(Note: In this story, I've given Chip's last name as Maplewood…this is done with utmost respect, and no infringement intended on whatever author originally came up with that idea. It's just the best fit for the character, I think.)

Chapter III: Champion of Redwall

The clouds had continued to darken as the dawn faded away, but neither the Redwallers nor the Rangers were discouraged. Chip loaded the last parcels of equipment and provisions into the Rangerwing's cargo compartment, and he, Gadget, Dale and Tammy (who had arrived earlier) boarded. Monterey Jack and the Redwall party boarded the Rangerplane, which had been prepared for flight as well.

"Well, here goes nothing," Gadget said, pulling her goggles down over her eyes. She hit several controls, and the Rangerwing's engines whined and then caught. The two rear-mounted props revved to full speed, and she taxied down the short runway, lifting off, with Monterey and the Rangerplane close behind. From the doorway of Ranger Headquarters, Tammy's sister Bink and her mother waved. They would be house-sitting while the Rangers were away. Before leaving, Chip had delighted everyone by presenting Tammy (now a little older and more mature) with the familiar double-R badge, officially making her a Rescue Ranger.

As they flew, Tammy reached over from the back seat and hugged Chip tightly.

"Oh, Chipper! I can't believe I'm actually a Ranger! I don't know how I can ever thank you," she said, batting her eyelashes at him.

'Little flirt,' Gadget thought temperamentally. She shook her head then, surprised at herself.

'Golly, I really must be in love!'

Dale noticed her rigid posture, and leaned up to whisper in her ear.

"Getting a little territorial, Gadge?"

She didn't answer for a moment, but then she grinned.

"A little, I guess."
"Never thought I'd see the day," Dale chuckled as he sat back.

They flew for several hours, making small talk and joking, with Gadget and Tammy sparring inconspicuously the entire time.

"I can't wait to get there," Tammy said, "I've always wanted to see the English countryside. We can go on a picnic while the others are tending all this Abbey business, Chipper!"

Chip put his hand to his forehead.

"Sorry Tammy, but I'm probably going to be spending most of my time with…someone else."

"But who else is there?" she asked, innocently.

Chip slid over in the seat, and put his arm around Gadget. He looked back and smiled.

"Use your imagination."

Tammy's eyes widened in shock as she realized what had finally happened. Settling back in a huff, she scooted over closer to Dale.

"Well, I'm sure 'somebody' will show me around."

Both pilot and copilot looked at each other and tried not to laugh. Now it was Dale that had the dilemma.

Gadget was elated. Flying, Chip's arm securely around her shoulders, him being so close…it was perfect. She hadn't felt such a sense of contentment since before her father died. She wondered if Geegaw was happy for her, looking down from up there. She mentally corrected herself for even wondering. She knew he was.

'The only thing missing now is the 'Eagle,' she said to herself.

"Eagle!" Chip yelled, breaking her out of her reverie.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Dead ahead! Eagle!"

She looked ahead, and her heart lost several beats. She twisted the Rangerwing's wheel and dove through a cloud, as the talons of a great eagle barely missed the starboard wing. She toggled on the small radio that she had constructed on the control panel, and signaled back to Monterey Jack.

"Monty! Everything all right back there!"

"Too-rah-loo, Gadget luv, ain't we had enough close calls without runnin' inta birds like that?"

"Sorry. I should've warned you, I was just…daydreaming."
"Too roight, an' I can only imagine about wot."

"Not now, Monty," she replied through clenched teeth. "I'm trying to drive."
"Well try a bit harder."

She turned the radio off, and gave the others an embarrassed look.

"Sorry about the turbulence." She looked down at her gauges.

"Well, looks like it's about time for the refueling stop," she said. "We should be almost to Louie's now."

Dale groaned.

"You mean that crazy monkey with the straw hat?"

"Yes, that's who I mean. Every pilot who's anybody in the animal kingdom gets the best service with him. He keeps a special establishment set up just for 'smaller' pilots."

"Yes, we know," Tammy said with a grimace. "The last time we were there, if I recall correctly, the boys here started a bar fight over you."

Gadget was about to make an acidic comeback when Chip intervened, not wanting to see the inventor's little practiced but legendary temper roused.

"Now now, girls, play nice! We have to live with each other on this trip, you know," he said, shooting Tammy a look that would have killed, if it were possible. She caught the drift.

"Yessir," she mumbled, crossing her arms and sliding down in the seat.

Gadget turned on the radio, and found the proper frequency.

"Eagle-2 to…Rodent Refueling Station," she said, using the title with obvious distaste. "Requesting permission to land."

There was silence for a moment. Then…

"Bob-bob-a luau, baddap bow! Is that the melodious tones of Geegaw Hackwrench's little girl I hear up there in that blue?"

"Yes, Louie, yes it is," she said, giggling in spite of herself. "I need to take on fresh batteries."

"Wellll then, just mosey on down heah, and we will fix ya'll up, cousins!"

"Cousins?" Chip mouthed.

Gadget shrugged.

"He calls everybody that."

She hit the transmitter.
"Roger, coming in."

Waving for Monty to follow, she banked the Rangerwing around, and brought it down, lightly skimming the runway before stopping.

"Hey, Gadget, at least you didn't pick now to put skis on the plane," Tammy said sarcastically, referring to the Rangers' first ever crash.

"Okay, kid, I have had just about enough…"

Chip stepped between the two, and took Gadget by the arm.

"Let's go up to the café and get something to eat before we go on, huh?"

As they walked, Chip gazed over at Gadget's stormy countenance. He nearly started laughing.

"What's so funny?"
"Oh nothing," he said, "it's just really hilarious, seeing you and Tammy go on just like Dale and I always have."

She looked shocked.

"But we never…"
She thought about it a few seconds.

"Okay, I guess we did." She laughed at the thought, and Chip did not believe he'd ever heard a sweeter sound.

"What a girl," he said under his breath.
"Thank you," she replied, smiling. Chip looked at her, questioningly. She pointed to her head.
"Have you ever wondered about the size of the ears? Now you know what they're good for," she said.

"Wow," he said. "So you mean, every time we fought over you, talked about you, or, um…made observations about you, you heard us?"

"You mean could I tell you were checking me out? Most of the time," she said with a crafty, knowing expression. Chip felt the color rise in his face.

"I have given you too little credit, girl."

"Well, I think you're making up for it now."
She looked around to make sure no one else behind was listening.

"Chip? Is this what they mean by 'falling head over heels?'"

"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're so close to me, my heart is pounding, I'm all trembly, and I'm having a hard time resisting the urge to kiss you."

He thought a second, and grinned.

"Yep, I'd say so. Probably 'cause I'm the same way."

She reached out, and he took her hand as they walked up the dock.

Tammy watched from behind, her jaw hanging open.

"Oh. My. God. I can't believe it actually happened."
"Oh I can," Dale said. "Chip's been twitterpated over Gadget for years. I think this is just the first time she's realized she feels the same way."

"Twitterpated?" Tammy asked.

Dale shrugged noncommittally.

"Picked it up from an owl I met once."
She giggled.

"You're a lot deeper than some people realize, you know that Dale?"

"Yep. But it's a whole lot more fun bein' the team clown."

"Too roight," she said in her best Monterey Jack impression.

"See? You're catching on!"

The café that Louie maintained for his 'smaller' clientele wasn't the Ritz, but it wasn't all that bad, either. It was just some of the clientele that was lacking in class.

Gadget sat down at a table near a window, so she could keep an eye on the Rangerwing while the flight crew, a group of highly trained guinea pigs, changed the plane's batteries and prepped it for the rest of the flight. Chip had gone to the counter to get some drinks.

"This seat taken?" a voice growled beside her.

Gadget looked up into the face of a hulking rat.

"Actually, it is," she said.

"Hmm, you're right, it is. By me!" he said, sitting down in Chip's chair. "so what's a sweet little number like y'self doin in a joint like dis?"

"Waiting for my plane to get refueled, if you must know."

"Well then, why don't we git to know one other a little better," he said, his tail curling around her arm.

"Because I don't think it's a good idea."

The rat turned in his seat, just in time for Chip's fist to knock him boots over elbows across the table.

"Golly," Gadget said, looking across at the near-unconscious thug. "I didn't know you were that strong!"
"Neither did I," he replied, wincing as he moved his fingers around.

"Oh no, Chip, did you break anything?" she asked, taking his hand and checking it over.

"No, but it was a good excuse to hold hands with you again."

"Ooohh you!"

He put on his best soppy expression.

"The things a guy does when he's in love."

"Excuse me," someone said, tapping Chip on the shoulder. He turned, and was faced by the rat that he had just knocked down.

"Hello again, chipmunk."
The brute lashed out with one ham-like fist, sending Chip tumbling through a number of chairs.

Gadget grabbed a broken chair leg, did some quick mass and speed equations in her head, and then broke the improvised club over the attacker's back.

The rat wheeled on her, roaring.

"Guess I forgot to carry the one," she said, and dove under a nearby table.

The rat, whose name she had not bothered to catch, turned his attention back to Chip, landing a right, then a left, that left the smaller, lighter chipmunk reeling and looking for escape. Gadget watched from her refuge as Chip took what appeared to be the pummeling of his life And with each punch that she saw, her temper boiled hotter, and hotter…

Until it finally boiled over, overcoming her fear.

"Okay, that tears it," she said, "nobody does that to my guy and gets away with it!"

Coming out from under the table like a shot, she landed on their assailant's back, and sank her teeth into his arm.

"Yeeeooowwchh!" the rat bellowed, trying to get a good shot at his attacker. He threw his elbow back, making contact with Gadget's face and throwing her to the floor. Stars burst in front of her eyes, as she tried to reorient herself. She fell back against the counter, holding her head in her hands, trying desperately to clear her vision so she could help Chip. Holding Chip up in one huge hand, the vermin picked up a piece of wood from a nearby table. As Gadget struggled to her feet, he swung the debris in a blow to her midsection, breaking his weapon in the process. She sat down hard, the breath knocked out of her, and nearly blacking out.

"That'll keep ya outa the way, missy!"

Chip watched this last in horror. His eyes nearly turned red with the rage that was searing him inside, and he let it build, until the rat finally turned back around. Chip uncorked his bottled up emotions and channeled them into one roundhouse. His adrenaline-driven strength snapped the bigger fighter's head back, putting him out cold. They both fell to the floor, and after a moment, Chip was able to free himself from his opponent's grip, which even in unconsciousness was locked tight.

"Strike me starkers! Wot 'appened heah?"
Monterey Jack plowed through the door, with Dale in tow. He picked Chip up from the floor with one hand, dusting him off. He looked at the rat, who had collapsed in a heap nearby.

"You've got y'self one thick skull, if you took a beatin' offa this one, mate." Chip drew in his breath sharply.

"See about…Gadget," he gasped.

"Wot about her…oh moy God," Monty croaked. He set Chip down and fell on his knees beside his adoptive niece.

"Gadget luv! Speak t'me!"

"Is she gonna be all right, Monterey?" Dale said in a hushed tone.

"Dunno, pally," he said. "Gimme a hand."

Gently, they lifted her up onto one of the few tables that remained standing. Monty dug a handkerchief out of his coat pocket and held it to her face, where her nose was bleeding.

"Get me some 'ot water and a good rag," he said. "Move!"
The two chipmunks dashed off like bullets. They returned momentarily with the requested items, and Monty started bathing Gadget's face with the warm cloth. After a minute, she moaned, and started to stir.

"That's it, luv," he said, "pull y'self out of it."

"She saved me," Chip said. "That rabid monster was about to choke the life out of me, and Gadget jumped him like a fighting jackrabbit."

"She's got a real fightin' spirit, if'n y'ever roust it up," Monty replied.

"You…noticed…then," a weak voice gasped from the makeshift gurney.

Monterey Jack grinned broadly as Gadget slowly sat up, and swung her legs over the side of the table.

"Luv, you must 'ave about the 'ighest IQ of anybody I know," he said. And then, with a voice like thunder, "But that was th' stupidest thing y've evah done!"

"Please…not so loud," she said, dazedly, "I've got a headache that'd split Mount Everest."

Chip threw his arms around her, holding her to him like he hadn't seen her in days.

"I'm so glad you're all right."

"So am I…Chip…but please…I've got a cracked rib or two I think," she ground out.

"Yeh, and you're not lookin' so good y'self, pally," Monty pointed out.

It was only then that Chip noticed the various aches and pains shooting all over his body. He grinned crookedly.

"He only grazed me, I'll be fine."

Gadget smiled, trying not to cry at the same time.

"Liar," she said, "I saw what he did. W-what do you think…got me into the action?"

In spite of his own injuries, Chip picked her up in his arms, and made for the door.

"Come on," he said, "let's go see how good that nurse's training of Tammy's has been."

She put her arms around his neck, and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Sounds like…a plan to me," she whispered. Tammy had been taking nursing classes at the local animal hospital, and was considered by all to be getting quite good.

Chip looked over at Monterey Jack as they walked out onto the dock.

"This is my fault," he said. "If I hadn't hit that rat…"

"Well, if he was up to wot I think he was, mate, then I don't blame ya. Take it as a good sign that you and Gadget's first fight wasn't with each othah, me lad," he laughed, trying to brighten the situation.

As they approached the plane, Tammy ran to meet them.

"Good grief, what happened?"

Gadget tried to put a happy face on, but didn't do very well.

"Fight in the café," she managed to get out.

Tammy slapped a hand to her forehead and groaned.

"I swear, these chipmunks are a bad influence on everybody," she said. "But if the other guy looks half as bad as you do, girl, I'd say you two gave a good account of yourselves."

"Thanks a lot."

When Tammy began to examine, she discovered that Gadget didn't only have one or two cracked ribs, but three, with a nasty black eye thrown into the mix. Chip wasn't much better off.

"Such is the life of the Rangers' surgeon," she said with a sigh.

Gadget, with her ribs bandaged and an aspirin in hand, giggled slightly.

"Save it for when you get your degree," she coughed, swallowing the medicine.

Abbess Brantalis left her seat in the Rangerplane and walked over.

"I say, looks like it was a worthy bit of a scrap."

"You might say that," Gadget replied as she started to get up. Her hand shot to her chest, and she quickly sat back down.

"You're going to have to stay off your feet until we finish the trip over," Tammy said. "Lie down in the back of the 'Wing. I'll fly."

The older girl didn't offer much of an argument.

Brantalis leaned against the side of the vehicle, and eyed Gadget curiously.

"Just what did this rat look like?"

Searching through her near-photographic memory, the inventor replied,

"He was big, with a scar running across his face, and he had a tendency to use his tail to move things."
The Abbess looked troubled.

"The description is undeniable. That was Gurfang, a captain of the lot troubling us. He must have known we would be stopping here."
"He had to, it's the only refueling stop until you hit the Antilles Islands."

"Well then, it's over now. Just rest until we get to Redwall, you'll be back on your feet in no time. I hope," the older mouse said to herself as she walked back to the Rangers' other vehicle.

Monterey Jack picked Gadget up and deposited her in the Rangerwing's back seat, strapping her in securely.

"Thanks, Monty," she said, drowsily. "Golly, aspirin's never made me this sleepy before."

Monty winked.

"That's 'cause young Tammy knew you'd just work on some blueprint or anothah the rest of the way. So she brushed that aspirin with a bit of a sedative she whipped up."

But by the time he had said this, Gadget was already asleep, her breathing steady and peaceful. He brushed her hair back from her forehead, and kissed her in his best fatherly manner.

"Sleep well, luv."

He climbed into the Rangerplane's cockpit, and signaled as he lifted off.

Tammy waved back, and started the Rangerwing's engines, the plane hovering smoothly as it left the ground. With a slight nudge to the throttle, it shot off into the evening sky, back on it's way to their destination.

Watching the faster plane pull ahead, Monty chuckled.

"Ay, she's got the courage of a Champion, that one."
"Hurr, you'm roight abowt that, zurr," Foremole said.