A Heroes' Helper to the Rescue

At the moment, Basil was the only one who was being told of the plan. Kaiba whispered into the detective's ear, telling him of a subtle, but cunning way to fool Ratigan and rescue Emily. The detective listened and as he took in the details, he agreed to cooperate. With that being settled, Kaiba raised his scepter and changed his appearance. Now his clothes were brown instead of red and his eyes were green instead of blue. He had made himself look like Basil.

Kaiba looked back at his friends. "What do you think?" he asked. "You said it yourself, Wheeler, I do almost look like Basil. All I had to do was make a few small alterations."

The blonde weakly laughed. "That is pure genius, Kaiba."

"But what about your voice?" Yugi asked, noticing that Kaiba still had his original voice.

The brunette already had that covered. When it comes to imitating voices, magic isn't a necessity. It's a talent that comes naturally. "If Briar can do it, I can do it," Kaiba said, imitating Basil's voice.

Basil also had a talent for disguising his voice as well as his appearance. By carefully observing those around him, even he could imitate their voices. "You just leave it to us," he said, imitating Kaiba's voice.

"Before you go out there," Yugi was saying, "how long will the effects of the barrier last for?"

"Don't worry about that," Kaiba assured him. "As long as you stay inside, you'll be invisible."

"Okay, but if anything happens, we'll come help you," Yugi said.

Kaiba shrunk his scepter into the size of a small pen and tucked it inside his coat. He and Basil stepped outside of the barrier and began to look around. The basement was dank, but there was a little light coming from the lamp on the ceiling. Kaiba sniffed the air around him. The basement didn't carry the strong scent of many animals like it did upstairs. But he was able to detect the scent of a rodent. He hoped that it was Emily's scent.

Basil waved at Kaiba to get his attention. The detective pointed up at a cage on top of the table. The only way to know if Emily was trapped in the cage was to climb up. Kaiba couldn't risk using his magic at the moment. That would be a dead giveaway. Kaiba also had a feeling that Ratigan would be expecting him and Basil to climb to the table.

Before the two of them could think of a plan, the sound of sinister laughter filled the room. "I wondered when you would show up," said Ratigan's voice. Basil and Kaiba looked and saw the professor coming down with a rope. "Oh, my," he said, feigning surprise. "What have we here? Two Basils?"

"Indeed, Ratigan," the detective replied. "But which of us is the real Basil?"

"And which one is in disguise?" Kaiba asked, imitating his voice.

The professor chuckled in amusement. If there was one thing he loved next to tormenting his enemies, it was playing games with them. "What will I do? Which one is which?" he asked mockingly.

"Ask a question only I would know," Basil said.

"Or would you rather we ask you a question only you would know?" Kaiba asked.

That wasn't necessary for Ratigan. He already knew who the real Basil was. He and the detective had been after each other for years and they knew each other too well. The professor looked at Basil, then at Kaiba, then back at the detective, then back at the brunette. "You must be one of the Heroes of Millennia," the rat said to Kaiba. "I've been expecting you."

"So you saw through me," Kaiba said, not sounding impressed. He took out his scepter and returned to his original form. "Honestly, I'm not surprised."

"So why pull off a petty trick?" Ratigan wondered.

"I know you love playing games, Ratigan," the brunette said. "I figured if we could play for a little bit, then my friends and I would be able to buy some time."

The professor smirked. "I can see you love playing games too."

Kaiba smirked back. "Yeah, and like you, I hate to lose."

"I think we've played enough," said Basil. "Where's the princess?"

Ratigan wasn't about to give up so easily. He still had a few tricks up his sleeve. "If you would like, I'll gladly take you to her. But why don't we have the rest of your friends join us?"

Kaiba kept a firm grip on his scepter. If there was one thing he knew about rats, it was that they were not to be trusted. Basil had warned Kaiba that the professor didn't like to be called a rat, but Kaiba wasn't afraid. It's also times like these when someone is asked, 'Are we men or mice?'. On the outside, Kaiba was a mouse. But inside, he was still a man. Perhaps it was time to take the concept literally.

Unfortunately, that wasn't about to happen right now. Kaiba picked up the scent of many more mice. Ratigan's goons were closing in, getting ready to ambush him and Basil.

From inside the barrier, Yugi and Joey saw this and knew that their friends needed help. Joey was finally starting to feel a little better. He could stand on his feet again without much difficulty. He drew his bow and took an arrow from his quiver and steadied himself as he followed Yugi out of the barrier. Taking aim, Joey shot his arrow and it flew towards Ratigan, but it missed the professor. The arrow made contact with the desk leg and released sparks of electricity, scaring most of the henchmice.

Ratigan saw Joey and Yugi coming and shouted, "Get them!"

It began turning into an all-out fight as the henchmice tried to subdue the heroes, only to end up being fought off. Unable to use his bow and arrows at the time, Joey relied on his strength, punching and kicking the henchmice. Kaiba did the same thing and used his scepter like a baseball bat to knock them away.

Basil saw that Yugi was in trouble and needed help. He weaved his way through the swarm and got him out. The detective then reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a revolver. "Yugi, do you know how to use this?"

Yugi looked at the weapon in shock. He was skilled with a sword, but he had never used a gun of any kind before. "No, I-"

"Just aim and pull the trigger," Basil said, handing over the weapon. Yugi felt his adrenaline running as he held the revolver in his hands. He was afraid to use it because he was afraid he would kill someone unintentionally. But he had to defend himself.

Yugi saw Ratigan coming towards him. Without thinking, he pointed the revolver towards the ceiling and pulled the trigger, releasing the sound of a gunshot. The bullet came into contact with the wiring of a lamp, causing the lamp to fall from the ceiling and shatter on the ground.

Basil was astounded. "Did you actually aim for that?" he asked Yugi.

"Actually, I did," he said with a weak laugh.

The impact of the lamp falling produced a small fire. Thankfully, Kaiba was able to douse the flames with his magic. There was also still a little bit of light coming from the oil lamps on the walls. Unfortunately, Ratigan ended up receiving a few small cuts and scrapes from the shattered glass.

Fidget whistled to get his boss's attention. "We've got company!"

The professor looked and saw a strange looking dog coming down the stairs. It was Labramon and riding on top of him was Leon. "Guys, we're here to help!"

The heroes looked and saw Leon. "Mr. Schroeder?" Basil asked.

Leon smiled. "Glad you're still speaking to me." He looked to his partner. "Round 'em up, Labramon!"

"My pleasure," he replied. He ran around the basement, giving chase to the henchmice and driving them inside a small cage for rodents.

Ratigan watched and saw his minions being locked up. "That dog is rousting up my men like fowl!"

Basil grinned and said to Leon, "You didn't tell me you were bringing a secret weapon, Mr. Schroeder."

Leon smiled and pointed up with his index finger. "That's what makes it a secret."

The heroes agreed. They were certainly not expecting Leon and Labramon to come to the rescue. Basil turned his attention back to the professor. "All right, Ratigan, free the princess or Labramon here will chase and trap all of your minions until we find her."

That was of no concern to the rat. "I can find more men to work for me, but you can't find another princess." He produced a key from his pocket. "Without this key, you'll never find her."

Smart move, Ratigan, Kaiba thought sarcastically. He used his magic to transport the key from the rat's hand into his own hand. "You should never let your overconfidence get the better of you." He raised his scepter again and used his scepter to transform himself, Yugi, and Joey back into humans.

Ratigan looked up in horror as he saw the heroes in their true forms. Fidget and some of the henchmice cowered behind him like children hiding behind parents. "Save us," they begged the professor.

The rat gulped and said, "I'd like to save you, but…" he paused, then said, "I have an important meeting with my employers. Cheerio." And he ran towards a small opening in the wall with Fidget and the others following him.

"He got away," Kaiba growled.

"Look on the bright side," Joey was saying. "We got the key. Now we can save Emily."

"First I'd better change us back," the brunette suggested. He used his magic to turn himself and his friends into mice again.

Basil walked towards the heroes. "You three never cease to amaze me." He was upset that he wasn't able to apprehend Ratigan, but at least with the help of the heroes and Leon and Labramon, most of the henchmen were apprehended. Basil would make sure that they would be taken to Scotland Yard.

"Guys, we found Emily," Leon said. Labramon came out of another room and carried another carrier with his teeth. And there she was, safe and well. Kaiba inserted the key in the lock and turned it, setting her free. Emily stepped out and began embracing her friends.

There was no time to celebrate. Leon warned everyone that human officials were coming to inspect the shop after being reported of a commotion that was disturbing some folks. Kaiba used his magic to teleport everyone out of the shop.

Once everyone was outside, Leon and Labramon decided to head back to Flaversham's Toys. He would explain everything to the heroes once he would see them tomorrow. Basil decided to take the caged criminals to Scotland Yard with the help of Toby, who had been patiently waiting outside. As for the heroes, they agreed to head back to Baker Street and wait for the detective.