A/N- Don't hate me too much.

The small group returned to Ellaina's home rather quickly. Ellaina and Anne were still quite unaccustomed to traveling in such a way. They, unlike Totheark, had not traveled this way all the time, so both were still able to feel awe at how the process worked. Neither was paying much attention to the One who had been responsible for bringing them home. Both were paying more attention to the fact of what they should do now that they were back in America. Totheark, however, did notice the condition that der Ritter was in. He wanted to do something to help, but he knew that there was virtually nothing he could do. It was incredibly frustrating. Slender had always cared for him-for his entire life. And now, when the man needed help, Totheark had no way to give it to him.

Pain was not something new to him; Slenderman put up with it almost constantly since he had been made into whatever he was. Again, he really wished he knew what to call himself. He was not entirely human but he was not some animal. It was too bad that he had never been able to figure it out before he would meet his end. And it seemed that his end was very close if the blinding, debilitating pain was anything to go by. This pain was worse than anything he had felt before including the time he had spent at GENLAB Industries. It was likely a bad sign that he was willing to go through that pain again rather than deal with what he was feeling now. How he wanted to just make this pain leave him, to allow himself to cry out against the pain. He couldn't though, not with Ellaina in the room. She still did not know. He could not very well just start moaning in pain and not tell her what was happening. Still, she needed to know. He had to tell her, despite how badly he wanted to keep her ignorant.

Something was different this time, however, he noticed. His hands felt…wet, and he was starting to feel weak. That same wet feeling was on his face as well. Slenderman looked down at his hands, finding them covered in a thick, sickly black liquid. The chemical-it had burst the veins and arteries in his hands. He was losing blood. That was why he was feeling weak. What a way to die, by bleeding out. How many of his victims had died in the same way? It seemed odd to die in such a way. This most certainly was not how he had planned to go. Then again, he had not planned on dying anytime soon. He had expected the chemical to stop the flow of his blood and kill him that way, but the thought of this form of a death…it had never crossed his mind.

The Slenderman wanted to get out of the room, perhaps make it back to his own home to just…lose his blood and leave this world. He did not want his friends-if he could call them just that, for he saw them as so much more-to see him like this. He especially did not want his Ellaina to see this happen. He tried to step away from them. He tried to head to the back door so he could just disappear into the woods, but weakness overcame him. As he went down to his knees with a weak moan, he could feel more of the liquid making itself known on the tendrils and his back. It was not this fact that pained him most, though the feel of the chemical burning his skin was rather painful. No, what caused him the most pain was seeing the look of terror in Ellaina's eyes. Any strength he had left disappeared. He lay back onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. What should he be feeling now? he wondered. Humans always displayed fear when they were about to die, yet he did not fear Death. He felt more so disappointed with himself for letting the chemical beat him so easily.

"What-what's happening?" Ellaina questioned, quickly coming to his side. She tried to wipe away the blackness from his face, but pulled back when the liquid touched her. It burned, like acid. She quickly wiped the material from her person onto the carpet. What in the name of God was happening to him? He had said that nothing was wrong. He said that there was nothing to worry about. Whatever was happening certainly did not look like everything was all sunshine and rainbows. He looked like he was staring down Death and losing the battle. But, he had told her everything was fine. Had this sort of thing happened to him before? Was this common for him? She did not know the answers which made her all the more desperate to get Slendy to answer her.

Slendy couldn't find his voice; or rather he could not remember how to speak to a person into their mind. The knowledge of how to do so was simply…gone. His mind could not find the information that allowed him to do so. He came to realize that as the chemical left his body, the power it had given him would also go. He had never asked for this power, but he had become accustomed to it. He was used to it and considered it to be a part of him. Without it, he could not speak. He had no mouth, no way to physically speak. It was just like it was in the beginning. He wanted to speak, but there was no way for him to do so. All he could do was look up at Ellaina's face. He had no way to convey what was happening. Anne was right. Totheark was right. He really should have told her to expect this. It would have made this perhaps a little easier on her. He had been selfish, though, so damnably selfish. What right had he had to keep this from her? Husbands and wives were not supposed to keep secrets.

Anne came to sit next to Ellaina, who was asking him once again what was wrong. Neither could understand why he would not answer. The shorter of the two sighed. Her friend needed to know what was happening, but…she had promised not to say a word. Still, it seemed that Slendy was unable to tell her what was happening. Maybe he would not be mad at her if she told. Just like she had said to Slendy, Ellaina deserved to know what was going on, especially now that it was actually happening. And that realization, the one that der Ritter was actually dying, brought tears to Anne's eyes. There was no other option now. Ellaina had to know. As she was about to tell what was going on, Totheark beat her to it.

"He is leaving us," Totheark stated, his voice devoid of all emotion. If he allowed his emotion to show, he would be a blubbering wreck. That was not how he wanted Slendy to remember him. He had always been strong in front of his father figure, even from a young age. Getting upset now would only make things all the worse for Slendy, and that was not something that he wanted. It looked like Slender was suffering enough as it was as Death came to claim him. Taxing him emotionally certainly would not be helpful in any way.

Ellaina did not understand. Leaving us? What exactly did that mean? She looked down on the One she called husband. His hands were clenched tightly, a sure sign that he was in some sort of pain, but he would not accept her touch. Whatever was on his skin would burn her, she knew. That was why he would not allow her close to him. Still, she wanted to be able to assuage his pain in some way. Then it came to her, what Totheark meant. The Slenderman was leaving. He was dying, leaving the world of mortals. No, it could not happen. Her mind did not want to accept it. He was her husband; she loved him above all else. She looked down at Slendy, her eyes filling with tears. "No. No, you can't leave us. You don't die. Humans die, not you. You can't leave us."

He never should have become involved in her life. Why had he become so attached to her? He knew better than to do so. The last time he had allowed himself to grow close to another human….no, now was not the time to focus on the past. This world…he was leaving it. Should he not be focused on the fact that he was dying? What was Death like? He had caused it on numerous occasions, but he had never experienced it. He would likely end up in Hell for all of the murder he had committed. That was not a pleasant thought. It seemed that he would be seeing his dear, sweet mother again. There was no way that he would be allowed to gain access to Heaven. He had to wonder where his father would be. His hope was that the poor man had been granted access to the land of God. But, did he even believe in God? Was there even a Heaven and a Hell? It was a thing of the human world, these places that existed beyond Death. He had been born human, so it could be that one of these places could accept him.

A terrible pain shot through his neck. He knew what was going to happen next, and he had to admit that it frightened him to some extent. He knew anatomy well enough to know what major blood vessels ran through his neck. The loss of those would lead to his death, and it seemed that the chemical was dead set for doing such. Knowing that he would die soon forced adrenaline into his blood. Sure, this caused him more blood loss, but it did allow him some temporary strength. He forced himself to sit up and pull Ellaina close to him. He looked into her eyes, her watery eyes, as his body trembled with the effort to remain up and from the pain. How he wished he could impart onto her just how much he cared for her. He wanted to tell her that everything would be alright after he left this world. She would still have Anne and Totheark. There was no way for him to tell her these things with the loss of his power. It was surprising he could even function. He kissed her, though it was weak.

Ellaina sobbed into their kiss. He was going to leave her. It did not seem possible, and she knew full well that she would not be able to heal him. His healing did not work on problems associated with the blood. So, this kiss was not a way to heal him but…to say goodbye. This realization only made her more upset. She leaned in closer to him, not caring as the chemical burned at her skin. All she wanted was to keep him alive. There had to be something that could be done. There just had to.

Slender forced himself to his feet, away from her, and forced himself to walk outside. There would be no point in getting the chemical and his blood all over Ellaina's home. Both of the women and Totheark tried to call him back to them. They were begging him, saying that there had to be something that could be done. But Slenderman knew better. There was nothing that could be done. Perhaps leaving this world would not be so bad. He would no longer have to suffer. There would be no more people screaming if they saw him. There would be no more need to murder humans. Peace, he could finally have peace. He would be free of pain, but what was he leaving behind? He looked back, seeing the three standing at the doorway. He understood why Totheark would be upset; his father figure was dying. He could understand Ellaina's grief; the one she loved was leaving her. He could not understand why Anne would be upset, though. He had always been so rude to her, something he now regretted. He regretted so much in his life. Had he said no to his father all of those years ago he never would have become a genetic experiment. He never would have killed anyone. And it was those deaths that he had caused that he regretted perhaps the most. People had died because of him and sometimes for no other reason than for his entertainment. It made him sick to think about.

The pain in his neck suddenly became far worse. There was nothing he could do to ease the pain as the carotid arteries began to fill to maximum capacity due to the chemical. Slender turned away from the three who were watching him. There was no point in making them see this happen, his end. He was not cruel enough to force that onto them. He felt something seem to almost snap inside of his neck. Liquid flooded under his skin, and blood began to be deprived to his brain. He fell to his knees and proceeded to fall to his side, his life force leaving him. Everything started to go cold and his vision started to become unfocused. The pull of unconsciousness was there for him, and he was more than willing to just give into it. The pain would be gone if he gave in.

But, then he could sense someone at his side, begging him not to leave, pleading with him to stay in this world. He forced himself to look up at the face, forced himself to focus on who was asking this of him. Ellaina. He should have known. How he wished he could just do as she asked, but there was nothing he could do. Death was upon him. He weakly reached out a blood stained hand to touch her face before the pull of unconsciousness, of Death, overwhelmed him. His hand fell from her face and to her lap as blackness invaded his mind. There seemed to be a bright light, though, at the very edge of his vision. Stories said that the light was good. The light would lead to positive things, or so he had heard. In what movies he had seen, the good side was always fighting for the light. Hadn't Ellaina said something about the Light Side of the Force-or whatever it was called-when she had tried to explain Star Wars to him late on their wedding night. Then again, he had heard the humans say don't go toward the light, for it was not good. Still, something deep inside of his mind told him to go to it, so he did.

A/N- There is more to come soon, my lovely reviewers. ;)