Dream of Mirror

Chapter 7 – Shadows

Ice-Puppet

Their stay at Kenny's went off without a hitch, thankfully. No attacks, no battles- Near rested for a day or so before they set off to LiSen's.

Near dragged behind a bit. It could have been his weakened body, or Mello's new found speed ability- either way, the blonde kept having to stop so his albino partner could catch up with him.

They walked in silence, both forcing themselves not to think or feel anything. For Near, this was easy, however Mello wasn't having such a wonderful time doing so. Still, if he tried hard enough he could hide most of his emotions and shield off whatever else he felt from Near. He was frustrated… if he had his choice, he wouldn't have to share a mind, feelings, this adventure, or anything with the other man. He would rather have Matt over Near any day, and the redhead drove him nuts. But it wasn't his choice, so all he could really do was sit there and grumble about it.

Near eventually switched to floating, possibly more tired then he was letting on, but Mello didn't bother to ask or even read his mind to check.

He pushed away any inner thoughts that could be dangerous… refused to think about Near, or about what Kenny had said. Hell, he didn't even let himself think about this stupid 'mission' or about the next 'Mirror King'… Mello left his mind blank, an amazing fleet for someone who always seemed to have a racing mind.

Near's mind was quiet, as well, or at least from what Mello could tell. It was possible the younger man had figured out a way to block all of his thoughts from Mello, but either way the blonde didn't really care. They walked in silence, the only sound being their foot falls, at least for a good hour or two.

Then they heard a voice.

"So you're the dark and white ones…"

Mello was completely content with ignoring the voice and continuing on, not wanting any more distractions. Near, however, stopped and turned around. Giving in with an annoyed groan, the blonde followed suit.

The young woman behind them wasn't really a woman at all. With black wings coming from her back and a twisting tail, it was obvious that she was some sort of creature… and, from the smirk on her face, possibly a rather powerful one.

Near took a careful step back. They were still in the forest, so he would have a sort of advantage… but his Earth magic was still new and he barely knew how to use it.

The creature held her hands up, shaking her head. "I don't want to fight you. I'm just… seeing what I am up against."

"What you're up against?" Mello repeated, removing the daggers from his waist and glaring.

Another smirk from the woman. "My name is Holand Holly."

"Holand…" Near breathed, remembering the name. "You're the leader of the rebellion."

"Bingo," she giggled. "What a smart little cutie you are." Both Near and Mello ignored the comment, although Mello unconsciously took a step in front of the albino. "You know," Holand went on, flipping locks of brown hair over her shoulder. "I was expecting a bit more. Honestly… you two are supposed to be the saviors? An angry blonde and his little creampuff bed buddy?" Shaking her head, she then stepped forward and purred, "Do you really think you can defeat me?"

They both stayed silent.

After a few moments, Holand let out a shrilled laugh. She then held out a hand and offered, "Tell you what… you surrender now and I won't kill you. In fact, I'll send you both home, unharmed."

Near sent Mello an almost nervous glance, but the blonde merely shook his head and laughed. "I may want to go home," he hissed. "But I'm not about to take a cowards way out."

Another laugh came from Holand, piercing their eardrums. She shook her head for a moment, but then frowned. "Have it your way," she hissed.

Before either of them could move, the woman was suddenly behind them both, one arm wrapped around Near's middle, the other hovering sharp claws around his throat.

Mello twisted around, eyes widened. She was fast-!

"Here's my deal, sweetheart," Holand purred, moving her lips right next to Near's ear. Near bit his bottom lip, trying to remain calm. "You surrender, or I rip his throat open."

Mello was silent for a few moments before he offered a shrug and stated, "He can't die, anyway."

Near kept a straight face, while Holand's scrunched up into an angry growl. She extended her claws and went to dig them into Near's neck, but a flash of blue light had her flying backward. Near raised a hand to his neck, touching the choker that was still there from a while ago.

"A protection charm?" Holand hissed.

"Damn straight," Mello replied with a smirk, although he inwardly had no idea that the stupid necklace was actually magic. A lucky break.

She wasn't upset for long, however. A smile fell back over her face before it twisted into a grin. "Have it your way, then," she purred, unfolding her wings and getting ready to take to the sky. "He may not be able to die, true, but he sure as hell can feel pain."

Then she was gone, lifting off into the sky and flying in the direction they had come from.

"Protection charm…" Near breathed in what sounded like relief. He dropped his hands away from the necklace and gave Mello a quiet glance.

"We're fucked," Mello informed him.

Near gave a quiet, defeated hum in response.

--

LiSen, it turned out, was Aireio's cousin and the owner of the dagger she had given Mello.

Before he told them his powers or who it would be going to (although the two were beginning to notice a pattern and therefore assumed Mello would be the next one getting an ability), he informed them he would be teaching Mello how to use his daggers. Although the blonde protested, the mirror king eventually won.

LiSen was almost as short as Near, with red hair and kind brown eyes. He was human, like his cousin, however he was obviously not a shaman as he didn't wear the same robes Near did. His build suggested he was strong, although his kind nature suggested he did not use that strength to fight. This was confirmed when he informed them that he had been a pacifist before his powers had been given to them, afterward saying something about how someone without much power could quickly become a mirror king, or something along those lines. Neither man decided to pay much attention.

The defeated feeling was a mutual one that flew over the connection like a shared meal, one both could equally their own portions from but still have enough to be full. What surprised them both was that this feeling didn't seem like it was shared… to both of them it was as natural as if they had never been connected in the first place.

This probably wasn't a good thing.

Scratch that, it was definitely not a good thing.

The town that LiSen lived in was called Rosen. It was a small little town and almost everyone gave them gentle smiles. They both agreed inwardly that this was much better then being fawned all over by fans or people begging them to 'save their world'. It was also silently agreed that it was nice that no one was forcing their food or items upon them, although Near still wore the choker that had saved his life from Holand. Or, rather, saved him from dying and coming back, although that didn't sound like much fun either.

LiSen was not as difficult as Kenny. He was also not as frustrating as Red, nor was he as annoying as Glace. In fact, he was rather quiet. Aside from telling them his powers and what he said to Mello when he was teaching him, he didn't say much.

LiSen took Mello just outside of town to train him and Near, having nothing else to do, decided to follow. Mello didn't complain about this aloud, nor did he feel any resentment over their bond. He was, however, frustrated that LiSen wasn't just going to give them his powers and send them on their way. Although Near thought that they could probably use the training (as Holand now seemed like a much bigger threat now that they had seen her face to face), he agreed that training Mello to use his daggers probably wasn't the most useful thing. However LiSen knew more about this world then the two of them combined, so neither of them protested much more then an annoyed noise every so often.

Turns out it was a good thing, this training.

--

"I know you're probably wondering why I want to teach you to use my daggers," LiSen mused, speaking for the first time since he had motioned for Mello to follow him to the training ground. He didn't catch either man off guard. "Well, its because these daggers are special. They have a hidden ability, one that, if used correctly, could make them that much more useful to you in your battle against Holand."

"Magical daggers," Mello huffed. "I should have known."

LiSen held out his hand and Mello handed over the daggers without question. The Mirror King held them for a few seconds in silence, seemed to be lost in thought, before he turned around and threw one of them at Near at an alarming speed. Near wasn't able to dodge, caught off guard, and the dagger flew straight threw is chest…

As if he wasn't even there.

"What the fuck-!?" Mello gaped, not quite sure of he was questioning LiSen's judgment or the fact that he had just thrown a dagger straight through Near without actually hurting him.

"As I said," LiSen mused, smiling slightly as Near turned around and stared at the dagger, which stuck out of the tree he was sitting in front of, trapped with the force of the throw. "These daggers have a special ability."

"They can't hurt people?" Mello asked, watching as Near pulled the dagger from the tree.

"They can't hurt anyone you don't want to hurt," LiSen corrected.

"Nifty," Mello hummed, approaching Near. The albino handed him the weapon without question.

"Not only that," the Mirror King went on. "But if someone else takes the daggers from you, they still are unable to hurt anyone that you don't want hurt. For example, the fact that I just threw them at your companion and he was not killed."

Near gave LiSen a somewhat baffled look while Mello turned around and stared at him. After a few moments the blonde voiced what they both were thinking. "How did you know I didn't want him dead? You could have killed him."

"I suppose I didn't know," LiSen mused, ignoring the look Near sent his way. "I just assumed you didn't want him dead, considering he is your companion and soul m-"

"Don't say those words, for the love of god," Mello groaned.

LiSen stared at him. "What?" He questioned after a few moments.

Mello didn't answer. Instead, he turned around and swiped at Near with the dagger. After a few good swipes confirmed that LiSen was right and he was unable to hurt the Albino, he turned back to the Mirror King. "So how do I control this? What if I want to stab Near?"

"Why would you want to…?" LiSen asked, obviously baffled.

"Because I hate him," was Mello's response. (Near wondered if he had imagined that Mello had to force those words out.)

"…What?" LiSen asked.

"Just teach me," Mello responded, taking another swipe at Near. The albino flinched, assuming that the blade would cut him now that Mello had confirmed he 'wanted it to.'

"Once those blades have confirmed you as their owner," LiSen went on, approaching the two men and handing the second dagger to Mello. "Which they have already, by the way. They will be unable to harm your soul- er, sorry, your companion- at any time."

"Really?" Mello mused. "Damn."

LiSen gave him another really confused look. He then glanced to Near, before shifting his eyes between the two of them for a few moments. Then, shaking his head, he then began to explain to Mello how to use the daggers properly.

Near quietly got up and left.

--

It took about two days to train Mello how to properly use the daggers. In those two days, LiSen had earned quite a few new scars.

Mello hadn't seen Near since the first day.

He wasn't worried. He could tell Near was fine… that bond between them came in handy at some points. He couldn't feel anything, however, aside from the general feeling of life that came from the other end. Near had closed himself off and Mello wasn't sure why he was so surprised… hadn't he grown up used to this Near? Hadn't Near spent their childhood cold and distant, emotionless and alone?

Even if he was a different Near, he was still Near.

'Even if he is dying,' that little voice in his head spoke, almost singsong. 'He's still Near.'

'Even so,' another voice protested. 'His disappearance was pretty sudden. He's probably upset. Maybe you shouldn't be such an ass to him.'

'Ha!' the first voice laughed. 'You've always been an ass to him. You hate him and he knows it. I doubt he's upset about that, and if he is then he really isn't Near.'

"I'm going to stop talking to myself in my head now." It took Mello a few moments to realize he had spoken aloud. It was the look on LiSen's voice that finally gave it away.

The Mirror King raised an eyebrow at him and cleared his throat, before motioning to the task they had been performing. "As I was saying… my ability is over wind. Yes, it is a magic ability, not a melee ability. It will probably be hard for you to control, so I will be helping you out at first. I'm sure your so- er, companion- could probably teach you a few things too. If he learned from Aireio, he learned from the best."

"Wind, huh…" Mello mused. It wasn't a power he had expected from LiSen and even if he had known he would have assumed Near would be the one to rule over it. After all, if he could control that blizzard attack, he could probably control a gust of wind.

"This is going to hurt," LiSen warned, but Mello already knew. The fact that he knew made him more tense, which made the beam of light hurt worse then the first time. Mello knew Near could feel the pain that flew through him because a wave of concern flew across their bond for a few seconds before Near cut off all contact once more.

LiSen didn't look as worn from the transfer as the first three kings had, but he still seemed a bit tired. Still, he stood up and helped Mello over to his bed, laying him down and telling him to get some rest. As Mello fell asleep he saw the redhead grab his coat and head out the front door, locking it after himself.

He was probably going to look for Near, or something. Or so Mello assumed.

He fell asleep quickly, drifting off into the land of dreams without any more thought.

--

"Hey! Wake the hell up!"

Mello groaned, throwing a hand over his forehead and rolling over. He must have been really worn because he could have sworn that was Matt talking to him.

"Okay, that's it-!"

Suddenly the world was spinning around him. It took a few moments for him to realize that the mattress was being pulled out beneath him, but the ground rushing up to meet him as he hit the floor was a nice wake up call.

That damn carpet wasn't very plush, either-

Wait… carpet?

LiSen's floor had been wood.

"What, you going to sleep the day away? We have work to do!"

Mello's eyes snapped open. Okay, there was no way that voice was imaginary-! He sat up quickly and sure enough found himself staring at a very peeved redhead, hands on hips and goggles over his eyes.

"Matt-!?" He gaped, probably looking like an idiot but not caring.

"Mello?" Matt retorted, throwing a hand over his mouth in shock. He then grabbed a pillow off of the floor and threw it at the blonde. "Who else would it be, dumbass?! I'm only your roommate!"

Scrambling to stand, Mello quickly glanced around the room. Sure enough, he was in the bedroom in the last hotel room he had been in, before he had woken up to find himself in that weird other world. There were no traces of anything from there… he was back in his old clothes, the daggers on his waist were gone, and worst (or maybe best) of all- he couldn't feel Near.

"What the fuck?" He gaped, ignoring the look Matt was giving him. "Where the hell is LiSen? Where is Near?"

"Did you smoke something and forget to share?" Matt asked, only to huff when Mello paid no attention to him. He grabbed the blonde's face and forcefully turned it toward himself. "Uh- Hello? I don't know who the hell 'LiSen' is, but he's probably some weird freaky L look alike you made up while high. And in case you've forgotten, Near is dead. He died a while ago. Over four years, in fact. What, were you dreaming about him?"

"I-" Mello stopped before he could go off. It was entirely possible that he was in fact dreaming. In fact, the possibility was an extremely high one. Although it was also possible that he had been dreaming when it came to the 'other world' and seeing Near again, the possibilities of that were much lower. If it was true that you were unable to feel pain in dreams, then that ruled out that choice entirely.

He was going to go with the idea that this was a dream.

However, he had felt pain from that fall onto the floor, so obviously this was no 'ordinary' dream. Mello didn't know much about magic, but if his daggers could go straight through Near without hurting him then he was pretty sure that Holand could trap him in his own mind and make him believe he had been sent back home. There was only one way to test it, however, and although it might leave him sounding a bit like an idiot it was worth a shot.

"I'm not buying it, Holand," he breathed toward Matt.

The redhead looked annoyed for a moment before he gave a small sigh and threw his hands up in defeat. "My sources were right when they said you were smart. Your powers of deduction are amazing… it barely took a few moments for you to realize that this was a dream and that I was a fake. Bravo, I'm impressed."

"I don't give a damn if I impress you," Mello hissed.

"I don't expect you to," Matt informed.

"Let me out of this dream," Mello demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

Matt laughed. It was a laugh like Holand's- shrill and high-pitched. It sounded horrible on the redhead, like he was choking on helium. He lifted a hand to his lips, curling his fingers in a feminine way. All in all, Mello was a little unnerved by this. "Who says I have to?" He asked. "I could keep you trapped in here forever. Then you and your little boyfriend would never be able to stop me."

"My boyfriend doesn't need me to stop you," Mello hissed, not letting Holand know that Near being called his 'boyfriend' bothered him. She could use it against him, later on. And no doubt she would. "He could kick your ass with his hands tied behind his back and his eyes blindfolded. You're just a spoiled little bitch who decided she didn't like the way things were and rebelled against the system."

Matt's face twisted into an angry growl. "Shut up!" he hissed.

"Have you even thought about the consequences!?" Mello accused. "I don't even come from your reality and I know what' going to happen- you do realize that you could unmake existence, right? As in everything. Including yourself. What' the point in leading an army when the end result doesn't include existing!?

"That isn't true," Matt protested. "You're just saying that."

"Why the hell would I 'just be saying that'!?" The blonde questioned. "If I was going to come up with a reason to stop you it wouldn't be something like 'unmaking existence.' Because it would be obvious that you wouldn't believe me and that wouldn't solve anything, would it?"

"Stop trying to confuse me with your reverse psychology," Matt hissed. Before Mello could say anything more he growled and threw his arms up again, before turning around. After a long breath, he looked over his shoulder and smirked. "Okay, fine," he mused, voice sing-song. "You want to wake up? That's fine by me."

"What?" Mello's eyes narrowed. What was Holand up to?

Before he could ask anything more, however, he was suddenly flying backward. And then he was floating again in that white abyss, alone.

Buy, like the last time, he wasn't alone for long. Soon enough he felt Near's connection weave its strings into his mind. He couldn't see the albino, but he could feel him again, and that was good enough.

He didn't need to see the other to feel the worry that spread over their connection. It fell over him like a blanket on a warm night, one that he didn't want yet he couldn't seem to fall asleep without the feeling of one wrapped around his body.

'Mello?' Near's voice called out through the white room.

'Near,' he responded.

He felt the other pull their connection, like he'd wrapped his hands around the rope and tugged as hard as his lithe body could handle. Then he was rushing backward again, this time through the white abyss.

When awoke he found himself sitting up in LiSen's bed.

"Mello!" Near was suddenly next to him, relief flooding over their bond.

"How long was I out?" Mello managed to ask before the headache set in and he dropped his head into his hands. It was powerful enough that Near winced a bit beside him, touching his own forehead.

"Almost three days," LiSen said from somewhere off to the side.

"You were-" Near began.

"Trapped in some sort of sleeping spell by Holand," Mello finished.

Near stared at him a few seconds before asking, "You can finish my sentences now?"

"No!" Mello snapped, glaring at the albino. "I already figured it out."

"You…?" Near tried, seeming a bit confused by these words.

"In my dream," Mello tried to explain, wondering if LiSen had anything like advil… maybe some magical spell that could get rid of his headache? "I woke up back in my hotel room. Matt was there. I realized almost instantly it was a dream and the only real solution was that Holand, or at least someone who works for her, had tried to distract me and keep me under some sort of spell."

"Wow," LiSen breathed. "You figured that out that quickly?"

"He's a genius," Near informed.

"Shut the fuck up, Near," Mello hissed. He was pretty sure Near could feel the annoyance that built up within him over their bond, considering the fact that he was making no effort to hide it. (Making an effort would only make his headache worse and he was in no mood to hide something so obvious.)

Near didn't apologize (not that he had expected him to. This was Near after all), but for a split second Mello could have sworn the other was giving off a wave of guilt… but before he could catch Near in the act their bond was blocked off.

"Distraction left and right," Mello muttered to himself, finally letting his head out of his hands to look up at LiSen. "I hope you can train me quickly because we just wasted three days."

"Yeah," LiSen agreed in a voice that showed he had no idea what to say. "Um… right."

--

Mello was back out with LiSen on the training grounds again about two hours later. Near hadn't put up any protest, although he inwardly thought the blonde was nuts. Still, he supposed they were rather pressed for time… the longer they took, the stronger Holand would become. They couldn't waste much more time or they would be ultimately screwed.

He was tempted to leave once more, to return to the hotel room he had been staying in while the blonde had been training before. However that would only waste time when the two of them needed to regroup, so instead he stayed in LiSen's house.

He hadn't been expecting Holand to attack like she did and, being who he was, he did not like being caught off-guard. Near was so used to being able to figure everything out before it happened that something just dropping into his lap was an unwelcome change. When Mello had refused to awaken he had panicked, not knowing what to think. After a moment or two in order to calm down he had tried to put all of the pieces together.

An unconscious Mello who refuses to awaken. Holand approaching only a few days before. A dull, empty feeling crossing over their connection. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

Okay… sometimes it did.

They didn't come back until dark. Mello was obviously exhausted, but Near didn't mention it. In fact, he didn't say anything. None of them did.