A: Heya! I decided to introduce this one by saying I went back all the way to the beginning, which wasn't fun in the slightest, in case you were wondering, just to proof-read it. Let me tell you, there were so many mistakes, but I think I fixed most of them, so yay! Rejoice! Oh, and there isn't going to be anyone else helping me with these for a little while. Sherlock's in the hospital for butter-knife wounds, and Near and Simon are staying with her; Mello's in the hospital for several broken ribs, and Matt's staying with him until that clears up, so it'll just be me, Mycroft, and Baskerville, ain't that right, boys?
(woofing comes from background)
A: Remember, reviews help Mello heal faster (and also help Sherlock inflict them more painfully and hilariously)!!!!!!!! (They also provide Baskerville and Mycroft with doggy kibble, thought I'd just like to add that!)
Chapter Six: A Name Is Just A Word, Right?
He rubbed his scars absently. "Gang fights. You'd have your own collection if you'd stayed." He shrugged. "But enough about me. What about you?"
It was my turn to shrug. "I went through Hell, came out a different person, tried to rationalize it, failed, almost lost myself, recovered, left my home, got kidnapped, and recently decided to go back down the rabbit-hole again."
"Oh God, Olivia, I'm sorry," he said, reaching out to me. Matt was staring at us both, wide-eyed, while Mello collapsed on the ground, shuddering with laughter.
"OLIVIA!" he yelped, "Your name is OLIVIA!"
"Shut up, Mells, just shut the hell up!" I yelled, my fists clenching together at my side. He shook his head, tears streaming down his face. I got up, fully intending to make him a soprano, but I was tangled up in the furniture. My view shifted, there was a sharp pain in my head, and the world went black.
A long white corridor stretched in front of me. I didn't mind white, but I wanted to see some real color. I began moving down the corridor, letting the brightness almost blind me. I had a strange notion there was something in front of me, so I stopped. A brilliantly bright flash shone on my eyelids for a moment before the light toned itself down to about the same level of a cloudy day.
I opened my eyes to see a white wooden door with a worn brass handle. Hesitantly, I reach out and touched it, finding that it was almost exactly like the doors into each of the four-person dorms at Whammy's. Reassured by the familiar comparison, I opened up the door and stepped beyond its threshold.
The room, at first glance, seemed empty. Then on my left, I saw Simon standing stiffly, but Near was in an identical position on my right. I reached out to the gangster, but found myself unable to pass a line etched on the floor, almost as if there was a thick sheet of glass between us. I tried to do the same thing with Near, but I only received the same result. "Dang it, let me in!" I screamed, pushing against the invisible walls with all my might. "Why won't you two notice me?" My vision blurred as tears began streaming down my face. "Why?" I whispered brokenly, sinking down to my knees, "Why?"
"Because you can only have one, my girl." That was L's voice. L. I whirled around frantically, but it took me far longer than it should have to spot him standing in the doorway, looking almost exactly as he had when I'd seen him last.
"L?" I asked, under of what to believe anymore. I mean, he had frickin' panda ears sticking out of his hair. I'm pretty sure if you're seeing dead guys with animal body parts, then you're either crazy, dreaming, or both. He smirked at me, stepping out of the threshold and towards me.
"Not quite," he said, his form changing as he came that one step closer. Untidy black hair changed to blond, blank black eyes to shocking blue ones, and baggy clothes to supple, skin-tight black leather. His hips had a slightly swaying motion to them as he strode over to me and trailed a finger down the side of my face.
"Mells, stop! Think of Matt!" I gasped.
He smirked again, turning away and letting his spotted leopard tail trail along my neck in place of his fingers. "Thanks for reminding me; I'd almost forgotten him." He whistled loudly, expectantly. "Matty! Come here!"
An adorable little spotted beagle came out from the doorway. He sat at Mello's feet, obedient as could be. Mells reached down and caressed his head and neck, prompting the dog to let out a surprisingly human-like moan. His green eyes slid shut behind his orange goggles. "I know Matty," Mello whispered quietly, seductively, "I want you too. But we have work to do."
The dog whimpered but extracted himself from Mello's side, coming to stand at mine. "Matt?" I murmured to him, and he licked my hand once in confirmation. I ruffled his fur, addressing Mells now as I spoke, "What do you mean by work?"
His cat ears twitched, a barely noticeable movement of golden fur. "It's time you had a lesson in names," he said, roughly jerking my hand to touch Near's back.I was on top of Near again. He wore only a pair of swimming trunks, and I had on a bikini. My eyes widened, and I twisted around to view my back, which was uncharacteristically covered in flawless skin.
"Is something wrong, Sherlock?"
I whipped around to see Near staring at me, gray eyes full of concern. He stretched languidly underneath me, yawning. "You were drawing something on me, but if you don't want to finish it anymore, you can help me wash it off."
Heat flashed its way through me in a sudden wildfire under my skin. I wanted to take him up on that so badly, but the brush in my hand already had a large amount of paint on it. "No," I murmured quietly, "I'll finish my drawing first."
He put his head back down on his arms, perfectly content to let me be. I drew a single line on his back and cussed, trying to wipe off all the excess paint. "Dang unsteady hand!" I muttered darkly, "It's dry."
He rolled suddenly underneath me, staring up at me. Impulsively, I leaned down, kissing him like I'd wanted to since I came here. His lips were gentle on mine, and his hands came up instinctively to hold me there, not that I wanted to stop. The only reason I pushed him away was because I wanted to finish the sketch. He understood what I wanted and reluctantly rolled back over onto his stomach. "Later," I promised him, my stomach in a knot, as I gently pressed a hand between his shoulder blades, "after you wash the paint off."
"Sherlock," he moaned, a pleading tone to his voice, but I wouldn't take any excuses. I went to dip my brush in where I knew the blue paint was, but when it came back, it was covered in red. Irritated, I looked over to the side to find out where the heck I'd gotten red from what I thought was the blue paint canister.
Simon's body lay alongside us, dried blood caking his body, but it couldn't have been too old. I had been painting with my best friend's blood.
I screamed, feeling pain lace its way up my arm. I looked down to see only dog-Matt gripping my arm between his teeth with an apologetic expression on his face. "Come on, Matty, why'd you have to pull her out at the best part? I was starting to enjoy myself." Mello's voice, ice-cold and compassionless, laced its way down my spine, causing a shiver to follow it all the way down. "No matter. She still has Simon and Olivia next," he said, forcing my hand into Simon's.
Sitting beside Simon on the love seat felt as natural as breathing. Our fingers were intertwined, and he was playing with my hair using his other hand. My other hand was tracing the lines of various scars twining their different ways down his bare arm, similar to those I knew decorated my own body. He sighed and leaned in, planting a kiss on my neck.
"'Love you, Olivia," he whispered against the skin, causing goose bumps to appear where his breath ghosted upon my skin.
"'Love you too," I said, turning to kiss his forehead, prompting another heavy sigh from him.
"I got you a present from my last mission," he said conversationally, moving his mouth to my cheek.
"Really?"
He nodded. "Want to see it?"
"Please and thank you."
He grinned impishly and kissed the tip of my nose before getting up and disappearing from view. I waited patiently, knowing Simon came and went on his own schedule, something that would not be overly influenced by my patience or lack thereof. "For you," he said, popping up out of nowhere and presenting me with what he held in his arms. "And," he continued, sincerity burning in both his eyes and and voice, "I'd do it all again if I had to. You would only have to say the word."
He held Near out to me from inside the circle of his arms, a bullet hole plainly painted on his pale forehead, right between the eyes, in the perfect kill position.
This time, it was a hand hesitantly placed upon my shoulder that brought me out of my scream. It wasn't Near's, as he wasn't here, like Mells (thank God), or Simon's, since he was fact asleep in a chair. It was Matt's hand that was there and his whisper, asking, "Are you all right? You conked your head pretty hard, so we brought you back to Near's place."
"I had a horrible dream."
"Tell me about it. Maybe I can make better sense of it," he whispered faintly, squeezing my hand. So, in a hushed undertone, I related the enitirity crazy events to him.
"Well?" I said, seeing the thoughtful expression on his face.
"You said everyone except you, Near, and Simon were part animal. You even described L and me pretty specifically, but you never talked about Mells. What did he have?"
"Leopard ears and tail."
"Hmm... Mells with leopard ears and a tail," he said, closing his eyes. "Yum."
I snapped my fingers a few times in front of his face. "Matt, focus!" I hissed. "What do you think?"
"I think,' he murmured slowly, "Simon coming back into your life and calling you by your real name threw you off, and the dream was your subconscious reaction to that. But, Sherlock, you do realize.." he trailed off, changing his mind mid-sentence.
"What? What am I supposed to realize?"
"A name is just a word, after all."
A: Yes, the secret is finally out! Sherlock Shayne is really Olivia Shayne (dum dum dum)! I would like to thank xxyangxx2006 for the earlier recommendation and constant reviews (stay tuned; Mia WILL be making an appearance soon. No more details though; you're just going to have to wait for the next chapter like everyone else. Fortunately, I already wrote it, but my friend has it and I will be forced to chew her out about that minor matter the next time I see her. Until then, as a consolation, I offer this chapter). As a reward for your kindness, Baskerville will be going to your house to offer you doggy kisses (eventually).
For all the rest of you who have not reviewed- Mycroft will be peeing in your beds, Mello will eat all of your chocolate, Matt will steal all of your computers, Simon will be taking your motor vehicles, Near will be commandeering all of your toys, and Sherlock will be blowing your house to smithereens. So I hope you're all happy.
Paths may be long or short, criss-crossing or solitary, but they will always take you where you need to go.