Beast Wars Anonymous:

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The Soul Torturer
by Serenity (SerenityJJ@aol.com)

It was getting cold, as Jack Rab and Dinobot walked side by side in an open field. The high grass was a bright, goldish-yellow color. Some antelopes were nearby, chewing on the dry grass. They lifted their heads to see the strangers of the land. After realizing that they were not heading their way, they lowered their heads back down and started focusing on the grass again. There were flowers with spikes dotted in places around the field. The forest surrounded the place, but it was still a large area, perfect for predators to hide in the grass and hunt prey. Dinobot noticed everything. The wind was a little loud and cold. A sure sign of the coming of winter, for fall was already settled. The raptor and rabbit have been traveling for two days, Jack Rab still leading the way to the proposed alive protoforms, who were now Maximals. On the journey, they rested under trees or cover and used leaves as cover from any tough beasts in the wild. Dinobot missed sleeping in a recharging bed, where he was under shelter and it was warm. Hopefully, meeting these Maximals, they could help him find a new home, or build one. As they passed through the tall grass, Jack Rab stopped. He lifted up on his hind legs and stood his transmetal ears high. Dinobot paused beside him. He looked around, but couldn't find anything. What was it?

"Jack Rab, what is it?"

The rabbit hushed him and kept listening. Dinobot tried to listen, too, though his hearing wasn't nearly as great as the rabbit's. Then he heard it. It was a slithering sound, and it sounded like sand moving. Whatever it was, it was moving quietly through the grass, and it was big. Jack Rab finally whispered to Dinobot, and motioned for Dinobot to keep low. They hid low in the grass.

" Its Venom."

Dinobot tilted his head to Jack Rab.

"Who?"

" Lower the volume. (whispering) Venom is the only Predacon here to my knowledge. I think some kind of Pred, I can't remember, activated his stasis pod and awakened him. He's not one of those stupid kinds of Preds, either. He could have outsmarted Megatron himself if he had the chance."

" Why didn't you tell me about this a while back?"

" Because I thought he was dead. I had a fight with him a week ago, and at the end, I pushed him right off a cliff. I looked over, but there wasn't anything, and I thought I killed him. But I guess I was mistaken. Damn."

" What is it that makes you so afraid of him?"

A raspy, low, slithering voice answered instead.

"Because I am his superior. *HISSSS*!"

Dinobot and Jack Rab turned around, but were hit hard by a huge tail. They were thrown back by several feet. Jack Rab was on his back and Dinobot was on his side against a tree. He jolted his legs forward and pulled himself, by the force, back up. He looked at what had hit them. He came face to face with a huge Cobra that was at least 30 feet long. The cobra had its ribs stretched out to reveal a kind of natural umbrella attached to his head. His head was at Dinobot level and he was slithering toward him. Dinobot transformed and stood on his feet. He charged up his eyes and tried to shoot at the reptile, but Venom was too fast for him. The snake had amazing speed, and missed the optic lasers by two feet or more. He then stopped, arched his head back, and struck at his prey. Dinobot jumped away, but barely missed the strike. Venom regained his posture and raised his head high to get a view of where the raptor went. Dinobot had gotten back up and was keeping a close eye on the snake. By now, the antelopes have ran off away from the area and left the transformers to themselves. Dinobot used a tree as a cover for his back. He arched his legs, ready to jump if the snake decided to strike again. The reptile was just standing there, with his narrow head high. Jack Rab regained his energy and also transformed. He stood by Dinobot and was ready for battle with his old enemy. Venom chuckled and laid his head back a bit.

" Ahhh, yes, what a meal I could make from you two. But I'm tired, and I'm not in the mood. Shall we do this another day, dear Maximals. Yes, that seems good to me. Good day to you both."

He lowered down into the grass and slithered away quickly. For someone with no legs, he was away from their sight within the next few nano clicks. Dinobot and Jack Rab stared at each other. Dinobot was appalled.

" What kind of coward attacks someone and then finds it fit to leave in the middle of battle. This is completely dishonorable."

Jack Rab sighed and checked to make sure Venom was gone for good. There were no signs of the snake.

" What did I tell you? Smart, wicked, and a bucket of chicken, too. He loves doing this. He enjoys teasing his enemy. It’s why he's called Vehom. At first, his effects on you are not harmful and he barely hurts ya. But after time, he slowly chokes on you and paralyzes you, causing you pain and long term suffering. Then, when he is done with you, he kills ya."

Dinobot looked on to where the snake had slithered off to. Someone who enjoys slow suffering, slow torment??? This was against everything he believed in. If a transformer was to die, let him have the dignity have having a quick death. No more suffering, no more pain, no more torment to his soul. This Venom was sick, and ultimately cruel. Jack Rab knew what he was talking about.

" Has he done anything to others?"

Jack Rab was silent for a few nano clicks, but finally answered.

" There were other pods, who survived, but the protoforms were not well. They were burned, damaged, confused, or disfigured. Not many, but some. ::sigh::......

Dinobot could tell that it was hard for the rabbit to talk about it, but Jack Rab went on. He lifted his head and looked up at the sky, bewildered.

" After Venom came online, he got the scent of these transformers. He first, built a little place, a chamber you might say, underground in a deep cave. He then started.... capturing them.. one by one, and took them to his place. I didn't know this until he finally, ... caught me. I remember that night. I was walking through a forest a few miles from here, and it was dark and at night. I heard a sound, I'll never forget it. then something struck into my side. It was some kind of dart, and it injected something into me. I pulled it out, but then everything started going black. I caught sight of a figure, a reptile looking devil, before I finally went out, then I woke up in a cage..."

He silenced himself again. It was getting dark right now, and the wind was howling louder. Dinobot kept silent, not wanting to say anything to interrupt the rabbit. Jack Rab went on.

" I woke up, but I couldn't see or hear. I was blind and death. I opened my optics, but nothing would appear. I couldn't hear anything. I felt around with my hands, and I felt bars, and I assumed it was a cage. I got terrified then. I shouted, but I didn't even know if anybody was there. I curled up in the middle of the 'cage' and laid my head on my knees. Then, I felt vibration. Something shook the cage, and grabbed me. I kicked at it, and tried to escape. He held me tightly and moved me away to another room, I think. He strapped me to a table, and locked me legs and arms in locks. I was strapped tightly on the table and then nothing happened. I tried to escape, I tried to move, but I couldn't. I was trapped within my mind, I was caged away from the world. I couldn't hear anything, nor see anything. I wished that I would die, but I didn't. I felt a sharp pain in my side, and something, like liquid, inject into my body. I then started to feel cold and my body begin having these pulses of pain, sharp pain...."

Jack Rab looked away then and stared at the ground. He walked away a few feet and kept staring at the ground, somehow, he looked upon it as his remorse, his only savior.

" I screamed, and then he grabbed me again. He unstrapped the locks and took me away to another place, not the cage, though. He shoved me onto the floor, and I tried to run, but I couldn't see or hear where I was going. I tried to feel for a door, but he caught me and shoved me away. He pushed me further away. He then spilled something on me, all over my body. It felt wet, and I tried to smell what it was. It was some kind of toxic. Then I felt then heat. He had spilled some kind of chemical on me, and now he was burning me alive. The fire was scorching my armor, and I felt like I was in hell. It burned everywhere, and I couldn't make it stop. I rolled around and tried to put it out, but it didn't work. I felt my entire face being burned off and the armor turning into ashes. My torso was bubbling and flaking off like tissue. I tried to breath, but I would inhale the horrible smell of that chemical and the fire burned inside of my mouth. It burned my optics, until I didn't even have optics anymore. My back felt as if it was lifting off. The whole time I felt like I was dying, it felt like being literately cooked. Then, he stabbed me in my side again, with something long and sharp. He pulled it out and kicked me. He pushed me down and stood on me, and putted a thing around my neck. He attached some kind of 'leash' to it and got off of me. He pulled at it, wanting me to follow him like a dog. I was still burning from pain. All I could think about was

Please Primus, just let me die. I don't want to live, please..please.....

He pulled hard and pulled me across the floor.

Please, I want to be in the Matrix...no more... please, I just want to die, Primus, please....

Then I finally blacked out."

Jack Rab looked around and turned back at Dinobot. Dinobot stared back at him and kept silent. And he thought he had it all at the Nemesis. No, it WAS possible to have a worse, more tormented death. How could someone possibly enjoy this, to see such a life tremble so? How could you take this upon yourself to do? Jack Rab and Dinobot's eyes locked and Jack Rab stared back at the ground.

" There is more.... I woke up, but this time, I could see and hear. But I was still burned, and I smelled like ash and that chemical. I was back in my cage, but this time I noticed other cages, with other ones in them. My mouth and throat were burned so badly, I couldn't speak. Then, I saw him, over by the entrance to the 'chamber'. Venom. He was standing there, smiling at one of the cages. The person within the cage noticed him, too. I heard him scream.

' NOO, NOT ME!! LEAVE ME ALONE!!! PRIMUS!!!'

He kept smiling and walked to the guy's cage.

'Why are you so afraid? In theory, the pain is all in the mind. You only feel it if you want to. Do you want to FEEL the pain, my dear friend?"

The person scurried back in his cage away from Venom. But Venom had an assistant. His name, I recalled later, was Talon. He was a reptile, too. But of the Dinosaur type. An egg eating dino, it looked like. In beast mode, he walked on two long legs and had a slick head, which was supported by a long neck. He went up to the cage beside Venom.

'There, there. It won't be that bad this time? Venom assured everyone that he saved a special thing for you.'

He chuckled. The prisoner was not stupid, but nothing could help him now.

' No, keep away from me, ya monsters.'

Talon opened the cage and grabbed the prisoner, who I just then noticed, had no arms. They looked to have been burned off, with the burnt stubbed limbs there. The guy screamed, but it was no use. Talon and Venom left with him and I heard him scream all the way. Venom came back a few minutes later and noticed me. I scurried back into my cage, hoping he would go away. But he came closer, smiling. He held two bars within his claws, which he had in robot mode, and laid his head within the cage.

' I think it would be pleasant if you saw this. You might get a good laugh out of it.'

' Go to the Inferno, Satan.'

I didn't change his expression, in fact, I think I made him more happy. He opened the cage and grabbed me. He tied my hands behind my back with wires that had spikes on them. The spikes sunk into my hands and were soon soaked with mech fluid. He took me away to another room, where the prisoner was. He was strapped to a huge contraption, and there were long chains hanging from his legs and one attached to his head. The chains were connected to the back of the thing, but I didn't get to see the back of it. They had burned his whole mouth and jaw off. I was surprised that he didn't die from shock alone. Venom sat me in a chair and tied me to it with chains. I was forced to stay. Then I saw Talon standing beside the prisoner. He turned to him.

'Any last words before you go bye-bye?'

The prisoner moved his head, but couldn't even muffle or moan do to the lack of his mouth.

' Good enough for me.'

Talon then went to a control panel behind me and I heard him click a button. Then there was a noise. The chains strapped to his head and legs started to move and pull on him. They both went in different directions. And I saw him being pulled. I turned away, but I couldn't keep the sound out. I heard his sockets starting to pop, and his body starting to crack in places from the pull. I finally heard his legs being pulled out and then his head was, too. He finally died, painfully, and harshly. His legs had been pulled out completely, with his head, and they laid, still attached to the chains. His body slipped and fell on the ground. Venom turned my head around and made me look, but I shut my optics closed. He chuckled.

' Do you see the beauty of this? No, you can't, you know why? Because this has been done before, its not original. I like being creative, its the joy of the kill. But I couldn't think of any ideas today, so I just used this old trick. You enjoy it, dear rodent?'

I just letted him go on. Talon came up to me and slapped my face.

' I believe he asked you a question, and it isn't polite to not answer a question.'

I didn't want to end up like him, so I nodded.

' Yes.... I liked it....'

Venom was smiling again.

' Good. See? You didn't want to, but you enjoyed it. Death is such a complicated, yet simple thing, that’s the beauty of it. But anyone can die. It's HOW you die that’s interesting. There are so many ways, and I've found a lot of them, but there are more to see. Each has its own original way, and I just love seeing them all.'

He then grabbed me and took me back to my cage. He locked it back up. It smelled damp and dirty, but I like the cage more than being with him. He chuckled.

' Do have a good tiding here, vermin. I might have a good treat for you tomorrow. Good night, and Cheerio.'

He left, and I feel asleep.

Sleep, just let me have one more night of peaceful sleep, please....

I woke up in the middle of the night, though. Someone was opening my cage, but it was too dark to tell who it was. I scurried away in the back of the cage.

No, please, not now, please, Primus, help me, why won't you help me?!

The person opened the cage and grabbed me. I resisted and pushed them away, but then they spoke.

'Sssssshhhh, I'm a friend. I'm here to rescue you, but keep quiet.'

It was a female. Rescue me? Should I believe them? That’s what I thought. I putted down my arms and listened, but spoke.

' Who are you?'

' My name is Serenity, and I'm here to free you. Come on, we don't have much time...'

I came out and kept close behind her. She lead me to the entrance and stopped. She gave me a stern look and looked out. Then she motioned for me to follow. I looked back, and noticed that all the prisoners were gone. Were they saved? Serenity tapped me and we moved. I followed her down a narrow hallway. We came to a door, and she picked at its lock. I looked back, scared to death of being caught. Being either burned alive or having my sockets pulled out.

We won't make it?? Primus, please help, I promise I'll do anything you want, just please help me..please!

She opened the lock and tried to open the door, but it creaked loudly. She stopped in total shock. We looked back. The only way we were going to get out was to do this quickly and run for it. we looked at each other and nodded. She opened the door fast and we ran up the stairs behind it. I tried to run as fast as I could, trembling in fear, and almost scared to death. I was nervous to the point, and my hands shook greatly. After we reached near the top of the steps, I looked back and saw, for the first time, Venom in his beast mode. His eyes were bloody red and his skin a devilish dark green. He had pure golden eyes on his rib cage, which was spread out at the time. He was flicking his tongue and he was slithering fast up the steps. Serenity was trying to pick another lock, but her hands were trembling so much, it was hard to do. He was coming closer.

Oh, God, Primus, HELP! Please, I promise to do good, I promise I'll never be bad again, just please help..

She finally managed to pick it and open the door. We literately pushed it open and ran out, but Venom pushed out with us. I was on my stomach, but then I rolled around and saw him. Our eyes locked and I couldn't escape his stare. No it was not fear that kept me still, he was hypnotizing me somehow. There was a voice in my head, but not like you could hear it or explain it. It seemed to be saying

'come closer.....everything is calm.....its okay...everything...is okay....'

I was still. He arched his head back, ready to strike, then something grabbed me and I was lifted into the air. I looked down and found Venom cursing at me.

' Damn you Rodent!'

I looked over at what was carrying me and I saw a white swan.

'Serenity?'

She turned her head around at me.

' Who else?'

For the first time in two days, I was happy to see someone smile. She took me to her home, under a waterfall, and told me about her coming here. There, I meet puffin, who I found out that if he didn't occupy Venom by fighting him, we wouldn't escape. Venom wasn't that stupid, he would have known if someone was trying to escape, its part of his senses. But when you are busy with trying to swallow a puffin bird that messed on your control panel, your senses are not fully aware of such things. I don't remember how many times I thanked them, but they had some fruit and honey combs with them, and I stuffed myself with that between the thank-yours. Serenity helped me find a hole, where I live now. Both her and Puffin helped me and made it a good home, for a rabbit even."

He stopped and looked up into the sky, which was dark and dotted with stars at this point. Dinobot lifted up his head and spoke.

" I never knew that, there were such kinds.... of transformers that existed. And I thought that Megatron was bad. I am more than aware of this 'Venom' now. I am sorry for what you had to go through, there is no way of understanding it unless I go through it myself.

Jack Rab looked at him

" Then, lets hope you never understand."

He transformed into his beast mode. Dinobot did the same and looked around.

" It is getting dark, we best move away from this area and move on to a safer place."

Jack Rab nodded in agreement. The rabbit started to walk away toward the trees, north of where they traveled from. Dinobot took one last look around, and then walked on his TM2 talons, as he followed the trotting rabbit.