Sorry this took so long; I ended up in somewhat of a Writer's Block while writing this. ^^; Hopefully it won't happen again. Enjoy.
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Once again, the two of them were in Near's mind, inside the mirror room. Niatine smiled as he saw more memories were opened up than what they'd done, so Near must have been trying to fix himself while they were awake. "Look at this one." He gestured to one that was still blurry. "Let's check it out." He walked over and placed his hand against it.
Quillish nodded and walked over to touch it as well, and then they both entered what looked like a library, which Near and Mello the only ones in it.
"This is strange..."
They turned to see Near up on a step-ladder, looking at a leather-bound book with a lock.
Mello sighed and looked up at him from sorting a lower shelf. "What's strange?"
"This book…its name is not on the check-list." He climbed down the stepladder and walked over to show it to Mello. "See?"
Niatine frowned. "That book…it has a…frightening aura."
Mello looked at it. "Hm…'Paradise in Hell'. Sounds creepy." He grinned and took the book, his hands reaching to open the flap with the keyhole. When it didn't budge, though, he pouted and handed it back to Near. "We'll give it to Roger to look at later. For now, let's get back to—"
*Plink*
"Hn?" Near looked over, not even noticing that Mello had continued what he was saying as he turned and walked over to examine what had made the faint sound he'd just heard.
Quillish looked at what had fallen, which Near was kneeling next to. "A key? From where? Niatine…?"
Niatine frowned. "It has the same dark aura…"
"—sorting the books so that we can get out of here and get back to staying away from each other, 'cause you're being here is making me claustrophobic and—ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!" Mello growled, glaring at Near. "What the fuck are you staring at, Near?!"
Hesitantly, Near reached out and plucked the long, thin, bronze key off of the floor, gingerly picking it up with two fingers. "…I think I found the key to the book, Mello." He said softly, standing up and walking over to him as he shifted the book in his hand and pushed the key into the hole, turning it slowly as a clicking sound was heard. Then Near pulled out the key and handed it to Mello as he carried the book over to the table.
"I don't trust it…they shouldn't open that book!" Niatine seemed panicked.
Quillish frowned. 'I can't sense anything…but, he IS a God, and I'm just a mere Mortal…Perhaps that is why he can sense it.'
Near opened the flap and then Mello pulled open the cover, looking at the first page. "It's a prologue…I think." He blinked, looking at Near.
"Looks like a poem." Near said softly, looking at it calmly. "See, read it."
Quillish and Niatine came over to look over the two boys' shoulders as Mello read aloud:
The reality is too much to bear,
But the imaginary world is so intense.
Sometimes, I can't make out what is what anymore,
And it just doesn't make sense.
Three Kingdoms warring,
But two are allied against the one.
That's the way it is for us three,
But what happens when one is gone?
In these pages lies danger,
So readers please; beware.
I do not mean to hurt you,
I do not mean to scare.
But, when you're already gone from the world of the living,
This is the only real way to carry on.
"…Scary." Near said calmly, nodding to Mello as he turned the pages. "The rest are all blank. We should just show it to Roger and let him deal with…hm?"
"Yeah, let's take it to Roger. This thing is boring." Mello walked off and went over to go back to sorting.
Quillish frowned. "Niatine…"
"I know." Niatine nodded. "The book is writing its own words."
You are already involved, little child.
Niatine saw Near's eyes widen a bit and then he looked over at Mello nervously. "Mello…"
Mello didn't seem to notice, and Niatine cursed the boy for not being observant. "Mello, look over here!" He hissed, even though he knew he couldn't be heard.
"Just get back to work, Near." Mello picked up a book and looked at it. "Hm…damn, faded engraving…"
Near looked back at the book, fear in his eyes as he saw it starting to glow a blueish color, and then something like hands made of the light reached out and latched onto his wrist. Panicking now, the pale boy thrashed around. "Mello, help!"
"Huh?" Mello finally looked over his eyes widened as he saw Near starting to glow as well as the book. Panicked now, he ran over to grab the pale boy's hand, but his hand went right through his and the page of the book begin to turn by itself as Near vanished.
A bright light engulfed Niatine and Quillish and then they found themselves looking down from the sky they knew well. Near was falling upside-down, a transparent entity, straight towards Niatine, who was running as fast as he could.
"Near!" Mello's voice was heard as he fell, and Niatine looked up curiously at the strange, new voice, his eyes widening as Near fell onto him, glowing a strange, golden color before Niatine's form changed into Near's.
"You guys are SO nosy!" A voice said, and then a bright light flashed before they both found themselves back in Near's bedroom, Quillish on the floor and Niatine still in Near's body.
"You guys just can't leave leave well enough alone, can you?!" The golden figure tsk'd. "Well, now I'm afraid you've made me make things harder." He held out a hand and Quillish saw Near's body begin to glow a golden color before a transparent form came out of him. Then, once the new figure was solid enough to be recognized as Niatine, the golden figure flicked his wrist and the God flew into the wall, smashing right through to the other room.
"NIATINE!" Quillish ran over to him, climbing through the hole to kneel next to him. "You monster!" He glared at the golden figure.
The golden figure knelt next to Near's still-sleeping body and then he pulled him into his arms. "Sleep well, little Near." He cooed, the both of them starting to fade away.
"Wait!" Quillish got up and ran at them, but only hit the floor when he tried to lunge for them. "Argh!"
"Q-Quillish…" Niatine winced as he sat up. "…That's…the dark aura I sensed from the book."
Quillish turned to him. "…What?!"
*~*~*~*
"What?!" Mello and Matt echoed.
"Man, this is shit!" Mello held his head. "Why are you doing this, Book?!"
"The book is far from over." Matt said firmly. "And this fucktard is messing with our heads!"
'Oh, come on! Stop calling me names for making the story interesting!' The Voice whined.
"Creepy light-hands, though…" Mello shivered. "Poor Near. I never realized…"
"There's a lot we don't realize about him, Mels." Matt said comfortingly. "And we WILL save him, don't worry."
Mello nodded. "Yes…yes, you're right!"
'Shall I let you have the stage, Mello?' The Voice said sweetly.
Mello nodded and Matt released the pen. "Yeah." He watched as the book started to write:
After what felt like forever to the anxious crew, they finally arrived at the New Continent. They could see Mail's ship docked near theirs, but it looked like the red-haired troublemaker wasn't on-board anymore.
Beyond got off the ship first, followed by Audrey, and then they turned to the younger three. "So, should we split up and look, or stick together?" Beyond asked cheerfully.
Mello sighed and started to write:
"Let's stick together. Better to not lose any more people than we already have." Mihael muttered bitterly, remembering his colossal failure to protect N like he'd promised to. Some "Guardian Angel" HE was turning out to be! His hand gripped the goggles tightly and he nodded firmly. "Let's ask around for Mail Jeevas. Maybe he's famous?"
Matt grinned. "I'll just ask for a guy that looks like me! That should help!"
"We're all going to ask together." Linda said, nodding. "Let's head off."
The other four nodded and then they all walked along, looking around as they walked.
"Hey, guys, what's that?" Linda stopped and pointed to glowing box suspended in midair, and it appeared to be a bit transparant. "It's so weird! Like…like some strange magic I've never seen!"
"That's not 'magic'!" A woman giggled. "That's just a holographic advertisement."
"Holo…graphic?" Matt blinked.
""Yes!" She nodded. "Don't you know what holograms are, young man?" She looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh, lookat the time! I must be off! Ta-ta!" She ran off, and the group saw, from the now-clear view, that Mail was leaning against the wall just under the hologram.
"That guy…" Mihael growled, dashing over to him. "Hey, you!"
Matt smiled and looked at Mello. "Pen?"
Mello nodded and handed it to him. "Here you go."
Matt grinned and then started to write:
"Hey, sexy!" Mail said with a grin, watching Mihael run over. "You still got my goggles?"
Mello smirked. "'Hey, sexy', Matt?"
Matt shrugged and passed over the pen.
Mello smiled and wrote his reply before he passed it to Matt, just as they'd done before.
"Yeah, I got 'em. You gonna take me to N now?" Mihael raised an eyebrow. "Why were you waiting for us?"
"If there's no competition, then it's no fun!" Mail turned and dashed off. "Catch me and I'll lead you in!" He laughed.
"Hey, wait!" Mihael dashed after him.
"Mihael! Stay with the group!" Linda snapped, the other taking to a dash after them.
Both boys stopped and laughed. "Same old Linda!" She said in unison, and then went back to writing.
Mihael dashed after the red-head, scowling at people to make them move out of the way and using his small form to duck around small spaces. "Hey, wait!" He yelled, running faster. "Slow down, damnit! I'm new to this place!"
"Learn it as you go!" Mail laughed and jumped over a barrel before he flipped on and off a car, landing on the other side. "C'mon, Mihael! Don't you got what it takes? Bring it on!" He laughed and ran on.
"You asshole!" Mihael hissed, ducking around a group of giggling girls and two old ladies. "Stop running away!"
"Mi-Mi, you gotta catch me~!"Mail laughed.
"Mi-Mi?!" Mello punched Matt in the arm. "That's a GIRL'S name!"
Matt laughed and shrugged.
"Mihael, wait up!" Linda called, running after the blonde. "You're going too fast!"
"Well, hurry up! This is our only lead to where N is!" Mihael snapped over his shoulder as he dashed after the red-head. "Come BACK here!"
Mail stopped short in front of a gate and then grinned at Mihael before he ran in.
Mihael ran after him. "Wait up, asshole!"
Audrey stopped in front of the gate and realized that Mihael had, without even noticing it, run right into the castle gates without interference. "C'mon!" He dashed after Mihael, the others following closely.
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Well, you know the drill: Review and you get more. Also, please let me know what parts you liked best, and your comments and theories? ^^ I always enjoy reading them.