Brimstone grabbed Knockout, slung him over his shoulder plate, and ran after Cannonball and Bumblebee as they left Thundertron and Steeljaw behind. Knockout couldn't see where they were going, courtesy of his face being buried in Brimstone's plating, and Bumblebee was too busy trying to break free of Cannonball's hold to focus on much else.
On their way to the brig, they passed other crew members. None of them made a move to get closer. Based on Cannonball's size and Brimstone's temper, Knockout could understand the crew's hesitation.
When they stopped, Knockout felt himself being moved on Brimstone's shoulder plate, followed by quiet, incoherent speech.
"Uh, Brimstone, I thought he was paralyzed?" Cannonball asked, eyeing the red medic.
"FRAG!" Brimstone snapped, slamming his free servo against the wall.
"You need me to knock him out?"
"No, you idiot! I had to move him for a nanoklik so I could open the door!"
"Oh, so he wasn't moving by himself?"
Brimstone turned and glared at his ship mate.
"Sorry," Cannonball apologized. "Then why were you cursing?"
". . . Nevermind," Brimstone vented, making it clear he wasn't in the mood to berate his partner further. He opened a door and proceeded down a dimly lit corridor.
Knockout and Bumblebee continued to keep their mouths shut as the pirates carried them for a couple minutes till they reached the brig. It was smaller than expected, only fitting one large cell on the left side, two across from it on the right, and a single at the other end of the entrance/exit.
"Alright, you two, welcome to your new home, however temporary it may be," Brimstone spoke, sounding impatient, like he was in a rush to go somewhere.
"You want this one in here, too?" Cannonball asked, looking at the yellow and black mech in his arms. Brimstone waved his servo as the other one lifted Knockout off his shoulder plate and dropped him on the floor of the cell.
"Yeah, sure, whatever."
"Do you think Thundertron would be alright with that?"
Brimstone barked out a laugh, startling the other three. He turned on his heel and placed a servo on his hip.
"Does it look like I care?"
Cannonball didn't ask anymore questions. He shrugged and trudged further into the cell. He released Bumblebee, both from his grasp and from the shackles.
"You're not leaving us chained up in here?" Knockout asked. He had turned his head to get a better look, and he was a little surprised that they uncuffed Bumblebee.
"Not exactly," Brimstone mused. He gestured to Cannonball. "Keep an optic on these two for a klik."
Once again, Cannonball didn't open his mouth; just nodded at Brimstone as he exited the cell, then moved over to block the entrance. Bumblebee stood on guard. Knockout could only continue staring from his spot on the floor. From there, he could see Brimstone searching the place for something.
"You haven't spoken since we left your other mate with the Captain," Brimstone said.
As he had already spoken at least once since being brought down to the brig, Knockout knew who Brimstone was talking to.
"What does Thundertron plan on doing to Steeljaw?" Bumblebee demanded.
Brimstone stopped and stared at Bumblebee for a minute, then turned to Cannonball and smirked, who in turn smirked as well. It was an unsettling sight.
"What? What is he going to do?" Bumblebee pressed on, becoming frantic. His fists clenched, jaw set, and plating shook in anger and worry.
"Well, let's just say the Captain isn't the one you have to be worried about," Brimstone chuckled, returning to his original task of searching.
"Yeah! Why do you think he asked us to meet back up with him as soon as possible? Because, we're the interrogation specialists on the Tidal Wave!" Cannonball explained, sounding quite pleased with him and his partner's position.
That just made Bumblebee and Knockout panic even more than they already were.
"WHAT?" Both mechs exclaimed.
"Hahaha… Ah! Found 'em!" Brimstone cackled, then quickly interrupted himself. He grabbed two pairs of what appeared to be cufflinks, minus the link part, and a remote control.
"Why do we keep forgetting where we put those things?" Cannonball asked, smiling.
"We rarely keep prisoners down here for very long, you know that," Brimstone answered, walking past Cannonball and back into the cell.
Bumblebee, still in a defensive stance, and a little riled-up after learning of Brimstone and Cannonball's specialty, prepared for a fight. He wasn't going down without one. Sensing his defiance, both pirates became giddy with murderous glee.
"We can't kill you, yet, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun," Brimstone said, a big grin having formed and showing off his sharp teeth.
"Bring it on," Bumblebee hissed.
Knockout and Cannonball watched the fight play out in front of them, only one of them enjoying the spectacle. Bumblebee was doing much better than what Brimstone thought the yellow and black mech capable of, but it wasn't enough. Despite all his training and field experience, Bumblebee has never felt more out of his depth.
Brimstone is vicious, unrelenting, calculated; like a Decepticon, but different, and Bumblebee couldn't figure out how or why.
"Somethin' the matter?" Brimstone taunted. He kneed Bumblebee in the undercarriage and kicked him to the side, and wasted no time in clamping the chainless cuffs around the downed mech's wrists. "See, now that wasn't so hard, was it? We even got a little workout out of it!"
Bumblebee couldn't answer at the moment; he had fallen unconscious.
"Eh. Guess I'm not gonna get anything else out of you today."
Brimstone removed himself from Bumblebee and walked over to Knockout. He kneeled down and attached the other pair of cuffs to the red medic's wrists.
"There, now we're finally done here!"
"Too bad the red one's paralyzed, I wanted to see you fight again," Cannonball admitted, making room for his partner to get out.
"Trust me, it wouldn't have been much of a show," Knockout muttered. "By the way, when will I not be paralyzed?"
Brimstone stopped halfway to closing the cell door. He turned to look at Cannonball, who just shrugged in response.
"Hmm… good question," Brimstone hummed, resuming his task of closing and properly locking the cell door. "I believe that's either for Starquest or our oh-so-salty pilot to deal with."
"Pilot?" Knockout repeated, confused. "How?"
"Don't know, don't care."
There was a pause.
"However…" Brimstone trailed, catching Knockout's attention. "I did hear a rumor that he used to specialize in all kinds of things long before he… was initiated into the crew."
"Why do you say it like that?" Knockout inquired.
"Because he was forced to join against his will," Cannonball answered. He received a glare from Brimstone. "What? Isn't that the truth?"
The other just shook his helm.
"Wait, so is this another rumor, or did it actually happen?" Knockout asked. He knew he shouldn't dig deeper, but he couldn't help the feeling of gossipping on the Nemesis again, even though that isn't what's going on right here and now.
Brimstone and Cannonball looked at Knockout, then at each other.
"Does it matter who knows?" Cannonball asked.
"Doesn't matter to me, that's for sure," Brimstone snorted, rolling his optics and turning to fully face Knockout. "While it isn't really any of our business, we don't care much about personal privacy on this ship. The only one who does is the pilot, Sandstorm, who, as my colleague so bluntly put it, was forced to join against his will."
Brimstone paused. Knockout remained at attention.
"Anyway, long story short, Thundertron threatened to kill Sandstorm's lover if he didn't cooperate."
If Brimstone kept speaking, Knockout didn't hear. Even with the paralysis still in effect, the red medic felt rooted to the floor, his optics widened in horror. Already, he understands this mech that he hasn't formally met just yet, but assumed he would be soon.
"Brimstone! Cannonball!" A new voice called.
"Oh, hey, Starquest, didn't see ya there," Brimstone greeted nonchalantly. "Need something?"
"Thundertron. Interrogation. Now."
"Straight to the point as always, Star. Come on, Cannonball, we have some more fun to get to!"
"More?" Starquest questioned as Brimstone passed by and left the brig.
"Ah, yeah, we'll explain later," Cannonball said. "And is there any chance you can undo the red one's paralysis? I don't think Brimstone wants to go get Sandstorm."
Starquest looked unamused, but at the same time, unsurprised. They rolled their optics and nodded their helm. Cannonball gave them a quick hug before rushing after Brimstone.
"There are so many words to describe those two," Starquest vented, sounding either embarrassed or disappointed. He shook his helm and went to work on restoring Knockout's mobility.
By the time Starquest finished and departed their company, and Knockout started to regain feeling throughout his frame, Bumblebee stirred awake.
"Ah… ow… everything hurts," the yellow and black mech moaned.
"I'd be careful getting up if I were you," Knockout said, shakily pushing himself to his pedes.
"Hey, you're not paralyzed anymore!"
"Nope."
"What happened?"
"You know that mech that kind of looks like a Soundwave-Laserbeak hybrid?"
"Yeah… Starquest, I believe is his name?"
"Yes, him. Anyway, he came in and did something and now I can move again!"
"That's good."
Bumblebee pushed himself into a sitting position and rubbed the back of his helm. He scanned the room for anyone else.
"Brimstone and Cannonball left," Knockout said, side-stepping over to Bumblebee and sitting down next to him. "I don't think I need to tell you where they're going."
Bumblebee didn't even bother with words; just closed his optics and shook his helm. Knockout shuffled closer and wrapped his arms around the other mech in a comforting embrace.
"I'm worried about him, Knockout. Back there, with Thundertron… I've never seen Steeljaw act like that before. Ever. He's never been that scared, or nervous, or powerless, or…"
"I get it, Bee. Trust me, I do. When you get to know someone as closely as you two have each other, you kind of begin to understand them."
"Yeah, the two of us have been through a lot, even if we were only on the same side once and trying to kill each other the rest of the time."
The mechs laughed. Silence fell for a bit.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Knockout reassured, rubbing Bumblebee's backplate to soothe him. "If anyone can handle these guys, it's Steeljaw. Besides, if there's anyone we should be worrying about, it's Starscream."
Bumblebee raised an optic ridge at Knockout.
"What? Excuse me for being paranoid about Screamer's track record for mission: success! I know he's clever, but honestly! How often have his schemes actually succeeded?"
"You're right, on all fronts," Bumblebee agreed. "Let's just hope he's more convincing with these guys than he ever was with any of us."