AN: May the 4th - HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHINICHI! Oh and also, Sherlock and James fell off the Reichenbach Falls on this day, meh. ;)

Hey! Another new story, I know. Not even finished my previous ones...but bad habits are hard to break :/ Anyway, here you go!

No idea why I started this story, but the plot just wouldn't leave my mind, so I wrote it down! Also, I'm kind of interested myself, to see where this will lead...

Let me know how you liked it!

Enjoy~

P.S. - For those interested to know the meanings behind the names of the new characters, check out the GLOSSARY at the end of the chapter!

.

"Dialogues"

'Thoughts'

.

Note: Not canon. Or anything remotely related. Complete AU. Also, first chapter may have some OC's, but they'll all disappear after that. Then, only canon characters. I promise! Just give it a try!

Also, there are no pairings for now. May have some later - perhaps depending on what the reviewers want.

Chapter 1

Earth Year: 1940, A.D. Theone Year: Uncountable, Limitless

…

"Sir," a young woman, with blond pigtails that seemed to defy gravity, spoke up, "the ambassador from Earth has returned. It seems a new crime syndicate has arisen, wanting to gain immortality."

The chairman sighed, "It's always Earth, isn't it? Those humans evolved too fast, always in search of greater power as the years go by."

"Cut them some slack," A messy haired, indigo eyed member drawled, "It's been two centuries since anyone went after eternal life. Besides, they're going to fail and give up sooner than later."

"No, they're not, Kaito." A new voice spoke up.

Everyone eyed the man who'd just entered the meeting room. Very similar in features to 'Kaito', he had slightly neater hair and a lighter shade of eye colour. But as similar they were in appearance, as contradictory was their personality.

"Shinichi," Kaito, Head of Magical Research, dipped his head in acknowledgment, "You've returned from Earth, I assume?"

The chairman cleared his throat and Kaito turned silent, letting him take over. The chairman repeated the question and Shinichi answered.

"Yes, my investigation concurred with what Earth's ambassador reported. They're truly looking for immortality. However, it seems the ambassador had missed out a crucial point – we've been betrayed."

His bold statement brought forth incredulous gasps.

"Are you aware of the severity of your accusation?" A stern woman asked him sharply.

"Oh, please, Zakiya," Kaito said in an equally sharp voice, "Despite his less endearing traits, Shinichi does always tell the truth. We can count on that."

"Aren't you defending him quite ferociously?" Zakiya, Head of Gemmology and Mineralogy, snapped back.

Before more of them could get involved into the argument, the chairman thumped the table, "Silence!" Upon receiving it, he continued, "Shinichi, why don't you elaborate?"

The Head of the Investigation, Shinichi of Galaxy Nine, took his own seat and began his tale.

"I personally followed up on what the Earth's ambassador reported, and upon arriving on Earth, I realised that the organisation seemed to be involved in the search for a mysterious jewel 'Pandora'."

"Nonsense!" the blond with pigtails, Hala, Head of Intelligence, cried out, "How could they have heard of Pandora?"

"I did tell you we've been betrayed," Shinichi pointed out.

"But they seemed to have gotten one thing wrong," Kaito narrowed his eyes, "Pandora is not a jewel, it is an organisation."

"An organisation that holds the secret to eternal life, nonetheless," Shinichi pointed out, "Besides, their take on the jewel poses a problem for us, either way."

"You're not making much sense," Zakiya said acerbically, "Get to the point."

"If I had no interruptions –"

The chairman sighed. Some days, he wished he didn't have this position. Having to sort out squabbles between all the heads of departments made him feel more like a baby-sitter than the all-powerful head of a powerful organisation, PANDORA.

Standing for Paranormal Activities and Nexus of Dual Occult Research and Advancement, PANDORA had been formed…er…too long ago to be measured in any units of time known to any galaxy; the organisation was what maintained order among the immortals and maintained peace between galaxies.

And yes, immortal beings did exist. As did magic. And all supernatural stuff that had been recorded and documented.

And now, countless of millions of years after the first immortal had been created – yes, created, as they were all born mortal – they still had no clue as to exactly what had caused the change. Just that mere contact with a particular mineral found on a desolated planet 'Theone' caused a reaction within their bodies, turning them ageless. And while they could be harmed, injured and killed, they did not age.

This was clearly seen in the last Great War of Galaxies, 15,890 years ago where they'd lost two hundred immortals. Quite a small number considering the loss Galaxy Seven, Galaxy Four and Galaxy Eleven sustained, which couldn't even be measured in trillions; but considering the immortals were mostly a peaceful society, who existed to maintain peace, two hundred was a huge number. They hadn't even been involved till things got too out of hand!

Ah, returning to the subject at matter.

So, Theone contained that special mineral that turned people immortal. To study this further, the first immortals had built up a base on Theone and started organisation PANDORA.

The galaxy containing the planet had imploded about two hundred billion years ago, but Theone had escaped that tragic fate. Turning into a comet, fuelled by unknown energy, it started traveling through galaxies, jumping through stable wormholes, sometimes appearing within sight of certain planets, sometimes not.

Those planets that did see Theone as it circled its now infinitely huge orbit, gave it different names. Some planets revolved faster, at some, time was an inconsequential matter; while one strange planet seemed to be inhabited by users that harnessed a strange energy called 'Magick'. Depending upon which galaxy it was passing through, the planet's travel speed increased or decreased. Sometimes, the addition of a new immortal, from different planets or galaxies, seemed to strangely affect the planet, slowing or speeding it and at times causing it to come to a total standstill.

Life seemed self-sufficient on Theone. Needing no specific dietary consumption like dwellers of certain planets or exposure to sunlight (like a certain planet that housed faeries) for survival; all immortals that stepped onto Theone seemed to live as if their previous bodily requirements were of no consequence. It was as if their bodies adjusted to sustain themselves on Theone.

And if, for any reason, some of them visited another planet, one that was not originally theirs, their body simply adapted to maintain itself. They underwent no physical change, only biological. It was truly a conundrum.

The oddest case had been when Theone had passed by a large planet completely shrouded in darkness, with only a small star to provide it light. Most of the beings there had adapted to the dark atmosphere, with pale skin and blood shot eyes. So exempted from darkness they were, that when the star did shine its light on them, it brought forth extreme chemical reactions on them – at best burns and at worst disintegration. For gaining the nutrition that the light provided, as it was essential for their well-being, they feasted on the juices of plants that grew in light.

A couple of mortal residents had joined Theone, adding to their numbers, and found out they could go without their 'special nutritional juices'. But upon descending upon Earth, they found the Sun's glare to be even more damning than the star of their own planet.

Even though they were immortal, it did not mean they were invulnerable. To make up for the lack of nutrition the light could provide but they couldn't harness, they feasted on blood – it was the only component available on Earth similar to the plant extracts of their native planet – and they were named as Vampires.

Really, Earth had a very creative naming sense. They'd even named their own galaxy! The Milky Way was Galaxy Fourteen to them, but Earth dwellers took much pride in the name, so the immortals complied and referred to it as such.

The Milky Way was not the only galaxy to have been named, incidentally. When you had more than a hundred galaxies, each containing more than a thousand planets and innumerable stars, one did not go naming them. So, while Theone's residents called it by numerical representations, they did honour galaxies that did appoint a name to it.

Each galaxy did like to feel special and came up with creative names like the Earth had. Also, considering that Earth was truly the only planet evolved far enough to be coherent, it made sense that the name a single planet had bestowed its galaxy was accepted so easily. Most planets belonging to other galaxies would often get into arguments as to which was the best name to give the galaxy – a debate that would span years and years and never come to an end. Those galaxies remained nameless.

And speaking of nameless galaxies –

"Chairman? Chairman! Shiloh!"

Shiloh, the chairman, brought himself out of his musings to see that the council had settled down and Shinichi seemed ready to explain again.

"Ah, yes, continue,"

Shinichi nodded at him, "As I was saying, Sharon of Galaxy Nine has been living on Earth since four thousand years. It has been a rather sudden decision of hers to have joined the very organisation that is after immortality."

"Are you telling us," Latifah, Head of Health and Development, a girl with the appearance of a twelve year old, spoke, "That Sharon betrayed us? Sharon? I – I can't believe it!"

"You must." Shinichi insisted, his face stoic.

"Well, Sharon and Shinichi have always been close," Raynor, Head of Research, mused, "It makes no sense that he'd lie to us. Not that Shinichi would ever say anything but the truth," the man hastily added at Shinichi's glare, "belonging to the illustrious planet, Elisin!"

Elisin, a planet in Galaxy Nine, was well known for its nobility. It was perhaps the single most unique planet in all galaxies, where the word 'dishonesty' was obsolete. That was also why Shinichi was uncontested for his position as Head of Investigation. At least everyone could be guaranteed that his reports contained nothing but the truth.

And Sharon, who came from the same galaxy as Shinichi but from a different planet, had always been rather close to him. They'd regarded each other as family, as most beings coming from the same galaxy do. So, Shinichi deliberately lying or pinning a false blame on Sharon was out of the question.

"So, why did she tell those mortals about us?" Hala asked,

"She fell in love." Shinichi's answered succinctly.

Silence. Absolute silence.

"What." Kaito was the first to regain control, "What the hell? If she fell in love, she could have just requested we make that one man immortal! Telling a whole group of people? Where's the sense in that?"

Zakiya, unusually, was in agreement with Kaito, "True, we would have granted one mortal with immortality if he meant so much to her – her actions make no sense."

"The mortal doesn't wish to come to Theone, even if he does wish to be immortal," Shinichi responded dryly, "and before you say that stepping onto Theone is the only way to grant immortality, let me complete my sentence. Sharon's… lover… wishes to rule Earth's underworld. He's got no interest in coming to Theone and settling here."

"Does her lover know what we truly are? What Theone is?"

Shinichi shook his head, "No, even Sharon knows better than to tell someone about Theone's secrets. But, she did tell him about the jewel – the jewel that cries a tear when the volley comet passes by."

Now, firstly, there was no such thing as the 'volley comet'. That was just the name Earth had given Theone. And while Earth dwellers believed that the comet passed by once in 10,000 years, it was actually random. Theone travelled at its own pace and could only be slightly influenced by them. Imbue enough energy and the planet seemed to go faster. Extract enough energy out of it and it seemed to slow down.

And the jewel. The jewel was another unexplained part that they were researching. From what they understood from millennia of research, every planet had a particular rock or mineral that seemed to resonate at the same frequency Theone did.

Holding up the "jewel" to the moon, or any other large light energy source, at the time when Theone made its orbit, seemed to make it come to a stand-still. At such times, even if all the varied beings from various galaxies concentrated their energy into Theone, it would not move.

The jewel basically acted as a bridge. Fix the jewel to a stand. Focus a light energy on it. Wait till the resonance occurs. Step into the connection formed between the jewel and Theone – and voila! Instant teleportation! Or in clearer terms, the connection; usually a colourful beam of light; basically acted as 'gravity' and anything that passed through it got pulled towards Theone. And the moment any being entered Theone, they turned immortal.

"Well, that's simple then, isn't it?" Kaito shrugged, "Let's just concentrate enough magic into Theone now, go past Earth and then slow down. Come half a century, the guy won't even be alive!"

"Not so simple," Shinichi disputed, "Sharon's given some of her blood to be tested on. The organisation's trying to artificially recreate Theone's immortality."

Raynor snorted, "We've been researching the mineral, our blood, Theone's flora and fauna for millennia! And if we've not come to any conclusion, I don't think those Earth dwellers will be able to do it in one lifespan."

"Ah," Shiloh interrupted, "but you forget. We've carried out all tests and experiments on Theone. Not on any other planet. Who knows? Earth might have some chemicals that could actually be able to reproduce its effect!"

Latifah frowned, "We dared not to bring any mineral out of Theone because of accidently turning a whole planet immortal. What Sharon is giving them is her blood, not the actual source of immortality. I must agree with the chairman, Earth doesn't have to worry about any repercussions if the experiment fails. They might actually be able to mimic Theone's effect. And if not permanently, they could do it long enough till they find their version of the jewel."

"An action must be taken then," Veer, Head of Military, proclaimed, "We could always go and end them all, all those who know about the jewel's legend."

"No," Shinichi refused, "this organisation is too deeply entrenched into society. Who knows how many people are aware of it?"

"You could always read their minds and tell us," Zakiya suggested snidely.

Kaito scowled, "It takes him a lot of focus and energy to read minds and it's not something Shinichi can do on a whim."

"I'm not reading every single mind there is!" Shinichi said at the same time, "Besides, even I might miss some out."

"Complete destruction?" Hala put forth questioningly.

"No," Shiloh refused, "we might risk complete exposure to Earth dwellers then. Do remember, the organisation is deeply entrenched in society. Their sudden and complete disappearance will raise questions and they may link it to something supernatural. To contain that…"

"How about we just turn an Earth dweller immortal?" Twyla, Head of Strategy and Artillery, said, "I'm sure Veer has at least one spaceship ready to go. We could bring back one Earth dweller, tell them what's needed to know, send them back to care of the problem,"

"And would you trust some no name Earth dweller to carry out this mission so readily?" Kaito asked her in wonder.

Twyla paused, "No. Then why doesn't the great Kaito himself suggest a course of action?"

Kaito narrowed his eyes, "You know what, I think I will,"

"Whoa!" Hala exclaimed, "Hold on a sec, Kaito. You're not going to suggest what I think you are, are you?"

Kaito raised an eyebrow, "I've no idea what you're thinking of, but I was suggesting we step onto Earth and end that no good organisation for ourselves."

"I assume you mean it differently to how you phrased it," Shiloh said, "considering I just explained that we're not going to be sending missionaries to destroy that investigation."

"Oh he does," Hala moaned in despair.

Kaito smirked.

Shinichi's eyes widened, "What! You can't be serious!"

"Stop reading my mind!" Kaito hissed at him.

"I wasn't," Shinichi replied, affronted, "But Hala's reaction says it all."

Ignored Kaito's muttered apology, Shinichi continued, speaking to the council at large, "He's suggesting we go in as mortals – grow up amongst them and lead them in their fight against the organisation."

Shiloh considered that, "Hmm, that is a good course of action."

"We can smuggle them in as infants," Raynor suggested, eyes gleaming with hope.

"Yeah, it will be easy to find a few stillborn children and replace them with some of us!" Veer agreed enthusiastically.

"Wait!" Latifah protested, "I haven't even given my agreement! And, besides, don't you remember the last time we did this – Project Kwantina?"

The council grew silent at her words.

Project Kwantina. Galaxy Nineteen, planet Kwantina. A similar situation as of Earth's had arisen and they had decided it was best to de-age a couple of immortals who could pass off as Kwantina dwellers and let them take care of the problem. Unfortunately, as their bodies had naturally grown older, slowly reversing the magic that had de-aged them, to their original age when they'd been turned immortal, instincts learned as residents of Theone had become harder to ignore.

Within five years, the immortals had been recognised as something unnatural and had been killed. Latifah – a shifter who could physically change her appearance by aging or de-aging her body – had been the one to change them. And after that one time, she'd always been reluctant to use her powers on anyone else.

"That had been because those agents couldn't keep up the act as pre-schoolers!" Kaito protested, "Their forty year old mentalities couldn't act as a child! The idea was a good one though!"

"Do you know how much trouble my department had to face?" Hala interrupted, "Talking and apologising with Kwantina's council, ambassadors in a flurry! And Kwantina had specifically asked for our help too! Only for us to botch it up!"

"Well," Shinichi said slowly, "There's still a way to do it correctly this time,"

"Elaborate," Shiloh said, sending a stern glance at Latifah who was ready to protest.

"We can supress their memories," Shinichi explained, much to the council's confusion, "Well, whomever we send to Earth will have to live and grow up as Earth dwellers, right? If we supress their immortal memories, they can literally grow up as Earth dwellers! And when they've grown up enough, we can remove the suppression so they know what their mission is."

"It…has merit," Kolos, Head of Occult, murmured, "A time delayed memory suppression that would automatically wear off after a while. That would let the agents learn the Earth dwellers' way of living, allowing them to blend in."

"I agree," Kaito concurred, "So, Latifah, will you do it?"

"Okay," Latifah replied grudgingly.

"But who will be sent?" Raynor asked, "Veer is the only one here originally from Earth."

"There are a couple of prior Earth dwellers in my division," Latifah suggested.

"No," Shinichi shook his head, "Healers will not be capable of such a mission."

"Since it was your suggestion mainly, why not the both of you go?" Zakiya smirked, "Eh, Shinichi? Kaito? Elisin and Lene dwellers are quite similar to Earth's humans, aren't they?"

Ignoring both, Kaito and Shinichi's, protests, Shiloh gave it some thought, "Yes, that makes sense. We'll have your deputies fill in your positions while you're gone, but the both of you have enough experience and knowledge to do this right."

Latifah looked over to them critically, "I think even their new-born selves could pass off as human babies."

"Don't I get a say in it?" Kaito asked, annoyed.

Shiloh looked over to him, "Kaito, you're the Head of Magical Research and Shinichi is Head of Investigation. Surely you can see what a good combination of talents this would be?"

Kaito sighed. Yes, that was certainly true. Even Shinichi could see sense in that.

Elisin, Shinichi's mortal planet, had a unique power among its species – mind reading. It hardly took any focus and all beings on Elisin could do it. This was one of the major reasons why no one ever bothered lying, lies could be easily caught. Of course, the morality was also a reason and most Elisin dwellers grew up speaking only the truth because it was the noble and honest thing to do.

While Shinichi's powers had brought a lot of discomfort among the other immortals in the beginning due to his lack of control in managing it, Shinichi had gradually learned to use his powers conciously. It had been quite messy at first when he began answering to people's thoughts without realising and now they'd learned to count on Shinichi's morals that he'd never read their minds without permission. It didn't stop some of them, like Zakiya, from making snide comments about it though.

And coupling his mind reading ability with his inborn intelligence, Shinichi was a perfect agent to send to Earth. Also, he was familiar with Sharon and her abilities. That knowledge would be useful –

"Wait!" Shinichi said, "What about Sharon? Won't she recognise us if we ever meet up?"

"That's a possibility," Kaito agreed, "Does she know about Project Kwantina?"

"No," Hala shook her head, "Sharon was mostly an ambassador for her own planet back then; she wasn't present on Theone when we decided about Project Kwantina."

"She does know about shifters though," Latifah pointed out, "So she may realise that you're Kaito and Shinichi, but let's be realistic. She hasn't seen you in 4000 years. Living day in and day out on Earth, she was bound to have met similar looking individuals."

"Yes," Kaito hummed thoughtfully, "It's not like Theone – a mass of different species from different planets that we're all so different in physical characteristics."

"Which is why I never understood how you two look so near identical," Raynor commented wryly, gazing at Shinichi and Kaito, "when you are not only from different planets, but also different galaxies!"

Kaito shrugged, having no answer to that. No one ever knew why, really.

Kaito, from Galaxy Twelve, planet Lene, was a Magick user. All Lene dwellers were able to harness Magick, which basically meant a mild manipulation of the nature, illusions and some odd tricks. Then there were few individuals who could go further beyond the basics. Turning oneself or others invisible, scrying the future, conjuring objects, magical healing, use of Magick in battle in the form of spells, etc.

It was obvious why Kaito was a good choice to be sent to Earth, apart from their physical similarities to humans.

And that did happen. Sometimes, some planets' species would very closely resemble each other physically – not biologically, no, only physically. Still, physical similarity aside, it was quite disconcerting to see someone who could practically be your twin!

"So, if we're all in agreement," Shiloh began, "we'll appoint Kaito and Shinichi as the agents for this mission." He glared at them sternly, "Do remember what is at cost here. If you fail, it would likely mean the exposure of our secrets to a whole criminal organisation of Earth, leading to immortal crime lords. You must completely eliminate this organisation, or at least stop their pursuit of immortality."

"What about Sharon?" Shinichi asked softly.

"She's betrayed us," Zakiya snapped, "I say we eliminate her as well!"

"Surely not!" Shinichi exclaimed, "We can bring her back here and –"

"And what?" Zakiya asked, "Put her on house arrest? Tell her what her stupidity nearly cost us?"

"She's just –"

"In love? Blinded by emotions? She's bored!" Zakiya declared, "That's what it is! She got tired of maintaining peace and order, took a vacation on Earth, found a power hungry mortal that could spice things up –"

"Nonsense!" Shinichi scowled at her accusations, "You weren't the one who investigated her! You didn't read her mind! She genuinely loves the man – and she doesn't want him to pursue immortality so boldly, spreading it among the whole organisation! She wants him to stop and give up and come to Theone with us, but he doesn't want that, so –"

"So she's loyally staying by his side, even if it means betraying us –"

"Zakiya," Kaito spoke quietly, "That's enough."

Kaito's words stopped the heated argument. Shiloh looked at him gratefully, before continuing.

"We eliminate her," Shiloh declared, gazing at Shinichi in slight compassion but remained firm in his decision, who nodded at the chairman's words, "unless Earth's investigative department takes action before you both can. We'll be sending you to an appropriate time period, letting you grow up as mortals. Then, when the memories return, you will have built your place among society and start your mission."

Kaito and Shinichi nodded in understanding.

"Good," Shiloh smiled, "Now, I just hope the both of you won't get into too many arguments."

That earned the chairman two identical scowls, pasted on two identical faces, much to the amusement of the other council members.

AN: Sooo... How was it? Questions? I know there will be questions... and if it doesn't give away the plot, I promise to answer! :)

I know that the first chapter may seem a bit bland, plus zero progress - but as we move on further, I promise there will be progress! And we'll be back on Earth, of course! :D

Now, just to let you guys know - this story has barely two chapters written down. I've got exams and can't get back to writing until they're over. So, I'm just posting this as a happy birthday fic to Kudo Shinichi and because my computer's going a reboot and I had to shift all my documents online. SO, I thought, why not post it? UPDATES WILL BE SLOW.

Thanks for reading, guys! :)

.

GLOSSARY:

Planets - Theone: God's gift

Elisin: Noble

Lene: Illustrious

Kwantina: Joyful

People - Kaito: To soar the ocean

Shinichi: One truth

Hala: Beautiful

Shiloh: Peaceful

Zakiya: Intelligent

Latifah: Elegant

Sharon: Princess

Raynor: Wise

Veer: Brave

Twyla: Creative

Kolos: Scholar

.

REVIEW!