A dark, hazy apparition was in front of him, but he couldn't keep his eyes open long enough to focus on it. He groaned and squeezed them shut, then opened them a little again. It was closer now; he flinched when it reached towards him and grabbed his chin, forcing his face up as he realized who this was.
"Crap..." he moaned as his uncle, Chase Young, smirked at him.
"Hello, Stryker," Chase greeted, smoothing his nephew's Mohawk with fake affection. "It's so nice to see you again."
Stryker tried to move his arms, then looked up to see them chained above his head. His uncle had taken precaution for sure. Even his ankles were chained.
"I can't say the same," he sighed, gripping the chains and attempting to pull. Something twinged inside him, causing him to stop and cringe. He hadn't healed all the way yet. "So what now? You try to convince me to join your cause and I spit in your face?"
"I think that we'd be wasting our time with that," Chase admitted, to which Stryker raised an eyebrow. "Don't misunderstand, you will join me. It will just be a more...unpleasant persuasion than you're used to."
"Why? You gonna plot me to death?" Stryker snarled. Even so, he felt his stomach tighten.
His uncle chuckled as the dungeon door started to open.
"No, no," he said, straightening and looking at the entrance. "I'm going to have a more skilled artist talk you into joining."
Stryker stared at the woman who came into the cell. She had dark blue, long hair, kept back by a headband, and blue reptilian eyes. She wore similar armor to his uncle, was pale, and a couple inches taller than he. He glared at her, but he had to suppress the shiver that ran through him when he saw the knife she was twirling.
"Don't hurt him too badly, Shadow," Chase said as he walked past her. "I still need him to be of use."
"Ah course, Chase," Shadow hissed, a malicious grin on her face. "I'll make sure the lil tike is taken very good care of."
Chase nodded and left as Stryker stared at the woman. Where had his uncle found this? Shadow took a couple steps back towards him, waiting to be sure Chase was really gone. When she was sure, she whipped around and blasted Stryker across the face, snapping his head around. He wrenched against the chains to try and attack her, his eyes flickering gold; she simply grinned at him and grabbed his jaw, forcing him back against the stone wall. He muttered a curse when she tightened and her nails dug into his skin.
"You and I are gonna have a swell time, lil tike," Shadow hissed. "Now that your uncle's gone and left ya in my care."
She brought her face closer to his and pressed her blade against his abdomen. Stryker's face flickered as he tried to raise himself away from it.
"Let me show ya what happens when ya don't do what my daddy wants..."
Chase raised his head when Stryker's screams reached his ears. He showed no emotion at first, then he smirked and closed his eyes, sitting back in his throne to enjoy this new sound.