Planet: Mars

Location: Freedom Fighter Headquarters

Time: Morning after the Battle of Brimstone

Stoker woke feeling rested, more so than he had in…months? Years? He couldn't tell anymore. His body ached, but not from the usual battle fatigue. It was… pleasant. He rubbed at his eyes when a delicate snore made him turn his head to the side. He smiled at the sight of the woman next to him.

Charley slept soundly, and Stoker turned fully onto his side to take in her features. Her lips were parted ever so slightly in sleep. He followed the curve of her neck, where his necklace still rested, and back down to where it disappeared beneath the sheets, which did nothing to hide her curves. Her auburn hair slightly mussed and spread across the pillow from their activities the night before, though a few strands lay across her cheek. He reached out a hand and tenderly brushed the hair away, leaving a feather-light caress as he went. Glancing at the digital clock on his desk he noticed it was still early, so he rose onto his elbow, laying a gentle kiss on Charley's cheek. Charley shifted in her sleep, stretching out slightly before settling once more, a serene smile on her face. Stoker stared at her adoringly before rising, gathering his discarded clothing from where they had been strewn the night before. He dressed quickly and quietly, leaving Charley to sleep for a little longer. He gave one last glance back to the bed, before closing the door.

He made his way to the mess hall, feeling content. As he entered the hall, he spotted Blade, Lance and Scythe. They seemed to be arguing over something. Blade looked frantic, Scythe seemed to be trying to calm him down and Lance just looked ready to punch someone. Stoker raised a brow as he approached them.

"Everything alright here, fellas?" his question seemed to startle them, and all three tensed as he waited for an answer. Stoker's gaze flashed over all of them.

"Well sir, first of, Modo and Vinnie returned last night without Throttle. They were ambushed in Red River Pass by a group of Rats, and they brought them in for interrogation. Throttle went after Carbine, and Modo and Vinnie left about 30 minutes ago to escort them back." Scythe paused and nudged Blade with his elbow, who's eyes turned wide as he shook his head. Scythe gestured to Stoker again, and Blade swallowed. Something was clearly making him nervous.

"I-I…It's Brimstone, sir…" Stoker felt a nauseating sensation in his gut.

"What about Brimstone?" he almost growled. Blade flinched, and Scythe looked ready to flee.

"It…it…"

"They surrendered." Lance snarled, avoiding the General's gaze, and Stoker felt like his body had been dipped in ice water, "The Government conceded defeat to the Plutarkians. Blade received the message an hour ago." He added, finally meeting Stoker's eye. "Now if you'll excuse me, General, I need to go make a call to my wife that we better start preparing for a new regime soon."

He left without another word, leaving Blade and Scythe to turn worried eyes to their leader. Stoker could barely keep the shudder out of his voice as he dismissed them.

She knew… Charley must have known that they would lose Brimstone. And yet, she had not told him. She hadn't told him a damned thing. He was about to make his way back to his room when the roar of engines caught his attention. He paused to see the bros, with Carbine in tow, enter the hall. Throttle paused for a moment before spotting him and racing over to him.

"Hey Coach. Carbine found this computer memory module in a Stingray the Plutarkians left behind. Figured we'd bring it here to have it decoded." He informed as he handed the device over to him. Stoker didn't say a word as he took the module over to one of their computers, plugging it into monitor and sitting down to start hacking. The bros and Carbine noticed his mood. "Coach…what's wrong?"

"Whatever this thing tells us, it won't help the city of Brimstone." He finally grunted.

"Why? What happened?" Carbine asked him, as Mace slinked in behind him.

"Our gonzo Martian Government just conceded defeat to the enemy." He finished typing before pushing himself away from the desk, crossing his arms over his chest.

"But…Brimstone was ready to fall to us." Carbine lamented.

"Oh, it gets even better." Stoker turned his head towards Mace's sarcastic tone, as he held up a headset. "I just got orders to release the Rat prisoners. Army doesn't want 'em." He added. Stoker grit his teeth and shook his head in defeat.

"Our own government's selling us out. What's the point?"

"Maybe there isn't one." Mace remarked. Stoker huffed and rose from the seat, trudging over to the large screen monitoring the outside world. The dead, barren wasteland stared back at him, and he bit his tongue for fear of letting out a shout. He twitched as he heard Throttle approaching him.

"Hey, c'mon, what's bugging you, Stoke?" the young mouse asked him. Stoker slumped.

"Mace is right. This war's a sham." He slammed his fist into his open palm, turning to Throttle fully. "There's no more cause to fight for, understand? And you can't be a rebel… without a cause." He sighed and left the room. His feet unintentionally taking him back to his room. When he opened the door, his eyes landed on the back of Charley, who seemed to have just finished getting dressed. She hadn't turned to face him yet.

"Hey, I was wondering where you went." Her teasing voice sent sparks of rage flowing through him and he closed the door slowly behind him. "I wanted to talk to you ab…"

"Did you know that Brimstone would fall?"

Charley woke alone in bed, body aching pleasantly. She stretched herself out and sat up, looking around the room. Stoker was nowhere to be seen, and his clothes were no longer with hers on the floor. He had likely gotten up and left her to sleep. She brushed her hair behind her ear, memories of the night before causing her heart to flutter. Though her mood fell briefly remembering the conversation that came before.

I know you're scared, Charlene. I am too. But if you could just trust me…

She hadn't been doing that though, had she? She trusted him enough with her secret of being from the future, yet she continued to keep him in the dark. Why? Because she allowed some Rat to scare her. Charley scoffed. When had she become such a wimp? Her bros would surely laugh at her if she ever told them she let Mace of all people intimidate her.

She played with the necklace Stoker gave her as she came to a decision. She would tell him. Everything she knew. Maybe he could help her come up with a plan to stop the bros, and himself from being injured and captured by the Plutarkians. Her bros would remain whole, and maybe after this was all over, she could finally tell them the truth.

Mind made up, she got up and started getting dressed. She was in the process of doing up the buttons on her shirt when she heard the door open. Giving a brief glance back, she noticed Stoker standing there and smiled.

"Hey, I was wondering where you went." She teased, focusing on the buttons as she heard the door close behind her. "I wanted to talk to you ab…"

"Did you know that Brimstone would fall?"

Charley froze, at both his words and his tone. He was furious. She slowly turned to face him, and the moment their gazes met, she knew he saw the truth.

"You knew." He scoffed and chuckled bitterly. "All this time, you knew!" She shuddered and clenched her fists over her heart as she stepped closer.

"Stoker, I-"

"Don't!" She jumped at his roar, taking a step back as Stoker glared and pointed an accusing finger at her. "Don't try to justify yourself to me Charley. You could have said something. You could have told me!" Charley was shaking.

"I didn't want to risk-"

"Risk what? Risk what?!" Stoker bellowed as he spread out his arms in an exaggerated shrug, "Charley, you being here has already changed events. What difference would it make if you just told me?"

"I couldn't tell you!" She cried, tears burning her eyes.

"Oh bullshit!" Stoker growled, rolling his eyes, "You didn't want to tell me."

"Of course I wanted to tell you! So many times, but I couldn't let Mace-"

Charley gasped and clasped her mouth with both hand, eyes wide. Stoker became motionless for a long time, before turning slowly to her.

"Mace? What's he got to do with this?" Charley couldn't breathe as Stoker's eyes focused on the ground, "You couldn't have told him; you avoid him like the plague…." She recognized the moment it clicked. Stoker's eyes widened in horror as he stared at her, shaking his head in denial as he stepped away from her. "No…"

"Stoke…" He held up a hand, breath shaking.

"I am trying to believe…that you would not have let a spy, a rat, go unchecked amongst us for the last nine months…" Tears were streaming down her cheeks now, but Charley could do nothing to stop it.

"Stoker, please, just let me-"

"No! No more excuses, Charlene! You keep trying to justify your actions by saying it's for a good cause but all you've done is make things worse. If you hadn't been lying from the start, we may have actually been WINNING this war instead of losing it! Brimstone might not have fallen, Quiet Grove wouldn't have been attacked, and Amelia Threemane would still be alive!" She felt her heart stop in the wake of Stoker's tirade. The mouse panted, fury at her still burning hot in his eyes. He turned away, unable to bear looking at her further. His next words were muttered in barely contained hostility.

"I think… the Freedom Fighters, and all of Mars… would have been better off if you never existed."

Charley couldn't breathe. Her heart was shattering into a million pieces. She felt numb as Stoker stepped towards his desk, shoulders hunched.

"Get out."

She barely registered the ground out command as she wordlessly slipped from the room. The world around her blurred and she somehow found herself in the garage, managing to avoid anyone else on her journey. Comet beeped out a concerned greeting, sensing the state her rider was in. Charley limply grabbed her helmet from the table and mounted the bike, placing the helmet on her head. She took steps to disable the comms, both in her helmet and on Comet. Comet beeped rapidly again, alarmed. Charley didn't respond as she started Comet's engine and drove off into the Martian wasteland.

Stoker held his breath as he waited for the door to shut once more. Once he no longer heard her retreating footsteps, he lost control.

Swiping a hand across the desk, he scattered everything to the ground. Maps, supply lists, all of it. He shoved the desk with all his might, sending it crashing to the ground. The chair went flying into the wall next, breaking upon impact. Finally, he let out a bellowing, rage-filled scream.

Panting in the destruction in his wake, he finally took note of the stinging in his eyes from unshed tears. He let out a pitiful mewl as he grasped at his hair and slowly backed into the wall, sliding down to the ground. His shoulders shook with silent sobs as he curled up like a child.

When I tell you I got a headache from all the intense emotions running rampant in this chapter, I am not kidding… this was so painful to write and I was mentally exhausted by the end of it.