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The motel room

Stoker stared at the white ceiling above him. At least he supposed it must have been white at some point, but now mysterious light brown spots covered the corners and side of the walls connecting ceiling.

He blinked, closed his eyes, opened them and then blinked again. He couldn't sleep. Stoker turned his head and glanced over at the bed which was currently occupied by someone.

Someone who was on his mind throughout the day and triggered his senses since the very moment he laid eyes on her. It had all been very unexpected. When he first laid eyes on her, he wanted to know her. Mostly out of curiosity, he felt attracted to her overall look and demeanour and also partially because of her connection to Charley.

But it wasn't until he stood right in front of her that he realized there was more going on than a simple curious interest.

He could touch and taste the air around her. He could smell everything, every emotion she felt and his heart practically burst out of his chest every time she was only a few feet away from him.

And then he touched her. Touched her mind. On accident, but it had triggered a connection between them of that he was certain. It was hard to explain, but it wasn't the kind of connection one could easily break.

On Mars when you connected with someone it was a simple connection, one you would severe almost automatically the moment you were done sending and receiving information.

Then there were ways of diving into someone else's mind, but even then you could put up boundaries and this was something usually done between lovers and family members or even close friends.

This was different. Stoker didn't know if it was because of how he felt or because Izzy was a human, without any understanding how much her brain was capable of.

It made him wonder if she was here because of that connection. Was his mind pulling her with him wherever he went? She was suppose to stay at Charley's but she hadn't.

This is what kept him up and why Stoker couldn't sleep. Just like Izzy.

Izzy couldn't sleep either but unlike the mouse currently residing on the motel couch, she didn't dare to glance his way to see if he was still awake.

Out of all the Martian mice, all four of them that she knew of, Stoker was the one who she'd had the most contact with.

True, it was thanks to Vinnie she discovered who Charley's friends really were. Vinnie who had scared her to death. Vinnie, who according to Charley, was a lot like Sam in many ways.

Then there was Modo, the tallest and most intimidating looking out of all of them. But Modo had feared her, Charley had told her as much. Modo was kindness in its purest form and despite Izzy's initial fears of the big mouse, she knew he would never hurt a fly.

The last mouse she'd met was Throttle. A meeting by accident, but an outer worldly one at that. He'd tried to save her from, what he thought, an act of suicide. Heroic to say the very least, but unnecessary. He'd approached her without caring how she would respond. A bold move. Perhaps that was why the others considered him their leader.

But perhaps the most bold one of all was Stoker, who had contacted her before she'd ever met the others. Before she even knew who or what they were, hiding himself behind a biker's helmet. Not for one moment did she know what really went on behind that mask. Which reminded her, she never asked him about that, why he had approached her.

This time Izzy moved her legs aside in order to look into the direction where Stoker was sleeping. Only he wasn't. Even in the darkness, with only the dim light cast by the moon, she could see him looking back at her.

Stoker perked his head up the moment he caught her eyes. A small smile formed on his face.

"Can't sleep, gorgeous?" He asked.

Izzy felt rather awkward, she didn't expect him to be awake. But now that he was and he also caught her looking at him, there wasn't much to do but acknowledge it.

"Not really." She admitted as she propped up on one elbow.

"Me neither." Stoker moved the blanket aside and got off the couch, pulling a chair along with him as he made his way over to Izzy.

There were a lot of things the honey haired woman wanted to ask him, but she wasn't sure where to start and they all had to do with what happened today between them in the kitchen. He had explained most of how it worked, but it left her with more questions. Questions which would lead to more questions.

"Listen, I know I said we should probably continue talking about what happened in the morning. But seeing as neither of us can sleep,-"

Stoker didn't have to finish his sentence as Izzy moved up and turned on the lamp on the nightstand. The tall mouse placed the chair right next to the bed. Creating a distance purposely, more for himself than her.

"You want me to tell you what I saw?" Izzy asked him and Stoker nodded.

"If you wish it."

The Last Chance Garage

The two mice and Charley couldn't convince Throttle any longer in staying upstairs in Charley's bed.

The leader was adamant on joining them all downstairs in the living room, despite still feeling like crap he couldn't stand being up there on his own for another minute.

"You're sure you don't want to get some more sleep?" Charley had asked him the moment Vinnie and Modo helped him down the stairs.

"Unless you want me to go insane, Charley girl, I'd rather lie down on the couch." Throttle had replied and so he got his way.

Modo would have rather seen his bros staying exactly where they were. He finally had some alone time with Charley and he wished it would have lasted forever.

Gathering all of his courage, Modo had done something he normally wouldn't have. He'd removed his arm from Charley's shoulder and grabbed hold of her hand. He did, she let him and he succeeded.

Modo honestly couldn't remember what happened after that, it was all a blur. He couldn't recall if they talked or if they'd sat there in complete silence. Not that it mattered. Charley had accepted his touch. That was all that mattered.

"There aren't any burgers left, are there?" Vinnie asked leaning over the arm rest of the couch.

"Those were not for you." Charley said to him with a firm tone. "And no, they are all gone."

"Aw, man,-" The white mouse huffed. "I only had one."

"I'm sorry I don't keep stacks of meat in the fridge for your appetite." The auburn haired mechanic replied rolling her eyes.

"Speaking of appetite, where do you think Stoke drove off to?" The youngest mouse continued as he looked at Throttle.

Throttle shrugged. "The scoreboard probably, where else could he go?"

As he said that Charley furrowed her brow. She turned her head and looked at the window. In the distance the faint glimmer of the rising sun began to appear. Something told her that Stoker wasn't at the scoreboard. He'd left in such a hurry, without telling anybody. He was probably somewhere where nobody would find him. If the former rebel leader had any connections on Earth except for her and the mice, she wasn't aware of it. She couldn't imagine it.

"And Izzy? Perhaps she went after Stoker? Or maybe he's going after her?" Vinnie suggested.

Throttle suddenly straightened himself, but Modo shook his head.

"She left after Stoker. Said she was gonna go back to her motel." He told Vinnie.

The mouse nodded. "Still, it's all weird, if you ask me. Not even I act that weird around women."

Everyone in the living room threw Vinnie a look and the mouse widened his eyes. "What did I say?"

Throttle let out a deep sigh. "For everyone's sake, I hope this doesn't happen again."

"You're just grumpy because you got thrown off your bike." Vinnie commented. "Still, was a pretty nice flight."

Now it was Charley's turn to groan and she stood up from her seat. "I'm going to go and make some coffee." She said and without listening if any mouse was making another request for food, she rushed into the kitchen.

She purposely didn't convey her thoughts to the others. She didn't want them to worry too much, on that she agreed with Modo. It was clear when bad things happened the mice preferred solitude over company and that was exactly what she wanted to give Stoker. Though she couldn't shake the feeling that wherever her sister-in-law was going, Stoker would be there too. Which was ridiculous, but she couldn't deny the pull Stoker had been mentioning when it came to Izzy.

Charley was so caught up in her trail of thoughts that she didn't hear or see Modo enter the kitchen. Having escaped the endless theories of Vinnie, the tallest mouse unfortunately had to leave poor Throttle alone in the process. It was his own fault, the tanned mouse should have stayed upstairs if rest was what he wanted.

Modo slipped behind Charley and placed both of his hands on her shoulder. He felt her jump beneath his touch but relax the moment she glanced over her shoulder and saw it was him.

"Sorry, Modo." She said.

"You alright, Charley girl?" He asked with furrowed brow.

Charley knew it was pointless to hide her worries from Modo. He always saw straight through her. She shook her head and Modo gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"You worried miss Isabel will get hurt?"

Actually, she wasn't worried about that. Was she really worried in the first place? Or was her hunch more a wonderment than a concern.

"You can tell me." Modo continued, urging the woman on to tell him everything which was on her mind.

Charley turned around and looked up at the grey mouse who gave her the most caring smile she'd ever seen on him. Unsure where to put his hands now that the female mechanic had turned around, Modo quickly lowered his hands next to his sides.

"You guys told me that when it comes to Martian biology, that sometimes you meet someone who can throw your senses completely off guard, right?" She arched an eyebrow and Modo gulped.

"Uh, yeah. More like heightened them and you,- you feel attracted to that person in the strongest sense." Why was she asking him this? Didn't she knew this already? Hadn't he explained it himself to her in the car two days ago?

Charley nodded. "Is it also possible that you feel,- uh, a pull? That you want to be near them?"

Modo was starting to feel really warm. Not just his face, but his entire body. Charley smelled so good right now. "All the time." He managed to let out.

"I thought so." Charley sighed and she averted her gaze causing Modo to cock his head. "Is it possible to fight it? Or get rid off it?"

Modo blinked with surprise, but he gave her an answer nonetheless. Although it was an answer more based on how he would feel in such a situation, not if it was theoretically possible or not.

"I'd prefer not to. It's pretty strong, not to mention special. I wouldn't want to get rid off it."

Charley looked at him again. Her turquoise eyes vibrant and clear. He could stare at them forever. Drown in them. Live in them. Modo wanted nothing more to grab her, kiss her, pull her against him until they became one being.

"I guess I can understand that." Charley responded and a small smile crept on her face. "Thank you, Modo."

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it before letting go and walking out of the kitchen, never noticing how Modo was shaking on his legs and fell back into one of the chairs panting heavily. He did not know it, but his words gave Charley something to think about. Slowly she was beginning to understand what Stoker was going through and she felt a bit of remorse for having yelled at him a couple of days ago.

The motel room

At first everything was green. There were flowers she had never seen before, flowers she'd never smelled before. Lakes filled with crystal blue water filled with creatures unknown to her.

And then there was a big ball of fire and everything turned black. Dark grey plumes of smoke made it difficult to see even more than six feet ahead. As if everything had been covered by a thick impenetrable mist.

The lakes were gone as were the trees and flowers. Every green and blue colour was now red and brown. All the warmth it had shown was now cold and lonely.

Dirt turned to metal and a loud cackle echoed inside a room that looked more like a lab than the once luscious looking green fields.

Pain, the sound of drilling, followed by loud screams and then the only colour visible was dark red.

Stoker listened quietly as Izzy told him the things she had seen during that short period the two were connected with each other. She had seen so much more than he'd hoped she had. Although to be fair, he had seen quite a lot too and had a hard time understanding what he'd seen himself, just like her. He ran a hand through his brown air and let out a deep breath, unsure of how he was going to explain the things she had seen. Especially the latter visions.

Those were things his bros didn't even know and if it was up to Stoker he would have kept that hidden from every living being on this planet and Mars. But he couldn't now, at least not entirely. He'd have to tell her the overall picture of it.

Izzy gave him a confused look. She finished about half a minute ago and Stoker hadn't looked at her since. It was clear that what she saw were his memories and she figured that what she saw was probably his homeplanet, Mars. She bit her bottom lip, feeling the need to say something to him. Something kind and reassuring.

"I didn't know Mars was so, green."

At this Stoker woke from his thoughts and his eyes rested on the woman in front of him. Her words sounded genuine but it no longer applied to the current Mars. Not completely. Sure, Mars was slowly rebuilding, but it was far from what it used to be and chances were it would take a long time before it could be what it once was.

"It was, gorgeous. Until the Plutarkians came and bought the planet from our Martian government." He clenched his jaw.

"Sure, they thought it was for the best. But to sell a planet to trade money for resources? That's asking for trouble. Of course nobody saw what was really going on. Every body without a brain cell just went along with it. Even the army."

Stoker didn't mean to go on a rampage, he also didn't mean to bang his fist on the nightstand causing Izzy to move back in the bed. But this subject always rekindled his anger for what happened to Mars.

"The army followed the government blindly. They were our one chance, but most of them couldn't think for themselves and just blindingly went along with everything they were told. So I set up a little rebellion to fight off the Plutarkians, whenever they tried to invade a new area. But with the army turning against us and the Plutarkians increasing in numbers, we barely managed."

Finally he stopped and glanced up at Izzy who gave him a frightened look. "I don't know what to say. That's,- horrible."

Stoker nodded. There was more to the story than that. It didn't end there. That had only been the beginning.

"You're probably also wondering about that laboratory?" He asked her.

Izzy recalled the large room filled with various contraptions and glass bottles. But that wasn't what had stood out. What stood out the most was the eerie laughing filling the room followed by screams as if someone was tortured. Something told her that was what happened.

"You don't have to." She told him. "It sounds as if it is a rather painful memory."

She was right about one thing, it was a painful memory. Filled with torture and betrayal. But Stoker realized that, even though she told him he didn't have to tell her, he wanted to know about her painful memories. The ones he had seen. He was an honest mouse, a mouse who believed in equal sharing when it came to such matters.

Without really giving her an answer, he began telling the story. "They managed to take all four of us out during an attack. I was the lucky one compared to the others. They were all near mortally wounded. Throttle lost his eyes. Modo lost one eye and an arm. Vinnie lost half of his face."

Izzy lowered her eyes and stopped when they reached Stoker's metal tail. She didn't have to ask him if that was how he'd lost it.

"I didn't lose my tail." The former rebel leader said and Izzy's eyes widened.

"The man, or rather foul creature, who owned the lab did this to me. To all of us. I was completely fine, in one piece. But the man thought it fun to use me as a guinea pig and attach this to my body." Stoker moved his tail.

"My own tail was fine, nothing broken, nothing wrong with it and yet he removed it and replaced it with this piece of metal."

"And the others?"

"Modo's arm was his creation as well. He didn't get the time to operate on Throttle and Vinnie but he made sure they got hurt mentally. Especially Modo. Although none of them were completely conscious during it,-" He took a deep breath. "I was."

Izzy had her hand placed on top of her chest. Her fingers rubbing the base of her neck. She herself had never been tortured, but seeing people you love get hurt to the point of death was an all too familiar feeling.

"Please, don't continue." She said softly. "I can only imagine what it must have been like. But I think I understand now."

Stoker furrowed his brow as he looked at her. He knew very well that Izzy wasn't Martian, that she didn't share his culture, his biology or history. But she understood his emotions, his pain and even his memories now.

Humans and Martian mice were quite alike, apart from the way they appeared on the outside and how far their mental abilities went. Stoker didn't care what his bros might think or what Charley thought of it. He was already walking down the path of no return and he wanted to fall so badly.

Stoker raised his arm, grabbed Izzy's hand and pulled it towards him. He clasped both of his hands around hers and squeezed gently. "Thank you. For listening and for not running."

"It can't be easy to talk about. I'd be a horrible person if I did leave."

Stoker grimaced as he took in her words, remembering very well that he in fact had run. "Yeah. I still feel very bad about that."

"About what?"

"Running when,- you know." He pointed at his antennas.

"Oh." Izzy's eyes widened, realizing what her previous words must have sound like. "I wasn't referring to,- I'm sorry, Stoker. That is not what I meant."

A small smile formed on Stoker's face and he gently caressed the back of her hand with his thumb. "I know."

Of course, he did think that for a second. But the genuine shock on her face was proof enough for him. Izzy suddenly yawned and Stoker reluctantly released her hand in order for her to cover her mouth.

"I think I would like to try and get some sleep" She confessed to him. Stoker nodded. He didn't want to sleep. Or maybe he did. He wasn't sure. He wanted to stay in this exact spot, not to close and not too far away from the bed. Close enough to actually see Izzy's face but distant enough to control his urges.

"Mind if I stay here on the chair?" He dared ask.

Stoker could tell the woman in front of him found that a rather odd question. Izzy cocked her head and blinked. "Isn't that uncomfortable?"

"Pfft, I've slept standing up on a spaceship, although I was tied up, but that's another story. So, I'm pretty sure I can handle this raggedy chair." He puffed his chest and gave her a quick wink.

The upper corner of Izzy's mouth moved upward and she chuckled. "Sounds like quite a story." She moved the blanket and lied down.

Stoker smirked. "I've got plenty more stories, gorgeous. I mean, I am known as the baddest mouse in the galaxy." He leaned forward and turned off the lamp on the night stand. "You just close your eyes and I will tell you about the time Modo's nephew helped me escape out of a Plutarkian jail on Phobos, one of the moons from Mars."

The Last Chance Garage

That morning Charley woke up in her own bed. After Modo and Vinnie had moved Throttle back downstairs, the tanned leader refused to leave out of politeness to give the female mechanic her bed back. But also because he felt he was losing his mind being up there all by himself whilst things were going on.

Despite everything which had happened Charley had had a good night's sleep, for the couple of hours she got to shut her eyes.

The sun was already up and the house seemed quiet, too quiet. Charley immediately jumped out of bed. A quiet house but the three mice were supposedly there? Something must be wrong.

It was evident, the moment when she reached the living room, why it was the house was so silent. There was nobody there. Well, that wasn't true actually. It was the loudest mouse of all who wasn't there. Vinnie.

Charley found Throttle asleep on the couch, the same way she had left him last night. But Vinnie was gone as was Modo. There was nothing she could do except to wake Throttle and ask him where they were.

She walked over to the couch, reached over it and gently shook the mouse's shoulder. "Throttle." Charley said softly waking him up in a gentle matter.

It did the trick. Throttle slowly opened his eyes, not being able to see properly he immediately reached for his glasses on the coffee table.

Charley didn't give him a lot of time to adjust to having just waken up. She sat down next to him and narrowed her eyes.

"Where are Modo and Vinnie?" She asked.

Throttle blinked his eyes behind his glasses and pressed his lips together to stifle a yawn.

"Out. I send them away this morning, to search for Stoker." He stretched out and scratched behind his right ear. "Just to see if everything is alright."

"You don't think he is?"

"It's not that I'm worried about him. I'm sure he's perfectly fine, despite having left in such a rush. I just want to check he's somewhere familiar. Like the scoreboard." Throttle explained to Charley.

The auburn haired woman still found his behaviour rather odd. Why send Modo and Vinnie out to check on their former general if he wasn't worried about the man's well-being?

"What if he's not at the scoreboard?" Charley asked Throttle and the mouse shifted in his spot.

He twitched his nose and averted his eyes to the window. "I'm sure they'll find him. They can always track his bike if he's not at the scoreboard."

Charley frowned at the mouse. The Martian rides were all provided with a tracking chip, that was true. Unfortunately for Throttle, Stoker hadn't taken one of the Martian bikes. He'd taken hers.

"What?" Throttle asked after noticing Charley's expression.

"Stoker left with my bike." She told him.

The biker leader cocked his head and it took a few seconds before her word hit him. "Of course, he did." He scoffed.

"It's alright Throttle. You can admit you're worried about him even if it is a little bit." Charley gave him a warm smile. "Modo told me that Stoker just needed some time to blow off steam. Clear his mind. I'm sure they'll find him and everything is fine."

She stood up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen. "I'm going to make some coffee. Want some?"

"Root beer, thanks Charley-girl." Throttle replied smiling.

But the moment she was out of sight his smile faltered and he returned his gave back to the window. Throttle had been truthful about not being worried about Stoker. Alright, perhaps a little bit. But it wasn't his former teacher he was thinking of. The person he was worried about was somebody else entirely and he wasn't sure why he couldn't stop thinking about her.

Almost time for the new year!

Hope you all had a good Christmas (or whatever else you might celebrate this late December) :)

Hope you liked this chapter and I'll see you guys in 2020!

Happy new year!