Hey you guys!

Thank you so much for the reviews!
Hmmm, yeah, there's definitely something happening to Throttle, hehe.
Poor guy.

SpaceFlora: No, haven't been to Chicago, unfortunately!
Last year, I was in California and when we went for lunch in San Fransisco, I spotted a "real Wrigley Field Hot Dog" on the menu, so of course, I ordered that one, hehe. It was great. Not sure if it was a real one, though, but hey, the idea alone was awesome.
Also tried rootbeer, but yuck, not my taste.
But Chicago is still on my list of places I wanna go. Who knows, someday?
Omg, I'm such a groupie XD

Aaaaaanyway...
On with the story!
Next chapter, hope you guys like it!
Enjoy! ^^

Chapter 9

"I really don't trust that guy", Vinnie said softly with his ruby-red eyes fixed on Max's back who walked next to Charley.
"Me neither", Modo answered.
Soon after they'd left the platform, Max had joined them and the three mice had, as if on cue, immediately created some distance.
That had more than one reason.
First of all, to give the two humans some privacy in case they needed it.
Their second reason was that they didn't want to be close to Max for they obviously didn't trust him.
Throttle's third reason -and his alone- was that he didn't want to be close to Charley as well.
Not after what happened on that platform.
With the help of a few mind-calming exercises he once learned from Stoker, the tan-furred mouse had managed to find back most of his balance and calm, but he was still a bit shaken.
Behavior like that just wasn't like him, at all. The rage he'd felt was completely new to him.
One should say that all the shit he'd been through was reason enough to be angry all the time, but he wasn't.
Simply because that wasn't in his nature.
And that finding, that exact and true finding made this whole situation more than just confusing.
Even beyond confusing.
It just didn't make any sense.
At all.
Why didn't he feel that kind of anger when he looked a Plutarkian in the eye?
Or a rat?
Or any other enemy for that matter?
They were the ones who destroyed everything he once had, after all.
Not Vinnie.
Certainly not Vinnie.
Then why was he able to remain calm by looking an enemy straight in the eye, but had he nearly lost control when his younger bro was only flirting with someone he hardly knew?
More to the point; someone from an entirely different species?
If only he had the answer to that burning question.
But he hadn't.
Much to his annoyance, he hadn't.

"There's just something about him that makes me wanna park my fist on his nose. Like… multiple times. Just saying."
Vinnie's whispering broke him out of his thoughts and Throttle knew he needed to step up before things might get out of control.
That tended to happen when Vinnie was involved.
One could almost call it a talent.
"Don't even think about it", the tan-furred mouse warned as he looked at his young bro who limped next to him.
The white-furred mouse didn't look back for he was still staring at Max with a certain intensity, as if he was trying to stare the human to death.
Or make him stumble and break his neck, or whatever it was he hoped to achieve.
"What makes you say that? Do you trust him?", Modo responded sharply before Vinnie could.
Throttle shook his head.
"No, on the contrary. There's something wrong with him, I just don't know what. Yet. But until then, we let him be, okay? We can't just hit him without probable cause."
"I don't see why not. I mean, isn't his face reason enough?", Vinnie asked, still without turning his gaze away from Max his back.
"I tend to agree with Vinnie this time. He did call me a rat, after all. Reason enough for me", Modo added, even though this wasn't his usual style.
But Max had used all his chances, even with him.
"Bro's, bro's… Think. He's close to Charley. We respect Charley, right?", the tan-furred mouse asked, putting his arms around his bro's neck to pull them closer.
"I guess we do…", Vinnie said slowly.
"Of course we respect Charley ma'am. She helped us. Without her, we wouldn't be here", Modo responded with a hint of reluctance, already knowing where this was going.
"There's your answer. Besides, we've got bigger problems right now. Plutarkian problems…"
That too.
There was so much happening at the same time, it was hard to keep up with.
So many mixed feelings.
Incomprehensible feelings.
Was it ever going to stop?
Was their life ever going to be simple?
So many questions.
So few answers.

Vinnie heaved a sigh at the same time, as if he was guessing Throttle's thoughts, and finally looked up at his older bro.
"I still have one other question..."
Throttle froze because he knew what was next.
For a moment, he'd thought they wouldn't ask.
For a moment, he'd thought that he was one who got away.
Damn you and your curiosity, Vinnie.
"What exactly happened on that platform?"
"Yeah, I was curious about that too. You were clearly upset, bro", Modo added.
The tan-furred leader let both of them go and put his hands in his pockets.
What could he say?
The truth?
But not even himself knew what the truth was at this point.
He needed some time to unravel this mess of feelings and emotions.
But he couldn't lie to his bro's either.
He had to tell them the truth.
Just… not the whole truth.
"Honestly? I don't know. I need some time to figure it out."
He first looked at his right to see Modo nod at him with a friendly and understanding smile on his face.
"Sure thing, bro. If that's what you need."
The grey-furred giant knew his friend and leader must have some idea about what happened, but he obviously wasn't ready to share it yet.
So, he let it be for now.
Throttle gave him a small smile back, to thank him for understanding.
He then looked at his left, straight into a pair of narrowed and suspicious ruby-red eyes.
Of course, Vinnie wasn't gonna let this go that easily.
The white-furred mouse always had been a bit too curious for his own good but most of all; he had the patience of a Martian Fishy Fish stick.
"I dunno, bro. I think you know more than you tell us…"
"Oh yeah? Well, it's his right to keep some thoughts to himself, ya know. Not everybody likes to talk as much as you do", Modo stood up for his bro and leader.

Vinnie's face darkened, but before he -or Throttle- could respond, Max suddenly turned around and started his journey back to where ever he was going.
When he walked past the mice, he gave them a dirty look and put his chin in the air, as if he was challenging them to say or do something in front of Charley.
Throttle looked straight into his brown eyes and again, his fur bristled.
There really was something wrong with this human, if only he knew what…
He suddenly noticed that Vinnie had stopped, even worse, he was about to turn around, probably to do something stupid.
Throttle quickly laid a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"Let it go, Vincent. His time will come, trust me. But not now", he said softly so Charley wouldn't hear.
The young mouse grinded his teeth in annoyance, but he did listen to his older bro.
For now.
Throttle had the nagging feeling it would only be a matter of time before the white-furred mouse and Max were gonna collide.
If Modo wouldn't beat him too it, although the grey-furred giant owned a bit more self-control than their little bro.
But one thing was for sure; a collision was inevitable, one way or another.
The only question was when.
Another problem on the already endless list.

Charley turned around and pointed at a big building behind her, clearly oblivious to the tensions between the human male and the mice.
"Come on, we can talk here without being bothered", and she opened the huge door with a little difficulty.
"After you", she smiled to the mice.
Vinnie gave Throttle a 'this ain't over yet' look before he walked inside the building, telling Throttle he still wanted to know more about the incident on the platform. Modo clapped the tan-furred mouse on the back as he gave him a sympathetic look and followed the young mouse inside.
When Throttle walked past Charley, he gave her a small nod in gratitude.
Not because she held the door open for him, but because she'd saved him from a very curious and intrusive white-furred mouse.
Without her knowing, of course.
It was still a nice save, though.

Once they were all inside, Charley closed the door and turned on the light.
The huge lamps flickered a few times before they enlightened the room they were in.
The first thing that Throttle noticed was the cold. There was a clear difference in temperature between outside and here, inside the building.
Not that it bothered him.
They were standing in an open space with a high ceiling, surrounded by weird objects from which Throttle thought were some kind of machines.
As he looked further across the room, he saw two doors.
By the looks of things, one door led to the separate space that was on the first floor.
It had a huge window, as if the room was made for the people up there to keep a close watch on what happened in the giant open space where they were now standing in.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, Charley ma'am, but what is this place?", Modo asked, still looking around him with awe.
His heavy voice echoed against the walls before it slowly faded away.
Charley, who was already on her way towards the doors, stopped and turned around.
"Sorry, I just keep forgetting you guys are from another planet. This is the Vienna Beef Hot Dog Factory", she answered as she gestured around her, smiling a bit sheepishly.
"I guess we're kinda lucky to have it in our hands... Food has never been a problem… yet."
"Factory?", Modo repeated, letting the new word roll over his tongue.
"Yeah, it's a place where things are made. In this case, food."
"You make your own food?", Throttle asked surprisedly as Charley already continued her way towards the doors and the mice quickly followed her.
"Oh, no. We...", the human female started, but before she could continue, Vinnie slid past her and opened the right door, curious as he was.
"Wow! Is this the Earthly version of heaven?"
Throttle already opened his mouth to tell his younger bro that he needed to behave, they weren't home after all, but when he saw what Vinnie saw, he suddenly forgot the words.
"Wow…"
"Oh, momma…"

The room was about twice the size of the one they were now standing in.
His bionic eyes wandered over the shelves full with boxes filled with hot dogs, water and other stuff he didn't recognize but had to be food too.
The temperature was even lower here and despite his fur, a shiver ran down his spine.
"So, as I was saying… no, we don't make our own food. We're just very lucky that the factory had a well-stocked freezer when the Samaki came", Charley explained. "Do I need to move it, now you guys know where it is?", she added and Throttle gave her a surprised look.
Was she… teasing them?
Who knew she had in her.
He then looked at Vinnie.
"Do we, Vincent?"
The white-furred mouse gave his friend and leader a glare over his shoulder before heaving a sigh.
"Funny… Wooooaawww! Guys, look!", he then suddenly exclaimed.
His two bro's looked down on him a bit startled by this sudden act of loudness.
The young white-furred mouse held a finger in the air to make sure he had their attention and then heaved a sigh again.
Throttle's eyes grew big when he saw what his young bro was so excited about all of a sudden.
"What the... ", he heard Modo mumble next to him, telling the tan-furred mouse Modo saw it too now.
How was this even possible?

"There's… There's smoke coming out of your mouth, how…", Throttle started, but he soon trailed off again when he saw the same thing was happening with him.
His tongue slid through his mouth, along his teeth, searching for anything that could explain this weird phenomenon.
But it didn't feel different than usual.
He looked at Modo, who looked back at him with his one eye wide open, shock was written on his face and his mouth tightly clenched, as if he was scared to open it.
Then, his gaze landed on Vinnie, who was now almost panting like a Memphant.
Knowing him, he was probably trying to fill the whole room with the weird smoke.
It seemed a nonstarter for the smoke already vanished shortly after leaving the mouth, but that wasn't gonna stop the young mouse from trying.
A muffled sound, one that wasn't familiar to him, broke Throttle out of his trance and he now looked at his left.
Charley was leaning against the door, her mouth covered with one hand. He narrowed his eyes behind his glasses, not sure why she was doing that.
Was the air in this giant cold room toxic or something?
If so, why didn't she warn them?
After a short hesitation, he looked into her eyes for the first time after that weird happening on the platform.
Her twinkling eyes.
The small frown between her eyes was gone too.
He was about to ask if she was okay when she suddenly burst into laughter.
Oh...
The sound of her laugh was the most beautiful thing Throttle had ever heard and he quickly lowered his gaze.
He still didn't entirely trust himself.

The other two mice turned their head to look at her, the youngest of them being completely out of breath after his so-called -and useless- experiment.
"Care to share what's so funny, sweetheart?"
But Charley shook her head, not able to answer that question and she held up her hand to let them know she needed some time to calm down.
The mice shared another confused look and shrugged before they all looked back at the human female, who now -for it seemed- slowly calmed down again.
"The look on your faces, oh my god…", she breathed, shaking her head. "It's no smoke, guys, it's your warm breath that evaporates in the cold air. It's harmless", she added when she saw their confused faces.
"You guys don't know cold on Mars?"
"We uh… we do, but not… not like this", Modo answered a bit sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
He couldn't help himself from feeling a bit stupid, but then again, there never came smoke out of their mouth back on Mars.
Earth was so much different than Mars.
Was it really stupid to be surprised by the unknown?
A delayed tear rolled down her cheek and Charley wiped it away as she signed to the mice to step back, still smiling.
"Let me close the door, I'm freezing."
"Need me to warm you up, doll?", Vinnie immediately grabbed this opportunity, wiggling his eyebrows.
"No, thanks. I'm not sure if you're able to, if ya know what I mean", she retorted with a wink and both Throttle and Modo laughed when they saw the sour look on Vinnie's face.
"Guess she told you, loverboy", Throttle chuckled, feeling very relieved that she rejected this… cheesy suggestion of his youngest bro.
He was also very relieved that he was able to look at Charley without going completely loco again.
For now, at least.
The confusion was still there, though.
He still had no idea what had happened back on that platform, but there were more important matters that required his attention right now.
A very… fishy matter.
Charley seemed to guess his thoughts for she pointed at the other door.
"Come on. Up, up, up we go."

"Hey, guys… ", Vinnie whispered when they followed her up the stairs, the young mouse with a little bit more effort because of his leg.
"What exactly is a freezer?"
"I've got no idea", Modo responded softly.
"It's probably some mechanism to keep the food healthy…I dunno", Throttle mumbled in turn.
"Earth is weird", the youngest of them concluded.
"You said it."

The room with the big window was actually quite cozy, a big contrast with the cold and basic workspace of the factory.
There was a desk in the right corner and two comfortable looking couches closeby the window.
The walls were decorated with photos of the factory, probably from when it was still running.
If he didn't have to worry about Plutarkians right now, Throttle would've loved to watch them to learn a bit more about this strange planet.
But, unfortunately, there were Plutarkians outside this camp and it was time to get some answers. And this time for real.
Charley dropped down on one of the couches and Throttle quickly sat down on the other one, hereby avoiding he would end up sitting next to her.
Man.
This was like his teenage years all over again.
But there was just no reason to stir the pot and so he didn't.
Modo took place next to Charley, forcing Vinnie to sit down next to Throttle.
That yielded him a glare from the white-furred mouse, which he ignored.
Throttle had mixed feelings about all this.
Somewhere, he was grateful for this action but it also gave him the nagging feeling that Modo was more than aware of what was going on with him.
Well, at least that it had something to do with Charley.
Man.

"So, didn't you tell us this morning you had it all under control?", Vinnie asked as he leaned forward and thereby opened the conversation before Throttle could.
"From what I saw out there, you didn't. Far from it."
It was a fair point.
A little on the nose, maybe, but still...
A fair point.
"Didn't I ask you to hand over your weapons?", Charley retorted, probably referring to the small handgun in Vinnie's ankle holster.
"All of your weapons?"
Also, a fair point.
"Touche", the white-furred mouse only smiled.
He wasn't gonna tell her that it wasn't him who kept it from her, but Throttle.
A mouse didn't snitch on his brothers.
Charley studied Vinnie's face, waiting for an explanation, but the young mouse only winked at her.
After heaving a sigh, she did answer his question.
"Usually, we do. Have it under control. Otherwise, we would've been long gone already. However, they came with greater numbers than usual, and they've never been this close to the fence. Therefore, my people panicked. I know it's far from professional, but that's the thing. Most of us aren't professionals. Most of us are just fighting for what they love…"
She was now staring at a spot on the floor and the pain in her voice made them all three feel a bit uncomfortable.
Then, she looked up, her green eyes burning in gratitude.
"I wanna thank you guys, from the bottom of my heart, for stepping up like that. There was no reason to do so since this isn't your fight, but you still did. So, on behalf of my people: thank you."

A chuckle escaped Throttle's lips, he just couldn't help it.
Not because it was funny what she said, on the contrary, but the irony was hard to ignore.
"You'll be surprised about how your fight is ours too, babe. Seems we've got a common enemy."
Charley's eyes grew big when she heard that and she sat up straight.
"What do you mean, a common enemy? You… You know them?", she asked, for the first time since they met being really surprised.
"Oh, yeah, we know them, alright…", Modo sighed as he looked at his bionic arm with regret written on his face.
"We hate them from their scummy line to their moldy core", Vinnie grumbled.
It was only this morning that Throttle had wondered what could impress this serene woman, but she was now.
Impressed.
Deeply.
"But… how?", she eventually asked.
Throttle shared a quick look with his bro's before leaning back to make himself comfortable.
He noticed he finally had himself back under control and it felt liberating.
As if he was able to breathe again after being almost choked to death.
Kind of like when the Sand Raiders almost killed him, that day.
That horrible day.
"You call them Samaki, but that's not their real name. They're coming from the planet Plutark and therefore, they carry the name Plutarkian. Since they wasted all of their own resources, they go around stripmining the cosmos. It's the most cruel and deathly species we've ever encountered", Throttle explained.

Of course, he could suggest to show it to her, but that meant he needed to come close to her. Expose himself to her.
Given his earlier reaction, coming close to her was more than just a bad idea, much less to take her on a Mind Walk.
The thought alone tied his stomach in a knot.
"Plutark? Never heard of that one before…", Charley broke him out of his thoughts.
"So, they destroyed your planet?"
"Nah, they bought it", Modo answered that question.
"Our own government sold us out, not knowing they thereby signed their own death sentence."
"The stinkfaces tore the place apart and dug up the land to ship it back to Plutark", Vinnie added, having one of his rare serious moments.
"So, yeah, eventually they destroyed it", Throttle nodded.
"The mice population fought back, though. Hard. As soon as the government realized what they had done, they used the army to take back what belonged to them. To us. But most of us got wiped out."
"So, that's why you know how to fight? Because you're army?"
Vinnie's head jerked up.
"Hell no, I ain't no army!"

Charley gave him a puzzled look after hearing the defensive tone in his voice and Throttle laid a hand on the white-furred mouse his shoulder.
"Vincent here is right, we're not army. We're Freedom Fighters. Members of a rebellion resistance, since the army couldn't handle it. They're obligated to protocols and you don't kill a Plutarkian with protocols. You fight fire with fire, but the army couldn't. And that's where the Freedom Fighters came in."
"We are so much better than the army, hell, they only lasted for like two years or so", Vinnie pointed out.
"One and a half, to be exact", Modo corrected him.
"Whatever. The point is that the Freedom Fighters stood tall till the end."
"The end?", Charley asked.
Throttle heaved a sigh.
"Yeah, a few days ago they managed to take over. There was nothing we could do, not anymore… We were outnumbered…"
"And you managed to escape?"
"Yeah, along with a few buddies of ours. But the Plutarkians followed us and blew us out of the sky. And here we are", Modo told her.
"And your… buddies?"
"We lost them. We have no idea what happened to them", Throttle said softly.
Charley swallowed with difficulty.
"And Mars is lost?"
"Yeah… Mars is lost…"
"Ugh, the things I would do to just go back and drop a bomb on all of them", Vinnie growled as he punched his fist in his other hand.
"Maybe we will, someday... ", Throttle mumbled.
"Oh, momma, I still can't believe that we've crashed on a planet that is being invaded with Plutarkians too…", Modo sighed, shaking his big head.
Vinnie nodded.
"I know right… but hey, look at the bright side."
"What bright side?"
"There's nothing wrong with my hearing! Ha! I told ya. I was right and you, my friend, were wrong."
Modo slowly looked up, his eye flickered a few times before it started to glow red.
"You really think I care about that right now? You really think it matters? Did you forget what happened that last day on Mars?", he asked slowly, his voice even lower than usual.
"Of course I haven't forgotten. I'm just trying to see the good things in life, bro", Vinnie answered nonchalantly, not impressed by the suppressed anger that was clearly hearable in his older bro his voice.
Modo blinked a few times before his eye turned back to its normal color.
It was generally known that the young white-furred mouse had some strange coping mechanisms.
But it was Vinnie's way of dealing with the pain and horror that came with war and Modo had to respect that.
It wasn't always ego that spoke, after all.
Sometimes it was just the young boy who desperately clung to the good things in life to prevent himself from drowning into darkness.
And so, Modo gave Vinnie a nod.
"I know, little bro, I know."

Now the threat of a Martian fight had passed again, Throttle looked at Charley, who was still looking at Vinnie and Modo.
"I need to ask you, Charley. What happened here?", he asked softly.
She now looked at him and the pain in her eyes cut through his soul quite unexpectedly.
He knew that look.
He saw it when he looked into the mirror on a bad day.
Despair.
The result of living a life one didn't choose to live.
It was all too familiar.
Unfortunately.

Charley cleared her throat as she leaned back and pulled her legs up.
"It all happened six years ago… Perhaps they bought Mars, but they invaded Earth. Without any warning… NASA didn't even spot them, they were just there, out of the blue, in large numbers. We didn't even get the chance to talk to them, to try to make a deal or whatever, no... They came, they saw and they conquered... "
She was talking as if they weren't there, Throttle noticed.
He remembered her saying that she didn't like to talk about this.
He couldn't blame her.
War was traumatizing.
"They destroyed Chicago within a week, killing everyone they encountered. When they were done, most of them left again. The others stayed behind… After hearing your story, I think they stayed to pick up the pieces. Up until now, I never knew what their motivation was, I thought they were just cruel, you know. That they enjoyed destroying a planet. There were even times that I caught myself thinking that we called this upon ourselves, I mean, we weren't exactly good for our planet. We were slowly destroying it, they just sped up the process."
"Chicago is the name of the city we're in now?", Modo asked.
"Yeah… at least, what's left of it. It used to be a beautiful and lively city, now it's like living in a zombie apocalypse, without the zombies, that is. Instead, we have alien fish. Not sure what's worse, though."
"Zombies? What are zombies?", Vinnie asked confused.
Charley smiled.
"The undead. People who come back to life."
"Huh? How can a dead person be… undead?", the white-furred mouse mused a bit sheepishly.
"They can't. It's fiction. It's not real."
"But…"

"What about you? You managed to survive their invasion, obviously. How?", Throttle cut Vinnie off, curious about her personal story and not about living undead people or whatever.
"My father… my father was one of those guys who liked to be prepared. He insisted to build an underground bomb shelter beneath my home, and so he did. When he was done building it, he provided the shelter with enough food for at least a year."
"Did he see this coming? Is that why he built the place?", Modo asked.
Charley smiled, although it was a sad smile.
"No one saw this coming. He built the place in case of a natural disaster, which was a realistic threat as a result of climate change. We always joked about alien invasions, never had I thought that the one time I needed to use the bomb shelter, it was because of a goddamn alien invasion. Something with irony. Anyway, as soon as the first bombs fell, I locked myself up in there."
"And your father?"
"He died before all of this happened. He got sick. That was the one thing he wasn't prepared for. He died within a month… But I'm glad now. Because this-", and she gestured around her. "At least he is spared the horrors of all this."
Modo nodded to that ruling, completely understanding where she was coming from. It was the same thought he'd right before the Army of Death attacked them, but then about his beloved mother.
"So, I survived the invasion because of good preparation of my father. At the time, I thought that he'd gone mad, because what are the odds, right? Even though a natural disaster was a realistic threat, I always thought that this kind of things would never happen to me. God, I was so naive… But my father was a stubborn man and I'll be forever grateful that he was, because it saved my life…"
She stared at the floor again, clearly sucked back in time for a moment.
"It sounds like he was a good man", Modo said softly.
The pain of losing someone you love dearly was, unfortunately, all too familiar to him.
Charley looked up at him and gave him a grateful smile.
"He was... Anyway, when things calmed down a bit, I went out to see the damage. And I guess someone's looking out for me, because my home was still standing, along with a few buildings in the surrounding area. The second week after the invasion I found more survivors, but they weren't so lucky. They'd lost about everything they once owned. It broke my heart and I took them in. But they kept on coming and soon, my home became too small. It was then when I decided to build a home for anyone who needed it. And that's how Camp Hope is born. Long story short: we built a fence around the area that was still standing, including my home and the hotdog factory, and slowly but steady, it became our new home. And here we are."
"Really impressive, babe", Vinnie complimented her without a subtext this time.
That's because he really meant it, from the bottom of his heart.
She not only survived, she thrived.
He could only respect that.
"What about Max?", he then asked, the tip of his tail twitching.
Charley gave him a confused look.
"What about him?"
"What's his role in this story?"
"Why do you wanna know?"
"Why don't you just tell me?"

Throttle looked the other way to hide his smile.
He knew all too well how annoying it was to be the target of Vinnie's almost insatiable curiosity.
He would've helped her if he wasn't so curious himself.
Charley let out her breath.
"We met shortly after the invasion. The US army tried to evacuate survivors, and Max was part of one of the teams. He…"
"Hold up. Max is army?", Vinnie interrupted her surprisedly.
"Yeah. So?"
Vinnie looked at Throttle, who softly shook his head to tell him that there was no need to tell Charley about their… suspicions.
Not yet.
Not now it was still nothing more but a hunch.
The young mouse looked back at Charley and shrugged.
"Just a question to make sure I've heard it right, sweetheart. Go on."
The human female gave Vinnie a suspicious look -who gave her his most charming smile back- and for a moment, Throttle thought she wasn't going to continue.
She clearly felt that there was more to it.
But to his surprise -and relief-, she did.

"Okay… Anyway, he tried to take me with him, but I wanted to stay. Chicago is my home, invaded or not. For some reason, he refused to leave me behind, and so his team left without him. Shortly thereafter we heard from another survivor that their helicopter got shot out of the air. He also told us that there was no place to go, not anymore, that the whole country was ground zero. Perhaps even the whole planet, who knows? Either way, Max stayed and helped me built up Camp Hope from scratch. His military training came in handy for he was able to protect us against the fish who tried to stop us from building the camp. He found guns. He learned the people how to use them. He led missions to search for stuff we could use. He's head security now and he's doing a good job. We can live in relative peace here, thanks to him. I owe him a lot. We all do."
Throttle leaned forward and studied her face.
Her words were full of praise but her eyes told quite another story.
Actually, her eyes told nothing.
Again, her eyes were empty.
"What is he to you?", the tan-furred mouse blurted out, he just couldn't stop himself.
Her face darkened and she folded her arms.
"That's none of your business", she answered with a cold voice.
Throttle narrowed his eyes behind his glasses by seeing this sudden change in behavior.
There was clearly more to tell about Max, but she didn't want to share it with them.
Which was her good right.
Unfortunately.
But all in good time.
So, he asked another question.
"Why did you decide to help us? After hearing your story, you have reason enough to not trust aliens and yet, you took us with you. Why?"
Instead of answering this question, Charley rose to her feet.
"Come on. I'll show you."

She led them to a small building close to the factory.
"This is where I lived before all this, and… worked", she explained as she pointed up.
The mice followed her finger.
"Last Chance Garage", Vinnie read out loud before his jaw dropped.
"You're a mechanic?"
"Best in Chi-town, if I may say so", Charley answered with pride but then her face darkened again.
"Probably the last one too."
Vinnie now stared at her with admiration visible in his ruby-red eyes, almost drooling.
Throttle knew his bro well enough to know that the human female was now upgraded from 'slightly interesting' to 'target' on Vinnie's list.
He couldn't actually blame him, because she wasn't just a woman.
She was a mechanic.
She had brains, next to beauty.
If only he wouldn't stare at her like that...
Before Throttle could even process it, his hand already lashed out and he smacked Vinnie on the back of his head.
The young mouse spun around, his eyes burning with outrage.
"Hey! Where the hell was that for?!"
Charley turned around too, so did Modo and Throttle already regretted this move, for he thereby became the center of the attention all of a sudden.
Yeah, well.
It wasn't like he'd thought this through, now did he?
Hell no.
It was an ill-considered and stupid move.
Kinda like Vinnie would do.
But not him.
Certainly not him.
But he did and now he needed to salvage what's left of his dignity.
"No one ever taught you that staring isn't polite?", he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
He failed, though, and Vinnie narrowed his eyes.
"Now you're starting to sound like Modo. What the hell is wrong with ya, bro? You're acting downright weird. First…", but before he could start about the platform incident in front of Charley, Modo came to the rescue.
"Maybe he sounds like me, but he's right, bro. You never stare at a lady, that just ain't right", the grey-furred giant cut the young mouse off.
Vinnie's face darkened and looked at Charley again, who was watching them with confusion.
"Don't listen to them, babe, I wasn't like… creepy staring at ya, I was just impressed when you told you're a mechanic, that's all", he quickly reassured her.
It was probably to save his own skin, because the blush that was visible under his white fur made clear that his ego was bruised.
Throttle felt a pang of guilt when he realized that they'd hurt the white-furred mouse his feelings.
The last thing he wanted was to humiliate his younger bro.
Well, not like this, that is.
There's a difference between friendly teasing and embarrassing someone.
But it just happened.
That didn't make it fair, though.
And on top of it all, Modo gave him this look to tell him that he didn't mind to stand up for him, but that he at least wanted to know why he was antagonizing Vinnie.
Which was his good right.
What a mess this was.

Charley studied Vinnie's face before she apparently decided to just ignore this weird and slight awkward happening.
She took a small device out of her pocket and pushed the small yellow button that was on it.
One of the big doors slowly opened, revealing a modest but all equipped workspace with one lift.
Throttle, who was more than grateful for the distraction, felt how relief rushed through his veins.
There was a garage here.
There was equipment.
That meant they were able to fix the bikes.
Finally, luck was on their side for once.
Charley leaned against the doorway.
"It was seeing your bikes which made me decide to help you. I'm not sure why, maybe because all the bikers I met were honest and sincere men. I took care of their bikes and they took care of me. Almost like a family… I dunno, it sounds weird, I know. I don't know how to explain it..."
"Biker code, you mean", Modo pointed out.
She looked up at him, a bit surprised.
"Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. You have that too, on Mars?"
Modo nodded.
"If you mean the unwritten rule that bikers help each other in need, then yeah, we have that too."
Charley looked at Throttle now.
"I can help fix the bikes if you want?"
The tone of her voice was a bit too eager and Throttle smiled, knowing her hands were more than itchy to examine their bikes.
He looked at his bro's.
"What do you think, boys? Is she allowed to touch our bikes? I'm in favor."
Vinnie glared at the tan-furred mouse, clearly, he was still angry at him for hitting him and what followed, before studying Charley for a moment.
He then nodded.
"Yeah, me too. I trust her."
Modo seemed to be a bit more reserved, but that didn't surprise Throttle.
They all three adored their bikes, but the grey-furred giant took the cake.
"Take some time to think about it, big fella. She can look at our bikes first."
Modo nodded and then looked back at Charley.
"Sorry, Charley ma'am, it's not that I don't trust ya, it's just…"
"His bike is like his kid. Don't sweat it, babe, it took him like six years before he allowed me to come even near her", Vinnie told her.
"Yeah, but that's because you're the master of disaster. I'm sure Charley will be a bit more restraint", Throttle pointed out without thinking.
"Geez, thanks, bro. You're really on a roll today, aren't ya?", the white-furred mouse responded as he folded his arms.
Throttle gave himself a mental slap in the face for saying that.
He didn't mean anything by it, he was just telling it the way it was, but the timing was bad, he now knew.
"You're right, I'm sorry, bro."
Vinnie snorted, his whole appearance radiated annoyance, but he said nothing.
Throttle heaved a sigh.
He really needed to figure out this… thing that was happening to him, rather sooner than later.
Their bond was unbreakable, yes, but even though it couldn't break, that didn't mean it was completely inviolable.
Vinnie was right, he was acting weird.
And it wasn't fair for both of his bro's to be the victim of this weird behavior.

Charley, again oblivious to the tension between the two others, patted Modo on the arm.
"It's okay, Modo. Only if it feels right, and only then. I know the bond between a bike and its rider. I have a bike myself, and not even Max is allowed to ride it."
"You have a bike? Can I see it?", Vinnie immediately asked, already distracted again, but Charley shook her head.
"Not now. Later. First, I wanna ask you guys something..."
Throttle spread his arms, already knowing what was coming.
Yet, he invited her to say it herself.
"Shoot."
She took a deep breath and looked him, despite his glasses, straight in the eye.
"Are you guys willing to join us in our fight against the Plutarkians?"

Oh boy, Throttle isn't exactly himself right now, and it immediately affects the other two, since they have no idea what is going on with their usual calm leader.
At least they've got some answers now.
With probably more to come.
And what about Max?
But first, will they join Charley into her fight?
We'll see.
Well, you guys will see, I already know what's going to happen XD

Hope you guys liked this chapter.
Feel free to leave a review, always very much appreciated.
And till next time, my loyal readers!

Later!