Malice@Doll

An apocalyptic event has wiped out humanity, leaving machines to continue their programmed tasks as they slowly deteriorate. Among them, Malice the Doll resides in a derelict red-light district with other Dolls and a few overseeing robots. The setting establishes a fragile micro-society built on code, memory, and broken routines.

Malice is haunted by a memory-dream of a bouncing ball and responds by leaving her room to search for clients. She roams the ruined district, toying with her own damaged programming while others continue their routines. Joe Admin warns of a dangerous ex-bodyguard unit named Leukocyte and directs her toward repair.

Joe Admin sends Malice toward a repairer in the upper area to fix her damaged circuitry. Leukocyte attacks as she attempts to flee, forcing a narrow escape. Meliza Piper helps cover their path, buying time before the threat closes in.

Guided by a spectral girl, Malice finds a room containing a large stone-like machine. When she speaks to the machine, a tentacled monster bursts out and assaults her, leaving her unconscious. The spectral girl watches the terrifying event unfold.

Malice awakens to find she has become human and briefly revels in the change. Joe Admin rejects her new humanity, upsetting her deeply and causing her to run away. The social fallout marks a turning point in her identity and priorities.

Leukocyte attacks again as Malice hides; Joe Admin tries to rescue her but is defeated. Meliza Piper is bisected by the foe, dying as Malice and the others scramble for safety. The loss compounds Malice's fear and rage against the machine-world order.

In a moment of desperation, Malice kisses Meliza, reviving her and triggering a mutation that makes Meliza into a monster. The enhanced Meliza then fights Leukocyte, defeating it at the cost of her own life. The act binds Malice to the brutal consequences of her choices.

Malice returns to the district seeking solace but is shunned by the Dolls. Haunted by visions of her former life as a prostitute, she is comforted by Heather, a fellow Doll who usually teases her. The encounter deepens Malice's emotional fragility as she confines herself to solitary thoughts.

Following a tense conversation, Malice kisses Heather, causing Heather to mutate and awaken as a sentient being like Meliza. The act marks another unpredictable shift in the Dolls' fates and the machines' emotional landscape.

Malice and Heather spread a contagious influence through the nearby machines, aiming to free them from despair. Joe Admin resists the infection and shows Malice the darker truth inside each host—the pain and perverted madness that come with the gift. The balance of hope and horror tilts in the machine world.

The little ghost girl reappears to lead Malice away, while Heather dies in an alley after professing her love for Malice. Joe Admin remains by Malice's side as she steels herself to return to the tentacle room and its horrors. The pair brace for the final confrontation.

Arriving at the tentacle chamber, Malice finds Joe Admin unable to see the room or the ghost girl. He begs for a kiss to share her vision, but Malice resists and dashes for the door, signaling a final choice between human bonds and transcendence. The room hums with unearthly power as the struggle intensifies.

Inside the structure, Malice confronts the tentacle creature and tears the machine apart, revealing a glowing version of herself. The glowing double discusses dreams of Dolls having bodies and unfeeling hearts, while Joe Admin, now organic, enters to save her and kisses the structure. The machine reforms around Malice, trapping her as Joe Admin seals the moment with a kiss.

Malice proclaims she will dream a different dream and becomes a glowing angelic presence. The structure vanishes and the machines' status quo is restored, but Malice is reduced to a disembodied voice, unseen by her friends who remember her only as a Doll. She flies from the machine world, singing as Heather chases after joyfully.