Howdy all! First off I just wanted to note, I know I didn't mention HOW Martel died but that's going to be explained in this chapter. Also, how the last chapter ended…I dunno, does it seem like I started something then didn't finish or what? Oh well, it could just be me. So…yeah…otherwise that's all I've got for now! R&R (that's read and review silly, no relaxing for you! (Cackles evilly) naw I'm kidding you can relax as well XD).
Disclaimer: Don't own Death Note, don't own FullMetal Alchemist…I'm still seeing a therapist (sniffle).
Apathy stood outside a burning church. He was still wearing the mask which protected him, for the most part, from the smoke. He glanced to the side when the sound of a car quickly pulling up caught h is ear. A woman got out; she had mid-length blond hair and a look of pure horror on her face. She then spotted Apathy, her eyes narrowed and she pulled out a gun. Apathy remained unfazed by this as he turned to face her completely.
"You there, put your hands where I can see them!" she shouted. The sin did so but started walking towards her. "Just stay where you are!" She ordered, but Apathy didn't do so. The woman moved back but stopped when Apathy paused just at the front of the car.
"Did you do this?" she then asked. Apathy just tilted his head at the question. "Take your mask off, now."
"No…" Apathy answered bluntly. The woman glared and advanced, keeping the gun pointed at the sin, "You have the right to remain silent," she started while taking out a pair of handcuffs, "Anything you say can be used in the court of law." As she got behind him and started putting the cuffs on, Apathy dropped to the ground and kicked the woman's legs' out from under her causing her to fall to the ground. The sin then pinned her to the ground and wrapped his hands around her throat.
"Judging by how quickly you jumped to the conclusion that I started the fire just goes to prove that someone you know must have been in there." Apathy said, his voice just slightly muffled by the mask, "Tell me woman, who was it?"
She didn't reply, mostly because she was having enough trouble breathing. Apathy loosened his grip only slightly and repeated the question.
"Mello…" she replied roughly. Apathy tilted his head again, then asked,
"And your name is?"
"H-how do…I know…y-you're not Kira?" she then questioned. Apathys' grip suddenly tightened.
"If I were Kira, I wouldn't be here right now." Apathy replied.
"Lidner…" the woman replied, "SPK"
Apathy removed his hands and got up; he then turned and looked back up at the burning building. 'Looks like Mello took things into his own hands, such a stupid human.' Apathy thought. He then heard the sound of sirens in the distance as well as a second car approaching. Turning to face Lidner again, Apathy said,
"You were close to Mello, I'm going to be sticking with you from now on…understand?"
"What?" Lidner tried to protest but stopped when Apathy climbed into the back seat of her car. Several fire trucks and ambulances arrived a moment later. A second car, carrying Light and two task force members pulled up. Lidner just got into her car and drove off. Once she was on the freeway, she opened up a laptop sitting in the passenger seat, she dialed in a number and the computer beeped.
--
-beep- -beep- a monitor beeped inside the new SPK headquarters. The name 'Lidner' appeared on the white screen.
"Near, it's Lidner." A man, Rester, said. A boy, no older then sixteen with white hair and dark, leering eyes, glanced up.
"Get her on the screen, please." He said. Lidner appeared on the screen a second later, she had a rather stressed look on her face.
"Near." She said.
"Yes?" Near then replied.
"I'm sorry. I never thought that Mello would…"
"It's ok." Near interrupted, "The problem is solved. Everything will be fine as long as Light Yagami goes through with our meeting as planned."
Apathy was listening in on the conversation, he couldn't help but like the way the boy thought. He had learned of Ls' successors after visiting Roger a second time. Hiding Mello was not hard, that's why he chose to confront him first. Near though was another matter, since he had already started working on the Kira investigation he seemed to have dropped off the face of the planet. Now though, that he had someone who works with the boy, things would work out just right.
"It would seem that you have everything planned out quite well." Apathy suddenly said. Near wasn't expecting to hear a second voice come from the monitor so he looked up and asked.
"Lidner, is someone else with you?"
"Yes…" she replied, "He insisted on coming with me, I found him at…"
"She thought I killed Mello." Apathy interrupted.
"Did you?" Near asked, his eyes then narrowed.
"If I had, she wouldn't have found me so easily." The sin replied, he had moved the monitor on Lidners' side so that his face was on the screen. Nears' eyes' narrowed when he saw the mask Apathy was wearing.
'That mask, why does this man have THAT mask?'
"I've heard some interesting things about you Near, what's this I hear about you having a meeting with Light Yagami?"
'That voice…I know his voice from somewhere.' Near thought as his eyes' narrowed a bit more. He then closed his eyes to think for a moment, then looking back up Near said,
"Why do you want to know about that meeting?"
"Because, I have some very important business with him, and you seemed to have presented an opportunity." Apathy replied, his tone was drab but he was obviously trying to suggest they make a deal of some sort.
"Lidner." Near said.
"Yes?" she responded.
"Bring him in…" Near instructed, then the screen went blank.
"Do you think it's a good idea to bring that person here?" Rester asked. Near twirled some of his hair between his fingers starring intensely at the blank monitor. "Near?"
"There is only a hand full of people who have seen the real Ls' face and most of them are not smart enough to come up with something like this." Near started, "The others would be Kira and Roger, but I know it can't be either of them. Then there's Mello and myself, but Mello is dead and I am right here."
"What are you saying Near? That the real L is still alive?" Rester asked. Near stopped what he was doing and picked up one of his finger puppets, the one that looked like L.
"That's why I think it's a good idea to bring that person in." Near answered holding up the figure puppet.
--
The Other Side: Amestris
Some time had past since the military sedge of the Devils Nest bar, but the memory still stuck in the younger Elrics' mind. Edward was also having a tough time trying to get the moment out of his head. When he'd found Al, and Major Armstrong carried him out of the sewer, Al was covered in blood. The real horror though was inside the armor. When he opened Al up, Ed found the stab wound ridden body of the snake chimera Martel. What he couldn't explain was how that happened, at least not until he got a good look at the opposite side of Als' chest plate. A steel replica of Apathy appeared to be molded out of the first layer of metal; it was holding a dagger that apparently came from the chimera herself. The mere fact that her blood had splattered all over Als' blood seal was bad enough, and to have someone killed inside you is pretty traumatizing too, but the soul fact that it was Apathy that did it was what bothered the brothers the most.
Deciding it was best to leave Dublith for a while, Ed and Al headed off for Rush Valley. Winry was there studying automail so they figured they'd visit her. That and Ed needed to get his arm fixed, when he was fighting Greed, his automail had gotten pretty busted up. They caught the train just in time; they sat silently for a good portion of the trip.
"Brother…what are we going to do about Apathy?" Alphonse finally asked. Edward just scowled and folded his arms, "You don't really think…he's bad do you?"
"Come on Al! He could have killed you!" Ed snapped, "Besides, he's one of them…"
"I know that brother but, I just have this feeling, he's not a bad person." Al muttered. Ed glanced up at his brother for a moment; he then scowled some more before saying,
"Al, he's not human, not anymore. Besides, he's gone now, who knows where the hell he is."
Alphonse just shrugged and glanced out the window. Despite what his brother and what Greed had said, he knew that there was more to Apathy then just an emotionless disposition and following orders. Ed could tell something was on his younger brothers' mind, but he decided not to press the matter. It was true that he to felt this very small sense that the sin had a different side to him that wasn't what he was showing. He sighed and glanced out the window at the scenery rushing by, he also had a rather sinking feeling that they were going to run into the sin again and it would be a very bad encounter.
The brothers arrived at Rush Valley and got Eds' arm fixed –only after Winry beat him within an inch of his life—then ended up wondering into a strange man from Xing. His name was Lin Yao, and he was accompanied by two bodyguards named LanFan and Foo. They came in search of the Philosopher's Stone in order to gain eternal life, because Lin is a prince and in order to become the emperor of Xing he seeks out the stone. This encounter leads to the near destruction of the whole valley because Ed takes this search the wrong way and picks a fight with LanFan and Foo. The encounter leaves a rather bad taste in Eds' mouth about the young prince but the two ends up traveling to Central on the same train.
The Other Side: SPK Headquarters
Apathy walked into a monitor filled room, the mask he was wearing limited his vision a bit, but he could still see that not only were there monitors but the floor was littered with toys. Rester walked forward and made to pat the sin down, but Apathy twisted his hand behind his back. It was at that moment that the sin noticed Near sitting on the floor in the middle of all the toys. Apathy let go of Rester and allowed him to check for weapons.
"So, you're Near."
"I don't believe I got your name." Near stated looking up at Apathy. The sin crouched down so he was closer to the boys' eye level.
"Who do you think I am?" he said bluntly. Near starred for a moment, and then slowly he reached to remove the sins' mask. Near lifted the mask from Apathys' face. The sins' hair fell over his violet eyes casting dark shadows under his eyes.
"L…" Near said, his eyes had widened slightly in genuine surprise, "No," the boy then said, "You're not L."
"My name is Apathy, and I'm here to find Light Yagami and Misa Amane. " Apathy introduced himself while standing. Near looked up at him with questioning eyes. Apathy starred at him with an empty look.
"Rester, can you leave for a moment." Near then said, Rester gave the boy a 'Are you sure?' look, "I just need to talk with…Apathy for a moment." Rester nodded then left the room. Near got up and slowly walked over to a table, he sat down then looked over at the sin. Apathy took this as an offer to sit down, so he took it. Sitting down next to the white haired boy, Apathy folded his arms.
"We're meeting Light Yagami at Dikoku Wharf at 1 p.m. on the 28th. I have the proof needed to convict him of being Kira." Near said, "As for Amane, we plan on having her moved to a new hotel where she'll be out of the way."
"Are you sharing this information with me because I look like your predecessor? If so, you've proven to me that you are very easy to please." Apathy said, his expression never changing. Near starred at the sin; his stare turning into a suspicious leer. "There's no need to be suspicious, my only intention is to find Light Yagami and Misa Amane."
"I have no problem with that," Near said not changing his leer, "Before we settle on anything, first answer some questions…where did you come from?"
Apathy looked directly into Nears' eyes', he then replied, "I was born from the darkness and reside in a world where humans are plagued with emotion."
"Why do you look like…him?" Near then asked, 'Born from the darkness? A world where humans are plagued with emotion?' the boy questioned to himself.
"I guess you could say that was a past life." Apathy answered, 'I need this boy to trust me so I can get closer to Light Yagami and Misa Amane' he then thought.
"Are you telling me that you used to be L and that you've been reborn?"
Apathy took a moment to think about that statement. He wasn't actually sure, was he still L only reborn as Apathy? Or did he simply look like L, but is a completely separate entity? Trying to come up with a reasonable answer, Apathys' eyes' seemed to grow a little dimmer then they had been. Near noticed this and starred intensely at the sin. He was trying to figure out exactly who it was he was talking to. Naturally, due to his involvement with the Kira investigation and the Death Note, Near learned not to question the seemingly impossible. If a note book that can kill someone if you know their name and face by simply writing their name in the book then it could be possible for people to be reincarnated. At least that was how Near figured it.
"L died, and I was born in his place." Apathy finally answered, "Just for the record, the dead can never come back to life. It's a sin against nature." He had learned that when Father had reduced him to nothing but a Philosopher's Stone. Some how when the process happened, the sin got another glance at the Gate only the transparent L wasn't there and a whole bunch of alchemic information seemed to fill his mind. When Apathy looked at Near again, the boy was giving him a rather piercing stare.
"Then what does that make you?" Near asked. "Are you a sin against nature?"
"Yes…" Apathy answered. Near starred for a moment then started building a card house out of a deck of playing cards that were lying on the table. He usually did this when he was thinking, and he was debating on how he would do things now that Apathy was going to be involved. The boy figured that even if he didn't aide the sin, Apathy would obviously interfere with his plan. So in order to make sure that Light follows through without his knowing of the involvement of Apathy, Near would have to figure something out. He finally came up with something and shared it with the sin.
"I have no doubt that your little plan will work, but I want you to know, whatever happens, if you interfere you will get the same amount of mercy as Light Yagami will…none." Apathy said.
"You intend to kill him and the girl?"
"I plan on erasing them from this world…death will come later." The sin replied, "Besides, the way I see it, you still capture Kira and put an end to whatever it is he's done. Isn't that enough?"
"I want to see Kira locked away where nobody can find him until he dies." Near admitted, he then waited to see how the homunculus would answer, 'That is what I want…but what is he planning?'
Though it wasn't showing on his face, Apathy had a sadistic smile playing across his mind, 'This boy, Near, I like the way he thinks. Sadly though…he's blinded by mercy despite his obvious hatred of Kira…Light Yagami…'
"Then, I'll play along with your little plan until the time comes where I step in and deal with Light Yagami and Misa Amane." Apathy said.
To Be Continued
Yey! Near! XD (hugs Near) I just love Near, he's so cool. I hope I got his personality down…though…I may not have made him nearly as smart as he really is. But that's just because I can't think all smart and stuff like L and Near can (cries). Anywho! The wonderful adventures in Death Note world are coming to an end X3. After which no more Gate travel. Ooops…better not say too much. Leave reviews (note: plural) and chapter ten may come up sooner (cackles evilly at bribe)
L: Now she's bribing the readers…
Near: Does she do that a lot?
L: Only after she's done torturing her favorite characters.
Near: Oh crap…
L: (pats Near on the back) Take it like a man Near…take it like a man…
Me: You're no one to talk! You started crying when I took away the coffee! It stunts your growth you know! I had to write a stupid research paper about it so I know!
L: (pouts) So…it's 99 percent sugar anyway…
