Chapter XXXXIX: In the case of Baker Street part I

Sighing within the darkness Maleficent's apprentice put a hand to his head as he then combed back his lilac hair, he was now tired of the training that he'd been put through and wished to put his powers to better use.

Maleficent seeing his state of mind smiled as she asked in her maternal gentle voice, "what is wrong my dear? Are you unsatisfied by my teachings?" She asked.

Looking at her for a moment as he paused his hand still in his hair, he then shook his head slightly and let flow a small laugh as he replied, "not at all…I am very satisfied with what you've taught me… and the heartless and the darkness itself are incredibly fascinating… but…"

Hearing him pause Maleficent's eyebrows raised slightly as her smile increased more as she encouraged him to continue, " but?"

His gaze still on her for a moment he then looked to the side and paused for a moment before saying, "I just wish to use my powers for a more practical and useful purpose."

Hearing this answer Maleficent then replied casually, "oh is that all?... Well then," with that she walked to one side as her apprentice watched her move as she then stopped before something as she then continued lifting her long dark sleeve concealing something, "why don't you use your power upon this treasure?"

Watching her he then saw her step away slightly as then her sleeve and arm fell away and there upon the wall glittering with purple in her crystal coffin prison that coiled over the lower half of her body was none other than Oralee.

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The atmosphere was dark and dank as a grand bell echoed within the city streets, the lights all out within most of the house windows, but with exception to the few towering street lamps shining here and there.

A horse and carriage rode on by as the clicking and rattling was heard upon the cobbled road, a puddle of water was stepped into as it sent numerous big droplets here and there upon the pavement side.

"Hey!" Came an outcry.

"What's wrong now?" Came a familiar annoyed tone.

"Oh! I'm wet again! That's the last thing I need right now! Especially with this new change!" Came the irritated reply.

Sighing hearing her still whiney attitude, he steeped into the light of a street lamp as his other comrade followed closely as he watched him reply to her, "well there's nothing that can be done about it right now you know, Nozomi."

For it was then she came into the light herself revealing the transformation that had occurred to herself. She was now thankfully back in her old attire of her striped purple and blue long sleeved top and pink waistcoat. Also with her blue trousers and veils around her knees and lower legs.

But unfortunately she hadn't been as restored as she and the others would have liked (with exception to the king) for now she had been transformed into a small dark grey mouse with a long tail poking out of the back of her trousers.

It was strange to be furry all over and even smaller than the squirrel form she and Riku had been transformed into some time ago. With the tail though she had to admit it was a little easier to manoeuvre with as she then shook it getting rid of a big drop of water that had stuck to it's end.

Looking at Riku she gazed at his transformed self now with a face with bitter annoyance at her misfortune, he was in his same old attire again, and he was now a white coloured mouse that matched the colour of his hair, which was of course to be expected.

Dusting some of the remnants of rain that remained on her Nozomi then replied to him, " well I know nothing can be done about it… but it doesn't change the fact that it's still annoying… I don't wanna be this small…" for even in her normal human form she was short enough as it was.

Riku though hearing this same nonsense shook his head as he replied, "yeah, yeah," as he then walked on a head a little.

The king watching Riku leave turned to Nozomi as he then tried to give her some encouragement despite the situation, "well it probably won't be that good hearin it from me, but you know? It's not that bad being a mouse, you'll get used to it Nozomi." He finished with the best smile he could give her.

Looking at the king Nozomi saw what he was trying to do and smiled awkwardly herself as she was thankful for the encouragement, but it had been as the king said, it wasn't the best hearing it from him, so replying not wanting to show her dismalness Nozomi said, "yeah I know your majesty."

The king nodded as he then looked behind and saw that a layer of mist had begun to rise up in the dark dimly lit night, so running in the direction Riku had gone in he quickly called back to her, "I'm gonna go and catch up with Riku, you catch up quick okay!" He then waved as he ran on into the mist.

Seeing him leave Nozomi was silent for a moment as she just stood there and let out a sigh she'd been hiding back as she looked up at the street lamp as she said, "once again transformed… when am I going to be human again?"

At this point it was then Cait sith made himself known, "lass! Stop with yer melancholy and get goin! Yer wastin precious time!" He was on Nozomi's back in his backpack form once more, he was once again left unchanged and was still in his cat form, which made Nozomi incredibly jealous.

Once again further annoyed by Cait sith's outburst Nozomi at that moment was not in the mood for an argument and replied, "Okay, okay I'm goin."

With that she gave chase running after her two comrades into the mist, as she ran forwards her tail raised she then decided to discuss something that had been on her mind to Cait sith.

"Hey Cait sith?" She asked.

"Yeah lass?" He replied.

" I've been meaning to ask you, do you think Hari's working with Pete?" She asked.

Hearing her say this he looked back up to her as he replied, "what would make ya think that lass?"

Looking at him over her shoulder Nozomi then said, "well think about it, I think she must have been protecting him when we fought her in Woody and Buzz's world… at least that's what I think anyway."

However Cait sith was doubtful at this idea, "lass I definitely wouldn't believe that."

Hearing him Nozomi asked, "well why?"

He immediately replied, "cause obviously she ain't the type to! I mean why would a cold and merciless type like her be hangin around with a daft dumb fatso like him?"

After hearing this point Nozomi blinked as she then looked up and then imagined seeing the two of them in her head, with Hari her back slightly turned looking at her with her green merciless green eyes with her iron wired wings aloft behind her making her look dangerous. Then finally Pete came to mind in his usual attire with his big hands at both his sides with him laughing his head off with his enormous belly sticking out.

Seeing the two then together Nozomi then was just as dismissive as two red X's came up crossing the two of them out. It was definitely unrealistic.

"I think Cait sith… you're absolutely right," as she then thought of herself stupid with even coming up with the idea.

"As I am always lass! After all I am the greatest cat of 'em all!" He finished with a confident laugh.

Hearing his cockiness Nozomi smiled as she shook her head at this hearing the same old from him, but then that was something that suddenly lit up in her mind that might cause problems.

Looking at him she then voiced her concern, "Cait sith? Um talking about that… there's something I'm going to ask you."

Stopping his laughter immediately he looked back up at her as he asked, "why? What is it lass?"

Taking a breath of air Nozomi then replied to him, "well you see… don't take this the wrong way or anything but… I think while we're here you shouldn't talk."

At this reply Cait sith then tensed as he was quietly becoming annoyed as he asked her, "and why is that… lass?"

Not noticing the mood change Nozomi continued, "well you see… I mean we're in a world of mice people right? And well to see a talking toy cat… I think you're gonna freak people out."

Cait sith was now becoming more and more agitated as he was annoyed at being called a toy and even more at the idea of himself being a freak of nature. His anger boiling up more and more Nozomi continued not noticing, "so I am sorry and stuff but I think while you're here you're gonna be hindrance to us and you'll cause problems being loud and rude as you are and-"

"All right! That's it lass! Ya've had it!" He cried enraged.

Startled Nozomi stopped suddenly as Cait sith then jumped off her back and stood on the floor annoyed as he stared up at her in her mouse form, looking at him Nozomi was confused as she asked, " huh? Cait sith what're you-"

Once again she was interrupted as Cait continued on his angry mood, "since ya ain't grateful fer havin me around! I'm gonna be goin ta have a long nap! And until the next world we go to, I ain't wakin up for you or anybody!"

Hearing him say this Nozomi just couldn't compute what he was saying as she looked at him muddled with her mouth slightly agape, "what!? Why're you saying that! What'd I do wrong! For goodness sake you-"

However by then Cait sith threw one of his hands into the air making a dust of glittering yellow sparkles that quickly fell on him in the blink of an eye. As it did his body then suddenly fell back limp as he lay on the floor unmoving his arms at his sides.

Blinking at this sudden action Nozomi paused as she then cautiously walked over slowly and then picked Cait sith in both hands as she then asked, "Cait sith?"

There was no response, seeing this Nozomi then shook him slightly as she continued, "come on Cait sith this isn't funny!"

Still no response and at this point Nozomi was absolutely appalled as she then shook him really hard saying, "Oh come on! You can't have fallen asleep that deeply! Cait sith! Cait sith!!!"

However at that point she then knew it was useless as she stopped shaking him and instead looked at him utterly peeved as she then said, "oh you stupid cat! Why do you have to be so aggravating!"

Gazing at him further with her angered gaze Nozomi then decided to just give up and give in to this as she then found luckily that Cait sith had left himself with his back pack straps as she then quickly pulled him on. Feeling him securely there Nozomi looked over her shoulder and down at him again as she then said aloud, "honestly you dumb toy midget!... you really know how to get on my nerves."

Sighing she then looked around herself and wondered how far Riku and king Mickey had run, suddenly then there was a loud struck of thunder that made her jump slightly. Startled she looked up and saw lightning in the sky, "oh? Stormy weather?"

As she asked this holding one of her hands out slightly from her surprised state she then suddenly felt a huge wet drip come on her hand, looking up she saw what had caused it as she said further, "wet and cold stormy weather."

This was certainly turning out to be one of the most dismal worlds she had ever been to, and not wanting to get any further wetness she ran inside a little more into the alleyway to find some potential shelter.

Walking inside she found quite the usual of things, trash here and there, a few broken wooden boxes, and a dirty old holed striped mattress. Not finding many of these things to be of service Nozomi ran further in avoiding the rain as much as she could. Suddenly then ahead she spied something that would give good shelter, a discarded old boot on its side.

True it probably may not smell that nice inside it was better to be dry than shivering wet and freezing in the rain, so quickly with these thoughts in mind she went straight towards it.

Arriving quickly inside the boot Nozomi shook herself getting the droplets off once more as she spoke aloud, "oh man! Good thing I found this thing here! If I hadn't then I would of-"

Suddenly she was distracted for it was then she heard sniffing and quiet gasps, the sounds of crying, turning and looking to where the noise was coming from Nozomi saw she wasn't alone in the boot.

There sitting upon an old discarded box of some kind was a small little girl mouse dressed in a blue coat and a lighter blue scarf with stripes upon it with a hat on top with a red bobble in the centre.

Concerned staring at her and her depressed state, Nozomi was unsure of what to do straight away, as she was a stranger and she'd probably frighten the girl more than encourage her.

But suddenly outside there came calls, "Nozomi!" "Hey Nozomi!"

Hearing them startled Nozomi, quickly looking outside and sure enough it was Riku and Mickey outside who'd backtracked to find the slow poke. Seeing them delighted she called out to them, "Riku! King Mickey! Over here!" Hearing her call the two of them turned and saw her waving from the boot, they quickly ran in her direction.

Smiling at this she suddenly then felt eyes on her, turning around she saw the young mouse girl looking at her, with slight concern as she'd only just realised her presence.

Looking back at her still unsure Nozomi looked left and right and then took a breath as she decided it would be better for her to do something rather than nothing, so reaching her right hand out to her in a small slow wave Nozomi spoke, "uh hi?"

The girl was still unsure of her as she saw her waving at her and didn't know how to respond as she continued to look at her with her concerned eyes.

Realising the girl's nervousness Nozomi still tried to brighten the atmosphere herself as she continued, " yeah um? Sorry to barge in here like this um… you see it's raining and… well, are you okay?"

The girl was still silent as she looked up at her not sure of what to say but then suddenly it was then Riku and king Mickey both arrived inside of the boot, as they did it was Riku who started off, "what do you think you were doing! You shouldn't be slow like that! Do you realise what could happen if we got separated by-"

Nozomi interrupted Riku's angry lecture as she responded, " look I'm sorry all right! I didn't mean for that to happen, some stuff just occurred and… and well anyway, there's this girl over here and-"

It was then the king who interrupted her as he asked hearing this, " this girl?" He asked.

Nozomi quickly nodded as she then pointed in the mouse girl's direction, "yeah, it's this girl over here, I just happened to come in here and I found her crying and-"

At that point the girl started to weep again as she was really disheartened buy her own tragedy that had occurred and she was frightened by these strangers arrivals.

Hearing the girl mouse crying Nozomi felt bad herself for scaring her and didn't know what to say to make the situation better, but then suddenly surprising her she watched as Riku walked past her and the king and sat upon the ground in front of the girl mouse as he then talked gently and soothingly, "hey, shhhh…"

With that he touched the girl mouse's cheek as she stopped crying and looked at Riku's gentle face as he looked at her with a kind smile. The girl mouse hiccupped slightly, she was still shook up slightly but she felt comforted by this person's gentle approach.

Watching Riku and his gentleness to the young girl mouse Nozomi looked at him with a sense of awe at discovering something new and surprising to his character.

Suddenly then interrupting this moment there was suddenly another new arrival to the boot entrance as he popped his head with a question, "Oh, oh my?"

Startled Nozomi and Mickey looked to see peering inside was another mouse, he was big in built with an umbrella over his head, he was dressed in a smart purple suit with a blue bow tie around his neck, a bag in his left hand and a bowler hat on top his head. He had a couple of blonde patches of fur on his face that indicated his eyebrows upon his brown fur and a patch under his nose making a moustache.

Looking at him they watched as he looked at them all puzzled and asked curiously, "ah now what are you chaps and lady doing in a place like this?"

Hearing this question Nozomi looked about and then answered, "uh, well you see sir, we found this young girl here in this boot and well… she looks distressed about something."

Hearing Nozomi say this the male mouse asked, "a young girl? What in a place like this in this weather?" He asked.

At this point Mickey and Nozomi both stepped aside to show Riku still caring for the young girl who was gradually becoming more comforted from Riku's reassurance, seeing what was going on the male mouse walked further in.

It was then king Mickey spoke, "so as you can see something real bad must have happened to her."

Hearing him say this the male mouse looked at Mickey and replied calmly, " I see…"

With that he walked in further as Riku then got up and stepped away from the girl as the male mouse then came over and asked her gently, "are you all right my dear?"

Hearing the male mouse the young girl still had stains of tears on her face that he quickly saw, then putting a hand into one of his pockets he quickly drew out a handkerchief that he held out to her saying, "come now, come, here, here dry your eyes," finishing with a comforting smile.

Taking the handkerchief from the male mouse's hand she quickly blew her nose into it sniffling slightly as she then handed it back to him.

Nozomi saw that the girl was now comforted and was a little more relaxed then she had been and the male mouse saw this too as he had now sat himself upon the box too, sitting just a little bit away from her.

Seeing him do this Nozomi and the others gathered nearer as she sat on the boot floor's surface while Riku lied himself against the back of the boot his hands at his sides, while king Mickey stood beside Nozomi.

They all watched quietly and listened as the male mouse continued speaking to her, "ah now that's better, now tell us, what's troubling you my dear?"
The young mouse girl was quiet for a moment as she looked at everyone as they looked at her with comforting smiles as she said quietly, "`I… I'm lost."

Hearing this question Nozomi then spoke, "lost?"

Listening to Nozomi's question the girl mouse nodded, "yes… and I, I'm trying to find Basil of Baker street," with that she pulled a small piece of news paper from the inside of her coat as she looked down at it for a moment and then handed it to Nozomi who looked at it curiously for a moment.

Not knowing what to make of it as she read it, she handed it to king Mickey who passed it onto Riku and then finally onto the male mouse who looked at it with a pair of spectacles he pulled out from his pocket as he said, "now, now let me see here."

With that he then read aloud what the news clipping said, "famous detective solves baffling disappearance."

Understanding now the king spoke then too, "oh I see now, you want to find this detective to find something you've lost? But what is it?'

Catching on then too Nozomi nodded as she asked, "yeah? I mean don't your mum and dad know where-"

However Nozomi was interrupted as the young girl suddenly became distressed once more as she started to cry again saying, "that's why I… must find Basil!"

At this point Nozomi was shocked and then upset herself at making the young girl cry again, she hated herself for it! Why did she keep asking without thinking!

However quickly the male mouse quickly stopped the young girl as Riku also quickly rushed over calming her down again as he started to speak again, "there, there, there, don't, don't… I… now I don't know any Basil."

The girl looked at him sadly and then at the others as well hoping for some kind of answer from them, however Riku told her then gently too, "yeah I'm sorry… we don't know any Basil either."

The girl then was even more melancholic as Nozomi felt badly for not being of any help, as did the others as well, but then the male mouse continued on as he spoke with a smile as he removed his spectacles, " but I do remember where Baker Street is."

At that point everyone was surprised at this information as was the girl who immediately brightened up with a smile, glad at their fortune Nozomi spoke happily, " aww that's great!"

The male mouse smiling at this happy atmosphere that he'd created spoke further, "well then let us all come along… uh? Well I am assuming of course you'll be coming along with us?"

The young mouse girl was now beside the male mouse now as she looked at the rest of them all with unsure eyes, not knowing whether to trust them or not.

Nozomi hearing the male mouse invite them all said, "uh? Yeah, um well… we might as well, right?" She asked as she turned to Riku and the king.

Hearing her ask this question Riku sighed slightly and shook his head once more as he replied, "well we have only just arrived here, and we have no where else to go … "

It was then the king picked up for him, "yeah, besides it will help us to get to know this place better."

Hearing the positivity from them Nozomi smiled as she turned back and said to the male mouse, "yup, so it looks like we will be coming."

He was delighted at the response as he replied," oh well now, that's good then we can all find this Basil chap together."

Nozomi nodded further to this, "yeah let's, oh! And that's right we haven't introduced ourselves have we?" She asked realising with a slight laugh.

Hearing this the male mouse then realised this himself as he replied, "oh? Oh my yes! We haven't have we? Well then let me begin, I'm professor Hughes Dawson, though you may call me Dawson for short."

Smiling she introduced herself then too," nice to meet you, I'm Nozomi Tao, and these are-" She then moved her hand back to everybody else.

"Mickey!" Came the king's happy response.

Then lastly, "and my name's Riku."

Hearing their introductions Dawson was quite glad as he responded, "well good it's nice to meet you all, oh, dear why don't you introduce yourself as well?"

Hearing the doctor say that the young girl looked at him and then at the other people who had come and so then said politely, "I'm Olivia… Olivia Flabbersham."

Hearing her name Nozomi nodded at this as she then held her hand out to her and said, "nice to meet you Olivia."

The young girl looking at her hand cautiously then reached her right hand out to her as Nozomi gently held it with her own and smiled comfortingly saying, "sorry I scared you before… and sorry for upsetting you."

Hearing her say this Olivia brightened a little more realising then that Nozomi wasn't a bad person.

With that the band of mice set forth to find Baker street.

Hi guys it's me again ^^

Just wanting to let you know that I've set up a competition where you can potentially have an OC character of your own appear in the next world of the story, if you want to know more details simply PM me Kay ^^

Speak to you all again!