Chapter 12: Connecting the Dots

Have you ever had a secret that you had to keep? If so, then have you ever asked yourself how much of the burden you can take before the truth comes out. Sometimes keeping a secret is good, but other times it can be bad.

If the secret comes out bad, will you ever be prepared for the consequences? Sometimes in life when keeping a bad secret, it may destroy everything that you have ever hoped for.

June 20, 1897 10:22 p.m.

Everything was quiet when Scotland Yard returned to base and Basil, Dawson, Anna, and the Flaversham's went back to Baker Street by riding Toby. Once they got back, the first thing that had to be done was treat Basil and Anna's wounds. Luckily for them, Dawson had his medical bag and had already begun to treat their wounds. The scratches on Basil's face weren't as serious as the one on his back which he'll probably have a very nasty scar there. After already discarding his ruined shirt and Inverness coat, Dawson began applying the medicine, gauze, and medical wrap as his wounds were covered and was wrapped to the middle of his chest. When that was done, he had already put on his robe.

As for Anna, her scratches on her face and midsection weren't as serious and neither of them were going to be scarring. However, on Anna's left shoulder, several puncture wounds were on her shoulder while slightly swelling and turning into a nasty shade of purple. These puncture marks will definitely leave a lot of scars there. But speaking of scars, Dawson seemed to notice something on Anna's right shoulder...there was another scar that was already healed. Basil also noticed it as he stood next to the doctor and started to examine it. The scar started off at the front and exited right out the back, and judging by the looks of it, Basil deduced that this scar was no doubt a bullet wound from a pistol, but not from a revolver.

Sure revolvers can do damage, but not that kind of damage unless it was a rifle. He then thought that since he knew that Anna came from the future, was it possible that weapons in her time had advanced? He didn't know, but the point was Anna somehow got that scar. The question was: Where exactly did she get it? Dawson had the same question as he asked her where she got that scar, but the only answer that they both got, was Anna turning her eyes and face away from them. With a sigh, this was her answer…

"I don't want to talk about it."

They both looked at one another with concern as they both could tell that it was something personal. Speaking of personal, Basil had already made yet another mental note surrounding Anna, and there was some kind of connection in her personal life. Besides the alcohol, the scar seemed to be the reason why she's acting this way, but the question was: Who shot her and what's the reason why?

There was a list of possibilities as to why, some of which was she was threatened with a gun and became a victim of a possible mugging, or of other case scenarios, petty thievery and other things that Basil didn't want to imagine. Either way, he wasn't quite sure how it happened when she got shot, and as much as he thought about speaking his thoughts to her, he refrained against that for fear he may cause emotional pain towards her. He knew that she needed to rest to recover physically and mentally, but that had to wait because he still had questions that needed to be answered from her.

Dawson then proceeded to clean her wounds with the medicine. After that, he places the gauze on her midsection and shoulder while wrapping her up from the middle all the way to the shoulder. When Anna had already discarded her ruined shirt and coat, Basil had already brought out a brown shirt from his disguise room.

With everything done, Basil leads Anna upstairs to his room so he could speak with her privately. However, after he let her go first with him last while closing the door, it didn't shut all the way, despite the soft click as it was left cracked and opened slightly. Basil pulls up a small table where he leaves the two watches there, then he pulls out a chair for Anna to sit as she takes her seat. Taking out his pipe and match from out of his robe that he brought with him, he lights the match up for his pipe while taking a few puffs from it, blows out some smoke, then tosses the burnt match towards a tray where his desk laid and where a pile of other burnt matches laid. Turning his attention to Anna, he began to say, "Now then, I have a lot of questions for you Anna. Most of which I find a bit curious since this case came to an end."

"Like what?" Anna asked with a curious look.

"Well, there are things that I know and noticed throughout this case, but there is however a link," He drew a line in the air to simplify what he meant. "Between both of you…" He pointed his pipe at her. "And the two watches." He then points his pipe at the watches that laid on the small table. Basil goes around her chair while saying, "Now I want you to be honest with me…" He looks at the side of the chair with both his and her eyes looking at one another. "Have you ever stolen anything before in your life?"

"No never."

Judging by the look in her eyes, Basil could tell that she was telling the truth. However, there were things that started to bother him. "I see," Basil walked away from her while continuing, "But you were accused of petty thievery from Ratigan, but somehow…" He turns to look at Anna. "This wasn't the first time you were accused."

Anna had a confused look as she asked, "What do you mean by-"

"Quite simple really," Basil interrupted. "During your little rant, you didn't just leave me one clue, but two."

Anna was shocked! She completely forgot that when Basil threatened to put her behind bars, she lost her temper and let out a few slip ups.

"The first thing," Basil continued, "is when you described Ratigan as a 'mouse-pretending rat', then you said you were accused of something you never did before. Which means you were accused before, and if I were to wager a guess, you were accused of thievery. Am I right?"

Damn, Anna thought while having a surprised look. He's good. She completely overestimated Basil's brilliant mind of deduction with only just a few clues to point out her predicament.

Seeing that look made Basil smile as he got it right. "With that look on your face, I'll take that as a yes. Now, since I already know that you are from the future, maybe you can shed some light on how you were accused. I need to know who it was that sent you and how it all happened, because I think there could be another connection between your time and mine. The slightest detail may be important."

"Alright," Anna sighed. "Here's how it went…"

Anna told Basil the full story of how it all began for her. She told him that after she left work, a mysterious man with a dark skinned hand came out of nowhere and stole her backpack, resulting in her chasing him throughout the mall, only for the thief to be stopped by a security guard and the thief gets away. Next, she tells him that the security guard roughly takes her to the office where she met Mr. Moriarty, then right out of the blue, she was accused of being a thief, after already telling him the truth which he didn't believe. But, he gave her a chance to clear her name by doing a simple errand. Find a gold watch of the opposite value, which she also told Basil that it was his, by right to claim. Then after that, he activated the watch while giving it to her and she was sent across time.

When her story was done, Basil was intrigued, but he never heard of anything like malls or backpacks. But he could probably tell that these "security guards" were probably a type of law enforcement in her future. Which unfortunately for him, he could never tell what the future may hold in his world. However, when Anna said the name "Moriarty", his intrigued look was turned into that of confusion.

Noticing that confused look, Anna asked, "What's wrong?"

Basil didn't answer her, but instead he placed the pipe back in his mouth, turned his back on her while placing his arms behind his back, and walked towards a window where the curtains were already pulled away, revealing the moon that was still shining down on a beautiful night. He was lost in his thoughts as he wondered, Moriarty...Why does that name sound so familiar?

He knew that he heard that name Moriarty somewhere in his life, he just couldn't quite remember it. It was so long ago when he was younger, long before he became a private investigator, but he knew that he heard that name before. Looking back at Anna, he asked, "Are you sure that was his name?"

"Positive."

He hummed as he started to pace while she asked him, "Are you sure you're okay?" It felt like to her that Basil may have heard that name Moriarty before.

"Yes, I'm fine," Basil assured her while he stopped pacing for a moment to look at her. "There's nothing for you to be concerned about. I just need a moment to think." He resumes his pacing as he was in his thoughts.

This story is starting to take a turn for the strange, Basil thought. First a thief pops out of nowhere and steals this so-called "backpack" from Anna. Then after he got away, it was clearly obvious that he definitely placed that watch inside her bag. But what's even stranger was that the security guard was the only witness who had managed to retrieve it and he never backed up her story when she told Mr. Moriarty the truth. He stops pacing as he places a finger under his chin while humming. There must be more to the connection somewhere along the lines. However…

He looked at Anna and asked, "Has Mr. Moriarty said anything about Ratigan's watch?"

"No, he never did."

"But he did tell you to find a golden watch of the opposite value, correct?"

"Yes," Anna nods her head.

"Hmm...how very odd." Basil could definitely tell that Anna was kept in the dark. Ever since she met Ratigan when she was looking for the gold watch, she was completely unaware that she had to steal it from him, even if it was unintentional. "A man from your world sending you across time to my world with only a cryptic description and a silver watch. Speaking about the watch. Has he given you any instructions on how to use it?"

"No, he never told me how to use the damn thing. All he said before I left was that if I wanted to return back to my world, I have to find the gold watch, that's all."

Basil started smoking on the pipe for the moment while pacing for a little bit as he thought, This is getting stranger by the second. Why would Mr. Moriarty send Anna across time with no knowledge of how the watch works? What was his motivation behind that? When the word "knowledge" crossed his thoughts, he remembered Anna pressing a button on the watch...Then it hit him! "Of course!" He turns his attention back to her with wide eyes. "That's it!"

"What's it?" Anna says with a confused look.

"Mr. Moriarty wanted you to learn how to use the watch." He goes to the small table where the two watches were laid. "He wanted you to understand the secrets of its powers."

Anna remained confused as she thought, Is that the reason why? Then, she looks at the silver watch. I don't understand. Why just send me off to not only find a gold watch, but just to fool around with that thing? She still couldn't figure out the reason why none of this didn't make any sense.

Basil could tell from her confusion as he gave her an answer, "To put it simply Anna, there's more secrets to the watch's power than just simply pressing a button. Which also means the key to getting you home and back to your time…" He points the middle button by using the mouthpiece of his pipe. "Is through this middle button, right here. But, that leaves the question as to how Mr. Moriarty managed to do it. So tell me Anna, how did he do it, besides just pressing the middle button?"

"I…" It never dawned onto Anna, she never actually thought about that for the past week. "I don't remember."

"Then think, Anna," Basil taps the side of his head with a single finger. "Think as hard as you can, you must've seen something when Mr. Moriarty pressed that middle button."

Anna leaned forward while placing her head in her hands and closing her eyes tightly as she tried to remember. It only took her a minute to think really hard, until...a memory flashed and came. She recalled seeing Mr. Moriarty winding the middle button before pressing it, but looking at it closely…

Her eyes opened and widened as she remembered. With a gasp she looks at Basil and says to him, "I remember! He was winding it!"

"How many times and which direction?"

"To the right, three times."

"Then that is what you have to do," Basil smiled. "All you have to do is turn this middle button three times to the right and it could send you home." He places a finger under his chin as he speaks out his thoughts. "On the other hand since neither one of us knows how this thing works, it could send you to another place in time. Either way, it's a fifty-fifty percent chance. But if I'm right, these other two buttons…" He points at the two buttons. "Could also do the same thing as the middle button, which also means there's more secrets to it's power than either of us can understand."

Could it be true? Can the other two buttons do the same thing as the middle button? What was more to the secrets of the silver watches power than Anna was aware of? Neither she nor Basil could figure out what. But one thing was certain though, there were a lot of secrets that have yet to be discovered.

"Now then, to put this matter aside, I have other questions for you which I find a bit suspicious of what's happened today. To put it frankly, let's go back several hours before, and will start with Hiram's kidnapping." He clears his throat as he starts pacing. "According to what I've learned from both your perspective and Olivia's, I began to piece a little bit of the story. However, this is where it gets strange. The first thing was when you placed that broom to block that window, then after that you were ready to swing that mop and hit Fidget if he were to burst through. Which oddly enough, it sounded like you were acting brave during a frightening situation, instead of getting scared. Then, right before Hiram locked you in the closet, you told him that 'he'll take you' and you had confirmed about Fidget's crippled wing by watching through the keyhole."

Basil turned to face her as he continued, "However, I did ask you what you meant by that, and you told me that you went by this so-called 'human instinct', which I'll admit you were telling the truth in some parts of the story. But…" His eyes narrowed as he nodded. "That didn't answer my question so I assumed you were hiding something from me."

He resumed his pacing as he continued on, "Now, the next thing I noticed was during the incident at the toy store. Before we went inside, you somehow managed to discover the secret entrance so quickly before I did. Next, long before Olivia's kidnapping, you were looking at the shelves with so much attention, yet somehow you knew that the toy dolls were stripped naked without so much as looking at them. Then, right after Olivia's kidnapping, I overheard you speaking to Dawson about a list and telling him to read it. Which I find it a bit surprising that you knew that he somehow found that list."

Anna was surprised that Basil knew what he heard from her as she asked, "How did you manage to hear something about that?"

Basil looked at her and chuckled lightly while smiling and saying, "My dear, Anna, you overestimate," he points at his ear, "the keen ears of a mouse."

Anna was once again surprised, she never knew something about that, but like he said, she did overestimate those ears.

Basil once again resumed pacing as he continued, "Back to the matter at hand, there were several other things I noticed. While we were at The Rat Trap, you never even touched your drink, much less have any suspicion of what's put in it. Then, right before the brawl started, you dragged me down to the table." He looked at her again and added, "Almost like you were trying to protect me from getting hurt."

He went back to pacing and continued, "Now, right when we arrived at Ratigan's lair and met the man himself, I wanted to find out what you described about him was true. So when I called him a 'slimy, contemptible, sewer rat', I got a reaction and he truly was pretending to be a mouse. Then after our little escape, part of myself still had a bit of doubt, but I had to find out what you knew. So I asked you what Ratigan was intending to do with the queen and you told me he was going to feed our beloved queen to his cat. When we got to Buckingham Palace, I saw first hand that you were right on the shilling, and that's when it finally hit me. Every single thing that's happened," he stops pacing while holding up a single finger, "has led to one, simple, fact…" He looks at Anna with a serious expression. "You knew everything that was going to happen!"

He goes to her as he continued, "You knew that Hiram was going to get kidnapped, even after he locked you in the closet and you saw him fight Fidget through the keyhole. Which to me sounded like you were telling the truth, but at the same time you were lying to me. The way I see it comes down to either two simple facts: the keyhole has to be this small," he simplified what he meant by making a small gesture with his pointer finger and thumb, shortening it down until it was almost close to touching, "so you probably would've seen a little bit of the scuffle but not Fidget's crippled wing or his peg-leg, or if the other case scenario, the keyhole was blocked by the key."

Anna knew that Basil got it right on the latter. "You knew that Fidget was going to be at the toy store, yet you let Olivia come along. Which I find that a bit foolish and selfish because you intentionally put that child's life at risk, all for seeking out your own crusade of justice just to find your friend, Hiram." Those words actually stung her, not because Basil was wrong, because he was right. It was pretty selfish of her, but she was only trying to find Hiram and she literally put Olivia's life in danger which she would admit to herself that it was stupid, she didn't think this through. "You even knew what was in the drinks and how the brawl was going to start. To add it up, you even knew exactly where Ratigan's hideout was, long before you placed that dart on one of my maps. Now, Anna Johnson, I want to know how you knew these things, because I know one thing. Humans don't know anything about us, all except that they see us as vermin, and I highly doubt they know anything about our intellectual civilization in your future. One good look at us…" He gagged as he slid his mouthpiece across his throat, tilting his head slightly while hanging his tongue out.

Anna cringed at this as Basil had a point. Humans do see mice or rats as vermin and have to be exterminated. However, come to think of it, there were no intellectual mice or rats in her world. So why are they here in Basil's world? This was something that she never thought about.

"Now I want to know the truth, and that truth," he slams his fist on the small table, rattling the two watches and making Anna jump slightly, "has to come out eventually! So don't try to hide anything from me or make-up some believable story, I want the truth as to how you know!"

Anna sighed and looked at Basil's serious face, she knew that there was no point in hiding anything from him any longer. So with that, she says to him, "Alright you really wanna know? To tell you the truth…" She looks around the room. "Back then, I never thought that any of this was real…" She then looks at Basil. "Not even you."

Basil was confused as he said, "What're you talking about? I am real, I'm flesh and blood the same as you."

"I know," she clutches her shoulder where the bandage covers it. "Everything that I've seen and everything that I've felt was undoubtedly real." She sighs again and looks back at Basil. "But from where I'm from, I guess it would've been different from their perspective."

"You're not making any sense. What is it that you're trying to tell me?"

"What I'm about to tell you is the absolute truth, and it's going to be a bit of a shock. However, what I'm about to tell you is going to be…" She waved her hand in a so-so motion. "From a much different perspective, but don't think of this as crazy. So hear me out."

And so, Anna told Basil the truth, much to his complete shock of what she told him…

She told him that he was a character from a movie that her kind watched called: The Great Mouse Detective. It starred him, along with Dawson, Hiram, Olivia, and everyone else. She began to tell him as she said, in a much different perspective. It started off with Olivia's birthday, leaving herself out of the picture since she was never there before, to the part where Hiram placed the child in the cupboard to keep her safe as Fidget burst through the window and captured him. Then, she began detailing Dawson's arrival by carriage, leading up to where he meets Olivia at the boot, but not herself since she never met Dawson himself before she came here, where he then leads the little girl to Baker Street.

She skips ahead on some of the parts while also telling Basil since they both know what happened there and how he was looking for Ratigan. She then tells him about Hiram's dilemma as he was being held prisoner and was forced to make a robotic queen by Ratigan while even threatening to harm Olivia if he didn't comply. Then, she tells him about the incident at the toy store without bringing herself into this since once again, she was never there as Fidget lured Olivia away from them and kidnaps her, bringing her to Ratigan as he forces Hiram to comply since he had already messed up the robot on purpose, but now had to fix it and finish it by tonight.

The next part of her tale was how she knew where Ratigan's hideout was. She told him that she watched as he did a little deduction by using his chemistry set, then concluded that he found out that his enemy's hideout was located at a sewer near the waterfront. Then she told him that he and Dawson were going to a pub called The Rat Trap in disguise, all leading to where they met Ratigan as he had already prepared for their arrival. She then began to detail what was happening at Buckingham Palace since they were trapped, Ratigan had already managed to take the queen away by using the replaced guards and had already called the cat. Next, she told him that Ratigan forced Hiram to use the robot to proclaim himself as ruler of Mousedom, leading up to the events at the battle inside the palace. After that, she concluded her tale at the showdown, but once again let herself out of the story as he was the one who triumphed against Ratigan as he fell to his death at the clocktower.

When her story came to an end, Basil was in complete shock. At first she was talking nonsense, but after listening to the other parts of the story, he knew that there was a connection to what happened today. It was still hard to believe that her world actually created this so-called "movie" that was detailing his exploits against Ratigan and everything started to make sense...well only on certain parts. Still, he could tell that she was telling the absolute truth, no secrets or white lies this time since he could see it in her eyes.

"All this time, you had all the answers."

Anna sighed while looking down and saying, "I'm so sorry, Basil." Then she looked at him and added, "Can you forgive me?"

Basil sighed while nodding and smiling. Despite her mistakes, she has done a lot of good and even helped beat Ratigan. That right there took a lot of courage for a human in his world which was something he couldn't deny. "Of course I forgive you." Anna smiled at this, but then he said while going to her, "But there is one thing I don't understand…" He bends down and asks, "Why didn't you tell me or anyone else for that matter?"

Anna was going to explain why, but a voice interrupted by saying, "I want to know too?"

They looked to see who it was that spoke, only to see Hiram as the door was wide open. Anna knew that right before either herself or Basil had their wounds cleaned and dressed, Hiram had already carried a sleeping Olivia as she was exhausted, both physically and mentally, even Hiram was the same as Mrs. Judson took them to a room where they could rest. However, Hiram was somehow up and about, and wondered how long he stood there.

Basil had the same idea as he wondered how his door was opened, he could've sworn that he closed it. It was pretty much obvious that it didn't close all the way and Hiram pushed it open. "How long have you stood there and how much have you heard?"

"Long enough to hear what Anna told you."

Hiram didn't believe what he heard at first when he listened through the crack of the door. He thought that Anna was making up a lot of nonsense that didn't make sense, especially when he heard that she spoke about this so-called "movie" and after listening to the other parts about him, he managed to put two and two together. Even though Anna wasn't there, somehow she knew what had happened to him when he was still a prisoner to that monster Ratigan. He wanted to find out for himself as he goes to her, bends down and says to her, "But it's not true, please tell me that it's not true that you knew everything that was going to happen?"

Anna could tell that Hiram was having doubts of what he heard, she knew that there was no point in hiding this any longer from him as he too wanted to know the truth. So with a sigh, she looks him in the eye and says, "It's true."

Hiram's eyes widened as he stood up, he felt his heart get stabbed with betrayal. He backs away from her while taking shaky breaths and points a shaky finger at her while saying, "All this time...all this time you knew and you haven't even warned me."

"Hiram, I'm so sorry. God, I am so sorry."

Hiram's face went from shock to pure anger as his eyes narrowed at Anna. "You think forgiveness is enough? Do you have any idea of what I had to go through?!"

Basil had to diffuse the situation quickly before things got out of hand. "Now Hiram, please, calm down. I understand that you're upset."

"I'm not upset, I'm furious! She knew all along and kept it from me! Would you be furious about this if she knew all along?!"

"No, but I will admit, I was a little upset before that she knew. However, I'm sure there is a reason why she never told us."

"And what reason is that?! She knew everything! Can you imagine what I almost did?" Hiram brings his hands up. "I created a monstrosity for Ratigan and nearly brought an entire kingdom down with these hands. Can you even understand the sin that I was about to commit? This horrible burden I was going to bear?"

Basil couldn't deny what Hiram meant. Bearing this terrible sin and committing a horrible burden would've been hard to bear. But he knew that Hiram was held against his will and forced to do these horrible acts, so he shouldn't blame himself. The real one to blame was Ratigan, nothing more.

Hiram points at Anna while saying, "Yet she knew what was going to happen and she never even told me!"

"Well, what was I supposed to tell you," Anna interrupted as both Basil and Hiram looked at her while she got up off the chair. "It's not like I could just walk up to you and say 'Hi Hiram, you're about to be kidnapped by Fidget and forced to make a robotic queen for Ratigan.' Would you even believe that?"

"Yes, maybe I would!"

Anna and Basil were confused by what Hiram said.

"You want to know why? Because I knew there was something odd about you. The first thing I noticed was those weird clothes and do you know what I discovered? Small printings of paper attached on both your shirt and trousers, detailing your size. Which is something I've never seen before. I even overheard Ratigan saying something about 'time' right after he disappeared in a flash of light. That's when it dawned on me...You're not just from your world, you're from another time completely and I thought I would be crazy if I asked you, but this feeling hadn't left me so I hoped you would tell me yourself."

Anna was shocked when Hiram found out that she was from the future, even Basil was a little shocked, despite his face not showing it. Instead, he was impressed that a toymaker was able to figure out that Anna wasn't from this time, even though Hiram thought it was ludicrous since he didn't have any proof, something that he himself could relate too.

"But now I see that you've hidden that secret from me too and I thought you were supposed to be my friend, even after I nursed you back to health, let you stay in my home, given you a room, I even fed you and clothed you, and this is the thanks I get. Was it worth it, Anna Johnson? Was it worth my life and Olivia's after I made you her nanny and ensured her safety?!" He goes to the small table and picks up Ratigan's gold watch, holding it in front of her as Anna was seeing reflection. "All for just a single blasted gold watch!"

"I…"

Anna couldn't find the right words to say, then Hiram said the most horrible words no one should ever say…

"You know what, you're no different than Ratigan, and I never should have found you near that tree! I should have just left you there to die in your own sickness!"

Anna's eyes widened, her jaw dropped slightly as her mouth quivered. The pain in her heart returned tenfold as it turned into glass and an even bigger piece chipped off.

Basil grew an angry look as he stood in front of her and yelled, "Now see here, Hiram Flaversham! That goes too far!"

"No, he's right Basil." Anna said in that same calm but wavering tone in her voice. When Basil noticed that same tone from before at the toy store, he looked at her as she continued, "Maybe I should be dead, everyday a part of myself keeps asking me 'Why are you still alive?' I keep telling myself that one day things will change and I could finally make amends since I failed before."

Since I failed before, Basil repeated in his thoughts. What does she mean by that?

He quickly made a mental note surrounding Anna, and immediately he found some kind of connection. It was small, but it wasn't enough since he didn't have a lot of the pieces which remained unconnected.

Anna's voice began to slowly grow. "But I'm such an idiot!" She clutches her head as the tears start to slowly form. "Nothing will ever change for me because I'll never make amends! No matter what I think of which I think is right, it ends up going in reverse, then I either lose someone or hurt someone in the end!" She looks at them as her tears begin to flow from out of her eyes. "You know what, I don't care anymore!" She quickly picks up the silver watch from out of the small table, then she turns her eyes on Hiram. "You don't have to tell Olivia goodbye because I'm never going to see her, you, Basil, or anyone else ever again! I'M TAKING THE WATCHES AND I'M GOING HOME!" She snatches Ratigan's gold watch out of Hiram's grip and pushes past them both as she makes a beeline out of Basil's room.

"Anna, wait!" Basil yelled as he went after her.

Anna ran fast down the stairs and pushed passed Dawson when he began to hear yelling. Mrs. Judson saw Anna sobbing as she passed her while asking, "Goodness, what's wrong?" She didn't answer her as she threw open the door and ran outside. Dawson didn't have enough time to get out of the way as Basil crashed onto him as they tumbled down to the floor. "Excuse me, Dawson!" He quickly apologized as he got back up.

"Basil, what's going on?"

"No time to explain!" Basil quickly ran out the door with Dawson and Mrs. Judson going to it and watching him leave as he shouted throughout the street, "Wait, Anna! Come back!"

Mrs. Judson and Dawson looked at one another. "What in heaven's name just happened?"

Dawson only gave her a shrug and a nod as he too had no idea what had happened upstairs.

(Phil Collins-No Way Out)

Anna continued to run as fast as her legs could take her. She wanted to get away from Baker Street, away from Hiram, Olivia, Dawson...even Basil. She even wanted to leave London and get as far away from this place as possible, but with her small size, it would be impossible unless she took a carriage which unfortunately were not out this late at night. As she kept running, the tears didn't stop running from her eyes as her memories flashed, showing her the happiness she once had with the Flaversham's, and hoped one day that when she left them, she could finally be at peace. Now all that was dashed and everything that she had ever hoped for was gone, and the memories would be nothing more but pictures in her head.

She didn't know where she was going, but couldn't care less as she went by instinct and just kept on going until her legs stopped moving. When she made another turn, she sees a streetlamp as she goes to it, then places her back to it as she slides down and curls herself as she buries her face into her legs and sobs.

(End Music)

She began to think why did this have to happen to her? She only thought logically and hoped she was doing the right thing, but in the end...it didn't. It made her feel like this was a curse for her, ever since that day happened…

Thinking about that day brought back some hard memories that she wanted to forget. Families looking at her as if she was to blame, someone yelling at her telling her it was her fault. Maybe she couldn't blame them, the constant lingering of that guilt hadn't left her for several years. She even began to feel like this was for the best. To remain alone and have no one in your life except for your own family.

Bringing her head up, the word "family" echoed in her mind as she was painfully reminded of the horrible words that Hiram said. She knew that there was no point in staying in this world and it was high time to cut ties with anyone she held close. With that, she stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She then places Ratigan's gold watch in her pocket while looking at the silver watch. If she were to turn the middle button to the right three times and press it...would it work? Can it really send her home back to her time and size or it will send her to a different place in time? She didn't know, but she would rather take her chances than remaining here.

She slowly reached the middle button and started to slowly turn it. As she turned, memories came and went as they were to be the last good memories before she cut her ties with them…

The first turn showed her dancing with Olivia as Hiram played the fiddle on her birthday…

The second turn showed her the smiling face of Dawson who helped her by hugging her and being a good friend when she needed one the most…

The last turn showed her Basil, despite starting off a bit rocky, he managed to help her through tough situations, and she even got a kiss from-

Anna closed her eyes tight and shook her head from that memory, she didn't want to remember anything embarrassing. So with one last sigh, she opens her eyes...and presses the middle button.

The lid opens itself suddenly, making Anna jump and gasp slightly with surprise when it did that. Just like before, the hand was going so fast that the big hand was going up with the little hand following. The face glowed white as her body was encased in light and she continued to watch the two hands slowly go up. "Anna!" came a shouting voice. She turns her head and notices Basil, who somehow managed to catch up with her.

Anna turned her head away from him, just as he started running towards her. "Goodbye, Basil," she whispered while closing her eyes as a single tear escaped her eye.

Tick-Tock-Tick came the loud sounds of the silver watch as all the hands reached towards the top, just as Basil reached his hand towards her while shouting, "Anna, wait!" A flash of light came as he covered his eyes with his arms. When it came to an end, Anna was gone. "Anna," Basil looks in all directions. "Anna!" he yelled as his voice echoed throughout the empty streets. With a sigh, his face became gloomy as he began the slow trek back to Baker Street. Anna had returned to her own time where she belonged and may never come back to his world and time.

Anna opened her eyes as the light surrounding her dissipated and she was standing at the security office where she left. She could believe it! It worked! She was back to her own time and to make it even better, she was back to her own size as nothing around her was enormous! However, there was one thing that struck odd. Where was Mr. Moriarty and the security guards? The whole room was empty as no one but her was there.

Slowly turning the doorknob, she leaves the office and slowly walks straight to the hallway. Her mind was wondering how long had she been gone? Was it the same in Basil's world, a week? She wasn't sure, but maybe if she's lucky when she gets out of here, she'll probably ask what day it is. Luck was on her side, when she didn't notice after she came out of the hallway, a hand touched her shoulder, making her yelp and sharply turned towards the same black haired security guard from before. She sighs in relief, then says, "Damn it, don't do that!"

"Do you have the gold watch?"

"Yeah," Anna nodded as she patted her pocket where it contained Ratigan's gold watch.

"Good, you're going to come with me."

The security guard grabs her arm, but Anna jerks it away as she snaps, "I can walk by myself, thank you!" She didn't want to be roughly led by this asshole again after he already did this before. While they were walking, she asked him, "Can you tell me what day it is?"

"It's December 13."

Anna opens the lid of the silver watch and finds out that it was 10:30 a.m. Since she knew that this was still 2017, she thought, December 13, 10:30 a.m. Damn, I probably will never understand the basics of time travel.

Indeed it was true. It was still hard to believe that after being gone for a week in Basil's world, it had only been thirty minutes in Anna's world.

The walk for the security guard and Anna was a quiet one, nobody even noticed Anna's unusual attire as they were pretty oblivious since they were too focused on their lives. Their walk took about several minutes until they were outside the back entrance of the mall. On the way down some stairs, the three security guards were already waiting for them, but they were no longer wearing their uniforms. Along with them was Mr. Moriarty, but something was different about him now. He was wearing a grey cloak that covered his entire frame along with a hood that covered his head through the shadows, but she could already tell that it was him. However, when she saw that grey cloak, there was something...awfully familiar. Somewhere...from her past.

She put that out of her thoughts for the moment as they made their way down. Mr. Moriarty takes his hood down while smiling and saying, "Welcome back, Miss Johnson. I hoped you had a fun trip."

Anna didn't answer, but instead she sighed.

"Tell me, do you have it?"

Anna dung through her pocket and brought Ratigan's gold watch. "This is what you wanted, right?"

Mr. Moriarty brought out his hand as if telling her to hand it over.

Anna still couldn't figure out why Mr. Moriarty wanted her to go through all this trouble just to fetch Ratigan's watch. On top of that, how does he even know about it? She wanted to question him about that, but didn't feel like it as she just wanted to get this over and done with so she could get the hell out of here and live out the rest of her lonely life in peace. So with that, she gives Mr. Moriarty the watch.

"And the silver watch," Mr. Moriarty brought his other hand. "If you please."

Anna looks at the silver watch. A part of her wanted to ask him if she could borrow it and learn how to travel back to the past and…

No, she couldn't. If she did that would it happen again in her world? The thought of what almost happened in Basil's world when she unintentionally created a natural disaster which almost killed her and everyone else made her think this clearly. As much as it was tempting to use the power of time and space, she knew that sometimes in life you can't change the past. So with a sigh, she gives the silver watch back to it's rightful owner.

"Good work, my dear," Mr. Moriarty giggled as he looked at the two watches. "You've done a splendid job."

"Well, you got what you wanted. I'm out of here."

Anna turned around and was about to walk back to where she got out, but she was stopped by the two men as they forcibly turned her around to face Mr. Moriarty while grabbing her arms. "What're you doing?!" She protested as the security guard held both her arms by her back. "Let go of me!" She looks at Mr. Moriarty and says, "You said you dropped my charges and let me go if I did this for you!"

"And indeed your charges were dropped," Mr. Moriarty places the two watches in the confines of his cloak. "However, as for letting you go…" He looks at her and gives her a wicked smirk. "I lied."

Anna yelped as a burlap bag covered her head and her vision was filled with darkness.

The burlap bag was taken off her head as Anna blinked her eyes, trying to readjust her vision. As it returned, she looked around and noticed an odd room barely lit. When she tried to get up, she couldn't. Looking down, she notices that she was tied to a chair with her hands bound in front of her. "Welcome my dear, Anna," she heard Mr. Moriarty as she looked behind her. She sees his smiling face while he already placed his hands on the chair, then he stands in front of her and adds, "It's good to see that you're awake and aware."

Anna grew an angry look as she grunted while trying to get off this chair so she could beat his ass for this, but all she did was make the chair hop slightly. "Still possess the same fire in your eyes," Mr. Moriarty chuckled. "Just like before."

Anna stopped trying to get off the chair as her face turned into a confused look. What did he mean by "before" and what the hell was he talking about?

Mr. Moriarty grabbed her cheeks with a single hand. "And I did say that you are a beautiful young woman, that I can't deny." He pulls his hand back quickly when Anna tries to bite him. "I almost forgot that you're also a feisty one, but despite your form…" He gives her a wicked smirk. "Humans really are such dainty creatures."

Anna was still confused and why did he mean something like that? However, the word "dainty" once again crossed her mind. First he says it, then Ratigan, and now she hears it for the third time. Then...something clicked in her mind.

Mr. Moriarty straightens his suit, then walks past Anna while saying, "But nevertheless, the next part of the plan will soon begin."

"Wait a minute!" Anna shouted as Mr. Moriarty stopped where he was. She then asked the question that she never told since she wasn't in the mood until now, "How do you know about Ratigan's gold watch?" He went back to her as she continued, "How could you know about that unless…" She stops herself as her eyes widened. She remembered Ratigan saying that his informant was cloaked and had a hood that obscured his face in shadow. When she saw that cloak that Mr. Moriarty wore, could he be...No, that couldn't be, that would be crazy! Nevertheless, she looked at him and asked, "Are you the informant that Ratigan spoked about?"

She thought that he would deny it, but instead it was the opposite. He smiled at her, then started to slowly chuckle...and threw his head up as he burst into a fit of maniacal laughter. He clapped his hands and cheered, "Bravo! Bravo, Miss Johnson! I knew that you were the smart one to figure out one part of the mystery!" He stops clapping as he places his arms behind his back. "Yes, it is true that I am an informant who can traverse through time and space. However, if you're thinking that I'm the one who met Ratigan...the answer is no." Anna was once again confused as Mr. Moriarty walked past her and was not looking at her. "In fact, it runs a little deeper than that. For you see…" He looks back at Anna. "I was the one who told the other informant to warn Ratigan as it was part of the plan."

"Plan?"

"Yes, the first part of the plan was for both of us to inform someone. I have already done my part long ago and now...so has the other informant."

Anna was surprised, even though her face didn't show it, there were actually two informants, one that was already sent to warn Ratigan about her coming and the other was Mr. Moriarty, which somehow she couldn't figure out who he informed long ago. However, something crossed her mind as she asked, "Do you even know Ratigan?"

"'Know Ratigan'? Ha! Let's just say that he and I have something in common." He taps the side of his head with a single finger. "We share the same mind."

"What?" Anna had a confused look.

"Yes, we both share the same mind. What he sees, I see. What he thinks, I know." He giggles as he turns his back on her and smiles. "It's amazing that a genius like myself is able to increase my knowledge by looking through his eyes and when my knowledge increases...so does his."

Anna's feeling from before when he first met him was starting to happen again. This...uneasiness was starting to get worse. The way he was acting was strange, then suddenly...something else clicked. She couldn't explain it, but there was something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. However, she could already tell that he wasn't being who he was. So with eyes narrowed, she says, "Who the hell are you, really?"

Mr. Moriarty turns around to face her. "To tell you the truth, my dear. My name really isn't Moriarty, that was just a name I used to disguise myself in your world." He lifts his hands up. "And this form has served me very well. For you see, if anyone knew the real side of me, they would've fled in terror at my appearance." Anna gives him a confused look by what he meant. "To make a bit of sense for you to understand, maybe it's time I showed you." He takes out the silver watch from out of his suit. "You already know a little bit of its power during your...scuffle with Ratigan at Buckingham Palace."

Anna's jaw dropped from shock. How did he know something about that?

"But there's more than just simply pressing a button and using just time to do many things. Allow me to demonstrate."

The man who really wasn't Moriarty pulls up the three buttons. Anna watched as the man before her gave a wicked smirk...then pressed the extended buttons down at the exact same time. A flash of light came as she turned her face away and closed her eyes. The moment when she opened them...a gasp came. "Oh my God!"

A large shadow covered her as it stood over her. Her eyes widened when a voice spoke, "Hello, Anna, it's so good to finally meet you...for real."

Anna's heart began to beat with pure terror at this creature. She never thought it would be possible, nor did she want to say the name, but it escaped her lips…

"Ratigan!"

Oh...my...GOD! Ratigan is alive and he was in Anna's world this whole time! To make it even worse, he was Moriarty from the very beginning of the story! How was this possible? Find out as more answers will be revealed in the next chapter!

Now, time to answer some reviews:

Irina68AZ: If your talking about the deviantart picture from Lilgrimmapple. Unfortunately that's only for her and not for me, so I decided to be in more spirit with the movie. Sorry to disappoint you on that scene. Anyway, as for Ratigan getting bigger, let's just say that whenever his rage takes over, his inner beast emerges and his muscle strength grows. Just thought I would make this little scene as a way to show the readers just how monstrous he can be.

Well, I'll see ya'll later for now!