Linda

The four proceeded through the labyrinth for what felt like hours. It was easy to get lost in the huge maze of hallways and rooms, some containing useful information while others were just dead ends. Linda insisted that they search every one until they found everything valuable. It was worth it, though, as they found a couple audio logs by Joey himself, along with a brief description on the Ink Machine's first victims.

Henry seemed especially jumpy for some reason. He always wanted to keep moving, never agreeing to stay behind and waste time. Because of that, the group of four had to remain on their toes. Linda couldn't help but keep an eye on him, in hopes of finding out more to his conversation with Joey. But something else was on her mind, too.

"There it is!"

Henry's exclamation startled Linda out of her lovestruck thoughts. They had finally reached the film vault, but their happy and cheerful smiles soon vanished when they saw the ruins of their supposed holy grail. The huge iron door was torn off of its hinges, large blots of ink the greatest bits of evidence that it was Joey's doing. Already scared out of her wits, Linda reluctantly stepped inside the vault. She instantly felt colder.

"The reel," Henry whispered. He shouldered past Linda, not caring that she nearly fell over, and rushed to the far end of the room. He crouched down at a small cardboard box and gasped in sorrow. "No, no, no, no!" He grabbed the box and dumped it upside down, small crumpled pieces of paper falling to the ground. "It's gone!"

"What's gone?" Alison asked. She took the words right out of Linda's mouth.

"The reel. It's the only thing that could destroy Joey. He must have it. Now we have no hopes of getting out of this mess," henry muttered. He dropped the box and fell to his knees. His eyes were clouded in despair.

"You didn't say anything about a reel," Tom said. "It seems like you know a lot more than the rest of us about Joey. Suspicious, if you ask me."

"For the last time, I'm not working with Joey!" Henry yelled. He sighed deeply and shook his head. "I'm nothing like him."

Linda swallowed a gasp of surprise when she saw tears welling up in Henry's eyes. She took his hand and smiled at him. Henry looked up and softened his gaze.

"Then we can take it from him. We're close to his lair, if what Sammy said was true. He won't know what's coming," Linda offered.

"A bunch of bullcrap if you ask me," Tom growled. Alison gave him a scathing glare, but he ignored it. "If you want to go on a suicide run, fine with me," he continued. "Just don't expect me to come running when you start crying for help."

"You know what," Linda hissed. She squeezed Henry's hand harder. "I'm tired of you treating us like trash, Tom. If you hate doing this so much, then leave! It's not worth it to make us suffer more than we already are. We've just dealt with three deaths in such a short time span, and being on the run is hard enough. I know who you are, Thomas Connor, and your intentions. It's not our fault your wife can't remember who she is. It's nobody's! I know how it feels to be her. I can't remember anything, either."

"And being the one that knows who she was before this mess is hard. I can't talk to her about happy memories with each other because we don't have any; at least not that she can remember. Even though I don't have the Linda I knew back then, I have the Linda I know now. She's strong—a warrior, even. She is the most beautiful creature to ever walk the face of the earth, and I'm glad to call her my love," Henry added. His gaze flitted from Tom to Linda.

"Wait, what's all this about?" Alison asked. "Wife? I don't remember Tom mentioning anything about me being his wife."

"I never mentioned it because you didn't know me!" Tom howled. "I was afraid you'd think I was some random creep and that you'd leave me. I don't know what I'd do without you. You have no idea how difficult it is to see you and not call you 'sweetie' or 'honey' like we used to. I miss you, Alison. Even if you can't remember, at least try to accept me. I need you. Please."

To everyone's surprise, Tom began crying quietly. He made no sound, but it was obvious by the way he was breathing unevenly. He hunched over and hugged himself, eyes squinted shut.

That old geezer really doeshave feelings,Linda thought. Almost makes me want to feel sorry for him.

After a couple minutes, Tom came to his senses. He wiped his eyes and muttered, "Come on, let's just get this crap over with. The sooner we get out of this damn place, the better."

Henry shifted away from Linda and went to start the walk to Joe's lair, but stopped when he realized that the door was locked. He cussed under his breath and punched the door as an outburst of anger. He quickly recoiled and clutched his hand.

"Ow," he hissed, shaking his hand as if swatting aside an annoying bug. "Great. We can't go anywhere."

"Well, aren't you just a little ray of sunshine?" Tom said softly, nudging Henry aside before, astonishingly, breaking down the door in one punch from his iron fist. The metal door shot a long way away, clattering loudly in the spot that it fell. Tom stepped back and brushed his hands together. "Now that that's taken care of, can we leave now?"

Henry nodded, still surprised at Tom's sudden act of strength. Tom stomped ahead, giving the fallen door a small kick before moving on. Linda watched Henry trot ahead like a duckling to its mother, followed by a very concerned Alison. Linda put her head down for a moment to think.

Almost there. We're so close to freedom. So close to being human again.

I hope.

Joey Drew

Joey nearly jumped out of his skin when the huge iron door in front of him burst open. He caught a glimpse of Henry and Tom, then retreated through his portal of ink. He pressed himself against the wall on the other side, hand against his chest, trying to catch his breath.

Wuss, the demon growled. Joey frowned in anger.

Shut up, he thought, knowing that the demon would hear it. Let's just get this over with.

I thought you liked scaring the life out of others, the demon mused. Joey blinked in thoughtfulness. Why was he changing his mind already? He used to love killing.

Just tell me what to do.

You saw that glass divider in the hall, right? Make sure you're on the opposite side of Henry before you "attack" through the glass.

Just like hide and seek. Only horror edition. But...

What?

Nothing.Joey shut himself out from the demon before adding, Just that I think Henry wants to give me a chance to change. But can I do that when I don't have any control over what I do?

Joey lied in wait out of sight, but he positioned himself so that he could see Henry. When the smaller demon did pass by, Joey kept rhythmic step with him, scaring the absolute hell out of the four allies. They all froze, pressing close against each other. Most of them looked away or closed their eyes in fear, but Henry maintained constant eye contact with Joey. The Ink Demon leaped onto the glass, making the entire thing shudder and emit a loud thump. He snarled, baring his long fangs, saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth. It seemed like ages until he stepped back and turned to walk to his lair. He could feel the other's confused and terrified eyes bore into him as he limped away.

It's time for the final showdown.

Henry Stein

Henry waited until the veins of ink disappeared before letting out the breath he was holding. He felt Linda shiver next to him, and heard the doubtful whispers of Alison and Tom. Large splatters of ink were left behind where Joey had slammed on the glass, sizzling and dripping down slowly. For a mere split second, he saw the Wandering Sin in his reflection on the glass.

"We aren't going any further," Alison declared. She refused to make eye contact with anyone.

"You don't have to," Henry replied. "This is my fight, not yours."

"Henry, he'll kill you!" Linda cried. She pulled Henry back and gave him a sorrowful stare.

"Then at least I tried."

No more was said between the two, only a couple more moments of staring, then Linda finally looked away and sighed. She let go of Henry, then turned her back on him. Feeling something in his heart break, Henry gave up on trying to reason with Linda and started on the path to Joey's lair. But by the time he got to the end of the hall, Linda ran up behind him and embraced him in a rib-breaking hug.

"I love you," she whispered, just loud enough for Henry to hear it.

"I love you, too," Henry replied, returning the hug and stroking the back of Linda's head softly. I don't want to leave her, he thought. Not like this.

"Promise me you'll come back."

Henry's heart had shattered to a million pieces when he heard this. He couldn't make a promise he doesn't know if he's able to keep it. Anything could happen in Joey's lair.

"I can't promise you that, but I'll try to make it worthwhile," Henry said. Linda frowned, but nodded in understanding and let go.

As Henry began to leave again, he heard Alison call, "Set us free Henry!"

I'll try.

Death.

That was the only warning message that told Henry where Joey's lair was. It was likely created by Joey himself to ward off unsuspecting visitors. Henry ignored the warning and kept going, but the sight in front of him next was enough to make his vision cloud in fear. It was the Ink Machine, but ten times the size than Henry saw before. It was absolutely massive. And there was no way across due to the huge moat of ink that surrounded the machine. It was very likely that Joey's lair was inside this contraption.

"Looks like this was a waste of our time," Henry mumbled to himself sadly. But then the churning ink gave him an idea. I can control the ink. But I've never tried this before, so I won't know the outcome if something goes wrong. But it's my only chance...

Henry stood at the edge of the floor that wasn't covered in ink. He took a deep breath and let the Dark Ink consume him, but careful not to let it overpower him. He instantly felt stronger, but was horrified at the outcome. He was glad that it was only temporary. Henry looked exactly like Joey now, just less... demon-like.

He stepped into the cold ink, disgusted at the thick, black liquid. One step closer to victory. Or death.

In minutes the entrance to the inside of the Ink Machine was within reach. Henry heaved himself out of the ink, shaking the remnant off of his leg.

"Better stay this way. Just in case," Henry suggested to himself. At least it would be some kind of defense.

Come to me.

Henry gasped both in pain and surprise as the demon that was supposed to be in Joey's head spoke. His head throbbed, which only increased when the demon spoke again.

The End is near.

The voice was quiet, yet close enough for Henry to feel hot breath on his neck. He whipped around, only to find himself alone.

You still have a choice. You don't have to suffer. Join me, Henry. We'll rule together.

Screw that,Henry thought bitterly, unaware that the demon heard him.

Language, Stein. Demons may be evil, but we're not thatevil.

Oh, you're evil, alright. Now get the hell out of my head.

The demon only replied with a scoff, then went quiet. Henry was relieved to have his thoughts to himself again, but then again, he wasn't sure if it was gone for good.

Snapping back to reality, Henry looked ahead to where a large iron door lay closed. Extremely paranoid and wary, he slowly walked to it, but stopped when he got halfway there to look at some sort of display cases, containing Lost Ones. Though one was different from the rest, having a Boris clone. It was still very inky, and seemed to not be solid. This is where he creates them all,Henry realized. I wonder who else was lured here since I came.

Shooting a final glance at the Boris clone, Henry turned his attention to the door. It was larger than the others he had come across, but in contrast, the lever was easier to find, being right next to the door. The only downfall was that it was rusty and difficult to pull. When Henry did activate the door, he was astonished at what he saw next. It was a large room, and circular in shape. Projections of various Bendy cartoons played on the walls, emitted from old projectors that Henry assumed were from Norman's past battles with the Ink Demon. Speaking of Norman, Henry was disgusted and sorrowful at the limp, headless body of his old friend at the foot of what seemed to be a throne. But why hadn't it reduced to ink like the others?

The throne was interesting. It represented just how twisted Joey had become over the years. It was covered in ink, and Henry had to brush a lot of it off to be able to see what was beneath it all. Underneath the ink and laid next to an old reel was an audio log from Joey himself. Recent memories made Henry hesitant to press play, for it was in a situation like this that an audio log had led to a twist in his life. When he did press play, however, he was happy to hear Joey's old, non-corrupted, and cheerful voice.

"It's simply awe-inspiring what one can create with their own hands. A lump of clay can turn into meaning... If you strangle it with enough enthusiasm. Look at what we've made, Henry! We've created lfe itself. Not just on the silver screen, but in the hearts of those we fascinated with our fancy moving pictures. But, when the tickets stopped selling, when the next big thing came along, only the monsters remained. Shadows of the past. But you can save them Henry! You can peel it all away! You see, there's only one thing Bendy has ever known: He was there for the beginning, but he's never seen..."

"The End," Henry finished, picking up the reel that laid next to the audio log. Turning it over, the label contained the one thing that would set them all free. Here it was. The End.

But this was too easy. Nothing should be this easy.

"So, you think you can bring your filth into my lair and expect to get away?"

Henry froze. He was afraid to look up—his nerves wouldn't allow it. But eventually he did, and he didn't even feel surprised to see Joey Drew looming over him. The Ink Demon had his sharp teeth bared, saliva that was tainted with ink dripping onto Henry's head. Joey hung over the back of the throne, claws gripped into its wooden surface, causing large claw marks to appear.

"You made a huge mistake, Henry. You shouldn't have come here in the first place. Now look at what you've caused; innocent people have died because they were in my way to get to you. Now Linda will have to suffer knowing that you died at my hands, too." Joey leaned in closer to Henry, their faces inches from each other. Henry tried not to gag at Joey's putrid, hot breath.

"I'll give you one more chance. It's either my side, or theirs, which will most definitely result in death," Joey continued. Ink had fully covered his face by now, with only his long fangs showing.

"Never."

"Hmph. Your choice, your mistake." Joey's voice dropped to a low growl. He retreated and went out of sight, though cries of pain were heard. Henry didn't know whether to run or to help his old friend. Was this a trick?

"Joey?" Henry took a deep breath and braced himself for pain as he stepped back. Suddenly the screams stopped, replaced by loud, corrupted growls. A massive shape sat up where Joey was supposed to be. It resembled Bendy, but all cartoonish traits had melted away, revealing the true demon inside. Its ribcage was showing, though strong, refined muscles rippled under the flesh-like ink. This creature was the exact same thing that had made a home in Joey's mind. Now it had completely taken over. Henry wondered if the real Joey was trapped beneath all that Dark Ink.

"Now the fight truly begins, Henry!" the demon bellowed. It climbed over the throne and pinned Henry to the ground with a massive taloned hand. It roared fiercely, making Henry's ears ring. Inside the creature's mouth were several layers of daggerlike teeth. This thing was a reincarnation of Satan himself.

Henry felt his bones crack under the demon's weight. The Dark Ink burned his skin like hell, but he remained strong enough to force the demon off. When the demon staggered away, he grabbed ahold of both horns and, mustering all his strength, flipped the demon over onto its back. The demon landed with a huff, the wind knocked out of it. Though it was back on its feet in a matter of seconds. Not giving Henry any time to take in what happened, the demon swatted him aside like a fly. Henry went flying and smacked against the wall. Something clattered to the floor beside him, and he could barely turn his head to see what it was. It was the reel. And just behind it was a golden shape. Looking up, Henry couldn't help but smile at his three deceased friends.

"Some timing you got there," Henry rasped, clutching his chest.

"Henry," Sammy said firmly. He snapped his fingers, and then it seemed like all time had stopped. The demon had frozen with its mouth inches away from tearing Henry's head off. "The Dark Ink is draining your energy. You may feel stronger, but it's just an illusion so that you'll stay this way longer. The Ink feeds off of you. Joey should be a perfect example of that."

"You don't think you could have said that earlier?" Henry snapped, but he was too weak to make his voice sound angry.

"Just stop using the ink. You have your own special abilities that you can use without accessing the ink," Sammy prompted.

"Ha. As if. I can barely see over your shoulder without standing on my toes."

"Smart-ass," Norman mumbled. He put a reassuring hand on Sammy's shoulder and eyed Henry with amusement. "Can't you notbe sarcastic for once in your miserable life?"

"Maybe. I'll think about it."

Wally snickered behind them, covering his snout to hold back laughter. Sammy shook his head in annoyance.

"On another note, you should weaken Joey with The End, if it doesn't kill him. Once he's down, finish him off. We can't have what happened before happen again," he continued, glaring harshly at Wally, who was wheezing in laughter. When Henry frowned, he added, "I know he used to be your friend, but he's nothing like he was before. It's better to end it now."

Henry closed his eyes, recalling all the good times he'd spent with Joey. There was the first time they met during the war, when they were still young; The times they drew new cartoon characters together in their free time; Opening the studio for the first time; Seeing their own cartoon on the silver screen.

But then that's when it all went downhill.

The company had gone bankrupt, and Joey had tried everything in his power to keep it from shutting down. Then when he began to mention bringing the toons to life, Henry thought his friend was going insane. He wondered if he should quit, but then again, how could he leave his best friend like this? But when Linda broke up with him (which he is thankful that she doesn't remember) he felt like he had no choice but to leave. After all, he'd lost everything that mattered to him. His friend, his girlfriend, and his own creation.

Maybe Henry leaving was what drove Joey off the brink. But he was just like me without that demon in his head. It wasn't all his fault after all. He deserves a second chance.

Sammy handed The End to Henry and helped him up. Henry ignored the pain in his broken limbs and straightened his posture. "Set us free, Henry."

"I'll try." Henry let go of the Dark Ink, sending a huge puddle of it sinking into the wooden floor. He was now back in his old form, though he wished he could turn human again if he could change forms like that. He suddenly felt less weak, proving Sammy's theory that the Dark Ink drained strength. But that would mean that he wasn't immune to the poisonous burning effects of Joey's ink.

Suddenly time unfroze, sending Henry's attacker back in its path to bite off his head, though it missed due to misjudging the smaller demon's size. Joey slammed into the wall, ink splattering in all directions. Henry took this opportunity to slide underneath Joey's legs and sprint to the throne in the center of the room.

Come on, come on!he thought frantically, searching for something to project The End. Then his eyes were drawn to Norman's lifeless body, with his head lying nearby. Sorry, buddy I gotta borrow this.Henry took the projector and placed the reel inside, turning the old machinery on. The broken bulb flickered weakly, but it was just enough to see two large words printed in fancy calligraphy play on the wall.

Joey was now back on his feet and was getting ready to charge again, but was distracted by a flash from behind. The demon turned slowly, seemingly scared to see his demise. His posture drooped, and his toothy lips curled down into a sad, scared frown. The End shone brightly in front of both demons, growing brighter by the second. Joey screamed, though it was more of a monstrous roar, and dropped to the ground. The ink melted off, evaporating into black mist. When Joey was back in his old form, he screamed in agony. A large blot of ink was leaving his chest, which formed into Bendy, but it was the one that Henry had seen so many times; in dreams and in hallucinations.

The room went dark when the reel ended. Joey was huddled on the floor in a large inky mass, shivering violently. He seemed so weak and helpless now that the true demon had left. But the odd thing was that Joey had stayed in the Ink Demon form, not even reverting to the original Bendy or turning human. Maybe the rest was really up to Henry.

But as Henry drew nearer to his old friend and readied to land the final killing blow, he hesitated. He might be the same Joey I knew all those years ago. He doesn't deserve to die like this. He needs a chance to right himself.

Joey looked up shakily at Henry, his eyes barely open. "just finish me off. Please. I don't deserve to live, not after all I've done," he rasped.

Henry didn't say anything; he only smiled and held out his hand invitingly. Joey flinched, expecting pain, but then realized that Henry was offering to help. It isn't the end after all. I just hope I'm doing the right thing.

To be continued...

A/N: alright, bois! This is the end! Or is it? I really hope you enjoyed this story, being my first fanfic and all :P I just want to shoutout to MrMonkeyOfDoom for being a great friend and awesome support!