.Chapter eight.

The next day I was up at five, a helate earlier than usual, to make sure that I wasn't taken by surprise by Zap. Bruno didn't mind; he thought it was great fun waking up at an unusual hour. Fortunately Zap only showed up at seven, a helate after the usual time I wake up; he seemed to be in a good mood that morning and he wasn't wearing his blue uniform today. Now he was wearing shorts and a T-shirt (think of the Triceraton All-stars minus the armour, but plus a white T-shirt).

"Good morning," he said cheerfully, as he walked up to me in the kitchen.

"Good morning, and who said that you could come in without permission?" I asked playfully.

"What? You got a problem with me coming in without permission?" He had a playful smile on his face.

"No."

"Good."

"You're pretty good a picking up on playfulness." I, on the other hand, take things more seriously.

He just shrugged.

"You had breakfast yet?" I asked.

"No, I actually haven't," he replied with a sheepish smile.

"Would you like me to make you something?"

"If you're not too busy doing anything else."

"I'm going to be making my breakfast in a minute so it won't be any trouble at all, Zap."

"Thanks. So how's Bruno?"

"Fine; he enjoyed getting up early today."

"Why did you get up early today?"

"I didn't want to be caught by surprise."
"By who?"

"You. I didn't know what time you would be coming in so I got up early to make sure that I was decent before you arrived."

"What time do you usually get up?"

"Six or so."

"Right. Well, you don't have to worry anymore; I was told to only come in at seven and I'll be taking advantage of every available minute of sleep that I can."

I just smiled at him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After breakfast, Zap set about inspecting the training area while I cooked breakfast for the All-stars.

"How long has this been like this?" asked Zap, he was busy looking at a shelving unit, which held a lot of the equipment used by the All-stars.

"A while. Why?" I asked, as I shoved a dish into the oven.

"You guys are lucky that it hasn't broken yet."

"Oh." I closed the oven and walked up to him.

"Yeah, there aren't enough supports here to hold this load. We wouldn't happen to have some extra brackets lying around would we?"

"There might be some in the maintenance closet."

"Where's that?"

"I'll show you." I started to walk towards a little room to the side of the training area.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The room was about the size of a large garage and it was dark like one because it didn't have any lights in it. I walked towards a large closet at the other end of the room.

"This is it," I said, as I opened the doors. Unfortunately some of the items hadn't been packed away well and an avalanche of various maintenance materials came crashing out. It was too late to move so I covered my head with my arms to protect myself, but I was suddenly pulled out of the way. There was a loud crash as the avalanche came down.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once I was certain that I was safe I opened my eyes and partially pushed myself up with my arms. I looked back at the pile of various maintenance materials.

"You okay?" asked Zap. Only then did I realise that I was on top of him; he had pulled me out of the way with such force that he had lost his own balance and ended up falling over backwards with me on top of him. My arms were against his chest, only just keeping our heads apart.

"Zap, you…" I started, as I looked down at him.

"Hey, I couldn't let you get hurt," he smiled; it was almost like he was enjoying being so close to me. I was still in a bit of shock from what had just happened so he helped me off of him and then he sat up next to me.

"Thanks," I said softly.

"No problem," he replied with a pleased smile.

I shook my head to get my thoughts straight and stood up.

"You okay?" he asked again, as he stood up next to me, there was a slight look of concern on his face now.

"Yeah, I'm… fine," I replied, as I put my hand to my head to smooth out any ruffled hair.

"Good." Just then I noticed some shelving brackets on top of the pile that would have covered me had Zap not yanked me out of the way.

"There're your brackets," I said, as I retrieved them for him.

"Thanks," he smiled, as he took them from me. I was a bit taken aback by his hand going over mine when he took the brackets from me; I mean there was plenty of room for him to grab them elsewhere. It was almost like he deliberately made sure his hand went over mine, but maybe I was just still in shock and was misinterpreting his actions; after all I'm a bit of a romantic at heart. I hadn't looked at him when he had taken the brackets from me and still wasn't looking up at him, but I felt him looking at me. I cautiously looked up at him and he had a relatively pleased smile on his face and his eyes were partially closed. Before I could ascertain his true attitude, now that I was out of shock, the oven timer went off.

"I better go get that," I said, as I looked out of the door towards the kitchen.

"Right," replied Zap.

I started to walk towards the entrance to the room with Zap close behind me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later, after the All-stars had had their breakfast, they set off with Zap for the arena to practise. I was kinda glad to be alone; I had to figure out what was going on. Was Zap really being sweet on me or was I just developing a crush on the guy? Before I could continue my thoughts a certain puppy whined to go for his walk. My thoughts would have to wait for a bit. I went into my room to fetch Bruno's lead.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I re-emerged with his lead in my hand Bruno went crazy in his playpen, barking, running in circles, standing on his hind legs, and wagging his tail furiously.

"Okay, okay you little cutie, chill," I laughed, as I put his lead on. I lifted him out of his playpen and placed him on the floor. He ran in a circle and then started to run for the door.

"Good thing the guys got you an extending lead, boy," I said, as I walked after him. I shortened the lead and locked it in place because I didn't want him weaving his way through everyone's legs and tripping them up.

"Sit," I instructed. Bruno sat obediently.

"Good boy." I opened the door and walked out.

"Come boy." Bruno came scampering out and walked alongside me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I walked Bruno through to the market; Burn had several set routes for us and one ran through the market. Not too many people were in the market this morning and so the walk was going quickly. We walked towards a little shop whose owner we knew well. Mr. Trez, the owner of the little shop, was a really nice old Triceraton who enjoyed seeing Bruno so I liked to walk by there so that he could say hello to Bruno. Mr. Trez would usually be out on the porch of his shop, but for some reason or other he wasn't out today. The shop was open so I decided to take Bruno inside to say hello to Mr. Trez.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We walked in and then discovered the reason for Mr. Trez not being outside; he had a customer.

"Oh! Hello, my dear," smiled Mr. Trez when he saw Bruno and me.

"Hi," I replied. Just then the customer turned around and I was a bit dumbstruck by who it was.

"Cal?" asked Zimmer.
"Zimmer, what are you doing here?" I asked, as he just stared at me.

"You two know each other?" asked Mr. Trez.

"Yes, she's the girl I was just telling you about, Trez," replied Zimmer, he had a grin plastered on his face.

"Well, well, well, let me take Bruno for a second and then you two can catch up." Mr. Trez walked up to me, took Bruno's lead from my hand and walked him into the back of the shop where he usually kept his dog treats.

"Well," I said; it was a bit awkward seeing Zimmer again.

"Yeah, where've you been?" asked Zimmer.

"Didn't Narzor tell you?"

"No, I've been worried sick about you since you disappeared."

"That's the last time I ask Narzor to tell anybody where I've been sent."

"You're looking great by the way."

"Thanks Zimmer; you're not looking too bad yourself."

"I guess working in the prison is keeping me in shape." He flexed his muscles slightly so as not to completely show them off, but enough to allow me to see them.

"Yeah, so how's work?"

"Okay, now where have you been?"

"I've been working for the All-stars as their maid."

"Oh, and how's life with the All-stars?"

"It's okay."

"I've really missed you, babe."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean when I discovered that you were missing I nearly freaked out."

"Now you're exaggerating."

"No I'm not; ask any of the other guards at the prison. I searched that place from top to bottom and when I couldn't find you there I kinda went into a bit of a depression stage."

I just looked at him.

"I know what you're thinking; you're thinking that I'm pathetic for acting that way," he said, as he noticed my look.

"Why did you do all that anyway? I mean I was just an inmate who you used to talk to," I asked.

"You were more than that to me."

"How so?"

Zimmer looked away from me for a moment; he seemed to be thinking hard about what he was going to say next.

"Zimmer?" I asked, as I started to approach him.

"Never mind, it's nothing for you to worry about," he replied quickly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

"How about I walk you back home?"

"Sure, that would be nice."

"Right; Mr. Trez, could you bring the dog back out here please?"

"Coming Zimmer," replied Mr. Trez, as he came out from the back of the shop.

"Here you go; now behave yourself you little rascal," smiled Mr. Trez, as handed me Bruno's lead and ruffled the fur on Bruno's heads. Bruno just yapped back excitedly.

"We'll see you tomorrow, Mr. Trez," I smiled, as I started to walk out of the shop with Zimmer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We walked back to the training area in relative silence besides the occasional bark from Bruno.

"So, uh, nice weather we've been having," said Zimmer, trying to start up a bit of small talk as we walked down the corridor that led to the training area.

"Yeah, it has been quite pleasant for the past few cycles," I replied.

Before Zimmer could say anything else the All-stars, Burn, and Zap came out of the other corridor that led to the training area.

"Cal," called Zap, as he caught sight of me.

"Hi Zap," I replied with a smile. He started to jog towards Zimmer and I. I don't know why, but Zimmer's demeanour changed from passive to aggressive as soon as he saw Zap. He stood up to his full height, narrowed his eyes, clenched his fists, and his tail became rigid.

"Who's your friend?" asked Zap, as he came to a stop in front of me.

"Zap, this is Zimmer, he's that guard Sleeg told you about," I replied.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir." Zap held his hand out for Zimmer to shake. Zimmer just glared at him.

"O-kay, I'm just gonna be in the training area if you need me, Cal," said Zap, as he headed towards the training area.

"Right, I'll be there in a minute," I replied.

With that Zap disappeared into the training area. The All-stars and Burn were still outside; I'm guessing they wanted to see what Zimmer would do now that Zap was gone.

"I'll see you 'round then, Zimmer," I said, as I looked up at him.

"Yeah, take care," he replied, as he started to walk away.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Zimmer was out of sight the All-stars and Burn walked up to me.

"Who was that?" asked Monza.

"That was an old friend from the prison," I replied.

"Name?" asked Daz.
"Zimmer, why?" I asked.

"No reason; you've never told us about your prison friends."

"Haven't I?"

"No."

"I guess I haven't told you guys because you've never asked." My mind suddenly started to fill itself with memories of Cloak for some reason or other; I shook my head to clear it, but it didn't help much.

"You okay?" asked Mixx.

"Yeah. Come on guys, Bruno needs his water and a rest."

The All-stars and Burn nodded in agreement and led the way into the training area.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that day, the All-stars and Burn were training in the training area and Zap had gone home early; he had finished his work.

"Cal," called Burn.

"Yes," I replied.

"Could you fetch something for me?"

"Sure what is it?"

"It's a new set of dumb-bells."

"Why you getting a new set? Aren't these guys good enough anymore?"

"Hey!" retorted the All-stars.

"Just kidding guys," I smiled.

They all mumbled something under their breaths and went back to their training.

"Good one kid. Now, go to this address and pick them up for me please," said Burn, as he handed me a piece of paper with an address on it.

"Yes sir," I replied, as I walked out of the training area and headed towards the market for the second time that day.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It didn't take me long to reach the market, but finding the address was a different story. During my search for the shop I was supposed to visit, I saw Zap with two other Triceratons. I was about to go up to him and say hi when I saw another group of Triceratons approach them. Zap and his group bunched together as soon as they saw the other Triceratons. One of the opposing group members grabbed Zap by his shirt and hauled him up off of the floor. The other Triceraton was a bit taller than Zap, only by an inch or two but still, and he seemed older too; then I realised who it was. It was Zimmer. I couldn't quite make out what it was that they were saying, but I saw the two Triceratons who were with Zimmer go towards the other two Triceratons that were with Zap. Zimmer let go of Zap with one hand and it looked like he going to give Zap's face a serious restructuring session. I was stunned to say the least; I had always known Zimmer as a kind and gentle Triceraton, but now that I had seen how he acted towards others of his own species my perception of him changed.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I couldn't just allow him to hurt Zap so I found a small rock on the floor; it was about the size of my fist. I ran forward and threw the rock towards the side of Zimmer's head to get his attention. It hit him squarely where his frill connected to his cheek. I skidded to a stop just four feet away from him.

"Who dares?" he growled, as he turned in my direction.

"Put him down!" I commanded, quoting April from The Shredder Strikes Back Part 2.

"Cal!" Zimmer's eyes went wide as he dropped Zap. Zap was able to land on his feet and backed up towards his two friends.

"What do you think you're doing?!" I asked.

"Well, I, I, I, I was just, uh, I was just…," Zimmer stammered.

"It looked like you were bullying my friend!"

"Cal; listen, babe, I can explain."

"Save it! I know what I saw, Zimmer!" The two Triceratons that were with Zimmer backed away from Zap's group and stood about three feet away from Zimmer and me.

"Cal, please allow me to explain." Zimmer put his hands onto my shoulders in an attempt to calm me down a bit; I was a bit furious at the moment.

Zap obviously didn't like the way Zimmer had put his hands on me because a split second later he had knocked Zimmer out of the way and positioned himself between me and Zimmer.

"Zap?" I asked, a bit taken aback by his sudden interjection.

"You keep your paws offa her!" growled Zap; his two friends looked a bit shocked by his actions too.

"Who are you to tell me what I can and can't do?" asked Zimmer, as his two friends helped him up.

"I'm her friend, that's who." Zimmer started to approach Zap and me, but Zap was having none of this. He thrust his head toward Zimmer with his horns pointing forward.

"Leave her be," snarled Zap.

Zimmer just stepped back a bit.

"I'll explain this some other time, Cal," said Zimmer, as he signalled to his two friends and started to walk away.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once they were out of sight, Zap relaxed a bit.

"Okay, where did that come from?" I asked; I was a bit impressed at his stepping up.

"Don't know really," replied Zap, as he turned and looked at me.

"What was that all about anyway?"

"Zimmer and his friends are always picking on us."

"Speaking of 'us', who is 'us'?"

"Oh, right. Hey, guys come over here I want to introduce you to my fellow employee." Zap's two friends nodded and walked towards us.

"Cal, this is Ac and Turbo," said Zap, as he gestured to an orange Triceraton with a blue 'A' tattooed over his left eye and a grey Triceraton.

"Hi," I smiled.

"Hi," chorused the two Triceratons.

"So you're the little one we've been hearing about for the past few helates," said Turbo, the grey Triceraton. He looked a bit older than Ac.

"I suppose so," I replied.

"Yeah, before you guys carry on can I explain the situation please?" asked Zap, as he gave Turbo and Ac a look.

"Sure," replied Turbo and Ac in unison.

"Right."

"So what were you saying about Zimmer?" I asked.

"Besides him and his friends picking on us?"

"Yeah."

"Well, they've picked on us ever since we trained in the academy together."

"But surely you should know each other by now. Why didn't you say something when you met him in the corridor this morning?"

"Believe it or not, Zimmer and I didn't know each other by name. We now know each other's names because of our meeting this morning."

"Okay, interesting."

"Hey, do you know all of your schoolmates by name?"
"I guess you have a point there, but you must have recognised him."

"Actually no, I only recognise him if he's with his buddies."

"Considering how many times this guy must have picked on you, I'm surprised that you don't know him by sight."

Zap just shrugged.

"Anyway I'm sure he won't be bothering you guys anymore."

"Yeah, thanks for standing up for us."

"No problem; that's what friends do for each other."

Zap just smiled at me.

"Could you do me a favour, Zap?" I asked.

"Sure, what?" he asked.

"Could you please tell me where this shop is." I handed him the piece of paper with the address on it.

"Sure, the guys and I will escort you. Come on." With that Zap started to lead Turbo, Ac, and me into the centre of the market.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Finding the shop went a lot quicker now that I had Zap to show me the way. We picked up Burn's order and started to head back towards the training area. Turbo and Ac left us after we had picked up the order; they apparently had a soldier's exam tomorrow and so had to be rested and ready. Zap didn't have anything better to do and so escorted me back to the training area. He was a real gentleman and helped me carry the dumb-bells home by taking about three-quarters of them onto his own back. I had told him that he didn't have to carry them, I was perfectly capable of carrying the whole load myself (when you work with the All-stars you end up being able to carry heavy loads), but he insisted on carry them so I didn't argue.