The drive was mostly silent, except for the sound of the demon bouncing in his seat while watching the greenery sail by. I lived on the outskirts of town, and we didn't have any close neighbors, which meant no one was going to see us once we got out of the car.
On the topic of our impending arrival; what was going to happen next, once I got home? How would mom and dad react to them? Two of them were workers from his past, and the other...
"You're stressin' too much, kid." I looked up at the mirror, seeing Circus Baby give me a disapproving look.
"You're fidgetin' in your seat. It's gonna be fine, alright? Relax." Baby paused to think something over, and her grin seemed to tighten.
"And you're not a complete toon either. That's still your body and soul. Ya just got... somethin' different now."
"How did you even know I was thinking about...?" Circus Baby chuckled bitterly, and rested against the fabric of the back.
"Kid, when you think you're half of me, that's a really close answer. I kept you from bein' turned like all the others, and me bein' there with you is what led you to gettin' those horns and... possibly a few other extra stuff we'll figure out along the way. Who knows if you're able to vanish into the ink or not. Anyways, because of that, well... you're part me. A little in the same way I was part of her." She... meaning the Ink Demon.
"Not like I can read your thoughts or anything-that'd be a little too weird-but we're essentially joined together. Certain feelings towards certain things, a bit of a link as to where the other is-why do ya think I always manage to skip out when you-know-who shows up?"
"You're always aware of her... because you originated from her. I take it the same can't be said for her?" I stopped at a stop sign, waiting for the vehicle on the right street to go ahead before continuing my way to the house.
"Yep. I know where she was, but she didn't know that I was just right behind 'em. Now, you don't fall into that category, because you didn't come from the ink. But because of bein' thrown into the machine with me, we're almost one and the same, Marylin." I nodded slowly, letting the words sink in.
"Does that mean we're almost like siblings now?" The house was just ahead, white paint and trimmed hedges and all, and I began to slowly decrease my speed. Autumn, Jules, and Circus Baby were now all looking out the window at the small building, a sharp contrast to the decaying structure they all lived in for the past several decades.
"Um, well... I really don't know," she shrugged, just as I put the vehicle into park. "I'd have to think more 'bout it." Autumn tapped my shoulder, drawing my attention to her.
"Should we all go in at once?" I rolled over the question in my head, and nodded.
"We should. I-I'll go in first, and try to explain things." My left hand, which was still on the steering wheel, gripped it tighter.
"I can... I can do this." I was directing my words to myself, wanting to reassure myself that everything would be fine. I-it would be fine.
"Let's go in, everyone."
I undid the belt, and the others followed suit. Stepping out of my car, I began to slowly trek up the brick walkway to the door. Autumn and Jules were right behind me, with Circus Baby in between them a few steps back.
My hand in a fist was raised to rap on the entrance, before pausing. Instead, I went to take the doorknob, and quietly twisted it open.
The same light wooden floors, the same dark brown couch and matching recliner. The TV was set up across from it, right by the steps leading upstairs with the wooden railing that let me look into the room from high above. The kitchen was in the background, an open entryway with a different coat of paint and black and white tiled flooring.
"... homey." I giggled a little at Autumn's observation, smiling and looking around. It wasn't anything special, but it was home.
A voice came from within the other room, and we could hear footsteps getting closer. Here it comes, Marylin.
"Honey, I'll be back in an hour. I'm going out looking for her again..." a man stood in the kitchen door, mouth slowly dropping open as he stared at us. A tan button-up shirt with the collar folded down and the top button undone, a mess of black hair branching off in small clumps at the top.
A pair of black pants-dress ones, not like the ink-covered jeans I wore-and brown fuzzy slippers. The small strips of grey along the sides of his hair, and the darkened circles showing a lack of proper sleep. "... Marylin?"
"... hi, dad." No one moved, not even when another voice called from within the kitchen.
"Mike, dear? Is something wrong?" A woman appeared right behind him, and her hands went over her mouth in silent shock.
"Hi, mom. I'm... I'm back." The spell, at those words, was broken. Dad rushed forward, and pulled me into a hug, my face being pressed into the crook of his neck. I couldn't see anything, but I could feel his body shake.
"Dad? Are you okay?"
"I'm... fine." He let me go, running a hand through his hair. His eyes, brown just like my own, strayed from me to my other companions. Did he see Baby? He seemed not to be looking down. "What?"
Autumn smiled softly, at seeing how much he was grateful for my return. Yet... there was something else, in that smile. There was the faintest trace of nostalgia in it, and with it, made her words come out partially hesitant. "It is nice to... meet you again, Mike."
"Marie?" She shook her head, same as Jules. "This is..." I could see the gears working in his eyes, looking over the angel and bear as his face morphed into one of horror and sadness. A terrible combination, which I knew exactly what it meant. "He didn't..."
"He did, dad. He used the ink machine. O-on everyone. He-Michael... he lied to every person in there, all for his..." I threw a tired smile at my two taller friends, choosing not to dive any further into the horrors of what I had learned. For my sanity, and his.
"Autumn and Jules helped me escape."
He looked at the two, and I could see it click.
"Autumn and Julian Conner?"
The two said toons glanced at each other, and Jules' blackened cheeks seemed to darken, rubbing the back of his head as Autumn gave him a shy smile. Aw, cute! Were there feelings between them now? Hard to say, really, but they were pretty close when I found them. The two being married in their past lives didn't shock me as much as it could've, and it explained a lot of why Jules was so protective of Autumn.
"How long had I been gone?" With the memory of my broken phone floating in the back of my mind, I had lost any way of trying to communicate with the outside world, and how to keep track of time.
"Ten days," dad quickly replied, the number fresh in his mind. "Marylin, what happened to...?" His eyes finally trailed up to the top of my head, and I noticed that mom had slowly begun to edge out of the kitchen and over towards us.
"Marylin, what did you do?" I fully turned from the small group to face her, and I saw my parents taking in my changed state. Black cartoon arms, sharpened claws, and the horns poking through my own black hair.
I, in turn, took in my mom's appearance. Unlike dad, she didn't have the sleepless look on her face. Her bushy light brown hair brushed at her shoulders, covered in a simple pale blue shirt with sleeves that ended at her elbows. Her dark brown pants brushed at the floor, masking the black slippers covering her feet.
"I... I freed my friends, mom. I saved them, b-but..." her hands wrapped around my own, and pulled me into a hug. A hand was smoothing down my mess of a braid, and I leaned into the warmth. I could tell she was trying not to cry, because even though I didn't say it, she knew what I was trying not to say.
No normal person didn't just gain demon horns, even though Circus Baby was by any means a half demon. After all of it, after everything I had been through... I was hurt, and I had every right to break down in that moment.
"I am so, so sorry, mom. I-I didn't mean to shove you aside over the years, I-I-!"
"Shh... shh... it's okay, Marylin. I'm just glad to have you home." I c-couldn't believe it. After how much our relationship had strained over the years, she still c-cared. After all of the fights, and tears, sh-she still cares. Mom eventually let go, our faces matching with tear-stains.
She tilted her head to the side with a hum of confusion, reached up, and brushed against my cheek before pulling her hand away. "What is...?"
Ink. There was ink on her fingertips. I was crying ink.
"I... I have a lot to tell you. But, um, I-I have someone that you should meet first, dad." I moved away from mom, and back over to the toons and dad.
"Stop hiding behind Jules. I already told you he's going to love you." Slowly, Circus Baby moved out from behind the bear. Dad's face had gone through a ton of emotions in the last few minutes, but the stunned shock that met the nervous clown almost topped his reaction to seeing me after so long.
Circus Baby's black/red shoes squeaked on the floorboards, and she rubbed a hand along the bandage on her arm. "Eh... hiya, Mike."
Dad slowly knelt down in front of her, trying to get a better look as he processed the cartoon/animationic-his creation-standing in front of him.
"Hello, Baby," he softly greeted, giving an uneasy smile. He held out a hand, and while Baby flinched, he stood still as the human placed a hand on his head, right beside the patch covering his damaged eye.
The touch was soft, gentle; just like a father's. Baby sniffed, and just like myself, inky tears began to trip down his face. "What's wrong, old friend?"
"I-I..." Bendy was pulled into a hug, and looked absolutely tiny in my father's arms. His black eyes scrunched up, and he buried his face into the shirt. "Y-you could've... you could've c-come back for us...!" Dad brought a hand up to rest against the backside of the demon's head, as the cartoon's entire being shook with each word.
"Y-you never came back! I ca-can't-don't act like this means we're all buddy-buddy now! Y-you abandoned us! You abandoned me!"
Each word was a wreck, but nothing compared to Bendy himself. Mom was silent, taken aback by the sudden breakdown. The only noises in the house were the crackling of the television in the background, the hum of the heater, and the sobs of the little demon. Baby... she never met dad in person, no, but she knew of him. She knew about everything, and with that knowledge... it hurt. And... and I am there... to pick up the pieces that monster of a man left behind.
I moved forward, and got down on my knees and wrapped my arms around the both of them. It took a moment, before a gloved hand grabbed my arm to keep me in place.
The scrunched up look softened as Baby turned just enough for me to see her face, and her eyes-while still watery-were relieved.