Disclaimer:

Nope. They don't belong to me, except Yoshke, but I don't want him. I want Kudo.

A/N:

Phobos and Demos are the moons of Mars. They also mean fear and panic respectively. Ah, the things you learn in a game show. =)

Hookey…In this chapter I tell what happened to Ran and the Kid. I suppose no one thought that I'd kill them, after all the main characters don't get killed, or if they are killed, it isn't until the end of the story. Or something.

Oh, and violence alert, violence alert…someone gets killed in this chapter…

Well, anyway, keep in mind that I've alternated between Ran and the Kid (which happened one night before), then going back to where I left off in the last chapter.

I remand my earlier promise…I was just looking at the calendar and became aware how near the first week of March is. I forgot that February only has 28 days…Grrr…So this is my final resolve…I will post Chapter 17 (my final chapter) on or before March 10. Then I would take a Sabbatical, to return after my finals week. Sorry about that.

Sigh. Okay.

Minako:

Thanks!

You're pretty perceptive. You'll get some of the answers in this chapter. As for Kogoro, well, believe it or not, I actually like his character. He's funny. So, I hesitate on killing him. And I will include Eri in the end. She has a special part to play. Keep reading!

YunCyn:

Mulan, huh? I just might pop a visit in the cartoons section of ff.net later (as in after finals, btw, thanks for wishing me luck!). =)

Loved that movie too. Shang is sooo dreamy, though I absolutely adored the dragon (Wushu, I think his name is). Thanks for the compliments! Oh, yeah, more H/K moments in here somewhere, buried underneath all the violence.

Bluedetective:

I think thanks are yet again in order…

Your review almost convinced me of posting my SD fic (operative word being almost). But I don't need any review to tell me that it stinks. And I promised myself that I won't post anything until after finals. So I'm still thinking about it. Another Maki fan, huh? Do they look evil? I don't know, I'm just too smitten with the Kanagawa MVP to think anything but good thoughts about him. I just love athletes!

Well, anyway, keep on reading. The end is almost near! Miyagi's true color would be revealed in due time.

M:

Thank you for the nice review! I think writers do cliffhangers to ensure that readers would read their next installment (well, that and the fact that they just ran out of ideas). Of course I'm not punishing you! =) Um, to answer your update question, since I have a self-imposed deadline, I'd usually update on Monday mornings (I mean very early in the morning, usually at 1 am) and Friday afternoons. Today is Monday, so most probably, I'll update on Friday. And it would take 24 hours at the most before ff.net can upload it. Hope to hear from you again!

Kazuha:

Hey, I didn't know you were French. I dream of going to France (but that's beside the point, right?)…

Anyway, I totally agree with you that the only way a writer can know if s/he wrote badly is through feedback. But can't flamers do that in a nice way?

Your review, for instance. You're nice, I like you. When I did something wrong, you told me so but in a way that would make me do something about it. In contrast with the flame I received, even if s/he did raise some valid points, all I wanted to do was to answer his accusations immediately without thinking about the story. I wish some reviewers could be more like you.

About the swiftness the girls became spies, I attempted to explain that in Chapter 4. Miyagi chose them because they already had their own special abilities, so they were only trained for half a year. And their first real case was given a few months after that. They were only runners (for lack of a better term) at first, you know hired people to pick up equipment and the like for their superiors. And at the end of this fic, I would reveal exactly why they were given such a huge assignment (ie. The Black Organization). Plus, I wanted to keep up with the timeline in the anime.

Don't worry, I think that Heiji would come through…

Hope my answer's satisfactory!

Chapter 15: Phobos and Demos

          Kid groaned after he opened the vault. They instructed them to get the pills. What they didn't tell him was that the vault was full of them. So which one was he supposed to take again? With a sigh, he stepped back. Might as well take all of them, he decided. With a snap of his fingers, all the pills inside the vault disappeared. Ah, the advantages of being a magician. He grinned unto himself. He briefly wondered how Mouri-san was doing when something caught his attention. It was a black box of some sort, half-hidden behind the vault.

          A bomb!

          He gingerly inspected it. There was no timer, meaning it's possibly triggered by remote or by applying pressure on it or something. Well, he wasn't going to wait and find out. He better get out of the place, but first, he got to find Mouri-san.

          He was halfway up the building when the alarms went off.

          Ran grinned as the piercing sound of the alarm ringing sliced through the silence. About time they found us out. And they call this a high tech lab. The things people overlook because of their unwavering faith in technology.

          She adjusted her white lab gown as she descended down the stairs calmly, acting like she belonged in the lab her whole life. She heard footsteps running up the stairs. Well, on with the show.

          But it wasn't guards she saw. It was the Kid in full garb. She frowned. Now she was sure that someone's bound to notice them.

          "Mouri-san!" Relief flooded his face when he saw the girl before him. "We gotta get out of here,"

          "What?" Ran's eyes widened.

          "Bomb." With that, Kid grabbed her hand and started to drag her up the stairs.

          "But, the exit's that way," Ran argued as she started to run after the thief, indicating that the exit is on the first floor.

          "Mine's that way," Kid replied motioned upwards without breaking his stride.

          "Don't we have to warn the workers in here?"

          "I'm not even sure that the bomb's going to explode soon."

          "What?" Ran almost stumbled as she had stopped suddenly. But since Kid was still holding on to her, she was violently jerked forward.

          Kid steadied her in time. "I don't want to stay and find out. Do you?" He then continued running.

          Well, can't argue with that. Ran followed Kid.

          "Plus I have a bad feeling about this." Kid admitted.

          Finally, out of breath, the two reached the rooftop.

          That's when the explosion hit.

          "No!" Ran cried as she started back towards the building, her instinct was to save who she can.

          But Kid grabbed her hand. "It's too late now," he told her softly.

          "We should've warned them."

          "They would've had us locked up before we can utter a single syllable."

          Suddenly, the whole building shuddered.

          Kid cursed as he once again dragged Ran to the edge of the building. "Hold on to me," he instructed as a white hang glider magically appeared.

          Ran did as she was told. She squeezed her eyes shut as Kid suddenly jumped from the building. She felt sick to her stomach. What kind of people puts a bomb in their employees' workplace? For them to just end people's lives just like that. She shed tears for the wretched people who were still inside.

          And suddenly they were flying.

          Or hang gliding.

          Whatever.

          Ran was just glad that they were safe.

          "What's happening?" Ran demanded. Immediately after she and the Kid touched the ground, he had pulled her to the shadows. She was about to get out of her hiding place and go to the car when Kid held her back.

          She saw Sonoko crying at the backseat of another car, and then Yoshke being wheeled into a waiting ambulance. Blood.

          "Yoshke-kun," Ran's voice got caught in her throat.

          "We found some detonating device and chemicals at the backseat of the convertible," one of the men in the scene was saying.

          "Probably planted." The woman he was talking to replied. "Possibly for the police. Lay the blame for the bomb on a disgruntled ex-employee, who in turn was killed by his accomplice."

          "Miyagi's assignment," another man joined in their conversation. "Let's bring the two to the hospital and then contact the boss."

          Simultaneous closing of car doors were heard. After that, the place where they parked the convertible was once again empty.

          "Why didn't you let me talk to them?" Ran asked the Kid.

          "I don't trust Miyagi."

          "Why not?"

          "He kidnapped your father."

          Ran was silent for a moment, looking like someone just hit her on the gut.

          "I was looking around the neighborhood the day after the heist. Saw your dad getting out of the agency. Since I wasn't able to locate you, I decided to follow him. Then I saw Miyagi in disguise." Kid shrugged. "I knew it was him. I've been around wigs and make-ups long enough to know the fake from the not."

          "You're lying," Ran gasped weakly. Tears started to fall from her eyes. First Yoshke and Sonoko and now this…

          "Believe what you wish." Kid looked away, not wanting to see her breakdown. "I know what I saw."

          Ran straightened her shoulders suddenly. She wiped the tears from her face. "No. I trust Miyagi. I've placed my life in his hands before, and he never let me down, not once. If he did kidnap my dad, then he must have his reasons." She then reached into her pocket. "And we have a job to do."

          "A job?"

          Ran nodded. "I only saw Yoshke-kun and Sonoko." She brought out a small black box. "Whoever detonated the bomb and hurt Yoshke-kun had probably taken Kazuha-chan."

          "You know where they took her?" He didn't need to say out loud who they were.

          Ran grinned. "Tracking device, don't leave home without it."

          Ran held on for dear life. She thought she heard the Kid's laughter rang in her ears. But with the wind practically shouting in her ears, she couldn't be too sure.

          Kid gripped the handlebars and went even faster.

          He is so enjoying this, Ran thought in dismay.

          In order to go after Kazuha, Ran had searched for the motorcycle that they had hidden in an alley. They had it as Plan B. Good thing too. This was plan B. After arguing who gets to drive (they both wanted to), she finally relented so that they could save time, but that was before Kid admitted that he never drove a motorcycle before.

          Good thing then that the motorcycle was, like the rest of their equipment, ultra high-tech. It was computerized through and through. Ran had slipped in the microchip of the tracking device into a slot and immediately, the small screen attached to it displayed the shortest route with the least traffic. All the Kid now was to rev the engine and keep the two of them balanced. The motorcycle can even detect movement and barriers around it.

          No wonder the Kid found it cool and demanded that he drive.

          "Mouri-san, the bike's slowing down," Kid shouted over the din. Weird, the wind was noisier than the sound of the motorcycle. "Are we out of gas?"

          Ran frowned. The bike was electric, so that means… "No, it means that we're almost near."

          "Oh,"

          Sure enough, they soon found a black car parked nearby.

          Kazuha was outside with a man and a woman.

          The woman was closely inspecting Kazuha. The woman was stripping Kazuha of her equipment.

          "Make sure that you get every bug and transmitter with her. We don't want them to trace our hideout," the large man was saying.

          "Honey, I know how to do my job," a redheaded woman replied to the man.

          "Looks like we came just in time." Kid stopped the motorcycle and helped Ran down. "Where do you think you're going?" He grabbed Ran who was walking over to the car.

          Ran looked at him weirdly. "I'm going to save Kazuha."

          Kid motioned to the large man. "He has a gun. Unless you spies are bullet-proof, I suggest we wait and watch for a while."

          Ran nodded. He's got a point.

          Suddenly, an idea dawned on her. "Hey," she said. "I've got a plan."

          Kudo's eyes narrowed. Wait a minute, roses?

          "What's this silliness, Vodka?" Vermouth hissed.

          Brandy laughed. "Heard that, Kazuha-chan?" Brandy asked. "Told you detective boy here loves you,"

          "What kind of sick game are you playing?" Hattori threw down the roses.

          Kudo noted that Vermouth looked as baffled as both him and Hattori.

          "Brandy! Vodka! What are you standing around for? Let's go!" Vermouth shouted as she started to run.

          However, she was grabbed by Vodka.

"I believe you're not going anywhere." He said.

"What's the meaning of this?" Vermouth demanded. "Have you lost your mind?"

"I think he lost his mind a long time ago,"

"What?"

Three pairs of eyes turned swiftly towards the owner of the voice.

"K-Kazuha?" Hattori choked out.

True enough, Kazuha had stood up. She grinned at him as she wiped her face. The deathly pallor had come off. The nasty wound on her face easily peeled off. "Good work, guys."

"What's the meaning of this?" Vermouth demanded.

Brandy suddenly tore off her red hair, revealing shoulder-length blond hair. "Thanks for your help, Kid."

"S-Sonoko?" Kudo wasn't surprised that Kazuha was alive. When he checked her pulse, it was very strong. Hattori would have noticed it too if he didn't get carried away emotionally. But Brandy being Sonoko… "And Kid?"

"In the flesh." With a puff of smoke, the Vodka disguise fell on the ground, revealing Kid, the Phantom Thief in all his glory.

Vermouth was handcuffed.

"Kazuha," Hattori whispered as he looked at his childhood friend. He then surprised her by enveloping her in his arms. "You're alive."
          Kazuha allowed Hattori to hold her a moment longer, her cheeks burning in embarrassment. After all, she owed him that much. "So, you're not mad?" She asked meekly.

Hattori stroked her already-tousled hair. Then, he stepped back, but held her hand instead. "Ahou!" He shouted. "What were you thinking?" He then proceeded to heap verbal abuse upon her.

Kazuha was about to snap back when Vermouth started laughing.

And laughing.

And laughing.

It seemed like she can't stop…

          "So, what's your plan?" Kid asked eagerly.

          "You follow them for a while." Ran replied. "Observe their traits and mannerisms, that sort of thing."

          Kid grinned. "I can do that,"

          "Right." Ran nodded. "I'll go get Sonoko in the mean time," she boarded the motorbike.

          "Wait, how am I supposed to follow them without the bike?"

          If Ran didn't know any better, she would've sworn that the legendary phantom thief was whining. "Well, you're a phantom thief, I'm sure you'll think of something,"

          "Oh, Mouri-san, before you go, hold up you hand." Kid said with a wolfish grin.

          Ran complied. With a puff of smoke, a small bag appeared on her upturned palm. "What's this?"

          "Pills." Kid replied gleefully. "Lots and lots of them."

          "Stop it," Sonoko told the woman as she covered her ears. "Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!"

          Kudo couldn't blame Sonoko. Vermouth's laugh was unlike anything they've heard before. It was disconcerting.

          "What's so funny?" Kudo walked closer to the handcuffed woman, but not before eying Kid suspiciously.

          Kid shrugged as he relinquished control of Vermouth to Kudo.

          "You are," Vermouth snarled. "So here I was, planning a little trap for you. What I didn't know was that your friends planned a trap for me too." Her eyes sparkled dangerously. "This is getting fun,"

          Hattori's eyes glittered with anger. "I admire your courage under fire," he said. "But you won't get away. You'll rot in jail."

          Vermouth shrugged. "It'll be worth it. We'll still win in the end."

          "What happened while we're away?" Ran asked and hour and a half later as she squatted beside Kid, Sonoko right beside her.

          "They took Toyama-san inside." Kid replied. "I would've gone in, but I had to wait for you."

          "Let's go in," Sonoko suggested, still holding on to Ran.

          When her friend walked in the hospital room, Sonoko thought she was seeing a ghost. It took a while of explaining before Sonoko would even consider that Ran was indeed alive. And even then, Sonoko held on to her hand like any moment now, someone would drag the brunette away.

          "Kazuha's in a room on the third floor." Ran told Kid.

          Kid frowned. "How did you know? They took off her tracking device."

          "No, they took off the tracking device that was meant to be found." Ran told him. "You never wear just one tracking device."

          "So where did she hide it?"

          Ran grinned. "She swallowed it."

          "She did what?"

          "Swallowed it." Sonoko repeated matter-of-factly. "We all did. Even you."

          Vermouth shrugged. "It'll be worth it. We'll still win in the end. And don't even be too sure about me rotting in jail."

"What does she mean?" Kazuha whispered to Hattori.

          "Wait. There's something amiss," Kudo absentmindedly stroked his chin. "I assume Vodka and the Brandy girl are in your custody,"

          Sonoko nodded. "Ran knocked them out just as they entered the room to torture Kazuha."

          Hattori subconsciously squeezed Kazuha's hand. "We now have Vermouth, so who else is missing?"

          "Gin," Kudo replied grimly. He shook Vermouth. "Where is he?"

          "He's now halfway to your little friend,"

          "That's your real plan. To lure us here so that we'll leave Haibara unprotected." Kudo glared at her. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go save her,"

          "What's your hurry?" Vermouth asked as she dug her feet on the ground. "You're not the only one with Plan B, you know."

          They all looked quizzically at her.

          "I've also taken some precautions," Vermouth shoved Kudo out of the way.

          "How did you get out of your handcuffs?" Hattori screamed at her as he pulled Kazuha protectively behind him.

          "Actually, it's easier than you might think," came the Kid's reply.

          "Shut up," the two detectives told him off as they glared at Vermouth warily.

          Vermouth then pulled out a gun of and shot upwards.

          "What are you doing?" Kudo growled as the ceiling cracked and dust began falling down, choking them and momentarily obscuring their vision.

          Vermouth held them off by pointing her gun in their direction.

          Moments later, about twenty Men in Black had entered the premises. They surrounded the teenagers. They were caught, unable to save their friend.

          Vermouth laughed yet again.

          Gin walked calmly to the residence of one Professor Agasa.

          After so many months of being denied it, revenge was now within his grasp.

          He saw a car parked near the gates. He frowned. Good guys. Gin could smell them even a mile away.

          He crept stealthily towards the car. He noted that there were only two men inside. He almost smiled as he adjusted his hat. That was good. He then screwed on the silencer of his gun.

          When he passed by the car, he pointed his gun inside. Almost simultaneously, he pumped two bullets in vital points in the men.

          The two were dead even before they knew what hit them.

          It didn't even take him ten seconds.

          Tomorrow, the police would be baffled as to who could do such a thing.

          Gin was a clean worker. He left no evidences except for the dead bodies and the bullet shells. He dares even the Great Mouri Kogoro to find him out.

          He then walked casually to the gate and rang the doorbell.

-tbc

P.S.

The part where nobody wearing just one tracking device and swallowing them came from Michael Crichton's Congo. I highly recommend reading it; the book's much better than the movie.

P.P.S.

If some parts seem unrealistic, I would ask you to suspend judgment for a while. After all, this is an alternate universe. But I hope you enjoyed it! Haven't killed any of the main characters yet. I might next chapter. Who knows?