Destiny's POV

I felt like I'd slept for an eternity. I mean I did have a long day yesterday. That's when I heard the sound of raindrops falling outside my window. It was kind of a common thing here in New York City. To be honest, I adored the rain. I always loved running outside and getting all wet. Not to mention feeling the nice cold rain on my skin. Anyways. I sat up on the bed and looked at the clock that was on my bedside table. The time said 8:30, but to me, it felt much later than that. I let out a yawn, got up and stretched. I wonder what the Chip and the others are doing, I thought to myself. Rubbing my eyes, I walked out my room, down the hallway and into the living room. I saw Chip relaxing on the couch. "Hey Chip" I said quietly. "Oh, hey there Destiny" he replied with a wave and a smile. "Wanna watch some tv with me" he asked. "Sure" I responded. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to Chip. I soon felt him put his arm around me. I smiled and snuggled up next to him as we watched the morning news together. After a few minutes, I felt my eyes get heavy and I fell asleep again to the sound of the rain and the warmth of Chip's fuzzy fur coat. I mean, who says it's bad to get some extra sleep?

When I opened my eyes again, I had my head on Chip's shoulder, and he still had his arm around me. The tv was off and the rain had dissipated, leaving only a heavily clouded grey sky. I than heard a whisper from Chip. "Hey Destiny, wake up. Breakfast is ready." I smiled and took his paw as he led me to the table. I saw that the gang was all up and at the table already eating. Then I glanced over at Dale. I could tell that he wasn't in the best mood. He had his head all slouched, a hand on his cheek and he didn't look like he'd touched his food at all.

I decided to sit down next to him but he was still acting pretty grumpy. What's goin' on with him? I thought. Maybe he just needs my company to cheer him up, I don't know. Taking a breath, I sat down next to the pouty chipmunk. The second he made eye contact with me, the grumpiness melted away, and a smile slowly appeared on his face. "Hiya Destiny." Dale said, though his his voice was a lot quieter then how he normally greets me. "Hey Dale. What's wrong? You look like you've just had a bad day. What's been bothering you?"

The chipmunk sighed. "Oh nothin'. It's just that I didn't get to sit and chat with you yesterday. But…I could understand why since you were really tired. I still would've loved to chat with you. You're just so fun to talk to and be around Destiny." I grinned at Dale and wrapped my arms around him. He giggled and hugged me back earning some audible 'awws' from Gadget and Monty. After breakfast, Chip came over to me with a question. "Hey Destiny. The rangers and I were planning on visiting some of our old friends that we've rescued over the past however many mouths and we were wondering if you'd like to join us. I'm sure they'd love to meet you." One nod of my head later and I soon found myself back in the Ranger Plane. Gadget told me that she'd made some modifications as far as the seating. I sat in the back between Dale and Monty. Zipper came buzzing in and landed on my shoulder. The plane lifted off the ground and we set out to our first location, with me left wondering who these people were.

Our first stop was a cat named Toby. He'd been rescued by Chip and the gang in their early days from Dr. Nimnnal, and that it was one of their first rescue missions. It took a while, but we soon reached the house where Toby lived. Gadget steadied the plane near the roof and landed the craft with ease. We all got out and and walked over to the window where an orange cat was sitting there, as if he was expecting us. This is Toby? I thought in my head. Aww. He's adorable. The cat smiled at the sight of his rescuers/friends. "Hey guys. Good ta see all of ya." Using his paw to open the window, he came out and greeted his friends. "Don't worry. My owners left the house about a minute or so ago and they won't be back for another hour." Toby added. However, once his eyes landed on me, the pupils got wide. "Wow. Is that a small human?" Toby whispered with wonder. Chip nodded at the kitten. "It sure is. Toby, this is Destiny Hamilton. She's been staying with us for the last few days. And don't worry, she can understand you. Destiny, this is Toby." Both me and the cat were now locked in a staring contest. What do I say? Even after he said, "it's nice to meet you Destiny", I was still having trouble forming a coherent response. I mean when's the last time you saw a girl being able to interact and talk to animals? The only time I've seen that were in movies like Cinderella. But Chip gently nudged me forward. "Go on Destiny, he's friendly."

Oh my goodness! Why was I even being afraid of this guy? He's a kitten for God's sake! I finally took a deep breath and approached the cute little guy. "Hi Toby. It's great to meet you as well." His eyes were still expanded. I'm not really sure a kitten his age would be talking to a human. From the looks of it, I'd say he was at least 5 or 6 months old. I kinda forgot just how much of a cat person I really was. I've never had a pet in my life, but that's ok. Anyways, having wrapped up the intros, the rangers and I followed Toby into the room of his female owner. I was able to get a few glances at some of the pictures of her. She looked about 6 years younger than me. Her room was very nicely organized, although I could do without all the pink, not that I hate the color, but this room is PINK. It's like walking inside a giant piece of bubblegum. When we reached the bed, and after I'd received some climbing support from the rangers, we all sat in front of Toby as he and rangers caught up on how things have been be over the past few months. It wasn't until he asked the same question Tammy had asked the day before. "How did you get so small?"

Chip laid out the whole thing, exactly how he explained it to Tammy yesterday. Dale finding me, how I came to live with the rangers, etc, etc. Toby then explained his story to me of how he was rescued. He, along with every kitten in Manhattan had been captured by Nimnnal. They were to be used as the power source of static electricity to fuel his zapper weapon which would shoot a beam of electricity big enough to fry all of NYC. But of course, just like all of his other creations, it failed, and Toby and the rest of his fellow felines were forever free of Nimnnal's clutches.

Just like Tammy's story, I sat there, amazed at what I was being told. By the way, how in the world was Nimnnal not behind bars right now? Eh whatever, his inventions never work out anyway…well, at least the ones intended on destroying the world. We spent the next hour or so in conversation. I even got to pet Toby for a while. And let me tell ya, he's veeeeeerrrrrrry soft. Like 'softer than a blanket' kinda soft. Luckily, he didn't ask me about my past or anything personal. Smart cat, I thought.

Soon though, the sound of the garage door opening reached out ears. Tony's owners were home. The rangers a I hoped down the bed and rushed back to the Ranger Plane, but not befores a gave Toby a goodbye kiss on the cheek making him blush a little. I followed the rangers back to the plane and, after Gadget had started it up, we were off, ready to go to our next location which was apparently from what Dale described as Tom the Robocat. Wait a minute. Robocat? A wide grin made its way onto my mouth. Ok, now this I've gotta see. I've been wanting to see a robot for a long time. Guess I've got my chance.

45 minutes and some more epic sight seeing later, we arrived at the place where Tom was built. It was a massive scrapyard, chalked to the brim with all kinds of parts. Cars, buses, jets, you name it. Gadget landed the plane next to the back of the shed, and we got out. Having reached the shed, we all made sure to check and see if the owner wasn't home. Thankfully, he wasn't. Gadget gave the signal for us to move. Eventually, I spotted what I believe was a cat sleeping on the floor. Could this be the Robocat Dale told me about? Who knows? While I was determining whether this was it, I observed the cat's features. His parts consisted of plain metal parts for the legs and the face. His four whiskers I think looked like wire and his ears were red in color. His body consisted of simple toaster and a green desk lamp, with the cord acting as his tail. My eyes did not deceive me. This was a mechanical cat indeed. "Let's see if he still works." Gadget whispered. The mouse inventor reached for the switch of the lamp and flicked it. It worked and the cat sprung to life. "Hi. I-want-to-be-friends." His voice was a little broken and distorted, but I just couldn't believe I was actually seeing a talking robot cat in real time. "Wait, I-remember-you-guys. You're-the-ones-who-made-me-friendly." Five seconds in and he already noticed me. "Oh-hello. Who-are-you?"

Chip went up and gave another round of intros. "Tom, this is Destiny Hamilton. She's a human, and she's staying with us until we can get her back to normal and find her parents." Tom gave a smile, but I was still a little nervous about how I was gonna interact with a robotic cat. "Hello-Destiny. Your-name-is-very-beautiful. My-name-is-Tom." I blushed at his compliment and turned my head away. "Uh…h-hi Tom." Going up to the feline, I placed my hand upon his front arm, feeling the cold metal against my skin. I gently ran my hand up and down his arm until I heard what seemed to be purring coming from the Robocat. Now this was unexpected. A purring robot cat. Interesting. My face was then met with Tom's when he nuzzled me. I could see his tail rapidly wagging behind him. "You're-very-nice-Destiny." he said with a smile. Tom kept nuzzling me before he soon led us inside and we all sat in the same circle formation as we did with Toby. Everything went as I expected. Chip told Tom my story, Tom told me his. Both Tom and I were amazed at each others stories. Tom's was that he was tricked into a deal by that Fat Cat guy. He was to catch him a fish owned by a very rich man in exchange for a fur coat. He even showed me his power source which was, wait for it…a video game cartridge. I didn't know what to say. I was at a loss for words. I never in just the 13 years I've been on this planet so far, thought that I would see, a cat, made of spare parts, who can talk and communicate, and be powered by an f'ing video game cartridge. What kind of world am I even living in right now? An alternate one, that's what.

Forget the stories, I just wanted to hang out with Tom. A cute and innocent sounding voice combined with his personality of energy, curiosity and playfullness. This guy was everything I wanted in a cat. Even better, I was growing my list of new friends. Wonder how much more I'm gonna add. Tom and I bonded for another ten minutes, all while the rangers smiled at the scene. Then the time came for us to go. I bud Tom a farewell, but before I left, I also gave him a kiss on the cheek. Now I couldn't tell for sure, but I was certain I saw just a tiny hint of pink appear on his now bashful face. "Aww. Thank-you-Destiny." "Your very welcome Tom." Gadget lifted the landing gears and off we went.

Greetings and Salutations my fellow readers.

You're friendly neighborhood author here.

A relatively short chapter I know. But there's still more to come in Destiny's story.

In case your wondering why it's been awhile since I've posted, I've been working hard on a Lord of the Rings fanfic. I've been heavily inspired by the Changing History Saga, which you guys should go and check out, to write my own. Mine is of course different in its own right. I won't tell you the title.

Thank You and God Bless.

W. Langley