The Clans of Mars

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Disclaimer: I own all of the characters within this work except for the BMFM and any characters from that show (generic enough for ya?) In all actuality, I own the Firestars (Goldenmane, Taura, Pikestar, Kat), Fireblades (Sharpshooter, Roughrider, Longbow, Hunter), Monarchs (but not the Monarchs themselves), Shimmers (Nazira, Stonewall), Sandstalkers (Kiritana), Longbows (Ehlani, Iritan), Sharpspears (Alala), Redmoons, Skytails (Shirilani), Raptors (Scar, Coreli), and the Blackmoons, as well as the Rockers (Mari, Turbo, Tactica, Sparky, Starmantle, Starfire), and the Sabers (Phoenix, Blade, Blaze, Kammie). Confused? Good, 'cuz I am...

This story should clear up some things that started in "When Love Breaks" and finished with "Homecoming". That is, from Junior's time line, how the mice exist and work (or lack thereof) to rid Mars of the Plutarkians who remain. And why so many units (Rockers and Sabers aside) have names.

This story is set in Junior's time but after the events in Defiance, Rescue, Memories and Reunited. I make no money from this and do so only to bug people <wicked grin.>

The Clans of Mars

Part Five

In the End

By Goldenmane

"We need to do something," Scar said as he paced back and forth in the small room he shared with Shirilani.

The ebony mouse said nothing as she stared at the door as if she could will it open. When the door did creak open, she gasped.

"I wanted to see how you were doing. Sorry for the arrangements," Vinnie said.

"Nothing we aren't used to," Scar said.

Vinnie nodded. "I really wanted to ask you about Mari and the Rockers and Sabers."

"Look. I know what she told us, but we can't tell even you. We promised," Shirilani said.

"I just want to know why they never came back," Vinnie said.

"The war dragged on longer than we expected. Junior's forces were far stronger than any of us had imagined. He had the whole human race against us and willing to fight and die to see us gone," Scar said. "We were severely outnumbered as was, and the addition of two units didn't turn the tide of war as much as I had hoped. In the end . . . we failed."

Vinnie stood in shock. "What happened to everyone else?"

"Dead or prisoners," Shirilani said sadly. "The dead we buried or cremated and the prisoners . . . there was nothing we could do . . . "

"I understand," Vinnie said. "I just hate to think it'll end like that."

Shirilani nodded. "Sometimes we're better off not knowing and accepting what we have. Be grateful for the present and not to borrow trouble."

Vinnie half smiled. "Tell that to some mice I know." He turned. "Thanks."

Scar nodded once then resumed his pacing.

"Why did you tell him that," Shirilani hissed once the door had closed.

"He needed to know. You know how Mari continually told about him and their daughter. Like she would get back to see them alive. Not to stand there and watch them be buried," Scar said softly.

Shirilani sighed and resumed her stare off with the door. Be safe, Mari. Where ever you and the Rockers are.

Goldenmane did not move. She knew she could do little against Junior's warriors and himself who had several weapons levelled against her. She could just as well try and take Junior out even at the expense of her own life.

She decided against such heroics and dropped her laser. She glanced around and grimaced.

"No where to run, mouse," Junior spat. "Your little attempt to alter the past has failed."

"What do you mean?" She asked. I wasn't - "

" - Don't lie to me, rodent," Junior hissed. "After all, temporal beings such as yourself cannot be trusted outside of their own time stream not to influence history."

Goldenmane quirked a tan brow. "I had no intention of altering history, only to observe."

"Likely story," Junior said. "One which I don't believe. Warriors, hold her while I finish preparations."

"The only way I'd do something in the past would be to stop you," Goldenmane said.

She quickly assessed her situation, though only one thought gained dominance over her plans as two burly warriors drew near. I should have listened to Mari, she thought. Now it's only me I can rely on.

"Move, rodent," Junior said as he motioned his laser to the side.

Silently Goldenmane moved. She waited until her back was to Junior then she slipped her hand inside a vest pocket and pressed a button.

Dragon beeped softly once.

Goldenmane smiled, though her grin grew wider when alarms sprang up all over the compound below. She used the confusion to race to Dragon and transport out before anyone could fire a shot.

She did not travel far, only to the outer perimeter of the compound. She noted the flurry of activity within, however when one mouse on an old black Harley sped toward her, her heart leapt.

"Who are you, intruder?" the male voice said.

Goldenmane removed her helmet. "I'm with Special Ops," she said. "Name's Goldenmane and I'm here to stop a potential safety hazard."

"Golden?" the mouse asked as he skidded to a halt beside her. He ripped his helmet off and stared at her with his dark ruby eyes.

"Splitfire?" she asked just as stunned.

The reunion was cut short as several heavy armoured Plutarkian tankers transported in. Goldenmane cursed and reached for her laser. One she remembered she no longer had.

"What on Mars are those?" Splitfire asked as Goldenmane activated Dragon's weapons. "And when did Special Ops get fancy weapons for their bikes?"

"Talk later," Goldenmane said as she wheeled Dragon toward the compound. "We need to get back up before we take those things on. Mars isn't so alone any more."

Splitfire said nothing as he followed Goldenmane, though his Harley could not keep up with Dragon and he began to fall behind.

Goldenmane looked behind her and cursed. She forgot for a moment she rode a bike built for speed, not the old bikes of her time. She spun around and fired several salvos against the tankers and drew alongside Splitfire.

Shells from the Plutarkian tanks began to pound around them and three hit in near concussion around Goldenmane and Splitfire. She threw Dragon into a spin and tired to fire behind her, though when she hit something hard she grunted and slammed into the hard Martian soil.

She tried to rise, but found herself pinned by Dragon and laying in an ever growing pool of dark liquid. She looked around as best she could and gave a small cry. Most of the liquid was gas and fluid from Splitfire's Harley which had received extensive damage, but enough came from the gaping wound in Splitfire. Goldenmane could tell by the stillness in the breaths that no life beat now in her mate.

When she heard several bikes speed around her with wild war whoops she did not look up from her not so silent mourning. Not even when hands removed Dragon from her nor when they hefted her onto a bike.

She gave no notice as they transported out nor when they sat her on the cold Martian desert with a soft words.

"I'm sorry," the new biker said. Goldenmane knew who the speaker was. How could she forget.

"Phoenix?"

"Get back to base, we'll be along sometime. I . . . can't say when, but one day we will come back," Phoenix said before she transported out.

Goldenmane did not move even when Dragon 'limped' to her side. Silvery drops of tears dampened the dry red soil as her sobs increased. She now understood what Mari had meant. Yes, she should have stayed in her new time instead of letting her curiosity get the better of her. Thanks to her, she would now loose, not only a mate, but her son would loose his life as well.

When she began to shiver from the cold wind she rose unsteadily and mounted Dragon. Slowly she headed through the now familiar deserts towards Marconia.

"Damn you Golden," Mari half spat as she watched Phoenix transport out. She turned her attention to the tankers and with the combined firepower of the Sabers and Rockers they made short work of the temporal invaders.

Once they had mass transported out most of the debris left of the Plutarkians, Mari stopped by Splitfire and sighed. She cast her icy blue gaze to the darkening sky. "You never did listen. If you had stayed put I could have changed history for you."

She turned as a bike slid in beside Ice. "Bail time," Turbo said. "The Army's on it's way."

Mari slowly nodded. "I guess there's only one thing to do now. Let's go home."

She followed Turbo and once she had rejoined with the others they skidded to a halt and transported back to their rightful time. Mari had set their destination for a few hours after Goldenmane would have arrived in her time and decided Luna would be the best place to show up first.

In solemn silence the Rockers and Sabers transported to the bike bay. However, the bay was not as quiet as they had expected. Mice from many units, most of whom she could pick out, lined the walls or sat on their bikes. Obviously this had been a most impromptu meeting judging by the dust that coated most of the mice present.

"Who are you?" Throttle demanded.

"Mari," Goldenmane said coldly.

Mari chuckled to herself and rose. "It's been a while," she said loud enough for most to hear. "I didn't expect this much of a crowd when we returned."

"Mari?" Throttle asked.

Mari turned and slowly removed the hood to her cloak and half smiled at the gasps from everyone. No. She no longer looked like the Mari they had last seen. She knew they would gape at the new scars, most had faded, that crisscrossed the left side of her face which bore a crudely fashioned eyepatch. She shrugged out of her cloak and laid it on Ice. She then turned slowly as the rest of the Rockers and Sabers removed their camouflage gear.

"Now that you're back, we can win this war," Nazira said, though she did not move.

"We just came from the future," Mari said slowly, the pain of defeat bitter to her. "Mars and Earth lost."

"But," Phoenix shouted over the cries of disbelief, anguish and confusion. "There are several variables to this scenario. First, we did not exist in that time, secondly the Raptors and Skytails are back in the past. That future may never occur now."

"However," Mari continued. "If those variables aren't enough, then we have knowledge of what happened and can try to avoid it."

Goldenmane slowly rose as she fought down the memories of Splitfire's death. "History can't be changed. To try is to violate one of the most fundamental laws of time travel."

"We have no real concrete proof of that," Mari said. "No one's dared to try before now."

"Why you?" Throttle asked confused.

Mari sighed. "After the living hell we went through for ten years trying to save two worlds when most of the units had been wiped out due to bickering, we decided to try and see if some tweaking of the past would indeed change what we know for history."

"Did it?" Goldenmane said coldly.

"Not that I can see. History has gone according to schedule. Some freak accident in the past levelled the proto base which, after its rebuilding had been christened Marconia with complete loss of life of all mice at the base. Now, if you hadn't gone back to sate your curiosity, we could have sent those Plutarkians packing before anyone got killed," Mari nearly shouted.

Goldenmane paused then sank back into the chair. "To change the past, if it can be done, should have no effect on the present."

"Do you realize what you have done?" Throttle asked. "You jeopardized everything you own to a gamble. Why?"

"After what we went through helping Scar and Shirilani, we didn't want both worlds to end just like that," Mari said softly. "I had to do something."

"You are forbidden to leave Luna," Stoker said with no trace of emotion. "All of your bikes will be stripped of its transporter components and you will be confined to quarters until further notice."

Mari shook her head sadly. "Fine, I'll stay, but if I do, then history will change. I will get my proof."

"What do you mean by that?" Throttle asked.

"There is one last thing I have to do before history will be correct. I figure this much has stayed the same, I might as well finish it," Mari said.

"And that would be?" Goldenmane asked.

"Who do you think delivered Roughrider to you, hm?" Mari said as she shrugged back into her cloak and mounted Ice. "He sure as hell didn't just fall from the sky."

"Why did you bring him to me?" Goldenmane asked. Her ruby gaze darted from Mari to Roughrider for the barest of seconds.

Mari sighed. "If you hadn't gone back and I had prevented Splitfire from dying, he would have been there to take care of your child. Instead no one was left. You were here in the future and he was dead."

"You mean?" Goldenmane began in complete shock.

"Roughrider is your son, Golden," Mari said softly. "Not just 'cuz you adopted him, but because he is yours, flesh and blood. And," she turned to Stoker. "If you prevent me from going back and getting him, you'll change the past."

Stoker turned to Goldenmane. "What do you think about this?"

Goldenmane hesitated. Yes, she knew a lot about temporal physics, but she didn't know all there had been to time travel and what would happen if someone did indeed try to change the past. She really didn't know if it would effect the future or not, and she sure as hell didn't want to chance it. Nor had she wanted anyone else to try either, hence her excuse of 'if you try and change the past, the future won't.'

"Well?"

Goldenmane snapped back to the present, though she had no idea who had spoken. "Let her go. If she doesn't I can't guarantee what would happen."

"But you said," Stoker said. "That what we do won't change a thing."

"It shouldn't," Goldenmane said. "But I can't guarantee anything. The theories are all sound, but no one has tried them out. This is the ultimate training ground for answers."

Stoker grunted though when he turned back he rose angrily.

Mari had already transported out.

Mari searched the still fledgeling town that would one day gain the name Monument. She knew little Roughrider would be around somewhere and she knew she had to find him. She had to deliver him to his mother and be done with this time travel mess. Yes, she vowed. She would give up time travel altogether. She would remain in her time and fight the battles she was meant to fight.

A crash and a small scream brought her thoughts back to the present and she searched around. She found a small disturbance and sprinted toward the low growls and curses.

Mari crashed through the door and bowled over a dark furry object. She drew her laser and fired at another and lunged for the squalling child the two Sand Raiders had tried to get.

She managed to grab Roughrider and fired another shot when two more Sand Raiders followed by a handful of Plutarkians burst through the wall.

Mari leapt to Ice and fired her bike's engines and punched the button to transport when two sharp pains lanced through her body. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth at the fire that flared through her body. She knew she had been hit by laser fire and judging by the worst pain, she knew they had done some damage.

The transport ended and she eased the death grip she had on Roughrider. She slowly and tenderly dismounted Ice and walked to a young mouse who tried to fix a rather complicated looking motherboard for a transporter bike.

The young tan mouse looked up in shock, the board obviously forgotten as Mari held out the squirming bundle of mouse to her.

"Who are you?" the tan female asked.

"Unimportant," Mari said softly, though raggedly as the fire raced through her veins and threatened to cloud her vision. She had to do this one last thing then she could rest. "Take this child and care for him as if he were your own son. He had had a rough life indeed. You need to give him some stability in all the chaos."

Once Goldenmane had taken Roughrider from Mari and looked down at the bedraggled youngster, Mari had turned and mounted Ice. She punched the button to return home though the darkness of the transport ever ended as a quiet stillness filled Mari's mind.

Goldenmane watched the lone bike transport in and ran to catch the rider before she hit the ground. Blood spread across the mouse's dirty cloak and when Goldenmane could detect no pulse she cursed. She began to work on Mari and breathe some life back into the ageing veteran. However, her attempts, no matter how valiant, failed.

She rose and turned. No one was around and she called the medics. The meeting had broken up long before, nearly after Mari had transported out. Roughrider had left to think of what the news of his true parents really meant for him, and the rest of the Rockers and Sabers had retired to quarters to finally rest.

Goldenmane turned toward the still form of Mari and ran to Dragon. Dragon half growled in protest and Goldenmane patted the bike. "I know you just got fixed, but I need you to help me with one last thing. Download Ice's memory."

Dragon growled another complaint, though she complied. Once Goldenmane had found the info she needed she set her co ordinates and transported out.

She set her helmet to night vision and scanned the area. She noticed several Sand Raiders around a house, her old house, along with several Plutarkians. A faint flash brought her attention to a bike that transported in and the mouse who hurried on foot in the darkness.

When she heard a cry and shouts Goldenmane issued a command to Ice and sped off toward the intruders and fired away at will. She would have her proof if indeed history could be changed and if it could, she would destroy the info forever.

The Plutarkians and Sand Raiders stood no chance against a heavy armoured bike, two actually as Ice sped in before Dragon and finished the last two off before racing around to the front of the building to collect Mari and Roughrider. When Goldenmane watched both bike and passengers safely transport out she sighed and headed back to Luna's bike bay.

When she arrived no sign of Mari nor Ice could she see. No one, indeed lurked in the bay. She hastily erased Dragon's memory and vowed never to reveal what she had done.

Once satisfied she left the bay and headed toward the infirmary. She had to find out if her theory had been true or if she had deluded herself all of those years.

When she entered the infirmary and found it deserted, including the technicians, she sighed. She walked on and past the rooms set aside to accommodate the Clans if they stayed at Luna and found some activity within the area. When a mouse bolted out of a door and nearly slammed into her, she half smiled. She recognized Scar and Shirilani and followed the pair to see what rush they could be in.

She stopped by the open door and watched in amazement as the Rockers and Sabers sat before the two future Units and admired themselves. Goldenmane gasped when she noticed Mari alive and both of the Units bore no scars. None of the hate or anxiety she had felt when they had arrived from the future remained.

At the cold hand on her shoulder she turned and gasped.

"Don't worry," the bandaged and cloaked white female said. "You really did prove that we could change history and create other time lines. With that knowledge you were there to keep the Rockers and Sabers safe from harm. Instead of us going ahead to fight a war we could not win, we went armed with the knowledge of what would happen explicitly."

Goldenmane said nothing, too shocked to respond. "But how did you . . . ?"

Mari chuckled and peeled her cloak off then her eyepatch. She had to chuckle at the confusion and recognition that spread across Goldenmane's face. Mari held up her three-fingered hand and removed the bracer she had on her wrist. Within moments her hand reformed as had her eye. The scars faded from view.

"Neat little invention, eh?" Mari said with a chuckle. "All the illusion you'd need to make someone think that you'd really bit it."

"You died," Goldenmane said flatly.

"Yes, I did, however you prevented that when you went back and changed what happened," Mari said. "I know, Dragon may have been erased, but you forgot Ice."

Goldenmane mentally slapped herself aside the head for such a blunder. "But why the disguise?"

"The original history we did get trashed, though little by little things began to change, but we didn't want the Raptors or Skytails to know that limbs and missing parts had miraculously sprang back to life so we came up with this holo device. A little of the future technology to make real what isn't," Mari said. "Someone or something changed history and I sure as hell didn't do it."

"And I wouldn't," Goldenmane said. "Junior?"

"Could be," Mari said with another chuckle. "I'd better get back to my own time before they miss me too much. Just remember to keep yer eyes open for Junior or any odd activity and keep good notes, they do come in handy."

Goldenmane nodded and followed Mari's retreat with her gaze until the white mouse disappeared into the shadows. With a last sigh she retreated to the bike bay and gave Dragon a pat. "Let's go home," she wearily said.

Dragon growled its approval and in silence Goldenmane transported back to Marconia and home.