Never Surrender. (The hateful betrayal)

Story by Gareth Gryphonclaw on SoFurry

, , , , , , , ,

#2 of Never Surrender!


Never Surrender.

"Thank you all, and may True Power give you serenity!"

The Feline hopped off the ship, his sword already unsheathed, ready to take on the Southern Continent and whatever new experiences it held! Not noticing the curses from the sailors, he started running across the plains, ready to take any encounters head-on!

After who knew how long, he heard sounds of Canine speech and various tools at work. Coming closer, he could see them: a bunch of Dogs with saws and axes, talking and heading in a different direction.

"Ah, a Southern band," he thought to himself, "This'll be my first chance to see what a bunch of Dogs are like!"

"Hey! Can you tell me where I am?" He leapt out at the Canines, waving his paw out.

The Dogs turned to him, and snarled. Foamy drool dripped down from their mouths, and their paws went to their weapons.

"Okay, it that's how you want it, bring it on!" He lapsed into his battle-ready state of fearlessness, when the natural Power all Aetroziythuns learned to use would heighten his senses and sharpen his blade. The Dogs stared at him, rusty weapons drawn, but he laughed at them and shouted out, "I will never surrender!"

He grabbed his sword to swing it, but couldn't! It was at his side just moments ago, but was nowhere to be seen! No matter, he could always strike bare-fisted.

"Never surrender..."

His wrists were locked together, as if by shackles! No matter, he had True Power on his side, the courage and perseverance giving him the strength of four and the ability to throw fireballs to set his foes' clothes aflame!

"Never surrender..."

He wasn't in Aetroziythus, not even in the Northern Continent. He felt True Power leave him, taking with it his courage, his honour, his hope and his fireballs. He felt naked and unprotected, uncertain about his situation, the snarling, ferocious Dogs, or the taunting, mocking laughter that echoed through his ears. No matter, he had his... he had... he could always...

"...Surrender..."

He woke up, expecting to find himself tied to some fiendish contrivance, but found himself on carpeted stone floor. After careful testing to see if that really was stone surrounding his warm patch of upholstery, he arose, yawned, and found a small tray with food on it. Slowly, cautiously, he sniffed at the water and looked at the odd fruit. What did that Dog call it? Ymi fruit? He realized how hungry he was, not having eaten since yesterday, and quickly finished off the fruit and the water. Aside from the carpet and a door with a small pane of barred glass for a window, the room was bare. After a moment's curiosity, he looked through the window in time for it to hit him in the face.

He crawled backwards hastily, so the door wouldn't press him against the wall. His Feline vision got used to the light quickly enough to see the barrel-chested Equine form standing in the doorway: clad in buckles and straps, black chaps, a nipple piercing, and a codpiece that would have to make him waddle slightly, the looks of the Horse reminded him that he was in a dungeon full of wicked Torturers and insane slaves.

"What's going to happen today? More-"

"Get up and go," the Horse snorted. He pulled him up by the scruff of his neck and pushed him down the corridor, always behind him. The angry Feline tried to turn around to hit him, but got shoved to the ground as he whirled around, then had to leap back up to avoid a kick from the Horse's hoof.

"In there," the Horse snorted, and kicked him into another, larger room: it looked much like the first one he had found himself in, except bigger and better lit.

Also, many of the shackles on the walls and furniture had occupants. A few were sleeping (or unconscious? Or...) some were struggling, and one, a Tiger, was snarling and fuming: most of his swearing was directed at the Vulpine, whose face was securely fastened to his crotch.

"They even enslave their own Kinds? Where am I? How can I get out?" He snarled fearfully at the Horse, who just snorted, "Know your place."

While wondering how that Horse could snort whenever he spoke, he heard a pained whimper from behind him. Turning around, he saw a brown Stoat, body covered in odd-coloured sores and bruises, cowering on the ground with one ankle chained to a post.

He ran over, and found the Stoat dressed in a purple corset, long gloves, and matching stockings, with nothing to wear over his- her- uh...

"Wh-who are you?" the Musteline hermaphrodite quailed. "P-please don't hurt me..."

"Ugh, how horri- I mean, unusual..." he thought to himself . He then realized he was spending too much of his attention in a place he shouldn't, and quickly looked away. As it turned out, the purple spots on hi- he- the Stoat weren't bruises, but dye, used to hide the grey spots on the otherwise brown pelt.

"I, uh, won't hurt you..." the Feline began.

"But I will." The Horse grabbed him again, and pushed his back against the wall. Chains clasped his wrists to the cold stone wall; he tried to kick out, but his leg met metal. The bar clasped against one ankle, and then the other. He shook and struggled, but to no avail. His arms were tied behind his back, his legs held apart. He snarled in furious embarrassment, but the Horse gave another snort.

"I'm gonna make you a dirty yiffslut," he chortled. "You're gonna take anything I want to give, and you're gonna like it." He stalked off and petted the bound Vixen's head to express his point.

A low hiss begun in his throat, aimed toward the Horse, but a snicker from the Stoat stopped him. "You don't frighten me," shi said in a way that sounded like shi was indeed frightened. "You don't. I've known worse, so there's nothing you can do that would-"

The Musteline's rally quieted down as the Horse walked back over, his shoes clattering against the stone floor. When he came to a stop, one hoof pressed down on the Stoat's paw, which in turn was pressed against the floor.

"You don't know me, Stoat. I don't like your attitude, and I don't like your paws. You gonna need those fingers on 'em?" He took his hoof off her paw for a moment, then suddenly shifted his wieght.

"N-no, please! You've got other appointments to- NO!" The chained Feline closed his eyes and let out a yelp, trying not to hear the neigh, the crunch, the wail of agony-

"Well, what do you know," the Horse articulated each word slowly, his hand on the quivering Stoat's head, "Shi knows hir itinerary. I've gotta go talk to Gallowtail, so you be a good li'l herm and keep your mouth shut."

"B-but, what about- let me out of here!" He couldn't take this maddening experience, and would pull that smirking Horse's jaw apart, if he could only reach it!

"Aw, the Kittycat wants out?" The Horse held up a small key on a chain, letting it dangle. "Well, seeing how politely you asked, here, you can have this!"

He slipped the chain around the Feline's neck, letting it hang on his chest. He struggled to reach it, but it wouldn't even come close to his paws. The Horse left the room, laughing as a stream of profanities followed him.

"Save your breath," the Stoat murmured. "You'll need it for when the real torture begins. You won't be able to grab it anyway."

He stopped swearing to listen to the Stoat, (the herm?) and said, "So, you said you know worse than him? Is there such a thing?"

Shi gave a pitying, condescending snicker. "Of course there's worse than he is. He doesn't even have a title. If you ever find yourself under someone they have to call 'Ireline, Keeper of Woe,' then you have a reason to be afraid. Believe me, I know."

Shi gave a vicarious shudder, then looked up at him again. Shi smiled to hirself after seeing how transfixed he was with the states of the other slaves, especially the ones locked in compromising positions with one another.

"They do that for a reason, you know. You have the means of escape right there, but you can't use it. They seem to do everything for a reason. Maybe they put you next to me for a reason." Hir low-pitched voice took on an unnerving, singing tone: "They-always-have-a-reason-but-they-never-tell-you-why!"

He shuddered and looked down at the poor Musteline, who was chained to a post right beside him...

"Please, si- mis- whoever you are," he whispered, "you can reach up and take this key, can't you? You can let me go, and I'll help you get out of your bonds!"

"They-always-have-a- What? I could always reach up and give you a blow job; that's what I'm here to do."

He tried not to consider it, turning his eyes away from hir less than fully clad body, then turning them away from the Fox and the Tiger, engaged in what he could only assume was that aforementioned act. "Uh, there'll be time for that after we can get out of here. I might need some clothes, though, if there are any in this place..."

"Hmm, okay! But if Ireline finds out about this, you're going to be punished worse than anyone in here!" Shi reached up as far as shi could and grabbed the key from his chest, taking the opportunity to nuzzle against him and regarded the beginnings of a Feline erection with glee. A couple of flicks of hir wrist, and shi had the chain.

One of the other slaves in the room saw this, and gave a growl, but he didn't care; hope blossomed in him once again. "Okay, now use it on these!" he whispered, pulling the shackles on his wrists close to the Stoat.

"Say you want it," shi playfully smirked. "Yes, of course I want it! Uh, the key, I mean."

"What? Of course you want it, but if I let you go, and that Horse comes back with Ireline, you'll have to beg and scream to even end up back here! I... I don't think I can do this..."

"B-b-but, please! I need it; I need your help! Please unchain me, and I'll always be grateful! I'll even help you with your chain!"

"Hmm, okay..." The fickle Musteline reached over as far as shi could, and grabbed the lock. A few clicks later, and the naked Feline could stretch in the first freedom he'd had all day. Soon, he'd be out, and the only way he could be tracked out of this pit would be the whispered epitaphs of those foul-

"Please, sir, what about me?"

He blushed a bit at "sir", but knelt down to grasp the chain connecting the Stoat to the post. "Hey, it just slides right off! You could have gotten free minutes after you were put here!"

"Oh... I guess I didn't notice that. Thank you for finding it out, though. So, I suppose you'll be off now, letting us go our seperate ways?"

He entertained the idea of starting two escapes at once, but his personal code of honour reminded him that he couldn't leave another in danger, especially after aiding in his rescue. "No, I won't leave you here! We must hurry!"

"Oh, don't worry about me, I know my way around here. If you're that grateful, then follow me! Oh," the Musteline turned hir head back to the room in general and shouted, "Hold things down without me!" then took off, the relieved Feline in tow.

They snuck through corridors, up and down stairs, and occasionally had to duck around a cage as someone else passed. He tried to look straight ahead, but his ears got the better of him. He found his head turning to one side, and immediately turned it back. Then, he looked back again, to watch a slave struggle in some tight-fitting sack, while a Torturer slid a polished, rounded hook under the tail of a whining slave who was already hanging from the ceiling. The Stoat eventually had to pull on his arm and whisper, "C'mon," while the Feline stood transfixed at the various punishments being administered all around him.

"A-are you sure you know the way out?" he asked after a while. "I think we've passed by this place already: that looks like the same Rabbit on the-"

"And just what is going on here?"

A black-and-brown Lupine growled at the two of them, causing the Feline to instinctively reach for his- the fear started to rise in him once again, but a new feeling sprang up and began to surprise him: "Give yourself up," it said, "and she'll certainly go easy on you. All it will cost you is your dignity, your honour, your bravery, your innocence..." He shuddered with revulsion at what it was telling him, and was startled at the fact that it was causing him to bend at the knee.

Fortunately, the Stoat straightened up and said, "I am bringing this slave to a new Torturer for his training; by order of Ireline, Keeper of Woe, he must be there now. Please don't detain us; I don't want to be beaten again."

"But there's-" the Wolf began, then stopped. A wry smile broke out on her face, and she continued, "Very well. For your sakes, you had better hurry with him."

"W-wow, does this Ireline run the place?" he asked as they scurried away.

"Only partially: along with Gallowtail and Nightshade, they make up the Trinity who rules over us, and corresponds with the governance. They're all very skilled and very fearsome. Quickly now, we're nearly there!"

Shi stopped in front of a large, wooden door, and ushered him up to it. "Go on, this is it!" shi urged.

He felt the fear, the apprehension, and the revulsion melt away; glorious hope lifted him into its warm embrace as he unthinkingly opened the door, whispered a brief "Thank you" to his saviour, and stepped through it.

A click behind him meant the door was now locked. He spun around the room as the truth sunk in: its walls were made of stone, with wood, and carpet over that, making it effectively soundproofed. Various wooden-and-metal devices he had seen in the halls and into the open doorways, including a rack of tools along one wall; they seemed more stylized or inlaid, giving the air of a meticulously acquired personal collection. Instead of freedom, he had been led even deeper into this debaucherous pit, which meant...

He tensed his muscles to leap at the treacherous Stoat, but was grabbed by a set of arms: that Horse from before, snorting happily into his ear. Instead of a contemptuous one-liner, he instead snorted, "How'd I do?"

The Stoat stood up to hir full height and shook hir hair out into a curly mass of purple which served to accentuate hir eyes and mouth; shi straightened hir corset, pulled hir gloves up to hir elbows, and tied a pair of belts to the base of hir tail. With the addition of a pair of baggy shorts, the slight, quivering slave was gone; in its place stood-

"Ireline," he whispered in contempt. "It's you, isn't it? Why?"

"You did magnificently, Dunstan," shi said smoothly. "However, threatening your Keeper like that will cause repercussions. Once we finish with this one, you will forfeit the use of your arms for a week."

Dunstan made a pouty face, lost his air of dominance, and whined, "Aw, but I'd never-"

"Be silent! This slave, who is now to be my personal Kittycat, has been bound, threatened, and betrayed; now, the torture of his body shall commence. But as you watch his soulful expressions and listen to him scream, Dunstan, you will envy him with all your might: for the tortures I will put him through, no matter how dire, will be but a prelude to what I have intended for you."

Ireline had a contemptuous sneer on hir face, making hir seem even more intimidating; Dunstan, on the other hand, sounded sycophantic and petulant: "But Owner, I did what I tho-"

Shi pushed the held Aetroziythun aside and took hold of Dunstan's nipple ring:

"Do you remember what this is, slave?"

The barrel-chested Equine looked down and mumbled, "My collar..."

"Exactly. For your continued disobedience, you will also be gagged unless I need your mouth open, for some reason. Starting now. Fetch me that bit gag, on the desk."

The Feline realized shi was talking to him. _Maybe ...shi... will be so mad with him that shi'll forget about me. Besides, if I fight Own- Ireline now, I'd only lose and get hir angry with me. But if shi's happy... No! _

He mentally derailed his train of thought as he stumbled over to the desk. Looking amidst the pencils, papers, phallic objects, and intricate metal things whose purpose he tried not to think about, his hand came to rest on a gleaming metal bit gag.

And stayed there, through a debate with his conscience, Ireline's steely command of, "Bring it to me," and her slave's assurance that he doesn't have to if he-

He placed the small metal pole in Ireline's paw, where it was transferred to Dunstan's mouth.

"Ah. I see you know how to follow orders, when given the right incentive. Now be a good boy and lie down on the rack: Dunstan seems to want to play the Master so much, he's going to get another chance at it." And, switching from hir playful tone to her forceful one, "Lie, down, slave."

He looked over at what looked like an old torture device, redesigned to merely render the captive immobile, while leaving the maximum body area exposed. He leaned down to get on the- No! Remember your father's motto!

A densely-packed ball of will, small but hard like a diamond, sparked new defiance within him. Oh yes, they talked big, they might actually hurt him, they were, admittedly, somewhat frightening, but this confusing madwo- madma- and hir brutish pet Horse would not break his Aetroziythun fighting spirit! He glared at the Stoat and said, "You'll never get aw-"

"Shut up Cat, I get what I want," Ireline interrupted. "It's another vocational perk. Besides, do you think you're the first uppity slave I've handled? Do you sincerely believe you can intimidate a Torturer? You will lie down and accept the inevitable," shi pressed him down against the rack, "and you will love it!"

He reached up to claw at hir, but Dunstan had grabbed his paw and began to secure it to a wooden beam; he kicked out, straight into Ireline's grip. With surprising strength, shi pushed his ankle against the metal clasp and locked it around him; a few extra belts made sure he couldn't move at all.

"You don't seem to realize that you aren't held here at a whim; you marched right up and committed an unprovoked act of violence to a few Canines in a place where such is not a common occurance. We shall teach you to be quiet; to be docile; in short, some manners. If you choose to submit easily, then I will swiftly delegate you to one of the other Torturers. If not, then I will forcibly-"

"I am not going to be your yi-"

Ireline was ready for this, and counter-interrupted him. "Of course you won't! I use Dunstan for that, when and if I choose." Shi paused to run a gloved paw down hir Horse's chest, eliciting a muffled whinny from him. "You, however, will get no such attention, no matter how much you beg for it.

"Now then, as much as I've enjoyed our little chat, there is still the matter of making you scream my name and title. Dunstan? Fetch my whip."

He had long since stopped struggling against the cold metal shackles, attempting to slide into a state of calm indifference. "I will not scream," he whispered softly. "I will not beg. Do your worst."

His calm state was jarred loose by a piercing laugh. After looking at Dunstan, and remembering that he had been gagged, the only one it could have come from was Ireline.

"Oh, I shall hold you to that, Feline," shi snickered, "but I'm not going to do my 'worst': Dunstan will." He had returned with a long, black whip, designed for functionality, and stood by his Owner.

"Dunstan, dear? Start him off with, say, thirty lashes, then affix the clamps as directed. Don't skimp on his punishment; I don't intent to skimp on yours."

The Horse didn't even snort: he gave a silent, pleading look to his Owner, who returned it with a scornful scowl. The Feline saw his momentary internal struggle, recognizing it as if it was his, and pleaded out, "No, Dunstan, don't! Y-you have control over yourself! P-please, you don't have to do this! You don't!"

"Oh, but he does!" Ireline laughed at the stupid Cat's useless babbling. "You're merely pitting your word against mine, the plea of a slave against the will of his Owner." Shi ran a finger down his hide and leaned down to whisper in the bound Cat's ear: "He was much more of a problem case than you are, even though he wasn't here for such heinous charges. But I didn't force him into personal servitude; oh no, though I have power over him, he gave up control to me without prompting. Now, it goes far beyond the usual concept of 'trust': he couldn't disobey me, even if he wanted to.

"So now, my personal slave, I put it to you: will you protect this sad, confused Feline with his foreign rhetoric and idealistic beliefs, or will you obey your Owner? If you obey him, you will no longer be a slave, and thus forfeit your collar and position here. If you do not, he will feel your betrayal, as he felt mine; then, he shall feel actual pain, which you will inflict upon him. His only comfort will be in the knowledge that he will then watch me at work; and I promise the both of you, he will have had things gentle and easy. Well, Dunstan? Who would you rather side with?"

Ireline felt a lovely chill from the thrill of the moment: the look on Dunstan, the Horse shi had treated all these years with such carefully calculated abuse; the matching look on the face of the Cat, whose name shi didn't quite remember at the moment; the way his hopes were raised at the pleading look hir slave flashed toward hir; the way, with the most beautiful sorrowful rictus, her adorable Horse raised his arm, and swung downward.

What a handsome screaming voice that Cat has... I should have ordered him to count the blows...

Ends the Second