Thanks to everyone who has read so far. If you haven't reviewed, please do. Reviews make me a happy camper =)

Whew, another chapter! Hope you all like it =D

DISCLAIMER TIME! I don't own the bros, sadfaces abound. Please don't sue me, I'm poor. And please don't use any of my characters (Copper, Silver, Alloy, Lani, etc) without permission.

Cataclysm stared broodingly at the deep-space communicator in front of him, his stump of a tail twitching with agitation. Glassgreen was once again late in reporting to him and one of the Catatonian commander's many pet peeves was being made to wait. On his home world, he was respected and received anything he desired whenever he wanted it simply because he was the largest and the strongest. On Catatonia, the people respected such power to the point of fear. Females would literally throw themselves at him just for the chance of bearing his kittens.

Nothing had changed. Cataclysm still got everything he wanted, including the Regenerator. Yes, it was taking longer than he had anticipated but he knew victory was close. Then he could wipe out those pesky Martian Mice, starting with their children. They would make delicious snacks for the population of his home world. Then the females… What joy he would experience twisting them to do his bidding, bending them to his desires before slitting their throats and feasting on their blood while his body shuddered with release. That was the sweetest joy he ever experienced: taking a life at the peak of his sexual pleasure. He would start with that black-haired general and make her mate, who had caused him so much annoyance over the past few months, watch.

The communicator buzzed to life, the screen showing the cream-furred face of his agent on Mars. "Mister C," she purred, fluttering her eyelashes in a way Cataclysm assumed was attractive to those pathetic Martians. "So sorry to have kept you waiting. I was detained by personal matters."

"Your continued incompetence annoys me, Miss Glassgreen," he growled. His tail twitched faster the angrier he got. "Tell me why I bother to keep you alive when you have failed to do as promised and get into the Resistance."

"I have given you the information promised, where their base is," Glassgreen pouted, tossing her wavy blonde hair over her shoulder. "I do not understand why you are angry. Their attacks against you on Mars have been less than successful since I've been feeding you information-"

"And yet they still are alive," Cataclysm growled, his eyes starting to glow a sickly green. "The leaders of the Resistance are still alive. We still do not have the Regenerator. So I ask again: why do I bother to keep you alive?"

Topaz-brown eyes widened and then looked away from the screen. "I… apologize, Mister C. I will try harder to-"

"You will do nothing unless I explicitly order you to do so," Cataclysm interrupted again. "Is that clear?"

Glassgreen's eyes flashed with anger and she met Cataclysm's gaze. "And my payment?"

"Will not be delivered until you finish doing what I tell you to do."

Glassgreen growled low in her throat, the sound surprisingly feral for such a weak female. "What do you want me to do?"

Cataclysm smiled. "I want you to find out where their females and children are hiding and I want you to infiltrate that rat hole. Then I want you to send me the coordinates of that location."

Glassgreen's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What are you going to do?"

"That is not your concern. Do as I say and you will get enough money to retire to whatever beach galaxy you choose."

Glassgreen smiled sweetly but her eyes were still cold. "I will get you what you want. And I shall get what I want, yes?"

"Of course," Cataclysm purred, showing all of his yellowing fangs as he shut off the communicator. He would save her for the very last…

Copper took a deep breath and stared herself down in the small mirror hanging from the wall of the shelter's bathroom facilities. "You can do this, Copper," she muttered, looking herself deep in the eye. "It's not a big deal. It's just your hair. It will grow back… Eventually." She looked down at the scissors sitting at the edge of the sink, the shiny metal blades glinting mockingly at her in the harsh light of the bathroom. This was harder than she had thought it was going to be…

Modo had been on earth for almost three months. He tried his best to call her at least every seven days but there was so much happening on the blue planet. First there was that fight with a fighter pilot… then Stoker turning into a rat, something about a shape-shifter trying to seduce Throttle and a trip to some place called "Down Under". All of that mixed with fights with Catatonian soldiers and trying to find tetrohydrocarbons was putting a strain on all three of the mice and their human friend Charley. Modo looked more and more haggard every time he called and his calls were coming less often. Silver was getting more worried as well. She was asking where Mister Modo was and when he would come back. She missed the big grey male she had come to associate with fun and safety. Copper herself was almost frantic with worry and was trying to hide that from Silver and Modo.

Alloy knew her fears but was also out fighting Catatonians with the rest of the Freedom Fighters. So far he had not been badly injured but for a few cuts and bruises. However, the missing half of his tail and the second and third fingers on his right hand made it harder for him to fight. It was harder for him to grip a blaster and his balance was off with part of his tail missing, but apparently he was being fitted for a mechanical end piece in between fights. Until then he was on medic and emergency mechanic duty and would often have to go into the heat of battle to make repairs to bros and bikes alike.

Copper had never been so terrified in her entire life. Her twin and her mate were both in terrible danger and there was nothing she could do to stop it. There was no way she could leave Silver to go fight and there was no way to get to Earth to help Modo. So there was only one more drastic thing she could do: Start praying.

Copper had never been a religious female. She had more earthly things to worry about. But she felt that now would be a good time to show the gods that she was serious and would do anything to help her males. Including giving them a sacrifice.

In the old days, bodily sacrifices were common. Sacrifices like that were called rai'kei, or obvious mark. Whenever a mouse asked something of the gods, they would mark themselves, usually with a cut or a brand. The more extreme the request, the more extreme the harm. There were some mice who would give up fingers or toes in sacrifice to the gods to ensure their prayers would be heard. In these modern days, such extreme penances were generally frowned upon and had been replaced by less harmful marks of the mouse's willingness to show faith in the gods. These days, it was usually a piercing or tattoo or the sacrifice of something precious to the mouse. In Copper's case, this meant her hair.

Her hair had always been a source of pride for Copper. It was thick and an unusual color, a deep burgundy with golden highlights. She had not cut her hair since the death of her father when she was twelve. Before then, she had worn it long to make her father happy, but at his death she had shorn it to just below her chin and laid her hair on his coffin as a sign of respect. Copper was now ready to cut her hair again as a sacrifice to the gods to bring her family home safe. If only she could pick up the scissors and just get it over with!

"It's not like I'm cutting it ALL off," Copper muttered to herself. "Just below the shoulder blades. Not a big deal. It will still be plenty long. It will grow back. This is for Modo and Alloy. Modo…" she sighed and brushed off a tear that had fallen down her cheek. With a determined shake of her shoulders, she tied her hair off just below her shoulder blades and, with a few snips, cut it off just above the tie. She stared at the hank of hair in her hand for a moment before neatly braiding it and tying off the end. "I offer this rai'kei to the gods for the safety of my brother and my mate," she whispered, stroking the braid of hair. Her head felt so light… "Please bring them home whole and safe."

Modo sighed as he looked up at the stars, gazing wistfully in the direction of Mars. He hadn't had much time to be alone and think on this second trip to Earth, which he figured was not a bad thing. If he had more time to think, that meant more time to wonder what Copper and Silver were up too. Probably not much since they were stuck in the shelter. He missed them so much…

He decided something right then. As soon as he got back to Mars, he was marrying Copper. He had brought up marriage when they had moved in together but Copper had demurred, still not sure. She knew she loved him and wanted to be with him but marriage was a big step for her. He didn't push but he had hoped she would have made up her mind before he had to leave. He knew she was perfectly capable of providing for herself and their daughter but Modo wanted to be the provider now. He wanted to be a good husband to her and a good father to Silver.

A honk broke Modo from his thoughts. He looked over his shoulder at Throttle, who sat on Lady at the bottom of the hill. His bro waved at him. "Hey, Modo! It's time to move on!"

"Comin'," Modo hollered back. He looked up once more at Mars and blew a kiss in that direction. "Almost done, girls. I'll be home soon."

Alloy turned over with a grunt, reaching blindly for the communicator that had fallen off of his bed at some point during the night. The thing was flashing and buzzing loud enough to wake him from a deep sleep. He finally found the thing but it slipped through the space where his fingers used to be. cursing again, he grabbed the thing with his left hand and flipped open the screen. "'Lo?"

"Alloy! Alloy, please, I need your help!"

"Yana?" Alloy was instantly awake, sitting bolt upright in bed. "Yana, are you ok?"

"Alloy!" Yana sobbed, tears matting down the fur on her cheeks. "They- they found us! They've killed Father!"

"What? Yana, slow down, babe. What's happened?"

"Catatonians," Yana gasped. "They found where we were hiding. Father is dead, the staff is dead, they're all dead!" She was hysterical now, tears falling even faster than before and her voice rising to a high keen. "I've been hiding for hours, they're gone but everything is gone, everyone is dead, please, Alloy, please come get me!"

"I'm on my way," Alloy said, swinging off of the bed and pulling on his pants. "I'll be there in twenty. Stay put, babe."

"Oh, Alloy," Yana sobbed. "Thank you. I'm so sorry, I should have gone to the shelter when you asked me to!"

"It's ok babe. Now don't move, I'll come to you and take you to the shelter. You'll be safe there."

"Thank you, Alloy. I don't know what I would do without you."

Yana closed the communicator, brushing a hand over her cheeks. The tears had stopped the instant she disconnected, and now she looked with mild disgust at the still-smoking body of her father. "Oh ick, Daddy, you've gotten all over my favorite rug…But at least you were useful for once." Yana smiled with a crazy light in her eyes. "And now I'm going to get what I deserve… And have some fun with Modo while I'm at it."