FicWad

"...You're leaving?"

"Just for a few days."

"Punk, I don't know about this, maybe--"

Nightingale's protests were cut short by Punk's lips meeting her own through the bars.

"Everything is going to be just fine. Raven knows I'm leaving, and he's letting Spanky look after you while I'm away."

"Spanky? As in Spanky "I'm a double agent, you can trust me, Cara sends her regards" Kendrick?"

"Yeah, him."

"Okay. I think I trust him."

"He's been working on Jeff trying to get him out of here."

"And failing miserably."

"Well, he's got a meeting set up with Jeff and Cara so maybe it's not failing after all."

"Do you trust him?"

"I have no reason to believe that he's lying to me."

"...Alright, then I trust him. You promise that it's just for a few days?"

"Cross my heart--and I'm bringing back something for you."

Nightingale gave him a small smile. Punk rolled his eyes, and reached through the cage, tweaking her chin gently.

"Come on, let me see that smile."

"Punk, you're going to miss your plane..."

"I'm not going anywhere til I see you smile."

Nightingale sighed dramatically, before shooting the Chicagoan a wide smile.

"I'll be back next week, I promise."

Nightingale kept the wide smile on her face as Punk walked backwards out of the room, winking and mouthing "goodbye" before turning and almost skipping down the stairs. As soon as she was certain that he could no longer see her, she allowed the facade to drop.

Hugging her knees to her chest, she glanced up at the ceiling, and when she spoke, she seemed to be almost pleading.

"Please let me be wrong...please don't let today be the last time I ever see him..."

-

"Is he with you?"

A seemingly disembodied voice resonated throughout the Indian restaurant, originating just in the shadow of the stage.

"Yeah, but he's...well he wasn't really agreeable to it."

Matt Hardy slapped his hand to his forehead, allowing to slowly drag down over the rest of his face, as he stepped out of the shadow.

"Please tell me you didn't do what I think you did."

Kendrick shrugged, shooting a cocky smirk at his boss.

"You said to bring him, you never said he had to be sober when he arrived."

"You have no idea what you've done. My brother is almost unbearable when he's stoned, and to top it all off, he's going to go rooting through everything once he's sobered up, until he finds the candy stash."

"Oh, so that's why he's talking in a surfer voice."

"If you think he's bad, you've never seen the two of us together when we're stoned. He does a surfer dude voice, and I do a valley girl voice. Phil taped us once, just to prove that he wasn't making it up--apparently we're fucking hilarious."

Another, more feminine voice entered the mix.

"And there's the reason WHY he wasn't agreeable."

Cara sighed.

"He has every right to be apprehensive about talking to me, I was a complete bitch to him before I left the Flock." Matt replied, hugging the blonde in reassurance.

"Raven has that effect on people."

"Yeah, everyone accept Phil and Nightingale."

"Nightingale wasn't immune to it at first, though. It took him locking her up in that damned cage and turning her into his personal songbird to jolt her out of it."

"Duuuude...where are we?"

"See what I MEAN?!" Matt ranted, as Kendrick lead Jeff into the room.

Jeff's eyes landed on Cara, and he seemed to sober up almost immediately.

"What's she doing here?"

"Jeff, I want to help you."

"I don't need your fuckin' help."

"Well I think you do need her help, and mine."

"Oh no, not this fuckin' buzz kill too--is this who you're really working for?!"

"Yep, and they're right. We need to get you out of there, pronto." Kendrick replied.

"Why?"

Four more figures stepped forward out of the shadows.

"Because we're about to shut down Raven's operation, and in doing so, we're putting all his lackeys behind bars for a very long time."

Jeff stared at Cody, confused.

"...What?"

"Raven and his Flock are going to prison, and unless you want to end up being the bitch to some fat fucker named Bubba, you'd better start listening to us." Matt snapped.

Jeff sighed, slapping his palm to his forehead, and allowing it to slowly drag down over his face.

"Alright, talk. I'm listening."

-

"PHILLIP!"

Punk braced himself for impact as his mother flung herself into his open arms, hugging him tightly.

"Hey bro! Long time no see!"

Josie, the oldest of his younger sisters, pressed a kiss to his cheek, and let out a screech of happiness as he lifted her off the ground and twirled her.

"Hey, no fair, stop hogging Phil and let him say hi to his favorite sister." Rhett, the younger of his two sisters, interjected.

"I don't have favorites, you know that Rhett. I love you both equally."

"Yes, but I'm still your favorite. Now where's my hug?"

Punk rolled his eyes, kissing Rhett on the cheek, and giving her a bear hug.

"It's the prodigal son!"

Punk winced as his father walked into the room, slurring his words as he spoke, and reeking of booze.

"Hey pop."

"Don't you "hey pop" me. Where the hell have you been?"

"Where I've been for the past two years, out in Philly."

"Philadelphia. That's a pipe dream, Phil. Stop fooling around and go do your homework. If you flunk algebra again, there's going to be hell to pay."

"Daddy, let's go sit down in the living room, and you can tell me about your day." Josie suggested, gently steering Mr. Brooks away from the kitchen, and into his favorite easy chair.

Mrs. Brooks shot her son a sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry baby...he tends to forget things when he's had too much to drink."

"Yeah, I noticed."

"Once he sobers up, he'll be full of questions about Philly."

Punk nodded, and allowed his mother to lead him upstairs to his old bedroom.

"Lie down and get some rest honey, you look positively exhausted. I'll call you when dinner's ready."

"Okay."

The door closed softly, and he stayed silent until he could no longer hear her footsteps out in the hallway.

"Some things never change, do they Dad?"

-

"Sing for me, Nightingale."

Raven had just arrived "home" from his latest trip abroad. He was milling about in their room, unpacking his suitcases and smirking as he heard the cries of pleasure and pain in the lower part of the warehouse, where Rock, Rave, Sick Boy and Riggs were doing "product testing".

"The smell of your skin lingers on me now...you're probably on your flight back to your hometown...I need some shelter of my own protection baby, to be with myself and center, clarity, peace, serenity...I hope you know, I hope you know, that this has nothing to do with you, it's personal, myself and I we got some straightening out to do, and I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket but I've got to get a move on with my life, it's time to be a big girl now...and big girls don't cry..."

Nightingale sang out obediently, but trailed off into silence as she noted the annoyed glance she was getting from Raven.

"Did I tell you to stop singing?"

"No, but I thought you weren't pleased with my choice of song, would you prefer something--"

"Yes, I'd prefer something else."

"Just a day, just an ordinary day, just trying to get by. Just a boy, just an ordinary boy but, he was looking to the sky and--"

"No. I'm sick of love songs, that's all you ever sing anymore."

Nightingale opened her mouth, but thought better of it; Raven was glaring daggers at her.

"Did I do something wr--"

"You're in love with him aren't you?"

"With wh--"

"With that no good Punk that stays with you while I'm away."

"Raven, I don't know--"

"Don't play dumb with me!"

Nightingale winced, shying away from the door of the cage, as Raven flung a a lamp at her. It bounced off the bars and shattered in the floor, leaving shards of glass everywhere.

She pressed herself against the back wall of the cage as the padlock was undone, and the door flung open violently. Raven dragged her out by the shoulders, shaking her hard.

"You think I don't know? That I can't see all those coy little smiles you give him when you think I'm not looking?! Did you honestly think I wasn't going to realize it?!"

"Raven, please stop, you're hurting me!"

Raven's eyes narrowed as he continued to glare down at the redhead.

"You wanna know what love feels like? You wanna experience it?! I'll show you what love feels like!" he snapped, shoving her down onto the bed.

The hour that followed was the most agonizing of Nightingale's life. She was almost choking on sobs when he finally rolled off her and began to pull up his jeans. The ragged plaid dress she'd been wearing was ripped almost completely in half, and her blood stained part of the blanket between her legs.

"You know, I really don't appreciate it when people lie to me."

Nightingale didn't bother answering him. Instead she rolled over onto her side, essentially turning her back to her rapist, curling into the fetal position. Of course this was all in vain, as Raven merely walked around to the other side of the bed, kneeling so that he was eye to eye with her.

"And I really don't appreciate it when bitches turn their backs on me. I think a few days in the box would do you good."

"Please, don't..."

It was too late however, Raven was already pulling the contraption out from under his bed.

The box was just large enough to fit a human body, granted they were lying on their back. Rather than airholes, there was a padded square cut out in the lid, designed to hold the head in place, with no room for movement. Raven lifted the lid to reveal four metal cuffs, fitted with padding. A open padlock was on the ring of each cuff, which was positioned to hold the ankles and the wrists in place.

"Get in."

"Please, don't make me..."

"GET IN!"

Nightingale winced at the command, but didn't move from her position on the bed. Raven dragged her to her feet, and forced her into the contraption, snapping the cuffs down, and locking them into place.

He leaned down over her, smirking as tears of agony rolled down her face. The smirk widened as he spied the chain around her neck, and the purity ring, which was serving as a pendant. He seized it, breaking the chain, and stuffing both it and the ring into his pocket.

"You won't be needing that anymore, now will you? Seems fitting, doesn't it? The man who took your purity also takes your purity ring."

And with that, the lid was replaced, and Nightingale's head was fitted into the hole.

"Four days, no breaks."

Raven passed sentence emotionlessly, before sending the box back under the bed with an almighty shove.

"And don't think your little boy toy is going to be spared again, my pet. You can't save him this time."