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Disclaimer: I do not own 'The Zeta Project'. I do not own any of its characters. I deeply appreciate Robert Goodman as the creator of 'The Zeta Project' and all 'The Zeta Project' team. So it's just a fanfic.
This is a fan fiction version of Ro's Reunion, told from Zee's point of view.
As English isn't my native language I want to thank Jane for her editing work on this chapter.
And I want to give great thanks to SteelNeko for her help.
Ro's Reunion
Chapter Four
Zee's point of view
Would Ro forgive me?
We didn't say even a word to each other from the moment we broke our hug on the bridge. In the hotel I spent the night in my usual chair, I was thankful I had no need to recharge exactly then, I didn't want to lose my last hours with Ro.
She tried to pretend that she was sleeping, but her breathing wasn't as slow and peaceful as usual; she moved in her bed too often and I was sure she didn't get any sleep that night.
We didn't talk in the morning, we didn't talk till the last moment we were together as if we were afraid that something unexpected would happen… it was a strange feeling… it was as if we had grip with our last decision and we were afraid to think about it anymore, we just did what we had to do, avoiding to talk, avoiding to look at each other, avoiding to touch each other. And I was sure… if any of us had dared to say something, to look at the other's eyes or to give even a slight touch, we wouldn't be able to separate…
It was the same feeling we had the time we broke our hug and we whished to hug again… and to not be separated… at any cost…
I had never seen Ro so hurt, so disappointed, so desperate… she tried to hide all this under a grumpy expression… and actually it wasn't just a way to not speak about her feelings, she was really angry with me because I had insisted and somehow I had forced her to leave me and to go on that show to search for her brother…
Would she forgive me?
Did she know that the only thing I wanted was her happiness…?
And would she be really happy without me…
I had to be sure that nothing bad would happen to her till the moment she would find her brother. I was still responsible for her. I had to see with my own eyes that she was safe and well.
And I was still here, so near her…
I stood hidden behind a truck and I kept looking at her… she was there, in front of the door at Sky's studio. She was waiting for Sky, she was still angry and even more nervous and upset… she had her arms crossed on her chest and she was leaning her back on the wall… she had bent her head, looking toward the ground… and she was waiting… thoughtfully… unhappy…
I overheard Sky's voice. She walked to her set accompanied by a production assistant and I detected discontent in her tone, "...and remind me to talk to Harry about our signals. Putting Ro on the air like that was a bad mistake."
Mistake? Why? What did she mean by saying that…?
I had no time to think over it, Sky noticed Ro and spoke to the man beside her, "We'll finish later."
The assistant left and Sky approached Ro, "You came back!"
"Figured I'll go for it" answered Ro still completely unhappy.
Sky was more than glad to hear her decision and enthusiastically she hugged Ro, "I was sure you'd do it!"
Ro didn't return the hug; she was confused and still distrustful…
But Sky took Ro's hands in hers, "And Ro, I have great news! I had Harry start the team looking yesterday and he told me this morning. We found him! We found Casey!"
Ro's sad expression now was a really surprised one and in her turn she held Sky's hands, "My brother?"
Sky smiled, "He'll be here for today's show!"
Ro stammered still holding Sky's hands, "I, I can't believe it… You guys are amazing!"
"I'm just glad we can help. C'mon, I'll take you to makeup" said Sky and both of them headed inside the studio…
And that was the end.
Ro left.
I would never be able to see her again…
Ever…
"Goodbye, Ro…" I whispered…
And then suddenly…
I heard voices…
"You're a liar!"
That was Macy, the girl who found her mother in Sky's show yesterday…
"Now, now, settle down. There's no need to get emotional."
That was Harry Lux…
What happened here…?
Carefully I peeped from behind the truck… and I saw Harry Lux, Macy, and the social worker Gwen, who stood like a stone statue with her arms crossed in front of the crying girl…
In a total desperation, Macy said through her tears, "That lady wasn't my mom! She was just an actress! Even her freckles were fake!"
"Best we could do on short notice" answered Harry Lux insolently.
I… I was stunned…
They had lied to Macy…
Harry Lux and the social worker had conspired not to try find any families at all, they didn't try to help, they lied to everyone with the only goal to bring back the poor girls in the girls' home…
I was right! I was right to not like the social worker and Harry Lux! They were really alike! And what made them alike were their lies!
Macy cried on, "But what's going to happen to me now?"
"Oh, pipe down" said harshly the social worker putting her hands on her hips, "You got to spend a nice night in a hotel. Not a bad break from the foster home. Now be grateful and get back in the car" and she opened the car's door for the girl to enter.
Macy grudgingly obeyed.
"You'll cover the hotel, right?" the social worker asked Harry Lux with her rough tone of voice.
"You bet. Plus your usual fee, of course. Should have seen the ratings. Great shape. Oh good, I see the new girl came back, Rosalie. She's all set you today's show. You want her when we're done, right?"
"Yeah. I spoke to that girls' home down in Maryland and they're coming for her. I might even get a few creds from the State."
"Ro…" I whispered…
"Taking money from both sides. A woman after my own heart" said slyly Harry Lux.
But the social worker didn't pay attention to his remark, "I'll drop this one off and then come after Ro."
Then the woman got in the car.
Macy still fought back tears.
"Do you ever find them? The real families, I mean" asked the social worker with her hands on the wheel.
"Ah, we stopped looking early on. Wasn't worth the cost" answered Harry Lux and the auburn woman drove away.
I went out from my hiding-place and I just stopped, right on the man's way. He headed back to the studio, still looking after the car and he ran into me.
He was really hit by my metal body, but I was too angry to care about it.
I grabbed his shirt and I picked him up, "You're a liar! You lied to that girl and you're lying to Ro now!"
He held my hand trying to free himself, "Wha, hey, hands off! Whatever you thought you heard, you heard wrong! We're doing a legitimate show here!"
I couldn't resist to not shaking him a little bit, then I let him go and I turned to head toward the studio.
"I'm getting Ro out of here" I said decisively, "You never even looked for her brother!"
"Okay, okay, but wait up!" Harry Lux ran after me, "You got me. Guilty as charged!" He overtook me and he even dared to put his hand on my shoulder, "But you don't know the pressure I am under. The constant deadlines."
"I don't care!" I said pushing his hand off me, "I won't let you hurt my friend!"
Harry Lux didn't answer me right away. He looked at a truck on which some workers were loading things and he turned to me, "You're right. Let me take you to her. She'll be right over here in the makeup trailer."
I followed him although I doubted he was right… Sky had taken Ro for make up inside the studio, not here… but maybe they had come back, while I was listening to Harry Lux's conversation with the social worker…
I climbed up the truck, but there was no one there, I turned to Harry Lux, "Are you sure this is the right…"
He locked the door behind me…
"Hey! Let me out!" I yelled hitting the door with my fists…
But he didn't open the door… and I heard how he said to the driver, "Take this lunk for a ride, a long ride, and convince him not to come back."
The truck started up jerky, I lost my balance and I fell on the ground with all of the boxes over me.
I managed to stand up on my feet again, considering how to get out from there…
The truck moved extremely fast, for no time it left the studio and according my inner device of orientation, it was on the magway already…
A sharp turn again… and I fell again, with the all boxes over me again…
When I sat on the ground, I found myself with a pail on my head…
If Harry Lux wanted to humiliate me, he managed to do that perfectly.
I took away the pail off my head, I stood up and I approached the locked door. Without removing my hologram, I used the wrist saw of my left hand to slice through the door. It fly opened almost throwing me out on the pavement, but I managed to get hold of the door with my both hands…
All the boxes and all the objects loaded in the truck flew away, falling down on the magway…
The door I was holding was very unstable; it constantly tossed me back and forth… I hit in the protective wall of the magway and my hologram disappeared as always when I was knocked…
A truck came right in front of the one I was on and it was going to strike the opened door…
I managed to shut the door from the outside and the truck passed along me without harming…
But the door-handle I was holding on began to give away, I held some iron but it was too low and my feet started to drag on the ground giving sparks …
I climbed up the truck and I managed to get to the driver's compartment. The driver was terrified of my synthoid form, he let go of the wheel in shock and the truck plummeted over the bridge…
While we fell I forced the driver's door and I managed to pull the driver out of the cab. I extended my left arm, I grabbed the railguard and holding the unconsciousness driver, I climbed up on the magway again.
I dragged the driver and I sat him up against the side. Then I restored my Zee hologram and I began to run, right in the middle of the road, over the middle line… I ran back down the magway to the studio.
Yes, it was dangerous and even ridiculous to run like that on the road. I exposed my supper-human abilities to keep running for so long as no human was able to. But I didn't care how I looked like or what people could think about me. I had to save Ro. I had to prevent the social worker take Ro back to the girls' home. No matter what.
Even if someone called NSA seeing me running as a real machine on the road.
Even if Bennet was already in the studio.
I had to save Ro.
I had to stop the social worker from taking Ro.
I had to save Ro.
No matter what.
to be continued…
A/N If you like the way I tell this story, please let me know, please review.