Chapter 8

The next morning L and Mello awoke together and carried on as usual, with nothing being said about their encounter the night before.

Mello was surprised to see Near in much better condition than he was. Gone were the tremors of agony as his internal organs reconstructed themselves. He was sitting up in bed, alert, with Matt at his side.

"I'm a bit sore. Like somebody punched me in my gut, but I'm feeling much better." He had said.

L was pleased to see that Near was going to make a full recovery. No one could be more relieved than Matt, who still wore Near's blood.

"I don't think it will even leave a scar!" Near said, lifting his shirt to reveal smooth undamaged skin.

After a few hours of being awake, Near decided to leave his bed. Matt helped him to his feet, as it was still a bit difficult to pull himself, but soon enough he was standing on his own.

"If you're feeling up to it, we should begin your training. It doesn't require much physical activity." L said.

"I think I'm ready."

L sat in a chair, in his typical position, with his knees drawn to his chest. The three of them had gathered around him.

"Until you're more experienced at this, infiltrating the mind requires physical contact. Eventually you'll be able to do it without touch, just being in close proximity is good enough," L held out his arms, "I want all of you to wrap your hands around my arms."

Matt and Near grasped L's right arm with both hands as Mello took the left.

"Now close your eyes. Rely on your mind's eye. Try and clear your mind of any random thoughts, you should just see and think of nothing. I know it's difficult. Try and relax." L said, waiting a few moments for them to clear their thoughts, "You should feel the presence of each other within your mind. It's not easy to describe, but the feeling should be unmistakable. Now I want you to imagine me. Provide yourself a mental picture of me."

Guys, are you seeing this?

Yes Mello. I can see L. He's winking at us. Do you see it?

Yeah I see it too.

"In case your were wondering, I am in fact winking my left eye. If you can see that then that's a good sign that things are working correctly. Now I want you to mentally project yourself towards the image of myself. It's easier to do than it is to describe."

Suddenly they had felt a rush as the image of L swirled. A feeling of motion overwhelmed them even though they were still standing still. All consciousness of the real world was cut off as they entered L's mind.

Near found himself laying on his back. The ground was soft. The air was cool and crisp. A strange clicking sound could be heard in the distance. He opened his eyes to a grey, somewhat digitized looking sky. He sat up quickly to take in his surroundings. It was desolate. A desert of grey spongy soil, stretching far towards a narrow white horizon. Nothing else could be seen in any direction.

Matt? Where are you?

You're not going to be believe this. I'm in a candy factory. Where are you?

I'm not sure. I don't see anything. Mello?

I'm talking to bloody Light Yagami, in French, if you can believe that.

Near stood up and looked around for anything. There wasn't a single useful feature to be found in the landscape. He started to walk, figuring he may find something beyond his field of vision. He hated being alone in situations like this. His body tightened and started to feel cold as fear of the unknown gripped him.

Suddenly the clicking sound had gotten louder, but it seemed to be coming from behind him. He continued walking forward until the sound was nearly deafening at this point. Fearfully he turned around, and stepped backwards as what appeared to be a dragon, made out of some sort of metal, loomed over him. The creature bent down lower to Near, it's ice cold breath blowing strands of his hair around.. Near fell on his rear end and started to clamber backwards, foolishly trying to find escape where there was none.

"Please don't hurt me... You're not real... Please..."

The creature let out a deafening screech, leaving Near's ears ringing. He stopped in his tracks, to terrified to move. The dragonesque monster extended a talon, grabbing a hold of Near like an insect he wanted to play with. Near felt a rush of wind and his stomach drop out as the creature lifted him high above the ground, drawing him closer to it's face. Thinking quickly, Near leapt from it's hand onto it's face once close enough, and kicked it's left eye as hard as he could.

The sound that emanated from it was indescribable. Near placed both hands over his head as he felt himself falling, bracing himself for impact with the ground. Suddenly he felt different. The ground was was beneath him again but under his feet, and the screams started to sound more human. He opened his eyes, and saw L screaming at the top of his lungs. His overall expression was normal, aside from his mouth being wide open, eyes deadpanned straight ahead. Quickly he released his arm, and started to feel dizzy. The screams stopped. Matt and Mello were now conscious again, watching Near start to fall to the ground, trying to brace himself against the bed.

"I'm sorry L. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean it." Near said in between breaths. He started to wretch slightly as waves of nausea overwhelmed him.

Matt quickly released L and bent down to check on Near. His forehead was clammy, several strands of hair sticking to it.

"It's ok Near, you didn't mean it. But you can see how powerful this ability can be." L said, his voice surprisingly calm.

"Mello can you get him some water?" Matt said.

Mello left the room and returned a moment later with a glass of water. Near drank it slowly, unsure if he could hold it down.

"I need... I need to lay down. I'm not up for this yet." Near said.

Matt picked him up and placed him back in the bed.

"C'mon, lets let him sleep."

They left the room and turned out the light. Near was already asleep before the door had closed behind them.

After a few hours worth of sleep Near left his bed and entered the lobby where he found L, Matt and Mello talking, He stayed silent for a moment to listen to their conversation.

"How are we supposed to use this ability to 'poison their thoughts'?" Matt asked, sitting down on the bench.

"You turn them against each other," L said, sitting down across from Matt, in his usual awkward posture, "That's the only way to defeat them."

"This sounds difficult." Mello chimed in.

"Yes, it will be. You're not thinking of it the right way though. You're not going to try to convince them to turn against each other, you're going to literally make it happen."

"Kinda like a virus infecting a computer network?" Matt said.

"That's one way to look at it."

Matt placed his fingers lengthwise on the bridge of his nose as he tried to wrap his brain around the idea.

"There has to be thousands... tens of thousands of these beings..."

"Well you're not going to attack them one by one. Attack the hive mind first, the rest will fall into place. Remember the hive mind controls them."

"I think the biggest question, is how are we going to get into the hive mind in the first place." Near spoke finally, standing at the edge of the hallway, leaning against the wall.

"Near!" Matt said, getting up from the bench and sprinting towards him, "How are you feeling?"

"Better. I'm actually quite hungry." He said.

"I think I saw some ramen cups in the pantry. I'll go fetch you one." Mello said, getting up from his seat.

"Thanks?" Near said, surprised by Mello's sudden generosity.

Matt led him to the bench where they sat down together across from L.

"To answer your question Near. Very carefully. I think your best bet is to drive the unicat right into it. There isn't any evidence the Sinthorians have much firepower handy against a vehicle like that. At least it would take them some time to mount an attack against it, and by that time it would be too late. However once inside you'll need to act quickly."

"Can't we just destroy the hive mind?" Matt asked

"No that would be a very bad idea. Without any sort of central control, the Sinthorians could send this planet into a state of complete anarchy. We might actually be worse off that way, and then we'll have to go to war with them as individuals. You cannot destroy it under any circumstances. It's a tool for you to use."

"I'd like to practice again soon." Near said.

"Are you sure you're up to it?"

"I think so. I'm feeling pretty good actually, just really hungry."

Mello returned with a steaming styrofoam cup in his hands. He handed it to Near, who thanked him before starting to carefully eat the hot soup.

"Is it good? I don't know how long it's been there." Mello asked.

After the salty broth hit Near's tongue, he started eating faster, until he was practically inhaling the soup. Noodles were dangling out of his mouth as he looked up at them.

"This is probably the best soup I've had in my life. I've never been this hungry before."

"The type of healing your body just went through consumes a lot of energy. It's no surprise you're that hungry. Unfortunately there's not much else in the way of food here. I personally would love a piece of cake right now." L said.

After Near finished his meal they went back into the other room to being practice once again. This practice session went better than the last. They were able to maintain control without causing any undue stress on L.

Matt strangely found himself in the very place he was standing. He was inside the adjacent hallway, looking in each of the rooms. Exactly what he was looking for he wasn't sure, but he figured there had to be some significance of this place to L. After checking 2 rooms, he moved to a third. His hand was on the door handle, and about to turn it when he heard a sound. It was sex. The unmistakable sounds of someone in the throws of passion. Matt wasn't sure if he wanted to see what was happening inside. He was going to walk away, but he heard some familiarity in the voice inside. It was a certain unmistakable lusty voice.

"Sod it" He said to himself as he turned the handle and opened the door. He held the door open for a few seconds before closing it again. He had seen enough.

Guys I'm going to break away for a moment

With that he returned to his own consciousness. He released L's arm, and looked around him. Near and Mello were standing opposite each other with their eyes closed, grasping L's arms, who stared straight ahead expressionless.

"Hey Matt can you hear me?" L's voice said, startling Matt and making him take a step back, and while it was definitely him speaking, the inflection in the voice did not sound like L's.

"Who's this?"

"It's Mello. What caused you to break away? You feeling alright mate?"

"See if you can find a hallway, that looks remarkably similar to the one here. 3rd door on the right." Matt said.

There was no response. Matt knew immediately that this wasn't some fantasy he'd witnessed. Mello knew exactly what Matt was talking about. He sat down on the bed and watched Near with fascination while he stewed thinking of the memory he just stumbled upon. Near looked almost the same as when he was dreaming. The occasional twitch here and there, same peaceful expression. Matt always thought Near was beautiful when he was sleeping, and this was no exception, except this time he was standing up.

After a short while Near broke away first followed by Mello. Near seemed to lose his balance for a moment as he swayed, bracing himself against the bed.

"Think you need to lay down?" Matt asked.

"Please." Near said, carefully making his way onto the bed, laying down and closing his eyes.

"This session went well. Next we should try actual forms of control. It's a skill you'll all need to complete your mission properly." L said, leaving the room.

After Matt finished pulling the blanket over Near, tucking him in gently, he turned to lock eyes with Mello.

"Figures." Matt said, before looking away again.

They both left the room and turned the lights off and shut the door behind him. Matt twirled Mello around to face him in the hallway

"So L too huh? Is nothing sacred?" Matt said.

"Matt. It's not... it's not how it seems. It just kinda happened."

"Things like that kinda seem to just kinda happen when you're around."

"Um... He came on to me. But that's ok. I wanted it to happen." Mello said, Matt wasn't quite sure how to respond so he said nothing. "Matt. He loves me. You don't understand how much that means to me. You have someone who tells you that every night. You have someone to hold at night and share your feelings with. You know what it feels like to be one with someone else. I never have. I have never heard the words 'I love you' before."

Matt started to notice how different Mello seemed at this point. Gone was the angry fire constantly smouldering inside of him, the emptiness that devoured his soul. He was content, relaxed, even if talking about this made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Do you love him too?"

"I do. I always have."

"So that's it? You two are an item now?"

"I'm not sure. I cant help but feel that this was a fleeting encounter. I would really like it though. I would really like to be with him... to have what you have."

Matt paused for a moment. Looking at the ground, thinking of how his life would have been if he didn't have Near. If Near never showed up here. He realized that he may have ended up being very much like Mello, enough to actually scare him.

"I'm happy for you Mello. Maybe this is what you needed all along." He said.

"Thanks."

Bouyakasha! That was chapter 8. I kinda cut it short, since I know I'm taking a long time and wanted to publish something. I just get distracted easily and this upcoming part is something I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around. Don't despair. I'm working hard at it. Just not when I should be LOL. Of course please review. It makes my world go around and it actually gives me the drive to keep going!

Oh and special thanks to my friend Matt for helping more people find out about my stories. If you don't know who he is check him out here /u/1036563/. I love you Matt!