The Art of Magic
By: Foxhound
Chapter Two
Dale was walking by a mouse, just a couple of years younger than him. The mouse was a little bit taller than Dale, and was dressed in black jeans, a black shirt and black jacket. The young mouse spoke slowly and with a southern accent. Dale, however, was speaking the complete opposite - so fast that Mike could barely understand his old friend.
"Is it far, Mike?" asked Dale.
"Not really. 'bout a mile or so." Responded Mike.
"Thats not far? That'll take a long time to walk." Replied the chipmunk.
"Dont worry Dale, its a city mile, not a country mile." Assured the mouse.
"Huh? whats the difference, Mike?" asked Dale, who thought both were the same time. They passed a very large tree to their right.
"Well, most southerners judge distance using time. How long it takes to get there. So we're not always the best at knowing how many miles it is from one place to 'nother. So we think it takes an hour to get there and just say its a mile, cause were not sure." Responded the southerner as he looked back over his shoulder
"Woozers, so how do you keep from getting confused in the south?" asked the one with the red nose.
"We just ask how long it takes to get there, only yankees ask how far things are. Took a bit for me to get used to when I first moved here, some time back."
"Oh" responded Dale.
"Ok Zipper, we start down the tree and head to that tree on the right side. Is that a good idea?" Zipper buzzed his suggestion to Tammy. "Alright Zip, well wait a few seconds and then start." Tammy waited the longest seconds of her life, and then she and Zipper began. Tammy came crawling down the ranger tree on all fours. Zipper slowly flew down. Zipper pointed to a tree out of the way and then curved his finger to the tree they wanted to go for, meaning for Tammy to take a curve instead of doing a beeline to the target tree. Tammy understood and followed his instructions and went right after she made it to the bottom of the tree. Zipper pointed to Dale and the mouse then to the tree and then to them. Tammy understood that Zipper wanted to keep the tree in the line of sight between them and Dale, so that it would be harder for them to be seen. Soon Tammy and Zipper made it to the base of the tree and waited.
"Tell me a bit about the other rangers." Said the southerner.
"Ok." responded Dale. He pulled a picture out of his pocket and handed it to Mike. Mike took the picture and looked at it. "You know me and Chip. Chip is the leader."
"Not surprising." Responded Mike. "When did Chip get the hat?"
"We both feel into a bucket of soapy water, and the hat fell in there too. It shrunk and Chip liked it, so he kept it." responded Dale.
"Kinda odd, but since when did the two of yall make sense?" responded Mike. "Whos the big guy?"
"Oh, that is Monterey Jack. Hes from Australia. Hes been all around the world and has all these great stories... Or at least they were great the first 5 times he told them. These last few million have been a little hard on the rest of us." Responded Dale, not nearly as excited at the end of his sentence, as he was when he started it.
"I can imagine." Responded the sympathetic mouse, having known a few like this in his life.
"That fly is Zipper. Hes really fast and very brave. Hes flown into some really dangerous situations and saved us all." Dale took no note of the large bush they were passing as he spoke of the brave fly.
"Wow, he sounds impressive." Responded Mike.
Zipper pointed at Tammy and buzzed for her to decide how they were going to do this run. Tammy nodded. *Well, Dale and that guy just passed a large bush, there on the left is the fountain and there really far to the right is a swing set.*
"Alright Zip, I have an idea. We go left for the fountain and then back right to the bush they are passing now, and then we go for the buildings. How does that sound?" asked the youngest member of the Rescue Rangers.
Zipper buzzed an almost to Tammy. Zipper pointed to Dale and his friend and then to the building they were walking to. He pointed his finger to the left and then looked at Tammy to see if she could figure it out.
Tammy looked to see what else she could have thought of. It took her a second and then she understood. "Oh, since they're going to those buildings, we wont have to go to the bush, we can stay on the outside of the fountain to the left and then head to the buildings. Hey, that'll save time and keep us from being seen." Replied Tammy and Zipper gave her a thumbs up. The two of them waited until they felt it was safe and then started on the plan Zipper had help Tammy come up with.
"And that one..." Dale pointed to the blond mouse. "That's Gadget. Shes very beautiful."
"Glad to see your eye sight hasnt gotten any worse since last I seen ya." Teased Dales friend.
"Shes very smart too. She can make anything from anything. She used a bleach bottle and a balloon and made the ranger plane. She used a flash light and made the ranger wing. They both fly. She took a skateboard and an electric fan and made the Ranger Mobile."
"Ranger mobile? Did you come up with that one? Kinda like the Bat mobile?"
"No, Gadget made the name up." Responded Dale as they went into a very large and well lit alley. Mike and Dale had both come down this alley several times, and both knew it to be safe, although this is the first time they and went together.
"Well I guess she shares your sense of humor then. I bet she's into comic books and late night horror movie fests like you." Mike wrongly guessed.
"Nah, she mostly just stays in her workshop all day. Unless we're out looking for cases or trying to solve a case. She seems like hanging around Tammy." Answered Dale.
"Whos Tammy? You've ran out of animals in this pic." Responded Mike.
"Oh, I need to get a new picture of everyone. Tammy just joined a few days ago." Responded Dale.
"What does she look like?" asked Mike.
"Well she is a squirrel, she has red hair and she's eighteen. We met her about four years ago. Chip caught her and then she had a huge crush on him and wouldn't let up. Then there was this huge adventure because of her."
"Tell me about it." Mike said as he stopped by a rodent size hole of a very old building and Dale began telling the first misadventure of Tammy and the rescue rangers.
Tammy and Zipper made it to the building without much trouble. Tammy was having a lot of fun. This was a game. Dale was no threat if he caught them, and the worst that could happen is that Dale would be mad at them, but Dale never stayed mad for long. This other guy seemed nice too. So this made this fun and good training. Zipper was a patient teacher so that made it all that much better. Tammy decided to take the front again.
"Ok, we cross here and stay to the left wall, that way we keep that dumpster in the line of sight between them and us." Tammy said as she looked to Zipper for approval. Zipper gladly gave it to his quick learning student. Tammy and Zipper began to hug the wall of the alley. This was much harder for Tammy than for her smaller friend. All Zipper had to do was fly slowly near the wall and he kept out of sight. The two started down, slowly at first. Tammy had seen that Dale and his friend had stopped in front of a rodent size door. It wasnt long before they made it to the trash dumpster. Tammy stood to where she and Zipper could see Dale and the unknown mouse, but not the other way around.
"Wow, that's quite a story. Wish I had been there to see the look on ol' Chip's face." Responded Mike as he laughed after hearing the 'Misadventures in squirrel sitting'.
"Yeah, I kept running around saying 'Isn't chipper wonderful?', and Monty was even saying 'Isnt chipper heroic?'." Responded a very energetic Dale.
"That sounds like you, Dale. You and Chip never laid off of each other in school, didnt figure you would change much. So, you ready to go in?"
"Sure." responded Dale.
"Are you going to invite your friend in? Be kinda hard to get in once the door is locked." asked Mike.
"Huh?" responded a confused Dale.
"Your friend that's been following us since we left you headquarters. Back there behind the dumpster now, you can go look." Responded Mike.
Dale, very confused, looked at his friend and then started for the garbage dumpster. *What is Mike talking about? Nobody is following us. I think I would have seen...*
"Aughh!!" came from a very surprised squirrel, and a surprised fly buzzed something similar.
"Where did you come from?" asked an equally surprised Dale. Zipper and Tammy both sputtered out "Uhh... well, we uuhh..." While a much humored mouse began to walk toward the rangers. *Dale hasnt changed much, He doesnt seem mad, just surprised. Two of them??? I only seen the girl!*
"Hello, y'all must be the other rangers. You must be Miss Tammy." Mike nodded to Tammy. "And you must be Zipper." Mike nodded to Zipper. "I've heard a lot of great things about both of you. My name's Mike, I went to high school with Chip and Dale. I havent seen either of them in years."
Zipper flew up to Mike and buzzed a question to him. Mike, with a confused look on his face looked over to Dale and then to Tammy.
"Would y'all mind translating that?" asked Mike.
"He wants to know how you saw us." Said Tammy, embarrassed that she had been seen on her first stealth mission as a ranger.
Mike looked back at Zipper. "well, I didnt see you, little guy, and I wouldn't have seen Miss Tammy if she was a brunette. Red doesn't blend in with trees very well. I just happen to be looking toward y'alls home when she came out."
Zipper quickly flew over to Tammy. "Don't say it, Zipper." Responded Tammy before Zipper had a chance. Zipper buzzed a "Say what?"
"Told you so." Tammy crossed her hands in annoyance.
Dale looked at the two of them with a confused look on his face. "Told you so about what?"
"That my hair was too bright to not be seen by you two." Responded an annoyed Tammy.
"Y'all did a good job. If not for already knowing that y'all were following us, I wouldnt have had a clue." Lied Mike, hoping to spare her feelings and his own for not knowing Zipper was following him.
"Where are you two going?" asked Tammy, already feeling a little better knowing that.
"I was about to show Dale inside. Do you wanna come too?" asked Mike.
"Yeah Mike is this great magician with all these great tricks and he makes things disappear and then he saws a woman in half and then he disappears and..." Said Dale so fast that everyone else only caught the first 5 words.
"You still have more energy than a flock of hummingbirds on a caffeine rush." Responded Mike.
Tammy and Zipper both laughed and then said and buzzed a "sure" to Mikes invitation.
"Well, let's go." Mike started walking to the door that he and Dale were standing next to only a few moments before. Once they reached the door, Mike unlocked it and they all entered.