The Artifact

Cid Raines, Hope Estheim

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Making the trip to the Fifth Ark was not a journey that Cid Raines particularly enjoyed. Usually Wyvrens were used as the preferred method of transportation, but Cid had never quite grown as fond of them as the air fleet of warships that he had once commanded. Now those warships were docked on the ark. There was only so much energy that the colony could spare and structures such as wind turbines, water wheels and solar panels weren’t worth the cost to build them. There were two types of energy in his world. One of them was the raw, physical energy that lit all of the streetlights and heated the water for the citizens he protected. The other energy could be considered magic energy. It was the energy that suspended Cocoon and the expansive warship that was his destination. 

The ark was over three kilometers in length, and nearly the same in width. It possessed four floors originally, but had since been renovated to include as many as seven. The interior of the ark appeared exactly the same as the exterior; it was obvious that the aging metal scrap had not been assembled for aesthetic purposes, and Cocoon had no interest in making the ship comfortable and welcoming in appearance. It was ironic to Raines: the floating hunk of junk had been constructed by the inhabitants of Gran Pulse to serve as the final Zion. Now it was a location of death utilized by Cocoon to extract information, train soldiers, and exemplify a long tradition of strength and power to their enemies. Cocoon believed it possessed a divine right to take what it needed from the lands surrounding it. After Gran Pulse waged the first war against the utopian nest, Cocoon had made sure at every opportunity to remind its enemy of the pain and suffering they had experienced. Seizure of the Fifth Ark was one of those opportunities. From the moment the overthrow began, the ark became known as New Arcadia.

“Hope Estheim,” he commented, announcing his arrival to the chamber he was being held in. Hope’s eyes dropped – he had been trying to count the number of nuts and bolts on the ceiling in an attempt to mathematically determine how many of them were used to construct this room. Is this who he had been waiting for? Of course, it had to be Raines, didn’t it! Of course, he shouldn’t have expected anything other than the worst possible scenario. Still, he wasn’t going to make his discomfort apparent to the older male. “Where have you been hiding all of these years?” Hope smirked.

“I wasn’t hiding. All you had to do was come and find—“

“And find you I did…” Raines interrupted, removing his jacket and folding it over the back of a chair. “You’re dismissed, gentlemen,” he added to Hope’s personal guards.  The goons nodded and stepped away from their prisoner, shutting and barricading the door after their departure. “Hope, I’m not going to be able to believe anything you say to me, but I’m going to give you an ultimatum just in case that overactive brain of yours can see reason.” He approached the youth quickly with the tick of his cold boot heels echoing softly. “And if it can’t,” he rested a black gloved hand on Hope’s shoulder in a fraternal manner, “we will have a very solvable problem.”

“What ultimatum?” Hope inquired curiously. Is this how the night would play out? Did the tokens he chose mean that he was going to have a chance at either life or death?

“When you provide me with the truthful information I request, you will be free to leave, Cid answered plainly, reaching his other hand into his pocket to withdraw what looked like a small steel box. He rested his thumb on the top of it and reached for one of Hope’s unbound wrists. Hope let him extend his hand forward, palm up, as if he would receive something. He looked at him doubtfully, knowing that any information that Cid would want from him would probably be information he wasn’t inclined to share. He began to pull away from the taller man, but Cid’s grasp on his wrist cinched painfully. “Tell me about Noel Kreiss.”

“Who?” Hope asked, witnessing his hand pale from blood blockage. “Let go,” he ordered, trying to minimize the show of feeble attempts to free himself of Raines grasp. Cid didn’t repeat himself. Instead, he flicked his thumb back on the little metal box to reveal that it was in fact a lighter. Hope watched with wide eyes as Cid moved the lighter beneath his hand. The flame was blinding hot, and Hope’s nerves shot daggers of white pain up his elbow “Augh, I don’t know who that is!” he exclaimed, using his free hand to push the dancing flame away.

The next thing he knew, he had been spun around and was bent over face down on the cold, flat surface behind him. Raines gathered his other wrist with the same hand and began to twist them painfully higher and higher on Hope’s back. He tried to cheat himself forward on the table to alleviate the pain, but soon Raines was leaning his body into his back, holding him firmly into position.

“That’s too bad, Hope,” Raines commented, his warm breath tickling the inside of Hope’s ear. He deposited the lighter back into his pocket and snuck his fingers through the roots of his captive’s hair. The boy was still struggling beneath him, but soon enough that matter would be settled. “I’ll tell you what. Any time you want to open up about it, you let me know, and we’ll take a break.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” the boy grunted, “But I don’t know the guy! There’s nothing I can tell you.” It was hard to breathe under Raines, and his arms were effectively trapping any air in his lungs previously from escaping. Meanwhile, they seemed to be inching higher and higher. “I don’t know him!” he shouted, afraid that they would snap. If only he could arch his back a little…

“Here’s the problem. Right now, I can’t trust anything that you say. But, soon, I will trust you a little bit. Then, I’ll trust you a little more…” The fingers snarling themselves into his hair gave a rough tug, forcing him to arch away from the table. “…And by the end, not only will you be singing the truth to me, you’ll be pleading for me to let you stay here at my side.”

“Bullshit!” Hope exclaimed, realizing that his arms were starting to go numb. He couldn’t even feel Cid’s grasp on his wrists anymore, only the deep warm chuckles purring into his ear.

“Oh, Hope. You’re so eager to get started. I hope you enjoy yourself as much as I’m going to.” He paused, taking the moment to deliberately enjoy the seduction of the youth’s position. “Come.” A swift tug raised Hope completely off of the table and again into a vertical position. He struggled to follow Raines’ backwards movements, and tried to see where he was leading him. The hand at the back of his neck controlled his attentions however, anguishing his hair roots.

Luckily it was a short distance, and soon, Cid was rearing from behind him. He brought into his sights a flat headed silver snake chain which was swiftly fastened around Hope’s neck with practiced experience. The chain was slippery, and colder then the tabletop. It wasn’t tight though, which Hope found surprising. Cid released his hands and returned to where he had discarded his jacket. It appeared that he was interested in retrieving it or something else. Hope took the opportunity and let his fingers travel along the back of the chain to measure how long it was. It seemed as if the chain had been looped around itself about an inch behind the back of his neck. His fingers kept traveling and he spun around. Raines had attached the other end to a larger sized link chain that spanned the entire height of the room. Blue eyes ascended curiously, wondering how he had missed this contraption when he was counting the nuts and bolts on the ceiling. There didn’t appear to be a way to unhook either of the chains, there was a lock device that was keeping the snake chain from opening larger. ‘But not shorter,’ Hope realized in horror. This device would yield something akin to a modern-day hangman’s noose. But, how did it operate? Was there some way that he could obstruct it?

A sharp whistle returned his attention to Raines who now stood before him again, with his hands crossed behind his back. “What do you think?” he asked, admiring Hope’s stubborn poker face. “Want to see how it works?” He raised one of his black gloved hands and emitted a soundless wave of energy. The ground trembled as the device activated and whirred. Hope grabbed at the snake chain with his left hand and the link chain with his right, as if it would help to calm the machine’s disturbed peace. His right hand began to ascend before his eyes at a generous pace and his left tried to wrap itself around the snake chain to keep it from moving. “I wouldn’t do that,” advised Raines, “It’s a good way to lose a hand.”

“How about a head?” Hope growled defensively. It was unmistakably obvious to him that the reason for this whole charade had nothing to do with this ‘Noel Kreiss’ character. Cid was angry because he thought that Hope had killed his best friend. There was nothing that Hope could do to convince him otherwise, and that was one of the true reasons why he had originally fled Cocoon. Raines had said it himself, he had been looking for Hope. Raines’ eyes narrowed and he brought his hands up again, the machine jerking quickly forward. Hope was forced to drop his hand, the snake chain snapping against his neck like a whip. He pressed himself against the link chain and brought himself to the tips of his toes before the device finally ceased its movements. The chain was strangling just under his jaw line, and respiration was tricky but possible.

Raines approached him and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look into his dangerously glimmering eyes. “You do not want to make this personal. You will not survive, no matter what information you give me. Do you understand?” His voice was oddly calm and chilling to the bone. In fact, the only reckoning of what he truly felt was displayed in his eyes alone. Hope swallowed, recognizing the determination in the powerful man’s stature. Many people had grown to fear his interrogator, and it was easy to see why. Even with Hope on the tips of his boots, he still wasn’t tall enough to look into Raines’ eyes evenly. The man still glowered over him, making him feel very small. Even being fully clothed, he couldn’t help but feel as if Raines could see right through him. Raines’ expression softened for a moment, appearing to have read that last thought that crossed Hope’s mind. “Now, remove your articles.” Hope didn’t move. “Would you prefer that I did it for you?” He reached for Hope’s jacket and slid it over his shoulder. Hope flinched, watching it fall to the ground and bounce against the link chain. It brushed against the bottom of his boots, tickling the arches of the sore feet. The thought occurred to him: Raines needed information from him. What would he do if he didn’t play this game? Quick, emotionally based and nonscientific calculations assured him that Raines wouldn’t let him die. Cid was slipping his gloves beneath his waistband now, and Hope was sure that it would only be a few seconds before they would slide off of his hips like his jacket previously. No, he wasn’t going to play this game any longer. Hope eased off of the tips of his toes, engaging himself in a different way to Raines’ game. The chain snapped tighter as he dropped, working to eliminate not only air but blood as well. His legs had gotten tired already, and he didn’t want their strength to abandon him when he would need it, which, if he succeeded, would probably be very soon. Still, he found himself trying to hold his breath. It was just like his body to betray his mind like this…

Raines stroked Hope’s side, finding the boy suicidal to have dropped himself so abruptly against his tether. “That’s very interesting, Hope,” he commented softly. “You must have some very interesting things to say if you’re willing to off yourself to protect them.” Hope’s eyes widened at his comments and his gentle warmth. He was going to let this happen? He was going to just stand there stroking his abdomen and let him die? No way! The world was already starting to blur and darken for him. It was a trippy feeling to have his lungs screaming so fiercely for air but his mind soothingly cooing him to rest.

Raines was smiling again, apparently amused.

He had completely misjudged him. Again.

Summoning all of the will and self respect he possessed, Hope shifted onto his toes, hoping to god that the snake chain would somehow permit him a way to once again respiration. But no, he couldn’t; a sudden downward force on his shoulder pushed him firmly back onto the ground. It was Raines’ hand. He was trying to kill him now! Maybe he shouldn’t have made that comment earlier about Lightening…

The chamber was waving at him back and forth to him now, both spinning and pulsing while his mind started to drift farther and farther from reality.

“We’ll have a conversation about commitment later,” Cid chided to the slack body before him. He reached above and unlatched the sliver chain before gathering him into his arms. Hope had passed out, not died. Cid was very aware of what it took to suffocate a person, drown a person, intoxicate a person, and every stage that brought a person closer to death. He was very pleased to witness the brave actions that the boy took, and indeed, it excited him in a way he previously wouldn’t have considered. But why should it have? He liked to imagine that he knew everything he possibly could know about Hope. Surely, his research on him must surpass in page number the entire sum of every other case over the course of the past year… Raines enjoyed obtaining that information too… It was the one part of his job that he felt he could distress.

 

Moments later, Hope awoke to the pungent scent of ammonia. He coughed and thrashed, realizing that it was coming from a vial beneath his nose. His head rolled to the side and he coughed again, opening his eyes a bit to take in the reason why he couldn’t otherwise push Raines’ hand away. What he saw brought him to full consciousness better than the smelling salts. Black straps crossed over his shoulders and under his pecs, over his thighs and then there was the case of his wrists and ankles. His arms were suspended above his head individually, linked to tethers attached to the ceiling. His ankles were individually cuffed as well, but linked together with a simple infinity style hook fixing. He was absolutely naked.

“Don’t look so betrayed,” Cid responded to Hope’s angry glare, “Before you went black-out, I ordered you to remove your clothing. You can’t honestly believe that it wouldn’t happen.” He circled the small table and took a seat where he could admire the full view of the sight in front of him. Hope wet his lips, cheeks steaming with embarrassment at being presented this way. “Let’s have a short discussion about what happens when you don’t follow instructions,” the man continued, grasping the infinity clasp with one hand and flicking the lighter on with the other. Hope bucked, trying to get his feet away from the flame, recalling all too well the incident that had occurred with his hand earlier that hour. Raines’ held the clasp securely and continued, brushing the flame against the bottom of his foot. “When I tell you to do something and you don’t do it, you get punished. You won’t enjoy it. Stay still.” He locked eyes with the squirming Hope, awaiting his obedience patiently. Hope found it one of those things that were easier to say than to do, especially in this situation. He clenched his jaw painfully when his body jeered at him, questioning his motives for not successfully worming out of the situation.

Finally, when he was able to command control, his knees stopped dancing about and Hope swallowed, silently condemning Raines for his single demand. After a few seconds of enduring the flame, Cid snapped the lighter closed and set it on the table next to Hope where he could see it. “When I tell you to do something and you do it correctly you get treated. It will feel good,” he assured, releasing the infinity hook and massaging the bottom of the boy’s abused soles with his fingertips. Hope could feel his body relax in his touch. Shit, why wasn’t it listening to him today?

“See?” Raines asked, letting one of his hands sneak up Hope’s calf. “That’s not so bad is it?”

“I don’t know who Noel Kreiss is,” Hope repeated.

“Don’t speak unless you have something relevant to say,” was Cid’s reply. He brought himself to his feet and continued, “Your little episode of bravado didn’t go unnoticed, though I do hope it’s out of your system. Although it was a pleasant surprise for you to reveal your enthusiasm for your position, you don’t want to attempt to test me again. Do you understand?” Hope glowered at him defiantly, but said nothing. After all, how was he supposed to know if Cid would find it ‘relevant?’

He hated the way Cid was looking at him. He felt like he was being mocked. Not an hour ago, the man had been trying to strangle him and now this? He was looking at him almost like… almost like he respected him? But if he truly respected him, he wouldn’t do such deranged things such as strip all of his clothes from him and fasten him into this twisted-fetish get-up shit. He wouldn’t make ridiculous demands such as ‘stop moving’ and expect him to obey him. ‘I’m not your slave,’ Hope considered. No, he had decided earlier he wasn’t going to play this game with him. He was sure it would end badly. ‘And yet,’ he realized, ‘Cid told me what he was going to do and then he actually did it. It was rather predictable the more he thought about it. Now he was unlinking his ankles. Too confusing…

“Uh- hey!” he protested, “What are you—” Cid had refastened his lower cuff pair so that his knees were completely bent and his thighs securely restrained his ankles. Hope immediately crammed his knees together to protect his manhood, but Cid seemed more interested in procuring an item from long black box under the table. He opened the box and showed its contents to Hope, who didn’t understand. There were a series of thin stainless steel rods, each slipped into a small sleeve. The item that caught Hope’s wonder the most was about two inches long and a little thicker than the other rods. It also had a small ball on the top of it, reminding him something of a miniature pen. The box was set down near the edge of the table on the other side of the lighter. Hope didn’t appreciate the way that they shined in the bright light of the chamber.

“Are you cold?”

“What?” he found himself immediately inquiring, glancing back at Raines. He had heard his question perfectly fine, but it had been an unexpected one. Why would Raines care if he was cold or not?

“Well, either you’re cold or you’re afraid,” Raines answered in a matter of fact tone, gesturing to the Goosebumps that were starting to grow on his legs.

“Tch, I’m cold,” Hope answered quickly. Afraid wasn’t a term he would have used. Nervous perhaps? Confused was even better. Yes, he was especially confused now. Why was Raines removing his gloves? Raines nodded, fastening his gloves to his uniform over his shoulder. He began twisting off a cap of clear looking jelly and selected one of the smaller of the rods from the case. Hope had a terrible feeling that somehow Raines had the idea that the rod was going to enter his body somewhere that he didn’t want it to. They both watched the jelly spread silkily on the metal before Raines put down the vial and rested his free hand on Hope’s knee.

“Open,” he instructed simply. Hope shook his head slowly. “I can make you open your legs,” Cid reminded coolly, “Remember our discussion about following instructions?” Hope searched his face for answers, but found none there to comfort him or convince him. “I’m not a patient man, Hope,” Raines’ voice grew cold. Reluctantly, and against everything he could have believed in, Hope parted his knees. It was only an inch, but the action had such severe consequences for his pride that he was surprised he managed even that. Raines didn’t look appeased. “Open, not cracked,” he specified. Hope swallowed, and attempted to distract himself by wondering when his throat had gotten so tight. His knees drew farther apart to four inches, then to seven. Eight. Raines was still staring at him, unimpressed, with the rod balanced between two fingers. Hope couldn’t look at him any longer. His pride was shredded at thirteen inches and he couldn’t manage any more.

He gasped when a warm hand directly grasped his sex, and his first reaction was to squirm away. The harness prevented this though, and the firm way Raines held him really prevented him from escaping anywhere. That burning humiliation burned stronger on his face now, and he could feel the blush prickling down the back of his neck and starting to descend his collarbone. Still, his eyes bounced unapologetically from his tip to the top of the rod that appeared to be descending ever closer. No, this looked like it was going to be extremely painful! Raines, was focused on his work. “Don’t move.”

Hope didn’t move.

The rod descended into his urethra, so slowly that for a moment Hope wasn’t even sure if it was moving. But then he could feel it sliding along his length, the lubricant permitting its movements without pain. It did feel uncomfortable though, and it was bizarre to have something moving in that direction. He pulled himself up a little bit to see better, earning an irritated expression from Raines. Hope looked away quickly, feeling something like he had his hand caught in the cookie jar. No, that was ridiculous. ‘It’s my body,’ he realized, and he had every right, moreso than Raines, to oversee what happened to it.

“You can watch, just don’t move,” Raines reasoned, reading his facial expressions like a text. It was cute in a way. Hope really was inexperienced in this sort of thing, he could tell. Of course, he hadn’t expected that the youth would understand everything that he would do to him, but he found Hope’s ability to adapt to different situations admirable. Originally, he had intended on doing nothing more than interrogating him, but all of that had changed the moment Hope rejected the flame on his hand. There was something captivating about the way that his icy eyes gazed at him, and he intended on stomping out any defiance they still possessed. Hope would become his first. Then and only then would he decide what to do with him. Technically speaking, the manner in which Hope had come to Cocoon and New Arcadia had been in his control completely, and so would be his departure. Yes, that was what he wanted and nothing else any longer. The control of this boy—It would be his very soon.

Soon, the rod was completely sheathed into Hope’s body. Hope seemed to think that that would be the end of it, and he lay back in his restraints again, allowing his arms to carry his weight instead of his bottox. He had absolutely no idea of the fun that was to come, Cid decided.

Hope’s chest was raising and falling softly as he started to get used to the feeling inside of his prick. Raines was reaching for the canister of jelly again. He picked moved to pick up a different rod, but changed his mind and instead reached for the pen-style one. He held it between his fingertips and lubricated it in the same manner that he had done for the rod resting inside of the young man.

“That’s—no, that’s not going to—You can’t!” Hope stammered, leaning forward again, alert and alarmed. Raines didn’t comment, but smiled, balancing the cock plug between his fingers again. He replaced his firm grip on Hope’s length and used the other to gently maneuver the inserted sounding rod back and forth, in and out. Hope’s eyes closed with a soft groan. He fidgeted in his restraints, attempting unsuccessfully to both lower his arms and kick his ankles out from underneath his thighs. Half lidded blue eyes returned to gaze at Cid. He could not believe that this devil had forced that sound from his chest.

 “Someone looks anxious to try something a little bigger.” Hope opened his mouth to deny it, but Raines continued moving the rod in and out of him, producing another soft groan in place of an argument. He played with him for a little while longer before removing the rod completely and setting it on top of the sleeve it had been previously sheathed in for future sterilization.

“No, no more. I’m done,” Hope declared, closing his legs on Raines.

“You will wear this.”

“I won’t wear anything.” Raines nodded slowly in comprehension. Hope doubted that it could be that easy. Much to his shock, the older male set down the device and loosened the tethers that held Hope’s arms above his head. “Thank-you,” Hope commented, feeling uneasy. Raines was moving behind him now. Maybe he was going to leave? No, he could feel his hand on his shoulder, slamming him back down against the length of the surface he had been perched on. He grasped the snake chain and began pulling it down farther, away from the table until it went taught against Hope’s throat. Desperately, Hope’s reflexes told him to grab at the chain and get it off of his neck, and Raines seized this opportunity to steal his wrists for his own. By the end of it, Hope was bound in a spread-eagle position face up on the table.

Raines brushed a stray hair back into place and lifted the device he had previously abandoned. Hope struggled against his binds, unable to see what Raines was doing at the foot of the table. Then, that firm grasp returned to his sex. It was firmer this time, almost too firm. With no more difficulty, Cid pressed the short tube to his head and began to ease it into his shaft like he had previously with the thinner object.

Hope tossed his hips and spat frustrated curses at his body’s new master, but froze when he saw the lighter next to his hand. That probably hadn’t been an accident.

“Now,” Raines informed, “you have earned yourself a punishment.” He released Hope’s bindings and pulled him off of the table with a strong grasp on his bicep. He escorted the stumbling youth back to the device that he had fainted on earlier. The snake chain was attached and secured not too tightly but not too loosely either. Then, Raines activated the machine again. It was all so fast that Hope barely had time to prepare himself for what he expected to happen. But, instead of the chain link retreating into the ceiling, it began to move in the opposite direction, down to the floor.

The young male bent to follow it, clinging and tugging on the link chain in a futile attempt to make it stop. Soon, he was brought to his knees and then he watched the edge of his snake chain disappear into the floor, pulling his cheek right up against the ancient tile. The machine stopped on its own again; it looked as if it couldn’t descend any farther into New Arcadia. Hope looked to Raines for some sort of assistance, but he realized how silly that idea was. After all, Raines was the one who strapped him into this machine in the first place.

It was so uncomfortable like this! It probably would have been better if he laid himself flat on the floor but there was something so submissive about it that Hope couldn’t bring himself to do it. ‘It’s gritty, gross!’ Hope complained to himself, shuffling around. He brought one of his knees back up again, but found that it arched his back in an entirely uncomfortable way. His shoulders would have to stay near the ground if he wasn’t going to strangle himself… Grrh, all of this because Raines was angry that he didn’t want him to put that little shiny tube in him. His hand moved to his groin protectively, suddenly aware of the way that his pride was bobbing from his movements. The ball on the end poked out like a little cap, and Hope found its surface to be smooth, but warmer than he imagined. Probably the heat from his thighs had warmed it.

“Leave it be, Hope.”

“Leave what be,” Hope frowned and turned his head away from Raines.

“The plug. You can call me Master if you’d like.”

“I can call you what?” Hope retorted, flipping his attention back to Raines angrily. His angry expression vanished the moment he recognized the items in Raines’ hands. In the left, a riding crop. In the right, some sort of fabric. “You don’t own me.”

Raines smiled a very patient smile. “Left or right?”

“You’re going to make me choose?”

“Permitting,” Cid corrected, “Or, if you prefer, I will decide for you.” He began to advance, spinning the crop between his fingers.

“Right!” Hope selected quickly, retreating to the other side of the link chain and posing as if he were in mid-push up. His back was starting to ache from the angle he had been forcing it at, but he was absolutely determined not to flatten himself down on the floor.

Raines nodded in agreement and knelt down to Hope’s tired body. He loosened the snake chain enough to permit himself enough room to safely flip Hope onto his back, and returned it to where it had previously been once he had done so. He eased his head up and revealed the cloth to be a hood. He knelt down and applied it to the misbehaved, zipping it up in the back and tightening the buckles on the side that would serve to properly blind and silence the young adult to the world. Hope again fell into the curiosity trap, and began to feel the exterior of the hood with his hands. Raines gingerly intercepted them and clasped them together: with what, Hope could not infer. He let his fingertips feel the buckles on his head, their leathery texture was just as soft as the mask was but he didn’t appreciate the straps that made moving his jaw such a difficult task. Why else would Raines have left his hands in the front of him if he didn’t mean for him to be able to adjust these? He had only started to loosen the tongue on a strap when a burning crack impacted his abdomen.

Hope heaved and covered the area with his hands and bringing his knees protectively closer. Instinctively, he rolled onto his side, away from where the force had initiated. All right, apparently, that wasn’t the reason for Raines’ mercy. ‘Pfheh. That’s a funny thought,’ Hope chuckled, ‘Raines and mercy really shouldn’t be in the same sentence.’ What was that? It was thin and rigid-like? Oh, it was the crop. Raines was probably indicating to him that he wanted him to roll onto his back again. Hope wasn’t so inclined. He was probably going to hit him with the crop again. But then, it disappeared. Would Raines hit him for not turning? A soft tickle slid down the length of his spine and Hope discovered himself willfully rolling onto his back again. He waited apprehensively for a moment or two. There was no more contact.

Damnit, he hated how Raines was doing this to him. It had been a warning, and Hope not only correctly interpreted it, but acted upon it exactly how Raines had wanted him to – without Raines even having said a word! Now that he had a moment, Hope realized that from the very beginning Raines had been pulling strings to get him here, to put him in this position. What time had he arrived in this chamber today? How long had he been waiting for Raines to arrive? How long had it taken him to teach Hope to obey commands like these? Already Hope was finding it easier to just do what Raines demanded of him instead of disagree. It wasn’t that he wanted to do it, it was just easier. Right?

His hands smoothed over his own frame, fingers weaving themselves in and out of the D-rings that made the X shape over his pecs. It felt like leather. Real leather, and it had been treated. ‘How many people wore this before me?’ he wondered, expecting a chillingly high number for an answer. ‘Where are they now?’

He cringed; his thumb had just run over where the crop had beaten him on his abdomen. The skin felt warmer there, and slightly raised. Was he imagining it? He pictured a long red streak where his fingers were massaging. Wow, his body felt entirely different to him. He located the leather on his thighs and fingered the small rings on his ankle straps, wondering exactly how Raines had been able to measure his body so perfectly that they would line up so well with his knees folded. Where was Raines? Had he left? Hope was having difficulty hearing. Was he standing there? Watching him? His hands glided over his body to his abandoned shaft. It was truly amazing how different the world felt when a person couldn’t see, hear or speak. Still, it was a part of his body that he was very well acquainted. He gave it attention just about every day. That is, except for today. He felt apologetic towards it. It was his fault that Raines had invaded it with his cold scary rods. He let his thumb roll over his head and quickly found the metal protruding ball. He contemplated pulling it out. But, was Raines watching? He had told him not to.

The air was thick for Hope, and heavy. A small child could have been sitting on his chest and he wouldn’t have noticed the difference. He inhaled and exhaled deliberately, finding that his senses were starting to wreak havoc with his psyche. He kept imagining that the edge of the crop was trailing over his body in impossible places. Any minute now it would crack down on some other unprotected location. It could be his legs, it could be his arms, and it could even be that sensitive area between his legs. Where was Raines? Was he there? Was he even paying attention? His thumb rolled back over the ball and back over his tip. He didn’t want to let go. Somehow being able to reach himself was comforting – whether for protective reasons or controlling reasons he couldn’t ascertain. It didn’t matter. What mattered was… Was Raines watching? What would he do if he started to masturbate himself right here like this? No- that was a bad idea. He wasn’t allowed to take out the device, and if Raines was watching it’s probably what he wanted. ‘Damn,’ he thought angrily, drawing one of his knees up. His bare feet slipped on the dusty tile. When was the last time anyone swept in here? This was the last thing he wanted! To be sprawled out like this on the ground in front of Cid Raines like this… to have no control over what went into his own body, it was just completely…

Oh no. It was happening.

Hope swallowed and squirmed, hoping that he could hide the fact that he was starting to harden in his grasp. This shouldn’t be happening! Why was this happening? The simple memory of Raines’ sounding rods shouldn’t be enough to encourage a reaction like this! At the time it had felt great but he hadn’t gotten hard then, so why now? ‘Calm down, calm down,’ he advised of himself. He felt like his heart rate was so loud that the entire world –all the way down to Gran Pulse – could hear it. His lungs were grasping for air, panicking at what any significant change could mean. They reminded him that he was chained to the same device that had made him black out before.

His other leg jumped up and his hands rose to thumb the chain above his head. Was it moving? It felt like it was moving. But no, that didn’t make sense because the machine wasn’t whirring. Didn’t the machine whirr last time? No, that was it. He needed to see if Raines was there. He needed to see if he was turning on the machine. But – if he touched the straps on his mask again, Raines would surely retaliate with something worse than a riding crop. Instantly, Hope began to imagine all of the terrifying and deadly objects that Raines possessed in his arsenal.

Where the hell was Raines?! What if he had left? What if someone else had come in? What if someone accidentally turned on the machine? A small part of Hope cautioned him against catastrophizing, but it went unheard. What if it did go farther into the floor and someone turned it on by accident? What if he died like Lightening did?

Off! Off! Off! He needed the hood off! His hands worked madly, trying to grasp at the tongues of the straps. For some reason they kept slipping out of his grasp. ‘C’mon you little…’

Raines had been monitoring the entire scene, but he was surprised to see how fast Hope had begun to panic. He knelt next to him and removed his bound, trembling hands from their activities, holding them steady at Hope’s navel. The sudden touch appeared to have alarmed Hope even further though, and Cid soon found himself using his other hand to keep the young male from thrashing about. At this rate, he was likely to black out again, and he wasn’t doing anything to calm down. “Tch. How to calm you down…” he murmured softly to himself. Quickly, he straddled the fragile looking male, resting back to keep his knees from kicking back and his left hand to softly massage one of Hopes hands. With his right hand, he grabbed for the crop and pressed it between his palm and Hope’s arm.

Hope found himself thrown into the highest irrational stage of panic when Raines had interrupted his hands. So someone had been there the entire time, and no, it couldn’t have been Raines because Raines would have hit him with that crop, not only held it against his arm. Certainly, Raines wasn’t the type to softly stroke the back of his hand with his thumb either. All the same, Hope found the gesture to be somehow reassuring that whomever it was, they weren’t going to let something bad happen to him. Within the mask, his eyes were closed, not wanting to open them and only see darkness. Moisture had filled the inside of the hood from his frantic breathing, making it especially hot and uncomfortable. Most of all, Hope wished that his heart would stop its incessant pounding in his ears. If anything, it was keeping its own rate up to 160 BPM.

His wish was granted in a different way. The man seated on his hips had dropped the crop and was unzipping the hood behind his head. Ah, so it was Raines the entire time. Seeing him again made Hope both want to cry and throw a punch. He did neither. Instead, he trembled and shook. Hopefully Raines wouldn’t be able to tell why. Oh, how he hated him. It was so easy for Raines to manipulate him and Hope couldn’t begin to count the ways that he had already used that to his advantage. Even now, even this, he couldn’t blame him for what had occurred. Cid had offered him a choice, and he had done this entirely to himself. It should have been easy, all he had to do was lay there, and he couldn’t even do that right.

“Would you like to return to the table?” Cid asked him point blank. Hope nodded, unsure of what else to do. Of course, if he had said ‘no,’ Raines probably would have done something else terrible to him. No, that wasn’t right. So far, everything terrible that had happened to him he had brought upon himself, hadn’t he? He couldn’t answer his questions, he didn’t listen to his orders, and he now learned what would happen – what could go wrong and worse – if he didn’t obey them. “Okay,” Cid agreed, “I’m going to release this hook, and you’re going to get up and walk yourself back over to the table. Do you understand?” Hope nodded again, swallowing the little amount of saliva that just didn’t seem to quench his sudden thirst.

“Do you have water?” Hope asked quietly. Raines smirked as he released the snake chain.

“I knew you would ask me that. It’s on the table.”

Hope brought himself to his unsteady feet, grabbing on the vertical link chain for balance. Carefully, he placed one foot in front of the other, closing the distance between his punishment event and his salvation on his own power. His neck ached from the way the snake chain had mistreated it, and he found himself rubbing it softly before collecting the small cup of water and making it his own. It wasn’t nearly enough to quench all of his thirst, and when he swallowed it made his throat burn. Was this really water? He glanced into the cup and saw a bead slide around the circumference of the glass. Yeah, it looked like water. His throat was just that dry. ‘Stupid adrenaline,’ he scolded his body. He wished he could actually sit down and talk to it. Maybe then it would stop betraying him.

A moment later, a larger hand reached over his and removed the small cup from his grasp. Raines was done cleaning up the crop and unhooking the snake chain. Hope couldn’t help but feel glad that he was done drinking it, even if it was only the size of a shot. Now Raines’ hands were on his body. They were unusually soft for what Hope had pictured that they might be. Raines always appeared to be one of those do it yourself guys who loathed sitting behind a desk to issue orders. ‘Then again,’ Hope mused, ‘he does usually wear gloves, doesn’t he?’ Hope sighed as the hands crawled over his abdomen, massaging the red crop mark gingerly. It actually felt surprisingly good, and Hope found himself suspending his wrists out just a little farther to give him a little more access. Raines didn’t venture, but instead found his waist and turned him so that he would face away from him. Hope saw the lighter and the small black box on the table and was reminded of what had earlier taken place here.

“Wait, I need a break,” he pleaded as Raines eased him back down onto the table surface.

“You just received a break,” Cid replied, “Tomorrow you will make up to me the nine minutes that you missed today.” Tomorrow? There was going to be a tomorrow of all of this? Hope’s focus zeroed in on the empty cup.

“How many tomorrows?” he asked, his cheek lying once again against the cold surface. It was different this time though. Although he knew he had no choice in the matter it just didn’t seemed to be as forced an action. It wasn’t forced.

“Master,” Raines corrected.

“How many tomorrows, Master?” he sighed, his teeth locking together as he clenched his jaw.

Raines traced Hope’s spine with the back of his finger affectionately, “As many as you need.” He loved the way that Hope shivered under his touch. “After this, you’ll go to bed,” he added, breaking the binds that held his hands together free and repositioning them at the head of the table. “Stay.”

Hope rolled his eyes. Of course he wouldn’t move. What else would Raines want than to make sure that he was completely powerless? He was starting to understand the reasoning behind it though. It wasn’t only that he wanted to have the control, but he wanted Hope to be able to feel comfortable giving him that control. ‘Such a twisted system,’ he lied to himself, ‘who would ever want to do this normally?’

His right wrist became secured with long tethers, although the generous slack permitted him to comfortably use his arms as supports if so he chose. The left wrist followed suit.

“You’ve been doing such a good job I thought you might like something nice,” Raines explained, returning to massage his abdomen again from behind. Hope thunked his head back against the table softly. Something nice? ‘Well, what does that mean?’ he wondered, closing his eyes. Raines was right, if this is what he meant. There was something about his touch on his stomach that was relaxing.

The room was quiet for a moment while Raines worked his hands. They moved up and down Hope’s stomach before investigating other areas. One slipped up his chest over the leather to his heart where it would find a plush rosy nipple. He crossed his other arm around Hope’s waist, holding him firmly against him. Gently, he rolled his thumb over the sensitive tip he had discovered. Hope’s eyes shot open again, and he jumped back when it started to be rolled and pinched between Raines’ thumb and forefinger. He found himself pressing himself back against Cid’s hard, immobile form.

“Mmnh” he groaned, lamenting how his body was reacting sensitively to Raines’ touches. Raines did it again, producing another soft exclamation, “Aah—n” Er, was it Hopes imagination, or was Raines growing harder against his ass? Hope imagined that this sexual play was motivated by something other than sex. But maybe that wasn’t so. “Aah! Damnit, Raines, what are you doing?” he questioned, feeling the hand previously on his hip begin to slide down his lower abdomen and between his legs. Raines chuckled and leaned into his neck.

“Who are you addressing?” Hope’s face flushed again, realizing that this “master” name deal was going to be a longer term act than he had signed up for. The hand that was teasing his nipple pinched it painfully when Hope didn’t answer. ‘It’s just a word, just use it,’ the little voice in his head said. Raines fingers were more painful by the second.

“You, Master,” Hope choked quickly. The pain ceased immediately and Raines let his hand softly stroke the area. It was as if it was saying, ‘See? That wasn’t so hard was it?’ The other hand was swirling around the top of his thigh. It had given a few strokes, but that was all. Hope felt teased, and yes, Raines was definitely growing hard against him. ‘What do you want from me?’ Hope asked himself, too afraid of the answer the taller man would respond if he had asked him instead.

He shuddered at Raines’ light touch and dropped his head on his shoulders before lifting it again, realizing another game he wanted to start with him.  ‘Don’t,’ his little voice worried, ‘last time he let you have it.’ Hope smirked. This was different. Raines didn’t seem to be that sort of person, did he? Raines’ hand was circling on his hip again and Hope found himself wishing it would return to his groin for another stroke. When it came, his prick pooled with life and Hope took the opportunity to grind back on the man servicing him. He grinned for a short while, believing that he had assumed come control over the situation. That was before Raines picked him up and turned him over, face up on the table.

The tethers crossed, but there was enough slack provided that it was possible for the action to take place. Hope just wouldn’t be able to move his arms as freely as he had before. Raines looked up between his legs with cool brown eyes.

“Do you think you deserve such a thing, Hope?” he asked coolly. Hope blinked. Deserved what? To be fucked by Raines? No, no that was something he thought he definitely didn’t deserve… Though, now that Raines had asked, it had been the question at the back of his mind since he had stripped him of his clothing. It looked like Raines wanted an actual answer.

“No…Master,” he added thoughtfully.

“Good boy,” Raines nodded, catching Hope by surprise yet again. Really? That had been the response that Raines wanted to hear. He grasped Hope’s calf strongly, pressing it back against his thigh with ease. “I really think I like this view of you,” he offered, steering Hope’s knees apart. “Especially that red. That looks good on your complexion.” The blush deepened.

“Aah! Mmoh… nnn,” he was taken by surprise when Raines started pumping his hand down the length of his shaft. The device inside of him jostled and stroked him from the inside, bringing a whole new level to the experience that Hope had never felt before. He rested his head on the table and groaned, allowing his legs to be parted freely by his new master. Raines gladly continued pleasing him, rotating his shaft in his palm and squeezing the sack that lay underneath. Hope’s chest rose sharply and fell. He could feel himself giving in to this action. It was like he was falling head first down a rabbit hole that he knew he’d never be able to drag himself back out of.  He just hoped to god that he wouldn’t crash once he got to the bottom.

Raines moved between his legs, pulling Hope down against him so he could better reach other areas of his captive’s body. His mouth found the youth’s skin and took advantage of every sensitive spot he could find on his upper body. Recalling the positive way he had responded to his finger tips, the taller man captured the other rosy tip in his mouth and began to suck.

Hope yielded to the other’s actions, and found himself arching his hips slightly as to allow easier access to his unit. He hissed when Raines nipped at him, but they both knew that he had grown stiffer, not flaccid because of it. In fact, now that he was able to stand on his own, Raines abandoned his shaft’s attention briefly. His fingers traced down his backside and nestled on that miracle inch directly behind his equipment. He kneaded the spot firmly with his thumb, using his other hand to caress the length of Hope’s side. Ugh, he was so incredibly sexy like this. Raines had no idea that Hope had this sort of potential. He paused in his advances and brought his fingers to Hope’s parted, silently moaning lips.

“Suck,” he instructed. Hope obeyed again without question, taking his fingers deeply into his mouth and swirling his tongue on them. They tasted clean, and were soft and warm. Hope was so busy enjoying what it felt like to have them in his mouth that he didn’t consider where these fingers might be going after they left it. But, at the rate that Hope was going, they might have not even gotten a chance. Raines had suddenly become indecisive. Now he wanted nothing more than to stuff his engorged self in there instead. With every flick of Hope’s tongue, the man could imagine it being around his own shaft.

Originally, he had a plan. Now, that plan was going to disappear and make room for a new plan that he had now just devised. Hope, it seemed was going to be receiving exactly what he wanted.

Raines pressed Hope’s unsecured leg flat onto the table, and quite easily joined him, straddling his hips possessively like he had done with him on the floor. Hope gazed up at him, but not appearing altogether to be surprised to see him there. Raines removed his digits from Hope’s mouth and gave him a stern warning, “No teeth.” Within seconds, he had lowered his pants just enough to reveal his own masterpiece. Hope’s eagerness all but vanished, but he accepted the challenge. Raines eased himself past Hope’s lips, and Hope received him with a warm reception. His brows met together for his challenge as he was determined to make the most of this sudden change in positions. If he could satisfy Raines, maybe he would let him leave before their ‘tomorrow.’ He could feel the man’s hand guiding his head back and forth, and he found himself holding his jaw so openly that he thought it might unhinge. It hurt, but not a lot, so the sounds of protests he made were few.  His eyes closed on their own, allowing him to focus on the way that Cid was both thrusting into his throat and pulling his head to meet him. He tried his best to breathe through his nostrils, and was so far excelling at it. This wasn’t the first blow he had given another man, but it definitely was nothing like this.

Finally, Raines appeared to have his fill and he withdrew, just in time to explode his seed on Hope’s lips, face, and neck. Hope looked a little petrified, as if he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do with the liquid. Raines shook his head softly and retreated his staff and his position back to the floor. Hope struggled to get up and follow him, but found that his wrists were still bound. Raines flicked his finger at him, a universal signal to turn around. Good. Did that mean that they were done?

“Can we take it out, now?” he asked, referring to the plug trembling from side to side with his movements.

“Knees,” Raines instructed softly, reaching for the jelly and spreading it on his fingers. Hope reluctantly brought himself to his knees on the table. The only problem was that now the plug was farther away from Raines.

Suddenly, he felt fingertips teasing his opening. This part of sex wasn’t new to him either, so he knew well to try to relax as much as possible. The digits dove into him, invading his insides as if they, themselves were actually Raines’ pride. Deeper and deeper they wormed, curving into him until they found a spot that shot starbursts of euphoria into Hope’s mind. Immediately, he was intoxicated by it. His elbows gave way, changing his position from a sturdy four legged stance to resting his shoulders on the table. Already he had almost all but forgotten about the plug. Almost. But he didn’t dare say a word, lest Raines were to consider him unappreciative and stop his beautiful movements all together. He could feel his other hand massaging his sack from between his legs, the tickling of the soft cloth at his sleeve going unnoticed in comparison to the sheer amount of pleasure that was blowing his mind.

Raines could measure how close Hope was to releasing his cream by the volume of moans that were steaming from that velvety throat. He deserved it, he had done a spectacular job receiving him.

“Please, please,” he was panting, “I, I…”

“Just do it. Don’t worry about it,” Raines assured.

“No, I… I…” Hope didn’t believe him. It felt so firmly planted in his head that he was sure he was going to harm himself. But then again, Raines had given him a command….

There wasn’t much that he could do either way. Raines had brought him successfully so close to the edge that there was no stopping the pressure. He found that his liquid’s current would loosen the cap enough to permit its passage. Droplets of creamy white landed on the tabletop and began to pool together. Raines was rubbing his leg softly now, and his back.

“Good job,” he applauded, “Let’s get you cleaned up. I’ll see you tomorrow at 7:30AM.”

---

[NAN]