Stripped
Disclaimer: I own Ben, Chester Meroff, Ms. Welsh and her kids, and Kreela. The rest is Disney's.
As Basil sat in his armchair, smoking his pipe and mulling over where Chester's whereabouts could be, Ben and Kreela stood in front of the fireplace, talking quietly among themselves.
"So, do you have any idea where he could be? With your Force powers and all I think it would be easy to find him," Ben said, watching the fire flicker.
Kreela stayed silent for a moment, the glow from the fire making the lines in her face seem deeper then usual.
"It is not that easy young one. He is more difficult to track then most other mice. Being a Force Sensitive, he can block any other Force user out," She said, turning her knowing gaze towards Ben.
"Well, that just adds more twists to this all ready twisted search," Ben mumbled, turning towards Basil.
"Any luck yet?" She asked only to receive a wave of the hand from the Detective.
"I'd take that as a no," She said dejectedly, turning back towards the fire and continued staring into it as if it had the answers they were looking for. Kreela then stiffened, her eyes widened slightly.
"Someone is close by," She said.
"James. He must've followed me here," Ben said, putting her newly uncovered powers to use.
"James Welsh, the oldest child of Marie Welsh. I should have known," Kreela muttered, more to herself then anyone else.
"Isn't that that lady who let me stay at her place?" Ben asked.
"Precisely. She, along with a few others, runs a series of safe houses for Force Sensitive rodents until they can go about safely," Kreela explained as she briskly waked towards the door, Ben tagging closely behind her.
"Sort of like an underground railroad," Ben thought to herself.
"Yes, something along that line," Kreela answered as she opened the door.
"Wait, did you send her to find me? Our meeting one another seemed too convenient to be a coincidence," Ben said, stopping Kreela in the doorway.
"Yes, young one, I did," Kreela answered briskly as she walked out into the streets.
"Now young one, stay by me and all will go well," Kreela whispered to Ben, walking towards the alley, where James just happened to be.
"I know you are there young Welsh, show yourself," Kreela said in a tone of voice that left no room for objections.
"So you finally sensed I was here," James said, coming out from behind the garbage can he was crouched behind.
"You are not that hard to sense, we were just preoccupied with more important matters," Kreela told him.
"I was sent by my Mother-" James started to explain before Kreela raised a paw to silence him.
"To protect young Ben, I am aware of that. Rest assured that she has all the protection that she needs," Kreela told him, subtly suggesting that he be on his way.
"Nevertheless, I have my instructions, and I wish to follow them as close as I can," James told Kreela, looking Ben straight in her eyes. Ben shifted uncomfortably and turned her gaze to her feet.
Kreela sighed, annoyed at James's persistence. "Very well young Welsh you shall join us in our hunt, but mark my words if any harm comes to young Ben, you will be the prime suspect," Kreela warned, her white hot gaze burning into his.
"I assure you, no harm will come to her," He told her.
Kreela just gave him one last warning look before shifting her attention back to Ben.
"Now then, young Welsh, do you have anything you wish to share with young Ben?" Kreela asked, not taking her eyes off of Ben.
"Yes. I have a clue to Chester's whereabouts," He stated.
"What? Why didn't you say anything earlier!" Ben shouted at him, fighting down the urge to go over and land a good punch on his jaw.
"Because, I just found it out while we were at the Rat Trap," He told her.
"And you didn't go in the apartment and tell us? You know, we're not the only ones trying to figure out where that bastard is!" Ben yelled.
"Calm yourself young one. We will take him into the Detective's home and he will tell him his discovery," Kreela told Ben, casting a glance in James's direction saying if he refused, Ben wasn't the only one who was going to resort to violence.
"As you wish. Lead the way," He said as Ben and Kreela walked back to the apartment.
"Where have you two been? You were supposed to be here trying to figure this whole mess out, not out and about," Basil snapped at them when they came into the door.
"We found someone who has an idea of Chester's location," Ben told him, sensing his annoyance go down as she explained.
"Well?" Basil inquired, looking at James.
Isn't so nice of me to leave you with a cliffhanger after such a long wait?
Sorry if this isn't a good chapter. It's been awhile since I worked on this.
And to answer a reviewer's question, this isn't a crossover. I just added some Jedi to make it more interesting ;)
Sit tight my friends, more is on its way!