Hey there!

Thank you so much for the reviews!
Really appreciate your support :D
Always makes my day.

So, as for this chapter...
I was in the mood for drama.
And when I'm in the mood for drama, shit is about the get real, hehe.
Kind of my trademark, I guess.

And again, it's a long chapter.
Seriously, I have no idea how, but the words just keep coming.

Anyway, I hope you guys like it.
Enjoy! ^^

Chapter 24

No dreams within her heart, but dreams of love...

After, Kiwi was lying with her head on Vinnie's chest, listening to how his fluttering heart slowly calmed down again.
He had his left arm tightly wrapped around her and for the first time in a long while, she felt safe.
But still... it was so very hard to believe that he was really here.
In her bed.
Holding her.
It felt surreal.
It was as if he had never left, for everything felt so familiar.
So safe.

His soft fur, tickling her skin.
His scent, almost embracing her like a warm and safe blanket.
How calm she was now the connection was restored, because she knew it was.
True love didn't care about right or wrong.
It was just there.
Dormant.
Waiting for its chance.
Its chance to bring together two broken and wandering souls and melt them into one.
So the soul was no longer broken.
No longer searching for safety and security.
And so it happened.
The question was; was she ready for it?
She had no idea.

The silence was somehow peaceful.
Not awkward or deafening.
Just… peaceful.
And yet, she broke it.
She had to.
She had to know.
"What made you change your mind? To come back?", she asked softly, her fingers fiddling with the fluffy white fur on his flat and muscular belly.

She felt his body tense against hers, probably because talking was the last thing he wanted to do right now.
But where she usually would've stopped to spare him, to take account of his feelings, she now didn't, simply because she didn't care.
She didn't care if it would make him feel uncomfortable or whatever.
He owed her an explanation.
More than that.
Answering this question would be a good way to start.

"Denver did", he eventually answered plain and simple, but the thing was, nothing was plain and simple at the moment.
Quite the opposite, actually.
In fact, she had never been this conflicted as she was now.
Things had never been this complicated.
He seemed to realize that as well, that he at least owed her a bit more than just plain and simple, because he heaved a sigh as his finger slid over the bare skin on her left arm.
It gave her goosebumps all over her body, a thing she hated and loved at the same time.
But she said nothing.
She just waited, knowing that the silence would make him talk.
As it always did.

"He made me realize what's important."
His voice was hoarse, clearly, his emotions were running high and Kiwi got upright to look at him, leaning on her right elbow as she rested her head in her hand.
"And what is it that is so important according to him?", she asked not unfriendly.
He looked back at her, his beautiful eyes filled with all the sadness of the world.
"Love."

Perhaps plain and simple was sufficient enough after all.
For some reason, his answer hit her straight in the heart.
God, it felt as if she was torn apart.
She had no idea what to say.
She had no idea what he expected of her, she hardly knew for herself.
But she did know one thing, even though it pained her more than she liked to admit.
They couldn't just pick things up from where they left off.

As much as she would like to erase the past year, to just pretend it didn't happen, she couldn't.
Because it did happen.
He had betrayed her trust and her love for him.
And not just a little, no...
Her heart was shattered into a million pieces like a porcelain doll thrown off its shelf by none other than the person who now lay next to her.
She couldn't just get passed that.
If she did, she would betray herself.
And that was unforgivable.

As she was caught up in her thoughts, Vinnie's restlessness grew and eventually, the silence got the best of him.
As usual.
So he decided to create a diversion.
As usual.
"So, sweetheart… What made you jump on me the way you did, huh? Was it my jaw-dropping handsomeness? My breathtaking masculinity? Or my amazingly hot and buff body?", he asked teasingly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as he wiggled his eyebrows with his lips curled up into that crooked, way too sexy and arrogant smile of his.

Despite everything, a smile appeared on her face as well, she just couldn't stop it and she pinched his nose.
"My my, that ego of yours. I guess some things will never change…"
But her smile already slowly faded before the last word had left her mouth, so did his.
The silence returned and Kiwi closed her eyes for a moment, still racking her brain about what to say.

His fingers touching her cheek made her open them again and the look on his face took her off guard, for it was a look she had never seen before.
And while she was watching him, she realized something.
Something that had always been there ever since that horrible day, something she had known all along but had stubbornly kept on a distance, somehow in denial.
Until now.
Now, she couldn't deny it any longer, no matter how painful and brutal it was.
Her macho mouse wasn't just broken.
No, it was even worse.
His light was extinguished.
Gone.
Burned out.

"Will you ever be able to forgive me?", he whispered with breaking voice as he studied her face with a frown and she swallowed with difficulty, tears already burning behind her eyes again by seeing him like this.
And she almost gave in.
But luckily, almost wasn't the same as entirely and miraculously, she managed to stay strong.
She had to, even though it cost her her heart.
But this time, the mind was in control.
This time, it was the mind's voice that was louder and she finally knew what to say.
All she had to do was being honest.
"I don't know. I need time…"

He let out his breath and slowly nodded as his thumb slid over her lips, somehow mesmerized by what he was seeing.
"I understand", he mumbled and the tone of his voice made her -again- almost burst into tears, but she swallowed them away just in time.
It didn't stop her from attempting to ease his pain though.
As if she was programmed to do so whenever things got tough.
"Vinnie…", she started, but he shook his head to stop her.
"Ssshhh... It's okay, babe. I really do understand. I never should've left you like that. There's no excuse…", he trailed off again as he wove his hand in her black hair to get it out of her face.

When his hand reached the back of her head, he leaned closer and rested his forehead against hers.
After keeping his gaze lowered for a little while, he finally looked up again, straight into her watery eyes.
"Take all the time you need. I can wait… And I will."
It was tempting to make a joke out of this, for they both knew that he had the patience of a fish stick, but there was simply too much pain.
Gently, he pulled her a bit closer and kissed her, loving and affectionate.
It somehow felt like a goodbye, she wasn't sure why, but it just did and it took her breath away.
As if an invisible strap wrapped around her chest all of a sudden.

She didn't lie when she told him that she needed time, because she did.
She wasn't sure if she was ever going to forgive him for everything he had put her through and yet, the thought of spending another night alone in this cold and lonely bed caused a giant wave of panic.
Without thinking, she clung onto him almost desperately, her breathing already increasing again.

Vinnie gently broke off the kiss when he sensed her distress and he took her chin between his fingers.
"Hey, hey, easy now… I'm here…"
Only hearing his soft and soothing voice, that voice she had missed so much, was the final push and she broke down crying again as she still held him tightly, her nose now buried in the white fur in his neck."Please, stay with me tonight", she sobbed, feeling weak for even suggesting this, but the panic was just too much.
"Don't leave me again… all alone…"

Vinnie wrapped his arms around her and gently forced her to lay down again before he pulled the blanket over both of them.
His tail wrapped around her right ankle and he let out his breath, holding her tightly.
"I won't. I'm here… I'll always be here..."
Feeling his warm and strong arms around her while she listened to the sound of his heartbeat with his scent all around her calmed down her trembling body.

The panic slowly faded and she suddenly felt how tired she was.
Completely drained, both physically and mentally.
Her eyes grew heavy as lead as she crawled even closer to him.
There was still so much to talk about.
So much to do.
So much to think about.
But for now, she felt safe.
For now, she was finally home again.
And with her lips curled into a small smile, she fell into a deep and nightmare-free sleep.

…

The next morning…
With the warm sun shining on his face, Throttle slowly opened his eyes and a soft moan escaped his lips when he realized that it was already morning again.
They used to say that time flies when you're having fun, but apparently, it also did when you're having everything but a good time.
With a growl, he turned around and pulled the blanket over his head, some childish attempt to escape reality.
But he wasn't ready to face the world just yet.
Not after another night filled with nightmares and terrors that only came when the world was turned dark and silent.

It had been different this time, though.
This time, it wasn't Stoker but Vinnie who had stopped him from having a peaceful night by showing up in his dreams, bringing the restlessness that defined him with him.
It was a miracle, to say the least, that he eventually had managed to get some sleep at all, even if it were only a few hours.
But it wasn't enough.
It never was.
That fact somehow frightened him.
That he would be tired for the rest of his life.
Not able to catch up on the sleep he had missed, due to the war.

It wasn't really a pleasant prospect and this time with a heavy sigh, he turned on his other side.
But because of his annoyance, he moved a bit too wild and therefore, he accidentally hit Carbine -who had been peacefully asleep next to him until now- full in the face and her eyes flew open as her fists already clenched, ready to attack whoever it was that woke her this brutally.
Right before she could lash out to him in a reflex, Throttle grabbed her by the wrist.
Lucky for him, his other senses were highly developed to compensate for his awfully bad vision without his glasses, which made him able to save his poor nose from getting punched by one of the biggest rights he had ever seen.

Carbine blinked a few times before her piercing brown eyes landed on him.
"Is this your idea of seducing a woman?", she asked dryly, her voice still thick of sleep.
"Does it work?", he asked sweetly in return as he let go of her hand, but not before pressing a soft kiss on her knuckles.
"If you somehow believe that there's even the slightest chance for my answer to be yes, then you officially have spent too much time with Vinnie", she retorted without thinking and Throttle's ears drooped when he heard his young bro's name.
"I'll keep that in mind", he sighed as he rolled on his back, reaching for his glasses.

Carbine glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, at how he put on his glasses.
Even from this point of view, she could see the exhausted look on his face and she laid a hand on his arm.
"Stoker again?", she asked softly, rubbing his fur in an attempt to comfort him without being too pushy.
It was important to her that he still felt the freedom to choose what to say.
She didn't want to force him to talk about his troubles.
Well, not every moment of the day, that is.

"No. This time, it was Vinnie who decided to haunt my sorry ass", he answered her question darkly, his husky voice now low and raw.
Now it was Carbine who tensed by hearing that name, but that didn't make sense.
At all.
With a frown, Throttle turned his head to look at her, only to see her staring at the ceiling, obviously wide awake now.
"You okay, babe?"

After a short silence, the light-grey-furred female took a deep breath through the nose and rolled on her side.
"I think you should go to the garage", she said as she leaned on her right elbow, her head resting in her hand.
Throttle narrowed his eyes behind his glasses in confusion, for this made even less sense, as far as that goes.
"The garage? Why?"
"You'll see. Assuming that it's there, that is. But only one way to find out."

He too now rolled on his side, resting his weight on his left elbow while studying her face.
But it gave nothing away.
"You're making no sense whatsoever. Can you at least tell me what it is you want me to find there?", he did another attempt to get her to talk, but of course, she didn't budge.
She never really did, so it wasn't exactly a surprise.
"You know it when you see it. Trust me."

Knowing there was nothing he could say or do to get her to talk, the tan-furred mouse heaved a sigh as he threw the blanket off of him.
"Okay, have it your way. This better be worth it", he muttered as he slid out of bed, his head pounding, due to lack of sleep and too many things to worry about.
"If I'm right, it will be. That I can promise you", she smiled at him and he stopped for a moment to look at her.
With the sun shining on her black hair that whirled down her shoulders, making it shine like diamonds in the water, she was more beautiful than ever and for a moment, he contemplated his next move.
Despite that her vague behavior had stimulated his curiosity, he still rather crawled back in bed to take her in his arms than to go to the garage for whatever it was that was waiting for him there.
It could wait a little while longer, right?
After all, what on Mars could be more important than her?

But when she saw his hesitation, she rolled on her back before pulling the blanket up to her chin with the look of a saint on her face.
Typical.
"Ah, ah. Down, boy. You'll get your chance. But for now, just go."
"But babe…"
"Go!"
"Okay, okay, geez… I'm already going, no need to tie your tail in a knot", the tan-furred leader muttered under his breath as he put on some clothes, perfectly aware that he sounded a bit too childish for his age.

But Carbine only gave him a innocent smile and he shook his head before pressing a kiss on her forehead.
"You're a real piece of work, Carbine", he chuckled as he walked to the door, still shaking his head.
"That's why you love me so much!", she called after him and with a smile on his face, Throttle left the room, although still with reluctance, despite his amusement.
Man.
What could possibly be better than spending a morning in bed with the love of his life?
He had no idea.
Either way, it better be good.
It better be.

…

Meanwhile, Modo carefully tiptoed out of the room he shared with his small but loving family, trying to be as silent as possible, which was quite the challenge given his size.
When he reached the door, he stopped for a moment, but all his big ears caught were the sounds of two steady and calm respirations, telling him that both his wife and son were still fast asleep, just how he wanted it to be.
With a soft click, the door closed behind him and a big yawn escaped his mouth as he set course towards the garage.

Mika had been up the whole night, crying and screaming, somehow refusing to go to sleep.
It had almost driven him and Amira to despair, for this wasn't like him, at all.
He usually slept around ten hours without waking up to process everything he had seen and learned the day before, but not tonight.
In fact, he had never been this upset before and it worried Modo more than he had shown to Amira.
But finally, after hours of shushing, walking, rocking and whatever more they had done as an attempt to calm him down, he'd fallen asleep right before the sun came up.

Both relieved and exhausted, Amira had soon followed her son's example, but not Modo.
For some reason, he just couldn't get to sleep, even though his son's tantrum had completely drained him.
And so, after two hours of twisting and turning, he'd given up and now he was on his way to the garage to tinker with his bike in the hope it would calm this unknown but awful restlessness that gnawed on his insides.
A restlessness from which he had no idea where it came from, but it was there and it needed to be eased, rather sooner than later.

Suppressing another yawn too big for his mouth, he went around the corner and almost bumped into no one other than Throttle.
"Whoa, big fella, where's the fire?", the tan-furred mouse breathed with his husky voice as he did a few steps backward to avoid a nasty crash with his older bro that was like a castle so big.
"Whoops, sorry, bro. Didn't see you there", Modo apologized with a small smile.
A smile that vanished like smoke in the wind when he saw the tired and somehow grim look on his best friend's face.
That look, that was already so familiar, for it seemed to be chiseled on his face ever since that day at the Plutarkian HQ.
The scar didn't exactly help either.

Poor guy.
He was clearly suffering, something he didn't deserve.
Well, no one did, but he most certainly did not.
Not after everything he had done for this planet and its people.
And now the peace, the same peace for which he had fought with everything he had in him, didn't give him the rest he so desperately needed and it broke Modo's heart.
How did come to all this?
He deserved so much more than this.
And yet, here he was, troubled and struggling.

Shaking off these true but unpleasant thoughts, the grey-furred giant cleared his throat.
"So, where are you off to?", he asked, trying to keep his voice as lightly as possible.
"The garage. Apparently, there's something there that I need to see", his tan-furred friend told him flatly and Modo gave him a confused look, scratching his neck.
"Says who?"
"Carbine."
"I'm not following you…"
"Neither am I. I'm standing in the dark just as much as you do, big guy, but hey, can't let the lady down, so here I am. What about you?"

"Not half as exciting as your reason, bro. Just on my way to work on my bike", Modo shrugged, his mind still occupied with figuring out what it possibly could be that Carbine wanted Throttle to see, but his tan-furred bro broke him out of it before he could think of anything.
"This early in the morning, huh?", the latter mused with a tilted head, studying Modo's face with a look so intense only he could pull off with glasses on.
"So tell me, big guy. What's bothering you?"
His bro just knew him too well.
"Mike kept us awake the whole night. Crying, yelling… That just ain't like him, ya know. Usually, he's such a happy little fella... "
"Hm. You have any idea why? I mean, did something happen or…?", Throttle asked him as they walked through the silent hallways to the garage.

"Nah. He was just… restless…", Modo answered absent-mindedly, staring at the ground while he walked next to Throttle.
"So am I…", he then added with a thoughtful frown on his face, but he already shook his head right after the words had left his mouth.
"Never mind. I'm too tired to think straight…", but Throttle laid a hand on his arm, glancing at his older bro.
"Well, as weird as it may sound, so am I. That can't be a coincidence, right?"
Modo shrugged.
"Maybe it is…"

For a moment, they walked in silence, but right before they reached the garage, Throttle opened his mouth again.
"I don't think it is, bro."
"Okay… but what would it be, then?"
"Beats me, to be honest", the tan-furred mouse answered honestly as he opened the door that led to the garage.
"Maybe the stars are out of place… Or was it full moon last night?"
Modo shrugged as he followed his older bro inside.
"I dunno, man, I ain't really into astronomy… It's probably nothing… Still, it's kinda weird that we all couldn't sleep, it makes ya think there's a reason but I really have no idea… Maybe it was something in the food? Or the drinks?", he thought out loud while walking to his bike, not seeing that Throttle had suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

"Nah, that's stupid… Or… wait! How about…", but the tan-furred mouse cut him off, his usually steady voice now trembling.
"I think I've just found the reason, bro…"
Modo narrowed his eye and looked over his shoulder with a frown, but when he saw where Throttle was looking at, a shock went through his body and his mouth dropped.
After staring at it for a while, he blinked a few times, he even rubbed his eye, but the image didn't change.
The image of a bike from which he thought he would never see again.
But there it was.
Just like that.
Standing in the garage, at the usual place, as if had never left.
"What the…"

Throttle couldn't have said it better for himself and for a moment, they just stood there, staring at the bike as if they saw it for the first time.
Well, somehow, they did.
Eventually, it was Modo who broke the silence.
"That's Vinnie's bike", he concluded toneless, which was both stupid and unnecessary because they both didn't need him to say it out loud as confirmation.
This was a bike that had been part of their lives for years, after all.
They both didn't need to look twice to know who this bike belonged to.
A wandering soul…
...restless...

Throttle's heart almost exploded out of his chest, the rapid heartbeat making his headache even worse.
Or maybe it was because of the sight of the bike, he had no idea.
His eyes wandered over the cherry-red paint, the dirt on the worn-down tires, the dust on the windshield…
It was obvious that the bike had a long journey to come here, which could only mean one thing and his heartbeat increased even further.
Could it be?
If so, then how did Carbine know this?
And why didn't she tell him?

Modo slowly came closer to take another good look at the bike, as if he was worried that his own eye was deceiving him.
As if the bike wasn't really standing there.
But it was and it raised about a thousand questions, questions that were in a desperate need of answers, but there was only one person that could give them.
One person that wasn't here with them in the room.
A bad feeling suddenly crept over the tan-furred mouse.
Where was he anyway?
What if he wasn't here?
What if it was only his bike that had come back?
By the Gods, what if he was… dead?
But if he was, Carbine would've told him that, right?
Right?!

As Throttle was completely caught up in his thoughts, so was Modo.
The grey-furred giant reached out his hand and his finger slid over the cold and dusty paint as he swallowed away his tears.
Feeling the cold steel under his fingers made him feel closer to its rider than this entire year and it somehow gave him the sudden urge to cry.
Oh, momma…
If only you were here…
His finger now made its way over the leather saddle and his keen eye noticed the small white hairs that were stuck in the small grooves.
Even his smell seemed to linger in the air and Modo closed his eye for a moment when about a million memories popped up by only smelling a hint of Vinnie's characteristic scent.

But then, something changed.
Another scent joined the mix, one that was just as familiar as Vinnie's and it wasn't Throttle's.
In fact, it wasn't even Martian, but human.
A soft sound behind him made his eye fly open and he swirled around, the deadly laser already popping out of his -still lowered- bionic arm.
Peace or not, he still had the reflexes of a soldier.
But before he could raise it, his eye locked with a pair of ruby-red ones, a pair of eyes so unique that it could only be him.
Eyes he hadn't seen in a long time, eyes that were so familiar and yet so estranged and his mouth dropped for the second time this day.

The zooming sound of the weapon coming out of Modo's arm was enough to alert Throttle, for it was a sound that usually only meant trouble and he too quickly turned around, to freeze again as soon as his bionic eyes landed on his white-furred bro.
His white-furred bro, who stood there, looking older and more burdened than ever before, with that awful frown on his face and eyes burning with pain and guilt.
He just stood there, with his hands in his pockets and his ears low.
Even his antennas hung low, dangling like a broken blade of grass in the wind and his tail lay lifeless on the ground close to his feet, although the tip was dancing like a feather in the wind, giving away his unease.

And for a short moment, Throttle could only admire the young mouse for standing there.
It couldn't be easy to face your family after leaving them behind without any form of explanation in a time that they had needed you the most.
It was a cowardly act by a brave mouse, because brave he was, to just pop up out of nowhere.
"Vinnie?! You… you're… When did you come back?", the tan-furred mouse eventually managed to bring out, stammering like a kid that still needed to learn how to talk properly, which was a rare thing but come on, this was shocking, to say the least.
Highly unexpected.
Well, actually, no word could describe how bizarre it was to see him standing there, for he had been convinced that he would never see his young bro ever again.

The white-furred mouse, one he had called brave only seconds ago, now shrugged his shoulders as he turned away his gaze, a faint blush visible under his white fur, in reality not so brave as he always claimed to be.
"Last night...", he said softly, his voice a bit hoarse and devoid of its usual high tones, before he glanced at them from under his lashes, clearly feeling very uncomfortable.
Modo's back stiffened by hearing this answer.
It was almost invisible, but Throttle's keen eye didn't miss it and when his gaze landed on the grey-furred giant, a bad feeling washed over him.
Because Modo's eye was glowing red.
That alone was a bad sign on itself, but his tail was swinging back and forth as well.
And to top it all off, his grey fur stood on end.
Oh boy.
Their older bro was mad and not just a little.

Unfortunately, the tan-furred leader of the Freedom Fighters noticed all this about one second too late because when he reached out to Modo, to lay a hand on his shoulder as an attempt to calm him down, the grey-furred tank was already out of reach.
And with his hand now floating uselessly in the air, all he could do was watch helplessly how Modo reached Vinnie.
How he grabbed him by the throat.
How he growled something that sounded a lot like 'Last night, huh?' before he pushed the white-furred youngster up against the wall with a loud bang, his flesh hand still around Vinnie's neck.
Oh boy indeed.

"You've got her smell all over you. So what did you do this time to get back in, huh? Blinked those pretty little eyes of yours? Manipulated her with your smooth talk? Or did you just use the element of surprise and took advantage of her vulnerability when she saw you?"
When Vinnie didn't respond, Modo gritted his teeth and shook him roughly.
"Answer me!"
"Whoa, Modo, settle, man", Throttle breathed in shock as he did a few steps forward, planning to stop his older bro before this could really get out of hand.
"I get why you're angry, heck, I am too, but I know that you're gonna regret it if you hurt him…"
But Modo was too angry to listen to reason.
He was looking at Vinnie with a narrowed eye, his teeth clenched and his whole body seemed to radiate pure fury.

Throttle slowly came to a halt again.
To be honest, he had never seen Modo this upset and he somehow had the feeling that if he would interfere now, Vinnie would pay the price.
Some might say that he had it coming, and perhaps he did.
But not on Throttle's watch.
Despite everything, he was still his bro.
Family.
And he protected his family at all costs.

The same applied to Modo.
The guilt would be too much to bear, even though his older bro clearly didn't agree with that at this point.
But Throttle knew him well enough to know that it would.
That when the fire of rage slowly died, guilt would take its place to just stay there forever, absorbing happiness till there was nothing left.
Kind of like what happened to Vinnie and look what that got him.
So, even though it went against everything he stood for, he remained where he was, his entire body on high alert.
All ready to jump in when the time was there and then alone.
For now, how crazy as it might seem, this was the safest move to play.

Vinnie swallowed with difficulty and he raised his hand, probably to try to pull Modo's hand away from his throat, but he seemed to change his mind halfway because his arm fell limp next to his body again.
"It… it wasn't like that…", he eventually managed to squeeze out, but then he looked up at his older bro with somewhat pleading eyes, his hand already reaching for Modo's hand again.
"Modo, I… I can't breathe, man…"
But Modo didn't let go, no, he just leaned closer to him, so close, that their noses almost touched.
"You just keep doing this, over and over again. Pushing and pulling, every single time. You make people love you. Trust you. Even adore you. And then, something happens and wham! You shut them out. You push them away with brute force, not caring about what that does to them, to just watch helplessly how you suffer in silence. But then, right before they're ready to let you go because you leave them no other choice, you just pull them back in and it goes on and on and on… But no more. Maybe Kiwi is in too deep, but not me. And I'm not gonna just stand by and watch you destroy her because I know you will. Maybe you already did. But how would you know, huh? You weren't here to see her struggle, after all. To watch her drown. You never are. Because that's what you do. When people need you the most, when the going gets tough… you just run the other way…"

Modo fell silent again, breathing heavily after his outburst and Throttle caught himself wondering if his big bro was still talking about Kiwi or that his own pain had taken over halfway through his rant.
He suspected the latter and who could blame him?
Vinnie had hurt a lot of people by leaving the base, including him and Modo.
But mostly Kiwi.
Modo was right, this whole thing was destroying her, if it hadn't already.
Maybe she was, indeed, better off without him, but something told him that she wasn't.
Besides, was it really their choice to make?
He wasn't sure.

But someone should tell Modo that.
Modo, who had his heart in the right place.
Who had vowed to protect the vulnerable in times when they couldn't stand up for themselves.
Who was now, as being caught in his emotions, almost strangling their young bro to death, thereby leaving the latter no other choice but to fight back.
And again, Throttle didn't see it coming.
Well, maybe he did, but his brain connected the dots -again- a second too late.
Man, he was really dropping the ball here.
Some might say that a second could never make a difference, but the thing was; it did.
Especially in situations such as this one, where escalation was just lying around the corner, waiting for its change to create chaos, mayhem and madness.

And a second was all Vinnie needed to free himself from his plight.
He was a well-trained Freedom Fighter, after all.
And unlike Modo, he still had been operational as one until now.
Therefore, the grey-furred giant didn't react fast enough when Vinnie grabbed his arm -the flesh one- in a tight grip to use it to support his weight.
And he definitely wasn't fast enough to stop the young mouse from pulling his legs up and as the white-furred youngster gritted his teeth, he gave Modo a well-placed kick in the stomach.
Even though it wasn't exactly a lethal attack, it was still enough to make the big mouse stumble backward, having no other choice but to let go of Vinnie's throat while he was at it.

The latter now leaned against the wall, gasping for precious air as he rubbed his sore throat, bruises already visible under his white fur.
His ruby-red eyes were fixated on Modo, but they weren't fuming as Throttle expected them to be, telling him that he wasn't really angry.
He just did what he had to do survive, or well, his instinct did.
Because if they would use their heads instead of allowing themselves to let their emotions take over, they all knew that Modo would never kill someone in cold blood, let alone his own brother and friend.

Or, at least, that's what Throttle liked to believe.
What he choose to believe.
But a small voice in his head whispered that even the 'gooder-than-good guys' such as Modo had a dark side.
One just needed to be pushed long enough to let it out.
To unleash it.
Perhaps Modo had been pushed long enough.
And now, he showed them his dark side for the first time.
Or maybe not.
It was very hard to tell what was going on inside his head.
But one thing was for sure.
He was upset alright.
Beyond that.

The way he stood there, his entire body trembling in anger, his fists clenched with so much strength that Throttle was somehow surprised that his hands didn't fall off, or something like that.
But it was the look on his face that worried the tan-furred mouse the most.
If hatred had a face, this would be it.
Man.
This wasn't quite the reunion he had hoped for when he saw Vinnie's bike.
Not even close.

"Like I said… It wasn't… like that…", Vinnie panted as soon as he got enough air in his lungs to talk again, his voice raspy as he rested his head against the wall.
"She…"
But Modo already violently shook his head, and it seemed as if his eye was glowing even brighter than usual, which was technically not possible.
Then again, it was a Plutarkian invention, so who knew?
"Save yourself the trouble, Vincent. I'm sick and tired of hearing your excuses."
"But…"
"I said; I don't wanna hear it!"

Throttle glanced at his grey-furred friend, who was clearly about to explode out of his fur and he decided that now was a good time to step up, for he didn't want to wait and find out what would happen if Modo would, indeed, explode.
"Bro's, bro's… breathe. I'm sure we can talk about this without casualties…", he said softly as he did a step forward with his hands raised in the air, almost desperate to stop this situation from escalating.
Well, to stop it from further escalating.
"Maybe we can if he for once just takes responsibility for his actions", Modo grumbled as he clenched and unclenched his fists, his gaze fixated on Vinnie, who was still catching his breath.

He did have a point, but did he not know that this wouldn't help them to get their young bro to talk?
Backing him a corner usually had the opposite effect.
"Maybe he will if we give him the chance, bro", Throttle therefore contradicted calmly, but from the inside, he was everything but calm.
He had that sickening feeling again, one that was rare, but that didn't make it less unpleasant.
A feeling that came with having no control whatsoever.
A feeling that told him that this was only the beginning
That things were about to spin out of control faster than a speeding bullet and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
But the least he could was try.
He had to.
He owed them that much.

Unfortunately, Modo wasn't ready to give Vinnie a chance.
Quite the opposite, actually.
His rage only seemed to get worse, as far as that goes.
He probably didn't realize that he was doing the same thing Vinnie always did.
The same thing they both hated to the core and yet, here he was.
Using anger to prevent himself from feeling his pain.
And pain there was.
Of course, Throttle already knew that Modo was hurt by Vinnie's sudden departure, they all were, but what he didn't know was that the pain ran this deep.

But he knew now.
It just became painfully obvious that Modo was deeply hurt and it seemed as if the grey-furred giant realized this just now as well.
Perhaps he did.
Perhaps Vinnie popping up out of nowhere was just enough to trigger it.
To rip open the wounds that weren't healed in the first place.
Or maybe it wasn't just that.
Maybe it was, indeed, Kiwi's scent that had made him snap.
After all, watching helplessly how Kiwi was slowly fading away, how the pain seemed to absorb her had been everything but easy.
Being completely powerless even less.
It hadn't really been a good year…

Maybe he finally had the feeling that he could do something.
That the time of being powerless was over.
That he finally could make someone pay for Kiwi's pain.
Oh, Modo...
Did he not know that revenge never gave the peace one so desperately searched for?
Forgiveness did.
But to choose forgiveness over revenge was one of the most difficult choices one would ever face in life.
And it was general knowledge that the majority of people always choose the easy way first.
As it turned out, Modo wasn't any different.
And so here they were.

Either way, the grey-furred giant now pointed his glowing eye at Throttle, who almost flinched under the intense look, but he stopped himself just in time.
"Come on, Throttle, open your eyes. I know you're always willing to give second chances, but when are you gonna realize that he's never gonna change…?"
"He came back, now did he? Isn't that enough to show you that he cares?"
"Now you're just being naive. We all know that it won't take long before he runs off again."
"You guys are doing it again. Talking about me as if I ain't here…", Vinnie sighed tiredly, still with his head leaning against the wall, avoiding their gaze by staring at the ceiling.
"Maybe that's because you're almost never here!", Modo snapped at him, his tail lashing through the air.
"Touche…", the white-furred mouse responded flatly.

Throttle looked at them from one to another and then heaved a sigh as sadness washed over him.
Sadness by seeing that even though Vinnie had come back, nothing really changed.
Things would never go back the way they were.
Something had cracked the bond that was supposed to be unbreakable.
Their bond.
Man.
Was their life ever going to be easier?
Was it ever going to stop?
Would they ever stop suffering…?

"Guys…", he started again, but the anger still got the best of Modo.
It was probably safe to say that he was entirely overwhelmed by it and therefore, he wasn't thinking straight.
And that was an understatement.
But it was the only explanation Throttle could come up with to explain why the thing happened that was about to happen.
A thing that was too crazy to be real, but it still happened.

"So why did you come back anyway? Why now? Kiwi was finally doing a bit better, she was finding a way to live her life without you, but once again, here you are, throwing a spanner in the works."
As he was talking, Modo already did a few steps into Vinnie's direction again and Throttle quickly lined himself up between them before he laid a hand on Modo's chest.
"Modo, you need to snap out of it. I think you've made your point."
But unfortunately, Modo's harsh words triggered something in Vinnie, something that shouldn't be triggered right now, but it happened anyway.
Because this was about Kiwi.
And when it was about Kiwi, all bets were off.
In a way, it was good to see that hadn't changed.
But the timing left something to be desired.

"So what are ya trying to say here, big fella? That she's better off without me? You think I don't know that? Why do you think I left in the first place?", the white-furred mouse asked slowly as he pushed himself off the wall, his left ear twitching, the first sign that he too was about to lose his patience.
It was almost a miracle how long he had been able to stay calm.
That could only mean one thing.
He felt guilty, and not just a little.
Which was good.
It meant that he was fully aware of his mistakes.
But Modo currently didn't have the presence of mind to notice the same thing, which was truly a shame.
If he would've, some things could've been avoided.
But the universe clearly wanted something else to happen.

"If you know it so well, you wouldn't be standing here…", Modo told their young bro as he did another step forward, as if Throttle wasn't standing in front of him and he thereby forced the tan-furred mouse to take a step into Vinnie's direction as well.
"Stop talking about her as if you know what is going on between us…", Vinnie warned the grey-furred mouse, also taking a few steps closer.
"Because you don't."
"Guys, come on…", Throttle tried again, but again, they completely ignored him.
"Maybe I don't, but what I do know is that you've hurt her too many times. And all these times I said nothing, I just let it aaall happen because she asked me to. She asked me to understand that you're damaged, that you can't help yourself, that the war has made you who you are and I dunno, maybe she's right. But seriously, Vinnie, how many 'get-out-of-jail-free cards' are you gonna force up to her? Can't you see that you're destroying her? If you love her, truly love her, you let her go."

Throttle closed his eyes for a moment, knowing that Modo had just said the one thing that could tick Vinnie off.
And, of course, it did.
"Don't doubt my love for her, man! Don't you ever doubt my love for her. I would die for her", Vinnie snapped at his older bro as he took the last few steps and Throttle now laid his other hand on his chest, but the white-furred mouse hardly seemed to notice it.
Typical.
It was almost admiring how good they both were at ignoring his entire existence at the moment.
He opened his mouth to warn them yet again, but Vinnie wasn't done yet.
"I get that you're angry, I really do. And surprise, I even think that you have every right to be because there's simply no excuse for what I did. And you're right, by the way. I'm the guy that runs the other way when the going gets tough. Me...", and he pointed at himself with his thumb to strengthen his words.
"...and me alone. So don't use her to get to me. Leave her out of this or I swear to God…"

Modo gritted his teeth as he tilted his head with a warning look on his face.
A look that practically screamed 'don't even think about threatening me.'
"Or what?"
But, of course, Vinnie ignored the signs and did the exact one thing that would soon be designated to be the final push.
And that was threatening the wrong mouse at the wrong time.
"Or I'll make you. And not very politely..."

And there it was.
The so-called 'explosion' Throttle feared ever since Modo had practically ignited in anger.
And, as it turned out, he was right.
Even the good guys had a dark side.
A breaking point.
Even Modo.
Before the tan-furred mouse could even blink his eyes, something wrapped around his waist and pulled him away with brute force.
With a loud bang, the tan-furred mouse crashed against one of the counters in the garage, his glasses flying off in the process.

His head hit the stone plank above the counter and for a moment, all he could see was stars.
But he forced himself to keep moving and he dropped to his knees, his hands touching the cold floor with spread fingers, desperately searching for his glasses.
The sounds he heard around him told him that his two bro's were caught up in a serious fight, a fight that sounded a lot like a battle of life and death and he needed to get his vision back rather sooner than later.
Somebody had to stop this madness.
But preferably somebody who wasn't as blind as a cave rat.
At times like these, he cursed the Plutarkians for taking away his vision.
He wasn't one that was resentful, but right now, there was nothing he wanted more than to make them pay.

But then, finally, his fingers enclosed the cold and familiar steel and he quickly put the glasses back on his nose, just in time to see Vinnie land on his back with Modo on top of him.
"Guys, knock it off, now!", he ordered with a voice as sharp as a knife, but a loud click was the only response, a sound way too familiar and something he most definitely didn't want to hear right now.
He slowly let go of the floor and shifted his weight to his knees as he stared at the scene in front of him.
To his great horror, Modo was pointing the deadly laser in his bionic arm at Vinnie's head.
And to make things even worse, he saw something change in Vinnie's eyes and his heart skipped a few beats when he realized what was happening here.

As Vinnie was lying there, breathing heavily and being held at gunpoint by one that was once his best friend, the anger in his now fuming eyes got accompanied by pure agony.
And if that wasn't bad enough already, there was even a hint of rebellion visible.
Oh no.
Don't you dare...
But, of course, he did.
The white-furred mouse wrinkled his nose and without breaking eye contact, he spit out some blood before he opened that poisoning mouth of his again.
"Go ahead. Do it. I dare ya."

Jesus.
How did it come to this?
How was it possible that things had come to this point?
The point that Modo was about to blow Vinnie's head off?
That Vinnie, instead of keeping his mouth shut just for this one time, even challenged him to do it?
By the Gods...
How, for fuck sake how did it come to this, goddammit?!
Where did it go wrong?
Where did he fail his bro's?
Because he had failed them.
That he knew.
If he hadn't, things wouldn't be as bad as they were now.
Shit, he couldn't lose him.
Not now he just got him back.
He finally had someone back.
Goddammit, Stoker.
If only you were here...

As despair rushed through his veins, turning him into a nervous wreck within seconds, Throttle reached out one hand to his bro's, the other one already leaning on the floor again.
"Modo, don't do it, man, you're not thinking straight…"
Somehow, it was still hard to believe that the grey-furred giant would kill his own bro in cold blood, but the fact that he was aiming his gun at Vinnie was already shocking on itself, so who knew what could happen?

But then it hit him like a meteor and he froze for a moment.
It wasn't in cold blood.
Of course, he would never do that.
But what about killing someone in a fit of rage?
Blinded by fire, with the flames of righteousness breathing down his neck, chasing him forward, giving him no time to think?
Oh, man...

"Modo, put down the gun! Now!", the tan-furred mouse spat out, but despite his attempt to sound confident and clear, his voice was trembling and a few octaves higher than usual, all to blame to the panic he now felt.
It had been a while since he had felt panic, but it was here now and it almost overwhelmed him.
Paralyzed him
It only got worse when he saw that Modo didn't seem to hear him.
It confirmed that he had no control whatsoever, just like he thought.
And he hated it.
He needed to have control.
He needed to stop this before it was too late.

But it was as if he wasn't here.
As if his two bro's were in this bubble, keeping him out at all costs.
Modo was staring at Vinnie with clenched teeth, his bionic arm shaking and Throttle couldn't decide if it was a good or a bad thing.
Vinnie was just staring back, his ruby-red eyes now filled with tears and regret.
"Come on. Do us all a favor. You said it yourself, man, the world is better off without me. So do it. Shoot me."

"Goddammit Vinnie, shut up!", Throttle snapped at him and he finally could move again.
And so he did.
Breathing heavily, he crawled closer to them on all fours.
Slowly.
Cautiously.
Desperately.
He thought he knew the true meaning of despair.
But he now realized he didn't.
Not before this.
Well, he did now.
And it was the worst feeling ever.

"Don't listen to him, Modo. You don't wanna do this. I know you're in pain, we all are, man. This life… It ain't right. We've been through too much. But this… this isn't gonna solve it. It'll only make things worse… We didn't survive all that to let it end here… Not like this… So please… don't do this. Don't let the demons win..."
Modo's arm started to tremble even worse and a tear now left his still glowing eye.
The tiny drop slowly rolled down his cheek and eventually landed on Vinnie's face, where it shattered into a million pieces.
Just like they were.
Broken.

"What are you waiting for, huh?! Just do it!", Vinnie yelled at him with breaking voice, his whole face twisted in a grimace of pain and grief, and his hands grabbed Modo's bionic arm to pull it even closer to his head.
"Do it!"
"No, Modo…", Throttle whispered, hardly able to breathe when he saw how his grey-furred bro clenched his bionic hand into a fist, how he seemed to prepare his body for the recoil that came with firing a gun...

But then, it was as if something slapped Modo in the face, or well, that was what Throttle concluded after seeing his facial expression.
Something that had to be his conscience, brutally awoken by the tone of true despair in Vinnie's voice.
Well, whatever it was, it made him snap out of it.
And he finally…. finally lowered his gun, although with reluctance, Throttle could tell.
But he didn't care about that.
Because all that mattered was that he lowered his gun.
Thank the Mothers of Mars and everything else holy, he did.
Jesus.
What a mad world they were living in.

After blinking a few times, Modo's eye turned back to its normal color and he looked down at Vinnie, who looked back somewhat disappointed.
For a moment, nothing happened, but then, Modo shook his head with his mouth in a tight line, disgust written upon his face.
"Look at you. Stoker would be ashamed of you. Too bad he ain't here to say it himself."
And after one last dirty look at his young bro, he got back on his feet and marched out of the garage without looking back.

When the door closed behind him with a loud bang, Throttle let out his breath as relief washed over him and he let himself fall on his back, not able to carry his own weight.
"You just love living on the edge, don't you?", he panted, closing his eyes when he felt the cold of the floor cooling down his heated body.
Holy shit, did that really just happen?
"What can I say? It's a gift", Vinnie replied flatly, but also a bit out of breath.

For a moment, the two brothers in arm just lay there on the cold floor of the garage, staring at the ceiling, taking a moment to recover from the first shock, to catch their breath.
Eventually, it was Vinnie who broke the silence.
"He's right though. She's better off without me."
But Throttle shook his head.
"It's not his decision to make."
"I shouldn't have come back."
"But you did."
"Yeah. I did…"

Another silence.
"Vin?"
"Hm?"
"I'm glad you did. It's so good to see you, man. I've missed you."
Again, a silence followed, but it didn't take long before Vinnie opened his mouth again.
"I've missed ya too. Not in some cheesy 'Let's hold hands and be together forever' kind of way, of course", he hastily added when he realized what he was saying.
"Of course", Throttle smiled, shaking his head, despite everything amused by this.
Some things would probably never change.
Which was a good thing, actually.
Some things were just meant to be the way they were.

After just lying there for a while, Throttle decided to trust his legs again and he slowly climbed back on his feet.
His legs were still a bit shaky, but he was at least able to walk over to Vinnie without falling face forward on the floor, which was quite the victory given the current circumstances.
Sometimes, you just gotta appreciate the little things in life.
When he reached his young bro, he offered him his hand without hesitation.

Although his heart was still racing in his chest, he forced himself to stay calm on the outside, simply because his friend needed him to.
His friend and brother, who was so lost at the moment.
Who needed his guidance more than ever and so he gave it to him.
Because that's who he was.
That's what he did.
He was the guy that always stayed behind to pick up the pieces.
"Come on, let's go for a drink. I can definitely use one after all this and we have a lot of catching up to do."

Vinnie looked up at him, almost hopeful and Throttle gave him a small nod, to tell him it was okay.
Because it really was.
Sure, there was still a lot to talk about, there were still so many questions that required an answer but for now, just having him back was enough.
After all the losses, after all the pain and misery, it just felt so good to have someone back again.
Kind of refreshing.
Like a second chance.
No way he was going to let that slip because of resentment.
No, he simply had experienced too many losses for that.

After a short hesitation, Vinnie took his hand and when he was back on his feet, Throttle swung an arm around his neck to guide him with him towards the door, a teasing smile on his face in an attempt to lighten up the mood a bit.
"So, you don't call, you don't write, you didn't even send me flowers… I mean, I'm a big guy, but that just hurts, man."
"Ugh, dude, do I look like the kind of guy that goes out on a sunny day to pick some flowers? I've got a reputation to maintain, man", Vinnie muttered back, almost insulted that Throttle was even suggesting this, but when the tan-furred mouse glanced at him, he saw that he was smiling as well.
It was a sad smile, maybe, but a smile nevertheless.
Holy shit, what a mess.
Well, will you look at that.
He made a rhyme.

"Welcome back, bro", Throttle chuckled as he ruffled his hand through the short hair on top of Vinnie's head before he playfully pushed him away.
And he meant it.
With everything he had in him.
His family was complete again.
And that was all that mattered for now.

Hey, what did I say?
Drama.
Major.
Hehe.

So, I know you all must have questions about why Vinnie has returned, what Zevvi's role will be in the future, what Carbine knows, etc.
Rest assured, these questions will be answered further along in the story.
So, uh... yeah. You better stay tuned ;)

Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter, if not, no hard feelings.
Feel free to leave a review, always very much appreciated and they sure as hell keep me motivated.

Stay safe out there and till next time, my friends.
Later!