"Henry? So soon? I didn't expect you for another hour yet. Now you're just trying to impress me."

As Henry Stein walked along the carpeted corridor and into the kitchen, he greeted the occupant with a smile.

"Hello, Susie. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Nearly three years," Susie Lawrence replied, beckoning him to take a seat at the table. "There's a cake in the oven, but it's not quite ready yet. Can I get you a coffee to start with?"

"Sure – thanks."

"How do you take it?

"Black, please. Two sugars."

As Henry made himself comfortable, Susie placed three cups and the cafetiere on a silver serving tray - bringing it over as she took a seat beside her guest.

"So, what brings you back here?" she asked, pouring him his drink.

"I've been over to the studio," Henry replied. "A business trip, I suppose. Sorting out a few things before I officially start my retirement. Your house is on my route back, so I'd figured I pay you a visit."

"Well, you're always welcome here, Henry," Susie replied.

As she took a sip from her own cup, her eyes drifted upwards towards a wedding photo on the wall.

"After all – where would we be without you?"

As the overwhelming white light finally cleared, the clock had been set back by thirty long years.

The memories remained, but not the monsters. There were no ink creatures here - no darkness, no dreariness. Just the normal working interior of Joey Drew Studios, as it was its in heyday.

Everyone had been changed back. Jack, Norman, Shawn, Grant, Wally... everyone. Their youthful human forms restored, the team members clutched and grabbed at their former bodies: whooping in delight, scarcely able to believe that they were finally free. Even Henry, despite never having lost his human form, had been restored to his younger self.

As the colleagues embraced each other excitedly and clapped Henry on the back in the former Throne Room, full of celebratory glee, Susie and Sammy were still standing together in the corridor - their lips joined in a tender kiss, oblivious to what was happening around them. It was only when they pulled apart for breath and opened their eyes that they learned of the magic their love had performed.

Reaching up, Susie ran her fingers through Sammy's long golden locks, pulled back tightly into a ponytail - gasping in astonishment. In return, Sammy, cupping Susie's face in his peach-toned, ink-free hands, ran his thumbs over her rosy cheeks: staring deeply into her shining eyes as he playfully tugged at one of the many mousey-brown curls that framed her face.

As the sound of cheers and excited laughter drew ever closer, the pair turned to see the crowd of their colleagues running up towards them - carrying Henry above their heads like a emperor in a sedan chair.

Jack Fain, who led the pack, stopped before the couple, and removed his bowler, making a low respectful bow as he had done before the Ink Demon. Having been silenced for so long, he croaked and clucked as he re-familiarized himself with the action of speaking, before shouting out at the top of his lungs.

"THANK YOU!"

As everyone winced at the bellow, Jack covered his mouth, embarrassed.

"Sorry," he said, his voice now barely above a whisper. "I need to get used to volume again."

"So," Norman asked, his own voice toned rather more evenly. "From what's happened, I'm guessing you two are finally back together?"

"Yes," Susie confirmed. "And this time, it's forever. We just got engaged."

"Really?!" Jack piped up, delighted. "Congratulations!"

Flattered, Sammy shyly offered a hand for him to shake. Jack took it warmly, then pulled the stunned music director into a bear hug - prompting everyone else to join in. Lowering Henry down a little more swiftly then he would have liked (not quite a drop, but still enough to unnerve him), the group almost squashed Sammy and Susie in their hectic rush to embrace them.

It was only when she was let go, and had the chance to look around the familiar faces, that a sudden chilling thought came to Susie's mind.

"Wait," she said hurriedly. "Where's Joey?"

The colleagues looked at each other, but just as Susie had noticed, Joey wasn't among their number. Norman and Shawn ran back to the Throne Room, only to report moments later that it was empty.

As Henry set off up the stairs, hurrying towards Joey's office, everyone else followed: a nervous feeling rising in their stomachs as they contemplated the possibility that the Ink Demon might still be alive. However, as they reached the office door, they skidded to a halt - looking up in awe at the name displayed.

Henry Stein.

"Me?" Henry rasped, stunned. "This office... is mine?"

He tried not to let the eeriness of the situation get to his head as another concern took hold.

"The Ink Machine," he said, bluntly. "We have to check if the Ink Machine is still here."

So began another burst of running up stairwells and along corridors. As Henry led the Sillyvision team to the location of the large ritual chamber, they found a plain, empty room waiting for them - no different from any other section of the studio.

A calendar hanging on the wall revealed the date. In the former timeline, this had been the day before the Ink Machine had begun to be constructed.

"Joey's gone," Jack said to Henry, as the realization dawned upon him. "It's like he never existed. There's no rituals here, no Ink Machine. Everything has been reset."

"Then why do we remember what happened before?" Norman asked.

"Presumably, so we don't make the same mistakes again," Grant replied.

"But, if Joey's gone," Shawn queried, "then who's in charge?"

"Hey, guys!" shouted Wally, standing a few metres away from them. "Come and look at this!"

As everyone hurried over towards him, their eyes were drawn to the company sign on the wall. The three reels that formed the backdrop were still in place, but there was one major difference. The name.

Henry Stein Studios.

"That settles it," said Norman. "Fate has chosen you, Henry."

"It's chosen well," Sammy added. "You created Bendy, Henry. It always should have been your name up there. I'd be honoured to work for you."

"Me too," Wally said. "For once in my life, I don't wanna be outta here."

Murmurs of agreement followed from the others.

"So, boss," Susie said, turning to Henry with a smile – Sammy draping an arm across her shoulders. "What's the first order of business?"

As Henry looked at the assembled motley crew - each gifted in their own way, vastly different in personalities, and all ready and willing workers - a great wave of gratitude washed over him.

He wasn't going to make Joey's mistakes. To get the best out of people, you had to do your best for them.

"We've had a rough time, folks," he remarked. "Besides, we have an engagement to celebrate. How about we hit the bars tonight, take a few days off, and start with a clean slate on Monday?"

The cheer that followed could be heard three streets away.

Four months later, Sammy and Susie were married.

Henry, the guest of honour, was also Sammy's best man. Susie, as a peace offering, chose Allison Pendle as her chief bridesmaid. The two had reached a compromise about the role of Alice Angel: Allison would provide the speaking voice, and Susie the singing.

Their wonderful wedding ceremony, which they chose to hold in the studio's Music Department – a place that meant so much to both of them - marked the beginning of a blissful marriage. On that day in the new 1963 when Henry sat drinking coffee in their kitchen, their Pearl Anniversary was on the horizon. In the thirty years they had been together, the pair had enjoyed successful careers under Henry's management, prior to their recent retirement, and had welcomed three children into the world – whom had gone on to start their own families.

As Henry drained the dregs of his coffee, chatting to Susie idly, he realised that the third cup had remained untouched.

"Where's Sammy?" he asked.

"Oh... he must be busy with our other special visitor," Susie said. "Would you be a dear and fetch him for me whilst I take out the cake? He's just up the stairs on the left."

"No problem."

As Henry arrived on the upstairs landing, he noticed that a door was slightly ajar. Peeking inside, he spotted a familiar figure – his silver hair tied back, a pair of spectacles resting lightly on his nose – leaning down over a cradle, singing softly, with a small toy lamb in his hands.

"Sheep, sheep, sheep, it's time for sleep.

Rest your head, it's time for bed.

In the morning, when you wake,

I'll be here, so feel no dread."

Placing the lamb beside the sleeping infant within, he planted a kiss on their head, before turning towards the doorway – gesturing for his visitor to enter.

"That's not the version of the song I remember," Henry said in hushed tones. "Although, I think I prefer it."

"Well, the original isn't exactly kid-friendly," came the response. "And it's certainly not appropriate for my precious grandson."

He smiled.

"His name is Henry," he added. "After you. My son chose it after I told him the story of how you saved us."

"It was you and Susie who broke the spell," Henry replied.

"But you made the deal with Joey," Sammy insisted. "You brought us back together. You risked your life to get us out of that hell - "

He glanced down towards his sleeping grandson.

"- that heckhole," he went on, correcting himself as Henry stifled a laugh. "We owe you our lives. Our happiness. Our everything. We've never forgotten that."

He nodded towards the wall behind him.

As Henry looked over, he spotted a picture of himself, sat at the desk in the studio, hung up over the baby's cradle.

Beside it was a old, broken Bendy mask.

Beneath these items was a gold-plated plaque - a single phrase engraved upon it.

HE HAS SET US FREE.

Blinking away a tear, Henry took a moment to compose himself.

"Come on," he said to Sammy brightly. "Susie's baking a cake."

"You're in for a treat. Her baking is as good as her singing. Well... almost."

Putting his arms around Henry's shoulders, Sammy Lawrence led his savior down the stairs.