I'd like to thank one Storm980 for helping me come up with some of this.
Conan sat at the table writing a letter to Santa. He didn't believe and never had, but Ran thought he did and he had to keep up appearances as per the norm. He couldn't ask for what he really wanted for Christmas, apart from a couple mystery books. He knew that as soon as he handed the letter to Ran, she would supposedly mail it, but would actually just keep it and read the contents for gift ideas. It was disappointing to think about. He dishonestly penciled in that he really wanted a new Kamen Yaiba video game and finished the letter off quickly.
"Did you finish your letter, Conan-kun?" said Ran, who had been hanging up decorations.
"Here it is," Conan said, and handed her the envelope.
"Good job, I'll mail this off to Santa as soon as I can." She took it into another room and Conan sighed as soon as she was out of hearing range. It was really hard to keep being dishonest to everyone every day about everything. He knew what he really wanted, and that was to be himself.
The Detective Boys minus Ai stood in line at the mall to ask 'Santa' for what they wanted this Christmas.
"I'm gonna ask Santa for a new watch," said Mitsuhiko. "I want one that uses radio waves for accuracy."
"Why would you need something like that?" asked Conan.
"Maybe I'll use it if I get lost and don't know what time it is."
"Yeah right."
"Oh come on, Conan-kun! You know that with the Detective Boys, every day is a new adventure," said Genta.
"We haven't gotten a new case in weeks," said Conan.
"We can find adventure without clients," said Mitsuhiko. "It's easy."
Finally it was their turn to sit upon the lap of the hero of Christmas.
"And what do you want for Christmas, little boy?" the mall Santa asked.
"I want the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes," said Conan.
"Don't you think that's a little hard to read for someone your age?"
"I can do it," said Conan.
"Well," said Santa, "have you been good this year?"
"Yes."
"I hope you're telling the truth, otherwise you won't be getting those books," said Santa.
"I am," said Conan.
One of the elves looked suspiciously at Conan and wrote something down on a clipboard.
"All right, Conan-kun, it's time to go," said Ran.
Conan jumped off of the fake Santa's leg and held hands with Ran as they walked off, the Detective Boys already at the next destination: another comic shop. The day just could not get any longer.
Still, that elf's glint in their eye as he took pretend notes on Conan's goodness was suspicious. Conan had a hunch about them, even if it was only a person in an extravagant Christmas outfit. He felt like staying on guard.
In the comic shop, Conan glanced out of the window briefly while reading a serialized detective book, and saw the elf again. It was motioning toward him, asking him to come closer. Conan slipped out of the store to evade Ran's notice and found himself face to face with the elf.
"What is it?" asked Conan. "Did I forget something?"
The elf cleared his throat, then said, "I am a real elf of the highest circle, and I am here to request your aid in the place of Santa-sama."
"What?" said Conan. "You want me to what?"
The elf pulled a unrealistically long scroll from his pocket and unrolled it. "By jolly decree, Santa-sama wishes for your presence at his workshop. He wishes for you to do some detective work in his favor."
Conan wondered if maybe he was being pulled into some sort of publicity stunt for the mall's advertising.
"It's not a publicity stunt," said the elf.
"I didn't say that!" said Conan. Then he paused for a moment. "Wait, how did you know what I was thinking?"
"I told you that I'm an elf in Santa's workplace. We elves of high birth have telepathy, you know."
"That's ludicrous."
"Not as ludicrous as this!" The elf snapped its gloved fingers somehow, and in a burst of holiday magic, they were outside the mall on its roof, where there was a sleigh sitting in the snow and a couple of reindeer standing idly in front of it.
Conan didn't have time to register the sudden change in environment as the elf hoisted him aboard the elegantly decorated sleigh and took out an elaborate whip, cracking it above the nearest reindeer. The sleigh began to rise and the reindeer began to gallop, the jingle bells ringing clearly like in that one movie, you know, the Polar Express, right? Think of that. Sparkles flew behind the sleigh as it soared through the sky, heading directly north.
'I'm being kidnapped by one of Santa's elves,' thought Conan to himself.
"You can't really think that to yourself, you know," said the elf. "I can hear you. And this is a matter of absolute importance this Christmas, so if you want a chance at being on the Nice List for once, you might as well quell any angry thoughts you have."
Conan sighed and watched over the edge of the sleigh as Japan disappeared into the distance.
The sleigh landed in a square of a small town which was covered in garish holiday decor. Elves in elaborate fancy outfits walked around in furred boots. The elf escorted Conan out of the sleigh. Conan noticed that even though he was standing in about two feet of snow, he didn't feel cold or wet at all. Surely this was some sort of magic Christmas snow, or even worse, this was an elaborate dream sequence. Conan walked inside the biggest building there, a huge stone building of incomparable size, decorated with candy canes and gingerbread paneling and even a gumdrop doorbell, which the elf pushed. The bell played an electronic version of Jingle Bells. The door was opened, and there stood a living legend, Santa Claus himself.
"Santa-sama," gasped Conan.
"Please, call me Santa," said the jolly old soul. "None of that cold formality here. Please, come in. I'm sure you've had a long trip up here to the good old North Pole."
Conan nodded and walked inside a little awkwardly. The interior was grander than the exterior. A fire glowed in the middle of the grand hall. Wreaths were hung many feet above their heads, as well as hanging ornaments that dazzled in the firelight. A huge Christmas tree stood in the middle of the room, with thousands of presents underneath. Conan took it all in for a moment. Santa was real and magic, and he was here, being brought inside this grand building on some sort of mission. What could Santa possibly want his help with?
"I'm glad you asked," said Santa.
"So you can hear my thoughts, too?" said Conan.
"Indeed I can, I do have some elf blood in my family tree," said Santa. "A bit of an accident has occurred, and seeing as it's Christmas Eve, I can't put all my focus into it."
"You need me to investigate something?" Conan asked.
Santa laughed. "What else did you think I needed you for? You're a bright boy, aren't you, Kudou Shinichi?"
"How did you know who I was?"
"I'm magic, remember? Also, I do a little checking on public databases, no harm intended. An illegal name change doesn't mean you just disappear off my lists!"
"Forgive me for asking, but which list am I on?"
"I was going to put you on the Naughty List for being such a jerk to poor Mouri Ran, but I think you're guilty enough, and you've saved all those people's lives anyway, so you barely scraped onto the Nice List. Good work this year. I liked the tennis case a lot."
"Uh, thanks, Santa," said Conan. "So, want me to get started?"
"Wait, before you do, I have brought a couple of your friends to help! Of course, you can't just be left alone in this endeavor," said Santa. "I'm sure they can help you."
"Who are they?"
"Here they are now." Santa directed his hand towards one of the entrances to the grand hall.
Conan turned and looked as Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta entered the room, escorted by another elf.
"How did you guys get here?" Conan asked.
"We took the Polar Express," said Mitsuhiko. "First-class tickets."
"You should try their hot chocolate," said Genta. "It's better than the instant stuff."
"So, what happened that you need me to investigate?" said Conan.
"One of our elves had an unfortunate accident while sewing teddy bears," said Santa. "At least, that's what the co-workers said about it. I have a feeling that one of my helpers has been far too naughty with their intentions."
"Can you take me to that building, er, wherever you keep the elves?"
"Sure as snowflakes, I can," said Santa.
The jolliest man in the world led Conan and the Detective Boys to another part of the great interior labyrinth. In one room, a massive pile of teddy bears loomed over them. "This is it," said Santa.
"Where was the elf murdered?"
"Not so loud, some of the other elves can probably hear you," said Santa. "It's over there." He pointed to a white chalk outline of an elf. The drawing made it seem as if the elf had crumpled to the ground in a very horrific posture.
"What did the autopsy report- I mean, did the elf have any wounds?"
"She was stabbed in the leg with a pair of sewing scissors, but any elf won't die from mere scissors."
"Maybe she was poisoned," said Conan.
"Do you think it was cyanide?" said Mistuhiko.
"We can't confirm for sure unless we find some," said Conan. He went up to the scene of the crime and knelt down extremely close to the floorboards, looking for clues. He suddenly saw something. It was a pinch of sparkly dust.
"What's this material, Santa?" asked Conan. He attempted to scoop up some of the dust into a handkerchief and showed it to him.
Santa bent down and adjusted his glasses. "Well, that appears to be some magic sparkle dust. We use it in a lot of our toys so that they won't break. But we never put any in teddy bears - shipping regulations, you know. What would it be doing here?"
"Did she do anything apart from making teddy bears?"
"No, each elf works on one kind of toy in their entire life."
"Did she have a lover who worked on a different kind of toy?"
"No," said Santa, "but that's a good guess. Elves are immortal creatures whose only love is their work."
"All right, then," said Conan. "It's strange having to solve murders for another entire species."
"I know you can do it," said Santa. "You're the best detective I know. Plus, Japan is relatively closer to the North Pole than some other places."
"Okay, okay, do you think that this material could damage elves in any way if they accidentally ingested it?"
"My elves don't eat on the job," said Santa. "At least they shouldn't."
"Nevertheless, is this magic sparkle dust poisonous to elves?"
"Possibly," said Santa. "No elf has been curious enough to try it before."
Conan put his hand to his chin in deep thought. Then he looked over at Santa. "Hey, Santa, do you know who the friends of this elf were?"
"Sure I do, I know her three friends right off the bat." Santa rang for a servant elf and asked him to bring the three suspects right to the scene.
"What even is this?" asked a tall male elf wearing a shiny yellow outfit. "And who are you?"
"You're a suspect in the murder of Tinseltrousers," said Conan, "and my name is Edogawa Conan, detective."
Another younger male elf with a green outfit and a large mustache said, "But wasn't it an accident?"
"Everyone says that," said a third elf, who was female, had a tattoo of a reindeer on fire on her shoulder, and was wearing a blue outfit with no sleeves.
"This was definitely a murder," said Santa. "I've confirmed it. This was no mere workstation death. One of you three did it, according to Conan-kun, who I've hired particularly for this case."
"What are their names?" asked Conan.
"The one in yellow is Gummy Drop III, the one in green is Jingle Bojangles, and the one in blue is Snowflake."
Conan observed the physical actions of the three. Gummy was toeing at a crack in the floorboards. Jingle was twirling his mustache and looking at Santa. Snowflake was watching Conan who was about a foot shorter than the average elf. Conan decided that their habits weren't going to be any indication of who the culprit was. But perhaps their occupations would.
"Santa, where do these three elves work?"
"Gummy is in the candy taste testing business, Jingle Bojangles is a professional toy train builder, and Snowflake is the scissorsmaster right here in the teddy bear section."
"Wow, so Snowflake uses scissors a lot?" asked Ayumi.
"She's the one who cuts the fabric, yes," said Santa.
"I can't be conclusive yet, but that really puts you in suspicion," said Conan.
"I didn't do it!" said Snowflake. "There's no way I would ever hurt my best friend like that!"
"Slow down, lady. I don't know if you're the culprit or not. Someone may have tried to frame you."
"I really don't see why she shouldn't just go straight to elf jail in handcuffs," said Jingle.
"There is only one truth," said Mitsuhiko, "and we haven't figured out if that is the truth yet."
"Stop stealing my catchphrase," said Conan.
"Sorry."
Conan thought harder. "Now, Santa, do toy trains require magic sparkle dust for efficiency?"
"Indeed they do," said Santa with a hearty smile.
"I bet that Jingle Bojangles with the creepy mustache is the killer!" said Genta. "He accidentally left some dust there when he killed Tinseltrousers."
"I can see your point, but it's still not enough evidence," said Conan. "It's hard to pinpoint who did it when there's no body to inspect."
"At least you have a weapon," said Ayumi.
Then Conan had a visual flash of realization. "Wait, Santa," said Conan, "how did you know it was a wound from scissors?"
"I don't know if it was actually a scissors wound," said Santa. "But bloody scissors were found nearby, so I took it as an assumption."
"Perhaps the scissors weren't the weapon," said Conan.
"But if there was another weapon, what could it have been?"
"Maybe sewing needles," said Mitsuhiko.
"The wound was too big for that," said Santa.
"This is a tough case to crack," said Conan. He paced silently around the room.
"We can't wait much longer," said Snowflake. "We have toys to work on."
"Three elves won't make much of a difference for right now," said Santa. "Be patient."
Conan had stopped stock still from his pacing. Everyone turned to look at him.
"Hold on a second, here, Santa. I figured out who out of these three murdered this elf girl."
"Well, what do you think?" asked Santa.
"The murder was done nearly perfectly. They cleaned up pretty well, too. Someone stabbed this elf to death, but not with scissors."
"A candy cane!? But I thought they found a pair of sewing scissors!" said Jingle Bojangles.
"The scissors were planted on the scene to make it seem as if Snowflake, the scissorsmaster, had done it," said Conan, "when, in reality, the real weapon was a candy cane."
"But where's the candy cane now?" said Snowflake. "And how could you stab someone with a candy cane?"
"You can sharpen it using your tongue," said Conan.
"What kind of nonsense are you talking about?" said Gummy Drop III.
"I don't know, Gummy Drop III, it sounds like something that someone in your field would know how to do perfectly," said Conan. "You're a taster for Christmas candy, aren't you?"
"Well yeah, but why would I do anything like this? And why would I sharpen a candy cane, of all tools?"
"Because you could get rid of the evidence after you did the job."
"How?" asked Ayumi.
"You can eat a candy cane."
"That doesn't prove that I did it," said Gummy. "What do you take me for?"
"There was another piece of evidence that you used to frame someone else," said Conan. "The magic sparkle dust which you gently sprinkled on the floorboards near the body. You tried to make it look like Jingle Bojangles did it because he works in a section of Santa's workshop that uses the sparkle dust in their line of work, unlike the other two. You stole some to try and cover up your own tracks."
Gummy's straight expression broke.
"Okay, okay, I killed an elf," said Gummy. "What do you want from me? Can't you just leave me with my guilt? I loved Tinseltrousers, is that not enough? If I can't have her, then no one can!" he said. Gummy collapsed to the floor in a elven posture of grief and submission. Conan looked over him and sighed.
"You loved her, but elves can't love," said Conan. "Your forbidden interest in her caused you to kill her. To stop the intimate feelings you had for her. You couldn't have your work compete with that elf girl."
A couple of elves in shady sunglasses came over and took the culprit away.
"Thanks, Conan-kun, I couldn't have done it without you or the Detective Boys," said Santa.
"No problem."
"Now, what about your reward?"
"Oh, Santa, I don't really need a reward for this, it's all in a day's work."
"Listen here, Conan-kun, what exactly do you want for Christmas? I have a feeling it's not the newest Kamen Yaiba video game."
"What can I ask for?"
"Anything."
"Anything?" asked Conan. He suddenly realized that he really, really wanted something specific for Christmas.
"Well, what is it? I'm magic, you know. I can do anything."
Conan got close to Santa and whispered something into his ear.
"Can you turn me back to Kudo Shinichi, permanently?"
"Oh, most definitely," said Santa. His expression then turned a little darker. "But is that what you really want? Aren't the Organization's goons still looking for you?"
"I don't care," said Conan. "I can get around it."
"Good," said Santa. "I was planning on ending their little endeavors as a bonus to you."
"Really!?"
"Sure. Anything will do for someone who can help keep my workshop clean." Santa snapped his fingers (which were in some rather thick mittens!) and the room was enveloped in a burst of Christmas-y light. A light jingle which sounded suspiciously like the doorbell played.
Suddenly, Conan was Shinichi, standing before Santa and the Detective Boys in his regular blue suit, which he realized was identical to Conan's. He had never noticed that he owned a bigger suit that was exactly the same, which was kind of a ridiculous notion.
"That was fast," said Shinichi. "It didn't hurt, either..." He turned around and noticed that all three Detective Boys were staring at him, gaping.
"Ah," said Ayumi, "you're that detective we met at Tropical Land!"
"You were Conan?" asked Mitsuhiko.
"Sorry to deceive you like that," said Shinichi, "but I had to keep under cover."
"It's okay," said Mitsuhiko. "Also, that was really creepy."
"Yeah," said Genta. "Don't ever do that again."
"Now, now," said Santa, "Shinichi did his best in his disguise, and even if he had to keep it under wraps, he was still your best friend."
"That's true," said Ayumi.
"Also," Santa said, "if you ever need to be Conan again, all you have to do is say that name three times in a row, and to return to yourself, say your own first name three times."
"Why would I ever need to be Conan again?" said Shinichi.
"You never know when a body like that could come in handy," said Santa. "I think you already have an idea of that from all those cases you've had to deal with."
"Maybe that's true," said Shinichi.
"You could start by turning back to Conan so we can talk without having to look up at you," said Genta.
"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to test it," said Shinichi.
"That's the Christmas spirit, Shinichi-kun," said Santa. "Give these kids what they want."
Shinichi whispered Conan's name three times under his breath, and with another burst of gorgeous holiday lights and a chime of jingle bells, he was Conan again.
"This is getting a little hard on my perspective," said Conan. "I'm dizzy."
"You probably won't have to do that again for a while," said Santa. "We have some case filing to do."
"Aww man," said all of the Detective Boys.
By the time that the four detectives got back to Beika, it was late in the evening of Christmas Eve. Santa's sleigh was parked in an alleyway where no one would see it.
"Write us next year," said the Head Elf. "And don't forget to believe!"
"We will!" they said in unison as the sleigh flew off into the distance.
"I can't believe we got to see Santa!" said Genta. "He was so cool!"
"I always thought my parents were the ones leaving my presents, but I guess I was wrong," said Mitsuhiko. Conan nodded in agreement.
"So what are you going to do now, Conan-kun, since you can turn back to yourself?" asked Ayumi.
"I'm going to surprise Ran for Christmas tomorrow," said Conan. "At the Christmas party we're having."
"Wow, that's really romantic," said Mitsuhiko. "I can't wait."
"Whatever you do, do not tell Ran," said Conan. "This has to be a perfect surprise."
"All right," said the others. They separated to walk back to their houses. Conan walked down the streets of Beika and up the stairs of the Mouri Detective Agency. He was greeted by Ran waiting at the top of the stairwell.
"Where have you been all day!?" said Ran. "You left after our mall excursion and I was really worried!"
"Sorry, Ran-neechan," said Conan, "but I had to help someone with a case." It was the truth, after all.
"Next time, at least tell me before you run off. It's Christmas Eve, who knows what trouble you could have gotten into."
"Sorry."
Conan got ready for bed, trying really hard to not look excited as heck.
The Christmas party at the Mouri Detective Agency was going great. Several of the Metropolitan Police force were there, as well as Heiji, Eri (grudgingly), the Detective Boys, Agasa, and Sonoko.
"I've got something to tell everybody," said Conan. Everyone stared at him, which made him feel a little nervous, but he had to go through with it now. He whispered 'Shinichi' under his breath three times and once again, the room was filled with bright holiday lighting like what you'd hang on your roof combined with a smell not unlike the essence of Santa's favorite cologne. Suddenly, Shinichi was standing there as if he had been there the whole time. Everyone stared even harder.
"Where did Conan-kun go?" asked Ran, ignoring the fact that Shinichi had just appeared right there.
"I was Conan, don't you get it?" said Shinichi. "But now I'm back to normal, all thanks to Santa's Christmas magic."
"You were what!?" said everybody. Takagi spit out his drink.
"It's a long story," said Shinichi, "probably one that should be told over some hot chocolate."
While Shinichi was illustrating to his very shocked audience how he had saved everyone's lives multiple times, there came a knock at the detective agency's doors. "Now, if you'll pardon me, I'll get that," said Shinichi, who stood up from his seat.
When Shinichi was out of earshot, Takagi whispered to Sato, "I can't believe I didn't figure it out before."
"I did," said Shiratori.
Shinichi answered the door. Someone very tall and familiar stood there, boots caked with snow.
"Gin!?" said Shinichi.
"It's me," said Gin. He didn't look cold or murderous at all. He was holding his hat in front of him with a sheepish, apologetic grin on his face. "I'm sorry for, uh, killing you in the past."
"You didn't kill me, I'm right here," said Shinichi. "And what do you mean by that?"
"My heart's been warmed over," said Gin. "All it took was some Christmas magic and a pinch of magic sparkle dust. Santa has turned me to the side of good."
"What about the Organization?"
"We're a charity now," said Gin. "I brought presents, may I come in?"
It truly was a Christmas miracle, because not only was Gin not lying, he had brought everyone wonderful presents.
"I made that one myself," said Gin, seeing Shinichi hold up a Christmas sweater that was black with white snowflakes.
"Uh, thanks," said Shinichi.
"You went to Santa's workshop and solved a murder!?" said Heiji.
"It wasn't my decision to in the first place, but the reward was pretty great," said Shinichi. "I can even turn back if I say the magic words."
"That's creepy," said Heiji. "Why would you ever need to go back to Conan?"
"That's what I asked him," said Shinichi. "Then the Detective Boys asked if I would turn back into Conan temporarily so they could speak to me on their level. Santa did that probably for their sake or something. I really don't see the point unless I have to make some sort of daring escape through a ventilation system."
"Who knows, maybe you'll end up needing it," said Heiji. "I would want a crazy power like that if I could have it."
"Maybe if I chant your name three times, I'll turn into your doppelganger," said Shinichi.
"Okay, that's really creepy, don't ever even try."
"Magic isn't real," said Ai. "This makes no sense. Not a single ounce. I must be dreaming."
"Sorry, Ai-kun, but seeing is believing," said Agasa, who was wearing the amazing turtleneck sweater that Gin had made for him in a perfect size and drinking hot cocoa out of a mug. "Your hot cocoa is getting cold, you know."
"I'm not drinking out of anything he gives me," said Ai. The new mug that said "World's Best Sister" on it would shamefully go untouched that night.
"Wow, Shinichi, you're exactly what I wanted for Christmas," said Ran. "Santa-sama really does deliver!"
Wait, that meant…
"All this was for Ran's Christmas present, not mine!?"
Shinichi felt very betrayed. He fell to his knees dramatically and cursed his oversight of the most obvious trick he had ever been led into. Meanwhile, Santa flew away in his sled, laughing merrily and maybe overdoing it a little.