Chapter 23: Revenge


After picking up the first ink heart out of the five Alice had sent her to gather, Linda watched from the safety of the balcony as the Projectionist trudged thought the ink below, making his rounds. She started her descent down the stairs until her shins were submerged in a sea of ink and made her way over to a box that had a tape recorder laying on top of it. Linda looked to if the Projectionist was nearby before pressing the play button.

A voice of an older gentleman with a what sounded to be a southern accent was heard from the recorder's speakers.

Now I'm not lookin' for trouble.

It's just the nature of us projectionists

to seek out the dark places.

You see, I've learned the ins and

outs of this here studio. I know

how to avoid being bothered by

the likes of this...company.

That projectionist, they always

say, creeping around, he's just

lookin' for trouble. Well trouble or

not, I sees everything. They don't

even know when I'm watchin'.

Even when I'm right behind 'em.

Once the recording ended, Linda had a sense someone or something was behind her, filling her with dread. She quickly turned around to find it was just her mind playing tricks on her. The studio took its toll on one's sanity the longer they stayed trapped.

Hearing the sound of heavy foot falls was enough to send Linda cowering against the wall as the Projectionist came back around from the halls he skulked in and out into the open. Linda held her breath as she noticed he stopped and shone his flickering projection light around the area. She figured he somehow heard the tape recording.

The tall ink monster's shoulders slumped in a more relaxed position and continued his rounds. Linda waited a bit before following into the maze, keeping a good distance from him as she looked around for more inky hearts. She wasn't mentally ready for what was going to happen when she happened to come across the second heart, but Linda didn't have much of a choice.

She had to save Henry from whatever fate the Twisted Angel had planned.

As soon as Linda picked up the inky heart from the corpse of a Butcher Gang member, still not used to touching the organs, she heard the Projectionist let out his inhuman screech. It didn't take long at all for his light to find and shine on her as she started running through the ink. Her heart was pounding as she frantically looked for a miracle station to hide in, hoping there was at least one in the hellish maze. Linda felt relief wash over her when she spotted on tucked off to the side and threw the door open to hide inside. However, her relief didn't last long as the Projectionist tore the door off and dragged her out into the open.

Linda had expected the ink on her to react like it had several times before when she was being threatened, but this time it remained dormant.

"L-let go of me!" Linda screamed, kicking the ink monster's speaker as hard as she could.

The speaker crackled from the impact as it became dislodged, forcing the Projectionist to release her as he squealed in pain.

Linda stumbled up to her feet and ran away as fast as she could, running to collect the other hearts as she wanted to get out there as soon as possible. She could still hear the crackling sounds as the Projectionist continued to screech in rage.

She knew he was still in pursuit of her and how foolish it would be to let her guard down now. After collecting the final heart, Linda made a mad dash for the lift.

The Projectionist's light flickered on her from afar as she reached the stairs to the balcony.

As Linda reached the lift, Boris had pressed the button to open the doors. The Projectionist had started coming up the stairs, holding his speaker in place as Linda pressed the button for the ninth level and the elevator started to ascend.


"I did what you wanted, now give us Henry." Linda demanded after putting the hearts into the bin.

She had Boris standing next to her as she didn't trust leaving him alone in the lift at the moment, fearing Alice would send it crashing down to take the toon wolf away as well.

Alice let out a dramatic sigh, not making Linda feel any better about the situation.

"I would since you have done everything you were told, but there is one more thing I need from you." The Twisted Angel said. "Fortunately, he's standing right next to you."

"You can't have Boris." Linda replied with a glare.

"Then I'm afraid you're not getting your precious Henry back." Alice hissed. "I must admit, he was rather fun to play with while it lasted."

Linda could feel her blood run cold: Alice was going to kill Henry if she hadn't already. Tears of anger burned Linda's eyes before she felt Boris' hand touch her shoulder. She looked at him to see him give her a sad smile.

"Boris, no..." Linda said as if reading the toon wolf's thoughts. "I don't want to lose you too."

Boris let out a soft whine and hugged her. Tears spilled down Linda's cheeks as she hugged back. She couldn't choose between her own husband and the toon wolf she had come to know and love, she just couldn't!

But, as of right now, she had no choice.

"Let us in, Alice," Linda said somberly as she found her voice.

"Glad to see you come to your senses." Alice replied, Linda could tell she was smirking.

The metal doors to the Twisted Angel's lair opened, and Linda and Boris stepped in before the doors closed behind them.

Making their way down the hall, Linda froze as she saw Henry strapped down to the operating table instead of the Boris clone that had been there before. It was nowhere to be seen.

Linda's legs nearly buckled underneath her as she rushed over to him.

"Henry! Open your eyes!" She cried, placing her hands on his shoulders to try to shake him awake.

Henry remained unresponsive as his head was drooping to the side, ink dripping from his mouth.

"God, no! You can't be dead!"

Linda sobbed into her husband's chest, hoping for any sign to show her he was still breathing, but there was nothing; not even a subtle rising and lowering of the chest.

Boris whimpered next to Linda before letting out a sharp startled yelp as he was yanked away from her. Linda whipped around to see Alice holding the toon wold roughly by the arm while wielding an ink stained knife in the other.

"What the hell did you do to Henry?!"

Alice chuckled.

"Like I said before, I had fun with him."

The ink on Linda bubbled and hissed as she felt nothing but rage. She also thought she could hear it growl, but she was too focused on the Twisted Angel before her to confirm it. She almost felt satisfaction as Alice's smile faltered upon seeing the ink rise to life and crawl its way along the floor towards her.

"Get that demon's disgusting ink away from me, you filthy sinner." Alice hissed as she stepped back, but the ink continued to reach for her and began to crawl up her legs.

Alice's face twisted into one of terror, releasing Boris as she tried to free herself from the ink's grip by slicing at it with the knife. But it had little to no effect.

"This is what you get for murdering my husband!" Linda yelled as the ink tore into the Twisted Angel, as if on cue.

Alice's screams faded as she soon became nothing more than a splattered puddle of ink.

Linda's rage soon subsided and she became terrified as she realized what had happened. The ink always acted on its own before as it defended her from just about anything, but it fed off of her rage and sorrow.

Boris was cautious upon approaching her after what he had just witnessed.

"S-stay back, Boris." Linda warned, not wanting the ink to harm him next.

At first the toon wolf obliged, only to approach more confidently in defiance.

Linda waited for some sort of reaction to come from the ink, but it remained intact to her; even as Boris embraced her. Linda began to sob once again as she returned the embrace.


A/N: Well...That happened!