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[stalking_horse]

[And somewhere in the jungle, there is a wandering detective in a drab tan suit, currently following something that might be a path, and might be a game trail, but should at least go somewhere sooner or later. His current mission: See if there's signs of other human life!
He may have been wandering off the beaten path for a while now.]

[While he can do quite a bit if he finds tracks in the trail itself ... wilderness tracking is not his strong suit; city boy is a city boy.]

[Besides that, he's weathering it rather well, if coping via resigned indignation.]

[Disturb/flag down/attempt to stalk/get tracked, stumbled across, or found?]

Comments

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[There's chaos, but....no dead people. So it is up in the air.]

...abducted. Like I assume you were?

[stalking_horse]

[Well, true. No dead people. Still, you + strange things = common. Almost as bad as certain other weirdness magnets he hangs around.]

It seems so. I still haven't found much explanation beyond what a few people have given me, and I don't remember being abducted. At least, not by any conventional means...

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[At least that person's is usually less fatal than his is.]

That's common.

Everyone keeps saying it's the Island because it's magic and sentient. [So totally doesn't believe it and it's obvious.]

...I have two theories myself. Despite how out there it is, more than likely, this is another dimension. One where I think there's science advanced enough to do something like pull people through space and time.

Otherwise, we're all insane and who knows what's rational. [What? Hakuba has acknowledged he's smart and it's not like it's out there a kid, who watches stuff like Kamen Yaiba, could come up with such a theory.]

[stalking_horse]

[True enough.]

I've heard the "sentient island" one already. [Might be giving it slightly more credit than Conan - not that he's buying it yet, but, he also has -Akako- as a classmate, and therefore some tolerance for "that just isn't natural" weirdness.]

And - well, I can't think of anything recently that would cause a psychotic break this spectacular on my end, so I'd think the other dimension theory more likely. Unless, of course, the "insane" theory involves liberal use of hallucinogens.
[Of course. Plus, you get a free lampshade from Hakuba. You remind him of what he was like as a kid, and he hasn't seen enough of you yet to notice the most blatant Not An Actual Little Kid moments. :| ]

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[He doesn't know about the witch and would probably refuse it too and wonder about your sanity, honestly.] Most people seem to believe it.

And while I wonder about Kaito-niisan's sanity, Kazuha-neechan, Ran-neechan, Haibara, nor I were experiencing anything to have suddenly lost our minds. There's too many specific things happening that many people experience to just be hallucinogens.

[This is true. He'll get a lot more of them now.]

[stalking_horse]

[Saguru does have "there is a perfectly rational explanation" theories about her/all of it! It's just a little hard to avoid when it's ... RIGHT THERE like that.]

[Snort] Kaito is a loon, but he's perfectly lucid. [Oh familiarity.] And - how long have you been here? [Because to know how many people were sharing the same experience...]

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[Conan has perfected that considering what he's doing with Beato. It just takes...so very much will.]

[Pauses.] Eh? You actually know Kaito-niisan? [That was...he figured out Kaito was Kid on so little. How was Kaito NOT arrested if Hakuba actually knew who both Kaito and Kid were?]

I've been here since March, around White Day. It's August now.

[stalking_horse]

[...Saguru has opted for "Well, it's obviously happening. Will figure out how/why as actual information comes and until then, try not to go insane over it."]

[Ssssshhhh. He's "attempting to gain solid evidence" and "Still investigating certain parts of the case".] I should hope so, he's in my class. I happen to be one of his favorite prank targets. [Ruffled obv. over the pranks. No reason for it, of cooourse, none at aalll..]

Definitely long enough to rule out hallucinogens, then, if it's stayed consistent and you haven't had any physical ailments from it.

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[Well, he has gone with that for...some things. Just doesn't think they're magic. Ever.]

[In which case, just as Hakuba deals with the magic, Conan deals with the friend in illegal places. Combined, they'd have so many issues resolved.] Prank targets... [And a snort escapes him. So that comment WASN'T just from the Kid perspective.] So you're a classmate of his. And Aoko-san too, right? She's was here a while ago apparently, but she was gone by the time I came.

Nothing lasts long. Some things do cause physical changes, but they all wear off after a while. I haven't experienced any of the big changes though.

[stalking_horse]

[I'm sure this could end up with a fascinating discussion at some point, when their attention is more on it.]

[Nod] I transferred back to Japan as part of a case. [Deadpan. Can't be hard to guess which one.] Nakamori-san was here? ... Huh. I can't remember her going missing, and she hasn't said anything about strange islands or acted odd...

In that case, it's got to be something to do with the place - good to know we're not crazy, at least.

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[He might pick up on it, but otherwise, Conan is kind of silent about how much deep trouble he's got himself in with witches.]

The...Kid one, right?

That's not too much of a surprise. The ones behind the Island don't always let you remember. Or maybe you're not from the exact same 'world.' Supposedly a short time before I arrived, there was an event where multiples of people showed up for a very short time.

But...the Island does erase memories. I am proof of that. Supposedly I was here three years ago. I looked the same and three years ago, I was definitely a different height.

We could be. You might not realize if you're insane, but it's probably better to assume we're not.

[stalking_horse]

That would be the one - it has been my main project for a while now; I understand you've crossed paths with him a few times? [And have apparently stolen his spot as Kid's Designated Rival with the press. :| ]

Interesting ... Any clues if the transition between there and here includes meddling with time?



Shared delusions on this scale are astronomically unlikely; it's a slim enough possibility that I think Occam's razor is on our side on this.

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[Beams and nods.] Yeah! Usually only if Uncle gets contacted, or it's Sonoko's uncle, or by chance, but I have. He's a lot of fun. Though I think it's just he thinks too much like a Kid I get to be anywhere near as good as you as chasing him. [Yeah, noticed the flat face, but the less impressive you think it is, the better.]

Ran-neechan didn't notice I was gone for months and I only saw Kazuha-neechan a few weeks before coming here when she's been here for a much longer time. Since Hattori-niichan didn't mention anything about happened to her to us, I think it's easy to assume she was around even about that time.

[Nods.] There's only two simple ways to explain it all that I can come up with. Two of three anyone could come up with if you really want to believe it was a 'Magic Island.' But advanced enough technology could be taken as magic.

[stalking_horse]

Heh. Fair enough; I haven't been able to follow it as closely as I'd like, thanks to other obligations coming up, and he keeps a mad enough pace that it's impossible to make every heist. [Just so long as it doesn't look like you're actually going to catch him.]

It is also possible, if this is a different dimension or alternate universe of some sort, that the laws of reality and physics as we know them may not work quite the same here - we may not be able to take things like that for granted.

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

He does seem rather active. No way I could keep up, even without the question of just getting there. [And it probably never will. He's still on the fence on WHAT he'd do exactly if he did manage to beat Kid in a heist.]

.... [Which brings up an interesting thought as he looks at Hakuba with an oddly thoughtful, kind of hesitant look, but it was only for a few seconds before it's gone.]

There has to be some similarities. Everything can be explained. It just takes understanding what it is. But the biggest thing is finding the true person behind the Island and their motive.

[stalking_horse]

Probably for the best; considering the hornet's nest he's apparently kicked, I'm surprised Nakamori-keibu's been alright with having you and the other kids as involved as you are. [Thankfully he doesn't have much attention span for the Rivalry right now, nevermind that it'd be a little silly to be too threatened by an 8 year old. (Ha ha ha >_>) ]

Eh, it can't be that far off, with the amount of things that do work as expected - [smiiile] Honestly, that may be the easier part; if any pattern whatsoever can be found in the people it's abducting, that would be a clue all on its own, nevermind paying attention to methods and how the captives are kept.

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

Hornet's next, Hakuba-niisan? [Had Hakuba made the connections as well? He was a bit more interested in finding out that.]

If there's a pattern, it's so large or complex, it's hard to figure out. [So prompt there. Crossing his arms, frowning a bit.] Even for worlds. At times it's just one person from one world and there's there times it's bursts. Or just stranglers coming in. Some people come and go multiple times. Abilities are all different. Personalities as well. I can't seem to find anything that's truly 'consistent.' The best I can find is there does seem to be at least something a bit odd about their life, but even that's not one hundred percent.

[stalking_horse]

The heists aren't random - he's running a search pattern, and someone else is after whatever he's after. He's been shot at repeatedly, and whoever it is, they're professional, and far too good at disappearing. [As offhand as he is about it? It Bothers Him. You do not shoot at His Thief.] I don't doubt that they'd show no mercy to anyone in their path - even a child.


Perhaps a specific common thread isn't the solution? If one were collecting people for some kind of research on other worlds, a varied sample set would be more useful for getting an overview than just collecting a certain type of person. It's also possible the culprit is acting on whims - motivated by curiosity, or amusement. Also, it may mean they don't have complete control over whatever they're using; perhaps there are things they're looking for, but their methods are iffy on fine control, or maybe they don't even know who they'll be bringing per se when they activate it. I'd guess that it doesn't seem hostile; no-one I've run into seemed especially harried or panicked, unless there's things I haven't encountered or heard of that are more dangerous.

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[For a moment, he looks confused. And with months to perfect his acting, he makes himself look like he was just realizing it.] So that's why he returns things! If he's looking for something and being a weirdly noble guy anyway, he'd return anything he wasn't looking for, right? [And then worry. Of course, he had sources to find out about the snipers, but he wasn't pressing his luck of having a 'kid' know it.] And whose shooting at him?! They'd ruin the heists like that!

[Silent a few moments.] I have thought it might be a psychological experiment. See if people are capable of meeting other dimensions without it being really bad. Like some sci fi movies where aliens test how Earthlings react to them before official contact.

As for danger...that's...relative.

[stalking_horse]

Well, they're after whatever he's after, right? [Hands in pockets, but fairly calm and good-natured about it all, even a bright kid is going to miss things now and then right?] "Ruining the heists" is the point - they want to get it before he does, and if he gets it, I'd wager he's going to make it disappear far out of their reach. [He's just... staring off into space thoughtfully for a minute.] I suspect they've been part of this Kid's motives all along, really.

[And snapping back to the matter more immediately at hand-] That's a possibility. If what they're using is too inexact, it may even just be testing it out, and seeing who and what is out there.

Oh? [Interested - this could change quite a bit of the theories!] What sort of "relative"?

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[Mental note to warn Kaito Hakuba has definitely made the connections. If only because he's seen how Kaito's reacted to a detective rattling off his motive.] ...I guess he would have to have a reason. It does seem kind of weird he'd do it just for fun, all things considered. I guess I never thought of it like that. [Of course he did, but a little kid can be distracted by fun thing.]

That too. If it really is random. But then it begs the question of why someone end up back several times and then that strange event which is supposedly yearly.

Sometimes it's bad and sometimes it's not. There's events. Thing that happen to everyone that's strange. I don't know how to explain some of them and some seem similar to others worlds. But the relative thing...

Well, the first one I went through, it was a truth telling event. Of course, for someone whose honest and everything, it's not too bad. The same for people who are the only ones from their world since secrets are usually relative. For someone with a lot of secrets and/or a lot of people from home, however....it can be horrible.

[stalking_horse]

[Shrug; your cover is serving you well.] Well, there's fewer clues why the original Kid started it all; it may very well have just been a game for him. [Or well, mostly - but then, the "there's been more than one Kid" theory has to've come up in news or something before, and he knows he's referenced it in interviews, so maybe it's not odd that Conan didn't blink at the reference.]

Hmm. That does make this more interesting; the events have to serve some kind of a purpose, whether it's some kind of test or amusement. Some of them might also be glitches in the system - something not working properly, depending on how this place works. Perhaps the events that match up to someone else's world are some kind of quirk where this space gets adjusted to match one captive or another, whether intentionally or accidentally?

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

[Luckily the physically impossible thing is on his side.] So you thought that too, Hakuba-niisan? [He's referenced to a few people the idea, so he can't play dumb there.] He always seemed too young whenever I got close, so I thought he might be the second one or something like that. I wasn't sure if anyone else thought that too.

That could be possible. There might even be a place where people can't lie. Others might be harder to pinpoint though...

But I don't think it could be a pure 'glitch.' While most are random, some are not. Like around Valentines, there's usually some sort of lovey-dovey sort of thing. And it seems Halloween has traumatized a few people.

[stalking_horse]

[Indeed it is.] Actually third, I think; there's a lull period, then a handful of heists where "Kid" wore a mask and was less flamboyant, then suddenly the shorter, most recent one shows up - I suspect the original Kid may've been dead for a while now. The current one is my age - or close to it. [Wry eyeroll on that one. Not coming out and saying he knows who it us, but...]

Mmm, if there's different sorts of "events", they wouldn't all be the same thing. [and a pause as he's thinking over what Conan's said...] So who or what ever is responsible is apparently attempting to commemorate Earth holidays somehow?

[17-going-on-8.livejournal.com]

He did? [He didn't go quite THAT much into detail. Might explain how Kaito got involved then if he wasn't approached directly.] I was thinking that too...mostly cause of how he acted later. Most adults don't like to acknowledge I might be good until a long while later. But people like you, Shinichi-niichan, and Hattori-niichan were pretty accepting, so I was wondering if Kid was around there too. I wouldn't know anything else beyond that for his identity though. [Notes that eyeroll. So maybe it wasn't so much not knowing as nothing solid.]

Other than the 'yearly' ones, it seems events are usually pretty unique. Some repeat, but there are some that only happened once. And there's usually a few per month. [Nods.] That seems to be it. It's part of why people think this Island is on a version of Earth.