hope light up in his chest. "Where is it?" Joey asked. If they've created some kinda inky world, where is it?" Dott hesitated. "I think it's inside your Ink Machine. At least, that's where the souls of your employees went." Joey ignored the jibe. Dott had every reason to be mad at him. He made his way to the back of the apartment, where he'd stored the Ink Machine. There it was, just lying there. "How do we get in?" Joey muttered. Dott had followed him. "I'm... not entirely sure." She admitted. Joey frowned, walking around every angle of the machine. Suddenly the sound of a gear being turned caught Joey's attention. "What did you do?" Joey demanded, running back to Dott. She stood, petrified as the machine whirred to life. "I.. Don't know." She whispered, her eyes wide. "A gear looked lose, and I straightened it." Joey studied the machine, confused. It wasn't connected to any source of power, but the machine still whirred away. Was it his imagination, or was it getting faster? Suddenly the spout burst to life, but instead of ink, glowing yellow lines shot out, making a doorway on Joey's wall. Dott and Joey watched in silence as a door appeared, strangely cartoony in the red wallpaper. Dott reaches over and opened the door. A familiar hallway greeted them, lined with cartoony posters of Boris, Alice, and of course, Bendy. Joey Drew Studios. The two glanced at each other before entering the doorway. 'I'm coming Henry.' Joey thought, and the door closed behind them and disappeared. The machine clicked off, and Joey's apartment stood silently.