Chapter 35: The Last Obstacles

"How did this happen at all?" Gordon the Great Horned Owl wanted to know. "I mean, you don't fly into a cactus just for fun, right?"

"Yeah, this wasn't fun—OW!" Erica screamed as Gordon removed yet another spine from her, "—the slightest bit. What did this city bat think who she is?"

"City bat? A city bat did this to you?"

"City bat," Erica repeated. "From the East Coast. New York, I guess. OW! And yes, she did this to me. She fooled me like a bloomin' fledgling when I wanted to catch her as a night snack."

Gordon went on pulling out spines. "You do know the difference between diurnal animals like you and nocturnal animals like bats or like me, don't you?"

"I know, I know, quit playing the teacher now. But come on, she was—OW!—the size of a mouse. She shouldn't have had a chance against me, nocturnal or not. I mean—OW!—how could she have known that there was this cactus?"

"She heard it, Erica. Bats don't need to see things if they can hear their sonar echoes. And I'm actually not surprised that your mouse-sized bat chose this cactus. She fit through it, you didn't."

Coming from Las Vegas, a car drove past the two birds. Its headlights irritated them for a moment, lit up the cactus and the traces of the recent collision, and finally revealed something that flew in the opposite direction along the same road. Erica was the first to spot it.

"That's her," she cried out as she swung herself up into the air, causing a few spines to fall out by themselves. "That's that little city slicker! Now I'm gonna get her!"

Gordon took off, too. "Or she'll get you again, Erica!" he shouted after her. "She fooled you once, and now you want her to fool you once more?" Erica went into a glide as she forgot to flap her wings upon Gordon's words. "I'll show you how this is done properly!" With these words, he overtook her and homed in on Foxglove.

"Yeah, right," Erica shouted back, "go ahead, get my prey! My prey, ya hear me? I saw her first!"

Gordon didn't answer. Now that the road was empty again, he knew that any noise could be too much. If he could hear it, a bat could hear it, too. And what was dark for Erica was anything but dark for him. Attacking prey in mid-air was unusual for him, but not unmanageable. The closer he came to the little bat, the less noise he tried to produce, although he managed to rise above her.

But for Foxglove who was used to using her hearing in a city which never falls quiet, silent wasn't silent enough. 'I can hear you,' she thought. 'You're above and slightly behind me, the air streaming around your head tells me you're an owl, and you're way too big not to be heard. As if you had a chance.' "Hold on, Zipper," she whispered to the fly who rode on her back again, "it's gonna be another rough ride."

The very moment Gordon came shooting down from the nightly sky, Foxglove nearly stopped in mid-air and raced upward, causing the big owl to miss her.

Zipper congratulated her for saving herself and him so smartly, but she replied, "I didn't save us, I just bought us some time. An owl is a wholly different class than a hawk."

And she had made him angry. "Why, you..." he growled and flew up again. "You think this is fun, huh? You think you can trick me like you tricked that hawk?"

"Actually," Foxglove replied, "I've got a whole set of tricks neither of you knows yet." She was bluffing, though, and she knew it.

"Remember that I'm an owl, and I can see you and your little tricks!"

Gordon had almost caught up with her, she was fully aware of this. But she tried to convince herself she still had a few aces up her non-existent sleeves. "Yes, you can see me ahead of yourself, but I can hear you, no matter where you are."

Erica couldn't see anything, but she was at least able to hear Foxglove and Gordon talk. "Shut your yap, stupid," she commented more to herself than to Gordon, "that fluttering little thing would hear you from Reno to here."

Gordon was close enough for Foxglove to hear him breathe when she stopped her climb in a spectacular way. She pulled up sharply and sped downward again, mere inches from Gordon's head and back. She acted so quickly that he hardly noticed what just happened. When he realized she was on her way back down, he also realized he had a whole lot of catching up to do.

Far down below, Foxglove flew as fast as her wings allowed her to. There was no denying that the owl was tough, and that he was just as determined to catch her. Ahead of her was the road, around her was the desert, and she didn't know what exactly was where behind her. She just wanted to get away from it, or rather from him. Erica wasn't used to flying and preying at night, but Gordon was, and he proved to be a much better hunter.

She looked along the road and estimated which move would be best now in this game that wasn't one anymore. In the distance, a truck was heading for Las Vegas. Foxglove could make out its headlights as well as the sound of the engine and the wheels. It was too far away to be imminently dangerous or of any help for her, yet too close to be ignored. The other direction was devoid of traffic at that moment. Some more glances went into the darkness where the desert began. Despite the wind roaring in her ears, Foxglove tried to hear what Erica was doing, if she was preparing to attack, too, but there was nothing to be heard. 'Come on, Foxy,' she thought, 'think up something, and think it up quickly before—'

Something heavy hit her from behind. She felt Gordon's talons pressing on her back, pushing her downwards. That was it. She wasn't fast enough. Instead of trying to accelerate even more, she now tried to slow her descent down. A quick turn to either side was out of question, too. Gordon would not let her go anywhere. All that she could do now was keep herself from slamming into the street too hard.

A few seconds which felt like minutes later, Foxglove landed on the street. She lay flat on her belly, pinned down by Gordon who stood on her wings. The pain which his talons caused, she figured, was nothing compared to what he was about to do with her.

"Gotcha!" Gordon shouted out triumphantly. "That'll teach you not to mess with a night hunter. Not that this knowledge would be of any use for you now."

"Well, looks like you're right," Foxglove said.

"Any last wish?" Gordon asked, not showing any pity, though.

Foxglove sighed. "All I could wish for is out of reach." She felt the blacktop tremble, but she couldn't judge if it wasn't her own fear. The Rescue Rangers were miles away from her. That is, all but one.

Zipper had managed to escape from Foxglove's back moments before Gordon's attack. And now he returned, bold as always, and flew his own counter-attack against the huge owl. He buzzed past in front of Gordon's face several times in an attempt to annoy him. When this didn't prove efficient enough, he approached from behind where Gordon couldn't look, always correcting his course and staying behind Gordon's head, no matter where he turned it, and pulled his feathery horns when he finally flew over his head. "Why, you..." Gordon hissed and tried to snap at Zipper.

Foxglove watched the scene. She had little hope that Zipper could make Gordon let her go, but this bought her a few more moments of life. Underneath her, the ground shook more and more, and the air seemed to begin to glow around the towering owl as if a halo appeared around him. Suddenly, Foxglove realized what was happening. "Excuse me..." she said.

Gordon looked back at her, ignored Zipper, and asked, "What's up? Gut a last wish finally?"

"No... behind you," she warned him.

"Yeah, right. Nice trick."

"I mean it, behind you!" she insisted.

Gordon did the trademark owl movement, he turned his head backwards. For a second, however, he stared at the headlights of the rapidly approaching 18-wheeler like a deer. When parts of his common sense came back, he decided against trying to find out if he could fit under the truck and took off instead.

"Zipper," Foxglove cried out, "come here!"

Looking back, Gordon saw the truck pass where he had sat only a few seconds ago. He slowed down his flight and took a closer look. The bat was gone. She was nowhere to be seen or heard, neither on the road nor anywhere in the air. He landed next to Erica who had watched everything from aside the road.

"So, did you get her?" she asked.

"I had her first," Gordon said, "but... now the truck must've gotten her."

"Well, you saved yourself," Erica said. "Imagine you had stayed there. Then the truck would've gotten you. You're a lot larger than that little bat, who knows what the truck would've done to you?"

"But it's not fair, I almost had her."

"She was lucky," Erica explained, "that's all." After a moment of silent thinking, she continued, "Then again, I'm not sure if ending up under a truck is so much better than ending up under an owl." She watched as Gordon flew up to the top of the cactus. "What are you gonna do now?"

"I'm gonna look out for prey. Or do you think I'd like to fly to Vegas and scavenge from human junk? Not tonight, Erica. No way."

The two birds sat and watched the taillights as the truck moved on like nothing had happened. Apparently, they thought, the driver didn't notice anything on the road or simply didn't care. Unseen by them, however, a red bat and a green fly held on to the underframe of the tractor.

"That was quite a lot of luck," Foxglove said, still trying to catch her breath. "If this truck hasn't been there..."

Zipper reminded her that Rescue Ranger work often involves a good portion of luck. But even he had to admit that this was an unusually close call. The upside, he said, was that the birds would probably believe they were no more and not think about hunting them again that night.

"And we've got a ride back to Las Vegas." A bump on the road shook the truck, and Foxglove and Zipper with it. "Could be more comfortable, though," she added.

Above Las Vegas, the roles had changed. Excited to see her hometown from a bird's perspective, from aboard an aircraft made by a rodent out of human junk no less, Melissa presented resort hotels and other famous landmarks to the others on the Rangerwing like a tour guide, and Todd provided them with technical details. Behind them and unnoticed by them, a breathless Foxglove approached the Rangerplane and let herself fall into her seat. Zipper followed her and pounced upon Monty's shoulder.

"Foxy," Dale cheered, "you found us!"

"Luckily. There's not so much noise up here, and the city has quieted down a bit, so I could hear the crafts. Melissa talking out loud helped me, too." She hugged her chipmunk tightly. "Oh Dale, I'm so glad to see you!"

He snickered. "Yeah, Foxy, I'm glad, too."

"I thought I'd never see you again," Foxglove said. "None of you."

"But Foxy, you did find us up here! Why wouldn't you see us again?"

Foxglove took a deep breath, then told what had just happened. "I got attacked in the desert. Twice. First by a hawk who thought she could hunt at night, which she couldn't, and then by a big owl who I think is a friend of that hawk. I got away from the owl only by mere luck. I'm not sure if we should fly that same way again."

Monty turned around on the pilot's seat. "Don't worry, lass. If these blighters dare attack us, I'll teach 'em a lesson they'd better never ferget," he said and rolled up his sleeves.

"Was it worth it after all?" Tammy asked.

"Yes," Foxglove answered, "I found them."

"That's good news, Foxy," Monty shouted out and released the brakes on the clockwork of the slowly moving Rangerplane which sped up and passed below the Rangerwing. "Here we go!" He raised a thumb, hoping Gadget would understand that sign of his.

She did understand it. "Sorry, but the city tour has to be aborted on short notice," she announced and steered the Rangerwing after the Rangerplane. "We're going on a little road trip. That is, not on the road itself, rather above it or next to it, but we'll follow said road."

"Todd, close your eyes," LaWahini ordered the white mouse.

"Must I?"

"Yes, you must," Melissa replied and placed her hands on Todd's eyes from behind. "Apparently." She turned to LaWahini then. "Why?"

"Because now comes the real surprise for him."

The two Rescue Rangers aircraft left the city behind and flew the same route along the road that Foxglove had flown. So it was only a question of time until they would encounter the two desert birds.

Gordon was the first to notice the strange flying objects in the nightly sky. "Erica," he said, "there's something up there coming our way."

"What is it?" Erica inquired.

Gordon tried to examine these objects but failed. "Something. Two... somethings. I don't know what they are."

"Then go find out! Or have you gone chicken after that truck incident? Where's the invincible desert hunter..."

"Erica, I told you so often, and I'm slowly gettin' tired of tellin' you again and again, but shut—your—beak!" With these words, Gordon took off to intercept the most recent visitors. "What a lousy night. First that city slicker bat with her pet fly, and now?"

"What about more city slickers?" Gordon stopped in mid-air and stared into the grinning face of a chipmunk in a red Hawaiian shirt with his hands on a sort of harpoon on the bow of a strange aircraft, one of the two objects he had spotted in the air. The harpoon was loaded with a plunger, but Gordon still wasn't keen on being shot with it. To Gordon's surprise, the red bat who he believed had vanished under the truck was sitting aboard that plane, safe and sound.

Next to a chipmunk sat a burly mouse who spoke with a thick Down Under accent, "G'night mate! Dale, fire!"

"This is for scarin' my Foxy!" Dale yelled, but before he could pull the trigger, Gordon took a quick dive under the Rangerplane and out of reach for the harpoon. But he wasn't safe where he was. There was still the other flying object which turned out to be another rodent-sized aircraft.

"Golly," the blond pilot mouse said, "owl on twelve o'clock!"

The look-alike of hers reached forward and switched on the headlight. "Spot on!"

"AAAAAAAHH!" Gordon shrieked out and squeezed his eyes shut. "That's unfair! I'm blinded!" He turned and fluttered away in sheer panic.

Gadget grinned. "I knew the white LEDs I installed in the headlight would prove to be useful."

Up on the Rangerplane, Clarice watched the fleeing owl. "You're doin' it wrong, stupid!" she shouted after him. "The limelight is something to enjoy, not something to run away from!"

Gordon's escape was rudely brought to an end by the same cactus that Erica had crashed into previously. "So what did you see up there?" the hawk asked.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Tell me anyway."

"Okay. Two aircraft-like things full of mice and chipmunks and such. They're all city slickers and total nutcases all right. And they're armed to the teeth. Oh, and that city bat is alive and with them."

Erica tried to separate Gordon from the cactus. "Sounds like a flying buffet to me. Now go and get them!"

"They freaking blinded me, Erica!" Gordon complained. "And even if I could see again, I wouldn't be that crazy. No way!"

The rest of the Rescue Rangers' flight stayed without any disturbances, and they arrived in the small town and at the building on the corner soon. The two white mice in the cage had fallen asleep again. Now the last challenge was to get inside. The front door was locked, most windows could not be opened, and neither the Rangerplane nor the Rangerwing would fit through the air vent. But as they flew around the building to find a way in, they soon discovered a solution—an office window with a sliding lower half on the rear side. The two aircraft landed on its window-sill.

"But how can we open it from outside without damaging it?" Tammy wondered. Without hesitating, Zipper saluted and took off to the roof.

Foxglove flew after him. "Zipper, what are you gonna do?"

The fly explained he was going to open the window from inside.

"But haven't you seen? The office door was closed."

Zipper just laughed, and when he reached the front side of the building, he disappeared in the air vent.

"Oh well," Foxglove said, "I might as well wake up the mice and announce our arrival."

She entered the room and landed next to the cage again. "Uh... hi," she said. "Hello."

The mice opened their eyes. For the second time that night, they beheld a red bat that they thought shouldn't be there. "Hello," the female mouse answered, "again."

"So you did come back," the male mouse said.

Foxglove smiled. "Oh, not only I came back. I've got a surprise for you."

In the back of the building, meanwhile, Zipper flew straight to the office door. He landed on the knob and turned it around, but the door was locked. Fortunately for him, there were no cylinder locks in the doors inside the building, so it was rather easy for him as both a fly and an experienced Rescue Ranger to climb into the lock and disengage it. He turned the knob again, and this time, the door opened. Outside, on the other side of the window, the Rescue Rangers and Clarice applauded. Todd clapped his hands, too, although he didn't know why since Melissa still held his eyes shut.

Next, Zipper flew to the window and undid its lock. But the window wasn't as easy to move as the door, it was jammed. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't push it upward.

"Need 'elp, pally?" Monty asked, and Zipper nodded. "Chipper, Dale, Sparky, c'mon 'ere, I need yer 'ands!"

The two chipmunks, one mouse, and one rat jumped off their respective aircraft. First, all four pushed the window up, and with their combined strength, they managed to unjam it. Then, however, more height was needed. Chip climbed onto Sparky's shoulders and Dale onto Monty's, and so they shoved it farther up. But to move it up high enough for the Rangerplane to fit through, they had to prove their artistic skills. Monty carried Sparky who still balanced Chip on his shoulders, and Dale on top finally pushed the sliding window to its necessary height. Another wave of applause followed which Zipper took part in this time.

The noises from the two Ranger aircraft were Foxglove's cue. "Do you hear this?" she asked the mice.

"Do we hear what?" the male asked back.

"The surprise is on its way."

"What surprise?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

As if a fly and a bat breaking into the building hadn't been weird enough, the two mice witnessed two rodent-sized flying contraptions entering their room. Foxglove waved and showed Monty and Gadget where to land, then she introduced her friends to the mice. "Meet the Rescue Rangers from New York City!"

While the Rangerplane stayed in the background, the Rangerwing touched down right next to the cage, its headlight turned off. At first, Melissa herself couldn't believe where she was, but then she removed her hands from Todd's eyes.

"And there's someone else I'd like you to meet," Foxglove spoke.

Todd stood up and looked at the two white mice.

The two white mice held onto the cage bars and looked at Todd.

Todd got off the Rangerwing and walked to the cage. For him it was as unreal as for the other two white mice. "Ohmigosh," was all he could say.

"Todd?" the mice in the cage halfway whispered.

Todd stopped. A big lump formed in his throat. "Mom? Dad?"