The Toyshop

Toby finally came to a stop outside a human toyshop, miles away from Baker Street. "Splendid job, Toby!" Basil praised as he leapt from Toby's nose to the window ledge of the shop.

Vivian helped Olivia get to Toby's nose then Olivia held her arms out expectantly waiting for Basil to catch her. Vivian couldn't help but laugh as Basil rolled his eyes and held out his arms.

Olivia jumped from Toby's nose but not quite far enough. Basil was forced to lean out over the edge to catch her before pulling her in and setting her down on the ledge. After shooing Olivia along, Basil turned back to see Vivian perched on Toby's nose. He held out his arms for her to jump into but was surprised.

Vivian saw Basil reach out for her and smirked. She stepped back a few paces before taking a running jump off of Toby and straight onto the ledge beside Basil. Turning to face him, it was everything she could do to not laugh at the expression on his face. She smiled at him before following Olivia along the ledge.

Basil stared after Vivian for a moment in disbelief. Never before had he encountered a woman so independent and capable, and it surprised him that she was only a maid. Ah, if only he had known then…

He began to follow the ladies across the ledge when he suddenly felt something ram into his legs from behind. Turning with a grunt, he saw Dawson splayed out on the ground behind him; Toby must have taken Dawson's dismount into his own hands…or rather, his nose. Basil looked at Toby with a commanding gaze. "Now Toby, sit!"

Toby simply continued to wag his tail and pant happily at Basil.

Walking back across the ledge, Basil clenched his fists in impatience and tried again. "Toby…sit!"

"Sit boy!" Vivian called from beside him. Toby sat instantly.

Basil raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm impressed," he said before turning back towards the glass. "If you'll excuse me."

Little Olivia came over to stand beside Vivian. "You be good now," she told Toby. "We're going to find my father!"

Vivian took her hand and led her back over to where Basil was now carefully examining every inch of the ledge.

His eyes finally settled on a pane of glass near to the right end of the ledge. "Ah ha!" he cried in triumph. "Here is our friend's entrance!"

Vivian and Dawson leaned in to examine the pane closer. There was a small hole in the center of the glass. Knowing it was far too small of a hole for the bat to fit through, Vivian wondered if the glass somehow opened due to the hole.

"But Basil how could he have fit into such a tiny-"

"Observe, Doctor," Basil interrupted by sticking Dawson's pointer finger into the hole.

When Dawson tried to pull his finger out, the entire pane of glass swung outwards, and Vivian grinned.

"Basil, you astound me!" Dawson cried, but Basil shushed him quickly before disappearing into the shop.

Vivian took Olivia's hand and pulled her in behind her as Dawson brought up the rear, closing the pane of glass behind him.

The three crept into the shop, staring around at everything before Dawson walked smack into something. "Oh I beg your pardon, I-" he stopped as his gaze followed what he had walked into all the way up to a huge doll. "Oh my!" he exclaimed. "I've never seen so many toys."

Suddenly, Basil's head appeared from around the doll's leg, and Vivian let out a scream of shock. "Behind any of which could lurk our bloodthirsty assassin!" he hissed. "So please, Doctor, Ms. Vivian, be very careful."

They continued on through the shop, being very careful not to make any noise. Vivian, Dawson, and Basil were tip-toing across a particularly squeaky section of shelf when suddenly…

"CRASH CRASH CRASH CRASH CRASH!"

Dawson started while Vivian leapt into Basil's arms out of pure shock. Basil caught Vivian easily before looking around wildly for the source of the noise. He finally spotted Olivia playing with a wind up band. "What that girl…oh!" Basil cried before gently putting Vivian down and throwing himself on the lever of the toy to turn it off. "Please!" he cried turning to Olivia. "Quiet!" he hissed. Crossing back to Vivian and Dawson, he whispered, "Don't let that girl out of your sight!"

Dawson sprang to a salute while Vivian nodded furiously and took Olivia's hand.

"Now, Olivia dear," Dawson whispered to her, "stay close!"

As they continued through the shop, Vivian hurried forward to be nearer to Basil, leaving Olivia with Dawson. Vivian's eyes were everywhere at once in an attempt to see everything. A smile came to her lips as she saw a very familiar landmark ahead.

Stepping up onto the chess board, she quickly surveyed the positions of the pieces and reached for the black rook at the same time as Basil. Their hands met on the piece as they pushed it to the desired position. Basil turned to stare at her, and Vivian felt her face flush as she whispered, "Checkmate."

Basil pulled his hand away from the piece but continued to stare at her. "Where did you learn to play chess?" he asked in a mixture of surprise and admiration.

Vivian bit her lip. "The princess greatly enjoys the game, and she wanted to play against someone who could challenge her, so I learned."

Basil nodded before turning away from the board. Vivian glanced down at her hand and tried to calm the red from her fur. Shaking her head, she followed Basil before Dawson could say anything to her.

They moved further along the shelves until Basil let out a cry of triumph. "Ah ha! Evidence of our peg-legged advisory!" he called over his shoulder as he pointed down to several muddy footprints.

The prints led to a display of toy soldiers that had all been carefully arranged in perfect lines. Basil and Vivian both stared at them. "How very odd," Basil muttered.

"What is it Basil?" Dawson whispered excitedly.

"Isn't it painfully obvious, Doctor?" Basil asked impatiently.

"The uniforms are gone," Vivian breathed. "But what would Ratigan want with copies of the palace uniform?"

"I am not yet sure," Basil muttered as his eyes continued to scan the shop. "Hello!" he said as his eyes fell on a selection of toys nearby. "Someone has taken the liberty of removing the clockwork mechanisms from these toys."

Vivian stood deep in thought. Something was nagging at the back of her mind, but she couldn't quite grasp what it was. It was obvious that Ratigan wanted both the uniforms and toy parts, but why? Olivia's father was a toymaker and would need material if he was to make something, but what would he be making for Ratigan? Then it hit her; she remembered where she had seen Ratigan's face before, and suddenly, everything made a lot more sense.

"Basil!" she gasped.

"Please not now, I'm trying to concentrate!" Basil snapped.

"But you don't understand!" Vivian pleaded. "I know what-" but she was cut off by the sounds of the toys in the shop suddenly being turned on.

As she, Dawson, and Basil craned their necks to find whatever had turned the toys on, they heard a scream behind them. "Olivia!" Dawson and Vivian cried together.

"Quickly!" Basil called before tearing off in the direction of the sound.

They hadn't gone far, however, when they were forced to dive out of the way as Fidget had set some toy in motion after them. As soon as the toy was past her, Vivian tore after the bat without even looking to see where Basil and Dawson were.

She threw herself out of the way to avoid the wind up knight that Fidget sent next. "Let her go you evil thing!" she cried, and Fidget turned. It was obvious to Vivian that in that split second he looked at her, he may have recognized who she was. Her moment's hesitation was enough; one of the figurine's arms from the band toy hit her hard in the back of the head, and she remembered nothing more.

Basil looked up just in time to see Vivian fall. He leapt up and ran towards her, but Fidget got there first. The bat slung Vivian's unconscious form over his shoulder and began to climb a pile of toys that would give him clear access to the roof. Basil furiously began to climb after him, determined to reach the top first.

Both reached the top of the pile at the same instant, and Basil had only moments to assess the situation. However, his normally logical mind seemed to not be working as fast as another part of him that he had not even known existed. With one look at Vivian's limp body, he found himself leaping at the bat.

Fidget leapt into the air and managed to catch hold of the roof while Basil landed on the precarious pile. The pile tottered for a moment before tumbling down in a shower of toys. Fidget chuckled to himself as he heaved himself and his captives through the window and out into the night. "I got the tools, I got the gears, I got the uniforms, I got the girl!" he chanted, "and I got something extra the boss is going to love!"

Dawson hurried to the pile and began to dig a tunnel through the mound of toys. "Basil…Basil!" he called desperately. As he pushed the last few toys out of his way, he looked up to see Basil caught in the pull-string of a doll. The doll's mantra of, "Mamma!" mingled with Basil's grunts as he struggled to detach his legs from the string.

"Olivia," Dawson gasped, hurrying over to Basil. "Olivia…she's…"

"She's gone Dawson!" Basil snapped. "Confound it! I told you to watch over the girl!" He finally managed to free himself from the string, and the doll's voice faded into silence. "Now both she and Vivian have been spirited away by that maniacal little monster soon to be in the clutches of the most depraved man in all of London!" His face twitched as he thought of Vivian stuck with Ratigan. "I should've known better than to…" he fell silent as he saw Dawson's slumped shoulders.

"Dawson?" he asked cautiously. He instantly felt horrible for pinning the situation on Dawson; it hadn't been completely his fault, after all. "I say," he tried again, "Dawson old chap?"

"Oh that poor girl," Dawson sniffed. "I should've watched her more closely."

"You're not entirely to blame," Basil said quietly. "I should've been able to help Vivian, but I let myself get distracted. Besides, it's not entirely hopeless," he said with a small smile. Placing a hand on Dawson's shoulder, he muttered, "We'll get them back."

"Do you really think there's a chance?" Dawson asked.

"There's always a chance, Doctor!" Basil said confidently. "As long as one can think…" He lit his pipe and began to pace around the small area.

Dawson stuffed his hands into his pockets and suddenly stiffened. Inside his right pocket was the paper he had found lying on the ground before Fidget had stolen Olivia. Taking it out, he peered at the words. "'Get the following'," he read aloud. "'Tools, gears, girl, uniforms…'"

Basil suddenly snatched the paper out from under Dawson's nose and read it for himself. His eyes gleamed in triumph. "Dawson you've done it!" he cried. "This list is precisely what we need!" He took off for the window they had come in through.

"W-what?" Dawson stuttered, shocked by Basil's sudden change in behavior.

"Quickly back to Baker Street!" Basil cried and leapt out the window.

Dawson shook his head but hurried after the detective.

Vivian's head swam as she slowly regained consciousness. Prying her eyes open just slightly, she glanced around at where she had ended up. The last thing she remembered was that stupid toy knocking her out. She seemed to be in some sort of sewer, and she wrinkled her nose at the horrible smell.

"Now, you didn't forget anything?" she heard someone say nearby. She raised her head without a sound, and her gaze fell on the bat and a huge rat standing over him. She recognized him from the picture on Basil's mantel: Professor Ratigan. It was then that she remembered Olivia and stared around wildly for the little girl. She finally spotted her stuck in a glass bottle.

Standing up carefully, Vivian hurried over to the bottle and began to tug at the cork, silently begging it to give way. She snuck a glance at her enemy and saw him positively livid at something that Fidget had just told him.

"BASIL ON THE CASE!" he shouted and Vivian pulled harder on the cork.

"Why you jabbering little-" he suddenly broke off as the cork let out a rather loud squeak, alerting him to Vivian's presence.

With a gasp, Vivian took off across the sewer in an attempt to reach the drain. However, she hadn't gone far when Ratigan's arm seized her around the waist and threw her to the ground before him.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here, Fidget?"

"She was with Basil, boss," Fidget said, desperate to save his own life. "She tried to stop me taking the girl, so I brought her to you."

"But you have no idea who she is, do you?" Ratigan leered.

"Well, boss, I'm probably wrong, but she reminded me of the princess with grey fur."

Vivian held her breath as she waited to see how Ratigan would respond to this.

"Why my dear Fidget," he cried, "I believe there may be hope for you yet!" He turned his evil grin to Vivian. "What an honor it is to have the Princess grace my humble home."

"I wouldn't consider it such an honor you villain," Vivian spat. "I know what you're planning, and now I know where you live. Your plan will never work; Basil will stop you!"

The grin never left Ratigan's face. "You have a good deal of faith in that puny detective," he observed.

"You have no idea," Vivian smirked. "You are no match for him, you stupid sewer rat!"

She had hit a nerve. Ratigan slapped her hard across the face, and Vivian could feel her lip split. Nonetheless, she turned her stony eyes back to his and refused to back down.

Ratigan took a deep breath and regained his calm composure. "So, you believe that you will waltz out of here and tell dear old Basil where to find me, is that it?"

"No," Vivian said. "I fully expect you to keep me held here, and Basil will figure out where I am."

"I have no doubt that he would," Ratigan said, a smile slowly spreading across his face. "After all, Basil would never leave Her Highness captive for long."

"I don't think he knows, boss," Fidget said slowly. "I mean, would he have let her come with him if he had?"

"Excellent point Fidget," Ratigan admitted. "So, why the lie my dear?"

Vivian said nothing, but her eyes must have betrayed more than she thought.

"Oh my…" Ratigan said slowly. "This is too perfect! The princess is in love with that pipsqueak! The only question then," he continued, leering down at Vivian, "is whether or not he returns her feelings."

"No!" Vivian cried and hurriedly clapped her hands to her mouth.

"Ah so he does then…" Ratigan said thoughtfully. "This could prove quite useful…"

He paced around for a few moments before stopping directly in front of her and smirking down at her. "Yes…yes I can just see it!" he said eagerly. "Fidget, you have truly outdone yourself; you've presented me with a singular opportunity." Looking down at Vivian, he put on a look of fake sympathy, and her eyes went wide in fear. "Poor Basil," he pouted. "Oh he is in for a little surprise!"

Sorry, this took a little longer than I wanted to get finished, but I hope it was worth the wait! What do you think Ratigan has planned for Vivian and Basil? Do Vivian and Basil really have feelings for each other? Let me know what you think in a review, and the next chapter will be up shortly! See you all next time!