Detective Conan/Case Closed 1. Welcome to the Game

_I've been wanting to write something like this for a while and finally got the opportunity. I will warn in advance that this will take some pretty dark turns, so if that isn't your thing, beware._

_Main warnings for this chapter: Some cursing and physical harm to protagonist._

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How did it all end up this way? Everything had started off so simple, so normal… and suddenly that turned into the scent of blood and the cold feeling of chains binding his right leg and arm. Now all that was certain was that he was chained to some unknown object.

Admittedly, he took longer than he should have before realizing that the darkness around him was different from blindness and that nothing was obscuring his vision. This came to his attention when his eyes began to adjust, revealing silhouettes scattered on all sides of him.

As his focus came, he took in as much of the scene around him as the darkness would permit: a minimal of five silhouettes in front of him, lying on the ground. Upon turning his head for a better scan, he came to the realization that there was another silhouette directly next to him. This wouldn't have been a bad thing if his chains were not also bound to the object under the silhouette, restricting his movement.

This wasn't good. Darkness. Blood. Restricted movement. His captor certainly knew what they were doing. The fact that there was blood meant that the others had either been beaten before coming here or that they had tried to resist or escape and had been beaten then. Either way, it wasn't heartening. The realization also hit him at that moment that these people were injured and potentially dying right before his darkened vision and that he could do _nothing_ to help. That thought brought a cold feeling to his stomach.

_First thing's first,_ he thought, composing himself, _I need to get rid of these chains, or at least get a longer leash than what I have. After that I can hopefully help these people out…_ Using his hands to locate something that he could use to pick himself up, he was able to carefully get to his feet, hearing the soft _clink_ of his chains as his right arm and leg moved. _Just those two limbs, huh? Guess I lucked out._ Following the length of the chains with unsteady steps and careful hands, he managed to find where the chains fell under the fallen shadow and lightly pulled; only receiving a louder _clink_ in return. _No good. It might be better to just move the person instead…_ And so, he shifted his efforts to moving the person enough to find the object he was chained to, pushing to get the person away, but cautious in case of wounds as well. Further injuring someone wasn't on his to-do list.

Even when it felt like he had made some progress in moving the person, however, nothing was added to the chains' lengths. Either he had made no progress at all or he was chained to this individual. _Darn it._ Well, it couldn't be helped. He'd just have to find some way to bring them back to consciousness.

"Hey," he started, shaking where he believed to be the person's shoulder to be, "wake up…" He stopped when he felt warm liquid drip to his hand. _Blood. Don't tell me they're dead…_ he thought in alarm, feeling that familiar cold sensation creeping into his stomach.

"It's no use," a cold feminine voice spoke, breaking through the silence of the darkness. "He's been unconscious since he was brought here. Who knows," an oddly pleased tone came upon the voice, "he may already be dead for all I know."

Startled, he looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. "What do you mean? What's going on here?" he asked with urgency, quickly looking for the shadow's neck to try to find a pulse. Thankfully the person was still alive.

"The one you're trying to wake was already beaten prior to being thrown in here with us." A soft giggle emitted from the darkness, sending a slight chill down his spine as it left the pit of his stomach. "That's what happens to those that resist _his_ might."

"Whose might? Who captured everyone? Where are we? Why are we here?" Everything came out in quick succession before he could stop himself.

The giggle sounded again before the voice answered, "Why, we're in Hell, Little One. The devil himself came and stole us, one-by-one. We're here because he desired it to be so. And there is no escape."

"There has to be some way," a new male voice groaned, joining the conversation.

"Ah, so you are alive after all. Pity."

_So he's okay… Good. At least I know there are at least two living people here aside from me…_ he thought, relieved that the other male seemed alright.

"Apologies," the other groaned. "Had I known you wanted me dead, I would've gladly obliged, Your Highness." Sarcasm laced the other's remark and a slight huff was heard from the feminine voice.

_Oi oi, looks like these two won't get along well. No help there…_

The sound of shuffling clothes and chains broke him out of his thoughts as the other male moved, trying to get into a proper sitting position. Yes, he was chained to this guy for certain. "What hit me…?" the other's pained voice questioned as an arm moved to rub the most prominent wound.

"Are you alright, Onii-san?"

"Ah… yeah. I think so. Just sore and have a headache."

"You were captured by the Forsaken Soul; of course you're in pain. But don't worry, I'm sure you won't live long enough to feel much more." The feminine voice chimed in, annoyed.

"Harsh. I was thinking something more along different lines. I'm going to get out of here so I won't have to worry about this 'Forsaken Soul' guy. If you're nice, I'll even help you escape as well." Confidence radiated from the other's tone; he was entirely convinced that he'd be able to make it out of this place alive. "By the way, why am I chained to something?" He asked in a nonchalant tone, more curious than concerned.

"I suppose I should learn your name then," she replied coldly. "Little One's as well. You two are the only new arrivals in quite some time."

"Just call me 'Kai,'" the other replied with a yawn. "When my eyes adjust I plan on exploring this place a little."

"Ah, um," he said, trying to decide on what to say, "I'm Conan. And who are you, Onee-san?"

"Akeru," she replied. "You'll learn the others in time… if you live that long."

Conan nodded, glad to have some type of identification for these two beyond just voice. "Akeru-neesan, what all do you know about how we got here?" Hopefully this time he'd receive a better answer.

"I don't know much, Conan-kun," she replied, somehow kinder and more thoughtful with her answer, "but I do know that, in some capacity, Kaitou Kid was involved. At least, according to the ones that brought you two here. A lone child—you—were wandering the area after Kid's heist and were taken. I do not claim to know why. Kai, on the other hand, tried to be a hero and failed, thus you both were captured."

"Explains my aching head," Kai murmured, clinking the chains as he continued to rub the back of his head. There was something about Kai's voice that sounded familiar, yet unfamiliar all at once. It'd probably be impossible to place until Conan had more than just a voice to work with, however. "Oh, and what _am_ I chained to? No one ever said."

Conan would've replied, but found that as Kai stood and stretched that his own body was forcibly lifted from the ground. "O-oi! Don't do that!" Conan yelled, startling Kai into dropping the stretch.

"Oh, I'm chained to you. Gomen, Conan-kun." Kai let out a slight chuckle, "looks like we're going to explore together then. Gotta find a way out of here, after all."

"You'll only kill yourself and Conan-kun by doing this, you realize."

"I'm a professional," Kai chuckled, "we'll be okay." Gaining a more serious tone, he continued, "and anyways, if we want to escape alive, we can't just sit still and wait for them to get us. We need to act first and fast."

"Good luck then," Akeru said, falling into silence. She had lost her previous annoyance and seemed to have moved into a tone of hopelessness. It was hard to say which was worse: her confidence in the complete impossibility of escape or her lack of confidence in those around her.

"Thanks," Kai replied, moving to face Conan's shadow. "You ready to look around, Kiddo?"

"Yeah," Conan agreed, following Kai as the larger boy led him around their dark prison. Once or twice, the two stumbled over a shadow they hadn't noticed, but overall, their progress in finding and following the walls went unhindered.

The room was larger than anticipated, with cracked stone for walls and odd pieces of metal jutting out every few meters. Everything was cold and, from following the walls, they discovered that there were no windows in this room at all. The shadows of the others seemed to vanish the further into the room they went and the darkness seemed to become more oppressive and deep.

_How is it possible? Was there some light where we were earlier that I didn't notice?_ Conan thought, trying to find some explanation for this oddity. Kai either didn't notice the change or didn't mention it, which slightly bothered the boy. _Just who am I chained to exactly?_

As they wandered the walls, the smaller boy began to feel a cold wind blowing. It was weak, but present, forcing an involuntary shiver down his spine. Were they close to an exit?

"Oi," Kai spoke up after a long time of silent searching, "I found words in the wall." Carefully feeling over the kanji-shaped scars in the wall for a short while, he murmured, "_'Here is Start. Death is Finish._' Well, that's a pleasant message, ne?"

'_Here is Start. Death is Finish'? Seems like what Akeru-san said is exactly what our captor wants us to feel. And he's doing it well. We need to get out of here and get the police's help._

"It's almost like someone wants to scare us into giving up from the get-go." Kai's tone changed, becoming resolved, "then no matter what, Conan-kun, promise me that you won't be scared by such things. I'll promise that as well."

"Uh, yeah," he agreed. "We need to get out though."

"Easy enough once I know the lay of the land."

"Huh?"

"I'm really good at escaping from impossible odds," Kai's tone was once more light and nonchalant, as if he were smiling while speaking.

"Also, what do you think about the rumors that Kid's got a hand in all of this?" Conan asked, troubled by Akeru's words about the Moonlight Magician.

"I don't know," Kai answered sincerely, "he may have had a hand in it, or it could be a rumor. I wouldn't like to think that he would do something like _this_ though… It doesn't suit his style at all…"

Conan nodded, _he's right. This kind of thing isn't something you'd expect from Kid at all. Someone may be using his name again though._

The two continued on, feeling their way around the room. No sound broke the spell of silence and even the sounds of their steps seemed to get muffled into nonexistence as more time passed. A turn, followed by another shortly after, and another soon after that. An alcove, perhaps? The next wall lasted for a while, much like the first, leading to another alcove, leading to yet another long wall returning them to the captives' shadows.

Before reaching them however, Kai stopped, causing Conan to bump into his leg. "Ah, gomen. I found more words."

"What do they say?"

"Hmm… '_Suffer together. Die alone. Carry the burden until death._'"

"That's not talking about people like us, is it?" Conan asked, fairly certain of the answer.

"Probably is. It's disturbing, to say the least…"

Kai returned to silence, once more helping Conan avoid the others as they made their way down the third main wall, returning to the more visible darkness. Rounding the final main wall, Conan noticed what he had missed before: the faintest of light coming from under what appeared to be a door. So that was it. The thing that made all the difference in this world of darkness. Small wonder the shadows were all gathered near there, then. They were all trying to reach the light. But the light leading to where, exactly?

"Who are you?" the weak and terrified voice of a small child called to them, startling both boys. "You're not gonna hurt me… right? I've been good… right?" The voice got quieter and quieter and more fearful as it spoke.

"Uh…" Kai stalled, regaining his composure, "I'm Kai, and the little guy next to me is Conan." He was trying to be friendly and quiet, lowering himself so that he wouldn't seem threatening. Nothing soothed the frightened child, who began to whimper instead, making Kai retreat a few steps to see if that would help.

"It's okay," Conan said with a soft tone, "Kai-niichan isn't a bad guy." Well, he was pretty sure Kai wasn't bad, at least. He offered a hand to the child, hoping they would accept it. Thankfully, they did. _Well, _Conan mused, _there are some advantages to being small, I guess._

"Y-you s-sure?" the child whimpered, probably crying. "A-Akeru-neechan s-said n-not to t-trust anyone b-big…"

"I'm sure," Conan reassured.

"It's okay," Kai said softly, "I'll keep my distance if that's what you'd like. I just can't stray too far from Conan-kun because the bad guys chained us together."

"H-huh? Why would they…?"

"Not sure," he answered. "Bad guys are strange like that."

"Can you tell me your name?" Conan asked, ignoring Kai's response to the child's question.

"U-um, I'm Hoshiko," the child answered, starting to calm down. "Am I gonna see Momma again…?" The question, simple in nature, drove a spike through the boy's heart. Nothing was for certain. But telling that to a child would be a poor choice. Best to offer what words of support he could.

"Ah, of course," he answered, "Kai-niichan and I are gonna get everyone out safe. Then everyone can go back home."

"R-really?" Hoshiko immediately brightened at this idea. The kid must not have been there too long if they believed him so quickly. That was good. The more the captives believed in the possibility of escape, the more successful they would be when they tried.

"Definitely. Just leave it to us," Kai said, a smile once more in his tone. That guy was interesting, being so optimistic even when trapped in a world of darkness.

Somehow, this seemed to make Hoshiko quieter and more trusting of Kai's presence. Another good thing if they were all going to escape.

"Beware," Akeru's voice cut in, "_he_ draws near. The demon of the moonlight." At this, all the confidence that they had been building for Hoshiko instantly vanished, leaving the child in a worse state than before, shaking and crying, whimpering for their mother.

Both boys quickly turned their gazes toward the door, not knowing what to expect. Footsteps began to sound, getting louder and closer as the seconds passed. Anticipation worked its way through Conan's spine, tightening his small muscles as the steps drew ever-closer.

_Just what will happen?_ He wondered as the steps suddenly stopped. A shadow was cast over the faint light from under the door. Someone was there. _Time to meet the demon,_ Conan thought with resolve. No matter what, he'd already decided not to give up and he intended for that to remain that way, for his sake as well as the others'. No demon would keep him from returning to Ran and the others.

The sound of the lock clicked into the room. He was caught off-guard already. While watching the door expectantly, Conan neglected the idea of the lights, being blinded as they completely illuminated the former world of darkness. He wasn't the only one caught by that trick, however, and several groans and yelps permeated the air as the denizens of shadows desperately tried to shield their eyes from the brilliance of the light.

During the confusion brought on by the sudden brightness, the door quietly opened and four men clad in black suits moved in. In unity, three of them grabbed the stunned boys and dragged them out of the room, with the fourth ensuring the door was soundly locked once more before rejoining the others.

The men dragged the blinded boys and led them through the building, hallway after hallway until they reached another door and were forcibly stopped. Conan's eyes were finally able to withstand the light, and he noticed that they were pinned against a wall by the three black-clad men while the fourth unlocked this new door. If there was a chance for escape, now would be their best bet. He stole a glance up at Kai and a slight grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he noted that his companion had also readjusted to the light.

As the door was unlocked and opened, with a slight nod at Kai, the two boys quickly lashed out, surprising their captors, and fled while during the confusion. Before they had made it too far, Kai had scooped up Conan and sped up in order to ensure escape. Even if Conan _hated_ being manhandled, this was a far better option than the others, so he didn't speak against it.

Each hallway looked the same as the others each and was filled with various doors and windows. Light—genuine sunlight—streamed through the dirtied glass, giving the duo invigorated hope of escape. The walls meant nothing if they couldn't confine them!

The only problem was, neither was aware of where the real exit was. It was impossible to know, having been confined in the darkness for as long as they had been, and impossible to figure out while being pursued by the black-clad men. Sooner or later they would have to fight or find a lucky break. Granted, luck was not on their side to begin with, or they wouldn't have been captured in the first place...

"Damn," Kai quietly cursed, "you remember any of this place's layout at all?" Sure, they were running and the guys in black were out of sight for now, but that didn't mean they were out of the fire quite yet, and slowing down at all could bring about both of their deaths. Turn after turn, straightaway after straightaway, and yet no progress. They were trapped like rats in a maze.

"Try the door up ahead," Conan urged. From the scenery beyond the window, it looked the most promising out of all the doors that they had already passed, at least. Granted, a tree, a road, and a car were not promising things to throw their survival onto, but it was the best they had.

Kai followed the younger boy's instruction, bolting to the door that could potentially lead to their salvation. Locked. Damn it.

"I can pick the lock, but I need about twenty seconds. Think we have that long?" the older boy asked, dropping Conan to search his pockets for a lock-pick.

The sound of approaching footsteps was more than answer enough, bringing Kai to quickly pull out his tool and work on the lock as quickly as possible. Their captors drew closer and closer, approaching their location too quickly. _How did they find us so fast?_ Conan thought, checking to make certain that his shoes were still in-tact and grinning slightly when he found they were. _Still a chance to escape!_

"Got it!" Kai exclaimed, quickly opening the door and placing his lock-pick back in his pocket. "Let's go! Huh? Gah!" Before the teenager could even whirl back to face Conan, a black and white-clad man had pulled his gun and shot, hitting the teen in the leg and flooring him.

"It was a nice run you had there, but it's over now." Upon closer inspection, Conan was taken aback. This guy… through and through he was an alternate colored Kaitou Kid. Black suit, pants, and shoes with a white undershirt and trim to his dark clothes. He seemed slightly taller, though that could've been the boy's imagination. Even his voice sounded similar, albeit with a lower basic growl.

"Y-you…!" Conan stammered, hoping this was just a bad joke. Kid was a lot of things, but the boy couldn't believe he'd turn to something like _this_.

A predatory grin crossed over the man's face, "what's the matter _Tantei-kun_?" he sneered, blue eyes meeting Conan's own, "don't tell me you're scared of me."

The detective took a moment to compose himself, eyes never leaving his captor's. "I never thought you'd turn out like this…"

The man snorted in amusement, "I don't know what you're talking about. I am what I've always been."

_Then I have no choice. I have to take you down with everything I've got._ Conan thought, tensed fingers already on his belt, inflating a soccer ball to kick. The ball flew fast, taking the altered Kid off-guard, yet it was still dodged. The unfortunate accomplice behind him was nowhere near as quick and took a direct hit to the face, instantly knocking him unconscious and flinging him to the ground. _Damn it! Missed!_

The remaining accomplices drew closer, with their leader standing center, expression unreadable. The leader shook his head and murmured, "You really _are_ quite something, you know?" He drew nearer slowly, followed by his men as Conan quickly flipped his watch's lid for his next strike. "But the thing is…" he was closing in, "I'm quite something as well."

Before Conan could react, he was sent flying into the wall near Kai by a powerful kick to the chest. "G-gah…"

"You got close. Closer than anyone else for sure. I guess I'll have to fix it so that it never happens again." As soon as he turned his back, Conan noticed Kai toss something small in their captor's direction before covering his mouth and nose, which Conan mimicked. The ball burst and some type of gas came out, knocking the remaining underlings unconscious and forcing their captor back in order to avoid the same fate. Kai worked his way back towards the door with Conan close by. They _would_ escape! Injured or not, they _would_ make it out of there!

Another gunshot fired, hitting Kai in the right shoulder and drawing a pained gasp from the teen, freezing him in place, preventing Conan from moving by extension. As the gas faded from the air, the man drew closer yet again, this time snatching the chains and using them to drag his injured quarries where he pleased. A small trail of blood followed as they continued back into the labyrinth, leaving hope of escape behind them for now as Conan realized that the man had damaged his watch so that the tranquilizer dart wouldn't release. Both boys lagged behind as much as possible, but when this brought their captor to start pointing his gun, they did what they could to keep at a moderate pace, though this was more difficult for Kai because of his injured leg.

Once more dragged through the endless hallways filled with an infinite amount of doors and only slightly fewer windows, the three made their way back to the previously unlocked door. "Get a move on," was all that was grunted at the duo before they were pushed in front of the man and forced down the narrow staircase into a basement area.

The stairs creaked with every step and the entire area was only lit with an exposed light bulb hanging from the center of the room. The familiar chill from their original location returned, though down here it appeared to be a deep cold, one that settled into the bones and slowly numbed a person completely. The room was much smaller than their original prison, though made using a similar stone design and hosting one last door to another unknown room. If that door needed unlocked, it might offer them one last shot at escape.

When they reached the bottom of the staircase, the two were pushed towards the door, just as Conan assumed they would be. What brought a shiver down the boy's spine wasn't the temperature, but rather what his captor said next and the purely delighted tone he used when saying it. "_This_, this room is where we'll have our fun. You'll get to bear witness to my red art and everything else that goes along with it."

_We need to get out of here!_ Conan thought, very concerned about just _what_ he'd find on the other side of that door that could bring out utter glee from that guy. By the looks of it, Kai was sharing similar feelings of dread, fidgeting with his hands the entire time.

All too soon, they realized that escape would be impossible from this point on, as the man quickly caught Kai with an unexpected punch to the stomach and then kept the chain secured in his free hand as he unlocked the door. Both boys were dragged into the new room filled with nothing but cold, a ring of flickering light near the center, and a strange metallic table with restraints attached. Oh, this would certainly be bad.

"So who's first?" the man asked, attaching the chains connecting their legs to a post and walking out of the ring of light. "Both of you were pesky, so both of you will lose something today. Pick your poison. Though I must admit, it must be hard to pick locks…" he trailed off for a moment for effect, "without arms, that is." A quick look of panic passed through Kai at the mention of this before the man continued, "Likewise, it'll be rather difficult to run or kick objects without a good leg to stand on, ne?" A smile was definitely in his tone. This guy was pleased with himself, no doubt.

_Damn it! Not good!_ The boy thought, looking around for anything to use against the man, to no avail.

"This is what happens to those that resist. You should've known better, _Tantei-kun_." He sneered again from the darkness. After a brief sound of metal-on-metal, he reappeared dragging something akin to a sledgehammer behind him and smirking in an almost typical Kid smirk. "I'll ask once more, who goes first?"

"And what difference does position make?" Kai asked, immediately regretting this decision as the man once more winded him with a punch and forced him onto the table before placing the restraints. "G-guh…" Kai's arms were restrained oddly, likely just to make what would come next easier on their captor. His legs were pinned down and stuck together so that thrashing would get him nowhere.

_No! Damn it! There's nothing I can do to help! I'm stuck to this post while Kid's going to maim Kai! Not good! Damn it!_

"This is what happens to those that interfere with my goals," the man stated calmly as he lifted the hammer. Kai's face was filled with a mixture of terror and shock for a split second, before switching back to his odd nonchalance, as if daring the man to continue. Conan closed his eyes and looked away. Nothing he could do with his small form would save his companion and trying might only worsen their luck. "I wonder how much you'll scream."

The room was filled with thick silence for what felt like a small eternity. Just when he thought nothing would happen, the sound of a sharp _crack!_ mixed with a strangled scream filled the air. Another wave of dread filled Conan's tiny frame as the anticipation of what was to come drew closer and closer. Even though he wasn't being harmed at the moment, the boy still tensed, knowing his turn would come soon enough and that no one would be able to save him.

Somehow, Kai was able to regain enough control of himself through the pain to return to silence—the silence that lasted until the second and final blow was made—sending a more profound _crack!_ than the first and being mixed with a scream of pure agony that lasted much longer than the first.

Through the cover of Kai's agonized cry, Conan never heard his captor close in on and grab him. He only opened his eyes once he'd noticed he'd been bodily moved to the table. Kai had either fallen off or been pushed to the ground to leave room for the second victim. The teen didn't appear to be moving anytime soon, paralyzed by pain.

"Ready for your turn?" Struggle as he might, Conan was no match for the man's power. It really was the ultimate disadvantage to being in such a tiny body. The only thing the boy did in response to this question was watch his assailant's eyes as calmly as possible. If this guy was Kid, maybe he'd snap out of it. Kid wouldn't _attack_ him, right? The smile faded from the man's lips and he got Conan into position, never breaking eye contact with the small detective. Regardless, the hammer was brought down once more on Conan's right leg, sending the third _crack_ through the ice-cold room mixed with a third cry of pain and an odd, loud _clang_.

Expecting more, the young detective braced himself and gave one last pained look to his captor. Time seemed to fade as the two watched each other. And as quickly as it started, it ended. The man shook his head and dragged the hammer back into the darkness before returning and undoing the restraints.

"Time for you two to return to 'Start.' If I come back here and find you still hanging around, I will make your injuries worse. Who knows," he shrugged, "I might just kill one of you there and then. That'd be such a pain to have to carry each others' dead-weight, ne?" With that, he left the room and vanished from sight.

_Urk… what… what was that…? Was that look on his face… regret?_ Wincing badly, Conan got himself off the table and next to Kai, stumbling and having to concentrate in order to keep his balance due to his injury. "Oi, Onii-san, snap out of it." He was too tired for this… but right now, returning to Start seemed to be the best idea.

The teenager opened his eyes and took a few steadying breaths. Conan followed suit, knowing that keeping his breathing evened out would be best for now. For some strange reason, his leg didn't hurt nearly as badly as he thought it should. After that, he helped pull Kai into a sitting position so that the teen could stand. Noticing Conan's damaged leg, Kai kneeled down just enough to offer the boy a ride on his back, which Conan reluctantly agreed to. He hated being babied. It just didn't suit him, but this would have to be the exception.

The two made their way slowly and painfully back to Start, with Kai having to rest for several seconds on the staircase because of his own leg injury and Conan's added weight. Slowly and steadily, however, the duo made their way through the hallways and past the doors. Escape, while a wonderful thought, seemed to be impossible right now. Neither had the stamina left to try. And so, after a short while of trying to remember where Start was located, they were back to the beginning of their troubles.

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_And the game shall continue..._


	2. Elements of Fear

_After a long break, I have returned with another chapter! And thank you to all the views, reviews, favorites, and follows that this story has gotten!_

_Warnings: Nothing major._

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The return trip to Start was anything but pleasant. Whether the teenager said anything or not, it was obvious to Conan that his injuries were draining him and fast. Staggering up the staircase and walking close to the walls in the hallways proved this beyond any doubt. But, even so, Kai would simply have to endure it until they made it back to Start.

As they finally approached the room, they noticed one of the black-clad men waiting for them, a glare present on his face. "About time you lot showed up," he growled. "Now hold still. Any funny business and I have permission from Master to kill."

"Fantastic," Kai mumbled, "just take me out in one shot so I can rest easy." At the man's expression, he said, "Kidding. I like living." It was a small comfort, but Conan was certainly glad that Kai still had the energy to joke around.

The man growled something under his breath, but unlocked the door and pushed the duo inside before closing and locking the door once more. To both boys' surprise, the room was still engulfed in light at their return and the other captives' attention moved to them as Kai walked the last few steps to a nearby wall and collapsed against it, knocking Conan off of his back in the process.

The older boy's eyes closed as he fell into unconsciousness, leaving only the younger awake amongst the others. A few adults watched them sadly, while children gathered in curiosity, but they were stopped from getting too close by the others. After giving the boy some time to sit and rest, a young woman moved forward with a little girl timidly at her side.

"Now do you understand, Conan-kun?" she asked, meeting his blue eyes with her green ones, "our situation is hopeless." Her voice was familiar, one he had recently heard. Then it struck him.

"Akeru-neesan?"

"Correct," she answered. "Now do you understand? There is no escape. Regardless of what that idiot Kai claims, there is simply no reason to hope."

He shook his head, "you're wrong, Onee-san. We only failed once. There're bound to be other opportunities for us to escape." Akeru was taken off-guard by his statement, with others behind her openly staring at him in surprise. "Kai-niichan's going to keep trying, so I'm going to as well."

"Don't you realize it's futile? You'll be killed! Everyone that resists dies!"

"Maybe," he agreed, "but even if we don't resist, we'll still be killed. I don't want to die here, so I'm going to keep trying. I'm not giving up." This, he said in a tone too firm for his apparent age while wearing a resolute expression unfitting on his childish features. It didn't matter. This message _had_ to be received.

"Couldn't have worded it better myself," Kai said, awake, though his eyes remained closed. "If I'm going down, I'm doing it fighting. And while I'm at it, I'll just get the hell out of here, too. We found the door out of here and we opened it… just need to take that last step out and we'll be golden."

Kai's words drew a surprised gasp from several of the onlookers. It seemed like no one expected them to have made such progress at all, let alone in one try.

"Kai-niichan!" Hoshiko, who stood near Akeru, exclaimed, "We're really gonna get out! I'm gonna see Mommy and Daddy again, right?"

The teenager grinned, "Absolutely. Just give me a little bit to rest and we'll be out lickety-split."

The girl beamed and giggled, her happiness quickly infecting the other children and even a good number of the adults. The excitement of escape and the chance to see home and family again was too good to pass up. Even Akeru had no rebuttal.

While the others chattered in excitement amongst themselves, Kai turned to Conan and murmured, "only real problems are that I'm drained… and that I think my arms are in shock…"

The detective sighed, _it's not like he had much other choice though. If we don't get the others to feel hope again, we might not make it out…_

"I'm going to try to rest… damn it… bullet wounds are the worst…"

"Ah, before you do, can you let me check your injuries?"

"Er… sure." Kai agreed, allowing Conan to look at his leg and shoulder wounds. To both boys' relief, both bullet wounds had both entry and exit wounds, which, while painful, at least meant the teenager wouldn't be likely to die of lead poisoning.

To Conan's surprise, it didn't seem like Kai was too surprised about his query. He was also surprised that the older boy seemed to trust his judgment on the situation, as if they'd already met before.

"Do you have any cloth on hand?" The boy asked, after his musings.

"Hm…? I think so…" Kai yawned. "Check my jacket's inner pocket…"

Nodding, Conan did so, taking a while to find anything useful thanks to the sheer amount of things Kai apparently kept in his inner pockets (rubix cube, check, lock picks, smoke pellets, and God-only-knows how many roses, check). After several minutes, Conan finally found several thin pieces of cloth and took them out to tend to the teenager's injuries. Strange or not for a little kid to know, Conan didn't care. Ensuring Kai was okay was more important.

The teenager in question was asleep again. In Conan's honest opinion, he looked like a mess. He was paled from injuries and blood loss, his dark hair was disheveled, and his clothes were torn from the constant struggles. Granted, the detective was certain he didn't look so great either. But even so, even under the brutal assault, Kai was still brave enough to keep trying. He wasn't entirely sure why, but just this fact alone made it easier for Conan to keep his hope strong. He may not know Kai, but at least he could trust in the teen's strong will.

After wrapping Kai's injuries, Conan sat down once more to rest. His eyes closed, but he kept his ears open, just in case. With minimal distractions beyond the excited murmurs, the detective began to reflect upon his situation.

_If what Akeru-san said is right, I was caught after the Kid heist. But if I was caught by Kid, then something's off… What was it…?_ Conan thought back to the heist, trying to recall exactly what happened. _Kid got to the rooftop as usual… Except… he seemed to be in a rush… he almost seemed worried… Wait! That's it! That's what happened! Kid's ankle got grazed by something and he fell off the building! That guy, Forsaken Soul, or whatever he wants to call himself… he's walking perfectly fine. He's not Kid then._ A bit of relief worked its way through the detective, though he wasn't entirely sure why. It wasn't like he and Kid were much more than rivals, after all, and yet, the relief remained.

"Um, Conan-kun?" Hoshiko's timid voice stirred him from his thoughts.

After blinking tiredly a few times, the boy in question asked, "What's the matter, Hoshiko-chan?"

"Um," she started, "can I sleep with you?"

Out of all the things he could've expected, this one took the small detective off-guard. "Uh… er… okay…?" he awkwardly replied, scooting over a little for her.

"Thanks Conan-kun," she chimed as she sat down by him. As the minutes passed and Conan began to doze, Hoshiko spoke up again. "Conan-kun?"

"Hm…?"

"You and your onii-chan are so brave… I wanted to thank you for it."

"There's no need to thank us, Hoshiko-chan. It's just normal for us." A faint smile worked its way upon the boy's features. It took him a moment to process that she thought Kai was actually his older brother. _Do we really look that alike? Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter here._

"Still… thank you Conan-kun. I'm gonna try to be brave too, just like you and Kai-niichan!"

"Good," he replied with a smile. After a yawn, the boy settled back down and allowed the heavy blanket of sleep to fall over him.

* * *

He wasn't sure of how long he had slept, or if he'd even slept at all. When his eyes opened, he was greeted with thick darkness and the shadowy forms of the other captives. The chatter from earlier was long gone, leaving only an abyssal silence to swallow all sound. Hoshiko was no longer by his side, though she might have just gone back to Akeru for all he knew. It was a lot like it had been when he'd first woken up, except, for some reason or another, the atmosphere felt heavier.

_What's this strange feeling…? Something's different… but what?_ The young sleuth forced himself to his feet and took a few steps forward. _Where are the chains? Weren't they here before? Wait, then is Kai around still…?_ Feeling a strange sense of dread, he started to move amongst the human silhouettes, searching for the older boy.

However, when he moved to the first silhouette, he found that it was a man rather than a teenager. _I need to know what happened…_ he thought as he started trying to wake the man. It was to no avail, however. _Is he…?_ Just to make certain, Conan checked the man's pulse and was shocked to find he was dead. _That's what this feeling is… But what happened here?_

Knowing there was nothing he could do, the boy continued to check the different fallen forms, finding each and every one a corpse. After each find, the sense of dread in his chest grew stronger. _I'd better find Kai-san, Akeru-san, and Hoshiko-chan…_

Though, search as he might, he couldn't find them anywhere within Start. Each place he searched held nothing more than unfamiliar corpses and empty space filled with the oppressive darkness. By the time he'd reached Start's door, his sense of dread hit an all-time high.

Footsteps echoed loudly through the emptiness, drawing his complete attention. A shadow formed near the door, freezing the detective in place. The beating of his heart pounded in his skull at a deafening volume. _What… what's this feeling…? I… I can't move…!_

…_Why…?_

_ Why? Why what? Whose voice is that?_ He thought as he glanced all around him, finding nothing but the dead.

_…Why…?_

"Wh-what?" he weakly asked, finding himself barely able to even speak from the frozen fear in his chest.

_…Why… did you abandon me… Conan-kun…?_

_H-Hoshiko-chan?!_

_Conan-kun… why did you leave me with him…?_

"W-what are you talking about?"

_If you don't hurry, Kai-niichan and Akeru-neechan will die too…_

"Hoshiko-chan! Where are you?! This isn't funny!" But there was no reply. The door finally opened with no one in sight. The shadow seemed to have departed sometime during his conversation with Hoshiko. And with the shadow's disappearance, his immobility also vanished.

Taking his chance, Conan bolted out of the room, searching for the others. The hallways seemed longer, coated in darkness, and more decrepit than he'd remembered. Floorboards stuck up at odd angles and shards of glass littered the floors. Broken windows lined the walls and the doors were all covered in what the detective could only assume was blood. What the _hell_ happened while he was asleep?!

As he turned his head to the side in his search, he noticed one the black-clad men leaning against the wall, injured, with blood at his abdomen and mouth. Conan slowed down. He couldn't very well let anyone else die, murderer or not. "Oi, are you okay?"

The man's head moved slowly, eyes meeting Conan's before he shuddered and collapsed. "Demon… Run, Boy…" He didn't speak again and there was little else the detective could do.

_Demon…? He can't mean something like that exists. But something so dangerous that even our captors want me to flee…? I don't like the sound of that…_ he thought as he continued his search.

After what felt like a small eternity, Conan found the path to the basement drenched in blood and corpses, both of the black-clad men and of the other captives, and carved open as well. Suppressing a shudder at the appearance of a child's corpse, he moved down the rotting stairs, hoping that none of them would break during his descent.

Whether by luck or fate, he made it to the bottom unhindered. While it had originally been cold down here, now it seemed like the room was made of ice. He could see his breath without trying and whatever droplets of water had lined the walls seemed to have long ago frozen solid, creating crystalline formations where they stood. He couldn't help but shiver from the cold that quickly seeped into his bones. He'd have to search here quickly and then get out unless he wanted to get frostbite. Hopefully no one was actually down here, but somehow, he knew it wouldn't be the case.

As he neared the door, the shadow returned, seemingly staring through him.

_Heheheh! So you're here… But too late! Too late!_

"Wh-" was all the boy could choke out. The cold and pressure he felt from the shadow were too much for him. His limbs froze in place, refusing to listen to him even as his mind screamed _run!_

He could almost hear the shadow's grin. _You were too slow, Tantei-kun! Now, the _real _Demon of the Moonlight has appeared!_ It approached him soundlessly, growing larger and larger and less and less human with every step. There was a glint as a blade appeared in the shadow's hand.

_I-I can't move!_ Conan thought in panic as the shadow brandished its blade.

_Of course you can't. I won't let you. You should have heeded their warnings… You shouldn't have left me alone in the dark…!_ the shadow seemed to screech inside the detective's head before slashing downward and cutting the boy's right side.

With a pained yelp, Conan found he could finally move again and fled into the next room. _I need to get out of here!_ The shadow followed, but lowered its blade as it walked to the metallic table. It almost seemed depressed.

…_You left me here…_ the shadow accused, moving its head to glance at the bleeding detective. _Now, see what's happened?_ It gestured all over the room, showing frozen corpses chained to the walls in awkward positions, blood spattered all over the walls and floor, and finally gestured back to the table.

Rather than Kai, Akeru, or anyone else he'd seen, the one lying dead on the table was Kaitou Kid. The thief's chest was torn apart and his limbs appeared broken. His monocle and hat were nowhere in sight.

_Why… why is Kid here?_ Conan wondered, still wary of the shadow and now holding his side.

The shadow didn't reply. Instead, it turned and stabbed the blade through the detective's chest.

* * *

"Gah!" Conan gasped, practically jumping from his place against the wall and looking around wildly. Everything was dark again. "D-don't tell me this is another dream…?"

"_Loud_, aren't you?" Kai's voice came from his side, a bit of concern laced in his tone.

"K-Kai-niichan?"

"Yep," he answered with his typical cheer. "Must've been some dream."

"You could say that," the detective replied, checking his side and chest for wounds and calming down upon finding nothing. He let out a steadying breath. "How long was I asleep?"

"Eh, not quite sure," the teenager replied nonchalantly. "Slightly longer than me. Maybe minutes, maybe hours." Conan was fairly certain if Kai's shoulder wasn't injured, the teen would've shrugged.

"Helpful."

"You can't seriously expect me to know anything about time when I wake up to darkness like this, can you?" Rather than sound indignant, Kai sounded like he was on the verge of laughter for whatever reason.

"You two were out for most of the day," Akeru's voice interrupted. "They finished with everyone already and it's been a while. They're probably sleeping right now… or getting ready to start the process all over again."

"Process?" Kai asked.

"It's a type of torture schedule, if you must ask."

"Fun."

"Do you ever stop to think about what comes out of your mouth?" Akeru asked, irritated.

"Nope. Not really." Kai replied with a laugh. "Many more important things to think about."

"You're impossible," she growled, frustrated.

"I'm incorrigible," he said cheekily.

"_Oi oi,_" Conan interjected, starting to get irritated. "So, the schedule… what exactly is it like?"

Akeru took a moment to compose herself before answering, "it's an order they set up about who gets tortured during what time of the day. The lights are turned on at the first and are left on until they're done."

"So yesterday we were first?" Conan asked.

"Right. I guess I should also warn you about something else while I'm at it… each day has its own theme, if you will. Some more gruesome than others. Most days have no specific order, however the ones that do tend to be the worst. The days are also dependent on how long each individual has been there rather than treating everyone the same."

The detective blinked. Kai seemed to have quieted down some as well. "So everyone's different?"

"Correct. Though you and Kai will likely share the same fates given the chains."

"_Fantastic._"

"Have I ever mentioned how much I hope you drop dead, Kai?" Akeru said, words dripping with venom.

"You wouldn't want Conan-kun stuck dragging my corpse, would you?"

"_Guys,_" Conan said, trying to keep from yelling, "this isn't getting us anywhere."

"Fine, fine," Kai waved off the detective's tone, "I'll be nice."

"Somehow, I doubt that," Conan grumbled. "So is there anything else we need to know about this place, Akeru-neesan?"

"There's a lot you should know… but most of it you'll find out on your own."

_Well, that's not helpful… Let's try being more specific this time…_ he thought, keeping his irritation down as much as possible. "Do you have any idea why we were brought here?"

"You're involved with Kaitou Kid," she answered simply.

"But that guy isn't Kid."

"Right. I'm surprised you figured that out, actually."

"What do you mean?"

"It doesn't matter. But you're right. _He_ isn't Kaitou Kid."

"So why's that freak dressing similar to Kid?" Kai inquired.

"I'm not entirely sure," she sighed. "It could be as simple as framing him for the murders or it could be for any other number of reasons. Ask _him_ yourself if you're so curious."

"…Pass."

The light suddenly turned on, blinding the conscious captives with its brilliance and drawing out groans. Others blinked, waking up at the sudden noise and light.

Like before, a handful of the black-clad men appeared, blocking the entrance and gathering around Kai and Conan before dragging them out of the room. Struggle as they might, however, their efforts only earned Conan a kick and Kai a sucker punch. The two were dragged, limping, back down the path toward the basement.

"I can walk on my own, dammit!" Kai growled.

"You lost that privilege when you tried to run! Now shut up!" one of them snapped back.

Well, things were going terribly from the start. Somehow, Conan felt things would continue to play out like this so long as he was chained to Kai. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or annoyed by that. Oh well, at least his sight was back to normal by now.

"Well aren't we here already?" Kai replied, irritated.

"Wrong room."

So they wouldn't be in the basement today. That was something to be thankful for, at least as far as Conan was concerned. The fragments of his nightmare placed a certain wariness of that place in him. A wariness he couldn't fully understand, but knew well enough to believe in. It wasn't like he expected that shadow to even exist, but he'd rather not push his luck.

"Now shut up and move, brats," another growled as he continued to drag them along, passing the basement and moving to a different room on the floor. Conan watched their surroundings, hoping to find the exit door again, but found that it never reappeared. Darn. Well, you couldn't buy luck like that, after all.

About the time they'd passed to the entrance of a large room with strange indents in the floor, Conan's leg gave out. "Gah…!" The detective was floored, tripping Kai as he was pushed over him, making a heap of their bodies.

"Shit…!" Kai completely froze, expression filled with pain. His arms probably didn't appreciate the fall any more than Conan did.

Conan cried out, writhing under Kai's weight and struggling to get free. Out of all of this, however, he only accomplished further stressing his damaged leg. "Get off!" he yelled, wincing from the injury.

Kai didn't seem to hear him, remaining frozen in place. His eyes were closed tightly and his expression remained the same. His breathing was quick and shaky. It wasn't until the men around them started pulling them up and away from each other that either was able to move once more. Though, looking up at Kai told Conan that the teen was still in a lot of pain and was unlikely to move by himself. Well, it wasn't like he was certain of his own ability to limp with his leg acting up, either.

"Move it," the man commanded, pushing Kai forward. The teen staggered forward, but only a few steps. His eyes were still sealed shut and his breathing was still a bit too quick for comfort. Granted, Conan wasn't doing so great either, limping badly after Kai's few steps. "What part of 'move it' don't you brats understand?!" Another push, another few feet of staggering, another few feet of pain.

"They're fine, Hideki," came the smooth voice of the pseudo-Kid. "Go about business as usual."

"Y-yes Master," the man, Hideki, stammered before fleeing with the others out of the room.

"And then there were three," Pseudo-Kid grinned. "I see you survived the night and found your way back to Start. I might keep you two yet."

"And what's that supposed to mean…?" Kai mumbled, coming back to his senses.

"You'll find out in time. But today, today we continue the game, Little One." He made a move, as if grab at the chains, but stopped and said, "How rude of me. I never introduced myself. I have many names, but the one you may use is 'Vampire.' I'm also quite fond of 'Master.'" Both boys glared at him. Fine, Vampire it was, then. "I wonder how long you two will last?"

Without further ado, Vampire grabbed the chains and yanked them forward, towards the biggest hole in the floor. It was a roughly adult-sized rectangular hole, filled with murky water that reeked of death. Either his dream had a bit _too_ much of an impact in his waking mind, or there was something or many _somethings_ dead in there.

"Who's first?" he asked with a smirk.

Both stayed quiet, watching the water rather than their captor. They'd both learned from yesterday that speaking to him was more often than not bad for their health. It'd be the luck of the draw who had to go first this time, at least that's what Conan assumed. But, once again, Kai managed to surprise him. "Fine. Let's get this over with." The older boy stepped forward, glaring at Vampire as if to dare him to move.

Kai's defiance didn't really accomplish much. Instead, Vampire's smirk grew into yesterday's predatory grin as he placed an arm around the boy and slammed his knee into his stomach, driving the breath from his lungs. As Kai doubled over, Vampire forced the teen's head and shoulders into the water.

_Shit, he's going to drown him!_ Conan thought, looking for ways to distract Vampire and finding nothing within reach. _Nothing I can use…! Damn it!_

Kai started thrashing about as much as he could, trying to shake free from Vampire's grip as the water became disturbed and filled with bubbles. He thrashed and fought, trying to dodge the inevitable as long as possible, but shortly after the process started, he slowed down, succumbing to the water's hold.

_He needs help, _now, the boy cast a worried look in their direction. _…Wait! If I don't have anything to knock Vampire off-balance, then there's one last thing I can do… Kai, you'd better be grateful!_ Conan took a deep breath before limping closer to Vampire and then putting his all into a tackle, effectively making the older man lose his grip on Kai.

The teen, in response, jerked himself up and out of the water as quickly as possible, gasping for breath and coughing up the repulsive water. He was visibly shaken, eyes wide and fearful, and all color drained from his features. As Vampire rose to his feet, Kai tripped backward and pushed himself with his feet to make some distance.

The man glared at them both before growling in a low and dangerous tone, "you shouldn't have done that."

"I'm not letting you kill Onii-chan," Conan replied, feeling less than confident and hoping that didn't show.

Kai had become completely quiet, coughing gone and breathing soundless. "Y-you… YOU BASTARD!" he screeched, terror transformed into rage as the teenager struggled to his feet and met Vampire's glare with his own.

"Hm? Oh, I take it my men neglected their duties last night," he shrugged. "Things happen."

"Wait, what happened? Kai-niichan?"

"He…" Kai growled in rage, seemingly without words to describe the situation. After letting out several unintelligible growls and half-statements, he finally snarled out, "He _drowned _Hoshiko-chan! Right _here!_"

Shocked, Conan moved his gaze from Kai to the water. So his initial thought was right. Something _was_ dead in there… Hoshiko…

"You make it sound like you didn't expect something like that to happen," Vampire said good-naturedly. "Then let me clarify. You all are my toys. When I get bored of you, only then will I kill you off. I was bored of the girl, so I killed her. It's as simple as that."

Conan was at a loss. Sure, he'd faced murderers before and more than his fair share of death, but in all his cases there was a better motive than _boredom_. The deaths had actually meant something to the killers. But this guy… he was something else entirely. He killed without caring. Indiscriminate. Even children had no immunity… A strange taste made its way to his mouth; something bitter that he was certain was caused by his disgust in this man. Vampire indeed.

"Humans aren't playthings," Conan's voice lowered and his own cold glare met the killer's. "I don't care what I have to do, Vampire, but I _will_ get out of here and I _will_ make you pay for everything you've done." He wouldn't stand to let this man go free. He _would_ stop him from continuing his game and he _would_ get back to Ran and the others. Even if he had to do it all by himself.

"To you, perhaps," he admitted with a shrug, "but to me, they're little more than a nuisance. They get in the way of my art. And there's one person in particular that I'm simply waiting for. Once they appear, the killings will stop. Until then, however, might as well kill time."

He started shaking and realized his disgust had become a rage just as powerful as Kai's. This man was a monster. There was no other word to describe him. Snuffing out so many lives just waiting for one person… It was unforgivable.

"What's the matter, Tantei-kun?" he drawled, smile becoming shark-like, "Mad at me?" He shook his head, "you're mad at the wrong man. If you're going to be upset with anyone, be upset with the one that's allowing all of this to happen to good people. Blame Kaitou Kid. If he'd show up, I'd gladly stop everything."

He was waiting on Kid? Just who was this guy? What was going on? And what was the connection between Vampire and Kid? One question may have been answered, but now there were too many others taking its place. And was it just his imagination, or did Kai stiffen just the tiniest bit?

"Why the hell are you waiting on Kaitou Kid? What the _hell_ does he have to do with _any_ of this?!" Kai yelled, trembling with what Conan could only assume was rage. The teen may be soaked and it may be cool in the room, but still, with anger like Kai's, anything else just wouldn't make sense. Kai's indigo eyes, while typically easygoing, blazed with fury.

"He has _everything_ to do with this, Little One. I wonder just how much it'll take to stir his conscience… how many more of his kin I'll have to take?"

"Sick bastard!"

"I agree, he really is," Vampire chuckled as he turned to Conan. "I suppose it wouldn't be fair to leave you dry, now would it?"

The detective sent a quick look to Kai and the teenager curtly nodded, understanding. As Vampire picked him up, Kai rushed his good shoulder into the man's side, making him drop Conan in the process, though, unfortunately for the detective, right into the death-water. He was joined shortly by Kai, who was knocked into the water by a swift kick.

"Now listen here and listen well," Vampire growled, tone low and lethal, "if you _ever_ try any feeble resistance against me again, I _will_ make you beg for death. Understood?" When Kai was about to retort, Conan put a hand on the teen's arm under cover of the murky water to keep him quiet. Being bull-headed in this situation wouldn't help them in the least. They had to _think_ if they wanted out of this. And, unfortunately, to have time to think meant playing Vampire's game for a while.

Gritting his teeth, Kai instead muttered, "Fine. We understand. We'll play your game… and in the end we'll be the ones still standing, not you."

"I'll take that bet," the killer met Kai's glare. "Now get back to Start. And take that corpse with you. Those good-for-nothings forgot to move it for me."

"Do what?! No way!"

"I thought you were going to _play the game_?" he sneered. "That's part of it. Now get that corpse out of here before there's more than one to clean up." With that, Vampire snapped his fingers, drawing back his men, before leaving the room.

Growling softly, Kai got out of the hole. Conan followed, managing to get up over the edge with some difficulty. The men didn't seem to move from their positions, apparently waiting on the boys to fetch the body. Odds were they also wouldn't let them leave without doing so.

With a shared look of sorrow, they set about collecting the body. Kai stayed near the edge of the hole, keeping himself as low to the ground as he could without falling over, while Conan sighed and hopped back into the water for Hoshiko. If there was one thing he'd never wanted to see, it was a child's corpse. A child he _knew_ no less. Forcing his head underwater, he searched around until he found her, left sunk by small weights tied to her limbs… He popped up to the surface for a breath of air before going back down to untie the weights. It took a couple of tries, but soon he had managed to raise her body to the surface and over to Kai before finally climbing out himself. Today would haunt him for a long time to come… of that he was certain.

Taking a few deep breaths, Conan, aided by one of Vampire's men, placed Hoshiko over Kai's good shoulder, making the teen visibly cringe and avert his gaze. Yes, this would haunt him as well. Yesterday's failure was nothing compared to today's. Lives were on the line and any wrong move could easily kill them all. He understood that now. And he was determined to never let something like this happen again.

* * *

_The game continues... The bet is made..._


	3. A Question of Trust

_I'm back with another update! As always, thanks to everyone for their support, views, favorites, alerts, and reviews!_

_Warnings: Nothing much._

* * *

The return trip to Start was silent. Neither boy wanted to talk, and similarly, their captors held an uneasy quiet. Well, Conan observed, most of them were just young adults. Probably young enough that death still bothered them. It would explain their reluctance to touch the body or remove it from its watery grave. Honestly, if that was the case, _why_ were they here to begin with?

As for Kai, the teenager seemed extremely uncomfortable with carrying Hoshiko's corpse on his shoulder, not that Conan could blame him. That was territory that would never be comfortable for anyone. The teen's face was carefully blank, but the tension in his neck and free shoulder were certainly good signs of his discomfort.

After what seemed like a painful eternity, they finally made their way back to Start. They waited patiently for the door to be opened and entered the room without struggle. Now wasn't the time to fight. Now was the time to think.

When they moved to their section of wall near the adjacent corner, the black-clad men surrounded another captive and quickly escorted them out before shutting the door and locking it behind them. Both boys winced at the captive's cry for help, but continued on to their space. For now, there was nothing they could do for them. They needed time and information first. And honestly, Conan was glad that he didn't have to guide Kai around. He couldn't afford for the older boy to be distracted.

Before they could sit, however, Akeru walked over, face unexpressive. "So that's where Hoshiko-chan went…" Her voice, likewise, was composed and calm, detached. Kai seemed about to say something, but was stopped by the girl, who raised a hand in a _stop_ position before she continued, "Follow me. Try not to let the others notice the body or it won't go well for you." With that, she turned and led the way, staying near the walls to avoid attention. The boys shared a look before following.

Akeru walked at a pace that had both boys struggling to keep up with their injured legs. She must've made this trip many times over her stay here based on her confidence in the route, the detective decided, and the path she had chosen _was_ clear of any other captives. But it also made him wonder why they would be in trouble if they were seen with the corpse. Surely the others would realize Hoshiko's death was Vampire's fault, right? So then, why the warning? And that cold feeling from his nightmare… why was that creeping through him? No. It would simply be best to listen to Akeru. If anything happened, he didn't want to know the price of it. While he could take more, he wasn't sure if the same could be said for the teenager currently chained to him.

The detective stopped for a second, losing sight of Akeru as he shivered. Kai, however, didn't notice this and tripped over the diminutive detective, spilling the corpse into the shadowed area ahead of them after letting out a cry of surprise. Akeru seemed to bolt over to them, vaguely concerned expression on her face as she helped them up. The sound of quick feet alerted them to the arrival of the others.

"Noroma!" she snapped in a whisper at the teen as some others gathered around.

Kai glared at her in return and was about to retort when someone let out a shriek. He quickly shut his mouth and watched Akeru for any cues. Today was _not_ their day.

"A-Akeru-san! B-body! It's…! It's Hoshiko-chan!" one of them cried out, driving the rest into panic.

"Hoshiko-chan's dead?!"

"I don't wanna die!"

"Damn it! Who's responsible for this?!"

"Wait a second!" a teenager near the boys yelled, attracting total attention. "We got two extras, remember?!" The rest were quiet for a moment, letting his words sink in before breaking out into hysteria. "There can only be fifteen at a time! We had seventeen! That… that means someone else is going to die so these two can stay!"

This had to be what Akeru was worried about. This had to be why that expression hit her face as soon as she reappeared. They were going to pin the blame on the ones that indirectly caused the deaths, not Vampire. Shit.

"I'm not dying for them!" another screeched.

"ENOUGH!" Akeru shouted above the noise. To Conan's surprise, the others quieted to a low murmur and backed off a step or two. "Yes, it's true that we have more than the number that _He_ permits. Yes, it's true that these two have inadvertently caused Hoshiko-chan's untimely death. However, it's not their fault that they were captured."

"Even so," the first from earlier growled, "I'm not dying because of them! If it comes down to it, I'd rather kill one of them myself!"

"Listen," Kai interrupted, "I don't plan on being here long. I'm getting out of here, as I've already promised. You can either believe my word or live in fear, but I won't let you attack me or Conan-kun over it." His words were soft, but firm and his eyes held a certain cold glint, like frozen steel.

Would they really turn on each other like this? Conan sighed, looking first over each of their crowd's eyes and then to Akeru's and Kai's. Small wonder no one could even comprehend escape… They were too untrusting of each other. Too willing to blame one another for the deaths that Vampire caused…

Looking back to Akeru, the detective realized that she'd known from the beginning that everyone would quickly turn on each other should anything like this ever happen. She knew, and that's why she had no hope. It wasn't that escape was impossible. It was that Vampire turned them all against one another. _That_ is what made escape impossible. And, in her own way, she was doing all she could to keep the peace, knowing from the start that she would fail.

He closed his eyes and trailed his gaze down toward the ground. With enemies on all sides, escape would be impossible. Even Kai had to realize that, right? So then, why was he still fighting them? Why was he still holding fast to the hope of escape?

"You all can believe what you want, but I choose to believe in myself. I won't die and I won't stay a captive either. Even if I have to do it alone, I will get out of here." With that, Kai turned to Akeru and asked, "Where did you want us to place Hoshiko-chan?"

Resuming her cool exterior, Akeru led the boys to where the corpse was and carefully picked it up, leading them to the very back of the room, where heavy shadows cloaked the walls and floor. Seeing no obvious marker, the boys followed her until she reached the left alcove, where she kneeled and carefully placed the corpse on the ground next to her.

"This is it," she said. "Help me lift the floorboards." Conan saw a look of disdain cross Kai's features, though if it were from being forced to use his arms again or from the task at hand, he couldn't say. Regardless, both knelt by Akeru and did their part, lifting the loose boards and revealing a large hole, lined with corpses. "This is where we bury the dead. It's the best we can do."

"This is…" his chained companion started, but had no words to elaborate. His distraught tone said it all.

"Like I told you a while ago… You're in Hell. Get used to it." Conan winced at her hostility, as did Kai. She then carefully picked up the corpse and placed it down inside the hole. In a softer tone, she murmured, "The only way out is death. At least Hoshiko-chan is free now…"

Bowing their heads in silence for minutes or hours, the three held their vigil. Once Akeru moved, they lowered the floorboards, hiding Hoshiko and the others from sight once more.

"…This madness has to end…" Came the almost silent whisper, though from who, Conan didn't know.

* * *

It had been an uneventful few hours left in the light. The others didn't seem to bother them, but the suspicious and sometimes hateful glares cast in their direction didn't make things any better. Akeru had instructed them to stay in their corner and simply wait it out until someone new came in to distract the others, as there was nothing they could do or say to prove their innocence by this point. It stung a little, to be so distrusted for so little reason, but the detective supposed he would have to live with it for now.

"Hey," he murmured, glancing up at his companion, but the older boy either didn't notice or was ignoring him, staring at the back of the room. Nudging him, Conan tried again with another failure as his result. _I know the situation's bad, but we can't get distracted. He's got to snap out of this._ With that thought, the detective nudged Kai's arm, making the teen let out a small cry of pain before glaring at Conan.

"The hell was that for?" he grumbled, babying his injured arm.

"You weren't acting like yourself." At that, the teen let out a slight snort, but his glare softened. "And I wanted to ask you something, too."

The teen cocked his head slightly in curiosity. "Alright. Ask away."

_Well,_ Conan reflected, _it made sense. And back in that room… when Vampire was saying it was all Kid's fault that we were in this mess… Why did he flinch? He has to be related to Kid. And right now, I need to know how much trust I can even place in this guy._

"Conan-kun?"

Drawing in a breath, the detective looked into the teen's inquiring eyes and realized they bore the same indigo coloration as his rival's. His face was familiar as well, along with his confidence. Yes, his original thought was likely accurate.

"You're Kid, aren't you?" he asked quietly enough to avoid curious ears and firmly enough to show that he knew.

A moment of silence passed between the two of them as Kai seemed to contemplate his answer. When he opened his mouth to speak, the door was slammed open and a woman wearing a violet dress walked in, carrying something in her arms that was obscured by a veil that she wore and the angle she set herself at.

She seemed in no hurry, walking at a leisurely pace toward the center of the room, where she stopped and glanced around at the captives. Finally, her glance moved to the boys, drawing back Conan's nightmare once more. He shivered in discomfort. Something about this woman was off. Way off.

The woman kept her gaze on them for a moment before saying in a soft voice, "Kai-kun, Conan-kun… you two are the new ones, yes?"

That ominous feeling the woman radiated struck the detective speechless for a second and apparently, Kai as well. But the teen responded first, "Correct. Didn't Vampire tell you that already?"

With a slight laugh, she moved a few steps closer to them as she said, "Yes, I do believe he did say something along those lines. But I wanted to meet you both myself. He _did_ say that you two were… _different_… from his usual prey."

"Did he now?" Kai continued uneasily. "So nice to hear compliments from your captors, ne?"

"It _is_ rare for him," she conceded, "but that's why I came to see you two in the first place." Once more, she drew closer to them and, this time, reached for the object she was concealing. Conan was certain that she enjoyed their tension, just judging by the look on her face as she took whatever weapon she was hiding out to point at them… Except it wasn't a weapon.

"Bread…?" the detective asked, taken off-guard.

"Just bread," she answered with an impish smile. "Water as well, if you're not opposed," she teased, offering them the bread and water.

Conan blinked. The pressure from earlier mostly dissipated as well…

"It's not poisoned," she laughed as apparently both of them shared the same reaction to her offer. "It wouldn't be much fun if everyone died before Aki-chan and Futoshi-kun got to have their fun, right?"

That… was a valid and disturbing fact all in one. And who were those people…?

Slowly, Conan decided to take the bread from her, carefully watching her expression the entire time. He repeated this with the bottled water offered to him. Looking at the bread and water, a quick smell told him that at least there wasn't cyanide or similar poisons in the bread, and when he tested the bottle, the lid was still sealed in place. He doubted she was lying by this point and took a bite. Nothing tasted off either. It was just normal bread.

"Like I said, it won't kill you. You two are pretty cautious though. I doubt I could poison you if I tried." With that, she moved on back to the center of the room and dropped the rest of the food and water for the others before leaving. Her departure brought darkness back into Start and the pressure finally fully lifted from the diminutive detective.

"That was… interesting." Kai murmured, deciding that the bread would have to do and taking a bite from it. Conan followed his example. It _had_ been a while since either of them had eaten anything… "So there's more than just Vampire fronting this, I guess."

"It would appear that way," Conan nodded. Whoever 'Aki-chan' and 'Futoshi' were, they were in charge of this.

"Figure one of those two is actually Vampire?" Kai asked quietly.

"It's possible. I can't say they are for certain, but it's possible."

"It'd sure make me feel more at-ease if it _were_ the case, though."

"It would?"

"Yeah," the teen nodded, "It means one less enemy to deal with. If it's the case, of course."

"Wouldn't that work against you?"

"Huh? Oh, right. I never answered your question earlier." He shook his head slightly, "Yeah, as usual, your deduction was pretty good. And as for the 'working against me' bit… I would rather have fewer intelligent enemies. I'm sure we'll always be surrounded by those grunts in black, after all."

Conan, again, nodded. It made sense. Kid did always have an easier job disguising as grunts than the people in charge. But this did bring up another question… why protect him? "Kid."

"Hm?"

"Earlier, Akeru-neesan said that you were captured protecting me… why? Wasn't the heist over?"

"Oh. That?" the thief took a moment and seemingly pondered it before answering, "Because No One Gets Hurt. You should know my policy by now."

"I thought that only applied to heists," Conan replied honestly.

"Well, that's because it usually does." Kid said simply, leaving it at that before drinking some water. "I'm going to rest a while. Not sure when our next trial is, but better to take it rested than not." After saying this, the thief carefully leaned himself against the wall and closed his eyes.

Lying back against the wall, the thoughts continued to roll through the detective's mind. He was in Vampire's place, chained to Kid. He and Kid were apparently favored by Vampire and whatever partner or partners he had… Though he had no idea what exactly it meant to be 'favored' by them. And what Vampire had said earlier that day… that they should blame Kid for their fate, yet he had already captured Kid… And that he might 'keep' them…

Well, he reasoned, it could simply be that he didn't realize he'd captured Kid. After all, the thief _was_ in fairly nondescript clothing that any teenager would commonly wear. And given Kid's words from yesterday, it was possible that the thief really didn't know why they were targeted. He'd just have to see if asking again when Kid woke up would accomplish anything.

As for the odd 'favor' that he and Kid somehow received… well, he couldn't really understand why. Was it simply because they didn't give up, or was there some other reason for it? And why treat the unruly captives better than those that simply bowed down? And most importantly, was Kid really the connection between everyone here? It was possible… but something felt off about it. Oh well, he'd have plenty of time to think about it when he wasn't drained.

* * *

He opened his eyes and found that Kid was gone. The chains were missing again._ Another dream?_ he wondered, getting up and looking around Start. There was blood marking different spots on the floor and walls, but no one in sight. Had they all gotten out?

He wasn't sure what possessed him to do so, but he got up and limped over to the back, where the floorboards could be moved. When he reached that spot however, the floorboards were long gone. In their place was a large hole, edged with rotted spots and smelling of burnt flesh and hair. Covering his mouth and nose, Conan looked down into the hole, seeing scorched bones and ashes littering the base. A few fleshy bits had survived, though only enough to make him wish that they hadn't. Turning away from the hole, Conan noticed Start's door wide open. _Let's see what's going on here…_ The detective then left Start and, once more, explored the rooms.

Gentle light shone through the windows, illuminating the halls ahead of him. As he followed the light, he was led to the room he and Kid had been in earlier that day. The holes were nowhere in sight, though there was a fair few centimeters of water all over the floor, slightly leaking out into the hallway before dissipating.

_It's funny… This place didn't ever matter. Not even while it was in use the first time. _A voice whispered, startling the truncated detective. He glanced around, but saw no one nearby.

_I was right. It's this dream again._

_ Whether this is dream or nightmare matters very little,_ the voice replied.

"Why am I having this dream? Who are you?"

…_I don't matter yet…_ it replied. _As for this dream… it's up to you to find that answer._

"Helpful."

_ Let's go on a walk… to a place that matters, even if only slightly._

"How can I walk with you if I can't even see you?" he questioned. But rather than answer, a vaguely ball-shaped mass of darkness formed near the room's exit. It moved, but did not leave Conan's sight, waiting on him to follow it. _This isn't like the other dream I had… It almost feels safe this time…_ With no further delay, the detective began to follow the orb through the building's halls until they reached the outside.

The sun still shone bright in the sky with a slight warm autumn breeze catching his hair. The orb before him stopped for a moment. A lingering thought seemed to radiate from it, though if it knew, Conan was unsure.

…_The sun that I can no longer see… _Seeming to come back to itself, the dark orb said, _Take heed of your surroundings. You already know them._

_I already know this place…?_ Conan thought as he glanced around the building. It wasn't overly familiar. The building was large, maybe an old mansion or workplace with maybe five floors, counting the basement he already knew to be there. It wasn't well-managed and neither were the grounds it stood on, with uneven patches of grass and weeds growing along partially ruined chunks of fencing. A few trees were scattered about as well, though most of them had begun to die and rot.

_Follow,_ the orb commanded before guiding Conan through the streets and toward a skyscraper surrounded by hundreds of people. They were all shouting an all-too familiar name in excitement. Well, that explained where Kid went.

"Why are we at a Kid heist?" Conan asked.

_You wanted to understand the start and finish, didn't you?_

"So Kid did something to anger them?"

_Yes and no… Kaitou Kid was only the trigger… the one that drew the real problem to this place…_ For a second, it looked like the orb dulled to a gray in… depression? _Watch and observe… this is more familiar than you know._

For a while, nothing seemed to happen beyond the usual. Kid made his grand appearance and the detectives and Task Force made their pursuit. Disconcertingly enough, Conan saw himself dash after the thief. Several minutes passed, and just when the boy was about to comment about it being a normal heist, the building was caught in a fiery explosion. _This heist? This one started all of this? But that wasn't even Kid's fault. Wait, they said Kid was only the trigger… But it still doesn't make that much sense…_

_Look again,_ the orb said, growing slightly darker as the ones responsible for the explosion were rounded up by the police. None of the men looked like Vampire or anyone else he'd seen so far, however. _He was the trigger… Now we all have to suffer…_

Before he could ask any further questions, the orb seemed to explode into darkness, swallowing Conan and everything around him.

* * *

With a startled cry, the detective bolted upright. Quickly taking in his surroundings, he realized that Kid was once more by his side and that the lights had been turned back on at some point. Most of the others were still sleeping, though Kid offered a curious glance in his direction.

"Does that happen every night, or just when you're kidnapped?" he asked with the faintest look of… concern? on his face.

Conan rolled his eyes in response. "How long ago were the lights turned on?"

"Not too long ago. They should probably be in here pretty soon if their record holds."

True to Kid's assumption, the black-clad men arrived and surrounded the two of them, dragging them out of Start and toward their next destination. Rather than heading toward the basement, they were dragged to a staircase and forced up and into a small, hot room. The source of that heat being a lit fireplace with several metal objects next to it. A small bookshelf stood near a stained wooden table near the center of the room, lined with an assortment of medical books and other books that were aged, but had no titles on the spines. The floor was carpeted, but badly stained from what was most likely blood.

As Vampire entered the room, the men fled, locking the door behind them. The man was in his dark suit and dress pants wearing a bored expression on his face. With a yawn, he said, "So you two did survive the night, ne? The last person I set up in your position was killed straight-off by the others. Nice to see you two have more spine."

"So that was on purpose, huh?" Kid said, "I suppose we _do_ have a lot of spine between the two of us."

"Then allow me to test that," Vampire smirked. "You two have spine when together. I don't know how confident you'll be alone." He moved into a punch, though, Kid managed to avoid it this time around. The same could not be said for the kick to the head, which quickly floored the thief. Rolling the groaning thief over with his foot so that his back faced the ceiling, Vampire then grabbed a piece of loose fabric that held the metallic objects and placed it near Conan. "I don't plan on doing anything today. No, that's your job."

"My job?" Conan asked, glancing between the objects and Vampire. He wasn't about to go and torture Kid. Sure, the guy could be a royal pain in the ass, but he wasn't a bad guy underneath it all. He certainly didn't deserve to be cut by scalding metal.

"Yes. You can either do it by choice or by force."

The detective glared at the killer. "There's no way I'm torturing him at all." The _mmph_ that came after was probably the best Kid could get out at the moment to back him up.

"That's not an option," Vampire smirked, pulling his gun on the two and then pointing to Kid's head. "You either cause him pain in _this_ life, or I send him to _another_ life. There is no middle ground."

The detective stopped where he was. If he did nothing, Kid would most likely die. But if he did anything, the thief would likely suffer. _So these are my options… Damn it! I wish I had a way to stop this… I could try to use the weapons he's offered me… but if I don't resort to actually killing, he'll probably kill both of us on the spot. It wouldn't get me anywhere…_ Letting out a breath, he murmured, "I'm sorry…" before grabbing a small knife. The thief froze in surprise, letting out a shocked _mmph!_ at his decision. "So what do you want me to do?" Conan asked, averting his eyes from the thief as much as possible.

Grinning, the serial killer said, "Nothing major. Just make sure whatever you write stays there. Make your mark last."

"I'm writing in his back?"

"Correct. I don't care _what_ you write, so long as it lasts." Kid started to struggle, clearly not okay with any of this, until Vampire's foot pinned his neck to the ground. "You wouldn't want him to maim you by accident, would you?" he almost purred.

The thief stopped struggling, but it didn't make the detective's task any easier. This _would_ hurt. _Would_ scar. He only hoped that the thief would understand that it was the only thing he could do to prolong both of their lives. Lowering the knife and raising Kid's torn jacket and shirt slightly, Conan found a spot and let the knife trace the skin while he thought of what to write. Finally, he settled on his words and carefully set about carving them into Kid's back. He winced at the thief's sudden jerk and muffled cry, but continued with his task. The entire time, Kid's muffled cries of pain cut through the quiet of the room, making the boy feel worse about his task. By the time he'd finished, the thief's back was coated in blood and Conan's careful carving stood on the left side: _Phantom Tantei_.

"Are you satisfied?" he asked with slight venom. He didn't take any pleasure from tormenting Kid and doubted he'd ever see what was so enticing about hurting anyone for the hell of it.

Glancing over Conan's work, the killer nodded, "Not bad. I'm surprised you lasted the entire time with your friend screeching as much as he did."

"Then call those guys back and let us go back to Start already," Conan growled. "There's no point in staying any longer. He's already hurt."

Waggling a finger, Vampire chuckled, "It's a bit too soon for that, wouldn't you agree?"

"Then what's left?"

"It's only fair that he gets a crack at you, don't you think, Tantei-kun?"

"He's not even conscious!"

"So wake him up." His only response was a sharp glare. "Wake him up or he never wakes up again," he threatened, once more pointing his gun at the unconscious thief's head.

Unhappily, the detective followed his orders, nudging and doing his best to wake Kid. If Vampire saw him quickly check Kid's pulse, he didn't seem to care. But, at least he had the relief of knowing the thief was alive.

It took a while, but Kid finally came-to. It was both a relief and a torment to see his eyes open but look so unfocused from pain. If he ever got out of this place, he'd certainly make sure Vampire paid for everything he'd done. No one deserved to suffer. Not like this.

Tossing a different knife on the ground in front of Kid, Vampire said, "Here's your chance to get back at him. Take it, or I will."

Focusing slightly, he struggled to get to his feet. Eventually, Vampire simply grabbed him and had him use the table to balance. "So… you want me… to slash him back… huh?"

"Just leave your mark. It's only fair, after all." the killer answered with a lazy smile. "Of course, if you're upset with him, by all means, hack him apart."

Kid growled in response but slowly kneeled to collect the knife and waited for Conan to move toward him. "I'm not…. killing him," he said between heavy breaths as he readied the knife.

Conan had felt pain before on many occasions. Hazard of the job, really. He'd been shot and stabbed more times than he was comfortable admitting, but the added heat to the blade only made the pain that much worse when Kid finally started carving into his back. Without even realizing it, he cried out, blind to everything except the fiery blade. As more of the kanji was carved out, this sensation dulled and he regained more control over himself, but even that didn't stop his somehow muffled cries from escaping.

After a hellish eternity, the blade stopped entirely and the pain started easing. He took a deep breath and tried to recompose himself. Aside from his still-shaking form, he did manage. Looking back at Kid, he realized the thief was currently glaring daggers at their captor.

"We're done here." Kid said with astonishing firmness, given the situation.

"Very well. Stay put." Vampire chuckled as he left the room, leaving the two alone.

"Thanks," Kid said coldly, taking Conan off-guard.

"What…?"

"We could've… gotten out of that." he growled, angry indigo eyes meeting Conan's dazed blue ones.

"There wasn't… any way to get… out of that. You _know_ that." he retorted.

"Could've found a way."

"Doubt it."

"Just needed time."

"And what if that… got you killed?"

An irate silence filled the room. Nothing further was said until the woman in violet entered the room.

"Hello Kai-kun, Conan-kun," she greeted cheerfully. "I was told to make sure you two don't bleed to death." She seemed far too happy saying that, Conan decided as his vision started to fade.

* * *

_*Noroma is another way of calling someone an idiot/dunce… eh, you get the point._

_The game shall continue... The others now show their faces..._


	4. Alliance of Flames

_As always, thanks for all of the favorites, alerts, views, and reviews everyone! I never actually thought this would be so well-received haha ^^;_

_I wish I could say that my updates will get into any kind of schedule, but that would be a huge lie. Thanks for your patience and hopefully it doesn't take me another two months to update (but it probably will be the case)..._

_Um, warnings... Possible death. (And I kind of rushed this chapter...)_

* * *

Soft, cheerful giggling roused Conan from his blissful oblivion. He slowly worked his eyes open, mind immediately catching how difficult the simple action was. Yes, he was in a terrible situation. That much was absolutely certain. Though, what met his weary eyes wasn't the cold confines of Start, but rather a surprisingly plush room furnished with different shades of purple. Well, that explained the giggling…

"Oh! You're up!" she said energetically, shooting him a bright smile. "Glad you're still alive!" Her veil from earlier was gone, showing features that somehow reminded Conan of Akeru: sharp green eyes, mid-length dark hair, and even a similar face. Were they related somehow?

"Urgh," he groaned in reply, finding himself feeling heavy, but, oddly enough, not in much pain. Once again, Kid was nowhere in sight, making the detective uncertain if he was dreaming or awake. Hell, even his chains were completely removed now. "Where's Kai-niichan…?"

The woman made a slight face, eyes turning regretful, before quietly answering, "Aki-chan was too harsh on him."

Wait… What…? What did that mean? A wave of anxiety fell over him at her words, bringing back the awful scene from his first dream… Kid dead on the table, completely broken… No. They might be in a bad situation right now, but even _then_, Kid wouldn't just die on him like that. It had to mean something else… right? "What happened…?" he asked quietly, eyes clouded with concern.

Sighing, she continued in a sad, low whisper, eyes not quite meeting his own, "Kai-kun woke up when we were talking and heard Vampi-chan's real name. It wasn't his fault… but he had to be punished anyway. The poor thing never stood a chance." Looking up at the ceiling, she murmured so quietly that the detective strained to hear, "I wonder how much longer this game will last, Mia…?"

So that was it, then. Kid heard Vampire's name and was dealt with… A twitch in his lips drew into a grim frown. Well, he mused darkly, now the overpopulation problem was taken care of. Hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with the other captives' distrust… But now, he'd have to get out alone… Could he really do that?

"…How did he die?" he asked, voice barely louder than a whisper. He had to know. It wouldn't be fair to let the thief die some unknown death and not let his family know at least.

Seeming to understand, the woman replied, "Aki-chan tied him down in the basement and cut him up. I'm pretty sure he's still down there…" Whatever cheer had been left in her voice up until this point was completely gone by her final statement.

So that was that. The poor bastard of a thief had been slashed apart all alone… A thought came to him, and, before realizing it, he asked, "But didn't the wall say to 'suffer together'?"

That seemed to perk her up, for whatever reason, and she said, "That? Yep! That _was_ the original plan. But we can't really expect someone as small as you to drag him around, so we got rid of the chains. Aki-chan is just different toward you two, I guess."

He lowered his gaze, body feeling too heavy to keep himself looking up. Had Kid not tried to save him, he wouldn't have died. At least that much, Conan acknowledged, was his fault. He hadn't killed the thief, but he _had_ set the conditions for his death. The only path ahead was to keep trying to escape. Even if this failure was a heavy burden, he _had_ to get out. Had to stop Vampire. Had to survive. If he gave up now, he was as good as dead.

"How long will I be here?" he asked quietly, eyes looking back to the woman in purple.

"Until Futoshi-kun is done with his research, probably." Yep, she was back to normal again, he thought with distaste. It wasn't like people were _dying_ or anything. Oh, _wait_. "It really _is_ too bad Aki-chan lost his temper… Kai-kun had so much potential… but, oh well. That's how it goes."

_What was that supposed to mean?_ Conan wondered. _And what exactly is 'Futoshi' researching? Why involve so many people? And why did Vampire say that he might keep us earlier?_ While thinking over everything, he laid his head back down and closed his eyes. He was still pretty weak and the weight that had come over him wasn't helping.

The sound of a door slamming snapped him out of his daze. Cracking an eye open, he saw Vampire storm in, clearly unhappy with something. "Why the hell isn't he back in Start?" he growled, moving his glare to the diminutive detective, who quickly closed his eye, but not before seeing the serial killer's bloodstained shirt.

_Didn't 'Aki-chan' kill Kid?_ he thought. _Did Vampire really just kill someone so shortly after the last death? Then how many are left now…?_

"No can do, _Vampi_-chan," she giggled in return, clearly unfazed by the bloodied serial killer. "Futoshi-kun won't let you start the game again this soon. You know that." There was a slight sound that seemed out of place, making the detective crack open his eye to find that the purple woman had kissed Vampire. He wished he hadn't seen that, but he also supposed even bloodthirsty killers had _someone_ that loved them…as disturbing as that seemed... "So clean yourself up and relax a little! No need to be so high-strung!"

"Hmph!" he grumbled, still irate. "The sooner he's done with this research, the better. Damn Futoshi." Well, it seemed that Vampire didn't get along with 'Futoshi' very much. Though he did seem to listen to the man, which was interesting, to say the least.

"I'm glad to see you think so highly of me," a frigid voice spoke up. The owner was a well-dressed man with ice-blue eyes and neat brown hair. The purple woman flinched noticeably, while Vampire seemed taken aback for a split second. "Know your place, my dearest Akira-chan."

"Don't call me that!" Vampire snapped, surprise replaced by anger and a death glare on his face. He had also drawn his gun at the name and glanced in Conan's direction, spurring the detective to once more close his eyes and feign sleep. There was no way he was going to risk them thinking he heard anything. Not with what happened to Kid.

"Ah, it's pleasant to the ears, though. It has a much nicer sound than that name the police chose for you, my dear," Futoshi replied calmly and smooth as silk. "And honestly," he said with a hint of amusement, "You expect a _child_ to be able to not only _escape_, but also to properly articulate all of this to the police? You're much too wary."

"This brat isn't normal," Vampire growled in response, most likely looking in the detective's direction.

"I'm well-aware that he's that meitantei Mouri's charge, but even so, Akira-chan, Mouri isn't a miracle-worker. There is zero evidence of Conan's kidnapping left. The Kid heist was all the cover that we needed for that. There is almost no chance that this will be linked to us in any way. So relax for once. Enjoy the game while it lasts." Futoshi was composed and confident. Not a good sign, but maybe that confidence could be used as a weakness…

"Bah!" Vampire replied. "The day I relax is the day I die. I've got more at-stake than either of you."

"Oh come now," Futoshi chided, "Junko-chan is listening. Why won't you?"

"Because even I have morals, you bastard."

"Is that what you believe?" Futoshi asked. Cracking his eye open again, Conan saw a mirthful smile take place on the man's face as he replied, "You think I'm some kind of monster for carrying through, ne? No. I'm merely watching and observing. The real monster _is_ still you, _Vampire_-chan." By the end, the man's words were dripping with enough venom to bring chills down the detective's spine.

"Kheh! Do as you wish," the serial killer snarled before turning to the door. "I'm going to look for those targets." He stalked out of the room in a rage, leaving a saddened woman in purple (Junko, maybe?) and Futoshi with the detective.

"How much longer will this last?" she asked, meeting Futoshi's eyes questioningly.

"Until Kaitou Kid is captured," he answered coolly. "Hopefully this madness will end with his capture."

"And what about Conan-kun?"

"Until Kid shows up, he's stuck with us." the man took in a breath and shook his head, smile still present. "Kid's a curious guy. Even if he wouldn't necessarily stick his neck out for them, he does seem to have a vested interest in his detectives. By that logic, even if he wouldn't work to save them, he _would_ likely check around for them. When he makes that mistake, he's ours. The others can go after that. They won't be needed." Glancing over to the detective, who quickly closed his eye again, he said, "I'm Maeue Futoshi, by the way. You can stop faking."

The woman in purple let out a noise of surprise when she saw Conan open his eyes. Apparently she _had_ thought he'd passed out again. Futoshi's ice cold eyes bore into Conan's own deep azure orbs with a hint of amusement.

"You can relax. I'm not like Akira. I couldn't care less if anyone heard my name."

"You'll regret that when I get out of here," Conan replied evenly as he met the man's gaze.

"_If_ you get out of here," he replied, unfazed. Then, in a much colder tone, he said, "Nothing matters here, Boy. Whatever the hell Akira did to you? It doesn't matter. That guy you were chained to? Doesn't matter. And the dead? They _certainly_ don't matter. No, no, no. The only things that matter here, my friend, are decisions." His smile from earlier turned feral as he finished, "Expect to make some tough decisions soon… because now I own you. Junko. You know what to do." He turned and left the room just as quietly as he'd come after that.

"Poor thing…" the woman, now confirmed as Junko, murmured. "First you get dragged into this, and then you get stuck with Futoshi-kun… Well… just rest and I'll take care of you."

"Why take care of me? Wouldn't me dying also lure Kid around with Futoshi's logic?" he asked, keeping himself lying down but turning his head to better see her.

"Futoshi doesn't kill, and anyone he 'claims' doesn't get killed. That's why he got so upset with Aki-chan for attacking Kai-kun." Junko sighed, "Though I think Kai-kun is better off now. Futoshi-kun has a habit of keeping people miserable and drawing things out…"

Something about her wording was bothering him. Futoshi's as well… While Junko _had_ replied to his question of how Kid had died, she hadn't said anything about him actually _dying_ this whole time… And Futoshi never mentioned Kid dying either. Both had left it extremely vague… If that was the case, maybe there was still some hope of the thief's survival after all… _Just_ what he needed: Schrödinger's Phantom Thief. Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask for a more specific response. "He _did_ die, didn't he? Kai-niichan, I mean…"

"I'm not allowed to say either way…" she answered, looking down. "Sorry, Conan-kun."

Well that was just frustrating. He nodded and closed his eyes. Time to think through things rationally. No one actually mentioned that Kai had 'died', which led him to believe that Kid _might_ be alive. However, as Junko had just stated: 'he might be better off now,' that led him to think the opposite. Vampire was pretty upset, but that could've simply been because of Conan's own being out of Start or what he and Futoshi were arguing about… Or it could be that Kid was injured and they _expected_ him to die. In which case, getting out of here and getting the thief to help was all the more important. Damn.

But even so, there was nothing he could do until his body started responding properly again. And there was another thing bothering him as well… Vampire's words about targets... _I guess some of us were caught intentionally, while others, like Kid, were just dragged along thanks to random chance. But why not just kill the witnesses instead of bringing them along? It'd certainly be easier… And just what the hell do they even want Kid for? Clearly, at least Junko doesn't seem to enjoy this. Actually, it looks like stress is starting to eat at Vampire too... So why continue? What is worth this?_ _Why start and stop with Kid? …Should I let them know they already caught him…?_

That was the million yen question. If he told them, what would happen? Would they really stop all of this or would they place everyone in a more precarious position? Would they release their captives or would they kill them all? No, Conan decided, letting them know about Kid would be a mistake.

"Oh Futoshi-kun," Junko sighed, smile dimmed down, "I wish you and Aki-chan would just end this fighting already…"

"They don't seem to like each other, do they, Oba-san?" Conan asked, opening his eyes to glance at Junko.

With a laugh that seemed pretty forced, she said, "Oh! They're always at each others' throats, but they _are_ good friends. It's just that… _that_ happened."

"'That'?"

"Um! Shoot!" she glanced around quickly before kneeling by the diminutive detective and murmuring, "The Game happened…"

"The Game? What game?" Well, he was getting more pieces of the puzzle this way, but he was pretty sure these pieces wouldn't fit anywhere at the moment. He needed more context.

"I really can't say more, gomen," she whispered before drawing away again, a slightly anxious look now present on her face. Whatever this 'Game' was, it apparently caused her a lot of stress and set Vampire and Futoshi against each other. Was it the game he was already stuck in, escaping the slaughterhouse, or was it something else? God help him if he was stuck in a game within a game, he thought as he placed a hand on his forehead. "Just… just know things aren't what they seem…"

* * *

Hours passed him by in unconsciousness. Junko had managed to persuade the detective to take some medication for his pain as it started to flare up again, after which he'd lost his hold on the waking world. When his eyes finally opened, all of his surroundings were cloaked in darkness, and, while his back and leg still hurt, the pain was a very dull prick at the back of his mind. Whatever drug she'd used, it was pretty strong. He knew he wasn't in Start, but couldn't quite tell if he was in the same room as before.

Flicking on his watch-light and glancing around, he determined that yes, he was still in the purple room and that, surprisingly, he was alone. _Either they thought I'd sleep through the night or they locked me in here,_ Conan thought, deciding to try the door just to be sure. Limping slightly, he made his way to the door and quickly tried the knob, which fully turned, and opened the door. _I guess they underestimated me this time,_ he thought uneasily. Yeah. That was it, right? It was starting to get really difficult to tell the difference between dreams and reality lately… Maybe this was just another dream…

He turned off the beam while in the doorway and carefully listened. After hearing nothing, he quickly flashed the light in different directions, looking for the better escape route. Deciding to take a right, the diminutive detective quickly but quietly limped down the silent hall. He wasn't sure what was worse, the screams in the daytime or the tension of silence at night.

Deciding to let his eyes adjust rather than risk using his light too much, Conan found the staircase and followed it down. _I need to get to the basement,_ he thought, nearly jumping a foot in the air at a creaking floorboard. _And avoid making noise! That would be great!_ Quickly glancing around him, he found no one to be nearby and continued his descent. _If that guy is still alive, he's probably in Start or the basement by now. If he's not… he probably won't be in either. But I can only check those places. I won't have time for anywhere else. Please be there, Kid._

Finally at the lowest level of the building, Conan heard a small sobbing noise coming from the basement's second room. Taking in a breath, he cracked the door open and glanced inside. What awaited him was a ring of fire that appeared to be contained near the far right corner of the room and something hanging on the wall far too close to the flames. That explained the noise…

A weak whimper sounded through the flames, "Help…!" The voice was familiar, but definitely _not_ Kid's. So some other captive was meeting their end here… No. Even if the person was only interested in saving their own skin, Conan couldn't just leave him there.

"Oi," he spoke, hoping the person could hear him over the flames and their own panic, "I hear you. I'll try to get you out of there. Just hang in there."

"Th-thank you!" they cried, voice full of something akin to joy.

"Vampire's not around, right?" Conan asked as he quickly searched the room for anything he could use to extinguish the ring of fire. Helping this guy would be hard enough even without the serial killer getting in the way. He didn't want to have to worry about him on top of everything else.

"Uh-um," the man stammered, "I-he started the fire and got me here… but I haven't seen him in a long time so I don't know…"

At least he was finally getting some honesty out of his fellow captives, Conan thought darkly. He'd just have to hope Vampire was gone for the night. Not comforting.

Finally finding a small tank of water—thanks Vampire, for making things easy for once—Conan managed to extinguish the flames surrounding the man. Now to get him off of the wall…

"No need," the man said, grinning. With a flick of the wrist, his chains fell off of him and he landed elegantly on the ground.

"You're not a captive," the detective stated, quickly snapping out of his surprise.

"Correct," the man answered, brushing off his shirt, "I believe we've met before. I'm Hideki. Master Futoshi wanted me to deliver a message to you. Well, a decision, really."

"A decision?" he asked, eyes never leaving the man in front of him. Damn it, this was planned!

"Yeah. You can either save a life or leave. Up to you. Then again, I guess it's possible to do both if you're really crafty… At least, that's what Master Futoshi said." Hideki said with a shrug.

This madness seemed to never end! With obvious irritation, Conan said, "You already know my choice." It wasn't really a choice at all. Yes, escaping was the plan, but keeping people alive was a bit more important at the moment. Sacrificing anyone wasn't permissible.

Hideki nodded. "You're pretty brave for such a little guy." He walked over to a cabinet and offered the diminutive detective a small lighter and a sharp-bladed knife. continuing his spiel as Conan carefully pocketed them. "You might want these for your task. Don't tell either Master I gave you these…" Continuing his spiel as Conan carefully pocketed the items, Hideki said, "Somewhere in this place, a captive is in a similar situation to what I was in. I'd say they have all of eh…ten minutes, give or take… until the flames start burning them to death. You have a half hour to escape this place without interference. Sounds easy, right?" At Conan's nod, he continued, "Yeah, it would be, but if you _do_ rescue that victim, there will be trouble. The closer to the time limit, the greater the problems will be. If you hit the half hour mark and still try to escape, lethal force will be used. And uh… yeah…. You're going to have to find and drag anything else you need by yourself… I've already done too much for you… Sorry, Kiddo." With that said, Hideki cast the detective a regretful look and left the room.

_Damn it. Now I need to find them fast… At least I don't need to hide, _he thought, turning his watch-light back on and bolting out of the basement. _They're going to be stuck in fire, so I need water…_ _wait! That room with the holes! It might still have something…!_

The halls went by in a blur as Conan made his way to where he remembered the room was located. On finding it, he opened the door and bolted inside, searching for some kind of container and water. Tripping over something heavy, he let out a surprised noise and turned his light on it to find it was a tank like before. Opening the lid, he ensured it was water before picking it up and dragging it out of the room with him. _I really wish I had a better way to carry this. It's too heavy to just lug around without help for too long…_ Checking his watch for the time, he frowned. That venture had taken a third of his time. Seven minutes left to find and save that person. _Think! What floor would be best for this challenge? It's clearly not the basement. The first floor isn't likely… would be far too easy to drag the tank and Hideki wouldn't have said anything about dragging the tank in that scenario… The third floor isn't likely… That seems to be where Vampire and the others rest… Second floor it is._

Carefully looping part of his stretchy suspenders around the tank's handle to better balance it, Conan made his way to the second floor, hindered quite a bit by the weight of the tank. By the time he'd climbed the staircase and stopped to breathe, another four minutes had ticked away. The captive was running out of time. Three minutes left. If only he had some kind of hint as to their location…

A faint illumination colored the ground down the hall. He only had one chance. Glancing around to quickly check for other lights, the diminutive detective limped as quickly as he could to the door and opened it to the sight of a larger flame eating away at the corner of the room. He'd either need a bigger water tank or a lot of good luck to take out the fire entirely… No, for now he'd focus on finding the captive in that mess and getting them out.

"Oi! Anyone in there?!" he yelled, limping around the flames and removing his suspenders from the handle.

"Conan-kun?" Akeru's familiar voice returned. "Yes, I'm in here…!"

"Are you chained or tied up?"

"No," she replied, sounding worried, "But the fire's too strong for me to move much."

"Okay, then I want you to run as soon as I throw water at the center of this. Will that work?" A few seconds passed before he got an affirmative and tossed the water from the tank, hearing a sharp hiss from the flames along with Akeru's footsteps. Putting distance between himself and the remaining flames, Conan sat down and panted. He'd put too much stress on his back and leg in too little time…

"…Thank you," Akeru said sincerely, kneeling by the diminutive detective. She was slightly scorched from the flames, but seemed to be alright. "I thought for sure you'd just leave this place… Especially with what happened to Kai…"

"…What _did_ happen to Kai-niichan? I haven't heard anything definitive."

"I guess that's because even they're not sure what'll happen now," Akeru answered, green eyes softening, "Kai's in Start right now. But since I got taken, I'm not sure if he'll be alive when we get back there."

"Then we have to head back to Start and get him. There's still time to get out of here." Checking his watch again, he noted that they had fifteen minutes left to escape. Odds were there were already interference runners around by now. Forcing himself to his feet, Conan staggered a couple of steps toward the door, glancing over his shoulder at Akeru. "Come on, Onee-san."

He didn't expect the older girl to pick him up several seconds later and carry him down to Start. The trip that had originally taken a couple of minutes had only taken maybe thirty seconds with Akeru carrying him. He wouldn't complain about the manhandling, though he _had_ let out a surprised squawk as he was lifted from the ground.

"Sorry, Conan-kun," she murmured, carefully placing him on the ground and picking out a key from the inside of her singed shirt. "I figured this would be faster." Quickly, she unlocked the door and opened it, glancing back to signal the detective to follow her in.

_Why does she have a key to Start…? _Conan blinked, following her back to the inside of Start. _And come to think of it, those items Hideki gave me had nothing to do with the challenge…_ A cold feeling of dread started clawing at his stomach. Something was wrong. Stopping in place, he glanced all around him, looking for anything out of place, but found nothing. Then it came to him: _Kid…!_

Barreling around the other captives, Conan continued until he found Akeru kneeling over the fallen form of Kid. A small, mostly dried puddle of blood was just barely visible from under the thief's chest and abdomen and his breathing was labored. No wonder everyone was already acting like he was dead. He probably would be, come morning. But there was no way Conan would be able to move him on his own. Even with Akeru's help, it might not be good enough… He needed more help, and he needed it fast.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to the others in Start and said in a quiet and composed voice, "I know you guys don't trust me and Kai-niichan. But right now, we _all_ have the chance to get _out_ of this place. You can either take the opportunity or leave it. I'm taking it." Glancing back at his watch, he continued, "We have thirteen minutes to get out of here before they start shooting. This may be our only chance."

The room went silent, taking in his words. Early on, Kid had promised them the chance of escape, and now he and Conan had succeeded in opening the opportunity. They had gotten farther than anyone else had ever dreamed. Several of the adults and teenagers stepped forward, acknowledging their chance.

"What do you need, Kiddo?" a younger man asked, fixing his glasses.

Relief blossomed in the detective's chest. They were going to help! Forcing the smile that had made its way to his face back, he replied in an authoritative voice, "I need someone to help us move Kai-niichan, for one. I also need everyone to be as quiet as they can be and to trust me and Akeru-neesan when we say something needs done. Other than that, be ready to muscle through if it comes to that." _As much as I hope we don't run into anyone, the odds aren't in our favor with this lack of time. And I don't know how long it'll take me to try to pick the front lock either…_ Glancing at Kid regretfully, he waited for the others to agree before heading to the doorway and searching for trouble. _Now's our chance, Kid. We _will _get out. Just like you promised._

* * *

_Next chapter is what we've been waiting for! The die is cast! Will Lady Luck grace the boys' efforts?_


	5. A Cold Wind of Hope

_And I'm back with another chapter! Thanks for all of the views, favorites, alerts, and reviews everyone! Check my profile for occasional news on story progress and I'll see ya in (most likely) another two months!_

_Um, just so everyone knows... At least in this story, Aoko already knows about Kid, though Kaito isn't really aware of it. I'm going to follow the school of thought that Kaito is aware there is something strange about Conan, but doesn't actually know he's Shinichi, as well. (Probably should've mentioned these things earlier...)_

_Warnings: Perspective switch and a lot of bloodshed/death. But the last part you all expected, right?_

* * *

It wasn't normal, Aoko thought for the thousandth time this week as she stared at Kaito's empty desk. Her childhood friend was always around—sick or not. Now… now he'd been gone for five days straight. Back on the first day, she'd just assumed he'd been too sick to get himself moving. She'd even gone to his house after school to check on him and found nothing. He wasn't home. He also hadn't shown up for dinner nor had he answered any calls.

On his second day gone, she'd called Chikage and Jii-san, since at least one of them tended to know Kaito's whereabouts when she didn't. Much to her dismay, neither of them knew anything about his disappearance. In fact, Chikage had even mentioned that there shouldn't be any reason he _wouldn't_ be around. Jii-san had agreed to that as well, and, if Aoko remembered right, he'd even sported a slightly worried expression for the briefest of moments.

By day three, Aoko was ready to punch that jackass in the throat… if he had been there, that was. But, surprise of surprises, Kaito _still_ wasn't back. Checking in with Chikage and Jii-san again was fruitless. Neither had managed to contact Kaito in any way. _That_ was the moment she realized something might've happened to her childhood friend. _That_ was when anxiety and fear finally struck.

Day four of Kaito's absence came and she'd finally decided to express her worries to Keiko, who had insisted they stir Hakuba into action. The teenaged detective, however, assumed Kaito was simply pulling their legs and was probably off laughing somewhere. Honestly… it wasn't surprising that he'd come to that deduction. He and Kaito weren't exactly close. Hakuba had a habit of not-so-subtly implying that Kaito was Kid, and, as a result, the two were usually at each others' throats. It was also extremely well-known that Kaito liked to pull elaborate pranks… Probably why no one else seemed all that concerned by his disappearance. As frustrating as it was, she was pretty much on her own as far as looking for Kaito went.

And now, after searching what felt like all of Ekoda yesterday, she was left with no clues and a lot of anxiety. Stuck in class, not knowing anything about her childhood friend's whereabouts. What if Kaito was hurt, or worse, dead? Didn't most disappearances end in death? Oh, gods help her if anything happened to Kaito... _But it's _Kaito_,_ she reasoned with herself. _Kaito wouldn't just… leave without saying goodbye and _die_… right? Maybe if I wait, he'll come back on his own… like what Hakuba-kun was saying…_ The pessimistic part of her scoffed at that thought.

Sighing, she got through another school day, too distracted by the lack of Kaito to really retain anything. By dismissal, she gave one last glance to his desk before getting up and leaving the classroom. Maybe today she'd get lucky and find some trace of him?

As she reached the front gate of the school, the sound of Hakuba's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Aoko-kun, are you alright?" he asked, amber eyes as soft as his tone. She'd given a small nod and smile, but the detective didn't seem to buy it for a second. Sighing, he asked, "It's Kuroba-kun, isn't it? Has no one heard from him yet?"

In answer, the inspector's daughter shook her head and averted her gaze. "It's… not normal for him to be gone this long… He wouldn't drag out a joke like this either…" She knew she sounded small and shaken, but she couldn't help it. The closest thing she had to a brother-figure was… just… gone. Without a trace. And it hurt to think she might lose another family member after losing her mother and Occhan.

Aoko was startled by a hand that was gently placed on her shoulder, breaking her out of her negative thoughts. Looking up to Hakuba with curious eyes, she found him almost steeling himself for what he was about to say. Finally, he came out and said, "If this isn't like him, then how about I help you look. Would that be acceptable, Aoko-kun?" It was a simple offer and yet, it really went to show that Hakuba really could be a good guy.

Before she could answer, Keiko, who, along with Akako, had at some point appeared behind Hakuba, said, "Don't forget about us!" Her friend gave a determined smile. "Like you said, something's got to be wrong if Kaito-kun hasn't already come back. We can't just leave your husband out in the cold, right?" she winked.

Embarrassed, Aoko yelled, "He's _not_ my husband! You know that!" Maybe her reddened face could be explained by the winter chill? Yeah, and maybe pigs could fly. Though why everyone assumed she and Kaito would be together was beyond her. That guy probably didn't get it either.

"It would be best if we were to start our search soon," Akako advised, voice surprisingly empathetic. "I believe Hakuba-kun warned us several days ago that a particularly dangerous man was running about at night."

"Ah, right," Hakuba nodded, "the Vampire of Tokyo. He shouldn't attack, given the large number of us, but one can never be too careful." That was right. Hakuba _had_ warned them about this Vampire guy. There really wasn't much on him, though. Just that he usually attacked at night and left a body or two in the river from time to time… as awful as that was. It was probably fair to assume that a decent number of the people going missing lately were his doing. What if he'd managed to get Kaito? Seeming to sense what she was thinking, the detective said, "I wouldn't worry about Kuroba-kun being caught by this guy. Yes, they both enjoy prowling around at night, but Kuroba-kun _is_ cautious, despite evidence to the contrary. He wouldn't be caught easily, if at all." Although he sounded calm on the surface, his usual confidence didn't quite make itself present. Odds were, he was thinking about the same as she was.

Trying to change the topic, Keiko asked, "So where all have you checked, Aoko?"

"Um," it would probably be easier to say where she _hadn't_ been, at least as far as Ekoda was concerned. "I've talked to Kaito's mom, who said nothing was going on in the family and they had no plans to go anywhere. Jii-san said he hadn't heard from Kaito since that Kid heist several days ago… I've been checking all around and talking to people, but I haven't really found anyone that knows anything…"

"It might be beneficial, then, to start at the site of the heist and work our way out from there," Hakuba suggested. "If we do not find anything there, we can check and see if anyone from the Task Force remembers seeing him there with anyone. It might narrow down our search." Upon the others' agreement, Hakuba led the way back to the site of Kid's last heist.

There wasn't anything remarkable about the latest museum Kid had targeted, the inspector's daughter decided. Sure, it was full of history, but that didn't exactly make it interesting. There _had_ been a large blue topaz there called 'the Healing Light,' but that was long-since stolen by the white-clad thief. So far, it hadn't been returned.

Likewise, the outside of the building was pretty barren. There were benches for people to sit down in, as well as a large entryway, but neither of these areas were all too occupied. It was probably a bit too chilly for very many people to stick around outside. But looking over the area, there didn't seem to be anything wrong here. Nothing seemed out of place. Was there really anything to find here?

Hakuba closed his eyes after scanning the area, probably trying to force his thoughts back to the night of the heist. After a couple of minutes passed in silence, he opened his eyes and murmured, "We need to look for blood… it hasn't rained or snowed, so there's a good chance we can still find it."

"Kaito-kun was bleeding?" Keiko asked in surprise.

"It wasn't anything serious," Hakuba replied, calmly. "He nicked his ankle sometime before the end of the heist. If I remember correctly, given the way he had been standing, there should be a small blood trail. If we find that, we might be able to track Kuroba-kun's path."

As Hakuba began moving toward the surrounding buildings, Keiko asked, "But Hakuba-kun! Wouldn't Kaito-kun have stayed closer to the museum to see Kid? Why are you going over there?" If Aoko hadn't known better by this point, she probably would've asked the same question.

"You said he 'nicked' his ankle," Aoko started slowly, "but then you said he was bleeding enough to leave a trail… What happened, exactly?" Kid fans were obnoxious, yes, but typically not violent. There also didn't seem to be any real places he could've cut himself that deeply near here.

The detective quieted. So that was it, Aoko thought. It was something he couldn't mention without also claiming that Kaito was Kid. She guessed all those times she'd snapped at both Kaito and Hakuba had left some kind of impact on the detective. Right now, though, that was a bad thing. Seeming to consider his words, he sighed and answered, "I'm fairly certain what nicked him was a bullet. He seemed fine at the time, so I never gave it much thought. I was almost certain he made it back home as well." Guilt finally started to seep into his tone as he seemed to realize just how much he'd taken for granted that night.

"He was _shot?_" Keiko asked incredulously. Aoko mentally agreed with that incredulity. Kaito wasn't _that_ reckless. That much, everyone seemed to agree on. So, the idea of him getting _shot_ and then _staying_ near his shooter seemed pretty far-fetched.

"Unfortunately, yes," the detective answered with a guilty tone, turning to inspect the buildings he'd been walking toward. When no further information was given, the girls set to search around as well.

The sun slowly began its descent. By the time anyone spoke up again, the clouds had already obscured it from sight and a frosty wind heralded the coming snowfall. The teenagers were slowly feeling the effects of the wind's bite, though that didn't stop them from inspecting their surroundings for the small hope of finding anything left behind by their friend.

The bricks of the buildings and the cracks in the ground all seemed to blur as they passed under Aoko's gaze. But damn it all, none of them gave her any hope. _Kaito,_ she mentally growled, _why did you have to make things difficult for us?_

_What?_ The pessimistic other voice asked, _Did you want him to bleed more for us?_ Okay… that might've been a bit too morbid.

"I believe I have found it," Akako spoke up, drawing the others' attention. As they all gathered near, the elegant girl pointed out a small dried puddle of something. It looked to be slightly faded, but soon Hakuba had identified it as blood. With its location and size, he'd deduced that the person had to have been hanging around with their leg slightly raised. They'd had to have noticed they were bleeding, yet chose to hang around anyway. Akako was right.

Hakuba then continued to move his gaze over the ground, looking for any signs of movement. He made a small grunt, indicating for the others to follow him as he followed the faded blood trail. It was slow progress and difficult to follow, but eventually it led them to an abandoned alleyway, one Aoko remembered feeling creeped out by thanks to its broken streetlight leaving it constantly shadowed.

The trail vanished entirely once they'd reached the darkest portion of the alley. In its place, however, were several sets of footprints and another blood puddle near a faint spatter on the alley's enclosing wall. Was there some kind of ambush here?

"Impact wound…" Hakuba muttered, kneeling near the dried blood. "Was hit by something blunt…"

"H-Hakuba-kun?" Uncertainty laced her voice, drawing the detective's sympathetic look.

He averted his gaze and let out a frustrated sigh before explaining, "I believe Kuroba-kun was ambushed here that night. It doesn't look like he was killed—at the very least, not here…"

"It was the Vampire, then?" Akako asked evenly, though, Aoko noticed, she didn't meet Hakuba's eyes.

"We can only hope not," he replied quietly. "Maybe it was just some kidnappers." Though, even saying this, the detective didn't sound convinced in the least. "We should check the phone at Kuroba-kun's home… just to be certain."

"I trust if Nakamori-san has not found anything yet, that it might just be a waste of time," Akako replied. "Nothing will change if our efforts are misplaced."

"Guys," Keiko started, a bit worried, "what happens if the snow messes up everything?" Her question quickly snapped Hakuba into action, taking pictures of the alley as a light snow began to fall. At least they'd have pictures to show the police.

Slightly wandering from her spot near Keiko, Aoko walked over to the broken streetlight. It wouldn't help to be in the way right now. Though, from the corner of her eye, she saw a weak light filtering through the snow and grass. Bending down to get a better look, she saw it was a phone that was receiving a call from "That Woman." There was also a small dove charm connected to the phone…

"Hakuba-kun," Aoko called in a small voice. It was almost too small to be heard, but the detective quickly turned his head to look over his shoulder. "I found Kaito's phone." It felt surreal, staring at her childhood friend's (now badly cracked) phone. Like her last hope for his well-being was crushed. Hakuba started to close the distance between them, but rather than check the phone, he once more placed a hand on her shoulder. She knew he said something, but she couldn't really make out the words. Finally, the world went blurry and she finally realized she'd started crying.

It didn't take long after that for Hakuba and Akako to send Aoko back for the day. The two had agreed to continue investigating in Aoko's stead, so long as she went home and tried to rest. She'd yelled that she should stay as well, but none of her friends thought that a good idea, forcing her to head back early with Keiko.

The closer they got to her house, the more her tears fell. Her fists started shaking as the awful realization fully hit her. It just wasn't fair! Everyone else could have both a mother _and_ a father. Some lucky ones got siblings. But Aoko, Aoko wasn't even allowed to keep her closest friend?! It felt like the gods wanted nothing more than to rip her heart out piece by piece!

"Aoko…" Keiko started quietly, hugging her upset friend. When she finally got Aoko's attention, she said with confidence, "Aoko, Hakuba-kun will _definitely_ find Kaito-kun. He'll catch whoever did all this—even if it is that Vampire guy—and everything will go back to how it used to be, for sure."

Her friend's confidence was striking. It took her a moment to find her voice, but when she did, Aoko weakly asked, "How can you be so sure…?" Right now, the situation looked bleak. Even with Hakuba being a meitantei, they were behind by five days… The odds were completely against them.

Keiko was quiet for a while before answering, "Because I have faith in Hakuba-kun and Kaito-kun." She had… faith in them? "Hakuba-kun _will_ find these guys. And Kaito-kun isn't the type to just give up, right? He won't make anyone's life easy 'til he gets home, that's for sure." The girl gently smiled and once more hugged Aoko. "I have faith because Kaito-kun always comes back for you. He probably always will too," she winked, grinning.

_That's right,_ Aoko agreed, tears finally ceasing. _Kaito wouldn't let himself be taken out so easily. I have to put my faith in him too. Either he'll escape on his own or Hakuba-kun will find him._ Forcing the faintest of smiles, Aoko nodded. Crying wouldn't help anyone in this situation. She had to be strong and keep her hope alive. If she gave up, then how could she expect Kaito to be strong and come home? "Um… Keiko?" When her friend looked back to her, Aoko said, "Thank you." _Thank you for reminding me to have hope. Thank you for trying so hard to cheer me up._

Keiko's grin grew as she said, "That's what friends are for, ya know." She really was a true friend, sticking by Aoko's side all of this time. Hakuba and Akako too. Even if he and Kaito weren't the best of friends, the detective was still trying. And Akako was as well, staying by Hakuba's side to help him find clues lost to the passage of time… Yes, Keiko was right. There was still a chance. There was still hope.

* * *

"How does it look?" Akeru asked, joining the diminutive detective with the bespectacled young man in tow. Thankfully, the two of them were able to balance Kid's limp form without too much trouble. The phantom thief looked awful, like his pulse would stop at any moment. But what was most disturbing was the almost frightened look that he'd kept up even in unconsciousness…

Shaking his head slightly to snap out of his thoughts, Conan checked both ends of the hall and then his watch before replying, "Still clear. Nine minutes left. Is everyone ready?" He returned to watching the halls. Time was running out. Any mistakes made now would damn them all. That meant no encounters with the guys in black were allowed. It'd be too dangerous.

There was a small silence, in which Conan was certain they were checking with the others. It was ended by the footsteps of the others drawing close behind him and the young man's grunt of affirmation.

Without turning back to the others, the diminutive detective quietly, but authoritatively said, "Akeru-neesan and Onii-san: stay close to me. We're leading. Kids stay in the middle of the group. Most importantly," he paused and turned to meet their eyes individually before finishing, "Stay quiet. I know where the door is, so don't stray. We've got eight minutes. We have to make them count."

He was half-surprised, but fully grateful, that no one challenged his authority on the matter. The ones that decided to leave—apparently a few remained behind, too afraid to risk escape—slowly formed their group and waited for Conan's start. It was heartening that they were placing their hope in him… and he'd be damned if he was going to betray that hope.

_Now's our chance,_ he thought, stepping from the safety of Start and into the danger of the halls. _There's no going back now._ His leg was starting to hurt again, forcing him into a limp, but he'd just have to hold out. He could get everyone out. He _had_ to.

The gloomy halls, cracked windows, and damaged floors passed him in a blur. It almost seemed a waste to travel so quietly, as none of the black-clad guys seemed to be around. But that only made it worse. That meant that they had to be planning an ambush at the door… and Conan and the others would have to march through the lion's den in order to find freedom. Hopefully the others wouldn't lose their cool.

The silence became oppressive as they reached the turn just before the door. Even Conan's own breathing felt far too loud. His heartbeat was pounded in his ears as he inspected the door from his position. Three blocked the door. Fine. It would take some finesse, but if he could distract them or lead them off, then they could get by without a fight. The only problem was, of course, where the hell were the others?

Turning back to Akeru and the young man, he signaled for them to drop down to his level. Both seemed confused at first, but complied, lowering Kid in the process. Bringing forth a good number of questioning looks, Conan began to dig through Kid's pockets, looking for something he could kick. Card gun, no. Rubik's cube, maybe. Juggling balls, a godsend. Those would work.

He pocketed the card gun just in-case, then took two juggling balls, kicking them into a far corner to leave satisfying _thuck-thuck, thuck-thuck-thucks_. All three men quickly snapped to attention.

"Oi," one said, grinning, "Looks like they finally came out to play."

"About damn time," another grumbled. "I was getting bored standing around."

The third snorted before grumbling, "You two go check out the sounds. I'll stick around."

"Afraid of a rag-tag bunch of victims, Daisuke?" the first teased, leaving with the second.

After the duo had vanished from sight, Daisuke muttered with a smirk, "No. I just don't like being suckered by them."

One had figured out his ploy? So be it. It couldn't hurt that much to use his super sneakers now, could it? Picking up another juggling ball, Conan activated his sneaker, threw the ball up, and kicked it at Daisuke's head. The man fell backward with a surprised noise before landing on the ground in a heap. Instantly regretting his action, the diminutive detective let out a hiss of pain and clutched his leg.

Getting himself under control, Conan limped over to the door and tested it. Much to his surprise, the door actually opened for him. _It's… not locked?_

"…Don't…"

He whirled around, trying to locate where the voice had come from. Daisuke was still out of it… The others weren't nearby… No one in the group would willingly stay here. No. It had to have been his imagination, if the confused looks were anything to go by.

Taking the first step into the outside, he was greeted by a cold wind and snow falling from the dark night sky. Oddly enough, he couldn't make out any lights. How far were they from the rest of the world?

The others filed out around him, basking in the glory of their frosty sanctuary with awe-struck expressions. One of them even started crying with an overjoyed look on their face. "We… we made it!" one of them shouted ecstatically as the others joined in the cheer. Conan nearly jumped in surprise. No! Those idiots were going to get killed if they didn't shut up!

"Don't celebrate just yet!" he snapped, eliciting yelps of shock from several of the former captives. "Come on, we have to get out of here now!" The others seemed to understand and hurried off in different directions.

That should've been it. However, as Akeru and the young man followed him, his sense of dread only seemed to grow. Something was wrong.

"…No more…" the voice spoke up again. So it wasn't his imagination after all.

A shriek cut through the air as fresh blood spattered on the side of his face and glasses. Akeru collapsed as Kid's full weight was pushed on her. Both of them were bloodied up, but they seemed alright. It was the bespectacled guy that had been shot in the head and was now sprawled on the ground. His eyes were wide and he wore a shocked expression, made worse by the blood coating his face and the hole in his forehead.

Chaos erupted as the others were herded back into one large group by what could only be the guys in black. The kids quickly hid behind any adult nearby, joy quickly turned to terror. Damn… they'd almost escaped. So close and yet so far…

Vampire leisurely walked to the center of his group, cackling madly. "You _really_ are something, Tantei-kun! I never expected we'd reach this point when I snatched you all those days ago… And yet," he paused and gestured around to his men and the escapees, eyes and smile growing positively feral, "And yet, here we are." Pulling out his gun, he thundered, "But your petty resistance ends here!"

"It's not your choice," Conan replied with gritted teeth. If he could buy time, then maybe the others could escape… "You're still stuck listening to Futoshi."

"You think I give a _damn_ what Futoshi says?!" Vampire growled, eyes narrowing. Pointing his gun at the diminutive detective's head, he howled, "I'm ending everything, here and now! To hell with this experiment and _to hell_ with this game!"

Okay, bad move. Now he was completely enraged and trigger happy. _What do I do now?!_ Conan thought, now hyperaware of every move the serial killer made. _We're completely surrounded. There's no escape route! My leg won't last another kick either! I… I can't fight them all off alone._ With Kid still unconscious, he was completely alone in this. He really doubted the others would do much more than cower, and he was getting low on options. There _was_ Kid's card gun… but even with that, how much longer could he last?

Pulling out the card gun, he fired a couple of shots, taking even himself off-guard when one of them burst into gas, dropping a few of Vampire's men. However, in retaliation, the serial killer fired and hit a girl's throat and shot the heart of one of the kids. Flinching at the sudden blood as his fellows screamed and cried out, he shot again, sticking a metallic card into Vampire's shoulder and forcing him to drop his gun.

"What are you waiting for? Get _out_ of here!" Conan boomed, hoping—_praying_—by this point they would take their chance to flee. A few of them snapped out of it and fled in the confusion, however, not everyone was able to before Vampire once more had his weapon and his remaining men regained their senses. Maybe if he tried to focus Vampire's attention on him, they'd get away… "Oi! If you go through with all of this, what happens to your plans about Kid?"

The serial killer burst into mad laughter and said, "You think I can't catch that guy without all the tricks? Kheh heh heh! This was only Futoshi's plan. _He_ wanted to catch Kid without injuring him." Two others, noticing the break in violence, took the hint and began to sneak past Vampire's men. One of them quickly found a hole in the side of their head and the other a hole in their leg. The second escaped, but only thanks to Conan shooting another metallic card in time. They screamed in pain, but managed to successfully flee. "I don't care who I have to kill or how I have to coerce Kid into obeying us. He will."

Vampire wasn't acting right. Something had changed. Normally he wouldn't be so quick to rage, nor would he be _this_ trigger-happy. Whatever was going on couldn't have happened at a worse time… now people were dropping left and right and it was only a matter of time before Conan himself would be shot and killed.

The sound of glass breaking silenced the madman's laughter. A strong flame followed the sound, burning the grass around Vampire and his men and trapping them in a circular fire. "Go to Hell."

_That voice… Kid!_ The phantom thief was finally awake and keeping himself standing thanks to Akeru's aid. The broken bottle lay nearby and Kid was holding the lighter Hideki had given Conan earlier. When had he taken that…? Oh well, didn't matter right now.

"What are you waiting for?" Akeru snapped at the remaining former captives. "If you value your life, run now! That fire won't keep them down for much longer!" Finally, the others snapped out of their horrified paralysis and bolted. Hopefully they would be okay, but right now, there was nothing more any of the three could do for them.

Finally, it was down to just the trio of Conan, Kid, and Akeru against the maddened Vampire and his crew. By the time they'd managed to get to the front gate and the dark empty street, the flame had been banished and Vampire began to close the distance between them. "Well well well! Wonders never cease! Welcome back to the party, Little One!" Conan couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw Kid shake slightly. "Look at all the destruction and death you two have wrought. Ha! You're almost as bad as us!"

Conan felt himself tense up. They were so close and yet so damn far away. "You're wrong," Kid panted, seeming to struggle to stay awake. "This is your doing… Not ours. We're not monsters like you."

The killer let out an enraged howl and shot at the thief, hitting Akeru's shoulder when she dragged Kid out of the bullet's path. She cried out, but clutched her wound and straightened back up. Vampire then snarled, "Go find the others! Kill them or drag them back for me! For every one that gets away, one of you takes their place!"

"M-Master…?" one hesitantly asked, shocked by Vampire's behavior. The only reply the man got was a bullet to the throat as he dropped like a rock.

_He's attacking his own men?!_ Conan thought in disbelief. _I was right. Something's off about Vampire right now. I don't feel good about letting him pick off his own men but…_ Looking over and seeing Kid and Akeru's injuries, he decided he'd have to live with it. "We need to run, _now._" _We can't last another round against them… As painful as it is, we have to be opportunistic or die._

Kid nodded and dropped a smoke bomb. It wouldn't give them much time, but if they could find someplace to hide… it would be a good start. He was pretty sure that the other two weren't so optimistic as to think they'd actually get much farther on their collective wounds. Hell, the fact that they were still standing—still fleeing—was a small miracle on its own.

Fleeing through the deserted streets as quickly as their injuries would allow, the trio managed to find a small alley to shelter in. Practically gasping for air, Kid slumped against the cold wall. He wouldn't make it much farther… but there was no one around either. Well, no one that would help them.

"You two hide," Akeru said quietly as the sounds of their pursuers became louder.

"What about you?" Conan asked, worried. He didn't want to lose anyone else tonight.

"I don't know what's wrong with Vampire," she smiled gently, "But he won't kill me. He wouldn't kill his own kid."

"And what if we don't… want to leave you… behind?" Kid challenged wearily.

"Noroma," she admonished, kneeling down by Kid and kissing his cheek. "I'll be okay. He'll drop his guard and I'll get out in my own time… So get home. We'll see each other again someday."

"Mia…" Kid murmured sadly. "One day… we'll save you too." Forcing himself up, Kid turned to leave, gently pushing Conan ahead with his foot.

As painful as it was to leave behind yet another ally, he knew he had to move. If he stayed put, he'd be recaptured and killed and he was pretty sure, by this point, Akeru wouldn't be swayed. He'd just have to hope she'd be okay… that she was right.

* * *

_Well that was a ride, now wasn't it? The escape is underway and now our heroes must make it home..._


	6. The Path to Ruin: Comeraderie

_I'm probably going to regret posting this as it is... but my beta insists it's good enough. But hey, as always, thanks for all the views, reviews, alerts, and favorites! Gotta love the... love!_

_No real warnings for this chapter other than depressive themes._

_Note: Only thing that changed was the author's note at the end of the chapter._

* * *

Seconds after turning a corner and fleeing the alley, Conan heard the shocked exclamations of their pursuers. They must have found Akeru. He still felt bad about leaving her behind, though it didn't seem like Kid would allow him to head back either. He'd just have to trust that Akeru had thought this through and hope that she would be alright.

No, right now, he and Kid had to escape. They had to make it home and regroup, otherwise every sacrifice would be in vain. Futoshi's sick game wasn't going to stop until the madman himself was forced to yield. And _that_ probably wasn't going to happen until Vampire was subdued… There was so much that had to be done to prevent others from falling into this absurdity and too little time to spare.

The guys in black quieted down faster than anticipated, putting the diminutive detective on-edge. How long would they have until those guys caught up to them? They had to move faster. Kid seemed to understand this as well and hastened his limp appropriately.

Soon enough, the sounds of muffled footsteps vanished, leaving the thief and detective alone in the dark world of snow. Much to his relief, the wind from earlier had died off and the shadowed snowflakes were left to softly blanket the earth. It would be beautiful, the Conan mused, if they weren't slowly freezing because of it. Escaping Vampire's slaughterhouse would be much less worthwhile if they froze to death in so-called freedom. And wouldn't that be just great? He shook his head. He couldn't afford the negativity… if he didn't keep moving, he would die.

But even so, it was tough to stay hopeful in their current situation. So many had died back there… and, admittedly, it was entirely his fault. _He_ had led them, knowing it was a trap. _He_ had set Vampire off. _He_ had told them to run, even knowing their enemies had weapons… And the direct result was all of the bloodshed, injuries, and deaths. Part of him just wanted to sit down and let himself freeze in the blanket of snow. Heh, he wondered what Kid would think of _that_.

"Don't give up," Kid panted, stopping and meeting Conan's azure gaze with his indigo one. "We've come this far… we can make it."

"We don't know where we are, nor do we know where we're even going," the diminutive detective murmured. "We're as good as dead." It was true. If they couldn't find shelter, they were going to freeze. Hell, they needed food and water too, and acquiring those seemed even less likely. All they were doing was putting off the inevitable.

"Funny," the thief muttered, looking profusely disappointed. "I expected more out of you, Tantei-kun. I mean, look at me…" he spread his arms wide, letting the diminutive detective take in his dishevelment. "I'm half-dead already. But I _won't_ die. I have people waiting on me. So do you."

_People waiting…_ Conan mentally echoed. _Ran… He's right. Even if everything's gone wrong… Ran's still waiting on me. I need to keep my hope alive… keep my spirits strong._

Kid smiled the faintest of smiles as the diminutive detective looked back up to him and nodded. "Atta boy! Now come on, we have to keep moving." The thief turned and started walking again, looking a lot more energetic than he'd been in quite some time. With little else he could do, Conan followed him once more through the shadows and snow.

Several times, they'd needed to stop to rest on their lonely trek, hiding in the darkness and feeling the cold turn their bodies numb. Though, there was little they could do about the cold without shelter. Even so, the two kept moving forward in companionable silence until the moon had reached its zenith and they had approached the ruins of a building (hopefully) far away from the slaughterhouse.

Rather than move on, Kid walked to the door (or where a door had once been) and entered, waving a hand for Conan to follow. The diminutive detective was dubious. With its broken windows and lack of doors—hell, there were even holes in the walls!—would this place really have much to offer them? However, Kid had already vanished into the shadows and there weren't any other options. The two of them were too worn out to keep pressing on for much longer, and, if they didn't warm up soon, things would only get worse. Sighing out a visible puff of air, he followed, carefully stepping over the shards of broken glass and splintered wood.

To say that the inside of the building looked any better was pushing it. The entry hall was completely barren and, whatever had destroyed the door had made sure to gouge out parts of the walls as well. The still-cold air only added to the utter emptiness and desolation of the structure. However, the thief seemed undeterred, slowly limping and using the walls for support as he continued on through the dark halls. It seemed like Kid somehow knew this place. Maybe they weren't in as bad of shape as Conan had originally thought…

Limping after the thief led him into room somewhat lit by the moonlight, yet surprisingly warm. Even the window that the light streamed from looked to be intact. He guessed whatever had happened here had missed this room somehow. Sure, there were pieces of furniture that had been knocked around and worn, but most of the damage seemed to stem from long disuse above all else. When he'd moved his gaze to find Kid once more, he found the thief slumped against a desk with several blankets covering him. Where had he found those…? Was he already asleep…? Limping over, he tried to nudge the thief, but Kid didn't reply.

Sighing, he lifted some of the larger blankets from Kid, situated himself under them, and closed his eyes. They had made it this far. And, although he wasn't sure where he was or how much longer it would take to get home, he did know that Kid was there for him. _Funny_, he mused. _To think I've put this much faith in a thief…_ He looked up at Kid's face, realizing that the thief had never actually wiped off the blood from that guy's head. He winced, not needing the reminder of his failure. _How can you be so hopeful, Kid? With all the pain and death… how can you still try so hard…? Is it really so little as going home to someone…? Like you'd said earlier… you're pretty close to dead, yourself…_ Despite himself, Conan shivered and nestled closer to Kid's warmth. If the thief did die sometime in the night… he'd be all alone. Even if they weren't friends… even if they weren't exactly close… right now, he needed _someone_ to stay alive with him. The thief's heartbeat, though fainter than desirable, was still present, offering the diminutive detective some small relief.

_When his eyes opened, Conan found himself standing in the middle of a graveyard surrounded by a circle of gravestones and bathed in cold moonlight. He walked around, looking for something living, hell, even the ball of darkness or Demon would be welcome, so long as he wasn't alone with the dead like this. _The ones that died because of you,_ his mind supplied unhelpfully._

_ However, no matter where he went, the graves continued on far beyond his line of sight in all directions. As hopeless as finding a way out of the graveyard seemed, finding anyone to talk to seemed even more so. Nothing was here. No one to guide or attack him. All that existed here was an endless silence and the strong sorrow that clawed at his soul._

_ Eventually, he stopped before a small group of gravestones that defied the circular pattern set by the others. They were left in a distinctive X, with the central stone being large and black, with what looked to be smeared blood over the nameplate, blotting out the deceased's name entirely. The other stones were small and gray, and, unlike the central stone, they were left untouched and all too legible. Ran, Hattori, Haibara, and Shinichi._

_ He couldn't help but be drawn to Ran's grave first. It was his greatest fear, after all, to think that one day he'd be her death. Funny, how even in his worst nightmares he'd never seen the aftermath of that death. It was almost worse than watching her die in front of him, seeing how cold and alone she would ultimately end up being… that wasn't right… shouldn't have ever been a possibility… that the ones to truly suffer from his arrogance were his friends._

_ Conan clenched his fists and moved his gaze from the nameplate. There was nothing he could do but watch the frozen world around him and take in the damage his pride had done._

_ Taking in a deep breath, the detective looked back to the grave and found a red rose now lying there. Its petals had fallen off, but still remained near their stem as if frozen there. And even though his only light was from the moon, the vibrant red of the fallen petals seemed to radiate their own crimson light, slowly making the rose look like a fresh, though small, puddle of blood._

_He winced and looked back up to the nameplate, only to find that the gravestone itself had been replaced by a stone carving of Ran. Her petrified expression was one of horror as one hand had been left clasped over her neck. Crimson petals fell from that hand one by one, so terribly akin to blood. Her other hand, however, pointed toward the black grave stone, which, when he looked back to it, had gained a bloody handprint on its side._

_Turning away, his eyes moved to where Haibara's grave had been. Like with Ran's grave, Haibara's stone had morphed into a likeness of the girl, albeit, her child form. In one hand, she held a white rose that, unlike Ran's, was completely intact. The stem of the rose had grown around the girl's wrist and the thorns were noticeably digging through her stone body. How very like Haibara to keep hold on painful things…_

_The shrunken scientist's eyes were shut and her features left her expression calm, as if in understanding. There were no deep injuries to her stone form beyond the scratches from the thorns, but she did directly face the black gravestone, which had acquired a white chrysanthemum on its top._

_He noticed his own gravestone had morphed into his grown self, as the name plate had indicated. His stone form's hands were left cupped before him. In those hands, his stone self held crushed and torn up primroses. When an unexpected wind blew, a few of these primrose pieces flew over to the chrysanthemum atop the black gravestone. A faint rumble sounded from nearby and the Shinichi statue soon began to shake, cracking and crumbling, yet somehow maintaining its form. Finally, after the shaking stopped, his stone self had gained several deep cracks and the primrose pieces that had not been redirected toward the black gravestone had taken residence in those cracks._

_A sharp cry made him whirl around, though he found no source. He couldn't even tell if the noise had been human, if he was completely honest. After spending a bit more time ensuring he was alone, he looked over to the stone Hattori._

_The western detective looked furious, with his eyes glaring at the remaining gravestone and his sword drawn and pointing at it. He'd never seen Hattori that angry before, and hoped he wouldn't have to again. A deafening clatter sounded, making Conan cover his ears and turn away until it finished. When he looked back on the scene, Hattori's sword had pierced through the gravestone, leaving blood and darkness to seep out of it onto the chrysanthemum that had fallen during the commotion. In little time, the once white and vibrant flower was stained black and red. Hattori's statue had been slashed across the face with something sharp, leaving a large gouge that cut all the way down his cheek to his neck. Daffodils had appeared in absence of his sword._

Everyone's gone,_ a voice spoke in a hoarse whisper. He couldn't make out where it came from. No one was anywhere near here. A quick glance back at the gravestone showed that even the statues were gone._

"_Hello? Where are you?" Conan asked, hoping to find the speaker._

_Rather than answer him, the voice continued, _Gone forever. _As the wind picked up once more, the rows of gravestones dissolved into thin air as the cold started to bite into his skin. The moon vanished from the sky and everything turned to gray. Soon, Conan found himself shivering and hugging himself for warmth as the cold and wind grew more powerful. He clamped his eyes shut as they started to water and freeze. After an eternity passed, the cold lessened and the wind calmed._

_Once more, nothing moved in the empty graveyard. His limbs ached from the cold and he was sure that even if he'd wanted to, he would be unable to move at all. The ice in his limbs moved into his veins and finally pierced his heart, leaving him to freeze._

_Everything hurt. It was like getting carved by that hot knife all over again. He felt like he would die if he were left like this any longer, and, without noticing, had started to scream, "Ran! Ran! _Ran…!_ Help me, _please!_"_

It's no use,_ the voice informed as the icy pain intensified. _She can't help you.

_The voice was right… Ran wasn't anywhere near him… but… he needed someone—anyone—to help him. _Kid…! _Maybe Ran wasn't around, but Kid was. If he kept yelling… maybe Kid would snap him out of this nightmare. "Kid! Kid, help me!"_

_His invisible tormentor made an amused noise. _How pathetic. Relying on your enemy… Well go on… scream all you want. See if he cares.

_If he could, Conan would've winced. They had a point… It was possible Kid would just leave him alone. Possible the thief would care too much about his own injuries and sleep through it all. Maybe he really was alone… so many people had died… Even though they had been so close… Heh, it wasn't that much of a stretch to assume everyone blamed him for all of this. Hell, Kid probably hated him as well. The thief wouldn't have been involved at all had it not been for Conan._

You finally seem to understand.

_Yes. He was alone here. Kid wasn't going to wake him and he was going to suffer and freeze to death here. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if the thief was awake right now, getting a good laugh off of his torment like an utter bastard. Why had he even bothered? That guy had little reason to look out for anyone but himself. He'd probably planned on ditching the detective as soon as possible._

_As the pain continued to worsen, another voice cut through the cold and darkness, dimming the diminutive detective's anger. "…Up… up… wake up…" The more it spoke, the clearer it got, shaking off the pain and cold that had entrapped him. "Wake up… _Wake up!_"_

Wake up…? Who's saying that…?_ he pondered for a second, glancing around him and feeling his anger dissipate the more he heard the new voice. Warmth finally made its way back to Conan's body as the sun began to rise, chasing away the gloom and cold._

"Come on," Kid practically whined, gently nudging the detective. "Wake up already…" So the thief really had come through for him…

"'M up," Conan mumbled sleepily, yawning and forcing his eyes open. Kid backed off a couple of steps and slumped back against the wall. Apparently, he'd surrendered his blankets at some point during the night, though the diminutive detective couldn't quite tell where they'd gone at the moment.

"Are you alright?" Kid asked, tilting his head in confusion. "You were screaming in your sleep again. Plus, you were yelling for _me_," he elaborated, slight frown in-place.

"Ah," he tried to sit up, but the thief had apparently cocooned him into the blankets. _So that's where they went…_ It took him a while to break free from the soft and warm material, but once he did, he said, "I'm fine." When the thief's expression didn't change in the slightest, Conan continued, "But, thank you… for waking me up, I mean."

Kid nodded, though he didn't look convinced. However, he opted to change the topic rather than continue their current conversation. "It's not even dawn yet," he yawned, letting his head drop closer to his chest as he closed his eyes. "I'm going back to sleep. It's up to you to decide what you'll do now. If you want to travel with me, then I'll do my best to get around by sunrise. Otherwise, I hope you'll be careful."

He winced at the option. Maybe he hadn't been wrong about Kid. Maybe he really was just out for his own good… Not that Conan could blame him… "I'll leave if you want," he murmured dispiritedly.

"When did I say I wanted you gone?" Kid asked, opening a weary indigo eye and lifting his head enough to find eye contact with the detective.

"Didn't you…? I mean… we're enemies, aren't we?"

"You're no enemy to me," the thief replied sincerely. "Tantei-kun, I can't begin to imagine what kind of nightmares you've been having lately, but know that I don't plan on ditching you. Heh, if you really feel like sticking with me through all of this… then we go home together." Before he could react, Conan was dragged into a hug. He let out a noise of surprise, but didn't fight the embrace. If he was perfectly honest, the hug felt warm and secure after so long traveling through cold and uncertainty.

Once Kid had let go and Conan had backed up a step, he heard his stomach growl. Right… it had been a while since they'd eaten… Kid half-smiled and chuckled before his own stomach started to complain.

"Heh… I guess we should look for food pretty soon, ne, Tantei-kun?"

"Is there even anything edible anywhere near here?" Conan asked dubiously.

"We're not all that far from the Beika-Ekoda limits," the thief cheerfully explained. "I mean, it's still hours and hours on foot, but we're close. And hey," he chuckled, "if we get desperate for water, there's always plenty of snow."

"Baaro," the diminutive detective shook his head. But he couldn't help the relief that flooded through him. They weren't too far from home after all. Just another day, maybe less if they got lucky.

"That's more like it," Kid smiled. "Now, I really need to sleep some more. Wake me up when the sun comes up, will you?"

Conan nodded in acknowledgement. "Er… Kid?"

"What?"

"It's kind of been bugging me, but how do you know this place?"

The thief shook his head. "You detectives," he gave an amused chuckle. "I used to play here, back when I was a little older than you. Oyaji would work his magic and I'd do my best to imitate him…" Kid sounded almost wistful as he recounted the memory. "But that's all in the past now. Funny how that is… Oh well, night, Tantei-kun."

Conan blinked as Kid leaned back and closed his eyes. _What_ was _that?_ Well, odds were, that was all the information he was going to get on the topic for a good long while. Kid would either tell him more later, or he would leave it as it was. No amount of badgering would change that.

He probably wouldn't be lucky enough to get back to sleep anytime soon. And it probably wouldn't hurt to look around while Kid slept… Shedding a larger blanket, Conan draped it over the sleeping thief's shoulders and lap before wrapping a smaller blanket around himself and leaving the room.

For the most part, the rooms were pretty badly damaged by time and whatever had happened so long ago. Some even had rubble pushed to the side here and there. Though, aside from the damaged furniture and time-worn walls, there really wasn't much of note inside the building. At least, not until he found the main room.

It was some kind of grand hall, lined with tables and chairs in what (presumably) used to be an elegant order leading up to the actual stage. Everything had been hopelessly lost to some fire, if the charred and broken tables, chairs, and cloths were anything to go by. There was probably some kind of major fire here that led to the structure's disrepair. With all the rubble in the other rooms, it looked probable that the fire had spread pretty far pretty fast…

Carefully making his way to the stage, he noticed a large hole with especially seared floors directly next to it. Had the fire started there? Based on Kid's words… he probably knew what had happened here. He probably had either been there or lost someone… at least that's what his tone seemed to imply. Shaking his head, he peered down the hole and found a small pile of ashes. Curious, he looked directly up and found that what created the hole was probably the missing chunk of ceiling. Inspecting the other parts of the ceiling about the room, he found that this one spot was the only place where it had caved in. From what Kid had said, it was possible to imply that his father had been a magician as well and had possibly frequented this place… Had something happened to his father?

He stopped himself there. The least he could do was avoid prying into Kid's personal life. The thief would tell those tales when and if he felt like it, and there was no need to dig up painful memories for the sake of his curiosity. Anyway, the sun was starting to rise. No more time to look around.

Hearing his stomach growl again made the diminutive detective sigh. It was going to be a while before they ate again, unless they lucked out somehow… Oh well, at least he wasn't anywhere near as cold as he'd been earlier. That was certainly a step in the right direction.

Once back in their room, Conan set to waking the thief. This, however, turned out to be quite a task. "Oi, Kid," he started, nudging the thief. "Wake up. We have to get moving." When this proved ineffective in rousing him, Conan took a step back to think up some other way to get him up, but a sudden sneeze caught him by surprise. "Uh… sorry…" he sheepishly said as Kid opened his eyes and wiped the spit off his face with one of the blankets.

"Thanks," Kid sarcastically grumbled, slowly getting to his feet. That energy he'd had yesterday was definitely starting to look fake now. But if he was willing to keep pushing forward, Conan would just have to let it slide. "Mind if I…" Kid paused to sneeze, "…do something first?"

"It shouldn't matter too much," Conan consented. "Just be sure to hurry if you can."

Kid nodded and left the room. Although it was tempting to follow him and see what exactly he planned on doing, he got the feeling that this was a personal thing. Instead, decided to look through the room they'd been using. Deciding the desk was as good a place as any to start, he opened a drawer and found a small photograph of a family of three. Husband, wife, and a boy (just a little older than Conan appeared to be) were the focus of the picture. Funny, the boy in the photo actually looked pretty similar to Conan himself. So was this Kid's family?

He couldn't say why, but, when he looked at the man in the photograph (Kid's father?), he felt like he'd seen him somewhere… sometime. Though it was always possible the man just looked like someone he'd met. There wasn't really any way to determine that here and now, however. Shaking his head, Conan pocketed the picture for later. He'd probably have to ask his mother about it, just to be sure. If he had met this person before, she would probably remember better than him.

Where the photograph had been, now a small sealed envelope had taken its place. _When had that happened?_ Conan wondered as he carefully picked it up. It certainly hadn't been there when he'd picked up the picture…

The envelope was covered in a layer of dust, which he carefully wiped off before opening it and pulling out a neatly handwritten letter. Whoever wrote this, it was clear they weren't in much of a rush. It was probably written some time before the fire, though how long before was impossible to say.

Deciding it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and read it; the diminutive detective carefully placed the letter on the ground and sat down in front of it. _"Kaito,"_ the letter began. _"If you've found this letter, then you have most likely learned that my death wasn't an accident."_ The writer had known they were going to die? Then why were they so nonchalant about it? And had they just let it happen…? Why would they allow it? _"There is something I want you to know. No matter how tough life becomes, never lose your hope. There is always a way out of any hardship, so long as you stop and think it through."_ Some words, coming from someone who had accepted their death to the point of writing about it, Conan found himself thinking. But, maybe he was just a bit too pessimistic at the moment…

_"I also wanted to apologize—both to you and to your mother. I let myself get carried away, acting as Kaitou Kid for so long. In the end, my carelessness left me with no other choice but to accept my fate… and you and your mother had to suffer because of that." _Well… that answered that question… And the writer was the original Kaitou Kid… Although he couldn't say for certain that Kid was 'Kaito,' he probably should show the letter to him at some point.

_ "I am not asking you to take up my mantle, in fact, I pointedly asked Jii and Chikage never to mention anything about Kid to you. But, to expect you never to find out is unreasonable. Instead, if you truly do wish to follow in my footsteps, I advise extreme caution. Our enemy is powerful, though reserved. Even if they appear to be weak, it is only because they have not deemed you a true threat yet. As they come to understand your nature, they will use everything they can against you. No, if you choose this road, then you must be willing to hide—even from your best friend._

_ "My role as Kid was an undesirable job. In the beginning, it was something done for enjoyment and for your mother; however, with the addition of our foe, it became something harsher. I do not have the time to explain much more before the show starts—assuming all goes well, Kudo Yusaku should be able to give you answers."_ Wait, he knew his father had competed against the original Kid… but this letter implied that they'd actually confided in each other as well… And was the writer referring to the Black Organization, or someone else? Were those guys that had attacked them at the "Inferno Heist" actually part of it?

_"One last thing,"_ the letter concluded. _"Know that I am proud of the young man you've grown up to be. I love you, Kaito."_

That… was depressing as hell. So the original Kid had gotten himself stuck in a position that left so few options that he'd accepted his own death. And somehow, his own father was involved in this… He'd definitely have to ask questions when he got the opportunity. He pocketed the letter without thinking and decided to wait for Kid's return. If there was anything else to find, he felt it wasn't his place.

"Oi," Kid murmured, walking back into the room several minutes later. "I'm back." He still looked pretty worn out, but at least he was moving without using the walls for support. That was a good sign. "Are you ready to go?" he asked. Conan nodded and walked over to the thief. Time to go home.

* * *

_Time to go home, indeed. Questions will be answered and actions will be explained... later. Maybe in two months._


	7. The Hand of Time Heals All Wounds

_After a much-too-long break, _Breaking Point_ is back! Sorry about the hiatus, guys, I just got way too backed up on schoolwork, work-work, and other things... But summer's here and that means I'll have more free time to write with. No guarantees about it making my chapters come out all that much faster, but at least I don't die of stress. As always, thanks so much for all the views, reviews, story alerts, and favorites! They mean a lot to me and give me something to smile about._

_I don't think there's anything too worrisome in the chapter._

* * *

The snow beyond the confines of the building continued to drift lazily to the ground as the rising sun painted the world in its rich orange-red light. It was the picture of beauty after so many days trapped beyond the sky's reach, a warming sight despite the season. The young detective hadn't known how invigorating such an ordinary sight could be, but seeing the light of dawn, knowing that he was alive and free… it gave him energy he didn't know he could have. Home wasn't far, and with Kid by his side, he was certain they would make it. Vampire might have been able to confine them before, but with the whole world to hide in, he doubted there would be too much trouble avoiding the man or his lackeys.

The thief and detective made their way through the chilly winter air with blankets from the building wrapped around themselves. Conan made sure to follow Kid, knowing the thief would lead the two of them back to safety. It still felt strange, putting so much faith into his rival like this, but it also made him feel safe. Kid really was a good person, going through all of this trouble to help him out like this, even without the chance of personal gain.

Lost to his musings, Conan didn't notice Kid had stopped moving and walked into the thief's leg. "Sorry," he apologized, stepping back a couple of times to offer Kid some space. When Kid didn't reply, Conan furrowed his brow in confusion at the statuesque thief. "Oi, what's wrong?"

That was when he heard it. The thief's breathing was horribly ragged, like it had been the night before. He collapsed into the snow and clamped his eyes shut as those terrifying breaths grew more and more desperate.

_Sh-shit!_ Conan thought in panic. _He's really going to die if we can't get to help…! But where can I go? There's nothing anywhere near here!_ He wildly looked to all directions, hoping and praying for something, some_one_ to come to their aid. Seeing nothing, he returned his attention to the wounded thief. "O-oi! Kid! Answer me…! Please…!"

After a shaky breath, Kid finally responded, eyes still shut tightly, "G-God… I-I'm going to… going to die… right…?"

There were two ways he could answer that. He could tell the truth, that the thief was probably on his last leg and then stay by his side until the end came… or he could lie and do his best to encourage him to hold on.

"Look at me, Kid," Conan calmly spoke, placing a hand on the fallen thief's shoulder to give him an idea of where to look. When Kid finally cracked open an eye, the diminutive detective stared in open confusion. The thief's eye had changed to a pale green coloration, then returned to its normal indigo within a handful of seconds.

"Wh…what…?"

Conan shook his head. It was probably a trick of the light or something. He couldn't afford to be distracted. "I need you to try your best to sit up or roll to your side. I need to see what I can do about your wounds… And I'll do everything in my power to get you through this."

"I'll try…" Kid replied, forcing his limbs to move with obvious strain. When he'd gotten himself slightly elevated, Conan helped pull him into a sitting position, though the thief quickly fell into a forward slouch, head dragged down by gravity. They shouldn't have moved so far so fast, Conan realized. Kid hadn't been as well as he'd made himself look. He'd strained his wounds far too much… pushed himself far beyond his limits… He wouldn't last another day. They had to find somewhere to rest. Had to find some_one_ to help them. Anyone would do.

Conan helped remove the thief's jacket and shirt to find gruesome gashes running down Kid's chest and abdomen. A small amount of blood still leaked from the larger cuts, and several of them looked like they were starting to become infected. Damn it. Those wounds needed cleaned and treated. The closest thing to sterile water was the snow, though that might only make things worse…

The thief gave a slight shiver as the snow began to ghost over his exposed abdomen and slowly closed his eyes. "I… I think this is as far as… I can go, Tantei-kun," he said with a sad smile. "Beika's just north of here… Good luck…"

"Oi oi," Conan said, hoping the worry in his tone would go unnoticed. "We're going home together. That's what we agreed on, right? Don't try to get rid of me that easily." With little other choice, the diminutive detective took his own blanket and tore it, taking great care to avoid further hurting the thief. Kid winced slightly at the contact, but allowed Conan to continue wrapping his wounds.

As the diminutive detective finished, the wounded thief gave a mirthless laugh and murmured, "I can't move, Tantei-kun… My body feels like lead… Even if you stay here… I'll still… still…" he cut himself off there, and Conan didn't need him to finish to know what he meant. Kid was all too aware that he would probably die soon, and the thought of even admitting it out loud frightened him. And, to be honest, the thought of _Kaitou Kid_—the thief that defied all odds on a regular basis—_dying_ scared Conan as well. Kid and death didn't often mix, and when they did, well, the person responsible was usually caught, humiliated, and sometimes even humbled… If that guy died now though… Conan wasn't entirely sure he'd know what to do.

"Listen," Conan started, hoping Kid would hear his false confidence and believe it over the desperation that likely laced his words. "Like you said, we're almost home. It's not that much farther. Don't you _dare_ give up here. Not after buying us time to escape Vampire. Not after pushing _me_ to keep going…! We'll just rest here for a while, okay?"

The thief was quiet for a while as Conan helped him back into his shirt and jacket and repositioned Kid's blanket on him. The faintest of tremors made its way through the thief as Conan helped keep him warm, though whether they were from pain or cold was impossible to say. Finally, after Conan settled close to the thief's side, Kid asked in a hoarse whisper, "Why do you care…?"

"Do you honestly think I didn't?" Conan asked in response, gently knocking a small layer of snow from the wounded thief's hair. Sure, with their roles set as they were, the two of them were meant to be rivals, but that didn't mean he didn't care. When Kid didn't respond, Conan felt a little stung. Had he really come across as that cold…?

"…Aside from one friend," Kid murmured with the saddest of looks in his now-open eyes, "I've usually been alone… Didn't think anyone but that friend… ever really cared…" Those exhausted indigo eyes met Conan's, seeming to quietly ask for his sincerity as he waited for some kind of response.

"I'm sorry, Kid," he finally came out and said, giving the thief a gentle, one-armed hug. "Even if it seems too late, know that I do care. I'm not abandoning you. I'm here for you. And I promise… I'll get us the rest of the way home."

"…Thank you… Tantei-kun…" the thief said in a whisper. He stilled soon after, finally falling into sleep's embrace, if his breathing was anything to go by.

Conan moved his gaze to the snowy ground beneath them. They were in a terrible situation… No food, stuck in the cold, and Kid was far too exhausted to move… For all he knew, Vampire and his men were still out there, looking for them as well… The two of them were sitting ducks, immobile prey just waiting for the predator to show and bring about the end. The feeling was awful, but it wasn't like there was anything he could do about it.

A small shock, something small and weak like static electricity, startled him from his thoughts. When he looked at his afflicted digit, he found it touching the gem Kid had stolen before all of this madness had begun. What was it called again? Something with "light," that much he remembered. Still, when and how had Kid given him the gem? Neither of them had moved since Conan had originally settled down… And come to think of it, how could he be shocked if he wasn't moving…?

He quickly looked the gem over and found nothing on or near it on the ground. Just a normal gemstone. Conan shook his head and moved to pocket the stolen jewel when the briefest flashes of light green came across his vision. The diminutive detective blinked and reexamined the gem, this time putting it under direct sunlight. Sure enough, the gem produced that same green glow. So maybe that had been what he'd seen earlier… Still, strange as it was, it didn't really have much impact on the present. Best to put it away for now.

Conan stuck by Kid's side, doing his best to stay warm as the sun finally rose to its noontime height. The snow finally stopped falling and the sun's heat at least made it bearable. At some point Conan started dozing off, eyes open, but mind blank except for a dull ache. His own exhaustion was starting to get to him, it seemed.

Quick footsteps drew near the two, barely registering in the tired boy's mind. _Heh… Looks like we're done for…_ he thought as the steps finally stopped and the panting breaths of the person sounded from just behind him.

"Oi," an uncertain male voice stammered. "Oi, wake up…!" A hand slightly jostled his shoulder, further snapping him out of his daze.

Blinking a few times, Conan looked and saw a worried young man with fairly long black hair tied up in a ponytail kneeling next to him. The man's anxious green eyes gained a look of relief when he found that the diminutive detective was okay. Needless to say, when he tried to rouse Kid and failed, that worry returned.

"Who are you…?" Conan asked, starting to feel the claws of fear in his heart as Kid refused to wake.

"Can you walk, Boy-kun?" the stranger asked, slightly biting his lip and glancing back and forth between the two wounded males. "I can probably move your brother… My house isn't all that far away..." he continued, glancing in a slightly eastern direction before looking back at Kid. Conan was fairly certain the strange man was muttering to himself when he said, "Yeah. Yeah, I think I can move him that far…" When Conan nodded, the man sighed in relief and smiled, "Thanks. Uh, just follow me, okay? I'll get us home and Tou-san'll fix you guys right up."

The stranger had a little difficulty finding a way to pick up the unconscious thief, but within a minute or two he'd managed to get a good grasp. It made the diminutive detective wince to see Kid lying limp in the stranger's hands like that, but at least this person seemed willing to help. And hadn't that been the godsend he'd been looking for?

He followed the stranger through the empty field of white, passing footprints that probably belonged to the man on his way out, and to a small house. A person could probably miss this place pretty easily if they weren't looking for it, Conan thought. And what if this guy was actually one of Vampire or Futoshi's men? Was he killing them by trusting the man? All he could do was hope he hadn't misjudged the man in the few minutes he'd had to decide in.

Crossing the threshold and reaching the door quickly dispelled some of the diminutive detective's anxiety. The stranger was trying to find a way to keep Kid in his arms _and_ open the door at the same time. It wasn't turning out so well for him, much to the man's embarrassment.

"Uh, hey," he laughed, probably trying to cover up his embarrassment. "You uh, wouldn't happen to mind opening the door, right?"

Conan nodded and went over to the door. It wasn't locked and the inside of the house was fairly well-furnished and _warm_. He never thought it would feel _this_ good to be somewhere warm and small, but it was _amazing_ after all that he'd been through.

The man laughed a bit and smiled, motioning for Conan to go inside with a free foot. "Glad you approve, Kiddo." The stranger then had Conan follow him into a living room area after closing the door with his foot. Kid was carefully placed on a couch and the stranger said, "Feel free to sit anywhere in here. I need to get Tou-san, but I'll be right back." The young man left the room and its inhabitants behind after saying that.

A glance around the room brought nothing of concern to attention. The furniture, such as couches and chairs were all relatively near each other, while a few lamps and a large bookshelf graced the walls. The room had a type of closeness that probably reflected on the family's intimacy. If he had to assign the room a word, cozy would probably fit best. The only oddity he picked up on was the lack of photographs in the room. If the family was as close as he assumed, he would usually expect to see portraits of them in the living room. If he remembered, he'd ask about it sometime, though, right now he had to focus on getting better and getting Kid patched up.

He walked over to Kid, quickly checking the thief's pulse and breathing. If he hadn't woken up earlier, then odds were his condition was only getting worse. The damned cold and their shared hunger hadn't helped anything either. He sighed and rubbed his temples, feeling his headache draw lines of dull pain the longer he stayed awake.

His legs slipped from under him and Conan soon found himself slumped on the floor with his back against the couch. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to sleep a little… That guy didn't seem bad… it was probably safe.

* * *

_The sun shone proudly in the blue, blue sky with nary a cloud in sight. The grass looked green and vibrant, full of summer life. Conan was lying down, watching the world move around him from under a large tree, while next to him lay the young boy from the photograph, wild hair and all. The boy was asleep with a few white doves hanging about him, the picture of serenity._

_ Soon, he stretched and the doves flapped to the ground. With a large yawn, he turned to Conan and smiled. "So you're still here, huh?" he asked in an almost smug way. "Well, the sun shouldn't go down for another hour or so… Wanna play?"_

_ Looking around and finding nothing else in sight, Conan turned his attention back to the boy and nodded. It had been a while since he'd last had an opportunity to relax, so there really wasn't much reason to avoid it now that he was safe. "Sure," he answered. "Do you have any ideas of what to play?"_

_ The boy smirked, "Well, tag's always fun." With that, he let out a laugh and poked Conan in the chest before taking off at full-speed. "Catch me if you can!"_

_ The two played like that, running after each other over the pleasant field until the sun finally began to vanish over the horizon in a ball of orange-red splendor. All Conan could think of was how fun it actually was and how very-like Kid the boy was. And maybe that was the point. Throughout the whole game, neither had complained about being 'it' and neither of them saw the game as anything other than a challenge from one speedy child to the other. There didn't need to be much else to bring enjoyment, not with competition so lively, yet carefree. The simple game felt like the most fun Conan had had in a long time. It reminded him of the heists he'd originally gone to after getting this body… the ones where things like murderers and villains wielding guns didn't exist. Before people started using Kid's heists as cover for heinous acts. Yes, it was only a competition between himself and Kid, like it once had been._

_ The child-Kid laughed and fell back onto the grass. "You're really good at this game! We should play more often!"_

_ His simple enthusiasm made Conan laugh in response. "You're not too bad yourself. And yeah, I'd like that."_

_ "Then it's a deal!" Young Kid exclaimed, holding out his pinky. When Conan took it, he grinned and said, "We'll definitely play again someday. And both of us will be even more awesome at it! Bet next time even _you_ won't be able to catch me, though!" His grin was wide as the Cheshire Cat's and his eyes sparkled with happiness. Young Kid's happiness was extremely contagious, and Conan couldn't be more grateful for it. After being stuck with death and despair for so long, it was nice to finally have a moment of peace._

"It's a lie."

_ The diminutive detective blinked and looked around. There was no one there but himself and Young Kid. That voice was far too deep to be either of them… "Did you hear that?" he asked._

_ "That voice?" Young Kid asked, furrowing his brow. "Yeah. I hear it pretty often. Better to just ignore it. It'll go away on its own."_

_ "So wait, it's not a person?"_

_ "I don't really know," Young Kid answered. "I don't ever see anybody when I hear it. Big Me decided to ignore it."_

_ "Big You?"_

_ "I guess we're having kind of similar dreams? I don't know, heh heh." Young Kid put an arm back over his shoulder, looking extremely sheepish._

"You shouldn't have left."

_ True to his word, Young Kid merely sat up and watched the sunset. Conan didn't know how he could ignore all of this, especially since the Voice seemed to come from their very thoughts. How could he ignore the accusations and blame it piled on them?_

"Everyone will die."

_ Conan winced at that. Given the condition Vampire was in when they'd fled… that was a very likely outcome of their escape. And even Akeru… Mia, was she really safe, going back for their sakes? Those other escapees, too. Did they make it home yet? Did they die running for their lives?_

_ "Don't listen," Young Kid advised, never once taking his eyes off the horizon. "This is only a nightmare."_

"Even you will die."

_ "…If that's what it takes to buy peace." Young Kid acknowledged. "If it means making the world safer for Aoko and the others… I think I'd be willing to give them that world. But don't get me wrong. I want to be part of that world. Part of that _future._ Because I _will_ keep them safe, you hear?" A long silence passed and Young Kid smirked. "Looks like you can't come up with anything else, ne?"_

_ Silence again filled the air, and soon the ground beneath them started to freeze. The sun was blotted out of the sky and the world was subjected to darkness and ice. A lone shadow stood a good handful of feet before them, clad in chains and various metal bits. All that Conan could make out of their face was an almost glowing purple eye. The ground near its feet froze solid and where its chains scraped the earth, lines of frost appeared. It didn't look happy._

"You shouldn't have upset me," _the Voice, now Demon, spoke evenly, tone filled with ice._

_ Conan felt his body start to numb in Demon's presence and looked to Young Kid. "We need to get out of here."_

_ "No kidding," he replied, looking for a way out. A chain quickly wrapped itself around the young thief's leg, making him cry out as the ice bit into his flesh. By instinct, his hands found their way to his freezing leg and Kid quickly learned to regret that as his hands started freezing at the contact, drawing a howl of pain as Demon ripped the chain back toward him, dragging the miniature thief with it._

_ "K-Kid!" Conan shouted, ready to dash for him._

_ "D-don't!" Kid roared at him. "Get away!"_

_ Conan had been fully ready to ignore him until a deeper darkness enveloped Demon and its body quickly changed to that of a monster. Taken completely off-guard, Conan fell back and could only watch was the beast set its fangs into Kid's throat. His mouth went dry and his eyes widened at the sight of the monstrous Demon ripping into his rival and _eating_ him alive._

_ Kid didn't have time to scream as the beast continued to quickly rip him apart and consume him, leaving nothing but liquid darkness and blood on the miniature thief. Finally, the monster moved its bloody maw to the thief's chest and broke through the shield of ribs. Oh God make it stop!_

_ At the top of his lungs, the diminutive detective screamed, "S_-STOP!_"_

_ Demon dropped Kid and the miniature thief dissolved into nothingness before Conan's eyes. Then, the monster turned its eyes on him. The insanity and bloodlust in those eyes made the diminutive detective take an involuntary step backward. There was no way to fight this thing off. No hope of overcoming it. No hope of even _surviving_. It bore its fangs, now dripping with Kid's blood and the darkness Kid had dissolved into. It wanted _him.

_ Demon took a step forward; Conan took a step back._

"Oi Kiddo!" _the stranger's voice called. _"Wake up, Kiddo!"

_ "Not yet!" Demon growled, ready to pounce. "I'm not done with you yet!"_

_ The beast pounced, driving its claws into the ground as Conan barely dodged in time. If he didn't wake up soon, he'd be in a really bad spot. The fangs came next, snapping his injured leg and making his world shake and reel. The pain was just as bad as the heated blade ripping into his flesh, though this pain didn't yield._

"Get up Conan!"_ Kid's voice exclaimed. _"Wake up!"

_The world started to fade around him and Demon's fangs snapped shut on thin air._

* * *

Conan sat bolt upright and screamed as he came-to. He was covered in a cold sweat and his breathing was quick and panicky. His heart felt like it was about to pop out of his chest. Kid and two others were around him, watching with worried expressions plastered on their faces. That… that was horrible. He hoped he'd never have a dream like that ever again.

"Oi Kiddo," the stranger from before started, very concerned, "Are you okay? That… that must've been some hell of a nightmare you had there…"

He wanted to answer, he really did, but he couldn't. He couldn't find the breath to form even the smallest of words. The oldest of the three gathered males sat down near him and kept a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright now, Boy-kun," the older man calmly said. "Nothing's going to hurt you here. Now look at my eyes and take some deep breaths with me." It took a long time, but eventually Conan's breathing did even out. He finally was able to calm himself down from the nightmare and Demon's attack.

"You alright?" Kid asked, some of his concern changing into curiosity.

"Y-yeah," Conan nodded. "That was… pretty awful."

"I can imagine," Kid agreed. "You were screaming like someone was butchering you."

The diminutive detective blinked in confusion. Hadn't Kid been there? Or maybe it was just his imagination running wild… Damn, that dream really wrecked him, didn't it? Running a hand through his hair, Conan sighed. At least they were both okay.

"You seem about normal," Conan mused, glad that the thief was awake and more energetic once more.

"Ah well, you know, can't kill me off that easily," he grinned in return. "I guess I just got used to healing fast or something." The thief shrugged, impish grin never leaving his face. "And of course, we can't go forgetting our friends here," Kid said as he nodded to the two friendly strangers from before. "They tended our wounds while we were out of it."

Conan looked to the two men and thanked them before asking, "How long were Kai-niichan and I asleep?" He needed to know how much time they'd lost. The longer the two of them were gone, the worse those back home would feel. And he was getting pretty tired of leaving Ran to worry about him. He couldn't help but think that Kid's friend was probably worried as well.

"I'd say maybe a day and a half," the older man said, thoughtfully scratching his chin. "You two were pretty beat up. I think you'll be okay now, though." Turning to Kid, he grumbled in an authoritative tone, "Don't be running off and leaving your little brother to fend for himself, understand?"

Kid looked sheepish and placed an arm behind his shoulder, "I didn't intend to, Ojii-san. Things… happened… and prevented me from getting us back home."

Snorting, the older stranger grumbled, "Indeed. _Try_ to be more careful in the future. I don't want to go on a walk and find you two half-buried in snow again. It's bad for your health."

"No arguments there," Kid smiled. "Thanks again for taking care of us. If I can, I'll find some way to repay you."

"No need. You two just need to continue healing. I already have all that I need," the man waved off the offer with a small smile.

"If you guys want, you can stay another night," the younger man offered, eyes shining with excitement. "It's been a while since we had guests over."

"Hush, Matsunaga," the older man reprimanded. "We've had several over. No need to make our guests feel obligated to stay when they've been far from home." Matsunaga seemed to slightly wilt at the older man's tone, but regained his cheerful demeanor soon enough.

_Did Kid let them know what's going on?_ Conan wondered, looking between the man and Kid. He felt a slight chill when the thief seemed to minutely stiffen. _No. No he hadn't. How does he know…? Don't tell me he's with Vampire…! But wait… if he was, why would he take care of us? There wouldn't be a reason to treat us or keep us here… Who is this guy…?_

The older man simply smiled and pulled a pair of reading glasses from a pocket. "I suppose we should introduce ourselves, now that you're awake. I'm known as Daichi, and my son is Matsunaga. A pleasure to meet you both."

Kid took it in stride and gave a slight bow, saying, "I go by Kai, and this is my little brother, Conan. The pleasure's all mine. And thank you again, for saving us. If there's anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask." He looked down at Conan and asked with an impish grin, "Do you think you're ready to move again, Conan? Or should I just carry you?"

Conan shot him a slight glare and grumbled, "I'm fine walking on my own, _Nii-chan_."

"Good," Kid's smile didn't fade as he ruffled Conan's hair and turned back to the other men. "I think we'll take our leave now. Like you said, Daichi-san, it's been a long time since we've been home. We're both getting a bit homesick."

It wasn't long before the duo were back to trudging through the snow, making their way back to Beika. The sun was, once more, high in the sky, bathing the ground and its denizens in its warmth. It promised to be a pleasant day.

"Are you really okay, Kid?" Conan asked, skeptical of his miraculous recovery. Though he had to admit, the thief was walking much better than before and even looked more energetic than he'd been since this misadventure had begun. Hell, Conan also noticed the pain in his leg and back had mostly vanished of their own accord as well. Whatever Daichi did while they were unconscious, it seemed to work wonders.

"Somehow, yes," the thief replied cheerfully. "I'm not complaining."

"Er, you didn't happen to notice anything weird about them, did you?"

Kid hummed a bit before saying, "Define weird, Tantei-kun. My world is certainly not normal. But if you mean Daichi knowing we've been gone for a while… well I don't exactly know how he knows, but maybe one of us said something in our sleep. Or, maybe he just deduced it based on our appearance and the fact that we were passed out in the middle of nowhere. No need to be paranoid if you don't have to be."

Conan sighed. Maybe he was right. Maybe there wasn't anything wrong with those two. It wasn't like he never jumped at ghosts when he was stressed out… He supposed this would just have to be a question for another time.

* * *

_Almost home...!_

_Note: Demon is the same as from Conan's first dream (chapter 2)._


	8. The Aftermath: Heart Looking Home

_Hey everyone, I'm back with more (and only a month's passed!). I never really expected this story to get so much attention, but I'm completely blown away. As a writer, seeing that hardly a day passes where at least someone doesn't look at this story is amazing! Thank you all so much for the views, reviews, alerts, and favorites, everyone!_

* * *

The two boys had walked in an uncomfortable silence until their surroundings began to blur with those of the town before them. During that time, however, Conan couldn't help but continue to feel uneasy about their peculiar saviors. Yes, the two had saved them from freezing to death or succumbing to injuries, but there was something about their mannerisms, especially the older man's, that made him instinctively put up his guard. When he noticed he and Kid were even in fresh clothes (that he seriously doubted Kid had brought along, having already been through the thief's pockets), it was all he could do to constrain himself to just shoot the thief a _look_, which the thief had the decency to look away from. Yeah, _nothing_ was weird with those two. _Clearly_.

His only small relief came when he found the photograph and letter in his new pockets; however, look as he might, he couldn't find the stolen jewel. Either Kid had reclaimed it while the detective was asleep, or that was what Daichi had meant when he'd said they didn't need to repay him. With a slight growl, Conan shoved a hand into his unoccupied pocket, flinching slightly at the sound of paper crinkling. Pulling his hand out, he found a scrap of paper with rough handwriting scrawled over it.

_"Sorry for changing your clothes without permission… they were just so torn up, and I didn't want you two to catch anything… Kai-san has a small bag of food in one of his inner pockets… you two looked pretty starved… I think I returned everything…"_

Based on how it was written, it looked like Matsunaga was the note's author. That was… better… he guessed. At least the younger of the two strange males seemed honest… It still didn't make the situation good… but it was still better than if Daichi had done it. And at least now they had something to eat. For that, he was grateful (though he probably _would_ still check for poison).

After hearing his companion's stomach give a low growl, Conan said, "Matsunaga-san gave us some food. If you want to take a break and eat, we can." The thief's attention was immediately drawn to him at the mention of food. When the detective noticed Kid's expectant gaze, he slightly laughed at the thief's childlike expression. "He gave it to you."

Instantly his companion's hands started searching through his pockets, face lighting up in triumph as he pulled out a small loaf of bread. "Finally!" He quickly tore the loaf in half and offered one of the halves to the diminutive detective. The thief glanced over his half of the loaf for a brief moment before deciding it was safe and tearing into it with gusto. It was different than what Conan had expected from his rival, but, then again, it had been a while since they'd last had anything to eat. The diminutive detective checked his half of the loaf and ripped off small pieces to eat. It tasted pretty good, though that could have been because he hadn't had any food in a while. Once they'd finished with the loaf, Kid pulled out another one and a small bottle of water. "Hopefully you don't mind sharing," he said, opening the bottle. "This is all we have."

Taking the offered bottle, Conan took a quick swig of the water and handed the bottle back to Kid. There definitely wasn't enough food or water to bring them back up to steam, but it was enough to last them the last leg of their journey. The only problem was now that he'd taken time out to actually eat, he was starting to realize just how much his small body had been deprived. Not good. As soon as Kid lowered the bottle, the diminutive detective snatched it again.

"Say what you will about Daichi-san, but you've got to appreciate Matsunaga-san's hospitality," Kid gave a faint smile, taking another drink from the bottle as Conan lowered it. "Think we're ready to get home?"

"Definitely," Conan answered, turning his eyes to his hometown. As trying as everything had been, as harrowing as their trials had ended up, it all culminated in returning to safety: to coming home. It was a breath of fresh air, pacifying his anxious spirit. And if Vampire wanted him back, well, the killer would have to find him on _his_ territory amongst _his_ friends. No, now was the diminutive detective's chance to recover and plan his counterattack. Tired as he may have been, he walked on, taking the lead with renewed vigor, passing the familiar places and people until, at last, the two boys were at the foot of the Mouri Detective Agency, just outside of Poirot.

Conan was about to open the door and head back inside when he noticed Kid turning away from the corner of his eye. "Glad you're home, Tantei-kun," the thief murmured, not unhappily, yet the tone of his voice almost sounded disappointed.

"You're not coming in?" the diminutive detective asked, offering Kid a quizzical look. At the thief's noise of discomfort, or, at least, what he assumed was such a noise, Conan rolled his eyes and pointed to the door. "Get in. Do me the favor of not being a complete dumbass. Do _not_ go home alone."

The thief let out a noise of amusement and once more turned to leave. "Who do you think I am, Tantei-kun? I'll be fine on my own." Even while he said this and began to walk away, Conan easily noticed his rival's weary steps and overall worn out appearance. Daichi and whatever he'd done for them certainly did well to get Kid from near-death to where he was now, but even that miracle work didn't seem to be enough to get the thief back to his old self. He might be more energetic than he'd been in a while, but that didn't mean much, given the circumstances and Kid's tendency to downplay his wounds. This whole mess was almost like reliving the damned "Inferno Heist" all over again.

"I'm saying it one more time, Kid," Conan warned, lowering his voice and frowning. "Get inside. It's a safe place to rest. You can call whoever you need to pick you up." At the thief's slightly pensive pause, the diminutive detective continued, "No tricks. I'm not interested in getting you arrested… Not outside of a heist, anyway. Plus," he walked over to the thief and lightly tugged his shirt sleeve to guide him back to the Agency doorstep, "it'd be a pretty poor way to repay all that you've done for me if I just let you run off and die or something."

It took about a minute of silence before Kid sighed and followed Conan. "Looks like I have no choice," the thief grumbled good-naturedly.

The diminutive detective grinned in response and led the way through the doorway and up the staircase to his home. It was kind of funny, in retrospect, how the Agency had turned into more of a home than his old home, in all its glory, had ever been. Sure, it was a _lot_ smaller, but there were others here, and they were what made the small apartment feel so safe and warm. Glancing up at Kid's features, he wondered if it was just him that felt that way. He was probably pretty uncomfortable, not that it showed.

Still, the thought of finally making it home, finally seeing Ran again… well, it gave him a little more pep to each of his steps. He only noticed this when he heard Kid quietly snickering from several steps behind and gave a flustered smile in response.

At the top of the staircase, Conan first knocked on the door and announced himself before entering, nodding for Kid to follow him inside. Within seconds of getting his shoes off, he was scooped off his feet by who he was fairly certain was Ran (not that he would admit _how_ he made that assumption, of course).

"Conan-kun!" she exclaimed, hugging him close. They stayed that way for a while before Ran allowed him just the smallest space for his own and asked, "Where on earth _were_ you? Are you okay?" amongst many other rapid-fire questions that he couldn't quite process all at once.

Not quite knowing what to say to respond to her plethora of questions, Conan settled by gently hugging her back and saying, "I'm okay, Ran-neechan. I'm home now." Honestly, that's all that really mattered to him at the moment. He was home. He was with Ran again. And that was more than enough. Deciding to bring Kid into Ran's notice, he continued with a bright and childish smile, "Kai-niichan found me and brought me home."

Much to his surprise, when the diminutive detective glanced back at him, Kid looked genuinely embarrassed and said, "It was nothing... It's not like we were all that far from here…" And much like his injuries, it looked like Kid's plan was to completely downplay the situation, not that Conan could fault him for it. Ran looked like she'd been worrying about him a lot even _without_ knowing he was with a thief _and_ a serial killer. He really didn't want to think about what that worry would transform into if he told her the real story… he'd probably never be allowed out of her sight again… He definitely wouldn't be allowed to finish the case and stop Vampire, though to be fair, she would probably do everything in her power to keep him from the case anyway. Children and serial killers didn't mix, after all.

Still, despite Kid's uncharacteristic bashfulness, Ran was clearly grateful. She thanked him dozens of times over and asked if he needed anything, which he acknowledged but declined. It was a little disconcerting to see the normally smug and outgoing thief acting so meek. Though, maybe it shouldn't have been so jarring. Kid _had_ been deviating from his usual attitude since they'd left Vampire's slaughterhouse…

"The only thing I need right now is a phone," Kid admitted, continuing with a sheepish look, "I lost mine a little while ago and need to let someone know where I am before they start to worry." Not that he hadn't already been gone long enough to be missed, of course.

Ran readily agreed and was about to offer him her cell phone when she must've noticed the thief's slight unsteadiness. She gave him a concerned look and asked, "Are you sure you're okay, Kai-san?"

Kid didn't reply for a moment, eyes a little unfocused before he snapped out of whatever daze he was in, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit tired, I guess, but I'm fine. Really." Ran gave a slightly uncertain look, but handed him her phone, regardless. He dialed a number and shortly after giving his "hello," a booming female voice forced him to hold it away from his ear, wincing all the while. "Yeah, it's me. And geez, do you _need_ to shout?" A few seconds later, the thief scowled slightly and furrowed his brow. "What do you mean? I haven't been gone _that_ long… Look, you can yell at me in person soon enough. I'm at the Mouri Detective Agency. Have your dad or Jii-chan drive… Because I'm tired… Geez, I know _you're_ afraid of the serial killer, but honestly, I'm fine. No chump like that would ever get _me_… Yeah, see you soon. Bye." From what he could make out from the call, Conan was willing to bet it had been toward that friend Kid had been talking about earlier. It was also clear that, once more, he was downplaying the situation to keep her calm. Not a bad decision, given how just the sound of Kid's voice seemed to set her off, if that sudden shouting was anything to go by.

When he hung up and offered the phone back to Ran, the girl asked, "Was something wrong? I heard something about the serial killer…"

"Oh that?" Kid asked, slightly smiling and looking more like his usual self. "No worries. My friend was just jumping to conclusions. Claimed I was gone for about two weeks and freaked out. But I'm fine. I mean, if that guy _had _got me, I wouldn't be here now, right?" And just to make it all the more convincing, the thief let out a bit of a laugh.

Ran blinked, thinking for a moment before saying, "I think that's about how long Conan-kun's been missing, actually…"

The statement made both boys stare at her in surprise. Had it actually been two weeks? Conan looked over to Kid in a silent question, but the thief gave him a look that showed he was just as surprised. Two weeks…?

"Are you sure?" Kid asked, looking perplexed. "I thought it was only about one week. Give or take a couple of days."

But Ran shook her head. "No. Conan-kun's been gone since the last Kid heist about two weeks ago." Starting to look just as puzzled as the two boys, she asked, "Where _were_ you two, then?"

Neither had a good lie planned out. Kid stayed quiet and all Conan could think to do was stammer a few filler words. Had it not been for the time disparity, any lie might've sounded genuine. Now that Ran was fully aware of that difference, it made thinking up any plausible (comforting) lie extremely difficult. Anywhere _safe_, they would have been well-aware of the passage of time. Only in severe situations would _both_ of them have lost track of time. Now, it was _possible_ that if they remained silent, Ran would drop it, but, having grown up with her for the majority of his life, Conan knew that she most likely wouldn't drop the issue until she got straight answers. Damn.

Dropping his shoulders in defeat and letting out a slight sigh mixed with the smallest amount of frustration, Conan said, "It's a long story. We should probably sit down."

* * *

Futoshi sat down, watching the outside world from the small window in his room. Spring changed to summer and summer to fall. But now it was winter, in more ways than just season. What had started off so innocently had now changed into something sinister and cold… It was a sad kind of irony that haunted his dreams. One loss—one poor decision—had led to this necessary evil.

As usual, his books were scattered on most of the free surfaces around his room. There was too much to read, to understand. Too much he needed to know if his plan was going to pan out properly. And if this nightmare was ever going to end, he'd have to figure out how to make that thing. He seriously doubted the odds of actually catching Kaitou Kid. He wasn't known as a "phantom thief" for nothing, after all. But, if Akira somehow _did _catch the Kid, well… maybe they'd gain a useful ally.

Shaking his head to clear those fantasies from it, Futoshi moved to his drawer and picked out a small vial filled with a clear liquid, along with a hypodermic needle and syringe. He could pick apart all the theories he wanted, but if he didn't try to test them, it would all be for naught. Funny, how quickly a scientist could lose himself in his work… how people could so easily become nothing more than test subjects and numbers… He'd become what he'd always sneered at, and it couldn't matter less.

Having taken what he'd needed, the scientist turned and left his room, flipping a small photograph face down on his way out. That photo had no reason to stand face up while he was experimenting… The ghost of that person didn't need to know how far he'd fallen, nor how many others would be joining them because of him.

Taking a moment to lock his door, Futoshi once more shook his head. _You care more about the dead than the living,_ he mentally chided. _You started this hellish experiment and now even the reason for beginning this is gone. You've already done irreversible damage._ The thoughts had been plaguing him since he'd first begun testing the drug on humans, back when he was desperate for results. In hindsight, testing on Akira had been a double-edged sword. It gave his contractors the knowledge that he _could_ complete the experiment, but it also let him see the dire consequences of his actions. Akira, who had been nothing short of kind to him ever since they'd met, could no longer be considered a friend. He was little more than a servant, and one that was slowly simmering with hatred at that. Bound by the prototype drug… It was a truly terrible thing.

And thinking of the prototype, he wondered how that escaped lab rat was doing. Did they survive the mortality rate, or were they lying dead in the snow somewhere? Did the modified prototype even work? Oh, he had quite the number of questions lined up about that one, and, until Akira or his grunts found him or the body, it was unlikely that he'd have answers. That was particularly annoying, to say the least. But, so long as he got his answers eventually (though sooner would be preferred), he could accept that he just needed to remain patient.

As he walked down the staircase, he noticed a few of Akira's grunts talking in low voices (not that they had ever learned to do so effectively). While he would normally ignore it, when he overheard one of them mention something about the escaped Conan and Kai, he decided it might be interesting.

"Still haven't found them?" one asked, sounding profoundly worried.

"Not at all," another answered, just as nervous. "Master Vampire's going to kill us...!"

"Oi oi, it's Mia's fault! _She_ should be the one in trouble here, not us!"

"Yeah, who'd have guessed she'd fall for that bastard Kai?"

"Protecting our enemies like that, what a piece of work she is!"

Hideki cut in, looking annoyed, "Yes, it's a pain in the ass that we have to look for them again. Don't blame Mia for your incompetence, Daisuke."

"You're one to talk, bastard! That Conan brat hits like a truck!" Daisuke countered, scowling and just as irate. "_You_ try taking a shot to the skull, _then_ we'll talk!"

Smirking, Hideki said, "Nah, but I gotta say, the black eye and broken nose suit you."

Knowing the lot of them were just going to continue bickering, Futoshi made his way past them. Sometimes they had genuinely good information. This was apparently not one of those times. Though, he supposed he'd have to have a personal chat with Mia. The girl had a specific job, and if she was just going to start letting his test subjects out, then she had no reason to remain. Even if she was Akira's daughter, if she couldn't fulfill her role then she was worthless to him. He _needed_ those test subjects, damn it.

Futoshi passed through another hallway and reached the far end. Taking out his keys, he unlocked a door that had been painted over to look like the wall. It was a useful room for experimenting in. Hidden from sight and soundproofed (which made him wonder just what the hell happened in this place before he came here)… large enough to host his heavier tools and, of course, the lucky one that he planned to test the drug on.

Today's subject was one of those who had refused to flee during the breakout. An older male whose very presence radiated stubbornness. He'd apparently kicked one of the grunts and bit another in an attempt to stay at Start, but, given he was here now, that had obviously failed. The old man watched Futoshi with sharp, distrustful eyes and a mouth twisted into an angry frown. They all started off like that, though. Nothing new.

It was funny. No matter what the subject looked like, it always played out the same way. They'd start off so defiant, so brave… and once they'd been drugged, they'd act frantic and afraid, until, of course, they collapsed and started to quickly rot from the inside out. At that point, it was best to call Akira to finish them off and have his grunts dispose of the corpse. No use to anyone at that point. How on earth had Akira survived…?

The old man spat out some curse that only served to snap the scientist out of his thoughts. Right, he still had today's experiment to perform. Not that he expected much to change, but it was always worth a shot.

He connected the needle to the syringe and drew in some of the liquid drug. The old man noticed this and started rattling off all the reasons why he shouldn't inject him with the needle, not that Futoshi even bothered to process his pleas. At one point, he'd listened, and listening only made it harder to do his job… so, over time, he'd simply learned to ignore them and focus solely on his tests.

It was over in a handful of seconds. Just the prick of the needle and a swift injection. Same as always. Futoshi took three calculated steps back and watched and waited for the drug to take full effect. The old man gave an inhuman screech and clutched his stomach before falling from the table he was on and writhing on the ground. _Interesting,_ Futoshi thought, _I don't remember that happening to Akira or the escapee. If that's the case, then whatever I did for those two trials and not for the others is what I'm looking for. Either that, or there's something different about how their bodies reacted with the drug. I'll just have to look over my data again._

Still, though he had a fairly good idea of where this test was going, he remained still until the man's thrashing ceased. As always, Futoshi checked his pulse to know whether he'd died or simply passed out. Tachycardia… That was new. The stomach pain wasn't, though. And that was typically an indicator of coming death, or at least so far as his trials had gone. Best to call Akira to clean up. At least he was making some kind of progress…

The scientist scratched down his observations on a notebook that he'd chained to a table. It wasn't that he was worried about someone stealing it, because, if they wanted to, breaking that thin chain would be child's play… It was more a way to keep it in one place so that he didn't lose it. He'd learned the hard way never to trust notebooks left unattended or misplaced back when he'd had his family. All it took was someone to get a hold of it for just a few seconds and poof! It was gone forever.

The memory brought him the faintest ghost of a smile. Yes, those were the good old days. Back before all the chaos that destroyed everything. Back before Crow and his men… the bastard in sheep's clothing…!

"Futoshi-kun?" Junko's voice questioned. "Are you alright?" She'd placed a hand on his shoulder without his notice. A slight shiver worked its way down his spine, followed by a wave of self-disgust. It wasn't his job to brood; his job was to make a functional drug, damn it.

"Fine. I'm fine," he answered curtly, pulling just out of her reach. "Let your daughter know not to interfere with my experiment." The woman nodded, slightly hurt by his tone. "Look," he sighed, "we're not home-free until either I make this drug or we catch Kid. There _is_ no third option. And Kid's back into his infrequent heists, so now we have no way of finding him short of capturing the detectives close to him and _hoping_ we get lucky. In short, we're relying on my experiment to save all of our skins. Unless you're perfectly fine with everyone dying?" The explanation came off sounding cold, much to Futoshi's disdain. Junko had never done him any wrong, yet here he was, threatening her daughter and dragging her into more trouble. Small wonder Akira hated him.

"S-sorry Futoshi-kun," she said, once cheerful eyes now clouded by sorrow.

"Do you know where Akira is?" he asked, rather than try to apologize. There wasn't any point in it. He'd just get irritated again anyway. No point in apologizing if he was just going to make the exact mistake a few hours later. Akira and Junko expected it by now, anyway.

"Aki-chan's in the attic, I think," she answered meekly. "There was something up there he wanted to look for."

Futoshi nodded, dismissing her and walking away. He wasn't sure what his old friend was looking for up there… the attic was mostly filled with junk and things from the building's former residents…

Regardless, the scientist climbed the staircases and made his way to the attic. He knocked on the door before entering and finding Akira shin-deep in junk and looking through an old photo album that had been left behind. His presence went unnoticed, as the other man seemed too deeply engrossed in whatever he was looking at. Eventually, he pulled a photograph out of the album and placed it with an older, yellowed newspaper, finally turning around and flinching when his eyes met Futoshi's.

"What do you want?" the other man growled, posture bordering on defensive. It wasn't like the scientist had ever assaulted him, though. Akira was more than capable of tossing him through a window if he wanted… thankfully the thought hadn't seemed to occur to him…

"I finished today's experiment," Futoshi stated calmly, doing his best to remain composed.

"And?" his former friend continued to growl.

"You know what to do," Futoshi sighed in exasperation. "Have it gone by tomorrow and write anything you discover down."

"Yeah yeah," Akira grumbled dismissively. "I'll do it. Like I have any choice in the matter…" The last statement was made with a cold tone dripping in venom that would have made the scientist back off, had he not gotten used to it. As it was now, there was no surprise, just a jolt of pain through what remained of his heart.

As his once-friend left the room, Futoshi sighed and leaned against a wall, staring out of the small round window on the other side of the room. _I'm sorry, Akira… I'm trying…_

The sun was starting to set on yet another fruitless day. Indeed, it was the winter of his life. The solitary, cold, and utterly unmerciful time that changed men into monsters, kings into tyrants, and soldiers-in-arms into the bitterest of enemies. Why was he still trying, then? If all was already lost, why continue punishing himself? _Because Akira needs me… because I can't let that person down… I have to keep persevering…_ Neither of the first two answers fit properly anymore, if he was honest with himself. Maybe he was simply continuing on out of fear of ending it all. Maybe he was just living because that was all he knew how to do. And maybe, just maybe, it was to avenge himself. To save himself from this disgrace he'd been given.

* * *

_The escape is complete... now to counter-strike._


	9. The Aftermath: Demon

_It took me a while, but I finally figured out how to make the chapter work. We're nearing the end, my friends! Thank you for all the views, reviews, favorites, and follows. When I'm in a funk, it really helps to look through what you guys have said. It gives me a chance to see things I might not have seen before and better the story._

_Ah, warnings... things get a bit violent near the end._

* * *

Aoko would be the first to admit that patience wasn't a virtue that she had in excess. More often than not, she'd be first to lose her temper or to fall into depressing thoughts. Both her hair-trigger temper and depressive spells seemed to appear around the time she'd lost her mother and Occhan, and both aspects decided to become part of who she was. So, naturally, when Kaito vanished, her initial reaction was to get angry at him for worrying her. When he didn't come back, she got anxious and started thinking the worst… and that was at day five of his absence.

Needless to say, by day fourteen Aoko wasn't so cheerful, and it was noticeable to everyone around her, whether they knew her well or not. Somehow, although she'd been friends with Kaito since they were little kids, she'd never adopted a very firm poker face. But, perhaps the reason for her despair had come from the text Kaito had sent himself around the time he'd been ambushed. _"Large group. All dark. Maybe serial killer."_ If that wasn't enough to drain the cheer from a person, Aoko didn't want to know what could be worse.

Though, through all the miserable days, Keiko and Akako had managed to find ways to bring her back a small glimmer of hope. The serial killer liked to leave the bodies in the river, and, to date, Kaito's hadn't been found. That meant there was a chance he was alive somewhere out there. Maybe he even got free and was trying to get home… No matter the jokes she made at his expense, Kaito wasn't some stupid clown. He had plenty of street smarts and skills. Anything was possible. Like Keiko had said, she just needed to keep her faith in Kaito and Hakuba. Either Kaito would come home on his own or Hakuba would find him and drag him back.

And then it happened. Hakuba and the others had walked her home and had decided to stick around until her father came back. It was amazing, seeing everyone come together for her sake, and it reminded her that no matter what happened in the world, that she would always be blessed to have such great friends. It had been about an hour after school when her cell phone rang. She'd answered without even glancing at the number, and at the sound of his familiar voice, every hope came true. _Kaito…!_

"Oh my God! Kaito! It _is_ you, right?!" Aoko spouted out, much to the shock of the others sitting around in her living room. From the corner of her eye, Aoko saw Keiko raise a triumphant fist to the ceiling and Akako and Hakuba both give relieved smiles.

Kaito's response sounded perfectly normal, nonchalant even. It was relieving and infuriating all in one how he could just claim to be fine and complain about her being loud. If he thought _this_ was loud, she'd _show_ him loud when she got her hands on him!

"You _do _know you've been gone for two weeks right?" Aoko asked, lessening the volume of her voice, acknowledging the magician's complaint. No need to make him hang up on her so soon after letting her know he was alive and well. "Wh-where on earth are you, Baka?!" Okay, so she failed at keeping calm and quiet. Sue her. Her childhood friend who'd vanished without much trace had finally called and relieved the weight on her soul. Shouting was perfectly justified.

Needless to say, her childhood friend's answer to her second question was bizarre, even for Kaito. Since when was he with Detective Mouri? Had Hakuba or someone else asked the meitantei for help at some point? Well… Hakuba _had_ been working his ass off gathering information from the Task Force and spreading the word about the serial killer's presence in Ekoda. It was entirely possible that he also went to Beika for information. It wasn't like the towns were too far apart…

"That's not too far away. Why can't you just catch a bus or something back home?" Finally she was getting herself under control. And it looked like the others were still in a good mood as well.

Again, Kaito's response was unusual for him. He was tired…? Oh, wait. The text… Maybe he _had _been in trouble after all and this was just his damned poker face. Was he trying to keep her from worrying?

Aoko took a deep breath. She'd have to test him, give him a loaded question to see if he was lying. She hated doing it, but sometimes it was the only way to force the truth out of him. Smart though he was, when he was tired, he could usually be caught like that. It was a trick her father had taught her at some point, and it was incredibly useful on her childhood friend.

By now, it was incredibly obvious to Hakuba, her father, and the Ekoda police that Kaito was ambushed and dragged off by the large group wearing black. The footprints and blood were clear indicators of this. The self-text on Kaito's phone made it clear he knew he was being chased. There were drag marks in the earth and areas where blood had dropped from a certain height. He'd been captured and it was most likely by the Vampire killer. Otherwise there was another killer with the same modus operandi, which was, according to Hakuba, very unlikely.

"Hey Kaito, I was worried that the serial killer might've gotten to you. He didn't, right?" His answer to this question would be all Aoko would need to tell if he was lying or not. The question drew in the full attention of the others in the room. Keiko watched in quiet curiosity, while Hakuba watched with a tired, grim expression. Akako kept her eyes carefully locked on the inspector's daughter. Yes, they all knew what the implications of this question would mean.

Her heart fell at his answer. He sounded cheerful enough about it, claiming that he'd never been caught and that only Aoko herself was afraid of the serial killer. It was a lie. He _had_ been caught and _had_ been putting up a poker face to keep her from worrying. It took all of her control not to scream at him to tell the truth and, in the end, it was all she could do to keep the phone at ear-level.

Taking another deep breath, Aoko made sure her voice was as normal as possible before letting him know that she would be there soon. He didn't seem to notice that anything was off and probably hadn't been lying when he'd said that he was tired. Either way, she didn't have a chance to ask anything else, as he quickly hung up on her.

"Judging by your expression, Aoko-kun, I assume he lied," Hakuba stated, eyes dark from lack of sleep and quiet regret. The detective had been pretty hard on himself throughout this fiasco. It wouldn't have been so bad if Kaito would've made it home… But since the magician hadn't, Hakuba had been blaming himself and working as hard as he could to bring Kaito home. Despite the two being rivals of sorts, it was nice to know that Hakuba _did_ care about her childhood friend.

Aoko nodded, unable to keep the frown from her features any longer. "Y-yeah… Um, Hakuba-kun," she started, sorrowful blue eyes meeting his pained amber ones. "Kaito's at the Mouri Detective Agency. Do you think we could go get him?" It wasn't a stretch of the imagination to say that Hakuba was exhausted. The main reason he was at Aoko's home and not his own was merely because it was closer, and that he could rest before heading out once again. While getting Kaito back home was extremely important to her, Aoko wasn't the type to just ditch the tired detective in favor of another friend. That wasn't right. Kaito was safe for the moment, after all…

Hakuba closed his eyes for a moment before saying, "Of course, Aoko-kun. I will let Baaya know where we will be. I suggest letting your father know as well." While he didn't say it out loud, it was probable that the detective was making the suggestion so that someone would know where they were if something happened. A smart idea, albeit pretty pessimistic. They wouldn't run into anything they couldn't handle on such a short trip, right? And certainly not in a group.

"Um, right," Aoko agreed. The next few minutes consisted of short conversations between the teenagers and their varying parents over their whereabouts, though Aoko planned on a longer call to her father. The man was almost as worried about Kaito as herself or her childhood friend's mother, after all. "Dad?" she asked as the man answered, "We found Kaito."

_"You guys found him?"_ her father asked, clearly surprised. It sounded like today had been pretty hard on him, or at least, that's what the sound of his voice indicated. _"Where are you? Is everyone alright?"_

"Hakuba-kun and I haven't left the house yet, but Kaito just called from the Mouri Detective Agency in Beika, so we're going to head there soon to pick him up. Um, I think everyone's okay. Hakuba-kun's just tired and Kaito sounded pretty tired too… but no one's hurt as far as I know." It was the truth. She really should've asked her childhood friend more while he was on the phone, but her mind had been buzzing and she had been far too happy to hear from him after so long. She'd just have to find out later, but he _had_ sounded alright…

_"I'll see what I can do about meeting you,"_ he answered, relief evident in his tone. With a sigh, he continued, _"I don't think I'll be able to drive you there, but I may be able to pick you up. It'll probably take—what?—half-an-hour for you to get there. Maybe longer... I'll see what I can do and call you when I know."_

"Thanks Dad," Aoko replied with a slight smile, hanging up. She hadn't figured he'd be able to leave early. He didn't often take off, but with Kaito being missing like he was, her father had been taking time off to collect information and search for the boy. While he normally saw Hakuba as a civilian in his way, her father had been cooperating surprisingly well with the detective. Well, Aoko mused, there was always a silver lining.

"How are we going to get there, Aoko?" Keiko asked. "Is your dad going to take us or something?"

Aoko shook her head in response. "No, Dad can't do that right now. We'll have to find a way there ourselves. "I might be able to call someone, but he's been awfully busy lately… We might just have to go by bus." It wouldn't be ideal, but anything was better than walking all the way to Beika in winter.

"I am afraid that will be our only option, Aoko-kun," Hakuba murmured. "Baaya is with my father at the moment. It all depends on how quickly we wish to meet with Kuroba-kun." And it went without saying that the sooner they met with Kaito, the better. Kaito'd better be grateful.

It would probably be best not to bother Jii. The old man was out waiting for Chikage to show up at the airport, and it would be hard on him to be spread so thin. She'd let the two of them know Kaito'd been found when one of them decided to call her once they'd made it home. But, like Hakuba had said, that left them on their own for the moment.

"Looks like," Aoko replied. "Will you be okay with that, Hakuba-kun?"

"I should be fine," he said, "but thank you for the concern."

"We really need to thank Detective Mouri though," Keiko grinned. "He _did_ manage to find your husband for us."

"Keiko!" Aoko squeaked. "That idiot's _not_ my husband and you _know_ it!"

"Not _yet_," the bespectacled girl countered, winking at her.

Hakuba cleared his throat and seemed ready to say something when Akako cut in, "I believe it would be best if we were to collect Kuroba-kun quickly, correct?" Ah, right. Keiko didn't know that Akako had a crush on Kaito… At least the crimson-eyed girl was taking the teasing in stride. It would be awful if she got upset over it…

"Um, right," Aoko stammered before grabbing her coat and some money for the bus. It wasn't long before the group was walking through the snowy Ekoda streets to the nearest bus stop. The snow had stopped falling several days ago, and now all that remained of the once-pristine covering was trampled and dirty. It was always sad to see something so beautiful disappear so quickly, but it would be back, come the next snow, to cover up the wounds.

She wasn't exactly sure when she'd started associating snow with Kaito, but it'd been that way for years now. Maybe it was because under the display he put on for others, he was a bit of an ice king. Slow to open up to others and outright cold to those that tried to get anything from him… She'd said it often to him as well, that he tended to be cold, but he usually brushed it off with a joke. Was he really okay…?

* * *

"So, let me get this straight," Ran started, looking a little overwhelmed. Though, it wasn't as though Conan could fault her. Their story _was_ pretty tough to swallow. From capture to escape, the whole thing had been a catastrophe, and well… hard to believe. "After the heist, Conan-kun chased after Kid because of the gunshot." Both diminutive detective and thief nodded. "Conan-kun was knocked out and you saved him, right Kid-san?" Another nod. They'd had to tell her that Kai-niichan was actually Kid at some point, but Kid didn't seem too bothered by that. It wasn't like the girl's father was around at the moment, after all. "Then the serial killer ambushed and captured both of you and instead of… killing you two, put you both through a lot of trials?"

"I don't know if you'd call them trials," Kid said, slightly scratching his chin, "but they were very trying on us and others, yes." Needless to say, the two boys had decided to somewhat censor the events at Vampire's slaughterhouse. They'd left the various torments as vague as possible, but it was clear that Ran was still pretty worried about the events that had taken place there. Again, it wasn't as though Conan could fault her. Hell, if she knew the full truth, she'd probably have rushed the two of them to the hospital the second they finished their tale.

"You two got separated at some point and managed to escape, then met with some strange people that helped you get back here? Is that the gist of it?" she asked, still turning the information over in her mind.

"Ah, close enough," Conan affirmed. "We weren't separated too long, but that doesn't really matter. You got all the important things." The two had also agreed to keep quiet about Daichi's and Matsunaga's strange behavior. Since neither thief nor detective had much idea what the two men had done while they were asleep, they'd decided to simply skirt over what few details they did know. The less Ran had to worry, the better.

Once more, Ran wrapped Conan in a tight hug, "I'm so glad you're okay, Conan-kun." He couldn't be certain, but it felt like Ran had started crying. He wished there was some way to make things better… At least he was home. That would have to do for now.

"It's okay, Ran-neechan," Conan replied, slightly hugging her back. "Even if he doesn't seem it, Kid's a pretty reliable guy. He made sure I didn't get hurt too badly." Kid rolled his eyes at the initial remark but kept quiet, eyes gazing out the window at something. "What's the matter?" Conan asked once Ran finally released him.

"…Nothing," the thief answered, still distracted. The diminutive detective shot him a slight glare, making him amend, "It's probably just my imagination. I _am_ pretty worn out."

"But?" Conan pressed.

"I feel like something's watching us," he finished. "I'm aware we're on the third floor of the building, but it feels like something's getting closer… watching." The thief shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry, I'm probably just paranoid."

"And it's outside?" Ran asked, walking to the window and looking around for something out of place. She spent a while like that, watching the busy street below and even scanning the buildings farther out. She'd definitely learned quite a lot in the time that Shinichi had spent as Conan. She'd become more cautious and found it easier to keep her cool in all kinds of situations. He wasn't sure if he could be more proud of her for that.

"Don't worry about it, Ran-san," Kid said, somewhat sheepish. "I tend to get these feelings around certain people. Tantei-kun happens to be one of them. It's probably just built-up tension from being around him for so long without anything happening."

"Oh thanks, Kid," Conan said dryly.

"It should be a compliment, Tantei-kun," Kid teased. "It means you're good at your job."

They probably would've continued, but Ran smiled and said, "I think these are your friends, Kid-san."

Kid perked up and walked over to the window. A slight frown worked its way to his features. "Yeah. You're right." His tone was hard to process, even for Conan. It sounded like a mix between happiness, irritation, depression, and a few other emotions the diminutive detective couldn't quite name. It was some kind of dissonance that would probably drive him mad if he were to pull it apart to inspect. "Sorry to impose, Ran-san. I thought only one or two of them would show up."

In curiosity, Conan walked over to the window and looked down. A small group of four was approaching the Detective Agency. At the lead were a tall blonde male—Hakuba Saguru, if he remembered correctly—and a shorter girl with wild dark brown hair. The British detective's stride showed signs of tiredness and his head seemed angled slightly lower than what Conan remembered. The girl looked to be following closely, both keeping an eye on the tired detective and looking ahead to the Agency. Behind them were two other girls, one with pigtails and glasses, who looked more curious than anything else, and another with red hair who kept an eye on Hakuba and the leading girl.

"It's no trouble, Kid-san," Ran answered, smile still in-place. "It's kind of funny, I usually think of you as a loner."

"On the job, yeah," Kid gave a slight grin. "Off the job, I'm the same as everyone else. Honestly," he said, once more running a hand through his hair, "I can't wait to just go home, shower, and sleep." As the group outside moved into the building, Kid remarked, "If the girl that was next to Tantei-san starts yelling or trying to hit me, that's actually normal. She'll stop if I don't react long enough, so just plug your ears or wait it out. I apologize in advance."

So he was right about the person leading being Hakuba… Well, only Kid would end up friends or acquaintances (it seemed to be more the latter) with one of his most dogged detectives. There was certainly a story behind that, and if he could get it out of the thief or British detective one day, he would. Still, looking back on it all, Kid and he were probably around the same relationship, given all that they'd been through. He'd learned a lot about the thief and started seeing him more as the mortal he was rather than the immortal phantom he masqueraded as. He somewhat hoped Kid was starting to see him in a better light, too.

"You have an interesting sense of normal, Kid," Conan mused, slight smile on his face.

"I _did_ tell you that earlier," the thief chuckled. "And you thought I was joking."

Soon, there was a knock at the door below them. Right, they wouldn't know to go to the house portion of the apartment. Conan hopped down and led the way to the door, collected his shoes with Kid and Ran, and greeted Kid's friends from the top of the staircase.

The girl Kid had mentioned looked astonishingly similar to Ran up close. The diminutive detective had to do a double-take just to make sure Ran was still behind him. Seeing this, the thief snickered. "Yeah, imagine my shock that first time," he toothily grinned. Turning back to his companions, he greeted, "Yo, it's been a while, hasn't it?"

The girl seemed to freeze for a moment as Kid walked down toward her. For a moment, all Conan noticed was the group as a whole looking the thief up and down, probably for injury or illness. Apparently not finding anything wrong with him, the girl that looked similar to Ran took the last few steps and closed the distance between herself and Kid. It looked like she was going to hug him, but at the last second smacked him hard across the face (nearly making him lose his balance) and shouted, "You jackass! Do you have any _idea_ how _worried_ we all were?! Who the hell are you to just up and vanish like that?! And then you have the _nerve_ to lie to me over the phone?!" The diminutive detective slightly winced. Kid had warned them the girl might smack him around and yell, but he hadn't quite expected something like this.

Catching the railing, Kid righted himself and lightly rubbed the red mark on his cheek. "Harsh," he complained. "I call you to let you know I'm okay and I'm the one getting hit? Geez, Aoko."

"I don't want to hear it!" Aoko snapped at him, blue eyes close to tears but brimming with fury. "Didn't we make a promise? Didn't you agree to stop the lies…? E-even if it's a hard truth… you promised…"

The thief winced, all signs of earlier nonchalance or joviality gone. He stayed like that for a while, gaze at the step underneath his feet and an unreadable poker face present. Finally, he quietly murmured, "I didn't want you to worry…"

"Baka," Aoko admonished, finally giving the thief a firm and loving hug, though her eyes finally let the tears fall. "You don't have to act tough all the time, you know? What good is it to have us around if you keep everything to yourself?"

"As irritating as you can be," Hakuba started, weary eyes meeting Kid's own, "I've… grown accustomed to having you around. I do not think it is quite a stretch to say that everyone has…"

"We've all been working hard to find out where you got taken, Kaito-kun," the girl with the glasses said cheerfully. "Aoko really got everyone fired up back at home. Nakamori-keibu, Hakuba-kun, and even some of us from class and town have been looking all over for you, or at least keeping their eyes and ears out for you."

Kid seemed genuinely surprised at the statement. "…Everyone…? Why would they…?"

"I cannot say what you have gone through," the girl with red hair said, equally red eyes meeting the thief's indigo ones, "but when the town's troublesome magician went missing, everyone noticed. And when you did not return home, Aoko-chan and Nakamori-keibu roused everyone into action. Like you said, it has been a while."

A sincere smile made its way over the thief's features. "I guess I'll have to thank everyone when I get the chance, huh?" If he had to judge, Conan would say this was the happiest he'd seen Kid in all the time he'd known the thief. It was heartwarming, to see that smug smirk replaced with something so genuine. "But there's something I need to do before I go back home, okay?"

Something he needed to do? He didn't mean Vampire, did he? "It's okay, Kaito-niichan," Conan protested, not wanting to risk the thief's life any further. He'd done more than enough, helping everyone escape and helping the diminutive detective get home. He was still injured and it wouldn't be worth it to think of this scene contrasted with Kid's possible death (should they continue after Vampire together). It would hurt too much. Both for Conan and for Kid's loved ones.

Hakuba seemed to have caught on to the thief's thoughts as well, walking up to him (once Aoko had released the thief from the hug) and grabbing at Kid's collar. "Do you have any idea what kind of hell it has been for the past two weeks? Are you really that inconsiderate? Leave it to the police and detectives! There's no reason for a _civilian_ to intentionally get himself killed doing an _officer's_ job!"

"Shut _up!_" Kid snapped back. "If someone like me doesn't stop Vampire, then _no one_ _will!_ You don't think I want to go home? You think I _want_ to risk my skin like this? Vampire's not going to stop until he gets what he wants! …And I won't let him keep this up any longer… I can't have that blood on my hands."

"How is this your responsibility?" Hakuba growled. This was the most upset he'd seen the British detective… it wasn't a pretty sight.

Kid made his way from Hakuba's grasp and walked outside, watching the immediate surroundings. Conan and the others followed, confused. The thief started to look all around the area, hand hovering over the pocket with his card gun. Then the sensation hit Conan as well. They were being watched.

The feeling was always, _always_ awful. The sense that eyes were sharply focused on nothing other than you. The feeling of someone potentially malevolent watching your every move… it always brought ice down his spine. How long had Kid been sensing this? It drove Conan spastic in most cases, his eyes would have to be everywhere at once just to ensure he wasn't going to be killed by some stranger from the shadows… though hiding from the Black Organization tended to do that to people.

"We're being watched," Conan said, eyes training on the spot the sensation was the strongest. "It feels like they're getting closer…"

"Nicely played, you two," Hideki's voice came from the alley. Daisuke followed him out, wary eyes watching the diminutive detective. Apparently he hadn't forgotten about the beating he took during the escape.

"We won, didn't we?" Kid growled, body getting tenser by the second. Something was very wrong here. The thief was amazing at hiding emotion and extremely slow to lose his temper. Yes, he'd been outraged at Vampire, but this was different somehow… It was like looking into a cracked mirror and seeing an image of his rival badly distorted and warped. Something bad was going to happen… and very soon.

"Yeah, you did," Hideki answered calmly, if not remorsefully. "It should've ended there. But the masters need their lab rat back… The experiment can't continue without his data… that's why Mia and I sabotaged it by letting you guys escape. We thought that would be the end."

"Instead all it did was screw us over, _big-time_," Daisuke finished, seething with anger. "The game and experiment are _still_ on, and it's all the damn lab rat's fault!"

"Shut up!" Kid snapped, looking astonishingly like a dog ready to attack at a moment's notice. "It's not _my_ damn fault Futoshi chose _me_ to experiment on! It's not _my _fault you guys decided to grow a conscience! But if you want me back there, you'll have to drag me. And I swear, whatever comes of _that_ will be anything _but_ pretty."

What did they mean by "lab rat"? What exactly happened while the diminutive detective was unconscious? Why was Kid about to blow his top over a couple of grunts like them? Nothing was making sense.

"Have it your way, then!" Daisuke growled. The black-clad man snapped his fingers and several others appeared from areas nearby. They _had_ been watched all along… Why hadn't he sensed it earlier? Was he just too tired, or was it something else that masked them from his typically keen sense…? Regardless, it was an ambush. Ran would be helpful, but given how tired Hakuba and the others were, they would likely be more liability than help. Hell, he and Kid weren't any better. Until he could see Professor Agasa, he was essentially weaponless, and Kid was still injured from the slaughterhouse and was (likely) running low on ammo, himself. Not good.

"Ran-neechan," Conan started quietly. "These guys are some of the people that dragged me and Kaito-niichan off earlier. We're probably-" Anything further need not be said. Ran quickly took to the front, keeping the diminutive detective at her back.

"Don't you get it?" Daisuke growled. "You've already lost by numbers alone!" He quickly drew a gun, but Kid's shot sent it falling out of his grasp. A small amount of blood was noticeable from where the metallic card grazed the man's hand. Was the thief going out for blood? Any other time, he'd manage a shot like that with no problem…

Several of the others attempted to gang up on them, but with Ran's karate, they soon learned the peril of getting too close to the girl. After several powerful kicks, the group was fairly well split in half and those that remained standing backed off several steps, clearly nervous. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Interestingly enough, Hideki had yet to make a move. The man seemed content to just stay to the sidelines and watch. The look in his eyes hadn't changed either; he still looked unhappy to have any part in this.

Once a stalemate had been reached, with neither side advancing on the other, Hideki sighed and walked to the front, holding his hands up and showing he wasn't going to attack. "Apologies, Kai-san. If I didn't have to, I wouldn't do this." What did that mean? Their reluctant assailant drew his gun and aimed at Kid. Kid aimed to shoot it out of his hand, but was met with a soft _click_. Before the thief could react, Hideki fired and managed to shoot him just above the hip, the force making him double over with a cry of pain. He fired again, hitting another non-vital spot while Daisuke and the others blocked Ran and Hakuba from getting close. When he cocked the gun for a third shot, Kid gave a bone-chilling screech—one that could barely register as a human noise—and made his way back onto his feet. The fresh wounds seeped blood, but were quickly replaced by an almost green steam that obscured them from sight. Kid let out another screech, this time it sounded like a feral scream of pain. What in hell's name was going on?!

All of the guys in black flinched and some even tripped backward in shock. Kid's friends looked horrified and even Ran looked extremely worried. Conan's own heart was pounding in his chest and his head felt heavy, like he was about to pass out from exhaustion. Forcing himself to stay awake, he saw only Hideki appeared calm and collected, like he'd expected something like this.

When Kid stopped writhing and screeching, Conan saw the same green from the steam had taken residence in his eyes, blotting out all of their original indigo. The thief's eyes also looked more feral, like an enraged predator ready to strike down its prey. There was nothing in the thief's eyes beyond rage and bloodlust. The dissonance was terrifying.

"Wh-what _is _this?!" Conan asked, finding it hard to keep his focus. Now was _not_ the time to pass out, damn it!

"The fruit of the experiment," Hideki said, remaining calm. "Please lower your voice. You don't want the werewolf to think you're prey, do you?"

"W-_werewolf?!_" several of them (including many of the guys in black) exclaimed simultaneously, drawing Kid's attention. An almost psychotic grin full of teeth was quickly flashed their way, making many go pale and shrink back.

"Kai-san, please look at me," the calm man in black said, looking Kid in the eyes. "Yes, Kai-san was one of Master Futoshi's lab rats. From what I understand, they call the survivors 'Neo-werewolves.' Unfortunately, I was only sent to bring him back to the masters. I don't know much else." The thief took a couple of steps toward Hideki, smile still in place. To his credit, the young man didn't step back, but it was clear he didn't want Kid anywhere near him… not that Conan could blame him, given the thief's current condition.

"What's the matter, Hide-chan?" Kid said, words dripping with condescension. "Scared?"

"No. Not of you, Kai-san," Hideki countered, slightly balling his fists on reflex. "I know you're a good person."

"It's all relative, my friend. All relative." Kid got in the man's face for a brief moment, then stepped back, pointing Hideki's gun at the man.

"Back off freak!" Daisuke shouted, managing to land a kick to the thief's cheek. Kid was knocked to the ground and his eyes were tightly shut. "Werewolf or not, you're no threat to me."

"Daisuke, I wouldn't," Hideki cut in, urgency lacing his tone. Daisuke promptly ignored him and walked over to the felled thief.

_I don't know what's going on with Kid,_ Conan thought, finding it harder and harder to stay awake, _but I can't just let them drag him away like this… I have to help._ His body felt like lead, but the diminutive detective found a small rock on the sidewalk and super-kicked it at Daisuke, forcing him to the ground and leaving him to spit a small bit of blood on the snowy ground. _My aim was off…?_ He'd tried to get the man's shoulder, but had ended up kicking the rock into his face by mistake. Damn, that looked painful.

"Back off guys," Hideki murmured. "I'll let the masters know what I've observed. It's not worth it to continue the mission."

"Screw you, coward!" Daisuke screamed, forcing himself off the ground and back over to the fallen thief. "I'm dragging this bastard back if it kills me!"

As he bent over to grab at Kid, the thief opened an eye and lunged. After a quick struggle, Kid's teeth were at the man's throat, digging into the flesh and leaving a small bit of blood as the thief finally let go. "As you wish," he said, licking the blood from his lips. Daisuke crumpled to the ground, clutching his throat and letting out a screech similar to Kid's.

Oh _hell_ no.

* * *

_The nightmare begins..._


	10. Light through the Nightmare

_Well I'm back with a new chapter! Ah, to keep a long story short, I wrote the chapter, then life slapped me with responsibility, then my beta forgot to look over things. Eh, things happened._

_Thanks to everyone for the support for _Breaking Point_! After this chapter, there will be one final chapter and maybe an epilogue chapter coming out "sometime". Life still wants to get in the way, so odds are, the next update-or-two will be slower than anyone (even myself) would like. I apologize in advance._

_And finally, thank you all so much for your reviews, views, favorites, and alerts! You all really helped me get motivated to continue this story, and I hope you'll stick by when I start _The Inferno_ and _Carnival of Chaos_ (the prequel and sequel stories to this one)._

_Warnings: Language mostly. Minor descriptions of wounds/slight trauma. The usual._

* * *

It was like time itself had stopped; Daisuke's animalistic screams of pain (or was it rage?) filled the air, chilling the winter air and implanting fear in all bystanders. This couldn't be happening! How in hell's name could they have made Kid a _real (and contagious) fucking werewolf?!_ It made no logical sense! Even if they had (and _did_) inject the thief with a chemical from hell, he shouldn't switch from controlled to omnicidal maniac even _with_ slight provocation! This was _Kaitou Kid_, the guy that hated killing and worked so hard to escape Vampire's clutches with as little force as possible. Something this small shouldn't have set him off… He was acting just like Vampire had.

"G-get away," Hideki stammered, backing away several steps, not that Conan could blame him. This was getting _far_ out of hand. "What are you waiting for?! Run!" His screeched order was met with a quick and frantic scattering of his reinforcements, leaving just him and Daisuke of the original ambush group. When he realized that Conan and the others chose to hold their ground (what choice did they have?), he barked, "You lot, too!" Directing the next part more toward the diminutive detective than the others, he continued, keeping his eyes on the neo-werewolves all the while, "He-_they_ are just like Master Vampire! They don't care if you're friend or foe, don't you get it?!"

Both of the infected males focused their gazes on Hideki. Kid's eyes narrowed and a sharp, toothy Cheshire grin took residence over his features, the young man in black visibly paled as the two started closing in. His hand was shaking and he backed off several more steps, aiming between his soon-to-be attackers. He fired a warning shot, though neither neo-werewolf so much as flinched. This was going to turn very bad, very quick if no one did anything.

Conan's breath hitched; his leg finally gave out and he was soon left with one knee supporting his body on the snowy sidewalk. Why was it so hard to breathe? Sucking in a shaky breath, he winced and forced himself laboriously back to both feet. Kid and Daisuke were almost on top of Hideki by this point and yet, no one had reacted. Were they really just going to sit idly by and watch their friend become a murderer?! Looking for something—anything—to use to attract their attention, Conan's eyes fell upon Kid's discarded card gun, just about a meter or so out. It would have to do.

Another shot rang out, forcing Kid to jump back, though it seemed he hadn't been hit. Daisuke hadn't bothered to dodge; he probably hadn't been in the line of fire. Quickly snatching the card gun, the diminutive detective quickly made to aim for Daisuke but was forced to focus on Kid; he'd gotten too close to Conan. Hopefully Hideki could manage Daisuke by himself…

His breaths were starting to grow ragged and harsh; black hovered along the edges of his vision and his body was starting to feel the tingling sensation of falling asleep. _Not now… Not now, dammit!_ The thief snarled when he seemed to catch onto Conan's ploy, turning his monstrous grin (_Demon's grin_, his mind idly noted) onto the diminutive detective.

"Now, now, Tantei-kun," he purred in an all-too Demon manner. "You wouldn't want to hurt _me_, would you?"

"I don't want to hurt _Kid_," Conan quietly panted, setting the power on his shoe to its maximum, making it start to spark. "_You_, I can live without."

"So harsh," the neo-werewolf sang, amused. "But there's one thing you missed."

"And that is?"

"I _am_ Kid," the monster before him whispered, getting in his face. Wh-when did he get so close?! "Welcome to the pack." Before the thief could make good on his threat, however, Ran and Hakuba had seemed to finally snap out of whatever was holding them back earlier and forced him a meter or two back.

"Y-you're okay, right Conan-kun?" Ran asked, voice shaky with fear and concern. "He-he didn't get you, right?"

"I didn't see him bite Edogawa-kun," Hakuba answered, keeping his eyes on the infected thief. "There's also no blood on or around him." Then, to Kid, the British detective barked, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing, you idiot!?"

Yet another gunshot rang out, this time drawing Kid's full attention away from the detectives and Ran. Daisuke had been shot in the stomach and Hideki was bleeding from the head, eyes wide and gun falling out of his grip. The fallen neo-werewolf didn't get back up, leaving a blood-red rose in the snow beneath him. Disturbingly enough, his eyes were still clearly focused, watching the events around him with interest. It was almost as though he'd forgotten what he'd been doing to begin with.

Kid gave a deep guttural growl, narrowing his eyes and started after the petrified man in black. "The _fuck_ are you doing to my pack?!" he roared, ready to pounce on his defenseless prey. Hideki didn't move. He just watched in horror, knowing exactly what would come next.

It was now or never. He had one shot and only one shot. If he failed, Hideki would meet his end at Kid's hands… He couldn't let that happen, even if it meant hurting the thief. Conan tossed the card gun up and, with the last of his energy, kicked it, aiming for the back of Kid's head. There was a screech of pain as Conan's vision faded and all sensation left his body.

* * *

_What greeted his eyes as he woke once more was the graveyard. The sea of gravestones had returned, though the statues had vanished, leaving behind an empty circle of dead grass and upturned soil. It was strange, almost like someone else had been here… digging and moving something… Even the air felt different, it was still chilly, but nowhere near as breathtakingly intense as it had been before. Someone else was here… someone living._

_ He had no proof of his assumption, however. Each and every direction he cast his gaze held nothing but the endless rows of gravestones until they faded into darkness beyond a tall metal gate. He'd have to walk around the fence to know for sure, but it felt like there were no doors, no entrances or exits here._

_ The sound of someone moaning in pain drove him to finally move. The voice sounded familiar, though for the life of him, he couldn't tell why. It faded into obscurity as soon as he'd taken his first steps, as if whoever was in pain was also watching him. Someone was in pain and needed help, but they also didn't want to be found. Did they not trust him, or was it something else?_

_ He discounted the idea of the moaning coming and going at random chance after his third try to move in the middle of it. He was being watched, without question. He'd have to pinpoint where the noise was coming from and try to get lucky._

_ "Oi," Conan quietly murmured to the air, "Whoever you are, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help." Not even the wind answered him, and, for a time, the graveyard was more silent than the grave itself. With a slight sigh, he continued on toward where the source of the moans seemed to come from._

_ What met his eyes was a badly bloodied and injured Little Kid. He was lying on his stomach with his head tilted so that one eye could watch the diminutive detective. It almost looked like he was still sporting his injuries from the last dream he was in… His throat was still torn and bleeding… the liquid darkness was also still mixed with the blood as well… Demon really had done a number on him…_

_ The younger Kid didn't say anything, though Conan wasn't quite certain he could if he wanted to. Instead, he silently watched, indigo eyes almost pleading for him to go away…_

_ "What happened to you?" the diminutive detective asked, kneeling down beside his small comrade and checking his pulse. Yes, he was still alive. It was a weak pulse, as weak as even the bloodied boy's breathing, but it was present._

_ Kid said nothing, still silently pleading for Conan to leave him alone. It didn't make sense… It wasn't like he was going to abandon anyone in this kind of condition, especially not a friend. He deserved better, even if the diminutive detective could do nothing about the pain Kid had to be feeling right now. Anything was better than leaving him alone._

_ "Come on," he tried softly, gently moving the small thief and getting him into a sitting position. "We need to get you out of here… You look like hell."_

_ "…Digging… Clawing… Out… Get out…" There were some other words, but those were the only coherent things Conan heard. Kid's voice was horribly ragged and hoarse, barely a whisper._

_ Helping the thief up and baring most of his weight (thank whatever gods there were that he was small), Conan started a slow pace toward one edge of the fence. It'd be good to find a way out… if there was one. He was pretty sure the thief wouldn't be able to climb out on his own… At least Kid wasn't struggling, that was a good sign._

_ They reached the metal fence, but unfortunately there was no gate to be seen. The thief's breathing started sounding a little too strained, prompting Conan to stop and let him rest. They were moving too quickly, it seemed. But there was still a long way to go… Stopping and resting like this too often would probably cause Kid more grief than good. Maybe it would be best to scout the edges on his own and return when he'd found an exit._

_ "Listen," Conan prompted, helping Kid sit down against a gravestone. "I'm going to look for an exit. Just stay here and rest. I'll be back soon and then we'll both get out of here."_

_ "… Just… out… please…"_

_ "I promise, I'll get us out of here. I'll be back, I promise." The thief either didn't believe him or wanted to go with him; his eyes were dulled with pain and gave off an almost disappointed look. Either way, it wasn't a good sight to see._

_ Conan took off for the next adjacent wall of fencing, cutting quickly through the gravestones and watching carefully for signs of an exit. Like he'd thought earlier, there were no gates here. They were essentially trapped inside a metal box, leaving the only way to escape as climbing out. There was no way Kid could make the climb. He couldn't even walk without assistance…_

_ He didn't notice he'd walked back to the center of the graveyard until a voice broke through his contemplations. "What's the matter?" it asked, drawing Conan's attention to a large beast that was only half out of the ground in the center of the upturned earth. It had an almost human face, yet it was distorted by what looked like canine features. One of its eyes watched with a gentle gaze, while the other glared in anger. Its muzzle was full of razor-sharp teeth and could probably fit most of Conan's body inside… He instinctively stepped back as it drew a mutated hand toward him, seeing the fur and flesh mingle in a horribly unnatural way… Bits of bone penetrated its skin and it had large, dark claws stained with blood. This creature was dangerous. "Are you looking for something?" it jeered, flashing its fangs. Oh, how happy Conan was that it was still half in the ground!_

_ "… No," he answered, finally finding his voice. Whatever this thing was, his instincts were screaming for him to get away as soon as he could. It was dangerous._

_ "If you're not looking for anything, then sit back and watch. Or, better yet, help me out of here. I promise, you'll like what you see." The man-beast grinned, feral eye gleaming with malice in the faint moonlight. Conan's grimace must have been noticeable, because soon it was cackling. It continued to watch him in amusement before working its second arm out from the earth. "I'd find that friend of yours, if I were you. Not much longer before I can work my way out of this, you know. Of course," it chuckled darkly, "you could always stay and catch a bite. Up to you, naturally."_

_ He was going to pass on that. He took a couple of steps backward before racing through the gravestones to where he'd left Kid. There wasn't much time. They'd either get out or get killed at this rate. He wasn't sure how he was going to get the thief over the fence, but there weren't any other options. They couldn't hide; the beast would find them. They couldn't fight it off, not with Kid as injured as he was. All that left was fleeing to where it (hopefully) couldn't follow them._

_ Thankfully, Kid hadn't moved since Conan had left him. He was still slumped against the gravestone with one eye closed and the other watching Conan's arrival with mild interest. The monster's howl of triumph filled the air, sending ice through Conan's veins. They were out of time. It was either escape or die._

_ "We need to get out of here," Conan whispered urgently, helping stand the wounded thief up and letting the thief lean on him. He felt his heart pound in his ears as the shadow of the beast grew larger. In a rush that likely only made Kid's injuries worse, the diminutive detective made his way to the fence. It was large and imposing, but it was also their only hope. "Kid," he breathed, "I need you to climb to the top of the fence. You can do that, right?"_

_ The thief sent him a perturbed look, but worked his way free from Conan's grasp and slowly (too slowly!) grabbed the metal bars. When it looked like he would make it up on his own, Conan started his climb, paling when he looked back and saw the monster's giant silhouette against some nearby gravestones. It was watching them, waiting for one of them to fall…_

_ About three-quarters up the fence, Kid's strength gave out on him and he slipped, starting to fall. Conan caught his arm and pulled with all of his might, trying to keep Kid from death without falling to his own. He felt his muscles strain from the effort, but desperation and adrenaline would have to get him through. The entire plight was terrifying, knowing that it would be his mistake that could cost them both their lives._

_ "Oh, come _on_," the beast growled beneath him. "Just drop him already! You save your life and you put him out of his misery! Everyone wins!"_

_ The thought disgusted him. _Drop_ his friend down to a monster that would certainly kill and eat him? No thanks. "Shut up, Demon!" he snapped down at the beast. "There's no way in hell I'm abandoning my friend!"_

_ "You'd be abandoning a criminal. Nothing wrong with that," Demon countered, keeping its malicious eye on Conan._

_ "He's barely a criminal," the diminutive detective countered, finding the strength to continue upward. "And it doesn't change the fact that we've been through hell _together_. We'll get through this _together_ as well." They had to. No, they _would_ get through it._

_ Determination drove him up to the top of the fence, somehow keeping the thief from falling all the while. It was straining and beyond difficult, but his resolve started to replace his fears, fueling him just enough to get them both to the other side of the fence. To safety._

_ He glanced through the fence, once he and Kid were both safely on the ground, to see that Demon was watching them with irritation. So he couldn't climb, huh? Conan couldn't help but offer the monstrosity a smug smirk. They'd gotten away safely._

_ "Kheh," Demon growled, turning his back on the two boys. "Don't think so highly of yourself. This was a fluke." The monster then stalked off, back into the darkness of the graveyard._

* * *

Conan was jolted back to life by a scream. His eyes snapped open and as he turned toward the source of the sound, he blanched. Kid had pinned his childhood friend against a wall, completely blocking any chance of escape. That wasn't the worst part; the thief's mouth was pressed against the girl's throat. She looked terrified, and the diminutive detective couldn't blame her. Ran and Hakuba were closest to the infected thief, both looking ready to force him away… but if they miscalculated anything, they could end up getting the poor girl bitten as well…

That was when it happened. Kid suddenly stood at full height (thankfully leaving the girl unharmed), pressed a hand to his forehead, and collapsed onto the snowy ground without a sound. Hakuba went straight for the still-frightened girl, quickly looking her over for injury and asking, "Aoko-kun, are you alright? Kuroba-kun didn't hurt you, right?"

Her eyes moved from her fallen childhood friend to the British detective, still widened with fear and laced with unshed tears. "… N-no," she stammered, unable to reign in the upwelling of emotions currently at war in her mind. "I-I… Kaito didn't… he didn't do anything… Al-almost…" It was a horrible thing, to see Kid at his childhood friend's throat like that. That he'd go so far as to attack and nearly bite and infect her… just how much was this drug affecting him? Did he even know what he was doing?

But thinking back on it, Vampire had acted pretty much the same when they'd managed to escape. The two of them, like it or not, were in the same boat now. The thought alone was enough to send chills down Conan's spine. They didn't need two Vampires running around, that was for sure.

Conan let out a small cry of alarm when someone came over and picked him up off the ground. Their arms were soft and comforting as opposed to the typical roughness of most men and strangers… Ran, then. Sure enough, it was her voice that asked him, "Conan-kun, are you okay?" Even when everything fell apart, it warmed his heart to know that Ran would always be thinking about his well-being. She really was a blessing.

"I'm okay, Ran-neechan," he said with slightly more energy than he felt, also offering her a slight smile. He wasn't lying. He felt fine now, aside from waking up to that awful sight.

A slight groan drew his and the others' attention. Kid was starting to come-to. The thief slowly and laboriously forced himself into a sitting position, but it seemed he couldn't get his body to cooperate enough to actually stand. Kid placed a hand to his forehead and let out another groan. Everyone watched Kid in apprehension, though Conan simply watched in curiosity. Didn't they notice there wasn't anything even similar to malice in the thief's demeanor?

From Ran's arms, the diminutive detective asked, "Oi, Kaito-niichan, are you okay?" He felt, more than saw, Ran flinch as the wounded thief slightly moved his gaze toward them. Kid's eyes were dull and tired, with a hint of confusion veiled inside. How couldn't Ran and the others notice this? Even Hakuba seemed on-edge, guarding Aoko as if waiting for the thief to attack again…

"… What… what's going on…?" Kid asked wearily, opting to close one eye and keep the other on Conan. His voice sounded disturbingly weak and uncertain. The sound barely made it to Conan's ears.

Slightly wiggling, Conan managed to get free from Ran's grasp and walked over to the wounded thief. "C-Conan-kun!" Ran exclaimed, following him and reaching for his arm.

Shrugging away, the diminutive detective said, "It's okay, Ran-neechan. He's not dangerous." He heard her make a noise of protest, but chose to ignore it in favor of checking on his injured companion. "Hakuba-niichan, Hideki-san, you two check on Daisuke-san." Both males made slightly unnerved sounds, but they still went over to the fallen and mercifully unconscious Daisuke. Conan got to Kid's side and looked him over before asking loud enough for any bystanders to hear, "Did anyone call the police or ambulance?" A few bystanders stammered their yeses and a few others lowered their phones. Must've been either taking videos or photos of the whole scene… which was a double-edged sword, evidence-wise.

"…Why am I… dangerous?" Kid asked, closing his eye and leaning a bit further into his hand. "What… happened…?" he tried again, a little more urgently, voice barely more than a whisper by this point. All that roaring probably did a number on his vocal chords…

Quieting his voice once more so that only Kid would hear him, he answered, "Remember what Vampire was like back when we were escaping the slaughterhouse? How he went berserk and started attacking everyone?" The thief gave the smallest of nods, mixed with a slight shiver. Maybe it was from the cold, but Conan had a feeling it was from something deeper than that. "You," he started, but couldn't quite find the words to continue. Kid wasn't fragile, but hearing that he acted exactly like Vampire probably wouldn't make it easy to hear, either. Taking a slight breath, he decided on another method, "Hideki shot you… several times. Do you remember that?"

Kid stayed quiet for a little while, possibly mulling the question over, before murmuring, "Yes… I passed out… after that…"

"You passed out?" Conan repeated, wanting to be certain of Kid's side of the story. The police were coming and all the evidence the bystanders and even their own friends had could very easily get him locked up. Yes, he'd been provoked, but he also moved into overkill tactics extremely fast, and there'd be fairly severe consequences if they didn't understand the whole situation.

"Yes…"

"Do you remember anything else?"

"…The graveyard… You… you saved me…" So that dream did have a purpose after all… Kid really had been somehow sharing dreams with him. There was no other way he'd know about the graveyard, no other way he'd know that Conan had gotten him to safety. The only problem was that it was unlikely anyone else would believe the thief's story. Even knowing the truth, it was hard to fathom how Kid had really been unconscious, yet his body retained the ability to move on its own. It was like Demon had switched consciousnesses with him… And that was assuming Demon was more than a figment of their imagination and, in fact, was a real danger. Like the rest of all of this, it made some amount of sense—felt _correct_, even—but it just sounded so outlandish.

He wasn't sure how to respond, if he was honest. So, rather than dwell on their shared dream, he moved onto the more pressing issue. "Do you remember what happened to Daisuke-san?"

The thief thought about it for a while, but shook his head. "…No… I don't remember… much else…"

"You don't remember how you got here? To this specific spot, I mean. You don't remember getting at Aoko-neesan's throat?" In retrospect, he really shouldn't have phrased it that way. The thief's eyes opened and he shot the diminutive detective an agitated glare.

"…Don't joke… like that…!" Although weak from pain, there was a hint of a threat in his tone. "I wouldn't… wouldn't _ever_… attack Aoko…!"

"…I'm sorry, but you did. When I snapped out of that dream, you had your mouth at her throat. You were getting ready to bite her… like you did Daisuke-san."

"…The hell… are you… talking about…?" Kid growled lowly, indigo eyes like daggers. "…Why in… _hell_ would I… _bite_ someone…?!" That was it, then. Kid really didn't remember anything he did while he was acting so vicious earlier. He didn't seem to know what happened and was truly outraged that Conan had even suggested that he'd acted so violently. And that left two tasks for the diminutive detective, neither of which was going to be enjoyable. He'd have to convince his companion that he was sick, for one, and then he'd have to convince him that he'd lashed out like Vampire had…

Conan raised his hands defensively, "I know you wouldn't attack anyone. You're a good person, Kaito-niichan." He could tell Kid still wasn't pacified, but at least he'd quieted down. "Hideki-san told us that you were injected with a certain chemical… Do you remember that?" The thief gave a curt nod, but said nothing. "That probably happened that day I was unconscious, right?" Again, the thief nodded, likely trying to figure out where he was going with all of this. "After you lost consciousness today, he told us that the chemical made survivors what they call 'neo-werewolves.' Do you know anything about that?"

The thief didn't answer. He said nothing and did nothing, leaving Conan to wonder just what he was thinking. Finally, the reality of it all set in and Kid's eyes seemed to dull as he averted his gaze. "…I'm… some werewolf…?" He sounded so lost, almost crushed. The diminutive detective really didn't want to confirm his question, but lying to Kid at this point would only serve to endanger those around him. With one small, slow nod, Conan dealt the fatal blow and could almost feel the thief's despair.

"I'm sorry," Conan murmured, lightly touching his companion's shoulder. "I didn't know… Neither of us knew…" He wanted to do something, anything, to offer Kid some hope, but his companion wasn't naïve. Kid would probably see through any false words of comfort in a heartbeat. "I'm going to stop Vampire and Futoshi," was what he finally decided to say. "They're the ones responsible for this, so they probably have an idea of what's going on and how to make some kind of cure." Then again, Haibara was responsible for him shrinking, and even now they still weren't horribly close to a cure… Yeah, he definitely wasn't telling Kid something like that.

"…Thanks…" What had once been the resolve to see the case through to the end had been replaced by utter hopelessness… It was foreign, especially on someone like Kid, who had been fighting so hard all this time.

"I'll do everything in my power to help you."

"…Why…? …Aren't I… a werewolf… a monster…?" Kid's voice was barely audible by the end of his question. It made a painful amount of sense, for him to feel so down. If he believed that he was like Vampire, ready to snap at a moment's notice and descend into violence, then believing that he really had attacked his childhood friend wasn't very farfetched...

"Look at me," Conan said firmly, waiting for his friend to look him in the eye. "You aren't a monster. If anyone's a monster, it's Futoshi and Vampire for doing this to you. You may be unwell for the time being, but we'll find a way to change that. It'll be okay. You aren't a monster and you're not a lost cause… you're my valued friend who has sacrificed a lot to help me get this far… now leave the rest to me. You saved my life several times over, now let me save yours."

Kid was speechless. He opened his mouth for a moment, but closed it. That was fine, though. Just seeing the faintest look of gratitude and _hope_ meant more to Conan than any words could ever express. In the end, Kid settled for murmuring, "Thank you… for everything… Conan-kun."

"Take it easy, help's on the way."

* * *

_And then there was one..._


	11. Through the Shadow of Death

_Oh man, it's been an awesome ride, guys. I'm a bit sad to reach this point, but at the same time, it's a new beginning as well. What better time than New Year's to end one project and begin another? I can't thank you all enough for all the views, reviews, favorites, and follows this story has gotten. When I started off, I assumed it wouldn't really stand out and that no one would actually read, but you guys proved me wrong._

_While this may not be the ending that is deserved, this is the ending that works best for this portion of the story. Time to close doors and open new ones._

_I'm going to apologize for the long wait and the things I may have missed on my edits. I'm actually kind of sick at the moment and it's very probable I missed things._

_As for my final warnings... well, it's the finale, so expect stronger cursing and gore. Thanks again, everyone!_

* * *

Time started to blur as the minutes marched onward. Before he'd even noticed, about an hour had passed since Kid and Daisuke had left with the paramedics. Although he'd been noticeably wounded earlier, the thief seemed physically okay upon departure. That, in and of itself, was certainly strange, and it was agreed upon that a trip to the hospital wouldn't be a bad idea. Hopefully the doctors would have some idea as to whatever the hell just happened… though a nagging voice in the back of his mind said otherwise.

Hakuba, much to Conan's relief, had decided to go to the hospital with the neo-werewolves, stating that someone should be there to let the medical staff know just what they were dealing with. Although the British detective had offered the idea in a fairly stoic manner, from the way his gaze kept moving back to Kid (who had been sitting statue-still with his head slightly bowed), it was clear that he was genuinely worried about his friend. Thinking back on it, that was probably why Conan hadn't insisted on going with the thief instead. Of course, that meant that it was his job to relate what had happened to the police.

Surprisingly enough, although not quite over her shock yet, Aoko had decided to go with them to the hospital as well. It was admirable that she'd managed to work up enough courage to at least want to be there for Kid. Though, even if she had forgiven him, judging by Kid's expression as they left, it would be a long time before he would be willing to forgive himself. Although that was terrible for morale, at least it would motivate him to be more cautious in the long-run. Regardless, the thief's childhood friend wouldn't be scared off. Kid was certainly blessed to have such a friend by his side.

As an afterthought, Hakuba instructed the remainder of Kid's friends on what to tell the police and where they would find himself and the infected males. Both the crimson-eyed girl and the bespectacled girl had nodded and soon were left behind as the ambulance took off. The former watched with a grim expression, while the latter looked on in concern. However, there wasn't much else they could do by this point, other than to wait for the police. After that, they had promised to meet up with Aoko and Hakuba at the hospital. Honestly, with friends like these, it really made Conan wonder why Kid had thought himself alone.

His ponderings, however, were cut off by the arrival of the inspector and Takagi. The other officers had been busy talking to the witnesses, collecting testimonies, and preserving the scene as much as possible, which left precious little time for Conan to actually speak to them. But, that's what happened when a violent situation became a public display. Oh well, that's also why either Conan or Hakuba absolutely needed to stay on the scene. Megure would likely value their word more than the rest of the bystanders' on the simple merit that he knew them (well, probably knew Hakuba through the grapevine somehow) for so long. Given the general story being offered to the police seemed to be that Kid and Daisuke suddenly went bat-shit crazy and attacked everyone out of nowhere, it was probably a good thing Conan had chosen to stay behind. It wasn't like the other witnesses were wrong, per se, but they just lacked the knowledge of what started the whole mess. Thankfully, both Megure and Takagi trusted his judgment and usually followed his hints and insights, almost to the same level as they had when he was Kudou Shinichi. Almost.

Last out of the police cruiser was Mouri, looking over the crime scene and taking in everything with a grim expression. When the older detective's eyes came across Ran, he made a beeline over to her and noticed Conan as well. He knelt down to Conan's level with a mixture of confusion, agitation, and relief in his expression. Rather than offer some biting comment about where the boy had been, he settled on simply ruffling Conan's hair and murmuring, "You gave us quite the scare… Where on Earth did you run off to, Conan?" Judging by his tone, it was clear that he didn't believe for even one second that his young charge had simply run off without a word. He knew something about what had happened, though what, Conan couldn't say.

The diminutive detective's eyes met Mouri's tired ones. There was no anger there, even when he'd hesitated on his answer… or was it _because_ he'd hesitated? Really, all that Conan could make out was something akin to a hidden fear. No one pressed him to answer, and he wished he didn't have to. Everyone already knew.

Taking in a deep breath, Conan murmured, "I got knocked out and taken to the serial killer's place after the last Kid heist." Just looking at the others, and seeing the blatant concern on everyone's faces struck him deeply. It finalized the blow. Struck the nail into the coffin. Everything that he'd been trying to push back, to ignore in favor of survival, finally flooded in. It hurt. It was beyond frustrating. He was a _detective_! He shouldn't have fallen prey so easily… And yet he had…

Before he could bring himself to say anything more, Mouri carefully brought him into an unexpected hug. "Are you okay, Conan?" he asked with uncharacteristic gentleness. It was weird, hearing such a tone… it almost sounded like what he used to soothe Ran when she had been upset back when they had been kids. It felt almost fatherly.

"I… I'm…" Conan couldn't bring himself to lie to such genuine concern, and, rather than answer, shifted his gaze to his feet. "I'm home." He would recover, both physically and mentally, but right now… knowing that there were people—even children—dead because of his choices back at the slaughterhouse… knowing that he'd gotten his rival-turned-friend nearly killed over his own safety… those memories would definitely haunt him for a long time to come. Maybe Kid wasn't the only one stuck with demons after all… They were both broken, if only a little. Funny how he could only maintain his cool while everyone else was panicking, yet, left in relative calm, _that_ was when his fears and nightmares started taking hold. No, he wasn't okay. Not right now… but he was home, and that was a start.

"Right," Mouri quietly agreed. "You're home now." The older detective probably had a plethora of unanswered questions, but he kept quiet rather than prying, and Conan appreciated that more than he could really express.

When he'd found his voice again, he'd quietly explained everything from the beginning, this time offering a full disclosure (though he censored the fact that he was with Kaitou Kid, of course) of the events that had occurred. He was released from Mouri's embrace just to be held by Ran as he told his tale. The police needed to know. And… and Ran and Mouri deserved to know, too. Kid's friends had every right to know as well. He was interrupted several times, though, mostly just to see if he was willing to continue or reaffirming that something happened in a particular way. Occasionally he would go silent, his fears and regrets choking the words off, but even then, they all waited patiently for him to continue, and continue he did.

As the story came to a close, Ran once more hugged him close and the others (even the officers) looked on in a stunned silence. "I told him not to do it…" Kid's crimson-eyed friend murmured almost inaudibly and certainly to herself. She, alone, looked more agitated than surprised, as if she'd known all along that this would be the outcome.

After a brief pause, apparently not hearing the girl's words, Megure softly asked, "Do you happen to remember where you and Kaito-san were held?" Conan shook his head slowly. All he really had to go on were those dreams he'd been having, and there wasn't a great probability of those being accurate. Back when he and Kid had fled, they hadn't really had the time to scout their surroundings short of what had been directly in their path. With a slight, but noticeable disappointment, the inspector murmured, "I see."

"What about Kaito-san?" Takagi asked, somewhat hopeful. "Do you think he'd remember?" Conan couldn't really fault him for asking. Plain and simply put, if they didn't find Vampire's slaughterhouse, they risked not catching him at all, and that would put them into a pretty massive bind.

"Most likely," the diminutive detective nodded, puffing a breath onto his cold hands and sticking them into his pockets. He really should've suggested that they went inside for this… "Kaito-niichan led the way and found places to hide and rest. Just… be careful around him. He's already pretty upset about everything…" Megure and Takagi were usually pretty mild mannered around civilians, so it wasn't likely that they would upset Kid… but better safe than sorry. They already knew the whole neo-werewolf thing, after all…

Both officers gave simultaneous sighs of relief. Yes, there was still a chance of a silver lining to this dark and misery-inducing storm. There was still the hope that Vampire and Futoshi hadn't quite abandoned the slaughterhouse and that they would be confronted and stopped. Everyone's nightmare could potentially disappear within hours… _Too bad Kid won't be able to enjoy that,_ the unhelpful voice in the back of Conan's mind reminded him. Right. The nightmare wouldn't truly end until the neo-werewolves were cured… but at least they could take a step in the right direction by apprehending Futoshi. While he had no doubt that Haibara and Agasa could potentially find a cure on their own, having the drug's maker would help… probably. Assuming Futoshi kept some kind of information log and remembered things, anyway…

"Oi, Conan," Mouri started, giving the boy a quick once-over. "I'm still taking you to the hospital to get looked at. I want to make sure you're actually okay." Again, the older detective's concern felt pretty strange, but it wasn't bad, either. Conan nodded. It was a logical next step that would offer him time and safety to rest and think things through while being relatively near his now shaken and demoralized friend. Plus, Kid would probably react better to being questioned if a familiar face was nearby, which would make things easier and safer for everyone.

And so, their large group split between vehicles and collectively made their way to Beika General Hospital. In retrospect, Mouri had been pretty on-point in wanting Conan at the hospital. Although the car ride was relatively short, the diminutive detective was starting to feel the sensation start to leave his extremities, and he was starting to feel a heavy exhaustion take hold of him. Without meaning to, he ended up leaning heavily against Ran and letting out a slight groan. He knew she was probably trying to say or do something, but honestly, he couldn't tell… And damn it, he had a headache…

By the time they'd reached their destination, Ran had opted to simply carry her small charge inside. If he hadn't been feeling so sucky, he probably would've fought the action on principle alone, but now was not the time for that. Right now, all he felt like doing was keeping his head against his childhood friend's shoulder and keeping his eyes closed. Maybe the headache would start to fade when he slept or something.

He could hear her say something to him, but his tired mind refused to interpret more than her tone… which was noticeably worried. Not that that was a surprise at this point. His headache was only getting worse with time and it wasn't long before he'd screwed his eyes shut and leaned as far into Ran's shoulder as he could. It was horrible. It was like nothing else he'd felt before, yet still so similar… _Am I dying…?_ And wouldn't that be ironic after all he'd been through? He'd survived Gin and the Black Organization. He'd survived Haibara's poison. He'd even survived Vampire's slaughterhouse… just to die from who-knew-what? Was it even worth it? Had his survivals been worthless after all? _Please… please don't let me die like this…! Not as Conan…! Not in her arms…!_

But maybe this was justice. Justice for all of the mistakes he'd made. Justice for everyone he'd doomed to death. If the other survivors had seen him for what he really was, instead of this misleading child's body… there was no doubt in his mind they would hate him. He'd led them straight to the slaughter, straight to their friends' deaths at the hands of a madman. He had been powerless back then and now his life was in Fate's hands… Was there nothing he could do…?

He choked on a breath and his body went numb. _Survive._

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a hospital bed with Ran by his side and Mouri keeping watch from the adjacent wall. Conan still felt pretty bad, but at least his headache had finally left him and he could feel his limbs again. But, even so, what had happened? He couldn't remember much past Ran picking him up… "Conan-kun?" his childhood friend asked, concern evident in her tone. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?" Oh… so she had noticed that… On the plus side, at least he could hear again.

His mouth felt incredibly dry, but after a while he was able to find his voice and hoarsely replied, "Yes, I hear you." Seeing Ran's expression tore at his heartstrings. She shouldn't have to worry so much about him… Why couldn't they ever find a break? Why couldn't he ever make the right choices… why did he always have to hurt her with his bullheaded heroics?

"Are you feeling okay?" she tried, trying to break him from his thoughts. She took his hand in one of hers, sat by him in the bed, and watched him with those lilac eyes, so filled with worry. If only she knew how much those eyes cut him to the soul…

Forcing a smile, Conan said with far more cheer than he actually felt, "Yep! I'm okay, Ran-neechan!" His own words felt so obviously hollow that he wasn't really surprised when no one seemed to believe him.

Mouri shot Conan a knowing look, and Ran's worry only seemed to deepen. Damn it! Why did they have to be so perceptive _now_ of all times?! "You don't need to…" the older detective trailed off, apparently looking for the right words to say before deciding on "You don't need to be tough for our sakes, Conan. It's okay not to feel great right now. You went through hell and came back alive. That, in and of itself, is a miracle."

"Yeah…" Conan muttered, looking down at the bed sheets. "I came back…" And that was the problem. This was entirely his fault, from the beginning to the end. He was supposed to be the _detective_. _He_ was supposed to catch murderers and prevent them from hurting everyone. Not only had he failed, but he'd also been the cause of so many others' demises. Hoshiko had still died, despite his promise to her. Kid had gotten experimented on. Mia was still stuck in that awful place. Each and every captive he'd freed (successfully) was probably already either recaptured or dead by now… What kind of detective was he?! "I failed everyone."

Walking over to the bed and kneeling down to meet Conan's eyes with his own, Mouri said, "You're wrong. You didn't fail. It's because of you that we have a fighting chance against that bastard. Megure-keibu got the location of that place from Kuroba-kun and is getting his men ready as we speak." Conan watched the older detective quietly. "You two survived. And, because you survived, the police were able to track Vampire down. You've done more than enough good."

Before he could stop himself, Conan snapped, "No, I haven't! You don't get it! So many people are _dead_ because of _me!_ D-damn it! We-we promised Hoshiko-chan she'd be able to make it home and see her parents again, and the next morning! The next morning she'd been drowned to death! And I couldn't _do anything!_ It was all we could do to carry her _corpse_ back to Start and place it in a _hole!_ A fucking _hole!_ It's _not good enough!_ And _I'm_ not good enough!" What didn't they understand?! That's all he'd done the entire time! He'd misled people with false hopes and led them all to the grave! How was that any form of good?! He felt himself shake from anger, but he couldn't stop himself. Here they were, praising him for surviving, when he'd only achieved that by denying everyone else their lives! It was sick! "And don't get me started about Kid! He risked _everything_ to save me, and I repay him by getting him turned into a _werewolf_, of all things!" In the brief silence that followed his outburst, he realized his error. _Damn it Kudou! Can't you do _anything_ right?!_ Still, he could kick himself all he liked, but it wouldn't change the fact that he'd just ousted Kid to Mouri…

He was dragged into Ran's warm embrace. His childhood friend rubbed slow circles over his back and quietly 'shh'ed him into some semblance of calm. No one said anything further for a long while, allowing the silence and companionship of his pseudo-family to say more than words ever could.

Conan let out a long sigh as he finally stopped shaking. What more could he have realistically accomplished? Even if he'd been Shinichi through all of this, pretty much everything would have turned out the same. Maybe, just maybe, he would have held his own against Vampire, but, chained to Kid, the two of them would've still gotten in each other's way. That would've still led to the first trial. And, because they'd both been exhausted from that trial, Hoshiko had been taken away without their noticing… Everything had been completely out of his control… and that was probably why he couldn't accept it. In almost every case, he was used to making _some_ kind of difference, whether it was catching a criminal or vindicating the dead… but he wasn't used to being the victim. He wasn't used to his lack of power.

Mouri finally broke the silence, heaving a deep sigh and sitting on the bed next to his daughter and Conan. In a quiet, almost defeated manner that showed just how tired he was, the older detective asked, "How do you think I feel about all of this, Conan? How do you think Ran feels? Or Megure-keibu? Or any of the other officers?" When the boy turned his eyes to him, Mouri continued, "I'm a detective and a former officer… and at least for the time being, I'm supposed to be your guardian. And I lost you to a serial killer." The older detective let the statement hang for a long moment. "I tried everything I could think of. I looked everywhere, got every police contact I had to look for you… and I still couldn't find you. I couldn't save you. And, in the end, it was Kaitou Kid that ended up bringing you back to us." Mouri once more sighed and closed his eyes. "We really owe him a lot, I guess…"

Conan could only blink owlishly at the older detective's words. The thought had never occurred to him that anyone else had been trying to find him. Well, Ran would've been, but that was something he'd expected. To hear that Mouri, himself, had been concerned enough to bring in the police's aid… and to see how exhausted the man was… it really drove his message home. He hadn't been the only one trying…

"Sometimes…" Mouri continued. "Sometimes we just can't do everything on our own. Sometimes we can't stop the evil in others' hearts… It's our job as detectives to help as many as we can, but we can't place the weight of every life on our shoulders. If we did, we'd fall apart after every case. We save everyone we can, and we vindicate those who have fallen. And listen, Conan," he paused, once more meeting the boy's eyes. "No one. Not you. Not me. Not even Megure-keibu or any other officer could've possibly saved everyone in that kind of environment. But you tried your best. You managed to save lives, and," he said, lightly ruffling Conan's hair and offering the boy a fatherly look. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you, Oji-san," Conan murmured with the faintest of smiles. Although Mouri's words had cut through parts of his self-blame, they hadn't changed the fact that people were dead… and that Vampire still needed to be caught. It would probably be a long time before he could look himself in the mirror and be at-peace with the person he saw… but he would get there. Time had faded his embarrassment of becoming Conan, and time would help fade the pain from this terrible experience. What was important was that he learned from this and did his best to prevent something like this from ever happening again.

"Still," Ran thoughtfully said. "We were really lucky that Kid-san was there for you. I don't want to imagine what would've happened if he hadn't been there…"

"Yeah…" Conan agreed. "If he hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here now. I would've been alone, even if I had managed to escape…"

"I wish there were some way we could thank him," she said, slightly hugging Conan closer to herself. "Or at least help him through this… He looked so… hopeless when he'd left us…"

"I'm okay, Ran-san," Kid's voice murmured from the room's door. Looking up quickly at that familiar voice, Conan found that Aoko and Hakuba had followed him. "Heard Conan-kun got sick..." he said as an explanation when he'd caught Mouri's questioning look. "Wanted to be sure it wasn't… yeah. But you seem to be doing better now." Although there wasn't much of a scratch on him, the thief still looked to be a mess. The weight of his guilty conscience was breaking him down pretty quickly, it seemed…

"It's okay," Conan said quietly. "You never bit me, so it's probably something else." A quick wince was all it took for Conan to realize he shouldn't have mentioned that. "I'll be back on my feet before too long. Don't worry."

Kid nodded. "The police are probably going to take care of Vampire soon. That's one less headache for us, I suppose."

"…It's not your fault, you know," the diminutive detective said, rather than going along with the superficial conversation. It would be better for everyone to just get to the point.

"…You're wrong," Kid replied, walking over to the room's window and staring out at the sunset.

"K-Kaito…" Kid's childhood friend stammered, looking very much like her heart was breaking for him.

"…I disregarded the warning I was given that night…" the thief murmured, keeping his back to the others. "My misfortune is entirely on me. And I even dragged Conan-kun down with me…" he muttered, shaking his head slightly. "Everything I tried failed. Everyone I tried to save died… I guess you're right, Aoko. I really am pretty weak."

Aoko let out a surprised noise and Hakuba stepped in, offering the thief's back a slight glare. "Self-pity isn't quite your style, Kuroba-kun. Anyway, weren't you the one that fought off those gunmen a couple of months ago?"

"That was different. They were predictable."

"Listen..." Conan started sympathetically. "I know how you feel. The two of us… we're not used to this… We're not used to failure… But there was nothing we could do."

"There had to have been something…" Kid shook his head again.

"Kuroba-kun," Mouri said, voice slightly harsher than it had been toward Conan. When the thief turned his head toward the older detective, Mouri continued, "Were you the one that killed those people?"

"No. But-"

"Did you ask for that drug?"

"Of course not!"

"Were you even remotely _aware_ of what was going on?"

"…No…"

"Then why is any of this your fault?" the older detective asked, watching Kid with stern eyes. "You denied killing anyone, denied wanting the drug, and denied knowing what was even going on. And look," he continued as the thief was about to answer. "You're what? Sixteen? Seventeen? You're still a kid. It's not your responsibility to bear the weight of Vampire's crimes. You couldn't have possibly known he was around. You should be grateful you're still alive and do your best to wait for a cure."

"…Yes sir," Kid answered, looking down to the floor. "…I… I guess I wanted to be the hero this time… I wanted to save them."

"We all did, Kuroba-kun," Mouri replied, tone growing a bit softer. "As much as you were trying from the inside, the police and detectives like myself were trying on the outside. If anyone should be ashamed, it should be us, not you."

The thief didn't reply, keeping the silence for a long time before murmuring, "I hope this ends soon. Get well soon, Conan-kun."

"Hang around a little, Kaito-niichan," Conan invited. To his surprise, Kid winced at this as well. "You're not a monster, you know. If you are, then you certainly suck at it." The thief turned and blinked.

"He's right, you know," Hakuba added, placing a hand on Kid's shoulder. "Were you frightening, yes. But you frighten us on a regular basis with your childish pranks."

"We're scared _for_ you, not _of_ you, Kaito," Aoko added. "I mean… it _was_ scary when you went after me like that… But you didn't know what you were doing! It's not your fault!" And, to add impact to her words, the inspector's daughter walked over to the thief and trapped him in a hug.

"O-oi! Come on, let go!" Kid whined, somewhat struggling to get out of his childhood friend's embrace. Though it was to no avail. Conan let out a slight snort of laughter. It was kind of hard not to laugh at the two's antics, and it was clear that even if he was struggling, the thief was glad that his friend was still by his side. Ran was doing her best to hide her chuckles, though it was easy to tell that she was amused.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something…?" Hideki's voice came from the doorway. He looked fittingly embarrassed as he glanced over at the still-together Kid and Aoko.

"Ah… I'd just go ahead and say what you need to," Kid said, awkwardly turning toward Hideki with Aoko still holding him. "I uh… don't assume you're going to drop me anytime soon?" As smooth as he was with other girls (Ran included, frustratingly enough), Kid was pretty awkward around Aoko. Since there was no evidence that they _were_ a thing, it was pretty likely they just hadn't really noticed their feelings yet. Well, Conan would be rooting for them.

"Er… okay," Hideki mumbled, rubbing at his neck. Turning his gaze to Conan, the black-clad man said, "I uh… wanted to apologize to you guys… Sorry for shooting you, Kaito-san."

"Yeah…" Kid drew out the word, clearly incredulous. "Well, it was only a flesh wound, I guess. Try not to shoot me in the future, okay? I mean, I know I'm apparently made of steel or something, but let's not push our luck, ne?" Aoko slightly elbowed him for that response and finally let the thief go.

Hideki nodded his agreement. "I am sorry though… Master… isn't quite rational right now… I'm sure you've noticed."

"Who, me? Oh no, no!" the thief continued sarcastically, getting elbowed again. "Okay, okay, _sorry_."

"So Vampire's not rational?" Conan asked, choosing to ignore Kid's sarcasm for the moment. "Can you explain that a little more?"

The black-clad man nodded. "Now, er… how should I put it…? Master was… Master was essentially Patient Zero for Master Futoshi's drug… He… he finally lost his rationality," he said with a nervous chuckle.

"What do you mean?" Kid asked, a slight amount of worry creeping into his tone.

"…Master Vampire… Kichirou-sensei… started attacking his own men. We thought he'd snap out of it… but he didn't. Master Futoshi and Junko-san had to flee. Anyone left behind… they're all neo-werewolves now… or dead."

Conan watched Kid tense noticeably. The thief didn't speak, but his eyes showed his horror. Vampire had gone full wolf. Had attacked those on his own side. Had scared even Futoshi off… Oh shit, the police!

"O-Oji-san!" Conan exclaimed, looking to Mouri in alarm. "We need to let Megure-keibu know what happened!" Mouri nodded in understanding and left to call the inspector.

"Damn it! Then why'd you really come here?" Kid almost snarled.

Hideki winced, unable to meet the thief's eyes. "I need your help."

"Our help? With what?" Conan asked when it was clear that Kid was a bit too irritated to pretend to be civil. "And why us? Couldn't you ask the other grunts in black?"

"… I wanted to ask you two because… well, you two were the only ones clever enough to lead an escape. And Mia told me you two were reliable enough for the job." Hideki said, fidgeting. "And… I uh… kind of figured it'd be safest to use a wolf to beat one, so…"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Kid growled, offering the black-clad man a sharp glare. "I don't plan on wolfing out ever again." The statement was made with such decisiveness and quiet determination that Conan thought it sounded more like a vow. One that was unlikely to succeed, should they not find a cure. "For the record," the thief added in a low growl, "I'm not a fighter. Vampire already steamrolled me twice. If you're looking for a wolf to beat him, it's not me."

"R-right," Hideki nodded, looking oddly tired. "Just… please help… Mia's still there in the attic. She hid up there when the other neo-werewolves got free… took the only two non-infected kids with her… She needs help out. _They_ need help out… Please…"

Conan watched Hideki for a long while, searching the man's eyes for any signs of deception. Because if they went, they were signing away their lives. There would be no chance to escape if this was a trap, and that was the brutal truth. Although he and Kid had gotten a lot more in-sync through all of their trials and hardships, they were both badly shaken. It was too easy to falter, and if they did, that could very well be their end. No, they had to know without a doubt that Hideki wasn't lying to them. That he wasn't trying to lure them straight to death's door. Still, in those eyes, he couldn't make out anything malicious. Just pain. And that was what bothered Conan that most. Pain and desperation were dangerous. They could drive people to do amazing things, both for good and for bad. But which one the man before him was aiming for was impossible to tell.

"Okay," Kid nodded. "As long as I don't have to fight Vampire, I'm pretty sure I could sneak them out." So that was the thief's choice… to believe Hideki and to return to the awful place…

"Kaito?!" Aoko exclaimed, beyond a doubt worried. "What are you thinking?! You just got back!" She had grabbed at his arm and kept him in a vice-like grip. Conan couldn't blame her. Even he wasn't certain if going back was worth it… But Mia and those kids… if Hideki was telling the truth, then not going back would be the same as killing them…

With great reluctance, the diminutive detective sighed and said, "I… I'll go too."

"C-Conan-kun!" Ran, who had mostly kept her composure up until now, cried out in surprise. "You can't be serious! There's no way Dad or I would let you go back there!" To make her point even stronger, she, too, kept him restrained in her arms.

"Kuroba-kun, Edogawa-kun," Hakuba admonished. "Are you two really that thick-headed? What if this is a trap? You'd be killing yourselves just by trusting him."

Hideki remained quiet, keeping his eyes on the floor and his hands balled up at his sides. A deep frown was etched onto his features. But what drove Conan to finally trust him were the small tears that worked their way down his cheeks. There was no way he would be putting himself through this, even if he did want to trick them. He was, for the most part, a fairly composed man. Sure, he could be scared off, but through it all, he'd never cried or whined about his roles. He wouldn't be here begging if it wasn't important. "Please guys… I'm begging you… Daisuke's infected… Mia's all I have left…"

Kid shook himself free from Aoko's grasp and walked over to Hideki. "I'm choosing to trust you… but if this is a trap, understand that I'm not responsible for the consequences." He left the threat to the imagination, though Hideki just nodded, either unfazed or uncaring. "Conan-kun," the thief said, turning to the diminutive detective. "Don't come with us."

"Wh-what?!" Conan almost choked on the exclamation. "You have to be joking! Do you really think I'm going to leave you alone against that many enemies?! Idiot! I'm going too, if only to make sure you don't die."

"…Thank you," Kid said, voice genuinely grateful. He walked over to Conan's side and somehow managed to pick him free from Ran's grip and place him on the floor next to him. "There's no one else I'd rather have backing me up."

"Please don't…!" Aoko pleaded. "We already lost you once… and you almost died right in front of us… please…"

"I'll be back, I promise." The thief moved back to her and gave her a hug, which she readily returned. "I'm always back eventually," he added with a smile. "'Fraid you guys can't get rid of me that easily."

"You're incorrigible and quite possibly the biggest git I've met…" Hakuba sighed in frustration. "But you're right. What can we do while you're gone?"

"H-Hakuba-san!" Ran still wasn't convinced, but to be fair, she was pretty sure her charge was just a small child. It would be insane of her not to fight the arrangement.

"I've seen Kuroba-kun in action and I've seen Edogawa-kun's intellect for myself," the British detective replied. "Both of them are more than capable on their own. Together… I pity their enemies." Kid grinned and offered Hakuba an outstretched fist. Despite rolling his eyes, the British detective lightly bumped his own against the thief's. "Don't make me regret this, Kuroba-kun."

"Who? Me?" the thief chuckled. Turning back to Conan, he said, "Well, Boss? I think we'd best get Hakuba on the hunt for Futoshi. Sound good? The guy's like a bloodhound when it comes to tracking people." The British detective in question simply offered a shrug.

With a relieved grin of his own, the diminutive detective nodded. "He goes by the name of Maeue Futoshi. He's the one that created the drug. If we find and capture him, we stand a good chance of getting a cure for Kaito-niichan and the others." With that, Conan described the druggist with as much detail as he could muster. Everything would ride on Hakuba's ability to find and capture him while Conan and Kid helped the police and saved Mia and the kids. Both jobs were going to be tough, but such was the nature of the beast. Much to his surprise, Hideki also offered information on likely places the druggist would run and confirmed that they had Futoshi's real name. With all of this in place, they at least had a plan of action.

When Mouri walked back into the room, he was met by Conan, Kid, and Hideki as they left. Halfway through a question of where they were heading, he was interrupted by Kid who simply left it at they "would be back later" and that he would "take care of" Conan while they were gone. Before he could demand more, the trio had already taken flight, leaving it up to Hakuba to explain the situation. There was no doubt in Conan's mind that Mouri would be furious with both him and Kid, but there wasn't a whole lot of effective other choices available.

* * *

They had taken a slight detour and first headed to Agasa's home. Conan and Kid had both agreed that restocking was the wisest decision. It was impossible to guess what they'd see there, and it was better to be well-armed than underprepared in this situation. Part of it had also been to put off the rather daunting and painful task ahead of them, though it was best not to remember that part. Agasa was able to offer Conan a restock on his tranquilizer dart and a fresh soccer ball belt, and was even able to help restock Kid's more basic equipment. It had definitely been a trip worth taking, though both were chewed out by Haibara for their idiocy in going back. Well, you had to take the good with the bad, Conan supposed.

Agasa had been the one to offer to drive them, and with Hideki's instructions, they were able to make it back to the slaughterhouse in a painfully short time. Police officers surrounded the premises, though Kid had found a way through their line almost immediately. They were so focused on the front of the slaughterhouse that they'd mostly neglected the back. In the evening gloom, the trio was able to part ways with the professor and sneak their way through the line.

Somehow, the building and grounds looked more ominous than when Conan had first seen them, though that was probably a trick of the mind… Not that knowing this did anything to relieve his nerves or the dread that was quickly welling up in his stomach. The trees still looked like they were reaching out with jagged branches for them, and the building itself looked like it was sneering at them with broken windows and a fragmented door lying just ahead of them, beckoning them inside. Small wonder his instincts were all screaming at him to flee. He was pretty sure the same could be said for Kid, given how tense the thief had gotten. This was going to be a nightmare… but hopefully it would be the end.

As it stood, if things went awry, Conan would contact Agasa and he would let the police know what was happening. But, short of getting mobbed by neo-werewolves, which was looking like more and more of a possibility in the creeping silence, they probably wouldn't need to worry about much else. All they were here for was to get Mia and the kids out. Short, sweet, to-the-point. Somehow, Conan doubted it would be that easy, but it was always good to hope… There was also the question of the other neo-werewolves… would they be rational like Kid, or would they be wild like Daisuke? And if they ran into Vampire, they were going to be in well-over their heads.

Kid nodded for Hideki to head in first, and followed the black-clad man close behind. Conan was the last to enter the darkened building, straining to listen for anything at all. It was very likely that Kid was doing the same. They moved slowly, as per the phantom thief's silent instruction, footsteps barely making a noise at all and Kid's own footsteps were completely silent. Well, he wasn't known as a phantom thief for nothing.

As they made their way to the edge of the entry room, a gunshot rang out from somewhere above them, making Conan flinch and Kid immediately search around for anything near them. Based on the sound, it probably came from a couple of floors above them… Hopefully that was Vampire. If he was upstairs, then that gunshot would just have to serve as their warning to his whereabouts. At last, it felt like their luck was returning…

What the diminutive detective noticed next was the abrupt atmosphere change. While here the first time, the slaughterhouse had held an air of danger and activity… though now it felt colder and heavier, like there was nothing but doom and desolation awaiting them in the darkness. The shadows danced in the distance, but he couldn't hear any accompanying noises. As with outside, it looked like his paranoia was going to get the best of him for the duration of the mission… It felt almost as bad as the time he'd had to hide from Gin in those lockers…

Sometimes he cursed his keen eyesight. From the corner of his eye, he'd noticed some different shadows that had clung to the wall. They'd had an almost reddish hue to them and spread all along the light-colored wall. And then he'd noticed the corpse just below. Whoever it was had been completely butchered here… mostly likely when they tried to escape. He swallowed back the instinctive fear that came from such a sight. It wouldn't do if he let himself get intimidated by one corpse, regardless of how butchered it may or may not be. He had a job to do…

At the doorway leading further into the slaughterhouse, Kid moved Hideki behind him and crept ahead to scout the darkness. It was at this point that he realized just how lucky he was to have Kaitou Kid leading this particular mission. Each step was taken with extreme caution. If there was so little as a creaky floorboard, the phantom thief had them immediately lower themselves and keep pressed against the wall. Admittedly, the first few times it had happened, nothing came out to get them, but as they progressed, footsteps and ragged snarls filled the air. Apparently Kid had been hearing this long before Conan or Hideki had even picked up on the sounds, as frightening as that was to know…

And this came with a painful revelation: the neo-werewolves were most likely all irrational. De-humanized and vicious. Although he'd heard Hideki mention that the wolf population here had risen, seeing it (or rather, hearing it) for himself made the fact even harder to swallow. All of those innocent people had had their reason stripped from them and had been left as Futoshi's dogs… But, hearing the activity on the first floor made Conan wonder just what the police were doing outside. Were they trying to draw attention or something? If so, it wasn't working.

The next problem they encountered was at the staircase to the second floor. Kid had forced them into a crouching position in the hallway as he'd dissected the scene. He turned back to Conan and shook his head. Although Conan's eyes had mostly adjusted to the darkness, he couldn't quite make out what the thief had seen, though it was probably bad all the same. Still… they needed the staircase to make it to the attic. That meant they'd need a way around the neo-werewolves… Maybe the trick he'd used before could work here…

Conan lightly traced a circular shape on Kid's hand, essentially asking for a ball-shape item. Sure, his soccer balls could work, but those were one, loud to inflate, and two, not in a comfortable supply. Using one would not be a great idea. Kid's response was a straight line. It would probably be a one-and-done trick that hopefully, they wouldn't need to repeat on any of the other floors.

Kid helped him to angle properly, though there was no way in hell he was going to super-kick the ball. The sparks would be a dead-giveaway with extra emphasis on _dead._ Honestly, he was also worried about the noise that would come from simply kicking the ball at all… He couldn't say how acute the wolves' hearing was, and if, somehow, the drug had sharpened their sense of hearing, they'd be able to find the trio easily. Slightly shaking off the paranoia, he opted instead, to toss the ball into the far hallway, letting it bounce off of the wall and floor and roll into the distance. Soon, the sounds of hurried footsteps and growls filled the air as the neo-werewolves chased after the noise. Yes, tossing the ball had definitely been the best choice.

Their trio hurriedly, but silently, made their way up the staircase. Though, unfortunately, like so many others of its kind, there was a creaky step and nowhere to hide. Growls from not-so-far-away filled the air once more, and Kid quickly grabbed Conan and bolted up to the next floor with Hideki hard at his heels in panic. The neo-werewolves drew closer and, in a blind sprint, Kid and Hideki both tackled the nearest door, forcing it open and quickly slamming the door shut behind them. Kid dropped Conan and he and Hideki both placed their full weights against the door, doing their best to keep the horde of snarling man-beasts out. Conan's own heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest as the first assaults on the door started. Would just the two of them even be capable of keeping them all out? If only they had something sturdier to keep the door shut… Damn it all!

Scanning the dark room for anything useful or anything door-shaped, the diminutive detective felt his heart skip a beat when he'd found nothing but walls surrounding them. There were no other exits… and the clawing and pounding only got worse with time. The growls had turned into howls of rage, sending a sick feeling through him.

"Th-there's no way out!" Conan whispered urgently, running back over to his companions. That thing he'd thought earlier about their luck getting better? He took that back. This was a giant leap far beyond the reaches of misfortune. This was an absolute disaster.

"Do we-" Kid grunted, holding back what sounded like a full-bodied tackle on the door. "Do we call for help or-or do we wait it out?"

A loud screech cut through the howls and growls, followed by several shrieks and cries of pain. The sounds of struggle and fighting reached their ears. Were-were they _killing each other_ out there?! "Oh Kami…" Hideki whispered, horrified. "I think… I think Kichirou-sensei's here…!"

Vampire was here?! Then… that loud screech had been him? The pounding against the door stopped, and soon the sound of something getting repeatedly bashed against the floor was heard. There was a fearful whimper before something rolled away from the door and what was definitely blood started spreading under the small space between the door's base and the floor. There was another sound, one of something ripping and tearing, before Vampire left the area. Thank the gods that Vampire hadn't realized they were there! Even so, they stayed put for several more minutes, straining to hear anything beyond the silence. Damn it… it felt like his heart was going to beat its way out of his ribcage and dive out the window or something!

After enough of their collective wits had been regained, Kid took in a deep breath and carefully moved Hideki out of the way. He opened the door as slowly as he could manage, and only just enough to quickly inspect the hallway before picking Conan back up and leading Hideki out and around a couple of brutalized corpses that, even in the dark, were clearly missing limbs. Conan was pretty sure one of them was likely missing a head… ugh… Yet again, he found himself not horribly upset to have been manhandled… but then again, those corpses were kind of… all over the place. Yeah, he definitely would've tripped over them had he been walking.

If they hadn't been told that Mia was in the attic, this would've been more than enough reason to turn-tail and flee. Though, possibly because of Vampire's interference, there were no further encounters on the second floor. Plenty of bodies though… Most of them looked pretty fresh… The places where limbs were supposed to be were really bloodying up the corpses… And the gore hadn't stuck to just the floor…

By the time they'd reached the next ascending staircase, they'd found only one neo-werewolf lurking about the hallway, oblivious to the carnage around it. Either Vampire had killed off most of them, or they'd fled downstairs… As loathe as Conan was to admit it, either option worked for him at this point in time.

The third floor was completely devoid of life. They only encountered a small number of corpses at this level, and those were surprisingly intact. No missing parts and no gratuitous gore were noticeable, thankfully. Still, despite not finding evidence of anything lurking the halls, there was no way anyone planned on bringing out a flashlight anytime soon. Better to take a slow approach in the dark than to run into any _more_ trouble.

Finally, they'd made it to the fourth floor, with even less to see here than anywhere else. Nothing alive or dead blocked their passage through the halls. It was… a relief and a concern all in one. Hideki once more took the lead, guiding them into a room and pulling carefully on a cord. Kid _finally_ placed Conan back onto the floor as a ladder reaching to the ceiling fell down into the center of the room. A couple of frightened gasps from above were followed by a quick skittering of feet. Well, at least the kids were still in one piece.

"Hey," Kid quietly called up to them. "We're friends. We're here to rescue you." Somehow hearing him, the kids shuffled back to the ladder and poked their heads out. "Come on, we're all going to get out of here."

"R-really?" one asked in a quivering voice.

"We're gonna get out?" the other asked, slightly more composed, but not by much.

"Kai?" Mia's voice whispered. "Is that you?" So Hideki hadn't been lying after all… At least their getting through that miserable horror show hadn't been in vain.

"Yep!" the thief replied in much better cheer than Conan had thought possible. "We're okay. I don't think there are any wolves up here. Well, we didn't see any."

"You know that doesn't mean anything," Mia warned, helping the kids down before carefully making her own way down the ladder. The kids were approximately Conan's size, it seemed… Well, at least it'd be easier for Kid and the others to carry them if they had to.

"Mia…! I'm so glad you're okay...!" Hideki whispered, sounding truly happy despite their current location and circumstances.

"Hideki?" the girl asked in surprise. "You came back…? What kind of idiot are you…? Don't you realize you could've been killed?" Although there was admonishment in her tone, there was also a softness and gratitude that couldn't be missed.

"I… I… yeah… But I couldn't just leave you behind like that. You're… you mean a lot to me." So that's what it was…

"Come on, guys," Conan murmured. "If we wait too long, they might come back up here." The kids both slightly whimpered at the idea, and the diminutive detective slightly winced. If they made noise like that on the way out, things would turn really ugly really fast. "We need to be quiet, okay guys?" he said to the kids, trying to get them to keep calm. "If we don't make noise, they won't find us."

"…R-right," they stammered in unison, keeping close to each other and to Mia.

"Lead the way, Onii-chan." Kid made a slight grunt of agreement and headed to the door. There were probably far too many people to use his glider, assuming he even had it on him. Kid checked the hallways before making another small noise for them to follow him. Thankfully, no neo-werewolves had made it to the fourth floor. There weren't even any around the third, despite hitting another creaky step that immediately set everyone on-edge. If Conan _ever_ had to deal with creaky steps in the night after this, it'd probably trigger a panic attack or something along those lines…

By the time they'd reached the second floor, one of the kids had tripped over something on the floor and let out a surprised squeak that quickly turned into a terrified shriek when they'd realized what they'd tripped over was a severed head. Damn it! It was _that_ head, wasn't it?!

Howls, growls, and rushing footsteps raced to greet their cries. Composure abandoned, Kid cursed, roughly snatched Conan into his arms, and barked orders for Mia and Hideki to grab the kids and follow him as quickly as they could. They barreled down the halls, hoping against hope that they would make it out of this alive.

From the thief's arms, Conan could feel Kid's pulse thundering as they fled, or was it his own? From the darkness, he could make out the neo-werewolves quickly closing in on them from behind. "You might want to pick up the pace!"

"_I know!_" the thief snapped back, waiting for the other two to speed up before doing so himself. Deciding now would be an excellent time to see where they were going, Conan turned and flicked on his watch-light, much to the runners' gratitude. Of course, the downside also became quickly apparent when the first floor hall filled with the remainder of the neo-werewolves, forcing a change in directions. "I thought you said they were mostly dead!"

"How was I supposed to know they all got turned?!" Hideki exclaimed, panting behind Kid.

"Stop complaining and run, you idiots!" Mia snapped at them both.

The front door came into view and the faded light of night greeted them as Kid and Hideki tackled the door open and bolted outside. Hopefully the police wouldn't mistake them for the wolves… On second thought, looking back at the frenzied neo-werewolves that were hot on their heels, that wouldn't be a problem. "A little help here!" Kid yelled at the officers as he narrowly avoided becoming a chew toy by side-stepping a pair of jaws and clawed hands.

As quickly as the stunned officers could manage, they surrounded the escaped neo-werewolves and got the six escapees past their perimeter. Hideki, Mia, and the kids made their way to the front gate before stopping to breathe. Kid had gotten half-way to the gate before turning back and watching as the officers managed to systematically shut down the attack. Numbers really meant a lot in this kind of thing. It was clear, though, that the thief was exhausted. He was panting pretty loudly and had dropped to a crouch. Ready to act, should he need to, but still able to somewhat rest.

Megure and his men had thankfully been well-informed. They'd come wearing body armor, enabling them to shrug off any bites and to strike back. Though, Conan could've sworn there had been more than six chasing them back there… He wasn't going to complain. His mind was probably just playing tricks on him in their rush. Although saddening to watch, it was good that the officers were able to subdue, cuff, and muzzle the wolves, even if they didn't really look particularly pleased to do such to other humans.

When the last neo-werewolf was caught and contained, everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. Still, looking at them brought a stab of sympathy to Conan's heart. They all looked horrible. They were almost emaciated, had fingernails that had grown claw-like, matted hair, and skin and clothes saturated with blood… even their eyes looked feral. Although they weren't the monsters from the stories, they were the next closest thing to them. Hopping out of Kid's arms, Conan placed an arm around the thief's shoulders (well, as much as he could). Kid remained silent, and Conan felt his heart sink slightly for his friend's plight. The thought that anyone would be so arrogant as to cause this kind of suffering was infuriating. How dare that bastard go this far! And go figure, as soon as things turned sour, Futoshi had fled. He really hoped Hakuba would nail him down soon.

"C-careful!" Kid yelled, snapping Conan from his thoughts and regaining Megure's attention. "There's… there's something coming! Be careful!" The thief had started visibly trembling as he spoke, though what could throw him into such panic, Conan couldn't say… No. Vampire.

Sure enough, a vicious screeching howl split the air just moments before the maddened serial killer dashed out of the slaughterhouse. Before the officers could so much as pull out a weapon, Vampire was upon them, tackling Megure to the ground and slashing at the inspector's face and neck with what appeared to be knives. Megure let out a surprised cry of pain as the officers scrambled to get the madman off of him. Unlike the other wolves, Vampire didn't even attempt to bite and was so single-minded in his onslaught that even gunfire didn't move him.

"Sh-shit! We need to help him!" Conan yelled before he could even think through the situation, dashing into range and readying his belt and shoes. He'd managed to knock Vampire off of Megure, but that only turned the serial killer's focus to him.

"F-fucking _dammit!_" Kid swore, forcing himself to get up and help. When Vampire had gotten close enough, the thief tossed a card at him. Once it had landed on the ground near the madman, it burst in a small explosion, making Vampire let out a small cry that quickly turned into an enraged roar. "Son of a _bitch!_" Kid cried as he became Vampire's next target-of-choice.

"Damn it! Keep him in one spot!" Conan ordered, inflating another soccer ball and setting his shoe's power to maximum.

"I wish I _could!_" the thief retorted, just barely avoiding a slash to the jugular. "Find another way to _help me, damn it!_"

"I need a straight shot for that!" Conan barked back. Then the thought struck him. "Up against the wall!" Again, he counted his lucky stars that he was working with Kid on this one. The thief managed to evade most attacks and managed to get within a few meters of the edge of the slaughterhouse. In that moment, Conan launched the soccer ball at full-force, ricocheting it off of the wall and straight into Vampire, effectively grounding him. Kid took the moment to scurry back over to Conan's side… or at least, he tried to before Vampire snapped out of his daze and grabbed the thief's ankle.

Kid immediately started to struggle and yank at his leg, but apparently that wasn't enough. Even worse, Vampire managed to wrench backward and dragged the thief to his back before looming menacingly over him. If anyone had a right to piss themselves in this moment, it would definitely be Kid. The fact that he'd frozen up and started trembling spoke for miles.

Damn it! What could he do?! He'd managed _two _shots at Vampire and both had been high-powered! All they'd managed to do was stun him for a few seconds! But if he did nothing, then Kid was dead. Guaranteed.

Rushing over to Kid and Vampire alongside the about half of the officers, Conan flipped his watch open and aimed for the madman's neck. He darted Vampire in the neck, but there was no noticeable effect. Instead, he clawed at his neck in irritation and slashed at Kid when the thief got free from his grasp. Despite getting a pretty nasty gash to the stomach, the thief still pulled himself beyond the close-knit line of officers before letting out a groan and collapsing in a heap on the ground.

Before Vampire could act again, a gunshot rang out, bullet hitting the neo-werewolf in the shoulder. He hissed in pain and unsteadily got to his feet before turning to Takagi. The young officer slightly faltered under the serial killer's malice, but held his gun at-the-ready. He managed to land another shot in Vampire's leg, effectively felling the man and making him howl in rage.

"Vampire!" Conan yelled. "Akira!" Vampire turned and faced him, feral blue eyes meeting with Conan's for a brief, terrifying moment. Against his will, he'd slightly frozen up. And then he saw through the bestial gleam… He was in pain. He needed help, just like the rest of them. As calmly as he could manage, he walked over to Vampire, leaving enough room between them so that he'd not get the idea to attack.

"C-Conan-kun!" Takagi shouted, already raising his gun with a much less steady hand.

"Don't," Conan replied, doing his absolute best to stay calm. If he was shaking, it wasn't from nerves. Clearly not. There was no pressure… just a fifty-percent chance of brutal death standing in front of him… "I'm going to see if I can calm him down. Maybe… maybe he's not lost yet."

The serial killer considered him carefully, watching with curiosity for what felt like hours before slightly hunching over. Apparently the tranquilizer was working now that Vampire had calmed down… Conan was going to need to have a long conversation with Agasa about the efficacy of that tranquilizer… But, at least for the moment, they were safe.

Takagi ran over and made sure Conan was okay, checking him over for any serious injury, and still dumbfounded by what had just happened. Conan, on the other hand, felt his legs give out from under him and ended up sitting back in Takagi's grasp. That had been far too stressful…

For the second time that day, he and Kid had been brought back to Beika General. Inspector Megure was going to need quite a bit of time to recover, but he'd make it through. Kid's wounds weren't horribly severe, but that gash had certainly scared the hell out of Aoko. It had also been decided that Superintendent Matsumoto would have to deal with the neo-werewolves and the manhunt for Futoshi. Hakuba had managed to find some traces of the druggist, but hadn't quite been able to find him in such a short amount of time. Also put on priority was finding some kind of cure for the Werewolf drug's victims. As it stood, they were doing everything in their power to move progress along.

When Kid had finally woken up, he'd been surrounded by his friends and fussed over by Aoko and a woman that was probably the thief's mother. Nakamori and an older man were standing to the side, both looking incredibly relieved to see that Kid was okay.

Leaving Ran and Mouri at the door, Conan walked over to his wounded friend. "Glad to see you're okay."

"Ah, you know me… Can never quite count me out," Kid said with a slight shrug. "Give me about a week's rest and I'll be back to the usual tricks." That response warranted a slight smack from Aoko and a long-suffering sigh from Hakuba.

"Sounds good. Just don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

"No promises, Meitantei, no promises," he grinned and offered a two-fingered salute. "Thanks for saving my life," Kid said with warm sincerity.

"Thanks for saving mine," Conan returned the smile before heading out with his guardians. "See you later, Kaito-niichan!"

And so it was that after such a long struggle, Conan was finally able to return home to the Detective Agency. Honestly, a bit of normalcy and routine sounded amazing at the moment. Although he wouldn't admit it, he was also glad he'd be able to be with the Shounen Tanteidan again, though Haibara would likely get on his case about recklessness…

And sure, there were a lot of things he'd change if he ever got the chance… Hindsight was twenty-twenty, after all. There were going to be nightmares that would haunt him, no doubt about that. Yet, somehow, through it all, he'd persevered and would continue to. The nightmare was over. He'd live to see another day. There were still things that needed to be done, such as catching the druggist and finding the gem Kid had stolen and lost, and rest-assured, they would get done, but now was the time to rest. Now was the time to leave things to the police… and continue when he'd gotten his second wind.

* * *

_Thank you all so much for reading! I'll see you later for _The Inferno!


	12. Epilogue: A Special Kind of Chaos

Well, that was that, he thought, replacing his mask with a slight smirk taking residence over his features. The two brothers had done well to get as far as they had. If he had been truly honest, when he'd stumbled upon them out in the snow, he hadn't thought much of them. They'd been interesting, given their resolve to escape, even if it meant having nowhere to go, but he would never have thought that they would be the ones to finish Kichirou's operations… especially with the former magician being Patient Zero, and all that. Ah, life was certainly filled with surprises, now wasn't it?

Offering the slaughterhouse one final glance behind his crow's mask, he raised his jacket's hood and turned away. There wasn't anything left to accomplish in this terrible place. He'd already obtained what he'd wanted from the scientist… his means of offering salvation to a world torn by violence and hatred. Sure, the means by which this end would be accomplished were downright horrifying, but it would all pay off in the end. All it would take was one final crisis to finally end the pain humanity had brought upon itself. It was remarkable! To think that just one man could do so much good in such a short time! Maybe that was just how the men and women of science were. Maybe they could only work proficiently with a fire threatening their asses. The thought almost made him chuckle.

Yes, he thought as he walked off into the winter chill, this was how it was supposed to be. It was all fate. And if it weren't, then the gods would just have to strike him dead! He paused and looked to the gray sky, waiting for anything at all to happen, to prove him wrong. But, of course, nothing happened. No great retribution from heaven came to smite him. He was no sinner, after all. That was all Kichirou and Maeue. No, he was something far greater than them, and he knew it. They were little more than puppets; he was the puppet master. They had no power; he had all of it. That was just how the world worked out sometimes.

Slightly shaking his head with a wide grin that was hidden by his mask, he continued along his way. There was still so much to do. Still so much that needed put into place. And still more puppets to control. While he didn't relish the idea of it, those two brothers _would_ fit quite nicely into his plans, especially with the older of the two already infected. It wouldn't be too much longer before the harsh reality came crashing in, and the elder brother would likely either be killed or chased off. If he was killed, well, he'd be free from the misery that awaited him. If he lived, however… He'd be the next puppet. No one ever said life was fair. Still, he couldn't say he was made of stone. He _did_ pity the position Kai—or rather, Kaito—had fallen into. But, pity and remorse would only slow down progress, and _that_ was unacceptable.

A couple of passersby shot him baffled looks, but that wasn't all that unusual. Most people tended to look twice when the crow crossed their path. Though, just like all the others, they continued on their merry way. He was an anomaly, but one that required no investigation. Just a typical, random (in their eyes) sight. It was good that no one ever pried, though even if someone had, he wouldn't even need to lie to them. He obtained the mask from his father, and he wore it because he liked it. It held a certain symbolism for him. Sure, there were other reasons to wear the mask, but it wasn't like he'd ever need to elaborate further. Despite being generally untrustworthy, most people were too dull to go beyond outward appearances and basic motivations. Honestly, how had their kind even survived this long?

Slightly shaking his head, the crow forced himself forward. _He was right. There is no reason to stop. No reason to yield. I need to carry on… set humanity back a step to force a new age onto the world. Maybe then, we'll all find the peace that we've forsaken._ It was a goal worth sacrificing over… no matter what had to be sacrificed. How could a quest to bring peace to a troubled species be wrong, after all?

Snow drifted lazily from the sky, slowly adding another layer of purity over the dirtied patches that still covered the sidewalks and grass. Everything cycled like that, he thought, forcing back the shivers that threatened to overtake him. Whenever any creation got too soiled, it either vanished entirely or was purified by nature. Really, all he planned on doing was accelerating a perfectly natural process by taking a step back from the greed and hatred that had sullied humanity for far too long. He was an agent of nature, not anything more, not anything less.

Finally succumbing to the shivers, he stuck his hands inside of his pockets and made his way to a nearby café. At least it was warm inside. If he'd been a bit more careful, he would've brought a warmer coat. As he entered the door, he took off his mask and flashed a quick smile to the woman at the register who had shot him a confused look. She had every reason to be on her guard, though. Masks hid a lot of ugly intents and emotions. One did not simply murder or pillage without some form of disguise… not if they intended to last long, anyway.

Darkness and light both chased each other's tail, both trying and failing to consume the other. As long as one existed, the other would surely live on as well. Troubling as that thought was, it was also a pretty natural thing. Miracles and disasters were both natural, occurring whether humans wanted them or not. They could both be influenced, but neither could not be created or destroyed.

Stowing away his mask for later, he patiently ordered and waited for his drink. A bit of coffee would help chase off the remainder of the cold… at least until he was ready to move again. It was going to suck to get all the way back home in the snow and cold, but he'd invited that by not being prepared. It probably hadn't been the best of ideas to stick around and wait outside to witness the end of the slaughterhouse with his own eyes, but he'd wanted to be sure that Kichirou had been dealt with properly. And that brought up little Conan.

The boy had astonishingly powerful intuition, being able to stop Kichirou, even in the former magician's rage. He'd somehow been able to soothe that rage and completely quiet the man. The memory brought up a complex feeling, however, making the crow want to both smile with pride and scream in frustration. But, rather than draw further attention to himself, he settled on a disgruntled sigh as he absently watched the steam rise from his drink. He was going to need a way around Conan's intuition if he was going to use the boy's older brother… He'd need to do more than simply enrage Kaito as he had with Kichirou… Though what, he wasn't quite certain yet.

There was always the possibility that Kaito could spread the drug's effects to the boy, but if he still had reason by this point, it wasn't all that likely. He'd hoped Kaito would be contagious enough that simply letting them share food and drink would be enough, but apparently that wasn't the case. And he really didn't feel like killing anyone… least of all a small child that just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, that also meant it would be tough to find a way around the boy. Well, not tough. More like headache-inducing. It would probably be best to lie low and observe from afar. When he'd find an opening, he'd have to take it.

By the time he'd actually started drinking his coffee, it had started turning lukewarm, disappointingly enough. How long had he been lost in thought? Oh well… tepid coffee was still better than no coffee, and at least he was feeling warmer now.

"Did you hear?" a customer asked in a hushed excitement. It took the crow a moment before he realized the man had been speaking to him.

With a slight blink and cock of his head, he asked, "Did I hear what? Is something the matter?"

"One of my friends is an officer, you see. I heard they finally caught that awful Vampire guy!" the man grinned. Actually, come to think of it, the man was more around his late teens, probably. Maybe early twenties at the most. "Awesome news, am I right?"

"Ah," the crow stammered out, before pasting on a smile and nodding in agreement. "Yeah!" Well, it _was_ good that Kichirou was stopped before he raged completely out of control and wreaked havoc on the city… News really did travel quickly, he supposed.

The other man's smile only grew as he cheered, "I'm passing the news along so everyone knows it's safe again!"

"Ah, uh, thanks," the crow murmured, slightly fidgeting under the café man's cheerful demeanor. Honestly, since he could remember, he was typically ignored by others, well, aside from Father, of course. But, that wasn't saying much. He didn't really remember much of his life… Hadn't since he'd woken up after That Day. Apparently the phantom thief known as Kaitou Kid had killed him, or at least gotten awfully close. Personally, he didn't understand why. Everywhere he went and everyone he'd spoken to since then had told him Kid was a non-violent thief that gave back everything he stole. What made him so special to Kid that the thief would attempt to murder him…? He doubted he'd understand until he had Kid cornered, but that time would come eventually.

"Oi oi, are you okay?" the café man's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "You kind of look like you're lost in thought or something. Did something happen?"

"Er… not really. No. Sorry," the crow said, slightly scratching at his neck. "Was just thinking about a friend of mine that should probably hear the good news."

"True! Well, I'll leave you to it!" And with that, the café man was off to share the news with another patron, startling them into spilling their drink with his boisterous air. That guy really needed to calm down a bit… Yes, it was good news, but if he went around like that, he was bound to give someone a heart-attack… Still, it was nice to be noticed.

He yawned. Looking back on it all, it had been a long day of observation in the cold. Home was looking better and better. There was still a lot more to plan and a lot more to set up before he made his next move, anyway. It probably wouldn't hurt to wait for spring to come. Winter was dark and gloomy enough, and certainly looking to get worse as they got deeper into its icy claws. There'd be enough problems to deal with. No need to cause himself and everyone else even more headache by starting the revolution in the middle of a snowstorm.

Offering the café man one last fond glance, he tossed his cup into a trashcan and left, replacing his mask as he walked back off into the world of snow and cold. There were still many things he didn't know and many things yet to come… but he would be ready for them. And if the world wanted to remain in everlasting winter, well, he'd just be the spring sun, forcing the cold and snow to fade. So it was with his quest. He would bring about a new beginning, a new peace, a new hope. All in good time.

* * *

_Remember the new guy?_


End file.

Detective Conan/Case Closed, Angst, Hurt-Comfort