The Ties That Bind (Rescue Rangers)

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Six continued...

Gadget returned to the table with drinks for Ann and Ben Southmont. “You shouldn’t worry,” she reassured them as she took her seat, “If Fat Cat does have Raven the others will get her back.”

“I hope so!” Ann responded after taking a sip from the thimble Gadget had handed her.

“Um, do you mind if I make an unusual request?” Gadget asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Ben answered.

Gadget started hesitantly, “I was wondering if you could tell me what Dee’s mother was like.”

The Southmonts looked at her for a moment. They both suspected why she would’ve made such a request, but didn’t want to run the risk that their assumption was wrong. “Sure,” Ben answered confidently, “but why?”

“Well, yesterday we discovered that Dee and I have the same mother. I never really had a chance to get to know her... Dee filled me in about some things, but I imagine there are some things she wouldn’t have known, and since I imagine you knew my mother longer...”

“We understand,” Ann interrupted, “We thought that’s why you asked, but if it wasn’t we didn’t want to be the ones to spill the beans.”

“You already knew?” Gadget asked in surprise, “We got the feeling that only my parents knew that.”

“Well, that’s how it was supposed to be,” Ben responded, “But...” he continued with a shrug, “that’s not exactly how things went.” He set down his thimble of coffee as he began, “When Amanda returned to the rez after meeting up with your father she told us, and her mother, about having met a dashing young pilot/adventurer. She didn’t go into too much detail, just how handsome and caring he was... and that she loved him a great deal, but she never mentioned anything about a daughter... well, not then at least. I had always thought she was holding out on something, wasn’t telling us the whole story, but...” he shrugged again, “Anyhow, she would usually change the subject of the handsome young mouse who was clearly head and shoulders above her ex so we left it at that, we assumed she had her reasons and didn’t pry.

“That changed when it came time for Dee to give up Raven. Both Dee and your mother were a mess emotionally, in part because the pain of losing Becky... Raven’s sister... was still quite fresh. Logically we all knew that, in the long run, it would be best for both Dee and Raven but that didn’t make it hurt any less. But it seemed to bother Amanda a lot, more than you would think it would... it wasn’t that her second granddaughter had died, and she would be in good hands. There had to be something else that was bothering her.”

“We eventually convinced her to go out with us, just a night out with her friends,” Ann started, “By this time Dee had started to recover emotionally, and Bob was there to keep an eye on her, we left Raven with a sitter. As we were all talking we steered the discussion toward what had been bothering her. After a while she admitted that she knew exactly what Dee was going through, having to leave a child. Your mother told us about having to leave you and your father.

“We understood why she couldn’t tell us before, considering the way things were back then,” Ben continued, “We asked her why she hadn’t tried getting back in touch with your father after Dee’s father skipped town. She explained that, given the amount of time that had passed, she wasn’t sure how her showing up from out of nowhere would go over... and didn’t want to take the chance it might do more harm than good.”

There was some silence as Gadget took it all in.

“I think you should know,” Ann said, breaking the silence, “Your mother was very, very proud of you!”

Gadget didn’t have the slightest clue about how to respond, she didn’t even know that her mother had given her a second thought. Eventually she simply asked, “What?”

“When we moved here, to the city, it hadn’t crossed our minds that this is where your mother said you and your father lived,” Ann continued, “but several years ago we began to hear about the ‘Rescue Rangers’... and about you. There was no way we could keep that from your mother, we felt she needed to hear about what you were doing. We told her about what you and the Rescue Rangers were doing for others...” Ann began to get a little misty eyed as she remembered Amanda’s reaction to the news. She remembered the disbelief followed by a small measure of shock, then the unbounded pride about what her daughter had chosen to do with her life.

Ann wasn’t the only one who whose eyes began to water. Gadget had often wondered if the mother she never knew would have been proud of the choices she’d made in her life. Now she knew... not only was her mother proud of her, she was very proud of her.

Ann could see the emotion in Gadget’s eyes and nearly began to cry herself as she finished, “She... said you were a hero.”

Tears began to roll down Gadget’s cheeks at the news. She and Ann both, almost instinctively, rose from their seats and embraced. Ben, who had always worked hard to be the ideal ‘man of the house’, a solid rock upon which his family could rely, couldn’t help but be moved and wiped away a tear.

Gadget’s joy was mixed with some sorrow. Though her mother hadn’t died as soon as her father had told her, she was still gone... she would still never be able to hold her. Ann, however, didn’t mind acting as a surrogate for the moment. She felt that it wasn’t only a duty, but an honor, to comfort the daughter of her dearest friend, a daughter for whom she had cried many tears.

After some time had passed Gadget and Ann released one another and returned to their seats, just as a familiar voice was heard from without, “Hello? Chip? Dale?”

Golly, Gadget thought, that sounds like Canina.

“Monticello?” the voice continued.

Yep, that has to be Canina, Gadget decided, remembering Canina’s inability to get Monterrey’s name right. Brushing off the last vestiges of saline secretions from her facial fur, Gadget got up to answer the door.

“Hey, Dee, ya’ in there?” a much deeper voice asked. This got the Southmonts out of their chairs and they followed Gadget to the door.

Walking out onto the branch Gadget looked down to see a poodle and two wolves sitting at the base of the tree. “Hi Canina!” Gadget opened cheerfully, “And Romulus, and...” she paused, not being able to place the second wild canid.

“Honk!” he offered.

“Oh, you must be Honker!” Gadget realized. Honker wagged his bushy tail in approval.

“Did that wolf just go ‘honk’?” Ann quietly asked her husband.

“Is Dee up there?” Romulus asked.

“Golly, no.” Gadget answered, “She and the others went to Fat Cat’s Casino, we think he may have kidnaped Tammy and Raven.”

“Uh-oh!” Romulus muttered to himself. Dee had told him about her daughter, and he knew the damage Dee could do when in a foul mood. “Where’s Fat Cat’s Casino?” he asked. Gadget explained where the casino was located and how to get there, after which the two wolves quickly departed.

“Sorry I can’t stay to chat, dear,” Canina called up to Gadget, then turned to join Romulus and Honker, “Hey, wait for me!”

“Um, why were there two wolves looking for Dee?” Ben asked as he watched the three canines leave the park.

Gadget explained as she led the couple back inside, “Some time ago Dee saved one of the pack’s puppies. After that, Romulus adopted her into the pack, and Dee let the pack move into the sawmill where she lives.”

==

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Six continued...

Chip, Dale, Monterrey and Dee made their way through the bustling casino, which seemed unusually active for midday. They went unnoticed for the most part, except for Dee who got more than a few double takes form the males. As they traveled they all kept their ears tuned to the various conversations going on around them.

“Check it out,” a scraggly grey cat in a dress shirt and dark blue vest whispered to his companion, “Two chipmunks and two mice, one fat, one female.”

“Just like the boss said,” the calico feline sitting across from him responded, “but ain’t there supposed to be a fly with ‘em?”

“Who cares?” the grey cat answered, “This is the closest we’ve come all day, this has to be them!” As the four rodents approached they opened up with a prepared conversation. “Didja’ hear? Fat Cat caught a couple of thieves tryin’ to get their paws on the same diamond he was after,” the grey cat said to his companion, loud enough for the approaching Rangers to hear him.

“No kidding?” the calico responded, “Who’d be dumb enough to try that?”

“Amateurs... just a couple a’ girls,” the scraggly feline answered. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that the four they were doing their performance for had set down at the empty table nearest them. A table left empty in anticipation of their arrival.

“What’s Fat Cat plannin’ to do with ‘em?” the calico asked in mock interest.

“What I heard is that he’s gonna off both of ‘em!” Chip watched as Dee digested that last comment. He watched as her shock was replaced with an expression of extreme malice.

“Is he gonna do that here?” the calico asked in false astonishment.

“Nah,” the grey cat dismissed, “It’s gonna go down at a warehouse a couple blocks over. I was told he was going to invite a couple of his under bosses to see it, to remind him of the cost of crossin’ ‘im.”

Chip decided to go over to pry for some more detail. He casually walked over to the cats’ table and struck up conversation. “My name’s Vic,” Chip opened in his toughest voice, “My associates and I are new in town and were considering hitching up with Fat Cat. We’d be interested in seein’ his handiwork, to see if he’s really as ruthless as they say.”

“Really,” the grey feline responded.

But before anything else could be said the calico broke in, “Ugh, that bean burrito I had for breakfast just caught up with me... ‘scuse me!”

As the calico departed on his unanticipated trip to the bathroom his companion continued, “Ya’ ain’t gonna find anyone more ruthless than Fat Cat. I heard he was goin’ to cut their heads off...” While the grey feline continued his talk, Dee stood and calmly walked over. “Of course there are worse things he could do...” Chip noticed Dee come up next to him and the feline. “He could have ‘em lowered into a vat of acid...” The fact that Dee seemed so unnaturally calm didn’t sit well with Chip and he prepared to act to stop her from doing anything drastic. “That’s more his style, he likes to here ‘em scream...”

Before Chip could grab a hold of her, Dee grabbed hold of the feline’s shirt collar and pulled down... hard. So hard that when his head hit the table it bounced. The infuriated mouse drew her dagger from somewhere within her dress (had Chip not been so startled by the swiftness of her reaction he would have wondered how she had kept it hidden). “If you try to call for help I’ll make damn sure it’s the last sound you ever make! Got it?” Dee snarled as she positioned the blade at her captive’s throat. The startled feline nodded. “Where is that warehouse?!” Dee hissed.

“C-corner of Twenty-fifth and Jefferson,” the cat stammered. Dee hurriedly made for the exit with Chip, Dale and Monterrey following behind. Nobody dared get in her way.

Dee returned her dagger to it’s hiding place in her dress as she burst through the door. The door-rat called after her, “Hey sweetheart, why you leavin’ in such a hurry?” She turned back with clenched paws. The others made it through the door just in time to see the door-rat fall flat on his back, unconscious, with a swollen jaw... Dee stood over him menacingly.

==

The door-rat stood at his post, grumbling angrily to himself. He was furious that a female mouse had been able to knock him cold with a single punch... the fact that no one else had seen it didn’t really help sooth his ego, he still knew. He hadn’t been out of things for very long, the crow that was serving as sentry had roused him and gave him the time... he was only out for a minute or so.

Under normal circumstances he would have compensated for his recently acquired, self perceived, lack of strength by being extra surly towards the next arrivals. However, the next arrivals didn’t look like they should be messed with. The door-rat had ceased his grumbling as he watched three dogs approach, two of whom were much more intimidating than the poodle that accompanied them.

Romulus, Honker, and Canina stopped at the entrance. Romulus looked down upon the startled rat and simply said, “Open the door.”

“W-welcome to Fat Cat’s Casino. E-enjoy your stay?” the rat stammered uncertainly as he complied with the wolf’s command.

Romulus was just barely able to fit through the door and enter the establishment. The cats, rodents, and the occasional lizard or bird quickly moved aside. Those not right near the entrance turned to see what the commotion was about. When it was clear he had the attention of a good many patrons and staff, Romulus stated his business, “I’m looking for the Rescue Rangers and a female mouse with brown fur and black hair. I know they came in here. Where are they?”

“With any luck they’re already dead!” laughed the grey cat in the dark blue vest. Had he bothered to turn around at the sound of the astonished gasps, screeching chairs and breaking glass he might not have made such a brazen statement. But after he had successfully misled the Rangers he chose to reward himself with some drink and was now pleasantly sauced.

This meant that he wasn’t quite sure what was happening when he felt a great pressure on his back and saw the tabletop come flying up at his head for a second time. Only this time his head didn’t bounce when it hit the table. His head, and torso, went smashing through the table and he found himself temporarily pinned to the floor. The next thing the cat knew he was being lifted up off the floor by a large paw and was soon face to face with Romulus. By now the cat had sobered up considerably.

“Would you mind elaborating on that remark?” Romulus growled.

“W-well I-I was told t-to tell them to g-go to a warehouse,” the grey cat answered.

“Why?”

“F-Fat Cat was s-setting a trap for them.”

“Where?!”

The cat knew he could get away with revealing the first two answers. But revealing that last one would undoubtedly invite an extremely unpleasant response from Fat Cat once he’d found out. “Corner of Main and River Street,” he lied.

Romulus turned to the rest of the occupants of the casino and stated, “If I find out my friends died because this flea bag gave me the wrong directions I’m coming back here and eating all of you!”

“Twenty-fifth and Jefferson!” several terrified animals called out.

Tossing the cat aside, Romulus quickly left the casino... demolishing several more tables, a slot machine, and sending a chandelier crashing to the floor as he turned around. He emerged from the casino like a shot from a gun. Honker and Canina took off after him and only had a chance to say anything when they began to descend the fire escape.

“Where are we going?” Canina asked.

“Honk!” Honker added.

“To stop a disaster!”

==

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Six continued...

“Here we are my dears,” Fat Cat said as he set down the birdcage containing his two prisoners, “I had some of my people go through this warehouse and seal off all the entrances except one.” He walked over towards a closed door. “The Rescue Rodents will have no choice but to enter at that one place... where I have prepared a little surprise for them,” as he said this he opened the door. Within could be seen two sheets of plywood on opposite sides of a small, poorly lit, passage. Nails, each a few inches long, had been driven through the boards with the tips facing inwards. “It’s my own version of the ‘iron maiden’. You see, your ‘rescuers’ will come through the door in there...” he motioned deep into the passage towards the far end, “and once they enter, the door will slam shut- trapping them. And then...” he finished by bringing his paws together in a sweetly sadistic manner. “Well, you get my... point,” he couldn’t help but laugh at his own sick joke.

“Raven, are you absolutely sure there’s nothing you can do?” Tammy asked her fellow captive quietly as her fear mounted, “Any spell you can cast?”

This hadn’t been the first time since their aborted escape attempt that the question had been asked, and Raven was in no mood to keep repeating herself, “I told you! I can’t cast spells when I’m angry! And you’re not helping!”

“Well we can’t just sit here!” Tammy stated. She marched to the door of the cage and tried to work the lock.

“It’s not going to work!” Raven responded harshly, “Your fingers are too large!”

“At least I’m trying!” Tammy shouted.

“Quiet, you two!” Fat Cat ordered as he shook the cage, sending Tammy to the floor, “You’ll wear yourselves out and won’t be awake to celebrate my victory.”

Tammy wanted to respond with ‘I’d never celebrate your victory, you sick monster!’ but was too enraged to form the words. Fat Cat’s lackeys milled about, bored out of their skulls. Raven remained seated where she’d been since being thrown into the cage, fully aware there was no conventional way out but too unsettled to use her magic to escape.

“Ok everyone, be careful,” Tammy’s ears perked up at hearing Chip’s voice, “this could be a trap.”

“CHIP! IT IS A TRAP!!” Tammy yelled at the top of her lungs.

“Don’t waste your breath,” Fat Cat responded calmly, “They can’t hear you... but we can hear them. There’s a microphone in there... so we can hear their screams.”

There was the sound of a trap door falling shut. “What was that?” Chip was heard to ask. Then there was the sound of turning gears as the walls began to move. “Everyone out!” Chip ordered, “Wait... we’re trapped! Oh no! NO! NOOO!!” The yelling was very nearly drowned out by Fat Cat’s triumphant laughter.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Seven

Fat Cat’s laughter abruptly ceased as he listened closely for the final, grotesque, gurgle. When all sounds from within the passage had ended, the portly feline released a long, contented sigh.

“I’m only sorry I didn’t put in a closed circuit television camera,” he said finally, “I would truly have loved to watch them die... and I could have taped it! So that I could watch it whenever I’m blue... Ah well, I guess I’ll have to settle for keeping their blood soaked clothes as souvenirs.”

Hearing their boss go on about such matters was a little bothersome for Fat Cat’s cronies, who hadn’t enjoyed the final sounds quite as much. For Tammy, however, it was absolute torture. Sitting on the floor, hugging her knees she wept uncontrollably, trying desperately to convince herself it hadn’t been real... that it had been part of Chip’s plan.

“Why was there only one voice?” Raven unknowingly provided some breath for the dying embers of Tammy’s hope.

“H-what?” Tammy managed between sobs.

“If they were all in there... why did we only hear one of them?” Tammy’s sobbing began to ebb as she considered what Raven had said.

Fat Cat was too wrapped up in his own exuberance to hear what the young mouse had said. “Ok, boys, let’s open it up and see what’s left of the great Rescue Rangers!”

“Uh... do we have to, boss?” Snout asked hesitantly, as he was perfectly willing to go without seeing the gore.

“YES!!” the obese feline bellowed. His lackeys immediately ran to open the door in order to placate their boss. The lock was released and the door swung open. Raven and Tammy unconsciously leaned forward as they strained to catch sight of the interior of the passage, each now convinced there was nothing horrible to see.

“What?” Fat Cat uttered skeptically. There was no blood. No corpses. The walls hadn’t even come together. Fat Cat then focused his attention on what was actually between the walls. Looking up from the floor he took in the image of two wolves standing shoulder to shoulder, wedged between the plywood walls.

As Fat Cat’s curiosity was slowly replaced by shock, the two canines leaned against the walls, forcing them back. Once the grinding of gears and clatter of broken machine parts falling to the floor had ceased, the two wolves focused their gaze upon Fat Cat. Both Romulus and Honker gave him broad demented grins. Romulus then cleared his throat before taking a draw off of the helium balloon he was holding. Then, in an astonishing facsimile of Chip’s voice, called out, “Rescue Rangers, away!”

Fat Cat ran screaming in the opposite direction as Romulus released the balloon and gave chase. The warehouse was soon filled with Romulus’s high pitched maniacal laughter. Honker chose to deal with Fat Cat’s associates who were still standing nearby. As he bolted from the passage, Honker tripped over Mole (who had actually begun to approach in an attempt to figure out what the cause of the commotion was) and landed on Mepps, Wart, and Snout... knocking the wind, and the fight, out of all three. Raven and Tammy watched the unfolding scene in wide eyed bewilderment.

“Sounds like the wolves have things in hand,” Fangs mentioned as he stepped back from the trap door.

“All right, Monty, you know what to do,” Chip stated.

Everyone stepped aside to give Monterrey room to work. He promptly rolled up his sleeves and advanced on the door. After some grunting and straining Monterrey wrenched the trapdoor loose. “Ladies first,” he offered giving a courtly bow.

“Why thank you, Montana,” Canina mentioned as she passed. Monterrey clenched his paws and teeth in frustration as she got his name wrong once again.

“At least she got the first syllable right,” Foxglove offered as she passed.

“Frankly, I think she’s doing it on purpose,” Dee responded as she followed.

“At least she didn’t call you ‘Madonna’,” Chip joked.

As Canina made her way through the passage she nearly tripped over something. She looked down and noticed a confused mole pick himself off the floor. “Oh, excuse me,” Canina apologized, “I didn’t see you down there.”

“Hey,” Mole said in a thoughtful tone, “You sound an awful lot like Canina LaFur!”

“Well I should,” she responded, “After all, that’s who I am!”

“Oh! Oh, Miss LaFur,” Mole responded excitedly, “I’ve been a fan of yours for years...”

“Thank you,” Canina responded politely.

“And years...” Mole continued.

“You’re too kind,” the poodle offered blandly.

“And years...” the portly mole went on.

“Uh huh,” Canina replied in an irritated tone.

“And- WHOA!!” Mole’s accolade was cut short as Honker sent him rolling across the floor with a swat of his paw.

“Thank you!” Canina acknowledged. Honker smiled proudly.

“CHIP!!” Tammy exclaimed as she saw him come through the door. The sudden outburst did nothing to help alleviate Raven’s headache, which up till then had begun to subside. Tammy’s joyous cry drew everyone’s attention to the location of the captives. Soon, everyone except Romulus (who was still harassing Fat Cat) was gathered near the birdcage.

“It’s probably locked,” Chip remarked, “Zipper?”

The most diminutive of the Rangers flew into the lock, and within moments a soft metallic ‘clank’ signaled his success. As Zipper opened the door Tammy threw herself at Chip, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

“I was so terrified! I thought I’d never see you again!” Tammy stated excitedly as her prodigious tail flailed about wildly, “But deep down I knew you were too smart to fall for one of Fat Cat’s traps!”

Raven calmly emerged from the makeshift prison once the chance of being buffeted about the head by her friend’s tail had died down. Dee was frozen in place... Raven was less than a year old the last time she’d seen her more than a decade ago, and now she had grown into a beautiful young lady.

When Chip finally got a good look at Raven, he too was astonished. In his mind he saw the photo Dee had shown him of her and her two newborns, this girl looked exactly like her mother had at that age, the only difference being the clothing: whereas Dee had been wearing a hospital gown, Raven was wearing a grey tee shirt and, like Tammy, blue jeans, and over her shoulder was slung a trench coat. Chip was so lost in thought that he hadn’t heard Tammy ask him a question.

“Chip?!” Tammy asked again trying to get his attention.

“Huh?” Chip asked once he heard Tammy.

“How did you get past Fat Cat’s trap?” the adolescent squirrel asked once again.

“Oh, well, we didn’t even know there was a trap until Romulus, Honker and Canina caught up with us,” Chip began to explain, “What happened was that one of Fat Cat’s lackeys had led us to believe that you and Raven were going to be killed soon so that we wouldn’t stop to look for a trap. But Romulus wrung the information out of him and warned us.

Now that we knew there was a trap we had Foxglove and Fangs do some echo-sounding into the passage and discovered what Fat Cat had planned. Since their fur and skin were thick enough to withstand the nails, Romulus and Honker went in first to spring the trap. That way Fat Cat would think his plan worked and would open the door. At that point Romulus and Honker would jump out and deal with him while the rest of us came in to free the two of you.”

“Oh, Chip, you’re so smart!” Tammy squealed as she hugged him again, causing him to blush.

“Where did you get the helium balloon?” Raven asked.

“Fortunately for us there was a store down the street having a grand opening,” Fangs explained, “They had a whole bunch of decorations, including helium balloons.”

Tammy looked around at the others. “Gadget,” Tammy addressed Dee, “What did you do to your hair?”

“Oh, I’m not Gadget,” Dee explained politely, “My name’s Doohickey.”

“Oh,” Tammy responded in a surprised tone, “Oh,” she added in a darker tone as the name sunk in. This mouse wasn’t Gadget... she was worse. Tammy had accepted that Gadget wasn’t trying to win Chip’s affection, which left the door open for her. But she’d heard of the mouse Chip had met abroad who actually had won his heart. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Tammy greeted her coldly.

As Tammy continued to regard Dee with contempt, Fangs pulled Raven aside. “They found out that we were at the museum last night,” he whispered to her once they were out of the way, “But I explained that we were sightseeing and witnessed Fat Cat’s gang steal the diamond and that we had fled when they saw that we had seen them.”

“Why did you tell them that?” Raven asked.

“Well, your parents were right there,” Fangs explained, “I didn’t want you to get into any more trouble than you were probably already in. But since Fat Cat has the diamond now no one...”

“He doesn’t have the diamond,” Raven interrupted bluntly.

“What?” Fangs asked as the bottom dropped out of his stomach.

“Tammy and I were ambushed by a snake and spider... they took it,” Raven explained, “One of them knocked me cold and before Tammy could wake me Fat Cat’s goons found us.”

Unbeknownst to either Fangs or Raven, Foxglove had overheard their discussion. She pulled her sweetie aside, “Dale, I just heard something I think you should all know...”

Fat Cat came crawling, exhausted, towards Chip and the other Rangers with Romulus following menacingly behind. He pleaded, panting heavily, “Please... don’t... let him... eat me! I’m too... handsome... to die!”

“Can I, boss?!” Romulus asked excitedly, “Can I eat him?! Huh-huh-huh?!”

Chip stroked his chin thoughtfully. He had no intention of feeding Fat Cat to a wolf, and knew Romulus likely wouldn’t eat him anyway, but he just couldn’t help letting Fat Cat agonize for a little while.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Seven continued...

The overweight and exhausted feline, seeing the sadistic smile on the chipmunk’s face, began to panic, “Y-you wouldn’t. You couldn’t! You-you’re the good guys!!” He grabbed Chip by the collar of his jacket, “YOU’RE THE RESCUE RANGERS FOR PETE’S SAKE!!”

“Well, since you put it that way,” Chip responded cooly, “We won’t throw you to the wolves.”

“OH, THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!” Fat Cat exclaimed as he picked Chip up with both paws and kissed him on the cheeks repeatedly.

“Perhaps I should reconsider...” Chip stated loudly.

Fat Cat promptly set him down, “Sorry!” The porcine feline adjusted his suit and stated, albeit hesitantly, “Well, you’re all safe, you’re friends are safe... so I guess I’ll be heading on back to my casino then.”

As Fat Cat began to walk off, Chip called after him, “Not so fast!” Romulus immediately stepped on the feline’s tail, stopping him in his tracks. “There’s still one more piece of business to get out of the way,” Chip said.

“Uh, Chip?” Dale asked as he poked his friend on the shoulder.

“Not now, Dale!” Chip scolded as he brushed off Dale’s paw. “It’s about that diamond you stole,” he continued to Fat Cat.

Dale grabbed the shoulder of Chip’s jacket, pulled him over and hurriedly whispered in his ear. Chip’s expression went from irritated to stunned, then went on to dismay. “I was afraid of that,” he mumbled, almost to himself. Chip turned to Romulus, “Let him go.”

“Huh?” the canid asked.

“You can let him go,” Chip repeated, “We don’t need him anymore.”

“O-k,” Romulus responded uncertainly as he let up on Fat Cat’s tail. The crime boss wasted little time in leaving the scene.

“What’s going on?” Dee asked.

Chip wasn’t quite sure how to respond to Dee’s question. He remembered the pained look in her eyes when it was first considered that Raven had stolen the diamond... it was something he didn’t want to have to see again, not unless it was absolutely necessary. “Fangs wasn’t entirely honest with us,” Chip eventually said.

“Um, excuse me,” Raven interrupted as she and Fangs approached. She had realized that Tammy would, inevitably, explain what all had transpired before being captured by Fat Cat. Raven felt that waiting until the Rangers confronted her about the discrepancy would only make Fangs (and herself) look bad. In her mind, the only thing that made sense would be to come forward right off the bat... they’d still be in trouble, but at least the damage would be somewhat limited. “There’s something you need to know.”

“I take it this is about the diamond?” Chip asked.

Raven nodded solemnly. “Fangs and I were only going to remove the diamond from it’s case, take it to the roof, then return it. When we arrived we did see Fat Cat and his gang trying to steal the diamond, but what Fangs didn’t tell you was that we decided to beat him to it. But, when we got to the roof with it, after having made Fat Cat’s people look like fools, I realized I couldn’t cast the spell as I’d planned. I needed the full moon for the spell to work, but the sky was completely overcast. It was my idea to keep the diamond till the next full moon... Fangs didn’t like the idea, but I pushed him into it.”

Dee was disappointed, to say the least, that her daughter had been responsible for the theft. But this was mixed with a certain amount of pride... not only was Raven accepting responsibility for what she’d done, it seemed she was accepting further blame to spare Fangs.

“Tammy didn’t know about any of this until after we met up at the church,” Raven knew very well that this wasn’t entirely true, but she didn’t want her friend getting into any more trouble, “She was very angry with me over this, but before she could talk me out of it I got whacked in the head with a stone... Tammy had to fill me in on what happened after that since I was out of things.”

“What happened?” Chip asked as he turned to Tammy.

“Well, after Raven was knocked out, a snake and spider came out of the bushes,” Tammy started, “The spider got me tied up before I could get away. They took the diamond... the spider said that someone named Freddie would be real glad to get it. The snake... I think his name is Bud... said he was going to eat me, but they heard others coming so they left. I was just able to free myself from the spider’s webbing when Fat Cat’s people showed up. I could’ve run but I didn’t want to leave Raven behind so I tried to fight ‘em off, but I was outnumbered.”

“Looks like that wigged out witch has the diamond after all!” Monterrey declared. Tammy would have continued with her recollections and confess that it was her fault the Rangers had been led into a trap, but the Australian’s interruption spared her from having to go that far.

“Bud and Lou must have arrived at the museum just as Raven and Fangs left and followed her to the church,” Chip concluded.

“Oh... Fangs,” Dee started, “Why did it take you so long to get back to the church?” She was pretty sure of the reason why, she just wanted to be sure.

“I stopped to feed,” Fangs answered with a shrug, “I’m not exactly in a position where I can pick and choose when my meals are... I notice a homeless person asleep in an alley- I take advantage of the situation.”

“You eat homeless people?” Romulus asked with a raised eyebrow.

“No,” Fangs answered in a matter-of-fact tone, “I’m a vampire, I drink some of their blood...”

The enormous canine’s eyes bugged out at the answer.

“I’d love to be able to eat solid food,” Fangs continued, oblivious to the startled reaction from Romulus, “It’d be so much easier to get a hold of.”

Before the bat could continue he was stopped by a horrified scream from Romulus (which scared the bejeebers out of everyone present). Fangs looked up in time to see the carnivore leap in his direction and ducked into a crevice next to a drainage grate.

“KILL IT!! KILL IT!! KILL IT!!” the terrified wolf yelled as he bounced on the crevice with all four paws and his full weight, “EVIL, EVIL, UN-DEAD MONSTER!!” He stopped for a moment and with outstretched paw demanded, “QUICK, GIMME A STAKE!” Honker clumsily rummaged through his fur and produced a small t-bone steak which he quickly handed over to his leader. Romulus looked at it and said, “Close enough,” then proceeded to smash the piece of meat against the floor in the vicinity of the drainage grate, “DIE!! DIE!! DIE!!”

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” Raven yelled once she overcame her initial shock. Without waiting for a response she ran up to the wolf and, when the slab of meat hit the floor, grabbed a hold of the fur on one of his forelegs. As Romulus brought his ‘weapon’ up above his head for another strike, Raven dropped onto his snout. Wasting little time she scurried to the tip and plunged her incisors into the wolf’s cold black nose.

“YEOW!!” Romulus shouted as he dropped the steak and brought his paws to his nose, unintentionally pinning Raven in place. Chip, Dale, and Monterrey rushed to pull the meat aside, allowing Tammy to help pull Fangs out of his hiding place. Zipper flew up to Romulus’s face and loudly chastised him for his irrational behavior. “Huh?” Romulus muttered as he looked at the fly, unable to decipher his furious squeaking and buzzing.

“LET GO OF ME YOU STUPID MUTT!!” Raven yelled. Romulus almost had to cross his eyes to focus on the end of his snout... where he noticed the backside of a mouse sticking out from underneath his front paws. He released his grip on his nose and allowed her to get up.

Raven stood, turned, and boldly marched up the length of the canid’s long muzzle with clenched paws. “WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!” she shouted angrily, “THAT WAS MY FRIEND YOU WERE TRYING TO KILL!!”

Oh yeah, Romulus thought to himself as he crossed his eyes painfully to watch her, that’s Dee’s daughter all right. Her tirade continued with an ever increasing vocabulary of vulgarity. I should probably get her off of my face before she tries to gouge my eyes out. Romulus gently took hold of the irate adolescent and placed her on the cement next to him. As soon as he let go Raven began to advance on him, continuing to hurl epithets as she did so. The mighty hunter actually began to back away from the mouse. At that point Foxglove ran up to grab hold of Raven and began to pull her back.

“You ok?” Chip asked as they approached the bewildered bat.

“Yeah, just shaken up,” Fangs answered, “This isn’t the first time someone’s tried to kill me. Humans, cats, owls, bats... but this is the first wolf.”

“Why would other bats want to kill you?” Tammy asked innocently.

“They don’t think of me as another bat, they only think of me as a vampire,” Fangs explained, “Whenever humans find a colony of bats living in their home their first concern is ‘what if they’re vampire bats?’ So when the colony gets gassed by the exterminators the survivors, or witnesses, blame vampires for what happened since vampires seem to be the reason humans fear bats in the first place. And since there aren’t any vampire bats this far north we’ve become a convenient scapegoat. Parents tell their children: ‘be good, or a vampire will come and get you’, ‘eat up all your moths or a vampire will get you’, ‘don’t stray too far from the colony or a vampire might get you’.”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Seven continued...

While Fangs was explaining his difficulties with other chiropterans, Dee was dealing with a somewhat confused wolf. “What the hell was that all about?” she asked Romulus.

“Well... he’s a vampire!” Romulus answered, as though it were a logical explanation.

“He’s a vampire bat... NOT the kind of vampire from horror movies!” Dee clarified in an irritated voice, “Why don’t you know that?”

“That’s the only kind of vampires they have on TV,” the wolf replied, “And you said TV can be educational!”

Dee dropped her arms to the side and stared at her friend in disbelief. She could hear, in the back of her mind, his mate saying It’s your fault for giving him cable! “Some TV is educational... the History Channel is educational, the Discovery Channel is educational...”

“Ah! ‘Most meteors burn up in Earth’s atmosphere’!” Romulus responded excitedly as he quoted a line from a Discovery Channel commercial he’d seen during a monster movie marathon. Dee sat on the cement and groaned as she buried her face in her paws in despair.

After Romulus apologized to Fangs for his act of attempted murder, preparations were made for departure. It was decided that Raven and Tammy would return aboard the Ranger Wing with Chip and Dale while Dee, Monterrey and Zipper returned ‘aboard’ Romulus and Honker. It went without saying that Foxglove and Fangs would fly back alongside the Ranger Wing.

As the Ranger Wing plied it’s way over the city towards Ranger headquarters Chip remembered a question he had meant to ask earlier. Turning to Fangs he asked, “Since vampire bats don’t normally live this far north, what are you doing here?”

“I was born in captivity somewhere around here... in the city,” Fangs answered, “My parents belonged to a man who sold exotic animals, including vampires.”

“So you escaped?” Chip asked.

“Sort of,” Fangs responded, “When I was still real little I was sold to some drugged up wannabe rock musician. He was heavily into ‘gothic’ crap so having a vampire bat was real important to him. One day he was so high he thought he’d found a way to become a vampire himself... it included sacrificing a real vampire: me! I really wasn’t in the mood to be sacrificed so when he opened my cage I made a break for it. Fortunately his reflexes were so shot he didn’t stand a chance at catching me. I’ve been on my own since then.”

“I was born in captivity too... before Freddie bought me,” Foxglove mentioned, “Maybe we came form the same breeder!”

“Hey, maybe the two of you are related!” Dale joined in excitedly.

“Doubt it,” Fangs responded, “Until I met up with a colony of bats on my own I thought all bats drank blood... if I had close relations that didn’t I think my parents would’ve mentioned something about that when I was still with them.”

“Oh,” Dale mentioned, “I thought it woulda’ made sense... After all, yesterday we found out that Dee and Gadget are half sisters, and this morning we found out that Raven is really Dee’s daughter...”

For Chip, who had developed the habit of ignoring much of Dale’s suppositions, it took a moment before what Dale was saying to sink in. Once it had, he was less than pleased. “Dale, you dummy!” Chip shouted as he bonked his companion hard on the head (so hard, in fact, that the jerking of Chip’s body nearly sent the Ranger Wing into a spin), “You aren’t supposed to say that in front of her!”

“What do you mean I’m ‘really Dee’s daughter’?” Raven asked suspiciously.

Oh no, Fangs thought glumly, the shit’s really gonna hit the fan now!

“Nothing,” Chip answered, trying to cover for his friend’s slip, “Dale just has a tendency to start talking in gibberish. You shouldn’t take anything he says seriously.”

Raven thought for a moment. “If it was nothing but gibberish... why did you say he shouldn’t have said it in front of me?” she asked.

Chip’s mouth dropped open when he realized his own slip was as bad as Dale’s. As his mind raced in search of an excuse, Raven’s suspicion took control of her. “Well? What did he mean?” she asked sternly. Raven quickly lost her patience and her suspicion turned to anger. “The two of you know something about me that I don’t! And you seem to think I don’t even deserve to know! What is it!!”

“Um,” Chip mumbled as he tried to think of a way to defuse the situation... before things got any worse. “It’s not something we’re supposed to tell you,” he eventually responded in desperation.

“Well that’s exactly what you’re going to do!” Raven demanded.

“We can’t do that!” Chip said firmly, trying to assert an authoritative influence.

Unfortunately, the thought of strangers knowing something about her that she didn’t even know, and that they were trying to keep it from her, was unacceptable. The fact that Chip had taken an aggressive tone didn’t help since, from Raven’s perspective, it was a challenge... and Raven, like her mother, could not bring herself to back down from a fight. “Tell me!!” she growled.

“No!” Chip responded, “There’s nothing to tell you!” He didn’t know where those last few words came from... and he wished he could take them back.

Raven chose to be the one to break the verbal stalemate. She reached in front of her and grabbed the collar of Dale’s shirt and pulled it back tightly.

“G-ck!” Dale said. Chip, Foxglove, and Fangs each nearly lost control of their flight when they saw this.

“Tell me what you know!” Raven commanded Dale in a slow and deliberate voice.

“I can’t!” Dale croaked.

“Yes you can!” Raven responded.

“Stop it!” Foxglove shouted, “You’re hurting him!”

“Dale, just unbutton your shirt for Pete’s sake!” Chip suggested. But when Dale began to reach for the top button Raven quickly let go of his collar and put an arm around his neck.

“G-ck!” Dale said once again.

“Talk!” Raven commanded.

“Raven, we promised your parents we wouldn’t tell you,” Chip said, “so if anyone’s going to tell you it should be them.” She didn’t let go.

“Raven, I’ll tell you if your parents don’t, ok?” Fangs offered.

The young mouse was stunned. Even one of her closest friends knew this secret. Raven realized that matters were no longer in her control, and she had faith that Fangs would keep his word... there was no longer any reason to cause the hapless chipmunk any further discomfort.

“Sorry,” Raven said as she let go of Dale’s neck, “I just hate being lied to like that... especially after what I’ve been through so far.”

“That’s ok,” Chip responded with a deep sigh, “We understand.” He tried hard not to think about how Dee was bound to react to these turn of events... at least not until they landed.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Eight

There were no words spoken as the Ranger Wing neared the large oak that was home to the Rescue Rangers. The aircraft set down on the landing strip with no incident with Foxglove and Fangs landing nearby. As the passengers proceeded to disembark, Gadget’s head popped out of the door at the end of the branch. After ducking back inside for a moment Gadget emerged from the door followed by the Southmonts.

Upon seeing Raven safe and sound, Ann raced down the landing strip and embraced her daughter as tears welled up in her eyes. The young mouse briefly forgot the issue discussed in flight and reciprocated her mother’s affection with great zeal. The two ladies were soon joined by Ben who embraced both of them, overjoyed that his family was now reunited.

Chip watched as the Southmonts embraced one another. He hoped that Raven’s safe return and joyous reunion with her adopted parents would cause her to forget about the question that had plagued her during the flight back. But the realist in him greatly feared that Raven would remember the question, and that one of Dee’s greatest fears would be realized as the young mouse’s whole world would be turned on it’d head by the answer.

“I guess I should be heading back home now,” Tammy mentioned as she observed the reunion before her, “But given what we’ve just been through I think I could use an escort,” she then turned to Chip and, batting her eyelashes, continued, “What do you think, Chipper?”

“Huh?” Chip responded blankly as he was preoccupied with other thoughts, “Well, it’s ‘Chip’, remember?” he continued politely, “I’d rather stay here... just in case anything comes up. Gadget, could you take Tammy home?”

“Sure, Chip!” Gadget responded, much to the young squirrel’s chagrin.

As Gadget and Tammy walked off, the elder Southmonts released their daughter. After looking around Ann realized someone was missing. “What happened to Dee?” she asked with a slight hint of concern.

“She, Monty, and Zipper decided to return with Canina and the wolves,” Dale answered.

“That way we could get Raven and Tammy here sooner,” Chip added.

“I suppose we can wait a little while before we go on home,” Ben said, “I think we should have a chance to give her our thanks in person.”

“That reminds me,” Raven spoke up boldly. Both Chip and Fangs cringed at the thought of what she was to say next. “He,” she pointed at Dale as she continued, “unintentionally said that I was ‘really Dee’s daughter’... What did he mean?”

Raven’s adopted parents looked at each other in shock, and then at Dale with dismay. Dale looked at his feet, not wanting to make eye contact with either of the elder Southmonts.

“Then he,” Raven pointed to Chip as she continued once again, “said that he shouldn’t have said that in front of me.” Chip joined Dale in the act of avoiding eye contact. There was still no response from Ann or Ben so Raven went on, “I eventually got them to admit that they had promised you that they wouldn’t say anything so if anything was said... you should say it. Now what is going on?”

“We should go inside,” Ben finally said solemnly, “We’ll explain it then.”

Everyone moved indoors and assembled in the livingroom. When it appeared that everyone had found someplace comfortable Ben hesitantly started, “We... had planned on telling you about this... when you were older... better able to handle the news. You... your...” he sighed deeply as he gathered his thoughts, “We aren’t your natural parents.”

“I’m adopted,” Raven stated coldly.

Ben nodded, “Doohickey Hawkfeather- ‘Dee’- is your mother by birth.”

“She didn’t want me,” Raven added, just as coldly as the last time she spoke. Ben realized that she was reacting just as he feared she might, with indignation about having been lied to and betrayed, and was afraid that her anger would interfere with her sense of reason.

“It wasn’t like that...” Ben started.

“What was it like?” Raven interjected,“What could it have been?” she added with obvious sarcasm, “If she wanted me then she would have kept me! But she didn’t keep me... she gave me away... like a fruitcake after Christmas!”

“Raven...” Ann tried to intervene reassuringly, but feared that Raven’s anger was already out of hand.

“I was something to be gotten rid of!” Raven continued angrily, oblivious to her adopted mother’s attempt to calm her, “I didn’t mean a thing to her!!”

Chip watched this with increasing concern. He knew that this was exactly what Dee had been afraid of. He was also increasingly angered by the accusations Raven was making about her, accusations he knew were false and completely undeserved.

“What kind of mother would do something like that?!” Raven ranted rhetorically.

“One that loved you a great deal!” Chip heard himself say. Raven quickly spun about to face him. The way she glared at him sent a chill down his spine. Way to go, Sureluck! Chip thought to himself.

“WHERE THE HELL DO YOU GET OFF SAYING ANYTHING?!” Raven shouted.

The grotesque silence that followed Raven’s verbal outburst was broken by a voice from outside. Though the words weren’t clear, the voice obviously belonged to Monterrey Jack. What he had said was followed by an indistinct comment from Gadget, then another from Dee. There was an outburst of laughter from the three as they came through the door followed by Zipper.

Raven’s gaze was soon fixated on Dee who, seeing this, ceased her laughter and with a smile asked aloofly, “Did I miss something?” The lightness of Dee’s bearing was more than Raven could tolerate. As she stormed out the door, Raven intentionally bumped into Dee hard with her shoulder. All vestiges of joviality had fled as Dee turned to the Southmonts in desperate confusion, “What happened?!”

As Dee walked over to her despondent godparents, Fangs went to stop Raven. Before anyone could say anything their attention was returned to the open door by a horrifically loud shriek. Fangs soon staggered back inside with his wings over his ears, he was clearly in a great deal of pain. “I am so-o-o stupid!” he whispered.

“What was that sound?!” Gadget asked him in a loud voice.

“Ah-ah-ah!” Fangs responded painfully as he waved her back with a wing, then continued in a whisper, “Raven isn’t in any mood to talk!”

“Crikey!” Monterrey responded (remembering to whisper), “What did she do?”

“She grabbed my ears, pulled my head real close, then screamed at the top of her lungs!” Foxglove cringed at the thought as she was the only other one present who knew how painful that could be for a bat.

“What happened?!” Dee demanded of the Southmonts.

“She found out she was adopted,” Ann responded.

“How?!”

“Your friend there with the red nose,” Ben said motioning towards Dale, “mentioned it without thinking.” Dale then discreetly made his way to the kitchen. Foxglove followed a few moments thereafter. There was little reason for Dale to make himself scarce, though, as Dee was still too stunned to retaliate. She simply sat at the table beside Ann.

“I’m going after her!” Chip stated resolutely as he headed for the door.

“She won’t talk to you,” Ann warned, “and trying to drag her back would be a very, very bad idea.”

“Then I’ll just follow her... to keep an eye on her,” Chip offered.

“We already know where she’s going,” Ben told the chipmunk, “This isn’t the first time she’s lost her temper like this... and she always goes to the same place to cool down.”

“Where?” Dee asked.

“Well, ever since meeting up with Fangs she’d hang out at his place,” Ben explained.

“You knew?” Fangs asked, having slightly recovered from Raven’s rebuff.

“Of course,” Ben responded, “She may not be our daughter by birth but she still is our daughter. We weren’t going to let her storm off into the night without knowing where she was going... I’d follow her.”

There was some silence before Fangs spoke again, “I’d better head back home... she always winds up talking things out with me anyway so I’d better be there.”

“One of us should head back home too,” Ben mentioned as Fangs left, “We don’t want her to return to an empty house.”

“Ok, I’ll stay here,” Ann responded as she placed a paw protectively on one of Dee’s.

“No, I’ll be fine,” Dee reassured her, “You should both be there when she gets back.”

“Well, ok,” Ann sighed, “I’m sorry we couldn’t stay to visit. You take care of yourself!” She gave Dee a motherly kiss on her forehead before leaving with her husband.

Chip walked up to Dee and laid a paw on her shoulder, “You really ok with this?”

“It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Dee remarked, “Just as well we got it out of the way.” She stood and, in an unusually calm voice, asked, “Gadget, mind if I do some work in your workshop?”

“I guess not, I’ll just get some of my projects out of the way,” she answered as she led her sister away.

“I’ll go tell Dale it’s safe to come out of the kitchen,” Monterrey said once the ladies had left.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Eight continued...

Chip sat down in the seat Dee had vacated. It hurt to see her in the shape she was in, especially considering what she had been put through thus far... and the day was only half over. He reached into one of his jacket pockets and removed a small felt covered box. I was going to wait until after we’d returned the diamond to the museum, he thought, After saving the girls I was going to before we went after the diamond, just in case things didn’t... go our way. Chip looked in the direction of Gadget’s workshop. But I can’t do it now, not in the shape she’s in.

“You mean she wasn’t even a little angry?” Dale asked as he, Monterrey, and Foxglove emerged from the kitchen. Chip quickly returned the box to it’s place in his pocket.

“I don’t think it’s quite set in yet,” Monterrey suggested, “But at least while she’s in Gadget’s workshop you’ll have a head start when it does... provided there’s some kind of warning first.”

“And I think it would be a good idea to avoid wandering in until we’re sure she’s not going to do anything to you,” Foxglove added, “Just in case.”

She’s going to bury herself in work, Chip thought, so she doesn’t have to let it set in.

==

Fangs chose a leisurely course to return home. He knew that it would take Raven a while to get there by foot, there was also the fact that he was rather fatigued. Hope she doesn’t want to do too much talking, Fangs thought as he flew, I’ve been up since sunset yesterday... haven’t even had a chance to nap. The stone church he knew as home almost seemed like an island paradise as he approached. Working himself through an obscure opening between the eaves and roofing tiles he entered the cavity that separated the inner ceiling and roof.

After climbing along the undersides of the beams Fangs came to his perch within the wall that separated the main hall from the bell tower. Wrapping his wings about him he hung comfortably and awaited his friend. If Raven’s going to talk she’d better get here soon, Fangs thought as he yawned, I don’t think I can stay awake much longer. But by the time Raven did arrive he was too deep in his slumber to hear her arrival. I hope Raven doesn’t get caught in the storm, Fangs thought in his sleep. In his semiconscious state his mind had turned the sound of Raven loudly clearing her throat into rolling thunder.

“Wake up!”

Raven’s shout awoke Fangs with a start and he found himself looking into the mouse’s face as she stood on the crossbeam beneath him (though it was ‘above’ from his point of view).

“I’m awake,” the groggy vampire mumbled.

“I need to know something,” the mouse stated.

“Sure... what?” Fangs was doing his best to remain lucid for his friend’s sake.

“Did you know I was adopted?” Raven asked, “Or were you just trying to get me to let go of Dale?”

“I found out this morning,” Fangs started to explain, pausing to yawn, “When Chip mentioned that your parents...” he noticed how Raven scowled at him as he said the word ‘parents’ and corrected himself, “When he mentioned that your adopted parents were Dee’s godparents Foxglove got confused, so he explained how they were related and that you were adopted... I just happened to be there at the time.”

“Ok, thanks. I’ll let you get back to sleep,” Raven stated quietly, “And I’m sorry about screaming at you earlier,” she added apologetically.

“That’s ok,” Fangs mumbled, “It was my fault anyway, I forgot how unpleasant you get when you’re mad.”

“G’night,” Raven offered as she sat down on the beam.

“Yeah,” Fangs responded as he closed his eyes, grateful to be allowed to return to his rest.

==

It was well into the afternoon when Gadget approached Chip with a request. It appeared that he was watching the news as he sat on the couch facing the television. However, he registered very little of what was being said or shown. He was more concerned about Dee’s emotional state, he wasn’t sure how best to proceed... should he encourage her to express her emotions... should he try to cheer her up... how should he try to cheer her up...

“Chip?” Gadget asked, “I was wondering if you could do something for me.”

“Uh, sure... What?” he responded once he’d returned to the here and now.

“Could you do something about Dee?” Gadget asked plainly, “I’d like to be as understanding as I can and let her use my workshop as long as she wants since she is my sister after all, but I do have projects of my own that I’d really like to get back to.”

“Ok, I’ll see what I can do,” Chip said as he got up from the couch.

“I’m also a little worried because Dee always says that her inventions have a tendency to explode,” Gadget continued as she followed Chip, “and even though I don’t keep anything around that has any kind of explosive potential... well, not since the ‘incident’ anyway... I don’t think it would be wise to leave her alone in there in the event I overlooked something.” This was followed by fairly substantial ‘boom’ as they reached the closed door. “Which apparently I did,” Gadget added. Chip and Gadget rushed into the room and were confronted by a light cloud of smoke.

“Huh... that wasn’t supposed to happen,” Dee said to herself with little noticeable concern.

“What happened?!” Chip asked.

Dee turned and noticed the two. “The thingy I was working on blew up,” she responded simply.

“How?” Gadget asked.

“I’m not quite sure,” Dee answered as she waved her paw about to clear away the smoke before her, “I don’t think I was handling anything explosive.”

“Are you ok?” Chip asked as he walked over to her.

“Is there anything unnatural sticking out of me anywhere?” Dee responded as she looked herself over.

“No,” Chip answered after a cursory examination.

“Then I’m fine,” Dee concluded. “I suppose you want your workshop back, right?” she asked as she turned to Gadget.

“If you don’t mind,” Gadget responded politely.

“That’s ok,” Dee answered, “I should make it a rule to stop working when things start to explode for no logical reason anyhow.”

As Dee began to leave the workshop Chip came up beside her. “Uh, Dee?” he asked as he put an arm around her, “I was wondering... considering all that’s happened since you arrived... maybe we could go out to dinner, just the two of us, to take your mind off things.”

“How can I refuse?” Dee responded cheerfully. Chip hadn’t been sure whether this was the right time to set his plan into motion, but her gleeful response was enough to help silence the doubt.

Dee was ready to go in an astonishingly short time, helping lay to rest the myth that all females take forever preparing for a date. It wasn’t just her generally efficient nature that sped up the process, this was the type of thing she had in mind when she’d decided to visit... getting a chance to spend some quality time with the love of her life. Chip was pleasantly surprised to see that Dee was practically bouncing as she joined him at the door before they left.

“Don’t do anything I’d do!” Monterrey called after them with a laugh.

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Dee replied.

As he piloted the Ranger Wing over the city, Chip couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. He’d planned this evening two months before in anticipation of a visit from Dee. Logically he knew it was entirely possible that she wouldn’t come to visit, but part of him held out hope... and it had been Spring after all, he just couldn’t help himself. Chip had been careful not to over think the matter, not just because he had come to realize he might ‘plan the fun out of it’ but because their relationship had been built on a certain level of spontaneity.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Eight continued...

Chip brought the Ranger Wing to a landing within walking distance of one of the finest nonhuman restaurants in the city. As they approached the entrance Dee took note of the well dressed rodents coming and going.

“Somehow I don’t think I fit the dress code,” Dee mentioned as she gave a glance to her traditional black jumpsuit.

“I don’t think it’ll be too much of a problem,” Chip responded confidently as he opened the door for his date.

Upon entering the establishment the two were confronted by the maitre d’. “Excuse me, we do not serve your kind here,” the mouse stated in a close approximation of a French accent, “Perhaps you would be better served at... Burger King.”

“I believe the management would be willing to make an exception in our case,” Chip stated boldly.

“And what am I to tell the management to justify such an... exception?” the maitre d’ responded sarcastically.

Chip casually motioned for the faux Frenchmouse to lean closer, which he did, much to Dee’s surprise. “You can tell him this...” Chip began before whispering something into the mouse’s ear.

As he listened, the maitre d’ began to smile, then nearly laughed. “I think I shall,” he responded lightly, “the manager should get quite a kick out of that!” The mouse walked off to relay the message.

Dee couldn’t help but admire the fact that her escort didn’t seem the least bit concerned over the matter. She watched as the maitre d’ walked to a door at the far side of the establishment and spoke to someone just inside. He was joined shortly by a mouse in a rather expensive looking suit. After listening to the maitre d’ for a moment the well dressed mouse smacked him upside the head and began to berate him in an animated manner. Following this the maitre d’ quickly walked back to the two casually dressed patrons.

“My apologies, Monsieur Maplewood,” the maitre d’ began in an embarrassed voice, “I... did not recognize you. Please, right this way!”

As they were led to one of the finer tables Dee quietly asked Chip, “Let me guess... the manager owes the Rescue Rangers big time, right?”

“Was it that obvious?” Chip responded. They both enjoyed a quiet chuckle.

All through the meal the two talked, laughed and gazed into one another’s eye’s. It was turning out to be the kind of date both had dreamed of since they’d met. The affair was made even more perfect when it came time to settle the bill as they were informed that the meal was on the house.

Chip made sure the evening didn’t end simply with a good meal. As the setting sun painted the sky brilliant hues of red, orange, purple, and royal blue Dee found herself being driven through the park, snuggled up beside her escort, in a chihuahua-drawn carriage (which was dwarfed by the horse-drawn carriages that occasionally passed by).

Holding Dee with one arm Chip reached into his pocket with the other. Well, here goes, he thought as he held the small felt box. “Ye’shöni’?” he asked softly.

“Yes, Jiho’gwais?” Dee responded as she hugged him close.

“I want to ask you something,” Chip stated as he removed the box from his pocket. Holding it before his date he opened it with his one paw revealing a magnificent diamond ring. Chip finally asked, “Will you marry me?”

==

Fangs awoke shortly after the sun had set. As he stretched, his sensitive nose detected a faint heat source below. A quick echosounding revealed Raven’s familiar form. Curled up and breathing regularly she appeared to be sleeping soundly. Don’t tell me she’s been here all afternoon! Fangs thought to himself, I should have tried to make a better effort to stay awake!

Though he didn’t really want to, Fangs decided to wake her, “Raven?” She moved a little, “You awake?” he asked. No new movement. “Raven,” he repeated louder. Her body twitched suddenly, then, rolling onto her back, she stretched. “Have you been waiting here all afternoon for me to wake up?” Fangs asked.

“No,” Raven answered, “I left shortly after you went back to sleep.” She sat up and continued, “I went home for a quick bite to eat then went to check on Tammy.”

“How is she?”

“Grounded.”

“For how long?”

“I’m not really sure,” Raven stretched again before continuing, “Bink answered the door. She said that Tammy was grounded ‘forever’... then her mother showed up and began screaming at me. I couldn’t understand most of what she said, but what I could figure out wasn’t very helpful. Hostile and vulgar, but not helpful.”

“She throw anything at you?” Fangs asked with a little laugh.

“No, but I think that’s only because there wasn’t anything in arm’s reach,” Raven joked. Despite the jest Fangs noticed that his friend almost immediately sank into a sorry state.

“Did you talk things over with your parents?” Fangs asked with a serious tone. Raven glared at him. “Adopted parents,” he corrected himself.

“Wasn’t in the mood,” Raven answered, “Besides, what’s to talk about? The fact that they’ve lied to me my entire life?”

“They’ve also clothed, fed, and protected you your entire life,” Fangs responded in the Southmonts’ defense.

“That’s only because I was foisted on them!” Raven shot back, “That only means they have more of a conscience then... her.”

“I assume you mean your real mother?” Fangs asked. Raven’s response was somewhere between a hiss and a growl. Ok, no more references to ‘real mother’, Fangs thought to himself.

“What kind of parent would abandon their child like that?” the young mouse asked calmly.

Fangs knew better than to repeat Chip’s answer from earlier that afternoon. He decided on a response that, hopefully, would appeal to her logic, “How do you know she didn’t want to keep you? My parents wanted to keep me, but they had to let me go.”

“Your parents didn’t have any choice!” Raven answered, “A human opened the cage, reached in, and pulled you out! What were they supposed to do? Write a letter to Amnesty International?”

Ok, let’s try a little more logic, Fangs thought. “How do you know she had a choice?” he asked.

“She certainly doesn’t look... or act like someone who’d been in a position like that. She’s obviously in excellent shape, a close personal friend of the Rescue Rangers,” Raven responded, “doesn’t live in a cage,” she added sarcastically in reference to Fangs’ parents.

Ok, so much for logic, Fangs thought glumly.

“I’m alone,” Raven said softly, and had it not been for his excellent hearing Fangs might not have even heard it.

“You’re not alone,” Fangs told her quietly. He lowered himself down onto the beam next to her. Sitting down he put a wing around her. “You’ve always been there for me, the only one to come to my defense... How can I do any less for you?”

Raven leaned up against her friend as a tear made it’s way down her cheek. He has always been there for me, she thought, came to my rescue, even tried to keep me out of trouble. The first tear was soon joined by others.

Fangs wrapped his other wing protectively around Raven as she cried softly. Holding her close he gently began to sing their song, a soft ballad by Dan Seals they’d adopted as their own since hearing it late one night coming from a human’s apartment.

“She’s a small town girl with no room to grow.
He’s a reckless boy with nowhere to go.
They’re like birds in a cage with no place to fly.
So he parks the car and she holds him tight.

“And they rage on,
Somehow searching for the answers,
In the night like shadow dancers,
Before their time is gone.
They rage on.

“On the same dark night two more people meet
In a rented room on a cross town street
And she’s lost her youth and he’s lost his dreams,
But for a while they feel like they used to feel.

“And they rage on,
Somehow searching for the answers,
In the night like shadow dancers,
Before their time is gone.
They rage on... rage on.

“And they rage on,
Against the lives that this world gave them,
Hoping something’s there to save them.
They rage on... rage on.

“And somewhere between right and wrong,
In the grey between dusk and dawn,
They tell themselves they are not alone
‘Cause they rage on.

“They rage on,
Somehow searching for the answers,
In the night like shadow dancers,
Before their time is gone.
They rage on.

“They rage on,
Against the lives that this world gave them,
Hoping something’s there to save them.
They rage on... they rage on.”

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Nine

“I thought they were only going out for dinner,” Gadget mentioned as she realized the sun had set some time ago.

“‘Dinner’ means different things for different people, luv,” Monterrey replied, “For some it means getting a small bite t’ eat. For others it could mean gettin’ something t’ eat, then running off to Vegas to get hitched.”

“You don’t think...” Foxglove started as she sat with the others on the couch.

“Nah, Chipper ain’t the sort,” Monterrey responded dismissively, “Oh sure, he’ll settle down eventually, but only after years of careful planning. Why it’ll probably take ‘im a year just to work out the proposal.”

“I don’t know,” Dale interjected thoughtfully, “Dee and Chip took to each other pretty quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chip popped the question tonight!” Zipper got a hearty laugh from Dale’s logic. “What do you think is so funny?” Dale asked the amused fly.

“Dale, you have to admit, Chip isn’t the type to do something that impulsive,” Gadget explained.

“Well then, what do you think is keeping them?” Dale asked.

“I dunno,” Gadget replied with a shrug, “Maybe they stopped to help somebody in trouble. Or they found out they couldn’t pay for dinner and had to work off their debt in the kitchen. Or the Ranger Wing malfunctioned and they crashed. Or they were kidnapped by a cult and are going to be brainwashed into becoming fanatic members... who will eventually gain control and lead their followers on a campaign of death and destruction that can only end when we take up arms against our own closest friends and-”

“Gadget,” Monterrey interrupted, “I think that’s enough speculation for now.”

“Oh, ok!” Gadget responded cheerfully.

In a few moments the front door opened and the two in question slowly made their way inside. They both seemed slightly tipsy, an image enhanced by the fact that Dee was clinging to Chip’s side with her arms flung around his neck. But the most unusual aspect of their appearance was that Dee was wearing Chip’s fedora.

“Heh, we were beginning to wonder what was keeping the two of you,” Monterrey greeted them.

“Looks like you had a good time,” Gadget mentioned noticing the incredibly goofy smile on her sister’s face.

“Mm-hm,” Dee responded with an exaggerated nod, still clinging to Chip.

“Do you want me to tell ‘em?” Chip asked his companion.

“G’head!” Dee answered as she laid her head on his shoulder.

Chip cleared his throat, “Tonight, I asked Dee to marry me... and she said ‘yes’!”

Foxglove, Dale, Monterrey, Gadget, and Zipper stared in amazement.

“Actually,” Dee added, “I said: AAAAHHHHHHH!!” The sudden scream caused Foxglove to jump, and seeing this Dee pointed to her and shouted, “That’s just what the chihuahua did!”

“Then she said ‘yes’,” Chip finished.

“Golly!” Gadget said, “um... golly!”

“Congratulation, pally!” Monterrey said as he gave Chip a bear hug, “And the same goes for you too, luv!” he added as he hugged Dee. As the two lovers tried to recover from Monterrey’s crushing enthusiasm he caught sight of the diamond, “Too-ra-loo! Get a load of that rock!”

“So that’s what you were doing this morning,” Foxglove mentioned to Chip as she joined them, “You were out getting the ring!”

“That’s right!” Chip answered.

“I told them you were going to pop the question tonight!” Dale joined in, “But they just wouldn’t believe me.”

“You must be psychic,” Foxglove joked.

Gadget finally overcame her shock and joined in. “Congratulations, Chip!” she said as she hugged him tightly. Gadget then embraced her sister, “Congratulations, sis!”

“Ya’ know, this means Chip is gonna to be your brother-in-law,” Dee commented.

Gadget thought it over for a moment, then flung her arms around Chip once more, “Welcome to the family, Chip!”

“And don’t you worry, lad,” Monterrey stepped in, “Dale and I are gonna give ya’ one bonzer bachelor party!”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Chip laughed.

“Just make sure I get ‘im back in one piece!” Dee added, “Now, if nobody minds too much, I think we should go let Romulus in on all this. He deserves to know that his pack is going to be one chipmunk larger.” Dee then took her future husband by the arm, “We’ll be back before long.”

Chip did his best to keep his mind focused on the Ranger Wing’s controls rather than his future wife snuggled up beside him. He thought about bringing up the possibility of stopping off to tell the Southmonts. But the thought was soon dismissed when he considered Dee and Raven coming into contact again. No need to bring it up if she doesn’t, he told himself.

“Ahhh, Rodent-McNuggets!” Romulus noted as Dee and Chip arrived at Canina’s dressing trailer.

“Cute,” Dee responded, “I got something to show ya’!”

“Really?” Romulus asked as his ears perked up.

“Yep!” Dee answered as she held out her left paw.

The massive canine crouched down in order to get a good look. “Ooooh! Sparkly!” Romulus commented as the light reflected off the diamond.

“Honk?” Honker asked.

“Yeah, what is it?” Canina joined in, “Oh my gosh! I’m actually starting to understand him!”

“It’s a diamond ring!” Romulus replied as he sat up, then picking Dee up and showing her to the others continued, “See?” Canina and honker leaned in to observe the engagement ring Dee was proudly displaying.

“It’s beautiful!” Canina commented, “Although it is a little small.” The star of stage, screen and occasional dog food commercial gasped, “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“Uh-huh!” Dee answered, “Me and Chip are getting married!”

“Oh! I’m so happy for you!” Canina exclaimed, “Both of you!”

Honker honked excitedly.

“You will invite me to the wedding, won’t you?” Canina asked, “Well, provided my agent will let me go of course.”

“We haven’t set a date yet,” Chip explained, “But when we do we’ll be sure to let you know.”

“Could you set me down now?” Dee asked Romulus.

Monterrey, Zipper, Dale, Gadget and Foxglove were still discussing their surprise at Chip proposing marriage after knowing Dee for only a year (and their equal surprise that Dale had actually predicted it) when the two returned. One by one they all discreetly retired to different rooms until Dee and Chip were alone with one another in the livingroom. Eventually, one by one, they found their way to the kitchen.

“I wonder how we’re going to break this to Tammy?” Gadget thought aloud as Monterrey fixed the others something to eat.

“I don’t think we’re the one’s who should be breakin’ it to her,” Monterrey commented as he backed away from the fridge with an armload of food, “If anyone’s gonna break ‘er heart it should be Chip.”

“I wonder why she can’t find other boys her own age?” Gadget asked.

“It’s just a phase we all go through,” Monterrey responded, then looking at Gadget for a moment, stated, “Well, most of us anyhow.” He then got the urge to reminisce, “I remember back when I was a lad... making my first trip through the States. There was this Creole mouse I met outside New Orleans... she was nearly twice my age,” then he added with a laugh, “but she didn’t look it!”

Monterrey’s story was interrupted as the door to the livingroom opened. As Dale and Foxglove came in Chip could be heard in the background proclaiming, “There’s the real killer! Shoot him!”

“I wonder what they had to drink at dinner?” Dale asked rhetorically.

“What was that about?” Gadget asked.

“Dee and Chip are watching ‘Matlock’,” Foxglove answered, “Apparently Dee has seen it before because she pointed out one of the characters and shouted ‘There’s the real killer, shoot him!’ I guess she got the characters confused because she later shouted ‘There’s the real killer, shoot him!’ They’ve been going back and forth ever since... I think there was a commercial on that last time.”

Later on, Chip ventured into the kitchen. Before he could say anything Dale and Foxglove shouted, “There’s the real killer! Shoot him!”

“Verrrry funny,” Chip responded lightly, “I thought I’d let you all know that Dee and I are ready to turn in. After all, we still have a case to solve and should get started bright and early tomorrow.” As Chip began to leave he turned back. “Dale, you don’t mind sleeping on the couch again tonight, do you?” he asked.

“Gee, I don’t see why not,” Dale answered, “But can I have the other side this time?”

“You can have the whole couch if you want,” Chip replied as he left.

“Uh, what did he mean by that?” Dale asked the others.

“I think he meant that Dee and him will be having the bedroom to themselves tonight,” Gadget ventured.

“So he’s just kicking me out?!” Dale protested.

“Don’t worry,” Foxglove purred as she put her wings around him, “I’ll keep you company, cutie!”

After all the others had departed for their respective rooms Dale and Foxglove made themselves comfortable in the livingroom; Dale stretched out on the couch with Foxglove perched above him. Some time passed before Dale got up the nerve to ask something that had been preying at him for a while. “Foxy?” he whispered.

“Mm-hm?”

“If there was anything going on in mine and Chip’s room you’d be able to hear it, right?”

“Of course.”

“Well... is there?”

“Dale,” Foxglove scolded kindly, “If they were doing what I think you think they were doing then I think you might have heard something.”

Dale wasn’t entirely able to make sense of what she had said, but didn’t want to admit it, “Oh... um, ok.”

Foxglove giggled at his sheepish response. “G’nite, cute stuff.”

“G’nite, Foxy.”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Nine continued...

==

The day started as it usually does, with the Sun’s rays bursting over the eastern horizon and sending the shadows of the night scurrying for cover. The sunny disposition of the dawn was rivaled only by that of a chipmunk and mouse residing in a particular oak tree. How they went about the morning routine barely ever taking their eyes off one another provided a certain measure of amusement to those around them. The other chipmunk, however, soon found himself ‘on the spot’ as a young bat, inspired by the behavior of the other two, kept snuggling up beside him.

The Rangers, Dee, and Foxglove were gathered in the livingroom preparing to head out after Winifred and the Delronne Diamond when there was a knock at the door. Gadget, being the closest, went to answer it. Upon opening the door she was confronted by a pair she hadn’t expected. “Oh! Hello, Raven... Fangs,” Gadget greeted them, “Can we help you?”

Dee was instantly filled with anxiety as she heard who was at the door. She was calmed somewhat as Chip took her paw in his.

“Actually, we were wondering if we could help all of you,” Raven responded politely, “May we come in?”

“Um, sure, I guess so,” Gadget answered hesitantly.

As she entered, Raven inadvertently made eye contact with Dee. She scowled briefly before looking away. Chip watched as Dee’s entire countenance drooped as she also looked away. He gently squeezed her paw to remind her that he was there for her.

“It occurred to us that since you’re probably gonna go after the diamond we might be able to help,” Raven confidently announced, “Since you’ll be trying to get it away from a witch it might help to have someone with you who has some practical knowledge of magic. And from what Tammy has told us, none of you really know all that much about magic... except that it exists.”

Everyone looked at Chip, who then looked at Dee. He was unable to read her thoughts by her expression and therefore wasn’t quite sure what to say. Eventually, he decided to fish for more information, “What kind of help were you thinking about? Spells you could use... Information you might have...”

“Well, both,” Raven answered, “I know some spells that could be useful; I can become invisible, create illumination, I can ‘zap’ things... or people. I also know how the diamond is supposed to be used to increase someone’s powers.”

“‘Zap’ things?” Dale asked, “You mean like shoot lightning at something?!”

“Yeah,” Raven nodded casually.

“Could you show us? Y’know, like zap something around here?” Dale asked excitedly.

Raven never liked taking requests and was slightly offended. She quickly reached into one of the sleeves of her trench coat and pulled out a metal wand (actually it was a straight portion of a former paper clip). Pointing it at Dale she declared, “I can zap you!”

Dale suddenly looked very alert as he responded, “Uh, no thanks! It was just a thought.”

“Well, what if I set up a target... could you ‘zap’ that?” Gadget asked, “I’d really like to see something like that!”

“Fine,” Raven grumbled.

Gadget ran off to her workshop. She soon returned with a stand and a small wooden block to use as the target. Gadget stepped back and lowered her goggles, “All set!”

Being asked to put on a show was irritating for Raven, so before she could do anything she had to calm down. She kept reminding herself that one good demonstration would be enough to shut them up so they wouldn’t ask for an encore. Once she was calm enough to focus, Raven lifted the wand across her chest, then thrust it towards the block.

A jagged bolt of blinding bluish light appeared between the tip of the wand and the wooden block. This was accompanied by an earsplitting ‘CR-R-RACK’. The block went flying across the room as the stand fell to the floor. Trailing smoke behind it, the block bounced off the far wall and tumbled along the floor dropping bits of glowing embers in it’s wake.

“Golly!” Gadget exclaimed as she lifted her goggles and ran to retrieve the smoldering block of wood.

Raven turned to the others and, brandishing her wand, stated, “The next person who asks for a demonstration is going to be part of the demonstration.” As she had hoped, there were no requests for an encore.

Chip gave Dee another look in an effort to find either approval or disapproval. He found no conclusive evidence of either. “Ok, Raven and Fangs, you’re in,” Chip finally said. “Time to get down to business,” he continued, “We need to find out where Freddie is staying now that she’s out on parole. Dee and myself will see if the police have anything on file. Foxglove, you should let Romulus and Honker know that we might need their tracking skills. The rest of you should stake out the abandoned laundromat where Freddie used to hang out. We’ll all meet back there by noon or earlier.”

“Should I ask the wolves to meet us there too?” Foxglove asked.

“No, they should continue to play ‘guard dog’ for Canina until we need them,” Chip answered, “If they spend too much time wandering around the city loose, people might get concerned.”

As Chip piloted the Ranger Wing towards the police station he felt they might have a chance to take advantage of Raven being preoccupied. “If we’ve got time after checking things out with the police you think we should pay a quick visit with your godparents, let them in on the good news?” he asked Dee.

His fiancé gave him a broad smile, “Then we best not dawdle while we’re looking for the information!”

“You know, I’m amazed by how similar you and Raven are,” Chip ventured, hoping Dee wouldn’t mind the new topic, “Not only does she look like you did at her age but she acts a lot like you.”

Dee gave a little smile and shrugged, “What can I say? She’s my daughter.”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Nine continued...

As Gadget piloted the Ranger Plane towards Freddie’s old hideout Raven kept looking over the ‘unique’ aircraft. Whereas the Ranger Wing bore a distinct similarity to prop driven aircraft flown by humans, this particular vehicle had a look all it’s own. Held aloft by an elongated balloon, the bleach bottle fuselage was propelled forward by flapping wings and used plunger tipped ‘legs’ for landing gear.

“When Tammy told me about this thing I didn’t think it would be this... goofy looking,” Raven commented.

“It was the best I could do given the resources available at the time,” Gadget responded, “Besides, it’s less likely to fall victim to jet wash and crash like the Ranger Wing did the last time we encountered Freddie.”

“More like ‘vacuum cleaner’ wash,” Dale pointed out.

“Vacuum cleaner wash?” Raven asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Y’see, Freddie was a ‘thoroughly modern’ witch, as it were,” Monterrey explained, “She flew a vacuum cleaner instead...”

“...of a broom,” Raven finished. “Yeesh!” she proclaimed rolling her eyes dramatically, “She should’ve been sent to prison for that alone!”

“That it down there?” Fangs asked as they approached their destination.

“That’s it!” Gadget stated, “Oh! No.. waitaminute...”

“That’s the right place all right,” Monterrey confirmed, “But it looks like it’s back in business.”

What had been an abandoned laundromat was now quite active. People of various descriptions were coming and going with bundles of laundry. Gadget landed the Ranger Plane atop a neighboring building as Fangs landed nearby.

“I don’t think Freddie would’ve set up shop here again,” Monterrey thought aloud as they disembarked, “Not with so many people comin’ and going.”

“Actually she might’ve,” Raven responded, “If she knows the right spells she could arrange it so that the people who enter will be under the illusion that there’s nothing out of the ordinary.” Raven thought for a moment. “Come to think of it, she wouldn’t need to be much of a witch at all,” she added, “A stage magician could pull off an illusion like that without ‘real’ magic.”

“What do you mean?” Dale asked.

“The people going in there are predisposed to think they’re in a normal laundromat,” Raven pointed out, “That means they’ll be less likely to notice things that have nothing to do with a laundromat.”

“I’d think a cackling witch stirring a cauldron would be kinda hard to miss,” Monterrey responded.

“I know what she means,” Gadget stated, “During the Second World War some ships were painted with bizarre patch works of red, white and black markings. The resulting contrasts made them look so unlike ships that they were actually overlooked by observers looking for ships.”

“So unless someone goes in there looking for something out of the ordinary they might not see it at all,” Monterrey concluded.

“Right,” Raven said, “Someone looking for a UFO will be more likely to see that” she added pointing to the Ranger Plane, “than people who assume that anything they see up in the sky is just another bird or something.”

“So if we go in there looking for Freddie,” Dale postulated, “then we will find her!”

“Assuming she’s in there in the first place,” Gadget pointed out.

“Well, of course,” Dale added.

“Fangs and Monterrey, you stay out here to keep an eye on things,” Gadget suggested, “the rest of us will look around inside.”

“Be careful,” Fangs warned, “Rodents aren’t as out of place in a laundromat as a witch.”

“I can take a look around inside without attracting attention,” Raven stated, “I can become invisible after all.”

“Well, ok,” Gadget agreed, “but be careful anyway, I don’t want to have to be the one to tell Dee if something happened to you.”

“Like she’d care,” Raven growled as she left.

Shortly after Raven departed Foxglove arrived. It was closing on eleven before Dee and Chip arrived in the Ranger Wing.

“We found Freddie’s address,” Chip stated as he and his fiancé climbed out of the aircraft, “She’s staying in an apartment across town. Anything happen around here?”

“Not really,” Gadget answered, “We’re still waiting for Raven to get back, she went in to look around.”

“I was wondering where she was,” Dee mentioned.

“The wolves and Canina are ready to do some ‘sniffing’ around whenever we need them,” Foxglove reported for Dee and Chip.

“What took the two of you so long?” Monterrey asked, “It doesn’t usually take you that long to get a hold o’ some information.” He then added suggestively, “Unless you decided to have some time to yourselves.”

“We decided to stop to meet with Ann and Ben,” Dee responded, “We figured we’d visit when Raven wasn’t around.”

“Not only didn’t you want me as your child,” Raven proclaimed as she approached, becoming visible as she did so, “You don’t even want me around at all!”

“That’s not what I meant!” Dee replied desperately.

“Like hell it wasn’t!” Raven growled as she stormed off.

“Please, Raven, I need to explain,” Dee pleaded as she went after her. The distraught adolescent didn’t even slow down. “Please?” Dee asked as she took hold of her daughter’s arm.

“LET GO OF ME!!” Raven shouted as she flung her arm around. “JUST STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!!” she screamed as she faced her mother. Turning back around Raven ran off.

“Aw, damn,” Fangs mumbled as he took to the air to follow Raven.

Falling to her knees, Dee began to cry.

-to be continued...

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Ten

Fangs located Raven sulking on the railing of the fire escape with her back to the wall, just over the side of the roof. She had told him the previous night that she could handle her anger towards her mother. Fangs had a feeling that, as much as anything else, Raven was upset at being unable to meet her own expectations.

“Where the hell does she get off laying a finger on me?!” Raven snarled as Fangs landed on the railing in front of her.

“I know you probably don’t want to go back to deal with the others right now,” Fangs started quietly, “So, if you want, I can go back and tell them what you found inside... if anything... and I’ll be right back.”

Raven looked at her friend as she thought. Then her eyes began to widen as a realization sank in. “Damn!” she blurted out as she leapt up. Fangs instinctively backed away as he was unaware of what had occurred to her. He watched as Raven clambered back up onto the roof.

As Fangs flew up to follow her he noticed the Ranger Wing taking off. If she’s going to apologize she’d better hurry, he thought assuming that the others were leaving. Chip, Dale, Foxglove and Zipper were still there.

“Hey, looks like she’s coming back!” Dale mentioned as he noticed Raven approaching.

When Chip turned to see Raven, Foxglove noticed that he clenched his paws. “Remember, Chip, she’s just a young girl,” she said laying a wing on his shoulder, “and this whole thing with her being adopted can’t be easy on her.”

“So maybe you should*be,” Dale added.

“I’m... I’m sorry I took off like that,” Raven stated once she had returned, “There wasn’t anything in there... in the laundromat.”

Chip glared at Raven for a moment trying to think of the right thing to say. But everything he felt was right to say would likely make things worse, so he settled on the ‘appropriate’ thing to say. “If you’re going to be working with us you’re going to have to learn to control your temper,” Chip stated in a slow, controlled tone of voice.

“I know,” Raven responded in a dismissive manner.

“We can’t have you flying off the handle like that if we’re going to be depending on you,” Chip continued in a slightly raised voice.

“I know,” Raven repeated.

“And I know you’re having a difficult time accepting your mother-”

“She’s not my mother!” Raven interrupted.

“Fine,” Chip sighed, “I know you’re having a hard time accepting that you were adopted, which is why I’m going to give you a second chance to help out. Ok?”

“Right,” Raven conceded blandly.

“Now, while we’re waiting for Gadget to get back from dropping off Dee and Monty, could you fill us in on what you know about the diamond?” Chip asked.

“Well, the legend about it’s origin supposedly goes back about a thousand years, give or take a couple centuries,” Raven began, “A man wanted to marry off his daughter to a good family, but because they were poor the girl didn’t have any real dowry. At some point the father went to a sorcerer and explained his problem. This sorcerer produced a diamond from inside his cloak and explained that it could be used for his daughter’s dowry if he agreed to be his slave once the girl was married. Since he was desperate to ensure his daughter would be taken care of, he agreed. Before long the girl got married to one of the wealthiest noblemen around. At this point she found out about the deal her father had made and was heartbroken. She tried to get the sorcerer to relent and even offered her first born child in exchange, but the sorcerer refused.

“Overcome with grief, she ran off into the forest. As she sat crying on a tree stump a bird asked her what was wrong. After hearing her story the bird revealed that he had been a sorcerer and that the diamond had been his and that the sorcerer who gave her the diamond had been his apprentice. The bird explained that his apprentice stole the diamond in order to increase his own power and then used it to take away his. As a final act of contempt, his former apprentice turned him into a bird. Since the girl was now in possession of the diamond, the former sorcerer explained to her that she could free her father and help him take revenge against his former apprentice.

“After teaching her the proper spell the girl used the diamond to restore the old sorcerer’s powers, then he taught her how to use it to take away the other sorcerer’s power. Later, she went back to the sorcerer who had taken her father and acted as if she was going to beg for her father’s release. This time when he refused she took out the diamond and cast the spell before he could realize what she was doing. Now that he was powerless, the old sorcerer returned and used his power to free the girl’s father and, as punishment, turned his former apprentice into a mule to be put to work on the father’s farm. Since then the diamond was passed down through the family.”

Chip thought for a moment. “Do you know of any time, in recent history, when the diamond was actually used for magical purposes?” he finally asked.

Raven shook her head, “No, that legend was the only mention I was able to find. Of course, after finding about that legend I was mainly interested in finding out about the spells that were used... and that took some doing.”

“What all goes into the spell to give someone all that power?” Chip inquired, “Could Freddie have used it already?”

“No,” Raven answered confidently, “The spell requires that the light of the full moon pass through the diamond and strike the person casting the spell. By the time I got my hands on it heavy clouds had rolled in, and I don’t think they parted before the moon set.”

“In any case,” Foxglove interrupted, “If Freddie had cast the spell that night we probably would have seen some evidence of it.”

“That’s right,” Dale added, “The word ‘subtle’ definitely is not in her vocabulary.”

“I didn’t know ‘subtle’ was in your vocabulary,” Chip jabbed, “But this is good news, it means we still have time.” He looked up as he heard the familiar hum of the Ranger Wing approach, “Next stop: Freddie’s apartment.”

==

Dee strode around Rescue Ranger Headquarters angrily, looking as if, at any moment, she would tear the place apart. Monterrey busied himself placing fragile objects out of Dee’s immediate reach.

“I’m sure the li’l lady just needs some time to sort things out in ‘er ‘ed,” Monterrey mentioned to Dee as he stowed a picture in a cupboard, “After all, this is a lot for a young girl to hafta deal with all at once. Once she’s ‘ad a chance to think things through with a calm mind she’ll probably want to apologize for blowin’ up at you like that.”

“That’s not what I’m upset about!” Dee shouted as she continued to circle the room like an agitated wolf.

Monterrey searched his mind for something to say that would help, but came up lacking. “I know you’d rather ‘ave Chip here to talk things out with-”

“But because he’s the leader he has responsibilities,” Dee finished, “I know that! That’s why I asked him not to come... or weren’t you there when I said that?!”

“Well, then maybe you could tell me what you are upset about,” Monterrey offered out of desperation.

“I cried!” Dee shouted as she stopped her pacing, “I’m not supposed to cry!”

Her answer didn’t make a great deal of sense to Monterrey but he tried to work with it. “Well, we all cry, luv, even I do,” he started.

“I know that, dammit!” Dee responded, “That’s not the point! I broke down in public! I’m not supposed to do that! I’ve worked damn hard to keep my emotions and desires under control... so that others couldn’t use me! I don’t cry... I don’t lose my temper... I don’t do anything to let others know how they could control me!”

“I’ve seen you lose your temper, luv,” Monterrey countered, “and I’ll bet you’ve cried in front of others before... Chip for instance.”

“What you’ve seen were flashes of anger,” Dee responded defensively, “a short outburst to startle others and put them on the defensive... it’s always a controlled act.” After a brief moment she continued, “And I haven’t cried in front of others since Becky died and I had to give up Raven. Not in front of my brother, not in front of my mother, not in front of Romulus, Virginia, or anyone else! Never! The one exception has been Chip, but only because he’s the one person I’ve trusted enough to let my guard down around!”

“If you never lose your temper in front of others... What were you doing just now?” Monterrey inquired cautiously.

“I’m losing my temper!” Dee responded, “I cry, and I lose my temper, when and where others can’t see it!”

“Then why are you venting your rage in front of me?” Monterrey asked.

“Because you’re a friend of my fiancé... and you’re a good friend... which means you’re not about to let me out of your site for a moment if there’s the slightest chance I might do myself some kind of harm!” Dee answered.

She’s got you there, mate, Monterrey thought to himself. “Then vent all you want, luv,” he said, “Just try to keep the property damage to a minimum.”

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Ten continued...

==

Raven, Fangs and Zipper sat quietly in the Ranger Plane as Gadget piloted. Chip, Dale and Foxglove flew up ahead in the Ranger Wing, periodically circling around to allow the slower aircraft to keep up. Both chiropteran companions had chosen to ride along rather than fly, though for different reasons. Foxglove liked the chance to be close to Dale; Fangs, on the other hand, wasn’t as well adjusted to daytime activities as Foxglove and didn’t want to over do.

Gadget was growing tired of the awkward silence coming from one particular passenger and decided to make some small talk to pass the time, “I’m not sure if you found out yet or not, though I’m not sure why anyone would’ve told you, but, technically speaking, I’m your aunt.”

“And?” Raven responded coldly, clearly in no mood for small talk.

“Oh, nothing,” Gadget answered, “I just thought it’d be interesting to bring up. I mean, I didn’t even know you were my niece until a couple days ago when I found out that Dee was my half sister.”

“Maybe you could answer a question for me,” Raven opened as something entered her mind.

“Sure,” Gadget replied helpfully, “What I mean is I’ll try.”

“Who the hell is my father?” the adolescent asked bluntly.

“Golly, that’s a tuffy,” Gadget replied, “I’m not sure anybody knows the answer to that one... Not even your mother... I mean Dee.”

“She doesn’t even know?!” Raven nearly shouted in disbelief, “Why the hell not?!”

“Well, from what I know,” Gadget started, “At the time she had you she wasn’t in the habit of keeping track of the guys she was, well... with.”

Raven hadn’t thought it possible, but her opinion of her mother actually dropped even further. She had heard others say how their blood boiled with anger, and now for the first time she understood what that meant. Raven clenched her fists and desperately wanted to punch something... wanted to scream... but she held it in.

Fangs could clearly see the anguish on Raven’s face and in how her whole body suddenly became tense, and it hurt for him to see. Why is she doing this to herself? he asked himself, There’s no logical reason for her to be putting herself through this... no reason to help get the diamond back, it would have been stolen whether we’d been involved or not. Something occurred to Fangs as he thought, but he quickly shoved the thought aside. That can’t be the reason she’s doing this, he told himself.

Both aircraft landed a respectable distance from the apartment complex where Winifred lived. Once all the passengers had disembarked, Chip pointed out which windows he thought belonged to the apartment they were looking for.

“I doubt she’d be keeping the diamond at her apartment,” Chip mentioned, “especially considering she’s on parole.”

“Then why are we here?” Dale asked, “We gonna pay Freddie a social call?”

Chip frowned at Dale for a moment. “No,” he finally stated bluntly, “We’re going to look around for any clues that might tell us where she’s keeping the diamond.”

“I take it I’m not going in alone then?” Raven asked.

“Right,” Chip responded quickly.

“Why not?” the young mouse asked with a hint of anger.

“For one thing,” Chip proceeded to point out, “I don’t want us to be hanging around too long... so the more people we have looking around the sooner we’re likely to find something. And second, I don’t want to have to tell your mother if anything happens to you.”

“She’s not my mother!” Raven growled.

“Whatever,” Chip replied, “Ok, Foxglove and Fangs, you two stay here to keep an eye on the planes. The rest of us will head inside to see what we can find.”

Several minutes and two wrong turns later Chip, Dale, Gadget, Zipper and Raven found an air duct that led into Winifred’s apartment. Before the others entered, Zipper squeezed through the grate and went to scope the place out. He soon returned and motioned that all within were asleep. Once within the apartment, Chip admonished the others to conduct themselves as quietly as possible.

Entering the bed/livingroom the group found the unshapely red haired witch fast asleep in her bed. Bud and Lou, also apparently sound asleep, were in separate terrariums on a table near the window. Each individual went about to search a different portion of the room.

Climbing up onto the desk, Raven took note of a closed book that sat prominently in the center. “‘Bodkin’s Big Book of Spells’” Raven quietly read aloud from the cover. “Amateur!” she snorted.

Dale was investigating the night stand by the bed, and had just opened the drawer when the phone (which was right behind him) rang. The sudden explosion of noise caused him to lose his footing and tumble into the open drawer below. He was just about to climb out when Winifred began to roll over. Throwing all of his weight into the effort, Dale was able to close the drawer before she had completely rolled over and reached for the phone.

“How DARE you call me when I’m sleeping!” hollered the wicked witch of the washroom. Her attitude soon turned quite apologetic, “Oh! M-mister Horner, I didn’t realize it was you! Huh? Oh, of course I can fill in for him tonight! Mm-hm... B’bye.” Winifred slammed down the receiver in disgust.

Instead of laying back down, Winifred opened the drawer in the night stand. She pulled out a pad of paper and, to everyone’s horror, Dale. “Scraggily scrub brushes!” she cursed, “If he can’t stand the smell of ammonia then he shouldn’t be a janitor!” Chip, Gadget, Raven and Zipper watched helplessly as she proceeded to use the bewildered chipmunk to write down a note to herself. Fortunately for Dale, Winifred wasn’t anywhere near lucid enough to realize that her writing utensil was unusually soft, warm, fuzzy and wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt (he didn’t write very well either). When she had finished she tore off the note, set it by the phone, then threw the pad and her ‘pen’ back into the drawer and slammed it shut.

“Good thing Foxglove wasn’t here to see that,” Chip whispered to himself.

As Winifred rolled back over to return to her slumber the others waited to see if it would occur to her what she had just been using to write with. Once her snoring had started, Dale’s companions realized it was safe and emerged from their respective hiding places. After rescuing their friend they left the apartment rather than tempt fate.

“What did you find out?” Foxglove asked as the others returned.

“We found out that Freddie isn’t at her best when she’s just woken up,” Gadget answered.

“And that Dale can always get work as a piece of office equipment if he needs to,” Chip added. Foxglove was quite confused by the two answers she’d been given, and it showed. “We’ll explain that when we get home, you’ll want to sit down for it,” Chip explained.

“Find out anything useful?” Fangs asked.

“No,” Chip answered glumly, “We’ll have to try again later. But until then we can have someone tail her, in case she checks to make sure the diamond is still where she’s hidden it.” Chip turned to Zipper, “Since you’re least likely to be noticed you’re the perfect person to shadow Freddie. Follow her wherever she goes, and if she leads you to the diamond: report back.” Zipper gave a quick salute, then flew down to keep watch on the apartment.

As they prepared to depart, an idea presented itself to Chip. The possibility of it resulting in anything positive was limited, but he felt the need to give it a go anyway. Turning to Raven, Chip presented his thought, “Raven? I know you and Fangs probably plan on heading back home after we return, but I was wondering if there was any possibility you might want to try to talk things over with Dee.” Raven glared at him. “It isn’t fair to be putting her through all this,” Chip continued, “especially considering that she does care and never wanted to hurt you.”

“Don’t give me that shit!” Raven responded, “She had her chance to show me how much she cared... and she threw that chance away... and she threw me away with it! There is nothing she can say that I would want to hear... and there is nothing I have to say to that damn whore!”

Chip ground his teeth together hard as he did his best to keep from losing his temper.

Gadget moved in to prevent things from going any further. “Raven, maybe I should take you and Fangs home now, ok?” Raven didn’t respond, she simply climbed into the Ranger Plane with Fangs doing so shortly thereafter. After Gadget left with her two passengers, Dale and Foxglove did their best to calm Chip down before he took the controls of the Ranger Wing.

[ksharbaugh]

Chapter Ten continued...

The trip to the church where Fangs lived and where Raven spent time to calm down was uncomfortably quiet. Once Raven had jumped out Gadget called after her, “Chip, is right. It isn’t fair to Dee to just write her off like this, you haven’t even tried to get to know her.” Raven merely stormed off, paying no heed to what her aunt was saying.

“I’ll see if there’s anything I can say to her,” Fangs offered as he disembarked, “once she’s no longer in the mood to kill anything that crosses her path.”

The sun had set in the west when Fangs got an opportunity to make good on his offer to speak to Raven about her mother. Raven had departed the church shortly after Gadget had dropped her off to check in with her adopted parents and have some lunch. She had told Fangs she would be back shortly after sunset and, true to her nature, was quite prompt.

Fangs wasn’t sure just how to bring up the subject, so he just brought it up plain. “I was wondering,” he started, “how much harm could it do to just talk with Dee?”

“What’s to talk about?” came Raven’s retort.

“Why she gave you up,” Fangs suggested bluntly. The young mouse didn’t respond. “You don’t have an answer for that question,” Fangs stated, “she does.” Still no response. It occurred to Fangs that perhaps Raven was afraid of what she might hear... that she didn’t want to confirm that her mother really didn’t want her, or didn’t want to face up to her hostile behavior if it was revealed that Dee actually did care for her. “So you don’t want to know?” he eventually asked.

“I don’t need to know!” Raven shot back.

The anger in her voice was enough to convince Fangs of his assumption. He was thankful that the perch he was at was out of Raven’s reach, it made asking the next question so much safer, “You’re afraid of what you’ll hear aren’t you?”

“I am not!” Raven shouted.

“Yes you are!” Fangs responded.

“I... am... not!” Raven growled.

“Yes... you... are!” Fangs replied. C’mon, prove me wrong! he thought to himself. Raven wasn’t the type to tolerate anyone implying that she was a coward, even if it was a friend... and Fangs knew this. Raven immediately began searching for some way to get up to where he was perched so she could make him understand the depth of his mistake. It was becoming quite clear to Fangs that his plan was starting to go awry. He desperately searched for someway to direct Raven’s anger in a more useful fashion... one that didn’t include his being maimed to any real extent. “If you’re not afraid, then go talk to her!” he shouted. Like you were supposed to! he thought.

Raven stopped searching for an avenue of assault and looked at Fangs. “Fine,” she growled, “if it will shut you up.”

Fangs let out a sigh of relief as Raven left. However, he began to feel uneasy about what he had done. “Why do I feel like I’ve just released Godzilla on an unsuspecting Tokyo?” he asked quietly, “I’d better keep an eye on her.”

-to be continued...