Penny made it to the laboratory with her friends in tow; Abigail still being carried by her father, having passed out in his arms, and looked after by Willy and Russell. Bernard and Bianca rode on Penny's shoulders, and the Rescue Rangers followed along too, happy to be a complete unit again. As they ran, Gadget excitedly told Chip and Monty about the upgrades to her new plane. Although they needed a new headquarters, at least they had that. About five rodents including Cornelius were still in their cages in the lab, and in no shape to try and jump down. Three of these were elderly specimens; one had radiation poisoning while another was malnourished to the point of being skin, fur and bones.
"Okay guys, let's get you out of here," Penny said, going to get a plastic container for them to sit in, "You guys can trust me, okay? I'm not going to hurt you."
"We'll need help too,' said Edgar's mother.
"Yeah, until we get outside where it's dark and we can see," said Edgar, "I mean, without our glasses."
"Hm, they confiscated your glasses, little mole?" Penny asked, "I know some of the other rodents were missing their clothes too. I could find out where they were stashed, but I don't think I have an awful lot of time to stick around here."
"Nimnul's done for, isn't he?" asked Dale, "We've got until the place opens."
"Which is in about an hour or so," Chip reminded Dale, "We need to be out and gone long before then, or we're all in trouble."
Penny sighed, grabbing a large plastic bin from a table, "I'm just hoping they pin Nimnul's murder on the rodents and not me. It won't help that my finger prints are everywhere."
"That too," Chip added.
"Golly, I hope you don't get in a lot of trouble for helping us out," said Gadget.
"It was a risk I was willing to take," she answered as she brought the bin up to Cornelius' cage.
"You're a noble woman, Penny," Cornelius said as he climbed down, being very careful, "Because of you, my theory that humans aren't all bad has been proven."
Penny smiled, collecting the other unfortunate rodents.
"So how are you doing Abigail?" Gadget asked, walking over to her.
"She's weak, I think she's sleeping," her father answered, "Whatever that amulet is…it took a lot of her energy, and burned her hands badly."
"Poor girl. I wish I could tell you what that amulet is, but I don't even know," Gadget said, bending down to look at Abigail, who had passed out, "You must be her father, I'm Gadget Hackwrench and my friends here are the Rescue Rangers. You know your daughter is a very brave girl. She and her friends flew all the way to New York, and we ran into them there."
"I'm sure that's far," he answered with a smile, "I can't wait to hear all about her adventures."
At that moment, the sounds of large thuds echoed through the hallways, followed by shouts and squeaks. Penny nearly dropped the plastic container when she heard it.
"Penny!" came an angry roar.
"N-Nimnul's alive!" Dale shouted.
"But how? There must have been fifty rodents mauling him!" Chip exclaimed.
"Oh no, vhat do ve do?" Bianca asked in desperation.
There was nowhere to run, only one exit from the lab. The door swung open, and a bleeding, livid Dr. Nimnul stood panting, holding a bloodied Brutus in his fist and brandishing it. Nimnul was missing an eye, and had bite marks and gashes all over his body, his white lab coat stained red. His face looked like it had been torn by a lawn mower, but he was alive.
"You think I'm going to be killed by these pests?!" he yelled, Penny standing with her back to the cages, still holding the disabled rodents.
Abigail began to stir, and her eyes opened wide when she saw Nimnul holding Brutus, struggling in his hand.
"You care about these filthy beasts, don't you? Get back on the operating table or I'll squeeze this one until it bursts."
"Golly, that's Brutus!" Gadget exclaimed, "Wh-what happened to the others who were attacking Nimnul?"
"We need to help any who lived," said Chip.
"B-but that involves getting past Nimnul," Dale said with a gulp.
"Too right," said Monterey Jack, "What do we do now?"
"Fools…" Brutus grunted, "If only you mice weren't so afraid of the sight of blood we'd have killed him…"
"Hm, pity this is the one I'll be killing," Nimnul mused, "He may have plucked out my eye with his little spear but I like his attitude."
"Nimnul, put him down," said Penny, not wanting to live to see another rodent die because of her, even Brutus, "I'll…I'll go with you…"
"Idiot!" Brutus yelled.
Abigail shook free of her father's grasp, and drew her dagger with burned hands, ignoring the pain. She ran for Nimnul's ankle, and buried her dagger deep into it, making Nimnul shout and drop Brutus to the ground. He landed with a thud, and couldn't get up. Nimnul had broken some of his ribs.
"Why you little ankle-biters!" Nimnul shouted, "I've stepped on enough of you today, what's one more?!"
Nimnul stomped the ground looking for Abigail, but it proved more difficult with one eye. Penny took this moment to open a drawer at one of the tables and arm herself with a surgical knife. Abigail shrieked and was shaken off of Nimul's ankle. He spotted her and lifted his leg to stomp on her. But Penny buried the surgical knife into Nimnul's back. He screamed and turned toward her, grabbing her around the throat.
"It'll just have to be a good old fashioned post-mortem autopsy!"
Abigail gritted her teeth angrily and grabbed the amulet once again. Lifting it up and shouting, the entire building began to shake. Nimnul stopped strangling Penny and turned around. She fell to her knees, clutching her throat.
"What…what is that thing? Give it to me!"
"Get out, everyone!" Abigail yelled.
"But…but Abby!" Willy begged.
The building began to shake more violently.
"The only way for this to end is to kill Nimnul and destroy NIMH!" Abigail shouted.
"But you said you couldn't do it!" Brutus exclaimed.
"I do it out of love, for everyone…every rodent in the world," Abigail said, her eyes tearing up as she held the jewel high, glowing with radiance, "Penny, help get everyone out!"
"Ha! Me, beaten by mice? Never!" Nimnul said, lifting a foot to try and stomp on Abigail again. When he did, a table from across the room lifted from the floor and slammed into Nimnul, pinning him against a wall with enough force to break his spine.
"Penny, ve must get everyone out zat ve can," said Bianca.
"Then you need to get out of here, fast," said Bernard, "If the building implodes, the police will never know you were here."
"Right," said Penny, picking up the plastic bin with the disabled rodents.
Abigail's father tried to reach for Abigail, but was picked up by Penny and placed in the bin with the others, as was Brutus. She and the others hurried out of the room. Tiles from the ceiling fell and equipment in the rooms crashed to the ground. Penny ran quickly down the hall, picking up any mice or small animals she saw who couldn't walk. Quite a few were crushed. She mourned them, but pressed on back to the operating room. The walls cracked, and the ceiling was caving in. As soon as she left the room with all the rodents she could save, the room collapsed. Followed by a crowd of able-bodied rodents, she ran as fast as she could down the hallway and out the front entrance. She ran to the parking lot, and with a deafening crash, the building collapsed into a heap of rubble, throwing gray smoke high into the air. Lights turned on all around the nearby neighborhood. Penny couldn't stay for long, lest she be seen. She huddled into some nearby bushes with the rodents, and stopped to see if anyone else would make it out alive.
"Oh my gosh, what about Michelle? She was on the roof!" Gadget exclaimed.
There was a shocked silence among them. Many had already lost loved ones in the fight against Nimnul. But all of them mourned for Abigail. Surely she couldn't have made it out alive. Michelle's fate was unsure as well. Cornelius was in too much shock to even process what had happened. He looked on at the building, mutely.
"Justin…wouldn't have sent her on a suicide mission," Brutus coughed, clutching his ribs.
"Maybe we should have taken Michelle after all," Bernard said sadly, hugging Bianca as they stared at the smoldering ruins of NIMH.
As the moments passed, and hope slipped away, tears began to fall from the eyes of the onlookers. Abigail's dad remained numb, staring and hoping for Abigail to return. But Willy curled into a ball, and began to sob.
Until, a light shone through the tears in his eyes. The ground began to rumble again, pieces of debris from the smoking ruins started to move. And Abigail levitated form the ruins, glowing bright yellow and still holding the amulet. Her father's jaw dropped, and soon he started running back toward the building. He was followed then by Russell, Edgar, and finally Willy. Abigail slowly landed atop the rubble, and collapsed. Her father picked her up, and carried her down himself.
"Is she okay?" Willy asked.
"She's breathing," said her father, "She's hurt badly, but…alive."
Abigail stirred in his arms, opening her eyes slightly.
"I…love you…daddy…"
"I love you too," he answered, his eyes watering.
She smiled, "You finally answered it right…"
Abigail coughed, and groaned, closing her eyes. Her energy had been completely drained. He held her close and cradled her, as Willy looked on in concern. Brutus gave a chuckle, interrupted by a coughing fit.
"She used my dagger after all. I don't think I've met a stronger mouse," Brutus said, beaming with pride toward Abigail.
Just then they heard flapping wings from above, and saw Wilbur circling the ruins. He came down once he saw the crowd of rodents beneath the bush, making a landing.
"Vilbur, you made it!" Bianca declared.
"I certainly did! And not just me either,' he said, motioning to the seats strapped to his back. Michelle peeked up from them.
"Michelle!" Cornelius exclaimed.
Michelle gasped, "Uncle Cornelius!"
She jumped down from Wilbur's back. Penny smiled and took Cornelius out from the bin and placed him on the ground. Michelle ran into Cornelius' arms.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Michelle said tearfully.
"Looks like I'll be with you a while yet," said Cornelius.
"Alright you guys, we need to get out of here,' said Penny, as sirens began to blare in the distance, "My apartment isn't far. Just follow me. If any of you can't run there's still room in the bin for you, and as soon as we get to my car in the parking lot I'll take you guys far away."
With that, Cornelius was put back into the bin with Michelle, as well as Abigail, placed in with care and taken into the arms of Cornelius. Penny smiled down at her little heroine. She had saved her friends, and Penny. Now it was Penny's turn to help her find a new home.
Abigail gazed at the Fitzgibbons farm at day break from her perch high up in a tree, the sun just beginning to rise above the distant hills. Willy sat beside her, the two of them feeling at peace for the first time in what seemed like forever. Down below the surviving citizens of Dapplewood picked out new homes in the forest just outside the farm, following the recommendations of Abigail and her friends. The Rescuers and the Rescue Rangers helped oversee the process, and Penny had come to help too, fulfilling her debt after feeling responsible for Dapplewood. After NIMH's destruction, they fled to the parking lot of Penny's apartment complex, and Penny loaded them into the car and drove off. It was late in the day by the time they reached the Fitzgibbon farm, and rather than try to build new homes in the darkness, they camped out inside and around Penny's car.
Work began promptly at dawn. During the commotion, Willy and Abigail snuck off to be alone for a few moments and watch the sunrise together. Abigail's hands were wrapped in bandages, but even then she was an expert climber, beating Willy to the top.
"It's beautiful here," said Willy.
Abigail nodded with a small smile, "It is. It's no Dapplewood but…it will do."
"I wish I could have seen it," Willy said, leaning back and swinging his feet on the branch.
"Well, it was never the same after the gas leak," Abigail answered, looking down, "I am grateful we found this place. We already know the neighbors. And the humans won't find us here."
"And it's less boring than Oakdale Meadow," Willy mused, "More food and less fighting."
"I'm glad my daddy was okay with letting you live with us," Abigail said fondly, smiling at him, "I don't think I'd want to live far from you again."
"Yeah," Willy replied, "I was kinda nervous meeting him, but he's a nice guy, once we told him what we'd been through."
"He's very protective of me you know, you did well to gain his approval," Abigail said with a small giggle.
"Aw, well…I'm glad I came with you guys this time," he said, slowly putting an arm around Abigail's shoulder.
"Abigail!" came the call of her father from below.
"Uh oh," she said, looking down, "Quick, let's get to the ground before he sees us."
The two of them scurried down the bark of the tree, Abigail climbing down first. They were halfway down when Abigail lost grip of the bark due to her bandages. She grabbed Willy's ankle as she fell, pulling him down with her, and the two of them fell onto the loamy soil, Willy on his stomach and Abigail landing on Willy's back. The two of them were stunned at first, until looking at each other and starting to giggle. This was exactly what had happened when they met in the meadow for the first time.
"What are you two up to?" Abigail's father asked, coming through the grass.
"Nothing daddy," Abigail said with false sincerity.
"Climbing trees again? I give up."
Abigail giggled, "Sorry…"
"Well come on, Penny's taking the others home now," he said.
Abigail got off of Willy and he got up, dusting himself off, and the two of them followed Abigail's father to the edge of the forest where Penny stood before a crowd of the Dapplewood survivors.
"Thank you all so much," she said, "It's because of you I rediscovered who I am, and what my gift is. I can never be sorry enough about what happened to your old home, and about the loved one's you've lost but, I hope you can make the most of things here."
"You've turned over a new leaf, my dear girl," said Cornelius, whose joints ached much less now that he'd been able to find some willow bark, "In my eyes at least, you've redeemed yourself."
"It was a pleasure helping you all out for us too," said Gadget, "But our place is in the city. We'll have to rebuild from scratch of course but we'll manage."
"What about your plane?" Abigail asked.
"Lost in the wreckage of NIMH I'm afraid." she said sadly.
"Uncle Cornelius, maybe you could help them?" Michelle suggested.
"You're the one who made that fully organic plane!" Gadget exclaimed, shaking Cornelius' hand, "That was some great craftsmanship."
Cornelius was momentarily stunned, "I suppose I could draw up some plans for you, if you stay a while."
"What do you say guys?" Gadget asked.
"Aw man, you know how much TV I've missed during this trip?" Dale whined.
Chip bonked him on the head, "Stop your moaning. It'll be a while before we even get a headquarters that we can fit a TV into."
"I guess I don't mind stickin' around." said Monterey Jack.
"Then I guess you'll be going back on your own?" Penny asked.
"Dale's been outvoted, so sure," said Gadget.
"What about Brutus?" Penny asked.
"He's staying with the Brisby's until he's well enough to go back to his home," said Abigail, "I gave him the amulet to take with him, and we'll probably be visiting again soon."
"Okay," Penny said, looking to her two friends Bernard and Bianca on each shoulder.
"It's been wonderful helping you all," said Bianca, "Ve hope you'll all be safe."
"By the way, Rescue Rangers," said Bernard, "There's a lot of vacancies in the Rescue Aid Society now, if you're interested in becoming affiliated. Bianca and I could put in a good word for you. After hearing about the way you helped these kids you could be sure-fire candidates."
"Golly Chip, what do you think of that?" Gadget asked.
"Hmm…you know that might not be such a bad idea, we could use the help now," said Chip, "We'll meet up in New York and discuss it more?"
"As you vish, Chip," said Bianca.
"Where are you going to go, Penny?" asked Abigail.
"I'm probably going to have to go someplace far," she answered, regretting having to leave most of her new friends, "I'm taking the rest of the Rescuers back to New York, after that…I don't know. I'll probably leave the country, but wherever I go I'll be helping rodents and animals."
"You know Australia's not too bad," Bernard remarked.
"I always did want to go there," said Penny.
"We could visit both you and me parents sometime," said Monterey Jack.
"Well, thank you, on behalf of us all, Penny," said Cornelius, "You will always be welcome here."
Penny nodded, with a smile, "Thank you. All of you. It's hard to say goodbye but…goodbye. And Abigail, take good care of your family and friends."
"I will," said Abigail, holding Michelle's hand and putting an arm around Willy's shoulder.
Penny smiled, and turned around toward her car, saying farewell one last time. The rodents began to disperse, going back to digging out their new burrows or finding vacant trees and logs to live in, with help and supervision from the Rescue Rangers. The furlings and Cornelius lingered for a while, staring off as Penny walked toward the road.
"Think we'll ever see her again?" Edgar asked.
"I don't pretend to know," Abigail sighed, "Maybe someday."
"I hope we get to go back to the city one day too,' said Russell, "Wait until we tell you everything Cornelius. You'll never believe where humans live."
"I've heard of cities, yes," said Cornelius, "My teacher came from one, and taught me many things, which I in turn passed to the other animals in Dapplewood."
"So that's why you guys already had human things," said Willy.
"Indeed," said Cornelius, picking Michelle up in his arms, "As for us, the best thing we can do now is try to get back to normal, or as close as we can. We can't control what happened yesterday, but what happens tomorrow is in our hands."
"Do I get to be a furling now?" Willy asked.
Cornelius chuckled, "I'd say you earned it."
Willy cheered and hugged Abigail. It quickly became a group hug with Edgar and Russell.
"Though all of you are so much more mature now, I don't think 'furling' is the right word. I didn't even think so after the gas leak. You've all grown so much."
"Eh, it still works as a name," said Russell.
"I can keep calling you that for a short time longer then," said Cornelius, turning around, "You should help your families, I'm sure they can use a hand."
"Okay Cornelius," said Abigail, and the furlings headed off in different directions. Little did they realize they were being watched from afar, near a cement block on the other side of the meadow.
"You were a worthy choice, Abigail," said Brutus, shirtless with bandages around his chest, "Justin was right…much as I hate to admit it."
"She is a sweet girl," Mrs. Brisby said, hanging her clothes to dry nearby, "I never thought you'd warm up to anyone, Brutus."
"Neither did I," he said, folding his arms, but wincing when he did so, "Neither did I."
Mrs. Brisby giggled at the strong fearsome Brutus finally finding a soft spot for a little girl, but went on with her work. Some new neighbors would make things a lot less lonely around here, at least until she moved to Thorn Valley one day, to be nearby her children. Until then, she would try her best to make them comfortable, and maybe they could return to the life they had in Dapplewood. Maybe.
But there was another observer that morning, watching from far off Thorn Valley, underground in his chambers. He gave a satisfied chuckle, and pulled up a chair at his desk, taking a quill and writing in Nicodemus' book.
The catastrophe has been averted. NIMH is gone. Erased. Surely the humans will rebuild, but what they knew about us died with that building. Thorn Valley is safe. And so are the citizens of Dapplewood. I feel that by and large their trials have ended. And Brutus will return with the stone soon enough, should another stone-bearer arise.
But I have a feeling we've not seen the last of Abigail nor Penny. These two souls still have a destiny to fulfill. It is still morning in their lives. Their journeys have only just begun. I will be paying rapt attention to their future endeavors. Because while Thorn Valley is largely safe, the rodents of the world still are not. The two of them are our protectors.
Justin signed his name, and closed the book. Yes, with NIMH gone they were safe. However, grave challenges would present themselves in the future. For now, Abigail's challenge was to help her loved ones, so that maybe, if they all worked hard at it, things could be close to the way they used to be.