#pharen

Commission for @switch-up-snowfox

of his DBXV2 Arcosian patroller Pharen

✦I lay down to sleep, closing my eyes and waiting for slumber to overtake me. Slowly I fall asleep and into the nightmares, I’ve become so accustomed to. My sleep becomes restless as I move further into the dream.

I open my eyes. Where am I? Last I remember was... Fighting. That's right. My squadron and I were in the middle of a battle. And yet, where are we now? I scan the room and see the remaining members of my squadron bound to the walls, many unconscious and beaten half to hell. I try to move to them only to realize that I am restrained as well, though suspended from the ceiling instead, with binds around my wrists and ankles.

My weapons have been taken away, along with my armour, leaving me in the thin bodysuit I wear beneath the reinforced metal and fabric. I call out to the others, hoping to rouse them and come up with some sort of plan. They wake and immediately try to break out of their bonds, to no avail. “Princess, Are you okay?” I’m asked by a young but familiar voice. I try and turn within my restraints. With my restraints digging into my flesh, I finally manage to turn towards the voice. It's Pharen, Theron’s nephew, and my apprentice, who I had told to stay hidden behind cover. “Pharen! What are you doing here? I told you to stay hidden!” I hiss at the young boy, worried he would get caught up in something he wasn’t ready for and didn’t understand.

He straightens as much as he can, given his bonds. “I saw them capture you so I tried to help.” He must have seen the concern and disappointment on my face as he quickly continued. “I know you think that I don’t understand and that I’m not ready yet, but I want to help. This is my home and my family their hurting too. And you’re more important to Mushi then I am. So I will do anything to protect you. No matter what.” He puffs up slightly, with a more serious expression then I had ever seen on him before.

I sigh then smile softly at him. “We might just make a soldier out of you yet kid. We just might.” Any kindness in the room was immediately sucked away as the doors abruptly open, revealing our captor, Soline, the Second in Command of the Dueler's Decree. He walks into the room with a disturbing sly smile. "So, Mushi's greatest warrior, the famed Fighting Princess, is actually a weak little girl. That doesn't say much about your military, does it? And *I* managed to capture you. I must be better than I thought. And now I have Mushi's greatest treasure right here before me, bound and helpless." He walks up to me and cups my head, licking his lips creepily. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know. How long it takes, and how much you hurt, is up to you."

I growl and spit in his face, a hissing noise starts as the venom in my spit slowly starts to eat away at his skin. He wipes it onto his sleeve and grimaces. "You're going to pay for that." He walks over to an empty wall and slides his finger along a groove in the panelling. The panel flips open, revealing a large array of strange and scary devices. He looks at them for a moment, before picking up a large metal wand with two prongs at the end. He flicks it and an electric current starts to run through it. He walks back over to me with a malicious smile. "Don't worry, it'll only hurt a lot." With those words he jabs it into my stomach, making me convulse within my binds as the electric currents surge through my body. I cry out, and he seems to enjoy my screams as I writhe with agony.

He pulls the rod away and I collapse against my binds, breathing heavily, desperately. "You'll come to respect me eventually princess. That or you'll learn your place here. Under my boot." He jabs the rod back into my stomach and holds it there longer, watching as I shake violently. He pulls away and lifts my head. "Anything to say? Or are you weaker then I thought?" I breathe heavily and open my eyes, deep blood red with rage. "Fuck......Off" I say, gasping between breaths. He grimaces before leaving me to hang limp. "I'll leave some time to think. It'd be smart to just tell me what I want to know. Next time I won't be as merciful."