The Three Different Groups
Underneath the streets of London, in the abandoned wine cellar, Ratigan was informing his henchmice of his plans. "I've been in conference with my employers," he announced. "And I have something special to share." He showed them a poster containing the images of the Heroes of Millennia. "The legendary Heroes of Millennia have been sighted and a bountiful reward has been promised for them. If they are here in London, it's likely they will be in the forms of mice just like their little friends." And he revealed his old newspaper, showing pictures of Mokuba, Rebecca, and Leon.
"Here is your assignment," Ratigan was saying. "Scour the whole city of London. If you see any mice with the same physical features as these humans, capture them and bring them here." He smiled and said, "Do so and I will share my reward from my masters."
All of the henchmice cheered. They liked the sound of a promising reward. They imagined it would be a large sum of money or maybe a feast or the fanciest accommodations fit for the rich.
Ratigan looked down at Fidget. "As for you, Fidget, I want you to scout for those children we met earlier. Capturing them may be helpful to us in finding the Heroes of Millennia."
The peg-legged bat snickered. "I can do that." He stopped smiling and asked, "But, Boss, what do I do if I meet the Heroes of Millennia first?"
"Then deal with them right away," the rat ordered. "In either case, I want that quartet."
Fidget was anxious about the idea, but at the same time, he was excited. He also figured that chances were he would see the Heroes of Millennia with Mokuba, Rebecca, and Leon. And Ratigan was right. In either case, his boss would be expecting his intended targets. The peg-legged bat limped away and began making his trek through the sewers.
Ratigan looked at the poster and smiled wickedly. He was looking forward to capturing the Heroes of Millennia and receiving a promising reward from the Dark Masters.
In the toyshop, the children stayed to join Olivia and her father for dinner. They were having cheddar rice with vegetables. Hiram was ready to serve seconds to his guests. "All right, who wants more?"
Olivia politely refused. "Oh, no, thank you, Daddy."
The toymaker huffed. "Now you don't like cheddar rice?" he asked in mock insult.
"No, Mr. Flaversham, we're just stuffed," Mokuba answered.
Hiram filled their plates anyway. "Stuffed, indeed," he scoffed. "Meanwhile, some mice are starving in Glasgow."
Leon chuckled. "My mother would say the same thing. Except her kin were starving in Vienna."
Rin tried to smile, but couldn't. She hated to think of people who were starving and couldn't find food. In addition, her memories of having to steal to survive weren't pleasant. People who caught her would gang up on her and beat her.
"I guess a little more wouldn't hurt," Shippo said and continued eating.
"I just hope we're not eating you out of house and home," Rini said, worried.
The toymaker laughed. "Nonsense. I have plenty."
The children still felt a little bad for Mr. Flaversham having to make so much of his and Olivia's food for them. Then they got an idea. Next time they would come visit, they would bring back plenty of food as a way to thank them.
After dinner, the children thanked Olivia and her father for their hospitality and promised to come back and visit again. Olivia even said they were all invited to come back to celebrate her birthday. It wasn't until several days, so this gave everyone enough time to figure out what kind of presents to give her. Mokuba, Rebecca, and Leon brought everyone back to the barrel Labramon was resting in and the canine-like Digimon carried everyone on his back and passed through an alley and wound up back in the Secret Garden.
Rini laughed and said, "That was great."
Shippo agreed. "Olivia's father was awfully nice to us. I can't wait to go back again."
Rin sighed. "I wonder what Olivia will want for her birthday."
"We can ask her when we next see her," said Kohaku. "Though I guess since she already has so many toys, she'll probably want something else."
The others agreed and began wondering the same thing. But what else would there be to give? The flowers that grew here were big. They could also give her new clothes, but they would need to know her size. They wondered if the mice-folk ate other things besides cheese. Did they have candy for mice in London? What about cakes and other goods? Well, the children still had time to figure things out. For now, they would just return to their worlds to rest and relax.
As for the Heroes of Millennia, they saw that it was starting to get late and they needed to find a place to stay. Thankfully, they were coming across an inn for humans. Underneath the inn was a small space used for rodents. They paid to stay for the night and were shown to their room.
Joey removed his coat and trousers and dressed into his sleepwear. "We didn't get to see too much of London."
Yugi agreed. "The hours sure went by fast."
Emily got an idea. "Maybe I could ask the innkeeper if they sell maps for guests. If not, I could ask if there's a place in town that sells maps."
Kaiba looked at his friends. "Don't you think we should be figuring out how we're going to find Ratigan?" As they looked at him, he reminded them of why they were here in London. "I know we just got here and I understand we should get familiar with the city, but we also did come here on business."
That was true. They couldn't forget that their main reason for coming to London was to help apprehend Ratigan and question him about the Dark Masters. They were also still curious to know how the rest of their friends happened upon this world.
But Emily had to give Kaiba a reality check. "Kaiba, Ratigan lives underground and operates in the shadows. A master criminal like himself would never allow himself to be captured so easily."
"His lair is in an abandoned cellar underneath the streets of London," Yugi explained. "And the whole layout is like a maze. Finding him won't be easy."
Joey yawned and said, "I just hope he doesn't know we're here in London. I'd hate to think of his lackeys being out in the streets looking for us."
His friends agreed, but they didn't want to think about that right now. They decided to rest and continue exploring tomorrow.
