I know the cliffhanger in the last chapter was a huge bummer....But here's part two! Note: This chapter has no song to go ith it, but if you like you could tell me some kind of song to follow its rhythm.
At first, he thought there was a surface where he would land on, other than the ground.
His foot hovered tentatively in midair, before the weak molecules of air gave way, and they both plummeted down to the earth below.
At first he thought of screaming, for the wind thrillingly rushed up against him, obstructing his vision and upsetting his sense of balance. He did not know which way was up now, what with everything whizzing past faster and faster, a colourful blur of amber and navy hues.
As they fell, time seemed to slow down a lot more. He cast his gaze outward, and saw the neon lights of the city wink to him from the distant, yet cold and hard ground. The flames behind, eating up the building, reached out their sizzling fingers to them, in a futile attempt to grab and consume the descending duo, yet at most only licked the layer of wind surrounding them. The stars seemed to twinkle in beckoning as they fell, knowing that they would most probably join their ranks soon.
Ran's long brown hair fanned out behind her head, streaming out in the torrential wind. Her sky-blue eyes watched her little guardian angel as they both spiralled down to the floor. She thought he looked a little melancholy, as if thinking about something far off, too far off and sad.
She ran a hand down the back of his ear, but he did not seem to have noticed; maybe it was the wind howling in their ears, maybe it was because he was too distant, lost in his own thoughts. She sighed.
"Ran...neechan."
Ran perked up, and answered, "Yes, Conan?"
"It's like we're in a bubble lift, just going down really fast. Like a rocket."
She laughed. He was not just being emotional at all. His naivety calmed her down reasonably, and she laid back into thinking that he was just a young, cute little kid that was very clever.
They fell silent again, listening to the wind whoop around them like a mini tornado, and the bright city lights blink at them. Most likely, they were the last things they would ever get to see.
Conan tilted his head downwards, the orange glow from the flames reflecting off the lenses. To the people below, it seemed as if a pair of white twinkling stars was shooting down the length of the burning building, a single touching spark within the mass of hellish flames.
"Ran!!!!"
Her head poked up, and she turned it towards the direction where the shout had come. It was a little crowd on the ground,
"Ran!!!!!"
The firemen were trying to restrain him, the passers-by looked on at him struggling, but he still persisted, and shouted his daughter's name. She looked down at them and smiled sadly. By the laws of physics, it was already too late for them. She wrapped her legs around the child's short ones, hugging him close to her chest. "At least he's with me when we leave," she thought to herself, letting a couple of slivery tears float away from her eyes.
"Ran...neechan."
"Yes Conan?" She continued to hug him tight, never going to let him go.
"W...Would Shinichi-niichan save you at a time like this?"
Ran opened her eyes again, thinking about his question, and her promise. She would not be able to keep her promise to Shinichi if she died now, yet there seemed to be no way out of this situation. And...If he was here, he would have done everything in his power to save the both of them, even sacrificing himself if he needed to.
"Yeah. He would," she replied, a tinge of nostalgia and sorrow in her voice.
"Oh."
Again they plunged into deep silence. The ground was rushing up to meet them, ready to smash their thin little bones into a million pieces, and scatter them all around the area where they landed. It looked hard, cold, merciless, the end of the line in their path. It was just too soon.
"I..."
Conan broke it again. His head was dipped, in something between extreme sorrow and anger. She knew it must be hard for him, to leave so soon in his life. She waited patiently for his final words.
"I..." His tears leaked out from his eyes, hot and wet against her fingertips.
"I...I WISH I CAN SAVE RAN-NEECHAN!!!!" His anguished cry struck the ears of all those who stood around, careering up to the dark heavens.
Distantly, a certain clock's second hand struck the very same position as its brothers, all pointing towards the dark sky.
A luminous, crimson glow radiated from his body, blinding light beaming in all directions. Below their feet, fine ribbons of red light swirled and twirled, swiftly forming the shape of an angel spreading his wings out wide. A split second later, the formation zoomed up to meet them, and the ribbons began wrapping themselves around the child, slipping under Ran's surprised hands. They were so long and numerous, seemingly adding to the diminutive size of his body, slowly lengthening and enlarging it. She watched in revelation, as the child grew under the ruby light, until he took the form of a teenager. Only then did the light dim, revealing a boy dressed in clothes that looked highly similar to Conan's, just paired with jeans instead of shorts. His jet-black hair ruffled in time with the wind, his limp limbs pointing stiffly towards the ground, but his head was still tipped downwards, the scenery reflecting off the glass lenses.
"Co...Conan-kun..." Ran's whisper was barely audible; even she could not hear her own voice.
It was almost too late now. The firemen, passers-by and everyone else watched helplessly as the two people dropped like lead to the ground, plummeting to their untimely demises.
"Snap! Snap!"
From under her body, something big and white unfurled and extended into the air, and she felt two loose flaps pressing against her. They seemed to slow down a little; but it was not going to enough to land safely! She craned her neck to scrutinise the extensions. A white feather brushed past her, so soft and clean. She ran her fingers along the fine quills, marvelling at the intricateness of the filaments.
The floor was just a few meters away now. She hugged on tightly to her friend, and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the impact. She did a mental countdown, waiting for the blow that would take her life.
Five seconds to impact, four, three, two...
...One...
...
...
...
The wind had changed direction suddenly, beating hard against her face. "That can't be right," she thought, for she was lying horizontally with her head facing forward. She pried open an eye to survey her surroundings, and then popped both open in amazement.
She was cruising high above Tokyo aboard a feathery-winged angel. The neon lights were rapidly diminishing to the size of fairy lights below her, and she had completely lost sight of the people at ground level. The full moon shone overhead, casting its dim blue glow onto the both of them. The cool midnight air stroked her warm cheeks, chilling them comfortably. The flapping of wings made her turn down to her little ferry, where she saw the wings extending from under a pair of burst-open flaps sewn hasty impetuously into an ultramarine coat. She tickled her fingers down the joints, and her ferry chuckled softly.
"Stop it, Ran. If you tickle me some more, we'll both drop!"
The confident, assuring voice shook Ran's mind like an earthquake. It was extraordinarily familiar, someone's voice whom she had never heard for some time now.
"S...Shinichi?!"
"Well now, I've only been away for a little time, and you come and forget my voice?" Shinichi said sarcastically, dropping notes of hilarity between his words. He gripped Ran's wrists tightly, pulling her up onto his shoulders. She blushed a little, blood spreading throughout her carroty cheeks.
"Okay. Hold on firmly now, for we're gonna go nose diving!!!" He turned around, and flattened his wings. They shot down, a dove-coloured bullet spiralling down to earth. The clouds whipped past their ears, and the stars whizzed off before their eyes. Soon, they had entered into the city, shooting straight down, accelerating faster and faster. Shinichi whooped at the thrill ride, while Ran hung on for dear life.
As they got near the ground, he spread out his wings again, catching the wind between his lovely white feathers. They slowed down significantly, coming to a complete stop as he landed on the road.
"Ran!!!!"
Kogoro came running over to his daughter, yelling madly for her. Ran slipped off Shinichi's back and ran over to hug her dad. He wrapped around her, tears trickling from his eyes, crying into her soft, fuzzy hair. Shinichi stood behind them, looking on in pleasure.
"Kudo Shinichi! Heads up!"
He turned around just in time to dodge a ball of flame hurtling past his head. It passes overhead, just inches away from his face, tongues of hot orange and red trying to sear it. He turned back to face his attacker, with an expression set in cold stone.
Sephron hovered behind him, his wings leisurely flapping to keep him afloat, his sword levelled at Shinichi's head with relaxed confidence. Its blade was smoking, most probably the after effects of shooting the fireball at him. "Hey! I'm your opponent, remember? Don't forget about me either!" he cried indignantly.
Shinichi glanced around, panicky. He scanned the area, his eyes coloured with worry. There was absolutely no sign of Twin or Miranda, or even Saphira, for that matter. He was wondering if they made it out alive.
"C-C-C-Kudo-kun!"
Out of the pillars of smoke leapt out a snow white wolf, with a little child riding on his back. He gripped a mangled Saphira in his mouth, a sure sign of defeat.
"Shinichi-niichan!" Miranda's adorable voice sounded like music to his ears. "Twin-niichan and me defeated Saffy here, all by ourselves!" she declared proudly.
Twin bounded over to his friend, and set his prey down at his feet. Shinichi poked the unconscious angel nervously, checking to make sure it was not feigning, before turning to the two. "Nice work, you guys," he praised, as Miranda fluttered her wings in delight and Twin howled in pleasure.
Suddenly, both their eyes widened in shock, and they toppled over like a tower of unstable bricks. The sight took all the wind out of Shinichi's sail, as he stared down at them in horror.
"Miranda? Twin?" He poked and prodded the two of them in turn, and realised they were just tired from their fight with Saphira when he felt their hearts thumping loudly. He quickly shoved them to the side, before taking Sephron on again.
"So...Finally ready to give up? Or do you need to loosen your muscles first?" joked the fallen angel, but his eyes were clouded with malice and spite. Shinichi fell silent, his mouth pursed in defiance, yet his emotional eyes conveyed his tacit message: No Way! Never Ever Ever!
"Well then," muttered an irritated Sephron, his sword glowing once more. "We'll just have to settle this the hard way, then?" As he spoke, he raised his weapon, and little sparks of red flames began to gather around the white blade.
His adversary grimaced. Fighting Sephron was the last thing he wanted to think about. He was no doubt stronger and more powerful than his sister, and he had a weapon to boot. Shinichi knew he would not even stand a chance against him.
Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He stuck up five fingers, counting down them until he came to only one. He grinned to himself. It may be ridiculous and would most probably put everyone in danger, but it's worth a shot, he thought.
He looked up at Sephron once more, triumph gleaming in his electric blue eyes. Sephron felt doubtful at his stance, but quickly rubbed it off and replaced it with determination. He slashed at midair, sending slices of flame racing towards Shinichi.
The detective merely smiled, and raised a hand. His cry blasted up into the clouds, alarming the people that were watching the scene. A bolt of lightning crashed down onto him, illuminating his body with an unearthly blue glow. Thunder swooped down and roared all around him as well. Flames danced before his eyes, flames of sheer determination. Spectators watched, awestruck and shocked at the same time. Sephron did a double take, and finally realised what was going on. He shrieked in denial, but it was already too late.
"This doll has brought nothing but pain and negativity to my life!" screamed Shinichi, clasping his hand at his chest, where the doll was wedged in. "I wish there was NO SUCH THING AT ALL!"
The lightning stopped, the thunder skidded to a halt, leaving him smoking in the centre of the circle burnt into the ground. Sephron cried out something in anger and absolute denial, but was cut off as a dark cloud enveloped him and his sister, before vanishing into thin air.
Shinichi gazed into the distance, his once lively eyes dull, before collapsing into a crumpled heap.
Hey! I never did put this story as complete yet, so there's still chapters following this one!! (No tears shed on this chapter because it looks like it's ending, alright?)