Chapter 8: Same Victim
Note: What you're about to find in this chapter may be the darkest and most disturbing chapter I've ever wrote for any of my stories.
Brawl awoke the next morning feeling dizzy and weak. His vision took awhile to clear up and he focused on his surroundings. He could see he was in a warehouse...an old, run-down, energon splattered one. He felt cold and hurt from being shocked by the prod. He found himself strapped to a berth and tried to get out.
"W-wha-where am I?" Brawl asked to no one in particular.
"Ah...the tank is awake! Isn't that wonderful!" Whirl laughed coming out of the shadows with three other vehicons.
"WHIRL? YOU LITTLE SCRAP-HEAP!" Brawl struggled against the berth.
One of the vehicons pressed a button on the wall, rotating the berth down to be face-to-face with his mech-nappers.
"I must say Brawl, you were pretty stupid to be out at night. Especially after what's been happening the past few days!" Whirl said tapping a claw on Brawl's chin.
"YOU KEEP YOUR LITTLE PINCERS OFF ME! WHEN I GET DONE WITH YOU, I'LL MELT YOU DOWN INTO SLAG!" Brawl threatened.
"Ooh, fiesty are we? That's cool! However, I would suggest you tell me where exactly Kenny's gang HQ is." Whirl sneered.
"NEVER! I WOULD NEVER BETRAY MY TEAM!" Brawl snarled.
"Oh really, just like how you betrayed your own brothers?" Whirl asked putting Brawl over boiling point.
"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT MY BROTHERS! THEY BEAT YOU TO CRAP THE FIRST TIME, THEY'LL JUST DO IT AGAIN! I DIDN'T BETRAY THEM!" Brawl roared now fighting against the straps. "I'LL SMASH YOU!"
"Ooh, I'm shaking!" Whirl teased as the other vehicons laughed. "Jets, make him tell me the location!"
The drones nodded and proceed to beat up Brawl who was defenseless. But Brawl refused to tell them. When Whirl told them to stop, Brawl was coughing up energon through his busted mouthplate and his visor was cracked.
"You gonna tell me now?" Whirl asked.
"Get fragged!" Brawl said spitting energon on Whirl in the process.
Whirl growled and snapped his claws hard.
"Alright then, I have more ways of making you talk!" Whirl snarled.
Meanwhile, everyone was wondering what happened to Brawl. Barricade never came out of his room as he was too ashamed and sad at leaving Brawl like that. Soundwave stated it wasn't his fault but Barricade kept blaming himself. Kenny and Bloodbath meanwhile, were trying to figure out their plan.
"It's simple, we need go find his warehouse, save Brawl, and defeat Whirl!" Kenny explained as they walked into his room.
"Sure it seems easy, but with all those jets...we can't defeat them all! We need the aid of our new friends." Bloodbath said.
"Yeah...but Trips is still being repaired, Jetstream is helping Soundwave and Shockwave, and we sent Blueshot and Sonny back to Kaon to uncover a few things in Whirl's house.
"Ugh, this is getting us nowhere!" Bloodbath face-palmed.
"Bloodbath chill out, I know for a fact that Whirl won't win in the end. He's done messing with me and I will make sure of it. I don't care how many of those jets he has. I'll scrap them all!" Kenny sneered clenching his fists.
"Without help?" Bloodbath laughed. "No way!"
"What? Of course you'll be there to help me!" Kenny nudged his brother.
"Or will I?" Bloodbath teased looking up at the ceiling.
"Huh? Why wouldn't you?" Kenny asked in shock.
"Mabye I won't feel like it." Bloodbath scoffed doing his version of a smirk.
"Ugh, jerk!" Kenny playfully shoved Bloodbath.
Bloodbath then shoves Kenny who shoves Bloodbath again.
"Oh you wanna start something?" Bloodbath challenged pushing his brother.
"Bring it!" Kenny tackled his brother and they began wrestling on the ground.
Meanwhile, Sonny and Blueshot had easily arrived into Kaon via Soundwave's groundbridge abilty. It looked a mess.
"Man...Kenny lived here?" Sonny said looking at the old broken buildings and ripped up streets.
"Yep, this just screams abuse!" Blueshot agreed.
They walked past the remains of Kenny's old house. Nothing but metal was left.
"Wow...got to hand it to Trapper, he can really destroy something if he wants to!" Blueshot said.
"I know...he could crush Whirl easily I bet." Sonny said.
"True, but Whirl's beating can be saved for Kenny." Blueshot explained as they continued down the ruined streets.
The two haven't had much to say to each other and thought it wouldn't hurt to do so.
"Blueshot, do you think I'll ever find other jet vehicons that I could make friends with?" Sonny asked the tank.
"There has to be some jets out there. Not all are evil like you and Jetstream. It's hard to make friends Sonny! And I should know." Blueshot said.
"Really? Why was it hard for you?"
"I mean, me and Trips met when we were little sparklings. But we had a hard time trying to find a third member. Eventually Trapper found us, but we demanded money from him for fun. When he refused to give us his money, I challenged him to a fight. And I have to say Trapper fought hard but we ended up calling a draw and he was added to our group." Blueshot told Sonny everything.
"Wow...well that's quite a story. I kinda wish my life was like that. I mean being exiled from the others just because I'm nice? That's stupid!"
"How did you meet Kenny?"
"I uh...met him at the bar. We had a big chat and became friends. I know...nothing exciting. But it was better than getting hurt! Kenny saw me a special jet, one who would never fall into the ways of the other jets. I don't like to fight, kill or insult others. I just like to live a normal life is all!"
"So have many others. Not everyone is lucky! Hey look there's Whirl's house!"
By the time they found Whirl's house, they were both surprised no jet vehicons. The house was the same as ever, old and broken. Inside, broken glass, splattered energon and misplaced weapons fill the floor. Blueshot checked around downstairs while Sonny checked upstairs. Blueshot moved around furniture and smashed away useless objects until he found a disturbing sight. A dead and ripped apart mech layed on a corner behind the TV. Energon was dried up everywhere. Blueshot could tell this mech was an enforcer judging by the badge branded on the mech's shoulder.
"Ew, that's just wrong!" Blueshot said nearly throwing up.
Sonny checked every room hoping to find something interesting. The last room at the end of the hallway was Whirl's room. He worried about what was in there, especially after seeing that the parent's room, bathroom, and spare berthroom looked like a crime scene without a body. As he cautiously entered the room, he nearly gagged. There was so much energon all over the room. The walls, floors, berth, closet and door all covered in dry energon. Bits of metal pieces like optics, mouthplates and antennas were around as well. Sonny was too afraid to enter. The light switch didn't turn on. But...then he saw something. A shiny steel box in a dusty corner. It had chains wrapped all around it. A note on the box read: Whirl's Personal Files. Sonny was very curious and felt the need to open it. Kneeling down to put a claw through the lock on the chains, he unlocked and tossed the chains aside and carefully gripped the edges of the top. He gulped. With his curiousity about to burst through his chest. He opened it...
"...W-w-what? No...NO...h-h-how..." Sonny studdered looking into the box.
Inside was 3 files of different pictures, beside them was an energon covered ball and...hands. The hands were actually huge black claws about the length of Shockwave's gun. Whirl must have had them cut off before meeting Kenny. The ball looked like it had red and blue coloring on it under the energon. Apparently Whirl used the ball to calm his nerves. Finally Sonny picked up the folders. They didn't have words on them but they looked beaten. When he took out the photos, he shuts off his visor then turns it back on.
"NO WAY! EW EW EW! WHAT THE HELL?" Sonny nearly threw up looking at the photos.
He threw them down and coughed on the floor. He couldn't believe what he just saw. He shook his head not wanting to look at it again, but something told him to do so. He looked again...he couldn't believe it. He didn't blame Whirl for keeping these secret. Sonny looked at the other photos and gasped some more. This file contained photos of Whirl being brutaly tortured nearly to death. One had an enforcer looking he was trying to...rape Whirl. Whirl didn't look happy in any of the photos. More photos included the enforcer staring at the camera smirking while Whirl was being pinned down. Sonny looked at each one horrified. This enforcer was doing horrible things to Whirl, mainly beating him with his fists or bashing him with objects. As he viewed the remaining photos in the box, he could see that it was also miners who were attacking Whirl and taking pictures of him. One showed Whirl by himself ripping his old energon-covered hands off and placing on the ones he had now, probably to hide anything that had to do with his attackers. And some were just photos of Whirl crying on the ground showing whip marks on his back...10 of them.
"Primus...this is worse than Kenny's problem!" Sonny gasped. "But it makes sense, the treatement Whirl recieved was harsher, nothing Kenny's had never experienced. It drove Whirl nuts to the point he lost it...and he needed someone to take his anger out on...Kenny. I'm guessing since he saw Kenny nearly in the same predicament but not considering it a big deal all the time, he would feel better abusing Kenny even after the miners were finished with him. The ball helped him control his sanity...but it failed and he went after Kenny when he exiled Bumblebee's group...I got to show these to Blueshot!"
Sonny raced downstairs and revealed to Blueshot what he found. Blueshot had nearly the same reaction, going to a wall to throw up and punch the wall in disgust.
"THAT'S DISGUSTING! WHAT ARE THOSE GUY'S PROBLEM?" Blueshot snarled.
"Don't know...but I feel sorry for Whirl." Sonny said.
"Yeah...that's just...that's just wrong! By the way...that enforcer in the photos...is dead right here! Whirl must have killed him." Blueshot pointed behind the TV.
"But it wasn't enough for Whirl!" Sonny shook his head.
"Hmm, what will Kenny think?" Blueshot asked.
Kenny and Bloodbath were talking to Barricade trying to give him high hopes. But Barricade was hard to convince.
"Brawl must be dead...and it's all my fault!" Barricade sat on his berth and began to cry while Kenny patted his shoulder.
"Brawl can't be dead! He'll be fine! He's a tough guy!" Bloodbath assured.
"Mabye...but-" Barricade is cut off by Kenny.
"Barricade, it may have only been a year...but damn it I know you're tougher than most mechs out there. You're an enforcer and you never give up on anybody. You're brave, strong and never backs down from a fight...now am I right?" Kenny pumped up Barricade.
"Yeah...I guess!"
"Oh don't guess, KNOW!" Kenny lightly punched Barricade in the shoulder. "I've heard you mauled countless mechs savagely, you're crazy in a good way. You really just gonna let Whirl make you get down on your knees and serve him?"
Barricade's optics went to a dark purple.
"NO! I WONT!" Barricade shot up from his berth and bared his claws.
"That's the spirit Barricade, you wanna join us?" Bloodbath offered.
"I'm so there for you guys!" Barricade smiled.
Then they heard a knock at the door. It was Trapper who looked excited.
"Hello Trapper, what's up?" Kenny asked.
"I heard you're about to leave and save Brawl. Can I come?" Trapper asked.
"I don't see why not!" Kenny agreed.
"YAY! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" Trapper grabbed Kenny into a tight hug.
"You're hurting me!" Kenny choked.
"Sorry!" Trapper put him down. "I'm ready to destroy those jets!"
"Guys...Whirl just hacked into our main computer." Jetstream called to them.
When Kenny and the others entered the main room. They see Whirl staring at them, and Brawl was behind him with a few jets.
"Ah...we meet again Kenny! I bet you cooled off after our last encounter!" Whirl chuckled.
"FUCK OFF WHIRL! GIVE BRAWL BACK!" Kenny snarled.
"Not until I take your power!" Whirl teased waving a claw.
"Why do you want it so bad? Apparently you've shown you don't need it!" Bloodbath said.
"True, but then Kenny won't be alive! Then I'll come after YOU!" Whirl sneered to Bloodbath.
"YOU WON'T GET ANYTHING FROM ME!" Bloodbath sneered.
"JUST WAIT UNTIL MY BROTHERS SHOW UP!" Brawl yelled.
"SILENCE HIM!" Whirl ordered and one drone punches Brawl hard making Soundwave's gang gasp.
"Leave him alone!" Shockwave demanded.
"I'd like to see you bring that gun of yours over here and make me." Whirl teased as the vehicons laughed. "It looks like a really nice gun...mabye I can try it sometime!"
"GET FRAGGED!" Shockwave snarls wanting to bash the controls but Soundwave stopped him.
"You will be stopped Whirl!" Jetstream said.
"Sure I will...and you will pay for ruining my plans!" Whirl snarled. "You, that tank and that truck...wait...wasn't there a truck just there a few nano-klicks ago?"
Everyone turns to find Kenny, Bloodbath, Barricade and Trapper gone. The four were already racing towards Whirl's warehouse. Whirl ended communications quickly knowing they were on their way.
"Soundwave's going to be mad!" Bloodbath said.
"We can deal with that later...we need to stop Whirl once and for all!" Kenny said.
"Yeah...I hope Brawl is okay." Barricade said.
"We need to hurry!" Trapper said.
Meanwhile, Sonny and Blueshot returned with the box still horrified.
"Uh...guys you might want to see this. I can't take seeing what I saw, I'll go check on Trips." Sonny raced down the hallway before the others could even approach the box.
"Was this all you could find?" Jetstream asked.
"Trust me, there is more than enough info in there...bleh!" Blueshot said turning away.
As Jetstream, Soundwave and Shockwave looked at what's inside, Blueshot tried his best to explain everything without gagging. Their reactions said it all. Shockwave through down one file and smacked his head on a wall. Soundwave backed up and fell on his ass. And Jetstream stumbled back and covered his face walking away.
"Soundwave, you need to hack any locked police files on Whirl or mabye places he went for therapy. Whirl doesn't deserve to be killed...he needs help!" Blueshot explained. "And find that son of a glitch enforcer who tortured him this way."
Soundwave nodded and proceeded to type away at the computer. Hacking anything that needed to be hacked, decoding anything that needed to be decoded. Shockwave sat in a corner banging the back of his head against the wall. Jetstream paced back and forth attempting to look at more of the photos. Blueshot ignored them and walked towards Soundwave.
"Hey there's another profile." Blueshot pointed to the screen where another locked file was named: Whirl's Criminal Files. When Soundwave clicked on it...there were a few photos of Whirl's criminal activities. But after about 10 photos, they shift to simliar photos from the box. Soundwave ducked and turned away. Blueshot cringed.
"WHAT THE HELL DID WHIRL DO TO DESERVE THIS?" Blueshot yelled loudly.
"Man, Kenny has never recieved a brutal beating like that before!" Jetstream winced. "THAT GUY'S USING A FRAGGING HAMMER!"
"Whirl needs help fast." Shockwave said. "DAMN IT I CAN'T LOOK AT THIS ANYMORE!"
Kenny and the others were just arriving at the HQ where several jets blocked their path.
"IT'S THEM! SHOOT NOW!" One commanded.
The jets fired at the group but Trapper easily took them down with his electric force field. The jets flew left and right as were pounded by Kenny, Bloodbath and Barricade. Barricade was enjoying himself as he slashed jets here and there with his claws and even bit some of them. Kenny was right...he was kinda savage. He wasn't called Barricade for nothing and he transformed and rammed into many of the jets taking them by surprise. Once they were all defeated, Trapper rammed through the front doors where they found over 50 jets. The warehouse itself was pretty big and looked simliar to Soundwave's HQ.
"WHERE'S WHIRL?" Kenny demanded.
"You won't live to find out!" One jet sneered.
"Trapper...if you would please..."
Trapper began to power up again...but was halted by a strange noise knocking on one of the walls.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"What's that?" Bloodbath asked.
"Brace yourselves!" Barricade said.
The wall busted open revealing none other than Onslaught, Vortex, Blast Off and Swindle charging the group of jets.
"GIVE US OUR BROTHER NOW!" Onslaught snarled as his brothers attacked the drones.
"It's Brawl's brothers!" Barricade said excited.
"Whoa...those guys are huge like me!" Trapper said impressed. "LET ME JOIN IN!"
While Trapper joined the fight, Onslaught walked over to Kenny, Bloodbath and Barricade.
"Kenny...it's been awhile kid!" Onslaught said fist-bumping Kenny.
"I know, how's everything been?" Kenny said ignoring a wing from a jet go flying by his head.
"Pretty good, pretty good, I talked to Brawl and he really wants to come back to us!"
"And has every right to do so!"
"Great...well you guys go find Whirl. I'm going to go beat the crap out of these guys behind me!"
"Actually, I have a much more...interesting idea..." Kenny said and whispered it to Onslaught who chuckled.
"HEY JETS!" Onslaught yelled.
Everyone stopped fighting and looked at Onslaught. Trapper and the other Combaticons were confused.
"So let me this straight. If Whirl were to take Kenny's power...did he say wether he would share it with you guys?" Onslaught asked innocently.
The jets looked at each other wondering as well. Some were nodding, but other were shaking their heads.
"Come on, I'm sure you all know the power can't be shared by every single one of you. That would be hard to do! And look, Kenny is small, no matter how big his spark is...it's just not enough." Onslaught said poking Kenny in the chest.
"It's true...but...mabye some of you believe Whirl should keep it to himself. While others believe they should have it." Kenny said and Bloodbath agreed.
The jets began to argue with each other, some drones were insulting a few others about keeping it to themselves, more began questioning other jets about taking advantage of the power. And even more accused others about letting Whirl have any of it since he barely did anything. Insulting turned into yelling, then swearing, then shoving...and finally all the jet vehicons jumped at each other igniting a gigantic vehicon brawl. Onslaught's brothers and Trapper escaped with few injuries.
"Nice idea kid!" Onslaught smacked Kenny on the back.
"Thanks...this may be awhile."
"You three go ahead and find Whirl, we wanna watch this!"
"Okay!"
Barricade tapped Kenny on the shoulder.
"Hey, Sonny just contacted me saying he needs to see me. Can you guys handle this?" Barricade asked.
"Go on ahead! We'll be fine!" Kenny assured.
Barricade nodded and raced off. Kenny and bloodbath raced around corners and through some hallways until they found a staircase that led straight to the basement. Whirl and Brawl had to be there. Without transforming they roll down the stairs and come to a screeching stop at the bottom. And there, on the other side of the large basement was Whirl...waiting...
To be continued...
Was this too disturbing? Give any of you...uncomfortable thoughts. Sorry if it did, I just wanted to make this interesting. So, Brawl and Whirl have been found, the rest of the Combaticons are here, but what did Sonny need Barricade to see? Find out...in the final chapter and prepare for a little twist in it.