Mikey and his friends didn't stop running. They didn't stop until they were as far as they could be from the Toymaker's room. They didn't stop running until they had reached another large room, except this one seemed to be some kind of storage room. There were a wide variety of things strewn around the area; from empty pipes to broken instruments to boxes of gears and valves. Jake and Allie half-sat, half-fell onto a nearby crate, panting. Robin and Mikey each sat on a small box, and Army just let himself fall face-first onto the floor.
"That...was too close," Jake panted.
"Yeah," Robin replied, "if we had stayed any longer, then the Ink Demon definitely would've caught us."
"Oh, which reminds me," Mikey said, "thank you guys so, so much for saving me."
"It's all good, little buddy," Army said, his words partially muffled by the floor. "Who knows what that thing would've done to you? Which brings me to the question: why did the Ink Demon want you in the first place?"
Mikey thought hard about that before replying. "I don't know. The Toymaker never told me why. Well, that, and I was too afraid to ask why."
"His name is Shawn," Allie said softly. Jake turned to her, and saw an inky tear roll down her cheek. He immediately remembered her conversation with Shawn. He had learned a lot from that, but he wanted to know a little more.
"Hey, Allie?" He asked. "Can I talk to you for a little bit? Alone?"
Allie nodded in sad silence. Mikey and Robin decided to go into a smaller room in the corner, both to rest a bit and to let the two Lost Ones talk, dragging Army by his legs with them.
As soon as the door had closed, Jake asked, "Um, about your talk with Shawn...do you really remember a time before...this place?"
"...Yes," Allie replied. "Everything was so much happier. Everyone was more free. I don't know how I remember; I just do."
"What was it like?"
"We used to make cartoons. I was one of the artists. I remember drawing those little grins until my hand started to ache."
"What about Shawn?"
"...He used to make toys. Occasionally, he'd give a doll a crooked smile, which made Joey furious. Despite that, he was always so upbeat."
"Were you guys close?"
"Very."
"What about me? Or Mikey and Robin? Do you remember what any of us were like?"
"I don't remember anything about Robin and Mikey, or Army. But I didn't remember you until before Mikey was taken. You used to help Norman whenever his projector broke down. You were just as sweet then. Who knows where any of our old friends are now?" She sighed. "I wish I could go back to those days. I wish I could've tried to prevent all of this from happening..."
Jake was stunned. He wondered how Allie was able to remember all of that, and more importantly, when she would know how she had gotten those memories. And it seemed as though that he used to love her in that other life, too. Did he?
He hesitated before patting her back in comfort. "It's not your fault, Allie," he said gently. "Even if I don't remember, I wish I could've stopped whatever happened here, too. But reliving the past doesn't change it. The only way we can go now is forward. Don't worry. We'll get through this. I know we will."
Allie was silent, and then emitted an inky sob. "Th...thank you, Jake," she said, and embraced him in a tight hug. Jake blushed harder than he ever did before, and hugged her back.
Suddenly, the door to the smaller room swung wide open and Mikey, Robin, and Army tumbled out in a big heap. Almost as if they had all been leaning against the door. Jake and Allie were startled, and stared at them in surprise.
"Uuuuuuuuh, we definitely weren't listening," Robin said.
"Yeah, we were just, um, seeing if the door could...hold our weight," Mikey said.
"You guys know you're not fooling anyone, right?" Jake asked.
"Dang it."
Army's eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, wait a minute! I've been through this room before! This leads to the Reel Archives! Come on, I'll show you guys the way!"
"Hey, Mikey?" Robin asked as the party ventured across an insanely well-built wooden bridge, which was suspended over a wide, dark pit in between two parts of a hallway. The middle of it must've collapsed, and fell into the darkness below. At least that was Robin's theory.
"Yeah, Robin?" Mikey asked. He had been drawing more areas onto the map with his finger while sliding along the bridge's floor.
"Do you..." Robin took another deep breath. She couldn't believe she was going to ask him this. Would he know the answer to her question? Well, she already knew the answer herself, but what if he didn't? Only one way to find out. "Do you know what...'love' is?"
Mikey shook his head. "I don't think so. What is it?"
"W-Well, it's when one person, um, really really likes another person. And if they really like each other, and make each other feel comfortable and happy, then they love each other."
"Oh. Do you really like someone, Robin?"
She blushed. She didn't know how to tell Mikey that she loved him, or if she should yet, so she just said this: "Y-Yeah, I am. But I'm not really sure about it yet."
"Why not?"
"I don't know if he really likes me back. Or how to tell him. I know you don't fully know all this, but...do you know how to say something like that?"
Mikey thought hard about it. "Well, I think you should just talk to him about it. Or tell him how you feel in a way he'll never forget. That's how I talked to the others in the village. I hope they haven't given up hope just yet."
Robin smiled. "Yeah, I hope so, too."
An hour later, Robin and Jake had stuck to the back while Mikey and Army tried to lift Allie's spirits up ahead. Robin slowed down as her eye caught a light coming from a small, hall-like room. In it was a desk, a chair, and two of an instrument that Sammy had played back in the village, called a 'banjo'. Robin went up to the desk and climbed up onto the chair, just as Mikey had when he found his map. Only this time, Jake followed her, but not before looking to make sure the others weren't too far ahead.
"Hey, Jake, look at this," Robin said, picking up a piece of paper that had a line of words written on it. "'Star, written by Jack Fain'. What do you think this is?"
"Maybe it's a poem," Jake replied, "or song lyrics. Judging by the words, I think this might be the kind of song you write for someone you..."
He looked at Robin, who looked back at him, who got the same idea that she did.
Another hour later, the party had reached the Reel Archives, which was two large rooms separated by a thick curtain. Both rooms had shelves of boxes of film reels and unused projectors inside, and were decorated with reels of film tape hung up on the walls like streamers, and pieces of glass attached to certain areas of the walls and ceiling, revealing and surrounding the party with glowing, golden stars. It took everyone's breaths away.
"I know," Army said, "incredible, isn't it? Welp, you kids do your thing. I'm gonna get some sleep before we move on. G'night." He then face-planted onto the floor again, fast asleep.
The Lost Ones went into one of the two rooms while the two Searchers went into the other. Before doing so, Jake and Robin winked at each other, each inky person prepared to put their plan into motion.
As Robin and Mikey sat down, a banjo was slid silently underneath the curtain to her. She picked it up, and took another deep breath.
"Mikey," she said, "there's something I want to say to you. You know our talk from earlier?"
"Yeah," Mikey replied. "What about it?"
"Well...I hope you won't forget this," she said, and started to play the banjo.
And then she sang.
Look at the stars
Tell me, how many do you see?
They seem so far
But my favorite one's in front of me
Your smile's bright-
-er than anything I have seen
And so tonight
I'll make you my celestial king
You light up the darkest parts of my day
Cause you're a star
You make me stand up to what might be in the way
That's what you are
I hope you've realized how much you mean to me
You are a star
I hope that you'll feel the same way for me
Please be my star
On the other side of the curtain, Jake and Allie heard Robin sing to Mikey. Jake waited until she had finished her part of the song, picked up his banjo, and began to sing his part to Allie.
When I'm with you
My heart feels as if it has flown
I know it's true
I've seen the bravery you have shown
I think it's time
To tell you bout the things I feel
As the clock chimes
My feelings couldn't be more real
You don't know how much you've changed my life, here and now
Cause you're a star
You're an angel on the stage, so take a bow
That's what you are
I hope you've realized how much you mean to me
You are a star
I hope that you'll feel the same way for me
Please be my star
When he was finished, both Jake and Robin sang the last part in unison, their voices ringing out throughout the room.
And if you fall
I'll help you up, cause after all
There's no reason why I shouldn't be there
And if you cry
I'll see no reason why
I shouldn't hug you
I shouldn't kiss you
I shouldn't love you
Oooh
You light up the darkest parts of my day
Cause you're a star
You make me stand up to what might be in the way
That's what you are
I hope you've realized how much you mean to me
You are a star
I hope that you'll feel the same way for me
Please be my star
Please be my star
Mikey and Allie sat in silence, blushing. A feeling erupted in Mikey that he never felt before in his life. Is this what Robin had been talking about? Was this love?
"...Jake," Allie said softly, "you...you haven't changed a bit. You're still the sweet man I remember. I...I feel the same for you."
Jake's eyes widened. "You do?"
Allie nodded, smiling. "And you're right. Although we can't change the past, we can make a better future. And I'd like to make it with you."
Mikey looked at Robin. "That was amazing, Robin. Now I feel all tingly for some reason."
"That's love, Mikey," Robin said proudly. "I started to feel it the moment I met you."
"I...I love it. And I think...I think I love you, too."
Both couples smiled at each other, and began to share silent kisses so as to not wake up Army, who still had his face to the floor.
A crashing sound woke up Mikey. He shot up as fast as a bullet, eyes wide. He sat still for a moment, then heard the sound again. He moved towards the doorway his friends and he had come through, moving slowly to avoid waking his friends up.
He slid silently down the hall towards the source of the noise, holding his thermos tightly in his hands. He soon reached a small hall that led to yet another corridor, where a bunch of metal shelves were on the floor, as if something had knocked them over.
Mikey came closer, observing the shelves and looking around to see if there might've been more Searchers around the area. Behind him, a dark, inky puddle appeared, and started to rise and take shape into a tall being with a wide grin, and big horns.
Mikey turned around, and his eyes went wide with fear. The Ink Demon smiled even more, making it look as though his smile grew wider.
"Hello, Mikey," he hissed.