Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan/Case Closed.

Pairing: KaitoxShinichi

Chapter Rating: T

Collection Summary: In an infinite number of universes, they still always manage to find each other. A KaiShin sci-fi collection. (This is the science fiction counterpart to the Different Suns collection)

Chapter Summary: They were created to be weapons and tools without pasts or futures of their own. But it's time for that to change. Together, they're going to grasp their freedom.

Skyline

[Experiment Verse]

Part 3

The drive out of the city was tense and silent. Only the hum of the engine accompanied their thoughts.

Seated in the back of the car, Kaito gripped Shinichi's hand in his right hand while his left hand rested on Heiji's shoulder so that he could keep all three of them invisible from all prying eyes. In the passenger seat, Shiho sat wearing a colorful dress she would never have picked for herself and a pair of snazzy sunglasses. Saguru, who was driving, was wearing similarly garish party clothes to help promote the illusion that the two blondes were a young couple out for a night of parties and dancing. The illusion would be enhanced by the fact that there were at least seven such parties (big ones at that) going on around the city that night. They'd checked.

They paused in one of the busiest districts of the city where every other building was a bar or a night club to add to their illusion. There, they bought enough snacks and bottled beverages to supply a very wild teenage party before driving off towards the residential districts. However, rather than stopping at one of the many brightly lit houses in the area, they rolled on through and all the way out of the city. As they turned onto a mountain road, Shinichi turned to look back through the car's back window, half afraid of what he might see. But the road behind them was empty.

At least for the moment.

"The cave's up ahead," Shiho said just loud enough for everyone to hear. Turn right here."

Saguru did as he was told, and soon they were on a narrow, forested road winding through the mountains until the path ahead abruptly vanished in a slew of massive boulders and fallen trees.

"There was a landslide here not long ago," Shiho explained. She pointed towards the mountain wall off to one side. "See that shadow behind that ridge? The cave is behind there. If we can maneuver the car inside, it will be extremely difficult for other people to find it."

"Understood." With the careful precision that he applied to all things, Saguru guided the car around and into the aforementioned cave. The entrance was only just barely big enough, but the space beyond that was surprisingly capacious.

Without a word, they all got out of the car. Backpacks filled with travel supplies were unearthed from the trunk and passed out. Then they pushed the car up against the wall and pulled a large canvas sheet over it that Shiho had designed to camouflage the vehicle as merely a formation of rock. The color and texture of the covering was such a perfect match with the tunnel walls that the hidden car didn't look out of place at all.

That done, they hurried out a tunnel at the back of the cave and soon found themselves hiking up a steep, uneven trail headed deeper and deeper into the mountains.

"As we planned, it is going to rain," Hakuba said. "We should take advantage of it. They will not dare send pursuers after us until the weather clears. These mountains are not forgiving to the unprepared."

"But are we prepared?" Heiji muttered under his breath only to grin and flash Shinichi and Kaito his best grin and a thumb's up. "Ah, whatever. We're as prepared as anyone could possibly be. So if we can't do it—"

"We'll be caught."

"I meant then no one could."

"And we'd be caught," Hakuba said again, tone flat as ever. "We all understand all this. There is no need to keep going over it. Now let us hurry. We need to find shelter from the storm somewhere as far from here as possible to make full use of the rain's ability to wash away our scent and hide our passage. Then we can make further plans."

Their packs had contained all that they had felt they would need. That included raincoats and boots meant for rough and tough terrain just like this. Between the two, they were not exactly comfortable but at least they could move. The rain began to fall soon after Saguru's pronouncement.

It began is little sprinklings of drops, here a batch, there a batch. But then it thickened. The raindrops grew fat and round and heavy, and they came in sheeting torrents that seemed to be trying to wash the entire world away.

-0-

It was a tiny cabin like the sort that hikers and hunters occasionally crashed in when out in the woods for long periods. There was just enough room for all of them to squeeze inside, provided that no one was too picky about their personal space. Fortunately, they were all pretty well wrapped up against the cold, so Shinichi didn't have to worry about accidentally zapping himself with one of his companion's thoughts and emotions. Considering the tension in the air, this was definitely a good thing. He didn't need their anxiety multiplying his own.

They had found the cabin under Saguru's directions. He and Shiho had spent a lot of covert hours not merely studying the geography of the area but also measuring, calculating, and preparing using resources that Shiho's deceased relatives had readied for her years ago.

Shinichi didn't realize just how literally they had meant it when they had told him that this would be their base of operations before they got back on their feet. But he began to understand when, once everyone was inside, Shiho lifted a floorboard, punched a series of numbers into the number pad below, and a revealed a flight of descending steps.

Kaito was the first to jump down into the secret base—for anything built and concealed in such a way could only be called a secret base, and he whistled in real approval at what he found. The place wasn't exactly large, but there was still plenty of space for all of them. The far right end of the room was occupied by four bunk beds. He wondered for a moment why there weren't five, but then he saw the computer in the alcove just off to one side of the beds, and he realized that there would always have to be one of them awake. On watch. A fifth bed would serve no purpose.

"Bet the twit picked the furnishing," he noted, rolling his eyes.

The left half of the room was devoted to table with exactly five chairs around it and a small kitchenette complete with cupboards and a miniature refrigerator. Two doors led to a pair of much smaller rooms, one of which was a bathroom. The other was a pantry that had already been stocked.

"How did you guys manage to get all of this done without alerting anyone?" Shinichi asked in amazement, staring around the cozy little cabin basement like it was a penthouse apartment.

"My sister had part of it built already before she died," Shiho said, her voice dispassionate as ever though her eyes were distant with memories. "She told me about it before she passed away. She told me that she made sure it wasn't on any of Their records. And she told me to use it when…when I knew the time was right."

No one said anything for a long moment, their heads bowed in silent thought or perhaps silent appreciation for those who had loved their daughter and sister and made the effort to give her this chance. This chance that none of them were going to let go to waste.

"We need to talk," Saguru announced, taking a seat at the table and looking around at each of them in turn. "For the time being, we are secure. However, this state will not last long. Once they catch the mice, they were know exactly what we have done and, very likely, who had to have helped us." He nodded to Shiho. "As only one of her authorization could have extracted the tracking chips and transferred them to another still active without triggering an alarm. They know where we were, and so they will be searching the city for us already. They will be watching the roads in and out of the city as well."

"Except they ain't going to find anything 'cause we got out before that," Heiji butted in with abroad grin. "They're going to waste days canvassing that city."

Saguru frowned. "Yes, well, we cannot hide here forever. Sooner or later, we will need supplies at the very least. And, eventually, we will also need to find jobs. Not to mention places to live."

"I thought we were living here." Heiji gestured at the bunk beds then at the kitchen. "It's got everything we need."

"For the time being. It is not practical in the long term. Besides, if we stay here, They will find us sooner or later. We need to leave this area once they relax their search and find somewhere where we may be able to integrate ourselves into an existing community. If we integrate successfully, the Organization would not find it easy to extract us against our will without revealing their crimes to the world. That, I feel, is our best chance at forcing them to leave us be."

"Let's take this one step at a time though," Shinichi said. "No matter what, we have to lie low here for a few days. We should take that time to plan."

"We'll need identities," Kaito agreed. "And histories. Stories about ourselves that we can actually tell people. Should include why we're all living together."

"I would have said you could be my brothers, but I don't think too many people would believe that," Shiho observed. "Kaito and Shinichi can be brothers though. They look the part."

"I'm not being Shinichi's brother," Kaito interjected, frowning. If he cast himself as Shinichi's brother in their new life, he wouldn't be able to court him, and that would defeat the entire point of this venture in his not very humble opinion. "How about we're all from the same college. Roomed together while in school, got close, and decided to start our own business together after graduation. And that's why we'll be house-hunting."

"Establishing a business may draw too much attention," Saguru objected. "Especially if we are all part of it. We need to be low profile."

"New graduates splitting the rent on a house is perfectly ordinary and low profile," Shinichi replied. "But you're probably right about the business. Maybe for one or two of us, but, for now, it would be wiser for us to look for work separately. The problem is that we won't have any credentials. No references or college transcripts."

Shiho's lips twitched into a thin but self-satisfied smile. "I thought of that. I have some records ready. Once we finalize the details, I can get them where they need to go. That," she nodded at the little base's computer, "is equipped with everything we need. I built and programmed it myself."

Hattori whistled. "Now that's good. If we play this right, this might actually all work out."

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Saguru warned him, but he too gave Shiho a nod of approval. "Tell us what you need from us."

The next several hours were spent creating their new lives—building them from the ground up. They chose names and hometowns, stealthily inserted themselves into some loose and very tangled family trees, picked colleges and hobbies and even a few small with imaginary rivals.

When they had finished, Shinichi had become Kudo Shinichi, a young and highly intelligent college grad with a degree in psychology. He had chosen the name Kudo because it had been the family name of the author who had written the first book Kaito had managed to steal for him to read. Kaito knew that, and the thought made him smile.

Ideally, Shinichi said, he would like to find a position with a library or a bookstore. But he wouldn't mind working at a coffee shop either.

Kaito had chosen to name himself after a famous magician from some years back called Kuroba Toichi. He had watched several of the man's shows and come to admire the man's creativity and skill. Even from the beginning, the bright lights of the stage, the magic and the wonder and the power of being able to do the impossible had appealed to him. But since he couldn't well search for a performance-related job when he was trying to keep a low profile, he thought he'd look for a position at or near wherever it was Shinichi ended up.

Heiji and Saguru had both decided to choose the last names of police officers they'd seen in the news. So now they were Hattori Heiji and Hakuba Saguru. Neither as yet had any preferences as to potential jobs, though Heiji noted that he would like to do something that could get him moving. Having been designed and raised for physical combat, this was only to be expected though.

Shiho, who had already completed the establishment of her own alternate identity some time ago, had chosen the name Haibara Ai. She had apparently also set up her own online, web-design business a few years back. At their raised eyebrows, she only shrugged and commented that some projects were best begun early.

Hours later, with the sun beginning to rise somewhere overhead, Saguru held up a hand to interrupt the discussion as he held up his watch. "The rain should have stopped. They will be sending out the Trackers within the hour. There were twelve Trackers bred and trained specifically to find us. We will need to capture and destroy them. Then the next phase of our plan will be complete."

Shiho glanced at Kaito. "This is yours."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Kaito bounced to his feet and smirked, indigo eyes gleaming. "I'll be their worst nightmare."

-To Be Continued-