The Adventures Of The Great Mouse Detective
Book 4: Nightmares
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This story was written for all you Fidget-lovers out there. Hope you enjoy it!
All GMD characters, especially Fidget, belong to Disney. Constable McBrusque is a property of Universal Studios. Cyril The Pigeon belongs to Eve Titus.
Cousin Timmy, Fuschia, Basil II, Marilyn Monreau, Mouses Fiennes, my versions of Lady Mousewell & Bill The Lizard, the McBride family, Francois, & Josef Von Eichmann belong to me.
Chapter 1:
So I Was Killed By An Axe Murderer...
The sound of Big Ben chiming midnight echoed richly throughout the thick, dense fog. There were no hansoms out on the streets tonight, making the roads seem even more desolate & gloomy than they really were.
In the silence of the cold night, the only noise that could be heard was the sound of heavy rasping & a peg-leg clip-clopping down the cobblestone streets...
As a tall, black shadow loomed ominously over the door of a certain toy shop, wicked laughter—deep & throaty—echoed through the night...
Little Olivia Flaversham let out a scream of fright as the evil-looking, demonic bat burst through the front window, & continued to shriek as her father Hiram clutched her protectively, glaring at the unwanted intruder as he flew into the room, carrying a big axe...
Hiram & Olivia's eyes widened in sheer terror as the axe was raised high above their heads...& came down upon them, splattering red blood onto the wooden walls.
When the last of the Flavershams' painful cries ceased, Fidget took his axe, & fluttered outside, covered in blood from head to single toe...
Fidget immediately awoke with a wild scream, as he fell out of his upside-down bed, & landed onto the floor with a loud thud. As he tried to get his bearings, Fidget—still disoriented from the shock of his most recent nightmare—slapped his face, then blinked his eyes. He then realized that he was in the dark of his room, with Ratigan sleeping soundly on his bed on the other side.
After breathing a sigh of relief, Fidget flew back up to the ceiling, & settled in his cocoon of blankets & pillows, burrowing in the feathery softness as he tried to go back to what would most likely be another bit of troubled sleep...
The full moon, glowing in its white luminescence, began to darken as it was covered by deep, dark clouds that rumbled like thunder as they rolled across the night sky.
In the corridors of London Sanitarium, a deep, dark shadow—one of a thin & lanky figure—quietly slipped down the hallways, making sure not to attract attention to himself as he lugged along a big shiny axe...
After walking to the end of the hall of the second floor, the mysterious figure finally made it to his destination. He opened the door, & quietly stepped into the padded room, his shadow looming ominously over the figure of a sleeping woman in a straightjacket.
Upon hearing the sound of footsteps hitting the soft floor, the woman—dressed in a skimpy crimson nightgown underneath her jacket—yawned deeply, & smacked her lips as she opened her eyes. After her eyes adjusted to the dark, they managed to make out the figure of a wickedly-grinning mouse, who clutched a hatchet in his hand.
"What is that? And who the hell are you?" the woman asked sleepily. The sound of wicked laughter & the sight of the axe hitting her body was her only reply...
Morning had now come to Baker Street. The sun was attempting fruitlessly to shine through the overcast atmosphere, as fog surrounded a certain house on the avenue...
Inside the home of Basil Of Baker Street, the detective, still in his robe, was yawning & muttering to himself as he poured himself a cup of strong coffee out of a pot.
Just as Basil was about to take a sip of his drink, the sound of Dr. Dawson calling his name stopped him. Putting his drink on the kitchen counter & rushing into the living room, Basil sat down by his portly assistant, who looked on in concern at the television, which showed the bloody, stabbed body of a woman in a red nightgown & a straightjacket, as a mouse reporter spoke:
"Last night, notorious adulteress & aspiring actress Marilyn Monreau was murdered brutally with an axe at Mouse London Sanitarium. Although there are currently no leads in the case, save for the murder weapon, detectives are working hard to find the culprit..."
"Merciful heavens, Basil," Dr. Dawson blurted, "it's that harlot who tried to seduce you 3 years ago!"
"And I fear that her untimely—yet well-deserved—fate has come," Basil noted darkly.
Suddenly, Mrs. Judson came into the room, calling out cheerfully, "Breakfast time, everyone!"
As the Baker Street Family chatted amongst themselves at the dinner table, Fidget looked anxious as he idly played with his cheese pancakes.
"Fidget, what's wrong?" Victoria asked in concern. "You're not eating."
"Yeah," said Gadget. "Normally you eat like a pig! No offense."
"Well..."—it was a long time before Fidget continued talking—"I had a really scary dream last night."
"Again? Fidget, you've been having nightmares for over 2 weeks now!" cried Basil.
"But, Papa, dis wasn't just any old nightmare! I dreamed I killed Livvy & Hiram wit' an axe! Dere was blood everywhere, &..."
"Fidget," Dr. Dawson admonished with a wince, "how many times have we told you not to discuss bodily fluids at the table?"
"Well, it was in my nightmare," Fidget retorted irritatedly. "WHAT'D YOU EXPECT!" The room immediately went silent. As Basil glared at Fidget, the little bat sighed, & got up from his chair, as he grumbled, "Forget it. You won't listen to me, anyway."
If only you knew, Fidget, if only you knew, Basil thought sadly to himself as he continued to eat his breakfast.