DISCLAIMER: I don't own Lupin III, but thank God I can at least watch it on Cartoon Network again. P.S.: And I'll be damned if anyone's taking my Rod Stewart poster….

Guten tag,

Once again, not much happening on this side of the lake, but, oh, well—Other than the fact I think I chose the below Beatles song in poor taste, and you'll soon see why. I'm glad that I received a compliment on the 'Return to Cagliostro' storyline, a name I really liked for that arch. I've got a couple of more arches in me, so don't hold your breaths for a finally just yet. Who knows, we might even meet some old faces in the coming chapters… Bwa ha ha… Well, bye, as of now! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Seventeen

The Next Morning: Mind Games

'Baby you can drive my car,

Yes I'm gonna be a star,

Baby you can drive my car,

And maybe I'll love you,

Beep beep mm, beep beep yeah!'

—The Beatles, 'Drive my Car'

A hotel room in San Francisco:

"I know this can't be the hotel I was in yesterday afternoon," said Toshiro as he stared upward at the ceiling, "This is about ten times better—I've been lying here twenty minutes with a single rat strolling across my chest." He sat up, and realized he was no longer in his gi, but in a navy blue kimono. Snoring on a couch in a white kimono and fedora lie Yukiko, "Where'd I get this getup? Oh, my head… I need to find something better to do with Yukiko than get drunk every Friday night."

He rose, and nearly tripped over their shoes in the process. He walked over to a table, and slouched down into the seat, "Does she carry Tylenol? Hell, I'll even take Midol right now," he wondered out loud as he glanced over at the table. "I need to buy her a purse for Christmas…" he added. The table was nondescript, save for a single sheet of paper turned over, "Hn… Menu? I could really go for some eggs and coffee right now…" he admitted as he read the menu over. He could not help but notice the lights flickering as he read over the menu, but he shrugged in response and continued to search over the menu.

Chinatown:

"Excuse me, have you seen this group?" Leo inquired, showing a photo to an elderly couple. Both shook their heads in response, and walked onward.

"This is useless," Max sighed as he took the photo from Leo and stuffed it in his pocket, "We'd have better luck finding Pat Buchanan down here."

"Well, might as well get back in the cruiser," Leo sighed and shrugged. Max nodded in agreement, and walked over to the driver's side, which was against a curb on a busy street.

"Hey, get back here!" Leo heard as he walked over to the passenger's seat. He smirked, but looked in horror as he realized what was going on. A woman was in the middle of the road, trying to catch her child—She didn't see the oncoming vehicle, a moving van.

Leo ran towards her before Max could even speak, and Zenigata was at a loss of words as he heard a set of brakes screech and watched a driver jump out to look at the man she had just run over.

"L—Leo," Max muttered numbly, "Oh… Oh, no… Oh, please, Lord, no…"

At the Chinatown Hotel:

"Where're Yuki and Toshiro?" asked Odori as she looked in at Fuji and Ryo, watching television complacently. Both muttered and shrugged, and Odori rolled her eyes, and walked back into the bathroom.

"Hey, hey—Take that back one," said Ryo.

"I hate the news. The footage of me is always from my fat years!" Fuji moaned.

"This just in—There has been an accident in Chinatown, causing a block in traffic. An international police officer was run over while trying to save a woman and child from a similar fate. Leonard 'Leo' LeBlanc, twenty-three and a France native, was listed in critical condition at a local hospital. LeBlanc had been a translator at Interpol until recently. Officials denied to comment upon the accident," said the newswoman.

"Ari," Ryo muttered numbly.

"We've got to get to get to that hospital, now," said Fuji, rising.

"Fuji, what's wrong? Why are you—" Odori started.

"Shut up, Odori, just… Shut up… Please…" Fuji said shakily.

A San Francisco Hotel:

"I dunno… Order whatever you like. I'll probably like it, too," said Yukiko with a flippant wave of the hand as she sat across from Toshiro, who was still scrutinizing over the menu and smoking a cigarette in the process.

"Where do you see yourself in ten years?" Toshiro inquired.

"What?" Yukiko frowned, "Where'd that come from? Did you take my Midol again? It always makes you weird…"

"It's a serious question," Toshiro replied.

"Well… I guess doing the same thing I'm doing now," Yukiko shrugged, "I haven't given much thought to it, you know?"

"You still want to wake up not knowing where you are in the mornings in a decade?" Toshiro sighed, "That's sad…"

"Hey, I don't criticize you!" snapped Yukiko, "Maybe it's the best I'll ever do! Maybe shooting at crap is the only thing I can do well! I can't do anything else, it seems."

"You can sing…"

"Oh, woo-hoo. Who wants to hear me? Only the people who can't get over the fact that my mom's dead!" replied Yukiko, "I'm not like you—People just don't go to liking me, like they do with you!" she slumped back in her seat, "The Lupin gang's the best I'm ever going to do…"

"I don't think so," Toshiro answered with a shake of the head, "You could always go and start a family."

"Na-ah. No way, Jose," replied Yukiko with a shake of the head, "Me? I'd suck as a mom. Listen, I just don't want to talk about this right now."

While the argument escalated, Yukiko did not hear her cell phone, which was on vibrate in her pant pocket, "What is it with you and families anyway?" she continued.

"I never really had a normal one…" Toshiro answered, "I grew up convinced that my crazy grandmother was my mother, and that my only older brother was dead. Come to find out, he's alive, and he's my dad. My grandfather used to reenact the Second World War in the back yard, and he had Uncle Heiji and I play the Allies. Do you know how many times I played a Chinese fighter pilot who's shot down in battle? Too many. I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do better."

"Well, look where you are now—The same place I am!" she retorted, "If you thought you could do so much better than me, we wouldn't both be here now, would we?"

"I guess not," Toshiro replied after a pause, "So, you want an omelet?"

"Sounds good," Yukiko answered, taking another cigarette out and lighting it.

At the hospital:

Max didn't understand what was going on. He heard frightening terms like, 'broken this', 'fractured that', 'ruptured this', and even scarier words, like 'brain damage—Permanent', 'paralyzed', 'comatose'. He was glad Leo wasn't awake to hear them.

LeBlanc had been run over by a moving van, full of furniture—The front wheels hit first, then the back. Max couldn't remember seeing the actual accident, but he had heard eye-witness reports. The woman and her child brought flowers, along with their condolences. They were the only ones along with the Zenigata who had shown. Leo had no known family, and his medical records were sparse.

Max had been in the waiting room for about three hours when he heard another set of footsteps. He glared as he saw who it was—Lupin. She was coming to mock Leo, that bitch, he thought.

"Get out, now!" Max demanded, rising and pushing her back out the doorway. Fuji fell to the ground, and looked upward at Max. He gave a small gasp as he saw her eyes were reddened, and she was shaking to some extent, "Why are you—"

"I came here to sit with you," Fuji said sternly, picking herself up off of the ground.

"But, why?" Max inquired.

"I have my reasons," replied Fuji, sitting in on a red cushioned couch and staring at Max, "I've grown attached to you guys, what can I say? It's like with my dad and yours. You know that they keep in touch—But if Interpol knew that, they'd kick you off of the case. I could show them pictures of when your dad walked my mom down the aisle at her wedding, but I won't—Unless you royally piss me off."

"That—That's blackmail!" Max yelped.

"Whatever works, Blondie," Fuji shrugged, "You wanna take a seat? They won't see those photos if you keep your trap shut. The others are downstairs. Ryo had a breakdown on the way here, and Ally's taking her back to their parents' place. She's broke up about it."

"I had no idea you guys cared so much," Max said with a shake of the head as he seated himself next to Fuji.

"As much as you'd hate to admit it, we aren't monsters. We're people," said Fuji, "We look out for one another. I know that you'd love nothing more than to throw us in the slammer, and, hey, whatever works—But we know that you guys are people, too, and I'm no shrink, but I'm related to one, and I'm guessing Leo's your only friend in the world…"

"Well, I… Yeah…" Max nodded, "He's annoying and prissy, and he whines and usually gets us into trouble with his clumsiness… And there's the loud jacket… But he's the first person I've met who's been able to put up with my tantrums."

"And you throw some doozies," admitted Fuji.

"Cigarette?" Max offered.

"No, thanks. I have asthma," Fuji replied, but then stopped herself. So did her brother, she thought sadly.

"I won't, then," Max sighed, and put his cigarettes back in his jacket pocket, "I'm worried, Lupin. I'll admit it. He's in bad shape…"

"What ran him over?" asked Fuji.

"Moving van," Max answered.

"Dear God," she shook her head, "Poor guy…."

"This definitely isn't like the last time we were together, Lupin," Max sighed, "I don't care how confusing it was—I'd give anything to go back there, and not have this happening."

"Amen to that," Fuji muttered, "Jeeze, I thought it was bad when I kissed you back at Cagliostro!"

"Please don't bring that up," Max shuddered, "It was unprofessional, and rest assured it'll never happen again."

"Break my heart," Fuji snorted, "You're probably one of those creepy teens who only got practice from a pillow…"

"Hey, I—How can you joke at a time like this!?"

"It's what I'm good at," replied Fuji with a shrug.

Somewhere in Leo's mind:

"God, my head!" Leo moaned, rising out of bed, "What the hell happened? I feel like I was run over by a truck! Where am I, anyway?" he inquired as he looked about, "Hey, this is my old room, in France! But how'd I get here? And where's Max?"

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he heard with a chuckle, and turned to see his mother in the doorway.

"Mom! What happened?" Leo inquired.

"You fell off a ladder," replied Fujiko as she seated herself next to him, "How's your head? Still hurt?" she inquired as she felt his temperature.

"Mom! I was in Chinatown, and—Where's Max?"

"Hey, he awake yet?" he looked in the doorway once again, and saw Yukiko standing there now, "Quite a tumble you had. Good thing Toshiro was there, too."

"Toshiro? He's living here?" Leo blinked.

"Hello? We're just visiting!" said Yukiko with a smirk, "We go back to New York next week!"

"Hey, what's with the 'we'? You two are seeing one another?" Leo frowned.

Yukiko whistled, "Quite a tumble, neh?"

"Well, he needs his rest—Why don't I go down and help you with Goemon?" sighed Fujiko as she rose.

"Is Goemon sick again?" Leo yelped.

"Um… Goemon, as in my kid?" Yukiko smiled, "As in, your godson?"

"I'm a godfather?" Leo blinked in surprise.

"In more ways than one," Yukiko snorted as she exited the doorway, followed by a worried-looking Fujiko.

"What in the world's going on?" Leo moaned as he slid down into his sheets.

"I knew you'd ask that!" he heard in a familiar voice, and Leo sprung upright in bed, "And that's why I'm here!"

"Dad?" Leo yelped as he looked ahead and saw his father perched on his dresser.

"The one and only—Or at least that's what your mom tells me," said Lupin with a wink, "You probably want to know what the hell's happening about now."

"That'd be a nice start," replied Leo, "This is all so confusing!"

"Well, how do I put this nicely…" Lupin asked himself thoughtfully, looking upward at the ceiling, "You were sort of run over by a van, and you're kinda in a coma now…"

"What!?" Leo screamed, "Sort of? Kinda!?"

"Yep. Big van, stupid driver. Failed her vision test, actually. But you saved a lady and kid, something that would make great-grandpa proud of you. Deep down, you're quite a lady lover, yourself," said Lupin as he slid off of dresser he had been perched on, "And now you're in a coma. And a pretty damn deep one, I might add."

"How do you know all of this?" inquired Leo.

"Because in your mind I always have the answers. I'm you conscience—The bad angel," replied Lupin, "It's as simple as that!"

"Who's my good angel?"

"Strangely enough, Jennifer Aniston. But you don't have to worry about her anytime soon."

"So, am I in an alternate universe, in my brain?" inquired Leo.

"Of sorts. Think of me as the Ghost of Christmases that Could have Been," replied Lupin, "You see, this is your world if you hadn't run away after killing that guy. As you can tell, Toshiro came back, and you're the one who got him and Yukiko together finally. It was so nice, I didn't even know you were that much of a romantic! Well, I guess it's genetic… Tee hee… You should've seen Jigen's face when he found out he was going to be a Grandpa—The only other time I've ever seen him that happy was at a international weapons show. And Goemon, my God! He and Jigen were like a couple of school girls, scarily enough."

"What about everyone else?" asked Leo intently.

"Well, they aren't the only ones who made someone a grandpa," Lupin smirked.

"Odori?" Leo grimaced.

"Nah, not yet--Fortunately," replied Lupin, "You."

"Me!? But I don't even date! I just, I can't talk to women!" Leo sputtered in response.

"Ryo was always a little different, though."

"Ryo's my—"

"Well, girlfriend, technically," Lupin replied with a roll of the eyes, "Boy, was your mom thrilled to hear that one! Hey, you want to get some octopus?"

"But, Dad, you're allergic! It'll kill you! It'll kill me! I'm allergic, too!" Leo yelped.

He watched as his father picked up a Styrofoam cup of octopus from the dresser, opened it, and began to eat it with a set of chopsticks, "This is a dream world, remember? I can go do whatever I want. Want to jump off of the roof later? I haven't done that since my fortieth birthday, and I only did it then because your mom pushed me out of a window!"

"Er, no, thanks…" Leo responded with a look of exhaustion, "I just want to know how I can get back to the real world, you know, the one where you'd be dead right now, because of the octopus?"

"Boy this stuff is good! Mmm! Oh, yeah…. Um, that's going to take a little while. Right now they're probably getting ready for the—"

Leo suddenly felt a great pain come upon him, and he fell to the ground, clutching onto his spine, "Dad, what's—"

"That'd be the spinal tap," Lupin shuddered, "Those aren't very fun, I should know. I remember one time, your mother and I were doing a heist where I had to go undercover as a patient, and she left me here, and I ended up getting one! Boy, Fujicakes is still quite the little firecracker! I love that woman!"

"Listen," Leo started as the pain subsided, "How do I—"

"Ari, it's going to be a couple of days. Just relax, okay? Think of it as a vacation!" Lupin said as he took Ari by the hand and helped him to rise from the wooden floor, "Now, come on. There's a lot I want to show you."

"Um, I know it's a dream… But it's still good to be home…"

"Yeah, I know… Well, let's hurry—Your mom's making lunch."

"All right," Leo nodded, and walked with his father out of his bedroom.

In Hotel, in the Chinatown:

"Belgium now! And Egypt! There's no pattern here!" Heiji sighed as he laid back on his bed, Odori his lone helper, "How is he choosing his targets? He's just jumping around like a schoolgirl on a hopscotch board!"

"Well, what's he hit so far?" inquired Odori.

"What, you're helping?" Heiji snorted.

"I have an idea. Now, do you have a map?" she inquired.

"Yeah," he nodded, and pulled up a map from another screen, "Here—The targets are numbered. Japan, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, England—"

"Where was our first heist?" Odori asked after studying the map.

"Why?"

"Where was it? Answer, Brainiac!"

"Well, Japan…"

"And the second?"

"Hong Kong… And the third was France, and Germany, and then Italy--"

"And so on, and so on," replied Odori.

"Dori, you're a genius! My God, I can't believe I just said that…" Heiji shuddered, "Now I'll have a pattern. And I'll be able to track his moves! I just need to figure out where in San Francisco he's coming from, now."

"When will he hit here?" asked Odori.

"God…" Heiji's eyes went wide, "It'll only be a few more stops before here."

"We've got to stop him, then," said Odori, rising, "Lupin is in a hospital, hooked up to machines. If the computers go, then… I'd rather not say… He is still my true boss, even if he's gone astray. Tell me what I can do, Heiji."

"Well, I've narrowed it down to a list of possible addresses," said Heiji, "Here's a printout."

"It's seven pages of nothing but addresses!" Odori gasped as she flipped through.

"I know," Heiji nodded, "I'll start to narrow it down, too. But you can quicken the process by going to some of the places. Keep in touch with me, I'm heading over to the hospital to go tell Fuji."

"All right, I'll get started," Odori nodded, picked up Zantetsu, and was off. Heiji folded up his laptop, and made his way to the hospital. Heiji took a yellow cab down to the hospital Ari was staying at, and with a little bribery, found the waiting room.

"Fuji, I—" Heiji stopped as he walked in and saw Fuji asleep, leaning against an also sleeping Max. Zenigata had removed his jacket and put it over Fuji, Heiji also noted, "I see you're already busy…" he muttered, and looked over to the other side of the room, "Damn it… That's how it is, huh? I bust my ass, and he just happens to be there with a jacket. My freakin' uncle, of all the people in the world."

With that, Heiji turned, and exited out of the waiting room, and out of the hospital.

Meanwhile, Yukiko and Toshiro were across the city, oblivious to the events of the day so far. They had switched back into their usual attire, and now wandered the San Francisco streets with no particular place to be, as far as they were concerned.

"Beautiful day out. Wonder how everyone else is doing…" said Toshiro.

"Probably just as good as we are," Yukiko said with a smirk, "Oh, shooting range!"

"What?" Toshiro looked upward at the sign hanging from the building that read, sure enough, 'Shooting Range—Fun for the Entire Family'.

"Come on, let's go! It'll be fun!" said Yukiko.

"Couldn't we go to the zoo, or the park, or something normal?" asked Toshiro hopefully.

"Nah! Come on, it'll be fun!" she said, leading him into the building. Both filled out waivers under false identification, and were given protection gear, as well as guns. Yukiko handled it like a piece of balled up paper whereas Toshiro treated his more like a newborn infant. The instructor began to show Yukiko how to shoot by placing one out of his six bullets in vital areas, but Yukiko outdid him, and shot six hits, no misses, all at vital parts. The instructor looked onward amazed as she reeled the sheet with the bullet holes back in, and Yukiko smiled.

Toshiro, however, shook with the gun, and dropped several bullets as he went to load the magazine. He unintentionally fired at the floor several times before landing one bullet onto the edge of the paper.

"Well… Not a bad start," Yukiko admitted, "Um… Might want to try aiming for the target, though."

"Oh, and I'd like to see you handle two swords, sometime," retorted Toshiro as he turned his attention back to the paper.

"Hey, my cell's going off!" she said in surprise as she went to retrieve it, "Hello? Oh, hey, I—What do you mean you're at an airport? What!? He… Oh my God, how bad? Wow… Um, yeah… We'll be right there…" She hung up the phone, and looked upward at Toshiro gravely.

"What's wrong?" he inquired, removing his earphones.

"That was Ally. He's taking Ryo to Chicago because she's had a breakdown. Ari's in the hospital—He got run over by a van. He could go either way, right now," said Yukiko, "He's in a coma, currently, but he's in really bad shape."

"My God… Well, we've got to get over there!" he replied, laying his earphones and goggles down and depositing his gun at the front desk with Yukiko. Both exited the seedy-looking residence, and walked back towards Chinatown.

They came back to the hotel room, where they found a particularly edgy Heiji sitting, typing at a computer, "We've got a pattern, and Dori and I are narrowing down hopeful computers. I need you guys to do something for me."

"Yeah, what?" inquired Yukiko.

"I need you to go to these places, and look at the computers, and see if they have this program I've written down here. I don't care how you do it—Just do it. This guy's going to hit San Francisco next, and with Leo in the hospital, it could mean danger if they computers go on the fritz."

"We'll get going," Toshiro nodded, and both took sheets of paper, and exited again.

"I hope Fujiko's having fun with Blondie," Heiji muttered as he crossed another potential off of his list.

A Local Airport:

"Don't worry, Ryo—We'll just take you home for a little bit, and I'll tell you how Leo's doing," said Ally to a silent Ryo, "Ay, um, you want me to put some music on?"

"No, I'm fine," Ryo replied with a shake of the head.

"Um… All right… I can stop and get you a soda if you want…" said Ally with a smirk.

"That'd be good," said Ryo with a nod.

"Okay," Ally smiled, and pulled into a local gas station, "I'll be right back," he said as he took the keys out of the ignition, "Don't go anywhere." Ryo nodded, and watched as Ally walked into the gas station. She quickly slid over in the Alfa Romeo, pulled out a hairpin, and jammed it in the ignition. After some fiddling, it started, and she pulled out of the gas station at full speed just as Ally exited the gas station quick stop.

"What the hell!?" Ally yelped, "Ryoko, come back!" he shouted, but this fell upon deaf ears as she zoomed down the busy highway towards the hospital.

Leo's Mind:

"So, what do you think of the place?" Lupin inquired as he walked around a lake in the back yard with Leo.

"It's nice," Leo admitted, "I like being home again, but, it's not home… I can't stay forever."

"Well, you could, but therein lies the problem," sighed Lupin, "I'm not your dad, Leo—I'm just that little voice inside of your head. You have to make that choice for yourself. I can't do it for you."

"Which voice?" Leo asked sarcastically.

"Ha ha," Lupin said blandly, "I'm just here to show you something you've kept subconsciously in your mind. You always wonder about what could've been, admit it."

"Yeah, but everyone's so happy! Does that mean that I've made everyone miserable by leaving?"

"It could… Or it could mean your self-confidence is horribly low," said Lupin with a shrug, "Do you think you've made the right choice?"

Leo paused, and looked downward at his loafers, "Yeah, yeah, I think I have… I killed someone, I've got to make reparations for what I've done. I did it by translating government documents, and now I do it by chasing after Fuji. I would've have killed him if I hadn't been there. He was an innocent man, just doing his job… And I don't want Fuji to get hurt by running around! I've got to stop her!"

"But you were innocent, too! You were just as innocent as he was! You were just doing what you've been taught to do!"

"Yeah, and if you had done everything Grandpa had taught you to, you'd be a drunk too," snapped Leo.

Lupin smirked, seemingly amused, "Yeah, I went against the old man… We did so well far a while, but, you've got a point… I can't stop you… But you have to realize as much as you try to run, it's going to catch up to you. The past always catches up."

"Then I'll run until they do that," replied Leo, "Dad, I've gotta get back now. There's a certain blonde hothead who needs me…"

"Understandable," Lupin nodded, and embraced him, "Well, hope to see you around the holidays. Hold on, this is gonna hurt a bit."

"What is—Oh my God," Leo gasped, and fell onto his knees.

Back in the Hospital:

"We're getting signs of brain activity!" one of the technicians gasped, "Doctor!" he yelled, and the doctor came running down the hall to the badly damaged Leo.

"What? Mister LeBlanc? Can you hear us?" asked the doctor hopefully as he opened Leo's eyes and shone a small light in them.

It was then the power flickered, and then went out.