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1[[quoteright:295:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Abigail_and_the_Rats_of_NIMH_small_6031.jpg]]
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3A crossover fanfic by Creator/MaskedBard that links several movies and series featuring rodents, namely ''WesternAnimation/OnceUponAForest'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH'', ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers''.
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5A month after the ecological disaster that wreaked havoc on Dapplewood, the forest denizens face a new threat; scientists from NIMH, who received word from cleanup crews on the strangely advanced dwellings the animals lived in. What follows is a disaster that threatens the lives of every sentient rodent. Dapplewood is ransacked by NIMH's scientists, thinking it to be the dwelling of the intelligent rats that escaped their facility years earlier, that is until they find more than just rats living in an intelligent manner. The furlings, a group of four young forest creatures, are forced to journey alone as refugees, in a frantic and seemingly hopeless search for their families.
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7The complete fanfic can be read on Website/FanFictionDotNet [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8863819/1/Abigail-and-the-Rats-of-NIMH here]], or on Website/DeviantArt [[http://surenity.deviantart.com/gallery/41309950 here]].
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10!!Tropes
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12* AdaptationalVillainy: [[spoiler: Dr. Nimnul becomes much more evil after being let out of the insane asylum and joining NIMH, stalking Penny and becoming hell-bent on killing intelligent rodents.]]
13* AirVentEscape: Justified as they're rodents. Dale lampshades it later on, quipping that they'd never get anywhere without air vents.
14* AmplifierArtifact: [[spoiler: The Stone, which only works for someone with courage of the heart, and is unlocked by love. Abigail is only able to use it to kill Nimnul when he is directly threatening the life of Brutus.]]
15* AnimalTesting: NIMH has quite a history of doing testing on animals; some are relatively minor, for example Cornelius is put on an experimental arthritis drug, however it is never shown but heavily implied that many of the intelligent animals recovered from Dapplewood receive lobotomies, or are dissected.
16* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: Penny becomes this, hoping to atone for her treatment of the animals at NIMH.]]
17* BambooTechnology: Gadget is impressed with the Flapper Wingamathing, built of fully organic materials.
18* BerserkButton: Waggs picks the wrong time to tease [[BewareTheNiceOnes Edgar]] and imply that they abandoned their families.
19* BigApplesauce: The story assumes, like many ''Rescue Rangers'' fanfics, that they're based in New York.
20* BigNo: [[spoiler: After Dale finds out there's no TV at Thorn Valley.]]
21* BuffySpeak: It's common for Dapplewood residents to explain human inventions beyond their understanding in these terms, hence for example, 'monsters-on-wheels' for cars.
22* BreakTheCutie: Michelle pretty much starts off broken, having lost both her parents, having her vision damaged and severe asthma from the gas. Abigail breaks soon after.
23* CanonDiscontinuity: ''The Secret of NIMH II'' is disregarded, and both NIMH and Thorn Valley are re-imagined more along the lines of the first movie.
24* CatsAreMean: The son of Dragon, like his father, is a monstrous cat that all rodents fear.
25* TheCityVsTheCountry: The furlings are FishOutOfWater when they arrive in New York, none moreso than Willy who'd been living much like a feral field mouse up until that point. Dale playfully mocks them for it.
26* CivilizedAnimal: The closer they are to human contact the more civilized they become; Dapplewood being somewhat of an anomaly in that regard. Mr. Ages guesses an animal from the city must have brought technology to Dapplewood at some point in the past.
27* CountryMouse: The furlings to a degree, but Willy most of all (and a literal example).
28* CrisisCrossover: A crossover of several mouse-related stories caused by a crisis.
29* CrystalSpiresAndTogas: [[spoiler: What Thorn Valley is like, with it's many crystals that seem to be used to conduct energy.]]
30* DarkAndTroubledPast: Dr. Penny Stacy, as is slowly revealed, has one. [[spoiler: She's the same Penny from ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'', having lived through being an unwanted orphan, being kidnapped, and then being told she was delusional her whole childhood when she insisted mice saved her.]]
31* DeathByAdaptation: In ''Rescue Rangers'', Nimnul was shown alive in his last appearance. [[spoiler:Here, he gets killed by the Stone thanks to Abigail]].
32* DeconstructionCrossover: The story explores many of the logical consequences of a universe where a MouseWorld exists, deconstructing the trope.
33* DelicateAndSickly: Though cured of her coma in ''Once Upon a Forest'' Michelle will still suffer the after effects of inhaling chlorine gas for the rest of her life, such as asthma and poor eyesight. She suffers asthma attacks throughout the story.
34* TheDreaded: NIMH is feared by all the cast for their gruesome experiments, [[spoiler: and that’s before Nimnul takes over.]]
35* FantasticRacism: Waggs, as in the film, is a squirrel-supremacist.
36* HappyEndingOverride: Far from the optimistic ending ''Once Upon a Forest'' is given, we see the logical fallout from the events in the film; the forest is still dead, and Michelle, due to inhaling chlorine gas, has asthma and bad eyesight. Not to mention she suffers depression due to the deaths of her parents.
37* HeroicSacrifice:
38** Cornelius sacrifices himself by letting the scientists capture him.
39** [[spoiler: Chip and Monty do the same for Michelle later on.]]
40* HumansAreCthulhu: The furlings see them this way.
41* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Discussed, with different characters giving different opinions. [[spoiler: Mr. Ages, and almost all the NIMH survivors, see humans as evil. Cornelius and the Rescue Rangers however have a more balanced view of them. The furlings aren't sure what to think of them. Penny, at the very least, is revealed to be a good person once she starts to realize just what NIMH is doing.]]
42* HumansThroughAlienEyes: When the furlings reach their first suburb.
43* JumpedAtTheCall: When Willy is informed that the furlings are attempting to track down their families, he immediately offers to go with them, just as Abigail predicted he would. Willy explains that he wants to do something other than "steal acorns all day", such as helping the furlings.
44* LovableCoward: Dale is always trying to get out of doing something dangerous.
45* MadScientist: [[spoiler: Professor Nimnul is even madder than before. Being thwarted repeatedly by the Rescue Rangers has [[SanitySlippage not been good for his mental health]].]]
46* MegaCrossover: Of 80's and 90's MouseWorld cartoons, which at least could in theory take place in the same universe.
47* MouseWorld: The entirety of which is in jeopardy as scientists discover more about it.
48* MythologyGag: Occurs when [[spoiler: Martin Brisby utters the phrase "Just say yes!". NIMH II is in no other way alluded to besides this one solitary joke.]]
49* NamedByTheAdaptation:
50** [[spoiler: Penny is given the last name 'Stacy' after the surname of her voice actress, Michelle Stacy.]]
51** Mrs. Brisby is given the popular fanon first name Elizabeth, after her voice actress Creator/ElizabethHartman.
52* NotSoImaginaryFriend: The intelligent mice to [[spoiler: Dr. Penny Stacy]], as it slowly turns out.
53* PeriodPiece: Distinctly takes place in July 1993. This becomes more apparent when the furlings meet the Rescue Rangers, but can be figured out in the prologue when Justin mentions it'd been eleven years since the Rats of NIMH moved to Thorn Valley (''The Secret of NIMH'' [[GeniusBonus having debuted in 1982]]).
54* PuppyLove: Abigail and Willy continue their romance from ''Once Upon a Forest'', though it somewhat takes a backseat to everything they're going through.
55* RageAgainstTheReflection: [[spoiler:Penny breaks a mirror after her reflection reminds herself of how she looked as a child.]]
56* ShoutOut:
57** ''[[WesternAnimation/AnAmericanTail The Daily Nibbler]]'' mouse newspaper is still in publication in 1993.
58** [[spoiler: Dale takes the furlings to see ''Franchise/JurassicPark'', the very film that killed ''Once Upon a Forest'' at the box office, ironically, though the film itself isn't mentioned.]]
59** Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog is name-dropped in chapter 8 . Gadget also mentions working on a rodent sized Sega Game Gear.
60* SpeaksFluentAnimal: [[spoiler: Penny finds that she still has the gift to speak to animals, but she doesn't want to believe it.]]
61* SwarmOfRats: [[spoiler: The test subjects at NIMH become this after being let loose and going after Dr. Nimnul.]]
62* TagAlongKid: Michelle, who throughout the story hates being told to stay behind when they're off doing something dangerous.
63* TemptingFate: Chip refuses to call the Rescue Aid Society for help, confidently believing the Rescue Rangers can take care of it on their own. [[spoiler: He and the rest of the Rescue Rangers end up getting captured by NIMH and rescued by Bernard and Bianca]].
64* TheyCalledMeMad: [[spoiler: Turns out Nimnul, after being institutionalized, was right all along about the existence of intelligent rodents.]]
65* ThirdLineSomeWaiting: The {{Cast Herd}}s are the furlings and the Rescue Rangers, Dr. Penny Stacy and everyone at NIMH, and [[spoiler: Bernard and Bianca, later in the story]]. Different chapters focus on different groups/characters.
66* ThoseMagnificentFlyingMachines: The Flapper Wingamathing, the Ranger Wing, and finally [[spoiler: The Ranger Wingamathing]].
67* WoodlandCreatures: The citizens of Dapplewood are woodland creatures.

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