The Price of Desire

Disclaimer: I do not own Victorious

A/N:

Chapter 12 (Saving Robbie)

As she stood in front of the large bolted door, fiddling with the lock, Christy glanced back at the pathway. How was she supposed to get those walls down? She'd have to worry about it later, but at the same time, how was she going to get out? She heard the lock click and quickly opened the door. As she rushed in, she saw Robbie gripping the iron bars of the cage, it was slowly descending and was about three feet away from the water. "Robbie!"

"What? Who's there? Don't come any closer! Please! Leave me alone!" His body was trembling, blood soaked his body and caked in his hair. His face was red with tears and large red marks covered his chest. His breathing was vapid and shallow and his glasses were indeed missing. Thus, anything he looked at would be one messy blur. "I don't know what I did…to deserve this…I just want my friends. I'm sorry about the p-puppet. I know it was annoying. Oh god! D-Don't h-hurt me anymore." He put his head to the cage and started shaking harder, sobbing ferociously. No tears came out, however.

"All cried out," Christy whispered as she slowly closed her hands. Her heart mourned for him and rage shot through her veins. Where was Rex, anyway? Annoying? Damn right it was annoying, but hell, was that why Robbie was dangling in that cage? Were they killing him just because of the puppet? She lifted her shoulders and sighed. Chances were that was the case, good thing they made it when they did. "Robbie! It's me, Christy! Christy Vicarious." Robbie flinched and his body froze, he lifted his head slightly and whimpered softly.

"C-Christy? I don't understand…what are you doing here? You're not with them are you?"

"Fuck no, I'm part of the team kicking their asses! Now how the hell do I get you out of that cage…" She started looking around the room, trying to find a button or a lever, anything she could use to open the cage. Robbie's hands gripped the bars tighter still, his knuckles became deathly white. The cage lowered some more and Christy was beginning to grow very irritated. "Damn robot gorilla practically takes me out and getting you out of this cage can't be easy?"

"I-I think there's a keyhole on the bottom, it unlocks the latch." Seriously? She turned her head to the cage and growled, and here she thought this gang was full of idiots who would be grateful enough to include a lever. "I can't see anything, Christy! What do you mean you're part of a team? What's happening…I don't understand what's going on! I'm s-scared…"

"I know that, Shapiro. We'll explain everything to you soon enough, first, I need to get you out of that cage before you drown." She looked to the key ring in her hand and huffed, full of surprise. There was a second key. Maybe she'd lucked out. "All right…here it goes."

"What? What are you going to do!"

"Just relax Robbie. Take a deep breath." They weren't out of deep water yet, even after she saved him, there was still the gang outside. "Trina is going to be glad we got one of them…" She started running towards the pool of water and reached her arms up as she leapt off the edge. She gripped the bottom of the cage, causing it to swing. Robbie screamed as the cage moved like a pendulum. "Robbie! Breathe."

"I can't breathe!"

"Okay. It's okay." She grabbed for the keys and quickly threw the second key into the slot. "Yes. Perfect fit! Okay Robbie, you're about to be dropped into water, so take a deep breath." She turned the key, heard the latch click and felt the cage start shaking.

"What's happen-" She released the bars and curled into a ball as she dropped into the water. The cage above her opened and Robbie splashed down. She opened her eyes and ignored the sting of water. She breathed out with her nose and started swimming towards Robbie's body, grabbing him with her arm and resurfacing towards the edge. The two opened their mouths, letting the air fill their lungs.

"Okay Robbie…let's get you out of the water." She crawled onto the ground and pulled Robbie up next to her. She heard a splash and lifted her head to see the cage touch the water. Just as it did, the chain cranked and the cage sank within a matter of seconds. "Shit, that really was a close one." Robbie coughed and looked up as Christy moved to her feet. "Let's pray-aw fuck." Tyson was standing in the doorway, his arms crossed and body covered with blood. Three people surrounded him. Trina, Jason, and Sikowitz were kneeling on the ground.

"Your friends have surrendered," Tyson said with a subtle smirk. Trina was in between Sikowitz and Jason, her face was bowed, but Christy could see a faint hint of a smirk on her face. Was this planned? To get into the room or take down the walls? Tyson walked in front of them and tapped his foot on the ground. Christy noticed the men didn't tie Trina's hands, or the others, were they seriously that stupid? Then again, muscle men, they didn't have a brain in their head whatsoever. "Want to watch as I slit their throats?"

"Well Mr. Muscles, I'm not sure what makes you feel so damned confident, but if you're so sure…" The men moved up next to him and he quickly pointed towards Robbie.

"One of you grab him." She watched as one of the men picked up Robbie and held his wrists together. Robbie screamed and struggled in the man's hold. Yet, no sooner than he started struggling, did he give up and freeze. Had they destroyed his will so much? "Now…If you'll so gladly join your friends here…" Sikowitz slowly began rising to his feet, staring down Tyson. Trina and Jason glanced at each other and smirked as the teacher began to remove his walking stick from his brown coat. Christy rolled her head to the side and put her hand to the handle of her sword.

"You're telling me that after all the crap I just went through, this is it? It was worth nothing? You caught us anyway?" Tyson grinned as she slowly narrowed her eyes. "Robbie, I want you to do something for me." Robbie whimpered and turned his head towards her. Within seconds, Sikowitz swirled his stick around Tyson's neck. Tyson let out a shout and brought his hands up, but Sikowitz pulled sharply and kneed Tyson in the back. Trina and Jason grabbed the two bodyguards before they could react and pinned them to the ground. "Duck, Robbie!"

Robbie bent forward just as Christy slashed her blade out and sliced clean over his head. The man holding him gasped just as her blade slicked through his neck. Robbie fell forward and she quickly spun around, extending her free arm and catching him around the waist. She watched with angry eyes as the beheaded man fell backwards into the water. "W-What just happened?"

"Your life was saved, that's what." She looked to the others and saw Tyson sprawled out on the ground. Sikowitz checked his pulse and lifted his shoulders. "Is he dead?"

"No, just unconscious," Sikowitz replied. Robbie gasped at the familiar voice. It was almost too good to be true. Trina and Jason pulled the ropes from their pants and tied the bodyguards' wrists together. Once they rose, Trina glanced up with a smile. She looked very proud, and rightfully so. "So, now that we're done here, let's get moving. Trina, leave your note if you will."

"Yeah, I will. Michael needs to know one of the hostages are safe." Trina moved towards Robbie, who was a quivering mess.

"T-Trina too?"

"You're safe now, Robbie. You're safe." He started shaking as Trina put her arms around him in a comforting hug. She rubbed his back and looked to Christy. "Great work Christy. Sorry for the scare, it was the only way to get Tyson to bring those walls down…" She nodded and gently rubbed the back of her neck.

"I understand."

"Right. Okay Robbie, let's get you out of here." Robbie sniffed as Trina put her hands to his shoulder and met his eyes with a kindred smile. "I know some people that are going to be very happy to see you."

"Really?"

"Yes. Your family." Robbie's lips curled into a very small smile. He was probably wondering about his friends, though. God only knew where they were. The puppet was what led the gang to try and kill him, so chances were they wouldn't be so lucky to find anyone at the next sector, but there was always the chance. "But first, have you had anything to eat in the last couple of days?"

"No…"

"All right, well, we're all going to get some lunch. First, we're going to stop off at a new motel, get cleaned up, rest, then grab some food. However, I think we need to get you a new pair of glasses. What happened to your old ones?"

"Crushed…"

"I see." Robbie's eyes were filled with fear, trauma, and unspeakable horrors. The poor boy had already been a bit terrorized with his life up to this point, now he was going to be going through even more mental bullshit. It hardly seemed fair.

"W-When can I see my family? My friends?" Trina's heart sank and Christy quickly glanced to the side. Poor guy, he thought his friends were already safe. How could they tell them that he was the first person they found?

"We'll…get to that soon. First, let's get you out of here." He nodded as she started leading him out, stepping carefully over Tyson's unconscious body. It was about time to get out of this hell.

Chief Warren and Deputy Chief Michael laughed as they stood over Tyson. Their hands were on their hips and their eyes were watching with amusement as the man started to stir. They'd already handcuffed him, so there wasn't much he could do to get away. As he opened his eyes and started attempting to move his wrists, he grunted and gazed up at the two officers. "Aw shit!"

"Let me guess," Warren started, crossing his arms. His lips curled into a smirk. "You were beaten by two girls, a guy, and a teacher, all using martial arts? Right?" Tyson rolled his eyes as the two men lifted him from the ground by his arms. "It's the same story we heard from the ninjas and from the basement at Hollywood Arts. So what's your story?"

"Fuck you…This isn't funny!"

"Oh no disrespect meant," Michael snickered. "I'm finding this very amusing, even though it's very serious. You see…" Michael stepped in front of Tyson and stared into his eyes. "Your little gang has a good friend of mine hostage, the wrong person to take, so you've waged a war on the police whether you like it or not. As far as we're concerned, you're finished!" As they stepped out, Tyson growled at all the officers carting his men away. The club was devastated. "Whoever cut up your club with the sword…impressive work."

"Fuck…"

Michael removed a sheet of paper from his pocket, Trina's note that had been found tucked on the back of Tyson. He gazed at it and smiled slightly, Robbie had been found. "Great job Trina. Great job." At least she was making this easier on the police, but he did acknowledge that it was only getting more and more dangerous. There was a point of time he wanted to find her and tell her to let them take it from here.

Impressive work indeed, hope you've enjoyed this. Sector B, down.