Come Back to Me
by Zaru
New Summary: A few years have passed. Things have changed for the humans and the Autobots have decided to make a visit back to Earth. Possibly for good.
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Leiana Lopez belongs to Ninjalala/Artist's Inquisition. Rose Connelly belongs to Bells of Eden/Blackwing Rose. Jade Rivers belongs to Icarian Angel Wings. Kia Hawkins belongs to weapon13white fang. Piper Somoon belongs to BlackHealer222. Erin Timmons/Everett belongs to Strawberrytop007. Bethany King belongs to Mrs. Optimus Prime. I own Zaru Kiys, Sakauchi Takigawa, Arc Kiys, Maddie Kiys, Aery Kiys, Fuse Nishimura, Sawdust, Motocross and others with small/very minor roles as well. Songs sang/mentioned belong to their writers/singers/creators.
A/n: Another chapter out and done! Please enjoy this VERY long chapter I've written! XD
Chapter 7
Nemesis…
The Nemesis was as quiet as could be. The ship was in shambles, but it was not uncommon for it to be so. After the Autobots had retrieved Starscream and Shockwave, Soundwave did not return to it as his main objective was to find and terminate their former leader. The giant blue Decepticon had journeyed his way back to Cybertron finding other Decepticons along the way. He spoke of Starscream's cowardice, weakness and traitorous ways to Starscream's seeker brethren, Skywarp and Thundercracker.
The two could not believe that Starscream would give himself up so easily to the Autobots. Although they knew he was cowardly in some ways, they didn't believe him to go with their enemy simply by giving up. But, since there was no one else they could follow, Soundwave became their only hope of finding him once more.
A loud buzzing sound echoed throughout the broken walls of the ship, getting louder by the second until a loud boom filled the throne area of the ship where Starscream used to reside. Several dark-cloaked figures appeared in a flash of light, red optics the only thing being seen through the darkness.
"Fracture." A deep, voice resounded through out the room.
A feminine voice followed. "Yes, Soundwave?"
"Objective: Power up the main grid."
"Of course." The femme Decepticon moved slowly, turning on the headlights from her chest area. Being able to see now, Fracture moved swiftly down the darkened hall, into another room where the main power of the ship was.
A few minutes later, the Nemesis was back online, and the Decepticons were able to see how bad of shape their base was in. Soundwave moved away from the others and sat down on the huge metal chair. He glanced around at all of the Decepticons he was able to round up to follow in suit of wanting to destroy Starscream and ruin the planet known as Earth.
"So, what are we doing back here, Soundwave?" Thundercracker wondered as he stepped forward through the sea of his comrades. "I thought we were going after the Autobots back on Cybertron. That's where they're holding Starscream and Shockwave."
"Mission: Find Autobots. Objective: Terminate Starscream and Autobots."
The blue seeker sighed. He guessed that was the only thing he was going to get out of his new 'leader' for the time being. But then Skywarp stepped up.
"What are we doing here back on the Nemesis? Are ya planning to fix it up and take it home to Cybertron?"
A black, purple and yellow mech with yellow antennae stepped forward. "If you hadn't noticed when we were on Cybertron and spying on those Autobots, Skywarp, they went through their Space Bridge." He turned to the purple seeker. "Most likely, Soundwave believes they have made their way back to Earth for some reason. Which I think we are to find out about."
"That's crazy, Kickback! Why would they go back to Earth when they left it in the first place? They aren't dumb you know!" Thundercracker argued, arms folded across his chest.
Kickback shook his head, smirking. "You would think so, Thundercracker, but the planet known as Earth would be the last place they would think we would look for them. At least, that's what I believe." His own purple arms crossed over his chest.
"Soundwave, are you sure they're there on that planet? Because if they aren't, what do you plan to do while we're there?"
Soundwave mentally smirked. "Objective: Terminate." Those humans were going to pay for what they did in the past to Megatron and for being allied with the Autobots.
An alley in Tranquility…
She screamed loudly as he charged for her. Ducking from his grasp, she moved around him hoping to make a run for it. Instead, Maddie's arm was grabbed roughly, almost pulling it from the socket.
"Ah!" She groaned feeling sharp pain shoot up her left shoulder. Oh no! My arm hurts! "Let go of me!" She shouted to the stranger as he slashed her arm with the hunting knife, blood dripping freely from the severe wound. Maddie shouted for help.
Prowl heard her screams and knew he would have to intervene in whatever was happening with the young human. If he didn't, he would be scolded for not doing his mission properly and, of course, Zaru would be very angry with him. But as he tried to piece his holoform together, he felt a spark of energy disperse from him, current pieces of his human form already disappearing. Oh no! I can't project my holoform! My energy is too low! He knew he should have recharged some before leaving the base.
Now, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't exactly reveal his true form to her and the total stranger. That would be the worst thing he could do. They were supposed to be hiding out on Earth in case Soundwave showed up. What to do, what to do?
Another scream sounded from her. This time, it was a pained shout for help. No. He couldn't wait any longer. The Autobots were meant to protect these humans, and this moment was meant to protect her. Going against his better judgment, Prowl transformed into his bipedal mode.
He got her down on the ground, his heavy body on top of her while his hand holding the knife cupped her mouth to muffle the screams. The man was getting turned on by the high school cheerleader. She was definitely the perfect one for him to ruin. The way her lithe body struggled beneath his own. Her heart pounding faster as though ready to beat through her chest. He could feel it all. His tongued snaked out of his mouth and licked a couple of tears streaming from her left eye.
"Oh, shh, shh, shh, sweetheart. I'm not gonna hurt you." He snickered. "Much."
It was disgusting. This disgrace of a man licked her! She shuddered, squeezing her eyes tightly, still trying to scream through his calloused hand. All she wanted was to get away from this nightmare and go straight home and crawl into her warm bed. But he was too much for her. His breath was absolutely horrid, breathing on her face the entire time. Maddie tried to think hard about what to do. Those self-defense lessons aren't worth shit right now!
As he removed his hand ready to kiss her, his ears picked up the sound of metal against metal at the end of the alley. His face turned to confusion, but relaxed when the sounds stopped. Ready to get back to his current task, the sounds of heavy footsteps made him look up, the side street ahead of them getting even darker.
"What in sans hell is going on?" He whispered.
Maddie heard everything to and took the opportunity she was waiting for. She shoved him up as far away from her as possible, pulled her leg back and ground into his family jewels. The hunting dropped from his hand with a short clang to the ground, hands covering his pride.
"Sweet mother of mercy!" His voice rose a few octaves, leaning forward to balance himself with one hand. "You're gonna pay for that, little girl." His voice sounded menacing at the moment. But she didn't care. It was her chance to get away from him. As she scrambled to her feet, a hand on her ankle pulled her back down again.
"No! Get off of me!" She shouted again. "Someone help me, please!"
Her pleas were answered in the form of something giant. Maddie stilled her body, eyes scanning up the huge being before them.
"Let. Her. Go." The voice sounded slightly mechanical, but human at the same time.
The man gulped and slowly released the teen's ankle. His dark eyes also stared at the thing before them. "What the fuck are you?"
"Come over to me, Maddie."
She heard him say her name. How did it know her name? Then it hit her. She had met something like this one before in the form of Wheeljack. But this wasn't Wheeljack, was it?
"W-Wheeljack, is that you?"
He shook his head. "No. But I am a friend. Please trust me. And come to me."
The girl shook her head. If this wasn't Wheeljack, then who was it? Was he just one of the transformers she had not met yet? Or was he new?
"O-okay." As she moved a couple steps toward him, an arm snaked around her shoulders and pulled her back against a muscled body. "Eek!"
"You ain't goin' anywhere, sweetheart. Not until I had my fun for the night with you." He whispered close to her ear.
Bile rose in her throat hearing those words. And that stank breath of his was making it even worse. "Please let me go." She whispered, more tears running from her green eyes.
Prowl growled. This human was getting on his nerves. And he was supposed to help protect this race along with his type? Getting down on one knee, he leaned into the small alley space, his demanding face only a few feet from theirs.
"I will give only one more warning, human. Leave her be."
The man gulped. Was he really going to risk going up against something like this? It was a fucking giant robot! He couldn't compete with something like that. Plus, it knew the girl he was currently latching onto. Perhaps he shouldn't put himself into more trouble with the female.
"S-Sure, man, whatever you." Once again, his arm slowly unraveled itself from her and she ran the second he let go to the giant machine.
Instinctively, she pressed herself against him, face buried in his large neck. Prowl wrapped a hand around her, shielding her body from the man. "Get out of here. NOW!"
Wasting no time, he fled, never to be seen again.
All she could at that moment was sob. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks in swarms getting the front of her shirt wet. Her teeth ground together trying to hold back the heavy sobs, body shaking in fright.
He had no idea what to do now. Never before had he ever had the opportunity to comfort a human femme, so he didn't really know what he was doing. She seemed to be having a breakdown. He was never good at those either. The only thing he could think of to do was pick her up and hold her close to his chest where his spark remained.
Prowl stood up, cradling Maddie in his hand. Her thin fingers latched onto one of his armor plates, pulling herself closer to the warmth of his body. His spark broke inside seeing her like this. How could human males do such a thing to the females of this planet just because they seem weaker than they are? He sighed and glanced down at the girl with shining blue optics.
"Are you all right?" He asked softly, so as not to startle her.
A moment passed by before she was able to give an answer. "Now that you're here, I know I'll be all right." Some reason, she felt she could trust this transformer. He said he was a friend of Wheeljack's, so he must be one of the good guys.
He smiled a little at her answer, his spark jumping slightly. Hmm. That was unusual. As he glanced down at her more, he felt something dripping down the armor plate she was holding onto. He reached his other hand around the girl and touched it. Pulling back, he saw the redness.
"Maddie."
"Yes?" By now her sobs subsided.
"Did that human injure you in any way?" He had to be sure it was nothing serious.
She gasped. "M-my arm. He cut me when he grabbed me by my arm and pulled me." Maddie pushed herself away from Prowl's chest and examined her own arm. It hurt badly, the blood having slowed but it was still deep. "I completely forgot about it until now."
"I must get you to the nearest hospital right away!" He set her down, only to hear her cries of fear.
"No! Please don't take me to the hospital! I hate hospitals!"
"But you must get yourself checked out. I will take you there and alert your mother to what happened."
"No! Please! You can't!"
He sighed. "Maddie, I must. If I don't take you to the hospital, who knows what might happen to you. You might get very sick if your wounds are not taken care of properly."
"No! Anywhere but the hospital! Please!"
He didn't want to continue arguing with her. Moving back, he transformed back into his police alt mode and opened the passenger side door. "Get in."
She folded her arms across her chest. "Not until you promise me that you won't take me to the hospital."
There was nowhere else he could take her but home. But chances are, Zaru wasn't home yet and he didn't wish to leave her alone while she was so weakened. "All right. I will take you back to the Autobot base. I'll see if Ratchet will be willing to work on you."
"R-Ratchet?" She didn't like the sound of that name. "Who's Ratchet?"
A small chuckle escaped him. "Don't worry. He is our Chief Medical Officer. He has worked on our human allies before. I am sure he can help you."
"Really? No hospital?"
"No. But, Maddie, I still have to inform your mother of your whereabouts."
She leaned her head back. Her mother was going to kill her for not walking with Vivianne and Andrea most of the way home. "Fine." The cheerleader walked back into the alley, grabbed her book bag, and headed to the passenger side of the police car.
"Please buckle up. It is the human law."
"I know." She smiled small before buckling herself with her right hand trying not to touch her left arm with the rough belt. "By the way, what's your name?"
As he started the engine, he replied, "Prowl." He wondered how badly he would be reprimanded by Optimus for bringing that human to the base.
At Club Kunoichi…
It was a little past 9 when the woman was done with her work. She stood up from her office chair and stretched. The faint noise of music could be heard through her office door. Zaru had wondered what time the private party she had booked for the night would leave. It was a weeknight, so of course the Sweet 16 birthday party would end early, she prayed.
The woman reached by her laptop and pulled out a cigarette from her near empty pack. I wonder if Maddie made it home on time. But of course her daughter would. She trusted her enough. Maybe I should call to make sure. Grabbing her cell, she was ready to dial when her comwatch beeped. I wonder who's trying to contact me.
She looked at the comwatch. "Zaru."
…[Zaru, it's Mirage.]…
A smile appeared. "Hey, sweetheart, what's up?"
…[I thought you might like to know that Maddie is safe with Prowl.]…
"Oh, that's good! You know, I was just gonna call and see-"
…[She's injured though. He's bringing her to the base. Apparently, she didn't want to go to the hospital.]…
Blue eyes widened. Her daughter was injured? How? Did she fall and hurt herself? If she did, why didn't Prowl take her to the hospital? "Mirage, I'm on my way there!"
…[Don't worry. Take your time. She'll be in good hands with Ratchet. Mirage out.]…
The woman gathered up her belongings and ran out of her office, forgetting to lock the door behind her.
Leiana stood behind the bar watching the party goers. She sighed impatiently wanting the night to be over with. The poor woman had classes tomorrow, which she did not want to oversleep from. But since Zaru had a lot of club stuff to do, she agreed to manage the party. Damn, this girl's parents must be rich to book here. The Latina glanced around at all the decorations and watched her friend Jade onstage doing her Pixie image.
A heavy sigh escaped her once more. She leaned on the bar with her elbows, head resting in her hands. This was getting really boring. Suddenly, she saw a blur of green and purple move past her at a high speed. What the fuck was that? Leaning over, she saw Zaru running.
"Zaru!" She shouted.
The club owner stopped in her tracks. She had almost forgotten to tell Leiana about her departure. Turning and running back, she slammed her hands on the counter, bag hanging from her arm.
"Lala, I don't have time! Maddie got injured walking home from cheerleading! I got to go see her in the med bay!"
"Wait! Med bay? What Med Bay?"
Zaru shook her head. She said too damn much! If she comes clean about the Autobots being back right now, she'll get into so much trouble with Optimus! "Um, Wheeljack found her and decided to bring her back to the base to patch up her wounds."
"But why didn't Wheeljack take her to the hospital?"
"I don't know, but I gotta go! I'll call you when I found out what happened!"
Leiana shook her head. Her friend had been acting weird for a few days now and it was getting worse. She still must be aching for Mirage, the woman concluded. Ever since Zaru had brought Aery and Maddie to the base to meet Wheeljack, she noticed her boss wore the old comwatch she used to wear when the Autobots were still around. There was definitely something going, but she would find out later. In the meantime, she made sure to keep her cell phone on, waiting for that call.
At the Autobot base…
The Autobots stood together in the Recreation Area of the base. Prowl had notified Optimus ahead of time about Maddie's situation. Though he wasn't happy about it at first, the leader knew Prowl was only looking out for the girl's well-being. He feared Maddie would put up an even greater argument if he had taken her to a regular hospital and that was one thing he didn't wish to happen. So now, they all waited for their comrade's arrival.
The double doors hissed open as Prowl walked in with Maddie in his hand. She clung to him desperately as she saw robots of all different sizes and forms ahead of them. The one robot she was familiar with, Wheeljack, was standing next to a taller one with blue and red coloring.
Wheeljack noticed the girl's sudden discomfort of being surrounded by the Autobots and stepped forward. "Maddie, what happened?"
"I-I was attacked." She whimpered. Instinctively, she buried her face against Prowl's spark chamber and she felt it heat up.
His optics reddened around the edges. "Who did it?" He was furious. Who would dare him one his human friends? Whoever it was, was going to pay dearly for it.
"Calm down, Wheeljack." Optimus stepped forward and set a hand upon his shoulder.
Maddie felt a sudden aura of calmness and warmth around her after hearing that voice. It was low, but gentle at the same time. She slowly turned her head to face, who she assumed might be their leader.
"I can't say for sure who it was, Wheeljack. It was too dark to see. But I was so scared!" Her voice broke. She was still in slight shock.
"Maddie, my name is Optimus Prime. I am the leader of the Autobots."
She nodded slightly. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Prime." He held a trusting smile and she really liked it.
He chuckled. "Just Optimus will do, Maddie." At her nod, he turned to the neon medic. "Ratchet, would you please take care of Maddie. I'm sure Zaru is on her way here." He said while looking over at Mirage who nodded in response.
Ratchet nodded and stepped forward to claim Maddie from Prowl who only clutched his armor tighter. "Maddie, please. I will not hurt you. I am Ratchet. I can help you."
She looked up at Prowl with red, puffy eyes for an answer. "Prowl…"
He smiled at her. "Do not worry. He is the best medical officer I know. He can take care of you just as well as human doctors can. Perhaps even better. I swear by Primus."
Maddie shook her head. Although she must have her arm checked out, she still was a little weirded out about being surrounding by giant alien robots from another planet. But Prowl, he was different. She was able to easily go to him when he called for her the first second they met. There was just something about him that made her heart race. But somehow, she felt sick to her stomach as well. The teenager wondered why.
"Do you wish for Prowl to come with you?" Ratchet asked. Perhaps she might feel safer with his friend there.
Prowl glanced over at Ratchet when he asked the girl that question. Why should he go with her? Sure he saved her life and she clung to him out of desperation of what has happened to her, but he needed recharge. And he needed it right away. His energy levels were dropping low. If he did not get sleep soon, he might go into stasis lock.
"Ratchet, I cannot go with the femme. I need recharge. I am drained from lack of energon that I was unable to form a holoform to protect her." His decision had to be final.
"Prowl, please." He felt the human stand up in his hand, her right hand touching his face. "I don't want to be alone right now."
"But Wheeljack can-"
"No. I want you!" She didn't know why she was arguing about it. Something in her heart wanted that mech to be with her every step of the way while Ratchet looked at her. "Please. Just, at least until my mom comes."
He rolled his optics. "All right. But just until your mother comes."
"Thank you." She smiled and Prowl thought it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.
Half an hour later…
The double doors of the rec room hissed open once more. This time it was a panicking Zaru and Maddie's twin sister Aery. Zaru had stopped by the house to pick up Aery cause she didn't want her daughter to be alone right then. As Zaru ran forward, her daughter stopped moving seeing all the different robots around them.
"Whoa!" She felt like she was ready to freak out. "This is… Whoa!' Her jaw dropped and all the transformers in the room stared down at her in surprise. "W-What are all of you staring at?"
Optimus was a little confused. Didn't Prowl and Ratchet take Maddie into the Med Bay awhile ago? How was she here?
"Zaru, how is Maddie with you? She is in the Med Bay with Prowl and Ratchet."
Zaru stopped in her tracks, bewildered by his question until she realized what he was saying. "Oh, uh, Optimus, this is not Maddie. This is Aery, Maddie's twin sister."
"Twins?" Both humans heard simultaneous voices.
"Oh boy." Zaru face palmed as Sunstreaker and Sideswipe stepped forward, gri.0ns on their faces. "Aery, meet the Lambo twins, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe."
Her emerald eyes grew wide as the two transformers kneeled down in front of her. "Uh, hi there." She blinked as Sideswipe made a bowing gesture to her.
"I'm Sideswipe. And this is my twin brother Sunstreaker. It is a pleasure to meet you." He grinned as he saw her blushing.
She looked down. The base floor is very interesting. The girl thought before looking back up to see them still staring at her. Sunstreaker more closer than his brother.
"It's uncanny. They resemble each other so much like we do." He stared as though observing her.
Noticing her discomfort, Sideswipe pulled his twin away from the human teen. "Don't you think you're a little too close, brother?"
Sunstreaker looked at Sideswipe confused. "Eh? I wasn't that close! Besides, I haven't really seen human twins before! This is awesome!" His mind went elsewhere wondering what it would be like if his Leiana had a twin of her own. He'd be able to play double the pervert, that's for sure. A chuckle escaped him and the others just stared at him strangely.
The red mech shook his head. "Don't mind my brother. He's just strange in his own right."
That made Aery laugh a little. With Sideswipe around, she felt a little more comfortable with the Autobots. But although Sideswipe was very interesting, she wondered more about Wheeljack who was talking back and forth with her mother and Optimus Prime.
"So, she wasn't hurt too bad then." A sigh of relief escaped the mother of two. "Thank Primus! The second Mirage told me she was injured, I had all sorts of images going through my head about what could have happened!" Her hand was placed over her heart. "My heart kept racing just thinking of what happened to my own daughter."
Optimus knelt down next to the green-haired woman, nodding. "Yes, she will be just fine."
Zaru shrugged. "But I don't understand. How was she able to get attacked if Prowl was watching over her?"
Wheeljack shrugged himself. "He lost sight of her after she went through an alley way by herself. It seems her friends didn't care to go along with her, so she went herself and got caught by the unknown stranger." He was still angry about that, but had cooled down knowing Maddie was going to be all right.
"She should have known better!" A sigh. "I'm gonna check on her now. Relieve Prowl. I'll see you guys in a bit."
At Club Kunoichi…
The party ended approximately at 10 o'clock and the party members were either leaving or staying behind to chat with one another. Especially the birthday girl and her friends. Leiana wanted them all to leave as soon as possible. The faster they left, the faster she could shut everything down and lock up. She glanced down at her watch. It was a little after 10 now. When are they going to leave?
Not wanting to stand still any longer, the shift supervisor decided to have a walk around to check out the damage the private party made. There were streamers of every color pulled down from above them. Colored confetti covered the entire dance floor and several of the surrounding tables and chairs. Spilled drinks, cups and crumbled food were strewn all around the club and counters making her shake her head sadly. This was going to be one hell of a mess to clean up tomorrow for Zaru.
Her main concern was any damage to the furniture, walls and stage. If any, they would be billing the parents for damage made. She slowly made her patrol around the club and spotted a table with a broken leg along with a couple of chairs. That was the table the girl and her friends sat at. What the hell were they doing when this happened? That's when she remembered the girls were standing on the table while dancing to some music. Damage done. Time to notify the parents.
Leiana adjusted the green halter top she wore with her black knee-length skirt and sandals. Had to look professional when speaking of damages. Wearing the best smile she could, the 23-year-old made her way over to a small group of adults chit-chatting.
"Hello."
They all stopped speaking with one another and turned at her voice. One of the men eyed her very carefully.
"Can I help you?" A woman who looked middle-age with blonde-hair and slight wrinkles asked.
The supervisor held out her hand. "Hi there. My name is Leiana Lopez. I am a Supervisor here at Kunoichi." When nobody took it, she cleared her throat and pulled it back. "I am just reminding you that your party has ended and, if you would be so kind, I would like to speak with you about some minimal damage caused by one or more of your party guests."
The man who eyed her scoffed. "Please tell me you are joking?"
Her head leaned to the side, her long brown hair flowing gently. "I kid you not, sir. One of our tables, along with a couple of the chairs from that table, are broken. They will need to be replaced and you will be billed for damages."
The older blonde woman just laughed. "Oh, my young dear, you are such a funny little girl." She held her hand over her chest delicately while letting out small laughter. "Honey, we paid a great deal of money to have our daughter's party here. If any damage is caused, whatever we paid should cover it. Okay?"
Leiana let out a sarcastic laugh and smiled. She was getting a little miffed at these people now. "Oh, you may have paid to book your daughter's party here at Club Kunoichi, but we also have a contract if you do not recall."
She looked over at her husband warily. "What kind of contract did you make, dear?"
Her husband shrugged his square shoulders. "Just a common contract to have the club for our use, sweetheart. Nothing else."
"Well, as with all the contracts used with private party bookings for club use, it is stated in there, that if any damage is done during the event, the booking party will be held responsible and pay cost for damages."
"Warren."
"Sandra, I don't recall that being in our contract when I signed it." He smirked. "I believe this young lady here is just trying to squeeze more money out of us."
Leiana's hands fisted at her sides. This guy was really asking for a punch in his damn face! Wasn't in the contract! It was definitely in the contract. Even though, she wasn't the one who booked the party, she knew exactly what was in each contract. And, of course, she would never lie about such a thing! The girl's father known as Warren was really a pain in her ass.
"I'll squeeze more than just money from you, you-" She stepped forward, only to be stopped by a pale hand with long fingers and black polish. "Eh?"
"Is there a problem here, love?" Asked Rose Connelly. She stood next to Leiana with pride, a natural professional she was.
"Miss Connelly." Warren bowed his head to her in greeting. "It is lovely to meet you again."
Rose bowed her head in return, thick tufts of her red-hair settling to the front of her shoulders. "Same here, Mr. Thick." Her storm eyes averted to her friend. "What seems to be the problem here? I came in and heard some commotion."
Warren nodded. "Yes, you would be right, Miss Connelly. It seems your supervisor here is telling my wife and I that we are to pay for damage supposedly done by friends of our daughter."
"Is that right?" Looking for confirmation, the Latina shook her head. "So, there is damage that was caused by our guests this evening?"
"Yeah, and Mr. Moneybags says he won't pay up cause it's not in his contract." She glared at him with chocolate eyes burning.
"That's right. We won't pay. If it isn't in the contract, then we will not pay a cent more." Sandra explained.
Rose cleared her throat. "If you will excuse me for a second." She smiled and turned, setting a briefcase bag on a confetti-covered table. "Mr. Thick, here at Kunoichi, we make sure our customers are satisfied with what they wanted. We try to make everything to your expectations." She rummaged through the bag. "It seems you are satisfied with the party, but not with paying extra for damages."
"Miss Connelly." He stepped forward. "I paid a great deal of money for my little girl to have her party here because she wanted it that way. She is a regular customer here and I believe that she nor her friends would do such a thing to ruin your club."
Finally, she pulled a small pack of papers out and skimmed over them. "She may be a regular, but you were the one who signed this contract." The gothic woman handed it to him. "Which means you are responsible for anything wrecked here within club walls."
Warren shook his head in disbelief. "I don't remember seeing anything on here about that."
"Page three, paragraph five. It states, and I quote: "The signer of this contract is responsible for any property damage of Club Kunoichi during said event. If signer refuses to pay cost damages, he or she will be sued for the cost of damage." She slowly pulled the contract from his hands and smiled. "Therefore, if you refuse to pay, you will be sued by our club owner Zaru Kiys."
Sandra stepped forward, worry in her eyes. "Warren, how do we even know the damage was done during the party? That could have happened at any time before we arrived." She smiled. "Can you prove it was during our party this happened?"
"Mrs. Thick, we always check for damages before an event like this to make sure nobody does get hurt if there is. But since Leiana here has surveyed everything and noticed the damage to our property, you are held liable."
"No. Unless you can prove to me that we did it, I am not paying squat." Warren smirked, folding his big arms across his chest.
"Rose, this scumbag isn't going to listen."
"Hmm. You're right, mate. He won't listen to us, but he might listen to the owner herself." Rose pulled out her cell phone. "Shall I give her a ring?"
Leiana was ready to stop her British friend from doing that. Zaru had too much on her mind right now with Maddie being hurt. "Rose, maybe you shouldn't. Zaru ran out of here earlier because Maddie got injured. She might be with her right now. Do you really want to disturb her?"
Her face fell. "Maddie's hurt? Is it serious?"
"I don't know." The graduate student shrugged. "But she ran out of here like a bat out of hell, that's for sure. She said that…Jack…found her and took her to the Med B-ical Hospital."
Rose quirked an eyebrow. Wheeljack took Maddie back to the base. Did that mean Ratchet was the one taking care of her right now? Oh she really wanted to see that giant, handsome mech again. But Zaru told her that he would come around in due time. Until then, it was sitting tight. Right now though, she had a client who was going against a contract and the boss should have a say in it.
"I understand, but I think if Zaru explains it all clearly to Mr. Thick herself, this will end right away."
"I guess." She gave up. Sometimes bringing the boss into these kinds of things were a good thing. She always knew how to ease up a situation like this one.
Phone conversation…
The phone in Zaru's pocket rang as she watched Ratchet work on her daughter. She about jumped a foot from the music that played. It was a new ring tone she downloaded just for her best friend. Sighing, she pulled the phone from her pocket.
"Yeah, Rose?"
"Love, we have a major problem." Her friend sounded a little irritated.
"Oh? What sort of problem?" She glanced up, hearing Maddie laugh at something Ratchet said.
"Well, first off, how is the Niblet?"
Zaru laughed a little. Rose sometimes had called the girls 'Niblet.' She had no idea why, but it always made her let out a chuckle. "She's all right, Rose. I'm gonna be getting the full story in a little after the doc is done working on her." She moved the phone to her other ear. "So, what's this problem happening?"
Rose pulled the phone away from her ear and set it on speaker. "Zaru, say hello to Mr. Thick. He is the father of the daughter's whose birthday party was here this evening."
"Oh? Uh, hello there, Mr. Thick. How are you this evening?"
"I'm well, thank you, Ms. Kiys. And yourself?"
"I'm quite all right now that I know my daughter is fine." She laughed. "So, Mr. Thick, what seems to be this major problem Rose is telling me about."
The father explained the situation to Zaru who kept saying 'Okay' at the end of each sentence. After he was done, she began to explain her own things.
"First off, Mr. Thick, I understand you are a bit angry right now. I do not blame you. But when you signed a contract with us, it was understood, on our part, that you had read everything in that contract and agreed to bide by it."
"I understand, but I don't remember anything about property cost of damages made. Besides, how do we know the damage wasn't done beforehand?"
"I assure you, Mr. Thick, if Miss Lopez says the damage was not there before the event, then it wasn't. As the owner of Club Kunoichi I, myself, take the time to check everything in my club. If anything is damaged before it is opened, I have it removed and replaced if possible."
He looked at the two women who wore grins on their faces. Now he was very angry. "I am not paying for anything that you have no proof of!"
Zaru shook her head and sighed. This guy was maddening even though she's only spoken with him for a few minutes. "I am not a dim-witted person. I take every precaution in my business and I will not have it ruined in any way. That is why we have, what is called, security cameras, Mr. Thick. I believe you've heard of them."
"This is preposterous! Come, Sandra, we are leaving! And we will not pay for anything more than what we have!"
Warren grabbed his wife by her elbow ready to lead her out of the club when he heard Zaru's voice once more over the phone.
"You leave now, Mr. Thick, and I can promise you that my lawyers will be contacting you."
He huffed. "Suit yourself. Come, honey."
The couple left leaving Rose and Leiana alone with Zaru still on the phone. They could hear their boss snickering.
"What are you laughing at?"Rose chuckled.
"'This is preposterous!' Ha ha! That guy must have a thick head! Can't get anything through it!"
"Of course you can't! He's just a scumbag anyways."
"Rose, if you can, tomorrow, please check the damage and estimated cost to replace it all. We'll send the bill to the Thick's when it is done."
"Certainly, love. Although, I don't think we'll see a single penny from him."
"Or see him anymore period. Not after what Zaru said to him."
Rose pulled out a chair and made herself comfortable, setting the phone in the middle of the table so both females could hear the owner.
"So, Zaru, how bad is she hurt?"
"She has a deep cut on her arm, but Ratchet fixed it up pretty good. He's trying to joke with her so she don't get scared."
A sigh escaped the tall woman. "That's my Ratch."
Leiana slammed her hands on the table. Now she had to know what the hell was going on. "Why is she saying Ratchet is fixing her up? He's supposed to back on Cybertron with the others."
Rose's gray eyes widened. Bollocks! I forgot she didn't know yet!
"Well?" She glared at Rose with a steely gaze. "Is somebody going to explain or not?"
Damn. Zaru thought. I let the cat out of the bag too soon!
TBC…
A/n: It's only been a couple of days since I posted the last chapter, but this is actually the second part of that chapter I posted because I honestly wanted to leave some cliffhanger. Haha! And I guess I did the same thing with this one! Oh well! Enjoy! And be on the lookout for the next chapter really soon!
Sweet Pervy Mechs,
Zaru
