You guys, thank you so much for the reviews!
L. Villareal; thank you for your kind words, they made me smile. It's true I'm very committed to my story. Writing helps me to deal with stuff, so I write almost every free minute I have. And it also gives me so much joy to see people reading it and even enjoying reading it. That's why the reviews mean so much to me. Not because I only want to hear my story is good for myself, but that people like it. That they, just like me, get sucked into this imaginary world and enjoy being there.
DinoDragonMaster: I'm not sure if Harley's gonna come back into this story. For now, I don't have plans for it. And more sexual action for Throttle; well, that's only possible if his Carbine and he are on the same planet. But just stay with me. There will be moments they'll be together.

Anyway, on to the next chapter.

Enjoy! ^^

Chapter twenty eight

A few weeks past. Rimfire had returned to Mars. They'd been able to keep radio contact almost the whole trip, but when he came closer to Mars, Rimfire had noticed the frequency was getting worse, so he had said his final goodbye. They assumed he made it back to their home planet. The weeks after that nothing really special happened. They just had a lot of lazy days, mostly at the lake. Spring had begun and they enjoined the warmth of the sun after the cold winter. Modo was feeling a lot better, mainly because of the visit of his nephew. It somehow gave him back his fighting spirit. It reminded him that there were still things to fight for. His bro's. His planet. His nephew. Himself.
Flo was still there in his head, but it slowly sunk to the background of his mind. Well actually, he had to admit, Flo was being pushed away by a red headed woman with the most beautiful black eyes. Ruby was in his head, every day, every hour, every minute. He tried to forget about her, but that wasn't easy. And he was wondering when he was gonna see her again, but till now, they only had seen her if one of them was wounded. He didn't want to request the gods, but oh momma… He just wished he could see her again. And after weeks of torturing himself, he almost started to think about making a plan to crash his bike against a building or something like that. But he knew that was crazy. But still…

Kiwi had noticed the big fella was thinking about something. But she had no clue what it was. They were sitting on their private spot at the beach and Kiwi was secretly studying Modo between her eyelashes. She was lying on her back, and the gray furred giant was sitting across her. He was busy with polishing a part of his bike, the same spot, over and over again. He had this small smile around his lips and he was staring in the distance.
Kiwi suddenly realized something and she needed to stop herself from jerking upright. He looked like someone in love. But who in the world… Ah.
A smile curled her lips.
"Hey guys… I was thinking. Maybe I can invite Ruby for dinner this week? You know, to thank her for everything she did for us?", she asked nonchalant, her eyes closed.
She heard Modo breath in sharply.
Bingo.
"Yeah, great idea, babe", Throttle answered, who was also lying in the sun.
"Hmmm…", Vinnie agreed lazy, half asleep. He was lying on his belly, his tail softly wrapped around her ankle. He wasn't that physical touchy in public, most of the time that is, but somehow, he always needed to have contact with her. Mostly he used his tail for it. It was cute, really.
Kiwi peeked through her lashes again. Modo was obviously looking for words, a blush on his cheeks.
"What about you, big fella? You think it's a good idea?", she asked, a mischievous smile on her face.
Modo looked at her and nodded.
"Eh, I-I eh… yeah! Sure it is, Kiwi ma'am", he stuttered.
Kiwi nodded.
"Cool. I will call her when we get home."
Vinnie opened one eye and glanced at Modo. But soon, he lost interest and closed his eye again.
Throttle was also glancing at his older bro.
Hmmm..
He looked over at Kiwi and saw a very satisfied look on her face.
Double hmmm…
He decided to let it slip for now. Maybe he was seeing ghosts. But he had the nagging feeling he wasn't.

Three days later. Saturday. Ruby had accepted the invite and tonight was the night. Modo was nervous as hell and even cleaned his metal arm. In secret, of course. He didn't want his bro's to find out he was feeling this way. Especially Vinnie. Oh momma, he would never hear the end of it. He looked into the mirror that was hanging in his room. He had showered and his fur was shining like snow in the sun. He was wearing his most neat biker jeans and had decided to put on a shirt. That would take the attention away from his metal arm. He'd changed it for like, five times now, but now, looking in the mirror, he made his final decision. He looked kinda good, actually. He just hoped nobody was gonna ask him why he was wearing a shirt all of a sudden.. But then again, why was it weird to dress up for a dinner with friends?
He took a deep breath and left his room. He saw Vinnie hanging on the couch, wearing only his sweatpants, zapping listless through the channels. Honestly, that mouse was a real piece of work. If he wasn't having one of his temper tantrums, he was lazy as fuck. Two complete opposites.
Throttle was sitting on the other couch, still reading the journals from Professor Milestone. He noticed his tan furred bro was also wearing a t-shirt.
Throttle looked up from the journal he was reading when he heard Modo enter the small living room.
"Looking good, big fella", he said friendly.
"Thanks, Throttle. You too…"
Vinnie was still staring at the tv, not interested at all.
Modo sighed and grabbed a pillow. He threw it against the white furred mouse his head.
"Hey man! What gives?", Vinnie yelled outraged when he fell off the couch with a loud bang because of the hard throw of Modo.
"Get dressed. You can't join dinner with two ladies in only your sweatpants, bro."
Vinnie jumped at his feet.
"What is…", but he trailed off when he looked at Modo.
"Why are you wearing a shirt?", he asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.
Modo sighed. This was exactly he'd hoped that wasn't gonna happen. But of course, Vinnie had to say something about it.
"Like I said; we're having dinner with two ladies. The least we can do is dress a little descent this time."
"The big guy is right, Vincent", Throttle joined Modo.
Vinnie opened his mouth, but Modo quickly cut him off.
"I don't wanna hear it. Get. Dressed. Now."
"And don't even think about keeping this pants on", Throttle warned his younger bro.
Vinnie threw his hands into the air in frustration.
"Ah MAN!", he snorted and he stamped to his room, softly muttering under his breath. The paragon of a child that needed to do something against his will.
Throttle and Modo smiled at each other. That's Vinnie for ya. But Modo was glad Throttle was on the same page. Now it wasn't so obvious he was doing his best for Ruby alone.
A few moments later, Vinnie came outta his room, wearing his black baggy biker jeans and a taupe coloured sweater. He sat down on the couch to put on his shoes, still softly cursing to himself. Modo and Throttle ignored him.
"Ready?", Throttle asked when Vinnie was done with his shoes.
Modo nodded.
"Yeah."
They both looked at Vinnie, who crossed his arms before his chest. But then he sighed.
"Alright, alright. Let's go."

They walked to the house and when they opened the kitchen door, a delicious smell filled their noses. The normally plain kitchen table was transformed into a table that you normally only saw in restaurants. A beautiful red tablecloth covered the wooden table, with shiny tableware the mice hadn't seen before. Candles completed the picture. Kiwi was standing by the oven, a apron over her red dress. Her normally wild hair was tamed into a long fishtail braid and she even was wearing heels, which made her legs even look longer and thinner. Vinnie's mouth fell open for a moment, but he quickly recovered. Kiwi turned around to look at him and her mouth also fell open. Even if his clothing was casual, it did look so good on him. He winked at her and gave her that crooked, arrogant smile of his. She smiled back, a little blush on her cheeks.
"Looking good, sweetheart", Vinnie said casually, strolling over to her. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and gave her a small kiss on the forehead.
She held him for a moment, but then untangled herself.
"You too, macho mouse. Now, get outta my way, before you burn yourself at the oven", she said lovingly. She looked at his bro's.
"You two are also looking good."
"Thanks, Kiwi ma'am. You too", Modo answered.
Throttle agreed.
"Yeah, babe. What he said."
Kiwi snickered and she opened the oven. She looked inside and nodded satisfied. She closed the door again and set the timer at five minutes.
Before she could say something, the doorbell rang.
"Since when does she use the bell? Normally, she just marches in...", Vinnie asked, slightly nervous to be with Ruby in the same room.
Kiwi punched him on the arm.
"Yeah, that's because she normally only comes over if one of you are in danger, crazy mouse. Now, get the door."
Vinnie wanted to protest, but Modo was quicker.
"I'll go get it", he said, trying to sound casual and he quickly left the kitchen.
He took a deep breath and opened the door. And there she was. Finally, after all these weeks… And she looked even more beautiful than in his mind. She was wearing a short, black dress that lay accent on her curves. Her red hair was tied up in a high ponytail and her makeup was spotless. Her black eyes glittered in the dark and she gave him a dazzling smile. Modo just stared at her for a moment. She was tall, he now noticed. With heels, her head came to his shoulder.
"Are you gonna let me in, or...?", she asked, blunt as always.
Modo quickly recovered himself. Oh momma… He was so not good at this.
"Yeah, of course. Sorry, Ruby ma'am. Please, come in!", and he stepped outta her way. She walked in and turned around.
"Don't call me ma'am. I know I'm not that young anymore, but calling me ma'am makes me feel like I'm a wrinkled elderly."
Modo laughed.
"Okay, point taken. You look very good, Ruby ma… EH, Ruby!", he stuttered.
Ruby smiled at him.
"Thank you. You aren't looking that bad yourself. Well, where is that awful good smell coming from?" and she walked to the kitchen, followed by Modo.
Kiwi and Throttle greeted her warmly, Vinnie kept his distance and only gave her a shy smile. He was embarrassed, Kiwi realised. Even if that was completely unnecessary, she could understand why he was feeling that way. Ruby had seen him on his most vulnerable. And where he normally would impress new people with his ego and charms, he couldn't use that on Ruby. And that made him feel… insecure.
Kiwi sighed. Her poor, damaged macho mouse. She quickly squeezed in his hand, to let him know he wasn't alone. He wrapped his tail around her wrist and squeezed back, without letting Ruby outta his sight. Next to his insecurity, the girl was also a doctor. Double reason for him to stay away from her. But Kiwi knew he would come around eventually. This kinda things just cost time.

A few minutes later, everybody except Kiwi was sitting at the table, drinking root beer. Well, the mice did. Ruby was drinking a glass of wine. Kiwi set a steaming oven dish on the table. Vinnie looked at it curiously.
"What is it, sweetheart?"
"This, my friends, is a hotdog deluxe!", she exclaimed proudly.
"Very creative", Ruby smiled.
When everybody had their portion, it was silent for a moment. They all were tasting the food and Kiwi was looking at them with expectancy.
"And?"
"Hmmmm, I like it, sweetheart, I like it", Vinnie mumbled with his mouth full, winking at her.
The rest couldn't agree more.
"So. I must say, I'm curious how three big mice, riding on motorcycles and coming from Mars ended up on Earth", Ruby said, taking a sib from her whine.
"Well, it's a long story…", Modo started.
"I think I can keep up and we do have the time. This time, nobody's bleeding to death or… ahum. You know", and she looked meaningful at Vinnie, who cringed and a blush appeared on his cheeks.
Kiwi gave Ruby a warning look and the red headed woman nodded at her.
Throttle cleared his throat.
"Well, it all started with the Plutarkians invading Mars…" and he told her the whole story.
How it all begun on Mars, how they crashed on Earth, how they met Kiwi, Limburger, their adventures…
For the first time Kiwi had met her, Ruby looked impressed.
"Interesting story", she said eventually. Throttle nodded slowly, still not sure what to think about this woman. But she wasn't a bad person. She had helped them multiple times now. But the only time he had heard her being friendly, was with Vinnie when he needed to give blood.
"So, what's your story?", he asked.
Ruby looked at him with her black eyes, a distant look in it.
"Not that interesting as yours. I grew up in Chicago, became a doctor, worked for the army a few years and now I'm working in the hospital."
Kiwi bit on her lower lip. Ruby may be her friend, but she never spoke about herself. And she was wondering why.
There was a silence for a moment. Then, Throttle decided to push her a little further.
"Come on, that can't be it. There's gotta be more to it."
Ruby narrowed her eyes.
"Well, no, there isn't."
Vinnie opened his mouth, but again, Modo was quicker.
"She obviously doesn't wanna talk about it, bro's. Let it go."
Ruby gave him a small nod. He nodded back, a little smile on his lips.
Throttle sighed. He now knew he didn't see ghosts. His bro was in love. It was obvious. Well, to him. Another woman who was about to be dragged into their lives, their war. Another woman who was gonna be in danger because of them. And another bro whose heart would break if they needed to go back to Mars. This was getting more complicated by the day.
Kiwi felt the tension rising. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all… She loved Ruby, but she was acting weird, alright.
"So, ehm… How was it to work for the army?", she asked, not knowing how to break this tension.
"It was alright. It payed good. But also a lot of misery. Almost every man I treated was the same damaged wrack as your white furred friend over there…"
Vinnie had enough. He jumped at his feet and leaned forward over the table, his eyes fuming.
"What's with the judging, doll? You think I chose to be like that? And here I was, thought outta all the people, you would understand!", he said, his voice shaky.
Modo also jumped at his feet and pulled back his younger bro.
"Easy, Vin."
But Vinnie yanked himself free.
"I'm done. Thanks for dinner, sweetheart", and he walked outside, closing the door with a bang.
Kiwi stared at Ruby. The latter suddenly rose at her feet.
"I'm… I'm sorry. I… god, I… I should go. Thanks for dinner, Kiwi. Really appreciate it. I…eh… yeah….", she stuttered and she quickly left the kitchen.
Modo followed her.
"I'll walk you to your car, Ruby."
But Ruby shook her head.
"No need. Thanks", but this time, Modo didn't let her get away this easily. Something was clearly bothering her and he was determined to find out.
"I insist", and he opened the front door. Ruby sighed and walked outside, followed by Modo. When they were standing by her car, she looked up at him.
"Please, tell your friend I'm sorry, okay? I just… I'm sorry. Thanks for... "
"Do you wanna talk about it?", Modo asked, gently taking her hand.
Her gaze lowered and she stared at their hands. Modo thought she was finally gonna open up, give him something to understand why she was acting like this, but she suddenly changed her mind. She pulled back her hand and stepped into her car. Without saying a word, she started it and drove away.
Modo sighed and watched her leaving Kiwi's property. This didn't worked out like he hoped it would. He slowly turned around and walked back into the house.

When he came into the kitchen, Throttle and Kiwi were still sitting at the table. Throttle looked up at him.
"You okay, big fella?"
Modo shrugged and also sat down. Kiwi sighed and stood up.
"I'm gonna go check on Vinnie." And she left the kitchen.
"Talk to me, bro. You know you can."
Modo took a deep breath.
"I think I… I dunno… I'm feeling something for her, bro. I think I'm in love with her…"
"I figured. Well, you can't fight your own feelings. But the lady sure has issues…"

"I know. And instead of running away, I only feel more attracted to her. She obviously is dealing with something. And I wanna help her…But I don't think she is gonna let me help her..."

Throttle sighed and patted Modo on the back. Poor guy.

"Things aren't lost yet, big fella. Just give her some time."
Modo nodded. He knew how his tan furred bro felt about them loving human women. But he still was there for him and Modo appreciated that so much.
Oh momma… was he ever gonna find love again?

Meanwhile, Kiwi walked into the guesthouse and found Vinnie on the couch, staring at the TV.
"Hey you", she said, walking over to him.
"Hey yourself", he smiled at her. He turned off the TV and Kiwi sat down next to him on the couch.
"You okay?", she whispered.
Vinnie shrugged.
"I'm fine. I just didn't like her attitude, that's all."
Kiwi knew there was more to it, but she knew not to push him. It would only work the opposite way.
"I don't know what's wrong with her. Something is clearly bothering her…"
"Clearly", Vinnie snorted.
"I'm sorry."
"You're sor... sweetheart, come on… This isn't your fault..."
"No, but she's my friend. And this dinner was my idea…"
"So? You never asked her to be such a bitch, right?"
"No, but still... "
Vinnie pulled her in his arms and she lay down, her head on his chest.
"I think Modo's in love with her…", she whispered.
Vinnie breathed in sharply.
"Really? Hmmm… interesting…"
Kiwi lifted her head and gave him a warning look.
"You are not gonna make fun of him, you hear me? The poor guy is dealing with enough shit right now."
"Whoa, someone is on fire today. No sweat, sweetheart. I'll be on my best behaviour…" and he chuckled.
"Yeah, well, I've seen your best behaviour…", Kiwi snorted. "I mean it, Vin. Leave him alone."
"Okay, okay. For now."
"Guess that's good enough…"

That night, everybody was fast asleep when Kiwi's phone rang. Since the mice were sleeping in the guesthouse, they didn't hear it. Kiwi did. She moaned and pulled the blanket over her head, hoping this would make it stop. It dit. She sighed happily and was almost back to sleep, when the phone rang again. She turned around and searched for her phone with her eyes still closed. Her fingers finally felt the happy ringing and buzzing object.
"Hellooo-ooooo", she yawned, still half asleep.
"Kiwi, it's me."
"Ruby, why are you calling me in the middle of the night?", Kiwi asked, still not fully awake yet.
"Listen, I'm outside town and I'm scared…"
Kiwi suddenly heard how shaky her friends voice was and her eyes flew open. She sat upright, rubbing her hair.
"Ruby, what's wrong? Where are you?"
"Outside town, on expressway 290… Kiwi, I'm scared, I think somebody is following me…"
"What are you talking about?", Kiwi asked confused.
"Listen, I know my behaviour at dinner was awful, but I didn't knew who to call… Can you please come, I… AAAHH!"
Kiwi held the phone away from her ear for a moment because of the sudden scream.
"Ruby? Ruby, are you okay? Ruby, what's happening?", but after some weird, scraping sounds, the connection broke.
"Shit!"
Kiwi jumped outta bed, quickly pulled on some clothes and ran to the guest house.
She burst inside Vinnie's room. The white furred mouse was lying on his belly, deeply asleep, but when she wanted to wake him, she suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder. She managed to keep the scream inside, but she whirled around with her eyes wide open.
"Don't wake him up", Throttle warned her. Kiwi stared at him.
"W-w… what?"
"Waking up a soldier with a trauma can be dangerous. What's wrong?"
"It's Ruby, she is in trouble, we need to help her!" and she quickly told what happened on the phone.
Throttle rubbed his chin.
"Hmmm… Something fishy is going on here."
He gently pushed Kiwi outta the way and walked over to Vinnie.
"Vincent, wake up…"
The white furred mouse moaned and turned around, the top of his tail twitching.
"We don't have time for this, Vin. Wake up!" and Throttle shook him roughly.
Vinnie's eyes flew open and his tail lashed through the air. Throttle tried to dodge it, but he was too late. The white tail slapped him in the face, knocking his glasses of his nose. Throttle stumbled backwards, rubbing his face. Vinnie was now on his feet at the other side of the bed, ready to fight, but then he saw Kiwi and he fully woke up. His eyes, at first wide open, closed a little and his lips curled into that smile she loved so much.
"Hey sweetheart…"
"Ehm… Hey…" Kiwi was still a little confused about what just had happened here. She now understood why Throttle didn't want her to wake up his younger bro.
Vinnie looked at Throttle, who was searching for his glasses. The white furred mouse quickly jumped over the bed and grabbed the glasses that were lying in the corner. He just couldn't stand it to see his bro and leader this vulnerable, blind as a cave rat, searching for the one thing that confirmed he was still their fearless leader.
"Here, bro", and he gave the glasses to Throttle.
The tan furred mouse quickly put them on and smacked Vinnie against the back of his head.
"Honestly, Vin, one day…", he growled annoyed.
Vinnie smiled innocently with a blush on his cheek.
"Yeah, ehm… sorry… Anyway, why are you guys interrupting my beautysleep?"
"Ruby's in danger. We need to go, now", Kiwi said shortly, now suddenly remembering how scared her friend had sound on the phone.
"I'll wake up Modo", Throttle said and he quickly left the room.
Vinnie quickly dressed while Kiwi told him what happened. He heard the fear in her voice and he quickly walked over to her and pulled her against him.
"No sweat, sweetheart. This is standard hero work. We'll get her back."
Kiwi sniffed up his scent and nodded against his chest.
"I know…"
After a few minutes, they were ready to go. Vinnie tried to convince Kiwi it was safer for her to stay here, but she didn't want to hear it.
"Ruby is my friend. I'm not gonna let her down", she said with a determined look on her face, climbing behind Vinnie on his bike.
Vinnie snickered. His lady sure knew what she wanted.
"Alright, let's ROCK…"
"... and RIDE!"

When they were outside town, they took the expressway 290. Throttle yawned.
"Man, the expressway is so quiet… You wouldn't even know it was there…"
The words just had left his mouth, when they suddenly saw the road just stopped. They hit the brakes and with shrieking tires, they stopped on the edge.
"Wow! Is this real highway robbery?", Vinnie asked, looking down.
The road was just… gone… A deep crater was all that was left. Kiwi narrowed her eyes. Something was definitely wrong here.
"Or did we just woke up in Southern California?", Modo asked sheepishly.
Vinnie looked up at his gray furred bro and smiled, while shaking his head.
Throttle opened his visor and sniffed.
"Guys… This got the smell of stinkfish all over it…"
Modo looked at the ground and saw his foot was standing in a small pool of grease.
"Yeah, with the side odeur of Greasepit…"
"Well, let's get this road on the show, bro's", Throttle said, revving his bike.
Vinnie smiled way too happy when he closed his visor.
"Ooehhh, down and dirty!"
Kiwi knew what was gonna happen and she clung to Vinnie. They revved their bikes and jumped down, landing on a sandroad below. They followed it for a while, but suddenly…
"Uh oh. Speed trap!", Modo said, pointing at two buggies with goons in front of them.
"Hit it, bro's! Full force!", Throttle ordered and weapons came out of their bikes.
Kiwi wrapped her arms a little tighter around Vinnie and he quickly wrapped his tail around her waist and squeezed softly, to let her know things were gonna be okay. She smiled. Next to the big ego and masochism, he was such a cute guy.
But the buggies speeded up and flew around a corner. The mice followed them.
"You know… my mousie intuition tells me this is some sort of a…" but Vinnie trailed off and his eyes grew big. A little further ahead, he saw a tow truck. And hanging on the crane was Ruby. Upside down, wrapped in ropes and a bandana around her mouth.
They stopped right in front of her.
"Absolutely impressing, Vincent", Throttle complimented his bro, looking at Ruby. "No worries, Ruby, babe. We know bait when we see it."
"And lucky for you, we just love traps!", Vinnie added and he shot the rope with his gun.
Modo quickly jumped off his bike and grabbed Ruby before she could hit the ground. She looked up at him in fear and he gave her a reassuring smile.
Kiwi wanted to jump off Vinnie's bike, but Vinnie stopped her.
"Ah, ah, ah, sweetheart. Stay in your seat, we're about to get a inspiring speech", and he pointed up.
Kiwi followed his finger and she saw Limburger standing on one of the cliffs. She suddenly felt anger. That hideous slimy stinkfish. Using her friend as bait. But there was nothing she could do now. So, she remained on her seat.
"Ooohhh, my offense is ranking smells to heaven! Hamlet scene three", Limburger smiled and he pushed a button on a remote, laughing his villain laugh.
A huge explosion and the road that was above them, was now coming down.
"Great luck at twelve o'clock, bro's…", Throttle sighed,
"The pavement is about to pound back!", Vinnie added.
Modo quickly mounted his bike, setting Ruby behind him, still tied up. But there was no time now.
They fired their laser, blowing up the stones that came down. It caused enough dust for a distraction to make a hasty retreat. It was time to find Greasepit.

They quickly found him, riding a weird vehicle. It actually looked like a big vacuum cleaner. It sucked up the road at the front and at the back, it got transported to space.
"End of the road, drip stick", Throttle warned the oil dripping minion when they were close.
"We advise you to get off at this exit…", Modo continued.
"Yeah, before you have a serious break down…", Vinnie smiled.
"Like this!", and Modo shot two rockets. Greasepit ducked and the rockets flew over his head.
"Haha! Missed me, Biker Mice!", he laughed.
The rockets bounced against the pillars that were holding the highway that was still standing.
"And the fun ain't over till the fat man sings…", Greasepit said, grabbing his phone.
"FIRE, you stupid pig, FIRE!", they heard Limburger's voice coming out of the phone.
"Ahh, just the high note I was waiting for", Greasepit laughed and drove towards the mice.
But they didn't move and watched how Greasepit slowly came closer.
Vinnie looked at Modo.
"Are you sure you figured those angles right, Modo?"
Modo gave him a smug smile, his arms crossed before his chest.
"Hey! Bumper Pool is my game!"
And he was right. The two rockets bounced a couple of times against the pillars again before they made their way back and the whole machine exploded. Greasepit flew into the air, screaming for his mother.
The road came back outta space and the mice cheered when they saw Limburger flying the scene, with Greasepit on the roof of the purple limousine. They jumped in the air and high fived.
"Great job, guys!", Kiwi smiled, but then she suddenly remembered Ruby. The poor woman was still tied up, sitting on the back of Modo's bike. She jumped off and ran over to her. She pulled on the ropes, but it was no use.
Suddenly, Vinnie gently pushed her aside.
"Let me, sweetheart", and he lit a flair. He carefully burned the ropes and stepped back. "Voila."
Ruby, now able to move her hands, pulled down the bandana.
"Thanks, guys."
"No problemo. We're heroes! Saving damsels in distress is just part of the job", Vinnie smiled, but he suddenly remembered what she had said to him. "Even if the damsel is quit bitchy sometimes…", he added, his voice cold as ice and his tail twitching.
"BRO! A little respect", Modo called out, but Ruby held up her hand.
"He's right. I deserved that. I acted like a bitch. I'm sorry."
Vinnie narrowed his eyes at first, but then, he relaxed and gave her a small nod.
"Let's go home, guys. Ruby, you come with us too. It's not safe to be alone right now and I really wanna know why you were out here all alone, in the middle of the night…", Kiwi said, climbing behind Vinnie.
"Fine by me", Ruby agreed tiredly.
The mice popped a wheelie and they drove back home.

Ruby dropped on the couch. Throttle studied her face. She didn't look like the woman they knew at all. Her self assurance was completely gone and she never had looked this tired.
Modo sat down next to her, giving her a glass of water. She gave him a grateful look and drank the glass empty. Modo gently took it out of her hands and set it on the small table next to him. Vinnie and Kiwi were sitting on the other couch, Throttle on the big chair.
Kiwi was also surprised by Ruby's appearance. In the time they knew each other now, she had never looked this defeated. Something's wrong.
Vinnie crossed his arms before his chest, keeping a close eye on Ruby, still not at ease.
"So, care to share what is going on, Ruby?", Kiwi finally asked, after a long silence.
Ruby sighed.
"I was upset when I left here. I wanted to go home, but decided to take a little detour. You know, to clear my head. But then I noticed someone followed me and well, you know what happened after that…"
Kiwi narrowed her eyes. For the first time ever, Ruby wasn't telling the whole truth. There was absolutely more to it. That combined with how the red headed woman had behaved during dinner… Something was eating her.
"Okay, and now the whole truth, if you don't mind?", she asked, a little irritated.
Ruby flinched for a moment, but quickly recovered herself. But everybody had seen it.
"This is the whole truth."
"No, it's not", Throttle joined Kiwi. He also had noticed the woman was holding something back.
"It is!", Ruby suddenly called out, her eyes fuming. She wanted to stand up, but Modo gently took her hand and pulled her back on the couch.
"Ruby ma… Ruby. We're not the enemy. And you were there for us when we needed you. You saved my life. The least we can do is be there for you as well… Please... We… I wanna help you…"
Vinnie saw all this and decided Kiwi was right. His bro was in love. Deeply. It did took him eleven years, but now the door to his heart was open, he totally went for it. First Flo, now Ruby… Vinnie snickered, despite the whole situation. Who would've thought his older bro was such a womanizer?
Ruby looked up at the gray furred giant and the friendly look on his face did it. She broke into tears. The tough and always so cool Ruby broke. Modo hesitated, but then, slowly swung an arm around her shoulders. He was afraid she was gonna reject him, but she didn't. She leaned against him. Tears dripped on his fur and rolled down. He just held her, softly rubbing her back.
There was a long silence. Vinnie was clearly having a hard time to keep his patience, Throttle was deep in thoughts and Kiwi just stared in shock at the woman in Modo's arms. Who was she? What happened to the Ruby she knew? But then again, everybody was vulnerable at some point in their lives, even the mice were, even if they were tough soldiers. But Ruby always was so… strong. To see her like this, broke her heart a little. But strangely, she had a bad feeling about this and suspicion slowly started to cloud her mind. Somehow, something was horribly wrong. But she couldn't lay a finger on it.
Ruby slowly calmed down a little and pulled back from Modo's embrace. Her eyes were bloodshot, her mascara had made black lines on her face. Her hair was a mess, but it was the look in her eyes that took Kiwi off guard. Pure despair. Regret. Fear.
That's it.
"Ruby, I wanna know what is going on. Right now. Something is wrong, really wrong, I can tell. Please, tell me everything you know…"
Ruby fiddled with her fingers, but then, she made a decision. She took a few deep breaths and when she started talking, her normally strong voice was now shaky and raw.\
"I eh… I… God, I don't know where to start…"
Big tears rolled over her cheeks again.
"When I heard that voice, I… I realised I heard it before... "
Kiwi shook her head in confusion.
"What voice?"
Ruby looked at Modo for a second and he gave her a reassuring smile. She looked back at Kiwi and took a deep breath.
"Limburger. I think he's the one who killed your parents…"

SAY WHAT? Oh dear, where is Ruby talking about?
Well, guess we'll find out in the next chapter ;)

Puhlease review and thank you for reading my story!

Later!