It had taken a while to get Bendy willing to settle down for a serious talk, but Boris and Alice had managed it. Henry wasn't sure they could get through to him yet, but at least it was something, even though he'd been arguing with them for practically the entire length of the conversation

Alice took in a deep breath after another one of Bendy's sharp remarks, trying to keep the situation from going off track. "Why won't you just listen to us?"

"Listen to you? /Listen to you?/ You were the ones who went against what we know, against our plans…" Bendy says, clenching his shaking fists.

"Bendy… We were wrong. /Joey/ was wrong." Over and over again, they've tried to get Bendy to understand, the little demon desperately trying not accept that maybe his creator, someone so important to him, wasn't to be trusted.

Noticing the tears start to form in Bendy's eyes, Boris spoke up to soften the blow. "Bendy, we aren't against you, we just want better lives for us all. We've been stuck down here for so long, nothing ever changing. Doesn't it feel a bit… confining to you?"

Bendy scoffs, wiping the tears away from one eye. "I just didn't want things to change, didn't want to risk losing what little we have. Then you both left me alone to go with /him/." He glares pointedly at Henry for a moment, setting his jaw. "And now you say /I/ am the one in the wrong? I'm the one who betrayed you? YOU'RE THE TRAITORS HERE!" Bendy yells, squeezing his eyes shut as a fresh wave of tears hit. Why did caring have to hurt so much? Why did some of the few people he trusted have to hurt him like this? "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Boris glances back over to Henry, checking if he may know some way to help calm the demon back down. And that's when Henry sees it from the corner of his eye: The big mallet rising from behind Bendy, pulled back to take a blind swing, aimed directly for Boris. He's over to Boris before he can even think, pushing him out of the way, the mallet's shadow falling over him. He hoped Boris and Alice didn't blame themselves for this. If only he could get back, comforting them over the remaining puddle of ink…

Pressure above him. Darkness. Crushing.

…

But, no pain? Stunned and disoriented, feeling as if his body was missing, but no pain. Suddenly the pressure lifts and he feels himself stretch out, there's a sharp /snap/, and he falls through the air for a brief moment before hitting the ground. Blearily, he opens his eyes to see Bendy suddenly whip around, eyes still shut, and storm towards the door- just to bump into the wall beside it. Seeing that and hearing the little bike horn noise he let out before getting through the door properly, Henry felt like he was a little more awake and /together/, although he still couldn't feel himself

Hearing comically loud sobs begin, he glanced around again and his eyes settled on the backs of Boris and Alice, standing over the inky splatter where the mallet had hit, Boris shaking and sobbing while Alice placed a hand on his arm. He began to slide towards them

Barely loud enough to hear, Alice began to murmur. "It really was too soon to try getting Bendy to understand. I never should've suggested this."

Henry felt himself begin to rise

Boris sniffled, shaking his head. "No, you were right, I just messed everything up… Bendy was after me, and now Henry- he-"

His body was loose, but he was walking

"We- we didn't get much time together, but it was nice. That happy moment when Henry first found his hammerspace, all the times we helped eachother out, everything"

Solidly, Henry took his final step up behind them, resting a hand on each of their shoulders. "There, there, it's okay. I don’t blame either of you for this."

Alice glances over at him, before looking solemnly down at the puddle again. "Thanks… You always were very kind to us."

Boris nods, giving a short hum of agreement. "You're right, Henry. Even if I had pulled him under the mallet myself, Henry probably still would've found some way to say it was the right decision." He pauses. "Henry…?" Slowly turning around while reaching out to tug on Alice's arm, he locks eyes with Henry, his sad, surprised expression morphing into a wide grin. "Henry!" he shouts, scooping up both Henry and Alice into a tight hug, lifting their feet off the ground

Henry grins and squeezes them right back. Knowledge of how close he was to death and how lucky he was to survive tickled at the back of his mind, but he'd think through that later. Right now, it was time to appreciate the little family he'd gained beneath the old workshop