((Sorry for the long overdue updates! I've been so busy lately... But I'm trying to update more frequently. I have numerous chapters on my deviantart account to transfer here... So anyways, here's the next chapter! ))

The toymaker's shop was a sad sight for the two visitors. Ignis and Max stepped in carefully, looking at all the wreckage and disarray. Broken toys were strewn about the floor, and splashes of paint streaked the surfaces. Ignis carefully tried to shift a broken bench out of the way, looking for any sort of clue that might be of use to Basil.

"... I feel so bad for Olivia..." Ignis quietly said. She said she had been hiding as all this happened and her father was abducted. She was too young to experience acts of darkness and terror like this.

"Yeah..." Max sighed. He continued to poke around the ruined shop for any clue that might help them.

"I'm not finding anything else that would really help us," Ignis said.

"But it seems like something found us..." Max quietly said, backing away from the window as a large, dark shadow passed by the window. Ignis summoned her keyblade on instinct, though backed up at Max came over and urged her to.

Suddenly, a gigantic paw thrust itself through the front door! And annoyed meow sounded out as the paw retracted from the door. The face of a very large, fat cat with a bow in its hair peered through the window. It looked at them menacingly, then stuck its paw through the door again, trying to reach them. It came really close, Max and Ignis backing up against the opposite wall.

"There's no way we can fight that thing! Not trapped in here like this," Max declared, looking a bit nervous.

"Then we'll have to find another way out," Ignis said. She and Max bolted for the door in the back, heading into the home section of building. The cat hissed in frustration as they got out of its sight.

They walked into a living area, searching for another door out. There wasn't one here. "Let's try to kitchen," Ignis said, heading in that direction. They were relieved to find another door leading out of the place. She approached the door and quietly opened it, taking a quick look outside. It seemed like everything was clear.

"Okay, hurry-" she started to say but was cut off as the cat stuffed its paw through that door! Its claw caught Ignis's skirt, catching the fabric. She let out a yelp, Max rushing forward to grab her hands. With a firm yank, he pulled her away from the cat and back into the house. There was a loud ripping sound as she was pulled in.

Ignis was safe from the cat, but her poofy skirts were mostly torn off, leaving her with the top portion and bloomers. Max averted his eyes nervously, even though she was still practically covered. Ignis wasn't embarrassed in the slightest, more frustrated than anything.

"Skirts! Not suited for battle!" she shouted, ignoring the cat as it continued to try to reach her. She rushed out of the kitchen and towards the bedrooms, leaving Max alone and confused. In a minute, she came back with a pair of pants, pulling a belt through the loops. It was definitely pants meant for men, the waist too loose on her. "Much better. Now, we come up with a plan. Any ideas?"

Max couldn't help but smile at her content attitude. "One of us can distract it, while the other escapes," he suggested. "I'll distract it."

"Out of the question! I will distract it," Ignis said with a smile. "There's a high-up fence not too far away from the toy store shop front. If you can climb up there, I will shortly join you."

"Fine," Max sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to argue against her. "Be careful." He quickly and quietly headed towards the front of the shop.

Ignis smiled, looking to the cat glaring at her through the back door. "You're in trouble now. I have pants, and no one around to worry about," she said with an odd smile.

.x.X.x.

Max had reached the top of the fence outside, waiting for Ignis. After a while, he saw her approaching, and felt relieved. She joined him at the top of the fence. "So, what now? With the cat after us and no clues to go on, we have nothing to help Olivia."

"Actually, the cat is gone. Also, I found a written receipt to some sort of bar or something around here. I think we could use this. Judging by how well Olivia spoke of her father, I don't think he would be going to a bar," Ignis guessed.

"Sounds like something we could use. Let's head back to Baker Street and see what we can do with this," Max said.

Ignis nodded. With that, they left for the detective's home.

.x.X.x.

Ignis and Max rushed back to Basil's home with high hopes over what the evidence they found would give them. The only one there was Basil's housekeeper.

"You just missed them, actually," she said, giving Ignis' pants a disapproving glance. "They also found some evidence after Toby led them to a human toy shop. They're heading to a bar by the sewers."

"Of course Basil would be one step ahead of us," Ignis said, looking very impressed. "I hope he didn't bring Olivia to a place like that, though."

"Olivia... the poor dear was kidnapped by that bat that got her father, while they were investigating the toy shop," she said, sadly. "Please help Basil find Olivia. Basil is logical and brilliant, but he doesn't always think to consult his heart."

Ignis was shocked to hear the news of the little mouse's capture. It made her both angry and sad to think of how this Professor Ratigan was willing to just use her without considering that he might hurt her. "Alright. Let's go, Max," Ignis said, now determined. He gave a nod, also not looking happy that Olivia was in danger.

.x.X.x.

They arrived outside the bar, Ignis heading straight for it. She paused a little as she thought she saw something large up in the foggy sky floating away. Whatever it was, it disappeared in a moment. Max caught up to her as she was momentarily distracted.

"Wait, should we come up with a plan or something?" Max asked.

"The plan is to get Olivia back," Ignis simply said.

"But we can't just rush in there and expect them to tell us where she is," Max argued.

"Then we'll make them tell us," Ignis responded.

"I know you said that you're not good with plans, but maybe we should just be a little more careful," Max suggested. "We're wandering into enemy territory now..."

"Max... If you think it's too dangerous, then you can sit this one out if you want," Ignis said. "But... I can't just wait as a child is subjected to the darkness. I can't waste time... It might be too late, and then she would never be the same..." She grimaced a little as she tried not to think back to her own past.

Just by her tone and expression, Max could tell that there was something that she was hiding. Something that was causing her a lot of pain. "... I'm not going to sit this out. We're in this together," he said with a smile. "If anything bad happens, we'll just hack and bash our way out of trouble."

Ignis smiled in return, comforted by Max's trust in her. "I'll handle the hacking and slashing, you get the bashing and jabbing. My keyblade's not good at those things," she giggled.

"Deal. Let's kick some Heartless butt!" Max declared.

They bumped fists and rushed forward into the bar.

A whole group of Heartless were waiting for them in the middle of the bar, all the furniture and things torn apart by a bar fight. It was supposed to be an ambush, but Max and Ignis knew to expect this sort of thing. They instantly rushed forward, seeming to surprise the Heartless a little by how unsurprised they were.

Max and Ignis focused on taking out the small Heartless first, avoiding hits from the robotic-looking Heartless in the middle. It felt like their teamwork was getting stronger already, as they combined their attacks to beat their enemies.

Finally, they were left with the large, robotic Heartless. Max and Ignis split up, taking turns distracting it while the other attacked it. It was a long process, but they eventually managed to bring it down.

"Victory fist bump?" Ignis asked Max, dismissing her Keyblade.

"Yeah, but I'm going to show you something awesome. You fist bump then spread out your fingers like, explosion! Boom!" he said, demonstrating to her the fist bump explosion.

"Oh my gosh, this is probably the coolest idea I have ever seen," Ignis exclaimed, truly impressed and excited to learn this new technique.

"Excuse me!" a barmaid mouse said, interrupting their mini celebration. "You're here after Ratigan, right?"

Ignis grew serious again, reminded of their mission. "Yeah. We're here for Olivia, so hand her over," she demanded.

"I don't know who this Olivia is, but you can just go right down to Ratigan's lair. You can wreck the place, beat everyone up, taking this Olivia you're after, I don't care! I'm tired of guarding the secret entrance to it, if it means my bar is going to get wrecked every other week!" she huffed, severely frustrated.

"... Oh. Okay, great," Ignis said, a little surprised.

"This way, then," she growled, leading them towards the secret entrance. Ignis and Max snuck in a quiet fist bump explosion on the way.

.x.X.x.

The way through the pipes was narrow and winding, Ignis and Max bumping into a few dead ends on the way. Part of the way through, Max stopped Ignis. "Wait... do you hear that?" he asked. There was the faint sound of music coming from a pipe up ahead.

"... Yeah. Something tells me that's the direction we need to go," Ignis said.

"Right. Be careful," he said. They continued down the pipe until they reached a big, open sewer area. They climbed out, keeping a look out for any trouble. They headed towards the music, coming to an area with barrels. As they went around one, they stopped in amazement of what they saw.

Up ahead was a complex trap with every fatal weapon they would think of rigged to it. A crossbow, a gun, a knife, everything. It was a large yet delicate system. At the middle of it were Basil and Dr. Dawson, tied to a mousetrap as Olivia watched helplessly from within a bottle nearby.

"We have to help them!" Ignis quickly said, rushing forward. Max ran with her, though they were intercepted by some Heartless. They fought as hard as they could and tried to get around them, but their path was blocked. All Ignis could see was Basil and Dr. Dawson, about to set off the trap on their own while she couldn't help them.

"NO!" she cried, as the trap was sprung. The Heartless scattered, and Ignis and Max were thrown back as the trap went into motion. The ground shook at there was a deafening 'BANG' as the gun went off. Ignis felt a mixture of horror and anger at not being able to stop this monstrous contraption. And Olivia... Why did she had to be put through such a thing.

The dust was kicked up, yet Ignis and Max got up and rushed through to see what they could do. They came to a clear in the dust, where Basil stood with Dr. Dawson, Olivia in his arm as they were positioned in front of a camera. "Smile, everyone!" he said with a triumphant smile as the camera went off. It made for an interesting picture, a smiling genius mouse with four surprised mice around him.

Ignis was dumbfounded by how they had managed to escape the trap. "How... How did you... That was... That was AMAZING," she let out, the relief washing over her. Max sat down, the adrenaline wearing out.

"All it took was some quick and precise measurements, and we were able to set it off at just the right moment to where the weaponry would be diverted in our favor," Basil expertly explained.

"I don't think I'll ever understand, but I don't think I care because you're all okay," she let out in one big sentence, expressing her relief. She went to hug Olivia, who hugged her in return.

"We still have work to do yet. Professor Ratigan has taken Miss Flammershammer's father to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee!"

"Flaversham," Max, Ignis, and Olivia corrected him all at once.

"Yes yes, alright," he huffed. "Our Queen and her father are in danger, no, this very country is in danger! We must be off!"

"Right," Ignis agreed, ready to continue, now that the initial shock of this whole situation wore off.

With that, they all ran off together, intent on bringing Professor Ratigan down once and for all.