Fade to Darkness
Title: Fade to Darkness
Rating: M
Fandom: Detective Conan
Summary: Reincarnation only existed in fanfiction, yet Michael Leo Field was reborn as Akai Senichi, the younger twin brother of Akai Shuichi. However, his new life takes a dark turn; at the age of ten he is kidnapped and at twelve, he is forced to join the organization. [OC Insert as Akai Sibling] [Family/Angst/Drama/Crime]
Arc IV
Chapter XVIII
Albtraum
Warnings: Yet Another Terribly Written Scene
"Kohji, are you sure you want to participate?" Tsutomu asked, quickly reviewing the few lines of text that he had received from Senichi regarding Darkest Nightmare. "This is a very dangerous mission,"
"I'm not going to stand back and do nothing," Kohji told him. "But couldn't you have chosen a less conspicuous name than Crimson Robins?"
"It matches the red theme," Tsutomu claimed. "Akai Family, Scarlet Crow, Crimson Robins,"
"And our codenames?" Kohji pointed out.
"I'm Vermillion, you're Carmine," Tsutomu said. "The others are Cherry, Candy Apple, Ruby, and Strawberry. We're all shades of red,"
'It's a miracle that the organization hasn't found out about us and connected us to Shuu and Sen yet,' Kohji sweat-dropped. "We've already got our tickets. We also have costumes to disguise ourselves once we get inside,"
"We'll blend right in," Tsutomu assured him.
"Our costumes look like rip-off Power Rangers suits," Kohji commented.
"They resemble robins," Tsutomu pouted. "I'll have you know that they're custom made to be actually bulletproof and shock resistant. The visor has telescopic and night vision features. We also have devices to help us with our mission such as smoke bombs and sleeping gas. We of course have our guns and knives. I took inspiration from Kaito Kid and made our capes into hang gliders and shaped it to kinda resemble bird wings,"
"Akai-san," Cherry addressed the leader. "We'll be disguised as robins because that's the symbol of our group but there's a problem. The mascot of Touto Aquarium is a dolphin,"
"No problem," Tsutomu grinned. "We'll just tell everyone that it's for a VidTube video and they'll leave us alone and probably think we're weirdos,"
"Why?" Strawberry groaned. "Just why are we following this guy?"
"Because he's serious when the situation calls for it," Kohji responded.
XXX
"We are here because of that NOC list, right?" Bourbon and Kir were both handcuffed in a warehouse.
"Curacao saw your name on the list," Gin said as the lights turned on dramatically. "You know perfectly well why you're here,"
"Curacao? The agent who's close to Rum?" Bourbon asked.
"Yes," Kir answered. "She's our specialist in information collecting,"
"I keep telling you that your information isn't true!" Bourbon denied.
"Killing us would be a great mistake," Kir added. "Curacao's information is wrong,"
"She stole it straight from PSB headquarters and sent the email just minutes after escaping," Absinthe pointed out. "It's a hundred percent correct,"
"Didn't I prove my loyalty by killing Akai?" Kir reminded. "If I'm suspected as a NOC, then shouldn't Absinthe be a suspect too?"
"Absinthe would have no opportunity to join any intelligence agency," Gin pointed out. "Joining an intelligence agency would take a while and the organization would've surely noticed,"
"Trying to shift the suspicions onto me?" Absinthe mocked. "That's only making you look even guiltier,"
"Bring Curacao out and have her confirm the information!" Bourbon demanded. "That's why you didn't kill us immediately, right? Because you're still unsure,"
"That's exactly like you, Bourbon," Gin sat down on a crate and lit a cigarette.
"Luckily for you, we don't have that list right now," Vermouth said. "She retrieved the list but escaped the police,"
"Then recover Curacao and make her confirm that our names are absent from the list," Kir urged as she tried to undo her handcuffs. "If you kill us and our names are not on there, you'd have made a huge mistake!"
"That's right," Gin stood up. "However," He pointed his Beretta at them. "Mistake or not, it's up to me to confirm it. It's about time to get rid of these vermin. We'll reunite in Hell," He stomped on his cigarette to extinguish it. He then fired a shot into Kir's shoulder, forcing her to drop the bobby pin she was using to pick her handcuffs. "What is it, Kir? Do you have something to say?"
"We told you already!" Bourbon repeated. "We're your allies!"
"Don't waste your time," Gin responded. "I know that you aren't. I'm giving you one minute, your last chance to prove your innocence. Rats are a nuisance. Vodka, the countdown,"
"Understood," Vodka looked down at his watch. "Sixty,"
Gin continued to ignore the two's please. When the countdown reached zero, a gunshot from elsewhere caused a ceiling light to fall and knocked the light over. Vermouth shone her phone flashlight towards the prisoners and revealed that Bourbon had escaped. The door was kicked open. "Find him!" Vodka rushed out to chase after who they thought was Bourbon.
Absinthe took a slight whiff of the air, catching the scent of his brother. 'Shuichi, I'm glad you still made it just in time,'
"Don't kill Kir!" Vermouth stopped Gin. "It's Rum's orders. He received an email from Curacao. They had nothing to do with the NOC list,"
"She recovered her memory?" Gin asked.
"We told you that we're victims of a conspiracy!" Kir said calmly. "Why don't you remove the handcuffs already?"
"No," Vermouth refused. "It's a direct order from Rum. We must find Curacao to confirm if the email was really sent by her. She must still be in the police hospital, but under protection,"
"You're absolutely sure of this?" Gin took out his own cell phone. "She's certainly our ally, but it seems that she's on the move,"
"Of course she's our ally," Absinthe couldn't stop himself from blurting out. "She wouldn't betray the organization. You know that more than anyone, Gin,"
XXX
It was at night time that the Crimson Robins acted. They snuck into the structures between the two Ferris wheels and started searching for the bombs. They had to search carefully in order not to miss any. "Holmes' Apprentice!?" Vermillion exclaimed when the boy arrived. "I told you to stay away from the Ferris wheel!"
"Let me help!" Conan shouted. "It'll be faster if there's more of us!" He looked around and noted some of the bombs. "Have you seen Akai-san?" 'Haibara said that Curacao is Gin's sister, yet he's actually willing to kill her!'
"I think I saw two people fighting on top of the Ferris wheel," Candy Apple recalled.
At that moment, both Akai and Rei fell down but continued their fight. "Stop fighting!" Carmine shouted and attempted to get in between them.
"Who are you!?" Rei demanded.
"I'm Carmine, a member of the Crimson Robins," Carmine introduced. "Right now there are bombs all over this place. Cease your fighting so that we can locate and disable them!"
"Crimson Robins?" Akai gave him a confused look.
"Akai-san, Amuro-san!" Conan called. "They don't want to spare Curacao! They're going to bomb the wheel! Help the Crimson Robins locate and disarm them!"
"Not until they prove that they're not with the organization!" Rei refused. "Tell the leader to remove his helmet and state his name! I want to see his face if he's not a member of the organization!"
"Hey asshole!" Vermillion landed beside the group and removed his helmet. "I'm Akai Tsutomu, codename Vermillion. Obviously I'm not with the crows so stop wasting time!"
"Akai!?" Rei turned to the FBI Agent for confirmation.
"He's my father," Akai gaped at his father in disbelief for a few seconds before regaining his composure. "We don't have time to waste. Furuya-kun, can you help disable the bombs?"
"There's a detonator in the hose racks," Conan said after carefully peering inside.
"Yeah," Rei opened the shelf and pulled out the fire hose.
"Akai-san, where are you going?" Conan asked.
"This building is probably not the only one filled with bombs. There could be some on the wheel," Akai kicked over his rifle case. "There's a bomb disarming kit in there," He ran off.
"I'm going to go and protect the NOC list!" Conan yelled before also running off.
"Those two are alike!" Rei sighed.
"Alike?" Tsutomu started coming up with a crazy theory that Conan was actually Shuichi's son. 'Oh my gosh…I'm a grandpa!'
"Ojisan!" Carmine snapped. "Focus!"
"R-Right!"
XXX
"It's almost time," Vermouth noted from her position at a restaurant. "Curacao will be at the top of the Ferris wheel in three minutes and five seconds,"
"It looks like I'm not needed here," Absinthe said. "I'm gonna go for a walk. My muscles are getting cramped," 'Harimanna…I won't let you die!' "You don't mind, right Vermouth? All we gotta do is grab her cabin and leave,"
'Absinthe, what are you up to?' Vermouth eyed her right hand man suspiciously but returned to the task at hand.
XXX
When Curacao saw the overlapping lights, she screamed and gripped her head. 'It hurts! It hurts!'
"Harimanna, Brendan, do you know what your names means?" Ahren asked his younger siblings. "Manna, your name means warrior maiden. Brendan, your name means flame,"
"What about your name, Ahren?" Brendan asked.
"It means eagle," Ahren smiled.
'My name…it's Harimanna…' Curacao writhed around in pain and pulled at her handcuff. 'Brendan and Ahren are my brothers!'
"You can't die!" Brendan yelled. "You can't leave us behind like that!"
"Ahren, don't go!" Harimanna pleaded.
"Bren, Manna," Ahren pulled them into a hug. "I'm dying anyway. I'd rather die fighting Senichi than die in this cell. At least when Senichi wins, the rations will increase,"
"We don't care about the rations!" Brendan sobbed.
"We just want our big brother!" Harimanna added.
"Senichi will look after you guys in my place," Ahren told them. "I'm sorry,"
"Argh!" Curacao let out another scream of pain. 'We were in Mad Dog Arena! Ahren…Ahren was killed!'
A tall Japanese man came into sight, unfazed by the chaos and destruction around him. He paused and scrutinized the three children for a moment before speaking. "Do you wish to live?"
"Urgh!" Curacao grimaced. 'Jenever…Jenever rescued us! We joined the organization and became Curacao, Gin, and Absinthe! I'm Rum's right hand man!'
"Are you alright?" Kazami grabbed her shoulder. "Get a hold of yourself! Don't move. I'm calling an ambulance,"
"It won't be necessary," Curacao stood up and easily knocked Kazami out. She removed her handcuffs and used Kazami's phone to call Vermouth. "It's been a while, Vermouth,"
"Like I suspected, you recovered your memory,"
"Yes, but I've got the feeling that I'm being spied on,"
"No problem. Gin is coming to recover you in a helicopter,"
"Gin?"
"Do you remember everything? Did you send an email to Rum? If it wasn't you who sent it…"
'My phone…that boy took it!' Curacao recalled. "Of course I'm the one who sent it. Is there a problem?"
"Now if you would like, wait for your carriage,"
"Okay," Curacao watched as a few seconds later, the entire park lost power. She took out the blank dolphin charm that the kids had given her. 'I don't want to return to the organization. I don't want to continue killing. My current life is no different from Mad Dog Arena except that the fighting ring is bigger. Brendan, Senichi, I hope you both realize that too,'
She opened the top of the cabin and exited. The cool night air blew past her as she maneuvered around the structure. She ended up slipping but immediately used her tiger traits to form claws and dig into the metal and slow her descent. 'I can hear many people here. I need to avoid them!'
"Are you Curacao?" A Crimson Robin somehow snuck up behind her. "Come with us. We'll help you get away,"
'I don't know who this guy is!' Harimanna fought Strawberry instead and managed to knock him out. 'I'm escaping without your help!'
"What the hell did you do to Strawberry!?" Candy Apple growled. "We're trying to help you!"
"Like I'd believe that!" Curacao charged towards her.
Candy Apple managed to dodge the kick and grabbed her ankle. Harimanna shook her grip off and elbowed Candy Apple in the face. Thankfully, the helmet blocked the attack though cracks did form along the visor. Candy Apple stumbled back from the attack and Harimanna took advantage by delivering several body blows. She wasn't aiming to kill them and only intended to knock them out.
XXX
The organization's helicopter's claw grabbed hold of the cabin at the top of the Ferris wheel. "Let's go," Gin ordered.
"Roger that," Chianti said.
"From 8 o'clock, above the Ferris wheel, something was moving," Korn interrupted.
"Did the PSB Officer run?" Gin asked. "Scan the cabin with the infrared system!"
"Roger," Vodka typed some things into the keyboard and on the screen showed the two forms of Conan and Kazami. "T-The figure inside's male! And there's also a kid there! Aniki, Curacao isn't in it!"
"What?" Gin narrowed his eyes. 'Curacao, what the hell are you doing!? You're supposed to stay in the cabin! Where the hell are you!?' "Drop the cabin!"
The claw released the cabin and it fell several feet, garnering the attention of the civilians as well as Vermouth. "Gin, what's going on?"
"Curacao ran away," Gin spat out, voice filled with anger. "Change of plans. We'll eliminate her!" 'How could you betray us!? How could you betray the organization that saved us, the organization that fed us and clothed us!? How could you betray me!?'
"You're so impatient! We still don't know if she betrayed us yet!"
"She left the cabin!" Gin snapped. "Why would she do that except to run?" He turned to Vodka. "Find Curacao immediately!" He turned to Chianti. "Chianti get us away from the Ferris wheel! Korn, aim at the target!"
XXX
"Holmes' Apprentice!" Ruby rushed over to the injured boy. "Good, you're still alive,"
"What about the PSB Officer?" Conan asked.
"He's unconscious but alive," Ruby quickly pulled the man out of the way as the destroyed cabin was starting to fall towards them. "I need to get the two of you away from here!"
"I'm fine!" Conan told her. "Just get the PSB Officer out of here!"
"Vermillion and Carmine trust you," Ruby nodded. "So I will trust you too,"
XXX
"Edogawa-kun!" Haibara called as she snuck into the building. "Edogawa-kun, where are you!?"
"Are you a friend of Holmes' Apprentice?" Vermillion asked. "You need to get away from here. It isn't safe," 'She reminds me of someone,'
Haibara took a step back. "Are you with the organization?"
"No, I'm Vermillion," He introduced. "Leader of the Crimson Robins. Our enemy is the organization,"
"How do I know you're not lying?" Haibara asked.
Vermillion received a text message. "There are kids trapped in one of the gondolas!? We need to get them out!"
"They're my friends!" Haibara told him. "I need to get to them!"
"You need to get away from here!" Vermillion ordered. "My friends and I will rescue the Detective Boys. Just worry about getting to safety," 'Senichi, you should've told me all of the details of this ordeal in one text, not in chunks!'
'The kids are trapped here!?' Harimanna, who had overheard everything, widened her eyes. 'I need to lure the organization away from them!'
XXX
"You still haven't found Curacao!?" Gin demanded.
"There are some shadows inside the Ferris wheel," Vodka informed. "There's two kids and some adults! A-Aniki, the adults have gathered most of the bombs! One of the men is near the detonator!"
"So the PSB found out about the bombs?" Gin took out the remote and pushed the button. When nothing exploded, he clicked it several more times before throwing it to the ground and stomping on it. 'If we can't use the bombs, then we'll use bullets,' "Bathe it, Korn, with a rain of bullets!" 'You won't survive this onslaught, Harimanna! I'll make sure you die! That's what happens to traitors! Traitors are eliminated!' His phone rang and he answered it. "What?"
"You're willing to kill your own sister?"
"All traitors will be eliminated," Gin replied. "You know that, Absinthe,"
"I know. I just wanted to see if you were going to chicken out because the target is your own twin sister. If you didn't have the guts, I'd have to take matters into my own hands,"
"Heh, good to know you haven't gone crazy like Curacao,"
XXX
Senichi ended the call. "How could you kill your own sister?" He sat in the crane Curacao had used in Darkest Nightmare to stop the Ferris Wheel. "I don't want Gin…" Tears started to fall. "Why, Brendan? Why did you have to succumb to the darkness? Why didn't you fight it and keep some goodness in your heart? Do we really mean that little to you?"
He let out a strained sob. "It's all because of Mad Dog Arena!" He slammed a fist onto his seat. "If they hadn't kidnapped all four of us…you, Harimanna, and I wouldn't have joined the organization and Ahren would still be alive! We wouldn't have become Gin, Curacao, and Absinthe!" He leaned his head against the control panel. "Ahren…I promised you that I'd protect Brendan and Harimanna…but I can't protect Brendan from himself,"
XXX
Vermillion and Ruby managed to evacuate the Detective Boys and Kazami just as the crows started shooting at the Ferris wheel. Once the crows caught sight of Curacao's silhouette on the screen, they focused their shooting on her. Several bullets hit her as she fell into the sea along with parts of the Ferris wheel's structure.
"Curacao's signal has disappeared," Vodka reported. "Mission complete!"
"No, not yet," Gin said. "We've still got more mice to dispose of! Target the bombs in the axel!"
"The axel?" Vodka questioned.
"Yeah, we feared that Curacao could've used the chaos caused by the collapse of the Ferris wheel to escape but," Gin grinned. "If it's a mere PSB Officer, that'll suffice," 'That traitor's dead! Family means nothing to me! My loyalty is to the organization!' "Reload the bullets and fire at the axel. Let's finish this before the Air-Force shows up!"
XXX
"Akai-san!" Conan climbed up the debris to the FBI Agent's location.
"Hide!" Akai ordered. "I can still hear the rotors!"
"What about Amuro-san?" Conan asked. "And the Crimson Robins?"
"Don't know," Akai replied. "But if the crows decided to attack with the helicopter, then it must mean that Furuya-kun managed to defuse the bombs,"
"Now we need to figure out how to repel them," Conan said.
"Shuichi! Conan-kun!" Carmine called. "You both still alive?"
"Still in one piece so we're fine," Akai allowed himself a small smile.
"Is that rifle an accessory?" Rei yelled towards Akai. "Don't we have any means to counterattack?"
"There's a way to but my night-vision scope broke," Akai answered. "The only thing I can use is my spare normal scope but this can't bring down that huge steel crow hiding in the darkness. I'd target the rotor's joint,"
"But I couldn't see the joint!" Conan said.
"When it's facing the front, then you can't," Akai stated. "If I could startle them and lighten the rotor area for about five seconds then…"
"I can illuminate the night sky," Conan claimed. "But if we don't know its shape then we can't aim for the rotor area," The helicopter fired several more shots. "No way! They intend to make the axel explode!?"
"They want to send the wheel rolling!" Carmine informed. "Hey Holmes' Apprentice, you only need the overall shape, right?" He grabbed the bag that held the bombs they had collected and threw it outside. He fired several bullets into it, setting them off and causing an explosion.
"I see it!" Conan kicked a fireworks soccer ball at the helicopter.
Akai took aim and fired a single shot, striking the rotary joint.
The helicopter continued to fire at the Ferris wheel, intending to destroy its axel. Carmine grabbed Conan and shielded him from most of the debris. "Shit, the Ferris wheel is rolling!"
XXX
"Harimanna!" Senichi helped pull her out of the water. He deflected a metal pipe that was about to stab her through the abdomen. "Harimanna, are you okay?"
"Senichi," Harimanna coughed up some water she had swallowed.
"The Crimson Robins will be here any moment," Senichi told her. "You're not going back to the organization, okay? I promise you,"
"The organization is no different from Mad Dog Arena," Harimanna said. "We're still forced to kill,"
"I know," Senichi nodded.
"Why can the two of us see that but Brendan can't?" Harimanna asked.
"He enjoys it," Senichi said sadly. "He enjoys killing people because he feels powerful. He no longer feels helpless. The organization corrupted him," He looked up and saw that Conan's soccer ball had started to inflate. "That won't be enough! Harimanna, stay here!" He rushed back over to the crane, grabbing the pipe he had deflected earlier on the way. He drove the crane and crashed it into the side of the Ferris wheel before holding the gas pedal down in place with the pipe and jumping out. 'The kids are safe,' He hurried back over to Harimanna's location and his blood ran cold when he saw that Vermouth was there.
"I'm surprised that you're still alive, Curacao," Vermouth commented.
"Not Curacao," She spat out while glaring at the woman. "Harimanna,"
"Ah yes, Harimanna Klein," Vermouth addressed her by the woman's real name. "I'm not really surprised that Gin chose the organization over his own sister,"
"I don't blame him," Harimanna refused to die without a fight.
"I'm wondering if Akai Senichi is also a traitor," Vermouth turned to the approaching man. "Absinthe, kill Curacao,"
"I'll kill him first!" Harimanna lunged at him, hands and feet morphed into clawed tiger paws and her mouth became full of sharp teeth.
Absinthe wasted no time in activating his polar bear attributes. 'She's covering for me,' He barely dodged a swipe at his head. 'She knows that I'll be killed too if Vermouth finds out I'm a traitor,' He clamped his jaws down hard onto Harimanna's shoulder. 'This is just like in Mad Dog Arena,' He was thrown back several feet. 'Ahren sacrificed himself,' He created several gashes along Harimanna's torso. 'Again…I have to kill a friend,' He managed to pin her down and bit her neck with his teeth, increasing the pressure every second.
"Sen…" Harimanna whispered so softly that only he could hear her voice. "Thank you…for looking after us…"
He crushed her neck completely with a loud, sickening snap. Blood coated his fangs and the inside of his mouth. The crimson fluid dribbled down his chin and he spat out globs of it. He walked over to the sea and attempted to wash the metallic taste out. "Let's get out of here,"
I don't really like how the ending turned out. I'm not sure if Curacao will live or die in Scar(red)let Crow.
Velgamidragon:
Oh wow, the changes are right out the gate with Haibara recognizing Curacao as soon as she saw her before Genta was saved! And the changes make me even more interested in what else will be different and how that will change things both in the context of Darkest Nightmare and from this point onward. Clever on the gasoline smell logically interfering with Absinthe's polar bear abilities (even though he obviously knows where she is anyway due to having seen the movie, it's still a believable in-canon excuse for him to use).
Skai:
I actually liked the idea of Kohji and Tsutomu forming the Crimson Robins and helping out in Darkest Nightmare, but whenever I read over it I can't help but cringe at how I wrote it. I'm not sure if the Crimson Robins will appear in the revamped version but if I can better incorporate them into the story, I'll still include them. It didn't really feel right that the Crimson Robins assisted Conan, Rei, and Akai but the ending is still practically the same as canon with Curacao dead.
