From his spot against the wall, the Big Red Machine shrugged, rubbing his wrists where the metal touched flesh.
Kane had recovered quickly from the beatdown he'd received in an effort to defend, and possibly even save his older brother. However, his mood wasn't at all good as he stared at the wall of their large cell.
Not only had he failed to help his brother, but he'd gotten himself captured too.
"Those Wyatts are damn crazy," he sighed, shaking his head as much at himself as at them. "I mean, I know that I'm crazy, and I know that you're batshit insane...but those guys are on a whole 'nother level."
The Undertaker rolled his eyes, although he couldn't keep a small smile from his lips. "I'm glad to see that you have a good sense of humor about all this, little brother. I think we're in some deep shit, though."
"Tell me about it," Kane answered, scanning the room. He was much smarter than most people guessed from just looking at him; and from the moment he was imprisoned, he began to look for a way out. "Bray was going on and on about tearing out our souls. Pretty morbid stuff, even for us. And I, for one, would rather not go through his little experiment."
'Taker nodded, folding his arms as he thought. "Exactly. Now let's get the hell out of here." He started to pull against the chains, but quickly realized that they were securely fastened to the stone wall. And when he looked at the cuffs themselves, there seemed to be no locks anywhere. How in the hell had he been chained up?
"Easier said than done?" Kane asked with a small smile as he tested the limits of his chains, and measured that distance against the floor. "It's going to take a small miracle to get out of here, you know. Because I'm not seeing any exits except that well-bolted door over there."
The Deadman nodded. "I think we're going to have to play this one smart..." He knew that even though they were joking about it now, the situation really was dire. They were trapped God-knows-where by a bunch of mad men who wanted to do who-knows-what to them.
No laughing matter indeed.
"Better to be laughing than crying though, right?" the Big Red Machine chimed in, earning himself a scowl.
"Stop reading my mind," 'Taker growled. "You know I hate that."
Kane gave his big brother a wink. "All's fair. I know you can hear my thoughts too, if you wanted. But I'll save you the trouble and let you know what I'm thinking anyway."
"I really don't want to-"
"I'm thinking, 'Damn, even though he's my brother, he looks super sexy all chained up like that.'"
"Kane-"
"I knew it was a good idea to bring both of you here."
The Brothers of Destruction paused in their bickering to stare at the door, neither man very happy to see Bray Wyatt standing there with the same mad smile plastered on his face.
He had somehow entered the room without making a sound.
And now, as he appraised the Brothers with hungry eyes, the twisted smile on his lips began to grow.
"Darkness," he intoned, coming ever closer but keeping out of their reach. "Lighting. Fire. Pain. Madness. Cold, calculating insanity. You two have everything that I want."
"Release these chains, and we can give you everything you want and more," Kane replied darkly, a murderous look in his eyes. "Especially the pain."
Bray laughed and sat on the floor, crossing his legs at the ankles.
"You are so wonderful, Kane. You see, I don't think I can break your brother without the one thing he cares about most in the world..."
The Undertaker's green eyes grew wide.
"Don't you dare touch him!" he snarled, pulling once more against the heavy chains. "I'll kill you!"
But Wyatt's attention was fully on the Big Red Machine now. "I could torture the Deadman, but I'm sure that it'll be even more effective to torture you in front of him. I know that neither of you are really all that big on showing how much pain you're in, but I have ways of making you hurt that you wouldn't believe...
"Would you like a demonstration right now?"
The Brothers remained silent, but shared a slightly worried look between themselves. Bray stood slowly and left the room, not even bothering to lock the door behind him.
"I don't like this at all," the Undertaker said softly after a moment of uncomfortable silence. "We have to get the hell out of here, now."
"I'm thinking, I'm thinking..." the Big Red Machine said softly, pulling his knees up to his chest, rocking slowly back and forth. "First, these chains, then the door-"
As if on cue, the huge metal door swung open, and Bray entered once more with a box.
"Now, Kane," he began, still ignoring the Undertaker completely, "I am going to give you a choice that I am not going to give to Big Brother over there." He sat in front of Kane once more, once again just out of reach. His eyes glittered in the semi-darkness.
"I will give you the choice of killing the Undertaker or-"
"Or, what? You'll kill me?" Kane finished, laughing. "Fuck off, Kid."
Bray laughed in return. "Oh, no. I make you no such offer. I know you would easily give your life for his...even though I can't imagine why anyone would do such a thing."
The Big Red Machine growled at that, feeling a flash of anger at the pain that appeared, only for a moment, in his brother's green eyes.
"What's my other option?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"You either kill your brother...or I'll kill him. In front of you."
Kane's eyes grew wide at that, and he turned to the Undertaker, both of their faces showing just the slightest mixture of confusion and fear.
"If you do choose to separate your brother's soul from his body, you'll spare him from the pain of me trying to figure out how to do it myself...and I have a few ideas that I'd like to try."
With that, Bray opened the box, and pulled out none other than the glittering, gold urn of the Undertaker.
From his place on the floor, 'Taker froze.
"Bray Wyatt, I swear, I will end you," he swore stiffly.
"Not if I end you first," Wyatt replied, never breaking eye contact with Kane, even as he opened the urn and plunged his hand inside.
The Undertaker didn't have a chance to brace himself for the searing pain that lit up the tips of every nerve-ending in his body. He gasped, eyes wide, and slammed himself against the wall he was chained to, unknowingly causing the chains to dig into his flesh as he convulsed.
"Stop it!" Kane cried out, reaching out to strangle Wyatt, grunting in surprise and distress when his fingertips could only just barely skim the man's beard. "Dammit, stop, Bray! You can't kill him that way!"
The leader of the Wyatt family pulled his hand out of the urn, smiling. He never once broke eye-contact with Kane through the entire ordeal.
"That's the point, Little Brother," he whispered, the endearment causing the Big Red Machine to wince as if in pain himself. "I'm going to hurt Big Brother until you finally put him out of his misery... You're only here to increase his suffering in the meantime, for now.
"But once he's gone, you and I will play. I've always like you a lot, Kane. I can't wait to have you all alone."
Through a haze of pain, the Undertaker could just barely make out the conversation between Kane and Bray.
"Fuck you," the Deadman said in one breath, voice raspy from pain.
"Shut up, he's serious!" Kane commanded, still staring into Bray Wyatt's eyes. Although the Undertaker fell into a stunned silence, the Big Red Machine could see the madness in the younger man's eyes. He could see that this man was willing to go as far as he needed to go to get what he wanted—and even beyond that.
He didn't just want their souls. He wanted to break them in every way, and then take whatever remained.
"See, Deadman," Bray said with a smile, at last turning to the Undertaker as he rose to his feet. "Little Brother understands. You should just give up, and save yourself a whole lot of pain. I;ll be back tomorrow."
He casually brushed off his pants, and left without a word, loudly activating every lock upon his exit.
The Undertaker and Kane sat in silence once more, the older brother staring up at the ceiling, and the younger looking anxiously at the door.
"We're screwed," Kane said softly, a despairing smile coming to his face. "I don't know how long I can take seeing him hurt you..."
The Undertaker looked at his brother out of the corner of his eyes, head still resting against the stones, which felt cool and almost soothing against his burning head.
"Don't talk like that," he said gently, body only slowly recovering from the trauma of the urn. "We'll get out of here. I'll find a way. I promise."
"Better find it quick," was the nearly inaudible reply, and the Deadman knew that the countdown to his demise may very well have begun.