Chapter 18:
"I've got a bright little halo, and I'm filled with love… I'm Alice Angel! I'm the hit of the party…"
The song continued to echo through the dimly lit room, the group watching the various screens with suspicion. The teens, in particular, had seen enough dramatic entrances to know that a villain was about to make themselves known. Both Henry and Ladybug got their weapons ready, waiting for the possible threat.
"I ain't no flapper, I'm a classy dish, and boy, can this girl sing…"
A light turned on behind one of the glass displays, spotlighting a door with Alice Angel's name on it. Everyone immediately focused on it, expecting her to arrive at any moment.
"This gal can grant your every wish…"
"I'M ALICE ANGEL!" A figure, that the group could only assume was Alice, slammed against the glass display as she shouted, making several members of the group jump in surprise. They barely had time to take in her half deformed face before she screamed and slammed her fists on the glass, the lights going out at the same time. In the blackness, they could hear the glass shatter, meaning "Alice" was probably in the room with them. Ladybug kept a firm grip on her yo-yo as she tried to listen for any indication of where her foe might be. It was time like this that Ladybug wished she had Chat's night vision. Speaking of her partner, she just knew he was probably getting to transform.
"Not yet Adrian," Ladybug whispered to where she knew he was standing. "We don't know what she wants yet. Wait to transform until we need it."
"I see you there," Alice finally spoke, her voice seeming to come from all around them. "New flies in my endless web. Come along now. Let's see if you're worthy to walk with angels."
As her voice faded away the lights came back on, leaving only the smashed glass as a reminder that she was there. The group just stood there for a moment, trying to calm down from the scare and process what just happened.
"Well, she certainly put on quite the show didn't she," Henry eventually joked, trying to lighten the mood.
"She was quite the angel of the stage wasn't she," Adrian joked back, grinning at his uncle.
"Though it seems she may have fallen for us," Henry replied his own smile widening. Nino and Alya just burst into laughter at the banter and just the general ridiculousness of the situation.
"I guess we now know where Adrian gets his sense of humor," Ladybug groaned dramatically, though it was obvious that she was barely holding back her own laughter.
"Well, I wouldn't be have been much of a cartoonist if I didn't know how to make people laugh," Henry replied, before becoming serious again. "Come on, we need to keep going."
The others calmed down and followed after Henry. They came to split hallway with a sign pointing to the left saying "The Demon" and pointing to the right saying "The Angel". The group stopped between the two, looking down each path to try and figure out which way to go.
"Do you have any idea which way is the way to go?" Ladybug asked Henry, unable to discern which would be the better option.
"No, none of this was here when I left," Henry replied with a slight shake of his head. "And I'm a little concerned if these signs indicate more than just a path name as if it might affect which monster we come across. But I might just be over thinking it."
"Well, isn't there the saying "the demon you know" ?" Adrian suggested, gesturing to the path on the left. "At this point, it seems like we have a pretty good idea of how that "Bendy" monster behaves, but from that brief introduction with "Alice", she can be a bit unpredictable. If the paths really do dictate which monster we come across, I rather it is the one we know how to deal with."
The group eventually went along Adrian's suggestion, unable to find a reason against it, and went towards the demon path. AS soon as they crossed the threshold, they heard a loud banging sound. Backing up quickly, they saw that the way to the angel path had been cut off. Unsure what to make of it, they just went back to the demon path and pressed on. They came to a room filled with ink and began wading through it.
Adrian felt his wound react as soon as he stepped into the ink. It seemed to warm and began pulsing slightly. He felt a deep sense of foreboding and could tell Plagg had noticed the reaction as well, based on the way the Kwamii was glaring at the wound from his spot on Adrian's shoulder. Adrian tried to get out of the ink as quickly as possible, but then Nino spotted a tape recorder on a chair in the corner. And since Adrian couldn't leave without drawing attention to himself, he had no choice but to gather around it with the others.
"There's nothing wrong with dreaming," the voice of Joey Drew filled the air as soon as Henry pressed play. Wishing for the impossible is just human nature. That's how I got started, Just a pencil and a dream. We all want everything without having to lift a finger. They say you just have to believe. Belief can make you succeed. Belief can make you rich. Belief can make you powerful. Whit with enough belief, you can even cheat death itself. Now that… is a beautiful, and positively silly thought."
"He always did have a silver tongue," Henry said bitterly as the tape finished. "Talking big and inspiring people to do exactly what he wanted."
"But I thought you were friends," Adrian said, surprised by his uncle's anger.
"So did I," Henry said with a sigh. "But now I'm wondering if I was just another person he manipulated. And seeing everything that's happened here, it makes me wonder if I ever knew him at all."
Adrian didn't know what to say, so he just gave his uncle a comforting pat on the back. With one last glare at the tape recorder, Henry leads the group out of the room of and into the next hallway.
AN: Don't worry TheCartoonist127 I have plans for Adrian and Marinette. Such wonderful evil plans...