Chapter 8: Story with a Story
"...as they walked down the corridors, they each could feel questions brewing in each other. Questions that needed answers. They wanted more than just the beauty of each other. They needed to know who they were and how far they could explore the cosmos together."
P.O.V.
As they walked into the mess hall, Charley was amazed by all the bikers she saw who worked with Throttle. It was obvious that their loyalties were to the prince and leader of this ship. Boisterous laughter filled the metal walls of the mess hall as the crew joked around. There was only two long tables in the room and all the chairs were taken up with bodies. The smell of fresh cooked food filled the small room.
"I think we may have to grab our food and eat in another part of the ship" Throttle stated as he noticed that not a single crew member seemed to be overly concerned about the fact that Charley and he just entered the room. The funny part was that most of them were not eating and they were just goofing off by having arm-wrestling competitions.
"I think you might be on to something" Charley agreed due to the fact that she felt as though she wasn't ready for this much publicity among the male members of society.
"Tell you what, let's each grab some food and we'll go to the shuttle area. We keep all our bikes there" Throttle remembered from reading her file that she was a motorcycle jokey at her father's garage.
"Okay" Charley said, only half-hearing what Throttle mentioned.
They each, quickly, grabbed a tray of food. On the menu today was hot dogs and onion rings, two of Charley's personal favorite foods. She fully loaded her dog and then noticed that Throttle did the exact same thing. It made her wonder how much they truly did have in common with each other.
"Root beer?" Throttle asked as he grabbed two cold glass bottles of the bubbly beverage.
"Oh hell yeah. Been years since I've had one" Charley couldn't believe her luck, they had her favorite drink on board.
"I figured as much" Throttle chuckled as passed her one of the cool bottles.
"Lead the way" Charley stated as she followed Throttle out of the cafeteria and down the hall. Throttle informed her, along the way, that even though the ship wasn't very big, it housed everything that they could ever need. They had a room where they could get food, a place where they could receive and give medical attention, private sleeping quarters, a massive room to house all their bikes, and an area where they were able to navigate the ship.
Charley examined everything about the ship as they walked toward where the motorcycles were kept safe. Throttle had figured out one of her weaknesses. There was nothing that she loved more than the thrill of being on a bike. The sensation of the wind blowing against her skin made her feel alive. There was nothing that could make her feel any more free than mounting a bike and revving up motor.
"Here we are" Throttle said as he used his tail to pull a lever that caused the door to roll open, just like a garage. The lights flickered on and revealed about twenty motorcycles, all freshly polished.
"They're amazing" Charley gasped as she looked at each one of them. But, there was one that caught her eye. It was an old style classic Harley-Davidson softail, black and chrome, with a brown seat.
"She's mine. Her name's Lady" Throttle noticed the immediate attention that Charley was giving to his bike.
"She's beautiful" Charley smiled as she sat down on the floor next to his bike.
"Yes she is. Unfortunately, I did some damage to her the other evening at the compound and haven't had a chance to fix her" he confessed as he sat down next to Charley.
"What's wrong with her?" she inquired as she took a bite out of her hot dog.
"My dumb ass busted the damn gyro on her" he chuckled as he took a long swig from his drink.
"I can fix her. It's what my dad trained me to do" she offered, all too willing to put her hands on his bike and get back into her own element. She missed the smell of gas and grease. She missed the feel of the metal tools in her hands. She even missed the texture of the grease rags that she used to wipe her hands on.
"I'd like that. I think she likes you" he chuckled as Lady flashed her head light excitedly at them, causing them to both laugh.
"I'm glad" she reached up and patted the front tire in appreciation.
Two worlds collide
Rival nations
It's a primitive clash
Venting years of frustrations
Bravely we hope
Against all hope
There is so much at stake
Seems our freedom's up
Against the ropes
Does the crowd understand?
Is it East versus West
Or man against man
Can any nation stand alone
"So, why do you wear shades all the time?" she figured it was a safe enough question to ask and it would enable her to learn more about the mysterious biker prince.
"Well, there's actually a good story to go with it. That's if you're up for it" he chuckled as he swallowed down his meal.
"Cool. I always did like story-time" she laughed as turned to face him.
"This goes back about four years ago before Modo, Vinnie, and I got into this whole rescue thing really heavy" he began.
"I have to admit that I do have a bad habit of escaping from home quite frequently...much to the dismay of my parents" he related.
"Kat told me that you're a prince" she was not sure if she should have said anything but, figured that if she let him know that she was already made aware of his nobility it wouldn't be as much of an issue.
In the burning Heart
Just about to burst
There's a quest for answers
An unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night
Rising like a spire
In the burning heart
The unmistakable fire
"Yeah...she told ya right. I'm the only child and a disappointment to my father because of my blatant refusal to take on what he considers to be princely duties" he admitted. He and his father had more than a few arguments about what he should and should not be.
"I'm sure he probably means well" she tried to smooth things over as she placed a hand on his knee and smiled.
In the burning heart
"I'm sure he does but, I feel more free on the back of a bike doing good for my people than I do sitting inside stuffy castle with very stuck up individuals. That's why I do what I do. I want to make a difference in my world" he said passionately as he placed his hand over the top of hers.
"I think what you're doing is a good thing" she felt the heat from his fingers flow through her hand.
"Where was I? Oh yeah. Me and my escape antics" he began.
"As I said, it was about four years ago and it was Modo, Vinnie, and myself. We had gotten word of a slave compound on the outskirts of the city. So, being young and brash, we went to investigate and were captured by those blasted stink fishes" he said.
"Oh wow. Did your parents ever find out?" she asked.
In the warrious code
There's no surrender
Though his body says stop
His spirit cries - never!
Deep in our soul
A quiet ember
Know it's you against you
It's the paradox
That drives us on
It's a battle of wills
In the heat of attack
It's the passion that kills
The victory is yours alone
"Not til after the fact. After we were roughed up a bit, we were all strapped down to these metal beds in a laboratory. I thought we were going to die by the time it was all over with. That was the first time I came into contact with Dr. Carbuncle and came to the realization of how terrible the Plutarkians truly were" he shook his head as he recalled the fear that he and his friends felt at being trapped for the first time in their lives.
"Modo was the first to be experimented on. I watched the whole process as that bastard removed his eye and sawed off his arm. There wasn't a damn thing I could do to save him. Vinnie came next. He ended cutting off half his face. That's why he wears the mask and that's why Modo has the bionic arm" he actually felt a sense of relief talking with Charley about his own struggles with the enemy.
"What about you?" she softly inquired, feeling a sense of sadness wash over her as she realized that she wasn't the only one who had suffered.
In the burning Heart
Just about to burst
There's a quest for answers
An unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night
Rising like a spire
In the burning heart
The unmistakable fire
"Both of my eyes were forcefully removed. I'm pretty much blind without the shades due to the fact that my bionic eyes malfunction quite a bit. See, even a prince can't have perfection. That just shows how little money truly matters" he stated with a mild laugh.
"How did you escape?" she asked,
"Laughter and a clumsy guard named Grease Pit. The doctor had left the room and he was just doing nothing. I started talking to the guys and we just started laughing about anything to avoid feeling the pain. Grease Pit was so confused that he accidentally slipped and hit the button that released the bonds that held us. We took full advantage of it and tied him up. I followed the sound of Vinnie and Modo as we decided to jump out the window to where our bikes were actually waiting on us. I couldn't see a damn thing while I rode but, Lady had my back" he threw his head back with laughter as he recalled how they just made things up as they went along.
In the burning Heart
Just about to burst
There's a quest for answers
An unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night
Rising like a spire
In the burning heart
The unmistakable fire
"That's crazy. Driving blind?" she found his story so incredible that she ended up joining in his revelry.
"After getting back to the palace, my parents were furious that my guards didn't try to stop. Vinnie and Modo are suppose to be my royal guards but, they're my best friends and wouldn't let me do anything stupid without them joining in. It was a a week or so before I was able to have some vision from the bionics but, if there's too much light then all I see is white without these field specs. We did end up going back and doing what we set out to do but, with a much better plan" he said with a smile.
"That's because we are the best" came the sound of Vinnie's voice as he walked into the garage.
"Really?" Charley just rolled her eyes at him before focusing back on Throttle.
"Ignore him. He has an over-inflated ego" Modo stated as he grabbed Vinnie by the ear and drug him back out of the garage.
"Oh man. This stinks!" Vinnie exclaimed as he was drug out by Modo.
"By Vin" they said in unison as they waved at him while the door closed and then laughed at each other.
In the burning Heart
Just about to burst
There's a quest for answers
An unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night
Rising like a spire
In the burning heart
The unmistakable fire
"So, now you know that I am quite a trouble-maker and certainly no Prince Charming" he stated as he placed his other hand over the top of her other hand.
"You're doing what you feel is best for protecting your people. No one could ask for more" she gave him a small smile as she slowly lowered her lowered her lashes to look at their hands.
"Now that you know something about me, how about I ask you something" he wanted to know more about her before he revealed his fate.
"Ask. I'm an open book" she spoke as she raised her lashes back up to look at him.
In the burning heart
"Was there someone that you were seeing in Gaia?" he inquired.
"No. I had a date with the most popular guy in school but, he turned out to be a fake. I had gone to prom with him and that was the night I was taken. I wanted to punch him after finding out that he had only asked me out on a bet and wasn't event he remotely interested in me. Kinda sad really" she said.
"Nah, you wanna something even sadder?" he asked as he removed his shades, finally revealing his bionic eyes.
"There is no way you could beat that" she couldn't believe how handsome he looked without his shades. He looked younger and held less of a hardened edge.
"The way I see it, there can only be truth between us. I will never lie to you. My parents have me in an arranged engagement. I'm not married to her yet and I have no interest in doing so. Hence another reason why, if I don't have to be in the palace, I won't" he admitted, figuring it would give her the opportunity to decide their fate.
"Why don't you want to marry?" she asked.
"She's not ugly, by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, she's the most beautiful mouse in Mars. There's just something not right with her. I can't put my finger on it" he confessed.
"How long have you two been engaged?" she asked.
"She and I were betrothed when I turned eighteen, about seven years ago. I've been dodging it by not being home long enough for any plans to be made. I figure if I keep this up long enough that they will cancel it" he softly chuckled.
"How's that working out for you?" she asked as she giggled, knowing all to well the desire to procrastinate.
"Not well. Last time she came in for a visit, I was forced to dance with her all night and all she did was inquire about when I would be home long enough for US to start planning OUR future for OUR kingdom. Yes, she did emphasize...a lot" he said, rolling his eyes back to look up at the ceiling.
"Maybe it just sounded that way because, you don't feel the same way" she figured it was a simple enough explanation.
"Maybe but, if you ever meet her, you'll understand what I mean" he half-heartily agreed with her but, he knew how she truly was. She put him in mind of a conniving snake who wanted to strangle the life out of him and his people.
"Well, I better get to work on Lady. She looks like she could use some love" she stated as she got up off the floor and quickly located the tool boxes. She really wanted to get back into her element and maybe help focus on something other than the handsome martian prince who just so happened to be engaged to someone.
"I'll leave you to do your thing" he needed to place some space between them in order to get his head on straight. He already knew that if he placed Charley and Carbine in a room together that it would spell disaster. Both of them were tall and curvy. Carbine had her mouse features with coal black hair and Charley with her human ones with rich red locks.
But, Charley had warmth in heart where Carbine's led a cold existence...
P.O.V.
"So, as you all can see, they both lead very complicated lives. Charley, grew up very poor but, full of love. She experienced hardships for most of her life but, they didn't diminish her kind spirit. Throttle, grew up rich and privileged but, lacked the desire to bend to his parents demands. He knew the difference between right and wrong. He also knew what he needed to do, as the future ruler of the kingdom, for the good of his people. His heart was not so easily swayed by outer beauty" I stated, looking at the little ones as they curled up in balls of fur on the floor.
"Apparently, I tarried to long on this section. It's alright. Let the little one sleep and I'll continue on in the morning after they have breakfast and get cleaned up" I say as I grab a couple of light blankets and toss them over the sleeping balls of fluff.
"Shh. Be very quiet" I place a finger to mouth and make my way over to an over-sized sofa. Laying down, I close my eyes and call it a night.
"To be continued..."
Don't worry. I'm stopping yet. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. If anyone has any questions, comments, or things that they would like to see in the upcoming chapters, please feel free to let me know. CYBER HUGS to everyone.