One again, 2D was in darkness.
The strange, whimsical Dr. Wurzel had left long ago, his seemingly endless crowd of cronies leaving with him. Now he was alone. He had at first felt relief that the horrendously garish man had left his sight, but now he simply felt cold and wet and above all, lovely. He thought of Noodle, and Russel, and Murdoc too, of course. He could only imagine the torment Noodle was experiencing, and he knew Russel would be chomping at the bit to locate the singer. But as for Murdoc...
Stuart sighed emptily and slumped down in his cold, metal chair. His hands were still painfully constricted behind his back, his shoulders growing sore from the strain. Wurzel's words echoed in 2D's head, his high pitched squealing making him wince. Would Murdoc really go through all that trouble just to save his vocalist? 2D shut his blackened eyes, slumping forward. He knew Murdoc better than this creep did. He'd rather spend his day with his tongue shoved down the neck of a bottle, never mind going on a grand adventure to save his comrade.
2D couldn't help but bite his tongue as tears threatened at the edges of his blood-filled eyes. He felt so hungry and cold, and his head hurt like hell. He just wanted to go home; but he was doubtful Murdoc would respond well to Wurzel's maniacal request. He was just a vocalist; people like him are easily replaced.
He suddenly felt hands grabbing his hair, snapping his head upwards. He yelped in surprise as lights flickered on here and there. The face before him was absolutely wretched; scars plagued the mans skin wherever there was an empty space and his teeth looked as if they hadn't been brushed in years. The man smiled toothily, but was roughly pushed aside by a jeweled cane.
"Wakey, wakeeeey!" A familiar voice rang in his head, a jolt of lightning ran through his head as his headache flared up.
"Oi, wot th' flippin' 'ell?!" 2D spat angrily, his head stinging from where the mottled man had grabbed him.
"You've been alone down here for quite some time, so I just came to check up on you!" Dr. Wurzel cooed, stepping into the light. He was dressed in a particularly garish outfit, his neon pink vest stinging 2D's eyes, causing him to squint. His tight leggings were spotted with a leopard print, his bulge very evidently displayed for all to see.
"C'mon mate, put tat thing away..." 2D sneered, adverting his gaze.
"What, are you in middle school?" Dr. Wurzel giggled, blowing the azure man a kiss. "Afraid of catching some cooties?" 2D scrunched his nose up as the crowd that seemingly followed him wherever he went chuckled in amusement.
"Jus' go alreaty, I'm fuckin' fine. No need t' check up on me," 2D growled, looking down at the metal floor once again. He felt the ivory tip of Wurzel's cane press against his chin, forcing his head upwards.
"Oh, I'll go alright; once I get what I came down here for, little one." Wurzel snapped his fingers, his silver nail polish glinting in the yellow lighting. One of his followers stepped forth into the light, carrying a rather large object that was wrapped in cloth. Dr. Wurzel plucked it from his grasp, giving the crony his cane. The hunched man bowed back into the crowd.
Wurzel cradled the swaddled object in his arms, as if it were his precious child. "I sent a rather informative letter to that Kong Studios place where you all have been squatting, and I am sickened that I have recieved no sort of response..." Wurzel chattered, stroking his long, bone-y fingers across the clothed object.
2D chuckled lightly. "Tat's cuz we never check th' goddamn mail, yew idjit," he murmured under his breath, and received a quick clip to his ear by one of the cronies. He seemed to dart out of nowhere, quick as a whip.
"Now, now, gentlemen, there's no need to be so rough with our special guest," Wurzel preached melodically. "That is, not at this moment..." he chuckled deviously, a newfound sinister look in his eye. "It seems it is time to send our lovely friend, Murdoc, a bit of an...incentive!" he called out to his followers, causing them to bang the walls and howl in excitement. Dr. Wurzel whipped the cloth off of the item he had been cradling, revealing it to be a rater bulky video camera.
"W-Wot d' yew mean, incentive?" 2D stammered, looking around nervously as half a dozen terrifyingly dressed groupies crawled from the darkness. Each one had some sort of blunt object; bats, crowbars, lead pipes, all sorts of things. Dr. Wurzel hefted the heavy camera up to his shoulder, peering through the lens.
"Alright fellas, let's teach Murdoc that we mean business! Just don't kill him lads, but make a good show of it!" he laughed, his finger languidly pushing a button on the side. A red light flickered on. "Showtime!"
By the time Stuart woke up, it was dark once again. He opened his eyes, having been unconscious for the past hour or so. There was no one but him in the room, and he was once again alone. It took his brain a moment to register that he was severely injured, his body jerking as surges of pain rushed through him. He could feel his heartbeat pounding in his ears, and something warm and sticky had plastered his shirt to his back. He shuffled his feet around a little, hearing the splash of some sort of liquid under his converse shoes. The room stank of copper and he could taste pennies in his mouth.
He groaned as he looked around, wincing as bruised tissue in his neck was strained. His kneecaps felt as if they were in pieces and he could feel that a few of his fingers were broken behind his back. His chest felt cold as his shirt had been torn open, and he could feel something dripping from his forehead. He only had moments to consider the fact that he was still breathing through this living hell before he was plunged back into unconsciousness.