Welcome to chapter 4! Quick note: time skips are gonna happen! All the details are already difficult and I don't wanna drag my feet toooooo much. (Also, I apologize for the super long author's notes from before and even now; I just gotta clear things up, ya know?) And I thought I'd have this chapter out sooner, but time and motivation have been so low lately….
Anyways, let's get this show on the road!
Chapter 4 - Time for School
He continued to analyze his surroundings for a few more moments, paying special attention to the floor beneath his feet and the sensations it was sending through his body. He did not like the conclusion his mind had come to. Metal grating, for the electrical current. This must be at least part of the reason that I'm barefoot. But what are they trying to get out of this? As time passed and he continued to ponder the situation, he was rewarded with a sudden higher voltage of shock. He jumped, finally moving from the place where he had been set down by Kenma.
Conan glanced towards the windows and then tried the door behind him, unsurprised to find it was locked. The current was still travelling through his body, and before he could even release the doorknob from his grasp, he received another painful shock. He quickly jogged towards the path, having nowhere else to go.
As he moved between the monochrome walls, it finally dawned on him what was going on. This was a maze. The evidence all began to come together in his mind, bringing him to a halt. He raised his hand to his chin, contemplating everything: the guards, the reluctance of everyone to talk to him, the physical Una had run on him, Max and her story…. He shuddered at the truth that spawned from it all: he was a test subject. It had been obvious before, of course, but not to this extent. There was no reasonable doubt he could form to counter that conclusion. And the maze? They must be testing my intelligence.
He stood there a moment longer, coming to terms with the truth and deliberating his next course of action. He could still feel the tingle running through his feet and pouring into the rest of his body. Max did say they did some pretty horrific things, even to children, but it was just so hard to believe. It must be true though, not that I ever really doubted her….
Even with all of the evil he'd seen as both Conan and Shinichi, he'd still often find himself in shock that such evils really existed in the world. He'd seen it hundreds and hundreds of times, and still each time he'd find himself filled with disbelief, horror, and disgust. This time was no different, the feelings rolling into his heart as the facts panned out in his mind. And then he remembered just where he was, why the revelations had been enough to make him stop moving.
He wasn't just unravelling this evil and turning it over to the police. He wasn't just saving the victims. No, this time, he was living it. Things were becoming more dangerous as he let time pass, if the electric current running through him was any indication. If he wanted to save others, he'd also have to save himself. He'd forgotten about that, what with his talks with Max and his easy physical. His natural instinct to help the victims led him to forget that he was now in the same boat.
He returned to his already previously decided plan, knowing he'd need to continue to sit back and observe, even as things got more dangerous. He only prayed he'd gather enough to be able to make a move before things got too serious. He made the decision, right then and there: he would have to do as poorly as possible with this test, in order to force them to underestimate him. That would not only potentially make reconnaissance easier, but would also lower their guard when it came time to make his move. Despite the now more pressing situation, his best option remained the same. He had no choice but to stick with it.
As it turned out, that course of action was much more easily said than done. Just as he'd come to his conclusion, a high voltage tore through his body, making him jump and continue moving. After that, the constant fuzzy voltage that had been passing through his body became a little higher and more jarring. He quickly learned that he had to keep moving, lest he risk being shocked like that again or the continuous voltage be heightened.
When he'd go the wrong way, he'd be punished harshly for it with sudden, jolting shocks. Simultaneously, the speakers would sound with a deafening shriek. Along with that, the longer he took to complete the maze, the higher the continuous voltage became. His brain became somewhat foggy over time, but not enough to keep him from realizing that the shock raised at even levels and distributed over even amounts of time, a period he guessed to be around five minutes long. When the originally fuzzy, ongoing voltage eventually became so high that he felt as if his brain would melt out of his skull, and with the almost heart stopping shocks he received upon his self sacrificing wrong turns, he came to the realization that he couldn't keep this up. This must surely be enough to make them underestimate me. If I continue on like this, I might just die….
It felt as if an eternity had passed when he finally saw the end of the maze. The original slight discomfort had raised to a constant, fiery pain, flowing through his entire body. Achy and exhausted, he stumbled through the end of the maze, and to his relief, the continual shock had also come to a full stop.
As he slowly made his way past the exit and to the other end of the seemingly endless room, he was met with a low, plastic table, upon which sat a miniscule amount of food and a small cup of water. There was a door in the corner, and he looked up at the windows. Rushing over as fast as his sore body would take him, he reached up to try the knob, already deducing the outcome yet still testing his hypothesis just in case. It turned out he was right; it was locked. Tiredly, he turned around and approached the table, inspecting its contents.
The food and water seemed to be alright to consume. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, and after a few minutes of piercing scrutiny and some apprehension, he came to a conclusion. As it had been- how long? he asked himself- since he'd last eaten or drank anything, paired with the fact that he suddenly felt starving and dehydrated, he ultimately decided he had nothing to lose. He had to keep his strength up, anyway. He swiftly swallowed the food down and took a long swig of the water. In an instant, they were gone, and he felt a slight ease of his hunger and thirst. It wasn't enough to satisfy him, but he decided to take the small win in stride.
A loud noise startled him from behind, rattling the entire room. He whipped around in an instant. He saw the walls shifting, and as he approached to look closer, he was rewarded with the worst shock he had ever experienced. He crumpled to the floor. It took him a few moments to collect himself, and when he shifted to a sitting position, all he could do was watch in horror as everything shifted around. He couldn't see anything past the walls of the exit, which were still as statues, and he made no more moves to approach as he was still recovering from the most recent shock. Then, a few minutes later, everything stopped just as suddenly as it had begun.
After a few more minutes of rest, the speakers in the room repeated the same low, sonorous dong that had marked the beginning of his horrible journey. Conan couldn't stop the biting, frosty apprehension from entering his mind. How many times will I have to do this?!
After six, Conan lost count of how many times he had completed the maze. It was different each time, and as the tests dragged on, he had no choice but to complete them faster than he'd wished to. His body couldn't withstand the harsh punishments given upon each failure, nor the constant current that grew as time continued to pass. At least at the end of each completion there was always something waiting for him.
I feel like a rat, sniffing around for its cheese, he thought bitterly. Eventually, the shocks and exhaustion caught up with him and he passed out in the maze. Later, he awoke in his cage, alone in the room with an achy body and thoughts full of worry for Max. I hope she isn't currently going through something worse….
The days to follow were just as unpleasant, if not even more so. He was forced to run, to drag around dead weight, and to solve the various mazes time and time again, with only short breaks after passing out from the pain and exhaustion.
When he'd run, it was always on a treadmill with a guard to either side that would press a long electric stick into him if he weren't going as fast as he should have. With the strength tests, he was forced to walk laps around a room, again followed by two guards who would shock him if he weren't up to standard. Sometimes the weights would be so heavy that he couldn't move them from the start. When that happened, it usually ended with him being shocked into the land of dreams. Conan did not know for how long this went on, but he began to feel a deep exhaustion settling into his very soul.
At least I'll probably be stronger and have greater endurance after all this, were his thoughts as he tried to remain on the bright side. He couldn't allow himself to break. This was just trivial pain and exhaustion anyhow; he'd been through much worse with the APTX-4869. He'd seen much worse in the world. He'd made it through everything else life had dealt to him, and there was nothing holding him back from making it out of this. And with that, he persevered through the days without losing his vision and determination to eventually bring this place to its knees.
When he wasn't being tested and was also conscious, he'd find himself back in his cage. He'd usually wake to find new marks on his arms and around his body denoting injections. He concluded that they must come from after he'd find himself passed out from their tests, and he regretted never being awake to assess what they were doing to him.
During the times he and Max found themselves alone together and both conscious, they'd share what knowledge they may have acquired from the last time they'd been out of their cages. Occasionally, they'd also strike up light conversation to keep their morale high. Slowly, Conan began to map everything out about this place in his mind while also forming a friendship with the younger girl.
They never talked about what happened to either of them when the scientists would come and take them. They'd verify each other's well-being, but other than that, neither made a move to ask the other what they experienced. Part of Conan had a pressing desire to ask, the part of him that just wanted to know. He could try to deduce it from her speech, her wounds, her posture, but he never made the effort to do so. He'd only have that conversation with her if she was willing to start it. She never made the move to.
Sometimes, he'd request more information about the Flock from Max. She seemed certain they'd come for her, and Conan didn't know them; if they did come, he'd need to be knowledgeable on how they operate to assist them in their potential prison break. He'd have to work with them if they came, and he was glad Max was willing to provide him as much information as she could, whether it be about her Flock, her past, or their current predicament.
She was never too specific where it wasn't required, and Conan knew he didn't have her full trust. For the extreme PTSD he was sure she experienced, he was primarily glad with how willing she was to share anything at all. He knew it must have been hard, but he was impressed and thankful for her strength and cooperativeness. He would have to pay her back for it all someday.
Finally came the day where he awoke during one of their mysterious procedures on him. It was while running that he had lost consciousness from the exhaustion and electrocution, only to wake and find himself here instead of in his cage as per usual. He took a moment to ponder why exactly it was only now that he awoke during all this, but he didn't hold onto the question for long. He could think more about that later. Putting it aside, he began to look around his environment, taking the time to notice and analyze anything he could.
The room was a bit similar to the one Una had taken him to at the start of his imprisonment. It was plain and boring, and he was strapped to a bed in the middle of it all.
It did hold many differences, however. For one, there were two doors in this room, and Conan's bed was faced sideways between them, unlike it had been in comparison to the door in the other room. The place was also jarringly empty, only containing Conan himself and the bed he currently lay on. But that wasn't all.
The door on the wall to his left was dead center and had no window in it. It was just like countless other doors he'd seen in this place, and just as white as the wall surrounding it. On his right side was where his attention was drawn.
The entire middle section and up to the ceiling was a window, and it wasn't one way glass. The door also had a big translucent window in it and was positioned all the way to the right side. Since it wasn't in the center, there was ample opportunity to look through the glass in the wall itself to see into the room behind it.
Maybe they weren't quite rich enough to afford one way glass in every room, then, he thought, or maybe it was done on purpose? Whatever the case, he put that thought on hold for the moment. Again, there'd be plenty of time to ask these sorts of questions later. He had to get all of his bearings first, and maybe think more about stuff like that when there were less pressing matters at hand. For now, he'd count his blessings and make use of what he'd been given.
Luckily, the soundproofing wasn't quite as good as it was in the maze room. Conan heard voices murmuring from the other side of the glass, and he watched four different people bustle about. He could see lights blinking from machines way in the back of the room and heard their gentle, monotonous whrrrrr-ing as they all simultaneously performed whatever functions they had been programmed to do. The four people were talking amongst themselves as they moved from the front part of their room and toyed with things below the line of the window, out of Conan's sight, and then to the machines in the back, doing who knew what. As they moved about, Conan was able to pick out Una and Kenma among them.
He strained his ears to listen, catching a few things. He heard, "Another… different traits…... synthesize… new project… might not mesh… anything?... previous success… too old…." Most of it was just a soft murmuring, and he couldn't even be sure what he had heard had been accurate. If only they were a little louder….
And then suddenly, they were.
"...What IS this?" he heard one of the unknowns question. The three others quickly approached, looking at whatever the person had found from over their shoulder. It was another few moments before anyone said anything else.
"Incredible, that's what," Una responded in stern wonder. She immediately turned and exited the room, quickly approaching Conan, her face expressive and excited. She stopped a few feet away from where he lay and looked stunned for a moment, likely upon seeing him awake, then spoke directly to him.
Conan was shocked, to say the least, especially after she had been so determined to ignore him every time he'd tried to speak to her before.
"Do you take any medications? Are there any special circumstances surrounding your birth, your parents, or any strange illnesses or special traits you know of in your family tree?" she asked in a quick, eager tone. The emotions now running through her so often cold and stoic self left him speechless for a moment.
Only for a moment. He got over his shock quickly and looked at her, hopeful to get something out of this, to turn the tables in his favor.
"If you answer two questions of my own, truthfully, then I'll answer your two questions truthfully." He tried to appear calm as he said this, though inside an everything storm was starting to surge. Even so, he didn't want to pass up this opportunity; who knew when, or even if he'd ever get another?
She narrowed her eyes at him. His mind whirled. That's not a good sign. But I won't back down. I can't take it back now, and anyway, there's no way I can pass up this chance. And if her line of questioning is anything to go by, she likely found something hinting to the APTX in my system. Not good. Still, she doesn't seem to know what it is though. And that is good. I have the upper hand here. She has no choice but to make a deal with me. The APTX is too complex of a drug to understand with no background or notes on it. She needs this. And I need the opportunity.
…
During Conan's inner machinations, Una's expression gradually darkened. She had to take a moment to comprehend just how quick he was to deflect her, as well as to twist the situation to his own advantage. Not very becoming of a test subject, she thought. Not at all.
"This is no negotiation. You don't have a choice. We have many ways to go about figuring this out, after all." Her voice deepened as the excitement all but vanished from her entire being; the threat was evident in her tone. Conan, however, did not back down.
"Two for two," he said. "I don't see why we can't be reasonable here. I have information you want. You have information I want. Is there really anything to lose here?" This pushed Una over the edge.
She approached him again, this time close enough to tower over him. She leaned in, and Conan almost caught hypothermia from the cold, dark, evil depths of her eyes. She whispered so softly Conan almost didn't hear her despite there only now being a few inches between them.
"I don't make deals with test subjects," she spat at him. Her frigid words and the intimidation radiating off of her couldn't even keep Conan's brave fortress from beginning to crumble. He shivered a bit. His flinch did not go unnoticed, and Conan saw in her eyes that she understood this.
Hardly anything had been said. He had barely even shown his flicker of fear. But she had won. And she knew it. Conan didn't have to give in entirely for Una to know she had him in her thrall.
Even so, she seemed determined not to just take the small win and back off. No, she'd win this battle in its entirety. After a few moments of the most intense stare Conan had ever endured, she straightened herself out and whipped around, returning to the other room.
A handful of quiet, quick words were exchanged among the scientists. He couldn't quite make out what was said, but he could feel the tension all the way from where he was. An uneasy feeling settled heavily in his stomach. Did I mess up? How? She needs me. She'll surely come to realize that…. Or maybe she hasn't realized just yet that she won't be able to puzzle out the mysteries of the APTX….
Una had begun to mess around with something out of Conan's sight and quickly returned, triumph leaking from her expression. As she approached once more, Conan noticed the needle in her hand. His eyes widened just slightly. But it was enough for Una. She smiled, and there was no humanity behind it.
"That's right. You're going to answer me. Or maybe you're not. But no matter the outcome, we'll eventually figure it all out in the end anyway. And you? You're gonna start to learn."
Conan leaned away instinctively as she reached him, but given that he was still bound to the bed, it did him no good. She injected him with whatever it was that was in the needle and almost immediately he began to feel the effects.
It was a deeply penetrating throbbing that quickly gave way to an egregious burning and freezing sensation that simultaneously assaulted his bloodstream and spread through his body like a poisoned river. His mind clouded over as Una began to question him again. He did all he could to resist and was pretty sure he hadn't given anything away. He soon felt his senses dull as pain became all he knew. He had no idea if Una was even still there or not as he lay there, a pile of spasming agony. Time had long since ceased to exist.
And that was the last thing he remembered before the haze fully overtook his consciousness.
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And that's all for now, folks!
I know it's a little rushed, and you can probably tell I'm out of touch with writing from this chapter. It's quite bumpy and strange, and I apologize for that! I just really wanted to start to get into the spicier stuff sooner, ya know? If you have any criticisms, please let me know!
And I gotta say, I'm finding it kinda hard not to refer to Conan as Shinichi at times because, well, that's who he really is, but I want to refer to him as Conan while he's in his child body to keep from being confusing and aaaaaaaaaa
Also, how did you feel about the small touch of Una's perspective? (I only wrote it cause it was easy to throw in, though personally I feel it didn't fit all that well, given the story is mostly following Conan from a third person POV…) Let me know what you thought! On this point, I especially want to know!
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~Thanks for reading!~
