Hey, y'all!

A little late, but not less sincere...
Thanks for the reviews, follows and favs.
I'm glad to see that you're still with me, even though I'm unable to update this story as much as I want to.
And I'm sorry about that.

BUT... I've managed to finish another chapter.
Hope you guys like it.
Feel free to leave a review and till next time!

Ciao!

Chapter 15

"You know… I kinda feel bad", Carbine said softly as she stared through the small window.
Her niece was still holding herself tightly, but now looking at Stoker who sat across her with suspicion written on her face.
"About what?", Throttle asked a little surprised.
After one more look at her niece, she turned around to face the mouse she loved with every fiber in her body.
"For blaming Vinnie."
She walked to the table and sat down next to the tan-furred male.
"I've always believed that all this was because he couldn't keep his pants on, but now it turns out it's so much bigger than that…"
"Ah Carbine… Don't do this to yourself. You couldn't have known", Throttle sighed as he laid his hand on hers.
She looked up, her usual twinkling eyes now dimmed by tears.
"You did. Well, not about the connection, but you always believed in Vinnie. I just wish… Well, I should've listened."
"You weren't entirely wrong for blaming him, babe. He was spinning off in the wrong direction, back then."
"Maybe, but still you believed in him…"
"I did and still do. He's not a bad guy, Carbine. He's just… complicated."
"I know. Now. I know now. God, I feel awful."

Throttle pulled her closer to him and wrapped his arms around her.
"It's never too late to say sorry, you know…", he whispered in her ear before planting a kiss on her temple.
"I think it is… I mean, it's Vinnie we're talking about. He isn't exactly a rather forgiving mouse…"
"But he isn't made of stone either. Talk to him. Be honest and sincere and you'll see he's not that hard to talk to. Just don't… yell at him."
Carbine let our her breath and buried her nose in Throttle's neck.
"Maybe I will do that. Talk."
"Only if you're ready."
"I love you. So much..."
"I love you too, more than words can express."
She smiled against his fur, but still with tears in her eyes.
"I'm so tired, Throttle…"
"I know, babe, I know", the tan-furred mouse said soothingly.
"Will there ever be a day that I don't have to worry about war? Will there ever be peace on Mars?"
Throttle gently stroked her hair.
"Yes. One day. I just don't know when."
Carbine looked up at him.
"How can you be so sure?"
"I'm not. But sometimes, you just gotta have faith", he smiled at her as his finger gently followed the line of the scar on her nose.
She gave him a sad smile back.
"I guess you're right. I've always admired your positive spirit. Guess that's one of the reasons I fell in love with you."
"But I'm a thinker too. Sometimes, I think too much. You, on the other hand… You're not afraid to make quick decisions", he answered a bit evasive.
Carbine planted a kiss on his nose.
"We complement each other well. By the way, you're being way too modest, as usual. You're a good mouse, Throttle. Don't forget about that. Don't you ever forget about that."

It was then when Jax came back.
"Did I miss something?", he asked as he immediately walked to the door to look through the small window.
"I don't think so", Carbine answered as she made herself loose from Throttle and she joined her nephew by the window to see that the scene inside indeed hadn't changed.
"I think he needs some time to prepare himself."
Jax glanced at her before turning his gaze back on Rose.
"I hope that he can help her. I hope that he can bring back my sister."

...

At the other side of the door, Stoker sat across Rose with a frown on his face.
She was looking back a bit suspiciously, not really sure what to think because he hadn't said a word since he came into the room.
He just... sat there.
After a long and awkward silence, Rose cleared her throat and leaned forward.
"Can you unchain me?", she asked and lifted her tied hands.
Stoker didn't respond, he didn't even blink. From the looks of things, he was deep in thought, so perhaps he hadn't heard her.
"Can you please unchain me? ", Rose repeated the question, more compellingly this time.
Still, nothing.
With a loud bang, she slammed her tied hands on the table.
"Let me go! I need to see him, goddammit, I can't stand the thought that he is inside this building and that I'm stuck here!"
When that didn't work, her face expression switched to agony.
"Please, Stoker, let me go, please, I can almost smell him, it's driving me crazy, I need to see him, please…", she babbled as her eyes filled with tears.
But Stoker hardly heard her.

Finn.

Could it be?
It was a long shot, but it did make sense.
As Rose kept shouting and crying to him that he needed to let her go, the brown-furred leader slowly leaned forward.
"What year were you born, Rose?", he asked.
Rose fell silent and her eyes narrowed in confusion.
"What?"
"You heard me. What year were you born?"
After a short silence, she answered the question.
"The year of the comet."
Same year.
"Why?"
"Do you believe in ghost stories, Rose?"

...

Vinnie made his way through the hallways, still a bit taken back by the outburst of Kiwi last night.
He didn't blame her, but he couldn't deny the fact that her words had hurt him.
He felt guilty, even though he knew that was the last thing she wanted him to feel, but he wasn't exactly in control over his feelings and emotions.
Ha, he was the last one to be.
All he ever wanted was her to be happy.
What if he couldn't make her happy?
This life was hard and she deserved so much better than this.
But he couldn't let her go.
He just couldn't.
Selfish, yes, but no one ever said he wasn't.
But he did feel guilty about it, whether he liked it or not.

Shaking off the unpleasant feeling, he burst inside the room where he was headed to.
To his surprise, he saw Jax standing by the door that led to the interrogation room, who now turned around to see who was coming inside.
"What is he doing here?", Vinnie asked as he closed the door with a bang, somehow annoyed to see the silver-furred mouse here while he wasn't allowed to talk to the female who'd tried to kill his girl.
Throttle rose on his feet and blocked Vinnie's way.
"Now isn't a good time, Vincent…"
"I don't care. I wanna talk to…", but before he could finish his sentence, a loud racket was heard out of the other room.
"What the…"
"He's here! He's here! I can smell him from here! Let me go, now! I need to see him!", a female voice was hearable over the noise of furniture that fell on the ground.
"Shit. Get him out of here, now!", Jax yelled over his shoulder to Throttle before he opened the door to ran inside.
The door closed behind him before Rose could catch a glimpse of Vinnie, who -by the way- wasn't planning on going anywhere.
He wanted answers and of course, he wanted them right now.
The last time that he was being kept in the dark didn't really work out well for him and he was determined to prevent a recurrence.
But that didn't stop Throttle from trying.
Not because he wanted to keep things from his younger bro, oh no, the last time he did was still burned in his memory too, but simply because his presence triggered Rose in ways they couldn't use right now.
"He's right, Vinnie, you need to leave. I'll explain everything, I promise you, but…", the tan-furred mouse therefore started, but he didn't come further.
Vinnie pushed his bro and leader aside and marched to the door with the window.
"Or you just act without thinking, as usual", the tan-furred mouse sighed as he shared a look with Carbine, who was wise enough to keep her mouth shut.

Vinnie ignored his older bro and stared at the scene in front of him.
There she was.
The skinny and dirty female mouse who'd tried to kill Kiwi.
The furniture scattered throughout the room told Vinnie she wasn't only insane but that she was strong too.
Stoker and Jax were both holding one arm to stop the girl from getting to the door, whose hands were tied in front of her body.
That didn't stop her from trying to escape, though.
She kept screaming that she needed to see him, even though Vinnie had no idea who she meant with 'him'.
The white-furred mouse looked into her green eyes, which almost popped out of the eye sockets and he couldn't help himself but getting the feeling that the eyes of the girl were somehow familiar to him.
"Who is she?", he asked without turning away his gaze.
"If I tell you, do you promise to leave?", Throttle asked in return, knowing it was pointless to just ask him to leave.
But most of the time, Vinnie kept his promises, so he might as well give it a shot.
"Fine…"
"Fine what?"
"I promise."
Throttle took a deep breath, bracing himself for anything since he wasn't sure how the white-furred mouse was gonna react.
"It's Rose."

Vinnie froze, even his tail stopped moving.
No way…
So that's why her eyes were somehow familiar.
It all came back now.
How many times had he looked into these eyes, trying to get through to her that he wasn't interested in her?
Too many times.
Too many goddamn times.
It had made him more than just frustrated.
Distraught, because of not knowing how to get through to her.
And now, he felt the same helpless feeling while looking into her eyes again.
This was a deja vu.
But anger pushed everything away all of a sudden.
Because she'd tried to kill Kiwi.
His girl.
She'd crossed the line now.
Big time.
Besides… wasn't she supposed to be dead?

Before Throttle could stop him and his promise already forgotten, Vinnie yanked the door open.
"Get the hell out of here, punk, you're only making things worse", Stoker snapped at him, still holding Rose tightly, who now froze in his and Jax's hands when her eyes landed on the mouse she would give her life for.
"I make things worse?", Vinnie asked outraged and full with disbelief as he stopped in front of Rose.
His hands were more than itchy to blow her brains out, but he knew that would break Jax and Carbine's heart.
And even though they weren't his two best friends, he still didn't wish that upon them.
Still...
Rose suddenly inhaled deeply with her eyes closed, sniffing the air.
A bizarre smirk curled her lips and she opened her eyes again.
"I've missed your scent, so much… You have no idea how happy I am to see you again."
"Can't say it's mutual. You just don't give up, huh? You tried to kill my girl. For that alone I should kill you", Vinnie reacted with a slightly disgusted look on his face as he folded his arms.
"No, Vinnie, you don't understand, it's…", Jax started, but he didn't come further.
Because Vinnie's words now dawned upon Rose and she went ballistic.
"You belong to me, you hear me!", she cried out, struggling to get loose. "To me! And not to that little slut from Earth!"
Without thinking, Vinnie grabbed the small, fragile and in his eyes insane female mouse by the throat.
He usually didn't take out his anger on a woman, but for her, he was more than willing to make an exception.
"What did you just say?", he asked with a low voice, his left ear twitching.
"You heard me! You belong to me! To me!", Rose yelled back.
Throttle, who'd followed Vinnie inside, now grabbed his arms.
"Alright, reunion time is over", he grumbled and dragged the white-furred mouse away from Rose, who was still more than hysterical.
"You belong to me! You'll find out soon enough!"
"I belong to only one person and it ain't you! It will never be you! I'd rather die!", Vinnie snapped back at her, just before the door closed behind him.

His words only made things worse, as far as that goes and Stoker and Jax needed all their strength to hold her.
"Goddammit, Rose, calm down! Fight that stupid voice in your head!", the leader of the Freedom Fighters growled, but it was no use.
"This ain't gonna work. I'm sorry, Rose", and Stoker planted one foot in her knee pit.
As a result, the female mouse fell on the ground and the brown-furred mouse sat down on her back, now using his weight to control the hysterical female mouse. His metal tail wrapped around her ankles as he looked at up at Jax.
"Go get a doc, Jax, so we can tranquilize her."
"You sure you can hold her?", Jax asked hesitantly, but Stoker wasn't in the mood for contradiction.
"I just gave you an order, rookie, so why are you still here? Go!"
The silver-furred mouse saluted and quickly left the room.
When he rushed past Throttle, Vinnie and Carbine, he ignored them for he was on a mission now.

Vinnie yanked himself free from Throttle's hands and adjusted his clothes.
"Holy shit, what the hell is wrong with her?", he asked to no one in specific, his voice a bit shaky from both anger and shock.
He then looked at Throttle.
"Look, I know I'm irresistible for the ladies, and I'm more than willing to carry that burden as the hero I am. I can't blame them either, I mean, look at me, my looks have got no parallel..."
"And your point is?", his leader and bro interrupted him, not in the mood for hearing the about a thousand reasons why Vinnie thought the girls dug him.
Not today.
"Right, my point...", the white-furred mouse smiled a bit sheepishly, rubbing his chin, for a moment forgotten what he wanted to say.
But then the penny dropped.
"Ah. My point is that this… this ain't normal. There's gotta be more to it."
"Oh, so now the brain starts to work…", Throttle answered sharply, but then he heaved a sigh and gestured to the table.
"But yeah, there's more to it. Sit down, it's a long story."

…

Kiwi hesitated, but then walked over to Harley's bed.
She wasn't entirely sure why she was here, for they both couldn't stand each other and yet, here she was, now standing next to the bed of the female mouse who'd saved her life.
"Hey", Kiwi said softly.
Harley turned her head and when she saw the human female standing by her bed, she frowned in confusion.
"Hey... "
"How are you feeling?"
"How do you think I'm feeling?", Harley asked in return, her voice as sharp as a knife.
Kiwi heaved a sigh.
This was gonna be harder than she thought.
She so didn't want to be here right now.
But she had some things that needed to be said.
And as Vinnie would say: 'The party ain't over till the fat lady sings.'
So, it was time to sing.

She grabbed a chair from behind her and sat down.
"Okay, okay, I get the point. No need to put on a charade. I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here. I'm probably the last person you wanna see right now..."
"I don't suppose you're here to be sociable. If so, feel free to leave again. I'm anything but sociable right now."
The pain was clearly hearable in her voice and it broke Kiwi's heart.
It really did.
Harley didn't deserve this shit, certainly not her.
Not after all the shit she'd already been through.
She may not know much about her, but she did know that the girl had her heart in the right place.
If she hadn't been Vinnie long lost love, Kiwi would have even liked her.
But, unfortunately, she was and for that reason alone they couldn't be friends.
And Harley was right, she wasn't here to be sociable.
"I'm here to thank you. You saved my life, even though you have reason enough not to do it. But you did. So, thanks."

Harley stared at her before she tried to get upright.
Kiwi immediately jumped at her feet to help her, but the female mouse held up her hand to stop her, her blue eyes fuming.
Slowly, Kiwi sat down again, for it was clear that Harley didn't want her help.
When Harley finally had found a comfortable position, she was already panting of effort.
The light-brown-furred female mouse then looked at Kiwi again, who was now sitting on her hands to stop herself from doing something Harley didn't want her to do.
Like helping her, for example.
Honestly, Martian Mice and their pride...
"You really think that I did this…-", and Harley gestured at her wound. "... for you?"
Kiwi blinked a few times by hearing the offensive tone in her voice, but Harley didn't wait for an answer.
Apparently, it was a rhetorical question.
Good.
Because Kiwi knew damn well that Harley didn't do this for her.
Still, she said nothing, anxious to hear this from Harley's point of view.
"I didn't do this for you. I did this for him. Because I want him to be happy. Because I promised him a long time ago that I would give my life for him to be happy. Because I saw the pain in his eyes after what Jester did to him, and I vowed to myself that I would do anything to prevent myself from seeing that pain again…"
Her voice broke and Kiwi looked up, a bit surprised and saw how tears filled Harley's beautiful blue eyes.
The anger was gone.
There was only pain and a bleeding heart left.

Slowly, Harley reached out her hand and touched Kiwi's cheek, softly.
Gently.
"I love him. I know him. And he loves you, so much…", she whispered.
"I couldn't let you die for my own personal gain, it would destroy him. And he's been through enough."
"But what about you? Haven't you been through enough too?", Kiwi blurted out, glancing up at Harley from under her lashes.
The female mouse gave her a surprised look, but then looked away before she eventually answered the question.
"Maybe I am. Maybe I didn't do this just for him. Maybe… maybe I hoped it was time for me to leave this strange and cruel world…"
Tears made Kiwi's vision blurry.
This is why she was so upset the other night.
She was able to feel someone's pain quite easily and there was a lot of pain on Mars.
This war…

Still.
There wasn't only pain.
Good things happened, even though they were rare.
But they did happen.
And if there was something she'd learned on this crazy journey, it was that it were the good things that mattered.
She wasn't sure if Harley would take it from her, probably not, but still, the least she could do was try.
Try to tell her that life could be good, sometimes.
"I get it", she started, but Harley gave her a doubtful, almost arrogant look.
"I don't think you do."
The old Kiwi would've listened, would've been discouraged by the look in the female mouse her eyes.
The new Kiwi, however, the one she'd become after all the things she'd been through, didn't.
"But that's where you're wrong. I really do get it. I tried to kill myself too, once. It feels like ages ago now…"
Surprise chased away the doubts on Harley's face and she lowered her gaze a bit ashamed.
"I.. I didn't know that. I'm sorry."
"You couldn't have known. And no sorry. I'm not telling you this to gain pity. I'm telling you this because I want you to know that no matter how dark things are right now, there is light at the end of the tunnel. I can tell. It's a long and hard road to follow, but in the end, it's worth it. In the end, it will get better."
She rose on her feet and laid a hand on Harley's shoulder.
"I know you didn't do this for me. But still, I'm very grateful that you did it. You saved my life, no matter your intentions. So thank you. And if there is anything I can do for you, just let me know. But only if it feels right. Take care, Harley."

And after softly squeezing in Harley's shoulder, Kiwi turned around and walked away with a smile on her face.
To stick with the theme of singing, she'd sung like a bird.
And it all worked out better than expected.
They would never be friends.
But mutual respect was different than friendship.
That's what she had accomplished just now.
They respected each other.
And that was enough.

Suddenly, Jax ran inside the infirmary and almost bumped into Kiwi.
"Jesus, Jax, what…", but the silver-furred mouse was already on his way towards one of the doctors.
"You need to come with me to the cells, on Stoker's order", he breathed as he clung on the white coat of the doc, who looked down on him a bit surprised.
"Why? What's going on?"
"It's my sister, she's going completely crazy, we need to sedate her before her heart gives out or something like that."
The doc nodded.
"Okay, let me go grab my stuff."
But Jax didn't let him go.
"There's no time, she needs help now!"
"I know, Jax, but I can't sedate her without the sedatives, now can I?"
"Right", Jax smiled a bit sheepishly and let him go.
As the doc quickly rushed away, Kiwi walked over to Jax.
"Everything okay?", she asked, even though it was obvious it wasn't.
"No, it's my sister…", but before he could continue, the doc was already back and Jax gave Kiwi an apologetic look.
"Sorry, need to go, I'll explain later, okay?"

Kiwi followed them with her eyes, her brain already searching for the connection to click.
Since when did Jax have a sister?
Why hadn't he mentioned her before?
I mean, they had become good friends while working together on mission LITE.
So this was kinda out of the blue.
She almost felt offended by the fact he…
Wait.
His sister?!
It suddenly clicked and her heart just dropped.
Shit.
His sister.
He did mention her, even on the first day they met.
Rose…
But she was dead.
Right?
Right?!

Goosebumps spread across her body when she suddenly saw the image of the skinny and dirty female mouse who'd tried to kill her at her own wedding.
Who shot Harley instead.
My god.
It all made sense now.
Rose had come back for Vinnie.
Shit…
But it was anger that now suddenly rushed through her veins.
Unbelievable.
How many girls were going to try to steal her macho mouse away from her?
It just didn't seem to end.
Vinnie had told her he'd a reputation on Mars, honest as he was.
But jesus, a reputation was nothing more but an understatement here.
This was beyond crazy.
He was hers, and hers alone.
And she had enough of all the ghosts from the past who tried to come between them.
She just wanted to share her life with him, was that so much to asked?
Goddammit.
Time to end this.
And hissing of anger, Kiwi set a course for the cells, determined to fight for what's hers.
For her future.

…

"P-p-pregnant?", Modo stuttered, his one eye wide open. Amira smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. You're gonna be a father, hun. Like you always wanted."
The grey-furred giant stared at her, somehow, he had a hard time processing the words.
He was going to be a father.
She was right, it was what he always wanted.
And it still was.
But…
"How do we raise a child in the middle of a war?", he blurted out.
Amira's eyes grew big, but then her face softened.
Somehow, this didn't come as a big surprise.
Modo was a responsible mouse, who always wanted the best for anybody.
Especially for his child.
She took his hand, his flesh hand, in hers.
"Modo, I know what you're thinking, but trust me when I say that we'll find a way. I know it's far from ideal, but we can't stop living because we're in a war. We can't pause life till the moment we think it is right to press play again, because when that time is there, it's probably too late… Truth to be told, I didn't plan to get pregnant this fast, but it just happened. That kinda makes it meant to be, right?"
Her words dawned upon him and Modo pulled her in his arms, still a bit shocked.
"I'm sorry, I didn't wanna give you the feeling that I don't want this child. Oh, momma, words can't describe how happy I am. A baby… I'm going to be a father…", he babbled, clearly the news affected him deeply.
Amira smiled lovingly.
"And a good one too."

Suddenly, a knock on the door broke them out of their little bubble and before they could react, the door already opened.
Neo appeared in the doorway with an apologetic look on his face.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, Modo, but I need you in Braavos."
Modo got upright and looked at Shaylon, who was still fast asleep in Vinnie's bed, luckily not woken by the noise.
He then looked back at Neo, a little confused.
"Why do you need me? What about Stoker? Or Throttle?"
"They're having their hands full with a situation in the cells and this can't wait. Someone needs to hear this and that will be you."
"What on Mars can be so urgent that you need me?"
But Neo remained adamant.
"Just come with me, you'll know soon enough."
Modo looked at Amira, who smiled at him.
"Go. I'll watch Shaylon."
The grey-furred giant heaved a sigh, his head still spinning from the news Amira had told him just now.
But again, there was no time to think, to celebrate.
The war always came first, which was proven again today.
He leaned forward and pressed a kiss on Amira's temple.
"I'll be back as soon as I can."
"I'll be waiting…"
And after pulling on his hoodie, Modo followed Neo, his thoughts still miles away from the war.
A baby.
He was going to be a father.

Oh, momma… if only you were here…

…

Kiwi burst inside the room, just like Vinnie did only a short time ago, although she wasn't aware of that fact.
Three surprised faces looked up at her, but Kiwi ignored them.
She marched to the door and looked through the small window.
Stoker and Jax were holding down the skinny and dirty female mouse, while the doc prepared himself to inject her with the sedatives.
Rose was screaming bloody murder, and the two male mice were struggling to hold her down.
Kiwi turned around and looked at Throttle, Carbine and Vinnie, her blue eyes fuming.
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Apparently, some sort of sideshow attraction", the tan-furred leader mumbled a bit annoyed, for Kiwi was now the second uninvited guest on this not so pleasant party.
But deep down he understood both Vinnie and Kiwi.
Why they were here.
It had been their wedding that was brutally interrupted, after all.
And it was Kiwi who had been the target in the first place.
"I'm not here to sightsee! I know it's Rose who's in that room and I came here to tell her to back off! I've had it with all the girls who are trying to steal my macho mouse away from me, so this time I will…"
Vinnie's tail lashed through the air and whirled around her waist. Before she could finish her sentence, she was already sitting on Vinnie's lap and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Sweetheart, how I love that little feisty side of yours, it's such a turn on... However, this time, there's more to it. Our fearless leader over here just told me that Rose is connected to me, but it's a one-way thingy. Apparently, that makes her a little… crazy in the head. Stoker can break the connection and then all will go back to the way it was. No biggie, so breathe, doll."
"That's a very… brief description, but yeah, that about covers it… Stoker is about to start, as soon as she's out, that is", Throttle added when he saw Kiwi's confused face.
The human girl blinked a few times, but before she had the chance to react, they all noticed how quiet it was all of a sudden.

Carbine rose on her feet and looked through the small window.
"She's asleep."
Throttle joined her, and saw how Stoker's antenna's started to glow red as he leaned closer to Rose, who now lay on her back, while Jax and the doc stayed close in case she would wake up.
"You think this is gonna work?", Carbine whispered.
Throttle gently took her hand and their fingers entwined.
"It's gotta be. If not, I'm not sure what we can do to save her…", the tan-furred mouse whispered back, rubbing her finger with his thumb.
Carbine's stomach tied in a knot for she knew Throttle was right.
Rose had tried to kill Kiwi, a now respected Freedom Fighter.
Harley took the hit, another respected Freedom Fighter.
If Stoker's plan wasn't gonna work, there was nothing they could do for Rose.
Not anymore.
Because if Stoker couldn't prove that she wasn't exactly right in the head when she committed her crimes, there was only one sentence for attempted murder and treason.
And that was death.

…

"Are you sure?", Modo demanded as he placed his hands on the desk and leaned forward to the screen.
Neo was right.
This was something he needed to hear.
"Affirmative, sir. We saw it with our own eyes. The Plutarkians are gone", the young black-furred scout answered calmly.
"But… but that means…", Modo stuttered as he slowly sank into the chair behind him, not able to say more.
The scout gave him a firm nod, still dead serious and filled in the part Modo couldn't.
"That means that the war is over, sir."