Ch 9: Banding Together
After another day or two with Heart, it was time for Ash to head home. This time though, Heart actually decided to come back with her. It would only be for a few days. Plus, she could check out the new home that Alastor had purchased for them to move into. The man would even meet them there later on if he could show her. The hybrid still wasn't ready to move or even have the thought of moving, mainly her worries were on the girls as of late. Even so, they hoped they could work together to figure out this problem as well. They needed to get the girls out of that club.
Ash had discussed on the plane with Heart about how they planned to have everyone meet at the pizza plex to put their heads together on this. Fill them in on what was going on and see if they can produce a plan. If they can.
Once they arrived back home, Tori was there to pick them up from the airport. Heart would be staying with them for the time being as she visited. They headed back to their trailer and made sure to fill the bunny in on everything that happened while Ash was away.
"So, wait, your mom has been dealing with abuse at the club for the last 5 years but they can't do anything about it?" Tori made sure she was understanding as she sat there on the couch with her coffee.
Ash nodded, "That's correct. They are connected to whoever their owner is. So, what they say goes. They aren't even allowed to leave the club for any reason."
"At the same time, they've never had a reason to leave the club up until now." Heart added in as she took a sip of her tea.
"That's true but what is it you can do to help?" Tori asked.
"We don't know." The other two girls answered together with a sigh.
"Probably will have to do some digging." Heart said.
"We can do that later. For now, we can just relax. If something pops in our heads we can talk about it." Ash told them.
"Alastor told me he'll be in by tomorrow. Maybe he can help as well. He knows a lot of people who can pull some strings." Heart told them.
"I'm sure he does, especially since he goes all over the place." Tori said and sighed. "I'm sorry you mom and aunts are going through this Ash. No one deserves to be treated that way."
The bear looked down into her lap sadly, "I don't want them to either. They don't even enjoy their own jobs anymore. People treat them like objects…that's not what they are."
Heart growled at the thought. "They have thoughts and feelings just like anyone else."
"Shh, Heart calm down." Ash said and patted the girl's arm.
"We can figure something out. Once Alastor gets here tomorrow we'll go to the pizza plex and have a meeting. Sound fair?" Tori suggested. The other two nodded. "Good, now how about we order some lunch?"
"Sounds good to me." Ash agreed.
When tomorrow came around, Alastor had arrived at Tori's trailer around noon. Heart was excited to see him of course and they would fill him in on everything at the pizza plex since they had to tell everyone there anyway. It was a lot to talk about and discuss. The man understood and agreed to help in any way they could. He would take Heart to show her the house after the meeting was over.
They all headed to the pizza plex not long after and when they got there, Ash went up to Fenri's office to speak with him while the others went to go grab a small bite to eat. She walked up to the wolf's office and knocked on the door before opening it.
"Fenri?" Ash called as she walked in.
The wolf was behind his desk writing on some papers. When the bear walked in, he looked up from the papers at her with a smile, "Ash, nice to see you. How did your trip go to see your mom?"
She walked up to his desk, "It was ok, but…there was a problem. I need to talk to you."
Fenri tilted his ears, "To me? Well, you know I'm here to talk if you need something."
"Well I need to talk to more than just you." Ash admitted to him. "I'm going to need my dad and the others involved too. My friends are also here with me. There's a lot going on Fenri."
The wolf could tell that the girl was serious now. She sounded so worried too. Whatever it was, it was something that needed to be discussed. So, Fenri nodded, "Ok, the group should be done performing soon. Once they are done we can meet in the meeting room down the hall. That would be the best place to go."
"Thank you. I have a lot to fill you all in on." She speaks. "I'll see you in about 15 minutes?"
"Sounds good." Fenri said.
Ash walked out of his office and down back into the Pizza plex. She managed to find Tori, Heart, and Alastor next to one of the food stands as the band played on stage. At least they were performing ok today. She walked up to them and sat next to Tori, wrapping her arm around the bunny.
"So, I talked with Fenri. We are going to talk in the meeting rooms once the band is done on stage. That way we can all get together." Ash filled them in as she took one of Tori's nachos.
The bunny huffed at the action but let it pass for now, "Well that is good at least. We can try to talk about this all together and help."
"Hopefully if we put our heads together we can think of something." Heart said then took a bite of her taco.
It was soon time for them to meet up. They finished their food and Ash led her friends to the meeting room. Fenri was already there with the Animatronics around him. Ash went up to each of them and gave them a welcoming hug before sitting down.
Fenri was first to speak. "Now, we are all here because Ash has information that she needs to share with us. It sounded important and she needed us all here to talk about it. So, Ash, what is it you want to talk to us about?"
Ash was silent for a moment before she took a breath and started to tell them everything that happened. "So, a few days ago I went to go visit my mom and my aunts. Everything seemed fine at first, but that first night I was there I wanted to surprise them. They didn't know I was going to be there. They've been hiding something for the last 5 years and didn't want to tell me. I then saw everything firsthand, Heart as well."
The hybrid growled at remembering the thought. "It was disgusting."
"What is it you witnessed?" Fenri wondered.
Ash looked down at her hands that were on the table, "They were abusing the girls. All of them. The owner did it right in front of customers and even let the crowd abuse them as well. There were…many things that happened. They've been dealing with it for so long now, they didn't tell me because they didn't want to worry."
"Can't they leave?" Tori asked.
"If they are anything like us, they are bound to where they are supposed to reside and never leave until the owner tells them to or gives them up." Freddy informed them.
"That is most likely the case." Fenri said with a sigh. "I would agree that this is nothing those girls should go through. They don't deserve that kind of environment."
"Then…what can we do to help them?" Heart wondered sadly.
"We might have to do some digging." Alastor spoke up. "Find out if there is anything about the club or the owner. Find a weakness. See if we can perhaps make a deal with them somehow?"
"If anyone is the best at persuading people and making deals, it's Alastor." Heart said with a smile. "It's one of the many parts of his job actually."
"We can all do some digging." Fenri told them. "I have a good know how of technology so I might be able to see what I can find."
"I'll try my best too." Ash said. "I need to help my mom…she can't live like this."
"Agreed, I'll also ask some help from some old friends of mine too." Alastor grinned.
"Ok, how about we meet up in a few days? Put together what we found and think of a plan?" Fenri suggested.
They all nodded, agreeing with this idea. They needed to try and work together to think of what to do. The girls couldn't stay there any longer…who knows what else might happen. The last thing they wanted was to lose one of the girls completely.
For the next few days, the group tried to find something. They were all trying their best to find something in this situation. Alastor had left to go see a few friends that might be able to help as well. This was becoming a group effort and they hoped something would come their way from all this. Ash, Tori, and Heart did all their research together and didn't find much besides the club owner's name. They tried to dig up a little bit about him as well and found a few criminal records of him.
It was about 5 days of searching before they decided to meet back up at the pizza plex and tell them everything. Alastor even returned that morning to make sure he could be there to tell them all he managed to get as well.
So again, the group was surrounding the table, Fenri at the head of the table as the others took the chairs around.
The wolf finally started off the meeting, "So…it's been a few days. Going one at a time, what did we all find?
Ash spoke first. "Well, the girls and I put our brains together and found out the name of the owner, Jack Clawmane. He got the club about six years ago from the previous owner who sold it to him before his death."
Heart then stepped in. "Apparently, they were close friends so he trusted the club to Jack. Seems like there have been past claims of abuse being reported to the girls from other patrons, but they were just tossed under the rug since the workers there are considered, 'Robots, so they have no feeling.' They were never charged and this has continued since, progressively getting worse. Which I have learned, they are actually cyborgs…not just full robots. So, it changes things up a bit when you think about it, when it comes to everything being done to them. They are actually living beings, but they are treated like robots with no feelings."
Tori then added in. "Because of all the past abuse, the club has lost a lot of its value and seems to have gone downhill as some have said from some reviews I've read online. We also managed to find criminal records on him and he's been charged with a good bit over the last 15 years."
Fenri nodded. "That is about as much as I was able to find as well. I agree that a man like him, considering his past, is not suitable for taking care of that club or taking care of those girls." The wolf then turned to the other man in the room, "What have you found Alastor? From visiting around with your so-called friends."
The man looked around the room before standing. "I found out what has been said plus a bit more." He put his hands behind his back. "Not only has Mr. Clawmane avoided police, the club he owns is in a lot of debt thanks to him. He owes a lot of money, most of that money he owes he barely put towards the club. It's not making the profits it was making about 10 years ago. The girls are very outdated and not up to programming. Most would even say they should have been decommissioned, but he's worked around those lines. He's smart but not that smart."
Ash was upset a bit. "So…you're saying the girls should be shut down?"
Alastor sighed, "They can if their programs are not updated enough. We don't want that to happen."
"No…we don't." Heart said downheartedly as her ears went back against her head.
"And they won't." Fenri said and stood as well. "I think I should have a talk with this owner. Maybe come to some sort of agreement on things. See if maybe we can work something out. I won't stand for this to happen to Ash's mother and the other girls."
"They are my family too….just like you all are to me." Ash added as she looked around the room. "I don't want to see them go through this anymore."
"If you're going Fenri I would like to tag along." Alastor told him. "I think my…expertise might be useful."
The wolf nodded, "Very well. We leave as soon as we can. The faster we get this over with, the better." He looked over at Ash, "I know you want to come, but you have to stay here."
"What? Why?" The young bear asked, annoyed.
"Because I need you safe here. Plus, it be best if the owner didn't know about you being Frenni's daughter. That might make things harder." Fenri told her.
"I agree with Fenri." Alastor added. "If they knew you existed, that might add complications to things."
Ash sighed, "I understand. I'll be here but please…let me know how things go?"
"I will. For now, Alastor and I need to plan things."
"Wait, one last question." Tori butted in. They all looked at her. "Say if you did get them out…what would happen to them?"
"We can house them somewhere. Maybe we can get them here to the pizza plex somehow." Fenri answered.
"I can house them." Alastor answered. They all looked at the man confused. "I just bought a big house here since Heart and I planned to move back. Its more than enough space for all of them, if it comes down to it."
Heart looked surprised and happy. "Wait really?"
He smiled at his wife. "Of course, love, I know you love those girls and I'm not home a lot of the time. They could keep you company."
The hybrid quickly hugged him. "Thank you Al!"
Alastor hugged her back.
Fenri gestured to them to leave. "It's settled. This meeting is over."
Heart kissed Alastor before leaving. "Thank you, my buck." She said as she kissed him then walked out with the others.
Once they all left, the two talked about what they could do to get the girls out of their situation. The others walked down into the main area of the pizza plex…now they had a bunch of waiting to do.
Short chapter today, but next update with focus on Fenri and Alastor traveling to the club. These two are having important roles next chapter ^_^