Author's Note: So… I got impatient and decided to speed up the storyline a bit. xP (was going to reveal the storyline in bits and pieces, but decided to compact most of it into a conversation) They're a little OOC in this chapter, but just in the way that I'm over-exaggerating their tendency to argue. Ah… I love screwing with Light's mind. XD

Explanations

Light stared around the underground burrow curiously when they finally reached the end of the 'pathway' that had opened up several hours ago. It was like being in the middle of a giant, hollowed-out tree. Candles floated inanely about the round area at varying heights and positions, casting a warm glow on the rough walls.

The teenager glowered as Ryuuzaki pushed his way past him. The room was empty.

"Well this was a waste of time." Light muttered. L ignored him.

"Near," L called, hoping that the fellow recluse would answer, "we need to talk." Several tense seconds passed in which nothing happened. L breathed a mental sigh of relief when he finally got some results.

Light squinted as the entire area began to shimmer and weave like heat waves in the middle of summer. The colours distorted and warped, slowly picking up to a pace that made the teenager ill. He closed his eyes for a moment, but opened them seconds later. He did not want to miss anything. He glanced at the Neko and noted (with some peevishness) that he was completely unaffected by the colourful display.

The illusion suddenly dissolved to reveal a young albino boy crouched in the middle of the room. He was dressed entirely in white and seemed absorbed with the task of coaxing shining spheres of various size and colour through the air around him. L shuffled his way to stand before the child. Near continued to stare aimlessly into space. Light shifted uncomfortably at the entrance. The Neko dropped into a crouch before Near, effectively catching his attention. As much as L hated seers, he trusted Near enough to sort through the necessary and irrelevant information and give him only what he needed to know at the time. Coal black eyes focused on him from beneath almost curly, white hair before turning to look at the brunette in the 'doorway' for a moment.

"Don't let him out of your sight." Near said simply and went back to playing with the colourful circles of light swimming around him. L waited a few minutes longer, but slowly stood when the clairvoyant obviously had nothing more to say.

"Is that all?" L asked anyway. Small, pale hands paused before a cheerily baby blue orb at the question.

"Duck."

"What?" His entire left side exploded in pain

--

Light stared in horrified silence as Ryuuzaki seemed to suddenly fly across the room, a large, seven-foot tall creature slowly materializing before him. Bulbous milky white eyes set almost to the sides of its head leered at them from the center of a sickly grey-green face. Rows of inch-long needle teeth lined a wide, gaping maw that grinned hideously beneath two nose slits. A long neck, almost the length of Light's arm, connected to a bony torso that was disturbingly human-like in appearance. Its four arms and legs were stick-thin, abnormally long and had far too many joints for comfort. A sleek tail protruded from the base of the spine and branched into two narrower barbed tails that curled and twined about its legs.

Light could do nothing but stare in horrified fascination as it crept toward the fallen Nekomimi. He then noticed that the demon was actually crouching. Its multi-jointed limbs were folded in such a fashion that it made him think, at first, that it was standing upright. He was positive that if the demon were to stand straight, its elongated legs would carry it to almost three or four times its current height.

Six-inch long claws clicked lightly against the hard floor as its appendages bent in a double-jointed manner as it approached. In short, it was one of the most disturbing things Light had ever seen.

L coughed from his prone position on the ground, wondering vaguely what had happened. He stopped wondering when knife-like limbs descended for his face. L threw himself to the side and frowned when he heard a long tearing sound. He dodged the attack. His shirt was not so fortunate. The Neko flung an arm out and hooked it around the creature's back leg. He used the leverage to pull himself out of the path of a second attack and moved into a controlled tumble to get away from the ghoul-like being. L sprang to his feet in time to see teeth moments from chewing his face off. The skull-like face jerked to the side with a loud crack. L blinked in surprise and noted Light standing with a large branch held tightly in both hands beside him. The demon whipped its head in the teenager's direction with a snarl and was promptly smacked away again.

Light grabbed the astonished Nekomimi's sleeve and bolted for the exit after poking the demon in the eye for good measure. They whipped around a corner and out of sight of the flailing abomination.

"What the hell was that?" Light demanded frantically, releasing Ryuuzaki's arm when the Neko started to keep pace with the sprinting teen. The brunette heard only the pounding of their feet on the packed ground and the sound of his own racing pulse in his ears.

"An imp." Ryuuzaki's voice was infuriatingly calm given the situation.

"Imp?!" Light demanded in breathless disbelief. "Imps aren't that dangerous!" The teenager nearly tripped over an abrupt incline in the floor.

"If it were a full demon," L patiently continued, "We would be dead." Light's breath became more labored as they continued on, the ominous hisses and snarls fading behind them.

"This is insane." Light said and stumbled to a halt. He leaned against the uneven wall of the burrow and sucked in gulps of air in an attempt to catch his breath. "What the hell is going on, Ryuuzaki?"

"L, you should tell him." Chocolate eyes riveted on a pale figure that materialized in midair: Near.

"L?" The teenager snapped, visions of conspiracies and disasters jumping to the forefront of his mind at the sound of the infamous name. L sighed in resignation and scratched the back of his head in frustration. He hated seers.

"Yes. L," The Neko informed him bluntly and continued shuffling down the pathway. "Let's go."

"Why the hell would I follow you?" Light demanded. "I've known you less than a bloody week and this is the third time I've nearly been torn to pieces."

"Because," the bored answer drifted to the princess's ears as the Nekomimi sustained his trek. "While I have observed that Light-kun is often unreasonable and rash, I had thought him above complete idiocy." Light flushed angrily and stomped after the arrogant, skinny little—

"What is that supposed to mean?" The brunette demanded, making a grab for the already shredded shirt hanging off the Neko's narrow shoulders. He thought he was going to have an aneurism as Ryuuzaki—or L—or who-ever-the-hell-he-was-supposed-to-be easily sidestepped him.

"It means," L stated when faced with the silently fuming brunette, "that this is the only way out, and I rather doubt that Light-kun will sit and wait for the imp to come eat him in a few minutes." Light glared at the Neko, unwilling to admit aloud that he was right. He tossed his head and continued past the ebony-haired… what-ever-he-was-now.

"Whatever Ryuuzaki," L determined that this was going to become a common phrase between them. "Or L… I expect a full explanation on all of this later." L brought a thumb to his lips and grinned at Light's retreating back. He shuffled along, filled with quiet mirth at the brunette's expense.

"Light-kun has a very queenly air about him." The Nekomimi observed, his smirk widening as Light's back tensed.

"Excuse me?" The brunette cast him a haughty glance at the effeminate description. Which only served to encourage the Neko's growing amusement.

"I was making an observation." L unnecessarily explained. Light frowned at him in disapproval before facing forward once again, looking quite queenly (even with dirty clothes).

"I'll thank you to keep your observations to yourself next time." It was more of an order. L bit his thumb lightly to keep from chuckling at the stiff tone the teenager had adopted.

"I suppose I will be keeping further observations to myself then." A purposeful comment. If the sudden twitch was anything to go by, his teasing was having the desired effect.

"What is the matter with you?" Light snapped. "We've almost been maimed and eaten countless times in the past twenty-four hours and you are cracking jokes about my masculinity!" Wide eyes blinked in deliberate ignorance.

"Why Light-kun, I can count only three times."

"Don't make me hurt you…"

"That is entirely Light-kun's choice, not mine."

"Shut up. Stop avoiding the question." The two men fell into silence. The dull surroundings began to get to the teen; he could not help but continue the conversation. "You're insane." The extremely relevant conversation…

"Sanity is a perspective, Light-kun." Damn it! Did he have a come back for everything?

"I think reality disagrees with you." Light retorted. Let's see you dodge that. The brunette thought gleefully. He glanced over and felt a chill go through him at the deathly serious expression on L's face. It was like hot coals held to his skin as the Neko's gaze burned into him.

"If Light-kun has not noticed, this is reality," L said in his usual bored tone. The Neko was past him before the teen realized that he was still angry with the older man.

Bastard… Light glared at the hunched back irritably.

"I'm starting to think you just like getting a rise out of me." Light muttered. Dark eyes drifted upward as L pretended to think about it.

"I do, Light-kun." Light bristled at the careless admission. "Your face is amusing."

"We'll see how entertaining I am when my hands are wrapped around your throat…" The teen muttered under his breath, fingers tensing with the urge to hit something. He never realized he was capable such violent tendencies before.

"You are correct. That would not be very amusing…" L murmured. Light could see the challenging smirk cast his way even in the dim light. "But it would be humorous to see you try." Oh he was dead. Just as soon as Light could figure a way out of this mess, the bastard was dead. Road-kill kitty.

"So what's the plan now, Mr. Evil Genius?" Light asked and was gratified with an irritated stare from the arrogant cat man.

"Light-kun is foolish to believe every rumor he hears." L informed him.

"There's a difference between rumor and public opinion, L." Light retorted.

"Not when public opinion is based on sabotaging lies created by the enemy." The Nekomimi countered just as smoothly.

"What enemy?" The Neko went suddenly quiet after that.

"L…" The Neko dismissed the white-haired seer's opinion in an instant. The seers knew. They knew everything even clearer than he did, yet did nothing. L shook his head in reluctant acceptance. The brunette was involved now no matter what happened. The imp would remember and come after him, so the Neko decided Light at least deserved to know why he was being tortured to death in the future at the very least – whether the teen believed him or not.

"You have seen the monster, yes?" L asked bluntly. "You accept that it exists?" Light nodded slowly in response. "What would you say if there were thousands—no, millions of them?" Light frowned in thought.

"Well, there are, aren't there?" He said. "That's the whole point of Hell, or the Abyss or what ever people are calling it this century." L chewed on the tip of his thumb as he considered how to broach the next part of the subject. This was where people tended to reject the idea entirely…

"And what if, unlike in books where it describes them as a big chaotic hoard, there was a governing force behind them," he mumbled "and they were capable of getting out of their realm in large numbers?" Chocolate brown eyes stared at him in obvious disbelief. L sighed. Nope. Not going to acknowledge it either. "Tell me, Light-kun, how would humans react when faced with that situation? Think of it theoretically if you cannot accept it in a literal sense." He could almost see the figurative gears turning in the young man's head as he struggled with the question.

"I… I don't know, panic?"

"But they're not panicking, Light-kun." L contradicted him. Light cursed and shot him an angry look.

"What the hell does it matter?" Light demanded. "It's impossible. If that were the case, why are we not all dead yet? I think you just like conspiracies." The Princess glared as the older man grinned in triumph.

"Exactly," Light blinked. What? Then got angry when the Neko deemed the matter settled.

"What do you mean by that?" Light asked, fighting to keep his cool in the wake of that superior attitude.

"Light-kun has effectively proved my point." L informed him brightly. Light scowled.

"How?"

"Light-kun will understand in… approximately two minutes." Light rolled his eyes in exasperation. Why did the man have to talk in obscure circles? Truth be told, it made him feel like an idiot… Despite this, the teen turned his attention to analyzing all he had said to the Nekomimi over the course of their conversation. If it could be called a conversation…

"Ryuuzaki, this is a waste of time, how can you expect—" Light paused. "Oh." He wanted to slap the smug expression from the feline's face as the black-haired man noticed his sudden epiphany. He had not stopped to even consider the possibility that L was right. Light completely rejected the idea, before trying to use the Neko as a verbal punching bag to avoid thinking about it. "That's…" Light frowned.

"Exactly." L reiterated.

"I still don't believe you." Light stubbornly declared.

"I believe Light-kun will change his mind if he is ever captured."

"And maybe pigs will be soaring like majestic eagles in the sky tomorrow morning." Light muttered sardonically, inspiring another smirk from the self-exiled Neko-san.

"I hope they have been practicing." L deadpanned. Light looked at the cat man in disbelief of the lame joke.

"That wasn't even funny."

"No. It was not." L's ears flicked in the direction of the brunette as he heard something interesting: a snort. Dark eyes turned to stare curiously at the teen as Light's face struggled to keep itself under control, but was soon chuckling outright at the wide-eyed expression on L's face. "Light-kun said it was not funny." It could have been an accusation, but was said with such a lack of expression that it was impossible.

"It's not." Light answered, still chuckling under his breath. Light bit his lip to stop the snickers, his expression pinching slightly with effort as L stared at him in confusion and annoyance. "It's just…" Light shook his head with a sigh. "Where, in my wildest imagination, would I be running for my life with the former General Commander? …Or what ever it is you actually did… Which, I still don't believe you are, because no one as creepy looking as you could inspire awe and respect in millions of soldiers and civilians."

"I wore a helmet." That startled a laugh from the teenager; it was obviously sarcasm despite the lack of tone. "Light-kun would be amazed at how impressive one can look with lots of shiny, cumbersome armor." L tilted his head as the brunette laughed again. He knew that Light was probably only acting like this because of the stress of being placed in life-threatening situations constantly; the adrenaline tended to make people giddy if they were not used to it. L shrugged and turned his attention to the tunnel before them. Either way his laugh was quite pleasant when it wasn't uttered in sarcasm.

"No sense of humor, Ryuuzaki?" L turned his head to gaze boredly at the inquiring princess.

"Of course not," L replied. Light's eyes suddenly stared intently ahead as he caught sight of sunlight (more like twilight) further up the tunnel. The teen breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was not his imagination. The two unlikely companions stepped out of the confining passageway. Light froze in his tracks at the sight before him.

"Ryuuzaki… Why are we in the mountains?"