Joey Drew Studios had been abandoned for years. Built outside of New York City, it had laid empty after its closure in 1948. True, some brave kids would try to stay the night in the abandoned building, but each would eventually lose their nerve and leave during the night. Eventually, they stopped coming, and the building was left to rot, the nearby trees closing in. As of now, the building gave off a sense of being haunted and abandoned.

That all changed when the doors opened and Henry Stein stepped outside for the first time in years. He was followed by a bunch of people and a smattering of cartoon characters.

"Yarr, what be that bright ball in the sky?" Barley asked, squinting against the light.

"I think it's called the sun," Edgar said, shading his eyes. "The real sun."

"Shut up, Edgar," Charley said, although his voice had none of its usual bite.

Marinette smiled as she looked at the joyful group. "It's finally over," she said.

"Not yet," Adrien said. "We've still got something to do."

Marinette blinked, then saw what he meant. With a grin, she bumped her fist against his and both cried,

"Pound it!"

-MToLaCNBatIM-

"So, what now?" Susie asked. She was standing with a group of people that included Audrey, Adrien, Marinette, and Henry while the rest of the former workers of Joey Drew Studios congregated in groups around the parking lot.

"I don't know," Henry admitted. "I spent so long trying to get out of there, I never put any thought to what I would do after."

"Seems to be a theme with all of us," Thomas Conner said, sitting underneath a tree with his wife snuggled up next to him.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to help," Marinette admitted. "I don't know what you would need over here in America. Me and Adrien will be able to get back to Paris as soon as our kwamis recover, but I don't know what to do for you guys."

"Not to mention, this isn't the first time we have rescued people trapped in another world," Adrien added. "Though, they were trapped for only about ten years or so."

"That still doesn't help..." Audrey trailed off. "Does anyone here that?"

Everyone turned to look down the old road. A car was coming up it, coming to a stop in front of the group. A man appearing to be in his sixties got out, dressed in a simple suit. Looking over the group, his eyes stopped at one person in particular. "Audrey, is that you?" he asked.

"Nate?" Audrey asked in disbelief.

"Uncle Nate!" Adrien cried.

"Adrien!" Nate cried, grasping the teen in a hug. "I didn't realized you had gotten caught up in this mess!"

"Who are you?" Marinette asked.

"Oh, let me introduce myself. I am Nathan Arch Jr., the current CEO of Arch Industries. And as such, I currently own all rights to the properties of Gent and Joey Drew Studios, including Bendy and his little friends."

"I heard my name!" Bendy said, poking his head out of Nate's suit jacket.

"How did you-get out of there!" After removing all cartoons from his coat, Nate continued. "My father made an agreement with Mr. Drew that he would help with the survivors that would be released from the Ink Machine, and I see no reason not to follow through with the agreement."

"What would this entail?" Henry asked.

"I would provide housing for all of the employees, as well as something for the cartoons. That being said..." Nate put his hands on his jacket lapels. "I have had plans to get in the animation business, open up my own studio as you will. Now, I don't suppose where I could find a team of animators, musicians, and whatnot? That being said, it is understandable if you don't want to."

Henry thought for a moment. "All I wanted was to have my characters back," he said. "Or at least have some recognition."

"That can be arranged," Nate said. "I'll set up a meeting with my legal team once we've got everything settled here."

-MToLaCNBatIM-

Within the hour, the formerly abandoned building became a whirl of activity, as a lot of cars drove up. Most of them were Nate's people, working to get the studio workers situated, but there was also a police van that took away Wilson in handcuffs.

When Henry asked about that, Nate had mentioned that there had been more than a few magical villains in the past few years, not including Hawkmoth in Paris. Something about a collector...

As of now, Henry was standing a little away from the group. There was a pang in his heart as he watched Marinette, Adrien, Bendy, Alice, and all the other couples among the crowd. All his time in the studio, he had fought to see his wife again. And now that he was out? He was so far in the future, it was unlikely he would ever see her-

"Henry?"

The old animator turned around and stared. "Linda?"

"Henry!" Linda Stein cried, throwing herself into his arms. Quick up on the uptake, Henry wrapped his arms around her.

"I never thought I would see you again," Henry said, weeping. "How did you even get here?"

"I met him," Linda said, waving a hand. "He gave me a ride."

The figure she waved at looked like he was just barely out of his teenage years. He was dressed in pants that had a few tears as well as a dark red hooded shirt that seemed to be a few sizes too big. He had black hair with one pure white lock that covered one eye.

The man smiled. "You must be Henry Stein," he said. "I must say, it has been a joy traveling with your wife."

"Thank you, sir," Henry said. "What's your name?"

The young man's smile turned cheeky. "They call me the Doctor..."

-MToLaCNBatIM-

Norman stood on the edge of the crowd, watching everyone talk among themselves. Spotting a figure standing in the shade of the building, he walked over.

"You know those things will kill you," he said, approaching the figure.

Sammy Lawrence just exhaled a cloud of smoke. "I've spent the last seventy years as a Bendy cultist," he said. "Incidentally, that's how long I've gone without a smoke. Guess how much I care."

"I get your point," Norman said, leaning against the wall. "So, what do you think is going to happen now?"

Sammy shrugged. "I heard something about culture lessons on everything we missed during the years."

"Really."

"Apparently Arch has a friend who has employees that are from even farther back."

"Well, that might be interesting."

The two of them stood in silence. Finally Sammy spoke up. "So why did you get light powers while I was stuck as a raving lunatic?"

Norman coughed into his fist. "I couldn't tell you," he lied.

Sammy stared at him, then shrugged. "Guess I'll just blame Joey," he said.

"Always a good choice," Norman replied.