The Times of Their Lives
By Indy
Chapter 9 -- To Everything There is a
Season
As dawn arose, Chip finished laying
out his plans. The others at the breakfast table looked at each other as
thoughts on faces passed rapidly across the
table.
"Well, what do you think?"
Chip asked.
Basil put his hands on
the table, and pushed up. "It’s dangerous, it’s risky….and it’s brilliant. I
vote to try."
"But can we trust
people we don’t even know?" Arianna asked. "If they don’t come through, Nimnul
could end up killing us!"
"I know
there’s a lot of risk in this," Chip said, "but we don’t have the power to stop
Nimnul alone. If we allow him to escape, he can start the entire process over
again. Maybe he already has!"
Dale
didn’t like the sound of that. "So, uh, you mean even if we win, we might
lose?"
"Temporal paradox," Basil
said. "It’s like Klordane has a genie and unlimited wishes. As long as he’s
outside the timeline, he’s a danger to us
all!"
"But who are these people
you keep mentioning?" Foxglove asked. "Why are you keeping us in the
dark?"
Chip stood from the table
now. "That’s not my doing! They said I could only tell you what we had to
do. Otherwise, they’ll let the events run their course without
interfering."
Chip couldn’t blame them for not
wanting to go along with this plan, but what choice did they have? True, they
had managed to best Klordane’s cronies. But now they were going after a much
bigger fish than the lot of them put together. It was like the time Basil faced
his arch-nemesis Professor Ratigan atop the Tower of London. If they weren’t
careful, they could all slip off as easily as he did—and there would be no
miracle to save them.
Basil could
see the concern on the chipmunk’s face. He felt it too. This was the most
important case of his life. It had taken time for it to sink in, but it was.
Facing Ratigan was nothing compared to this! Traveling from time to time to
time…it was almost more than he could take! They had overcome some incredible
odds to reach this point. Now, they were going to play a game of pitch-and-toss
and risk their existences on the
outcome.
"We don’t have a choice,"
Basil and Chip said simultaneously.
They looked at each other, and it
was as if their minds were one. They would go. They knew the others would,
too.
Aldrin Klordane was a thinker.
He’d learned early the use of his mind to promote his evil schemes. Now he was
contemplating an idea he almost never considered—defeat. He’d been trying to
rationalize the reasons for everything going wrong. Then, he’d let his anger
take over and he had a tirade over the Rangers. Now, his emotions were spent and
he was still in the same spot. What to do about
them?
Then, he seized upon a
thought. He didn’t have to do anything! Inevitably, these rodents would come
looking for him. They already knew where he was. All he had to do was prepare
for them.
A guard came into the
Oval Office, interrupting his thoughts. "Uh, boss? This just came for
you."
It was a note, addressed to
him.
Klordane,
We’ve
stopped you before
We’ll stop you
again
We ruined your
plans
And defeated your
men
We’re waiting for
you
Where it all
began
We know you’ll
come
And come again…
Klordane contemplated the words before him. **How much do they
know?** That this was a trap was obvious, yet the skilful mind could find ways
around that. The question was risk—a week ago, he’d have jumped in without a
second thought. Now, with his men missing and his plans all askew, he knew he’d
let overconfidence mar his judgement. Not this
time.
"Professor? Professor!"
Klordane shouted.
Nimnul ran in,
covered with his latest experiment. "Yes, mister
Klordane?"
"Professor, we’ve gone
about this all wrong. I came up with a brilliant scheme, yet I was daunted—just
like every time before! Now, we’re going for the direct approach,"
Klordane said.
Klordane started
laying out what he wanted, and Nimnul shared a horrible grin with his crime
boss.
The preparations for what was to
come had everyone pretty silent in Arianna’s home. Even Jenkins, who was
normally quite talkative, sensed the foreboding spirit clinging over everyone.
He said as much to his mistress.
"I know, Jenkins," Arianna said. "I feel it, too. We are facing the unknown,
which is the worst foe to face. These "people" Chip mentioned talking to might
be our allies or our enemies. Still, he’s a good judge of character. I like him.
And now we’re placing our lives in his
hands."
Jenkins brought an ivory
box, crafted with elephants on the top. "Then might I suggest an extra
precaution?"
Arianna took the
revolver, and the extra ammunition for it. She saw the look in Jenkins’ eyes.
"Only if I have to, Jenkins. You’ve served me well—both as a contact in the
service and now as manservant. I want you to know I find your service more than
satisfactory and I would recommend you to
anyone."
Jenkins smiled wistfully.
"You always had a way with words, ma’am. I suppose that’s why I have stayed
faithful to you."
"That and the
government pay, you kidder," Arianna laughed softly. "If I do not
return…"
"I will not return
either. I am joining you, ma’am. For Queen and country," Jenkins
said.
Chip had decided to take a walk
to clear his brain. It always seemed to do the trick, and now was no exception.
The fair London sky—an anomaly as Gadget would have told him—was cheerful and
blue. The passers-by were all in hats and suits, hustling and bustling. Still,
Chip noticed they found time to greet each other at street corners. The clopping
of the horses on the cobblestone was a far cry from the normal city sounds, and
gave the atmosphere an almost country-like feel.
A rushing passer-by brought the
chipmunk back to reality, as Chip had to dodge the young boy or be splatted. The
youth was just out having a good time, rollicking in the warmth of the sun. Chip
watched him go across the street and join up with a bunch of his friends. Then
the group of excited voices charged off in a new
direction.
What had happened to
those days? Chip could only wonder, for they seemed like yesterday. His early
years with Dale, the fun he’d had with the Rangers. Now it seemed like a frail
cloth that had been ripped away. Would he get his friends back? And if he did,
would things be the same as they were? No, he knew they wouldn’t because if
nothing else he wouldn’t be the same. The adventures of the last few days
had tested everything he staked his well-being upon: his love for Gadget, his
comradeship with Dale, his hero-worship for Sureluck Jones. What was real
anymore? There was only one way to find
out.
As Chip returned to the door
behind the rosebush, Jenkins let him in. Chip noticed that he had changed his
normal black butler’s outfit for a hunting outfit complete with shooter’s jacket
and shotgun.
"I take it you’re
joining us?" Chip asked.
"Quite,
master Chip," Jenkins said. "I consider it my duty, as my mistress’ life is on
the line."
Chip could have argued
the point, but what for? The situation was bound to be life-threatening, and no
there was no getting around it. Jenkins shadowed him as Chip strode into the
conservatory. Everyone was waiting, and stood when they saw him
coming.
"Well, Chip, are we
ready?" Dale asked. "I’d like to get back to my life
sometime."
Chip nodded. "I’ve got
the letter ready. We’ll send it through just before we
leave."
Basil watched as Arianna
prepared the time machine for its duties. "Are you sure we should all go, Chip?
If anything goes wrong…"
"The
person on this end won’t know anyway. Besides, they said we’d have to prove
ourselves. We’ll need everyone," Chip
said.
Suddenly, Basil got a
faraway glance. "Theirs is not to make reply…theirs is not to reason why…theirs
is but to do and die…."
"Into the
valley of Death rode the six hundred," Chip finished. "Well, these six will have
to do better than those six
hundred."
Arianna stood up from
the machine. "Give me the letter, Chip. I will reset the device for our normal
return time once it has
activated."
The group gathered
around, and watched as the letter vanished through the portal. Arianna reset the
dials, and the portal opened
again.
Chip looked at everyone.
"Before we go, I want you all to know I’m proud to know you all. I don’t express
my feelings too well, but if things don’t go our way I just wanted to make
sure…"
"Say no more, Chip," Basil
said. "We trust that destiny will be on the side of the good, but if we are not
the ones who will stop Klordane we trust that someone will. I have no
regrets."
"Nor have I," Arianna
said, coming close to Basil. "We haven’t failed yet,
though."
"Exactly!" Dale shouted.
"I’m going in to win! Right,
Foxy?"
"You mean we’re going in to
win, right Dale?" Foxy asked.
Dale
looked a bit sheepish. "Uh…right."
Everyone shared a warm chuckle. Chip was relieved in a way that Dale seemed to
be the same, no matter what the timeline. He waved the others in, and the portal
disappeared behind the last one in.
"Come on, Professor! They must be
in place by now!" Klordane said.
Nimnul was in a bad mood, not to say that he was ever really in a good mood. He
came into Klordane’s office, carrying several ray
pistols.
"Are you sure
these will do the job?" Klordane
asked.
"How should I know?" Nimnul
said. "You wouldn’t let me study them enough! But the guy I st..uh borrowed them
from said as much."
Klordane took
one of the pistols. It resembled the original phaser from the Star Trek series,
but was all chrome and smooth. The barrel was cigar-shaped and the only moving
part was the trigger.
"Be careful
with that!" Nimnul shouted. "The temporal scrambler could send you into
oblivion!"
Klordane smiled
wickedly. "I’m not the one who’s going to oblivion, professor. Those infernal
Rangers will have that honor.
Hahahahaha!"
Klordane aimed the
gun at a side table and fired. A powerful purplish beam came out and the table
disappeared instantly with a humming
sound.
"So where did it go?"
Klordane asked.
"Well," Nimnul
started, sensing his scientific genius was being recognized, "my theory is that
it sends objects either into an alternate space-time continuum, an antitime
universe, or most likely what we call
limbo."
"Limbo?" Klordane asked.
"I thought that was fantasy."
Nimnul looked like a teacher who was asked a stupid question. "Now don’t tell
me limbo doesn’t exist! There is a provable mathematical probability of
an area in the physical universe where the laws of time have no effect. And do
you know what’s even better?"
"Oh,
I’m all a-twitter…" Klordane said
drolly.
"Once you’re in,
there’s no way out!" Nimnul said, laughing
heartily.
Klordane once again
looked at the gun in his hand, realizing its power. "Finally. Finally, I will be
rid of those vermin once and for all! Then the world and all that they fought to
protect will be mine!"
Nimnul and
Klordane shared another laugh, and then Nimnul left to distribute the guns to
the men. **Soon Rangers. Soon the bell will toll for you for the last
time**
The cave was dark and cold. It
had been ten years since Chip had been here, yet the smell of it was still in
his memory. An old and tomb-like smell. Basil lit a
candle.
"So this is where it all
happened?" Basil asked, his voice echoing through the large
chamber.
"Yep. Here we stopped
Nimnul and brought him to justice," Chip
said.
The group walked around
carefully, and then Basil found the light switch. The cavern was flooded with
light, and Chip was amazed to see that everything was just as he remembered it.
The train tracks. The mountain of gelatin. The laser machine. The only
difference was they had not been here to stop Nimnul this time and all the gold
was gone.
"We’d better take our
places," Chip said.
In a few minutes, a group of
humans appeared in a flash of light, led by
Klordane.
"Chip? Chip, I know
you’re here somewhere!" Klordane said, his voice seeming to search the cavern
for him.
Chip’s voice returned,
"We’re here, Klordane."
Klordane’s
face took on an almost genial attitude. "I was touched to receive your
invitation, my lad. Let me congratulate you on the choice of setting. And just
one day after my greatest triumph,
too!"
"Well, you know what they
say. The criminal always returns to the scene of the crime," Chip
replied.
Klordane’s henchmen began
scouting about. "Again and again, as you say. You don’t know how many times I’ve
had to do this, Chip. It took me ten separate attempts just to figure out how to
take all of you out at one time."
Chip was surprised at this. "You mean this isn’t the first time you’ve tried
this?"
"Not at all! A tribute to
your leadership, Chip. And still you keep coming! You know, I considered just
letting you win this time and starting over. But then I realized that if you and
your allies weren’t around, there wouldn’t have to be a next time!" Klordane
said.
Chip knew Klordane was just
buying time. It was just a question of when the attack was coming. "You’re not
going to win this time, Klordane! We’ll stop
you!"
"Brave words, chipmunk. But
words won’t save you! Time is still on my side. You failed to stop me before,
and in a few minutes you will be no
more!"
With that, the henchmen opened
up. Rock began disappearing from different parts of the cave.
"Arianna, give them the works!"
Chip shouted, covering his ears.
The others did too, for Arianna was about to sing. She did, her voice
reverberating in what turned out to be a perfect echo chamber. The vibrations
shook the ceiling as her voice searched higher and higher into its
register.
At high C, the men
dropped their guns and screamed. At C above high C, they knelt and covered their
ears. Then Arianna had to pause for
breath.
"Get rid of her!" Klordane
shouted, pulling out his own gun.
As Arianna began to move back in high range, rays shot from everywhere. Soon the
rock behind which Arianna was hiding disappeared. Klordane winced as he took aim
and fired.
"Arianna! NO!" Basil
shouted, but it was too late. She
disappeared.
"Charge!" Klordane
shouted in reply, and the gunsels homed in on the area where they’d seen
Arianna.
Chip couldn’t believe Arianna was
gone, but she had bought them the time they needed. Chip, Basil and the others
had been setting up a large boulder to activate Nimnul’s Fruitquake. With a
mighty shove, the boulder started
rolling.
"This one’s for you,
Arianna!" Jenkins shouted.
The
small heroes braced for the impact, but it never came. Klordane had sent the
boulder into nowhere. Outmaneuvered, the animals were now at the humans’ mercy.
One by one they disappeared—Dale, Foxglove, Basil and Jenkins. Then, only Chip
was left.
Klordane approached
slowly, the gun pointed at him. "I’m going to remember and savor this moment for
as long as I live!"
Chip was
shaking now, knowing it was all
over.
"And to think I once thought
you were a problem. Now farewell, Chip! Rescue Rangers, AWAY!" Klordane shouted
as he fired.
Chip shut his eyes as
the beam sought him out. He felt its impact, heard a humming
sound.
And all was
darkness.
Klordane just looked at the spot
where Chip had been, somehow expecting more. When it didn’t happen, he turned to
his men.
"Okay, let’s get back to
business. Nimnul, I want my cat and my other men found! That should keep you
occupied for a while," Nimnul
said.
Nimnul grumbled about it all
the way back to the time machine. He set the
controls.
Klordane signaled Nimnul
to wait a moment. "To think, after all this time, I finally am on the top of the
world! It took me years and countless efforts, but now I can at last take my
place in the timeline free of those miserable
rodents!"
The portal opened and
the criminals went through. They returned to the White House, and Klordane
turned to go in.
"Men, you can
remove your temporal stabilizers now. We’ve won!" Klordane
said.
Everyone did so, including
Klordane.
And all was
darkness.
The first thing Chip was aware of
was the cold stone beneath his feet. Then he realized that someone was helping
him up. It was still dark though. Then a spotlight, chipmunk size, appeared.
Another spotlight appeared on a semicircular bench of hooded animals. The seven
creatures were totally shrouded in white, making it hard to look at them for the
glare that contrasted with the outer darkness. The being in the middle
stood.
"Come forward!" a
male voice boomed.
Chip could feel
the hands on both sides helping him to the spotlight. When he got there, he
realized why he couldn’t see his assistants. They were dressed totally in
black!
"Guards, release
him," a female voice said.
They did so. The female voice
continued.
"Chip Maplewood, do
you stand responsible for the acts of your
team?"
Chip nodded, and
managed a "yes."
"Then bring
forth the accused."
Two different blackguards brought
forth a female mouse inventor between them. Her face shone as she saw who was in
the spotlight. She broke free of the guards, ran to him and embraced
him.
"Chip! Oh, Chip am I glad to
see you again!" Gadget said, hugging him
close.
Chip didn’t know what to
do. Was this his Gadget,
or…
"Gadget, what do you
remember?" Chip asked.
Gadget
pulled gently away from him. "Well, after you took my bracelet off I ended up
here. It was all dark. I felt someone grab me and they brought me right
here."
Chip was aghast. "You mean
you just got here? But you’ve been
gone..."
The male voice
interrupted. "Enough. Gadget Hackwrench, you developed a temporal gateway,
did you not?"
"Y..y-yes,"
Gadget said.
The central figure,
from whom the voice was apparently coming, rose and pointed into the darkness. A
spotlight appeared, and Gadget’s time machine was in the
middle.
"Is this the gateway in
question?" the figure asked.
"Yes," Gadget answered.
The figure
waved his gloved hand, and the spotlight ended. "Enter the testator’s
statement into the record. Do you attest that your intentions were
honorable?"
"Absolutely!"
Gadget said. "I was just curious to see how the pyramids of Egypt were built!
Then I was pulled into another sector of space, and my blueprints were left
behind. I simply forgot to go get
them!"
The robed figure to the
left of the standing one said, "I recommend confirmation. Let the mind probe
be done."
Gadget cringed a
bit, and Chip started to protest. But then the council member furthest right
said, "The probe is done. Her words are
valid."
All attention returned
to the standing member. "Let the others be brought
forward."
One by one they were escorted
in—Monty, Zipper, Foxglove, Dale, Basil, Arianna and Jenkins. They all stood
together with Chip and Gadget, as greetings went all around. Again, the central
figure called for silence.
"Basil Hackwrench, Arianna Ideler, Maynard Jenkins and the group known as the
Rescue Rangers. It is the judgment of the temporal court that you did use a
temporal gateway frivolously. However, it would seem you did not do so with
malicious intent. You will thus not be held
accountable."
The accused breathed a heavy sigh
of relief. Then, another spotlight appeared. A group of humans were led into the
court, restricted by force fields that acted by shackles. Chip and the others
just stood and stared. Now they could tell that the room was much larger than
they had previously thought, for Klordane and his men easily fit within
it.
The council table rose into
the air, seemingly of its own will. The central figure was still standing,
defying gravity.
"Aldrin
Armstrong Klordane, you have committed the most heinous temporal acts that this
council has been forced to consider. We have awaited this time for many days,
but now your judgment can commence," the figure
said.
With that, the figures pulled off
their coverings. They had all aged some except for one, but the figures were all
very familiar.
"Sir Wilfred
Erskine!" Monty said.
Dale pointed
at shouted, "Lucien!"
Gadget
gasped. "Dad?!"
Foxglove did too.
"Uncle Bedivere!"
Chip couldn’t
believe it. "Mom! Dad!"
Every one of them was wearing a
temporal stabilizer. Sir Wilfred looked sternly at Klordane. "Each of us in turn
was judged worthy to stand on this ‘ere council. We all either disappeared or
were presumed dead and were chosen. It’s no accident, Klordane, that you’re
facing that group to your left. The ripples of time flowed
together."
Now Roger Maplewood
stood. "Klordane, my wife and I witnessed your criminal schemes firsthand. But
this atrocity is by far the worst that has been inflicted on
mankind."
As Roger spoke, a
viewscreen of energy appeared behind him. "Our records show that once you stole
the temporal stabilizers, you attempted to change history on seventeen separate
occasions."
"At last, you
succeeded in cheating fate," Jennifer continued. "Or so you thought. We were
given the honor of protecting our
descendents."
Now Bedivere spoke.
"We rustled your messages and put in our own. In other words, we hoodwinked
ya!"
"And I ‘elped guide Chip and
Dale to their destination in India," Sir Wilfred added. "I was the only one who
act’lly interacted with them, for fear we’d further corrupt the
timeline."
"You still made a big
blunder with zat safari outfit!" Lucien said. "Had Chip or Dale realized it was
out of place, zee whole plan could ‘ave come
undone!"
"Plan?" Klordane said.
"You mean, all this was a plan to trap
me!?"
"But of
course!" Lucien shouted. "After sixteen times of developing your plan, you
were…how you say…predictable. We watched you lay out your plans, zen we followed
you to every destination."
"You
intended for ‘em to have to get the diamonds to form a solution to your cryptic
puzzle," Geegaw said. "Actually, extremely clever on your part. We gave the
Rangers and their allies a push in the right
direction."
Now the viewscreen
activated and showed the scene in Basil’s room where the Rangers had been
trapped and separated by time.
"We allowed you to think you had erased all the Rangers but Chip from existence,
so that your guard would be down," Roger said. "We brought them here, and now we
have brought the rest of you here to the same point in
time."
"So those guns we stole.."
Klordane started.
"Were actually
temporal teleporters to bring ‘em here," Bedivere said. "Thank you for the help,
ya sidewinder! We’ve got those shootin’ irons back,
too."
"We knew you couldn’t resist
the challenge of a final confrontation, and what better than to let you think
you’d succeeded?" Geegaw said. "As we’ve said, you are
predictable."
Chip and the others all had been
looking at each other, and now the chipmunk refused to listen any further. "Wait
a minute! Do you mean you put us through all that, and none of it was real?
None of it was necessary?!"
Jennifer looked down at him tenderly, "Oh, darling, it was real and necessary!
We had to develop a plan to put Klordane in a false sense of
confidence."
"But why?" Chip
asked.
"Because o’ these," Sir
Wilfred said, pointing to a spotlighted table. Upon it were the temporal
stabilizers Klordane had taken. It was only then Chip and the others realized
they didn’t have theirs on.
"I
know," Sir Wilfred said, "y’want to know why you’re still here. This room is the
reason. It’s in essence a pocket o’ time. Now, to your question—we could do
nothing while Klordane an’ his men ‘ad the temporal stabilizers on. We realized
the only time they would remove ‘em was once they believed you were dead. So, we
invented a scheme to convince him o’ precisely
that."
"By the way, we have
already taken the stabilizers from the others the Rangers defeated. They have
returned to the current timeline," Jennifer
said.
Sir Wilfred now turned his
attention to Klordane. "Temporal crimes were deemed t’be the worst, since they
altered the timeline at the expense o’ others. There’ve only been two other
attempts t’compare with yours, but this ‘ere was the largest unresolved
case."
"But if this is the past
for you," Chip asked, "then why wasn’t it settled in the past? And how were you
able to avoid being affected by the changes Nimnul
made?"
"You’re thinking of time
linearly, son," Roger said. "Time is not written in stone. It can be manipulated
like anything else. But the temptation to do so was so great, bodies like this
council had to be formed to deal with it. Punishment had to be made. To ensure
it, members were chosen to live the remainder of their lives outside the
timeline. Each of us has made that commitment, and that is why we were not
affected."
"Speaking of punishment…Aldrin
Klordane, this council has determined that you alone’ll bear the punishment for
these acts," Sir Wilfred said.
Klordane showed a mixture of fear and anger. "What…what do you
mean?"
Sir Wilfred sighed. "It’s a
terrible thing to have t’pass judgment on anyone, but our duty’s clear. If
you’re left free t’roam the universe, you’ll find a way t’repeat what you’ve
done or worse."
"You’re going
to…kill me?" Klordane asked.
"No.
Capital punishment is banned in this ‘ere time period. We deliberated some time
before we came up with a decision," Sir Wilfred said. "You’ll be given ample
food and supplies t’survive, as well as a place o’ residence. But you will never
again be allowed t’interact with the world o’ men or
mice."
"Limbo….you’re putting me
in limbo! No!" Klordane said. "I’d rather die than
that!"
"We know," Bedivere said.
"A simple lynchin’ would be real punishment for you. You’re gonna live,
Klordane. You’ll live with the guilt of yer crimes and yer
failures!"
"Yaaaaaaagrrrrh!" Klordane growled, struggling against his
bonds.
Slowly, a ray cannon rose from
under the floor. It locked in position with a hiss, and centered on Klordane.
Nimnul and the others could only sympathize with him. Klordane tried to move,
but found that his feet had been clamped in
place.
"This is bein’ shown
throughout the planetary alliance. We do this in the hope that it’ll prove the
folly of usin’ knowledge for gain instead o’ for others," Sir Wilfred
said.
All the council members
stood at attention and the cannon was
activated.
Klordane’s fetters fell
off of him as he started to fade. He shook his fist at the Rangers. "I’ll get
you, Rangers! Somehow! Somehow I’ll get out and you’ll rue the day you heard the
name Aldrin K l o r d a n
e…."
And then he was
gone.
With that, the other members of
Klordane’s gang were immediately sent back to their normal
timeline.
"It’s over," Chip
whispered. "The nightmare is finally
over."
"Oh, son!" Jennifer
shouted. "We’re so glad to see you
again!"
Chip’s mom, now in her
late forties, still held the glow of beauty and figure that had distinguished
her in her youth. She ran and hugged her son tight. Roger was just
behind.
"You’re putting on a
little weight there, pop," Chip said, the tears
flowing.
"Blame your mother’s good
cooking there son," Roger said. "I’m proud of you,
boy."
Gadget smiled at the reunion, but
never took her eyes off the goggle-clad figure heading her way. It was almost as
if she was afraid he’d disappear if she looked
away.
"You got a hug for your old
man, princess?" Geegaw said.
"DADDY!" Gadget cried, pulling her to him.
"My dear girl," Geegaw said. Her
just held her as the joy came out in
tears.
Dale held out his paw as Lucien
Gerard D’Oakmont came toward him. The two Oakmonts shook
hands.
"All for one!" Lucien
said.
"And one for all!" Dale
finished. "I see you haven’t forgotten. So you didn’t die in that fight at
Lourdes after all."
"Ah, I should
have mon enfant. I was ambushed by ze nefarious Rats of Rouen, bent on helping
usurp ze king. Zey cornered me and pushed me from a high cliff. I thought I was
ze goner, but alors I appeared here! Time was, as you say, on my side, no?"
Lucien said.
Monty listened to Lucien’s
explanation and then turned to Sir Wilfred, who had come to shake his hand. "But
what about you, Sir Wilfred? If you are me ancestor, how could you be
taken out ‘o the timeline?"
Sir
Wilfred hesitated a moment. "Well, it’s true that me name is Wilfred, and I am
an Erskine. But…I am not your
ancestor."
"Then who are
you?" Monty asked.
"I’m your
great, great, great, grandson!" Wilfred said. "They did say I bore a strikin’
resemblance t’Sir Wilfred, though. I was chosen ‘cause I best knew the era from
which you came. I’m an historian on your
century."
"But not on zee 16th
century, eh safari mouse?" Lucien
shouted.
"Blimey! I’d wish you
would let that go, Lucien! It was just a little mistake!" Wilfred
said.
"Mistakes in time are too
costly, Wil! Eef not for your expertise, you would not have been here!" Lucien
retorted.
Monty grabbed Wilfred’s
hand. "Well, I’m glad you are ‘ere Wilfred! Good t’know the line’s going to last
so long!"
Foxglove hadn’t let go of her
uncle Bedivere all this time.
"Easy, dear! I’m not as young as I used to be!" Bedivere said. "Like my pappy
used to say, when that cotton gets white, you’ve got to treat it with kid
gloves!"
Foxglove Fairmont looked
at her uncle with curiosity, but the love was in his face. "I’m just so glad I
got another chance to meet you!"
"Me too, dahlin! You were ahlways mah favorite!" Bedivere
said.
Chip came up to Sir Wilfred now.
"But will our lines last? Will everything go back just like it
was?"
"We’ll do our best, Chip.
When you leave this room you will snap back into your timeline. As far as we can
determine, your multiple trips into the past did nothing to alter the proper
present."
"But what about
Klordane?" Gadget asked. "If he’s in Limbo now, how will we ever get together to
stop him?"
"But you already have!"
Geegaw said. "When you return to the present with your pasts intact, the present
will be the present you know. Remember, Klordane was sentenced in the
future."
"But you said time wasn’t
linear," Chip said. "Are you
sure?"
Wilfred smiled big. "If I’m
wrong, we’ll fix it!"
Chip shook
his hand. "Good enough for me. But will we remember any of this once we’re back
in our timeline?"
"Normally, I
would say no. However, you ‘ave been a service t’us all. So we’ll allow your
memories t’stay intact," Sir Wilfred said. "Provided you do two
things."
"Which are?" Chip
asked.
"Allow us to visit!" Sir
Wilfred said.
Chip smiled at that.
"Anytime! And number two?"
Sir
Wilfred turned to the mouse inventor. "Gadget, you’ll need to let Basil and
Arianna have your time machine."
Gadget did a slight double-take.
"But why? Surely you can send them
back…."
Geegaw put his arm around
Gadget’s shoulder. "That not the reason why, honey. We will have to block their
memories of this time. Knowledge of future events is dangerous, even in good
hands. But since it’s your past, you can
know."
"Know what, dad?" Gadget
asked.
Geegaw put his hands on
Gadget’s shoulders. "Princess, you’ll always be my little girl and I’ll always
be your dad. But…I’m not your
father."
"What!?" Gadget said.
"But that’s impossible!"
"Not when
time is involved," Geegaw said. "You see, the book you have is the unofficial
version of your histories. Here’s the classified
one."
Gadget opened the book and
read:
Gadget Hackwrench – Born Arianna
Victoria Hackwrench to Basil and Arianna Hackwrench. When Gadget was an infant,
Basil and Arianna were forced into a deathtrap by French terrorist and assassin
Jacques Renaud. To save the Queen, they sacrificed themselves and were assumed
killed in an explosion that was intended for the Queen’s carriage. In
recognition of the help they provided this council, Basil and Arianna were saved
and made members of it. After their initiation, they had the option of leaving
little Arianna with any member of their family past or future. They chose
Geegaw, and his memories were altered without his knowledge—until he became a
member of this council. [See Hackwrench, Geegaw]
Gadget closed the book. "Is this
why you never pursued your past,
Dad?"
Geegaw nodded. "I was given
a set of memories so that I would believe you were my daughter and that my wife
had died years ago. I never knew the difference, and there was no one to
challenge the backstory so I raised you as my
own."
Gadget looked to Arianna.
"But that means…"
"I guess I’m
your mother!" Arianna said. Gadget and Arianna hugged, and for the first time
Gadget realized why she’d be able to open up to her before. Then she looked at
Basil.
"I realize you’ll never
think of me as a father," Basil said. "So why don’t you think of me as your
favorite uncle?"
Gadget came to
Basil and hugged him too. "Okay…uncle Basil!" Then she whispered, "I love you,
father."
"A daughter…I’m going to
have a daughter. The most beautiful there is," Basil said
softly.
Arianna went to Geegaw.
"Grandson, brother…I don’t know what to call
you."
"How about friend?" Geegaw
said. "That always works. I was glad to raise your daughter. I’m proud of her,
and proud of you. All of you."
Basil came and put a hand on Geegaw’s shoulder. "Grandson, you’re pretty top
notch yourself."
That set off a
round of chuckles. Then Chip and his family came
over.
"But if Gadget was taken as an
infant, how did Geegaw get born?" Chip
asked.
"I can answer that," Geegaw
said. "You see, they had more than one child. Gadget was their second child.
Their first was named Horatio. He was old enough to go live with the rest of the
Hackwrench family when Basil and Arianna
left."
"You mean we abandon him?"
Arianna asked.
"No, it was his
choice too. Horatio turns out to be a loner—independent you know. He leaves
England and goes to America and eventually become a flyer in the first world
war," Geegaw said.
"You mean old
‘dust-em-up’ Hackwrench was my brother?" Gadget
asked.
"None other," Geegaw said.
"That make you my aunt, and my
daughter!"
Chip shook his head.
"Temporal paradoxes. Never will get used to
them."
Jennifer took Gadget’s hand. "So
Chip, this is the one you’ve had your eye on? She’s
lovely."
Chip blushed (naturally),
and Gadget did as well. Geegaw looked Chip
over
"Reminds me of myself in my
barnstorming days. Well, princess, do you like him?" Geegaw
asked.
Gadget was put on the spot,
something she’d never liked. "Well, dad, it’s nothing we’ve really discussed. I
like Chip, true. We’re great friends. But I don’t think I’m ready for anything
more yet."
Chip let out a sigh of
relief. "I’m glad you said it Gadget, or I’d have had
to."
"You feel the same way?"
Gadget asked.
"Yeah. I didn’t want
to admit it, but I guess neither of us are really ready for marriage or
anything," Chip said. "It was just that, well, with Dale and
Foxglove..."
"You felt obligated,"
Gadget said. "I could sense that."
Geegaw came to Chip and pulled him over, taking Gadget’s hand in his other.
"Well, whatever your future, I’m glad to see you’re both good people. Especially
you, princess."
"Uh, Mr. Hackwrench?" Dale
said..
"Call my Geegaw, boy!"
Geegaw said.
"Why do you keep
calling her princess?" Dale asked.
Geegaw laughed deep. "It goes back to her eighth birthday. I asked her what she
wanted…"
"Daaaaaad…" Gadget
said.
Geegaw looked down at her
with a smirk. "She said she wanted to be a princess. So I arranged for the boys
at the Flying Tigers club to treat her as princess for a day. Everyone was at
her command! You should have seen it—those old flying aces were kneeling and
scraping to her and loving every minute of
it."
"Aw, dad. Why’d you have to
go and tell that?" Gadget asked. "Now they’ll think I’m stuck up or
something."
"You loved it too, and
you know it," Geegaw said. "Every time she went in the club with me after that,
she’d say, ‘the princess is here’! The title just stuck, like
Gadget."
Wilfred came over and joined the
talk. "I hate t’be a spoilsport, but Basil an’ Arianna need t’get down t’the lab
so they can have their memories
blocked."
"So soon?" Basil
asked.
"It’s better this way,"
Wilfred said.
Suddenly Gadget
realized something. "Wait, please! Could I ask a
favor?"
Gadget whispered into
Wilfred’s ear. "Hmm…I don’t see why not. It shouldn’t cause a
problem."
"What? What?" Dale
asked.
"We’re going to a wedding!"
Gadget said. She turned to Basil and Arianna. "That is, as long as you don’t
mind having your daughter there."
"Mind?!" Arianna said. "It would be perfect. Well, not that the wedding would be
perfect. Well, it would since you’d be
there…"
"Yep, that’s Gadget’s
mother all right!" Monty said, coming over with Bedivere. They’d been discussing
old stories.
"Hey, we’re comin’ to
this heah shindig, aren’t we?" Bedivere
asked.
Wilfred sighed. "I’ll go
get the stabilizers."
"Yeeeee-hah!
It’s gonna be a hot time in the ‘ol town tonight!" Bedivere
said.
Two days later, Chip stood in
Westminster Abbey. As with Buckingham Palace, there was a section of the old
church reserved for the animal world. It was just as ornate as the human
version, and just as revered. The Queen was in attendance, as an honor to Basil
and Arianna—both honored subjects of her majesty. The guest list was some of the
most influential members of British animal
society.
Chip had been chosen to
be best man, an honor he was more than glad to fulfil. Gadget had been named
maid of honor, and everyone else was serving as ushers or bridesmaids. Chip was
at the front of the church, in a custom tailored suit. Arianna had seen to it
that all the men and ladies had appropriate attire. She’d also talked him out of
wearing his fedora.
The ushers
took their places, and Chip mused on how unique a wedding it was where your
as-yet-unborn daughter and grandson were attending! Then he saw her. Gadget had
agreed to dress up for the occasion, and Arianna had gotten her a gown of
paisley blue silk to match her eyes with a wide blue ribbon just a shade lighter
at the waist. Her hair was up, in the style of the day. She’d also agreed to
wear a bit of makeup. In short, Chip couldn’t take his eyes off
her.
Basil walked up to Chip, a
half-nervous wreck. "Is everything ready? The
ring?"
Chip patted his pocket.
"Right here, Basil. Don’t worry. Everything is
fine."
Basil gulped, and tried to
calm down but failed miserably. "Chip, I’m going to tell you something that I’d
never thought I’d hear myself say. I’m frightened out of my
wits."
Chip held back a laugh.
"Basil, that’s natural for weddings! Trust me, you’re doing the right
thing."
"It’s not that," Basil
said. "I love Arianna and want to marry her. But all these people, and the Queen
besides! Suppose I make a
mistake…"
"Nonsense. You’ll do
fine. When you see her face smiling at you, you’ll see," Chip
said.
With that, the giant pipe
organ in front of them sounded the start of the wedding march. The ushers and
bridesmaids came in, then the organ sounded the warning for everyone to stand.
Basil stood transfixed.
Arianna
was wearing a bridal gown of white embroidered silk trimmed with gold. The veil
trailed long behind her. Jenkins escorted her to the front, in step with the
wedding march.
Soon, the ceremony
was over, and the bellmice rang the church bells to signal the wedding was over.
Basil kissed Arianna, and the usual wedding tears, hugs and congratulations went
around. Arianna threw the bouquet and Gadget caught it, causing a lot of winks
and blushes to go around. The Queen came forward and congratulated Basil and
Arianna warmly.
Once the reception was over and
all the guests taken care of, Gadget changed back to her regular clothes as fast
as she could. She met up with her dad outside the church. He’d noticed how
uncomfortable she’d been with the
bouquet.
"You never did learn to
socialize with the boys, did you?" Geegaw
asked.
Gadget shook her head. "It
just didn’t seem right, somehow. You weren’t there, and I’d never had to
before."
"Princess, you’ve got a
good thing going with young Chip. But if he leaves you, I’m telling you it’s
going to be your fault," Geegaw
said.
"My fault? So you think I
should just marry him, then?" Gadget said, a bit
angry.
"I didn’t say that. I think
Chip’s right, and neither of you are really ready yet. But I’ve seen the looks
between you two. All I’m saying is, give the lad a chance. He seems to be a nice
boy," Geegaw said.
"He is, and
that’s what worries me," Gadget said. "What if I give him a chance and we find
out we don’t really love each other? We couldn’t go back to being friends
again!"
"I think you’re more than
friends already. You’d give your life to save his, wouldn’t you?" Geegaw
asked.
"Yes," Gadget
said.
Geegaw started walking, and
Gadget went with him. "And I know he would for you. You’re special to each
other. Now, it’s just a question of what kind of special. You need to find
out."
"I suppose," Gadget said.
"But I don’t feel ready for that,
either."
"You have to start
somewhere, princess. You’ve been hiding from your life too long. You really
missed me, didn’t you?" Geegaw
asked.
"More than you’ll know! I…I
had shut myself up in the old plane and built traps everywhere," Gadget said.
"If the Rangers hadn’t come along, I’d still be
there."
"Didn’t I tell you to get
away from those engines every now and then? You’ve never as much as been on a
date," Geegaw said.
"Okay, okay!
I’ll give it a try," Gadget said. "But let me do it on my own terms. I just
don’t know how Chip’s going to
react."
"Mom, I know she’s not sure! I’m
not going to push her!" Chip said.
Jennifer looked at him with narrowed eyes. "If you’re anything like your father,
you will."
"Jenny!" Roger
said.
"Well, it’s true. You were
so inexperienced at dating and so forward, I almost dumped you after the first
date!" Jennifer retorted.
Roger
smiled coyly. "Why didn’t you?"
"Because I realized you were as helpless as a turtle on his back. That, and you
were as cute as the hills," Jennifer
said.
"And here I thought it was
my Frank Sinatra imitation!" Roger said jokingly. "Seriously though, son. Gadget
looks like a great girl, but she’s the kind you have to go slow
with."
"How do you know?" Chip
said.
"I talked with her dad a
good bit before the wedding. It seems she’s avoided dating all these years,
probably because of him. He’s going to try to encourage her," Roger
said.
"While you try to discourage
me," Chip quipped.
"You know what
we mean, son," Jennifer said. "Remember your manners, don’t make her feel
uncomfortable. And whatever she says
goes."
"I know, I know," Chip
said. "Gosh, we’ve known each other for ten
years!"
"But you’re never dated,"
Jennifer retorted. "That’s an entirely different
thing."
"Yeah, I guess so," Chip
answered. "Are you coming back with
us?"
"No, son," Roger said. "We’ll
be visiting though. We’re allowed to drop by twice a
year."
"The door’s always open for
you two. Maybe you could join us on a case!" Chip
said.
"Afraid not, Chip," Jennifer
said. "We can’t afford to jeopardize the past like that. But we will look
forward to every opportunity to see you and all your
friends!"
Foxglove and Dale had spent most
of their time listening to their ancestors argue over whose line was better.
Uncle Bedivere had recited the story of every Fairmont, right back to Sagramore
Fayremounte—the founder of the
line.
"Why he was the toughest
hombre the old country ever saw!" Bedivere said. "No bat would fly anywhere near
his tower, ‘cause they knew ol’ Sagramore would skin ‘em
alive!"
"Hah!" Lucien said. "He
ees nothing compared to my great grandfather! Louis Auguste Renard D’Oakmont,
the founder of our line! He was ze bravest Oakmont of zem all! He held ze
bridge at ze Pyranees against ze Spanish conquistamouse Jose Louis Alvarez, ze
scourge of Pampalosa!"
"Chicken
feed, boy!" Bedivere said. The nearly-white bat was about to start a new story
when Foxglove broke in.
"Please,
give it a rest for a while!" Foxy said. "Uncle, I’m glad we had so many
illustrious members of the family. Still, that doesn’t make us better than any
other."
"But.." Bedivere tried to
protest.
"And the Oakmonts are
great, but she’s right Lucien," Dale said. "We’ll let the stories go for
now."
"Oh, very well," Lucien
said.
Foxglove whispered to Dale,
and he smiled at his wife. "Right! Let’s go get the
others!"
Monty and Zipper were off alone
now. Monty had already said goodbye to his descendent, and now was talking over
the events with his lifelong
friend.
"I don’t know why you
always seem to be left out, Zipper me pal! Maybe its just your size," Monty
said.
Zipper buzzed and indicated
he didn’t want to be big again like the time Nimnul enlarged him. He just wanted
a little respect.
"But we do
respect you, lad! The Rangers wouldn’t be the Rangers without ya! This grand
adventure should prove that much," Monty
said.
Zipper buzzed
discontentedly. He still wanted some kind of
recognition.
Dale and Foxglove
came walking up. "Hey, Zipper! It’s time to go home! You and me will get to play
Superspy again!"
Zipper perked up
at that news. He asked Dale if he really wanted
to.
"Do I?! I miss my adventures
with my favorite right-hand fly!" Dale
said.
That did it. Zipper was in a
good mood again. He flew over and hugged Dale and Foxglove. Then he and Monty
joined them to find Chip and Gadget. They found them saying goodbye to their
families.
"So we’ll see you all in
six months?" Chip asked.
"It’s a
deal!" Roger said. "We’ll bring
everyone."
More good-byes were
said, then Wilfred touched a device on his wrist and a time portal opened for
them. "You will go back to the time just after you last left," Wilfred said. The
Rangers waved as they went through. Once through, they emerged in the park and
removed their temporal stabilizers and threw them back through the
portal.
"Council members, we now come to
a hard decision," Wilfred said. "During the mission, council member Geegaw
retrieved this 'ere girl from the alternate timeline. It's in our hands as
t'what will happen to her."
As the
alternate Gadget stepped forward, Geegaw stood. "My friends, you know that I am
neither rash nor ill-advised in my decisions. I chose to save this young girl
because she saved our allies. She is not perfect, but she deserves a chance to
exist."
"If you introduce me to
the current timeline, what do you propose to call me?" Gadget asked. "Gadget the
second?"
Geegaw walked down and
hugged her. "I know this is hard on you. But the only way we can let you back
into the timeline is if we erase your memories and give you new
ones."
"New memories? You
mean I won't remember who I am or what I've learned?" Gadget
asked.
"You've already shown that
you are different from the Gadget indigenous to this timeline. We'll just be
completing that difference. If you do not agree, you may remain here. However,
you will never be allowed back into the normal timeline," Geegaw
said.
Gadget didn't have to think
it over long. "Okay, I want a life. It may not be my life, but at least it's a
life."
Soon, Gadget was in the
lab. Geegaw watched over her as the advanced machinery did its
work.
"You had better change her
voice as well," Geegaw said. "That way, she'll never guess that she and Gadget
are actually the same. Then again, I wonder if she really was Gadget with the
attitude she had. Still, time does have a way of changing things. I just pray my
daughter never ends up like this."
On a beach in the Pacific, a young female mouse opens her eyes. The warm trade
winds blow her honey blonde hair. She looks down, and realizes she's dressed as
an islander. Then, she sees them--a group of mice converge on her, led by a
portly chieftain.
"I am
Hubba-Hubba. Who you?" the chief
asks.
The girl searched her mind,
but nothing was coming to her. "That's funny. I did know once, but I don't seem
to know now."
Hubba-Hubba helped
her up. "You stay with us then. Until you remember, I call
you...Lahwhinie."
As the Rescue Rangers walked
toward home, Dale turned to Chip. "What were we doing before all
this?"
"Seems to me we were bored
because nothing was happening," Chip
said.
"Man, sounds perfect to me
now! I’ll take a straight week of it!" Monty
said.
Everyone agreed that a week
off sounded good. Once they were back inside Ranger Headquarters and sure
everything was back to normal, each Ranger settled into their favorite
activities.
Then Chip remembered
a promise he’d made and excused himself. Once he explained, everyone agreed he
should go, but Chip wasn’t so sure. Still, a promise was a promise—even if he
could only keep it here.
Chip climbed up another oak tree
and knocked on the door. A large female squirrel
answered.
"Oh, Chip! You haven’t
been around here in quite some time. Come in!" the squirrel
said.
Chip stood where he was.
"That’s okay, Mrs. Chestnut. Actually, I wanted to know if
Tammy.."
"Chipper!" Tammy shouted.
She ran out and hugged him. "Hiya, cute
stuff!"
Mrs. Chestnut looked
sternly at her daughter. "Tammy, remember what I said about controlling
yourself. You’ll have to excuse her, Chip. And call me
Martha."
Chip was even more
uncomfortable than usual around Tammy, because of what he had to ask next. "Well
then, Martha, I was wondering if it was okay if I took Tammy to the
circus."
Tammy’s eyes lit up like
firecrackers on the Fourth of July. "You…you’re asking me out!? Oh, mom,
canIcanIcanIcanI?"
"One thing
first, Chip," Martha said. "Why are you doing
this?"
Chip was doing his best to
keep from getting crushed in Tammy's vise grip. "It’s a long story, but I owe it
to her in a way. I’ll have to explain it to her first and then she can explain
it to you."
"Okay, then," Martha
said. "Just remember it’s a date Tammy and not a betrothal. I’ve got a feeling
he’s being nice to you for a
reason."
At the moment, Tammy didn’t care.
"I’ll remember! And we’ll be back before it’s too
late!"
Tammy took Chip’s arm and
dreamily looked up at him. "Let’s go,
dreamboat!"
Chip did his best not
to wince at that, and he led her off to the circus. Tammy had a glorious time
with the games, the rides and the food. Then again, everything could have been
terrible but she wouldn’t have noticed with Chip at her side. Finally they
started home. Tammy had a big plush teddy bear that Chip had won for her, and
was holding his hand. Then it occurred to her to
ask.
"Chip, why did you
take me out?" Tammy asked.
"I was
waiting for you to ask," Chip said. "It’s a long story, but a good
one."
An hour later, Chip returned to
Ranger Headquarters. For him, the world was a much more peaceful place now.
There was no one in the living room, and it looked like everyone had decided to
catch up on the sleep they’d all sorely missed. Chip had to admit, he was
feeling the pull of his bed. Still, he couldn’t sleep. Not
yet.
Chip sat down on the couch,
and pulled out his pad. He began to write and the feeling of tiredness was
forgotten. Soon, he was immersed, and didn’t notice when Gadget came out of the
hall. She walked up behind him and read over his shoulder. Then Chip finished
and he suddenly realized he had an
audience.
"Oh, hi Gadget! I didn’t
know you were there!" Chip said, feeling a bit
awkward.
Gadget came and sat by
him. "It’s a good poem, Chip. I didn’t know you wrote at all. Why didn’t you
tell us?"
Chip rubbed the back of
his neck. "Well, it’s just sorta personal. I do it when I need to sort out my
feelings. Actually, most of the things in here are…about
you."
Now it was Gadget’s turn to
feel awkward. "I know it’s been tough on you, Chip. But I don’t want you to feel
like you can’t tell me things. Can I see the
notepad?"
Chip looked at it, and
then at Gadget. "The only thing is…when I met up with the Gadget from the other
universe and she saw the poems…"
"Chip Maplewood! I’m surprised at you. Do you think I’m going to get carried
away by a bit of poetry?" Gadget
asked.
Chip handed over the
notebook. Gadget turned to the front, and read them. At first, the crossness at
her answering Chip marked her face. Then it changed to neutral, then to a
smile.
"Chip, these are beautiful!
Why didn’t you show me these before?" Gadget
asked.
"Well..uh..because…because
I didn’t think they were good enough," Chip said.
He looked up, and saw that Gadget
knew he was lying. "Okay! I was concerned that if you saw them, you’d know how
much I care about you and you wouldn’t care about me and I’d be miserable the
rest of my life!"
Gadget just looked at him for a
minute, then the smile returned. Then she started to laugh, and that was all it
took. She laughed and Chip laughed and it was as if some invisible person was
there tickling both of them. Chip fell off the couch for laughing, and then
Gadget helped him up. They went outside, out of courtesy to the
others.
The others however had
heard them. As one, the remainder of the Rangers crept into the living room
and looked out the window. There, in the moonlight, Gadget and Chip were
laughing a bit still. If they knew they were being watched, they were too polite
to let on.
Chip felt a great
weight lift from him. All this time, he’d been worried how Gadget would react.
Now all was right with the world. He told her
so.
"Chip, would you be surprised
to know the same weight is off of me, too?" Gadget
asked.
"You?" Chip
asked.
Gadget nodded. "I knew we’d
have to have this conversation sometime and I’ve been dreading it. Now that it’s
come and gone, I wonder what I was so uptight
about."
"Probably that I’d insist
on marriage or nothing, or something like that," Chip
said.
"Something like that,"
Gadget agreed.
Chip took Gadget’s
hand. "Gadget, I’m happy to be your friend right now. In fact I’m relieved to be
your friend. If the future holds more for us, then fine. If not, I’ll always be
glad knowing you’ll be there for
me."
Gadget looked into his eyes,
and she found she didn’t have a problem doing that like she had. "Chip, I’ll be
there for you. The time we’ve just been through has made me realize how much a
part of me you are. I need you as much as you need me. It may be a long time
before I can commit to someone Chip, but I hope it will be to someone as nice as
you."
For several minutes, the
mouse and chipmunk said nothing, content to be in each other’s company. The
pressure was off, and the world was theirs. Finally, Gadget broke the silence.
"Chip, read me the poem you just
did."
He did.
Time
is a tie
That binds our
lives
It flies
by
Like
water
Round the river
bend
When my
life
Finishes its
course
I’ll
always
Cherish
you
My beloved
friend
You stuck your
paddle
In next to
mine
You righted
me
And helped
me
Run the
course
We’ve had
troubles
Along the
way
We capsized
sometimes
But we
always
Found the
source
Of our
strength
In each
other
Your
smile
Kept me
Going
Now
We’re
Working
Together
and
We’re
showing
That we’ll run
The rapids
together
Come what
may
Season by
season
Day by
day
Friends
forever
Friends and
more
Let’s keep
paddling
There’s more to
see
Life’s over that
way!
I want to thank you all for
putting up with me and my desire to write an epic adventure. I hope the trips
through time were worth it to you. They certainly were for me! Time is a river
that leads to endless possibilities. May your trip be smooth and
trouble-free.
Indy
Basil of Baker Street and the Rescue Rangers are copyright Disney and used
without permission, but with the utmost respect. Arianna Hackwrench, Sir Wilfred
"Gouda" Erskine, Lucien Gerard D'Oakmont, Uncle Bedivere Fairmont, King Buzzor,
Buzzor the second, The Gummin, Roger Maplewood and Jennifer Maplewood are all
copyright Indy.
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