Took a bit of a break for my mental health, sorry for the wait...


Previously


"Well…this is interesting."

They both gasped and pulled back, turning to the voice… a voice Charley recognized.

Throttle drew in surprised breath.

"Carbine…"


A few hours earlier…


Word had finally reached Army base about the Plutarkian attack on Quiet Grove, and with it, a list of the deceased. Carbine felt a chill run down her spine when she saw Amelia Threemane's name on the list. She hadn't heard from Throttle in almost a week. And the last time they had spoken he had dropped quite a bombshell on her.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot. I have a sister now!"

"Wait, what? Really?"

"Yeah. Her name is Charley. Mom arranged a battle for her, and she passed it with flying colors. She and Comet get along really well. I can't wait for you to meet her."

She wasn't quite sure how to react to that bit of information. They hadn't been able to talk for long, but since she'd never heard of this Charley before, she could only assume she was very new to the Freedom Fighters. Though from the way Throttle had spoken about her, she seemed to have made a pretty good impression on him.

She immediately took emergency leave from the Army and rushed to Freedom Fighter Headquarters. Her bike, Thunder, seemed to sense her urgency. By the time she got there, it was already past sunset. She pulled into the garage, much to the surprise of Harley.

"Carbine, what are you doing here?" She asked confused. Carbine took her helmet off, shaking her hair out.

"We got word about Quiet Grove." She said softly. Harley winced.

"Oh, I see." Carbine glanced at her friend as she put her helmet down.

"How's Throttle?" she asked. Harley paused awkwardly.

"Uh…I'm not really sure…" Carbine turned with a raised brow. Harley sighed and walked over to the door, gesturing for her to follow. Carbine entered the Freedom Fighter hall to see Stoker standing with Modo and Vinnie, the two bros looking rather sullen as the General spoke softly to them. Modo was the first to notice her, as he straightened and waved.

"Hey, Carbine-ma'am." The grey furred mouse called, causing his companions to turn as well. Vinnie gave a weak smile as she approached while Stoker remained passive. She approached them with a weak smile.

"Hey guys. How's Throttle?" All three mice winced in unison, glancing between each other. Stoker rubbed the back of his head.

"It's…been a bit rough the last few days. But I think once they get back, things may start getting better." Carbine was taken aback.

"Once they get back? What do you mean?" She questioned. Vinnie stepped forward.

"He and Charley…kinda had words. She ran off, and Throttle went after her." He explained.

Carbine raised a brow.

"Why did she run off?" she asked, genuinely unimpressed. Modo and Vinnie winced, and Stoker sighed.

"She blames herself for Amelia's death, and Throttle said something that didn't exactly help." He answered solemnly. Carbine frowned.

"Why would she blame herself?" Stoker let out a rough sigh and gestured to an open table.

"C'mon. We'll catch you up on what's been happening."

What followed was a rough summary of Charley's time with the Freedom Fighters. When Stoker had found her, Charley joining the bros, their failed recon mission due to Charley's meddling. Modo and Vinnie jumped in to fill in the blanks in Stoker's tale from when they were on leave. As they spoke, numerous Fighters stepped in to offer a quick word on Charley, most being glowing reviews on her capabilities as both a fighter and a mechanic. And finally, Stoker gave her the details of the attack on Quiet Grove.

She wasn't quite sure what to make of it all. It seemed like this Charley had managed to win over practically every member of the Fighters in just over two months. It all seemed very bizarre. And all the while, Carbine felt like she was missing something important.

Eventually, Stoker stood, announcing he was heading off to bed. Vinnie and Modo soon did the same, with Harley taking Vinnie's hand as he offered it (and wasn't that a shock). This left Carbine deep in thought long after, when Blade found her as he was retiring from his shift monitoring the comms.

"Oh, hey Carbine. Waiting for Throttle and Charley to come back?" She nodded.

"Yeah, I figured someone should at least greet them. Besides, I wanna meet this new sister of Throttle's." she answered. Blade chuckled.

"I'm sure you'll like her. She's pretty cool for a human."

"…What?"

Blade looked taken aback by her ground out statement. "Oh, you didn't know? Charley's an Earther. I don't know all the details, but apparently the Plutarkians kidnapped her from earth a few years ago, and she escaped. That's how Stoker found her." Blade cringed and backed away when he saw her glowering expression. "You'll have to ask her for the full story. I'm gonna turn in… Night!" And he fled the room, leaving her to her thoughts.

An Earther.

Throttle's new sister was a Human.

A small tidbit of information that he neglected to inform her of…and one that changed everything.

Her opinion on humans was…antipathetic, to be completely honest.

Compared to Mars, their society was still young, but that didn't stop them from using their limited technology to wage war on each other. And not just once, oh no. Carbine had studied the history of Earth as extensively as she could, in particular, the events they called the World Wars. And yes, she had been shocked that there were two. Of course, they were not the ONLY wars that had occurred on the Blue Planet, but they were some of the most famous wars.

Her research into these Wars had left her feeling sick to her stomach. The death totals were staggering, the combined totals reaching far greater numbers than the entire Martian Mouse population. And the weaponry used, in her opinion, were downright barbaric. She still had the haunting images of concentration camps, flaming battleships, and nuclear explosions from the history documentaries she had seen.

They had only recently turned their attention to the galaxy beyond them three decades prior. And that, in her opinion, had merely been a result of some petty race between two countries to one up the other. And even then, they had only gotten as far as their own moon. They could hardly be considered space explorers, much less Allies of Mars. Not that Carbine would even be willing to contemplate that thought.

Now, there was a Human on Mars. And apparently, she had spent some time with the Plutarkains. Allegedly, as a prisoner, but Carbine's military senses were set off. Since their rebellion started, the Army had been keeping tabs on the Plutarkians. Admittedly, the Freedom Fighters were doing a much better job of it, but she was sure that news of a Human prisoner would have reached the army at some point. And yet, there had been nothing of the sort. Her escape had seemingly slipped under the radar as well.

Of course, she had to take the Plutarkians involvement into account. And it could potentially be a major one. Among the galaxy's, there was a universal law.

Do not take a life form from a planet that has not been sufficiently contacted.

Earth fell under the protection of this law. If the Plutarkians had indeed broken this law, it could be a massive blow to the stink faces. Making that allegation public though would result in very little. They were very good at keeping the Martian Government in their pockets.

The rumble of engines caught her ears. She glanced to the door of the garage where she could see shadows moving in the room. She got up silently and moved towards the doorway. She could just make out Throttle's voice murmuring to someone, and an equally soft voice responding. Once she reached the doorway, she was greeted to the sight on an embrace. Throttle had a soft expression on his face, for once void of his specs. His arms were wrapped around someone who could be none other than Charley. She couldn't see her face, as it was currently tucked into Throttle's shoulder.

Even in the dim light though, she could tell her hair was a deep auburn color that reached the middle of her back, and had pale skin. Carbine crossed her arms over her chest and raised a brow.

"Well…this is interesting." Their reaction was immediate as they both gasped and pulled away from each other, turning to her.

"Carbine…" Throttle breathed, surprised. With her face finally exposed, Carbine took the time to study Charley. She had heart shaped face, thin lips and bright sea green. Her bangs were layered, and she had a petite hourglass figure, nearly three inches shorter than Throttle.

What shocked her though, was the wide teasing smile that she directed at the tall tan mouse.

"Oh, so this is the famous Carbine, huh?" She lightly nudged Throttle with her elbow, eyes bright with mirth. Throttle blushed and ducked his head, seemingly turning shy. Carbine was shocked. She had never seen her boyfriend that flustered, but he didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, he chuckled a little as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh…yeah." He cleared his throat. "Charley, meet Carbine Cannonblade, my girlfriend. Carbine, this is Charlene Davidson-Threemane, my sister." He said with a smile. Carbine turned her head to Charley as she stepped closer to her, right hand extended for a handshake. She hesitated only a second before returning the handshake. She was taken aback slightly by the strength of the woman's grip. Charley gave her a dazzling smile.

"It's an honor to meet you, Carbine." She said with a genuine smile. "Though, I think we should continue this in the morning. Today as been…a long one." She added with a subdued tone. Throttle stepped closer to them as Charley turned to him. "I'll leave you guys to your reunion. Throttle, I better see you at breakfast tomorrow, with a full plate of food ready to be eaten." Carbine knew her face was revealing her shock, but really, what else was she supposed to do when confronted with this? A human that was seemingly completely at ease in the presence of aliens was…bizarre. She blinked as Charley bid them goodnight and left the room.

"Carbine, you alright?" She spun back to Throttle with a bewildered expression.

"You...have a lot of explaining to do…"


Charley released a deep shaky breath as she leaned back against the door of her room. That was… rather unexpected. Though really, she shouldn't have been surprised. Carbine had played a rather vital role in the final battle, according to the bros, so really seeing her here should not have been a surprise.

Her first meeting with the future General had almost been a disaster. At the time, she was still coming to grips with the fact that she was on Mars and had just been saved by the bros from a rather terrifying fall after escaping the Sand Raiders Limburger had 'sold' her to. So she had been very surprised when they had been surrounded by Martian Mice lead by the headstrong General, announcing they were being arrested, again, for being Plutarkian bootlickers. It was only after she and the bros had returned to Earth, after saving Mars from the ice asteroid and Chicago from both Limburger and Brie did the bros inform her of Brie's attempts at framing them to ensure they wouldn't return to Earth to stop his take-over of the city.

The next meeting had gone much smoother, thankfully. When Carbine had come to Earth in search of the Pink-seed for Fuzzy the Squirrel-bat, she came to fully appreciate the female mouse's company. She was as sharp as a tack, a brilliant strategist, and she clearly cared about Throttle. And Throttle was quite obviously head over heels for her. Charley had also seen how the separation had affected both of them, and felt awful for them.

This version of Carbine however…

Well, for one, she was young. She had never gotten a definite age in her own time, but she knew she was a bit younger than Throttle. Right now, Carbine couldn't be older than 18, maybe 19. Not that her age affected her personality. Her scathing remark that had interrupted her and Throttle was very reminiscent of the Mouse she knew back in her time. She was just thankful she had enough wits about her to quickly stave off any conversations tonight. It had been a long few days, and she really needed a good night's sleep before facing any of the mice again.

She would also need to iron out the details of her cover story. The limited details she had given the Freedom Fighters may have been enough till now, but she knew that it wouldn't satisfy the grey furred female. She would also have to be very careful, having already slipped up once had nearly lead to a dire situation, on her part anyway. She sighed once more as she let her head fall back against the door.

She wished she could speak to Rimfire or Primer. With them being the only mice that knew the truth, she felt a sense of camaraderie with them. Having to keep her secret, no matter how necessary she felt it was, was slowly getting to her. Being reminded of her predicament every time she caught sight of Throttle's blue eyes, Modo's flesh arm, Vinnie's mask-less face, Stoker's tail…and Harley. Each a reminder of what was at stake…and each a reminder that she had already failed one of them.

She shook her head as she strode to her bed, flopping down onto it and gracelessly toeing off her boots.

It was gonna be a long night.


Carbine did not know what was going on anymore. She had spent four days at Freedom Fighter Headquarters, most of the time she spent with Throttle, but much of it was spent observing the new presence amongst them.

It shouldn't have been possible. Charlene had, somehow, seamlessly secured her place within the rebel group. She joked with the Fighters, held her own during sparring sessions (though she was still leagues behind most of them), and was a first-rate mechanic. Carbine felt no shame in admitting that she was almost as good as Harley when it came to patching up bikes. And that's where one of her first problems with the human came up.

She seemed almost way too at ease with their Martian technology. Even if she had spent her three years of imprisonment among the Plutarkians as slave labor, being suddenly faced with AI Motorcycles should not have been an easy thing for her. Even Martian pups would back away when faced with their parents' bike for the first time, but the Human?

She never flinched when a bike suddenly moved or bumped into her. She was USED to it in a way she shouldn't have been for the two months she had been here.

And then, there was her interactions with the bros.

Charlene knew them. And not just the casual 'oh-we-are-team-we-watch-each-others-backs-in-the-field' type thing she had expected. She KNEW them, intimately.

She knew how Vinnie was horrible at sitting still for more than a minute, but she also knew how to successfully divert his attention and energy so he wouldn't inadvertently cause more trouble around the base. Most shockingly, she somehow got him to drop his Casanova-performance and properly court Harley. She later heard from Harley that the white furred mouse had gained a lot of confidence since Charlene had arrived.

She would pay special attention to Lil'Hoss during a tune-up, and took the time to explain in detail what she was doing to the grey furred mouse, as if she knew how close the bond was between Mouse and bike. She even knew about how close Modo was to his family, and would often take time out of her schedule to take over his duties to allow him a precious half hour to talk to his nephew and niece. Both of which now wanted to join the Freedom Fighters, it seemed, after Charlene had spoken to them.

Most astonishing of all, was her bond with Throttle. It could have been written off as simply being siblings, but two months wasn't nearly enough time for this. She could make him smile and laugh with barely a few words. She could calm him down when something got him worked up. She knew how much he cared for his bros, how he struggled to recognize himself as a budding leader. She filled him with confidence. And she cared for him, as a true sister would.

And don't even get her started on her interaction with Stoker. It was blatantly obvious they were interested in each other, but neither would be making a move any time soon.

It shouldn't have been a problem. Carbine could clearly see how her mere presence was helping the bros grow as people, but it just did not make sense.

Charlene Davidson was an Alien.

She was human.

She came from a planet that waged war on their own species at the drop of a hat. A species that had seemingly no problems tearing down entire civilizations for the mere promise of reward. Humans were one step away from being on par with Plutarkians.

And yet…

She so flawlessly integrated with Martian society. In less time than it took for the Plutarkians to gain a foothold on Mars.

It. Did. Not. Make. Sense.

And for some reason, she was the only one who questioned it all.

"I just…I don't understand how everyone is ok with this." She grumbled as she paced the floor of the garage while Harley worked on some new weapons at her worktable. Said mouse lifted her welding mask to look at her, pausing in her work.

"Charley has proven herself, Carbine." She whirled around.

"How? How could she possibly have proven herself in less than 2 months? It took the Plutarkians half a year before they were allowed on Mars, and they were using bribes!" She protested. Harley shrugged in response.

"I'll admit she did adjust very quickly. But you can't deny that she's a good influence on the bros." She said with a soft smile as she turned off her welder and set the mask down, turning her mind fully to the conversation. "Stoker too. He's been less stressed since they've started talking more." Carbine groaned as she pinched the bridge of her muzzle.

"And that right there is my point. She IS a good influence on them. A GREAT one. I haven't seen Throttle smile this much since the Invasion began. Or any of them, for that matter. But I just can't get over the fact that she's human, she was a Plutarkian prisoner, and she's only been here for TWO MONTHS!" the last bit was said in utter frustration as she sat down heavily on a chair. She heard Thunder rev his engine slightly, as if to try and comfort her. Harley leaned back against her desk.

"Have you actually talked to her since you got here?" Carbine winced at the knowing tone in her friend's voice. Harley sighed. "Look, I know we haven't had the best luck recently when it comes to Aliens. But give Charley a chance. Take the time to talk to her, and you'll see what everyone else sees." Carbine raised an eyebrow at the Martian mechanic.

"And what's that?" she asked skeptically.

"A true friend."


This chapter actually ran away from me. I was fully intending for Carbine and Charley to interact more here, but Carbine decided, Hell no, I don't trust this human yet...

So, you guys will have to wait till the next chapter for that.

Please Review! I love hearing from you guys!