Aaand done! Finally finished! Sorry for making you wait for this long. It's not even a long one *sigh*. Thank you for following, favouriting and reviewing! It helps a lot! More at the end of the chapter.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

A faint knock echoed in the back of Marie's mind as she stepped back from a plain gray door waiting for it to be opened. Her heart was thumping and she bit her lower lip. She was nervous. It didn't take long before the sound of footsteps could be heard on the other side and the lock clicked. Marie lifted her gaze up and put on a small smile as a young woman was revealed from behind it.

"Ah! Marie-chan! How nice of you to visit!"

A woman with light brown hair tied up in a loose chignon and light grey and blue eyes smiled down stepping sideways to invite the small girl in.

"Yup! Thank you for letting me come, Meiko-neechan!", Marie smiled with an overly bright voice and stepped in.

The door closed leaving behind a quiet corridor. Beside the door just below the doorbell was a newly placed nametag telling that the apartment belonged to a Haibara.

XXXX

"Wow! The Kudos did a really good job with this", Marie whistled looking around the neat, small apartment.

It seemed like someone had moved in just a little while ago. There were still unopened boxes lying in a corner, but everything else was tidy and looking good. It was a good idea to ask for their help. It was also a good idea to ask for their number beforehand from professor Agasa. They had taken everything, everything, in stride. And didn't mind the oddness of the fact that a five year old girl asked for this favor saying the hakase gave her the number.

"Yes, they really did. I don't know how I would have done without their help. With my appearance too… ", she tugged a bang in front of her face and studied it carefully, "Yukiko-san made it look so natural"

Marie could only agree. She smiled at the color. It made her remember Shiho's hair. The strawberry blonde hair she had was so beautiful. Haibara Meiko's hair was a shade darker and without the hint of red, but they still looked so similar. They needed to be sisters in the future. But first they needed a plan.

"So… Shall we?", Marie asked the older girl.

Meiko grew serious again and sat on a chair in front of her, "We shall"

There was an uncomfortable silence which was filled with the two staring into the depths of the others eyes. Finally Akemi broke it.

"What… was that light?"

Marie bit her lip and looked into her hands. The light. She still didn't know where it came from or what it wanted. She felt like she knew, but it was in the back of her head and she just couldn't wrap her mind around it.

"I… honestly don't know. It brought me here, that's for sure and healed you. The only connection is that it saved us from dying"

"Red, feels warm and… filling. That's what I felt", Akemi told her a hand automatically searching for the wound that had disappeared completely, "Filling light that is, well, alive"

Marie nodded, "My feelings exactly. What I don't get is, where did it come from?"

There was a small pause as both thought about it.

"What I don't get is how you know the future. And what do you mean by 'brought me here'?", the girl looked at Marie intently.

There was an uncmfortable pause.

"I, uh, I'm from… It's freaky, but I'm from another world or… an alternate… universe? Not really sure…", Marie took a peek at the other's face seeing a surprised expression.

Five minutes really wasn't a long time to set up a hasty plan and pull it off, which happened the last time they talked. It wasn't really a time to reveal everything and she was just glad Miyano Akemi took her word for it. She really wouldn't have known what to do if she hadn't.

"That light brought me here from a plane crash where I almost died. It kind of teleported me here right before I could crash. I don't remember much of it though… As for the future knowing thing…", Marie took a deep breath and locked her eyes with the blue and gray ones, "Would you believe me if I said I read it all?"

Akemi looked surprised, then thoughtful. It took a while and Marie could almost see her mind working.

"Yes… it would make sense. Are you saying that this world is fictional in your universe?"

Marie blinked, surprised, "Yeah. You caught up pretty quick. It was a manga that I read through and through like, a million times. Almost literally"

And right now Conan was with Kogoro and Ran on the boat trip with the married couple and the old man and one guy that were murdered. She didn't want to go. It stung to know there was murders happening, but she couldn't have done anything. Besides, otherwise Ran wouldn't get the letter and it would change things, what Marie didn't want to risk. So she stayed with Agasa.

Anyway, back to the present.

"You probably want to know details of your sister's escape?"

At this Akemi's concentration grew, if possible, and she nodded firmly.

"Okay. First, do you know what your sister is doing?"

"Yes, well. She's in the research department of the organisation"

"Yes, and the project she's working on is a drug meant to kill and leave no trace. The untraceable poison, APTX 4869", Marie's tone was serious.

This seemed like new information to the sister, but Marie continued.

"And here is where it gets freaky. When I was teleported to this world, I landed in an amusement park, Tropical Land. It just happened to be beside a place Gin and Vodka decided to use the poison for the first time and made Shinichi Kudo the famous High School Detective, their guinea pig", Akemi didn't yet seem to grasp where Marie was going with this, "I, of course, happened to see this particular action and they poisoned me too. See where it got me?"

Akemi's eyes widened, "You don't mean…!"

Marie nodded.

"The poison turned us into children"

A stunned silence fell into the room as the woman opposite her seemed to go through this information. Then she gasped, realizing something.

"Shiho is going to attempt suicide!", the look was horrified and Marie couldn't blame her.

They were talking about her sister trying to die.

"She is. But that's all that happens. She attempts suicide, but shrinks like I and Conan. Don't worry too much, she is one of those one-in-a-million to survive it. After that she will escape and turn up in front of the Kudo mansion, where Agasa-hakase will find her. Then, if we don't change the original timeline too much she'll be fine. And if we do… well, it's a risk, but I think it would turn out pretty well if not better. It's a big risk though, so I've been going with the original for all this time and I'm starting to ramble, sorry", Marie ended with a hint of embarrassment on her cheeks.

She really wasn't used to making explanations. It was so hard. This one turned out quite well though.

"Well… this is a lot to go through. And it's hard to believe. Alternate universe! I feel like I've seen everything…", Akemi sighed, "It's a great advantage though. Have you told anyone else?"

"No. I'm thinking about telling Conan, though… He's so much smarter than me. And I'm changing things already with saving you and even being here. If I change something I would like to do it with more… planning, you know? It's crazy to do things without thinking. Knowledge is power, but some of it is way dangerous", this was the matter Marie had been balancing with for the last few days.

What if she did something stupid with her knowledge? It was possible, and likely, and she didn't like it. This was something she needed help with. But at the same time she was afraid to ask, afraid to do something wrong. It was scary. So it was also relieving to get some of it off her shoulders. Have someone she could tell it.

Akemi was thinking. She thought about how impossible this situation was, how strange it was. But there she was, sitting across a five year old girl, who was really about ten years older and from another world. It felt foreign. Then she realized what kind of situation the girl had been put in. She got thrown into another world and she knew what was happening next. The good and bad things. She wanted to prevent those worse things, but didn't know how or even if she should. She needed advice. She needed help. It was a big burden a young girl had been carrying alone for the past month. She knew Akemi was going to die and it was a critical choice, but she chose to save her.

Akemi cleared her throat a little.

"You know… Thank you. For wanting to save me", she smiled a little, "You succeeded even if it wasn't planned. You have a good heart"

Her smile softened. This girl was something. To be able to act this calm even with the burden.

"I think… I think you should do what you feel is right. What you feel like is a good decision. Get allies. Think things through. I think that will guide you to the right path here. Don't worry too much", Akemi copied the girl from a little while ago, "You have friends right here. Don't worry, because people care about you here. Even if you don't feel like it"

To this point Marie had sat in silence and listened. The voice touched her heart and warmed it.

"Thank you…", was her quiet whisper.

She was smiling. It was a safe smile. A smile of relief and peace. A smile Akemi liked on that too young face.

They stayed like that for a moment before growing serious and locking eyes.

"Ready to start planning?", Marie asked.

"Ready"

They were going to bring this family together some way or the other. Best to do it with a good plan.

XXXX

Marie sat on the floor of Agasa's house trying out the new card tricks Kaito had thought her.

First, cut the deck, shuffle, spread, flip, gather and cut again. Then proceed to making the trick.

She repeated a few times to familiarize herself with it and then leaned back with a satisfied sigh. Magic was fun and exciting and Kaito was an amazing teacher. It was never boring with him around. They had started to resemble a pair of a master and an apprentice in the last few meetings. Kaito would always give her more ideas and ways to polish the tricks and then gave her new and more advanced ones. It was fun and reminded her of her parents magic lessons.

It was also funny how alike they looked. Aoko had already nicknamed them as 'The Grinning Duo' due to their entirely similar prankster grins. And pranks were a thing that happened with every meeting. Marie didn't make them, but if Kaito had an idea (he always had at least ten), she followed. The most exciting part for her was the planning. You could let your imagination run free and try new methods. It was just so fun to be with Kaito. Then again, what to expect from a phantom thief?

What Kaito thought about her was a different matter. She had absolutely no idea other than the fact that he cared. She knew he knew she wasn't a normal little child. She had too much knowledge and acted too mature for that. He probably thought she was some kind of a mystery, but hadn't looked into it yet. Although, what did she know? He was a phantom thief. Phantom thieves could be careful and quiet with investigations.

Did Marie want him to find out, though? True, phantom thieves could keep secrets. Plus, one would be an awesome ally, but would it change things too much? And would it change it for worse or better?

It was a tough question.

Sighing Marie remembered Akemi's, now Meiko's, advice and made her decision.

I'll tell him later when it feels right.

A flash of a bespectacled boy filled her mind for a moment and smile was tugging the corners of her mouth.

Him too.

XXXX

And I skipped the boat case. I didn't know how Marie would have fitted in and I think I would have done the same decision as her. Plus, meeting Akemi again was a priority!Next in the manga there is a pause for a month. Should I just skip to the next case (Ran is suspicious) or make my own between? A case Marie doesn't know about sounds tempting, but it will take a while if not forever. The other option is to skip it and forget about it or come back to it later, but that might make some details harder to sort out... Your choice! *A Marie grin*And thank you for reading! Hope you liked it!