Hahaha, you guys, thank you so much for the reviews. Excuse me for laughing, but I know how god damn annoying these kinda cliffhangers are. So your reviews made me smile. I'm sorry for doing that to you. Can't promise that I won't do it again, though… ;)

Barpon: I've read your story (loved it, btw), and your grammar is way more extensive than mine, so I can imagine it takes more time to write a chapter. Plus, I have lots of time to write. And I write every free minute I have. And it just rolls outta my brain. Does this even make any sense? XD

As for the rest, thank you for your kind words! I just can't say it enough.

Well, it's time to redeem you from your suffering, guys.

Enjoy this chapter! ^^

Chapter thirty five

Hello darkness, my old friend…

The pain in his chest was unbearable. Everything around him faded away. There was this weird pressure against his eardrums, giving him a huge headache. All colours faded, till there was only darkness.
And it paralyzed him. The darkness paralyzed him.

I've come to talk with you again…

The pressure on his eardrums slowly spreaded. It made his vision blurry, but somehow he could see Throttle's lifeless body crystal clear. It made his mouth dry as a dessert. It made his throat burning as if it was on fire. It made breathing difficult, as if the air was thin around him. It made his stomach turn into a knot. It made his legs weak.
And it paralyzed him. The pressure paralyzed him.

The sound of silence...

Kiwi quickly recovered herself from the heavy shock.
"Things aren't lost yet, Vinnie. No way, no fucking way, we're gonna give up on him", she growled while she set her hands on Throttle's chest and started CPR.
"One… Two… Three… Four…", she counted, her teeth clenched. Her gaze landed on Vinnie.
"Vinnie, snap out of it, god dammit! I need your help!", she yelled at the motionless white furred mouse, who was still sitting on his knees.

Her words like silent raindrops fell and echoed in the wells of silence…

Vinnie suddenly felt as if he got slapped in the face when he heard Kiwi yelling at him. He noticed he could move his body again and he crawled over to Throttle.
"Twenty seven… Twenty eight… Twenty nine… Thirty… Vinnie, now!"
Kiwi stopped moving and Vinnie bend forward, squeezed his bro's nose shut and blew air into his lungs. After waiting for five seconds, he repeated the deed.
Kiwi set her hands back on the tan furred mouse his chest, starting to count again.
Thirty chest compressions.
Two times the kiss of life.
Over and over again.
Kiwi stopped for a moment to check his pulse, but still nothing.
She continued, crying the eyes outta her head.
"Ten… Come on, Throttle… Eleven… COME ON!... Twelve… You can't… Thirteen… leave us… Fourteen… god dammit... Fifteen…. Vinnie needs you… Sixteen…", she whispered between counting, tears streaming over her face.
Why didn't he wake up?
The world was gonna end if he didn't wake up. Vinnie would never recover from that. And she knew, if she was gonna lose Throttle, she was gonna lose Vinnie too.

Throttle's eyes flew open. He expected to see a blue sky. He expected to smell the scent of the forest. To hear the birds singing. To feel the soothing warmth of the sun on his fur. But all he saw, was darkness. All he smelled, was death. All he heard, was silence. And all he felt, was cold. He felt something missing, it felt somehow naked. He raised his hands, touching his face. His glasses were gone...
He slowly got upright, checking his body. But the wounds were gone. And he could see without his glasses... He rose on his feet. The pain was gone. All there was left, was… nothing. Emptiness.
"Throttle…"
He froze when he heard her voice. That voice that meant so much to him. That voice, that belonged to the woman he loved so much it was almost scary. The woman he needed so badly. The woman he missed so much, every day, every hour, every minute.
"Carbine…"
He felt her warm hand on his shoulder, it was a welcome feeling while being here, in this cold and empty place. He slowly turned around and looked into her beautiful brown eyes. Her unharmed face. He smiled and raised his hands, his fingers buried themselves into her shiny black hair. Her smell filled his nose. Her body against his warmed him up. And suddenly, there was light.
"Carbine…"
She smiled back at him, touching his cheek with one hand. He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned against him. For a moment, there was only peace. Warmth. Love. But then, she made herself loose and looked him in the eye. Into his beautiful dark green eyes.
"You need to go back…"
"Am I dead?"
"No… not yet…"
"Where are we?"
"On the passage... "
"Why are you here?"
"To stop you…"
"From dying?"
"You're fight isn't over. It isn't your time yet."
"How do you know?"
"Because Modo needs you. Vinnie needs you. Kiwi needs you. I need you…"
A single tear escaped her left eye. Throttle softly rubbed it away with one finger.
"I love you, Carbine…"
"I love you too, Throttle. Don't you forget about that. See you back on the other side…"
"No, don't leave me, please…"
"If you promise not to leave me first…"
And suddenly, she was gone. And Throttle was alone. And the silence was back. The cold was back. He fell on his knees.
"Carbine… I promise…", he whispered in the sound of silence...

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thousand of miles away, on Mars, Carbine jerked upright. Her fur was soaked with sweat and she was breathing heavily. She stepped out of bed and opened the door to her balcony, taking a few deep breaths. She was used to having nightmares, but this… This one scared the shit outta her. She looked up at the stars and saw the small dot that was Earth. A tear left her eye.
"Oh Throttle… Please, be okay. Please, let this all just be a dream. Please… may we meet again…"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Throttle's eyes flew open and he gasped for air, desperate to fill his lungs with oxygen, scaring the shit outta both Kiwi and Vinnie, who were still doing everything they could to save his life.
"Jesus, Throttle…", Kiwi breathed, checking his pulse. It was fast and strong.
Throttle was still breathing heavily and coughing loudly, struggling to get air.
Vinnie could only stare at his tan furred bro, somehow refusing to believe this was real. But it was. His bro was back. And a huge relief almost washed him away.
Holy fucking mothers of Mars. He grabbed Throttle by the shoulders.
"Don't do that ever again, you hear me? Don't you fucking dare to do that again. Ever", and his voice almost broke, but as always, he recovered himself and pushed his pain away.
Throttle, now a lot calmer, took a few deep breaths before he looked at his white furred bro and gave him a small smile.
"Come on, bro… You're Vinnie, the velocity atrocity. You can take care yourself, right?", and he chuckled, making a joke out of it, but knowing perfectly well his younger bro couldn't. His face twisted when he felt the pain.
"Dammit, I feel like I've wrestled with a bear…"
"Newsflash, bro…", Vinnie snickered. "And of course, you needed me to save your ass by blowing off his fucking head."
Throttle smiled. He closed his eyes and grabbed Vinnie by the arm.
"Thanks, bro…"
"No biggie. It's what heroes do, right?"
"Right."
Throttle relaxed, his hand fell on the floor. Kiwi quickly lay a hand on Vinnie's arm.
"He's sleeping. He must be exhausted. His body suffered a lot."
Vinnie looked down at Kiwi and the intense look in his eyes almost made her shrink.
"You saved his life, sweetheart. Words can't describe how much that means to me…"
She blushed, and a warm feeling crept over her.
"That's where family is for, right?"
He ruffled through her hair and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Yeah, I guess you're right…"
At that point, Ruby's car stopped on the open spot, next to Vinnie's bike. Modo stopped next to her, pulling off his helmet.
"Everything okay here?", he asked worried, when he saw the faces of Kiwi and Vinnie.
They looked at each other for a moment and the both smiled.
"Yeah… Yeah, it is…"

They got Throttle home safely and in one piece. Well, meaning his injuries didn't got worse. Kiwi had suggested to lay him on a bed in the living room, so Vinnie and Modo moved one of the spare beds down. Then, Modo carried his bro inside and lay him down gently. Ruby changed his IV and gave him another shot of painkillers. Throttle was still sleeping.
Kiwi had told her in the car what had happened, while Vinnie and Modo followed the car with Throttle's bike between them. Ruby had looked at her, shock written on her face.
"Jesus, Kiwi… I'm so sorry I wasn't there, I mean, he was stable when I left, I… You shouldn't have to carry that responsibility…"
But Kiwi had shaken her head.
"It's not your fault. Luckily, you teached me enough about first aid, so I was able to save him… with some help from Vinnie, of course…"
Ruby had been awfully quiet the rest of the drive.
But now, the tan furred mouse was back home, safely lying in his bed in the living room, surrounded by his bro's and family.

There was always a tension sensible when one of them was wounded, or not feeling well, but now it was Throttle and the tension was almost suffocating.
Days past and his bro's were completely lost without him, Kiwi could tell. The tan furred mouse wasn't just their friend and bro. He was their leader. The calm and steady factor in the group. And Kiwi noticed they hardly could look at him. Seeing their fearless leader this vulnerable, it was devastating for them. Somehow even paralyzing them. Even if Ruby kept telling them he was gonna be okay, he just needed time and rest, Kiwi caught them multiple times checking if he was still breathing. Or checking his pulse.
Modo transformed into a caring nurse, constantly plumping Throttle's pillow, making sure the blanket was tucked in, cleaning the blood out of the tan coloured fur... He also took responsibility to keep Vinnie in line. Most of the time, Throttle was carrying that responsibility. But with him lying motionless in a bed, Modo felt the need to take over. And Vinnie hated it. The white furred mouse obviously had no clue how to handle all this. That small moment in the woods, that moment he thought he had lost his friend, his bro, his leader… It kept haunting him. That small moment of pure darkness. That small moment of feeling completely lost.
Throttle was always strong. Always calm. Always knowing what to do. He sometimes almost felt like a father. Vinnie admired him. Looked up to him. Respected him. And that small moment of complete vulnerability had rocked him off his socks.

Kiwi tried to talk to him, to get through to him, but he pushed her away. He rebuilt the walls around him, the one he had lowered a little in the time he was on Earth, so quickly, Kiwi didn't even had a chance. And she noticed how she was yearning for a talk with Throttle. To listen to his husky and calm voice, that was telling her that everything was gonna be okay. To hear him chuckle, or to see him smile.
After a few days of trying to get through to Vinnie without success, she decided to make herself useful in a other way and continued her work with the communication centre. She completely lost herself in it, working day and night with only a few hours sleep. And now she was worrying Ruby. The red headed woman was not amused with the fact Kiwi locked herself in the garage, almost obsessed to get this thing to work. What a mess. The mice were worried about Throttle, Kiwi was worried about Vinnie and Ruby was worried about the mice and Kiwi. Well... they sure had better days…

Kiwi was typing something on her laptop, that was connected with the communication centre. She was trying to built the program that was running the transporter from Limburger, the program she hacked two times now to safe Chicago, the mice and herself. She used the portable transporter to get the right codes that were needed to make contact with Mars. And she almost had it. But the last two codes seemed to be wrong. She was staring at her screen, her tongue between her teeth in concentration.
Almost…
She was so close, she could feel it…
Almost…
"Kiwi?"
FUCK.
Kiwi looked over her shoulder, her eyes furming.
Ruby was standing in the doorway, looking at Kiwi with the now oh so familiar look of concern. It made Kiwi's blood boil.
"What?!"
Ruby frowned by hearing the hostile tone in her voice. But she wasn't one that gave up easily.
"You need to eat something, it's been almost two days since you eat…"
"I'm not hungry." And Kiwi looked at her laptop again.
"Kiwi… Come on… You need to take care of yourself…"
Kiwi ignored her.
"Is this about Vinnie?"
Ruby saw Kiwi's shoulders and back tense when she heard Vinnie's name, but she still said nothing.
"Kiwi…", but she didn't came further. Kiwi whirled around, her eyes almost spitting fire.
"Leave me alone, Ruby! I need to focus!", she growled, her teeth clenched.
Ruby held up her hands in surrender.
"Fine. Then starve, by all means. I couldn't care less", and she turned around and marched away, closing the door with a loud bang.
But Kiwi didn't even hear it. She turned her attention back on the screen, mumbling against herself. She was so close. Now wasn't the time to waste time at something foolish as eating.
No.
Throttle needed his girl. She could feel it. She could see it. So, she was gonna make it happen. One way or another.

Vinnie was lying on the couch on his back, bouncing a baseball against the ceiling. Over and over again.

*Bam*
*Bam*
*Bam*

It drove Modo, who was sitting on the other couch reading a magazine, crazy. Truth to be told, Vinnie was driving him crazy. The white furred mouse was one vibrating, cramped ball made of muscle and fur. It had been two week since Throttle got hurt and although he was making progress, he was still weak and slept most of the time. His wounds were healing good, but his body took quit the knocking. Modo had caught himself enjoying the rest for now. The whole thing had made a huge impact on the group. And they all needed time to recover. They were all tired. But then there was Vinnie…

*Bam*
*Bam*
*Bam*

Modo sighed and closed his eye for a moment.

*Bam*
*Bam*
*Bam*

The gray furred giant wasn't that patient as his tan furred bro. He squeezed the bridge of nose, trying to stay calm, but…

*Bam*
*Bam*

Modo aimed his arm cannon and fired his laser at the ball that was going up again and before it could hit the ceiling again, the whole thing just turned into dust. Ahh… Finally…
"Hey man, what gives?", Vinnie called out outraged, jumping at his feet, his tail lashing.
"You were annoying me", Modo simply said, looking at his younger bro. Who looked like he was gonna explode any minute. Oh momma…
These past few weeks had made one thing painfully clear; by the looks of things, Throttle was the only one who could keep Vinnie in line. Without the calmth of the tan furred mouse, Vinnie was transformed back into the wild young puppy he was when he was sixteen. But back then, he was at least a happy young puppy. Now, happiness was the last thing that was visible in the white furred mouse his eyes. Modo could see his younger bro had no idea how to handle this situation. And that he was just inches away from losing his shit.
"Vin, come on… You need to chill, bro… Before you know it, Throttle is back on his feet and we're kicking good old Lard Butt his ass again..."
"Chill? I need to chill?", Vinnie asked with a dangerously low voice, his fur bristled. "I'm locked into this house for weeks now, after I saw my bro dying right in front of me. Kiwi stopped talking to me, Throttle is still just lying there, I haven't got a descent fight in weeks now, didn't got any chance to blow something up, and now you blow up my fucking ball and you tell me I need to chill?!"
Modo rubbed his chin, not impressed by Vinnie's anger.
"Yeah, I guess that's sums it up pretty good, yeah…"
He looked at Vinnie and the pure rage in his ruby red eyes concerned him.
Not that he was afraid of him, oh no… Vinnie would think twice about attacking him… But...
"Don't even think about, Vincent…", he started, but Vinnie ignored him. He marched straight outside and whistled at his bike.
Modo quickly followed him.
"Vincent, come back, you can't go out alone, you're…" but Vinnie was already gone.
"...too upset…", Modo finished. Oh momma. This was bad.
He was battling with himself if he needed to go after him. But leaving Throttle behind just didn't felt right. Even if he was in good hands with Ruby… Plus, Vinnie just proved he wasn't gonna listen to him. Even if he could catch up with his younger bro, which he highly doubted, it wasn't gonna make any difference. It would only upset him even more, probably.
So, he trudget back inside, his shoulders hanging low in defeat and stopped next to Throttle's bed. The tan furred mouse was sleeping, snoring softly. Modo quickly checked the wounds, but they were almost completely healed. Modo suddenly caught himself wondering why his bro still wasn't back on his feet. Sure, his body had a lot to process. But still…

Suddenly, Kiwi ran into the room, a big smile on her face.
Modo looked up startled at the young human girl, who looked like she had better days. Her eyes were bloodshot, her skin pale and her face was hollow. But her eyes were twinkling and she still had that big smile on her face.
"Kiwi ma'am, are you okay?", Modo asked slowly, maybe even a little hesitated. She kinda gave him the expression as if she'd lost her mind, actually…
"I did it, Modo, I did it!" and she jumped in his arms.
Modo couldn't be more surprised, since Kiwi wasn't that physical touchy with them. Well, except with a certain white furred mouse, of course… But Modo pushed the thoughts about his younger bro out of his mind. The last thing he wanted to think of right now was the many ways Vinnie was getting himself into trouble at this very moment.
"Eh… You did what exactly?", he stuttered, putting her gently back on her feet again.
"Oh my god, I never thought I could do it, but I did! I can proudly announce that from this day, we are able to communicate with Mars. And not by using letters, no… by using video call!"
Modo's jaw dropped and his eye grew big.
"S-say what?"
"You heard me!"
Kiwi was almost bouncing on her feet. She lay a hand on Throttle's shoulder.
"Throttle… wake up", she said softly, despite her excitement.
Throttle stirred and opened his eyes. Kiwi quickly gave him his glasses and he put them on.
"What is it, Kiwi?", he asked and Kiwi suddenly felt the urge to cry when she heard him saying these words with that calm voice of his.
God.
"I have a surprise for you…", she smiled. "You think you can walk? You don't have to go far, just to the garage…"
"Kiwi ma'am, I'm not sure…", but Kiwi held up her hand to silence the gray furred giant.
Ruby walked into the room.
"What is going on here?", she asked strict.
"I got a surprise for Throttle, but I need him in the garage, if that's okay?", Kiwi asked, without looking at Ruby.
The red headed woman sighed and looked at Throttle.
"It really is up to you, Throttle. If you think you can handle it? Your wounds are almost healed, so that shouldn't stop you."
Throttle took a deep breath and slowly got upright. The wounds on his back and side were still painful, but it was doable.
Kiwi grabbed his hand, hardly able to hide her excitement.
"Oh, you're gonna love this, Throttle, trust me…"
Throttle chuckled and slowly, he slid outta bed.
Kiwi gently took him with her, still holding his hand. When they came into the garage, Throttle froze. He looked at the huge screen hanging at the wall, the big computer next to it and the camera that was hanging under the big screen. He also noticed that the small, portable transporter Carbine had made was now connected with the computer. He looked at Kiwi.
"No… you… what?"
"I think this is one of the first times I see you speechless", Kiwi giggled. "Come on, it's all yours to use it for the first time. I built it for you, after all."
Throttle hardly could process all this, but one thing became very clear; he was gonna see Carbine. He was gonna be able to talk to her.
Kiwi pushed him in the chair and quickly showed him how it worked. Of course, the tan furred mouse quickly caught on and Kiwi patted him on the shoulder.
"We'll give you some privacy. Tell Carbine I said hi", and she dragged the still stunned Modo with her back inside the house, followed by a even more stunned Ruby.

Throttle took a deep breath and pushed the first button. The screen came to life, and he saw himself sitting in the chair, a hopeful glance on his face. His hand shook a little when he pushed the next button, the one that was gonna make the call to Mars.
The screen flickered and Throttle waited, staring at the screen, his heart pounding in his chest. And suddenly…
The image of Carbine filled the screen, minimizing his own image to right corner below.
For a moment, they could only stare at each other. Carbine's beautiful brown eyes grew big in shock when she realized who she was looking at.
"T-T-Throttle?", she stuttered, her voice a few tones higher than usual.
Throttle smiled, a warm feeling filled him from head to toe.
"Carbine… Hey, beautiful…"
"Oh my god, Throttle, I can't believe this, how… Is this even real?"
"Yeah, it is, babe. It really is me. God, it's so good to see you… to hear your voice…"
"Likewise… You have no idea how glad I am to see you're okay… You are okay, right?", she asked with a worried look on her face, her eyes twinkling from tears that were threatening to overwhelm her.
"I'm fine.. I did have a little run in with a bear a few weeks ago…", Throttle said slowly, not sure how to tell her this. He somehow had the feeling she already knew.
"A bear?"
"Hehehe, yeah…", and Throttle rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed.
He told her everything that happened. She breathed in sharply when he told her about his few moments of death. He still remembered it. Everything.
"So it was real…"
Now it was Throttle who looked shocked at her.
"What? What was real? Are you saying…?"
"Yes, I am. I woke up from a horrible nightmare that same morning and you just described it. This is crazy... "
Throttle rubbed his chin.
"Yeah… and interesting. We clearly share some kinda connection…"
"Clearly…", and Carbine winked at him.
"So, how are things going on Mars? Rimfire okay?"
"Yeah, he is. He's missing his uncle though, since that's the only family he has left. But he knows you guys are needed on Earth."
Throttle nodded.
"And eh… Stoker?" He hardly dared to ask.
Carbine's face darkened.
"He went missing a few weeks back. We have reason to believe he's in a Plutarkian work camp and still alive. Rimfire is making a plan to get him out as soon as possible… But it isn't that easy. It never is…"
Throttle sighed. This goddamn war… Was it ever gonna stop?
"Are you gonna explain to me how in the world it is even possible we're talking right now?", Carbine asked to change the subject.
"We can thank Kiwi for that. She used your portable transporter. That's all I know, actually. But she somehow made it work."
"Well, thank her on behalf of me. She sure is a smart kid."
"She sure is…"
"How are Modo and Vinnie?"
"Eh… To be honest, I have no idea. I eh… well… ahum…" Throttle pulled on his bandana around his neck, clearly not at ease.
Carbine gave him a reassuring smile.
"You can tell me, Throttle. I lived with Vinnie on this base a couple of years. Nothing can be more embarrassing than the moments we had."
Throttle chuckled. He knew that was truth. Vinnie and Carbine, well… They weren't exactly on the same page…
"I kinda gave up, I guess… I just couldn't drag myself outta that bed, even if my wounds are almost healed…"
"Why? You never gave up before. Why now?"
"Because I… I miss you. So much. And to be so far away from each other… It kinda made the whole thing, this whole war life, pointless… I lost my cause. And as Stoker once said; you can't be a rebel without a cause…"
"Oh Throttle...", Carbine sighed.
She shook her head, her beautiful black hair waved over her shoulders. He saw helplessness in her eyes and that took him off guard. She was always so strong… But it soon turned back into the look he was familiar with. Determination.
"Listen to me, Throttle. You can't give up. Mars needs you. Earth needs you. You're right. You're fight there isn't over. We can't let the Plutarkians do the same thing they did to Mars. We need you there. This is our war. As long as these stinkfaces are walking around, stripmining planets, we are gonna keep fighting. And I wish I could promise you a peaceful future, a future without war, destruction and death. But I can't. War is unpredictable. We're risking our life every day. But that doesn't mean we have no cause. There's always a cause. And that's stopping the Plutarkians, once and for all."
Throttle nodded. He knew she was right. This war was far from over. And there was no way they could just stop fighting. Earth deserved better.
"At least we can talk to each other now… Update each other about our whereabouts, about the Plutarkians plans… We can fight this war together, Throttle."
"And we will."
Throttle suddenly found back his fighting spirit. She was right. God, what was he thinking? Giving up was so not his thing.
Carbine saw the look in his eyes.
"Don't beat yourself too hard, Throttle. We all have our moments… It's nothing to be ashamed of."
"Thanks, babe. You always know how to make me feel better. I just wish I could hold you, kiss you… I miss you…"
"I miss you too. And we will meet again. That I can promise."
They smiled at each other. Suddenly, Throttle heard a voice behind Carbine and she turned around to hear what it said.
"I'll be right there, give me one sec…"
She sighed and turned around to face her first and only love.
"Duty calls…"
"It's alright, babe. Go. They need you. Talk to you later and be safe, okay?"
"I will. You too, stranger."
And she broke the connection.
Throttle stared at the black screen, feeling more alive than he felt the past months. He was not sure how, but Kiwi had figured out he had needed this. She sure was a special girl.

When he walked back into the livingroom, Kiwi jumped at her feet and looked at him with a expectant look on her face.
"And? Did it work?"
"Yeah, it did, babe. Thank you. Really. It was exactly what I needed", and he pulled her in a tight hug.
Kiwi hugged him back, smiling against his soft fur. She was so proud of herself. And she was so happy to see the transformation in Throttle. He looked better than ever. She made herself loose and he ruffled through her hair.
"You really are something special. Oh, and Carbine told me to thank you."
"I'm just glad I could help someone...", Kiwi suddenly trailed off.
Throttle looked around the room and saw Ruby and Modo sitting on the couch, looking at him with relief. And he suddenly realized he missed something. Well, someone actually… Someone white furred, arrogant and hyper.
"Where is Vinnie?"

"AAAAOOWWW! I'm still the best, better than the best!"
Vinnie landed on his tires again after a spectacular jump off a bridge that was going over the highway. He hit the accelerator, continuing his manhunt on the guy riding the trike. He looked in his mouse shaped mirror and saw the rest of the gang were still following him. Vinnie shook his head, smiling arrogant at himself.
As if they had a chance…

30 minutes earlier

Vinnie rushed through the streets, pushing his bike to the limits. He had so much tension in his body, he thought he was gonna explode. He was constantly grinding his teeth with so much strength, his jaw was cramped. His heart was racing in his chest. His breathing was wild. His tail was twitching, so were his ears and left eye. He needed to blow off some steam before he was really gonna lose his mind. He pushed everything away, all his thoughts, all his emotions, and the only thing he focussed on was driving like a mad man, to feel the adrenaline he needed so badly.
Without thinking, he drove to the ghetto of Chicago, finding himself looking around curiously… Okay, okay… he was obviously searching for a fight. He flew around a corner and needed to hit the brakes all of a sudden, to avoid he was gonna crash into the biker gang that was standing on the middle of the road. He stopped inches before a guy that was sitting on his bike, who was obviously not amused by the sudden appearance of the white furred mouse. He was wearing a black leather jacket and a red bandana around his neck.
"Hey! Get the hell outta here, punk!", he screamed.
Vinnie crossed his arms before his chest.
"Geez, what is up with the aggressive attitude, sweetheart? I'm not the one who is standing on the middle of the road, having a tea party…"
The guy stared at him for a moment, probably surprised this guy on his red racing bike wasn't scared of him. The rest of the group tensed and some of the big and strong looking men slowly came closer.
"What did you just say?", the guy growled between clenched teeth. But before Vinnie could answer, he heard a loud scream and saw a guy running outta the building closeby. The man jumped in a trike that was parked at the side of the road, signing at his friends he was ready to go.
Vinnie narrowed his eyes. It wasn't that hard to guess what was going on here. The gang probably had been on watch while this guy did something against the law. What that was, Vinnie had no idea, but did he care?
Nope.
Who cares about the details? It was finally tail whipping time.
The trike sped away and the gang wanted to follow him, but Vinnie was quicker. He revved his bike and pushed a button, a smile on his face. His lasers came out.
"And now, gentleman, it's time to ROCK… and RIDE!"
He popped a wheelie and when his front tire hit the ground again, he sped forward, firing his laser. The gang quickly sped away, all in a different direction and Vinnie had a free ticket to start the chase on the guy in the trike. But the gang didn't gave up that easily and Vinnie heard the man with the red bandana screaming to get him.
The guy in the trike was fast, but Vinnie had no trouble to keep up with him. The trike suddenly took the lower highway and Vinnie saw that as the perfect opportunity to take the short cut. He steered his bike on the higher highway and when he was at the highest point, he jumped down.
"AAAAOOWWW! I'm still the best, better than the best!"
Vinnie landed on his tires again and hit the accelerator, continuing his manhunt on the guy riding the trike. He looked in his mouse shaped mirror and saw the rest of the gang was still following him. Vinnie shook his head, smiling arrogant at himself. As if they had a chance…
He chased the man till they were outta town and Vinnie decided it was now time to make his move. He pushed a button on his handlebar and a missile flew out his bike, exploding right before the trike. The guy had no idea what was happening and he crashed right into the crater. Vinnie came to a halt with shrieking brakes, looking into the crater with a evil smirk on his face. The trike was totalled, and the guy unconsciousness.
"Hehehe. That's what you get when you mess with the law. You mess with Vinnie van Wham, the baddest mamma jammer from this side of the asteroid belt. Sucker…"
He looked up and saw the rest of the gang surrounding him.
He heard multiple clicks, a all to familiar sound.
Vinnie quickly counted.
Fifteen men, ten guns aimed at his head….
He shrugged. Fair odds.
"End of the line, punk…", the man with the red bandana smiled evilly. "We got you now…"
Vinnie sighed exaggeratedly, rolling his eyes.
"Who said you got me, sweetheart?" and the white furred mouse came into action.
He popped a wheelie and fired his jets, flying into the air. The gang first only stared at this, they had never seen anything like this before.
"Fire!", the man with the red bandana yelled, it was obvious he was the leader. They opened fire, but Vinnie was already too high.
"You can run! But you can't hide!", the man screamed in anger.
Vinnie breathed in sharply, his blood boiling all of a sudden.
Running.
Pfuh.
As if he ever did.
He landed a couple of meters away from the gang and faced them, revving his bike.
"Let me just make one thing very clear here and that is… I never run…", he said with a ice cold voice and he opened fire, driving full speed towards the gang. They fired back, but it was no use. Vinnie kept firing and firing, and they weren't up against such heavy firepower.
"Retreat!", the leader yelled and they turned their bikes.
"Hey hey hey! The game's not over till the fat lady sings! HAHAHA!", Vinnie laughed maniacally, still firing. "Look who's running now… fucking cowards…"
He pushed another button on his bike, ready to fire another missile, when suddenly…
"Vincent, stop. That's far enough…"
Throttle's voice.
Vinnie hit the brakes and saw Throttle and Modo stopping in front of him. He looked past them and saw the gang quickly grabbing their comrade out of the crater and driving away.
"Hey! There getting away! And just when I was starting to get warmed up!", Vinnie protested, still hyped up from the huge adrenaline rush. He revved his bike, but Throttle parked his bike right in front of his, to block his way.
"Vincent, I'm not gonna warn you again. Stand down."
Vinnie stared at his leader, his tail lashing through the air, his eyes narrowed, his teeth clenched… and then he relaxed. The adrenaline slowly wore off, well, most of it. Enough to realize Throttle was standing in front of him. On his bike.
Wait, what? How did that happen?
"Bro, you…Eh… I eh…", he stuttered, suddenly feeling very small under the warning look from his tan furred bro.
Then, he looked at Modo, who was, by the looks of things, also not that amused with him.
Well, maybe he did got kinda carried away…
"Let's ride…", Throttle ordered. "We'll talk about this back at home."
Him and Modo turned their bikes and Vinnie followed them on a slow pace that didn't match with him at all. Like a kid that knew he did something against the rules and was getting punished for it when they got home.
Oh boy…

You guys didn't really think I would let Throttle die, right? No, that would break my own heart.

But you gotta admit… it sure was a good cliffhanger… Muawahaha!

Anywayz, I decided to end this chapter a little less tense. To give you guys some time to recover ;)

But what will happen next? Are Vinnie and Kiwi gonna be able to clear the air between them? Is Throttle gonna be able to get Vinnie back in line?

And how are things between Modo and Ruby?

We'll see…

Please, feel free to review and till next time, citizens!

Later!

PS: I used a few lines of "Sound of Silence", btw. These words are not owned by me. Fucking disclaimers... I almost forgot... XD