Hey you guys...

At first, thank you so much for the reviews.
Really grateful for your support.

So, here's the next chapter.
It's kind of an 'in between' chapter, or actually, it's the final bit of the previous chapter, but since that beast was already around 10.000 words, I had no other choice but to cut it into pieces.
But believe me, a lot is about to happen in the upcoming chapters, and with a lot, I mean a lot. ;)

Anyway, this is just a little calm before the storm.
Hope you guys like it anyway.
Enjoy! ^^


Chapter 35

Everyone in the room turned their head towards the now open door next to the so-called kitchen, one that, by the looks of things, led to the dorm.
A brown-furred mouse was standing on the doorstep, leaning on something that seemed to be a homemade cane.
His long brown-grey hair was tied in a low ponytail, although a messy one and his sleepy brown eyes, along with his crumpled clothes, told he just woke up from, like he already said, a peaceful afternoon nap.
"Stoker!", Vinnie whooped in excitement, not only grateful for the distraction but also because he was genuinely happy to see his coach.

Modo, just as surprised by this sudden yet welcome interruption, let his guard down for only a split second, but it was all Vinnie needed to break free from his grip.
"No, Vinnie, wait...", the grey-furred giant breathed and he tried to grab the young mouse's sweater again, but this time, he missed, much to his frustration.
"And off he goes…", he sighed as he watched how Vinnie ran towards the older Martian.
"...again. Guess a leash ain't such a bad idea after all."
Stoker's eyes grew big when he realized that he was about to be hit by hurricane Vinnie and he took a few clumsy steps backward, the hand that wasn't holding the cane now raised in front of his body.
"I'm warning you, punk, I…"

But the white-furred superball already crashed into him before he could finish his threat and they both fell on the floor with a loud bang.
"Oomph", Stoker gasped as Vinnie's weight almost crushed his ribs, but despite the shadow of pain darkening his eyes, a devious smile appeared on his face.
"You're getting chunky, rookie."
"You're getting old, oldtimer", Vinnie snickered, not even remotely insulted.
"Your slow reflexes give you away."

"Yeah, well. Wisdom comes with age, or so they say. At least that's something", Stoker chuckled as he reached out to the cane that now laid next to his head.
"And more than you can say, butterball."
Clenching his teeth, but with his lips still curled into that somewhat arrogant smile that was his trademark, he raised his arm and hit the young mouse on the head with the hilt of the cane.
"Ouch! Ah, that was a sucker punch!", Vinnie groaned as he rubbed the sore spot a bit pouting.

"'Get creative manoeuvre number twelve'. Nothing beats a classic", the leader of the Freedom Fighters laughed when he saw the look on Vinnie's face, but of course, the hyper adrenaline junkie wasn't planning on letting this slide.
"Oh, yeah? Well, how about…", but a bionic hand grabbing his hoodie prevented him from whatever stunt he was about to pull this time.
"Okay, that's enough for now, mister Slick. Cut the guy some slack, man, he's hurt", Modo told Vinnie sternly as he put his youngest bro back on his feet without real effort, but before he knew it, something pulled his feet from under him, something that looked a lot like a metal tail and he too now fell on the floor, making the cave almost tremble under his weight.

Since he was still holding Vinnie, he dragged his bro down with him and the white-furred mouse eventually landed on top of him.
"Oh, momma, the coach is right… You are getting fat", the grey-furred giant moaned as he closed his one eye, trying to catch his breath.
"It's all muscles, bro", Vinnie retorted sweetly, sitting on his older bro's chest and not making any attempt to get off of him.
"Whatever helps ya sleep at night", Modo breathed and he opened his eye before he looked to his right, straight into a pair of twinkling brown eyes.

"Hey there, Modo my mouse. How nice of you to drop in", Stoker smirked at him as he laid there on his side, his head resting in his hand and Modo couldn't stop himself from smiling back.
"Oh, so this is how we're gonna play it, huh? Well, in that case…"
"Okay, I've no idea what just happened, but it ends here", Liv intervened before Modo could take action and she stopped right next to the pile of fur and muscles with her hands resting on her hips as she gave the rebellious mice a stern look.
"You wouldn't know it looking at him, rolling over the floor like a tumbleweed, but his situation is dire and if we don't find any more meds soon, he will die."

A silence followed and Modo and Vinnie shared a quick yet worried look before they scrambled back on their feet, looking a bit down in the mouth.
"You sure know how to spoil the fun, lady", the white-furred mouse muttered as he glanced at Liv from under his lashes before he offered Stoker his hand.
After a short hesitation, the brown-furred Martian decided to let go of his ego and take it.
"Quite the charmer, isn't she?", he chuckled, but when Vinnie pulled him back on his feet, a soft moan escaped his lips while he squeezed his eyes shut tight in pain, quickly shifting his weight to his right foot the moment he was back up.

Knowing Stoker would want him to, Vinnie ignored it and used his tail to snatch the cane from the floor before he gave it back to his coach, trying very hard to mask his concerns.
"Here ya go, old man. Now try to stay on your feet this time, alright?"
"You wait. Once I'm back in the saddle, I'll show you what being old really is about, punk", Stoker grumbled, but he laid his hand on Vinnie's shoulder and gave him a friendly pinch, his way of thanking the young mouse.

Vinnie gave him a small nod before he looked back at Liv with a thoughtful frown on his face.
In a way, her telling them so bluntly that their beloved coach wasn't out of the hot zone just yet felt almost like a threat, which was both weird and childish, but when it came to Stoker, all bets were off.
The guy was more than just a role model to him and no way some random human could just tell him that he might die.
Nah.
Not Stoker.
The guy was invincible.
Immortal.

Next to that, no one was going to die, not as long as he was around to save the day, as befits the hero he was.
And so, his facial expression changed from thoughtful to slightly overconfident and he put his chin in the air as his two-colored eyes locked with blue ones.
"Tell me where to find the meds and I will go get them before you can even spell death."

Liv gave him one of those sympathizing looks of hers, the same she had used on Pip and Vinnie quickly put his hands in his pockets to hide his now clenched fists, hating pity just as much as his beloved new female friend did, or maybe even more.
But it was Carbine who answered the question, popping up next to Liv out of nowhere.
"The meds are at Limburger Tower. Or, at least, as far as we know."

Her voice was flat, her eyes empty.
Throttle's outburst had really hit her hard, that was obvious, but as always, she was able to put it all aside.
One could say a lot about Carbine, but she actually did possess a full measure of devotion and not even Vinnie was able to deny that.
Not that he would ever acknowledge it, much less tell it to her and he shrugged one shoulder while giving her a questionable look which was slightly derogatory at the same time.
"Okay, so what are we waiting for, huh? An fucking invitation? Let's go."

"Hold it, kiddo. The place is a fortress. You can't just walk in with a prescription and take a number", Stoker told him as he rested his cane on Vinnie's chest to stop the young and eager mouse from coming into movement.
"Who said anything about taking a number? I'm talking getting meds Biker Mice style, ya know? Guns blazing and all. A number, geez. Who do you think I am, an errand boy?", Vinnie protested, deeply insulted by the thought alone.
"Besides, we do our best work when we're outnumbered and you know that."

"Hate to say it, but he's got a point there, coach", Modo agreed with reluctance, scratching the back of his head.
"We're not 'just outnumbered', it's more like a suicide mission, but by all means, knock yourself out. Just don't expect me to cry when you don't come back", Carbine snarled at the white-furred youngster, who already opened his mouth, but Stoker stopped him again, this time by knocking him on the head with the cane.
"Step back for a minute, punk. All I'm saying is that we need a plan."

"Ugh, will you stop doing that?! And we don't need a plan, goddammit. All I hear since we've been on this planet is that we need a plan for everything. Whatever happened to improvising, huh? Plans are for pussy's and take time, time we don't have if I need to believe Miss Buzzkill over there", Vinnie continued his little temper tantrum while rubbing the same sore spot on his head, hoping it wouldn't leave a bruise, although he feared the worst, but a finger poking in his chest made him look down a bit surprised.

"We've been over this before, macho mouse. My brother is in there. No way I'm gonna put his life on the line only because you have a very unhealthy way of dealing with your inferiority complex", Pip told him with eyes burning and Vinnie's shoulders slumped, suddenly remembering this fact that was everything but a small detail.
Still, it was the way she reminded him of this particular fact that rubbed him the wrong way.
"No need to get all personal here, sweetheart. A simple heads-up would've done it, gosh."
Pip's face darkened, a glance of regret readable in her intriguing eyes, but she didn't get the chance to respond.

"Well, hello. What have we here?", Stoker stepped in, his brown eyes taking in Pip's body from head to toe and a somewhat appreciative smile emerged on his weathered features.
Pip slowly turned her head towards the older Martian, feeling slightly uncomfortable under his piercing gaze, but it was Vinnie who answered the question for her.
"This is Pip, and she's young enough to be your granddaughter, so back in your cage, grandpa."
Although he said it with a small smile on his face, his teasing voice carried a slightly threatening undertone, but Stoker seemed to miss it, for he was rather busy with processing the words.

"Granddaughter? Shit, punk, how old do you think I am anyway?", he muttered a bit offended now before he pointed at Pip, his brown eyes locking with hers.
"So that makes you what, twelve?"
A shadow flickered across Pip's face, but again, Vinnie answered before she could, or well, he tried.
An A for effort.
"Ugh, no. She's uh… She's… uh... "
The young mouse trailed off as he looked at Pip with narrowed eyes, a serious look on his face that wasn't really like him.
Truth be told, it gave him a bit of a dumb expression.
"How old are you again?"

The young Earther rolled her eyes as she folded her arms, shaking her head.
"Unbelievable", she mumbled before she answered the question.
"I'm eighteen, not twelve, although I suppose you're still right about the whole granddaughter slash grandpa part."
Stoker shifted his weight back to his right foot and leaned on his cane as he looked from Vinnie to Pip and back, a slightly amused look on his face.
There was clearly something going on between these two rascals, just like Throttle already told him and he soon concluded that they were simply made for each other, something he would only root for.

Although it just seemed to be otherwise, Stoker wasn't really interested in this girl with her peculiar eyes, mainly because she was, indeed, way too young.
Maybe not young enough to be his grandchild, but daughter was not at all far-fetched and he might be guilty of being a womanizer, he was definitely no pervert.
All he liked about her was that she had the balls to contradict the punk, to set boundaries, which was critical, otherwise he would just bulldoze right over her.

Next to that, the kid deserved to be happy after what happened with Har… her, and that's that.
No need for another complicated love triangle.
Been there, done that.
It had brought them both nothing but misery.
Well, if that weren't enough reasons to keep his distance, he wasn't sure what was.
Still a bit entertained by the young love, his gaze wandered over to Carbine, but when he saw her brown eyes glistening with heartache, his smile, small or not, vanished like smoke in the wind.

'I've stopped loving you a very long time ago. You were just too blind to see it.'

It were these words that had brutally awoken the leader of the former resistance from his nap, words that were harsh, but true.
Or maybe it had been the raw scream.
Either way, he had no idea what preceded it, but it could only be ugly and although he was kind of happy that Throttle finally stepped up to Carbine, he felt real sorry for her.
Knowing there was nothing he could do or say to ease her pain, his eyes darted over to Throttle.
His tan-furred apprentice, the very one he had trained to walk in his footsteps once the time was there for him to stand down.
A time that might be closer than they all wanted, including himself.

"Good to see you, Throttle. You look… great", he greeted the sullen-looking Martian, one who looked everything but great, but hey, he had to at least say something.
Telling him he looked like a Sand Raider risen from the dead was most certainly part of the possibilities, but with Carbine in the room and this nail-biting tension still lingering in the air, he figured it would be for the best not to fire the spark again.

Throttle snorted, but the corner of his mouth twitched a bit, telling Stoker that he knew perfectly well that his coach wasn't being entirely honest.
"Good to see you too, Stoke. Glad to see you haven't lost your great conversation skills."
A chuckle escaped Stoker's lips and he rubbed the back of his head a bit sheepishly.
"You know me, rookie. This mouse never runs outta gas", he smiled while he now let his brown eyes land on the only Earther in this room he hadn't seen before.
And well… that was something else, alright.

Beautiful green eyes, a killer body, a friendly face and to top it all off — a biker.
No wonder that the usually calm and stable Throttle was rattled by this rare creature.
"You must be Charley."
The human female gave him a bit of a suspicious look, one he couldn't really blame her for, given her previous encounter with Carbine, which couldn't be pleasant.
All he did was give her a friendly look back, not planning on putting pressure on her and she gave him a nod back, clearly relieved that he gave her the space she obviously needed right now.
"You must be Stoker."
"The one and only. Nice to meet you."
"Likewise."

A slightly awkward silence followed, and it was Modo who eventually broke it by clearing his throat.
"So… uhm… Are there any more of us?", he asked, trying to sound casual while he glanced over Stoker's shoulder to the sleeping quarters, searching for a sign of life.
Everyone of team Chicago now looked at the older Martian as well, curiosity written upon their faces, or maybe even fear.
Stoker's face darkened, which was already an answer in itself but he still shook his head as well.
"They all died. Most of them died in the crash, and the few lucky bastards who survived turned out not to be so lucky after all."
"We did all we could, but it was of no avail", Liv added softly, a hint of grief audible in her voice.

Another silence followed, one that was even more pressing than the previous.
One that a certain white-furred mouse simply couldn't endure.
"So, what, we're the only ones left?", Vinnie asked only to confirm what was already crystal clear, unusually serious with a frown on his handsome face and one shoulder slightly pulled up, which gave him a rare insecure appearance.
Stoker heaved a sigh as he nodded almost invincible and he spread his arms, balancing on his right foot.
"That's right, punk. We're the last survivors of the once mighty race called Martian Cave Mice", he said, allegedly theatrical, but it was the pain in his eyes that made it almost sickening to watch.

"You really believe that? You really believe there's no one left? Ya know, on… on Mars?", Modo eventually asked softly with a trembling voice, his entire posture one in defeat and Stoker let out his breath, cursing himself for being so insensitive.
He had been there, after all.
The day Modo's partner Niva disappeared.
He remembered it like it was yesterday.
The war had only just begun.
She was on her way back to base after a recon when they lost communication and they hadn't heard from her ever since.

Modo, along with his bro's and some other Freedom Fighters, had searched for her for years, but without any result, not even so much as a hair.
It was almost as if she never even existed, but, blinded by love, the grey-furred giant had refused to believe that she was really gone.
Stoker knew that deep down hidden in that loyal heart of his, Modo still hadn't lost hope that she might be out there, somewhere on that beautiful red planet that was once called their home.
Until now, that is.
Now, that hope was crushed and Stoker hated himself for being the one responsible for that.
"I'm sorry, big guy, I wasn't thinking…", he started, but Modo held up his hand, a sad frown on his face and his eye glistening with anguish.
"Don't be, coach. I can't blame you for being honest... "

Again, there was a silence and Vinnie folded his arms while he looked around the cave, how everyone was just staring at the ground in defeat, even the humans, and he shook his head, chewing the inside of his cheek in annoyance and denial.
"No. No way, guys. This is not gonna happen. We are not gonna sit in a corner and cry. I simply refuse it."
His voice was raw, revealing the emotions that whirled through his body, the very ones which he so desperately tried to hide from them.
But his anxiety only became worse when no one in the room responded and he, again, shook his head bewildered.
"Nope. Just nope. We're fighters. We don't give up hope, we never give up hope…"

Right before his voice broke, the young mouse stopped talking and gnashed his teeth, looking so helpless all of a sudden and Throttle heaved a sigh, his heart aching by seeing him like this, simply because he felt the same way.
"Vin, it's okay to…", he started, but Vinnie already whirled around and looked him straight in the eye with fuming eyes, one as red as flames, one as white as smoke.

"No, it's not. It's not okay. None of this is okay! The Plutarkians taking away our home only because they wasted all of their own resources is not okay! Losing the people we love while we fight for what's ours is not okay! Being chased away from our own planet is not okay! Being stuck here in this cave watching our mentor die because we're the last few survivors of an entire race is NOT OKAY!", he raged, his white fur bristling like a pufferfish that felt threatened and he kicked the chair that was standing close to him.
"Fuck, I hate this!"

"We all do, Vin. We all do", Modo sighed, perfectly understanding his younger brother's conflict.
If he would take the time to stand still and think of all the things the Plutarkians had done to them, he would be consumed by anger as well.
"It's not fair. It never has been. It never will be. It's… not okay."
Vinnie only snorted as he now paced through the homemade living room while cracking his knuckles, but Stoker blocked his way and laid a hand on the shoulder of the riled-up hothead.
"Listen punk, I've got meds for at least another week. No, I'm not saying that we're not gonna do something about it", he quickly added with his voice raised when he saw that Vinnie was about to protest.
"I ain't planning on dying just yet. All I'm saying is that we have some time to catch our breath. To stand still for a moment and grieve for what we've lost…"
"I don't wanna stand still! And I sure as hell don't wanna grieve! I wanna fight because that's what I do! I fight until I die. It really is that simple. So don't expect me to just sit here and… feel all these things that I have no idea how to handle…"

Vinnie took a deep but shaky breath after this second outburst and planted a trembling finger on Stoker's chest.
"They wiped out our entire species, Stoker. You just said it yourself. They can't get away with it. They need to pay for what they did…"
The brown-furred mouse grabbed his young apprentice by the neck and pulled him closer to him until their foreheads made contact, his brown eyes burning with determination along with a hint of pure hatred.
"And they will. We will make them burn. Just not today. Not tomorrow. You guys have had a long trip. Got some bad news. You need to rest."
"But…"
"No buts. Rule number one of being a Freedom Fighter — take care of yourself so you can take care of the others. We can't afford to make mistakes due to fatigue, the stakes are too high. Rest is rare in times of war and we value every moment that arises."

Vinnie stared into the smoldering brown eyes of the person that was the closest thing to a father to him, since his own beloved daddy only showed his love and appreciation by beating the living shit out of him.
The great amount of respect he felt for this mouse made him cease his resistance and he let out his breath in defeat.
"One day. Not a minute longer."
Stoker's face softened and he let go of the young mouse.
"Deal. Tomorrow, we'll make a plan and the day after tomorrow, we'll take action."
He then gave Vinnie a somewhat penetrating look, his eyes still burning.
"And that is a promise."

The white-furred mouse nodded as he adjusted his hoodie a bit uncomfortable, but then Pip popped up next to him again.
"Sir, with all due respect, I'm not sure if my brother has another day... ", she told Stoker with a clear voice before she gave him a small, understanding smile.
"Look, I understand that you wanna take care of your uh… people, I really do, but… Well, I just wanna do the same for mine, ya know? He's kind of all I have left… I'd never forgive myself if I'd be too late to save him…"
The sad tone in her voice didn't elude Vinnie and again, he got almost washed away by this almost irresistible urge to take care of her.
Yet, he did nothing.

He just looked at Stoker, curious about what the older mouse had to say to this, for she kind of had a point.
Plutarkians weren't really known for being good to their prisoners and the white-furred mouse caught himself wondering if the guy wasn't dead already, although he didn't say this out loud.
His red eyes darted to Modo and the grieving frown on the big guy's face only confirmed what he already thought.
There was already enough hope crushed for one day.
But Stoker was an honest mouse.
He always had been.
So why would today be any different?
"I hate to be the one to tell you this, kiddo, but the chances of him breathing are slim to none."

Again, the silence that followed was suffocating, but Pip didn't even flinch by these harsh yet truthful words.
She just kept her eyes locked with Stoker's, her hands in her pockets.
"I know he's still alive. I just don't know for how long."
"How can you be so sure?", Vinnie asked softly, glancing at her out of the corner of his eyes, genuinely curious where she picked up this strong faith that her beloved brother was still having a heartbeat.

"Because Limburger promised me to keep him alive if I'd bring you guys to him", the young Earther answered without turning her gaze away from Stoker.
There was a slight tremble audible in her voice, one that gave away the fears she was so desperately trying to mask.
Stoker shared a quick look with Vinnie before his gaze landed back on the young and, without a doubt, brave girl.
"Plutarkians are cruel creatures, little girl. Their word means nothing."

"It does to me", Pip contradicted, her face still blank as a piece of paper and Vinnie rubbed his chin a bit puzzled.
Was she really that naive?
It somehow didn't fit the image he had of her.
"But if you're so determined to believe his word, then why not just wait another day?", he asked, a bit cautious, not knowing if he might be crossing a line here.
After all, her brother was a very touchy subject for her, with good reason, though.
Slowly, the young girl turned her head and looked him straight in the eye with those mesmerizing eyes of hers.
"Because he gave me ten days. And today is day number nine."

Now it was Stoker who rubbed his chin while giving the girl an inquiring eye, but Throttle broke the silence before he could.
"This changes things, Stoker. You know it does."
The brown-furred leader didn't respond at first, clearly, he was deep in thought, but eventually, his brownish eyes darted over to the clock that hung above the main entrance before he looked back at his friends.
"Okay, so here's what we're gonna do. It's now almost 3 o'clock, so we take the rest of the afternoon to rest. We eat at 1800 hours sharp and then we'll make a plan for tomorrow. How does that sound, huh?", he asked the last part at Pip with a friendly smile on his face and her face softened as she gave him a grateful nod.
"Sounds like a master plan, sir."
"She calls me sir", Stoker snickered delightedly as he looked at Vinnie with twinkling eyes.
"I like her."

The white-furred mouse rolled his eyes, but before he could make some wisecrack back, he suddenly felt something bump against his leg and he looked down.
A pair of deep brown eyes stared back at him, eyes belonging to some strange hairy creature he had never seen before and Vinnie nearly hit the ceiling, the whole spider incident still fresh in his memory.
"Whaaoo, what the hell is that?!", he squeaked as he stumbled backward, but much to his horror, the creature followed him without breaking eye contact, wagging his hairy tail.
"No, no, no, no, you stay away from me, you monster", Vinnie breathed and his heart dropped when his back suddenly touched the wall, knowing he just backed himself into a corner.

It was the look on his face that made Throttle come into movement, also remembering the whole spider debacle like it was yesterday and in particular, the part where the young mouse had opened fire in a bomb shelter, almost killing them all in the process.
Given the spider was like the size of this creature's toenail, the tan-furred mouse didn't want to wait and find out what Vinnie would do this time as an attempt to escape.
He would probably nuke it or something and that wasn't only inconvenient because they were underground.

But it was Pip who eventually came to the rescue before Throttle could, at least, after she was recovered from the first shock of seeing the usual fearless mouse turn into a nervous wreck by something so innocent and cute in her eyes.
"Cupcake, come here, boy!", she purred, sitting on her knees and a big smile on her face.
The moment he heard her voice, the creature turned around and ran over to her with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
As soon as he reached her, Pip took the animal into her arms.
"Oh, it's so good to see you! I've missed you, you slime ball."

As it appeared, the four-legged life-form had missed her just as much as she did and Pip burst into laughter when he licked her face, his entire body now moving along with his wagging tail.
Hearing Pip laugh so… carefree, was like music to one's ears, but that wasn't why Vinnie was now staring at her, just as shocked as she had been only seconds ago, or maybe even more.
No, that all had to do with the fact that she let that thing lick her face, which was like… super weird.

Modo, not scared but curious, crouched down next to Pip and the creature now threw himself in his grey-furred arms, panting in enthusiasm.
"Hey, you're one happy little fella, aren't ya?", Modo smiled as his bionic hand slid through the dark-brown fur.
After staring at the scene for a little while with his lower jaw practically resting on his knees, Vinnie eventually found his voice back.
"Can someone please tell me what the fuck that is?", he demanded, still standing in the corner and absolutely clueless why in the world someone would let a hairball like that one get so close.

"It's just a dog", Charley told him while watching the big fella cuddle with the happy animal.
Somehow, it was such a heartwarming sight.
"They're harmless. Or well, this one clearly is."
"Oh", was all Vinnie said, his two-colored eyes still fixated on the dog, but his body seemed to relax a bit.
Well, until Oliver opened his mouth, that is.
"Actually, he's not entirely harmless…"

"He's not?", the white-furred mouse asked, a bit stuffy as he pushed himself back against the wall again and the human male smiled, clearly highly amused by Vinnie's reaction.
"No worries, he won't hurt you. You're not the enemy, after all."
"We trained him into a bomb/fish-sniffer. He can smell them both from miles away", Liv explained, her hand resting on Oliver's shoulder again and also smiling.
"Real handy when you're on a recon. He has saved our lives multiple times already. And he really doesn't like fish."
"It's really not that hard to smell a Plutarkian from miles away, I mean, they stink… like hell", Vinnie muttered under his breath while rolling his eyes, clearly not impressed, but someone else was.

"That is so cool", Pip breathed as she looked at the dog with awe before she glanced at the human couple with respect written upon her face.
"You guys really adapted well to this new world, huh? I mean, even your pet is now transformed into some badass soldier dog. It's impressive. It really is."
"Yeah, well. I've watched all the episodes of 'Ultimate Survival' at least ten times, so…", Oliver chuckled before he clapped in his hands and got off his chair.
"Okay, you heard Stoker. You need to rest. We don't have enough beds for all of you, but Pip and Charley can take the room next to Stoker and Carbine. As for the rest, the couch will just have to do, I'm afraid."
"The couch is fine", Throttle reassured the man before Vinnie could protest, but the white-furred mouse was still glancing at the dog with a frown on his face.
Or maybe it was Pip he was looking at, who knew?

"I'll show you your room", Liv offered to Charley and Pip and they followed her to the door that led to the dorm.
"While you guys are resting, Carbine, Oliver and I will go out on a quick quest for water and food."
"What about me? I can use some fresh air…", Stoker started, but Liv already pushed him towards the same door with a stern look on her face.
"Out of the question, mister mouse. You need to finish that afternoon nap of yours."
"Yes, ma'am", the brown-furred mouse mumbled as he walked through the door as fast as his wounded leg let him.

That was enough to snap Vinnie out of his trance.
"Stoker, my mouse, you are whipped", he called after his coach with a big smile, shaking his head in amusement.
"Shut up or the dog will make you, punk", Stoker retorted over his shoulder and the white-furred mouse visibly paled by this threat, which, in turn, made the brown-furred mouse burst into laughter.
"Who's on a short leash now, huh?"
Vinnie only grumbled something, but then Throttle laid a hand on his shoulder.
"You help Modo get the bikes inside, okay? You can park them in the tunnel."
After one last suspicious glance towards the dog, the young mouse followed his grey-furred bro into the tunnel, softly muttering under his breath about all these weird creatures they had on this planet.

Suddenly, it was only Throttle and Carbine who were left in the room, but after a short yet awkward silence, the light-grey-furred female mouse snatched her bag off the table and walked right past him to the front door without saying a word.
And all the tan-furred mouse did in return was let her go.
For now, there was nothing more to say.
For now, all that mattered was the mission.
And the rest…
Well, as Modo's beloved grey-furred momma used to say — 'Life is as it is and becomes as it gets.'
And that's that.

30 minutes later…

Again, Vinnie wasn't able to find the rest his body so desperately needed.
All he could think of was Pip, how scared she had been this afternoon when Liv gave her an unrequested yet well-meant hug.
For some reason, he just couldn't get the image out of his head and he constantly felt this burning desire to be there for her.
Maybe even to protect her, although he had no idea against what exactly.

Furthermore, she didn't really need him to keep her safe.
She was perfectly able to fight her own battles, blessed with skills that would most likely make others envious, except for him, of course.
Of course.
Still.
This was different.
Maybe he should go talk to her.
To ask if she was okay.
Bad idea.

Yeah...
Maybe it was, indeed, a bad idea.
He wasn't really that much of a talker anyway.
The last thing she needed was him being awkward and all.
While he was wrapped in this annoying inner conflict, he suddenly realized he had seen her walk out of the door only minutes ago, but that she hadn't come back yet.
Maybe she had gone for a walk.
This thought somehow relieved him.
After all, he could only talk to her if she was here, right?
Right.

As he let out his breath, his uptight body slumped a little deeper in the cushions of the couch and he glanced at his bro's, who were both fast asleep.
Even Modo, after hearing Stoker's thoughts about Niva, had fallen asleep the moment his head touched the pillow Liv had given to them.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Vinnie heaved another sigh, knowing that not even he could deny that he needed the rest just as much as his bro's did.
After all, his body was near the end of its rope, and tomorrow would be one hell of a busy day.
It would be so… disappointing if he would fail only due to fatigue, not to mention embarrassing.
He couldn't do that to his poor ego.
It would never recover, ever again.

Letting out another exaggerated sigh, the white-furred mouse lifted his legs and after crossing them by the ankle, he rested his heels on the small table and closed his eyes.
All he had to do was think happy, uh no, sleepy thoughts.
Or maybe counting saber squads…
Did saber squads have two different colored eyes?
Or black hair?
No, of course not.
Ugh.

His eyes already flew open again and he jumped off the couch, his entire body protesting, which he stubbornly ignored.
Although he had no idea what he was going to do, he did know that he wasn't going to just lie there in the hope he was able to catch some z's while he knew he was way too restless to even close his eyes longer than one second.
Such a waste of his precious time.
And after one almost jealous look at his bro's, he grabbed his black hoodie and walked to the front door.

After closing the door behind him as softly as possible, Vinnie turned around and continued his way while he pulled the sweater over his head.
Much to his surprise, the hatch was open, the sun illuminating the entrance and after climbing up -using the metal pins that were clawed into the wall, the very ones he had missed the first time he entered the tunnel-, he soon noticed that he and Pip weren't the only ones who couldn't sleep, which wasn't really surprising after everything that happened today.

Charley looked over her shoulder when she heard him coming and gave him a small smile, one that didn't reach her eyes before she rested her chin back on her knees, her eyes closed against the sharp yet soothing light coming from the sun.
"Hey. I was just enjoying the sun a little longer before I'm off to bed", she told him, her voice sounding nasal, telling him she had cried, which made him both sad and furious, simply because he cared for her.
A friend…
She didn't deserve this, to be the casualty of Carbine's inner demon.
Not even close.

"Sounds boring", he said flatly when he sat down next to her and after settling himself in the warm sand, he glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes.
Seeing the sad frown on her face almost made him tell her that everything was going to be alright, in the end.
That Throttle had chosen her, but that he just didn't know how to tell it to her, or to Carbine for that matter.
But even he knew that it wasn't his place to tell her all this.
He had meddled in this complicated love story once and he wasn't going to do it again.
No, he had learned his lesson.
Still.

"You really shouldn't let her get to you, sweetheart. She's a lost cause", he told her instead and after a short hesitation, he laid his hand on her shoulder for a moment in some sort of feeble attempt to comfort her, although it felt so… not him.
But as he already had found out, he felt safe in her company.
Safe enough to pull stunts like this, knowing she would never laugh at him, or make fun of him and she didn't.
All she did was give him another undefined smile, and if he had to guess, this was her way of telling him that she didn't want to talk about it right now.
Fine by him.

As he looked up at the blue sky again, his hand already reached for the medallion that was still thoroughly hidden under his clothes.
Somehow, it was some sort of automatic process, that whenever he looked up at the sky, he wanted to feel the locket in his furry fingers.
It felt different today, though.
He wasn't sure why, but it just did.
As if he only did it because it had become some sort of habit and not because he actually needed it.
Which was quite alarming actually.

Again, he glanced at Charley, whose green eyes were fixated on a point close to her feet.
'You can always talk to me.'
That's what she told him at the barn.
As his hands already turned sweaty, he looked back at the sky, but instead of doing what he was used to, he now lowered his hand again and put them both in the pocket of his black hoodie.
Somehow, the prospect of feeling the heavy object in his hand made him sick.
"Do you uh… do you happen to know where Pip is? I know she's not in her room."
His voice was a bit shaky, much to his annoyance.
What the fuck was happening to him?

"I think she's taking the dog out for a walk", Charley answered his question absent-mindedly and Vinnie let out his breath, nodding as if this was all he wanted to know, which was, of course, a load of bullshit.
"Okay."
A silence followed, but it didn't take long before Vinnie opened his mouth again.
"Do you know what direction she went?"
"She went that way", the human woman said as she gestured to her right, still having her mind on someone else.
Again, Vinnie nodded.
"Okay."

After another uncomfortable silence, Vinnie cleared his throat.
"Did she tell you when she'd be back?"
It was then that Charley blinked a few times and turned her head to look at him, a little frown between her brows.
"You okay? I mean, if you wanna go after her, just go."
"I'm not sure if I want to, actually. Or well, I know I want to, but at the same time, I don't", Vinnie babbled a bit undefined, but he then grew silent for a moment before he let out a sigh.
"That doesn't make any sense, I know, but…"
"Actually, it does", Charley friendly intervened and she came into movement.

Vinnie watched her every move, how she positioned herself in front of him.
How she reached out to him with both hands, his heart pounding in his chest.
Somehow, he felt some sort of regret for bringing this up, but he already knew Charley long enough to know that there was no going back now.
When she laid her hands on his shoulders, a soft shock went through his body.
It wasn't the same as before, though, not anymore.
The burning desire was gone, or maybe not entirely gone but at least diminished to a weak little flame now.
Still, feeling her warm fingers on his shoulders gave him goosebumps, and so did her voice.
"Look at me."

After a short hesitation, he raised his eyes and they locked with hers, although it felt way too… intimate at the same time.
Maybe that was because he was feeling so vulnerable at the moment.
Almost… naked, or something like that.
Nothing she hasn't seen yet.
Maybe, but this was a different kind of naked.
More like a… exposed nerve, or something like that.

Her hand sliding down to his chest made him look down and he watched silently how she eventually rested her fingers on the small bulge under his clothes that was the locket.
"You strongly believe that your heart belongs to the owner of this necklace, and that every way of moving on feels like betrayal to her, but it's not. You're only betraying yourself if you don't follow your heart and I know your heart tells you to follow Pip. So go. It's okay. It really is, Vinnie. I can tell. Life's too short to live it for the death."

Vinnie blinked a few times in surprise and he looked up again, ignoring the sudden and unwanted tears that were burning behind his eyes.
"You get all that out of my stupid gibberish?", he asked, a bit baffled, and Charley smiled.
"Well, newsflash. You're not really that hard to read. Now go. I think she needs you just as much as you need her."
"What about you? Don't you need some company?"
"I'll be fine."
"You sure?"

The Earther laid a hand on his cheek with a sad yet friendly smile.
"I'm sure, my friend. I'm sure. Now get the hell out of here."
And so, after letting his fingers brush her cheek in both gratitude and sympathy, our white-furred hero did.
With a heavy heart and his stomach tied in a knot, yes, but he went on his way nevertheless.
As befits the brave warrior he was.


Oh, boy.
I'm sensing a conversation between Pip and Vinnie that will be a defining moment in both of their lives.
Wonder how that will go...?

So, what do you think?
Are they really the last few survivors of an entire race, or are there things happening on Mars, things the mice have no clue about?
And what will happen if they ride out on their mission to bring down Limburger?
Will they be on time to save Pip's beloved brother?
Will they be able to defeat Limburger?
Or to find the meds Stoker is in such desperate need of?
Well, you'll find out eventually, hehe.
Got a lot in store for you, that's for sure.

Well, I hope you still liked this chapter, even though it may be a bit uneventful.
If you got some time to spare, please let me know your thoughts.
Always good to hear what you guys think.

Once again, thanks for your support and stay safe out there, my friends.
Later!