Same Story, Something New

32- The Studio's Heart

Alice's POV

I have been waiting to show them the Giant Ink Machine for ages. I knew my family's reaction to it was going to be priceless. Sure Helen's already gotten a glimpse of it, but now she'd get a proper look. I felt giddy about this.

This is going to be a lot of fun...

***

Allison's POV

We followed Alice down the remainder of the hallway. We then walked out of it, and into a large cavern. Within it was a huge lake of ink. At the edge of the small piece of land we were on was a sign. It was very well-made, the words Lake Vantablack were spelled out in fancy cursive letters. However, once my eyes turned to what the lake surrounded, my jaw fell.

The Ink Machine now sat atop a much bigger and almost castle-like version of itself. A giant open pipe leaked gallons of ink into Vantablack Lake. A large passageway laid behind the pouring ink, and let into the machine itself. Pipes pumping ink were everywhere, and the sound of ink being pumped through the pipes echoed across the cavern. There was a uniformity and consistency to the sound, making it seem like a massive, beating heart.

"Holy snow angels..." I marveled.

"Whoa! I've never seen this before!" Wally exclaimed.

"Neither have I," grumbled Tom, "and that thing was built by GENT."

I looked around the cavern some more. The chains connected to the original Ink Machine rose up into a large square hole. I then realized it was the bottom end of the Ink Machine's shaft. I knew it began at the studio's loading dock on the main floor, but until now I had no clue where it ended. I also noticed parts of the cavern that connected Lake Vantablack to the Ink River.

"You... live there?!" I exclaimed.

Alice blushed. "Honestly, 'live' is too... generous. My past self, the Ink Angel, never bothered to turn it into a proper home. Once the Ink Demon is taken care of, I plan on rectifying that."

"Mama, am I supposed to swim across?" Helen asked.

The very thought seemed to terrify her mother. "Heaven's no! I have to train Bella so she'll immediately recognize you first."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that necessary?"

"Believe me Aunt Allison, it is." Susan replied. "If she isn't trained to recognize you if she spots you swimming, Bella will probably eat you."

"Mama, how am I supposed to get across if I can't swim?" Helen asked.

Alice's eyes sparkled with mischief as she summoned her microphone scepter. She started twirling it with one hand, then stopped and slammed it against the ground. Then the ink began to swirl as a small whirlpool formed between them and the Giant Ink Machine. Pieces of driftwood were pulled into it, and once the whirlpool gathered enough wood, it stopped.

The Angel's eyes glowed as she raised her free hand. As she did so, a large mass of ink rose out of the lake, and into the air. The inky mass brought all the driftwood with it. Alice then clenched her hand into a fist, and her scepter began to glow. The inky mass started to transform and wrap itself around the wood as it began to form into whatever she was making. Once it was done, she jerked her hand down, and her creation fell out of the air, and landed in front of us.

Alice's creation was a bridge. Crafted out of Manila wood, the bridge arched over the part of Lake Vantablack that separated our side from the Giant Ink Machine. Inky vines and shrubs were interwoven in the very structure of the bridge. The vines and shrubs seemed to hold it together, and prevented it all from falling into the darkened waters below. While the bridge had a simple design, the ink vines and shrubs added elegance to it.