Butch wandered back down to the basement, his earlier lust returning in waves as soon as he laid eyes on Buttercup. She was turned away from the bars as far as she could go, her shoulders hunched near her ears in an attempt to lessen the strain on her arms. Butch felt a stab of pity, reaching for the key to unlock her wrists.

"Do you want a break?" Buttercup flinched, peeking at him over her shoulder.

"Like you'll do it for free." Butch snorted, reaching up and grabbing the cuffs. Buttercup watched in silence as her wrists were unchained, her arms throbbing in relief as she finally rubbed her raw wrists. Butch frowned, grabbing them and turning them over. Buttercup smirked, letting him pretend to show his concern.

"Imagine that. Raw and sore wrists from being chained to the ceiling. Who would've thought?" Butch frowned harder, dropping her wrists and knocking her out without warning. Buttercup slumped forward, her dead weight crashing into his outstretched arms. He laid her gently on the floor, unlocking her ankles and inspecting the damage. The skin was an angry red, and dried blood was caked around the sores on her ankles. Butch scooped her into his arms, regret flashing through his mind.

I should have used softer cuffs. He carried her up the stairs, heading straight to his room. Brick, who'd come to the kitchen for a snack, glanced at him with a raised brow but didn't bother to say anything. Butch ignored him, climbing up the stairs and turning toward the forest green door. He set her down gently on the bed, torn on what to do. He wanted to let her wrists and ankles heel before putting her in cuffs again, but he couldn't have her unchained completely and free. He scanned her body, looking for a good spot to shackle her. His eyes lingered on her unblemished neck, her delicate skin calling to him like a beacon. He grinned, snapping his fingers as he wondered how he never thought about collaring her before. He searched for a delicate one, settling for a soft leather with plush fur on the inside. He put it on himself to test it, nodding at the feel before removing it and placing it around Buttercup's neck. He put it just tight enough to stay around her neck, while still being loose enough to not hinder her breathing. That would come later, when she was more...receptive...to his touch. Nodding to himself as the collar was connected to a loose chain connected to the foot of his bed, he picked her back up to test her range of movement. Once he was satisfied, he placed her back on the bed before crawling in himself, wrapping around her as her heartbeat lulled him to sleep.

Blossom was officially over it. Their escape plan had failed, Buttercup had been living in just awful conditions, and Bubbles was beginning to grow used to their life here. She could almost see why, as Boomer was much more gentle generally than Brick. Brick was still upset that she'd tried to escape, as if he couldn't understand why she'd want to leave this place where she and her sisters were treated like toys. She was thankful Butch hadn't done who knows what to them, but she wished he'd grown a slightly larger conscious and let them all go. She hadn't seen Buttercup since they'd found the dungeon, but she had heard her sister's voice coming from upstairs occasionally, as well as things being smashed against the wall, so she felt relieved that at least Buttercup wasn't still stuck in the dungeon. She was also torn on how she could further investigate the people who kidnapped them in the first place, and how to get that Black Market closed for good. I may have to get the boys to help...

Brick was in the kitchen when she found him, mixing something in a bowl. She barely glanced at it before loudly sighing to gain his attention. Brick turned to her with an unimpressed stare before going back to whatever he was doing.

"What? Or did you find me for nothing?" She huffed, still deciding on what she wanted to bring up first.

"How long do you plan to keep us here? Forever?" He snorted, pouring the mixture into a pan and heading for the oven.

"That's the idea. I thought you were smart Pinky." She rolled her eyes at the jab, moving closer after he'd closed the oven lid.

"Brick. We both know that's not going to work with the way things currently are. Surely you didn't think that we'd just smile and accept being treated like toys for the rest of our lives??" Brick crossed his arms, his blazing red orbs sizing her up.

"Bubbles seems to be adjusting well."

"That's called Stockholm syndrome."

"Either way, what would you three even do if you got out of here, huh? In case you didn't notice, Townsville isn't the same as it used to be. Especially since you three haven't been seen in years until now." Blossom frowned, her mind going into unwanted places. She didn't want to relive what she and her sisters had been subjected to during their...disappearance.

"Live our lives. Something I can't say we're doing here." Brick shrugged, and Blossom had the distinct urge to shove him in the oven. The conversation was going nowhere, so she decided to change tactics.

"How long has that Black Market been around?" Brick cocked a brow, thinking about it. It has always been around, but never as openly when the girls were still controlling criminal activity.

"Probably a year or two after you disappeared." Blossom frowned harder hearing that, confirming her suspicions. She and her sisters had been kidnapped and confined, as if waiting for something. When they were sold, the handler seemed sure that they would go to some pervert. And while that was true to an extent, ending up with the boys didn't seem like the goal they were trying to achieve.

Her head hurt from the multiple theories swirling in her mind. Maybe she shouldn't worry about it. Her undying optimism had long faded, and she didn't want to be a hero anymore anyway. While she was curious why they had been kidnapped in the first place, maybe it was better to leave well enough alone. At least she knew the boys wouldn't kill them.

"Blossom! Bubbles! Bloss-" Buttercup's voice jolted her back to reality. She dashed up the stairs before Brick could blink, her steps thundering in her haste. Bubbles was coming from the other side, her wide eyes showing her panic. Together they burst into what they assumed was Butch's room, twin shrieks bubbling in their throats.

Buttercup was on the floor, her already tattered clothes hanging on by a thread. Butch sat on top of her, his hands in the middle of pulling her clothes off. They both turned their heads at the sound of the door opening. One of Butch's hands was covering Buttercup's mouth, no doubt to stop her from screaming.

Bubbles dove for him with a growl, knocking them both to the floor on the other side of the room. Blossom scooped her sister into her arms, covering her as best she could. Butch had his hands up in surrender, slightly choked from the hold Bubbles had on him.

"It's not what it looks like-"

"What were you trying to do?!"

"Blossom." Buttercup grabbed her attention weakly, clutching her stomach. Blossom understood immediately, lifting her clothes out of the way enough to see the wound on the side of her stomach. It was bleeding again, no doubt reopened from all the moving she had done.

"Shit."