#### #145 - Chance Time!

It had been quite an adventure - pursuing Maximus all the way to Isla Mystica, trying to stop him from reaching the Mystical Chip of Epic Coolness, and ultimately seeing both Maximus and the MystChip destroyed in the volcanic eruption that had shattered the island. When Chip disembarked from the S.S. Deus Ex Machina outside of Chip Grove City, he hoped to be able to relax in the clubhouse while filling Melinda in about all that had happened. He was unpleasantly surprised to see the large, agitated crowd of Bit Busters surrounding the building, seemingly afraid to enter.

"What's going on?" he asked, approaching.

"It's Jude! He's betrayed us!" several voices exclaimed.

"He initiated a code red drill and evacuated the building, then locked us out!" another voice added.

"Melinda used her special override to get in...!"

"She said he's the one responsible for all the recent thefts! She's going to confront him...!"

"But that was hours ago, and she still hasn't come out...!"

Chip tuned out the confusing babble of voices, turning and moving quickly around the side of the building. He knew a small door that connected the clubhouse to the movie theater next door; it was so small that hopefully Jude would be overlooking it.

After a moment, he broke into a run. If Melinda hadn't come out yet, that probably meant she was Jude's prisoner. The traitor thief had taken her from him, and she needed him more than ever. He had another chance to help her; this time, he must not fail!

#### #148 - The Snipers

Chip moved warily. He was almost to the top level of the clubhouse, and so far he hadn't seen any sign of life. Jude and Melinda had to be up here somewhere!

A flash of movement registered, coming from the other end of the long room. An instant later, Chip felt the wind of a bullet that zipped past his head and splashed into the water behind him. Hastily he ducked into a handy alcove.

It seemed that Jude had laid a trap for whoever tried to come after him. He had placed a teeth monster patrolling the far end of the room, armed with a sniper rifle! Getting past it would be no cakewalk, but Chip had to try. He had to save Melinda.

#### #149 - Clubhouse

Chip burst into the very last level of the clubhouse, and there they were. Jude stood tall and strong on a ledge near the ceiling, next to a door marked "Helipad", glaring venomously down on Chip. Melinda, handcuffed, stood behind him, looking small and helpless in her pink dress. But her face reflected determination and pride as she saw him. "Chip!" her voice rang out. "I knew you would come for me!"

"Shut up!" Jude told her brutally. He had completely abandoned his smoothly polished manner. Furious hatred painted his face. "You may have stopped my incompetent robot, Chip, but you can't stop me!" he hissed. "Melinda is mine, and so too will be her knowledge of the MystChip! Once I have used it to interface my brain with the AI chip, my intellect will become greater than any man's! I deserve her, Chip - not you! You've solved a few trivial puzzles for her, but I've been her partner for years, assisting in her most important research! Who do you think you are, to compare with me?!"

"Who am I?" Chip asked, looking steadily at Melinda, who gazed trustingly back at him. "I'm Melinda's friend. Can you claim that much, Jude? Have you ever helped her when she truly needed you, not only when it served your own selfish ego? Have you trusted her, even when you did not understand her? Have you faced death, for her? You do not love her, Jude. You've only ever used her."

"Perhaps that's true," Jude snarled. "But the fact remains that I have her. She's my prisoner! And all your airy-fairy prattling about friendship isn't going to stop me! We're leaving, Chip. The helicopter's on its way. And you'll never get through this last level in time to catch us! Goodbye, and good riddance." He turned sharply and forced his way through the door to the helipad, dragging Melinda along with him.

"Chip!" she said urgently, struggling as she was pulled along. "Jude underestimates you. You're the best puzzle-solver I know! You can do it. I believe in you." She gave him one last, determined look, and was gone.

#### Epilogue

"Hey, Jude!" Chip yelled, emerging onto the windswept roof of the Bit Busters Clubhouse. The lights of Chip Grove City twinkled in the coming twilight beyond the helipad, where Jude waited tensely with the captive Melinda. Chip had solved the last level in record time, and Jude's helicopter had failed so far to arrive.

"Stop right there!" Jude produced a small handgun, waving it at Chip. "One step closer and I'll blow out your puzzle-solving brains!" Melinda struggled violently, but with his superior size and strength Jude was able to pin her behind him with one arm. He and Chip stood in a tense standoff. Chip racked his brains desperately for a way to fight.

An idea came to him. "How about a trade, Jude?" he said. "You have Melinda - but I also have something that you want. The MystChip."

"Chip, no!" Melinda cried.

Jude shook her, hard. But his eyes stayed locked on Chip's, a hungry expression stealing across his face. "Where is it?" he asked softly.

"Right here." Chip slid his pack off and slowly, carefully, reached inside. Jude took a threatening step forward, but all Chip pulled out was his towel - folded over as if to conceal a flat object. He showed it to Jude. "Release Melinda, and it's yours. Just take it and go."

"We'll see." Jude gestured harshly. "Unwrap it. That had better be the real MystChip, and not some kind of trick!"

In a single, swift motion, Chip hurled the towel at him and dove to the side. An explosion shattered the air as Jude instinctively let go of Melinda and fired at the object flying toward him. Realizing his mistake, he jerked around, savagely aiming for Chip. But he never had a chance to pull the trigger. Melinda, overlooked behind him, sprang into action. Her hands still bound behind her, apparently unhampered by her dress, she brought her foot up in an awesome ninja-kick that connected hard with Jude's wrist, flinging his gun clear across the roof. It slid over the edge and dropped from sight. Jude turned on her, raging like an animal. But her next kick took him square between the eyes, flattening him. He lay dazed on the concrete, blood dripping from a clearly broken nose.

"The key!" Melinda told Chip urgently. "He's got the key to these handcuffs. Get it, quick, before he recovers! It's in his left pants pocket."

Shaking off his astonishment, Chip quickly did as she said and removed her handcuffs. After massaging her wrists for a moment, she threw her arms around him.

"You did it, Chip!" she said proudly. "Thank you so much for coming after me! Did you actually find the MystChip?"

"I did! But then I lost it again," he told her apologetically. "Maximus accidentally destroyed it, and himself with it."

"Perhaps it's just as well," she sighed regretfully. "You touched it, Chip. You understand, now, what it was. We still don't know what sort of accident produced it, during our research on the AI chip. It was one of kind; too powerful to be contained, too powerful to be let loose. But it was alive, Chip - I couldn't just destroy it. Now both it and its secrets are gone for good, and no longer our burden."

They both turned at the sound of the fast-approaching helicopter. As it zeroed in on the roof, Jude suddenly pushed himself up and raced away from them, grabbing up the towel and waving it over his head as a signal. The chopper dipped toward him.

But just as he was about to drop the towel and leap aboard, a very strange thing happened. A brilliant flash of something, like violet lightning, surrounded both him and the chopper, freezing them in place. The noise of the rotor cut off abruptly. Both Jude and the machine seemed to fade to transparent and then vanished, along with the light. A curious buzzing sound hung in the air for a moment longer. Then that too was gone, and Chip and Melinda were alone.

"What - what just happened?!" gasped Chip, staring in disbelief at empty space that had, just a moment earlier, contained a man and a large flying machine. Even the towel was gone, he noticed.

"I'm not sure...," Melinda responded with a small, secret smile. "But I think it might have had something to do with that towel. It was so brave, the way you threw it at Jude and risked getting shot yourself! You really proved what you said to him down below - a true friend risks his life for those he loves."

She took his hand and gently drew him over to the edge of the roof. At the sight of them, free and unharmed, the crowd of Bit Busters below set up a rousing cheer. The two of them stood, side by side, hand in hand, facing into the glorious sunset.

"I feel I should apologize," Melinda said quietly, looking away from him. "You've always been so faithful to me; but I've kept secrets from you. Secrets that ended up endangering your life. When I first met you, I pushed you away. I valued only intellect; to the extent that I would take only a Bit Buster to the e-prom, so as to ensure a brilliant conversation partner. I had not yet learned the value of friendship.

"Do you know who taught me that value, Chip?" she asked seriously, turning to face him. "It was you. Your intellect is impressive, but more than that is your selfless spirit. You truly are my hero, Chip. You challenge me to rethink my values, to become a better person and a better friend. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you."

Chip couldn't speak, could only nod, embarrassed. They looked outward again as the last rays of the sun disappeared and the stars began to dance across the darkening sky. After all they had been through, it was good just to stand there, feeling the comfort of each other's presence. Chip found himself wondering what the future would bring. He hoped that he and Melinda would have many exciting years, even a lifetime, together, solving the puzzles that were their joy. He hoped he could always be there for her. Even when this latest adventure of theirs had faded into the past, and become no more than a fleeting memory.