Aussie Battler meets Art Brought to Life - Bonded Chains
Silence weighed heavy on the two young men as they were transported to the cabin mansion within the forest. They were being transported in the same van, however they were separated by a thick metal divider. On one side was Joseph. He was the first young man, being only a few months younger than the second man.
And on the other side, kneeling on the floor with chains restraining him was Kiba. The second, older man. While Joseph had been collected from their home, Kiba had been collected from a maximum security psychiatric facility. He was considered extremely dangerous, but Joseph knew better. Likewise, so did Loco and Crazy.
He was strapped tightly in a strong straight jacket, loose white hospital scrub pants hanging off his thinning frame. A titanium mouth guard covered his lower face and a blindfold covered his eyes. His back was forcefully hunched over from the position the heavy chains forced him into. His hands were covered in metal casing, and ankles were shackled together so he could only shuffle short distances.
Joseph was lucky, being inside the front section of the van. He could see Kiba, someone he considered his brother for many years by now, and seeing him like this was tearing him apart. He hadn't stopped crying since he got into the van and first saw Kiba.
He had recognised him from the scars on his face where the skin was visible, and the fact he tried to look up towards him when his name was uttered. His movements were, of course, restricted by the restraints including, to Joseph's horror, a metal collar that kept his head forced down to the floor.
“Y-you won't get away with this…” He muttered, a rare display of hatred on his face alongside the dread, stress and complete fear he felt in this moment.
An older man looked back towards Joseph, scowling. “Shut up, ungrateful little bastard. You should be glad we're even helping you two. He's better off in the ground fucking rotting. And you?” The man looked Joseph up and down before smirking and scoffing.
“You're pathetic and powerless in every sense of the word.” He spat venomously. “The only thing you're good for is a good fuck. And even that you likely can’t do well.”
“Commander, remember the cameras…” One of the other guards began, only for the scowl to turn towards him.
“Who the fuck asked you to speak, private?” He growled. Before a fight could break out, a man's voice came over the radio. And he sounded pissed.
“I did, Commander. Need I remind you that you're one misstep away from being dishonourably discharged and shot, so I suggest you shut the fuck up yourself and listen to your lieutenant's. Respect the pecking order, or I'll show you who's really in control here. Over and out.”
An uneasy silence fell amongst everyone as they shared glances with one another, too afraid to speak again in fear of upsetting their Commander further than he already was.
Pulling into the driveway, the first thing everyone in the front section of the van noticed were the two figures standing on the deck, waiting for them to approach.
The van pulled up, parking before the soldiers let Joseph out. Joseph looked nervously around them, feeling dread that they were in the middle of nowhere. They were at the mercy of these soldiers and the two strangers. Every fiber of Joseph's being was telling him to run. Run for his life and pray he gets away to tell the tale. But he couldn't. He couldn't just leave Kiba behind like that, whether the man was capable or not.
The man in charge approached Loco and Crazy, putting on a kind demeanour in the face of essentially their bosses. “Our apologies it took so long to-”
“Repeat it.” The chief had been cut off abruptly by Loco, who had a look of fury and outrage in his eyes. The man faltered, confused as he stammered. “Wh-what are you-”
“I said. Repeat. It.” He seethed, cutting the man off again as he took a step down the stairs, beginning to advance towards the soldier, dwarfing him at a staggering 7'11” in height to the man's 6’2”. “Repeat what you fucking said to Joseph in that van when you weren't trying to kiss ass.” He said, an unsettling and unhinged giggle leaving the pink haired man.
The leader almost crapped his pants when he realised he had been listened to by these people. “I… I just- I can explain-” He stammered out.
“Y-you just, you just- just fucking what? Thought you had the upper hand? Thought you could treat these variants these- these fucking so called freaks any way you god damn please?” He asked sharply, stopping only when the soldier's back hit a tree and he had nowhere to run.
Before Loco could hurt the man, Crazy spoke up, a tired expression on his face. “Loco. Leave him. Bring Joseph inside. I'll get Kiba and handle these people. The boy is traumatised, he needs a calm environment, not violence.”
Despite being outraged, the taller man grunted, snickering manically as he turned towards Joseph, carefully putting a hand on his back, muttering soft reassurances.
Once they disappeared back into the house, Crazy dropped any niceties he had in his expression to comfort Joseph. “You have some nerve, saying the things you did.” As he spoke, he slowly went down the stairs and onto the loose stones and mud that made up the front yard of the homestead.
“And then to be nice and act like you're not a monster?” He said, his gaze sharpening as the commander shook where he stood, terrified to move. He knew better than to move, understanding that he was extremely outmatched against Crazy. They'd all heard the rumours, after all.
Crazy stepped forward once more and pointed in front of him, holding the two clipboards in his other arm. “Here.” He said sharply, the command bringing out the uncontrollable urge to have control in the commander.
He clenched his fists, the mask dropping as he sneered at Crazy. “I'm not your fucking pet, I don't answer to-” Suddenly, a painfully loud sound was sounded from a small remote that Crazy had produced from his lab coat pocket. The commander yelled in agony, falling to his knees while covering his ears, desperate for the sound to stop.
Just like that, as quick as the sound began, it was gone. It left the commander gasping for air, tears forming in his eyes, his expression dark and hateful. His gaze met Crazy’s again, seeing no emotion behind the doctor's eyes. Only cold, calculated indifference mixed with the tell tale signs of someone who hadn't slept well in a long time.
Now that he was more compliant, Crazy reached into his lab coat, producing a small, handheld device, putting it in front of his mouth before speaking. “You should listen to your lieutenants, commander.”
Upon hearing the words of who he thought was his chief officer, horror dawned on his features as he realised what Crazy had just revealed to him. “But… but you- no… he… he can't be, you didn't-”
“Oh, I didn't do anything, David. Not yet.” He said, allowing his head to tilt to the side, a ghost of a smirk gracing his features. The man began shuffling back, trying to get away from Crazy as the man produced a needle. “Now stay nice and still. You'll see your precious chief soon enough…”
The last thing the commander would see would be the insane doctor injecting the needle into his thigh. “Don't fret, commander… your time will come shortly. Just like your Chief's did.” He said with a small, dark chuckle.
Once he had rendered the man unconscious, he turned to the remaining men. “Gentlemen.” He said, tucking the empty needle into the inner pocket of his coat again before he continued.
“Your commanding officer won't be leaving here alive. But you five might. Depending on how cooperative you feel like being.” He said casually, producing a handgun, cocking the weapon. He then lifted it, taking aim at one of the men, who quickly raised his hands.
“W-wait, please! W-we don't agree with him, we-we tried to tell him the cameras they-they were watching our every move!” He babbled out, clearly utterly terrified of the man. This was a positive sign for Crazy. It meant he could likely be manipulated and persuaded.
“There was no ‘them’. It was me and my partner the entire time. You're Chief… he's a very foolish man who let his ego get in the way of his common sense. That's why he was so damned easy to capture. Much like your commander over there…” He muttered, glancing behind himself at the unconscious man as he was mentioned.
“Now… as for how you five can get out alive? It's simple, really.” He said casually. He then pointed to a spot with the gun before steadying his aim back at the tallest member of the group.
“Line up in a row, side by side. Then get on your knees and interlace your hands behind your head.” Crazy watched as they complied quickly with his commands. Once they were in position, he moved to the balcony, placing the clipboards on the window still before coming back to the group of soldiers.
“Alright then. Where is Kiba?” He asked with a calm but dangerous tone.
Quickly, they all pointed at the van and the second in command quickly fumbled, getting the key from his belt. The movements were too quick for Crazy, his eyes narrowing as the gun trained on him.
With shaking hands, the soldier gave Crazy the key to open the back of the van. “If I see any of you move, you join your commander.” He threatened, though it sounded a lot more like a promise.
He approached the truck with confidence yet care. He knew Kiba was extremely likely to behave like a caged animal given that's how he was treated. But he knew what he had to do.
Opening the back two doors, he pointed to two of the soldiers closest to him. “You two. Come here, unclip him from the floor.” The pair quickly stood, running over to do just that. They knew compliance was the only way to survive this mission. Once Kiba was unclipped, they brought him carefully out of the van, stepping away from him cautiously.
Crazy’s expression tightened in silent rage as he approached Kiba. He carefully removed the blindfold, revealing stormy blue eyes that were filled with hatred and malice. Crazy tried to remove the device on Kiba's lower face, only to realise it was surgically embedded in his mouth.
He snarled slightly, a rare show of rage from the otherwise calm man. “You monsters implanted this onto him?” He asked, his voice wavering ever so slightly as he fought to keep his rage under control. “Loco! Bring me the anaesthetic kit!” He yelled, before he pointed to the remaining three soldiers. “Restrain him, this will not be pleasant and it will only be worse for him if he struggles.”
Kiba looked around wildly as they each grabbed a chain, pulling them tight so Kiba was forced onto the ground again. Loco appeared in the doorway, Joseph on his back looking fearful of the soldiers again when he saw them.
When he saw Kiba, he let out a choked sob of distress, his crying resuming as Loco carefully pulled him into his arms, hushing him after putting the kit down, also having the surgical kit too just in case it was needed. Loco moved to go inside, holding Joseph's head against his chest and over his heart to calm the frightened and upset young man.
But Crazy quickly stopped him. “No, stay Loco. Kiba will need to be calmed when this is over, he's about to be justifiably pissed off and my hope is that presenting Joseph will keep him from murdering the soldiers.” Loco hesitated but nodded slowly, sitting down on steps and keeping Joseph close to his chest, holding him like a mother would hold their infant. His maternal instincts were in full swing, his vibrant pink eyes locking onto the commander as he allowed his husband to set about freeing Kiba from his bindings.
Crazy slowly approached with both kits. He knelt in front of Kiba, carefully resting a hand on his cheek, frowning when this made Kiba flinch. “Easy.” Crazy said in a soft, fatherly tone. “I'm not going to hurt you. I'll numb your jaw which should prevent the pain of this process. I know you have no reason to trust me right now, Kiba. But I promise you, this will spell the end of your suffering.”
Crazy made eye contact with the young man, a serious expression on his face. “We won't allow you to be restrained and abused like this. Not now, not ever again.” He assured, keeping eye contact with the wary man while he continued.
“This isn't going to be a pleasant experience for you, I'm afraid. It'll be extremely uncomfortable, but with what I'm giving you, it should only be the needle that hurts. You need to growl at me if I hurt you, ok?” Uneasy, but choosing to trust Crazy since his partner was being good to Joseph, Kiba nodded a little.
With that nod, Crazy also nodded in return. He then turned to his kits, pulling out a rather large looking needle. Kiba was immediately wary, but he couldn't exactly move to protect himself.
Crazy quietly uttered some words of comfort, apologising when he gave each of the five needles. Joseph couldn't watch this, burying his head into Loco's sweater as more sobs racked through his body.
Crazy spoke with Kiba about the procedure as the numbing injections did their job. He showed him the scalpel he would use as well as the small, handheld diamond tipped saw, explaining that he would likely have to saw into his skin in order to get this fully off.
Kiba didn't like the sound of this at all. But he also couldn't feel his face, meaning Crazy had been truthful in his words so far.
“Are you ready?” Crazy asked as he held up the saw. Kiba gave one final, hesitant nod, allowing Crazy to move his head to find the starting point he needed to access.
Seeing the access point he needed, Crazy took his time to examine the joints of the device. It would take him a grueling half an hour before he got the metal guard off Kiba's face. And Crazy hadn't been ready for how much damage was under the thing.
“Good God…” Crazy uttered in his native language of Japanese. Kiba's face was a mangled, bloody mess. His cheeks were torn severely in the removal process, and his jaw was completely shattered. His face was infected from a clear lack of care or cleaning due to it being attached to him.
Despite the pain, Kiba couldn't help himself as he whispered quietly. “Joseph…” Frowning, Crazy quickly got to work stitching his cheeks back together, stitching his mouth back to its regular size.
“Kiba, it's really important that you don't talk very much for a while. Your injuries are… significant, to say the least. You'll be on a liquid diet too for a while after a few days of IV nutrients… I'm so sorry this happened to you.” He said softly, carefully bandaging up Kiba's lower face, securing the bandages on his head and chin to try and keep his jaw together while it healed.
Crazy got to his feet again after putting away his medical equipment, looking towards the guards with a cold expression. “Unlike the damn psychopaths you work for, I'm a man of my word.” He remarked as he gestured to Kiba.
“Free him of his chains and then leave. And if I ever catch you five again, I will show no mercy. Take this experience as a lesson and leave with your lives. Leave knowing that you only leave because I'm capable of showing mercy when I need to.” He said threateningly. He walked over to the commander, picking him up and hoisting him over his shoulder.
The soldiers made quick work of undoing the restraints, quickly scrambling into their van once he was free, peeling out of the dirt lot with a cloud of dust being the only remnants of their presence.
Despite the pain and aching he could feel beginning to build, Kiba shuffled quietly up to Joseph. Knowing Kiba would want Joseph, Loco stood and helped them both inside. He shut the door once Crazy was inside.
“Make them comfortable please Loco. I'll be in the basement on the Killing Floor if you need me. Chamber five to be exact.” He said as he approached the basement door in the kitchen. Within moments, he was gone, and Loco was left alone with the pair.
Joseph was sobbing as he quickly approached Kiba, hugging him tightly. “I'm s-so sorry Kiba, I tried to stop them but they wouldn't listen to me…” He sobbed out, earning a rapid head shake from Kiba as he used Auslan to communicate to him.
‘Joseph, focus on me. Look at what I am saying.’ Once he had the younger man's attention, he continued.
‘I'm just glad you're unharmed. Physically, at least. I'm angry you had to be subjected to this shit, but now, everything is different. I will never let them hurt you or get their hands on you. Never again, understand? My injuries will heal. Yes, I will have scars. But I don't care about that, so long as you're okay.’
Joseph sniffled, gingerly putting his hands onto Kiba's bandaged cheeks. “You… you promise you're ok..? You'll tell me if you're in pain and need me..?” He asked, earning a small nod from Kiba as he pulled Joseph into a warm embrace, leaning his head atop the others with a deep sigh.
After a few minutes of the pair embracing, Loco giggled slightly. “Hey hey, you two. Want a hot cocoa? I can even get some marshmallows for you, Joseph. We can roast them over the fireplace!” He said with a grin. Kiba smiled with his eyes, gently gesturing for Joseph to go to the fireplace as he moved into the kitchen.
Once Joseph was settled, Loco spoke to Kiba calmly. “I bet you've got a lotta questions. Like who we are, how we brought you here and how we know your names among other things.” He remarked, almost like he could read the Australian man's mind.
Kiba raised a brow, looking over and nodding in agreement. Loco nodded and shrugged, giggling a little once more as he opened the window closest to the balcony. He grabbed the clipboards from off the windowsill, gesturing to them as he handed them to the temporarily mute man.
His brows furrowed as he read these reports. He then looked up at Loco, a new determination settling over his face. Loco beamed at him. “In due time, Kiba. For now, let's get you fed and your brother distracted.” He said as he held up the IV Bag and gestured to the marshmallows and hot chocolate already made for Joseph.
Kiba carried the bag of marshmallows, handing Joseph the drink and putting a couple marshmallows inside the hot beverage. He then got a stick off Loco and impaled three of the marshmallows on it, offering it to Joseph.
Joseph smiled weakly and gently took the stick. As Kiba sat down and extended his left arm so Loco could administer the IV, Joseph couldn't help but snuggle up to his side, holding the long stick over the flames.
This would be the beginning of a peaceful life for the pair. At least, for the first little while anyways. But that's a story for another time.
