It had been a cold autumn day and the weather now currently reflected the mood of a certain blonde detective. The vanilla envelope and other various notes sitting on the table before the three men were quite unsettling. The new case that sat in front of them was a bit bizarre. They had gotten through the Kira case and were now being sent on another strange case. There had been reports of several missing people who had last been seen around the same place; Silent Hill. On the list of those missing included a whole prison bus.

The town itself had been what had bothered the red head. He had gathered most of the research on the place, being the expert hacker he was, he found his way into federal documents that had been marked classified. What he discovered was not pleasing to look at and he had seen some pretty messed up things, mostly during his time spent with the former blonde mafia member. Even the albino man was a bit unsettled with the new-found knowledge.

There had been a fire many years ago that had killed many of the townspeople, of which many of the bodies had never been found. To this day there is still a fire burning underneath the town that makes the air hazardous to breath in for long periods of time. What was uncovered in one of the federal documents was what really had gotten to the three men. The supposed cause of the fire, which had been covered up, was that some sort of cult tried burning a young girl for being a witch or some other evil being. A local police officer had pulled the girl from the fire but nothing else was said about what had come of the girl since then. The blonde was infuriated that anyone would even think of burning an innocent girl.

Now people kept disappearing and no one knows why. Why anyone would try to go there in the first place was beyond them but it was now their jobs to find out what was really going on. Their plan was to get a room in the closest town to Silent Hill and work on the case there. They'd leave in the morning, drive to the hotel, set up their belongings and do a bit of questioning within the town. The following day they were going to have a look around Silent Hill. None of them knew what to expect but what they had seen from their last case they didn't believe anything would surprise them.

They had finished briefing Roger and were now dismissed. It took them all a moment before any of them stood. Once the files from the table had been gathered they all retreated back to their rooms that had been offered for their short stay. Not a one of them spoke the whole way there, not having the stomach for small talk. Once the albino man branched off down the opposite end of the hallway the first words were uttered since the briefing.

"I can't believe this," the blond growled as he clenched his fists in anger. "What kind of sicko does that to a fucking child?"

The red head pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, lighting it once it was between his lips, even though they weren't allowed to smoke inside but that had never stopped him before. After he exhaled a cloud of smoke he finally spoke, "I know Mello but there's nothing we can do now. We are here to make sure nothing like that is happening again."

The blonde, Mello, glared at the space in front of him before letting out an angry puff of air. "I guess you're right Matty, but if that is what is happening neither Near or you can stop me from kicking their ass."

Matt grinned at this, knowing Mello was being serious, "Wouldn't try, just kick their asses extra hard for me."

"Count on it," Mello muttered before disappearing behind a door.

Matt just shook his head, "What have I gotten myself into?" Matt really had no idea but he would find out soon enough.

The next day was a rather busy one. Once the trio had arrived in the hotel they had discovered there were only two beds. Not wanting to share a bed with Near, Matt and Mello decided they'd share one. Matt made a joke about it being just like when they were kids when Mello had been afraid of the dark, which resulted in a punch in the arm from the blonde. Even so, Matt still couldn't help but laugh, even if his arm hurt. Near ruined the light mood by mentioning why they were there in the first place. This created an uneasy silence in the room that seemed to only effect two of them.

The rest of the day they interviewed anyone willing to give them any information about those who disappeared or Silent Hill itself. The three split up to gather more information, even though Matt didn't think leaving Mello on his own was the best idea due to his short temper. Near insisted it would be just fine but if needed be they'd probably hear the commotion. When Mello got angry about something he usually wasn't quiet about it unless he was trying to be stealthy. Mello had gotten a lot better at controlling his anger but sometimes it just got the best of him and he couldn't control it any longer. Matt typically could calm him down one way or another at least. Near knew to stay away when he was enraged since the blonde still had a bit of distaste for the albino. Mello could at least tolerate him but he still tried to out best the youngest of the three.

Matt had thought he finally found something that could be useful. An elderly woman he had been talking to remembered the incident that turned Silent Hill to ruins. According to her the media tried to cover the whole incident up, saying the fire started underground before claiming the town. The fire had actually originated in the residential area but quickly spread throughout the town. No one is completely sure where the source was but the truth to what caused it Matt had already discovered. Actually hearing the words from this woman made his stomach not in disgust. What could even cause someone to burn a child alive, it just didn't make any sense to him.

"When did the disappearances start?" Matt asked as he continued to hold up the voice recorder he had been using during their interview.

"Well that's hard to say but we discovered the first person had gone missing about a month ago, bless their soul."

"Was there anything in common between those missing, besides last being seen the direction of Silent Hill?"

"None that I can think of," the woman began but paused for a moment. "Now that you mention it actually a few of them said they had relatives that had lived in Silent Hill, some of which had died in the fire."

Matt took special note of this. Was there a killer who wanted to erase all ties with the town or possibly to get revenge? The red head wasn't sure but now they had some sort of tie between the missing people. He'd share this knowledge with the other two when he got back to the hotel.

"Thanks ma'am you've been very helpful," he told her before moving on to see if he could gather any more information.

The other two had not been having much luck, only finding out what they had already known. Mello had decided to head back, hoping the others found out something. All of a sudden he felt someone grab his arm. He was a bout to turn around and deck the fucker ho dared touch him but came face to face with an older woman who looked as if she lived on the streets. Her eyes were what startled him though. They looked glazed over, like she wasn't quite there.

"Danger... you are in terrible danger," She muttered as her grip tightened on his arm.

"What are yo-"

"The town is evil! You and your friends are in danger! Don't go to Silent Hill!" She cut him off. Mello, for once, had been completely stunned, not having any idea of what to do or even say.

"Please, tragedy will strike if you go. Turn back and never venture here again."

Mello was about to say something but suddenly the woman let go and looked at him with clear brown eyes. She looked like she had no idea where she was or that she had even spoken to the blonde. Not wanting to be there any longer Mello took off in the direction of the hotel. He wasn't quite sure he believed what the woman said but it made him uneasy. It wasn't even that the woman had spoken about him. It wouldn't have bothered him if that were the case. Mello had a habit of getting himself into dangerous situations. Mentioning his friends was what got to him. Matt was his best friend and he was the only one allowed to threaten or hurt Near. This case was getting stranger by the minute. Having dealt with the Kira case he wasn't sure much could surprise him anymore. Mello just hoped that it wouldn't end up like that one had. There were so many deaths, Matt and himself almost being on that list. Mello didn't want to put Matt's life in danger like that ever again. It had been far to close a call. If Matt didn't drive like a lunatic then he would have been caught and probably shot on sight. Instead he had just suffered from a gunshot wound to the shoulder and some cuts from his windows breaking. The red head had went on a rang about the damage to his car but Mello was just glad he was alive.

Now they might all be in danger once more. Could it really have been as bad, if not worse, than the Kira case? Mello doubted it but there was still a chance. Those thoughts were pushed from his mind instantly at the sight he saw when he walked into the hotel room. Matt was on the ground holding his stomach as he laughed. On the opposite side of the room Near was standing. The sight of the albino made Mello bust out in laughter.

"What the hell happened to you?" Mello asked between fits of laughter.

Near had make up covering his face, that was a bit over the top even for a stripper, his nails had been painted bright red, his hair had been put into two small pigtails with giant pink bows and he had been covered in glitter. Neither Matt or Mello had ever seen the other look so ridiculous in their entire lives.

"A woman I was speaking with had a young daughter who insisted I need a makeover."

"Did you at least get some information out of it?"

"Just that three vehicles had been found a little ways away from the gate that blocks off the town. There had also been skid marks and a broken railing farther in. It could have been from the prison bus. If there were any survivors we will want to venture with caution tomorrow." Near spoke through the others laughter.

"Alright, now please go clean yourself up, it's even more difficult to take you seriously," Mello said as he walked over to the bed and pulled out a bar of chocolate.

With that being said, Near retreated to the bathroom. Matt finally calmed himself and sat up. The two began to go through all of the information they had both gathered, figuring they'd tell Near once he came back. Mello purposefully left out his encounter with the woman. He was unsure if he wanted to tell them at all. Matt wouldn't have taken it seriously, at least at first, and Near would be overly cautious because of it. Either way it was probably nothing so he'd keep it to himself. The three had been in danger enough times that this was probably nothing anyway. He wouldn't let it get to him. Mello would just try and push it to the back of his mind. If the woman was right then he'd worry about it when the time came and he'd do everything in his power to keep all of them safe.

Once Near joined them the three of them went over all their gather information. The more serious investigating would begin tomorrow. They would travel to Silent Hill and take a look around. The goal was to take a look around until five, then return to discuss anything found and grab some dinner. That gave them plenty of time to have a look around the town before it grew to hazardous for them to be there. They would repeat this process as long as it took to solve the case. They just hoped it wouldn't drag on like the Kira case had. This was a bit different though. They were three of the smartest men in the world and were all in line to succeed L, who was the world's greatest detective. Now they are actually all working together directly so it would be a lot easier, or so they hoped. They wouldn't know what they had gotten into until they arrived tomorrow.

"I'm going to bed, I'd suggest the same for you," Near said before he climbed under the covers and turned off the bedside table, now becoming dead to the world around him.

Matt and Mello just sat there for a moment before actually agreeing with Near. They didn't know what they would find so they needed to make sure they were well rested and alert. Once both men were situated Mello turned the light off. They both stared at the ceiling lost in thought about what tomorrow and this case would hold for them. Each were troubled with what had been uncovered so far.

"Mello?" Matt voiced, not taking his gaze off of the ceiling.

"Yeah?"

"Are you worried about tomorrow? I mean, we've been through some nasty things before but... I just have a bad feeling about this one."

Mello turned his gaze to his best friend, noticing the worry etched in his features. Mello had only seen this look once and that was right before they had kidnapped Kiyomi Takada. Matt just didn't worry like this. The red head was just too cocky and so self-assured about almost everything he did. Seeing this look now made Mello worry a bit about what that woman said. He'd do whatever he could to protect Matt. The man had always been there for Mello so he took on the role as Matt's protector. The blonde knew Matt was capable of taking care of himself ever since he hit puberty but that didn't matter to Mello. Matt had always been that one good consistent thing in his life and he'd be damned if he let anything happen to him.

"Everything will be fine Matty, just get some sleep. We both know you need it more than me."

Matt smiled at this before he turned to his side as he began to let sleep take over. Mello laid there for a moment before finally giving in to his exhaustion. He'd worry about the case in the morning. For all he knew this couldn't even be that big of a deal. Now he'd just have to wait and find out.

Author's Note: If you liked chapter one please me a little review/comment. It's the only way I know if people like it. The more reviews I get motivates me to write faster. Anyway the next chapter I'm already working on and my goal is to make it longer than this one. So if you liked it so far keep an eye out.

Disclaimer: I don't own the the places or a majority of the characters in this story, they belong to their respected owners. I just own the plot and a few OC characters that will be placed here and there.