It was dark, quieter than death, and lonely. The only sounds were Bendy's sobs echoing through the abyss.

"H-henry… 'M sorry… So so sorry…" He squeaked through heaved breaths. "I mess… messed up… I'm sorry…"

He didn't know how long he'd been there, minutes, hours? It felt like an eternity. He'd cried himself into a puddle practically. Wishing so badly that he could even glimpse his friend again. Wishing he hadn't led them into that trap, gotten Henry knocked out again… Now… What was going to happen to them?

"Bendy!"

Bendy paused from his misery as a voice rang through his ears like the sound of a bell. "Boris…?" That couldn't be right, from what Bendy could remember, Boris was long gone. Another victim of Joey's… experiments…

"Bendy what're ya moping around for? You got a show to put on, buddy!" Like a projection on a screen, Boris stood in front of him, flickering in and out of sight. He tapped his foot like an impatient child. "You're not gonna leave your best pal hangin' are ya?" A second projection appeared next to the cartoon wolf.

"Indeed, Bendy." He'd know that sweet songlike voice anywhere, Alice Angel smiled kindly at him. "The creator needs you."

Bendy looked confused. How could these two be here? Why were they here? And what were they talking about? "He n-needs me?" He rasped. "But I… I failed… I-I deserved… This… I let Henry down… I couldn't save you Boris… And Alice… I…" He broke off, tears threatening to blind him again.

Boris and Alice stepped to the side as a screen faded into existence. The projector showed a grisly scene, Henry was running, from what? Bendy couldn't see. The man looked terrified and it tore at Bendy's heart. "Henry!"

As if Henry could hear him, he turned around, making Bendy realize the man been trapped somewhere. A clawed hand three times larger than him pinned Henry to the ground. "Bendy…" He choked out reaching towards the screen. "Don't… Do this…" As quickly as it had appeared the projector cut out, the screen disappeared along with Boris and Alice.

"Wait! NO! COME BACK! Please! I have to save him!" Silence was his only answer. "Boris! Alice! Guys! I need you…" He buckled over, feeling a fresh stream of tears trickle down his face.

Memories played in his mind: Boris playing his clarinet for Bendy to dance to, Alice teasing him about his horns, and Henry… Good ol' kind, stubble face, caring Henry… Carrying Bendy around on his page. Drawing him an entire room to sleep in and keeping him out of harm's way. Henry drawing him a new leg when Sammy ripped his off. Henry sticking by him even when he lost control of himself. Laughing at his jokes and antics. His creator. His best friend.

"I have to… Have to get… Out!" He struggled to break out of his prison, his whole body ached as he lashed out at the darkness around him.

It was then he felt a small, warm and welcoming pressure on his forehead. One small touch that triggered a sense of trust and reassurance in him. That one familiar gesture was all he needed. "It's you…!"

The world around him melted away almost an instant later.

…

Henry dashed down the halls of the studio with the mutilated ink creature hot on his heels. He could feel every inch of the building shaking from the might of its stomping gait. His initial reaction had been to try to reason with his "friend", make him see sense. But it failed when the beast had tried to crush him under its enormous fists. He'd spent the whole chase calling out to him, his only friend in this chaotic hell. Nothing changed.

Eventually it had him trapped within the cramped office of Joey Drew himself. It pinned him down with its hand effortlessly. Henry gaped up at his doom, fear and guilt choking him more than the monster's hand. With a heinous growl, it picked him up in its claws, squeezing the life out of him. A cackle like a nightmare rose from a lanky figure on the monster's back. "SoRRy HeNRY." It mocked him with the voice of his former boss. "YoU'Re FirEd." The cackle turned into the laugh of a madman.

He was desperate to break through to his friend, it was his only hope to save them both. "Bendy…" He reached out towards it with a trembling hand. "Don't… Do this…" He suddenly howled in pained as it felt like one of his ribs had just snapped. The beast wasn't letting up at all. He only had one shot left.

Henry grabbed the monster's horn for leverage, pulling himself up quickly and gently touching its forehead with his. It let out a small gasp and stiffened at the unexpected gesture. Its maniacal grin softened into a wobbly frown. The extra demon on its back suddenly caught on to Henry's plan. "StoP iT! Get OfF!" It wrapped its smaller claws around Henry's neck. The man hacked and wheezed but he knew he had to act fast. He plunged his free hand into the hulking ink monster's chest, grabbed the paper gently, and ripped it from its inky prison. The monster melted away, dropping Henry on his chest.

His body screamed in pain but he had to know… Henry strained his neck to look up at the paper in his hands, relief washed over him to see his little pal, his Bendy, still alive. Hunched over and wheezing in shock, but alive. A wane smile was all henry could muster. He was then reminded of the true demon he was facing as he was picked up by his neck. The same claws choking him and pinning him to a wall while the malicious grimace of a twisted version of Bendy cut through him. The paper had fallen out of his hand and beyond his sight.

"YyyYooOuuUU… RuInED mE!" Joey's distorted voice snarled. "YoU uNGRateFul bAstARd!"

Henry was too weak to protest, the sharp talons digging into the nape of his neck didn't help.

"I'M tHrOUgh wiTh yoU MeSSiNG uP mY cReAtIoNs HeNrY! NoW yoU'Re goNNa PaY fOr it…"

Not far from the scene, Bendy, eyes screwed shut, was still recovering from being ripped nearly in half. His page had been torn out of Henry's hand and a large split had opened up on his side. It was all he could do to just to stay conscious. He pulled himself out from another black out only to see Henry choking in Joey's grasp. "HENRY!"

Joey looked like he was enjoying himself far too much as the color drained from Henry's face. The man sputtered a few coughs before his body went limp. "NO!"

The ink around his page began seeping into the paper, another tremor shook the room, and a fist the size of a truck slammed into Joey. It smashed him into the ceiling with a sickening splat. Henry dropped to his knees, choking in air as he watched Joey plummet back to the ground in front of him. Before he could do anything else, an oddly strong rage picked at him. And he knew that the feeling wasn't his own.

The tremors picked up in strength as a frighteningly large shadow loomed over him. Two thick ink covered arms smashed into the ground on both sides, providing a protective cage around Henry. Finally, out of the ink rose Bendy himself, face contorted into a snarl. His massive form boasted even sharper features that spoke of a hidden power being unleashed at last. Bendy let loose a roar of pure fury that shook the air. Joey was just pulling himself back up when Bendy smashed him back into the ground with a vengeance. Henry was speechless.

The ink demon curled his fist around Joey's mangled form and lifted the former man up to his toothy, furious mouth. "Shows over, Joey."

Henry watched, astonished and admittedly petrified, as Bendy punched Joey through the ceiling, into a wall, into the ground. He laid into their tormentor with brutal shots, each one shaking the studio to the point that Henry feared the building would collapse. If Bendy kept this up it just might.

Finally Bendy paused, the mangled and mutated Joey held in his grasp growled weakly. Bendy looked down at him with a bit of pity, even if just a little.

Henry was fading, he couldn't see the smear of ink that had once been Joey Drew, only Bendy, whose massive hand scooped him up gently. Henry groaned a bit as his breathing aggravated his broken rib. "B… Bend…"

The toon demon was overwhelmed with relief that Henry was even breathing, forgetting his own injury to lightly nuzzle the man. Thanking whoever was above that at the end of it all, he still had Henry.

"Y-you did it… Great job… Buddy…" Henry praised him. But exhaustion and pain began to take their toll on Bendy. "What's wrong…?" Henry asked in concern when Bendy cringed. Without another word, he set the man down carefully and dissolved his nightmarish form. "Bendy?!" Henry had to drag himself through the ink pool to reach the page and gasped in horror to see it torn halfway down the center, Bendy writhing in pain in the middle of it.

The toon looked miserable but managed a meek grin at Henry. "H-h-eya p-pal…" He stuttered. "I-it's over n-n-now… We w-won."

Henry held the split paper together tightly, Bendy hissed in pain. He had to move quickly, get Bendy to a new paper! "Hen-ry…" He felt a small tug on his thumb. Bendy tried to say something but Henry shushed him.

"Don't worry… I can fix… You…"

Bendy nodded and chuckled, "Y-y-yeah, but who's gonna… Fix… You?" He trailed off near the end but shook himself back, blinking back inky tears. "You l-look awf-ful."

And despite all the pain, they laughed. They made it, maybe not in one piece, but still here they were. Every second they'd spent in this hellhole had been worth it. Now Henry could get them up to the ink machine, get Bendy off that paper and… "Bendy…?" The toon's laughter trailed off and he sat incredibly still on the paper. "Bendy? You alright…?" He didn't stir. Henry feared the worst.

With the last of his strength he pulled himself over to Joey's smashed desk and dug through the remains. One piece of yellowed paper and one broken pencil, it was all he needed. He tried to drag Bendy onto the new sheet but only seemed to be making matters worse as the tear slowly grew bigger. He tried again, lifting his friend over the rip to safety and wasted no time hastily drawing over the alarming split in Bendy's side. Once he was satisfied he dropped the pencil and waited. And waited… And waited…

Disheartened at the lack of response from the toon, Henry broke into sobs. He lay there until he eventually cried himself to sleep.

…

"H…ry?"

…

"…enry…!"

…

"HENRY!"

Henry groaned in protest at the shrill voice calling out to him. His body ached worse than anything he'd ever felt. His eyes slowly opened to a sight he almost never thought he'd see again. His old work desk stood on the floor in front of him. He was on the first floor of the studio once again. But how?

"Henry you're really scaring me! Come back to me pal!"

He'd know that voice anywhere. And sure enough, there on the desk was none other than Bendy, studying him and fretting. "For goodness sake Henry, say something! Say anything! Speak to me ya big lug!" A flood of tears streamed down the toon's comically exaggerated expression. Henry couldn't help the slight chuckle that rose out of him.

"Nice to see you too…"

Bendy's smile could have lit up the entire room. "You son'uva gun, Henry!"

Henry slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position on the chair. Everything was sore, his rib was definitely broken. Bendy didn't seem to notice, too lost in his gleeful cheering. When he did look back to Henry he wore a small frown and started tearing into the man. "Do you know how long you kept me waiting? I wake up, you're passed out on the ground, won't speak to me. So what do I do Henry? What am I supposed to do?! I carry ya up here and ya still leave me waiting and waiting forever! Who do you think you are, mister 'I don't need rest I fought in a flippin' war'?!" Henry laughed harder through the aches, Bendy sounded like a worried parent scolding their kid. His laughter seemed to annoy the toon. "Now you're laughing at me? Well that's just great! Yuk it up bud! Improv night at Sillyvision! We're all just a buncha chuckle-heads here!"

Henry sighed. "Aw come on buddy…" He winced as his laughter died down. "I'm just happy to see you. I thought I lost you down there." Bendy couldn't think of a witty response to that. He must've left Henry even worse off after he blacked out. A moment of silence passed between them before Henry spoke again. "Do… Do you think the machine still works?" Bendy looked at him like he'd grown a second head.

…

"A-are you sure about this Henry? What if I don't look as good in your world as I do here? What if I'm stuck in my monster form? Or worse…. What If I b-b-become a monster again?!" Bendy voiced his worries as Henry prepped the Ink Machine, he'd been at work on it for a good while, taking a break at Bendy's insistence when his injuries started to get the better of him. A few times he'd thought of Joey and what he'd originally created the machine for. He couldn't imagine the imaginative, funny and kind boss he'd worked for all that time ago had ever intended all the suffering his invention had caused. It had been too late to save him. But Henry could make sure this invention and his old friend's dreams were put to good use after all these years.

"Bendy, that's not going to happen. I've looked over every square inch of this machine, every cog and gear is where it should be. She's ready when you are." Henry smiled and patted the metal casing on the machine. The toon was still hesitant but Henry smiled calmly. "Don't worry bud, I promise that what's out there, you're gonna love it." Bendy eased a little at his reassurance. All Henry had wanted was to reward his friend's efforts with the greatest gift he could give. Bendy had sacrificed everything for him, he more than deserved a life outside the hellish studio.

"Okay… I trust you Henry." Bendy sheepishly agreed.

Henry placed the page into the machine.

"W-w-w-WAIT!" He pulled the page back out. Bendy reached out to him like a child reaching out to their parent. Henry got the message and placed a finger onto the page. And Bendy gripped onto it like a lifeline, hugging so tightly that Henry actually felt the pressure. "Please work…" The toon mumbled so low that Henry almost didn't hear him.

The gears of the machine slowly churned as it whirred to life. Ink flowed into shape and leaked out the sides as it sputtered and shook. Henry watched on, holding out hope as it worked its magic. The pump ejected a glob of ink unceremoniously onto the floor. What felt like forever passed in silence as Henry waited for some kind of reaction from the pool of black. A small moan came from the center as it coagulated into a pile. It rose higher and began to take the form of, "Bendy?"

The toon blinked his eyes open. He felt strange, a good kind of strange though. He checked over his body curious to see what changed, until he spotted Henry eyeing him from the corner. "You're looking good." The old man smiled.

"You… You did it. Henry you did it! I'm real!" He slammed into Henry with a full body embrace. Henry gently hugged him back, ignoring the pain in his ribs and savoring the company of his best friend. "Thank you Henry!"

"Boris! Alice!… Joey… I made it. Are you proud of me?"

...

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It happened again. I would say blame Luke for encouraging me to do this buuuuut... I was the one who went a little too crazy with the feels bombs stash this time around. This'll be my last entry on this though, I swear!

As with the last BATIM fic I posted, this one is based off of the 2D Bendy AU created by ShinyZango, and all the amazing fanart that everyone has created for it. My buddy and I were discussing one of Shiny's comics about a possible ending for the AU and... This... Happened. So yeah, never ask me to write anything angsty or feelsy cause this is what you get... Now if you'll excuse me I have to scrape the bits of my heart that got stuck in my keyboard keys when it exploded. And get back to my original content before Luke chews me out for staying up past midnight to write this.

Again. I do not own Bendy and the Ink Machine nor am I to be credited for the 2D Bendy AU.

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Why are you still here? Go away there's nothing left. Don't scroll back up and put yourself through that again! Go get a nice cool refreshing drink, listen to some up-beat music, take a walk and enjoy life! Don't mind me still sitting here at my keyboard writing more cruddy angst at a perfectly acceptable hour Luke please I gotta get this stuff outta my system let me be.