Danger can take the most innocent forms.......

                         RHYME & REASON
                        By Michael Demcio.
                        Part V: Playtime.  

                          Part 1 of 4

     2:20.....                    

     "All right Chip,...*get a hold of yourself*!" the leader of
the Rescue Rangers whispered, cutting off his terrified cries.
Acutely aware of the thudding of his own heart, he knew he was in
a state of panic, and a bad one at that. His mouth was bone dry,
his stomach felt like it was being wringed through a press, and
every muscle in his body felt as if they had turned to mush. With
the wind rushing through his fur as he plummeted headlong to
earth, he smiled, feeling a wave of giddy, panicked hysteria
coming over him. /As Gadget would put it,/ he thought, /we have a
problem./ Taking a deep breath, he forced his fear down as far as
he could, shaking his mind clear of the hysteria. /All right,
*think*!/ he ordered himself. /There *has* to be a way out of
this! What I need is a plan. Actually,/ he amended to himself,
/what I need is a place to land. One that won't kill me that is!
Okay, I know *that* much. First, slow yourself down, he told
himself, and buy some time./ Splaying his limbs out to catch all
the air he could, he nodded, and while still keeping a tight rein
over his fear, he carefully reached into his jacket for his
binoculars. Now to see if there's anything down there I can aim
towards, that's soft enough to land on. His eyes tight against
the viewfinders, he blinked away the tears the tearing air
pressure had caused. As his vision began to clear, the picture of
the ground below began to come into better focus. Trying to keep
the binoculars steady and focused was no easy matter with the
wind pushing against them, but with a little work, he finally
managed to get a fairly good fix upon the objects below him. No
water below me, he thought, at least nothing deep enough to dive
safely into. 
     He scanned around some more. /Nothing soft enough to land 
on....*CALM DOWN*!/ he ordered himself again, feeling the giddy
fear rising once more. There has to be something, and I'm not
giving up until I hit bottom. /Like they say, it's not over until
the fat lady sings!/ "Hmph!", he uttered, a half smile crossing
his face, /Maybe I can land on a *fat lady*!/ Still he continued
to look, shifting his gaze around hopefully. /Nope...nope...hmmm,
wait a minute,/ he thought, pausing upon an object as a plan
began to form in his mind. /*Yeah*. Landing in *that* would be
soft enough! Only how do I get over there?....../ "hmmm," he
murmured after scanning around until he found what he needed.
/Yep, that'll do it all right, and it's crazy enough that it just
might work! It'll have too./ he finished, pausing to place his
binoculars back in his jacket. /It's the only chance I can see
that I've got!/ 

     Only about a dozen seconds had elapsed since his plummet had
begun. Removing his grappling rope and his bullwhip, he worked
rapidly, securely tying the two together. Then coiling the two
pieces around his arm, he removed his binoculars once more and
fixed them on his target-*a nearby lamppost*. /I need to move in
closer./ he observed, gauging the distance between where he would
land now, and where the post was. Angling his descent, he
maneuvered and adjusted his plummeting form a few times, catching
the wind and slicing his way through the air until he had
positioned himself to where he wanted to be. /Now all I have to
do is keep ready./ he thought, fighting to keep his calm and
concentration focused, and his nervousness down. I'm only going
to get one chance at this. The seconds flew by quickly, as did
the distance between him and the ground. By now, he didn't need
the binoculars to keep track of the lamppost, it was quite
close enough....as was the ground. Seeing that he only had a few
more seconds, he took out of his pocket the last item he needed
to complete his plan. It was a handcrafted rodent sized survival
knife that Monty had gotten for him, two birthdays back.
/Hopefully *this* present will help me live to see this birthday
through!/ he thought nervously, clamping the knife with the blade
extended down, between his feet, hoping wryly that the item
would live up to its name as a *survival* knife. Steadying
himself, he withdrew the coiled lifeline from his arm, readying
it. Again he gauged the distance. "Okay..." he whispered
expectantly, trying not to tense up, "Ready,.....NOW!" he
shouted, hurling the rope down. 
     Cutting through the air, the grappling rope wrapped its way
around the upper stem of the post, looping around a few times
before securing itself to the metal cylinder as the grappling end
sunk it's pointed tip back into the rope. Grabbing the thick end
of his bullwhip at the bottom of the length, Chip braced himself
for the ride.  "PISTACHIOOO!!" he cried as he rode the rope down,
hanging on as tight as possible as his strength was pitted
against the strain of the sudden change in direction, swinging
back up. With all the inertia that he had built up on the way
down, Chip swung up and over the post once, his momentum building
up even more as the rope looped around the post and slid its way
over the slick metal. Near the apex of the second turn, Chip let
go of the rope, giving a last, desperate wish that he was still
on course for his next target, a nearby hot dog vendor, and that
his slingshot effect had given him enough momentum to get there.
Grasping the utility knife tighter between his feet, he arced
through the air, landing on target a moment later upon the hot
dog vendor's umbrella. Knowing that had he chosen to use the
umbrella to break his fall, although it was soft enough, he would
have just bounced off of it to possibly seriously hurt himself in
falling to the ground, he'd chosen to use something far softer
than the umbrella to stop himself. Namely, *the hot dogs*. With
his weight and the force of his momentum behind it, the knife had
no trouble tearing an instant hole in the fabric, allowing Chip
to plummet straight into the hot dog bin where he landed safely
though abruptly upon a bed of dozens of relatively soft
frankfurters. There was however, one slight drawback to his
otherwise safe landing. Namely, *the heat*. 

     "Yeow! Hot! Hot! Hot! Hoooot!" he cried, quickly springing
up from the scalding surface and jumping to grab the nearby lip
of the bin. Once out of the wagon though, he quickly stopped.
"Uh-oh." he murmured, remembering something as he looked back
behind him. Quickly leaping back in he retrieved his forgotten
survival knife, digging around for a second before pulling it out
of the pile of hot dogs. Jumping back up to the lip of the bin
again, he allowed his knife to cool down before replacing it in
his jacket. "Hot dogs have enough dangerous stuff in them as is,"
he commented wryly. Looking around, he saw that he didn't have to
worry about the vendor minding his alternate use of the wares.
Reason being, was that the man was too busy watching the action a
short distance away as Cranston towers continued to be evacuated,
and fire fighters and S.W.A.T. teams poured into the building to
check out the bomb threat. 
     Hopping down off the cart, Chip winced, the pain in his ribs
giving him a sharp stab. Whatever he'd strained or injured from
the explosion back at the library was still bothering him.
/Luckily, whatever it is, it's not bad enough to restrict my
movements too much./ he noted. /I can't *afford* to be restricted
now./ Removing his binoculars for a moment, Chip trained them
upon the top of the building, where smoke from the burning acid
continued to pour out of the windows. With a twinge of remorse,
he stuffed the instrument back into this pocket and began to look
around him, his mind lingering on the scene a moment longer. He
remembered how, with the acid pouring down, he'd watched with
sorrow as all the plants within the scope of his vision had
withered and died, their smoking, dissolving husks collapsing
into the soil.() He grimaced at the thought. /All those living
plants./ he thought grimly. /Who or what else is going to get
hurt or killed in this game?/ he wondered, thinking darkly what
he would do to Ivana when he finally caught up with her.
Shimmying up the lamppost to retrieve his bullwhip and rope, and
then obtaining the right sized piece of paper from a nearby bank,
Chip made his way up to the second story window sill of the
building that housed the bank. Once there, he looked critically
at himself, reflecting on a comment that had been made within
that same bank about what a few people had smelled. "Whew!" he
exclaimed as he sniffed his jacket and fur. Using his hat, he
tried to wave away the strong scent of hot dogs that now
enveloped him. "If I get within ten feet of any cat, they're
going to have the urge to lay me down on a bun with sauerkraut
and relish!" With the odor refusing to dissipate, Chip shrugged
in resignation. Putting his hat back on, and folding the paper
he'd taken, he took off in his new plane, quickly making his way
toward his next destination. 
                    *              *              *
     2:28.....

     Standing on the outer window sill of one of the city's art
museums, Chip withdrew a compact glass cutter from his jacket.
Placing it upon the pane, he cut a small hole for himself to slip
through, being especially careful not to trip the alarm sensors
mounted on and around the window. /Glad I started taking after
Gadget with this habit./ he thought to himself, replacing the
cutter in his jacket pocket. /It's come in handy quite a few
times!/ Reflecting on this thought for a moment, a light smirk
crossed his face as he slipped through the hole. /Too bad I
haven't taken after her yet with wearing a *parachute* for
emergencies!....You know,/ he mused, jumping lightly down from
the sill, /if I'd had a parachute back there, I might have
actually enjoyed that ride!/ Looking around at the empty hallway
of the museum, Chip turned his mind to what had led him here, and
what exactly was in this place that he was looking for. The
latest rhyme to find the next location had went, "To find the
next clue, look to the past, then link it to a like, term that
has cast, the measure of balance for good or for ill, and then
you will see, why those who now fill, an arena with sport, though
they can be quite small, when you single them out, they can
be quite tall, and when you examine them, one and all, remember
the one who heralds the call." /This verse seems pretty
straightforward./ He had thought upon first seeing the rhyme. /At
least some parts of it. Those who are tall who fill an arena with
sport, sounds like its talking about basketball players and "the
one who heralds the call" referring to referees....or
maybe even baseball players and umpires./ He added to himself a
moment later. /After all, even though they may not be as tall as
basketball players, a legend's stature is a another term for big
or tall, and Ivana is certainly fond of playing on words!/ 

     However, another moment of reflecting upon the psychology of
his adversary, and he had disregarded the thought altogether.
/Nah, that can't be it!/ he frowned. /The reference to sports
figures in a stadium is *too* obvious! If there's one thing I
know about Ivana by now, is that she would never make the game
easy enough to give out "obvious" clues, especially since she's
*already* used that trick on me.<> Besides,/ he amended to
himself. /it still leaves open the question of "where"? Well, now
that I've pretty much ruled that possibility out, what does this
thing mean?!/ Turning toward the props that Ivana had provided
with the note, Chip considered them thoughtfully, certain that
they would give him cues to deciphering this lyrical riddle.
Slowly at first, and then with increasing momentum, a train of
thought began to form. /One thing that's clear about Ivana is
that she has a penchant for destruction. It's almost like a hobby
for her. So I'm willing to bet that when she said "the past" she
was referring to something that was killed or destroyed. In this
case, that would have to be the rose in the vase, and the
chocolate covered walnut that got squashed. After all, right now
they are in the "past tense". Now what the heck does *that* have
to do with a "like term" that measures balance "good or for ill"
I wonder?/ Thinking about how Ivana loved to use plays on words,
he carefully ran through his head, every synonym and term he
could that had to do with flowers, but nothing seemed to connect
to the rhyme. However, upon turning his mind upon the crushed
walnut, something having to do with the rhyme immediately sprang
to mind. /Nuts!/ he thought excitedly, /The nut was destroyed in
a sense, or crushed into nuts, and *nuts* is a layman's term
about "*mental balance*"!/ With a satisfied grin at his
deduction, he continued. /Okay, Now for the next part. What's a
"like term" that also has do with metal balance "for good or for
ill", that can also be connected with the rest of the rhyme?/

     Coming up with many different metaphors for mental balance
which ran the gamut from oars to enchiladas, Chip began to grow
slightly frustrated as none of them seemed to bear any connection
to the rhyme. It was only when he'd spotted the small bit of
curved yellow chalk upon the concrete heart that the rhyme
finally fell into place. Instantly, it all made sense. /Marbles!/
he thought, making the connection at last. /Having all your
marbles or losing all your marbles! That small yellow line is
part of a playing circle or "arena", for a game of marbles!
*That's* what gets filled with sport!/ The rest of the reasoning
was simple. "When you single them out" had meant talking about a
single marble, and from there, a connection could be made from a
"marble", to the rock type of marble that was mined. The things
that were made of marble that could be "quite tall" could be
referring to either an entire building, or perhaps marble walls
or statues. However, the "they", "them", and especially "who" in
the rest of the rhyme had subsequently ruled out anything *but*
statues. 

     The "where" of it all was fairly obvious. The only art
museum in the city that had statues of Roman Gods within them,
particularly of one in specific. The reason he knew to be looking
for Roman Gods was that with all the verbal and visual references
to hearts that had been made at "The Cutting's Edge", "The one
who heralds the call", was obviously referring to the one who
heralded the call of *love*, namely *Cupid*. Standing now within
the empty hallway, Chip felt the fur rise on the back of his
neck. He couldn't help but feel that he knew what sort of a trap
would be awaiting him here. Once he'd figured out that the museum
was where he'd had to go, he'd also realized something else. So
far, Ivana was following a definite pattern of picking places
with direct links to some of their old cases. The library as a
clue site could be traced back to the case with Foxglove's former
mentor-Winnifred*. She had after all, been a cleaning woman at
one of the local public libraries, and had wanted to exact some
destructive revenge at her former place of employment upon being
fired from her job. "The Cutting's Edge" as a clue site, could be
linked to the case that the Rangers had had in the rainforests of
South America when the "Zombie King", Heinrich Von Sugarbottom,
had attempted to control the world's chocolate market using mind
controlled animal and human labor.**. The density of the plants
in there had certainly resembled a rain forest of sorts to him,
with the chocolate chips and the chocolate covered walnut
being now, an overly obvious connection. 

     Finally, here he was at a deserted art museum, which could
be linked back to the case with Ratso Ratskiwatski +. Exactly
like that particular case, the museum was closed, even though it
wasn't a Monday or a holiday. Why the museum was closed though,
he didn't know as he'd seen no reason posted on the front door.
Was it Ivana's doing to resemble the case that much closer? Or
was the closing purely a coincidence? He didn't know, but even
though he was grateful about not having to worry about innocent
bystanders, save for a security guard perhaps, he hoped that this
resemblance to that old case wouldn't go as far he feared it
would. In that old case, some flunkies of Ratskiwatski had used
Professor Nimnul's Gigantico gun in reverse to miniaturize the
whole museum. If Ivana had gotten her hands on another model of
that gun, then the Rangers were as good as dead. If she managed
to shrink the museum while he was in it, he himself would be
reduced to a size so tiny, there would be hardly any way he could
accomplish the rescue of his friends. /Still, what choice do I
have?/ he gulped. He was sure the next location clue lay within,
and trap or no, he had to try to obtain it. Checking the signs,
he spotted the direction he needed to go. Darting along the halls
and up a few flights of stairs, he made his way toward the
section of the museum that featured the statues he wanted. Though
he arrived at his destination without incident, the trip in
itself was quite a bit unnerving. Quiet as a tomb throughout,
and of a melancholy light since only the daylight remained to
illuminate where it could reach within the interior, the museum
felt abnormally spooky. Its darkened and still corridors played
on his nerves, making him feel as though he were surrounded,
despite the fact there was no one and nothing in sight. Still, as
much as he disliked the quiet in this case, with mixed feelings
he was fairly certain it would not remain for long.

     Tensely alert for any sort of movement or sound, Chip
activated his penlight and swept it through the musty gloom of
the museum, illuminating each statue within the room. Moving
through the first roomful, but not finding what he was looking
for, he passed into a second where he soon located the statue of
Cupid. Smaller than the other statues, his nocked bow and arrow
were aimed out into space, his cheery, cherubic like countenance
standing in direct contrast to the moody apprehension that
Chip himself was now feeling. Climbing over and around the statue
proved to be very difficult, as the slippery marble wouldn't
allow him to dig his claws in with much if any stability. Still,
though tricky, he carefully examined what he thought was every
nook and cranny of the sculpture, but nowhere did he find the
note that he expected to be there. Acting on his instinct which
said that the clue he was looking for *had* to be upon the
sculpture, he executed an even *more* careful and scrutinous
examination of the statue, finding the note attached to Cupid's
arrow. Molded and secured around the arrow's tip, it had also
been painted the same shade of marble gray to further conceal it. 

                          Part 2 of 4

     Detaching the note and unfolding it, he illuminated it with
his penlight as he read it aloud. "A similar post and a differing
season, is where the path leads, now figure the reason." Placing
the note with the others in his pocket, Chip smiled confidently
as he turned around. Sweeping his penlight once again throughout
the room, he spotted his next target a good distance away within
the room before climbing down from Cupid. His few minutes at the
computer in "The Cutting's Edge" had served him well in saving
him some time. In the electronic encyclopedia from the online
service, he had accessed a listing of all the Roman Gods he
could. After all, a pretty clear M.O. of Ivana's by now, was the
linking of similar things. With the fact that she had told him to
seek out a statue of a certain Roman God for this latest
clue, there was a pretty good chance that the next clue would be
either directly or indirectly  linked to it. Remembering the
facts that he had delved from the listing of the Roman Gods in
the computer, this latest rhyme found him ready this time. The
"Similar post" was another way of saying a similar job. The
"differing season" was referring to the name of his next target.
The basic reason for different seasons was temperature, and the
thing most associated with temperature was the way to measure it.
The most common way to measure it which lay within thermometers,
also happened to be the name of his next target. The only other
god who shared a similar job as a "herald". The Roman God Hermes,
who was also known as *Mercury*, messenger of the gods.

     Keeping his senses peaked for the first inkling of a trap,
Chip approached the significantly taller statue of the Roman God.
Suddenly, his mind flashed back to an image he had seen earlier.
Remembering having seen the picture of the winged god within the
window of "The Cutting's Edge" as a symbol for its floral
delivery service, as he too had "received" a flower, he had
wondered if there was any connection there that he could use now
in his quest. After a moment's thought, he was able to find none,
and with a shrug, he filed the thought away in the back of his
mind should he need it later. Gritting his teeth together in
silent dread as he tried to anticipate Ivana's next looming
surprise, he carefully scaled the statue with the penlight
clamped in his teeth, looking for the next note. 

     Like the last note, this once proved very difficult to find
as well, folded into a tight packet and concealed away within a
crack beneath the messenger's helmet. Removing the note and
unfolding it, he illuminated the message upon it. "An extremely
fast god was he, this deity known as Mercury, but even winged
feet could not outpace, the guaranteed winner of any swift race."
the message read. Stuffing this next message in his pocket, Chip
made his way back down the statue and lit up the room around him
once more. This time though, he couldn't see what he was looking
for. Proceeding down to the next doorway, he found yet another
group of statues within a new room, and a few feet down into this
new room, he spotted the one he believed the message to be
talking about, the statue of *Zeus*. /Only makes sense anyway for
the path to lead from the personal messenger of Zeus to Zeus
himself./ Chip thought, even though there was more to his
reasoning than that. The reason behind this last rhyme, though
written to confuse him, was still pretty simple. Simple that is,
with his newfound knowledge of Roman mythology. The only thing
that nothing could win against in a "swift race" would have to be
light itself, he'd thought, Which should lead me to Zeus, one of
the Roman gods who was best known for controlling light, or
specifically lightning bolts. True to his thoughts of a moment
ago, the beam of his penlight fell now upon the ominous figure of
Zeus, depicted in a striking pose. Clenched in the figure's right
hand was a lightning bolt, ready to be hurled out as though it
were a javelin.

     Another careful search of this next statue found the note as
well hidden as the last two had been, this one placed into a
crack behind the sculpted beard which "grew" a short way beneath
Zeus's chin. Illuminating the message, it read as such: "This
leader ruled, with wisdom and fire, known as lord, or also sire,
so from this rhyme now try to find, the vital clue that I left
behind." "What the?" Chip blurted out, his brow furrowing down at
the message. "This doesn't tell me anything! The only "lord" or
"leader" of the gods that the Romans or Greeks ever really spoke
of is Zeus himself, and he's the one this message is talking
about! How can this message lead me to another- oh, wait a
minute!" he caught himself, his eye alighting upon two of the
words in the message. /More double meanings from Ivana./ he
thought, grinning slyly as he nodded his head. /Besides a monarch
or a ruler, a "sire" also means a "father",....and vital is a
synonym for denoting vitality or strength! Next stop,/ he told
himself stuffing the message in his pocket, /*Zeus's son*./
Sliding down the carved marble to look among the rest of the
statues in the large room, he spotted his next target in the far
corner, almost directly across from where he was now. 

     Seemingly to his eye, the statue of *Hercules* was even
larger than the other statues he had examined so far, holding a
simple yet viral pose, with his war club held at the ready upon
his shoulder. After another careful search, again being as well
hidden as the last three messages, Chip found the latest note
wedged deep within the folds of the stone garment that lay upon
the statue's arm. After removing the latest message and
illuminating it though, he had not even looked at the first
word before finding himself in the grip of an uncontrollable
yawn, which sent every muscle in his body trembling. The slight
sensation of fatigue that immediately followed the reflex did not
surprise him. After all the day's harrowing moments and nonstop
pace, he was only surprised that he wasn't more tired. Still, he
considered, what with constantly worrying about the safety of his
friends every moment, he had not even a chance to think about how
just how tired he might be. Not that it mattered though. No
matter how tired he was or might become, he just *had* to
complete this quest on time. *Either that or die trying*. 

     Stuffing the message back in his pocket, Chip slid down from
the statue to the stone feet of the carving. Sitting down upon
the cool smooth marble of the statue, relaxing his own feet for
the moment with a grateful sigh, he took the message out of his
pocket once more and began to read it, an incredulous smile
spreading across his face as he viewed the rather bizarre message
printed upon it.......

                    *              *              *

     The search continued on. The RamDale incident had passed
some forty five minutes ago, and though weary and hungry by now
from their relentless searching for their friend, still the four
Rangers persevered in their quest. One question was ever present
in all of their minds, that being whether they would be able to
find Chip and get out in time. It was after completing a search
of the long adjacent hallway where Gadget and Dale had fought
their duel, that one of the teams made a most unusual discovery. 
     "Well would you get a gander at this." Monterey said to
himself curiously as he looked up and about him, while Zipper
simply gaped in confusion at the sight. He and Zipper had just
entered into the first room of the new hallway, trying hard to
keep their hopes up, but expecting to find just another dark,
cold and empty room. What he and Zipper had found however, was a
room that was anything but. 
     "What'd you find Monty?" Gadget's voice chimed in a moment
later from behind him, as she and Dale entered the room as well.
The pair had just swung into the new hallway moments before, and
hearing Monterey's comment, had ran to see what was the cause of
such a statement.
     "Toys." Monterey said oddly, without even looking at them.
     "Toys?" Dale and Gadget asked in unison as their eyes
adjusted to the light in the room. Looking up, the pair saw that
sure enough, what the room contained was precisely what Monterey
had said. Toys. Specifically, stuffed toys. They appeared to be
within some sort of a large conference room, complete with an
elongated meeting table. Three shelves lined the walls which ran
around the room, and upon the shelves sat stuffed toys every type
and size imaginable. From dogs and cats to more exotic animals
like monkeys and penguins, the shelves were crammed full of them.
     "What *is* all this?" Gadget breathed in confusion as she
took in the sight.
     "Must be some kind of a toy factory we're in." Zipper
squeaked pensively. 
     "But why would someone leave all these toys behind?" Dale
asked, "I mean, *most* of the place looks like it's been cleared
out. Like the people moved."
     "Maybe someone didn't. Maybe someone else brought them all
in." Monterey stated.
     "Ivana?" Zipper inquired.
     "Exactly, mate." Monterey grumbled.
      "But *why*?" the smallest Ranger squeaked.
     As Monterey was about to answer that he didn't know what
that reason of their enemy could have been, Dale suddenly
exclaimed a recognized name from long ago. "Hey! *Abbadabba*!
C'mon!" he waved at the others,breaking into a run. 
     "Where?!" Monterey Jack, Gadget and Zipper blurted out,
suddenly alert and looking rapidly about them for the rougue
simian.++
     "*Nowhere*." Dale said quickly, shaking his head. "Look at
the animals." he added, pointing toward them anxiously. "A lot of
them are *bears*!"
     "You're right, Dale!" Gadget exclaimed excitedly looking at
the teddy bears, "And since Ivana's been pointing out how much
she knows about our cases-"
     "She might've hidden Chipper in one of them bears, like that
crooked carnival onwner hid *Abbadabba* in *his* Teddy bears that
ruddy monkey could rob the customers when they took their "prize"
home!" Monterey joined in. "Good thinking pally! Let's go!!"

     After Monterey, Dale and Gadget climbed to the shelves with
the aid of one of the rolling chairs from around the conference
table, the quartet set about tearing open the teddy bears before
them, confident they were on the right trail. After many minutes
though, of stitching being ripped open and stuffing flying
everywhere, all the bears had been examined. Much to their
chagrin though, Chip was not within any of them.
     "Crikeys!" Monterey puffed out in a breath of exhaustion as
the last bear was discovered empty, "I felt *for sure* we'd find
Chip in these blighters!"
     "Me, too." Zipper sighed. "But we didn't find Chip, or any
traps here,......maybe Ivana *didn't* leave these things behind."
     "I think she did." Gadget stated with conviction. "To slow
us down *even more*."
     The others paused to consider this. "Makes sense luv."
Monterey agreed, "Just in case though, why don't you and Dale go
onto the next room while Zipper n' me check out the rest of these
fluffers?"
     With a nod, Gadget and Dale descended back down from the
shelves to the chair, and made their way quickly towards the
door. "Watch yer backs mates!" Monterey called after them with
concern before turning back to the job at hand with Zipper,
considering what Gadget had said.  /To slow us down even
more.......I wonder how much time we got left?/ he asked himself
with a shudder. As he considered this chilling question, another
mind, unbeknownst to the Rangers, but still frighteningly close
in proximity, considered other thoughts. /They don't have to
worry about their *backs* Monterey./ Ivana thought with a twisted
smile. /The only danger around them is in their own minds...*and
right at their fingertips*./

     Entering into the room across the hall, Gadget and Dale
paused once more as they considered the newest sight spread out
before them. Once again they were in a conference room, and once
again, the room was laden with toys. Only this time, the choice
of toys was a bit more varied. There were no chairs, but spread
out beneath the table throughout the room, appeared to be a
playset of sorts. A collection of cityscapes, action sets and
command bunkers were there, from a myriad sort of different
action figure lines. The silhouettes of the action figures that
went with their respective scenarios were also visible in place
throughout the varied scenes, placed in dramatic poses with one
another in mock combat. What was even odder about this scene was
that scattered around the floor, almost carelessly laid upon and
about the scenes of battle among the action figures, were much
simpler toys. Various handcrafted pieces of wood, bone, and
metal, these toys were from lands and times where technology and
warfare were not a child's ideas of a plaything. Simple things
like wooden matryoshka dolls from Slavic nations, plus wooden
planes, barrel hoops and kites. All of these things and more,
interspersed with more violent exo-skeletal war robots and
machine gun, laser-toting combat warriors? It was a curious theme
to say the least. Lastly, like the room they had just left Monty
and Zipper behind in, stuffed animals were in this room as well.
Groups of them were huddled together in the dark corners of the
room, only this time, *all* of them were Teddy Bears. "Looks like
we got more bears to search." Gadget sighed hopefully, trying to
hide the weary note in her voice as she trotted forward.

     "Hold on, Gadget." Dale stated, stopping her with a hand on
her shoulder. "A lot of these action sets usually have hollow
spaces and secret compartments in them." he said, pointing toward
them. "Maybe Ivana's got Chip stashed in one of them. Why don't
you check out the stuffed animals while I check out the
playsets?" Gadget considered his words for a moment before giving
him a slightly worried look. 
     "All right ,Dale, but *be careful*. Who knows what else
those secret compartments might have in them? They could be a
perfect place for a trap!"  
     "I will." Dale replied, taking her hands in his and patting
them. "You be careful too." Turning then, Dale grinned mildly to
himself before he began to break out into an impromptu song, sung
in a slightly subdued voice.  "*Gee* mom, "Ivana" go, *but* she
won't let me go, *gee* mom, "Ivana" go hoooooome!" Glancing back
toward Gadget, he found her looking at him with a narrow eyed wry
grin from over her shoulder. Shrugging back at her with a grin
that seemed to say that he just couldn't help himself, he turned
back once more. As he turned, Gadget watched him for a moment as
he proceeded toward the die cast action sets, before turning back
once more toward the stuffed animals. 
     /Strike what I said,/ she thought. /This *whole place* is a
trap,....*just waiting to go off*./  Shivering at the awful
reminder, she turned back toward her task. 

     Making his way among a playset, Dale began his examination
of where he remembered the trap doors, and secret compartments
were within it. /Good thing I watch so much T.V.,/ he smiled to
himself, /and that I remember all the commercials for these
things!/ Ducking through an pitch black alcove to the other side
of the battle bunker playset he was on, he quickly reached where
he remembered a sliding door to be. Before attempting to open the
door however, he took a quick look back to where he could see
Gadget's shadowed form moving among one of the stuffed bears. His
stomach twisted nervously as he considered her distance from him,
knowing pretty certainly that if anyone should be careful it
should be *her*. /Ivana's already had her fun with Monty and me,/
he thought, /and either you or Zipper could be next, Gadget./ He
had hated to split off from her like this, but as she'd reminded
them, not that any reminder was needed though, they were all
running out of time and Chip still had to be found. With a deep
breath, he forced a small measure of calm over his anxiety as he
turned back toward the large curved panel. Besides, he thought,
if anyone can take care of herself it's *Gadget*. Carefully
standing to one side of the panel, he grabbed the handle and
shoving it hard, it slid aside to reveal........*nothing*. No
trap came springing out at him. Cautiously peering into and then
entering into the room to take a more precise look around, he
only saw what was there before. *Nothing*. Well, he thought,
scratching his head as he emerged from the room, onto the next
one.

     Dale's search of the secret rooms, passages, dungeons,
exo-skeletal robots and other such places continued rapidly as
each one revealed no more than the last one. Keeping a close eye
upon Gadget whenever he could spot her, he also kept an eye out
around *him* as well. For although all the many shapes
surrounding him certainly *looked* liked posed, lifeless action
figures, in such an obscure ight he knew he could hardly be
entirely certain as he felt many times through his
search,...*that one of those shapes wasn't really sneaking up on
him*. The feeling was quite ominous as he skittishly and
constantly kept looking over his shoulder. Proceeding onto one of
the last playsets left to search, Dale's eyebrows shot up in
surprise as he instantly recognized the figures upon it and the
surroundings around them. /The Z-Men!/ he thought with
admiration, looking quickly over the figures. /These guys are
*great*! The comic books and video games made about them are the
best!.....That is, next to *Kablammo Man*!/ Entering into the
set, he looked around in awe and envy. /Man if I collected toys,
I'm sure that this set would be the one I'd get first! Not that
it would fit in the treehouse though!/ he concluded with a grin. 

     The set he was in was a two-and-a-half-foot tall, scaled
down version of the huge, three story mansion where the Z-men, a
team of mutant superheroes, lived and trained. Making his way
through the action set, he carefully investigated its hidden and
closed places, including the "hazard training room" which, much
to Dale's relief he discovered, held no hazards for *him*, though
it did not hold Chip *either*. His last stop was through an
"armored" door, behind which was the "War Room". A careful sweep
of the room turned up nothing new, but as he was about to leave,
he stopped to consider something he had noticed before. Sitting
before a computer console in his wheelchair was the figure of
Professor Z, a telepath and founder of the Z-Men. Upon his head
was a helmet with strange looking antennae that Dale also
recognized. "The Psi-scanner." he remembered. /Well, even a
plastic, toy helmet will help me from getting knocked out again,/
he thought, gently rubbing the bump on the back of his head he
had gotten earlier.<*> /or at least keep it from hurting so much!
Let's see if it fits!/ he considered. Lifting the helmet off the
toy figure, he squeezed it onto a slightly snug fit on his
relatively similar sized head. Settling the helmet in place, he
turned to leave. /I'd better get back fast. he thought, and see
if Gadg-/ "Uhhhnn!" Dale never even got to finish his thought,
though. For even as he put on the toy helmet and turned to leave,
an odorless gas hissed violently out of the metalic cap, abruptly
stealing his consciousness away from him.  The world went black.

     "Your cases aren't the *only* things I know about your
team." a voice said coyly with a grin, walking into the room as
Dale collapsed like a rag doll upon the floor.

                          Part 3 of 4

     Ripping open the stitching and tearing into the fluff of yet
another Teddy bear, Gadget set her mind resolutely. Gritting her
teeth, she pushed away the inkling of despair that was beginning
to creep in at the edge of her consciousness. She wouldn't give
up hope. She wouldn't *let* herself. /Fifty percent of any battle
is *mental*./ she reminded herself in a logical tone, as she
called out Chip's name again. /If we don't *think* that we can
beat this witch, then we probably *won't*. We can't let her *get*
to us./ She sighed slightly. This Teddy Bear was empty too.
Turning to another one, her thoughts had just begun to touch upon
Dale and whether he had found anything, when something happened. 

     The sound of a number of muffled, explosion like "Whumps!"
issued from inside the room. Jerking her head toward the sound,
she immediately caught sight of the largest playset in the room,
a mansion of some sort, splitting apart into segments and falling
to the ground. "Dale?!" she asked tentatively, suddenly concerned
as to where he was. Racing toward the fallen doll house, she
suddenly gasped as she saw what the playset now revealed. A tall,
obsidian, monolith like tower, stood where the tallest center
portion of the house had been. In a harness of some sort on the
top of the tower, a figure hung suspended, dressed in a dark suit
and mask which totally covered the figure's face. Wires
originating from both the suit and mask, ran down into the
supporting platform. Chip? she wondered momentarily, not being
able to see the face of the prone figure. 

     Without warning then, a bright light flashed behind her,
startling her. Spinning around towards it....she looked to see
Dale's unconscious form projected upon a movie screen, *in the
same prone position that the figure on the platform was, hanging
suspended upon the harness*. "*Dale*!!!" She cried, doing a
double take from the light, towards the figure on the platform
and back, as she suddenly realized what was going on. Sprinting
forward, Gadget leapt forward onto the slim metal beams of the
small tower, and began to scale it like wildfire. 

     "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Ivana intoned softly
from the speaker above her. Stopping momentarily to gaze at the
speaker, she could almost feel Ivana's leering grin upon her. Her
face hardening with determination once more, she turned her gaze
from the speaker and ventured still further upward. 

     "Touch him, and he *dies*!" Ivana warningly growled now, her
voice meaning business. Hearing this, Gadget instantly stopped.
"If you *want to* though, go right ahead." Ivana stated softly
again, almost flippantly as if daring her. "You might get killed
as well from the electric shock I can generate through that suit,
and I'll have two less Rangers to play the game with. Oh, and
confidentially, between us geniuses....without you,.....Zipper,
Monterey and Chip won't stand a snowball's chance in the Sahara
of getting out of here alive!"

     Gadget's face brightened slightly, then took on a pensive
look as she considered all the aspects of Ivana's statement. "So
Chip *is* alive." she stated, as though she had just beat Ivana
at her own game. 

     "Oops! Now did I let *that* slip?" Ivana called slowly and
jeering down, her tone clearly stating that she'd said exactly
what she'd wanted to say. That she might be lying. "Well, believe
what you think is real. It doesn't matter a whit to me. What only
matters now is your next move my dear....*and mine*."
     Gadget looked up at the speaker, her face unreadable. "What
are you doing to him?" She asked, her tone clearly saying that
she wanted answers,.......and wanted them *now*.    

     "We're going to play an *extra special* little game, him and
I." Ivana stated. "If he survives, I'll release him so he can
continue on your quest." 
     Gadget shivered. "What *kind* of game?"
     "I'll be glad to tell you," Ivana stated cooperatively, her
voice never losing her cheerful, jeering tone. "but I would
suggest getting down off that tower before I electrify *that*
too." With a look of shock at her imminent peril, Gadget
reflexively dropped down from the tower, landing on her feet just
as the crackle of electricity could be seen shooting across some
of the metal beams. Her frustration clear upon her face even in
the dim light, Gadget moved a few steps away. Monterey and Zipper
had already barged into the room moments before, after Gadget's
first cry, and now silently moved to stand beside her, the
frustration of the two Rangers mirroring Gadget's own. Aware of
their presence, she threw them a look of extreme worry for Dale's
safety. 
     "What *is* that getup he's in?" Monterey asked.
     "Some kind of virtual reality suit," Gadget replied. "but I
don't know what she's going to use it for." Unsure of what to do
or say, Monty clenched his fists, looking up worriedly toward
Dale upon the platform. 
     "The other two rooms we were in, were set up just like this
one." Zipper told her. "I don't think there's much Dale could
have done to avoid being trapped again......It looks like she
knew just *how* to get him."
     "A very astute observation, Zipper!" Ivana said in
semi-congratulatory, derogatory tone, as the sound of light
applause could be heard. "And now, since you're wondering why
I've called you all together here, I direct your attention to the
screen on the wall behind you....." Turning, the Rangers could
almost feel Ivana's predatory smile upon them as she stated in an
evil sounding murmur, "Dale once played a super hero>>....Let's
see just how much of the job he remembers." 
                    *             *                  *
      "Wake up Dale, you're big scene is about to start!" He
heard a voice call out to him from the blackness. Groggily
opening his eyes, Dale looked up to discover still more
blackness, even though he was aware of light around him. "Don't
tarry now, Dale!" the voice from a moment before spoke up again.
"*Neither* of us have got all day!" Sitting up, Dale looked to
discover where he was. He was in what appeared to be a fairly
large sized room, with no doors or windows. He wasn't even sure
that there were walls or a ceiling to the room, since everything
around and above him was of a completely black nature, that did
not give any perception of a definite shape. The only thing in
the room that did serve to determine some semblance of size, was
the room's floor, which was the source of light he had been aware
of. A yellow, luminescent grid stretched out to definitive points
in the room, giving the area a concept of shape, as well as
allowing him to see another figure upon it, a few feet away.
The figure that he saw oddly enough, was *Foxglove*. What was
even stranger though, was that she was seated in a movie
director's chair, and decked out as well in a director's beret. 

     "I must still be dreaming." Dale mumbled with confusion as
he got to his feet.
     "You're not dreaming, Dale." Ivana's voice said from the
other Foxglove's body. Her eyes narrowed with evil merriment. "I
do hope you're completely awake." She stated, "I wouldn't want
you to miss the little surprise I have for you."
     "*IVANA*?!" Dale yelped with surprise, as his mind came
fully into focus, now recognizing the voice. 
     "Give the Chipmunk a piece of cheese!" Ivana smiled
sarcastically. 
     "What is this place? Where am I?" Dale asked anxiously.
     "A very advanced version of virtual reality, Dale." Ivana
replied. "I've invited you here to watch a few T.V. shows." 
     "Huh?" Dale replied in confusion, taken aback by the odd
comment. 
     "Oh come now, Dale." Ivana said, giving him a sidelong look.
"Everyone knows T.V. is one of your great loves." Here she paused
for a moment, narrowing her eyes sinisterly at him. "And these
shows," she stated in a foreboding tone, gesturing towards the
darkness bordering one side of the floor grid. "*are to *die*
for*!"

     "What shows? What are you-" Dale began to say before the
words died in his throat. From the darkness that Ivana had
gestured toward, a large movie screen abruptly appeared, filling
up almost half of one wall. It wasn't the presence of the screen
though that suddenly caused him to fall silent. It was the images
that suddenly appeared upon it. Images of his past. Of a time
when he was just a kid, living in forested state park with his
parents. The haunting memory was of a tragic scene he had
witnessed, between his cousin Natalie, his closest friend
before he had met Chip,...*and a chance meeting with a hawk*.
The scene was the reason why his family had moved away from their
forest home to a city park in a different state. All in the hope
of helping him to forget. The scene was not long, but in it's
exactness of detail, right down to Dale's own image and
expressions, it was eerie. Like traveling back into the past.
It's impact struck Dale to the core, sending his mind reeling in
sadness and shock at the abrupt and vivid reminder. Blinking away
bitter tears, he turned with rage toward Ivana.
     "So, did you enjoy this little flashback?" Ivana asked
simply, her flashing eyes piercing into him as she leisurely
lounged "Foxglove's" legs over the side of her chair. 
     "*How did you do this*?!" Dale growled at the image of
Foxglove. "How did you find out about it?!" 
     "Oh come now, Dale." Ivana said smiling coyly. "A true
artist never reveals her methods! And speaking of art, that last
show was just the appetizer!" She grinned evilly once more. "The
*next* show is the *main course*!" As an image of *Gadget* came
on the screen, Dale turned fearfully to watch it, hoping that he
was wrong in his guess about what Ivana had meant. He wasn't.
"These were taken by the hidden surveillance cameras that have
been tracking your team all this time." Ivana began matter of
factly. "You might be interested to know that your dear sweet
Gadget met her final reward, *trying to save you*. Oh, if only
I'd remembered to tell her about the electric charge I'd built
into the platform your body is standing on." Ivana intoned
melodramatically with an insincere look of grief,
laying an arm across her eyes. "I might have saved the poor girl
from that painful demise."
      Dale gasped, horrified at the on screen image. "GADGET!" he
cried in shock. 
     "Monterey, alas, also met his fate in a rather grisly way.
Or should I say," Ivana added, cocking her head thoughtfully, "In
a rather *feline* way." As Ivana spoke, the wall's image suddenly
displayed Monterey turning at the sound of Gadget's cries.
Running from the room he was in, into the hallway, he abruptly
disappeared through a concealed trap door in the floor. From the
hole, for the next few seconds, the sounds cat screeches and
Monterey's screams could be heard. Then,......*only silence*.
     "Monty!" Dale rasped, his throat tightening. No!!"
     "Now I wonder how that trap door got there?" Ivana stared
with mock confusion at the screen. She pouted slightly and
shrugged. "Oh well. For Zipper though, it seems an unexpected
gate crasher was the source of his *sticky* predicament." On
screen, as Zipper was about to fly into the pit to help Monterey,
he had no time to notice the strand of webbing that adhered to
him from above, yanking him into the obsidian shadows of the
ceiling. Panning upward, the camera caught sight of Winnifred's
assistant tarantula-*Lou*, wrapping Zipper up tightly in his web
as he licked his lips hungrily for this savored moment. Noticing
the camera, a glob of webbing quickly covered the lens, blotting
out the image. Then, all that could be heard was the sound of
Zipper's pained cries and the sound of muffled, satisfied,
laughter. "Oh, is no place safe from intruders?!" Ivana crooned
overdramatically.
     /Zipper!/ Dale thought, unable to even speak now, his throat
a constricted knot.
     "And since you wanted *proof* of Chip's passing..."Ivana
continued. The image on the wall changed, and now Dale could
barely watch as he viewed the image of a water boiler of some
sort, cast in the same dim light as the rest of the building. His
best friend lay motionless atop the mound of metal, a look of
shock and pain permanently frozen on his wide eyed face. "I'd be
glad to tell you how it happened Dale. Care to know?" 

     Dale did not, or could not reply. He could only stare in
shock at the screen through tear streaked eyes. "It seems Dale,
that you are the only one left." Ivana said, regarding him slyly.
"That is," she added, looking down at her virtual body and
pulling thoughtfully on a tuft of fur. "besides Foxglove."
     "What do you mean about Foxy?!" Dale demanded in horse
whisper as he choked back a sob. "Is *she* somewhere here too?" 
     "Nooo, not yet." Ivana said playfully. "However, she will
soon join you and the rest of your friends." She paused here, as
though thoughtful, before she spoke again. "I just wanted to play
with the *original* Rangers first. One thing though Dale." Ivana
stated tauntingly, "I know how helpless you must have felt when
you saw what happened to your friends, but I'm curious. Did you
feel as helpless about that as you did when you saw the
recreation of what happened to your cousin? Or about
what's going to happen to you and Foxglove? Hmmm?" Dale did not
answer her, but he could feel her mocking gaze upon him. Finally,
after a few moments, he turned himself toward Ivana. His tears
had stopped. A deep growl began low in his throat, his features
contorting into an expression of blind rage.  The growl quickly
turned into a frenzied, snarling yell of attack, and bearing his
claws, he rushed forward. Leaping through the air, he stretched
his arms forward, his fingers outstretched towards the faux
Foxglove's neck. Before he could reach the doppleganger of his
teammate however, the image of Foxy jumped back atop the chair's
seat and with a leap, somersaulted over his head, just before she
was within reach. Unable to stop himself, Dale crashed into the
chair and toppled onto the floor with an undignified thud. "Oh
come, *on* Dale!" Ivana's voice intoned in a scolding manner
behind him as Dale picked himself off the floor. "Surely you can
do better than *that*! With all the imagination you put into
being a super hero, can't you come up with a more original way of
beating me?!"

     Whirling around to face her, Dale gave Ivana a killing look,
but resisted the urge to rush at her again. "If I was still
Rubber Bando," Dale growled at her in a deadly voice. "I'd show
you original! I'd make you wish you were never born!" 
     "Well then, why don't you?" Ivana grinned at him. "For in a
sense, *that's just what I had in mind*." Seeing the slightly
uncertain look on Dale's face that he tried to hide, Ivana shook
her head as if pitying him, and continued. "This is *virtual
reality* after all, Dale. If I can become Foxglove," She
explained. "You can become anyone *you* want as well, which is
why I'm challenging you to this super powered fight to the
finish. Become Rubber Bando or Kablammo Man. Or any other super
hero you choose for that matter. You win, and not only will you
have avenged your friends, but you will also have saved yourself
and Foxglove from the fate that befell the others." Here, she
paused significantly, scrutinizing him with a piercing
smile. "*Let's see just how strong your imagination is*." She
stated in a softly curious tone. "*Think it's strong enough to
defeat me?*"

     Suddenly, the image of Foxglove melted away to reveal
another image of "Dale" in a "Quicksilver" suit, who wasted no
time in taking advantage of the real Dale's momentary surprise.
Crossing the distance between them in the blink of an eye with
incredible speed, Ivana lifted Dale up effortlessly by his shirt
collar, and threw him hurtling across the room to slam hard into
one of the indistinguishable walls. Seeing stars as he bounced
off the wall to fall into a crumpled heap on the floor, Dale
winced as he hurriedly tried to pick himself up to face Ivana
once more. "Ooooh!" he groaned. /That wall sure seems solid
enough now!/ he thought humorlessly. Wondering if what Ivana had
said would work, Dale concentrated his thoughts, and almost
instantly found his body and clothing transformed to look just
like Kablammo Man. Taking no time to admire the realization of
what was for him, one of his dreams come true, Dale started
forward, the only thoughts in his mind besides a strategy, was of
fighting for his friends, present *and* past. 

     Outside of the virtual reality world, Zipper, Monterey and
Gadget looked with increasing concern towards the video screen
which moments ago, had begun to display the pitched battle
between Ivana and Dale. Watching Dale fight himself, it was all
very reminiscent of that encounter Dale had had with Ditz and his
fellow aliens from Fleebledrox. @ *They* were all very much
alive, but as far as Dale's situation was concerned, they weren't
all that certain that he would stay the same way. "No Dale, we're
all right! She's trying to trick you!" Gadget yelled toward the
top of the platform, to no avail. It was obvious that he couldn't
hear her from within the helmet of the V.R. suit. Looking towards
the screen, Gadget quickly weighed the options open to her and
the others about the situation. They could try to remove Dale
from the V.R. suit and harness, but there was the risk of both
him and whoever touched him, of being electrocuted. On the other
hand, if they did nothing, there was the chance of Dale being
beaten in this virtual combat. She was fairly confident of Dale's
abilities in this combat scenario, considering his knowledge of
super-heros, but at the same time, being the one who *created*
the program and who knew its ins and outs, Ivana did have a
definite advantage. Then there was the question of whether a
"virtual" death would have any real affect upon Dale's body. She
shook her head and turned away from the screen. /This is *Ivana*
we're talking about here, Gadget./ She told herself, stopping
herself from getting too caught up in her thoughts as usual. If
anything, you can bet that she's found a way to make a "virtual"
death a very real and *permanent* one. Seeing Monterey and Zipper
glance back towards her, she called out over her shoulder, as she
began to move among the playsets, "We've got to try to get him
out of there! Zipper, come on and try to help me find some rubber
to insulate us from the electricity. Monty, you stay there and
let us know how he's doing." With that, Gadget started off on her
search as Zipper flew to join her. 

     Back and forth, for almost four minutes and with ever
changing powers, the battle between Ivana and Dale raged.
However, though the encounter was far from one sided, the tide of
the skirmish did begin to favor Ivana. Dale found himself able do
get in a few good strikes, but he was never able to press the
attack for more than a few moments to keep the advantage on his
side. He would only find himself on the defensive a moment later.
Going through the gamut of superpowers that he knew about, he
attacked her every which way he could think of. He attacked her
with super strength. He assaulted her with super speed tricks.
He'd tried to punch past her defenses with plasma beams, laser
eye beams, and with various weapons and attacks from an energy
ring which could create any weapon imaginable. He'd even tried to
overpower her by growing incredibly large, tried slipping past
her defenses by shrinking incredibly small, and tried mixing
and matching various combinations of all these powers. However,
as before, while he was able to strike a blow or two, he found
himself unable of keeping the advantage. It seemed as if she knew
exactly how to dodge and counter every super power or power
combination that he could dream up, almost as soon as he began to
use it. 
     Another two minutes passed, and though the battle still
raged, Dale now began to find himself beginning to weaken from
the exertion of the frenzied encounter. Ivana however, appeared
more or less fine. "You're *disappointing* me again Dale." Ivana
said, using a Golden arrow to rip through the green, exo-skeletal
battle suit Dale had conjured up with his energy ring. Crying in
pain as the arrow tore into his shoulder, his concentration was
broken on the battle suit, causing it's protective shell to
disappear, and setting him up for some even more painful force
beams from "Dale's" hands. "I really *did* expect more of a
challenge from you. You'll never be able to accomplish anything
if you keep this performance up." she smiled. The force beams
intensified, slamming him into the wall once more.  
     Though he desperately wanted to avenge the death of his
friends, a stronger force than even that was now driving him
forward. The force was his thoughts of concern for Foxglove.
Throughout the time that he and the others had been caught in
this trap of Ivana's, he had often found himself thinking of her,
wondering if he would ever see her again. Considering that
he thought himself only in love with *Gadget* for so long, these
thoughts confused him slightly the first time they crossed his
mind. He and Foxglove had gone to a few movies on occasion,
thought he never considered them "dates" as such (much to
Foxglove's amorous frustration). He was by this time, used to
Foxglove's occasional flirtatious advances, though he had
always been careful not to respond to them while not hurting her
feelings either. While he did care for her, maybe even love her
as a friend, his thoughts had never advanced towards a romantic
relationship with her, due to his hopes of at last winning
Gadget's heart. That is, until he ended up here. For this was the
one place and the first time he could remember, since meeting
Foxglove, that he wasn't that optimistic about his chances of
coming back from a case. 

                          Part 4 of 4

     Soon after that one time, hours ago, when he'd contemplated
once more his feelings toward Gadget, his thoughts had began to
turn toward Foxglove. After that first time, as he began to think
of her more and more often and whether he would ever see her
again, he also began to realize as well his feelings for her too.
He *had* grown to love her and not just as a friend. He'd knew
that now. He'd realized it before he'd ended up here in this
comic book nightmare and witnessed the death of most of his
friends. Yet, while he was too late to admit the feelings that
he'd had toward Gadget or save her from falling before Ivana, he
knew *one* thing. That one thing being that while he was still
alive, he would do everything in his power, even give up his own
life if it would do the trick, to keep Foxglove from harm. I
can't let Ivana take her too! he kept reminding himself. With
these thoughts of what would happen to Foxglove if he failed in
this battle, Dale pushed away his exhaustion, and shook off his
dizziness. Enraged, he snapped to his feet, redoubling his
efforts as he pressed the attack once more.

          Another two minutes passed. The battle had intensified
even further, and now, after an incredible amount of effort, Dale
found himself barely able to keep going, in spite of his strength
of will. He was just about completely exhausted from the
relentless battle. Ivana showed some signs of fatigue, though not
anywhere nearly as much as Dale felt. Unable to able to initiate
any attacks anymore and barely able to keep his defenses up, Dale
hoped desperately for some miracle of luck to save him. None
came, and as the first crack in Dale's defenses presented itself
to Ivana, she took full advantage of it. Blasting him straight
into the air, he fell helplessly to the floor with a crash that
knocked the last bit of strength from his body. Feeling all his
stamina gone, he was unable to generate a defense of any kind. So
utterly battered, he was barely able to get to his knees.
Casually watching him struggle to recover, Ivana spoke from
across the room. "You've provided me with an interesting battle,
Dale." she said. "A bit disappointing, but interesting
nonetheless. However, it is time we said goodbye." she said
cheerfully, her form changing once more to that of Foxglove
wearing a director's beret. "As a treat though Dale, just like
Gadget, I've decided to make your death an *electrifying*
experience. You're going to go out just like Luke SkyStalker
almost did in 'Return of the Red eye knights.'" She smiled
mischievously then. "And now for, 'the big finish!'" With that,
"Foxglove" outstretched her arms, and from her fingertips,
streams of lightning reached out to envelope Dale in a deadly
caressing embrace of electricity. Dale screamed as he squirmed
under it's rippling touch.

     Hearing Monterey's frantic cry of what had just occurred on
screen, Gadget and Zipper whipped their heads up towards the
platform to see Dale thrashing about in his harness from the
electric shocks. "She's electrocuting him!" Zipper shouted.
Acting on impulse, Zipper streaked up to the platform and reached
out for one of the wires that ran from the V.R. suit into the
supporting metal platform for the harness. With the idea of
trying to pull the wires out of the suit, he never got the chance
to put his plan in motion as the electric charge shot through
him, lighting up every nerve in his body. As the shock kicked him
back away from the platform, he fell limply like a dead weight
into the waiting hands of Monterey Jack who rushed forward to
catch him. Seeing that he was basically stunned but all right,
Monterey glanced up at the platform before turning a distraught
look back at Gadget.  

     "No need to end it so quickly." Ivana said, breaking off the
electricity for a moment. Dale gasped at the reprieve, and rolled
to his side, moaning in pain. "I like to draw out a good death."
She then sent out three quick bolts of lightning of two second's
duration, with a one second span inbetween the shots. "It makes
it that much more memorable." she leered. 

     Lying there, reeling from the pain of the electric shocks
and barely able to move, Dale's mind raced in thought. /It can't
end like this! I can't let Foxy become Ivana's next target! I
*can't*! Have to think of *something*! There's no way I can help
Foxy if I'm dead, but what can I do? I can't take much more of
this!.........I'm helpless and she knows it! I-...wait a minute,
that's it!/ He realized. Now if only,-before he could finish this
next thought though, he found himself writhing in pain once more
from another heavy barrage of lightning bolts.  

     Letting up for a moment so that she could enjoy his
suffering once more, Ivana frowned almost disappointedly as she
watched Dale begin to shiver uncontrollably. A shivering almost
as violent and spasmodic as he would have been doing under the
lightning. "The death throes." she murmured, walking leisurely
towards him. "I was hoping the fun would last at least a *little*
bit longer, but I guess all good things must come to an end."
Gazing up at her with a glazed look of shock, Dale mouthed
something in a light whisper, then moaned with pain as he
continued to shiver. "What was that, Dale?" she asked, kneeling
next to him to hear better. 

     "I...w-won't...let you..hurt....F-F-Foxglove." Dale
whispered, as he lay on his side, reaching up weakly, with glazed
eyes towards "Foxglove's" throat. His hands never made it even
half the distance though, falling limply instead into her lap.
His glazed eyes becoming even wider now as his breath began to
hitch in short gasps. Ivana watched this with interest for the
next minute before a long, shuddering sigh escaped at last from
Dale's lips, his eyes rolling up into his head. His head slumped
down toward the floor, and breathing no more, he lay still at
last. 

     Smiling, Ivana chuckled slightly. "And how are you going to
do that Dale? Is your ghost going to haunt me?" Picking herself
up, she began to laugh,.......and received a full force energy
blast, point blank in her chest. Hurtling like a meteor,
"Foxglove" slammed backward into the wall behind her. However,
unlike Dale, she did not rebound down to the floor, for Dale
continued his trained energy beam upon her, pinning her
entire body to the wall as she screamed in agony. 

     His "Death Scene" having bought him enough time to recover
some, Dale instantly got to his knees, never letting up for a
second with the intensity of his attack. "Foxglove" writhed
against the beam, trying to fight back, but it was no use. Dale
had her where he wanted her. "This is for The Rescue Rangers!" he
snarled, increasing the force blast as much as he possibly could
with the force of his thoughts. Another few seconds of the
concentrated virtual energy, and he expected that she would be
finished. He unexpectedly got what he thought he wanted though
when, while still screaming, "Foxglove's" entire form
disintegrated right before his eyes. Sighing, and slumping
heavily from the intense effort, Dale stopped the energy blast
and began to weep once more. "That was for you, guys." he stated
reverently, looking up at the blackness above him to where the
sky might be. /*I loved you all*./ he thought with a tightness in
his chest, letting his head hang mournfully. With a deep sigh
then, he looked around. "Now," he stated a moment later, "how the
heck do I get out of here?" he wondered. As though in response to
his query, the room suddenly seemed to shift and shimmer around
him, the "reality" of it breaking up before everything went
totally black. The next thing he was aware of, was the abrupt
transition to the dim light of the toy room he was in, looking
into Monterey Jack's smiling face as his friend lifted the
virtual reality helmet off his head. 

     His jaw dropping at first with disbelief, an overjoyed,
almost silly grin then spread across Dale's face. "Monty!" he
exclaimed, straining against the wires and harness as he threw
his arms around the Aussie's neck, "you're alive!" Monterey
briefly returned the affectionate embrace before lightly pushing
him away. 
     "Good to see you too. mate," Monty replied affectionately,
"but I'm not the only one who's still livin'. Hold still for a
sec though, while we get you out of that thing."
     Hearing Monterey's words, Dale glanced around to see Gadget
and Zipper standing to one side of him. Dumbstruck, but still
sporting his overjoyed grin, he did what he was told until they
had quickly stripped him out of the virtual reality suit and
helped him down from the harness. Once free, he immediately
wrapped both Gadget and Zipper in a bear hug of an embrace as he
tried to find his voice.
     "But?! How?! I saw!-She showed me!-How did you?!" he
stammered, trying to put a coherent sentence together through his
almost hysterical elation. 
     "We were never in danger to begin with." Gadget answered him
as she and Zipper returned the embrace with equal affection,
overjoyed as well for his safety. "It was all some kind of video
trick so you would be distraught during the fight."
     "Kind of backfired though, eh mate?" Monterey grinned at
him. "Ye really walloped that witch but good!" 
     "But how did you know what was happening in there?" Dale
wondered.
     Monterey directed Dale's attention to the now blank video
screen on the far wall. "We had ringside seats mate! You really
gave us a bonza heartache with that death act ya know. Next
time," he grinned at him, "try not to cut things so close!"
     "You saw *everything* that happened?" Dale asked, wondering
about one thing.
     "Oy." Monterey answered, his voice dropping to a solemn
tone.   
     "We're so sorry about your cousin, Dale!" Gadget stated,
giving him a very sympathetic look. She knew what it was like to
lose a loved one. She also had no question as to why Dale had
never told them about this tragic point in his history. Even
though they were all like family to one another, there were some
things that you just didn't want to talk about. After all, she
reflected, she had never yet talked about how her father had-
     "Hey Dale," Zipper interjected in a curious tone, hoping to
change the increasingly somber mood. "how did you think of how to
beat her? Did you see that in a late show or something?" he asked
with a grin.
     "Naw." Dale said with a modest shrug. "Ivana and I both knew
that I was helpless. I just thought that I could buy some time by
being a little more helpless than she thought I was, and it
worked." 
     "And a bonza great plan it was, mate!" Monterey said
admiringly, "I bet she never expected to see her favorite weapon
of *trickery* used against her!"
     Gadget smiled and touched her forefinger playfully against
Dale's nose. Never mind worrying about RamDale," she said, giving
a light laugh, "people should be careful not to get *you* angry
at them!"
     Laughing at this, the Rangers' joy was suddenly cut short by
the sound of light applause coming from the speakers above. "How
very original!" Ivana said, her tone clearly amused and somewhat
thoughtful. "A chipmunk playing *possum*! It seems I've
underestimated you Dale! Thank you for proving me wrong, and for
indulging me in this extra special game. It wasn't a waste of
time after all, as I thought it would be!"
     /An extra special game./ Dale thought. "Buffy." +  he said
remembering, now realizing the symbolism of the doll houses and
playsets around them.
     "Very good Dale," Ivana answered. "You impress me more by
the moment."
     "Well if you're so impressed," he yelled irately, "how about
letting us go? I beat you in your stupid duel! The game's over!" 
     "To quote a phrase my dear Dale, 'It's not over til it's
over.'" Ivana answered simply. "And now, to quote a line that you
should be quite familiar with, 'You may proceed to the next
level.'" With that, the tower's platform opened underneath their
feet, sending them all suddenly plunging down into the darkness. 
     Furiously sliding down the same type of tube that had taken
them to the floor they had just left, Monterey Jack braced
himself, knowing what would come next. Once again he found
himself doing a half gainer as he flew headlong into the room
that the tube ended in. With a landing that was no less awkward
than his previous one, he slowly picked himself up. /That
thing's worse than the human cannon ball act at the circus!/ he
thought sourly. /At least in the circus, you got a *net*!/
Looking beside him, he saw Dale pick himself up and dust himself
off. "You all right mate?" he asked. 
     "I'm okay." Dale answered.      
     "Gadget? Zipper?" Monterey called, trying to spot them in
the gloomy room. 
     No answer came. 
     "Gadget? Zipper?" Monterey asked again, more worriedly this
time. 
     Streaking out of the tube, Zipper stopped himself short
before Monterey.
     "Monty! Gadget's gone!" he exclaimed.
     "Gone?!" Monterey and Dale shouted in unison.
     Zipper nodded furiously. "I saw you guys come out of the
tube, but when Gadget didn't, I flew back in to try to find her,"
he shrugged, his face marked with concern. "I couldn't find any
other path she might have fallen down! She's gone!"
     "Come on!" Monterey called urgently, racing for the door.
"Hopefully, she's still on this floor. We've got to try to find
her and fast!" /Gadget luv,/ Monterey thought desperately, as he,
Dale and Zipper began their frantic search. /wherever you
are, *please be careful*.....*You're next on Ivana's hit
parade*./   

     Picking herself up from the floor, Gadget quickly looked
around her, trying to find the others. "Dale?! Monty?! Zipper?!"
she called. After many tense moments of looking about the
darkened room, she realized that somehow, the others had not
arrived at the same place with her. "What did you do with the
others?!" Gadget demanded, looking up at the speakers.
     "Oh,...they're *somewhere* around here." Ivana said
casually. "Why don't you go out and find them? They might even be
on this floor."
     Trying to control her rising temper, Gadget restrained
herself from saying anything more, and made her way out of the
room. Stopping outside the doorway, she listened carefully for
the sounds of her friends voices, should they be calling her, but
her ears picked up nothing. "Zipper?! Dale?! Monty?!" she called
as loud as she could. Still no answer came. Suddenly, a faint
muffled sound came to her ears, as if someone was trying to speak
or yell through a gag. "Chip?" she called, proceeding cautiously
and knowing that the sound could be a trap. The muffled sound
continued. Following it, she came to a large set of heavy double
doors that were opened just enough for a mouse to squeeze
through. Keeping an eye out behind her, she took a peek within
the doors, and gasped slightly as her eyes beheld something lying
barely within view within the room. It was Chip's fedora.
Carefully squeezing in through the doors, still alert for any
traps, Gadget made her way over to the hat and picked it up.
It was Chip's fedora all right she observed, looking it over,
carefully, and catching his scent upon the felt of the hat as
well. The muffled sound arose again for a moment. By the
proximity of the sound, she knew she must be close. "Oh, Chip,
where are you?" she called urgently with barely restrained joy
that at least one aspect of this cruel game was over. "Where-"
she called again and then stopped as her eyes, adjusting to the
light, suddenly caught sight of what was laid out before her. 
"OH,..MY..GOSH!!" she cried in shock, dropping the fedora.....  

() Rhyme and Reason- No. 4.
<> Rhyme and Reason- No. 2.
CDRR-* Good Times, Bat Times   
CDRR-** Chocolate Chips
CDRR-+ Out of Scale             
CDRR-@ Dale Beside Himself.
++ From the events of CDRR- "Seer No Evil" wherein a crooked
carnival owner hid his sinister pet partner in crime Abbadabba,
in one of the Teddy Bears he gave away as a prize to wealthy
customers who played at his dart booth. Once taken back home,
Abbadabba would proceed to come out of the bear at night when
everyone was asleep, and rob the wealthy customer of all cash and
jewels that he was able to carry back to his owner.
<*> Rhyme and Reason Part 4. 
>> In the CDRR episode- "It's a bird, it's insane, It's Dale!"
where he created the persona of "Rubber Bando" as well as in the
episode- "The S.S. Drainpipe" where he dressed up as "The Red
Badger of Courage."