Thanks for the reviews!
Here is the next chapter, made it longer then usual. It are actually two chapters.
One chapter, two chapters, two chapters in one! :D
Hope you like it. :)
Chapter twenty eight
Vinnie was running. Well, he tried. But his legs didn't cooperate. He didn't come any closer to his goal. He saw Karbunkle on the top of a roof, pointing a bazooka at The Last Chance Garage. Vinnie saw Charley through the window, waving at him. "No! Charley!", he screamed, but his voice failed on him. He ran and ran, but it felt like his feet were stuck in quicksand. He felt desperate. Why wasn't he fast enough? Why couldn't he save Charley, his Charley-girl? Karbunkle grinned and fired the rocket. The explosion was deafening and Vinnie fell on his knees. "Charley!" He looked up the roof again and saw Buddy. Vinnie felt confused. This doesn't make any sense. "Where is the virus?", Buddy asked with that evil grin of his. Suddenly, he stood next to Vinnie, holding up a mirror. Vinnie saw himself, well, sort off. His mask was gone and the right side of his face was one, bloody mess. Violet stood next to him, with a shocked look on her face. "No, no, no…" He tried to raise his arm. He wanted to hide his face, but he couldn't. Vinnie suddenly felt he was lying on that horrible table again, belts around his wrists. He panicked. This couldn't be happening. He struggled hard, screaming in agony.
"Wow, wow, wow settle down Vincent, settle down!"
Throttle's voice. Vinnie opened his eyes. He wasn't in the playroom, but in a hospital room. He looked confused at his hands, which were tied to the bed. He panicked again. "Let me go!", he yelled, struggling. Throttle pushed him down on the bed.
"Easy, Vincent, easy. You're safe now." But Vinnie didn't listen. Why was he tied up? His broken tail lashed through the air and hit Throttle full in the face. His glasses flew of his nose and Throttle had no choice to let him go, dazed by the mean slap in his face. Suddenly, a nurse ran to Vinnie's bed and slammed a needle in his neck. It happened so fast, that Vinnie wasn't able to react. He felt dizzy and fell back on his pillow. His eyes rolled back in his head and his body relaxed. Throttle grabbed his glasses, which luckily had survived the fall.
"Thanks", he said to the nurse, rubbing his face. "No problem. You okay?", she asked. Throttle nodded. "Yeah.. I'm fine." But he wasn't. It was very disturbing to see Vinnie like this. The panic, the fear… He never had seen Vinnie react like this when he was wounded. Normally, he acted all macho about it, pretending he didn't care. But this was different. Throttle was mad. No, he was furious. Vinnie was finally recovering from the loss of Charley, had got himself a sweet girl, finally feeling happy again. And then there was that fucking fish who had destroyed everything. Not physical, but emotional. The wounds will heal, his tail too. But how was he going to recover emotionally? Throttle knew how important his looks were for Vinnie. He hated the fact that his face was scarred. The mask helped. But now, he needed to start from the beginning again. The fish had found the exact right thing that would break Vinnie. He had recovered once, but will he recover again?
Throttle sighed and watched his bro. The right side of his face was covered in a thick bandage. His torso too, because of the wounds on his back. There was a splint around his tail, but apparently he already could use his tail again. Throttle wrinkled his nose. They had to tie Vinnie to his bed because of his bad dreams. It prevented him to hurt himself. But it didn't help with the panic attacks. It has been three days since they got him out. But Vinnie was out most of the time. The few times he did woke up, he was in a state of panic. So, they needed to sedate him. They couldn't explain to him why he was tied to the bed and Throttle felt guilty about it. But they didn't had a choice. But he just wished Vinnie would give him the chance to explain. To tell him that he was safe.
The nurse had explained that he was recovering, but had suffered a lot. His body shut itself down, like some sort of self protection. The dreams were the result from his traumatizing experiences. Throttle hadn't left Vinnie's side since they were back. He felt responsible for his younger bro. To protect him, to help him recover. Violet hadn't left his side either, but Throttle had convinced her today to get some sleep. She was exhausted after all the stress, pain, worry and lack of sleep. She had agreed, but only if Throttle promised that he would wake her up when something changed. Throttle was glad she didn't witnessed this last panic episode. It would break her heart. It broke his heart too. Modo was here most of the time, but the gentle, grey giant had a pretty hard time to see his younger bro like this. So Gaya took him out, to clear his head. Throttle was glad she did. They all needed all the love they could get. To get through this heartbreaking period.
Throttle sat down on the chair next to Vinnie's bed. The sedative worked at least for two hours. So, he had time to take a little nap. He closed his eyes and soon drifted off.
Violet lay in Vinnie's bed, staring at the ceiling. She was so tired, but she couldn't sleep. As soon she closed her eyes, she saw Vinnie's face, all messed up. When they were in that awful dungeon, Modo had told her in other words Vinnie didn't want to see her. And as hard as the tried to deny it, it still hurted. Why did he push her away? Like she cared how he looked like. She loved him. Of course, he was one sexy mouse. But he was way more then that. Why would he think she only liked him because of his looks? She had to admit, she was shocked when she had seen his face. But who wouldn't? She was shocked of because what they did to him. Not because she thought he was a monster. She loved him, god dammit. Why was he doubting her? She rolled on her side, grabbing Vinnie's pillow. She pushed her face in it and inhaled his lovely scent. What was gonna happen next? She knew his injuries were gonna heal. Of course, he would have more scars after that. But what will happen between them? Was he gonna push her away? She was not gonna allow it. No way. She was gonna stick by his side and be there for him. No matter what! But she still had that nagging feeling of insecurity.
She couldn't sleep. She was too restless. She got out of bed and put on her pants and grabbed a shirt from Vinnie. It was way too big, but she needed his scent around her. She opened the door and was about to close it, when she saw a black tail disappearing around the corner, in the direction of the medic room. Violet looked confused. There was only one black mouse she knew on this base and that was Flint. But that didn't make any sense. He died, right? But she realized they never had found a body. Flint! He must be the snitch! And now he was on his way to the medic room. That couldn't be good. Violet came to senses and ran to the medic room. When she burst into Vinnie's room, she saw Throttle was fast asleep. Flint stood by Vinnie's bed and was about to inject something into Vinnie's IV.
"NO!", Violet screamed and she launched herself at Flint. She tackled him and threw him on the ground. Because of the strength of the attack, the syringe flew out of his hand. Violet's blood was boiling. This was all his fault! She clenched her fist and punched him in the face. "Why?!", she yelled, ignoring the pain in her hand. Those macho mice made it always look so easy. Flint smiled. "Surprise!" and he pushed her away from him. Violet flew against the wall and landed hard on the ground. Flint was searching on his knees and hands, but he stopped when he heard another voice. "Looking for this?" and he looked up.
Throttle was standing before him, with the syringe in his hand. Before Flint could say anything, Throttle kicked him hard against his head. He was out cold.
Throttle ran to Violet. "Are you okay?", he asked, helping her up. Violet nodded, stroking her hair out of her face with shaking hands. "Yeah… God… I can't believe Flint did this. Why?"
Throttle looked at Flint. "Only he can tell."
He walked to the radio that was hanging on the wall.
"I need two guards to pick up a prisoner in the medic room. He is unconscious, so throw him in a cell. We will interrogate him later. No water, no food. Over and out."
Throttle looked back at Violet. "When Flint is back into the living world, I will ask him why and how he did all this."
Violet nodded, stepping aside when two guards picked up Flint and dragged him out of the room. Throttle gave them the order to inform Carbine about the latest developments. He still didn't want to leave Vinnie's side. Violet was standing by Vinnie's bed, looking so lost that Throttle pulled her in a hug.
"He will be okay, Violet. Just give him some time."
Violet looked at Vinnie. "How do you know? How can you be so sure?"
Throttle smiled. "Because I know Vinnie. When he falls, he always picks himself up off the ground. I know he will. He is a fighter. Of course, it will take time. But I know he will be okay. He has you to help him through." and he planted a kiss on her forehead. He didn't speak about his doubts. Violet needed someone to be strong and who believed in a happy ending.
Violet buried her face against Throttle's chest. She loved him like a brother. He was so kind and caring. "I'm scared he is gonna push me away…", she whispered, tears filling her eyes. Throttle gently made himself loose and looked at her. "Then don't let him. Stick by his side."
Before Violet could respond, Vinnie suddenly screamed. "NO! Charley!"
Violet and Throttle both almost jumped out of their fur. Violet turned to Vinnie's bed. Vinnie was sitting up, breathing heavily, his left eye wide open.
"Vinnie, calm down. I'm here", Violet said, crying. She lay her hand on his arm. Throttle kept his distance, to give them space. Vinnie turned his head slowly in the direction of Violet. "Vi… Violet?", he asked with a weak voice. Then he smiled. "Hey, sweetheart…"
He wanted to pull her in a hug, but his hands were still tied. He looked at them confused, pulling on the strings. Throttle quickly set him free.
"You were hurting yourself, so that's why… we didn't had a choice." Vinnie looked at him feeling confused, he didn't understand what Throttle was talking about. He turned his attention back to Violet and pulled her in a hug. Violet wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I've missed you so much, cutie. I'm so glad I have you in my arms again", she whispered in his ear. Vinnie untangled himself and brushed with his fingers over her cheek. Suddenly, he felt the pain and everything came back. He raised his hand and touched the right side of his face. He felt the bandage. No… his face… his tail… his back… So it did happen. It wasn't just a bad dream. He lied back on his pillow, turning his face away.
Violet's heart broke. "Vinnie, it's okay…", she said, feeling helpless. She couldn't take away his pain, as much as she wanted. Vinnie didn't respond. He hated it that she saw him like this. He closed his left eye and wished they all just leave him alone.
Throttle lay a hand on his shoulder. "Bro… we are here for you."
Vinnie still didn't respond, pretending to be asleep. Violet shook her head in disbelief. Did he really thought she would buy his trick? His rejection hurted her.
"Vinnie, please… talk to me…" She could hear how pleading her voice sounded.
"Please, just leave me alone", Vinnie said without looking at her. Violet looked at Throttle, she didn't know what to do. Throttle knew Vinnie needed some time. He gently took Violet's arm. "Let's go, Violet."
Violet watched one more time at Vinnie and walked out of the room. As soon Throttle had closed the door behind him, she swirled around and pointed a finger at him.
"You just said: 'Don't let him push you away.' And now you say to leave him alone!? Make up your mind, Throttle!" she yelled angry.
Throttle raised his hands. "He needs a little time, Violet. The guy had been tortured, going through hell and back and his face… Well, I know Vinnie. He needs a little bit time to get his mind straight. It's a guy thing, okay? Later on, stick by his side. But for now, we are all gonna give him some time. Give it another shot in the morning, okay?"
Violet lowered her hand. "Fine!", she snapped, immediately feeling guilty that she took her frustration out on Throttle. But sometimes his wise words annoyed her. He was right, like always. But sometimes hearing the right thing, no, doing the right thing was hard. And annoying.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't take this out on you, it's not your fault. It's just…" she fell silent, looking at the ground.
"No need to say sorry, I understand okay? Vinnie needs you, even if he is trying to deny it. Go get some sleep. He needs you to be strong for him. So go get some rest."
Violet nodded and walked to Vinnie's room. Once inside, she let herself fall on his bed and closed her eyes. Finally, exhausting took over and she drifted off quickly in a deep, dream free sleep.
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