Dream if Mirror 2

Corners of Reality

Ice-Puppet

Prologue

"Hello, Linda."

"Near! Its been a while. How have you been."

"I am alright. How is Linda?"

"I'm doing well. A bit sad now that Matt is gone, but I keep myself busy."

"And how is Piper?"

"She is well. She says hello."

"Tell her hello for me."

"Will do."

"So, how are things over in-"

"White one?"

Turning away from the dimensional mirror in front of him, the adult male acknowledged the person who had spoken to him from the doorway with a small nod. "Hello, Raito."

The man in the doorway wore a worried face. "Hello, white one."

"The weather is looking quite dreary today?" the white one hummed as if it were a question, taking a glance out the window. The sound of rain could be heard in the pause that followed.

"You love the rain, sir," Raito corrected.

"So I do," the white one seemed satisfied with the answer and turned back to the man in his doorway. "What news does Raito have for me?"

"The King is on his way," Raito informed, bowing his head a bit. "It seems his castle was under attack."

"Coming to ask me to join him in the war again…?" The white one hummed to himself, lifting a hand up and curling a lock of hair around one thin finger. "No, that cannot be it. He already knows my answer so he would not ask a third time. Something else must have happened…" He contemplated to himself for a few moments before turning back to Raito. "I thank Raito for the news. Please prepare him a room."

"Right away, white one," Raito agreed with a bow before he was off again.

"What was that about the weather?" Linda's voice asked from the crystal ball-like dimensional mirror. "Since when do you care about the weather, Near."

Near tugged on the lock of hair he was curling around his finger. "It was a test. I can no longer distinguish between reality and my delusions, so I always test whoever I speak to."

--

If there was one thing Matt hated about working for Mello it was the midnight runs for chocolate ice cream. Sure, Mello wasn't supposed to show his face around- but Matt highly doubted that any enemies were going to be looking for a blonde kid with a scar buying seven tubs of double chocolate fudge chunk ice cream. And if they were then Mello was already screwed, sending Matt in his place wasn't going to stop anything.

The damn brat was just lazy!

Not to mention in a constant state of PMS…

The lady at the store probably thought he had a pregnant wife with a midnight craving because she gave him this real sympathetic smile, the kind a lady gives you when she thinks she knows how you feel. Which was why Matt got an insane amount of joy when he smiled back and told her, "My boyfriend is hungry."

Her horrified look was almost priceless.

The streets were pretty much empty and barely lit. Matt always preferred taking back roads, especially in crowded cities- less traffic, less people, and less hassle. Later he would admit that this was an insanely good thing, especially tonight of all nights.

Why? Well, it had a little something to do with the flash of light right before him that caused him to slam on his breaks and the body of the person he just barely collided with.

(Call him crazy, but he could have sworn that the person had just appeared in that flash of light.)

"Holy shit!" Forgetting the ice-cream and Mello's raging temper, Matt threw the door open and stumbled to the front of his car, hoping he hadn't run anyone over.

The sight he found was one that shocked him, but not because it was a dead body or anything. No, this was much, much worse.

"Near!?"

Chapter 1; Free to explore

Matt was panicking and Linda could tell. Matt could tell that Linda could tell, then again it wasn't exactly hard to tell he was panicking considering he was repeating the words, "I'm panicking, Linda!" over and over.

"Calm down, Matt!" She said for about the three hundredth time. "Look, everything will be fine, okay? I doubt it's really him."

"There's no doubts that it's him!" Matt snapped.

"You know what I mean," she groaned. "I know its him, but I doubt its him."

"But what if it is!?"

"You already told me his hair is odd and his clothes are all wrong."

"But he's been in another dimension this whole time, maybe he changed his clothes and grew out his hair!"

"Look, Matt- I'm a girl and I know how fast hair can grow. There is no way Near's hair went from how long you said it was to how long you say it is now. This isn't the same Near, okay? Besides, there are infinite realities out there and infinite versions of Near. The chances that you just so happened to run over the same one that Mello is head over heals for is… well, one in infinity."

"Knowing my luck," Matt breathed, glancing over at the person asleep in his bed. "It's him."

"Hey Matt, you better have got my fucking ice cream!"

"Shit!" Matt cursed, falling out of his desk chair. "Linda, I have to go. Sleeping beauty has just awoken and he's cranky!"

He hung up the phone and bolted for his bed, grabbing the blankets and covering up the sleeping young man before standing in front of him. Thankfully, Near was tiny enough that in the dark room you couldn't tell he was there.

Mello didn't bother to knock on the door as he entered the room, hair pulled away from his face and chocolate bar hanging between his lips.

"What are you hiding?" He asked right away.

"Hiding?" Matt questioned, trying to play it cool. "What makes you think I'm hiding anything?"

"I didn't," Mello admitted. "But now I know you are. Are you smoking in your room again you jackass?"

"Nope," Matt responded, holding up his hands to show they were empty.

Mello gave him a long, cold look, before he finally said, "I'm going to find out sooner or later so just spill it before I kick your skinny little ass."

"Your ass is twice as skinny as mine!" Matt retorted.

"And it can still send your ass to China and back."

Before Matt could argue any longer and try to get Mello away from his bed, a groan interrupted the two of them, echoing through the room with silence following it.

"You brought someone home?" Mello hissed.

"Er-" Matt tried, knowing he was dead meat. Of all the rules that Mello had, that was the one that Matt had never tried to break. Not only because this was 'L's secret base', but because the two of them had come to a mutual agreement that they had no idea where they stood when it came to their 'relationship.'

"Matt-" Mello hissed, approaching the bed.

"Wait-" It was no use, though- Matt couldn't stop him. Mello got to the bed and pulled back the covers, revealing the sleeping man.

Then he stared. And stared. And continued staring.

"What the shit?" He finally said.

"I can explain," Matt tried, holding up his hands and forcing a 'please don't kill me' smile.

"You brought home an albino hooker?" Mello asked.

Matt stared at him.

Near decided that moment to finally force his eyes open. He lifted a hand and rubbed at them before blinking a few times and staring up at Mello.

"Mihael?" He asked, voice timid.

"Oh fuck no," Mello growled. Matt just barely managed to pounce him before he jumped on top of the newly awoken man and strangled him to death. "You told him my name, Matt!? What the fuck! You better explain before I kill you both and blame it on some random pedestrian!"

"Okay, okay!" Matt screeched, noting how Near cowered away from the both of them in complete shock (and fear). "I'll explain, okay!? Just calm down!"

Mello took a deep breath and stopped struggling, although he didn't release the glare he was holding steadily in Near's direction.

"Okay, so, uh…" Matt had no idea where to begin. Groaning, he flopped down on the bed next to Near, who scurried away from him. Linda was right- this was definitely not the same person. "This… is going to sound really fucked up and there is no way you're going to believe me, but it's the truth, so hear me out.

"You've probably heard of theories of different realities and shit, different universes or plains or whatever you want to call them. Well that theory is actually true. There are infinite realities in existence and each of these realities has a mirrored reality- which is what you see when you look in the mirror. And-"

"What does any of this have to do with you brining a hooker home?" Mello interrupted, annoyed.

"Shut up!" Matt snapped. "He's not a hooker! What I'm trying to say is that this kid is from a different reality all together! He popped out of nowhere and landed in front of my car, I almost killed him! Well, not that he could die- you can't die in a world other then your own- but still."

Mello was quiet for a few moments before he burst into laughter. "This kids from a different reality? Ha! That's funny. Seriously, Matt- if you wanna pick up a hooker, take them to a hotel."

"He's not a hooker!" Matt protested. "Ugh, you're so stubborn!"

Shaking his head, Mello looked at Near. "How much is he paying you? I'll pay you triple if you get lost and if you ever mention this place I will have your head."

Near stared at him, frightened.

"Is this a whore or a mouse?" Mello asked.

"Stop calling him a whore!" Matt snapped.

"Prostitute, working boy, whatever you want to call him. Just get him out of here."

"Mello-"

"Now, Matt."

Matt reached out and grabbed hold of the blonde's wrists, stopping him in his attempt to leave. "I'll prove it," he hissed, standing. "If you don't believe me, then I'll prove it."

Mello raised an eyebrow. "You're sure going a long way to cover this up. Dude, just give up, okay? I don't care- just get him out of here and don't do it aga-"

He stopped in his tracks, eyes wide. Matt lifted his hand and smirked, before closing his palm into a fist, cutting off the flame that he had held.

Mello grabbed his hand and pulled it open, looking for the lighter he was absolutely sure Matt was holding. But there was no lighter.

"What the shit?" Mello breathed. "How did you-"

"Believe me now?" Matt asked.

"No," Mello informed.

Matt smacked him upside the head. "Don't be so blind! Look at what is in front of you!" He snapped his fingers and summoned a flame once more.

"You sound like a Jedi master," Mello muttered.

Matt smacked him with his other hand.

"Um…" They both stopped, turning toward Near. "Where… am I?"

"Uh," Matt glanced toward Mello, before shaking the fire off his hand and heading toward Near with his hands up, showing he meant no harm. "My name is Matt and this is Mello. You're uh… you're in a different reality."

Near stared at him.

Matt stared back. "What?"

Near stared some more.

Matt frowned. "Don't tell me you don't believe me either."

Near smiled sadly. "No, I know what Matt is saying is the truth."

This was definitely not the same Near… that sad smile, the emotion in his voice. That, on top of the fact that he was wearing purple and his hair was long, almost to his waist- this was a Near from a different dimension.

Well, damn.

"See?" Matt asked Mello. "He believes me."

"He also just got hit by your car," Mello pointed out.

"Good point."

Near cleared his throat, catching their attention again. "I don't mean to be rude, but… how can I get home?"

"Home?" Matt repeated, biting his bottom lip. "Uh, well… that one might be a bit of a problem. You see… its not exactly easy to travel between realities. We'd need a jumper- hey, wait a moment, how exactly did you get here in the first place?!"

Near frowned and glanced away. "I don't want to talk about it."

Mello crossed his arms over his chest. "Can we stop talking like insane people? Look, kid- just give us your address and we'll take you home."

"My name isn't kid," Near informed. "Its Next."

"Next?" Matt asked.

"Next," Next confirmed.

Matt stared. "Your name isn't… Near?"

Next stared. "No. My name is Next."

Mello gave Matt a strange look.

"What?" Matt asked. "He looks like someone I know named Near."

"You know someone named Near?" Mello asked.

"Yeah," Matt confirmed.

"How is it I don't know this person?" Mello asked.

Matt shrugged, before turning back to Near- er, Next. "Anyway- getting you back home would be really hard… I might be able to do it but I can't promise anything."

"Thank you," Next answered with a low bow. Mello and Matt both glanced toward each other in confusion.

"I still don't believe this," Mello informed, crossing his arms over his chest. "He's obviously just a hooker you brought home and all this shit is made up. But fine, I'm willing to indulge your fantasies just to see how far you're willing to take this. How do you propose we get this… 'Next' back to his 'home reality'?"

Deciding to ignore Mello's attitude, Matt hummed. "Well, first we need to talk to Linda."

"Linda!?" Mello exclaimed. "What does Linda have to do with anything."

"Well," Matt began. "She's the only mirror king that I know. She also happens to know a jumper personally."

"Mirror king?" Mello repeated. "Jumper?"

"A mirror king is someone with especially strong abilities," Matt began to explain as he pulled out his cell. "There are ten in each reality. They hold the realities together." He paused and looked Mello up and down, as if to see if anything he said had a reaction. "A jumper is someone who can freely roam through realities. They are extremely rare, there are only about ten in each reality."

"Ten mirror kings?" Next asked. "In my world there is only one mirror king… the white one"

Matt froze. He then dropped his head into his hands and groaned. "Of all of the people, of all of the realities… why did it have to be him?" He shook his head and looked back at Mello and Next, ignoring the odd looks they were sending his way. "Alright, fine. I'll do everything to take you home and I would also like to meet this mirror king of yours."

"If you can," Next nodded. "He stays locked up in his castle all day and doesn't let anyone in to see him."

"Understandable," Matt muttered.

"Sounds like a loser," Mello commented.

"You say that now…" Matt trailed off, before dialing Linda's number and holding the phone to his ear.

--

Both men bowed their heads respectfully to one another as the guards and servants around them bowed lowly. After both stood tall once more the guards and servants stood as well, but did not lift their eyes to meet either men.

"Welcome," the first King said, motioning for his guest to sit as he lowered to the floor, choosing to sit before his throne as apposed to upon it. "What brings his majesty here at this time? I heard about his majesty's castle, I do hope all of his majesty's people are unharmed."

"Thank you," the second King replied, taking a seat in a chair at the bottom of the stairs. He was obviously irritated and very unhappy. "Yes, someone dealt a great blow into the very heart of my castle… and I believe it was you."

The younger of the two lifted his head from a stack of cards he was building into a miniature building in front of him. "What would put such an idea in his majesty's head?"

The elder man's green eyes narrowed dangerously. "The types of magic displayed, white one, were ones that only someone with a Mirror King's ability could manage."

Lifting one card to his face and resting it against his chin in thought, the younger man hummed. "I see where his majesty's theories come from. However his majesty is incorrect… the magic displayed at the castle was not one only a mirror king could master."

The other King stared at him in surprise. "You know what happened?"

Smiling, the mirror king placed the card on top of his castle, before reaching to the bottom and pulling out one of the cards there, watching the entire thing fall. "His majesty forgets that I have the abilities of day and night."

"So you can tell me what happened!? Where he is!?"

"What happened, yes. Where he is, I cannot tell his majesty."

"Why not?!"

"Because I do not know."

Groaning, the king dropped his head into his hands.

Near began building up the card castle once more. "However," he continued, waiting for the other to lift his head before finishing. "I do know someone that might be able to find Next for you, Mihael."

--

"Linda lives in a fucking pink house."

Matt gave Mello an annoyed look, one that promised pain and death very soon. Mello ignored it, however, reaching across the redhead to grab hold of Next's shoulder and shake the albino wildly.

"M' awake," Next muttered, turning his back to Mello in an attempt to go back to sleep.

"We're here, cream puff. Wake up," the blonde ordered.

"I heard," The albino mumbled, reaching up to rub at his tired eyes. "And I do not think that a house, no matter what color it might be, has the ability to fuck."

Mello's glare rivaled the one that Matt sent his way. "You're a smart ass."

"My ass does not have a separate IQ from my brain," Next responded.

"Will you two shut up!?" Matt screeched, throwing both doors open and shoving the men out their respected sides. "We've been on a plane for four hours, in air ports for six and in this car for an extra two and you two have been bickering like children the entire way!"

"I was asleep for an hour of that," Next pointed out.

"You're not very polite for a whore," Mello breathed.

"I do not remember whores ever being thought of as polite," Next hummed.

"SHUT UP," Matt screamed. He paid the taxi driver and grabbed hold of both Mello and Next before storming up to the front door of the lonely pink house, situated in the middle of what seemed like nowhere.

"I still don't get why we didn't bring our shit," Mello complained as he was dragged. "Not to mention how Linda is going to help us find a whore's home, considering said whore came from the city we were in, not a city four hours away. Ohh, that's right, I forgot- he's from a 'different univerce'! Yeah, and how is Linda going to help with that? Oh, wait, she's not because there's no such thing."

"Shut up, Mello," Matt groaned.

"Next you're going to tell me-" Mello began only to be cut off.

"I'm not going to tell you anything," Next said.

"Stop doing that!" The blonde yelled. "And you should really think about changing your name! You know, something other then a word used in the English language constantly? Anyway, next you're going to tell me that Linda is a physic who can predict my future and-"

Before he could finish what he was saying the door popped open, just as Matt was raising his hand to knock.

Mello stared.

The little girl in the doorway crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not physic, I could just hear you screaming. Your voice is incredibly loud."

Glaring, Mello crossed his arms and huffed, "Who is the brat? I thought we were coming to see Linda."

"You are coming to see me," a gentle voice spoke from behind the little girl. A young woman with light brown hair took a step out, dressed in a long skirt and a brightly colored short-sleeved shirt. She had a kind face and wore a gentle smile. "Nice to see you again, Mello."

"Wish I could say the same, Linda," Mello muttered.

"Hello, Matt," Linda greeted with a nod.

"Linda," Matt responded, before giving the girl a quick nod in greeting as well.

"And you," Linda smiled at Next, who stared at her in confusion. "I have met you before, although it was a different you. It's a pleasure to meet you, however. Next, correct?"

"Yes." Next confirmed.

"This is my daughter, Piper," Linda informed, motioning to the little girl.

"But you can call me Obi," Piper stated with a smile.