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Chapter five

The next morning, Throttle and Modo woke up early. They had decided last night that it was for the best that they waited till the next day to call Mars and to tell Vinnie the plan. They all needed a good night sleep.
Modo and Throttle stood a little lost in the small kitchen. Normal routine was that they would go to the garage for breakfast, or Charley brought breakfast to them.
"Ehmm, should I go out and grab some dogs?", Modo asked unsure.
"Ehm, yeah, sounds like a plan", Throttle said and he looked at Vinnie.
"I'll wake him up."
Modo took his bike and left.
Vinnie was lying on his back in his hammock, one leg swinging at the side, snoring loud. Very Vinnie.
Throttle walked over to him and shook him softly. Vinnie didn't respond. Throttle shook harder, but the only reaction he received was that Vinnie pulled the blanket over his head.
Throttle sighed. "Okay, this needs a little more drastic measures." He grabbed the pillow under the white mouse his head and smacked him full in the face.
Vinnie's reaction would be funny under other circumstances. He jerked right up and fell out of his hammock, face forward.
"Hey man, what gives!?", he yelled when he jumped at his feet.
"You wouldn't wake up", Throttle said dryly.
Vinnie glared at him.
"I could have break my neck or something worse!"
Throttle smiled. "Good you are awake. Modo is getting breakfast, so maybe you want to clean yourself up before that? You look like shit."
Vinnie, recovered from his shock, shook his head and felt a 1000 hammers slamming behind his eyes. Talk about a hangover…
With one glare at Throttle, he turned around and walked to the bathroom.

He looked in the mirror and saw bloodshot eyes staring back, a pale face and a messy fur. Vinnie sighed. The pain in his chest was back in full force and was not a good combination with his hangover. He felt ashamed that he'd cried last night. He never took off his mask, but yesterday was just too much.
He looked in the mirror again and vowed to himself, like he had promised Charley, that he will never let someone become close to him. And that yesterday the first and also the last time was that he had showed his emotions. It was time to put the mask back on were it belonged and let it stay there for the rest of his life. No more love, no more hope to settle down with somebody, nobody to make his.
The only people he allowed to stay close to him, were his bro's. They were his best friends, family. And they could take care of themselves, most of the time that is. But they were there for each other when needed, backing each other up.
Vinnie took a quick shower, trying not to wet the bandage on his arm. When he was done, he dried himself and put on some clothes. He glanced in the mirror one more time, to make sure he looked okay. He took a deep breath and walked to the little kitchen.

Modo was back and brought a huge pile of hotdogs. Vinnie joined them by sitting on a chair at the kitchen table.
"Morning bro's", he said with a smile and began to eat like he didn't had eat in two weeks.
Modo and Throttle shared confused looks. They didn't know what to expect how Vinnie would behave today, but one thing was for sure, they didn't expect to see their younger bro back to his normal self. Well, acting like his normal self. It was obvious he still was upset.
When they had finished breakfast, Throttle looked at Vinnie.
"We need to talk, Vinnie", he said, studying his bro's face.
Vinnie looked at him with his trademark smile.
"What about?", he asked.
Throttle sighted. "About what happened yesterday Vincent, what else?!"
Vinnie's smile disappeared, but his face remained blank.
"What about yesterday?"
"We've lost Charley, remember? You've shot Limburger and Karbunkle."
Vinnie's face still gave nothing away. He almost looked nonchalant.
"I know we've lost Charley and that is tragic, but unfortunately, there is nothing we can do about it. And yes, I've killed Limburger and Karbunkle. Dammit, they had got what they deserved. They are finally gone, Earth is saved by me. Talk about no appreciation."
Modo's jaw fell open. He was shocked at the complete transformation of his bro. He really thought yesterday that his younger bro was finally learning to share his emotions with them. But he was wrong, obviously.
Throttle looked annoyed.
"Vinnie, you can't just kill people cold blooded and get away with it! Even in war, there are rules and you know that! You talk about it like it is nothing!"
Throttle tried to calm himself down by taking a few deep breaths.
"Look, I know what happened yesterday devastated you. And I can understand why you did it. But this attitude, acting like you don't care… It's wrong bro!"
Vinnie just shrugged his shoulders.
Throttle couldn't believe it. But deep inside, Vinnie's behaviour didn't surprise him. He always had been a stubborn mouse, difficult to talk to. But still…
"Well, Carbine and Stoker are informed about the situation. I've called them yesterday to tell them everything and I've called them again this morning. They are coming to take us back to Mars. They will be here tomorrow morning."
Vinnie could feel his chest tighten when he heard the words. That meant leaving Charley behind. The pain in his chest grew even bigger, but he tried to push it away, tried to ignore it.
"Well, that's great news right? So you can finally be reunited with your beloved girlfriend", he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
Throttle rolled his eyes, it was obvious that a normal conversation was out of the question right now.
"Make sure you've packed your stuff tomorrow morning, we will talk about this when we are back on Mars, with Carbine and Stoker.
Vinnie jumped of his seat. "I'm gonna take a ride".

He whistled and his bike revved her engine. He climbed on and drove away through the window.
He needed some air and a good, fast ride. It would be nicer to have a fight, but hey, you just can't have it all. It was so much harder than he had thought to act like he was doing fine. The pain in his chest was so hard to ignore. He sped through the streets and took the highway. When he had the space, he hit the accelerator. His bike immediately responded, eager to gain speed, just like her rider.
Vinnie swirled between the traffic and was hoping that he wouldn't run into the police. That would be something. Throttle would kill him.
Without even knowing where he was driving to, he drove back to the garage.
Vinnie stopped his bike and looked at the remains of the garage with heavy heart. How was it possible that he, the velocity atrocity, wasn't fast enough to save Charley? Why did he just stand there, watching. He just watched, did nothing. Vinnie grabbed the handlebars of his bike tightly when guilt overwhelmed him. He wasn't used to the feeling of failure. He didn't know how to deal with it. The only time he felt this was when he'd lost Harley. He failed her too. It had broke his heart. But then he had met Charley and he finally had felt hope again. Hope for a happy life, being loved and giving love. But it wasn't meant to be. Now she was gone, because of him.

Vinnie sighed and drove to the park nearby the garage. He stepped of his bike and walked to Charley's grave. He sat down on the ground.
"Hey sweetheart. I'm here to say a final goodbye. We are going back to Mars." He stared at the flower on top of the grave.
"You deserved so much better, sweetheart. And I cannot say how sorry I am. I was too late. I really don't know how I'm going to live with myself. But I have no choice. I will find a way. I must. Maybe I'll die early in a battle on Mars, so we can be together again. That would be nice, heah Charley girl?"
Vinnie smiled, but it vanished almost at the same time. Somehow, he got the feeling he wasn't going to get away with it so easily. Well, then he must try harder.
"Bye sweetheart, until we meet again." Vinnie slowly rose to his feet and his bike beeped to him, like she wanted to let him know that she was there for him. Vinnie patted her on the side, glanced one last time over his shoulder to Charley and drove back to the scoreboard.

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