Shortly after escaping a malicious gang of alley cats, Heathcliff and Fievel Mousewitz wandered out into the deserted streets that night in search for food, shelter and a new home since they had been left behind by their previous owners and left homeless.
A little while later, they saw a shadow move, and it appeared to be traveling on the same bridge Heathcliff and Fievel were on. Was it an angry dog whom Heathcliff had beaten up before? Was it a mean alley cat who had terrorized Fievel before? Both the cat and the mouse hid underneath the bridge, hoping not to get caught. When they watched the figure run past them, they saw that it was an eight-year-old Latina girl with short dark brown hair, cute brown eyes. She wore a pink top, purple backpack, short orange skirt, yellow socks and white ballet flats. Along beside her was a young humanoid grey monkey with a pink face and hands, a yellow chest, and yellow tip of his tail and on his feet, he wore a pair of red boots.
Heathcliff cautiously tip-toed down the steps towards under the bridge, only to accidentally knock over an empty soda can, sending it rolling at the girl's foot. As he approached closer, he was met with a swift swing by the young girl's purple backpack.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold it, hold it there!" Heathcliff said, backing up.
"Huh, who are you?" The small Latina girl asked, confused as she and the monkey stepped out of the shadows.
"Oh, I thought you were following us." The monkey said as he came closer to Heathcliff and Fievel.
"Oh, no. Not at all." Fievel replied. "We were wandering around, when you can running down..."
"Who are you?" The grey monkey asked.
"Oh, he's Heathcliff," Fievel pointed to the orange tabby with thin black stripes. "And my name is Fievel."
"Hola, I'm Boots." The monkey introduced himself.
"Say, you wouldn't have anything, like a bite to eat or anything?" Heathcliff asked.
"well," said the Latina girl, as she searched in her purple backpack. "We've got some cookies, some apples..."
Later on, Boots, the little Latina girl, Fievel and Heathcliff sat down together as they ate.
"So your name is Dora, and you ran away from home." Fievel said, as he took a look at something around the little Latina girl's neck.
"How'd you know?" The girl, now known as Dora, asked. "It says so right on your golden locket."
"Oh, sÍ. My name is Dora Marquez, and I'm afraid Boots and I don't have a home anymore, I'm an orphan," Dora began. "My Mami died when I was little."
"And what about your father?" Fievel asked, as he took a bite from his cookie.
"My Papi was climbing a mountain on an expedition in Tibet, when a drift gave away an Anval..."
"An avalanche, right?" Heathcliff finished for her.
"Sí, he was the most wonderful father in the world." the little Latina girl opened her golden locket, revealing a picture of a man with brown hair and brown eyes, just like Dora, and he was wearing a light blue shirt. He was Dora's father, Cole Lewis Marquez.
"That's not all, her aunt Coco LaBouche has taken over the Marquez household." Boots explained. "Coco's not really her aunt, just her guardian."
"She even gave my room to her el gato, Lucifer." Dora added.
"Lucifer?" Heathcliff repeated. "Then where do you sleep?"
"With Lucifer sleeping in Dora's room, she forced Dora herself to sleep in the attic." Boots added.
"Sí, and she's always calling me an orphan. Coco even stole my locker my Papi gave me and threw it out the window. But Boots found it, and we..."
"Kept on running." Fievel put in.
"Sí, as fast as we could go." Dora said. "And I am never going back!"
"Smooth move, kid." Heathcliff said sarcastically. "You've got a roof over your head and plus three square meals a day, and now you're throwing it all away for nothing."
"Heathcliff has a point, Dora." Fievel pointed out, knowing how important it was to have a home. "You never know what you've got until it's gone,"
"But you don't even know my aunt Coco." Dora argued. "she may seem sweet, but deep down she's mean."
"Sí," Boots added. "real mean."
"Don't get me wrong," Heathcliff insisted. "but I'm sure she's crying your eyes out for you right this minute."