Henry stood at the entrance to the blasted studio once more, and for what seemed like the millionth time he said "Alright Joey, let's see if I can find what you wanted me to see." After the last words left his mouth he slumped forward.
He slumped to the floor, resting his back against the wall. "Why can't this just be over?" he asked himself. He sat there for a while, just resting before he would have to get up and start the whole thing over again.
Taking a deep breath he stood and made his way to the ink machine. He walked slowly as if to prolong the inevitable. When he finally made it, He just stood there, staring at the hole that housed the machine that would release the demon inside it. With a sigh, he found the dry cells and pulled down the lever, which in turn, brought up the ink machine.
He had turned and left before the machine was fully up, he just wanted to get this over with. After running around and gathering the things he needed to turn on the machine, he placed the last item on the pedestal and turned the valve that would give power to the machine. He reached for the lever and pulled it down, the lights in the studio flickered and went dim and the machine roared to life.
He slowly made his way to the machine with his head down. He was too tired to care about anything at the moment. Stepping over a pipe and turning the corner he looked up, but something was different. And by different, he meant that the Ink demon was already here but something was…. off about him.
He hung limply over the boards that blocked the way to the ink machine. And there was writing on the floor, seemingly done by the demon himself. It was written very sloppily though, he could just barely make out the words "I don't want to do this anymore."
Henry had no idea what to do, the demon was hanging there, not even bothering to look at him. He could hear his labored breathing as per usual. But other than that he made no noise. He was like a broken doll. Henry stepped closer, the demon didn't even flinch. Gaining more confidence he came closer till he was only an arms-length away.
Taking a deep breath he placed a hand on the Ink Demons head "You tired of this too bud?" Said demon gave a low whine and looked up at Henry. He couldn't see his eye's but he had a feeling the beast was crying. Giving him a small pat on the head he said "I'm sorry buddy, there's nothing I can do." The grin that was usually upon the demon's face was turned into a sad frown.
They both jolted when the ink machine started to make strange noises. It sounded like it was trying to spit something out. It made one last heaving sound before a glob of ink shot out, the force of it causing the machine to sway dangerously on its rusty chains. The ink demon tilted his head, the last thing to come out of the machine was always him and he wondered what was up with the machine.
Turning back to Henry he made a stay here gesture with his hands as he went to investigate. He climbed over the railing and leaped off the balcony, landing with a thud that slightly shook the floor. The glob of ink seemed to be trying to take form. The bubbling ink finally settled revealing a familiar shape. It was still covered in ink but it seemed stable enough for him to touch it without killing it instantly.
He limped over to the body, lifting its head to get a better look. He wiped away its ink-covered face to reveal something that resembled Alice Angel, not the fake one that's always screaming about being perfect, but the one in the posters. He almost dropped her in surprise but refrained from doing so when Henry called out to him "What did you find down there bud?"
Holding the ink-covered girl with one arm (mind you she was still asleep and he wasn't sure how long she would stay together, perfect toons didn't come out of the machine often, and when they did they never lasted longer than a few hours) he climbed up to the balcony. He ripped away the boards that were in his way ( he made sure not to hurt Henry or the girl while doing so) and presented his find to Henry.
Henry blinked in surprise at what was in front of him, a girl who looked like Alice angel was resting in the ink demon's arms. He seemed to be very calm about this, from what Henry knew he hated Alice but maybe he had it wrong. He wasn't sure but he would ask about that later. Right now he needed to clear away all the ink that covered the Alice Angel look-alike.