[ Kaito hasn't been around much lately, mostly because he's an insomniac and can only sleep when he's thoroughly exhausted his brain. However, in this case he's been absent because he's been active phantom thief and lately he's felt farther away his goal than usual. He can't explain it but somehow he can feel the gem slipping away. ]

[ These feelings probably explain why today, in his dream, Kaito is small boy no more than nine dressed in an adult sized white tuxedo with the top hat falling down over his face. ]

[ Somewhere there's a man talking in the distance ]

'I know you'll make me proud, Kaito.'

[ Kaito looks widely around but he can't see through the hat and the voice is so distant that he doesn't really think to push the hat up. ]

Dad? What did you say? Dad? Dad!?

[ He's walking blindly-bumping into walls and trying to follow the distant voice. ]

Don't worry Kaito, follow my voice and I won't-

[ -But his voice is cut off by a sudden explosion. ]

...Dad?

[ Silence. ]

DAD!?

[ Kaito takes off running blindly, still running into walls but that doesn't matter to him. He's running right towards the burning fire caused by the explosion. ]



((ooc: I have no icons to properly convey his feelings. I apologize in advance. ))

"Captain Holmes!"  Conan knocked politely on the door.  "I have news.  You are in need of some new crew members. The cook took objection to the cadaver in the larder and quit.  Several of the more squeamish crewmembers left with him."

He sounded rather cheerful about the entire issue.  "But at least the state of putrefaction is proceeding nicely."

It had taken Conan a lot of effort to get taken on as a cabin boy by Captain Holmes.  Months of effort to track down the only pirate captain known to have had encounters with the leader of the Black Pirates.  The same pirates, Conan suspected, who had been responsble for his own poisoning and shrinking.  Weeks more of effort planning on how best to catch the captain's interest.  Conan knew quite well that the only reason he'd been hired and kept on the crew was because Sherlock Holmes found him to be interesting. 

And... at least it was not boring aboard this ship.  He'd found quite a few shared interests with the captain.  Until the day that he could destroy the Black Pirates and regain his life as Shinichi Kudo, this was not a bad life.  Exploration.  Treasure hunting and riddles.  Plenty of scientific inquiry.

Now if only they had an easier time keeping the other crew members around.

Perhaps getting thrown down here was part of the plan. The great quest. The attempt to woo sweet Agrabah princess, or just fetch what that weird rug merchant asked you to get.

More likely this particular stop wasn't on the itinerary. Boy is that Saucer of Wonders picky! The moment you--or a faithful but not always reliable animal companion--got distracted by something shiny, it was down the hatch to a natural desert prison, surrounded on all sides by quicksand. There's evidence that people have been here...and evidence they died here. You're not about to find anyone alive and kicking in the rundown shacks anytime soon.

Look long enough, though, and you'll find a dusty watering can lying on its side. The weathered metal has certainly seen better days, but maybe it could be cleaned up with a little polish?

Or maybe you're more interested in the "water" part of "watering can". This is a desert, after all.

Pick it up?

[ No? But thou must! Not much is going to happen until that can's picked up, and Aerith might get a bit impatient if your character ignores her. Oh yes, indeed, she's in there as the Genie.

In a little spin on the theme, I'm using the Disney take rather than the classic version itself. Also, if you want to find the watering can in a completely different place to better fit your own character's quest, that's fine! (And I do mean completely different, never underestimate the power of cosmic ...powers.) The Gold Saucer/Corel Prison just happened to suit the Cave of Wonders sequence nicely. ]

 [In a large circular room lit only by moonlight coming through the skylight and surrounded by the bookshelves that line every inch of the wall, two figures are seated in oversized leather chairs and playing a game of chess.  

Nothing unusual about that.  The Kudo family library, for indeed that is what the room was, was well suited for such games.  No, what was unusual about this moment was the identity of the players and the appearance of the game.  Two boys, identical in appearance if it was not for the fact that one was ten years younger than the other.  And a chessboard populated with oddly shaped gamepieces.  A close look might bring about some recognition from people who knew Conan well. 

The younger boy glares up at his opponent as he adjusts his glasses.]

You're being far too reckless with your queen.  


[ooc: Say hello to the oddness of the mind of a boy lying about his age and real name.  People who enter this dream will be greeted by both Conan and his older self Shinichi.  Who will answer as separate people despite being really the same person.]

The twists and turns of the forest are long, secretive, and closed. But in this one small clearing, there is a house made entirely of sweets. Gingerbread forms the walls, adorned with enormous pieces of candy. The pillars and lampposts outside are peppermint, while the bushes grow marshmallows and slices of pie and cake. Even the paving stones of the pathway are rock candy. A river of pure dark chocolate flows lazily alongside the house, hot enough to be molten.

It's clearly a haven for children. In fact, a girl with pink hair and wearing a soft dress sits comfortably amid the wafer candy grass and nibbles at a handful. She looks up and smiles at the newcomer. Something about the smile is a bit too cold for her greeting, but with so much candy nearby, there's plenty to distract from the expression.

"Come over and try some," she invites. "You can eat enough to have a full stomach." This is a rare and precious thing, in a poor kingdom like this one. "Don't worry, I live here with my sister."

(ooc: story can be looked up here. Lethe is working for the witch to lure travelers in return for herself and Mnemosyne not being eaten.)

Conan didn't know how, but somehow he had arrived in a village that could only be described as quaint and European. He privately wondered if this was part of one of his mother's elaborate pranks.

But regardless of how he had arrived here and where he was, there was still a crime to solve. It had been tricky gathering the evidence, but nothing beyond his skills. Now there was only the deduction show to finish. He turns and points at one of the suspects.

"The murderer is you! You betrayed and killed your brother here in order to take his place as heir to the kingdom! But you made a mistake! You failed to realize that there was a witness to your crime!"

He ignores the shocked whispers of the onlookers around them.

"Yes! The golden goose saw everything!"