Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

Illusions of the Sun

10: Sea of Fire

Neither detective was sure exactly how they should be feeling or what they should be thinking anymore. What had begun as a strange story had rapidly become ten times weirder and several shades darker than either of them had expected. It was a cold shock to think that their classmates had actually lived the last decade of their lives like—like that. It made Hattori wonder how they could go about their days so…so normally. He had thought at first that the two's hesitation regarding telling them about their abilities was a fear of being thought crazy, now he couldn't understand how they had found it in themselves to trust any of them enough to say even as much as they had. It was a sobering realization.

"So these hackers," Hakuba began, his own expression grim. "What exactly might they have seen that might cause them to come here? Presuming of course that it is indeed these hackers who are responsible for Ran and Shinichi's disappearance."

"The Wraith was originally established by people interested in the study and exploitation of the paranormal," Shiho replied. "Most of their criminal activities were, I believe, a method of funding the research they were really interested in. In the course of this research, they appropriated several artifacts, mostly through…less than friendly means. The hackers in question are a group my associates and I have been tracking. They seem mostly interested in getting their hands on antiques and artifacts that can be sold for large sums of money to private collectors through either legal or illegal channels."

"So there's something this organization had that they want," Hattori surmised.

The girl nodded. "Most of what the Wraith had was confiscated when they were caught. They are now back where they belong, or at least in safe hands. There was, however, one artifact which, due to its location at the time, was unable to be retrieved. I believe it is this object that they are looking for. It is a chest that was said to contain a great treasure, but none of the researches were able to open it so no one's sure what that treasure is."

"But if no one can open it, what use is it to these people?" Hakuba inquired.

Shiho gave him a look that suggested she thought the answer should be obvious. "The chest itself is an antique. I believe it was crafted by an artist rumored to have unusual powers some six hundred and fifty years ago yet it is still in almost perfect condition. It was his last creation and they say he died the day it was done. He was found lying beside it, his tools still in his hands."

"That's…" Hattori trailed off, not sure what to say. It sounded a bit morbid to him, but some people did seem to like things that had creepy stories attached to them.

"Our files, however, did not include the location of the island where the chest was being kept. I assume that is why they came here."

"So they took Shinichi to help them find it," Kaito said flatly.

"I believe so."

"But how are we supposed to find it?" Hattori demanded.

The blond girl shot him an irritated look. "I know where it is most likely to be. There were two main facilities being used by the organization. One was the one the magician knows. The other was very small and predominantly a research center. That, I believe, is where the artifact was being studied. However, the island where it is located is under water for several months each year during which all human life had to be evacuated. It should be back on the surface now, but it never stays for more than a month at a time."

X

There turned out to be six of them. A couple of them stood and sat around the cabin of the medium sized boat they had had prepared. The rest were walking around on deck, preparing the ship for departure. Shinichi watched them all warily.

"Man that damned girl broke my arm!" one of the men was complaining.

"Shut up," the woman who was tending to said broken arm snapped as she jerked the bandaging around the splint tighter, eliciting a yelp of pain. "It was your own damned fault for being careless."

"It was an unarmed, teenage girl! How was I supposed to know she was some kind of karate expert?"

"Keep yapping and you can make your own sling."

The injured man shut up, shooting a glare across the cabin at the two teens in the corner.

Shinichi too looked to the seat beside him where Ran was still unconscious. She had been hit on the head pretty hard and she had yet to show any signs of waking up. He knew she wasn't actually too badly hurt though, so he wasn't particularly worried. What did worry him was the fact that he could feel the boat beginning to hum under their feet. They would be ready to set sail soon.

He shifted in his seat, testing the ropes tying his hands to the seat behind him. They were, unfortunately, very well secured.

The man that the oracle had pegged as the leader walked into the cabin just then and made his way up to the person who'd been assigned the job of keeping watch on the prisoners. His gray eyes met Shinichi's briefly before he focused on his own subordinate.

"I see he's awake. What about the girl?"

"Still out like a light."

The leader nodded and moved to stand in front of Shinichi. "You can call me Maurice. I brought you here because I heard you can help us find what we want. If you cooperate with us, no one will get hurt."

Shinichi remained silent.

Maurice waited a second longer then shrugged and continued. "We are looking for a certain island they say is under water for most of the year. It was owned by some friends of yours—"

"They were not my friends," Shinichi snapped despite himself. The mere suggestion made his insides twist in disgust.

"Fair enough," the man agreed amiably. "Then you should have no reservations in regards to telling us where it is."

"Greed never did anyone any good," Shinichi stated. "You should be careful."

Both the leader and the guard stared at him. It was the former who broke the silence.

"Interesting. What makes you think that we are being greedy?"

"Isn't that what they call people who pursue wealth at the cost of all other things?"

"And when did I say we were after wealth?"

Realizing his mistake, Shinichi clamped his mouth shut.

The guard whistled. "Well, he certainly knows more than he should. So do you really know what's going to happen in the future too?"

The oracle didn't answer.

Undeterred, the guard continued. "If I could see the future, I'd go win myself the lottery," he laughed, waving a piece of paper at Shinichi. "Hey, what do you say kid? Care to give it a try?"

"No," Shinichi said flatly, glaring at the man.

He actually took an involuntary step back.

The leader on the other hand only smiled. "This is very interesting. To think that human beings can really have such abilities… I must admit I had my doubts. But I guess it will be proof enough if you can guide us to hour goal."

"I'm not telling you anything."

"Really? So I take it you don't care what happens to your friend here."

Shinichi followed the man's gaze to Ran and scowled. These people… They were just like the Wraith, he thought angrily.

"I see you understand. Well then, all we need to hear from you is the directions. We know at least that this place should be somewhere that can be reached within five days. So if we don't get there by then, I will assume what you said earlier was just a lucky guess, and that you two are of no use to us."

"You won't get away with it," Shinichi told him.

The man scoffed, but there was something about the absolute certainty in the boy's blue eyes that made him feel uneasy all of a sudden.

X

"I still believe we should have waited for backup."

"I know," Heiji said with a grimace. "I can't believe that blond girl and her buddies are okay with us going ahead." He closed his eyes, recalling the moment when the blond girl had left.

"You're not going to wait for us, are you?"

"I can't."

She nodded in understanding. "We'll be there as soon as we can then."

"All right. You know, I didn't realize you would end up working with them permanently."

Shiho had shrugged at the slightly teasing tone in his voice. "Don't do anything stupid."

And here they were on a boat they had borrowed from a family that he and Hakuba had once solved a missing persons case for, following the map given them by Shiho. The thing was that the engines weren't running but they were still racing through the water in an arrow straight line at speeds that he knew a boat this size shouldn't be able to reach. It was disconcerting but they had already had to wait a day and a half.

"I believe it is because they know they can't stop him," Hakuba replied, glancing pointedly in Kaito's direction.

Heiji followed his gaze and nodded, suppressing a shiver. The magician was still smiling, but it was the kind of smile that brought to mind sharp teeth and fins. "You're probably right."

"This is a bad idea."

"Do you have to keep saying that? We've already agreed it's true."

"I'm sorry. I am simply having a difficult time believing that we are here regardless of how bad an idea we, for once, both agree this is."

Heiji cracked a smile at that. "Oh come on, you're just as worried about Ran as he is about Shinichi. And they're both my friends so I'm not gonna sit around and do nothing either. We just gotta remember to be careful. And maybe if we're lucky, backup will arrive the same time we do. Besides, we've got him on our side," he added, jerking a thumb in Kaito's direction. "I know I wouldn't want to be them when he catches up with 'em."

"Indeed. I wonder if that should concern us."

X

Ran wasn't sure if she was scared or not. She had been for the first few days when she'd woken up to find that she'd been kidnapped along with one of her new friends. But by now she was just kind of tired of being scared. Shinichi wasn't scared either. Although he hadn't been sleeping well either. He had dark circles under his eyes and he had grown a lot paler. She wondered if that meant something.

She just wished that there was something she could do.

Their captors ignored them for the most part. It wasn't like they could do much here out on the open sea. There was water in every direction when she looked out the cabin windows.

"I'm sorry you got dragged into this," Shinichi told her one evening after they had taken turns eating under the watchful eyes of two of their captors.

"It's not your fault," she'd whispered back though she could see from his expression that he thought she was wrong.

When the island appeared on the horizon, Ran thought that this might be their chance to get away. If they could get out of their bonds while the treasure hunters were off searching for their goal, they could take the boat and leave their captors behind. They didn't know anything about boats, but surely it couldn't be too hard to figure out, and Shinichi would be able to guide them back.

She watched in mixed anticipation and anxiety as the treasure hunters armed themselves for departure. She hadn't realized they all had guns. To think that all those weapons had been lying right there in that crate… It was rather unpleasant.

Her plans were dashed however when two of the treasure hunters came to herd her and Shinichi off the boat with the rest of them. A single man was left to watch the boat.

"Stay close," Shinichi whispered to her as they were marched down the gangway onto shore. There was an intent look in his eyes that put Ran on alert.

"Is something going to happen?" she asked quietly when she was sure they wouldn't be heard.

"Something," he agreed, a frown flickering briefly across his features. "I'm not sure what yet, but we should be ready."

The island was a rugged, rocky place with forests of boulders but very little in the way of actual vegetation. Amidst all the rock formations, it wasn't all that hard to spot the shine of sunlight on metal. It was a door set into hard ground. It had no visible handles or locking mechanisms. The treasure hunters spent some time examining it before one of them unearthed what looked like a panel of buttons hidden inside a crevice in a nearby boulder.

It was like watching some kind of movie, Ran thought as she watched them hooking up a strange sort of device to the panel. She could only assume they were finding a way around the lock.

Beside her, Shinichi seemed more interested in looking off towards the horizon. She couldn't tell what he was looking at. For all she knew, it was literally only something he could see.

A hiss and a loud squeal drew her attention back to where the metal door had been lifted, revealing a staircase descending into the darkness. A billow of cold, stale air wafted up and out of the opening, making almost everyone gag. It certainly smelled like it hadn't been open in a long time.

One man was sent down as a scout ahead. He returned with a wide grin on his face.

"Man it's like a science fiction movie down there," he exclaimed as soon as his head rose back above ground level. "You have got to see this."

Maurice and the others hefted their equipment and started down after him, leaving only the two who were watching the captives.

Ran had no idea how long they waited. Overhead the sun crawled across the sky. It was hot and uncomfortable, but she knew better than to complain. And through it all Shinichi sat perfectly still, his eyes fixed on that empty spot on the horizon.

X

If Hakuba had had any doubts about the existence of magic and the strange things he'd seen that day he'd been told it existed before, those doubts had long since died—drowned in a rush of white spray and sea salt. Their boat had cleaved straight through the ocean as though the waves and the wind meant nothing to it. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the water seemed to be propelling them with the same single-minded determination that he could see in the figure of the magician seated at the prow. Their speed only marginally diminished during those short few hours each night when Kaito rested.

"He's starting to creep me out," Hattori muttered over breakfast one morning. He had handed Kaito his share of the food and retreated to join Hakuba while they ate. "I wish he'd at least stop smiling."

"I know what you mean," Hakuba replied. He wondered briefly why they both felt the need to whisper—like they were trying not to wake something dangerous. Then again, maybe that was exactly what it was. He hoped they got where they were going soon, and he hoped that when they got there they found what they were looking for, because he really did not want to find out what would happen if they didn't.

He could understand the fear of losing someone. He had people he cared for too after all. And Ran was with those people… Ran, whom they might very easily decide was unnecessary to their cause.

Even so he couldn't understand the darkness he saw in the magician's eyes. There was more than the fear of losing a loved one there, he thought. If he had to make a comparison, he might have likened it more to the fear of dying. Only it wasn't.

He couldn't describe it, but it made him uneasy. Hattori too was growing more and more restless by the day.

Their prayers were answered when the peak of a wave in the distance didn't sink. Instead it grew darker and larger until they could all see that it was an island. Not a big one, but definitely an island.

Hattori scrambled to get a pair of binoculars out of their supplies. Bringing them up to his face, he trained his gaze on the rapidly approaching island. "I see a boat! About three times as big as ours. Looks empty though."

"Hang on tight," Kaito instructed from the prow. Both detectives immediately latched onto the nearest stationary fixture. A moment later their boat sped up, careening to the right to cut a curving path through the water. The waves to either side of the heaved higher than they had a moment ago as though to hide their presence.

They came to a stop amidst a rocky shore so close to a myriad of half submerged boulders that Hakuba wouldn't have been surprised if they crashed. They didn't, of course. The water around them was doing only what Kaito wanted it to after all.

"We should check the boat first and work our way in from there," Hakuba said as they disembarked. "That way we won't miss them."

The others nodded.

"Be careful," Kaito said quietly. "They may be armed." That said he turned and began picking his way along the shore towards the boat they'd seen from the sea.

The detectives traded uneasy looks then followed.

They found the boat in question drifting silent and empty by another stretch of shore. The detectives moved instinctively to check inside the boat while Kaito headed for the rocky ridges. They were only halfway to their respective destinations when a man emerged from a cluster of boulders, straightening out his clothes with one hand as a revolver dangled from the other. Everything froze for a moment when he looked up.

"Stop right there!" he bellowed, raising his gun and letting loose what was probably supposed to be a warning shot. No one wanted to find out for sure.

Hakuba lunged, grabbing the man's arm and forcing it up just as he pulled the trigger. Neither of them were braced properly and the force of the recoil sent them over backwards. The blonde cracked his head against one of the many boulders strewn around the area and lay still. The other man scrambled to his feet and bolted. Kaito gave chase.

"Hakuba!" Leaping over the gun the fleeing treasure hunter had dropped, Hattori fell to his knees beside his unmoving fellow detective. Cursing, he checked the back of Hakuba's head. There was a nasty bump there but nothing too serious. Satisfied that he would be okay, Hattori leapt back to his feet and turned in direction Kaito had gone in where he could hear a commotion brewing.

X

"We've been found!"

Shinichi tensed as the treasure hunters turned as one at the cry from where they had been examining the handful of objects they'd brought up from below before they transported them back to the ship. Then the man who'd been on boat guard duty came skidding into the clearing. He didn't get far however. All the treasure hunters and Ran stared in shock as the man rose into the air. His feet were still moving like he was running but it was useless. His eyes widened in shock and he began to flail. It didn't help.

"What the hell—!" someone gasped.

"Ran!" Shinichi hissed under his breath. "Get ready to run."

"What—"

The boat guard shrieked as he was abruptly hurled forward straight into the man and woman who'd been set in charge of watching the captives.

"Now!" Shinichi bolted, followed closely by Ran.

The treasure hunters barely even noticed however. They were far more concerned with the wild-haired teen who had just vaulted a boulder into the clearing. They could all see that his eyes were glowing.

"S—stay back and don't move!" the leader shouted in an almost hysterical voice, finger jerking convulsively on the trigger of his gun.

Several wild shots rang out and Shinichi threw himself sideways into Ran, knocking her down as one of the bullets whizzed through the air where her head had been. The second one however went through her arm and the third caught him in the shoulder. They both hit the ground hard.

"You bastard!" Hattori, who had appeared right behind Kaito, roared, but he was forced to duck back behind the boulders he'd just rounded as another shot came for his face. He cursed, glancing back down to the shore behind him to where Hakuba was still out cold.

At the same time Kaito made to approach Shinichi but a bullet ricocheting off the ground at his feet brought him up short.

"I said don't move!" the leader snarled, apparently having recovered from his initial fear of the stranger with the glowing eyes. "Or do you want to be next?"

Okay. That was it. Kaito snapped. He rounded on the small band backing away from him. He had had enough. He was sick and tired of everyone trying to use them. He hated how it seemed like they were all trying to take the people he cared about away from him. All he'd ever wanted was to be left in peace with Shinichi and his mom to finally live their lives like they were supposed to have been able to all along. But no, the whole damned world was hell bent for some reason on ruining everything. And at this point he was ready to bet that as soon as they got rid of this lot there'd be another one waiting somewhere in the future with no respect for anything. Wasn't the last time enough for one lifetime? The air crackled.

From his hiding spot behind the boulders, Hattori had no idea what was going on. One moment he was trying to come up with a plan, the next it was like a bomb had exploded. For an instant he couldn't see anything but light. He couldn't breathe. His ears roared and every inch of his body seemed to be being crushed by some incredible weight.

The next moment he was lying face down on the rocky ground, Hakuba's shoe an inch from his nose and his head still spinning. Groaning, he rolled over onto his back and stared up at a sky that had turned into a whirl of what looked like fire and lightning. And all he could do was stare in openmouthed shock.

X

Shinichi could feel the blood soaking into his clothes but he couldn't seem to feel any pain. It would probably kick in eventually, he thought, but it wasn't important right now. What was important was the power he could feel pulsing through the air, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Forcing his eyes open, he found himself looking through a red and gold haze. For a moment he couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. It was almost like he'd been transported to another world.

The power he had only felt earlier was actually visible. It hung like a fog over the ground and crackled as though there was an electric current running through it. The sky was black but it didn't look like there were any clouds. Streaks of fire snaked across it as though they were alive. His horrified eyes searched frantically for the others. All he saw were a handful of dark, vaguely humanoid lumps lying sprawled on the trembling earth. The boulders that had been shielding Hattori and Hakuba had shattered and he could make out both detectives lying prone in the rubble. In fact, most of the islands rocky features had been completely flattened. On the other side the treasure hunters had similarly been knocked off their feet. He couldn't tell if they were breathing. Their pile of loot had similarly been obliterated—all but for the small, rosewood chest anyway. There was only one person still on his feet.

And he realized suddenly exactly why those visions had filled him with such a sense of horror—why he had never been able to understand what they were saying. Never wanted to understand. Because at the heart of all the fire and destruction was Kaito himself.

TBC

A.N: And we are coming to the end. Just one more chapter and an epilogue to go! See you next time ^_^.