"Wakey wakey, little wolfie~."
Gene groaned, opening his eyes slowly as he regained consciousness little by little. The room was dark, dimly lit by a lamp attached to the ceiling. The ceiling wasn't all that high up, about a foot or so above Gene. There were a few candles near him, and a pool of ink at his feet.
He blinked once, clearing his blurred vision. He snapped his head up instantly, fighting against his bindings. Thick leather straps were buckled over his chest, waist, and legs. He couldn't move at all, turning his head in both directions. After just a minute or so he caught sight of his captor.
"Zane Angel".
"Zane Angel" was like him, a cartoon character brought to life by the horrific device known as the Ink Machine. He was a creation of both Heaven and Hell, he was what was known as a Fallen Angel. However, much more recently, he was going by the title of "The Devil with a Halo". Unlike the many cartoon characters they had, Zane was the only one to have two voice actors. His first voice actor had been given a different character to voice, the younger brother of Gene.
"Zane" was more like a hybrid version of his cartoon character and a human being. He still had his short black hair, which shined like the ink it was shaped and molded from. His overly lengthy bangs would have normally covered up the side of his face which had his blind eye, but now it was pushed and tucked behind his ear. His eyebrows were thin, as were his lips. A half broken Angel halo was melted into his head, tilted at a crooked angle. A pair of short, realistic demon horns were sprouted from his head. He was wearing a black colored outfit like in the 1920's, with a white bow tie. His arms were coated with extra thick black ink, resembling gloves that were the length of sleeves.
The iris color of his normally visible eye was a sky blue color, and the side that was usually covered by his hair was in a more... repulsive condition. It was in a melting state, half of his mouth torn open to reveal his teeth and gums. The eye socket that belonged to his blind eye was now an empty void, filled with solid ink and a few inky tears trailing down. Under his neck was a slit oozing with drops of ink, like blood.
"Good, you're awake." 'Zane' sighed, grinning with pleasure. "For a moment, I thought you were dead."
"Isn't that what I'll be either way?" Gene questioned bitterly, growling at the melting hybrid creature. "I'll be as dead as all the others you've killed."
"True, but that would take all the purpose put of capturing you in the first place." He agreed, picking up a knife and twirling it around his fingers. "In order for me to sacrifice you, you have to suffer while I slowly cut out your insides."
"Why are you doing this!? The real Zane would never hurt anyone, even if his life depended on it!" He snapped, baring his fangs at the imposter.
"You seem to be forgetting, dear Gene..." He chuckled darkly and slowly, his shoulders perking up with each laugh. "I'm his voice actor, but I am Zane."
"You were fooled by him, we all were!" He cried, struggling against the straps. "Why are you killing us!?"
"Anything less than perfect was left behind..." He reminded eith a sigh, frowning. "I had to do this... I just want what was promised to me. I won't let the Demon touch me again... I'm so close now... so... almost perfect..."
"I know the real Zane is in there somewhere, and I'm gonna bring him out!" Gene growled at him, biting into the straps.
"Zane" let out a groan of aggression, picking up a syringe from the nearby table. Gene let out a howl of pain as the needle was stabbed into the crook of his neck, the paralyzing medicine injecting into his bloodstream. He whimpered lightly as he became numb, letting go of the strap and leaning his head back.
"Don't try and pull any shit like that again, you fucker!" 'Zane' yelled at him, dropping the syringe onto the table.
Gene blinked slowly, watching as "Zane" let out a cry of pain. The imposter hunched over greatly, clutching his head in pain. He gritted his teeth, shaking violently. He looked up at Gene for a few seconds, his eye appearing less bloodthirsty and more friendly. He straightened his body, approaching him slowly.
"Gene....?" He asked slowly and quietly, a bit timidly, like he was afraid.
"H-Hey...." Gene managed to cough out, forcing a weak slither of a smile.
"Irene no... not you too..." He choked out, tears filling his good eye. "I don't wanna see you die too.... you can't die..."
"Hey, I'll be... f-fine..." He lied, hoping he would reassure the Fallen Angel.
"That isn't true... we both know it isn't...." He sobbed, hugging Gene tightly. "Don't lie to me, Gene...."
Gene sighed, wishing he could embrace the real Zane just one last time. This was the real Zane, he may not show any care about others, but he despised any form of violence. This was the Zane that was called the Fallen Angel. He wasn't the purest at heart, but he wasn't consumed by evil and hatred like a Demon was.
"You can get me out of here...." Gene whispered to him, getting an idea. "But it's gonna take some time. How long can you hold him off?"
"I... I think I'll be able to keep him at bay until you're free..." Zane sniffed, blinking away some tears. "What do I have to do?"
Gene instructed Zane on how to undo the straps binding him to the operation table, slowly regaining feeling in the numbed veins from the syringe. He dropped to the floor with a thud, the splashing of his feet sending up some of the ink in the pool. He hugged Zane tightly, nearly suffocating the Fallen Angel.
"I'm sorry.... I'm so, so sorry...." Zane apologized, hugging him in return.
"It's not your fault, Zane...." Gene whispered, picking him up and slinging him over his shoulder.
"What're you... what're you doing?" He asked, holding onto him for dear life.
"There has to be a way to help you, a way to get that Demon out of you." He responded, starting to leave the 'sanctuary'.
"Gene.... I.... I can't hold him back much longer... please just leave me..." He sighed, loosening his grip.
"No, there's gotta be a way to fix this." He insisted, quite stubbornly.
He had gotten to the toy factory when he decided to take a break. There was one of Zane's "Miracle Stations" nearby, in case the Ink Demon found them. He sat Zane on one of the sofas, before heading over to the table where some empty cans of bacon soup were. Divines, he hated how much of a mess the studio became when it fell apart. Everything was a mess, and he hated it.
"If we lived under normal circumstances, you'd probably blow a fuse." Gene joked, looking behind him when Zane didn't reply.
"Zane" was running at him, his arms outstretched to strangle him. Gene bared his fangs in response, pinning his wolf ears against his head as he prepared to fight him. He didn't want to hurt Zane, but his voice actor... that was someone Gene could kill and have no regrets about. Of course, that is, if he killed the voice actor, Zane would also return to the darkness of the inky void, waiting to be reborn.
Before "Zane" could reach him, a long blade pierced through his heart.
"What....?" 'Zane' gasped, looking down at the new wound.
The blade was pulled back out of his torso, letting the now lifeless body fall to the floor. Before he died, though, "Zane" looked at Gene with fear, anger, and horror. Behind "Zane" were two all familiar faces.
Aphmau, one of the main cartoon characters.
And..... Zane?
"Zane, you just... killed yourself?"
"It's a long story, Gene... I'll explain everything on the way. Right now, we gotta get out of here."
