THE FACE IN THE MIRROR
AUTHOR'S NOTES: All GMD characters belong to Disney. Basil, Dawson, Mrs. Judson, & Ratigan also belong to Eve Titus. Henry Mousini belongs to me, as well as my versions of Ratigan's three thugs (whom you'll meet in Chapter 4).
Chapter 1: The Strange Mirror
Ratigan took a breath of the crisp August air, then exhaled deeply, before bursting into a wide smile. 5 years had passed since his reformation (along with his sidekick Fidget, of course), & Ratigan couldn't have felt happier about it. It was wonderful to go out into the world & say "hello" to his fellow rodents without being cursed & abandoned on the street. It was wonderful to have someone mention his name without getting a hateful reaction. It was wonderful to be good on the whole, & to be having a great feeling whenever he helped a mouse in need. His new life was so lovely, & nothing could change that.
Suddenly, Ratigan's blissful reverie was interrupted by the sensation of crashing & tumbling to the ground. Getting up on his tiny feet, Ratigan—who was dressed in his royal garb as usual—looked up to see who he had bumped into. It was a mouse, almost his size, but a tad smaller. He was rather lanky, & he was dressed in brightly colored clothes (mainly in fuschia, turquoise, & blue) from tip to toe. On the top of his head, he wore a black toupee with a straw hat, & a mole could be seen on his left cheek.
"Ah, Ratigan," the mouse spoke in a suave voice, smiling darkly. "Good to see you on this fine day! How's your family doing?"
"Don't play games with me, Henry Mousini," Ratigan said flatly. "I'm up to your little tricks. Now what do you want from me this time? My gold? My jewels? My little sisters for your magic acts?"
Henry laughed a bit. "Ratigan, you amuse me!" he said between chuckles. "You must have picked up that clever sense of humor from your father...actually, I'm taking a temporary break from the circus life. You see, I want to get a little time off for pursuing my side hobby."
"Which would be...?" Ratigan questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"Why, selling mirrors, of course!" was Henry's happy reply. Gesturing to the broad assortment of looking glasses, the villainous magician gave an oily smile as he asked, "So, is there anything you see that you like?"
"Well, I do need a mirror for my room," Ratigan said, "since Fidget broke my last one during a game of pok-ta-pok..." With that, the 22-year-old rat began to browse around. But he didn't have much luck at first, for the mirrors appeared to be rather run-of-the-mill. Nothing you couldn't find in a furniture store. But eventually, there was something that caught Ratigan's eye; it was a mirror, but not just any old mirror. This one appeared to be the most beautiful of all—it was bordered in brilliant bullion, with ornate designs etched in the glossy gold frame. Gorgeous multicolored jewels were also encrusted in between the etchings, & on the very top was a gem with greenish-gold coloring. It was beautiful—& perfect for Ratigan's room!
"I'll take it!" the rat abruptly called out, pointing to the mirror. Smiling once more, Henry went over to Ratigan, & extended his paw. Rolling his eyes & sighing in exasperation, Ratigan asked wearily, "How much is it?"
"Retail is for 20 pounds," Henry replied, "but for you, I'll take 1."
"That's a bargain I can't refuse," Ratigan said with a smile of his own, as he dug through his robes pocket & handed Henry a shiny new pound. Taking the mirror in his arms & grunting in effort, Ratigan then struggled to carry the heavy looking glass as he made his way home.
Lower 221B Baker Street was starting to get awfully rowdy. In the living room, the Baker Street Kids were running around, shouting loudly as they chased each other about the room. The grownups, as you can expect, were frantically trying to calm things down. Only when Ratigan burst through the door & whistled piercingly did everyone stop what they were doing.
"Oh, Ratigan," Mrs. Judson said with a smile, "back from your walk already?"
"Yep," Ratigan replied, walking down the mini-staircase. "And guess what I got from Henry Mousini for only a pound?" He placed the mirror onto the floor for all the family to see. And see they did, gaping & gasping in awe at the grandiose looking glass.
"You got that from Henry Mousini?" Dr. Dawson blurted in shock. "I'm surprised he didn't sell it for much higher. This thing must cost a fortune, not to mention we all know how greedy he is for money!"
"Well, just be happy Ratigan can finally groom himself without having to hog my bathroom," Basil said, getting on his knees & starting to inspect the mirror scrupulously. When Ratigan asked Basil what he was doing, the detective silenced him, before muttering to himself, "This mirror is around 9 years old, yet somehow, it has managed to stay in near-prime condition. The designs & gems have been placed in the frame with the help of a master craftsmouse. And speaking of gems," he added, noticing the greenish-gold jewel on top.
"What did you find, Basil?" Ratigan asked flatly.
"Well," the detective replied with a nervous grin, "I thought I saw a familiar jewel in your mirror frame...but it couldn't be! That gem hasn't been seen for over a score since it was stolen from the London Mouseum in 1882! There's no possible way!"
"What are you talking about, Basil?" everyone asked in unison. To which the detective replied, "Let me ask you a question: have any of you ever heard of the Cat's Eye?"
For a while, no one responded. That is, until Victoria raised her paw & shouted, "I have!"
"All right, then," Basil said, moving aside to pick up the mirror & bring it over to Ratigan. "Why don't you care to tell us about it, Victoria, darling?" Victoria cleared her throat, & spoke: "You see, Aunt Mousetoria & I learned about the Cat's Eye during our geology lessons at the palace. According to my old teacher Mr. Macauve, the stone was carved out of a volcano in 1835 by a tribe of Maori mice in New Zealand, who generously gave it to the London Mouseum as soon as they had found it. It was stolen from the mouseum 47 years later by an allegedly unknown thief—most likely, Henry Mousini acquired it from the black market so he could use it, what with its magic powers & all..."
"Magic powers?" the Baker Street Family echoed.
"That's what Mr. Macauve said, anyway," Victoria replied sheepishly. "But the deep scratch that gave the stone an appearance of a cat's eye, hence its name, is rumored to hold powers of an unbelievable nature. I have yet to see that, but who knows? As our dear friend Sophie says, we now live in an age where anything is possible."
"Yeah, well, I didn't come all this way just to have a lecture," Ratigan said, picking up the mirror in his arms & heading for the staircase that led to the second floor of the house.
"All right, Ratigan," Victoria replied, "but I wouldn't be so skeptical if I were you. For Mr. Macauve said that those who don't believe in the Cat's Eye's powers will be cursed themselves." Smiling, Ratigan nodded in mock understanding, then went to his room to hang up the mirror.
"Do you think Mom's right?" Fidget asked that night as he & Ratigan hung out in their room. "I mean, what if da mirror really does have supernatural powers?"
Ratigan sighed, breathing out the smoke from his cigarette he had just inhaled. "Fidget...I believe in magic as much as the next rodent, but the thought of curses coming from a jewel—a measly jewel—is enough to make me want to burst into peals of laughter. Besides, there are no curses, only blessings."
"Coming from a guy who never had a peg-leg & a broken wing," Fidget grumbled under his breath, but Ratigan caught on. Glaring as he went over to his batty brother & poked his forehead, he grouched, "Listen, Fidge, I don't need your wisecracks! That mirror is perfectly harmless, & I don't care what Mom says!"
"You so sure 'bout dat?" Fidget asked angrily, gesturing to the mirror with his wings. "Why don't you take a look & see for yourself, smart-ass?"
"Fine, then, I will!" After extinguishing his cigarette & going over to the mirror on his closet door, Ratigan stared at the Cat's Eye on the top of the frame for what seemed like a long time. Nothing unusual happened at first, but then Ratigan's eyes widened as he saw the Cat's Eye glow brightly. When he took a closer look, the radiance died down, but now evil laughter resonated richly throughout the room. Laughter that sounded all too familiar...
Fidget was shaking & shuddering violently with fear, but Ratigan just shrugged it off as his imagination running wild. Besides, he knew he had nothing to worry about. That laughter hadn't bubbled from his lips since he reformed all those years ago, & there was no reason it should today. Trying to get rid of the nagging voices in his head, Ratigan bid Fidget "goodnight", then crawled into bed, shut off his reading light, & settled down to sleep.