Categories > Cartoons > Biker Mice from Mars > Red Planet - Part Five: Warpath
Chapter Six: Heading East
As the Freedom Fighters moved their forces East, they found a rare sight indeed. Untouched land. The Plutarkians vice-like grip on their planet had not yet stretched to this corner of the globe, and they were all welcomed by the sight of flora and fauna, so rapidly disappearing from the country side.
They found themselves driving in a long caravan down dusty dirt roads through wide open stretches of corn fields, orchards, and just plain old grass. The freshness of the air was quiet stark compared to the dust they were used to breathing, and it seemed to rejuvenate the group.
Stoker, third in the line of Jeeps and motorcycles that were traveling along the dusty road, blinking in the bright sunlight, gazing into the distance. Cody and Tawny, who were riding along side him seemed fairly contented with the surroundings as well. Cody napped in the back seat and Tawny gazed intently out the passenger window, admiring the landscape.
"This looks like a good place to set up camp." Stoker said, more to himself than anyone else. He picked up his CB from the dashboard. "Hey, bros, how's it looking up there?" he asked.
Throttle and Vinnie were riding a couple miles ahead of the rest of the group, checking for anything suspicious that might indicate Plutarkian or Sand Raider activity in the area. So far, the drive had turned up nothing but a few Hornswallows and Squirrel Bats.
"Nothin up here, Stoke'. Just miles and miles of landscape." Throttle reported back.
Vinnie was trying to perfect his wheely technique and was paying no attention to his surroundings, when suddenly something in the field to his right caught his eye.
"Hmm?" he said aloud, pulling to stop.
Throttle took note of his bros sudden distraction. "Hold on, Stoke, gotta check something out." he replied back.
"Just be careful and don't let Vinnie get his ass shot off, alright?" Stoker's voice crackled back.
Throttle pulled off to the side of the road next to the white-furred Mouse who was staring into grove of morrible fruit (fruit that was about the size of an orange, but was dark red outside and purple inside and would taste something like a cheery). Vinnie's nose was to the wind, his ears perked, listening for something.
"What do you see?" Throttle whispered beside him, mimicking his actions.
"It's no what I see," Vinnie said slowly, sniffing the air. "It's what I smell..."
Throttle stared into the field intently, watching listening, as the world around them fell silent except for the sound of the wind through the leaves.
Then, about six feet in front of them, Throttle saw it. A movement under the bushes, something slinking in the undergrowth. It could have been an animal, but it did not pay to take chances. Vinnie pulled his gun from his hip pocket and moved forward, very slowly. The white-furred mouse paused next to the bush where the movement had originated. He held his breath for a moment, eyeing it nervously. The leaves shook again and Vinnie saw a shadow move along the ground.
"HOLD IT!" He shouted, tearing into the foliage and pointing his gun at the scurrying shadow, to find that...it was a stray Sphinx.
A small, usually golden, cat-like animal with a long thin tail and tuft of fur at the end and two furry antennae on it's skull. The thing growled fearfully as Vinnie threatened to blow it smithereens.
"Oh geez..." he sighed iritatedly. He looked back to Throttle. "False alarm! It's just a stupid sphinx!" he called back.
Throttle rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses.
Vinnie tucked his gun away and looked down at the stray that stood staring at him. "You shouldn't be out here you know. What if I had shot first and then asked questions later, huh? You'd be a crater!" Vinnie ranted.
The animal blinked sleepily at him with it's large red eyes and yawned lazily, licking it's paw idly. Vinnie scowled at it. "Yeah, you think you're so tough now..." he muttered, looking around him.
He was certain he had smelled something, something that reeked of Sand Raiders, but the orchard appeared clean. Vinnie scooped up the sphinx, which gave little protest and carried him back towards his bike where Throttle was waiting for him.
The tan furred mouse looked up quizzically as his bro approached. "Looks like the mighty hunter has returned with his kill." he chuckled, eyeing the sphinx that was curled in Vinnie's arms.
"It followed me home, bro. Can I keep it?" he asked, holding it out for Throttle to see. It yawned at him and swung a paw lightly, swatting at Throttle's hand as he reached up to stroke it's short bobbed ears. It purred loudly in response.
"It's domesticated. Must belong to someone." Throttle said fondly.
"Maybe that means there's a house up ahead." Vinnie replied.
"Hey bros, what's goin' on up there?" Modo's voice was heard suddenly from their com-line.
"Oh, not much. Vinnie found a new pet, is all. It's safe to proceed." he answered.
"Gotcha. See ya in a few." Modo answered.
Vinnie had been right in fact, as there was indeed a house just a mile away from the orchard where they had found their little friend. Throttle and Vinnie, still riding ahead of their unit, saw several small children playing in the front yard.
"Now there's a sight you don't see much anymore." Vinnie said, watching them as they rolled across the ground, doing cartwheels and playing tag, the same way he and his sister used to do when they were their age.
But then the little ones caught sight of the two bikers, and their game immediately ceased. They scattered, running back inside the house, afraid.
Throttle and Vinnie glanced at each other. "That can't be good." Throttle answered.
Then the door to the house opened again, and another Martian, a grown man, came out of the house. He looked apprehensive at first, and then made his way down towards the two of them.
"Can I help you boys?" he asked, looking the two of them over.
"Hey there, citizen. Does this belong to you?" Vinnie asked, holding up their captive, who made an inarticulate yip at the sight of the mouse. The other man smiled and chuckled a little.
"Haha, no he's not ours, although my kids would say otherwise. I'm thinkin' ya want the folks that live down that way a bit..." he said. He eyed them carefully. "You boys by yourselves?" he asked, somewhat suspiciously.
Throttle nodded politely. "Just passing through, sir." he said, not really answering.
The Mouse looked them over carefully. "You're Freedom Fighters aren't ya?" he asked. The two young bikers nodded.
The man laughed. "No need to be worried boys! Your welcomed here, s'long as you want. There's a little village up head, if you're hungry. Best produce in the region!" he said proudly.
Throttle and Vinnie smiled. "Thanks, citizen. We appreciate it."
"It's the least we can do. We've been lucky so far, but we know about what's going on around us. Hammer, Sentry, Brimstone, Hellfire . . . it's all tragedy. You boys are very brave to be doing what you doing."
"We grew up in Hellfire." Throttle nodded.
"Did you now?" The man laughed. "Well, God bless ya boys. Safe trip!" he nodded, dismissing himself.
"Ride Free Citizen!" The two called back and continued on their dusty trek.
*
Less than twenty minutes later, the Freedom Fighters found themselves riding into a small, one-horse town by the name of Pax. The entire set up consisted of maybe ten or fifteen houses; a small 'ma and pa' grocery store; a gas station with the attendant taking an afternoon nap on a chair outside; and a run-down official-looking building, which might have been either a court-house or city hall.
The occupants, all going about their daily hustle and bustle, stopped and stared at the newcomers, mouths wide, whispering and muttering to each other.
Throttle and Vinnie sat on their bikes, awaiting the approach of the rest of their unit, currently the center of attention.
"Something tells me if you were looking up the top one hundred popular places to live on Mars, Pax would not be one of them." Vinnie said to his bro, still cradling the now sleeping sphinx in his right arm.
"I wonder if you'd even find it on ANY map. I didn't see a road sign for this place anywhere." Throttle mused.
A rumbling from behind them announced the arrival of the rest of their friends. The citizens of Pax either scattered into their homes or stood dumbfounded in their places, like their feet had taken up roots.
Modo appeared in the square first and pulled up beside his bros.
"About time we made a pit stop." he mused, pulling off his helmet and running a hand across the sweaty fur across his head. He took in the sight around him for a second and then shook his head. "Who knew their were soooo many hicks in this great land?" he asked warily.
Now the rest of the caravan was arriving, bringing up Stoker and the others. The residents of Pax looked fearful.
One man, a portly gentlemen of considerable age, approached the group as they pulled to a stop. "Are you Army?" he asked bluntly without introduction or preamble.
Stoker decided he should be the one to field their questions. "No sir, we're Freedom Fighters." he said proudly. "Sorry about the traffic, we're just passing through. We'd just like to stop and get our bearings, fill our tanks and then we'll be out of your hair."
"Freedom Fighters, you say?" the fat Mouse said, a smile splitting across his face in amusement. "We usually don't get such high profile guests here in Pax."
"I doubt they get any guests here in Pax." Vinnie giggled as Modo elbowed him.
Stoker glanced at his young cohorts, as if to remind them of their manners, and then turned back to the older mouse, still smiling.
"Please, please stay as long as you like! Even all the way out here we've heard of the great feats of the Freedom Fighters and their leader Stoker BlackRuby." he earnestly. He glanced around at the company. "He...wouldn't be here with you, would he?"
Stoker smirked a little. "He would be standing right in front of you, sir." he nodded.
The man's eyes grew wide. "Oh my! What an honor, it is sir! Although you're a little smaller than I pictured you." He said, shaking Stoker's hand graciously.
Stoker blushed slightly at the comment, but nodded and smiled all the same. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister . . .?"
"Sheldon T. Walsworth, Mr. BlackRuby. And the pleasure is all mine." At this the rest of the residents became bolder and started crowding around, seeing with they could do to assist the Freedom Fighters.
Sheldon T. Walsworth, meanwhile, took the task of being their tour guide, introducing himself to every available Freedom Fighter and staying close to Stoker.
Vinnie, meanwhile, had found the Sphinx's owner.
"Oy!" A female voice called suddenly, and the little animal in the white-furred Martian's arms squirmed and then leapt away, bounding across the road. Vinnie followed his path to a young sandy-furred girl in a lavender dress who was holding out her arms, into which the little creature leapt, purring loudly.
Vinnie gawked at her for a moment. She was really quiet pretty, in a country girl kind of way. He was just about to step up and make his move, when the unexpected happened.
Modo did it for him. The big grey-furred mouse slipped smoothly past Vinnie and stepped up to the girl in the lavender dress.
"That's a cute little fella you got there, miss," he said in his gentle, rumbling voice. She looked up at him with bright red eyes, smiling.
"Oh I thought I'd lost him! The little scamp ran away from this morning when I was taking care of the chickens."
"My friends and I found him on our way up here," Modo said quickly. Behind him, Vinnie continued to gawk, his mouth wide.
"Oh how can I ever thank you!" she said, standing up and looking at him with the sweet, shyness that only young girls have.
Modo beamed and held out his arm to her. "A tour of your little town might be nice, Miss."
She took it eagerly. "It's Glinda. And what might your name be handsome?" she giggled.
"Modo Maverick." he answered.
"Well Modo, I think we're going to get along just fine." she said as they started off down the street.
Throttle blinked as he stood next to Vinnie, who was still too shocked to speak.
The tan-furred mouse looked pitifully at his younger bro. "What's this? The great lover Vincent VanWham out-done by the original Mama's boy...man that's GOT to be devastating." He chuckled.
"Shut up!" Vinnie muttered.
"What are you guys talking about?" Alexis said suddenly, having appeared for the first time since they arrived.
"Oh Modo's scamming on Vinnie's newest crush." Throttle explained.
"Really?" the young girl blinked. "Didn't know the big guy had it in 'im..." she shrugged.
Stoker appeared then, saving Vinnie any further embarrassment. They eyed the fat mouse that waddled along excitedly next to him.
"Bros, this is Mr. Walsworth. He's been kind enough to put us up here for the night." Stoker said, indicating that they should be as polite as possible to him.
"Thanks very much!" Alexis said happily.
"We appreciate it very much, sir." Throttle nodded.
"Yeah, I'm overwhelmed with joy." Vinnie said out of the corner of his mouth, making Stoker glare at him.
"Delightful children." he replied.
Stoker glanced around quickly. "Where's Modo?" he asked.
"Oh, uh . . . he made a friend." Throttle said, lifting his eyebrows to let Stoker know that it wasn't just any friend, but a female friend.
"Ah, I see. Well it's Modo, so I wouldn't worry. He's a big boy he's perfectly capable of going off on his own." Stoker answered. He took the opportunity to catch Vinnie's eyes with another smug smile. "Now if it were young Vincent, here, I may have been concerned."
Vinnie flushed beneath his fur.
At that moment Tawny arrived, to announce that they were setting them up in one of the hotels for the evening, free of charge.
"Oh and who is this lovely young woman?" Walsworth asked, taking her hand and kissing it.
Tawny blushed at the strangely gentlemanly treatment and glanced at Stoker. "Your lovely wife perhaps?"
"Oh no, we're not..." Tawny stuttered, but Stoker just laughed a bit.
"No, no, Tawny is a very dear friend of mine. I'm a widower." Stoker explained.
"I am very sorry to hear that." Mr. Walsworth replied. He smiled back at Tawny. "But you two would make a lovely couple." he added pleasantly.
There were awkward smiles all around.
*
The fireflies were out in mass that night as the Freedom Fighters settled in. The town of Pax was holding a dinner in their honor, and they were looking forward to something besides the dried and salty rations they were equipped with.
Picnic tables had been set up in the town square, and the street lights gave off a soft warm glow in the night breeze that seemed to set the scene for the evenings festivities.
Modo had still not returned from his 'tour' of the town, and did not return until the party was well underway. He slipped quietly between Throttle and Alexis at one of the picnic tables and began helping himself to their very gracious meal.
"About time you showed up." Throttle said, elbowing him lightly.
"How was your date?" Vinnie asked snidely.
Modo patted his shoulder lightly. "Sorry about that, Vin. Just an impulse, ya know?" he answered.
Vinnie nodded, having gotten over it already.
"So when's the wedding?" Alexis jabbed.
Modo chuckled, taking a big drink from his glass. "Please, she's a sweet girl, and my mama would defiantly approve, but I doubt I'll ever see her again."
"That's oddly cynical of you, big fella." Throttle answered.
At the head of the table, Mr. Walsworth was raising a toast to their esteemed guests. For the first time in a very long time, Stoker felt very relaxed in a very public atmosphere. He gazed out at the warm summers night with its own natural enchantments, far away from the desolation of war, where life was simpler, happier perhaps.
The boys were consumed in their own private chatter, which seemed to revolve around Modo's date with the farm girl, who sat across from them, flirting and giggling with another gaggle of pretty young girls. Cody was helping himself to wine and telling jokes to both Freedom Fighters and the locals alike.
Tawny had avoided him since earlier this afternoon, and was currently talking to another young man and giggling girlishly. Stoker wanted to go say something to her, when a light hand touched his own. He looked up to see Harley standing there, smiling at him. She had dressed for the occasion, wearing a pretty pink knee-length dress, with a Tharsis Lily (a pale cream colored flower resembling a tiger-lily) pinned at the side of hair.
"Hey, Stoke." she said.
Stoker smiled. "Hey, pretty lady." He looked her over appreciatively. "So that's what you were hiding under that nurse's uniform."
Harley giggled. "Well, you never know when something might come up. A girl needs to be prepared."
Stoker excused himself from the table and followed her across the old brick street, lined with string lights and banners that waved silently in the summer breeze. Harley slipped her hand into Stoker's as they walked, and Stoker suddenly felt like he was no older than the teenage boys he had left moments ago, flirting with the pretty young girls.
"They really went through a lot of trouble for all this, didn't they?" Harley asked.
"I wish all the locals we've met were this friendly." Stoker nodded. "It's a nice reprieve, at any rate. After Brimstone, we could all use a night like this."
Harley smiled sweetly at him and lead him further down the road towards a line of blooming trees that seemed to shimmer with the glow of fire-flies.
"It's been a long time since I've taken a walk like this." he mused aloud. "Silverdawn and I used to do this every summer..." he paused thoughtfully. "But that was a long time ago."
"She sounds like a lovely woman." Harley said then, putting both arms around his arm then.
"She was. I miss her." he sighed.
Harley stopped and turned to face him. Stoker looked at her quizzically until she stood on tip-toe and kissed him quickly on the lips. He blinked. "Harley...?" he began, but then suddenly forgot whatever it was he wanted to ask.
He put his arms around her shoulders and kissed her back, without any timidness. It felt oddly right, even natural to be kissing Harley. As if he had been doing it forever. She was soft and warm and Stoker held her, not ever wanting to let her go.
They broke apart after a long moment, and Harley blushed as pink as her dress beneath her fur. "Wow...do you always kiss like that on the first date?" she asked breathlessly.
Stoker hugged her in reply as he watched a lone little firefly landed on the back of his hand. He admired its soft otherworldly glow and sighed nuzzling Harley's hair. For too, too brief a moment, the world was safe, calm, and beautiful. Like the glow of the summer fireflies.
As the Freedom Fighters moved their forces East, they found a rare sight indeed. Untouched land. The Plutarkians vice-like grip on their planet had not yet stretched to this corner of the globe, and they were all welcomed by the sight of flora and fauna, so rapidly disappearing from the country side.
They found themselves driving in a long caravan down dusty dirt roads through wide open stretches of corn fields, orchards, and just plain old grass. The freshness of the air was quiet stark compared to the dust they were used to breathing, and it seemed to rejuvenate the group.
Stoker, third in the line of Jeeps and motorcycles that were traveling along the dusty road, blinking in the bright sunlight, gazing into the distance. Cody and Tawny, who were riding along side him seemed fairly contented with the surroundings as well. Cody napped in the back seat and Tawny gazed intently out the passenger window, admiring the landscape.
"This looks like a good place to set up camp." Stoker said, more to himself than anyone else. He picked up his CB from the dashboard. "Hey, bros, how's it looking up there?" he asked.
Throttle and Vinnie were riding a couple miles ahead of the rest of the group, checking for anything suspicious that might indicate Plutarkian or Sand Raider activity in the area. So far, the drive had turned up nothing but a few Hornswallows and Squirrel Bats.
"Nothin up here, Stoke'. Just miles and miles of landscape." Throttle reported back.
Vinnie was trying to perfect his wheely technique and was paying no attention to his surroundings, when suddenly something in the field to his right caught his eye.
"Hmm?" he said aloud, pulling to stop.
Throttle took note of his bros sudden distraction. "Hold on, Stoke, gotta check something out." he replied back.
"Just be careful and don't let Vinnie get his ass shot off, alright?" Stoker's voice crackled back.
Throttle pulled off to the side of the road next to the white-furred Mouse who was staring into grove of morrible fruit (fruit that was about the size of an orange, but was dark red outside and purple inside and would taste something like a cheery). Vinnie's nose was to the wind, his ears perked, listening for something.
"What do you see?" Throttle whispered beside him, mimicking his actions.
"It's no what I see," Vinnie said slowly, sniffing the air. "It's what I smell..."
Throttle stared into the field intently, watching listening, as the world around them fell silent except for the sound of the wind through the leaves.
Then, about six feet in front of them, Throttle saw it. A movement under the bushes, something slinking in the undergrowth. It could have been an animal, but it did not pay to take chances. Vinnie pulled his gun from his hip pocket and moved forward, very slowly. The white-furred mouse paused next to the bush where the movement had originated. He held his breath for a moment, eyeing it nervously. The leaves shook again and Vinnie saw a shadow move along the ground.
"HOLD IT!" He shouted, tearing into the foliage and pointing his gun at the scurrying shadow, to find that...it was a stray Sphinx.
A small, usually golden, cat-like animal with a long thin tail and tuft of fur at the end and two furry antennae on it's skull. The thing growled fearfully as Vinnie threatened to blow it smithereens.
"Oh geez..." he sighed iritatedly. He looked back to Throttle. "False alarm! It's just a stupid sphinx!" he called back.
Throttle rolled his eyes behind his sunglasses.
Vinnie tucked his gun away and looked down at the stray that stood staring at him. "You shouldn't be out here you know. What if I had shot first and then asked questions later, huh? You'd be a crater!" Vinnie ranted.
The animal blinked sleepily at him with it's large red eyes and yawned lazily, licking it's paw idly. Vinnie scowled at it. "Yeah, you think you're so tough now..." he muttered, looking around him.
He was certain he had smelled something, something that reeked of Sand Raiders, but the orchard appeared clean. Vinnie scooped up the sphinx, which gave little protest and carried him back towards his bike where Throttle was waiting for him.
The tan furred mouse looked up quizzically as his bro approached. "Looks like the mighty hunter has returned with his kill." he chuckled, eyeing the sphinx that was curled in Vinnie's arms.
"It followed me home, bro. Can I keep it?" he asked, holding it out for Throttle to see. It yawned at him and swung a paw lightly, swatting at Throttle's hand as he reached up to stroke it's short bobbed ears. It purred loudly in response.
"It's domesticated. Must belong to someone." Throttle said fondly.
"Maybe that means there's a house up ahead." Vinnie replied.
"Hey bros, what's goin' on up there?" Modo's voice was heard suddenly from their com-line.
"Oh, not much. Vinnie found a new pet, is all. It's safe to proceed." he answered.
"Gotcha. See ya in a few." Modo answered.
Vinnie had been right in fact, as there was indeed a house just a mile away from the orchard where they had found their little friend. Throttle and Vinnie, still riding ahead of their unit, saw several small children playing in the front yard.
"Now there's a sight you don't see much anymore." Vinnie said, watching them as they rolled across the ground, doing cartwheels and playing tag, the same way he and his sister used to do when they were their age.
But then the little ones caught sight of the two bikers, and their game immediately ceased. They scattered, running back inside the house, afraid.
Throttle and Vinnie glanced at each other. "That can't be good." Throttle answered.
Then the door to the house opened again, and another Martian, a grown man, came out of the house. He looked apprehensive at first, and then made his way down towards the two of them.
"Can I help you boys?" he asked, looking the two of them over.
"Hey there, citizen. Does this belong to you?" Vinnie asked, holding up their captive, who made an inarticulate yip at the sight of the mouse. The other man smiled and chuckled a little.
"Haha, no he's not ours, although my kids would say otherwise. I'm thinkin' ya want the folks that live down that way a bit..." he said. He eyed them carefully. "You boys by yourselves?" he asked, somewhat suspiciously.
Throttle nodded politely. "Just passing through, sir." he said, not really answering.
The Mouse looked them over carefully. "You're Freedom Fighters aren't ya?" he asked. The two young bikers nodded.
The man laughed. "No need to be worried boys! Your welcomed here, s'long as you want. There's a little village up head, if you're hungry. Best produce in the region!" he said proudly.
Throttle and Vinnie smiled. "Thanks, citizen. We appreciate it."
"It's the least we can do. We've been lucky so far, but we know about what's going on around us. Hammer, Sentry, Brimstone, Hellfire . . . it's all tragedy. You boys are very brave to be doing what you doing."
"We grew up in Hellfire." Throttle nodded.
"Did you now?" The man laughed. "Well, God bless ya boys. Safe trip!" he nodded, dismissing himself.
"Ride Free Citizen!" The two called back and continued on their dusty trek.
*
Less than twenty minutes later, the Freedom Fighters found themselves riding into a small, one-horse town by the name of Pax. The entire set up consisted of maybe ten or fifteen houses; a small 'ma and pa' grocery store; a gas station with the attendant taking an afternoon nap on a chair outside; and a run-down official-looking building, which might have been either a court-house or city hall.
The occupants, all going about their daily hustle and bustle, stopped and stared at the newcomers, mouths wide, whispering and muttering to each other.
Throttle and Vinnie sat on their bikes, awaiting the approach of the rest of their unit, currently the center of attention.
"Something tells me if you were looking up the top one hundred popular places to live on Mars, Pax would not be one of them." Vinnie said to his bro, still cradling the now sleeping sphinx in his right arm.
"I wonder if you'd even find it on ANY map. I didn't see a road sign for this place anywhere." Throttle mused.
A rumbling from behind them announced the arrival of the rest of their friends. The citizens of Pax either scattered into their homes or stood dumbfounded in their places, like their feet had taken up roots.
Modo appeared in the square first and pulled up beside his bros.
"About time we made a pit stop." he mused, pulling off his helmet and running a hand across the sweaty fur across his head. He took in the sight around him for a second and then shook his head. "Who knew their were soooo many hicks in this great land?" he asked warily.
Now the rest of the caravan was arriving, bringing up Stoker and the others. The residents of Pax looked fearful.
One man, a portly gentlemen of considerable age, approached the group as they pulled to a stop. "Are you Army?" he asked bluntly without introduction or preamble.
Stoker decided he should be the one to field their questions. "No sir, we're Freedom Fighters." he said proudly. "Sorry about the traffic, we're just passing through. We'd just like to stop and get our bearings, fill our tanks and then we'll be out of your hair."
"Freedom Fighters, you say?" the fat Mouse said, a smile splitting across his face in amusement. "We usually don't get such high profile guests here in Pax."
"I doubt they get any guests here in Pax." Vinnie giggled as Modo elbowed him.
Stoker glanced at his young cohorts, as if to remind them of their manners, and then turned back to the older mouse, still smiling.
"Please, please stay as long as you like! Even all the way out here we've heard of the great feats of the Freedom Fighters and their leader Stoker BlackRuby." he earnestly. He glanced around at the company. "He...wouldn't be here with you, would he?"
Stoker smirked a little. "He would be standing right in front of you, sir." he nodded.
The man's eyes grew wide. "Oh my! What an honor, it is sir! Although you're a little smaller than I pictured you." He said, shaking Stoker's hand graciously.
Stoker blushed slightly at the comment, but nodded and smiled all the same. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, mister . . .?"
"Sheldon T. Walsworth, Mr. BlackRuby. And the pleasure is all mine." At this the rest of the residents became bolder and started crowding around, seeing with they could do to assist the Freedom Fighters.
Sheldon T. Walsworth, meanwhile, took the task of being their tour guide, introducing himself to every available Freedom Fighter and staying close to Stoker.
Vinnie, meanwhile, had found the Sphinx's owner.
"Oy!" A female voice called suddenly, and the little animal in the white-furred Martian's arms squirmed and then leapt away, bounding across the road. Vinnie followed his path to a young sandy-furred girl in a lavender dress who was holding out her arms, into which the little creature leapt, purring loudly.
Vinnie gawked at her for a moment. She was really quiet pretty, in a country girl kind of way. He was just about to step up and make his move, when the unexpected happened.
Modo did it for him. The big grey-furred mouse slipped smoothly past Vinnie and stepped up to the girl in the lavender dress.
"That's a cute little fella you got there, miss," he said in his gentle, rumbling voice. She looked up at him with bright red eyes, smiling.
"Oh I thought I'd lost him! The little scamp ran away from this morning when I was taking care of the chickens."
"My friends and I found him on our way up here," Modo said quickly. Behind him, Vinnie continued to gawk, his mouth wide.
"Oh how can I ever thank you!" she said, standing up and looking at him with the sweet, shyness that only young girls have.
Modo beamed and held out his arm to her. "A tour of your little town might be nice, Miss."
She took it eagerly. "It's Glinda. And what might your name be handsome?" she giggled.
"Modo Maverick." he answered.
"Well Modo, I think we're going to get along just fine." she said as they started off down the street.
Throttle blinked as he stood next to Vinnie, who was still too shocked to speak.
The tan-furred mouse looked pitifully at his younger bro. "What's this? The great lover Vincent VanWham out-done by the original Mama's boy...man that's GOT to be devastating." He chuckled.
"Shut up!" Vinnie muttered.
"What are you guys talking about?" Alexis said suddenly, having appeared for the first time since they arrived.
"Oh Modo's scamming on Vinnie's newest crush." Throttle explained.
"Really?" the young girl blinked. "Didn't know the big guy had it in 'im..." she shrugged.
Stoker appeared then, saving Vinnie any further embarrassment. They eyed the fat mouse that waddled along excitedly next to him.
"Bros, this is Mr. Walsworth. He's been kind enough to put us up here for the night." Stoker said, indicating that they should be as polite as possible to him.
"Thanks very much!" Alexis said happily.
"We appreciate it very much, sir." Throttle nodded.
"Yeah, I'm overwhelmed with joy." Vinnie said out of the corner of his mouth, making Stoker glare at him.
"Delightful children." he replied.
Stoker glanced around quickly. "Where's Modo?" he asked.
"Oh, uh . . . he made a friend." Throttle said, lifting his eyebrows to let Stoker know that it wasn't just any friend, but a female friend.
"Ah, I see. Well it's Modo, so I wouldn't worry. He's a big boy he's perfectly capable of going off on his own." Stoker answered. He took the opportunity to catch Vinnie's eyes with another smug smile. "Now if it were young Vincent, here, I may have been concerned."
Vinnie flushed beneath his fur.
At that moment Tawny arrived, to announce that they were setting them up in one of the hotels for the evening, free of charge.
"Oh and who is this lovely young woman?" Walsworth asked, taking her hand and kissing it.
Tawny blushed at the strangely gentlemanly treatment and glanced at Stoker. "Your lovely wife perhaps?"
"Oh no, we're not..." Tawny stuttered, but Stoker just laughed a bit.
"No, no, Tawny is a very dear friend of mine. I'm a widower." Stoker explained.
"I am very sorry to hear that." Mr. Walsworth replied. He smiled back at Tawny. "But you two would make a lovely couple." he added pleasantly.
There were awkward smiles all around.
*
The fireflies were out in mass that night as the Freedom Fighters settled in. The town of Pax was holding a dinner in their honor, and they were looking forward to something besides the dried and salty rations they were equipped with.
Picnic tables had been set up in the town square, and the street lights gave off a soft warm glow in the night breeze that seemed to set the scene for the evenings festivities.
Modo had still not returned from his 'tour' of the town, and did not return until the party was well underway. He slipped quietly between Throttle and Alexis at one of the picnic tables and began helping himself to their very gracious meal.
"About time you showed up." Throttle said, elbowing him lightly.
"How was your date?" Vinnie asked snidely.
Modo patted his shoulder lightly. "Sorry about that, Vin. Just an impulse, ya know?" he answered.
Vinnie nodded, having gotten over it already.
"So when's the wedding?" Alexis jabbed.
Modo chuckled, taking a big drink from his glass. "Please, she's a sweet girl, and my mama would defiantly approve, but I doubt I'll ever see her again."
"That's oddly cynical of you, big fella." Throttle answered.
At the head of the table, Mr. Walsworth was raising a toast to their esteemed guests. For the first time in a very long time, Stoker felt very relaxed in a very public atmosphere. He gazed out at the warm summers night with its own natural enchantments, far away from the desolation of war, where life was simpler, happier perhaps.
The boys were consumed in their own private chatter, which seemed to revolve around Modo's date with the farm girl, who sat across from them, flirting and giggling with another gaggle of pretty young girls. Cody was helping himself to wine and telling jokes to both Freedom Fighters and the locals alike.
Tawny had avoided him since earlier this afternoon, and was currently talking to another young man and giggling girlishly. Stoker wanted to go say something to her, when a light hand touched his own. He looked up to see Harley standing there, smiling at him. She had dressed for the occasion, wearing a pretty pink knee-length dress, with a Tharsis Lily (a pale cream colored flower resembling a tiger-lily) pinned at the side of hair.
"Hey, Stoke." she said.
Stoker smiled. "Hey, pretty lady." He looked her over appreciatively. "So that's what you were hiding under that nurse's uniform."
Harley giggled. "Well, you never know when something might come up. A girl needs to be prepared."
Stoker excused himself from the table and followed her across the old brick street, lined with string lights and banners that waved silently in the summer breeze. Harley slipped her hand into Stoker's as they walked, and Stoker suddenly felt like he was no older than the teenage boys he had left moments ago, flirting with the pretty young girls.
"They really went through a lot of trouble for all this, didn't they?" Harley asked.
"I wish all the locals we've met were this friendly." Stoker nodded. "It's a nice reprieve, at any rate. After Brimstone, we could all use a night like this."
Harley smiled sweetly at him and lead him further down the road towards a line of blooming trees that seemed to shimmer with the glow of fire-flies.
"It's been a long time since I've taken a walk like this." he mused aloud. "Silverdawn and I used to do this every summer..." he paused thoughtfully. "But that was a long time ago."
"She sounds like a lovely woman." Harley said then, putting both arms around his arm then.
"She was. I miss her." he sighed.
Harley stopped and turned to face him. Stoker looked at her quizzically until she stood on tip-toe and kissed him quickly on the lips. He blinked. "Harley...?" he began, but then suddenly forgot whatever it was he wanted to ask.
He put his arms around her shoulders and kissed her back, without any timidness. It felt oddly right, even natural to be kissing Harley. As if he had been doing it forever. She was soft and warm and Stoker held her, not ever wanting to let her go.
They broke apart after a long moment, and Harley blushed as pink as her dress beneath her fur. "Wow...do you always kiss like that on the first date?" she asked breathlessly.
Stoker hugged her in reply as he watched a lone little firefly landed on the back of his hand. He admired its soft otherworldly glow and sighed nuzzling Harley's hair. For too, too brief a moment, the world was safe, calm, and beautiful. Like the glow of the summer fireflies.
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