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Post by Professor Ratigan on Mar 16, 2009 17:47:54 GMT -5
~~My muse is kinda low today guys, but I'll do my best~~
Ratigan hid in the shadows, standing perfectly still, so as not to alert Basil and Dawson to his presence. The detective seemed focused on the door, and had not yet made any hint of knowing he was being watched.
Curiosity was getting to Ratigan, and he wondered what Basil would do when he saw who his victim was. Oh, he knew that Basil would come. The moment the detective recognized his writing, the same obsession that Ratigan carried for Basil would have fueled his determination to stop him.
But he couldn't help but wonder if the gypsy's words were true. Did Basil really hate her as much as she claimed? Would it be possible for one as honorable as he to willingly leave a victim, no matter what level of treachery he suffered from, to die?
If that were the case, then perhaps he and Basil were not so unlike each other after all.
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Post by Basil on Mar 16, 2009 18:12:31 GMT -5
"Nonsense, old fellow. It will be simplicity itself."
Not that Basil was trying to be funny. He just focused so much on the task at hand that it never occurred to him that others could not quite do what he had in mind.
Accordingly, he grabbed Dawson by the sleeve, slipped under the door himself, and bagan to pull the doctor along until he was quite soundly wedged.
"Confound it, Dawson! This is no time for such tom-foolery!"
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Post by Dr. David Q. Dawson on Mar 16, 2009 18:19:43 GMT -5
"Dash it all, Basil!" Dawson groaned as he found himself wedged under the door. "I told you I couldn't fit! What do I have to do to convince you that I am not able to do what you can."
Groaning at how tightly he was wedged, the mouse sighed and then gave a soft groan as he was finally pulled through.
"Next time, we use the doorknob."
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Post by Basil on Mar 16, 2009 20:22:35 GMT -5
The further into the mansion they ventured, the nearer they ought to be coming to the inevitable danger. Yet, the two mice found nothing. No trap, no horde of cut-throat minions...nothing to impede their progress.
"Curious...most curious. Whatever is he waiting for?"
It was almost as if Ratigan wanted them to find his prisoner. They must come upon her eventually, even if they had to search the entire place.
Room by room, Basil and Dawson continued to move stealthily, meeting no resistance until, finally, they stood before a door of particularly stout construction. Basil placed his ear to the wood for a moment.
"There are definite sounds within. Too muffled to interpret, but the only sounds we have heard since our arrival."
There was no room for even one of Basil's extreme thinness to pass under, so the detective climbed onto a nearby table in order to reach the knob.
"Locked." Pulling out his burglary tools, Basil went to work on the door, turning the lock in short order. "Childishly simple."
As he turned the knob, he cautioned his friend, "Be ready for anything, Doctor."
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Post by Dr. David Q. Dawson on Mar 16, 2009 21:36:17 GMT -5
Holding up his revolver with the hammer back, Dawson nodded, his eyes serious and hard. "As always, Basil," he assured the detective with a tight smile. "With you it's a miracle that I'm not the one who needs a doctor more often than I do."
Thank God his arm wasn't feeling tight from the old wound. If the weather were wet and that were the case, then he wouldn't be of much use to anyone, let alone this young lady they were supposed to be helping. He needed to be at his best.
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Post by esmeralda on Mar 19, 2009 9:57:12 GMT -5
(Waiting for Ratigan to post )
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Post by Basil on Mar 19, 2009 16:52:43 GMT -5
<<Think I can fit in one more post, and then it's up to you, Ratigan>>
Basil would've preferred to burst through the door, hoping to startle whatever villains might be within. However, with the human-sized door, it was quite impossible. Accordingly, he pushed at it as hard as he could, and stepped bravely into the room.
At last the detective had found the kidnapped lady. But when he saw who it was, he froze, open-mouthed, and could only stammer out, "You?"
The gypsy girl was bound hand and foot, surrounded by some strange swirling mists. She was weeping like a lost child, looking utterly beaten and so vulnerable. He had never seen her like this before; where was the temptress he knew so well?
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Post by Professor Ratigan on Mar 19, 2009 21:47:12 GMT -5
Ratigan smiled evilly. Basil and Dawson had made their way into the room. Withdrawing his fire arm, he aimed just past Basil's head and fired. The bullet sailed harmlessly through the air, embedding itself in the wall on the other side of the room.
Ratigan chuckled at the looks on Basil and Dawson's face as they spun to face him.
"Oh come come come, Basil." Ratigan said pleasantly. "Even you know I'd never stoop so low as to shoot a man in the back. Especially when you and I have only just reunited."
Ratigan let another chuckle out. "So tell me, Basil, have you heard from dear little Olivia Flaversham lately?"
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Post by esmeralda on Mar 20, 2009 9:52:48 GMT -5
Esmeralda looked up in surprise when she heard Basil's voice. Her face was still moist from her tears, and her eyes widened in childlike wonder when she saw him. She felt confused. Hadn't he just been here, looking at her with hatred, anger and pain? And now suddenly he expressed surprise to see her here. What was going on? She had a face expression as her life had crumbled to pieces, and she had nothing to live for anymore.
"Basil? B-but you just left! You looked at me as if I was the most loathsome creature on the earth, and then you left! And so did Kovu and Elisa! They hate me too. I don't understand! What is happening?"
Suddenly she remembered what the rat had said about bringing Basil down, and she looked pleadingly up at him.
"Basil, you must leave at once! Ratigan said he will bring you down. Hurry, there's no time to lose! Don't worry about me, I'll survive, but I don't want YOU to get harmed. Please, leave!"
Suddenly she noticed Ratigan behind Basil, and he was aiming a gun. Esmeralda was bound on her hands and feet, and couldn't do anything.... seemingly. But she was a trained dancer, and now she shouted out.
"BASIL! LOOK OUT!!!"
At the same time she shouted, she rolled herself around, placing herself between Basil and Ratigan. If Ratigan tried to shoot Basil in her current position, the bullet would hit her instead. She didn't care what happened to her. She had lost everything she had to live for.
((OoC: The ghosts have left Esmeralda in a deep depression.))
Then she turned her head in Ratigan's direction, giving him an angry scowl.
"If you touch one hair on Basil's head, Ratigan, I swear I will stomp you flat. And I warn you. I am a trained dancer. My feet can move faster than you can ever imagine..... I don't know who little Olivia is, but if you hurt someone innocent, I will have my gypsies to place rat traps all over America. No matter where you go, you will be at risk to get trapped."
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Post by Basil on Mar 20, 2009 17:42:33 GMT -5
In spite of himself, Basil was taken completely by surprise when he saw the beautiful gypsy in Ratigan's trap.
A gunshot snapped him out of it, alas, too late. The detective had appeared before his most dangerous foe gaping like an idiot, a weakness he could not afford to show.
Basil whirled around to face the professor. What did he mean?
"Have you kidnapped Miss Flanchester as well? I suppose you would feel safer facing me while hiding behind a little girl."
The mouse had only had an imperfect view of the ghostly forms that had begun to dissipate, but the gypsy's words gave him a pretty good idea of what had transpired.
"Whatever you saw, it was obviously some trick meant to dishearten you. Use your intellect to combat your emotions." If there was one thing Basil understood, it was despair. "Think of that boy of yours. And Quasimodo. And Toby. Do they hate you? Quite the contrary, I should say."
Had they two been alone, Basil might've added a word or two about his own feelings, but not here, not now.
The gypsy girl tried valiantly to come between the two rodents, although she was still securely bound.
"This young lady shows more courage than you'll ever possess, Ratigan. Now you have me here, why don't we settle our differences man to man, and leave the women out of it?"
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Post by Dr. David Q. Dawson on Mar 21, 2009 4:00:28 GMT -5
The instant that he saw the girl, Dawson was not only shocked and horrified, but he was also very ready to either attack the rat who had kidnapped her, or lead her weeping form away. He decided on the latter as Basil was very occupied with Ratigan at the moment. Though he did send a dirty glare at the rat when he mentioned little Olivia. That girl was like a daughter to Watson and if Ratigan harmed on hair on that innocent child's head, he would kill that rat with his bare paws.
But that was not his duty as a doctor. Intead he would see to the girl. Rushing to Esmeralda's side, Dawson took her finger in his and gently patted her knuckle in an attempt to soothe her.
"There, there, my dear," he said gently. "It's all right. Friends are here. Just tell me what you need and I will do what I can."
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Post by esmeralda on Mar 21, 2009 10:22:36 GMT -5
Esmeralda looked at Basil when he told her that the sight of Kovu, Elisa and himself obviously was some trick meant to dishearten her. Tears where still glittering in her eyelashes, and her eyes clearly showed how deeply she had been wounded. Her lips were trembling when she spoke in a voice filled with pain.
"Kovu said he never w-wanted to be with me, and that he and K-Kiara were going to start a new tribe. E-lisa said that she was attacked by the mob, and they had broke her wing..... you didn't say anything. It was written all over you how much pain I have caused you. I-I never meant to hurt you that way......"
Her tears tricked down her cheeks once again. If they had been alone, she would have added a word or two of her feelings for him, but this was not the right moment. Not with Ratigan aiming a gun in Basil's direction, or the friendly Dr. Dawson trying to soothe her. But how can a broken heart be healed?
She made sure that her body, even bound, was placed between Ratigan and her two friends. If anyone was to be shot, it would better be her. Her life was in ruins anyway.
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Post by Basil on Mar 21, 2009 16:43:04 GMT -5
Basil cringed, as much because he didn't want to admit to any sort of weakness before his arch-nemesis than for any other reason. Still, the girl seemed so very helpless, so in need of protection. Perhaps there was still a chance for them...
He gave himself the mental equivalent to a slap in the face. Snap out of it, man! That way lies madness.
"You must fight it, I tell you. The battle is in your mind. Master your emotions." If only Basil could take his own advice, perhaps he wouldn't be subject to those fits of depression. Physician, heal thyself.
Without taking his eyes from Ratigan, Basil spoke to Dawson. "Don't do anything foolish, Doctor. Remember your duty."
He hoped his companion would recall that he was to free the girl and get her out of harm's way.
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