Hiya! Sorry for the really short chapter and OOC characters because I have forced myself to sit down and write this until I'm finished and this is all I can think of for now. And I apologize for the veery looong wait knowing that you guys are about to kill me… but hey! I'm not going to abandon this story because I'm trying my best to finish it and write it to your guy's liking! *starts to sob hysterically* please bear with me, I'm trying my best… Please a review, follow, and favorite! Farewell and Enjoy!

-Let there be midnight

I do not (sadly enough) own (even though I'm awesome enough) Detective Conan


And Here Darkness Comes

Listen, We Are Here To Help

Two weeks. Two weeks have gone by and Conan was only getting worse.

He wasn't getting any better like they all originally thought he would be, everything was just going downhill, big time.

Sure, he didn't eat as much as they would like when he first got back from the hospital, but this was taking a step too far. He barely touched meals and when he did, he ate like a bird, maybe even less. It was starting to show. Dark bags had also started to develop under his eyes from lack of sleep because he just didn't want to. The nightmares followed him in his dream state and the only way he could get rid of them was by not sleeping. He also talked less, well, actually, he didn't talk at all other than one worded sentences and even that was rare because he also didn't look at… anyone. All he did was stare at the wall and they had caught him doodling in a notebook a few times, but he wouldn't let anyone see it, keeping it in his lap at all times and making sure that it was out of sight when he was drawing whatever that was in there.

But things took a big twist when suddenly, and surprising, Ai was the one to burst first, unable to take this anymore.

She was with the Detective Boy's sitting on the couch, which had become a normal after school occurrence for them when she suddenly threw her arms up in the air with a loud "Okay, I'm officially sick of this!", marched over to Conan and grabbed him by his wrist surprising everyone, including him, ignored the violent flinch when she grabbed him, marched all the way to his bedroom and slammed the door shut after them and locking it.

She turned on the lights once she locked the door and turned around with her eyebrows knitted together and hands on her hips as Conan stared at her from where he had fallen on his butt, mouth agape as he tried to ignore the oncoming panic that rose within him.

"Alright, I have had enough with this! Usually I would be patient and wait it out like everyone else for you to get better, but it has been two weeks and you are just closing up on us even more! Can't you see what this is doing to us? Yes, I know something had happened back there in that warehouse, something I don't understand, but you just won't let us in on anything so we are fumbling around in the dark trying to make things better, but you won't let us because you are just too stubborn and it's making everything worse!" she sighed, her chest heaving from the rant as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose as if to calm herself down as she started in a calmer tone of voice, one that sounded tired. "Listen, we can't help you if you won't let us, you must know that. You're only doing harm to yourself if you keep this up, so you have two choices here: One, you keep shutting everyone out and became just a shell full of fear or two, you tell us how we can help and we can do our best to make everything okay again. Now, what will it be?" she asked, looking down at him and expecting an answer that would please her. Conan only blinked up at her in amazement, something she hadn't seen in what felt like years from the boy.

The room was silent for a few moments as Conan just stared up at Ai, trying to process what had just happened and her rant all at once before he looked down at the ground, his eyes showing no emotion once more.

"I'm fine." he said quietly, making Ai blink, then narrow her eyes as she crossed her arms.

"To hell with that. You and I both know you are not, heck! Everyone knows you're not. You might as well put a big sign on top of your head with 'Hey! I need help!' because it's so obvious that you're not fine, even a baby can tell." Ai said, frowning. Conan shook his head and stood up slowly, looking Ai in the eyes as best he could, trying his best to keep down his panic and fear that had been residing in him for the past few weeks.

"No, really. I'm fine. Truthfully." he tried once more, lying through his teeth and hoping that Ai wouldn't notice.

Conan could finally see that with Ai being the first one to explode at his actions out of everyone else finally made him realize he couldn't keep making them worry. He knew they couldn't help, but he had to at least fake being okay, even though he wasn't. He had to be an actor when he felt everything was falling apart

"No, you're not." Ai said, getting annoyed that he was lying right at her. "So spit it out. I'm not one to do a crying session but you look like you are in a great need for one."

"Seriously, I'm okay. See?" he mustered his best fake smile and showed it to the girl who deadpanned at it.

"You're just making this worse for yourself, you do know that… right?" she asked as she looked at Conan who had dropped the fake smile. "Genta could fake smile better than you, and he can't even do it." Conan sighed, now feeling frustrated.

"I don't need help, okay? I was just… thinking… you know?" Ai raised an eyebrow as her deadpanned face changed to one that said: "Really? Are you serious? Like, dead serious?"

"Uh-huh, thinking, for more than two weeks. Yeah, no that does not sound believable. I won't let you leave until I get a good enough excuse on why you have been "thinking" for two weeks or you say that you are finally ready to tell us how we can help you." she said as she leaned against the wooden door behind her, knowing that most likely everyone that was in the living room earlier was pressing their ears up against it to listen in on the conversation, but at this moment in particular, she could just care less if they were ease dropping in on a conversation between them.

"This is not something I can prove, you just have to believe me or don't." and before Ai could reply in an even more annoyed tone, he pushed past her and unlocked the door, opening it to watch as the Detective Boy's, Uncle, and Ran fell to the floor from lack of support as he proceed to walk over them and back to his notebook and seat.

Conan knew more than anything that he had walked out of his last chance of getting help, he knew so, but he just couldn't take it. He couldn't have their help since he was not only too afraid to speak of what happened elaborately, but he was afraid that they might get hurt in the process of just helping him. But he ignored that, he ignored all of that as he flipped open his notebook and protectively hid the only image he had been working on from the outside view as he started to shade it even darker, knowing that this was the perfect image of what has been haunting him for weeks.

It was a drawing of Him.