Case Two: Kidnapping at the Goat Mansion!
Two dark figures stood overlooking a large building, one dressed completely in white, white cape flowing behind him and his blackish-green cane tapping lightly on the branch of the tree they were in. The other was completely encroached by blackness, only his odd-shaped eyes showing through.
The former looked down on the courtyard of the mansion below. The large house was surrounded by a concrete fence and had many guards around it, each holding a variety of weapons. "Hmmm, odd how the defenses are so high, and yet so weak." The man in white chuckled.
"That's no business of yours, Kid. Just do what we hired you for." the other glared at him.
"Hmph, fine, as long as I get paid, I don't care." He sighed and hoped down stealthily into the courtyard. He knocked some of the guards over the head with his cane, knocking them unconscious before they even saw or heard him. He pulled a playing cared out of his cape and threw it near the doorstep of the mansion.
"There, mission accomplished." The man sighed and hopped once again outside of the courtyard.
"Good, no one can stop us now that the message has been delivered." The figure in the dark smirked. "No one will stop the ultimate plan."
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"It was the first new century, in one hundred years…." DJ hummed as he strummed on a guitar, leaning up against the couch inside Tomahawk Manor. "And when I felt like I should…" he winced as a string on the guitar broke.
"That's a bad omen." Chizuru sighed, not looking up from her book as she sat on the chair opposite him.
"Bad omen my foot, I can never get that song right." The speedy detective sighed. "Now I'm gonna have to get this replaced." He stood up and began to look for a spare string.
"Speedy's right, I mean how much worse can his luck get? He sucks as a swordsman and a musician, he can't get the girl he fawns over to notice him, and there's that thing on his face… oh, that's how it always looks, never mind." Devon cracked as he entered the room.
"Revenge is swifter than I, baka-demon, I'll get you one day." The investigator stuck out his tongue as he resumed his search, riffling through drawers to find where he kept his spare guitar strings.
"Hatcha boys! We have a case!" Niri's voice called from the kitchen as she slammed a piece of paper on the counter. "And this one has the smell of money on it, a rich family." She got a look of greed in her eyes.
"Niri scares me when she gets like this." Dusty's ears twitched as she looked over to the paper.
"Me too Kit." Axe sighed as he also looked at their new case. "We're asked to come to Goat Head mansion?" he cocked his eyebrow. "Where's that?"
"Dunno." Azu shrugged. "Niri's right though, sounds ritzy."
Chizuru sighed, still not looking up from her book and looking generally uninterested. "It's just downtown, how do you guys live here and not know this stuff?"
"Well, we've only been here about two weeks." Niri patted her pet penguin Pingu on the head and chuckled softly. "Now come on guys! Let's go out there and get me…. I mean us, some money!"
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"Well, now we know why this place is called Goat Head mansion." Kirsty and Dusty's eyes twitched as they looked at a large statue in the courtyard of the mansion, greatly resembling a large ram's head.
"Wow, and I thought I knew people with bad taste." Herman sighed as he patted his claw against the statue, feeling the texture and density.
"Welcome my friends!" A small man with white hair and what appeared to be horns growing out of his head ran up to the group. "My name is Meri, I'm the one who called you here, please come inside."
The group of detectives all gave a low whistle as they entered the mansion, thoroughly impressed with the building. "Wow, this place is even nicer than ours." Dusty commented as she looked around, getting a little too close to some expensive and breakable looking things.
"Speaking of which, you got a bathroom in here?" Azu bounced from one foot to the other as he looked around.
"We have four and a half." Meri chuckled. "One is up the stairs and to your right."
"Thanks dude!" The drunk intoxication expert ran up the stares as fast as he could.
"So, why are we here?" Axe approached Meri, reaching out his hand as if to grab the explanation.
"Would our guests like to sit down? Can I get you anything?" A man with glasses in a black suit bowed politely and gave a strange look to the group, adjusting his glasses with his palm.
"Oh, Kurahadol, thank you, perhaps we should take this conversation into the other room." Meri nodded as he opened the door into the large living room, gesturing the group to sit on a couple of the couches and chairs in the room.
"I am merely concerned for Ms. Kaya's safety." Kurahadol nodded softly as he looked to them. "I'll go try and find the poor girl." He began to walk up the stairs.
"Is it just me, or does anyone else get a bad feeling from that guy?" Dusty shivered, earning an agreeing nod from Niri and Kirsty.
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"Ah, much better." Azu grinned and patted his own pants as he walked out of the bathroom. As he headed back downstairs he caught sight of an open door leading to a room with sunshine filling it. He looked inside the room and saw a rather large window, and more importantly to him, a very pretty blonde woman standing in front of it, wearing a plain white dress, giving her the soft appearance of an angel in the light.
"Well Heeeeelllooo" Azu smirked as he walked into the room. "Azu Baba, nice to meet you." He grinned and extended a hand.
"Oh, hello there." The girl chuckled softly as her attention was drawn from the window to Azu. "I'm Kaya. Sorry about that, just the courtyard is so captivating at this time of day, it's a shame they won't let me out."
"Why not? Are you sick or something?" Azu blinked.
Before Kaya could answer, she was interrupted by the sound of Kurahadol clearing his throat as he stood in the doorway. "Ms. Kaya, you know at a time like this you shouldn't be standing in front of an open window, it's an open invitation to… riffraff…." He adjusted his dark gaze to Azu.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Kurahadol, it's just that it's so beautiful outside at this time of day." Kaya gave an apologetic nod.
"Yo Kaya, who's the buzzkill?" Azu whispered, nodding to the man in black.
"That's Kurahadol, our butler." Kaya answered, walking towards the middle of the room, in between Kurahadol and Azu.
"I'm only concerned for your safety Ms. Kaya, I hope that you will be free to do as you please again after this whole incident is over." Kurahadol walked over to the window, pulling on the rope to bring the shades down, giving the room a darkened look as he glared at Azu, who was now next to him
"You're part of that detective squad downstairs aren't you?" He sneered, "You should be getting back to them, they're getting briefed on the situation now by Meri."
"Oh, yeah, thanks dude." Azu gave a fake smile and rubbed the back of his head, walking past the butler and Kaya, out the room and back downstairs. On his way down, Azu heard the mumbled voices of his comrades as well as Meri, who were discussing the case brought before them.
"So, someone's trying to kidnap Kaya, and you want us to find out who?" Axe placed his cup on the coffee table and looked back at Meri, who was standing in the empty space surrounded by chairs and couches.
"Precisely, the only clue we have is this playing card that was left at our doorstep last night, we're trying to keep this whole mess on a low profile so we hired someone unknown detectives." Meri held out the card he spoke of while Niri hung her head.
"Unknown? How are we supposed to make any money if we're unknown!?" She flailed.
"We're on the case!" DJ shouted, snatching the card from Meri in a flash.
"Baka!" Axe bonked him on the head. "Just because you solved our first case doesn't mean that you're the leader! It's my job to say 'we're on the case'! We're on the case!"
DJ rubbed the new bump on his head as he glanced over the card back and front. The front was a King of Diamonds with writing on it.
"I would suggest you keep your eyes closely on your precious Kaya, if not you might lose her. Of course, if you do, we could always find her for you, for 300 million beli."
DJ read the note aloud, then turned it over to the back. "KID?" he read the back of the card as well.
"It was Austin! He did it!" Dusty pointed to the boy, earning a glare from both Austin and Devon. "Okay… maybe not Austin, but what's KID supposed to mean?"
"Hmmm…no clue." Axe rubbed his chin in thought. "Our first priority should be to get Kaya to safety so the kidnapping doesn't occur."
"But, won't the kidnappers get suspicious if Kaya suddenly disappears?" Kirsty interjected.
"They will, which is why we're going to have doubles in her place." DJ smirked, looking to a few of his nakama.
"We're going to need someone with blonde hair to play her." Azu confirmed, having been the only one to see Kaya yet.
"Hmm, or better yet, two." DJ grinned fiendishly, glancing at Devon. "We're even… demon." He chuckled darkly.
The assistant coordinator looked a little freaked out by this. "…W-Why are you looking at me like that Speedy?"
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"I can't believe you guys talked me into this!" Devon blushed as he tugged on the dress the others had put him in. His hair had been combed down to Kaya's length and the girls had done their best to make him look feminine, having little luck as he still very much looked like a man in drag.
"Oh come on Dev, be secure in your masculinity for once." Niri finished her work on his hair. "We need two doubles to be able to distract the kidnappers, and maybe if they look at you from the back, they'll try to attack you and you can kick their asses."
"How can I be secure while wearing a fucking dress!!!!?" The blonde 'man' shouted while messing with the changes the girls had made. "I swear I'm going to kill that speedy bastard!"
"Payback's a bitch." Kirsty sighed, also wearing the same dress as Devon, looking much better in it than the swordsman. "Maybe if we position ourselves at opposite ends we can distract them so they won't know the real Kaya is hiding in the basement with Kurahadol." The medical expert sighed and tugged on the hem of the dress lightly.
"I'll kill him, I'll kill him, I'll kill him dead, like with a rock or something, yeah, that'll do it." Devon muttered, obviously not paying attention.
"I don't trust Kaya with that guy." Azu muttered. "He gives me a bad vibe."
"I assure you that Kurahadol is our most trusted butler, he would not do anything to harm Ms. Kaya, he loves her dearly." Meri set a tray of tea on the coffee table for the detectives.
"I don't know, something still doesn't feel right." Dusty picked up some of the tea, adding almost the whole cup of sugar into it before getting it snatched away by Niri.
"No way you're getting that much sugar fox girl." The weapons expert sighed and gave the cup to Pingu, who happily drank the sugary delight.
The group discussion was cut short by a high-pitched scream coming from the basement. "Shit, Kaya!" Axe raced down the stairs to the wine cellar/basement, only to find Kurahadol on the ground, a bloody mark on his forehead and Kaya nowhere to be seen.
"What the hell happened?" Azu looked around, unsure of what was going on.
"T-There was a man in white… he took Ms. Kaya before I had a chance to do anything." The butler whimpered as he crawled back up to his knees, adjusting his glasses with his palm again.
"What's that?" DJ noticed something as he walked down the stairs, one of the last ones on the scene despite his speed. He picked up the object, looking at it, another playing card with the word 'KID' on the back, this time the card was a Joker instead of a King.
"Liar!" Azu pointed to Kurahadol. "It was you! You abducted Kaya! How could anyone have snuck in and out without us seeing? Especially someone wearing a color as alarming as white!?"
"Yeah, the butler did it!" Dusty shouted.
"No Dusty-chan, he didn't." DJ inspected the card. "Whether Kurahadol is a criminal or not is yet to be proven, however this is a crime he didn't commit."
"What are you talking about DJ-kun?" Niri raised an eyebrow to the brunette investigator.
"I mean look at this," He read the card aloud.
"Remember, 300 million beli,
P.S. follow the panda…"
"Kurahadol couldn't have gotten Kaya out of here and back onto the floor before we got down here after we heard her scream, besides, I saw this man in white on his way out while I was in the courtyard, that's why I was late." DJ grinned, thankful to have speedy eyes as well as speedy legs. "Take a good look at the back of this card." He pointed to the side with 'KID' written on it.
"So? It says KID, we already said we don't know what that means." Devon came back into the wine cellar, changed back into his jean jacket and pants, giving DJ a 'I will kill you while you sleep' look.
"You're reading it wrong." Chizuru sighed. "That part of the card is ambiguous, not only does it say KID, but it also says 1412." The record expert sighed as she pulled a file out of her hat.
The rest of the group besides Chizuru and DJ looked closely at the card, seeing that the K on the card was actually a scrunched up 1 and a 4 and that the ID was really a 1 and a 2 in the same messy pattern.
"His name is the Kaitou Kid. Otherwise known as the Phantom Thief Kid, international criminal number 1412." Chizuru layed the Kid's file on the floor for everyone to see, showing a clear picture of a brunette man wearing a monocle and a top hat, cape flowing behind him.
"Wow, he looks kinda like DJ." Kirsty commented, looking to the investigator.
"That's him! That's the man who took Ms. Kaya!" Kurahadol shouted as soon as he saw the picture.
"I thought as much." DJ rubbed his thumb against his chin.
"So? Case closed! We know who took her." Dusty smirked and put her hands on her hips, turning to Meri, "Can we get paid now?"
"Baka!" Niri slapped the fox girl upside the head. "We still have to FIND her and bring her back."
"Niri-chan's right, we still don't know where Kid's taken her." DJ looked at the card again. "Wonder what 'Follow the Panda' means."
"Maybe it means there's going to be a giant panda who will pick us up and carry us to where Kaya is!" Dusty exclaimed.
"No, maybe Pandaman will help us!" Kirsty shouted.
"Pandaman?" Niri raised an eyebrow.
The medical expert nodded. "Pandaman is the famous superhero who was made fun of us as a kid because he saw Kaguya-hime in the bamboo stumps, but he trained and became strong and defends the weak!"
"You really gotta stop reading those comic books Kirsty…" Niri sweatdropped.
A small honk from Pingu caused Azu to look to the discarded dress that Devon was wearing. "This was the same dress Kaya was wearing, right?" He nodded to Meri.
The servant nodded. "That was taken straight out of her closet, I'm surprised is fit the young man."
"Barely." Devon muttered.
Azu inspected the dress, finding a rather peculiar logo on the tag. "Doskoi… Panda?"
"Yes, it's Ms. Kaya's favorite brand of… dress." Meri's eyes widened.
"That must be it! They must be keeping her in one of the old Doskoi panda factories!" DJ shouted.
"Even if we find this guy, can we go up against an international criminal? I think we're a bit out of our league guys." Herman sighed.
"It doesn't matter, we're detectives and we have a job to do, even if that means going up against the whole world." Axe's eyes narrowed. "Alright guys, here's the plan. There are five Doskoi Panda factories that are inactive at this time, two of us will go to each one, Dusty and DJ, Kirsty and Devon, me, Niri and Chizzy, Azu and Austin, Pingu and Herman. We'll take portable Den Den Mushi's to notify the others if we find anything, move out Axe-Heads!"
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The figure in the black shadow chuckled as he sat with a bound and gagged Kaya, along with the Kaitou Kid. "It worked, they placed all the blame on you, and they have no idea I had anything to do with it, pathetic fools." The figure smirked, grabbing Kaya's face roughly and then turning it away again.
"You're overconfident." The Kid sighed, twirling his cane lightly. "And there is much you don't understand."
"What's that supposed to mean!?" The figure huffed angrily.
"It means there is no honor among thieves, especially Phantom thieves." The Kid pointed his cane at the figure, extending a small green blade from it. In the blink of an eye, before the figure could even grab his weapons, the Kid dashed forward, stabbing the blade into the other person, letting him fall into a bloody heap on the ground.
"W-why?" The figure questioned, his odd eyes looking up at the Kid. "You were supposed to be on our side!"
"I'm on my own side, I'm narrowing the field of criminals, that makes things easier for me, letting go of 300 million Beli is nothing for me. Besides, I wanted to test the skills of the new detectives in town to see if they could follow my clues." The brunette man in white smirked broadly. "By the way, thanks to the clue I gave them, those detective fools should be here any minute, see ya." He twirled his cane as he walked out, leaving the man laying on the floor and Kaya still bound to the chair.
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"Damn, where is that station!?" Azu cursed as he ran around the city. It was getting dark as they searched for the Panda factories, the stars becoming prevalent and the full moon shining brightly
"This is team Dusty-chan." DJ's voice came over the Den Den Mushi. "Our search is a big negative, no Kaya at this Doskoi Panda station."
"Same here, me and Pingu-kun got nothing." Niri's voice called out, followed by a loud honk.
"Me and Dev have nothing, what about you guys?" Kirsty phoned in.
"Baka! Stop staring at her!" Niri shouted. "Me and Axe have no Kaya either." She sighed desperately.
Azu finally found the large building with a panda symbol on it, kicking open the door and finding nothing inside but old machinery. "Damn, nothing here either." He sighed."Then where the hell is it?!" Devon roared.
"I have no clue, damn!" DJ cursed into his Den Den Mushi. "Wait a second, Azu!"
"Yeah? Sup?" The intoxication expert held the snail to his ear. "Take a good look at the ice cream shop near your location! What does it look like to you?"
"What!? This is no time for a midnight snack DJ!""Just freaking look!"
"Fine," Azu sighed as he exitted the Doskoi Panda building, looking around and seeing where DJ and Dusty were, on top of a rather large hill next to another panda building. He spotted the ice cream shop across from where he was, visible from where DJ was but closer to his position. The sign out front had a few vanilla scoops topped beneath a few chocolate scoops in the shape of… "A PANDA!"
"DJ-kun, you're a genius!" Dusty exclaimed, figuring out the clue at the same time as Azu. "Azu, you and Austin head towards that ice cream shop as fast as you can! Kaya's there, I'm sure of it!"
"Oi, gotcha!" Azu grinned as he took off running towards the ice cream store with a panda-shaped sign.
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"Whoa, what happened here?" Azu and Austin both raised an eyebrow as they looked around. On the ground was an odd-looking merman with eight arms, bleeding from his chest, and Kaya, bound and gagged to a chair.
"Hang on Kaya, we'll get you out of there!" Azu shouted while Austin ran to untie the girl. "Yo, guys, get over here, Kaya's alright but it looks like this guys' been stabbed." He called into his Den Den Mushi.
"Oh thank you two!" Kaya gave Austin a kiss on the forehead and then ran over to Azu, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a big kiss.
"Azu? Azu! Is everyone alright?" Herman, DJ, Dusty and Pingu all rushed in at the same time. "You okay Azu?" DJ blinked.
"Abababa…." The intoxication expert babbled, left speechless by the surprise kiss. "Does this mean I get lucky?" He smirked lecherously after regaining his composure.
"Don't push it." Kaya and the rest sweatdropped as the other detectives entered the shop.
"What happened to him?" Axe pointed to the merman, who Herman was now kneeling beside.
"Hatchan… how could you?" The lobster merman looked like he was about to burst into tears.
"Poor guy, that must be a member of his old gang." Niri sighed, hugging Herman lightly around the thin part of his body she could get her arms around.
Everyone knew Herman used to be a part of a notorious gang, but he wasn't a bad person, his old days just gave him an insight into the criminal mind in order to help ensure justice. "My guess would be the Kid turned on him, but why?" DJ narrowed his eyes, "I don't have a good feeling about this case."
He sighed. "Maybe Chizzy-chan was right, maybe breaking that guitar string was a bad omen. I get the feeling… we might not have solved this case… if HE hadn't let us." He walked out the door and looked up at the night stars.
"Kaitou Kid… why did you help us?"
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The Kid smirked as he stood on a tree branch, on a cliff overlooking the city, in clear view of the ice cream shop where the Axe-Heads were. "Good, so they managed to figure it out. Perhaps these detectives have some talent after all, tis a shame I'll probably have to kill them." He laughed into the full moon as he twirled his cane. "Good luck in your cases… Mr. Detective!"
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DJP: Alright, hope it was good! Sorry if it was confusing, a little more in-depth story buildup in this chapter, hope it was good, sorry if it's not, please review either way!
PS: The Kaitou Kid is from Case Closed/Detective Conan and does not belong to me, neither do any of the other One Piece characters or Ocs besides DJ.
Next time on Crew of the Axe: One Truth!
Conan: Hey, who are you guys?
Dusty: He's sooo cute! –huggles Conan-
DJM: Kudo-dono! What the hell happened to you!?
Devon: Who is this shorty? No way he could be a detective!
Conan: I need your help DJ… with a VERY important case…
Next time! The New Sherlock Holmes!
DJM: Awesome! I get to work with Kudo-dono!
Next Axe-Head hint: White Wine Pill!
PSS: Sorry about the vagueness of the preview and hint, Writer's block.