Chapter Text
Torture training was standard for every G.U.N agent. They needed to be trained and prepared to withstand and endure the harshest torture methods, and any agent who broke during the process was either fired or had to do it all over again.
Of course, Agent Aban Stone was no exception to this rule, especially since he was trusted with some of the most valuable information that G.U.N, or rather, Robotnik, had to offer.
He had passed the same tests as everyone else. Being hit, stabbed, and sleep deprived didn’t faze him in the slightest. His devotion to his work (and his Doctor) allowed him to stay focused on resisting and staying sane throughout the whole procedure. But due to his status, enemies would be more likely to torture him more thoroughly, less likely to kill him due to the gold mine of information that was Stone.
So there was a special course reserved for only the most prestigious of G.U.N members. One that Robotnik had gone through. Walters had gone through. Rockwell had gone through. And now it was Stone’s time to go through it.
Robotnik was going to be the one overseeing the training, being the one actually torturing Stone. There was a specialised section of G.U.N headquarters specialised for torture, and it would be used for Stone’s final torture training session.
It would last a month without pause, methods only getting more intense the longer it went on for. And Robotnik was the only person Stone truly trusted enough to “help” torture him.
The day it began. Stone was a little nervous, as was to be expected. He stood outside the room where Robotnik and Walters were discussing the proceedings of the training. He couldn’t hear inside, but he trusted that they would keep him safe… as safe as one can be in a situation like he was about to experience.
The doors swung open, Robotnik stepping out with a flourish before noticing Stone.
“Ah, there you are. You seem awfully eager to begin, Agent Stone.” He said with a grin, Walters stepping up behind him.
“Are you certain you’re ready, Agent? I’m afraid there’s no backing out once this begins.” Walters explains, to which Aban swallows the growing lump in his throat, shaking his head.
“I’m certain.” He wanted to get this over with, wanted to be prepared if worst came to worst. Besides, he trusted Robotnik with his life. The only person he would allow to do something like this.
Robotnik stepped forward, not even glancing behind him as he expected Stone to follow, and that he did. Aban trailed behind Ivo nervously, preparing to sacrifice his dignity for a month for the greater good.
The two approached double doors labelled “RTI”. Stone’s head filled with memories from previous sessions, weeks spent on the cold ground without food or light or human contact. He had come out alive, and stronger than before. This would be a piece of cake.
Robotnik’s gloved hands pushed the doors open with a grunt, not even waiting for Stone to scramble after him into the preparation room.
“As per protocol, we must do a drug and alcohol test, do a pat down, yada yada..” Robotnik recited. Stone nodded.
Ivo stepped forward, hands sliding down Aban’s sides, front, and back, before checking through his pockets. Aban stood still, letting Ivo complete the pat down.
“Aaand now for the drug and alcohol test, not that you even do drugs or drink alcohol.” Robotnik went over to the small desk at the edge of the room, picking up a small plastic baggie. He pulled out the swab inside- the type used in police investigations to check if someone's been doing drugs.
“Open wide~~” He said in that singsongy tone doctors did for little kids. Stone rolled his eyes with an exaggerated scoff, opening his mouth and sticking his tongue out for the Doctor. The swab was dragged up and down his tongue, collecting saliva for the test.
“You know the rules, no sneaking anything inside, no talking for the entire time, no warmth or comfort, ah, let’s see… aaaand you’ll be stripped almost completely naked for the whole training.” Robotnik listed off the top of his head as he placed the drug swab in the little analysis machine.
Stone nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yes, Doctor.” It wasn’t new to him. The things he would go through wasn’t some whole new experience, just the fact that it would be a lot more intense than previous sessions was enough to make him a little nervous.
“Ah-ah- what did I just say, Stone?” Robotnik turned around to face his agent with an unappreciative look on his face, bottom lip slightly jutting out. “No talking. Starting now, m’kay? And get started on the stripping naked thing, if you will. No time like the present.”
Alright- time to throw dignity away. Aban figured he might as well get it over with, so he started with his coat, slipping it off his shoulders, folding it, and placing it neatly on the table beside the machine analysing his test. It beeped- showing a red “NEGATIVE” on the screen. No surprise there.
He then went to take his tie off, once again unceremoniously placing it beside his coat. Robotnik was standing beside him, fists clenched and a sigh on his lips.
“Hurry it up, will you?” He snapped, fingers itching to just rip the clothing right off Stone’s back. Robotnik was nervous too- the torture training wouldn’t be easy for him just as much as it wouldn’t be easy for Stone. Watching- no, directly being in control of what Stone would endure for the next month or so, made him stomach flip. Perhaps it was nerves, perhaps he was… excited.
Stone finally hurried it up a little, unbuttoning his shirt and exposing his well-defined chest. Robotnik idly watched him from the side of the room, not wanting to look like he was blatantly ogling his agent. There was a fair amount of hair on his pectoral muscles, definitely more than on his arms and legs.
He folded the shirt, placing it on top of his coat, before glancing at the Doctor, who was watching. Robotnik quirked an eyebrow at Stone, crossing his arms, sending a silent signal to ‘hurry the fuck up’.
Stone quickly slipped his shoes and socks off, putting them, again, on the table, before going to undo his fly. He slipped his pants off, leaving him only in a pair of red boxers. Robotnik chuckled to himself at the colour choice, and Stone felt the heat rise in his cheeks, but neither said a word.
Aban straightened up, folding and placing down his pants with the other items of clothing. He felt exposed, especially with Ivo eyeing him like he was a piece of meat.
“Turn around.” Ivo waved his hand in a circular motion at Aban, and the agent complied without question.
There wasn’t any reason behind the request, perhaps if you tried hard enough you could come up with the excuse ‘to check he has nothing on his person’. The real reason was that Ivo simply wanted to see every angle of Aban, eyes lingering at the hair scattered on his skin, scars littering his body, and the boxers that hid the best things from view.
Stone stood in front of Robotnik, looking expectantly at his Doctor. He clearly trusted him- and both parties hoped that trust would remain after.
It was the same room used for every other torture training session, but it felt different this time. The lights were dimmer, the floors were dirtier, the air was colder… there was a feeling of unwelcomeness in the area that made Stone’s fight or flight response kick into overdrive. He was shivering, perspiration collecting on his skin despite the chilliness.
There was a single doorway at the entrance of the room, the doorway he had gone through to get into this hell. He wasn’t allowed to touch it, wasn’t allowed to call out and ask what the hell was going to happen to him. It could’ve been hours ago, it could’ve been days- it’s difficult to tell time when your brain has half shut down from the cold and there’s no way to access the outside world.
Stone carefully lowered himself to the floor, allowing some semblance of rest for his aching body. The floor was incredibly cold to the touch, almost like sitting on ice, and that was the reason he preferred to stay standing in the center of the room for the most part. Aching bones or freezing ass- can’t have neither.
Almost as soon as he got comfortable, the door to the room swung open, and Stone was immediately back on his feet, adrenaline deciding to kick in. He couldn’t decide if his body’s trembling was from adrenaline or the cold- it didn’t matter anyway. Someone stepped into the room, goggles reflecting off the dim lighting of the room.
Robotnik- hair slicked nicely, goggles over his eyes, wearing a very evil-looking suit. That was to be expected… though it looked especially sinister since he practically blended into the shadows and reflections of light in the room in a way that made him appear frighteningly mysterious.
“Agent…~” Robotnik purred, closing the door gently behind him without breaking eye contact with Stone- or at least Stone assumed it was eye contact, with the dark lenses of the goggles obscuring them.
Stone tilted his chin up slightly, straightening out his posture as he stood before Robotnik, feeling awfully underdressed compared to the Doctor. Both were playing a part in this situation, taking on a role neither hoped they would have to take on again, especially Stone. But it was necessary.
“You have information very precious to me. If you don’t spit it out-” Robotnik took a swift few steps forward until he was up in Stone’s face. “I’ll put you through horrors you can’t even begin to imagine.” His grin- the way his perfectly groomed moustache twitched with the Doctor’s amusement- Stone would be scared if it were anyone other than his Doctor in front of him in this situation.
“There is no out.” Ivo began to circle his agent, who stood completely still. “There are no safewords.” He paused as he stood at Aban’s right, leaning in and taking in every detail of his face. “You can’t scream and plead and expect to be allowed to walk away, understand?” Stone gave a singular nod, expression unchanging.
With a pleased hum, Robotnik stood back in front of Stone. “Shall we… begin?” Robotnik reached into his belt, final word accentuating the soft sound of metal sliding against the fabric of a sheathe. He brandished a rather fancy-looking dagger, sleek black with red accents that looked like veins snaking up the handle.
In his other hand, Stone realised, was a piece of fabric. Robotnik seemed to notice Stone eyeing it, and he dangled it in front of the agent’s face.
“You recognise this, don’t you? Complete ocular sensory deprivation. An added bonus is it restricts oxygen intake, making your head woozy and body weak without making you completely pass out.” Yes, Stone did recognise the item from his previous torture training. It was a hood, fabric thick around the eyes and mouth.
“I’m going to put this on you, and you’re not going to struggle.” Ivo chirped, a smile on his lips as he raised the hood to Stone’s head, pulling it over the agent’s face. Stone immediately felt the effects, breathing was more difficult with the thick fabric covering his mouth, lungs struggling to meet the oxygen needs his body required.
There was a few minutes of silence after that, and Stone wasn’t sure if he was alone in the room or not. The silence was deafening, his brain making him hear sounds that might have been real, might have not been. It was disorienting, and Stone felt his balance lurch more than once now his eyes were completely covered.
He heard a chuckle from nearby as he attempted to sit down, stumbling slightly before hitting the cold floor. Yep, Robotnik was still there, probably enjoying the sight of his agent struggling. With a sigh, Stone bit back a remark, reminding himself to stay quiet.
“Who allowed you to sit down, Agent?” Robotnik demanded, and Stone scrambled back up to his feet again. “That’s more like it.” Stone heard footsteps as Robotnik approached once again, feeling the warmth radiating from the Doctor’s skin, desperate to feel warmth in his bones once more. A month- just one month. He could endure.
Metal colder than the chilly air in the room met the skin of his arm, Aban recognising it as the flat side of a blade, most likely the dagger he had seen Robotnik brandish a few minutes prior. It slid down his skin at a tantalisingly slow pace, and if he wasn’t already shivering, he’d shiver at the pure intimate feeling of the moment.
Stone sucked in a sharp breath as Robotnik tilted the dagger, the sharp blade pressing into his skin. It was slow, careful, not sudden and honed like he would have expected from the Doctor. It broke skin with the slowness of his breathing, blood beading at the edges of the dagger like sap from a tree.
It was nothing Stone couldn’t already endure, it just hurt a little. He barely flinched as Robotnik pulled away, hands grabbing Stone’s arm to squeeze the wound so more blood would dribble down his skin. It caught in the hair of his arm, messy red metallic snakes licking down his biceps.
Another two very sudden slashes at Stone’s other arm caught him slightly off guard, fingers twitching as he refrained from flinching. He felt Robotnik’s eyes on him, observing his body and his reactions. The Doctor let out a soft humorless chuckle, pressing the knife instead into Stone’s sternum, right between his ribs.
“Not breaking so easily, hm? That’s fine. I have other ways of getting you to talk.” Robotnik murmured, soft in Stone’s ear with a silky tone that would be welcomed in any other situation. Instead it was used to mock Stone’s vulnerability, his inability to react or do anything in response to Robotnik’s jabs.
Ivo pressed the dagger into Aban’s skin, drawing blood that trickled down the center of his torso. The Doctor knew what he was doing, careful to cause harm without serious injury, and Aban leant into that knowledge, enduring the pain shooting through his brain, begging him to fight back against the attacker he couldn’t see.
He lodged the metal between muscle, slotting it between the gap of his ribcage as if it belonged there. It hurt. But Stone wouldn’t break- he couldn’t, even if his head began to spin from the pain, even if the dagger felt disgustingly out of place, lodging itself into his chest.
Robotnik hummed, genuinely impressed at the lack of outward reaction Stone showed. He gently removed the knife, Stone’s stomach lurching at the feeling of the metal rubbing against his insides before it got dislodged. It made him feel like throwing up, but he pushed down the feeling.
Robotnik stood there for a good minute, dragging a finger along the laceration on Stone’s chest.
Stone didn’t see, but Robotnik snuck a blood-covered finger into his mouth.
“This was just the first day, Agent.” Was the last thing Ivo said before leaving the room, leaving Stone to let out a breath he didn’t even realise he was holding, wincing as the exertion pulled at the cut on his torso. He would have to move carefully and breathe slowly to not agitate the wound even more.
Stone put his arms around himself, wincing as he touched the tender wounds on his arms, the cold hurting even more. He slowly reached up to his face, beginning to lift the hood over his head, before the sound of Robotnik ‘tsk’-ing startled him.
Robotnik wasn’t in the room- the audio had a tinny quality he could attribute to the speakers fitted up in the corner… right next to the security camera. Right- Stone had honest to God forgotten that through this whole procedure, he was being watched near-constantly. He instead left the hood over his face, opting to instead walk backwards until he hit the wall behind him, leaning on the cold concrete.
He let his whole body weight rely on that wall, giving himself whatever respite he could afford at this moment in time. His chest ached so badly, cuts on his arms just a small twinge compared to the pain in the center of his being. Cold creeped into his bones with a sickening chill, droplets of blood gently sliding down his front and sides as he felt his body weaken.
The combined effect of blood loss, frigidity of the room, and lack of adequate oxygen to his muscle tissue and brain made his head feel fuzzy, body slumping against the ground as he tried his damn best to stay conscious.
The last thing on his mind before he succumbed to rest was the Doctor, the trust he felt in the man, and the tough few weeks ahead.