Title: Alphabet

Pairing: None

Rating: Work safe (Oneshot)

Summary: Time to end the madness, rampant character death, sorry.

Prompt: "Henry Dreams of Death" - Trevor Morris, The Tudors S4 Soundtrack

Disclaimer: Don't own Death Note, don't prosecute.

Placing the phone to his ear Near said, "Yes?"

There was a long pause on the other end. Yet somewhere in the silence he could hear what sounded like coughing or wheezing.

Finally the silence broke, "You have to get out of there, now."

"Mello?"

"He already killed Matt, and I'm not going to last much longer." Mello answered.

"What happened? Who killed Matt? Who hurt you?" Near asked sitting back completely in his chair dropping the wooden match from his fingers he was building a tower with.

The line was still, but he heard Mello's voice as if he were softly talking to Matt in the background who naturally wasn't going to respond. It was hard to hear what he was saying but Near could make out Mello repeating that he was sorry.

Clearing his throat which caused a cough that triggered more blood to be expelled from his lungs Mello said with as much strength as he could muster, "Beyond."

Near thought perhaps this was some sort of sick gag on Mello's part. The only thing that removed that thought from his mind was the mention that something had happened to Matt. Mello protected Matt and never would let anyone who could be construed as a threat anywhere near him. So that knowledge in itself drove home the point that this was not a joke.

"Why would he kill you?" Near asked trying to figure out what set him off.

"He's so cold. I have never seen so much blood its all over the ceiling and the walls. Why did he make him suffer?" Mello sniffed referring to Matt.

Listening to the despondent tone in Mello's voice, Near had to separate himself from the grief. If it hadn't been for Matt the two of them probably would have killed each other a long time ago.

"Mello!" Near said trying to bring the grieving blond back on topic.

"Beyond-Beyond said that they groomed us to be robots, and that was unnatural that was why A killed himself. He said he was going to set us free, all of us." Mello replied softly as he wiped the blood from Matt's face with his hand.

"Why the two of you; why any of us?" Near asked.

"He said it had to, it had to-end." Mello replied.

Near could hear the gurgle as Mello spoke.

Trying to get as much information from Mello as possible he asked, "How did he get past your bodyguards?"

"We weren't at the penthouse; we're in the house in the city. Somehow he got in ambushed Matt and waited for me." Mello said as he coughed and realized the numb feeling from his legs had now crept into the arm he was holding Matt with.

Near closed his eyes and remembered the layout of the house, he'd lived there too for a short while after all. But what didn't make since was how Beyond Birthday got in without tripping any of the security or surveillance measures Matt had no doubt outfitted the place with. The redhead was too thorough to just leave any point unprotected; his backups had backups an ant didn't even have the privacy of a blind spot. The more Near contemplated this it was almost like the vision of the living room destroyed, the walls spattered with the most horrible shade of crimson flashed across his mind. As ironic as it sounded Beyond had done that once; exsanguinated his victim and actually painted a wall in their own blood then left the brush in the decedents hand. To suggest they had been personally responsible for the macabre DIY project and just happened to die when they ran out of paint.

The sound of Mello's voice brought Near abruptly back to the present.

"Warn Roger, then get-"

The line went dead.

Near turned his head to the side slightly, as the monitors in the surveillance room simultaneously went dark.

There was another presence in the room and it now was directly behind Near.

Near felt the chair as it was slowly spun around and he could hear breathing. Then that laugh-that throaty, demonic yet almost childlike laugh.

When the chair stopped Near closed his eyes resigned himself to his fate and said, "I've been waiting for you."

Bang!

Finis…