Destiny's POV

"DESTINY! GET YOUR SLOW ASS OUT OF BED RIGHT NOW" The ear-piercing yell of Mrs. Matthews came from outside my small, cramped room in the orphanage I was currently living in. It was just another typical day at the local orphanage in New York City right across the street from Central Park. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Destiny Hamilton and I'm currently the extremely unlucky age of 13. When I was just 6 years old, both my parents were killed in a car crash, and I've been living in this hell hole of a building for the past 6 years of my life. And let me tell you, it has been nothing but pain and suffering. Everything from the bad living conditions to the awful food, it was like living in a nightmare I couldn't wake up from. A prison that I just couldn't escape. However, that would all change a few hours from now.

Anyways, so of course I was greeted with the usual list of stupid chores from Mrs. Matthews. Clean the bathroom, clean her office, clean up the dishes, sweep the floors, etc, etc. Of course I wasn't alone, so I knew that the other girls would assist me. The place was fairly big, but the thing is that there wasn't that many people in it. It was just me, Mrs. Matthews and about five other girls. There was Susan, Jessica, Amelia, Emily and Maria.

Susan was always kind and helpful. She would always reassure me that there was someone out there who would love to adopt me and that I should never lose hope. And while I appreciated her uplifting words, I still had my doubts about whether or not someone was actually willing to adopt me. But nonetheless, she was still a sweet and loving person and a good friend. The others meanwhile, they were a different story. Well…half of them were. Jess and Amelia were the ones who didn't really talk to me and just stood in the background. And then there was Emily and Maria. They were simply the worst. They were the bullies of the bunch. I simply couldn't stand them. Those two were just as bad if not worse than Mrs. Matthews.

The orphanage that I lived in wasn't any better. I had to sleep on an uncomfortable cot, with no blanket by the way, the food tasted like garbage, and don't even get me started on the plumbing over there. Everyday I would look out my window and gloss over at the green grass and tall trees of Central Park. It was like a glimpse of what my life could have been. Moms and Dads taking their kids outside to play or get some ice cream on a hot summers' day. That's the life I wish I still had, but that was all taken from me. I wish I had a real family again.

Everyday I had to put up with the constant threats and harassment from Emily and Maria, which usually consisted of them punching, kicking, calling me all sorts of explicatives and the whole "you'll never get adopted" shtick. It was a nightmare. But luckily Susan would be there to keep them away from me when she could. However, that still didn't sway my outlook on life. Maybe Emily and Maria were right. Maybe I'll never get adopted.

Then, that night, Mrs. Matthews informed us that she was going to run some errands and that she was going to take Emily and Maria with her. "And don't even get any bright ideas while I'm out." she called from her car. After she drove off, me and Susan quietly speed walked to the room that she and I shared together. This was our moment. This was our chance. This was our one shot to finally be free from this hellscape. I was able to successfully pack everything I needed into my one bag, cause I didn't have a suitcase and barely had any extra clothes. But thankfully, they were able to fit perfectly in my bag. Once I made sure I had every present and accounted for, I hurried to the window, opened it, and got ready to take my first step into the outside world. Where I could hopefully find a new family.

But before I could leave, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked to see that it was Susan. She had a sad look on her face and she hadn't even packed her bag yet. I looked at her in shock. "Come on Susan, don't you wanna be free from this prison?" She shifted her head to the ground before looking back up at me. I noticed she had tears forming in her eyes and as she put her hand on my cheek. "Go on. Go and find your new family" she said as her voice started to crack. I soon had tears of my own pricking the corners of my eyes. She was willing to endure the torture from Mrs. Matthews at the expense of me breaking out. I knew I couldn't leave her without saying goodbye.

I quickly embraced her and we shed our tears. After a minute or so, we broke the hug, said our final goodbyes and I made my way out the window. The building was a two story but it wasn't that high up so that way I was able to perfectly land on the ground without getting the attention of Jess and Amelia, who were in the middle of a game of cards. With that, I took off running as fast as I could. I couldn't believe it. I was out. I was free. I was finally free. But I still needed to figure out where I wanted to go.

I was brought out of my thoughts by the soft pitter-patter of the rain overhead. Thankfully it was just a little drizzle. I walked through the brightly lit sidewalks of New York City, dozens of lights and neon signs painting the smooth cement sidewalks bright colors of red, green and blue. It was all so beautiful. I remember when my parents would drive around the city in our car and I would ask them question after question about what all the various buildings in Manhattan were. Just thinking about them brought a new wave of tears to my eyes but I quickly wiped them away and continued on my journey. There was also not a lot of people on the streets right now which kind of surprised me.

New York City was the most populated city in the country but I didn't expect to be this few people tonight. Eh, their probably in their apartments watching the Super Bowl or something, I though before moving on. After walking a few miles down the sidewalk, I soon found myself in an alleyway. There was a dead end, but I was also worried about whether I would get robbed at gunpoint. I mean New York has been a crime ridden city for years. Anyways, I figured I wouldn't be so safe in the alley, so I headed for Central Park. I knew Central Park really well since I used to come here all the time with my parents. I entered through the open rod iron gates and looked around to try and find a tree to lay against.

However, my plan was cut short when I noticed a faint glow coming from a nearby patch of bushes. I was instantly captivated by it and went to see what it was. What I saw before me made me shocked to my core. It looked some type of ray gun or something. On its side was what looked like a settings wheel. Curiosity getting the better of me, I walked over to the gun to get a better look at it. This had to have been made by some sort of mad scientist. Without thinking I reached my hand out to touch it. Big mistake. All of a sudden, a lime green colored beam came from the gun and hit me, knocking me unconscious as the rain started to pour.

Dale's POV

It was just another normal and dare I say it typical day for me and my colleagues Gadget, Zipper and Monterey Jack as well as my older brother Chip. Going on missions, solving cases, saving animals, (and a human or two) defeating Fat Cat, Professor Norton Nimnal, Rat Capone, and all the usual suspects that we've encountered over the past year or so. We were heading back home from successfully solving another case when a massive storm hit. Bolts of lightning flashing all around us while the thunder sounded like it was gonna start an earthquake. "Golly this storm sure is something" our inventor Gadget said. "I agree. We've gotta get back to base and fast." I said.

We were so close to base, but the wind was blowing so fast that Gadget was starting to lose control of the Ranger Plane. "It's to strong, I c-can't keep it steady" she yelled over the wind. "Come on Gadget, we're almost there" Chip shouted. But this storm was really beginning to beat down on us. We fell towards the ground and ended up crashing in the grass. The good thing was that we weren't too far away from HQ. I quickly got out from the wreckage and attempted to help the others.

We were able to salvage the plane, but than all of a sudden, I squinted my eyes and noticed a silhouette in the distance. I couldn't tell exactly what it was because it was raining so much. I was trying so hard not to get distracted by the figure and help my friends with the Ranger Plane, but my curiosity was just off the charts. I moved away from Chip and the others who were busy with getting the plane back to base.

Thankfully, the wind had calmed down enough so that I wasn't having to constantly fight against it. I pushed some of the tall grass out of the way and tried to get a better view at what this figure was. What I saw before me made my eyes go wide. Laying on the ground in front of me was a girl, a human girl to be exact. However, she looked much different than other humans. And why exactly? She was small. And when I say small, I mean she was about as tall as Gadget. I started asking myself how she could have gotten that small.

Then I remembered, Nimnul's Gigantico Ray still hadn't been destroyed yet, so it must've somehow backfired and hit her. That's the only reason I could think of as to how she could be this small. But I was way to busy keeping my eyes locked on this girl. She was sooooo beaut…

WHAT, no Dale stop. You can't keep distracting yourself. The least you can do is pick her up, head back, explain to the others that you found her and take her back to headquarters. I thought to myself.

With that, I slung her bag over my shoulder, scooped her up in my arms, and caught up with the others. To my surprise, they'd already gotten back to base and lifted the plane back onto the landing pad. I started feeling extremely nervous about what Chip, Gadget and Monty might say if they saw her. So I very gently set both her and her bag down in a patch of tall grass and made my way over to base.

When I got there, my eyes shrank and the fur on the back of my neck stood up. Chip was standing there at the bottom of the tree with his arms crossed, his foot tapping and a very angry look written all over his face. I felt so guilty for not informing him about the girl earlier but then again I had no idea how he would react to her. I just kept my paws behind my back. My thoughts were interrupted when I felt Chip's fist boink me on the head. That never gets old, I thought sarcastically. "And just where have you been you slowpoke?" He yelled at me.

"Oh s-sorry, I-I-I uh got a l-little uh s-s-sidetracked." I stammered out. "Is that so? Well than what were you doing? You should've been helping Monty and Gadget move the Ranger Plane back to base." Chip said as he continued to glare at me. This was my chance. This was my chance to prove to my brother that I'm not some crazed, prank playing chipmunk after all. With that, I took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "Chip, th-there's something I need to show you." I said as honestly as I could. "Okay, but if I find out that you've been lying to me or playing another one of your stupid pranks on me, you are not going on any missions for a week. Got it?" He growled while pointing at me. I quickly nodded my head and gulped. But I knew I couldn't lie to him. He was my brother for crying out loud.

But at the same time, I don't think I'd ever seen him this angry in my life and frankly I didn't blame him. I just hopped that me showing him the human girl would calm him down and convince him that I wasn't crazy. I led Chip over to the tall grass and grabbed some of the grass blades. "Alright, what is it you want to show me?" Chip said in a stern voice. I sighed and pulled back the grass so that he could see what I'd found. I saw his face switch from one of anger and frustration to one of terror and shock in an instant. I could have swore I saw all the color drain from his face.

That look officially confirmed that I wasn't lying or playing a prank and that I was indeed telling the truth. Because he too saw the exact same girl in front of us, in the flesh, all soaked and bruised. I than heard Chip say out of pure shock, "Dale, it-i-it's…" "a human girl" I finished. "Y-yes but… but how did she end up here? More importantly, how did she end up being small like us?" Chip asked. "I figured that she probably found Nimnul's Gigantico ray and it backfired on her when she touched it. That's how she shrank." I told him. He just stood there and stared at her. I started getting the feeling that Chip was having the hots for her like I was, but that was the least of my concerns. Unfortunately the wind started to pick up again.

"Cmon, we've got to get her back to HQ" Chip yelled over the strong winds. "Agreed" I responded. With that we both picked her up and took her to a platform at the front of the tree that we used to lift more heavier objects like the Ranger Plane. Once we were all on, Chip pulled the leaver and we started moving up. When we got to the main entrance, Chip spoke up. "We need to take her to the med room and inform Monty and Gadget of what happened." I nodded as we picked her up again and walked through the door. One brief argument and embarrassing moment later. We finally got her into a nightgown and set her on the bed. We then proceeded to tell Monterey and Gadget everything that happened.

"Golly. The poor girl. She must've been cold, tired and alone. I mean look at her, she looks so sweet and innocent." Gadget said sadly. "Well, at least she's safe with us, for now. Until we can find a way to return her to normal size and bring her back to her parents." Chip said with a little bit of worry in his voice. I just couldn't stop thinking that beautiful girl. Who knows what would happen once she wakes up. I thought about going to the room she was in to check on her, but I figured that it would be best if I wait until tomorrow. With that, we hit the sack and got some shut eye. Tomorrows gonna be crazy, I thought as I drifted off to sleep, the girl still on my mind.

"You didn't think I was gonna run did you?"

Han Solo

That's right!

I'M BACK BABY.

In you've wondering why it has taken me so, sooooooooooo long to upload another chapter to this story, well,

Let's just say that I've been working on a lot, and I mean a lot of other Fan fictions over the course of the last half year.

From Star Wars, to Indiana Jones, to Lord of the Rings to Stranger Things, you name it.

I actually just started working on my first Sly Cooper story, which is amazing considering I have very little knowledge about the Sly Cooper franchise.

Anyways, that's all for now.

Thank You and God Bless.