Chapter 58:

It was a solid hour before the liberated people finally stopped rejoicing in the sun and finally started talking about what to do next. Most were shocked to learn just how long they had been trapped in the ink and were very eager to find out what happened their families. There was also a lot of anger directed at Joey, as he was the one responsible for everything. It took Henry a lot of effort to keep them from turning into an angry mob, but he was finally able to convince them that it was best to let the authorities handle Joey.

As Henry was the only one with a car and there was nothing else around for miles, it was decided that he Allison and Tom would take Joey to the nearest police station to explain things (Leaving out all the magic and demonic ink of course) and get help for the hundreds of former ink creatures. Joey, of course, tried to talk his way out of it, but no one paid him any attention.

The Police were, of course, gobsmacked by Henry and the others just strolling in. Apparently, Henry and the teens had been stuck into the studio for several weeks and there was a frantic search currently going on for them, spearheaded by Gabriel Agreste and the other teen's parents. Even Linda and Mary, Henry's wife and daughter, had cut their traveling short to help look for them. This lead of course to a media frenzy as soon as the news that not only Henry and the teens had been found, but hundreds of missing people as well.

The police were barely able to keep the news crews at bay as everyone was taken care of and the teen's parents were flown in to be reunited with their children. Henry was luckily able to hide the toons away in his car before anyone could spot them. It was very chaotic, but the former ink creatures were soon on their way to hospitals to be checked over (and lots of therapy) while Joey was sitting in jail awaiting trial. With all the crimes he had committed, he was looking to be put away for a very long time.

That only left Henry, the teens, and the teens' parents. Now the parents had all had hotel rooms for them and they were eager to have their kids stay with them before heading home to France. But the teens wanted to spend one last night with Henry. After all, they have been through, they had grown close bonds and they wanted to have at least one last peaceful night together before they parted. The teens' parents were reluctant at first but eventually agreed. Mr. Agreste was the hardest to convince, especially because he blamed Henry for getting Adrien into a dangerous situation, but Adrien refused to back down. Eventually, Mr. Agreste agreed though on the condition that he would be picking up Adrien first thing in the morning to head back to France. Henry agreed and the teens piled into his car.

As soon as they had driven far enough, the toons came out of hiding and started getting to know the teens. The toons were a bit shy and stayed huddled close together, but the teens were kind and the toons were able to relax around them. Before they knew it, they were back at Henry's house with Linda and Mary coming out to greet them.

"I was so worried about you!" Linda sobbed in happiness, holding her husband tightly. "I never liked Joey as he always overworked you, but I would never have believed he would have kidnapped so many people! I'm just so glad you were able to escape!"

"Not only escape, but rescue everyone else," Mary added with glee. "I always knew you were a hero, but now so does everyone else!"

"You flatter me too much," Henry laughed. "If anyone is a hero, it's those kids. They were very brave throughout the whole thing and helped me out so much. I probably would never have escaped without them."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through all this," Linda said, hugging each the teenagers. "And I wish we got to meet under more normal circumstances like we were supposed to. Now come inside, I have dinner ready!"

"There's one last thing though," Henry added, helping the toons out of the car. They clung close to Henry as they studied Linda and Mary.

"Is that..?" Linda began in shock, while Mary squealed in delight at seeing the toons.

"Why don't we discuss this inside?" Henry suggested, leading his stunned wife and the rest of the group inside. As the ate, Henry and the others told Linda and Mary everything they went through in the studio, magic and all. Henry was going to leave out Marinette's and Adrien's powers, but they gave him permission to share it with his family, trusting that they wouldn't tell anyone else. After dessert and hot chocolate, everyone settled down for a well-deserved rest. The toons ended up piled around Henry, as they weren't ready to be apart from him yet. Linda just smiled at the adorable scene.

The next morning Henry had a brief moment of panic. He was afraid that when he opened his eyes, he would find out that he and the others hadn't escaped the studio. That he would find that he and the others would still be trapped in a never-ending nightmare. But then he felt something shift next to him and he can be aware of warm weights pressing on him. Finally opening his eyes, he was greeted by the sight of Bendy staring down at him with wide eyes.

"You're real…" Bendy whispered in awe. "We're actually out…"

"That's right…" Henry assured the toon, realizing he wasn't the only one struggling to accept that they were all alright. "I was able to set you free…"

Bendy once again hugged Henry, making him laugh. The noise and movement ended up waking the others on the bed and they happily joined the hug. Eventually, Henry was able to untangle himself and helped Linda start up breakfast. Pleasant scents began to fill the house and slowly drew in the other inhabitants of the house. Breakfast passed by in joy and laughter but came to an end all too soon as the teen's parents came to pick them up.

"Thanks for the awesome adventure!" Nino said, waving goodbye to Henry.

"I can't wait to write all about this, though I'll be sure to be discreet," Alya said with a wink, already typing on her phone.

"Glad you enjoyed yourselves despite everything," Henry laughed.

"I hope to see you again sometime," Marinette said, smiling at Henry. "Maybe you can come to France sometime and visit our bakery."

"Sounds great Marinette," Henry agreed, returning her smile before turning to Adrien. "I'm sorry that our reunion went so crazy. We should spend more time together in the future, though hopefully with less ink."

"Agreed," Adrien laughed. "You're family after all and I don't want us to lose touch again."

"Feel free to write us," Linda suggested. "And our home is always open if you happen to be in town."

"Do keep in touch as I'm sure all your cousins would love to get to know you better," Henry added with a wink.

"I will," Adrien promised. He gave Henry one last hug before heading off. Henry watched as the teenagers left. Even though they went through a lot of hardships in the studio, he was glad that he got to really get to know the teenagers. And as he thought of the three new additions to his family, he considered it all worth it. Sure, there was probably still going to be challenges ahead as the toons had a lot of trauma they had to work through, but he wouldn't give them up for anything.

Heading back into the house, he looked forward to starting the new day.

AN: And that's it, the story's done. I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope you had a lot of fun reading it. Check out my other stories and have a great weekend!