Author's note: I'm so sorry! The University is keeping me busy…and I didn't really think anyone was watching this story…I haven't checked my mail! Forgive me! I've read the manga, though. And this will be more interesting, because my character is in here…and it's almost directly out of my imagination. Near is quite difficult to write about, 'cause he's so emotionless and I know only a little about his personality. I hope I didn't make him OOC.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Near: The Last

During sleep, only a small portion of REM time was actually spent dreaming. Nevertheless, the human mind dreamed, if only to replay meaningless scenes that happened during the day.

Near rarely dreamed, though. He wasn't like L, who barely slept, but he would prefer his toys to a nap.

Now that the Kira case was over and the Death notes disposed of, Near thought that sleep would finally give him some measure of peace. Surprisingly he found himself longing for rest.

But this…

Where am I? Near thought. He knew he was asleep, and logically followed that he was dreaming, but this…

It was a sunny day, wherever he was. He was in a lush garden filled with flowers and ferns and trees. It was vaguely familiar.

"Hey." A warm voice across him spoke.

Near turned. It was like one of those computer games where the scenes formed as you looked at them. He realized for the first time that he was sitting on a spindly chair in front of a large square table with a pure white tablecloth. There were biscuits on the table, cake, some chocolate, three pots and a guest for each side of the table.

"It's tea time." The voice spoke again.

The speaker was a stranger, but the other two were not-L and Mello were each on his right and left side. L was crouched in his chair, while Mello was finishing a bar of chocolate.

Despite himself, Near started. He stared at them for the longest time, and they stared back as if there was nothing out of the ordinary with having tea with a couple of people who were supposed to be dead. Finally Near said, "I suppose this must be a ghostly visitation."

"Do we look like ghosts to you?" Mello flared.

"Mello." The stranger said reprovingly. "Don't confuse him." She leant forward and smiled. "I guess you could call it that, if you want to."

The stranger had clouds of wavy white hair, barely brushing her shoulders, and deep blue eyes. She was dressed in a blue and white dress.

"Who are you?" Near asked her.

"You can call me a medium…of sorts. If only L or Mello wanted to see you, it would have been easy. But it takes a lot more effort to move the planes for this meeting. I'm the one who arranged this lovely tea with the three detectives of the Kira case."

"You know about Kira?"

"I've been watching." The medium shrugged. "This scene is straight from Alice in Wonderland. Only it's Aeon in Wonderland. That's not so bad, since they do start with the same letter…what would you like to drink? Mello and I agreed and hot chocolate, and L's having coffee, but perhaps you'd like to have a proper tea?"

Dazed by the bizarreness of it all, Near mumbled, "Hot chocolate would be fine." Already he was twirling a lock of his ivory hair on his finger. "Why am I here?"

"Because you've been having doubts," L said at last. Aeon was pouring him hot chocolate and was adding milk and sugar and tiny marshmallows. It was surreal.

"Doubts about what?" Near asked warily. "I have no doubts. It was my mission to capture Kira-"

"Our mission," the other two detectives said in unison. Aeon smiled.

"Yes." Near conceded. "And I couldn't have done it without you."

"Good thing you're acknowledging facts." Mello sneered.

"Really, Mello, must you ruin the mood?" Aeon frowned.

"I have no doubts." Near repeated. He took a sip of hot chocolate. It was the best he ever had. He was surprised. Dream-things weren't supposed to have any taste. Aeon smirked from across the table.

"Oh yes you have." L corrected him. "You're wondering the same thing we wondered, even as we worked on the Kira case-if the world is really so hopeless that it needed-however crudely-Kira."

"The world does not need a crazy mass murderer," Near said, although the words were meaningless. Near had wondered if the only way that criminals would stop would be to kill them.

"It is what we call a vicious cycle." L continued. "The reason why Kira was born because Yagami Light felt that only he could cleanse the world of evil. And for a very long time, he was doing it too. The people were behind him, because there is a part of humanity that repays cruelty with cruelty."

"An eye for an eye only makes the world go blind," Aeon murmured.

"There are some acts that cannot be forgiven, no matter how you look at it," mused Mello. "Kira used that to justify what he was doing. He must have congratulated himself when the crime rates began to go down."

Near was quiet. All of these were thoughts he didn't allow himself to think, because if he did, he would hesitate in catching Kira. If even a small part of him believed that Kira's justice was right…he never would have caught him. Near wouldn't use all available resources to eliminate Kira.

He took another sip of hot chocolate. The sweet, thick liquid was warm on his tongue, as warm as the sunshine on his face.

"Do you like it?" Aeon inquired. "It's made locally. I mean, it's from my mother's province."

"You're getting off the topic." Mello warned.

"Food is important, marsh-Mello." She said sweetly.

"Stop arguing, you two." L ordered before Mello could strangle Aeon.

"Aeon here has helped us…reach a conclusion of sorts." L said, his ebony eyes flicking to Aeon. "She has been watching us from the beginning."

"I think that Light wasn't all that bad…not in the beginning." Aeon said hesitantly. "I mean, he used the Death Note to rid the world of criminals, and not to kill for personal gain. If something like the Death Note landed in your hands, that's probably the best way to use it…not that it makes what Kira did right!" she said quickly. "No, not at all."

"I don't think that Yagami-kun was inherently evil, either." L said mildly.

"You know, what Kira did, in the most absolute sense, was not wrong." Aeon said.

"I disagree," growled Mello.

"How would you use the Death Note, then?" Aeon asked rhetorically. "Kill for competition?"

Mello snorted angrily, but was wise enough not to answer.

"What Kira did was to take away these criminals' freedom. They didn't stop out of personal remorse over what they did…they stopped because they were afraid to die. And that is something I don't think is good…it would be better if they stopped out of their own free will." Aeon resumed.

"You still haven't answered the other question." Near said. The morality of Kira's acts were clear-the bad side and the good side.

"The other question?" L said expectantly.

"The one about the hopelessness of this world."

"Well, technically, this isn't the world you will wake up to, Near." Aeon explained gently. "This world we are having hot chocolate and coffee in is what we call an in between. It's a place in my mind. And I have not made it without hope."

"That isn't what Near meant, idiot." Mello said scathingly.

"I'm going to take your chocolate away," Aeon threatened.

"I'd like to see you try."

"Are they always like this?" Near asked Lawliet as they continued to bicker.

"I'm afraid so. Mello has found a new one to argue with." L sighed. "It is also nearly time for you to wake up."

Near didn't reply.

"So, Near, I think that you must answer your own question," Aeon said, having (presumably) won the argument, because Mello was looking murderous.

"Is your world hopeless? I think not. I know that as long as there are people like you, who would do anything for justice, then, yes, there is still hope. As long as there is a shred of goodness in the hearts of men…and they are willing to act on it, not because they're rewarded but just because they also believe in each other's goodness…then the world does not need a Kira. He started a cycle of hopelessness and cruel justice. It will take an equally firm cycle of hope and true justice to counter it." Aeon said softly. "That is my answer."

"They will believe that Kira has only taken a break." L told Near.

"Yes, for a long time they'll still believe that Kira is out there." Mello agreed, having decided to quit sulking.

"They'll take a while to realize that Kira won't be coming back. Ever." Said Aeon serenely.

"But then the criminals will realize it too. No matter how slowly they would come to that conclusion-a month, half a year, a year, or a decade-they would realize that Kira is gone. Permanently." L said.

"Then the crimes will start again, more brutally, more violently than before." Mello said.

"They would come with a vengeance. Kira has stopped them for so long." L said thoughtfully. Then he smiled. "But that's why you became my heir, isn't it? To prevent those kinds of things from happening."

"Yes." Near nodded. He was just beginning to see the totality of his responsibilities as the new L…

"A toast," Aeon said simply, raising her cup. "To justice."

L and Near clinked their cups. Finally, Mello joined in, reluctantly.

"To hope." Aeon added. She smiled.

The scene was dissolving. Near knew that he was waking up.

"Don't look for us. We won't meet again until you're ready."

L.

"We won't help you with any cases, although we most certainly would watch how you're doing."

Mello.

""And after this moment. Only the thinnest of veils will separate your world from ours…""

Aeon.

"Good bye for now…L." three voices whispered.

and that's Points of a Line finished. Thank you for reading! please review! it's halfway serious and halfway humorous, but i do love teasing Mello...