Is It Hopeless? Chapter 1: Why Even Try?, a bendy and the ink machine fanfic

AN: This story will have spoilers for Chapter 5.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bendy and the Ink Machine. I just play with its characters.

Henry was tired.

How long had he been doing this? Too long. At some point, he stopped counting. The invisible tally marks on the walls said as much.

It all started simple enough. He got a letter from his old friend, Joey Drew. He visited him at his home where they shot the breeze for a few hours. Looking back on the good old days. Back when they worked together to bring their cartoon creations to the silver screen to the delight of millions. Those were great times, even if Joey took the credit for everything. A big man with big ideas that acted like he did everything on his own. That bit of bitterness still stung even after all these years.

Still, when he received the invitation, he couldn't resist. Linda told him not to go. She never liked Joey. The man always piled more work on him to the point where they hardly spent time together. It put a major strain on their relationship. She was so happy when he finally walked away from all of that.

Linda was upset when he said he was going to see Joey. He promised he wouldn't be there too long and he'd be back she knew it. Yeah, looking back on it now, he should have listened.

Henry went back to the studio at his friend's request. It was such a simple request too. For years, he had wondered what became of the place. He wasn't surprised to see the boarded up windows and doors. The studio had shut down years ago.

Henry pushed open the door. He was greeted by yellowing walls, the smell of dust, and old posters of their beloved cartoons. He closed the door behind him and took a few steps in. "Alright Joey, I'm here. Let's see if we can find what you wanted me to see."

As Henry explored the old workshop he came across his workstation. A sketch of the little devil darling right where he left it all those years ago. The character's joyful expression brought a smile to his face. He fell in love with the little toon ever since Joey handed him that bottle of ink. As the head of the animation department, it was his job to make sure they breathed life into every creation they produced. He was proud of his small team. They did incredible work, but it was never enough for Joey. He always wanted more.

The place was bigger than he remembered. Looks like the animation department grew as the studio gained moderate success. Henry was hit by a twinge of longing. He would have like to have met the animators that kept Bendy, Boris, and Alice alive after he was gone.

Henry frowned at the cardboard cutouts of the little devil darling. The strange smile and vacant stare was not how he designed the character. Joey must have changed him at some point. He didn't like it. The toon lacked the joy he had when Henry created him. This version made him uneasy. Surely this couldn't be what Joey wanted him to see.

No. Henry got his answer when he found what must have been Joey's pride and joy, the Ink Machine. It rose from the depths of the studio on thick chains and belched out huge gouts of steam at the sides as it came to a rest. He'd never seen anything like it. He wanted to know how it worked. No, he needed to know how it worked! His curiosity grew the more he stared at it. And you know what they say about curiosity…

Henry ignored the uneasiness clawing at the back of his mind. He came this far, might as well see it to the end. He knew something was wrong when he turned on the flow. The pipes clanked loudly and started to burst at the seams. He should have expected that, they were pretty old. Still, it surprised him just how much ink flooded the room. Why on earth did this place need so much ink?

Henry hurried down the hall. He needed to get to the machine. Maybe turn it off before he drowned in the stuff. Leave it to Joey to go overboard. Small leaks sprang from the overhead pipes as he got closer to the room. As he got closer, he noticed wooden planks blocking the doorway. It wasn't like that before…

He approached the room with great caution. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. The thick wooden boards crisscrossed, barring entry into the room. Henry leaned in to a small opening to get a better look when a large, smiling face popped up in front of him. He stumbled back as a gloved hand shot out and took a swipe at him.

Henry didn't know what that thing was. All he wanted was to get the hell out of there. Shutters crashed down as more ink flooded the rooms. The floors and walls shook as more pipes burst and the black substance rained down on him. The exit! He needed to get to the exit! It was there, right within his sights. He was so close, he could reach out and touch the door. Freedom was within his grasp.

Then he was falling…

He wasn't sure how he survived the fall. He thought he was lucky to walk away with a slight limp and a bump on the head. This wasn't too bad. He just needed to find another exit. Maybe make his way back upstairs. Instead, he found himself descending deeper into the studio.

Coffins lined the walls. Why would an animation studio need such things? Hell, why would Joey need a machine that produced that much ink? He needed answers and there was only one person that could give it to him. He just needed to find a way out.

Henry trudged through the dim halls, ink coating his pant legs and shoes. Joey was definitely paying for his dry cleaning. He made his way to a room with strange markings painted on the floor. As he got closer, everything around him began to shake. A terrible pain lanced through his skull as well as images that made little sense to him. Not that he had time to really think about it. His consciousness left him as soon as he hit the floor.

Henry's adventures in the studio continued as soon as he came to. He wandered through unfamiliar territory. The building turned out to be bigger than he expected. He wouldn't let that deter him. He would find his way out and get some answers from his old pal.

Along the way, he ran into all manner of creatures made of ink. From vaguely humanoid beings that emerged from inky puddles to a crazed man who called himself a prophet. Besides the demon that nipped at his heels, he ran into monsters and even angels.

Henry managed to make a friend in the form of Boris. The toon wolf was a saving grace in this hellhole. He never failed to cheer him up when he really needed it. Henry swore that he would take the wolf with him when he escaped the studio.

He thought his heart would break when the angel took Boris. And he tried so hard to save him, but he was too late. Putting the wolf down was the hardest thing he's ever had to do.

Everything after this was a blur. He was rescued by two characters that didn't know what to do with him. They didn't trust him and he felt the same. Henry didn't know who to trust anymore. He just wanted to go home.

The demon showed up and his rescuers left him behind to figure his own way out. Henry didn't know where he was going and this wasn't the first time he wondered what Joey was thinking when he built this place. An amusement park, a toy factory, and now a river of ink? Not to mention all the cans of bacon soup laying around. Every time Henry broke down and ate that bland stuff, it made him appreciate Linda's cooking even more. He missed her so much.

He crossed the river, ran into the good Alice and Tom, and held his own against an army of searchers and lost ones. They were getting close to the end, he could feel it.

Henry reached a point where his companions could no longer follow. Their fear of the ink was stronger than their need to know what was in the demon's lair. There was no turning back now. The ink demon had the key to his freedom and he would take it. No matter what.

He tried to ignore the fact that he was inside the Ink Machine or that there were lost ones forming behind small glass booths. He didn't know what was going on and the answers could wait until he got out of here.

A throne? Why was there a throne here? Henry could see the old cartoons he worked one projected onto the walls. A tingle ran up his spine. Something didn't feel right. There was a recording from Joey sitting on the throne along with a reel of film. 'The End.' was written on it. Joey said this was the key to defeating the demon.

Speaking of the demon: It was hiding behind the throne the whole time he was standing there! It let its presence be know in a big way. Henry watched in horror as the demon changed. The demon was intimidating before, but it was the stuff of nightmares now. Long muscular arms that ended in huge, clawed hands. Short, useless legs dangled below its torso. A large head, long horns, and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Henry was frozen in place. The beast's deafening roar shook the walls.

Henry had little time to grab the reel when the demon backhanded him, sending him crashing through the wall. He was dazed as he stood up to run away. The demon phased through the walls and tried to run him down. 'Why would someone make it so complicated to open a door?!' he thought as he frantically grabbed a lever. He got knocked off his feet a few times before he could get the large door open. His hopes at it being the exit was dashed when it lead to another room.

This room was large and mostly empty save for some glass tubes that stood upright and disappeared into the ceiling. As far as he could tell, there was no way out. Henry found a valve on the other side of the room. He turned it and it powered up and caused ink to flow through the glass tubes.

A deep growl caught his attention. The beast was standing in the doorway. It stalked him, using its larger frame to keep Henry from bolting for the door. He hid behind a glass tube, using it as a shield. The demon seemed to grow frustrated because it couldn't grab him. It roared and shattered the tube, ink and glass flying everywhere.

Henry dove out of the way and ran toward another glass tube. He didn't know if this would help him. He just knew he couldn't let the beast get its claws on him or the film reel.

There was one more tube left. Henry panicked. There would be nowhere left to hide after this. The demon raised it's massive hand and shattered the glass tube. Ink rained down on Henry so much that he was momentarily blinded. He furiously wiped at his eyes to get rid of the ink. By the time he cleared his vision, the demon was gone.

Henry heard a loud click. Another door was opening on the other side of the room. Now was his chance. With the reel tucked under his arm, he ran for the open door. He was surprised when he ended up back at the throne room.

One of the projectors on the side of the throne was empty. Henry wasted no time in popping the reel into the slot. Henry froze at the sound of heavy footfalls and a deep growl from behind him. He turned to see the demon reaching out to him. He leaned back as far as he could go when the projector clicked on.

The demon stopped for a moment as an image appeared on the wall. It seemed curious as it turned, its attention drawn to the wall. The beast screeched and stepped back as the words, "The End" flashed onto the wall. The demon tried to flee, but the words popped up on another part of the wall, then another and another, until all the previous cartoons featured those magical words.

The beast snarled at Henry and turned on him just as a bright light flooded the chamber. It seemed to caused the demon a great deal of pain. It writhed around on the floor. Its body began to burn away in the light. Bendy reached out to him one more time before it threw its head back and let loose an agonizing screech. The demon's body dissolved as the light grew brighter.

The room grew so bright that Henry had to shield his eyes. This was it! He did it. He stopped the demon. After all the crap he's been through, he can finally leave this place. He was going to give Joey a piece of his mind. So he waited…

And waited…

Until…

At first he didn't notice. He was too busy running for his life. Fear is a great motivator. It kept him going even when he felt incredibly tired. He sometimes got a odd case of déjà vu but he ignore it. He needed to get out of this place. He wanted to go home.

Over time, the déjà vu feeling grew stronger. Situations that should have surprised him or even scare him, barely got a response out of him. He felt tired all the time and he couldn't shake the feeling of hopelessness that curled up in his heart.

Little by little, déjà vu gave way to scattered memories. Soon Henry was able to piece together that he had been doing the same things over and over and over again. The realization that he couldn't escape nearly crushed him. He refused to believe that there was no way out. He just needed to find a way to break the cycle. He couldn't give up.

Something good Alice said to him managed to stick with him after a few runs. She told him that writing on the walls was the only way some of them could be heard. Henry tried to write messages to himself. To tell himself to turn back! To not turn on the machine. To do anything other than what he did to get himself trapped in this forsaken place.

The problem was, every time the loop restarted, all the messages Henry wrote were gone. He couldn't see them so he proceeded on his mission to start up the machine, thus starting the process all over again.

Henry wasn't sure how many loops he'd been through before good Alice gave him the glass. She said she found it on the upper level and it allowed her to see the hidden messages on the walls. He wasn't sure where it came from. Maybe he made it or someone else did, but he was happy to have it.

Once he was able to see the things he wrote previously, he was shocked by how frantic and desperate some of it was. He was frustrated. None of the warnings he wrote to himself worked. He grew angry and cursed Joey for getting him into this mess.

He needed answers. Since he knew he couldn't get them from Joey, Henry spent a few loops analyzing the various recordings that were scattered throughout the studio. Slowly, he pieced together what happened. He couldn't believe how low Joey had stooped to get what he wanted. All those people put their faith in him and he used them in the worse way possible.

He tried to anything he could think of to break the loop. One time, he tried to turn around and leave. They door locked behind him. He couldn't get it open. No matter what he threw at it, it wouldn't budge. If he had an axe, he could break it down. But the only one he could find was on the lower levels, AFTER he falls, so that wasn't an option.

In a few loops, Henry refused to even turn on the machine. He sat at his old desk or hung out in the break room. He played a few dozen rounds of pool and darts. He wasn't sure how long he did all of this, but nothing happened. Nothing changed. It was as though time had stopped. He finally caved and turned on the machine.

He tried talking to the other denizens of the studio. Maybe they could help him figure things out. That didn't work. He either confused them or they didn't listen to him. After awhile, he just stopped trying.

Henry even spent time with the lost ones. It took them a little while to warm up to him, but it was worth it. He felt bad that he thought they were monsters. Turns out, they were just poor souls that got sucked into this mess. They fell into despair and gave up hope of ever escaping this place. Their plight only added to the burden that was heaped onto his shoulders.

At his lowest, Henry decided to let the demon kill him. Anything had to be better than this. He quickly found out that he couldn't die! No, that's not true. He could die and each death was painful, but he always came back! The damn studio won't let him go, not even in death.

This was hell. He couldn't believe it. Joey created hell in the form of a cartoon studio. He'll never see his family again…

OoOoOoOoO

He was so tired. Tired of ink filled halls, tired of the creatures that attacked him, and tired of bacon soup. Sometimes he'd spent his time playing cards with Boris when he reached that point. The wolf was good company. He considered him a good friend too. This only increased the pain he felt every time he died. It slowly chipped away at his sanity.

So, here he was again. Standing before the ink demon's throne with the film reel tucked under his arm. All he had to do was load the film into the projector and this will all end. End? But... it never ends. It never ends! Never ends…never-

Something inside of him broke. He screamed and tossed the reel to the floor. It rolled a short distance before coming to a stop in the corner. Every thing he did and will do was pointless. "I can't do this anymore! " he shouted. Tears prickled at the corners of his eye. He hated to cry but he was too tired to stop it.

Henry heard the moment the demon entered the room. It snarled as it walked towards him. The beast stopped, grabbed him, and threw him across the room. Henry rolled across the floor in an ungraceful heap. He moaned and it took him a few tries, but he managed to get to his feet. He swayed slightly but that didn't stop him from glaring back at the demon.

"Go on, KILL ME!" He was tired, he was angry, and he didn't care anymore. Tears ran down his cheeks and blurred his vision. Hysterical laughter bubbled up his throat. "This doesn't matter! None of THIS-" he waved his arms around frantically, "MATTERS!"

Henry stomped up to the demon. The creature actually took a step back as he got closer. "So, go on and kill me." He had to crane his head back to look up at the demon. The beast's large head loomed over him. Its growl vibrated across his skin. Henry should have been scared, but he wasn't. He was done. "You and I both know that I'll just come back! I-I always come back…"

Henry's shoulders felt so heavy. The weight of everything that's happened up to this point was crushing him. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. The tears burned his eyes. His shoulders shook as he sobbed silently. He just wanted to go home! He wanted to return to Linda. What did he do to deserve this? 'Joey… Did you hate me that much?'

The demon was literally breathing down his neck. A cold, inky stench wafted over his head. It just stood there. He didn't know what the demon was waiting for. Maybe it wanted to torture him before killing him. It wouldn't surprise him if that was the case.

Henry flinched when something heavy and wet laid against the top of his head. The demon's growls sounded different. The tone was different. I-It sounded like-

Henry was almost knocked off his feet when the demon head bumped him. Out of instinct, he reached out and grabbed the beast's head to keep himself from falling. Bendy huffed. The cold air blew the hair out of Henry's face. The demon head bumped him again, a little gentler this time.

Henry was so confused. Why wasn't it trying to tear him apart? What was going on? W-Was it…whining?

…

It was! It wasn't growling. It was whining. The tone had a hint of concern to it too.

He knew he was loosing it now. The demon, the beast that had been hounding him throughout the studio…was worried about him? This-This can't be right. This last loop had truly broken him. And yet...

Henry ran his hand across the beast's lower jaw. So far, he hadn't lost his hand to those sharp teeth. In fact, the beast tilted its head against the man's hand. The whining stopped but the demon continued to nuzzle him.

"Oh okay. I don't know what's going on." Henry wiped his tears away with his other hand. He chuckled at the absurdity of the situation. "Why are you doing this? Why aren't you killing me?"

"HeEenNrrRyyy." The voice was deep and garbled, but Bendy clearly said his name.

Henry was startled. "Y-You can talk?!"

The demon nodded slightly before taking a few steps back. Henry watched as Bendy's body melted and changed until he was back in his ink demon form. The demon shuffled until he was standing a foot from him. "Henry…"

Suddenly, Henry felt very angry. "Why?" he shouted. "Why did you do this?!" He closed the distance between himself and the demon. He didn't care if the creature was taller than him, he needed answers. "Why did you trap all these poor souls?"

The demon lowered his head. It grew quiet for a long time. Henry was starting to loose his patience. He opened his mouth to speak, but Bendy cut him off.

"You created me-" the demon waved his gloved hand at the room, "but they gave me form.." Henry closed his mouth. He wasn't expecting to actually get an answer.

"They were so happy that I came into being. I was the first." Bendy's smile slipped into a frown. "Joey… He wasn't happy. I wasn't perfect." Henry grimaced. He remembered how much perfection meant to the man.

"He wanted me locked away or destroyed." The demon rubbed his hands together as if he were nervous. "Tom and some of the workers…they were kind to me. They let me stay with them in the offices. They taught me things. I was happy."

Bendy balled his hands into tight fists. "Joey was angry. He mocked me. Called me a monster. He said I was all wrong." He pressed his fist against the side of his head and whined softly. "The others let him take me away. He threw me back into the ink."

Henry's brows knitted together. Something didn't add up. "If Joey threw you into the ink, why are you here? Why didn't you fade away?"

Bendy sighed and shook his head. "I don't have a soul for the ink to claim. I drifted through it for a long time, but I was finally able to pull myself together." The demon stared at his hands. "I didn't come out right…"

Henry reached out and touched the demon's arm. "W-What happened next?"

Bendy looked down at him. "I came back, but everyone was gone. Only ink creatures remained." He tilted his head slightly. "I thought they were like me, but they weren't. They had souls. Souls of the people who worked here. Souls of my friends. They were scared and in so much pain. I could feel it…"

The demon stepped back out of Henry's reach. He grabbed at his horns and whined loudly. "I tried to save them!"

Henry blinked, "What?"

"I destroyed their bodies to set their souls free. It didn't work! The ink reclaimed their souls and trapped them in new bodies again." He shook his head as the grip on his horns grew tighter. "I couldn't set them free!"

That wasn't the answer Henry thought he'd get. All this time, he thought the demon was to blame. He wasn't. Or at least, it wasn't completely his fault. He came closer to the distressed demon. Henry reached up and placed his hand on top of the demon's head. It startled Bendy enough that he stopped yanking on his horns.

"You can't free them because you didn't trap them in the first place." Henry let his hand fall limply to his side. "Joey…". Damn him! He sent him here to clean up his mess. The coward couldn't face what he'd done…

While Henry was lost in thought, Bendy picked film reel from the floor. He turned it over and studied it. It was such an innocent looking thing. Who would have guessed that two little words could end his existence. He finally got his hands on it. All he had to do was crush it. It would be so easy too. And once it's destroyed… then what? He'd go on existing forever? Did he really want that? Sure, he didn't want to fade away, but he wanted more than to just exist. He wanted to live! If he destroyed the reel, they would be stuck. No way forward and no way back. That wasn't the life he wanted. They both deserved better than that.

Henry didn't know how long he stood there running his fingers through his greying hair. The weight of everything he just learned kept him rooted in place. It was almost too much for him to handle. He whispered, "What am I gonna do?"

Henry jumped when a reel of film was thrust into his hands. He looked up to see Bendy smiling down at him. "B-Bendy. What are you-?"

"Take it."

He didn't understand. Surely the demon knew this was all pointless. The demon must experience the loops just like him. "Bendy…I-I can't… I can't do this anymore!"

The demon just smiled. "Yes you can."

Henry shook his head. Didn't the demon understand. Joey had created to perfect prison for them. "Why?"

The demon pointed to him. "Because I have faith in you, creator."

Henry was stunned. This wasn't the first time someone in this place put their hopes on him. Even good Alice believed that he could save them all. It just surprised him to hear such sentiment from the demon. It moved him in a way he couldn't describe.

"Bendy, I…" Henry's breath hitched as he pressed the reel against his chest. He didn't know if he could change their fates, but he needed to try. There had to be a way to break this loop. He was going to find it! Joey won't get away with this.

Henry chuckled. He had all but gave up at this point. It took a demon, his very own creation, to renew his hope. He reached up and placed his hand on Bendy's cheek. "Thank you."

Bendy sighed and backed up. He stood where he had a good view of the images projected on the walls. This part always hurt, but it was worth it as long as Henry didn't give up.

Henry stood by the throne and loaded the film into the empty projector. Before he turned it on, he turned back to the demon.

"Bendy. Joey was wrong." The demon tilted his head. Henry pointed at the film reel. "This might be the end, but it's not 'The End'. As long as someone remembers you, you will never fade away."

Bendy was taken aback. He always tied his existence to the cartoons that played continuously throughout the studio. It's why he fought so hard to stop Henry. It never occurred to him that there might be another way to secure his own existence. It made him happy knowing that Henry will never forget him. "Thank you, creator."

There was a soft click and the final reel started to play. Those fateful words, "The End" flashed onto the walls of the chamber. Soon the room was bathed in an unnaturally light. The demon hissed as his body slowly burned away.

That sense of hopelessness melted away as well. The heavy weight on his shoulders felt a little lighter. He knew it would never go away, but he didn't feel like he was being crushed anymore.

The last thing Henry saw before the light grew too bright, was the demon's smile. "Heh, see you on the other side buddy."

.
Henry pushed open the door. He was greeted by yellowing walls, the smell of dust, and old posters of their beloved cartoons. He closed the door behind him and took a few steps in. "Alright Joey, I'm here. Let's see if we can find what you wanted me to see."

...