It had started innocently enough. At least Ricardo had thought so. Paige had snuck him into the party bus and they'd had fun there, dancing and just enjoying each other's company, but the second time around, Ricardo had felt a little more brazen. Together, they had actually gotten into the bus while Adam Rose was competing in the ring, just to find that someone had left the keys in the ignition. Paige had giggled, Ricardo had raised his eyebrows, but there was no turning back now. "Think I could drive it?" Ricardo asks her idly as she clings to a nearby seat, watching him curiously.
"Would you want to?" she asks loudly, to be heard over the loud music. He smirks and winks at her, slipping into the driver's seat and turning the key in the ignition. As the engine revs, she ventures towards him. "I don't know, Ricardo... what if something happens and you get in trouble?"
He lightly rests his hand on hers. "Do you trust me, Paige?"
She coughs and blinks. "Of course I do, but Ricardo-"
He smiles at her. "Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid while you're next to me." She quiets immediately and watches as he reverses the bus, turning easily as if he'd spent his entire life driving a large vehicle. They don't drive for long, just a few minutes around the parking lot, to get a feel of it, and before she realizes, he's turning back into the parking spot, a huge, accomplished grin on his face. "See, I told you I could do it." She throws her arms around him and kisses him on the cheek. He flushes and pats her arm before standing. "Ready to get off then, Paige?"
"I believe so, yes," she agrees, following him to the stairs. He holds his hand out and helps her with the somewhat steep descent, smiling as she wraps her arms around his midsection and walks side by side with him back to the arena. Neither notice the gaze following them every step of the way, or the unhappy stroke of hands against the side of the bus that follows.
The next week, Ricardo goes to find the bus... just to discover that it's not there. The parking lot is empty of anything but the usual tour busses, his brows furrowing as he looks around for it. Spotting a tech, he walks up to him. "Hola, excuse me, where's Adam Rose's party bus?"
The tech looks confused for a moment, then shrugs. "It was left in Florida this week, man. The request for a parking space for it was canceled last minute too." He waits a minute to see if Ricardo needs anything else, shrugs again and leaves just like that.
Ricardo blinks, shaking his head. "That's odd," he mumbles to himself, wandering off. He feels disappointed, almost gypped. Paige seems to agree when he tells her that the bus is nowhere around.
"Well, that's sad," she says. "I was hoping to dance in it again tonight. Oh well..." She's about to say something else when he brazenly grips her hand, uncertain where the notion suddenly came to him. She appears surprised too, if her glance down at their interlaced fingers is any indication. Before he can move away, however, mortified, she squeezes his fingers and smiles up at him. "It's ok, I'm sure we'll find some way to keep ourselves occupied."
Abruptly warm from these words, he swallows and looks away, afraid that she'd read everything he's feeling in his eyes and hate him for it. "Si? Ho- how so?" She leans up and kisses him on the cheek before whispering something in his ear that leaves him wide eyed and almost speechless, leading him down one of the halls towards the exit. He gapes, uncertain about this idea, as she leaves the building and walks towards one of the trucks that carts various props from place to place without caring about anyone having a problem with their being there. It had been left unlocked by one of the techs eager just to unload what was needed and get on with his job and together, the two of them push it up and slip inside, Ricardo reaching up to close it behind them. There are many abandoned things here, Ricardo thinks he even sees some things that Alberto used to use in his feistas, resting his hand on one of the tables as he takes it all in.
Paige finds a guitar in one of the trunks and hands it over to him, smiling as she digs further into the mishmash of items, eager to see what other random things she could locate. Her search, however, is hindered when he begins to play, his fingers clumsy and uncertain against the strings until he relaxes into it, encouraged by the look in her eyes, her body moving to the music. He's not even sure what song he's playing, but it sounds good, Paige humming softly to it as she finally finds a way to dance, the only thing keeping his hands on the instrument being his need for her to continue moving like that, her eyes closed as she loses herself in the melody. He's moved onto another song, his eyes locked on her, when there's a rough grating sound and light pours in on them, blinding them and making their eyes water.
Certain that they're in trouble with the techs in charge of guarding these trucks, Ricardo has just put the guitar down to move to the doors and talk to the techs, convince them that he and Paige won't tell on them for leaving the storage area unlocked if they don't tell on them for being in here, when he stops short. "You," he breathes out before something hard strikes him across the face, sending him to the ground as darkness inches up to meet him. The last thing he hears is Paige screaming his name, terrified, but there's nothing he can do to help her, his body no longer listening to him.
-x
He wakes up, floundering and lost, unable to move, see, breathe or think. He's choking out Paige's name but it's coming out muffled, something blocking his words, and he struggles even harder, shaking his head back and forth wildly. "Help, help-" He realizes he's bound and gagged then, unable to move or speak, which eliminates his ability to cry out for help. He struggles harder, trying to free himself, but tears pouring out of his eyes are drenching whatever fabric is blocking his vision, making his eyes itch and hurt, and he gasps, wanting nothing but to have some control over one of his senses back... Unfortunately, he can still hear, and that does nothing to sooth him, things too quiet. Too empty. El Patron, Mike, someone... somewhere help me, help us,he thinks desperately, not sure if Paige is here with him or not. He hopes that she's not, that she's off somewhere, safe and trying to find help for him. There's not a huge chance for such a thing, but it's all he has, and he clings to it with every bit of strength he has, desperate.
He kicks out, feels around with what he can, which isn't much, but he doesn't come in contact with anything other than the wall behind him, and this adds to his panic. He's just about to hyperventilate behind the gag when hands reach out and tug it off of him, allowing him to splutter and gasp for air, before collecting every inch of breath in him and screaming out for help. The person who had removed the gag, however, doesn't seem bothered by this, and allows him to scream himself out before sitting down in front of him. Now when Ricardo kicks out, his feet come in contact with a person's legs and he chokes and cries harder, wanting to be free, to be able to see who this is.
"Stop fighting it," the person finally speaks up, the female tone surprising Ricardo enough that he freezes, turning towards them automatically. "There's nothing you really can do, in time you'll want freedom more than anything, and you'll agree to do whatever he wants from you. Don't worry about it, it becomes fun after awhile. A nonstop party, getting to fly all around the world... what more could you ask for?"
He can think of a million things, the pieces slowly fitting together in his mind. "He kidnaps you all and forces you to... to...?" It's a terrible thought, all of those poor people, taken from friends and family to dress up as rabbits and hamburgers and whatever else, and now he will be one of them too? "No, I can't, I... people are depending on me, Paige and Alberto, they need me, I can't just- I can't disappear, por favor, you have to help me-"
But he can tell before the woman even speaks that this is impossible. "Sorry, no can do. You're one of us now." He can sense as she leans towards him, her breath tickling against his face. "Don't be a lemon... be a rosebud..."
Paige wakes up in a cold sweat, lunging forward and gasping. "Ricardo!" she calls out, her last memory being of him, dazedly gripping a guitar before it fell from his hands and hit the floor with an echoing protest of its strings. But he's nowhere to be seen now, and for a moment she tries to tell herself he's just hiding, playing a trick on her... but that's not Ricardo's style, he'd never do that to her. She whimpers and struggles to her feet, pulls herself up and realizes that she's still in the truck they'd started off in, searching through props with amused, exasperated looks on their faces. It all seems so long ago now, her head still hazy from whatever happened before... before... She gasps and groans, gripping her head as a sharp pain stabs through it. Gingerly examining her own skull with shaking fingers, she swallows upon finding a pretty large bump not far from her temple. "I have to get out of here, I have to find someone... Ricardo... he needs help," she determines, not even wanting to imagine how he must be physically, considering how she had been left.
Her walking is clumsy at best on a good day, but here, now, she feels like she's mucking through water up to her thighs, her head spinning with each step. She tries to keep an eye out for Mike, Alex, anyone who could truly help, but they're nowhere to be found and she has no real choice. She's had very little contact with Del Rio as of yet, the man a little bit intimidating to her, but she searches him out this time and, relieved, finds him early on. She almost trips into him, actually, but he stops her just before she hits the ground, holding her up with a frown. "Are you alright?" he asks gruffly before something dawns on him, his dark eyes examining her. "You are Ricardo's friend, si? That... Paige?"
"Yes," she mumbles, gripping his sleeve. "I need your help, he- he's missing." Alberto's fingers tighten around her arms and he bodily helps her over to a nearby chair, immediately kneeling by her. "Ricardo, I woke up and- and he was gone." Her eyes are wide, locked on Alberto's grim face, and she releases a soft groan when his fingers too graze the bump on her head. "We, we were, um." She licks her lips, tries again. "We were exploring one of the trucks, playing around with the various props that were driven in, and uh, ugh... Something happened, someone came in, I think Ricardo thought it was a tech but then he collapsed and... I don't remember, everything went dark then." She searches his expression and swallows heavily, not knowing how to read the look in his eyes. "You have to help him. Please, help him."
"I will," Alberto promises her, but he disappears and she fears that he won't return, pressing her fingers together absentmindedly and wondering where to go for help next, who to turn to. Before she can figure out a clear-cut plan of attack on how to help Ricardo next, Alberto is back, his hand on her neck and he's not alone- the trainer is with him, leaning close to her and shining a light in her eyes, trying to talk to her, but everything hurts so much now thanks to the abrupt searing light that she can't think clearly, much less speak, but she does hear when Alberto speaks again. "I'll find him. Take care of her for me." And just like that, he's gone again, the girl unable to do anything but watch him go while the trainer continues asking questions, examining her to figure out the severity of her head injury.
"Please... hurry," she mutters, struggling then to focus on the trainer and his suggestions.
Something about this place, Ricardo can just sense... It's Florida, has to be. The warmth, the sound of the waves in the distance... but why they're back here, he's not sure. He's sprawled out on a familiar floor, trying to recollect himself, and as his hands rub against cool steel, he thinks he also knows what he's been thrown into. Adam Rose's party bus, his fingers wrapping around the cool pole that the rosebuds dance around sometimes. He closes his eyes and swallows, shaking his head. If only it was sharp, if only there was something... anything... he could cut his hands free, and yeah, it would hurt and he'd probably slice the hell out of his wrists, but it would be worth it, just to have a chance at freedom. But with him blindfolded, there's nothing, not at this height, nothing that he could find and reach in time before the woman or Adam himself spots him, so he has no choice but to wait, hope that he'll be found. Wish that Paige is ok, since he had been knocked unconscious before they did whatever to her. For a wild moment, he wonders if she's being held somewhere else, desperate and terrified, but such thoughts will get him nowhere. He swallows and tries to steel himself to fight as soon as Adam or that woman returns, now that his wits are a little bit more about him.
He at least knows where he's at, the general layout of his surroundings. It's a start. Until, that is, the door to the bus squeaks open and he gasps, nearly choking on his own saliva when footsteps approach him. It's Adam, he can tell by the sickening sweet scent coming from him, but he struggles to stay calm, even as fingers graze his face, trail down to rest on his shoulder. "Now see, Ricardo, it really didn't need to be this way. All you had to do was be a rosebud... but no, you had to break into my party bus and defile the whole place... I would've invited you back, but that wasn't enough for you... you had to sneak in, invade my privacy. And now look at you."
His fight leaving him, Ricardo struggles to find something to say, do, but all he can dwell on is Paige. "Don't hurt her," he finally forces out of painfully dry lips, wondering what Adam's expression is as silence surrounds them following his plead.
"Her? Who, that British girl that helped you sneak into my bus? No... no, she's perfectly fine, back where we left her..." Ricardo shudders as Adam leans down, brushes a hand down his face. "Unlike some people, she is a rosebud, thus I had no need for her... You, however. You wanted to be accepted so badly among my Rosebuds, thus you will stay here, where you belong, with us. We will help you find your place in this world, where it's party time all the time... isn't this what you wanted? Isn't this what you came here for?"
Ricardo closes his eyes, growing more and more unsettled the longer Rose stands over him. "Por favor," he breathes. "Let me go. I won't...I won't bother you again, just please-" But he's quieted when rough fingers stuff a gag back into his mouth, muffling his words yet again. He watches on, hopelessly, eyes wide and desparate, as the man turns and leaves as abruptly as he'd arrived.
-x
"Ricardo's in trouble," Alberto says. It's all he needs to say, and he knows it, Alex immediately standing and walking over to him, Alicia's eyes widening as she turns to look at Mike. "He was with Paige, someone came and knocked her out, and when she woke up, Ricardo was gone. We need to find him."
Mike joins the others by the door, listening to Del Rio's faltering explanation of what Paige had recalled, which really isn't much- she doesn't remember who, or what. Just remembers that they were in one of the storage trucks, examining various props used recently. Upon hearing him out, he turns to Alex. "Has Ricardo said anything to you lately about anything odd? Something that could've led to this?"
Alex stares at him for a long moment, shakes his head. "Well, I mean, the main thing lately is he wanted to get onto Adam Rose's party bus, but I'm not sure other than that..."
Alberto purses his lips, exchanging a quick glance with Mike. "It may be nothing... but just in case we should talk with him," he decides. None of them like the thought, Adam Rose more likely to tell them to be a rosebud and try to stuff a lollipop in their mouths than give them a straight answer, but it's better than sitting around waiting for a clue to fall into their laps. Unfortunately, Adam isn't booked that night, and they don't see him anywhere around the arena.
Days pass and he's yet again not at the arena for Smackdown, which adds to their aggravation as Ricardo remains missing, his phone going straight to voicemail whenever they call it. Alex and Mike are worried, but Del Rio is nearly apoplectic with paranoia over what could possibly be happening to his best friend. "We have to find him," he mumbles, staring at his hands grimly.
"We will," Mike says lowly. "As soon as Rose shows his face again, we'll question him until we know for sure that he hasn't had a hand in Ricardo going missing. It'll be fine, Alberto. He's strong, he'll hang on until we can find him." But the Mexican aristocrat says nothing and Mike winces, knowing that such cheap platitudes have never helped him either in situations similar to this, no matter how much he wishes they would.
After an agonizingly long weekend, they get their first piece of luck- the bunny is spotted hopping through the halls before Raw that Monday, AJ snagging Mike's sleeve and pointing towards it. His eyes widen, then narrow before he rushes towards it. But it's fast, considering it's some dude in a costume, and it outruns him. Except that Alex had spotted it too and succeeds at tripping it at the next T in the hallway, sending it skidding face first along the hall. Together, they grab it and tear the head off, revealing some nondescript man with bloodshot eyes and rumpled brown hair, staring up at them in confusion. "Who are you?!" Mike demands, releasing him in some surprise.
He grips the bunny head, tugging it out of Alex's limp fingers, before standing up shakily. "Don't be a lemon, be a rosebud," he intones slowly, before replacing the head and exiting.
Mike and Alex exchange shocked glances. "What the hell was that?" Alex demands after a few, shocked moments.
"I have no idea," Mike mutters. It then dawns on him that, in their shock at seeing what was under the bunny costume, neither of them had thought to follow the bunny and figure out where Adam Rose might be hiding. "Shit!" he exclaims, slapping his fist against the tiled floor. "Alberto's gonna kill us..."
Alex is pretty certain the only reason they walk out with their lives intact once they tell him what happened is because Del Rio is desperate and needs help finding Ricardo, even if they'd already failed at it once. So they split up, determined to search the arena and find someone, anyone, that resembles one of Rose's posse. "No matter what we see when we find them," Alex says, staring at Mike, "we have to keep track of them, and make sure we follow them until we find Adam Rose. It'll be one step closing to finding Ricardo, at least."
Mike nods, claps him on the back, and quickly takes off to the left while Alex goes right. Del Rio had gone... somewhere, and AJ is off spying on anything and anyone as she tends to do. He wonders which of them will have success first. With Paige still taking some time off, at home in Florida, getting tended to by a fussy, worried Sofia, it's just the four of them to search, which is fine. He's worried enough about AJ off on her own, if they had let Paige go search for him as well, Ricardo may never have forgiven them.
He ends up going in circles, but it's ok. There are so many people scattered around, constantly on the move, that he wouldn't be surprised if the Rosebuds move around a lot too. Good luck comes to him finally after what feels like hours have passed when he literally trips over one of them, a wildly dressed woman waving streamers around and seeming unaware as he approaches. Once they distangle from each other, Mike blinks a few times, feeling abruptly dizzy due to her ridiculous attire, unable to follow the swirls of reds and blues, greens and oranges until finally he manages to look away and stare into her face. It's then that he finally recognizes her. "You! You're a Rosebud!"
She must recognize him too because she yelps, turns and runs in the opposite direction, but it's not enough to get away from him. He chases after her, determined to keep an eye on her, follow her to Adam. Find Ricardo and get him to safety... Make things return to normal. Unfortunately, by the time he turns the corner, she's already running through the gorilla position with the other Rosebuds and he pauses, stymied. But he's not alone because, when he looks up, Alex is nearby, hidden in the shadows, and he's sure Del Rio is probably somewhere nearby as well. He holds his breath and watches on one of the nearby monitors as Rose trust drops onto the people pooling next to the ring, the group of them then pushing him back onto the apron. His match, at least, is short, Adam quickly defeating Swagger, and Mike steps forward, waiting... anxious... for Adam to appear once more through the curtain.
His entourage dances through first, distracting and dizzying, but Mike spots him finally, heading determinedly towards him but the dancing people envelope him, keep him away- though it doesn't matter as Alberto apparently has better luck getting through, appearing behind Adam abruptly and tapping him on the shoulder. When the man turns, he's met with a solid fist to the face, all of his Rosebuds gasping as he crumples to the ground, gripping his jaw. Miz's only regret is that he hadn't been working over a lollipop at the time, finally pushing his way through the dazed Rosebuds enough to reach the commotion. "Where is he?!" Alberto demands, gripping Adam by his hair and tugging him up ruthlessly. "What have you done with Ricardo?"
Rose stares at him for a moment, finally laughing coolly. "I have freed him, spared him from his regrets and bitterness... he is no longer a lemon, he is a beautiful Rosebud! As I can do for you, if you would allow me... You would no longer feel the loss of your World title..." He turns his attention to Mike. "Your failing career and being a utility player would not haunt you..." Eyes shifting onto Alex, his smile turns even more knowing. "You would no longer feel like you're invisible..." It's only then, when his gaze finds her, that Mike realizes AJ has arrived, listening to him with a discomforted look on her face. "You-" He doesn't allow Adam to say anything, to even try getting in her head. One punch, aimed at the same place as Alberto's, sends him to the ground, unconscious.
When the others look at him, incredulous, he shrugs. "He wasn't going to tell us anything worthwhile anyway." He walks over and hugs AJ, relieved that he had at least been able to keep him from using something against her as well. Thankfully, their attempts aren't for naught. Alex had thought ahead and snagged a Rosebud, the same woman Mike had confronted, and she seems to have lost her fight since Adam had been KO'd.
"We're not going to hurt you," Alex is telling her once Mike is reassured that AJ is ok and turns his attention back to finding Ricardo. "We just need to know what happened to our friend. He's Mexican, about Mike's height, with dark hair... he used to ring announce for Alberto over here. Do you remember? Can you tell us...?"
She shakes her head, eyes wide. "We never really see each other's faces that often. Most of us wear masks or some sort of costume, and the lights and music... it's just impossible to tell, really." She hesitates when she sees the disappointment on their faces, feeling for them. Which, considering how muted everything's felt lately, overwhelms her until she feels the need to give them something. She casts about, struggles to think, and finally it clicks. "Wait, though- there's been a new person with us, only came around a couple of days ago... He, um, we can't see his face at all, but he's in a ... dragon costume? He never talks, or anything, but... yeah, I- maybe that's who you're looking for."
"I think I remember seeing that one," AJ speaks up, all of them turning to look at her. "He lingered until one of the other Rosebuds dragged him away when you guys cornered Adam. He was moving kind of slow, I almost bumped into him when I was looking for you..."
Mike and Del Rio exchange glances, knowing immediately. "He must be drugging him or something. Dammit. Where do the Rosebuds stay?"
The woman blinks, each thought still seemingly a struggle for her. "Um, uh, the bus. We- we stay on the bus. Adam says it's safe there."
"Of course he does," Mike mumbles. He turns to look at Alex and AJ. "Are you guys ok with staying here with them while Del Rio and I look for Ricardo?"
"Yes," Alex and AJ echo, Mike ducking in quickly to kiss his wife before he and Alberto rush down the halls towards the exit leading to the parking lot to find the lost ring announcer.
It takes some searching and running around the exterior of the arena, but finally they spot it- the bus is hidden behind some bushes and tall trees outside of the arena, a chance shift in wind patterns the only thing that helps as the sun gleams right on the gigantic rose painted on its side. "He must be in there," Mike mumbles. Without Adam around, the only thing to be careful of is the Rosebud that had dragged Ricardo to begin with, so they slip closer and try to peek inside, but the windows are tinted.
"Nothing for it," Alberto says blandly. "We have to get him back." Without waiting for Mike's response, he grabs the door handle and pulls it opens, staring inside. It's dark and quiet, eerier than it usually is. They can hear breathing down into the shadows and follow it, Mike tensing when he senses something behind them. Alberto turns when he does and they gape up at the man taller than both of them. "Ay, shit-" he's just said before faltering and going down, Mike backing up as the man glares down at him, a mass of hair and muscles.
Mike trips over something and lands on top of something soft, turning to find Ricardo gazing at him. His eyes are cloudy, clearly drugged, and Mike swallows. "Ricardo-"
"It's good of you and El Patron to come," he says in a drifting tone. "More Rosebuds, Adam will be pleased."
"We're not here to be Rosebuds!" Mike snaps. "We're here to save you!" Ricardo looks confused and Mike swallows, trying to calm down. "Ricardo, you have to come with us. Look, Alberto's hurt, he needs you." Ricardo actually falters at this, some clarity returns to his gaze, but then that monster of a man approaches again and his eyes cloud over again. Mike takes action and, although there's a lot of space with the seats missing, it's hard to maneuver around Alberto's downed form. He attempts it anyway, dropkicking the man in the side and staggering him only a little. "Shit," he breathes out.
Ricardo gets to his feet, watching through unfocused eyes as the man leans over, grabs Alberto by the collar and drags him up, glaring into his face. Alberto is hanging limply and something seems to register with Ricardo, the off-balanced man staggering forward. "Leave him alone!" he cries, leaping onto the man and immediately getting thrown off, hitting the nearest window and slumping down, a crack spiderwebbing in the glass.
Mike takes action again, hitting and kicking every inch of the man that he could reach. Alberto finally drops from his grip, giving Mike more room to act, targetting his knees and finally sending him down to one leg. He has no idea what to do next but there's a harsh yell in Spanish and he dives just in time as a revived Alberto spins over, hitting an enzuigiri that rocks the man even further, but before either can do anything, Ricardo lunges in, dropkicking the man down the rest of the way. He's clearly not entirely with it, blood is caked along his temple and he's still staggered from the drugs, but he grips Alberto and Mike, muttering apologies repeatedly, eyes wide and desperate for their forgiveness.
Alberto and Mike hug him on either side, trying to quiet him, and finally get him up to his feet, helping him down the wide bus. They're both desperate to be out of here, away from the monster of a man, but it's difficult to keep Ricardo up and moving. Finally they get him down the steps leading outside, Alberto gripping his forearms while Mike supports him with an arm around his chest. Ricardo barely makes it back into the arena before collapsing, the last of his strength fading away. Mike exchanges a quick glance with Alberto before running for the trainer.
Ricardo is slow to recover from the emotional and physical trauma, but between Sofia and Paige taking care of him, he tries to be strong and cheerful until he's finally cleared to return to touring full time with WWE. Nearly a month after getting taken by Adam Rose, he returns to interviews and things of that nature. So much had changed since, the Rosebuds had all been freed and Adam Rose had been all but blacklisted in the company, the Authority unwilling to reward his criminal actions risking their company. "You're safe now, love," Paige tells him, cupping his face and gently kissing him.
"Gracias," he says, looking around at all of them. "For finding me, for fighting for me. I don't know what would've happened to me otherwise."
"You never have to worry about it," Alberto tells him, patting his arm. "We'll always be here for you, mi hermano."
"He's right," Mike smiles at him, an arm looped around AJ's shoulders. "Always."
Ricardo looks even more overwhelmed, his eyes wet, and can only find the words enough to say, "Muchas gracias. For everything. I can never repay you all for everything you've done for me."
"You never have to," Alberto tells him, hugging him as Mike agrees in the background. "It is what family does, si?"
Ricardo smiles through his tears. "Si, of course."