Upon recently reading some new Great Mouse Detective fan-fictions, I've come across ones that have brought Felicia back to life. You would think that if I firmly believe in the possibility of Fidget surviving the fall in The River Thames, I would find the idea of Felicia surviving to be plausible, right? Not exactly, and here's why I think this. Felicia was practically mangled by the guard dogs, the plausibility of her surviving would be ZERO. Fidget, on the other hand, has a multitude of possibilities of surviving the River Thames outside my own little theories, that is. Furthermore, I'm not really a Felicia fan, nor am I a fan of cats either (I think that's something Fidget and I share). BUT, I do like an occasional challenge and I figured since everyone else took a stab at dedicating fan-fictions/pastiches to Felica, I got the nagging feeling that I should do one as well. Soooooo ... here it goes!
Chapter 1: ANOTHER Rat!?
Fidget sat on top of the roof and lit a cigarette to calm his nerves. Deniece had sent him to buy groceries again at the market, which was four blocks from her house. Deniece usually was the one who bought groceries for the house, but because Fidget had great improved on being helpful, Deniece appointed him the task of buying the groceries from then on. Fidget actually enjoyed it. It was less risky compared to the errands Professor Ratigan or Captain Lillian Bates made him do. And it was a reason to go out and get some fresh air. For Fidget, grocery shopping was a break from the usual routine of going to work at Henry & Poole Co. and coming home tired. The only thing that irked him about the errand was whenever he was handed the list of groceries and just about to leave, Deniece would constantly remind him, by feigning desperation and falling to her knees, begging, "And ... no matter what happens, PLEASE I beg of you! Don't drop the list!" Knowing exactly what she was talking about, Fidget responded by placing his hands on his hips, rolling his large yellow eyes, and giving her a fake "Ha, ha, ha ..." in return. It became a running joke Deniece would pull on Fidget every time, only her line would be slightly different from the last in order to produce the same effect. At first, it irritated the hell out of Fidget, making him feel stupid to be reminded of something that nearly cost him his life with Professor Ratigan's cat, Felicia. Then eventually, Deniece's humor caught on and Fidget found himself laughing in return. After all, that stupid furball was dead, what reason was there to be scared of? Fidget even went as far as to joke back with Deniece, saying, "Just for dat, I'm gonna t'row da list!" All would've been well, EXCEPT for one evening. As soon as he was returning home with the groceries (AND the list), he heard a soft, yet familiar sound that made the fur on his back stand on end! It was a faint "meow" that came from above. Fidget's eyes slowly turned upward to see what is was. It was a dapple-colored kitten, jumping from window sill to window sill. At first, the kitten was ignoring Fidget, thinking only of it's own merriment. Fidget continued to walk on when suddenly ... the kitten landed on the ground, blocking his way to Deniece's house. And this kitten stared at him with fixed interest. Since it was still a baby, it was a lot less intimidating than Professor Ratigan's own cat. But why would it be interested in Fidget!? The only logical explanation would be in the interest of having him for supper (her supper, that is). Not to mention that Fidget hated cats and dogs with a vengeance. They were always so giant and Fidget was so small! Dogs were too loud and would never shut up, cats moved about too suspiciously. Fidget was tempted to throw one of the foods in the bag to distract the kitten, but then hesitated because it would mean he would be one item short and if this feline wouldn't kill him, Deniece will.
"Dianah!" Both Fidget and the kitten were startled by the sound of a female's voice. Fidget turned his gaze to a large crevice leading into an alleyway. Emerging from the shadows was a petite girl rodent with wild black hair and a red and black dress decorated with designs that looked like shapes from playing cards. Fidget gazed at the rodent with fixed interest. This rodent was not a mouse! She was a rat! He could tell just by looking at her long, hairless tail, which curled around her tiny waist, and her ears which were slightly shorter than a mouse's and almost shaped in a cat-like manner. Her tawny-colored eyes (which happened to be encircled with dark patches) narrowed to slits as she gazed at the kitten, which now had its back arched in fear like a little child getting a scolding from mother.
"Bad kitty!" the girl rat reacted. "Get in the house! Now!"
Fidget did not move from where he stood, but continued to stare at the sight of the dapple-colored kitten crawl away with its tail between its legs (strange-weren't dogs the only one that did that?) while the girl rodent gave the kitten a very serious face. Fidget could scarcely believe what was happening. Those two were the spitting image of Professor Ratigan and Felicia. The only difference Fidget noticed was while Ratigan always spoke to Felicia in a sugary tone, this girl rat spoke to her kitten with harshness in her voice. Fidget watched as she pulled out a cigarette, very much like the way Professor Ratigan once did, lit it and puffed a ring. At least she didn't have a group of henchmice lighting a cigarette for her. She managed to do it all by herself.
After the dapple-colored kitten was out of sight, the girl rat turned her gaze toward the peg-legged bat. Her facial expression was neutral while Fidget's yellow eyes were filled with curiosity. This girl looked quite attractive ... for a rat that is. And that harsh tone of voice she used on that kitten earlier was actually quite refreshing. She couldn't have been related to Professor Ratigan, Fidget assumed. The bridge of her nose was only slightly elongated, similar to Deniece's, her fur was bronze-colored, and her teeth were mere baby fangs when she opened her mouth.
"Why do you tease my Dianah?" the girl rat asked, her tone saucy. "You know she's not allowed to have snacks. Her saucer of milk is plenty food for her!"
What!? Fidget had no clue what this girl was talking about! Who would ever want to be a snack for a kitten!? And interestingly enough, this girl's voice sounded ... a little strange. She was supposed to be a rat, but her mannerism of talking almost sounded feline. Fidget did not respond, but turned away to continue home, grateful that he did not have to worry about the kitten. But as he approached Deniece's house, he was stopped in his stride again, this time by the girl rat.
"You don't have any manners, do you!?" she retorted. "I asked you a question, yet you walk away!?"
Fidget heaved a sigh of exasperation and rolled his eyes. It was strange enough that he ran into another rat, now he was being pestered by the sassy attitude of this girl. And he wasn't so sure that he liked it. "I don't know what you're talkin' about," Fidget finally answered. "I wasn't teasin' anybody."
Fidget stepped around the girl rat and placed the bag of groceries at the foot of Deniece's door. The girl rat crossed her arms angrily. "Oh, so you're too good to treat a lady with respect, eh?"
Fidget was practically ignoring anything the girl said at this point. Just before he placed a webbed-hand on the door knob, Fidget was disturbed by something slithering around his ankle and pulling it back, causing him to trip forward. The girl had used her long, rat tail to trip him. Surprised by what had befallen him, Fidget looked up at the girl, who was now tapping her bare foot on the pavement. "Aren't you even going to introduce yourself? It is common courtesy for a man to take his hat off to a lady at least."
What was this girl expecting, a bouquet of flowers!? Fidget didn't approve of the girl tripping him like that, nor was he interested in dealing with anyone who reminded him of Professor Ratigan and that damn cat! "Look, I don't know who you are, but I'm tired and I want to go home!"
Suddenly, the door opened and Deniece's face emerged. "What in heaven's name is all that noise!?"
Fidget unloosed the girl rat's tail from his ankle and picked up the bag of groceries to give to Deniece. "I took care of everyt'ing, Niecy."
"Oh, I didn't know you had a husband!" the girl rat spoke as she gazed upon the face of Deniece.
"Allison!" Deniece replied in awe. "I didn't expect to see you here tonight."
Fidget frequently turned his gaze from Deniece back to the girl rat, dumbstruck by what was going. "Niecy, you know dis girl!?"
Deniece turned her gaze to Fidget. "Fidget, this girl is Allison Lydell. She's the new show girl at The Rat Trap now."
A perplexed Fidget scratched the back of his head curiously. "I t'ought you didn't know anyone else udher dhan Father Richards and Constable Smith."
"While you were in Pentonville," Deniece began to explain, "Allison and I got better acquainted with each other. She actually used to serve drinks whenever the bartender and his wife were away."
Fidget was still confused. This girl rat used to serve drinks at The Rat Trap!? If that were true, then how come he never saw her in his whole life!?
The girl rat called Allison by name giggled. "I think your husband is still confused."
"Oh Fidget is not my husband," Deniece corrected. "Not yet, at least."
Allison rubbed her chin curiously as she studied Fidget with her tawny-colored eyes. "I don't mean to criticize, Miss Deniece, but your boyfriend lacks in mannerisms. He didn't even thank me for saving him from my cat, Dianah."
Fidget winced in embarrassment. He had not expected to be put on the spot right in front of Deniece. And Fidget was getting the sneaky feeling that he didn't like Allison at all.
"Fidget, aren't you even going to thank her!?"
Fidget was starting to feel his blood pressure rise. Who's side are you on, Niecy!?
"Ah, so Fidget is your name?" Allison smile mischievously at the peg-legged bat. Fidget's large ears drooped back in aggression, feeling very uncomfortable that this girl rat was staring at him and making him look like a fool. "Actually, you don't have to thank me. I was just making conversation with Miss Deniece. But seriously, you do need to work on your manners."
Fidget pulled on his ears. You know, you're really pissin' me off, girlie!
"Well, I must be off, Miss Deniece," Allison said to the lady bat with a smile. "If I don't get home soon, Dianah will run off again. She doesn't like to listen."
"Good thing they were overstocked at the human milk market," Deniece replied. "Dianah should have plenty to last her a while. Take care, Allison!"
Now Fidget was back on that roof-top once again, still trying to get over what he had seen. Deniece gave him a hard time for not properly thanking Allison for saving him from her cat. But Deniece already knew Fidget's mannerisms were awful, so why would she have been surprised!? And how was Fidget to know that Deniece and Allison were friends!? He had never seen the girl rat his whole life! And from what he had seen of her gave Fidget a bad impression already. And why would that Allison character think that he was teasing her Dianah!? She's not allowed to have snacks, the girl rat said. As if anyone would want to be a snack for a cat! Fidget remembered how Ratigan made him feed Felicia leftover fish found at the docks, if it wasn't one of Ratigan's other henchmice that upset him. But Felicia would always stare mischievously at Fidget for some strange reason. She must've thought that Fidget was some unique looking rodent and wanted to try him out as a dish. Not to mention he accidentally fell into a bucket of fish one evening and Felicia, smelling the scent of fish on him, had chased him. The other henchmice had witnessed and found the ordeal hilarious; Fidget did not.
"Stupid furball," Fidget muttered under his breath before taking another puff of his cigarette. It had been a while since Fidget had smoked, he only did whenever it was to calm his nerves down. And the presence of that girl rat and her kitten made Fidget very nervous indeed. Could things get any worse?
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
Fidget jumped as a lady's scream startled him, almost causing him to fall off the roof. What the hell was going on!? Luckily, the roof he sat on belonged to a rodent-scaled house so he didn't have to fall far when he landed on his foot and peg. When he looked around to the source of the screaming, he saw a curly brunette-haired woman mouse in a dark green dress, on her knees upon the pavement and crying hysterically. A crowd of other mice encircled her, Fidget couldn't see with them standing in the way. Avoiding having to shove one of the mice aside to get a better look, Fidget knelt two feet away and peeked through a space gap between two of the mice. He saw traces of her face, which were stained with tears. Then Fidget's yellow eyes followed downward to something that she was holding in her hands. A piece of rope!? Why would a lady be crying over that!? One of the mice began to notice Fidget behind him and temporarily moved aside. Now Fidget could get a better look. Raising himself to his foot and peg, he sauntered over to see what the fuss was about ... and saw an image that made Fidget's stomach churn in a sickly way. That was not rope the lady was holding in her hands ... It was a mouse's tail!
Chapter 4: Cat-Sitting
