Run Around, Run Around
Early the next morning, Emily asked the innkeeper if there was a place that sold maps. The innkeeper said there was a shop a few miles from here close to the train station where she could by a map or two. He gave her a list of directions and told her where to go. The blonde thanked him and returned to her room.
She saw her friends fixing up the beds. "The innkeeper said there's a shop that sells maps next to the train station. It's a long way, but I think we can make it."
Kaiba took the directions from her. "I guess this would be an opportunity for us to see if we can use our powers here." He looked at his friends. "We'll have to do it someplace quietly, where we won't be seen."
Yugi agreed. He didn't think the mice-folk would be accustomed to the supernatural. "Maybe we can start here before we go." He concentrated on unfolding his wings, but they wouldn't come out. "I guess we can't fly as mice."
"Well, the thought of mice with wings actually is a little ridiculous," Kaiba commented. He grasped his scepter. "Maybe I can just teleport us to the train station."
"We'll have to leave the room first," said Emily. "The innkeeper knows we're still here."
That was true. The heroes walked out of the room and returned the key to the innkeeper and said they were on their way. Once they left the inn and found a shrub close by, Kaiba used his scepter to teleport everyone to a secluded part of the train station where they wouldn't be seen.
The brunette gave a small laugh. "Well, at least I can use my magic."
"Maybe I still can too," Emily wondered. She held her hands together and produced a small flame. "Looks like I can."
"Good for you," Joey said.
Kaiba detected a little bit of jealousy in his tone. "Take it easy, Wheeler. You and Yugi may not be able to use your powers, but you can still protect yourselves."
He had a point. They did still have their weapons, and they would need them, considering how heavily armed Ratigan and his goons were. They carried guns, knives, and chloroform to sedate their victims.
The heroes found their way out of the train station and saw the salesmouse who sold maps. "I've got maps of London, maps of Paris, even maps of Scotland," he announced. "I've got many kinds of maps for tourists and newcomers. You name it, I got it."
"I'll take a map of London, please," Emily said politely, presenting a few gold coins.
The salesmouse handed over the map and took the coins from her. "Good choice, your royal cuteness," he said, putting a coin in his teeth. Emily weakly laughed. She removed the crown from her head and placed it in her knapsack. The crown certainly was a dead giveaway that she was a princess. That and some mice thought she was a wealthy mouse dressed up for a costume party. They thanked the salesmouse and left his shop and walked inside and empty crate.
She unfolded the map and laid it out on the ground. "Here we are at the train station," she began. She glanced around, trying to find Baker Street.
"There it is," Yugi said, pinpointing the location. "Gosh, that's pretty far."
"I can just teleport us," said Kaiba. "That'll save us some time. Once we get there, we can ask the detective about the Dark Masters. I also want to ask him about my brother and if he's seen him and his friends around."
"Guys, look at this," Joey cried. He rejoined his friends and showed them a newspaper he got from a delivery boy. The blonde remembered having that kind of job a long time ago and he enjoyed it. As such, he picked up the habit of reading newspapers once in a while to look for something new.
The newspaper showed an article about attacks in the night. According to witnesses, thugs were attacking homeless and destitute rodents and abducting them. "Why target the poor and destitute?" Emily asked.
"According to the report, witnesses claim that the victims all carried the distinctive traits of having blue eyes, brown eyes, blonde hair, brown hair, and even dark hair," Joey said as he read the contents. He looked at his friends. "We have those traits too. Emily and I both have blonde hair, she and Kaiba both have blue eyes, mine are brown, Kaiba's a brunette, and Yugi's got dark hair." He looked back at the newspaper. "For the targeted victims to have those traits-,"
"I was just thinking the same thing," Kaiba interrupted. "There's no way this is a coincidence. It's obvious Ratigan knows we're here and he's using his lackeys to hunt us down."
"What do we do?" Emily asked.
Yugi folded up the map and placed it in his backpack. "Let's go to Baker Street," he suggested. "I'm sure Basil is already aware of these events. Maybe we can help him stop these attacks and rescue the rodents."
Joey gulped. "I'd hate to imagine what Ratigan plans to do with his victims."
"I only hope Mokuba and his friends are safe, wherever they are," Kaiba prayed. He took his scepter used his magic to teleport himself and his friends to Baker Street.
When they arrived, the heroes took a moment to take in their surroundings. It seemed like a nice spot. Joey's ears perked up as he heard the sound of a violin playing. Looking up, he saw the shadow of Sherlock Holmes himself playing his instrument. Yugi looked up too and was just as amazed to see the human detective. It would probably be just as amazing to meet him in person, but there was no time to think about that. They rejoined their friends and came to the front door of 221 ½ Baker Street.
"Is this the right address?" Kaiba asked his friends.
"It is," Yugi answered. He approached the door and knocked on it thrice. "Mr. Basil?" he asked.
A few seconds passed and there was no answer. "Maybe he's not home," Emily figured.
Yugi sighed. "We'll have to wait."
"This is just our luck," Kaiba groaned. "We come here on urgent matters and he's already out on a case."
"It can't be helped," Emily told him. "It's his job as a detective."
"Why don't we get something to eat while we're waiting?" Joey suggested. "I'm starved."
Before Emily could say anything, her stomach let out a gurgling sound, indicating that she was hungry too. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a brunch break."
Yugi took out the map, looking for some potentially good restaurants or small dining facilities close by. "It doesn't look like there are any places close by," he said.
"We could always just go back to the Secret Garden," Emily suggested. "Then we can come back here."
Kaiba agreed. That would save them some time and energy. He really didn't want to waste his energy teleporting himself and his friends from place to place. So they turned a corner and came to an alley and walked through, coming to the Secret Garden. The brunette then used his magic to turn everyone back into humans.
Joey gave a sigh of relief. It felt good to be a human again. Though he knew that once he and his friends would return to London, they would be mice again. Nonetheless, they would grab a quick bite to eat while they were here, then they would return to Baker Street.
An idea suddenly clicked in Kaiba's mind. "Briar, that mouse child we saw Leon escort home, what did you say her name was?"
Emily swallowed her food and answered, "Olivia Flaversham. Why do you ask?"
"I want to check something out at headquarters before we go back to London," he said. "It's something I should have thought of a long time ago."
Joey came back with a few bananas in his hands. He would have something to snack on while Kaiba was doing some investigating. "So let's get going."
The heroes gathered their snacks and made their way to their secret headquarters. Kaiba reached into his pocket and took out his glasses and placed them over his eyes. Then he typed Olivia's name on the keyboard and the screen displayed her information. "Olivia Flaversham," the brunette began. "She's the daughter of Hiram Flaversham, a widowed toymaker."
"What did happen to her mother, anyway?" Joey asked. "I've always been curious about that."
"There's not much information about that, I'm afraid," Kaiba answered. "It only says there was a terrible accident and she didn't survive." He faced Yugi and asked, "Do you still have that map, Yugi?"
In response, he pulled it out of his backpack and held it out to Kaiba. The brunette took it and scanned it, allowing its image to display on the screen. He was going to use this to locate the toyshop. "If I'm right about Mokuba and his friends being friends with that mouse girl, then it's more than likely that they're staying with her and her father at their toyshop." He looked back at the screen. "Not far from Baker Street, it looks like."
"I guess we could always stop at the toyshop to make sure Mokuba and the others are okay," said Yugi.
Kaiba got a printout of the map with the directions to the toyshop and gave it to Yugi to hold on to. "Guess that's one thing out of the way, right?" Joey asked.
Kaiba wasn't listening. He figured, "Maybe I can use this to locate Ratigan's hideout even though it's under the streets of London." He shrugged and decided it was worth a shot. But in his efforts, the search was futile. There were no results. Somehow this wasn't surprising to the heroes. Of course, a master criminal like Ratigan wouldn't let himself be easily detected. Even so, there must be some place he would frequently visit.
"Looks like it's back to square one," Joey figured.
"Looks that way," Emily figured.
Kaiba removed his glasses. "We'll go back to Baker Street. If Basil still has not yet returned home, we can pay a visit at the toyshop." His friends agreed with the plan. They left their secret headquarters and made their way back to the thicket.
Before they could pass through the door to London, Joey told his friends to wait. "Hold on, I have to stop." He pressed his hand against his stomach. "Darn cramps," he groaned.
"We did just eat," Emily recalled. "Maybe we should rest for a while before we return to London."
Kaiba sighed in annoyance. "All right," he said. "But only for a little bit." So they all sat down to rest their stomachs. The brunette looked at the door, hoping his brother and the others were all right.
