What's up you guys?
A big thanks for the reviews, so glad to see you guys are still with me.
I'm very humbled by your kind words.

So, I managed to finish another chapter, since my country is crippled by a heatwave.
It's close to 104 °F (40 °C), so I'm forced to sit still and not move too much, hehe.
Such punishment.
Not.
I'm sure there are many of you out there who live in a country where it's always this hot in the summer, but these temperatures are quite rare in the Netherlands.
Therefore, we're not used to it.

Anyway, enough with the earth science.
Go read the next chapter and just enjoy ^^
Feel free to leave a review, always much appreciated.

Later guys!

Chapter 7

Red sand under his knees.
He dug his fingers in the warm ground.
As rocks and mountains die, grains of sand are born.
The circle of life.
Those same grains of sand now slid between his fingers.
Like water that flows through a waterfall.
Mars…
Home.
He slowly got up, the warm wind danced gently through the long strands of the hair between his big ears.
The scent of heat mixed with flowers filled his nostrils and he closed his eyes.
One corner of his mouth curled up by smelling the magnificent scent that defined Mars before the war.
Still pure and fresh, devoid of death.
Oh, how much he'd missed it.
The faint sound of a lonely Martian Wooly Wolf crying in the distance.
The sun warming up his tired and drained body.
It all felt so real.
But deep down in his now eased mind, he knew…
Deep down in his now enlightened heart, he felt…
...this was nothing more but a dream.
An illusion.
His eyes slowly opened.
Something was different.
The sun was gone and had taken its warmth and light with it.
The sound of the crying Wooly Wolf was now replaced with the pressing sound of silence.
The pure and fresh air was now chased away by the horrendous scent of death.
His gaze wandered down as his heartbeat rose.
Black.
The sand was black.
Engorged with blood.
His gaze eventually landed on a body lying at his feet.
Greasy light grey fur.
Dull and brittle black hair.
Empty brown eyes.
No.
"Carbine…"

Throttle's eyes flew open. His heart was racing in his chest and he could feel that his fur was soaked with sweat.
A dream.
It was only a dream.
Closing his eyes again, he forced himself to calm down as he kept repeating the same sentence in his head, over and over again.
'It was only a dream, Carbine is okay.'
It took a while but finally, his heartbeat was back to its usual frequency and the painful knot in his stomach was gone too.
Of course, he wasn't sure if Carbine was okay since he was completely clueless about her whereabouts.
But he had to stay positive.
She was with Stoker, after all.
And next to smart and resourceful, Stoker was like Martian Weedy Weeds.
Very annoying and hard to kill.
A loving smile curled his lips by thinking of his coach.
His mentor.
His role model.
It evoked a feeling of nostalgia, immediately followed by sheer sadness.
Perhaps it was needless to say, but things would never be the same again.
Not after what the Plutarkians had done to their planet, their home.
They didn't just destroy it, no, they stole it from them.
Bit by bit… little by little…
And all that was left now was a skeleton.
A shadow of what once was.

The tan-furred mouse heaved a deep sigh.
Life as they knew it was gone to never return.
It was crushed by the evil race called Plutarkians.
Sad, but true.
Irreversible, too.
So lying here and thinking back at all the misery he and the rest of his people had been through wasn't gonna do him any good.
Thoughts like that were deep and dark and brought him to a place he didn't want to be.
After all, one should never stay too long at a pity party.
That brought nothing but insatiable hatred and tremendous remorse for his acts of violence, both planned and spontaneous.
The fact that he was forced to do these horrible things to protect his home and family didn't relieve the pain whatsoever.
But one very wise once told him; it is how you move forward that is important, no matter how bad things are, no matter how pointless it feels.
A mouse couldn't move forward if it was looking over its shoulder all the time.
Perhaps this wasn't the life they had in mind, but at least there was still life.
And where there was life, there was spirit.
A free soul being at peace with death might sound tempting, but it felt like the easy way out too.
A Martian Mouse never chose the easy way out.
They fought and protected.
And so he did.
Just like was written in the stars.
It was his destiny.
As long as he was breathing, he would continue to fight evil and protect the ones he loved.
Even if it was the last thing he would do.

Throttle opened his eyes again and slowly got upright, every muscle aching in protest.
His head was killing him, every heartbeat banged against the inside of his skull as a result of dehydration and he was pretty sure that he'd brought the Martian desert with him in his mouth.
After blinking a few times, his vision became sharp and that could only mean he was still wearing his glasses.
Usually, he takes them off before he goes to bed, but not yesterday.
Happy that the modified spectacles had survived the night, he suddenly heard soft snoring on his left and he turned his head.
Next to him lay his youngest bro, still asleep and if he remembered it right, still in the same position as deposited by Modo last night.
That was most unlike Vinnie since the white-furred mouse was just as restless in his sleep as when awake.
Perhaps the sedative Ben had given him was still doing its job, but who knew?
It was a drug for human use, not Martian, but then again, Throttle was no doctor and didn't even know how long a Martian sedative worked, much less a humane.
But the different thing was that Vinnie's bed was closer to his than he remembered and he now saw that his tail was entwined with a white-, and grey-furred tail.
Movement further on his left broke him out of his thoughts and his gaze wandered to the bed standing next to Vinnie's.
"Morning, bro", Modo's heavy voice rumbled.
The grey-furred giant was sitting on the edge of his bed, his legs would dangle if the bed wasn't this small or if Modo wasn't this big.
His feet were now resting on the wooden floor and he stretched before a big yawn escaped his mouth.
"Good morning to you too, big fella", Throttle smiled.

Apparently, Modo had pushed the beds closer to each other for protection before he went to sleep.
After all, sleeping on an unknown planet while being surrounded by unknown people could be dangerous and therefore, it was important to keep each other safe.
To take care of each other.
The entwined tails worked as some kind of alarm, waking them up if someone would try to hurt one or all three of them for that matter.
It was a tactic they had used many times already and it had proven to be a trusty one too.
The tan-furred mouse could only be grateful that his older bro had taken care of them when he couldn't since he'd been too tired yesterday.
"Ya sleep okay?", Modo asked as he scratched the back of his neck, still with a bit dazed facial expression.
"Yeah… You?"
"Like a log."
Still yawning, Modo pointed at Vinnie.
"Shouldn't we wake Sleeping Beauty over there?"
"Nah… It's rather peaceful without him bouncing around", Throttle joked as he untangled his tail.
Modo let out a raw laugh while doing the same.
"So true, so true. But with that leg, he won't bounce for another two or three days, so I guess that means we're good."
"Mmkay, fair enough", Throttle chuckled and tried to stand up, but his body wasn't ready yet and he dropped back on the bed with a heavy sigh.
"You do the honors, big guy. I don't think my feet are already able to do what they're supposed to do."
"Carrying that big ol' butt of yours, ya mean?", Modo teased as he got up.
"Did you just call me fat?", the tan-furred mouse asked with played shock.
"I wouldn't dare, bro."
"Liar."
"Friends don't lie."
"Bro's do."
"Touche."

Still smiling, Modo laid his hand on Vinnie's shoulder and gently shook him.
"Wake up, little buddy."
The white-furred mouse stirred, but then pushed Modo's hand away as he wrinkled his nose in annoyance.
Clearly, he wasn't ready to wake up yet.
"Maybe he's still sedated…", Throttle now shared his earlier thought out loud but Modo was no mouse to discourage easily and he shook his bro a bit rougher.
"Come on, Vinnie, nap time's over."
That worked.
Slowly, Vinnie opened one ruby-red eye.
"Naptime over? Hmmm… then it must be time to visit the little boy's room…", he mumbled groggily as he opened his other eye too.
Then, a small smile curled his lips.
"I hope I'm not too late…"
Modo rolled his one eye and looked at Throttle.
"Oh momma, the last thing we need is a still half gassed smart mouth…"
"Hey, it was your idea to wake him up, big fella", the tan-furred mouse retorted with a teasing voice.
Modo looked back at the white-furred mouse, who now sat upright in his bed and stared at his leg with his eyes still half-closed.
"Hey man… What happened to my leg?"
"You broke it, remember? You fell off your bike from a great height when we jumped out of the ship."
Vinnie still stared at his leg, but then he looked up with a dazed, yet slight arrogant look on his face.
"Hey, I don't fall. I just do some random gravity checks and guess what? It still works."
Throttle and Modo shared a look that spoke volumes and for a moment, their plight was forgotten.
It was relief that subsided now, relief because their little bro was gonna be okay.
And so, only for a small moment, they were just ordinary brothers instead of soldiers whose minds were troubled by the horrific things they had seen during their short but rough life.
And big brothers just loved to tease their little bro.
Unfortunately for Vinnie, that's just how things worked.

"Oh really? Well, you need to learn that your actions have consequences", the tan-furred mouse started sternly as he looked back at his youngest bro.
But despite his serious tone of voice, he was obviously trying to keep his face in check.
Therefore, the young mouse gave him a confused look, not able to add up these opposite signals.
"You're grounded!", Throttle blurted out and both him and Modo burst into laughter.
Vinnie, however, didn't.
Even though he was still a bit groggy, the worst fog in his head was gone now and he started to understand that his bro's were making fun of him, a thing he hated to the core.
Perhaps that was the reason why his bro's loved it so much.
The white-furred mouse his buttons were just so easy to push.
And once again, he didn't disappoint his two best friends.
His face darkened, his shoulder slumped and he folded his arms as he glared at them with fuming eyes.
But the two were just getting warmed up.
"Guess he really is bone to ride free, huh?", Modo rumbled as he poked Throttle in the stomach with his elbow.
"I'm just hopping he'll get well soon", Throttle laughed, holding his belly.
Vinnie rolled his eyes and shrugged his shoulders in annoyance, his arms still folded.
"Funny…", he grumbled and his fur bristled, a sign he was getting angry.
His bro's saw it and slowly, the laughter subsided.
Throttle took off his glasses and wiped away a tear, still chuckling softly.
Modo sat down on Throttle's bed for a moment to recover from this merciless attack of laughter.
It were desperate times after all, and having fun like this didn't happen that often.
But when it did, they all gave the full hundred percent.
Well, except Vinnie this time.

"Ah, lighten up, Vinnie, just look at it this way...", Throttle started his attempt to cheer the young mouse up, but Vinnie could hear the suppressed laugh in his leader's voice and he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
It soon turned out it wasn't unfounded, because the tan-furred mouse was hardly able to finish his sentence, although he did succeed before bursting out in laughter again.
"At least you didn't break your funny bone. That would've been really serious!"
Modo started laughing again too and they had to hold each other to not collapse.
A long white tail lashed through the air with a zooming sound.
"Har dee har har, ain't you two hilarious", Vinnie snapped at them grabbing his pillow and he threw it towards his bro's heads.
They both dodged it easily, much to Vinnie's annoyance.
"Ugh. Why don't you guys just jump over the moon, okay?"
Modo let go off Throttle and stepped closer to his youngest bro.
"Listen, Vin… If you feel upset about your broken bone, just think about all the other 205 bones that you were lucky enough to not break", he chuckled as he patted Vinnie on the shoulder.
"Geez, thanks man, but if this is your way of cheering me up, here's a newsflash for ya; it ain't working!", the young mouse retorted as he slapped away Modo's hand.
"Sorry, Vin, we'll stop", Throttle said soothing, knowing that their hot-tempered bro was about to crack, but he still had a big smile on his face.
"Yeah, yeah, sorry bro, I guess we're just started on the wrong foot here", Modo snickered, clearly he just couldn't stop himself.

Vinnie was about to explode, but then he suddenly froze and his face got blank.
Throttle saw it happen and he immediately grew serious again, knowing his little bro well enough to know that when something was able to stop him from exploding, that something was bad news and could only mean trouble.
"Vinnie, what…", but the white-furred mouse put a finger in the air as his big ears moved from front to back.
"Sssshh! Listen…"
His bro's shared a confused look but did what they were told.
The faint sound of banging was heard in the distance and now Throttle froze too.
He would recognize that sound everywhere, Earth or Mars.
"Gunfire."
Vinnie shook his head.
"Not just gunfire, it's a Plutarkian L86 LSW machine gun."
Both Throttle and Modo stared at the white-furred mouse with a bit dazed look on their face.
"Is he still suffering from side effects from that sedative, or…?", Modo asked out of the corner of his mouth, but Throttle wasn't so sure about that.
That nagging feeling of worry was back again and after that short but divine moment of feeling complete carelessness, the burden now felt ten times heavier.
"Are you sure?", he asked, although he already knew the white-furred mouse was.
The leader of the trio was familiar with the, perhaps slightly concerning, obsession the young mouse had with weapons.
It wasn't the first time that he was able to recognize a particular gun type from miles away and most definitely not the last.
Fish.
The white-furred mouse threw off his blanket and reached for the gun that was supposed to be in his leg holster, which was now empty.
He then remembered the whole weapon debacle and he frowned in annoyance.
Throttle walked closer to him and pulled the left pant leg up in total silence, revealing the hidden gun.
Vinnie looked at his leader with his eyes wide open.
"Yous cheeky little rascal, disobeying direct orders already?"
But then a big grin appeared on his face.
"I love it!"
The tan-furred mouse only shrugged and laid his hand on Vinnie's arm.
"Are you sure?"
The white-furred adrenaline junkie pulled the small handgun out of his ankle holster.
"Oh, I'm sure alright. It's Plutarkian gunfire. And when I think of Plutarkians…"
He whirled the gun around his finger and loaded it with a loud click.
"...that makes me wanna whip some tail", he finished his sentence with a raw voice.
"Vincent, don't…", Throttle started since he knew what was next, but Vinnie already jumped out of the bed, his broken leg completely forgotten.
But when his right foot landed on the wooden floor, his leg gave out and he just collapsed like a sack of Martian Patty Potatoes.
"Ouch!"
"... jump outta the bed…", Throttle sighed. "Your leg is still healing, bro."
"Ya don't say… Dammit", Vinnie moaned, holding his leg with his teeth clenched in pain.
"What I think is that that stuff the doc gave ya is still messing with your head, Vin", Modo opened his mouth again, clearly he didn't believe a word the young mouse said.
"I get it, though, with everything that happened on Mars…"
Vinnie narrowed his eyes in confusion, because what the hell had this all to do with 'what happened on Mars', but before he could say something back, Modo already broke the rope around his bionic arm.
The cannon popped out and back in a few times as if he was doing a warming up.
"But one thing's for sure, there's a fight going on outside and I'm not just gonna sit around and do nothing. The people of this camp might need our help, so why don't we give it to them? I think we so much owe it to them after what they did for us."

Throttle was about to answer, but then the flap of the tent opened, letting in the daylight and the mice protected their eyes against this sudden bright light.
A silhouette walked inside, followed by another one and the flap closed again.
"Ah, you're finally awake."
Her voice was calm, a fact that came as a total surprise to Throttle since there was obviously something going on outside.
Then why wasn't she worried?
"Your ability to observe is astonishing, sweetheart", Vinnie replied dryly, still sitting on the ground.
He then realized he was still holding the small gun and since he wasn't sure how this woman would react if she saw that his beloved fearless leader had kept this from her, he quickly hid it behind his back as he gave her one of his most charming smiles.
A soft buzzing sound told Throttle that Modo quickly folded his laser back into his bionic arm and he couldn't stop the smile that curled his lips.
They behaved like schoolboys who got caught with their hand in the cooky jar.
They all three would ride out, straight into battle without feeling so much of a pang of fear, but to wake a woman's wrath, well…
That was a whole other story.
But just as quickly as the smile appeared, it was gone.
Finally awake.
"How long were we out?"
Charley shrugged.
"About thirty hours, I think."
Throttle's eyes grew big in surprise.
"Thirty hours?!"
"Wow, that oughta be a record", Modo mumbled impressed.

The tan-furred mouse could only agree with that statement.
Usually, they slept for five or six hours tops. The weirdest thing was that after such a short night he always woke up with a clear head, but not now.
His head was still pounding, his whole body was still aching and he was still as tired as sixty Martian Catty Cats.
One should think it would be the other way around.
Perhaps the last day on Mars had cost him more than he liked to admit.
"I guess you needed it", Charley guessed his thoughts.
"Maybe…"
The other person who had entered the tent along with Charley turned out to be Ben, who now kneeled next to Vinnie.
"How's your leg?", he asked kindly.
"It's fine…", the white-furred mouse answered slowly, stretching the word 'fine' as he looked at Ben suspiciously.
A mouse who grows up in war is cursed to be paranoid, always in doubt if one could be trusted or not.
And even though Ben had already proven to be trustworthy, Vinnie was still a bit cautious.
Throttle couldn't really blame him since his younger bro hadn't heard the conversation he and Modo had with the doctor while the latter was patching up his leg.
But his distant attitude didn't offend the friendly human male, no, quite the opposite.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna touch you again. I was just wondering how my patient was doing", he laughed, his brown eyes twinkling.
Vinnie, who was still holding his leg, relaxed a little and studied the male next to him.
He then looked at Throttle, who gave him a small nod to tell his little bro that the man who was sitting next to him was on their side and could be trusted.
The tan-furred mouse then focussed his attention back on Charley, trying very hard to not to drown in her strange yet beautiful eyes.
"It sounds like you've got some trouble out there…", he immediately cut to the chase.
It was time she was gonna give him some answers.
"It's nothing we can't handle, don't worry about it. You guys are perfectly safe", she reassured him, not knowing he wasn't worried about being safe.
Well, perhaps he was, in the end.
But she made it sound as if they weren't able to protect themselves.
As if they weren't soldiers with years of fighting experience.
As if they needed someone else to keep them safe.

But that was the ego talking.
So it didn't come as a surprise that Vinnie began to prance.
"Safe? Safe is boring and besides… what gave ya the impression that we need someone else to keep us safe, huh? I hate to state the obvious, but come on… have you seen this strong and studly body?", he bragged as he flexed his muscles while giving the human lady one of his most arrogant smiles.
"I've seen better…", Charley snorted, perhaps thinking that would shut the white-furred mouse up.
She had no idea.
"Maybe. But not with this much charm."
Again, Charley gave Throttle this questionable look, telling him she still had no idea if the young mouse was messing with her or being serious.
It was then when the weirdest thing happened.
He couldn't stop it, nor he could explain it.
But he felt… relief.
He was actual being relieved that she didn't succumb to the charms of the white-furred mouse, a thing he usually didn't care for.
And it shook him to the core.
"Are you sure you ain't need our help, ma'am?", Modo asked politely, oblivious to the shock his bro and leader had to process.
"I'm sure, but thanks anyway. And don't call me ma'am. It makes me feel old", she said not unfriendly before smoothly changing the subject.
"I've brought food. I figured you guys must be starving."
"Food?", Vinnie and Modo asked eagerly in unison.
Knowing she was doing this to distract them, Throttle looked at the plate with food that Ben had put on one of the beds after he came in.
He didn't recognize the food, but it smelled good.
It looked like her little diversionary tactic was working, after all.
Hunger was a cruel thing and although they all three were used to not eating for a long period, smelling the delicious scent next to seeing the food made him realize how hungry he actually was.
The same was true for his bro's, who were staring at the food almost slobbering like Sand Raiders.
Well, the tan-furred mouse could've sworn that his youngest bro was really drooling.
But it didn't matter.
Everything was forgotten, the only thing that mattered now was to kill this all-consuming hunger.

"What is it?", Vinnie asked as he crawled closer and took one piece of food from the pile that was lying on the plate.
"It's called a hotdog", Ben answered that question.
"A hotdog, 'ey?"
Vinnie sniffed at the food, but the hunger beat his paranoia in one fell swoop.
He was so hungry he could eat a whole Memphant with skin and hair, so how could this little… thing be a problem?
"Hey man, no guts no glory", and he took a bite.
While he was chewing on the for them unknown food, Modo and Throttle watched him carefully.
But Vinnie's thoughtful frown soon disappeared and his eyes started to twinkle.
"Thwis is swo gwood", he mumbled with his mouth still full, gesturing at his bro's to dig in.
That was enough for the other two to join the party and soon, the whole plate was empty.
Vinnie was right, the food was delicious.
Throttle had never eaten something so good like this hotdog, it was even the first food that was able to give him a satisfying feeling, which was another additional advantage.
Apparently, his bro's had the same feeling, because Modo had this rare contended look on his face and Vinnie burped loudly, which yielded him a smack against the back of his head coming from the master of chivalry.
"That is not how you behave in front of a lady, bro", the grey-furred giant lectured his younger bro, but the white-furred mouse didn't agree with that statement.
"What? It's a way of showing my appreciation."
"Weird way to show it, if ya ask me…"
"But I didn't ask ya, so stop talking."
Modo froze by hearing this smart-ass remark, his eye flickering red a couple of times and Throttle quickly intervened before a huge wrestling match would start.
He may not know much about Earth, but he highly doubted that the tent they were in was able to survive two Martian Cave Mice kicking each other's asses.
"Guys, guys, take it easy or take it outside, okay?"
Without waiting for a response, he looked at Ben.
"Say doc, you happen to have more of that cold water?"
"I sure do", the man smiled and after taking them out of the weird white box, he gave all three mice another bottle.
"Wow! This is so cool", Vinnie exclaimed as he slowly turned the bottle upside down and back, watching how the water moved along inside the bottle.
Since he was out the last time Ben had given them water, he was now seeing this for the first time and he was absolutely stunned.
While the youngest of them was still watching the bottle with awe, Throttle opened his and emptied it at once. His body was yearning for some moisture and Ben must have sensed it because after he'd finished the first, the human doctor gave him another bottle.
And another one.
And another one.
After five bottles, the headache was finally gone.
So was the desert in his mouth and he felt a little bit more mouse again.
"Okay, note to myself. Martian Mice need about twenty hotdogs and five gallons of water to satisfy their appetite… each", Ben mumbled impressed as he wrote something down in a pocketbook.

All this time, Charley was just sitting on Throttle's bed and watching them with those big green eyes of her, the sound of gunfire still hearable in the background.
She was so calm.
So… steady.
And Throttle wondered what was needed to impress this serene woman.
Aliens from outer space didn't do the trick, obviously.
Guns didn't either.
Even Vinnie's charms didn't.
He then suddenly remembered her look when Vinnie's bike had almost killed two of her best men.
So bikes did.
Well, bikes with AI, that is.
Interesting.
She was interesting.
Everything about her was interesting.
Why though?
He quickly pushed these pointless thoughts away, for it was now time to talk.
Slowly, he sat down across her on Vinnie's bed. Feeling warmth close by his knees, he looked down and saw that her knees almost touched his.
It gave him more than an uneasy feeling, he wasn't sure why, but it just did.
So, he set his feet on the wooden floor and pushed the bed back a little to create some proper distance.
Then, he folded his arms and looked back into her green eyes.
She was hard to read, that he knew now. As if she'd locked away her feelings and emotions.
Why though?
"It's time you're gonna give us some answers now", he said instead, calm but insisting.
They'd waited long enough now.
Charley heaved a sigh.
"You're right. You have every right to know what is going on here, it's just… I don't like to talk about it."
The knot in his stomach was back.
"And why is that?"

But before she could answer him, a loud explosion in the distance made the ground tremble.
Throttle clenched his fingers around the mattress of the bed but didn't move.
He kept a close eye on the human woman in front of him, who again, wasn't impressed.
Her face remained blank, she didn't even blink.
The flap of the tent opened again and Max popped his head inside.
"Charley, we need you by the gate, now."
And without waiting for an answer, he was already gone.
Charley slowly rose on her feet and gave Throttle an apologetic look.
"I'm sorry. You guys just stay here and get some more rest. I'll be back as soon as I can and then we'll talk."
She walked towards the exit and gestured to Ben to follow her.
"Charley, wait, we…", Throttle started, but she was already gone.
"Don't you just love it when a girl plays hard to get?", Vinnie snickered.
Throttle gave him a glare, but Vinnie didn't see it as he carefully climbed back on his feet.
Resting his weight on his left foot, he looked at his bro's.
"But that explosion was a Plutarkian M65 Termite grenade. So tell me, since when do we sit out a fight, huh? Ain't it our duty as heroes to save the day?"
"Aside from the Plutarkian part, he does have a point", Modo said to Throttle, still thinking that his youngest bro was being a bit delusional.
The tan-furred mouse for once agreed with his eager young bro too. He was sick and tired of being kept in the dark.
"Okay. On one condition, we keep a low profile. With only two guns, damaged bikes and one of us out of order we're not exactly at our best."
"Hey, don't sweat it, bro…", Vinnie smiled as he already limped to the exit of the tent.
"We'll be as quiet as mice…"