Zene Oneshots

The Angel's Bidding

(Part 2 of The Angel of Ink)

Gene's breath caught in his throat.

He was staring at a large pane of glass that was fogged up and scratched. On the other side was a strange machine that used electricity, with an operation table attached for the one who would be executed. Strapped to the table was one of the members of the Butcher Gang... Ivy, he was pretty sure. Standing at the control panel for the contraption was Zane Ro'Meave.

If Gene was being honest, the Angel looked scarier when they first met. Now, able to actually look at his face, Gene realized just how messed up his face was.

Half of his mouth was torn open, a large hole reaching up towards his covered eye. Thin threads of his pale skin were keeping that half of his mouth connected, and his teeth were stained by something... ink, perhaps? No... it looked a bit more reddish to Gene. Whenever the black bangs that covered one of his two eyes moved, the normally blind eye was visible underneath, but it was just a black hole. Scratches and scars adorned his torso, with an oozing cut on the underside of his chin. His halo was tilted, and was an actual part of his head, with a small piece missing. His arms were caked in thick ink, and there was a large bruise on his shoulder.

"And now we come to the question..." Zane began, seeming to grin a bit. "Do I kill you? Do I tear you apart to my heart's delight? The choices of the beautiful are unbearable... how's a boy to choose?"

Zane frowned hard, narrowing his eye as he turned to face Ivy. His voice turned even harsher and colder, filled with hatred and disgust. With an accusing finger, he pointed at Ivy's face, and spoke much against the child friendly personality he had been given.

"Take this freak for instance! She crawled in here, trailing her tainted ink to my door! She could have touched me!" Zane exclaimed, before his voice started turning to a higher pitch and more like the voice that was singing in the cartoons. "It could have pulled me back!"

Now, with his higher pitched and more familiar and recognizable voice, Zane went to a more.. nicer behavior.

"Do you know it's like living in the dark puddles?" He asked, before the cruel hardness returned, and then went back and forth between. "It's a buzzing well of voices. Bits of your mind swimming.. like... like fish in a bowl! The first time I was born from it's inky womb, I was a wiggling, pudding, shapeless slug! The second time... well.. it made me an Angel!"

Zane let out a delighted sigh, before he glared at Gene.

"Yes, I will spare you... for now. Better yet... I'll even let you ascend and leave this place, if you could do me just a few teensy weensy favors for me first... return to the lift, my little errand boy... we've got work to do."

Zane jabbed his finger at one of the buttons on the control panel, and metal doors blocked Gene's view of the other side of the glass pane. From what he could hear, however, Zane had started up the machine again, given the electrical sparking sounds and the screaming.

Shuddering a bit, Gene turned around and headed back the way he came. He only stopped in his tracks once, when he passed by the Zane cutout. He regarded just how child friendly and innocent that Zane looked, but turned away when the image of the living, breathing Zane popped into his mind.

Stepping out of the doors to the Zane Ro'Meave "territory", the path was blocked by a wooden plank. Gene could still see the lift, which was a good thing. Vylad hadn't wandered off with it like he feared.

"My machines are hungry. Gather me some spare parts," Zane instructed.

So after two hours or so of Gene nearly dying, Zane bossing him around, and being on the lookout for a certain Projectionist, Gene was returning to Zane's door with five hearts and a giant pipe. Once he dropped the hearts into the trashcan looking bin, Zane spoke again.

"It seems we've reached the end of my to-do list. I hope you enjoyed our date. I'll always treasure it. Return to the lift," Zane instructed once more, before settling with a nicer tone. "It's time to go home."

"Thank the lords above! I was getting sick of this place," Gene laughed.

Stepping back into the lift, the gates closed and it started to ascend.

"Have you ever wondered what Heaven is like?" Zane asked.

"No... not really. I imagine that it is very bright and you walk on clouds," Gene admitted.

"I like to dream that it's quite beautiful," Zane responded with a giggle. "A soft valley of green grass blanketed by a warm sun..."

"Oooh." He gushed a bit, imagining the scenery.

"I don't think I'll ever get to see it." He sighed sadly.

"Oh..." He trailed off.

"Are you ready to ascend, my little errand boy? The Heavens are waiting..." He trailed off, followed by the sounds of small sobbing... and then laughter.

"Did you really think I'd let you steal from me!? Did you think I would just let you go!? No, Gene! I know who you are, and I know why you're here! You will not stop what needs to be done! Now come down here, and bring me back my Vylad! Better yet, I'll take him!!"

"No, this is my Vylad!" Gene shouted over the loud roaring of the lift falling.

"Once... you're... DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!"

The last thing that Gene saw was a sign that said Level 'S', before his world went black.

And when he reopened his eyes, he found himself on the floor of the level. Vylad was nowhere to be found, but he could hear the faint humming of Zane. Groaning, he pushed himself up, only to freeze in place out of fear.

Standing not too far away from him was Garroth Ro'Meave, the Ink Demon.

(I don't think this one was nearly as good as my recent oneshots. Oh well, I still made this one, right? Anyway, I really like Alice Angel, both her character and her appearance. But Bendy is still Number 1 Ink Machine Child.)