Despite the pounding headache and slightly blurred vision, Edogawa Conan showed up at the Beika Museum for the latest Kid Heist. He'd been specifically told not to attend if he still had a fever by Doctor Areida the day before but Conan couldn't help himself. It wasn't even the thief that had his interest-he couldn't care less about what Kid got up to on most occasions-his only concern was the jewel that Kid would be targeting-The Emerald Curse. Historic superstition said the jewel was-as the name suggested-cursed, and that anyone the touched the jewel with the bare hands would disappear from earth. Of course, that was just the superstition and Conan, secretly being the famous high school detective Kudou Shinichi, knew better than to put much stock into a superstition. However, Historic fact stated that anyone whose bare hand had come in contact with the jewel had mysteriously disappeared.

Supposedly, no one had dared try to touch it in hundreds of years until last week when one of the workers that was helping with setting the exhibit up touched the jewel to prove the superstition was fake. Eyewitness accounts from the other workers stated they'd seen some kind of light envelope the young worker before he too had disappeared. It was mystery he just had to solve.

Conan rubbed his eyes and stared down at the paper in his hand and sighed. Reading maps was so much easier when his vision wasn't blurring in and out of focus. He'd been staring at the map for forty minutes straight trying to decide if maybe there was a secret room or something nearby where the unfortunate worker was standing at the time of his abduction. The fever had to be preventing him from seeing a clear link because there was no way a jewel swallowed a human. He grit his teeth and stared down the map again, his blue eyes raking very slowly over every room on the blueprint.

This was getting him nowhere but investigating the room where the incident occurred was out of the question as he knew that Sonoko and Ran were there awkwardly by Jirokichi's side while he and Nakamori argued heatedly over the ethics. Strictly speaking, Conan was supposed to be at home, in bed, and not anywhere near the excitement.

"Find anything?" A voice right by his ear made him jump and he looked up into the face of the famed Kaitou Kid disguised in riot gear. The disguise may have fooled the task force but it certainly wasn't fooling him.

"What do you want?" He asked, eyes flat with annoyance.

"I overheard Ran-san telling Jirokichi that you were out sick in bed today." The thief stated. "But you don't seem to be in bed at all." he chided. Conan rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for your concern," she said sarcastically. "But I'm fine." His vision blurred again and he shook his head-making the headache worse by accident.

"You are a little flushed, are you sure you're up to this?" At the detective's silence Kid changed the subject. "Would you like to see it? The Gem, I mean?"

"Don't tell me you already have it." Conan snapped. Kid shook his head.

"Detective, you couldn't pay me to touch that thing. I'm here for something else." Conan rolled his eyes at the answer.

"And you expect me to believe you can get me to the exhibit without getting us both caught."

"On my honor." Kid promised. Conan sighed, knowing he'd regret this.

"Alright Kid, if you're not out to steal it then fine. Take me to the gem." His voice reflected just how much he didn't believe him. The thief smirked.

"Permission to borrow your identity? The persuasion you have over the police would have that room cleared in seconds flat." He requested. Conan's eyes narrowed sharply. Was this some kind of angle? Kid would never be so upfront about it if it were but there had to be something Kid wasn't telling him. Like the real reason he scheduled a heist dealing with a 'cursed' jewel.

"I get it." It finally hit him. "You want to investigate the disappearance too. Which means you have a personal interest in this case."

"Even feverish, you're mind is still sharp." Kid sighed, shaking his head. "The worker was a friend of a friend. So I'm looking into it." Still, there was something Kid wasn't saying. It irked the small detective but he supposed he'd find out in due time.

"Fine. You can use me as a disguise. But just for a little while." He pulled out his trusty bowtie and and the phone from his right pocket before dialing the homicide inspector to request a favor.

ooooooOOOOOooooo

Three hours later Conan and Kid dressed as Shinichi were standing in the empty exhibit room. Kid had been subject to mask test but seeing as he didn't need a mask with this disguise he passed it easily and now had an angry red blotch on his left cheek.

There was nothing that stood out about the gem other than it's shocking green color. The plaque positioned on the display case detailed a brief history of the emerald and nothing about the room struck Conan as odd. His first thought had been that maybe the worker stole the real jewel when he made a spectacle of disappearing after touching it but jewel had been checked since then-it was genuine.

"You're functioning fairly well for having a fever-the last time I saw you with a fever you could barely stand." Kid commented, keeping a close eye on the smaller.

"I had some medicine before Ran left the agency-It'll probably start wearing off soon." Conan responded.

"Well, tell me if you start feeling faint."

"I'm fine." The tone of Conan's voice told him to drop it. "Did the victim have Misaki-san have any enemies?" He switched to case mode and Kid shook his head. Such a one track mind.

"We all have enemies, detective." He responded vaguely, causing Conan to grit his teeth in annoyance.

"Any that would want him dead?" He clarified.

"I didn't know him personally, remember." Kid pointed out, moving over to the display case of the jewel. "It doesn't look like anything but a normal emerald."

"That's because it is." Conan said insistently, still looking around the room for something out of place. "You can't tell me you believe in the curse." He gave the thief a look that let him know just how harshly he was being judged.

"According to legend, anyone that touched it disappeared-hundreds of years later and some underpaid worker decides to test it and supposedly disappears in front of two other workers?" Kid started. Conan just rolled his eyes, not even remotely impressed.

"So it's an abduction, or perhaps Misaki-san stole jewel himself. Either way, it's definitely not a curse." He said stubbornly. "If something like a curse could be real then there'd be no need for detectives."

"Spoken like a true critic." Kid grumbled. Conan growled.

"Open the case. I'll prove it to you." He challenged. Kid looked at him like he'd gone insane.

"No way. I may not like you all that much detective, but I don't want you to disappear."

"Stop being so superstitious!" He demanded harshly before lapsing into a coughing fit. Kid watched him carefully and was about to suggest he head home but the door opened and both thief and detective spun around like a deer caught in headlights. The agreement Shinichi had worked out was a full hour to investigate the display room undisturbed. There was no way it'd already been an hour.

The man that came in wore a dark gray coat, had a ridiculous handlebar mustache/goatee and a gun. The gun is what had Conan's attention coupled with the fact it was pointing at him.

"Hand over the jewel." He demanded, not bothering to complete his threat. Conan looked up at Kid expectantly and noted his teeth had grit and there was a clear anger in his eyes. He knew this man? "Hand the jewel to the kid and have him slowly hand it to me."

"A little early, aren't you?" Kid taunted, lifting the display case up and off the pedestal. The man smirked.

"I thought you'd strike early Kid." Conan looked between the two and felt irritation starting to build at the obvious information he was missing. "Now hurry up, or I'll shoot."

Kid was hesitating, the superstition still fresh on his mind. He knew that Conan wasn't wearing gloves and would have to handle the jewel barehanded. Conan held his hand out, this would be easy. He'd hand the jewel over, nail the guy with a sleeping dart and have Kid call the police. But Kid was still hesitating.

With another eyeroll, Conan stepped up on the glass casing now on the floor and grabbed the jewel. For a moment he felt victorious because he'd just proved that superstition was fake. Then it happened.

It started to glow and vibrate, becoming too warm to touch. He dropped it but the glowing green light had already started to engulf him.

"Conan-kun!" He heard Kid shouting and then what was unmistakably a gunshot. He knew because he felt it pierce right through his shoulder. He felt someone grip him around the middle and then everything went black.

oooOOOOooo

A slow and steady beeping was the first thing Conan was aware of, next was the ventilation mask attached to his face and a strong scent of iodine-Hospital. His mind pieced together quickly. What happened? He could barely remember anything-there was that light and then-He sat up suddenly-yanking the mask off and wincing against the pain in his left shoulder. Where was Kid?

An alarm started beeping insistently and Conan willed it to shut up. His head was already killing him from the cold, he didn't need this.

"Chansey!" Came a high pitched voice he didn't recognize. Chansey? He turned towards the voice and froze-Some giant pink egg-shaped thing was headed right for him. He winced-waiting for impact.

"Chansey! Chansey-Chansey Chanse!" He had no idea what it was saying but it seemed to be scolding him. Was it upset with him for pulling that mask off? As if it read his mind, the pink thing reached over and tried to force him to lay back down.

"Ouch!" Conan cried out, nursing his injured shoulder.

"Chansey!" It exclaimed in alarm.

"It's okay." Conan groaned. "Just be careful with that arm." He paused, realising that he'd just responded as if it could understand him.

"Chansey!" It said happily. Maybe it could understand. "Chansey-chanse!" It patted the pillow, still trying to get him to lay down.

"I don't have time for that-I have to find-" He didn't get to finish as his cough came back with avengence-still sick then.

"Chansey!" It exclaimed again, hurrying over to a cabinet and shuffling through it for a moment. When it came back it had a glass bottle and medicine spoon in its hand. Conan didn't like where this was going.

"Look-I appreciate your concern but I really need to find-" He started to climb out of the bed only to be pushed back down as soon as the pink thing had set the medicine down, all the while shouting the same word at him. Maybe it was the fever but Conan could have sworn it was saying that he needed to stay in bed until he was better.

"Like I said-!" It was forcing him back down again and proving to be a lot stronger than it looked. "I have a case! I can't stay in bed!" Arguing with what it probably a hallucination. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

"Chaaaaanseeeey chaaaaaaanseeeeey." It started to chant and very suddenly Conan felt extremely drowsy as he sank back into bed.

"But-murder…." He started to drift off-asleep before he even fully hit the pillow.

oooOOOOooo

Conan woke up with a start and winced as he upset his shoulder again and looked around. He was still in that same room that pink thing was in but it didn't appear this time. Maybe it was a hallucination after all.

"Oh hey, you're awake!" A voice sounded beside him. He turned and noticed a kid no older than eleven was watching him. And yet another hallucination seemed to be perched happily on the kid's shoulder-yellow this time with rosy cheeks and looking somewhat like a mouse with pointy ears. What kind of hospital was this? "You had everyone really worried, you know. They'll be glad to hear you're better."

"Pika!" The yellow hallucination mirrored. Maybe he should go back to bed.

"I wouldn't say that just yet." Conan said bitterly, nursing his shoulder-at some point someone had put his arm in a sling. "Where am I?"

"Oh, that's easy! You're at the pokemon center!" The boy said happily. "You got here two days ago during a storm and have been sleeping ever since. Nurse Joy said that you hurt your arm pretty bad and not to move it too much."

Conan rolled his eyes. This nurse joy had obviously neglected to tell this kid that he'd been shot but of course she would. That's not something a kid his age should know. "Pokemon center?" He zeroed in on the term he wasn't familiar with.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Your cousin said you guys had never heard of Pokemon. Pikachu's a pokemon-an electric type."

"Pikachu!" The yellow mouse looking thing agreed. So it wasn't a hallucination after all. He wasn't sure if that made it better or worse.