Author's Note: I can finally breathe. In the past few months, I was too busy with my duties as a student. Life's been hard like before, but college life's tougher. Sorry for not updating, but since summer vacation started, I now have more time in hand. Again, the end of this first part is almost here. To think that it took me almost two or three years to finish this. No one else is there to blame but me, but it's a worthwhile experience, nonetheless. My readers can fully see how much I've grown as a writer. Thank you for all your support.

Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan. How many times should I mention this?

The Moment Where Everything Was Lost

Part I: The Eclipse

"You know the problem with disguises, Mr. Holmes? However hard you try, it's always a self-portrait."

Irene Adler (Sherlock)

Chapter XXXIII: The Day of the Eclipse Part IV

Kaito's point of view

I was confined in an isolated storage room. I woke up yesterday, and since then, no one has been up here to say anything. The room itself was full of food and a sink was near. They purposely left me here, shun from what was happening outside. I didn't even know where I was. The last thing I remembered was getting shot, but the wound has already vanished. I tried to find a way to escape, but the walls were thick along with the door's solid metal surface.

There was nothing else to do but wait.

Days seemed to have passed by, but the magnitude of the time lost was impossible to measure. Everything felt like forever until a clatter of keys echoed under the small opening of the metal door. It was a beautiful young lady with long red hair. "Get up," her voice carried a blank tone. I observed her, noticing her dead eyes and expression. Something was wrong.

"You weren't like that when you shot me," I tried to start a conversation but she ignored me, acting as if I've said nothing. "Where are you taking me?"

"If you say one more word, I will cut your mouth," her presence shifted. Something was definitely wrong. The atmosphere around here omitted a heavy feeling. Two personalities inside her were colliding. The soft-voiced and convinced with resolve woman who shot me before was different. Even from the past, I sensed no instinct of her killing me, but now, I was sure that she was serious. I remained still and went along with her orders.

We entered a solid white room. A single table with two chairs was in the middle. On the other side, seated, a man wearing a white tuxedo played with a pen between his two fingers. He was yawning, constantly fidgeting his left leg and turning a slight distance of his chair. From his looks, he was impulsive and bored off his mind. "You look like your father very much," his words gripped my attention.

"Temper, temper, young Kaito. Cut the deadly stare. It doesn't work on me," he laughed, but the sound of bullet piercing through the door behind him alarmed the both of us. "I'm not here to play games."

He grinned, "Well this is turning out to be rather exciting. Where's the hurry?"

"Get out of here. Don't make me spill your brains right here on the floor," every word, every emphasis and pause, she meant it the entirety of what she said. "You care too much," the man grabbed me from behind and started dragging me towards the other door. "You have Kuroba. Leave. If you break the treaty and betray us, you know what'll happen. This won't be pretty on your part."

"I love it when you're mad. It boils my blood. I always see your fragile side. It's nice to see some change," he laughed. The other side of the door was an open bridged pathway. I felt the piercing cold of the rushing wind, feeling dry and damp at the same time. "Who are you?" I asked.

"Pandora," those words. How could I ever forget those words? But all this time, I thought that they were part of the Black Organization. The turn of events led me to see that I was chasing the wrong people, but something wasn't clear. Back in the manor, she said that they had no choice. My father had to be silenced. There was something more to my father's story that what I had expected. This was towards my answer.

"Why did you kill my father?" being straightforward was for the best. "I like you, kid. You avoid drama. Well, your father had talent. That's one, but he was nosy too. He stuck his nose down the wrong bark. Believe me; he had the choice to escape. We warned him. I warned him, but no luck, he became greedy with answers."

He stopped when the path ended on a small perched cliff that connected a part of the base to the mountains. A convoy van was waiting for us. Two other men pulled me up and placed behind the van, seated. The white tuxedo man sat in front of me. "What answers?"

"To live forever, kid. He kept on telling to himself that it was a fantasy, child's play, sidewalk heresay, but he himself sought for it. He wanted the truth. He got too close, fought with us even. Boss didn't like that."

"Finally, something to hold onto," I let out a sigh of relief. "You father became greedy, and you're happy."

"Curiosity runs in our family, and I'm sure he was in it for something else. I found my answer, so nothing's in vain, yet."

"Let me remind you, you're the one in chains."

"I wouldn't be so sure about it," I threw a smoke bomb hidden near my belt. The man in the white tuxedo kicked the backdoor open. Without hesitation, I released myself from the handcuffs and ran towards the cliff. "It was nice talking to you. Thank you for the information!" the glider spun behind me and assembled itself, hanging the metal steer in front of me. In a quick dash, I was falling a hundred feet into the rocks below the cliff.

The rush of air supported my glider, and I took off, once more. It didn't take a while before I could hear gunshots resounding behind me. A few minor maneuvers left them shooting at nothing. Freedom was in my grasp once more. Now, I needed to find the others.

Natsuki Koshimizu's point of view

The door slid open, and the red-hair woman came out. She walked on without even acknowledging my presence. I have been in her care since the jailbreak from three weeks ago. Staying here has given me nothing but more questions that needed even more graver answers. The mystery surrounding her swallowed me whole. The void in this very stronghold grew inside me, and even now, longing for answers became a priority. Just where am I?

"Natsuki," her gentle voice returned. "What is it?" I stuttered at first. "What makes someone evil?" she stopped walking. "It depends. It's the same thing with what makes someone good? I killed someone to avenge a friend. The end is good, but the means is evil. I don't know anymore how to distinguish the two. What is evil to me might not be evil at all to someone else."

"The world's pretty screwed with that."

"I know. Excuse me, but may I get your name?"

"Sawako Furukawa," she turned to me and there I saw her smile for the very first time. This wasn't the woman who let me escaped the other day. From her looks, she was someone who was carrying the burden of the world whilst trying to keep it all intact. In that moment, I genuinely wanted to help her as her tears streamed down her cheeks. Can she really be the boss of this? Someone too fragile couldn't hold it for much long.

"Just what is this? This organization?" I asked. "It's a curse passed onto me. That is all. Don't try to dig in deep, Natsuki. The dirt you'll come across if you continue finding an answer will lead to your grave. The secrets deep within this organization are far from anyone's reach. Only I can carry it," her presence shifted once more. Her serious side returned.

"I'm sorry."

"Let's go," she said. "Where are going?" I asked. "We're going to visit an old friend," she led me to far off corridor. It looked abandoned, not a sign of people passing by. She opened the door, and inside, a fragile looking woman in her 20's was lying on a stretcher. She was covered in blood. The room was wide enough for her to fit in with three doctors tending to her. "Sherry," she whispered.

"Who is she?" I can't say anything else but questions to her. "She's my only hope."

Shinichi's point of view

"Why did you carry me with you?" Vermouth said, breathing heavier with each let out of words. "I can't leave you there," I replied. "It's almost nightfall. We need to stop first," she suggested. "No, we can't stop. The eclipse is near."

"Eclipse? Are you still stuck with that riddle I gave you? You're going to be at a disadvantage at night. Let alone carrying me handicapped."

"It has nothing to do with you. We need to get this done before the eclipse. I need to find them before it happens. I'm not obliged to explain anything to you," I ended the conversation. She needed rest, and having an argument with her wouldn't help us. From the room we were in, I went out, carrying Vermouth, from where Haibara and I entered. The sky was starting to change colour. Trying to contact the others was useless also. My only chance of finding them was crossing paths with one of them, but as nightfall approached faster, it would've been unlikely.

"What's your plan now, cool guy?"

"Can you walk now without me supporting you?"

"I'm not that weak. I can withstand a lot more than that."

"Then we're going in. Help me infiltrate the headquarters," I sincerely asked. "I have a few broken ribs and a weak arm. I can handle it, but don't expect that this will be easy. No one's here to back you up like before," she was right. "Everyone else came here knowing full well what might happen. We may have been separated, but I'm sure that they're out there doing their part. We need to save Kaito and burn this place down."

"It won't be easy. They're here."

"They?" I wondered. "The boss," she said. "I've met her before," I came out saying. "You're underestimating her. You don't know her. Fragile her looks may be, but she's the most fit to be our boss. She's known for her split personalities," she stared off to the diming sky. "Split personalities?"

"You don't get it. Inside her fragile body lie three completely different egos, all of which having their own beliefs and attitude. She may have a nice ego, but one of those three is her destructive part. Having no resolve whatsoever towards the welfare of her own allies and the innocent, that's the very reason why she became our boss."

"Then we have no time to waste. I have a couple of bomb packs with me. It's time to be on the offensive side."

Author's Note: Two more chapters and the first part is done! Thank you everyone for reading all the way here. I'll be updating by next week or maybe even earlier. Stay tuned and reviews everyone!

Coming Soon: Chapter 34: The Day of the Eclipse Part V