Hey...

So, surprise, you guys...

Yet another chapter in the short period of time...

Okay, but we all know this won't be a habit as I'll surely hit another writer's block any day now again... Plus I'd have like tons of things to do right now, so it can take some time before the next chapter... Or not, who knows :)

But mean time, I hope you'll all enjoy this next chapter! This one was very fun to write and it all just came to me very quickly and it was like this natural flow which doesn't always happen, sometimes I need to go back and re-write everything hundred times before I get it right...

And, oh wow, just while typing this I noticed that there are over 7000 words to this chapter, sorry about that, hehe...

Thanks for the reviews and thanks for reading this little story of mine! Really, you guys rock!

Stay safe.

SpaceFlora

P.S. I went back to correct the many errors in the grammar and some other errors too in the latest chapter, chapter 25, so, my apologies for those... I try to be more observant when it comes to my writing!

P.P.S. So, my cat jumped on the keyboards just when I had written this ready, so I hope there won't be any errors... I'll try to check the whole text one more time...

The Good, The Bad and the Rebels

Chapter 26

Lies and Inner Conflicts

"Hey there, H!"

A happy and releaved smile appeared on Harley's face as she heard the flirtatious soft growl escape from Stoker's mouth while his ragged features appeared on the VidCom.

"Well, hello there, Commander..." Harley's husky voice answered and now as she could really see her old friend was infact safe she was able to relax more and she leaned back on the chair infront of the VidCom.

"And hello to you too, doc!" Stoker smiled at Aprilia who was sitting beside Harley. The blonde female nodded back and tried to pull the long t-shirt she currently wore, over her knees, trying to be as casual as she could while doing that.

"Hi, Stoker..." Aprilia smiled back but her smile turned back to being concerned.

"Modo's safe?" She blurted out but cleared her throath a bit ashamed for there had been many people's lives in danger and not just Modo's.

"I mean, everyone's safe there..?"

Stoker only chuckled at this while nodding. He knew just how worried the doctor had been over her darling soldier.

"Yeah, the big guy's okay, he will have more scars to show to you though but he's fine...As are everyone else, too."

Aprilia closed her eyes in relief and gave out a sigh as a small smile started to etch the corners of her mouth.

"I'm glad to here that...Please send my love to him."

"You can do that yourself as I can fetch him soon so you two can have a private talk... You know what I mean, it's been a couple of looong days for you two lovebirds..." Stoker smirked back and a blush quickly rose on Aprilia's cheeks.

"Stoke! Give the girl a break...! She's so pure and innocent..." Harley scolded the older male but clearly with good humour before she then took the note and the microchip to her hand.

"Actually, now that we know you're all okay there... I need to show you this..."

"A piece of paper? How exciting." Stoker snickered and Harley rolled her eyes.

"Well, Mina left the HQ early this morning but not without leaving behind a few gifts..."

"Mina left the HQ?" Stoker frowned but closed his eyes and shook his head.

"We need to locate her before she'll bump into someone and tell about the whereabout of our base..."

"You mean before she'll die out there in the desert due to dehydration and starvation?" Aprilia asked in-between making her words piercing but Stoker only shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, if she chose to leave she must've been aware of what's waiting for her out there... Throttle gave you all pretty clear instructions to stay inside. I will inform Throttle however and we'll take care of the matter."

Aprilia shook her head in disappointment and crossed her arms, leaning back. For her it didn't matter if someone was a traitor or a former traitor or whatever. You did not leave people dying out there. Not if you could somehow prevent it. Stoker observed the fair blonde haired medic.

"And you're not gonna go out and look for her either, doc."

"Well, before you'll get your asses to it, it can be too late! It will take hours for the Fighters to get here!" Aprilia defended her point.

"You stay inside, got that?" Stoker's voice got even more poignant.

"Fine." Aprilia only replied looking away and Stoker turned his eyes back on Harley.

"You make sure she'll stay inside..."

"Okey-dokey..." Harley deadpanned just rather reluctantly waiting for her turn to talk again about the note and the microchip.

"I'm just saying that she could die out there!" Aprilia raised her voice again, really not knowing why she was the only one who seemed to care.

"Well, that is none of your concern. Right now, unfortunately we've got many things cookin' so we'll get to her when we get to her. We're not gonna risk everyone's lives for her the second time..." Stoker cut in.

Aprilia turned her look away, feeling pissed-off. She also didn't appreciate Stoker's tone, the way he gave her the commands, it was like she wouldn't have a say in this at all. Like her opinions, as a medical professional that she was, didn't matter even if it was a question about someone's heath and well-being.

"If you're not believing me then we both know Modo will tell you the exact same thing, doc...Stay inside." Stoker said but this time his voice became softer.

But that didn't help the fire to start burning inside Aprilia as she only crossed her arms tighter around her, she couldn't help it. It was in her nature to help the ones who needed the help. She had thought that the Fighters did the same... But there seemed to be exceptions. Stoker sighed but concentrated on Harley again.

"So, about the note you're holding...?"

"Yes." Harley seemed glad that she got the attention again.

"So, Mina had written down some coordinates and then some text, too... Let's see here... It says right below the coordinates: "They are here. Call Titania. She knows. Be safe and I'm sorry."

Harley raised her look from the paper, not impressed.

"Well, it sounds like gibberish... She also might not have been in a clear state of mind while writing this, I mean when she just took off like that after writing these down..."

"No, no... I think there might be something to it..." Stoker rubbed thoughtfully his chin but then he suddenly leaned forward in his chair on the other side of the screen.

"Listen, I just called Throttle and he'll be on his way back tothe Headquarters with the rest... Since the borders are gonna be pretty much closed by now, we need to figure something else... But he'll check those and maybe he'll make some sense to it all..."

"But why can't you just make some sense to it all...?" Harley looked confused and Stoker only shook his head, smiling.

"Harley. I've decided to make Throttle the leader of the resistance."

Harley was silently staring at Stoker but then as the information sunk in, her eyes got wider.

"But... You're our leader!"

"The resistance needs younger blood to guide them..."

"Bullshit!" Harley raised her voice and Aprilia startled a little beside her, giving her friend an odd look.

"Harley. That is settled already. He will take the lead from now on. And you'll be alright with the fact, yeah?" Stoker's voice had more strictness in it but Harley only shook her head, more like not believing what she had just been told.

"But, you're Stoker!"

"Yes I am. But this is the decision I've made and I'd like you to honour that decision." Stoker gave the mechanic a soft look.

Harley looked away but nodded, obidiently even if reluctantly.

"Good. Nothing changes, H. But you can send me those coordinates anyway and I will look into it in the meantime... Nothing else to do around here, the monks haven't really invested in the fun and games in here." Stoker tried to joke but Harley's mood didn't change as she just suddenly got up.

"I will send you the coordinates." She only replied and left. Stoker sighed leaning against his arms but laid his eyes on Aprilia.

"So, what's up with your eyes?" He then asked curiously. Aprilia turned her look away, trying to think how to tell Stoker about everything that had been happening to her during the time they had been out there looking for Modo and Simson. But he might be the only one who could have any ideas about all the weird things she had experienced.

"I think I've been experiencing some kind of post-mindwalk symptoms, Stoker..."

"Oh yeah?" The doctor had gained Stoker's attention. Aprilia nodded carefully, slipping some strands of long blonde hair behind her ear, now more calm again. She wasn't happy about his decision to just leave Mina there but...She was also a grown-up and could have a civilized conversation.

"I've been having difficulties to sleep, but when I do, I see these...flashes, these images going through my mind, these images that are just so unfamiliar to me... and when I'm awake it feels like, my head's not here, you know? Like I can't focus on anything...And then there are these lights and colours when I close my eyes and... Am I just going crazy?" Aprilia turned her worried look to the older male who had been listening to her carefully. He then straightened his back and gave a deep sigh.

"Deimos..."

"What...?" Aprilia's ears perked slightly.

Stoker was silent for awhile, looking away from the screen, like contemplating something.

"Stoker!" Aprilia's voice was exasperated as the tension was getting too much, she needed to know what was wrong and needed to know now! Stoker cleared his throat and turned his eyes back on her.

"I guess...while you were able to mindwalk and come back from it, too...the symptoms you just described might infact imply that your mind, or a part of it, has stayed somewhere in the mindweb..."

"W-what?" Aprilia had hard time to comprehend what Stoker was trying to tell her but then just shook her head.

"So, you're telling me that my mind is currently locked between the real world and the mindweb?"

"Pretty much, yeah..." Stoker stated still looking thoughtful but he then sighed. Somehow his demeanour started to seem like he was... sorry? Or uneased about something. Aprilia had never seen the man sorry about anything or even second-thought his own actions. He was always sure of what he was doing and being wrong was not just how he rolled.

"I'm sorry." He stated.

Aprilia only blinked at this and Stoker noticed her baffled look.

"I was there to guide you into the mindweb, it would've been my responsibility to guide you safely out as well. And the whole thing was my idea."

"But...It can be fixed right?" Aprilia stuttered a bit. Stoker looked around him before giving her a nod.

"I'm sure, I mean, I've heard about it..."

"Wait, from where have you even gotten all of your information about the mindwalk in the first place? It's not from some quack, is it?!" Aprilia's voice got a bit higher.

"Actually... It was from a monk." Stoker calmly observed the woman.

"A monk?" Aprilia repeated bluntly.

"Yes. From one of the monks during the time we were just building our first Headquarters under the monastery back in the days of war..." Stoker concluded.

"Oh, well, thank gods for the scientific approach on the matter..." Aprilia muttered.

"Well, the monks are pretty much the only ones on our planet who are pro-mindwalkers anymore so I'd take their approach on the matter as good as any scientific one..."

Aprilia gave him a glare back, okay she really didn't want to go there. As a medical professional she had her own strong opinions on that matter. But she in the end decided to drop it. Maybe he was right after all. This mindwalking business was something the medical field hadn't really studied either... So, there's that.

"You think that... These monks there right now could have knowledge on how to help me?" Aprilia asked and Stoker nodded.

"If someone has the knowledge, it'll be these guys...Don't worry, Aprilia, I'll ask around and I'll call you as soon as I know more, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks." Aprilia's voice was only a hush.

"Now. Do you wanna talk with Modo? You haven't seen or talked with each other in days and I'm sure you'll much rather look at his mug than mine...Even if I'm the more handsome one..." Stoker smirked but he had this warm and uplifting smile on his face, to show to her that everything will be okay. Aprilia nodded back, swallowing as her eyes suddenly fell on the dark sunglasses Harley had left on top of the monitor and she put them on to hide her red eyes.

"Can we... Maybe keep this as a secret between us? Just for now...I don't want him to worry about me..." Aprilia asked and Stoker nodded.

"I actually haven't had the time to even discuss with the Big Fella' and tell him that it was thanks to you that we were able to find them both in the first place..."

"Can we maybe tell them later...? You guys have much more important things going on there right now... It will just distract him, you know...?"

Stoker nodded back.

"If that's your wish, doc."

"Thanks..."

"Okay, I will get Modo... He's currently outside with Vinnie... Just a sec, there, doc..."

x

x

Vinnie was sitting on his bike, outside the monastery, using his two fingers to carefully turn the controller on the tracking device on his bike, trying to locate Lil'Hoss. There hadn't been any signals yet and his mind had already started to get anxious and he raised his look to wonder on the other of the two now dried-up channels that ran just under the cliff the monastery was situated on. The monastery itself was on top of the vast highlands called Sacra Mensa and Vinnie would have given even the clothes he was currently wearing if he could've just get to gun down the highlands, right now, to release even some of that adrenaline now built-up inside him after all this waiting...

Yeah, waiting, they had been doing a lot of waiting lately... Who were they anyway? The Freedom Fighters or the Freedom Waiters? Vinnie chuckled lightly to his own pun but turned his look then on the ground where Modo was sitting on the sand, leaning against the monastery's wooden wall, deep in his thoughts, playing with a strand of hay he had grabbed somewhere... His over-sized buddy had looked miserable from the second he had found out his bike was still missing. But he couldn't really blame him as the Fighters, he himself included, really loved their bikes. Like really loved them. Some might even say it was bordering an unhealthy love relationship. Some might. But he didn't, obviously. Because he would give his own life for his bike, and that said many others' lives as well...There just weren't too many people out there who would be considered more precious than his bike. Maybe a few, but not many. Okay, come to think of it, maybe the relationship between a mouse and the machine wasn't actually that healthy...Anyway, he wanted to cheer the big guy up and help to search for his bike so, here they were, outside, just waiting for some signals...Yup.

But geez! All this stillness and quietness! The wind didn't even blow. This was not good, since during peaceful times like these he could really hear his thoughts inside his head, and that rarely was a good thing. Mainly because he had found out that some of these thoughts weren't that pretty and there was this voice that just wanted to ask difficult questions and question things. Gods, the nerves of that voice... It had no business whatsoever to raise any issues... But what could he do? They were to wait here until the dust would settle down. Right. That sounded a lot like they were trying to avoid conflict and that just didn't sound right...They should be aiming for the destruction not skipping it and what's worse, hiding. Gods, that hurt his pride a little. Hiding was the worst. Hiding was for the cowards and the Army...Not for the studs such as himself.

Like maybe it was justified for these Army blokes now hanging around them to hide and wait and other uncool stuff...But what did that had to do with the fact that they, the Fighters couldn't raise hell?! C'mon, they could fight anyone out there! But nooo... They had to wait. Deimos, he was so fed up with everything and ready to just whip some major tail!

Yeah, whipping tail...Man, the time they've spent on Mars since their arrival here had been a bit of a drag to his liking, they've only managed to destroy the secret army division's headquarters out in the desert, caused some severe and minor injuries to about hundred soldiers plus who knows how many millions of gold gills in property damages and saved their comrades who had still found alive after the giant manhunt done by whoever...And that all in just under a month. A big yawn! He had spent more time eating protein bars that tasted like carboard and waiting! Such a waste of potential!

He had felt nearly sick to his stomach with all the extra adrenaline in him and he desperately wanted to just take his bike and gun through the desert and start a war against, again whoever it was that was behind all this. Vinnie himself had not really troubled his mind too much in thinking who these possible fellows would be who so intensively wanted to get rid of the Freedom Fighters. Who cares if it meant he could throw in some punches and fire guns! He knew Stoker and Throttle would think about the boring details until their brains melted and it suited him just fine. He gladly was the fellow who didn't think but who then executed the whatever payback they would come to think of. And better soon than never... Because he was just itching to get his hands dirty! Oh man how he missed the smell of gunpowder and burning oil! Well, he could just lit up a fire and pour some gasoline and... Oh, wait, no, that would again just upset someone. The story of his life. No appreciation against his creative side whatsoever...

Vinnie's mind lingered now towards something that he could put his running mind into and that was Charley. Man, was she like the greatest or what?! She had comen all this way to just be with him! Taken a trip from Earth to Mars for him! Okay, well, maybe also to check that Throttle and Modo were okay after their little run into the bad guys here on the red planet but still... Mainly she had comen here to be with him, he could tell. But man, talking about timing... Things had taken slightly a weird turn as Harley had also risen from the dead. He had to admit it had been nice to see her again... Well, more than nice... He had not been capable of taking his eyes off her for the next few days...Her beautiful eyes and that top body... It was just weird, Harley, alive... After all this time...This most beautiful, sexiest creature out there...NOPE! Nah-ah! Stop that train of thought! Harley was all fine and all but he had Charley now! His gorgeous Charley-girl was his number one gal now! Her soft skin, her perfectly plump red lips and her blue eyes.. NO! Green! Green eyes! They were green for gods' sake! He knew that hehe... See? This is why he rather did not think! Thinking only gets him into trouble...It was like his own mind set traps for him and that was not fair, on who's side was it anyways...?

Anyhow, let's start again, shall we? So, Charley was here and that was his priority right now and as much as he was the ladies' man he was one lady's man, so that's that. Great seeing you alive and kicking Harley but this mouse has moved on and got a new sweetheart! There's only one woman to win this heart... One female... Easy pick. No falter or hesitation there whatsoever. Yup. He was a man who knew what he wanted and took it too...Right? Of course! Now, go shoo all you stupid thoughts, go bother someone else with your wildly misplaced suggestions! This mouse is highly well-aware of his own true feelings! There's no single doubt in this macho body...!

"Ya okay?"

Vinnie got startled and looked to his side to see Modo still sitting on the ground but now staring at him a quizzical look on his eye. He still wore the torned and blood-dried camos but had ditched the vest.

"Me? I'm fine! Never been better! Just sunshine and clear skies!" Vinnie cried but there was a small falter in his voice and Modo only raised his brow.

"Just 'cause it looked like ya were havin' an aneurysm or somethin'..." Modo replied chuckling while still studying his younger bro with an observant look.

"Was just thinking..." Vinnie already answered before he could really register it, which usually was the case with his foot-in-mouth-syndrome and he quickly closed his mouth to prevent him saying more.

"Oh? Must have been that then... Ya were suddenly so quiet there Ah thought ya got a stroke..." Modo huffed with another chuckle while concentrating to fiddle with the strand of hay again.

"Ha ha... Ya should work on your material, bro, the jokes are runnin' a bit old..." Vinnie rolled his eyes and concentrated to try and find some signals on Lil'Hoss again. Modo threw the hay away, looking at the dried-up channel lingering just below the cliff. He didn't really mind the wait although he was beginning to build up a good amount of anxiety and tension himself as well, just like his younger bro clearly had as he could practically feel the white furred male vibrating next to him from all the extra adrenaline.

But he could understand him as he was anxious as well, or worried more precisely. Not only was his bike still missing but his niece was currently in this mess as well. Well, they both were, Rimfire and Primer, the two most precious ones out there, both now stuck here with these outlaws. And while this was now a safe place to be who knows what will happen already tomorrow or the day after it? The lifestyle of the Fighters had never been too predictable or safe. Everything could change in a blink of an eye.

Modo let out a sigh while still thinking about the twins. How come it seemed that his whole family was in this mess at the moment, first Rimfire, then Aprilia and Radius had shown up and now Primer... If he'll wait long enough maybe his dear ol' grey furred mommah would decide to join in the Fighters in her old days, too... Modo's look wondered on the dried-up channel below them. This really sucked. He had always wished that once they'd be back on Mars, he would get to spend more time with his family but this was not what he had meant by that...

His thoughts moved back to his mommah and a frown appeared on his face. She was starting to get old. It was not right that he couldn't be there for her, to help her with everything even if she always insisted that she didn't need help or anyone to hover around her, he knew she was getting slower and more fragile every year... Modo's heart started to ache as he now realized just how little he had seen his mommah during these years after the war had broken out. During the war there really hadn't been that much time to visit the family. Then some years later the crashlanding to the blue planet had occured... And they had been stuck there for the next three years... Well, not stuck. He could've gotten home anytime after they had discovered that Limburger had a transporter machine. But he just couldn't leave his two bros out there fighting against that fatfin themselves or let that Plutarkian scum race destroy yet another planet... And even if they had been enjoying themselves while fighting against the fishface, his homesickness had just grown with each day, week and year spent away from his family.

Even if his mommah had always been very encouraging towards what he was doing (maybe also because she had always been fighting for what she had believed in too) he could tell that she missed him. He could see that in her eyes and hear that in her voice everytime they had been talking via VidCom. And it was during these moments, when his mind was really buried into the deep waters, when he was starting to ask himself was this all worth it? Because it just seemed that nothing had changed after those years of war... Was this what he had been fighting for and why he had been away from his family all these years? If they were to lose anyway, wouldn't he rather want to spend the last remaining time with the loved ones while he still had the chance? Well, he would but in the end it came to the fact that he just couldn't. He was a soldier. A fighter. And the Freedom Fighters would fight until the end, he knew that already. Even if there would be no more hope, they would fight against the evil, to the last man and to the last breath. He liked to think that maybe his family knew all this and knew that he would come home if he just could. That all that he was doing and all that he had ever done had been for the ones he loved. To protect the ones who couldn't protect themselves. To fight for the ones who couldn't fight. But even if knowledging this all it didn't prevent him from always having these inner battles where he was questioning his decisions. The inner battles never ended.

"...you know what I'm in the mood for now?" Vinnie's high-pitched voice suddenly entered his mind and his thoughts were disrupted as he raised his look up to meet the eyes of his younger bro who didn't wait for a response but blurted out the answer himself.

"Hot dogs!"

That made Modo to chuckle despite his thougths still being in a dark place.

"We just ate."

"Yeah, so? It's not like we ate once and now we can't ever get another meal..." Vinnie muttered back but brightened up again.

"I can almost taste those greasy sausages inside the soft rolls, steaming hot, covered with relish and onions... And mustard! Man, we should get our hands to that stuff, bring gallons of that yellowy sauce back here! I tell you, that stuff is like the nectar of the gods!"

"That was some fine cookin', alright..." Modo drawled and Vinnie nodded back but then both of their heads turned as they heard someone coming out of the monastery and saw Stoker walking towards them. The old commander gave Modo a nod.

"Hey, Big Guy, your darling doctor's currently on the VidCom, thought ya would wanna say hello.."

Modo couldn't have gotten onto his feet much faster even if he wanted as he was soon by the door already but Stoker's voice stopped him on his tracks before he entered the building.

"Oh, and Modo...When you got the time... You and me need to have a little talk..."

Modo gave him a look.

"Okay. Sure." He nodded but rushed inside. Stoker heaved a sigh and walked to Vinnie.

"You okay there, punk?"

"Fine... You know me, I just looove to hang around and do nothing all day..." Vinnie muttered leaning over the hood of his red racer, looking extremely bored. Even his ears were drooping and his long tail was flat against the ground, like fallen into melancholy.

"I thought so too... Well, maybe then I will go and search someone else to ask to show these Army blokes some Freedom Fighter moves..." Stoker was to turn around but two strong white palms covered with black fingerless gloves grabbed him by his shoulders from behind.

"Wait! Moves?! As in fighting?! As in physical activity?! As in "gods-help-me-there's-finally-something-to-do-around-here?!"

"Sure..." Stoker snickered and pulled himself free off the white daredevil's grip and already headed inside the monastery.

"But you were busy so..."

"No! Don't leave me hereeeeeeeee...!" Vinnie cried running after him.

x

x

"Hi, there, darlin'."

Aprilia had been fiddling with the sunglasses on her hands as it had taken some time for Stoker to go fetch Modo but as soon as she heard the low baritone voice suddenly rumbling through the speakers she quickly put on the sunglasses again and raised her look. And there he was. Alive. Her love. She couldn't help but burst into tears.

"Hey, don't cry, Ah'm okay...!" Modo turned to concerned but Aprilia only shook her head, now smiling through her tears and her voice cracking slightly as she tried to speak.

"...Gods! I thought I had lost you...!"

A soft smile appeared on Modo's face as he regarded her.

"Ah told ya already, Ah'm not goin' anywhere. But Ah gotta admit it came a bit too close for my own liking as well this time but...It's all good now..." His voice was deepening as he tried to soothe her through the VidCom which was hard, he would have wanted to wrap his arms around her and whisper gentle words to her ear until he would hear her heartrate to calm down and her breathing to become stable again.

"...I just got so scared... We couldn't reach you or find you and... I'm just so glad that you're okay...I don't know what I'd have done if I'd lost you..." Aprilia said, wiping her tears away behind the glasses, trying to steady her breathing, taking deep inhales. Modo's heart pounded a little faster for hearing how scared his girl had been and him not been able to be there for her. Again. This too had started to become a pattern. A very bad pattern. He sure wasn't going to win the medal for being the boyfriend of the decade.

"Ah'm okay." He only said with his deep rumble, not really knowing what else to say to let her know that he really was...okay. Aprilia nodded back and took a few deep breaths before she briefly closed her eyes although Modo couldn't see that due to her sunglasses before she gave a deep sigh.

"Okay, I'm gonna stop hyperventilating now... Gods... Sorry about that..." She rambled but Modo only huffed gently back.

"No need to be sorry about showing emotions, darlin'..." Modo smiled but decided to lead the conversation away from all the sad stuff and then nodded towards the glasses on her head.

"What's up with those? Goin' to the beach?" He asked with a light chuckle. They all could now laugh at the fact there was no water on Mars. Kind of. It was more like a sad truth than a joke really...

"Oh, these? Well, we were just...enjoying some Martian liquor last night with Harley..." Aprilia tried to make up excuses why she wanted to hide her red eyes from him but it hurt a little to lie to him like this. Well, it was a half-lie, they had been drinking with Harley but her red eyes didn't have anything to do with that. But half-lie was still a lie. But right now she thought that it was best for him to not know what had been happening to her during the time he had been absent. About mindwalking and all that came with it. Mindwalking was dangerous and he wouldn't have not allowed it for her to try that even if to find and save him. And when he would be finding out about all these symptoms she had been sufforing from ever since, he would only end up blaming himself for it all and she didn't want that. She would tell him everything when the timing was better.

"...Didn't want you to see me all eyes puffed-up and all..." She added.

"Ya know Ah wouldn't mind..." Modo replied and Aprilia could hear that there was a tiny hurt undertone underneath all that soft rumble. It had been many days now from the moment they had seen each other the last time and he would've liked to see his girl, like really see her and not all like this, hiding behind dark sunglasses, covering half of her face.

"It's not a pretty sight..." Aprilia could only say since it hurt her too much to lie.

"That can't be right, since you're the most beautiful creature in the world and nothing can change that." Modo talked back, regarding her, clearly trying to figure out if there was more to this all than she had told him.

"Anyway... You really are okay, love?" Aprilia changed the topic back to make sure that he was actually okay and not just pretending, like herself, ironically. Gods, this was awful.

"Yeah." Modo was still observing her but then let out a sigh, clearly letting things be for now.

"Ah'm fine. Trust me."

Aprilia bit her lower lip but cleared her throat.

"Dr. Shelly contacted me and told me all about your injuries..."

"Ah live." Modo only shrugged his shoulders with a smile on his face. Aprilia couldn't help but smile as well. His smile had always been contagious. He had such a beautiful smile that Aprilia had always loved, when he smiled there appeared these fine lines around his eyes, on his chiseled face and even if he would soon turn thirty, everytime he smiled it was like he was a young boy again.

"Well, I happen to know that you guys don't take your injuries very seriously..." Aprilia then replied and Modo only sat more comfortably on his seat.

"Well, Dr. Shelly-ma'am treated the injuries and she did a fine job, so you don't have to worry about them, dear..."

"Can I atleast see the right side..? Just to give me some peace of mind...?" Aprilia asked and Modo gave a sigh and leaned back on the seat, arching his back a little and bending his bionic arm behind his neck so Aprilia could see the bandage on top of the stitches on his right ribcage area and it was easily seen as he wasn't currently having anything on to cover up his torso.

"Not much to see there...Since it's all covered up with the bandage..." He drawled. Aprilia's worried look wondered on his muscled chest and parked to carefully observe the hurt ribcage area where if one looked thoroughly could be seen also bruises under the grey fur. A pang of concern flushed her face a bit pale.

"You must take care of it, change the bandage every day and clean it before that, okay?" Aprilia not as much asked but told him. She was sad that she couldn't be there to actually make sure that those things were to be done.

"Okay."

Aprilia raised her eyebrow.

"Okay as in "Yes, ma'am, I'm gonna do that"?"

Modo gathered another smile.

"Yes, ma'am."

He then leaned forward again while his face turned back to being worried.

"So, everything's good there? You've been well?"

"Aha..." Aprilia blurted quickly, nodding back. My gods, she was a terrible liar.

"Gotten any sleep?" Modo asked, frowning. Okay maybe it was all in her head but it looked like he was really suspecting something.

"Yes." The blonde female nodded firmly while scolding herself for every lie she made.

"Because you need to rest, darlin'...And take care of yourself, too and not just of everybody else, ya know..." Modo's deep baritone rumbled on.

"I know..." Aprilia answered but decided to switch the subject again, she didn't really want to talk about her life at the moment, and besides all this weird stuff that had happened to her lately, there really wasn't that much to talk about of the life under the sand. It was just really boring day-to-day life in the base.

"Listen, I heard that...Lil'Hoss is missin'...?" She asked carefully and immidiately noticed a change on his demeanour as clearly he had forgotten about that unfortunate thing for just a minute. Shit. Why did she had to go there...She knew how precious the bike was to him.

"Yeah... But we're tryin' to locate her, ya know...Maybe we'll find her..." Modo muttered absent-mindedly. Aprilia's heart dropped as it hurt her to hear the pain in his voice. See, he already had too much going on, no need to add her problems on that list...

But as it seemed that Modo's thoughts had taken the dark turn again and it was hard to take the turn back, he continued on that path.

"Primer's here too, ya know..."

"Oh?" Aprilia got surprised since this was news to her.

"Yeah... We had to take her with us as she wouldn't have been safe otherwise but...She won't be much more safe around us either so... Ah donno..." Modo only gloomily looked down, his mood changed completely.

"You'll figure out something, love...I know you do." Aprilia tried to encourage him but he only shrugged his shoulders back. The light brown furred female sunk a bit in her seat as it had not been her intention to make him miserable by bringing up some hard stuff... She should've known better. This call should've been a happy call. So, while fiddling with the hemline of her t-shirt she decided that she needed to cheer him up somehow. As she glanced up again she noticed that Modo had had his eye on the place where she had kept her hands, near her thighs and she remembered what Harley had told her when dragging her half-naked out of her room. She glanced around the hall she was in at the moment but there wasn't anyone else there. Okay, she could try and bring a smile on that handsome face again she thought as she then lifted her curvy naked legs on top of the monitor table and the tshirt was now more like a miniskirt.

"So, how do you like my new look?" She smirked carefully and Modo's ears perked a bit but a smile appeared on his lips again. Thank gods.

"Ah think it looks like you're gonna catch a cold when runnin' around in those skimpy clothes..." He murmured.

"Yeah?" Aprilia raised her eyebrow, teasingly and started to lift the hemline more up, slowly, revealing more thigh.

"It could be even skimpier..."

Modo rushed to sit upright again and glanced around whatever nook or room he was currently in and then turned his eye back on her. Seemingly he had gotten afraid that someone could get a glimpse of her naked body parts, even if only legs. It was a cute reaction really.

"Relax, Big Guy... I bet this is forbidden from the monks..." She smirked while lifting the hemline even more and it gave her some satisfaction to see that Modo was actually paying attention on her activity.

"Tryin' to cheer me up?" He then asked but his voice was a bit lower than usual. Frankly it gave her the chills, in a good way.

"Is it workin'...?" She whispered back. She could see Modo to swallow but his eye was still on her revealed soft curves before he then changed his look back on her glasses.

"Ya know, those pretty eyes of yours is all it takes to cheer me up..."

Aprilia stopped what she was doing and let out a sigh. Yup, he knew she had been lying and he knew she knew that too, now anyways. He was just too courteous to say it blatantly to her face. Aprilia scolded herself. Ofcourse he knew, they were together, they were connected and even if they wouldn't use the telepathy, even if they weren't physically even in the same room, he could sense her lying.

"I'm sorry, Modo... I'm so sorry I tried to lie to you like this...I can't lie to you, love..." Aprilia whispered, feeling suddenly ashamed that she had even tried to do so.

"Ah know ya can't, you're terrible at it..." Modo only replied but his face turned to worried again.

"What's happened?"

"Okay... Promise not to freak out, okay...?"

"Now, see that's a little unreasonable since Ah haven't even heard what has happened yet..." Modo told her while crossing his big arms across his chest.

"Promise me. You all got too much going on in there already without some added crazyness..." Aprilia pleaded while Modo was carefully listening to her before he finally scratched his neck and let out a sigh. Clearly starting to feel a bit anxious about this whole thing. Why she just couldn't say what was wrong...? Was it that bad...?

"Okay. Ah promise, Ah won't go all crazy..." Modo then said but then fell silent, to give room for her to tell it all.

Aprilia took a deep breath and took away the sunglasses and revealed her red eyes to him. Modo's ears perked as his face in an instant became worried and he shook his head in bewilderment.

"Are ya okay? What happened?!"

"So, funny story..." Aprilia cleared her throath, feeling slightly wary to how he would actually react to the knowledge that she had risked her life to try and save him. And that her mind was currently stuck between the two worlds because of her mindwalking. But the most she was afraid of was how would he react when he'd find out that it all had been Stoker's idea...

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