Hey you guys…

Thank you so much for the reviews.

So, I've decided that this is gonna be the last chapter of Breaking The Habit.
It's crazy how much words and chapters this beast of a story has by now.
And I've reached a point in the storyline that feels like a good time to close this book.
But no worries.
The story will continue in the follow up, which will be uploaded when the first chapter is ready.
The good news is; I've already started.

So, let's do this. The last chapter.
It's a sad chapter, but guess that's no surprise after what happened in the previous one.

Enjoy! ^^

Chapter fifty six

While the echoes of Vinnie's scream slowly faded, a silence dawned on the battlefield.
The rats had made a hasty retreat when they saw what had happened, knowing this was a losing battle anyhow.
The rest of the mice were just standing spread across the battlefield, all staring at the dead body of the white furred female that lay on the ground closeby the building.
Carbine pulled off her helmet, her eyes wide open in shock.
Death was a part of war. And it was horrible. Something you never fully got used to. But you accepted it in some way.
But this one felt different. This one was even more devastating.
They had failed…
The pain in Vinnie's scream had given her goosebumps. His raw voice still echoed in her head.
Even if she didn't like him, this was something nobody deserved. To see someone you love die like that, right in front of you, in this gruesome way...
Jesus.
Tears filled her eyes. And all she could do was just stand there. Just like the rest of the Freedom Fighters.
They all just stood there, holding their helmets, a shocked and sad expression on their faces.

Meanwhile, at the top of the building, Stoker used all his strength to pull Throttle and Vinnie back on the roof.
The moment Vinnie jumped over the edge, a last and desperate attempt to save his sister, Throttle had followed him without showing any hesitation. Stoker had been just in time to grab Throttle's tail, to avoid he was gonna lose two of his best students in one night.
Two who were like son's to him.
Throttle was still holding Vinnie's tail with all his strength, staring down in shock.
Jesus, he couldn't believe that this had happened just now. His eardrums were still vibrating from Vinnie's scream, it was the most terrifying sound he'd ever heard.
It was the sound of pure pain.
The sound of heartbreak.
The sound of someone who broke who was already broken.
And he knew that the next few months were gonna be tough. Real tough.
But he vowed to himself, right here and right now, that he was gonna be there for his younger bro.
No matter what.
No matter how many times he was gonna be pushed away, he would bounce back.
Because this… this was all his fault. He'd made the wrong decision. He was their leader, he carried the responsibility to take care of his bro's. To make the right decisions, in their sake.
He knew he'd made the wrong call. And telling himself that he'd done it to protect his younger bro, that he'd acted outta love, didn't change the fact that he'd made a mistake.
A terrible mistake.
The guilt was almost too much. It pressed on his chest, making breathing difficult.
And he knew, he just knew, that he was never gonna be able to forgive himself for this.
Never.

Vinnie's breathing came out in rapid breaths, his heart was racing in his chest and he could only stare at the white dot that was lying on the ground beneath him. Everything around it was blurry, but he could see her crystal clear. His whole body was shaking and he suddenly got overwhelmed with the urge to be with her.
She was lying there, all alone.
And he suddenly couldn't take it anymore.
Without thinking, he whistled between his teeth and his bike roared in answer. The red racer jumped over the edge and Vinnie grabbed the handlebars when she was close. He felt that whoever was holding his tail let him go and he fired his jets to turn this freefall into a controlled landing.
Before his bike completely stopped, he already jumped off and stumbled to his sister. But his legs didn't cooperate and he tripped a couple of times.
When he finally reached her, he fell on his knees next to her, his eyes wide open.
The sand under her body was already coloured black by her blood and her limbs were lying in a strange position. In some places the bones had pierced her skin and her beautiful white fur was now red, soaked with blood. Her head had burst open at the top, and one eye almost popped out of her eye socket.
It was a gruesome sight. It was disgraceful what a landing after a fall of such height did to the body.

Vinnie leaned forward, he almost couldn't breathe.
Why?
For fuck sake, why?
Why her?
It was cruel what hope did to a person's, or in this case mouse's, mind.
For years he'd lived under the assumption that she was dead. He almost had peace with it. Of course he missed her. But ten years was a long time.
Some wounds may never completely heal, but they heal enough to make it liveable.
Knowing for this short time that she was alive had almost erased the wounds. As if they just vanished.
But losing her again, even if he only had known that she was still alive for like three hours, was twice as painful.
The old wounds suddenly came back, completely torn open and next to them, new wounds formed.
It was devastating.
Vinnie's antennas started to glow, a desperate attempt to connect with her, to feel her for one last time, but when he touched hers, darkness was all he saw.
She was really gone this time.
And it broke his heart. It broke his spirit.

Throttle and Stoker were still standing on the roof, staring down at the heartbreaking sight of Vinnie, who was trying to connect with his sister. They both knew that it was a lost cause. That she was gone. But they both didn't had the heart to go down and tell that to Vinnie.
"Where's Limburger?", Throttle asked toneless, his eyes glued on the two white furred mice beneath him.
"Gone. Probably used a portable transporter", Stoker answered, just as toneless.
"Jesus, Stoke, this is…", Throttle started, but he couldn't talk further.
Stoker lay a hand on his shoulder.
"I know, Throttle, I know. But this ain't your fault, you hear me? I refuse to stand by and watch you carry the responsibility for what happened just now."
"We should've told him…", Throttle whispered.
"Maybe, but who knows what would've happened if we did?"
"Perhaps she would still be alive now…"
"We don't know that, Throttle. And we'll never know. I agree that keeping this from him was the wrong choice. But that doesn't mean we're responsible for her death. There's only one to blame here and that's Limburger."
Deep down, Throttle knew his coach was right.
But knowing it and believing it were two completely different things.
Man. The perks of being the leader…

The sun slowly rose, warming up the planet Mars. Warming up the cold red sand.
The warm, soft yellow light was almost soothing, as if the sun was trying to comfort them.
To tell them it was gonna be okay.
Carbine slowly awoke outta her trance and put on her helmet.
"Throttle?", she whispered in the radio.
"I'm here… You okay?"
Hearing his husky voice almost made her burst into tears, but she pushed them back.
"I eh… I don't know. You?"
"Don't know either…"
"We eh… I think we better get back to the base… before eh… ya know. Before some other enemy finds us here and right now, we're too vulnerable."
"Yeah… I'll try to take Vinnie with me…"
"Yeah…"
A long silence.
"Oh, and Throttle?"
"Yeah?"
"Let's bring Mireya home."
Another silence.
"Copy that."

"Vinnie?", Throttle said softly while kneeling down next to his broken little bro.
But the white furred mouse didn't respond. He was just staring at Mireya's body, frozen like a statue.
Throttle lay a hand on his shoulder, but still no response.
"Vin, we need to go... "
Nothing.
"Vincent…"
"We can't just leave her here", Vinnie said toneless, without looking up.
"We'll take her with us. We'll take her home."
No response. No movement.
Nothing.
"Can you ride?", Throttle asked, a little hesitant.
He had never seen Vinnie like this before. It was as if he was in shock.
He probably was, though.
Dammit. The anger he could handle.
But this… This was heartbreaking.
Vinnie suddenly came into movement, gently scooping the broken body of his sister in his arms.
He moved jerky, like a robot. He turned around to his bike and Throttle could now look him in the eye.
And his heart stopped.
His eyes were empty. Dead.
Oh Modo's momma… this was bad, alright.
Real bad.

Back on the base, a few hours earlier…
"A medic! I need a medic!", Modo screamed with panic, stopping his bike with shrieking brakes.
He lifted Rimfire from his bike, his fur soaked with blood.
Rimfire's blood.
Luckily, the Freedom Fighters were always good prepared and when a group left for a mission, there was always a medic team standing standby in the garage.
Modo lay his nephew on the brancard that was already standing next to him.
One of the doctors quickly examined the young mouse.
"Get the OR ready, we've got a young mouse with a gun wound in the chest. He's losing a lot of blood, so make sure everything is ready for a transfusion", the black furred doctor ordered in the radio.
He then looked at Modo.
"You okay?", he asked when he saw the blood.
"Don't worry about me, worry about him!", Modo answered shortly, using all his strength to stop his voice from breaking.
The doctor nodded and the team took Rimfire with them to the infirmary, followed by a worried Modo.

Once at the infirmary, one of the nurses turned around and lay a hand on Modo's chest.
"I'm sorry, this is as far as you can go. I need you to wait here."
"Is he gonna be okay?", Modo asked, his eyes following the brancard with his nephew on it.
He had to ask.
"Right now, it's too soon to say. But do know this; we're gonna do everything we can to make sure he's gonna be okay."
And she followed Rimfire and the team through the metal door that leaded to the OR.
The door closed behind them, and with that, the silence was back, the peace was restored.
Modo just stood there, staring at the sign 'Medical Staff Only!' that was hanging on that awful door.
Why make a metal door that leads to an OR?
Why make a door that gives you the feeling that the one you loved walked into a slaughterhouse just now?
And because of that stupid sign, there was nothing you could do to help him.
To save him.
Oh momma...
This was exactly what he was so afraid of that would happen.
His little nephew, badly injured, maybe even dying.
He wished he had listened to his instinct instead of Throttle.
But that was easy to say afterwards.
Because he knew that if he had tried to stop Rimfire, the young mouse wouldn't have listened to him anyway. But still…
He had a bad feeling about this mission. And it turned out his instinct was right.
But what if he died?
It suddenly hit him like a hammer. What if Rimfire would die?
He was the only family he had left and likewise.
He'd promised his sister on her deathbed that he would take care of Rimfire.
What if he had broke that promise just now?

"Modo…"
Her voice. The sound of Christmas bells.
A warm hand on his arm.
He turned around and looked into her brown eyes, which were magnified by her glasses, filled with worry.
"Amira ma'am, I eh… I didn't saw you there…", he stumbled.
"Are you okay?", she asked, looking at the blood on his clothes and fur.
"This ain't my blood. It's... from Rimfire…"
Amira breathed in sharply.
"Oh no, Modo, what happened?"
"He got shot, he tried to save my sorry tail, but we were outnumbered and…", Modo explained, but he suddenly couldn't talk further.
His voice broke and Amira took him in her arms.
"It's okay, you don't have to explain, I'm here…"
Modo buried his nose in her hair while wrapping his arms around her.
He wanted to stop, to pull back, to tell her he didn't want to ruin her clothes because of all the blood, but he couldn't.
He needed her warm arms around his waist, he needed her scent in his nose, he needed her warmth.
Her love.
They just stood there for a while. But suddenly, a soft and breakable voice broke the silence.
"Modo… where is he?"
Modo looked up, straight into the pale face of Kiwi.
Oh momma, he had almost forgotten about her because of what happened to his little nephew.
But looking into her bloodshot, swollen eyes immediately brought it all back.
"He's still out there… I left in a hurry with Rimfire… I have no idea what's going on there right now, I'm sorry, Kiwi ma'am… But he was okay when I left… I'm sure he's fine."
Kiwi nodded, holding herself tightly and sniffed.
"I'm sorry for what happened to Rimfire", she said softly.
"Me too…", Modo answered dejectedly. "Me too…"

Present
Kiwi was sitting next to Modo and Amira, waiting for some news. Rimfire was still in the OR, but there was nothing they could do.
Nothing else but wait.
The human girl was staring outta the window, watching the sunrise.
Usually, that made her feel happy. Happy that the cold darkness was chased away by warm light.
But not today. Certainly not today.
She'd lost the one thing she couldn't live without.
How in the world was she gonna be able to live her life?
To live her life on this planet, being close to him and yet so far away at the same time…
The answer was simple.
She couldn't.

A group of bikes in the distance woke her outta her trance.
"They're back!", and she jumped on her feet.
She needed to see him. No matter what.
Amira looked at Modo.
"Why don't you go with her, to see if everybody's okay? I'll stay here and let you know the moment Rimfire comes outta the OR, okay?"
Modo nodded, the waiting only made him more restless by the minute. Maybe he could make himself useful for a moment.
Kiwi grabbed his hand and dragged him with her towards the garage.
But when they walked inside, she stopped death in her tracks.
Modo bumped into her and she almost fell forward, but he quickly grabbed her and set her back on her feet.
Kiwi could only stare at her macho mouse, who slid off his bike with the motionless body of a female mouse in his arms.
His snow white fur was red of her blood and the look on his face…
Jesus…
She put a hand in front of her mouth when she took a closer look at the body. It was brutally mutilated, but there was no doubt that it was his sister.
Oh my god, what the hell had happened out there?
Her heartbeat rose, nausea forced her to swallow over and over again.
"Oh momma…", she heard Modo breathe.
You can say that, alright.

Vinnie walked right past them, he didn't even see them.
Throttle followed him, signing to Stoker and Carbine to stay behind, to take care of the rest of the group.
When he reached Kiwi, he gently took her arm and guided her with him.
Then, he looked at Modo but the gray furred giant shook his head.
"Rimfire is still in the OR, I.. I want to be there when…", he stuttered, somehow feeling guilty that he couldn't be there for his younger bro right now.
But Throttle lay a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay, big fella. Go. Rimfire needs ya. We'll keep an eye on Vinnie. Go."
Modo hesitated for a moment, but then turned around and walked back to the infirmary while Throttle and Kiwi followed Vinnie.

Kiwi was glad that Throttle was holding her arm, otherwise she would've collapsed. She clung onto him, holding his arm as if it was a lifebuoy.
She stared at Vinnie's back, at his black hoodie that was dirty and torn. So were his black biker jeans. His big ears were almost flat next to his head and his tail hung lifeless on the ground, as if he didn't had the strength to hold it up as he usually did.
To carry it with pride.
Oh, her poor, poor macho mouse.
The things she would do to pull him in her arms…
But she couldn't. Never again. Because he didn't want her anymore.
The pain was too much. God, in just one day she was back in the darkness she'd tried to escape.
The darkness that had forced her to take her own life.
Tears already escaped her eyes again.
She couldn't live without him.
My god, she was nothing without him.

Vinnie stopped before a door and Throttle opened it for him, without saying a word.
The white furred mouse walked inside the room and the door closed behind him.
Throttle let out his breath and pulled Kiwi in his arms.
"What's in that room?", Kiwi asked with a small voice, burying her nose into his fur.
"The chapel", Throttle answered.
That was the last thing Kiwi expected.
"You have a chapel?"
"Yeah… Once, Martian Mice believed that the sun was their keeper. Some sort of god, named Eguzkia. But the Plutarkians didn't only destroy our planet. They also wiped away our faith. We use the chapel so we can say goodbye to the ones we love. In peace. Maybe having the small hope that Eguzkia is still there, that this is all happening for a reason and that She's there to guide the souls to the light…", Throttle explained.
There was a silence for a moment. Kiwi looked at Throttle and came to the conclusion that she had never seen him this dejected.
Even his fur seemed to hang down in defeat.
"What happened out there, Throttle?", she asked, her voice shaky.
"We've failed, that's what happened…"
"This can't possibly be your fault, Throttle…", Kiwi answered flatly, letting him go.

Throttle sighed and slowly sank on the floor, while leaning against the wall.
Kiwi took place next to him, taking his hand.
They sat there for a while, both deep in their own thoughts, both caught up in their own pain.
Kiwi suddenly realized something.
She was heartbroken. Devastated.
No words could describe how fucked up she was feeling right now.
But she realized that she was, next to her own pain, still able to feel Vinnie's pain. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Throttle?"
"Yeah?"
"Ehm… Say, hypothetical speaking, two mice connect outta love, but break up later on. What happens to the connection? Does that break too, or…?"
Throttle glanced at her.
Hypothetical speaking, huh?
But he decided to just answer her question.
"The connection breaks as soon as one of the two decides that it's over…"
Kiwi's heart made a little jump.
So, maybe hope wasn't lost after all.

Another silence.
"Throttle?"
"Yeah?"
"What really happened out there?"
The tan furred mouse sighed.
Yeah, what really happened?
He let his mind wander back to that moment. Could they really have done more than they already did?
He had no idea.
"Limburger made us a proposal, Mireya would live if we'd surrender. Vinnie declined and with that, the time for talk was over. The rats attacked, we were outnumbered, but we still managed to gain grounds… Suddenly, Limburger stopped it, standing on the roof with Mireya… Vinnie tried to save her, but that failed… Stoker and me arrived shortly after Vinnie, the coach freeing Mireya in the process… I'm not sure what exactly happened, but it ended with Limburger pushing Mireya off the building… And there was nothing we could do to stop it…"
He took off his glasses and rubbed his burning eyes. He could still hear Vinnie's scream in his head.
Man…
Kiwi, who was still holding his hand, stared at their entwined fingers, tears streaming down her face.
"That doesn't sound like you've failed… That sounds a lot like Limburger killing a innocent girl…"
Throttle put his glasses back on.
"Man… I just wish we had told him, ya know? I keep thinking that maybe then, she would still be alive…"
"We don't know that…"
"Stoke said the same thing."
"Wise man, that Stoker."
But then, Kiwi sighed.
"But yeah, we should've told him…"

She suddenly made a decision.
She wasn't gonna give up on that mouse.
Not now. Not ever.
Yes, she made a terrible mistake.
But they belonged together. And that's final.
Their love had to be strong enough to survive this.
So, she slowly rose on her feet.
"I'm gonna go check if he's okay."
She stopped and raised her eyebrows.
"Okay, that just sounded stupid, alright. Of course he ain't okay. But… whatever, I'm gonna go check on him."
Throttle followed her with his eyes, shaking his head. He knew that if there could be one person who was capable of getting through to Vinnie, it was Kiwi.
He needed her. And he could only hope his younger bro was gonna realize that.
Before it was too late.

The door closed behind her and Kiwi looked around her.
The chapel was about the size of a average church on Earth. It actually looked the same too.
Rows with wooden benches. A lot of candles.
But instead of Jesus Christ hanging on the wall, there was a huge statue of a beautiful female mouse, looking down at a big stone table.
On the table now lay Mireya.
Vinnie sat on one of the benches in the front row, staring into space. He didn't look up when she came in.
Kiwi swallowed and slowly approached him. She had no idea what to expect, no idea how he was gonna react if he would see her.
Was he gonna reject her? Push her away? Be angry, as he always did when he was in pain?
She had no idea.
When she stopped in front of him, he still didn't look up. He just stared right through her.
She kneeled in front of him and lay her hands on his knees.
Still nothing.
"Vinnie…", she whispered, her voice thick of emotion.
He still stared right through her. His eyes, which normally glistened with vice, were empty.
No spark. Not even of anger. No.
Nothing.
She noticed the sleeves of his black hoodie were rolled up and that the fur on his forearms was red of his sister's blood.
She needed to clean that.
Since she had no idea what to do with the lifeless mouse that was sitting in front of her, her brain forced her to do something practical.
So, she looked around her and spotted a small bottle with the weird substance the mice used to clean their fur.
Just what she needed right now.

With the bottle in her right hand and a towel in her left, she kneeled in front of him again and after a small hesitation, she gently took his hand.
Still no reaction.
While holding her breath, she took off his fingerless glove.
Nothing. No movement. Nothing.
His hand was just lying lifeless in hers.
After taking off his other glove, she sprayed his fur with the contents of the bottle and used the towel to rub his fur.
This stuff really was magical.
After rubbing the same spot for only two times, his fur was white as snow again.
She cleaned his fur with precision, secretly enjoying this moment, enjoying the fact that he let her touch him. So, she took her time.
"She always teased me when we were kids, ya know. Always reminding me that she was the oldest, since she was born first", Vinnie suddenly said, his voice hoarse and toneless.
Kiwi froze for a moment, but then decided to continue her work to give him space to talk.
"She was bossy, always making the decisions for both of us, because she was older and therefore wiser. I hated it. Because she made me feel small. But at the same time, it gave me a safe feeling. Because there was always someone I could rely on, no matter what. She was always there for me…"
Kiwi swallowed away her tears, focussing on the red spots in his fur.
"When she went missing, I felt lonely like never before. She used to be by my side, always. And all of a sudden, she was gone. It took me a while to get used to that. To be on my own… But I've never really become good at it. To stand on my own feet. Guess that's why I'm so depended on Throttle."
Kiwi was still cleaning his fur, tears streaming down her face again.
Dammit, she hadn't cried like this in years.
But she still said nothing. Somehow, she could sense she needed to just let him talk for now.
It was the first time since she met him that he was talking this open about himself and his feelings.
The first time he really opened up.
"She was my hero, ya know? Most boys look up at their father like that, but not me. I had my sister. My strong, self assured sister, who always got my back…"
His voice broke a little and Kiwi looked up at him. But he was still staring into space, his eyes dry like a old leaf.
No tears. No emotions. Nothing.
"When Throttle told me she was alive and a prisoner at Limburger Tower, it felt like a second chance… That I was finally able to give back what she always had given me. Someone to rely on. I just wanted to be her hero, just for this one time…"
Now his voice broke.
"I've let her down… Jesus, I… I've failed her… And now I'm…I'm on my own again, and I can't… I can't do this alone..."
Kiwi couldn't hold herself back anymore.
She lay her hands against his cheeks and finally, finally… he looked her in the eye.
"Vinnie… my sweet, sweet Vinnie… You don't have to go through this alone… I'm here for you. To guide you. To stand by your side. To be the person you can rely on, always… Everybody needs help sometimes, love. And it's okay to not be okay all the time..."
Vinnie slowly lifted his hand and wiped away a tear on her face.
That small gesture, the tenderness behind it, broke her already broken heart. It made it shatter into a thousand pieces.
"I'm so, so sorry that I gave you the feeling you can't rely on me… I made a terrible mistake and I can't tell you how sorry I am… How much I regret that decision… I never meant to hurt you. But I did…", she sobbed.
Tears filled his ruby red eyes. He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers while weaving his fingers in her hair.
"I love you. I love you so, so much…", he whispered, a tear escaping his right eye.
If Kiwi thought she was crying before, well… Hearing him say these words completely opened the locks.
"I love you too… You're my everything… I'm nothing without you", she managed to bring out between sobs.
Vinnie pulled her in his arms and they cried together in silence, holding on to each other.
And it made their bond even stronger than it already was.
And Kiwi now knew; their bond was unbreakable.
Forever.
They still had a long way to go.
But as long as there was love, there was hope.

Meanwhile, Modo was pacing through the infirmary, feeling restless because there was still no news about his little nephew. And he almost couldn't take it anymore. But there was nothing he could do. Maybe that's why he was so restless. Because he felt completely powerless.
A feeling he hated.
Amira was following him with her eyes, having no idea what to do to help him. She suddenly realized she couldn't. She could only be there for him, so that he wasn't alone.
Finally, just when Modo thought he was gonna lose it, the doors from the OR opened and the doctor came outside. He pulled off his mouth cap while walking towards Modo, a blank expression on his face. His operation clothing was smeared with blood, but Modo hardly noticed.
"And?", the gray furred giant asked hopeful, but when he looked into the eyes of the doc, the floor slumped under his feet.
No.
No, no, no…
"I'm sorry, we did the best we could, but he lost too much blood and the shot damaged too much... ", the doc said flatly, his ears drooped.
Modo could only stare at him.
"He died five minutes ago, Modo. I'm sorry…"

No.

He had just lost his one and only relative.
He had just broken his promise to his sister.
His legs became weak and he fell on his knees.
His little nephew. His son…
He buried his face in his hands, tears already escaping his one eye.
Amira rushed over to him and dropped next to him.
"Modo, I'm so sorry... ", she whispered while holding him.
Modo's whole body shook of crying.
This war… It had already taken away so much..
His beloved, gray furred momma.
The love of his life, Cami.
And now, his little nephew Rimfire.
How much was he gonna be able to take? When exactly was that point of no return?
When would he collapse completely, to never stand up again?
He had to admit, it felt as if this was the moment.
He was past the point of no return.
But warm arms around him and a soft voice called him back.
And despite this overwhelming, devastating pain, caused by the loss of Rimfire, he knew that he couldn't give up.
Not yet.
There was still so much to fight for.
His bro's.
Kiwi.
Stoker.
Carbine.
Amira…
But not now.
Now, all he could do was sit there and cry, while the pain slowly spread. And he let it in. He embraced it.
Because he knew he was gonna need this pain to, in the end, get back on his feet.
But not now.
Certainly not now…

A few days later…
"We're gathered today to say our final goodby to two very important and beloved mice. Their death was useless, unnecessary, a result of this devastating war, that has already cost us too much."
Stoker's voice echoed against the big walls that surrounded the base.
Everybody was gathered in the courtyard, sitting on chairs with their heads down. Sniffing sounds were clearly hearable, some of the mice were holding each other tightly, sorrow written upon their faces.
Rimfire and Mireya were lying on two, with stones decorated, tables closeby the entrance of the base and Stoker was standing next to them, looking at the crowd with pain in his brown eyes.
"Let us remember them as heroes, fallen while fighting for our home, for our planet. While fighting for freedom. Let Eguzkia guide them to the light, let Her take care of them, to make sure they'll get the peace they deserve."
Vinnie gritted his teeth in pain, staring at the body of his sister and Kiwi grabbed his hand, letting him know she was there.
That she was feeling his pain as if it was her own.
And most important; to let him know that he wasn't alone.
They were in the front row, with Modo and Amira sitting on Kiwi's left and Throttle and Carbine on Vinnie's right.
The sun was shining down on them, somehow a little less warm than usual. As if it was trying to comfort them.
But nothing could comfort them.
Absolutely nothing. Not today.
Stoker took a deep breath and shared a quick look with Throttle, who nodded back.
"Let their bodies warm up and turn into ashes, so the wind can carry them to Eguzkia. Let them be free, serene and lighthearted. And may we meet them again in our future lives to come…"
Stoker whistled between his teeth and two mice in the back, holding bow and arrow, rose on their feet.
They both lit their arrow and spanned the bow aimed at the sky.
"Illuminate them and set them free…", Stoker gave the order and the two mice fired.
The arrows flew high in the sky, came down and one landed in Mireya's chest, the other one in Rimfire's.
A huge blowpipe flame set both tables completely on fire and Kiwi couldn't help it but to look up startled.
That was the last thing she'd expected, but then it dawned on her.
Before the ceremony, Stoker had covered the stones around the bodies with a weird smelling liquid.
Something that was combustible, she now knew.

Everybody rose on their feet, looking at the two bodies going up in flames.
It was horrible.
But beautiful.
Because the wind indeed took the ashes with it, carrying it straight towards the sun.
"They are free now…", she heard Amira mumble, to nobody in specific.
Kiwi glanced at Vinnie, but he was staring at the flames, his thoughts miles away.
As if he wasn't really here. Maybe he wasn't…
The human girl softly squeezed his hand while looking back into the flames.
And she knew, she just knew, this was only the beginning.
She couldn't explain it. It was just a hunch. But she knew.
Something was about to change.
This was the beginning of a new era.

Epilogue

Stoker stared out the window, deep in thoughts.
Six weeks had passed since that awful day. That deep black day.
A day he would never forget and many with him.

Vinnie had barely spoken a word since that day. He was quiet, introvert and almost apathetic.
In other words, nothing like the mouse he used to be.
Even the anger was gone. There was only emptiness.
At least he'd restored things with Kiwi. But even she wasn't capable of getting through to him.
Not since that day in the chapel.

Modo was also more quiet than usual. He was blaming himself for what happened to Rimfire and nobody seemed to get through to him that it wasn't his fault.
He maybe acted less down than Vinnie did, but Stoker knew the gray furred giant was a mess.
Amira was standing by his side, every day.
Stoker was glad she did.
He needed her. A woman's touch.

Throttle tried to be there for his two broken bro's. But it was taking its toll.
He felt powerless, he couldn't fix this and it made him restless, Stoker could tell.
Besides, he still blamed himself for not telling Vinnie, having the unreal thought in his head that this was all his fault.

What a mess...

Things had been quiet, the last six weeks.
Limburger was nowhere to be found.
The other Plutarkains also kept a low profile, so did the rats and the Sand Raiders.
That made Stoker restless. As if it was a silence before the storm.
"Carbine?"
The light gray furred female looked up from her paperwork.
"Yeah, Stoke?"
"I think we need to chance our methods."
Carbine looked confused at the coach his back, having no idea what he was talking about.
"Our methods?"
Stoker turned around, his brown eyes fuming.
"Yeah. I think the whole 'good guy' thing ain't gonna cut it anymore."
Carbine slowly lay her pen down, still looking at the brown furred mouse.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying, the time for trying to win this fucking war with chivalry is over."
"I'm not sure if I follow ya…"
"What's hard to follow? We're trying to be the good guys for a long time now. And look where it brought us. Almost the whole planet destroyed, we've lost more men than I can remember and now, two of the three best soldiers we have are outta order. I keep thinking; what if we had tried to hit back with the same force that they hit us with? How many lives could've been saved if we had just played hard ball?"
"But you were the one who always taught us that being the bad guy…", Carbine started, but Stoker cut her off.
"I know what I've said. But I was wrong. If I had killed Limburger instead of using that shot to free Mireya's hands, she would've been alive as we speak. And that's just one example. I'm not saying we need to be the villain, we just need to… change our methods. Kill them, instead of trying to catch them for trial. Dammit, they are probably laughing at us. But lemme tell ya one thing; they should be scared of us. And we're gonna make sure they are, alright."
"Okay…", Carbine slowly said. But she could understand where he was coming from.
"With that being said, I've decided what our next mission is gonna be."
"And that is?"
"If Limburger could find Mireya, who knows how many of us are still out there? She was missing for ten years! What are the odds that he was gonna find her, alive and kicking? There must be more of them. More of us. We're gonna search this entire planet, every square feet, and everybody who is on our way, well…"
"Look, Stoke, if this is about Harley…", but Stoker slammed his fist on the table.
"It's not just about Harley! It's about all of our people who are still out there, suffering! It's time we're gonna claim back what's ours. And that is our home. Our people. And we're gonna make sure that the Plutarkians will leave this planet, and I don't care if they are dead or alive when they do. But the time for being polite is over. From now on, we strike back. Hard. And we are gonna win this war. No matter what!"

"Past the point of no return
No backward glances
The games we've played till now are at an end

Past all thought of if or when
No use resisting
The final threshold

What warm, unspoken secrets will we learn
Beyond the point of no return?"

To be continued...

Aaaaaand… CUT!

That's a wrap for this one.
And man, it's been one hell of a ride writing it.
Even if the story ain't perfect, I'm still really proud of it.
The funny thing is that I planned on doing all the episodes from the original series, but all of a sudden, my imagination just took over and it slowly became my own storyline.
Funny how these things work.
Maybe I'm still gonna use parts of episodes in the next story, it's also fun to give it my own twist.
Ah well, we'll see.

But one thing is for sure; I couldn't have done it without you guys.
So, thanks for your support.
Thanks for taking this ride with me.
I hope I can welcome you all back at the follow up.
That would mean the world to me.

Feel free to leave a review, always very much appreciated.
And keep your eyes open on the site for the next story, called;
Lost In The Echo

Ride free, citizens!