My Little Devil Darling

The Toymaker's Paradise

A dark hallway stood before the young woman and cartoon wolf, it was certainly impossible to see through the inky black void, but fortunately, Charlotte found a flashlight on a desk beside her. She picked it up and flipped the switch on, luckily the batteries weren't dead, and Boris held onto her arm and the girl smiled slightly.

"Don't worry, buddy. We have a flashlight," Charlotte told the wolf, "Just say near me so you don't get lost."

At just about every corner they went by, ink seemed to flow from the ceiling to the floor; Charlotte's icky feeling returned and was hoping the end of the dark halls was near. Soon it did but unfortunately, a closed metal door lay in front of her and Boris.

"There's no switch anywhere," Charlotte mentioned as she looked around, "How do we get through?"

Behind her, the young woman noticed Boris examining a vent shaft, trying to get it off. Charlotte walks over to the wolf and helped him; Boris gave the girl a cute face when they got the vent open, then looked at the flashlight in Charlotte's hand. She hesitated, she was afraid something bad would happen to Boris while they were apart.

"Maybe I should just come wi-" Charlotte was interrupted by the wolf putting a hand on her shoulder and shaking his head, taking the flashlight with his other hand. The memory of the dead Boris filled her mind. "Boris, I think I should-" He stopped her again; the girl was started to get even more upset, on the verge of crying. That cartoon wolf was just starting the enter the vent. "Boris, wait-" And right as he peeked out from the vent, Charlotte hugged the wolf tight. "Be safe...alright?" She let go of the hug and Boris only nodded and climbed back into the vent.

A little bit later, Charlotte heard a loud creaking sound coming from behind her. It was the door, Boris got it open. That is one smart wolf. There was a short hallway in front of her that split into two paths, although both led to the same place; the little wall showed some sort of withered Bendy head, it reminded the girl of Sammy in some way. When she made it through the short halls, there stood a huge room that made Charlotte feel small.

"What is this place?" the young woman asked herself, looking all over the strange area.

Giant toy planes were hanging from the ceiling, show posters covering the walls, many Bendy cardboard cut-outs, and what looked like a giant Boris plush, leaning against a huge structure, ink flowing like a waterfall. At the middle lay a huge sign that read, HEAVENLY TOYS with a halo over 'heavenly'. Charlotte had to admit she loved the design of the title.

"So this place is for toys?" she muttered, walking further into the room, "I don't get why it has to be so big."

Also, the young woman couldn't see Boris anywhere. Maybe he's just a little further through the studio. Charlotte certainly prayed he wasn't lost or in danger.

As she got to the bottom of the left staircase, the girl could see the pool of ink that she assumed drained back to the top of the structure to flow down the falls again. Charlotte could also hear the flowing ink in the quiet room, she felt mesmerized by the sight and sound and could've probably never moved if the Ink Machine didn't flash in her mind. Back in reality, or as much reality as she can get, Charlotte climbed up the rest of the stairs and at the top, noticed a lever. She followed where the wires led with her eyes and flipped the lever, then went into the room where the wires on the floor led to. There was practically an entire machine in this room, four giant gears that seemed to be having some resistance and weren't moving. In front of her were many hanging shelves of plushies and they were blocking the door she saw through them.

"What could be blocking the gears?" Charlotte wondered, then walked over to the first gear.

She looked around and found something small, then she pulled it out and the gear started rotating. Three more to go. The thing she found in the next gear was something slightly bigger, and to Charlotte's surprise, it was a plush Boris head. She gasped and dropped it; the gear was now moving. The young woman finished clearing the gears to the Toy Machine, then she heard a conveyor belt and watched as toys rode by. She recognized Bendy and Boris right away, even contemplating taking a Boris for herself, but she also saw an unfamiliar character in the mix and picked it up instead. She observed the plush, it was skinnier than the others and was overall very different. It seemed to be a girl, she had an ink-black dress with a white bow-tie and black shoes. The bow-tie gave this plush the resemblance of Bendy in Charlotte's eyes.

"Maybe they were a pair in the show," Charlotte concluded, putting the plush back in with the rest.

The girl saw a lever to the right of her and flipped it, causing the line of shelves to move by one, revealing not an exit, but a small area; it has a desk with a bowl full of thick ink and a lonely tape recording. Charlotte walked over to the desk and pressed play on the recording, playing with the clay-like ink as she listened.

I don't be seein' what the big deal is.

So what if I went and painted some of those Bendy dolls with a crooked smile?

That's sure no reason for Mr. Drew to be flyin' off the handle at me. And if he really wanted to be so helpful, he could be tellin' me what I'm to be doin' with this warehouse I got full of that angel whatchamacallit. Not a scrap of that mess be a-sellin'!

Probably have to melt it all down to be rid of it all.

Joey certainly sounded like he was quite the perfectionist, wanting not a single doll out of line. And this....angel, she didn't seem to be the most popular out of the bunch. I didn't see any posters for her, so I guess that makes sense. But that voice that had echoed through the speakers, Charlotte could recognize all too well...Uncle Shawn, the studio's toymaker. And soon she remembered this entire place, seeing her uncle sit at this very desk, painting faces on dolls as her child self watched in awe. The young woman also remembered Bendy again, and there had been a stuffed doll involved, but she couldn't exactly see it in her memory; not everything was clear. Charlotte brushed off the thought and went back to the lever, pulling it once more and the shelves moved to the side, revealing the blocked door.

The Ink Demon was practically stalking the young woman at this point, he noticed her face as she saw certain things, she was thinking, maybe remembering things. Could this be Charlotte? He still wouldn't believe it, this girl looked nothing like his best friend. Bendy had also seen Boris wandering around, he was with the girl before too. So this is where he's been hiding. He followed through the walls to where the young woman was headed next and soon regretted it. That darn Angel. The Demon remembered Alice all too well, she ruined his popularity in the cartoons for a few months; he despised working with her, even if it was just on paper. But Bendy knew more and it made him hate that Angel, even more, he didn't even think of her as an Angel anymore. I'll have to catch that girl before she does.

Charlotte stood in a big, well-lit room, small television screens hanging from the left and right side on the ceiling from a viewing glass. More small storage rooms were also blocked by glass; they each had a practically empty shelf and one held a cut-out that looked similar to the angel plush. The cartoon character looks kinda pretty, the girl wondered if she was created as well, like Bendy and Boris. As she walked towards the big glassed room to get a closer look, the lights suddenly shut off, the emergency lights shining their eerie glow, and the two TV screens turned on to show the face of the angel. Music also started to play and when the lyrics came on, Charlotte thought she recognized the song and the voice. A single light suddenly turned on inside the room and the young woman walked over to the glass to see what the star on the door said.

"Alice?" she questioned, "So she's named Alice Angel? Interesting, but cute."

"I ain't no flapper, I'm a classy dish, and boy, can this girl sing." The song seemed to be ending. "This gal can grant your every wish..."

And before Charlotte could even take a breath, a tall, thin creature slammed itself into the glass and screamed, "I'M ALICE ANGEL!!" Then grunted as it smashed the glass in front of her, the girl throwing herself to the ground to avoid the shards flying everywhere.

All the lights were broken and the entire room was pitch black, like if Charlotte's eyes were stuck shut. But that scenario seemed super familiar, and she thought about it more in the deathly silence. She could see a room, a recording booth....her child self, once more, with a lady. She was singing, and Charlotte could see the lyrics, it was the same song. What is her name? The young woman wondered, she had to know her, but she didn't remember a name for the lady. Then there was a loud sound on the glass of the recording booth, it was a man, he screamed, "I'M ALICE ANGEL!" and startled the both of you. That man...it was Sammy, of course it was Sammy, he practically owned the place. That place being the Music Department.

Charlotte now had another person to remember, another part of her studio life to remember, and now....an Angel to deal with.