Author's Note: Hey, guys! I've got another new chapter for you all! I'm just loving how these chapters are coming out! This one was so fun to write!

Hope you enjoy!

The halls within the room of the Ink Machine were tall, wide, and held living ink figures that stared him down as Henry continued down the hallways. He could see a door ahead with a lever to open it. He gulped as he drew ever closer. He had felt fear before in the war, but something about not knowing what to expect filled him with more terror than he had ever known. He didn't know what was going to happen.

And the thought that something could go wrong and end with his death… it filled Henry with the worst feeling of dread.

He pulled the lever and the door slid open. He could see something inside of a circular room ahead. As he drew closer, he could see what it was and it made his heart sink. Inside the room was a throne sitting upon a pile of ink, with gears acting as stairs to the chair. Around the throne, hanging above it, were screens showing various cartoons from the studio, Bendy and his friends flashing before him. Henry reached the room and he heard the door close behind him. "What…" Henry shook his head and curled his hands into fists. "Bendy!" he called out into the room, his voice echoing and bouncing back to him. "I know you're here! Show yourself!"

At first, everything was silent. Nothing moved, nothing happened. But a hand came into view from behind the throne, then another, and soon, there he stood in all his glory. The Ink Demon. The Not-So-Little Devil Darling. Bendy himself. His signature grin turned into a frown and the ink began to drip down his face at a rapid pace.

"Ah, I see ya have made yourself known to me once again, Henry," came his echoing, darkened tone. It was much different than the voice Henry knew for his creation, but it didn't faze him. He couldn't be afraid now. He had to be brave. He had been a soldier, damn it. He had looked death in the eyes before.

Henry glared at the demon, his blue eyes focused on the monster and nothing more. "Bendy… I have come, not to fight, but to speak with you."

Bendy seemed intrigued by Henry's words. The ink covering his face didn't hide the sudden surprise on his features. He climbed over the throne and dropped to the ground, making the room shake. He crossed his gangly arms over his chest. "And what would dat be about, old man?"

Henry gulped. He was slightly intimidated by the eight foot height of the Ink Demon, despite his own height of six feet, but he shrugged it off. He looked up into the unseen eyes of Bendy and cleared his throat. "Bendy… this isn't you. You weren't meant to be this monster. You were meant for fun and mischief, not nightmares and murder. You're the Dancing Demon. You shouldn't have to go through this. Joey… he's wrong, Bendy. He's wrong about whatever he said about me. You should know this."

The room shook again, but much more violently this time. Bendy stomped a foot and put his arms down at his sides, clenching his fists. "SHUT UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT JOEY!" The Ink Demon growled and glared at the man. "He told me everythin' about ya, Henry! How ya left because ya lied about how he treated you! He gave ya everythin', and what did ya do?! YA ABANDONED HIM! Ya turned your back on him, and us! Us toons! He told me how much of a liar and jerk ya really are!"

Henry couldn't help but tremble a bit, his face turning more saddened than frightened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. So Joey really did brainwash Bendy. He probably didn't even remember what Joey had done to turn him into this beast, and the thought that Bendy didn't even remember who he was broke Henry's heart. Henry reached out a hand and Bendy immediately bared his teeth, bringing out his claws. "Bendy, I promise, I'm not here to hurt you," Henry cooed. "I just need you to know the truth."

"I DO know the truth, Henry!" shouted the Dancing Demon. "And the truth is that you left Joey to rot! You left us all to rot in the financial abyss this studio was going through! If you hadn't left, Joey would be a sane man! He would be okay, Henry! But no… you had to leave for your own selfish reasons! And now… now… I'm going to make. You. Pay."

Before Henry could say another word, Bendy lunged like a wild animal and screeched. Henry barely moved to the side in time for the beast to crash into a nearby wall. He shook his head and growled, whipping his head to glare at the man. Henry shook his head and held up his hands in a "I don't want to hurt you" manner. Bendy screamed again and swung his arm out, knocking Henry into a wall and making him crash through it. The former animator cried out in pain and rolled to a stop several yards away, holding his side as he felt like some of his ribs had cracked.

Henry managed to push himself up after a few rough coughs and noticed that he was no longer in the throne room, but instead in a long maze of hallways with living ink figures staring him down from their prisons. He heard a loud rumbling and saw Bendy come from an ink portal into the hall. Henry quickly hid behind a corner, his breathing turning rapid and his heart pounding against his ribcage. He didn't know where Bendy was but he could hear his footsteps.

"Where are ya, Henry?! I know you're somewhere in here! Face me like a man!"

Henry noticed a door not too far from him, and he looked around. There had to be some lever to open the door. A small object caught his attention and he saw what he was looking for: a lever. He ran to it and pulled it, a loud creak echoing down the halls.

Bendy heard the noise and turned on his heels, seeing Henry far down the hall with terror on his face. "THERE YA ARE, YA COWARD!"

Henry took off as fast as his legs could carry him down one of the halls as Bendy charged on all fours. He rounded a couple of corners before hiding around one of them, seeing Bendy run past him. He ran to where he saw another lever, before taking off again, repeating this cycle until all of the doors had been opened and he could make a run for it.

Henry could hear Bendy still looking for him, yelling and running around. Henry pushed his tired body as hard as he could, making his way into another large room. The door slammed closed behind him. In this room, the former animator could see several large tubes filled with ink and a couple more screens being projected upon. He could also see a valve and some buttons along the wall.

Henry knew that turning that valve was probably a bad idea. But maybe it would distract Bendy long enough for him to escape. Turning the valve, Henry could hear ink flowing through the pipes behind him, and the sound of a door opening, but he also heard…

The sound of ink dripping.

Henry turned on his heels in panic, seeing an ink portal forming on the wall. He gasped and made a run for it, hearing wicked, gurgled laughter through the portal.

"HENRY! YA CAN'T RUN FOREVER, HENRY!"

The man ran, ran and didn't look back. He knew that if he stopped now, he was dead where he stood. He was terrified, even more scared than any time he had been in the war. He had thought that he had seen the worst of what could happen to him in the war, but this was beyond anything he could have imagined.

Henry realized he had made his way into the hall that stood before Bendy's throne room. He turned to see the throne of his crooked empire and ran to it, hiding behind it. He slid down onto his rear end, taking his axe from his belt and holding it close. Henry knew that at any moment, Bendy would pop out from one of the walls and find him. At this point, he realize he wouldn't be able to talk sense into Bendy. He was too far gone. Seems he had no choice but to really fight him.

The former animator could hear a portal forming again, and he began to tremble. This was it. This is what everything had led to. He had no choice but to fight his demon and take back the studio. He peeked out from behind the throne, turning his head to look over his shoulder…

Only to be grabbed by a large inky hand coming from the wall behind the throne. He gasped as the hand wrapped around his arms and chest, causing him to drop his axe and kick his legs. The arm was reaching from the portal, and within a moment, Bendy had stepped out, holding onto Henry with one hand, the other taking his axe and throwing it to the side.

The Ink Demon's grin grew wider, his mouth stretching to a point beyond human as he held the man and looked down at him. Henry bit his lip as ink from the monster dripped onto his head, closing his eyes tightly.

Bendy could see the horrified face of the traitor and he cackled, throwing his head back. "Well, well, well… isn't this quite the predicament, Henry? Isn't it so sad how all your efforts to save everyone failed so easily? Out there, they're waitin' for ya. They're waitin' for ya to emerge victorious. But ya know what? You… are… wrong. You're foolish. Ya had your chance to escape, and ya threw it away. Now… now you're in my grasp again, and this time, I won't be lettin' ya get away so easily." Bendy raised his other hand and bared his claws. "Say goodbye, Henry Stein."

Time slowed as Henry was dropped, but he didn't even hit the ground before Bendy took the claws of his white gloved hand and shot them forward. Henry gasped and closed his eyes, searing pain beginning to take shape in his body as those claws plunged into his chest. Bendy screeched out as he stabbed the man, his cry echoing off the metal walls and bouncing back to him.

Henry gasped in a sharp breath, before he wailed in agony, his lungs beginning to burn up and his chest taken by a pain he couldn't describe. He screamed as Bendy cried out, their yelling reverberating all throughout the halls of the Ink Machine room. Then, everything went silent.

As soon as Bendy's claws entered his torso, Henry felt a deep seeded pain like acid being poured into his chest and entering his bloodstream. It started in one place but spread through him and made him grab onto Bendy's arm. Tears welled up in his blue eyes and his voice was strained as he let out a sob. He was being pinned to the throne, hanging above the floor. Blood began to patter onto the ground as it fell from Henry's wound, lightly soaking his shirt and falling down his chest.

The Ink Demon saw those bright blue eyes look up at him with so much dread and he snarled. "Don't look at me dat way, old man! You're not as innocent as ya say, and I know it! Joey told me everythin' about you, and you should know that, this time, ya ain't makin' it out alive! Ya think ya did the right thing walkin' away from Joey?! YA LEFT HIM IN SHAMBLES, HENRY! YA BROKE HIS HEART AND RUINED EVERYTHIN' HE WORKED FOR!"

Henry winced from the raised voice hitting his ears. He managed to blink and tears fell from his eyes as he did so. He opened his mouth to say something to Bendy, but a rough cough escaped his lips instead. Blood dribbled from the corner of his lips, spilling off his chin and joining the liquid forming a puddle below him. He looked down at the hand in his chest and hung his head.

This was it. This is how he was going to die. He had done everything right. He had done everything to save his friends and keep them safe. He had even told them to stay in their place outside the rooms to save them from Bendy's wrath. And what did that get him? A painful death at the hands of his own creation, from his Little Devil Darling himself. Hell, if Henry had known what Joey was doing, he would have come back without a thought. But… it seems as though it was too late for that. Now, he was going to die. He was going to bleed out by the hands of his cartoon creation…

Wait. Henry lifted his head, spitting some of the coppery fluid from his mouth. He could feel Bendy trembling a little, and he could see something in his frown. Something that said… that the Dancing Demon was still in there. Henry put his hands on Bendy's arm again. This time, his eyes were filled not with dread… but with hope.

THERE'S ALWAYS HOPE.

Author's Note: Uh oh! Seems like this is the end of Henry! Will he make it out alive, or has he met his match?