AUTHOR'S NOTE:
The following chapter is actually a revised version of what I originally wrote down. The original upon finishing, I noticed might be a little too intense for some, so I decided to post it separately on DeviantART instead.
In case you're curious about what made me make that decision; it basically involved gore and violence. I know... "You kinda got that covered in earlier chapters, Linkah... no big deal..." Believe me I know ^^; This is not the first time I've done something like this, but I felt this one went that extra nine Mechanometers too far.
So, if you're not a big fan of OC's tortured within an inch of their lives, you can stay here and read onwards, and you'll be just fine. :) Trust me, it won't make a difference on the rest of the story anyway. It'll only spare you some (perhaps) life scarring details...that's all.
But, for those who really don't give a damn what happens to Zucky and how, you can go ahead and follow this link if you are curious to know what made it so bad in my opinion.
zc263nc143/art/Optimus-Prime-s-Unusual-Charge-833417942
Heads up though, I have the mature filter on over there, so...yeah. ^^; Sorry, and YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!
He didn't scare me; he may have muted my voice, but that doesn't mean I can't kick his...Tried as I might, I couldn't move! Every time I wanted to strike him, my movements just froze! When I stopped trying I was granted back movement. It was such a frightening feeling. But that's probably what he wanted from me; fear. This was probably to get back at me for what happened last time!
"Practice makes perfect, you know?" Knockout said as he enjoyed the look on my face.
["He must have taken advantage of me resting and somehow got in that way! But how didn't I know when he was sneaking in?! I should have felt something."] My mind was racing. No logical answers came to me.
"Not fun anymore, isn't it? To be at the receiving end?" He asked in a grim tone.
I didn't want to show fear in his sight, but I knew I was in deep slag and I had a feeling he was aware of that too. The smile never left his dermas and he just sighed deeply in response to my stubborn demeanor.
"Oh, right...your puny limited intelligence prevents you from seeing the full scope of your predicament, doesn't it? Well, you know what they say; 'seeing is believing'. So, let me show you!" He snarled.
His human arm collapsed, and in its place emerged that familiar looking 'Pizza slicer of death'!"Besides, I have several bones to pick with you...or should I say; out of you!"
["*GASP! Oh no!"] I had no idea what was going on, but I wasn't about to stand around to find out whether or not that was going to hurt for real, or if I die in here, will it kill my real body for sure?!
Turning on my heel, I break into a mad dash into the opposite direction! I managed to cover quite some ground I think, but suddenly I freeze, AGAIN! ["NO! NOT NOW, WHY?!"]
My 'body' seems to float right back to square one and turn around facing him again. "You are very rude for a fleshy, you know that? I was about to ask if you remember this, but by your reaction, it seems I've gotten my answer after all...so not all was lost on you, huh?"
I whine. It seems that I can only make primal noises, but not actually speak.
"Remember this?" Knockout slashes the saw blade across my chest which earned him a very loud and painful howl from me that echoed throughout the space we were in. After screaming, I was left panting with a huge deep gash across my chest.
"You can't see mine now, because it got buffed out a while ago..." The man then grabs me by my throat and pulls me in closer. "...but it still stings!" He then lets go of me to let me keep floating in mid air.
"Here's a fun one...I only got to do this once. Until you turned it against me of course...But the problem with it, was that I was hoping to keep at it several times before I got bored of it." He snapped his fingers and I could feel something around my neck!
My hands fly to my neck as I feel it, and my spine freezes over when I realize what I was touching.["No... "] "AAAAAH!" I belt out another excruciating scream out my throat.
My whole being feels like it caught fire! I don't remember it being this painful the first time he tried this. A minute or two later it stops...for now.
"And I know this wasn't exactly your doing, but it was in fact your fault that it happened." He pulled out a blaster from his pocket... "Because of your creative use of a shock collar, Megatron got the bright idea to blast my saw blade clean off my servo!" he roared. I hear the blaster go off and my ears start ringing from the close proximity to the waepon's loud sound. My throat is now getting sore from my cries, but the pain is just so unbearable!
In his rage thinking about that, Knockout grabs me by the throat again and tosses me against the floor so hard I bounce off once before landing with a thud on the ground. I hit my head pretty hard in the process! I grab at it with my hand, my other arm flying to my head instinctively as well.
"A helmache? Sure, you can still rub your head to ease the pain, but imagine if it was on the inside." My head was spinning and pounding furiously at the same time, I'm starting to lose my bearings as my brain is suddenly barraged with this Hellish sound that just seems to scrape away at my very soul! I start clawing at my ears as I feel that's where it's coming from, but clearly it's all in my head. But what makes sense here anymore?!
5 minutes...5 frickin minutes long seems like an eternity and a half as the sound finally dies down as it leaves me completely dumb from the torture. I just lay there. The ground is cold and hard, but it feels like a bed of fluffy pillows, compared to the torture I'm going through at the moment.
My vision blurring and focusing and defocusing in and out, driving me up the wall, but I've no strength to even keep my eyes open. ["How am I even still alive, again? Urgh...what a nightmare!"]
"Comfy?" My eyes fly open again. That wild look overtaking them as I remember; this is not a bad dream. My mind has been taken over by the Crazy Crimson Doctor and he's still on a rampage!
My throat was a mess, raw and painfully sore and he got the bright idea to give me the most painful fit of hiccups known to mankind and beyond, and what's worse? My stomach, gullet and esophagus start burning like I've been stricken with the worst case of heartburn ever! Only switch out the stomach acid with battery acid.
I couldn't bear it any longer! My face bathed in hot tears and sweat as I'm turned inside out. I keep at it until there's just nothing left to come out, and slump over next to the mess I just made. The smell burns, but I'm just too weak to move.
He kicks me about and I land wherever, as he sneers at me some more, but I can't tell what he was going on about and I just go...Everything just goes dark again and I welcome it all. Anything... is better than having this go on and on and on!
I find myself consumed by darkness...unlike the one I was experiencing before Knockout showed up. This one didn't feel unnerving, but there was a constant audible tone sounding off in the background.
It felt like some kind of white noise or something similar to that effect. It was there the whole time it took me a while to start registering my surroundings, but only when I actually came back to my senses; I guess it was sort of like my consciousness, but not really; only then did I notice it being there.
I slowly sat up and looked around. Not that I was expecting to see anything, but I'm a curious creature after all. I was about to reach for my head again, when I noticed my hand was just fine!"*gasp!*" I looked at it surprised, but glad to see it there unharmed.
Then I looked myself over; it was as if nothing ever happened! "I'm...healed...but h...how?"Come to think of it, my whole body feels fine; inside and out!
The droning starts to get louder; as if it's trying to catch my attention. I look up from my hands in search of it, but no; it's coming from beneath me.
Hold on...no, it's coming from above me! I look up above me and...
"Wait...where?" I'm starting to get confused again. If I wasn't mistaken, it's coming from my left...["No, wait..."] my right?
It doesn't matter in what direction I look, the sound always seems to change direction, or is it just...all around me?
The sound then settles as if it can hear my thoughts... It is coming from all around me!"W-what is this? Who's there?" I dare ask.
Suddenly I feel...warm...a comfortable warmth. But it doesn't last too long as it seems to peel away as I go numb again?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I suddenly felt the numbness going away as my body slowly regained what feeling it could still muster back from all I've been going through so far at Knockout's hands or Servo's or whatever. ["What was that?"]
"Oh, wake up already! I knew you were faking it!" He presses a button on that small remote in his hand and the Collar on my neck comes to life, shocking the ever loving daylights out of me!
In response I scream again and I finally open my eyes as they struggle to focus on my surroundings.
"Much better. Turning you into meat paste wouldn't be much fun if you weren't screaming in agony." he growled.
His words slicing through me like daggers as I finally realized that whatever that intermission was, it did nothing to help me at all! My body was a complete mess, just as before I fainted. This boiled my blood...is this another one of his sick tricks?!
"Where have I heard that one before?" I grumbled. "Hey? My voice! I can talk again!"
"Of course! I'm not such a bad guy after all, huh?" He mocked.
I just scowled at him. He'd probably mute me again if I started insulting him. ["Jerk!"]
"Plus, it was getting kind of boring with you just howling and crying the whole time, like a pitiful puppy." He sneered.
I backed away as he approached...He still had that stupid sawblade out."Really? That thing...again?" I honestly don't know why I just said that, and I'm beginning to wish he didn't unmute my voice, if these were the best last words I could come up with.
My legs locked into a freeze yet again, and sensing danger, my arms flew up in a defensive block as my head instinctively turned downwards as I braced for impact when he was coming in for the slasher movie scene to end all slasher films...that never happened?
I carefully open my eyes when I heard the saw blade deactivate and transform back into a servo.
"Heheh...made you flinch." he whispered in my ear.
He's toying with me now! "GrrrAAH!" I throw the strongest left punch I can manage, but he grabs it, and squeezes my hand until I can feel my bones almost start to crush in his vice like of screaming, I bite my jaws shut and close my eyes to power through the pain. I whine through my teeth and the waterworks start going off again.
["DAMNIT!"] When I open my eyes, I see how he gives me a good firm punch to the face, that sends me flying back several feet and skidding along the floor!
"Nice try, NOT good enough!" He said as he simply wipes invisible debris off his clothes.I try my best to get up, even though my equilibrium isn't really all there still. My face is in excruciating pain I can't quite tell, but something must have gotten broken in the process.
"You know... as much as I've outdone myself with my disguise; evident by the fact it even had you so fooled in the first place..." he began.
I growled as I kept him within my sights.
"I do of course prefer my smooth finish over the fragile nature of these animate bags of meat and bones." He said as he looked his human self over with a look of disdain when he thought about what it was made of. "But don't worry, it was an interesting experience while it lasted."
["All this over a scratched finish? This guy's Nuts! and Bolts...whatever, he's crazy...a total basket case on wheels!"] I think as I'm trying to wrap my mind around his motives.
He snaps his fingers again and my gaze locks on him. ["What now?!"]
His human skin tears open like that of a bug tearing open its cocoon, and out emerges the Crazy Crimson Doctor in all his metallic cherry red glory.
"Awww...Scrapsicles! How is this fair?!" I ask in an exasperated tone as my gaze, littered with worry keeps climbing up. I'm frozen...but not by his doing, no. I'm just hopelessly lost now. "I mean haven't you tortured me enough?" I croak.
He ignores my words as he kicks the fleshy sleeve off the tip of his pede, before finally answering;"I don't remember you being merciful when I begged...So, why should I?" he loomed over me emphasizing the last few words.
There...If I thought I couldn't save myself before, how the hell am I going to save myself as my human self, from Mr. Metal Monstrosity over here?"Wait, that's it!" ["How could I've been so stupid...I should have tried this earlier!"]
I close my eyes and start trying to imagine myself back into my dragon form. I groan and grunt, trying so hard, but nothing happens?! "Wait...What? How come I can't...?" My questions are interrupted by heavy ped steps approaching me. A shadow engulfing my form as Knockout crouched down over me.
"What's the matter? Can't transform?" He mocked.
"What did you do?!" I demanded to know.
"Duh! I took advantage of your weakened state... Isn't it obvious? I'm in control now. If I don't will it, you can't do it!" He stood up, lifted up his pede and tried to stomp on me but I jumped out of the way to avoid being crushed.
I was given no chance to rest as he tried again and again to crush me under his heel struts! I started running to at least keep some distance between us, and he found great amusement in my futile attempts at escaping my fate.
"What's this, you want to race?" He asked.
I didn't answer, but kept running as long as the adrenaline was pumping through my veins. Even though I knew it was hopeless...I'm just too stubborn to accept it!
"Alright, then. I'll give you a five second head start." Knockout said as he got into position and started counting. "5...4..."
I'm trapped in my own mind at the mercy of a crazed Hotwheels robot monster. No one can hear me, I can't control my imagination...
"3...2..." The red mech transformed into vehicle mode and revved his engine.
["I'm on my own...again...This always happens!"] I start breaking down.
"1!" The Aston Martin sped out of the starting line after me.
Just as I the thought dawned on me that he was going to run me over; I tripped, fell and rolled into a ball where I landed. This was it.
["How am I still alive? Why can't I wake up? Why can't I die and get this over with? How much longer must this go on? WHY ME?!"] My mind starts unraveling at the seams.
"Please, I can't... I didn't want this! Make it go away...make it stop...please...MAKE IT STOP!" I start crying out over the sound of an approaching engine, and when it was right on top of me;
Silence.