(secret underground location, brig.)
Prozen lead Shaddow to a well lit cell, unlocked the door and entered. Shaddow trudged inside then turned to face Prozen after the man had locked the cell again. Shaddow made a contented growl. A scientist and a doctor were waiting out side nervously.
"Release him. Now." Prozen ordered the organoid.
Shaddow's chest compartments opened letting the young naked man inside spill onto the cold floor like a bowl of over cooked spaghetti. Shaddow then stepped away so Prozen could approach and kneel beside the quaking young man. The young man curled in on himself when Prozen lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Easy, Raven," Prozen soothed.
Raven shrieked and flayed about, trying to dislodge Prozen's hold. "Easy!" Continued hystericly, his voice raspy from the lack of use. "EASY? Get your damned hands OFF me! Let's see you going through that then coming out to say it was 'Easy!' Would you STOP TOUCHING ME! YOU ASSHOLE! I HATE YOU I HATE YOU! I HOPE YOU DIE SLOWLY!"
Prozen simply smiled with amusement and waited until Raven was finished his rant, panting with exhaustion. That was when Prozen leaned close to his charge. Raven's eyes flew wide with alarm as he felt Prozen sliding his hands up and down his arms in a way that was not at all comforting. His hair stood on end and his heart - which HAD begun to slow- sped up again. He didn't fight it when Prozen levered him onto his back and began to nuzzle his neck. Raven tried to calm his frantic self but could not. A warm, wet, soft yet firm, something caressed his throat and he heard Prozen groan.
"You taste so good, Raven." Prozen told him as he shifted over Raven's body, grinding against his hip.
Raven felt his eyes tear up. "Please don't." He pleaded softly.
Prozen just laughed.
Out side the Doctor and the scientist tried to ignore the sounds coming from inside the cell.
Some time later Prozen stood and adjusted his uniform, leaving Raven curled up on the floor sobbing softly to himself. Prozen open the cell and together with Shaddow exited, leaving the Doctor and Scientist to do their job.
"No mistakes, gentlemen." He reminded them as he stepped out of the brig, the organoid trailing after him.
The world shook. Raven only barely noticed it as he rocked in his cell. Naked and shivering, he stared at the air in front of him, arms around his knees. The world shook again, and he blinked. Suddenly it occurred to him that the world had been shaking for some time now. And the feel of the shaking made him think of weapons exploding. The lights flickered, then steadied.
/A Zoid attack?/ He thought with hope rising, briefly, before it crashed down again. /No one's coming for you./ He chastised himself, laying his head one his knees. A lone tear escaped down his cheek. /No one cares. I'm going to die down here./
"Why, Shaddow?"
Van was not exactly sure why, but when he, Irvine, and Thomas had finished rounding up all the enemy for the other army officers to deal with, he jumped from his Zoid and entered the room that was identified as Prozen's office. Thomas followed him.
"What are you doing, Van?" Thomas asked.
Van stood in the centre of the room, just staring into the air looking lost. "There's... something..." He said quietly.
"What ever." Thomas went to the computer on Prozen's desk and set about hacking into it. Van wandered around the room vaguely, until he came to the cupboard. He pressed a section on the wall and a door opened up.
"Thomas, look at this." He said walking through the doorway to an elevator. Thomas followed him after radioing in what they had found. There was only one button with obvious use. Van pressed it, and braced himself for a trap. Only the elevator began to move down instead. Both men blew out sighs of relief.
"I wonder where this is going?" Thomas said noting the flashing lights showing passing floors.
"Where ever it is, it looks like it's a long way down. We'll have to get people to check out all the floors before we leave. Who knows what else Prozen has been developing or what we would find down here."
The elevator slowed to a stop, and they stepped out to a room filled with equipment of scientific origin. In the centre was an empty human-sized glass tube with wires and tubes connected to it. Close observation shown that it had been filled with some kind of liquid. Thomas tried to radio in again and found that they were too deep underground for the signal.
"We'll have to get the doc to test out what that is." Thomas said. Van nodded absently, wandering around the room. There was another door leading down another corridor. Van pulled out his weapon and went to explore.
Foot steps. Coming closer. Slow, measured foot steps. Booted feet. Raven felt his heart race with fear, and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to curl deeper into himself. How long before he would go mad? He wondered. Not long enough. Perhaps he was mad already? Damn, he hurt. Why wouldn't Prozen just kill him? Easy answer for that, he was too useful. Raven shuddered at remembered agony, quickly shaking his thoughts away from that. Horrific. Not again. Please not again!
There were cells down here. Well lit, showing no one was inside. Still Van walked, looking into each as he passed. He was almost disappointed at finding nothing until he reached the last cell. There he discovered a naked young man with dark hair, curled around his knees, huddled into the furtherest corner of the cell, rocking. Van fished out his vibro dagger and sliced the lock so he could enter the cell.
"Hey," He said quietly as he approached the prisoner cautiously. The prisoner shrank away from him, whimpering. That was when Van actually recognised him. "RAVEN?"
Violet-grey eyes looked up at him, tears streaming down the pale face. Raven launched himself at Van and clung to him, sobbing. Van was shocked. He stood, not sure what to do with his hands as Raven pressed against him. Gradually Van lay a hand on Raven's icy shoulder, again shocked, this time by his temperature. He Gently pushed Raven away and undid his jacket. Raven looked at him wide-eyed when Van placed it around his shoulders. It did nothing to hide his nakedness, but it was warmer than the cold air. Raven pulled it around himself, and allowed Van to lead him out of the cell.
"Thomas!" Van called to him as they entered the room with all the equipment. "Look what I found." As soon as they entered the room Raven whimpered and pressed into Van's side, squeezing him with terror. Thomas looked up from the computer he was accessing and glared when he saw Raven. He paused just as he was about to draw his weapon until he actually saw the state Raven was in. Van's jacket did not cover the bruises on Raven's hips. Or legs. Or his shaking. Thomas' glare turned into a frown, then he pulled off his jacket too, and walked over to the two men.
"Here." He said offering it to his enemy. "It's not much, but it may cover your... um..." He found himself flushing with embarrassment. Raven reached out a shaking hand with bruises around his wrist and took the jacket, tying it around his waist. He bowed his head as a thank you, then went back to clinging to Van.
"Did you find anything?" Van asked. Thomas smirked triumphantly and held up a disk. "Good, let's get out of here."
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