Chapter 11: Blood
They all stayed in the apartment. He was sure Kid did so simply because he was too tired to go anywhere else. Hattori wasn't feeling well and, when he rejected breakfast, Conan knew he wasn't going anywhere either. Why Akako-san didn't leave, he wasn't sure, but he took the chair that was in the room while Hattori and the thief got some sleep on the beds.
This was all so very strange and new to him, even if it was less confusing now. He wanted to help Amuro-san and getting him unconnected from that world was the only way he could see doing that.
But then, there were people all over the world then that could or were being subjected to that other plane. Most of them could be active there harmlessly, like Hattori, but he was sure if the detective was anyone else he wouldn't have remained as sane as he had.
He fell asleep, thinking of plans that had no chance of fruition. If not for the smell of food and Akako and Kid fighting over something that sounded like a girl and school, he could have slept all day with the way he felt.
Conan rubbed his eyes some time later, knowing time passed around him simply because of the amount of light and scent of food. "Any of that for me?"
Kid threw him a bag before he could open them all the way again and it landed perfectly in his lap. He hadn't thought the thief would actually have gotten him food. "Thanks."
"You owe me big." Kid took a bite of the sandwich he was eating and swallowed. "You've gotten me into so much trouble with that one 'little' favor. A steak dinner after this is over sounds like a good way of making it up to me."
Conan laughed to himself and opened the bag, getting a sandwich of his own out. He was a bit surprised when there was no mustard on it. He didn't know the thief had looked into him so well that he knew he didn't like it. "I'll keep that in mind."
"I'm going to try and help your friend, but tonight. We've got to hope he keeps himself for at least as long as it takes for me to do something about it. We were talking while you were out and that seems safer than me trying to banish something. If I'm already in the plane apparently it's more like separating than destroying. I don't now. I can kind of understand it. That means you owe me even more since I'm never going to make it to that heist."
Right. Kid had been going to steal something from the old man. Had that been last night or this one? Either way he supposed he was somewhat responsible for him missing it. He'd need to give Ran a call at some point, or make sure the professor did, so he wasn't missing out on his own life either. "Ran was saying something about that too. I think she was planning on going. Maybe it's better you rescheduled. Wouldn't want to crash a party without me there anyway, would you? I'm sure it gets tiring fooling those that have no chance of seeing through your tricks."
Conan caught the thief smile and take another bite of his food, not denying it.
"Yer all a bunch 'a weirdos." Hattori, who had apparently been in the bathroom again, came out and shook his head. "Sittin' tagether like this, talkin' 'bout missin' stealin' somethin' when black creatures from another space jus' tried ta kill us. Remind me again when I became the sane one?"
Conan had to laugh and heard Kid do so as well. Hattori did have a point that he and the thief had never been around each other this much before, but this was hardly the first time they found themselves on the same side. The Darklings and new hour were the only new additions. "If you're calling yourself the sane one, something is really wrong here."
It was nice to have a normal conversation like this, Conan realized, even if it was mostly teasing.
"Here." Kid threw Hattori a white bag as well. "You should really eat something. I might need your help tonight. If those things attack again, Akako-san will be restraining your friend and I'll be trying to… cleanse him? You and the little guy have to play guard dog."
"Oh, ha ha. How funny." Conan didn't miss the dig at him. "At least I'm good at what I do."
"And I'm not?" Kid raised an eyebrow and Conan had to take a bite of sandwich and ignore him. Kid, if anything, was beyond good at what he did. Conan was sure that if more of his captors were serious about catching him that story might change, but since there were more people on the thief's side than not, it wasn't as if he couldn't say he wouldn't be able to beat his own friends if they switched sides.
Kid smiled and went back to his meal while Hattori took the bed again and eyed the bag as if it were poisonous. Being sick all day really didn't give one much incentive to eat anything. "Why are you so sick? We started the hour here." Conan didn't really understand it. They hadn't moved and he didn't feel as bad.
"I dunno." Hattori closed his eyes and let out a breath. "'member though, you just got rid 'a all your black stuff. I'm not exactly unmarked myself, an' those teeth freakin' hurt."
"That's a nice point to bring up." Akako had stayed quite for the most part since he had been awake and he had to get used to hearing her voice. "Your friend, aside from being dragged towards the other plane, is physically pretty hurt. It wouldn't surprise me if he's losing himself simply because he can't keep himself conscious."
"We just have to hope for the best then." Conan could see some blood and scraps on him, but Amuro-san didn't look all that bad. The wounds he had that had been cleaned up weren't life threatening. They wouldn't be nice to wake up with either but it shouldn't keep him out. He was sure the other had had training of some kind to make sure pain took a backseat role when it had to.
"I feel like hell." Hattori put his palms into his eyes and made some sort of dissatisfied grunt in his throat. "Ya have ta fix me after you fix him."
Kid winced, though Conan only saw it for a second and only because he was looking at him. "Maybe not tonight but if I'm up for it I can try for it tomorrow night. That's assuming everything goes as planned."
"Removing taint isn't as easy as it sounds. Think of the creatures that gave it to you." Akako was looking at Kid and he wasn't sure if he was reading the expression right. She seemed both sad and… something else. Some emotion that he couldn't pick out. "They are near gods in their world and they can easily tear us apart. It's like taking their power and putting it against your own. It requires a lot of energy and more so when you're not even in the same plane as the affliction."
"Okay, okay. I was good with 'a t'amarrow." Hattori let out another breath, letting his hands fall beside him and looking as if he were going back to sleep. If the two of them were the last lines of defense, they were going to have some serious issues tonight.
"Do you mind if I call someone?" Conan wasn't sure how many other people Kid would want in on this, but they needed help and there was no way he was going to rely on a sick detective with a stick and himself. Akai-san couldn't do much in this time but he could fight and that would be better than anything else he could think of. Amuro-san would be unconscious so there should be no issues. "There were three of us last night and that didn't even turn out well. Two of us hurt and we're all going to die, even if you succeed. You know you're going to be as good as useless after, and so will he."
Kid shrugged. "I figured I could at least fly out of here. I'm not sure what the rest of you would do. That isn't my problem. Go ahead and call someone else in, but they're keeping their hands to themselves and not using anything here against me, especially her," he said, jabbing a finger towards Akako.
Conan nodded. He understood that well enough. Kid had no reason to be here other than to help him and he was going above and beyond that. He would give up some ground for that.
He wasn't really sure if Akai would help either. The man was an unknown in most cases but he didn't like to see people die either and Amuro was such a great connection to the organization and its secrets that Conan couldn't pass this up.
It was late when the F.B.I. officer arrived, his disguise discarded since it would likely only get in the way or be destroyed in the other time. Conan let him in when he knocked, wondering as the man walked in, black hat and clothes standing out in the yellowed light, if he wouldn't have some advantage wearing that in the other hour.
Kid and Akako froze up but Conan smiled. "Kid-san, Akako-san, this is Akai-san."
Kid nodded his head in return slightly, lowering his hat more. Akako was more open, smiling and nodding her head as well, though changing her pose just slightly to move her hair just so. "Hello."
Akai smiled himself and closed the door. "Hello." Conan felt him looking towards him after. "I think you'll need to explain what's going on with me again. It hasn't been that long since we last talked and things seem to have changed drastically."
Conan nodded, a little less enthusiastically. He was tired and Hattori seemed to be honestly asleep at this point. He nodded to the bed. "Sit down."
…
It was dark and they were all sitting up. The door was propped open and they were ready to run this time. The other doors would turn just as easily since there were handles and no electrical lock. The front automatic doors were the only thing that posed a problem so Kid had gone downstairs and found an emergency exit they could use instead. The alarm would never have to go off by the time it was closed again.
Conan wasn't looking forward to this. He was nervous and angry still. What was left of his morale had been taken out with whatever taint had him seeing less of the world around him that morning.
Hattori didn't seem any better off. He was still sick though they'd managed to get him to eat something. He was currently sitting up against the wall, clearly as weary and afraid as Conan felt.
Akai was different. He hadn't fought any of these creatures and he seemed ready for them. Kid and Amuro were in the bathroom and Akako was in the hallway looking in, so as not to get in the thief's way. Conan couldn't see them though he felt the five of them, four if Kid passed out, were a pretty poor army to be taking on these creatures.
The light changed. Conan tensed. He saw Akai vanish as the time did and wondered if the man could control it or if he'd meant to make himself invisible. "Akai-san?"
He might have gotten an answer but the scream that tore thought he empty air drowned everything out. Conan had to hold his hands over his ears as Hattori stood as well and they peeked around the corner.
Akako was the only thing they could see and she turned to them, waving a hand and suddenly a wall was there, blocking off the hallway and the bathroom from them, immediately cutting off the sound as well.
"Huh. I didn' know she could do that."
Conan hadn't really seen what she could do besides restrain. Apparently she was more gifted than they were in this time. That would make sense if she was calling herself a Magi.
"I didn't either." Maybe they would be fine tonight after all. It seemed she had more power than he thought and, as a dog and with wings, he and Kid could easily get away as well. Akai he didn't have to worry about and as long as Hattori, Amuro-san, and Akako stayed together the forewarning and her power should be enough to fend anything off.
"Stay sharp."
Conan heard Akai's voice though still couldn't see him. He turned and faced the window, feeling himself turning back into a dog. He winced when a lot more of his weight had to go on his front paw than it had on his shoulder. While it hadn't hurt much when he was human, as an animal the muscles and damage were different. He shifted so his other leg was taking most of the pressure off and saw Hattori kneel beside him.
"Ya know, when ya change, ya don't keep the bandages. Be careful."
Conan nodded his head. He obviously hadn't kept his clothes when he'd turned the first time. He hadn't thought the bandages would stay.
Cut off from the others he had no idea what he was going to do. Obviously he was meant to be one of the defenders but he was too curious, wondering what was going on beyond the dark wall, to really focus much. Thankfully his hearing was great and he heard when the first creature started climbing the outer wall and turned, growling at it to warn the others, before turning back and watching the magical wall.
Hattori did what he'd been trying to do before and stood beside the window with his sword, waiting for the creature to show up. It wasn't the same spider that had been there last night. This one was much smaller so it could fit in the window and Hattori didn't have much trouble sticking it a few times and kicking it back out. The spider's legs came at the Osakan but they didn't do any damage. It wasn't as if they were sharp and the spider couldn't reach far enough in while holding the wall and getting struck to get much leverage.
Another spider came in next, this one with hairier legs and many more eyes that glowed large and bulbous in the blue light. It tried to stay low and take the blows but Hattori changed tactics, grabbing it when its legs were more focused on holding than hitting and simply throwing it back out, using the sword again when a few of its legs managed to hang on.
The dark skinned teen was out a breath but took the time to turn to him while there was a pause. "Easier than b'fore at least."
"For now." Conan wasn't going to trust that the same thing that happened last night, the large spider coming in while the others road its web as it cleared the way, wouldn't happen again.
Akai stayed invisible and Conan should have been glad. He wasn't though, since his nose could still pick up on his scent and it was distracting him, making his mind think and want to follow it to figure out exactly where Akai was instead of just an educated guess. He shook his head, wondering how much the instincts of a real dog should be affecting him in a plane that obviously wasn't his own.
He didn't have much more time to worry about that when a noise from behind caught his attention. He turned and yelped, pulling away as large shadowy claws dug deep into his back.
Half standing and half crouching to try and make the wounded part of him less accessible, he stared and tried to analyze what he saw.
The something before him hadn't come in the open door. He knew that much only because Akai's scent had gone that way. There would have been some warning if it had passed him. That was what he was afraid would happen if the creatures had been able to open either glass automatic ones or the back door. The stair doors would also have slowed them down. He was sure the FBI agent had though the same and was taking care of that.
No, this was most assuredly one that was in the room. The scent told him more than the visual that it was Amuro-san, though he didn't look much like himself anymore. He was still… human, if what he was could be called human. He looked taller, his skin covered in black, moving shadow as if it were alive. His blue eyes weren't blue anymore but held that same white-blue glow they had taken on when he was looking at something else. His fingers were long and claw-like. If he was wearing clothes or shoes, Conan couldn't see them.
He could see sharp white pointed teeth grinning at him with those glowing eyes. "Miss me?"
Conan whimpered, pushing his ears back. He hated that voice. It was different than the wolf's but it hurt all the same. It felt too old and too different in ways he couldn't explain.
"Shit." Hattori had turned at some point because Conan felt him grab the back of his neck, half cutting off his air for a moment as he pulled on him, hard, to drag him back and around the beds. The other teen stood in front of him, sword in hand, but made no move to attack.
"Smart, but you're too late. Do you think we'd stop after you hurt so many of our own?" That shadow person who was - or at least used to be - Amuro, stepped forward and around to Hattori's little defensive spot. He reached out when the teen tried to hit him with the sword and grabbed the shaved blade. "Now, now. You're going to have to fight better than that."
Conan couldn't see anything but a second or two later Hattori closed his eyes and screamed, falling to the floor. Conan tried to stand but he was too hurt to do more than look over the Osakan's shoulder and growl.
"Saw your death just now, didn't you?" There was that wicked grin again. He didn't know why but something about this one seemed different than the wolf, darker, less sane.
He would have liked to say that Akai took that moment to come to their rescue but he didn't. It would have been wonderful if he had but the other's smell had been gone for a while now, and there was no way he could tell what was transpiring here now.
Hattori had dropped the sword when he fell, the shadow creature throwing it aside. He grabbed Hattori's arm, pulling him up to his feet, and it looked like he punched him.
Only, as Conan took a step forward to help, he hadn't punched him. Hattori had blood running down the sides of his lips as he coughed, black claws coming out of his stomach where far too much blood fell out of and onto the floor. Conan had to wrinkle his nose, smelling something vile soon after.
The creature let Hattori go and the dark skinned teen fell back to the floor, his eye half open in shock and pain, an arm barely going to the large wound now in his stomach.
Conan whimpered, going back as far as he could and feeling the wall. He couldn't run, not even to save his life, with the wound he already had. He didn't want to leave Hattori either though. There were other things on his mind, things he could barely focus one as dozens of them came to him at once, leaving none accessible.
The dark thing smiled at him, reaching and grabbing him where Hattori had just a minute before. There was no way to dig into the floor to stop himself being pulled forward.
A red, blinding light hit him and he thought he had died. There was a snarl that was inhuman and for a moment, he had thought that was him as well.
He felt his fur fall back into place, the claw leaving as the shadow creature too a step back to hide its eyes. The shadows around it fell away for a second and Conan could see Amuro again, his skin black and his eyes still that unearthly white. Akako was standing across the room, out of breath and blood on her clothes. "No."
The shadows, shadows Conan barely recognized now as looking very much like the ones that had bound Amuro earlier, came out of the floor and tried to encircle him again. This time he swept them aside with his hand, glaring at Akako. "How dare you try and fight me? How dare you hurt me and bind me! I will have you, mark my words. You will be mine and mine alone and I will make you regret making me an enemy."
Amuro eyed the window for a moment before simply jumping out of it, leaving the rest of them alone in the room. If there were more creatures on the walls, Conan wasn't sure. He knew that there was still a long time before the hour ended.
"Hurry. He's dying."
There was a light in front of him. Kid. The thief raced out of the hallway after Akako had given him the all clear, going over and kneeling beside Hattori. He winced and put his hand over the wound. "This is so going to hurt."
A white light started appearing around his hand, showing off details that even the blue time didn't reveal, real color coming back where the light touched.
Kid was absolutely covered in blood. His white outfit wasn't so white anymore. It was torn down the front and ripped open, showing off deep, bleeding scars that the thief would have for the rest of his life.
Conan tried to look over at Akako, look anywhere but at Hattori, but couldn't make out any new injuries on her. Her clothes and skin were stained dark colors in a few places, but nothing seemed to have hurt her.
"I'm going to pass out after this. Kami, why does it have to hurt so much?" Kid closed his eyes and the white light intensified to the point where it was blinding him and Conan had to close his eyes, nowhere to turn and nowhere to go to get out of the light.
Then it was gone and he saw the thief check Hattori over a moment before falling to the side, his hat coming most of the way off at the odd angle that he found himself at.
Conan didn't dare to look over for a few seconds. It wasn't until Akako went down to her knees beside the thief, checking him over, that Conan looked as well.
The hole in Hattori's stomach was gone. The blood was still there, as was the blood on his lips, but he breathed in and out just fine, as if he were asleep. There wasn't even a mark to show where the wound had been, just ruined, soiled clothes to speak of the damage.
"Wow." Conan knew there were a lot of things to think on right now, but seeing something like that… it just left him amazed.
"It came at a cost. Nothing in this world is free." Akako's eyes were sad as she pushed Kid's hair aside, giving Conan a perfect view of his face. Kid, as he thought, looked very much like himself. His hair was a mess though. It wasn't as if he could fault him for it with what had just happened. "He feels any damage that he takes away. That's why healers aren't as all powerful as people think they are. That was a mortal wound. It should have killed your friend. In turn, it very near almost killed him to heal it."
Conan swallowed, looking closer at Kid. He was pale and breathing hard to be unconscious, but he didn't seem any more hurt than he had before. Conan's attention was again drawn to the marks on his chest. "Why didn't he heal himself?"
Akako smiled and looked into his eyes. "He did, or tried to. He had been trying to cleanse your friend as it was. It took most of his power and attention and he was struck when your friend slipped up and let too much of himself go. If it weren't for me that would have killed him too. Your friend got away and he tried to heal himself. It used to be deeper and he made the wounds less so. He stood and swore, then followed off after your friend like the idiot he is. I figure he stopped because he knew healing himself would have taken most of his energy and he wanted to save it. That might be giving him too much credit though. He hasn't been a part of the supernatural world like I have and he shouldn't be able to realize that kind of thing."
Conan nodded, trying to stand and wincing before sitting back down himself. He knew that he wouldn't be moving for a long time to come, or until Kid was conscious enough and could heal him as well. "What did you do to scare him off?"
"Just some warding magic. It doesn't work on all of them, especially not the older ones. We got lucky. The one who got him last night isn't that old."
Conan didn't know what to do. He was hurt really bad. Hattori had just almost died it front of him. It looked like Kid almost had as well. Akai… he had no idea where Akai had gone, but he figured something had caught his attention. Even if he had been here, there was nothing he could have done. And now… "Was it all for nothing?"
"I wouldn't say 'nothing'. It was stupid though, on all our parts. I should have hurt him more to keep him down. This idiot should have not been as close as he was, though proximity does help and touch is a necessity. You and the lucky one who's out on the floor should have run instead of tried to stand and fight. The other at least looks like he came out of it with minor wounds. We all made mistakes today. If it were me, I'd tell you to leave this world as it is now. There isn't much hope and you'll die if you stay."
"There's a little." Kid still didn't have his breath back and he had started to sweat. "He's not gone, not yet. I was so close…"
"You idiot." Akako hit Kid lightly on the head. "Get some rest before you pass out again."
Kid didn't seem to have a problem with that and closed his eyes again, falling into what Conan wanted to call sleep but it seemed like he was still more conscious than he should be.
"Akai-san, he-"
"He's outside. He was scouting the area. I'm not sure if the ones that were trying to get in through the stairs are still there or not but I felt them come. Either he was holding them off or he was holding the door closed. Either would have worked and the second would have saved some pain."
Conan nodded. He figured Akai was doing something like that. After all, there really hadn't been much sounds of a fight in here and none of them had called for his help. "Thank you. You saved us."
Akako smiled. "Yes, but this will likely be the last time I do. That thing just swore revenge on me and I'm not an idiot. Sticking around here with all of you will get me killed."
Kid shifted, moving his arm so he could reach over and grab Akako's. They looked at each other for a few seconds and Kid smiled. "I need your help."
Conan wasn't sure what was going on between the two of them, but he saw how torn Akako was about it. Eventually she let out a breath and smiled. "Well, there's always tomorrow night."