You guys… My loyal readers...

Thank you so much for the reviews.
Very much appreciated.

I guess I need to warn you guys.
I think I had the unexplained urge to write about drama.
Because oh my, the drama…
This chapter is gonna be tense.
Shit is about to get real.

Hope you guys won't hate me for it, bwhaha.
Enjoy ^^

Chapter fifty five

Vinnie stared at Throttle as if he had just caught fire.
"You… You've… my... ", he stuttered, but he shook his head, ignoring the pain. "Wait, what?"
Throttle gave him some time to process this before he would continue, keeping a close eye on him.
Vinnie stared at the floor now, his brains making overtime.
This was impossible. This was not happening.
She was dead. He knew she was dead.
Because immediately after they found out that she was missing, he had felt her dying. He had felt how the connection slowly faded until there was nothing left but a void.
A empty, dark void.
Throttle must be mistaking.
But then again, since when did Throttle actually make mistakes?
He suddenly remembered what Throttle had said.

"You ain't gonna like this…"

Why in the world had the tan furred mouse insisted that he would promise not to do anything stupid?
"Where is she?"
He hardly recognized his own voice. Shaky. Thick of emotions.
Ugh. Was this ever gonna end?
"Limburger has her…", Throttle answered his question with caution.
The words echoed in his head. And suddenly, everything made sense.
The anxiety.
The restlessness.
His dream.
His headache.
His glowling antenna.
She was trying to reach him. She needed him.

"Limburger has her… Limburger has her… Limburger has her…"

The words repeated in his head, over and over again.
Throttle was watching him closely, and tensed when he saw the look on Vinnie's face.
Shit was about to get real.
And oh, how right he was.

The white furred mouse grabbed him by the throat and pushed him against the wall in one movement. His nose almost touched Throttle's, his teeth clenched. And pain, anger, confusion, but also determination was whirling in his ruby red eyes.
"You knew this. You knew, and you didn't tell me. Why?"
Throttle took Vinnie's index finger from his hand around his throat and bowed it the other way, leaving the white furred mouse no other option but to let go, before his bro could break his finger. Throttle then grabbed his arm, turned it on his back and pushed his angry and hurt little bro against the wall.
"Because of this, Vincent. Because you have the tendency to react a little… impulsive. To let your emotions take over. And because of that, you could end up dead. The last thing I want, is to lose you. You've got that?", Throttle hissed in Vinnie's ear, his voice even more husky because of emotions.
Dammit. He should've told him. This was so much worse. This was…
This was a mistake.
Vinnie breathed heavily, still being pushed against the wall by his older bro. The pain in his head was almost overwhelming, but the pain in his heart was even worse.
He felt betrayed like never before.
His leader, his bro, his mentor, his… father figure, had lied to him.
"You still had no right to keep this from me…", he managed to bring out, his voice raw of pain.
"I know. I was wrong."
That simple statement hit Vinnie straight in the heart. Deep down, he understood where Throttle was coming from, really, he did.
But the pain, from both his head and heart, pushed it away. This was too much.
What the fuck was happening?
"Throttle, my head…"
The tan furred mouse let him go.
Vinnie turned around and slid down with his back against the wall, holding his head with both hands.
Throttle kneeled down in front of him, a worried look on his face. He had no idea what was going on. Not really. He had never seen this before. So how was he gonna be able to stop the pain? It was obvious Vinnie wasn't gonna take it much longer.

Suddenly, he heard a low groan behind him and he almost made a small victory dance. Right on time, big fella.
"Modo! Go get Stoker, now!", he ordered, while looking over his shoulder.
The gray furred giant looked back dazed, but then, he shook his head and jumped outta his bed.
"On it", and he quickly left the room with wobbling legs.
He had absolutely no idea what was going on, but it was clear now wasn't the time to ask questions. Most certainly not.
The tone in Throttle's voice had said it all.
Immediate action was required. And so he did.
He was a soldier, after all.

Meanwhile, Kiwi was also twisting and turning, not able to get some sleep at all. A nasty headache had made its way to her temples and her stomach was cramped because of anxiety. But most of all, her brains kept reminding her of her failure this afternoon.
And she had the nagging feeling she'd missed something.
Something important.
With a sigh, she sat upright, massaging her temples with closed eyes. She forced herself to go back to that moment, that moment when she found out about the money.
Blackout.
Shit.
Again.
After trying a few times, she let out a raw scream in frustration.
"Argh! What is it that you're trying to tell me, you stupid brain?!"
Flatline.
Kiwi grabbed her pillow and was about to throw it against the wall, when she suddenly froze.
Oh.
That's it.
What?
No way…
She jumped outta bed and grabbed her tablet, quickly going back to Limburger's financial page.
Kiwi's eyes grew big.
Shit.
How was it even possible that she had missed this?
But just like Carbine had said, they had needed some time to let it all sink in.
Her brains had registered this small detail, only to let it disappear to the back of her mind.
But this changed everything.
She quickly put on some clothes, for the first time not even bothered by the merciless cold of the Martian nights.
Dammit, she was restless like a kid with ADHD. What the hell was going on?
No time. She needed to talk to Throttle. Right now.

Stoker rushed inside the room, followed by Carbine and Modo. Vinnie was still sitting on the ground, his fingers clenched around the fur on his head, breathing heavily. Throttle jumped at his feet to give Stoker some space and the brown furred mouse kneeled in front of Vinnie, studying him closely.
"What is going on, punk?", he asked while his gaze landed on the glowing antennas.
"He knows, Stoke. About his sister. And I think she's trying to reach him. But I've got no idea why he's in so much pain…", Throttle quickly explained, and Carbine took his hand to let him know she was there for him. He gave her a grateful smile before he turned his gaze back on the two mice who were sitting on the floor.
"His sister?", Modo asked confused.
Throttle signed that he would explain later.
Stoker nodded while reaching out his hand and his fingertip softly touched the tip of one of Vinnie's antennas.
The white furred mouse groaned and pushed Stoker away. It was clear that Stoker's touch only made things worse.
"Okay, I think I know what's going on here…", the leader mumbled.
Vinnie was still holding the fur on his head with so much force, that they were all surprised he wasn't bald already.
"Listen, pu.. I mean, Vinnie. Your sister is indeed trying to reach out to ya, but your mind is blocking her. Ya know, like ehm… some sorta firewall. That's giving the immense headache, your brain is fighting a small war at this moment. You need to let her in."
Vinnie shook his head, his eyes squeezed.
"I.. I can't. I don't know how and I don't wanna know", he groaned.
"Stubborn as always", Stoker sighed. "But it's not like you really have a choice, punk. I'll help ya, okay? You just need to trust me."
"T-trust ya? Are you kidding me? After you…", but the white furred mouse couldn't talk further because of the immense pain in his head, which only got worse.
He banged the back of his head against the wall, an attempt to deal with the sharp stings in his head. But, of course, it didn't exactly worked that way.
And he suddenly couldn't take it anymore.
His eyes flew open and he grabbed Stoker's shirt, pulling him closer.
"Make it stop. Do whatever you need to do, but make it stop!", he growled between clenched teeth.

At that point, Kiwi ran inside the room.
"Throttle! Throttle, listen, I… oh…"
She stopped death in her tracks when she saw that almost the whole group was here, all gathered around Vinnie who was sitting on the floor, holding Stoker's shirt. She noticed his glowing antennas and he was clearly upset and in pain.
Shit.
"Vinnie, what's going on, are you okay?", she asked while pushing Carbine and Modo away to come closer.
But Throttle stopped her.
"You need to give him some space, Kiwi. Stoker is gonna help him, he'll be fine."
But his voice told her otherwise. She looked up at him and he gave her a small nod, confirming her fear.
Dammit. He knew.
It did explain her headache, her anxiety and restlessness though. That wasn't hers. It was Vinnie's.
"What the hell is going on?", she hissed, but Throttle held his finger against his lips.
"Later", he whispered, bringing his focus back on Stoker and Vinnie.
Kiwi followed his gaze and her heart cried. Her poor macho mouse was a mess, she could tell. She wanted to be there for him, hold him, kiss him, tell him that everything was gonna be okay. But something stopped her. If he knew, he probably also found out that she'd lied to him. And she wasn't sure how he was feeling about that. So, she stayed where she was.

Stoker's antennas started to glow and he leaned forward, making contact with Vinnie's. The white furred mouse his eyes grew big for a moment, but then rolled back and his whole body became limp. Stoker was holding him, to avoid he was gonna topple over, his eyes closed and concentration written on his face.
Throttle used this time to quickly tell the rest what happened.
Kiwi grabbed Throttle's arm.
"So he knows we lied to him?", she asked. She needed to know.
"Yeah, he knows, alright. Man, I should've followed my instinct, I made the wrong choice and my whole body was trying to tell me that."
"Throttle…", Carbine started, but Throttle shook his head.
"It was wrong, Carbine. That's just how it is."
"His sister?", Modo asked again, clearly having a hard time to process all this.
Throttle sighed heavily, rubbing his temples.
This was, again, one of those days, well nights, in this case. It started to become a habit.
Not good.

Suddenly, Stoker cleared his throat and they all turned around to look at him. The brown furred mouse looked back tiredly, the glow around his antennas slowly fading.
"I did the best I could. Let's just hope for the best… Big fella, give me a hand here, will ya?", and with help from Modo, they lay Vinnie, who was still out like a light, on his bed.
"He can wake up any second and then we'll know for sure if it was good enough."
"What did ya do?", Kiwi asked worried, but also curious.
"Hard to explain, but lemme try; I removed the blockade, let her in, and then muted her."
Kiwi blinked a few times. This whole mind thing really was something, alright.
Throttle scratched his neck, a confused look on his face.
"Why did he block her in the first place? It's his sister..."
"Because his mind was convinced that she was dead."
"Weird…", Carbine mumbled.
"Not that weird. How do ya think the world would look like if we all just send distress signals to each other, completely outta the blue, completely unorganized? It would drive people insane, that's what. It's some kinda safety measure that we all have ever since we're born. We only let signals in from the people we know and who we love. That's why we connect. But the punk here thought his sis was dead. So, his mind had blocked her, without him even knowing it. It's just how our brains work."
"But you muted her?", Carbine asked, still not quite understanding the whole thing.
"Yeah, because if I don't, it's too much for him to take in. He just found out that his sis is alive and kicking. That's already shocking enough. So, no need for him to feel what she's feeling."
"That's unusual sweet of ya", Kiwi said softly.
"Hey, pretty lady. I do care about him, ya know. A lot. Maybe we doesn't always agree, but he's still one of my best students, same goes for Throttle and Modo. We go way back."

There was a silence for a moment, but then Throttle turned to Kiwi.
"You gave me impression earlier that there was something urgent you needed to tell me."
Kiwi breathed in sharply. Dammit, she completely had forgotten about the whole reason she was here in the first place. But this whole thing with Vinnie had distracted her. Not that surprising.
"Oh! Yeah, listen to this; I was lying in bed and couldn't sleep, having the feeling I'd missed something this afternoon while looking into Limburger's financial situation. I couldn't figure out what, but suddenly it hit me", she babbled while grabbing her tablet.
"Look", and she showed Throttle the page, pointing at the thing that worried her.
Throttle stared at it.
"You need to help me out here, Kiwi. Where am I looking at?", he asked a little sheepishly.
"You're looking at a frozen account", Kiwi answered.
"I'm not sure if I follow ya, Kiwi ma'am", Modo said while looking over Throttle's shoulder at the tablet.
"His account is frozen. That can only mean one thing: he's out. The Plutarkians cut him off."
"So?", Carbine asked, clearly impatient.
"So, that means Limburger is on his own now, probably feeling betrayed, mocked and ashamed. Betrayed. Desperate."
Everybody stared at her, clearly at loss. She sighed agitated.
"Limburger has got nothing to lose, not anymore. He just became twice the treat he already was, desperate to do anything so his people will accept him again. Will embrace him. Will see him as their leader. We all know how he is. He needs recognition. Come on, for mice who are supposed to have super brains you guys really are slow! Vinnie's sister is in serious danger! We've gotta act, and with that I mean; right now!"
Carbine looked at Stoker, who nodded.
"Guess it's time to wake up some soldiers, ask them if they're up for a little rumbling with rats and a big, ugly Plutarkian to save the damsel in distress", the light grey furred female said determined and quickly left the room.
Throttle and Modo quickly grabbed their clothes and started to prepare themselves.
Stoker also left the room to help Carbine set up a team.

"I'm coming with ya with this one, guys."
"No dice, Kiwi. It's way up the dangerous scale and you know it", Throttle stopped her.
"But I wanna help. I wanna set thing straight. You were right, ya know. We made the wrong choice. We should've told him. Just like we should've told you, big fella", she said the last part towards Modo.
"Maybe, but I ain't holding no grudge, Kiwi ma'am. Sometimes, you just need to do what ya have to do", the gray furred giant answered, pulling on a warm and big hoodie.
But before Kiwi could say something back, Vinnie jerked upright with a growl.
"What the…", he breathed, rubbing his head and blinking a few times.
But the pain in his head was gone. He saw Throttle, Modo and Kiwi staring at him. And it suddenly hit him like a hammer.
His sister. Limburger.
Throttle who'd lied to him. So did Stoker. And Carbine. And…
His gaze landed on Kiwi, and the look on her face, the guilt in her eyes, confirmed his thoughts.
And so did Kiwi.
A sharp pain jolted through his chest. She'd lied to him. After everything they'd been through, after being there for her since the day they met, after telling her how much he loved her… She'd lied straight to his face.
Wauw.
Harsh. Painful. Almost embarrassing.
He had let her in. He had lowered his walls. He had gave her his heart and soul.
He had done all of that, even if he promised himself to never do that again. But he did. Because he'd thought she was different.
But apparently, she wasn't.
"Vinnie, I…", Kiwi started, but the white furred mouse stopped her.
"Don't. Just… don't…"
Kiwi's face darkened, her eyes filled with tears.
"Vincent, it was my call, okay? If you want someone to blame, take me. Kiwi just did what I told her", Throttle intervened, walking towards his younger bro.
But Vinnie jumped at his feet while ignoring his leader and put on some clothes. After pulling his black hoodie over his head, he collected most of the weapons that he was keeping in his room.
"And where do ya think you're going?", Throttle asked.
"I'm gonna do what already should've been done. I'm gonna go get my sister", Vinnie answered shortly, his voice low of suppressed anger.
His heart was pounding in his chest, his whole body was vibrating, and he knew he was close to losing it. But he tried to keep his cool, because he knew he was gonna need this anger in his fight to get his sis out. But it wasn't easy. He'd never felt this betrayed and that was saying something, since he practically grew up in a warzone. But this…
"We're coming with ya, Vin", Modo mentioned.
"Whatever. As if you can keep up with me", the white furred mouse snarled and he walked past Kiwi towards the door, ignoring her completely.
Kiwi grabbed his arm.
"Vinnie, please, stop… I'm sorry, don't leave like this… What if you don't come back?", she cried, tears streaming down her face.
Man, the look on his face, the pain in his eyes…
She really had hurt him. Deeply. And it made her feel sick to the stomach.
Vinnie stopped for a moment and closed his eyes. But the pain, the anger to compensate the pain, took over. He opened his eyes and looked down on her, a ice cold look on his face.
"You and me? We're done."
Her hand slipped off his arm and his heart broke a little more when he saw the look on her face, a combination from regret, panic and confusion.
But the anger pushed it away. It was her who had taken the decision to not to be honest to him, after all. Not him. Certainly not him.
He would never do that. Not like this.
And so, after giving her one more glare, he left the room without looking back.

Kiwi just stood there, staring at the empty doorway, completely dazed. But slowly, the pain crawled inside and she fell on her knees.
"No…", she whispered.
Throttle and Modo shared a quick look. They needed to follow Vinnie, but leaving Kiwi behind like this…
Modo came into action and kneeled down next to Kiwi.
"Don't give up yet, Kiwi ma'am. Things aren't lost, even if it looks like they are. Go to Amira, she'll help ya, support ya… You shouldn't be alone right now. And I would've stayed by your side myself if I could. But we need to go after Vinnie, to make sure he's gonna be okay, you know that right?"
Kiwi slowly nodded, still staring at the door.
"Go. Go, and bring him home safely…"

Vinnie marched straight towards the garage, pushing everybody away who happened to be in his way. Apparently, Carbine and Stoker had collected a team to go rescue his sister.
Ugh. Why now and not when they had found out that Limburger has got her in his slimy fins?
Why did they go behind his back?
Why did they make the decision to do the things the way they had done?
Fuck them. Fuck them all.
Vinnie couldn't believe that his bro, his coach and his girl had thought that keeping this from him was a good choice. That Carbine would do such a thing wasn't that much of a surprise. But from them...
To protect him because he was impulsive, ugh, come on!
As if Throttle wouldn't run out the moment he would hear his little sis was still alive and a prisoner at Limburger Tower. That wasn't being impulsive. That was caring for the ones you loved.
They should've told him. They should've helped him to get her out.
As a team. Because that's what they were, right?
A team.
No. Not anymore.
Family. Friends. Love.
It all needed only one thing as foundation. To keep it strong. To keep it real.
Trust.
He trusted them. He trusted them with his life. And they just violated that trust without even blinking.
I mean, there were lies and there were… lies.
Not telling him that his sister, his own flesh and blood for fuck sake, was alive and needed him was crossing a line that should never have been crossed.
He'd asked Kiwi what was wrong. And she'd looked him straight into his eyes while telling him everything was fine.
Unbelievable.
Unforgivable.
And right before he disappeared into the garage, he yanked Kiwi's earring outta his ear and let it slip through his fingers.
He hardly heard the soft tinkling sound when it touched the floor.
Done.

Throttle and Modo rushed through the hallways into the direction of the garage. When they were close, they suddenly spotted Carbine and Stoker, who were, by the looks of things, also ready to go. A small team with around thirty soldiers was standing in front of them, listening to the short briefing Carbine gave about this mission. And one of the soldiers was Rimfire.
"Oh momma…", Modo breathed.
Throttle quickly walked towards the group and grabbed Carbine by the arm.
"We need to go, now. Vinnie is already gone."
Carbine nodded and looked at the group.
"You heard him. Let's go."
Modo hesitated for a moment, he wanted to tell Rimfire that this was too dangerous.
That he needed to sit this one out.
That he was having a bad feeling about this one.
But Throttle already grabbed him by the arm and dragged him with him.
"I know what you think, big fella, but Rimfire ain't no kid anymore. I know it's hard, but this is our life. His life too. You can't stop him from wanting to fight for what's ours. And we need to go. Now."
Modo let out his breath, knowing Throttle was right. But even if Rimfire was all grown up now, it was still his little nephew. And letting him go, letting him fight this war where all these awful things happened, well… that was almost impossible.
But right now, Vinnie needed them.

Once in the garage, Throttle mounted his bike and so did Modo.
"Me and Modo will try to catch up with Vinnie", the tan furred mouse said into the radio while starting the engine. His bike came to life loudly roaring, clearly ready to drive out after standing in the garage for a couple of days now.
"Copy that, we'll be right behind ya. Now go!", Carbine replied.
Modo and Throttle fist bumped, closed their visor and popped a wheelie.
"Let's ride!" and they sped away, the rest of the group following shortly after them.

Just after everybody was gone, Amira ran inside the garage.
"Modo!", she yelled, but she realized she was too late when she saw the empty garage.
She had no idea what the hell was going on, but it was clear that something was very wrong.
Letting out a heavily sigh, she turned around and walked back into the base. When she closed the door behind her, her eye suddenly caught a glitter on the floor. She bend over and took the object.
It was a earring.
Kiwi's earring, to be precise. Amira recognized the small black diamond. How the hell did that thing ended up here?
She shrugged and put it in her pocket, to keep it safe till she could give it back and started her journey back to her room.
When she walked around the corner close to her room, she suddenly saw something sitting huddled in front of her door. She raised one eyebrow and slowly walked closer, but when she recognized the small bundle, she immediately ran towards it.
"Kiwi! Jesus, are you okay?", she asked worried, kneeling down.
The human girl was just sitting there, holding herself tightly while silent tears streamed down her face. Her eyes were wide open and her breathing was shallow, as if she was in shock or something.
"Come on, let's get you inside", and Amira gently helped Kiwi up.
Once inside, she guided the upset human girl to her bed and helped her sit down.
She kneeled down in front of her, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Hey girl, what's wrong? Talk to me…"
"He left me…", Kiwi whispered so softly, that Amira almost missed it.
"Who left you?"
"Vinnie…"
"What are ya talking about?", Amira asked confused. "He's on a mission, but he'll come back, right?"
Suddenly, Kiwi grabbed her by the shoulders.
"You don't understand, he left me. He broke up with me. We're done… That's what he said… We're done…."
Her voice broke.
Amira stared at her.
Say what?
"Oh my sweet Kiwi, come here…", and she sat down next to the human girl and pulled her in her arms.
Kiwi buried her nose in her fur, but it only made her more upset.
"You don't smell like him…", she sobbed, holding Amira tightly.
Amira's heart broke a little by hearing the pain in her voice, by hearing these heartbreaking words.
Poor girl…

She let Kiwi cry for now, rubbing her back and whispering sweet words in Martian in her ear. Her mother used to do that while she was growing up. Everytime when she was upset, and it always made her feel calm, even if she had no idea what her mother was actually saying. Well, not really. But the sounds of the words were sufficient.
Slowly, Kiwi calmed down a little, but only enough to be able to talk.
"Now, tell me what happened", Amira said friendly.
Kiwi did. It took a while before she was able to get out the whole story, bursting into tears from time to time, but in the end, Amira had a slight idea of what was going on.
She tucked Kiwi's hair behind her ears again and noticed she was wearing two different earrings.
One was the black diamond, the same as the one Amira was having in her pocket right now and the other…
Oh my.
They were engaged.
And the earring in her pocket belonged to Vinnie.
Well, it used to belong to him…
No.
It still belonged to him.
Amira refused to believe they were really done.
She'd seen the way how the white furred mouse looked at Kiwi.
He was crazy about her. More than crazy about her.
"Kiwi, listen to me. I don't wanna give ya the feeling I don't take this seriously, and the last thing I want is to give ya false hope, but things aren't lost yet. You told me yourself, Vinnie is a impulsive mouse. He reacts primary, without thinking. There's still a chance he did this because he was confused, angry and most of all; deeply hurt."
But Kiwi shook her head, her eyes swollen. She looked up at Amira and the honey coloured mouse was taking back by the look in her eyes.
As if she was dead inside.
Maybe she was.
"You didn't see the way he looked at me. There's no hope, whatsoever…"
"Maybe, maybe not. But I've seen the way how he looked at you before all this. I may not know him that well, but when it comes to you, he's a open book. He loves you. Deeply. It's even more than love. But you hurt him. So, maybe now it feels throwing that all away may be the right choice. But he'll come around. Eventually. I just know he does."
But Kiwi didn't believe her, she could tell.
That's okay. First things first.
First, let them all come home safely.
And then, when the dust had settled, she would talk to Vinnie.

Vinnie pushed his bike to the limits, avoiding the boobytraps by swirling past them. His ears picked up the familiar sound of his bro's bikes.
"Vinnie, I know you're upset and you have every right to be, but we need to talk things through instead of just throw ourselves in front of a group of hungry lions", he heard Throttle's husky, but this time not that calm, voice in his radio. He ignored him and hit the accelerator.
"Vincent, stop! You don't know what we're dealing with, there's something you need to know about Limbu…"
Vinnie shut down his radio before his bro could finish his sentence, not caring at all what the tan furred mouse was trying to tell him. There was only one thing that needed to be done, and that was getting his sister out.
Mireya… He wondered how she looked like nowadays. The last time he'd seen her, they were both sixteen years old. Ten years ago, but it felt like ages.
Man. It was as if it only now dawned on him.
His sister. He was about to see his sister again. His heart started to beat faster, his lips curled into a small smile.
He wasn't alone anymore.
And he gained even more speed, suddenly eager to see her. To hold her. To hear her voice.
To tell her she wasn't alone anymore either.

Finally, the tower came into view and Vinnie stopped on the same hill where he and his bro's had stopped the last time they had been here. He opened his visor and checked the surrounding. But it was deserted.
Somewhere, deep down, in the darkest caves of his brains, he knew this was weird. That this could be a trap. And that it wasn't exactly sane to go on this mission alone.
But his pain, his anger and his eagerness to see his sister, to be her hero, pushed that all away.
Besides; since when was he worried about being sane?
His heartbeat rose, his muscles tensed, adrenaline came free and he was ready. Oh boy, he was ready.
Ready to fight.
Ready to blow things up.
Ready to unleash himself.
Because this was personal.
And if Limburger was smart, he didn't show his ugly face tonight.
Because Vinnie wasn't sure if he was gonna be able to restrain himself if he would.
He knew the line between being a good or bad guy could be vague and blurry. And crossing it was almost as easy as snapping your fingers.
He'd crossed it twice. It was horrible. Painful.
But it gave such a powerful feeling at the same time.
His ears suddenly twitched and he heard his bro's were close again. So, he closed his visor, popped a wheelie and dove off the hill.
It's tail whipping time.

"God dammit, Vincent, STOP!", Throttle yelled when they stopped at the same spot where Vinnie was standing just seconds ago.
But the white furred mouse ignored him.
Again.
"I don't like the looks of this place, Throttle", Modo mentioned while looking around him.
"Me neither. But what choice do we have? We can't just let Vinnie dive in alone, now can we?"
"Oh hell no. Even if he thinks he ain't need us, he sure as hell does."
His eye followed the small dot that was his hurt and angry little bro, who was speeding towards the tower.
Oh momma… Wish you were here. To calm things down. To give Vinnie the scolding he deserved, mixed with the love he so desperately needed.
Just like the old days.
But she ain't here, Modo Maverick. She's dead. It's up to you now.

With shrieking brakes, Carbine and Stoker stopped next to them.
"It's way too quiet over here…", Stoker mumbled, while checking the surrounding.
"Yeah, and Vinnie is…", Throttle started, but he didn't get the chance to finish that sentence.
A bright light suddenly illuminated the dark environment and a huge video screen rose outta the top of the building.
Ah well. Limburger always has been a little theatrical.
After flickering for a few times, Limburger's smugly face appeared on the screen. He wasn't wearing his mask anymore and his real face was even more ugly.
The mice stared at the screen, and Vinnie also hit the brakes while looking up.
"Ahhh, my dear rodents. How nice of you to come for a visit. It's been a while…", the voice of Limburger echoed through the speakers.
"I almost was starting to miss you. Almost… hehe…"
Vinnie rolled his eyes and revved his bike, not having the patience to listen for even a second longer to that slimeface. He pushed a few buttons and cannons and lasers popped outta different holes in his bike.
"You can save yourself the speech, fucking slimeball", he growled, but Limburger started laughing again.
"Oh, why am I not surprised to see it is you who is leading the pack, desperate to save your little sister…"
Vinnie froze and looked up.
"If you only think about hurting so much of a hair on her body, you're a dead fish, ya hear me?", he screamed, his voice raw with anger.
"Oh, but my dear boy… You really think I would do such a horrible thing? No, no… I am, as always, a reasonable fish. She will remain unharmed… if the Freedom Fighters, including you and your little friends, surrender…"
"Right, I heard that before. You stepped way over the line this time. And I ain't making deals with a smelly Plutarkian like yourself. No more. We're way past that now!" and Vinnie hit the accelerator and sped further towards the building.
"Wrong choice, mouse… But fine, if you insist…", Limburger sighed and suddenly, the doors opened and a whole army of rats drove out. At the same time, lasers and cannons popped outta the building, all aimed at the white furred mouse.
But Vinnie wasn't impressed. He grabbed two of his laser guns outta his leg holsters and spinned them around his fingers.
"You guys wanna rumble? Well then, bring it on!"
He closed his visor and popped a wheelie.
"Come on, sweetheart, show them what you've got."
His bike beeped loudly, sped forward and opened fire.
Vinnie pressed his knees against her sides and fired with both his laser guns, a smile spreading on his face.
No matter how fucked up this all was, a fight was a fight. And he always, always enjoyed a good fight. No exception.

He drove towards the rats, firing over and over again. But the rats weren't planning on losing and returned fire. So were the lasers and cannons on the building.
Vinnie used his weight to avoid the shots and missiles, still firing.
"AAAAOOWW, you're messing with the wrong mouse, you fucking rats! Eat my fire!"
What he didn't notice, was that when he got closer to the building, the rats closed him in. But just when a huge rat behind him aimed his bazooka at Vinnie, with a evil smile on his ugly face, a missile exploded next to him, making him and everyone who was around him on a 2-mile square fly into the air.
Vinnie quickly looked in his mirror when he heard the huge explosion and saw Stoker driving by, already firing the next missile. The white furred mouse turned his radio back on.
"You ain't the only one who likes heavy artillery, punk", Stoker's voice echoed through the small speakers in his helmet.. "You're welcome, by the way."
Vinnie gritted his teeth and ignored his coach, still pissed off. The adrenaline only fed it.
"Freedom Fighters, ATTACK!", Stoker ordered and the rest of the group drove down the hill and threw themselves into chaos.
Throttle and Modo quickly joined Vinnie, whether he liked it or not.
"I can't believe you've started this party without us, Vincent", Throttle chuckled in the radio, trying to sound like everything was okay.
Like everything was normal.
"Yeah, little bro, when you wanna dance, you need your partners!", Modo added, firing with both his bike and armcannon.
Vinnie rolled his eyes and continued his warpath towards the building. But it wasn't easy. The rats sure knew how to put on a fight. But Vinnie had enough anger, adrenaline and frustration inside of him to give them one hell of a fight back.

The group of Fighters behind them tried to thin out the army of rats, leaded by Carbine. But that seemed a job that was destined to fail. Carbine hated to admit it, but they were outnumbered.
This was crazy. This was a suicide mission.
But retreat wasn't a option, not anymore. Vinnie had declared war and she knew they had to finish it. And she could only hope it wasn't gonna cost them too much.
Suddenly, a huge explosion at the front caught her attention. Vinnie and Throttle made it out, so did Stoker, but Modo was having a hard time, since he was knocked off his bike because of the shockwave. When he tried to get up, two big rats drove towards him, one with a bazooka in his hand, both cackling like prairie dogs.
"Shit", Carbine cursed and was about to make her way towards the helpless gray furred giant, but someone beat her to it.
"Uncle Modo!"
Rimfire came into view and sped towards his uncle. What he didn't saw was another rat who popped up next to him.
"Rimfire, look out!", Carbine yelled in the radio, but it was too late.
The rat fired and hit Rimfire full in the chest, and the young mouse let out a scream in pain. His bike wobbled and crashed, making Rimfire fly off. When he finally came to a halt, he was lying on his belly and didn't move.
"NO! Rimfire!", Modo roared in anger and fear.
The two rats who were coming towards him, got suddenly blown off their trikes and Stoker drove outta the cloud of dust.
"Go get him, Modo my mouse."
Modo whistled between his teeth and his bike stopped next to him. He jumped on and made his way to his wounded, hopefully alive little nephew.
"Carbine, give Mode back up and make sure he can get the little rookie outta here in one piece", Stoker ordered through the radio.
"Copy that, Stoke", Carbine replied and she whistled between her teeth.
A few soldiers of their group joined her and they made sure Modo could reach Rimfire without getting killed in the process.
Carbine shook her head angrily while knocking a rat off his trike.
You see? A suicide mission.
God dammit.
But she did what she was trained for. She was gonna keep fighting and there was only one thing could stop her.
Death.

Meanwhile, Vinnie and Throttle almost made it to the building. Stoker popped up behind them.
"Throttle, Rimfire is hurt, Modo is gonna get him outta here. The rest stays behind us to take care of the rest of those damned rats. So, it's just the three of us to save the damsel in distress."
"Copy that", Throttle answered shortly, using his knuck knocks to lift one of the trikes that was driving next to him and he threw it against the building. The rat quickly jumped out before the trike exploded, but unfortunately, he landed right in front of Vinnie.
The white furred mouse hit the accelerator.
"Get outta my way, loser", and he hit the rat with the front of his bike. Again, the rat flew in the air and landed meters away, but this time, he didn't stand up.

Slowly, but steadily, the mice started to win grounds. Even if they were outnumbered, they were angry. Well trained. Fighting for freedom and for the ones they loved.
That was a drive the rat's lacked off.. So even if they were good, the mice were better.
Perhaps that was the reason Limburger intervened.
Because he saw that he, again, was losing the battle. That again, his scheme was about to fail.
Or, perhaps he'd learned from his mistakes in the past and changed his, normally not that successful, way of working.
They would never know. But the fact remained it happened.

"ENOUGH! STOP THIS MADNESS!"

His voice blared through the speakers. It was the desperate tone in it that made everybody stop and look up.
Limburger was standing on top of the roof, looking down, his face twisted in anger.
"You all seem to forget that I am holding the ace in the hand!"
He reached behind him and Vinnie's heart skipped a beat.
There she was.
She really was here.
His sister.
"Mireya…", he whispered.
She was beautiful. Even if her body clearly had suffered from whatever had happened to her in the past ten years, she still was beautiful.
Duh. She was a van Wham, after all.
Limburger was holding her by the arm, her hands tied behind her back. The wind was blowing through her hair and she was looking down in some sort of trance.
By the looks of things, she didn't even notice the mice on the ground beneath the building. She was looking down as if it was some kinda salvation.
That made Vinnie even more angry than he already was.
His sister, his beautiful sister, had given up hope. They had broke her. Broke her spirit.
And he knew like no other how much was needed to break the spirit of a van Wham.
God dammit, was this ever gonna stop?
The second time he asked himself that question this night.
This was official a fucked up night.

Throttle saw the look on Vinnie's face, he saw how he tensed his muscles.
"Vincent, don't do…"
But before anyone could stop him, Vinnie revved his bike and fired his jets.
"...anything stupid…", Throttle finished, starting to feel annoyed that the white furred mouse wasn't listening to him.
Even worse, the guy ignored his entire existence.
He gave Stoker a helpless look and the brown furred mouse signed they could drive up through the back of the building. Throttle nodded, closing his visor and followed Stoker.

Meanwhile, Vinnie landed on the roof and stopped his bike with shrieking brakes.
"Let her go. Now."
Mireya stiffened by hearing his voice. Her head slowly lifted and for a moment, she was just standing there with her back towards him.
But then, she looked over her shoulder, her ruby red eyes wide open.
"V-Vinnie?"
Her voice was nothing more but a whisper. But it brought back so many memories by only hearing it.
Vinnie let out his breath and pulled off his helmet.
"Hey sis. Long time no see", he smiled.
Honestly. Of all the things he could say to her…
Mireya's lips curled into a small smile. Maybe hope wasn't lost yet.
"Isn't this the most lovely reunion?", Limburger smiled, while turning him and Mireya around.
Vinnie's face darkened when his gaze landed on the fish.
"This is the last time I ask this politely, sewage breath. Let. The. Lady. Go. Now…"
"I'm afraid that's not possible, my dear boy. You see, the only way to save her, is to bend the knee. To bow the head for the Plutarkians! It is time that you, all of you miserable rodents, give up the fight. Look around you! You are fighting for nothing. Mars is lost."
Vinnie stared at him. Say what?
He vaguely reminded that Throttle had tried to tell him something about Limburger. Vinnie suddenly wished he had listened. Because there was indeed something very wrong with the fish. He wasn't wearing his mask, to start with. Nor was he wearing his beloved purple suit.
And the look in his eyes was different.
A hint of insanity.
Strange.
"You know Martian Mice will never kneel. And Mars ain't lost yet", he growled at the fish.
Limburger suddenly pushed Mireya closer to the edge and she almost lost her balance.
Vinnie's eyes grew big and he ran a few steps forward.
"No!"

But Limburger grabbed the white furred female right before she could fall down.
"Do I have your attention now?"
Vinnie took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. And he knew his hands were tied.
Dammit. God dammit.
"Vinnie, please… don't give up Mars on behalf of me. Our home. Our home is worth more than my life…", Mireya said softly.
Vinnie looked at her, despair written on his face.
"But I can't just let you die… I just got ya back…"
They were staring in each others eyes, suddenly everything around them seemed to be forgotten. For a moment, it was only them.
But roaring engines broke them outta it and Vinnie saw Throttle pop up at his left and Stoker at his right.
"Cavalry!", Stoker cheered while firing his laser at the ropes around Mireya's hands.
"What? No!", Limburger yelled and he reached out to the white furred female, his only hope to win this.
His winning card.

It wasn't his intention. Clearly, it wasn't. He needed her, after all.
But when he wanted to grab her, she tried to hit him at the same time. Their hands collided and because of the force, Mireya got pushed back, forcing her to replace her feet.
But they were standing too close to the edge.
Vinnie saw it happen. Time seemed to stop. Everything around him stopped moving. He saw how she stumbled back, how her feet stepped into nothing.
Her hands tried to grab something, but there was nothing. There was only air.
Her eyes grew big. Her mouth opened a little.
Vinnie was already on his way, but he barely progressed. He tried to run as fast as possible, but it was as if his feet were stuck in quicksand. This was just like one of those goddamn nightmares. Only one small difference. This was real life. And he was about to lose his sister.
Again.

He looked into her eyes, he could see the resignation. As if she was trying to tell him this was okay.
But it wasn't okay.
It wasn't okay, at all.
But it did happen. Before Vinnie could blink, she was gone.
Limburger was looking at her as she fell down.
"Oh my…"
"No!"
Vinnie wasn't thinking. He just acted as he ran towards the edge and jumped after her. But he didn't came far. He felt a jerk on his tail, and instead of falling down, he banged against the building.
His eyes followed her as she fell down. He could see her eyes were closed and she somehow had a peaceful look on her face.
A loud crack when her body hit the ground, breaking every bone in her beautiful body.
Vinnie's heart almost stopped.
No.
How was this even possible?
Something clicked in his head and he couldn't stop the blood curdling scream that was burning in his throat, that forced its way out.

"NOOOO!"

Oh my…

See? I told ya.
Drama.
No other words are needed.

Feel free to leave a review.
Till next time and puhlease… don't hate me too much ;)