Chapter 17: Rescuing the Queen
At Buckingham Palace, the natives of London, young and old anticipated the queen's introduction in the royal hall. Upon a balcony, two of Ratigan's thugs, impersonating as guards blew the trumpets to report the queen. A spotlight lit up on the green curtains that were soon parted, revealing the robot queen. Seeing the queen in time for her presentation, they cheered and clapped, unknowing that this queen was a robot.
The robot came to a stop once it stood on stage and the audience ceased clapping, so they could listen to her speech.
"On this most August occasion," the toy queen said, raising its left arm, "We are gathered here, not only to commemorate my sixty years as Queen, but to honor one…"
No one in the crowd expected anything misleading with the phony guards. One guard smoked a cigar and his friend raised eyebrows at each other. Behind the curtains, Ratigan saw everything was going his way.
"…of true noble stature, that is…" Hiram said.
Ratigan glanced at the vulnerable Hiram as the father operated the controls and read the words on the cards Bill was holding to recite them. In the process, a guard pointed his gun at the poor toymaker to make him go on. Hiram had a bad feeling about this from the start, but it was the only way to save his children and friends.
"I present to you, a statesman among mice," Hiram read and Bill changed to a different card as the widower continued, "…a gifted leader…"
"…A crusader for justice…" the robot continued its speech by placing its hand over its heart.
…
Down the hallway, the real queen was being gagged and bound by ropes as she was pulled away by Fidget.
"Over here, fatty! You weigh a ton, toots!" Fidget snickered manically as he bolted out one door and the queen muffled as she regarded the cat in fright. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty. Time for mouse chow!"
Felicia hopped up and down enthusiastically at her upcoming meal.
…
Back in the great hall, the robot queen continued her speech, making the crowd more thrilled.
"A majestic mountain of humility," the robot queen gestured toward the curtains. "And my new royal consort…"
The crowd was even more eager and wondered who it would be. The answer came plain as the robot queen announced:
"Professor Ratigan!"
Right on cue, the rat presented himself in overly rich royal garments. A crown positioned on his head, with many gold medals alongside purple robes, with a belt with the letter "R" engraved in the middle. On the left side of his belt was a sword and he felt like a king. He hoped his presentation would go well for the citizens.
The crowd gasped in alarm at the professor because there was no doubt he'd give out a diabolical speech. They couldn't believe their queen would allow a villainous felon like Ratigan himself be their ruler.
A little boy mouse from the audience angrily blew a raspberry at Ratigan, but his mother, concerned for her son, covered his mouth.
...
Meanwhile, Basil, Dawson, Olivia, Eve, Andrew, and Clover climbed up the sewer grate and made it to the cobblestone street. The detective whistled for Toby, who barked, dashed behind a building, and splashed through a puddle on his way to them.
"Toby!" Basil cried.
Dawson, Olivia, Andrew, Clover, and Eve came up towards the basset hound, who licked the little girl across her cheek. Olivia chuckled and almost fell, but Dawson caught her.
"Toby, boy! We missed you!" Eve exclaimed.
"Long time no see!" Andrew said.
"Great to see you again!" Clover shouted happily.
"The game's afoot, Toby," the detective announced seriously, "Our Queen is in mortal danger!"
At first, Toby panted because he was happy to see them, but grasping the situation made him growl. He hung his head and turned his left ear into stairs, so the six of them climbed up to his head.
Basil stood on top of Toby's neck, while Andrew sat next to Dawson and Olivia on the dog's collar. Clover sat with Eve.
"To Buckingham Palace!" Basil ordered, pointing to where they needed to go and Toby took off to their destination.
...
"Thank you, your Majesty," Ratigan said gratefully as he bowed before the robot queen and stood up, reaching for a scroll inside one of his robes. "And now, as your new royal consort, I have a few slight suggestions." With a wicked, contented smile, he unrolled the scroll, which was about hundreds of feet in length. Even one of his henchmen smiled as he pulled a blue curtain to let the parchment roll on its merry way.
Ratigan put on his reading glasses and started reading his list of brand-new rules, saying, "Item one…"
...
The queen was still being carried by the fiendish bat through the hallway, but she bravely resisted being fed to the cat by kicking the creature's head.
"Stop it!" the bat shouted.
Unfortunately, he continued on his way to Ratigan's cat, no matter how heavy she was.
...
Through the London streets, Clover held Olivia protectively in her arms and Eve held Andrew in hers in case she fell off Toby, who took off like a rocket. Yet, a carriage pulled by two horses was heading their way, but Toby sped onward, causing the horses to halt in panic, neighing as the human coachman tried to calm them. Then, Basil and the others realized Dawson was no longer by their side.
...
Back in the palace, Fidget finally made it to the balcony and was getting closer to Felicia, who waited diligently for her soon-to-be meal. Fidget snickered at the thought of the queen being eaten.
At the front gates, Toby came to a stop at their destination at Buckingham Palace, triumphantly barking. He brought the five mice and a bat over to a cracked pillar, which led them to the palace. Toby held up his nose for them, letting them hop off him one by one and the six of them raced through the crack.
…
Back on the balcony, Fidget was about to overthrow the queen from above his head into Felicia's hungry mouth.
"Open wide!" the bat shouted.
The queen looked down in fright at the jaws of death and the slimy tongue, preparing to devour her.
In the hallway, Basil ran ahead of Dawson, Olivia, Andrew, Eve, and Clover, who rushed over to the scene with courage to save Queen Mousetoria. "Bye, bye!" Fidget cackled as he almost threw the queen in Felicia's mouth, but Basil took her from him, making him fall off the balcony.
Fidget nearly fell in Felicia's mouth, who didn't mind who she ate, but he hopped up to prevent himself from being eaten.
The bat grabbed onto the railing of the balcony, shooing the cat with his good foot. "Down, down, kitty, down!" he cried.
Loud barking was heard and Felicia turned to see who it was. Toby growled as he charged after her and she yelped at the sight of him. He began to chase her away from the palace. The queen was saved and thanks to Basil, Dawson, Olivia, Eve, Andrew, and Clover. Now all that was left to do was to get Hiram back.
…
"Item 96," Ratigan said and laughed as he continued, "A heavy tax should be levied against all parasites and spongers." He frowned at the elderly couple hugging fearfully of his fury as he said, "Such as the elderly…" To the handicap mice with canes. "The infirm…" More gasps came as he lectured them harshly. "And especially…" Ratigan giggled and added with his head upside down, seeing a child, who blew a raspberry at him before, along with his mother. "Little children."
The boy scowled bravely at him, but his mother pulled him away protectively from the rat.
The elderly mouse who carried a cane went up to him to disagree. "That's ridiculous!" he protested, shaking his fist, "You're insane!"
Ratigan's smile changed to a frown and turned rightside up. "Perhaps, I haven't made myself clear," he said, seizing the cane from the old man and going insane.
"I have the power!" Ratigan exclaimed, breaking apart the cane.
"Of course you do!" agreed the toy queen.
The professor jumped onto one of the white pillars as he said, "I am supreme!"
"Only you!" the toy mouse agreed once again.
"This is my kingdom!" Ratigan shouted and laughed inhumanly as his shadow emerged over the audience and they shrank in fear.
Unnoticed by Ratigan, a rescue crew was there to save Mr. Flaversham, who was controlling the robot queen against his will, while the two guards kept him hostage.
Ratigan steadied himself and cleared his throat, sitting next to the robot queen. "That is, of course, with Your Highness' permission."
At first, no response. Thinking the robot was broken, the rat gently hit it and it went back to normal.
"Most assuredly…" the robot said, which made him smile in gratification. Then the robot's eyebrows narrowed in wrath, adding, "You insidious fiend!"
Ratigan's expression changed from ease to astonishment. "What?"
The audience listened carefully in uncertainty.
"You're not my royal consort!" the robot queen shouted with anger.
Ratigan faked a smile to mask his confusion. "Oh what a sense of humor," he said, covering the robot's mouth.
The robot freed itself from the professor's grasp and continued out of resistance, "You're a cheat, fraud, and imposter!"
Ratigan covered its mouth, growing angry with the robot. Thinking about his captive, he hissed, "Flaversham!" Then he smirked innocently.
But Hiram was no longer in control of the robot queen, so Basil could take over to reveal his enemy's deceit. "A corrupt, vicious, demented, low-life scoundrel! There's no evil scheme you wouldn't concoct!" Basil said, through the microphone.
Olivia and her father hugged and Clover and Andrew joined them as Eve tearfully smiled at the reunion. Dawson tied up Bill and his buddy and the real queen did the same to Fidget, making the rope tighter for trying to kill her.
This time, Basil got back at Ratigan for shaming him in the sewers. The detective pulled the controls to shatter the robot.
The robot's head burst out and bit Ratigan in the nose. The rat clasped onto its head to force it back down, but the robot blasted out its arms and struck him in the stomach. Getting tired of this conundrum, Ratigan hid it beneath him and everyone in the crowd started to understand that they've been lied to, giving him a look of hatred.
"No depravity you wouldn't commit!"
The robot hopped up from under the rat and he descended violently on the floor.
"You professor…" Basil continued pulling the controls of the robot back and forth behind the curtains as he added one last piece to humiliate his arch-nemesis.
Outside, the toy queen began to fall apart, launching bolts, nuts, and wires all over. The eyes and teeth and its neck stretching were the last things the terrified rat had seen. "...are none other than a foul stentious rodenscious! Commonly known as a…"
Ratigan's face reddened with rage, knowing what the robot was going to call him and clutched onto the wired neck. "Don't say it!" he fumed.
"SEWER RAT!" Basil tore from the curtains with Clover behind him.
"AGGGGGGHHHHH!" Ratigan screamed as if in pain.
"Arrest that fiend!" Basil ordered.
Ratigan stood petrified, stunned that his enemy was still alive.
Basil, Dawson, Queen Mousetoria, and Mr. Flaversham as they grappled onto Ratigan, attacking him. The enraged also suppressed Ratigan's thugs.
Olivia and Andrew, who stayed behind the curtains, peering through the scene, but little did they suspect that a bat managed to break free from his ropes to capture them.
…
In the meantime, Felicia was running away from Toby as he proceeded his chase. The only sounds that were discovered in the streets were a cat shrieking and a dog barking. Felicia hopped over some bushes and blocks and crawled up to a stonewall. Toby approached the wall, but he couldn't go after her, so he just barked furiously at his kitty rival.
Felicia smirked down at her dog enemy and hissed scornfully at him. Then, she lifted her backside and her tail straight up. Then, she confidently hopped off the fence, but this only lasted for seconds before meowing rang out as she lost her bow and fur. As a result, she had no idea what was on the other side of the wall and what destroyed her was the royal guard dogs.
...
Back in Buckingham Palace, the brawl still proceeded until Fidget whistled to get Ratigan's attention, and the fight came to an abrupt halt. Fidget, who was on top of the balcony, was holding Olivia and Andrew high in the air, exclaiming, "The kids, the kids!"
Hiram, Clover, and Eve looked up at them, stunned to see them being held captive once more.
Ratigan bounced onto each individual's head to come over to Fidget and the children and Eve and Clover followed, but to be held captive with Andrew and Olivia.
Basil, Dawson, and Hiram hurried over to Ratigan hurriedly, but came to a stop when Ratigan threatened, "Stay where you are!" He dangled Olivia by her shirt with one hand and wrapped his other arm around Clover's, Andrew's, and Eve's waists. "Or the girls and boy die!" Ratigan vanished from the curtains and drew them away from their friends and family.
"Hurry Dawson!" Basil cried as he tucked Dawson's sailor shirt and began to chase Ratigan with Dawson and Hiram following him.
Outside, the detective pointed toward the sky, shouting, "There he goes!"
In the sky was Ratigan's airship, soaring away from the palace. At that moment Basil had a plan: The only way to chase Ratigan and get the girls and boy back was to fly after the rat. He climbed up the flagpole and clutched onto a giant rope.
"Dawson, Flaversham! Gather up those balloons!" Basil commanded the doctor and toymaker, motioning towards the balloons, which were bound to the fences. The detective untied the rope, pulling down the London flag. The trio built another aircraft, hoping they'd save the three girls and boy in time.