Chapter 4: The Investigation Begins!
*College: Secret Romance plays!*
As Raizo and Reika rode a cab to the other side of the city, they took the time to try and get to know each other better. "So, uh...how long have you been working for the TPP?" Reika began. "Oh, I've been working for this group for over 15 years. Though honestly, I still have no clue what to think of these damn toons!" Raizo admitted. "15 years?! You don't really look that old to me!" Reika exclaimed in surprise. "Um, gee thanks! I'll take that as a compliment!" Raizo retorted. "Oh! I didn't mean to offend you...it's just that, a good looking young man like yourself just-" Reika began as she began blushing madly.
Raizo just stared at her, causing Reika to grow silent and blush with embarrassment before they both turned away from each other. "Damn it! I'm so embarrassed; come on, girl! You can do better than that!" Reika thought bitterly. Raizo noticed her embarrassment and smirked as he tried to turn this around. "How about we start again? Why don't you tell me what a woman like you is doing working for the TPP? You didn't have to, but you chose to anyway. Mind telling me what that's about?" Raizo began. Reika sighed as she shook her head. "Well, if you must know...I'm not exactly as clean cut as you'd expect. I've gotten my hands dirty before and I know how to handle myself." Reika said a bit more angrily.
Raizo started to laugh, making the witch more frustrated. "What's so funny?!" Reika demanded. "Nothing! Look, I get it. You got stuff you don't want to talk about? That's fine by me. I'm not forcing you to do anything...I just wanted to get to know the real you, that's all!" Raizo said as he lit up a cigarette. Reika frowned as he said that. "The real me?" she repeated. "Yeah. Like...where you come from and that sort of thing." Raizo said. Reika grew upset as he said that.
She had a strong feeling that Raizo wouldn't like the real her if she told him. "You know what? Forget it! There's nothing to tell, really." Reika said impatiently. "All right, fine! Have it your way; I was only trying to make casual conversation, that's all!" Raizo snapped back. "You always talk this way to your partners, tough guy?" Reika retorted. "Well, now that you mention it-" Raizo began before he shut up.
Reika sighed impatiently as she shook her head, but deep down she knew that sooner or later she'd have to tell him the truth. "I just hope that he doesn't judge me like everyone else. For now, I guess I better just keep quiet and focus on my job." Reika thought.
Just as Reika thought about that, Raizo had his own thoughts. "Why did Roland stick this woman with me? If this is another attempt to try and get me into dating...ugh, nevermind! Still, there's something about this woman I can't put my finger on." Raizo thought.
*Song ends!*
As the cab finally slowed down to a stop, both Raizo and Reika stepped out into the streets before they made their way towards their destination. As they approached the tenement buildings, Reika gasped as she saw the collateral damage that Raizo had caused last night. Raizo sighed as he palmed himself as he observed the damage he and Pete caused; it looked much worse in the day. "God damn, Raizo! What the hell did you do?!" Reika exclaimed. "Ugh...the paperwork for this is gonna be a real bitch!" Raizo grumbled as he took a drag from his cigarette. "Well? You gonna tell me what happened or what? It looks this place was hit by a wrecking ball!" Reika said with a slight laugh.
Raizo sighed as he began to explain to her about last night. He told her about the call Sonic gave him about Pete's drunken antics, the anime toon woman who was being attacked by him, and the fight he and Pete had. "And when we fell out of the window, we landed on Sonic's car. He's probably bitching about it still right now. Can't say where Pete went afterwards, though. I just hope for his sake he hasn't caused anymore trouble!" Raizo finished explaining. "Jesus! I sure hope they've got insurance for this!" Reika said as she shook her head.
Raizo rolled his eyes in annoyance as he threw out his cigarette, when he suddenly noticed something odd. He saw someone upstairs in Pete's apartment, and he looked like he was rummaging through the wreckage. "Huh? HEY! What are you doing up there?!" Raizo called out. The figure quickly turned around and appeared to look shocked before he took off running, prompting Raizo to run into the tenement building to try and find them. "Wait, there!" Raizo called out to Reika before he entered inside the building.
But as Raizo made his way upstairs to Pete's apartment, the mysterious figure was gone. "Shit!" Raizo cursed. Raizo then approached the huge hole in the wall and looked down at Reika, shaking his head. Reika shrugged her shoulders before she entered the building. But just as Raizo was about to leave Pete's apartment, he stepped on something. "Huh? What's this?" Raizo wondered out loud before he knelt down and picked it up. It appeared to be a candy wrapper of some sort; it smelled sweet, like Jolly Ranchers. "Hmm...it's still fresh. I wonder if-" Raizo began before the sound of someone shouting was heard from down below. "That's enough! Just keep it quiet, it's over now!" an elderly man's voice shouted. "I'm sorry, Papa!" a little boy's voice sobbed.
As Raizo went back downstairs, the sounds of sobbing filled the air. "Hey, Raizo? Who's crying? Is that somebody's kid?" Reika wondered. "Yeah...I think it might be Fievel Mousekewitz. I didn't know that he lived on this side of the city." Raizo replied. "Mousekewitz?" Reika said out loud in confusion. "From An American Tail. They're Russian Immigrants as far as I know. But what are they doing here in Sonic's apartment?" Raizo said.
Speak of the devil, he heard Sonic's voice from inside the apartment. "I freaked out, ok?! What else was I supposed to do?" Sonic was heard yelling. "You could have gotten us killed, you idiot! What happens when they find out?!" an elderly woman's voice scolded. "Mama, don't be hard on him! He was only trying to help!" a younger girl's voice said innocently. "I said shut it, Tanya! I do not want to hear another word of this; I can handle it!" Papa Mousekewitz snapped. "You'll handle it?! You nearly got yourself killed by that...that...that miserable thug!" Mama Mousekewitz cried. "Come on, guys! Don't fight; you're making things worse!" Tails scolded.
Raizo and Reika looked at each other before they nodded. "Something's going on. We better get to the bottom of this!" Reika said. "Yeah...no shit!" Raizo said before Reika touched his chest, surprising him. "Hey...try to be gentle, ok? They sound scared." Reika suggested calmly. "We'll see, Reika." Raizo said as he removed her hand, offending her. Raizo knocked on the door firmly and loudly enough to get their attention. "Hey, Mousekewitz! Open up; it's the TPP!" Raizo called out.
Almost immediately, the door opened up and revealed the Mousekewitz family along with Sonic and Tails. "Shh! Let me do the talking!" Papa Mousekewitz shushed before he approached Raizo. "Greetings, friend! How can I, a humble mouse, help on this fine and lovely morning?" Papa announced casually. "Yeah, you can start by telling me why you're here in Sonic's apartment!" Raizo replied with a growl. "Oh, it's the old wrecking ball himself! They were just helping me fix up the place; you know, after last night." Sonic snapped as he crossed his arms.
Raizo glared at him, making Sonic nervous. "Ok, look...I'm sorry, all right? It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I thought that I, uh...we, uh-" Sonic began with a stutter. "We thought that we heard someone upstairs, that's all. It turns out that there wasn't though, last time I checked!" Papa Mousekewitz finished. "Actually, there was somebody upstairs. But they left before I could catch them." Raizo said. "Ah, is that right? Well, what do you know? I guess your dear old Papa still has a few years left in his hearing after all!" Papa Mousekewitz chuckled.
Reika stepped in to see what was going on, earning a few surprised looks from the toons. "Oh, and who might you be?" Mama Mousekewitz asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm Reika Kitami; I'm Raizo's new partner. Is everything all right with you guys? We heard someone was crying. Is anyone hurt?" Reika asked after she introduced herself. "Who, Fievel? Oh, don't you worry dearie! He's just fine; he just stubbed his little toe, that's all." Mama Mousekewitz replied. "Yes! He's a bit of a clumsy walker, just like his Papa!" Papa Mousekewitz added. "Well, it sure has been nice meeting you and all, but I guess you guys will be leaving right about now. There's nothing going on here anyways, so-" Sonic began.
Raizo stepped towards him, giving him a dark look. "I'll leave when I'm good and ready." he growled. Sonic gulped nervously as he began to sweat. "Raizo just means that we want to make sure everything is all right with you guys, that's all." Reika said as she gave Raizo a look of her own. "Um, yeah...after all, you are the one who called us. So, just tell me what happened and then we'll leave." Raizo said a bit more calmly. "I, uh...look, I already told you that nothing is going on, ok? Besides, it's like you said. The person you saw took off before you even got there, so there's no need to stick around here. Right guys?" Sonic said nervously as he looked at his toon friends.
Raizo sighed as he shook his head. "All right, fine! You wanna play this game with me? That's fine; but I will find out the truth one way or another." Raizo said as he walked into the living room. "What?! But I-" Sonic began. "Say, Mama? Why don't you make our guests some tea and biscuits?" Papa Mousekewitz suggested as he gave her a strange look. "Huh? Oh, but of course! Let's treat our guests, shall we my dear Tanya? Why don't you get the good china?" Mama Mousekewitz said. "Um, ok Mama. Sure; whatever you say." Tanya said as she decided to play along.
At this point, Sonic knew better than to argue. "All right, fine! Sure; go ahead and have some tea...or whatever the hell you want!" he grumbled as he walked into the living room where Raizo was. Reika noticed that Fievel was still upset and she decided to try and cheer him up. "Hey, come here little boy. I want to talk to you." Reika began as she knelt down to his level. At first, Fievel didn't want to. "It's all right, honey. I won't hurt you." Reika insisted. "Now, Fievel. You behave yourself and mind your manners!" Mama Mousekewitz scolded as she arrived in the living room with a pot of tea.
Reika smiled as she got an idea. "I have an idea. Why don't you show me your room? You have any favorite toys you'd like to show me?" Reika suggested. Fievel looked up at her and smiled shyly. "I have a new toy soldier to my collection." he said finally. "Cool! Why don't you show me the rest of your collection as well?" Reika asked. "Ok. Come on; my room is this way!" Fievel said with more excitement in his voice. "All right. Lead the way, boy!" Reika said as she looked over at Raizo.
As Reika went into Fievel's room, Raizo stared at Sonic as he sat down on a couch. "What?" Sonic demanded. "Fievel's room? I thought that this was your house?" Raizo stated. "Oh, yeah...about that! These guys are just spending the week here, that's all." Sonic began. "Really?" Raizo said as he crossed his arms. "Uh, yeah! There's nothing that says that they can't, is there? Look...things are a little hard on us toons, all right? These guys are just gonna stay here until they get their little feet off the ground, that's all." Sonic explained. "Well, how noble of you. Are they paying rent?" Raizo pressed. "What? Oh, come on I couldn't-" Sonic began. "Because if I remember correctly, you still have to be able to afford your humanization pills. Remember that talk we had last night?" Raizo said sternly.
Before Sonic could answer, Mama Mousekewitz arrived with a plate full of biscuits. "Biscuits are ready!" Mama Mousekewitz announced. "Thanks. So...you two known each other long?" Raizo asked the Mousekewitz couple as he humorously sipped tea out of the tiny china tea cup. "Oh, we've known each other for years. It seems just like yesterday when we first met, right Papa?" Mama Mousekewitz said with dreamy sigh. "Ah, yes! I'll never forget our first date. It was such a beautiful summer evening. The trees were still green, the moon was full, and the fireflies lit up the little dirt path that rode into town. You remember that Mama?" Papa Mousekewitz recalled as he sipped some tea. "Oh, I do!" Mama Mousekewitz said before she rambled on about their date.
But as she spoke, Raizo noticed that something was out of place. And by out of place, there was a lamp all smashed up on the floor over by the entrance. Raizo knew it was there when he walked in, but he chose not to say anything about it yet. But now was his chance. "So...you mind telling me about that broken lamp over there? It looks pretty expensive!" Raizo said out loud casually yet sarcastically. "What? Oh, shit...I told Tails to clean that up hours ago! I can't believe he forgot about that." Sonic said quickly. "How'd that happen?" Raizo asked. "Oh, uh...it fell off the table." Sonic lied.
Raizo stared at him as he said that. "Really? It just fell off the table?" Raizo challenged. "Or maybe one of the kids knocked it down when they were playing around. Who knows?" Sonic chuckled weakly. Raizo stood up from the couch and began looking around the living room for more clues. "Uh, what are you doing exactly?" Sonic wondered. Raizo noticed that a coffee table had a big dust ring around, and as he closely observed it, he looked over at the lamp before he looked back at Sonic. "Sonic...can you come here please?" Raizo asked sternly.
Sonic begrudgingly did as he was told, knowing what to expect next. "What? Did I forget to take out the trash? Did I leave the kitchen sink running?!" Sonic snapped. "Sonic...I have a feeling that lamp of yours was over here. But now, it's over there in pieces. Just tell me what happened." Raizo said trying his best to not lose his cool. "Nothing happened, dude. NOTHING! And why of all the crazy ideas would the lamp be here?!" Sonic cried angrily. "Because the size of the mark on the table matches the shape of the bottom of the lamp. That, and there aren't any outlets left for the lamp over at that table over there." Raizo pointed out.
Papa Mousekewitz stood up and approached Raizo. "Excuse me, but I have an explanation. The truth is...it's my fault. I was doing a bit of dusting and I meant to plug the lamp in over there. But before I realized there weren't any outlets left, Mr. Hedgehog here bumped into me and it was knocked down into the ground. Isn't that right, Mr. Hedgehog?" Papa Mousekewitz explained as he gave Sonic a look. "Huh? Uh, I mean...yeah! That's exactly how it happened. I was in such a rush to try to fix the chandeliers, that I wasn't looking where I was going. Heh! Funny how that all works, doesn't it?" Sonic said.
Raizo sighed as he shook his head, but decided to let it go...for now. "Fine. If that's how it happened, then that's how it happened." he said before he caught sight of something. He noticed there was a blood stain on the wall next to the fireplace, and right in front of the fireplace was a fire poker. The tip of the fire poker was covered in blood. Raizo looked to both Sonic and Papa Mousekewitz, who both looked guilty as hell. "Are any of you bleeding? I've found some blood over here." Raizo announced. "Oh, yeah...about that! You see, last night I was cold, so I decided to try to start up the fireplace. But I tripped and had the poker fall right on my foot. It hurt like hell, you know." Sonic quickly explained. "Sounds painful." Raizo said sarcastically. "Hey, now...don't go Mother Hubbard on me!" Sonic teased.
As Raizo further inspected the poker, he noticed that the blood on it was still fresh. When he approached the stain on the wall, he noticed that the blood there was also fresh. "You said this happened last night? It's still pretty fresh. Just tell me the truth, all right? What really happened?" Raizo asked firmly. "I'm telling you the truth; after I cut my hand, I rushed around trying to find a Band-Aid. It was dark and I couldn't see, so maybe that explains the stain on the wall. I meant to clean it, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet!" Sonic lied. "Wait...I thought you said that you cut your foot." Raizo said as he caught Sonic in a lie. "Huh? Uh, yeah! I did cut my foot, but I cut my hand first! I was poking the coals, I sliced my hand open and then I dropped the damn thing on my foot!" Sonic blurted out nervously.
Raizo shook his head as he dropped the fire poker and approached him. "I don't think that's what happened. If you ask me, I think somebody was attacked. And I don't know why you or your little friends here would cover for it." Raizo began. "Raizo, I-" Sonic began. "And you're going to make things worse if you keep it up with this act of yours!" Raizo continued as he rose his voice. "I'm not lying to you; honest!" Sonic pleaded. "We'll see about that!" Raizo growled before he approached Fievel's room.
After he knocked on the door, Reika answered it. "And that's why they're called Redcoats!" Fievel blabbered on. "Uh-huh, interesting. Excuse me a moment, will you? Did you find out anything?" Reika asked. "They're hiding something; I don't know what it is, but I'm going to find out. Did the kid say anything?" Raizo said. "He did say something about being kicked out of their house. That, and I noticed that he had an awful burn mark on his arm." Reika whispered. "Hmm...I figured something was going on. Stay here with the kid until I figure this shit out; it won't take long!" Raizo instructed before he closed the door.
After Raizo finished speaking with Reika, he approached Sonic in an aggressive manner. He was sick and tired of playing games with him. "All right, Sonic. No more bullshit! I don't care if these mice are involved or not, but I know for a fact that you aren't being square with me. So do me a favor and skip to the end of the page before I have to get mean!" Raizo growled. "I don't know what you want from me, Raizo. I've told you everything that happened, but you don't believe me. Just take a look around and see for yourself!" Sonic argued. "Honestly, I don't think that I will...because I'm not so sure that I have any more fucking patience left to put up with whatever bullshit scheme this is!" Raizo snarled.
Sonic grew very afraid of Raizo's intimidating anger, as did the Mousekewitz couple. "Now, now...let's not lose our temper, ok? Come, now...let's all just take a deep breath and-" Papa Mousekewitz began. "Shut up! Sonic...tell me what's going on...right now!" Raizo demanded as he got in his face. "Dude...there are kids in the other room. Come on, just calm down and let's talk about this ok? We're all friends here, right?" Sonic whimpered as Raizo began growling angrily in his face.
Suddenly, Raizo slapped Sonic in the face and made him cry out in pain. "OW! Jesus, that freakin' hurt!" Sonic complained. "You're going to tell me, right now, what the fuck happened before we left!" Raizo growled. "Raizo, I-" Sonic began before he was slapped again. "And if it even has the faintest whiff of bullshit, I'm gonna-" Raizo began. "Papa!" Fievel cried. Raizo turned around to find a frightened Fievel with tears in his eyes and a very upset and outraged Reika Kitami standing next to him. As Fievel ran to his parents for comfort, Reika approached Raizo with anger written on her face. "What the hell, Raizo? Is this really necessary?!" Reika exclaimed. "They're hiding something, Kitami! I don't know what it is, but I will not fuck around anymore! I'm through playing guessing games!" Raizo snapped.
As he said that, Mama Mousekewitz gasped as she saw blood pouring from behind her husband's head. "Oh my God! Papa, you're hurt!" Mama Mousekewitz exclaimed. "Take off your hat." Raizo instructed firmly. As Papa Mousekewitz removed his hat, he startled everyone as they saw a nasty bloody wound on the back of his head. Reika glared at Raizo as she saw this. "Did you just-" she seethed. "Calm yourself, woman! He didn't do it...it was some nasty thug that came here earlier! Probably that podonok you saw earlier!" Papa Mousekewitz cursed as Mama Mousekewitz cleaned his wound.
As Tails entered the room, he looked over at Sonic, who in turn sighed as he shook his head. They knew that they'd have to tell the truth eventually. "Look...the Mousekewitz family needed a place to stay after they got evicted, so we offered them a place to stay." Tails explained. "You see? I didn't make that part up! That crazy bastard just busted into our house when we're trying to have a nice breakfast and beat the hell out of me and Papa over there." Sonic added. "Aye, it's true! He kept demanding about Pete...or something he thought Pete had. But worst of all, that...that...that little khuyesos burned my little Fievel with a cigarette when I insisted that I didn't have anything he wanted!" Papa Mousekewitz cried out with shaking fury.
Reika gasped as he said that; now she knew how Fievel got the burn mark. "That's awful; I'm so sorry to hear that." Reika said mournfully. "Do you know what it is that they wanted?" Raizo pressed as if he didn't care about Fievel's wellbeing. "I haven't the foggiest clue, boy!" Papa Mousekewitz snapped. "Look, we wanted to tell you. Really, we did. But they threatened us into silence!" Sonic said more serious than ever before. "Yes, it's true. That thug said that if word ever got out that we said anything about this...he would come back and kill my family!" Papa Mousekewitz explained sadly. "We even tried to give that creep the girl's dress. But he wouldn't take it!" Sonic added.
This immediately caught Raizo's attention. "Wait, what? What girl?!" Raizo demanded. "You know...the girl...from the other night. Apparently she left a dress here some time ago." Sonic said. "Mr. Hedgehog borrows things from people. Oh! Uh...I mean, only sometimes?" Fievel said as Sonic gave him a dirty look. "Borrows?" Raizo said angrily. "Look! I don't steal anything...I just repossess what's been left behind; you'd be surprised by how much crap people leave behind." Sonic insisted. "Well, we're confiscating that dress! It's not only evidence, but if she has any kin left behind-" Raizo said sternly. "Fine! Tails? Go grab the dress, will you?" Sonic pouted.
As Tails walked over to the fireplace, he pulled out a cardboard box and placed it on the coffee table before pulling out a dress. Raizo and Reika gasped as they saw it. "Oh my God!" Raizo gasped. "I know...it's such a shame; it's a beautiful dress. I can't believe anyone would want to leave that behind!" Tanya Mousekewitz said. "I've seen this dress before." Raizo exclaimed. "Yeah...didn't one of those Disney Princesses wear that exact dress? We gotta take it back to Roland and run some tests on it or something!" Reika said. "Good idea, Reika. I think I've got some questions for the Mirror as well." Raizo replied. "Hey, wait! What's that?" Tails cried as he found something in the dress.
Reika took it out and observed the object; it was a sealed envelope. "Hmm...Raizo, what should we do about this? Should we-" Reika began before Raizo took it from her and opened it. As Raizo opened up the note, he read only three words written in black ink. "I'm sorry!~Tiana." Raizo read out loud. "Tiana?! So it's true; it's the Frog Princess!" Reika exclaimed. "Tiana? Huh...that's kinda weird. If she is one of those Disney Princesses, she's probably got a place over at the New Side." Sonic said. "The New Side? Where's that?" Raizo asked. "It's where all the rich guys live; I'm kinda surprised you don't live there. But then again, it is you we're talking about." Sonic sneered. "I know where it is. Come on, Kitami. Let's get moving; we might find some more clues over there." Raizo instructed.
As they walked towards the door, Fievel Mousekewitz tugged on Reika's dress. "Oh! Um, are you ok boy?" Reika asked as she gently brushed his hand away. "Uh-huh! Listen, um...thanks for spending time with me. You're a really nice lady." Fievel said shyly. Reika felt her heart melt as he said that. "Aww! Why does he have to sound so cute when he says that?!" she thought bitterly. "Thank you, honey. You be good, ok?" Reika said with a blush and smile. "Ok. See you later!" Fievel said cutely as he waved goodbye.
As Raizo and Reika left the tenement building, Raizo lit up a cigarette. But as he smoked, Reika glared at him angrily before she spoke up about his behavior. "What the fuck is wrong with you?! I...I don't even know what to say to you right now! The way you treated them back there...is this something that we're gonna have to talk about?" Reika began sternly. Raizo glared back at her before he tossed his cigarette away. "Let's get one thing straight, lady. I'm not being paid to babysit a bunch of doodles or waste my time playing their fucking games. My job is to catch the murderous scumbag responsible for this toon woman's death by any means necessary! If you don't like the way I do things, then you have one of two options." Raizo began. "And what's that?" Reika demanded. "Either you grow a pair and shut up, or you can fuck off and go find another job that better suits you. You got that?" Raizo snarled.
Reika crossed her arms and glared at him as he said that. "I don't have a problem getting my hands dirty, if that's what concerns you. But what I won't tolerate is if you hurt innocent people." Reika stated. Raizo sighed as he shook his head and rubbed his face. "Look...we got what we came here for, all right? Information! If it makes you feel any better, that was actually me being nice." Raizo said trying not to lose his cool again. "Well I'd certainly hate to see you get mean!" Reika snapped. "Whatever. Let's get going; we're wasting time!" Raizo muttered as he began walking. Reika sighed impatiently as she shook her head; getting along with this guy was going to be harder than she thought.