Disclaimer: I do not own Detective Conan. I seriously wonder if anyone goes around looking for people to sue on fanfiction,net...
Rumbles reverberated through the chamber, shaking Shinichi to the bone. Around him, he saw the chamber collapse around him, an occasional metallic glint shining through. Chaos and shrieks filled soon joined in, as someone pushed against him...!
And when it all stopped, the room had changed shape, as chandelier lights filled the cavern from above. The main group was safely across from him with R-san, Sakura-san not far from them.
But Oda Kimiko-san was not safe. She lay still directly between them.
Dead as a doorknob.
"Cloth marks on her neck, strangling," Conan-kun remarked calmly, as if people dropping dead were an ordinary occurrence. It was odd, how he blew hot and cold; detestable one moment, kind the next, then a complete about-face to apathetic.
Mouri Ran felt dazed, as if she could be simply knocked over by a feather. This had to be a nightmare, right?
Toyama-kun nodded in agreement to Conan, with that same steady confidence. "It looks like there was a knot in that cloth, that's probably why we didn't hear her. No defensive wounds, but the nails marks suggest a killer, as well as the lack of weapons. No signs of much of a struggle, though."
She couldn't be dead, right? Ran felt herself start to go limp, like most of the spectators.
"There's a carved stork on this pillar here," Conan-kun continued, "I saw flashes of light through the darkness. I'd guess that this was either the second part of the trap, or a possible escape. Sometime during the rumbling I also felt someone bump into me. If that was the killer, and if were during the rumbling..."
"...then Oda Kimiko-san would be the accomplice." It was Toyama-kun's voice. Ran heard it ringing through the air, along with all the other things the duo were suggesting.
"Who are you to suggest that Kimiko was doing anything of that sort?!" demanded Sakamoto-san.
"N-nee-chan, calm down, t-they're just guessing," declared Miyuki, although there was a tremor of desperation in her voice, "Stop it with t-the acting, Kimiko-nee."
"She's dead. No pulse, no breath. I've tried CPR and it hasn't worked," stated Sherry.
Conan nodded in her direction, "Thanks."
"Ah well, I do have to keep you two from doing anything particularly idiotic."
Ran felt rather chilled. Who would kill someone so kind, so cheerful? Why would someone do such a thing? Did those questions have an answer? And then the most terrifying question of all... was the murderer... one of them?
"The m-murderer's one of us, aren't they," Yukiko said. It was not a question.
Toyama nodded in reply. "Yes, so we'd appreciate it if everyone would hand over all handkerchiefs."
Shinichi noticed R-san shiver in the background. "Oi, are you okay?" he whispered, as lights flashed and sparkled around them.
She nodded 'no'. In a few moments, Toyama was persuaded to 'lend' his scarf to the girl, as well as his own coat to Sakura-san, who was shock-still. Abe-sensei managed to give up several sweaters under her formal attire to everyone, while Sherry tried to collect the cloths.
Eerily enough, though, all the handkerchiefs had disappeared. Shinichi and Toyama shared a glance. The murderer was among them...
...but who was it?
"We need to keep going," Sherry declared, breaking the tense silence. "We can't blame one-another for the murder yet. We have to get out first."
Oda-san glared at her, tears in his eyes, muttering, "Yes, we'll do just that. For all we know, you're the killer, setting up a red herring."
"You can believe what y-"
"Please stop fighting," Ran said quietly, interrupting Sherry-san mid-sentence. "We can't do anything about the murder, so we must do what we can - carry on. There's no point in all these baseless accusations."
Ran was still scared. But still, they couldn't afford to squabble, they had to escape. She sent Sherry a look, and the other girl nodded in reply.
"In that case, let's move forwards. In an ordinary situation, we should mark our path, but it seems like these rooms rotate in segments, so it's not all that useful. Do you know how to get out, Oda-san, Sakamoto-san?"
The two looked a bit startled, both pale with shock.
Oda-san shook his head, "I have never heard about these passages before today... I was rather sickly when I was younger so I have not been to much of the house other than the main hallways and rooms."
Sakamoto-san's answer, however, was in the affirmative. "I m-might. When I was younger, m-my uncle would t-tell me to look for fish if I ever got lost."
"I m-might. When I was younger, m-my uncle would t-tell me to look for fish if I ever got lost."
Why did she have to bring up those f-finny things? KID shivered slightly at the thought of them. F-finny demons...!
He knew he was overreacting. Still, he couldn't seem to rid himself of the notion that f-fish were evil. Vaguely, he remembered there was a condition, an "unreasonable fear" they called it, for fearing fish. It was certainly his bad luck, being born in Japan, where fish had invaded every part of daily life! What a curse!
He certainly hoped that there wouldn't be any particularly realistic fish carvings...
Kudo Shinichi followed Sakamoto-san through a series of complicated hallways. It was dark, even with the flashlights. Every now and then, they saw a carved fish. Occasionally, he seemed to catch a sort of shiver from the corner of his eye... was he imagining things now?
Finally, they turned into a door. Sakamoto-san seemed quite confused, but she put on a fake smile, tremulously turning the handle.
"We're here," she cried, flinging open the door with a look of despair in her eyes.
But where was here? They had arrived into an awe-inspiring cave of some sort, the walls encased with crystals, all carved into fish. It was about 10 degrees colder here than everywhere else, Shinichi noted automatically.
It was the centre of the room which drew their eyes, however. A meticulously carved pedestal, glowing in the dim light, was not something one would ordinarily see. But it was not as amazing as what sat upon it. Glowing brightly as light struck was a marvellous gem...
...shining red, red as blood.
There was a pause, as everyone simply gasped at the gem, frequently interrupted by shaky whimpers from behind (they seemed to be coming from Sakura-san, although there was some other sort of fidget from elsewhere...).
"...we aren't out yet, are we?" asked Sherry, breaking the silence.
Several pairs of eyes looked at her blankly, with Toyama going so far as face-palming.
"We might have found the gem (which we should probably take to that Inspector), but we're still trapped," she coolly pointed out. "I don't see how this improves our situation. We're just as lost as before, more so, because the fish trail ends here. Tell me, Sakamoto-san, did you really know the way out?"
Suddenly, several puzzle-pieces fit together in Shinichi's mind, forming an accusation.
"Sakamoto-san, you got this way out through an e-mail, didn't you? The person who sent it is probably the killer. Who sent you that mail?"
"W-what are you t-talking about?"
"Nee-san, you d-didn't do that, d-did you?"
"Nee-san, you d-didn't, right?"
Toyama glanced over, and in a moment, Shinichi knew that the other had also found the solution.
It would have to wait, however, until later...
...as the walls rumbled and started to shift, trapping them into the gem chamber.
The murderer a ticking time bomb.
The infamous KID, meanwhile, silently pocketed the gem. This would not be a memorable heist for the public, but safety was more important, under the circumstances. After all, showy displays would be a useful windfall for the murderer. No tricks... but a good puzzle for the detectives.
If only the heist wasn't in such an ichthyophobia-inspiring location. KID, master of disguise he may be, was rather ready to scream. This was a nightmare! So many f-finny things! So many preventable murders! If only he had...
...no, best not to sulk over such things. There would be plenty of time for that later.
Right now, it was showtime.
The Mask Club felt no end of glares from various grieving relatives. Shinichi supposed it must have been hard for them. At any rate, he knew the way out now. It was pretty clear the killer didn't know what was going on from the expression on their face, but they still needed caution.
"Sakura" was obviously KID, from all the strange slips. Fish phobia was pretty noticeable, especially in Japan and especially if the person you were posing as had enjoyed all kinds of fish dishes at dinner.
The killer would be easiest to flush out at the exit. They were dangerous underground, being able to partially control the labyrinth. The question however, was how. Throughout the tunnel, Shinichi had noticed crates of a bundled substance with mechanical gears along the walls. Here, there had been no need to hide. The riddle, however, was uneven, as if it had been hidden...
...was that the hint to an exit? It was that then... yes, he had deduced the way out.
Nearby, a heated disagreement was rising.
"You did excellent, Midori-kun!" Oda-san said sarcastically (or was that sardonically? Ran couldn't tell). "Lucky girl, you're getting us all killed!"
"Onii-san!" Sakamoto-san exclaimed, nervously glancing over to their strange teacher.
Abe-sensei, however, smiled ruefully. "Oh no, I suppose it is my fault, isn't it? I'm surprised, though, Oda Ryouichi-nii-sama. You really don't pay attention to anything other than yourself. Even after spending so much time with Oji-san... Well, I suppose we all have our regrets. At any rate, we can certainly use the riddle to find out way out. Right, Toyama-kun, Conan-kun?"
The two detectives nodded.
"'Fear me greatly, for I am wild'..." Toyama began, and Conan finished the sentence.
"...is a warning. It also describes the interior."
"'And death lies in my charades' would be another deterrent to thieves..."
"...it's also a clue on how to get out, by working through the illusions. 'And the curse of the blood gem is never mild'..."
"...would not so much be a redundant warning as a clue to the treasure (the red gem ya just saw), as a clue to the next parts."
"'Dare you search, the spectre waits until midnight fades', meaning that this is a time riddle, and the exit passage closes at midnight. We've still got 20 minutes until then. Usually, in mythology, to solve a curse you must destroy a spell-bound object. This time, it's the blood gem, or rather..."
"...as the next line says it, 'Before the sirens claim their prize.' As ya might have noticed, this room echoes. In other words, it sings. It holds the unlucky explorers dreams. The fish represent the sirens, fish-bird-humans. To get out, we have to break the heart."
"We need to crack the puzzle on the pedestal."
A soft silence blanketed the group. Confusion buzzed through the air, louder than any tangible noise.
"Well what can we do?" demanded Sakamoto Yukiko-san, tearing through the uneasy calm.
The eldest Sakamoto sister muttered angrily about nonsense. Sakamoto Miyuki-san looked around with deep suspicion, mirroring her older sister. R was trying to mollify them as "Sakura" shivered like, for the lack of a non-ichthyophobia-inspiring term, a fish out of water.
Sherry was already examining the pedestal, ignoring everyone else. She was really someone deeply affected by the darker side of human nature, Shinichi mused. It also reminded him how much he trusted the Mask Club, even if he barely knew the members.
Her monotone voice announced the puzzle. "The fish pieces can slide on the pedestal. They are all the same, but there is a keyhole in some of them and a key on the pedestal itself. Incidentally, I don't see the 'blood gem'."
"Can anything be done to solve it?" asked Shinichi, as Sherry sighed.
Within a minute, the lock gave way.
And all was still...
"I knew it," uttered Sakamoto Yukiko-san. "We're trapped, aren't we?"
...until the ceiling opened up to the colourful language of Inspector Nakamori and the shock of the KID Force.
I apologize for my tardiness... I hate starting to end mysteries, so it took me a while to think of anything...
Does anyone have a guess for who the culprit is, by the way? I'm really curious about who everyone thinks it is. Kudos to anyone who can figure it out!
