This is the canon that links all stories in my BATIM Multiverse series together. It contains the most convenient or relevant path to each ending of my AO3 exclusive, Choose Your Ink, as they occur.

CYI Endings used: Chapter 127

Cheat path:

1 Know that you're Henry

2 Climb the boards

3 Break the boards

4 Have moderate luck on your roll

5 Choose the left

6 Follow the link

7 Climb an elevator shaft

8 Look for the artist

9 Look for more messages

10 See a message about a family

11 Make a wish

12 Dance for Boris

13 You have a radio, so you can click the right link

14 Find Alice

15 Follow the link

Chapter 1

In Which an Old Man Dies

Normally, Joey would have comic panels on this desk, but he needed the space to write out his will today. So many regrets. He had to do what he could with his death.

Where to start? With the only family he had left of course – his foster daughter; and his only son, a child of his old age, Joey Drew Jr.

He left his daughter his china, his jewelry, all his nicer household possessions. And because she was more the trustworthy of the two, he left her the Ink Machine. Someone had to care for all the souls he had to pull out of hell because of his own actions.

At least, he hoped she'd accept it. She hadn't really spoken to him since her boy was young.

And then for his son.

He'd have to leave him his magic books. And a means to offset his funeral costs – the studio. All he could do for him, really. That, and hope he reached the same conclusions he did about black magic – before he lost his soul too.

Dragging a trembling hand across the page, he willed away his meager possessions to old friends and employees. Maybe it was his old ears, or maybe it was attention to his work, but he didn't hear the bangs and scuffling that typically accompanied a soul escaping the Ink Machine. There must have been though, because a little ink demon tumbled over his shoulder and into his lap.

He dropped his pen. "Henry, is that you?"

The demon scrambled from his lap. When he got a yard away, he stood and stared at Joey.

Joey was about to ask again when, slowly, his old friend nodded.

Thank goodness. One less regret. Smiling, Joey looked to see if Henry was alone, but he wasn't – his wife and son were with him, in those Toon bodies they'd had since the day he pulled the Steins out of hell. "You found Linda and Luke."

"Who?" Linda asked. "You really shouldn't tell him we're people we're not."

And one more regret. Joey apologized to Henry, who could at least respond to his own name. He hoped that meant his memories were still intact.

Henry blinked, but he came closer. Close enough to jab a white-gloved finger at the will.

I leave my Ink Machine to Mary Stein Ross and request she leave it untouched in memory of her parents, her brother, and all others whose lives were snuffed out on the theme park's opening day.

The Toon's eyes were on his old friend, and they never blinked.

Joey swallowed. "You still don't remember? Well, you might not have known in the first place. They said yours was instant. But you don't remember ending up in hell? The real one. Not the one I created to get you out of there."

"Mister, he's from hell." Linda's eyes were narrowed, and her hands were on her hips. The eyes are no less creepy on her and Luke than on Henry. "Scratch can't do that, and he's a devil."

Joey couldn't look any of them in the eye. "You'll want to listen to what I have to say before believing I'm victim to a prank."

An arm brushed against his. Henry's. He'd moved closer. He looked up at him with the devil's questioning frown. His old friend may remember who he was, but he didn't remember a thing about his death, did he?

"Henry, years after you left, I built an amusement park based on our characters. You weren't a current employee, but you were Alice's creator and my best friend. I invited you and your family to the grand opening."

He nods, eyes growing.

Joey doubted he'd enjoy getting the memory back. "Before the park opened, I pressured you and many others into performing a little skit with me, supposedly to summon our characters. It was a demonic ritual that lost us all our souls. My fault."

And yet, Henry didn't push him away. No, Henry? He stepped closer, as though he would reach for his shoulder at any moment.

"And then, the park train wasn't as thoroughly inspected as it should have been. That is again my fault. This time for cutting corners on maintenance. On the park's opening day, it derailed and crashed into an octopus ride, killing many I'd invited to participate in the ritual because of their association with our cartoons." He dared a peek at the three Toons. "Of your family, only your daughter survived. Your deaths came as quite the shock to me. I took your daughter in, just as you asked, and raised her the best I could, but I couldn't just leave the rest of you in hell."

It was Linda who chewed them out. First Henry, because she'd mistaken who'd wronged whom. Then Joey. Warlock, she called him. She wasn't wrong.

Henry wrapped his arms around her as Joey reminded the Toons of their real names. He smiled at his family and shooed them back to the Ink Machine.

When he turned back, Joey kept silent, waiting for his old friend to say a word.

He never did. Instead, he mimed a pen and paper.

Oh no. This was his fault. Was it because it took so long to get Henry's soul in particular to accept the new body he'd created for him? Or was it a flaw in the body?

He retrieved a memo pad from a drawer and gave it to Henry. The house was silent except for the pen's soft scratching against the paper, so he filled the air himself with news that Henry would appreciate. "You'll be interested to know that I undid the curse on the survivors. The only one still heading to hell is me. And your daughter grew up to be a beautiful woman with children of her own."

Only one of which had lived to adulthood, but Joey didn't need to burden his old friend with that knowledge. He focused on the positive. "Your grandson, Henry Ross, grew up to be an animator like you."

The younger Henry drew backgrounds mostly, but his work was amazing. It really made settings come to life. And the thought was enough for Joey's old friend to smile over the top of his paper at him.

Joey kept talking, but Henry had his tongue out between his lips, the same way he always used to when he was so focused he couldn't hear a word anyone was saying. When he finished, he tore the top paper from the memo pad and handed it to him.

Joey Drew – the Story Teller.

It was a character concept of him as a Toon, but he had all his hair and sat in a rocking chair instead of a wheelchair. Soon, Henry handed him a note to go along with it: WHAT DO YOU THINK? SOMEONE HAS TO REMEMBER WHO WE REALLY ARE, AND I THINK WAS JUST HANDED THE CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING.

He was so sure he was going to hell. He worked through a lump in his throat to ask, "You'd let me join you?"

Henry offered him his hand. Joey took it and thanked him.

His body ached. The last of his energy left. The next two days were miserable, but they ended with a visit from his son. He wasn't going to die alone.

His son showed up in a new suit and a newer wheelchair.

There was no reason for his son to need one, so he asked.

The younger Joey hung his head. "You were right, Dad. I need to stop using black magic. I escaped from a demon, but it cost me this."

Taking his son's hand, the father explained about the studio and the Story Teller. "I had to modify my will. Your sister turned down her inheritance, so I left the Ink Machine to you. If you need help getting away from magic, you can contact me."

The last thing he saw as a human being was his son starting to mourn. The younger Joey squeezed his hand and said, "I swear, I won't let anyone else follow in our footsteps if I can help it."

Next time:

One year later.

Question of the week:

Where's Bendy?

Disclaimer:

This is a fanfic of Bendy and the Ink Machine and is not an official part of the franchise in any way.