Hi everyone! Oh my, only a chapter or two left! (Plus Omake) Wow, its incredible. I thought this would be the second to last chapter but I didn't get as far as I thought and this is already my longest chapter so far! I'm glad so many people liked the last chapter, I was worried because the confession has been done so much in fanfics.

Wow, I was rereading this and I can't beleive how much stuff I randomly forgot... wow. Like, who remembers that Kazuha made an charm for Ran to give Conan? Not me! And Tabby in the first few chapters was so strange. HE was lying to them just in case they escaped, but everything he tells them is just so off track with what the actual plan was... yikes.

So yeah, hope you like this chappie, stuff is starting to come together!

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed and favorited and followed! Hope you like the following chapters!

Time Line:

Sat: Kidnapping

Sun: Everyone searching, questions the men in jail, Mind games and hunger starts

Mon: DB go back to school, Question the man who tells them of first kitten, Takagi stabbed

Tues: Hattori arrives, Conan actually accepts food.

Wed: Hattori stops guy from stealing from police, The two meet Kinkalow/Vermouth

Thurs: Abyssinian dies, Satou worries, contacted by murderer

Fri: Date Takagi is scheduled to die, Conan confesses

Sat: Date Takagi is supposed to be found dead

Hattori wandered through the city, wracking his mind and staring intently at the large glasses on his face. He'd snatched them earlier that day when he'd gone to convince Haibara to go to school and keep the kids from investigating. A grid pattern appeared on the screen, and his eyes searched desperately for the tell tale light that would work as a beacon should he get close enough to the transmitter on Conan's glasses. He knew that Haibara had told him earlier that it wasn't working, but he wanted to take them anyway, just in case.

Satou had his number and promised to call if they found anything, but until them he was just going to have to try and figure things out on his own. His mind relayed every bit if information, anything that could be a clue. His gut told him that he was close, now he just had to find them. He looked down at the list of suspicious houses. There were a couple of them around, some of which he could take one look at and know that it wasn't where Kudo was, others which he wasn't so sure about. He sighed as he crossed another obvious hose off of the list. There was still no sign of movement on the lens Oh well, he would stop at nothing to find Kudo.

A young officer stood pouring some of the offices scalding hot coffee into a small Styrofoam cup. His eyes shifted to where the departments main murder team sat pouring over a pile of papers knowing that if he got anywhere close the papers would immediately disappear and he would be met with suspicious glares. The officer, know in some circles as Ocelot, sighed to himself in anger.

Ever since that supposed call with the original officer murderer, no one other than that main group had been allowed even near the case of Takagi and Conan's disappearance. Ocelot, still a rookie, hadn't been able to hear a whisper of information since then. He was going out now to meet with Lion and Tabby too. They wanted to get information on what the cops knew before they actually killed the guy. Lion would not be happy with the news. Oh well, it wasn't like the cops would find anything useful anyways. That guy was as good as dead.

As he glanced he saw the female officer, Takagi's girlfriend, grip the corner of her desk as a wide range of emotions crossed her face. She seemed sad, angry, frustrated, and desperate.

He sipped from his drink to hide his smirk. They were coming undone, feeling the heat. They were feeling Lion's claws sink in. He walked back to his desk, twirling his handcuffs as he walked. He tried in vain to see the paperwork as he passed. No, he hadn't been able to gain any more information, but that didn't matter. He doubted that there was truly any information to gain.

The detective boy's chatted amiably as they walked down the street to the "haunted house", only pausing when an awkward silence was created when one of them called to Conan-kun to ask something, or a statement was said to which the bespectacled boy would usually reply and they found themselves waiting to hear what he would say. Such events were always carefully covered by an awkward chuckling or a hurried reply from Haibara, but before the conversation could truly begin again a look of sadness and fear would cross their features. Ayumi made the mistakes the most, and seemed the most upset when she made them. They were all strangely muted, not nearly as energetic as they usually would be at the chance to show Conan up.

None of them felt that they should be solving their own little mystery when Conan was still in danger, but they had promised the girl they would go, and they all knew that a good detective never broke a promise. Also, Haibara was strangely insistent that it would be best for them to take the day off.

"T-thats the place." The girl who'd hired them said softly, fear in her eyes. The group turned to look at the house, surprised at how it looked. Yes, it certainly looked empty, but it wasn't foreboding in the least. If anything it was a huge letdown compared to some of the places they'd ghost-hunted. It was a fairly modern building with a garage, set into a fairly comfortable looking neighborhood. If anything, the place was the epitome of nondescript.

"Uh, are you sure this is the right place?" Gent asked, confusion and a hint of frustration written across his face as he realized that they may have just been wasting their time.

"It certainly doesn't look haunted." Mitsuhiko added, standing on tiptoes in attempt to see better.

The girl simply shook her head forcibly. "No, I know that place is haunted. Mommy says its empty but I keep on seeing shadows and hearing weird noises. Then a lady told me that a family she knew died there! Please go check it out!"

Haibara looked at the house, not nearly as skeptical as the others. A feeling of instinctual dread was settling in her stomach, one that spiked each time the girl mentioned the woman who told her the story. Something wasn't right here. "Looks can be deceiving," she muttered softly.

Th children looked at each other and sighed before walking in. After a few steps they realized that the girl hadn't come with them.

"Oi, aren't you coming?" Genta cried out. The girl looked up, startled, before a look of intense fear covered her features and she shook her head emphatically. She half hid herself behind a nearby lamppost, peeking out at them through one eye. Ai sighed before calling back to the girl.

"If you aren't coming then there is no reason for you to stay here. Just go home and we'll take care of it."

The girl looked unsure until Ayumi called out. "Don't worry, we'll call you if anything happens. Remember, we're professionals."

Their classmate still seemed unsure, but after a moments hesitation she called out a 'thanks' and sprinted across the small street to her home. The children continued to the house, searching for an alternate way in after they found that the door was locked. They found it a few moments later in a small animal door in the back of the garage. A metal covering kept any wild animals from coming in, but it was easy for the human children to remove.

Haibara frowned at the metal slab before following the kids. It was strange, usually the barrier would be in the inside. It was like whoever blocked the hole wasn't as worried about something getting in, as much as something getting out. The girl shook her head slightly. She was starting to sound like Kudo. This wasn't some mastermind's hideout, it wasn't even a real case. It was just some kid afraid of the creepy house across the street.

With that in mind she crawled in after the children, pulling the cover in behind her and leaning it up against the hole. She stood and dusted some of the dirt that covered her off. They were standing in an empty garage. "Well, it certainly looks empty." She commented dryly. The detective boys nodded in agreement before the group explored the rest of the house. They went to where the family had supposedly died first, but there was nothing in the stairs to suggest a death, nor was there any hint of a chandelier ever being in the room. The group was all slightly uneasy and a lot more skeptical about the whole ordeal after that, but let it never be said that they gave up too soon.

The group went up the stairs and examined all of the rooms, but saw nothing other than empty rooms with the occasional odd furniture. A desk in this room, a bed over here, maybe a chair or two. They did the same in the kitchen, but found no more evidence of life. It wasn't until they reached the kitchen that doubt began to enter their minds.

"Finally, I'm starving." Genta said as the entered the kitchen, his eyes set on the fridge.

"Genta-kun!" Ayumi admonished as Mitsuhiko yelled at the tubby child as well.

"What are you doing? Anything in here is probably years old."

"Nuh-uh!" He said, pulling a carton of milk out of the device. "The expiration day for this isn't for a few more days!"

"What?" Haibara said sharply before rushing over and snatching the drink out of the boy's hand. It was true, the milk still had a few days left. There were a couple of other items in the fridge as well. There wasn't much, perhaps just enough to keep two or three people fed for another day.

"Wait," Mitsuhiko said suddenly, placing his chin in his hands as he thought. "If its set to expire in a few days, then that means that someone must have just gotten it!"

"Yeah!" Ayumi said suddenly, her face brightening slightly for the first time in a while. "And ghosts don't need food, so it must be a human. There really is someone living here!"

"They sure don't want anyone to know that though." Haibara said calculatingly.

"Hey, there are a few dishes in here too!" Genta cried out, standing on top of the counter and peering into the cabinets. "Some of them are still wet from being washed." He reached out on tiptoe to feel them, only for his socked feet to slip. He yelled out as he crashed to the floor, landing with a large bang as the plate he'd been holding broke on the floor beside him.

"Genta!"

"Genta-kun!" Two of the children cried out, rushing to their friend and attempting to pick up the ceramic shards. Haibara had tensed, freezing in knowledge that whoever was hidden in the house would have heard the crash. To her relief no one came and she bent down to help with the glass as Genta rubbed his head in a daze.

"What were you thinking?" Ayumi asked, worry in her voice. "Your socks are slippery."

"I didn't want to leave mud on the counter," The large boy said sheepishly. His friends simply sighed as Mitsuhiko took a handful of the broken plate and dumped it into the trash can.

"Woah," He said as he opened the small can's lid. "There is a lot of food in here. It looks like whole meals were thrown away."

The others went over to peer into the lid as well, Genta hopping as he tried to put his shoes on. They peered into the can to see that it was true. Haibara winced slightly. She was getting a bad feeling about this. The others shared none of her foreboding, instead they simply pondered the mystery of the trash.

"Why would someone throw all of this away? And why is the house so empty?"

"Why doesn't whoever lives here want people to know that they're here?"

There was a slight silence and Ayumi's quiet voice spoke. "Conan-kun would know."

Nobody spoke. It was true, Conan would have figured it out by now. He would know what was happening. Their faces turned worried and sad. Haibara sighed. Since when was it her job to cheer people up? "Come on guys, I saw one more door we haven't gone through. It looks like it leads to a basement, maybe we'll find some more clues down there."

The group nodded, but the mood had certainly been dampened. Haibara led the to the door, swinging it open. Their group was met with two familiar, surprised faces. In a moment of shock and joy a strange and ill-fitting thought through Haibara's sarcastic mind. 'Well, so much for keeping them from investigating.'

Takagi's mouth dropped. "Genta-kun, Ayumi-chan, Haibara-san, and mitsuhiko-kun?"

"Conan-kun! Takagi-keiji!" The high pitched shriek of Ayumi's young voice called out, the rest of the detective boys quickly picking up the call as they began to rush down the stairs. Conan's eyes shot to the left, his head nevermoving, and he warily caught sight of the security camera.

"Stop!" Conan shouted, his hands gripping the metal door as he shook it slightly. "Don't come any closer than the second to last step." He continued to move his mouth without really speaking as the children nearly fell over themselves trying to stop at the desired step. Haibara calmly trailed down the steps after them, her face blank with shock.

"What are you doing?" Genta asked, pointing to Conan's still moving lips.

The young detective paused for a moment before speaking again, surprising everyone by yelling even though the two groups were fairly close. "There's a security camera in here. He could be watching it right now and I don't want him to know that you guys are here."

He suddenly gripped the chain link gate tighter and kicked at it, lowing his head as though in defeat. In low, nearly whispering tones he spoke. "Takagi-keiji, put a hand on my shoulder and pretend to lead me back to the bed. Sit with your back to the camera and any time I tap my fingers to the bed, pretend to talk. Look at the door as little as possible."

"H-hai." Takagi nodded and did as the child said, setting into his usual spot on the bed. Conan's head was still lowered, but he spoke loudly and clearly to the children on the other side of the door. "How did you guys find us?"

Ayumi answered, her small voice shaking. "W-we didn't know you were here. A friend of ours thought this house was haunted so we decided to check it out."

Conan tapped his fingers and Takagi's mouth moved, he nodded at what Ayumi said. TGenta's eyes suddenly widened as a thought struck him. "Hey, but don't think that we weren't looking for you or somethin. We've been searching all week! Haibara-san said that it might help for us to take our minds off of the investigation or something."

"Yeah!" Mitsuhiko agreed.

"Don't worry, I expected that." Conan said, never once giving up his charade for the camera. "Does anyone else know you're here?"

Haibara shook her head. "The professor knows that we went to find a haunted house, but I never told him the address."

Suddenly, a question burst out of Ayumi as though it had been painful for her to keep it in. "Are you guys all right?"

The other children looked down to the girl who had finally voiced the question that burned in all of their minds. Their gazes flashed from the bruise still littering half of Conan's face to the twin cloth bandages the two captives sported on their arms to the slightly pink cloth around Takagi's stomach. They seemed skinnier than the group remembered, and dark bags hung under their eyes, more pronounced by Conan's lack of glasses. The two looked anything but okay.

"We're fine. But you need to hurry and call the police. We only have a few hours left until its too late."

"What happens then?" Mitsuhiko breathlessly asked. Conan breathed deeply before answering.

"They kill Takagi and take me away to train me into becoming one of them."

The children gaped in shock, even Haibara's blood ran cold.

"You wouldn't let that happen right? You wouldn't let them kill Takagi-keiji and turn you into a bad person." Ayumi asked fearfully.

"Of course not!" Conan retorted. "Not if I can help it at least. But I'm running out of ways to get us out of this. This might be my last chance to escape for a long time."

The children looked at one another. Almost as one they reached for their backpacks and phones,only to stop as they realized that they were back outside where they left them after finding that they couldn't fit through the pet door with them on.

"They're outside!" Genta wailed, and Conan gave a sharp nod.

"Go get them and call the police with the address, then get away from here as fast as you can. I don't want them to catch you here."

"Hai!" The children called, clamoring for the stairs as quickly as they could,suddenly Conan remembered something.

"Wait!" He shouted, making sure to move his mouth exaggeratedly for the camera. He glanced at the group out of the corner of his eyes. Most of the kids were wearing their usual, bright kiddie T-shirts, but Ai had on a dark, navy sweater. "Haibara, stay where you are but look at the ground in front of the gate. Do you see that little piece of black plastic?"

"Yes."

"I threw my glasses at the gate earlier, but I unscrewed the tracker hoping it would go past whatever was blocking it and keeping you from tracking me. Pull your sleeves over your hands and grab it while I create a distraction. I don't want to risk them finding it if I already know hope is coming. I don't know what he'd do if he figured it out."

She eyed the bandages and the bruises that littered the bodies of the two prisoners before nodding. The small scientist knelt down, preparing to grab the black nob. "I'm ready. What is the distraction?"

Conan swallowed slightly. There weren't many option available to him that was sure to get almost all of Lion's attention without being so crazy and out of character that it would make the man suspicious. Also, it had to be something that he wouldn't come down to check out. HE wasn;t sure where the man was, but he wasn't going to take any chances. At the moment there was only one thing that he could think of. He stood on the bed, keeping his head down as he rose. "Sorry, Takagi-keiji." He whispered. The officer looked at the boy-teen in confusion.

"Wha- AHH!
Conan had begun to climb over him to get off the bed when he tripped. His hands shot out to brace his fall, one of them landed squarely on the knife wound on Takagi's stomach. The officer let out a loud cry of surprise, doubling over to protect the wound. "HAIBARA, NOW!" Conan shouted, and the hand snatched out to grip the small black plastic. Takagi was still doubled over gasping and Conan hovered around him.

"You could've given me a warning." The man said between gasps.

"Sorry," Conan mumbled. "It wouldn't have been realistic if you knew it was coming." Still bent over the officer the boy called out to his friends. "Okay, now you guys should get out of here before someone comes. Remember, call the police as soon as possible and-"

The boy cut off, his heart beating and his blood running cold as the door at the top of the staircase opened, a familiar looking cat's face peering through.

The entire room froze as the door opened, all of its inhabitants' eyes locked on the door. The tension never left, even as the small, shocked face of Kinkalow appeared around the door. For the moment not a word was said, and every person in the room was dead still. Six detectives stared in fear at this one child cat. Finally, slowly, Kinkalow moved. He silently closed the door behind him and stared past the children on the steps, locking eyes with the boy behind the gate.

The small House Cat spoke in a near whisper. "Are these... are these guys other puppies?"

Conan and Takagi visibly relaxed, the detective boys following suit despite their obvious confusion.

"Who are you?" Ayumi asked.

"Puppies?" Genta said with confusion in his voice.

Conan however, knew exactly what the boy was talking about. "Yes, they are. They're my friends."

"And... and they figured out how to find you? And they came? Even though it was dangerous and they could die?"

"Die!" The children chorused in fear, but neither Kinkalow not Conan paid them any attention. Haibara stood by in rapt interest.

Conan nodded at the Cat. "Dogs have always been known for being loyal. I knew they'd be there for me."

Kinkalow frowned slightly, his gaze falling to the ground. "That sounds nice. Persian says its always every Cat for himself. D- do you think I could ever become a puppy?" He asked, his voice low.

"I know that you don't have to remain a cat." Conan replied. "But the first step of that is disobeying the Lion. Do you think that you can do that?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Don't tell him that you saw my friends. When the time is right, and the puppies have led the dogs to the cats hideout, run to the dogs. You're young. Once they understand what happened they'll help."

Kinkalow nodded. "O-okay."

"One other thing, I need you to keep Lion distracted while they escape."

"He's not here. He and Tabby went to meet with Ocelot about something. Persian gave me the day off and I wanted to come here."

Conan sighed in relief. By now the detective boys' heads were spinning with confusion. Genta raised his hands as though he was in school, a dazed look in his eyes. "Um, you aren't talking about real animals, right?"

"No, Genta-kun, they're codenames." Haibara said smoothly, straightening up from against the wall. "We need to hurry. We've been here too long as it is."

"Right!" The kids cheered, and Kinkalow jumped as he opened the door.

Conan and Takagi silently watched them as the group walked up the stairs. They could only hope for the best, and fear the worst. "You were quiet." Conan said when the group was gone.

"Hm?" The officer responded, surprised. "I guess I was. I must be too used to the Cats all ignoring me." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. Then the man sighed. "What do you think about Kinkalow wanting to be a puppy?"

"To be expected. I painted quite a pretty picture of it. The timing worked out pretty well."

"Do you think the police will get here in time?"

"I don't know. I have some ideas to stall though. I just hope it'll be long enough."

"Do you think the... the branding will take up a lot of time?"

"Of course it would, but that wouldn't be according to the plan." An impish grin stole across the teen-child's face, and Takagi, for the first time in a while, felt that he may get out of this alive.

Hattori sighed as he hung up the phone. He'd called Satou but apparently they didn't have any more news. She was working hard though, he could hear it in her voice. His cell buzzed and he looked down. Hope inflated in his chest, only to fall when he saw that it was just a text from Kazuha to meet at a nearby cafe. He grumbled as he texted that he would meet them there. He really didn't want to stop looking but he knew that his mind would work better on a full stomach, plus he knew that the girls were working hard too. They'd been up for hours after all.

He had a few minutes until they wanted to meet though. Might as well finish looking around and-

He stopped dead still. His heart beat loudly in his chest. There, at the very bottom of the glasses screen, there was a small, blinking dot. He set off at a dead run, sprinting around corners and through alley ways, watching with his heart in his throat as he neared the dot.

Kinkalow led the detective boys through the hallways of the house, heading towards the garage where they could grab their backpacks. He bit his lip as he led them, unsure of what to say. That problem was quickly taken care of when the outspoken Detective Boys didn't bother holding in their curiosity about the 10 year old.

"Who are you?" Ayumi asked, coming up from behind him. "Why are you here, are you one of the kidnappers?"

The child looked to the girl,surprised at her bluntness. "My name is Kinkalow. I... I guess I am, but I don't think I want to be anymore."

The children looked to his in confusion, but before they could ask anything they were interrupted by the slam of a door. The group froze as Tabby entered the room. For a moment nobody moved, each of there eyes locked on one another. Suddenly Haibara let out a loud, shrill scream, the frightened Detctive Boys quickly following suit. Tabby and Kinkalow jumped at the loud noise, the cats' eyes met in confusion.

"A-a a ghost!" Haibara yelled, and the children, still unsure of what was going on, simply continued to scream in fear.

"G-ghost?" The man stuttered. "What are you talking about?"

"We heard that this house was h-haunted! We wanted to check it out!" The light haired girl cried, and finally the other children understood. Even Kinkalow figured it out. He took the charade further, his expertise with Persian making him an expert tale-spinner.

"Sorry, Itoumo-ojisan. I was coming to visit and while I was here I heard them after they sneaked in. I tried to tell them it wasn't haunted, but they didn't believe me." Kinkalow couldn't let Tabby knew that they saw Puppy, it was the only was that any of the kids would get out alive. If Tabby knew that they'd seen the cage, then that was it. They would be killed and Puppy would just become another Kitten.

Tabby's eyes darted back and forth between Kinkalow and the children before jerking his head to the side."Can I talk to you for a second, kid?" He asked, and the ten year old nodded before following the man to the next room. Haibara's eyes followed suspiciously.

Tabby looked back to the boy once they were out of earshot. "What really happened?"

"Persian gave me the day off and I came over 'cause I wanted to talk to Kitten." He kept his voice normal and casual, his mind forming excuses for thousands of different questions that Tabby could ask. Persian had made him a lion machine, the Cats had made him a professional. Now it was time to use it against them. "I was talking to him when I heard a crash. I came up and found them talking about hunting for ghosts. I was just trying to convince them that the place wasn't haunted when you showed up."

Tabby glanced back at his phone before peering around the corner to look at the waiting children. "I should talk to Lion about what to do?"

"And just make them wait here while you do that? He's busy, isn't he? It could be forever before he responds to a text and you know his rules about House Cats never calling him."

Tabby grumbled unhappily. "Maybe I could offer them refreshments to... I don't know apologizing or something."

"What refreshments? Lion only expected to stay here for another day. There's nothing left in the house."

Tabby grumbled slightly. "Should I take them to a cafe or something? There's one on the corner and that would give me time."

Kinkalow frowned. He couldn't think of a reason to convince him not to, and at least the cafe would give the kids a chance to get out of the house and attempt to call the police. He nodded and Tabby walked out to talk to the children, and Kinkalow could see that they didn't like it, but just like him they could think of no excuse. Within moments the young group was trailing after the man, backpacks on their backs, as they began walking down the street. Haibara touched the pocket where the transmitter sat. Hattori had taken the glasses earlier, maybe... Suddenly, as if conjured by her thoughts, a panting Osakan sprinted around the corner, wide eyes peering behind oversized glasses.