Chapter One: The Beginning of it All
Conan yawned. His bag was on his back as he walked to the professor's to pick up Haibara for school. He hated Mondays as much as any other student would. For him it was different though. He had to suffer through reliving school. If he knew how to find the square root of pi at this point, he'd be considered a genius.
He yawned again when he reached the professor's overly large house. It was clear the man was eccentric just by knowing that he was single and living in this big place alone for the most part. Even more so if anyone on the outside was aware that with all that space, there was only one real bedroom. He rang the doorbell and waited, his eyes closing as he leaned against the side of the wall that surrounded the property. He had stayed up late reading considering it was the only time he could touch anything with more than three hundred pages.
"Morning," Haibara spoke almost silently as she came out. Conan mirrored her words with the same tone and volume back at her. "Are you planning on sleeping or participating?"
"I'm not sleeping." Conan pushed off the wall, trying not to yawn again and getting a funny expression on his face when he did. Haibara stopped and Conan wasn't up to defending himself against whatever she was going to say so he kept on his merry little way.
"Kudo-kun."
Conan almost didn't hear it since he was so far from her. His real name though and the new tone in her voice made him stop and turn as if he were a dog, caught on the scent of something delicious.
"Wha-" Conan didn't finish asking what was going on. There was a large black hole in the sky. In that hole was something that should never have been possible.
There was a large, red eye. It was just staring at him, black shadows leaking from the same hole that had no worldly possibility of being there. There couldn't just be a hole in the sky. It wasn't as if it were some backdrop.
Then the sky started to go dark. Conan sprinted towards Haibara, who looked pale even in the darkness, and did what he could to offer her some sort of defense against whatever was coming.
He said he hated Mondays, didn't he?
…
….
The Spirit World (In another Universe (Yu Yu Hakusho))
"This is terrible!" Koenma shouted to the orcs that were actually listening to him and not running around in a panic.
The small ruler though had no more control over the situation than they did. His father had cut himself off from all communication and all the royal guards that were around him were just as vanished.
"What should we do sir?" George asked, the blue beluga the only thing in the room that was not only listening, but staying at his side.
"Do I look like I know? All of demon world is in an uproar and now the Makai barrier is just gone!" It wasn't ever supposed to happen. There were demons suddenly all over the human plane. Even if they patched up the hole now, there was nothing that could be done about the ones that had escaped. Countless humans were going to lose their lives and he had no idea what he could do to stop this crisis.
"But sir there has to be something we can do? What about Yusuke? Maybe he can do something?"
"The world is full of demons, you moron! I'm sure he's already running around like a crazy person dealing with the ones he has!" Even if Yusuke were to help, the best they could do at this point was maybe get some of the demon higher ups to take control of their own kind, with every single human being caught in the crossfire.
…
Yusuke was inside the theater with Keiko. It was great being back and all, and had been for a year, but things here were still boring. If it were up to him, he'd slip back over to the demon plane now and then with Kurama's help. The guy had apparently been talking to Keiko though and now he was banned from leaving her side five days out of the week.
Right now being inside of a stupid movie theater wasn't the worst that he'd been through, so he wouldn't complain. A few people found the movie as dull as he did and already practically ran out of the place.
He just grumbled to himself and leaned back, the guns rattling off on the big screen. At least this time he got to pick the movie.
…
…
Somewhere in Tokyo (In Another Universe (Kyou Kara Maoh))
Yuri had only just returned home from school when he found the weirdest thing. His mom wasn't home. That was a first. She and his brother were just… gone. No note was found after he scoured the kitchen. He had baseball practice he had to get to, and while he was self-sufficient, she never had gone anywhere without a note or leaving him lunch.
That and the faucet was dripping. The eerie sound echoed through the empty house and left him even more worried.
"I'm kind of expecting a ghost to pop out of nowhere," Yuri joked to himself, walking in and searching the rest of the house, talking to himself to break the silence. "Hello, anyone home!"
Nothing and no one showed up as he turned on lights and opened doors, not even a ghost. He wound back up in the kitchen with no idea what was going on.
"Come on mom, I'm gonna be late." He looked at his wristwatch before sighing and sitting down as he took out his cell, trying to call them and not even getting through. It went right to saying the number couldn't be reached or was out of service. On both their phones.
"This is so not cool." Yuri gave up and called Murata instead, getting the guy. At least that was someone that wasn't gone.
"Hey, buddy, you busy today?"
"Ah, kinda." Murata was in the middle of changing his shirt out for his work clothes. He had been hired at a bakery the day before and the owner's really cute daughter was going to be working with him. He'd told Shibuya that days ago. "As long as I can do it in the next minute or two, I'm all yours."
"Oh right, I'm sorry." Yuri looked around his house one more time. "Mom's just not home and it's really not like her. You like my mom, right? Think you can stop by here on your break? The team was going out for pizza after and being the captain, you know, I kinda half to be there."
"And miss time smoozing with the ladies?" Murata shrugged though, a smile on his face. "Sure. No problem. Why are you so worried anyway? It's not like you're mom hasn't gone out before now."
"I know. It's just a feeling. I'll see you later and thanks again." Yuri hung up with a sigh. What was wrong with him? Why was he so worried?
He went over to the faucet to turn it off. It was better not to have the water going while no one was home. They didn't need the bill. Just as he touched the handle though he felt something, much like a hand, grab hold of his wrist. It couldn't have come from anywhere but Yuri didn't have so much as a chance to scream before the unknown force pulled him in, nothing but blackness in his view.
…
…
Somewhere in Tokyo (In Another Universe (D. ))
"Niwa-kun, you know you really shouldn't do that. It's not polite."
"Oops. Sorry Riku-san." Daisuke took his fingers out of the bowl. He wanted to see if her recipe was right. It was hard to get butterscotch cookies wrong, but she was managing it. He'd slip some more sugar when she had her back turned.
Riku was normally such a good cook. It looked like something was distracting her.
"Is something the matter?"
Riku turned red and started mixing way too hard, the flour she had just put in scattering across the table and the floor, dotting her slippers and sock. "Of course not! Why would something be the matter? I just wanted to know if you wanted some cookies! I didn't tell you to come over right now. I'm not done yet!"
"Okay, okay." Daisuke backed off, a hand full of sugar and some extra flour being thrown into the bowl on the sly. He had to thank his mom for his talents. "I'll just go wait in the other room until you're finished."
"Fine. I didn't want your help anyway."
Daisuke ducked out of the room, wondering what she wanted then, his help or not. It was really confusing. Some of the things about Riku were really confusing. She was starting to grow her hair out a little longer though. He'd noticed that and for some reason she'd gone at him, yelling about how he liked longhaired girls which he never said he did.
Being in a relationship was a lot harder than he thought it was going to be. He had years to get used to it though. Riku was a really nice person, even if it wasn't as obvious as it was with her sister, and he did love her in a different kind of way.
Instead of going into the room, Daisuke opened the door to the spring air and stretched into the sun. It was so nice to be outside on a spring day like this.
A fuzzy little ball dropped out of nowhere and landed on his head.
"Kyuu!" It yipped.
"Hey! Wiz! Stop flicking your tail around in my face! You're going to make me-"
Daisuke took in a big breath and sneezed, dislodging the little white ball of fluff that fell to the ground, squished looking.
"Sorry." He rubbed his nose where the feeling still lingered before bending down and picking the little guy up. "You surprised me, that's all. What are you doing here?"
Wiz just 'kyuu'ed some more before grabbing onto his shirt, staring up at him with red, angry and impatient eyes.
"What? Do you want something?"
Daisuke
Daisuke looked around, not sure where the voice was coming from. It sounded so familiar. "Who's there?"
Me, you idiot
That condescending tone could only come from a very few set of people and he couldn't help but have the pieces fall together now that he was listening.
"Dark?" How was that possible? He was gone. The artifacts had all been sealed away, including him. They'd ended the cycle. There was no way that was him.
No, Santa. Get your sorry butt moving, NOW!
"Moving where? Dark? What's going on? Where are you? How are you talking to me?"
If you don't get moving she's going to get caught up with you! Hurry! I don't have a lot of time!
"Get caught up with me?" Daisuke was at a complete loss. He had no idea what Dark was talking about, how he was here, or what was going on. Wiz had dropped down to the floor and was pulling on his sock as if trying to lead him away from the house. "Wiz?"
"Niwa-kun?" Riku peeked her head out of the kitchen and came to the front door with some flour on her hands and some on her face probably from where she wiped her hands. "Is something wrong?"
"I don't know." Daisuke turned to her, bending down to pick Wiz back up.
Oh oh. Too late. I warned you kid.
There was a whoosh of wind and noise. He heard Riku call out his name but he was barely able to do more than cover his face and eyes so that he could breathe while the world swirled around him. Wiz was out of his fingers and gone, Riku and even Dark's voice lost to the jumble of blustering wind and lack of any vision. What in the world?
…
…
Back in Universe One
Conan stayed still for about fifteen minutes, the air growing misty and the blackness spreading. Only when he was sure nothing was going to jump out and break any more law of reality did he take Haibara's hand and start heading in. After a second thought, he turned around and headed back to the agency.
Ran.
Whatever was going on, school wasn't important anymore. Ran hopefully would have turned around too and was back there.
Just a few buildings before the agency, Haibara stopped. He was still holding her hand so it made him stop as well. He looked back at her.
"What's the matter?"
Haibara pointed upwards with a shaking hand at something that looked like a comet coming at them from the direction they had just come. Conan's eyes followed it, not sure if that was what it really was. It had an orange tint to it, though Conan wasn't sure if that was wrong or not. He'd never seen a comet coming straight for him before.
Defying all logic, which was something he didn't normally do, he grabbed Haibara and ducked down against the nearest building, the bricks colder than they should have been when they came in contact with his skin as he leaned into them. The comet crashed seconds later, making a crater in the street and sending chunks of concrete every which way.
Conan felt one of them hit the building he was against, sending more bits and pieces at him, though none of them hurt.
He turned back, Haibara clinging to him though peeking over his shoulder as well.
He wasn't the only one who was surprised when a young boy, no older than he was now, appeared in the middle of the crater, coughing and dusting chucks out of his light, burnt umber hair.
The boy shook his head, dazed. Conan's first thought was, considering he seemed to have somehow ridden or been inside the commit, he had reason to be dazed.
The boy stood up a few minutes later, looking up and straight at the eye, a look of distaste and confusion there. "Damn it. What now? What more could I have done wrong? Why involve so many?"
Conan stared at him a few seconds longer before going over to him, not going any further than the crater's edge. "What's going on? Who are you?" Considering the boy was looking up and at the source of whatever was creating this… whatever this was, and speaking to himself about it, he seemed like he was more in the know than at least Conan was.
The boy turned and Conan caught a better look at the odd way he was dressed. He was wearing a long black coat that was nearly English in appearance with an overly large white bow that looked like it may have been connected to some sort of undershirt. If he was wearing any pants, Conan couldn't tell.
"I'm sorry." The boy looked back up at the sky, that same confused, hurt look on his face. "Your world is getting involved in all of this because of me. I'm not sure why."
"My world?" Conan repeated, almost as if he hadn't heard him right. "And you're not from my world?" He was either humoring a fool or was in for the most unbelievable conversation of his life.
The boy sighed before stepping towards them, his eyes always glancing back towards the eye and the darkness that was seeping out of the area around it, now tendrils of smoke across most of the visible area.
"Yeah, my world. It is and isn't very much like yours, that I can tell." What point in keeping secrets was there? Odin had already acted. This was now a problem of this whole universe. Loki hadn't even known there was one outside their own. Odin had known. He didn't know what the god's plans were, but they couldn't be good. "Do you have any type of defense?"
"Against… what?" Conan was confused. He had no idea what the other boy was talking about. "We've fought wars before, but I've never seen anything like this."
"Wars with guns and military and physical combat." Loki said it, seeing as it was obvious and he was stating it to be assured it was, in fact, right. "Your world may be fighting a god now." Damn you, Odin. What are you doing? They're innocent.
"A god?" Conan said, just as doubtful as he had the first time. "What kind of god?"
That threw Loki off for a second. "What kind of god? Does it matter? Do you think you can face one? Do you think anyone can face him?" Loki himself didn't know if he could. He hadn't tried and really didn't want to try now. If not for the power he had regained, and not enough to get back home, he wouldn't have even been able to follow in the trail that Odin had left. Mayura. That bastard had taken Mayura.
If Conan wasn't getting any of the questions answered, he thought he'd start off with an easier one. "Who are you?"
The boy turned his attention to him before hold out his hand to shake. "Loki."
Conan waited before tentatively reaching out his own hand. "Edogawa Conan. And, 'Loki'? Any last name to go with that?"
"Not one that would be my real last name. Where I come from, we don't need them."
"So Loki, as in the Scandinavian god, Loki?" Haibara surprised him, making Conan take a few steps back from where he was. There were a lot of strange things going on right now and it wasn't any surprise he was on edge.
"The one and only."