Chapter 15 – Revelations

Rodent musketeers, a whole army of them, gathered at the entrance of the inquisitorial palace and waited for the signal to storm the place. The grounds around were silent, save for the faint whistling of the grass as it got perturbed by the nocturnal breeze. A patent nervousness permeated the atmosphere, with more than one hundred soldiers shifting uneasy on their feet, almost expecting monsters and witches to appear out of thin air. They had good reasons to believe that.

It all started as a string of rumors that reached the ears of the guards that were helping restore order in the bowels of the vast market palace of Les Halles. Whispers here and there about a gruesome battle that took place almost parallel to the blast that burned to crisps an entire neighborhood and sunk Paris into a night of chaos.

News about full-on clashes between rival rodent gangs were too common in a city which suffered from overpopulation, poverty and unrest. However, people began to pay closer attention when subsequent reports mentioned the involvement of those musketeers from Rouen that had passed by the market a pair of nights ago and the inquisitorial palace as battleground, out of all places.

Then came the account of a frightened family of bats who had chosen to live on the roof of the palace barely one day before. They talked of tremors that cracked open the earth and let the dead roam free; of walking corpses clashing against the famous battalion from Rouen. The family flew away horrified by the screams and the carnage that ensued. They didn't dare to look back or wait for the outcome of the battle.

The sudden whirlwind of fire that pierced the skies and sent a rain of ashes down on the market only helped to agitate the imagination of the masses a tenfold. By the time the much-blessed morning arrived again smallfolk all over the place were claiming that the devil itself had set himself free from the dungeons of the inquisitorial palace and killed everyone in its way to freedom, priests and musketeers alike.

The governing council of Les Halles quickly dispatched an expedition at the command of captain Pierre to investigate these claims and the fates of the inquisitors, the battalion stationed in the gardens of the palace and the visitors from Rouen.

It took Pierre's musketeers the whole day just to reach the palace's doors. The scribe turned to stone welcomed them just like he had welcome Patrick Lefevre and his soldiers before. The sight of him, pleading eyes and an arm reaching forward to the ether sent chills down the spines of even the bravest among the troops. The old captain himself couldn't help but to mutter a quick prayer under the breath the moment his gaze posed on the ill-fated mouse.

A pair of scouts came out of the dark tunnels shaking their heads and devoid of any glimpse of hope. "The place was razed, sir" One of them, a white mouse of short stature dressed in green, informed the captain loud enough to be heard by his anxious comrades. "There is nobody in there"

"Blood stains speak about a massacre that occurred at least two days ago, maybe three" The second scout - a dark brown chipmunk- added quite dreadfully.

Captain Pierre took his feathered hat off and combed his grey hair with the paw. "Dear lord… so the rumors were true. The inquisitorial palace was raided"

"However, there are no corpses"

Silence. "Not a single one?"

Both scouts negated with the heads. "Might be the human's fault. Gardeners must have cleaned up these grounds today"

Pierre let out a despondent sigh. "Sacre bleu, we arrived too late" Next, he faced his troops and called for their attention. "All right men, we are going to explore this whole area. Search for any signs of our comrades and the priests who lived here. Anything will do. Light the torches and spread out!"

"Yes, sir!" The musketeers answered and got to work. Only a few voiced out loud their concern for what or who they might find in these obscure fields. Those were promptly shushed by their officers.

A pair of prying eyes followed the actions of the distraught musketeers as they reluctantly. "They have no idea" The stalker -none other than Chip Maplewood - whispered treading stealthily from a dark spot to the next, always ready to avoid the dancing light of the torches. "No idea at all of the nightmare we faced yesterday. Ignorance is a bliss"

"Kill them" the otherworldly voice urged. "Kill them silently before they find about you and your friends"

Chip shook the thought out of his head. "Yeah, no. Stop saying that, Huggin"

"I'm Munnin, you idiot!"

The ranger simply shrugged. "Whatever"

"You did it on purpose, didn't you?"

"Honest mistake" Chip lied as he made his way back to the gates jumping from shadow to shadow. "Huggin's voice sounds more dignified to me than yours, were you trying to imitate him?"

"Dignified?"

"I know, right?" Chip's comment was given a seal of approval by the alluded raven. "Father blessed me with a voice worthy of a king"

"Nonsense!" An enraged Munnin cried out. "My voice is way more majestic than yours! Haven't you notice Father always listens to my reports first?"

"That's not true, you liar!"

Chip grinned mischievously at the turmoil he himself had created, even as the pitch-high cries of the quarreling ravens boomed in his mind like a dissonant concert of slurs and accusations.

Fortunately, their noise didn't last too long. By the time the ranger had reached the street the echoes had subsided and found his lucidity was actually getting back to normal. A sensation he hadn't experienced in many days. "Huh, what do you know, these pests are really gone"

Gone together with the purple longswords, as he realized soon after.

The joy didn't last long, as the whereabouts of his loved one took a firm seat in the forefront of his worries. Night had fallen more than one hour ago, but the blonde witch hadn't made her apparition yet. "Gadget, just where are you?" He wondered glancing at the night sky, where large pillows of clouds were gathering with the promise of releasing rain over the city.

The small ranger leaned against the wall troubled about what exactly do next - and also to regain his breath-. His first impulse was to slip back to the palace gardens and wait for Gadget there, lest she found herself surrounded by a whole army of musketeers upon her return. However, common sense kept advising against it. The witch was too smart to fall into such an obvious trap, and resourceful enough to solve such situation herself. Chip simply had to recall the way she dealt with the swarm of zombies the night before to stop worrying about his friend and instead fear for the musketeers the moment them and Gadget got into a battle. "She can be as scary as Lawhinie when the situation demands it"

A bat who descended swiftly and silently caught the ranger off-guard. "A-ha! There you are!"

"Foxglove!" The astounded ranger immediately straightened up, then offered the rogue bat an inquisitive glance. "Hey, didn't I told you guys to stay inside?"

"Oh, you actually did, Chipper" The nimble female conceded as she landed next to her friend. "But you didn't say for how long" She giggled.

"Like, all night long? It's not safe out here"

"Cap'n, please!" The bat mimicked Monterey Jack's accent with acceptable results. "Mah wings demand exercise! All these days in captivity did nothing but to numb my arm muscles. It was a miracle I was of any help during our battle yesterday!"

"I know, I know… Sorry, it's my fault for waiting until nightfall before rescuing you all"

"I'm not blaming you, silly! I believe everything that happened yesterday was written by fate in stone. We are still alive and that's' what matters, right?"

"Right"

"However, both Dale and I are worried about you"

"Me? Why?!"

"Because you insist on pushing yourself over the limit! I can easily tell by your volatile heartbeats, by the wariness in your voice, by these bags under your eyes… in short, you need to stop and rest or you'll break apart"

"Hey, I already slept twelve hours! That's kind of a record for me"

"Wow, twelve hours and you still look like one of the zombies we fought yesterday? You really have problems, Chipper!"

"Very funny…"

"Aaanyway" Foxglove gave a childish smile, pretty much like her boyfriend would. "The night is young, we are free, and there is so many delicious fruits hanging from those trees at the other side of the wall. I think I'll go serve myself a feast. Are you coming back to the hideout? Oh, before you ask, no… Gadget has not returned yet"

"I was afraid you'd say so…"

"Cheer up, you still have us to make you company! See you up there!" With a wink and a wave, the rogue bat left her friend's side and ascended again to the cold nocturnal sky. Faster than a breath, she got out of view, leaving the ranger alone in that barely lit street.

"Up there…" The ranger weighed on the next task at hand. A task the size of an elm tree which surpassed the height of the walls and overlooked the palace and its gardens. "Ugh! did it grow taller after I left?"

Almost at the top of the main trunk was an abandoned squirrel den, carved many years ago and conveniently hidden from sight by the thick summer foliage and the way the branches parted and entwined around its entrance. Dale Oakmont had found it by mere luck the day before in one of his escapades to gather food while waiting for night to come.

The ranger found his legs were wobbling by the time he stepped into the den. "So… tall" He said among gasping breaths as he fell to his knees out of exhaustion.

On a fleeting moment of clarity, glancing sideways, Chip realized Tammy hadn't scrambled yet to his aid. In fact, the girl wasn't even aware of his arrival, busy as she was arguing with Dale at the opposite corner of the place.

"For the hundredth time, no!" The squirrel voiced out quite exasperated, paws weaving off furiously the red-nosed chipmunk's rebuttals. "Dale, it's too dangerous! Also, it doesn't have anything to do with you"

"Nothing? What about you and Chip? You are my friends!"

"Well, what about Foxglove? Dale, you are practically a married chipmunk now. Start acting like one"

The minstrel took offense on that comment. "That's… that's a low blow, forcing me to choose between Chip and Foxy"

The alluded chipmunk heaved himself up and joined them before the exchange of words got out of hand. "Guys! What are you two fighting about?"

The voice made the two quarreling rodents stop on their tracks. "Oh, Chipper! I didn't see you coming!" The girl immediately went to his side, watching as he tried and failed to keep his balance. "What happened to you?"

"I'm fine, just a bit tired" He sent a weary smile on her direction, and promptly accepted her supporting shoulder.

Dale, on the other side, was still incensed. "Woah, Chip! What's with you always sneaking out from behind?"

"Force of habit, I guess" The ranger shrugged the accusation off. "Dammit guys, you two are at each other's throats! What did I miss?"

"Dale's fault!" Tammy declared as he helped the black-nosed chipmunk sit down on her own sleeping mat. "He insists in leaving with us tomorrow"

Chip faced his long-time friend eye to eye and found he was quite serious. "Dale, do you even know what are you getting into?"

"Yep, I do!" The bard sat down as well on the opposite side and crossed his arms defiantly. "Basically, to hunt down Gadget's cat master, Mephisto"

"Basically?" Tammy quipped as she gave the ranger a bowl with mashed seeds. "First off…"

"First off" The ranger stole her words. "We only have a vague idea where to find Mephisto. This hunt could take weeks, even months"

"Oh please, what about your raven friends? Won't they guide you in the right direction?"

Chip really wanted to say Huggin and Munnin weren't his friends, but he had no energies left to explain any more than the absolutely required. "That doesn't change the fact that a long travel awaits us. If Mephisto is on the move as well, we could end up catching up with him on the other side of the world, you know?"

"Allow me to remind you I'm a wandering mistrel!" Dale announced with pride. "Traveling far and wide is in my blood! You can even ask my mother"

Tammy offered him a condescending smile. "Yeah, right! Does your mom is aware his only child wants to go and chase a cat from hell? Heck, does Foxglove knows?"

Whatever bravado Dale had built to win the argument crumbled on that instant. His chin dropped to the chest at the mention of his wife-to-be's name. "I… we… Foxy mentioned she wants to stay here in Paris… get married in Notre Dame, move to an abandoned house with a nice view to turn it into a theater…"

"Sounds nice" The squirrel's animosity subdued as well upon the image of that same scenario for Chip and herself – without the theater at the end, of course-. "Let it to Foxy to plan a whole future for you in a whim. Gotta be quite a fool to turn down her offer, especially after everything you have endured together"

"Not only these past few days" Chip added. "But since the day Eaglewood found out you were courting his daughter. If anyone deserves a happy ending out of that, that's you, dummy"

"Listen to Chip" The cleric pleaded.

Both Chip and Tammy witnessed a dawning awareness behind Dale's eyes. First, he opened and closed the mouth twice, as if the right words to unleash against his companions escaped from his grasp. Next, he pressed the lips together in a slight grimace, almost acknowledging the truth behind Chip and Tammy's proposal. Finally, he took a deep breath, released it slowly and looked down defeated. "I want to make Foxy happy, but I also want to help you two… It sucks to choose one or another"

The bard fell heavily on his sleeping mat and rolled on his side, facing the walls and falling silent.

"Dale…" Chip put the bowl away and made a motion to stand up, but Tammy held him back by the shoulder.

Upon the chipmunk's questioning gaze, the squirrel simply shook her head. "You are all worn out. Just repose, ok? Our friend won't go anywhere tonight"

With a slow understanding nod, the ranger laid down and allowed himself to finally close his eyes. The blessing of sleep came soon, his last conscious thoughts dedicated not to the bard or the cleric, but to the missing blonde witch.

And the cleric watched over him with devotion, imagining many futures together for an entire hour or so while reading her grimoire, until she too succumbed to sleep and cuddled at the black-nosed chipmunk's side.

A pair of hours later the sound of a sweet feminine voice whispered right into the ranger's ear. "Chip?"

A whisper which caused the ranger to wake up with a start. "G-Gadget?"

He looked in all directions, but the blonde mouse wasn't nowhere around. In the room were only the sleeping forms of Tammy and Dale. The squirrel right next to him, stubbornly clung to his arm and breathing softly. The red-nosed chipmunk on the opposite corner, now resting on his back and muttering incoherent words under the breath.

The ranger had just eased up after concluding he had misheard Dale and his babbling when suddenly the voice called again. "Chip!"

There was no doubt this second time. Chip leapt up on his feet and ran to the den's entrance and only when he reached the threshold he realized he had pushed Tammy aside quite discourteously. He turned around both ashamed and frightened by the upcoming reprimand, only to find the squirrel girl still submerged in a deep sleep. "Sorry…" He whispered apologetically before venturing outside.

Another surprise was in store. At the junction of two entwined branches was the sleeping form of Foxglove, curled into a ball on a bed of leaves with leftovers of fruits all around her. She greeted the chipmunk with a loud snore.

"Foxy?" The chipmunk raised both brows and approached her with caution. That was literally the first time in all these years of knowing each other he had caught her sleeping during nighttime.

"Come, Chip!" Gadget's voice came in a more urgent tone, making Chip skip a beat out of shock.

"Gadget! Where are you?"

"The roof!"

"Roof?" Chip left Foxglove behind and quickly made his way to the tip of the branch, about two meters above from the ground, and glanced at the obscure and deserted street and the line of disparage buildings on the opposite side. "Which one?"

"Up here!"

Squinting his eyes, he finally spotted the witch: mounted on her broomstick and suspended in the air above a single-story, sloped-roof house right across the street. She kept on like that for some more seconds to make sure to be seen and then flew out of sight.

"Gadget, wait!"

"I'm the one waiting for you, Chip! Come!" Her voice, very much like a siren's call, made the ranger hurry and descend the elm tree without a second thought. Fast as lightning and ignoring the pain on his legs Chip crossed the street on all fours and didn't stop until he arrived at the door of the building, which turned out to be a shed attached to a second, bigger house behind it.

"Urgh, this is going to take some time" The chipmunk groaned and dug his nails on the wooden door. "Gadget, I'm having some troubles here"

On that moment the lone flying broomstick came down from the heavens to assist. "Use it!"

And Chip gladly took the offer. "Oh, much better!"

As soon as he gripped the handle the magical cleaning tool shot upwards to the skies, leaving below the entire neighborhood with the chipmunk holding for dear life with both paws. The broomstick made some furious spins before coming to a stall only to dive down in elaborate circles towards the flat roof of the main building, the ranger cursing and swearing the whole trip back. The landing was successful, even graceful, considering the wild ride. Chip climbed down and immediately threw himself to the ground, pale and disoriented as he was.

"Golly! Are you all right, Chip?"

The concerned tone of the girl he loved took Chip out of his dizziness. "Yes, yes!" He assured as he forced himself up. "You know I love to fly".

"I'm glad. Now that I think about it, perhaps I shouldn't have ordered the broomstick to do that last spiraling dive"

"Huh?"

Chip urged himself to regain the focus on the mouse in front of him, as he suddenly couldn't be certain who was he talking to. Gadget Hackwrench. Bright blue eyes, long and unkempt blonde hair, slender figure dressed in a black silk robe with purple sash and of course, a black silk cloak a few sizes too big. For a brief moment he played with the idea that he was facing the evil twin in disguise. A frightening idea that got scrapped the moment both locked eyes and studied each other. The resentment was there all over her countenance, but it lacked Lawhinie's wicked sneer.

"Are you…" He paused for a breath to collect himself. "Are you still cross at me?"

Gadget folded her arms across the chest and sent him a glassy stare. "My, oh my… where did you get that idea?"

A bait. Yes, she was still vexed. It was time to put in action a life-saving trick he had learned from Gerald Squirrel long time ago. Namely, to play the fool. "Just my sixth sense tingling" he composed himself and shrugged smugly.

A faint blush crept up the witch's face, and her expression changed from anger to shock to mild amusement. "That's, that's a female thing"

Chip's mouth twisted up into a smirk. There was still a chance to appease her. The second step was to subtly move to another topic. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know you women had exclusive rights"

"That's not the case" The witch adopted a lecturing, teacher-like, pose. "But intuition is by nature… No, wait a minute!" Realization hit like a brick and made her go into outraged mode again. "I'm not here to discuss random trivia!" Next, she stopped to rub her brows as if to ward off a headache. "Focus, Gadget, focus! Be assertive, like your sister!"

"So, plan A was a bummer" Chip cleared his throat growing worried. "What did Gerald used to do next? Oh, yes… To beg for mercy"

"Gadget" The ranger held his paws up. "Come on, let's go back to the hideout and talk things out. Everybody is sleeping so… Errr" A most dreadful thought flashed in his mind. "All of them are asleep! Did you, did you use magic on them?"

The witch's posture became rigid, defensive even. "I can only take the blame for Tammy and Foxglove's current condition. There was no point in putting a spell on Dale"

"B-but, why would you do that?"

Gadget blew out a loud breath. "Because I wanted you to come alone, up here where nobody would disturb us"

The way the witch confessed without an ounce of regret sent goosebumps down the ranger's skin. "What ever happened to you, Gadget? Is Lawhinie… is she…"

Such honest concern caused the witch's resolve to falter again. "My sister is fine, I think" She said glancing away at the skies for a brief second. "Alive, at least"

An uneasy silence followed, in which both studied each other cautiously. The witch exuded an uncomfortable aura of hostility, no doubt about that. Chip wished – and implored from the bottom of his heart – this meeting didn't end in a duel like it happened with Tammy earlier that day.

Gadget, on the other side, could feel something was amiss. Something beyond the chipmunk's tattered shirt which together with his slumped shoulders and bags under the eyes gave away hints of fatigue. No, what was missing were the feathers. "Where are these loud, rude ravens? She finally inquired. "Where are your blades?"

"Oh, yes, they…" A grin of unadulterated pride crept up Chip's muzzle. "They took some time off me. Something about my brand of humor didn't quite appeal to them, sadly"

"But… you expect them to come back to possess you, don't you?"

"Eventually" He admitted. "But not in the way you put it"

"Oh, for God's sake, Chip!" The witch shot an accusing look at her companion.

"What's the problem?"

And then she exploded. "What's the problem? What about the fact that you were fool enough to sign a contract with a bloodthirsty god? Didn't you learn anything from my own tragedy? Weren't you listening?"

"You know I did, Gadget! He defended himself, taken aback by the mouse's sudden steely gaze. "Every word of your plea for help!"

"Plea for help?" The witch was now not only resentful, but outright furious. "I never asked for help! Contrary to what my sister and you believe, I knew exactly how everything would end the moment I signed my contract"

"No, Gadget, I refuse to believe it! I won't believe you aren't at least a bit afraid of spending an eternity of punishment in Hell!"

"I…" The mouse's incensed response never came. Bit by bit the scowl on her face softened. "I wasn't afraid…" Her shoulders slumped. "Back then, when Mephisto presented his offer my life as an orphan was dull and pitiful. I didn't have the thirst for notoriety and revenge Lawhinie had, or the greed that sent my parents to their deaths. I was simply the daughter of an infamous alchemist who used to read the same old books by day and go to bed with hunger by night. No, I wasn't afraid to suffer in hell in exchange for a brighter and meaningful life. Fear came later… After I met you, Chip Maplewood"

"What do you mean?"

The witch bit her lips. The time to speak the untarnished truth had finally come. "The night I met you, right after I told you about my fate and you bolted off to meet the cloaked wanderer, I was assaulted by a vision from the future. Just one of the perks of becoming a clairvoyant, you know? It was so revealing, so overwhelming, that it shattered me to the core and I was unable to follow after you and stop your nonsensical plan"

"W-what did you see?"

On that moment Gadget lifted her face and met again the dark eyes of Chip. The flames of hate had vanished, replaced now by flickers of remorse. "I saw a chain of lifetimes" She declared, and with a weave of her paw she shared the memories with the chipmunk through vivid, lifelike illusions.

Scenes of different times and places came into view one after another, but all of them had one constant: Gadget and Chip together as a couple. "I learned that, one way or another, we are fated to find each other during each of our lifetimes" She explained as the time frame advanced to more recent centuries. "One way or another, no matter the distance or the hardships that fall upon us. You and me are bound to find each other and…" Here she gulped down and her voice became a whisper. "… and be happy together"

The scenes came to a halt and faded out. Silence and a cold breeze enveloped the two rodents on that lonely rooftop. A silence that lasted for many heartbeats until Gadget found the courage to ask. "Tell me, how do you feel after learning my secret?"

"How do I feel, you ask?" He folded the arms defiantly. "Hmpf! As if I needed fate as an excuse to fall in love with you! No, what I feel for you doesn't come from a rule written thousands of years ago. To love you, to adore you, it's my own private choice!"

To say that Gadget blushed red as a tomato was an understatement. The last drops of animosity towards the black-nosed chipmunk evaporated right then and right there, replaced by throbbing feelings of guilt and failure.

Upon the blonde mouse's wide-open eyes and loss for words, it was the turn for Chip to voice out the same question. "How do you feel after learning my secret?"

For the chipmunk's complete dismay, his beloved mouse dropped her shoulders and her expression turned into one of complete sadness. "You want to know if I feel the same for you? Well, I do. I honestly and wholeheartedly do. I love you, Chip. That's why this last vision hurts me so much"

Another scene unfolded in front of the ranger, this one depicting some sort of living room in the depths of an oak tree. Half of the objects in that room were totally alien to him, with most of the space in that room occupied by a huge black mirror of sorts and a long-cushioned seat which was placed against it. There was light, much more radiant and blinding than any torch, coming from a small crystal lamp hanging from the ceiling. Also, Dale and Foxglove were there, together with Zipper and Monterey Jack. Their clothes looked foreign and exotic, washed in colors the ranger couldn't even dream of.

Tammy and he himself came into view soon after: The chipmunk caressing her long red hair tenderly, the squirrel running a paw down his chest in response and finally, both of them were seen sharing a passionate kiss.

A flush crept up the ranger's cheeks upon being witness of such vibrant display of affection. "That's not… Tammy and I…" He stammered upon the downcast look of Gadget.

With a snap of fingers, the vision faded to nothingness, and the witch couldn't have done it sooner enough. "I must say, you make a good couple" She admitted albeit with a defeated expression. "She will take care of you from now on"

"From now on? So, what you mean is…"

"Just like I told you on that night at the castle, this is my last life in Earth" Here the mouse broke into tears, all pretense of toughness thrown to the gutter. "Witches don't come back to Earth after they die. Oh god, If only… if only I had met you sooner!"

The ranger ran and pulled her into a hug, where he rocked her gently side to side and caressed the long blonde hair softly up and down, exactly like he had done to Tammy in that vision. In response Gadget wrapped her arms tighter around his waist and buried her head against his shoulder. "I'm sorry…" She said. "I really screwed it up"

"It's not too late to fix it" Chip whispered quietly as he took in the warmth of his partner and inwardly renewed the oath to protect her from harm. "I'll take Mephisto down and set you free" He declared with conviction born out of love rather than duty.

"Please don't say that"

"I mean it, though"

The witch locked eyes with him. "No Chip, you don't understand. If you challenge my master, you will die!"

"Hey hey, rest easy!" He said in an effort to comfort her. "I've battled against cats before. Back in Saint Pierre, there was a time…"

"No!" She insisted raising her tone. "Mephisto is not a cat! Not anymore, look for yourself!"

An unwelcomed sensation struck the ranger out of nowhere. it started as small goosebumps, followed by a feeling of being watched intently. This apprehension soon grew into anxiousness - and an urgency to run away – but as soon as he made a motion to break the hug the witch tightened his grip on him and pulled him close again. "Gadget" He asked growing alarmed. "What are you…"

The words died in his throat the moment he witnessed a jet-black cat with flaming white eyes leaping out graciously from the darkness behind the witch. "M-Mephisto!?"

And at last, Gadget allowed him to break free and step a pair of strides back. By then the feline had taken a place at the left of the witch where he crouched and stared at Chip with the wicked smile of a predator ready to pounce at its prey.

"Gadget, get away from him!" The ranger ordered as he got into a defensive – yet unarmed – stance.

But the witch didn't move a single step. In fact, she stood next to the devil and tilted her head quizzically at the ranger. "Wait… the fact that you aren't overwhelmed by terror is remarkable and awe-inspiring. Have you… Have you met my master before?"

"Once, for a brief moment. Reflected on a magical mirror"" He answered while praying that the feline of blazing eyes in front of him was but an illusion. The fact that Mephisto hadn't said anything at all, not even a single meow, hinted as much. Just Gadget messing with reality again.

"Wait, are you talking about the one at the inquisitors' palace?" The witch grimaced at an unpleasant memory. "I better go and destroy it before it falls in the wrong paws… again"

"That mirror destroyed itself soon after" He explained while forcing himself to stare up at the lifelike illusion. "One hundred shards or more"

Gadget let out a sigh of relief. "Good, one less evil artifact in the world. Back then I couldn't understand why my master would give the inquisitors such a powerful tool to spy on people. Yesterday I figured it all up…" She looked up at the looming black cat and grew enraged at him. "He wanted his customers to be hunted down, he never intended to honor his word or the contracts! That conniving murderer!"

A hundred crystal swords manifested out of thin air and struck the cat down in a single flashing second. The devil let out high-pitched growls of pain as his body crumbled down next to the witch and finally vanished out into nonexistence.

Gadget plumped down to her knees and looked at Chip hopelessly. "Mephisto wants to kill me" She sobbed. "He wants to kill my sister… he will kill you if you get in his way"

"Not if I kill him first!" The dauntless ranger knelt in front of his beloved witch and took her paws on his. "I'll do it to save you, Gadget! I swear I will!"

But the mouse simply negated with a slow shake of the head. "You cannot win…"

"Why don't you believe me?"

Chip waited for her to answer, but instead, her only response was a downward shift of her gaze.

A powerful gust of wind came from above and threw the chipmunk off-balance. "What the…" He had started to say, when the shadow of a huge winged beast passed over his head at a meteoric speed. The ranger's first thought and fear was they had been spotted by an owl or nighthawk. However, what Chip found the moment he dared to look up at the night sky was not a bird but a monster out of a feverish nightmare.

Huge leathery wings like those of a bat extended out of Mephisto's feline body right over the shoulders, with a pair of horns wickedly protruding behind the ears. Fur and scales mixed chaotically across the spine and all the way to the tip of the long tail. The four paws had been replaced into sharp long claws that could tear a chipmunk in pieces in a single strike. Not only the eyes were ablaze, now fire came out from the crevices between the teeth.

Chip Maplewood, very much used to the sight of otherworldly beings by that point, found that he couldn't breathe. His heart felt stuck in his throat, pounding, threatening to burst out. "Please…" He finally managed to whisper. "Please tell me this only an illusion"

Gadget looked up at him and reached for his paw to squeeze if only to prevent the ranger from fainting. "Not a mere illusion, no. Take it as a forewarning. If you insist on saving me, this is what you'll find at the end of the road: Mephisto the dragon!"

The blonde witch then proceeded to explain the best she could the chain of events that ended up conjuring that abomination. "… and he is now in his way to hunt me and Lawhinie down. 'Wait for the smell of sulfur' he said. I don't know how much time I have left"

The unholy mirage dived and landed right in front of the duo, exhaling fire and smoke all the way down. It stared Chip down as the mouth stretched in a hideous smile and the eyes burned with nothing but malice. The chipmunk's body felt numb, every limb heavy with lead, all unable to move at will. The only thing that prevented him to lose his sanity was the little fact there was no smell at all coming off from this monster, much less the rotten-like hint of sulfur as his friend had stated. Thus, he concluded, that dragon cat wasn't really there – couldn't be really there-.

Unable to watch Chip shiver in terror anymore, Gadget vanished the illusion for good. The two companions were enveloped again by the lights of the city and a persistent breeze that smelled to rain. Drained as they were after sharing these revelations with each other, they embraced each other again and together fell to their knees. Meanwhile, the world around them seemed devoid of color, devoid of soul, devoid of hope.

The rasping of Chip's breath filled the atmosphere for several passing seconds, while it forced it back into a steady rhythm. "How do I… how do I kill that thing?" He wondered inwardly while running a paw down his face and muzzle. "Odin, tell me how to kill that thing!"

"I'm sorry you I had to show him to you, Chip" The witch begged for pardon. "But I hope now you understand my wretched situation better" The witch said wiping a tear off. "I came here to say mend things over and say goodbye only to you. I must go now, It's not safe for you to have me around"

Just as she made a motion to lift herself up, the ranger held her by the wrists and pulled her up into a hug again. "No, you won't go anywhere" Chip declared much to Gadget's surprise. "Not without me"

Gadget faced the chipmunk up with an annoyed scowl. "Y-You really are a stubborn…"

"We are soulmates, remember? And If this is really our last life together, then…" He paused for a second in order to regain the courage. ""Then I want to be at your side until our last breath!"

Here the witch bit her lips, moved by these kind words. "Chip… you want to die with me? That's the most romantic thing someone has said to me, in a morbid Shakespearean way"

"We won't die" Chip assured holding her closer against him. "Think about this… If Mephisto needs you and your sister that badly, it means he is not invincible yet. So, as long as I've got these cursed swords with me, I have a chance to defeat him"

"B-but… you don't have the swords" She blinked confused.

"Oh, they will come back to me sooner than later" The ranger offered the witch his trademark mischievous glint. "Cannot live without me, those two"

For the first time in many days, the witch allowed herself to let out a chuckle. "Yeah, because you are quite the charmer, right? There is simply no way to escape from you" She blushed and rested her head on the Chipmunk's chest. "All right, mister ranger… Let's fight for our future together"

"There is three of us" He corrected. "You, me and Tammy"

"Huh, what?" Gadget pushed his beloved away so violently it almost made him fall on his rear. "What does Tammy have to do with this?" She asked with a sour expression as she jumped up straight.

"Actually…" The ranger mumbled while scolding himself for being so tactless. "We had a talk and she made clear she wants to go and avenge the death of her parents"

"Really?" The witch crossed her arms and shot him a glare. "And you of course convinced her that revenge won't bring her parents back and that challenging a devil cat is certain death, correct? Because that's what any responsible adult and leader figure would do"

"Yeah, well… She had too many convincing counter-arguments under the sleeve" He stood up and rubbed his right arm on the spot where a sword cut should be. Alas, there was nothing left to show now, as the raging cleric had covered the evidence quite expertly with healing spells. "But on the other side" He held up both paws defensively, almost expecting to deflect an incoming blow. "Wouldn't a cleric be a good addition to a devil-hunting party like ours"

"Tammy is a teenager"

"I know! But she is also quite the fiery…"

"Golly, Chip! I can't believe you!" The outraged witch balled her fists. "I doubt my master will show any mercy to the daughter of Bethany Lombardi! Have you thought of that?"

An unnatural cold chill unexpectedly ran down the mouse's spine all the way to the tip of the tail; what was left of her lecture against Chip dissipated in a haze. By reflex she clutched her chest, shuffled back one step and gazed up to the sky as her paw rushed to cover the mouth. "Oh, no!"

"Hey, are you all right?" The ranger started to ask, only for his mouth to fall open at the sight of another witch falling down to earth: Lawhinie Hackwrech.

The evil witch miraculously managed to aim for the same roof the couple was standing on, despite the erratic way she was losing altitude. The landing, however, was a disaster. Upon impact with the ground the broomstick got smashed into pieces and Lawhinie was forced to fall on her shoulder and roll over many steps forward to avoid injuries, finally ending up almost at the feet of her twin sister.

As if on cue, the clouds made way just enough for the light of the moon to fall on her so everybody around could be witness of her tragedy: bruises and scratches all over her body, her expensive dress in tatters, the long blonde hair a mess, a nasty scar peeking out her cleavage.

"Sister… help me…" Lawhinie begged on her knees.

And the way Gadget immediately ran and offered her a helping paw gave Chip ominous, dreadful thoughts.