Howdy, y'all! Ready for the new chapter for my li'l ol' fanfic?...OK, I really can't pull off Western/Southern either. Darn it, I'm running out of clever Author's Notes! Aw well.

FairyTales And Pixie Dust: If you can believe it, it gets sadder. Yeah, I've heard that rats can be incredibly gentle creatures, but in Ratti's experience the only rat he ever really knew well was a total ass, so I'd say that he'd be just a bit put off by the whole group, as racist as that is. LOL, I totes agree that the Basielle (or Dansil, whichever couple nickname sounds cuter) romance was way rushed, but Disney movies are pretty infamous for their blink-and-they're-in-love couples, so I figured a month would probably be the Disney equivalent of taking about five years to fall in love. I dunno, maybe it's just me.

Sorceress of the Nile: Thanks, I'm glad you like my stuff! I agree, he was funny and his death was pretty dang sad. Yes, fangirl logic truly is amazing. Oh, and thank you Terra for letting Basil go.

LuluCalliope: MAJOR awwww! Thank you, I always like to do things a little differently, it's nice to know that it's appreciated. Indeed, Mr. Price was an incredible actor and an incredibly nice guy (or so I've heard, I never met him 'cuz he actually died a few days before my fourth birthday) and he is missed greatly by all his fans.

OK, so here we learn Basil's tragic past. You may want a box of Kleenex handy, it is a doozy.

LONDON 1880

"Oh, I absolutely LOVE it!" Evelyn commented, looking at the lily-white gown she had on. She was at a local dressmaker's shop searching for a wedding dress. She turned to her fiancé. "What do YOU think, Bassie?"

Basil Benson smiled as he gazed upon his fiancée. "It looks stunning on you, Evelyn dearest."

Evelyn then frowned when she saw the price tag. "Oh dear, it's so expensive! I can't ask you to spend this much money on a dress that's going to be worn once."

"Evelyn, you're going to be my wife, I want you to have everything you want." Basil turned to the saleslady observing them. "We'll take it."

Basil was a very happy young man. Having graduated from secondary school at age sixteen and receiving a full scholarship to Oxford, he had worked hard as a chemistry major until earning his degree at age nineteen. Now twenty-one, he was in training to become a detective with Scotland Yard and had the love of his life by his side. Nothing could go wrong.

Later, after finishing shopping, Basil and Evelyn arrived back at Evelyn's flat. Soon after they had settled in, there was a knock on the door. "May I come in?"

Evelyn giggled as she recognized the voice. "Of course, Paddy, you're always welcome here!" The door opened to reveal Padraic Ratigan, Evelyn's older brother and Basil's former mathematics professor. In his arms he carried a little girl wearing a lavender dress, her black hair fixed into pigtails with purple bows.

"Oh, Paddy, Danielle has grown up so much since I last saw her!" Evelyn admired. She took her niece from her brother and smiled as the baby gurgled happily. "Hello, little Danielle. I'm your Auntie Evelyn." She turned to Basil. "Do you want to hold her, Basil?"

"Oh, no thank you, I'm not very good with babies."

"Oh come now, dearest, she's going to become your niece, she should be accustomed to you holding her. Come on, Danielle, let's give you over to Uncle Basil." She passed the baby to Basil, who accepted her into his arms carefully. Danielle seemed fascinated by Basil, who looked down at her smiling. "She really is a beautiful child, Professor. And growing up nice and strong, too."

Ratigan smiled. "I know. Hard to believe she's just turned a year old. It seems like only yesterday she was just born."

Basil handed Danielle back to Evelyn, who started playing with the baby. Basil smiled as he watched his fiancée interact with her niece. Ratigan noticed the younger mouse's look and chuckled. "I know what you're thinking; you're imagining what she'll be like with your own children."

Basil blinked up at the professor. "How did you know?"

"I used to get the same look watching Mary playing with her friends' children when we were engaged." Ratigan sighed as he remembered his late wife.

"Have you ever thought about remarrying?" Basil asked. He let out a squeak when he saw the professor's pained face. "I'm sorry, I've overstepped..."

"No, not at all, it's an understandable question, and you're nowhere near the first to ask it," Ratigan responded. "I have thought about getting back into the courting scene, but with Danielle it would be extremely hard. If it weren't for my nurse Sarah, I doubt I'd be able to go back to work. No, I'm fairly certain that God meant for me to remain a widower until the day I die." He smiled. "But enough about me and my tragic tales. Things are going well for you, are they not, my prized pupil?" Out of all the students Ratigan had ever taught, Basil was definitely the best and the brightest. Throughout the young mouse's university career he had served as his academic advisor and closest friend.

"Yes, Professor."

"Oh please, my boy, we're going to be family soon enough, just call me Padraic."

"Yes, Profess...I mean, Padraic."

"You two seem to be a very happy couple." Ratigan feigned seriousness for a second. "You'd better take care of my little sister, Benson. Aside from Danielle she's all the family I have left."

Basil smiled. "Oh, don't worry, Padraic, I promise I will."

A few days later, Basil was coming home from training with Scotland Yard, humming happily to himself. In just a week, he thought, Evelyn and I will be together forever. He opened the door to his flat to find Deirdre Judson, his landlady and housekeeper, crying on the sofa. He hurried to her side. "Mrs. Judson! What's wrong? Are you hurt? What happened?"

"Miss...Miss Evelyn was out with some friends last night," Mrs. Judson wept. "There was a man there. They say he was drunk out of his mind. He...he pulled out a gun and he...he shot so many mice...including Miss Evelyn. The doctor said he couldn't do anything for her."

Basil shook his head. No, it couldn't be. He refused to believe that his fiancée was dead. But he went down to the police station, where the bodies of the victims were on display in the coroner's for identification. There she was, laying on her back on a slab, a bullet hole in her chest. All Basil could do was clutch her limp hand and cry.

The funeral was held on the day that Basil and Evelyn's wedding was supposed to commence. Basil and Ratigan sat together in the pew. Basil cried throughout the entire service, but Ratigan remained stone faced and solemn.

The day after the funeral, Basil learned from reading the newspaper that the man responsible for killing Evelyn had gone on trial, and the jury had decided that since he was intoxicated at the time, he couldn't be held responsible for his actions and thus was acquitted, but forbidden to use a gun again.

The news made Basil sick. He needed someone to talk to. And who better than the one being in the world that had known Evelyn better than he did? He ran to Ratigan's flat and knocked on the door. "Professor, it's Basil Benson! I need to talk to you!"

"It's unlocked," came the weak response from the other side. Basil opened the door and went into the flat. He almost cried to see his favorite professor and role model sitting in an armchair, smoking a cigarette, looking weary and depressed. The floor was littered with newspaper shreddings, most likely ripped up by the professor's own claws. Pictures of the two Ratigan siblings as children were all around the room. Basil understood that. When his own father had died when he was fourteen, his mother adorned their home with pictures of him to keep his memory alive. "I'm sorry, I can come back if this is a bad time."

"No, please stay, I could use all the company I can get," Ratigan replied. He got up. "Would you like a drink?" Basil nodded. A drink was just what he needed; something to help untangle the knot of grief and despair in his gut. Ratigan went into the other room.

Basil looked around. He was concerned that he didn't see or hear any signs of a baby around. "Danielle...?"

"Out with Sarah for the day," Ratigan explained from the next room. "I figured it would be best for her to be away from me in this state." He returned to the room with two glasses of brandy. Basil gladly accepted his. "Thank you."

"Life just isn't fair, is it, Basil?" Ratigan asked gravely. "First I lose my mother, then I lose my wife, and now I've lost my baby sister."

Basil nodded. "I'm so sorry."

"Fat lot of good "sorry" does me now," Ratigan retorted, growing angry. "No amount of "sorries" will ever bring Evelyn back, now will they? And do you know what REALLY pisses me off? Her killer has been acquitted! What the hell is wrong with that jury? I lose my sister, and the bastard guilty for murdering her gets off scott-free? Where's the justice in THAT?"

Basil was shocked. He had never seen Ratigan so furious before, and it scared him. "I know it's unfair, but we have to accept what the jury decided. I mean, if it were up to me, the bastard would be hanging from a tree branch right now, but it's not up to us to decide what's right and what's wrong. I loved Evelyn, too, but I know she'd want us to move on with our lives."

Ratigan didn't seem to hear the young mouse's words. "If those idiots on the jury aren't going to give Evelyn justice, then I will!"

The professor's last sentence was jarring for Basil to hear, but he quickly dismissed them as being spoken with a broken heart. After all, the Professor Ratigan he knew and admired would NEVER harm another living being.

It wasn't until a few days later, when he read in the newspaper that the gunman had been mauled to death in an alley, his body covered in rat claw and teeth marks, that he took those words seriously.

Basil hurried to Ratigan's flat. He had to confront him about this. If he could get him to confess to a jury, maybe they could give him a lesser sentence for having a good reason to murder the gunman. He pounded on the door. "Professor! It's Basil Benson! We have to talk about this!" There was silence. "Please, Professor, open up!"

Then, the door creaked open. Basil stepped inside. Nobody was home. He sat down on the sofa and waited for the professor to return. He waited all day, and nobody came in.

Immediately Basil knew what had happened; Ratigan had fled the area. He was devastated. Now he had lost his best friend as well as his fiancée. He then devoted himself to doing everything in his power to find Ratigan and bring him back.

ONE YEAR LATER

Basil was on a case with a group of other Scotland Yard detectives. They were observing a jewelry store theft for clues. Being the newest member, Basil was often stuck with the menial tasks, but he was much more observant than his fellow detectives. He just had learned to keep it to himself. As he had learned, the other detectives did not take kindly to the newbie being smarter than them.

Just then, he saw a defining clue that he had seen in many cases before; claw marks on a broken display case. Near the break was gray fur...a shade of gray that only rats had. Or in this case, a rat-mouse hybrid.

Suddenly, there was a shout from one of the other detectives. A large, shadowy figure was in the background of the store, glaring at them with yellow and red eyes. It broke Basil's heart to see the eyes once filled with intelligence and kindness now filled with hatred and anger. The figure took out a gun and shot one of the detectives in the leg, then ran out of the store. As the others tended to their wounded companion, Basil dashed off after the figure.

"Benson, what in blazes are you doing?" one of the detectives called after him. "He'll tear you apart! Get back here!"

"Let him go, Ned," Inspector Greene, the leader of Scotland Yard, told him. "Obviously he wants to confront this one himself."

Basil chased after the figure. "Stop, Professor!"

The figure stopped and turned around, so Basil got a good view of Professor Ratigan's face. "Well, well, if it isn't the great Basil Benson himself. How did you figure that it was me? Was it the claw marks I left behind? The fur? Or the fact that I've pulled off approximately twenty-three heists similar to this in the last year...but who's counting?"

"Please, Professor, let me talk..." Basil started.

"Oh don't bother, Benson, I know exactly what you're going to say. "What you're doing is wrong, Professor. You need to stop and turn yourself in."" Ratigan smirked. "How close was I?"

Basil frowned. That was almost word for word what he was going to say. "I know you're sad about what happened to Evelyn, but committing crime will never bring her back. Things will go much better for you if you just surrender yourself."

"Not a chance! I happen to be evil now, Basil. Have you seen what they call me in the papers? "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind." I am the best at being the worst! And do you know what? I LIKE being the best."

"But think about everything you left behind!" Basil requested. "Think of the many students who looked up to you and respected you! Think of little Danielle...she can't be happy wherever it is you have her now."

"Oh, but that's where you're wrong. Danielle is the happiest I've ever seen her. I never needed society. I should have gone rogue long ago."

Basil felt tears stinging his eyes. "Please, Professor, don't do this. Let me help you..." He started to move near the professor...and fell back after feeling the sharp pain of Ratigan's claws slicing through his belly. The last thing he saw before fading into black was the professor's figure running into the darkness.

Basil groaned as he woke up. He looked around. He was in the hospital, lying in bed. His chest and abdomen were bandaged. Inspector Greene was sitting beside him.

"Benson! Thank God you're alive!" the inspector sighed. "I was afraid you'd kicked the bucket over night. That was incredibly brave going after that criminal alone...and incredibly STUPID."

"I know, Inspector, and I'm sorry. I promise, it'll never happen again."

Inspector Greene nodded. "It better not. Next time you run into a perpetrator who's a friend of yours, like this fellow obviously was, I want you to HANDCUFF him, not try to REASON with him."

Basil frowned. "He's not my friend. Not anymore. And I promise, next time I see him I'll set him behind bars like the miserable slime he is."

"Atta boy! I'll see you back at headquarters once you've healed." With that, Inspector Greene left the room, leaving Basil to stew in his own hatred.

"Very well, Ratigan, if it's a war you want, it's a war you'll get. And I swear to God, I'll hunt you down and bring you in! I'll stop you if it's the last thing I ever do!"

OK, hopefully I haven't depressed the fudge out of y'all quite yet (sniffles into her last tissue).

I hope you guys liked Evelyn...like Mary she's meant to be a very sweet woman who cares deeply for her family. Maybe I'll be adding her in more GMD fics I plan on writing.

Seeing as I'm a math nerd, I calculated Basil and Ratigan's ages here. If Ratigan was fifty in 1897, in 1880 he'd have be thirty-three. And if Basil was twenty-one in 1880, he'd be thirty-eight in 1897...yeah, I just made my main GMD fanon pairing totally Squicky, didn't I?

Yay, more "The World's Greatest Criminal Mind" references! What can I say, it's my favorite Disney villain song, the main reason being that VINCENT PRICE WAS AN AWESOME SINGER! GODDAMMIT, WHY DIDN'T THEY HAVE HIM SING MORE? And I know I forgot to mention this in my last chap, but Ratigan's backstory of being born in New York and raised in London was based on Mr. Price, who was born in St. Louis and went to school in London, hence how he got that super-sexy Trans-atlantic accent of his.

Next chapter should be coming up soon. WARNING: the next chapter will contain a character death, so be sure to restock on tissues.

Thanks for putting up with this sad, sad chapter.

All my best, DiscordantPrincess.