Oh man, sorry guys for keeping you waiting, again!

I was just so super busy with other things although I kept going through this chapter over and over again in my head until I finally had the time to just sit behind the computer and start typing! And also, this chapter was so hard to write, I don't know why... I must've written it three or four times over before I was finally please with it. And spoiler-alert, it's only one continuous long scene... Don't do those too often but it was kinda fun... But here it is, finally! Chapter 19, ladies and gentlemice!

If you can after reading it write a few lines and comments that would be super-duper awsome!

Thanks again for everyone who has been reading and commenting and thanks for the favs and glad to see new faces too! You guys are awsome!

So, on with the story!

Peace out!

-SpaceFlora

The Good, The Bad and the Rebels

Chapter 19

You Could Just Come Home

"Quickly! Ah hear steps!" Modo hurried Simson who jumped out of his bed although still feeling very lightheaded and sore but the second he was standing on his two bare feet he fell on the floor like a bag of sand potatoes in his hospital gown. Modo turned his head as soon as he heard the sound Simson's body made while making a contact with the floor and he raised his eyebrow, looking worried.

"Ya okay?"

"Yeah, yeah..." Simson grunted, yet still making the "hurt face" but then gave a brief look on his backside and the stump that was all that was left of his tail and what was now wrapped in a clean bandage.

"I guess my balance is now a bit off..."

Modo didn't quite catch up right away what Simson meant by that but as he followed the rebel rat leader's look he quickly understood the situation and cleared his throat. Ofcourse, as babies the mice and rats learn to walk using the tail as a balancer and now, Simson had lost his. It would take some time for him to learn to walk properly without it and they didn't really have time right now for that.

"Right..." Modo tried to think what to do but then heard another sound from the hallway, he could hear that whoever was coming to their way was already very close. He heard also doors being opened and closed, so whoever these guys were, they were searching for something, or someone.

"Well, just tell me what d'ya need...!" Modo's voice struck as an unpatient bark that was not like him, he usually was more calm and mild-tempered (most of the time that is) but concidering the circumstances even he had started to become agitated by this whole mess.

"What I need is a damn tail...! But I guess I'll have to manage with some support..." Simson muttered.

"Support like...?"

"How about emotional, wise guy...? I mean support like a walking stick or something!" Simson was getting up again and he looked wobbly as he tried to maintain his balance.

Modo looked around the room but couldn't really spot anything that could be handy to Simson at the moment.

"Ah don't..." He started, still trying to figure out but then heard steps very near the door to their room and he started to panic.

"Look, just hide, okay!" He kept his voice low.

"Hide?!" Simson snorted with disgust.

"Yes, hide! Ah'll take care of this!"

"I'm not gonna hide...!" Simson started.

"Look, we ain't got time to argue here!"

"I'm a soldier, I'm not hiding!" Simson said and tried to look as dignified as he could in his hospital gown.

"Simson!"

"Well, I won't!"

"Just hide, damn it!" Modo grunted back as they both lowered their volumes as mere whispers and sushes.

"Read my lips Big Mousie: I won't hide!" Simson said while gritting his teeth, still trying to look for something that a) would keep him standing up and b) could be used as a weapon as his guns he had had on him before the flood had happened were nowhere to be found.

"Don't be difficult, just go!" Modo's eye started to glow, he did not enjoy this little game that was only distracting them from what they really should be doing which was : getting ready to fight.

"No!"

"Fine! Stay there and get the first bullet, see if Ah care, ya damn rat...!" Modo's eye glowed even brighter and he hid himself behind the door again, still trying to mime at Simson to go hide but the steps were now so close that he took a deep breath and then the door flung open to cover his view of the room but as soon as he heard three pair of steps stumbling in and the unfamiliar voice simply stating:"Hey, where's the other one...?!" he closed the door and attacked the two men from behind, only breifly registering that a young female escaped the other Army soldier's grip and hid in the corner, making herself small and trying to cover herself with her slender arms.

Modo kicked the other soldier in the kneecap to make him fall on his knees with a cry while grabbing the other one into a choke hold from behind, just trying to buy him a nanosecond to figure out what to do with these two soldiers who clearly did not have good intentions for him nor Simson as the one he had in his unforgiven grip tried to kick him to his shins and fought with everything he got but the harder he fought the harder Modo's grip became. The other one was now back on his feet and charged towards Modo again and as he jumped on him and his fellow trooper, all three of them ended up on the floor with so loud bang that everyone in the room felt the whole room shaking and things fell from the shelves. Modo still had the other one in a tight grip but the second trooper started to pound him in the head and Modo tried to reach his leg with his tail and managed to wrapped it tightly around his calf and yanked him on his back and elbowed him to his face so they all heard a crack when the trooper broke his nose and fell on his back, splashing blood around them. Modo suddenly realized that the man he had had on a choking grip became limp and he quickly took his arm away from the man's throat and pushed him off him, turning him to face the floor. It was all over in mere seconds and Modo was breathing hard, looking at the two soldiers now lying, unconsciously presumably, around him, blood dripping from the other one's face and silently spreading under his whole head.

"Well...Damn..." Modo heard Simson to open his mouth and he raised his look to him. The rat was only sitting on his bed, looking at the two soldiers in a relaxed manner, playing with the gun he had picked up from the floor, nodding impressed and then met Modo's look.

"You've got something in here..." Simson only added pointing his own left corner of his eye and Modo touched his left brow and then brought his fingers infront of his eye and saw the red blood dripping from them. Simson changed his look to the corner of the room where he could see a small and slender looking female, in a nurse's uniform, staring at them back, with big frightful eyes, covering her mouth with her hands as if to prevent herself from screaming. She shook and just stared at the two bodies now lying on the floor in a small puddle of blood. Modo noticed Simson's look and now remembered the female, too and followed Simson's example and turned his head to the corner of the room and once his eye was set to this girl a pang of worry washed through him.

"Shit..." He cursed so silently that even Simson didn't hear that and he quickly got on his feet, wiped the blood off his face to his vest and rushed to the small female, still curled up in the corner, a horrified expression on her youthful face.

"Primer?" Modo lowered his baritone to as calm and soothing as possible but given the circumstances and what had just happened he didn't quite succeed in that. Instead he knelt down beside her, scanning her body as if to find out whether she was physically injured or not.

"You know the girl?" Simson asked and Modo only gave him a glance but didn't answer as he turned his worried look back on his niece.

"Primer...? It's me... Don't worry, everythin' will be okay..." He was still a bit of out of breath as he was studying his niece whose' own set of eyes were still glued to the rather unpleasant scene in the middle of the room.

"...It's okay...You're safe now..." Modo kept his voice down and he was to touch her shoulder, to maybe calm her down but she shied away his touch and turned her brown eyes on him. There was fear in her eyes. Fear and disbelief.

"They're not gonna hurt ya anymore..." Modo continued and the girl only nodded back without answering and it seemed that she didn't even fully register what he had just told her. Modo suddenly felt a wave of mixed emotions go through his body while looking into those brown eyes he knew so well, even if there had been years between their last meeting. Obviously she had been scared of these men who had dragged her in here for reasons Modo did not really know...But what he had done himself just seconds ago was not really something he would've wanted his niece to witness either. He knew he had maybe gone a bit over the top with the fight and things had maybe gone a bit on the brutal side but he hadn't known how armed these guys were and he had had to fight for himself and for Simson who couldn't at the moment defend himself. And because things were as they were at the moment, he did not want to take any risks...So, he had done like he had been taught, he had fought back like his life had depended on it, because it actually had. It could be him and Simson lying there on the floor at the moment...And Primer... Modo felt anger building up inside him even with the thought of someone hurting his niece but he still tried to stay calm, for her sake. To show her that everything was okay. But the young female did not look okay.

"Are you hurt...?" He asked carefully, trying to get some kind of answer out of her, trying to get her to talk, to say anything. Maybe she was hurt but Modo just couldn't tell. Primer swallowed and only shook her head, lowering her look, fumbling with her shaking hands. Modo hesitated but then moved his own much bigger palm to cover her hands. This time the young female did not shy away. Her hands felt colder than his own and he could feel them shake. Looking at her, Modo could feel his heart drop. He didn't want anything more but to take the girl into his arms and hug her until he felt her heart to become calm again, until he could feel her breathing back to normal, like he had done while the twins had been kids, when they had played it too rough and one of them or both had ended up crying, he had taken them to his arms and soothed them before they would fall asleep or smile and laugh. But he hesitated to hug her now as he didn't know whether this would only scare her more. Modo was aware that his appareance wasn't the best right now, with his blood-dried clothes and injuries covered with bandages and now his left brow was open, and he could blood dripping from his brow...He quickly wiped the blood away again, using his arm.

"Primer..?" He still tried but there was a falter in his voice and he was being interrupted by Simson's voice behind his back.

"Gee, ya ain't messin' around, Big Guy... I think this one's dead..."

Modo stayed silent as he still looked at Primer but Simson's words echoed in his head along with his increasing pulse but he still tried to remain unaffected by it. He gave a look over his shoulder to see Simson hunching down by the two soldiers, searching them for guns but turned his look back on Primer and gave a sigh.

"Look, Ah'm sorry ya had to witness that... Ah didn't know you'd be with them...Ah didn't know it was you..." He started but suddenly Primer turned her eyes on him.

"You killed them?" Her voice was tiny but the words felt like she had to push them out of her mouth.

Modo met her eyes. He didn't know what to say to her but he didn't want to lie either. But maybe Simson was wrong, after all he wasn't a doctor although during the war, people ended up pretty good with checking the vitals...

"That man said one of them is dead..." Primer continued, raising her voice.

Modo looked at her and her brown eyes and then only shook his head and turned his look away. He'd rather not have this conversation, not right now and not with her of all people. But one thing remained clear, they were still in danger and they needed to leave, right now. So, he turned his look back on her and changed the topic.

"Primer, Ah'm sorry love, but we need to leave, right now, it's not safe here. There could come more people like them any second..." Modo's voice then became more determinated because they really needed to start doing something but Primer cut him off.

"People like them...?"

Modo raised his eyebrow, not really knowing where she was getting with that but Primer did not give him too much time to dwell on it as suddenly he could see her eyes flaming up.

"They were the Army! They were one of us!"

Modo shook his head calmly.

"Primer, they just held ya as a somekinda hostage..."

Primer turned her look away, clearly trying to make sense of this whole thing. But it didn't make sense. Not to her. Modo gave a sigh.

"Look, just because they were wearing the Army greens doesn't mean they were the good guys..." But he was once again interrupted by this slender female infront of him.

"You mean they weren't good guys like you?" Primer's voice was sharp and edgy and she had a deliberate emphasis on the words as she was staring at him with a challenging look but her lower lip was still trembling and she fought hard not to cry even if tears were starting to pile up to her eyes again. Modo swallowed while all the time having his eye on this young female. He had to answer her, say something, explain it to her how things really were...But he couldn't find any words. All his words had escaped from him by looking at those eyes, the eyes of the little girl he had always sworn to protect...The truth was, he couldn't find any words to justify his acts. He had acted the way he had been taught to act. There was no room for thougths in the middle of the battles, there was only one aim. Maybe there were some quick-thinkers like Throttle and Stoker who could make quick plans while fighting... but Modo was only a foot soldier, he only did what he was asked to do and what he was taught to do. But, there was no justification to his acts nonetheless... Modo cleared his throat and pushed all the thoughts aside, they needed to leave this place and he needed to get Primer to some place safe. That was the main thing for him to do right now. To protect her even if she didn't really understand why. He let out a sigh.

"Primer... We need to go. And you have to come with us."

"Why?" Primer gave him a look and then wiped her eyes with her arm.

"Ya might be in danger as well."

Primer huffed and shook her head in disbelief but turned her eyes back on the two soldiers again and then suddenly scampered up and was to rush to them but Modo got a hold of her, not a tight hold but firm enough.

"Wait, Ah don't think you should..."

But Primer yanked herself free and went anyway.

"We need to help them!"

Simson only gave her room while taking a step back and gave Modo a quizzical look but the grey furred male was only rubbing his brows, looking tired and also like he needed a moment to collect himself. Simson observed him a bit and then nodded like agreeing with something he had just thought in his head and he cleared his throat, giving Primer a look.

"You know, I must've exaggerated when I said the other one's dead... Just...couldn't find...the pulse..." His voice became increasingly tinier and tinier as he spoke the last words. Okay, that was dumb. That did not help.

"Simson..." He heard Modo's low rumble and he turned his look on the grey furred male who now stood up and gave him a meaningful glare.

"Shut up." He only stated and Simson nodded, agreeing that that would actually be a good thing to do. Modo walked carefully to them his eyes keenly on Primer, he was observing her every move, like he could find or detect any sudden changes in her behaviour by doing that and maybe he could, he had been able to do that. Long ago. But now, he couldn't really read her. He then scratched his arm awkwardly as he waited, with Simson, for her to give her medical opinion on the matter whether the soldiers were okay or...not.

"They're not dead." Primer then stated and Modo could feel like a heavy rock had just been rolled off his chest. It wasn't that he hadn't killed before, he had... He knew he had. But in the war, in the battlefield one didn't have the time to see and count how many dead people one left behind. That was the game. Those were the rules. You either fought back with all you've got or then you might as well just give up, surrender and die. Ofcourse he knew people who did count their every kill but that had always made him feel sick. Maybe it was hypocritical since what's the difference in the end, you counted the bodies or not, you still were a killer.

He could see how Primer let out a deep sigh, clearly the knowledge on these two soldiers being not okay but atleast breathing still, was an enourmous relief for her, too.

"We need to get them help..." She then said like it was decided already.

"Aha, yeah... Not gonna happen." Simson said but Modo nudged him and Primer looked up, her voice a rebellious one.

"What you mean no? They need help!"

Simson was to say something but only a chuckle came out of his mouth.

"They were just trying to kill us and now we're going to give them a five star hospital treatment?!"

"They need help!"

"She's right." Modo interrupted before there would be a fight between them and Simson and Primer both gave him a look. Modo bit his lower lip and nodded.

"We help. We help the ones who need help. Even if they don't deserve it..."

"Everyone deserves to be helped." Primer cut him off and her uncle could see fire inside her growing. That was something he was familiar with, her fire. She had always been a feisty one and a girl who knew exactly what she wanted and she had also ways to get what she wanted. She was like her mother May in that sense.

Simson sighed and then nodded, swinging his arms up.

"Fine! We help! Let's just pile these bodies to some carriage and roll them outta here..."

"But we can't show our faces at the hospital, we can't bring them up there..." Modo said and Simson crossed his arms.

"Well, maybe you two just tell me what's gonna happen since all my ideas suck apparently?"

"Maybe doctor Shelly could help?" Modo thought out loud.

"Wait, how do you know Shelly?" Primer asked him.

"She was the one to help us..." Modo said and then pointed at his bandage on his right side.

"And apparently she's a friend of Aprilia's..."

"Oh, how's Aprilia doing?!" Primer's mood changed to excited suddenly but then she shook her head.

"No, nope, don't tell me... I don't wanna hear any lovey-dovey stuff...Not now..."

Modo had no choice but to give a light chuckle while seeing his niece to act more like her true self again and showed her fire and her determination. He then grew stern again and scratched the back of his head and hunched down, beside her.

"Primer?"

The girl was just cleaning the other soldier's nose from blood with a clean paper she had found from her pocket.

"You know Ah love ya and your brother very much?"

Primer did not want to answer but she eventually gave in and nodded but kept her look still on the two bodies.

"And that Ah would do anything to keep ya safe?" Modo asked again and now Primer gave him a look.

"But I don't want you to hurt other people while doing that!"

Modo nodded back, giving an understanding look but sighed.

"Ya know that's not how this works. But Ah didn't want for you to see...the things we do. Things that Ah do."

Primer gave him a look and a tear rolled down her cheek again but she quickly turned her head away and wiped it away, like nothing had happened. She was silent for awhile before then giving a loud sigh and shaking her head.

"I know that."

She then sniffed and nodded, letting her look fall to the floor.

"I just don't like it. I don't like what you do."

"Ah don't want ya to like it." Modo only answered and Primer gave him a look like she didn't really know what he meant by that.

Modo saw her expression and then only sat down beside her on the floor. He let out a deep sigh.

"Ah'm sorry."

Primer gave him another surprised look. Modo saw it but turned his look away.

"For not been around." He added.

"You were busy..." Primer only said back, biting her lower lip.

"Trust me Ah would've rather been with you and the family than any place else..."

"You could just come home?" Primer asked carefully and Modo felt his heart to skip a beat but he just turned his look away. Primer nodded back. No words were needed. She knew he couldn't come home and she didn't want him to have to say the words out loud.

"I'm sorry, too." Primer then said.

"What for?" Modo asked silently rumbling, needing to wipe a tear off too.

"That I just...said those things few moments ago... I know the Freedom Fighters are the good guys, I mean I know that you just want to make things better... I just don't understand like how the Army..." Primer started but couldn't find any words.

"You don't have to understand war." Modo said.

"Noone can understand war." He then added.

"The war's still on?" Primer asked him.

"Ah'm afraid so..." Modo answered, looking all of a sudden tired again as he was rubbing his flesh hand's palm with his steel fingers.

"Uncle Modo?" Primer then asked carefully and Modo gave her a look back.

"Don't be too hard on yourself." Primer only nodded with a small but encouraging smile and Modo had to laugh at her uplifting spirit and he only nodded back.

"Ah try not to..."

"Well, try harder."

"Ah will, pumpkin." Modo smiled and stroked her hair and kissed her head. Primer then suddenly wrapped her arms around him and hugged him and Modo hugged her back, enclosing her to his big arms, even if his freshly stitched right side tried to make a protest about it. He didn't care how much it hurt. These kids were the centre of his universe.

Simson had been watching them silently from a little furter away as he had found his clothes and put them on but now he was sitting on his bed and wiping tears off too. He then cleared his throat.

"Man, you guys... Making an old rebel like me all teared up..."

Primer pulled herself away like just now really concentrating on the fact that there was a rat in the room. She gave Modo a look.

"Why are you hanging out with a rat? I thought you hated rats?"

"Ah don't know if Ah really hated them..." Modo tried for it to not sound too extreme since there was a rat in the room.

"You said they were the plague that should be wiped out..." Primer pointed out.

"Yeah... Ah had a lot of issues back then, Ah guess..." Modo gave Simson a bit humoured look who only chuckled back, not minding. Modo then nodded towards Primer's direction.

"Simson, meet Primer, my niece and Primer this is Simson, he saved my life."

"Your uncle's way too kind...I did not save his life..." Simson said back.

"He did." Modo said to Primer.

"If he hadn't shot his tail off, Ah would've drowned for sure."

"Well, your uncle could be very persuasive..."

"It was your own choice..."

"Yeah, after ya yelled at me to shoot it off..." Simson chuckled and Modo joined in, scratching the back of his head.

Suddenly the door was opened and they all three startled and turned and Modo already pointed his arm cannon at the door but lowered it a soon as he recognized the two rebels entering the room.

"Hey, now easy there Big Fella'! You're the one who didn't call...!" Vinnie lifted his hands up but clearly excited to see that his bro was okay.

"Yeah, sorry, we were kinda occupied..." Modo chuckled back but made a fist bump with his younger bro.

"Good to see you're okay, soldier..." Stoker came to pat him on his back as well while Modo was still sitting on the floor.

"You too, comrade." Stoker nodded at Simson who only nodded back with a smile.

"Yeah, Oldtimer here had hard time since you kinda just disappeared...! Man, he's getting softer in his older years...!" Vinnie cheered, giving Modo another look.

"Vinnie?" Stoker raised his voice.

"Yes...?"

"Shut it."

Vinnie rolled his eyes but his attention was quickly turned to the scene infront of him, the two bodies lying on the ground and the blood...

"Oh man...! We like totally missed the party!"

"Primer, you remember Vinnie, right..?" Modo asked his niece and this smirked and gave a laugh.

"Well, yeah, he's very memorable."

Vinnie's mood quickly lit up again and pointed at himself.

"I've said to leave an impression, specially on the ladies..." He wiggled his brows and gave Primer a look.

"Well, Modo, you didn't say your niece had turned out as such a knock-out...!"

"Yeah, she is my niece, so keep ya distance and yer hands where Ah can see 'em..." Modo only muttered back.

"Hey, chill, bro...! I've got a lady now! I'm not hunting babes anymore... That's all in the past! Sorry, ladies, but that's true! This is the new Vinnie you see here!" Vinnie crossed his arms, looking proud.

"Hm, I guess the new one is as annoying as the old one..." Stoker huffed but then hunched over the scene infront of them as well.

"My, my... Looks like someone had fun..."

"Yeah, without us. That's a violation, I'm sure..." Vinnie snorted but then gave his big bro yet another look.

"But I forgive you, 'cause you've gone through rough times..."

"Aww, so noble..." Modo only drawled back.

Stoker was still concentrated on the two soldiers lying there on the floor.

"Are they...?" He asked but couldn't finish the sentence as Primer firmly cut him off.

"They are not dead."

But then the young light brown furred female gave Modo a look.

"We need to get Shelly here! Get them help!"

Modo nodded back but Stoker frowned at this.

"Help? No, honey, we need to bail out of here, like right now."

Primer turned to him and her eyes were flaming again.

"Well, you ain't going anywhere before they get help! This is a hospital! You can't just leave half-dead people behind!"

"Is that so?" Stoker asked, more humoured than serious and then gave Modo a look who only nodded at him.

"They need help. We have the time to get doctor Shelly here. Then we can go."

Stoker tapped his thighs and got up.

"Okay... But we do it very quick. Quick as in "it should've been done already"-quick..."

Primer got up and Modo followed her example and the young female then dusted her clothes off and walked to the door.

"I'll go to get doctor Shelly here..."

"NO!" Everyone suddenly shouted and Primer frowned a bit.

"Why not?"

"It's not...safe." Modo said and Primer crossed her arms and sighed.

"Well, someone just tag along then, gee! I thought we were in a hurry!" She opened the door and left while the men in the room gave each other a look.

"I'll go!" Vinnie rushed as Modo was to go after her and the white furred male only tapped Modo to his middle.

"Just sit back and relax, Modo my man! I'm handlin' this so no worries!"

"Well, there's a sentence that doesn't add up..." Modo mumbled but then suddenly his right side stung again and he had to bite his lower lip and press his right side, trying to keep the pain tolerable.

"See? I'm only lookin' after you, bro... Also, you're in luck because the only hero in town volunteers to keep the lady safe!"

"Great..." Modo said under his breath, still trying to manage with the pain.

"I'm actually with Vinnie here, you two look like you've gone through enough already... Vinnie can go after her..."

"Fine, but be quick...Ah'm ready to just get our bikes and dash out of here anyway..." Modo grunted.

"Well, it looks like you two got plenty to talk about while I'm gone...!" Vinnie cheered and tapped Modo and Stoker on their shoulders and ran out of the room after Primer.

"Toodles!"

"What he meant by that?" Modo raised his eyebrow. Stoker cleared his throat.

"Well, you know that kid's always talking even if there aren't any coherent things coming out..." Stoker tried to go around the subject of them not finding Lil'Hoss and just shifted his focus back on the two soldiers lying on the floor.

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