Well I'm back with a new chapter! Ah, to keep a long story short, I wrote the chapter, then life slapped me with responsibility, then my beta forgot to look over things. Eh, things happened.

Thanks to everyone for the support for Breaking Point! After this chapter, there will be one final chapter and maybe an epilogue chapter coming out "sometime". Life still wants to get in the way, so odds are, the next update-or-two will be slower than anyone (even myself) would like. I apologize in advance.

And finally, thank you all so much for your reviews, views, favorites, and alerts! You all really helped me get motivated to continue this story, and I hope you'll stick by when I start The Inferno and Carnival of Chaos (the prequel and sequel stories to this one).

Warnings: Language mostly. Minor descriptions of wounds/slight trauma. The usual.

It was like time itself had stopped; Daisuke's animalistic screams of pain (or was it rage?) filled the air, chilling the winter air and implanting fear in all bystanders. This couldn't be happening! How in hell's name could they have made Kid a real (and contagious) fucking werewolf?! It made no logical sense! Even if they had (and did) inject the thief with a chemical from hell, he shouldn't switch from controlled to omnicidal maniac even with slight provocation! This was Kaitou Kid, the guy that hated killing and worked so hard to escape Vampire's clutches with as little force as possible. Something this small shouldn't have set him off… He was acting just like Vampire had.

"G-get away," Hideki stammered, backing away several steps, not that Conan could blame him. This was getting far out of hand. "What are you waiting for?! Run!" His screeched order was met with a quick and frantic scattering of his reinforcements, leaving just him and Daisuke of the original ambush group. When he realized that Conan and the others chose to hold their ground (what choice did they have?), he barked, "You lot, too!" Directing the next part more toward the diminutive detective than the others, he continued, keeping his eyes on the neo-werewolves all the while, "He-they are just like Master Vampire! They don't care if you're friend or foe, don't you get it?!"

Both of the infected males focused their gazes on Hideki. Kid's eyes narrowed and a sharp, toothy Cheshire grin took residence over his features, the young man in black visibly paled as the two started closing in. His hand was shaking and he backed off several more steps, aiming between his soon-to-be attackers. He fired a warning shot, though neither neo-werewolf so much as flinched. This was going to turn very bad, very quick if no one did anything.

Conan's breath hitched; his leg finally gave out and he was soon left with one knee supporting his body on the snowy sidewalk. Why was it so hard to breathe? Sucking in a shaky breath, he winced and forced himself laboriously back to both feet. Kid and Daisuke were almost on top of Hideki by this point and yet, no one had reacted. Were they really just going to sit idly by and watch their friend become a murderer?! Looking for something—anything—to use to attract their attention, Conan's eyes fell upon Kid's discarded card gun, just about a meter or so out. It would have to do.

Another shot rang out, forcing Kid to jump back, though it seemed he hadn't been hit. Daisuke hadn't bothered to dodge; he probably hadn't been in the line of fire. Quickly snatching the card gun, the diminutive detective quickly made to aim for Daisuke but was forced to focus on Kid; he'd gotten too close to Conan. Hopefully Hideki could manage Daisuke by himself…

His breaths were starting to grow ragged and harsh; black hovered along the edges of his vision and his body was starting to feel the tingling sensation of falling asleep. Not now… Not now, dammit! The thief snarled when he seemed to catch onto Conan's ploy, turning his monstrous grin (Demon's grin, his mind idly noted) onto the diminutive detective.

"Now, now, Tantei-kun," he purred in an all-too Demon manner. "You wouldn't want to hurt me, would you?"

"I don't want to hurt Kid," Conan quietly panted, setting the power on his shoe to its maximum, making it start to spark. "You, I can live without."

"So harsh," the neo-werewolf sang, amused. "But there's one thing you missed."

"And that is?"

"I am Kid," the monster before him whispered, getting in his face. Wh-when did he get so close?! "Welcome to the pack." Before the thief could make good on his threat, however, Ran and Hakuba had seemed to finally snap out of whatever was holding them back earlier and forced him a meter or two back.

"Y-you're okay, right Conan-kun?" Ran asked, voice shaky with fear and concern. "He-he didn't get you, right?"

"I didn't see him bite Edogawa-kun," Hakuba answered, keeping his eyes on the infected thief. "There's also no blood on or around him." Then, to Kid, the British detective barked, "Just what the hell do you think you're doing, you idiot!?"

Yet another gunshot rang out, this time drawing Kid's full attention away from the detectives and Ran. Daisuke had been shot in the stomach and Hideki was bleeding from the head, eyes wide and gun falling out of his grip. The fallen neo-werewolf didn't get back up, leaving a blood-red rose in the snow beneath him. Disturbingly enough, his eyes were still clearly focused, watching the events around him with interest. It was almost as though he'd forgotten what he'd been doing to begin with.

Kid gave a deep guttural growl, narrowing his eyes and started after the petrified man in black. "The fuck are you doing to my pack?!" he roared, ready to pounce on his defenseless prey. Hideki didn't move. He just watched in horror, knowing exactly what would come next.

It was now or never. He had one shot and only one shot. If he failed, Hideki would meet his end at Kid's hands… He couldn't let that happen, even if it meant hurting the thief. Conan tossed the card gun up and, with the last of his energy, kicked it, aiming for the back of Kid's head. There was a screech of pain as Conan's vision faded and all sensation left his body.

What greeted his eyes as he woke once more was the graveyard. The sea of gravestones had returned, though the statues had vanished, leaving behind an empty circle of dead grass and upturned soil. It was strange, almost like someone else had been here… digging and moving something… Even the air felt different, it was still chilly, but nowhere near as breathtakingly intense as it had been before. Someone else was here… someone living.

He had no proof of his assumption, however. Each and every direction he cast his gaze held nothing but the endless rows of gravestones until they faded into darkness beyond a tall metal gate. He'd have to walk around the fence to know for sure, but it felt like there were no doors, no entrances or exits here.

The sound of someone moaning in pain drove him to finally move. The voice sounded familiar, though for the life of him, he couldn't tell why. It faded into obscurity as soon as he'd taken his first steps, as if whoever was in pain was also watching him. Someone was in pain and needed help, but they also didn't want to be found. Did they not trust him, or was it something else?

He discounted the idea of the moaning coming and going at random chance after his third try to move in the middle of it. He was being watched, without question. He'd have to pinpoint where the noise was coming from and try to get lucky.

"Oi," Conan quietly murmured to the air, "Whoever you are, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to help." Not even the wind answered him, and, for a time, the graveyard was more silent than the grave itself. With a slight sigh, he continued on toward where the source of the moans seemed to come from.

What met his eyes was a badly bloodied and injured Little Kid. He was lying on his stomach with his head tilted so that one eye could watch the diminutive detective. It almost looked like he was still sporting his injuries from the last dream he was in… His throat was still torn and bleeding… the liquid darkness was also still mixed with the blood as well… Demon really had done a number on him…

The younger Kid didn't say anything, though Conan wasn't quite certain he could if he wanted to. Instead, he silently watched, indigo eyes almost pleading for him to go away…

"What happened to you?" the diminutive detective asked, kneeling down beside his small comrade and checking his pulse. Yes, he was still alive. It was a weak pulse, as weak as even the bloodied boy's breathing, but it was present.

Kid said nothing, still silently pleading for Conan to leave him alone. It didn't make sense… It wasn't like he was going to abandon anyone in this kind of condition, especially not a friend. He deserved better, even if the diminutive detective could do nothing about the pain Kid had to be feeling right now. Anything was better than leaving him alone.

"Come on," he tried softly, gently moving the small thief and getting him into a sitting position. "We need to get you out of here… You look like hell."

"…Digging… Clawing… Out… Get out…" There were some other words, but those were the only coherent things Conan heard. Kid's voice was horribly ragged and hoarse, barely a whisper.

Helping the thief up and baring most of his weight (thank whatever gods there were that he was small), Conan started a slow pace toward one edge of the fence. It'd be good to find a way out… if there was one. He was pretty sure the thief wouldn't be able to climb out on his own… At least Kid wasn't struggling, that was a good sign.

They reached the metal fence, but unfortunately there was no gate to be seen. The thief's breathing started sounding a little too strained, prompting Conan to stop and let him rest. They were moving too quickly, it seemed. But there was still a long way to go… Stopping and resting like this too often would probably cause Kid more grief than good. Maybe it would be best to scout the edges on his own and return when he'd found an exit.

"Listen," Conan prompted, helping Kid sit down against a gravestone. "I'm going to look for an exit. Just stay here and rest. I'll be back soon and then we'll both get out of here."

"… Just… out… please…"

"I promise, I'll get us out of here. I'll be back, I promise." The thief either didn't believe him or wanted to go with him; his eyes were dulled with pain and gave off an almost disappointed look. Either way, it wasn't a good sight to see.

Conan took off for the next adjacent wall of fencing, cutting quickly through the gravestones and watching carefully for signs of an exit. Like he'd thought earlier, there were no gates here. They were essentially trapped inside a metal box, leaving the only way to escape as climbing out. There was no way Kid could make the climb. He couldn't even walk without assistance…

He didn't notice he'd walked back to the center of the graveyard until a voice broke through his contemplations. "What's the matter?" it asked, drawing Conan's attention to a large beast that was only half out of the ground in the center of the upturned earth. It had an almost human face, yet it was distorted by what looked like canine features. One of its eyes watched with a gentle gaze, while the other glared in anger. Its muzzle was full of razor-sharp teeth and could probably fit most of Conan's body inside… He instinctively stepped back as it drew a mutated hand toward him, seeing the fur and flesh mingle in a horribly unnatural way… Bits of bone penetrated its skin and it had large, dark claws stained with blood. This creature was dangerous. "Are you looking for something?" it jeered, flashing its fangs. Oh, how happy Conan was that it was still half in the ground!

"… No," he answered, finally finding his voice. Whatever this thing was, his instincts were screaming for him to get away as soon as he could. It was dangerous.

"If you're not looking for anything, then sit back and watch. Or, better yet, help me out of here. I promise, you'll like what you see." The man-beast grinned, feral eye gleaming with malice in the faint moonlight. Conan's grimace must have been noticeable, because soon it was cackling. It continued to watch him in amusement before working its second arm out from the earth. "I'd find that friend of yours, if I were you. Not much longer before I can work my way out of this, you know. Of course," it chuckled darkly, "you could always stay and catch a bite. Up to you, naturally."

He was going to pass on that. He took a couple of steps backward before racing through the gravestones to where he'd left Kid. There wasn't much time. They'd either get out or get killed at this rate. He wasn't sure how he was going to get the thief over the fence, but there weren't any other options. They couldn't hide; the beast would find them. They couldn't fight it off, not with Kid as injured as he was. All that left was fleeing to where it (hopefully) couldn't follow them.

Thankfully, Kid hadn't moved since Conan had left him. He was still slumped against the gravestone with one eye closed and the other watching Conan's arrival with mild interest. The monster's howl of triumph filled the air, sending ice through Conan's veins. They were out of time. It was either escape or die.

"We need to get out of here," Conan whispered urgently, helping stand the wounded thief up and letting the thief lean on him. He felt his heart pound in his ears as the shadow of the beast grew larger. In a rush that likely only made Kid's injuries worse, the diminutive detective made his way to the fence. It was large and imposing, but it was also their only hope. "Kid," he breathed, "I need you to climb to the top of the fence. You can do that, right?"

The thief sent him a perturbed look, but worked his way free from Conan's grasp and slowly (too slowly!) grabbed the metal bars. When it looked like he would make it up on his own, Conan started his climb, paling when he looked back and saw the monster's giant silhouette against some nearby gravestones. It was watching them, waiting for one of them to fall…

About three-quarters up the fence, Kid's strength gave out on him and he slipped, starting to fall. Conan caught his arm and pulled with all of his might, trying to keep Kid from death without falling to his own. He felt his muscles strain from the effort, but desperation and adrenaline would have to get him through. The entire plight was terrifying, knowing that it would be his mistake that could cost them both their lives.

"Oh, come on," the beast growled beneath him. "Just drop him already! You save your life and you put him out of his misery! Everyone wins!"

The thought disgusted him. Drop his friend down to a monster that would certainly kill and eat him? No thanks. "Shut up, Demon!" he snapped down at the beast. "There's no way in hell I'm abandoning my friend!"

"You'd be abandoning a criminal. Nothing wrong with that," Demon countered, keeping its malicious eye on Conan.

"He's barely a criminal," the diminutive detective countered, finding the strength to continue upward. "And it doesn't change the fact that we've been through hell together. We'll get through this together as well." They had to. No, they would get through it.

Determination drove him up to the top of the fence, somehow keeping the thief from falling all the while. It was straining and beyond difficult, but his resolve started to replace his fears, fueling him just enough to get them both to the other side of the fence. To safety.

He glanced through the fence, once he and Kid were both safely on the ground, to see that Demon was watching them with irritation. So he couldn't climb, huh? Conan couldn't help but offer the monstrosity a smug smirk. They'd gotten away safely.

"Kheh," Demon growled, turning his back on the two boys. "Don't think so highly of yourself. This was a fluke." The monster then stalked off, back into the darkness of the graveyard.

Conan was jolted back to life by a scream. His eyes snapped open and as he turned toward the source of the sound, he blanched. Kid had pinned his childhood friend against a wall, completely blocking any chance of escape. That wasn't the worst part; the thief's mouth was pressed against the girl's throat. She looked terrified, and the diminutive detective couldn't blame her. Ran and Hakuba were closest to the infected thief, both looking ready to force him away… but if they miscalculated anything, they could end up getting the poor girl bitten as well…

That was when it happened. Kid suddenly stood at full height (thankfully leaving the girl unharmed), pressed a hand to his forehead, and collapsed onto the snowy ground without a sound. Hakuba went straight for the still-frightened girl, quickly looking her over for injury and asking, "Aoko-kun, are you alright? Kuroba-kun didn't hurt you, right?"

Her eyes moved from her fallen childhood friend to the British detective, still widened with fear and laced with unshed tears. "… N-no," she stammered, unable to reign in the upwelling of emotions currently at war in her mind. "I-I… Kaito didn't… he didn't do anything… Al-almost…" It was a horrible thing, to see Kid at his childhood friend's throat like that. That he'd go so far as to attack and nearly bite and infect her… just how much was this drug affecting him? Did he even know what he was doing?

But thinking back on it, Vampire had acted pretty much the same when they'd managed to escape. The two of them, like it or not, were in the same boat now. The thought alone was enough to send chills down Conan's spine. They didn't need two Vampires running around, that was for sure.

Conan let out a small cry of alarm when someone came over and picked him up off the ground. Their arms were soft and comforting as opposed to the typical roughness of most men and strangers… Ran, then. Sure enough, it was her voice that asked him, "Conan-kun, are you okay?" Even when everything fell apart, it warmed his heart to know that Ran would always be thinking about his well-being. She really was a blessing.

"I'm okay, Ran-neechan," he said with slightly more energy than he felt, also offering her a slight smile. He wasn't lying. He felt fine now, aside from waking up to that awful sight.

A slight groan drew his and the others' attention. Kid was starting to come-to. The thief slowly and laboriously forced himself into a sitting position, but it seemed he couldn't get his body to cooperate enough to actually stand. Kid placed a hand to his forehead and let out another groan. Everyone watched Kid in apprehension, though Conan simply watched in curiosity. Didn't they notice there wasn't anything even similar to malice in the thief's demeanor?

From Ran's arms, the diminutive detective asked, "Oi, Kaito-niichan, are you okay?" He felt, more than saw, Ran flinch as the wounded thief slightly moved his gaze toward them. Kid's eyes were dull and tired, with a hint of confusion veiled inside. How couldn't Ran and the others notice this? Even Hakuba seemed on-edge, guarding Aoko as if waiting for the thief to attack again…

"… What… what's going on…?" Kid asked wearily, opting to close one eye and keep the other on Conan. His voice sounded disturbingly weak and uncertain. The sound barely made it to Conan's ears.

Slightly wiggling, Conan managed to get free from Ran's grasp and walked over to the wounded thief. "C-Conan-kun!" Ran exclaimed, following him and reaching for his arm.

Shrugging away, the diminutive detective said, "It's okay, Ran-neechan. He's not dangerous." He heard her make a noise of protest, but chose to ignore it in favor of checking on his injured companion. "Hakuba-niichan, Hideki-san, you two check on Daisuke-san." Both males made slightly unnerved sounds, but they still went over to the fallen and mercifully unconscious Daisuke. Conan got to Kid's side and looked him over before asking loud enough for any bystanders to hear, "Did anyone call the police or ambulance?" A few bystanders stammered their yeses and a few others lowered their phones. Must've been either taking videos or photos of the whole scene… which was a double-edged sword, evidence-wise.

"…Why am I… dangerous?" Kid asked, closing his eye and leaning a bit further into his hand. "What… happened…?" he tried again, a little more urgently, voice barely more than a whisper by this point. All that roaring probably did a number on his vocal chords…

Quieting his voice once more so that only Kid would hear him, he answered, "Remember what Vampire was like back when we were escaping the slaughterhouse? How he went berserk and started attacking everyone?" The thief gave the smallest of nods, mixed with a slight shiver. Maybe it was from the cold, but Conan had a feeling it was from something deeper than that. "You," he started, but couldn't quite find the words to continue. Kid wasn't fragile, but hearing that he acted exactly like Vampire probably wouldn't make it easy to hear, either. Taking a slight breath, he decided on another method, "Hideki shot you… several times. Do you remember that?"

Kid stayed quiet for a little while, possibly mulling the question over, before murmuring, "Yes… I passed out… after that…"

"You passed out?" Conan repeated, wanting to be certain of Kid's side of the story. The police were coming and all the evidence the bystanders and even their own friends had could very easily get him locked up. Yes, he'd been provoked, but he also moved into overkill tactics extremely fast, and there'd be fairly severe consequences if they didn't understand the whole situation.

"Yes…"

"Do you remember anything else?"

"…The graveyard… You… you saved me…" So that dream did have a purpose after all… Kid really had been somehow sharing dreams with him. There was no other way he'd know about the graveyard, no other way he'd know that Conan had gotten him to safety. The only problem was that it was unlikely anyone else would believe the thief's story. Even knowing the truth, it was hard to fathom how Kid had really been unconscious, yet his body retained the ability to move on its own. It was like Demon had switched consciousnesses with him… And that was assuming Demon was more than a figment of their imagination and, in fact, was a real danger. Like the rest of all of this, it made some amount of sense—felt correct, even—but it just sounded so outlandish.

He wasn't sure how to respond, if he was honest. So, rather than dwell on their shared dream, he moved onto the more pressing issue. "Do you remember what happened to Daisuke-san?"

The thief thought about it for a while, but shook his head. "…No… I don't remember… much else…"

"You don't remember how you got here? To this specific spot, I mean. You don't remember getting at Aoko-neesan's throat?" In retrospect, he really shouldn't have phrased it that way. The thief's eyes opened and he shot the diminutive detective an agitated glare.

"…Don't joke… like that…!" Although weak from pain, there was a hint of a threat in his tone. "I wouldn't… wouldn't ever… attack Aoko…!"

"…I'm sorry, but you did. When I snapped out of that dream, you had your mouth at her throat. You were getting ready to bite her… like you did Daisuke-san."

"…The hell… are you… talking about…?" Kid growled lowly, indigo eyes like daggers. "…Why in… hell would I… bite someone…?!" That was it, then. Kid really didn't remember anything he did while he was acting so vicious earlier. He didn't seem to know what happened and was truly outraged that Conan had even suggested that he'd acted so violently. And that left two tasks for the diminutive detective, neither of which was going to be enjoyable. He'd have to convince his companion that he was sick, for one, and then he'd have to convince him that he'd lashed out like Vampire had…

Conan raised his hands defensively, "I know you wouldn't attack anyone. You're a good person, Kaito-niichan." He could tell Kid still wasn't pacified, but at least he'd quieted down. "Hideki-san told us that you were injected with a certain chemical… Do you remember that?" The thief gave a curt nod, but said nothing. "That probably happened that day I was unconscious, right?" Again, the thief nodded, likely trying to figure out where he was going with all of this. "After you lost consciousness today, he told us that the chemical made survivors what they call 'neo-werewolves.' Do you know anything about that?"

The thief didn't answer. He said nothing and did nothing, leaving Conan to wonder just what he was thinking. Finally, the reality of it all set in and Kid's eyes seemed to dull as he averted his gaze. "…I'm… some werewolf…?" He sounded so lost, almost crushed. The diminutive detective really didn't want to confirm his question, but lying to Kid at this point would only serve to endanger those around him. With one small, slow nod, Conan dealt the fatal blow and could almost feel the thief's despair.

"I'm sorry," Conan murmured, lightly touching his companion's shoulder. "I didn't know… Neither of us knew…" He wanted to do something, anything, to offer Kid some hope, but his companion wasn't naïve. Kid would probably see through any false words of comfort in a heartbeat. "I'm going to stop Vampire and Futoshi," was what he finally decided to say. "They're the ones responsible for this, so they probably have an idea of what's going on and how to make some kind of cure." Then again, Haibara was responsible for him shrinking, and even now they still weren't horribly close to a cure… Yeah, he definitely wasn't telling Kid something like that.

"…Thanks…" What had once been the resolve to see the case through to the end had been replaced by utter hopelessness… It was foreign, especially on someone like Kid, who had been fighting so hard all this time.

"I'll do everything in my power to help you."

"…Why…? …Aren't I… a werewolf… a monster…?" Kid's voice was barely audible by the end of his question. It made a painful amount of sense, for him to feel so down. If he believed that he was like Vampire, ready to snap at a moment's notice and descend into violence, then believing that he really had attacked his childhood friend wasn't very farfetched...

"Look at me," Conan said firmly, waiting for his friend to look him in the eye. "You aren't a monster. If anyone's a monster, it's Futoshi and Vampire for doing this to you. You may be unwell for the time being, but we'll find a way to change that. It'll be okay. You aren't a monster and you're not a lost cause… you're my valued friend who has sacrificed a lot to help me get this far… now leave the rest to me. You saved my life several times over, now let me save yours."

Kid was speechless. He opened his mouth for a moment, but closed it. That was fine, though. Just seeing the faintest look of gratitude and hope meant more to Conan than any words could ever express. In the end, Kid settled for murmuring, "Thank you… for everything… Conan-kun."

"Take it easy, help's on the way."

And then there was one...