Hey you guys...
Whoa, it's been a very long time since I've updated this story.
Well, to make it up to you, I just wrote a huge ass long chapter, hehe.
But, long time ago or not, I want to thank you for the reviews, follows and favs.
It's hard to tell how much it means to me, so I won't even try.
All I can say is; thank you very, very, very much. :)
Anyway, this chapter feels like a fresh start, or something like that.
The talk with the guys felt like the closure of a period of writer blocks, webs of details thanks to my overanalyzing brain and a few other obstructive things, and now, it seems that I'm back on track!
*whoop whoop*
I hope you're still with me!
Enjoy this beast of a chapter, I truly hope you like it. ^^
Chapter 34
"This is the place", Throttle told the rest when his bike gave a soft beep and the entire squad came to a halt, all relieved that they finally had reached their destination after a long drive without a break.
Vinnie looked around him a bit dazed, leaning forward on the windshield of his bike to stretch the sore muscles in his back.
No matter how much he loved his bike, it wasn't really designed for driving long distances.
Next to that, the drive had been beyond tedious, for not even that goddamn bounty had tried to throw a spanner in the works and holy shit, he was bored, alright.
"You su-uuuure?", he yawned while shaking his head in an attempt to keep himself awake, and not only because of this everlasting dullness.
The many sleepless nights were obviously taking their toll as well.
The tan-furred leader took another look at the small screen in his dashboard.
"Well, according to the coordinates Carbine sent me, this must be it."
Vinnie tried to suppress another yawn, but failed miserably.
"It kind of looks familiar, doesn't it?", he managed to squeeze out with a voice thick of fatigue as he waved with one hand to their surroundings.
"And it ain't exactly a happy memo-o-ooory. Man. I'm beat."
"Oh, it's familiar alright. They did the same here as they did to Mars", Modo grumbled, his deep voice carrying a hint of anger while he looked around him.
Sadness washed over him as his one eye took in the withered environment, a view that might have been a spectacular one once, but now it was nothing but craters and destroyed buildings, with a few dead trees here and there to add a little variety.
The only thing that made the destruction a bit less heartbreaking to watch were the mountains around them, still standing straight, almost proudly reaching for the sky.
They weren't as high as Mount Olympus on Mars, but it was the perfect addition to make this place feel a bit like home.
The warm sun shining down on them was a nice touch as well, and even though it wasn't as hot as he was used to, it still came close enough.
"I already told you it's a wasteland", Pip sighed a bit sad as she stepped off her bike.
With her hands resting on her back, she too stretched her muscles while her peculiar eyes searched the ground.
"You said they were underground, right?"
Throttle nodded to confirm, a bit absent-minded, but he then realized that she wasn't looking at him and so he cleared his throat without taking away his gaze that wandered across the mountains.
"Affirmative."
His eyes eventually landed on something that looked a lot like a sign, standing high atop the nearest hill and he used his helmet to zoom in, his curiosity awakened by the somehow misplaced artifact.
"Hol...wod. Holwod?", he read out softly to no one in specific, but it somehow didn't feel right.
Judging the open spaces between some of the letters, there seemed to be several missing, but how could he know?
He had never been to Earth, let alone Los Angeles.
A soft chuckle broke him out of his trance and he glanced at his left, only to see that Charley shook her head in amusement.
"It's supposed to say Hollywood."
Instead of feeling mocked at, Throttle just smiled by hearing her laugh, for it was such a melodic sound.
Music to his oversized ears.
"Well, at least the fish had the decency not to take it down completely", Pip responded flatly, now walking around while using one foot to wipe away sand here and there, her eyes still lowered.
"Decent? More like luck or coincidence. I mean, the last word I'd use to describe that Plutarkian scumbag is decent", Modo huffed, folding his arms.
"You got that right, big fella", the tan-furred mouse agreed with his older brother as he still looked at the weathered white letters, for a moment completely caught up in his eagerness to learn more about this strange yet pleasant planet.
"What does it mean?"
"Home of the movie industries", Charley answered the question, still sitting on her bike as she too looked at the sign with a little smile on her face.
"It's iconic. I never thought I'd see it in real life."
"It's uh… well, I guess it's… uh…", Modo stuttered a bit clumsy as he tried to find the right word to describe it, polite as he was.
"Hideous. I know. It's the biggest anticlimax for tourists, but hey, what do they expect? The whole movie industrie is a fake", Pip chuckled darkly, still busy with whatever she was doing.
"Or maybe I should say 'was' a fake. Hollywood is history, so is Los Angeles. The American Dream, gone up in smoke. Can't say that I mind, though. It was nothing but an illusion anyway."
Not at all interested in their conversation about some stupid sign on a hill, Vinnie watched the young human girl every move, his head resting in his hand with his two-colored eyes only half-open.
"What are you doing, sweetheart? Have you lost something?", he eventually asked, a bit bored, but also curious about what made her walk around like a headless chicken.
"Like your mind, for instance?"
"Well, I was actually seeking yours", Pip retorted without even looking at him, clearly not planning on letting him distract her.
"Well, good luck with that", Modo snorted with a smile, shaking his head and his bike beeped in amusement as well.
"I think he left it behind on Mars."
Throttle chuckled as he turned his gaze away from the mountains to look at his older grey-furred bro.
"You make it sound like he had a brain in the first place, bro. I mean, you can't lose something you don't have."
"Right. My bad", Modo snickered.
"Agh, you guys are just jealous", Vinnie sighed, allegedly understanding as he stretched his arms before folding both hands behind his helmeted head.
"I get it, though. I'm beauty and brain in one buff package. An unparalleled delight", and he laid down on his bike before crossing his legs by the ankle, his feet resting on the windshield.
"Wake me when the danger level is back to life threatening, okay? And don't even think about starting shooting without me", he mumbled with his eyes closed, already dozing off.
Pip was about to say something, but then something caught her eye, something out of the ordinary and her entire face lit up.
"I think I found it", and she crouched down to let her fingers glide through the warm yellow sand.
Of course, these simple words were enough to pique Vinnie's interest again.
"Found what?", the white-furred lazybones asked as he opened one eye to take a peek at what she was doing, not able to just keep his mouth nor his eyes shut for more than ten seconds.
But what if he missed something?
That would be catastrophic.
The human girl tucked a few loose bangs of her shining black hair behind her pierced ear to get them out of her face while she rolled her eyes.
"So much for some peace and quietness", she muttered under her breath, but she glanced at the young mouse with eyes twinkling.
A wry smile appeared on his face and Vinnie winked at her, making Pip quickly lower her eyes again as a faint blush turned her olive-colored skin a few tints redder.
"I think I found your friend's hideout", she continued with a slightly trembling voice.
"Or well, it's entrance, to be exact."
Throttle failed to hide his smile after he turned around to see what she had discovered.
Young love.
Such a beautiful phenomenon.
But before he, or anyone else for that matter, could do or say anything, Vinnie was already standing next to Pip, curious as he was.
It also might have something to do with that infuriating and insatiable need of his to have front-row seats whenever something happened that was cool enough to raise his interests.
He too now crouched down to take a closer look and again, that stuck-up smile emerged to decorate his handsome features when he saw a rope lying partially hidden in the sand.
"I've gotta say, doll — I like your way of thinking", he complimented Pip as his white-furred fingers already enclosed the sandy rope.
All this was just him telling her in his most charming way that she had done a good job, but that he would take it from here, all to preserve his place in the spotlight, right where he belonged.
Or well, in his not-so-humble opinion, that is.
Pip let out a sigh and after placing her right elbow on her knee, she rested her head in her hand.
"Like I live for your approval."
Vinnie glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes as he flexed his muscles to tighten his grip around the rope, one corner of his mouth curled up.
"Of course you do. Everyone does", and after giving her a relatively playful yet promising look, he rose back on his feet, pulling the rope while he was at it.
With a loud crack, followed by the soft rustling sound of sand sliding off, a wooden hatch opened and revealed a big and deep-looking hole in the ground.
"Well, whatta ya know. Martian Cave Mice, hidden underground. How… natural", the white-furred mouse snickered as he let go of the hatch, that now landed in the sand with a dull thud.
While wiping off his hands, his two-colored eyes tried to take in how far underground this tunnel went, but it was too dark.
Hm.
This definitely provided some opportunities to save himself from dying of boredom and his heartbeat shifted up a gear by the thought alone.
But then, he got already distracted again by his right ear that switched to the side when it caught the sound of approaching footsteps in the sand and when he peered in the same direction as his ear, he saw that his beloved bro's and Charley were done studying that stupid sign and already coming closer to join them.
Vinnie looked back at the hole and his lips curled into a mischievous smile while a plan formed in his head.
Or well, plan…
It was more like a razor-thin fragment of something that's called a plan in its early stages, but it was all he needed.
He always had been more like the improvisation kind of guy and it worked, so why change a winning game, huh?
Knowing he hadn't much time, for Throttle would most certainly try to stop him, he whistled two times between his teeth, feeling slightly rebellious after such a boring and brain-dead journey.
He really needed some action before he would fade away.
Throttle would understand, later on.
He did it for him, after all.
I mean, think of the guilt trip the tan-furred mouse was forced to take if he would just vanish into nothingness under his watch.
Killed by boredom.
Oh, the horror.
Besides, life without him must be like a life without sunshine, a fate he never wished upon anyone.
How considerate of you.
The sharp whistles, indeed, caught Throttle's attention and when their eyes locked, Vinnie couldn't stop himself from flashing his leader a charming yet daring smile, his hands casually in his pockets before stretching out his right leg.
Throttle's face darkened, knowing what was next and he quickened his pace in some feeble attempt to stop his rebellious little brother, which was probably useless, but hey, as a leader, he had to at least try.
"Don't even think about it, Vincent…", he started, but then something flew close past his head and he instinctively did a few steps to his right as he flattened his beloved ear to keep it attached to his head.
He soon found out that something was nothing more than a rope coming out of the back of Vinnie's bike, one that the white-furred youngster now pulled from the sky before he casually stepped into the hole with still that toe-curling smile on his young face.
"Ta-ta."
"Typical. Just… typical", the tan-furred leader muttered, shaking his head as he came to a halt next to Pip, who gave him a sympathetic look while she laid a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm impressed that you haven't killed him already."
"Yeah, well, don't think it never occured to me."
Lucky for Vinnie, his mother had taught him how to restrain himself, but it was hard sometimes.
Like now, for instance.
It wasn't merely about Vinnie entering the tunnel first, but rather about the fact that they had no idea what was down there, or who, and the white-furred loudmouth wasn't exactly his number one pick when it came to introductions with strangers, especially considering that Carbine might be down there as well.
These two were like oil and water, they just didn't mix.
Which was why this whole thing was a recipe for disaster.
"Well, look at it this way, bro — at least we're not the ones getting shot if he's knocking on the wrong door", Modo tried to cheer his friend and leader up, patting him on the shoulder while he was at it, but it didn't really work, mostly because Charley now kneeled next to him to look over the edge of the hole.
"It's the fact that we might be knocking on the right door that worries me, big fella", Throttle told his bro a bit absent-mindedly, staring at the beautiful human near his feet.
He had made his final choice, last night.
From the moment the truth was out, he did.
And he had chosen her.
This caring human being with her green eyes and auburn-colored hair.
She, however, was still completely clueless that he had.
He wasn't entirely sure why he hadn't made a move yet, but it was probably because he just wanted to focus on the main goal for now, and that was helping his friends, break out Pip's brother and take down Limburger.
But if he had to be honest, it had something to do with Carbine as well.
He had no idea where he was standing with her, which made it very difficult for him to estimate how she was going to react to all this.
Next to that, despite all the times she did him wrong, he felt he kind of owed it to her to tell her the truth before he would tell Charley.
All he had to do now was wait for the right moment.
He had no idea when that moment would come, but he did know one thing — it wasn't now.
Again, as usual, the war came first.
After one more look at Charley, one that warmed up his heart, he grabbed the rope that was still dangling in the opening.
"Let's go after him, people. Before he does something stupid."
"Like jumping into a hole all by himself without knowing who or what is down there, you mean?", Pip asked innocently with fluttering lashes, but when Throttle gave her a sort of warning look to tell her he wasn't really in the mood for another smart mouth, she quickly cleared her throat before she bowed down, her hand graciously waving at the hole with her palm up.
"After you, my lord."
Man.
A real piece of work, this one.
She and Vinnie were a match made in heaven, that's for sure.
...
Meanwhile, a few minutes earlier, Vinnie slid down the rope, but he felt his feet touching the ground quite soon already and he looked up, only to see that the tunnel might be around five to six meters deep.
"Ha. Not bad."
As his voice echoed through the darkness, his hand let go of the rope and he switched on the four small lights that were processed in his helmet.
Looking around him, he already walked into the dark shaft, letting his fingers slide across the wall that was fortified with wooden planks to make sure the whole thing wouldn't collapse.
Whoever had built this knew what he was doing, which was kind of reassuring, for getting buried alive was not what he considered as going out in a blaze of glory, as befits a hero.
His entire life would've been for nothing.
The idea of it.
Brrr.
After a few meters, the tunnel seemed to go around the corner and Vinnie's heartbeat rose even further, the first shot of adrenaline now rushing through his veins again.
Finally.
If he wasn't so curious, he would've fallen on his knees and kissed the ground to show his gratitude, but there could be danger lurking around that corner and so, he pressed his back against the wall as he pricked his ears, searching for any sign that would tell him what to expect.
At the same time, his white-furred fingers gently took his beloved gun out of the holster that was tied around his leg and a soft click was heard when his thumb took off the safety, but that was to be all and while the somewhat ominous silence still pressed against his eardrums, his heart made a little jump when he realized that he still had no idea what was waiting for him around the corner.
For anyone else, this would be alarming, or maybe even frightening, but not for Vinnie.
No, the bigger the surprise the better.
In other words — the more danger, the more adrenaline, the better the party.
Fuck yeah.
After taking a deep breath, his eyes twinkling in expectation, the young mouse shifted his weight back to his feet, thereby pushing himself away from the wall, although he stayed close to it to avoid being an easy target.
Despite his addiction to danger, he didn't actually want to die.
All he wanted was to explore the boundaries without crossing them.
With his shiny white teeth biting his lower lip, he slowly but targeted went around the corner, but all he found was another door, much to his frustration.
No guns blazing, no explosions, nothing.
Not even a slightly life-threatening situation.
Buzzkill.
"Ugh. It can't get any more lame than this…", he sighed in dismay, contemplating if he needed to wait for Throttle and the rest, but since waiting was boring and such a waste of his precious time, for every second in his life needed to count, he already raised his hand to knock on the door.
But then, he suddenly froze, his brow furrowed and his hand now floating uselessly in the air.
Since when did the famous and badass Biker Mice from Mars knock, huh?
Excellent point.
Still a bit frustrated, he grabbed the robe that served as a doorknob, which seemed to be a recurring theme here.
It was beyond tempting to just blow another hole in the wall for a dramatic and heroic entrance, for he wasn't really the type to use a door as it should, but he miraculously managed to control himself.
Even he understood that using bombs underground wasn't really the smartest move to make.
But just when he was about to open it, the homemade door flew open and before he could even blink, something heavy pushed him up against the wall.
Good training and a well-developed instinct made his muscles contract for a counterattack, but something cold pressing against his forehead stopped him before he could.
Hm.
This little field trip of his did not go as planned.
Maybe that's because it wasn't planned at all, genius.
Fair enough.
Perhaps he should've closed his visor when he went down here.
You know, the one that was bullet and laser proof.
It might have come in handy now, right?
Because someone held a gun to his pretty face.
Cool.
The joy, however, was rather short-lived.
"Great. You're still alive", a slightly hoarse female voice sighed in disappointment, a voice that could only belong to his least favorite mouse in this entire galaxy.
One that was pinning him up against the wall with her arm on his throat.
Not so cool.
"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine", Vinnie managed to squeeze out while his two-colored eyes wandered down to eventually lock with brown ones.
"But yeah. Still alive and cool as ever and I plan to keep it that way, so you can let me go now."
Although there was nothing in this world she wanted more than to kill this annoying ball of fur, even Carbine knew that she couldn't just blow his head off because she didn't like his face, and so, after giving him one last push, the light-grey-furred mouse pulled back to create some proper distance between them.
A thing they were both grateful for.
"So this is how you welcome the cavalry, huh?", the white-furred mouse breathed while rubbing his sore throat.
"So… you."
Despite her actions having forced his body to produce another boost of the habit-forming substance called adrenaline, Vinnie was not even close to being grateful, simply because the part where she clearly did a number on him didn't exactly fit in the image of a valiant hero such as himself.
No, not even close.
It was embarrassing, to say the least.
On the other hand, she found herself on familiar ground and so the odd's hadn't really been in his favor, but since when did he need odd's in his favor to win?
He didn't.
And that's where the awkwardness came in.
"What did you expect, a welcome reception?", Carbine snarled, putting her gun back in the holster that was resting on her right hip before she pointed at his face.
"And what the fuck happened to your eye?"
"Gosh, you really are as cold as ice, lady. A shred of gratitude might serve you well, especially considering the amount of trouble we went through to get here", the white-furred rascal told her with a small hint of anger, deliberately ignoring her second question for that was none of her goddamn business.
"Since when do you care about trouble?"
"I only do when it comes to you, simply because you're not worth dying for. Not even close."
"Charming as ever. You haven't changed a bit."
"You don't even know me, neither do you know the meaning of the word charming."
"And you do?"
"Well duh. I'm like the definition of charming. You, on the other hand…"
"...are a bitch. I know", Carbine finished the sentence for him, a tired look on her lean face.
"I was actually going to say first-class grade-A bitch", Vinnie told her sweetly, eyes fluttering.
For a moment, the two sworn enemies stood there, in the dark tunnel with the only light coming from the small lights in Vinnie's helmet, staring at each other with fuming eyes, but it was Carbine who broke the heavy tension.
"Please tell me you're not the only one left after your little road trip. Nobody can be that unlucky, right?"
"Now you're just being rude. I get it, though. You just can't stand the thought that you're saved by yours truly, but here I am, so deal with it."
Of course, he could tell her that he wasn't alone.
Or maybe he could just tell her the most important part.
That Throttle was here with him.
But he didn't.
Not just to spite her, but also because he was already done with this conversation, for he knew the outcome, which was that there wasn't one.
They were both tenacious enough to keep this up for days, which was a total waste of the little energy he had left in his great body.
He had come here to explore.
So it was time to explore.
Besides, ignoring her was like pushing all of her buttons at the same time, so if he really wanted to annoy her, this was the best way to accomplish that.
After spinning the gun around his index finger, Vinnie put it back where it belonged and blew Carbine a kiss before he turned around and walked through the door.
"Honey, I'm hoooome!", he cheered happily, not able to stop himself from pushing some of her buttons even a bit harder, despite him knowing that he really shouldn't.
Ah well.
He wasn't exactly the paragon of restraint, now was he?
And no one ever said he was consistent.
He vaguely heard Carbine protest behind him, saying something along the lines of 'You can't just barge in there', but instead of telling her that he just did -obviously-, he remained silent and not only to get under her skin.
No, that was simply because even he was impressed by what he saw and he slowly pulled off his helmet, his eyes big in awe.
This wasn't just some ordinary cave he entered just now.
Much to his surprise, it was almost as big as the one he grew up in, which had been an average-size home for Martian standards, but he quickly shook off that thought, for his childhood was the last thing he wanted to think about, not now, not ever.
They weren't exactly happy memories, after all.
His gaze wandered through the room that was probably the kitchen and living room in one, illuminated by warm light coming from the gaslights hanging on the ceiling.
It felt strangely cozy, actually.
A warm home.
Something he never had.
Movement to his right broke him out of his thoughts, his body already on high alert again and while his hand instinctively reached for his gun, his eyes landed on two human beings, sitting at the table close by the homemade kitchen.
They looked back at him with their eyes wide open, clearly surprised by his not-so-subtle entrance.
Oh.
Right.
These must be the humans that were kind enough to help his friends in need.
He kind of forgot about them.
How… typical.
So easily distracted.
It immediately became clear that the two people staring at him as if he just fell out the sky -well, he kind of did, actually- were older than Charley.
If Vinnie had to guess, they were somewhere close to their fifties, in Earthly years, that is, but who knew?
Guessing ages never really had been a specialty of him, and the many girls who had slapped him in the face when he did give it a try only confirmed that theory, over and over again.
What could he say?
He was a slow learner.
But one thing was very obvious — these two people belonged together.
They were that couple that practically screamed how happy they were with each other, on a soulmate kind of level.
Ugh.
Still, despite all that, the fact that they had survived for this long was nothing more than a simple heads up that these people were perfectly able to defend themselves, a theory proven by the woman's hand that was slowly moving towards a big and sharp-looking knife lying close to her.
Well, hello.
This Earther was cooking with some serious fire and Vinnie flexed his muscles, preparing himself to come into action as well.
Maybe he should say something to prevent further escalation.
Bad idea.
"No need to get all worked up, dude and uh… dudess. I ain't here to cause any trouble", he told them with a big smile on his face, one that revealed his sparkling set of perfect white teeth. One that he knew was disarmingly charming, but he then realized that he just barged into their home, an act that, if he had to guess, bordered dangerously close to 'trouble causing behavior'.
Next to that, his middle name was Master of Disaster.
Hm.
This was kind of awkward, actually.
The red-haired woman wasn't really impressed by his horrible attempt to maintain peace either, for she narrowed her blueish eyes and while she obviously braced herself, her fingertips now almost touched the handle of the knife.
In response, Vinnie folded his fingers around the handgrip of his gun, although he didn't actually want to shoot this obviously innocent human.
But a mouse needed to be ready to defend himself and so he made sure that he was.
Time seemed to stop for a moment, the tension thick enough to cut with that ridiculously massive knife of hers but then help came from an unexpected quarter.
"He's right. Despite him being a major pain in the ass that has no sense of discretion or decency whatsoever, he's one of the good guys, believe it or not", Carbine told the two humans as she lined herself up between them and the white-furred mouse.
"Did you just say that I'm right?", Vinnie asked sweetly and Carbine turned around, her eyes already fuming again.
"Now you listen to me, you little piece of…"
"I thought I heard a familiar voice", a husky voice cut her off and the light-grey-furred female froze for a moment before she looked over Vinnie's shoulder in the direction of the sound.
Although she would recognize his voice anywhere, her heart still made a little jump when she saw Throttle standing on the doorstep, holding his helmet in one hand as the other rested on his hip.
"Sorry, we couldn't find the doorbell", he chuckled and a smile appeared on Carbine's face as well.
He was here.
Wearing dusty clothes she didn't recognize and having that frown on his face that told her he was near the end of his rope, but he was really here.
Alive.
Her smile grew bigger and she was about to walk over to him, but then someone followed him inside, someone who wasn't Modo.
It wasn't even Martian.
It was an Earther.
A very beautiful woman, for human notions, with auburn-colored hair and piercing green eyes, an eye color that was non-existent on Mars.
Her perfect body was covered in a leather biker outfit and to make things even worse, she had this infuriating friendly facial expression, one that told the former General of the Martian Army that she wasn't just pretty, but that she had her heart in the right place as well and Carbine's smile just vanished like smoke in the wind.
This must be Charley.
Pretty, innocent and caring Charley.
Yak.
Despite the fact that this woman had literally saved the only person she considered family next to Stoker, seeing her sickened her.
She somehow knew from the moment Throttle had mentioned her in their talk, so-called 'casually', that this largely hairless creature was a problem.
Judging the way Throttle looked at her when he stepped aside to let her through only confirmed that.
She knew him long enough to see that she meant something to him.
It didn't only make her feel sick to the stomach.
No, it made her anger fire like a missile, a process that happened a lot lately, but it was one she didn't control.
She simply couldn't, no matter how much she wanted to, but her heart just carried too much darkness, due to the war and the experiences she had because of it.
"You really should keep that lab dog of yours on a leash, Throttle. He's a loose cannon with no manners whatsoever and I don't think that will ever change", Carbine snapped at the tan-furred mouse, her heart crying by seeing him flinch when he heard her sharp tone of voice, though he said nothing.
Modo did, after walking inside, soon followed by another human, though this one was obviously younger.
If Carbine had to guess, she was probably around Vinnie's age.
Great.
Another toddler.
"He escaped before we could, Carbine ma'am. You know how he is", the grey-furred giant rumbled as he gave her a nod to say hello.
"Oh, I know alright…"
Modo's words somehow made her mood now drop below freezing point, although at this point, anything would and Carbine looked back at Vinnie, planning to take it out on him for he was such an easy target, but, much to her surprise, he wasn't even close to being insulted by her behavior.
No, all he did was looking down at her with a little complacent smile, his peculiar eyes twinkling and a somewhat ominous feeling washed over her.
Vinnie, however, couldn't be more amused.
She was just so predictable, their beloved General.
It almost wasn't funny anymore.
Almost.
The funny part was that she was digging her own grave without her knowing, and oh boy, how much he loved it.
If only he could be there when Throttle would tell her that he had chosen Charley over her.
A human.
She would go berserk, that's for sure.
"What are you grinning at, hairball?", Carbine asked him while poking a finger in his chest, still on a rampage and determined to provoke the hothead into a fight, if only as an attempt to get rid of this sinister feeling that had nestled in her heart the moment she had seen his smile.
It was as if he knew something she didn't and given the fact that it highly amused him, it could only mean bad news on her behalf.
But before this entire situation could escalate, Pip's voice chased away the nail-biting tension.
"Holy shit. Miss Campbell, is that you?!"
Everyone in the room turned their heads to look at the red-haired female, who now stood next to the table, the knife still within hand's reach.
Although the voice did ring a few bells, she obviously couldn't place it and with her blueish eyes a bit narrowed, she looked around Vinnie to see who it was that knew her name.
Soon thereafter, her face lit up and her eyes grew big as she covered her mouth with her right hand.
"No way... Pippa?", she asked both baffled and excited at the same time, her voice sounding a bit raspy yet melodic.
"It's Pip now", the young girl corrected her friendly, her hands in her pockets as she came to a halt somewhere near Vinnie and she looked at the older woman with respect written upon her face.
"Look at you, being badass and all. I'm impressed."
Miss Campbell only smiled by that comment while she let her gaze wander over the young but fit-looking girl, contemplating if her eyes might be deceiving her.
"I can't believe that you're actually standing in my living room. When we heard the news, we assumed you died with..."
"I didn't", Pip quickly but nifty cut her off, a very smooth evasive maneuver that caught Vinnie's interest and he glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, a thoughtful frown on his handsome face.
As the Avoider of avoiders with the capital A, he immediately recognized the signs, although in this case, they probably weren't that hard to miss.
Either way, she obviously didn't want to talk about this, and he respected that.
He would be the last one to pull her skeletons out of the closet, yet he couldn't stop himself from being curious about her story, aside from the fact that he was a nosey parker by nature.
And the more evasive she was, the bigger this curiosity grew.
Still.
No one should be forced to share things they wanted to keep to themselves, but while he was contemplating if he needed to draw the attention away from her, to help her feel at least a bit more comfortable, Pip already proved that she was perfectly able to take care of herself.
Something he had already found out the hard way, but that didn't stop this unexplainable need to protect her.
A feeling that made him more than just restless.
"So… Did you build all this?", Pip asked, making a circular motion with her head as she shifted her weight to her heels and back, her hands still in her pockets.
Miss Campbell nodded as she laid a hand on the man's shoulder with a loving smile on her face.
"Oliver here did most of the work, though", she said proudly and Oliver laid his hand over hers with that same affectionate smile, his thumb gently rubbing her skin and Vinnie quickly suppressed the sudden and quite convincing urge to stick out his tongue in disgust.
Ugh.
They really were that couple.
Mushy.
Major.
"Liv here is being way too modest. We had to adapt to this new reality and so we did. Together. It took us two years, but here we are."
Oliver grew silent for a moment and looked at Pip with both sympathy and concern.
"And so are you."
Pulling up her shoulders, Pip lowered her gaze to escape his, obviously not at ease.
"Yep. So am I. Small world, huh?", she chuckled, although she was everything but amused.
"So it seems", Oliver said softly, still looking at the young girl with eyes glistening with something that looked a lot like compassion, but in the best sense of the word.
"Where have you been all this time?"
"Oh, you know… here and there…"
The frown on the human's male's face deepened, the fact that Pip was being so evasive seemed not only to concern him but to irritate him as well, but when he opened his mouth again, probably to push a little harder, Liv stopped him by squeezing his shoulder.
They shared a quick look before the woman let him go and walked over to Pip with a certain determination.
When she reached her, she just grabbed the stubborn girl by the arm and pulled her into a tight hug.
"I'm just glad you're okay", she whispered, her blue eyes watery, before planting a kiss on Pip's braided black hair.
The latter visibly tensed by this sudden display of affection and she blinked a few times while her breathing accelerated.
It was ever so slightly, but too bad for her, Martian ears were ten times more sensitive than those of humans and so, the soft sound waves were caught by white-furred ones.
A pair of eyes, one white, one red, peered at her, taking in the sight that was supposed to be heartwarming but was more like heartbreaking instead, for the poor girl was obviously clueless about how to handle this.
And instead of giving in or pulling back, she just stood there.
Frozen like a statue.
Her heart pounding in her chest.
Probably counting every second until it was over.
A black nose breathed in her scent as inconspicuous as possible, and the familiar combination of dopamine and noradrenaline that her usual lovey fragrance was now drenched with told the white-furred mouse that she wasn't just feeling uncomfortable.
No, she was scared.
Completely and utterly petrified.
This finding was enough to ignite a certain flame, a flame that hadn't burned in a very long time.
"Limburger has her brother", Vinnie blurted out, not able to watch this for a second longer.
All he wanted was to free Pip out of this cage of fear, to save her from this anxiety that he knew was destructive.
Now it was Liv who visibly tensed and she slowly pulled back, although instead of letting Pip go, she now folded her fingers around the young girl's upper arms and looked her in the eye.
"He has Roan?"
Trying to control her rapid breathing, Pip's strange yet intriguing eyes darted over to Vinnie and back, clearly she was both grateful and surprised by this unexpected yet welcome help.
But then Liv's question dawned upon her and she forced herself to nod, biting her lower lip in an attempt to get out of this cloud of panic.
"Oh my God… so he's alive as well… What happened?", the older human asked, wiping some untamable bangs of hair out of Pip's face, who trembled by every touch, and so did Vinnie.
"We're gonna help her bust him out", the young mouse interrupted the conversation again, his wild heart now crying by seeing the usual sassy girl so fragile.
He had no idea what she had been through, but it was bad, that he did know.
Shit, even he was able to see it.
That was like the seventh wonder of the universe, so why, for fuck sake why did this older woman, who clearly had more empathy than he would ever own, not see how much she scared the poor thing?
Goddammit.
Fighting the urge to just grab her by the hair and drag her away from Pip, the young mouse gave his tan-furred leader a somewhat pleading look, needing his subtlety now more than ever to resolve this situation, preferably sooner than later.
Subtlety he didn't possess, obviously.
Throttle, already sensing Vinnie's distress, glanced back and when his eyes locked with a pair of burning ones, he immediately knew that his young bro was about to lose his temper.
Although he wasn't entirely sure what exactly ticked the white-furred mouse off, he still had a pretty good hunch and it all had to do with Pip.
Frankly, it didn't matter.
They were bro's.
Family.
And no matter how many times Vinnie would disobey him, annoy him or challenge him, he would always have his back.
And so, he cleared his throat as he looked back at Liv.
"He's right. We're here to help, and not only our friends. The name's Throttle", and he walked over the human female while offering her his hand, remembering this from his meeting with Charley.
After rubbing her right upper arm with another sympathetic look, much to Vinnie's annoyance, Liv finally let go of Pip, who quickly did a few steps away from her to create a bit more healthy distance between them with relief written upon her face.
It could be pure coincidence that she chose to walk closer to Vinnie and the fact that she stopped right before her arm almost touched his could be entirely meaningless as well.
Then why was it suddenly so hot in here?
"Nice to meet you, Throttle. My name is Liv, but you already knew that", Liv smiled as she took his tan-furred hand in a surprisingly tight grip.
Throttle nodded at her with a friendly smile before he gestured to the grey-furred giant standing close to him.
"This here is Modo…"
The older mouse also gave Liv a warm smile.
"Always good to meet another ally. And I'm sorry for us barging in like this, ma'am. We meant no disrespect", he added with a certain seriousness, one that defined him when it came to decency.
"That's okay, Modo. Your friend here just scared us for a moment, that's all", the older human told him with a small smile on her face, clearly appreciating his kind and polite words.
Vinnie opened his mouth, probably to say something stupid, or to introduce himself ala 'Van Wham style' -which was just as bad, actually-, but Throttle suddenly popped up next to him, this time at least fast enough to do a little damage control and he put an arm over Vinnie's shoulders while giving Liv and Oliver an apologetic smile.
"Well, Vincent here is really sorry for his behavior, which was by no means acceptable…"
"I am?", Vinnie asked a bit surprised with ears twitching, but Throttle tightened his grip, still smiling at the human couple, although a bit sourly now and the white-furred mouse finally caught the hint.
"Oh, right, yeah… I ah… I'm just uh… yeah, I'm sorry that I ah… that I didn't knock", he stuttered, highly uncomfortable, for apologizing wasn't really his cup of rootbeer, or well, not like this.
A Martian apology usually involved a few explosions or, at the very least, a good fistfight, but since hitting Liv square on the nose would probably be misunderstood, this was all he could do.
Luckily, it worked.
Must be his charms.
"Apologies accepted, Vincent", Oliver nodded at him with a smile, and so did Liv.
Ugh.
Vincent.
"Vinnie", the young mouse corrected him with as much politeness he owned in his beautiful body, which was like, zero percent, but hey, at least he tried.
"My name is Vinnie."
Knowing this was now settled, Throttle let go of the white-furred daredevil, but not without pinching his shoulder, all to tell him that he needed to behave from now on.
When Vinnie gave him a glare, clearly not amused by this mean squeeze, the tan-furred leader ignored him and let his bionic eyes wander over to Charley, who stood near the homemade front door, minding her own business.
He wasn't sure why she hung back, for she was just as much part of the team as anyone else in this room, but it all became clear when he saw her green eyes darting over to Carbine from time to time, a hint of insecurity visible on her beautiful features.
The latter didn't seem to notice, as she stood there, leaning against the wall with arms folded and being very quiet as well.
Her burning eyes, however, were not a good sign and it made Throttle's heart heavier than ever.
Something was brewing here, in this room.
Something bad and the tan-furred leader wasn't sure about what to do for a moment.
Hm.
Perhaps it was for the best to just continue this round of introductions, which was nothing but sticking his head in the sand and not his usual way of working.
"And last but not least…-", he started nevertheless as he raised his hand to point at Charley.
"-... this is…"
"How do you two know each other?", Carbine interrupted him before the name of the human mechanic could leave his mouth and the tan-furred mouse grew silent, somehow not surprised by this blow below the belt.
It did make him angry, though.
Especially because her tone of voice revealed that she couldn't care less about the answer.
Knowing her, this was all to let Charley know that the human was finding herself on her turf now, like the dominant female she was.
Or well, the one she had become.
But judging the way she looked at Pip, marking her territory wasn't her only agenda.
No, she clearly wanted to test the young girl's boundaries and endurance, as well making clear that she was the one in charge here.
But Pip wasn't even close to being impressed by this alpha personality, although it did confuse her a bit, not understanding why the female mouse was acting so hostile.
Well, whatever her motives may be, the black-haired girl sure as hell didn't appreciate this sudden and rude interruption, and unfortunately for Carbine, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind.
"I believe Throttle wasn't done talking yet", she said allegedly friendly, but her voice carried a slightly threatening tone, one that activated Vinnie as well, but Throttle quickly laid a hand on his chest and pushed him back with a warning glare, knowing this whole thing was only inches away from exploding, something he wanted to avoid at all costs.
Truth be told, seeing the slightly hurt look on Charley's face, caused by the disrespectful way Carbine just shut her out made it very hard not to take Vinnie's place and tell his beloved 'girlfriend' that she was way out of line here.
But, as a leader, he couldn't afford to unleash this anger that was brewing inside of him.
They all couldn't afford it.
Not with a war raging on outside.
By the Gods, they needed to work together instead of eating each other alive.
To achieve that, all they had to do was set their differences aside, which was, of course, easier said than done.
Especially for Carbine.
"I just asked you a simple question, you little brat", the former General told the young girl with the same threatening tone of voice, but Pip didn't even blink, the fear that had a hold on her only minutes ago now nowhere to be found.
"And I just told you to let Throttle speak."
"Carbine, why don't you let me answer…", Liv intervened, but Carbine held up her hand as she gave the older woman a warning glare, her brown eyes fuming.
"Liv, with all due respect, stay out of this. This is none of your concern."
"Excuse me? This is my home! I have every right to…", the older woman started her protest, deeply insulted, but Oliver grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the Martians, knowing that whatever was going on here, it wasn't their fight.
Furthermore, he had seen what these strange creatures were capable of and the only way to stop them was to shoot them, something he was only willing to do as a last resort.
But the last thing he wanted was his wife, his feisty and fearless wife standing in the middle of all this when the whole thing went boom.
Liv yanked herself free, but even though she obviously didn't like being dragged to the sideline, she remained where she was, folding her arms with a face like thunder.
Not that anyone really noticed.
All alien eyes, along with one human pair, were on the two women standing face to face now, one Martian, one Earthy and the tension rose to an astonishing level.
But then, Pip broke eye contact to shoot Throttle a questionable look, as if she wanted him to tell her what he expected her to do.
Touched by this somehow respectful move, the tan-furred mouse heaved a sigh a bit tiredly.
"Please answer her question, Pip. I've got to admit that I'm curious as well."
"Oh, come on, you can't let her get…", Vinnie protested fiercely, but a pang of that maddening anger made Throttle grab him by his sweater and pull him closer with his teeth clenched, very close to losing his patience as well.
"Vincent, that's enough! Just let her answer the goddamn question!"
But the white-furred mouse was up to here with all this.
Aside from his aversion for Carbine -although it wasn't really helpful-, he just wanted to stand up for this brave girl with black hair that was obviously doing something to him.
Seeing Carbine treat her like this made him furious, to say the least, and his two-colored eyes darkened as he took a deep breath, all ready to tell his beloved friend and leader that the last thing he wanted right now, or maybe even not ever, was to keep his mouth shut and let this slide.
But it was the same girl he tried to stand up for that stopped him, simply by doing what she was told, albeit not wholeheartedly.
"Fine. If you must know, Miss Campbell, or well, Liv, was my grade-school teacher, back in the days when life was still simple and schools still existed, and a friend of the family, so is her husband Oliver."
Carbine folded her arms with a satisfied smile on her face, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"There. Was that really so hard to…"
"And this is Charley", Pip continued imperturbably, raising her voice to overrule Carbine's as if she wasn't even there and Vinnie's lips curled into an amused smile when he saw the both sour and slightly shocked look on the former General's face.
Could this girl cook, or what?
Hehe.
"Charley has a refugee camp in Chicago, but she was kind enough to guide her new Martian friends all the way here, to reunite them with their family in need. To reunite them with you…"
Pip now stood alongside Charley and put a hand on her shoulder, her two-colored eyes fuming as she looked at Carbine with lips trembling in agitation.
"You oughtta show her some respect, lady. Charley here is ten times the woman you will ever be."
"Oooooh, burn!", Vinnie cheered while almost exploding out of his fur, not able to hold himself back any longer and he clapped his hands, all to give Pip the round of applause she deserved.
"In your face, General!"
Pip glanced at him from under her lashes, a small smile curling her lips but she soon had to shift her focus back to the light-grey-furred mouse who now marched over to her, seething in anger.
"Why you little…"
Vinnie came into movement as well, pushing Throttle aside as he cracked his knuckles, all ready to join the fight he so desperately needed to vent some of his frustration.
At that point, a few things happened at the same time.
Modo quickly grabbed Vinnie by his hoodie and pulled him closer to him so he could wrap his bionic arm around his shoulders.
"Don't even think about it", he grumbled in his ear, tightening his grip when he felt Vinnie's muscles contract under his, thereby making sure that the white-furred mouse wasn't going anywhere, much to the latter's frustration.
"Ah man, what does a mouse have to do to get a good fight around here, huh? Now lemme go, or I…"
"One more word and those itchy little fists of yours won't ever see a fight again."
Knowing his bro meant every word, Vinnie groaned in frustration and backed down, for he was kind of attached to his hands that were still in one piece, something he dearly wanted to keep that way.
Meanwhile, Carbine now almost reached Pip, who, of course, didn't budge.
No, she remained exactly where she was, her entire body ready as she gave the furious Martian a daring look, one that spoke volumes.
Bring it on.
Although the kid was perfectly capable of fighting her own battles, Throttle still rushed over to her, feeling somehow responsible for her safety, given this out-of-control Martian female was his girlfriend.
Or something like that.
But he wasn't the only one who had the desire to keep her out of this fight that didn't make any sense -not to mention it was a total waste of their energy- because right before he reached her, it was Charley who took his place and lined herself up between Pip and Carbine with a face like thunder.
"That's far enough, General", she warned the light-grey-furred mouse with an ice-cold voice, gently but firmly pushing Pip further behind her in an almost motherly protective kind of way.
Despite the warning, Carbine took one last step before stopping right in front of Charley, all to tell her that she didn't take orders from a human she hardly knew and obviously didn't trust.
"It's only far enough when I say it's far enough", she contradicted, her long tail swaying back and forth in aggravation.
Throttle stopped too, somehow scared that if he would intervene now, Charley would pay the price, although every cell in his body screamed to get these two women apart, for it was rather disturbing to watch them fight over something that could only be him.
The atmosphere in the earlier cozy cave became more sinister as the two ladies stood there, opposed to one another and ready to pull out each other's hair, but then, Charley's face softened and she let out her breath, slightly shaking her head.
"I don't want it to be like this. I have no idea what I did to make you so defensive, and I can't even imagine the horror you've been through the last couple of weeks, but I can assure you that we're on the same side. I only want to help, nothing more, nothing less. So maybe we can just start over?"
After an almost invincible moment of hesitation, the good-natured mechanic offered Carbine her hand, which was like the same thing as putting her hand in a cage full of hungry Memphants and Throttle's respect for her grew even bigger, a thing he never thought possible.
Making a peace offer right before the fight broke out was far more courageous than throwing the first punch and he could know.
Carbine, however, didn't particularly share this view on the situation, which wasn't really surprising.
As she clenched and unclenched her fists in an attempt to canalize this all-consuming anger, she lowered her gaze to look at the hand before her fuming eyes locked with Charley's now soft smoldering ones again.
"You take what is mine and yet, you have the nerve to tell me that we're on the same side. How stupid do you think I am?", she whispered, barely even able to talk thanks to the anger squeezing her throat.
"I suggest you get that hand out of my face before I break it, although it would be fair to say that nothing would give me greater pleasure… Charley."
She almost spat out the name now, her entire face twisted in a mask of fury, but humiliation as well.
That last part seemed to affect Charley, which was probably why her shoulders slumped, but no one in this room was ever going to find out if that was truly the case, for someone had reached his limits and it wasn't even Vinnie.
With his tan fur bristled, Throttle suddenly popped up right in front of Carbine, being angrier than ever.
"You don't get to talk to her like that, you hear me?", he hissed between clenched teeth, forcing Carbine to step back with this enormous field of fiery indignation that seemed to come out of every pore in his body.
"Without her, we wouldn't even be standing here, so get the fuck over yourself and show her the respect she deserves!"
"I thought you loved me", was all Carbine said back, her brown eyes glistening with despair and grief, although there was still anger hidden underneath it.
Throttle closed his eyes for a moment, trying very hard not to lose control, but he was balancing on the edge of the cliff.
As always, she played the guild card.
As if everything that happened to her was his fault, that he was the one responsible for her shattered heart and soul, and not the war.
Maybe she had every right to be mad at him about the whole Charley situation, but instead of yelling at him, hitting him, or whatever women did when they felt betrayed by their partner, she played the role of victim, thereby exploiting his easily triggered guilt complex to keep him close.
By the Gods…
What did he do to deserve this?
It was then that the so-called penny finally dropped, after all these years, and his breathing accelerated when he realized that he didn't.
Deserve this.
Not even close.
And there it was.
His anger, the one that was brewing inside of him ever since he set foot on this planet, suddenly erupted like a volcano, pumping lava through his veins instead of blood and he clenched his right hand into a fist before he punched the wall, only inches away from Carbine's head while he let out a raw scream in both frustration and despair.
"Arrrgh, do you have any idea how insufferable you are?!"
"Whoa, Throttle, settle down, man", Modo breathed in shock when he saw Carbine flinch with her eyes shut tight, deep down knowing that his tan-furred bro would never actually hurt her, but this anger he was carrying with him since the past few weeks made him unpredictable, the whole Max incident making a good example.
But Throttle didn't seem to hear him.
Or maybe he did, but he just didn't care anymore.
He was done.
So done.
And seeing the somehow scared look on Carbine's face made him even more furious, as far as that goes.
Breathing heavily, the tan-furred mouse grabbed her by the chin, his entire body quivering as if he had a fever or something.
"I've stopped loving you a very long time ago. You were just too blind to see it", he spat out, almost exploding out of his fur and he let her go as if she was on fire, for touching her made him sick.
She made him sick.
"No… Throttle...", Carbine whispered as tears filled her brown eyes, devastation written upon her face.
"You didn't mean that..."
Throttle snorted, looking at her with disgust as he adjusted his clothes with shaking hands, still beside himself of anger.
But he didn't get the chance to say something back to her, although he wasn't sure if he even wanted to in the first place.
She wouldn't listen anyway.
The sound of a door opening broke the almost suffocating silence, soon followed by a sleepy yet familiar voice.
"Now what are you mudpuppies making such a fuss about, huh? Can't a mouse just enjoy his afternoon nap?"
So, that happened.
I'm not sure why I always depict Carbine as the queen of all bitches, it's just the feeling that I have with the character, hehe.
Maybe I change this approach in forthcoming stories, but for now, it fits the storyline as I have it in my head ever since I started this story.
I hope the chapter was easy to follow, I'm having trouble writing scenes with so many characters in it for it feels so chaotic and it's so easy to forget one or two characters.
Must have something to do with my ADHD, hehe.
I did the best I could.
Well, thank you so much for reading my story.
Feel free to leave a review, always very much appreciated.
I hope everyone is doing well out there.
Spread love, not hate and stay safe, my friends.
Till next time!