(Short disclaimer before we begin: This is my first story here and my first attempt at an extended fanfic, so comments, suggestions, what not, are welcomed.

Oh, and I've heard from differing sources about Rover being a cat or a dog...hence the cat-dog comment. I'm just going off the assumption that no one knows for sure. P

I hope all of you enjoy it!)

Episode 1: Welcome to Fluffytown

I hate trains. I've always hated trains. They're big, crowded, clunky and they scare the living daylights out of me. They're nothing but giant mechanical smoky beasts of smoking doom.

...So why am I on one? Why did I get selected for this stupid assignment? Why did I even wake up this morning? Why do birds suddenly appear? WHY!

...Ahem. Sorry about that. It's just...of all things, the Fluffytown assignment. Of all the things Big Eddie could have given me this morning, he had to give me the Fluffytown assignment, "straight off the press" as he said, even though it's really about four days old now. I'm sorry; I meant "Agent" Big Eddie, voted the official "Coolest Boss in the World" by my fellow employees at SPOOK International, which everyone thinks is an acronym when it really isn't. I'm not supposed to disrespect my superiors, for they are infinitely wise and compassionate.

Excuse me while I snicker.

Still, I'd rather pull the Loch Ness monster's teeth than go to Fluffytown. Pulling Nessie's teeth really isn't that bad. She's gentle, she takes it well, and she'll give you a signed picture afterwards. From the information I have on Fluffytown, I'm not sure I can expect any such treatment. The policemen, Copper and Booker, look too serious to sign pictures; the local merchant, Tom Nook, looks like he would sell his for an arm and a leg; and I think the mayor, Tortimer, is older than camera technology by a couple of decades. Still, they need SPOOK's help to decipher some weird phenomena that have been taking place in recent times, and a paranormal investigation firm is the last place that should be picky about the jobs they take. Still, couldn't they have given it to someone other than me?

For a moment, I almost forgot I was on a train. That was before this blue cat-dog-looking thing with wide red eyes decided to walk up and stare at me. Did I mention that trains are crowded?

"Hi there!" the animal said, still staring with those wide eyes. "I'm Rover! Who are you?"

Annoyed, I thought to myself, but cleared my throat and gave a proper, professional response. "My name is Edgar," I said, shaking his paw, "and I'm from Capitaltown."

"Capitaltown!" He repeated the name of my hometown and his eyes somehow widened further. "Wow! That's such a big place! What do you do there?"

"I'm a treasure hunter," I replied, launching into the alibi that had been prepared for me.

"Treasure hunter?" His eyes bulged forth even farther and I started to worry. "Wow! Where are you going?"

"Oh, just some place called Fluffytown," I said, shrugging. "Got some rumor a couple of days back about some big treasure there. Thought I'd check it out personally."

"Big treasure?" Rover's eyes were now defying the laws of anatomy. "That's neat! I hope you find it!"

"Thanks!" I said, turning away, hoping that I had just ended the conversation. Rover continued to stand there, signaling that I had not.

"So," Rover continued, "do you have a place to stay in Fluffytown?"

"Yeah, I'm supposed to look up a guy named Tom Nook."

"You're in luck!" Rover's ears perked up. "Tom Nook is a good friend of mine. Let me call him up for you." He nodded his head quickly. "Fluffytown's just ahead, so there's not much time, and you might be out of luck if I don't get a word in for you."

I blinked. Was he actually being useful? "Wow! Thanks!" I said, trying to hide my surprise.

"Anything for a friend!" Rover said with a wide smile as he ran off to the phone. I saw him enter the booth, and his expressions were animated as he talked, but I couldn't make out any words. He emerged a few minutes later, his smile still there.

"It's all set up for you!" he said, right before the announcement came over the speaker that the train was about to reach Fluffytown. "Just in time, too!" he added as the announcement ceased.

"Fluffytown, next stop!" the conductor repeated. "Doors opening on your left!" I looked out the window and saw trees and small buildings come into view. I sighed, knowing I was looking at my home for at least the next week, and picked up my suitcase. The train came to a jarring stop, and I was forced back into my seat as the sound of steam expelling entered my ears.

At least I won't be on a train anymore, I thought to myself as I stood up.

"Thanks for your help!" I said to Rover as I departed.

"Thank you, too!" Rover said. "Good luck in Fluffytown!" He waved to me and I brought my hand up slightly in a half-hearted wave. As I stepped off the train, watching it go, he was still watching me through the window with that wide-eyed smile.

With the train now long gone, I looked around at the area beyond the platform, my temporary home for the week. There were snow-capped trees in every direction. The ground was dusted with snow and had paw and hoof tracks in it. At first glance, Fluffytown looked like a normal town. This, of course, assumes that your definition of normal includes flying mail-carrying pelicans. Or raccoons in business suits.

"Oh ho ho!" the raccoon bellowed as he looked up at me. "What have we here? A newcomer? Oh, this is wonderful!"

"Are you Tom Nook?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"The very same." He tugged on his suit.

"I'm Edgar from Capitaltown," I said, "the one Rover told you about."

"Rover?" Nook blinked his wide eyes. "I never got a call from a Rover. Come to think of it, I don't know anyone named Rover."

There was awkward silence for a moment.

"Didn't you get anything from SPOOK?" I asked tentatively.

"SPOOK?" Tom Nook cocked his head at me and squinted his eyes. Then, there was more silence. My superiors always told me the best way to break awkward silence was by showing your badge. I took out my wallet and flipped it open.

"These are my credentials," I said, extending my wallet out so that Nook could see it. "I'm a paranormal investigator. Our organization received a report about some strange phenomenon and I was sent to check it out." I flipped the wallet shut. "I just need a place to stay while I write up my report. It might take a week at most."

Tom Nook nodded his head.

"It doesn't have to be a fancy place," I continued, "in fact, as long as it has a roof and a bed, I'm happy. I've got an expense account and they can wire you the...are you listening to me?"

"What?" Nook shook his head. "Oh, I must apologize. I was admiring your suit."

"...My suit?"

"Yes, the sheen on it is remarkable." Nook reached out and felt my sleeve. "Oh, and the fiber content! Absolutely wonderful! I would die to have a suit like this."

"Can we get back to the house topic, please?" I rolled my eyes.

"Not to worry," Nook said, holding up his hands, "I heard everything. My ears are specially trained for words like 'expense account' and 'wire.' Fortunately, there are houses available for, say...ten thousand bells a day?"

I felt myself flinch and wish I hadn't. "Seven thousand?" I said weakly.

"I don't haggle," Nook said, flashing a smile. "What's the problem? I thought you had an expense account." He chuckled. "Why don't you call them right now and set it up?"

"Fine." I pulled out my phone and dialed SPOOK.

"SPOOK International! This is Diane speaking. How may I direct your call?"

"It's me, Edgar."

"Oh, hi, Edgar! How's Fluffytown!" I heard laughter on the other end and resisted the urge to gouge someone's eye out with the antenna. Nook, sensing my frustration, stepped back.

"Can you do a money transfer? I need ten thousand bells per day, and I'm looking at six, maybe seven, days..."

"Oh dear...I'm afraid I have some bad news about that."

Bad news. Of course.

"You see, Miranda in accounting had her birthday recently, and we couldn't get everyone to chip in enough. So we had to clean out everyone's expense accounts, including yours."

"Clean out? I mean, it's great that Miranda had her birthday, but what in the world costs so much anyway? Did you buy her a car or something?"

"Oh, heavens, no. A car is much cheaper than that. Miranda's always wanted a yacht..."

"YACHT!"

Nook took several steps back.

"How could you...why did you...a yacht...my expense...gaaah!" My superiors always told me to take a deep breath in panic situations, so I did. It seemed like a good alternative to breaking the phone. "So when will I get the money?"

No response.

"Diane? Hello?"

Click

"Oh ho ho!" Tom Nook rubbed his hands together. "Having a little technical difficulty?"

I suppressed the urge to growl.

"Never fear, Mr. Paranormal Investigator. I have a solution for this problem. It just depends on how good you would look in my work uniform..."

"That's out of the question," I replied, exasperated. "I have a job to do!"

"But surely you understand my position, right?" Nook turned his head and winked suddenly. "I mean, surely you would not deprive my nephews of decent clothing..."

There was silence. Nook coughed. And coughed again. And coughed a third time.

"Are you okay?" I asked, but he waved dismissively.

"Surely...you...would...not...deprive...MY...NEPHEWS...of...decent...clothing..."

As if on cue, for some reason no one would ever figure out, two little raccoons emerged in burlap sacks. They had sad looks in their eyes.

"Help us out, mister!" squealed the first one.

"-mister!" the second one said a moment late.

"See how they live?" Nook wailed. "See how they suffer? Oh, the raccoonity!"

"Wait..." I peered in closer at the sacks. "These burlap sacks are solid gold!"

"But we want the diamond model!" said the first nephew.

"...model!" The second chimed in. I looked at them, then looked up at Nook and knew I was defeated.

"Very well," I said, "I'll work off the debt as long as it gets me a house."

"Excellent!" Nook said. "Come, I'll show you the place and then you can get started." As I followed him, I decided that working wouldn't be so bad. It would give me a nice excuse to meet the locals and gather more information. Who knows, I might even like this.

"Oh, by the way," Nook said, "I hope you won't miss that suit you're wearing. I thought I might pay you a little extra for it." He threw back his head and laughed. "Oh, and one other thing," Nook said, "I have a backlog right now, so I was wondering if you might work overtime?"

I sighed. This is going to be a long week...