Dream of Mirror 2; Corners of Reality
Ice-Puppet
Chapter 8; Different versions of the same thing
Enjoy!
--
When Mihael awoke he was alone, which bothered him to no end. He had just gotten Next back and he didn't like not having his love at his side. And, because their connection was still so one-sided, he couldn't tell where his albino was at. He hated the fact that even after all these years Next felt their connection strongly and he didn't feel it at all.
It was enough to drive a man completely insane.
Crawling out from under the vast amount of blankets, Mihael found his clothes and quickly pulled them on. After he was dressed he stepped outside and into the hallway, immediately grabbing hold of the closest worker and asking, "Have you seen Next?"
"He's outside, sir," the woman answered with a warm smile. "Enjoying the breeze, I believe."
"Thank you, Amara," Mihael responded before stepping back into his room. He grabbed his coat and peaked out the window- sure enough, there was Next, sitting on a bench with his eyes closed and a smile on his face.
Next had always been obsessed with the fresh air. He preferred the outside to the inside, for some reason saying that he didn't like feeling like he was locked up. Mihael didn't know why his love felt this way… but he always had. He assumed it had to have something to do with the way Next grew up- which he knew absolutely nothing about. Next didn't bring it up and Mihael didn't ask, preferring to leave Next some sort of privacy in things that he didn't want to talk about. He didn't want to push the albino.
Mihael was so lost in thought that he didn't notice it at first. But after a few moments he realized that a woman was approaching Next- a woman he had never seen before. She wasn't really a woman, per say… she had wings on her back and her skin was blueish in color. Next didn't seem to notice her until she was right in front of him.
He heard the scream first before the woman threw her hand over Next's mouth. Mihael cursed to himself and burst from the room, knowing there was no way he would make it in time. He was correct, of course- by the time he got all the way down the stairs and out the side door of the castle, Next and the woman were both gone.
"Mihael!"
Mihael turned around and met the scared face of Mail, his own face a mirror image of the man's. The guards flanking Mail's sides all looked worried, as well.
"Next had been captured!" Mihael screamed.
Mail cursed and ran back to the castle, barking orders at his men as they followed him. "I want groups of four in all directions! She couldn't have gone far!"
Mihael thought quickly and cursed, following behind Mail. "It won't help!" He cried. The redhead looked at him in confusion. Mail pointed upward, toward the sky. "She flew off with him!"
Mail glanced out the doorway and up into the clouds before he too cursed under his breath.
There was nothing they could do.
--
Linda was drawing when Nate entered the room, looking worse for the wear as he stepped over and sat down next to her, not at all bothered by the fact that his wife floated next to him while he sat on the sofa.
Piper, or Obi as she preferred to be called, sensed a serious talk about to happen between her parents and gathered up her dolls, carrying them off to her room.
"What is wrong, darling?" Linda asked, putting her drawing pad on the table and turning to Nate.
"Near has fallen ill again," Nate told her, shaking his head. "Mello is with him now."
"Oh darling, I'm so sorry," Linda said, putting a hand on his shoulder. She shook her head and asked, "How long, this time?"
"He's been out of it nearly half an hour," Nate sighed. "I'm so worried."
Before anything else could be said a knock came on their door. Linda jumped up and floated over, opening up and giving a winning smile. "Hello, Matt."
"Hello, Linda," Matt greeted, stepping inside after he was offered, his tail wagging back and forth silently. "Would you mind if I talked to Nate for a bit?"
"Not at all. You two play nice, now," Linda giggled as she grabbed her notebook and floated from the room.
Nate stood up and approached Matt. "What's wrong?"
"There's something going on that I think you should know about," Matt began to explain. "Something that could put the future of this reality into jeopardy."
--
Mello couldn't believe this was happening. Near had told him about the coma spells he'd been having, but he didn't think it would be like this! Sure, he knew what a coma was, but it was completely different to know about something's definition and to have it happening to the person you love.
Near had been out almost forty five minutes. Raito had said it was much longer then the last time he'd fallen unconscious, which had been almost an hour.
Things were happening so fast. Suddenly he had all these memories back, suddenly he was in love with this guy who it felt like he barely knew, but at the same time he didn't want to live without. It was as if there were two parts of him- the part that remembered Near and the part that did not. They were both fighting for control of the situation and while the part that remembered was winning out, the part that did not was a constant in the back of his mind, telling him to just ditch this place and go back to his normal life.
But he would never leave Near. Not again.
You don't even know this guy! The other half would protest, angrily. You've spent like what, a few weeks with him after you hadn't seen him in years? Just because some blue haired crossdresser tells you that you two are soul mates you're going to risk your life to live in this place? Come on, man, be reasonable!
'Unreasonable is my middle name,' Mello thought to himself with a snort.
A scream somewhere down the hallway caught Mello's attention and he jumped up- it had sounded like Near but at the same time he knew it was different. Nate! Rushing from the room, Mello ran down the hallway at breakneck speed and slid in front of Nate's apartment, one that Near had build on for him after the other version of himself had agreed to move his family into the castle.
And there she was, in all her glory, completely together as if they hadn't killed her. Holand. She was approaching Matt who was hissing like a cat, standing protectively in front of Nate while Linda and Piper- Obi- watched on from the sidelines, scared for their loved one.
"You want him, you have to go through me first," Matt told her.
"Easy enough," Holand laughed.
"And me!" Mello told her, jumping in her way, standing next to Matt.
Holand stared for a moment before she started giggling evily. "Oh ho ho, so the dark one decides to join us! What a treat this is- too bad you don't have your powers anymore, huh dark one? You're just a normal human now, you can't beat me again."
"I know your plan," Mello informed. Matt and Nate both looked at him in confusion. "You're planning to capture all three of the Near's and then bring a fourth one here in order to destroy this reality completely."
"How the hell did you figure that out?" Matt asked.
"Near told me this world was unstable because there were too many versions of himself in it," Mello told him.
"Oh. Well, that's what I was trying to tell you, Nate," Matt told the albino, who still stood behind him.
"Oh," Nate said in response.
"So you figured out my plan, big deal," Holand laughed. "So what? You should be thinking about a way to stop me."
"Why would you want to destroy an entire reality?" Obi questioned matter-of-factly. "You'll be destroyed too."
"I know that, you ignorant child!" Holand snapped.
"If you're suicidal just kill yourself and get it over with, don't take an entire reality with you!" Obi protested.
"I can't die!" Holand shrieked.
"Well, shit, that explains a lot," Matt said.
Holand cried out in frustration and jumped forward, slamming roughly into Matt, sending him flying back with her on top of him. He yelped out in pain as she swung her claws and nicked him across the face, causing lines of blood to bubble up onto his skin. She then picked him up and threw him on top of Mello, who stumbled back and fell over from the sudden weight.
"You can't stop me!" Holand cried as she jumped forward and grabbed hold of Nate, who screamed out in protest.
"No!" Linda cried.
Holand spread her wings out and cast a quick magic ball across the room, breaking through the wall easily. She then took to the air and disappeared, Nate calling out something they couldn't make out.
"Shit," Mello stated before he realized and yelled it a second time. "SHIT! Matt, get off me!"
Matt climbed off of him, obviously still a bit dizzy from the fall he had taken. "Wha?"
"She's going after Near!" Mello cried, jumping up and bursting from the room.
He made it about half way down the hallway before he heard the sound of part of a wall exploding. She was in Near's room! He could hear Matt fall into step behind him as he ran as fast as he could- throwing open the door only to find Holand flying outside of Near's room, Nate kicking and screaming under one arm and Near's unconscious body under the other.
"NO!" Mello screeched.
Holand laughed and took flight, disappearing into the sky.
"NEAR!" Mello stumbled over and stared after her for a few moments before falling to his knees and slamming his hand into the ground. "DAMNIT, DAMNIT, DAMNIT!"
"Its okay," Matt told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"How is it okay, Matt!?" Mello snapped.
"She still needs a jumper to get that last person," Matt reminded.
Mello's eyes widened. "Kayen!" He suddenly said.
"What?" Matt asked.
"Aside from Obi, Kayen is the only other jumper I've seen in this reality, and Holand knows he's a jumper! We have to find Kayen!"
--
When Near awoke the world was fuzzy and he couldn't make out what was going on. His powers were jumbled and uncontrollable- he couldn't use them, not after awakening from a coma. As his vision began to clear he found himself staring up into two identical faces, ones that matched his own exactly, save for the differences in hairstyle and expression.
"Next?" He questioned first, his voice coming out as a slur. "Nate?"
"We were captured," Next explained as he helped Near to sit up, holding the Mirror King steady. "By a woman with wings."
"Holand," Near said her name as if it were a curse.
"That's what Mello and Matt said her name was," Nate agreed.
"What is going on?" Next asked Near.
Near glanced at his copy for a few moments before he explained, "Holand wants to destroy this reality and Holand is willing to take everyone down with her. Holand's plan is to capture is three and then use a Jumper to bring another version of Next, Nate, and myself to this reality. It would completely undo the world."
Next paled. "Because I am from a different world and because Near is from a different world…?"
"The world is falling apart slowly," Nate finished with a nod. "People are disappearing, trees, animals- slowly, at first. But soon it will be entire continents until everything is gone."
"Next," Near said as the longhaired boy paled. "We're going to get out of this."
"But then one of us has to leave," Next said, looking horrified. "Or this world will die."
Near nodded.
"I… I will do it," Next offered.
Nate frowned. "Next…"
"I don't belong here," Next told him. "Near can't leave and Nate belongs here- it has to be me."
Nate and Near didn't protest, but neither looked happy with the decision.
Near stood up and attempted to cast a flury of ice at the bars holding them, only to stumbled back and fall on his bum. Nate rushed over to him and Next frowned.
"I am still too weak," Near said.
"You will get stronger," Nate told him.
"It will take time," Near sighed. "I don't know if we have the luxury of time."
"Holand still has to find a jumper," Next commented suddenly, making his two copies look at him in surprise. "She doesn't know about us."
"Kayen," Near frowned. "She will go after Kayen."
"Mello will know," Nate promised, running a hand through Near's hair. "He will figure it out, he's smart. He'll get to her before she can complete this plan."
Near sighed once more and dropped his head into his hands.
How many times did Mello have to rescue him?
--
"Obi, we need you to take us to Kayen," Mello said suddenly.
Linda frowned and stepped in, "You're not taking my daughter anywhere!"
"Linda, please, we have to!" Matt protested. "She's the only one that can help us now!"
"If we don't do this, this whole world will be destroyed," Mello explained. "We have to have her help in order to save no only Nate but everyone!"
"She's just a child!" Linda protested.
"Mom," Obi said, tugging on Linda's arm. "I can do this. I can help save dad!"
"Obi…" Linda frowned and sighed, placing her hand on her daughter's head. "Okay, okay. But I swear if she even has a scratch on her-"
"Thank you, Linda," Mello told her, not liking how weird those words sounded coming from his lips. He shook his head and turned to Obi. "Okay, Obi- can you find Kayen?"
"Easy as pie, I'll just figure out where the other jumpers are in this world and go to them until we find him," Obi nodded.
"First we need to go to Mihael's and find out if Next has been captured," Matt cut in.
"Good idea," Mello agreed. "Obi, can you get there?"
"Harder, since I don't know exactly where that castle is, but I've been to the town so I'll just blink us there and we'll figure it out," Obi stated with a nod, grabbing hold of Mello and Matt's hands. "Mom," she said suddenly with a warm smile. "Thanks."
"Be careful," Linda whispered nervously.
"We will," Mello promised before closing his eyes and preparing himself for the weird feeling of jumping.
--
They ended up in the city, five or so blocks from the castle. It was a run from there, Matt with Obi on his back.
As they approached the castle they expected to be stopped and have to force their way inside- however the guards looked at them in confusion and stated, "Hello sirs, welcome back." Before he let them inside the front door without protest.
"That was off," Mello stated.
"Well, you are the king," Matt told him.
"Yes, but the king has blue hair and Mail doesn't have a tail," Mello reminded.
Matt shrugged. "New guy?"
Mello looked around. "Now how do we figure out where Mail is-"
"Mello, Matt."
They turned to spot Mail standing there, Mihael next to him, flanked by a group of guards.
"We've been expecting you," Mihael informed, looking completely regal and high-and-mighty. Mello wanted to spit in his face, which technically meant that he wanted to spit in his own face- what a weird thought.
"Next?" Matt asked.
"Gone," Mail confirmed.
"Near?" Mihael questioned.
"Gone, with Nate," Mello responded.
Mihael frowned. "Nate?"
Matt and Mello glanced at each other. "The Next from this world?" Matt offered.
Mihael shook his head. "Next is from this world."
Mello and Matt exchanged another glance nervously before Mello coughed and told him, "I think we need to sit down, your highness."
--
Near had finally gotten his powers back in time to hear Mihael freak out when he learned Next wasn't from this reality- he also heard the King state that that explained why their connection was so weird- he decided against telling his other self because the last thing a depressed Next needed right now was a reason to help Holand complete her mission.
He stood and approached the bars, getting ready to cast the biggest ice storm he could without injuring Nate and Next, when Holand approached, 'tsk'ing at him as she shook a finger.
"I didn't want to have to do this to you, Near," She told him, holding up a hand and smirking. "But you left me no choice."
As she prepared to cast a dream spell on him, Next suddenly jumped up and rushed forward.
Then, in a flash of magic and light, as Next grabbed onto Near, he and the mirror king disappeared completely.
Nate cursed.
Mirror kings were not supposed to leave their realities, least they fall apart completely.
--
Next landed on top of Near's chest with a thud and Near's back landed on soft carpet, causing him to gasp out in surprise- this was not Holand's cell, they weren't in Holand's cell anymore!
Carpet- carpet- and walls not made of ice, not made of stone- made of drywall, with paint on them- and children, staring at them- dressed in clothes like Near remembered from years ago- children and normal clothes and carpet and paint and drywall and- oh shit.
Next had taken them to a different reality!
"What the fuck?" A voice said suddenly and Near turned his head to see green eyes and blonde hair staring down at him in shock and confusion.
"Next?" Mello asked dumbly.
"Crap," was all Near could say.