Thanks for the review! Vinnie doesn't like kids because he is simply not ready yet. He will be. Eventually.
Just stay tuned! :)

Chapter twenty one

"Man, she left an hour ago. Shouldn't she be back by now?", Vinnie said, pacing through the scoreboard.
"Chill, Vin. Maybe the closest store was closed… Did you check her tracker already?", Modo asked.
"Yeah, twice, and she is still at the store. Well, her bike is."
Vinnie looked at Throttle, who was sitting on the couch with Carbine, talking softly to each other. Dani looked at Vinnie.
"I agree with you, this is weird."
"Yeah, it is. I'm gonna check it out", Vinnie said, jumping on his bike.
Modo looked one more time at Throttle and Carbine, but they were in their own bubble. By the looks of things, they didn't even hear this conversation. He decided to leave them. They deserved their time together.
"I'll go with ya", the grey furred giant said, taking place on his bike. Gaya jumped behind him.
"Me too."
"I will stay here, in case she comes back, okay? Good luck", Dani said, waving at them.

When they arrived at the store, Violet's bike was still standing there. Vinnie stepped off his bike and walked over to Lady Bug. He quickly looked in the store, but he didn't saw Violet. Suddenly, Lady Bug recognized him and started beeping like crazy. Vinnie rubbed his chin. He saw a bag full with chocolate lying next to Violet's bike. Something was definitely wrong. He looked at Modo and Gaya.
"Something is wrong. Where is she?"
Modo shrugged, but feeling the same worries.
"You guys go back to the board, in case she comes back or something happens there. I'm not liking this at all", Vinnie said, jumping on his bike again.
"Are you sure, Vin? I mean, what if this is a trap?"
"That's what I'm saying, bro. What if this is one of those diversion jokes from Mozz? To split us up? You need to go back to the board, now! I will try to find Violet."
"Okay, but be careful, bro."
"No worries. Standard hero stuff", Vinnie said, but his voice gave away how worried he was. He sped away.
Modo turned his bike.
"Oh momma, I'm not liking this at all…", he said to Gaya.
"Me neither…"

A few hours later, Vinnie came back at the board with Lady Bug, but no Violet. He jumped off his bike while pulling off his helmet and threw it in a corner. Everybody stood up.
"I can't find her. Where could she be?", Vinnie said, his voice shaky because of anger and despair.
Throttle, now fully informed by Modo, had a thoughtful look on his face.
"Have you checked Mozz his building?"
"Yeah, twice. Nobody there…" Vinnie didn't knew what to do with all the emotions that were running through his body right now. He was thrown back and forth between anger and agony. He looked at Throttle, not knowing what to do.
"We will find her, Vin. You know we will. I think we can say for sure now that she is kidnapped. But who would take her? Mozz is gone… So who…"
"LIAM! It must be him!", Vinnie suddenly growled. His tail lashed in anger.
"Dammit, I should have killed him when I got the chance…"
"But why would he take her? He loves her.. He doesn't want to hurt her, right?", Gaya asked.
"He attacked her before. The guy is obsessed. How could I think for one second she was save? That he gave up. I should have known… I saw it in his eyes that night…"
"Vin, don't do this to yourself. It's not your fault…", Dani said softly, but the white furred adrenaline junkie didn't listen. He paced through the board, shaking his head. Throttle tried to calm him down, but it was no use. He sighed.
"Listen, Vin. We know he would never kill her. Well...Not immediately at least… We still have time. We need to find out where he is hiding her."
Vinnie stopped pacing. "Bruce. He must know something. But how to find him?" He thought about it. He suddenly marched at the phone and grabbed it. He searched the number Liam had used to call them. Then, he grabbed the phone book. After a few minutes, he found what he was looking for.
"This is the number he called with. This is the address that goes with it. I'm gone."
He quickly grabbed his helmet and was about to drive out, when Throttle stopped him.
"You are not going alone, Vincent."
"Yes I am. This is my fight. My fight alone." And he sped away, leaving everybody speechless behind.
Carbine sighed.
"He is right, you know. Even as a girl, I understand where he is coming from. When he needs us, he will contact us. Let's give him this. Everybody agree?"
They all agreed, although with sighing and frowning. But Vinnie was right. This was his girl. This was his fight.

Vinnie sped through the streets, pushing his bike to the limits. Hatred flowed through his veins. If that little piece of shit only had thought so much about touching his girl… He flew around a corner, almost losing control over his bike because of the speed he was driving by. The bike wobbled, but stayed upright. With shrieking brakes, Vinnie stopped at the address he had found in the phonebook and marched straight at the door. In one movement, he kicked the door open and grabbed his gun. He walked inside, looking in every room he passed by. When he walked into the livingroom, a young guy jumped off the couch, his hands raised in the air and a startled look on his face.
"Wow, dude, easy..", but Vinnie grabbed him by his shirt.
"Bruce, I suppose?", he asked with gritted teeth. The guy nodded, breathing heavily.
"Where is he?", Vinnie demanded. Bruce opened his mouth, but his voice didn't cooperate.
"Wha… what do.. do you mean?", he stuttered eventually.
"Where is Liam?"
"I… I don't… I…"
Vinnie slammed the guy against the wall.
"I asked you a simple question, sweetheart. Where is LIAM?" He almost spit out the name in anger.
"He left this afternoon, I don't know where he went! Please, you have to believe me…", Bruce pleaded, his eyes big of fear.
"Does he have a place he likes to go to? Come on, THINK!", Vinnie growled, pushing his gun against Bruce his head. Bruce looked like he was fainting.
"I'm trying, I'm trying! But the gun isn't helping, dude!"
Vinnie sighed and lowered his gun, but didn't let Bruce go.
Bruce closed his eyes and tried to calm down enough to use his brains again. He took a few deep breaths. Then, his eyes flew open.
"He told me he had found a building at the other side of town. He was gonna make it his home, he told me. So he didn't had to live here anymore. That he wouldn't bother me anymore. Not that he was, but…"
Vinnie stopped him by shaking him roughly.
"Stop with the small talk. Where is the building?"
Bruce thought for a second and then named an address. Vinnie let him go and ran outside.
He whistled for his bike and they sped away. He called Throttle to quickly tell him where he was going, just in case. But before Throttle could react, he hung up.
He needed to focus. He had a girl to safe.

When he arrived at the building, it looked abandoned. But Vinnie was taking no chances. Where he normally would blast in and destroy everything in sight, he now parked his bike and pulled off his helmet. He couldn't take the risk, he needed to keep Violet safe.
"Stay here, but be prepared that I'll need your help, sweetheart." The bike beeped back.
Vinnie looked at the building. It was a small warehouse. He quickly sneaked to the back. No windows. Shit. There was one door at the front and one at the back. Vinnie ran back to his bike, his head low. He parked his bike by the front door.
"If Liam comes out, shoot him. If he has Violet, don't. If Violet comes out alone, take her to the board. Don't wait for me, okay?"
With one pat on her side, the white furred mouse turned around and quickly sneaked past the building. He grabbed a flair and burned the lock. The door opened with a soft click. With one glance over his shoulder, he sneaked inside. He was about to look around him, but suddenly a rope slipped over his head. He tried to escape, but the rope tightened. A noose. Really? Suddenly, the light flickered on and he squeezed his eyes against the bright light.
"I thought you would come. Glad you could join us." Liam's voice.
Vinnie opened his eyes and saw Liam standing right before him. Violet was sitting in a corner, with a dazed look on her face. But she was awake. She looked at Vinnie with despair on her face. Vinnie narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze back on Liam.
"And don't you even think about whistling for your bike. I know how you guys work. I observed you for weeks now. But I assume you want Violet alive…So, you'll do as I say."
Liam came closer to him and tight Vinnie with more ropes at a fence that was standing behind him. The guy sure knew how to make knots. Vinnie couldn't move. Even his tail was tied up. This was not going well.
"Let her go. She doesn't want you", he growled, frustrated to be so helpless.
Liam ignored him and grabbed a loose rope which was attached to the rope that held Vinnie. He pulled on it and the noose around Vinnie's neck tightened further. He was still able to breath, but with difficulty.
Violet slowly stood up.
"Please, let him go…", she pleaded with tears in her eyes. Liam quickly turned around.
"No."
Vinnie roared in anger. "Let my girl go, NOW! Do what you like, but let her go!"
"Your lover makes a passionate plea…"
"Vinnie, it's useless…", Violet sighed.
"She is right, you know… Nobody can save you now… Except perhaps… Violet." Liam turned around to face the caramel colored furred female mouse.
"Buy his freedom with your love. Stay with me. Live with me. Love me. If you refuse… your lovely husband is gone… Your choice…"
Violet shook her head, tears in her eyes. "No, please, don't make me do this… Just let us go. You can't force love, Liam. You know that…"
Liam suddenly yanked at the rope. Vinnie made a stuffy sound, breathing with difficulty.
"Make your choice, Violet. You need to remember. Remember how much you loved me, and how much you still love me…"
Violet looked pleading at Vinnie. She didn't have a choice. There was no chance of winning. Whatever she chose, Liam would win. But she refused to drag Vinnie with her. No way she was gonna let Liam kill him. Vinnie looked back at her.
"Don't throw away your life for me, sweetheart. Don't. I just want you to be happy. I love you so much…"
"I love you too… so much. There is no life without you. Especially not when you are dead. I'm sorry, cutie, but I have no choice…"
"Violet, don't…" but she ignored him. She slowly walked to Liam.
"Fine. You win. You will have me. Forever. Please, now let him go…"
Liam stared at her. "You need to be a little more convincing, beautiful…"
Violet took a deep breath. She gently grabbed Liam's head and pressed her lips on his. Tears streamed over her face.
When she broke off the kiss, Liam was breathing heavily. He looked in her eyes. He saw her sadness. Her broken heart. He suddenly felt like he was waking up out of a trance. What the hell was he doing? His lip started to tremble. He shook his head.
"I'm… I'm sorry… I... ", he fell on his knees, staring at the ground. Violet immediately took advantage of the situation. She ran over to Vinnie, who was awfully quiet. She quickly made him loose. He pulled her in his arms.
"God, Vi…"
Liam was staring at them, tears streaming over his face.
"I'm sorry… I cannot say how sorry I am…"
Vinnie let Violet go and pushed her behind him.
"We all heard that one before…", he said slowly.
"I know, I know… But this is not who I am… Violet, you know this is not who I am… The Plutarkians… The things they did to me…"
Vinnie was about to grab his gun, but Liam was faster. He pulled a gun out of his jacket. But he didn't shoot at Vinnie. No. He pointed the gun at his own head and looked one more time at Violet.
"I'm sorry…", he whispered. Violet pushed Vinnie out of the way, in a attempt to stop Liam...
"No, Liam, don't…!", but she was too late.
Liam pulled the trigger and his head exploded. Blood and tissue splattered over Vinnie and Violet. Violet froze, staring at Liam.
"No… NO!" She fell on her knees. Vinnie quickly grabbed her, shielding her from the sight of Liam.
"Easy, sweetheart. Easy."
Violet let out a scream of pain. No matter what Liam had done to them, he didn't deserve this. It was the war that destroyed everything. The Plutarkians who destroyed everything. First her parents, now Liam… God, when was is going to stop? She couldn't stop screaming.
"NOOHOHOOOO, WHYY, OH GOD, WHYYY?!"
The pain she felt was unbearable. She had reached her limit. This was too much. Vinnie just held her, stroking her back. He was kinda in shock too. The hatred he had felt for Liam, was gone. There was only compassion. He just couldn't help it. The guy obviously had suffered because of the Plutarkians. Although he had to admit, he was somehow glad he was dead. Violet was safe. But she was a mess. And that was an understatement. He had never seen her this upset. He didn't knew what to say, to make her feel better. He just held her, while she was screaming and crying. Slowly, she calmed down a little. Vinnie cupped her head in his hands and looked her in the eye. She didn't look back. She kept staring at Liam's body. Vinnie wiped away blood and pieces of brain of her cheeks.
"We need to go, sweetheart. We need to get you clean."
Violet didn't respond immediately, but then the words dawned on her. She looked at her body and panicked again.
"No, no, no, no… Oh my god, take it away! Oh my god, Liam…" She was rubbing her whole body in panic, crying. Vinnie grabbed her hands.
"Sweetheart, try to calm down. Come on, we are going back to the board and take a long, hot shower, how does that sound?"
Violet brushed her hair out of her face with shaking hands, but only to find you there were pieces of Liam's skull stuck in her hair. She started to pull on her hair, despair written on her face. Her eyes were swollen and with all the blood on her face, she looked like kinda scary. Vinnie decided this needed a little more drastic measures. He whistled at his bike, who flew in through the front door. He wrapped his tail around Violet and set her on his bike. He took place in front of her, his tail still around her. He wanted to drive away, but Violet went ballistic.
"WE CAN'T LEAVE HIM HERE, WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE HIM HERE…", she screamed, trying to jump off Vinnie's bike. Vinnie turned around to face her.
"I will go back and give him a good place to rest, okay? But you are way more important and right now, I want to take care off you. I NEED to take care off you. Violet, come on…"
But Violet didn't listen. She didn't even hear him. Vinnie sighed and held her tightly with his tail. He revved his bike and drove back to the board, with a crying and screaming Violet behind him.

When they drove inside the board, everybody jumped on their feet. Shock was written on their faces when they saw the blood and how upset Violet was. Vinnie looked helplessly to Throttle, didn't knew what to do. Everybody came into action.
Carbine, Dani and Gaya immediately took care of Violet. But Violet was still panicked. They were struggling with her, but she was too strong. Dani sighed.
"Sorry girl, but this is for your own good." and she slapped Violet hard in the face. Violet's body went limp, she stared at Dani with wide eyes.
"Come on, Vi. We are gonna get you clean. Gaya, grab some clean clothes for her. Carbine, help me to get her into the shower."
They did what she said and when the girls were in the bathroom, Throttle looked at Vinnie. The poor guy looked like shit. Blood was splattered all over him, his clothes, his fur… But the look in his eyes was what shocked him the most.
"Jezus, Vincent. What happened?"
Vinnie took a deep breath.
"He killed himself. He shot himself straight through the head right in front of us…" Vinnie was rubbing his arms absently, somehow trying to remove the blood, but he only made it worse. Throttle shared a worried look with Modo.
"Jezus… I can't get her screaming out of my head…", Vinnie whispered, still rubbing his arms. Modo came into action.
"Come on, little bro. We can use the showers downstairs…", and he gently grabbed Vinnie's arm. Throttle turned around and grabbed some clean clothes and towels. He found a battle shampoo and followed Modo and Vinnie.
Downstairs were the showers that were used by the players after a game. But since it was late in the evening, nobody was there. It was a huge room with multiple showers and no booths. But since the bro's were living a long time together, it wasn't the first time they saw each other naked.
Modo pulled off Vinnie's bandoliers and lay them gently on the ground.
"We need to clean that up later", he mumbled.
Vinnie was staring at the floor. He wasn't really shocked because he had seen Liam's head exploding right before his nose. No, he had seen worse things in war. But Violet's reaction... that's what frightened him. She obviously reached her limit. How was she gonna recover from this?

Modo ordered him to raise his arms so he could remove his T-shirt. It was like he was talking to a child. Vinnie did what him was told, without saying any word. When all his clothes were gone, Modo turned on the shower and checked the temperature. When it was warm enough, he gently pushed his bro under the beam. Vinnie sighed from relief when he felt the warm water. It was like he woke up. He turned around and let the water stream over his face. Throttle gave him the shampoo and they both left the room to give their bro some privacy. Vinnie stared at the wall, the water streaming over his body. He emptied the bottle shampoo and rubbed his body over and over again. The blood was difficult to remove from his fur. He knew he needed to use cold water, but he couldn't stand the thought of a cold shower. After rubbing for a while, it looked like he was white again. He stared at the floor. The water streamed away, but the pieces of skull and brain stayed behind in the floor drain. Ugh…
The door opened and Modo and Throttle came inside. Modo turned off the shower and wrapped Vinnie in a huge towel. Vinnie dried himself off and quickly put on his clothes. He stared at his bandoliers. How was he gonna clean them? He suddenly felt the urge to laugh. Violet was losing her mind and he here was, worrying about how to clean his bandoliers. A smothered chuckle escaped his mouth. He couldn't stop himself. Modo shared a look with Throttle. Their younger bro was losing it. Throttle knew there was only one thing that could calm their bro down, and that was a good drink. Normally, he wasn't for the use of alcohol. But desperate times asked for drastic measures.
"Come on, bro's. Let's get drunk."
Modo couldn't look any more surprised.
Vinnie on the other hand found it the best idea he had heard in weeks now. He walked upstairs to his bike, followed by his bro's.
"Throttle, what are you doing?", Modo asked urgently at the tan furred mouse. Throttle looked at Modo.
"He needs to calm down. This is the only way to achieve that. No worries, big fella. We are not gonna get that drunk."
"Ahh… Okay… Yeah, I can see where you're coming from."
They jumped on their bikes and followed Vinnie to bar Black.

In the meantime, the girls were busy with Violet. The poor girl was in shock. She was sitting under the shower, her arms around her body. Her eyes were wide open, but there was nobody home. Carbine was standing next to her in her underwear and was washing her hair. Finally, all the blood and other things were gone and Violet was clean again. With Gaya's help, she lifted Violet out of the shower. When she was dry and wearing some clothes, they helped her into the hammock. Carbine pulled a blanket over her and looked worried at Violet's face. Her eyes were still wide open, staring at the ceiling. Carbine looked at the other two girls.
"She is in shock. Shouldn't we do something?"
Dani thought about it for a second.
"I will make some tea with a lot of sugar. Maybe that's what her body is needing right now."
After a few minutes, she came back with a steaming mug.
"Violet, sweetheart. Drink this."
But Violet didn't respond. Dani lifted up her head and set the mug at her lips. She slowly let some tea run into Violet's mouth. Violet did swallow, so with tiny sibs, Dani gave her the tea. When the mug was empty, Violet rested her head on the pillow again. Her eyes slowly closed, her breathing became calm.
"She is sleeping. Her body had enough", Dani said, stroking some hair out of Violet's face with a tenderness that Carbine didn't had seen before. She really cared.
Carbine sighed. "God, I feel bad for her. This must have been a trip down to memory lane…"
Dani and Gaya looked at her questionably.
"She shot her own dad. He was broken because of the war. He had lost his mind. After he killed her mother, he was about to kill Violet. But she shot him first. Caused a trauma. But she overwon it to save Vinnie. But seeing Liam shooting himself, I think that was just too much to handle for her…"
"Poor girl…", Dani said with tears in her eyes. She wished there was something she could do to take Violet's pain away. But there was nothing she could do. Just be there for her. And that what was she gonna do. She made a decision.
"I am not going back home. My life is here now, with you. I wanna be there for Violet, to support her. I wanna be there, when you are gonna be a mom", she said firmly.
Carbine hugged her. "Thank you. Welcome to the family, Dani."
Gaya joined them in the hug. They held each other tightly, tears in their eyes.
War was awful. Painful. Horrible. But the only good about it was that it created strong, unbreakable bonds. A family.

Poor Violet. Will she be okay? Please review. :)