FAMILY MOUSE
A GMD Pastiche
Written by The Mouse Avenger
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This is one of my pastiches about GMD. I do hope you enjoy it!
All GMD characters © Disney. Cyril The Pigeon belongs to Eve Titus. Other characters © me.
Chapter 1:
A Warm Welcome
Late one spring afternoon in 1899, Basil Of Baker Street sat in his favorite red armchair, leafing through his casebook as he sipped some hot herbal tea with cheddar cheese crumpets. It was something he liked to do, especially because he loved to reminisce about his adventures & past cases. Right now, he was reading about the very escapade that had changed his life forever...The Flaversham Case.
That case was my greatest triumph, thought Basil with a smile as he took another sip of his tea. It was the very case when I saved the Flaversham family & the Mouse Queen of England! Not to mention earned my honor as a knight, he added mentally in a slightly-smug manner. Suddenly, a knocking on the door interrupted Basil from his musings.
"I'll get it!" Mrs. Judson said cheerfully as she made her way to the door & opened it. In the threshold, there was a mailmouse clutching a telegram in his paws, as he said with a smile, "Good evening, Miss! I have this message for Mr. Basil!" He showed the letter to the mousekeeper. It read as follows:
Dear Basil,
Hello, it's me again! We haven't seen you in such a long while, so the others & I will be arriving shortly to pop on by for a weekend visit. Hope to see you tonight!
Love, Marcus
Mrs. Judson immediately thanked the mailmouse, & made her way into the living room. When she handed Basil his telegram, the detective sprang up in his chair with a shout of delight, followed by merry laughter.
"I say, Basil," Dr. Dawson asked as he walked into the living room, "what are you so happy about?"
Basil stared at Dawson with big, twinkling green eyes. "Dawson," he replied cheerfully, "my relatives are coming to visit us for the whole weekend!"
"Well, what a nice surprise!" Dawson said simply, smiling. Basil, however, was much more openly ecstatic about the news. "Oh, get the children!" the detective directed delightfully. "They're going to be so excited when they hear that their aunts & uncles will be arriving shortly!"
When Basil told them the news, however, the Baker Street Kids were much more confused than excited. "We have aunts & uncles?" they all said in unison, looking baffled.
"I know I should have told you earlier, but for some reason, I never got around to it," Basil explained, "what with all our adventures & suchnot."
"Let me get this straight," Ratigan, the eldest child, said flatly. "You have a family that you never told us about, & they're coming over to see us today without our knowledge?"
"But, Ratigan," Basil protested gently, "there's no need to be upset about it! You'll love the Holmesingtons!"
"How can we love the Holmesingtons if we've never met them?" Gadget McBride asked, shrugging her little shoulders. Before Basil could answer, however, the doorbell rang. Immediately, the detective went to answer it. In the threshold were five mice.
The first one was a tall, strapping young male, around 40. With peach-colored fur, a tiny bucktooth, whiskers, & sweet eyes the color of the ocean, he was dressed in a forest-green shirt, blue trousers, a red bow-tie, & brown shoes, all of which fit comfortably over his lanky figure.
The second mouse, a girl, was 38 years old. She had fur the color of the moon, along with curly auburn hair, bright fuschia eyes, a little fuschia nose, & curvy pink ears. Her outfit matched the colors of her eyes & ears—a large frilly fuschia dress, lavender stockings, a pink petticoat, violet boots, & a large fuschia bow in her hair was what she wore.
The third mouse, a beautiful lady at 35, was slim & petite. She had fur the color of the Sun, & her bunned hair was just as fiery, only in a shade of auburn-red. Her brilliant teal eyes twinkled in their sockets, & her small red nose & pink ears gave her a feminine touch. But her clothing clashed with her girly looks—she was dressed in a gray blouse, a black skirt, brown boots, & a small fancy hat.
The fourth mouse was also a female, & she was 34 years old. She had soft white fur, a small pink nose, pale teal eyes, & curvy pink ears, & she was clad in a frilly purple dress.
The last mouse was a male, at the age of 37. Dressed in the height of fashion, he wore a blue sweater-vest, a red bow-tie, brown pants, & black shoes. He had tan fur, a small pink nose, brown eyes, & curvy pink ears, as well as a frown on his face that the other mice did not sport.
Upon seeing the five visitors, Basil smiled, & went over to hug his siblings, as he greeted cheerfully, "Marcus, Belladonna, Elizabella, Beverly, & Shelldon! How wonderful it is to see you all on this lovely day!"
"We can't agree with you more, Basil!" Marcus said in a jovial Brian Bedford-type voice, as he went to put up his siblings' suitcases. "Especially considering we haven't seen you in so long!"
"What have you been doing all this time?" Elizabella asked, looking around the kitchen & living room. Sheepishly, Basil blushed & straightened his collar as he replied, "Well..."—he cleared his throat—"I've been on a series of breathtaking adventures that have been most exhilarating!"
"Breathtaking adventures?" Elizabella echoed, smiling widely. "Fascinating!"
"How do you do all those things without any assistance?" Beverly asked, astonished.
"Well, I simply can't!" Basil replied, looking earnest. "Not without the good help of my dear—"
"TALLY-HO!" The Holmesingtons all gasped & jumped back, as a little baby mouse in a blue dress & a fuschia hair-bow raced into the room on her little tricycle, giggling & cooing merrily.
"My word, Basil, who is that girl?" Marcus ejaculated.
Basil was just about to answer, but the baby zoomed right past him. Raising a martyred glance to the ceiling, Basil sighed, before stopping his young daughter & lifting her up in his arms, proudly displaying her to the Holmesingtons as he said with a smile, "This, everyone...is my dearest daughter, Baby Fuschia."
The Holmesingtons oohed & aahed in amazement. "Oh, how adorable!" Belladonna cooed, tickling Baby Fuschia under the chin. "She's got your eyes, Basil!"
"And my adventurous spirit!" Basil added, beaming proudly. "Speaking of which, I believe you haven't met the lady of the house! You could call her my kindred spirit, since we're alike in so many ways, &...Oh, God..."—he slapped his forehead in irritation—"I'm so daft for forgetting your invitations to our wedding!"
"You're married?" Marcus marveled.
"Indeed, I am!" Basil replied with a nod, before turning to the staircase & calling out, "Darling, could you come down here? There are some mice I'd like you to meet!"
"Coming, Basil!" a deep, Kristin Scott Thomas-type voice replied. Immediately, a mouse came strolling down the stairs & into the living room. She was dressed in queenly robes from head to toe, & even a veiled crown was placed over the top of her shiny silver hair. She was quite plump & heavy with child, not to mention very elderly; however, that did not mar her beautiful looks. Her eyes were the most striking aspect of her appearance—they were a bright violet.
The Holmesingtons were shocked. The figure that they were gazing at looked more than familiar to them...
"Do my eyes deceive me?" Shelldon asked, awed. "I can't believe it! I-I-It's utterly impossible! Yet somehow, you've managed to marry Queen Mousetoria!"
"Her identical twin sister, actually," Basil corrected. "Victoria, darling," the detective added, bringing her over to his siblings, "these are my 5 brothers & sisters: Marcus, Beverly, Shelldon, Belladonna, & Elizabella."
"A pleasure to meet you all," Victoria said cordially, extending her paw & shaking everyone's hands. "I'm Victoria, Basil's bride."
"I believe we've already established that, madam, but it is nonetheless a delight to meet you as well," Marcus replied just as politely, taking a moment to kiss her paw. Victoria blushed at the gesture, despite the fact she was so accustomed to it.
"Oh, Marcus, stop being a kiss-up!" Belladonna snapped. "Besides, she & the baby are not the only ones in the house! What about the other children?"
"Well," Basil deduced, "judging by the way Baby Fuschia came rushing in, they should be here right about now!" Indeed, merry shouts & laughter could be heard as the Baker Street Kids all rushed into the living room. The Holmesingtons all smiled, & went over to greet the children.
"Hello, little one," Belladonna said gently, cuddling Olivia. "I'm your aunt Belladonna."
"Basil told me that's the name of a flower!" the little girl replied, giving a curtsy & a smile. "I love flowers."
"So do I!" Belladonna said, smiling back.
"Ah, my boss tells me you girls have a singing group?" Marcus asked the Little Women curiously.
"Yep!" the oldest McBride girl, Eliza, confirmed. "And we've sold more than 20 albums!"
"All of them ranging from gold to diamond!" Julie added, beaming proudly.
"Interesting!" Marcus marveled. "I'd love to buy one of your albums!"
Elizabella turned to Basil, & smiled. "I must say, baby brother, you have quite a colorful clan there! Singers & actresses & reformed rogues...even members of the royal family!"
"Well, I suppose it was meant to be," Basil replied coyly. "After all, these rodents were once outcasts at some point in their lives! It's my job to help the poor & unlucky, the weak & the odd. And forming the Baker Street Family was the only way to do it!"
"Indeed, Basil," Belladonna said, tousling Olivia's hair. "Indeed."
The first night of the Holmesingtons' visit had arrived. The moon shone brightly in the sky, & the stars twinkled like diamonds in the great treasure chest of midnight-blue skies. In their house, the Baker Street Family was having their dinner, along with the Holmesingtons. From inside the house, merry laughter could be heard from inside the dining room.
"Oh, Basil, that is the funniest joke I've ever heard!" Marcus chortled. "I can't wait to tell the folks at the bank!"
"Now," said Elizabella as she daintily placed a napkin onto her lap & took some silverware, "why don't you tell us about one of your adventures, Basil? I'm dying to hear!"
Basil smiled at Elizabella, then cleared his throat, & began: "Well, the first adventure we had together was a grand one indeed. It was last year, just before Christmas..."
"Tell them when we kicked the thugs' bums!" Fidget shouted abruptly. Basil glared at him as a signal for the little bat to keep quiet & not interrupt, then continued with his story: "Anyway, it was almost Christmas, & it was snowing like crazy! The family & I trudged through the snow, struggling to make our way to Mouses Fiennes' hideout."
"You risked you & your family's lives," Elizabella asked in disbelief, "just so you could have a little adventure?"
"Just wait, Elizabella, it gets better!" Basil said excitedly. "Nevertheless, when we got to the hideout, we happened to stumble across two of Mouses' thugs. But these weren't just any thugs! They were children who had been kidnapped three years before & forced to work for Mouses. The boy, Taro, was a mercenary, & the girl—his sister Sakura—was Mouses' trophy bride!"
"Sakura was Mouses' concubine!" Belladonna blurted.
"Yes, & just as soon as we had made our promise to take the two children home to their grandfather, we were suddenly surrounded by a motley crew of thugs!" Unbeknownst to Basil, the detective had stepped onto the table during his passionate tirade, right into Dr. Dawson's potato salad—much to the good doctor's frustration (for he had not finished it yet).
But Basil kept on talking, literally illustrating his words with wild, frantic gestures: "We were outnumbered 20 to 15! There was no way we could possibly beat them! But lo & behold, we did! We kicked all those scoundrels' bums..."—here, Fidget cheered—"...& made our way out of the hideout, just after Sakura had single-handedly defeated Mouses' most dangerous thug, Agent 001!"
When Basil had settled back down into his seat & stopped talking, the Holmesingtons were at a loss for words. Only after a long silence, did Marcus finally speak up: "Oh, what a jolly good adventure, Basil! I can't believe you've been up to all these marvelous escapades!"
"Do tell us more," Belladonna said, as she fed Baby Fuschia her dinner of mushed peas & carrots.
"Basil," Olivia suggested, "why don't you tell them about the time we showed that mean principal how to be nice to different people?"
"That's a good story, little Olivia!" Basil said cheerfully, tousling his goddaughter's hair. And the Baker Street Family watched, enraptured, as Basil wove his next tale...