57- Somewhere

"After singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives." – Matthew 26:30

"You shouldn't be so reckless, little cherub," a voice cooed by her side, slightly broken into two. It was a sing-song tease as Alice made herself known- or rather as Francine came to realize the obvious.

"W-" the woman stuttered breathlessly, jumping to her feet so fast that her head seemed to spin, "What are you-?!"

And even though it was Francine standing up and Alice now seated upon the couch alone, the latter of the women was the one that clearly had control- an aura of regal superiority radiating from a half-closed eye and relaxed fingers softly thumping against the top of the cushion. But of course she did:

"How awfully bold of you to come into my space and ask me what I'm doing here."

Shit.

Francine couldn't seem to catch her breath after waking up so fast, but unease was now what kept her lungs just short of what she needed. Purposefully or not, she had fallen asleep in the seraph's domain. It wasn't like Francine hadn't anticipated maybe something in response to her taking rest in the entrance of Heavenly Toys, but what she had mentally prepared for was what seemed to be the usual complaint Alice sent through the speakers overhead. Heck, maybe she even a threat. The intruder felt ready for that, if only she could sit by herself just for a moment and let her mind go.

But it had gone too far by no one's folly but her own, and the warden of dolls herself had arrived in response.

Heaven only knew if this was merely a scolding or a show of wrath, and so the woman couldn't help but feel her pulse pound through her arms even as Alice looked so calmly back up. There was only one thing left to do-

"I'm- I'm sorry!" she squeaked, voice still subdued by exhaustion. Francine reached down for her bag; even though it was so much closer to her than to the angel, the dread of invading her personal space was overwhelming enough to make her take it as fast and as the waking muscles in her arms allowed. Alice's gaze simply followed the movement, but an uneven face seemed to only pierce into the woman more and more with the silence of judgement.

"I'll…I'll leave now. Sorry."

And just as the mortal took a step back to pivot and run from the consequences-

"Not so soon, are you?"

-…They had come for her faster than she could leave them behind.

Francine looked past her now half-turned shoulder to see the angel rise from her lounge. God, she forgot she was so tall. All the ink beings were simply bigger than the woman, and so to say they all made her feel small would be an understatement.

So of course, she was anxious about what would happen next. Her breath quickened, and her pulse felt like it's load had abruptly grown heavier. Eyes twitched about as she gazed at the angel, fast blinks that betrayed how turbulent her inner thoughts had become.

But as the angel stood up, maybe in her height she saw something more. Maybe the dark bags under the woman's eyes; maybe the shake in her fingers under the stress of the stained bag's weight; maybe the slight tremble of her lip that served as evidence that her mouth couldn't even gape without being tired.

Maybe she saw all that, or maybe she only saw an opportunity. Either way, Alice decided then to act upon it.

"Come with me."

And with an expression certain of something Francine couldn't name, the woman of paper and ink tilted towards the staircase to the workshop, and somehow an empty, black eye socket seemed to stare back at her in wait.

And Francine took a second to stare back before finally taking in one sure, steadying breath to find composure. She nodded, knowing she was ready as could be for whatever was next.

Which was still not at all.

What Alice had to say as she began to lead the woman away from her time of peace only made it worse.

"We need to talk."

Well this was certainly different.

Francine sat upon yet another soft couch with yet more toys in what could be best described as a dressing room, only willing to rest once again after Alice gestured that she do so. The stuffed toy that looked like how…well…Alice was supposed to look like was both a childish comfort and yet another pair of eyes to make her feel watched.

So this was the path of the angel, huh? It was about as different as the demon path could be. No ink upon the floors and none of the accompanying terror that came with it. To think that right now behind the wall in front of her was placed that tape that made her start that chase of a god-

As Alice leaned onto the cabinet right across from her, arms crossed and chin turned down, Francine remembered there were more important things to think about right now.

What did Alice want to talk to her for? The woman hoped that it was just to address that she shouldn't come here again; their last meeting wasn't…of the lightest tone. Well, she did give Francine that photo, but…-

And there again- her mind wandered again to the hunt for answers that had turned an upside-down life upside-down once more. Francine was almost grateful that the angel finally interrupted her lost thoughts.

"Why are you here?"

The sweeter of the voices she possessed was the one used now. Was there a pattern in which spoke? There had to have been, but the woman couldn't sparse it out. Regardless, it was an inevitable question that Francine was glad to answer in hopes to receive mercy for her behavior.

"My…room got locked and I can't get in. I just wanted somewhere to sleep-"

"No."

And the smoother tone came back, weighted with intent as the black and white toon talked over an excuse. Dark bangs brushed her forehead as Alice shifted, the shadow of them falling over her eye and socket.

"Why are you here?" she repeated.

…Oh.

Francine forgot that not everyone just knew as Sammy did. But she had to tell him of course. She must have been the biggest mystery to Alice; in front of her was a woman that interrupted her plight for perfection just as the angel interrupted her pity party.

And even as tired as she was, the studio's intruder sighed before seeing she had to validate her chaotic presence in an ecosystem that carried on as is without any disruption before as she had brought now.

It took…a while to tell it again- or it at least felt that way. Was it only a few sentences, or was it an hour or so of recollection and lament? Francine wouldn't have been able to tell you.

The pain of losing your life is timeless.

Finally, quiet.

Both singers gripped their own arms, but the meanings they held her entirely different. Francine was raw with emotion, being forced to remember yet again what it felt like to fear Gabby was gone forever- only to realize it was she that may be. And so, she was holding herself, as if letting go would make everything inside her flood out and away to god knows where.

Her mouth felt like a dam overflowing with hurt and longing, and so she was grateful for it to finally be free to close shut. There was a hope Alice would be satisfied and let her go…but she was anything but.

Because as Alice unfolded one arm to put an ink-gloved hand to her chin, she wanted to dive into the very thing Francine was afraid would make her drown.

"That doesn't explain anything…!"

What? What was she-

"This doesn't explain any of that…!"

As the angel's face twisted into one of growing concern, Francine's mirrored with growing fear of the unfamiliar. "What? What do you mean-?"

"I MEAN-" Alice began to almost shout, removing her lean so she may fully face her uninvited guest, "-that this is no reason for the ink demon to do all he has!"

At first Francine was afraid she was being called a liar in her own tale of finding her cousin. Now? She knew she was wrong; it had to be about something else. But-

"I don't understand," the mortal managed to reply with wide eyes pinched slightly at the bottom, cheeks pressed back in shock and dismay.

And then the seraph with half of a melted face seemed to melt even more with her own boiling upset.

"…I saw you." Her throat seemed to be choking on her own words as they emerged hushed and shaken. Rage. Confusion. Worry. "I saw you chase after him. I saw the walls change and swallow you away."

Finally, Francine's jaw dropped as she comprehended the nature of her questioning. But the horned detective wasn't done.

"You were gone. I couldn't follow you anymore- it all went…black." The formed lips upon Alice's face parted so that both sides showed teeth, and she almost seemed to spit through them now, she spoke so harshly. "I thought you were dead."

And that's why she had begged Francine stay. From her perspective, Alice had only spotted what had occurred in her domain; and even as much had happened there, it was not enough to understand. Hell, Francine was there for all of it and still didn't understand, herself. The demon almost seemed to be playing a game- that is, if he had anything to do with the shapeshifting wood and pipes. If not-

"He…helped me."

It was a tender admission. How terrifying it is to realize you've been put into the hands of someone you can't comprehend at all- not their motives, thoughts, or even ways. That was she with Bendy, the liquid shadow that seemed to follow at her heels.

Maybe Alice felt this vulnerability radiate from Francine's heart, because the woman heard a light gasp and an expression sharp with bewilderment seemed to soften.

But then…it twisted into something much more doubtful.

"With what?"

Taken aback. Stolen breath. Racing pulse.

Francine knew she couldn't tell her. What could she even say?! The only way to explain what happened would be to break her promise- to let the studio know that Joey was not only alive but well- still rosy red with human blood in his veins, still filling and emptying his lungs when he so selfishly took the same right from everyone else.

And she remembered, most vitally, how Joey so certainly wary of what would happen if they knew, too.

The longer it took for Francine to reply, the further Alice's face was warped by suspicion. She had to say something-

"He helped me try to find something I lost."

An explanation blurted out before she could censor it in any way. It was a lie. God, Francine hated lies.

But it made Alice's scrutiny wane into something more…curious, and so the burden of deceit was countered with the relief of budding trust.

"…And what was that?" came the counter.

Silence. The mortal's stare was glued to her hands- to her and the angel's feet. What would the ink demon help her find?!

"The boy?"

Francine's turn to gasp, flinging her head up to see Alice had come closer. Black lips- even torn in two- still seemed to part in amazement. A story was being woven by the heavenly being's own imagination as the mortal made her wait in suspense.

And as much as it made Francine hate herself, she would allow it.

A nod. She couldn't bear to actually speak such a falsehood, so she prayed this would be enough.

It was.

And now in Alice's mind, everything hinged on one thing:

"…Did you find him?"

Hands clasped tight until she could feel the sweat from one hand moisten the other. Francine dipped her head again, biting her bottom lip as her heart swelled with something awful. For once in this whole debacle, she could say something that was true.

But of course, it had to be the worst.

"No."

An utterance barely came from Alice's mouth, something between a groan and a sigh high-pitched with the sting of dare she say sympathy. But if it was kindness undeserved the haloed spirit let leak from her lips, she soon sealed it back shut.

"I…see."

And the air once again knew no sound but the blooming reaches of awkwardness, both women falling from the heights of intense emotion until the impact hit them senseless. Apparently one of them couldn't leave it with that.

You'd be surprised who.

"…What song was that, little songbird? The one you were mumbling earlier?"

This made their sights meet again, and the mortal weary with her own body and tongue managed to spot the…gentleness ahead of her, glossing that single iris, somehow even helping her black hair frame a pale, torn face until it seemed a bit more solid than before thanks to the touch of humanity.

It was enough for Francine to push back the sickness she made herself feel so she may speak again:

"Somewhere Only We Know."

An amused grunt from the being surrounded by her own image in this room of soft pillows and candlelight.

"Isn't that ironic?"

A stretch of the mouth to one side- in a smirk instead of a wince this time around as Francine looked around the room and back at her host. "Yeah."

And as the angel stood over her, something came unexpected.

Humming. Wonderful, sweet humming. As much as Sammy was given credit for retaining his musicality, Alice deserved the same, being able to hear a tune once from unprofessional lips not even in the same room. She identified it, repeated it, and made it better.

Suddenly Francine wasn't only fatigued by a lack of sleep. The events of the studio caught up with her, finding weakness in the cracks of her soul as she never had a true opportunity for repose. Like before, she so foolishly let her eyes close to the sound of a soothing promise of peace and settled feelings somewhere, some day to come.

"You may stay here if you need, my cherub," Francine heard a voice linger somewhere by her side. It was tinged with a tone so similar to the lullaby that she almost didn't perceive it amid the rest of her words. "I'll advise you again to leave alone as best you can."

A pause. Maybe she was thinking about Sammy, wondering why the past two times the mortal wandered her halls he seemed to have no part in it. Maybe it was about the ink demon, in all her assurance of his evils- questioning how or why he would possibly help the girl in search for who she lost. Regardless, this was the guidance Alice had for someone with everything she ever wanted.

"I don't want to see someone with as much as you have to lose it all for nothing."

There was no telling what separated this moment from the next. Not how long Francine slept, nor how long it took for the change to take place.

But it did.

An organic hum of a choir of two within one at some point had given way to an unnatural one. It was like that of the pipes but louder…and somehow more far away. It reverberated until you could feel it inside your chest, making the blood inside you ripple from your heart to the tips of your fingers.

When the studio's unwelcome wanderer awoke, she saw that she was alone.

But more importantly, she saw that the wall ahead had left her too, leaving nothing behind but a gaping hole into a hallway with no seen end.

As she rested upon the couch, waking up to face this void felt like it was trying to suck her very soul inside with an invisible, untouchable wind. As shaken as she was, something about this…spoke to her. Even as fear gripped her neck, it felt like a tug rather than a choke.

You can only oppose a darkness like this for so long before it eats you up, and so with one last look to the exits both right and left- thinking of Sammy and Alice respectively in either direction- Francine moved between towards something impossible.

As she was convinced by a wordless magic, all it had to do was call to her need to know, a need to prove. And what bigger mystery was it than this, what greater deed than to go alone where she hadn't before- because now that her life lacked what she had before, there was almost a compulsion now to push on as if she could not retain her agency otherwise.

It was so strange how both grateful and dreadful someone felt as a step crossed trustingly once again into the unknown.