As always, thanks for all of the favorites, alerts, views, and reviews everyone! I never actually thought this would be so well-received haha ^^;
I wish I could say that my updates will get into any kind of schedule, but that would be a huge lie. Thanks for your patience and hopefully it doesn't take me another two months to update (but it probably will be the case)...
Um, warnings... Possible death. (And I kind of rushed this chapter...)
Soft, cheerful giggling roused Conan from his blissful oblivion. He slowly worked his eyes open, mind immediately catching how difficult the simple action was. Yes, he was in a terrible situation. That much was absolutely certain. Though, what met his weary eyes wasn't the cold confines of Start, but rather a surprisingly plush room furnished with different shades of purple. Well, that explained the giggling…
"Oh! You're up!" she said energetically, shooting him a bright smile. "Glad you're still alive!" Her veil from earlier was gone, showing features that somehow reminded Conan of Akeru: sharp green eyes, mid-length dark hair, and even a similar face. Were they related somehow?
"Urgh," he groaned in reply, finding himself feeling heavy, but, oddly enough, not in much pain. Once again, Kid was nowhere in sight, making the detective uncertain if he was dreaming or awake. Hell, even his chains were completely removed now. "Where's Kai-niichan…?"
The woman made a slight face, eyes turning regretful, before quietly answering, "Aki-chan was too harsh on him."
Wait… What…? What did that mean? A wave of anxiety fell over him at her words, bringing back the awful scene from his first dream… Kid dead on the table, completely broken… No. They might be in a bad situation right now, but even then, Kid wouldn't just die on him like that. It had to mean something else… right? "What happened…?" he asked quietly, eyes clouded with concern.
Sighing, she continued in a sad, low whisper, eyes not quite meeting his own, "Kai-kun woke up when we were talking and heard Vampi-chan's real name. It wasn't his fault… but he had to be punished anyway. The poor thing never stood a chance." Looking up at the ceiling, she murmured so quietly that the detective strained to hear, "I wonder how much longer this game will last, Mia…?"
So that was it, then. Kid heard Vampire's name and was dealt with… A twitch in his lips drew into a grim frown. Well, he mused darkly, now the overpopulation problem was taken care of. Hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with the other captives' distrust… But now, he'd have to get out alone… Could he really do that?
"…How did he die?" he asked, voice barely louder than a whisper. He had to know. It wouldn't be fair to let the thief die some unknown death and not let his family know at least.
Seeming to understand, the woman replied, "Aki-chan tied him down in the basement and cut him up. I'm pretty sure he's still down there…" Whatever cheer had been left in her voice up until this point was completely gone by her final statement.
So that was that. The poor bastard of a thief had been slashed apart all alone… A thought came to him, and, before realizing it, he asked, "But didn't the wall say to 'suffer together'?"
That seemed to perk her up, for whatever reason, and she said, "That? Yep! That was the original plan. But we can't really expect someone as small as you to drag him around, so we got rid of the chains. Aki-chan is just different toward you two, I guess."
He lowered his gaze, body feeling too heavy to keep himself looking up. Had Kid not tried to save him, he wouldn't have died. At least that much, Conan acknowledged, was his fault. He hadn't killed the thief, but he had set the conditions for his death. The only path ahead was to keep trying to escape. Even if this failure was a heavy burden, he had to get out. Had to stop Vampire. Had to survive. If he gave up now, he was as good as dead.
"How long will I be here?" he asked quietly, eyes looking back to the woman in purple.
"Until Futoshi-kun is done with his research, probably." Yep, she was back to normal again, he thought with distaste. It wasn't like people were dying or anything. Oh, wait. "It really is too bad Aki-chan lost his temper… Kai-kun had so much potential… but, oh well. That's how it goes."
What was that supposed to mean? Conan wondered. And what exactly is 'Futoshi' researching? Why involve so many people? And why did Vampire say that he might keep us earlier? While thinking over everything, he laid his head back down and closed his eyes. He was still pretty weak and the weight that had come over him wasn't helping.
The sound of a door slamming snapped him out of his daze. Cracking an eye open, he saw Vampire storm in, clearly unhappy with something. "Why the hell isn't he back in Start?" he growled, moving his glare to the diminutive detective, who quickly closed his eye, but not before seeing the serial killer's bloodstained shirt.
Didn't 'Aki-chan' kill Kid? he thought. Did Vampire really just kill someone so shortly after the last death? Then how many are left now…?
"No can do, Vampi-chan," she giggled in return, clearly unfazed by the bloodied serial killer. "Futoshi-kun won't let you start the game again this soon. You know that." There was a slight sound that seemed out of place, making the detective crack open his eye to find that the purple woman had kissed Vampire. He wished he hadn't seen that, but he also supposed even bloodthirsty killers had someone that loved them…as disturbing as that seemed... "So clean yourself up and relax a little! No need to be so high-strung!"
"Hmph!" he grumbled, still irate. "The sooner he's done with this research, the better. Damn Futoshi." Well, it seemed that Vampire didn't get along with 'Futoshi' very much. Though he did seem to listen to the man, which was interesting, to say the least.
"I'm glad to see you think so highly of me," a frigid voice spoke up. The owner was a well-dressed man with ice-blue eyes and neat brown hair. The purple woman flinched noticeably, while Vampire seemed taken aback for a split second. "Know your place, my dearest Akira-chan."
"Don't call me that!" Vampire snapped, surprise replaced by anger and a death glare on his face. He had also drawn his gun at the name and glanced in Conan's direction, spurring the detective to once more close his eyes and feign sleep. There was no way he was going to risk them thinking he heard anything. Not with what happened to Kid.
"Ah, it's pleasant to the ears, though. It has a much nicer sound than that name the police chose for you, my dear," Futoshi replied calmly and smooth as silk. "And honestly," he said with a hint of amusement, "You expect a child to be able to not only escape, but also to properly articulate all of this to the police? You're much too wary."
"This brat isn't normal," Vampire growled in response, most likely looking in the detective's direction.
"I'm well-aware that he's that meitantei Mouri's charge, but even so, Akira-chan, Mouri isn't a miracle-worker. There is zero evidence of Conan's kidnapping left. The Kid heist was all the cover that we needed for that. There is almost no chance that this will be linked to us in any way. So relax for once. Enjoy the game while it lasts." Futoshi was composed and confident. Not a good sign, but maybe that confidence could be used as a weakness…
"Bah!" Vampire replied. "The day I relax is the day I die. I've got more at-stake than either of you."
"Oh come now," Futoshi chided, "Junko-chan is listening. Why won't you?"
"Because even I have morals, you bastard."
"Is that what you believe?" Futoshi asked. Cracking his eye open again, Conan saw a mirthful smile take place on the man's face as he replied, "You think I'm some kind of monster for carrying through, ne? No. I'm merely watching and observing. The real monster is still you, Vampire-chan." By the end, the man's words were dripping with enough venom to bring chills down the detective's spine.
"Kheh! Do as you wish," the serial killer snarled before turning to the door. "I'm going to look for those targets." He stalked out of the room in a rage, leaving a saddened woman in purple (Junko, maybe?) and Futoshi with the detective.
"How much longer will this last?" she asked, meeting Futoshi's eyes questioningly.
"Until Kaitou Kid is captured," he answered coolly. "Hopefully this madness will end with his capture."
"And what about Conan-kun?"
"Until Kid shows up, he's stuck with us." the man took in a breath and shook his head, smile still present. "Kid's a curious guy. Even if he wouldn't necessarily stick his neck out for them, he does seem to have a vested interest in his detectives. By that logic, even if he wouldn't work to save them, he would likely check around for them. When he makes that mistake, he's ours. The others can go after that. They won't be needed." Glancing over to the detective, who quickly closed his eye again, he said, "I'm Maeue Futoshi, by the way. You can stop faking."
The woman in purple let out a noise of surprise when she saw Conan open his eyes. Apparently she had thought he'd passed out again. Futoshi's ice cold eyes bore into Conan's own deep azure orbs with a hint of amusement.
"You can relax. I'm not like Akira. I couldn't care less if anyone heard my name."
"You'll regret that when I get out of here," Conan replied evenly as he met the man's gaze.
"If you get out of here," he replied, unfazed. Then, in a much colder tone, he said, "Nothing matters here, Boy. Whatever the hell Akira did to you? It doesn't matter. That guy you were chained to? Doesn't matter. And the dead? They certainly don't matter. No, no, no. The only things that matter here, my friend, are decisions." His smile from earlier turned feral as he finished, "Expect to make some tough decisions soon… because now I own you. Junko. You know what to do." He turned and left the room just as quietly as he'd come after that.
"Poor thing…" the woman, now confirmed as Junko, murmured. "First you get dragged into this, and then you get stuck with Futoshi-kun… Well… just rest and I'll take care of you."
"Why take care of me? Wouldn't me dying also lure Kid around with Futoshi's logic?" he asked, keeping himself lying down but turning his head to better see her.
"Futoshi doesn't kill, and anyone he 'claims' doesn't get killed. That's why he got so upset with Aki-chan for attacking Kai-kun." Junko sighed, "Though I think Kai-kun is better off now. Futoshi-kun has a habit of keeping people miserable and drawing things out…"
Something about her wording was bothering him. Futoshi's as well… While Junko had replied to his question of how Kid had died, she hadn't said anything about him actually dying this whole time… And Futoshi never mentioned Kid dying either. Both had left it extremely vague… If that was the case, maybe there was still some hope of the thief's survival after all… Just what he needed: Schrödinger's Phantom Thief. Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask for a more specific response. "He did die, didn't he? Kai-niichan, I mean…"
"I'm not allowed to say either way…" she answered, looking down. "Sorry, Conan-kun."
Well that was just frustrating. He nodded and closed his eyes. Time to think through things rationally. No one actually mentioned that Kai had 'died', which led him to believe that Kid might be alive. However, as Junko had just stated: 'he might be better off now,' that led him to think the opposite. Vampire was pretty upset, but that could've simply been because of Conan's own being out of Start or what he and Futoshi were arguing about… Or it could be that Kid was injured and they expected him to die. In which case, getting out of here and getting the thief to help was all the more important. Damn.
But even so, there was nothing he could do until his body started responding properly again. And there was another thing bothering him as well… Vampire's words about targets... I guess some of us were caught intentionally, while others, like Kid, were just dragged along thanks to random chance. But why not just kill the witnesses instead of bringing them along? It'd certainly be easier… And just what the hell do they even want Kid for? Clearly, at least Junko doesn't seem to enjoy this. Actually, it looks like stress is starting to eat at Vampire too... So why continue? What is worth this? Why start and stop with Kid? …Should I let them know they already caught him…?
That was the million yen question. If he told them, what would happen? Would they really stop all of this or would they place everyone in a more precarious position? Would they release their captives or would they kill them all? No, Conan decided, letting them know about Kid would be a mistake.
"Oh Futoshi-kun," Junko sighed, smile dimmed down, "I wish you and Aki-chan would just end this fighting already…"
"They don't seem to like each other, do they, Oba-san?" Conan asked, opening his eyes to glance at Junko.
With a laugh that seemed pretty forced, she said, "Oh! They're always at each others' throats, but they are good friends. It's just that… that happened."
"'That'?"
"Um! Shoot!" she glanced around quickly before kneeling by the diminutive detective and murmuring, "The Game happened…"
"The Game? What game?" Well, he was getting more pieces of the puzzle this way, but he was pretty sure these pieces wouldn't fit anywhere at the moment. He needed more context.
"I really can't say more, gomen," she whispered before drawing away again, a slightly anxious look now present on her face. Whatever this 'Game' was, it apparently caused her a lot of stress and set Vampire and Futoshi against each other. Was it the game he was already stuck in, escaping the slaughterhouse, or was it something else? God help him if he was stuck in a game within a game, he thought as he placed a hand on his forehead. "Just… just know things aren't what they seem…"
Hours passed him by in unconsciousness. Junko had managed to persuade the detective to take some medication for his pain as it started to flare up again, after which he'd lost his hold on the waking world. When his eyes finally opened, all of his surroundings were cloaked in darkness, and, while his back and leg still hurt, the pain was a very dull prick at the back of his mind. Whatever drug she'd used, it was pretty strong. He knew he wasn't in Start, but couldn't quite tell if he was in the same room as before.
Flicking on his watch-light and glancing around, he determined that yes, he was still in the purple room and that, surprisingly, he was alone. Either they thought I'd sleep through the night or they locked me in here, Conan thought, deciding to try the door just to be sure. Limping slightly, he made his way to the door and quickly tried the knob, which fully turned, and opened the door. I guess they underestimated me this time, he thought uneasily. Yeah. That was it, right? It was starting to get really difficult to tell the difference between dreams and reality lately… Maybe this was just another dream…
He turned off the beam while in the doorway and carefully listened. After hearing nothing, he quickly flashed the light in different directions, looking for the better escape route. Deciding to take a right, the diminutive detective quickly but quietly limped down the silent hall. He wasn't sure what was worse, the screams in the daytime or the tension of silence at night.
Deciding to let his eyes adjust rather than risk using his light too much, Conan found the staircase and followed it down. I need to get to the basement, he thought, nearly jumping a foot in the air at a creaking floorboard. And avoid making noise! That would be great! Quickly glancing around him, he found no one to be nearby and continued his descent. If that guy is still alive, he's probably in Start or the basement by now. If he's not… he probably won't be in either. But I can only check those places. I won't have time for anywhere else. Please be there, Kid.
Finally at the lowest level of the building, Conan heard a small sobbing noise coming from the basement's second room. Taking in a breath, he cracked the door open and glanced inside. What awaited him was a ring of fire that appeared to be contained near the far right corner of the room and something hanging on the wall far too close to the flames. That explained the noise…
A weak whimper sounded through the flames, "Help…!" The voice was familiar, but definitely not Kid's. So some other captive was meeting their end here… No. Even if the person was only interested in saving their own skin, Conan couldn't just leave him there.
"Oi," he spoke, hoping the person could hear him over the flames and their own panic, "I hear you. I'll try to get you out of there. Just hang in there."
"Th-thank you!" they cried, voice full of something akin to joy.
"Vampire's not around, right?" Conan asked as he quickly searched the room for anything he could use to extinguish the ring of fire. Helping this guy would be hard enough even without the serial killer getting in the way. He didn't want to have to worry about him on top of everything else.
"Uh-um," the man stammered, "I-he started the fire and got me here… but I haven't seen him in a long time so I don't know…"
At least he was finally getting some honesty out of his fellow captives, Conan thought darkly. He'd just have to hope Vampire was gone for the night. Not comforting.
Finally finding a small tank of water—thanks Vampire, for making things easy for once—Conan managed to extinguish the flames surrounding the man. Now to get him off of the wall…
"No need," the man said, grinning. With a flick of the wrist, his chains fell off of him and he landed elegantly on the ground.
"You're not a captive," the detective stated, quickly snapping out of his surprise.
"Correct," the man answered, brushing off his shirt, "I believe we've met before. I'm Hideki. Master Futoshi wanted me to deliver a message to you. Well, a decision, really."
"A decision?" he asked, eyes never leaving the man in front of him. Damn it, this was planned!
"Yeah. You can either save a life or leave. Up to you. Then again, I guess it's possible to do both if you're really crafty… At least, that's what Master Futoshi said." Hideki said with a shrug.
This madness seemed to never end! With obvious irritation, Conan said, "You already know my choice." It wasn't really a choice at all. Yes, escaping was the plan, but keeping people alive was a bit more important at the moment. Sacrificing anyone wasn't permissible.
Hideki nodded. "You're pretty brave for such a little guy." He walked over to a cabinet and offered the diminutive detective a small lighter and a sharp-bladed knife. continuing his spiel as Conan carefully pocketed them. "You might want these for your task. Don't tell either Master I gave you these…" Continuing his spiel as Conan carefully pocketed the items, Hideki said, "Somewhere in this place, a captive is in a similar situation to what I was in. I'd say they have all of eh…ten minutes, give or take… until the flames start burning them to death. You have a half hour to escape this place without interference. Sounds easy, right?" At Conan's nod, he continued, "Yeah, it would be, but if you do rescue that victim, there will be trouble. The closer to the time limit, the greater the problems will be. If you hit the half hour mark and still try to escape, lethal force will be used. And uh… yeah…. You're going to have to find and drag anything else you need by yourself… I've already done too much for you… Sorry, Kiddo." With that said, Hideki cast the detective a regretful look and left the room.
Damn it. Now I need to find them fast… At least I don't need to hide, he thought, turning his watch-light back on and bolting out of the basement. They're going to be stuck in fire, so I need water… wait! That room with the holes! It might still have something…!
The halls went by in a blur as Conan made his way to where he remembered the room was located. On finding it, he opened the door and bolted inside, searching for some kind of container and water. Tripping over something heavy, he let out a surprised noise and turned his light on it to find it was a tank like before. Opening the lid, he ensured it was water before picking it up and dragging it out of the room with him. I really wish I had a better way to carry this. It's too heavy to just lug around without help for too long… Checking his watch for the time, he frowned. That venture had taken a third of his time. Seven minutes left to find and save that person. Think! What floor would be best for this challenge? It's clearly not the basement. The first floor isn't likely… would be far too easy to drag the tank and Hideki wouldn't have said anything about dragging the tank in that scenario… The third floor isn't likely… That seems to be where Vampire and the others rest… Second floor it is.
Carefully looping part of his stretchy suspenders around the tank's handle to better balance it, Conan made his way to the second floor, hindered quite a bit by the weight of the tank. By the time he'd climbed the staircase and stopped to breathe, another four minutes had ticked away. The captive was running out of time. Three minutes left. If only he had some kind of hint as to their location…
A faint illumination colored the ground down the hall. He only had one chance. Glancing around to quickly check for other lights, the diminutive detective limped as quickly as he could to the door and opened it to the sight of a larger flame eating away at the corner of the room. He'd either need a bigger water tank or a lot of good luck to take out the fire entirely… No, for now he'd focus on finding the captive in that mess and getting them out.
"Oi! Anyone in there?!" he yelled, limping around the flames and removing his suspenders from the handle.
"Conan-kun?" Akeru's familiar voice returned. "Yes, I'm in here…!"
"Are you chained or tied up?"
"No," she replied, sounding worried, "But the fire's too strong for me to move much."
"Okay, then I want you to run as soon as I throw water at the center of this. Will that work?" A few seconds passed before he got an affirmative and tossed the water from the tank, hearing a sharp hiss from the flames along with Akeru's footsteps. Putting distance between himself and the remaining flames, Conan sat down and panted. He'd put too much stress on his back and leg in too little time…
"…Thank you," Akeru said sincerely, kneeling by the diminutive detective. She was slightly scorched from the flames, but seemed to be alright. "I thought for sure you'd just leave this place… Especially with what happened to Kai…"
"…What did happen to Kai-niichan? I haven't heard anything definitive."
"I guess that's because even they're not sure what'll happen now," Akeru answered, green eyes softening, "Kai's in Start right now. But since I got taken, I'm not sure if he'll be alive when we get back there."
"Then we have to head back to Start and get him. There's still time to get out of here." Checking his watch again, he noted that they had fifteen minutes left to escape. Odds were there were already interference runners around by now. Forcing himself to his feet, Conan staggered a couple of steps toward the door, glancing over his shoulder at Akeru. "Come on, Onee-san."
He didn't expect the older girl to pick him up several seconds later and carry him down to Start. The trip that had originally taken a couple of minutes had only taken maybe thirty seconds with Akeru carrying him. He wouldn't complain about the manhandling, though he had let out a surprised squawk as he was lifted from the ground.
"Sorry, Conan-kun," she murmured, carefully placing him on the ground and picking out a key from the inside of her singed shirt. "I figured this would be faster." Quickly, she unlocked the door and opened it, glancing back to signal the detective to follow her in.
Why does she have a key to Start…? Conan blinked, following her back to the inside of Start. And come to think of it, those items Hideki gave me had nothing to do with the challenge… A cold feeling of dread started clawing at his stomach. Something was wrong. Stopping in place, he glanced all around him, looking for anything out of place, but found nothing. Then it came to him: Kid…!
Barreling around the other captives, Conan continued until he found Akeru kneeling over the fallen form of Kid. A small, mostly dried puddle of blood was just barely visible from under the thief's chest and abdomen and his breathing was labored. No wonder everyone was already acting like he was dead. He probably would be, come morning. But there was no way Conan would be able to move him on his own. Even with Akeru's help, it might not be good enough… He needed more help, and he needed it fast.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to the others in Start and said in a quiet and composed voice, "I know you guys don't trust me and Kai-niichan. But right now, we all have the chance to get out of this place. You can either take the opportunity or leave it. I'm taking it." Glancing back at his watch, he continued, "We have thirteen minutes to get out of here before they start shooting. This may be our only chance."
The room went silent, taking in his words. Early on, Kid had promised them the chance of escape, and now he and Conan had succeeded in opening the opportunity. They had gotten farther than anyone else had ever dreamed. Several of the adults and teenagers stepped forward, acknowledging their chance.
"What do you need, Kiddo?" a younger man asked, fixing his glasses.
Relief blossomed in the detective's chest. They were going to help! Forcing the smile that had made its way to his face back, he replied in an authoritative voice, "I need someone to help us move Kai-niichan, for one. I also need everyone to be as quiet as they can be and to trust me and Akeru-neesan when we say something needs done. Other than that, be ready to muscle through if it comes to that." As much as I hope we don't run into anyone, the odds aren't in our favor with this lack of time. And I don't know how long it'll take me to try to pick the front lock either… Glancing at Kid regretfully, he waited for the others to agree before heading to the doorway and searching for trouble. Now's our chance, Kid. We will get out. Just like you promised.
Next chapter is what we've been waiting for! The die is cast! Will Lady Luck grace the boys' efforts?
