Memories

By Robert Hollingshead

A Gadget Hackwrench fan mini-novella.

Story Written and Edited by Robert Noel Hollingshead

Partly Edited by John Anthony Kazos Jr. (jkazos@rvgs.k12.va.us?)


----- Chapters -----


The Dream . . . . . . . . . . I

Born . . . . . . . . . . . . II

Decision . . . . . . . . . . III

First Day . . . . . . . . . . IV

Emptiness . . . . . . . . . . V

Stroke of Genius . . . . . . VI

The Morning of Change . . . . VII

A Birthday to Remember . . . VIII

The Doctor is In . . . . . . IX

Was She My Mother? . . . . . X

The Figure In The Mirror . . XI

Childhood Prodigy . . . . . . XII

A Change of Attitude . . . . XIII

Death Bed . . . . . . . . . . XIV

The Turning Point . . . . . . XV

Chip . . . . . . . . . . . . XVI

Saying Goodbye . . . . . . . XVII

Closing . . . . . . . . . . . -

-----------------------------


And now...

We begin...


I- The Dream -I


"Ladies and gentlemen!" the loudspeaker exclaimed. "Welcome to our

tenth annual cross-country air race!" The crowd cheered as the pilots

began to step into their aircraft. "We are proud to introduce, going for a

fifth victory in this fabulous air race, Gadget Hackwrench!"

Gadget climbed into her specially-designed racing plane and waved to the

crowd in the stands, who cheered even louder. She closed the canopy of the

plane and cranked the engine.

The planes started and got louder and louder as the pilots increased

the throttle, leaving the wheel brakes on. Farther ahead along the runway,

a mouse was standing in a tower, getting ready to wave the starting flag

for takeoff. Gadget lowered her goggles and gave a ground crewman the

thumbs-up to remove the two pieces of wood from the front of her wheels.

When the pilots saw the mouse in the tower wave the flag, they took the

wheel brakes off and began to move forward in a mad rush of speed. Farther

down, the first row began to lift off the ground. Gadget, in the middle of

the second row, started to feel the stick move, and then was airborne. But

before she could even blink her eyes, she saw the plane in front of her hit

her prop. Seconds later, her plane hit the ground, skidding in a shower of

sparks, producing a fire in the engine compartment. Before she knew it, she

was encased in a burning aircraft, gasping for breath through the acrid

smoke.


*-*-*


"Nooooooooooo!" Gadget shrieked as she suddenly jolted up in bed,

sweating profusely and breathing rapidly. After a short moment she had

regained her breath, but not her composure, and put her paws in her lap and

looked down at them, sobbing.

Chip bolted in the door moments later, followed by Dale, Monty, and

Zipper. "Gadget, we heard you scream! Are..." They all looked at Gadget who

was still gazing at her paws. Chip walked up to her bed and sat down beside

her, with dale on her other side. Monty and Zipper looked on.

"Gadget, what's wrong?" Dale asked.

Gadget looked up at him, then at Chip, then back at Dale, tears

streaming down her cheeks. "It happened again," she said weakly.

Dale looked at Chip. "Gadget, do you want to be alone right now?"

"I think...I'd like to talk to Chip alone for a moment." she whispered.

Dale took Monty and Zipper in tow and left the room, closing the door

behind them.

Chip watched them leave. "You've been having this dream for five days

now. Maybe you need to, well, talk to someone about it. Besides us, I mean.

Someone who could possibly help you."

"It should have been me in that plane, Chip!" she answered, trembling.

"I *knew* he shouldn't have gone! I always worried about him in those air

races, Chip." She took his paws and clasped them in hers. He could tell by

her watering eyes how serious she was.


*-*-*


Like a book that had closed too early, her father Geegaw had died when

Gadget was still a child. There was so much that he had wanted to tell her

about her mother, and about his experiences, the joyous occasions he had

shared with those he loved and the mistakes he had made that he did not

want her to have to go through. She had always wanted to know these things,

and much more, when he died, leaving her no one else to turn to for

answers. She had become so wrapped up in Rescue Ranger work that she had

forgotten about it, but now the memories of her father had come back to

haunt her, in her mind, and in her dreams...


II- Born -II


It was a warm spring day with only a few lingering clouds in the sky.

The sun was shining like a beacon in the air, high above the people, and

animals, that lived above it.

In a part of a run-down New York hospital was a small building not

known to the humans: a *real* animal hospital. The delivery ward waiting

room was quiet, with a few mice lounging around. One was sitting on the

couch, deep in nervous thought.

A doctor entered the waiting room. "Mr. Hackwrench, would you come

with me, please?"

Geegaw stood up and followed the doctor down the hall, into an office.

The doctor walked over to his desk and moved behind his chair.

"Maybe...you should sit down. I have something to tell you."

Geegaw found another chair and sat down carefully.

"So, Doctor, are they all right?" he asked.

The doctor looked at the window. "It's not a question of they anymore,

more a question of which one."

Geegaw looked down at the floor in shock and agony. "No, no, please..."

The doctor's face seemed to grow old and weary. He had seen too many

deaths, too many horrors to make up for the successes; he could not feel

glad about the death of one making the life of another possible. He nodded

his head sadly. "Complications from the birth were too severe. She died,

soon after the baby was born." He stood up and walked over to Geegaw and

placed his paw on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. We did all we could. I wish we

could have done more."

"Doc, I'd...I'd like to see the baby," Geegaw mumbled, trying to sound

coherent. He walked to the door, stumbling, as the doctor opened it and

steadied him.

"We'd like to keep the baby here for a few days for close

observations," he said. "By the way: it's a girl."

When they walked up to the hall window and looked into the nursery,

Geegaw could almost pick out the baby. "Is that her?" he asked, pointing to

one in the far back.

The doctor paused, then answered, "Yes, that's the one." He motioned to

the nurse in the room to bring the baby closer to the window. Carrying the

baby in her arms, the nurse walked up to the window.

Geegaw looked up for a second, then spoke. "She looks so much like her

mother."

The doctor looked at Geegaw. "So, what are you going to name her?"

Geegaw looked back, then turned around to the baby. "Her name will be

Gadget. Her mother picked the name."

Geegaw knelt down closer to the window. "Hello, Gadget."


III- Decision -III


A month had passed. The golden sun disappeared into the horizon, out of

sight of Rescue Ranger Headquarters. IN the front room four Rangers sat,

all talking about the case they had just finished. Chip was just sitting

down on the couch.

"Well, another day, another case."

Dale turned to Chip. "Yeah, we sure taught ol' furball a lesson!"

Chip grinned. "We sure did. I don't think he's going to be a problem

for a while."

Dale glanced around, then turned to Monterey. "Hey Monty, where's Gadget?"

Monty looked at the ground. "She's still outside. Poor lass, she's been

so depressed lately."

Chip got up and resolutely headed for the door. "Let's go see if we can

cheer her up."

"Uh, Chip," Monty interjected, "you might want t' leave 'er be. If this

is th' day that..."

Chip turned around. "That what?"

Monty looked toward the ground again, this time walking toward the

couch. "Well, today, is th' day..."

Dale blocked his path. "Stop keeping us in suspense, Monty! What is it?"

Monty walked around Dale and sat down. "Poor 'ol Geegaw. Gadget's so

depressed today, that's because today is th' day that Geegaw died in th'

plane crash." Chip and dale exchanged a look of chagrin and sympathy.

Out front Gadget sat, still in the pilot's seat of the Ranger Wing. In

her mind she was reliving that day, again and again. She just couldn't rid

herself of the vision of two planes, one holding her only family and best

friend, hurtling violently into the unforgiving ground in a shower of

sparks and flame. Oh, how she wanted to go back in time and change it all!

But, she knew, in her heart, that was not possible. But that couldn't stop

her from wishing.

Chip's head popped up on the passenger side. "Mind if I join you?"

Gadget didn't reply; she remained a mournful statue, the lump in her

heart as hard as marble.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, we understand."

Gadget sighed deeply, closed her eyes, and laid her head against the

steering wheel, her right ear flapping loosely in the wind. "Chip, how

could you possibly know what it's like to have your only blood relative

taken from you so violently?"

Chip answered as best he could. "You're right."

Gadget opened her eyes and gazed at him. "Then you don't really know

what it's like, waking up to an empty house, not knowing how you'll survive

anymore. The pain of questions unanswered. Have youever had a question that

you wanted, *needed* an answer for, but never got one?" She closed her eyes

again. "Why did he leave me? Why did he die when I needed him the most?

Why?"

::Will I ever find the answers?:: she asked herself. ::And will they be

more painful than losing him was?::

Gadget sat up, then reached to a switch on the dash and flipped it. The

motors instantly started spinning, making Chip jump.

He looked at her in surprise. "Gadget, what are you going to do?" he

shouted over the din.

She glanced at him with no expression. "If you don't want to come with

me, then get off now." Without another word, he buckled in, and the Ranger

Wing began moving upward.


*-*-*


New York international is always busy close to 8pm; with all it's

planes arriving and departing, you'd think the noise pollution would bother

people, and the animals. Not Gadget. For as long as she could remember

before meeting the Rangers, this was forever the place she called home. She

set the Ranger Wing down with her trademark style beside the remains of

the old World War II Flying Fortress, Gadget's old house.

She got out and ran to the entrance, followed by Chip. The way they

entered reminded him of the first time he had came and first viewed her

sweet, beautiful face, or her ugly, relentless Anti-Salesman equipment, to

be exact.

After fighting cobwebs, which were the only noticeable difference, they

stood staring at the cockpit area of the plane. Chip remembered first

finding out ust how dangerous Monty's cheese attacks were. Gadget looked at

Chip, then started walking through the trap complex. "Don't worry," she

said, "they're all deactivated." Chip wiped his forehead with a sigh of

relief, then started following Gadget again.

He watched Gadget, and realized she was searching for an answer to

something, perhaps some evidence, something her father left behind. When

Gadget turned around, all Chip could see of her was a silhouette made by

the moon coming through the cockpit glass, a vision hauntingly familiar to

the first time he had seen her. But he could feel more for her now than he

did then, because now he knew her. Love, sympathy, sadness, hopeful

understanding.

Gadget walked toward the glass of the cockpit and looked out over the

ground. "Me, and Dad, used to work on modifying the Screaming Eagle in this

room. That was his favorite plane." Chip looked at the empty space,

remembering that pieces of the Screaming Eagle were now strewn all over

Glacier Bay.

The area was musty, dusty, damp, dark, rusty, partly due to the

explosion of dynamite used to launch the plane that day. She walked over to

a large box and opened it up. It was a rodent-sized breaker box, an

ingenious combination of high-voltage rocker switches from hair dryers and

fuses from appliances. She flipped one of the large rocker switches,

evidently the master breaker, and the entire interior of the house was

illuminated. "Good! They all still work." Chip had no doubt in his mind

that the electrical system was completely out of her genius.

She led Chip to a rusted door and opened it, revealing some stairs that

led down to a hallway. The destructive moisture hadn't gotten past the

door. The stairs were, to his amazement, made up of welded metal, unlike

the dominoes at RRHQ that they were forever having to restack. No one ever

had come in for the years Gadget had been with the Rangers. The hallway was

bare; Gadget had stored everything away at her workshop in RRHQ, so there

were no pictures on the walls, or anything else for that matter.

They could hear the wind outside whistling through cracks in the

plane's cockpit and the open door in the glass that the Screaming Eagle had

made its last takeoff through. He now realized that some of the thin walls

were covering up and serving as patches for those cracks. They were the

reasons the wind seemed so loud.

Gadget started walking down the hallway, then stopped and turned

around. "Follow me." She lead him to a door.

"What's in there?" Chip asked, whispering, as if he didn't want to wake

someone up.

"This was my father's room," she responded. "I never was able to open

it after he died. I felt, if I opened it, I would unlock a secret I didn't

want revealed." She looked at the ground and let out a weak sigh. "But,

now, I feel it's time I unlocked those secrets."

The heating in the house was off, but it didn't phase Gadget; her mind

was on one thing, and one thing only: opening a door never opened since it

was last closed by her father. She reached for the knob, but stopped. She

leaned against the wall and sobbed tearlessly. "I just can't! You have to,

Chip. Please?"

He looked at the knob, just as she had, but he couldn't touch it for a

moment either; the situation was just too spooky. Then he opened it, eyes

closed.

He opened his eyes slowly onto a wondrous sight. Expecting to see a

dead body or something else so melodramatic, he instead finds a perfectly

tidy, but dusty room. They both entered and looked around. Everything was

perfectly tidy, except that the walls were bare, *everything* was bare of

coverings, and except for the bed (without sheets), and a dresser, there

was nothing else in the room.


IV- First Day -IV


"Geegaw, have you ever considered...remarrying? I mean, I know, it's

been a week since Helen died, but, don't you think Gadget could benefit

from having someone to call Mom?"

Geegaw turned to answer the doctor. He could understand the doctor's

concern, but he couldn't even think about marrying again. He could not

break his vows to Helen; he loved her truly. He looked at Gadget, then

smiled and looked at the doctor again. "Doc, I think the two of us will get

along just fine. How much longer do you want to keep her under

observations?"

The doctor looked at Gadget. "We just wanted to make sure that she

didn't have any problems from the complications during the delivery. But,

if you'll wait a second, I think I can get her out today. She looks

healthy, and all other indications of health are present. I don't think we

need to keep her any longer." Geegaw looked at Gadget. She smiled at him.

"If you'll just sign here, you can take her home right now."

Geegaw looked up at the doctor. "No catches, no people knocking on my

door to check up on her?"

The doctor laughed. "No, Mr. Hackwrench, no visitors. All we ask is

that you bring her in for a checkup every other week for a while, just to

be sure."

Geegaw signed it, then accepted Gadget from the nurse. "Thanks, Doc.

I'll never forget how kind you were to us." The doctor smiled again, and

Geegaw left.

The doctor's smile melted, leaving a ponderous and sad look on his

face. "Nurse, file this somewhere save. I have the feeling we'll be needing

it again."


*-*-*


As Geegaw got into his small motor skate, made by him, he suddenly

realized that, since he was taking a new baby home, he'd have to drive much

more slowly than usual. "Better keep you save. I wouldn't want anything to

happen to my little princess." He grinned. "Look at me...I sound just like

your mother." She smiled again, and gurgled. He tickled her nose; she cooed

contentedly. Geegaw strapped her in, started the motor, and began to drive

down the sidewalk.


V- Emptiness -V


Both Gadget and Chip stood for a minute with their mouths open. The

bare room was definitely not what they had expected. Gadget was shocked.

When she tried to speak normally, all that came out were squeaks, so

she let her desperation soak her tone. "What happened?!? Why isn't there

anything here?" She turned to Chip. "I'm sure no one has been in here! What

happened?" She walked into the middle of the room. Where were the answers?

Where was *anything*?

Her stomach had dropped into her legs; her heart felt ready to explode.

All the color was gone from her face, and the cool dryness of the air

served to worsen the effect of desperation. She closed her eyes, but

couldn't shut out the horrible sadness she was feeling at the memory of the

empty room.

Chip put a paw on her shoulder. He realized that, like the destruction

of the Screaming Eagle, this room served only to increase her grief. He

could feel her trembling. "Take the Ranger Wing and leave. I'm going to

stay here for the night."

"But where will you sleep?" Chip objected.

"Golly, Chip, there's a mattress here; I'll think of something." She

sat down on it. "I always do." She looked up again. "Tell the others I'm

just trying to get in touch with part of myself that's missing. That's all

I can give them."

Chip looked at her in askance, but she just shrugged. He adjusted his

hat and jacket, hugged her, and left. As she continued to look around the

room, she noticed the emptiness more and more. "Well, Dad, you got me here.

What now?" She knew there could be no answer.

She laid down and clacked her teeth in frustration. "It's no use." She

sighed one last time. "Good night, Dad." She sneezed and cried herself to

sleep.


VI- Stroke of Genius -VI


Every parent faces this one day, but Geegaw had trouble preparing

himself to meet the school principal. But to have it happen in

kindergarten! He couldn't even imagine what happened. She was walking

beside him, and was having trouble reaching his paw with hers.

"Mr. Hackwrench, good. Please, sit down." The principal offered Geegaw

a seat in front of her noticeably large desk.

"Kind of reminds me of my High School principal's desk, what with the

diplomas and all." He chuckled.

So did she. "That isn't a coincidence Mr. Hackwrench." Her smile

softened into a grin, and he began to relax. She pulled the top file from

her cabinet and held it out to Geegaw. "Your daughter, Gadget, is the

brightest student in her kindergarten class. Her grades have remained A's,

A's, and once again, A's. I'm not talking, ninety-five percent on

everything. I'm talking one-hundred percent, absolutely perfect scores. She

even *adds* to the assignments." Geegaw looked stunned. "But that's only

half of the reason that I've called you here. When I asked her teacher to

fill out a form to immediately promote her one grade, the teacher refused.

She said that Gadget has been having peer problems, the most noticeable

being that she has been teased by her lack of a mother. The teacher

believes it would be more psychologically damaging to have the same thing

said in a new situation than in the old one."

He looked at Gadget. "You said, 'most noticeable.' What are the others?"

"I'm afraid so. She is ostracized by her peers: no one sits by her at

lunch; at recess, she sits on the ground, gazing at the airport and the

planes, alone; no one will speak to her, and she will speak to no one, but

the teachers."

Gadget piped up. "They pick on me, Daddy, 'cause I don't have a Mommy."

Geegaw realized what was happening. Because she had no mother, she was

different from the other children, and therefore they treated her as

strange. ::But what am I to do?:: he pondered. ::No one else is worthy to

be her mother than Helen!::

He couldn't think of anything to do, but he would try. "Gadget, Mrs.

MacNeille here wants you to go to First Grade, with the bigger kids. Would

you like that?"

"Really?!? Wow! Yeah! Oh, please Daddy, please!" The principal felt

trapped, and so she agreed. But she made sure, with a single look, that

Geegaw knew that he had to do something. Soon.


VII- The Morning of Change -VII


The sun started to peek through the viewport that makes up the window

of Geegaw's room. Gadget was still laying on the dust-covered bed, and she

had picked up enough of it to make her wildly messed up hair look a little

like an old orange featherduster. She began to awaken, her eyes still a

little tight from crying. She rolled over, and when she did, her arm fell

off the side of the bed and brushed up against the frame.

"Yeeeeooooooowwww!" She looked down and saw that she was bleeding

heavily. She ran to the bathroom and, heaving a sigh of relief, tied a

washcloth around the wound, stemming the flow. She looked into the mirror,

an odd feeling crossing her mind. Gently, she traced the curves of her face

with her paw; the feel of her face, the expression on her reflection,

nothing about her seemed like herself. It was as if the person before her

was *not* her, but just someone she met in passing, but who is haunting

her. She slowly stepped back, followed by the stranger, and turned away.

She returned to the bed.

She had not seen the envelope stuck in the corner of the all-white bed,

but now it was blood-stained and she found it. "My birth certificate?" She

gasped, and read further. Date of Birth, May 20, 1970. Time of Birth,

11:16pm. Excited, skipped to the middle. "Guardians." She thought she would

see Geegaw first, but instead..."Helen Hackwrench? Mom?" The signature

below it, not her mother's, was instead Geegaw's handwriting. "Why would he

sign for Mom?"

She saw something else in the envelope, and pulled it out. She had seen

Monty's baby pictures, Zipper hadn't any, and Chip and Dale were apparently

embarrassed, so they didn't show them. Now, she held her own.

It had faded with time, but it was of a baby, female mouse with pretty

orange hair and a sweet little pink cherry-shaped nose, sleeping peacefully

in a hospital nursery crib. With tears coming to her eyes, she held the

picture to her breast, hugging it. She had found a piece of her past, and

she looked at it for what seemed like forever.

She turned the picture around to see if there was anything written on

it. "'Dr. Stones, MD, head of Maternity Ward, May 20, 1970, New York

Central Hospital, Animal Division.'" She thought for a moment. "I know

where that is!" She sprinted toward the door, with a last glance back to

see if she had missed anything else. She didn't even look to see how much

of a mess she was; frankly, she didn't care.


VIII- A Birthday to Remember -VIII


Gadget had waited a whole year for another one; she was practically

bursting by May! This was going to be a special birthday: her tenth! Her

dad had said that, once she was ten, he would let her ride in his plane,

and maybe he'd teach her how to fly it!

A nice, bright, clear day was ahead of them. The air was fine and the

wind was cooperating nicely for a rookie flight. Instead of taking her

home, Geegaw took her to his hangar, and showed her the Ultra Flite. The

advanced two-prop mouse-sized airplane sat, charged and ready for takeoff.

She was always amazed at the size of it.

Taking a moment to admire the machine, she turned to greet her dad who

had quietly walked up behind her. "Golly, Dad! You tried that once before,

last week."

He gave her an innocent smile. "Oh, yeah, I did." He kept smiling. "So,

is my little princess ready for her first flight?" Her eyes grew wide, then she blushed. "Yes, Dad."


*-*-*


Taxiing down the runway was as exciting as the actual flight; she

watched Geegaw intently, remembering what he pressed, when he did it, and

what he told her when she asked why. She was bursting with questions, but

wisely waited until they were up in the air. Suddenly, the world dropped

from underneath her, and they were flying. They were flying!

Geegaw's insides were in as much turmoil as their trailing wind. How

could he let her fly the plane? She could die! She was all he had left of

Helen. If he lost her, he would have no reason to live. ::But how can I

keep the joys of flight, of soaring faster than the wind, from her?:: So he

began to tell Gadget how to fly.

He was astonished at how quickly she was picking it up. The complex

instruments and numerous displays didn't even phase her. "Golly, Dad, this

is great!" she said in a completely confident tone.

Gadget felt connected to the plane; it obeyed her every command, and

she felt as free as if all that was flying was herself. "Daddy, I saw you

take off, and I think I can land. Can I try?"

His first sense of danger melted with her confident voice. "Sure, go

ahead. Can you see the runway?" Ten minutes later, they landed, more

smoothly than the ride began. "Okay, now turn off the engines."

Geegaw had to help after she had managed to turn on the windshield

wipers and turn off the wheel brakes. When everything was straight, they

heard a voice calling. "Geegaw, ol' pal, 'ow'd th' ride go? Still alive, I

see. 'Ow many times you going t' fly that rusty bucket o' bolts?"

"Monterey!" "Uncle Monty!"

Geegaw jumped out of the plane. "Well, if it isn't old Cheezebread

Cheddarhead! Stepped on any Brie lately?"

Monty mumbled something incoherent, but probably not flattering. Then

he said, "Geegaw, could I talk t' you for a minute?"

He sent Gadget home with some money for take-out for dinner. "What is

it, Monty?"

"Well, do you remember that air race you signed up for?" "Yeah, why?"

"Well, do you remember the old mouse behind you?" "Sure, we talked about

his plane." "Well, he just crashed yesterday. He's *DEAD*, Geegaw! I'm

worried about you. Who's going to take care of Gadget if you go to the big

mousehole in the sky?"

Geegaw laughed. "Monty, Monty, Monty! Air racing is my greatest dream.

I can't give it up! Besides, that was just a coincidence. I'm not going to

let Gadget fly until she's at least twenty, anyway. Don't worry about us."


IX- The Doctor is In -IX


Gadget hurriedly walked to the Ward of the New York Animals' Hospital.

After trampling two other mice in her haste, she made it to the front desk,

almost braining the nurse on duty when she slipped on the rug made of

National Geographics from 1963. "Nurse, I'm here to see Dr. Stones. Is he

in?"

After she recovered, she said, "You're lucky; he's just about to end

his shift. Do you want to wait while I fetch him? Okay." She left, and

returned five minutes later. "Miss, the doctor is in his office." She led

Gadget down three hallways, around a corner, and finally to an open door.

"Dr. Stones?" she hesitatingly asked, afraid that she had the wrong one

after all.

"Yes, may I help you?"

"Yes, um, my name is Gadget, and..."

"Gadget? Your name is Gadget? Gadget Hackwrench?" His face lost all

expression. "Miss Hackwrench, yes, I remember you. I...I delivered you many

years ago, twenty perhaps? No, it was twenty-seven. Yes, twenty-seven years.

I have your file right here. I've kept it up-to-date as much as I could...I

just knew you would be special, so I kept your file available. One moment...

we really do have an excellent system here. One moment..." He fumbled the

latch on the drawer and leaned down to it to hide his face; he couldn't keep

the sadness off of it anymore. "One moment...great system, bad cabinets.

They really need to fix these things...Ah." He pulled out her file. "Here

you are, literally." Now composed, he turned toward her.

He looked at her with a look of sympathy as he flipped through the

pages, coming to the one dated May 20, 1970. When she saw his face, she

knew he knew. She began to feel light-headed. "Gadget, do you know what

happened to your mother?"

She tried to respond, but she couldn't do anything but squeak.

::Funny,:: she thought, ::I seem to be doing that a lot lately.::

The doctor responded to his own question. "I'm going to tell you the

whole truth; you'll have to hear it some time anyway. One week before your

birth was expected, your mother contracted a disease that weakened her

immune system and muscles. Her condition worsened steadily, and we were

worried about you, and so we attempted a Cesarean, but her body wouldn't

take it. We induced labor chemically, and gave birth to you. However, she

used so much energy saving your life that she had none left for herself.

She went into cardiac arrest, and died, three minutes and twelve seconds

after you entered the world. But she had seen you, and had heard you cry.

She took her last breath with a smile on her face."

By now, she was sobbing uncontrollably, and the doctor moved to hug

her. "Your father left an envelope here for you, if you ever happened to come

back. Here." He handed her the envelope. "Take it home. Take your file too;

we have a backup copy we'll keep." He hesitated. "Your father loved you

very much, Gadget. More than his plane, more than himself, more than his

very life. Your mother died, but you lived. Your father died, but you

became a success, and have helped countless people *and* animals. You have

led a life with more goodness and accomplishment in it than any man, beast,

or God could ask. You have become a very special person, my dear. Just

remember that." He squeezed her one last time, then released her. She stood

up, shook his hand, and found her way out, thanking him as she closed the

door.

He listened to her footsteps as they faded with distance. He buzzed the

nurse. "Take messages for my calls, and don't bother me until I start my

shift tomorrow, please. I have some things to do."

"Yes, Doctor," said her voice, sounding tinny through the tiny box on his

desk. "Have a good evening."

"I'll be leaving shortly; I have a few things to tidy up here. Good

night, Mrs. Flanagan."

"Good night, Doctor."

He plopped down onto his chair, spent. All the emotions he had been

holding in now broke out. ::Why did it have to be this way? I'm a Doctor!

I'm sworn to protect and preserve life, not death and sadness. Dammit, I

couldn't save her! WHY!::

He cried himself to his car, and sobbed his way home.


*-*-*


Gadget began making her way back to headquarters. She had found her

father's room. She had found her birth certificate. She had found the

doctor that delivered her. She had found the truth about her mother.

But she still had not found the answer to her question. She knew how, and

when, and what, and who, and where. She knew the facts. But...

Why?


X- Was She My Mother? -X


The roaring of a huge jet plane overhead woke up Gadget instantly.

She was normally used to it but this one was particularly low, add to that

the rain outside. She made her way out of her bed and walked lazily over to

the viewport-window of her room. She could not see out because of the rain

hitting the window. Occasionally, lightning would strike outside, and she

would see a sillouhette of some object she just happened to be focused on.

Her ears perked up when she heard something stirring down the hall. The

door was pulled to, so she assumed that her father must have awoke to check

up on her, and couldn't go back to sleep. She made her way to the door and

opened it up. Lightning struck outside and she could see her shadow on the

other wall. She started to make her way down the hall to the kitchen.

She stopped and peered around the corner. Her dad was sitting in a chair

next to the kitchen table, reading something small. A little red book with

a brass border that almost looked like a diary. She had never seen it before,

and she doubted her father kept a diary. All he was interested in keeping

was a pilot's log so he could qualify for his upcoming air race. She tried

her best not to make a sound as she watched her father tenderly turning the

pages as if something delicate was on them. "Oh, Helen" He slowly

closed the book and and turned it over. "Why did you have to leave so soon?"

Gadget could not keep from talking any longer. "Daddy?" Geegaw wasn't

startled by her young voice, since he was very used to it. He slowly turned

around in his chair. "What princess?" She walked in and sat on the other

side of the table. "Who's, Helen?" Geegaw couldn't think of anything to

say. He was too afraid that, if he told her, Gadget would think her mother's

death was her falt. "Well..." Geegaw paused for a slight moment to think

about how to word what he was about to say next. "Princess. Helen was a

woman who was very close to me."

"Where is she now?" Gadget could tell that her father was very upset,

but she had to ask. Geegaw looked at the diary. "She's, gone, and she'll

never be back." Geegaw was expecting another barage of questions, but he

noticed how tired she was, she was yawning every minute and having trouble

keeping her eyes open. "You need to get back to sleep princess. Wouldn't

wan't to start your first day of the sixth grade without some shuteye now

would you." She tried to nod her head in agreement, but she was too tired.

She slowly stood up and started walking to her room, almost hitting the wall

in the process. Geegaw stood up and followed her into her room to tuck her

in.

Geegaw took the sheets and laid them gently over her body. She was so

tired she had her eyes closed and didn't open them. Geegaw was just

about to get up to walk out when Gadget asked a question that made him stop

dead in his tracks. "Daddy, was Helen, " she yawned weakly ", my, mom?"

Geegaw turned around. Gadget had just made it easy for him to answer. Now

would never be a better time. Though, he was still afraid that she would ask

more questions. But he didn't have to make a decision because Gadget had

already fallen asleep.

He slowly made his way out of her room and turned around. Just then,

after a flash of lightning once more and a crack of thunder, the rain stopped.

Geegaw grinned a little. "Princess, you'll find out soon enough." He slowly

closed the door.


XI- The Figure In The Mirror -XI


After a she had hitched a ride on a bus that took her near central park

and a little bit of a walk thereafter, Gadget stood looking at RRHQ. The

big Oak tree's shadow stood directly beneath it, the hot sun being blocked

by the leaves. "Funny, that's why Chip never said we needed an Air

Conditioner," she thought to herself and grinned.

She was trying to hide the emotions that were causing her to be sick to

her stomach. Her mother died because of her. How could she forget that,

how could she live with herself? She slowly made her way to the foot of

the massive tree, then opened the door at the root and made it in. Chip and

Dale had no problem climbing trees but Monty and Gadget didn't have tough

enough claws to attempt the feat. She could remember Monty trying once

but only making it a foot up before falling on his back. So they spent a

month tunneling out a spiral staircase and a Garage for the Rangers land

vehicles that Gadget had made. She slowly walked up the staircase and opened

the door.

"Hiya Gadget." Dale stood up from the couch and walked over to her.

"Hi Dale," Gadget said this with such a low tone that even Dale could

tell she was depressed. Gadget looked down and walked around him with

a frown on her face. "Where are the others?" Dale answered, "They're

gone, they said something about getting a surprise for you for when you got

back. Are you okay?"

Gadget paused for a second then answered. "Yes Dale, I just have alot

on my mind that's all." Dale thought for a moment and then had an idea to

cheer her up. "How could you have alot on your mind when all I see on your

head is your goggles?" Gadget looked up at him with sort of a semi-sarcastic

look on her face. She patted him on the shoulder with her paw. "Good try,

but it didn't work. Thanks for trying though." She quietly got up and left.


*-*-*


Taking the washcloth off of the wound on her arm, Gadget stepped into

the shower. The warm water hitting her skin was refreshing. She closed her

eyes and let the sensation of the water temporarily saok the agony she was

feeling inside.

After turning off the shower she reached out for a towl on the rack.

Putting it on, she walked out of the shower. The water in her hair, and on

her arms and face, suddenly cooled off and she lightly shivered. She walked

over to the sink and looked at herself in the mirror. She picked up the

comb beside the sink and started brushing her long hair.

She could hear shouting in one of the other rooms. It sounded like the

two chipmunks were at it again. She grinned a little and continued brushing

her hair. It was not until she noticed her face in the mirror that she

stopped. She slowly put down the brush and looked at herself in the mirror.

There it was again. That face in the mirror. Like before, Gadget gently

moved her paw against the damp curves of her face. Again, it didn't feel

or look like it was her face. Who was it, or, who was she. She slowly

stepped back to look at her whole towl covered figure in the mirror. Sure

enough, even her figure looked unfamaliar. She turned to look at herself

from the side. Still, again, not even her tail looked familiar.

"What's going on?" She spoke to herself. The ghostly image, which she

knew was her own, but did not seem to be, was staring at her. Her expression

changed, so did the expression of the figure in the mirror. "Am I going

crazy?" The cold water had dried by now and her shivers went. She noticed

this in the figure on the mirror as well. She shook her head and went to her

closet. She opened it. "What to wear?" She smiled a little bit, she always

had worn coveralls. But this time she felt like wearing something different.

She had other clothes that she had barely worn so she decided to try them on

one by one, until she found one that she liked.


XII- Childhood Prodigy -XII

Unknown to humans, out of the New York city limits, was a clearing in

a wooded area known as the New York Aerospace Complex. An animal sized

airport cleverly hidden by it's owner, the Ultra-Flite labs.

"Mr. Hackwrench?!" Geegaw looked up from the open engine compartment of

his plane to see an unknown mouse walking into his hangar.

"Over here!" The mouse finally saw Geegaw and walked towards him.

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Mr. Cullen." Geegaw

thought a minute about where he heard that name before.

"Oh yes, your that 9th grade Phsysics teacher Gadget's been talking

about, it's great to finally have a face to go with all those lab experiment

gone bad stories she's told me." Mr. Cullen didn't give a suprised look,

evidently they were true. Geegaw extended his paw. "Pleasure to meet you."

Mr. Cullen shook his hand. "And welcome to Nayak."

"Beg your pardon." Mr. Cullen flashed a puzzled expression across his

face.

"Ultra-Flite laboratories has these strange ways of naming their

facilities. Nayak stands for New York Aerospace Complex. And to get even

stranger, they named their New Mexico facility Wenocimex.

Mr. Cullen grinned for a moment and continued his introduction. "The

reason I have come down here today is to tell you something amazing. It

seems that Gadget has just about made me think about letting her teach

class." Geegaw looked suprised.

"My Gadget, are you sure?"

"Does, correctly figuring out the amount of time it would take for the

Earth to come to a standstill while at a slow one foot-per-second

deceleration given the factors of gravitatial influence from the Moon and the

Sun sound impressive enough for you Mr. Hackwrench?"

Geegaw suddenly looked stunned. "Coul, could, you repeat that again,

this time, a little slower?"

"Basically, Gadgets a child genius Mr. Hackwrench. She is, what I would

call, a female pre-einstein at a gradeschool level." Geegaw still looked

stunned.

"How could that happen, I never did that well in school?" Geegaw asked.

"I have absolutely no Earthly idea." Mr. Cullen responded. "In fact,

I'm thinking of putting her into an excelerated learning program at a school

in downtown New York city called the Gifted Childrens Learning Program.

"What will that require?" Geegaw was still suprised but it was melting

from his face.

"I'm going to need the concent of both guardians, and I'm going to need

to interview both parents." Geegaws heart suddenly sunk. His face lost all

it's expression. The vision of Dr. Stones telling him his wife was dead

suddenly shot through his mind like a hollowpoint bullet.

"Mr. Hackrench?" Mr. Cullen asked, concerned at the saddened expression

in Geegaws face.

"Well." Geegaw struggled to continue. "I'm afraid I have no choice to

to decline. You see, her mother is," Geegaw turned around to walk to the

open engine compartment, " she, died when Gadget was born." He slumped

against the plane.

"I, see." Mr. Cullen responded with a very low saddened tone.

Geegaw glanced over at the hangar door just in time to see Gadget

entering. Mr. Cullen, noticing the direction Geegaw was looking, turned

around. Gadget instantly knew who who it was. "Mr. Cullen?" She asked,

"Why are you here?"

Mr. Cullen tried to look a little happier than he was. "I was just

informing your father of your exeptional grades in my class. He's very

proud of you.", Mr. Cullen took a slow breath then looked back at Geegaw,

"Mr. Hackwrench, once more, It's been a pleasure talking with you," he turned

to Gadget, "keep up the good work Gadget and I'll see you next Monday."

Gadget smiled and waved. "Bye Mr. Cullen." After a little more waving

she turned around and finally saw the expression on her Dad's face. "Dad,

whats wrong?" She asked.

Geegaw looked at her, trying his best to keep his composure. "Nothing

to worry about princess. Just, well, I'm so proud of you I don't know what

to say or do."

"What's wrong with the engine?" She asked, feeling for some strange

reason like she should change the subject. Geegaw got up and looked around

at the engine.

"Well, maybe you could help me."


XIII- A Change of Attitude -XIII


The sun was once again going down behind RRHQ, it's glow sillouhetting

the massive tree. Monty was in the kitchen. The smell of cheddar in the

air served as evidence as to what ingredient he was using the most in cooking

dinner. Chip, Dale, and Zipper where sitting down at the dinner table. Chip

was busy reading a notepad with some possible cases on it. Zipper was

perched over his shoulder reading it too. Dale was sitting on the other side

of the table, reading a small rodent sized book with the strange title,

"ID4" in front of it.

Chip had finished reading the notebook when Gadget walked in from the

hallway, instantly his gaze became affixed, Zippers too. Dale noticed his

gaze and turned around. "Hi guys." Gadget said in a low tone as she walked

in and sat down at the table with a light frown on her already depressed

looking face.

Chip broke the silence that the two Chipmunks had put themselves in.

"Gadget, your wearing something..."

"Different." Gadget was indeed wearing something different. She was

wearing blue jeans and a matching blue shirt. She was still wearing goggles

in her hair.

Monty shouted from the kitchen. "Dinners almost done lads, be out in a

couple 'o minutes."

Once again, the chipmunks fell silent. Dale looked at his book, but

closed it and sat it aside. Chip folded his notebook and slid it into the

inside pocket of his jacket.

Monty emerged from the kitchen. "Well lads, dinner is served." Monty

was about to speak again, but as soon as he saw Gadget, he closed his mouth.

No one spoke as Monty dished out his strange new creation. He thought to

himself. ::Well Monterey, you picked a fine time to try out something new.::

His mind almost responded to his own question.

Dinner went off without anyone speaking. Everyone occasionally glanced

at Gadget, who was quietly stabbing Monty's new creation with her fork.

After everyone was finished, except Gadget, Monty got up and started taking

the plates. When he reached Gadgets, he slowly bent over. "Gadget luv, are

you going to eat anymore of this?"

Gadget paused then responded. "Sorry Monty, I'm just not hungry for some

reason." Monty slowly picked up Gadget's plate and stacked on top of the

others.

Monty soon came back with five clean plates and forks. "Well Gadget,

if that dinner didn't cheer you up, this might. It was my idea." He walked

back into the kitchen and return once again with a pan in his paws.

The smell of what was in the pan cought Gadget's attention. "What is

it?" Monty sat the pan down. It was a cake with a red icing on top.

"It's a strawberry cake with strawberry icing?" Gadget started smiling a

little.

She started talking a little faster. "With little strawberry pieces

inside?"

Monty nodded. "The same. Your favorite I believe."

Gadget was finally smiling. Her change of attitude stunned Chip, Dale,

and Zipper. Monty had said that this stuff would make Gadget feel better,

but he never said it would cheer her up this much. "Almost like one of

your cheese attacks Monty." Dale stated.

"Her father showed me this one time." Monty responded.

After the Rangers had finished their cake, Gadget finishing first. They

adjourned to the living room.


*-*-*

Chip patted monty on the back, "Monty, you need to make that cake again

sometime."

Monty sat down on the couch. "Can do Chip."

Gadget was the last into the living room. She sat down beside Monty.

Dale spoke up, "so, what should we watch? I know, how about another

one of those Godzilla movies."

Zipper and Chip looked at Monty who looked at them in return. They all

then looked at Gadget who then looked at Dale. "No!" They all shouted.

"Okay, okay. Just a suggestion." Dale thought for a second then

changed his suggestion. "How about King Kong then."

Chip thought for a second then broke the sudden silence. "How about we

watch nothing." Monty looked at Chip.

"Good idea Chipper. Let's think of something else to do. Gadget?"

"Well," Gadget responded, "I think I'm going to go outside and sit."

She got up, walked to the door, opened the door, walked out, and shut it

behind her.

Monty watched Gadget leave, then turned around again. "Well, looks like

we're back to 'ol square one."

Chip spoke up after a short period of more silence. "I think I'm going

to go join Gadget." He got up and left.


*-*-*

Gadget sat with her legs crossed, her paws folded in her lap. She looked

up at the stars, slightly obscured by the glow in the sky from the lights

in New York City. A plane flying high overhead caught her attention. She

let out a small sigh, and started thinking about the day.

Monty had cheered her up, but it was starting to fade fast. She had

been an emotional rollercoaster lately, and she was afraid the rollercoaster

wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

Monty was correct, he had gotten the recipe from her Dad. She could

recall the many times her dad had brought a strawberry home to cut up and

make a cake. He couldn't cook very well. But when it came to making a

strawberry cake with strawberry icing, he did it gracefully almost like he

was flying his plane. But what she wanted to know was how he came to cook

that particular cake just right. And why she loved strawberries so much.

She was a mouse. Mice where supposed to like cheese. Her father even

admitted that his favorite food was macaroni and cheese, but for her, it was

strawberries.

"Mind if I join you, again?" Gadget looked up to see chip. He had a

concerned look on his face.

"Shure Chip." She scooted over to her right a little bit to allow him

to sit down. After a few minutes. Chip finally spoke up.

"What did you find out today?" He looked at Gadget as she dropped her

head towards her legs.

"You don't want to know." She responded.

"Well, what if I wanted to know?" He put a paw on her shoulder. She

looked up at him, with a saddened expression on her face.

"I just, I, don't want to tell you." She looked back down. And

resumed talking. "I'm, sorry, I've been acting like this lately, it really

isn't like me to be this emotional."

Chip responded, "well, sometimes you need to be."

Gadget again looked back up at him. "Why?"

"It isn't healthy to keep all your emotions bottled up all the time."

She sighed again and looked up at the stars. "Why did he have to die,

why?" She put her face in her paws.

Chip put his arm around her to try to confort her. This was indeed not

like Gadget. She never was this emotional. And never for this long. "I

wish I could do more to help you Gadget. But, I'm stumped, I don't know what

to say." Gadget stood up and Chip joined her.

She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out her baby

picture. "I found this under my Dad's bed." She handed the picture to Chip.

No sooner he looked at the picture of a small baby girl mouse in a nursery

crib wrapped in a pink blanket, he instantly knew who it was.

"Why, Gadget, it's a baby picture. Your baby picture." Tears where

coming to Gadgets eyes.

"And thats not all." Gadget paused for a moment then spoke again. "I

also found my." She stopped. A strange cold feeling rushed through her.

Chip noticed her face go blank. "What?" He asked.

"My," she continued, "birth certificate." Gadget turned around and

started walking towards the Ranger Wing. She climbed into the back and

sat down.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Chip responded as he walked to the Ranger

Wing with her, climbed into the back, and sat down beside her. He put his

left arm around her and hugged her, trying his best to comfort her.

Gadget didn't respond to his question. For a few moments, they sat and

said nothing.

He sat there watching Gadget sob, he didnt wan't to say or do anything.

She would eventually stop. ::What about Monty, Dale, and Zipper. When will

they find out. Would she tell them, or will she want me to keep this a

secret. She will just continue being her normal self.:: But he knew that

last thought might never be possible again. He looked up at the stars and

the now present moon.


XIV- Death Bed -XIV


Gadget slowly krept into bed. She felt better now that Chip knew of her

problems. She trusted Chip with that knowledge and he promised her he would

not tell a single soul about this. She was eventually going to tell the

others herself, but later. But what she was trying to keep from Chip and

the others was her Mothers death to bring her into the world.

The only thing that went through her mind now was sleep. She slowly

drifted off. Her eyes closed gently. The warm sheets welcomed her. The

window of her mind closed on the outside world and slowly entered an eternal

world we all know as dreaming.

Gadget could see a door. Not just any door, but a familiar

door. She couldn't remember where she saw that door if she had ever before

seen it, but her mind was telling her she'd been there previously.

Gadget slowly placed a paw on the knob of the door and quietly twisted it.

Gently pushing on the door proved to be a problem, the door wouldn't

budge. :: There's got to be a way to open this door quietly. That's funny

, why do I wan't to open it quetly? :: Her mind was once again telling her

something unfamilliar yet familliar, that she knew what was on the other side

of the door. Finally, she got enough nerve up, gave it all she had and

pushed the door open.

The other side of the door made it's presence known to her. There were

several mice, huddled around what looked to be a hospital bed. There was a

monitor off to the side with a solid green line on it's screen, and a solid

tone that faded out as soon as she looked away from the monitor. She stepped

forward. The mice looked totally unfamiliar. They turned around to greet

her. "What a terrible loss this is. Are you sure you'll be okay?" It

struck her that they all said this together.

Gadget looked down at the body in the bed. It was a female mouse who

looked like she was in her late twenties, dressed in a wedding gown. As

soon as Gadget saw the face of the body, she got cold. :: Oh my Gosh! She

looks like me! :: The face did indeed look like her. Gadget turned around

to see the other mice still in the room. "Helen Hackwrench will be missed."

Then after Gadget blinked once, they where gone, replaced with a cloak of

unfathomable darkness.

Gadget slowly turned around. The woman had her previously closed eyes

open, and was staring at her. Gadget looked back up at the monitor. The

solid tone once again faded in, and faded out as Gadget looked back down at

the mouse in the bed. "Hi Gadget. Did you miss me?"

Gadget had her mouth open. But her brain silently kicked her into

responding. "Are you? But you couldn't be..."

"Your mother." Gadget sat down on the side of the bed. The mouse

took Gadgets paw in hers. Gadget noticed that her paws where ice cold to the

touch. "Gadget, my child. Don't forget me. You hear. Don't forget me."

"Mom, why did you have to die?"

The woman opened her mouth to speak, but she only whispered. And at such

a weak breath that not even a mouse could hear.. Gadget blinked her eyes,

and suddenly she herself was in the bed in place of the woman. She tried to

Glance at the heart monitor, but she couldn't even move. Her eyes were

closed but she could still see.

She could see her father on the bed beside her, sobbing. "Helen." He

took a deep breath. "Just wanted you to know, It's a girl. I named her

Gadget just like you wanted." He took Gadget's hand in his. Gadget

suddenly realized, she was experiencing something her mother had never

experienced. But she was in her mothers body. "I don't know what I'm going

to do Helen. We had so many plans. But now we will never get to live our

dreams together. As I promised, I was there for you. I guess things just

don't go our way sometimes."

Then suddenly, Gadget lost all sense of anything around her. A dark

black enshrouded her. She could hear her mother speak again. "Gadget, my

child. Don't forget me. You hear. Don't forget me."

*-*-*

With a sudden jolt, Gadget sprang up. It was in the morning and she

was in her own bed. She slowly removed the sheets after sitting in them

a litttle while, and stumbled into her bathroom. She turned on the light

and looked back into the mirror. That face was back. But this time she

recognized it. :: Mother! :: Gadget now knew who it was staring back at

her. It was her mother.

She once again traced the curves of her face. The gentle curves were

now very familiar.


XV- The Turning Point -XV


Gadget had summoned up enough courage to feel enthusiastic by the time

breakfast rolled around. This time however, everyone was still in bed.

She thought this strange enough, but she didn't want to investigate. The

only thing she could think about was opening that envelope. So there Gadget

sat at the dining room table, thumbing the opening on the envelope.

She felt butterflys in her stomach. Like she was opening a door to a

long forgotten room in a vast hallway. She was able to keep from being too

nervous. The time had come to open the envelope.

The envelope had definately been in storage a long time. It's yellow

paper evident to it's age. The adhesive on the seal had failed, and all

she had to do was gently pull it open. She carefully looked inside the

envelope. The first thing she pulled out was a piece of paper. She unfolded

it and read it. "Inside this envelope is the life of Helen Hackwrench. May

she rest in piece."

Gadget put the paper down and pulled out several photographs. She

looked at the first one. It was of a young female mouse sleeping in a crib.

It looked like Gadget but there was an unknown man on the side looking up

at the camera. It didn't take long for Gadget to realize that the man in

the picture was probably her Grandfather, and the baby in the crib her

mother.

She put the picture down and looked at the next picture. This picture

was definatly her mother. From the picture it looked like it was her first

birthday. The cake surprised Gadget, the picture was slightly faded but she

could make out pieces of strawberry on top. Gadget grinned a little and

went for the next picture.

This one was of Helen in a Halloween costume. The Mice that lived

just outside of town in a small suburban area where known for actually

dressing up for Halloween. The next picture was of Helen in her costume

again. This time the picture had several other small mice in it, all

dressed up too.

She put that picture away and looked at yet another picture. This one

was just a tad puzzling. It was a class photo. Not very many mice schools

actually took class photos, but some did and appearantly her mother went to

one. Gadget could easily pick out Helen because she looked so much like

Gadget.

Gadget had seen half of her mothers life, on pictures, tucked away

gently in a yellowing envelope. But nothing prepared her for the next

picture. A wedding photo. There it was. Helen Hackwrench, dressed in a

stunning wedding gown. And Geegaw Hackwrench, not dressed in avaiater attire

as usual, but a good looking formal tuxedo. The next few pictures where

the same. One also had the wedding cake. The picture was in color and

she could actually see the strawberries and the red icing.

The next picture was fairly general in appearance. The happy couple

was standing in front of the old plane they, and eventually Gadget called

home. A tear was coming to Gadget's eyes. The next picture was of inside

the newly made house, various new furnishings were on the floor in what

Gadget knew to be the living room.

A couple more pictures had about the same generality as the previous,

but as Gadget went to look at the next, she stopped. She put the pictures

down for moment and sat there. All the joyous emotions coming to her were

really masking another emotion that was surfacing. It was tearing her up

inside.

Summoning up enough emotional strength, she slowly lifted up the

pictures and pulled out the last one. It was of Helen in a hospital bed.

From what Gadget could tell, she was pregnant, and was smiling at the

camera. From what Gadget could tell, she looked to be in some pain, but she

was actually smiling at the camera, why?

When people look into the lense of a camera, they are looking at you

in a sense. But Gadget felt Helen was looking at her, and Helen knew who

she was looking at. The hidden emotion finally got her. Gadget laid her

head down on the table, sobbing,


*-*-*


Gadget ran once again to the mirror in her room. She once again traced

the curves of her face with her paw, a small tear emerging from an eye.

All Gadget could see was a ghost from the past. She backed up and looked

at her entire night gowned figure, she could still see that ghost.

She walked over to her bed and sat down on it. Then she let herself

fall back, her hair fanning out in all directions as it lay on the bed behind

her head. :: What does all this mean? :: She thought to herself. Memories

were coming back to her, memories that she had long forgotten. They were

flooding in like a river whose tributaries had already filled to capacity.

She was reminding herself of old times with her dad, the good times,

the bad times. Her dad was always there for her. When she needed a shoulder

to cry on, her dad was there. Geegaw was Gadget's only blood relative, he

didn't abandon her when she was in need. He nurtured her and urged her

to pursue her interests. Where did her mother factor in? Somewhere?

She was her mother. But Helen had no influence on Gadget's childhood.

Or did she?

Gadget remembered the time in kindergarten when the principal

decided to skip her up to the first grade. All she wanted to do was look

towards the airport and watch all the airplanes take off. All the kids

were so mean towards her. They knew she didn't have a mother, and being

of that age, didn't know they could hurt anyone by poking fun at that

fact.

This was the primary cause of Gadget's shyness. She simply didn't

know how people would react, so she didn't really talk all that much.

The only time she would talk would be whenever someone started talking

technical, or when someone tried to get to know her.

She remembered the time her dad took her up for the first time in

the Screaming Eagle. The emotions she felt. Being free as a bird. Almost

feeling connected somehow to the plane. That same day was the last time

she saw Monty for quite a while, almost as if he had dissappeared off

the face of the earth. Her dad never really had gotten over Zanzibar.

Then Gadget could remember a stormy night. She had been awakened by

a particularly loud bolt of lightning, and had heard some stirring

in the living room. She remembered walking in and seeing her dad reading

a small red book, almost like a diary. When she spoke up, he closed the

book and asked her why she was up, it was the night before she was to start

the sixth grade. Then she suddenly rememberd. She was so close to finding

out wether Helen was her mother. In a way, she had known her mothers name

for a long time. She just never gave it much thought.

Then the next memory went through her mind. Gadget was in a college

class when her professor approached her with a note that was handed to

him. The note said. "Come to the air race, ASAP. There's been an

accadent." She rememberd running as fast as her young heart could beat

to the air race where her father was to take off for his tenth air race.

She remembered seeing two burning planes. One of the twisted wrecks was

her fathers racing plane, the Eagle 2. Gadget then remembered being taken

to the emergency room, where in a back room, a doctor gave her the sad news.

The exact words that the doctor said still echoed through her mind. "I'm

sorry, there's nothing we could do to save him."

After that moment, she became detached from the world. Disconnected,

antisocial, as well as antisalesman. She only went out to test an invention

or to get food. She stayed in her home. The only place that brought

her happy memories. She focused all her thoughts on her inventions, trying

to forget her life.

Then there was that one day. When Gadget was greeted by four visitors.

One of which was Monty, then Zipper. And two chipmunks who seemed to

snap and daydream when they first laid their eyes upon her face. From

that moment on. Her life had changed. She was then a Rescue Ranger. She

found something else to loose herself in. To forget her troubles.

Occasionally she would let her true self surface, but it would then fade

away with rambling, inventing, and Rescue Ranger work.

Up to this time, she had neglected her past. And it came to greet her,

like a rejected friend that she had forgotten about. Something she just

assumed she could live without. She knew her father had loved her very much.

She knew her father's sudden death was an accadent. But she never got to

say goodbye to her only blood relative, her own father. And this tore her

up so bad that she shut down when she thought of it.

Where did her mother play in to all of this. Her father never told

her about Helen, and Gadget had no memories of her. She slowly pieced

together the facts. The doctors words to Gadget, "But she had seen you, and

had heard you cry. She took her last breath with a smile on her face,"

echoed loudly. Helen gave her life to bring Gadget into the world. It

didn't influence Gadget's childhood. But it was now with her, to confort

her in present. Her mental blanket, that she was ignoring. Her mother

loved her unborn child very much. She wen't through the amplified pain of

labor to bring Gadget into the world. Then died.

It hit Gadget at about that time that the strawberry cake in Helen's

wedding photo, was no coincidense, it was passed down from Mother to

Daughter, from parent to child. A gift in a way.

The ghost in the mirror was know coincidense either. Gadget looked

just like her mother, as evident in the pictures of Helen. :: This

must have been a gift, :: Gadget thought slowly to herself. :: Mothers

gift to me. :: Gadget took a deep breath then sighed, still looking up

at the wall.

XVI- Chip -XVI


Gadget looked down from her stare at the ceiling to see Chip standing

in the doorway. "Feeling okay," asked Chip.

Gadget looked back up towards the ceiling. "I guess you can say that.

I don't really know how I feel. I'm trying to figure it out."

Chip walked on in and sat down on the bed beside her. He looked towards

the floor. "I saw the pictures on the table. Your mother looks alot

like you. It's almost an uncanny resembelence."

Gadget looked down towards Chip, she sat up. "You think so. I guess you

can say I do. I may look like her, but I don't know her."

Chip looked at Gadget. "What do you mean, did you know your mother?"

"No!," she jumped up and sqeaked out "I can't think of it anymore, it's

tearing me apart inside! I know, I'll just go to my workshop! I'll go in

there and work on something. I'll forget about it. I'll be myself again."

Gadget was frantic, she looked around then hurridly walked towards the door,

still dressed in her night gown. She almost pushed the door down, but then

realized she was supposed to pull on it. She pulled on the door without

turning the knob first, then met the same resistance. Finally, giving up

she turned around. With tears coming to her eyes in full force, and with

her hands on her forehead, she slowly slid down the door until she was

sitting on the floor.

She spoke in a desperate tone. "It's no use. How can I live with it?

What should I do. How can I live anymore? Why?"

Chip walked over to her and put a paw on her right shoulder. "What

happened? Please tell me. As a true friend," he paused a moment, "as

someone who cares for you very much."

Gadget looked up at Chip, he was frowning. She could tell he was

pained to see her like this. It was true, Chip had never seen Gadget

this fragile before. "I never told you about my Mom, Chip. Let me tell

you." She took a deep breath. Chip sat down next to her.

"Go on," Chip said softly.

"When my Mom, Helen, was pregnant with me. She got ill. The doctor,

whome I met yesterday said it was a rare disease that weakened her immune

system and muscles. It made her so weak that she was bedridden. Because of

her illness, labor meant almost certain death. I really can't continue. I

can't bear the thought anymore."

Chip gently moved his paw down her arm to her paw. He clasped it in

between both of his. "You have to tell me Gadget. You need too." Chip

looked into Gadget's teary sparkling-baby-blue eyes. She could tell he was

sincere by his gaze.

"They attempted a cessarian. But they soon found out that she was too

weak, and if she died in the operating room, I would have died by not being

able to breathe on my own. My mom decided to have me normally."

"Did she see you?" Chip asked.

"For," she paused, "three minutes and twelve seconds. The doctor said

she died with a smile on her face. She died to bring me into the world Chip.

She sacrificed herself for me, and I didn't even know her."

Chip could hardly believe what Gadget just said. The poor girl didn't

get a chance to see her own mother.

"And that's not all. She appeared to me last night in a dream Chip.

She told me not to forget her, and she sounded like me. What does that

mean."

"Maybe it means your mother is inside of you Gadget."

"Whaddyoua mean Chip?"

"You have those pictures. You saw how you look so much like your

mother. And it looks like she liked Strawberries. Theres probably other

stuff too."

Gadget stood up and Chip stood up with her. "Like what Chip?"

"Your mother sighned her own death sentence to bring you into the world

she gave a part of herself to the world and died for it. She sacrificed

herself for you. You're part of her, and she's part of you Gadget. You

gained your mothers touch. Maybe her compassion. You are her gift to the

world. You've saved countless lives almost facing your own possible death.

I'm afraid you don't see that Gadget, and I'm troubled to see you like this.

Your memory of your mother is with you in that mirror everyday, your memory

of her is her ultimate sacrifice and her gift to the world, you, Gadget."

:: That's it! :: Gadget's heart skipped a beat. She'd found the answer

to the questions. Her dad didn't die in vain. Maybe his death made her

stronger. She had faced a death of a loved one and this made her understand

her mothers death more, her mothers love of her unborn child.

"Do you understand Gadget?" Chip gazed once more into Gadget's

beautiful eyes.

Gadget returned the gaze. "You care for me alot, don't you Chip? You

seem to have been there. You seem to be very concerned."

Chip closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "Yes, I care

for you alot. I love your mothers gift to the world, and I don't want to

lose it while I am looking in it's eyes right now. I love you Gadget."

Gadget blushed a little. She put her arms around Chip.

"Really." She inched her head closer to his, and closed her eyes.

"Yes, very much. Very..." Chip couldn't complete his sentence, for

at that moment, he and Gadget were embraced in each others arms, mouths

together, in a deep kiss.

XVII- Saying Goodbye -XVII


The rest of the morning, after Gadget had gotten dressed and ready for

the day, she made the decision to spend it with Chip. Both as a new love

that she had been unintentionally ignoring and now acknoledged, and as the

only person who could fully understand her next task.

Her predictions were right. One of the pieces of paper in the file

the doctor had handed her was a death certificate for her mom. In it was

the burial location. Which to her surprise, was right next to her fathers.

"I can't believe it," she told Chip as they walked towards the

Cemetary, Chips arm around Gadget's waist and her arm around his. "All that

time visiting my fathers grave and my mother was right next to his. It's

amazing how I never really noticed it."

After that short walk, the two close friends, hands intertwined, stood

staring at the graves of Gadget's parents. One that she had known throughout

her childhood, and one who she never saw alive, but knew in her heart. She

turned to Chip. "Chip, let me introduce to you my parents, Geegaw and Helen,

Hackwrench."

Chip looked down at the two headstones. "Hi!"

Gadget politely let go of Chip's arm and walked towards the Graves, she

kneeled down in between them. For the next couple of minutes. She didn't

say a thing. She let the silence overtake her. The whispering wind in the

trees were the only thing, as her new found love stood in the background,

looking on.

She remembered what the doctor had said. What Chip had said. Gadget

herself was her mothers gift to the world. Even as a mouse, she was a

big gift. She was now a Rescue Ranger, she had made a difference on

countless lives. She had no-doubtedly met her parents' expectations, true

she was the only surviving Hackwrench left, but she was quite convinced

her legacy would live on. At least too her it would, and the countless

lives she had touched.

Gadget's life had changed tremendously. Once, she was a budding youth,

then she had become a recluse, then, a Ranger. And now, a new point in her

life. Love, an emotion she tried feverishly to kill, had come back to her

with Chip. She sighed. Then looked down towards the ground and whispered,

"thanks Mom."


THE END


-- Closing -- (The nifty little closing as typed by Robert Hollingshead.)


There. It's finished. I estimate that it has taken me probably a year

to complete this little story. In fact, I think I have probably suffered

more writers block than ever because of it. I have poured my mind and my

heart into this story to make it as poetic as possible and have high hopes

that it will become a unique story in the universe of RR and Gadget

fanfiction forever. I hope you enjoy this story as much as I did making it.

This story was started completely on accadent. I was working on a story

involving the Rangers and an unlucky encounter with a Tornado, but I

forgot to back the story up on a floppy, and when I was writing down my

thoughts about a possible story involving Gadget's past, I overwrote the

only copy I had. Like an idiot, I forgot to make a backup. Instead of

hitting myself over the head, I accepted the loss and started work on this

story. Now, 1.n years later, my creation is completed.


*-*-*


We Gadgephiles are a unique bunch of people. We have found a cartoon

character whose personality, interests, and good looks we find very

intriguing and for some, appealing.

As a Gadget Hackwrench fan, or Gadgephile, I have listened closely to

every line of her dialogue on Rescue Rangers, made observations about them,

analized them, and commented about them. I have watched TTR #3 time and time

again slowly trying to piece together a mental image of what her Dad probably

was like, solely for the purpose of attempting to create a past for our

most treasured mouse.

I have attempted to create a work beautiful in it's own right. Although

the audience is a little limited, the true RR fan and especially the

Gadgephile should appreciate it.

Being a futurist and a technologist, I have strong faith that the

Internet, and all it's future evolutions, will keep Gadget alive in peoples

minds. So what if Disney killed off one of their most powerful characters,

it's really their loss. The true fans, who for the most part are all

connected, will keep her alive in fanfiction, fanart, and other fan works of

all types, if they can't they'll urge other people on, and voice their own

opinions, and will be the audience. Maybe someday someone at Disney with a

particularly high rank in it's employee base, will stumble upon the Internet

Gadget Archive, or ERR, or even TAOGH, and will suddenly find a powerful

character that they have nearly killed off, bring her back, and who knows.

But for right now, let's keep RRs and Gadget's own web presense

up, and not let it die. We will complain though if they decide to tear

down the Go-Coaster, I haven't ridden it yet. >8^)


I would like to leave you with this poem that only

appears in my Advanced English 11 creative writing portfolio. It

is not inspired by this story, but seems to go well with it.


"A Memory"

By Robert Hollingshead


Looking at the life and times of that day,

Seeking to find memories.

Some clear, some clouded, equally efficient in the point,

Of realization.


The essence of the past lives on.

Our Minds, our hearts.

It's there, you just need to see it.

Your mind, Your heart.


Disclaimer: The Rescue Rangers are (c) 1997 Walt Disney. All characters are used without permission.

This story is presented for the intention of entertainment not profit, and is presented in

Public Domain form. The page maintainer assumes full responsibility for the content of this

story.

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