The One With The Indecent Proposal
By: Jana~
Chapter Twelve
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--Escape seemed hopeless, so their focus changed. As Phoebe and Joey sat cross-legged on the ground, facing one another, they bounced ideas back and forth, trying to figure out how Ursula became so familiar with the secret passageways, knowing about at least one that even they didn't know of.
"And how did she get the key to the lock?" Joey asked.
"I don't know," Phoebe said with a shake of her head, dumbfounded.
"Maybe she put the lock on this cage!" Joey offered with a gasp, his eyes wide with the accusation.
"Well, she did tour the place at least twice, drooling over it I guess, before she told me that it was up for sale. But, what are the chances that she would be in a position to put a lock on a cage? And why would she?"
"So she could do this!" he exclaimed, stabbing pointedly at the ground, indicating the situation they were in.
"That would mean she has the ability to think ahead," she returned, disbelieving of that as the scenario. "Not one of her strengths."
Chandler heard what was being said, but his attention was more on Monica, than it was on the conversation being had.
"Monica?"
Phoebe and Joey both glanced at Chandler before looking over at Monica; she was standing by the cage door, leaning against it heavily, staring longingly out through the bars. She acknowledged him by turning slightly and glancing over her shoulder.
"Why don't you come and sit down," he suggested, waving her over, but she just shook her head. "Why not?"
"The ground is too cold to sit on."
For the last thirty minutes, she hadn't budged from that spot, Chandler noted, as his friends chatted, oblivious to the fact. He was worried about her.
"Is something wrong?" he asked her carefully.
"I'm locked in a cage!" she exclaimed, facing him fully. "Yeah, I'd say something's wrong!"
"Besides this," he clarified, gesturing towards the cage bars, "Is something wrong?"
She scoffed before asking, "I don't think I need another reason to be upset, do I?" Before he could comment, she announced, "I'm gonna die in a cage, in a cage with virtual strangers, having accomplished nothing in my life, more than being Pete Becker's girlfriend! I can hear the news anchors now," she added, "Among the dead was Monica Geller, former-multi-millionaire Pete Becker's former girlfriend."
And then she burst into tears, dropping slowly to her knees as she cried. On his knees, Chandler rushed to her; she buried her face in his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
"We're gonna make it out of this," he tried to assure her, but he knew she wasn't buying his forced confidence.
"My mom and dad," she continued, "Probably won't even care that I'm gone. Ross has always been their favorite. He can do no wrong, while I can do no right. Ross will care a little, but he's so hung up in love with Rachel, that he won't-"
She stopped abruptly and pulled back, her expression instantly changing from tormented to shocked and introspective.
"What?" Chandler asked, confused by her sudden change, but before she could answer, Ursula's voice rang out.
"Aww, what a touching scene." Ursula's tone dripped with poisonous sarcasm. "New girl is sad, so money bags is comforting her." She sighed, her hand to her heart, continuing her mockery.
Joey and Phoebe were on their feet in a flash, but Chandler and Monica remained where they were as Chandler glared back at their captor.
"You can cut the act, new girl," Ursula spat. "There's no more gold to dig. I cleaned him out, but good," she added with an evil smirk.
"Ok," Chandler announced, "You got what you came for! Now leave!"
"Oh, no, no, no, you forget, I also came for payback."
Chandler was on his feet in a split second, joining Phoebe and Joey in a united stand. "Cleaning me out, locking us in a cage and leaving us to die, that's payback enough," he informed her forcefully.
"You would think so, huh?" she shot back, unafraid and without remorse. "I have only just begun to torture and humiliate you."
"Ursula, you bitch, this stops now!" Phoebe demanded, but Ursula only laughed.
"You, dear sister, you get to go first." Subconsciously, everyone held their breath as they waited for Ursula to continue. "You are my sister," she began. "My twin sister! But you always treated me like I was somehow beneath you-"
"That's not true!" Phoebe interrupted.
"Shut up!" Ursula yelled. "Do not interrupt me!" The room fell silent. "You treated me like I was beneath you, and like I am a slut, especially after I did those porno movies. Your punishment," she announced with a malicious grin, "Is to strip completely naked-"
The two men stormed the bars, pointing at her and shouting as she backed away. The words were a jumble as Chandler and Joey spoke over-top of one another, but comments like 'you sick bitch' and 'you will not do this' could be heard. They stopped abruptly when she fired the gun towards the wall, just past the cage bars.
"I don't remember asking you permission, gentleman!" she shot back, pointing the gun at them. "Back away and shut up! You'll get your turn!"
As they took a reluctant step back, Phoebe stepped forward, her expression fearless. "We're twin sisters," she said as she began to unbutton her blouse, "If you wanted to see me naked, all you would have to do is strip down and stand in front of a mirror."
Ursula rolled her eyes, "It's symbolic, you twit!"
As Phoebe's clothes started to hit the floor, the other three occupants of the cage turned away.
"Toss your clothes to me," Ursula demanded, and Phoebe grabbed them off the ground and pushed them through the bars. "Now, when they find your bodies, who do you think will be labeled a slut?" Phoebe just glared back at her.
"Now it's Joey's turn," Ursula announced, pointing the gun at him and waving him over, indicating she wanted him to stand center-stage, so to speak. "Remember when we dated that time? And you broke up with me?"
"Hey!" he exclaimed defensively, "You broke up with me!"
She dismissed the fact with a roll of her eyes and a wave of her gun. "Whatever! Point is, you didn't even want to be with me! You wanted to be with Phoebe!"
"That's not-"
"Shut up!" she yelled, cutting him off. "You people don't seem to get it, I'm in charge here! And I say, no talking!" After a pause for emphasis, she continued. "Your punishment, Mr. God's-Gift-To-Women… you have to have sex with Phoebe. Right here, right now."
The screaming and yelling that followed was little more than a chaotic noise, all but Monica contributing to it.
Monica moved away, leaning against the stone that made up part of the side, and the entire back wall of the cage, watching the surreal scene unfold.
"You know what?! You know what?! You know what?!" Ursula yelled several times, trying to shut everyone up and give her their attention. "If you don't do what I tell you, I swear I'll kill you!"
The yelling and chaos continued, in spite of her threat, so she took aim and shot the ground next to Chandler's foot. She had meant to hit him, but didn't want to admit to making a mistake, so she covered.
"Next time," she threatened, "I won't miss."
The room fell silent, and the air seemed to grow denser.
"Now," she said, all attention on her, "Do the deed or die."
Joey turned to face Phoebe, trying to get a sign from her as to what to do. She just stared back for a moment, then shrugged.
"Now," Ursula demanded, "Or the bullets start flying!"
Joey glared back at her briefly before gently taking Phoebe's arm and leading her away from the center of the cage, more towards the back.
"Where are you going?" Ursula snipped.
"Like we can go anywhere!" Phoebe shot back, inciting a deep sigh from her sister.
"Just, hurry up with it, already! I don't have all night!"
Joey gently placed his hands on her bare arms, rubbing to warm her, whispering apologies to her. "I am so sorry. I don't know what to do- how to get out of this."
"It's ok," she assured him. "There could be a lot worse punishments." She smiled slight to let him know that she would be ok; that they would be ok, in the wake of it all, and he smiled in return.
"Oh, God," Ursula groaned, "You people make me sick! I'm getting cavities just listening to this saccharin dribble! Just, forget it! Ugh!" she groaned again, then turned to leave.
"Can I have my clothes back?" Phoebe called out, and Ursula spun back around to face her.
With an evil grin, she said, "No," then kicked at her sister's clothes on the floor before storming out.
The second the door slammed closed, Monica shrugged out of Chandler's robe and handed it over to Phoebe.
"Thanks," Phoebe muttered, appreciative, moving quickly to put it on. "I'm so sorry about this, guys."
"It's not your fault," Chandler insisted reassuringly. "She's a nutcase, and you are nothing like her."
Once the robe was in place, Joey wrapped his arms around her, helping to warm her. He was the warmest dressed of all of them.
Suddenly, Chandler remembered something. "Monica?" he asked, "Wasn't there something on your mind, right before Ursula came in?"
Staring back, her blank expression faded as a look of understanding came over her, remembering.
"Right," she said softly, "Um, I think I know of a way to get out of this, but," she added, embarrassed, "I don't come off looking too good."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Please review! And remember, 'handle' is Chandler's middle name. Actually, it's the middle part of his first name.
MTLBYAKY