"Just wait till I get my hands on that fatty rat! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind! I'll teach him to steal from my family! Basil, are you listening to me?"
Basil was in one of his depressed moods, only half listening to the rants of the young female detective. Her name was Sammie Barkwen. She had long brown hair and emerald green eyes. She was a newbie detective that Basil had taken under his wing. A mistake he had come to regret.
"Basil, must you continue to play that violin while I'm talking?" Sammie didn't like to be rude but she thought she deserved some degree of respect from him.
Basil kept on playing. Sammie glared at him. Then she walked quietly over to him and tapped his shoulder. He jumped in surprise, which made Sammie laugh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
"Sammie, you must learn to never sneak up on another detective while he is very busy!"
"But you haven't been listening to a word I've said!"
"Indeed I have!" Basil retorted. "You said you don't fancy cheese crumpets, you only eat the plain ones."
"That was yesterday!"
"Whatever!"
"Ooooh!" Sammie growled in frustration as she turned her back on him. She looked down at the gold locket she wore around her neck. It was the only jewelry she had left. Ratigan stole the rest from her family. Sammie touched the delicate locket gently, then looked over at the wall to glare at the portrait of Ratigan. Why does Mr. Basil keep a picture of the rat anyway?
Soon the room was filled with renewed violin music. The soft, melancholic tune that Basil seemed to enjoy playing. Five minutes passed and neither mouse spoke a word to each other.
Then all of a sudden, there was a light knock at the door. Basil and Sammie looked over at the door, wondering who it could be. It was late at night, after all.
Sammie went to answer the door, but when she opened it there was nobody there. Just a small note on the doorstep. Sammie picked it up quickly before the wind could blow it away. Then she closed the door and locked it, before bringing the note to Basil.
"Somebody left this on the doorstep and then ran away," she explained, confused. Basil quickly grabbed the note and read it, with his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"What does it say?" Sammie asked, eagerly.
"It is classified," he said.
"No, it's not! Gimme!" She snatched the note and held it out of his reach as she read it. "Oh my goodness… Basil, this is an anonymous tip! It says Ratigan knows where you live and he's coming over here to get us!" She turned to Basil and he could see the concern in her green eyes.
"Such a naïve young lady you are," he said, with a wave of his hand.
Sammie frowned at him. "Come again?"
"You don't believe this…this note!" He crumpled the paper and threw it into a wastebasket.
"We better hide just in case," Sammie suggested, still on edge. Basil simply yawned and reached for his beloved violin.
Soon an argument arose between the two mice and neither of them noticed the dark, sinister figure leering at them through the window.
"Sammie, I assure you… as long as I am around, you need not fret about Ratigan!"
"Are you sure, Basil?"
"Have I ever looked unsure to you?"
Sammie rolled her eyes and glanced toward the window. That's when she saw it. "Basil…,"
"Hmph?"
"Run."
He squinted in confusion. "Beg your pardon?"
Before she could reply, the window burst open and in climbed a huge rat with a shark-like grin. He took out a big sack and threw it over Basil and Sammie. Then the rat patted the squirming bulges with a gloved hand and chuckled. "Surprise Basil!"
"RATIGAN! You'll pay for this, you slimy, sewer-dwelling rodent!" Basil's dangerous tone came from inside the sack. He and Sammie struggled violently, but it was no use. Ratigan had already tied the sack with a hard knot.
After a short trip, they arrived at Ratigan's lair and were let out of the sack. But only to be tied up. Basil was stripped of practically all his clothes, while Sammie was able to keep most of her clothes on. Their shoes were removed and they were both tied down to a table with their hands high over their heads.
"Stay away from us, you fiend!" barked Sammie, as the rat came near them.
"But my dear, how can I let this opportunity pass by?" Ratigan said, his voice filled with slimy charm.
"And what opportunity would that be?" asked Basil, coldly.
Ratigan chuckled evilly. "Why, an opportunity to be cruel! Oh yes… to be cruel to you, dear Basil."
"You fiend!" Basil grew frightened as he remembered what happened the last time he got captured by Ratigan. Sammie got nervous also when she noticed the look on Basil's face. The two detectives were laying side by side.
"Basil, what is he going to do to us?"
Basil swallowed hard. "He's…he's going to destroy us!"
"Oh," Sammie lowered her voice. "That's not good."
Ratigan grinned slyly and approached the two mice, while holding something behind his back. "I hope the two of you are ready for an evening of laughs!" With that, he held out his hand and showed them a long, stiff feather.
"NO!" Basil cried in defeat.
Ratigan stood beside Basil's feet and began stroking the feather on Basil's bare soles.
"Hahahahahaha! Noohohohohoho! Not tihihihickles! You bastard! Hahahahahaha!" Basil was squealing and giggling hysterically.
Ratigan was quite amused by this. "Coochie coochie coo! Let me be cruel to you!" He rotated the feather in torturous circles on Basil's feet, then he used it between his wiggling toes. Ratigan had tickle tortured Basil once before, so he knew exactly where the mouse was ticklish at – pretty much everywhere.
Basil shrieked with laughter as Ratigan dug his gloved fingers into his soft soles, tickling him mercilessly.
"AAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HOHOHOHOHOHOHO! YAHAHAHAHAHA PLEEEASE!" he cackled as he squirmed and bucked, causing the table to shake.
Sammie watched in horror. Basil was coming apart right in front of her eyes! He was pleading for mercy and crying tears of laughter. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she shouted at Ratigan.
The villainous rat looked over at her and smirked. "Well, well, looks like somebody needs a change of attitude." With that, Ratigan reached over and began tickling her feet.
Sammie bit down hard on her lip, but the rat's claws were moving too fast. She soon dissolved into giggles.
"H-How dare yohohohou! EEK! Stohohohop that! YOU THEIF! Ahahahahaha!" she giggled and squirmed.
Then Ratigan grabbed two feathers so he could tickle Basil's feet and Sammie's feet at the same time. Both mice were now laughing like crazy.
"AAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DAHAHAHAHAMN YOU RAHAHAHAHATIGAN! NONONONO NOT THE TOES! NOT THE TOHOHOHOHOES! EEEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEE!" shrieked Basil, with tears streaming down his tan-furred cheeks.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO! THIS IS TORTURE! HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA! I HATE FEATHERS!" shrieked Sammie, as tears leaked from her eyes also. This was worst tickling she had ever felt in her life. But as for poor Basil, this wasn't the first time he had been tickle tortured.
Ratigan was very much enjoying the sound of the high-pitched laughter. He loved being nasty. "Ooh, how I love to tickle! I love to tickle because it is so much fun. Why, it's even more fun this time than last time, isn't it Basil? Because this time, I get your little girlfriend too!"
"I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND!"
Ratigan ignored that comment and continued tickling the two detectives on the soles of their feet. After about five minutes of nonstop tickling, he gave them a break.
Sammie and Basil were still giggling as they gasped for air.
"B-Basil?" She looked into his runny, bloodshot eyes. "Get us… out of this!"
"I-I'm trying… to think of… something!"
"Think faster!"
Ratigan chuckled coldly as he listened to their feeble voices and little arguments. "Oh, not to worry… I shall release you once I've had all the fun I want!"
Suddenly, Sammie heard a whimper from Basil. Now she was really nervous. The great mouse detective was scared! Next thing she knew, Ratigan's white gloved fingers were dancing on her stomach as well as Basil's. Both mice were also incredibly ticklish on their bellies. Renewed laughter filled the dungeon.
For the next torturous half hour, Basil and Sammie were tickled in many spots. Such as their ribs, navels, and armpits.
Basil was the first to pass out. When Sammie noticed that she had lost him, her hope went down the drain. She gave up and let herself pass out also.
Three hours later…
"Sammie, are you alright?" Basil asked her, when the pair woke up to find themselves dumped on the street outside of Basil's home.
"I think so," she replied, shivering in the cold.
They both went inside and Basil immediately sat down in his chair. There was a cute little scowl on his face. Sammie couldn't help but smile. "What's the matter, Basil?"
"Hmph," he pouted.
"Are you mad because Ratigan tickled us?"
Basil blushed fiercely.
"Don't be embarrassed," Sammie said comfortingly. "I think it's cute that you're ticklish."
Then he glared at her and blushed even more. "I do not want to be…cute!"
"I know. Sorry." Sammie studied him for a moment. Then she moved closer and pointed him in the side. He jumped and let out a yelp.
"Don't do that!" he protested, folding his arms defensively over his sides.
Sammie snickered. "You know, Basil… you passed out before I did. That means you must be even more ticklish than I am."
Basil fidgeted in his chair, trying to avoid her eyes.
"Well, you don't have to feel bad about it," she told him. "After all, males are always more ticklish than females."
"That so?"
Sammie nodded and grinned. Then she went for him again, jabbing fingers into his sensitive tummy.
He burst out laughing. "HAHAHAHAHA! SAHAHAHAMMIE!" Then he grabbed her wrists to stop her from tickling him.
"Oh. I'm sorry. Did that tickle?" Sammie mocked him.
Basil glared at her, but soon he smirking. Then he jabbed her in the ribs, causing her to gasp and jump back.
"Basil!" she scowled.
He chuckled at this. "And not to worry. One day Ratigan will be behind bars!"
"Perhaps," Sammie answered. "That is, if he does not tickle us to death first!"
"I say, that will never again happen to us!"
Sammie suddenly remembered her gold locket. She quickly looked down at it, relieved that it was still there. Ratigan didn't steal it. And she was convinced that, someday, that villainous Ratigan would indeed be behind bars.
The End