Cascade smiled as she made her way through the dancing crowd, tray of remaining high grade shots perched on her servo. She'd gotten more accustomed to the tiring interactions and keeping her wings perked up over time and her trial was slowly coming to a close. Just a few more nights and she'd be set. Soundwave had repeatedly assured her of that.
She spared a glance up at his loft, a genuine smile tugging at her lips. She couldn't see him thanks to the bright lights, but she could feel his eyes on her. He always kept an optic on her, watching her. Buzzsaw was perched up in the rafters, occasionally moving when she had to move from one section to another.
It was a particularly busy night and she wasn't even halfway through her shift when her wriststruts started aching with a dull throb. She'd adjusted her hold on the tray and swapped servos whenever the ache turned into a stabbing pain, but kept serving with a smile. Just a few more nights and she would be set, she silently repeated.
She made her way to the bar and grabbed a fresh tray, glancing at the holographic number on it before making her way to the designated table. She smiled politely at the large mechs and set down their drinks, ignoring the sharp jab in her wrist.
One focused on her with bright yellow optics, asking, "Ain't you the DJ's femme?"
She glanced up and nodded, placing the empty glasses on the tray. "I am."
He gave her a grin and leaned closer, plating flaring out. "Why don't you join us for the rest of the night, have some fun with some real mechs rather than that drone?"
She frowned at him, picking up her tray. "I'm quite happy with him. If you'll excuse me, I have other bots to serve."
She turned to walk away and squeaked when a servo openly groped her aft, her wings jerking upright. They laughed when she quickly turned to them with a sharp glare, reigning her field in before it could lash out.
The sharp pain in her wrists grew and her optics widened when her servos fell limp, the tray falling to the floor and the fragile glasses shattering. She faintly noticed the mechs burst out into laughter behind her and dropped to her knees, pushing the glass uselessly and trying to scoop it into a smaller pile.
Her spark sank to her tanks as her servos refused to respond and static burst out of her vocalizer, her optics trembling. The music continued its' repetitive beat and her wings dropped when another server gently looped his arm around her, pulling her up. "I got this, go to Soundwave, Cascade. Go get fixed up, you've been doing a great job and I'll be sure to let boss know exactly what happened."
She nodded slightly and tucked her servos close to her chest, walking as quickly as she could through towards Soundwave's loft. He was already at the bottom of the stairs and making his way to her, Buzzsaw on his shoulder. He looped one arm around her waist and pulled her towards the back, guiding her through to the employee entrance.
She finally let out a choked sob, her plating rattling as he motioned for her to sit on the steps. She sat down and he knelt in front of her, gently wrapping his servos around her limp wrists and pulling them away from her chest. He rubbed his thumbs along the joints and took her servo in his, guiding her to curl her digits before letting them go and almost immediately uncurling on their own.
She sobbed again and ducked her head down. "I can't feel them. I can't feel my servos. I can't feel my hands!"
He gently squeezed her forearms and stood up, easily scooping her into his arms. "Cascade; remember to breathe. Repair clinic; still open."
She nodded slightly and tucked her limp servos to her torso, her wings drooped over his arm. He carefully held her to let his dock open slightly and Frenzy jumped out, transforming and landing in her lap.
Frenzy did a short stretch and gently picked up one of her servos. "It looks like the hydraulics burst under all that steady build up of pressure."
She rested her head on Soundwave's arm as he walked steadily through the streets. Her voice tembled, "I'm... I've been doing so good..."
Frenzy nodded, reaching to squeeze her forearm. "Don't worry, you got the job! If you don't, well, me and Rumble can give the boss a visit."
Soundwave looked down at him, but she giggled softly. "Baccarat said he'll tell the boss about that mech that..."
Frenzy frowned, his visor darkening and his grip on her forearm tightening. "What mech? Buzzbrain, what happened?"
Buzzsaw hissed at him, wings puffing outward. Frenzy gave him a middle digit and Soundwave snapped, "Frenzy; silence. Buzzsaw could not have stopped anything. Cascade; was violated by stranger before servos gave out. Buzzsaw recorded event and will send recording to superiors."
Frenzy grumbled softly, but carefully moved to lay back against her chest, tugging her limp servos over himself. She smiled slightly and slowly relaxed, plating slowly settling as she steadily calmed down.