32 years after their Rescue Rangers series ended, Chip has rebuilt his life as an insurance salesman and no longer has contact with the team. Especially not Dale! So when he receives a call from Monterey Jack, his quiet tidy life changes. He finds h...
Chip doesn't remember how he got there. He had only been there once with Monty, Gadget and their police friends but his paws had managed to lead him back to this exact place: Dale's house! And even if he didn't have the keys, he had been able to get into Dale's garage without really knowing how. And there, he is simply curled up on one of the stuffed animals representing his friend while crying.
For the first time in years, Chip was dropping the self-confident chipmunk facade he wears every day, not giving a damn what would happen if someone found him there, crying like a child... but he can't help it. Until now, he had preferred to forget what it was to love, to have friends, comforting himself with the rare calls of his mother or Millie's presence and that was enough for him... because unconsciously, he knew that Dale was alive somewhere. Even though he was too proud to admit it, he hoped that fate would bring them back to each other... but it was too late now.
He had waited too long! Dale had done everything to force fate and he had paid a high price!
Dale was going to die...because of him!
He doesn't know how long he cried... he doesn't know if he started once in the shelter of that time capsule of their show or if he cried as soon as he walked out of Sweet Pete's... but he really picks up aware of where he is only now, when he feels like he has no more tears. Wiping his soaked cheeks, he raises his head, noticing that it is now dark outside but he's unable to get up. Grief pinned him to the ground as he felt completely drained.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
« Is that how you felt all these years, Dale? Losing the person you care about the most in the world...and through your own fault... » he articulates, wiping away his tears. « But it was never your fault... I was too proud to tell you the truth... that I needed you... more than you needed me! ... If it came to this... it's entirely my fault! » he said, carelessly wiping his muzzle with his hand. « How did you do, Dale? You weren't even sure I would come back... but you've been hanging on all these years... »
Sighing, he hugs his knees to his chest and rests his chin on his knees, letting his gaze wander all over his friend's garage. But suddenly he notices something he hadn't seen when he first came.
Facing him, above the door, is a handmade sign with a motto he's heard all his life and that he and Dale used as a rule of life when they arrived in California. He even has the impression of hearing Dale say it to him:
The biggest risk is not taking any risk at all!
Chip is overwhelmed.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
