The Great Mouse Detective: Ten Years Later
Characters of The Great Mouse Detective (1986) belong to Walt Disney Animation Studios and the author Eve Titus. Original characters belong to me.
Prologue
London, September 1907
From the journal of Dr. David Q. Dawson: I find it hard to believe that it's been ten years since working on my first case with Basil of Baker Street. I won't forget that night when I found little Olivia Flaversham, lost and alone. Her father had been kidnapped by the bat Fidget who worked for the nefarious Professor Ratigan.
His plan was to take over the empire of Mousedom by assassinating our queen and place himself as ruler. Basil and I were able to save the queen, Olivia's father Hiram and the little child herself.
Now it is 1907, our beloved queen has been dead for six years now. Her son Edward is now king and he has been grateful to Basil and I for saving his mother.
In the ten years since working the case, a lot has changed. Now we have telephones, automobiles and many other great inventions. However, during those ten years, I've noticed that Basil has not been his eccentric self when working on other cases. Honestly, I believe Olivia has changed him in some way. Strange how children can brighten a gloomy character to a more caring person. Although, I wonder how Olivia and her father have been doing since we last saw them those years ago.
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Westfield College
Olivia Flaversham had finished her last class for the day. It had been a week since the semester started, but she was loving it every day. She was now 20 years old and was eager to pursue her dreams of becoming a diplomatic ambassador for the mouse king of the British Empire. She wanted to make history in becoming the first female diplomat representing the British Empire in a country she would love to explore.
Of course, it would mean working a lot, but it didn't dampen her spirit as she wanted to see the world since she was small. She had always wanted to see Paris, Amsterdam, Venice, just any city in Europe would do.
She would never forget the adventure she had ten years ago. She was curious of how Basil and Dr. Dawson have been doing since they solved the case. Professor Ratigan had been dead for ten years, so they had nothing to worry.
Olivia went to a telephone, she had a routine of calling her father Hiram at the end of the week. She picks up the receiver and tells the operator the number of her father's toy shop.
It rang and then Hiram answers, "Hello? Hello? Anyone there?"
"Daddy, you only need to say hello just once," Olivia chuckles, her father always had trouble with the new invention.
"Oh my little girl. Oh, but you're not little anymore," Hiram replies, "How are your classes?"
"They are wonderful, I feel excited every day, there's so much to learn," Olivia said, but she hears her father sigh. "Daddy, what's wrong?" she asks.
"I don't know sweetie, you being in college to pursue a career in being an ambassador. It's just too much for my weak heart," Hiram said and adds, "You know, I was disappointed that you turned down that marriage proposal from...who was that lad's name again?"
"Robert Kinkle, but daddy, I didn't like him. He was rude and he doesn't like the idea of women going to college and pursuing careers. Times have changed and there will be a lot of changes in the future," Olivia explains and her father sighs again.
"Well sweetheart, I just want to make sure that you are taken care of before I die," Hiram said.
"Daddy, I'm 20, I still have time and I know that you do too," Olivia replies.
"I suppose you're right. I just want to see some little gran-" Hiram was cut off and Olivia then hears some scuffling.
"Daddy, what's wrong? Daddy, you there?" Olivia said into the receiver, but she hears shouts and things breaking in the background. Then, she hears the dreadful BANG! BANG!
"DADDY!" she screams into the receiver. Then, she hears heavy breathing and she dares to ask, "Hello?"
"Hello Olivia Flaversham," the voice was deep and scary.
"Who is this? What have you done to my father?" Olivia asks, her insides were shaking.
"Dear old daddy is dead," the voice said and he adds, "And I am going to kill you and your friends at Baker Street." Olivia goes quiet for a second. Just who was this mad person?
"Why?" she replies in a shaky voice.
"For revenge, revenge for Professor Ratigan," the male voice said and he adds, "If you wish to come see dear old daddy, let me warn you, it is quite a bloody mess here." There was a click, he had hung up from the other end.
"NO! NO!" Olivia cries out and the other female mice look at her.
"Miss Flaversham, is everything okay?" her teacher Mrs. Silverman asks.
"I need to go! Something's happened to my father!" Olivia cries out and she rushes to her dormitory. She didn't bother to pack a bag of clothes, all she needed was her hat, coat, and umbrella.
"Miss Flaversham, there's a carriage heading to central London. Be quick now," Mrs. Silverman said.
"Thank you," Olivia replies and rushes to the carriage. She climbs up to the foot rest and the carriage leaves the college. Olivia's heart was pounding and she quickly prays that somehow her father was all right.
()()()()()()()()()()
Flaversham's Toy Shop
It had taken Olivia two hours to reach the street where her father's toy shop was. When she got there, the place was swarming with police from Scotland Yard.
Olivia pushes through the crowd and was about to go in, when a police mouse stops her. "You can't go in miss," he said.
"My father! That's my father's shop! Where is he?!" she pleads.
"Wait, you're Olivia Flaversham? From that case ten years ago?" the police mouse asks.
"Yes, where's my father?!" she cries out. The mouse didn't say a word, but Olivia pushes him aside and runs inside the shop. To her horror, blood had stained the floor and the table. She looks at the telephone, blood had stained it too. Many of the toys had been broken and the paint bottles had spilled over.
"Miss, you can't be in here," the police mouse said, but Olivia rushes into the other room, following the blood trail. There, by the side table, laid Hiram Flaversham, his hand was holding a photograph of him with Olivia's mother and herself when she was an infant.
Olivia collapses to the floor and she cries out for her father. He was not coming back this time.
From the author: I've decided to do a story mostly for my own pleasure because I finally got to watch "The Great Mouse Detective" on Disney+. After many fruitless searches on either DVD or blu-Ray, all that is now behind me. I am very grateful that Disney provided so many of their classics on their streaming platform.
Anyway, this story came to my head just recently and I hope you'll enjoy it, but I am not sure of the title, will have to figure out later. Let's see how our beloved characters solve this case.