It's time...
...And the wait is over...
...Here is the long-awaited new Rangers adventure...
...from the unique mind of 8-Bit Star...
...The Rescue Rangers...
...In their most exciting adventure yet!
...Their home destroyed, their world in turmoil, themselves stalked by
a mysterious and deadly new enemy, will the Rangers survive their latest
case? This, my friends, is the story of...
...Disney's Chip n' Dale Rescue Rangers...
...in...
...8-Bit Star's DARK MILLENIUM...
-----Forward-----
Throughout my "First Season" run of fanfic work, I always put some
sort of explanatory foreward at the beginning of my works. I have dropped
this for my "Second Season" line. All necessary explanations can be found
here:
http://www.freewebz.com/nes_star/8BitMMnotes.html
You do not have to read that right this minute, but it's there if
you ever need it.
As for Dark Millenium, I will say only this: Throughout my fanfic
writing run, I have written things that have excelled in certain areas,
but fell short in others (Mind Media, for example, was high on laughs
but had almost no character development). With Dark Millenium, I intend
to write the first best Rescue Rangers adventure I am capable of. You
better enjoy it ;).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
PROLOGUE Recap, and Just a Little More
Pennywinkel woke up, sweating as usual. Always it was too cold
at night, but always Hell turned on it's burners while she slept so that
her efforts at warmth would backfire most unpleasantly. Thus, first thing
she did was threw off her blanket, and hoped some remaining cool air would
float her way. With that, she spent the next few minutes wrapped in
thought.
It had been a year since she had come here with her childhood friend
Dumb Frog, and their half-sister Mademanna. All had been victims of being
unique in a world where unique was feared and hated. Frog was occasionally
blind, disabled, and naive yet had a thing for odd-colored swords.
Pennywinkel was an exceptional genious thanks to a mind that is part-real
and partially exists in the ethereal realm which allows her to think in
more than three dimensions, and Mademanna, despite being an average little
girl on the outside, was in fact a robot.
The world... no, not the world, she thought, the people of the world,
since worlds themselves can be neither bad nor good... The people got
worse, until not only did different people repulse them, but people who
were just like themselves as well. Seeing this, the fathers of Frog and
Pennywinkel, who were both capable and formerly respected scientists
before they got involved in "unusual" projects (anything that didn't
involve bombs or the bed) had invented a device called PortalMaster.
"Daddy, what is this?" Pennywinkel asked, looking ahead at a huge
object emitting a blue field of radiant light in an otherwise plain,
grey room occupied only by herself, her father, his comrade Dr. Helsing
(Both of whom looked like young men in their thirties), his son Dumb Frog,
and Mademanna.
Dumb Frog answered her question before either of the scientists.
"It's either a portal or a newfangled bathtub." Assuming he already
knew the answer, he asked "So, where does it go?"
Dr. Vanmuus, Pennywinkel's father, answered "Well, for years now,
we've been researching a way to travel to--how should we put this?--other
universes. Simply put, have you ever wanted to actually live an
adventure with your favorite heroes?"
Frog beamed, so did Mademanna, who asked "You mean, this thing can
actually do that?"
"Yes. We have unlocked the secret of inter-universal travel!"
"Cool!" Frog exclaimed as him and Mademanna almost ran for the
portal without a second thought, but were stopped by Dr. Helsing. "Wait,
kids. You might be gone for a really long time, maybe even a year or
so, so wouldn't you say it would be a good idea to pack some things
first?"
Frog put a hand to his head. "Oh yea, I almost forgot... right,
to our rooms, Mademanna!"
"Right, Batman!" Mademanna said with a playful salute, right before
both ran off.
Only Pennywinkel was left, and only Pennywinkel did not seem to
be so enthusiastic. She looked, walked up to Professor Helsing, and
said "There's something you're not telling us, isn't there?"
Both men sighed. They had tried to make this whole event look fun,
but there was always one they could never quite fool, and that was her.
"Yes, there is," he said, talking to her as if she was a fellow scientist
instead of a twelve-year-old girl. "See, we've actually had this thing
done for a week, and we sent a rat through with a miniature camera
trailing, which sends information back to us through refined radio waves.
Now, this rat was in it's stages where it was going from just being a baby
to being a full-grown rat."
He picked up a remote control device, and aimed it at a television
screen, clicking a button. On the screen flashed a picture of said rat.
"This is the rat when we first sent him in." He then clicked on a
different television screen, right next to the active one. "That is the
same rat now."
Pennywinkel looked on for a moment, then pointed out "He still looks
the same."
"That is because, as we have discovered, use of this portal for
some reason stunts the aging process, or at least drastically slows it,
we do not know which."
Then Pennywinkel looked at him cynically, and said "Oh, I knew
that. The journey does that, because the way our nature works here
may not entirely agree with the way nature works in other realities.
And besides that, if we were to return years older, it would cause an
anomaly in the fabric of our universe, thus the nature forces of the
portals nix out anything that could be problematic, like aging."
"I see." her father answered, not needing to ask how she knew all
this. Multidimensional thought allowed her to figure out all sorts of
things from the most scant of details, so he instead concluded "Well,
I didn't know how you'd take that..."
"Dad, no kid in his or her right mind cares if they're going to
be young forever. There's something else you're not telling me."
And now the two scientists looked at each other. Again she had
figured out something they hoped she wouldn't. Someone had to explain,
and had to explain as soon as possible.
So, her own father handed her some strange stick device, and said
"Here, this will allow you to open portals if you ever want to visit a
different reality, but... it can not bring you back here. No portal
you can call will bring you back here. We built this as an escape hatch
for the three of you, and we didn't think you'd ever want to return."
She examined the stick-like contraption in her hand as she absorbed
what she was hearing. "So this is a one-way trip."
"Precisely."
Putting the stick thing in one of her coat pockets, she gave the
two scientists hugs and some I love yous, and then walked off to pack.
That was how their journey had begun. The three had been meandering
through various realities for days, months. Heck, for all Pennywinkel
knew, she could be a hundred years old. Over the years of travelling, her
and Frog had picked up some great skills with weaponry, and became great
users of magic-like powers. It was fortunate, because they eventually
found out that there's more going on in these worlds that the audience
never gets to see. The three eventually encountered a race of people
with metal-plated skin known as the Klimakti, led by Miles Alpha, a man
with a seemingly never-ending thirst for conquest. It was during a
run-in with him that the three met the Rescue Rangers, who helped bring
about Miles' eventual defeat and supposed death.
After that, the three had become part of the Ranger household,
helping when they could, but many of the cases afterwards were rather
disappointing. Indeed, many of them resolved themselves, and the Rangers
might just as well have stayed at home eating donuts. Some of them were
at least amusing, like when the Rangers were assaulted by none other than
the Trix Rabbit, who had somehow managed to build a strange gun that shot
out streams of electricity. For once Pennywinkel managed to get out an
ounce of her mischevious nature and managed to kill the rabbit by
poisoning his Trix. Chip had been upset when he found out, but ultimately
decided it wasn't worth hanging onto. The rabbit's weapon, which he had
called a Pawser, was used by Gadget and modified to build a new Ranger
assault vehicle known as the Pawser Tank.
That was kept secret, however, until the Rangers found themselves
under attack by a mysterious, paranormal, sadistic (and girl-crazy)
force, which eventually revealed itself to be Max Alpha, Miles' brother.
Max however was not interested in conquest, openly despised his brother,
and in fact was only bothering the Rangers because he had been asked to.
However he found it worth his while, as he discovered Mademanna, whom
he ended up taking a liking to, supposedly because he saw her as some
sort of pennacle of human creation (though everyone secretly suspected
he had some romantic pings).
Perhaps the strangest case they had was also one that happened
immediately after the three arrived. The Rangers (and the three kids)
had found themselves pulled into another reality, along with the cast
of another show known as Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and stranded on
a ship in a desolate ocean. Soon they were being pursued by the Demon
Master Mind (DiMM for short) who was the avatar character of an evil
Fanfic author. Frog, Pennywinkel, and Mademanna, too, learned they
were, as well, fanfic creations of an author named 8-Bit Star.
However, DiMM was not done, and soon after Max Alpha's attack,
again pulled the Rangers, kids, and MST3K group into another realm.
But this time, there was a twist: DiMM was not the bad guy at all.
It seemed that the person they had thought was 8-Bit Star all this
time was in fact not 8-Bit Star at all, and was in fact merely a
fantasy persona named Mekizmo who had became too powerful and taken on
a life of his own. It also turned out that this was not the same DiMM
as last time, and this one was actually working for the real 8-Bit Star
to eliminate the clone. The job succeeded, and the Rangers, home
once again, were allowed a moment of peace.
Frog, Pennywinkel, and Mademanna had been living with the Rangers
for a little over a year, and after thinking all of this got up, and
walked towards a window, looking out it. The sky had, with the arrival
of Max, turned a strange psychadelic mix of grey and purple, and just
looking at it gave anyone, anywhere a bad sense of foreboding. They
had thought it was connected to Max, but unfortunately, as Pennywinkel
had previously realized, that was not the case.
Pennywinkel looked around as far as she could see outside the
window, and then proceeded to head to a shower, her first step in
what was to be the start of a long day, in more ways than one.
CHAPTER ONE The Tree Breaks
Gadget was elsewhere in the Headquarters. While walking, she
noticed a calendar, and stopped to stare at it. It seemed to make her
think of something, but she couldn't quite recall what. Then, Mademanna
came up, and also looked at the same calendar, and piped "Hey, Today is
June 15th, right?"
"Um, I think so, course I can't be sure, I mean it could be
June 15th but it could just as easily beanyother15thbecausewe'rerealbad
aboutkeepingourcalendarup-to-dateand..."
"In thirty days it's Frog's birthday!" Mademanna stated,
interrupting Gadget's rambling.
"Really? Gee, that's great. My, time flies fast. It seems like
we've only known him for about a year or so."
"Well, we met you guys in August of last year, so it actually
*has* been only..."
"Yea, you're right. Say, where is Frog anyway?"
"Still asleep. He'll wake up in a few minutes. Gadget, something's
been bothering me." she added as the two continued down the hallway.
After some uncertain silence, Gadget finally asked "What, hon?
What's been bothering you?"
"Okay," Mademanna sighed, "This may be a kinda weird question, but...
what would you guys do if one of you--or one of us--if someone, well...
died?"
Surprisingly, Gadget answered with a smile, and said "Well... do
you mean as in old age or...?"
"No, I mean like before their time. Killed in action or something."
"Oh, that, we don't have to worry."
Gadget kept on walking, but Mademanna stopped. "What?"
"Oh," Gadget stopped, looked back, and explained "Well, by accident
I invented a television remote that Dale found out could control time.
If any of us ever did meet an unfortunately end, we'd just have to
get that and press reset."
"Wha?" Mademanna ran to right in front of Gadget. "When did this
happen? And if you guys have this thing, why don't you use it? Why--
what--where..."
"Slow down! Let me explain. It was before you three arrived.
In fact, it was precisely nine months before you three arrived, if I
remember correctly, or it could've been less than that, or maybe even
more, it's hard to tell when time travel becomes involved. Well,itwasn't
reallytimetravelitwasmorelikebeinginamovieandbeingabletofastforwardthrough
yourlife..."
"Okay, it was sometime before we arrived, AND?" Mademanna pressed
as her and the mouse inventress arrived at the sofa and sat down.
"Oh," Gadget continued, getting back on the right track, "Well,
thanks to Dale, we found out about this remote and, for awhile, used it
to kinda peer into the future. This way we knew what the bad guys were
gonna do before they did it, and we successfully stopped every crime."
Then Gadget sighed, as if she was reliving a dark memory (which she was),
"It was also a rare example of Dale being right."
"Why? What happened?"
"Well, Dale has spent most of his life watching cheesy Science
Fiction movies, and he therefore knew everything that could go wrong
with something like this. He tried to warn us, but we didn't really
pay any attention to him. Anyway, it all seemed great at first, as
always." Another sigh, "And then I made the first mistake."
Mademanna, already guessing a sad part was coming, held Gadget's
arm supportively, but also pressed her to continue.
"Well, I grabbed the remote, and I wanted to know what our lives
would be like in the future, and... I eventually arrived at a day when
Chip came into my room and proposed to marry me. I didn't really know
what I was doing, and I thought that, well, if I didn't like it, I could
always just press rewind. So I accepted, just to see what it was like.
"But the next morning, Chip was dead."
"Oh? Who did it?"
"I'm getting to that. Well, I was shocked, and immediately
decided to use the remote to go back to where we were before I messed
with it. Chip was alive again, and we were no longer married, but the
memories were still there. I saw Chip trying to kill Dale, and being
a Rescue Ranger, I put two and two together and realized what was
going on."
Mademanna gasped with realization. "So... Dale's a killer?"
"No no. He was upset, and... what's the best way to put this?
Some kinds of upset can cause people to do things they'll regret. Well,
Dale was regretting it, even though he technically never did it if you
know what I mean, but Chip wanted to get even. Well, finally the two
had a confrontation, and Chip got what he wanted. I used the remote to
bring Dale back, and now that the two were level with each other, they
became friends again.
"And you were wondering where the remote is now, right?"
"You didn't destroy it?"
"No. We had a group meeting about it. We wondered if destroying
it would be a good idea, but Monty pointed out that it might be useful
to use later, so I designed a really strong, extra-locked box to hold
it in. That box is in my workshop, and we've all mutually agreed that
we would not use the remote except in extreme circumstances."
"Wait," Mademanna had a sudden thought, "If you went years into
the future, then how come you didn't know about us before we showed up?"
Gadget thought. That, indeed, was an interesting question, but
she soon arrived at an interesting answer. "Well, I guess since you
were in a different reality, you weren't affected by it. After all, I
would not imagine all realities follow the exact same time stream."
"I suppose," the little girl gave in, not having any more questions.
Suddenly, they heard someone run by, as Frog's voice, hurriedly
and merrily, stated "Morning Gadget, Morning Mad."
"Hi Frog," Gadget responded. Mademanna, however, responded "Don't
call me 'Mad'!"
Frog stopped and, balancing on one foot to put on a shoe, answered
quickly "Wellsorryit'sjustthatMademannaisaratherlongnameyaknowandI'mina
hurrytogetoutsideImeanit'sanexcellentviewouttheretodayandIdon'thavetime
torecitefour-syllablenamesokaymyshoesareonbyenow!"
And with that, he went out the door, closely he was followed by
Mademanna, who also probably wanted to see the sunrise (or find an
opportunity to get revenge for being called "Mad"). He was right, she
found, the day *does* look it's greatest when it's just starting (even
if you hadn't seen the sun for weeks). But then, does a day in a cartoon
ever *not* look great?
And there stood Frog, stretching as if he had just woken up (And
in all likelyhood, he probably had) and breathing deeply. After one
such breath, he stated "Fresh air."
Mademanna walked along the landing pad, looking at the place where
the sunrise should be, and only saw the same grey-and-purple haze that
was always there. "Umm, Frog, there's no sunrise."
"It is? Gee, and I'm missing it. My eyesight went out like the
satellite reception during a good episode of Unsolved Mysteries."
"Ah well," she answered, shrugging. Then she looked up, and
tensed. "Frog," she said shakily, "There's someone flying around the
tree..."
"Oh, it's probably just a bird."
"No, it's some kind of monster... Frog! It's--"
Just then, there was a large crash, and a flash went out over
the headquarters, perhaps even the park, blotting out all vision in a
haze of purest white. Everyone hit by this found themselves losing
consciousness, and only one person in the whole park even knew what
hit her...
CHAPTER TWO Going Back
She heard movement.
The young, beautiful female mouse inventor was now coming to,
having not the vaguest idea what happened or how much time had passed,
knowing only that all was dark around her, even as she opened her eyes.
The weight felt of tons of wood crushing her.
And she heard movement.
Within moments, she saw what was moving: Someone was desperately
trying to unbury her, moving blocks, planks, and splinters of wood to
do so. After having cleared enough to give a mouse like her some escape
room, he looked down the hole he had uncovered, and asked "Are you okay?
Answer me!" In a tone of upmost urgency.
Gadget managed to crawl out from the hole Frog had made. "Yea,
I'm fine... Golly," she said, surveying the damage, "It would take months
to repair all this damage. What happened?"
"Mademanna said she saw some... something... flying over the
tree... and, umm, you're looking at it's remains."
"Oh." She stood silently for a moment. Then, suddenly realization
struck. "Frog!" she turned and asked, "Where are Chip and Dale?"
Frog looked down, as if he had something to say, but wasn't quite
sure how to say it. With a sigh he admitted "They're... still buried
under there, and I don't know where."
"And Monty?"
"Same."
"Zipper?"
"Likewise." Frog hadn't noticed, but with each such response,
Gadget's worry increased more and more.
"And Pennywinkel?"
"Presumeably." Pennywinkel was given to occasional keen foresight,
thanks to her beyond-realistic deduction abilities. It was concievable
that she might've left (indeed, probably even teleported out) before
the disaster struck.
And Gadget was most worried when at last she came to the only other
person she could think of: "Mademanna?"
And she was relieved when Frog answered "Oh, she's safe. In fact..."
He indicated behind him, and Gadget noticed to her own surprise that the
Ranger Wing was perfectly intact, though a makeshift wooden shelter had
been built over the cockpit. It was only then that she noticed the rain.
"...Foxglove is caring for her," he finished.
"Is she all right?"
"Well... Mad's never been a warrior. Whatever happened merely
knocked me out, but in her case, it seems to have knocked her flow of
energy off, so she's not fully active. Basically, she's paralysed until
we get into her systems."
Gadget, while listening to this, had started brainscanning for
ideas, trying to decide wether she should dig up the rest of the Rangers
or fix Mademanna, and failing that trying to come up with ways to do
both at once. She, of course, had millions of ideas.
But one stuck firmly in her mind.
"Frog," she asked, "Did you see anything fly from the explosion?"
"The tree didn't explode," he answered, "It collapsed in on itself.
If it had exploded I'd either be finding you somewhere in *that* direction,
or I'd be finding your ash-gray ashes. Either way, I probably wouldn't
be standing here telling you my sister is a vegetable."
That being said, Gadget only saw one course of action. Hastily
she ran to the rubble of the tree, and began sifting through the wood.
"Frog, help me dig here!" she commanded.
He began doing so, and asked "You think the boys are around here?"
"I'm not looking for the boys."
Frog stopped with shock at that, though his own words, "You mean
you're digging here for *fun*?" were equally absurd.
"You'll understand soon, now help me!"
"Ooo-kaaayyy," he began digging again. "But you know, when
you're done messing around, the boys could be carrots themselves. Or
maybe even rotting, moldy carrots."
"When I'm done 'messing around' this," she briefly indicated the
surrounding carnage "will never have happened."
"Okay, You lost me. From what I'm reading, you either have a
way to change history or you plan to repair the entire tree in five
minutes."
Gadget did not respond. Wether she was so into digging that she
just did not care about Frog anymore, or wether she was deliberately
ignoring him, was anyone's guess. So the two kept digging with all
their energy. Hours under the haze of purple and grey that now had to
pass for the sky had passed when finally, Gadget exclaimed "this is
it!"
Frog looked, and examined, and scrutinized, and concluded...
"So, we spent all this time looking for a *strongbox*?"
"Wait a minute and you'll see why." As she said that, she began
messing around with the various locks and bolts that seemed to be there
to make super extra sure nobody but nobody opened that strongbox,
methodically unlocking or unlatching each and every one of them, until
finally, she opened the lid, revealing...
"Okay Gadget, we've been digging for hours for a strongbox, and
now I find all the security was over a *remote*?"
Frog continued, stating verbally that he was doubting her sanity,
but she ignored him, running a safe distance away from the tree, and
hastily clicking the rewind button.
It wasn't until this moment that Frog finally understood, as he
saw himself, faster than a Celeron Processor, repeating every step he
took in the last few days *in reverse*. Within seconds he was back to
the moment of the attack, and then back to when he was hastily putting
on his shoes while explaining to Mademanna that four syllable names
aren't cool. Then he was back to his bed. Then he was back to last
night, last morning...
When Gadget finally stopped rewinding, Frog found himself just
waking up, five days ago.
CHAPTER THREE Council
"How many times can one chipmunk die?" Chip asked, sauntering
to the round table which the Rangers had reserved for when they needed
to get together and have a serious discussion (or dinner). Fortunately
for his outburst, the only other present was Dale, who had himself now
twice died and been revived by a time reversal.
"I guess someone out there just enjoys killing us." Dale
offhandedly commented. Chip would've reprimanded him, but months of
experience have taught him that anything, especially that, is possible.
Just then, Mademanna, now totally active (And having apparently
forgotten to change out of her nightdress and into her regular clothing)
ran into the room, asking "Where's Gadget?" almost immediately, she
found herself spinning around like in a cartoon accident when Frog
hastily ran out and towards the front door explaining "Hurrythere'sno
timeGadgetisoutsidesheusedtheTimeRemoteand..."
Frog opened the door. And there was Gadget, just about to knock.
"...oh."
Quickly Gadget came in, "Thanks Frog." she said as she walked
towards the round table.
"Ummm..."
"Is Mademanna all right?" She asked, sitting down.
"I dunno, I haven't seen her all morning... oh wait, there she is
in the nightdress! Quick!" He walked right up to her, held up three
fingers, and asked "Am I holding up any fingers? If so how many?"
Instead of answering, she instead just hugged the big idiot.
"I'm glad to see you too."
"So... ummm... what happened? I mean, even Darkwing Duck would've
noticed the big bright flash..."
She pulled away, and looked down thoughtfully. As she did so,
she walked towards, and sat down in, the sofa in front of the currently
inactive telly. Frog, both concerned and wanting to hear her answer,
joined her, while the seated Rangers listened carefully.
"Well..." she said hesitantly, going over the details in her
mind, "... I *think* it was some sort of monster. He was wearing...
I think he was, anyway, he was kinda far off... he was purple, with
a white face, I think."
"Oh my god a flying Joker," Frog joked.
"Or worse, an alien!" Dale squealed.
"Oh be serious." Chip put his mind to thought. "Wether this be
man, beast, or perhaps some weird, enduring man-beast, we've got...
wait, shouldn't we wait until Monty gets here?"
As if on cue, Monty saying "Been here, lad," surprised Chip.
Despite his weight and size, it was amazing how silently the mouse could
walk. On his shoulder sat his ever-faithful companion Zipper.
"Monty," Chip turned and looked up, "You wouldn't happen to, in
your travels, have picked up any... umm... monster-hunting tricks, would
you?"
"Well," Monty assumed a seat, "down in the deeps of Africa, I
learned some tricks for evading lions. Even managed to get some young
white toughie trapped in a pit. Was lucky that time, he woulda killed
me for sure if... but as I said, my skills were *evasion* not hunting and
trapping. And the things we hunted and trapped could hardly be
considered monsters. Even if we had, the only experience we had with
anything even remotely like this purple fella was some you boys were
there for."
Chip looked up, surprised and confused. "Like what?"
"Like Max Alpha, for instance."
Chip rested his head on his hand, a look of disappointment taking
on his face. "Oh," was his response. He remembered the Max Alpha
fiasco. The memory was especially bad to Chip, since every time Max
came to mind, Chip also remembered a part of that event in which Max
had used Mademanna as a shield when Chip confronted him with superior
weaponry in the form of the Pawser Tank, which could shoot a powerful
(to someone rodent-sized, at least) burst of electricity. Chip had,
at the time, not known that Mademanna would have simply absorbed the
blast and added it to her own power output, thus she was immune to
it, whereas Max was not. Chip's ignorance at this time had led to
him ceasing his attack, which had resulted in the robot child being
taken captive to an unknown location, subjected to unspeakable mental
agonies for three days. Though Mademanna had recovered from it, seeming
to forget the event, Chip still felt guilty over it for not having
known. On the other hand, half his mind always argued, the Rangers
themselves had been abducted and taken to another reality three days
later, but that experience had been like a vacation. The Rangers
didn't even really have to do anything and even got to meet some old
friends they hadn't seen in months.
Monty didn't notice, and instead continued "In fact, I can only
think of two people who might be able to help us."
Chip, again with vivid interest, asked "Who?"
"Why, Frog and Pennywinkel."
And Chip resumed a disappointed look with another "Oh." Despite
the two having fantastic abilities, neither of them had really, as of
yet, come in extremely useful. Chip doubted they ever would. "Anyone
have any more bright ideas?"
"Yea," Dale said, getting up, "I say we scram! Ya know that
whatever it is will come out in about five days and try to kill us again!"
"Relax, dimbrain." Chip chided, "It already happened once, and
if we all remember what happened, whatever that things is probably
remembers as well. Unless it's stupid, it's not going to do the same
thing twice."
"Oh."
Then the world (as we know it) came to an end when the unthinkable
happened: Zipper had an idea. Suddenly he flew off Monty's shoulder,
and called attention to himself. Within minutes, he imitated a dog
pointing.
As usual, Dale made the first wrong guess.
"You saying you need a fire hydrant, Zipper?"
Chip bonked Dale. "You dummy, he's obviously saying we should be
out doing detective work, instead of sitting around talking about it!"
Zipper managed to, in what you can consider his voice, make a sound
that sounded like "Uh-huh!" and then, he began to pretend to be fighting
someone.
And Frog guesseth "And when we find it, we should beat it's face
in!"
"Uh-huh," Zipper sounded out again.
"Well, I'm all in favor of *that*! Just let me find out where
Pennywinkel is. She probably wants to beat it's face in too, ya know."
Almost immediately, he began running to and fro around the whole
headquarters, down the hallways, into the kitchen, up the stairs, over
hill and under hill, calling "Pennywinkel! Pennywinkel!" And later, for
variety, he began calling "Tooley, Tooley!" instead. Frog's vision and
leg problems kicked in sometime during all this, resulting in some amusing
pratfalls and mistakes, but otherwise he was blissfully unaware of it all.
While Frog was busy messing up, however, The Rangers who were
taking the problem seriously made preperations. Immediately Chip stood
and straightened out that "Okay, whatever we're dealing with is powerful,
so I'm going to man the Pawser Tank..." loosing his seriousness for a
moment, Chip asked "Would you like to ride with me, Gadget?"
And of course, young Gadget still had not seemed to grasp the
concept of "flirting" and answered "Well, the boys need me to drive the
Ranger Wing."
"Monty can do it!"
"Oh no, Chip-me-lad! It's been years since I drove any time of
aircraft. *Dale* could drive better than me by now!"
Dale had been about to argue this whole time about who Gadget was
to go with, but upon hearing this, he changed his tune, and instead
said "Yea! That would be great! Can I drive it Chip? Pleaseopleaseo
please..."
"Never mind," Chip gave up, remembering last time Dale had
driven the Ranger Wing, "You go with them, Gadget. I just remembered
there's only room for one in the Tank anyway."
Before anyone had time to argue, Chip left the room, heading
outside, down the tree, towards the secret garage that house the
powerful contraption, which to those not in the know looked like a toy
tank with a tuning fork stuck in the muzzle. But those who looked more
closely could see that this was no ordinary toy tank. For one, it was
made of scrap metal which Gadget had lifted from a local junkyard.
Another thing was that instead of having two huge wheels like tanks
normally do, it instead had four wheels, one on each corner. If you
got inside the cockpit, like Chip was now climbing into, you would
also see a series of pedals, cranks and levers. The tank was designed
as an all-out attack vehicle, and thus was designed so that it could be
rotated and ridden in any direction. Another fun feature was that it
had jets, which allowed it limited airtime maneuverability.
Chip got himself snug in the seat which he was so familiar with,
for he had used this tank once before. Getting himself situated, he
pulled the lever that jump-started the entire machination. That being
done, he pressed the pedal that made the thing go, and was off.
"Golly, Chip's really enthusiastic, isn't he? He didn't even tell
us where he was gonna go first. Speaking of which, where *should* we
go first?" Gadget began to ponder. "Of course, if this is a man, or
a mouse, we could always go to the police station and see if anything's
happened recently..."
Thoroughly ignoring Gadget as she began to ponder aloud, Dale
asked "Monty, shouldn't we wait for Frog?"
"Don't see why not, mate. If nothing else, he can at least be
a decoy."
"...Or maybe," Gadget continued, "he's a ghost. If so we should
check local run-down mansions..."
"Hey, has Foxglove gotten back yet?"
"Oh, I dunno mate. That three-day class on herbology ended
yesterday, but that was all the way in West Virginia. She'll probably
be takin' awhile gettin' back."
"...Or I could go into my workshop and invent a device that locates
on purple and white things..."
"So, what should we do first?"
"Your guess is as good as mine, mate. We never did learn where
Max Alpha was hidin. For all we know, he could be hidin' out in the
Zoo."
"The zoo? Nahh, that's... wait a minute! I got it! He *has* to
be at the zoo, because that's the one place he thinks we'd never suspect!
Aye carumba! He's a clever devil, he's obviously leading us into a
trap by making us suspect the Zoo which we'd never suspect! Aye ai ai,
This one's a real Moriarty, this one is! He knew we'd never suspect it
thus making it the first place we'd suspect and therefore making us
think it's a trap when it in reality really *is* his hideout! But I'm
much too quick-minded for him. He's not foolin' me, nope."
"Meaning?"
"To the Zoo, everybody! Rescue Rangers away!"
And the three walked (okay, two walked and one flew) to the Ranger
Wing, while Gadget finished pondering. Looking around, and being
confused at being all alone, she asked herself aloud "Did I miss
something?"
CHAPTER FOUR Dual Investigation
Of course, Dale had been nice enough to wait for Frog and Gadget
to get outside. Well, it was niceness for Frog anyway. In Gadget's
case, he simply needed someone to drive the Ranger Wing.
(Pick a column. You need not read both, but that is an option)
"So where's Pennywinkel?" Dale ][ Chip, of course, had waited
asked. "Is she coming with us?" ][ for the others to leave before
"Nope. She said she's staying ][ himself departing. Just as he
to take care of Mademanna." ][ had gotten out, he realized he
"That's good," Gadget stated, ][ had forgot to tell them precisely
"Remember what happened last time." ][ where they should investigate.
"Yea, I remember," Frog said, ][ Deciding now it was too late, he
remembering when he and Pennywinkel ][ instead opted to sit and wait,
had left Mademanna alone in the ][ to see what direction the others
house, where she was assaulted by a ][ decided to investigate in. He
then-unknown assailant. ][ would then proceed to investigate
"Ready for takeoff, everyone?" ][ one of the other three directions.
asked Gadget, lowering her goggles ][ With relief, he saw that they
and strapping on her seatbelt. ][ had apparently decided to head
While only she had goggles, they all ][ west. That was good, for his
wore their seatbelts. ][ detective's gut instincts were
"Ready," everyone else finally ][ telling him to go north.
confirmed. ][ So with no more hesitation, he
"Good. Three... two... one... ][ turned the Tank around, and sent
Blast-off!" She said, activating ][ himself rolling on Northwards.
the Ranger Wing, and they flew off ][
to the west. ][ He came to a street corner,
][ which featured an empty alley.
Finally, after a long flight, ][ While nothing seemed out of the
the four in the Wing made it to the ][ ordinary, Chip couldn't help but
Zoo. ][ feel that something was just not
"Okay, where are we gonna ][ right as he got out of the Tank.
land?" Frog asked. ][ Then he spotted it: There was
"Hold on. I want to do a ][ something, a white object laying
sweep of the area first." was the ][ on a small, discarded box. Chip
mouse inventor's reply as she veered ][ went over to investigate, and,
to the left, passing by a cage of ][ picking up the object, found it
chimpanzees. Veering this way and ][ to be some strange mask. Made
that, dodging and darting as needed, ][ of what seemed like ivory, it
all in the Wing were getting a dang ][ featured dark triangles, drawn
good tour of the local zoo life. ][ in a way that made them seem like
Then Gadget saw something that ][ eyes that spoke of evil pleasure.
made her panic. "Oh my gosh, look!" ][ The nose was drawn simply as a
She pointed, and all looked ][ black spot, and the mouth drawn
with equal horror, except Frog, ][ as a malicious grin.
who's occasional temporary blindness ][ Suddenly, a deep but quiet
had set in again. He instead asked ][ voice behind Chip said "I believe
"What? WHAT?!" ][ that belongs to me."
"He's gonna throw himself to ][ Chip began to turn, but the same
the lions!" Dale exclaimed. ][ voice immediately demanded "Do
"Huh?" Frog asked. ][ not look!" Chip complied, feeling
"There's a man," Monty told, ][ something he assumed was a weapon
"Who's walkin into the lion cage. ][ pressed against his back. "Now,
The door is unlocked, and he's just ][ hand me the mask." Again, Chip
walkin' right in!" ][ complied. As the mask left his
"Perhaps he's just feeding the ][ hands, the weapon left his back.
lions?" Frog supposed. ][ Chip turned, hoping to catch a
"No, Frog, he's not carrying ][ glimpse of his assailant, but
any food... he's holding his empty ][ saw only his back, and he was
hand out to one!" Gadget panicked, ][ wearing a black hood.
"Guys, we have to do something! ][ After a few grunts and some
They're attacking!" ][ hand activity, the man sighed and
Reacting on impulse, Gadget ][ said "There!" then turned. Chip
manuevered the Wing skillfully ][ was awestruck, for this man, if
between the bars of the cage. Even- ][ man he was, radiated evil by his
ning out, she flew the Wing straight ][ mere appearance. The man was
at the lions, of which there were ][ as big as Monterey Jack, dressed
three, whom were proceeding to ][ in an outfit not unlike Gandalf
attack the man, a scruffy, unclean ][ from Lord of the Rings, except
figure. Her valiant manuever ][ his outfit was purple, and
distracted the lions from their ][ Gandalf never wore that fiendish
target as they took notice of the ][ mask.
little flying thing going around ][ "The only thing you're missing
them. ][ is the pointed hat," Chip pointed
"Frog, do you know any magic ][ out.
tricks that won't totally eradicate ][ "I will take that into account.
the lions?" ][ Tell me, do I seem menacing to
"Lions, lions, It's all about ][ you?"
the lions, isn't it? Well, I could ][ It was then that Chip gave this
do something if my sight weren't... ][ figure a lookover, and noticed
wait, I have an idea!" ][ that the visible parts of his arm
"What?" Gadget asked. ][ were covered with white latex...
"Park the vehicle!" ][ ...and his mask was white...
"Okay..." Gadget said, now ][ ...and he was wearing purple...
doubting Frog's sanity (ironically). ][ "You wouldn't happen to be
She parked near the bars, in case a ][ planning to destroy a tree, would
quick escape was needed. ][ you?"
However, there was no need, as ][ "Why should I do something that
Frog clapped his hands together, and ][ I've already done? I must admit,
yelled "Brightflash!" Suddenly a ][ the last thing I had expected was
blinding light filled the cage and ][ a reversal of time. Did you do
some of the surrounding area. All ][ that, or was it some higher force?"
hit by it's radiance who were not ][ "I'm not telling," Chip said,
blind (nor quick enough to close ][ more sarcastically than defiantly.
their eyes) were temporarily blinded ][ "Just who are you anyway?" he
by the flash. ][ added, his mind bearing the fact
Then Frog, Gadget, Dale, and ][ that he was having a conversation
Monty stepped out of the Ranger ][ with an enemy who would probably
Wing, and looked upward in a rep- ][ try something any minute. Of
rimanding manner at the lions. ][ course, this could always be just
"Back off!" Gadget demanded, ][ an honest chit-chat. Heaven knew
"Let the man go free!" ][ this wasn't the first time one
"Lady!" One of the lions, the ][ of the Rangers' enemies had defied
one with the biggest mane, said, ][ the common stereotype.
"Do you not know someone who wants ][ "My name is Mevos. You would
to throw their life away when you ][ be wise to learn to beware of that
see one?" ][ name."
"But that doesn't mean--" ][ "And what is it you want with
"Lady, look at him," the lion ][ us?"
did so himself, as the man being ][ "Ah, always it's that question,
discussed sat there, confused, "can ][ what do I want. As if I'll tell
you not see the sorrow, the ][ you everything upon request! No,
desperation? This man here is a ][ dear Chip, it is not that simple.
nowhere man." He looked back at ][ I will tell you what you know
Gadget, "The world to him is a ][ already: I want you conquered,
nowhere land. He wouldn't be the ][ destroyed."
first person to jump in my cage. ][ "And why? I certainly can't
What would be more cruel, leaving ][ think of any time when I've ever
him to his fate or helping him find ][ seen you before. If there is
a way out? Those types need help, ][ any friction between us at all,
and we need food, so in the end it ][ you caused it, not us."
all works out." ][ "Oh, my reason is nothing
"Sir," a female lion said, ][ personal. Rather, my attacks on
"Why are we arguing? Why don't we ][ you are merely one step in a grand
just eat them, too?" ][ scheme which you may or may not
"Because, my dear, Lions are ][ fathom. If it makes it any better,
noble beasts. We do not attack ][ I need not kill you. Capture
merely out of spite, we attack ][ and imprisonment would be good
because we need to, or because we're ][ enough for my needs."
asked," he said, glancing at the man ][ "And what exactly are your
with the final line. ][ needs?"
Gadget, after pondering a ][ "Didn't I make it clear you do
moment, finally had a suggestion. ][ not get direct answers from
"Wait, how about this: Give us a ][ villains? And here I was under
week, so we can try to get this ][ the impression that you were a
man's spirits up, see if we can talk ][ detective! Surely you are no
him out of making his mistake. If ][ Sherlock Holmes."
we can't, then he's yours." ][ Chip caught something in that
At this the lion went silent, ][ one line that he wasn't sure Mevos
then turned around, facing the ][ was aware of, and instantly his
human. And then, a shocking thing ][ detectivelike brain clicked into
happened: The lion talked to him, ][ action. He knew that, henceforth,
and was understood. ][ he would have to ask questions
And he said "Human, the meek ][ carefully, and infer all he could
wish for us to allow you a week to ][ from the masked man's words.
reconsider your course of action, ][ Chip hoped his next question
for they believe they can help you ][ sounded natural enough: "How
find a more fulfilling life. I find ][ did you find us?"
this to be a wise course of action, ][ At this, Mevos extended his
for as you realize, you were taking ][ arms theatrically and, as if
drastic measures for which the ][ praying to some god, looked up,
consequences are irreversible..." ][ and answered "I followed a trail
"No they aren't!" The man ][ of blinding stupidity, beautiful
suddenly blurted out. Falling to ][ brilliance and innocent
his knees, he banged his hands in ][ abomination!"
anger upon the concrete floor of ][ He suspects, Chip thought. He
the cage. "I fed myself to you ][ knew that Mevos had dropped yet
lions three days ago! Yea, it hurt ][ another clue, but he was now
for a minute, but I was enjoying my ][ becoming cryptic. Chip didn't
afterlife... and then some stupid, ][ like that. Still, pieces of
heartless bastard up there decided ][ the puzzle were coming together.
he was going to bring me back to ][ The next thing Chip thought of
life! And now here I am again, and ][ was seeking confirmation. "You
this time Fate tells me you won't ][ can fly, correct?"
eat me for a week! Well too bad, ][ "Yes," Mevos answered with a
I've been on that runaround. Next ][ brief hesitation in which he
week it'll be something else, and ][ dropped his pose, a move Chip
then another thing, and another! ][ liked even less than the cryptic
Why am I damned to live in misery? ][ riddles. If he hadn't suspected
Knives break, guns rust, and nooses ][ Chip's knowledge before, then
always come undone." ][ this surely got his attention.
The human stood, and looked ][ "So, at any moment, you could
with anger at the sky, and yelled ][ fly away, on a wing and a prayer?"
at the top of his voice so loud ][ Mevos turned his back to Chip,
that everyone within hearing range ][ and hastily began to move away.
had to cover their ears: ][ "I just remembered I have a
"Someone up there gets some ][ pressing engagement, I've wasted
sort of sadistic pleasure from ][ enough time with you, rodent."
torturing me!!!" ][ Chip gave chase, calling "Wait,
Then he turned, and said to ][ is there something you're trying
the lion "Look, I don't care what ][ to hide? Why the veil of secrets,
you think, I demand that you eat ][ Mevos? Come and face the strange
me!" ][ changes!"
But the lion refused with a ][ At this last comment, Mevos
shake of his head, and the nowhere ][ turned, pointed, and said "Fear the
man fell to the ground in tears. ][ Millenium." Then he flew away.
CHAPTER FIVE The New Problem
Chip managed his way home first, thinking only of what he was going
to tell his friends. After parking the Pawser Tank back in it's secret
garage he returned to the den of the tree, where he bided his time,
making dead sure that the events of the day stayed fresh in his memory.
Finally, he heard the distinctive sound of a Ranger Wing landing, and
ran out to greet his friends with news and details...
...and his jaw dropped in surprise to see a scruffy-looking, tear-
faced, full-sized human following close behind them.
"Oh, hi Chip." Gadget said, upon completely shutting off the Wing,
"Chip, we'd like you to meet our new friend... what was his name again?"
she asked, turning to Frog.
Frog, in turn, turned towards the full-sized human and asked "Hey,
what did you say your name was again?"
The man, hugging the tree (wether to give his limbs a rest or to
give himself a crying post, Chip knew not) answered through sobs "It
doesn't matter, just call me Nowhere Man."
"What's with him?" Chip asked.
"The lad wanted to throw himself to the lions, mate." Monty said
as he climbed out of the Wing, "Gadget 'ere stopped the lions from
eatin' 'im. It was amazing, Chip! I dunno how they did it, but those
lions somehow learned how to talk to humans! Jus' goes to show that
cats always have a new way to surprise ya, I guess. Anyway, the lions
convinced the boyo that 'e should at least try to find somethin' worth
livin' for, and we agreed to try and 'elp."
Chip sighed and, annoyed, glanced at this new player in the game.
It was bad enough that they were under attack from an unknown enemy,
and now they had to play the therapist for a suicidal kid. But the
longer Chip looked at him, the more he thought that may not have been
such a bad idea. With a sigh, Chip finally asked "So, you didn't
discover anything, did you?"
And, of course, Dale, Gadget, Monty and Zipper, all shook their
heads in the negative. And finally Dale asked "Did you?"
"In fact, yes. Come on, let's go inside."
And they began to head in, except for Frog, who instead tried to
comfort their new friend with the knowledge that they would eventually
come back out. Only then did he follow the rest. Chip, too, stood out
there for a moment, pitying the poor creature even more, but still being
in his pure detective mode, tried to push all emotions from his mind.
Maybe we can use him as a human agent or something, Chip thought, finally
going in.
After hearing Chip close the door, Frog opened his mouth again,
asking Mademanna (who, having completed whatever chores she had some
time ago, was just sitting there watching TV now) "Hey kid, has you by
any chance seen Pennywinkel?"
"That's right!" Gadget realized, "We never did ask why she didn't
come with us!"
"I dunno where she is," the little girl answered, "I haven't seen
her all day."
"Hmmm, very peculiar," Frog said to himself. "Would *you* know
anything about this, Chippy Boy?"
Looking disdained at being called "Chippy Boy" Chip answered a flat
"No." Becoming a bit more enthusiastic, he added "However, I did find
out more about our mysterious purple-and-white thing." with a hand
signal, everyone sat at the same round table they've always sat at for
discussions, and everyone prodded Chip to continue (Actually, they
prodded to know if he was a man or animal and if so what species and
if he was alive or dead or if so was this the ghost of a former enemy
come back for revenge ad infinum).
So Chip summed up his day.
"In the alley," he stated, "I met a guy named Mevos, a looney in
a purple robe and an ivory mask. He mostly made idle banter for awhile,
admitting in a way that it was he who blew up our tree a few days from
now. However, he also said something you might be interested to hear,
my dear Frog. You too, Mademanna."
If Frog was listening before (and he was) he became ever more
attentive when he was singled out, along with his mechanical sister.
"Oh? What did he say? For God's sake man what did he say?!" He
concluded dramatically.
"He mentioned Sherlock Holmes."
And then Frog lost enthusiasm. "Okay, so he's literate. That
proves what, exactly?"
Everyone else looked at Chip with the exact same question written
on their faces, so Chip elaborated:
"He also reacted to the lines 'A wing and a prayer' and 'come and
face the strange changes'. Does that help?"
Frog thought, and shook his head in the negative. "Song lyrics.
Real American Hero theme and David Bowie's Changes. So?"
However, despite Frog's confusion, comprehension was beginning to
dawn on everyone else's face except Mademanna's, who sighed saying "I'm
so confused."
So, Chip turned to her, and asked "Child, can you name three things
you had in your world that we don't have here?"
"Sure," counting on her fingers, she stated "Good television shows,
capable badguys, and smart humans."
"True, but," Chip looked back at Frog, "We also do not have David
Bowie, Real American Hero, or Sherlock Holmes!"
Even Frog got it this time. "That's right! Here it's called
Sureluck Jones, no?"
And Chip clapped. "I'm so proud of you, you're developing into
quite the detective. Now, tell me, he knows about books and pop artists
from *your* world, so what does that infer?"
"That he, of course, comes from our reality!... or at least, one
like it. Can't see anyone from our reality being able to fly or blow
up stuff myself."
Dale talked first this time. "*You* nearly blew *us* up when you
first met us, remember? And you have to be from your reality for sure,
don't ya?"
"Egads, Brain, you're right! Well, that is, I can blow stuff
up, but I can't fly. I'm pretty sure I can't, anyway, because flying is
a pretty boring power. So is blowing stuff up, truth be told. Now,
wearing Springy Shoes and jumping really high, that's fun! Anyway..."
Ignoring Frog's rambling, Chip abruptly called "Well then, our
mystery is solved! Now all we have to do is apprehend this Mevos
character. But first, let's take a breather. Who's cooking?"
"Me again, mate. Gadget's gotta work on some new gizmos. Besides,
I wanted to show off a new recipe I just remembered from a long time
ago. Vegetarian delicacy, this one. Chee-ee-ee-eese Spinach Mix!"
Frog stopped rambling, if he still was, and said "Cheese *and*
Spinach? Soundeth yummy!" Granted, much of Monty's food was about
as cheesy as his lines of dialogue, but that usually meant that it was
pretty good (Like his Cheeseburgers, for example. More cheese than
burger, those).
"And me and Dale were going to discuss something," Chip quickly
added. "Come on Dale," he abruptly got up, pulling Dale along, "Remember
that certain something we wanted to talk about?"
"Ummm... not really."
"Oh, you remember, just this morning!"
"Just this morning I was dead!"
"Nah, that's never gonna happen now." Finally, they were in a
hallway that Chip was certain was not within the hearing reach of anyone
else, and said "Seriously Dale, there is something I need to tell you."
"Uh, sure buddy, you can tell me anything!"
"Okay, this is a secret to everyone, *especially* Frog, Pennywinkel
and Mademanna. You understand?"
"Yea, I can keep a secret! You can trust me!"
Chip sighed, but he couldn't think of anyone better to tell right
now. Monty was cooking, Zipper was with Monty, and Gadget was working
and probably wouldn't hear anyway. "Right. Now listen, when I met
Mevos, I asked him how he found us. His exact words were 'by following
a trail of blinding stupidity, beautiful brilliance and innocent
abomination'."
"Uhhh..."
"Now think, Dale. Come on."
"Ummm... he saw that new Dirk Suave movie, 'The World is Tough
Enough'! And his network of spies hid a message in it telling him
all about us!"
Chip rolled his eyes. "Well isn't that cute. But it's wrong!
Try again, Dale."
Dale got out another "Uhhhh..." followed by "Okay. Bueatiful...
brilliant... I know! He must be after Gadget! Oh no, we've got to
do something, she's in DAAAAANGERRRRR! What'll we do, Chip, What'll
we do?" he asked, behaving hyperactively. If anyone heard him elsewhere
in the tree, they probably ignored him.
Chip rolled his eyes again. "Well, you're closer than you were
last time, but still not close enough. Try one more time. And this
time, think of someone who is occasionally stupid and occasionally
blind."
Dale began to think. Well, one time he woke up unable to see,
course that turned out to be due to an April Fool's joke. Chip also
constantly informed him how dumb he was...
Just thinking of the word "Dumb" made Dale think of someone else,
and then realization struck.
"Wait, no..." Dale said aloud, but mostly to himself, "That can't
be right, cuz he's not *that* stupid... and besides that, if he's the
blinding stupidity, and she's the other thing, then who's the innocent
whatever?"
"Sounds to me like you've finally reached the same conclusion I
did. Now keep thinking. If he's one thing, and she's the other, who
does that leave?"
Again realization flashed in Dale's mind. "But she's not an
abberation!"
"Abomination, and I agree, but this Mevos character thinks otherwise,
which means she's probably in more danger than the rest of us combined.
Besides that, she has no way of defending herself when she's alone. So,
I want you to make sure she never *is* alone! Keep watch on her, day
and night. You got that?"
Dale nodded, then saluted "Right, sir! She'll never leave my
sight for a moment, effective immediately!"
"Then get to it!"
"Uhhh, right!" With that, Dale marched heroically right back to
the den, leaving Chip alone with precisely one thought.
"I wish I knew where Pennywinkel was."
CHAPTER SIX "Power into Pieces, and Pieces into Place."
Mevos looked out a window of a tall office building, somewhere in
Midwest, New York. Somehow, between his meeting with Chip and now, he
had gone from being rodent-sized to being his normal, human size, as could
be fathomed by his height compared to the window. Standing, pondering,
he turned to face a group of three boys, some cronies he had assembled
in his short stay in this world. He eyed them over, and each felt that
he was learning what he could about them, though none could see his face
due to his mask.
The first boy was big (but not as big as Mevos) and muscular. His
name was Nor Endo, and he, Mevos thought, would be an excellent choice
for a bodyguard or something that required strong arms and heavy hands.
The second was a small, skinny figure. Perhaps he was quick and
would make an excellent spy and pickpocket. His name was Po Endo.
Finally, the last one was moderately built and thus had no physical
advantages, but nothing says "nerd" like big glasses that are constantly
being adjusted. This one, who was in this group second in intellect only
to Mevos, was named Day Endo.
Collectively they were known quite simply as...
"The Endo Boys."
"That's us, sir!" Po answered.
"Yes, I quite realize that. Now tell me, did you accomplish
anything today?"
"Sir," Day spoke, "We managed to track down the people you wanted.
As ordered, we did not make contact. However I must mention we did put
a bug on one of the Rat's two cronies, for he seems to move around a lot.
"And the cat, and that scientist?"
"The cat is not as mobile, he spends most of his time in and around
his factory. We found the scientist, but he seems to have reformed and
turned to botany instead."
"Well, at least you found him. Very good. As for me," Mevos took
a chair, and motioned for his comrades to do the same, "I did what I
set out to do, and made contact with our enemy."
"What? And eliminate the element of surprise?" Po blurted out.
He backed down, however, when the other two boys gave him warning glances.
However, Mevos simply laughed. "My dear boy, defeating your enemy
is not simply a matter who knowing who they are and what they can do,
you must measure how they *think* as well. That way they are more
predictable and easier to defeat."
"Oh yea," Po relaxed, "That's what Day was explaining to Nor here
when we were trying to beat up that girl."
"Girl?" Mevos asked suddenly. "What girl?"
"Just some twelve-year-old, sir," Day explained.
"A twelve-year-old? Who tried to take on the three of you?"
"And won," Po said with a hint of anger in his voice.
Mevos was silent, as if in thought. Then he asked "What did she
look like?"
"She had long brown hair," Day answered...
"Blue eyes, I think," Po added...
"And she said she had a big brain!" Nor ended, finally having
said something.
"Multidimensional, my dear Nor."
"Yea. And she was stealing, too. Went and teleported past the
sensor thingies."
While they were remembering the circumstances of their meeting,
Mevos opened a drawer, and pulled out a photograph. He lay it on the
desk, and asked quickly "Does anyone in this picture look familiar to
you?"
It didn't take anyone long at all to point and say "That's her!
There in the corner!"
Mevos took and looked at the photograph again. "Where did you
see her?"
"At the bookstore." Po quickly answered, "I was there to pilfer
me another Dirk Suave book, ya see, and--"
"She said she was heading to the Midwest Movie Shop next." Day
interrupted.
"Then follow her!" Mevos quickly demanded. "That's not too far
from here, you should be there around the time she arrives. Go on,
I'll catch up."
"Right, sir," Day said as the three got up and began to get.
As they did, Mevos heard Po utter a threat, which sounded something like
"And this time we WON'T lose" under his breath.
When they were gone, Mevos looked at the photo one last time. The
picture in question was of five people, two adult male scientists, one
boy with blue, eye-covering hair, one girl who matched the earlier given
description, and a smaller girl with long black hair.
"So," Mevos said to himself, "The daughter of Professor Vanmuus
*is* here, just as I suspected. As if I needed any more proof, after
my run-in with that Chipmunk. Still, hopefully now she can be
apprehended."
With that, he put the picture on the desk, and stood. Then he
spread his arms, and disappeared.
TO BE CONTINUED in Dark Millenium, Part 2
Back to the stories
Chip n' Dale's Rescue Rangers (C) Disney, used without permission.