Within the Throne Room of the Beast, Henry Stein was fighting desperately for his life.
As the gigantic hellish ink creature dashed maniacally at him, claws and fangs bared, he ducked and weaved with all the agility his years allowed. All the while, he clutched the film reel Joey had left for him tightly to his chest – the bringer of Bendy's end being a tool far too valuable to lose.
As the Ink Demon lowered its head with a deep growl, bracing itself for yet another charge, the impossibly tense atmosphere was shattered by a short, sharp sound.
A gunshot.
Henry whirled around at the noise, turned to face the doorway... and the sight that met his eyes chilled him to the core.
Stood there, swaying and staggering on unsteady feet, was Joey Drew: his hands shaking rapidly as he dropped the smoking pistol. Blood trickled down from his chest – the red liquid running and merging into the black ooze flooding the floor. As he opened his mouth to speak, what emerged was nothing more than a wheezing croak.
"Henry..."
"Joey..." came the overwhelmed reply. "Joey, what have you done?!"
Joey painfully inched himself a few steps closer, before lurching suddenly into a complete collapse. Henry hastily waded forward through the ink to reach him, catching him in his arms.
The Ink Demon made no movement: it simply watched and waited, never once taking its eyes off the pair. It could attack them at any moment if its wished to. However, there was no pleasure to be had in killing something already on the brink of death.
As Henry cradled his old colleague in his arms, his legs began to buckle under the added weight. Dropping to his knees, he could feel himself sinking down deeper into the inky abyss, but continued to hold Joey to himself ever more carefully. Ever more closely.
As Joey frantically gasped for breath, the formerly simple act of staying alive now requiring ever more effort, he reached a hand up to brush against Henry's cheek - tugging and tilting his face downwards to look at him eye to eye.
"Not... not you, Henry," he wheezed. "Never you..."
"What are you talking about?"
"The... the covenant..."