Scenes of unimportance, pictures of delight, things that go to make up a = life.... =0D Soul Searching By Michael Demcio Part II: First Contact =0D For a number of moments, Gadget could only stand there, blinking at = her own realization as she continued to look down in surprise at the male black and white cat= , the statement within its gaze now clearly readable. The same statement that she had somehow missed= before. As she watched though, as if to emphasize its intent, it slowly reached a paw up= toward her, silently holding it there for a number of moments, as if holding a hand out to her= in need of assistance as well as in peace. At this, a slight feeling of embarrassment and guilt be= gan to burn within her, warming her cheeks. She had fought so hard against the cat's earlier atte= mpts to contact her, when all it had been doing was trying to ask for her aid. = "Gosh! You...need my *help*?" she asked softly and uncertainly, the = words coming from her mouth as though she couldn't believe them herself. She and the other = Rangers had helped a ghost out once before, that one being Monterey's old ancestor, Sir Colby,= but he *obviously* had been in need of assistance. The ancient guard had lived for so long with = no bravery to speak of, not to mention barely any self confidence in what he was capable of, even= as a ghost. It was no wonder why he had needed the Rescue Ranger's help in breaking the curse w= hich had been put upon him, binding him to the castle in which he had been posted. This ins= tance though, was an entirely different story. With the ability to have done all that it did i= n trying to contact her, as well as having the supernatural ability to have seemingly frozen time about he= r, she could only wonder what in the world could she do that this cat could not? "What do you need= ? Are you under some kind of *curse*?" she asked uncertainly. At this the cat still did not sp= eak, but merely turned its gaze away from her to look over its left shoulder for a moment, staring a= way toward some undetermined point before turning its gaze back up toward her. "I...I'm afraid I don't understand.." Gadget shrugged, shaking her h= ead apologetically in confusion. "What do you need? Can you talk?" At the question, the cat did= not shake its head yes or no, nor did it open its mouth to speak. Blinking once after a number o= f moments as he continued to stare up at her in the same expression as if studying her, t= he cat only lifted itself onto all four legs in a standing position. Pivoting itself toward its left, it= looked out for a moment in the same direction it had before, before turning its eyes back up toward her.= = "You want me to come with you?" = Again the cat gave no answer in any fashion, but only continued to s= tare up at her, its tail softly swishing behind itself. To say the least, Gadget was still somewha= t uncertain about what the specter needed her to do, but from what she could gather about the cat's = last action, she decided to base her own course upon it. = "Golly, I'll *gladly* help if that's what you need me for," Gadget s= tated, looking down at the cat with a sympathetic and kind smile, "but why just me?" she asked, = gesturing over toward the open door behind her, her words still laced with a note of nervousnes= s. She still had no concrete answers from the spirit which stood before her, as to its reason= s or intent. "We could *all* help you a lot better than only I could. Are you sure you don't wan= t to bring my friends along too?" she asked, knowing her words had sense to them, as well as kn= owing that she would feel a lot less nervous in this situation with her friends along beside h= er. Still the cat gave no answer but to continue staring up at her, blin= king but once. From what she could determine, the action was nowhere near her question that s= he could have taken even that as an answer of any sort. Still she was more than a bit uncerta= in, and yet, continuing to look into the cat's eyes for the next number of moments that followed, sh= e was able to get an impression of sorts from it. An untouchable, elusive something, akin to w= hat had told her that the cat was waiting for her out here. Something that told her that she simply= had to *trust* the path this feline had decided upon, that path being that only *she* would trave= l with this silent visitor, though as to why would as yet be unknown. Trusting her instincts, she dec= ided to accept this feeling as a fact. She knew it was the best she could do at the moment af= ter all. With this, Gadget gave a short tired sigh, in a reply of her own. "Okay, but *gosh* I wish = you'd just *answer* me, somehow." she stated, shaking her head lightly. "I'll be right down." = Entering the treehouse once again, taking only a moment as she cross= ed the living room to look over at her three friends still seemingly frozen in space, Gadget qu= ickly made her way over to her workshop. Crossing through the adjacent doorway, she entered into = the hangar which housed their air vehicles. As she did so though, she stopped short. Gaspi= ng slightly in surprise, she gazed out to look upon a now somewhat smaller version of the cat now fill= ing the hangar, it's paw now draped over the forward portion of the cockpit of the Rangerplane as = it waited for her. Approaching the feline, she looked for a moment at the obstacle it's paw = presented, before turning her gaze up toward the face of her new companion, the meaning behind its = action quite clear. = "But how do I get to where we need to go then?" she asked. Turning i= ts head, the black and white cat looked over its left shoulder toward a corner of the hangar= where one of the hang-gliders sat, waiting and ready. "Golly..." Gadget returned, having f= ollowed its line of sight over to the kite like apparatus and then back to meet its gaze. "Why the = hang-gliders? The Rangerplane would be *much* faster!" she emphasized, spreading her arms w= ide in a shrugging gesture, "Not to mention safer!" she argued gently, knowing the Rangerpla= ne could generate its own lift by the flapping of its wings, while with the hang gliders..."Don= 't you think?" she asked. = The feline only stared at her in return, blinking once. "Ooookayyy..." Gadget returned after a somewhat confused sigh, makin= g her way over to the hang-glider. Lowering herself underneath the cloth to grasp the metal= bar, she easily lifted it up, and pivoting herself around to face the opening of the hangar, starte= d slightly as her gaze turned to find a now empty hangar bay. "I wish he wouldn't do that." she = stated softly to herself, shaking her head as she made her way past the Rangerplane toward the bay'= s opening, carrying the craft. Walking out onto the landing platform outside, she looked over= the edge to find the black and white cat once more upon the ground, looking up at her. Seeing = her ready, it turned to look over its right shoulder in the same direction it had before. Raising= itself into a standing position on its four paws, it turned to look back up at her. = "I'm ready." She nodded, a note of curiosity evident in her voice as= to how she would catch any wind currents with the motion of the air, as well as everything= else, stopped cold around her. However, as she didn't really have much choice, she could only trust= that the feline spirit below her knew what it was doing. "Let's go." Taking a few steps back fro= m the edge to get a running start, Gadget gripped the bar of the glider securely, holding her= breath in anticipation as she pushed herself off into the stilled misty air before her. As she did = though, an air current *did* present itself to give the glider flight. A gentle, but more than adequat= e breeze that was considerably less violent than the winds that had whipped through the par= k before time had come to a screeching halt, minutes before. Looking about her as she released h= er clenched breath, she saw now that time had restarted itself once again...*somewhat*. Instead o= f being locked into an eerie state of suspended animation, the park animals, the clouds in the s= ky, the leaves on the trees, as well as what humans she could see, now moved with an almost syrupy slo= wness. It was somewhat akin to a state that she'd experienced a number of times within = dreaming. Looking down, she watched as the cat continued to stare up at her before lightly = pushing itself off from its sitting position with its hind legs, rising quickly into the air to join = her in flight. Stopping in mid air but a few feet below and ahead of her, it assumed a somewhat compact posi= tion of lying down, the position reminding Gadget of the one that was the trademark of the Sp= hinx. With that, and curling its tail around itself, the cat took off through the air, heading= off toward the main part of the city. Angling her craft, Gadget set her course to follow. = For a good portion of the trip, they flew at a fairly average height= between the buildings, set upon the hills and valleys that defined the city. The low lying fog t= hat had wrapped itself around the metropolis had not quite begun to burn off as much here as it = had in the park, and several times, her feline companion was lost to her sight within the mist= , sometimes for many seconds. However, she immediately found after the first such disappearanc= e that she didn't need to worry any of her losing track of him. For upon each disappearance, the bl= ack and white cat would once again appear after a moment or two. Flying directly beside her eithe= r on her port or starboard side, he would turn his head to lock gazes with her for a momen= t before continuing on again, once more just a few steps ahead of the craft. Even with the motio= n of the wind slowed to a much lesser degree that it had blown at before, the air temperature abo= ut her with the fog still held a chilling dampness. A feeling that began to work its way under her = thick, insulating fur. Shivering, she gave a quick thought, wondering just how far they had to g= o. = It wasn't much longer though, before a brownstone building came into= sight, and seeing the two toned cat descend toward it, she shifted her glider to do the sam= e. Landing before the well kept structure, taking in the cozy, academic atmosphere it gave thro= ugh the ivy snaking gently across its walls, Gadget turned her attention towards her companio= n. = "In here?" she asked, gesturing with her right hand across her chest= to point toward the building. The cat did not answer in any way, but turning its gaze from wh= ere it lay upon her, it looked up toward the entrance of the building around the corner upon whic= h the building sat. Lifting itself upon its four paws, it took a few steps forward before tur= ning its gaze back toward her once again. Gadget thought to herself as she repositioned= the glider against her torso to carry it more comfortably as she started forward. However, as sh= e did, the cat reached out a paw and put it upon the ground before her, blocking her path. Looki= ng down at the paw set before her, Gadget turned her head to look up with confusion towards its = owner. "What?" she asked in slight confusion. Lifting that same paw once more, the cat gentl= y pressed it down upon the top of the glider, pushing it towards the ground as Gadget released t= he bar at his action, feeling the deliberate pressure he was applying. Watching the cat look do= wn at her, she carefully stepped out from under the glider. Looking up at the cat before turning h= er gaze back toward her craft, the cat's paw still set lightly upon it, she turned her gaze back = up toward the feline. Her right eyebrow quirked up curiously. "But...the *wind* might take it if I leave = it out here!" she objected softly. "Why don't you want me to take it inside?" Still the cat did not = answer but to look at her with its wide, softly staring eyes. "Okay," Gadget sighed, shrugging as w= ell. "I'll leave it behind." With that, hearing her compliance the cat lifted its paw, and continued o= n its way toward the entrance. Gadget thought to herself as she followed him, she quipped to herself, wondering wh= at lay within the building that had begun this strange journey. = Rubbing her hands across her arms and upon her face in an attempt to= chase the chill away from her body, she suddenly became aware of the fact that as abruptly as = it had stopped, time had once more started again. The wind suddenly came to life about her, whippi= ng into the blustery full motion currents it had been before. Around her as well, the sound of pass= ing humans and cars that had been frozen a split second before, now startled her as they too spran= g to full life. Jumping slightly at the event, she hurried to catch up to the black and white cat= =2E Looking around her at the world, now full of motion once more, she caught a glimpse as the wind, a = great deal stronger now, swiftly tumbled her hang glider away down the street as she had pred= icted. Still slightly unnerved from having suddenly been brought back into the time stream whic= h she knew to be the cat's doing, she didn't bother to mention this fact to him as significant= =2E Approaching the entrance and following its lead, she slipped in unnoticed with a female human, her= arms too filled with packages to notice Gadget striding quickly along with her. Watching as th= e cat strode ahead of her to the elevator doors and seeing that the woman was headed toward the= m as well, she simply remained within the woman's blind spot until her human companion had dise= mbarked upon the second floor, watching as the doors closed behind the woman. "So where to= ?" she asked, turning her attention once more to the feline sitting calmly in the back of the e= levator. Without looking at her this time, the cat once more lifted itself into the air. Levitating i= tself in front of the control panel, it stretched out a paw to hit the button for the next level before= settling back down to the elevator floor. Arriving at the floor a moment or so later, the oddly pai= red companions moved down the short hallway that presented itself, to one of the few doors set= into it. Looking up at the door that stood before them, the cat calmly stretched out a paw and placi= ng it against the door, held it there for but a moment before Gadget detected a distinct *click*,= as of the lock being opened. She watched as with no other effort from the cat, the door swung = open slightly before her. = Moving along behind the feline specter as he slipped inside through = the narrow opening, Gadget moved with him, her heart now beating a notch faster in anticipati= on. she surmised, looking around at the small foyer she wa= s now in, giving a glance back toward the door as it softly closed itself behind her once again. Th= e tip of her tail flicking behind her nervously, she watched as the black and white cat reached the = end of the foyer and drew itself up, stopping at the doorway as it looked out into the interio= r of the apartment. Reaching his position, she looked out into the apartment as well. There w= as a human here, though as to precisely where, she couldn't say. The scent of the person filled h= er sensitive nose, along with the scent of a light perfume that was upon the person as well. This = olfactory clue, along with the contents of the interior of the apartment as she took them in, told h= er that the owner of the apartment was a female. "Well?" she asked, looking over to her companion,= "What now?" After a moment though, a curious expression crossed her face. The cat had not tur= ned toward her upon her query to answer her, through any sort of action or gesture. Instead, = it continued to look out into the interior of the apartment, the expression on its face seeming to= her as if the feline stood deep in thought. Almost entranced in a way it seemed to her, as she gauge= d the look in his eyes. Tentatively and with uncertainty, she reached out a hand to touch the spe= cter, only to have it go through his leg. The action though *did* have the desired effect as the c= at blinked, shook its head lightly and turned to look at her. "Uh..sorry," Gadget began, withdrawing= her hand and smiling gently at the cat. "What do you want me to do?" At her query, the cat turned to look out into the room once more, an= d turning back to her then, sat down to lift its right paw, pointing it out toward the room. Lo= oking out into the room herself, Gadget paused only for a moment to look back toward the cat befo= re starting forward as she was instructed. Pacing lightly through what she believed must be the = living room, she took a longer look around at her surroundings. Masterfully crafted wood furnitur= e that was obviously antique in age but excellently kept, adorned the room in the form of chin= a cabinets, small end tables, and in an adjoining room that she could see, a dining room table = as well. Lace doilies were lightly draped over some of the tables. The contents of the china cabinet= contained ceramic porcelain figurines among the various decorative plates, both of which we= re also of antique quality. A few handcrafted dolls with intricate costuming sat in comforta= ble looking, overstuffed chairs around the room. These decorative items, along with others made of= various simple materials, some of straw, some of lace, some of wood, some of glass, all = served to give the apartment a very warm, old fashioned and welcoming "grand motherly" feel.= Taking her eyes from the adornments about her, Gadget turned back toward the doorway that she = had left, wondering what sort of purpose the ghost cat had for bringing her here. A more pert= inent question suddenly presented itself though, as she looked to find the specter gone from wher= e he had been but a moment before. = "Quincy?" a muddled voice suddenly sounded from behind her. Whirling= about, Gadget started as a rustling could now be heard in an easy chair but a few steps= away from her, the back of which was facing her, obscuring the occupant from view. Uncertain as t= o whether to hide or stand her ground, she continued to look urgently about her for her feline= companion. "Quincy, is that you?" the female voice continued as the stirring now grew louder, he= ralding the arrival of the chair's occupant from off its cushion and around its form. Seeing still n= o sign of the ghost cat that had brought her here, Gadget could only turn to face the human that now c= ame into view from the other side of the chair, deciding against the option to hide. She still d= idn't know why she had been brought here. Whatever the reason though, whether this human was the reas= on or not, as the owner of the apartment, perhaps she could help in some way, give her some= kind of a clue as to her purpose there. "Oh?" The silver haired, black elderly female that eme= rged into view from the other side of the couch asked reflexively, squinting toward Gadget after = drowsily rubbing her bleary eyes to clear the sleep from them. Keeping a hand upon the side of= the chair for support, the female looked back down toward the cushions of the chair, picking up = a pair of spectacles which she deposited upon her face in a fluid nature that seemed almost a = reflex. "Oh!" she exclaimed with a pleasant note of surprise in her voice as she looked to = find Gadget standing there before her on the carpeting, looking up at her. "Well what have we here? = So *you* were the one who made that noise, eh?" she chuckled pleasantly, snatching a wooden can= e from beside the chair and leaning upon it lightly as she strode toward Gadget. "I thought= you were my Quincy!" Gadget wondered, knowing that even to her much more sensiti= ve hearing, she had not made a sound, nor had she heard any. she asked herself. By all appearances,= the woman Gadget now stood looking up toward was clearly elderly, but beyond that and the cane= at her side which she seemed to use sparingly for support, her actions did not indicate it, nor= did her expression. A twinkle in her eyes still indicated a sharp and alert mind within. = "So....what brings *you* here?" she asked of Gadget in a somewhat je= sting manner, not really expecting her to understand or reply. "Well you obviously must be = someone's pet, or you would've high tailed it away from me by now, eh?" she asked, looking over= Gadget's clothes as well, which she assumed a human had dressed her in. In reply, Gadget coul= d only continue to look up at the elderly woman, curling her tail about her legs, in something of= a trained gesture. "Hmmm..." the old woman chuckled once more, seeming to inspect Gadget fur= ther. "Well, as long as I'm up, and until I make a few calls to figure out which of the tenant= s in this building you might belong to, what do you say to a snack for the both of us in the meantime?= " she asked, stooping down to hold out her hand upon the floor before her. Looking from the han= d upon the floor before her, back up toward the amiably smiling face of the old woman towe= ring over her, with a nod, Gadget looked down to take a step onto the woman's hand. = =0D A few minutes later, after a quick trip into the kitchen, a small fa= re was made upon the dining room table in the next room. For Gadget, the repast consisted of a= piece of cheese and some sunflower seeds. For the woman, whom Gadget had discovered from a ma= gnet upon the refrigerator that her name was "Susan", a chicken sandwich which already = sat mostly devoured from even before she had set it on the table, served for her meal. As she= sat upon the table, gnawing thoughtfully upon a sunflower seed, trying to figure out what her= next move should be, she continued to look about her. Upon the spacious dining room table whic= h stood uncovered with no cloth upon it, an unfinished jigsaw puzzle sat in a jumble of uno= rganized pieces, only a few of which had been interlocked together. Looking closer, she saw the p= uzzle to be one of a very complex nature, consisting of dozens upon dozens of leaves, all of r= oughly the same size, shape, and color. The box for the puzzle as well as the bag for the store= in which it had been bought were in sight, along with the attached receipt which showed it had= been purchased recently. As she looked at the puzzle though, impressed that the woman wa= s still willing to take on a challenge to sharpen her mind, a wistful sigh beside her suddenly ma= de her change her focus. Turning her head slightly, she looked over to find Susan leaning upon the= back of her chair, looking out at a row of pictures that were lined upon a shelf, set along = the wall. = Curious, she looked out toward the framed picture upon which the wom= an seemed to be most intently focused upon. She looked to find a picture of the woman,...= =2Eholding the black and white cat which had brought her here. she asked herself= , quirking a sympathetic eyebrow at the discovery. another audible and slightly depressed sigh from Susan suddenly c= ut off her though, moving her attention from the picture, over to the old woman. Her heart g= oing out to her new companion, she laid aside her half eaten sunflower seed, and leaping from= the table, over to land upon Susan's arm, turned a look upon her which seemed to say "Want to tal= k about it?" Starting only slightly from Gadget's unexpected arrival upon her arm, Susan turned= to look curiously toward Gadget, breaking out into a smile in spite of herself as she met G= adget's gaze toward her. = "How do you animals seem to *always* know when someone needs cheerin= g up?" she asked with a thoughtful grin, turning back towards the table to deposit G= adget upon it once more. Turning in her seat to take the picture from its place on the shelf, she = set it upon the table as well. "This is Quincy, my cat," she began, turning the picture toward Gadget as= she took a deep breath. "He just...showed up on my doorstep one day a few years back, from out of= nowhere. Walked right in when I opened the door like this had always been his home, like = he owned the place," she laughed, "but I guess that's the way cats are, right?" she asked grinning= down to her. "He showed up at just the right time too. It was just around that time if I recall c= orrectly," she continued, a thoughtful frown forming on her mouth as she began to stroke a gentle fin= ger between Gadget's ears, petting her, "that life started getting more lonely." = Pausing in her petting, Susan turned to lay the picture down flat up= on the table to get a better look at it, gazing at it a moment more before she continued her ta= le and her stroking upon Gadget's fur. "My kids are already grown up you see. I've got two of em, = a boy and a girl, both. My husband, he had passed away a number of years before, God rest his gen= tle soul, and when Quince and I met each other, or rather when he had *adopted me*," she lau= ghed, tapping on the picture of the cat, "my children already had started families and lives o= f their own, both of them in different cities where their jobs took 'em. My youngest, Emily, had just = moved out of California a bit before Quince came about. At that point, I barely saw either of 'em t= hey were both so busy. I still see 'em on Christmas and Easter when they bring everyone on over or= send me on a plane to go to 'em, but otherwise...." at this, she gave a sad shrug, the implicat= ion needing no words. "I gots no other family, and a lot of my friends had either passed on or wer= e in nursing homes at that point. Me, well, the lord still let me keep ma' health so's I could take = care of myself, but like I said, it still gots to be plenty lonely around here...." she trailed off,= looking around before pulling herself back to the picture. = =0D "Quincy, he would stay with me, curl up on ma' lap and have me play = with him...he filled up the emptiness that ma' kids left when they moved out, got their own li= ves and got too busy to be with me. Now though he's missing, and I'm plenty worried about him." s= he admitted, smiling softly at Gadget, the action of petting her fur serving to sooth her nerv= es somewhat, " 'es strange though, cause, every week, and I mean *every week*, ol Quince would get o= ut of the house and to this day I *still* don't know how he did it, but cat's are sneaky that= way, eh?" she asked, with a grin, "Anyway, he would stay gone for about two days. When he *did* final= ly come back, he would come back nearly half starved with hunger, wolfin down whatever I g= ave him, and smellin like he had slept in the garbage all that time. He never minded much when= I cleaned him though, to get the smell out, and he always *loved* the brushin I gave him. Guess= he went out to have some fun with his alley cat friends, slummin around a bit," she shrugged,= giving Gadget a sly, knowing grin, "Every week though, this went on, startin as soon as he sho= wed up here to live, and continued on, like ol Big Ben, his showin up after two days, and continue= d on til yesterday. Yesterday though, he didn't show up and after not showin up today,..... .= =2E.well I'm in a *frightful* worry here, little mouse," she admitted, her voice trembling just a bit. = "I do hope that the super here didn't somehow get a crazy notion and get his hands on him somehow..= =2E*naaah!*" the old woman waved the thought away dismissively. "He hates cats I know, but the= man ain't crazy or cruel neither! Besides, ol Quince is too smart a Tom to let anyone get th= eir hands on 'im...least I think so..." = Watching as Susan's words trailed off as her gaze wandered over towa= rd the door, her expression clearly stating her concern and her silent plea that Quincy wo= uld show up at the door at that moment, Gadget felt a pang of anguish touch her heart, feeling th= e old woman's concern. Even if she *were* able to communicate to the woman through writing witho= ut shocking her that she could, she knew she would have a very hard time telling her that her = beloved pet was dead. she thought to herself, she wondered, her analytical mind goin= g to work, , she frowned, she added, snapping herself from her thoughts as she looked back up toward her compa= nion's worried face, Gadget thought to herself. Leaving the g= lider where she had landed it upon the ledge, she walked the few paces it was before she was = positioned before the window, Quincy sitting upon the ledge behind her. As she did though, the = window, as it had in Susan's apartment, slid open smoothly, as if inviting her to pass through= it. Stepping through, she watched as Quincy stepped through the opening as well, following the moti= on of the window a moment later as it slid itself shut behind them both. "I don't suppose yo= u'd answer me if I asked what this is about? Why we're *here?*" she asked with a shrug, casting he= r gaze up toward him. The area they were now in was obviously the boy's bedroom. A room that, o= ther than the parallel bar like apparatus that took up part of the wall space along the far side= of the room, gave no other indication to the boy's disability. It was a normal little boy's room com= plete with posters, toys, and other items that were devoted to heros of various sports, and superheros = as well. Looking toward her, the specter's only answer was to start past her. Jumping from the wi= ndow sill, he alighted upon a small adjacent shelf attached to the wall that was filled with sma= ll statuettes of baseball, football and hockey players. Shaking off the cold that had settled into h= er fur once more from the trip through the fog, Gadget leapt onto the shelf to join her companion. = Walking comfortably in the space between the statuettes and the wall= that was barely wide enough for Quincy to squeeze through, she turned suddenly as the door to = the room opened, heralding the entrance of Jeremy within his wheelchair. Casting a glance = over to her left, she looked to see Quincy sitting upon the shelf, his head and neck sticking t= hrough the space between two of the statuettes. Not that he needed to worry about knocking any of = them over, she observed, for the top part of his forelegs had disappeared into the figur= es on either side of him, lost from sight in their intangible state. Peering out to observe Jeremy = as she saw her companion doing so intently, she watched as the boy closed the door behind him. Whe= eling his chair over to his computer desk, he presented his profile to them as he settled in and = started the machine up. As she was able to see the computer screen from her angle, she watched with = curiosity as with a few keystrokes, and taking his mouse in hand, the boy clicked open a picture = viewer program. Her curiosity though turned to surprise as he clicked upon the title for an i= mage and within a few seconds, a picture that had been scanned into the computer displayed itse= lf upon the screen before her eyes. The image was that of Jeremy in his wheelchair, holding Quincy = happily upon his lap. = =0D thought to herself, her eyes widening slightly at the sight= , < just how many owners does this cat have, anyway?> she wondered, . With that thought, she m= oved forward from around the statuettes a moment later. She knew that there was only one possible = way that she might receive any answers as to what was going on. The only way that she could = possibly piece together this journey her otherworldly companion had led her on was in the hope th= at Jeremy could tell her something about the cat on the screen. The one that had once been Jeremy'= s companion and was now the spirit beside her. Leaping back down from the shelf she was perch= ed on, to the window sill, Gadget leapt upon the nearby bed, to cushion her descent. Springing= from there to the floor, she raced over to the boy's wheelchair, scaling up the side of it. Even a= s she moved, she was constantly aware of Quincy's spirit watching her every step from the shel= f she had just left, his eyes upon her all the while. = Attaining a perch upon the left armrest of the boy's chair, taking i= n Jeremy's body language with a note of sympathy as he sat with his elbows placed upon the compute= r desk, his head in his hands as he sat staring with a morose air at the screen, Gadget let out a= loud squeak to him, announcing her presence. His eyes widening at the sound, Jeremy lifted hi= s head from his hands, and turning to look over his left shoulder, turned his entire upper body = around in the chair to meet her as he caught sight of her, his face lighting up with a smile. "Hi!" h= e called out warmly though with not too much volume so as not to scare her. "Where did *you* come fr= om?" he asked, gently holding out his hand with his palm up in the hopes that she would make he= r way onto it. Obliging him and stepping forward onto his hand, Jeremy brought Gadget up to his c= hest level, stroking her fur gently upon her head with one finger as Susan had done before. "I= guess you're lucky that Lucky isn't here right now, him being a cat and all," the boy began, glan= cing over from Gadget to the computer screen and back again. "but even though I'm glad that you're= here, I kinda wish he was too, you know?" he asked. Gadget thought, she shr= ugged inwardly, hoping that Jeremy would say something that would help her to figure out = why the ghost had enlisted her aid on this quest. However, anything else about the cat upon= the screen that Jeremy might have uttered right then was stopped cold, as Gadget sat bolt uprigh= t then, swinging her head over to gaze at the far side of the room from the window. = "What is it, mousey?" Jeremy asked, noticing her behavior. "Is somet= hing wrong?" , Gadget replied in her own thoughts, lo= oking over to observe the ghost cat of Quincy/Lucky sitting atop one of the boy's dressers, sta= ring over at her intently. Raising its right paw, it tapped it twice before itself in the same manne= r it had before, its meaning clear. "Hey!" Jeremy cried out in surprise as Gadget suddenly leapt from hi= s hand, over to the armrest of his chair before springing from there back down to the floor. = "Where are you going?" he asked, watching her speed away from him. Dashing over to the dresser upon which the ghost now sat, Gadget qui= ckly climbed up it, leaping from the lip of each closed drawer to the next until she had atta= ined the top. "What is it?" she asked as she reached the top of the dresser, locking her gaze onto th= e specter's. Patting the area beside him with his paw from where he sat at the back of the dresser= , the ghost gave nothing else in the way of an answer. Joining him without a sound, Gadget stood b= eside the black and white cat, looking up at him as the cat now turned his gaze back out in J= eremy's direction. Turning her sight in that direction as well, she wondered what this lates= t mysterious behavior was all about. A moment later, she found out. Turning his chair away from the= computer desk and wheeling it across the room to stand before the dresser, Gadget now could= not see anything of the boy at all. = "Mousey?" the disembodied voice came from over to her from the side = of the dresser. "Are you up there?" Opening her mouth, Gadget was about to give a short s= queak in reply, but her vocalizations were stopped short as the specter's left paw suddenly m= oved out to place itself before her face in a shushing gesture. Looking up at the ghost in surpris= e, unable to fathom the reason for this latest action, she looked back toward the edge of the dre= sser top as a new sound presented itself in the next instant. Looking forward, she watched as one= of Jeremy's hands now stretched forward over the top of the dresser, fumbling blindly before tu= rning to place that same hand, palm upward as it had before. "Come on mousey," Jeremy called softl= y and in a hopeful voice "come on....I won't hurt you mousey, I promise!" Seeing no reason b= ehind this game that seemed to be going on with the intent of keeping the child waiting, borde= ring on teasing him, Gadget took a step forward. Meaning to move beyond the paw of the ghost c= at, she had not even had a chance to put that paw down before the same paw that had held her f= ast before, now came down in front of her once again, blocking her path as it made contact wit= h the dresser, its meaning quite clear. "What are you doing?!" Gadget snapped out in annoyance as she swung = her gaze back up toward the ghost cat. "I thought you were *friends* with this child! Why = do you want me to tease him? Don't tell me *he's* the one who caused you to be this way?!" she fi= nished, pointing over to Jeremy's hand which still lay upon the dresser top, hopefully waiting for= Gadget to hop onto it. = "Mousey?" Jeremy called out again, "I know you're up there, I can he= ar you! Come on!" he asked in a cajoling voice. "Please?" Finishing her somewhat irate accusation, Gadget found herself shrink= ing back slightly in the next instant as the ghost cat, crouching over, brought its head down = so that its face was now level with hers. Looking into the specter's large emerald, luminescent ey= es, she gasped ever so slightly as she saw the slight look of annoyance and anger at the accusat= ion that was centered there, clearly readable to her. Even moreso than that though, reflected w= ithin those same eyes she saw clearly a look of determination, as well of, of focus. That what it w= as doing it had a very specific, as well as a *very good reason* for. Picking up the paw that it= had set in her way, he extended it in the direction of the side of the dresser, where Jeremy now= sat, as if he were pointing at something that Gadget should be watching for. = "Well if you won't come down..." She now heard Jeremy say as he with= drew his hand from the dresser top. A second later, she heard the clattering of metal, as if= Jeremy were fiddling with something. Even as she did though, a curious look forming on her face at = the sound, she watched as the ghost beside her now stood upon all its four legs, seeming to read= y itself. A moment later, with her attention divided between the ghost beside her and the edge of t= he dresser before her, a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She looked to= see Jeremy's face come into view from over the top of the dresser, looking down at her. "So *the= re* you are!" he called with delight upon spotting Gadget. Even as Jeremy came into view though, = with a sideways nod of its head to indicate that she should follow, the specter leapt from th= e side of the dresser to an adjacent shelf along the wall. Racing along that, he leapt down to a tabl= e below it before continuing on. With a quick glance over towards Jeremy as he began to rea= ch for her, now realizing what her companion had in mind, she leapt from the dresser as w= ell, following his exact path. Around and across the room many times, the ghost cat led Gadget on = the mixed game of "follow the leader" and "tag" of sorts that had ensued. She in turn led J= eremy who followed in pursuit upon the prosthetic legs he was now perched upon, using a pair of= metal crutches for balance as he tried to catch her, smiling with determination and giggling= at almost every step. At times the specter and Gadget halted for a moment so as to let Jeremy catc= h up a bit before they started off again. At times they stopped for many moments as Jeremy would= sometimes lose his balance and fall, with Gadget staying in plain view as they allowed him t= o "get his legs" once more before the game continued. Sometimes they ran circles around him. With th= e ghost cat leaping over him, Gadget would actually leap upon the boy from a nearby shelf or = other perch, giving him a false hope at grabbing her before springing from there to the bed or ba= ck to the dresser, the table or one of the shelves along the walls. Such maneuvers were both fru= strating and confusing to the boy, but all in fun as he stumbled about, hanging onto both the ca= nes and the furniture throughout the game, as he tried to figure out where she had gone. = The mixed game continued for close to a half hour with a sometimes s= low, sometimes frantic pace, when the specter led Gadget behind the computer monitor onc= e again and stopped, turning its head back to look along the path they had come. He had done t= his at the last place they had hidden as well, as if expecting something. = "Mousey?" Jeremy called from behind them, his face appearing at the = beginning of the computer desk. "I sure hope you're feeling tired too, because I can't kee= p up anymore. I gotta sit down and rest for awhile." Hearing this, the ghost lowered his gaze down = to lock onto Gadget's once more. With another sideways nod, he led her out from around the scre= en and back over towards Jeremy. Waiting until the boy had propped up his crutches and set= tled himself back upon his chair, they both jumped up upon it as well.... "This is Lucky," Jeremy explained many minutes later after cooling d= own as he displayed the picture of him and the cat upon the computer screen once more. With G= adget perched before the keyboard on the desk, looking up at the screen, Jeremy divided his ga= ze between her and the screen before him with a smile. "He's my cat." Casting a quick glance ove= r her shoulder, Gadget smiled as she looked upon her otherworldly companion, curled up in a ball= and resting contentedly upon Jeremy's lap. It was obvious that the boy could neither see nor feel= his former pet upon his legs, but at least to Quincy/Lucky, it didn't really matter. With merely = being in such a familiar and comfortable place as this, the action was clearly more than enough to mak= e the ghost cat happy. The emotion was almost visible upon his face though certainly palpable, a= s his eyes were closed in blissful satisfaction. As the specter still hadn't made a sound all this = time even up to this point, she wasn't sure if the faint sound she heard was actually him purring, or whe= ther it was simply taking place in her imagination, influenced by the hum of the computer. Wonderin= g briefly if he had curled up on Susan's lap as well where she wouldn't have been able to see= him under the table, Gadget noticed that the ghost's presence upon his old resting spot seemed= to have a soothing effect upon Jeremy as well. It was plain to see that the boy was now look= ing upon the picture of himself and "Lucky" with fondness instead of sorrow. "Actually, Lucky's m= ore like my friend than my cat," Jeremy continued as he gently began to pet Gadget between her ea= rs again. "since I know that he belongs to someone else." With that, Jeremy clicked off the = image on the screen and moving the computer mouse around slightly, clicked the button again to su= mmon a different image. = This one was a similar one to the first, save that Lucky was nestled= in Jeremy's arms in the picture, along with the fact that although he was still in a wheelchair, = Jeremy still had the lower part of his legs in this one. "He came to me a few years ago, back when m= y legs were still there," he continued, pointing to the screen as if the difference needed to be po= inted out. "Mom, dad and I *still* don't know how he got in the apartment since there's really not= supposed to be any pets allowed here, but we didn't mind, cause we like animals. He would stay wi= th me for a day before going back to his real home for awhile, but after a day or two, he would = always come to visit me again. When I was using leg braces instead of my "new legs" to walk aroun= d on," Jeremy went on, now tapping on one of his prosthetic legs to get Gadget's attention, elic= iting a curiously alert response from the ghost as well as he raised his head, "Lucky, that's wha= t I called him cause he was always lucky in getting into the building, and also 'cause he didn't = have a name tag, he would always play with me. He would run around the room like you did, getting m= e to chase him before we both got tired, but it always helped me to practice with the braces. T= hen, when I got sick and the doctors had to take away the part of my legs away that were no good, = Lucky stayed with me for a number of days then before he went away again. We had just started = to play again, with me using my new legs when he went away and didn't come back. I guess his rea= l owner won't let him go out anymore or maybe he's sick too and can't come out." he finished wi= th a dejected sigh. "Mom and dad know I miss him, but I don't know where he lives, so I can't= visit him. Are you friends with him, mousey?" Jeremy asked curiously, "Did you learn how to = play from him?" Turning at Jeremy's question, grinning at the childlike perception he had= just displayed, her attention was suddenly drawn to the door to her right as a knock sounded = upon it. = "Jeremy?" his mother's voice sounded through the door after the knoc= k as it began to open, "Who are you talking-" As both the voice and the motion of the door= froze then before her eyes, Gadget whirled around to cast a quick glance towards Jeremy's now e= mpty lap. Bouncing her gaze from there, over to the window sill, she saw the ghost of Quincy= /Lucky perched upon it as she had anticipated, waiting for her to come. = "Time to go, huh?" she asked with a mixture between curiosity and di= sappointment. Turning his wide eyed staring gaze from her, the ghost cast it over to li= nger upon Jeremy for a moment. Then, focusing his sight once more upon her, he turned to look ou= t the window in reply. Nodding, her assent, she hopped down from the desk to Jeremy's chair, to = the floor, and from there, made her way to the window sill. She knew by now that behind the w= indow which would open itself in a moment, her hang glider would be waiting... The next stop through the fog seemed a much longer trip than the oth= er two and by the time they reached their destination, Gadget was visibly shivering. Turnin= g toward her as they landed, she could read a look of concern within the eyes of her companion= =2E "I'm okay," Gadget nodded with a small smile of assurance as she hugged her arms around her = body. "I do kinda wish that we were going inside though." They were in an alleyway between two v= ery large brick buildings. Around them, the single street which curved about the area was= fairly deserted. Here, in this section of the city, the fog was still thick around them, having bar= ely begun to burn off as it moistened and chilled the air about them. With two industrial sized dumps= ters bordering either side of the alley at the beginning of it, the only other thing occupying = it was a refrigerator box, nestled slightly behind the dumpster on the right side. As they approache= d it, it gave a quick frantic shaking motion before a hand appeared around the far corner of th= e box which faced into the alley, a face appearing along with it to look toward them. The face b= elonged to a man. He was somewhere in his late twenties or early thirties, though it was hard to t= ell through the heavy set of bristled whiskers he sported, as well as the dirt, dust and grime which c= overed that face and beard. Weatherbeaten and with a lost look, Gadget surmised that the homel= ess man had been living in this manner for quite some time. = "Tom....?" the man called out in an uncertain, drawling voice, the t= one extremely simplistic and monotone. = Gadget realized instantly with a look o= f sympathy, casting her gaze over to her companion. Seeing the same emotion that she felt within = her heart reflected within the eyes of the ghost cat, as well as one of affection, only serve= d to doubly confirm her assessment. Moving forward then, she slowly approached the man who's clot= hes seemed to be no more than rags held together by caked on dirt, when she stopped in her tr= acks. Watching as she saw him fully emerge from his box home, she decided to wait for him to no= tice her as he looked around. "Tom.....?" he called out again, looking around the alleyway, his po= sture shifting constantly to suggest an unconscious tick of some sort. = As the homeless man seemed to be almost oblivious to her presence, d= espite the fact that she was standing almost right before him, she moved a few steps closer an= d let out a small squeak to announce herself to him, hoping that it would get his attention. Looki= ng down at the ground before him at the sound, a wide, childlike grin broke out onto the face o= f the homeless man as he spotted Gadget. Lowering himself to kneel upon the ground before her, he = stooped to cup his hands upon the ground in front of her in a welcoming gesture, a clear loo= k of joy expressing his happiness at the visit. Swallowing back her hesitation, for all about th= e man, the almost revolting and palpable stench of filth, garbage and decay could be felt as well as = smelled, Gadget smiled at the invitation. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward onto the homele= ss man's outstretched hands. Raising himself up quickly, now grasping Gadget in both of his han= ds, the man launched into a quick dance of happiness, lasting for all of a second or two. His = expression and body language seeming to be akin to that of a kid on Christmas morning. Shuffl= ing back then towards the wall of the alley and placing his back to the dumpster on the right s= ide of it, he slid down upon it into a sitting position. = Drawing his hands close to the side of his face and closing his eyes= , he pressed Gadget's soft fur against his skin, squeezing her tightly with both hands in what = looked like a hug. In spite of his affectionate demeanor though, it was clear that the homeless man d= idn't know his own strength. For what was a simple lingering hug to him was even more than a= crushing bear hug on Gadget's side. A pained look appearing on her face, she began to try to s= truggle for her freedom from the overpowering grip which had already cut off her air, a few muffl= ed cries for help and for her release escaping from between the man's fingers as well. Looking up a= t her and the homeless man from where he sat on the ground, the ghost cat was not oblivious to h= is companion's plight as he heard her cries and watched her struggles. A look of concern coming in= to his wide eyed and haunting stare, he raised a single intangible paw to place it's pads gent= ly against the man's leg. Instantly opening his eyes then as if he were awakening from a dream with= something of a blank look, the homeless man removed his hands from his face. Opening his hands= as well much to Gadget's relief, she gasped in a lungful of air, coughing it out in the s= ame breath from the slight pain in her ribs. Blinking once, the man looked over to the side where th= e ghost cat sat, staring at him in a wide eyed expression of surprise and wonder as similarly, the sp= ecter stared back at him with its same wide eyed look. "Tom...?" the retarded man asked in his simple voice, cocking his he= ad slowly as he looked at the cat sitting before him. Only for a moment did this scene la= st though, for in the next, once again closing his eyes and shaking it roughly, he opened them again = to look towards Gadget once again who still lay in his hands, trying to sit up. = "Iiii'm.......sorry..." the homeless man called out to her, a look = of genuine remorse upon his face. "I....I *like*...com-pan-y." Placing a very gentle finger upon = Gadget's head then to stroke her fur lightly, even as she winced a bit, the man continued, "My name...= name is....Ad-am...." Then, picking his finger off of her head, Adam's eyes lit up as he scramb= led to his feet suddenly, a flurry of frenetic activity as if something were of dire urgency. "Come..= =2Ecome...on!" he called out to her, grasping her much more gently now in his right hand. "I....I show= you....*things*.." With that, his face lighting up happily once more, he set off at a fast p= aced shuffle towards the farther reaches of the alley. = After about fifty steps in, Gadget found that the alleyway blossomed= out into almost a small courtyard. The building to the left was shaped so that like a scoop= , a large indentation was formed out of the passage that was about twenty feet wide before narrowin= g back into the rest of the alleyway. As they turned left into this spacious area, what she saw t= here astounded her. Electronic devices. *Hundreds* of electronic devices, sat upon half broke= n wooden crates throughout the area. All of them were strung together by what looked like= salvaged electric cord that had been respliced together from all the insulating tape that had be= en wrapped around it at different areas. Connected into reworked strip plugs, the electricity for= the devices came from an underground supply from what she could see, the cord which delivered the = power to the devices, running into a manhole on the far side of the alleyway. = =0D What was *truly* captivating about this sight though, was the fact t= hat the devices clearly weren't what they had originally been made to be. Like the crates they sa= t upon, the devices had clearly been broken in some way in their lifespan. Unlike the crates thou= gh, Adam had served to breath a new and different life into them, saving them from the junkpile = for his own collection. Answering machines had been merged with boomboxes. Digital clocks had bee= n merged with Video Cassette Recorders and tape players. Many examples of electronic an= d mechanical tinkering, merging, and experimenting lay throughout the area, like a col= lage of mismatched electronic hybrids created by a Dr. Frankenstein of the silicon age. Some= of the new devices were truly unique as well as a bit bizarre to behold, even for one of Gadget's= particular talents. One such example lay in a certain digital alarm clock that Adam presented in = his tour. Though only the minutes portion of the LCD was still operating, to give some color and li= ght back to the device that had been taken away from it, Adam had grafted a fiber optic color la= mp into its circuitry. =46rom the looks of it, it was as if the clock was sporting a Jamaican ha= ircut of very fine dreadlocks that changed color every few seconds as the fibers rotated about the cloc= k's base. From this and from other examples, Gadget couldn't help but to giggle a bit, though it = was only in delight. Being an inventor herself, she could never find it in herself to ridicule an in= vention, no matter how odd it appeared to be. From the look of awe and glee upon her face though, as it= had been with Adam before, this time it was Gadget's turn to appear akin to a child faced wi= th a roomful of toys on Christmas morning. = =0D Gadget thought to herself, looking over to observe Adam's t= ools which had also looked as though they had been scavenged and fixed up, she cried excitedly in her thoughts as a sudden realization of hope hit her. Leapin= g off of Adam's hand, she quickly scampered down his clothes. Hitting the ground running, she calle= d out to the specter who sat a few feet away upon the alley floor, watching her sudden movemen= t as she began to run past. "Don't worry!" she called out, "I just had an idea! I'll be back in= a little bit!" Before she had a chance to blink though, before she even had an inkling that any movement = on her companion's part had occurred though, Gadget found the ghost sitting directly in fron= t of her, blocking her path. With a touch of sorrow in its wide eyed stare, it looked from her, = back over towards Adam. The homeless man stood there with a look of confusion and sorrow on his o= wn face at his "company's" sudden departure. Taking in his friend's expression, the ghos= t cat turned his gaze back down toward Gadget once more. A questioning gaze in his eyes, he cro= uched down so that his face was now directly in front of hers, as though he were trying to s= ee the reason for her sudden and somewhat harsh departure. With a gentle smile, Gadget met his = gaze directly. = "Look, Quin, er,...gosh! I don't even know what to call you anymore!= " she began, shaking her head and spreading her arms in a shrugging gesture. "Just *listen* to= me! I know of a way to help your friend that'll be much more effective than just keeping him com= pany here. Something that, if I'm right, will help him get a much better and happier life than= what he has now. I need to act *quickly* though, so you just have to trust me since I don't have tim= e to explain!" Here she stopped as she took in a deep breath before continuing. "I trusted you to= follow you through all of this. Can you do the same for me, now?" she asked simply. Still unmoving, the specter continued to look into Gadget's soft blu= e eyes for many moments, as though he were considering her words, though no expression ap= peared on his face to show it in any way. With that look as well though, was that same question= that she could see within his eyes, as to what she had in mind that could do all that she sa= id she could accomplish. Weighing the possibilities, the ghost raised himself up once more to step= out of her path a moment later. "Thank you." Gadget stated humbly, smiling sincerely at him as she= looked up at the ghost once more before taking off again. Tucking her glider under a piece of ne= wspaper and leaving it behind, she continued out of the alley and straight ahead to the end of t= he block, hopping onto the fender of a car as it stopped for a red light. She remembered this area o= f the city. As it happened, someone whom the Rescue Rangers had solved a case for a number of months = back was operating near here. That someone, was Benjamin Morganson, and his compan= y by the name of Century Technologies, which was in the business of making printed circuit= boards for numerous manufacturers. she thought to herself slyly as= she transferred from the car she was on, to a bus at the next light, taking her in the direction s= he wanted to go. Thankfully, the distance that she had to travel was not all that long. In a little ov= er five minutes, hopping off the bumper of the bus, she found herself at the entrance to the company, = and letting herself in through the mail slot, made her way to the President's office on the firs= t floor.... = Entering the office through the small space between the glass door a= nd the carpet, she found the very person she was looking for, Benjamin Morganson, talking to= a person she recognized as the vice president of the company. Slipping discreetly behi= nd the pair, she quickly climbed up the curtains which hung on the far wall from the double doors.= Jumping to the cluttered desk which sat before them, she quickly began to look over his = organizer schedule for the week. she grinned to herself as she spotted a= circled notation upon the page. Withdrawing from the book she made her way to a corner of the desk = where her anticipated target lay. That target namely being the keys to his brand new sports lux= ury coupe, still complete with the key ring that the dealership had provided. She had remembered Mo= rganson since in one way that Adam was like herself, in another way, Morganson was a bit as we= ll,...*only much worse*. That way being, that although the man was able to accomplish many= large and significant tasks of personal merit with his company, he did have a small fault. That= fault namely, was that in many small day to day personal matters of minor detail, such as getting a= nother copy of his car keys made to replace the duplicate set he had lost, he was often quite a= bsentminded to a fault. Having overheard his intention to "finally" get the duplicate set made wh= en she had been on that case with the rest of her teammates, she couldn't help but to shake her h= ead in astonishment. Even though she had anticipated it, she still found it hard to believe that an= yone could be quite *so* forgetful about certain things. Disengaging the key ring for his car from= the rest of Morganson's personal keys, she made a point of running directly across his line of si= ght. Jangling the keys loudly for effect, she ducked underneath one of the glass doors and sprin= ted for a hiding place she had seen underneath a cabinet. Behind the glass doors, back in his office= , a quick take on Morganson's part from Gadget's exit to the empty space on his desk where = his keys had been, was all that it took before the pandemonium began.... = Practically everyone in the tri story building must have heard the a= larmed shout that issued loudly forth from inside the office as Morganson crashed through the door= s. Looking frantically one way and then the other, he immediately began calling out to all those= within earshot, explaining the situation and his instructions to "get that packrat!!" bef= ore starting off through the floor of the building himself. Flitting from hiding place to hiding place= , staying just out of sight of the employees that were now scurrying around, trying to find her, Gadget = stealthily made her way out of building and into the employee parking lot. In spite of herself, s= he couldn't help but to grin at all the chaos and mischief that she was causing. She normally was not = one to ever cause anyone trouble through any sort of a stunt like this, save for criminals like Fa= t Cat and his gang or their human criminal counterparts. However, neither she nor the other Rangers = had started any sort of prank of sorts either on each other, or on any criminals in a number of w= eeks. With that, she had to admit that the stunt gave her an impishly playful feeling that she had= missed. Entering into the parking lot, Gadget made her way up to the parking space that read "Reser= ved: Mr. Morganson". Stopping and looking over the car that was parked there for a moment, she= cast her gaze back toward the building once again, with a sly look. she grinned. Turning the small plastic box which controlled the switch for the car ala= rm toward the new auto, she casually pressed her hand upon the button. = Inside the building, Benjamin Morganson was busy crawling under a de= sk, looking for Gadget and his pilfered keys when the alarm went off. His eyes widening s= uddenly at the sound, he seemed to forget where he was at the moment as he hastily tried to sta= nd up, slamming his head up against the bottom of it. Still clutching his bruised head with o= ne hand and muttering some rather undignified language, he was out in the parking lot in under = a half minute along with a few of his employees. = "Split up," the forty year old entrepreneur called out to them. As t= hey did, a helpless look of annoyance spread over his face. Looking upon the ground, he could only= glare out at his car which was starting to make his headache even worse with its annoying arra= y of alarm noises, knowing that without the remote he couldn't shut it off either. "That mou= se has got to be *somewhere* around here!" With that, shaking his head in disgust, the hea= d of Century Technologies stooped to examine the underside of his vehicle. Trying to c= over his ears, he began to wonder why in the world he had decided to have an alarm system install= ed on the car in the first place. Sitting on the roof of a car parked across the street, Gadge= t observed all this activity with a patient grin, waiting for the other employees to distance themselv= es a bit from Morganson before putting the next part of her plan into action. In a few more momen= ts, seeing that the other employees were far enough as they too crouched to look under cars, and se= eing Benjamin starting to turn away from her as he got to his feet, she acted. Taking a small ma= gnifying lens from the pocket of her coveralls along with a mouse sized penlight that she had ma= de, she activated the device. Focusing the beam, she directed it towards the executive's eyes. = Seeing the desired effect that she had wanted, as Benjamin reflexively looked up toward the tiny pi= npoint of light, she immediately stuffed her tools back in her pockets. Picking up the keys an= d alarm switch in her hands again, she jangled the set a few times while looking at him. A spli= t second later, she was off and running again. = Though Benjamin's few shouted words had alerted his employees as to = her whereabouts, a few minutes later as Gadget had anticipated, the chase had come down to h= er and Benjamin alone. The others had been left too far behind to catch up. Unlike many of the e= mployees that begun the chase along with him, the entrepreneur was in excellent physical shape, a= ble to keep the distance between them to no more than a quarter of a block. That, along with the f= act that she knew that when the entrepreneur set his mind to a specific, important goal, he didn= 't let up until he had attained it, gave her an edge in planning her strategy. She knew that eve= n though he might tire as they continued to race the almost two miles it was from his company back = to the alley, as long as she kept herself in his line of sight, like someone with tunnel vision, h= e would not stop chasing her. At times, it was *she* who had to stop to catch her breath for a min= ute or more, hiding herself and the keys from his sight until she had, before flaunting her "= prize" once again, catching his attention and beginning the chase anew. Finally, sprinting back into = the alleyway she had left once more, she deposited the keys and alarm box near the middle of the pa= ssageway, but a foot or two from Adam's refrigerator box home. Knowing that Benjamin would arrive= behind her in a matter of moments, she quickly ducked underneath the dumpster on the left= side. "Finally!" Benjamin Morganson breathed out upon circling around into= the entrance of the alley to spy his keys having been left behind. Scooping them up, his thin= ning jet black hair in a wild disarray from the frantic sprint he had undertaken, he wavered a bit= =2E Stepping backwards, he placed his back to the alley wall for support, almost completely out of b= reath. he thought to himself as he waited for his heart to stop b= eating so quickly. he wondered. Shrugging an answer to himself, still waiting for his breathing= to return to normal, his head suddenly turned toward his right, toward the interior of the alleywa= y as a movement caught his eye. Looking out, he watched as a transient man came walking not all = that gracefully toward him, shambling slightly down the passage. From his tone as he called out = a greeting, it was clear to Morganson that thankfully, the man was not insane or drunk, but dealin= g with a mentally retarded derelict was not something that he was up to at the moment, eith= er. He had to get back to the office in a hurry to make up for this delay, as well as to shut of= f his car alarm which he knew must be driving every one within earshot, crazy. "He.....hellooo...." Adam called out happily to Benjamin as the exec= utive watched him approach. "You...ta-..t-t...*talk*..with me...?" he asked as he smiled at= the idea, showing yellowed and filthy teeth that had not been cleaned in possibly years. = "Whoa," Benjamin called out, waving the man away as politely as he c= ould as he backed up toward the entrance to the alley. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't staying, fr= iend," he replied, "just go back to whatever it was you were doing, and I'll be on my way." The smile disappearing from his face as he stopped in his advance, A= dam turned to train a curious look upon this visitor to his home for a moment, cocking his head= before a new, excited look lit up his face once more. Jumping up and down with glee, he pointed= a tatter clad finger at Benjamin while simultaneously pointing his other hand back toward the inn= er part of the alley. "*Th*...*th*...*things*!!" he called out before running back into the all= ey from where he had come. = "Yeesh..." Benjamin mumbled to himself, in a mixed tone of relief fo= r himself and sympathy for the mentally handicapped man who was living in such a manner= =2E Turning then, he = looked toward a street sign across the way. "Whoa! I ran a lot farther th= an I thought!" he stated to himself in surprise, his hand going to the cellular phone that he kept= holstered around his waist. Activating it, and punching two buttons that dialed from the phone's memo= ry, he held the receiver to his ear. "Hello? Linden?" he asked as the other end was picked up. "Ye= ah, its me...yeah I got my keys," he replied as he stepped outside the alleyway, continuing to lo= ok at the street sign. "You wouldn't believe how far I had to chase that critter down to, to get= em!" he laughed. "Come on...*come ooon*....!" Gadget mumbled anxiously to herself as = she looked from Benjamin toward the interior of the alleyway and back again, trying to wi= ll the executive to stay there a few moments longer, as she tried to equally will Adam to come bac= k with at least one of his "things". she si= lently pleaded, her entire body tense. = "Yeah, I need you bring the limo around for me, okay?" Benjamin aske= d, continuing his conversation. "Great!" he smiled, "Huh?" he asked, "Oh, *right!*" he laug= hed, smacking the side of his head lightly. "I'm still a little winded from that run! I'm at the= corner of Tw-" he began to say before a slight tap on the side of his arm made him spin about abrupt= ly. Looking at the sight which now stood before him, he stood there blinking for a moment dumbfoun= dedly in a stare, before he opened his mouth once more. "...Linden, I'll call you back." he= finally said in a distractedly remote voice before flipping the mouthpiece for the cellular= phone up, abruptly terminating the call. = "Things...!" Adam said with a calm happiness as he stood there, smil= ing and holding out the fiber optic lamp/alarm clock out to him, having attached a reworked b= attery pack to it so that it now ran independently of the electrical wiring in the alley. "Gift...f= or you..." he stated as Benjamin took the device from Adam's hands into his own. For many moments= , Benjamin could only stare at the device with a look of shocked awe. Turning it in every = angle as he observed its construction and the modifications that had been done to it, from the con= nected circuitry that was exposed and visible through the casing, Benjamin finally spoke. Turning h= is slightly slack jawed expression toward Adam, he didn't even seem to notice or mind now, that t= he man he had not let near him before was now only a foot away from him. = "*You* made this?" Benjamin finally asked, turning his gaze up from = the device toward Adam's smiling face. Receiving a more than vigorous, enthusiastic nodding= in reply from Adam as his grin grew even wider, Benjamin could only blink in awe at the decrepi= t, reeking young man who stood before him. "How?" he finally asked, posing the question defini= tely and with curiosity, though his tone seemed to say that it was the only word he could muster u= p at the moment. Jumping up and down again with glee slightly, Adam waved him forward with= his left hand as he stepped back into the alleyway, pointing with his right, back toward the = unseen alcove that stood further in. As the two men proceeded back toward Adam's small "workshop",= Gadget carefully followed them in as well. Concealing herself behind bits of garbage, she = jokingly wondered if keeping out of sight was a futile effort. Considering the overflowing sat= isfaction and happiness she felt pouring out of her that made her feel positively radiant, sporti= ng a smile that was even wider than Adam's, she felt she would be spotted a mile away. = "Linden, it's me again," Benjamin said a number of minutes later, st= ill sporting an amazed look on his face after being toured through Adam's collection of inventio= ns, staring over at the derelict as even now, he made some more modifications to one of his devic= es with a sottering iron... "Listen, slight change of plans, I still need you to bring the li= mo around, but before you go, I want you to grab the keys to the midtown apartment that're sitting on m= y desk. Also make sure the fridge in the limo is fully loaded. Don't worry, I'll tell you all ab= out it when you get down here, now get moving. I'm at the corner of..." he continued, holding his cellul= ar phone in one hand as he now continued to look over the "gift" he had gotten in his other. = "Are you sure about this, sir?" the man named Linden stated in a som= ewhat confused, hesitant tone a number of minutes later as the stretch limo stood parked = outside the alleyway, now holding Adam in its spacious back seat along with a few of his "things". = "I appreciate your concern, Linden," Benjamin stated patiently as he= stood before him, his hands in his pockets, "but I know what I'm doing. You understand everythi= ng that *you* have to do, I trust?" he asked in a straightforward, no nonsense manner. "Yes, sir." the young blond haired intern nodded with no other note = of objection in his voice. = "Good," Benjamin replied with a warm, satisfied smile then, nodding = at him in turn. "Then get going. I'll see you back at the office when everything's taken care o= f." From her vantage point atop the dumpster on the left side of the all= ey, Gadget nodded with satisfaction to herself as well, as she sat hidden within the shadow= s. She had watched as Benjamin explained before Linden's arrival, in as basic a manner as he co= uld, an offer to Adam of going to work for him at his company which dealt with technology. It was = an offer which to the satisfaction of all, Adam accepted with his ever present level of enthusi= asm. However, Morganson's generosity had only begun with that point. For as he had expl= ained moments before to the young intern Linden, until he had been trained to work at a specif= ic job at Century Technologies, and until he had earned enough at that job to rent an apart= ment for his own, Adam was to be taken to the apartment that Morganson had in the upper class di= strict of the city, to stay there. As Morganson used the apartment on the semi rare occasion when he = had worked too late to merit a drive to his house, he had stated with assurance that he could= do without it for a time. Once there, Linden had been instructed to make sure that the man was thor= oughly bathed, calling in a professional nurse or attendant to help if it appeared that Adam did= n't know how. In addition, Linden was to make the arrangements that some fresh clothes be bought and= ordered up to the apartment for him, with his present ones to be burned. For last, but more= immediate matters, he had been instructed that Adam be properly fed. He was to be brought to th= e barber, his long knotted hair trimmed, his beard shaved, and that as time allowed the foll= owing day, he be brought to Morganson's personal dentist and his personal physician to have his te= eth cleaned and his general health checked. In essence, as Morganson had jokingly put it to L= inden, "Let me see what he looks like underneath that mess." "Sir?" Linden asked, another confused look appearing on his face, "d= on't you want me to drop you off at the office?" "Thanks, Linden," Morganson smiled, waving the offer away with a han= d, "but I'm feeling quite good at the moment. I'll *walk* back." A look of realization dawnin= g upon his face then, as though he had just remembered something, taking out his car keys from his= pocket, he detached the remote alarm switch from the keychain and tossed it to him. "Please t= urn the alarm off though. I'm sure everyone's tearing their hair out about it by this time. Just le= ave it on my desk." Watching as with a final nod, Linden made his way around to the drivers side of th= e car to drive off a moment later, Morganson then turned his attention again to the alleyway b= ehind him. Dipping his hand into his left pocket then, he withdrew a small golden cross shaped p= endant from it. Resting it in his palm for a moment, he considered it before grasping it and replaci= ng it back into his pocket. "Thanks little fella," he said aloud to the alley around him in a semi je= sting tone, smiling as he playfully tossed his keys in the air. Catching them, he turned about and= began the small trek back toward his business. = "You're welcome." Gadget returned from where she sat upon the dumpst= er. Watching him go, she turned then to the specter laying beside her who had watched Morg= anson leave as well, seeing him turn towards her as well at that moment. Though still no expre= ssion was visible on the spirit's face, she could clearly read at this point, a proud look of happ= iness as well as respect and thanks visible with his eyes, in the look that he bestowed upon her. "Gol= ly, thanks," she replied, a slight blush coming to her face, a blush that rapidly faded with alarm as= the specter began to appear rapidly more translucent, disappearing before her eyes. "Hey, wait= !" she cried out. Heeding her call, the ghost cat ceased his Cheshire cat impression and fa= ded back into full view, a question in his eyes that she could read almost as well as any words. C= asting her eyes over the face of the specter, her own face was filled with questions. "Is that it,= then?" she asked. In answer to this, looking over to the piece of newspaper which covered up her hang= glider, through unseen forces, the specter removed it, and levitating the craft over to land bef= ore her on the dumpster, continued to look at her as he pointed in the direction out of the alleyw= ay, his answer clear. "Golly," Gadget began uncertainly, looking at him curiously, "I'll be gla= d to visit all your friends and keep them company whenever I have time, but you still never showed me= what this was all about in the first place. Why did you pick *me* for all of this," she ask= ed, placing her hands against her chest, "and *what happened* to you, anyway?" she finished, ex= tending a hand out toward the spirit to indicate him. = Blinking once at her question, the spirit looked away from her for a= moment. Looking off into the air outside of the alley, he turned his head back a moment later= , training his gaze directly upon hers once more, the message in his eyes conveying a slightly aloof m= essage. A message that the reason he had picked her and what had happened to him really wasn't o= f any importance. Shaking her head at his response, a gently insisting look entered upon Ga= dget's expression as she reached out a paw to place it atop his own intangible one. "*Please*," sh= e stated compassionately, "I'd really like to know." Turning his head away from her again for a mom= ent, the ghost cat looked toward the air once more, seeming to consider her request with a s= trangely saddened air about him. Turning back towards her and turning away once more to conside= r again for a few moments, he raised himself upon his paws. He cast his gaze back at her be= fore nodding his head sideways in a motion for her to follow. Taking her glider in hand once mo= re, she took to the air, following the spirit once again. Their trip took them a few miles to the South this time, a slightly = shorter distance than their last trip. Here, a construction site was in operation, though the s= ite lay dormant for the moment. The large machines sat unmanned upon the lot with no workers bust= ling about the large steel framework either. As they landed upon the site, with a new batch of= fog appearing to roll in towards them to replace what had burnt off, the specter led Gadget to a l= arge garbage dumpster. It appeared similar to the ones in the alleyway they had left, laying jus= t outside of the construction that was underway. Once more, as unexpected as ever, she was aware of the= two of them slipping outside of the timestream as the people on the sidewalks about her abrupt= ly stopped in their tracks. She climbed up the structure to the sidebars away from the lid. W= atching as the specter sat waiting for her, levitating before the canister, she couldn't help put to= feel an uneasy sensation of nervousness creeping into her stomach. Looking from her down toward the c= over of the dumpster, with an unseen gesture, the cover raised itself up slowly befor= e flipping over on its hinge to rest itself against the back of the can. = Gasping aloud in horror, Gadget raised her hands to cover her mouth,= fighting back the urge to scream as she viewed what was inside. Looking down from where it = sat levitating in the air, the ghost cat gazed upon the mangled remains of its former body. As = if nothing were wrong with the body at all, the cat simply cast its eyes upon the gruesome sigh= t with as blank and unreadable an expression as he had through most of the time he had been w= ith Gadget. His eyes never changed their widened, slitted pupil expression. "How did this= *happen*?" Gadget finally found herself able to choke out, turning away from the sight and = looking up in sympathy at the floating spirit. "*Who did this to you*?" Turning his gaze over from = his now vacant body over toward his female companion once again, the specter looked at her for a m= oment before looking away into the interior of the construction site, giving her a familiar si= deways nod that she should follow. = Leading her from the sidewalk upon which the dumpster sat, into the = interior of the construction site, he stopped where a large mound of soil and some boulde= rs now sat, piled behind an empty dumptruck. Stopping beside the mound, he turned his atten= tion to the ground before him, waiting for Gadget to approach. Stopping where the spirit now= sat upon the ground, Gadget turned her attention toward the same spot as well. As she did, a l= ight wind began to stir, lightly sweeping away the dirt before them to reveal a set of-"Kitten tra= cks?" she said aloud, recognizing the shape as she noticed a cluster of the tracks in a certain= area, some of them streaked, some not. Right next to the dirt mound, a set of the tracks sto= od, facing the pile, while beyond the cluster of mixed and confused tracks, the paw prints were fart= her spaced apart, indicating that the kitten had begun running. It was at the moment that h= er mind began to put these clues together, her head abruptly swinging toward a street sign to = see exactly *where* they were, that the fog that had grown thick about the area, now settled aroun= d them fully. The fog absorbed everything from sight, including the ground beneath her feet. Th= en the voices began..... "All right, Lou! That's far enough! Let it go!" Listening curiously = to the words, Gadget turned her head toward the sound, aware even as she heard it, that someth= ing was amiss. Blinking, she found herself looking from across the street to view the du= mptruck in the construction yard, now shuddering as it began to raise its payload. = "Okay Ed! Coming down!" the unseen worker in the truck called out. Looking down, she found herself in the body of the black and white c= at, looking through its eyes. It was then that she saw the kitten dash into the construction = yard, stopping directly behind the dumptruck as the worker beside the truck turned away at that i= nstant, oblivious as to its presence. Seeing the impending danger, she found herself sprinting fo= rward in the cat's body, though she knew she had no control over the action. She was just barely a= ware of the fact that she was a spectator here, the whole scene proceeding with a dreamlike slownes= s. Watching with an ever growing terror, the truck continued to raise itself up, about to spi= ll its contents out upon the hapless young feline. She yelled out a warning, but saw no reaction on th= e young cat's part. Close enough now, she found herself springing, colliding into the kitten as she= knocked it away, just before the rain of stones and dirt began to crash down upon her. Pain sho= oting through her in different parts of her body she found a crushing weight cutting the air o= ff from her lungs a moment later. The last light from the sun ceased to exist before a cold d= arkness swallowed her totally...and suddenly the light from the sun was upon her once again. Pi= cking herself up from where she had landed face first in the dirt, she saw herself now within t= he kitten's body. Standing, she started forward uncertainly to sniff at the pile of dirt where someth= ing had shoved her a moment before, skittering back a bit as the dirt from the rest of the tru= ck now continued to trickle down. Cautiously, she moved forward once more to sniff the air. = After two sniffs, she caught the scent of something then that made h= er blood run cold, a chill like she had never felt before sweeping through her fur. She bolted= away from the pile in terror, only vaguely aware of how unnaturally silent everything was about= her. Different scenes flashed before her eyes then. Scenes of running through crowds, away from= the unknown and frightening thing she had found in the lot. Scenes of near misses from la= rge metal monsters who's tires did not squeal as they halted. Of large things with four paws that = were not cats like her, their mouths opening and closing rapidly with no noise as they chased her. All = of this and more though, was still nowhere near as frightening as what she had found in the lot, a= s she tried to outrun the fear that chased her more insistently than anything else she encountered.= Finally, with still many more scenes running through her mind in instant flashes as she felt the f= ear continuing to work its way through her heart and mind, the adrenaline pulsing through her body, = she found herself running down a street. Casting a quick, frantic look over her shoulder to= see who was chasing her this time,..she found herself falling...and stopping. Looking down at the= open manhole that now lay below her and the small device that had stuck itself onto her back, a= ttached to a strange looking bird in the sky that she had never seen before, she fainted away = then...only to wake up, looking into the kind eyes of a female mouse with blond head fur who wore= goggles and clothing. A mouse who petted her fur as she lay there, with others standing around = her as well. A mouse who's mouth moved but made no sound like the things that were not cats. A= mouse though who's eyes were kind, who's eyes seemed to say that everything was going to be = all right....At that point, the fog rolled in once again, engulfing everything as it had before. = "Whoa! Hey, man! What was that?" "I think it was a kitten, Ed!...You don't think I hit anything, do y= ou?" "Don't know...Come on, we'd better check, Ed." ................"Oh man,.....oh *crud*, man!.....The poor thing.....= I think I'm gonna be *sick*......!" "Oh man...tough break....come on, Ed, hold it in...Lets get it out o= f there...We'll put 'im in the dumpster Ed. We can't bury him here. Someone'll take care of it."....= =2E........ With that, as the fog lifted a bit once more, the last echoes of the= disembodied voices fading from her mind, Gadget found herself standing within the empty cons= truction yard once more, their place in the timestream having resumed as humans began to mov= e down the sidewalk once more. Trembling slightly, she turned her gaze away from the street s= ign she had been looking toward, her color having paled from the unearthly experience she had just= been through. She turned her frightened but now understanding gaze upon the spirit before h= er. "The deaf kitten.." she began, swallowing the lump that was now in her throat. "The deaf kitt= en that had been reported missing to the police station a few days ago...The kitten that w= e had spotted and started chasing yesterday, only a mile or so from here..."she continued, pointing= toward the street sign. "*You* were what happened!" she exclaimed softly in a near whisper. "*You= * were the reason that I couldn't rest after that case...You..." she stated, halting slight= ly as she turned her gaze from the eyes of the specter, towards the small mountain of dirt beside her, t= o the dumpster a short distance off "..saved her..." A rush of sadness began to well up inside h= er then as she looked from the dumpster, back toward the spirit of the cat, threatening to spill out= of her in a tide as tear stains began to streak down the fur of her cheeks. A look then came into = the eyes of the spirit. Like the others, it was a look that she would have been able to read, had= she not glanced over then to view the dumpster once again as she took in the gaze of the cat s= pirit as well. As she did though, the sadness that had built up within her so quickly, now broke th= rough in a torrent. Her body racking with choking sobs, she tore away from the area and the spec= ter, sprinting back towards her hang glider. Lifting its right forepaw momentarily as she ran= from him then, as if hastening to keep her there and console her somehow, it hesitated in its = movement, uncertain of what to do. A look of sympathy and concern prevalent in its gaze even as = it now slowly returned its paw to the ground, a look of slight confusion mixed within its gaze a= s well as the spirit watched Gadget race off. His gaze upon her, he watched as with the glider= in her hands, Gadget quickly scaled the face of the brick building sitting behind the dumpster= , leaping off to soar away from sight into the fog covered skies..... = The fog was only slightly noticeable within the area known as *cat a= lley*. Though a shade or two thicker along the streets adjoining its alley walls, the almost th= irty- strong number of felines of various shapes, sizes and fur shades that lounged, cavorted, c= hatted and dined within the area this night, were not mindful that much of the thick clouds surroundi= ng them. What they *were* instantly mindful of though, was the drawn out cry of alarm from a= bove that brought all their eyes instantly skyward in alert watchfulness. An instant later, a s= treak of motion followed by a crashing sound terminated the cry, as the unexpected intrusion crashed = into the top of a half covered metal garbage can. The cat who had sat atop it barely vacated t= he path of the incoming object only a split second before. A moment of tensed anticipation follow= ed for all for a moment before any spoke. "*What* theee....heckwasthat?!" a golden and white furred male calle= d out reflexively, staring out at the metal can that still vibrated slightly from the impact= of a moment before, the lid threatening to fall to the ground before finally settling back on top of = the receptacle. Murmuring "rowrs", "maows" and "raows" of uncertainty resounded throughout the numb= ers of the assembled cats in the area at the question, all of them looking at one an= other and the can before they cautiously began to move forward. A particularly bold grey and white= furred cat, who was known in the alley by the name of "Fisher", was the first to reach the ca= n, bounding forward before the others. Leaping atop an empty wooden crate next to it to sniff= the air before the can, his eyes lit up happily, his face now showing a surprised, hungry look up= on it. = "Hey!" he cried excitedly, licking his chops as he smacked the lid a= way from the can to clatter upon the alley floor, balancing himself on the lip of the can as = he scooped his prize out, holding it up before the crowd for all to see. "Meals from *heaven*!" Fis= her laughed aloud, holding an unconscious Gadget up by the tail before him. Some of the cats= around Fisher laughed at his remark as some slapped the ground in disappointment at not having = found the bravery quick enough to claim such a tasty morsel before him. Leaping to the ground, Fi= sher held Gadget's dangling form above his waiting mouth, about to drop her into his already= watering gullet. "Down the hatch!" he called for a affect, opening his mouth wide. = "Wait a second, Fisher...!" a tabby/grey cat called out meaningfully= as he approached him, his eyes peering carefully at Gadget. = "Hey, no tricks, Rooftop!" Fisher called suspiciously, backing up an= d drawing Gadget away from him. "Don't even *think* about trying to swipe her! I found thi= s one fair and square!" = Narrowing his eyes to give Fisher a silencing look, the serious expr= ession on his face saying that such an accusation was unwarranted in this case, Rooftop stre= tched himself forward to gently sniff the air around Gadget. His eyes went wide as he did. "Fisher, you can't eat this mouse. She-" "I *knew* it!" Fisher snarled, now grabbing Gadget fully in his paw = defensively as he backed up, looking like he might try to eat Gadget on the spot and run, h= is tail lashing behind him. "What kind of lame crud is this, furball?!" "Fisher..!" Rooftop called out warningly, trying to get him to liste= n, "You weren't hanging out here at the time, but surely you must've heard *stories* at least abo= ut the day and night that Cat alley was no more?!" Murmurs of respectful and shocked recognition swept through the crow= d at the reference, the stories having been told many times of that night long ago. That nigh= t when large metal machines that were shaped like dogs, came to cat alley and captured all o= f its inhabitants, bringing them to a deranged and twisted human who used other machines to roughly d= raw electricity from their fur. A story in which some very unusual rodents and an insect fough= t with the great metal constructs and their human owner, defeating them and freeing all the cats= that had been captured.** "What about it?" Fisher asked, not having moved yet from his defensi= ve stance. "This is one of the rodents that rescued us." Rooftop stated matter = of factly, pointing toward Gadget as small gasps and sounds of questioning recognition resoun= ded about him. "I was close enough to catch their scents, as well as to see them clearly when I= was in my cage, watching them rescue that first kitten. I know that not everyone here inhabited th= e alley back then, but there *are* a number of us left. We *owe* her, Fisher." Rooftop finished with a= very serious voice, locking his gaze onto his. "So what?" Fisher growled defiantly, advancing a step toward him in = challenge. "Like you said, I hadn't started coming around the alley back then, so this has not= hing to do with me! This mouse is mine by right of capture!" he replied with a commanding voice, h= is muscles rippling beneath his fur, poised for a fight as he kept his gaze locked with Rooft= op's. In a blur of motion, Rooftop smacked his paws down onto the cat's wrists, pushing them and loc= king them down onto to the alley floor. = "You're going to find a lot of cats wanting to *dispute* that point,= Fisher..." Rooftop growled warningly as he struggled to subdue instead of injure his fellow = alley mate. To emphasize his point, barely had Fisher begun his struggle to free himself from Roof= top's grasp, yowling, hissing and beginning to raise his hackles, when he suddenly found himsel= f surrounded by nine other cats, their stances poised for a fight as their eyes shone at him w= arningly....Freezing in his struggles and yet showing no fear to the fact that he was surrounded, a d= efiant look upon his face all the while, Fisher opened his right paw to allow Gadget to slide out o= f it to the alley floor. = "Take her..." he grumbled, both to Rooftop and to the cats around hi= m as they now sat down in a more relaxed though wary pose, sliding his wrists out from unde= r Rooftop's now slackened grip. As the other cats allowed Fisher to pass out of the circl= e they had formed around him, some giving him looks of relieved approval at his decision, while so= me still cast a wary eye at him, they all turned back toward Rooftop. As they watched, he gently stro= ked Gadget's headfur, before he began gently running his rough tongue upon her face, enticing h= er to wake up. It took only a few moments before she began to stir. "Ooohh..." she groaned, her eyes swimming drowsily in her head as sh= e opened them slightly. As they began to focus though, they suddenly sprang fully open = as she gasped to see a cat towering over her, her body jumping slightly in reflex. "Shhh! It's okay!" Rooftop said in a friendly, assuring voice, smili= ng down at her. "You're safe. You just took a bad crash." "Where am I?" she asked a bit fuzzily, as she began to sit up, Rooft= op positioning a paw under her for support. = "Cat alley." Rooftop replied. "Oh good." Gadget replied as she placed a hand to her head, "I was w= ondering if I was close to it." "Wait a minute, You *wanted* to come to cat alley?" A white cat with= in the circle asked in surprise as the other cats in the alley had now joined in the huddle t= o see in person, this much talked about rodent. Casting a fairly surprised look of his own that mirr= ored the speaker as he looked at him and the rest of the cats, Rooftop turned a now curious look= down at Gadget. "What did you need here?" he asked. = "I need your help," Gadget answered, looking up at Rooftop and the o= ther felines towering over her. "For a cat....By any chance, did you, or anyone here, = know a black and white cat with green eyes?" she asked, gesturing with her hands to upon her own= body to roughly show the pattern of the fur colors as she stated her words. "He had a few huma= n friends who called him Quincy, and Lucky, and-" "Yeah!" Fisher's voice called out, his body not visible from the mas= s of felines around her as looks and murmurs of recognition showed upon the faces of some of the = other felines as well. "Move over will ya? One side..." Fisher muttered roughly as he worked and= nudged his way into view. "Yeah, I know him, we hang out a lot here in the alley when we're b= oth here on the same night. What's wrong? Why'd he send you?" he asked, voicing the same quest= ion the other felines asked, nodding silently. Gazing up at Fisher and the others for a moment, a sad, sympathetic = look came over Gadget's face. "He didn't." she replied. "He's dead." "WHAT?!!" Fisher yowled in shock as the other felines within his gro= up of association cried out as well, a general chatter of discomfort sweeping through the e= ntire assembled mass. = "He died saving a deaf kitten." Gadget called out in a normal tone, = not feeling up to shouting at the moment. Catching only part of her words over the din, Roo= ftop shushed the other cats, silencing them as well with a curt sweep of his paw. = "What was that?" he asked as the murmuring ceased to a minimum. "I said that he died saving a deaf kitten." Gadget replied, looking = directly at Rooftop now. "*How*?" Fisher asked, a pained look readable on his face, in spite = of his controlled expression, as awed looks of respect now hung upon the faces of the other= cats. = "I don't know if you're going to believe me," Gadget stated simply, = too tired and dazed to try and concoct some sort of half truth that would cover all the bases of= the story while leaving out the supernatural aspect of it, "but here's how it happened..." A number of minutes later, the story had been told with all of the feline= s sitting about her, some sitting atop the crates and trash cans in the alley to see her as she tol= d her tale, all of them captivated by the events she related. "He didn't ask me," she stated, "bu= t no creature deserves to be thrown away, buried beneath a pile of trash." she finished with a hear= tfelt voice. "Especially one that did what he did.... I came here to see if you would help me give= him a true resting place." With saddened looks prevalent throughout all of the assembled feline= s, they all sat before her though, a look of assent and readiness in all of their eyes. = "How many do you need?" Fisher asked after a moment, looking upon th= is mouse that he had heard only in tales, with a newfound degree of respect mixed in with = his heavy heart. "I think we'd all like to go, but a parade of twenty eight plus cats is going to l= ook funny. Humans might try to investigate and intervene for some reason." Nodding at his logic, a thoughtful look appeared on Gadget's face as= she did some quick calculations. "Three should do it. Four to be on the safe side. I have to= warn you though...whoever goes, no matter how well you knew him, you'd better have= a strong stomach." "I'm going." Fisher stated in a voice that left no room for argument= =2E "Who else?" =0D In the end, both Fisher and Rooftop ended up going, with two other c= ats by the names of "Liddy" and "Clawmark". Although Rooftop did not know the cat who's true = name was "Walker" within the alley, all that well other than by sight, feeling indebted to = Gadget for her rescue of him at Nimnul's lab, as well as wanting to do his part to honor a hero among = his kind, he had insisted on going. Arriving at the construction site, the four cats, with Gadget r= iding astride Rooftop, slowly approached the garbage bin she pointed out to them. = "Do you see him anywhere?" Fisher asked, turning toward her. = "No," Gadget replied, looking around at the construction site before= shaking her head with disappointment. "He's not here anymore." "Oh well,...I guess he's already gone on." Fisher replied with disap= pointment as well. "I thought that since you were the only one who could see him, we'd get a ch= ance to say goodbye." Sighing slightly, Fisher turned then to regard the open garbage bin befor= e them. "Well, let's do what we came here to do then." Using teamwork and a little direction from Gadget, the four cats suc= ceeded in removing walker's remains from the bin, lowering it toward the ground without tro= uble. To each cat's credit, none of them flinched or shirked from their tasks, for the proces= s to say the least was not at all pleasant, the somewhat pulped body feeling almost revolting to the= touch. Joining the others on the ground, Fisher took his place alongside Liddy and Clawmark in posi= tioning a part of Walker's body across his shoulders. "Come on," he stated, gesturing with = a sideways nod of his head. "I know just the place." It took a fair amount of time to reach the place that Fisher directe= d them too, but upon sight, they all agreed that it was a perfect place, none of them saying a= nything as to the time it took, or the amount of effort it took to reach it. It was a small yard wi= thin the suburbs, well landscaped with a large tree within it as well. = "Walker told me about this tree," he said as he stopped before it, l= ooking up at its leaves before turning back to them. "he used to climb it when he was a kitten." = Pausing then to look at his friend that they had laid upon the ground, he turned to look at Rooft= op. "Rooftop," he stated, gesturing over his shoulder towards the house a number of feet off. "Woul= d you mind keeping watch?" Nodding his assent, Rooftop stealthily crept forward to peer with= in the windows of the house, watching for any signs of approaching humans as the others dug....= In a short time, the task was done. A spaciously deep hole was excav= ated, words of farewell and respect were said by all, with Clawmark taking the watch ove= r from Rooftop for a moment, and the plot was filled in and smoothed over. Stones were scatter= ed upon it as well to give the impression to any humans that nothing had occurred here. As a fi= nal parting though before turning away from the grave upon their last look at it, the four c= ats each placed a paw upon the turned earth, casting their impression upon it as a link of what= they had done this day. A similar link lay upon Walker's body under the earth as well, with the sin= gle whisker that was now missing from each cat, with Gadget having placed a lock of her headfur in= its stead. At the cats' request, she was the last one to place her paw print upon the earth, havi= ng contributed the most to what had happened here today.... "Gadget, thank you." Rooftop began as the four cats now sat on the s= idewalk outside of the yard, all of them looking at her. "You and your friends saved me and = a number of *my* friends once from the man named Nimnul, and today, you showed respect to = the memory of a fellow feline when you had already done all that he had asked of you. If = you or any of your friends need any help for anything, don't be afraid to come to cat alley. The Res= cue Rangers will always be welcome there." = "Not to mention in our homes which we share with our human pets." Cl= awmark added with a deep, rumbling voice. "If you need food or shelter, or anything el= se, we'll be happy to provide it." "Just have to make sure that our pets don't see us aiding you." Lidd= y grinned. = "Thank you," Gadget returned with a respectful bow, her smile shinin= g up at them. "My friends will be just as happy to hear this, as I am." *Particularly Monty= *, she thought silently to herself with a grin, as he wouldn't have to be so apprehensive about goin= g into Cat Alley again for any information if it was needed. "Likewise, if you or any of your friend= s or human pets need any help, please feel free to call on us. We're located in the large Oak tree= in Golden Gate Park, right across from the Police station." "Thank you, Gadget," Liddy replied, as the others likewise thanked h= er in turn. "We will. Can we give you a ride back home?" the female cat asked as she rose to he= r feet. Walking or riding was the only option at the moment, as Gadget knew her hang glider = had been wrecked in her crash landing in Cat Alley. "Golly, thanks, but...." Gadget replied with a shrug, her face thoug= htful. "I'd like to walk back. It'll give me a little time to think." "I know what you mean." Rooftop replied, smiling at her as he too ro= se to his feet. "Take care then, Gadget. We'll see you around." As both Liddy and Clawmark wish= ed her well also, Clawmark rising to his feet as well to start off, each of the cats rubbed= the side of their facefur to Gadget's cheek in a goodbye gesture of affection. With this done though, = they looked over to see Fisher still sitting where he had been, not making any gesture to get und= erway. "Coming, Fisher?" Liddy asked, turning back toward him as the others= did as well. = "In a sec, guys." Fisher replied with a nod. "You go on ahead, I'll = catch up." Glancing at each other curiously, Rooftop, Clawmark and Liddy all nodded to him, givi= ng a last look at Gadget before starting on their way. "You wanted to talk with me, privately, Fisher?" Gadget asked, turni= ng towards him as the others left. = "Yeah," Fisher nodded, a deeply thoughtful look upon his face. "Look= , Gadget, I'm not all that good with words, and everything that Rooftop said goes double for me= =2E If you need any help or anything, to make sure to call on me, but,...well...Walker, he never t= alked all that much about his human pets or his life outside the alley to me or any other cat, but = he was a good friend of mine, I guess you knew that. What you did, showing us what happened to hi= m so we could take care of him...well,...it meant *a lot* to me. Anyway, I was wondering if = I could do something *for you*, something to show how much I appreciated it. You name it. Anything = you want, if I can pull it off, its yours." he stated, crouching down respectfully so that h= is eyes were now on the same level as hers. Smiling sweetly at Fisher, Gadget blushed slightly at= his humble words, that a cat who she was told by Rooftop had nearly ate her before, would make suc= h an open ended offer to pay her back for her kindness. = "Golly," Gadget replied, shaking her head softly. "I really *do* app= reciate it, Fisher, but..." suddenly, Gadget cut herself off in mid sentence as she blinked, = an idea occurring to her that she was surprised she hadn't thought of moments before. "Actually...= " she began, "What? Just *name* it!" Fisher asked, waving his head enthusiastical= ly to encompass all possible ideas. = "Do you have any strays in your group, *without* human pets?" she as= ked, her face brightening at the idea. "Yeah, we've got some alley members who don't have any homes....why?= " Fisher asked. "Would they like one?" she asked, her entire expression now positive= ly bubbling with excited joy. Having caught up once more with Clawmark, Liddy and Rooftop in a rus= h, Gadget and Fisher outlined her plan to them. Sharing her enthusiasm for the idea, th= e three cats assured her that the word would be passed around about the three vacant homes. Susan = would welcome in probably more than a few cats and as Benjamin Morganson had two in his ho= me as well, Gadget was sure that he wouldn't be averse to Adam taking in a feline companion = in his borrowed apartment. All they really had to do was appear on their respective doors= teps, she assured them. With Jeremy's family, as the building *was* off limits to pets, the prosp= ective pet for that home would have to anticipate a possible disappointment. But more than likely = though, she was certain that once Jeremy's parents saw how attached he became to a cat who didn't= belong to anyone else and who *wouldn't* be going away, that they would probably make a concert= ed effort to move to a building that *did* accept pets, hiding the cat in the apartment in the= meantime. She made a note that she would also make sure to teach that cat the "exercise" for J= eremy that Walker had taught her. For all three homes though, cats would have to be found who's= personalities would mesh most compatibly with those of the three humans. This was something w= hich, as Gadget had the most experience with Walker's friends, she agreed that she would unde= rtake personally. It would take a little time to get the word out to all the felines that migh= t be interested though. As the makeup of the crowd in Cat Alley always changed at least somewhat fro= m day to day and from night to night, never remaining the same twice, it would take a litt= le time to get the word out to all. A date was made in which she would visit Cat Alley again in two = days, paying a longer visit herself to all of Walker's friends in the meantime. Even when all o= f the spots had been filled though, she had made an open promise as well to find a home for any cat t= hat needed one, when she came across such a suitable place in her travels and upon cases. In a= ll, the prospect served to give her an even greater satisfaction than the alliance she had made with= the residents of Cat Alley that day. =0D Sometime later, Gadget glanced up from her footsteps to find herself= once more in Golden Gate Park, a slight look of surprise upon her face that she had arrived a= lready. Even though it had taken her a few hours to cover the many miles it had been, back from Walk= er's burial site in the suburbs, she had not really noticed. Having occupied herself in her thoug= hts, she had completely lost track of both the distance and the time, her mind having reflected b= ack upon all that had happened today, as well as many other things. She saw that she was but a = short distance from her Oak tree home as she glanced up, the Police headquarters within sight onl= y a block distant on her left. Looking down once again as she walked on, her mind began to lose it= self in her thoughts once more when a sudden undefinable sensation touched her mind, calling t= o her. She recognized it instantly. Snapping her head up, she started slightly as she discovere= d Walker's spirit once more sitting there before her upon the grass. Looking at the specter, a wide s= mile broke out upon her face, as she could now observe an actual smile of his own upon the ghost = cat's face, Walker's eyes shining brightly at her. = "I thought you had left!" she grinned. = Shaking his head lightly, Walker still spoke not a word in answer, h= is pupils the same slitted shape they had been. Looking over to a small patch of dirt which = surrounded a tree near him though, a wind caught up a small cloud of it. Blowing over to land up= on the sidewalk before Gadget, it quickly swirled around, shaping itself into discernable words= as both she and the specter watched it. = "*Thank you*." the message said, before reforming itself into anothe= r set which said "For *everything*." = "So you *can* talk!" she exclaimed, amazed at this fact as she looke= d up at the spirit. "I'm *glad* you came back, you know, I was *wondering* where you went! I was s= orry that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye, but why didn't you appear before now?" she a= sked, pausing for a moment. Your friends wanted to say goodbye as well." "There was no need." the dirt message on the sidewalk shifted to say= , forming a few words at a time. "I was there where you and they buried my body. I heard = their farewells. With you though, with all you did....I wanted to say "thanks". " "Golly," Gadget returned, a slight blush coloring her cheeks as she = smiled warmly at Walker. "It was my pleasure, I told you that I'd be happy to help when I = first found out that was what you needed. Something's confusing though..." she continued. = "What?" the words on the sidewalk asked. "I think I understand that since I was the one who had first contact= with the kitten, that was why you came to me. After all, she was much too young and inexperienc= ed to understand or act on what you needed. I think I also understand that I'm sort of like a= link to you for this plane..." "Yes..." the words formed as Walker nodded. "Yet in the beginning though, why did it take so long for you to con= tact me? I mean, it was quite a few hours after we finally caught the kitten and returned her= home that you began to show up." Nodding his understanding of her curiosity on this point, Walker loo= ked at the ground once more as the dirt began to stir again. "In that time I was getting to know you. I needed to find out if you= would help me willingly or if other means would be needed to gain your assistance. I di= d not know that your team was the one from stories in Cat Alley." "Possession?" Gadget asked, again looking up at him. Walker nodded. Nodding her understanding, Gadget cast her gaze at the ground for a = moment before turning to look up at him once more. "There's just one more thing I'd rea= lly like to know. Why haven't you spoken to me before now?" she asked. = Continuing to smile broadly at her, a small twinkle appeared in Walk= er's eyes. However, as she looked to the ground, expecting his answer to appear within the dirt = cloud on the sidewalk, Walker suddenly rose to his feet and stepping forward, sat directly befor= e her. Looking up towards him in confusion and curiosity, Gadget watched as Walker curled h= is right paw behind her back. Crouching forward then, he licked her gently across her cheek a= nd facial fur, his tongue brushing fully against the soft curve of her ear as well. Closing her eye= s out of reflex as she saw Walker's tongue reach out toward her, the sensation she felt was that of = a light and gentle breeze, ruffling her fur as it swept across her face. Opening her eyes as the sen= sation stopped, she looked to find the spirit now gone. "Walker?" she asked, looking all about her. Seeing no sign of him an= d receiving no answer, Gadget shrugged thoughtfully to herself, giving a wistful grin. "= Take care, Walker." she called out softly before she began to make her way forward toward headqua= rters once more. "Say hello to my dad for me." Taking but a step as she uttered these words, th= e sound of a wind rushing through the trees behind and above her suddenly drew her attentio= n. Turning, she looked to find a set of words, formed from dirt carried by the wind, laying upon= the path at her feet. "I will." the message said. = =0D Later that night, Gadget stood at the window to her bedroom, looking= up at the stars that shone down from a nearly perfectly clear sky, the fog having totally burn= ed off hours before. Turning slightly at the sound of a knock upon the open door, she looked t= o find Chip standing there. "Hi," she called, smiling warmly at him as she gestured him over. "C= ome on in." Entering the room, Chip made his way over to where Gadget now stood = at the window sill, joining her there. As one, and with no cue from the other, Gadget's= right hand and Chip's left reached out to entwine themselves together as Gadget wrapped her tail abo= ut his waist as well, in a familiar gesture of deep affection. = "Going to be able to sleep tonight?" was all that Chip said offhande= dly after a few moments of silence. = At this, Gadget let out a laugh, casting a wry grin over toward him = before turning back toward the window. = "I don't know, actually." she replied, "He's at peace now, but what = with everything that we did and thinking that my dad might be somewhere, watching me right now...= " she shrugged, "it might keep me up for awhile." she admitted. Falling silent then, they con= tinued to watch the night sky for a few minutes before Chip spoke again. "Do me a favor?" he asked. = "What?" Gadget replied, turning to face him. "If you do have trouble getting to sleep tonight, or whenever, get m= e up and let me know, okay? It's always more fun with company." he said, smiling at her affecti= onately. Gazing at him endearingly for a moment, Gadget squeezed his hand gen= tly in reply. "I will. Thanks, Chip." she said softly. = Giving each other a kiss goodnight then, Chip left the room. Continu= ing to stare up at the sky for another few minutes, watching the clouds that had begun to lazily= drift by, with a deep, satisfied sigh, Gadget turned from the window then, toward the warmth of = her awaiting bed. As she lay her head upon the pillow though, she was not aware of the small s= liver of a cloud which now floated in front of the visibly full moon that night. Shaped like a s= litted pupil, the cloud settled itself in front of the moon's light, centering itself there for m= any moments as the other clouds moved around it. Sending a small shaft of moonlight then onto the = window of a certain large Oak tree in Golden Gate Park, the sight seemed to reflect with a li= fe of its own before the cloud went along to float with the others once again, continuing on, to b= egin upon its next journey. =0D * As seen in the CDRR Episode-"Ghost of a chance". ** A short summary of the events of the CDRR episode: "Catteries Not Incl= uded." =0D