Even when the adventure ends, there are always a few.......

                         RHYME & REASON
                       By Michael Demcio
                     Part IX: Final Points. 

                          Part 1 of 9

               *                   *                   *

     The first thing he was aware of, was a voice.
     ".....ip?....Chip?" the soft tone called faintly to him from
above. Its tone questioning, calling him toward it.
     A slight sensation tingled on his face and forehead then,
and stirring in response to it, he reflexively moaned softly in
reply. Even in this half state of semi-awareness, as his mind
swam back up toward consciousness, a question began to waft
through his muddled mind, as to the identity and source of the
voice and sensation.
     "He's coming around, Monty." the voice said with a sigh,
mixed with a tone of relief that he now recognized as Gadget's.
     Slowly opening his eyes, he was aware of the slightly
blurred and darkened images of Monterey and Gadget staring down
at him. A few quick blinks was all that he needed to bring them
into focus, but their faces were still almost completely covered
in shadow. Looking around, he instantly realized why. If not for
the sole light coming from his own penlight which Monterey now
held, he wouldn't have been able to see them at all. 
     "How're ya feeling, mate?" Monterey asked with concern,
cocking his head at him.
     Glancing up towards Gadget's face at his left, he saw now
that he was laying with his head upon her lap, the sensation he'd
felt before, he now realized, had been the soft touch of her hand
on his cheek and forehead. Now, as she lightly cradled his
injured head with her right hand, she tenderly brought her other
hand to his face once more, soothingly brushing it over him. 
     /How do I feel? *Ab-so-lute-ly wonderful!*/ he smiled
inwardly with a feeling of drowsy bliss, savoring the sensation
of Gadget's gentle touch upon his face as he felt her smile shine
down upon him. /If only I could wake up like this *every* time./
he thought longingly, his eyes lingering on her face a moment
longer. Then, turning his attention towards assessing any pain he
felt, he replied a bit groggily, "Not too bad, Monterey,...all
things considered, that is." Collecting himself, he attempted
to sit up with Gadget's help, only to find what little he could
see of the world, beginning to spin about him abruptly. Seeing
Chip begin to sway unsteadily as his expression clearly
communicated his dizziness, Gadget gently took him in her arms
and laid him down upon her lap once more. Closing his eyes for a
moment until the unsettling sensation had passed, Chip let out
the breath he had been holding and looked up at her gratefully.
"Thanks." he stated, smiling up appreciatively at her.
Letting his eyes wander then, he looked around....
     "Hey," Chip said with an expression of concern after a few
seconds, raising his head up slightly to look about him. "where's
Dale and Zip? They okay?"
     "Dale's right here, mate." Monterey replied from where he
sat, half a foot away. Casting the penlight down, the beam now
illuminated Dale to his vision, laying upon Monterey's lap. "Me
pally's still out for the count, though." he stated
sympathetically.
     "Zipper went to get help about a little while ago." Gadget
continued in a reassuring voice as Chip turned back toward her.
"Hopefully, he'll bring Foxglove and some others back soon."
Nodding his understanding, Chip tuned his ears then to the
rushing sound nearby, listening then to the sound of the running
water beside them. Feeling the cold, damp darkness about him as
well, he remembered where they were and most of what had occurred
after a moment.
     "Were you guys out too?" he asked curiously. 
     "Oy, mate." Monterey nodded from beside him. "I was the
first one to come around after that bonza blast. I got Zipper
around after a bit to go get us some 'elp, and then when Gadget
woke up, she helped me keep an eye on the two of you."
     "The explosion swept right around the corner of the tunnel
and into us." Gadget explained factually, "Still though, at least
we had *some* protection. Without even that corner wall to
protect you, you got the worst of it." 
     "Too right, you did." Monterey finished the story for her.
"When I woke up and found you, you were lying half over the edge
of the path, ready to fall into the water!" 
     "I'll bet I *was*." Chip replied, closing his eyes again
exhaustedly as he took a deep breath, recalling what had
happened. Though the flames from the explosion hadn't quite
reached him, the heat, the concussive force, and the roar of the
expanding fireball had completely washed over his exhausted body,
overloading his senses and knocking him unconscious before it had
even *begun* to throw him backwards. He knew he had been *quite*
lucky he hadn't been thrown the smallest bit farther where
he would have drowned in the foul, retched water in his former
unconscious state. Filthy as the place was though, the cool
darkness of the sewer was a welcome sensation to his singed body
in spite of the stench.
     "Now," he said weakly with some exasperation, irritated that
his friends had put themselves in jeopardy once again after their
near brush with death. "could you tell me what the heck you're
doing here? I *thought* I told you guys to get Dale out of here
and to get yourselves to safety! You were barely able to *stand*
after almost drowning in that aquarium!* You might not have been
able to get back to this tunnel in time if you had caught up to
me! You would have been caught in that blast like *I* almost
was!" he finished, giving both Monterey and Gadget a stern look. 
     "We *know*, Chip," Gadget stated, facing down her partner's
well intentioned scolding with a calm, firm voice and expression.
"but we couldn't just leave you behind, no matter *how* weak we
might have been. You know that...and you know you would have done
the exact same thing in our place. *None* of us would leave
*ANYONE* behind to face danger alone."
     Looking at Gadget through the extremely dim light, Chip knew
that as much as he wanted to tell her that the decision they had
made was wrong, he knew he couldn't argue with her statement. He
*would* have done the exact same thing if their positions had
been reversed. His expression softening visibly, he nodded
reluctantly in agreement. "I suppose you're right." he admitted
with a sigh.
     "Besides, mate." Monterey grinned at him. "We couldn't just
let you run off and hog *all* the fun."
     Chip winced slightly at the statement, remembering precisely
what "fun" had occurred. He knew that Monterey was only trying to
lighten everyone's spirits after all that had happened, 
but even so.....
     "Ri-i-ight." he replied with a somewhat sarcastic tone,
turning a tired smile toward his friend. "So," he continued,
curiously, "what *did* keep you?"
     "Well we would've been down here sooner, mate," Monterey
answered, "but after you disappeared, that trap door closed up
behind you tighter than Fat Cat clutching onto a boatload of
caviar." he explained. "It took Gadget a mite to get the panel
off the controls, and to find the right place to hotwire the
ruddy thing to open." he finished, gesturing at the young
inventor. 
     "You should have seen the booby traps that she wired into
that panel." Gadget stated tiredly with a shake of her head. "It
took me awhile to get around all of them."
     "I can imagine." Chip answered in all seriousness,
remembering all the traps that he run through on his own personal
gauntlet that afternoon.
     "As far as Dale was concerned though," Gadget continued, 
"by the time that I got the panel open, he was still a bit weak,
but he was on his feet and insisted on coming with me and
Zipper-"
     "Instead of letting me carry him out." Monterey cut in. "And
since I thought you could be usin' me help against Ivana too,
well, I wasn't set to argue with him." With this, Monterey
shrugged. "So we *all* set off to find you."
     Hearing this, Chip turned his gaze over upon the still
unconscious form of his best friend laying near him. 
     "He put up quite an argument, mate." Monterey informed him,
seeing Chip's gaze shift toward Dale at this news. "Even though
he was as weak as skim cheese, he wanted to make *sure* you was
all right and that you *stayed* that way. He kept sayin' that he
couldn't stand the thought of losin' ya to Ivana for real this
time, after thinkin' he'd lost you before...He was really worried
about ya, mate. We *all* were." He finished, his voice taken on
an uncharacteristically calm, serious, and clearly emotional
tone.
     "We sure were." Gadget stated in a slightly strained voice,
her own tone clearly communicating how much she agreed with
Monterey's words. As Chip turned his head back to look up at her
again, she gazed down upon him with a tender expression. Her
expression then changed to a reassuring one as she saw the sudden
appearance of worry on his face, as her eyes begin to mist over
with tears. "We're just so glad you're all right." she explained
with heartfelt emotion, answering Chip's unspoken question as to
the reason for her crying.

     Looking up at her, Chip reached up hesitantly and lightly
touched a finger to Gadget's cheek and eye, wiping away the tear
that had begun trickle down it. Reaching her own free hand up,
she entwined it around his and held it to her cheek, letting the
tears run freely from her eyes as she looked down into his.
Smiling down at him once more, she leaned over him to place a
gentle kiss upon his forehead. 
     To this display of affection though, Chip had no time to
respond or react, as the buzz of Zipper's wings from down the
tunnel suddenly announced his return.  
     "Gadget! Chip! You're awake!" Zipper exclaimed happily as he
flew and landed between them and Monterey. "How's Dale?" he
squeaked worriedly, as he looked over at his friend, seeing that
he was still unconscious. 
     "He's resting okay, mate." Monterey answered simply, though
with worry still evident in his tone. "Did ya bring back help?"
     "Yep." Zipper nodded, pointing back into the blackness he
had emerged from. "Foxy and the others are waiting at the trap
door, ready to pull up the stretcher they let down. We brought
the Rangerwing." 
     "Well then pally," Monterey stated with a sense of urgency
as he handed the penlight to Zipper before gently scooping Dale
up in his arms as he stood, "it's high time that we got you and
Dale looked at in the hospital." he finished, looking down at
Chip. "You wait here and rest, mate. When we've gotten Dale
loaded up in the Rangerwing, we'll send the stretcher back down
and I'll carry you over next."
      "No need, Monty." Chip replied determinedly, drawing in a
deep breath to ready himself as he sat up slightly. "If Gadget
can support me, I'll be able to walk." He murmured through
slightly clenched teeth. "I don't want to waste anymore time than
we have to in getting Dale to a doctor."
     "You *sure*, mate?" Monterey replied uncertainly, looking
over at Gadget who only shrugged back at him with worry, an
unsure expression on her own face.
     Chip only nodded in reply, closing his eyes and forcing
himself onto his haunches. 
     Keeping an arm gently wrapped about him at all times,
leaning one of his arms about her shoulders, Gadget slowly helped
Chip to his feet, studying his face for any signs of extreme pain
that would tell her to lay him back down. Seeing none, she took
the penlight from Zipper's hands and nodded to Monterey to go on
ahead.
     Nodding back at her, the Aussie mouse started off down the
tunnel at a brisk pace, the darkness swallowing him and Dale
immediately. 
     "You sure you're okay?" Gadget asked once again as Chip
swayed slightly against her, his equilibrium clearly more than a
bit off. 
     "I've been better," Chip breathed, wincing as he took his
first tentative step, putting most of his weight upon her. "but
I'll make it. I'm just glad that all this is finally over."
     "Speaking of which, Chip," Zipper blurted out hesitantly
after a moment as he hovered along side him, his tone intensely
curious. "just what *happened* back there in the other tunnel?
How were you able to find out about that bomb to get away from it
in time?"

     Glancing over at Zipper, Chip looked away again quickly, a
pained expression crossing his face.
     "She told me." Chip murmured from between gritted teeth.
     "She *told* you?" Gadget echoed his statement in confusion,
looking at him curiously. "Why? To keep you from catching her?"
     "No." Chip whispered grimly, hanging his head down.
Stopping, he let out a troubled sigh.
     "Chip? What's wrong?" Gadget asked in concern.
     Saying nothing, Chip simply reached over with his free hand
and gently took his penlight from Gadget's grasp. Then, releasing
his weight from around Gadget's shoulders, he stumbled clumsily
in the opposite direction toward the corner where he had collided
with Gadget earlier. 
     "Chip!" Gadget cried in surprise and concern at her friend's
sudden action, instantly rushing back to support his weight upon
her. "What are you doing?!" she asked anxiously as she helped him
toward the corner he was for some reason, insistently heading
toward.
     Continuing his grim silence, Chip only continued to walk
toward the corner with Gadget's support while Zipper followed
behind in confusion and worry at his teammate's strange behavior.
Then, reaching and turning the corner, the three Rangers
proceeded a few feet down the scorched and blackened tunnel until
the beam from Chip's penlight illuminated something upon the
tunnel floor ahead of them. *It was a charred piece of bamboo.*
Sweeping the beam along the floor around them then, as well as
across the area where Ivana's bridge had stood before, Chip
looked up at the empty space. Other than the few ashen shards of
bamboo laying haphazardly on the concrete, there was *nothing
else left*. Taking his weight off of Gadget's shoulders once
more, Chip half stumbled, half fell into a leaning position
against the stone wall of the corridor. 
     "Chip?!" Gadget asked, now more insistently as she
positioned herself directly before him, wondering at his cryptic
behavior. "*Please!* Tell us what's going on!"
     At that moment, Monterey appeared beside her as well,
skidding to a halt from his rapid sprint. "I heard your shout,
Gadget, luv." He informed her as he looked down towards Chip. "I
just put me pally in the stretcher and came a runnin'. You all
right, Chipper?" he asked with concern, watching him leaning
against the wall with barely enough strength to keep himself up.
     Looking at Monterey, Gadget was about to relay to him what
had just happened, still wondering at Chip's strange actions,
when while still looking at the space where the bridge had once
stood, Chip suddenly beat her to the punch. 
     "What happened here........." he stated with a hushed tone
of shock as he turned then to look from the space the bridge had
occupied, toward his friends, a haunted look once more in his
eyes. "Ivana *told* me about the bomb.......She ended the
game.......*Permanently*." 
     For a long moment, no one spoke as the grim implication of
Chip's words and tone sunk into them all, each of the Rangers now
wearing the same expression of shock that their leader had.
     "You mean she-" Zipper began to ask in a shaky tone.
     "I'll fill you in on the details on the way." Chip stated
tiredly, interrupting his hovering friend and uttering a heavy
sigh. "First though,.......*let's just get out of here.*" he
asked with a somewhat pleading expression in his voice and gaze,
a cold shiver visibly trembling through his body.
     "Good idea, Chipper." Monterey nodded, his tone
understanding and seemingly just as tired and troubled as his
young teammate's. Walking up to his friend, he gently took the
penlight from him and handing it to Gadget, turned back to pick
Chip up for transport to the stretcher.
     "C'mon then-" he began to say.
     "Everything all right here, guys?" a gentle voice suddenly
asked from behind them as they caught the soft sound of flapping
wings and of feet touching down on the ground. Turning, 
Monterey, and Zipper watched as Gadget illuminated the
familiar figure of their newest member, Foxglove, who lifted a
wing to her eyes as she approached. "Hey, could you point that
somewhere else, Gadget?" She asked, "Us bats aren't normally used
to that strong a light, you know."
     "Sorry, Foxy." Gadget said, smiling at her embarrassedly as
she turned the light away.

     "Thanks." Foxglove replied, moving closer toward them as she
looked at her friends with concern. "Buzz, Tammy and I just got
Dale pulled onto the platform and I came to see what the problem
was." she stated, looking at Gadget. 
     "Everything's fine, Foxglove." Gadget sighed, smiling at her
appreciatively. "More or less. We were just about to leave."
     "Right, luv." Monterey chimed in with a somber voice. "Well
mates." he sighed in a tone of finality, though with a comforting
note to it.  "*Let's go home*.........*The nightmare's over.*"
     Chip hadn't heard these last few words though. As Gadget
swept the penlight's beam back around toward him, she gasped and
rushed forward.......toward his unconscious form as he lay in a
crumpled heap upon the cold stone floor of the sewer.

*****

                          Part 2 of 9

               *                   *                   *

     Chip awoke to find himself in a strange bed in a strange
room. The scent of flowers and antiseptics mingled in his
nostrils, and faint voices occasionally called out for
unfamiliar names. Opening his eyes, he saw Gadget sitting in a
chair beside his bed, but with her back to him. Looking over, he
noticed that she was watching Foxglove feed Dale, who lay in the
other bed in the room, what might have passed for breakfast. It
was Dale who first noticed that his partner was awake...even
though it was only because he'd turned his head to avoid another
spoonful of the lumpy beige mush that stood poised before him.
     "Hey, Chipper! About time you woke up, buddy! What kept
you?" he called happily.
     Gadget immediately turned around and, seeing him conscious,
joyfully put her arms around his shoulders and nuzzled her cheek
next to his. "Welcome back, Chip!" she said ecstatically with a
broad smile and shining eyes. "Foxglove, you'd better tell Doctor
Osofey." she finished, turning toward her teammate. Nodding with
a similar overjoyed smile toward Chip, the young fruit bat placed
the oatmeal on the table next to Dale's bed and left the room. As
she did, Dale nonchalantly reached out with a finger, poking the
barely touched bowl toward the edge of the table and the
wastebasket which lay beside it, but a wryly stern look from
Gadget stopped him cold. With a pouting look of disappointment,
along with a slight look of guilt from Gadget's silent
admonishment, Dale quickly withdrew his hand.
     "Who's Doctor Osofey?" Chip asked, drawing Gadget's
attention once more.
     "He's the senior doctor here. You're at the SAMARITANS
hospital inside St. Francis Veterinary Center. We brought you and
Dale here two nights ago, and you've been out cold ever since."
Gadget explained. "How do you feel, Chip?" she asked with
some concern. 
     The chipmunk concentrated for a moment, taking stock of
himself. "Not nearly as bad as I felt when you guys found me in
the sewer." he replied, thoughtfully. "I'm not quite as tired,
and there's not much pain. Can't believe I was out for two whole
days, though..."
     "*I* certainly can, young munk." a new voice said that
belonged to a tall gray mouse wearing a lab coat and a
stethoscope, who entered the room. Foxglove and Rick, the
SAMARITANS field leader were right behind him. "After all, you'd
suffered more punishment than any chipmunk probably has a right
to live through." he continued as he moved to stand next to
Chip's bed, opposite Gadget. "I'm Dr. Philip Osofey, chief
physician." he said, extending his paw, "It's an honor to meet
you, Mr. Maplewood. Rick here tells me several of our fire
patients wouldn't be alive now if it weren't for your efforts."
     "Just doing my job, doctor." Chip said as he shook the
mouse's paw. "And thanks for taking care of me and Dale. If
there's anything that the Rescue Rangers can do for you, just
name it."
     "There's only *one* thing I want you to do, young sir, and
that's to stay in bed and let those injuries heal." he
emphasized. "And you've got quite a few, too." Dr. Osofey added
matter of-factly as he began to tick off Chip's souvenirs of
Ivana's gauntlet. "Head trauma and a sliced ear. Three cracked
ribs. Digitalis poisoning, though not at lethal levels,
thankfully. First-degree acid burns on your feet. Badly sprained
wrists and ankles. A first degree separation of your left
shoulder. Various cuts, bruises, and scrapes, and in general,
complete physical exhaustion and system shock."
     "And a partridge in a pear tree." Dale chimed in, rather
off-key. The others groaned and threw some looks of playful
annoyance at him, but in fact they were glad to hear such things
after all the horrors the Rangers had gone through. At last,
things looked like they were on their way towards normalcy.
     "Anyway," Dr. Osofey continued, "we'll want to keep you here
for another couple of days' observation, just to make sure you or
Mr. Oakmont here don't run into any complications. After that,
you'll probably both be released to finish recuperating at home.
Only a week for your teammate, but your recovery time will
likely stretch out to two or three weeks."
     "Oh, great," Foxglove muttered to Rick. "If I know Chip well
enough, three weeks of doing nothing's going to drive him
bonkers! He just can't *stand* not having a case!"
     "Real workaholic, huh?" Rick asked.
     "You'd probably find his picture next to the word in the
dictionary." she replied.
     Rick shrugged and turned his gaze back towards Chip, whose
right hand was being held by Dr. Osofey to check his pulse, while
the left one was tenderly encircled by both of Gadget's.
"Somehow," he stated with a good natured grin. "I think Gadget'll
find a way to keep him occupied during his recovery...just as I'm
sure you'll do the same for Dale." he added playfully.
     "Well, I do have some ideas," Foxglove admitted with a
smile. "And speaking of which..." She then left Rick's side and
went back to Dale's bed. "You still have to finish your oatmeal,
cutie." she finished, a cajoling grin upon her face.
     With a drawn out groan accompanied by him sticking out his
tongue in a gagging expression, Dale slid deeper under the
sheets, pulling the covers over his head.
     
     *              *              *              *             

     Late the next evening, Chip lay in bed reading one of Dale's
joke books that Monterey Jack had brought them to help cheer them
up. Dale was asleep and they were alone. With the door to their
room ajar, snippets of conversation could be heard from the
hall outside. For a long while, Chip paid no attention to them.
Then, all of a sudden, his ears perked up as a pair of orderlies
exchanged what to them was casual conversation.
     "That one for room 12, Mel?" a voice asked.
     "The one with the cute redhead? Yeah, it's for her." came
the reply.
     "Well tell her I've got tickets to the Sharks game this
weekend if she's interested." the first voice stated with a note
of hopefulness.
     "No fair hitting on the fire patients, Jack." Mel admonished
his friend.
     "Hey, *someone's* gotta get her mind off of books. Nothing
like a hockey game to do that." Jack replied enthusiastically.
     "Yeah, a real sport for the intellectually challenged." Mel
countered.
     "Hey! I resent that remark!"
     "Resent it all you want, I gotta get this medicine to her,
ASAP. See ya. Oh, and Jack...?" 
     "Yeah?" 
     "Let me know if those tickets are still available come
Friday?"
     Chip put down his book and sat staring at the doorway, the
voices of the orderlies fading away. Their words had struck him
like a sucker punch, as his heart began to feel like lead.
*Nicole was here!* And that meant that a time of reckoning was
upon him. For early in Ivana's game, while he searched for the
clues hidden for him at that local branch of the city library,
the redheaded mouse librarian had immediately become clearly more
than a bit interested in him. Anxious to avoid her as much as
possible, for fear that Ivana or any of her helpers might think
he was asking for her help, (which would have broken the rule and
caused the other Ranger's immediate deaths), he had agreed to
make a dinner date with her later that evening.<+> He had hated
lying to her like that, but he had been unable to think of
another way to escape the situation at the moment, without
hurting her feelings. Now however, she would have to be told the
truth. Not only about his lie, but about *why* he had done so. It
wouldn't be easy, and would likely hurt him as much as her, but
he knew it had to be done.
     Getting up, he stiffly reached out and put on the bathrobe
and slippers that Gadget had brought from Ranger HQ. Then, going
to the door, he peeked out and looked up and down the hallway. It
was deserted. Slipping outside, he began to gingerly and stiffly
walk down the hallway...*in the wrong direction*, unfortunately.
He had just recognized his error and turned around when he saw
Foxglove at the other end of the hall, staring at him in
surprise. She immediately rushed over to him, even as he cursed
himself for getting caught.
     "What are you doing out of bed, Chip?!" Foxglove whispered
anxiously. "You aren't strong enough to move around yet!"
     "I'm strong enough to at least visit somebody, Foxy." Chip
replied tersely. "Why don't you go on and check up on Dale?"
     "Not until you give me a good reason why you're out of bed!
And if you insist on going somewhere, you'll at least need
somebody to lean on. I may not be Gadget, but I think my
shoulders can take it." she replied. With that, putting one arm
around Chip's waist she used her other arm to drape his arm
across her shoulders, refusing to take "no" for an answer. "*Now,
where are we going and why?*" she insisted.
     Resigning himself to the inevitable, Chip quickly explained
that he had to see an injured girl he'd run into on his birthday
and tell her what had happened that day. They shuffled along
toward room 12, and finally reaching the door minutes later, Chip
took his arm off of Foxglove's shoulders and straightened up
before knocking softly. "Come in." came a young female's voice
from inside.
     "Do you want me to leave?" Foxglove asked.
     "No," Chip replied finally, thinking hard for a moment as he
searched his feelings. "I'm not going to start keeping secrets
from you or the other Rangers. Besides...I could use the
company."
     Opening the door, he entered with Foxglove trailing close
behind him. Nicole lay in bed wearing a modest nightgown. Her
face brightening when she saw who her visitor was, her jaw then
swiftly dropped in concern and sympathy as she took in the
injuries Chip had sustained. Quickly she got up and guided him to
a nearby chair, which he gratefully dropped into. Foxglove took
another seat in a corner of the room as Nicole sat back on her
bed and faced Chip.
     "I didn't expect to see you here, Chip...at least not as a
patient. What happened to you? Was it the fire? she asked.
     "A little of it is, but the rest is a long story. By the
way," Chip said casually as he indicated his companion, "this is
Foxglove, on of my partners."
     "Partners?" Nicole asked curiously, turning her head over
toward Foxglove as the bat nodded at her before she turned back
toward Chip once more.
     "That's right." Chip nodded. "You see, I'm a member of a
group called the Rescue Rangers." He watched as Nicole's eyes
widened in wonderment. "I see you've heard of us then?" he noted
with a slight grin. 
     "Of *course* I have!" Nicole replied with earnest. "It seems
every week, one of my patrons tells me of a crime you've
stopped or an animal you've helped out. You're practically
*famous!*" She paused a moment to consider Chip with an even more
eager light of enthusiasm now showing in her eyes. "I can't
believe I've got a dinner date with a Rescue Ranger!" she
beamed. Chip squirmed slightly at that remark, and caught
Foxglove's look of astonishment, though the bat quickly hid it
before the pretty librarian could take notice. Nicole did notice
Chip's discomfort, however. "Oh, I guess that'll have to wait
until you're better, won't it?" she asked, trying to sooth what
she thought was the reason for the look on his face. 
"Don't worry." she smiled. "It's not that important."
     "Yes it is, Nicole," Chip replied with a heavy sigh. "I've
got to tell you something." he said somberly.
     The redheaded mouse's face fell. "You...you aren't...I mean,
you're going to be okay, aren't you?"
     /That depends on your reaction./ Chip thought to himself,
grinning ruefully. "Yes, the doctor says I'll make a full
recovery. It's our relationship that's in jeopardy."
     "What...what do you mean, Chip?" Nicole asked, her face now
showing a different kind of worry.
     Chip sighed again and closed his eyes as he leaned his head
back against the chair rest. "Nicole, I'm sorry to tell you this,
and I'm sorry things happened this way, but you're too late. I
already gave my heart to another girl before I even met you. Her
name's Gadget. She another teammate of mine...and the girl I love
more than my own life." he replied in a voice of sincere,
heartfelt emotion. 
     Nicole sat in shock for a moment, before her face flushed
with anger and a bit of humiliation. "Then why did you lead me on
like that?" she asked after a moment to collect her thoughts, her
voice cracking with both sadness and rage. "I could have taken
'no' for an answer! I thought we had something going, but you
*lied* to me..*WHY?!*"
     Chip absorbed the vitriol and looked sadly at her. "I was
being monitored at the time." he replied. "Plus the fact that my
thinking was a little frantic at the moment, though I may not
have shown it. Agreeing to a date with you was the first thing
that popped into my head to end the conversation as soon as
possible without hurting your feelings...even though it did a lot
worse now. I didn't want to lie to you, Nicole. but I *had* to.
My friends might have *died* if you had kept after me."
     Nicole's face reflected her confusion. "I don't understand."
she replied, shaking her head. "What are you talking about?"
     Chip then began to tell her about Ivana and her 'game' of
vengeance, and her stipulation that he couldn't have any help in
solving her clues. "Since I didn't know Ivana was listening in
electronically," he told her, "I figured she had someone
following me at a distance. If so, they might well have been too
far away to hear what we were saying. I was deathly afraid that
the longer we talked, Nicole, the more the other Rangers were put
at risk. You understand, don't you?" he asked with a slight note
of hope in his voice.
     "The librarian nodded. "I guess so." she replied,
considering the logic of his words. "Was that why you didn't ask
me where to find that book you were looking for?"
     "Yes." Chip nodded. "Had I done so, Ivana would most
certainly have killed my friends then and there because I had
broken her rules."
     Considering all this, Nicole turned her reflective gaze
toward Chip to give him a long, even stare. "You aren't just
making this up to cover yourself, are you?" she stated with the
slightest note of disbelief in her voice over the almost
unbelievable adventure she had just been told.
     "*Hey!* He wouldn't be wearing those bandages if he wasn't
really hurt!" Foxglove interjected with a bit of ire at the
accusation, rising to Chip's defense. "Ivana practically *killed*
him, and you're questioning his *honesty?* I oughta-!" 
     "It's *okay*, Foxy." Chip said quickly, quieting his fellow
Ranger with a calm, gentle look of understanding as to Nicole's
suspicions. "I would have told you after all of this was over
anyway, Nicole, regardless of how I felt physically...assuming
Ivana didn't *kill* me, that is. Like I said, I hated lying to
you, and I promised myself to straighten things out with you the
first chance I got. You deserved to know the truth."
     "Including telling me that this 'Ivana' person was the one
who planted the bombs at the library." she added.
     "That's right." Chip nodded. "I'm really sorry about that,
and about what happened to you and the other people there." he
said sincerely, "I really didn't think that she was going to pull
a trick that ruthless."    
     Nicole shook her head. "Don't be. It wasn't your fault. I
suppose you Rescue Rangers get your share of enemies who want
revenge on you any way they can get it. Besides, I heard you did
more than your share to save the patrons trapped in there."
she noted to him.
     "I helped Rick and his SAMARITANS out a little bit, yes."
Chip admitted simply.
     "And what about this 'Gadget' you mentioned? Do you really
love her that much?" Nicole asked with a mostly straightforward,
casual air, that did not completely mask the bit of hopeful
curiosity that she felt upon posing the question.
    Chip nodded his head. "Yes, I do, Nicole." he replied,
meeting her gaze with a soft smile. "I've loved her almost from
the very moment that I first set eyes on her more than two years
ago. And all of the adventures and dangers and everyday life
we've shared in since that time have only made me love her that
much more."
     A pause followed then, as Nicole let Chip's words sink in.
"Is she pretty?" she asked after a moment, with just pure
curiosity, not really knowing what else to ask.
     Chip smiled. "Does that really matter?" he asked her simply
with a shrug and a slight shake of his head. Nicole blinked at
the return question and averted her eyes, blushing slightly as to
the unintentionally vain implication of her question. 

     Feeling a slight pang of guilt at seeing in her face that
her question did not meant what he thought it had, Chip quickly
continued. "Yes she is." he replied earnestly. "Very much so. In
fact, in my eyes, you're *both* equally attractive, both inside
and out, and if I hadn't given myself to Gadget, then I would
*definitely* have taken you up on that date." he nodded at her in
all seriousness. "The fact remains though, that I *did* meet
Gadget first, and I love her both for the beautiful person she is
on the inside than as I do for her physical looks. Please try to
understand Nicole-I like you very much, and though I feel we have
a whole lot in common that I'd love to be your friend, I'm afraid
that I just can't be your *boyfriend*. I'm already spoken for."
     "You're *engaged?!*" Nicole asked with a look of
astonishment.
     "Well no." Chip answered sheepishly, averting his eyes
slightly for a moment. "and to tell the truth, I don't know just
*how* Gadget feels about me. It doesn't matter to me, though. *I*
love *her*...and that's all that really counts in my book."
     Once more, Nicole sat and absorbed Chip's comments. "I can
accept that..." she finally said after a long moment. "especially
since I kind of feel the same way, even though we really barely
know each other....You're an incredible guy, Chip. You're
handsome, brave, caring, well..." she stopped a moment as she
gazed at him, as if deciding whether to go on. She did. "Since
meeting you and then hearing about you from Rick and the others
in the hospital, I guess I fell for you myself. I've had a couple
of dreams about us being...together." Here she stopped, the
meaning behind her words clear, as she watched Chip's eyes grow
clearly wider at her confession. She watched as Chip blinked
twice, as though absorbing the enormity of what she had said.
Casting her eyes down momentarily, and then back up to meet his
gaze once more, she smiled softly. "I hope Gadget realizes what a
lucky girl she is." she finished simply.
     Chip shifted uncomfortably again, slightly embarrassed by
her words. "So...when are you getting out?" he asked.
     "Oh, um,..in another day or so." she answered matter of
factly, caught slightly off guard by the sudden change in
subject. "I'm going to be working at the Baker Street branch
until the new library is built to replace the one that got
burned."
     "Hey, I know that place." Foxglove interjected. She watched
as the others turned to look at her. "Winnifred used to go there
sometimes to read dusty old books on magic and witchcraft."
     "Witchcraft?" Nicole said unbelievingly. "Those are just
stories!"
     "Tell that to her flying vacuum cleaner." the bat replied
with an amused smirk. Nicole's eyes widened even further as she
turned back to Chip. He nodded to confirm Foxglove's statement
with a grin of remembrance. "We get some strange cases now and
then." he remarked.
     "I'll say." Nicole stated wonderingly. "And I thought being
a *librarian* would have me meeting interesting people." the
redheaded mouse replied.
     "Don't knock being a librarian, Nicole." Chip stated
honestly. "There's a lot to recommend in that line of work."
     "Yeah," Foxglove emphasized. "You don't have to take out
insanity insurance, for one thing." Chip and Nicole broke into
laughter at this as each of them for their own reasons, realized
just how useful such a policy would be in their occupation. As if
the laughter had finally broken the ice, the mouse and the
chipmunk became more relaxed with each other, and began to talk
of other things along with Foxglove. After a long and
increasingly pleasant conversation, that lasted over an hour
though, Chip gave a knowing look over toward his teammate. 
     "Well then," Chip said finally, with a slightly reluctant
air,"I guess I'd better get back to bed before the orderlies come
looking for me." With that, he began to push himself to his feet.
Foxglove came over to help, as did Nicole, and together the two
females stood him upright. Leaning slightly on Foxglove for
support, Chip was about to go out the door when Nicole stopped
him. "Chip?" she called out.
     He turned to look back at her.
     The pretty redheaded mouse smiled. "Thank you for coming."
she stated sincerely. "I know you could have just dropped out of
my life and stood me up. It was nice of you to explain things to
me. Please, be sure to come visit the new library when we reopen,
and bring your friends too. I'd like to meet them all........
...especially Gadget. You'd all be welcome to come by anytime."
     Chip smiled back at her. "Thanks, Nicole, that means a lot
to me." he replied, gratefully. "We'll drop by soon, and don't
worry," he finished with a gentle, knowing look, "you'll find a
special someone someday soon. Believe me-after all, I did." he
finished. "Take care, Nicole."
     "You too, Chip." Nicole nodded at him sincerely. "Good
night." 
     With that, Chip and Foxglove left to go back to the
chipmunk's room, closing the door behind them. Staring out at the
shut door for a moment, Nicole turned out the light and got into
bed. For a moment, she sat thinking about him...then she sighed
heavily and curled up to go to sleep, a few tears falling down
her cheeks. She would still be his friend, and he hers, but
losing a love is always hard...

     "That was a nice thing you did, Chip." Foxglove said with
admiration to her teammate as they walked along the hallway.
     "She deserved to know." he replied simply, appreciating her
comment.
     "Um...you want me to keep his our little secret?" she asked.
"That *was* kind of an embarrassing situation that you went
through."
     They stopped before the door to his room. "No," Chip said
with a definitive shake of his head. "but I don't want you to
tell the others about it, either. I'd like to do that myself
later on. If they're going to hear about this...I want them
to hear it from me."
     Foxglove nodded in understanding, then helped her friend
back into his bed and turned out the light as she left. Minutes
later, as she flew home in the foggy San Francisco night, the
young bat thought about all that she'd seen and heard. She
wondered if she could be as open and truthful as that with a
person *she* loved. /Maybe that's what it takes to make a
relationship,/ Foxglove thought. /If so, then maybe it's time I
stopped playing around and tell Dale just how I feel about him.
Problem is, I know how much he likes Gadget. What if he doesn't
love me back? I want to know, but on the other hand, I *don't*
want to know./ With this, she sighed deeply. "Why does love have
to be so darn *complicated?*" she muttered to herself. 

*****


                          Part 3 of 9

               *                   *                   *

     "Lessee...four-leaf clover, rabbit's foot, magic
horseshoe...Yep, looks like I got all me good luck charms with
me."
     Sitting beside her friend, Gadget turned a patient look upon
Monterey Jack. "I've told you a hundred times, Monty, there's no
such thing as luck." With this, she sighed heavily. "On the other
hand though," she admitted, "If there *is* such a thing, I'll
accept all the help we can get from those charms today."
     The two mice were flying in the Rangerwing toward San
Francisco International Airport, located several miles from
headquarters. It was a gorgeous morning with clear blue skies,
but the mood of the two Rangers was far from light. They were on
a sad and very *personal* mission, one that they wanted to take
alone, without the company of their friends, which was an unusual
circumstance in itself. Their destination: a solitary tree
located not far from the junked B-25 bomber that had once been
the home of Gadget Hackwrench...*and her father*. 
     Even since the end of Ivana's game, Gadget had been deeply
troubled by what had occurred during her own personal
challenge-when she had had to choose between saving the life of
her friend Sparky, or preventing the destruction of what appeared
to be her father's coffin and whatever was in it. She had made
the only decision she felt she could, and rescued Sparky (or so
she hoped, as the Rangers only had Ivana's assurance that he was
all right and on his way back to his cage in the lab at M.I.T.),
but the sound of the coffin being dissolved in that acid bath had
similarly seared itself into Gadget's soul. To her eternal relief
in one respect, Ivana had been lying about *Chip* being the one
in the coffin, but she had *guaranteed* that the simple pine box
was not empty. That therefore, had left a very heartrending
alternative for the two Rescue Rangers to face. 
     So here they were, Geegaw Hackwrench's daughter and his
oldest friend, flying off to find out if their worst fears were
true..and to deal with that conclusion if they were. Gadget in
particular was anxious to know-not because of what she might
well find, but just to find out, period. For her, the not knowing
was worse than any truth she might face. Already she had mentally
steeled herself, and was prepared to accept the desecration of
her father's grave by Ivana. Whether she was *physically* ready
for that shock, though, was another matter...which was one of the
reasons that Monterey had come along. The Aussie mouse had
promised Geegaw at his grave that he would look after his little
girl. Never was that promise more important than right now...
     Eventually, but too quickly for their comfort, the
Rangerwing reached its destination. Carefully setting the vehicle
down in the shadow of her old home, Gadget and Monterey climbed
out. For a moment, Gadget looked up wistfully into the plexiglass
nose of the weather-beaten warbird, remembering the many happy
times she'd had there with her father. Then, taking Monterey's
hand, she began to lead him to the tree. The burly mouse, lucky
charms dangling all around him, wrapped a beefy arm around her
shoulders and pulled her close. Gadget closed her eyes and leaned
upon him, comforted by his presence. He'd always been like an
uncle to her, and Geegaw had considered him to be more than a
friend, but *a blood brother*. As much a part of the Hackwrench
family as anyone ever could be. Now as he and Gadget began to
climb the slight incline up to the tree, Monterey cast his eyes
up toward its canopy of leaves, uneasily, looking for some solace
in the beauty around them from what he expected them to find.
Already deep within the cycle of starting to turn colors with the
change of the seasons, the tree had lost some leaves, yet still
offered a protective roof over the once-hallowed plot of ground.
     Suddenly, Monterey stopped and stared out toward the
location of where the gravesite of his friend was, blinking in
near disbelief. *Was it possible?*
     It took him a moment to find his voice. "Gadget...open your
eyes, luv! *LOOK!!*" he cried. 
     The tone in his voice startled her, and snapping open her
eyes, Gadget looked...and gasped in astonishment. In a flash, she
ran over and knelt down to face the stone that had been laid in
the ground, then buried her face in her hands and cried...*for
joy*. Monterey came and kneeled beside her, hugging her as he
looked down at the headpiece. There, plain for all to see, was
the simple epitaph: "Geegaw Hackwrench. Our lives will not be the
same without him." The stone...the grass...everything about the
place was unsullied and untouched. Ivana hadn't desecrated the
grave after all! Geegaw Hackwrench's gravesite was safe!
     Ivana M. Killjoy *had* been here, however, Gadget soon saw.
For as she ran her hands over the headstone's edges, barely able
to believe her good fortune, she felt something made of plastic.
Looking closer, she found a folded note secured behind the stone,
wrapped in a clear, weatherproof covering. Removing the paper,
Gadget began to read aloud the message within.
     My dear Gadget,
          If by some chance you are reading this, then somehow I
have lost the game and most probably am dead at this point. Even
so, I must ask you this. Through the records of those who gave
the award, along with the journals of your father's that you
kept, as well as your own diaries, I learned of the medallion
that you buried with your father, its physical appearance, and
its significance to him. With these same facts in my possession,
you must realize that a medallion can be as easily copied as a
headstone and a coffin. Now that you know this, I have to
wonder...

     "...*do you understand?*" Gadget finished.
     She and the other members of the Rescue Rangers were huddled
around a table in the chipmunks' hospital room. They had spent
practically the entire afternoon filling in the story of their
adventure with Ivana, telling those parts that their comrades
were unaware of. Chip's matter-of-fact account of his personal
gauntlet had left his friends both spellbound and amazed at his
accomplishments. Likewise, Chip was intensely interested in
hearing what Ivana had put *them* through, especially Dale's
virtual-reality fight, and of course, Gadget's version of
'Hobson's Dilemma'. The latter naturally led into the tale of her
and Monterey's flight that morning to Geegaw's gravesite, and
their discovery of Ivana's letter. For nearly half an hour,
the Rangers, including Tammy being as she was, a reserve member,
debated what Ivana's parting question might mean, but without
coming any closer to fathoming it than when they started.
     Eventually, the leader of the SAMARITANS action team, the
mouse known as Rick, came in. "Ready to go, Chip?" he asked.
Turning, Chip saw him gesturing toward the wheelchair that he had
pushed in. "One wheelchair, no waiting."
     "Time to leave already?" Chip smiled back with good-humored
wryness. "But I just *got* here!"
     "Sorry," Rick replied jokingly, "but we have to save these
beds for animals that really need them. You're well enough to
finish recuperating on your own at home."
     "Gosh! I'd hate to see the people who need these beds more
than *we* did, huh, Chip?" Dale quipped with a grin before
looking up questioningly at Rick. "Mine coming too, Rick?" he
asked the mouse, knowing that he and Chip were to be discharged
at he same time.
     "Your wheelchair'll be out in a second, Dale." Rick replied
amiably as Chip picked himself up-without any help which was
always a good sign, and sat himself down in the chair, grinning
at his best friend's quip. "At any rate, Chip," Rick continued,
"I know that you'll probably want to get back on a case soon, but
like Dr. Osofey said, I strongly suggest that you take at least a
week off, preferably two, and give those cracked ribs a chance to
heal. Unless you decide to take a vacation elsewhere, I'll be
stopping by to see that you follow doctor's orders."
     Looking down at his taped midsection, as well as the rest of
his much abused body, Chip shook his head and looked up at Rick
agreeably. "Don't worry, Rick," he stated as he relaxed his
weight into the fabric of the chair, "I've had more than enough
crime and mystery for a little while. What with everything Ivana
put me through, I'll be *glad* to take a short vacation from it!" 
     Across the table, Gadget started slightly, as if somehow
troubled by his response. She quickly covered her expression,
though, even as the others glanced sidelong at her, giving her a
discreetly questioning look that Chip did not catch.
     "Well, I'm glad to hear it," Rick replied as he moved
himself behind the wheelchair. As he did so, he gave the others
the same look of confusion and uncertainty as Gadget's
expression, even as Dale's wheelchair arrived. As the two
chipmunks were wheeled past the front desk to the alleyway
entrance where the Rangerwing sat waiting, the mouse attendant at
the front desk dutifully marked down the time of their discharge.
It was 4:50 P.M..... 

     *         *         *         *         *         *        


     "Home sweet home." Chip sighed gratefully as the great oak
tree in Golden Gate Park came into view, the Rangerwing speeding
its way towards it. "You know, with all the tests that those
doctors decided to run on me during the last three days, I was
beginning to wonder if I'd be home this *month*, let alone this
week!" he chuckled.
     "Chip," Gadget began as normally as she could, as she
prepared to settle their vehicle onto the landing pad outside
headquarters, "were you serious about having had more than enough
crime and mystery for awhile?" Foxglove and Tammy, listening from
the rear seat with Dale, along with Monterey who was in the
"bucket seat" where the flexible plunger-gun mount was usually
located, could clearly pick up the hesitant and uncertain tone
that Gadget was trying so hard to hide.
     Chip smiled over at her as the Rangerwing slowly settled
securely on the landing platform. "*Absolutely*." Chip replied in
a relieved tone of voice. "Oh, I still love mysteries and helping
the helpless, of course, but after this case, it'll actually be
nice to take some time off from it. Actually, for at least the
next week or so, I though we could all take a real vacation
somewhere for awhile. With all we've been through, we *deserve*
it." At that, he sighed contentedly once more, thinking of such a
getaway. "To tell the truth, I don't even want to *think* about
anything having to do with crime or mystery for the next few
days." With these words, Chip carefully picked himself up from
his seat and exited onto the wing of the plane, carefully
climbing down from there to the solid oak surface underneath. 
     As Chip made his way out of the plane, though, Gadget
exchanged a nervous glance with Foxglove and Zipper before
vaulting over the side of the craft and racing around to meet
Chip as he got off the wing. "Uh, Chip?" she asked in a slightly
hurried and uncharacteristically anxious tone, laying a hand on
his shoulder to stop him from going any farther toward the
entrance to Ranger headquarters, "I know you said you wanted to
get home and all, but...we, golly, it's such a lovely evening
out. Why don't we take a walk along-"
     "I *say* Jones, *there* you are old chap! All of Scotland
Yard's been out trying to find you, you know!" a voice suddenly
called.
     Gadget cringed at the sound. /*Too late.*/ she thought.    
     Chip spun around and saw, beyond Foxglove who was trying to
head him off, Officer Johnny O' Brie of the Small Animal
Protection Service (SAPS)** coming out the front door. The *odd*
thing about it, was that he was dressed in a Victorian-era
costume, with his normal Irish brogue replaced by a thick
English accent. "Johnny?" Chip asked, his tone and expression
clearly communicating his surprise and curiosity...not to
mention his exasperation as Foxglove hastily tried to hide
Johnny from Chip's sight, whispering to him urgently to be quiet
as she waved him back toward the open door.
     "Foxglove..." Chip shook his head at her, politely waving at
the bat to stand aside from the normally uniformed police
squirrel. Finally able to get a good look at him in the fading
light as Foxglove stood reluctantly aside, he saw that Johnny was
dressed up like a London plainclothes detective of the late
nineteenth century. Being an aficionado of that time through the
Sherlock Jones stories, he instantly recognized both the era the
costume was from, and from his mannerisms, the character the
officer was trying to portray. "Johnny, what's going on? And why
on Earth are you pretending to be Inspector Lestread from the
Sherlock Jones stories?" he queried him.
     Considering the urgent way in which Foxglove had told him to
stay silent just a moment ago, but also considering he very well
couldn't hide the way he was dressed, Johnny stood slightly
confused before his friends. Looking from Foxglove to Chip, the
squirrel tried to figure out what to do next as he took off his
hat.
     "Er,...I take it that somethin's amiss, then, Miss Gadget?"
he asked at last in innocent befuddlement with his normal voice,
looking past Chip and over to Gadget, who now stood with a hand
placed over her blushing face.
     "Oh, boy." Dale murmured to Monterey Jack, giving him an
unsure look of nervousness as they and Tammy also exited the
Rangerwing and joined the others.
     "Gadget?" Chip asked, turning to face her. Like Johnny, his
own face was a picture of confusion. "What is this all about?"
     Removing her hand from her face, and continuing to blush
beet red as she leaned against the wing of the aircraft for
support, Gadget smiled sheepishly at Chip as he approached her.
 "Would you believe...a surprise party?" she asked.
     Chip stopped in his tracks, his expression of incredulity
even stronger than before. "*A surprise party?*" he echoed.
     "Mmmhmmm." Gadget answered with a nod. "For the past month,
I've been planning this surprise birthday party for you. The only
thing is, I had the idea of making it something along the lines
of a *dinner theater.*" She then gestured towards Dale, Monterey,
Foxglove, Tammy and Zipper." We all helped to write you an
original Sherlock Jones mystery to solve. Naturally, you were
supposed to play Sherlock Jones." she finished, turning back
towards Chip.
     Chip stood in amazement before her. He could only blink in
response to what was being said to him.
     "We knew you would love it," Gadget continued, getting up
from leaning on the wing of the Rangerwing and walking up to meet
him where he stood. "I mean, since we weren't getting any really
good mysteries for quite awhile, I knew you were feeling a bit
frustrated, even though you didn't complain about it. Of course,"
she shrugged, "that was before all this happened with Ivana. I
didn't know that it would cause you to want to stay away from
mysteries for awhile, though with all you told us...well, I can
certainly understand it. Anyway," Gadget sighed in slight
resignation, "I really didn't know about you wanting to stay away
from mysteries and crime until you told us in the hospital. When
you told me just now how *strongly* you wanted to take a break
from it, I decided to distract you for a bit while everyone else
got out of costume and hid the sets and props--"
     Chip blinked in chock, visibly reacting. "You made *SETS?!*"
he asked, completely overwhelmed now. 
     "And props." Dale and Foxglove added simultaneously,
glancing at one another with a slight smile as they did.
     "--but as you can see, that didn't work out." Gadget
finished. She shrugged, giving Chip a sincere, apologetic smile.
"I'm sorry, Chip," she said as she cocked her head at him. "It
won't be a surprise, but we can still have a nice party." she
finished in a gentle, coaxing tone. She then turned to Johnny.
"We'd better put away the costumes and everything else. Break out
the cake--"
     "Whoa, Gadget! Wait a minute!! *HOLD IT!!*" Chip exclaimed
happily as he extended a hand before him to stop her, breaking
into an ecstatic grin. "When I said that I wanted to take a break
from mysteries and crime, I was talking about *real life!* Not
anything for fun!"
     "But you said--" Gadget began to say with a confused shake
of her head.
     "That I didn't want to even think about anything having to
do with mysteries for the next few days, I know," he nodded at
her, "but there's no way that I'm going to pass up on something
like this! *Especially* after all the hard work you guys went
through to arrange it for me! A new Sherlock Jones mystery?! *How
could I resist?!*" Chip cried, laughing aloud with glee at this
delightful and completely unexpected surprise which had been
meant for his birthday. 
     "I take it that the play's still on, then?" Johnny asked
jokingly as he shrugged at his friends.
     "You *bet* it is!" Chip exclaimed enthusiastically, turning
towards him.
     "Hey Shureshuck!" Dale called out jestingly. Turning back to
face his friend, Chip raised his hands to catch the small wrapped
parcel that Dale casually tossed at him from the Rangerwing.
"Happy birthday, buddy!" he grinned.
     "What is it?" Chip asked curiously.
     "Only one way to find out!" Gadget replied, grinning
hopefully as she watched him. "Open it!"
     Tearing off the plain brown wrapping, Chip opened the small
box and uncovered...his Sherlock Jones cloak and hat. The same
ones that he had acquired from Baskerville Manor, and the ones
that Ivana had used as the symbolic centerpiece for him, in the
mobile that served as the timer for her "game". The hat, however,
was not in the same condition that it had been when he had last
seen it. The hole that Ivana had made in it for the candle
wick,{} had been mended, and the wax stains had been removed. His
cloak had been similarly cleaned.
     "We were goin' to give you these in the hospital, mate,"
Monterey said as he leaned against the hull of the Rangerwing,
"but after what you said earlier, we figured we'd better hold off
until we were sure it was a good idea."
     "Besides," Dale stated with a grin as he came up to stand
next to his best friend, "you wouldn't want to go in 'naked'
without a costume, would ya?"
     "Nope, sure wouldn't!" Chip answered, grinning back at Dale
as he took off his bomber jacket and donned the well-known cloak
and deerstalker with aplomb and enthusiasm. Instantly, as if a
sudden transformation came over him, he casually strode up to
"Inspector Lestread" in a confident and collected manner that
belied the injuries he sported, perfectly befitting his favorite
fictional detective. "Now then, Inspector," Chip addressed him
with a well-practiced British accent, "what seems to be the
problem?"
     "Ah, if you'll allow me to step into your chambers, then,
Jones," the 'inspector' stated in a similar accent as he grandly
gestured toward the front door of the treehouse. "I'll tell you
of the terrible row that's just taken place."
     Nodding politely to the 'Inspector', 'Sherlock Jones' did
just that....

*****


                          Part 4 of 9

               *                   *                   *

     The party was, as expected, a smashing success. The "cast"
of the play turned out to include slightly more than a dozen
people other than Tammy, Johnny, and the Rescue Rangers. They
were all close friends of the Rangers, all of whom had visited
the chipmunks during their stay in the SAMARITANAS hospital. Even
with the lack of rehearsal, in terms of speaking their parts in
relation to each other, the cast came together fairly smoothly.
The credit for this was given not only to the people, but
also to the carefully written script. With the visual
descriptions and cues that were given to each person in their
script along with their lines, each person knew just what was
expected of him or her. The slight bit of improvisation that
inevitably occurred, and sometimes was prompted by certain
individuals every now and then, only added to the fun. Moreover,
the four days that the production was delayed due to Chip and
Dale's hospitalization served to provide everyone with some well
used practice time which, together with some extra coaching and
directing by Gadget, helped to work out any kinks.
     By the extremely arduous and challenging standard that Ivana
had set, Chip found that the story of the play was thankfully
much more simple and enjoyable, although it was, as he had
originally wished for, far more challenging than the normal and
tedious run of crimes that he and the other Rangers had been
tackling the last few months. The only person provided with a
script, Chip found the mystery beginning almost as soon as he
walked through the door into 'Sherlock Jones apartment.'
The backdrops and sets of the play had been hidden among the
clutter of Monterey Jack's room several day previously,
contributing highly to the enjoyment of the play. Each room
and level of the treehouse headquarters sported backdrops and
props within, taking 'Sherlock' and Monterey, who played his ever
faithful companion 'Doctor Blotson', to such places as Scotland
Yard, a dingy warehouse, a seaside hotel, and various other
places on the case's trail.
     The crime in question was the murder of a government
official with ties to the nobility, the crime apparently having
been committed during an otherwise unimportant burglary.
Investigation by 'Sherlock Jones', however, exposed both the
robbery and the murder as covers for the real crime-the theft of
incriminating documents that indicated a major conspiracy was at
work against the safety and security of the realm. Given the few
clues, and the slight bits of insight and history that he was
given for most of the characters, Chip did impressively well in
deducing when the time came, not only the culprit behind the
crimes, but the rest of the nefarious scheme as well...had it not
been exposed and stopped by the famed detective, of course. 

     As a crowning touch to the tale which the Rangers and Tammy
had concocted, 'Sherlock' was knighted by the Queen of England in
gratitude for his service to the crown, as a result of which,
England had been kept from the brink of an unnecessary and
disastrous war. The "Queen", naturally enough, was played by the
only queen that the Rangers knew of-Zipper's sweetheart, Queen
Alicia, the ruler of a swarm of honeybees located elsewhere in
the park.> Even though Zipper had extended the invitation to
her some time ago, Queen Alicia had been busy enough that she
hadn't known until the day before Ivana's "game", whether she
would be able to accept and play the part.() Hearing of Chip's
injury, however, she had made time in her schedule that day, in
gratitude to the friend that she considered the chipmunk to be.

     After the play was over, it was time for the celebration to
*really* begin. Cake, cookies, punch, and other delectable treats
mingled with music, laughter, and presents to make for a very
festive occasion. Time passed, though no one seemed to notice it
in the slightest. With food dancing, and conversation that ranged
across the spectrum from the whimsical and silly, to the grim and
grotesque, the party continued on.....

     *              *              *              *             


     10:35............

     "Hey Chip! You awake over there?" 
     Hours had passed. With the party now over and with the last
of the guests having left many minutes before, Chip sat upon the
couch in a contentedly tired state, staring out in the direction
of one of his presents. Now clad once more in his familiar bomber
jacket which had Gadget had stripped of all the circuitry Ivana
had placed in it and mended as well, his Sherlock Jones attire
were now draped in the appropriate places over the wooden statue
that Monterey and Zipper had given him. As the finely carved
statue of himself was also clad in the carved relief of those
very same vestments, with the addition of these actual garments,
the sculpture seemed to take on something of a life of its own.
As though he were looking at a single colored mirror image of
himself. Around the base of the life size statue, his other much
appreciated presents were laid, along with the many birthday
cards from both those who had attended the party and those who
had sent their well wishes through the mail. His attention had
just reflexively begun to be drawn toward the cards that he had
placed there, specifically the card he'd received from Plato, the
*real* Plato<^>, when he became abruptly aware that he hadn't
paid attention to Dale's call from before. 
     "Sorry, Dale!" Chip called over his shoulder toward the
kitchen, shaking himself out of his glazy eyed trance. "What was
that?"
     "I *said*, do you want anymore of your birthday cake?" Dale
called in a patiently cheerful tone, poking his head out of the
hallway. "I just took it out to get another piece for myself."
     "No thanks, Dale." Chip replied, shaking his head at him
before turning back around. "You go ahead." /Unbelievable./ Chip
smiled to himself, sinking into the same semi hypnotic trance as
he lost himself in his thoughts, now staring at nothing in
particular. /Five large wedges of cheese, six pieces of my
pineapple-walnut-acorn birthday cake, half a bowl of punch,
everything that we had for dinner, and *still* he's scarfing it
down! And that was just the things that I *saw* him eat! Where
does he put it all?!/ He wondered, marveling yet again at his
friend's metabolism. /Well,/ he considered, /both of us *did*
barely eat while we were recuperating in the hospital these past
few days. Not that the food was bad or anything, despite Dale's
complaint about the oatmeal. Just kinda lost our appetites there
for a bit after that case, what with being confined to our beds
and all./ 
     As he finished these thoughts, Dale came back into the room
with a plateful of cake and plopped himself down on the couch
beside his buddy. Chip looked over at him propping his head on
his hand, his elbow resting on the armrest. "Catching up on your
eating I see." he said with a grin.
     "Hey, I gotta get my strength back." Dale mumbled through a
mouthful of cake as he smiled back in reply. "After all, I went a
whole three days not eating like I usually do."
     "Good thing too. The hospital would have run out of food the
first night otherwise." Chip replied with a smirk.
     "Yeah, probably..." Dale returned with a snicker, "except
I'd probably leave the oatmeal for 'em."
     Just then, the front door opened, heralding the return of
Monterey and Tammy.
     "Good news, mates!" the burly mouse sang heartily with his
arm draped about her shoulders. "As long as Foxy's stayin' here
tonight, Tammy's mum said she could stay the night, too!"
     "All right!" Dale exclaimed happily, gulping down his
mouthful of cake.
     "That's *great*." Chip said with a smile, looking at Tammy
as she trotted elatedly toward the chipmunks.
     "*So, Chipper*," the teenaged squirrel said teasingly in a
somewhat sultry voice as she leaned over the back of the couch
and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind, snuggling her
cheek alongside his with her head on his shoulder. "You and me
in the same house for the night. Won't Gadget be *jealous!*
Hmmmm?" she finished with a grin as she gazed sidelong into his
eyes through narrowed lids. 
     "Mmmmhmmm, she *sure* will," Chip crooned back with a
chuckle. Stroking his finger on her nose affectionately, he
grinned back at her mischievously. Then without warning, he
reached up and gave the top of her head a good tousle. "Hey!"
Tammy cried as the others tried to keep a straight face. Of
course, her own face was anything but straight, either. "I'm glad
your mom let you stay." Chip added fondly as Tammy stood up and
grinned down at him while she casually ran a hand through her
long red hair to fix it.
     "Hey, Tam!" Foxglove called happily as she rounded the
archway into the living room "I thought I heard you in here. Back
for the night?"
     "Yep!" Tammy answered enthusiastically, turning her smile
toward the pretty female bat that she'd come to think of as an
older sister of sorts. The two girls had grown quite close during
the six months that Foxglove had lived with Tammy's family.
     "Great! Well, c'mon, then, and I'll get you set up with me
in Gadget's room!" Foxglove replied, waving the young squirrel
toward her, as she turned back in the direction she'd come.
     "Be right there." Tammy called, extending a hand toward the
bat before turning back to the boys. "You guys going to sleep
anytime soon?" she asked them.
     "In a minute, luv." Monterey answered with a weary smile,
his eyes already showing signs of sleepiness.
     "*Pretty* soon." Chip added.
     "Mmmmhmmm." Dale nodded as well, mumbling through another
mouthful of cake.
     "Well, I'll probably be hitting the sack as well, then, soon
as I'm set up." Tammy said as she gazed around at each of them in
turn for a moment. "Look, I know I said it before but...I'm
*really glad* that you guys are back home safe." she stated
with deep sincerity. Smiling warmly at them all, Tammy then moved
forward to enthusiastically embrace Monterey Jack, then Dale, and
then finally to Chip as the two chipmunks got off of the couch to
meet her. Each of them returned her lasting heartfelt embrace
with equal affection. "You guys are some of the best friends I've
ever had." she said simply. "I wouldn't want *anything* bad to
happen to you."
     "Thanks, luv." Monterey beamed. "This here's *one* bloke who
doesn't mind hearin' a thing like that more'n once...and it goes
without sayin' that you're pretty blumin special to *us* too,
Tam." he finished as he gave her another warm hug, a slight
feeling of paternal affection tugging at his heart.
     "Same goes for the rest of us, Tammy." Chip added softly but
with sincerity. Dale nodded beside him in agreement.
     "Thanks, guys." Tammy replied, blushing slightly and beaming
back at them all. "Well, then, I'd better get going and help Foxy
set up my bunk." Tammy said somewhat reluctantly after a pause,
looking at them as Monterey released her from his embrace.
"Good-night, guys." she said, moving to give Monterey and Dale
each a kiss on the cheek. However, as she came to Chip, instead
of placing a kiss on *his* cheek though, she stopped before him
and quickly ruffled the fur atop his head, messing it up as he
had done earlier to her. As Chip reacted to this, his hands
shooting up to grab hers, she quickly withdrew her hands...then
quickly placed them on his shoulders, closed her eyes, and leaned
into him to place a playful, but far more substantial kiss, right
on the chipmunk's unsuspecting lips!
     "Whoa!" Dale cried with a shocked grin on his face.
     "Blimey!" Monterey exclaimed, reacting much the same way as
Dale.
     "Hey!" Chip cried, blinking with surprise in a semi state of
shock, drawing back abruptly from her even as Tammy broke off her
kiss. Jumping back and dancing away from him impishly, she
grinned back at him with a playful giggle. In spite of his shock
at her trickery at having stolen a kiss from him, Chip couldn't
help but to smile at her in a slack jawed expression, marveling
at her frisky tenacity. "Good night....*Chipper!*" Tammy called
coquettishly, batting her eyes at him over her shoulder from the
archway that led to the bedrooms and workshops. Then, with
another impish grin appearing on her face as she looked directly
at him, she disappeared from view.
     "Whoaaaaaaaaa!" Dale intoned teasingly, rolling his eyes and
fanning himself with a hand for effect as he looked at Chip.
     "Hooooooo!" Monterey echoed similarly, rolling his eyes and
fanning himself as well. 
     "Oh, brother." Chip grinned, sheepishly, shaking his head
and covering his deeply reddening face with a hand. "*Go 'way.*"
he grinned even further, waving at his friends with his other
hand as he peeked out from between his fingers to see them both
batting their eyes at him and laughing.
     With a sigh of good humor as Monterey and Dale finally broke
off their teasing, Chip removed his hand from his face and hopped
gently back down onto the couch. Settling himself in, he looked
back toward the archway that Tammy had disappeared into, as he
felt the blush slowly receded from his face. /*She's great.*/ he
thought fondly with a smile, picturing the young girl squirrel
from a moment earlier, her eyes playfully batting at him in his
mind. Ever since the Rescue Rangers had met Tammy and her family
after chasing Fat Cat one day through Chinatown,<> the barely
teenaged squirrel had developed something of an intense crush
upon him, one that bordered on hero-worship. Although she had
thankfully calmed down in her constant and obvious adoration of
him over time, and even though she had gained a great deal of
respect from Chip and the other Rangers as a "reserve member"
of the team who joined them on cases at times, the fact was, the
crush was still very much present. Occasionally-and quite
unexpectedly, as evidenced just now, she would express those
feelings as she had just done, through the displays of affection
she'd showered him with. Even though they were done in a playful
and somewhat kidding manner, it was obvious that she still
thought of him as quite attractive and "cute", as she still often
told him, still picturing them together in her imagination at
times, in a fun, romantic light of fantasy. 
     Tammy therefore presented quite a different 'woman problem'
for Chip than Nicole had. The librarian was an adult, after all,
and had the maturity to accept the reality of his love for
another, namely Gadget. As a young teen, however, Tammy
had a more fragile ego and needed to be handled, so to speak,
with 'kid gloves'. In that first adventure,^ he had tried to
ignore her and even kill the crush altogether, however, his
fellow Rangers had wasted no time in admonishing his unknowingly
insensitive behavior, making him see just how cruel to Tammy his
actions had seemed. With some addition maturity under his *own*
belt, then, Chip had adopted a different approach, one more
sensitive of the young squirrel's feelings. Even though he would
not encourage her flirtatious behavior, he would not *discourage*
it either. Instead, he had prudently decided to just let it run
its course and to handle it as best, and as gently as he could.
     In practice, this meant that he would sometimes lightly play
along with her advances, just as he had a few moments ago. He
only did this, though, as long as she knew-and he always made
*sure* she knew, as gently as he could-that he was only kidding
in his actions, through being playful. Such displays would serve
to increase the affection between them as friends, but would not
in any way lead her on, or prop up the hope of her dreams being
fulfilled. After all, as he had told her as gently as possible in
order to put her feeling for him in perspective, his own
affections were reserved for Gadget alone. She had seemed to
accept that, and was probably the main thing that had caused
Tammy to switch from a fawning adoration, to a more flippant
and friendly one-a development that Chip, for one, was definitely
grateful for. Otherwise, her attentions would have been much too
hard for him to handle for this long, and probably would have
pushed him beyond the limits of his patience, with potentially
disastrous results.
     There was, of course, one other element in all this-Tammy's
age. He never made a particular issue of it, especially since the
redheaded squirrel had consistently proved that "she was not a
kid" through her mature behavior, as well as her quick thinking
and bravery in the cases she had been on with the Rangers. Still,
she was only just entering the teenage years, while Chip was a
full ten years older. Because of the age difference between them
then, the chipmunk couldn't help but think of Tammy as nothing
more than something of an adoptive "kid sister" in terms of his
affection for her, rather than as a potential girlfriend.
/Besides,/ Chip thought, /once she gets over this crush and
starts looking around, I'm sure she'll find *lots* of boys who'll
be falling all over themselves for a chance to go out with her.
After all, she *is* becoming an extremely attractive girl./
Occasionally, he did wonder what 'might have been' had Tammy been
a bit older when he'd first met her...but such daydreams were
quickly dismissed with a mental shrug. The way things had turned
out was good enough for him....

*****

                          Part 5 of 9

               *                   *                   *
    
     Coming back to the real world again, Chip turned at the
sound of a turning doorknob, as did Monterey and Dale. As the
trio looked on, Zipper re-entered the treehouse through the front
door and closed it behind him. The fly's friends all greeted him
warmly. 
     "You escort 'Queenie' home okay?" Chip asked as Monterey
patted his shoulder to invite his small friend to alight upon it,
which Zipper did.
     "Yep." Zipper replied with a nod.
     "You just missed out on all the *fun*, Zip!" Dale heckled,
glancing wryly over at Chip. "Tammy's stayin' the night, and you
should've seen the good night kiss she gave to old Chipper,
here!" he finished, giving his best friend a light, playful
punch in the shoulder.
     "Not again." Chip groaned with a slight shake of his head,
rolling his eyes and grinning wryly back at Dale.
     "Ooooohh!" Zipper intoned in his high-pitched squeak of a
voice, joining in the teasing as he grinned slyly at Chip.
Narrowing his eyes flirtatiously, the fly proceeded to pucker his
lips and blow a few pretend kisses at his teammate. Folding
his arms, Chip sighed and stared patiently back at Zipper with
the same wry grin, saying nothing as he waited for his friend to
get the teasing out of his system.
     As Zipper quieted down, a sudden and disorienting silence
overcame the four Rangers, as if they didn't know what to do or
say next. Hearing a sound from the direction of Gadget's room,
the three rodents turned reflexively towards it. Looking back
toward Chip a moment later, Dale noticed the *new* direction of
Chip's gaze, and followed it to see Zipper looking wistfully over
his own shoulder toward the front door, a glassy-eyed expression
of happiness on his face. As Monterey caught the two chipmunks'
looks toward his shoulder, he turned to catch Zipper's expression
as well...a split second before the fly shook himself out of his
reverie and turned back to face his friends again. Seeing the
three of them staring at him, though, Zipper immediately blushed
and averted his eyes, knowing that he'd been caught.
     "I *know* that look." Chip stated slyly, grinning at him.
     "Oy!" Monterey echoed, "I guess 'Queenie' gave ye a pretty
special 'good-night' send off too, eh, mate?" he said as he
smiled broadly at his pal. 
     "Well...after telling everyone at the party just what
happened on Chip's birthday," Zipper admitted with a shrug, "she
*was* really happy that we all got out of it, alive."
     "Especially *you*, huh, Zip?" Dale smiled, looking at him
knowingly.
     "Nice little 'welcome home' gift, Zip?" Chip teased
slightly, glad to be on the giving end for a change.
     "Yeah." Zipper replied with a shy little giggle as he
blushed still further.
     "It was nice that she could make it. Thanks for inviting
her, Zip," Chip told him sincerely.
     "Well mates," Monterey said meaningfully as he climbed down
over the back of the couch, slid between the two chipmunks, and
put his arms around their shoulders, "I'm bonza glad that we
*all* could make it. And for *that*, we owe our pally, here." he
continued after a pause, casting a look of thanks down at Chip
and tugging him closer in a slight hug. "The Rescue Rangers
*would've* been in a pretty sorry state, if'n Ivana had gotten
any one or more of us...and if she had gotten you before you
found us, she *would've* ended up gettin' all of us." he
admitted. The three Rangers looked at each other and nodded
somberly in answer. Although such things had already been said
before at the hospital, it was especially moving to hear after
the party, which had been as much a celebration that they had
lived through the ordeal of the 'game', and unscathed enough to
talk about it, as it had been to reward Chip on a well earned
birthday.
     "I'll tell ya, Chipper," Monterey continued in a tone of
admiration, with an expression of respect and curiosity on his
face, "you still have me mind reelin' what with being' able to
find us with that last clue. A blinkin' business that died from
taxes? I don't know if I could've done it...or if even *Gadget*
could've, for that matter." he murmured honestly, shaking his
head with a shrug as he folded his arms.
     "Thanks, Monty." Chip replied as he smiled up at his Aussie
friend. "Actually, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to
figure it out, either," he admitted in retrospect with a shrug.
"Ivana broke her pattern so suddenly, I was really thrown
off stride for awhile. Not to mention that it got kinda hairy,
what with my not being able to focus from that stuff that Ivana
injected into me, and my own exhaustion. I began to think that
there was no chance that I would find all of you. I *had* to keep
myself from thinking about that, though. I mean...I just
*couldn't* let anything happen to you guys," he said as he
crossed his arms as well, leaning forward upon his legs as he
looked at his teammates. "You guys and Gadget..." he continued,
locking his eyes onto each one of them, before looking up in the
direction of the workshop where Gadget was, "you guys are my
*family*, as much as my own folks. Same goes for Foxy, and Tammy,
even. If anything happened to any one of you....well...I don't
know *what* I would have done. You guys mean *everything* to me."
he admitted with a simple smile of pure emotion, his tone and
expression communicating *volumes* to Dale, Monterey and Zipper.
     "Thanks, Chipper." Dale replied in a slightly choked-up
voice, reaching over Monterey to place his hand on his best
friend's shoulder. You guys mean everything to me, too." he said,
looking from Chip over to Zipper, and then to Monterey.
     "Same here, guys!" Zipper said enthusiastically, flying over
to embrace Chip's cheek affectionately, before going over to
embrace Dale's cheek as well.
     "Aw, *c'mere*, mates!" Monterey bellowed cheerfully, unable
to restrain himself any longer. Wrapping his meaty arms around
their shoulders once more with gusto, he hauled the two
chipmunks, and Zipper along with them, onto either side of him in
a crushing group hug. The other Rangers gasped but returned the
affection as best they could with just as much emotional
intensity as their muscle bound friend, the simple contact saying
without words, the kinship felt between them all. 
     "Ah, Monty?" Chip wheezed after another moment, "I hate to
remind you, but...could you watch the ribs?"
     Instantly, the burly mouse released his grip and Chip gasped
in air gratefully. "Crikey, I plumb forgot! Aw, mate! I'm
*sorry!* Are you all right there, Chippo?! I didn't hurt ya, did
I?" he asked worriedly.
     "I'm okay, Monty." Chip answered between gasps as he felt
his injured ribs. "You know the old saying: "You always hurt the
ones you love." I'll take that kind of pain any day." he grinned.
     Monterey's gaze relaxed a little, but a noticeable amount of
worry was still evident in his expression. 
     "You *sure* you're okay, Chip?" Dale asked anxiously.
     "If I can survive fire, acid, drugging, explosions,
lightning bolts, and an eighty story fall, I don't think a simple
hug's going to do me much harm, Dale." Chip quipped amiably.
"I'll be fine. Let's just damp the enthusiasm a bit, huh?" he
grinned at Monterey.
     "Tough to do that, mate." Monterey replied with a broad
smile, "but I'll try, at least when you're the target."
     With those words, another sudden, awkward silence fell among
the four Rangers.
     "To think that Ivana almost killed us *all*." Zipper finally
said in a quiet, nervous, awestruck voice as he once more sat on
the Australian mouse's shoulder.  "I mean, Fat Cat's come close a
couple of time, but...they were nothing like *THAT*."
     "I *know*," Chip answered in a somber tone, cringing at the
memory that had been burned into his mind of Ivana's last
moments. "She put everything she had into it...only to wind up
killing herself in the end when she failed. She became so
twisted in her need for revenge...that it was all that was left
for her to live for."
     "Oy." Monterey agreed grimly as he too, developed a sour
look on his face, remembering the details of the story Chip had
told them at the hospital of his last confrontation with Ivana,
and his last glimpse of the villainess. "That was one *bonza
loco* sheela we were dealin' with, mates." 
     "Mmmmhmmm." Zipper and Dale murmured, nodding at Monterey's
statement.
     "OH, *yeah*," Chip conceded with a grimace, scratching the
back of his bandaged left ear uncomfortably. He wondered if he
would have nightmares again tonight about Ivana's last moments.
He'd had them all throughout his hospital stay, and the first
couple of times had really unnerved him. Thankfully, Gadget or
Foxglove had been there to help calm him afterwards, but Chip was
beginning to wonder how long they would go on. It would probably
take some time before his mind got over the shock of that scene
enough for him not to have any nightmares about it, not to
mention all the *other* disturbing things he'd seen during the
"game". 
     Deciding to get off this depressing subject, and to get his
friend's minds, focused about the future instead of the recent
past, Dale piped up. "Say guys," he began as he picked up his
now-empty plate, "since we're goin' to be takin' some time off
and we don't know where we're goin' on vacation yet, what say we
go out on a picnic tomorrow?"
     Brightening instantly, Chip beamed over at his best friend.
"Now, that, Dale, is a *GREAT* idea!"
     Dale grinned back. "Yeah, I get them every now and again."
     "More like you *stumble* across them you mean." Chip replied
wryly.
     "Hey, I resemble that remark!"
     "Sounds like things are finally gettin' back to normal, eh,
Zip?" Monterey whispered to Zipper, who simply smiled and nodded
in reply. "You know *me*, mate," Monterey then said aloud to
Dale. "Monterey Jack misses *no* picnic! That is, as long as
ye've got some *cheese* on the menu!: he added as his mustache
curled reflexively in evidence of a low level 'cheese attack'.
     "Well," Dale said factually, "we've still got plenty of
leftovers from the party. About the only thing we *haven't* got
is some of those cocktail wieners..." he trailed off with a
thoughtful look on his face. "You know, for some reason, I had
this craving for *hot dogs* the whole time I was in the
hospital." he finished, looking over at Chip with a knowing
smile. 
     Chip turned a sarcastic look upon Dale through narrowed
eyes, even as Zipper and Monterey laughed aloud at the joke. "I
should never have told you that part of the case,"  he said to
Dale with a rueful shake of his head...although he was unable
to keep a grin from breaking through the grim facade to spread
across his own expression. 
     "Well, mates," Monterey said with an anticipatory air as he
rose from the couch, "I'll be biddin' ya 'good night', then. Me
body's about ready to crash into me bunk, I'm so tuckered out
form these past couple of days. Anyway, mates, welcome home." he 
finished, smiling down at them. On his shoulder, Zipper let out a
long, drawn out yawn of exhaustion, indicating his readiness and
need for sleep as well. 
     "Thanks, Monty." the chipmunks answered in unison, smiling
sincerely and thankfully back at him.
     "Good night, guys!" Zipper called sleepily. "Welcome home!"
     "Thanks Zipper. Good night!" they both returned.
     Turning, Chip and Dale watched as Monterey and Zipper
disappeared through the archway, heading for their rooms.

     "I heard you helped Tammy with the first birthday cake when
it was still fresh a few days ago." Chip stated, as he and Dale
turned back around to face one another again. "I'll bet it was
just as delicious. I never thought I'd see the day you'd learn to
cook."
     "Thanks." Dale said with a smile as he placed his plate on
the couch again between them. Then, with a thoughtful, more
serious tone in his voice, he looked at his best friend with an
expression that mirrored his tone. "Chip, I need to ask you
something. Something serious." he stated evenly.
     "Uh...sure." Chip said with a tone mixed with curiosity and
concern, his eyebrows shooting up questioningly. "What is it?"
     Glancing back quickly toward the archway for a moment, Dale
then turned back to face Chip, locking his eyes onto his friend's
with a studious gaze he rarely exhibited.  "Chip...*do you love
Gadget?*" he asked in an earnestly sincere manner, though in a
lower volume than normal, as if he were afraid of being
overheard. "I mean, I know that you care a lot about Gadget as a
friend and as a member of the team, and I know you think she's
beautiful and all, but...do you *really* love her? I mean, enough
to ask her to marry you someday?" Dale paused a moment as he
continued to study his friend before he shrugged slightly. "We've
been rivals over her for so long, I never really thought to ask."
he admitted.
     Chip sat there for half a moment in pure astonishment,
completely thunderstruck by the enormity of it all--not just the
question, but the fact that it was *Dale* who was asking it! He
tried to keep his jaw from going slack as his eyes widened and
focused entirely on his friend. Dale was his oldest and best
friend in the world, as well as one of the most carefree,
happy-go-lucky, lighthearted, and sometimes scatterbrained souls
he had ever known in his life. Now, that same chipmunk was
asking him one of the most significant and important questions he
had ever been asked to answer, and certainly the most serious
question that he had ever heard come out of Dale's mouth. It was,
to say the least, a *surprising* moment. Chip's answer, however,
was quick and unwavering.
     "*Yes.* I do love Gadget that much, Dale." he told his
friend in absolute sincerity and certainty, with a deep nod of
his head to emphasize his words. "Enough to ask her to marry me
one day, if my wish is granted. Dale..." he then continued,
pausing as a completely befuddled expression came over his face.
Turning up his hands, he shrugged and shook his head in
incomprehension. "*Why?*" he asked. "What on Earth brought *this*
up?"
     "Not 'what', Chip. 'Who'" Dale answered with a sigh,
averting his eyes away from Chip's for a moment. "*Foxglove's*
the reason."
     Chip shook his head again, making a 'time-out' gesture as
he did. "Whoa, time out, back up. I'm missing the connection
here..."
     Dale sighed again and turned his eyes back to face Chip's.
"It was the one thing I didn't tell you guys back at the hospital
about my part of Ivana's 'game', especially since Foxy was
there," he said with an expression that suggested he was about to
open his heart to share a well-kept secret with his friend. "I
started to realize it while I was lookin' for you with the
others. I didn't know if I was goin' to be getting out of that
building, *alive*, Chip. Ivana had me *that* scared inside. I
think she had *all* of us that scared too. 

     Anyway...I started thinkin' about whether I was ever goin'
to see Foxy again, and how I really *wanted* to see her again. I
knew that I liked her--I mean, she's not just pretty, she's a lot
like me, you know?-- and that I cared about her as a friend."
Dale continued, averting his eyes once more. "But I guess I
really didn't realize *HOW* much I liked her until I started
thinkin' about her in that building after the first few hours. It
really hit me when Ivana had me trapped in that VR game and told
me she was goin' after Foxy next, after she was through with me.
I had no idea she was lying about that, since we hadn't even
*met* Foxy when we let those cats loose from Nimnul's lab.<*> I
mean, we didn't know why she was doin' what she was doin', until
you told us later, since she wouldn't tell *us* the real reason."
he explained. "Anyway...when she tricked me into thinkin' she'd
killed you and everyone else, and that she was goin' after Foxy
next...it really drove me *nuts*. I had started to think about
how I might be *in love* with her with the way I was feeling, and
when the game reached that point, that's when I REALLY realized
it. I knew I couldn't let her hurt Foxy, no matter what it took
to stop her."
     Once again, Chip was astonished by the words and feelings
which his friend had kept to himself until now. His wide-eyed
expression clearly communicated that much.
     "I'm glad that you care about Gadget that much." Dale went
on, his own expression now changing to a sincerely happy one. "I
feel that way about her, too. I just wanted to make sure that
part of you wasn't just goin' after her because of me. We
sometimes get that way between each other." he admitted wryly.
"We get so caught up with tryin' to outdo each other, that we
kinda forget why we were doin' it in the first place! Still," he
considered a moment later, placing a finger on his lips, his
brow furrowing as he thought back, "with that Christmas card of
yours that Ivana gave to Gadget...uh, it *was* really from you,
wasn't it? I mean, it wasn't just another of Ivana's sick jokes
that she made up, right?" he asked.
     "Chip nodded. "It was from me. It *was* a cruel joke that
she pulled on Gadget and me, but she didn't make up what was in
that card. Dale-"
     "I thought so." Dale nodded, not seeing that his friend had
wanted to ask him something. "Well, as I was sayin', with that
card, with whatever was on it, I guess I should've known that you
really felt that way about her, seein' how upset she got over
it." he mused thoughtfully. "*Just what did you SAY in there,
anyway, Chip?*" he asked after a moment, turning a look of
intense curiosity upon his friend.
     "Well basically, I told her what I told you just now about
how I feel about her." Chip answered hurriedly, trying to get his
thoughts in before Dale spoke again. "I still remember most of
it, and I can tell you what I remember tomorrow, but Dale...I
don't understand," he said as his face clouded over with
confusion. "Are you telling me that you're in love with both
Gadget *and* Foxglove?"
     "Well, yeah," Dale nodded, looking at him with a happy grin,
"but its okay." he added reassuringly in a calm tone.
     "How's *THAT*?" Chip returned with a frown of concern, as he
blinked and shook his head in thorough confusion.
     "Well basically, since Foxy think I'm so cute and all," Dale
explained with an impish grin, "and she's always tryin' to get me
to notice her...I thought I'd start goin' out with her *for real*
instead of just 'as friends'. You know, kinda end the rivalry
between us over Gadget, and leave you two alone. I mean, you
*know* I love her, and know how fantastic she is, but I got a lot
more in common with Foxy, and you have a lot more in common with
Gadget, so..." Dale trailed off and shrugged, the implication
needing no words to explain it.
     "I...I don't know what to say, Dale," Chip said with a shake
of his head, completely flabbergasted but overjoyed at his
friend's sudden change of heart. "I'm really amazed by all this.
I mean, just from one day and..." he snapped his fingers to
finish the sentence, indicating the fundamental change from the
way their relationship had proceeded for the past six months.
     "I know. Weird, huh?" Dale shrugged, just as astonished and
delightfully amused at the sudden changes in his own mind as Chip
was. "I guess that's the way life is sometimes, huh? I don't
know...I guess it just took me some time to finally realize that
Foxy's as special to me as Gadget is." he finished, shrugging
lightly once more and smiling happily at Chip.
     "Time and a desperate situation. Can you imagine Ivana
learning she'd played matchmaker?" Chip asked mischeviously.
     Dale looked wryly at his best friend. "I think I could've
done okay without her help, but thanks. Besides, I saw that
Gadget was starting to like you better anyway." he added
knowingly with a sly grin.
     "Funny," Chip replied honesty, "I thought she was still just
as interested in you."
     "Shows how much *you* knew-and YOU'RE the detective!" Dale
laughed. "I know you'll make each other happy, buddy." he said
sincerely a moment later, and extended his hand out to Chip, who
took it gratefully.
     "Thanks." Chip returned with a warm smile, grasping Dale's
hand firmly, "I know you and Foxy'll be happy together too."
     "So do I." Dale replied. "Well," he continued after a
moment. "I'm gonna get to bed, too, then, Chipper," he stated as
he stood and stretched.
     "Don't worry about the plate." Chip said as Dale reached for
it. "I'll wash it out for you."
     "Thanks." Dale smiled gratefully. "Hey, two other things
before I hit the sack, buddy."
     "What's that?" Chip asked curiously.
     "One," Dale stated with a mostly serious, but slightly
flippant air, as he looked down at his friend. "I hope you're
never to call me 'neon nose' or 'Rudolph' again, like you
promised me you wouldn't eight years ago." >>
     Chip smiled. "Scouts honor." he said as he raised his hand
honestly in a signal of a pledge.
     "And two..." 
     "Yeah?" 
     "Thanks for saving my life." Dale stated gratefully, folding
his hands before him and looking humbly at Chip. "I know I said
it before at the hospital, but *thanks*."
     Chip rose from his seat and stood a moment before his best
friend in the world, gracing him with a simple, sincere smile.
"*Anytime*." he nodded. With that, he moved forward and
embraced him. "I'm just glad you're okay, partner." he said
in a deeply emotional voice before separating to stand once more
at arm's length from Dale. "I couldn't let you die...I wouldn't
*let* you." he said as he looked directly into his eyes. "*I love
you like a brother, Dale. You *are* the brother I never
had....and you always will be.*"
     "Thanks, Chip." Dale said with a choked-up voice, deeply
touched that he had heard such a heartfelt sentiment from his
best friend for the first time. "I love you too...*brother.*"
     With that, after another moment of smiling at each other,
both of them knowing that no further words could be said between
them, Dale turned to walk around the couch toward the archway.
Watching him go, Chip sat back down on the couch and wiped
at his eyes. When they cleared, he saw Dale looking back at him
again, just inside the archway.
     "...What?..."Chip asked, after a moment as Dale continued to
look at him, while saying nothing.
     "Nothing," Dale finally said, shaking his head. "It's
just...I...gosh," he grinned back at Chip as he got his tongue
untied. "I'm just glad you're okay, too, Chip," he said when he
finally got his words and thoughts untangled. "I don't know
what I would've done if Ivana had gotten to you, either." His
smile widening gratefully as he continued to look at his best
friend and partner for another moment, Dale then turned and went
through the archway toward the room he shared with Chip...only to
return a few seconds later.
     "Y'know, it's strange." Dale interjected from the archway in
a pensive voice, his mind having wandered back to that morning,
four days ago. "Twice on your birthday, right up to the time we
were kidnapped, you thought I was in trouble for some reason." He
shrugged flippantly. "I guess you really *did* know I was in
trouble, or was *going* to be, at any rate! And you told
Cassandra that no one could predict the future." he finished with
a grin and a short laugh. "Weird, huh? Well, good night, Chip!"
he called, slipping back inside the archway, leaving Chip with
this final, curiously perplexing idea-the premonitions of danger
he had had all during that fateful morning of his birthday, not
just about Dale, but about all the other Rangers as well.
     
*****

                          Part 6 of 9

               *                   *                   *

     Making his way down the hall to his bedroom, Dale continued
to wonder about the same strange fact that he had just reminded
Chip about. His thoughts on the subject however, didn't last
long. For as he turned through the doorway into his room and
pulled his nightshirt and cap off the hook of the stand where he
kept them, tossing them upon the upper bunk, he was just about to
remove his shirt when he heard a knock upon the doorway. Turning,
he watched as Foxglove entered the room.
     "Hiya, cute stuff!" Foxglove called in her normally friendly
and flirtatious manner, grinning widely at him. "I was
*wondering* when you were going to bed."
     "Hi, Foxy." Dale grinned back at her, enjoying the sound of
one of the friendly 'pet names' that she had given him. "What's
up? Besides you and the moon that is?" he clarified playfully.
     "Oh, nothing." Foxglove said, sighing innocently as she
approached him. "I just wanted to say 'good-night' and 'welcome
home'." She smiled and wrapped a leathery wing about him coyly,
leaning her muzzle in to place an affectionate peck on the
soft fur of his cheek. Removing her wing, her eyes
surreptitiously danced across his form from head to toe with
yearning. "I also wanted to tell you again that I'm glad you're
all right, cutie. You know I'd hate to have anything happen to
you." Foxglove continued as she took a step back, folding her
hands before her and her wings about her. Taking an extra moment
to regard him as he stood there regarding her with a smile on his
face, she turned to go. "Well, good night, Dale." she called
from over her shoulder, a mixture of happiness and sadness in her
heart.
     "Hey, Foxy?" Dale called questioningly, before she had taken
a step.
     "Yeah, cutie?" she returned as she turned back to face him
fully.
     Approaching her, Dale smiled in his mind, regarding
Foxglove's adorable beauty as he felt his feelings for her start
to well up within him. Stopping when he was well within arm's
length of her, he reached down and took one of her hand in both
of his. Then, gently raising it up, he bent himself over her hand
to gallantly and elegantly place a tender kiss upon it. Unseen by
him, Foxglove reacted appropriately, blinking furiously with an
expression of surprise and wonder. Raising himself up again but
continuing to hold her hand in his, Dale looked happily into
her large, amazed eyes. "Thanks," he said simply, but with
meaning. "It's good to be home again." With that, he wrapped his
right hand gently about her waist, closed his eyes, and leaned in
to give her a short, meaningful, and completely heartfelt kiss
on her lips which lasted for only a second. Separating from her,
he tenderly raised her hand to his lips to kiss it once more,
before gently laying it at her side again.
     For her part, Foxglove had barely the time or ability to
*think*, much less react to what had just happened, as she had
been so unbelievably *surprised* when it happened. Now, with the
feeling of Dale's unexpectedly delicate kiss lingering on her
lips and on her hand, she blinked in shock at the chipmunk she
had been so enamored of at the first sight of him. A secret wish
of hers having just been fulfilled, her heart thumped within her
rapidly with excitement. As to *why* it had been fulfilled,
though, she still was completely confused. She knew how Dale felt
about Gadget, much to her frustration and melancholy. She had
long since guessed that it was because of Gadget, and his efforts
to win the inventor over, that Dale had kept his relationship
with her to one of being teammates and 'just friends.' She had
been too afraid to ask him directly to find out for certain,
though. As she saw it, since Dale saw himself as having more in
common with Gadget and admired the inventor so, she knew that the
young chipmunk had set his heart on the beautiful mouse. In that,
Foxglove had something in common with her adopted 'kid sister',
Tammy, who saw herself as competing with Gadget for *Chip's*
affections. It was one reason why the she had grown so close to
the young squirrel, as she was able to relate to her.

     She never held her own frustration against Gadget, though.
Along with the fact that Gadget had become a dear and close
friend, the blond-haired mouse was such a sweet and unselfish
person, that she knew Dale's choice was not Gadget's fault.
Besides, although Gadget had grown quite fond of both Chip *and*
Dale from the time they had formed the Rescue Rangers two years
ago, soon after she had joined the team six months ago, Gadget
had tried her best to help her. Seeing how infatuated she was
about Dale and how similar their personalities and interests
seemed to be in many ways, Gadget had tried several times to
direct Dale towards her in subtle ways, showing him through
example without directly telling him of the compatibility she saw
between Dale and her new teammate. Gadget had also helped her
with her own fragile self-image, and had worked with her as well
on improving her figure and looks through diet and exercise. This
was both as a means to help keep her in top shape for cases, but
moreover, for the goal of trying to help make her dream of
winning Dale's heart a reality.
     Either intentionally or not, however, Dale appeared
oblivious to all of their efforts. Indeed, he had kept up his
pursuit of the beautiful inventor, despite the fact that Gadget
had subtly and gently begun to direct more of her attention
towards Chip. The young mouse had finally unraveled her own
emotions enough to reach something of a decision about her two
chipmunk friends, but Dale's persistence created mixed feelings
on Gadget's part-slightly dismayed at her friend's seemingly
futile efforts, but reluctant to hurt Dale's feelings,
complicated by Gadget's own slowly growing affection towards
Chip. She knew that Gadget meant to sit down to talk with Dale
sometime soon about the decision she had begun to follow through
on. If even *that* didn't make him realize that someone else was
waiting for him, though, and make him see that *her* heart was
here for him alone to claim, then she would have reluctantly let
him go, knowing that he only wanted to be her friend and no more
than that. But although she really only wanted to see him happy,
and would be content for the most part to remain just a close
friend and teammate of Dale's if it came to that, nevertheless,
she *felt* the truth. In her heart, she felt that a small part of
her would die of melancholy if her dream of their being together
never came to light. 
     Now though, with wonderful suddenness, and when she had
least expected it...!

     "I..." Foxglove blinked in shock, touching her fingers to
her lips as though she were afraid the feeling would dissipate
like a rapidly fading dream. As though she were afraid that what
had just happened *was* a dream. "I...you just...we..." she
said slowly. Shaking her head slightly in disbelief, a gentle
smile of pure happiness began to appear on her face.
     "It's a long story, Foxy." Dale said as he smiled back at
her. "I'll tell you about it at the picnic tomorrow. After lunch
we can take a long walk through the park and I'll tell you
everything."
     "Oh...*okay*, Dale." Foxglove nodded in agreement, a new
feeling of joy filling her heart as she gazed at him in
adoration, folding her hands before her lips. Even as she tried
to turn to leave though, only to find herself stuck to the spot
and really *not wanting* to leave, she looked him over once again
from head to toe. As she did, a spritely look of hopefulness
instantly crossed her features.
     "What?" Dale asked her with a cheerful tone in his voice,
cocking his head at her as he saw her grin back at him. 
     Playfully biting on the tip of her index finger with a
slight feeling of nervousness as well, Foxglove locked her eyes
onto his. "I-I-I-I-I'm not so sure I remember what happened just
now. I was kinda in shock," she admitted in a blissful tone as
she grinned further. Reaching up with her other index finger, she
planted it playfully on Dale's nose. "Could you...*refresh my
memory, cutie?*" she asked coyly, the fur around one eye drawing
up questioningly. Stroking her finger down his soft nose, she
pressed it meaningfully on his lips for a split second.
     Dale grinned back meaningfully at her as well. "Sure thing,
Foxy," he replied in the same mischeivious manner, though his
tone was one of tender emotion. Fixing his eyes upon her own to
stare deeply into them, he placed his arms around her....
     
     *              *              *              *              

     A minute later, Foxglove exited Dale's room and closed the
door behind her. Walking unsteadily for a few steps, she then
stopped and leaned against the wall of the hallway, with her eyes
closed with an expression of joy and bliss. She felt as though
she were flying...except flying wasn't anything like *this!* The
sensations and feelings of a few moments earlier still completely
enveloped her, her entire body trembling with barely contained
excitement as she relived the moment in her mind. Her excitement
stemmed as well from the simple words Dale had said to her,
promising to explain everything the next day. "Sweet dreams,
Foxy." Dale's parting words of a moment ago now echoed in her
mind once more as she had reluctantly but excitedly left the room
after saying good night to him once more.
     /Oh, don't you worry, cutie!/ the pretty young bat smiled to
herself as she opened her eyes. /I'm gonna have *great* dreams
tonight! No doubt about that!!/ Grinning even wider, Foxglove
started off toward Monterey Jack's and Zipper's room before she
stopped to look back toward the doorway of Dale's room,
considering something. /Good to be home, huh cutie?/ she mused
curiously to herself. /Well if that's what being away from home
does to you,/ she quipped with a grin, /I gotta get you out of
the house more often!/ With a elated giggle, Foxglove turned and
continued down the hallway, her mind and heart sill happily
within the room she had just exited.

***** 
Part 7 of 9

               *                   *                   *

     10:50......... 

     With his head in his hand upon his lap, Chip sat stock still
upon the couch, once again lost in contemplation. The bizarre
premonitions that Dale had reminded him of minutes before was
still on his mind, perplexing him with their strange,
unexplainable yet obscure accuracy, as he now sat staring
vacantly in the direction of his birthday presents and cards. Now
though, something new had begun to enter into his thinking.
Something having to do with Ivana and the case he had been
through......but as to just what it was, he couldn't even begin
to lay his finger on. Like the premonitions, it wasn't even a
conscious idea,......just a nagging feeling in the back of his
mind,........as though he had *missed* something. /*But what?*/
he thought with a frown, beginning to review the day piece by
piece in his head as he frowned with concentration. 
     "Penny for your thoughts?" a voice full of gentle concern
and affection suddenly intruded into his consciousness.
     Slightly startled, Chip turned his head to see Gadget
sitting next to him on the couch, her hands folded in her lap. He
had been so deep in thought, he hadn't noticed her approach. She
looked at him now with curious eyes tinged with fatigue.
     "Oh, Gadget. Hi." Chip said with a welcome smile, then
paused to let out a frustrated sigh. "To be honest, I'm not even
sure *what* I'm thinking about. I'm going over everything that
happened on my birthday in my head. Everything that happened to
me and to you guys, though *why* I'm not sure." He shrugged. "I
guess I'm still winding down from it."
     "Golly, I wouldn't be surprised." Gadget admitted.
"Everything that happened to us that day is still coming into
*my* head at times, too." She let out a small sigh. "I'm afraid
it's going to take more than just a few days for us to come to
terms with Everything we went through, especially you. You have
the most reminders, after all." she said ruefully, indicating the
bandages on her friend's ribs, wrists, ankles, and ear.
     "True," Chip nodded, looking himself over. Then, looking
back at her with a curious and hopeful expression, he added, "Any
word yet from Buzz about Sparky?"
     "Mmmhmm." Gadget murmured with a smile of relief. "I got a
message a couple of minutes ago through the internet address I
gave Buzz. Sparky showed up today, and he's fine, just like Ivana
said he would be. He doesn't remember how he got there, though.
All he remembers is waking up in his cage, the same way he and
Buzz left it." She shrugged. "All I can figure out is that maybe
she had him sent through the mail, but Buzz said he looks *fine*
to him." 
     "Good," Chip said with a thankful smile, grateful that both
Buzz and Sparky were back safe at M.I.T. "You know, that's
something strange about Ivana's behavior I never got used to, and
probably never will." he commented.
     "What's that?" Gadget asked curiously.
     "Her odd code of honor. She thought nothing of lying to
either me or you or the others when it suited her purpose. On the
other hand, whenever she made a point of saying she was telling
the truth for a change...she generally was. It's just that the
*way* she told us included more than one interpretation, so that
we were often misled to the wrong conclusion."
     "Maybe you're right. She said Sparky was safe, and he is."
Gadget said thoughtfully, then shook her head. "It isn't easy to
see through Ivana's double-talk though. I guess that's why I'm
still not getting anywhere on that note she left at my dad's
grave."
     "No luck on your search, huh?" Chip asked sympathetically.
     "No." Gadget sighed in disappointment and a slight feeling
of defeat. "Not yet, anyway. I really don't know what else to
look for, though. I can't figure out what else I might be
missing." She had spent the past hour and a half using one of
the presents she had made for Chip's birthday-a miniature,
portable computer that was a brilliant combination of a discarded
executive planner, and a similarly discarded laptop, connected by
direct links to the mainframes at police headquarters via the
nearby precinct-to find some sort of answer to Ivana's taunting
question, "*Do you understand?*" Gadget had used every bit of
relevant information that she could remember about her father,
and had accessed everything that she could think of that had to
do with Ivana's 'game', trying to find some connection between
them and her cryptic message. To no avail, unfortunately. She had
finally given up for the night and hoped that some sleep would
clear her mind and help her find the answer tomorrow.

     "Well, try not to worry too much about it." Chip said
comfortingly as he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We'll
figure it out eventually. After all, it's not like we've got a
clock hanging over our heads like the last time." he added with
a gesture at the watches hanging on the conference room wall, the
same watches in which Ivana had left the first clues to her game.
"At least that present you built for me is portable enough that
we can take it on vacation if you want to."
     "I know." Gadget nodded with a slight smile, appreciating
the fact the computer's keyboard was portable, and that she could
continue her search during the Rangers' vacation-provided that a
computer was available nearby to plug into, of course. Since the
Rangers' current choices of vacation sites ranged from the
civilized to the practically uninhabited, that might pose some
problems. She did appreciate the offer Chip was making though.
"Thanks," she said. "I wasn't expecting to be using your present
so much though."    
     With a gesture, Chip waved the thought away. "Nonsense.
It's something the whole team can use, and your search is
important. I don't mind it one bit. Besides, your other present
is the same way."
     "The chemistry set?" Gadget smiled. "I'm glad you liked it."
     "Like it? I *LOVE* it! It should prove really useful on
cases." he beamed excitedly. Having gotten the idea that forensic
science (the use of scientific techniques to gather and analyze
evidence) would definitely be a boon in their case solving, since
Sherlock Jones and the police forces of the world used chemical
tests in their work, for nearly a year Chip had committed himself
to the study of crimelab techniques. Getting ahold of any police
crimelab books that he had been able to find in some of the
city's stationhouses, he had studiously read and taken notes
about their contents, learning chemical analysis, and other
various techniques. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, he
would even practice the techniques he had learned, using the same
crimelabs in the stationhouses. Due the fact that using chemicals
can be dangerous work, Gadget had always gone with him to offer
her own expertise. She had also happily tutored him on any
particularly perplexing subject of the field, as she was such a
quick study of anything that she applied herself to. Wanting to
expand their methods of crime-solving as well, she had proceeded
to study the techniques along with him. It was out of their
mutual desire to use these methods at Ranger Headquarters that
Gadget had decided to make a condensed version of a crimelab
chemistry apparatus. It was not nearly as complete as the
apparatus the human police had access to, but most of the
experiments that Chip and Gadget had done on previous cases could
be conducted with it. That had been the reason for the trip to
the junkyard the morning of Chip's birthday-Gadget had picked up
the extra rubber tubing and the test tubes for the mini-lab at
that time. His enthusiastic reaction to finding this particular
present had warmed her heart and pleased her to no end.
     "In fact," Chip continued, "I want to thank you for
*everything*. The play, the party, the presents...Gadget, you did
more than you should have. I have to admit though, I haven't had
a nicer evening in a long time. Thank you, Gadget..*very much.*"
he finished with a sincerely appreciative and heartfelt tone of
voice.
     "You're welcome." Gadget replied sweetly. "You deserved it,
though. If it weren't for you, *none* of us would have seen our
next birthday. What we did tonight was the least we could do to
thank you for that."
     "Even so, I don't know how I'm going to repay you for all
this generosity." Chip stated humbly at this.
     Gadget sighed in mock frustration at his words. "Golly, you
don't have to do *anything*, Chip, you know that! Although," she
said a bit uneasily as the recent past entered her mind again.
"If you figure out what Ivana was telling me, you'll let me
know. I know I probably shouldn't let it worry me," she admitted
uneasily as she closed her eyes, running both of her hands over
her head and through her long golden tresses as she stretched, "I
know I should just be grateful that Dad's grave was undisturbed
and leave it at that,* but...I just don't think I'll be able to
rest comfortably about this case until I find out exactly what
Ivana was talking about." she finished, with a slight tension
etched in her features.
     After watching the troubled look on her face for a few
seconds, Chip got up from the couch.
     "Chip?" Gadget asked in an uncertain tone of hesitant
curiosity, watching him quickly make his way around to the back
of the sofa. "Is something wrong?"
     "Nope. Just gotta help a friend relax, that's all." Chip
answered slyly, but with caring.
     "Oh, Chip," she said with an appreciative but reassuring
voice, realizing what he was up to. "*Thank you*, but you don't
have to do this." she smiled.
     "Yes I do." he stated in a gentle tone that nevertheless
left no room for argument as he kneeled in back of her, placing
his hand gently on her shoulders as she turned on the couch to
face him. "You *need* this. Now just sit back and above
all, *relax*." he instructed, staring her down with a slightly
stern look that was softened by a considerate smile of
friendship. With a sigh of guilt and reluctance about her most
injured teammate attending to her well-being before allowing
himself the rest he himself needed, Gadget turned around
compliantly. She realized any argument she might offer was
useless whenever Chip was in this mood. Even with her uneasiness,
though, Gadget sighed thankfully in a few moments as her friend
slowly began to massage her shoulders, neck and forehead,
enjoying the gentle touch of his hands as she felt the tension
begin to melt out of her.
     "Mmmm...thanks, you were right," she murmured happily,
closing her eyes and smiling with relief. "I *did* need this."
     "No problem," Chip smiled, glad to see her start to relax.
From the sound of her voice, he could pretty much *feel* her
smile even though he couldn't see it. "This is what friends are
for."
     /But...we aren't just friends anymore, Chip,/ Gadget thought
significantly, musing upon his statement. /I mean, with the way
I've been feeling about you lately, and then after reading that
card of yours that Ivana gave me.../ He knew she had read the
card, since Monterey had mentioned it at the hospital earlier
that day. She had wanted to tell Chip about that part of the case
herself, and had intended to warm Monterey of her desire to do
so. But with all the goings-on over the last few days, the
warning had slipper her mind, and she hadn't remembered until it
was too late. She had seen Chip's startled reaction on hearing
the news that she had seen the card, and almost certainly, he had
caught her own uncomfortable expression. However, once told that
none of the others had actually read the contents, that only
*she* had, Chip's uncertainty and shock vanished and he continued
to listen intently to his friend's side of the story. Since that
moment, he had acted no differently from the way he normally did
around her, but she had noticed several times over the course of
the evening that he had cast many discrete looks in her
direction. Surely, he wanted to talk about it. And Gadget wanted
to talk to him about it, too, because one way or another, their
relationship couldn't be the same from now on.
     After thinking about these things for a few minutes under
the soothing influence of Chip's gentle massaging, Gadget reached
her left hand over her opposite shoulder and placed it upon his
own hand that rested there. "Thanks, Chip," she nodded, turning
to smile warmly up at him with reassurance. "That's fine. I feel
much better now."
     "You're very welcome." he replied, nodding back at her with
a similar smile. His expression swiftly changed to a more curious
and surprised one as he noticed that she hadn't yet released his
hand. Looking back down at her, he saw in her eyes an endearing
look, filled with tenderness and warmth...as well as a noticeably
nervous look of anticipation.
     "It was a beautiful card." she said simply, her blue eyes
shining at him.
     "Um...thanks." Chip replied after a pause, shyly casting his
eyes down at the floor for a moment, feeling thoroughly caught
off-guard. A slight blush tinged his cheeks. Gadget entwined her
hand over his and moved over to allow him to slip over and back
onto the sofa beside her.
     "I had no idea you felt that deeply about me." she said
happily, looking up at him.
     "I really do," he nodded seriously as he stepped over the
back of the couch and settled down next to her, looking at her
all the while. "I just didn't know how to tell you until I
decided to write it down." he explained.
     "Why didn't you say anything before, though?"
     "Well, you weren't that interested in either me or Dale at
first, and we were just getting to know one another--" Chip began
nervously.
     "No, Chip, I meant, why didn't you say anything earlier
tonight?" Gadget chuckled. "That was the main reason why I
stopped by to see you just now. I knew you wanted to talk to me
about it. I thought it would have been the first thing out of
you."
     Chip shrugged. "I knew you had other things on your mind."
he admitted selflessly as he took Gadget's other hand in his.
"That's why I didn't say anything in the Rangerwing on the way
back, or during the party or now. I didn't want to give
you another thing to think about, since I didn't know if you felt
the same way and I didn't want to make you uncomfortable.
Sparky,...the note Ivana left for you,...I knew these things were
troubling you, and I wanted to find out about them, too. So I
asked about them first."
     "Chip..."Gadget smiled, lowering her head and shaking it
patiently before looking up to face him again. "Thanks," she
finally said after a pause, appreciating and admiring his concern
for Sparky, as well as for her dad and herself, above his
own emotional questions. "You didn't have to wait so long,
though," she said with definite assurance. "I'm ready to tell you
what you need to hear."
     Chip gulped. His moment of truth was at hand. "So...how do
you feel about...*us?*"
     Gadget took both his hands and squeezed them together
between hers, to reassure him. "It's okay, Chip. Actually, I've
been thinking about us for some time. I wasn't sure before, but I
am now." she told him firmly. She closed her eyes and paused to
gather her thoughts, wanting to say exactly the right things.
"All the time that Ivana was running us ragged," she
continued with emotion creeping into her voice, "it was so
*strange* working in a team without you. *It just wasn't the
same*. I kept flashing back to that case at the carnival, when
Cassandra predicted your death [+], just as Ivana predicted ours.
I kept wondering if I was ever going to see you again, I was so
*worried* about you! And then I read your card..." Gadget paused
again and caught her breath. She opened her eyes, which were
starting to brim over with tears, and looked right into Chip's.
"It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever read. I could feel your
love for me, even though they were just printed words. I thought
that only happened in fairy tales, but..." she trailed off,
unsure of what to say next.
     Chip grinned as a line from one of Gadget's favorite movies
popped into his mind. "This is true love-you think this sort of
thing happens *every* day?" he quoted to her.
     Gadget recognized the line and chuckled appreciatively,
nodding at the sentiment. "Now I know what Westley meant...and
how Buttercup must have felt." she added. "I could never forget
those words, Chip." she continued with a joyful seriousness,
looking deeply into his eyes, "...and from the moment we woke up
in the sewer, and I saw you were all right, right up to a minute
ago when I was working on the computer, trying to figure out
Ivana's note...the one thing that I *still* had on my mind *was
you and what you said to me*." She took a breath and held his
hands even tighter. "I can't get you out of my mind, Chip...and I
don't *want* to, either. I want to be as much a part of your life
as you've become a part of mine. Chip...what you told me...I feel
the same way," Gadget said warmly with a tender smile, feeling
what she was about to say with every fiber of her being." 
"*I love you, too!*"
     With a smile of joyful ecstasy spreading across his face,
Chip looked at her, feeling like he wanted to laugh and cry at
the same time from the wave of emotions that felt like they were
overflowing inside him, feeling the truth of what he had
just heard. He opened his mouth to say something, but found
himself completely tongue tied. Instead, slowly taking his hands
from her, he gently wrapped his arms about her in an embrace,
holding her as closely as his injured ribs would allow.
     "Oh, Gadget...you don't know how happy you've made me," he
finally whispered in her ear a few moments later, his voice a mix
between jubilation and serenity. 
     "I think I have an idea," Gadget chuckled warmly as she laid
her head on his shoulder, "from the same way you've made *ME*
feel," she finished euphorically.  Sighing deeply, she held Chip
close, feeling his love and tenderness through the simple embrace
they shared. "I thought you were dead, Chip, and you can't
imagine how awful and sad and empty I felt inside! I'm so glad we
got to spend another day together," she added, snuggling her head
closer on his neck.
     "Me, too, Gadget...me, too," Chip said softly with all his
heart. Closing their eyes, the two Rescue Rangers remained silent
for the next few minutes, content just to be in one another's
arms. Having dreamt of this moment at least a thousand times
before, and knowing his dreams couldn't *begin* to compare to the
reality of this moment, Chip slowly petted the back of Gadget's
head, running his fingers along the fur on her ears and through
her soft, golden hair, while Gadget slowly stroked her hand along
the back of his head as well, cradling it lovingly.
     "You know, Gadget," Chip said with an air of absolute
certainty as they slowly broke from their embrace many minutes
later, their hands now entwined within each other's, "I many
forget everything that happened on my birthday, and my stay in
the hospital. I may even forget the wonderful party and the play
and the fact that today isn't even my birthday anymore. But I'll
tell you this," he told her with a smile, "just from this moment
alone, this is one birthday that I will *NEVER* forget!" he
finished softly, but with a palpable emphasis in his tone.
Listening to this heartfelt sentiment, Gadget said nothing in
reply. She didn't need to,-of that much they both knew and felt,
for what each one saw in the eyes of the other was answer enough,
more than any words could say. Looking at each other then with a
yearning, and yet a calm look of peace as well, reading the scope
of their emotions within the eyes of the other, Chip and Gadget
leaned towards one another. Then they closed their eyes, embraced
once more, and this time, sealed it with a deeply passionate
kiss.
     A minute later, their lips reluctantly parting, the two
Rangers stared deeply into each other's eyes once more. Laying
her head upon Chip's warm chest, Gadget wrapped her arms gently
about him as she snuggled against him contentedly. Closing
her eyes again, she let her short gasps for breath fall lightly
against him, feeling her racing heart pounding within her chest
as she smiled, listening to the sound of his own rapidly beating
heart. Feeling Chip entwine his arms about her securely once
more, she smiled even deeper, happy that they had both made it
through Ivana's treacherous 'game' to have experienced this
moment.
     Looking down at Gadget snuggled against him, Chip curled his
arms about her lovingly once more, a warm feeling spreading
throughout his mind and body as he smiled with a bubbling joy.
Feeling the sensation of her soft, sweet breath brushing
lightly against his fur, he smiled tenderly. Feeling the rapid
thump of her heart against him, even as his own continued to race
and dance along with his electrified breathing, Chip turned
slightly and lay back against the armrest of the sofa. /Nope,/
he thought with a feeling of perfect exhilaration as he lightly
placed a kiss atop Gadget's head, feeling as though he were
melting into the couch which now supported him, /this is one
birthday that I'm *never* going to forget!/
     
*****

                         Part 8 of 9

               *                   *                   *

     12:45.....
     
     Something was missing. 
     With his fingers steepled in a thoughtful pose against his
lips, Chip stared up at the ceiling of the living room as he lay
back, his body now stretched out upon the couch. Gadget had gone
to sleep almost an hour ago. The two of them had spent close to
an hour cuddled up on the couch, talking of many things past,
present, and future, laughing, and often just enjoying the
silence and the overwhelming pleasure they found in one another's
presence. Even now, his lips tingled from her last kiss with him
before she bid him good-night, and the sweet scent of her still
filled the air around him as his mind thought back to those last
wonderful moments. These fond thoughts didn't last long, however.
For even as he had thought some minutes ago, how lucky he was to
have such wonderful friends as his teammates, and how he couldn't
imagine his life without them, the thought didn't last. Even as
he thought that with Ivana's wretched 'game' now over and done
with, how thankful he was that he would live to see many more
days and hopefully years, with Gadget and all of his friends, the
thought was frustratingly fleeting. Every thought of peace,
happiness, and gratefulness he summoned up and attempted to keep
his mind focused upon was chased away. Chased away by the same
nagging feeling he had had before, and which now had returned
stronger than ever. *The feeling that something was missing.*
Something having to do with Ivana and the ordeal she had put him
through.  Something that had been left *unresolved*.

     He knew it wasn't Nicole. That matter had been resolved to
his satisfaction, both by their conversation, and by his frank
description of the entire incident to the other Rangers at the
hospital the following day. Though he found that part of his
birthday a bit difficult to relate to them, and though he never
explained why he was telling them about it, they had been as
understanding as Nicole had been......*particularly Gadget*. In
fact, she had asked him during their cuddling, why he hadn't
just kept the embarrassing episode to himself. He had replied
that he wanted no secrets hanging over his head that might, for
whatever reason, come between him and his friends that he
considered as close as family. Further, if she were ever to
accept his feelings for her and to return them in kind, he wanted
no secrets hidden away in his closet. His trust in her and in the
others was complete. As both credo and confession, it was
something that Gadget was especially appreciative of, and she
had in return whispered a couple of personal secrets to him. He
had been surprised to hear them, but they were nothing
extraordinary and he accepted them and her without question. With
that, that particular part of his birthday was resolved and
settled, quite satisfactorily in his mind. /No,/ he thought,
trying to focus on just what it was that was bothering him about
Ivana's 'game', /whatever it is, its got to be something else./

     Letting out a sigh of frustration, Chip got up and made his
way around the living room and foyer, as well as in and out of
the kitchen, slowly and quietly pacing his way through that part
of the tree for what must have been the tenth time in the last
fifty minutes. /What in the world is it that's bugging me?!/ he
wondered with growing exasperation. Once more he concentrated and
thought back, his mind flashing from aspect to aspect of the
case. From location to location, and from event to event, he
recalled, trying to figure out why his instincts wouldn't let him
put this case behind him, but instead warned him, however subtly,
that something *was* missing. /Look, the game is over, and
Ivana's gone for good,/ he argued with himself for the umpteenth
time, /so what does it matter? Why can't I let this case rest?/
As soon as he posed the question though, he knew the answer. As a
detective, although he had said that he'd had enough mystery for
quite awhile, his instincts for a mystery were still operating in
high gear thanks to Ivana's challenging clues. Therefore, while a
case might have been solved, whenever it was as important as this
one had been, and had hit as close to home as this one had, as
long as his instincts said this case was unfinished, he would be
compelled to listen to them-even when the reason behind the
mystery had been eliminated. Kneeling on the couch with his chest
against the backrest, the chipmunk laid his chin down on his
hands on the edge of the backrest, staring out at the rest of the
treehouse as his mind began to review the case one more time...to
no avail. He was starting to grow more than a little sick of it
all.
     Turning around on the sofa, he looked over at the statue of
himself, doubly clothed in the attire of Sherlock Jones, and
sighed heavily. "Well, Sherlock," he said a bit sarcastically and
with growing annoyance, "can *you* tell me what's going on?" The
statue of course, made no reply. Frowning, Chip picked himself up
off the couch and made his way over to the game-board table
across the room where he and the others often played checkers,
chess, or cards. On the table were Ivana's rhyme notes and his
own hastily scrawled notes that had guided him through that whole
grueling afternoon, laid there unconsciously by him after he had
reviewed them about twenty minutes earlier. /Great,/ he thought
with a wry smile as he realized the significance of his action
after picking the notes back up. /Ivana's notes of the 'game' on
a game board. Even my *subconscious* is starting to get in on the
act now!/ Notes in hand, Chip carefully read through them once
again, trying to find something within them that he might have
missed on the previous readings. After doing this for several
minutes though, he laid the rhyme clues aside, staring tiredly
around at his familiar treehouse home with an intense feeling of
frustration.
     /I really wish I could put this to rest./ he thought. /I
mean, its like Gadget said. I should be grateful that things
turned out as well as they did and let it go at that. I'm just
making myself *nuts*, thinking that there was some sort of clue
Ivana meant for me to find that I can't. Hmmm...you know, she
might even have given me something extra in that drug she
injected me with at the theater. Something that created a
post-hypnotic suggestion to make me think this way./ he mused.
/Something to drive me crazy with thoughts of her and her 'game',
even after it was over and she was no longer around to threaten
us. A last act with which to try to haunt me from beyond the
grave./ he thought broodingly, sneering angrily at the thought.
The idea certainly seemed to make perfect sense to him, as it
would have definitely appealed, he believed, to Ivana's line of
thinking. /After all, she *did* say that she liked to prepare for
any eventuality, and if she couldn't get revenge on me by killing
me, then she could take it out on me like this! he nodded to
himself, convinced he had found the answer he'd been looking for.
/That *HAS* to be it! After all, it's obvious by now that there
*isn't* anything left to find. I've been over this case a dozen
times tonight already! Everything's back to normal, so let
me....../ Suddenly, Chip stopped and blinked as realization
dawned upon him. Looking over the length of the living room and
foyer, his eyes darted from the cap and cloak he'd placed on the
statue, to the area where Ivana's mobile had stood, and finally
to the stairs leading down from the front door.
     "Everything's back to normal." he repeated aloud, now
recognizing the mistake he'd been making. The hole in his
deerstalker had been mended, as had the holes made in the other
Rangers' clothing when the daggers of Ivana's mobile had plunged
into them at sunset, right on time. The holes that the daggers
had made in the wooden floor had been filled in and sanded, so
that one could barely tell there had been any damage done at all.
The daggers themselves, along with the rest of Ivana's mobile,
had been transported to the evidence room of the SAPS
penitentiary on Alcatraz island. The front door, smashed by
Ivana's dart, had been replaced by an exact duplicate that Gadget
had made, and the dominos that made up the front steps had been
replaced as well. *Everything was back to normal. *That* was the
problem!* He wasn't looking at an untouched crime scene any
longer, but the way his home looked now, which was the way he
hoped it would always remain. In spite of his memory for details,
with those pieces of evidence having been changed, the normalcy
of his surroundings was the very thing that now interfered with
his instincts, and blocked whatever it was he was looking for.
Realizing this, his mind's eye replaced the current scene with
the sinisterly frightening one he had left that fateful
afternoon. At this, his detective instincts immediately
gravitated him toward the domino stairs...or rather, their
*absence,* as he pictured the area as the empty space it had been
upon his initial return from the police station. /Why on Earth
would she steal our steps?/ he wondered, kneeling before the area
in deep thought, /Aside from making me look like a clumsy oaf,
that is,/ he amended, remembering the less than graceful entrance
he'd made that day.{} /Ivana may have been mad, but she always
had a purpose behind everything she did. There has to be a.../
suddenly, he stopped and froze, his musing cut off by a flash of
revelation.
     Staring another moment at the steps with eyes widened by
dawning comprehension, Chip whirled around, his mind instantly
seeing the connection-the missing piece. There *had* been one
clue of Ivana's that he had never figured out, the answer to
which had remained hidden from him until this very moment. It was
the very first note he had read, in fact, the one Ivana had left
next to the mobile. "A lollipop stick would cleave this great
trick." she had written. Staring out at he empty area directly in
front of him, there now appeared there through the power of his
imagination, a mental image of Ivana's mobile as he had first
seen it. An odd expression of near-disbelief appeared on the
chipmunk's face as he dissected the mobile' design. /Five
places.../ he remembered, /a small white dot with a piece of
Plato's sweater on it...and if I take Ivana's note literally and
follow its instructions...!/ Placing the picture of a small white
stick between the picture of Ivana's mobile and the small white
dot within his imagination, his expression now changed to an
oddly curious one as he clearly saw what the design was in his
mind. Yet even as the design that was now revealed to him took
concrete form, a new thought occurred to him, as his gaze snapped
over in the direction of the maps, the same ones that he had used
to locate the first of Ivana's locations, that being the library. 
/It *can't* be./ he thought, shaking his head. Jumping up, Chip
raced over to the city map, staring intensely at it.
     Continuing to stare up at the map of the city with that same
strangely curious expression, Chip grasped the sheet of colored
adhesive markers that lay nearby, and peeling one off, pressed it
over the first of the locations he had found a clue of Ivana's
at-namely, Ranger Headquarters. "Then the library..." he murmured
to himself in an almost unconscious, hypnotized fashion, as he
methodically peeled off the stickers one by one, and placed them
on each major clue location that he'd visited. "'The Cutting's
Edge'...the art museum...Signature Technologies...and finally the
theater...I don't believe it." he stated in a hushed tone of
shocked recognition as he stared at the picture he had formed.
His instincts had been right after all, for there before him was
Ivana's hidden pattern. Both the design of the mobile, and the
path of Ivana's game for him throughout the city in rougher
fashion, formed the unmistakable picture of..."*a domino.*" Chip
murmured. Specifically, a domino tile of five dots to one. On the
map, the library formed the center of the five, with the other
clue locations nearly evenly spaced about the library, while the
oak tree in the park that was Rescue Ranger Headquarters
represented the "one" on the opposite side of the tile. "Why
didn't I realize it before?" he wondered.
     Continuing to stare up at the picture on the map, the full
meaning of Ivana's design gradually became clear to the chipmunk
detective. "Nothing in life is certain...except death and taxes."
he murmured to himself in an absolutely mesmerized tone of voice,
repeating the famous saying that had led him to the building
where Ivana had taken his friends. He had recognized that that
particular saying was applicable in a general sense, but by
superimposing Ivana's mobile on the path he had traced throughout
the city, he saw that the saying could also be applied on a
*personal level* as well. For each of the five clue locations
he had been to that day corresponded to one of the Rescue Rangers
in an intimate and entirely appropriate manner. The destruction
of information at the library, Chip saw, represented his own
symbolic death. For clearly, the purpose of a library was to
store information for easy access by the public, and *accurate
information* was the *lifeblood* of any detective. 
     Gadget's place in the design of the mobile corresponded with
the location of "'The Cutting's Edge', and so the death of the
plants there, plus the incineration of Chip's card at the same
time, represented the symbolic death of the mouse inventor. The
symbolic death of the love he felt for Gadget was obvious through
Ivana's trick of supposedly burning the card he had meant to give
her for Christmas. More subtly presented, however, was the
comparison Ivana had made between Gadget and the plants she had
destroyed...or in other words, *nature*. For like the
breathtaking, incomparable beauty of nature that was represented
by the store's plants, flowers, and other natural items, so was
Gadget such a "natural beauty" as well to all who saw her, and
particularly to those who knew her well. In addition, like the
kind, caring, almost nurturing ways that "Mother Nature" took
care of the creatures who lived on the Earth, so were those same
aspects reflected in Gadget's kind and gentle ways towards her
friends and those in need of her aid. On the flip side of that
coin, Gadget was also appropriately represented through nature in
terms of the ways "Mother Nature" sometimes seemed to lose all
self-control at times. The tornadoes, thunderstorms, earthquakes,
hurricanes, and other unruly aspects of nature that Chip had seen
in his lifetime were *clearly* comparable in pitch to the
thankfully few times Gadget had truly lost her temper. <"> 

     Finally, like nature, Gadget was an incomparable engineer,
creating sometimes the oddest, as well as the most awe-inspiring
creations. And like nature's eternal engineering abilities, Chip
and the other members of the Rescue Rangers knew that Gadget
would almost always find a way around a problem, or a way to
devise a solution. A way-even *many* ways- to change, to adapt,
and to survive. In all these ways, the chipmunk now saw, as Ivana
had subtly shown through the precise location that she had picked
out to symbolize Gadget, that the girl he loved was the perfect
representation of the essence of nature.

     "The museum," Chip murmured as he turned his attention to
the next destination in Ivana's gauntlet. Going over the events
that occurred there, he quickly recognized that the destruction
of
the statue of Hercules was Ivana's symbolic way of killing
Monterey Jack. The Greco-Roman demigod was always depicted as a
legendary hero, and was known as such throughout the world.
Likewise, the Australian mouse had spent so many years
adventuring around the globe that, like Hercules, numerous
stories of legend were often told about him ))and his own heroic
deeds, such as his defeat of the bull El Emenopio in the Spanish
town of Trampolonia. These stories, along with the
similarly-crafted tall tales Monterey regaled his younger
teammates with about his earlier exploits, made him all too
similar to the man whom the Greeks and Romans had made into such
an renowned figure.
     Turning to the next stop, Signature Technologies, Chip again
quickly noted the connection to one of his fellow Rangers. The
destruction of the computer equipment at the paws of the robotic
cat named Tom, represented Zipper's symbolic death. The computer
network that Tom had trashed had been designed to *rapidly
communicate information*, both sending and receiving. This
happened to be one of Zipper's primary functions as a member of
the team. Whenever he was sent ahead to scout out the terrain,
they depended on him to let them know where their enemies were,
and to alert them to traps in advance. Zipper also invariably
saved the team precious time on almost every case with his speed,
especially in helping to find people and/or things they were
looking for...a role that, in human society, computers were
increasingly being relied upon to perform.
     Finally, the disruption of the performance of "Comedy
Relief" at the theater was, even without the process of
elimination, obviously symbolic of Dale's death. After all, with
his normally goofy nature, he often either intentionally or
unintentionally ended up making people laugh. Thus, the 'death'
of laughter and the deep insight of comedians which had
taken place that day was obviously directed at Dale. For it was
through intimately knowing every aspect of people's behavior,
even unconsciously, that one skilled in the art of making people
laugh, was able to reflect those aspects back at the audience in
a humorous light for them to laugh at. Dale's understanding of
his friends' behavior, as well as his own, made him their own
private source of comedy relief when things seemed bad or tense.
And, despite the fact that the joke sometimes was on him, and
occasionally put the Rangers in awkward situations, as Monterey
had commented during their run-in with Maltese de Sade in Paris,
[] none of them would think of trading Dale's antics for his
absence.
     As he struggled to absorb all of this while he stood there
transfixed, Chip's gaze drifted down to the location of the
treehouse on the map, its 'one' standing in opposition to the
'five' elsewhere in the city. As he stared at that solitary dot,
the detective recalled that it too, had been a clue location, and
he now remembered the simple but perplexing rhyme that Ivana had
started him off with. "Where you live, as others do too..." he
muttered. The answer had been *time*, and Chip suddenly realized
that there was one final element to Ivana's domino design.
Namely, the way that every location, and every person they
represented, was intimately connected by time, in all its many
manifestations. *Relevant information*, which he depended on to
be a successful detective, quickly became outdated, so its
usefulness was dependent on time. *Nature* often raced against
time, hurrying to complete its cycles of rebirth and
transformation before the turning of the seasons. With regard to
ancient *gods and legends*, their significance had turned out to
only be relevant to the deeds they accomplished in their lives
or, put another way, what they did in their own 'time'. Their
passing had had no influence or significance at all.
*Communication* was, of course, vitally dependent on time, for if
information was not relayed quickly enough, an infinite number of
things could be affected. Indeed, almost every aspect of today's
civilization was dependent upon the speed of reliable
communication of news, entertainment, as well as financial and
political decisions. Finally, even *comedy* was dependent on
time, since as all comedians knew, *'timing is everything'* when
it came to delivering a punchline or pulling a prank. 
     Thus, almost every part of who the Rescue Rangers were, what
they stood for and represented, seemed to stand in a direct,
head-to-head conflict with time. Continuing to stare up at the
design Ivana had left for him, Chip realized now why she had used
*Plato's* name to lure him to the police station at the start of
her 'game', rather than use the name of any of his other friends.
/She wasn't just referring to Detective Drake's partner and my
teacher,/ he thought, /she was referring to Plato the
*philosopher!* A man who spent years writing and thinking about
the significance and the meaning of life. With all the ways these
things are interconnected, how the Rangers all relate to one
another and our connection to universal things such as time and
death, its like Ivana was musing on the philosophy of
life...namely *our lives*,/ he concluded in awe, that weighty
thought now sinking deep into his mind with its significance.
With this, Chip shook his head, unable but to marvel at what his
enemy had left for him to find, his mind almost boggling at the
subtlety and complexity of it all. "Ivana...You may have been
as mad as the Hatter, and twice as evil, but there's no denying
it. You had one of the most brilliant minds I've ever met." he
confessed in a whisper of reluctant admiration. "Well, no sense
in waking the others about this now." he said after another
moment, "I'll show them in the morning. Still, there's one thing
I don't understand." Chip murmured to himself, stepping back and
folding his hands as he contemplated the design for a final time.
"WHY?" he finally asked in confusion. "*Why* did you leave this
message for me, Ivana? What *possible* reason could you have
had?"
     As if in answer, even as the chipmunk was turning to sit on
the couch and ponder about the questions he had posed for
himself, there came an all-too-familiar crashing sound to assault
his ears: *the crunch of splintered wood*. Whirling around, Chip
stared out, his breath abruptly catching in his throat as an
expression of stark terror gripped his face. Impaled in the front
door of Ranger Headquarters before him, just as there had been on
his birthday, four days previously...was *the same jet-black
dart* with which Ivana had used to deliver her rhyming challenge
to him.
     "NO." Chip mouthed in a barely audible whisper, barely aware
of himself uttering the word as he stared out at the ominous
black shape of the dart with his mouth slightly agape. With his
throat suddenly bone dry and constricted, he found himself unable
to give voice to the panic stricken and near hysterical scream
that bubbled up inside him as he vaulted over the couch and tore
through the archway towards the living quarters. /No, no, *NO!!*/
he cried painfully in his mind, wishing fervently that this was
all just a horrible nightmare, but knowing all too well as he
streaked towards Gadget's room, that this was no dream. /How
can she be alive?! It *can't* be her! I *saw* her die!! This
can't be happening, again!!! Not...*again?*/ he blinked in
surprise as he sprang through the door to Gadget's room and
screeched to a halt. He had fully expected Gadget, and probably
Foxglove and maybe Tammy as well-to be gone, whisked away again
by Ivana for yet another insanely terrifying and macabre game.
Yet, there before his eyes, to his infinite relief and
puzzlement, he saw Gadget safe in her bed, half-illuminated by
the moonlight shining through the window. Foxglove was lying in
bed in the roll-away bed with Tammy, as the bat had gotten used
to horizontal sleeping by now, and both were sound asleep. All
was peaceful and calm here, in sharp contrast to the emotions of
terror now raging within him.
     Stirring, Gadget opened her eyes slightly. "Chip?" she
whispered as she lifted her head slightly to look up at him
sleepily. "Is something wrong?"
     "No...no, nothing's wrong." Chip answered reflexively and
guardedly, trying to keep his voice as normal as he possibly
could. Looking back out the doorway in the direction of the
living room, he turned his gaze back to look at her again
uncertainly. "I...just thought I heard a noise in here, that's
all." he lied as he quickly turned to leave. "Sorry about that,
Gadget. Good night."
     "Good night, my love." she murmured back with a tender
smile. Gadget then closed her eyes and turned over to go back to
sleep. She quickly fell back into the dream she was having just
now, as she smiled blissfully in her sleep. A wonderful dream of
her future with Chip.
     Chip silently closed the door and stood there for a moment
in utter confusion. The, swinging around, he quickly set off
toward the rooms he shared with Dale....
     
*****

                          Part 9 of 9

               *                   *                   *

     1:00.....
     
     Slowly looking around the archway into the living room, Chip
caught sight of the black dart, still imbedded in the front door
as he had left it earlier. It had not moved a millimeter in the
time since. /It's *okay.*/ he told himself in an effort to calm
down. /That thing must have been launched by accident, by
some automatic mechanism hidden in a tree across the park. That's
*gotta* be the case. Any other possibility just doesn't make any
sense. Ivana *couldn't* have survived. I know it. I *SAW* her
die, for heaven's sake! Besides, she told me herself (^) that if
she *did* escape, she'd make short work of us soon after, and we
wouldn't even see it coming. But *I'm* still alive, and the
*others* are safe and sound in their beds.../ He had checked Dale
in his bed, and Monterey and Zipper in theirs to make sure of
that. He'd even went so far as to take his penlight, and using a
narrow-beam filter so the light wouldn't shine in his friend's
eyes and wake them, he'd examined the contours of their necks to
look for signs of a mask, in the unlikely event they had been
abducted and replaced by ringers. He'd then gone back to Gadget's
room and done the same with her and the others, just to make
sure. All of them were who they appeared to be, with no sign of
an intruder of having slipped in and done anything to them
while they slept. /Ergo, it follows that since *we're* alive, and
I'm standing here thinking about all this, she *couldn't* have
launched that dart at us. *Ivana is dead, Chip!*/ he thought with
calm certainty to himself, nevertheless having to force that
fact to the front of his mind despite the overwhelming logic
behind it. As if to counter his conscious mind, however, another
thought, unbidden, surfaced to confront him, as he continued to
stare out at the needle tipped ebon projectile, /Why then...
...are you so *scared?*/ 

     Moving slowly through the archway into the living room, Chip
continued to stare out at the dart which pointed at him through
the splintered wood, never taking his eyes off of it. It seemed
to be beckoning him. Taunting and *daring* him to come forward.
Slightly daunted by what might happen now, he slowly moved toward
it, step by uncertain step. Licking his bone-dry tongue against
the roof of his nearly parched mouth, trying to ignore the fear
he could feel in his unsteady breathing and his triphammering
heart, he gingerly reached out a hand and tightly touched the
dart where the needle met the body of the projectile. Nothing
happened. Shakily breathing a slight sigh of relief, he reached
out a little more confidently now. Grasping the smooth tip of the
dart securely with both hands now, he began to push it back
through the doorway. It took close to a half a minute as it had
before, but finally pushing the dart back through the door to
clatter slightly upon the wood path on the other side, Chip
opened the door towards him. As he did, he looked out.......
and stopped....and stared. /*No.*/ he thought with an unbelieving
blink, looking out at the sight in front of him. Feeling his legs
turn to rubber as well as the rest of the muscles in his body, he
sank to his knees in surprise and dread.

     Sitting there ominously on the path before him, illuminated
by the porch light that lit up the front door of Rescue Ranger
Headquarters and just out of reach from being hit by the now
prone throwing dart which lay discarded to one side...*was a
domino*. Laying face up, with five dots on one side of the tile,
and a single dot on the opposite side, the pattern was
unmistakable. To Chip's unbelieving stare, however, the playing
piece was not the only object in front of him. On the contrary,
it formed the foundation of a still-life that was simultaneously
bewildering and menacing. 

     Other objects were set upon the tile, arranged as if the
playing piece was the board for another game of some sort. On the
middle dot of the five, which represented him personally, was
nothing so sinister as an impaled dagger or anything of that
sort. To his utter amazement, what rested there was...*a mouse
champagne glass*, filled to the brim with the sparkling,
celebratory beverage. Sitting flat upon the mouth of the glass
was a copy of The Complete Adventure of Sherlock Jones- the same
book he had torn to pieces in a fit of anger and despair
during the last stages of Ivana's 'game'. (<) Nor was that all,
for atop the book was, incredibly, an exact replica of his own
beloved fedora which Tom had shredded at Signature
Technologies-the same replica which Ivana had left for Gadget to
find during the inventor's part of the 'game'. (>) Next to this
ensemble, on the dot of the five which represented Gadget, was
his Christmas card for her. Attached to it was the other 'prize'
Ivana had bestowed on Gadget, namely, the medallion the inventor
had draped about the neck of her father when she'd buried him.(>)
This *still* did not complete the picture Chip saw before him,
however. For on the *other* side of the tile, placed squarely on
the single dot that represented Ranger Headquarters, stood
a mouse-sized chess piece, *a black queen* to be precise, *the
most powerful piece on the chessboard*. Finally, situated in
plain sight in front of the domino and all that stood upon it,
were two objects of dreadful foreboding. One was a hair-and-fur
covered latex mask of a face..*Ivana's face*, he saw. Next to it,
secured under the weight of the domino, was a folded piece of
paper with two words visible in Ivana's unmistakable handwriting. 
"*For now...*"

     Chip sat there for some time, staring out at the entire
set-piece in an unthinking state, wanting to run from it, but
unable to do anything but sit there in a dumbfounded fixation of
terror. He didn't know what to think...he *couldn't* think. His
shock was that great as he kneeled in a slumped fashion on
the top step, trying to absorb the meaning of this incredible
display. Finally, slowly, a single word managed to take shape in
his mind...*HOW?!* he wondered in despair and disbelief. Shakily
rousing his leaden limbs into action, he reached forward and
carefully, with a trembling hand, picked up the paper that Ivana
had left for him. After a moment's hesitation, and with immense
reluctance, Chip opened the folded paper to reveal the words upon
it. The message, he immediately noticed, was strikingly different
from the other clues notes Ivana had given him in two respects.
The first thing was that for the first time since the police
station in the beginning of that harrowing day, the written
message was *not* in rhyme. The second thing that immediately
struck him was the letter's unexpected salutation.
     "Detective", it read. 
     He blinked at that, as though uncertain he were seeing it
right. There appeared to be no insult in the greeting as opposed
to the one that Ivana had given him with the note delivered with
that first dart. Nor could he see any derogatory insinuation of
any sort. If anything, the word seemed to be presented in a tone
of measured respect. Staring at the word in confusion for a
moment, he read on...

     "No doubt, you are wondering how I survived for which I will
only say this: In an age when nothing is as real as it seems, it
truly helps to have mastered the art of illusion. If you are
fretting over your not being able to bring me to justice however,
don't. For as my own brother was often so fond of saying: "Life
is seldom *ever* fair, in any time or season, verily it sometimes
seems to run, with no *rhyme or reason.*" You and your friends
are to be *congratulated*, for you all played the game very well,
and beat me fairly at it. Yet do not be so foolish as to let your
guard down, detective, for make no mistake-you won the first
round indeed, but the game is *far* from over. Our paths will
cross again, perhaps one day soon, and then we shall play the
game of life and death once more. For even without a planned game
such as the one I played with you and your friends, it is a game
we play everyday, and sometime, somewhere, we will play it again,
*together*. After all, detective, as you well know, history
always repeats itself. As for my being *defeated* the next time,
however, that lies in the future...and unlike history, the future
is always an uncertain thing. Indeed, as you well know by now,
there is only *one* certain thing in life. Everything else...*is
subject to perception*.
     I wonder if you've truly realized that, Chip? That as I
told you on the bridge, this is all about perception? Consider,
detective, that the way any living thing is able to survive, let
alone stay sane if it is sentient, is by interpreting what he,
she or it perceives to be reality. This is particularly so for a
detective such as yourself--a person who has trained himself to
*observe*, to carefully scrutinize all that he sees and feels,
all that he touches, smells, hears, and tastes. All for the goal
of finding out the truth. More than any other person, a
detective's success or failure is marked by what he observes or
perceives, and through analyzing these things, finding the facts
that may lie hidden within. Only what if the facts can't be
trusted detective?" the note asked him curiously. "What if what
you perceive is never certain? What if *nothing* can be trusted?
What if *nothing* is what it seems to be, and you just can't be
sure of *anything* anymore? Even what your own senses and memory
tell you? The answer?" the paper asked more insistently with each
question, the words seeming to grin devilishly, *demandingly* out
at him, "Confusion, hesitancy, indecision, mistrust, insanity,
and finally, death-the *only* certainty in this world...other
than *taxes*, that is." The statement finished in a semi-flippant
tone.

     "You see, Chip, by controlling what you and your friends
perceived throughout the game, I controlled its outcome for the
most part...and thereby controlled *your very lives*. If you do
not believe me, consider as you know now, that there *were* no
explosives rigged to destroy the building you and your friends
were in at sunset as I had led you to believe. The time you saw
was simply the amount of time it would have taken for all of your
friends to drown in the aquarium. Consider-if I hadn't told you
that the solution I gave you at the theater wasn't lethal, you
might well have died, and by your own doing no less. For a person
who thinks their going to die, most probably *will* die. The mind
is a powerful playground, detective. A lesson that, as I learned
from your case journals, Dale had begun to teach you from your
trick upon the Emperor's sister in Shangri-La (<>). Such a
powerful lesson of which you have used in quite a limited fashion
in your work since then. A fact of which I wonder why. 
     Regardless, you surely must realize that I still control
your perceptions even now, and will continue to do so, at least
until our next encounter. For instance, I see that Gadget happily
believes that her father's grave lies safe and untouched. Yet,
given the stolen technology I demonstrated during the game,
how do you know I hadn't used Nimunl's F.O.G.E.Y. (<*>) ray upon
some seedlings to accelerate their growth and replace the simple
patch of grass that lays about that special tree? I could have
grown the grass back and then cut and groomed it down until it
was the same as before, leaving behind the perception of an
unsullied grave. That is what I challenged Gadget to understand,
Chip: I may indeed have destroyed only my copies of the headstone
and the medallion in that acid bath, and left the original
articles untouched...or I may have done the exact opposite. How
can you know without digging, to find out which is the truth? You
told Gadget that you would never keep any secrets from her. Are
you willing to shatter the happiness of the girl you love, on
the chance that what she perceived, might be an illusion? 
     Consider, Chip, the mask that now lies before you. Consider
the possibilities. I could be a mouse as you perceived me to be,
or my ears could have been as false as my face. I might be a rat
or a chipmunk. I might not even be *female*, detective. You
see, anything is possible when every fact can be disguised.
Control what a person perceives to be true, and you control that
person's life. It's that simple. So be careful about what you
perceive, detective...for few things are as real as they seem.
     However, as it is said, "To the victor goes the spoils", and
with that, I am compelled to leave you with a few things, one of
which is a piece of unadulterated truth. For now, we stand at a
draw. For now, the Rescue Rangers have little to fear from me,
for as I alluded to above, my agenda calls me elsewhere. An
agenda who's importance is even more pressing than the revenge I
have yet to exact upon you and your team. After all, surely you
must have realized by now that I was lying when I said I would
kill you all without further ado. Otherwise, you wouldn't even be
breathing right now, sitting there as you are in plain sight,
after all. No, that statement I made at the bridge was simply to
test the strength of your convictions, similar to my temptation
of Gadget during her part of the game. It would give me no
satisfaction to destroy you or any of your team so easily. After
all, detective, I'm sure you've heard the old saying that states:
"Revenge is a dish best served cold, and savored *slowly*." I
have a five-course meal in mind, and I intend to enjoy every
delicious morsel of it, when the time comes....

     Secondly, to one who has proven to be a most worthy
adversary to a mind as sharp as mine, for winning this round of
the game, I present to you.....*your birthday present*. The first
part of which consists of the objects which lie here before you,
other than your card to Gadget and her father's medallion which I
awarded her for winning her part of the game. Do see that they're
returned to her. The second part of your present, I see, you've
already unraveled upon your map of the city. I am not surprised
at this though, for from your efforts against me, you have
clearly proven yourself *worthy* of the title of a detective.
I would ask you to join me in a toast to you, but I fully assume
that you would not trust the champagne I have set out for you
which I now enjoy for us both. 

     Also, as a fact which was too deliciously ironic to pass up
using in the game, you must know something of the "poison" that I
injected into you at the theater, Chip. The heart failure you
were experiencing? The erythema? The shortness of breath and
depression that you felt? These were all side effects from an
old herbal friend of doctors that's used to treat conditions of
the heart, the world over. From a plant that they call digitalis,
yet which is more commonly known.....*as Foxglove.*" 

     In spite of himself, Chip started slightly at this fact,
remembering how he had felt when he thought he had been dying.
"Though it is technically labeled as a poison," the letter
continued. "it is non lethal and even *helpful* in many
cases....*in small enough doses* that is. However, as another old
saying goes, as I would apply to your teammate, too much of a
good thing......" the sentence trailed off, the words seeming to
grin devilishly at him once again with an implication. "Lastly,
detective," the note went on, "as I take my leave of you until
the next time we meet, I leave you with a thought. With the
second part of your present which is clearly the more important
of the two, as a lesson learned is *always* more precious than
mere objects, I leave you with a bit of advice. It compliments
the lessons you have managed to live to discover, not only this
night, but also on your birthday, four days ago. Advice which I
myself learned too late, and at great cost, and so I impart it to
you as a final present...though as I can see from this night, you
have already realized it for yourself. *Appreciate* what you
have, detective. Never take what you should cherish the most for
granted. For it's only a matter of *time*, and before you know
it, your life, or that of any of your friends,.....might
disappear as easily........as this message." 

     With that, even as he finished the sentence, Chip started in
shock. Jumping back violently from the paper, he threw it
reflexively into the air as the message abruptly burst into a
roaring ball of flame. Snuffing itself out upon the walkway
before the domino an instant later, the remains of the message
crumbled into a fine pile of ash. Ash which even as he watched
it, a slight gust of wind picked up and whisked away over the
edge of the walkway. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust...." he could
swear he heard a faint voice in the breeze whisper to him
hauntingly.

     1:05.....
     
     His head snapping up, Chip felt an ice cold shiver of fear
shoot through him, lighting up every nerve in his body. His eyes
widening with terror, he stared out the doorway into the
enveloping blackness beyond. For somewhere, *out there*, in the
darkness of the night, he could hear the distinctly amused and
sinister sound of someone................*laughing*.

     Chip never got any sleep that night..................


<+> In Rhyme and Reason Part 3.
**Johnny o' Brie and the Small Animal Police (S.A.P.S.)
discovered by Jefferey Pierce. Dr. Philip Osofey also discovered
by Jefferey Pierce.
*Considering the events of Rhyme and Reason, Part 6, where Ivana
had supposedly destroyed the mortal remains of Gadget's father.
{} Which was seen from the events of Rhyme and Reason Part 2. 
() Zipper told of "Queenie" accepting the invitation in Rhyme and
Reason Part 1. 
> "Queenie" as she was known as, first met the Rangers in the
CDRR episode "Risky Beesness."
<^> As Ivana had forged a note in Plato's handwriting and covered
it with his scent as well in Rhyme and Reason Part 1.
<> As chronicled in the CDRR episode "Adventures in
Squirrelsitting". 
^ Where due to his embarrassment in front of his friends at her
constant adoration, Chip had snapped at her in an annoyed and
irritated fashion, dismissing her as "just a kid." The other
Rangers had all reprimanded Chip for his insensitive behavior in
private.
<*> Ivana revealed that the reason for her vendetta against the
Rescue Rangers, stemmed from one of their first cases which was
shown in the CDRR episode "Catteries not Included."
>> Chip brought up Dale's old childhood "name" out of necessity
to prove his identity to the other Rangers in "Rhyme and Reason
Part 8."
[+] From the CDRR Episode-"Seer No Evil."
<"> Two examples of which could be seen in the CDRR episodes:
"Dirty Rotten Diapers", and "The Case of The Cola Cult."
)) As shown in the CDRR episode: "When Mice were Men", for
example.
[] As seen in the CDRR episode: "Le Purrfect Crime"
(^) In Rhyme and Reason Part 8
(<) In Rhyme and Reason Part 7
(>) In Rhyme and Reason part 6
(<>) In the CDRR episode: Song of the Night n' Dale.
(<*>) Nimnul's F.O.G.E.Y. device, capable of accelerating the
aging process of any living organism or inert piece of matter,
was first seen in the CDRR episode- "Rest Home Rangers."
S.A.M.AR.I.T.A.N.S.-(Formerly A.M.E.R.C.) Small Animal Medical
emergency And Rescue Teams-Copy Right, 1993, Michael Demcio.


My heartfelt thanks go out to Dot wrnr who was kind enough to
edit this tale for posting on the net, pointing out my mistakes,
and giving me many suggestions as to how to improve it. Dot,
you're a stickler for punctuation. I admire that in an editor. :)
My thanks also goes out to Esbeckras, who also contributed many
worthwhile suggestions and pointed out some mistakes as well.
Finally, once, more, my everlasting thanks go out to my first
editor, Jeff Pierce who originally published this story in his
Disney APA: "Where the Fun Begins", and who added some really
wonderful parts to this last chapter. Lastly, just for the
fact that I didn't feel like cutting it out, this was the final
letter that I posted in the apa that I wrote this story for. 


                                                  12/6/95

Hello everyone,

     At last, the telling of the tale is now complete. Kinda
ironic that I would wrap this epic up right before *Christmas*,
eh? <G> I just wanted to include this last little note to give my
thanks to everyone who followed me along on this story, patiently
waiting four and then two months for you to find out just what
happened at the end of each cliffhanger. Twice in the course of
this story, I know that all of you who read it had to wait a
slightly longer span of time for the next chapter, as I missed
the chance to submit the chapter, once last year, and once more
this year. For that I apologize, and as to what reasons I might
give, the best advice I probably could give you would be to
direct you to the credo of Ivana's brother. Life is not always
fair, either for the reader, or for the writer. Things happen. I
won't bore you with trivial explanations though. Everyone knows
I'm detail oriented enough as is and given half the chance, I'd
spin out a few more pages telling you about it. At any rate, one
thing that I felt that I had to clear up before all was said and
done was a slight matter concerning gore for the presence of
shock value in a story, a matter which seemed to come into focus
after the telling of the events in Chapter 3. Right off, let me
say that that's not my style. I could with all due humbleness to
my writing skill, definitely write a story full of such ugly
details, or even have incorporated them quite precisely into
this story, considering the ruthlessness of the Rangers'
adversary, yet I didn't. When Jeff gave you all the message in
his editorial of that issue that you should be prepared for a
shock in my latest chapter, a shock for which he had to tone me
down, a misunderstanding ensued. The only shock that I had
planned in mind was the fact that one of the animals that died in
the library explosion would be someone that Chip recognized 
through some telltale detail. This detail would have
been a lock of hair slipping out from under the white sheet, or a
limp hand with a distinctive ring upon it, or some other such
clue. This was a fact that I later changed due to my talks
with Jeff as even though Disney has been quite good at the
telling of death in subtle, non gory ways in their movies, in all
the shows like Rescue Rangers before Gargoyles came on the scene,
facts like death were never shown first hand, though they were
told of. With that in mind, we arrived at a compromise
that the specter of death could be adequately conveyed simply
through the showing of a line of sheet covered bodies, with no
other details to distinctify them to the point where Chip
would have felt the shock of seeing someone that he knew die
right before him, or at least moments before. As to whether he
did know someone at that tragedy, might be told in another tale.
At any rate, that's all that happened, and that's all that was
in mind. However, before I knew it, I was reading commentaries
about the chapter which told about how it was good that the
gruesomeness that I had in mind was toned down and cut out.
Again, let me clear the matter up and lay those fears to rest.
I'm not a goremeister. I don't enjoy at all to view graphic
bloodletting either in books or in movies, let alone writing
about it. Like Hitchcock, subtlety is my style. Well, with that
said, I'll bid you all adieu until the next tale I bring your
way. Again, I thank you for your patience and joining me around
the campfire for this most haunting of the cases of the Rescue
Rangers to date. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. It's
been quite a ride. Thanks to all that cared to comment on
this story, with favorable or unfavorable comments about things,
for any feedback given always spurs the imagination and brings up
further ideas. Keep on talking. Finally, much thanks to you Jeff,
for allowing me the leeway needed to get this bear of a book out
of my system. I couldn't have done it without you and I'll always
be grateful. Kim, thanks for the fantastic cover, two apa's back.
I'll treasure it always. Once again, thanks to all for who read
and enjoyed this, and thanks for being patient and putting up
with a soul who's as much a philosopher, as he is a detective,
and a fan of things foreboding in a tale. Thanks as well for
putting up with my excessive wordiness at times and for keeping
you all going on a tale which you probably curiously wondered at
times, when in the world it was going to end. I'll try to behave
better for the next time around. <G> Until then everyone, enjoy
the holidays, raise a glass of cheer, and as
always,................ 
                                          Make mine, mysteries,

                               Your humble and hardworking muser,
                    
   Happy birthday, Chip..........                                 
        
                                             Michael Demcio.