The Ties That Bind (Rescue Rangers)

[ksharbaugh]

Author's note: This is the sequel to Reservation Dogs and the start of what is starting to look like an unending series. This is relatively tame, just some foul language and generous amounts of bleeding. Heavy on the angst, though.

The Ties That Bind

Chapter One

“Dale, go see who’s at the door,” Chip said as he perused through notes from a previous case.

“Why me?” Dale protested, refusing to tear his eyes from the television screen.

“Because you’re closer!”

Dale hesitantly got up from his seat and approached the door, keeping his eyes turned towards the TV. “They never rerun this one,” he muttered to himself as the visitor knocked at the door again. As soon as his program broke for a commercial he opened the door. “What can we do for...” there was no one to be seen, “...you?” Dale looked around but saw no indication that there had ever been anyone there. “Uh... hello?” he asked as he stuck his head through the door. Walking out onto the branch Dale looked around as his state of confusion mounted. “I know someone was out here, someone had to knock on the door,” he reasoned, “unless I imagined it...”

As Dale began to question his sanity the visitor quietly dropped to the branch behind him and entered Rescue Rangers’ Headquarters unobserved. Stealthily the intruder proceeded through the living area towards Chip. Engrossed in his thoughts, Chip was utterly unaware that anything was about to happen to him... until everything when dark.

“Guess who!” the female assailant declared as she covered his eyes. Chip’s startled shout brought Dale in through the front door and Gadget from her workshop.

Rising from his seat and turning to face his ‘attacker’ he found himself face to face with someone he hadn’t seen for nearly a year, “Dee?!”

“Miss me?” she responded cheerfully, then threw herself at Chip, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

“Hey! How’d you get in here?” Dale asked in utter confusion.

“Simple,” Dee confessed as she let go of her love, “I became invisible and walked right past you!”

“Really?”

Dee regarded Dale with an amused smirk, “No. I was hanging above the door and knocking on it with my foot.”

“Oh.”

“What brings you here, Dee?” Gadget asked.

Dee threw her arms around Chip form behind, looked over his shoulder at Gadget and said, “Take a wild guess.”

“You need our help?” Dale ventured. The others looked at him. “What?”

“I just couldn’t stand being away form my Jiho’gwais any longer!” Dee said as she snuggled her cheek against Chip’s, causing him to blush considerably. “Oh, I gotta do something before I forget,” Dee said giving Chip a peck on the cheek. She walked out the door and removed a small lasso made of twine from a pocket of her jumpsuit. One by one she retrieved the pushpins she had used to climb the tree. “Nearly killing myself falling out of that tree a year ago really bothered me,” she explained to the assembled Rangers, “especially since I should have anticipated the need for tree climbing equipment earlier.”

“Did you fly here in the Banshee?” Gadget asked.

“Nah,” Dee answered as she stowed her gear, “The Banshee only has a range of about thirty miles or so. I wouldn’t even be able to get to the nearest airport since the only place I can refuel is back at the hanger. I built a single seat battery powered prop plane for this trip, it was a lot more practical than a jet.” Walking back inside she looked around, “Where’s the rest of ya’?”

“Monty and Zipper should be back soon,” Chip mentioned, “They’re out grocery shopping.”

No sooner had Chip said that than they heard the pair in question approaching. “I tell ya’, Zipper, ‘Cheese Flavored Foodstuff Product’ may look like the real thing,” Monterey was explaining, “but that’s where the similarity ends, it just doesn’t compare.”

“Hey, Monty!” Dale spoke up when the portly Aussie entered, “Look who came to visit!”

“Well I’ll be!” Monterey responded when he saw Dee, “Doohickey Hawkfeather! What brings ya’ to the big city, luv? Got a craving for more of my home cooked meals?” he joked.

“Oh yeah, there’s nothing a woman likes more than a guy that’ll cook for her!” she jested, then grabbing a hold of Chip, “Actually I just needed some more of this hunk of a ‘munk!”

“All we need is Foxglove to come visit Dale and we’d ‘ave ourselves a veritable cornucopia of affection,” Monterey whispered to Zipper.

“I’m not interrupting a case at the moment am I?” Dee asked Chip out of the blue.

“No,” he answered disappointedly, “things have been kinda’ slow the past couple days.”

“So you’d be free to show a country girl some of the sites?”

Chip liked the sound of that, taking Dee on a private VIP tour of the city, “Well, I suppose...”

“Golly, that’s a great idea!” Gadget interrupted, “We can show you all the places where we’ve helped to make the city a better place... Oh, and I can show you my old home by the airport.”

Neither Chip or Dee felt up to explaining that they would have preferred to be alone on such an excursion and soon found themselves boarding the Ranger Wing with the others. Due to lack of seating space Dee wound up on Chip’s lap, not that either protested the arrangement. The first sight on the improvised itinerary was the abandoned bomber that Gadget had called home before joining up with the others.

“After getting moved out I hadn’t really given this place a second thought,” Gadget explained as she showed Dee around, “Until the ‘incident’ that is. After that the others insisted I find someplace else to work on certain projects.”

“The ‘incident’?” Dee asked, wondering what could have justified the move.

“She tried reproducing that jet fuel you use for the Banshee,” Chip explained.

“Yeah, the whole place smelled like burnt fur for a week!” Monterey elaborated, “My fur!”

“Well, Monty, at least you didn’t complain about being too warm,” Gadget mentioned.

“And it did all grow back... eventually,” Dale added.

“I’d never been so embarrassed in my life!” Monterey continued, “It was even worse than the time I got m’tail caught in a door.”

“What would be so embarrassing about that?” Dee ventured.

“I was, um... wearing a dress at the time... and it was in a bar full of men... and the door was stuck- it took an hour to get my tail out.” Dale began giggling at the thought of Monterey in a dress, and the others were all a little surprised, in all the time they’d been together he had never told them that story.

“Why were you wearing a dress in a bar?” Gadget asked innocuously.

“What is this?” Monterey responded defensively, “The bloomin’ Spanish Inquisition?”

Dale suddenly began looking around expectantly.

“What’s the matter with you?” Chip asked.

“Aren’t guys in red cloaks supposed to pop out of the walls?” Dale responded.

“Dale, this isn’t a Monty Python routine,” Gadget answered. Leading Dee over to a table strewn with pieces-parts Gadget continued with the tour, “After seeing your plane I was inspired to start working on a jet of my own. Of course I haven’t had as much time as I’d like to work on it because up until recently we were really busy, but I’ve already built a working mock up.” Gadget handed Dee a miniature aircraft that had been sitting on the table, and as Dee examined it Gadget continued, “Given the volatility of the fuel I figured it would be safer to work out design problems this way rather than find out I’d done something wrong during the maiden flight of the actual aircraft.”

“Wish I’d thought of that,” Dee muttered as she remembered the disastrous first (and only) flight of the Screaming Eagle, the predecessor of the substantially more successful Banshee. “I suppose you’re aware of how extremely impractical something like this is. I hadn’t even thought of that until after I’d gotten the Banshee built. In fact, the only reason I keep it is for the sheer thrill.”

“I know. I just can’t resist a challenge,” Gadget admitted as she took the model back form Dee. Making some minor preparations she readied it for a demonstration. “Ok everyone, stand around where Dee is, that way nobody will get hurt.”

The others congregated around Gadget’s dark furred double as a fuse was lit. In a second the model flashed into motion as it’s miniature engine ignited. It flew in a circular path inside the cavernous fuselage.

“It’ll be running out of fuel soon,” Gadget mentioned, “then I can catch it with the net.” The distinctive sound of the engine came to a halt, “Just a few more laps,” Gadget mentioned as she readied her foot over a pedal on the floor. “Now!” she said as she depressed the pedal. Nothing happened. “Uh-oh.”

“What ‘uh-oh’?” Monterey asked on the verge of panic.

“Oh! There it goes!” Gadget declared as the net shot up from the floor. The top of the net’s frame deflected the tiny jet causing it to spiral out of control. When it winged a cable that suspended a piece of equipment overhead she calmly observed, “That’s not good.”

The cable snapped. Everyone scattered. The weight smashed into the metal plates that comprised the floor, causing the one Monterey was on to launch him through the air. He went crashing into a pile of abandoned parts a moment before the tiny jet glided to a rest on his stomach.

As Gadget recovered the model jet Chip helped Monterey to get back on his feet. “As I recall, something like this happened to me the last time I was here,” Monterey mentioned as he brushed himself off.

When it was clear that no one was seriously hurt, Dee began investigating underneath the upturned floor plating (she never could resist exploring hidden places). Right away a small box caught her attention. From the accumulation of dust it was clear it had been undisturbed for some time. Dee set her prize up on the floor then lifted herself out after it.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter One continued...

“Hey, Dee, what did you find?” Chip asked when he saw her emerge from below.

“A box!” she declared over dramatically.

“Hey, Gadget,” Dee called, “Would this belong to you or your dad?”

“What is it?” Gadget asked after checking her tiny plane for damage.

“A box!” Chip declared in imitation of Dee.

“Huh, I don’t remember it,” Gadget mentioned as she walked over to investigate, “I suppose it could’ve belonged to dad. Let’s see what’s inside.”

Dee lifted open the top of the box and began to remove it’s contents. “Ok, le’s see... we got a picture,” she said removing an old photograph and handing it to the others, “and... some folded pieces of paper.”

“She sure is pretty,” Dale remarked of the young mouse in the photo.

“I wonder who she is?” Gadget added when she got hold of it.

Chip began to unfold the papers Dee had handed him, “Maybe whatever’s in these papers will explain that.” He quickly looked it over and realized what it was, “Uh, Gadget?”

“What is it, Chip?” she asked.

“It’s a letter, for you... from your father,” Chip explained.

Everyone’s attention was riveted on Gadget as she took the letter. She began to read it aloud for the sake of the others since she felt she didn’t have any reason to hide anything form them. “Hello, Gadget,” she started, “I wish I would have had the chance to tell you this in person, but if you’re reading this then it wasn’t meant to be. I was going to tell you when you were old enough, but... I hadn’t been completely honest to you about your mother, and for that I’m sorry. It’s probably best to start at the beginning:

“A while before you were born I was traveling across the country in the Screaming Eagle. I was heading south out of Buffalo and was planning on going over the Allegheny National Forest, but I developed some engine trouble and had to set down in a town called Salamanca. It wasn’t long after I began looking over the engine that I was approached by a very beautiful young native... actually that’s putting it mildly, I forgot my own name after I saw her, but I digress... When she offered to help I couldn’t bring myself to say no so I let her take a look at the engine.

“I honestly didn’t expect much from her, the odds of a young lady in a backwoods community like that being able to repair a plane as advanced as the Screaming Eagle were astronomical. She looked the engine over intently then said, “Gimme a wrench.” When I hesitated she explained what was wrong, detailed how she planned to repair it and finished with, “Now gimme a wrench!” Before I knew it I was handing her my tools. And I didn’t regret it, when she was done the Screaming Eagle was sounding better than before I started the trip!

“When I asked her what she wanted in the way of payment she explained that she wanted out of town. I told her that really wasn’t an option (I still don’t know why I said that, though). She reached into the engine, I heard a ‘clunk’, then she turned to me with her hand still in the engine and calmly stated that in the time it would take me to come over to drag her away form the plane she could cripple it, and that unless I wanted to spend the night with my head in the engine trying to find out what she’d done I’d better take her with me! I couldn’t believe it! That was exactly the same type of stunt I would’ve pulled! I was in love! While we were flying over the Forest she explained that she was having problems with her ex-husband’s family and had wanted to make herself scarce until they cooled down. When we settled down here she let her family know about where she was in case they needed to get in touch with her.

“You already know about our courtship from there, I didn’t think there was any reason you shouldn’t have known about that. Of course, before long, you were born. It was about two weeks later that she got a letter from her mother back on the reservation. Up until then she hadn’t told me she had a son. She’d left him with her mother before she’d planned on leaving (as it happens this was earlier that same day we met). Her mother was in bad shape and your mother’s ex was demanding custody of their boy. She wasn’t about to accept that considering the bad blood between her and her in-laws, so she decided it was time to head back. I wanted to go with her in case there was any trouble. But she brought up two problems with that: if there was going to be trouble she didn’t want you anywhere near it, and if we left you in someone else's care while we were gone there was the chance you’d grow up without either parent.

“I know I had absolutely no idea just how bad things could’ve gotten but from what she had told me I agreed that getting you involved would have been a bad idea. And I don’t want you to think that she didn’t care about you any less than your half-brother, I wouldn’t have questioned a single tear she cried when she kissed you goodbye. When she left she told me that she’d get back in touch if she could. I never heard from her again so I assumed the worst. I guess the real reason I never told you about this was because I was afraid there might be too much of your mother in you, that you’d get it into your head to go looking for her and that I’d never hear from you again.

“As you got older you developed an idealized picture of your mother. I could never bring myself to destroy that fantasy, especially considering how much joy it brought you. I also didn’t want to take the chance someone else would either, so I never told anyone else about all this, not even Monterey Jack. I told him all the same lies I told you. I would never have done anything to hurt you, and if this has caused you any pain I’m sorry. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.” A tear slowly rolled down Gadget’s face as she finished, “Love, Dad.”

Monterey looked at the picture, than turned it over. “Uh, Dee, luv... what was your mother’s name?” he asked quietly.

“Amanda,” Dee answered.

“Did she happen to look anything like this?” Monterey asked handing Dee the photograph.

Dee looked at the photo for a moment, then flipped it over where the name ‘Amanda’ was written. Turning the picture back over she gave it a better look. Dee nodded her head slowly.

Gadget had seen this exchange and intervened, “We couldn’t have the same mother, Dee’s only two months younger than me, that would’ve meant my mother left when she was seven months pregnant... I don’t think that would’ve been a wise thing to do. Besides, if she was still alive, why didn’t she get back in touch with my dad?”

“We’re one year and two months apart,” Dee corrected, “You were born in January and I was born in March the following year.”

“Hmm, I must’ve just been thinking of the months,” Gadget thought aloud.

“And... I guess I can explain the rest of that,” Dee added, “Last year when we got to talking about our fathers it got me wondering about what mine was really like, so after you all left I decided to talk to George about him... you know, the historian? Anyhow, he explained that my parents had sort of a ‘love-hate relationship’... though he never knew what my mother saw in him worth loving. But there were plenty of reasons to hate him, and no end of people who felt that way... he was ignorant, selfish, and an absolute coward. Not long after Bob was born my parents had a serious falling out, George didn’t know the details but apparently mom pissed off her in-laws big time and had to leave.

“Gramma had a lot of influence on the reservation and really wasn’t someone anyone wanted to mess with, so mom felt Bob would be safer with her than if she took him with her. However, gramma got sick and wasn’t in the best position to care for a young child, so rather than my father winding up with custody, my mother returned to take care of him. My parents eventually patched up their differences and got back together, that’s where I came in. Their new relationship didn’t last long though, my mother threw him out three months into her pregnancy. Anyhow, shortly after I was born my dad and a couple of his cronies ganged up on some guy in a bar and really messed him up. This guy’s brothers weren’t happy about the situation and were looking for revenge. When dad’s friends skipped town that left him alone to face the consequences of his actions, which he definitely didn’t have the courage to do, so he ran away... and hasn’t been seen since.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why she didn’t get in touch with my dad,” Gadget responded, now accepting that she shared more with Dee than their appearance and mechanical aptitude.

“George told me that when my mom came back to take care of my brother despite the problems with her in-laws she wound up with the moral high ground,” Dee answered, “so what she lacked in protection from gramma she made up for in the respect she earned from everyone else. I imagine if anyone found out she’d had a child with someone else while she was gone it would have made her appear a lot less... noble. The two of you showing up probably wouldn’t have been the safest thing in the world to do, for you or her. And when my grandmother died mom had to take over some of her responsibilities which meant she couldn’t just pack up and leave.”

“Well, couldn’t she have sent him a letter explaining that?” Gadget asked.

“I don’t know,” Dee admitted glumly, “I guess she felt that since they couldn’t get back together it would be easier on him to think she was... dead.”

“I don’t mean to sound disrespectful,” Monterey offered, “but if that’s the case it seems she didn’t really put a great deal of thought into it.”

“She names her children Thingamabob, Gadget, and Doohickey, and got back together with her ex despite the fact he was an absolute loser,” Dee responded, “I think it’s safe to say she wasn’t exactly playing with a full deck.”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter One continued...

There was an awkward silence, which was broken by Dale as he broached what was, for him, a perfectly logical question, “Does this mean that Luwhiney might actually be Gadget’s sister too?”

“I don’t think our mother got around that much,” Dee answered.

Gadget took the picture of her mother from Dee and gave it a better look. Her father had never shown her any pictures of her mother so she had created an image of her from his descriptions, the picture she held in her hand didn’t entirely match the picture she held in her mind, but it was close. She would have said something if it weren’t for the unusual mixture of emotions she was feeling.

“So... sis?” Dee ventured, “You feel up to getting back to the tour?”

It took a moment for Gadget to realize Dee was speaking to her, being addressed as a ‘sis’ was a new experience for her. “Oh, sure!” she responded cheerfully.

“Are you sure?” Chip asked out of concern.

“Of course! I don’t see why this should ruin my sister’s visit.” Gadget placed the photo and letter back in the box and set it on her worktable, “Everybody ready to go?”

The Rangers and Dee boarded the Ranger Wing and returned to the tour. Throughout the duration nothing was said concerning the recent revelation regarding Gadget and Dee’s parentage. It was nearly sundown when they stopped in at a small rodent operated bar and grille across from the park the Rangers called home. Finally having a chance to rest, it was only a matter of time before the two ladies began discussing the matter that had been on both their minds.

“I think it’s a shame my mother didn’t get back together with your dad,” Dee mentioned to Gadget, “Maybe I wouldn’t have been such a hell raising harlot if I’d grown up with a responsible father figure ‘round the house.”

“I wonder what my Seneca name would’ve been?” Gadget asked rhetorically.

“Probably woulda’ been ‘she invents’,” Dee responded.

“But that’s already your name,” Gadget pointed out.

“You’re the older sibling, you would’ve gotten the name first,” corrected Dee, “I guess mine woulda’ been ‘she also invents’!”

“Imagine what that would’ve been like for Bob if you did both have the same name in Seneca,” Chip brought up, “‘Hi, I’m Bob... this is my sister Ye’shöni’... and this is my other sister Ye’shöni’.’”

“Aw, you remembered my name!” Dee cheered as she gave Chip a loving gaze.

As Chip began to blush, Dale spoke up, “Gee, I wonder what the two of you would’ve invented if you’d grown up together?”

Dee reluctantly drew her gaze away from Chip as she responded, “Well, given the tendency of some of our inventions to go horribly awry it’s probably for the best that we didn’t have that chance... there’s no telling what kind of unspeakable havoc we might’ve caused!” The thought prompted Monterey to quickly down another shot of cheese sauce.

A slightly inebriated weasel sauntered up to the table where the Rangers were seated. “You the Rescue Rangers?” he loudly asked with a slight hint of malice in his voice.

“That’s us!” Monterey responded, “What can we do for ya’?”

“Nuthin’!” he shot back, “I just thought I’d pay ya’ back for what you did to my cousin!”

“What are you talking about?” Chip asked indignantly.

“I’m talkin’ bout how you sent him down the sewer when you busted up his gang!” the weasel responded in an increasingly bellicose manner.

“It was his own fault for having been part of that gang!” Dale replied. The drunk didn’t take that assertion well and started to go around the table to get at Dale.

He only got a few steps before Chip stood to block his way. “I think you’ve had a little too much to drink!” he stated as he looked up at his adversary. The drunkard grabbed Chip by the collar of his jacket and lifted him off his feet. Monterey and Dee immediately rose from their seats, shortly after which several of the weasel’s companions rose to their feet.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Two

Foxglove was waiting patiently at the Rescue Ranger’s headquarters, hanging from the ceiling, when she heard the Ranger Wing return. When she’d arrived and discovered everyone had left she was concerned they’d taken on a case and that Dale had forgotten to leave her a note. She hated to miss another date with her sweetie, even if it was just to watch some TV.

“I still can’t believe you did that!” she heard Chip exclaim.

“They weren’t about to let us out of there without a fight and you know it!” an unfamiliar female replied. Chip walked through the front door followed by what appeared to be Gadget (had she been soaking for an hour in used motor oil).

“I’m just surprised we got out of there in as good a shape as we did,” Monterrey stated as he passed the threshold.

“Most of us anyway,” Dale responded as he entered. Foxglove was horrified to see her beloved walk in with a black eye, she immediately let go of her perch and fluttered down to him.

“Golly, Dale, how many more times can I say I’m sorry!” Gadget said as she followed Dale inside.

“Dale! What happened?” Foxglove asked, landing at his side.

“Gadget punched me,” he responded.

“Whatever for?!” Foxglove demanded of Gadget, astonished that such an incident could take place.

“It was an accident,” Gadget answered, “I thought he was one of those drunks.” From her expression it was clear Foxglove was still very much in the dark about the whole occurrence.

“We stopped in at a bar across the park and encountered some blokes who weren’t particularly happy to see us,” Monterrey pointed out, “One of ‘em had Chip by the collar and was ready to clean ‘is clock. Now we weren’t about to let that happen so we all got up to join the fun!”

“Of course Gadget did try to stop things from getting out of hand,” Chip interjected in Gadget’s defense.

“Yeah, but when she said ‘There’s no need to resort to physical violence’,” Monterrey continued, “Dee here responded with ‘I beg to differ!’ and planted her fist right in the guy’s stomach! It, uh, gets kinda’ confusing after that.”

“That’s why, when somebody grabbed my arm from behind, I assumed it was someone other than Dale!” Gadget finished as she returned from the kitchen with a cold compress for him.

“I still don’t know why he’d do something like that,” Dee stated, “That’s not exactly the smartest thing to do in a fight.”

“Well that’s because my cutie’s a lover, not a fighter,” Foxglove responded, “Isn’t that right?” she added as she tenderly wrapped her wings around Dale.

“Uh, sure,” Dale answered nervously.

“Now let’s find you a monster movie on television to take your mind off of all this senseless violence,” she said leading Dale over towards the couch.

With the possibility of being rudely interrupted all but nil, Gadget had an opportunity to learn more about her mother. Dee was more than willing to help her ‘new’ sister learn about her extended family. With nothing else to do and themselves being intrigued by the subject, Monterrey, Chip, and Zipper each took a place at the table and listened in.

Before long, Gadget was able to give voice to one of the realizations that had previously eluded expression, “Golly, this morning when I woke up I was the only person in my family... now I find out I have an older brother and a younger sister!”

“Not to mention a niece!” Monterrey pointed out. A moment after having said that he remembered that the subject of Dee’s daughter, Raven, was not something to be mentioned in mixed company. The look he received from her sent a chill down his spine, especially now that he’d had a chance to see what she was capable of doing when angered. “Sorry,” Monterrey sighed, “I wasn’t thinking.”

“No kidding,” Dee remarked coldly. No one elaborated further on that particular topic.

When Foxglove and Dale’s movie was finished Foxglove had an opportunity to meet Dee. Despite her previous disastrous encounters with bats, Dee got along quite well with her. Monterrey even brought up the possibility of the two ladies taking Chip and Dale out on a double date, both thought it was an excellent suggestion.

“How about tonight?” Dee suggested, then looking at Chip longingly, “There is a full moon out after all.”

“Oh, I think that’s wonderful!” Foxglove chimed in, then turning to Dale, “What do you think?”

“Uh, yeah, wonderful,” Dale stammered nervously.

===

High atop the roof of the Metropolitan Museum two small figures made their way through an open window. The window wasn’t meant to open, but wind, heavy rains (and a still unsolved phenomenon that tilted all the buildings in the city a few years back) had worked the window slightly out of place. As they had planned, there was no one about save the occasional security guard patrolling the corridors. The two intruders moved without concern of the guards’ presence since they couldn’t be seen, unless the guards suddenly became capable of flight. Making their way along the top of the elaborate decorative friezes, far above the guards’ heads, the mouse and bat soon reached their destination.

“Now, unless they moved things around since yesterday,” the adolescent mouse stated, “it should be right around this corner.”

“Right where we... whoa!” the bat proclaimed as he caught sight of other intruders.

“That ain’t right!” the rodent hissed as she scampered closer to get a better view. Her winged companion followed as quickly as he could given he wasn’t airborne. From their perch overlooking the display they watched a group of assorted animals approach the object of their interest.

“There it is, boys, the Delronne Diamond!” the impeccably dressed obese feline proclaimed, “I could sell all of you and still not come anywhere near affording that rock... if it were on sale that is.”

“You’re not going to sell us, are you, boss?” the mole mumbled.

“Oh, of course not, Mole,” his employer responded condescendingly, “I’d never be able to find anyone dumb enough to buy any of you!”

“That’s good,” the myopic minion replied, “I think.”

“How are we supposed to get it?” the rat inquired.

“Simple,” the large feline answered, “you’ll stand on each others shoulders and the one on top will lift himself onto the display, use the glass cutter to get through the top, grab the diamond, and toss it down to me.”

“I think that’s Fat Cat and his gang,” the mouse whispered, “I’ve heard Tammy’s story of how the Rescue Rangers saved her from them enough times.” Watching the lackeys climb upon one another only to come tumbling down like fools cinched it, “Yep, that’s them.”

“And it looks like they’re after our rock,” added the bat.

“Can’t have that, we’ll have to beat them to it,” the mouse stated as she pulled out their own glass cutter from her trench coat.

Watching his accomplices fail once again to balance, Fat Cat began to lose his patience, “Morons! Mole, stand there! Mepps, on Mole! Snout, on Mepps! Wart, take this glass cutter and GET UP THERE!!”

The bat dropped down to the display as his companion descended down a rope. As the mouse quickly set to work getting through the glass Wart began to climb over the edge.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to be here!” Wart stated as he noticed others had beaten him to the goal.

“Neither are you!” the bat replied, “Now scram!”

“Why should I?” the lizard asked indignantly.

“Because I’m a vampire and I’m hungry!”

“You’re a vampire?” Wart asked skeptically, “Prove it!”

The bat, his broad grin revealing long razor sharp incisors, approached menacingly. Wart began to retreat, not sure if he wanted to know how his opponent planned to prove his point.

“Stay back!” Wart warned as he brandished the glass cutter. The bat took to the air and flew over Wart’s head. Swinging the glass cutter wildly in his panic, Wart lost his balance and fell off the display, crashing into his companions below.

“Fangs, I got it!” the mouse yelled as she climbed out of the display with the diamond. Fangs came about in the air, clutched the stone with his feet and lifted it up to the ledge.

“THEY’VE GOT MY DIAMOND!” Fat Cat bellowed, “STOP THEM!”

“How?” Snout asked, “It’s not like we can fly.” Fat Cat merely steamed over having lost his prize as he watched the pair escape.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Two continued...

As they made their way back to their point of entry another pair, a snake and spider, approached form the outside.

“I can’t believe we couldn’t find a way in from the ground!” the snake mumbled, “I hate having to climb buildings.”

“Well it wasn’t any easier for me to lift you, Bud,” the spider responded, “you’re not exactly light as a feather you know.”

“Quiet, Lou!” Bud hissed, “I hear someone coming!” They ducked out of sight as they listened to the two other intruders approach the window.

“That certainly was interesting,” Fangs stated as he emerged from the museum.

“Yep,” the mouse agreed laconically, “Now let’s get this over with and get this thing back inside where it’s supposed to be.” She searched through the sky for the full moon. What she found wasn’t what she wanted, “Where the hell did these clouds come from?”

“Doesn’t look like there’ll be a break any time soon,” Fangs added, looking skywards.

“I can’t cast the spell without the moon,” the mouse protested.

“May as well drop the diamond back into the museum,” Fangs mentioned, “and try again next month.” When his companion didn’t respond he addressed her directly, “Raven!”

“I heard you,” she answered, “We can’t put this back now. First, Fat Cat will just grab it. Second, if we do put it back when and where the humans are sure to get it, they’ll have it under better security by next month... we’d never be able to get near it.”

“So we keep it?!”

“Just till the next full moon,” Raven lamented, “weather permitting.”

“Ok, so where do we keep it?”

“Well, I sure as hell can’t take it home,” Raven thought aloud, “Guess you’ll have to keep it at the church. You head on back, I’ll meet you there.”

“You’re taking it with you?”

“Maybe there’ll be a break in the clouds before I get there.”

“Hey! They’ve got our diamond!” Bud whispered to Lou.

“Let’s get ‘em!” Lou declared pushing his bowler forward on his head, just before being pulled back by his companion.

Bud looked around the relief and watched as Raven and Fangs parted company. “We’ll follow the mouse and grab the stone form her when she’s alone,” he explained to his partner. The attempt to follow Raven seemed to fail completely when she ducked into the shadows... and didn’t come out.

“Hey, Bud, where did she go?” Lou asked as they reached where they’d seen her last.

“Don’t know,” Bud responded, he flicked his tongue in the air, “But I’ve got her scent, c’mon.”

Beside the massive stone Methodist church where Fangs resided, Tammy waited for her two friends to return from the museum. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with their breaking in but felt that as long as the diamond was left in the museum where the proper authorities could recover it there wouldn’t be a problem.

“Hey, Tammy,” she heard Raven say. Looking around, Tammy was unable to find the owner of the voice.

“All right, you got me,” Tammy conceded, “Where are you?”

“Right here,” Raven stated as she emerged from the shadow of the bushes.

“Do you have any idea how unnerving that is?” the young squirrel asked rhetorically.

“You expect me to walk the whole way from the museum completely visible to all those stray cats?” Raven responded, “Making you a little ‘on edge’ is a small price to pay for staying alive.” Raven thought for a moment. “You sure you don’t wanna know how to do that?” she asked playfully, “You could spend more time with Chip and he’d never even know it!”

“No, magic is your hobby, not mine,” she answered, “So, did it work?”

“There were a couple of problems,” Raven confessed, “First, Fat Cat and his gang were there for the diamond too. Second,” Raven removed the diamond from her trench coat, “even though we got it, we can’t use it yet.”

“You said you weren’t going to take it from the museum!” Tammy responded in disbelief.

“We weren’t!” Raven defended, “But by the time we got back to the roof these damn clouds had moved in.”

“Then you should’ve put it back! Like you planned!”

“If we had it would’ve been placed under better security by the next full moon. We wouldn’t be able to get at it,” then Raven added, “Besides, if we put it back, Fat Cat would get it. You’re the one who wants to be a Rescue Ranger, do you think they’d just let someone like that just snatch it up?”

“You hear that, Bud?” Lou quietly asked, “She’s a witch. How are we supposed to get the diamond from her now?”

“Simple,” Bud responded as he picked up a rock with his tail. He took careful aim as the girls continued to argue, then let go. The stone hit Raven square in the head, knocking her cold.

“Raven!” Tammy shouted as she knelt down by her unconscious companion. Her concern turned to fear as Raven’s assailants emerged from the bushes. Before she could react she found herself being lassoed with spider silk.

Arriving beside the two helpless girls, Lou picked up the diamond from where Raven dropped it, “Boy, Freddie’s sure going to be glad to get this! Hey, maybe she’ll give us a reward.”

“Eh, you know Freddie, she’s never glad about anything,” Bud responded, “and she’s never given us a reward before...” then, looking towards Tammy, “so I guess we’ll have to make due.”

“W-what are you going to do?” Tammy asked nervously.

“Oh, not much... just eat you,” Bud answered, licking his lips.

As Tammy attempted to loosen her bindings there were voices off in the distance, getting closer.

“Hey, Bud, hear that?” Lou asked.

“Yeah,” Bud responded disappointedly, “We got what we came for. Let’s go.”

While Bud and Lou slithered and scuttled off Tammy continued her struggle to free herself. Finally managing to wriggle free, she immediately set to work trying to raise her friend. “C’mon, Raven, this is no time to take a nap!” she pleaded as she heard the voices approaching. Tammy began to regret not asking her friend to teach her an invisibility spell. She also kept hearing her mother repeat, That little witch is nothing but trouble! in her mind.

Raven eventually began to stir, her head badly aching from the attack. Unfortunately, she was in no position to move when a scraggly looking cat in a knit cap and tattered vest came meandering out from under a bush, his nose close to the ground. “I think we’re getting close,” the cat mumbled. He was followed by others whom Tammy immediately recognized as members of Fat Cat’s gang.

“Ain’t that her on the ground?” Snout pointed out.

“What?” Mepps weakly responded as he looked up form the ground.

“That’s her all right!” Wart confirmed.

Tammy grabbed the glass cutter from Raven’s coat, it was the closest thing to a weapon she could lay her paws on, “Stay back!”

“C’mon, sweetheart, put down the glass cutter before you hurt yourself,” Snout commanded condescendingly as he approached. Tammy swung her weapon at the thugs but, being outnumbered four to one, was quickly disarmed.

“Mr. Fat Cat is very upset with you for stealing his diamond,” Wart mentioned to the barely conscious Raven as Mepps tossed her over his shoulder. The group left the churchyard carrying her and dragging Tammy along kicking and screaming.

Where’s Fangs?! Tammy thought to herself, He’s always with Raven! Where the hell is that winged rat! Oh, Chip... where are you?

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Three

On the opposite end of the city from the park and Methodist church, a freight train slowly came to a shuddering halt. Once it was clear it wasn’t going to move further anytime in the near future, two stowaways disembarked form the undercarriage of one of the weatherbeaten cars. Careful to avoid the prying eyes of humans, the two massive canines carefully looked about from behind the metal wheels.

Looking to his companion, the bolder of the pair stated, in imitation of Sean Connery, “We are pilgrims in an unholy land!” Though the movie character he emulated was referring to a Nazi party rally in 1930's Berlin, to a couple of wolves born and bred in the wild the rail yards of a large city were every bit as ‘unholy’.

“Honk,” his companion replied in agreement.

Sticking to the shadows and trusting that city dwellers wouldn’t immediately recognize them as wolves, they made their way through the city. Traveling through the back alleys was fairly easy as every stray cat and dog they encountered quickly made room for them to pass. Their greatest concern was from the few humans who they encountered in such dark and close quarters, but avoiding eye contact helped to lessen the possibility of an incident.

“H-E-E-E-LP!” the wolves’ ears perked up, “SOMEBODY, H-E-E-E-E-LP!” There was something vaguely familiar about the grating southern accent attached to that barking. The pair approached the entrance of the alley to investigate. A pinkish-white blur, barely discernible as a poodle, shot past their field of view. The bolder wolf stuck his head out of the alley and nearly had it taken off by the doberman and two mutts who were in pursuit of the poodle.

Off in the direction from whence the four canines had come a man was calling out, “Somebody stop those dogs! They’re after Canina Lafur!” The bolder wolf, with his companion tagging behind, took off down the street after the procession. Dodging the occasional human, the two began to gain on their quarry. When the domesticated dogs turned down an alley the two wild canids followed. They quickly came upon a dead end where the three hunters had cornered their prey. There was no mistaking it, the poodle was indeed Canina LuFur, star of stage, screen, and occasional dog food commercial.

“I must admit, you’re the most tenacious autograph hounds I’ve ever met!” Canina nervously stated.

“We’re not after your autograph, honey,” the doberman chuckled.

“Oh yeah?” Canina growled, “Well I’ve taken on bigger mongrels than you in my day!” Her assailants weren’t impressed by her threat, in fact they laughed at her.

“I was afraid you weren’t going to put up a fight,” the doberman responded condescendingly.

“And I’ve killed and eaten things larger than all of you put together!” the lead wolf snarled.

“And who the hell are you?” the doberman remarked turning to face those who were foolish enough to interrupt his fun. He found himself facing two canines, each of which was at least a third larger than himself.

“I’m a grey wolf,” the wolf responded in a Clint Eastwood voice, “the most powerful wild canid in the world. Now you gotta ask yourself a question... Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya’... punk?”

“Think you can take me, nature boy?” As far as the doberman knew, wolves were nothing more than overgrown dogs that lived the high life in the zoo... or in the woods eating little pigs in straw houses. He didn’t think they would be any match for someone who had grown up on the mean streets of the city. Needless to say, he was grossly misinformed about what a wolf was capable of.

With the limited lighting available in the alley the two wolves looked as if they’d come straight from a horror movie. The doberman’s associates weren’t quite as reassured by their leader’s arrogance as they usually would be, and they showed it as they began to slowly back away with tails tucked.

“This is your only chance to leave this alley in one piece,” the wolf warned.

“Really,” the doberman laughed, “I was about to say the same thing.” Since neither wolf had advanced towards him he began to think that they were simply blowing hot air, trying to scare him off. One loud bark, he felt, would be enough to get them to back down. He was wrong. The instant he moved to bark the wolf attacked.

The short coat and thin skin of a domesticated dog were poor defense against long sharp fangs driven by jaws powerful enough to shatter bone. The thick coat and tough skin of a wolf proved more than adequate against the short dull teeth of the domesticated dog. The fight was nearly over before it had begun, with the doberman squealing like a hurt pup and limping off as quickly as he could leaving a trail of bloody paw prints in his wake. His two companions were already gone, having left trails of submissive piddle in their wake.

Canina wasn’t sure what to expect at this point, wasn’t sure whether to be thankful of being rescued or fearful of being dinner.

“I must apologize, ma’am,” the victorious wolf responded with unexpected poise and civility, “for your having been witness to such barbaric behavior, but I was left with little other choice.” Clearing his throat as he sat, he continued, “My name is Romulus, and this is my brother, Honker. May I have the honor of your name?”

She was surprised, this certainly was not the behavior she would have expected from a ‘wild’ dog. And now that concern for her safety was no longer foremost in her mind she began to notice how handsome he appeared, in a rugged sort of way. “I am Canina LaFur,” she introduced holding out her paw, “star of stage, screen, and occasional dog food commercial.”

“Miss LaFur,” Romulus said taking her paw and giving it a reverent kiss, “I have been a fan of yours for years and years a-... well, ever since we got cable.”

“Oh, well thank you,” Canina responded, more flattered than is usual by a fan’s attention. “Did you come from the local zoo?” she asked, assuming that could be the only way a wolf would, for one thing be in the city, and for another be so well mannered (not to mention have cable).

“No, we are from the forests of southwestern New York,” Romulus corrected, “We came to the city in search of one of our pack members. She came here to visit friends, and though she is quite capable, being a conscientious Alpha I am naturally concerned about the well being of all my pack members. Besides, she’s the only one who knows how to repair the TV.”

“Honk,” Honker affirmed.

“Did he just, uh... honk?” Canina asked in surprise.

“Y-yes,” Romulus confirmed, “He swallowed a horn when he was just a pup, he’s been unable to speak or howl ever since... just honks.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she offered.

“Honk-honk,” Honker shrugged in a ‘that’s life’ way.

“Maybe he should see a vet,” Canina suggested.

Both wolves looked at each other in a worried way. Then Romulus explained, “Well, the reason we’re an endangered species is because of the humans... and we’ve heard what vets routinely do to canines.” At that, Honker stuck his front paws between his hind legs in a protective manner. “We prefer to have as little contact with humans as possible,” Romulus finished.

“I’m beginning to see why one shouldn’t be too dependent on humans,” Canina huffed, “My handler was giving me a walk when those three lowlifes came after me... he just panicked, the only thing I could do was run. Well, I suppose I should get back to the set before they recast my role with some undeserving understudy.”

“Given what has just happened I’m sure you would understand that we would prefer that you have an escort,” Romulus offered.

“How can I refuse?” Canina accepted. Staying to the alleys (at Romulus’s request) they made their way to the set of Canina’s most recent cinematic endeavor.

“Now if you two boys would wait here,” Canina suggested, “I’ll see what I can do about making the two of you less conspicuous.” Romulus and Honker bided their time as they awaited her return, not quite sure what she had in mind.

“Now this is the best thing I could think of,” Canina said when she returned, pulling out two collars with tags she continued, “These are the type of collars worn by guard dogs that work for the studio, this way it’ll look like you belong here and aren’t on the loose or something.”

“Hey, didn’t you do that in the movie ‘Where Beagles Dare’?” Romulus asked.

“Where do you think I got with the idea?” Canina responded. Never having worn collars before the two wolves had a great deal of trouble putting them on (it also didn’t help that the collars were designed for dogs with thinner necks). With some doing, Canina managed to wrangle the collars into place around both their necks. “Now to see if it works,” she said, “Mind escorting me to my trailer?”

The three managed to arrive at Canina’s trailer with little notice, due primarily to the fact that Canina couldn’t be seen between her two hulking bodyguards.

“That went better than I thought it would,” she confessed as they entered her lavishly styled ‘dog house’ trailer.

“I’m not sure I could ever get used to being in a city,” Romulus mentioned, “It’s just too creepy with all these humans wandering about.” Honker shuddered at the thought. “I mean, watching large numbers of them on TV is one thing: they’re so small, have no scent. But here: they’re large, they stink, and they’re everywhere!”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Three continued...

“How are we ever going to replace her?” a person outside asked, “Her stand-in’s not ready for this.” Whoever it was walked up the trailer’s stairs. Both wolves froze. When the door opened Canina recognized the director, and he (eventually) noticed her, “CANINA!”

“BARK!” Canina responded (actually she said ‘Frank’, but that’s not what he heard).

“We thought we’d lost you girl!” he knelt down to hug her, “Where did you come from?” Canina placed a paw on Romulus’s shoulder. “Oh, they must’ve found you and brought you back! I’ll have someone bring them a couple steaks! It’s great to have you back, the producer almost had a heart attack when he heard what happened!” The director departed to spread the good news.

“Honk!” Honker stated.

“Yer right,” Romulus agreed, “Not all humans are bad, we’re getting free meat after all!”

“You understood what he said?” Canina asked.

“Hey, if Han Solo can understand Chewbacca, I can understand Honker,” Romulus pointed out.

After enjoying their free meal, Romulus felt it was time to get back to their search.

“Is there any way I can help?” Canina offered.

“Well...,” Romulus thought for a moment, “Actually, yes, there is. You do know where the Rescue Rangers live, right?”

“Sure do!” she responded enthusiastically, “They saved my life, not to mention my career!”

“I know, they told us,” Romulus explained, “but they never explained to us where they lived... Well, not to me anyway.”

“My, they do get around don’t they.”

Romulus began to regale his screen idol with the story of how his pack assisted the Rangers in a case in the pack’s own backyard. She found it quite unusual that his pack had adopted Dee. She was also slightly disappointed to hear that Romulus had a mate, though she knew a relationship really wouldn’t work, they lived in two completely different worlds.

“If you two stay here tonight I can show you where they live when I go on my morning walk,” Canina suggested.

“Sounds good,” Romulus agreed, “I suppose Dee can keep herself out of trouble that long at least.”

==

Chip, Dee, and Dale approached the Metropolitan Museum in the Ranger Wing with Foxglove flying alongside. When the full moon had disappeared with the oncoming clouds their double date was cut short. On the way back to the Rangers’ headquarters the sound of police sirens grabbed their attention. Chip’s instincts told him to investigate but his conscience demanded that he ask his companions if they’d mind the detour. When no one objected the matter was settled and he brought the Ranger Wing about and pursued the sirens.

“Must’ve been a break in,” Dee noted as he watched the police cars come to a halt in front of the museum.

“Either that or they opened an all night doughnut shop,” Dale quipped.

“Let’s look for a way in,” Chip suggested, “We’ll check on this side. Foxglove, you go check the other.”

Upon meeting up on the far side of the building Foxglove announced her discovery, “There’s a window ajar on the top floor. I think it’s large enough for us to get through.” For some time Foxglove had been offering her assistance on some of the Rangers’ cases, it was a welcome change from her previous association with the witch Winifred (commonly referred to as ‘Freddie’, though never to her face). Everything she helped Winifred with ultimately wound up hurting somebody. But with the Rangers, everything she helped out with helped somebody, plus it gave her more chances to spend time with Dale and prove her worth to him (aside from providing him with unconditional love).

“Think this is how they got in?” Dale asked as they approached the window.

“Only if the intruders were small animals,” Chip answered.

“How do you mean?” Foxglove inquired.

“If it had been humans,” Dee started before Chip could respond, “they would’ve had it opened wider when they got through, and that would have damaged the surrounding frame.”

“From the looks of it,” Chip followed, “I’d say it was worked open gradually over time.”

“Well, if the intruders did come through here,” Dee said leaning in close to the opening, “I guess it would make these hairs evidence.”

“You’re right,” Chip agreed as he pulled out some small plastic bags and a pair of rodent sized tweezers.

After collecting the hair samples the four proceeded inside. Given the size of the building it would have taken a great deal of time to locate where the police were performing their investigation, but Foxglove was able to locate their voices and led the others to the scene. Several officers were gathered around an empty display case, each performing their respective duties of collecting and cataloging what little evidence they could find. Another officer was interviewing the museum director who, given the condition of his clothes and hair, must have been roused from bed by the news.

“How much was this diamond worth?” the officer asked.

“The Delronne Diamond was priceless,” the bewildered director answered, “It was donated to the museum at the behest of the previous owner. Before that it was handed down through his family... There was never a price tag attached to it.”

“Did he say the ‘Delronne Diamond’?” Foxglove asked.

“That’s what it sounded like,” Dee answered.

“You know something about it, Foxy?” Dale inquired.

“Yeah,” Foxglove proceeded to explain, “the reason Freddie wanted me, Bud, and Lou to collect all those things for her potion was because she didn’t know where to find the Deronne Diamond.”

“Would that have given her the powers she was after?” Chip asked.

“That’s what she thought.”

“Do you know if she’s still in jail?” Dee asked of Chip.

“I don’t remember hearing anything about her being released,” Chip answered after some thought, “but she could be out on parole. That’s definitely something we’ll have to check out.”

“And if she did get back together with Bud and Lou they could have gotten in through that window,” Dale pointed out.

“You’re right,” Chip said as he watched the action below intently, “Doesn’t look like there’s anything more we can do here, at least not until there are less people around. We should head back to headquarters and get a closer look at those hairs.”

When they arrived back at Rescue Rangers headquarters they found Monterrey, Gadget, and Zipper still up.

“We weren’t waiting up for you in case you were wondering,” Monterrey mentioned to them as they entered, “We know you’re responsible adults and all.”

“What?” Chip asked out of sheer confusion.

“Nothing,” Gadget responded, “So, how was your date?”

“Depends on your point of view,” Dee answered with a raised eyebrow. Chip explained about the break in at the museum and asked Gadget to help identify the hairs they’d recovered.

Examining the first set of hairs under the enormous microscope (well, enormous compared to the user), Gadget identified them, “Dee, this are your hair.”

“No,” Dee responded pointedly.

“Oh, then I guess it belongs to a mouse with the exact same color fur you have.”

“If I had been through there before it’s more likely I would’ve left this hair behind,” Dee added as she ran her fingers through her voluminous black mane. Dee thought about that for a moment. She knew her daughter may have inherited her coloring, but the chances of it being Raven’s hair seemed too small, given the kind of rodent population a city of that size must have... there were undoubtedly many more mice with dark brown fur in the area.

“Ok, Chip, lets see the other set of hairs,” Gadget instructed. Chip removed the first slide and replaced it with next. After a moment of study, Gadget proclaimed, “This looks like bat hair.”

“You’re not going to say it’s mine are you?” Foxglove joked.

“Nope, it’s too dark to be your hair, Foxglove,” Gadget answered, apparently oblivious to the humorous nature of the bat’s inference, “In fact, it doesn’t look like it belongs to any of the local bat species.”

“At least that narrows down the possibilities,” Dale suggested.

“I’m not sure how much help that could be,” Monterrey interjected, “That just means it could belong to any one of the numerous species that don’t live around here, and that’s quite a lot... it coulda’ come from a fruit bat, vampire bat...”

“Vampire!?” Dale responded with obvious concern.

“Not that kind of vampire!” Chip scolded, realizing that Dale was thinking of the ‘Dracula’ style vampire.

“Well, it’s not a fruit bat at least,” Gadget added, “But other than that, I’m stumped.”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Three continued...

“It’s getting kinda’ late,” Chip observed, “we can get back to this in the morning, right now we I think we should head off to bed.”

“Ooooh!” Dee cooed as she threw her arms around Chip, much to everyone’s amusement. Foxglove followed suit, wrapping her wings around Dale, causing him to blush every bit as much as his fellow chipmunk.

“What did I tell ya’, Zip,” Monterrey whispered to his companion, “A ‘cornucopia of affection’.” Zipper could barely suppress his own laughter.

“Don’t worry,” Dee said to her chipmunk, “I don’t wanna make you that nervous. I can sleep on the couch.”

“No,” Chip stated, “you’re our guest. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“You are the gentlemunk, aren’t you?” Dee cooed, “Wait!” she suddenly blurted out seriously, “You want me to sleep alone in the room with him?” she finished pointing distrustfully at Dale. Everyone unconsciously turned to look at him.

“I... guess I’ll be sleeping on the couch too,” Dale sighed.

“That’s ok,” Foxglove said comfortingly, “I’ll hang around outside with you.”

“No, you don’t have to,” Dale feverishly searched for an excuse, he still wasn’t as comfortable with Foxglove as Chip apparently was with Dee, “You can use my bunk!”

She was disappointed, but didn’t want to let it show, “Whatever you want, cutie!”

The two ladies adjourned to the chipmunks’ room for the night, Dee taking Chip’s lower bunk while Foxglove took the ceiling over Dale’s top bunk (close enough to catch his scent). As Dee changed out of her black jumpsuit, Foxglove struck up some conversation, “I think it was a good thing that Chip met up with you.”

“How come?”

“Well, he’s not as hard on Dale as he used to be... I haven’t seen him bonk my cutie on the head for quite a while. And neither of them has been hitting on Gadget as much,” Foxglove added.

“Really?”

“I think the reason they kept it up so much was out of competition with each other... if one of them was flirting with her the other would have to outdo him. But, since meeting you, Chip hasn’t been doing it as much, so there’s not as much competition,” Foxglove explained, “Not that I mind, it gives me more time to spend with Dale.”

“You’re welcome,” Dee laughed as she walked back to Chip’s bunk.

“Thank you,” Foxglove giggled.

As Dee sat on the bed she noticed the gold feather pendent necklace she had given Chip when they had parted over a year ago. Well, this settles the major question that’s been on my mind, she thought, he still loves me! She laid back on the bed and was pleased to discover it smelled like him.

The two chipmunks made themselves as comfortable as they could on the couch.

“Hey, Chip,” Dale whispered.

“Mm-hm?” Chip responded.

“Do you think the girls are talking about us?”

“Probably.”

“I wonder what they’re saying.”

“It’s probably best we don’t know.”

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Four

The sky in the East was beginning to show the first stirring of the coming dawn when Raven finally managed to raise herself from unconsciousness. The last thing she could remember was arguing with Tammy, which had come to a screeching halt due to a sudden impact to the back of her head (an impact which still resonated through her aching skull). Looking about she quickly realized she was being held in a cage. Beyond her prison, however, nothing lent itself to immediate recognition. The lush carpeting, potted plants, elaborate furnishings and prominently situated desk made it clear that she was in the office of someone with power and stature. And considering that the furniture was far too small for humans but too large for rodents meant that someone must be approximately the size of a domesticated cat.

“Where am I?” Raven mumbled, mostly to herself.

“Fat Cat’s office, over his casino,” Tammy answered, “This is the second time I’ve been here.”

Realizing she wasn’t alone, Raven deliberately asked the next question on her mind out loud, “What happened?”

Tammy recounted the events following Raven’s unexpected encounter with a rock. How an unidentified snake and spider made off with the diamond, nearly ate them, and left them to be captured by Fat Cat’s goons.

“I should’ve thought of that,” Raven lamented.

“Thought of what?” Tammy asked.

“My scent,” Raven answered, “I forgot that the invisibility spell doesn’t conceal my scent... it was only a matter of time before they would’ve caught up with me.”

“Do you know who the snake and spider were?” Tammy asked, hoping to better understand what they had just been through, “I think the snake’s name is ‘Bud’.”

Raven shook her head, “Not a clue. But I should have been more careful after beating Fat Cat to the diamond, I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that he would’ve had me followed.”

“Where was Fangs?” Tammy asked, finally remembering her sense of betrayal.

“We were supposed to meet up back at the church, he must’ve stopped to feed on the way.”

“Do you think he’s looking for us?”

“Don’t know. There’s probably not much he could do unless he saw us being dragged off, otherwise all he’d know is we weren’t there when he showed up.”

After a moment of silence Tammy once more spoke up, “You think you could use your magic to get us out of here?”

Raven thought for a moment, “It’d be tough. The kind of magic I use requires concentration, that ain’t easy with a splitting headache.”

“It couldn’t hurt to try,” Tammy pointed out.

Raven simply shrugged in response. Looking around, she ran through the repertoire of spells in her mind, applying their intended results to the surroundings. One eventually presented itself. “Since there’s a lock on the cage there has to be a key somewhere,” Raven mentioned.

“Are you thinking of using that ‘avatar’ spell?”

“Maybe. The problem is I’ve never been able to get it to work.”

“Well, you’ve never really had a need for it to work,” Tammy mentioned.

“Good point,” Raven agreed as she reached into her trench coat and pulled out a satchel of fine powder. She removed a small pawful. “Don’t say anything,” she advised her friend, “I need to focus as much as possible.”

Sitting by the bars of the cage, Raven closed her eyes and began deep regular breathing. In a few moments she began mumbling something under her breath. Though Tammy strained to hear what was being said she understood that what was said wasn’t what gave the spell it’s power. Raven had explained to her before that the verbal aspect was merely to help focus the mind and body to the task at hand, that it was possible with proper mental discipline to cast spells without having to say a word.

Raven’s speech stopped. She opened her paw where the powder sat, reached though the bars and blew it into the air. Raven sat back up with eyes closed and made no further movement. Tammy had watched this many times as Raven would practice, only to watch the cloud of powder drift slowly to the ground with no result (other than to irritate Raven at another failed attempt). This time was different. The cloud hung suspended outside the cage, then slowly began to swirl about.

The cloud began to glow with a bluish-white radiance. When Tammy wondered if that is how ghosts appear in real life she began to wonder what the glow actually represented. Was it Raven’s soul, her consciousness (if soul and consciousness existed separately), or was it energy created by magic. From what little she knew of the spell, Tammy gathered it was a mixture of the three. Raven had explained that such an ‘avatar’ served as an extension of the user’s consciousness, but was somewhere short of an ‘out of body’ experience (neither girl really understood what that actually meant as neither had an out of body experience).

As she watched, the radiant cloud began to resemble the form of a bird... a raven to be precise. All movement within the form seemed to stop. Before long the figure as a whole began to move, slowly taking to the air. It’s movement wasn’t quite that of a real bird, it was closer in movement to an aircraft, like a glider. The wings would flap periodically, but the timing made it clear that the wings’ movement were more cosmetic in nature, not necessary to keep the form aloft.

The raven circled the office as if it were looking about. It soon landed on the desk and focused intently on an object at it’s feet. Lifting up it’s head, the raven quickly looked to either side. The raven bent down and, to Tammy’s relief, rose up clutching a small key ring in it’s beak. From the desk the spectral bird glided down to the cage and laid the keys on the floor, at which point it just stood there... unmoving. Now that the raven and Raven were practically side by side, Tammy could see both together. She was surprised to see a quizzical look upon Raven’s face. Before long, both mouse and raven shrugged simultaneously, at which point the phantom bird walked through the cage. As it touched Raven’s body she opened her eyes, the bird vanished leaving a cloud of fine powder which began to precipitate from the air.

For a brief moment nothing happened, then Raven proceeded to look about. She started when she caught sight of the set of keys just outside the cage. “It worked!” she muttered in utter astonishment. Raven’s surprise was quickly overcome by her desire for freedom and she grabbed the keys.

Tammy’s own surprise was overcome as Raven rushed past her to the door of the cage. “What was that like?” she asked, “What happened?”

“It was like I was dreaming,” Raven explained as she began trying different keys in the lock, “I wasn’t even sure anything had really happened until I saw the keys right next to me.”

“What did you shrug about?” Tammy inquired.

“Huh?”

“Just before the... um... well,” Tammy stumbled, trying to find words to describe events she’d never encountered before, “before it all ended, you shrugged your shoulders.”

“Oh!” Raven finally figured out, “I didn’t know how to bring it to an end. I figured I’d try what you see in those movies, you know, where the soul walks back into the body... well, whatever it was it worked.” With a ‘click’ the final key popped the lock, “We’re out!”

“Now we just have to get out of the building without being noticed,” Tammy stated.

With some thought Raven soon began thinking aloud, “Well, since this is a casino it’s a safe bet most people here would be too wrapped up in their own affairs to notice us... and the few people who do know about us probably assume we’d still be locked up...”

“But when the Rescue Rangers and I tried to get out we were noticed,” Tammy pointed out.

“But you all probably looked like you were trying to get out quickly, and as a result drew undo attention,” Raven countered, “If we walk through as if we belong here it might not look so suspicious.”

Before they could get any further in their planning they heard the arrival of someone by the elevator. Having been taken by surprise they both hesitated, and as a result were standing in the middle of the office, in plain sight, when the doors opened. As Fat Cat and his associates walked out of the elevator they noticed the two girls.

“Hey, boss, they got out of the cage!” Snout announced.

“I can see that you fool!” the porcine feline replied, “Now get them back in there!”

As Fat Cat’s cronies advanced, Tammy ran to the side in an attempt to outflank her pursuers. Raven, on the other hand, charged straight at Fat Cat. Since it was highly uncommon for a mouse to charge a cat, the feline crime boss was unprepared when she slammed into him like a miniature linebacker. While Fat Cat tried to right himself Raven and Tammy (who did manage to outflank her pursuers) were able to reach the elevator... just as Mepps grabbed Tammy by her tail. As he proceeded to drag the young squirrel out, Raven leapt out of the elevator and tried to wrestle the scraggily feline to the floor.

This delay, however, gave Fat Cat a chance to get back to his feet and take matters into his own paws. Grabbing Tammy by the collar he lifted her off the ground and likewise hoisted Raven off Mepps by her tail. Never the type to give up, Raven swung herself towards her captor, grabbed hold of his whiskers (which were styled like a typical villain’s mustache), and chomped down on the first part of his body she could find (which happened to be his upper lip). Fat Cat, crying out more as a result of surprise than pain, promptly dropped both of his captives.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Four continued...

Before the girls could capitalize on this second chance they were jumped by the others and dragged, kicking and screaming, back towards the cage. Raven was the first to be thrown in, but she quickly righted herself and charged to the door colliding with both Mepps and Tammy who went sprawling onto the floor. Though startled, Tammy was quick to take off towards the elevator after Raven. Fat Cat situated himself between the girls and their only apparent means of escape. Once again Raven threw her shoulder into Fat Cat. This time, however, he had gotten his footing and allowed both girls to rebound off his prodigious girth.

Raven and Tammy were once more dragged to the cage. “Throw the squirrel in first, then the mouse!” Fat Cat ordered.

As the door was being thrown shut, Raven made another attempt, but only succeeded in crashing into the bars of the cage. Not to be deterred, she went to work grabbing and clawing at her captors as they worked to lock the door. Even after the door was locked, Raven continued her struggle, trying to work herself between the bars (not so much to escape, but just to lay her paws on her enemies).

“And I thought the Rescue Rangers were tenacious!” Fat Cat commented. Raven, eventually, relinquished her struggle to force her way between the bars. When she had finished, Fat Cat proceeded, addressing Raven in a friendly and cordial (not to mention over dramatic) manner, “I must admit I was impressed with the precision with which you and your winged companion carried out that heist, it was clean, efficient, it was almost like a dance. In fact, it put them...” motioning to his flunkies, “to absolute shame. It would be an honor to give you and your partner a prominent position in my... organization... if you would be so kind as to hand over the diamond.”

Raven sat completely still, glaring at her captor with all the malice she could summon. She eventually responded coldly and in a disturbingly calm tone, “You have no idea the kinds of things I want to see done to you.”

Fat Cat frowned disdainfully, then returned to his mock civility, “I guess that means you’re turning down my offer. Well, that’s your choice to make, of course. I’m sure your friend will be slightly more agreeable... in order to have you returned unharmed.”

Tammy couldn’t stomach the mobster’s insincerity any longer and blurted out, “We can’t give you the diamond because we don’t have it! We were attacked by a snake and spider before your goons showed up! They took the diamond!”

“Oh, of course!” Fat Cat responded sarcastically, “A snake and a spider! I’ll have my men go out immediately to find ‘a’ snake and ‘a’ spider...” then his tone became more malevolent, “or I’ll just keep you here until your friend decides to cooperate. His name was ‘Fangs’ wasn’t it? I’ll have someone find him and give him my terms for your release.”

As Fat Cat turned to leave, Tammy shouted out, “You’ll be in serious trouble when the Rescue Rangers realize I’m missing! I’m a close friend of theirs and you know it!” Raven rolled her eyes.

“Why would I know something like that?” Fat Cat asked out of honest disinterest.

“Because this is the second time you’ve held me hostage!” Tammy replied, “Didn’t you recognize me?!”

“My dear,” Fat Cat laughed condescendingly as he turned, “I meet so many people in my line of business. I can hardly be expected to remember every single one.” He thought for a moment. “So, you’re a friend of the Rescue Rangers,” Fat Cat stated with a sense of villainous supremacy.

“That’s right!” Tammy responded.

Great, Raven thought, I can see where this is going.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Fat Cat asked cheerfully, “Since I’m going to be having such important guests I’ll just have to give them a proper reception!” As he proceeded to leave he mentioned, menacingly, to his cronies, “Come along, boys, we have preparations to make. Snout, keep an eye on them so they don’t get loose again.”

It suddenly dawned on Tammy what she’d just done. “Why did I have to say that?!” she groaned as she sat down.

Raven wanted to respond with ‘Way to go, Tammy. Any state secrets you want to sell while you’re at it?’ but settled on the less patronizing, “Because you were scared and desperate.”

==

“Da-ale,” Foxglove softly sang as she nudged him gently with her wings. He kept sleeping.

“Grab his nose,” Dee suggested, “that’ll get him up.”

“I’m not going to make him think he’s suffocating,” Foxglove responded. “Da-ale,” she repeated a little louder. Dale rolled slightly onto his side and released a horrifically loud snort (which was usually enough to induce Chip to kick Dale from underneath through his mattress).

“I definitely don’t want to hear that again!” Dee stated as she reached for Dale’s nose and pinched it shut.

In a moment Dale’s limbs began flailing about. Dee released his nose and after his first full breath Dale shouted, “He-elp! I’m drowning!” Sitting up, Dale looked around frantically. Dee was filled with sadistic contentment, and her expression showed it.

“Good morning, cutie!” Foxglove said once Dale had calmed down somewhat.

“Uh... Mornin’, Foxy,” Dale responded, then noticing Gadget and Dee also hovering over him by the couch he continued, “you... want something?”

“We were wondering if you knew where Chip got off to,” Gadget answered.

“Last time I saw him he was sleeping on the other end of the couch,” Dale responded.

“Well he ain’t there now,” Dee pointed out.

“Maybe he decided to get started early on the case,” Dale suggested as he stretched.

“He probably would’ve left us a note if he did that,” Gadget thought aloud.

As the four contemplated Chip’s whereabouts the front door opened slowly. They turned to see who was entering and watched the object of their search come sneaking past the threshold. It was clear that Chip was trying to avoid being seen or heard, and the fact that it was completely unnecessary made it an interesting sight. Realizing that he was oblivious to the others’ presence, Dee quickly motioned for them to remain quiet. Carefully closing the door as not to make too much noise, Chip didn’t notice Dee quickly approaching like a wolf coming upon an unsuspecting deer (which, as it happens, was exactly what Dee was thinking).

Chip turned to tiptoe into back to the couch just as Dee lunged at him. Any attempt on his part to yell out in surprise was muffled as she passionately kissed him. Dee’s momentum sent them crashing into the door where she kept her prey pinned. Removing her lips from his she greeted him with, “Were you out getting me flowers?”

“What?!” was the only response he could manage at first.

Gadget and Foxglove giggled at the situation as Dale rolled off the couch laughing.

Chip soon realized what had happened and frantically searched his mind for an excuse, “Uh... no, I had an errand to run... a-and wanted to get it out of the way before we got to work.”

“Ok,” Dee shrugged as she released him. Chip was grateful she didn’t attempt to delve any deeper, it would have ruined her surprise... and after what had just happened he was looking forward to her being on the receiving end for once.

After breakfast had been consumed the Rangers, Dee, and Foxglove gathered in the living area to watch the morning news. Chip felt it was best to see if there had been any breaks in the museum theft worthy of news coverage, especially since it might lessen the amount of work they needed to do.

“Ok, this is it!” Chip called to the others as the anchor started the story.

“The Delronne Diamond, donated to the museum by the late millionaire/recluse Conrad Johnston, was stolen last night from the Metropolitan Museum,” the news anchor opened, “The police admit they have few leads, and just this morning released their only suspect, Ms Winifred Wilson. Ms Wilson was working as a janitor at the museum as part of a work release program. She had been convicted of a similar robbery at the Science Museum where she stole a moon rock that was on loan from the Smithsonian. Ms Wilson was dismissed as a suspect in this case when it was discovered that she was meeting with her parole officer at the time the theft is believed to have taken place.” As the next story was brought up, Chip turned off the television.

“The police may not have reason to suspect her,” Gadget mentioned, “but they don’t know her like we do.”

“Too right!” Monterrey added, “They’d never suspect that someone like Freddie would use animals to do her dirty work.”

“Our next step should be to find out where Freddie’s been staying these days,” Chip said.

“Hey, Foxglove,” Dee said turning to the resident bat, “Is there anything else you might be able to tell us about that diamond?”

“Sorry,” Foxglove answered glumly, “All Freddie was able to find out was that the diamond could give someone great magical power and was kept in a private collection. When she ran into a dead end trying to find out who had it she decided to use other means to expand her abilities.”

“Did she find out how the diamond would give her greater powers?” Gadget asked.

“No,” Foxglove answered, “She probably planned to find that out after she got her hands on it.”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Four continued...

A knock drew everyone’s attention to the door. Gadget went to answer it. Opening the door she was met by Tammy’s mother. “Oh, hello Ms Pinewood!” Gadget greeted, “Is there anything we can do for you?” In the silence that followed everyone noticed the worried look on her face.

“Tammy wouldn’t happen to be here, would she?” she asked in a pleading tone.

“N-no,” Gadget answered, “Why? What happened?”

“Tammy didn’t come home last night,” Ms Pinewood stated, “She told me she was going to be out late with some friends. But when I checked h-her room this morning...” She began to break down as tears streamed down her cheeks. Gadget took hold of her and led her in. “She probably went to see that witch!” Ms Pinewood now had everyone’s undivided attention. “I-I told her that little witch was nothing but trouble... her and that bat she always hangs around with!”

“Does this witch have a name?” Chip asked as gently as possible.

As everyone congregated around the bereaved mother another guest arrived at the door. Hearing the knock, Dee broke away to answer the door. She had wanted some excuse to distance herself from the situation, the thought of losing a child hit a little closer to home than she wished. “Yes?” Dee asked as she opened the door. Before her stood a young dark furred bat.

Fangs was a little nervous. Part of him had wanted to go to Raven’s parents to see if she was there, if she had possibly changed her mind about where to meet up after having left the museum. But another part of him knew that was something Raven would never do, she wasn’t the type to leave someone in a lurch like that, at the very least she would’ve found some way to leave some kind of message. That, and he knew Raven’s parents didn’t like him much, and if she was missing they probably wouldn’t react well if he were the one to tell them (the words ‘kill the messenger’ kept repeating in his mind).

“Uh... hi,” Fangs eventually said, “One of my friends is missing,” he nervously stated, “I think.”

“Why don’t you come in,” Dee suggested as she led him in.

Once through the door, Fangs caught sight of Tammy’s mother, and noticed she was greatly distressed. Oh shit! he though, Tammy must be missing too! I can’t be seen here, not by her! “Y’know, I’m sorry,” he hurriedly stammered, “You’re busy, I’ll be back!”

“YOU!” Ms Pinewood screamed when she saw Fangs. She quickly got up from her seat and bolted across the room towards him. Grabbing him by the fur on his chest she threw him against the wall and pinned him there. “WHAT DID YOU DO WITH TAMMY, YOU FILTHY BLOODSUCKING BASTARD?!”

As everyone rushed to separate Fangs and Ms Pinewood, two mice hesitantly entered through the open door. Dale pulled himself away to meet with them. “I don’t suppose this could wait,” he asked, then looking back as Monterrey helped drag the irrate Ms Pinewood away from Fangs, “uh, we’re a little busy.”

“No, this can’t wait,” the woman responded, “Our daughter’s missing.”

“Oh! Then this is the place to be,” Dale said as he led them in, “Everyone seems to be disappearing today.”

Chip managed to excuse himself so that he could speak with the two new arrivals. “I’m sorry things are a little hectic,” he started, “Now, what’s the problem?”

Before Dale could respond the man answered, “Our daughter’s missing, she didn’t come home last night.”

It never rains but it pours, Chip thought. “What’s her name?”

“Raven... Southmont,” he answered.

Dee’s ears perked up, it wasn’t everyday she heard somebody mention her daughter’s name. She walked over to make sure she had indeed heard it, “Did you say Raven Southmont?”

“Doohickey?!” the slightly elderly mother asked when she saw Dee.

“Ann?” Dee responded, then taking a look at her companion, “Ben?” The bottom dropped out of Chip’s stomach, he knew Dee’s daughter lived in the vicinity, but he had hoped that this had been a different Raven they were talking about.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Five

“W-what are you doing here?” Ann asked Dee.

“I came to visit some friends,” Dee answered weakly, then with greater voice, “What happened to Raven?”

“We... don’t know, s-she’s missing,” Ben responded.

All the color had left Dee’s face and she began to feel very light headed. When she began to waver Chip came to her side to steady her.

“So the little witch is missing too,” Ms Pinewood said scornfully.

“She has a name!” Dee responded defensively as some of her parental instincts took over.

“I told Tammy to stay away from her,” Ms Pinewood continued, “and stay away from that... that thing,” she added pointing at Fangs, “and look what happened... they’re both gone!”

Chip helped Dee to a chair beside Mrs Southmont, who took Dee’s paw in a protective manner. “Is there anything you can add that might help,” he asked turning towards Fangs, “Mr...”

“Huh?” Fangs had never been addressed as ‘Mr’ so it was a while before he realized the chipmunk had been speaking to him, “Oh, uh, my name’s Darkfire, but everyone calls me ‘Fangs’.”

“Ok, Fangs,” Chip said, “Do you know anything that might help?”

Fangs was hesitant to answer. He knew very well that Raven and Tammy’s disappearance might be linked to their encounter with Fat Cat’s gang earlier that night. But explaining that might mean revealing that he and Raven had stolen the diamond, not exactly something he wanted to reveal in front of the Rescue Rangers... or Raven’s parents for that matter.

As Fangs deliberated about what he should say, Chip’s analytical mind began rearranging the clues of two cases that should otherwise have had no connection. Fangs, a bat that clearly didn’t belong to any local species... Raven, a mouse who is an alleged witch and most likely had fur identical to Dee’s... fur from both had been found at the museum where a diamond that would be valuable to a witch had been stolen. The obvious conclusion didn’t sit well with Chip, he didn’t want to think that Dee’s daughter had been involved with the theft. But he was a detective, he had to ask, even if it risked an uncertain, possibly hostile, reaction from Dee, “You didn’t happen to be at the Metropolitan Museum last night, did you?”

Dee would have made a similar deduction had it not been for the emotional state she was in. Even the question itself took awhile to sink in. Once it had, however, she had difficulty accepting what she had heard. Dee looked up at Chip, her eyes pleading, Please, you can’t be serious! Chip glanced to his side to witness her reaction, and seeing Dee’s pained expression turned away. Everyone else, however, was focused on Fangs’ ‘deer in the headlights’ expression.

Tammy was right, Fangs thought regretfully, he is a good detective. An idea presented itself to him and he acted on it. “Yeah, we were,” Fangs began slowly, “Raven and I wanted to see some of the displays there, you know, without all those humans around... it’s kind of hard to enjoy a place like that when there are people yelling and trying to swat you out of the air and stuff.” He paused to examine his audience and, with the exception of Ms Pinewood, found that they seemed to believe what he was saying, if at least a little.

Taking a deep breath, Fangs continued, “While we were there we noticed some kind of commotion down at the far end of one of the halls. When we got closer we recognized Fat Cat and his gang. We could tell it was them because of Tammy’s story of how you all had saved her from him before. While they were going after the diamond one of them saw us, so we ran... and flew, of course. Raven and I split up and were going to meet back at the Methodist Church where I live. We knew Tammy was already there, we were going to meet her there after we left the museum anyway. It took me longer than usual to get back, and when I arrived I couldn’t find either of them. I searched the immediate area but couldn’t find any trace of them. I didn’t give up searching until just before I came here... to get your help.”

“Why would it take you longer to get back than Raven?” Ms Pinewood asked skeptically, “What kind of delay would have held you up that long?”

Fangs knew the delay was due to his stopping to drain off some blood from a vagrant passed out in an ally. Both Ms Pinewood and the Southmonts knew he was a vampire bat, and might believe the real story, but he wasn’t sure how the Rescue Rangers would react and he didn’t want to know, not if he could help it.

But before he could conceive of some other excuse Ms Pinewood spoke up again. “I know why you weren’t there,” she stated in an accusatory manner, “You knew Fat Cat’s people would catch up with Raven eventually, so you didn’t want to be anywhere near her. That’s why you split up isn’t it... you didn’t want to be captured!” Ms Pinewood was becoming increasingly belligerent as she continued, “You abandoned your only friend just to save your own worthless hide! How do we know you didn’t tell Fat Cat where to find Raven? What deal did you make with him? In exchange for your worthless life you’d help him kidnap Tammy and Raven... so he could use them as bait to lure them into a trap?” she finished motioning to the Rangers.

“I would NEVER do ANYTHING to hurt Raven!” Fangs shouted in disgust at the accusation, “She’s the only person who has ever treated me with any kind of respect! And I never would have done anything to Tammy because she’s Raven’s friend!” Fangs’ indignation reached a boiling point as he addressed his accuser directly, “And if you don’t believe that then you can go straight to hell!!”

Monterrey chose that as an appropriate moment to intervene. “Now I don’t think we need this to come to blows,” he said as he situated himself between Fangs and Ms Pinewood.

“Monty’s right,” Chip stated, “Your fighting isn’t going to get the girls back any sooner. We need a plan, and the first step should be to head to the Fat Cat’s casino to see what we can find out.”

“I want to go with you,” Fangs stated, “I owe it to Raven... because I wasn’t there for her when she needed help.”

“You can’t possibly consider trusting him!” Ms Pinewood responded.

“What the hell’s wrong with you?!” Fangs shouted, “Can’t you get it through your thick skull that maybe I’m not evil?”

“I’m not the one who thrives on attacking people and drinking their blood!” Ms Pinewood stated as she rose to her feet.

Gadget stepped before Tammy’s mother, “Now Ms Pinewood, we’ll get Tammy back safe and sound. The best thing for you to do now is to go home and keep an eye on Bink. Ok?”

“Ok,” Ms Pinewood conceded, “You’re right.” She began to leave, but as she reached the door she turned, “But the best piece of advice I can give is not to turn your back on that bloodsucking leech for an instant.” Giving Fangs one last contemptuous look she left.

“So... Fangs,” Chip started after a few moments, “You’re a vampire bat?”

Fangs nodded his head somberly.

“Now why didn’t I see that?” Monterrey asked, disappointed at his failure, “I had a run in with some vampires the last time I sailed up the Amazon River! Of course, that was some time ago... Heh, guess me memory ain’t what it used to be!”

“A vampire?!” Dale stated as he reached to cover his neck, once more he was thinking of the comic book vampire.

“He’s not that kind of vampire you stupid twit!” Dee harshly scolded. The Rangers regarded her with a certain measure of shock, in all the time they’d known her she had never blown up at someone in that manner. “Sorry,” Dee offered, “I’m having trouble with Raven being in trouble.”

“That’s ok,” Chip responded, “We understand.” There was a short pause as Dee continued to collect herself. “So,” Chip eventually said, “These are your godparents?” he asked in reference to the Southmonts.

Dee nodded.

“Um, I don’t mean to intrude,” Foxglove entered politely, “But did I miss something?”

“Um, I think I’ll get some equipment from my plane,” Dee mentioned awkwardly as she stood.

“We’ll go with you,” Ann Southmont stated as she and Ben rose and escorted Dee outside.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Five continued...

Chip understood what Dee meant and waited until the door was closed before he began to explain to Foxglove the parts of Dee’s past that had gone unmentioned after their return a year ago. “When Dee was much younger... about Tammy’s age actually, she gave birth to two children. One died a few days after being born. During the next few days she realized that, at her age, it wasn’t really fair to her surviving daughter to keep her considering all the mistakes she would undoubtedly make, not to mention the stigma that this girl would grow up with.

“Dee’s godparents agreed to take in Raven and raise her as their own. Everybody agreed that Raven wouldn’t be told she was adopted and that Dee would have no real contact with her, and the family made sure that others who knew about this wouldn’t spill the beans and possibly hurt Raven by doing so. Shortly after this, Dee’s godparents moved and the issue became irrelevant to everyone in the area. That changed when we showed up a year ago.

“Because Dee and Gadget looked so much alike, some of the locals who knew that Dee had a daughter thought that Gadget was her daughter... none of them knew that Gadget was actually older than Dee, but that’s not really the point... Because Dee had been evasive, even outright hostile, to some who brought up the issue we were, understandably, curious. Given how she’d behaved towards others who had brought up the issue we felt it best that I ask her about it... we felt she was less likely to do something ‘unpleasant’ to me.

“When I asked her, the look she gave me was unpleasant, but that was the extent of it. She explained to me that she was tired of hiding from that part of her past. She told me, in private, about Raven and left it up to me whether or not I told the other Rangers. I decided to tell them everything I just told you except that her daughter’s name was Raven and lived near here... I didn’t want to take the chance the others would say anything...” Chip suddenly realized he had said something he didn’t want the others to know. “Well, I know I should’ve trusted all of you more than that...” he nervously explained.

“That’s ok, Chipper,” Monterrey assured him, “we understand.”

“That’s right,” Gadget added, “Logically speaking, the more people who know a secret the greater the chance someone will say something they shouldn’t... kinda like you just did.”

==

Dee descended the tree followed by her godparents. Once they had all reached level ground Dee proceeded towards the bush under which she had hidden her aircraft.

“Any reason why Ms Pinewood kept calling Raven a witch?” Dee asked as they neared the bush.

“Carol didn’t exactly like the idea of Raven taking on magic as a hobby,” Ben answered, “And I’m not talking ‘bout the ‘coin behind the ear’ type of magic.”

“Raven wants to become a sorceress,” Ann mentioned, “She hates being referred to as a ‘witch’.”

“Of course befriending Fangs didn’t help matters either,” Ben added.

“How exactly did she come to meet up with a vampire bat anyhow?” Dee asked as she disappeared into the shrubbery.

Hesitantly following behind, Ben answered, “Actually, that was because of her magic. She had just gotten used to using an invisibility spell and decided to do some exploring ‘round the city.” As Ben was talking Dee popped open a hatch on her plane and began rummaging around. “Anyhow,” he continued, “she was going through an alley and saw a bat land on a sleeping vagrant, she wondered why a bat would do that so she went over to investigate...” Ben stopped for a moment when he noticed Dee removing a small arsenal from the open compartment. He was reminded of Dee’s affection towards fighting and was concerned about what she must have gotten into to justify carrying around such armament.

Dee looked up from the small pile of weapons she’d unpacked, “And?”

“Oh, uh,” Ben stuttered as he tried to remember what he was saying, “When she got closer she realized that the bat was drinking the person’s blood. She struck up a conversation with him... ‘course she was still invisible at the time so he found that a little strange, his sonar told him a mouse was standing in front of him but couldn’t see it. They’ve kind of grown on each other since.”

Dee tied back her hair into a ponytail before taking on a quiver of arrows. This was followed by a bow. She then unzipped the front of her jumpsuit some before stashing a dagger inside. What she couldn’t fit on her person she returned to the compartment aboard the plane. “You don’t seem quite as hostile towards Fangs as... Carol?... is,” Dee mentioned as she closed the hatch.

“He hasn’t exactly given us a chance to be hostile, we rarely ever see him,” Ben responded, “But considering how people like Carol behave I can’t blame him for wanting to keep his distance from us.”

“So, how have things been going with you?” Ann asked. She was hoping Dee might explain, among other things, why she brought a small arsenal with her.

“Long story,” Dee answered as she began to make her way back to the tree, “I’ll fill you in after we get Raven back.” And made that fat hairball pay if he’s done anything to hurt my girl! she thought to herself.

Chip had just finished explaining to Foxglove (and Fangs for that matter) how Dee and the Southmonts could all be Raven’s parents when the parties in question returned. They were all a little surprised to see that Dee was armed.

Monterrey was the first to mention anything about it, “Are you always in the habit of bringing weapons with you on your vacations, luv?”

“Yes,” Dee bluntly answered, almost surprised that such a question was asked. It seemed as if she was ready to add, ‘Doesn’t everybody?’.

“Well, now that we’re all here we can get started,” Chip began, “Next stop: Fat Cat’s casino!”

“Uh, Chip,” Gadget called as the others headed towards the hanger, “Maybe one of us should stay behind in case the girls show up.”

Dale was the first to ask the question the others were all thinking, “What girls?”

“Raven and Tammy!” everyone gave Gadget a rather puzzled look at that answer, “I mean, we don’t know for a fact that Fat Cat even has them. For all we know they may be in hiding, and knowing Tammy she’d find her way here as soon as she felt the coast was clear.”

The Southmonts both seemed to perk up at the possibility.

“Well don’t look at me,” Dee responded after she had a chance to appreciate the faint glimmer of hope the suggestion brought, “I’m not about to sit around here if there’s the slightest chance my daughter is in danger.”

“Ok, Gadget, you stay here with the Southmonts in case they do show up,” Chip ordered, “the rest of us will take the Ranger Wing to the Happy Tom Catfood factory.”

“Can I come?” Foxglove and Fangs asked simultaneously.

“Sure you’re up to it, luv?” Monterrey asked Foxglove.

“Sure am!” she replied enthusiastically.

“Ok, Foxglove, you’re in,” Chip agreed. He then turned to Fangs, “Um...” Chip wasn’t sure if allowing Fangs to tag along would be such a good idea, especially if Dee felt the same towards a vampire bat as Ms Pinewood. That was a distinct possibility to Chip considering the reference Dee had made to him the previous year about a colony of bats having tried to kill her. In an effort to avoid disaster he turned to her for approval, “Dee?”

“What?” Dee curtly responded.

“Do you have any objection with Fangs going with us?”

“Who cares?!” Dee answered with obvious annoyance. It didn’t take a great deal of investigative skill for Chip to realize her primary concern was getting underway.

“Ok, Fangs, you’re in too,” Chip finally told him.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Five continued...

In short order the Ranger Wing was airborne with Chip at the controls, Dee beside him in the front, with Dale, Monterrey and Zipper in the rear. Foxglove and Fangs flew along on either side. Soon the factory with the large gold colored reclining cat statue came into sight. Chip set the aircraft down behind the air conditioning unit atop the building adjacent to the factory.

“Couldn’t you have landed a little closer?!” Dee growled disapprovingly.

“If we had landed any closer we might’ve been spotted by Fat Cat’s security,” Chip answered calmly. He intentionally avoided his normally less than diplomatic means of responding to someone who questioned his decisions. Chip knew that one of the most dangerous forces there was in the world was a mother trying to defend her child, and the last thing he wanted was to be confrontational with this mother in particular... both for the sake of their relationship and his health. “What we gotta do now is get in without being noticed so we can start searching for clues.”

“Tammy said that when she was captured by Fat Cat the last time she was kept in his office, inside the head there” Fangs stated, “maybe I can fly over and spy in the windows real quick?”

“That might not be such a good idea considering that tubby tabby probably has his cronies keeping their eyes peeled for you,” Monterrey responded.

“I can go,” Foxglove suggested, “I don’t think anyone in Fat Cat’s gang would recognize me... it’s not like I’ve been around all those times you fouled up his plans.”

“Uh, you sure about this Foxy?” Dale asked with obvious concern, “I mean, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt or anything.”

“Oh, you’re so sweet!” Foxglove stated as she gave Dale a quick peck on the cheek, “But I’ll be fine!”

“Well, ok, Foxglove,” Chip agreed, “Just be careful.”

“I will!” she called as she took off towards Fat Cat’s casino.

As Foxglove approached her destination the others took up positions where they could keep an eye on things. They watched as she flew up to the face of the giant feline and peered into the eyes which served as the windows for the office. Everything was going well until a large crow passed by, only to double back towards Foxglove.

“Looks like she’s been spotted!” Dee shouted to the others.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Six

Foxglove was too focused on her surveillance to notice the crow approaching. Realizing that she was so preoccupied, he decided to get her attention in a way she couldn’t ignore. The crow ascended for a moment, then dove at her. Swerving at the last moment he missed her by barely an inch. The sudden, unexpected turbulence caused Foxglove to tumble for a brief while.

“We’ve gotta do something!” Dale exclaimed.

Once Foxglove had righted herself in the air the crow positioned himself directly in front of her, and when it was obvious she’d seen him he motioned with his head to land atop the statue. Foxglove understood and fought back the instinct to flee.

“Wait!” Chip stated as he grabbed Dale by the collar before he could reach the Ranger Wing, “It looks like Fat Cat’s sentry wants to question her, we should give Foxglove a chance to talk her way out of this before we go rushing in.”

Dale was, by no means, satisfied with just sitting around while who-knows-what was about to happen to Foxglove. Though he would rarely admit to it, his feelings for her were deeper than what he led on, and the current circumstances made that quite clear as he responded, “Well we can’t just wait here!”

“If we go rushing in now, he...” Dee motioned towards the crow as she spoke, “might make the connection that she was spying for us and that we’re coming to rescue her. The logical thing for him to do would be to grab a hold of her and threaten to do really nasty things to her if we don’t back off. Is that what you want?”

Dale couldn’t argue with that logic and settled down some, but he was clearly still very concerned. Chip, however, was slightly relieved. He was glad to see that Dee was still in possession of her logical and reasonable nature. Chip had been concerned that worry for her daughter might lead Dee to behave irrationally which was something he couldn’t allow, not if it would endanger the others. It set his mind at ease not having to explain to her why she couldn’t go any farther. Now his only worry was whether Foxglove actually could talk her way out of things. It went without saying that Foxglove had the same concern.

“Do you have any business with Fat Cat?” the crow asked gruffly.

“Uh, no,” Foxglove answered as she searched her mind for a logical reason for her to be there. It didn’t help that she was still a little shaken up by how he had gotten her attention.

“Then why are you here?” he responded, “You’re a bat, aren’t you supposed to be sleeping about now?”

“Well I would be,” she answered as an idea presented itself, “but I slept in real late last night, so right now I’m looking fo-” she added a drawn out yawn for effect, “sorry... I’m looking for dinner. If I’d known there would’ve been so few insects out in the day I wouldn’t have let myself sleep in as late as I did. You wouldn’t know where I could find a lot of insects all in one place, would you?”

“Try the dump, it’s swarming with flies. Now beat it!”

“Thanks for the suggestion,” Foxglove said as she flew off. She was mindful of the possibility that the crow would be watching her for some time after she departed so she wanted to head off away from the others. As Foxglove neared a water tower she ducked behind it then made her way back beneath the level of the rooftops.

Soon after Foxglove had left the crow returned to his patrol. “See there, pally? No need to worry!” Monterrey told Dale as he gave him a hearty slap on the back. The others gave a collective sigh of relief. In short order their chiropteran companion popped up from the opposite side of the building where they were waiting.

“Anything to report?” Chip asked as Foxglove landed.

“Well, there wasn’t anybody inside,” she answered, “but there was a cage in there that would be large enough for a mouse and a squirrel.”

An empty cage could have meant several things, unfortunately most of the possibilities were less than pleasant. Chip chose to head off anyone mentioning the least pleasant of them by citing the most plausible, “Fat Cat probably moved them to someplace else... he had to have known this would be the first place we’d come looking.”

“But where would he move them to?” Dale asked.

“I don’t know,” Chip answered as he thought, “We’ll have to go inside, see if anyone there might have overheard anything.”

“So how do we get inside?” Dee questioned.

Chip thought for a moment then snapped his fingers as he responded, “Got it! Dale, did you ever unpack those disguises we used during our last case?”

Dale began to stammer nervously as he realized he hadn’t and did not want to admit it.

“Perfect!” Chip responded, “Dee, Monty, Dale- come with me.” Before long the four were all but finished with their disguises with Chip applying the finishing touches to Dee’s makeup.

“I hate wearing dresses,” Dee mumbled, “and the only thing I hate worse than wearing dresses is wearing makeup.”

“Just remember why you’re doing this,” Chip reassured her.

“Why else do you think I’d put up with this?” Dee responded.

“What should we do?” Foxglove asked.

“You can’t exactly go with us, Foxglove,” Chip answered, “since one of Fat Cat’s guards already ran into you it might look suspicious if you came back. And Fangs...”

“I know,” Fangs interrupted in a crestfallen manner, “my showing up might attract a whole lot of unwanted attention.”

“Right,” Chip acknowledged, “And since it’ll be hard enough to get the four of us in, Zipper, you’ll have to stay here with Foxglove and Fangs to help keep an eye on things.”

As Chip, Dale, Monterrey and Dee reached the roof of the cat food factory they stopped. “Everyone clear on what to say?” Chip asked. The others nodded in response. “Good. It’s been getting harder to sneak in each time since Rat Capone started moving in on some of Fat Cat’s rackets. They’ve both been increasing security around their home turf.”

“At least sniping at each other has kept them from causing too much trouble elsewhere,” Dale commented.

“Let’s go,” Chip stated as he motioned to the others.

The muscular rat that was serving as doorman had just let a couple of well dressed cats into the casino through the main entrance (which was the stylized grill from a Rolls Royce) when he saw four rodents approach. There were two chipmunks up front dressed in identical suits, a very striking young lady mouse with long black hair and brown fur in a form fitting dress following behind them, and behind her was a large mouse wearing a tee shirt and bandana sporting a red mustache and beard. As the group neared he stopped them.

“Ya’ got currency?” the hulking door-rat asked.

“I beg your pardon?” Chip responded indignantly.

“This here’s a casino,” the rat responded, “If ya ain’t got nothin to gamble or pay for your drinks with you’ll hafta leave. Them’s the new rules.”

“We have an appointment!” Dale stated with an irritated tone.

“Yeah? What about?” the door-rat asked skeptically.

“I’m Vic,” Chip stated, then motioning to Dale, “and this is my brother Vinny, we’re from the Durban Brothers talent agency. We’re here so that Angelique could give a command performance for the big man- er, cat himself and finalize terms for a contract. This was arranged three weeks ahead of time,” then Chip finished with a more serious tone, “We were told there wouldn’t be any problems.”

“I wasn’t told nothin’ about that,” the rat countered.

Chip pulled out a lucky rabbit’s foot and responded, “See this? This is all that’s left of the last guy that ducked out of a meeting with Fat Cat. He gave this to us at our last meeting as a reminder not to be late.”

Gee, that sure sounds like the boss, the rat thought. He looked the group over. “Welcome to Fat Cat’s Casino. Enjoy your stay,” he said as he opened the door. As they entered he stopped Monterrey, “Whoa...” he turned back to Chip, “You’re Vic, that’s Vinny and she’s Angelique... but who’s the fat guy?”

“FAT GUY?!” Monterrey bellowed. Both Chip and Dale moved to hold him back as Dee merely rolled her eyes.

“Wait a minute, Bruiser!” Chip ordered. Then he turned back to the door-rat, “Do you think we’d bring this beauty...” he said as he motioned to Dee, “all the way across town without a body guard?” Then he whispered, “And don’t call him fat, the last guy that did that is still in traction.”

“Fine,” the rat said as he motioned them in.

“Good work, Monty,” Chip mentioned once they were in.

“Yeah,” Dale added, “I think he actually thought you were going to flatten him!”

“Heh, who says I wouldn’t ‘ave?” Monterrey joked.

==