Warning for this chapter: Physical and Verbal abuse
Ch 7: Time Goes On
One Year later
Months went by since everything happened between Frenni and the girls as well as the stuff between Ash and Tori. Before anyone knew it, an entire year went by.
Ash and Tori were happy with each other and the bunny was grateful to have the bear in her life. She made things so much easier. Especially to get over her ex. They went on dates and shared lots of memories as well as teaching each other so many things. Eventually…Ash wanted to finally move out of the Pizza plex. It was an important thing for her to consider. She's lived there all her life and after 3 years of finally being able to go out on her own…she figured it was the next big step. After lots of thoughts and decisions…she moved into Tori's trailer with her.
With Ash moving, she knew it was a big scary step. She had to drive to the pizza plex now to work but she didn't mind at all. She wasn't that far away, 10 minutes at most to get there. Her family was still close to her. At the same time, her mother was still so far away.
Speaking of Frenni and that little gang at the club. Ash would go to see them once a month for a few days. She would actually sneak in the first few times until they actually had a nightguard now, so she had to see the girls when the club was open. When she would go to visit she would chat with her mom and the other girls, learning more about them. Plus, they started to teach her some things as well, things that her dad didn't really approve of but Ash enjoyed it. She always did enjoy dancing so it was just another way to practice.
Tori never came with her on her trips, the bunny was too afraid to fly. Although Ash told Frenni about her all the time. It made the animatronic happy to see her daughter so happy with someone. When Tori didn't come with her to the club, Heart was always there with her. She usually did her own thing while Heart would talk to a girl each night.
Speaking of the hybrid, she is married now. Married that Alastor guy she was dating for so long. He still traveled a lot so Heart was left alone at home, but the guy said she could go to the club still and be with the girls. He knew how much she cared for them; he wanted her to be happy all the time. If that is what she needed then he would allow it. Even though Heart didn't really need to work, she kept trying to get the night guard shift at the club. If she could get the position then she could see the girls all the time, but every time she applied she was denied. It seemed they only wanted guys to be the night guard there and that saddened her a bit…but still went to see the girls either way.
One time when Ash came over to visit, Heart actually thought about moving back home with Alastor. There was a nice big house for sale there and he thought it would be perfect opportunity to move back home for Heart…but she wasn't sure. She wanted to move back home…but she thought about the girls as well. She couldn't see them as often as she liked. Plus, they seemed to enjoy her company more than normal lately. She wasn't sure why but she wasn't going to question it right then.
By the time Ash's 23rd birthday came around, she went to see her mom and aunts for her birthday this time. She was going to surprise them as well with this since she told her mom she would be there the week after her birthday. Instead, she planned her trip the week of her birthday! Oh boy were the girls in for a surprise.
Heart was there to pick Ash up from the airport as usual and the two went to her house first before going to the club. They were going to surprise them tonight, even though Ash's birthday wasn't till tomorrow. As they went to the club, they had a small talk in the car.
"I'll be moving back home by the way." Heart told her friend.
"Really!? Oh my god, Heart that is exciting!" Ash said happily. Although when she looked at her friend's face…she didn't seem happy about it. "You don't want to come back?"
"Of course, I want to come back home." Heart said but sighed, "I miss home….but-"
"But you'll miss the girls." Ash completed.
The hybrid nodded, "Yes…I know it's stupid for me to get so attached but…part of me feels like they need me."
Reaching over to place a hand on the girl's arm, Ash said, "I don't think it's stupid. I can understand that you've formed a bond of some kind with them."
Again Heart sighed and had a worried face, "The club hasn't been feeling right these last few months Ash, I'm worried. The girls won't tell me anything but they seem off as well. More drained than normal. Just the other day I found rope burns on Chiku's wrists but she brushed it off and said a client was too rough. I didn't believe her at all."
The bear looked at her friend confused, "You think there is more than meets the eye?"
"Way more…I'm scared for the girl's safety." Heart said softly with worry. "I just wish they'd open up to me more. Tell me what's wrong."
"I know Heart. We'll see if we can get to the bottom of it. Maybe with us showing up unannounced they won't have a chance to hide anything." The girl said.
"Very true. Let's hope it's all just me overthinking." The hybrid took a breath in to calm herself.
Soon enough they arrived at the club. Heart parked the car and they headed into the club. As soon as they walked in, there was the normal amount of people there. As they got there though, there was a show starting where the girls would sing and act on stage.
The two took a seat at the bar, ordered a drink, and sat back to watch the show. They always sang so well on stage as they did little dances as well. Plus showed off a bit too so that people would still throw cash their way.
As the show started they were all so confident in their words and their strides. It was almost magic to see them work. At the same time, Ash noticed the clients reach up to touch them. That wasn't allowed. She looked over and saw the lion owner not far away as he sipped on some gin and tonic. He was watching all this happen without a care.
She leaned over towards Heart. "Something is definitely up. The owner isn't stepping in despite all those people touching them. You're not supposed to touch them while they're performing."
Heart looked over and saw the man as well, she growled low. "That scumbag. He just cares about the money."
While they were looking away. Someone had reached up while Bonfie was walking across the stage and grabbed her foot. This caused the bunny to trip and fall off the stage. She landed in the crowd and the small group there started to surround her. They didn't see as some of the customers started to yell at her, pull on her ears and even ripped her outfit. The girls on the stage watched in horror as this happened.
Heart stood quickly from her bar stool, "Bonfie!" But her voice couldn't be heard through the crowds yelling and the music that was still playing in the background.
Ash held her friend's shoulder. "Heart, don't get involved."
They then saw the owner get through the crowd to the bunny on the ground, pushing people away. They watched as the lion pulled the bunny animatronic up from the ground by her ears. The girl yelped in pain from this but stood up. The lion still held her by her ears as she looked like she was starting to cry. Her outfit now just barely hung to her from people pulling and tearing it, her breasts basically now in full view of everyone, but she tried to use her arm to cover them.
"What's with this clumsiness on stage!? I'm disappointed in you bunny." The lion yelled at her, then shoved her away, letting go of her ears.
Bonfie tried to tell him as she cried, "I-It wasn't me sir. I got tripped by someone grabbing me."
"Excuses!" The lion then slapped the girl in the face. It caused her to fall back against the stage. "Don't let it happen again!"
"Y-Yes…sir." She managed to get out as her other hand held her cheek.
Fexa then jumped down from the stage and stood in front of the owner, growling at him "You can't treat us like this."
The lion raised an eyebrow at her, "Like what? What you were designed to do?"
"We are not some toys to play with." The fox snapped.
"Yes you are." The owner grinned. "You all are just walking toys for everyone to play with."
Fexa had her hook hand out at this moment, so she lashed out at the owner with it, cutting his cheek. "We are not toys."
"AH! You bitch!" The lion then retaliated and punched Fexa in the face.
Once he did that Heart was quick to run but Ash held her back. "NO! No Heart, don't!" The bear held her friend tightly in her arms. "Calm down! There isn't much we can do. We don't want to be thrown out. Then we won't find anything out."
The two watched as the lion grabbed Fexa by her hair and pulled her away towards the other room. He took the rope from one of the curtains by the couches and tied Fexa to her pole. The fox was still a little woozy from the punch so she couldn't do anything to fight back with what was happening. Once the lion was done tying her up, he gave her another good punch.
"Let's see how you like it when others use you as a toy that can't be broken." He spat and walked away from her back into the main room. "Fexa is free for anyone to use, just don't untie her. Enjoy."
Other patrons ran past him and he closed the main curtain to hide what was going on. Heart started to cry as this happened. She couldn't get out of the bear's tight grip on her, but she hated seeing this happen. Ash wasn't a fan of what was going on either. This was the worse she's seen going on in the club…it was so corrupted. Why did her mother never tell her what was going on?
"Since you all want to be a little rowdy tonight. You'll all get to have some fun." The lion said as he went back to the front of the stage.
Frenni and Chiku were now down on the floor with Bonfie, checking on her as she tried to help her sit up on stage. The lion reached out and grabbed the bear by her ponytail. Frenni screamed from the pulling and surprise. She tried to fight against him. The other two watched Chiku holding onto Bonfie so she wouldn't fall.
"Stop it! Leave us alone tonight, please. This is already too much." She pleaded.
"Oh, it's not enough my dear. You know, I think you deserve some one-on-one time with your fans, Ms. Fazclaire. How about we put you up in a private room and let everyone have a turn." The owner said as he grinned evilly.
The woman looked at him with so much fear in her face. "Sir, please. Don't…not again."
"Oh, I think again. You made a lot of money that night. It's only fitting I feel." With her ponytail still in his hand, the lion dragged Frenni over to a separate door, down a hall and up into the elevator.
Ash watched all this happen with the bear, then cried as she watched him drag her off, "Mom." Her grip loosened then and Heart slipped out. The hybrid ran for the exit of the club. The bear was worried and ran after her. "Heart! Hold on!"
Once the hybrid was outside, she was breathing heavily and went over to a trashcan nearby, kicking it as it fell over. She then screamed into the sky as tears fell from her face then she fell to her knees, sobbing. "Fuck."
Ash ran out and saw her friend on the ground crying. She went over and collected the girl in her arms. They both kneeled there crying now. What they just saw really was hard to watch. It was difficult to see those they care about be treated in such a way. It wasn't right to have them treated this way. It was also hard because they didn't know what to do. This was out of their hands and neither knew what they could do. At the same time, they needed a bigger story though. They needed to talk to the girls about this…no more hiding.
"We have to help them…we have to do something. I can't move now…not with what I see going on here tonight." Heart said as she cried.
"I don't know what to do…things might be too hard to figure out right now. We have to get the full picture from the girls too. We have to know how long this has been going on." Ash told her.
"You're right." The hybrid tried to calm herself. "We have to know the bigger picture here before we get anyone else involved. Alastor won't be home for a few more days…I can see if he can help with whatever we find out."
"Let's wait a little bit and go back in. Hopefully everyone will clear out." The bear suggested.
Heart nodded. "Let's just head home for now. We'll come back an hour before they close. They still have a nightguard so we can't sneak in after hours." She huffed in annoyance.
"Sounds like a plan. We'll get to the bottom of this my friend I promise." Ash reassured her. "You're not the only one worried. Watching my mom be dragged away like she did…that wasn't easy to watch."
The two got to the car and they drove back to Heart's place. The whole time the two of them were worried and lost in thought. They weren't even paying attention to the movie that they put on to pass the time.
Things at the club were worse than they thought and they needed to find the underlying cause of it.
After about 3 hours went by, the two got back into the car and drove off to head back to the club. They didn't know what to expect but they kept their minds open that the girls were ok.
They couldn't be more wrong…
Once they arrived, parked the car, and headed inside; the club was almost dead inside. There was an hour before they closed and knew they were still busy up until this point. There weren't that many people left in the main area. Luckily, the owner was nowhere to be seen.
The first spot Heart went to was to Fexa's area. Going behind the curtain she gasped and just stood there in shock at what she saw. The fox animatronic was at the bottom of her pole, her hands still tied behind her still so she was stuck in place. No one was there at the moment so it was a perfect time.
Heart ran over to her, "Fexa." She whispered softly and reached out to touch her face. The fox reacted with a flinch as Heart put a hand to her cheek. "Fexie…it's me. You're ok."
Fexa looked over and up at the hybrid as tears still were in her eyes with dried streaks down her cheeks. You could see that they did a number on her. Ash went behind the fox and untied her hands from the pole, tossing the rope to the side. The poor girl's arms were full of rope burns now from struggling against it.
Once her hands were free she quickly wrapped them around Heart and hugged her tightly. She cried into the girl's shoulder. The hybrid hugged her back tightly, petting the back of her head to sooth her.
"I got you captain, its ok." Heart whispered to her to try and calm her. "Can you stand?"
Fexa shook her head as she cried.
"You stay here with her…I'm going to try and find the others." Ash said.
"Go ahead. Send them to Fexa's room if they can walk." Heart said as she continued to calm the fox animatronic.
The bear nodded and left the two to find the others. Since only a few people were around she managed to try and sneak off to the elevator. She wasn't sure where the girls were but she figured Frenni might still be upstairs. So, she went up to the next floor and went to the private rooms. There was a room down at the far end, there was at least one male standing outside it so she walked up and stood behind him.
"Excuse me, is this a line?" Ash asked.
The man turned around and gave her an annoyed look. "Yea, I'm at the end of the line. Wait your turn. I've stood here for the last hour so I'm not missing my shot."
"Fair enough, I'll wait." She said and stood silently.
Not long after another man walked out of the room. He looked at the guy who was next. "I don't know what you'll get out of that damn piece of junk. The last guy broke it."
"Shit for real? Damnit." The guy in line sounded annoyed. "They can't make things like they used to."
Ash was worried at his words and fear struck her chest. What did they do? She was concerned. "If they broke it, I might be able to fix it." Ash told them. "I know a thing or two about animatronics."
"Nah, I don't think so kid. It might need a whole new part. Arms completely busted. She can't even do a good hand job right now." The man complained.
"Damnit. Well…not much I can do then but if you want to have a swing kid. Go ahead." The other man complained and the two males walked away down the hall.
Ash quickly went into the room and locked the door behind her. When she walked in she was horrified at what she saw. Not only was the room a mess and just smelled full of musk, Frenni was sitting against the headboard still naked while holding her broken arm. The bear animatronic sat there and cried and when she heard the door close and lock she jumped up with fear in her eyes. When she saw it was Ash though…she cried more as she tried to grab the blanket to cover herself with her one good arm.
"Ash? Is that really you?" Frenni asked to be sure.
"Yea mom, its me." Ash walked in slowly until she stood at the foot of the bed. She then saw how damaged the animatronics arm was and her ears went down a bit in sadness. "What did they do to you?"
Frenni sighed. "I've been used nonstop for three hours…I've never had this done to me before. The last few guys were just so pent up and rowdy that they weren't careful. They were very forceful. That…and I tried to fight back a bit but when I did they broke my arm."
The young bear went over to see her arm and looked at it. "It might not be that bad, it doesn't look broken but it's hard to tell in this light."
"Can you fix it?" Frenni was surprised.
Ash nodded with a small smile, "Most likely. I grew up and was raised by animatronics mom, I know a thing or two about them. I fix them all the time, it's my job."
The bear animatronic smiled. "Makes me happy to see you have a wonderful skill."
"Thanks mom, but for now let's focus on getting you out of this room. I'll try to fix your arm after we get everyone safe." They tried to stay on task.
Frenni looked at the girl sadly, "I'm very sore, I'm not sure how much I could move."
Ash frowned. "I can't leave you here mom, what if someone else comes in? I can't let you get damaged anymore."
"I'll be ok but what about the other girls?" The lead bear asked.
The young girl sighed, "Fexa…seems pretty bad. Heart is taking care of her. I haven't looked for Bonfie or Chiku."
"Go find the other girls. I'll try to make my way out of here. If you can sneak back there, go to my backstage. We always told each other that if something like this happened, to group up and stay together. My room is the best place for it besides Fexa's. Check both." Frenni explained to her.
"Mom…before I leave…how long has this been going on? This abuse and mistreatment….it's not right for you all to go through this." Ash asked her sadly.
"Years, my girl. Years. I'll explain more later once we regroup." Was all the animatronic answered.
The bear nodded. "I'll find the others. Stay safe mom." She kissed Frenni's cheek before going and leaving the room. Locking it as she left so no one else could get in and her mom could get out.
She made her way down the hall again and to the elevator. Then went down back to the main floor. She noticed that people were still leaving so she quickly made her way to the stage and managed to get back to the back. Once she did, she saw both Bonfie and Chiku lying on Frenni's bed. The bunny was at least clothed again as she held the chicken tightly against her. When they heard Ash enter, they froze up a moment before finally seeing it was just her.
"Ash…thank god it's you." Bonfie said with a sigh of relief.
"Frenni said you might be back here." She said and noticed the tear on the bunny's ear. "You're hurt."
"Just a small tear, nothing I can't patch up later. I've had worse. I'm more worried for Chiku." She said and looked down at the chicken.
She walked over to the bed slowly. "What happened?"
The bunny's ears went down, "They verbally abused her a good bit before locking her in the freezer. She's…almost in a shutdown state right now. She's not doing too well."
Ash was worried even more. "Shit…this isn't good." She reached out and put a hand on the chicken. She was still a little cold, "Auntie Chiku, can you hear me?"
The animatronic didn't move and Bonfie moved herself away a moment. "Hey…Chiku, Ash is here. I know how much you love when she comes to visit."
Chiku managed to open her eyes and then turn her head to see the girl a little. She smiled. "Ash? We thought…you'd be here…next week?"
The bear was happy to hear her talking. "Well, I wanted to surprise you all."
Chiku managed to sit up a little with help from Bonfie. "Some surprise huh?"
Ash went and hugged her aunt tightly. "I'm just glad you all are ok…at least for now."
Chiku hugged the girl in return and it was making her feel a bit better. "For now." She whispered.
Soon the sound of the curtain was heard and heavy footsteps. They turned to see Fexa walk slowly back to where they were, Heart slowly behind her. The fox went and laid at the foot of Frenni's bed, curled up.
"Aunt Fexa." Ash went to get up but Heart stopped her.
"She's ok, but…don't touch her right now." Heart told her. "She was abused physically and it affected her really badly right now."
The bear sighed and nodded. Heart went and sat next to Fexa and just petted the fox's arm lightly. Seems Heart was the only one Fexa would let touch right now. Ash was still waiting for Frenni. She looked at the curtain. "They used my mom for hours without a break. Then someone broke her arm. I'm going to see if I can fix it. I just hope she can get back here."
Bonfie looked saddened. "They have never done that to her before. An hour or so but not one client right after another for three hours straight."
Ash turned to the others. "How long has this abuse been going on?"
Chiku and Bonfie looked at each other as Fexa curled up more on herself.
"Five years." Someone answered behind them.
They all turned to see Frenni slowly walking to them until she sat on a chair not far away. She had her shirt on and her panties, but that was about it. She must have had a challenging time with her arm being broken. She looked out of breath from walking and being in pain.
"Ever since the new owner bought the place and took over…it's been like this." Frenni managed to add.
"Five years? Why have you put up with it?" Ash wondered.
"Because we have to. We're stuck here." Bonfie answered.
"Why?" Heart wondered.
Fexa looked up and snapped her answer, "Because they own us. We are only seen as property…that is all they'll ever see us as."
Everyone's reaction to that was all the same, disappointment.
Heart was the one that spoke up first as she was taken over by a small rage, "But you're not…your living breathing beings and should be treated like everyone else. You're not just a toy used for pleasure…you're more than that. You have thoughts. Feelings. You feel pain, you feel pleasure, love, happiness. All those things. Just because you were built to please others doesn't give them the right to treat you the way they do."
Frenni smiled at her words. "Thank you."
"We wish they could see us like you do Heart." Chiku said sadly.
"That's why we like you so much." Bonfie added.
Fexa reached a hand out and held Heart's gently, "You treat us the way we want to be treated." She said softly.
Heart smiled and reached a hand over to pet the fox. "We'll find a way..to free you from them. There has to be something."
"Unless you can find a way to get the club out of bankruptcy and pay for the club…there's not much you can do." Frenni told her. "Our job…back with the original owner…it was so nice. It was peaceful."
"Those were the good old days Faz" Bonfie smiled. "We actually really enjoyed our jobs. It was nice to actually be treated nicely, besides them being drunk all the time." She paused. "But now-"
"Now we can't even stand it." Fexa finished as she spat out those words. "No one wants to even watch my pole dance anymore. No one appreciates it."
"None of them appreciate any of us." Chiku added. "They don't even enjoy my cooking anymore."
Ash sighed. "This isn't right. You don't deserve this. You're my family and you deserve better." She paused and thought. " I'm sure none of you have even gotten an upgrade in a while huh?" They all shook their heads. That made the girl groan. "Damnit. Can't even take care of you girls in that way either." She went over to Frenni and looked at her arm. "I have to see if I can salvage this."
The bear took a stool and brought a light over from the side and set it up next to Frenni. She sat down and took the animatronics arm into her hands gently. "Where does it hurt most?"
"More towards my upper arm." Frenni answered.
Ash went to the bear's upper arm. She felt around there for a bit first. "I think they popped your arm out of your socket, it might be pinching some of your wires. I don't think your arm's fully broken though."
"Can you fix it?" The woman asked, a little scared of the thought.
"Yes, I'm not sure if it will hurt you when I do it though." Ash warned.
"Just do it. Quickly. That way we'll see if it does hurt."
"Ok. Should be quick anyway."
Ash got into position by the animatronics shoulder. In one quick motion she got her arm back into the spot it belonged. It didn't hurt like she thought it would, it more so just tingled since her arm's been dead so long.
"Well, it didn't hurt." Frenni told her.
"Can you move your fingers again?" Ash wondered.
The bear did as told and her fingers moved, "Yes! Look at that!"
"Just take it easy with the rest of your arm ok." She said worried and sighed.
"Now who's the mom here?" Frenni chuckled.
Ash chuckled from that. "If I were working here I'd make sure you guys were all updated and taken care of. If something else happened to your arm, it won't last forever you know and it's not something superglue and tape can fix."
The animatronic bear sighed. "I know…but it's not like any of us can do much."
"We all pretty much have a part of us that is almost ready to break." Bonfie added.
Soon enough, there was a speaker outside on the stage calling for the last 10 minutes before the club closed.
"I think you two need to leave." Chiku said worried. "You don't need to be caught and getting in trouble."
"That last thing we need is for you to get banned." Fexa said.
"She's right Ash, we should get out for now. We'll figure out what to do later."
Ash sighed, "Some birthday, am I right?"
"It's your birthday!?" All four animatronics were shocked.
"Well, it's after midnight now so yes." Ash said blushing, "We were so caught up in stuff I forgot myself."
"Come back tomorrow!" Bonfie said.
"Please!?" Chiku pleaded.
"Everything should be calmer tomorrow. Plus, if you say it's your birthday you get all four of us in a private room for about 2 hours." Fexa added.
"Ok, ok. We'll come by tomorrow and have a small party." Ash agreed.
"In the meantime, we'll figure out a way to free you all." Heart said as she was determined to help them all out.
"You four take care of yourselves." Ash gave them each a hug.
"We will. You have to take care of yourself too." Frenni said as she hugged her daughter.
"I will mom." The bear said smiling and the animatronic gave her a kiss on the forehead.
The two managed to sneak out the back door so they didn't raise suspicion to themselves sneaking out. They got back into Heart's car and were on their way back to her house. The whole time the two were getting ready for bed their brains raced on what to do. It made it hard to sleep for a bit but eventually they passed out.
They had to help the girls…they had to.
Lots of stuff going on in the club then meets the eyes. Now that they've seen wants been going on, its time to take action on trying to help them. First though, they have to celebrate Ash's birthday. It is their first one with her after all.