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[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

"Oi, Ran!" Here, Dressing Room, is a very aggrieved Conan, waving a school bag packed with karate paraphenalia and holding a lunch box. "You can't go to the tournament without your stuff! ... geez, do I have to do everything around -- here?"

Comments

[is_not_watson]

And here, Conan, is your Ran, pinged by the shouts for his name in a very familiar tone. He sticks his head around the corner and blinks. It sounds like him, but...

"...Shinichi?"

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

Conan held out the school bag mutely. He was still trying to work out whether the marble lobby was a very convincing optical illusion, or if Mouri had renovated and he'd missed it.

"Your Dad redecorated?"

[is_not_watson]

It was his Shinichi. And he must have just gotten here. Ran grinned broadly from ear to ear, immensely relieved, and crouched down in front of his friend.

"Do you want the short weird version, the long weird version, or the really long, really weird version?"

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

Ran -- seemed far too happy. Conan set the bag of karate gear down. "No non-weird versions?" He asked, feeling he already knew the answer. "Give me the short version."

[is_not_watson]

"We're in some kind of giant endless mansion between dimensions, and there's a bunch of alternate versions of us here," Ran said promptly. Shinichi was going to think he was crazy, obviously, but he'd already figured that that was unavoidable at this point.

"I think I've been stuck here about a month," he added thoughtfully, folding his arms over his knees. "Nothing happened back home, right?"

Though he suspected it hadn't, given that Shinichi had been hollering about the same tournament that Ran still remembered having to go to.

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

Conan stared at Ran wordlessly. He hadn't seemed that stressed about the tournament -- maybe it was the pressure of keeping Conan's true identity finally getting to him? "Giant endless mansion between dimensions," he repeated. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

[is_not_watson]

"Nobody's been able to find the back of it. We either wind up in the lobby or the hallways just keep going forever," his friend said with a shrug. Despite what he'd been saying to the ghost Shinichi a while ago, he had gotten rather used to this place's weirdness.

...Now how had they figured out it was between dimensions? Ran paused as he tried to remember. "Everybody here is someone we know or who knows us, only they're from a world where things happened differently," he said, adding helpfully, "You should see the version of you that decided to become the Kid. It's kind of creepy."

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

"That would be more convincing if your sense of direction was better," Conan pointed out, going on tip-toe to press his wrist against Ran's forehead -- no obvious temperature. Not a fever then, but that didn't rule out head-trauma.

"Version of me that decided to become the Kid?" he echoed, walking around his friend to see if there was any damage apparent from the back. "What is the longer version of this?"

[is_not_watson]

"Oi!" Ran swatted at Conan's hand with a scowl. "I'm not sick! You'll see what I mean when you see who's here."

Of course, it figured that when it would be most convenient to have someone else in the lobby, it was completely empty. Ran sighed and just sat down on the floor, figuring this was going to take a while.

"There's more than enough bedrooms for everybody here, and food keeps showing up in the kitchen and dining room, but nobody knows where it's coming from," he grumped. "None of us brought it, but we haven't seen anyone like a worker bringing it in."

He paused again, trying to figure out what Shinichi would want to know and in what order. "I think Hattori-san's been stuck here the longest. She said she'd been here for three months when I showed up. A few people have gone home and come back again, but they said they don't remember this place when they get back."

[taisho-tantei.livejournal.com]

And here, Conan, walking running up to you is an equally (or possibly more) confused Hattori Heiji.


"Kudo! There you are! Do ya know what's goin' on?"

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

Sure about that? This Conan is pretty high in the confused stakes right now. He's not sure whether to shush Hattori or demand identification. "Uh, Niisan? Pretty sure you've got me confused with someone else. If you've got a case for Shinichi-niisan, Ran-niisan's covering till he gets back--"

[taisho-tantei.livejournal.com]

"..."

Nope. This Hattori's pretty confused.

"..."

Make that really confused.

"You feelin' okay, Kudo?"

Someone should explain this place to him. Pity this Kudo can't do that.

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

"Edogawa Conan," Conan explained brightly. "And I'm fine." This place was rapidly giving him a headache, as was the use of his real name -- how did this guy know it? -- but he wasn't about to admit that. Where was Ran when he needed him?

He paused as a sudden suspicion occurred to him. Osakan accent, vague resemblance-- "Ne, are you friends with Heiji-neechan?"

[taisho-tantei.livejournal.com]

He crouches down, trying to figure out what the heck is going on here.

"Yer Kudo. I know that. I've known that fer... months."

Checking for a temperature, concussion, something, anything that he could help with.

Wait.

"Heiji-what?"

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

"You've got the wrong person," Conan insisted. "I've never seen you before in my life."

He'd never quite managed to reconcile himself to the manhandling that went with being a kid gracefully, sulking quietly as Hattori ascertained that his temperature was normal. "Heiji-neechan!" He chirped in his best 'kid' voice. "She's a high-school detective from Osaka. She's pretty famous and the best detective in Kansai!"

[taisho-tantei.livejournal.com]

There was something wrong here. Something very wrong.

"... ... she?"

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

"She," Conan said firmly. The longer they talked, the harder it was to ignore the fact that there was something very, very off about this situation -- that faint resemblance was making itself more and more prominent, and when you added that to the fact that he knew who Conan really was--

[really-is-7.livejournal.com]

Hey Conann.

Meet another Conan.

"Welcome to the weird hotel!" Conan greetd when he saw the confused look on this Conan's face.

What? He was used to the place by now.

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

This Conan clearly was not used to the weird hotel, as demonstrated by the way he was simply staring at his doppelganger, equal amounts of shocked and aghast.

"Edogawa Conan?" he said finally.

[really-is-7.livejournal.com]

"Yep!" Conan chirped.

And he really WAS Conan too.

"I'm an alternate of you from another dimension."

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

It was such a bizarre feeling being on this side of Conan's bright-kid-ness. "How do you know that?"

[really-is-7.livejournal.com]

"Huh? Well...you look like me, but you're not me?" Really, it made sense to HIM.

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

"I might be someone who just looks like you," Conan inisisted. "Have you accounted for that?"

[really-is-7.livejournal.com]

"Possible, with the number of people who look like Shinichi-niichan, but if you're carrying karate stuff, I think you're a Conan who was carrying something for Ran-neechan. It seems less likely the have someone look exactly like me, including the glasses, and delivering karate gear to someone since it's too big for you," Conan said, gsturing to the items Conan was carrying.

"Besides, you're the fourth other Conan I've met."

[are-too-holmes.livejournal.com]

Conan looked down at the karate gear. Ran-neechan again? "Those four other Conans just as convincing?"

((icon for expression only -- still wearing glasses!))