realityshifted | [5] the A.B.C murders

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detective conan (d1) edogawa conan

[5] the A.B.C murders

[Conan's come to the Plane to think again. Sitting in a quiet, well-lit spot, he has photos of all of the victims from his world, a copy of the case files for those of Satoshi and Menzies' world, and brief descriptions of those he's heard about from Guinevere, Duo and the others spread out around him.

What he's currently preoccupied with is the account of Menzies' conversation with Grey that he's got copied down in his notebook. For the little information they gained, there is an excess of questions.]

... special?

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Nothing new -- and that's bothering me.

We can't have that much time left.

[her friendly expression fades, growing instantly serious] [darkly] At least they're sure to give us another clue if we do.

So, thinking about special people, I take it?

'Sure to give us'?

Ah. I'm thinking it could refer to an ability, a physical attribute or a personality trait, and of those three, the first two are the most likely.

I know neither of us have been in this place for long, but I seriously doubt the same pattern is going to repeat forever. That's not how criminals work. If enough time passes, someone somewhere will get bored, and we'll have new evidence. Not that I think we'd like it much--the people running this place being the lovable bunch that they are.

Yeah? What makes you say that? Grey spent a lot of time talking about how, ah, Sammy was the leader and brave and such.

With all the killings that have taken place so far without one slip -- much as I'd like to believe your're right, I can't help but think that if they're going to get bored or careless, it might manifest in some other way. Then again, there's just so much we don't know.

You don't last as a police officer without being brave and determined, right, Inspector Menzies? And I don't remember the second man being described as such -- just that he had the tattoo of the snake and the snake was suffocating him. I think that the snake would be more likely to be attracted to a power or a physical difference than to personality.

Oh, I didn't mean it would be careless. But I have a feeling something's coming--even if it's just to spice things up a bit. Nothing ever seems to stay the same around here, after all.

[she snorts, amused] Thanks for watching out for my ego there, but I didn't mean those were the only choices. But I think you're right about the man with the snake... [she frowns, pulling out her notepad and flipping through to the notes she took about the story] No, he didn't have much to say about him.

All right, I'll bite. Any particular "powers" or "physical differences" you've got in mind? Because if he's just looking for them in general, then most people here should qualify.

You mean something like the Halloween candy?

And all his victims have been ordinary, I think -- well, unless you consider Aziraphale and that's a difficult one to judge.

Don't you think it'd be a good idea to find people that fit certain criteria and send them in? Haibara's okay with visiting -- she has the machine blood.

[she makes a face] Ah, I think I'd rather it not be like that, if it's all the same to you. [she sighs] But somehow I've got this sinking feeling it'll be just as pleasant...

What, you mean the candy victims? Or the murder victims?

[she nods] Yeah, sounds like a place to start. But what do you mean "machine blood"?

Ah, it's not really up to me ...

The murder victims. Everyone in my world's ordinary, right?

Eh -- you don't know what happens to people who die here?

[oh, she's distinctly aware of that--unfortunately. the lack of control is definitely not her favorite thing about this place]

[she raises an eyebrow] As far as I know. [she frowns] All the victims in Manchester so far 've been local. As in, literally local. You might be onto something.

[she frowns] Only what you told--wait. You said..."oil blood," right? So Grey might be looking for somebody who's got that! [she's kicking herself right now. she really should have thought of that] Let me know if that works.

[ooc: Not that I forgot that they had this conversation or anything >.>]

Mm. Though if that's the case -- it's probably not the same kind of 'special' as Sammy and the man with the Snake.

No... Unless the story's not literal. [which she wouldn't put past Grey]

So, what other options have we got? [thoughtfully] Could be leadership as in a position, maybe. I may be able to order the PCs around, but somehow I doubt they count.

Or maybe he's just looking for someone who's not human. Or people with magic and such... I heard we've even got a goddess running around these days! [she frowns. having possibilities is good, but they're going to have a long list at this rate]

It's definitely not literal -- I'm not even sure Grey's snake is behind the disappearances to start with.

[Conan frowned, placing his hands in his jeans pocket as he thought.]

A goddess -- Athena? I think we'd have to run that by her cortege first, but since they've got powers, that's not a bad thing!

[she narrows her eyes] Grey's snake? You mean the one in the story?

Ah, we might be better off just asking her instead of them. [she's making a face. considering what Mu had to say about Athena, she has a feeling they'd say no] Then again, maybe you've got the right idea. Grey said Charlie could get to the lair as long as he was with somebody special, right? They could always go together, if they're really worried about her. As long as one of them is "special," it should work.

Ah. It seemed like it was more a metaphor for something -- and when I asked for 'the story about the snake who only eats left hands' Grey said he didn't know that one.

[surprised] You mean you thought the creature was a snake? [she snorts, somewhat disturbed] That'd be some snake...

I suppose we could always ask him about a creature that eats left hands--see if he's got a story for that.

It would have been a neat explanation for the 'toothlike' weapon used to sever the hands -- though that was a fanciful theory on my part.

I'm not sure it would do us any good -- he knows what we want to know and he's answering us obliquely.

Well, if we're talking symbols, a snake around a man's neck isn't exactly subtle. [she makes a face; all this theoretical stuff really isn't for her] I've got a feeling he meant something a bit less obvious by it.

You're right. [she sighs] Okay, so, I'm gonna spread the word about what we've found out--see if anybody else knows anything more. And if we send enough people Grey's way, something should turn up. Unless you've got some other idea, of course.

Ah. Be careful, Inspector Menzies!

No, that sounds like a good plan! I'd like to talk to the other people with the ability to go from reality to reality, but I'll need to think about how to approach them.

Let's just hope Grey keeps being the eccentric storyteller. [because she knows there's more to him, which is unsettling considering the fact that she means to send people his way...]

[she gives him a questioning look] Wait. You mean there are people here who can do that on their own? Aside from the whole pulling somebody along with you?

I'm assuming that Sault-san has that ability, and there are other names I've heard -- Grey's boss, for example.

[her expression is sour] Ah, that lot. Well, according to Grey, you don't contact Jed--he contacts you. But I suppose you could go by the shop a few more times, see if you could catch any of the others.

But before you do, there's one other thing I wanted to ask you about. Got a minute?

I hadn't thought of trying the shop.

What's up?

I found something in the local paper I thought you should know about. [she pulls out her notepad, fishing through it until she retrieves a folded-up newspaper clipping. she holds it out to Conan. when he unfolds it, he'll see the headline "Twins' Reunion Turns to Tragedy"--and a very familiar story that takes place in Tokyo]

[Conan takes the clipping curiously. His first thought is that the media of Menzies world has picked up on the disappearances, so the headlines takes a moment to process.]

Twins' Reunion turns to -- ah! The wedding party!

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