A/N: I couldn't help it. This is my favorite Disney movie of all time, I just had to.

(deep end, meet Poet)

Note: I'm not sure how cameras worked in the late 1800s, that's why I kind of skipped a part.

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"Why do you have a picture of him if you hate him so much?"

It was innocent little Olivia who asked him the question just before she was about to follow her father out the door. She stood there, eyes wide with open curiosity, absolutely oblivious to the pain that had lashed through Basil. The case was over, the day was won, and he had hoped he would never have to think of him again.

At least, not in the presence of others.

Flashback

It couldn't be another dead end!

Basil sat at a wooden table that could barely be considered clean, swirling his finger through the mug of beer he'd yet to take a drink of. For the better part of the night he'd been tracking the newest menace of London, a mouse from Ireland who's original crimes of simple burglary had escalated to murder. The despicable creature had destroyed the life of a young girl and Basil was determined to catch him for that.

Either Toby somehow followed the wrong scent or he's been all over, Basil thought as he finally lifted his beer. He paused, then swiped his tongue over the finger he'd been swirling through it to determine whether or not it was drugged. He was rather relieved to find it wasn't; after spending the whole night searching he needed a drink and one beer wouldn't effect him in the least.

"Mind if I join you?"

Basil, who had just lifted the mug to take a drink, lowered it enough to see the one who had approached him. He was tall, so tall that if Basil hadn't known any better he would have sworn he was a rat. No, he couldn't be, he was too neat, his claws too short and well kept. Basil glanced around and realized there were no empty tables. He wondered how many times he'd asked that question; with his size he guessed most had turned him away.

"Certainly," He said finally, gesturing with his hand to indicate the other chair across from him.

"Thank you," the mouse smiled and as he sat down he gestured for the waitress to bring him a drink. "I'm Professor Ratigan."

"Professor?" Basil repeated, suddenly intrigued by his new drinking companion. "What's a Professor doing in a place like this?"

Ratigan smiled again. "What's a detective doing in a place like this?"

"Detective? What are you talking about?" Basil replied smoothly.

"Oh there's no need to hide, I know who you are," Ratigan said. "Basil of Baker street, the great detective. Don't worry, I'm not here to give you away."

"Then why are you here?" Basil asked, realizing it was no use continuing the charade. He was rather impressed and told himself to remember to ask how Ratigan knew him.

"You're tracking that mouse from Ireland that killed that poor girl last week, correct?" he waited for Basil to nod before continuing. "I'm not sure but I may have a clue as to where he is hiding."

"Really?" the word fairly dripped with interest and Basil leaned a little closer so he did not have to raise his voice.

Ratigan nodded. "I was taking a walk and saw someone going into a backdoor at the London Mouse."

"That's not so unusual," Basil said.

"Is it more unusual when it was ten o' clock at night and the door was locked?" Ratigan asked with a slow smile.

Basil couldn't help it, he smiled back. "Well alright, I suppose that is unusual. I'll have to take a look, thank you very much!"

With that Basil bounded to his feet and was heading for the door when he realized he was being followed. He turned and raised one eyebrow at the other mouse. "What are you doing?"

"Coming along," Ratigan replied simply.

"Look, I appreciate the tip but this is serious work and I cannot have anything distracting me," Basil said. "Why would you want to come anyway?"

"Well, there are two reasons," Ratigan said. "One being that I have nothing better to do and two being...well, as you are probably aware, I am very easily mistaken for a rat."

Basil nodded. "Yes, I thought as much," he said bluntly.

"Yes, well, I was rather pleased when you so readily accepted my request to join you. Besides, I'm sure I can be of some assistance."

Basil frowned thoughtfully; perhaps he could, he was a Professor after all and he'd been having little luck on his own that night, maybe having a fresh mind along would help his chances. "Alright, but if you start to distract me even once I'm sending you away!"

The London Mouse wasn't far from their location, so Basil decided to leave Toby where he was since he still didn't know much about his new ally. As they walked Basil subtly studied him and quickly decided that even if he wasn't a full blooded one, Ratigan definitely had rat in him. He was just too big to be pure mouse. Still, that wasn't his fault, and Basil could easily see why someone wouldn't want a fact like that known, so he kept his deduction to himself.

Their destination came into view as they turned a corner. "Ah, here we are!" Basil announced. "Which door was it?"

"This one," Ratigan said, leading the way around the building to the back alley. The lock had been broken and the door was still sitting open a few inches.

"Not very smart, this one," Basil muttered to himself as he inspected the lock. "This may not be the one I'm looking for. Still, can't hurt to have a look!"

Carefully, Basil pushed open the door and crept quietly inside. When he didn't hear anyone following he turned and was surprised to find Ratigan right behind him.

"I can be very quiet if I have to," the mouse whispered with a grin.

Basil didn't answer but secretly he was rather impressed. His small build helped him to be stealthy but he couldn't imagine trying to be silent with Ratigan's size.

From the door they were lead down a hall until they came to a room that was bare except for a camera. This immediately struck the detective as odd and he swept forward to inspect the camera while Ratigan began to wander about the room.

"See anything unusual?" Basil asked.

"I do believe has used that camera," was Ratigan's reply.

"What makes you say that?"

When he didn't receive an answer Basil peered around the camera and saw Ratigan pointing towards the floor. He glanced down and his eyes widened; a fair amount of dried blood was staining the floor.

"He must have taken a picture of his victim," Basil murmured to himself. A shudder ran through him at the vileness of it but he ignored the sensation; he could be disgusted later.

Basil ran back to the camera and for a moment he simply stared at it thoughtfully. Ratigan stood quietly where he had stopped, watching the mouse with a calm sort of intentness. Without realizing it Basil found himself staring back before he had a sudden, ridiculous urge.

"Don't move," Basil told him.

Ratigan frowned slightly. "Alright," He said slowly.

"I have an idea," Basil said as he raced behind the camera. "Perhaps if I do as the murderer did, I can come up with the next step."

The other mouse didn't listen to him; he moved enough to pose, though in the end that only amused Basil, enough that even after going through all the steps of the photo and not coming up with the next step he wasn't as horribly upset as he normally would have been.

"There's got to be something!" Basil muttered to himself as he began to pace. "Think!"

"Where did they find the body?" Ratigan asked suddenly.

"The river...the river!" Basil cried triumphantly. "I knew there was a reason I let you come along!"

Ratigan looked mildly confused but Basil wasn't wasting any time. "I'll explain on the way!" He told his companion excitedly. Then, in a slightly deflated tone. "Unless of course, you've had enough for one night?"

Ratigan simply smiled and began to walk down the hall. Basil let a quick smile flash across his face before he raced after him. As much as he was loathe to admit it, he always had more fun on cases when someone was with him.

"There's a place on the river where the low life's hide," Basil explained as they hurried down the street. "I can't believe I didn't think of it earlier. We'll have to sneak in, though, I don't have a disguise with me..."

"It won't be a problem," Ratigan said, pointing to his own face.

"Oh, well, I don't want to use your...er, I mean...ah..." Basil reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, something he did whenever faced with a situation such as this. He was so bad at being nice...

"Ugliness?" Ratigan suggested, his tone saying he'd heard this before.

"No! I don't think you're ugly at all!" Basil said insistently, and then he frowned at himself. This was a little odd for him...

"It's alright, I'm used to it," Ratigan assured him. He reached over suddenly and ruffled the extra bit of fur at the top of Basil's head. The action sent a strange shiver through him that he chose to ignore.

The remainder of the walk was made in silence. The tavern was a bit out of the way but not all that hard to find and when they walked in no one even dared to look at them. Ratigan was right, it wasn't a problem getting in.

"I'm going to try talking to the barmaid," Basil said quietly. "You try looking around, see if you find any clues."

Ratigan nodded and the two separated. Once the detective was distracted Ratigan suddenly slipped through a door in the back and by the time Basil was done talking he had returned. Briefly, while the mouse's back was still facing towards him, a bright anger shone in his eyes but it was gone by the time Basil turned to face him. All that remained was another emotion that, while genuine, was not going to detain him.

"Anything?" Basil asked.

"Possibly," Ratigan answered. "There's a door over there that leads further into the sewer. It might turn out to be nothing but..."

"It's worth a look," Basil finished. At this point he was willing to latch on to any lead, no matter how small.

The two went out the door and followed a path through the sewer, until they came to a large, open space with several bits of junk thrown about, including an old, empty barrel. Basil eyed it a moment, wondering if perhaps the murder had holed himself up in there.

"It's dark," Ratigan whispered, seeming to sense Basil's intent. "We'll have to be careful."

Basil nodded his agreement and the two began to make their way silently towards the ragged opening in the front.

The attack was sudden, so sudden that Basil knew immediately that the one waiting inside the barrel had seen or heard them coming. The force of the blow that was connected with his jaw sent him flying back into the wall. His head smacked against the hard wood and for a moment his vision went blurry. When it cleared he saw the vague outline of Ratigan and one other mouse. By the look of it Ratigan had him pinned against the other wall and while the mouse was putting up one hell of a fight he wasn't going anywhere.

"You're not so good at being careful," Ratigan said teasingly as Basil approached.

Basil made a humph sound and rubbed the back of his neck again, this time with embarrassment. "I assure you, this rarely happens."

Ratigan's answer was a quiet chuckle. "Shall we drag this fellow out into the light and see if he's the one you're looking for?"

Basil nodded. The two took the still struggling mouse out into the open...and Basil let out a deep sigh of relief.

"That's him," He said with a small smile.

---

Several hours later found the two in a small, cozy home Ratigan had insisted Basil accompany him to after their little adventure. Even though it was two in the morning, Basil found himself following the mouse into his home and sitting down next to a fire that had clearly been dead for some time while he waited for Ratigan to bring in tea.

"I can get a fire going if you'd like," Ratigan offered after he came back with a tray of tea.

"Not necessary," Basil assured him with a dismissive wave of his hand. He took his tea cup but didn't immediately take a sip, instead he rested his head back against the chair. He was quite tired but somehow he was unwilling to leave the other's company just yet.

"I'm actually glad you said that, I prefer the dark after a certain hour," Ratigan said with a smile.

Basil made a 'hm' sound of acknowledgement. Ratigan took his own cup from the tray but rather then sitting down in the chair across from Basil he moved to sit in the one directly beside him. Slowly, Basil's eyes followed him with a clear question.

"I have a confession to make," Ratigan said slowly. "I didn't simply approach you to give you tips on your case."

"I was starting to think as much," Basil said simply.

Ratigan didn't seem surprised by this answer. "Don't be alarmed," He said. "But my main purpose in approaching you was out of interest."

"Interest in what?" Basil asked curiously.

The other mouse laughed. "For a genius you can be a little slow," He said.

"Well I don't see..." and then he trailed off as it clicked. "Oh!"

Ratigan let out a heavy sigh, as though he was certain he knew what Basil's reaction would be. "Are you disgusted?"

"No!" Basil denied instantly, because strangely enough, he wasn't. "I'm just...surprised. It's been a long time since anyone showed interest towards me in that manner and I don't think I've ever been approached by a male before."

"There's a first for everything," Ratigan said with another one of his slow smiles.

Basil smiled back. "Yes, I suppose there is."

When Ratigan slid from his chair and approached Basil until he was hovering over him, his head just inches from the much smaller mouse. For an achingly long moment Ratigan simply hovered there, unmoving, and just when Basil thought he would explode from the anticipation the other mouse dove down and relieved it.

"Mr. Basil?"

Basil shook himself. It was that same night that Ratigan had tried to kill him. The whole night had been a set up, something Ratigan had planned for weeks after learning of the brilliant detective who would be his nemesis. He'd only narrowly escaped, and only because by some stroke of luck he had woken up in time to find Ratigan reaching for his throat. A quick strike to a sensitive place and his speed had seen him safely out of there but he'd never been able to shake the hurt.

"To remember," Basil said finally.

Olivia frowned, clearly not understanding. "To remember what?" she asked.

Basil shook his head. Oddly enough, the girl did seem to understand that.

"Yes, to remember what?" Dawson asked once the girl had left with her Father.

"To remember why I hunted him," Basil answered. He let out a sigh as the memory of the good portion of that night flashed vividly in his mind once more. His eyes sought out and found the picture he'd taken himself so long ago. His next words were soft, almost as if he'd forgotten Dawson was in the room at all.

"To remember why I had to hate him."

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A/N: Yeah. I'm insane. lol. Please review! ^_^.