BATIM: The End (Some BendyxHenry)

Dott

"Have you guys seen anyone else up here?"

The question surprised Dott, and she took a step back, studying Boris-no Buddy, with concern. Did he mean another person like them? Or maybe an ink creature? Either way, the answer was the same. "No, Buddy. We haven't. Why?" Buddy shifted from foot to foot, looking worried. "When the loop ended-" He started. "Loop?" Joey cut in, making Dott feel annoyed. How were they supposed to learn anything if he kept questioning Buddy? Buddy glanced at Dott with his pie-cut eyes, and she realized he must have noticed her look. It made her feel warm inside, that he still remembered her. Buddy turned his attention back to Joey. "The loop." He said slowly, as if Joey were mentally challenged. "You know, the time-lapse you trapped us all in? It broke." Dott frowned. "Why? How does it work? What happened?" Buddy blinked at her. "I don't know." He admitted. Dott jokingly started scolding him. "What did I tell you about questioning things?" She said teasingly. Buddy threw his hands in the air in exaggeration. "I do question things!" He protested. "I've just been a little preoccupied with getting turned into a ink creature, and trying to find my friend!" Dott shot a glare at Joey before turning her attention back to Buddy. "Your friend?" She questioned. "Is that who you were asking about?" He nodded, looking worried. "I don't usually come up here." He admitted. "But I'm worried about him. I haven't seen him since the loop ended. He usually comes from up here, so I was hoping he was still here." Dott paused, thinking. "Have you checked all the rooms?" She questioned. He shook his head. "Most of them. I was on my way to check the art department when I saw you." He explained. She nodded. "Ok, we'll start there." Dott stated matter of fact. "What's his name?" For some reason, Buddy hesitated, then glanced at Joey. Joey frowned at him. "What?" Buddy shook his head. "Nothing." He muttered, looking towards the art department. Dott was confused. Why was Buddy avoiding the question? "Buddy." She tried, then a thought occurred to her. "Do you not know his real name?" She guessed. She'd read in the files she'd stolen (and conveniently forgot to tell Joey) that victims usually had no memories of their past selves. Buddy was unique in this way. Buddy glanced at her, looking surprised. "Hadn't thought of that." He muttered. Dott blinked at him. "Thought of what?" Buddy frowned. "That he may not be using his real name." Buddy said, and then in a lower tone, added, "Maybe I'm freaking over nothing." Joey frowned at him. Dott was baffled. "Well, what did he say his name was?" She decided to rephrase the question. They had reached the art department. Buddy had stopped by his old desk and was tracing something in the wood. "Henry." Buddy said finally. Before Dott could even blink, Joey was on his feet and pushing in front of her. "Henry?!" His voice was frantic, which surprised her. Buddy backed away, looking uneasy. "That's what he said his name was." Dott pulled Joey away from Buddy, and was surprised to see tears forming in his green eyes. "We-we have to find him!" Joey gasped. Dott frowned at him. Then at Buddy. The name was familiar to both of them. Joey's old business parter. The original creator of the main three cartoons in Joey Drew Studios. "There's no way he could be the same person." She pointed out to them. "Didn't he leave the company before any of this began?" Buddy nodded at her. "That's what I thought." He said, though he looked uncertain. "I never actually asked him about where he used to work here though." Buddy added, frowning. "It just seems like too much of a coincidence." He tapped their desk again, which kinda confused Dott. Joey was staring at the desk, hard. Then, "You saw the carving." Dott frowned at him. "Carving? What carving?" Buddy moved over, waving his hand for her to join him. She did. Buddy pointed at the desk. It was fairly old, with plenty of scribbles and drawings etched into the wood. Lying on top of it was a drawing of Bendy. Buddy picked it up and looked at it while Dott studied the desk. In the corner, looking like it had been carved much deeper than anything else on the desk, was a name. It was a little hard to read, but after a minute Dott was able to make out what it said. "Henry Stein". Dott whispered the name aloud and then turned to Buddy, who was still studying the drawing. "You never told me." She said, unable to keep the hurt out of her voice. He blinked at her. "Didn't think it was of importance." He admitted sheepishly. "I only took over the guys desk, wasn't like it was gonna help us right then." Joey was quiet through all of this, though he did trace his fingers along the desk. Dott was startled he cared so much, especially since he practically threw most of his employees to the dogs. "Well, at least he got away from all this." She said, blinking at Buddy. "I don't think they're the same person." This caught Joey's attention, and he looked up. "H-Henry was caught up in all this." Joey admitted, his voice catching on Henry's name. Buddy gaped at him. "He knew?..." "No." Joey said quickly, shaking his head. "He knew nothing of the machine, or the creature, until..." Joey's voice trailed off. "Until what?" Buddy's voice was hard, which surprised her. He must really care about Henry. Joey gulped nervously, then hung his head. "Henry showed up at my apartment." He whispered. "I-I didn't have a choice." Buddy glared at Joey. " You didn't have a choice?!" He snapped. "Henry went through hell because of you, and now he's gone!" Buddy was screaming by the time he'd finished, and then stood, breathing hard and glaring at Joey. Joey wasn't even trying to defend himself. He just stood there, taking it. "I know." He muttered, sounding somber. "You don't know anything ." Buddy snapped. Dott pushed between them. "Stop it!" She yelled. "This isn't going to help Henry!" Boris stopped, blinking at me and then nodding. Joey sighed. "Where could he be?" Joey mused. Buddy glared at him. "I don't know." He sounded frustrated. I've been waiting for a long time. He could be anywhere." Dott suddenly became aware of a figure standing in the doorway. It was terrifyingly familiar. "Sammy!" She gasped. The musician let out a snort. "What's all the yelling?" He demanded. Then he caught sight of Buddy, who was still glaring at Joey. He followed Buddy's gaze and landed on Joey himself. Sammy let out an angry cry. "You little-" He advances, brandishing an axe and looking like he knew how to use it. Dott gasped. "Sammy, stop!" He ignored her, swinging his axe at Joey. Joey backed up, trying to stay out of range. "Buddy, do something!" She yelled. Before he could reply, inky shadows appeared, racing along the walls and making Dotts heart stop. "The Lord is coming!" Sammy yelled gleefully. "He will be so grateful-for your head!" He took another swing at Joey, who ducked. Joey met Dotts eyes. "We have to get out of here!" He yelled. Buddy nodded in agreement. "And find Henry!" He added. Dott took off for the door, looking behind her to make sure both boys were following. They were. She ducked in, then Joey, and finally Buddy, who barricaded the door before Sammy could get through. "Good thinking." Dott told him. He nodded at her, looking terrified. "It's something I saw Henry do once." Dott was too tired to ask, and Joey was quiet. "How are we supposed to find Henry?" Joey muttered, sounding defeated. Dott shook her head at him. Buddy was silent for a moment. Then, "He always did have a weird relationship with that thing." Dott looked at him confused, but Buddy appeared to be talking to himself. "I should have guessed who he was." Joey sighed. "Well, you two do have quite a lot in common. You remind me of him." Dott frowned at him. Not helping Joey. Dott turned her attention back to Buddy, who was now studying that Bendy picture from before. "Why are you carrying that around?" Dott asked, frowning at it. Joey walked over and looked over Buddy's shoulder, at the picture. He let out a surprised explanation. "That was one of Henry's first drafts!" Curious now, Dott walked over to look at the picture. It was of Bendy, like what Dott had noticed before. What she hadn't noticed was that his horns seemed smaller, and his smile seemed a lot more genuine, unlike some designs she could mention. He still had his bow tie, and, what shocked Dott most of all? This version of Bendy had a long, thin black tail, with a small point at the end. "Wow." She whispered. On the corner of the paper there was a signature-two letters. H. S. Henry's initials. Joey sighed. "Yes, he always signed every frame he drew, every draft. He was just as fond of the character as I was. Still am, in fact." Dott was quiet, not commenting on Joey's statement. For the first time, she imagined being trapped here as Henry. Being chased and terrified of twisted versions of cartoons he had once poured his heart and soul into. It was obvious by looking at the drafts that Henry had loved drawing Bendy. She wondered what he thought of the Ink Demon. Buddy seemed to guess what she was thinking. "He was terrified." He said softly. "Just like the rest of us. I'm more curious about.." Buddy's voice trailed off. "About what?" Dott asked. He paused. "What the Ink Demon thought of Henry." He said finally. Dott was confused. "What do you mean?" Joey had looked up and was staring at Buddy with wide eyes. Buddy gave a little half shrug. "I met Henry as he was escaping Sammy." He said, not really looking at either of us. "I'd heard the commotion and was running up to see what was going on. It sounded like the Ink Demon had attacked Sammy. I'd ran into Henry as he was running from the Ink Demon, he'd used some wood to block the door. I accidentally kicked a bacon soup can in my surprise, and it rolled out to where he was. He'd called out then, saying to come out and that he knew I was there. So I did. I still remember his eyes growing wide when he saw me. I knew he must have just escaped from Sammy, as he had rope burns on his wrists." Joey was quiet. Then, "That lunatic tried to sacrifice Henry!?" He made his way back towards the door like he wanted to go out there and bash Sammy in the head. Both Buddy and Dott ended up holding him back. "Joey, stop!" Buddy yelped. "This happened a while ago, and besides, Sammy's probably already gone because of that ink teleportation thing he does." Joey stopped, then looked at Buddy. "He can teleport through walls now?" Buddy nodded, and Joey cursed. Dott was quiet, thinking about what she had just been told. Then, "So, let me see if I understand this right." Buddy looked at her and nodded. "So Sammy tries to sacrifice Henry to the Ink Demon, like he did to us that one time." Buddy blinks, then nods. "But instead of going for Henry, he went for Sammy instead." Another nod. Dott hesitated. Joey looked at her questioningly. "What? What is it?" Dott sighed. "So the Ink Demon ended up saving Henry, and then driving him towards Buddy, who could help him?" Both Buddy and Joey had become very still. "Didn't think of it like that." Buddy muttered. Joey was quiet. Dott turned towards Joey. "You were the one who first locked it away." She said briskly. "What did it know about Henry? Did anyone speak about him while the Demon was near?" Joey hesitated, then shook his head. "The only thing relating to Henry inside that room we locked it up in was some old files. But it's not like the thing can read!" Buddy was quiet. Dott turned towards him. He saw her looking and flinched. "Actually." He said after a second. "I'm pretty sure it can. It sometimes writes on the walls, or looks at books and old files. I've seen it do so." Joey was deathly pale. "What?" Dott frowned at him. "What was in that file Joey?" Joey swallowed, looking nervous. "Proof Henry created Bendy, Boris, and Alice." He admitted. "Some of his drafts, basic info... Like where he lived." Joey's voice came out like a squeak on that last part. "It even had a picture of Henry in the corner." Buddy blinked. Dott sighed. "So basically, it knows who Henry is, knows were he once lived, and knows what he looks like." Joey swallowed, then nodded. Buddy looked worried. "What is it?" Buddy turned to look at us. "You guys haven't been very far in." He muttered. "It gets worse the deeper you go into the studio... Parts are completely flooded with ink... the graffiti gets more common." Joey frowned. Dott blinked at him. Buddy looked almost as worried as Joey. "Most of the graffiti is written by others, well, like me. I've seen them write. "Dreams Come True"" -Buddy nodded towards the hallway-"Is often written by.. her. But there's another one that's almost more common, and it's written by the Ink Demon." Buddy swallowed nervously. Dott glanced at Joey, who looked petrified. "What is it? What does he write?" Dott asked. " The creator lied to us." Buddy's voice was deathly quiet, but then it rose again. "We have to find Henry!" Buddy yelled, panic evident in his voice. "It can't be a coincidence that as soon as the loop stopped, Henry went missing! That thing must have him!"

Whoa, I think this is the biggest chapter I've ever written! Thanks for making it to the end! XD