Many thanks for the review Spaceflora, Madeline and guest!

I hope you're all still enjoying this work of fiction :)

It was cold outside and there were no stars or moon in sight to light up the dark night sky. Clouds covered ever inch of the black void and in the distance you could hear the sky rumble. the announcement of an incoming storm. The sand felt soft beneath his hand and between his fingers. Apart from the rumbling thunder, the other clear sound was that of waves crashing on the shoreline.

Stoker hadn't been here before, mostly because water and fur was a terrible combination in his opinion, but also because he'd never had a reason to visit this part of town. If it hadn't been for tonight he probably wouldn't have come here at all. And if it also hadn't been for Throttle, he wouldn't have known of this place.

His eyes traced the long line of the pier all the way up towards the lake until the line vanished in the dark. Then he sighed, touched his head before grabbing a fistful of his brown hair. The older mouse closed his eyes and recalled the images he'd seen in his mind.

Images of memories and feelings that weren't his. Memories he'd rather not seen. At least not without consent. But it had happened and he had seen much more than he wanted to. He couldn't shake them out, he couldn't wipe them from his vision. He was stuck with them and he knew at the same time that she was now also stuck with his.

This wasn't how it normally worked. Normally when you established a link with someone else, even if it's for something as simple as sharing information, you would be in control of what you send out. But not this time. Not with Izzy. Stoker couldn't explain it, he wasn't a scientist or whatever 'tist' you needed to be to understand the physics of Martian mental capacities.

One thing was certain, if he'd seen her memories, she'd probably seen some of his too. He had no idea how much or which specific parts she had seen of his memory. He doubted it was all sunshine and butterflies.

The others probably realized by now that he was gone. Had they heard him leave on Charley's motorcycle? Had someone found Izzy unconscious on the kitchen floor? Or had she woken up on her own and told the others what happened? Either way it didn't matter.

He couldn't stay there, not after what happened. Was it an accident? Of course it was. Was it something he wanted to happen? Stoker had to admit that it was. But not like this. Not on accident, not without permission and most definitely not without having explained to her how it worked.

He mostly felt guilty about it. Guilty that he had seen those private memories and unprepared for the fact that she might have seen some of his.

Stoker had to talk to her. Explain to her what had happened and what she might have seen. But mostly he wanted her to explain what he had seen. There were images that made his blood run cold and feelings which made him angry. So incredibly angry he had actually yelled a few times as he rode through town all the way towards the pier.

The images had played through his head in a rapid but clear pace. He'd seen every image perfectly even if they had been short and fleeting.

The accident. The fire. The explosion. Blood streaming down her face. Those first few images were about the accident, the accident which had killed Sam and had given Izzy her scar.

Then there was an image of Charley crying. A coffin being lowered into the earth. Images of Sam's funeral.

What followed next were things he at first didn't really understand. He saw an office with a man sitting behind a desk. It reminded him a lot of the Plutarkians who still resided on Earth.

He saw various numbers and a bottle of alcohol. It took a minute before Stoker realized the numbers had to do with money. A concept he'd grown to hate, because that had been one of the reasons why his planet had gone through a war and was still dealing with the aftermath of it.

But he didn't understand what it had to do with Izzy. He was certain that what he saw after that had to do with it, and those were images he truly wished he hadn't seen.

He couldn't go back to the garage, not now. The scoreboard was also not an option, he wanted to talk to Izzy before his bros got a chance to confront him about what had happened. There was only one logical step to take next.

Stoker stood up and wiped the sand from his pants, he walked back up the steps next to the pier and took his seat on Charley's ride. He started the engine and rode off back into town, hoping his sense of direction would be able to lead him the right way.

The Last Chance Garage

There was no doubt about it. Stoker had left the Last Chance Garage in the middle of the night. The three bros heard the sound of a motorcycle leaving the garage. Both Vinnie and Modo ran towards the window and looked outside into the deserted street catching a glimpse of a bike riding off into the distance. The rider unmistakeably being Stoker as his tail was visible in the lights coming from Charley's bike.

"I wonder where he's going?" Modo asked as he furrowed his brow.

"More like why is he going?" Vinnie added. "Did he mention leaving?"

"Not to me?" The grey mouse responded.

Charley, who sat on the end of the bed, turned her head towards Throttle who'd just finished eating all of the burgers Izzy had made. The female mechanic had made sure both Vinnie and Modo steered clear of the meal intended for the tanned mouse.

But Throttle's mind was currently wandering. The sudden announcement of Stoker leaving the garage didn't sit well with him. Something was definitely off and he was certain that things had happened downstairs. He was convinced that a certain someone was probably also involved with the situation.

"I think you'd better check on Izzy." Throttle told to woman in front of him and Charley nodded leaving the three bikers alone in her bedroom.

"Check on Izzy?" Modo moved away from the window. "You think something happened?"

Throttle set the plate aside and moved the covers aside. "Knowing Stoke, yes." Their leader replied as he pushed himself up.

"Whoa, whoa, Throttle!" The one eyed mouse yelled as he grab hold of his bro. "You can't get out of bed yet, man. Just because you had a meal, doesn't mean you can move about."

The other mouse hated to admit it, but Modo was right. The moment he stood up his vision started to get blurry despite the fact he was wearing his glasses. Tiny stars danced on his cornea and he tightened his hold on Modo.

"Yeah, sit down, bro. We'll take care of it. You just rest up, it's not even been twenty-four hours since you've been in an explosion." Vinnie said still standing in front of the window.

Mildly irritated Throttle complied nonetheless and sat back down in the bed. Modo clapped him on the back as a thank you. "I'll go and see what's happening downstairs." That seemed to reassure their leader.

The grey mouse walked out of the bedroom and descended the steps towards the living room. It didn't take long for him to find Charley and her sister-in-law. They were both sitting on the couch and from this angle Modo could only see the look on Charley's face. It was safe to say it wasn't a good one.

"I'm fine." He could hear Izzy say.

"You're not fine." Charley retorted as she moved a strand of Izzy's honey blond hair behind her ear. "Do you remember anything?"

Modo didn't continue his tread and instead remained standing on the last step of the staircase. The sentence 'do you remember anything' did not sound good at all. Throttle was right, something had definitely happened while all of them were upstairs.

"Just,- flashes,- images,-" Izzy paused and placed a hand against her head. "I don't even know what it was that I saw."

Images? It didn't take long for Modo to realize what had occurred. But he needed to be certain. He took the last step down and walked over to the couch. Charley spotted him and lifted her head to meet his eyes. Her own eyes questioning the situation. Izzy then turned around and glanced up at him.

One of her cheeks was red, that had come from Throttle. Her eyes were puffy, he was certain that was because of what had happened. Modo cleared his throat. "Did Stoker touch you?" He asked.

"Modo?!" Charley exclaimed and Izzy blinked with confusion.

"With these." The tallest mouse explained as he pointed to the pair of red antenna on his head. "Did he make contact with you?"

Izzy nodded, not sure what Modo meant with the word contact, but she placed her hand against her temple. "Right here. I'm not even sure how long it was."

"I found her on the floor." Charley added looking up and Modo. "How is that possible?"

Modo shrugged. He wasn't sure himself. When they first arrived on Earth, Throttle had made contact with Charley to show her where they were from and what was taking place on their home planet. Charley hadn't fainted, fallen or lost consciousness from the connection. It was a mystery why Izzy had, unless something had happened during the connection between her and his former teacher.

The grey mouse pondered. Would it happen to him if he connected with Charley? Out of all of them, the only one who'd ever connected to Charley had been Throttle.

"Will you stop fussing over me?" Izzy grabbed hold of Charley's hand and pulled it away from her face. "I said I'm fine. I'm not in pain, Charlene."

"Okay, okay." Charley replied as she moved back a bit on the couch. "It's just,- well. Throttle connected with me when the guys first arrived on Earth, and I was fully aware the entire time. It was more like a movie showing instead of flashing images."

The auburn haired mechanic told Izzy, but she kept her eyes on Modo as she talked about her first encounter with a telepathic link.

Modo honestly did not know what she wanted him to say, because he wasn't even sure what happened. "I think it's better if we wait until we see Stoker again. He's probably upset and feels guilty."

Izzy's face softened as he said that. Her shoulders relaxed and she leaned back in the couch.

"Should we look for him?" Charley suggested, but Modo shook his head.

"We mice like to cool down on our own. Especially if we feel bad about something." He gave her a small smile which she returned.

"Charley?" Izzy began and Charley shifted her attention to her. "Would you mind if I borrow your car? I mean, I know I said I was going to stay here for tonight, but,- Throttle appears to be pretty much out of the danger zone and frankly,-" She paused and her eyes flicked towards Modo for a moment.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep anyway. And I'd like to just, be alone for a moment."

Charley furrowed her brow and looked from Izzy to Modo and then back to Izzy.

"I'll be back tomorrow."

From behind Izzy's back Modo nodded at Charley. He actually agreed with the other woman. Somehow he understood it, just as he understood why Stoker had taken off. He would have done the same thing.

"Alright." Charley eventually said. "Will you also think about what I asked earlier? About work?"

Izzy smiled and nodded. "I will." With that she stood up, left the living room and headed into the garage.

Now it was just Modo and Charley. The two friends quietly listened as a car started and the garage doors opened up. The kept listening until the sound of the vehicle had died out. Modo took a deep breath and moved towards the couch where he sat down next to Charley.

"Never a dull moment with you guys around." Charley sighed.

"Nope." Modo mouthed as he leaned back. Charley followed his example and placed her hand on his lower arm.

"Thanks for coming down to check on us." She said softly. Modo felt very warm all of a sudden. And then he did something he normally didn't do. But he felt it was a good moment. He moved his arm away from her touch and grabbed hold of her hand, giving it a gently squeezed as he rubbed his thumb over the back of it.

"Always, Charley-girl."

The Motel

The ride over to the motel had gone smooth and quiet. Izzy pulled over and parked Charley's car next to her own. The parking lot was dark except for a few lampposts lighting the area. She shivered behind the steering wheel. She didn't care much for travelling during the night, but at the same time it was more serene and calming than during the day when people tended to yell and shout and drive like maniacs.

Izzy stepped out of the car and locked it before stepping towards the door of her motel room. She paused once she reached the door. Something felt off. She glanced back over her shoulder into the darkness, but there was nothing there. Had she been followed? Izzy was certain that she hadn't been, aside from the fact there was no reason as to why she should be followed.

Uneasily she turned her head back to the door and rummaged in her pockets for the keys to unlock the door. However the same feeling stayed with her even as she set foot inside her motel room. Nothing seemed to be out of order inside, everything being exactly as she left it. The bed made, the table cleared, the bathroom door slightly ajar.

Quietly she shut the door behind her and she placed hers and Charley's car keys on the table. Was she being paranoid? Izzy wasn't sure. Was it because of what happened at Charley's? She shook her head and took her coat off. But then she heard something and she swiftly moved her head to look at the bathroom door.

She wasn't alone. Someone was in her room. Izzy grabbed her bag and reached inside. Again another soft but yet distinctive noise of something moving about came from the direction of the bathroom. Without hesitating she pulled her weapon from her bag and made way for the bathroom. It could very well be a creature, such as a rodent or a bug. But after what happened during the last year of her life, she was always cautious and alert, just in case.

Izzy shimmied alongside the wall leading towards the bathroom door. Slowly she opened the door with one hand as she held her gun aloft, ready to aim it at who or whatever was on the other side. Her heart pounded in her throat as she jumped into the opening with her weapon raised in front of her.

She breathed heavily, her eyes flicked back and forth but there was nobody there. Izzy lowered her arms and stepped inside the room, with one swift movement she pulled the shower curtain aside. But the tub was empty as well.

"You can put that down now, beautiful." A voice said coming from behind her.

Izzy swung around, ready to fire her weapon at the obvious intruder but the moment she turned the gun was yanked from her hands. She gasped out loud when she caught sight on who had approached her.

Former general Stoker stood next to the bed, the gun hanging on the end of his tail.

"Jesus,- What on Earth are you doing here?!" Izzy screeched as she reached for her heart which felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. "How the bloody hell did you get inside?"

Stoker scratched the back of his head as he dropped the gun on her bed and then proceeded by moving his tail in front of him, the metal tip reflecting in the moonlight. "Old trick."

Izzy rubbed her neck. "I don't believe this." She breathed. "I could have shot you, you realize that, don't you?"

Truth be told, Stoker very much doubted she would have been able to actually harm him. His reflexes were trained for these sort of situations, plus his species was able to act much faster compared to a regular human. Sure, she could have done some damage, but kill him? He hadn't thought of that for even a second. He did wonder why she had a gun in the first place, but that was something to discuss for another day.

"You could never hurt me, darling." He smirked as he said down on the bed. "I'm sorry for breaking into your,- uh,- accommodations. If I had known you were planning on dropping by I would have prepared a welcome."

"What?" Izzy blinked with confusion, not getting what he was implying nor still having an answer as to why he was there.

Stoker realized she was probably not in the mood for his antics. He had after all scared the living daylights out of her. The older mouse cleared his throat. "I came here because,- Well,-" He paused and looked at Izzy who stood against the wall with her arms crossed.

"Actually I should apologize first. For what happened at Charley's." Stoker moved aside and patted the empty spot next to him on the bed. "For leaving you like that."

Izzy watched him for a couple of seconds before moving away from the wall and sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Alright."

Now that she was sitting next to him, or at least near him, Stoker was unsure how he was going to apologize. He'd thought about how he was going to explain things to her, but not about an apology.

"Let me begin by saying that what happened was an accident. I didn't mean to connect, it's not something we normally do without consent and even when we do it's,-"

"Wait,-" Izzy suddenly said interrupting him and he looked at her.

"What exactly do you mean with connect? Or consent?" She shook her head. "Charley mentioned some things as did Modo. But nobody really explained what that,-" She pointed at Stoker's antennas. "Means?"

Great. Stoker was now dealing with trying to explain how their physiology worked. "Martian mice can establish telepathic links with each other, through our antennas. But we need to touch the other person with them in order for it to work. As you've noticed that link can happen the moment you touch the other person, although normally it doesn't necessarily happen like that." He averted his eyes and stared at the wall behind Izzy. "It's a bit of a mystery really."

The woman cocked her head. "Charley told me that your friend Throttle did that with her. That she saw things, but the way she said it, it was different. She was aware during and after it had happened."

Stoker moved his eyes back to look at her. "I don't have an explanation for that, sweetheart." He admitted. "Did you,- I mean,- Did it hurt?"

Izzy looked at him and Stoker already flinched before she'd even answered his question. He'd never be able to shake that image of her lying on the floor after he'd touched her.

But to his surprise she shook her head. The former commander sighed with relief.

"I shouldn't have run." He then said and he meant it. It wasn't like him to run. But the fact of the matter was that if this had been with anybody else, somebody who didn't make him feel as Izzy managed to do, he wouldn't have run.

From the corner of his eye he caught Izzy looking at him. Not just looking, but observing him. He felt his face heat up and Stoker straightened himself before his mind would start to wander. "Anyhow, as to why I came here, honestly I figured this would be the one place nobody would come looking for me."

A small smile crept over Izzy's face. "Sorry."

Stoker grinned and leaned back against the head of the bed. "Honey, you can come looking for me any day." He winked.

Izzy had not come there to look for Stoker, if anything she came to her motel room to be alone by herself. But she let him think what he wanted for the moment. It was obvious he felt bad about what happened, even if he did manage to shift his emotions from runner to macho within a second. Just like now his bravado suddenly vanished like snow melting in front of the sun. He moved and scooted forward towards her, stopping only a few inches away from where she was sitting.

"Did you see anything?" He asked. "Anything at all?"

Izzy blinked her blue eyes at him, her lips parting slightly as Stoker's eyes lowered themselves for a split second.

"Yes."

"What did you see?"

Stoker honestly didn't know, he'd been too caught up with whatever had been coming from her mind that he had no idea what images he'd sent out to her. But Izzy didn't continue as she suddenly yawned and Stoker decided that perhaps this had all been enough for today.

"You know what. Let's continue this tomorrow. Today has been filled with enough action for this mouse." Although truth be told Stoker was anything but tired, but he could tell that Izzy actually was even if she didn't say so.

Izzy nodded and slipped off the bed. Stoker felt the need to kick himself. He didn't want to leave the motel, but he might very well have to because he told her they'd discuss matters tomorrow. Unless,- He got up and stepped in front of her.

"Mind if I crash here, gorgeous?"

It wasn't like him to politely ask permission for something. Heck, he never really had to, normally he would either take it or it would be offered to him. That's what happened when you were known on your planet as one of the most baddest ass-kicking motor mouse out there.

If the woman didn't want him to, she didn't show it. Either she didn't care or she was too tired to object. "You take the bed." Izzy told him. "After all, you got here first."

Ouch. Stoker felt that last remark in his gut. But he gathered himself quickly. "You're more than welcome to join me." It didn't even sound like a question. It wasn't meant as a question, more of an invitation to which one could not say no. Except for Isabel Davidson.

"Tempting." She joked as she stepped away from Stoker and walked over towards the couch across from the bed.

"Dang it." Stoker muttered under his breath as he scratched the back of his head. He reached for a pillow on the bed and went after Izzy.

Before she got the chance to sit down Stoker appeared next to her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "I'll take the couch."

Izzy pressed her lips in a tight line, thanked him and went back to the bed. Stoker somehow felt tricked. Especially when he watched Izzy from the corner of his eye taking her shirt over and crawling under the covers. His heart skipped a beat. Women.

Slipped a tiny Modo/Charley moment in there. Honestly I love those two, (no hate to Vinnie obviously).

I'm still figuring out how I want this telepathic mind business to work, so let me know what you think so far?

Hope you all still enjoy the story! Until next time :D