Dark Millenium Part 2

RESCUE RANGERS: DARK MILLENIUM PART TWO --------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHAPTER SEVEN Street Combat

By some coincidence, Frog and Nowhere Man had made their way to Midwest Movie Shop at the exact same time Pennywinkel was leaving, both just in time to meet the masked one and his crew. But Mevos did not see any but Pennywinkel approach, nor did his followers. Upon the girl leaving the store, Nor Endo put his huge hands on her small shoulders, apparently intending to hold her there. "I thought I might find you here," Mevos claimed. "You weren't up to any sort of mischief, were you?" "And what would you have done, called my parents?" "Your dad was called a long time ago." If it hadn't before, recognition showed now in Pennywinkel's knowing smile. "I knew you sounded familiar. So, you followed us across all these worlds." "Aren't we gonna--?" Nowhere Man asked in a whisper. "Wait, I wanna hear this," Frog answered back. "So I did," Mevos said back at Pennywinkel. "It took what seems like thousands of years, but my mission is nearing completion." "Ha! You should be so lucky." Since it was obvious this was going to degrade into cheap talk, Frog motioned for Nowhere Man, and walked up to Mevos. Right behind him, he drew and pointed his sword, and said "Okay, let 'er go." "Ahh," Mevos replied without looking, "So the little girl still needs big brother to play the bodyguard? Well, now that I've found the two of you, where's the other one? the Robot?" "In a place you'll never find her, in a galaxy far, far away." "You mean she's not in a tree?" Mevos replied sarcastically, finally turning his whole body to face Frog. "Oh, sure," Frog answered, "built her own little hideout on the Yggdrasil, she did! Nice, cozy place where anything can happen, sorta like a strange mix of the Ramada Inn and McDonalds. Even has a guest room for travellers on the Path of Sephiroth, and no, I don't mean the Final Fantasy 7 character. Anyway..." About halfway through the above, Frog had begun to forget what he was doing, while the Endo Boys (those that weren't using both their hands at the moment, anyway) were scratching their heads in confusion. Using his distraction as an advantage, Mevos somehow managed with a swipe of his arm to knock Frog's sword away and yet not cut himself (a cling heard on impact would probably have clued a listener off to some sort of protection, but Frog wasn't listening). "Now!" Mevos flicked his hand, and out of his huge sleeve fell a sword, much shorter but broader than Frog's. He pointed this at the kid with the lopsided brain and continued "I've got you, I've got her. All I've got now is to get that robot. And don't bluff me, I know where she is!" "Uhh, Boss..." Nor suddenly said in a concerned voice. "What?" Mevos turned, and saw what was going on: Pennywinkel had begun glowing very brightly, and the radiance seemed like some rock-solid addition to her skin. "Don't underestimate the power of a little girl," Pennywinkel said, and then suddenly, she grabbed Nor's arms, and using them to allow this manuever, swung her feet, both of which had to leave the groun, travelling upward in an arc, until finally her shoes collided with Mevos' masked face. While Pennywinkel (who's feet made it back to the ground without further incident) was unharmed, Mevos' mask was shattered, and was obviously going to fall right off in pieces. His reaction was very surprising. He knelt and cried as if he was feeling some indescribable agony, keeping his hands to his face as if he was determined to keep the shattered mask on. After awhile, he looked down so far that no one could see his face, though they did see the pieces of ivory falling onto the sidewalk. Out of the same sleeve that had held the sword then came another ivory mask, exactly the same in every way to the one he had worn. quickly he slipped his new mask on, adjusted it until it was just right, and then got up, himself so mad that you could almost feel it. With a tone that clearly communicated anger, hate, and revenge, he exlaimed "Do not shatter the Mask of Mevos!" Then Nowhere Man, having been nothing but a bystander all this time and not really caring much for it, decided to do something suicidal. In moments, his elbow had a meeting with Day Endo's face, and the smart one soon found himself being hoisted in the air, and then thrown at his many-muscled brother, who, stunned by having someone connect with his own head, released Pennywinkel involuntarily. The girl used this time to manuever to the other side where Mevos stood between her and the Endo Boys, and began to make a plan. Meanwhile Nowhere Man looked at Nor Endo, and made a fighting pose, clearly challenging the guy to spar with him, a fight he honestly did not think he could win. He hoped he was right. In all this confusion, Frog made a run for his sword. Mevos, however, expected this kind of move, and moved in front of Frog, stating "Oh no you don't!" "Watch me," Frog retorted, suddenly pushing the big man backward. As this was the curb of the sidewalk, he fell and landed on his back, whcih normally would've cracked his very skull, but seemingly he was wearing some form of protection and thus was only temporarily out of it. Still, it allowed Frog to get his sword, and when Mevos stood back up only moments later, Frog was facing him and ready. "So, both the cats have become fierce." Mevos thought aloud, when suddenly out of his sleeve came a pole with a golden knob at the end, which which he swung at Frog, who ducked with a stylish manuever, and then got back up. Himself taking a swing (and being blocked) he responded "And Shakespeare wears a mask!" "Did you mean to say you think I'm a literary genious?" They broke off, seperated by a few feet of concrete. Cars were stopped as these two continued their duel. Let us cut now back to the sidewalk, where Nowhere Man had unwisely picked a losing fight with Nor Endo. But it was not Nowhere Man who was losing. But it was not he who was fighting, either. Just a few minutes back, he had been standing there, ready to take his final blow, one which never came. Opening his eyes, he saw the young girl from earlier, spiting his adversary for him, using a tactic he hand seen coming. From this girl came thousands of maces, all flying at one target, all hitting and presumeably hurting (for the big one was trying to cover his face). Nowhere Man didn't quite know where those maces were coming from, nor did he really care. Finally, the big man fell over, unconscious if not dead (he really couldn't tell). Then Pennywinkel turned around, saying "Well, that felt better. I hate it when big fat sweaty boys put their arms on me." Suddenly, her tone became suspicious and accusatory, and she looked up at Nowhere Man, asking "Okay, what's this about? Why did Frog bring you here?" "Ummm..." Nowhere Man just shrugged, "Ummm, something about a guy in a mask and hair that hangs down and Chip being paranoid." "Oh, so Chip's the reason you're here." She didn't seem to think about the fact that she did not know this boy or how he knew Chip, "Listen, you and Frog walk right back to their little treehouse and tell them to leave me alone, okay? I can handle John, and..." "Look!" Nowhere Man suddenly grabbed her arms, actually showing some backbone, "You just stopped me from moving on to a more peaceful existence, and besides that me and your brother are already going through hell because of you, so you're coming back with us wether you want to or not! FROG, WE'RE GOING!" Frog heard, but he was a bit preoccupied as his fight had gotten to the point where Mevos was using TWO poles as opposed to Frog's one sword, and Frog was somehow still handling himself. Finally, Mevos thrusted forward with his two poles, but it was to no avail as Frog seemed to roll under them, then jump into the air well above Mevos himself, and come crashing down, the hilt of his sword meeting Mevos mask. "Sword, meet mask!" Frog joked, "How ya doing?" Now, this didn't shatter the mask (didn't want that to become a joke) but it did cause Mevos to lose his balance and fall, landing flat on his back. If you listened, you could hear him breathing (once you got over the screaming and honking horns in the background). Frog turned, and began to walk away, but first he looked around. He couldn't place it, but something was wrong with this scene, something was missing... ah well, he thought, I'll remember it later. So he walked away, making one last comment: "I never really liked Shakespeare." As he began walking, Nowhere Man picked up Pennywinkel, hoisting her over his shoulder, and they began walking home. An officer who just arrived on the scene, however, stopped them, and asked "Hey, what's going on here?" Nowhere Man began to talk, but Frog quickly answered "This girl here is my sister. She ran away and almost got involved with a street gang. We found them, beat them to a bloody pulp, and are now taking the young lady back home where father will have to give her a nice talking to!" Seeing as to how that either sounded legit to the cop or gave him no end to the confusion, he just shrugged, and let them be on their way. Meanwhile, Pennywinkel kicked and struggled, threatening to yell that she was being kidnapped, but since they were in a world where an anthropomorphic tabby cat could be mistaken for a realistically-built German shepherd, nothing about the trio seemed out of the ordinary to any passer-bys. Finally, they returned to the tree of the Headquarters, and only then did Nowhere Man put down Pennywinkel while Frog pulled out his Resize Medallion. Holding it, he said "Okay girl, you know the drill." "Is he coming too?" "Of course. What's he gonna do, sleep out here? Nowhere Man, put your fingers on the medallion..." "Forget it, I'm not going." He said. "I'd rather sleep out here." "Fine with me," Pennywinkel said. Then silently but just loud enough to hear, she added "It'll probably kill ya anyway." Now, as it happened, Nowhere Man heard that, and he said "No, never mind, I'm coming." And put his fingers on the medallion, at which point Frog said the magic word. And, of course, no one was dead, but now everyone was small. "Great," Nowhere Man said in dismay, "So how do we get up the tree?" The two had started to climb, but then stopped and sighed with exasperation when they remembered that this guy probably did not have the experience they did. Looking at Frog for a moment or two, as if pleading, Pennywinkel held out an arm and said "Hold on to me, and I'll get us up there." So he did, and quit as a gunshot he found himself being pulled upward as if he had been shot out of a slingshot. It was no time at all before they were on the landing pad and in front of the front door (well, for them anyway--Frog was climbing). Just before opening the door, and after letting the guy go, Pennywinkel added "Oh, by the way, I was lying. Resize Medallions can't kill you. Tell Frog I'm going to bed and not to disturb me, ever. Good night." With that, she went in, and slammed the door violently before Nowhere Man could correct her by saying "but it's mid afternoon!... not that it makes a difference," he ammended upon glancing at the sky. CHAPTER EIGHT Troubled Youth Mademanna was always a strange child, and not just because of the well-kept secret that, despite being human in appearance, she was in actual fact a robot, but also because she engaged in behavior that would be seen as odd no matter how you looked at it. Like right now, in fact, when she was seen lifting weights. "Excuse me," Chip asked, just walking into the main room of the headquarters after having taken a break from helping Gadget with some new project (and getting himself a glass of OJ), "but isn't that kind of pointless?" As it was, Mademanna (who of course had no problem lifting the weights) answered only "Well, Dale said that it makes people stronger, and I was wondering if it worked for robots, too." Chip hmphed, "Well, it can't hurt, unless you stand there doing that all day, that is. But you're not going to become superhuman. Anyway, it's useless for you anyway." He watched as Mademanna put the weights down, "Your strength is determined by your internal machinery. Whatever your build can already handle, that's how strong you'll ever be." He continued watching as she sat in the sofa after seeming to have somehow been hurt (emotionally, that is). "Why the interest in becoming strong, anyway?" The girl stayed silent for a moment, during which time the be-fedora'd chipmunk sat down beside her on the same sofa, awaiting her answer, which finally came. "I've been told... that strong people can overcome anything." "Someone mislead you, kid. Physical strength can not overcome everything. Monty is strong, and he can't get over his cheese attacks." "Except when the safety of his friends depends on it." Chip stopped to think of a better example, remembering that there had been, in fact, a case in which Monty had been forced to confront his cheese cravings, and was able to overcome them. Unfortunately, his addiction turned out to have merely been repressed, not totally destroyed, and he had immediately reverted back to his cheese-loving self. Finally, however, Chip found the perfect example. "Well, Captain Planet is strong," he began, acknowledging the little girl's favorite cartoon superhero, "But all it takes to bring him down is to be sprayed with toxic waste!" This the child had no answer to. "What is it you're trying to get over, anyway?" A Sigh, a deep breath, some hesitation, but finally she said "Do... do you think... Gadget... could deactivate by inhibitive systems?" "Your what?" "The parts of me that keep me from fighting and hurting anyone. I want them turned off, to stop holding me back!" "Why?" he asked suspiciously. "Because..." having begun to be excited, she calmed down before continuing. "Because I don't want to be left behind when everyone else goes off to have fun on an adventure, while I stay here alone... and defenseless." She added, under her breath. He looked at her hard, "Look, even if we did disable that system of yours, you would still stay at home. Fighting or not there's no way I'm taking a ten-year-old kid along on a mission, instead of leaving them somewhere safe..." "Like here, you mean?!" She said, suddenly becoming excited again, "The place where I was attacked, *when I was alone and you were on a mission*?! Where Max Alpha also managed to kidnap me *while everyone was here*?! And now we have this Mevos freak who *destroyed* this place and killed nearly everybody..." Before Chip could say anything (not that there was anything he could) suddenly the door opened, and in came Pennywinkel, closing the door violently behind her. She didn't even glance at the two sitting on the sofa as she made her way across the room, to the hallway which led to her quarters. She was barely halfway across the room, however, when Mademanna ran up and blocked her path, bluntly asking "You would know, how do I shut off my inhibitive systems?" "Not right now, child. I'm not in the mood." "Just tell me!" "Not right--" Everyone was shocked when, before Pennywinkel could even complete a sentance, Mademanna lifted her half a foot off the ground, rammed her into a blank wall, and outright demanded in anger "How do I turn off my inhibitive systems?!" And now, a shocked Chip, jumping the sofa to get to where the two girls now were, attempted to pull the robot away while demanding "Mademanna, what are you *doing*?" All the commotion, as well, caused everyone else in the tree to come out from wherever they were. Monty and Zipper poked out of the Kitchen where they had been working on a new dish, and Gadget and Dale were popping out of Gadget's workshop, everyone wanting to know what the heck was going on. Chip, noticing everyone, himself demanded "Don't just stand there, do something!" Well, what happened is that Dale came out and tried to help, but him and Chip put together could not pull her back or make her lose her grip. Meanwhile Pennywinkel saw this, and said to him "I've got the situation under control, you all just stay back! Mademanna, put me down!" Rather than just doing what she said, however, instead the chipmunks kept up their efforts, and now Monty was helping. This time they progressed a bit better, and she slid about an inch. But it took the joining of Gadget and Zipper for there to be signifigant progress. Mademanna then dropped Pennywinkel, now concentrating on trying to get free of the grasp of everyone else. Finally, however, the door opened, and in walked Frog, asking "What's going on here? Oh, don't tell me you guys are babysitting again..." "Frog!" Chip explained, "Your sister--" "Oh gee whiz," he said, clearing his way through the group, "What has Pen--Mademanna?" He found himself surprised to see who exactly they were trying to restrain. Fortunately, she was worn out from struggling, and collapsed to her knees. Frog looked, and saw that Pennywinkel too had collapsed to her knees, and the scene began to make sense. Kneeling down, putting his arm around her, he asked "All right, what's this about?" Instead of answering, however, she turned, grabbed his trenchcoat, and began to demand the same answer from him she had been demanding from Pennywinkel. But before things could escalate too far, Frog actually did something *right*. He put his hands under her arms and began to tickle. Now, of course any good-natured, well-built little girl is ticklish, which can be a handy lifesaver at times when the kids are otherwise uncontrollable (as any decent mother or father should but unfortunately usually doesn't know). Finally, Frog managed to get her cradled, and asked again "What is goin' on here?" While everyone else just shrugged, Chip answered "She wants to know how to overcome her inhibitive systems." "That's all?" Frog went silent, his face, what little of it they could see (since anything above his nose was shadowed out by a large bunch of hair up front) contained first a blank expression, then a smile, then suddenly began laughing. Getting up, her in his arms, he added "Isn't it funny when kids overlook the oblivious? Anyway, I think this one needs a nap... umm, right, I forgot where you guys put the straightjackets..." despite that, he continued walking off down a hallway, leaving everyone else scratching their heads. "I'm not crazy." She denied. "Oh now," he said in a nerdish, dorky-sounding country hick voice, "nobody said anything about the crazies." "You think I'm crazy." "Nooo, now yer putting words in me mouth." The last thing they heard was Mademanna still trying to assure Frog of her sanity. And then everyone had their attention suddenly diverted when the door again open and shut, rather hastily. They looked, and saw the rodent-sized Nowhere Man, who said "Hey, I heard some sort of commotion. What's going on?" He looked, saw Pennywinkel, and thought he understood the situation. Of course, his idea was totally wrong, but he acted on it anyway. He walked over to Pennywinkel, rather rudely pushing away anyone who was in his way, and helped her stand up. Allowing her to use him as a crutch, he looked around, and began walking her towards the front door, but she finally spoke up and said "My room is down that hallway." Acting on that, he changed course. After a few minutes, it seemed like the scenes of today were over, and things could return to normal. "Those kids." Chip remarked, mostly to himself. "They *are* crazy." "Oh, Chip," Gadget suddenly said, "I just remembered I wanted to show you something." Without even waiting for a response, she grabbed his arm, and pulled him into her workshop. Leaving only Dale, Monty, and Zipper in the main room. "Uhhh..." Dale was still trying to grasp the day's events. "Well, that's that then," Monty concluded. "Back to the kitchen, Zipper. I think our pot probably boiled over in our absence." Zipper pantomimed agreement, and those two were gone, leaving only Dale, who, still unable to figure out the situation decided it would be best just to watch TV.

"...Now!" Pennywinkel said, just as the door to the room swung open. In walked Frog and Mademanna. Pennywinkel watched with a smirk on her face, while Nowhere Man gawked in awe. "Hey, Pennywinkel," Frog began, "Mademanna here has something to say..." Mademanna stopped, and stood, trying to look her most naive and innocent, finally she managed out "Ummm... about what happened in the other room..." "Forget it," Pennywinkel cut her off, "I understand. Did you figure it out? The little secret about your inhibitor systems?" "Yea, Frog explained it to me." Pennywinkel looked at Mademanna, then at Frog, then back at Mademanna. "*He* explained it?" "Yes." "And he actually made sense?" "Yes!" "Is *that* the toy?" Nowhere Man suddenly asked, looking at Pennywinkel and pointing at Mademanna. "What?" the "toy" asked. Frog waved his hands, and turned to leave the room. "Right, nevermind. Don't try to make sense out of this household. Can be quite confusing. Your brain might explode." And the girls laughed. CHAPTER NINE Captured in Action "Dale," Chip asked, moments after returning from Gadget's workshop, "Why weren't you watching Mademanna when I came in here earlier?" "Well... I sorta... told her what I was doing, and she got upset, then Gadget needed me for something since you weren't around and... I'm sorry." "Oh, it's okay," Chip put a hand to his head and sat down, "But I swear those kids will be the end of us!" It was as he was saying this that Dale noticed a peculiar metallic armband on Chip's left arm, with buttons and flashing lights, like some sort of video game controller, and he asked "Hey Chip, what's that?" "Huh? Oh, this?" He lifted it for clarity, "This is that thing me and Gadget have been working on. You know the Pawser Tank, of course?" "Yea?" "Well, with this device, I can call out the tank at any time. I also can control it from a distance, not having to be inside it. However those functions are still in the preliminary stages, and then there is a problem typical of remote controlled vehicles." "If they go out of your line of sight, they're lost." "Correct. Gadget's gonna set up targets outside, Wanna watch?" "Sure!" And thus, the two Chipmunks hastily went outside, like boys with a new toy. And speaking of toys, Frog just then stepped into the room, just in time to see where everyone was going, and followed. His knee suddenly hurt, and he tripped, but immediately he recovered. It's not like he was in any big hurry anyway. He got outside in time to see the Pawser Tank rolling around on the ground far below, shooting out cardboard cutouts of several of the Rangers' well-known enemies. When he saw Chip fiddling with a wrist-mounted controller, he figured out what was going on. He sat down, mostly for protection as, just then, the world went black, and his blindness had set in. But as far as he was concerned, all it meant was that he could now contemplate how much a fully-functional Pawser Tank with accessories would cost at K-Mart... or this world's variation of K-Mart, anyway. His acute ears, however, picked up running feet, and heard Mademanna's voice asking "Where is everyone? Oh, there you are." He listened as she came outside. A slight difference in the stepping noise made him aware that she was now outside the door, and the loudness of it made him realize she was almost right on top of him. She sat down next to him, and asked "Whatcha doin'?" "Oh, Alvin and Simon are testing a remote controlled tank. Maybe they plan to shoot down Mevos?" Then, Mademanna began to panic. Tugging at Frog's sleeve, she began saying "Frog? FROG?!" "Yes? YES?!" Realizing he was blind at the moment, Mademanna instead called "Chip! Dale!" "What?" They asked in return, turning around to have their question immediately answered, for in what was to be the dusk of an eve of constant peril, the great masked one had returned, and brought his companions along with him. "Frog! Get up!" Mademanna emplored, forcefully bringing him to his feet. "Mevos is here!" "Mevos? MEVOS?! Where, Where?!" Then Frog clapped his hands while Mademanna got back, "I got an idea!" He outstretched his arms, and stated "Marco!" "Polo," came a deep-voiced response from right in front of him. Frog may have been dumb but he was no idiot, and the moment he realized Mevos was right in front of him, he immediately made a quick elbow jab that came even with the man's stomach. He heard the man "Umph" from the pressure but not pain, and used the opportunity to uppercut him. Unfortunately, while it did connect, part of Frog's fist hit Mevos' mask, and he hurt himself in the process, meanwhile part-nulling the impact to Mevos himself. Just as Frog was about ready for another move, he felt some sort of stringy substance overtake him, like silly string, except not as fragile, and he found he was having trouble moving. He almost fell, but was caught by small, feminine hands--he guessed Mademanna's--and she lowered him softly to the ground, finding herself wrapped in the substance while she was at it. Mevos, having already taken care of what he considered to be the hard part, turned towards the Chipmunks, who were also standing at the ready. "What are you doing here?!" Chip demanded. He hoped Mevos couldn't see that he was fiddling with a wrist-mounted controller while he was at it. "Such a silly question. I think I'll let Day explain. If you will." Day Endo stepped forward, and said "Thank you. We ultimately plan to capture you, for reasons which will soon become out into the open, alive." "Why?" Dale asked, "Why not just kill us like ya did last time?" Again Day explained "That is precisely it. The great Mevos never uses the same plan twice. After his last--if you will excuse the term-- failure, he had time to think up a much more brilliant scheme which, if it works, would give him a small but crucial amount of power in this city. But for it to work, he needs you and he needs you alive." "All of us?" Chip inquired. "All of you." "So, to foil your plan, all I'd have to do is jump off this ledge?" Dale turned in horror, and emplored "No, Chip!" "Trust me, Dale!" He ended, and then, shock of shocks, actually did proceed to jump off the ledge. Far he got not, however, Before Mevos himself managed to seemingly fly out into midair, and then fly back, clinging to the side of the ledge as if he was being magnetically pulled towards it. And this was just what Chip wanted, for at this moment, announcing "Now you fry, Mevos!" He pressed a button on his wristband, Just as Mevos was wondering what vital mental functions this chipmunk didn't have, he found himself, quite literally, shocked. A huge, pinkish blast of electricity sent itself flying up at Mevos, totally engulfing him in painful energy. As Mevos cried in pain, however, Chip now faced the one drawback to his plan, but fortunately it was a drawback he had seen coming, and had already worked out an idea. For you see, Chip was falling. However, he knew that all he had to do was angle himself towards the tree, and find a handhold, thus stopping his fall. Failing that, his other backup plan involved hoping Gadget was within eye and earshot, and calling out her name. Thinking plan A was a bit unrealistic, he skipped right to plan B. And Gadget heard, and saw. Quickly she began to think and ponder. Meanwhile, inside, Pennywinkel suddenly got the feeling that something was wrong, and one thing she had learned is that you should always trust feelings, even if they turn out to be mostly wrong. When she heard Chip's scream, she knew something was up. Quickly she asked "Nowhere Man, can you read?" "Yes." "Good. Now, I need you to hide, anywhere. Do not go outside for the next ten minutes. If I'm not back by then, look for a message on or around the front door." "Why? What's happening?" "No time! Just do it, okay?" Nowhere Man shrugged acceptance, but Pennywinkel did not wait for him to do so before she began rushing out of her room and down the hallway. Just as she did, Nowhere Man noticed she had left behind her Resize Medallion. Gadget pondered, and saw a nearby bunch of flowers. Perfect! That was just the thing she needed. She went over and began quickly collecting a whole freakin' bunch, biting them off at the stem. Finally, she had enough, and bunched then up close. Doing so, she placed and held them under the area she calculated Chip would land. She calculated right. Chip was now safe and sound in a bed of flowers, though the fall did take a bit of wind out of him, and when he saw Gadget on the flowers, he at first thought he must be unconscious and having sweet dreams of his idea of heaven... or be dead and actually be in heaven. But the moment he realized that for that to be the case, Gadget would have to be dead too, he came out of it. "Golly Chip, are you okay? What happened?" "No time to explain, Mevos is up there! Quick, we've got to run." Immediately he got up, pulling Gadget with him, and went running away from the tree. "Golly, we're not going to abandon the others, are we?" "Trust me. If we get away, we can follow Mevos and rescue our friends, but right now we have to worry about escape." Gadget said nothing, and just took his word for it. It wasn't like this was the first time she had been forced to abandon someone in hopes of being able to come back for them later. If worse came to worst, she had at least taken the precaution of placing the Time Remote in her pocket early on. "Anyway," Chip added as they stopped to hide in the niche of a tree, covered by grass, "Hopefully someone else will escape. All I know is that he's got Frog, Mademanna, and Dale so far. Besides ourselves, That leaves Monty, Zipper, and Pennywinkel." "And Nowhere Man." "... Yea, and him, I guess." Chip admitted, less-than-enthusiastic about the possibility of having his life in the hands of a suicidal vagrant who would probably just as soon use the rescue as an excuse to get killed than actually attempt to actually rescue anyone. From where they were, Chip and Gadget had a clear view of the landing pad. But unfortunately, the sight was not good... ...For the tank's beam had finally given away, revealing a Mevos who had, if anything, *not* been shocked out of existence. Currents of electricity still jumped around on his body, but otherwise he seemed perfectly alive and unaffected. Seeming to half-fly, half-climb back atop the landing pad, he laughed. "Sir, are you...?" Day began asking. "I am unharmed." To prove his point, he picked up a stunned and sitting Dale, placed him (rather forcefully) next to Frog and Mademanna (both of whom were trying their darndest to break out) and covered him, too, in some of the sticky substance. When he was done, he thought aloud "Let's see, two have escaped. And there are three here. That means there are three more inside. One of them's a fly and will pose no problems. You three stay here, I am going after the two escapees. I want you three to watch and attack anyone who comes out of that door! Understood? Good." With that, Mevos jumped off the ledge, managing to slow his decent via some magical means. The Endo Boys, having no better plan, decided to do what they were told... though eventually Po Endo got a little playful, and went to check on the prisoners. "Hmm... ya know, I wonder what Mevos will do with these guys." He said, though not really wondering any such thing. "Maybe he'll let this girl turn into a righteous babe, and we can take her out to dinner sometime." "To put it in G-Rated terms," Day mumbled to himself. "Stop messing with the captives. You have responsibilities you know." "Yea, I guess you're right." He didn't get up, but he did keep his attention on the door, only occasionally reaching over to mess with Mademanna's hair (as much as he could through the silly string). Day looked, and figured it was a good arrangement. Mevos had never told them how strong the substance was, so it was just possible one or all three of them working together could break out (even if it wasn't bloody likely, judging by that they had been trying for awhile now) and besides, it meant Po, the fast one, was not in immediate eyesight to anyone who was looking out the door, thus allowing for an element of surprise. Satisfied, Day looked back at the door. He was glad he did, for he immediately found he was being rushed by the twelve-year-old girl whom had defeated them once and was instrumental in defeating them again. This time, they saw her coming, and Nor and Day managed to grab her, and pin her up against a wall. "Ugh!" She grunted, "Hey, what's goin' on here?" "You are our prisoner!" Nor answered, like a neanderthal. "And what do you plan to do with me?" "Well, after handing the squirrels over to--UMPH!" Nor had met an elbow in his side, as Day told him "Quiet, you're giving too much away!" Oddly enough though, Pennywinkel responded by immediately putting her hands behind her back and saying "I surrender!" Day looked at her suspiciously, "Okay, hands up!" She complied. Seeing nothing suspicious in either hand, he had another idea: "Okay, hands down." He noted that when she put her hands down, she immediately also returned them to her back. Still suspicious, he ordered "Turn around!" She did, putting her hands on the wall. "Search her." He ordered, himself helping in the search. After a moment, they had found nothing. Day scratched his head, still knowing that something was amiss. Finally, he grabbed her, and threw her to the floor of the landing pad, where she landed face down. Pinning her down, he threateningly asked "All right, what's your scheme?" Instead of answering, however, she instead screamed "Monty!!!" Within moments, The big mouse came a runnin. Just before he went outside, he stopped, shocked at what he saw. With resolve, he challenged with "No one bullies me little pallies like that!" And immediately threw himself at Nor. Knocking the big one down (but not off the landing pad) he proceeded to pick up and lift Day off of Pennywinkel. "That's it!" Frog realized something all the sudden. "What?" Po wondered, being right next to him. "The street fight! Something seemed wrong when we left, and now I realize that neither you nor the dorky one were there! I mean, you were there, but then you weren't, and..." "Hey, the 'Dorky One' is my big brother! And of course we weren't there, Mevos had the whole fight rigged. Lure you into a false sense of security, and we followed you home, where we took the time to set up this trap... Man, there's no time for this!" He said, seeing Monty beating on his brothers. Immediately he got up, and ran to their aid. Pennywinkel, standing, barely had time to thank Monty before she found herself quickly having to jump a sweep kick. She did, however, think to jump at such an angle where her feet came down right atop of her would-be assailant, knocking him into a groveling position. She herself came to a stop in front of him, and sat down in a cross-legged position. In a clear mockery of Martial Arts training, she mocked "You learn well, my son, but you still have a long path ahead of you!" finally she giggled, and patted the boy on the head (or, if you're a sticker for accuracy, tried her darndest to shove it into the wood of the landing strip). "I don't think we need to overdo it, Pennywinkel," Monterey objected, but suddenly he found himself locked in a sleeper hold by Nor Endo. This famous wrestling move, if you hold on long enough, causes it's victims to pass out. Monty did the only thing he could think of, which was elbow Nor. However Monty's own bulk prevented his blows from landing, and he could not twist his body to take that into account lest he risk breaking his own neck. Within moments, Monty was off to la-la land. That left only Pennywinkel, alone, to take care of all three boys. She quickly stood, knowing that she had taken them on once, she could easily do it again. Po, also standing, attempted to grab her, but just then, she disappeared, only to reappear right in front of, and with her back towards, Nor. He, too, set out to capture her, but she, being a small girl, *was* able to elbow him like Monty had not, and his effort was aborted. Then she suddenly disappeared again, and reappeared in front of Day. Instead of making a move, however, he instead asked "I thought you were going to surrender?" "Perhaps I still am. Still, I like to rough things up a little first." "So do I. Nor! Do a Fancy Dragon, now!" Hearing that, Pennywinkel turned towards the big one, expecting some sort of attack. Much to her surprise though, Nor did absolutely nothing. Pennywinkel just barely had time to grasp the trick and again sidestep a rush attack from Po, which landed her right in Day's arms. Quickly he turned her to face him. Laughing, he jeered "I like to rough things up a little, too." Saying that, he hugged her really close, and forced upon her lips a kiss. The other two looked onward in shock, and Po eventually declared "Hey, why do *you* get to kiss the chicks?" Finally the two parted lips, and Day answered "If you wanted her, you should've caught her." But Pennywinkel wasn't taking this lying down. "You... The minute I get my arms lose, I am going to kill you." she said in a dark, foreboding tone. She wasn't the only one with her mind set on getting arms loose, for immediately, Day noticed a fly around his face. Since Day was smaller than usual, Zipper seemed bigger than usual, and hit harder as well, but still, he served as on a minor nuisance, as in his distraction, Po snuck up on him, and caught him in his hands. "Good work." He heard a deep voice say, and he knew Mevos had returned. Mevos' task had not been half as long or as hard as the boys'. After he made his way to the ground, he first went to where the flowers had been bunched together into a cushion of petals. Walking on them, he looked all around. "Now, let me see... where could they have gone... They couldn't have run far. They wouldn't, for to do so would mean to not follow me, that would mean no chance of rescueing their captured friends." He knew this would not be an easy search, for there were many places they could be in just the areas he could see, nevermind the whole park. But he had something they didn't: He had teleportation. And he had fire. Mevos contemplated. "Yes... that's it!" And, without further ado, pointed at a large tuft of grass nearby, and set it ablaze. Within seconds, the grass was cinders. But he had heard no screams, seen no movement, and found no charred remains, so he knew he had picked wrong. This, in itself, was not so bad. Perhaps the escapees were in a place where they could see this, and would know what he could do. The only things they could do would be to either stay hidden and possibly be charred, or make a run for it and be discovered. It was a win-win situation. With that in mind, he began burning every concievable hiding place in mind, from flowers to grass to small bushes, until finally he threw a blaze at a tuft of grass near a tree. This was a lucky break, for he heard someone scream. A girl. Immediately the scream was stifled, but it was too late, they had been discovered. Quenching out his own flames, Mevos teleported over to the charred area, and discovered the niche. "There! I knew you were hiding somewhere." Before exchanging any more words, he immediately wrapped them up in yet more of the sticky substance. Handling his two prisoners, he returned. Now, back on the landing pad, Mevos evaluated the progress. "Let's see... Yes, this does seem to be a complete set. No one is missing." "Ha!" Chip mocked, "So what? You've got us all wrapped up. Big deal! What are ya gonna do, take us to a dungeon and lock us up? Good luck. Unless you live right next door, that'll take all day on foot." "How observant of you, but you forget I am an inter-universal traveller, just like these kids. I've gotten my powers the same way they did. But my experiences did not mirror theirs, and I have powers and relics all my own." Suddenly he called out "I summon the Mevos Ball!" A small vibration was observed, as a black dome-shaped thing came into view on the landing pad. The bottom of the ball was allowed to flatten to make a half-dome, and the top opened up. The inside was so big, it seemed to Chip, that it could hold twenty Montys. And immediately, the bad guys began loading up the good guys, a process which, since little walking was needed, took no time at all. CHAPTER TEN The Company of Evil "Man, I hate this waitin' stuff! When's that dirty rat gonna get here?" Rat Capone complained. "Ya know, I bet that sucker double- crossed us!" The problem here was that Rat Capone, as well as his sidekicks, a lizard named Sugar Ray and a muscle-bound mouse named Arnold Mousenegger, were not only waiting for an important person to arrive, but that they were doing so on the desk of one of the Rangers' number one enemies. In fact, the Rangers' number ONE enemy, the one who had been involved in the very case that led to the forming of the Rescue Rangers. His name was Fat Cat, and he was doing all he could to keep himself from giving in to his annoyance and deciding to just eat the insolent mice who call themselves thugs, now sitting on his desk. Meanwhile Fat Cat's own cronies were just inside the door to his office. "Patience, my fellows in crime. He will be here. The time of his meeting with us is still five minutes away." "Yea, and he told us to leave that window open too. I bet he's plannin' some sort of sneak attack..." But just then, the black ball of Mevos flew in through the open window behind Fat Cat. It landed right there in the center of Fat Cat's desk, and opened up. When it did, Mevos was already standing erect, arms together. He bowed, and said "Good evening Fat Cat, and you too Rat Capone. I am so very glad you made it. You can see behind me what my, ahem, 'Special Delivery' was to be." They were barely listening. Both villains and their henchmen were staring in awe at what was behind him. The Rescue Rangers, perfectly in line, each one tied with small rope to an individual pole. Off to the side were Frog and Pennywinkel. Sitting on the floor right next to Mevos was Mademanna, who was bound with a chain instead of rope. The Endo Boys each stood at roughly even placements between the prisoners. Fat Cat scanned them all over with his eyes. They were all bound and secure, seemingly immobile. "Wonderful," he commented, especially upon seeing Zipper. All the Ranger villains had, by this point, become aware that the supposedly insignifigant fly was always the one overlooked factor which had lead them to defeat, time and time again. But this Mevos character was obviously not going to leave any stone unturned, Zipper was so done up that he was virtually cocooned. "Big deal." Rat Capone said, arms crossed. "We've caught them all before, they'll just escape and come back at us." "All of them?" Mevos asked, looking at Capone. "Well..." Rat Capone thought. But before he could complete his thought, Sugar Ray blurted out "Well, always a singular member of their force seems to elude us." "Yea, we forget one too!" Arnold agreed. "Did I tell you mugs to tell him that?" Rat Capone asked threateningly. "Impressive," Fat Cat said, "Indeed, it can be said that, while we have all come close, no one of us has ever managed to capture *all* the Rangers. Would you mind telling us your secret?" "A little magic and a keen plan." Mevos answered. "Yea yea, skip the hokum!" Rat Capone demanded impatiently, "What's the point? I'd be really mad if I was dragged here just to see some mug in a corny outfit showin' off and braggin' about his deeds." "I'm afraid," Fat Cat agreed, "That my fellow criminal is right. Amazing as your deeds are, I fail to see why you have decided to showcase this to us." "Forgive me, I have not made my intentions clear enough, it seems. I did not come here to brag. The truth is that I have done research into both of you, and I know of your wants and desires. Therefore, I have decided to fulfill part of those desires, to split this treasure quite evenly." "As in...?" "I know Rat Capone wants the mouse in the purple jumpsuit. If he does, then he can have her. The rest of them are yours, Fat Cat, to do with as you will." Rat Capone immediately beamed. "Ho ho ho, this is my lucky day!" He walked towards Gadget, looking her over, touching her face, "I've wanted this dame for a long time. I wanted to break that spunk out of her, to make her mine. Well, honeycakes, it seems like it's Daddy Capone's birthday and he's gettin' himself a present!" "Oooh, Presents? Where? Where?" Arnold asked, looking around. "Knock it off!" Sugar Ray corrected, "He didn't mean for real! Ummm... or I guess he did... the present part, anyway." The only one who seemed to have a problem with this arrangement (notwithstanding the Rangers themselves) was Fat Cat, who questioned thus: "You mean to say you're just giving us the Rangers? What's the catch? There has got to be a catch!" "There is no catch." Mevos confirmed. "You mean to say you are getting nothing out of this?" "Oh, I'm getting something." Mevos confirmed. "I'm getting these three," he said, indicating Frog, Pennywinkel, and finally Mademanna, whom he picked up. He neglected to mention the *other* things he hoped to gain, like the respect of the Animal Underworld, something that would prove invaluable in later campaigns. "And who exactly are these three? They can't be anyone special, and they're certainly not Rescue Rangers." "Begging your pardon, Boss," Mepps intervened, "But those look like those kids I saw living with the Rangers on that scouting mission." Of course, any of the Rangers who could, looked at him with confusion. Certainly it was a surprise that anyone in Fat Cat's organization had heard of Frog or his female companions, and they had never caught wind of this "scouting mission" now spoken of until now. "What? Just a second, let me check," Fat Cat said, getting something out of his shirt pocket. Eventually he pulled out a monocle, with which he examined the three. "Hmmm... Yes, they do look... oddly human... What sort of anomaly is this?" "One that could take all day to explain. Simply put, these are humans, but they're not completely normal." "Other than their apparent humanity, how?" "He is a magnificient fighter. No matter what greek myths or legendary epics you've heard, he's better." "Awww, shucks..." Frog responded humbly. "I ain't *that* good." "This girl here," he indicated Pennywinkel, "Is a genious who I hope to make an advisor to evaluate my own evil schemes. Finally, This girl in my arms," which would be Mademanna, "is a robot child, perfectly human in every respect." "And let me guess, You plan to make her evil using a violent video game?" Mevos didn't bother to wonder what kind of hairbrained suggestion that was (Anyway, he knew about Tom, the robot cat whom the Rangers had helped once) and instead answered "No, she's programmed to be almost totally human. Simple reprogramming won't do. I actually plan to corrupt her innocent mind, yes! I will mold her in my image, hone her into a criminal genious! The only one capable, of carrying on my empire!" Somehow, Fat Cat thought that line sounded familiar. Mevos didn't bother to add that he also had a backup plan, to use in case the above failed, in which he would disassemble her and learn how she was made, thus allowing him to create his own militia (Of course, he'd have to remove their free will). He did not need Fat Cat thinking of this possibility at the moment. "Yea yea, that's great." Rat Capone said offhandedly. "Look, can I just take my moll and go?" Rat Capone was already busy untying her from the poll. Fortunately, he discovered, it would not be so difficult to keep her under control, as she was still bound with a length of rope under the layer that connected her to the poll. "Yes, you may go," Fat Cat stated, not really caring if Rat Capone decided to jump in the Mississippi using his "Moll" as a weight. Thus, Rat Capone did leave, going under the door to Fat Cat's office. "I never really liked that rat," Fat Cat commented aloud. "However, I think you and me could be great allies. What was your name again? Mevos, wasn't it?" "Yes. And yes, I can see how companionship on our parts could be a great virtue. Are there any more questions?" This was working out well, Fat Cat thought. Having heard about the kids, he had known right then and there that they'd be better off as his own. Or at least that robot girl. He could not only disassemble her and make blueprints, but he could also reassemble her, then continue to hone her into a criminal genious! Why didn't this fool think of that? The others he'd eliminate. He'd have no use for a warrior or a genious, especially pint-sized ones. And if he somehow got that girl mouse back from Capone, wasn't she some sort of mechanic? But first he'd have to get this Mevos out of the way. And he had just the plan... "Yes... I was wondering... don't take this the wrong way, but why must you wear that wretched mask? Do you have some disfigurement of some sort?" "Ha. No. More like my face, under this mask, is so beautiful, that I wear this mask to preserve it. Would you like to see?" "Of course. Something like that must come along once in a blue moon!" Of course, Fat Cat didn't really give a rat about it, of course, but this would provide the perfect opportunity. Yes! He thought, seeing Mevos put down Mademanna, walk a few inches (probably feet to him) away from her, and begin to fumble with his mask, the fool is falling for it! As he saw that, Fat Cat lifted up his paw, clinched in a fist... CHAPTER ELEVEN The Unexpected Journey ...Suddenly, the door of the office was violent beat open, and the suddenness of it caught them all by surprise. Those that could, turned and look, and saw that the door had been kicked open by Nowhere Man, who had presumeably regained his human size via the Resize Medallion dangling clearly from his neck. What's more, behind him was Gadget, who surprisingly was also human-sized. "What is this?" Fat Cat wondered in bewilderment. Mevos didn't have time to wonder, for he immediately jumped off the desk, putting his fingers to his own Resize Medallion and saying the magic words. Now, Mevos' irregular size in rodent measurement is not half as bad as his size in Human measurement. He wasn't exactly Richard Kiel, but he was close. Nevertheless though, Nowhere Man was undaunted as only the insanely suicidal could be, and lunged at the guy full force. He was, however, met with a knee in the head. While he was reeling from the blow, Mevos shot a magic beam of some sort at him, and Nowhere Man was dematerialized. "Nowhere Man!" Gadget called in in shock. Quickly did she overcome it, however, and reached into her pocket, where she grabbed the remote, and hastily pressed rewind. Within milliseconds Nowhere Man was a material whole again, but Gadget rewound too far to just before he entered the room. And she hadn't reckoned with Mevos' quick thinking. When she stopped, he grabbed the device. "So, *that* is your secret!" With this realization and her attention, he proceeded to destroy the remote, crushing it in the palm of his hand, until it was nothing but wires, chips, and plastic, with a few batteries falling out. It was while he was performing this amazing feat of strength, however, that Nowhere Man came in and rushed him again. This time, however, Mevos had been so preoccupied that he did not have time to react. He was driven to the floor, where Nowhere Man pinned him down, and proceeded to beat him into next Tuesday. He even broke the mask. "No one touches the mask and lives!" Mevos managed to threaten between blows. "So who wants to live?!" Nowhere Man responded, still handing out the suicidal fists of fury. "What are you waiting for?" Fat Cat called, "Get them!" "Uhhhhh..." Mepps, understandibly, was quite reluctant, as was every other one of Fat Cat's cronies. Gadget was only the biggest mouse they had ever seen, after all. "Who is he?" Day Endo was wondering, "And why is he here?" He was surprised to hear sudden laughter, and he looked over at Pennywinkel, and instantly he knew. "The fatal factor... there is always one that they forget!" "That's right!" laughing girl answered. "Remember the search? It just so happened that I was carving the name of where you were going to take us into the wall and floor while you were pushing me around, looking for some hidden device!" Day, quite infuriated, walked up to her, and looked like he was about to do something violent. But suddenly, he caught himself with a better idea. "Po, weren't you saying earlier that you wanted to kiss a girl?" Po looked with a mix of joy and surprise, "You mean...?" "Be my guest!" "Oh boy!" Po cried as he ran up, and himself smooched Pennywinkel on the lips. Being only a kid, however, he couldn't bring himself to make it any more than a brief touch. However, he showed his satisfaction by saying "Man, that rocks!" Pennywinkel didn't even react this time, for in her mind there was a difference between doing it of your own will and following someone else's orders, and she was already thinking of killing Day anyway, how much more mad could she be? So instead she turned and called out "Gadget! Untie me! Before Mevos gets up!" "Okay, justaminute," Gadget called, working on untying Chip. She found it made it easier to, first, remove him from the pole by simply pulling him up, and then working on the underlayer of rope from there. Mostly she found her own fingernails could just cut them. "No! Untie me *first*!" "Be patient!" "Look, if you don't get me out of this Nowhere Man is going to get killed and this time there'll be no--" "Okay okay!" Gadget said, leaving Chip half-undone to instead work on Pennywinkel, using the same technique she had been using on Chip. It only took a second, and immediately she went back to working on the unofficial leader of the Rescue Rangers. Pennywinkel, now free, quickly ran to Frog, grabbing his Resize Medallion which he kept hidden under his shirt and trenchcoat, and putting it on herself while running, managing to call out that she'd give it back later. Finally, she jumped desk and activated it, becoming her human size. She wasn't a second too soon, for Mevos had finally managed to stun Nowhere Man, and was about to deliver a killing blow with a shard of a mask now broken (Pennywinkel didn't have time to notice that he was wearing a different, undamaged one now) when she managed to push Nowhere Man off and into Fat Cat's cronies. She dodged Mevos strike, and grabbed his arm. Then they both disappeared. "Gadget!" Chip asked, "How did you get away from Rat Capone?" "Nowhere Man rescued me. He came up, human-sized, said to let me go, and Rat Capone and his men both bolted for it," she answered while proceeding to free everyone else. "Then he became mouse-sized because he had trouble undoing the knots otherwise, and then decided to make us both human. Sized, that is." And then, the most surprising thing in the world happened. Fat Cat started crying, burying his face in his arms on the desk. "It's hopeless!" he cried, "Hopeless! Bad enough you've got brains and gizmos and that fly, but why, WHY did the Lord Almighty have to give you some magic that allows you to be bigger than me? Why can't I, for once, have the upper hand?!" "Oh, Cheer up Fat Cat," Gadget said, feeling something she never thought she would--sorry for Fat Cat. Surprisingly (or not surprisingly) So did others in the room. "Failure is not the end of the world." "It is for me! I'm doomed to failure! I've been cursed with failure ever since Claurdaine was put away! Before that, everything was fine. Before that, there were no Rescue Rangers!" "Well," Frog thought aloud, working on freeing Mademanna who's chains could not be penetrated by Gadget's nails, "That's kinda your own fault. I mean you were responsible for their coming together." And now Fat Cat stopped crying, and he looked at Frog. "I was?" "Yea. Claurdaine stole that ruby. You planted evidence that placed suspicion on Detective Drake, whom these two chipmunks were fans of, and they were also friends with his dog, so they undertook the case for personal reasons. Then, you took the ruby from Claurdaine, which you took aboard a ship which these two followed you on. There they met Monterey Jack--this mouse here--and his partner, the fly you seem so apt to complain about. And through Monty, they met Gadget. So, ummm, yea, you really can't blame anyone else, except for Claurdaine for starting your downward spiral in the first place." "Yes, but that doesn't mean you meddling heroes have to interfere!" "Of course it does!" Gadget argued. "Stopping crime is our business!" "Yea, interfering is sorta what meddling heroes *do*." Frog pointed out. "Ya know," he added distractedly, "I bet Mevos has the key to this darn chain. Well Mad, it looks like we're going to have to brush up on Houdini before you'll get out of this one." "Awwwwwwwww...." She awwwwwweed in a begging manner. "Ya know," Frog thought aloud, again, and offhand, "I'm actually a cat-loving person." "You are?" Fat Cat seemed surprised. "Yea. They're such complex, personified creatures. I think Leonardo Da Vinci summed it up best when he said 'the smallest feline is a masterpiece'." "The great artist? He said that?" "Yeppers. There's actually a lot more cat-lovers in the world than you would think. In fact, in Japan, they've got these cat statues called Maneki Neko, which they place in business areas because they're supposed to attract money. Heck, that country is obsessed with cats. I mean, cat statues, cat demons, cat-like cartoon characters dominating their television, like Doraemon and Hello Kitty..." "Guys, I just thought of something," Dale suddenly blurted out, "How are we gonna get home?" "Easy!" Chip answered, "Nowhere Man can carry us!" "Why not Gadget?" "Because she wears a skin-tight jumpsuit. Her pockets could suffocate us." "Does anyone know how I could remove these flippin' chains?!" Frog emplored as if to the world. "May I try?" Fat Cat offered. "Sure." So, Fat Cat turned the part with the lock towards himself, and again made use of a monocle, as well as one claw. Managing to dig into the lock, and wiggling it around a bit, finally something clicked, and the lock unlocked. And the lock was removed. And the chains did fall. Mademanna stood, and all was peaceful. "Thanks, Fat Cat!" "Anytime, my lady." With that, Nowhere Man, ever obedient, began allowing the Rangers (And Frog, and Mademanna) into his pockets. As they walked away, Frog and Mademanna waved goodbye, and they left the room. Though none saw it, the sun shone for a brief moment that day, as the Rangers all realized that today had probably been the first step on the road to Fat Cat's redemption. Meanwhile, an island in the Atlantic was about to be the beginning of another series of strange and wonderful events. It was on this island that two teleporting travellers arrived. Upon appearing, Pennywinkel lept away from Mevos. However her strength failed her, and she found herself on he knees like she had been before, except this time she was panting heavily. "Where are we?" Mevos wondered aloud. "How far did you take us?" "Two... hundred... miles..." "Two hundred miles?! That's impossible, do you know how much power that would take?!" "I... do... now..." "And now you're drained. What direction did we go in?" This time she didn't answer, and Mevos saw that, unless she got a drink really quick, she would die. "Here, Drink!" He demanded, pulling a carton of water out of one of his huge sleeves. Hastily Pennywinkel did open the jug, and she did drink. Even though a carton is a carton is a carton, Pennywinkel was still dry, and she needed one more carton of water before she really felt she was healthy again. Setting down the second empty jug, she said "That's better. Thanks Mevos." Though she knew fully well that her living was only due to Mevos wanting her to, for his own purposes. "Now," he asked again, "What direction did you take us in?" "Ummm..." Pennywinkel looked around, examining the island, "Well, I *thought* I had taken us to the Southeast..." "The Southeast? We should be in the Atlantic Ocean! Fool girl, if this island hadn't been here, we would've died at sea, You of dehydration since you obviously can't fill yourself up on salt water! But never mind, no use crying over spilt milk." He glanced around, "I don't remember there being an island like this two hundred miles Southeast of New York City..." "I don't remember there being a Midwest, New York City, New York." "Excellent point. Hmmm... this area might be useful if we explored it a bit." Pennywinkel stood up. "We?" "The other option is that I abandon you here and go off alone." "Don'tcha think maybe I would *prefer* that?! I'd rather be alone by myself than with a sicko maniac Fed whom I still have bad memories of." "I care not what you prefer. You are accompanying me on this and that's final!" Crossing her arms and after stating some explicative under her breath, she finally complied. "Okay, where to?" With that, Mevos stood still, and silent. Pennywinkel didn't mind, for she knew he was using some trick that would allow him to see for miles around. Finally, he snapped back into action, saying "There's something to the south, a large structure, some sort of pyramid, similar to Mayan it seemed." Without waiting for Pennywinkel to say anything, he began walking Southward. In mere moments, the two had come upon the temple which Mevos had seen from the sky. As he had surmised, it was built in a style that eerily resembled Mayan Pyramids. Mevos openly wondered, "Hmmmm. The Mayan Civilization supposedly existed in Mexico. What would a Mayan temple be doing up here?" "Ever think that just maybe this isn't a real Mayan temple? If a mouse in this world can make a car out of a rollerskate in less than a minute, one of these could be constructed in less than three days." Mevos laughed, "Of course! Some lousy tourist attraction! I wondered why this island, being only two hundred miles out, had never been seen!" "Get a grip, moron." "What?" "Even if it's an imitation, look at the moss and vines and erosion. This temple has to have existed for at least a thousand years at most. And if it's a tourist attraction, where are the tourists? I see no signs saying 'come see the cheap imitation temple, only two dollars a pop!' do you?" Mevos looked around. Sure enough, there were moss and vines. Cracks here and there indicated erosion as well. This may not be a legitimate Mayan temple, but it was a legitimate temple, period. That being realized, Mevos knew that the only thing to do was to climb the steps. "Right, then come on." Pennywinkel didn't argue, for she as much as anyone with a spine for adventure was eager to walk into the temple and see what secrets it held. Up the steps the unusual companions climbed, finally arriving at what they had expected to be a door, but instead was simply a large opening into what seemed like it was going to be a long, dark hallway. Unfortunately, there were no torches. Fortunately, neither of the two required any. As Pennywinkel stepped into the darkness, she activated her own light magic, which caused her entire body to shine light all around her. She looked back at Mevos, and found that his mask had a similar function. It was almost more frightening in the dark than anywhere else, as it caused him to look like some sort of ghost (Pennywinkel began to wonder if his entire outfit, mask and all, hadn't been lifted from a Halloween shop). "What are you staring at?" He asked, "If you're afraid of the dark, then you--" "Oh no, I was just realizing how stupid your costume was." With that, she continued onwards down the long, dark tunnel, Mevos close behind. They continued down the hall for about half an hour, each slowly beginning to think that maybe, just maybe, this was one of those trick tunnels where you go in, and keep going in, only to find the entrance is always right behind you. But that belief was dispelled when they both turned around to check, and did not see the entrance. Then, knowing that they were making real progress, they both turned again towards their destination. And were surprised that something was actually there. Right there, where nothing had been before, they saw a large, rectangular room, with an altar in the center. On this altar was a golden plaque, and a look around revealed such plaques were so numerous that this room seemed to be essentially made of them. Also on the altar was an orb, like a gypsy's crystal ball, radiating some sort of fantastic light and energy. Pennywinkel looked at the plaque on the altar, and was surprised. "Hey, this is in perfect English! It says--" "It's *what*?!" Mevos pushed her aside, and looked at it himself. Then he looked up with disgust, "Is this some sort of trick? This is written in Arabic!" "Arabic? Look, I can't help it if you can't--" she got up while she was saying this, and looked at the plaque herself. But this time... "--Hey... That's Chinese." Mevos looked again. "No, that's Japanese." "Hey wait, there's some sort of spell at work here. When you looked, it changed from Chinese to Japanese. Wait, I can read Japanese, let me..." But unfortunately, she made the mistake of turning her head ever so slightly, but enough to not be looking directly at the plaque. When she turned back, it was in Greek. "Hmmm." Mevos pondered. "I wonder..." He stepped away, and began to look at all the plaques around the room. Centering himself on two that were side by side, he kept looking from one to the other. As he had expected, the language they were written in kept changing, and unfortunately, never to English. "Any theories, child?" Pennywinkel clapped her hands, "Yes, one. It's a long shot, but think about it: When I brought us here, we both did *not* expect there to be an island. When you looked around, you did *not* expect to find a temple. And now, we did *not* expect these to be in English. Do you get what I'm saying?" "Yes, when I looked at it, expecting English, it changed it's language! So the key is to not expect what you hope to find!" "No, but rather not to expect *anything at all!* Remember, when we looked behind us, expecting to see the entrance, we instead saw nothing. We looked back, not expecting anything, and found this room! So basically, this place is founded on the concept of 'those who don't expect, shall find'. You follow me?" "Loud and clear. Ah, I just saw a plaque that mentioned the Spanish Inquisition!" "And no one expects the Spanish Inquisition!" They both said in unison. "Boy," Pennywinkel said to herself, "Whoever built this place had a weird sense of humor." Offhandedly, she looked at the plaque on the altar, and kept her eyes on it, for yet again, it was in English. "The Millenium Orb..." she read. "The what?" "That's what this plaque says this thing is." She said, pointing but not taking her eyes off the plaque. "All right... so what is it?" "It doesn't say, it only says that this is the Millenium Orb and that's that. Okay Mevos, I've got an idea. You try to gain information from the plaques around this room, me, I'm not taking my eyes off this altar or this orb." "Agreed." With that, Mevos cleared his mind of expectations, something any real magician is skilled in, and began looking at the plaques. Despite that, however, he could still read but a few, and at best, they were fragmented. "This one says something 'Was destroyed over 19,000 years ago'... and this one, says 'changes time, disrupts the universe'." After another few minutes, he found one that said "Will surrender your dreams..." and finally, one that said "...three times, and no more until..." "Okay!" Pennywinkel said, "I know what this is!" With that, she grabbed the orb, and held it in her arms. It was only slightly heavy, even though it was the size of a basketball. "Come on, Mevos, let's take this and leave." "Why, what is it?" "Oh, I'll tell you, but only when I feel like it." Mevos turned and looked at her, and the orb. "Thankfully, it seems that orb will not disappear. Do you want to perform a test? Quickly, we'll both look up." They both looked up... and surprisingly, there was a large hole in the ceiling. "Hmm, how convenient. Pennywinkel, do you know how to change the pull of gravity?" "Of course." "Then do so!" Having used a concept that was not quite the same as flying (but gets the same job done) the two managed to exit the temple, which, upon them looking back, did no longer have a hole in the roof. They knew that for a fact, as they were both standing on it. And thankfully, Pennywinkel was still holding the orb. Mevos turned to her. "So, what is the orb's secret?" "Well, I'll have to perform a test first, but I have my suspicions." "Please, perform your test." Pennywinkel grinned mischeviously. "All right... then, I wish we were in an unused room at a fancy hotel!" And the two, yet again, disappeared.