Still Alive

Happy Valentine's Day :)

"Mox? Whose Mox?" asked the booming voice of the mayor oblivious to the fact that Seth was not glaring at his greatest enemy hatefully but instead was looking at him with a great amount of concern and worry etched onto his face. However, it didn't take Seth long to gather his wits about him and turn his concerned face into one of cool aloofness.

"Nobody," said Seth coldly as he forced himself to stare down into Dean's face with a blank look in his eyes. "What can I do for you, Mayor?" asked Seth appearing disinterested by the whole proceedings.

"Mr. Ambrose, here," said the mayor as he twisted Dean's head back even further to cause the man more pain, "Simply cannot fathom how somebody on the inside managed to trick and betray him. Why don't you explain it to him, Tyler? And take care to use simple words, I'm starting to think that Mr. Ambrose is quite touched in the head."

Seth gulped as the mayor looked at him expectantly, obviously wanting the younger man to join in on the torture of Dean Ambrose. Seth felt absolutely repulsed. This was not what he had signed up for. Manipulation, mind games and spying were his specialty, not torture.

"Well go on, Tyler, don't be shy," encouraged the mayor to Seth as he all of a sudden slapped Dean hard across the face, "Stop fighting, Mr. Ambrose, or you'll just make it worse for yourself," hissed Cena.

Seth flinched slightly as Dean was slapped. Seth had done a lot of stupid shit in his life, but this one topped them all. He had crawled to Cena six years ago like so many other desperate people before him. It had been right after the death of his mom, which had left him with nothing except a mountain of debt and no way to pay it off.

Seth, at the time, had two options. Wait until his legs got broken from Cena's debt collectors or join Cena in order to work off his debt. Noticed quickly due to his many talents and skills, Seth had risen through the ranks until he was recognized as one of Cena's most valued spies and was assigned to only the most top priority covert missions.

To be honest, throughout the years Seth didn't think much about what he did. Thinking only led to trouble. He had kept his head down and did as he was bid. And now, with only two years left on his contract, he had to actually go and make friends with his mark. To be fair, he hadn't known Mox was his mark until a few minutes ago.

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, Seth monotonously told his story of treachery and deceit. "After looking at the statistics of reported sightings of Dean Ambrose, with the help of the sheriff and some of his men, I staged a fight and an almost injection by the fake 'Armageddon' drug in the most likely place where the data had shown we would be interrupted by, at least, one of the outlaws."

Dean, for his part, felt like he was going to be sick. How could he have been so stupid?!

Seth continued, "As expected, one of the Merry Men came to my rescue and quickly dispatched with the sheriff's men. I then was able to persuade the man that saved me to bring me to the Merry Men hideout. Unfortunately, I was unable to learn the exact location of the entrance to the hideout because the outlaws bound and blindfolded me in order to keep that information hidden from me until I proved to be an asset to them and their cause."

Dean was slightly confused as he glared at the little fucker. Why didn't Seth or Tyler or whatever his name was, didn't just say that it was Dean who had saved and rescued him? And why didn't he just explain to Cena about why he had called Dean, Mox? Probably because it would have made him look bad, thought Dean to himself. Yes, he thought, that must be it, as he imagined how he would rearrange Seth's face if he ever had the opportunity to get his hands on the bastard.

Seth's stomach twisted as he saw the expression on Dean's face change from confusion to outrage. He knew he deserved it but it hurt nonetheless. "The first night I was able to lift the key from one of my jailors and when I needed to sneak out because of my training I was able to accomplish that with no trouble at all. Most of the Merry Men warmed up to me quickly except for two in Dean's inner circle."

"What were their names?" asked the mayor brusquely.

"Little Rome and Friar Punk," answered Seth.

Dean's heart hammered inside his chest at the mention of his friends. They had warned him like the good friends they were and he hadn't listened. He had been prideful, too sure of himself, too trusting as Punk had put in. Punk was right, Dean thought regretfully, trusting too easily has proven to be my fatal flaw. Dean hoped though for his men's sakes that his trust in the wrong person wouldn't lead to anyone else getting captured. He would like to think that his men would abandon the hideout upon learning his fate, set up camp somewhere else and continue the fight against corruption and greed.

Seth pressed on with his narrative, "I was shown around the hideout. I made sure to hint at my mother's death to drum up some sympathy. I played the part of a perfect recruit and I was finally able to retrieve the information regarding Mr. Ambrose's whereabouts when I pickpocketed the schedule from Little Rome just a few days ago." Having finished, Seth looked at the mayor hoping that his part was done.

"Thank you, Mr. Black," acknowledged Cena as he inclined his head slightly towards Seth, "I think you've been most helpful in illuminating the situation for Mr. Ambrose."

Besides occasionally struggling against Cena's hold on his hair. Dean hadn't said or done much while Seth was talking. But now, hearing the grating laugh of Cena and looking at Seth's cold, dead eyes, Dean just snapped. Throwing his head back with as much force as he could, Dean caught the mayor squarely in the nose and broke it. Cena immediately let go and Dean took that opportunity to spring at Seth. However, Dean didn't get the chance to even touch Seth as a couple of Cena's goons got quickly between them, but that didn't stop Dean from spitting directly in Seth's smug face.

"I'll kill you! I'll kill you, Seth!" yelled Dean letting his rage take over. Even with his hands tied behind his back and despite his aching body, it took eight men to haul Dean away from Seth. "You better pray I never get my hands on you because if I do you're dead! Do you hear me?! You're dead!"

"Get that lunatic out of here!" shouted the mayor pointing a condemning finger at Dean, "Perhaps some time alone with The Butcher will make him more agreeable," finished Cena with a dangerous smile towards Dean.

At the mayor's command, his men dragged Dean, who was still fighting with everything he had while still shouting obscenities and death threats at Seth, out of the office.

Seth had remained almost completely still during Dean's outburst. Honestly, he was not sure if he would have even defended himself if Dean had gotten the opportunity to take a swing at him. In fact, Seth would kind of welcome that right now.

Little Rome, Dolph, Adrian and Finn were eating breakfast and joking together in the kitchen when Friar Punk stormed into the room.

"Where's the fire, Punk?" asked Rome bemusedly. The Merry Men hadn't seen Punk since his fight with Dean. Little Rome wondered what had made him return.

"You mean you don't know?" asked Punk disgusted.

"Know what?" asked Rome refusing to let Punk ruin his good mood.

"Where do you think Ambrose is?" asked Punk as he surveyed the four men in the room. They all looked confused.

"Probably in his room, getting some well deserved sleep, so don't wake him up yet," said Rome as he turned back to his food, "He must have been at 'Good Meals' past midnight, because I went to bed before he got back."

"Oh…he wasn't at 'Good Meals'," said Punk bitingly as he walked further into the room.

Little Rome stopped eating and turned back to Punk. He didn't like the troubled look in Punk's eyes.

"I just found out about an hour ago," explained Punk, "otherwise I would have been here sooner. The word on the street is that last night Sheriff Kane with about thirty guys stormed 'Good Meals' and arrested the outlaw, Dean Ambrose."

Rome paled instantly at those words. No, he thought, this can't be happening! No, no, no, no, no.

"Guys!" yelled Randy bursting into the room, "Where's the newbie?! I just went to his room to give him his breakfast but when I opened the door, he was nowhere to be found!"

Dean continued to fight against the men holding him all the way to his dank cell. He kicked, yelled, bit and scratched using everything he had at his disposal. However, he ultimately lost as they managed to uncuff his hands that were behind his back and locked them into chains that hung from the ceiling of his cell, which stretched his arms out to either side of him preventing him from defending himself.

After Cena's goons accomplished that feat they each took the opportunity to land a few body shots to Dean as revenge for all the damage he had caused to them on their way here. Dean though his body was hurting couldn't stop himself from laughing and sticking his tongue out at the meatheads as they exited his cell. They were always so predictable.

Dean tried to control his breathing as he straightened himself up and examined his surroundings. He tugged at the chains to find that they were bolted securely into the ceiling. He wouldn't be getting out of these anytime soon unless someone helped him. The chains also prevented him from sitting down which sucked because his body was really starting to throb.

Dean shivered. It was also extremely cold. Dean could practically see his breath and his simple long-sleeve shirt and jeans weren't doing much to shield him from the bitter cold. Dean was just starting to wonder about how he could sleep standing up when a harsh, metallic sound made him look up.

Standing right outside Dean's cell was a shadowy figure. He looked to be a sizable man with a straggly beard and hair wearing on top of his clothes a leather apron that was stained with blood. The man studied Dean for a few moments not saying a word.

Dean sighed, he had enough of mind games, "What do you what, asshole?!" he shouted at the mysterious figure.

The man let out a deep, slow chuckle at Dean's question. "That's an interesting question, Dean. I want a lot of things." Dean's cell door swung open as the man stepped through carrying a big, heavy leather bag that seemed quite full. The man set the bag down in the corner and then walked toward Dean.

At the first chance that he got, Dean tried to kick him for all it was worth. This man was creepy and he didn't want him anywhere near him. His efforts proved to be in vain though as the man easily caught his leg and quickly chained it up, followed by the other one. Dean let out a frustrated shout. Now he could barely move an inch.

"What's the matter, Dean?" asked the creepy man as he ran a hand down the side of Dean's face in a mock caress.

"Get your hands off me!" yelled Dean as he tried to twist away from the unwanted touch.

The man tsked the outlaw's actions, "Such a temper. Don't worry I have just the thing." Remarked the eerily creepy guy as he turned back to the bag and opened it.

Dean swallowed hard. This was not looking good for him. "I didn't catch your name?" asked Dean shakily trying to distract the man from whatever he had planned.

"I have many names," said the man in an almost whisper, "Some have called me The Destroyer, others have bestowed on me the more grandiose title of The Eater of Worlds, some simply refer to me as The Butcher. Personally, I prefer the name my dear mother gave to me as I entered this world, Bray Wyatt."

"Nice to meet you," said Dean sarcastically as he gave his chains a vicious tug and sighed when they didn't budge.

Bray chuckled darkly again. "You're an interesting creature, Dean Ambrose. I wish we had more time together to get to know each other properly. However…" Bray turned and in his hands was a wicked looking whip.

Dean stilled as he gazed at the weapon. He could barely breath as his heart began to thump loudly. He began to shiver almost uncontrollably as the reality of his situation really started to sink in.

"…Orders are orders," continued Bray as he reached up swiftly and violently ripped Dean's shirt off. "The mayor wishes for me to teach you a lesson in humility."

"Tell him, he can go fuck himself!" exclaimed Dean with gritted teeth, trying to maintain a brave face, although he was panicking inside.

Bray simply chuckled yet again. Dean was really starting to hate that chuckle. "We're going to have so much fun together, you and I, Dean," stated Bray as he walked behind the chained outlaw.

Dean barely had time to gather himself before the first blow to his back sent him jerking forward. Damnit! That hurt like a bitch! Dean thought. He didn't even have time to recover before the second blow came knocking the wind right out of him. The third strike caused tears to spring to his eyes and the fourth one hurt so badly that Dean couldn't stop himself from gripping the chains desperately trying to get a handle on the pain. By the fifth blow, Dean had given up trying to keep his cries in.

"That's it, Dean," said Bray gleefully as he stopped for a second. "Scream for me."

Dean couldn't even respond. His body was shaking like a leaf, he couldn't think, everything hurt. All he could do was cry out as The Butcher resumed his destruction of the outlaw.

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