ARgggggghhhh... *pulls on hair* Still have half to a third to go on this and I can't find my notes and Kaito's mocking me and Saguru's not helping and we promised Candy-chan we'd work on this tonight so you're getting part of it now and we'll do more later. Okay? Okay.

TOTALLY RESERVING THE WRITE Right TO RE-WRITE THIS LATER. So there, Allie. Nyah.

+++

They looked up at the two story building, hands in their pockets with bland expressions on their faces to hide their nerves. They were back where they started, in Japan.

"Ready for the beginning of the end?" Kaito asked his partner. Saguru pushed his glasses higher on his face, the wind mussing his tea-blond hair. They were back in their original faces and styles of clothing, which felt strange after hiding their appearance for so long.

And, Kaito had to admit with a slight smirk, he'd missed this Saguru.

"Is that not a song?" Saguru mused. "'Every end is a new beginning? You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here'?"

Kaito grinned. "Well, we won't be here long anyway." They were in Beika, to pick something up. He lapsed into seriousness. "Saguru... You don't have to do this you know. You could go home... I can take care of it myself."

Saguru gave him a dark look in return. "I did not go traipsing across the bloody United States of America just to back out now. You'll not be free of me that easily. Deal with it."

"All right." Kaito breathed out a slightly shaky breath, loosely twining his fingers with Saguru's. Saguru curved his fingers, giving Kaito's hand a firm squeeze. They were in this together. Which was both a worry and a relief to Kaito. One one hand, Saguru would be right there, acting as support and back-up. On the other hand, if things did go south, he wouldn't have that polite fiction that Saguru might have made it out alive.

They'd been running for months now, there was no guarantee that this would change, if one was killed. The Black Organisation was notorious for leaving no loose ends at all.

"Ready?" Saguru inquired.

"As I'll ever be." Kaito smiled back. The released each other's hands, waltzing up to the front door of Beika-cho 2-22, right next door to a grand old Victorian-style house. They rang the doorbell at the modern looking house and waited for the answer.

A shout from inside met their ears, followed by the scuffling sound of someone large making their way to the doorway. A balding white-haired man opened the door. "Yes?

"Agasa-hakase?" Kaito smiled at the man. "Is Kudo in? We need to speak to Sherry."

"He... I don't know who you're talking about." Agasa frowned, attempting to shut the door in their faces. Kaito casually stuck his foot to block it. "You have the wrong house."

"He means Conan and Haibara." Saguru corrected, ruining Kaito's fun. "If you could tell them that Hakuba and Kuroba are here."

"It's okay, Hakase." Kudo's serious voice said as the small boy walked up, glaring darkly at them. "We know them."

"Shin... Shin'ichi!" Agasa frowned.

"It's quite urgent." Kaito added with a smile. Agasa grumbled, then opened the door. They stepped in, toeing off their shoes as the door was shut behind them. Saguru leaned over to drop a word in Agasa's ear, advising the inventor to run an errand while they talked. Agasa didn't like this, but after a nod from Kudo, he agreed, wandering off to buy milk.

"I thought you were dead." Kudo glared up at them. "The news had it that Hakuba was killed last April."

"Rumours of my demise were greatly exaggerated." Saguru said blandly. "Your mysterious men in dark clothing attempted to prevent my leaving the country and unfortunately killed someone in my stead. The Kaitou Kid and our friends in the FBI were most helpful in eventually accomplishing this."

"We've been on the run almost ever since." Kaito added. "A few months underground here, a few in the UK and a few across the States. Would you like to pull on our faces to make sure we're not in disguise?"

"No.That's fine." Kudo grumbled. "You've been busy." He added grudgingly.

"We're about to get busier." Kaito bounced. "We need to ask Haibara a question or two and then we'll get out of your hair."

"That I'll believe when I see." Kudo motioned them to follow him. "This way."

He lead them downstairs into what was obviously a work lab. Haibara was perched on a tall chair, typing away at a computer, keeping a wary eye on them in the reflection of her monitor.

Saguru however, had a different reaction. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking like he'd just been hit over the head. "Shi-chan?!" He questioned, his voice almost cracking on the last part of the word.

Kudo sputtered. "Shi... SHI-CHAN!?"

Haibara's reaction however, was much the same as Saguru's as she turned around to face them, her grey eyes wide and disbelieving. "Sa-kun?!"

"You are the same age you were when I last saw you!" Saguru exclaimed, walking over to the startled little blond girl. "What happened? You always said that you'd be taller than me!"

"I... I..."

"Where's Akemi-chan?" Saguru asked, looking around with a small eager smile on his face. "Is she around here?"

Haibara's eyes filled with tears that didn't fall. "She.. they... Akemi's -dead-!"

Saguru's face crumpled. "Oh... Shiho..." He knelt down, looking like he wanted to hug her but wasn't sure. She solved that by launching herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He hugged her back, the two of them grieving silently.

"Gin killed her." Kudo supplied. Kaito glanced at him, giving the blonds some privacy. "I arrived too late."

Kaito sighed, nodding. He knew that one all too well.

"Why didn't you contact me?" Saguru asked, his voice thick. "Or Uncle Dorian. We never heard. We would have come if you had called."

"I... I..." She hiccuped, burying her head against in his shoulder. "I thought you would hate me!"

Haibara Ai was the former Black Ops agent, Sherry. They'd just never made the connection from Sherry to Shiho before.

"She obviously don't know what Uncle Dorian does for a hobby." Kaito commented dryly, resisting the urge to hit his head against something.

"It wouldn't have mattered." Saguru muttered fiercely. "It -doesn't- matter."

Shiho clung to him, the only noises she made might have been sobs. Kaito scratched the back of his head with a sigh. Maybe now she could heal from her sister's death. It'd be interesting to see the sombre 'little' girl when she wasn't grieving all the time.

Sometimes all someone needed was the support from your family, somebody who knew.

"Shiho's mom is my Mum's sister, Aunt Elena." Saguru explained, more for Kudo's sake than Kaito's, not looking at them. "Cousin Shiho and Akemi disappeared after her death, we never found word of them afterwards."

Well, at least they knew now. Although that did put a slightly nasty spin on what had happened to Aunt Elena.

"The Black Ops forced her to work on the Apotoxin that shrunk us." Conan said quietly. "They used her sister's life as barter. Then they killed Akemi and Haibara escaped."

Saguru nodded. They'd both heard the story from Hattori.

"It was the only way I could think of to keep them from killing my precious nieces." A cool woman's voice purred. "Have them work for our little organisation."

Haibara went tense in Saguru's arms, her skin turning pale, almost grey. Kaito turned to find a long cool woman in a black dress standing in the doorway, holding a gun.

"Vermouth." Conan hissed.

Kaito silently cursed. He hadn't even heard her approach. Or had she gotten there before them? Dammit, so much for his danger sense...

Saguru gave his cousin a squeeze, then set her down on the floor. Haibara whimpered as he did so, clinging to him until he pulled away, walking towards Vermouth. "Auntie Sharon."

Kaito made a face and tried to wave him away. At his side, Kudo did the same, only with a much more panicked aura.

"Long time no see." Saguru commented as he kissed her cheek, then gave her a hug, not so coincidentally pinning her arms to her sides.

"You can't possibly think that I believe you're happy to see me." Vermouth commented dryly.

"It -has- been a long time since I have seen you." Saguru pointed out, equally as dry. "And-"

*pfft!*

"It gives Edogawa-kun a chance to hit you with sleeping dart." Saguru finished calmly, gently setting his aunt down on the floor. Of course, if Conan hadn't done it, Kaito had a rose full of sleeping gas up his sleeve, waiting just for her.

"Gods." Kaito muttered, running a hand down his face. "All my in-laws are insane."

"HA!" Kudo pointed at them victoriously. "I -knew- you were sleeping with the Kid!"

"Who ever said -I- was the Kid?!" Kaito demanded back, making a length of rope to tie up Vermouth appear with a flick of his hand. He knelt down and began tying Saguru's aunt up. Saguru knelt down and started helping.

"...Aunt Sharon?" Haibara asked from the other side of the room.

"Long story." Saguru commented, tossing the ends of the rope over to Kaito to tie off. "The short version being that our family isn't as sterling as most people think."

"What are you going to do with her?" Kudo asked, standing defensibly between the fallen Black Organisation member and Haibara.

"Simple." Kaito said, helping Saguru lift his aunt onto his back. He shot the miniature detective and scientist a grin. "Ever heard the phrase 'Take me to your leader'?"

The two midgets stared back, eyes the size of saucers.

"... Are you INSANE?!"

"That is a very distinct possibility." Kaito cheerfully agreed. "Anyway. We've got to fly. If we survive, which I truly hope we do, we will have to get back together again sometime for coffee or something."

"Shi-chan." Saguru said, turning towards his cousin. "Do me a favour please and contact Uncle Dorian. Kaito and I dropped off the radar a few months back and he is probably frantic. Let him know you are alright as well, okay? Ask him about his adventures with Uncle Klaus, you have nothing to be afraid of from him."

Haibara gave him a shaky nod. "Ah... okay."

Saguru grinned. "Take care. I will let you know how this goes, one way or another."

Kaito gave them a cheerful wave and tossed down a smoke bomb, the two of them quickly retreating up the stairs so their small party did not have a chance to grow any larger.

+++

"Why do I let you drive again?" Kaito asked, resting his head against the window from his seat in the back of Vermouth's car.

"I am a perfectly safe driver." Saguru informed him loftily as he parked the car.

"Yeah. That's the problem." The blond was just a little bit -too- safe, in Kaito's opinion. And too polite. It took forever to get from point A to point B because Saguru was always letting people turn in front of him.

"Better than always driving like one has the police on their trail." Saguru snarked back, putting the parking break on and pulling out the key.

Kaito sulked. "I don't drive like that." Much. Wasn't his fault that he had 'cop' and 'flee' irrevocably intertwined in his brain.

Vermouth's breathing shifted slightly, signalling a rise back to awareness. Her eyes didn't open and it slowed back down, the assassin feigning sleeping. "Good Morning Auntie Vermouth." Kaito said brightly.

She opened an unamused eye at them, before opening both eyes and sitting up. Kaito was privately impressed with her strength, considering they'd tied her from her shoulders to her wrists. "What do you want?"

"A possible cessation of hostilities." Saguru said blandly, turning around to face her.

"Which is why you knocked me out and tied me up." She said coldly.

"Nah." Kaito snapped his fingers and the ropes fell away. "The sleep gas and the tying up was primarily to get you away from the chibi."

Saguru nodded. "We do require your help however."

"I see." Vermouth rubbed her arms. "And a phone call wouldn't do?"

"Not if we don't know your number." Kaito shrugged. He probably could have figured something out, but they'd really rather get this done and over with -sooner- rather than later. "And you wouldn't have trusted us if we had."

But they had known that she was keeping an eye on the shrunken Kudo. And since they had entered the country on their own passports and names, red flags should have been going up all over the mysterious organisation. They'd been hoping that she'd be the one to find them and luck had smiled down at them.

"True." Vermouth sat back on the seat, a lounging noblewoman. "And what is it I can do for my charming young nephew?"

Saguru smiled back, recognising the dry snark for what it was. "As my partner here so wittily put it, if you would be so kind as to take us to your leader."

She stared at them, eyes wide in surprise. "Are you -mad-?" Vermouth finally demanded.

"I keep getting asked that." Kaito mused, before nodding in all seriousness. "He isn't. We're pretty sure I am."

"Which is why I would like to run this plan past you and get your opinion on it before we proceed." Saguru sighed, running a hand through his hair. "If not, Auntie, we'll get out here and think of something else."

Vermouth raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "All right. I can listen."

They told her.

She stared. "I take it back. You're both mad."

"But will you help us?" Saguru pressed.

"I think I'm mad."

Kaito grinned. "I'll take that as a yes."

+++
+++

It was almost amazing how easy it was. They didn't know where the head of the Black Organisation was. They still did not know who the head of the Black Organisation was.

But Vermouth did. A quick phone call later and they were on their way, Vermouth driving the car while Kaito and Saguru sat quietly in the back. Kaito fought hard against fidgeting, his brain spinning in overdrive. Was he doing the right thing?

There was the very real possibility that they wouldn't walk out of this at all. There was a slim possibility that this would work. It was hare-brained, it was mad-cap... it was the way his mind had been working lately.

Since their trip from Seacouver through California, things had gotten... weird. Weird enough that he knew that he should have been freaking out three way from Sunday, but hadn't. Volcanos, giant monsters, people visiting through Saguru's body... this was not normal. Even for him. But it -felt- normal and he was having a hard time figuring his way between what his brain said and what his gut said.

But if worse came to worse, he was going to at least teleport Saguru out. Teleporting was still a messy trick, and one that Saguru had made him promise to hold in reserve. Not only for the element of surprise, but because of how badly it wiped Kaito out. If he got Saguru out, he probably wouldn't get out.

The funny thing was knowing that if Saguru had the opportunity to let Kaito get away, even at the cost of his own freedom, Saguru would probably do it. Because they were both the stupid, noble sort when it came to other people. Or at least, he was now.

He wondered if he was going to die before his twentieth birthday. Kaito poked that thought for a moment. It didn't feel entirely right. Had he accomplished everything he'd hoped to do? Found the person who shot Oyaji, found Pandora, had a steady boyfriend, got to travel, see the world. Yeah, pretty much. Although he'd always expected it to be a steady -girlfriend-, but he wasn't going to be terribly fussy about that part.

Although he would have maybe liked to have gotten laid before he died, but mind-numbing terror really wasn't conductive to a romantic atmosphere. And they'd promised they'd do that -after- they solved this mess.

Hmmm.... Live, and get laid. Okay, that was definitely a point towards the surviving category.

"We're here." Vermouth announced, pausing in front of a large ornate gate. A large ornate gate with the kanji for 'Kurogane', spelt with the word for 'Iron', on a plaque on the sides blocked their way. Past the gates was a manicured lawn the size of a small country with a fancy sprawling mansion in the distance that looked to roughly be the size of an enclosed city.

Wow. And to think he'd been expecting something like a military bunker, not opulence.

"Last chance to flee while you can." Vermouth said wearily.

"Thank you." Saguru said quietly. "But no."

"What he said." Kaito smiled. Well, at least they knew where the head of the Black Organisation was based out of. That was something at least.

"It's your death." Vermouth shrugged, typing a code into the front gate. There was a slight pause, then the gates swung open for them. Vermouth's car moved smoothly forward, the gate closing behind them. Kaito looked around, noticing the funny patches of grass on the lawn that probably hid either access tunnels or weaponry. In the distance, swarms of people in black suits swarmed around. The closer they got, the whiter Vermouth's knuckles turned where she gripped the steering wheel.

Kaito caught Saguru's eye and tilted his head towards Saguru's aunt. Saguru's eyes widened fractionally when he saw what Kaito had seen.

"Thank you for bringing us." Saguru said quietly. "I know it was a lot to ask."

"Consider it a belated Christmas present." Vermouth waved it off. "You can get me something if you survive."

"Somehow I don't think roses are going to cover this." Kaito grinned. She snickered, pulling up front of the grand house. Several people, all dressed in black suits stepped forward to meet them. Kaito noticed more on the rooftops and in the gardens. It was opulence, but it was also a fortress.

"I trust you to be creative." Vermouth assured him, pulling the keys out of the ignition and stepping out of the car. Saguru and Kaito followed, immediately flanked by the mass of men in black. "Hope you're ready boys, because we're going straight to the head honcho themselves." She informed them, walking up the stairs at a brisk clip. They scrambled to follow.

"... We're not being searched for weapons?" Kaito queried, eyeing the bulges under the coats of the very large men who followed them.

"Did you bring any?" Vermouth asked, her tone crisp and businesslike.

"Not really." Saguru confessed. "No."

"There you go." She tossed them a smirk. "You're not the type to assassinate someone, either of you. Otherwise you wouldn't be here right now."

"We could have changed." Kaito mused outloud, briefly walking backwards so he could stare up at the tall white and gilt ceilings, looking like something out of a old historic palace, or a museum. They would be perfect for a trapeze set up. "Y'know, running for our lives for several months, nearly getting killed on a frequent basis, it does things to your head."

Vermouth made a sound suspiciously like a snicker. "And the reason you came in the front gate instead of through disguise?"

Kaito shrugged. "You were probably expecting it." That had been one of the reasons behind his learning disguise from Yukiko-san, so they would think he was going to sneak in. "We needed you because we couldn't exactly walk up to the front gate and shout 'Parley', now could we?" Kind of needed to know where the place was to in order to do that. They'd had a rough idea, but it had been no where near here.

Saguru nudged him with an elbow as he spun to backwards again, still staring up at the ceiling. He stared at Saguru for a moment, then turned to walk forward again, eyeing the windows and the walls. Nice, tall windows, with lovely long dark red velvet curtains and security people standing on either side of each one. That certainly ruined the view. How rude.

"Here we are." Vermouth said, pausing infront of a large ivory coloured door with gold gilt. Someone seemed fond of that colour combination. Two men in black, dressed like butlers instead of thugs in business suits standing in front of it. They reached forward and opened the door for them. Kaito craned his neck upwards again, realising that the doors appeared to go halfway up to the trapeze height ceilings. Wow. Those were big doors. He wondered how much they weighed.

And then they were stepping through the doorway and the elegant ivory-and-gold colour theme continued. Which included the two blond women standing in the room. One was about Vermouth's age, dressed in black with a broach at her throat. The other about their age, with a black hairband in her blond hair. Mother and daughter from the looks of it. They also looked a bit like Vermouth.

"Moroha." The older woman turned to the younger one with a slight nod, clearly dismissing her.

Moroha nodded, giving a slight bow before she turned and walked out, eyeing them as she passed with thinly veiled curiosity. Kaito smiled and waved, causing her to giggle. Saguru rolled his eyes.

The door shut behind her, leaving them in the room with just Vermouth and the other blond woman. She smirked a them, crossing her arms under her chest. "Rather bold of you, coming here."

Saguru was a a stiff tense presence next to him. Obviously, this wasn't going as the detective had hoped. Although he was probably wondering if this was a farce, they had both been expecting to face off against a man, not an elegantly dressed woman.

"Well." Kaito shrugged. "Running away wasn't working. Figured trying something new couldn't hurt."

The woman stared at them for a minute before laughing. It wasn't exactly a nice laugh, but it wasn't entirely cruel either. But that was only by the barest of margins, like a slip of a mask was all that was keeping the harshness at bay.

The laughter stopped as soon as it had started, the woman giving them a cold smirk. "And now that you've gone to all this trouble to find me, why should I not give the order to kill you now?" She asked in haughty mocking tones. "A tracking device? A bomb? Some information squirrelled away that will be automatically forwarded to the authorities if you don't send the signal in a certain amount of time?"

"That's actually a really good idea." Kaito mused. He should have thought of that. It made perfect sense.

"Kaito!" Saguru hissed, looking at him frantically.

Kaito blinked. "What?"

Saguru's palm met Saguru's forehead with a resounding smack. This had been Kaito's plan to get them here. "You know." Saguru muttered plaintively. "I had hoped to get all the way with my boyfriend before I died. And then I remembered he is a lunatic with a death wish."

Well, it was nice to know that they were on the same track. Now all they had to do was make it out past the next several minutes to accomplish that goal together. He'd had a plan around here somewhere. What they needed now was something random, something unexpected, something-

Madam Lady in Black snickered. "And see, that's precisely why I left Dorian with your Grandfather when I left him." She said, a bitter twist to her voice.

-Yup, that would do it.

"Ah... bwah?" Saguru blinked, staring at her with his mouth partially open. Kaito not-so subtly kicked him in the ankle and the detective closed his jaw with a snap.

-To Be Effing Continued.-