Author's note: This is going to switch between Juggie and Betty's P.O.V.
Betty didn't remember much from the time she was walking home to the moment she was taken. All she knew was that one minute she was making her way towards her old house to spend the night with her boyfriend, the next, she was being pulled mercilessly into a black van. She didn't get thrown into the van without putting up a fight, however. Kicking and clawing her way through her abductors, she fought tooth and nail to get out of their grasp. It still wasn't enough and shortly after being thrown into the van, she felt the pinprick of a needle in her arm and her vision swam. The last thing she heard was maniacal laughter before everything went black as she tumbled off the cliff of consciousness.
XXX
"Is she waking up, yet?" A voice asked, and Betty's mind tried to place it as she forced herself to be less disoriented. She wasn't sure where she was or who's voice it was that was speaking, but she knew that the predicament she'd find herself in when she got her bearings back would certainly not be good.
"Not yet, boss," came a rough voice. This voice sounded deeper – male, Betty deduced through her haze.
"Speed up the process, then," came the other voice, and Betty recognized it as a woman's. Just then, she felt a slap against her cheek, sending her neck snapping in the other direction, and she gasped.
"Time to wake up, Serpent Queen," the man said, and Betty wanted to cradle her cheek but she realized her hands were handcuffed behind her to some pole. She still couldn't open her eyes and that seemed to anger the man who was trying to wake her up.
"I said," he growled, slapping her again, "wake up."
This time, Betty was able to open her eyes and she blinked against the harsh light that was lighting up the room. Her throat was dry and sore and she knew it had been a while since she last had water – probably not since they had taken her.
"Water, I need water," she rasped out, and the man laughed.
"You don't get that luxury, princess," he said, and there was something oddly familiar about his voice that caused Betty to pause and try to place where she had heard him before. Then, he came into view and it all fell into place.
"Malachi?" Betty asked, wondering why her head felt like there was cotton inside of it.
"The one and only, bitch," he laughed, and Betty tugged on the handcuffs, knowing in her heart it'd be useless.
"What's wrong with my head?" Betty groaned, and Malachi laughed again.
"I believe you have a concussion, doll," he replied, and Betty grit her teeth against the pain she felt. It was in that moment that she realized she wasn't afraid, she was pissed. Pissed at Malachi for getting the jump on her and pissed at the fact that Jughead must know she wasn't going to be at his place by now.
"What do you want?" Betty ground out through clenched teeth because there must be a reason he took her, there always was. Just then, she remembered she had heard a female voice moments before she opened her eyes and looked around. "And, who was the female you were talking to?"
Cold laughter filled the room and it caused the hairs on Betty's arms to stand up.
"That would be me, kid," Penny said, coming into view. Betty took in her appearance, noting the patch over her eye.
"What's with the patch, Penny?" Betty spat, and Penny smirked.
"You have your boyfriend's mom to thank for that," she replied lowly, lifting up the patch to reveal the hollowed-out hole where her eye had been. Betty tried not to throw up as her stomach churned at the sight.
"Yeah, well, Gladys Jones isn't known for being gentle, now is she?" Betty quipped, knowing she shouldn't taunt the woman in front of her but at the same time, not really giving a shit. Betty watched as Penny traced her top lip with her tongue, smirk stenciling itself more heavily against her lips.
"Blondie's got sarcasm," Penny said. "I like it."
Betty rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Peabody?"
"For the great Serpent King to feel the fallout of his Queen dying, of course," she said simply, and Betty stared at her.
"You're going to kill me?" Betty laughed, feeling a lot less scared than she thought she would.
"Only after we've had some fun with you, right, Malachi?" Penny asked, smirking deviously at the man to the left of her. He nodded once.
"Of course, boss," he replied, eyes narrowed into slits as he leered at Betty unpleasantly.
"Stay the hell away from me," Betty spat out, tugging once more on her cuffs. Malachi laughed as he walked off to a table in the corner of the room and grabbed something. Coming back into Betty's line of sight, she saw it was her purse. Digging through it, he pulled out her phone and looked up at her.
"Passcode?" Malachi asked, and Betty smirked.
"When hell freezes over," she replied.
Malachi sighed. "Thought you might say something like that, Betty."
Betty simply quirked an eyebrow, not afraid of the man in front of her. She had been through worse – her dad was literally a serial killer. She could survive this. She watched as Malachi walked towards her, smiling a sinister smile.
"I'm about to show you what happens when you defy me, doll," he said softly, and for the first time, Betty felt her heartrate increase. She tucked her legs up into her body, trying to make herself as small as possible.
"Stay away from me," she growled her warning, voice low. Malachi just laughed as he yanked her legs back out from underneath her. She kicked out viciously, but he held her down.
"Bring me that bat, will you, Penny?" Malachi asked, and Penny laughed.
"Certainly," she replied.
Betty tried to kick him as hard as she could while Penny walked over with the bat but it was useless with her hands behind her back.
"Hold her still," Penny instructed, and Malachi held her in place. Feeling fear grip her, Betty watched in horror as Penny brought the bat down onto her knee, feeling the bone shatter.
"Fuck," Betty screamed, and Malachi laughed.
"How about that passcode, blondie?" Malachi asked lazily.
XXX
Jughead hadn't slept a wink the entire night, what with not knowing where Betty was. When she hadn't shown up around eight the night before, he began to get a little worried. By the time a few hours had passed and she wasn't answering her cell, he was downright petrified. There was too much bad shit happening in their town and he was worried for her safety. He knew she could take care of herself but he wouldn't be being the best boyfriend he could be if he didn't worry about her.
"She still not answering?" FP asked after Betty's phone went straight to voicemail for the hundredth time. Jughead shook his head.
"No," he grit out in frustration. "Where the hell is she, dad?"
"Maybe it's time to call Alice," FP said, but Jughead shook his head again.
"No," he said quickly. "She's at the stupid farm with Evernever and she hasn't been active in Betty's life. We can find her without her help."
Just then, Jughead's phone went off with a text notification and upon closer inspection, he noticed it was from Betty.
"Thank God," he muttered. "I just got a text from Betty."
FP made his way to Jughead so they could read the text together but it turned out to be a video text. Jughead's stomach flipped uncomfortably when he noticed that it was Betty who was being filmed. She seemed to be chained to some wall and his stomach filled with dread.
"What the fuck," he gasped, watching as his girlfriend glared at something away from the phone. Then he heard it. The voice that haunted his dreams after his own attack.
"Smile, Betty, you're on camera," Penny's voice filled the room, and Jughead seethed.
"Go to hell," Betty spat, and Jughead winced at how raspy her voice sounded, wondering when the last time was that she had any water. Knowing Penny, he knew it wouldn't have been while being with her.
"Now, Betty," Penny chastised. "Is that anyway to talk to the woman being so hospitable towards you?"
Jughead heard Betty laugh bitterly. "Hospitable? You just had my knee shattered, Peabody. I hope it hurt like hell when Gladys took your eye out."
"You fucking idiot," Penny's voice growled through the phone and Jughead watched in horror as Malachi, a man he hated, came forward with a bat and brought it down on her knee. Betty's screams filled Jughead's ears and he felt dizzy.
The video ended then, and Jughead looked up at his father in anger.
"Get all the Serpents to meet at the Wyrm. Now," he hissed, and FP nodded, knowing better than to argue with Jughead when he was this angry.
XXX
The Serpents were all huddled together at the Wyrm when Jughead and FP walked in.
"What the hell is going on, Jug?" Toni demanded, Cheryl standing next to her. Jughead looked at everyone.
"Peabody took Betty last night. We think it's to get to me, but she has Malachi with her and they're not going easy on Betty. Betty's fighting admirably, but I need to know right here, right now, if you guys are with me on getting her the fuck away from them and ending Penny once and for all," Jughead said in a deadly voice.
Cheryl gasped. "That washed up Serpent has Betty? I'll destroy her."
Jughead nodded. That was the fire he was looking for.
"I don't know where they're holding her, but I'm going to find out," he swore.
"What do you need us to do, boss?" Pea asked, and Jughead looked at him and Fangs.
"I need the two of you to do recon on the warehouses at the edge of town," he replied, and they both nodded.
"We'll keep you updated," Fangs said, and then they were off.
Jughead turned to Cheryl and Toni.
"I need you two with me," he said simply, and Toni nodded.
"Of course," she said, sharing a look with Cheryl.
Jughead then addressed the rest of the Serpents that were assembled in the bar.
"I don't care how we do it, if it's even legal, but we're getting our Queen back," he said firmly, and they all shared his sentiments.
"Let's go."
XXX
It had been a few hours since Betty had her knee shattered, then hit again, and she was growing numb with pain. Malachi seemed to be in his element with the torture and she wasn't surprised; she knew he was a sadistic person who thrived off torture. She had long given up on trying to get the cuffs off and was now just focused on surviving the pain. Just then, the door to the room she was in opened and Malachi and Penny walked in.
"Time for some more fun, kid," Penny sang, and Betty grit her teeth. She could survive this. She would survive this. She had Jughead to get back home to.
"You know he's going to kill you, right?" Betty asked sharply, staring at her.
"Your boyfriend? I'd like to see him try," Penny laughed, nodding at Malachi, who moved forward and uncuffed Betty from the pole. Before she had time to do anything more than rub her wrists, he had them locked behind her back once more, and was turning on the camera on her phone. He yanked her to her feet and she screamed against the pain she felt in her knee, waves of nausea rolling over her.
He pushed her to the ground and with her hands behind her back, there was no way to prevent herself from landing on her broken knee painfully. Gasping, Betty attempted to alleviate some of the pain she felt by lifting the knee off the floor slightly, but he held it there with his boot-clad foot.
"I don't think so, sweetheart," he laughed, and Betty growled.
"Fuck you, Malachi," she hissed.
With his boot pressing firmly against her knee, she felt his hand wrap itself in her hair and yank her up to where her back was arched off the floor.
"You know, Betty, I'd be a little nicer to the person who was hurting you. I'd be begging me for my mercy," he whispered.
It was Betty's turn to laugh. "I don't know how much you know about me, Malachi, but you should know that I never beg."
He slammed her back onto the ground and she felt her head swim as her vision went blurry. As she tried to blink away the tiredness she felt, she realized this was a sick game to him and Penny. That they were a team. Penny was doing this to get to Jug, because of Gladys, and that meant hurting Jughead where it hurt. With Betty. Malachi was just her lapdog.
"I want you to dance for me like the Serpent you are," Malachi's gravelly voice whispered against her ear, and Betty felt a shiver run through her. She knew she had to get out of there. Nodding, she thought through her next part of the plan that was beginning to form in her mind.
"Uncuff me and I will," she said lowly, voice soft. Malachi laughed.
"How fucking stupid do you think I am, kid?" He asked, and Betty resisted the temptation to roll her eyes. Pretty fucking stupid. He lifted the pressure off the back of her knee and pulled her to her feet. Biting back a snarl at the pain that ripped through her, Betty glared at him.
"Don't just stand there and stare at me. I said dance," he hissed, shoving her forward. Feeling completely humiliated, Betty began dancing slowly, eyes avoiding the camera Penny had trained on her. She knew they were sending this to Jughead and her heart broke at the thought of the pain he was enduring at witnessing this.
XXX
Jughead watched the video of Betty dancing with anger dancing in his stomach and fingertips. He was so livid; it was like holding a scorching hot iron.
"I want Malachi's head on a stick for this," he growled to his dad, who simply nodded.
"Me too, son," he assured him. Just then, Jughead's phone rang and he answered it quickly.
"Pea, tell me you have something," he implored.
"They're holding her in the warehouses on the edge of town like you thought. Penny really is as stupid as she looks because she doesn't change her hidey holes," Sweet Pea's voice came through his phone and Jughead breathed a sigh of relief.
Time to get his Queen.
XXX
By the time Betty was through dancing, her knee was screaming at her and she was crumpling to the floor.
"Ah, ah, ah, none of that, princess," Malachi laughed, and made his way to her. She was too tired to fight anymore but she knew she couldn't give up now. Using her good leg, she kicked him, sweeping her foot underneath him and causing him to stumble.
"Stupid bitch," he muttered, and she rolled away from him.
"Let's just end this now," Penny said, and it was then that Betty noticed the knife. Swallowing the fear she felt, she knew she wasn't going down without a fight. "How does it feel to know your man couldn't get to you in time?"
"Better than knowing I'm not loveable," Betty replied, knowing she was walking a dangerous line.
"Look where love got you," Penny whispered. Then, without hesitating, she plunged the knife into her abdomen, and Betty stopped fighting.
Suddenly, shots filled the air, and Betty was forcing herself to look around as blood seeped out of her at a rapid rate. Penny was falling to the ground, as was Malachi, and Betty saw Jughead sprinting towards her.
"No, no, baby, no!" Jughead exclaimed, and she sighed in relief. He had found her. She could tell him she loved him one last time.
"It's okay, Juggie," she whispered.
"Don't talk," he said urgently, placing his hands on her wound. Then, turning to someone, he shouted, "call a fucking ambulance, now!"
The world went black after that.
XXX
It was a steady beeping that brought Betty back to consciousness. She glanced around through heavily lidded eyes, noting Jughead next to her.
"I'm not dead," she murmured, surprised.
"Not today, baby," he whispered, caressing her cheek.
"Penny?" Betty asked, not really caring about the other woman.
"Prison. Same with Malachi," he replied. She nodded.
"Take me home, Jug," she murmured.
"Yes ma'am," he replied, kissing her forehead, and she was home.
Author's note: Yeah. Enjoy. Reviews and kudos lovely. Xxx