The Rangers clanged against the metal springs as the snowplow came to an abrupt halt. They jumped out of the cabin and onto a pile of snow below. It was a gloomy, overcast day; fitting weather for the mood they were in.
"There it is!" Gadget said as she pointed at the aircraft hangar that served as her father's workshop.
As they walked inside, it was like going back in time. Had it really been ten years since they had all first met? The hangar was still abandoned. It looked even worse than before. A part of the ceiling had caved in and the snow that had fallen through the opening had turned into a frozen stream of ice that halted halfway towards the ground. There were piles of scrap metal and discarded tools everywhere. The ground was covered in pools of semi-frozen grease.
Dale was leading the group, pushing ahead at a quick pace followed by Gadget and Monty. As they continued their journey, Gadget put her head down slightly and slowed her pace to match Monty's, who looked at her and noticed the tears forming in her eyes.
"You miss your dad, don't you?" Monty asked. She nodded her head. "Come here, Gadget, love," he said compassionately, putting his arm over her shoulder. Since Geegaw's death, Monty thought of Gadget as his daughter. "I know it hurts, lass, I do," he said. "But don't you worry. We'll always be here for you. You can count on it." The two had stopped walking and Monty gently pushed back the loose strands of hair that had fallen over her face and wiped away her tears with his hands.
"Thanks, Monty," she said quietly.
Dale had overheard their conversation and stopped his progress. He felt guilty for only focusing on his feelings over losing Chip and hadn't stopped to consider that the others were hurting, too. He realized that if he wanted to be a leader he would have to consider the impact of his decisions on the rest of the team as well.
He turned around to face them. "I'm sorry for bringing you here, Gadget," he admitted. "I didn't think about how hard it would be for you."
"It's okay, Dale," she replied. "I thought I was over it, but I guess I was lying to myself."
The four Rangers were now side by side as they continued. Monty tried to cheer up Gadget. "Remember the time your dad caught you taking apart the Screaming Eagle when you were just a tyke and when he asked why you told him that you could do a better job with the design?"
Gadget, Monty, Dale, and Zipper all laughed together at Monty's tale. After all they had been through recently, it felt good to focus on something pleasant for once.
"Your dad sounded like a great guy," Dale said.
"Yes, he was," Gadget responded. "You'd have liked him."
At last, they arrived at the workshop. As they looked at the room that was lit with the dusty beams of sunlight that came from the ceiling, everything was as it was the last time they were here. All of the sprung traps had rusted and were covered in cobwebs. There was garbage everywhere.
Gadget rolled up her sleeves and put her hands on her hips as she surveyed the state of the shop. "If we're going to stay here, we need to clean this place up," she announced. She pushed aside some of the trash and flipped on the generator. Slowly, the overhead lights came on. As Monty and Zipper began to clean up, Dale took Monty aside.
"I have a mission for you."
