Ahem! Today...
I'm going to tell you the story of the Thousand-Year Door.

An awfully long time ago...
In a strange and far-off land, a big, bustling town thrived.

It was a town where all people lived very happy lives.
And it was said that the town was very prosperous.

But one day...tragedy befell this blessed place.
A great cataclysm struck the town and its people.

Darkness filled the skies, and the earth roared and shook.
It was as if the very world had come to a violent end.

And in but a single night...
The town sank into the depths of the earth…

Many moons rose and set…
Stories of the town passed into the pages of fairy tales…

And when the town's site no longer held relics of its past…
People gathered at that spot and built a new town.

But word soon spread among the people who moved in…

That an ancient city lay deep underground…

And that a magnificent treasure rested there.
Indeed...

This is the tale of the fabled treasure of Rogueport.
Yes, this is where it begins, in the sea town of Rogueport.

The tale of the quest for the legendary treasure…
And the Thousand-Year Door...starts here!

Rogueport, a town of thieves, harbors, adventure, and even some mystery. Right now, the young queen of the Chozar Kingdom, by the name Marielle Nox, was able to to escape from her royal advisor, Matthew. She was a girl hoping for adventure in her life, and not the kind of adventure of being kidnapped all the time, even though that's only happened twice. Marielle was the age of 20, with beautiful curly mint green hair and shining silver eyes. She was wearing her favorite travel dress, which was the color of pink roses. Marielle was right now walking into the town square to take a short look around.

"Finally!" Marielle exclaimed. "I have a minute without Mathew watching over me! He's so paranoid!" Marielle sighed. "I come all the way here on holiday...only to be stuck with Matthew! It's so stifling! Once in awhile I'd like the chance to look around on my own and see what I want." Marielle looked around the square with a curious look on her face.

"But…now that I'm doing it, all I see is that this town has a very...umm...distinct flavor..." She didn't want to be rude and insult the town, but...let's just say, this place wasn't her cup of tea.

"Oh Missy...Missy..." Marielle turned around to see if whoever was saying that was talking to her.

"Do you mean...me?" Marielle questioned. She looked to see a cloaked old woman, standing in front of a blanket with all kinds of items from everywhere it seemed. Not feeling threatened or endangered, Marielle walked forward towards the woman.

"Yes, you Missy!" The old woman answered. "Won't you buy something? I have a wide assortment of knickknacks and doodads!" She explained. Marielle thought for a moment.

"Well..." She was about to say no, but then she thought about picking up a souvenir for her closest friend, who was always there for her. That's when something caught her eye. A small box that was decorated with golden decor and was well polished.

"Well, that's a pretty box!" Marielle exclaimed. "What's inside it?" She asked the old woman. Underneath the cloak, the old woman smirked. "Inside this box holds a map that shows where a legendary treasure sleeps." The old woman answered. "But the box has a magic lock on it that will only open for a pure and noble heart. As you can see…it won't as much as budge if one such as myself touches it…" That made Marielle feel a little uneasy.

"Ooooh..." That's all Marielle could say as a reply.

"I know." The old woman began. "If the box will open for you, Missy, then you may have whatever is inside. I am sure that whatever is in there would be of no use to someone like me. So, Missy...take this box in your hands and see what happens." Marielle was a bit worried about this, but soon realized that it was just a small box. What could it possibly do?

"Um...all right...what's the harm?" Marielle took the box into her hands. She took a deep breath and opened the lead and gasped as a shining light emerged from the tiny box...

Ahem! Sorry to interrupt...
But there is something else you all should know about this tale.

You see, it is not only a tale of adventure.
But a tale of traveling across worlds.

For this tale of the "Thousand-Year Door" will be featuring two underrated characters.
From a world unlike this one.

But how did they get to this world, you ask?
Well, let me explain...

Lightning crashed, thunder boomed through the sky. The final showdown was finished as the two of them fell off of Big Ben. Now, if you know what this is from, then you should know how this would end. However, these two were needed for another purpose. They needed to help save the world. Not THEIR world, but another. So the regular ending didn't happen as planned...

"…He…Hey…! Hey, c'mon! Wake up, please!" Light shined in his eyes and the visions around him were kinda blurry, but soon everything was clear. He sat up and looked around the small house that he found himself in. But when he turned to his right he gasped in fright and moved back a bit when he saw...her.

"Whoa! Calm down, dude. What's wrong?" She moved towards him a bit from the chair she sat on next to the bed he was laying in, but this only caused him to inch back a bit more. "Yo-You…Yo-You're a…" The girl looked at him confused.

"I'm a what?" She asked.

"You're a human!" He nearly shouted. The girl looked at him a blank expression on her face.

"Uh...yeah, I'm a human. And my name is Sam." She said.

"But-But-But-But how are you so small?!" He nearly shouted again. The girl, Sam, was getting really annoyed with his yelling, so she covered his mouth with her left hand.

"OK, first of all, calm down." She told the guest and then continued, "And second of all, I didn't get small, you're just my size!" He looked at Sam like she was making all of this up, but by the look on her face and the tone in her voice, she wasn't kidding around. "So who are you? What's your name?" Sam asked, curiously and removing her hand from his mouth.

He hesitated, "My name...My name is Basil, Basil of Baker Street, and where are we in London?"

Sam looked at the human-sized mouse, confused. "Lon...den? What's that? A new town?" Basil looked at Sam like she was crazy but then asked, "...Well, then where are we?"

"Now THAT I can answer. You're in my cottage, I live here with my big brother, Sebastian. Though I call him Sebii. We live right outside the borders of the Chozar Kingdom."

"Chozar...Kingdom?" Basil repeated. Now this was puzzling to him. One moment he was in London, on top of Big Ben, fighting for his life. And when he fell, lightning flashed and he woke up in this girl's home. That's when Basil remembered. He wasn't the only one who fell off Big Ben.

Sam then heard a groan coming from the other room next door. "One moment." She told Basil as she walked over to the next room, leaving Basil to his thoughts. That's when Basil overheard Sam talking to someone.

"I'm glad you're alright." He heard Sam say. "Your friend's already awake." Footsteps were coming into the room as Sam walked in with Basil's arch nemesis, Professor Ratigan. He still looked the same as when they were fighting on Big Ben which felt like what was only a few moments ago. When Ratigan saw Basil, his fist shook with anger and was about to jump and tear Basil to shreds. Ratigan was about tear Basil's head off when Sam, with great force, was able to pull the Professor off Basil and throw him across the room. Basil was shocked after seeing Sam do that with such ease. Ratigan felt the same, but recovered quickly and stood back up to attack again, but Sam blocked his path.

"Calm down!" She ordered. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ratigan snarled at her but regain his composure and glared at Sam softly.

"My dear, I'm afraid this is matter that doesn't concern you." He told her. But Sam didn't back down as she put her hands on her hips and glared at Ratigan with a harsher glare than his own.

"Well, guess what? You're in MY house, so you follow MY rules! And I wanna know why you're trying to murder your friend!"

"Miss Sam...He and I are not what you call...friends." Basil growled. "Ratigan and I are enemies." Sam looked back at Basil, and was a little confused.

"You're enemies?" She repeated. Just as Basil was about to respond, the trio heard the front door opening and more footsteps were heard as a young man walked in.

"Hey, Sam." The young man said. "Are the rodents feeling better?" He asked.

"Yeah, Sebii." Sam answered. "They're a little hostile at each other, but they seem fine."

"That's good." Sebii walked over and shook hands with both Basil's and Ratigan's hands. "I'm Sebastian, Sam's older brother."

"You seem pretty calm talking to two giant mice." Ratigan noticed.

"You're a rat…" Basil mumbled.

"Trust me, we have tons of creatures around here just like you too." Sebastian informed Basil. "Oh! That reminds me! Sam," Sebastian then took out a pink envelope with a cherry mark on it. "Check it out! A letter from Queen Marielle just arrived for you!" The older brother handed his sister the letter and she opened it.

"Queen Marielle?" Basil questioned.

"Yeah. She's a good friend of ours. She's on vacation right now so I haven't seen her in awhile." Sam answered as she finally opened the letter. "Now let's see here…" Sam thought out loud as she read the letter to everyone.

"Hello there, Sam!

As you know, I am currently on holiday, traveling through the Chozar Kingdom.

In my travels, I came into possession of a mystical map...a treasure map, actually.

It was inside a box I got from an old merchant from a town called Rougeport.

But since it would be too difficult to try to go find this treasure all by myself…

I thought you could help me hunt for it! You will, of course, won't you?

I've included the map with this letter, so please bring it with you when you come.

I'll meet you at Rougeport.

(That means you MUST come!)

-Marielle Nox, Queen of the Chozar Kingdom"

Sam looked inside the envelope that the letter came in and pulled out another old piece of paper. "What do you know? It's true! There's weathered old map in here!" Sam exclaimed as she pulled it out and got a good look at it. Basil, Ratigan, and Sebastian gathered around her to also get a good look at the map.

"I haven't seen this part of the Chozar Kingdom before." Sebastian stated.

"Well, it's kind of exciting, Sebii!" Sam said with obvious glee in her voice. "And...Basil and Ratigan can come along!" At this, the detective and the professor looked at the girl shocked.

"Us?!" Basil exclaimed. Sam nodded her head with such excitement.

"Of course! You can tell me more about where you come from while we get to Rougeport! But first, we'll need to do something about your clothes." Basil and Ratigan looked and realized that Sam was right. Their clothing was in shreds from their battle on Big Ben back in London.

"I'm going to go get some stuff!" Sam said, hurrying off to her own room before anyone said anything else. Basil and Ratigan just looked at each other before looking at Sebastian, who shrugged his shoulders and said, "Hey, once she decides something, there's no changing it. Meanwhile, I'll get you some new clothes." And with that Sebastian left the room.

Boat ride to Rougeport was long and tiring. The ship was quite small, so it was cramped with some other passengers. Basil was looking out to sea, wearing his new clothes. A dark blue two-button blazer, a rag salt shirt, slim fit jeans(Sebii had to cut a hole in the back for his tail), and black zappos. He turned to his left to see Ratigan was doing the exact same thing he was doing, looking out to sea. Ratigan's outfit was different than Basil's and the detective was surprised that the clothing fit. Ratigan was wearing a poplin dress shirt, revolvr pants(which also had a hole for his tail), and nice dress shoes. Basil looked back to see that Sam was fast asleep was leaning against the wall behind her. The mouse detective sighed and looked back at the horizon, but soon he saw town coming up. He walked over to Sam and shook her shoulder.

"Huh…? Wha…?" Sam mumbled as she woke up.

"Miss Sam, Rougeport's coming into view." Basil informed her.

"Really?!" Sam automatically jumped up, almost knocking Basil over and hurried to the other side of the boat to see that Basil was indeed right. "Suge-e!" Sam shouted with excitement. "We're almost there!"

As soon as the boat docked at port, the small amount of passengers made their way off the boat. Sam, Basil, and Ratigan were included. They all had backpacks of their own, carrying what they needed with them.

"Uh…Excuse me…" Sam and the two looked back at the captain of the ship that saw all the passengers leave the boat safely. "But are you three sure you want to come here? It's pretty dangerous in Rougeport." He said. Before Basil could say anything, Sam spoke before him.

"It's OK! We have a friend here waiting for us!" Sam answered with a bright smile.

"Oh...Well, if you say so. But don't say I didn't warn you." The captain said before walking away. Sam looked at Basil and Ratigan a little confused on what the captain meant, but she shrugged it off and walked on ahead. Basil and Ratigan walked behind her.

"Miss Sam, are you sure this is the right place?" Ratigan asked. "This doesn't exactly strike me as the type place a Queen would come too."

"I'd hate to admit it, but Ratigan is right." Basil agreed. "Queen Marielle, someone very important to the Chozar Kingdom, definitely wouldn't-"

"Marielle's not like other royal queens, y'know." Sam spoke. "She's different." Ratigan and Basil looked at each other, wondering what Sam meant. But then…

"HEY! What do you want?! Get away from me, FREAK!" The trio heard someone shouting and looked around to see where it was coming from. Then right in front of their eyes, the group saw a young centaur girl with large glasses backing away from a group of suspicious characters. Basil also took notice that no one around the port was doing anything to help.

The largest one of the suspicious group spoke first, "Oh, come off it, airhead! I know it's tough for you, but don't play dumb with me! I've seen you walking around town asking for information about the Crystal Stars. Well, now I'm doing the asking, so be a good girl and tell us what you know. Right. NOW!" The man grabbed the centaur girl's wrist and she yelped in pain.

"OW! Let go of me!" She cried out.

"Is no one going to help her?" Basil mumbled in shock as he saw everyone around the area was just walking by the scene, minding their own business.

"That's no way to treat a young lady." Ratigan said. However, Sam just shoved her backpack into his arms and said, "And like YOU'RE doing something about it?" Sam hurried off to help the centaur and Basil called out to her. "Miss Sam! Don't! You'll get hurt!" Basil and Ratigan ran after Sam. But by the time Sam got to the young lady, the centaur already had yanked her wrist from the man's grasp, ran away and hid behind Sam, even though her size was quite big.

"Like I'd go anywhere with smelly lunatics like you! Hmph! Not likely!" She told them.

"Wait, you'd rather go with random street fighter and two giant, human-sized rodents that you've never met before in your life?" Sam questioned, but then shrugged her shoulders. "Seems reasonable." Basil and Ratigan looked at Sam like she lost her mind.

"Whuh?" The big one looked at Sam and glared at her. "What do you think YOU'RE doing, chump? You think you can screw up my plans?!" He asked.

Sam answered, "No! I am simply saving this Damsel-in-Distress! There's a difference." Sam gave the strange man some sass as she said that.

The big guy spoke, "Gah! It's always something...Looks like I'm going to have to give you a taste of the old CRUMP-A-BOMB!" That's when the suspicious man charged at Sam as if her were a football player.

"Miss Sam!" Basil and Ratigan cried out, but the most astonishing thing they had ever seen happened. Sam grabbed the guy by the red collar of the cape he was wearing and flipped over her, sending him flying into a box of crates. Everyone around the area stood their either frozen in shock or fear when they saw Sam throw that guy with such ease. Basil and Ratigan looked at each other before looking at Sam, who was dusting off her hands. The suspicious character groaned, annoyed and charged again at Sam. The young adult swiftly dodged out of the way of the tackle, which made the guy even more annoyed. He tried throwing a couple of punches at Sam, but she only block or dodge his fists instead of countering.

That's when the suspicious character started laughing, "Buh! Buh! Buh huh huh! You're fast, I'll give ya that, dollface."

"Dude! I threw you into some crates!" Sam pointed out. But the man ignored her and continued on what he was saying.

"But...unfortunately for you, that means…" It seemed the character stopped talking for dramatic effect before saying, "...IT'S GO TIME!"

"What do you mean-" What answered Sam's question was a huge, and I mean, HUGE group of guys wearing the exact same uniform that as the two lackeys that were following the larger suspicious character surrounded Sam, Basil, Ratigan, and the centaur girl. Trying to keep them from escaping.

"Oh crap…" Sam mumbled.

"PUNISH HER!" The large character shouted. All the lackeys then started jumping on top of Sam and the rest of the group. Basil closed his eyes, bracing from the worst. However, he felt himself being dragged somewhere, and when Basil opened his eyes, he saw that he, Sam, Ratigan, and the centaur girl made out of the giant brawl, unharmed.

"Phew! What a bunch of loons!" The centaur said.

"You got that right," Sam started out, "but what do ya say we get out of here before they noticed they're not beating us up?" She asked.

"Sounds like a fair plan." Ratigan agreed before he and the girls ran off into the town. Basil as still confused on how they all got out without getting hurt, but he shook his head and followed the rest of the group, deciding he would worry about that later. Just as the entire group left, the leader of the group, that tried to deal with Sam before, noticed something.

"Buh-HUUUUUUH?! STOPPP!" He cried out when he realized Basil and the other were nowhere to be seen in the pile. The lackeys stopped fighting and cleared away. The large man looked back and forth to see where the group went, but didn't see any of them. "Where'd they go?! Huh? You! Peterson! Johnson! Sherlock! Did you see them? Did anyone?" All the lackeys just looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"Uh...Crud! They bolted!" The suspicious man sighed.

Arriving in the main square of Rougeport, the group was finally safe, away from their attackers

"...And they were too dumb to notice us walking up a flight of stairs." Sam said to the gang with a little laugh.

"Wow, miss!" The centaur girl exclaimed. "You...totally saved me! Thanks!" She then pondered for a moment. "I've just GOT to give you a little reward!" That's when the centaur girl came over, bent down a bit and kissed Sam on the cheek. Basil and Ratigan stood there in shock, not only in shock of a girl kissing another girl, but shocked that they didn't get one. Basil noted that Sam was stunned for a moment with her face turning bright red.

"My name's Isabella Cent. I'm a student at the United Chozar University. Nice to meet ya!" The blonde centaur smiled. "So, uh...Who are you guys?" She asked, adjusting her glasses.

"Basil of Baker Street, at your service, Miss Cent." Basil introduced, shaking Isabella's hand, only to have Ratigan push him to the ground and take Isabella's hand this time, kissing the back of it.

"And I am Professor Ratigan. It's my greatest pleasure to meet a such a beautiful lady." He said.

"Oh...Why thank you."Isabella blushed and smiled. Then, Sam finally snapped out her trace and introduced herself finally.

"And I'm Sam Miru." That caught Isabella's attention. She gasped and got her hand away from Ratigan's and hurried up to Sam with sparkles in her eyes.

"Sam Miru?! You mean like the famous girl in the Chozar Kingdom?! Wow! I can't believe I met you here!" All the while, Ratigan and Basil looked at each other, wondering how Sam was so popular. "Anyway, no offense, but it looks like you just rolled into town yourself. Right?"

"Well, yeah pretty much." Sam answered.

Isabella crossed her arms and huffed. "Me. I already HATE it here! There are freaks and weirdos EVERYWHERE! It's nasty!"

"Sounds JUST like Chicago!" Sam joked.

Isabella continued ranting. "I mean, I know this place is called Rougeport, so I should've expected it, but sheesh!"

"Sounds pretty tough here." Basil chimed in.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it!" Isabella told the detective. "I'd never come to a place like this if there weren't some legendary treasure here."

"Legendary treasure?" Sam repeated. "We're actually looking for the treasure too!" Sam said, motioning to herself, Basil and Ratigan.

"What?" Isabella questioned. "You're looking for the legendary treasure too? Seriously?" Sam nodded her head as she took out the treasure map she got from Queen Marielle.

Isabella's eyes widen in surprise. "Whoa whoa WHOA, bucko! Whatcha got there?" Isabella came a little closer as Sam showed her the map. The centaur adjusted her glasses as she got a good look at it. She the gasped. "Omigosh! Is...Isn't that a treasure map?!" She asked.

"Yup, the real deal." Sam said, folding the map back up and putting back in her bag. Isabella the grabbed Sam's shoulders and started shaking her.

"You HAVE to tell me where you got that!" She insisted. Basil and Ratigan hurried over and stopped Isabella from shaking Sam anymore. Isabella looked and smiled sheepishly as she saw that made Sam look a little dizzy. "Oh...sorry." She said.

"It's fine, really." Sam said, snapping out of the dizziness. "As to where I got the map, I got it from Queen Marielle Nox." She answered.

"...Queen Marielle Nox? What?" Isabella questioned. Just as Sam was about to explain…

"Great hoogly-boogly! If it isn't Lady Samantha!" Everyone looked to the right and saw an elderly man, around his early 60s, walking up to the group. He had a thick silvery moustache and a pompadour to match it. By the way he was dressed, Basil and Ratigan could only assume that this gentleman was someone important in higher government power. However, Sam sighed and smiled as the man approached them.

"Hello there, Matthew." She then turned to everyone and said, "Guys, this is Matthew Fernando. He's Queen Marielle's royal advisor."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you sir," Basil began, "I am-"

"Yes, yes. Nice to meet you!" Matthew brushed them away most rudely before turning to Sam. "Bit of a coincidence, bumping into one another in this sort of place, hm? Ho ho! So tell me, Lady Samantha, what in the world brings you to this wretched little burg?" Matthew asked the young girl.

"Well, Marielle sent a letter, asking me to come, and along with the letter came a treasure map, which-"

"Hmm? Ah! Indeed?! Queen Marielle sent you a letter and treasure map?" Matthew asked, interrupting Sam this time.

"Yes-"

"And she told you she'd meet you here in Rougeport?! Intriguing…" Matthew began to think, making everyone look at each other, confused. Isabella decided to speak up. "Um...Sir?"

"Well, I would show you the way to the queen, but I...uh...seem to have lost sight of her. So, I was about to ask you if you've seen her royal highness."

"You lost your own queen?" Ratigan questioned, wondering if this old man was actually worthy of his job.

Matthew glared at Ratigan. "I did not lose her, my good man! We stopped in this town to require a spot of fuel for our ship, don't you know…"

"Not a spot of tea…" Sam mumbled her little joke.

Matthew didn't hear her and continued, "...And I only took my eye off her for a moment, but as soon as I did, she vanished."

"So you did lose her." Sam told Matthew.

"I didn't lose her!" Matthew shouted, before clearing his throat. "You know how headstrong she is, Samantha...I just assumed she'd be back momentarily. But at this point, I fear we must embrace the the possibility that she may never return. I've been at a loss of what to do. I've been fraught with worry, I tell you! But...I'm feeling better with you here, Lady Samantha. Surely we'll find her! Surely! But I know my pace, Lady Samantha...and this is not it. I leave this task to you and your friends." Matthew insisted.

"Gee, thanks Matthew." Sam said with a smile, but Basil could detect the sarcasm in her voice as she showed off a fake smile.

"In the meantime, I believe I'll recline at the inn right over there and enjoy a spot of tea, perhaps." Matthew stated, before thinking over something. "...In fact, I highly recommend itm particularly if you find yourself running low on energy or seriously injured. Just drop on INN! Ho ho!" Matthew laughed, but soon saw that no one else was laughing with him. He cleared his throat once more. "...Yes, anyway, a little rest will fill you up with much needed energy from rest and relaxation." Matthew then looked around carefully before whispering to Sam. "I must say though, the rest of this town is a bit...rough. Yes, rough, indeed…" And with that, Matthew took his leave towards the inn.

Isabella, after processing what just happened, looked at Sam and said, "Um...Queen Marielle? Did he mean, like, Marielle Nox, the Queen of the Chozar Kingdom?! The one who always gets nabbed by Kord, that maniac of a scientist? The one you rescue all the time?"

Sam shrugged her shoulders. "The very same."

"Wait a sec'! This is crazy! Queen...MARIELLE NOX sent you that treasure map?" Isabella was shocked, flabbergasted, and at a loss for words.

"I could say the same." Ratigan chimed in, stepping forward. "But the real question remains, how DID Queen Marielle get a hold of map such as this one?" He asked.

"We'll have to ask her when we find her." Sam replied.

"Whoa. This is really intense." Isabella mumbled before asking, "Well, where could she have gone, then, do you think? You think maybe she got sick of waiting and went to find the treasure on her own?" Sam began to think about that.

"It is possible," Basil said, "and if so, we need to find her before some ill fate befalls upon her." The detective stated.

"I agree, Basil." Sam said.

"Oooh! Oooh! I know, Sam!" Isabella caught the group's attention before grabbing Sam's hand. "Come with me! One of my professors is here researching that treasure. We'll show him your map! If we start looking for the treasure, then maybe we'll catch up to Queen Marielle!" She suggested. Sam smiled and nodded her head.

"Alright , let's do it! I'm counting on you, Isabella!" Sam said with encouragement. Isabella blushed and smiled. She then looked at the mouse and rat.

"Are you guys coming too?" Isabella asked.

"Well...Seeing we have no other choice in the matter, and we don't know anyone else in this town, I suppose-" In the middle of Basil's speech, Ratigan pushed him out of his way and took Isabella's hand and smiled.

"Miss Cent, it would be a great privilege to help you and Miss Miru find Queen Marielle AND the treasure." He said. Basil growled a little as he stood up off the ground and dusted himself off. He knew that Ratigan only wanted the treasure, so he was playing the girls into thinking his intentions were pure and good. Well, not on Basil's watch!

"I will accompany you both as well." The detective announced, much to Ratigan's annoyance. Sam, however, smiled and hugged both of them.

"Oh thank you both!" She said. "Come on then! Let's hurry!" Sam and Isabella were already running ahead, and Basil and Ratigan hurried to keep up with them. Little did any of them know, that was the start of huge adventure…

TO BE CONTINUED…