Yo yo.

Thanks for the reviews.

SpaceFlora; Thanks for your kind words. It really is funny to see the differences, that makes it so much fun to read your story and to write mine. Also loved to write the 'man cave' scene, it was funny and heartwarming at the same time. Thanks for being such a loyal reader and reviewer, really, it means a lot to me.
Wolftattoo; I know, right. The drama, haha. Thanks for your support!
Ladydaisys; thank you so much for your support.
Youkaii: Thanks for your review! But really, is my English that bad it's now hard to follow all of a sudden? And here I was, thinking it was still approving. Look, I don't mind you telling me something that's wrong with my story, but I've gotta admit… you make it sound like I wrote the last two chapters in Chinese or something. And no, I won't give up. To be honest, it crossed my mind when I read your review, but I was having a bad day, so it maybe made more impact than it usually would, I guess. But maybe you can be a little bit more specific next time, so I know what you mean. So I can learn from it. This came a little unexpectedly...

To all of you out there;
I just wanna make clear English ain't my first language. Most of you know that already. So, I'm simply not capable of writing my story in perfect and flawless English. Damn, I wish I could. I'm doing my best to learn, to improve, but still, English is indeed a bitch to learn.
Anyway, I just hope it's good enough for you, at least good enough to be able to follow the story...

Well, onto the next chapter. I just needed this to get off my chest first.
This chapter is a bit intense, sorry.

Chapter fifty two

Kiwi was sitting in her room, deep in thoughts. They had worked the whole day, trying to find something that made this whole story about Limburger complete, searching for the last pieces of the puzzle, but so far no luck. They eventually called it a day, mostly because tonight was the night Kiwi was gonna take her oath.
The human girl had no idea what to expect, and it felt somehow unimportant right now. A waste of time. Figure out what Limburger was up to was prio number one, right? But Neo told her it sometimes was real easy to lose yourself in this war. Friends, family, it was easy to take that for granted. To let your thoughts being controlled by this war. Spending time with the people around you, with the people you loved it was way more important. Taking a oath apparently was too. But Kiwi realized he was right. Carbine had lost herself in this war, it had cost her her relationship with Throttle back then. Being devoted was good, but till a certain level. No need to exaggerate. And Carbine was just lucky Throttle was a rather forgiving mouse.
And now, the most important and burning question at this moment...
What in the world did you wear when you were gonna take a oath, a life bonding commitment to a planet?
Kiwi had no idea… So, she decided to keep on the clothes she was already wearing. She rose on her feet and stopped at the mirror to look at herself for a moment. A determined face looked back. And she smiled.
Yeah. She was ready. Time to make things official.
Oh, if only she knew this night was gonna be one big disaster...

When she walked into the Main Hall, she stopped death in her tracks. Apparently, after dinner, the whole room was redecorated, and the whole population living on this base was now sitting on the chairs that were standing in rows. In the front, where they normally collected their meal, was now standing a small stage.
Oh dear… nobody ever told her that the whole base was gonna witness her taking her oath. This was bad. She still didn't feel very welcome here, since most of the mice still only stared at her, or whispered behind her back. Everybody now knew she was with Vinnie, and oh boy, the drama… Most of the female's were clearly having a hard time with Vinnie being taken, and worse, that their precious mouse hunk was now taken by a human girl.
A alien.

What does she have what I don't?

She could almost hear them think it. She saw it in their eyes when she walked by. Kiwi never really was good in handling jealousy. It wasn't the first time a guy gave her the attention when it was obvious someone else wanted it. Kiwi never asked for it. Maybe that was the difference. She was just being herself. Nothing more, nothing less. Apparently, guys liked that about her. Ugh…
And now, she needed to stand there, in front of the whole base… She wasn't sure if she was ready for this… Okay, lemme rephrase that; she wasn't ready. At all.

Suddenly, a white tail snaked around her leg and she felt a strong arm around her shoulders. A familiar scent filled her nose and she closed her eyes, letting out her breath.
"Relax, sweetheart. It will be over before you know it", his low voice whispered in her ear and he pressed a kiss against her temple, pulling her closer to him.
"No biggie, huh? I assume you just forgot to tell me about this minor detail? Ya know, that practically the whole base is gonna witness this?", she hissed at him, her eyes still locked on the crowd.
"Obviously."
Kiwi sighed and turned around to look at him.
"Vinnie, I can't do this, this is… this is too much, I…", but Vinnie cupped her head in his hands.
"Stop doubting yourself, babe. It's crazy how good you are in underestimating yourself…You have so much to offer... Why can't you see that?"
Kiwi bit her lower lip, her heart pounding in her chest. But Vinnie pulled her in a tight hug and suddenly, she felt calmth washing over her. This whole connection thing, it was amazing. She closed her eyes and buried her nose in his fur, sniffing up his lovely scent. Gosh, she loved him so much.
"Ready, beautiful?", she suddenly heard next to her while feeling a hand on her shoulder.
She felt Vinnie tense at the same time and she made herself loose. Stoker was standing next to her, giving her a reassuring smile.
"I eh.. I guess?", Kiwi stumbled, looking from Vinnie to Stoker and back. Her macho mouse wasn't amused, she could tell. What the hell was going on between these two? Was Vinnie seeing his coach as a threat? That would be more than ridiculous, since he knew she was with him and she would never, ever leave him for someone else. He knew, right?
Did he?
Of course he knew. But something was going on here, alright. She opened her mouth, but Stoker shot her a flirtatious grin and hurled an arm over her shoulders, guiding her towards the stage. She looked over her shoulder to see Vinnie was still standing at the same spot, his arms crossed before his chest, glaring at the back of the brown furred mouse that was holding her. She wanted to say something, to make herself loose and go back to him, to ask him what was wrong, but Stoker was already leading her up on the stage.
No, she wasn't ready, she needed to talk to Vinnie...
But when she saw the whole crowd looking at her, felt the burning gazes, Vinnie was suddenly forgotten. Everything was suddenly forgotten.
Shit.
Stoker cleared his throat.
"Welcome y'all. We're gathered tonight to welcome another soldier…"
She felt he was still holding her hand. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she casually pulled back her hand and put it in her pocket.
Sweat was starting to form on her forehead and breathing suddenly became somehow difficult. Panic was lying around the corner, and she knew she was close to losing it. She took a few deep breaths, but it was no use.
The mice in the crowd whispered to each other, some of them were chuckling, some of them were even pointing at her, something that was completely unnecessary, because it was obvious she was the one who was the alien now and everybody here knew that already…
She couldn't hear what they were saying. But she felt like a clown.
No, worse, she felt like a animal in the zoo.
A attraction. Not a person, not a human being with feelings, no, a thing...
Fuck…
Maybe she should've told them she wasn't good with being the center of attention… This was too soon and too much. Her eyes flew from left to right, searching for the only one who could calm her nerves, but she couldn't find him.
Stoker was still talking to the crowd, completely clueless about the struggle that the human girl, that was standing next to him, had at this very moment.
His voice started to fade, until it only echoed in her head.
She needed to get the hell outta here.
Away from the burning gazes.
The laughter.
The whispers.
She stumbled back, but Stoker grabbed her arm to stop her.
"Beautiful, you okay?", he asked worried when he saw the look on her face.
Her skin was almost gray, her eyes were wide open and her breathing was shallow.
"Kiwi…"
His voice gave away urgence now, but she couldn't answer. Her legs couldn't hold her weight anymore and she fell on her knees.
Dammit. She should've eaten more than she did today.
The room started to fade away and the last thing she noticed, was a familiar scent and warm, strong arms wrapping around her body before her head touched the ground. Then, the whole world became black.

Five minutes earlier...
Vinnie was staring at the back of Stoker when he was guiding Kiwi to the stage. His blood was boiling. He'd seen the look on the brown furred mouse his face. It was all too familiar. It brought back memories which he was so badly trying to forget.
Harley…
God, this whole thing just kept haunting him. He knew how deeply Stoker cared about the light brown furred mouse that disappeared to be never seen again. Vinnie could still picture the look on his face when Harley picked him, instead of Stoker.
And now, his coach, his mentor, had the same look on his face when he looked at Kiwi. Vinnie knew Stoker was a flirt. Always have been. Most of the time, he didn't mean anything with it. So, it wasn't the flirting that made him this upset. It was the combination. The flirting and the way he looked at Kiwi that brought back so many feelings that were all too familiar.
And all he could think was; ah man, not again…
He respected Stoker. Really, he did. The guy had giving him more opportunities than he maybe deserved. He knew he wasn't the most easy mouse to hang out with. Especially back then… But Stoker somehow believed in him and if wasn't for him having that faith, he wouldn't be where he was right now.
But this… this whole thing with Kiwi was crossing a line.
She was his. From him and him alone.
Somewhere deep down, he knew he had to let this go, because Kiwi would never leave him. He trusted her, he didn't doubt her love for him. But there was always that nagging feeling of insecurity. What if he wasn't good enough for her? He was so scared of losing her, it was almost ridiculous. They were connected. That meant something, he knew it did.
But still…
Losing Harley had left its scars on his soul. His already cracked soul. He couldn't protect her. He wasn't good enough to keep her safe. I mean, the girl practically vanished right under his nose. Talk about failure to the max.
What if something similar happened with Kiwi?
Dammit.
This whole situation with Stoker brought back feelings he had locked away for so long. Being back home, back on Mars, well… Kiwi wasn't the only one who was having a hard time with it. He was just less… obvious about it. The fear of losing another loved one. The insecurity of being good enough…
Yeah, even Vinnie van Wham was insecure. Luckily, he was good enough to hide it.
Unknown to Vinnie was that the people around him knew him way better than he thought. And they all knew that the white furred mouse wasn't always that self assured as he most of the time pretended to be. But they would never say it out loud.

"Beautiful, you okay?"
Vinnie's ears picked up the slight urgent tone in Stoker's voice and it broke him outta his thoughts immediately. He looked up and saw Kiwi standing on the stage, frozen like a statue, her eyes wide open, her skin paler than pale…
Oh.
He knew that look. And he knew what was next.
Vinnie came into movement and rushed towards the stage, pushing everybody away that was in his way. He hardly heard the outraged responses because of his rough treatment. Kiwi needed him. That was all that mattered now.
When he was close, he saw her falling on her knees. He took a run and almost dived on the stage.
Right on time.
Right before she completely collapsed, he caught her. He saw her eyes rolling back and her whole body became limp.
The stress had, obviously, become too much for her.
Stoker kneeled down next to them, a hand on Kiwi's shoulder.
"Is she okay?", he asked worried.
"She will be", Vinnie answered shortly, while standing up with the motionless body of his girl in his arms.
There was a deadly silence and everybody stared at the stage.
"What are you guys looking at!?", Vinnie snapped and everybody lowered their eyes.
Suddenly, Throttle popped up next to him.
"Come on, bro, let's take her to a place that's a little bit more private."

Kiwi moaned and slowly opened her eyes.
"Hey beautiful, welcome back to the land of the living!"
She turned her head and saw a blurry vision of Stoker who was kneeling beside her, relief clearly visible in his eyes.
After blinking a few times, her vision became sharp and a pounding headache made its way to her temples.
"Thanks… I guess…", she groaned and slowly got upright. She looked around her and concluded this had to be the infirmary. The hospital beds were the biggest clue. But it was completely deserted.
"You sure got me scared back there, what happened?", the leader asked her, tucking her hair behind her ear tenderly.
"I eh… I'm not that good with being the center of the attention…"
"You should've told me…"
His voice was a few tones lower now.
"Where is Vinnie?", she blurted out.
Maybe she imagined it, but she saw a flash of pain in Stoker's eyes when she asked for her macho mouse. But come on, what did he expect? She only knew him for one day. Sure, he was nice to her.
A little too nice, if you asked her.
"Carbine needed to talk to him, Throttle and Modo. Do you want me to get him?"
Kiwi sighed and shook her head. No need to interfere with something that may be more important than her sorry ass.
Gosh, she just fainted in front of the whole base.
Great. Just great.
"So far being ready to take my oath…", she mumbled, feeling slightly embarrassed now. "They all must think I'm crazy now…"
"Don't beat yourself too hard, pretty lady. Maybe this was a little bit too soon…"
"Maybe…"
"Ya know, you have this fire inside of ya that makes it easy to forget you've just abandoned your home planet to start a new life on a unfamiliar planet with a completely different species. I don't think it helps that that particular species is in war with another different species. I think we've put ya under too much pressure..."
"Ya think?", Kiwi responded dryly.
Stoker looked her in the eye.
"You remind me of someone, ya know… She had the same fire as you…"
Kiwi swallowed, feeling slightly uncomfortable now. But curious at the same time.
"Is she…"
"She went missing years ago. Never heard from her again…"
It suddenly hit Kiwi as if she got strucked by lighting.
"You ain't talking about Harley, now are ya?"
His head jerked up and his eyes were wide in surprise.
"You know about her?"
But then his face darkened.
"Off course ya do... "
"Throttle told me about her… But I never knew… I eh… Well, I thought she was with… Vinnie…", she stuttered.
Well, this was awkward.
"She was. She picked him over me. Busted my ego more than I ever admitted…"
Kiwi saw it in his eyes. The pain. The regret.
"But that doesn't mean you stopped caring…", she whispered.
"I just wanted her to be happy, ya know? So, I did a step back. But look where that got me…"
The conversation was taking a turn she didn't want it to take. But there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Stoker slowly raised his hand and touched her cheek.
Kiwi turned her head away.
"Stoker, I…", but he lay a finger on her lips.
"Sssshh…"
He gently took her hand.
"You don't have to say anything, beautiful. I know where I'm standing… But maybe, I don't wanna take a step back this time. Maybe, this time, I'm gonna fight for it…"
"That's not gonna stop me from loving Vinnie... ", Kiwi whispered.
"Maybe… maybe not… Maybe you'll see I have so much more to offer than him…"

"Have you?"

Vinnie's voice.
Low. Cold. Shaky.
Stoker sighed and slowly rose on his feet, letting go off Kiwi's hand with reluctance.
Kiwi looked up and saw Vinnie standing close by, clearly upset. Throttle and Modo just walked in and froze when they saw what was going on here.
"I think I do…", Stoker answered.
"Why don't you just find your own girl this time, coach? Instead of chasing mine…", Vinnie growled, his fur bristled and the tip of his tail twitching.
He suddenly did a step forward and gave Stoker a hard push. The brown mouse stumbled back, but remained on his feet.
"Wow, wow, wow, easy now, Vincent", Throttle intervened and lay a hand on the shoulder of his white furred bro, now standing between him and Stoker. "I'm sure we can talk about this without blowing up the whole base…"
"I'm not sure we can…"
Vinnie crossed his arms before his chest, giving Stoker a deadly glare. Hearing Stoker telling Kiwi he maybe had more to offer, was hitting the sore spot. Like a nail that got hammered right down in his insecurity. It hurt his feelings, actually… He just had said the one thing that could hit him straight in the heart. And it did.
But as usual, instead of just telling Stoker calmly what this was doing to his feelings, he got angry. Very angry. Anger was safer than pain. His way of dealing with things. Next to blowing up things, that is.
There was a silence. A long, uncomfortable silence.
Stoker decided to come clean.
"Look, punk, I don't wanna steal your girl from right under your nose. But we all know you. We all know your reputation. We all know you're not capable of giving a girl what she needs… Harley is the prove of that."

BAM.

He might as well have dropped a bomb.
Throttle, Modo and Kiwi stared at Stoker with their mouth open, completely in shock. Kiwi's heart started to pound and she clenched her fists. Like everyone on this base, Stoker had no idea. God dammit, everybody thought she was just one of Vinnie's rebound girls, but it was so much more.
Dammit!
Stoker let out his breath, suddenly realizing what he just had said. That came out wrong. But this was something that was simmering inside of him for a very long time now. He'd never said it out loud, but he was kinda holding Vinnie responsible for the fact the girl was taken away while he was standing just inches away from her.
"Oh momma… Coach, I can't believe you've just said that…", Modo breathed.
Vinnie was staring at Stoker, at first his eyes wide open, but then he narrowed them. His ears drooped, sadness almost washed him away, along with the guilt, but there was also so much anger. But he had absolutely no idea what to say. He blacked out. That was new…
Instead of exploding, he imploded. Weird. Dangerous too.
Stoker saw it and he felt a pang of regret. But no turning back now.
"The punk here isn't the only one who has lost her, Modo my mouse… And I'm just telling it like is… So yeah, I do believe I have more to offer..."
Kiwi had it and she jumped off the bed.
"I'm sick and tired of everybody saying I don't mean anything to Vinnie! That I'm just one of his rebound girls, used as a goddamn sex toy!"
She walked straight towards Stoker and planted her finger against his chest.
"I like you. I respect you. But you're crossing a line here. I would never leave Vinnie, never! He's my soulmate. My home. He's the reason I came here. I don't know what happened in the past, I don't care about his fucking reputation, because things are different now. Sometimes, people do chance, ya know? They just have to meet the right person. He saved me. We switched earrings. We're even fucking connected!"
She was breathing heavily and saw the shock in Stoker's eyes. Clearly he wasn't aware of these facts.
"Oh, you didn't know, right? Maybe if you just asked, you would've known! But just like everyone else on this base, you drew your own conclusions. But you couldn't be more wrong!"
And after giving Stoker one more glare, she stormed outta the room, leaving the males behind to fight their fight. She wasn't gonna witness that. Fucking men and their testosterone, fighting over girls as if they were nothing more than a fucking lottery ticket.
Ugh. She was done. Done with all this.

Kiwi was back in her room for only a few minutes, when the door opened again. She turned around, seeing Vinnie storm inside, his eyes burning. Her stomach dropped when he grabbed her and pushed her against the wall, his hand around her throat. He was breathing heavily, his teeth were clenched and his eyes… jesus, his eyes. They were black. He was upset. Very upset.
She couldn't actually blame him. But he almost scared her. But at the same time, it fired her whole body with desire.
He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her roughly while his fingers squeezed around her neck.
She kissed him back, but it was hard to keep up with him.
He wildly broke off the kiss, let go off her throat and grabbed her head with both hands, his fingers in her hair.
"You're mine, you hear me? Mine, and mine alone…", he said softly between clenched teeth, his voice so low it sounded more like a growl.
Kiwi swallowed and nodded, as far as he let her.
He kissed her again, his teeth cut her lip open and he stopped. His eyes were fixed on her lower lip, seeing the blood dripping out.
Suddenly and completely out of nowhere, he rammed his fist against the wall next to her head and Kiwi flinched while squeezing her eyes.
Jesus...
"God dammit, I can't do this, not now, I'm gonna hurt ya…", he managed to bring out, still holding her head with his other hand.
Kiwi let out her breath. They had been here before. Many times already. He always stopped to protect her. But she was tired of being protected.
This time, this was gonna happen.
"Don't stop…", she whispered with a shaky voice, her body shivering.
Vinnie looked at her with his burning eyes, breathing between clenched teeth. His whole body was tensed. His tail lashed through the air.
"Sweetheart, you don't know what you're saying, don't… don't encourage me, because I'm this close to losing control and if I do…"
Kiwi slowly raised one hand and lay it against his cheek.
"I want you…"
"Kiwi…", he warned her with that low voice.
She didn't burdge. She wanted him. She wanted him to lose control. Really lose control this time.
Her hand slowly slid down and ended on his chest. She felt his heart racing.
"Take me…"
Vinnie let her go while shaking his head.
"Kiwi, stop pushing me…"
He tried to create some distance, but Kiwi wouldn't let him. She grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"Vincent... "

He snapped. Finally, he snapped.
A low growl vibrated in his chest when one hand grabbed her throat again and he kissed her wildly, while his other hand ripped off her clothes in one movement. Then, he lifted her and literally threw her on the bed. After kicking out his pants, he looked down on her. Kiwi bit her lower lip, her heart pounding in her chest.
Jesus, he looked… dangerous. And sexy like never before. But dangerous.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all...
He leaned forward and turned her on her back. His hands grabbed her hips and pulled her lower body up, his fingers almost cutting in her flesh.
Kiwi held in her breath when a bittersweet pain jolted through her body when he pushed himself roughly inside of her. One hand grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, the pain his rough treatment caused followed her spine to all the way down and a scream escaped her mouth. But he didn't stop. He moved fast, rough…
Jesus.
Her fingers clenched around the blankets, she squeezed her eyes, tears burning behind them. But she still didn't told him to stop.
Because she was somehow scared he wouldn't listen. What if he wouldn't listen?

Vinnie pulled back and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist in reflex and he pushed her against the wall again, making his way inside of her at the same time. The look on his face took her breath away. She'd never seen him like this. Never. His nose was a little wrinkled, his teeth still clenched but it was the look in his eyes that took her completely off guard.
Pain.
Pain was clearly whirling in his narrowed eyes, and he didn't look at her. Well, he did, but he didn't seem to see her. He kept moving while leaning forward and bit in her neck, multiple times. Tears jumped in her eyes when she felt his teeth cut through her skin.
Yep. Clearly, this was a bad idea.
He pushed them off of the wall and in one movement they were lying on the bed again. He was on top of her now, leaning on his hands while holding her legs up with his arms. His lower body rammed against hers, over and over again.
Kiwi closed her eyes. Tears escaped through her lashes and streamed down her face.
A growl escaped his lips, made its way out between his clenched teeth when he finally reached his peak. His whole body trembled and he bit his lower lip to keep the raw scream inside. The intense feeling almost washed him away and it cost him all his strength to hold himself up.

Kiwi slowly opened her eyes, her vision blurry. Jesus, no wonder he always protected her for this. This was… too much… Way too much. Her body couldn't handle this. Everything down there felt bruised, her neck was on fire and the skin on her head was burning… A sharp pain in her lower abdomen made her breathe shallow.
Dammit.
Pushing him over the edge was stupid, alright. She knew now. Jesus, what had she done? He was gonna blame himself for this...
Vinnie had his eyes closed, still leaning on his hands. His whole body was shaking and it almost felt as if he was gonna faint. But it slowly faded, taking the pain with it.
When he finally opened his eyes and saw the shocked look on Kiwi's face, the blood in her neck, the bruises that were already visible… it was like reality slapped him in the face.
Jesus. He'd promised himself to never lose control like that again. And most certainly not with Kiwi. But he did.
Fuck. His poor little girl… Her body was way too fragile for this. Even for a Martian Mouse, this could be intense. But for her… Fuck.
He quickly pushed himself up and away from her in one movement.
"Jesus, sweetheart, I'm… I…", he stumbled. He gave up, quickly grabbed a blanket and gave it to her, so she could cover her body.
She took it without saying a word and crawled under it, tears in her eyes. There was a deep cut in her now trembling lower lip.
Vinnie cursed under his breath and put on his pants.
Then, he sat down on the edge of the bed and gently rubbed the hair outta Kiwi's face.
"I'm so, so sorry... that wasn't supposed to happen…", he whispered, his voice hoarse. Thick of emotion.
Kiwi gently took his hand.
"You warned me… I pushed you too far…"
"No. This ain't your fault, sweetheart. I should've walked away. Blow off some steam. Fuck, this is… This is the exact thing I was trying to protect you for this whole time… You always kept pushing me, but I never lost control before with you… There's no excuse…" and his fingers slid over the bruised skin in her neck.
"Vin, it's okay. This ain't your fault either. We were both wrong, okay?"
"But look at you…"
"Vincent, stop. This is nothing that won't heal. I'm fine, I'm just… startled, I guess…"
"You should be.. Kiwi, I'm…"
He had no idea what to say. Speechless again, for the second time this day.
This day wasn't going very well.
Kiwi slowly got upright, squeezing her eyes because of the pain in her body. She stretched her arms and pulled him against her.
"Vin, please… Stoker said some very disturbing things, it's no surprise you're upset… And I pushed you too far. I just had no idea it would be like… this. I know now, okay? I promise you this will never happen again. I'll never push you again…"
But Vinnie shook his head and pulled back, a wild look in his eyes.
"No, this.. I… Fuck me, I need some time. To clear my head, I…"
He walked backwards to the door and Kiwi slid off the bed.
"Vinnie, please don't…"
But the white furred mouse turned around and stormed out.
"...leave me…", Kiwi finished her sentence while dropping on the bed again.
Jesus, how was it even possible things got outta control this fast? This day, she had the feeling things were taking the right turn. She'd made some friends, found some important clues about Limburger's plan and now…
She lay down and grabbed her pillow.
Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all…

"So, they're connected, huh?", Stoker asked Throttle. They were still sitting on the bed's in the infirmary, that was still deserted.
"Yeah… It really is different this time, Stoke…"
"I tried to tell ya, yesterday", Modo added.
"I should've listened... ", Stoker sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Look, I had the same doubts at the beginning, so don't beat yourself up too hard for that, Stoke. But telling Vinnie it was his fault Harley got kidnapped, well… That's just harsh. We both know there was nothing he could've done to stop it… to stop Mace", Throttle said.
Stoker shrugged.
"Rationally, I know. Really, I do… But emotions can be cruel sometimes... Makes ya think bad things… and makes ya say bad things… Ah man, me and my big mouth…"
"He'll come around, coach", Modo said, but he wasn't sure who he was trying to convince.
"She reminds me so much of Harley, I just… I've let my emotions got the best of me… Stupid. As if she would pick me over that white furred loudmouth. What was I thinking?"
The pain was clearly hearable in his voice. Losing Harley had cost him more than he ever dared to admit. But Kiwi brought it all back.
"I think no one can blame ya for that…", Throttle mumbled.
Jesus, what a mess… Bringing Kiwi with them caused more troubles than he'd thought in the first place.
It apparently brought back memories everybody was trying to forget.

He was just wondering where Vinnie went after he'd stormed outta the room, when he saw Kiwi stumble inside.
His eyes grew big when he saw the bruises in her neck and he jumped at his feet.
"Kiwi, you okay?", he asked urgently and Modo and Stoker looked up by hearing it.
Kiwi shook her head, walking straight towards Throttle and threw herself in his arms. He wrapped his arms around her while she burst into tears.
"Hey, hey, easy now…", he whispered and he rubbed her back.
He looked down on her and saw the wounds in her neck, fresh and still bleeding. His stomach dropped. He suddenly had the nagging feeling what this was all about.
He gently made himself loose and kneeled down in front of her. He lifted her chin and she looked at him, her blue eyes watery, and his gaze landed on the deep cut in her lip.
"What happened, Kiwi?"
Kiwi softly shook her head, her eyes flew towards Stoker.
The brown furred mouse saw it happen and immediately rose on his feet.
"I'll leave ya guys to it", and he left the room.

Throttle guided Kiwi towards a bed and gestured to her to sit down. He grabbed a chair and Modo did the same. They both took place across Kiwi, who was holding herself while silent tears streamed down her face.
Modo's tail wrapped around her ankle, gently, to let her know they were here for her.
Throttle took a deep breath.
"Kiwi, you need to tell us what happened…"
The human girl looked back at him, agony on her face.
"I… I can't, you… it wasn't his fault, I... ", she stuttered.
Modo jerked upright, his eye glowing red. But before he could say something, Throttle lay a hand on his shoulder to stop him from saying something that wasn't gonna help at this point.
Kiwi made a attempt get off the bed, disappointment written on her face.
"Never mind, you guys won't understand, you'll get angry… judge him", but Throttle gently pushed her back.
"I promise you we won't."
His voice was calm.
As always, when the world stopped spinning, there was Throttle. Calm. Wise.
Willing to look at things from different angles.
Modo relaxed and nodded at Kiwi.
"Sorry, Kiwi ma'am. I'll try to keep my cool. It's just… the thought alone someone hurt ya…"
"It wasn't like that…", she whispered.
"Did Vinnie do this to you?", Throttle asked.
Kiwi hesitated, but then nodded.
Throttle's heart skipped a beat. This was new.
"Did he do this without your permission?"
God, say no. Please, say no…
"No…"
Thank the mothers of Mars and halleluja.
"What happened, Kiwi?"
Kiwi wiggled on the bed, obviously not at ease.
"I… I think I wanna go home…"

Vinnie pushed his bike to the limits, using the scanner to avoid the boobytraps. Even if he was upset, he was thinking clear enough to know that being caught by rats wasn't his way of having a good time. Not that he was capable of having a good time now.
Jesus, he fucked up, big time.
Stop thinking! Just… drive.
He fired his jets and his bike sped forward, leaving a cloud of dust behind.
It was cold. He only wore a T-shirt with his sleeveless hoodie and that wasn't enough to keep him warm at this time at night. But he couldn't care less. Exactly what he needed.
A cold shower. So to speak.
The scanner beeped and he looked down. Another boobytrap. Without thinking, he pushed a button on his bike and the cannons popped out. Without slowing down, he locked target and fired. When the missile left his bike, he threw his weight to the right to avoid he was gonna get caught up in his own explosion. That would be something.
The explosion was deafening and Vinnie could feel the flames lick his fur when he past. The heat was immense and Vinnie's lips curled into a smile when he made it out just in time.
Right on. Adrenaline suddenly streamed through his veins. Maybe he was capable of having a good time after all.
"AAAAOOWW! Vinnie van Victory triumphs again!"
His scanner beeped again and Vinnie popped a wheelie in excitement. Who needed bad guys when there were boobytraps to project your frustration on?
He fired again and this time, he pulled back his handlebars and flew over the trap, right when his missile exploded. He could smell the burning rubber of his tires and he took a deep breath. His bike wobbled when he landed, but he was already on his way to the next trap.
Suddenly, a laser hit the ground next to his front tire and he looked in his mirror.
A grin almost split his face in half. Just the thing he needed to clear his head. A good fight.
Everything that was bothering him, every emotion, every thought, it all faded till there was only adrenaline and a healthy portion of determination left.
"Hey fellas, right on time!" and he turned his bike towards the rats.
He soon realized it were Limburger's goons. His new goons, that is.
One; because they were driving those ridiculous trikes, the same he'd seen earlier this day when they'd tried to catch Limburger.
Two; Greasepit was with them.
Ah. Great. A perfect opportunity to get him some answers about that slimy boss of his.
"Attack, yous goons!"
"We tear meeces… to pieces…", one of the rats smiled.
"Oh yeah? Wonder where I heard that one before…"
Vinnie quickly counted, but there were only five of them.
Ha. Not even close to fair odds. In his favor, of course. But now wasn't the time to be picky. He already was lucky enough that for once, he got what he wanted.

The rats attacked the same time Vinnie did. Chaos, panic and disaster followed. Just the way he liked it.
Soon, Vinnie stopped his bike and opened his visor, looking at the destruction in front of him.
"Ahhh… Nothing better than the smell of burned rats in the evening…"
His gaze then landed on Greasepit, who was realizing he needed to get the hell outta here. But he was too late.
Vinnie was suddenly standing next to him and punched him the face, making him fly off his trike.
Before he could stand up, the white furred mouse grabbed him by his dungarees and lifted him.
"Alright, talk fast, oil breath. Why did Limburger plan to go back to Mars and why did he decide to take us with him? I mean, it's not like we're besties…"
"I-I-I-I don't knows, I…", the oil dripping guy stuttered and Vinnie shook his head with a smile, grabbing his gun with his free hand.
"But I think you do…", and he pushed the gun under Greasepit's chin.
"If you wanna keep your brains where they belong, if you even have brains, I suggest to spill it. Now…"
"O-o-okay, okays, all I knows is that P-P-Plutark was about to find out about his failed m-m-missions on Earth, and if they did, m-m-mister Limboiger was gonna be in big troubles... "
Vinnie narrowed his eyes.
Hmmm. It actually did make sense.
The big cheese needed to save his own sorry ass, so he used them as a free ticket back to Mars. To make it look like this whole thing wasn't his fault, but theirs…
Smart, Vinnie had to admit that.
He spinned the gun around his finger and put it back in his holster.
Greasepit visibly relaxed, but Vinnie wasn't gonna let him get away that easily.
"Sweet dreams, oil stain", and he knocked the guy out in just one punch.
He needed to get back to the base. To tell Throttle what he'd learned just now.
This whole thing did confirm one thing; Limburger was still a treat.

Vinnie jumped on his bike and started the drive back.
Honestly, wouldn't things be a lot easier if they just planted a bullet between the eyes of that stinkface?
Maybe.
But there was probably another villain eager to fulfill his place… And before you knew it, you turned into someone you didn't want to be…
Reality hit. It literally slapped him the face. For the second time this evening.
Kiwi.
Shit… Was she ever gonna forgive him?
Well, she wasn't even mad at him at the first place, remembering the way she'd reacted.
Stupid. She had every right to be mad at him. But apparently, she wasn't.
So, maybe more important at this moment… Was he ever gonna forgive himself?