Sorry about the long wait again you guys, but thanks for sticking around!

Four days later, Charley and the bros prepared to move on once again. Charley didn't think it was possible, but Vinnie seemed like he was practically vibrating. She had never known him to be this excited for anything other than a battle. It was honestly ridiculously cute.

"I didn't think I would ever see you this excited to do anything other than get involved in a firefight." She commented to the white furred mouse. He blushed a bit and shrugged.

"I haven't seen Nana in weeks. And I'm really excited for you to meet her." he admitted. Charley smiled at him, and nudged him with her elbow.

"Well, I can't wait to meet her either." She assures him, and watches as his face positively lights up. They both turn their attention back to the goodbye's happening around them. Modo currently has two young mice hanging off him, while his mother watches with a twinkle in her eye. Throttle had moved away from securing the packed lunch Nora had provided them with to his bike and joined Vinnie and Charley.

"You two promise me to look out for each other, got it?" Modo instructed his nephew and niece. "And be sure to help Momma out around the house?" The two young mice nodded vigorously as they pulled away from their uncle.

"We will, Uncle Modo." Rimfire promised, and moved aside as Modo said goodbye to his mother. The two leaned close and touched antennae together. Charley watched with a smile before two bodies suddenly rushed towards her. She had really bonded with the two over the last few days. Rimfire had even started trying to teach her some moves, although she doubted she would be able to pull most of them off. Rimfire and Primer both hugged her tightly, and she was quick to return the embrace.

"We'll stay in touch Charley, that's a promise." Primer whispered in her ear, and she smiled.

"I know you will. I'm sure gonna miss you two." She admitted, just as the two mice at her side descended upon them.

"Hey, I want a goodbye hug like that too!" Throttle complained, Vinnie in tow, and soon all five of the mice were involved in a group hug of sorts. They soon pulled away, and Nora approached the group, quickly giving Vinnie and Throttle a hug each before turning to Charley.

"You look after yourself now Charley." She pulled her in for a hug. "See you in a few days, dearie." She whispered, soft enough for only Charley to hear. Charley pulled back to look at her, confused, but Nora just winked and turned back to the bros. "You all better get going, or you won't reach Cynthia's before nightfall." Modo shared one more hug with his family, then headed for his bike. Throttle turned to her.

"You better ride with me Charley-girl. Vinnie might be a little overexcited to be travelling with passengers today." Charley giggled at the blush that stained the white mouse's face, but he didn't argue as he practically leapt onto his bike. Modo did the same, but at a much more subdued pace. Charley waited for Throttle to be astride Lady before getting on behind him, moving till she was resting comfortably on the seat. With one final wave, they were off.

About midday, Throttle waved at them to pull over for a quick lunch break. They all turned off and pulled to a stop in the middle of an area that seemed to be desolate, but Charley could see the tell-tale signs that the Plutarkians had left their mark here.

"Welcome to what used to be called the Attlewaki Plateau, Charley-girl." Throttle grumbled, and Charley could see how tense each of the mice were as they dismounted.

"Let me guess, this was one of the first places the Plutarkians got to?" she surmised as Throttle helped to lift her off his bike. The bros overcast faces were answer enough. She turned and observed the expanse around them. "Tell me about what is was like before?" That seemed to perk the bros up, but just as Vinnie opened his mouth to say something, Throttle stepped forward, placing a hand on his bro's shoulder.

"I can do you one better, Charley-girl." And with that, his antennae lit up and touched her forehead.

Almost instantly, the vast expanse of red sand was replaced with visions of a brilliant landscape. Blue grassland for miles, interspersed with yellow thickets and pink trees that reminded Charley of cherry blossoms. She could see the little squirrel-bats flying from plant to plant, nibbling on Martian-pinkseeds as they went. It was, for the lack of better word, the picture of paradise.

And just like that, Throttle pulled away and the wasteland returned. Charley looked up and spotted the absolute look of sorrow behind Throttle's shades. Taking the initiative, she removed his shades and looked him straight in the eyes. Tears were threatening to spill from those baby blues, and she quickly pulled him into a hug.

"Those stinkfaces are gonna pay, for all of it!" she vowed. Throttle said nothing as he embraced her. Modo and Vinnie quickly joined the hug.

And for just a little bit, the four friends stood there, mourning the loss of nature.

A little while later, and bellies full, they were ready to ride again, and Vinnie was practically revving to go.

"C'mon bros, let's get moving!" he urged, clearly impatient. Charley decided to milk it a bit.

"Aww, but I was hoping we could take a short nap before moving on. Can't get back on a bike so soon after eating. Bad for the digestion." She lamented. Throttle and Modo sniggered at Vinnie's frankly flabbergasted face.

"Charley-girl, please! Don't do this to me!" Vinnie sputtered, and Charley burst out in laughter.

"I'm just pulling your tail you macho-mouse! Let's get going!" she exclaimed as she moved over to Throttle, letting him gently wrapped his tail around her waist and lifting her onto the bike behind him. With that, they were off again, with Vinnie pulling wheelies and speeding on ahead, Throttle and Modo could barely keep up, but neither seemed to mind.

A few hours later, just after sunset, they pull up to another small cave. Charley spots a figure coming out of the cave. As they pull to a stop, Vinnie leaps from his bike and rushes to the figure, wrapping them in an embrace and spinning them around. Charley can hear her bright laughter as Throttle switches off Lady's engine.

"Put me down, you brat! I'm too old to be man-handled like this!" The figure says. Vinnie rushes to comply, and Charley is amazed when the figure suddenly grabs him and brings his head under her arm, giving him a noogie. Vinnie struggles fiercely, but is clearly avoiding doing any real damage to the figure.

"Nana, stop! Not in front of the bros!" he complains. Throttle and Modo burst out laughing as the elderly mouse suddenly lets go of the struggling mouse, letting him fall backwards at his unexpected freedom. Vinnie lands on his rear, but is smiling brightly. Throttle climbs off Lady and helps Charley up before moving over to the elderly mouse.

She has bright white fur, just like Vinnie's, and had bright green eyes. She was wearing a floral button up shirt, with a pair of blue pants and black shoes. Her hair, also white, was pulled back in a low braid. She was also short. At least a head shorter than Charley, and compared to the bros, that was tiny.

"It's great to see you again, Aunt Cynthia." Charley hangs back as Cynthia pulled Throttle down into a hug, and an unexpectedly strong one, if Throttle's soft grunt was any indication. Modo received the same treatment, before she turned to Vinnie and pulled him up into an even tighter embrace. Finally, the elderly mouse turned to her.

"So, you're the Earther that's decided to take on this bunch? Never thought I'd see the day that they'd find someone who could keep up with them." She stuck out her hand, and Charley grabbed it to return the handshake. Cynthia's grip was deceptively strong for her age. The grip on her hand suddenly changed and she was pulled into an embrace. Charley felt the wind rush out as she returned the embrace. She glanced at the bros, who all had matching smirks on their faces, and Vinnie even had the audacity to wink at her. When Cynthia pulled back again, she had a matching smirk on her face. "It's nice to finally meet you. The name's Cynthia Van Wham." Charley returned the smile.

"Charlene Davidson, but you can call me Charley." Cynthia grinned and let her go, turning, surprisingly, not to the bros but to Sweetheart, who had revved up next to them.

"Hello there Sweetheart! You are looking absolutely dazzling! I'm glad Vinnie's been taking good care of you." Charley watched as the racing bike gently beeped as Cynthia placed a gentle hand on her fairings. She noticed the look in Cynthia's eyes, one she recognized as identical to the bros whenever they were looking after their bikes.

"Of course, I'm looking after her, Nana. I'd never let anything happen to your Sweetheart. Not after the battle she gave me." Vinnie groaned. That confused Charley. She turned back to the bros.

"Battle? What do you mean?" she asked, curious. Her bros back in her time had never mentioned anything like this. Throttle stepped up to her.

"Our bikes are family heirlooms, passed down from parent to child most of the time. However, since their AI's, they tend to get attached to their riders, so introducing a new one has become a bit of a rite of passage." He explained. Lady rolled up behind her rider, bumping gently into his legs. Throttle smiled gently down at his bike, placing his hand on the handlebars. "Lady belonged to my father, so my experience with her was a bit smoother than most, since she hadn't had a rider for a while before I got her. Modo and Vinnie on the other hand…" he trailed off, turning to his bros indicating to them to continue the story.

"Lil' Hoss belonged to my Momma. She gave me about a 20-minute fight. The lil' darling was tough, but I proved to her that I could match her." Modo said with an adoring smile as he patted his bike, who seemed to beep with pride in response. Vinnie let out a whoop.

"Man, that's nothing! Sweetheart had me fighting for an hour and a half! Man, she was not gonna give in without a fight!" he described. Cynthia guffawed.

"Of course she did! She was my bike before she was yours! My girl wasn't gonna go down easy, were you girl?" The last part was aimed at Sweetheart, who beeped an affirmative. Charley was amazed. She didn't know any of this. Yet another part of the bros lives she had never known about. Cynthia gave Sweetheart one last pat then moved away from her.

"Well then, least head in, shall we? I got some Ucreomisa stew cooking." Charley had no idea what that was, but the bros clearly did. Vinnie looked like he was salivating. Charley giggled at his face, then turned to Cynthia.

"Please, lead the way."

I figured that Vinnie's craziness had to come from somewhere, so I gave him a crazy grandma!

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