“Then there’s Dale,” Gadget said, smiling some. “He’s
like..a breath of fresh air.”
…a girl fell in love
“I’d gladly suffer any fate because--Gadget, I love you more
than life itself.”
…and the guy did too
“I know about the waves, but if you remember the modemizer only gave out those waves when it overloaded in that huge explosion. It would take a machine with the capacity to handle quite a bit of power to keep from blowing up.”
“Um, you ain’t really thinking of building this
then, are ya Gadget luv?” Monty asked, some hope in his voice. Gadget smiled
and shook her head. “Oh no, dad.”
“That’s good ta know.”
“Not until I’ve worked out the theoretical
problems, that is.”
Monty sunk into his seat. “Shoulda known.”
Moving a large magnifying glass on an armature, he made the tiny scrawl large enough to see and began writing down the translation in his notebook, speaking as he wrote. “In a Sphinx of gold, he will search out Abari’s secret. He seeks the map which will lead him to the power of…” Dr. Weynard stopped, wanting to be sure he’d read it right. “…to the power of knowing what was, and what will be.”
“Correct,
Mister Maplewood,” the newcomer replied, taking down his robe. It was a
brown-furred mouse, taller than Monty but much thinner. “I am Legatus Triginta. I have come to speak
to you on behalf of Primus, Quartus and the Council on a matter of utmost
importance.”
“Golly,
what could get the attention of the entire Council?” Gadget asked.
“You,”
Triginta said.
“Oh uh, we got a problem,” Gadget said, studying her
twin. Lahwhinie walked over. “Oh man, as if there wasn’t enough people who
looked like us. Who are you?” The bracelet-clad mouse recovered in a moment and
addressed the two of them. “Hi, I’m Gadget.”
Worlds Collide…
Chip
flipped on the television, and Stan Blather was on. “…and reports are coming in
from around the world as we speak. The tremors are being felt in every country,
though they were first reported over an hour ago in Asia. The quakes are minor,
and no major damage has been reported thus far. There appears to be no true
epicenter to these quakes, and the seismologist I just spoke with appears
baffled. More updates will come as we learn more on this unique phenomenon.”
“Golly,
that’s strange,” Gadget said. “I wonder what it could mean?”
Triginta
grimaced. “It’s beginning.”
Klordane got a fiendish grin. “If only I’d known of
your existence, I might have been able to avoid the little entanglement I got
into. You see, I’m not the Klordane you know.” Fat Cat tilted his head in mild curiosity.
“Oh? And who are you then?”
“Yes,
quite. There’s always a chance, as long as one can think,” Basil said, tapping
Theo on the shoulder. “Never take anyone or anything at face value. And once
you’ve made up your mind, go with your decision and never second-guess
yourself. And remember to notice the little things—often they can tell you more
than the obvious.”
Monterey
Jack was a brave mouse at heart, and there were very few things that could
truly scare him. There is a difference between being afraid and being scared.
He was afraid of Cat Street, but scared of the cats in it. He had always
thought that feeling of being scared was the worst one he’d ever experience. He
was wrong.
This time…
Eva
was sobbing and Monty knew it was bad. “Luv, calm down. Ya gotta tell us what
it is so we kin save our lass!” It took a few moments, but Eva’s voice
returned. “You are right, but it was tears of guilt I was crying. Oh, it is too
horrible to talk about...I
can’t believe they did that! The fools, the
sadistic-minded fools!”
“Come
on, Geegaw!” Ally shouted to her brother. “Mom and Dad wanted us back by
three!”
“I’m
coming,” Geegaw said, hauling a bunch of science books. They came within sight
of Ranger Headquarters, glad to be getting home. They were chatting about their
mother’s next project in the workshop when a brilliant flash reflected off
their eyes. It had come from the interior of the treehouse, and appeared to be
like Gadget’s xenon camera going off—only ten times brighter.
“What
was that!” Geegaw said, dropping the books and starting to run.
“I
don’t know!” Ally said, worry entering her voice. “Let’s go!”
The
two Oakmont children ran up the side of the treehouse, and pulled open the
door. They called out, but only their voices echoed in the room’s interior.
Quickly they searched, room by room, but there was no one--no Chip, no
Lahwhinie, no Gadgets, no mom and dad—no one. Everything else was right;
everything else was in place.
They were totally alone.
A Dream For The Ages…Coming in 2003
