Hi everyone! Sorry for the long leave of absence! Volleyball districts are coming up, end of the quarter means that the honors stuff is all due plus tasts galore. And suddenly my family was asked to house a Vietnamese exchange student! So we had a ton of housework ti do. We added a wall to a basement living room and turned it into my room, then we had to move all of my stuff over to the new room... so yeah, time consuming. She's coming this Thursday though! I am so excited!

I am REALLY SORRY for not responding to any reviews... I'll try this chapter but no promises. Also, really sorry for Hattori last chapter. I read it over and he was really ooc, sorry about that! I'll do better with him, I promise!

With no further ado, on with the show! A slightly creepy chapter I think.

Takagi leaned his head against the back of the bed as Lion walked away, with his and Conan's breakfasts in tow. Conan had refused to beg ever since that day, hating the satisfaction the action had given Lion. While Takagi was proud of the boy for fighting against their captors and glad that his frightening visions of Kitten seemed to be a far way from coming true, that was a poor solace as hunger began to set in once again. When the door closed behind Lion completely, the officer allowed himself a wearied sigh. Oh well, he would probably only be hungry for one more day. He stiffened slightly at the thought, and looked to where Conan sat on the floor leaning against the bed, as if to ensure that the boy hadn't heard the man's taboo thought.

The child didn't move and the man allowed the despairing thoughts to wash over him once again. Only one day left. He felt a weight drop to his stomach with the knowledge that he had finally fully given up hope. He had only one day left. He was going to die tomorrow. There wasn't anything anyone could do about it. If Conan knew of a way to escape, they would be gone by now. If there was any hope of Satou finding them, they would have shown up by now as well. They probably didn't have any leads to go off of. It was set in stone. He had no chance of survival.

Many times in books, characters will come to term with their death once they know that it was immanent. They would realize that there was no hope for survival and would become calm. Sometimes it would even be stated that the doomed party would view their death no differently than one would the weather or their surroundings. For Takagi, none of this was so. He felt a firm and unrelenting panic, a drive, an insatiable instinct and desire to survive, to live. He wanted to smile and laugh with his friends and family. He wanted to solve the mysterious case of Conan. He wanted to see Satou again, to tell her everything. In his minds eye flashed the memory of Satou in a wedding gown, except this time the ceremony would be completed and go off without a hitch. He saw children, running around with his skin and height and Satou's beautiful eyes. None of that would ever happen now.

He sighed once again and nearly let out a small chuckle. He knew that if it were Miwako locked in here her thoughts wold be much different from his. He wasn't sure what her thoughts would be at that point, when both life and revenge seemed to be completely out of reach. One thing he did know was that she wouldn't be having the fantastical and romantic visions swimming through his mind. With a sad smile he realized that he knew exactly what she would be thinking. She would not be imagining a beautiful future she would never be a part of, instead she would be reliving the past. In her last moments she would probably see her father the last day she saw him, the explosion on the Ferris wheel, maybe even their shared kiss.

BANG! The door at the top of the steps slammed open, breaking Takagi from his thoughts. Heavy, unfamiliar footstep sounded along with gruff grunting. As their startled gazes lit upon the visitor, both were surprised to see a new form. A tall, muscular man was walking down the steps, another man's unconscious form laid across his shoulder. The man had black hair, and piercing, powerful brown eyes. He paid little attention to the captives, instead focusing on the limp man he held and the task at hand.

At the foot of the stairs the man roughly dropped the one he was carrying and opened up a hidden panel just a foot or two away from the cage. As the panel door was opened, the end a pair of handcuffs fell out, hanging limply in the air. The man grabbed these restraints and used them to bind the still unconscious other, leaving his locked in with his hands held above his head. He aimed a final kick at the now bound man and finally turned his eyes on the two captives.

The villain's hand trailed along a small, dark wooden staff he held at his side as he gazed into the depth of the small prison. As usual the Cat had eyes only for the child, and glanced at Takagi not once. The man's eyes never left the child, a deep air of scrutiny and study surrounded him. Conan waited in silence for the man to speak, knowing that this mental battle would be much harder than his last one. To his surprise the man said nothing, and gave no sign of his emotions. He didn't even smirk as any of the others would have. After a moment of this silent study the man simply turned away, casting one last disgusted glance at the man whom he had handcuffed before walking away. The door closed with a loud bang behind him.

"Well... that was different." Takagi mumbled, but Conan had already scurried to the front of their cage to get a better view of the man who'd been tied up. With the slightest hint of a smile Takagi noted that Conan was possible the only detective alive that one could use the verb scurried on. He rose as well and joined the boy leaning against the mesh of their cell. Conan looked up to the man when he sense his presence before turning back to the newcomer.

"He's still alive, but I have no clue who he is. I've never seen either of them before."

"Do you think its another Cat?"

"I'm not sure. If he is, then they can't be too happy with him if they just tied him up like this. He could be a traitor, but that still doesn't answer why they brought him here."

Takagi gulped slightly. "I have a really bad feeling about this, Conan-kun."

The child looked up at him but said nothing. Truthfully, so did he.

"OI! Wake up!" The child cried out, hoping that the man might give them some answers if he were awake. Yet the man continued to slumber. A few attempts later the man was still out, and the two returned to their beds. There were no clues to be gained from his clothing or body, other than the large bump on his head which was probably why he was unconscious in the first place. All the two could do was wait until the man awoke. They didn't have to wait long, only about half an hour, though for them in their timeless confinement it seemed to take forever. The man groaned slightly and began to shift. Conan immediately jumped to his feet and ran to the mesh, Takagi following behind.

The man's arm moves as though to rub his eyes, but could not move due to the cuffs containing them. As the man realized his limited mobility, his eyes opened in a slow confusion. He forced himself to sit up fully, and looked up to see his bound hands. Still not completely awake, he continued to look around the room in a confused gaze, his vision clearing slightly only as he locked eyes with Conan.

"Little kid..." He mumbled dazedly, "Where am I?"

"You-" Conan began, but was cut off as the man suddenly let out a fearful yelp.

"NO! Little boy with glasses, one of the scratching posts... nononononononononono crap crap crrp! You aren't Kitten are you? PLEASE tell me you aren't Kitten."

Conan stared at the man curiously, not understanding his strange behavior. "That's what Lion calls me."

"Oh man, oh man. This isn't good." The man continued to fret, his eyes wide and fearful. He forged himself to his feet, breathing gruffly in great huffs. Sharp clanking was heard as the man struggled harder and harder against the cuffs, his entire body heaving with the effort.

"What-" Conan began to ask, but was once again cut off. This time however, it wasn't the man, but the door which interrupted him. The door opened with is signature clang as Lion and the newcomer slowly came down the steps. Conan growled deep in his throat and took a step away from the gate, his expression clearly saying that he was not stepping back with fear but disgust. Lion seemed to pay no mind. For once his focus was on something other than his 'little Kitten'. At the moment it was solely on the handcuffed man sniveling in the corner.

"Abyssinian..." The man began in a dark and dissatisfied manner, but he had no time to continue before the man cut in.

"No! Y- y- you can't do this! It wasn't my fault this time! Ask Tiger! I had everything planned perfectly but-"

"We said no more mistakes." The low voice of Tiger spoke up, the man's gaze burning a hole through the squirming House Cat.

"B-b-but y-you! You can't! I'm the best thief you've got! Other than Kid I'm probably the best thief in Japan! You can't get rid of me."

Lion knelt down next to the man. "You don't tell me what I can't do. And like you just said, you're second best. Second bests are always easy to come by."

"B-b-but-"

Click. Lion rose his hand to show the sleek, black pistol he had been carrying the first time Conan and Takagi had seen him. He rose the gun to the man's head while letting out a low hiss, effectively silencing him. It was not until this time that he turned to the two in the cage, his eyes immediately seeking out Conan. He smirked when his eyes met with the boy's. Conan had jumped to the front of the mesh when he saw the gun, his survival instinct swamped by his detective stop-the-bad-guy-sense.

"Now Kitten, I'm sure you're confused so I'm going to provide you with a bit of context. You see, Abyssinian here has made a few mistakes too many. I sent Tiger here to send him on a final test, and as I expected, he failed that as well. Now, we don't tolerate mistakes. Its time we dealt with this one."

Abyssinian had resumed his frenzied struggle, his eyes wide and fearful.

"N-n-now come on! It was only a few mistakes! I'll do better! I'm the best you got. I had everything perfect! If it weren't for that stupid tan teenager I woulda-"

Conan visibly perked at the mention of the 'tan teenager' but the doomed man never had time to finish his statement. Lion stepped closer to the panicked and quivering man, placing the tip of his gun against the House Cat's temple. The villain continued to step closer, pressing against his victim until the man's held was pressed against the wall, held their firmly by the gun.

The silent room was filled with the slight sound of the man removing the safety and pulling back the hammer. A dazed Conan was finally shocked into action.

"Stop!" He yelled, rattling the mesh cage. Abyssinian's eyes shot to the boy before returning to the man set on killing him, as though hoping that Lion would listen to his beloved Kitten and call off the murder. Lion did nothing but allow a soulless smirk cover his face as he pressed the gun even harder into his victim's skull, reveling in the man's pained and fearful whimpering.

Both Conan and Takagi began to beat on their mesh cage door, crying out for the man to stop. Both were filled with horror and fear as they realized that they would be helpless to stop a murder happening only a few feet in front of them. Conan began kicking the door with almost as though his super-shoes were still present, determined to stop the death only a door away. He couldn't let this man die in front of him, villain or not. Conan was a detective! He solved deaths, tried to prevent them. He wouldn't let this man die! He couldn't! His frenzy increased. Tiger stood a few feet away, his arms crossed, watching the entire event passively.

"No!"

Clash, rattle.

"Stop!"

Clash, rattle. Whimper.

"Don't!"

Clash, rattle.

BANG! The room was silent once more.

Conan and Takagi stared for a moment in mute horror at the now blank and lifeless face sitting bound beside their cell. Lion straightened to full height and pulled the gun away from the dead man's head. With the weapon no longer supporting Abyssinian, the corpse fell forward slightly until its form was stopped by the still present cuffs. As is slumped forward it revealed the brains, blood, and gore now dripping down the wall behind it. It wasn't seconds later that blood began to pool around the body, some of the dribbles going as far as to drain into Conan and Takagi's cell. Neither captive moved even when a trickle pooled around Conan's sock, staining the white fabric red. Tiger still stood in the same spot, a satisfied smirk now adorning his previously impassive face.

Lion finally turned to his small would-be apprentice, an amused smile on his face. Conan quickly schooled his face into a neutral expression, but the man was far from fooled. His amused smile lingered for a moment before turning into a sickening sneer. For the first time in days his gaze turned to Takagi's. Lion opened the cylinder and showed the officer the single bullet lying in the next chamber.

"This one is for you, tomorrow." His voice lowered to a whisper. "I can hardly wait." With that he turned and strode confidently up the stairs. At the top he stopped and looked back down to them.

"I assume after this you don't want dinner?" When no reply came he smirked and finally left. Tiger lingered a moment longer, watching the emotionless Conan struggle to keep up his facade before following his leader.

Finally as both men left, Conan trudged silently to the bunk bed, keeping his face down and sitting so that his back was to the security camera. It was there that he let out the anger, hopelessness and despair crush down upon his face. His foot struck out to hit the wall. His anger needing an outlet and finding none. He had failed. Someone less than a yard away from him had lost their life and he had been powerless to stop it. For a moment his mind skipped back to Haibara crying to him because he was unable to save her sister. This was yet another person to add to those he could have saved, but didn't. What kind of detective was he? He had failed. He cursed silently as he kicked the wall again and again, words children should never know wormed their way quietly out of his mouth. Had Takagi heard he would have been shocked, but he was paying his cellmate little mind at the moment.

Takagi still had not moved, his gaze locked on the corpse still only a few feet away. He was shaking slightly, an unfathomable fear coursing through him. Tomorrow he would die, just as this man did. He would die terrified, without hope, like a trapped animal. He locked gazes with the corpse, and it was as if those dead eyes were sending him a mirror of his own in the near future. He took a shark intake of breath, and stumbled back with a slight gag as he smelled the brains and gore splattered against the wall. He stumbled back to sit beside Conan on the bed, his eyes wide in shock. For the first time in a while he truly spoke what was on his mind.

"I'm going to die. Just like that."

Conan looked at him sharply. "No. You won't. I won't let them kill another person in front of me."

Takagi simply shook hid head, his usual constant optimism halted by his immanent death. "You couldn't stop them now. You won;t be able to stop them then." He nearly whispered. "If there was a way out, you would have found it by now."

"No. I won't let them kill you. We'll get out of this. You heard the man, Hattori is here. They'll find us. Even if they don't I'll think of something. I won;t let them kill someone else in front of me. I won't." Conan repeated these phrases for several moments, and Takagi knew that the boy was attempting to convince himself rather than the officer. Truthfully, Takagi knew that nothing the boy said would convince either of them. They both knew the truth. Takagi was going to be killed.

It was hours later that Tabby came down the steps and got rid of the body, all the while claiming that it was 'always him who had to throw away the bodies'. It wasn't until the man had long since finished cleaning that the two captives got their final surprise of the night.

About the time they would usually receive dinner, Lion walked into the room, a stack of photos in his arms. At the door of the cell he knelt and gestured for Conan to come to him. The child did so, but as always remained at a distance from the gate. The man smiled.

"I'm sure you know much more than I would like, but I'm about to fill you in on some things that may or may not be missing from your knowledge. You see, your officer friend is going to die tomorrow in the same manner as many other officer's have. When you were very young, perhaps before you were born, there was a string of murder's where officer's were killed. I'm going to use your friend there to replicate that little incident. Now, there was one thing that was always disputed and to this day no on is sure what the answer to it is. You see, the officer's all had their badges branded onto their chest. What no one knows is whether the brands were made when the victims were alive, or not." The man turned the pictures he was carrying so that Conan could see them, each photo a rendering of the officer's burned chests. Horrible, red blister wounds covered a three by two inch span on torsos of the men. Every wound looked horrible and painful. Conan could only imagine the agony that would come of such a burn.

"So, you see I could do this either way. The decision is ultimately up to you. If you wish

to save you buddy from the extreme pain of feeling a hot, detailed block of metal burning its symbol onto his chest, I suggest you listen to me. You will behave tomorrow, do exactly as I say. Also, you will swear to completely follow me and obey my every command for the next month. And no this, if you choose to promise and then break it... well, I know several of your friends who I could brand and kill just as easily as this man."

Conan looked at the man in a simple, ice cold anger a he laid down his threat. The man simply continued to smile in response.

"Don't worry, I'll let you sleep on it. It is up to you whether this man suffers or not." He dropped the photo's as he left, leaving Conan to stare at the horrible, painful looking burns until an hour or later the lights were turned out.

If anyone is going to ask why the murderer didn't tell them if he did it before or after he killed them, it was because it wasn't really important to finding them.