hadriel | sixth. video (i fought the war but the war won).

[It's a video post from Mello, and that's a thing that just does not happen. The camera is propped up to face him, lying on his back with his eyes closed, drinking in the artificial sunlight on a patch of grass somewhere in the park.]

Don't you all just get tired of fighting all the time?

[A peculiar lilt colors his words, a slight discordance to his typical tone and a languidness that should be noticeable to anyone who has ever heard him speak. He opens his eyes and glances to the camera.]

I mean, I know you are - I can smell it on you. You all want, so much - you want to go home, you want to return to your normal, ordinary lives. You want an end to the struggles you face here in order to simply survive.

[He shifts onto his side, propping his head up in his hand to face the camera directly. This is something else Mello would never do - openly show his face. And anyone who has seen his face before, even just partially, will notice a key difference here - his scar is gone. He smiles deviously at the camera.]

Don't fight us. Join us. Let us help you. Let me help you. I can give you what you want. All you have to do is ask, and let us in.

[He gives the camera audience a one-shouldered shrug and smiles again, something that looks entirely wrong and out of place on Mello's face.]

Despite what you may have heard, we're not all bad.

(ooc note: demon-possessed mello can also be encountered in person pretty much anywhere in the city for the next few days!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Over the crest of an artificial hill in the park, L can spot Mello, or at least the young man's body where some nefarious presence has set up residence. The creature at least knows what Mello does, targeting points that are likely to be weaknesses, or at least tender. Even L has chinks in his armor, regrets and deep sorrow that he buries deeply because he is supposed to be above feeling such things.]

They all had something in common, or else they would not have ended up there at all. You can't twist this or paint it with the broad strokes you're attempting to... not when, of the three of us, I know the most about it.

[Even if there wasn't a demon possessing Mello, there's enough dissociation going on that L doesn't need to be told that Mello is not participating in this conversation.]

You don't know him. Not like I do. You don't know how hungry he is, how deep the hole is that lives at his core, how much he wants for someone, anyone to accept him, to believe that he has inherent worth beyond whatever particular function he can serve.

[L puts away his communicator; it's probably for the best. Though he's far from losing his temper, he knows what the messages are intended to do, and he knows that they're designed to be vicious before they're designed to be accurate... even if truth exists in the remarks. While he might not know Mello intimately, to the point of having lived inside his body and seen his darkest thoughts, he watched the young man grow up. He's seen the root of his insecurities, and the steps taken to mend the damage done over the years. He might not be in the flesh informed, but he is not totally in the dark, either.

He comes to a stop several feet from where Mello's possessed body is lying in the grass, slipping his thin hands into his pockets.]

We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I have my suspicions for what you'll choose by default... but either way, this won't do. We're going home.

[The demon in Mello's body laughs, so unimpressed with L's physical presence that he doesn't bother shifting out of the lazy sprawl in the grass.]

It's cute that you think you can tell me what to do. I may be inside this boy's body, but I don't possess his feelings for you.

[Though there's no apparent physical difference to Mello's appearance aside from the healed burn scars, L's intuition is on high alert. He's talking to someone who is, in these moments, not himself. Being cautious is a minimum requirement, and as for what's adequate, he's not sure he has the strength or influence to achieve it. Over Mello, yes, but the demon's speaking the truth. There's no reason to respect L, or feel anything for him from affection to devotion.

He draws closer. He's spindly and insubstantial, but he's taller than Mello and knows how to use his whiplike frame to full advantage. If it comes down to it and the possessed man proves to be a threat, he is fairly confident in his ability to incapacitate him.]

You'll thank me later. This is as much for your protection as mine and Near's. Stand up; I'm going to find a way to help, whether you like it or not.

Edited 2016-11-28 00:43 (UTC)

We don't need your help, and even if we did, what help do you think you could possibly offer?

[He murmurs a word under his breath, snaps his fingers, and a shower of sparks rains down in front of L. It's a harmless spell, designed more to startle and misdirect, hinting at greater power not yet unleashed.]

[The sparks have the desired effect. L wasn't aware that Mello could do this, and assumes that it's an effect of being possessed rather than something he learned or had all along.

He takes an instinctive step back, forearm reflexively going to his eyes to shield them.]

I'll tell you when we're safe indoors. Stand up, Mello.

[It's the last time he's going to say it, judging by the air of finality in his tone.]

[The demon is already on its feet, taking full advantage of the distraction to move inhumanly fast and circle around behind L. Mello's hand slides over the top of L's bony shoulder, feather light, as the demon leans in to murmur into his ear.]

We're not in any danger out here. All I've done is make him better. That's all he wanted.

[His voice drops a touch lower, warm and inviting.]

I can do the same for you too, you know. I can make you better. Wouldn't you like that? To become better than the child who defeated you?

[Mello's hand passes in front of L's eyes, and when L looks, he'll see Light Yagami standing in front of him, wearing a haughty smirk. This illusion is all the demon's doing, feeding L an image from his memories and desires.]

[If it was just Mello, in decent shape but diminutive and thin, L has no doubt that he could take him if a physical altercation were to occur. That's not the case, however, and the speed alone is enough to prove that. L's agile, but this isn't human.

Neither, of course, is the way Light appears before him. He's simultaneously repulsed and thrilled by the likeness, but the demon's words are nothing but hateful to him.]

It's relative, isn't it? I don't think that Mello would accept "better" by any definition if it wasn't strictly on his own terms. I'm the same way.

[He pulls away, intent on putting distance between himself and the demon.]

[Once again, the demon moves quickly - too fast for a human - and ends up in front of L, one hand raised in a gesture of stop, a cruel smirk stamped across his features.]

Don't you think this is all on the boy's terms? Or perhaps you don't know him as well as you think you do.

[It's unacceptable in every way, wrong on a primal level. L is in charge, and even if all of his successors don't love or revere him, they were brought up to see him as someone to respect, someone with some command over their lives and their directions. Maybe it was a mistake to reclaim that distance, a sign of weakness or retreat that the demon is taking advantage of now.]

No. I think he was bested, as he's been before. But his allies won't let that stand.

His allies?

[The demon laughs again, wicked, vicious.]

You're speaking of yourself, I take it? Maybe that scrawny mage back at the house?

[Something in his smile turns a shade darker.]

I doubt he can stand, much less do anything about letting something else stand. You humans are awfully breakable.

[L is steadfast, even though the laughter is chilling, manages to cut into even his careful, practiced stoicism.]

In spite of that, we have more that we value and care about. That has a tendency to draw strength out of unexpected places.

[He doesn't come right out and say it, but Near, for instance, is not possessed or dead. That means something about his ability to stand, even if it's only metaphorical, and (ironically) reliant on what remains of Mello's restraint.]

Mm, I don't think your little successor has any hidden wells of strength - or at least he didn't.

[Now the smile the demon's wearing turns downright cruel.]

Like I said - you humans are so breakable.

[If L hadn't already dealt with Near, using every ounce of theoretical medicine and intuition he possessed to reset a dislocated shoulder, those words would probably incite dread. Instead, he just looks dully disappointed.]

You're wrong. On both counts, actually. And that's why you'll lose.

sixth. video (i fought the war but the war won).

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