I had never seen her in person.
But her voice would ring throughout the lower level walls, all places at all times, as if she were all-seeing. It seemed as though she was. As you'd step into her territory, her voice would follow you. She'd taunt you, her sentences rigid, like twisted plastic. You'd find yourself jumping between talking to a sweet angel, a voice harmonious as a harp's melody, then a vile and cruel monster. What never helped was that she had followers, such as the demon had myself. While her followers were few and far between, they were far more valuable to her. I had to envy them sometimes. What would it take to make my lord treat me with the kindness she treated her projector-headed lackey with? More sacrifice? More love? More belief? I didn't have much more to give. My thread was running thin. Would it hurt him to come in peace? To whisper words of true, heartfelt appraisal for all that we have given? All that I have given?
She once told me worship of the demon is a path that will cut me short. Something I disregarded as a taunt, a tease at my faith. I cursed her for it. She mocked my mask, in her nasty tone, saying he will always be happier hurting me than I will be worshipping him.
Her sweeter side offered me a new faith, a date with an angel.

....I felt as though I had been on one of those before. Perhaps it was time for a change.

Level 9 was... more or less new to me. Between Heavenly Toys and Bendyland, that was her turf. A part I would usually skip by, or go around, when travelling to and from the Lost Harbour. It wasn't worth the risk.
The moment I stepped towards the door, it opened seemingly on it's own. One of the angel's strange tricks, I assumed. It seemed like these levels bent to her every will. The doors, the lights, the elevator. It provided no comfort.
I stepped into the room, and was met by a soulless space. A set of stairs wooden stairs led to a flat ground, before more stairs leading towards another large door. There was crates stacked beneath the stairs, and around the entrance. A gate of sorts blocked off the second set of stairs, but upon moving closer, it, too, opened seemingly on it's own. The faces of Alice Angel decor glared down at me. Perhaps they were her all-seeing eyes.
A drop-box, and a pick-up box. Both sealed shut. The next door opened to a long twisting hallway, and through there, a flooded room.
The means of crossing it was loose wooden boards strung haphazardly across the room. Tables with rotted corpses stood tall from the ink, which almost seemed to bubble.
"You're quite far from home, aren't you, Sammy..?"
Her voice sent a shiver down my back. The sweeter side. What a relief. I had to admit, I was expecting her to start talking to me earlier, but the journey here had been radio silence.
"I am. You've been quiet today, Angel."
"Concerned.?" Her voice almost sounded hurt. Did the thought of someone caring upset her? Wouldn't anyone want to be truly cared about?
"I wanted to speak with you... about the last time we talked. What you said."
"Has the demon finally done you enough wrong for you to come crawling to me?" Her sweetness caved to make room for her bitterness, "I must say, I had expected you sooner."
"I was busy."
"With your cutouts and silly writings, I'm aware. The music department used to be such a beautiful place, before you scrawled your drawings all over the walls."
I felt a slight pang of guilt. I could barely remember the department without them, but I imagine it was much neater. A space where fantastical tunes were produced, music of the highest quality. Why did I....? .....I wasn't sure. I didn't remember why I turned it into what it now was.
"What would you know about the music department?"
"Ugh," I could tell she was rolling her eyes, "Anyway."
The next big door slowly chugged open. I hesitated for a brief moment, before swallowing what was left of my pride and walking inside. Behind the steel walls I could hear machines ticking away, creating a metallic tinkering sound. The walls seemed to creak, as if the weight of a new presence, my presence, was a large burden on their shoulders.

Malformed. Melted. Twisted. That is what she looked like. She was smaller than I was, by at least a foot. Her skin looked paper thin, as if the slightest jab would tear it through, and her arms were stained black with ink, right down to her fingertips. Her lower half was no better. Her legs, too, were stained black. They looked almost normal until you got to her feet. Or- shoes? It seems like they'd melted together and become one. There was no gap, no malformation, nothing to indicate that her feet and her heels were seperate. Perhaps they were always that way. Her hair was pitch black and long, and she had a loose, fabric bow tied around her neck. The most startling part, however, had been her face. Her eyes looked like hollow sockets, pitch black, aside from her irises, which were a glowing white, with thin, cat-like pupils. A gaping tear burdened the left side of her face, revealing her teeth. A halo, glowing a faint gold and was snapped, had melded into the top of her head. She resembled something close to a melted clay doll, the way she held together by only a thread of what she must have once been. An angel. Now fallen, now broken. Now bitter.

"Staring is rude,," Alice's sweeter voice whined. I shook my head a little, dismissing my staring.
"Sorry."
Alice cocked her head. Despite being broken, she held a strange beauty. The way the oceans are deep and dark, but full of glistening coral reefs. Like a sunken shipwreck, frightening but a gorgeous tribute to memories lost at sea.
"Are you not worried about what the demon may say.? To think if he heard you down here... oooouu..." I couldn't tell if she was concerned, or mocking me.
"I.. fear my lord may not value me the way I value him."
"So is that what you came here for?" Her harsher voice intruded, "To be valued?"
I nodded. Alice cocked her head in the other direction, inspecting me closely.
"I think we can work with that."

"First things first, the mask needs to go."
I drew back a bit and frowned, not that she could see it.
"It's important to me." I stated bluntly, resting my fingers on the sides of it, feeling the texture of the cardboard.
"It's important to you because it's your tribute to the lord you are abandoning, honey."
My heart kind of fluttered. Or maybe it had skipped a beat. I couldn't be sure what that feeling was. Her sudden affectionate nicknames were,,, strange.
"If you're no longer following the demon, you no longer need his face. We can find you something else to wear. And perhaps some proper clothes, because I worry you aren't wearing anything under those overalls." I scoffed.
"I don't intend on proving it to you. I've worn these for 30 years, I like them."
"Sweetheart. That is the problem."
"Projectionist's clothing is tattered and torn, but you draw the line at overalls?" I'd encountered Projectionist in person only a couple times, and most ended with him becoming rather hostile. But, even a fool could tell his clothes had truly been to Hell and back.
"Getting something new for him isn't an option, due to the cables attached to his head, limbs, and back. They get in the way."
"....Oh."
Yeah. Okay. That checked out.
She giggled, almost innocently. Again, I felt my heart flutter. The feeling felt so.. familiar. The smile, the voice, the names.. where on Earth had I heard that all before?
"Okay. New clothes, no mask. What else?"
"Well, that's it."
I paused.
"You don't- want sacrifices? Any help?"
"Well, I may need help from time to time or things picked up for me, but Projectionist does most of that. He likes to stay moving," Alice said casually, "He's very fragile these days, staying on the move is good for his joints. Anything else is handled by Grant, if he feels like it."
"..I don't.. have to do anything?"
"You are my follower, not my servant."
I felt a feeling of hope bubble up inside a little bit.
"But-"
"I'm the ruler. That makes it my job to keep you safe. If I need you to do something, I will guide you. Simple as that."
"...Isn't the guy supposed to keep the girl safe?"
"Not the way I play." She seemed to soften, and her mouth, albeit half broken, twisted into a gentle smile of sorts, before she stepped towards me and snapped one of my suspenders.
"Follow me, Prophet, we'll find something for you to wear."

Snap.
I swung backwards to face the culprit, and was met with none other than Miss Campbell.
"Susie." I said firmly. Or, tried to, at least.
"Sammy!" She giggled in response. She gave me a nudge, "Are you coming out with the rest of us tonight?"
"Stop pulling on my suspenders. And no, I'm not too keen."
Susie's warm face seemed to falter a bit, disappointed, but she didn't argue.
"Aw, alright."
"..If it was just you.." I hesitated a bit, "then it wouldn't be so bad. Not with a crowd."
Susie nodded, her long, brown pigtails bobbing as she did.
"Maybe we can go out just the two of us sometime, then!"
"..That'd be okay."
Her beaming smile returned. God, what a gorgeous smile. Framed by her soft hair and long eyelashes, she looked like a piece of Heaven.
"Let's make it a date!"
"A date with an angel?" I asked.
Susie beamed.
"Yeah! A date with an angel!" She cocked her head to the side. "Can I pick you up at 7?"
"Isn't the guy supposed to pick up the girl?"
"Not the way I play!" She giggled, and stood up on her tip toes to press a soft kiss on my cheek, before lowering into a small curtesy and trotting off. I could feel my face warming up a bit, and I shook my head.
"Miss Campbell, you've got me wrapped around your little finger, don't you?"