Wow. Has it really been almost five months? I've had a big writer's block with this so I'm sorry for the long wait. I don't know if I'll be able to return to almost weekly updates on this. Knowing myself, I won't. You'll have to bear with irregular ones. And ones that take long. I'm almost prepared to call hiatus on this one if I have another writer's block on it soon after this. Luckily it's summer soon and I'll probably have more time to write. Hopefully inspiration too. Oh yeah! I made a story on my account for my random fanfic ideas that I don't have time or inspiration to write. You can check those if you want. Actually, I hope you will. If people try them out I'd love to read them!

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

There had been one more murder yet again.

A sad, karaoke one. A famous singer had died by the hands of a woman he loved, and who loved him back. Tragic misunderstandings. Yet, the little girl who had known their fate beforehand had not been able to do anything. Marie bit her lower lip. She couldn't do this. Not anymore. Her secrets, seeing the future, trying and failing to prevent murders. It was slowly crushing her. She needed help.

And she knew just where to get it.

She was going to tell her brother.

"Conan", she fidgeted as her brother looked up from the game he was playing, "I'm- "

She was interrupted by Ran, "Hey, Marie-chan, Conan-kun? Have your parents contacted you?"

The duo glanced at each other in surprise. Marie wanted to groan.

Of all the times to ask this it has to be now! Manga timing sucks.

In response to Ran she raised her head and shook it, "Nu-uh. I'm not worried, though"

The older girl blinked, "Why is that? It's been such a long time!"

Conan decided it would be best to turn the game off. He spun around in his seat and the siblings took eye contact, communicating silently.

"We're used to them traveling around. They do it all the time", said the boy.

Marie nodded, "Conan takes care of me and others take care of us both"

Ran's eyebrows drew together, "Is that so…"

Both children bobbed their heads simultaneously. It looked funny. They watched anxiously as Kogoro joined the conversation, asking where they could get in touch. Marie was worried, because Kudo Yukiko would come here soon. Conan was worried, because they had no idea how to contact people who didn't exist. The doorbell rang and Ran went to open it. The youngest in the room shuffled her feet as the 'stranger' stepped inside.

"She came! She came!", Ran called enthusiastically, "Your mother is here!"

Conan was gobsmacked as the woman fell to her knees and pulled both of them into a hug. Marie went rigid even though she knew who the woman was. Conan's instinctive reaction of jumping back and shouting how she wasn't their mother was very understandable. Marie sweatdropped as Yukiko disguised as Edogawa Fumiyo explained the extremely odd thing to say with 'they're just miffed because we haven't contacted them in such a long time'. And just as they were telling Ran how they were used to it! Sometimes she questioned her new world's logics and how it was possible not to notice very obvious things.

She became very aware of Conan's questioning look and just shrugged a 'let's just go with it'.

It was a testament to his trust in her that he complied without complaint, though he still remained wary of the unfamiliar woman that shouldn't exist. They quietly went to get their things and let Ran say her goodbyes with Kogoro-ojisan and stepped out with the woman dressed in black. Marie contemplated on what to do. She had been about to tell Conan about herself, but just Conan. She wasn't ready for anyone else.

The girl decided to just roll with it, but tell her brother what was going on once they were alone.

Her brother who was sending her very sceptical glances as they were ushered into a car, both going to the back. She was going to have to have a good explanation for going along, the look said. Marie sent him a tiny but reassuring smile and went though some hand signs.

Escape soon. Talking later.

The boy gave the tiniest of nods to confirm he understood and would follow it, either dragging her along or going when she did. Marie wasn't too sure but luckily that didn't matter too much.

The moment the car started up she got a flash of a possible future. She grimaced as she saw her brother dragging her out in a panic as the woman driving stopped in red lights and pointed a gun at them. A toy gun eerily looking like the real deal. Not the ideal mindset to talk about her.

She dropped a half sign with the hand closest to Conan. Red.

He got it immediately. She hid a smile. Panic hopefully prevented.

They drove in silence. Two right turns. Left. Straight. Crossroads. Traffic lights. The duo exchanged a look. One. Two. Three. Stop. Door open on both sides. Rush out and meet at Agasa's. Or… that would be the ideal conditions. An enraged 'Stop those kids!' came behind her and she felt like it was a cops 'n robbers game. A chase. Exhilarating.

Running around two corners she jumped a flip from a bin over a fence and kept running towards the doctor's house. It wasn't too far away from there. And she needed to talk to Shinichi. Preferably before the couple got him. And her now that she thought about it.

After five minutes of running and jumping over fences with jump boost she started to feel tired and knew there was at least a few minutes before she was at her destination. She ran on a fence and jumped on another when it ended and then to the ground to go over a deserted street.

Or not so deserted, she amended when two strong hands plucked her up midrun.

A fabric with sweet smell was placed in front of her mouth and dizziness swept in fast.

Hah. Manga and anime logics. In my world chloroform takes a lot longer to effect.

And she fell into the inky black oblivion.

XXXX

Conan woke up slowly. The drowsy feeling held on to him for a second longer when he opened both eyes.

Then he remembered.

The strange woman. Car. Escape. Marie.

Hands bound, he shot up into an awkward sitting position and took a stock of his surroundings. A dirty room, hole in the door, a window… his sister lying face down with hair splayed all around her head. For an agonizing second he thought they had done something more to her, that she was dead or dying, but he noticed the steady breathing. She would be fine for now. But they had to figure a way out. And quick. Taking a stock of their surroundings he looked out the window and looked through the hole in the door. His heart nearly stopped when he saw the masked man coming towards their 'prison' and scrambled to look unconscious. Miraculously, it worked. Just as an… interesting conversation started.

They wanted to test them for the side effects of the drug. Definitely the organisation. Planning to kill them and a man tomorrow.

As if I'd let them. At least not without a fight.

He waited for about an hour to let the two captors fall asleep and checked. Out like a light, he thought to himself and quietly went to make something sharp out of a glass bottle. He wrapped it into a mat and crashed it to a closet, hoping that the mild sound wouldn't wake them. It didn't. Liking his dry lips the boy carefully took a shard and started on the binding ropes. Five minutes of struggling and he was free.

One free, one to go.

Standing up and carefully going to Marie he clutched the shard in his hand. She was still. Very still. It scared him a little, too similar to the form lying in a hospital bed. Slowly he knelt down and brushed some stray brown hair away from the ropes to get access to them. They were dealt with in a minute. Some marks were left behind on her skin. Carefully he knelt down and lifted her upper body, turning her around to see her face. It was pale and peaceful. He needed her awake.

"Marie", he whispered while tapping the girl's cheek. No response.

He let a sigh out and pinched it with a grimace. She frowned slightly. Good.

"Marie"

Blue eyes fluttered open and hazily focused on him. Something he hadn't even noticed eased in his stomach. The girl mouthed his name in confusion.

"Wake up", the voice could barely be heard.

She blinked once and shook her head to get the fogginess out and focused on their surroundings. Conan could have sworn her eyes widened as if she recognized the place. Then there was just annoyance. He felt like sweatdropping.

Seriously? This situation? Only an annoyance?

Her eyes flickered up and she sent him a weak smile and sat up on her own strength. She gave two hand signs that accounted to 'Where are the kidnappers?' and Conan pointed at the door. She crept across the dirty floor before the detective could stop her and peeked through the hole. After a few seconds she turned, frowning and made two more signs.

'Mask' and 'Familiar'.

Conan recalled it. Now that he thought about it… yes. It was familiar. He frowned in annoyance, one eyebrow twitching.

And my parents have a sick sense of humor.

Marie looked in morbid satisfaction as her brother stomped to the door and kicked it with power shoes, slamming it open with a crash. The two adults 'woke' up in a flash and pointed two toy guns at them. She could almost see a tic mark on her brother's head.

"Mom, Dad, what's the big idea!?", he yelled.

Kudo Yukiko AKA Edogawa Fumiyo smiled a 'tee hee' and got rid of her disguise. Kudo Yusaku just took off his mask, smiling warmly. Conan's eyebrow twitched again.

I'm so going to get them back for this.

XXXX

Marie fidgeted.

She was sitting on a stool in Prof. Agasa's lab, Conan just across from her but eyes furrowed and calculating. They had turned down his parents' offer of moving abroad and living in peace, out of dark shadow's reach, and after they had partly convinced them to let both of them stay they went to their neighbor professor's house. There Marie had finally worked up the courage to tell her brother she was ready to tell what she'd been hiding. Now though, she didn't really know. What if's spiraled in her thoughts constantly and the fear she had constantly pushed off was there, just lingering under the surface. Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly she looked up.

"Tell me what you can deduce",came the quiet question.

The blue eyes looked her over carefully, searching her eyes with an 'are you sure' he found a confirming answer to. With that the familiar gleam in his eyes told Marie he was cataloguing his clues.

"You're not from here", he stated.

She chuckled sadly. Too true.

"Your Japanese has an American accent, but it's not noticeable. Someone taught you, a native, probably your mother. Your parents were very interested in magic. Tricks or otherwise. It shows in how you do your tricks and have that fond, wistful and remembering smile. The night you met me you said you didn't have a home anymore and your relatives lived in Japan. You were too confident that they wouldn't miss you. Like you knew they couldn't reach you even if they tried. Almost like you died", he gave a pause, "You knew too much about me, about my relationship with Ran and who I am without even asking. This means you've watched me or researched me. I lean towards the first option…"

Marie clapped her hands thrice, "More or less, yes", she gave a soundless sigh.

This was it. No more secrets between them. No more lies. Exposed. She was afraid to say anything, so afraid he wouldn't see her as his sister anymore. But if he knew this whole thing would feel so much better… That is, if he accepted her.

She took a deep breath, "'Not from here'... Good description", a mirthless chuckle, "If you mean 'not from this world'"

She looked straight into his brother's eyes that looked at her with a bit of surprise and a little scepticism, "There was a plane crash. I thought I would die, but no. Some unseen force sent me here, to the moment you were being poisoned. A scene I knew too well… from a manga"

The surprise was evident as she let that bit of information sink in. He looked thoughtful and then snapped his head up.

"…You know the future", there was a small accusing hint in his voice.

Marie flinched and looked down, "Yes… I've tried. I- I've tried so hard to prevent these murders, but… But I've only succeeded once and that was a complete disaster! It's- ", her voice caught, "It's like something doesn't let them be saved, like they're locked in place somehow…"

Her body language screamed 'I'm sorry' and 'don't hate me, please'. Conan's eyes softened.

"...It must have been hard", he said and the two spent a moment in silence, Marie trying hard not to cry, "Who did you save?"

The girl sniffed a little and smiled shyly. Her lip was wobbling but that didn't matter right then.

"Miyano Akemi… You know her as Hirota Masami"

Conan nodded absently, let the sentence sink in, and promptly straightened like someone hit him with lightning. His eyes were wide and gaping.

"You did what!? How!?", He had leant forward on his seat, desperately wanting those words to be true but not quite believing.

Marie lowered her head. How indeed. It was so… surreal. But this whole thing was and nothing made sense. She just hoped it would be clearer in the future.

She gnawed her lip before replying, "…I'm …not entirely sure. One moment there was a gunshot- " Running, running, running, and late, too late, and no nonono "-I ran around corners and saw her falling to the ground- " Blood. So much blood flowing out of the body and why won't it stay inside! She can't die. Can't "-I tried to put pressure on the wound but there was just too much blood- " A wailing scream and bright red light. Everything going fuzzy and falling, falling, falling "-I think I screamed and… There was the light again. The one that brought me here. It was red and it did something to her wound that healed it. Well, I fainted but when I woke up a bit later Akemi-nee was hovering over me and we didn't have time to do anything else but make a hasty plan that saw her jumping into the ocean and me calling your parents to get something done for her", there was a long pause as she mulled over the events in her mind, "Oh. And then I called you"

Conan processed these events, eye twitching at the 'magic', clearly not ready to believe it and then sending her a glare. Marie shrunk back a little, gulping.

"Oh, and not only do you put me as an afterthought but scare the life out of me with your entirely too convincing acting", he said dryly and a little hurt, though that was hard to see.

Marie sheepishly scratched the back of her head, "To be fair it was mostly real. I… was pretty shaken, and I had a fever too… My immune system was probably adjusting to the different foods and… generally the world. Add to that all the stress from murders and then almost having someone die on you… well", an awkward half shrug, "I only told you one lie; she wasn't really dead"

A comforting hand was placed on her shoulder and made her jump. Conan watched her sympathetically and smiled in gratitude for not making him worry too much on purpose.

"Yeah, well. Next time let me in on it, okay?", he said and then a frown passed on his face, "Wait a minute… You called my parents… And they helped you somehow without making any notice to me"

The siblings met each other's eyes with annoyed looks. They definitely were here because of that. And made this even more annoying 'Come on and see how dangerous it is here' stunt. Marie pursed her lips for a moment. They should probably tell the older Kudos something about this. It would make future interactions easier. But first was her brother.

"Are you okay with me seeing the future?" Quite literally sometimes but that would probably be a bit too much in one go.

The underlying questions of 'do you accept my apology for not telling', 'do you believe me' and 'can you accept who I am' were evident as well.

Conan leaned back and ran a hand through his neat hair with a sigh. A short minute later he nodded.

"As much as this feels impossible, yes. I… think I'll be able to believe this fully if you show where Miyano Akemi is and tell me who she is", he mused a bit, "And tell me how much you've changed things. This was a manga to you, right? You know a lot more about the Black Org? We have to plan things and back up plans for good measure. And then- "

Marie smiled as she listened to her brother get carried away with all of the possibilities this new information had opened. She wouldn't have to carry this all alone anymore. There was much, much more she would have to tell him but right now it was okay like this. She felt closer to him than ever before now that her final barriers had been brought down. Her heart felt light, more free, as she watched Shinichi talk about their new situation.

There was just one problem.

How am I supposed to tell him I'm friends with an international phantom thief?

XXXX

Ehehe. Chapter end. Hopefully you liked it and thank you for reading! I don't know if I missed some important details but sorry if I did. And remember to check those fanfic ideas of mine! ...If you want to... (sheepish smile) I'd just really love to see some, if not all, written out. That 'story' probably updates more often than this one. Bye!