~ Seeing Double ~

Chapter One:

The Multiplication Candy

A computer blinked as it was shut off. A girl about 8 years old with strawberry blond hair slid off of the swiveling chair as she yawned. She didn't know what time it was, but she was sure it was around midnight or so. As she walked from her computer desk over to a cage filled with mice, she pulled a red and white pill from her lab coat pocket.

The Apotoxin 4869. She had worked with the drug enough times by now to have extracted the substance within the toxin that caused one's body to age backwards. However, even with that knowledge, she could not come up with a permanent antidote. The antidote wasn't for herself, per se, but for the idiotic shrunken detective who constantly begged her to finish it so he could return to his childhood friend and love of his life.

The girl heaved a sigh. She really wondered why she bothered to even work this diligently to satisfy the idiot's demands. She supposed it was because of his promise to protect her from danger, namely the Organization. Not only that, but she still had herself to blame for the position he was in as of the moment. Ai decided to just think of it as a way to repent for what she had done.

The red and white pill she had held was soon in the cage as a single mouse ingested it. She watched as the mouse started to wriggle in pain, a scene she had witnessed many times due to her constant experimenting, before shrinking. After the mouse had successfully shrunken with no other effects, she pulled a bottle from her other pocket. Popping open the lid, she pulled out a circular tablet and placed it in the cage.

Anxiety was probably what she felt when the test subject ate the tablet. She had no idea if this would work, but it had been worth a try. She continued to look on at the mouse, but noticed no effects taking place. Nothing had happened after the tablet had been completely eaten. She decided this test had been a failure and that she was too tired to continue working before placing the bottle of tablets carefully on her desk and stripping herself of the lab coat.

Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep the moment she hit the bed.

The Next Day

"Good Morning, Ai-kun!" The professor shouted merrily as he picked up his mug of coffee from the dining table. Ai bid the professor a good morning before excusing herself to visit the basement. She slowly stepped down the stairway before opening the door to her makeshift lab. What she found inside was beyond her own expectations.

In the cage, there sat the mouse she had experimented on yesterday, but no longer shrunken.

"Hm…delayed effects." She decided to test this once more before presenting it to the detective. Taking out the mouse, she put in three more, shrunk them just as she had done the day before, and fed them each a tablet. Capping the bottle once more, she decided to go get ready for school. By the time she came back, she was sure the results would be in.

At School

"Eh? Haibara, you seem awfully quiet. Even more so than usual, and that's saying something." Ai glanced at the shrunken detective sitting next to her.

"And? Do you have a problem with that, Tantei-kun?"

"Not really, but it's kind of strange."

"No stranger than you being concerned about my silence." Before Conan could respond to that, he was interrupted by the group of children he knew so well.

"Hey, Conan. We're going over to the professor's today to play, you wanna go too?"

"I think I'll pass. Ran-nee-chan wants me at home today to help her with something." Suddenly, Ai turned to them.

"Is that so, Edogawa-kun? Are you sure you don't want to visit?" Fairly surprised at the invitation, Conan turned to look at Ai. The look in her eyes seemed to tell everything as he quickly changed his mind about not going.

"But I thought Ran-nee-san needed you at home?" Mitsuhiko questioned.

"I'll just tell her something important at the professor's came up," was the lame excuse.

At the Professor's House

The Detective Boys had settled down to play the newest video game as Conan pulled Ai aside.

"Did you finish the antidote?" The look in his eyes looked extremely hopeful. Then again, they always were when it came to the progress of the antidote.

"I'm not sure of its potency yet. However, the newest one has a delayed effect with no possible side effects as of yet. Follow me," Ai said as she led Conan to the basement. Opening the door, she walked up to the mouse cage and pointed to the three mice inside. They were all now full grown, with seemingly no difference about them. The one she had moved that morning was also still fully grown.

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's try it!" came the impatient answer. Ai crossed her arms before shooting the detective a look.

"I have only just begun testing this new antidote. The effects it has on human beings may very well be unknown, so I can't make any promises that it will work definitively." She reached for the bottle of tablets on her desk before popping one out. Handing him the white tablet, he quickly pocketed it, dashed outside to find a spare change of clothes, and went to the nearest bathroom. Quickly jumping onto the lid of the toilet seat, he gulped down the tablet and prepared himself for what he assumed to be the bone-melting pain.

Minutes passed and nothing happened. His patience began wearing thin as he wondered if any trace of the tablet was stuck to his teeth or anything. Once he was sure that waiting five minutes for the effects was enough, he decided nothing was going to happen. Sighing in frustration, he hopped off the seat, gathered the clothes, and went back to find the scientist.

"Haibara, the antidote doesn't work!" he whispered loudly as the children continued to stay pre-occupied with the game. It looked like they were on the last boss. Ai just shot him a look before crossing her arms.

"Kudo-kun, I already told you the effects are delayed. The mice started showing results hours after I fed them the tablet. Just be prepared for anything." Nodding, Conan decided to just join the kids in whatever game they were playing.

"Oh, Ai-kun! Could you do me a favor?" The professor called from the kitchen. Conan decided following her to the kitchen was more interesting than being forced to watch the game (the children had protested that if he played, they'd probably have to start all over again).

"Yes, professor?"

"Could you go get some more groceries? I think we're clean out," he said nervously as he moved to show them the fridge. True to his word, there was almost nothing inside, save for a few water bottles.

"Go with her, Shinichi. She might need help, since we're missing a lot of things." Nodding their assent, they told the children where they were going and left. Just as the door clicked, the final boss in the game had fallen, and the children were now bored.

"Hey, let's go down to the basement! I bet there's some cool stuff down there," Genta suggested, but the other two looked doubtful.

"Doesn't Ai-chan always tell us not to go down there?"

"That's right, Genta-kun. We shouldn't be invading on her privacy!"

"It's not like she's here to tell us that. See? Her and Conan just left. C'mon, it'll just be one little peek." Genta had already made a dash for the basement as Mitsuhiko and Ayumi looked at each other, a look passing between them. Reluctantly, they followed their friend.

"It sure looks dark down there," Ayumi mumbled as they looked down the basement door. True, it did look rather creepy.

"We shouldn't even be doing this!" Mitsuhiko muttered in exasperation. Unfortunately for him, Genta had already gone down there. The two others had no choice but to follow.

"Guys, check this out! Look at all these bottles and tubes!" The three children looked around the room. There was a desk with a computer, the computer was off. On that same desk sat a white bottle. It immediately caught their eyes as they ran over to look at it.

"What do you think this is?" Ayumi asked, staring curiously at the bottle.

"Who knows. It looks like a pill bottle, though." Just as Mitsuhiko finished his statement, Genta had yanked it from his grasp and popped the cap open.

"Ah! Genta-kun, stop!"

"Chill, guys! Look, there's candy inside!" He showed them the tablet so they could see the "candy" he was talking about.

"Are you sure those aren't just medicine tablets? Most definitely not candy."

"Lighten up, Mitsuhiko." With that, Genta swallowed the pill, aware of the oddly sugary taste. Mitsuhiko and Ayumi looked in horror, half-expecting the fat boy to turn into some monster.

"See? Nothing to it. And it tastes really sweet, so it must be candy! Just try it." He handed each of them a tablet before putting the bottle in his pocket. No doubt he would be sharing this new candy with others. Hesitantly, Ayumi gulped down the tablet. Almost immediately, a smile grew on her face.

"He's right! It tastes really good!" Mitsuhiko was still a bit unsure about eating it. If Haibara had been unwilling to share this candy with them, then something must've been strange about it. Finally, he shrugged off any previous worries before tasting the candy as well, surprised by the sudden sweet-tasting sensation in his mouth.

"It's good, right? We needa let other people try it too!" With that, the Detective Boys quickly left the basement and told the professor that they would be heading home on their own. Waving good bye to them, Dr. Agasa was offered a small white thing that they said was candy.

"Try it, professor. It's real good," was what Ayumi had told him. Eyeing the candy one more time, he popped it into his mouth. Indeed, it tasted like candy, and it was an awfully sweet piece of candy too.

"I wonder where they got it from?" The professor mumbled to himself before re-entering his house.

At the grocery store

"Are you sure this antidote works? It's been awhile now, and nothing's happened."

"Relax, Kudo-kun. It's only been a few minutes, half an hour max." Conan just groaned before lifting the heavy shopping basket and following her to a different aisle.

"I hope these strange shocks in my head are just side effects of the antidote. They're starting to bug me." To prove his point, another one went through his head as he rubbed at his temple. Ai turned to him, a look of contemplation donning her face.

She had a strange feeling about that shock. Pushing it to the back of her mind, she finished shopping and decided to head back.

Back at the Professor's House

"Huh? Hey professor, where'd the kids go?" Conan asked as he felt another incoming brain wave.

"Ah, they said they were leaving for home early today." Suddenly, Ai noticed the professor wince for a split second before going back to his normal expression.

"Professor, is something wrong?"

"Ah…I seem to be having a headache of some sort. I think I'll go lie down." Ai nodded before starting to put the groceries away, setting aside the ones she needed for dinner. It seemed strange to her that both Kudo-kun AND the professor would be having headaches. Just as she was about to continue on with that thought, she heard a thump as she saw the shrunken detective collapse on the floor.

Minutes later, Conan started to awaken from his sudden fainting. He rubbed his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings. In front of him stood a very wide-eyed and shocked Ai.

"Haibara?" His only answer was her lifting her finger up and pointing to the area behind him. Slowly turning his head behind him, he almost nearly fainted again.

Standing behind him was Shinichi Kudo, fully grown, and a horde of Conan Edogawa's.