Both Henry and Lily stared at the Demon who had now become just like his cartoon counterpart, the pair of them very much confused and before either of them could say anything, Bendy let out a small squeak before bursting into tears.
"Oh, Henry, I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt ya, I never meant to hurt your kid" he sobbed as Henry knelt down to his level "it's just that...after you left without saying goodbye, Joey mistreated me, said I was a monster, that I wasn't safe to be around people and after some time, he locked me up in this very Ink Machine and I..I was trapped inside for all these years and that made me into the being you encountered during the whole time you were both trapped in the studio but when you put in the end reel, it changed me into my normal form and I gained my sanity back. I'm sorry for everything I've done I..I..." the little toon completely broke down and without hesitation, Henry pulled him into a hug as Lily stood next to them, still confused as to what had just happened.
"Hey, it's okay buddy, I forgive you" Henry replied as he continued to comfort him "when I heard that audiotape about Joey wanting to lock you up because you'd scare people and that you weren't safe to be around anyone, that's when I realized that he was the reason behind the way you turned out, after all, you weren't always so tall and scary."
"But what about the other audio tape I found, the one where the man talked about Bendy being a failed experiment made from the Ink machine" Lily piped up "how does that explain things?"
"That's because nobody except for Henry and Joey had seen my original form, I was mostly hidden away from the rest of the workers here because Joey wouldn't allow me to meet them until he decided it was time but after Henry left, Joey began to mistreat me very badly to the point I had lost my sanity and became the creature you encountered this whole time you were here and before long, the other workers had encountered me with Joey saying that I was a failed experiment created from the Ink machine, he never told them that I was a perfect copy that had gone insane due to the mistreatment and abuse he inflicted onto me" Bendy explained before turning to Henry "why did ya leave me, Henry, why did you leave without saying goodbye?"
"Believe me I never wanted to" Henry replied as Bendy hiccuped in between sobs "when Joey fired me, I was wanting to take you with me, I knew that he was mistreating you and I wanted to get you out of this place but Joey wouldn't allow it, said that you were his creation which is all bull crap because I was your original creator, not him, you know that right" Bendy nodded silently, like a child responding to a parent when asked a question "so anyway, that is why Joey fired me, so he could get all the credit into creating you and I was going to say goodbye but Joey practically threw me out before I got a chance to, said he would kill me if I even dared come near the studio."
"H..he said you didn't care about me, he told me you just packed up your things and left, that he tried getting you to say goodbye and that you weren't interested, that you didn't care" Bendy explained through his sobs.
"He lied to you buddy" Henry replied, "he lied to everyone here, including myself." Bendy didn't say much after that, he just continued to sob as Henry comforted him, reassuring him that everything was going to be okay and it wasn't long until Lily knelt down on the floor next to them and began to comfort the small Demon who not long ago was a huge, beast-like creature that tried to dispose of Henry and keep her as his prisoner and now,he was this small little thing who had been through so much, it was no wonder he became the terrifying Ink Demon that she and Henry had run into so many times.
"What do we do now Daddy?" the little girl asked, "can we go home now?"
"You're not going to leave me again are you?" Bendy asked, his voice filled with dread and disappointment "please don't leave me, please, I don't wanna be on my own again."
"Of course not, I felt so guilty being forced to leave you behind the first time, I am not going to do it again, you're my creation after all so you're coming back with me and Lily" Henry implied "I'm not leaving you behind again." Despite sobbing still, a small smile crept up on Bendy's face and the little toon threw his arms around the man.
"Oh, thank you Henry, you don't know how much I've wanted to get out of this hell hole" he implied "that's all I ever wanted, is to leave this place and be with my true creator, not some old fart who took all the glory and claimed to be my creator which he wasn't."
"Well we can go right now if you want, we're not getting anywhere just hanging around are we?" Henry replied as he stood up with Bendy still clinging to him like a scared toddler "besides, I could use a good shower and a nice cup of tea" both Lily and Bendy giggled in response "okay guys, are you ready to get out of this place and go home?"
"I've been ready for 30 years" Bendy replied, "and besides, I'm getting sick of this place, would feel nice to be living in a proper home with the only person who was ever kind to me, which is you, Henry."
"Can he share my room daddy?" Lily piped up, the child seeming to show no fear towards Bendy ever since he reverted back to his toon form "please, can he?"
"Are you sure you'd be okay with sharing a room with me?" Bendy asked, "after all, I did terrorize you and Henry not to mention kidnapping you after the elevator crash." Lily nodded, implying that she now knew the reason behind his behavior, that it was all Joey Drew's fault he became the very creature that hunted them down and terrorized them.
"Well, if he wants to share a room then it's okay with me" Henry replied as he ruffled the little girl's hair as she giggled in response "anyway, I think we should get out of here and find a way out of this place." He stood up with Bendy still clinging to him and after helping Lily to her feet, the three of them exited from the Ink Machine, expecting to see Tom and Allison waiting for them, but instead, there appeared to be two humans, a man and a Woman to be exact, waiting at the other end of the Ink Lake.
"Daddy, who are those people?" Lily asked, pointing to the two unfamiliar figures "where did they come from?"
"I don't know honey, let's go find out." With the Bendy still clinging to him and Lily gripping his hand, Henry waded through the Ink lake and once they reached the other side, the woman walked over to them and threw her arms around Henry.
"I'm so glad you made it, we thought you and Lily were never going to get out of there," she said and that was when Henry recognized her voice.
"Wait, Allison, Tom, is that you?" he asked, looking at the two people in front of him "but, how, I don't understand, you guys where toons just before I went into the Ink machine."
"I think I know what happened" Bendy piped up "when Henry put in the end tape, it must have reversed everything that happened, made those who became toons human again and even brought the dead back."
"Will they remember anything that happened?" Lily asked.
"I don't know honey" Henry replied, crouching down to her level "but if they don't, I don't think it would be a good idea to tell them."
"Is it because they could have nightmares?" the little girl asked and Henry nodded "but, Tom and Allison seem to remember what happened, how is that even possible." Before Henry could reply, Bendy stepped in and explained that some people may remember what happened and some people may not.
"There could be a high chance that those who have been brought back from the dead may not remember what happened" he implied "but we'll just have to wait and see, but we shouldn't be worrying about all that now, we've got to figure out a way to get out of here."
"Well we can't use the elevator, it's no use now, not after the crash" Henry implied "there must be another way we can get out of here." The group sat and began to discuss ways they could get up to the top floor which, without the elevator was impossible, until Lily came up with a solution.
"I know, we could use the Ink machine to ride up to the top floor" she implied as the others looked at her silently "or maybe not..sorry, I just thought it was a good idea." The child sat down, thinking that no one thought her idea was a good one, that was until Bendy jumped up and implied that he agreed with her, that them riding the Ink machine back up to the first floor was actually a good idea.
"So, we're gonna ride the Ink machine all the way up to where we first encountered it, and you?" Henry asked and Bendy nodded with a grin before patting Lily on the back.
"You should thank your daughter, after all, this was her idea" he pointed out as he ruffled the child's hair, causing her to giggle "Okay guys, it's settled, we're going to use the Ink machine to get out of this place." A huge smile spread across Lily's face and the little girl flung her arms around Henry's waist, it was very clear that the child was thrilled to finally be going home after being trapped in this nightmarish studio for god knows how long.
"I can't believe we're finally getting out of here, we're finally going home," she said and Henry could hear the happiness in her voice, it was something he hadn't heard since they set foot in this damned studio.
"That's right, baby, we're going home" he replied, playfully grabbing her nose before lifting her up off the ground "come on then kiddo, we best get a move on." With Bendy, Tom, and Allison waiting by the Ink machine, Henry made his way over to them with Lily in his arms but not before he felt a small tug on his trousers and he looked down to see Bendy looking up at him with a worried expression.
"Did you really mean what you said, about taking me with you when you leave this place?" he asked, "you're still gonna do it, right?"
"Of course I am buddy" Henry replied, rubbing the toon's head between his horns "I already left you behind once, I'm not going to do it again. you and Lily are my family, and no family of mine gets left behind." Hearing those words brought a smile to the little toons face and he hugged onto Henry's leg before letting go.
"Are we gonna go now, Daddy?" Lily asked, "are we going to leave this scary place?" Henry smiled at his daughter and reassured her that they will be leaving once they got the Ink machine sorted so that they could ride it up to the first floor. After a few minutes of preparation, the Machine was finally ready to ascend to the surface but just as the group was about to head up, a figure dressed in overalls came stumbling into the area and they seemed to be pretty annoyed and as they got closer, the group recognized them right away.
"Sammy?" Henry asked as the former music director who now appeared to be in his old, human form before being covered in Ink walked into the cavern, very much alive and looking rather annoyed "is that you?"
"Of course it's me, who else would it be, the tooth fairy" Sammy replied with a hint of sarcasm "and what the hell are you guys doing down here, what am I even doing down here and why the hell are my clothes covered in Ink?"
"I don't understand" Lily whispered "he died, I saw it, Tom but an ax in his head and he died, how is he even still alive, I don't understand."
"Well it's like I said before when Henry put in the end reel, it reversed everything and turned those who became toons back into their human selves and even brought those who died in the studio back" Bendy explained "looks like it did the same to Sammy but by the looks of things, he doesn't seem to remember what happened."
"You mean, he won't remember even worshipping you when you were in your Ink Demon form and he kidnapped me, Daddy and then tried to sacrifice us to you?" the little girl asked and Bendy shook his head, telling her that because he was killed and then brought back to life, he wouldn't remember anything and the child nodded just as Henry and Sammy came to join them.
"Guys I hope you don't mind if Sammy joins us" Henry stated and the others nodded before the group all climbed on top of the Ink machine, ready to ascend to the surface and Lily hid behind Henry slightly, the child was still a little wary of Sammy since her last encounter with him, after all, he did try to decapitate her.
"Henry, who's the girl?" Sammy asked as he noticed Lily hiding behind him slightly "and what's a child doing here in the studio?"
"She's my daughter" Henry replied, "and like I already told you, it's a long story on how we ended up all the way down here and I don't think you would believe me if I did tell you."
"Probably not" Sammy replied before noticing that Lily was still hiding behind her daddy" hey, is she okay, she seems a little, scared of me." Henry shook his head and just simply explained that Lily was shy around new people but in reality, he had an idea why Lily was a little wary of Sammy and who wouldn't have been after the last encounter with him. Before long, the small group was sitting on top of the Ink Machine and once Henry had checked that everyone was ready, he gave Bendy the okay and with one tug on the chains, the Ink Machine began to ascend upwards with the five humans and living toon sitting on top. It felt like a long Journey to reach the top floor but pretty soon they finally made it and both Henry and Lily found themselves back where they first found the Ink machine.
"Wow, looks like the Ink's been drained away" Henry pointed out as they climbed down and he helped Lily down and the girl looked at him with confusion "don't you remember, when we first encountered Bendy, the place started flooding with Ink?" Lily nodded before asking who or how it got drained away and Bendy explained that it was all part of the end reel reversing everything.
"What is the little pipsqueak even talking about?" Sammy asked but Henry replied once again that it was a long story whilst also being quite surprised at Sammy's attitude towards Bendy, it was hard to believe that this was the same man who had worshipped the little cartoon Demon like he was some sort of god, but he had a feeling that Sammy had no recollection of all that had happened "okay, fine but can we get out of here now, I feel like I've been in this damn place for thirty years" Henry gave Sammy a look which indicated that what he said was true "what, are you saying that thirty years have passed?"
"Yes, they have, you've been trapped in here along with some other workers for Thirty years" Henry explained, "but, me and Lily came along and found you here, now we just need to find the others and then get you guys out of here."
"But I don't remember anything, the last thing I remember was being in the music department and then the next I find myself lying on the floor in some underground village and then you're telling me that thirty years have passed, can you just tell me what the hell is going on" Sammy demanded "just quit it with this whole it's a long story business and tell me the truth." Taking a deep breath, Henry was about to explain everything but was suddenly cut off by a gruff voice which made Bendy squeak in fear and hide behind Henry's leg as a tall, suited figure walked into the room.
"I believe, that I can explain all that you need to know," they said as they stepped out of the darkness, revealing themselves to be none other than Joey Drew himself and a creepy smirk crept on his face as he laid eyes on Henry "and it's so good to see you Henry old friend, very good indeed."
