For PoirotCafe's Themed Competition #14- Supernatural
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Warnings: Language, ghosts, horror, gore, and headcanon with Kaito's panic attacks.
Quick history: The Palace in the story is the Baron Empain Palace- Rumored to be haunted by the Baron, his sister, and his daughter. The palace has a tower that was rumored to have a revolving mechanism so the Baron could see the sun from any point of the day.
Enjoy
"Yuki-chan, that's the place right?"
The dying leaves crumbled under the feet of pedestrians, blown away into the air by the crisp wind.
"Yeah, it's been in renovation since spring. I heard the owner added some new attractions."
"Really? It was scary enough last year!"
"Right? But apparently, he got inspired again. It looks even creepier now…"
"Well, he must've gotten it upgraded because of the heist!"
"Heist? You mean-"
The note.
The note had finally arrived.
Just like they said it would.
He paced the concrete ground, gravel from the remnants of construction scraped against his shoes.
It's been months, but it was finally here.
He suddenly paused, head tilted. Listening.
With a jerky motion, he headed up the stairs, his steps echoing in the quiet tower.
His hands caressed the glass case, making it cloudy with his warm breath.
He had listened to their words. He had followed their guidance. The attraction had been renovated. It's a splitting image of the original. Not one brick out of place.
Everything would go well.
He unlocked the glass and grasped the gem in his shaking fingers.
Sounds filled the occupied room. His body shook with excitement as he absorbed every last word they whispered.
"Yes….of course." He nodded dumbly, fascinated by their wisdom.
His hands slid into his pockets, fumbling about until he pulled out a pocketknife.
He flicked it open and-
"Baretto-san?"
He slid the knife back into his pocket.
"Ah Nakamori-keibu. What seems to be the problem?" He turned to face the inspector with a smile. The voices hissed and retreated momentarily.
"We were meaning to ask you about the preparations for tonight." The man smiled back and entered the room.
"What about?"
"Well, you said you won't be turning off the props tonight right? I'm afraid that'll become a hindrance for the task force if-"
"But it would be a hindrance to Kid as well, would it not?" He interrupted, placing the gem back on the stand.
Nakamori paused and thought over the owner's words.
"That would….make sense." He begrudgingly agreed, slightly skeptical.
"My haunted houses are top notch, inspector. I don't mean to brag but I believe even that pesky thief would be terrified of my Baron's Palace." He chuckled and clapped a hand on the inspector's shoulders.
"Y-yes, it's quite the architecture. Exactly like the real thing."
"I'm glad you think so!" He beamed at the inspector, glad he had some knowledge of the structure. "I went to Egypt about two years ago and got inspired to create an attraction based on the Empain Palace. But it wasn't until I acquired this gem did I realize, why not recreate the entire thing?" And the gem had taught him so much.
"R-right."
"Don't worry too much, inspector. Besides, I think you gentlemen are strong enough to not scream at a sight of a ghost, right?" The voices fleetingly rose in a bout of snickers.
"I'll be down in a moment with the blueprints of the palace for your task force." He gestured to the paint can near the window. "I want to make a few finishing touches first."
"A-as you wish, Baretto-san." Nakamori agreed and left briskly. As soon as he walked out, he shivered at the warmth. He hadn't realized how cold and dead that tower room felt.
Baretto watched the inspector leave before heading to the paint can. With a sneer, he kicked it over and pulled out his knife again.
He barely flinched as he slid the blade over his palm, watching the red liquid gather on his hand.
His hand moved awkwardly over the wooden floor, his blood forming patterns and sigils. The voices chattered eagerly.
"This…will do?" He meekly questioned after pulling his hand away from the ground. He stood up, wrapping a handkerchief around the wound. The voices reassured him.
He let out a long exhale and got the jewel.
After a hesitant pause, he placed the gem at the center of the bloody circle.
The voices screeched and he nearly collapsed at the sheer intensity of their excitement. The dust on the ground twisted up into the air and wind blew from seemingly nowhere.
The voices materialized into shapes before him and he gaped in awe.
Their empty eyes stared into his and he felt the heavy intimidation of their presence.
He bowed his head low and they disappeared, filling the palace walls with their very essence.
Giggles and eventually sinister laughs escaped the man's lips. He placed the gem back on display before heading down the stairs.
Everything would go well.
"Scared, Conan-kun?" Hakuba said teasingly.
"I can see your legs shaking, Hakuba-niichan." The child grinned and elbowed the Brit.
"You must be seeing things, I am perfectly calm." He laughed and watched a task force member squeak when a mummy popped out from a window with a scream. One rookie angrily yelled 'this is nothing like the plans from earlier!'.
"It's pretty different from normal heists." Conan brushed a skeleton's hand off his shoulder with a sigh.
"That is true." Hakuba agreed and took a look around. "I am impressed by the amount of detail Baretto-san put into its construction. It really does look like the real thing."
"Have you been to the real one, Hakuba-niichan?"
"I spent a summer in Egypt when I did an abroad program in London. But I never entered Empain Palace. It's abandoned and restricted."
"Restricted?"
"It's deserted and closed off to the public. Though, there are rumors of the occasional trespassers and satanic worshipers."
"Huh…how do you suppose Baretto-san got a good enough look at the insides to build this replica?" Conan whispered softly, eyes narrowed at the meticulous details on the wall.
"That's the puzzling part, Conan-kun. Two years ago when this attraction was built, while the outer appearance was very similar, the insides looked completely different. There was no attempt to make it look historically close to interior of the Empain Palace." Hakuba followed the boy's gaze and touched the wall gently.
"But after Baretto-san got hold of this gem, he suddenly had these big plans for renovation. It surprised a lot of people. But now…." He glanced around again. "It looks exactly like the Palace. It's as if he had the blueprints to the actual place. As if he could see it."
"As if someone was telling him how to build it." Conan frowned, ignoring the giant spider that fell next to him.
The lights flickered off, the only light coming from the glow of monster props.
Kid's magical voice was heard over the sounds of pre-recorded moans and wails.
The heist had started.
/
Baretto pressed himself against the wall as task force members rushed by, screaming each time an animate prop sprung from its hiding place.
He saw the white figure jump through the tower window and grinned.
It was time.
/
The thief snickered as he peered out the tower window. What entertainment! He hadn't even set up any of his own traps. Yet, the task force was already floundering around without his intervention. The detectives were nowhere in sight either. Probably freaking out and hugging each other like scaredy cats~-He thought with a giggle.
The task force members in the tower room slept dreamlessly with the help of his sleeping gas. The jewel sat in the unprotected case, practically asking him to steal it.
"Don't mind if I do~" He hummed and walked towards the display stand. A zombie cat sprung up from the floor and he chuckled, patting its grotesque head. The owner shouldn't have left all the props on. He wasn't scared of them at all; instead, it served as the most amusing trap of all for the task force.
He jimmied the lock open with relatively ease, shivering slightly at how cold the tower felt. He glanced around; perhaps this room was the highlight of the haunted house attraction. It did feel like the creepiest one in the palace; especially the red patterns and symbols strewn across the floor.
His gloved fingers ghosted over the gem and he shuddered. Why was it getting colder?
He grasped the gem quickly and turned to leave with a shaky breath.
And he came face to face with a woman.
! His breathing hitched and he jumped back on instinct.
Right, haunted house. This stuff was normal. He let out an airy laugh and stared at the motionless translucent figure. He made a move to walk around the prop.
The woman was in front of him again.
He paused in his step with a frown. This prop was really…advanced. Was it a projector? Perhaps a motion-sensor? He could easily walk through it but…
He shivered and saw his breaths come out as white puffs. It was getting too cold for his taste.
He backed away and saw the window out of the corner of his eye.
The thief made a beeline for the window, feeling slightly silly for running away from a projected image.
He felt the window pane closing in before he even saw it. He barely backed away in time, the tip of his nose stinging from getting glanced.
BAM
The window was closed, leaving the room in darkness.
His fingers reached up to pull at the window handles. They didn't budge.
Snide snickers circled around him, taunting his predicament,
What the hell? He whipped around in alarm.
The woman was gone.
Kid exhaled shakily and ran a hand through his bangs with an unconvincing laugh.
"Just…just a prop." He berated himself for getting spooking by a mere gimmick. He was impressed by the elaborate setup of the scare. Even he was slightly put off by it.
"Alright then." The thief turned around to try the window again, the mechanism that was used to jam the window was probably off now.
The woman's face was inches from his.
"Ah-"He stumbled back with a yelp, nearly tripping over a slumbering task force member.
Her skin was waxy and thin, blue veins easily seen. Her pupils contracted so much; they were mere dots in the whites of her eyes. He realized there was no projector in the room.
He backed up again and suddenly there was no ground.
The floor crumbled beneath his feet and he fell fast.
His mind raced as his heart pounded. It was too dark, he couldn't see anything. It was too narrow, he couldn't use his glider. His lungs were empty and he couldn't make a sound. You can't do anything. You're helpless. His panicked mind told him.
He tucked his arms under his neck and braced himself.
SLAM
The impact rattled his body and his mind was empty of thoughts for nearly a minute. He groaned and curled in on himself, feeling the sting on his muscles and bones.
"Shit…" He forced himself to sit up, hissing at the throbbing. He would have bruises tomorrow.
He blinked, noticing the candles that lit up the room he was in.
The thief nearly jumped when he saw himself. Mirrors-his breathing trembled. There was dozens of them. Surrounding him in the circular cavity.
The Chamber of Rosary. He rose to his feet shakily. The only room in the Palace that the Baron Empain refused to let anyone into. The basement rooms where...
The pink chamber was even colder than the tower. He looked up at the small opening where he had fallen from. It was only about three stories. He needed to get out of here before anyone found the hole.
Doing some quick calculations, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his grappling hook. With luck, he could get the hook to go far enough for him to climb back up. Hopefully, all the officers were still asleep.
A candle went out with a hiss and his breath quicken. He had to move faster.
He aimed the gun as another candle went dark.
Kid shot the gun and watched it sail its course towards the hole he fell through. Finally-he allowed himself a small smile-looks like his luck hadn't run out after al-
A loud screech made him flinch, nearly letting go of the gun. He looked up, eyes going wide as he threw himself to the side.
The hook came hurtling down, impaling itself into the spot he had stood a mere second ago.
He forced himself to take deep breaths, refusing to let his heart rate speed up. Cold sweat beaded on his skin as he coughed to rid himself of feeling choked.
He watched anxiously as the candles continued going out in rapid succession.
He got to his feet in a hurry, glancing around for any exits.
He focused in on a section of the wall. An abnormal spot.
He ran for the circular-shaped rock on the wall to his left, and pressed down on it.
The wall began to move and he heard the creaking of gears. An elevator, Kid realized in relief. It was a bit pedestrian of him to take an elevator of all things to escape. But at this point, he was glad there was such an option.
Baretto needed to fix the structuring of his haunted house. This was too dangerous for customers.
The walls opened up to reveal an antique-looking elevator with metal grates. The doors opened with an ominous ding.
A head of hair lolled into view as the doors fully opened.
!
He stumbled back again at the sight of the woman lying face down in the open elevator.
Miriam Empain- One trembling gloved hand reached up to cover his mouth-the mentally unstable daughter who mysteriously died in front of the servant's elevator.
The arms twitched and he stepped back further. Harsh whispers surrounded him.
Everything hurts.
He looked up and saw that only one candle remained lit. The floor began to move under his feet and he wobbled, trying maintain balance. The revolving tower rumors.
I'm not okay
There's a loud chirping that filled his ears. Beady red eyes blinked at him in unison. No matter where the revolving chamber turned, all he could see were eyes staring down at him.
But no one listens.
Bats.
Not daddy…
The air was disturbed as they began to flap their leathery wings and dive. He heard a few loud cracks in midst the invading storm of animals, and he squinted.
He doesn't care.
Bodies.
Lifeless bodies falling from thin air. Dead women who all looked the same. Necks at irregular angles, bones poking through white skin. His gag reflex awoke and he coughed, turning away with nausea.
Not auntie
Helena- the Baron's sister; fell off the balcony and broke her dainty neck. The revolving tower stopped moving when she took her last breath.
But you do!
The spinning abruptly stopped and the thief gritted his teeth and pressed himself against the furthest wall away from the elevator. He lifted his arms in front of his eyes to ward off any incoming bats. His head still spun and his stomach lurched.
You listened!
Something wet landed on his trembling hand, and he glanced down at the blotted maroon droplet on his glove.
You cared!
More wet sounds reached his ears, and he felt something cold and damp slide down his nape. He swallowed painfully and reached back to wipe his neck.
My best friend.
Warm crimson streaks were smeared on his glove when he pulled back.
I didn't need daddy.
He pushed away and looked at the wall, his breath hitched as his nose twitched at the unpleasant smell of copper.
Blood dripped down the mirrors, dyeing the glass red.
On the night of the Baron's death, all the mirrors in the Chamber of Rosary cried blood.
A bat knocked over the last candle.
The room turned pitch black.
Will you be my friend? The voice whispered into his ear and he let out a cry of surprise and stumbled. He managed to trip over his own feet in a flurry of panic, and hit the ground hard.
He looked up and faintly saw his red-dyed reflection in the glass.
This isn't real, this can't be real. It's all special effects, it's not-
Kaito
His reflection blurred and to his horror, it morphed in front of his very eyes.
"N-no-"He choked, and placed a hand on the wet glass, clinging to it dearly,
Kuroba Toichi-no eyes in his empty eye sockets, covered in blood- touched his hand. And he felt it. It felt so god damn real.
Come here.
He almost listened.
"Kid!" He stopped himself from leaning into the mirror and looked up.
The detectives. They were upstairs.
They found him.
The mirror screeched and his father's face scrunched up hideously. There was fire behind his father. It was burning him up.
"N-no, dad, no no-don't, not again-"He watched, unblinking in utter terror as his father burned away into ashes right before his eyes.
Again.
He scrambled to his feet and started slamming his fists against every inch of the walls. He couldn't take it. No poker face ever prepared him for his father's death.
Not the first. Definitely the second time.
Out out out out out OUT!
A stone depressed as his fist impacted it. The walls began to tremble and slide open. A dark tunnel appeared before him.
The woman replaced his father's burnt corpse in the mirror. With a smile, her rotting hands opened up, reaching towards him through the glass.
He ran.
Conan and Hakuba looked at each other with worry in their eyes.
They could hear Kid's panicked yells from the hole. They had never heard the thief sound so desperate and terrified before.
"There must be another entrance." Conan barked and started running down the stairs.
"Where the hell is Baretto?" Hakuba cursed and ran as well. Hold on Kuroba, we're coming.
His bloodied hands worked to wipe away his tears furiously. With each shuddered breath, he found it harder and harder to catch his breath.
Kaito
He moved to press the palms of his hands against his ears hard.
He didn't want to hear it.
Why didn't you save me?
He ran into a wall-he couldn't see straight anymore-and slowly collapsed against it.
He tried to made a protest-I tried I did try to save you dad I swear I did- but no sounds could escape his throat. His chest throbbed, the skin around it scorching, and he couldn't calm down.
Everything was closing in on him, there was nowhere to run. It was just like ten years ago. He was all alone in his room, crawling towards the door. He couldn't breathe and call for help. No one came for him. Not his father. Because his father was dead.
You can save me Kaito
He looked up from the ground and saw his father with a hand outstretched towards him, a warm smile on his face. Just like old times.
I….can? His vision was starting to blur with tears again as he sat up.
Take my hand, Kaito.
He reached out.
The two detectives could hear Kid running frantically from within the walls.
"Kid! Kid!" Conan pounded against the wall with a quiet curse.
"Kid! Can you hear us? Hey! Damn it." Hakuba hissed. While he couldn't exactly hear what Kid was saying, he could hear the way the thief stumbled into the walls every so often. He was panicking.
They came to a stop in a corner of a hallway when they realized Kid had stopped too.
"Kid?" Hakuba slammed the wall with his fist.
Conan snarled and reached down for his sneakers.
"Don't, you might hurt him. Worse case, you'll bring down the building." Hakuba stopped the boy with a frown and pounded on the wall again.
"Damn it, well what do we do then?" Conan hissed, dropping his child-like pretense.
The Brit ran a hand through his hair and breathed out heavily.
"This is a haunted house, right? There must be some control panels, or a door or something-"
The two jumped when a ghoul popped out of the wall with a pre-recorded scream.
"Bloody fuck-"Hakuba growled and grabbed the rubber prop, wrenching it out of its hiding place.
"Hakuba!" Conan pointed at the square hole that was still sparking with electricity.
"An opening." The teen grunted and began to carefully pull out wires and wooden panels. The hole was cleared out and only a stone wall remained. He shared a look with Conan before pushing at the rock hard.
The stone creaked before giving away and falling.
"Kid!" They crawled through immediately.
Conan fell out first, eyes wide.
"Get away from him!" He twirled the dial and pressed his belt. He kicked the ball straight at the translucent figure in front of the thief.
The ball went through and the figure dispersed into smoke.
"N-no, dad where-"Kid whimpered out, his arm still outstretched as he looked around the tunnel desperately.
"Kid, it's us. Calm down." Hakuba ran straight for the thief, surveying him all over. He was covered in red-was he hurt? Could he walk? His eyes were blown wide and dilated, his breathing labored.
"Deep breaths, Kuroba. Please, shh…" He whispered Kid's name softly and made soothing sounds, not once touching him.
"He's dead, he got killed again, I couldn't save him, I was useless. Again. I can't do anything- the mirror- the bats-elevator-Empain-"He started sputtering words with no sense of cohesion. He gripped Hakuba's arm tightly, as if it were the only thing grounding him.
The detective didn't try to shake him out of it. Instead, he slowly counted numbers in a steady pace. After a moment, Kid attempted to match his breathing to the rhythm.
"H-Hakuba?" He finally managed to gasp out after a moment.
"Yes, it's me." The Brit sighed and slowly placed a hand on top of the thief's.
"Tantei…kun?" The thief looked around Hakuba and Conan nodded.
"What happened, Kid?" He asked sharply-yet his tone wasn't harsh.
"T-they aren't props, tantei-kun. It's….something more." Kid swallowed and stared at the wisps of smoke that were starting to reassemble.
"When did it start?" Hakuba asked, pushing the thief behind him protectively. It was almost unbelievable. Ghosts, the supernatural. But...He glanced back at the trembling thief. Ghost or not, they had done something unforgivable.
"When….when…" He flinched as his chest throbbed again. He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out the gem. It pulsed with a bright red glow.
"When…I took it."
The voices screech and the smoke compressed to form the image of a woman.
"We've got to get back to the tower!" Conan yelled and pushed Kid towards the hole in the wall. They began to sprint.
"Go go go!" Hakuba climbed through after Kid and grabbed Conan's hand, pulling him through as well.
They stumbled towards the tower, up the staircase and into the room.
"Put the jewel back!" Hakuba ordered and Kid slammed the gem back into the open glass case.
The voices abruptly stopped, There was a silence, breached only by their harsh breathing.
"D-did they stop?" Hakuba looked around, glancing out the window.
"I think?" Conan glared at the gem, breathing labored.
The door slammed shut.
"Shit."
They backed away slowly as three figures appeared and slowly walked towards them.
Kid looked down when the floor sizzled beneath him.
"Hakuba, Conan." He called harshly, gesturing to the ground.
"Is that…a magic circle?" Hakuba muttered.
"Do you think it was used to…?" Conan backed up some more, looking at the patterns.
The thief hesitantly stepped on a symbol and smeared it with his foot.
The voices exploded into screams and the three figures started running towards them.
"Destroy it, now!" Hakuba hissed as the ghostly woman grabbed him by the throat, throwing him to the ground.
"Kid, now!" Conan ran from the girl, leading her on a small chase around the display case.
Kid hissed and started to smear the blood patterns frantically. The Baron was a meter away from him. He wouldn't make it.
"Shit-"He grunted as a force threw him against the wall, his equipment falling from his pockets. He watched Hakuba struggle against the hands around his neck and Conan crawl away from the force pushing him to the ground.
"Shit!" He cursed again and slammed a hand to the ground.
His fist landed on an item.
His lighter.
!
He rolled away from the Baron's outstretched hands and grabbed the lighter and fluid.
He popped the cap off and took a swig.
The Baron screeched and lunged.
He flicked the lighter switch and spit.
The circle went up in flames.
The three figures wailed and thrashed, their skin burning and bones melting. Within a minute, all traces were gone. The circle and symbols were reduced to charred wood.
…
"Kid?" Hakuba coughed and rubbed his throat, making his way over to the thief. Conan picked himself off the floor and staggered over.
"Are you guys okay?" Kid whispered, letting out a breathless laugh. He grimaced at the taste in his mouth. He shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself, the tremors wouldn't stop.
"Somehow. Do you think that did the job?" Hakuba stared at the destroyed floor.
"It should've. If not, Baretto-san's got some explaining to do." Conan frowned.
Screams were heard outside the tower and they peered out in alarm, relaxing a moment later.
"Looks like Nakamori-keibu's still trying to run from that mummy." Conan let out a snicker, watching the rest of the task force struggle with the props.
"Seems like it." Hakuba sighed with relief. "You should probably run now while you have the chance, Kid." Hakuba turned to look back at the thief and trailed off with an uneasy look in his eyes.
Kid was gone.
"I wondered why the grand opening got delayed." Aoko hummed as she walked down the crowded street.
"A little birdie told me that some repairs had to be made after a certain pesky dove's heist." Akako smiled and Kaito glared.
"Of course it would be Kid's fault." Aoko scowled and Hakuba laughed.
"I'm sure the repairs did the place some good, Aoko-kun." It seemed that the magic circle had forced the spirits to momentarily retreat and lose their influence over the owner of the Haunted Attractions. The man had been confused, slightly horrified and wary of the gem. The jewel had been taken to a church, awaiting the expertise of an exorcist and has remained there for the past week.
"No matter what gets fixed, Ahouko's still gonna scream like a baby." Kaito muttered.
"What was that, BaKaito!?"
"Look, Nakamori-san it's our turn!" Akako announced happily, pointing at the entrance.
"We'll see who's the baby, Kaito!" Aoko stuck out her tongue and took Akako's hand in hers with a small blush.
Hakuba began to walk in after them but paused when he realized Kaito had stopped moving. Glancing back, he looked down to see the slight tremble in the magician's hands.
/
"You didn't have to stay with me, you know." Kaito looked at the ground, sipping his cup of hot chocolate. They watched the line to the Palace get progressively longer from their seat at the cafe across the street.
"Nonsense, it's fine." Hakuba shook his head and sipped from his cup as well.
"I….just didn't feel up to going in there." Again. "...T-that's all...it's not like I'm scared...or anything.." He defended weakly.
Hakuba didn't speak, choosing to watch the other teen's frame-which shook ever so slightly.
He grasped Kaito's cold hand.
"It's okay." He sipped some more hot chocolate and squeezed his hand tightly. He smiled when he felt a warm squeeze in return.
I'll protect you.
Thanks for reading, folks! I've been seeking validation lately on my writing so reviews/critique would be nice and appreciated.