Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers

Meeting With Destiny: A Novel

Welcome to one of the most intriguing worlds of the Disney universe. Chip, Dale, Monterey Jack and Gadget Hackwrench captured the hearts of millions of children as they fought an unceasing battle against the forces of evil, whether human or otherwise. Now, the history and destiny of one of their number will be startlingly revealed, and when this mission is over…she may never be the same. This story crosses Disney into the brilliant Redwall universe of Brian Jacques. I don't own the characters from either one (they are the property of Walt Disney Pictures and Brian Jacques, respectively), and am not profiting in any way by their use, and do not wish to. I'm just a poor college student, having some fun with old favorites.

Prologue: History and Things to Come

Late autumn, Mossflower Country, Britain, 150 AD

Sunlight is a glorious thing, Abbot Dandron thought. The early morning rays shone brilliantly over the parapets of Redwall Abbey, painting the red sandstone a mellow, dusky rose.
The Abbot walked from the Abbey pond, where he had been sitting, back into the main building. The comfortable surroundings of the meeting hall Cavern Hole greeted his senses like an old friend, and he sat down in the large chair there, which was the seat of the Abbot or Abbess who ruled Redwall. He gazed up at a bright, colorful tapestry which adorned one of the thick, sturdy walls. The cheerful eyes of Martin the Warrior, co-founder of Redwall, stared back down at him. Countless seasons ago, before recorded Abbey time, Martin and the Abbess Germaine had traveled to Mossflower Wood from the ancient abbey of Loamhedge, bringing with them their entire community, in order to escape a plague of drastic proportions which was destroying that country. Martin had wielded his great sword, which hung beside the tapestry, to defeat Verdauga, a wildcat lord who dominated Mossflower and all it's inhabitants. With this conflict ended, construction had begun on the massive, red sandstone walls of what would become Redwall. Since that time, the Abbey had stood as both shelter and fortress for those who sought refuge and stood against evil.

Dandron half-dozed lazily in the Abbot's chair, his paws folded into the deep sleeves of his habit. Seemingly dreaming, he spoke to the tapestry.

"Such peace we have. It will never end, I hope."

A voice answered softly.

"Aye, it will end, my friend, for a time. But when that time comes, a descendant of mine will come to fight the evil which will invade Redwall. She will be a mistress of knowledge, masterful in the ways of machines and weapons, scientist, yet warrior in her own way. Guard my sword well! For she will have great need of it. Leave word to your descendants, tell them to be ready, and despair not. For in time of great darkness, the flaxen-haired warriormaid will come."

"Zurr h'Abbot?"

Dandron jerked awake, startled. Gurvel, the molecook, looked at him curiously.

"You'm were talkin' to ee taperstry, zurr h'Abbot. Did Marthen speak to ee, just naow?"

The Abbot smiled.

"Perhaps, Gurvel. Perhaps. I will have to think on that."
"Ho urr, think ont quick loik, zurr. Brekkist'll be gone afore ee gets there if you'm doan't, burr aye!"

Dandron looked back at the tapestry. Martin's eyes seemed to twinkle at him, conspiratorially.

"Lead on, Gurvel, lead on. Some meadowcream and blackcurrant oatcakes do sound good about now."

Late autumn, New York City, 1970 A.D.

"Arr, she's a fine bonny lass, mate, sure she is!"
A hefty mouse stood looking down into a pink-trimmed, lacy cradle. A pair of soft, blue eyes stared back up at him, curiosity very evident in them, as they took in his trench coat, blue sweater, and aviator's cap.

"That she is, Monterey, thank ye. Already she shows my wonder for mechanical things. She took apart her rattle yesterday."
Monterey Jack slapped his friend on the back, laughing.

"Harr harr, Geegaw, you've got a rare little lady here. You be sure an' take care of her now."
"I will, Monty. When will you visit again, old friend?"

The bigger mouse shrugged noncommittally.

"You know me, mate. I'll shift along to one adventure or another, and then one day, you'll see me strollin' up the 'ol dock off of some freighter, chasin' the nearest cheese wheel."

Geegaw Hackwrench grinned.

"Oh yes, you and your cheese. Annette has a pack ready for you to take with you when you leave. A fine old Brie I got in return for some work last week, we thought you'd enjoy it."

"Yep, you knows me pretty well, bucko! I 'ppreciate it."
Annette, Geegaw's wife, poked her head around the corner.

"If you two are done fussing over my Gabriella, dinner's ready."
"Comin', Annie love! Come on, pally, afore she skins us alive."

Monterey Jack ruffled the baby's hair affectionately, and then walked toward the kitchen.

Geegaw stayed behind a moment, smiling down at his daughter. He chuckled as he took in the remains of the toy she had disassembled.

"Gabriella to her, maybe…but always Gadget to me, darlin'."

Years passed, and the little golden haired, blue-eyed tyke grew into a lovely young mouse, possessed both of her mother's beauty, and a double helping of her father's keen, engineer's mind. She was a source of constant comfort to Geegaw as she matured, becoming so much like her mother, who died not long after Monterey Jack's visit. Gadget (the nickname had stuck, no one except Geegaw remembering the name Gabriella) grew up a daddy's girl, her prodigious intellect growing even more under her father's tutelage.

Unable to bear the pain of his wife's death, Geegaw Hackwrench loaded his possessions, and his daughter, onto the one thing he owned that was like a home: his plane, affectionately dubbed the "Screaming Eagle". The young mousemaid's formative years were spent traveling the globe, and in the process, becoming a student of history, emerging technology, and foreign cultures. Geegaw swore the girl was becoming a walking encyclopedia. But one thing that she did not possess any knowledge about, was her origins…her genealogy. As she grew older, it happened just as Geegaw feared. One afternoon, shortly after her thirteenth birthday, they were flying low over the Pacific, heading towards the Hawaiian Isles to refuel.

"Daddy?"
"Yes, Gadget?"

"Tell me about Mom."

Geegaw sighed.

"Now why would you want to ruin a perfectly nice afternoon by bringing that up, my dear?"

The sky-blue eyes rolled heavenward.

"Well, Daddy, once a girl gets to be a certain age, she starts to wonder about things, you know?"

"I thought we had a conversation about the birds and bees already?"

A deep blush reached the tip of hear ears.

"Daddy!"

"Sorry, Gadget, sorry. I know you wonder about your mother. It just…hurts to talk about her. I've…never really gotten over it."

She fell silent.

"It's okay, Daddy. I guess I can understand that."

She looked off into the blue.

"There was something else I wanted to ask you about, a weird dream I've been having."

"Hmmm?"

She sat back in the copilot's seat, closing her eyes, trying to remember every detail.

"It always starts out very misty, like I'm in a bank of fog. But then, this mouse comes out of the mist. He looks like some kind of ancient warrior, dressed all in shining, silver armor, and carrying a beautiful sword…"

Geegaw snapped to attention, his former aloofness forgotten. He reached for Gadget's arm.

"Did he speak to you?"

She shook her head.

"No, he never did, just stood there looking at me with these kind, gray eyes…Daddy, what's wrong?"

The older mouse had slumped back in his seat, eyes drawn shut.

"Our ancestry is catching up with us," he whispered.

"What?"
"Oh, nothing. I'm sure it's just a fantasy your mind's come up with, to get itself out of all those technical journals you shovel into it."

She grinned, and then looked thoughtful.

"Correction, he did say something once. Just one word, whispered…Redwall. Is that a place?"

His breath caught in his throat. And for the first time in his life, Geegaw lied to his daughter.

"N-no, dear. No place that I've ever heard of. Probably just your imagination."

Seemingly satisfied, she sat back in her chair. Pulling the ever present goggles from her head onto her eyes to shade them, she soon drifted off to sleep. Geegaw shook his head, becoming angry with himself.

"I should have told her the truth," he said softly. "I just can't bear to lose her too."

Time passed, as it tends to do, and Gadget grew into a strong, capable young mouse. Geegaw thought much about the events of that one day, and as a safeguard against his own demise, wrote all that he knew of 'the secret' in a journal, which he hid in a secret compartment in the Eagle's cargo bay. His knowledge of the Hackwrench family's legacy would pass to Gadget in time.

Unfortunately, Geegaw himself was not to impart that information. After subjecting the Eagle to one crash too many, he perished in the last one. Gadget escaped with her life, but was marooned in the Arctic, where the plane had touched down. She had lived a life of solitude, grieving for her father, and then putting her keen mind to the business of survival. The Eagle was soon cannibalized into a home of sorts, with a living space and workshop carved out inside the shattered fuselage. She loved inventing, and indulged in it as often as possible, her mechanical genius showing with every touch of her tools. And so she lived, until Monterey Jack found her.

Overjoyed at seeing her 'favorite uncle' again, Gadget had been intrigued by his offer. He and a pair of young chipmunks were forming an organization, one dedicated to fighting crime at all of it's levels. But they needed someone who could provide the equipment, the material which would make this war on wrongdoing possible. It would give her inventing skills a chance to show their full potential. After a few moments consideration, she had offered Monterey her handshake on it, and became the final addition.

To the Rescue Rangers.

Gathering her tools and possessions, Gadget tearfully left the remains of the Eagle behind, travelling with Monty to New York, where Ranger Headquarters would be set up. The boys had picked a wonderfully strategic location, a large tree in the middle of Central Park. As she gazed around it's branches and hollows, the gears in her brain started turning. Drawing up blueprints as she went, and enlisting everyone's help, the Rangers' home was ready in a matter of weeks.

And so the crusade against crime began. The Rangers were enormously successful, garnering both fame and respect.