The Archives [a BATIM Fanfiction]

Henry Stein

                          >A small note. @Endereye96 had this nice Batim fanfic, which gave me ideas and inspiration for this AU. It's more of a cannon timeline. Anything can happen. So, If you don't mind, check out their cool stuff after this fic. I, personally, think that I've improved over the course of 4 years or so. Let's hope that this is good...
This fic contains swearing, some small suggestive themes, and a little bit of m x m. Read with caution.

"He was there for his beginning.. but he's never seen..."

"The End," Henry muttered under his breath, staring down at the old looking tape in his hands. He heard short growl from above him, which caused him to look up. There he stood, the Ink Demon, the king of the dark studio. Henry felt his heart jump.
Bendy had transformed into a terrifying beast, then chased him through the ink machine's interior. Henry had tripped over his bruised ankle a few times.
As he ran back into the throne room, the tape in his sweaty hands, a certain thought entered Henry's mind...

Had he already done this before?

Henry's thoughts then went utterly apeshit. Everything from the past- week, year, possibly decade struck the man. he remembered everything in the short few seconds he had before Bendy came running in behind him. Henry looked down at the tape in his hands, his reach nearing the projector. He froze.
He's never frozen before. He'd never not... put the tape in the projector. So what would happen? He's tried everything in the loops. But never this...

Henry spun on his heel to Bendy, who only stared back with his mouth gaping open and his sharp teeth dangerously close. Henry took the tape on both sides and ripped it apart, throwing them onto the ground. Bendy's face seemed to grow... worried.
Henry huffed, staring wide eyed down at what he had done. He... he broke it. He broke the only way to kill the ink demon.
Bendy backed away, his body shrinking down to his smaller form. As he did, a broken sounding laugh emerged from his inky throat, sounding distorted and inhuman. In-demon. What?
"You broke it!" he howled with laughter, "I can' believe it! You... Oh ho ho.. The one object down here that- that could stop me! You finally broke it! Finally!..."

Henry could barely understand him. His voice sounded so familiar, but so broken. It sounded mostly like grunts and screeches, or gurgles and chokes. Henry couldn't figure out what went where.
The demon slowly limped up to Henry, all the while he fell back into the soft throne of the demon. Bendy's smile was all Henry saw as he grabbed his neck and strangled him. "Back you go now..." An odd voice spoke. Was it.... Jo....

Henry blinked. Death, ink tunnel, back. He was alive. At least, he hoped he was.
Henry touched his face a few times, just to make sure he still had all his [deviously handsome] features. He smiled softly. Then the thoughts came back, flowing like ink into his mind... The loop. He was stuck in a loop. And he had just destroyed the last reel. Henry smacked himself on the head, turning back for the throne room inside the ink machine. As he did, the door closed shut. He couldn't get in..
No big deal! The timeline just hadn't reset yet.

Henry waited a moment... then he started to tap his foot. He really fucked everything up. How.. How... How? How... Bendy spoke now? Strange...He had- so many memories, thoughts, ideas that didn't sound like his own! He.. 
Henry felt so... clueless. 

Henry sighed and turned around, heading back to the vault. He started to wade through the inky ravine, staring over at the small docks. He saw something stumbling around in the dark, which made him... curious.
"Hello?" Henry called out, receiving an awkward yelp in reply. He raised his eyebrow and quickly trudged faster.
"Anyone up there? Can you pull me up?"

He paused for a moment, before an inky hand reached down to grab him. Henry reacted quick, and grabbed the other tightly. As he was pulled up, Henry couldn't stop thinking. What had he done..?
He was torn from those thoughts as he met the faceless face of Sammy Lawrence. Henry yelled and nearly fell back into the ink. Sammy grabbed on to his suspenders, and pulled him up.
There was an awkward pause.
"Henry?"
Henry's golden eyes widened. "You... remember me?

Sammy's head turned, making the man look down. He then looked up at Henry. "I guess I do."
"What do you remember?" Henry asked desperately.
"I... The pipe burst," Sammy shook his head, "Ink got in my mouth. Then it started... started to show me things. I guess I... I don't know. I tied up some kid and a few workers.."
"A kid?" Henry questioned.
"Shh," Sammy shushed with the same enthusiasm as he had when Henry was tied up, "I don't know. I... did some things, got killed and- now I'm covered in ink, half naked, without a face." Sammy grumbled.

Henry snorted quietly, inching around the music director. "I see that good ol' Sammy is back?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sammy squawked, turning to Henry quickly. "And where are you going? You aren't leaving!"

Henry suspiciously stared at Sammy, "And why not?"
"B-Because! I... Uh.. Well,"He tapped his chin, ink sticking to his hand, "I suppose... now that my mind is semi-free from the grasps of my l-ink... demon.. I don't HAVE to sacrifice you..."
Henry sighed.
"Doesn't mean I don't WANT to, though."
Henry immediately turned and bolted off into the vault. He could hear Sammy's bare, inky feet slapping against the wooden ground from behind. With his whole 'practically broken' ankle situation, Henry couldn't run as fast as he wanted. As he burst into the waiting area near the receptionist desk, Henry fell and rolled to the side. He didn't intend to roll, it was just instinct. Henry gasped, his lungs burning and his ankle feeling like it had been stomped on by an elephant.

Sammy emerged into the room. If he had a mouth, he most likely would be smirking. "Henry! Oh, I was playing with you. I'm not used to having my own mind back," He laughed, "C'mon, big guy, get up!"
Henry leaned back onto the wood, sprawling his limbs out. He huffed. "Sammy-"
"I know! I know! I'm still a crazed lunatic cultist who can easily turn on you like that!" Sammy said boldly.
Henry looked up at him, then laid his head back down again. "-I was gonna say I don't know where Alice and Tom went. But, that works too."

Sammy made a whine like noise, then stomped over to Henry. "Get up! I don't want to have to climb back up the studio alone! Those- those things! They'll kill me! After what I did. I'm a dead man! Henry, oh, please," Sammy moaned, "Please just at least take me back to the music department. I'll be safer up there. Then I'll let you roam free, my little sheep..."
Henry rolled into his side, jamming his fist into Sammy's knee. "Help me up." He muttered.
Sammy made a satisfactory 'ah-ha' and grabbed onto Henry's arm, lifting the male up. He let him regain his balance before marching off to the exit. Henry limped behind.

"That's a long way up!" Sammy said.
"Obviously..."
"How do we- ah! A rope! How convenient!"

The musician appeared to try and take a step forward, then he froze. 
Henry tilted his head, "Can you not- walk in ink?"
Sammy shook his head. "No- it's too big of a risk. Besides, I don't trust you to pull me out. Grant isn't... "
Henry nodded to Sammy with a small smile. He stepped in the ink, his leg sinking down. He slowly walked to the rope, then climbed up it a bit. He started to swing himself back and forth, back and forth, until he was able to kick himself to the wall. He grabbed Sammy, who grabbed the rope once close, and the two men climbed up.

"Who's Grant?" Henry asked as they walked through the lost one's town. Sammy looked at him.
"Grant? Oh, the accountant. He... we were close." 

Henry smiled, "You had a friend, huh?"
Sammy shook his head, then shrugged. "We... Well, I suppose so, shee- erm, Henry. He was the... only person who didn't scream when I screamed back, Everyone said he was an even bigger hot head than me! It was- oh, over here, Henry," Sammy stopped  and turned to where he had rushed out earlier to greet Henry. Henry stared at the opening before walking with him.
Sometimes, in other timelines, Sammy rushed out of there. Other times, he ran from other doors in the small time. And other other times, it was a lost one, or Susie, or Jack. Those were times when Henry had tried to save people. Times where his memory returned before the end. Henry sighed quietly. 
"Anyways," Sammy finished, "You- weren't listening, eh? Good."
Henry scowled at the ink man, who giggled under the art medium. 

"Now! Let us walk!"