(A/N - I dreamt this last night and had to put it in writing. I thought it was really cute so enjoy. R&R if you like^^. Oh yeah, I don't own 13 Ghosts, blah, blah, blah. We all know the drill! Enjoy!)

~*~

It was quiet in the dark basement; almost peaceful, and certainly a welcome change from the usual screams and tortured cries from the 12 containment cubes. It was usually quiet around this time of day, anyway and for the younger ghosts it was a time to rejuvenate.

Susan sat unhappily before her vanity table, the only thing to occupy her cell, and tugged at her bonds. She knew that no matter how hard she tried, they would remain forever tight, but she continued to struggle haphazardly. Allowing a dead sigh to slip her lips, she eyed the walls of her cell, searching for something to take her mind off the pain in her neck. She opted for the only available thing in the basement: music.

"Hey James Dean! Put on some tunes!" she said, turning her attention to the cell beside hers.

The Torn Prince was resting on the top of his upturned and mangled car, his arms crossed behind his head and his bat resting at his side. He opened one eye lazily and sat up, keeping his good side turned to her.

"I told to quit calling me that." He murmured wearily. Susan shrugged a little.

"Sorry, force of habit." She replied. Royce swung his top half over the side of his car in order to peer into the remains of the drivers' side window. Using one hand to steady himself, he reached inside and rummaged around. With a crackle and short sputter, the ancient radio came to life and the distant sound of the Angels singing 'My Boyfriend's Back" floated through the basement. Royce rolled his eyes faintly and cast a look in Susan's direction. Her eye twitched a little and the Prince decided another music selection was in order. Retrieving his bat from the roof, he elected to teach the old stereo a lesson and poked around in the open window until the song Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me by Karen Chandler came on.

"Better..?"

"Uh-huh." The Bound Woman's reply came out sounding bored and unenthused and she plopped down on the vanity chair again, gazing unhappily at her reflection. She looked up again and caught Royce leaning heavily against the side of his cell. "Hey, what's wrong with you?" She didn't bother hiding the concern in her voice.

"Headache. My whole body hurts - more than usual." Royce pressed his back to the glass and slid into a sitting position, letting his head fall forward a little.

"Take it easy then, Prince." Susan paused. "You were up all night again, weren't you?" He ignored her. "Royce, no matter how hard you swing at that glass, it's not going to break!"

"It's better than just sitting here!"

"It's not better than having your energy drained so you end up in this position, is it?" Susan glided over to the separating wall and sat down on her knees. "The pain I feel on a bad day isn't anywhere NEAR the pain you feel on a good day! Why would you put yourself through more torture - more than we already have to go through?" Royce turned his body so that Susan could see the extent of his injuries. She winced slightly, but continued to lock eyes with the other ghost.

"Why? Because I have nothing left, Susan. Whatever I have is right here with me in this cell, a prison within a prison."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said - if that car hadn't of trapped me inside of it, I wouldn't have died. Now, my death trap is stuck with me inside of this glass prison-" He stopped abruptly and clutched his arm tightly. "So even if it may not seem worth it to you or to any other one of us trapped down here, I'm going to keep trying to get the hell out of this place." He sucked in dead breath and winced. "None of us deserve this."

"Okay, knock it off and stop talking! Look at you, Royce! You're..you're-"

"Tearing apart?" He forced a grin to his lips.

"Har har, that was so funny, listen to me laugh."

"Oh come on, Dolly, cut me some slack!" Royce chuckled a little but was cut short by a trickle of blood escaping his lips. He wiped it away with the back of his hand and gave Susan a defeated look, leaning his back against the glass once more. "Fine, fine, you might be right about the whole needing rest thing."

"I know I'm right. Now get some rest." Susan started to get up but stopped, cocking her head to one side. "Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, sounds like people. Lots of people."

"What would people be doing here?"

"Who cares? Maybe they'll get curious and 'accidentally' end up opening our cells!" Royce replied grinning and shouldering his bat. "Whoo, I'm feeling better already!"

"Shush up - someone's coming down the stairs!" The Bound Woman returned his grin. "Batter up, Royce."

"Heh..yeah."

The two phased out of sight and waited, watching the thin-looking power guy cautiously make his way down the stairs and into the dimly lit basement.

"Cyrus, you son of a bitch..what did you do..?"

~ FIN ~

Hope you liked it ^^