AUTHOR'S NOTE

Neither death note nor the cover art belong to me

L looked through files on one of his recently solved cases, carefully organizing them in a binder. He shifted his hand to the plate full of cookies next to the documents, carefully picking one up, examining it, and then plopping it into his mouth. Watari suddenly burst into the room looking concerned.

"Ryuzaki!" He exclaimed. "The orphanage just informed me of some terrible news!" This caught L's attention and he turned in his chair to face the older man. His brows knitted together once he saw the troubled expression on Watari's face.

"Go on Watari. I would like to know what exactly happened." The older man took a breath before speaking again, more calmly this time.

"Three of the kids… they've been kidnapped." Watari concluded. L's round eyes widened, no doubt a look of surprise gracing his features.

"Did they leave any clues? Any information we could use," L asked, grabbing another cookie. The man nodded grimly,

"unfortunately this was a grave mistake on the orphanage's part" L looked at him curiously.

"What? How?" He urged Watari to continue. How could this be Wammys' fault? What had they done?

"Actually, they received a call from the captors which were asking for a large sum of money in return for the kids" L raised a brow, this was an ideal situation, if they had complied with the kidnapper's request, and got the children back safely, then they could have launched an investigation to find and arrest the criminals afterwards. He was guessing that this is not the way that they had reacted, and now the situation had become more complicated.

"Did they refuse?" The black haired man asked with a slight edge to his tone. His suspicions were confirmed after he saw Watari nod. "Why would they refuse?" Questioned L, more than certain that there was no reason for them to deny the offer. Wammys was a rich company, they had a lot of money funding the materials necessary to help grow brilliant minds. L himself contributed about 50% of his earnings to the orphanage, so to find out that they hadn't used it for a good cause was agitating. Watari sighed at the question,

"They said that the sum of money they were asking of them was too large, around fifty-million dollars, if I'm not mistaken…" the black haired man looked quite taken aback by this, fifty-million dollars, yes it was a lot, but if they didn't have enough money, why hadn't the orphanage contacted him immediately? He would be willing to pay such a great price if it meant that the kids in the orphanage were safe. They had been promised they would be safe, all of them had been through too much already. L pinched the bridge of his nose before signing and asking one last question.

"If I may ask, what were the names of the kids that were captured?" The old man looked to think for a moment before remembering.

"Ah yes… You've met them before I believe. Mello, Matt and Near were their names." L immediately shot up from his chair and began frantically typing on a keyboard. Those kids... they were the successors. He'd met them because they were the top three students. He needed to find them quickly before anything happened. "Ryuzaki, what are you doing?" The old man wondered out loud.

"I'm just looking over some of the data I have saved on the Wammy's kids… It would be easier to find them if I could remember what they looked like." the older man smiled softly,

"Would you like me to fetch you some coffee" L, who was entranced by the information on the screen, sucking up all the knowledge possible, subconsciously replied with a,

"Yes, thank you". Before pushing aside the files he had previously been organizing and getting to work.

Near's condition seemed to get worse and worse. It was now night once again and neither of them could get a wink of sleep. Near, who was constantly coughing and gagging, as well as Mello and Matt who cringed every time one of the coughs sounded especially painful. Mello was starting to get a bit frustrated, as he hadn't slept in nearly two days. His frustration simmered down when he realized that Near's two days had probably been far worse than his own, yet he had hardly said a word mentioning that fact. Near's coughing subsided again so Mello gave sleep another chance. He was jolted awake, maybe half an hour later, to the same sound of painful coughing. He got up, only to see that Matt was already at Near's side, whispering what could only be words of comfort. Near was painfully curled into himself, shivering violently. His gasps were now mixed in with what sounded like… gurgles. Mello immediately knew that something was very wrong. He quickly reached to where Matt was, lightly pushing him aside so that he could take a look. Mello was no doctor, but he had a really bad feeling about this. He uncurled the boy in front of him, as quickly as possible while still being gentle. Both he and Matt gasped at the sight. There was… blood dripping from Near's mouth. Matt looked close to having a mental breakdown and Mello knew he had to be the one who would stay strong so that the rest of them could keep themselves together. Mello tried to get his hands to stop shaking, but ended up giving up because he knew that there were more important matters to take care of. As carefully as possible the blonde tried lifting the pale boy into a sitting position thinking that if he stayed laying down, he might end up choking on his own blood. Near gasped in pain and started to curl into himself again only to be blocked by Mello's arm. He let out a soft grunt and heard Matt's voice calling to him. Trying to get him to calm down he supposed, everything was so muffled and painful, he had no idea how to process information properly anymore. Mello finally finished sitting Near up, and was so grateful for the small victory; He really didn't know how much longer he could handle Near being in pain like he was. Mello rubbed Near's back gently, and then glanced at his face, noticing that his skin was ashen and his eyes had a glazed look to them. How'd everything turn for the worst like this so quickly, Mello wondered grimly. He looked to Matt who had a horrified look on his face, He was still shocked that Near had been coughing up blood. Mello himself hadn't gotten over it, his mind was racing, filled with all the horrible things that this had to mean. If he's coughing blood… that has to be because he has some sort of internal injury right? It was as if their current situation wasn't screwed up enough! Chances of them ever being saved we're becoming dimmer and dimmer, and if Near didn't get proper medical care, for whatever was wrong with him, soon, he would probably… Mello stopped himself before saying the word. He should be thinking positively right? Bad thoughts wouldn't do them any good right now, he should stick to being positive… at least to keep his own sanity. Near had once again become unresponsive, but suddenly Mello wasn't feeling up to sleeping anymore.

L sipped his coffee, rereading some of the important information he had just collected. He had somehow managed to convince Watari into letting him take a look at the video footage recorded by the cameras at Wammys. Of course he only needed the footage from the night of the incident so it wasn't too much to look through. With this He was now searching through the video feveranty in hopes of finding some clues. The footage was recorded at night so it was difficult to see anything and being absolutely positive of what was seen. He switched to the footage that was recorded directly outside of the orphanage and saw the car directly outside of it. These guys had to be amateurs to make such a bold move. He carefully zoomed into the license plate number, which was thankfully in the perfect angle to be visible enough to read. The license plate read, 0222LM, and L didn't waste any time in quickly jotting down the number. He felt a grin slide onto his lips, he was a step closer to finding the kids and saving them from whatever hell they were facing right now. His smile faded at the thought, he really hoped that nothing bad had happened to them. They'd been missing for two days now, and a lot of horrifying things can happen in that time. He let go of the grim thought, instead deciding to focus back to his work.

Mello hadn't slept a wink the entire night but he was thankful that Near hadn't awoken and been in any sort of pain again. He'd been constantly monitoring the younger ones and didn't notice anything too out of the ordinary. Matt was cuddled in the corner of the cell, directly next to Near, who was leaning against Matt as well. He has been shivering in his sleep so Mello had scooched next to him in hopes of using his own body heat to keep him a bit more comfortable. It was a pathetic attempt, he knew, but right now that didn't matter. With what they had right now, this was the best he could do. Mello glanced at the window above their cell, noting that there was some light shining through the bars. I guess it's morning again. Mello then saw Matt begin to shift and mumble something which caused him to furrow his brows in confusion. Then the burnett's eyes snapped open and he shot up from his position on the ground. Mello stared at him and blinked while he sat there trying to steady his breathing. What's with all the nightmares? Near had one last night and now Matt too… Maybe there's something in the air, I'm the only one that hasn't had a nightmare so far and it would be impossible for me to have one considering I've barely slept at all!

"Matt… you okay?" The blonde asked in a hushed tone, he received no response so he tried again. "Matt…?" This time the brunette turned to look at him with wide fearful eyes.

"Mels… We're n-not gonna m-make it out of here alive are we…?" Matt whispered, his voice breaking. Mello froze, he'd been so busy trying to pull everyone else together that their unlikely chances of survival had slipped his mind entirely. Wammys had refused to pay the money, and so now they were either going to all be killed or sold somewhere. But… Near will definitely be killed because of his horrible condition. Mello shakily ran his hand through his hair. Was everything he'd been doing to ensure that they would all make it out of here alive… in vain? His thoughts were cut off by a voice.

"M-mello…" It was a hoarse whisper and Mello's eyes shot directly towards the target. Near.

"What's wrong, does anything hurt…?" The blonde questioned worriedly, which caused the white haired boy to take a breath and respond.

"Y-yeah, but… that's not… i-important…" Near wheezed out. Mello gawked at him, what else could possibly be important then?

"Near... you shouldn't be talking" Matt quietly said, which resulted in Near shaking his head.

"N-no…I need to s-say this..." the white haired boy ended his sentence with a soft cough causing Mello and Matt to exchange concerned glances. "I-I'm most likely… n-not going to l-live through t-this…" He whispered hoarsely. Matt stared at him with an aghast expression coloring his face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, he didn't want to believe it. They all had to make it out of here alive; He wouldn't accept it any other way. Mello looked just as horrified at the thought.

"What are you saying Near! We're all going to survive because someone is going to come for us!" It was a lie, plain and simple. Mello didn't know when he had become such an optimist, but he didn't care either. If Near were to die, he knew that he'd be Whammys' new top student, as well as L's first choice for a successor, but for some reason, the thought seemed so revolting that he almost wanted to puke. To become first, just because Near was no longer there; that wasn't the way the blonde wanted to be the best. He wanted to prove that he was better than Near, yes, but he could never do that if he was dead. These were all selfish thoughts, he knew, but it was much easier to convince himself into believing that this was the only reason he resented the idea of the white haired boy dying like this, than to admit to himself that he was actually beginning to care for him. He was only just beginning to realize how stupid it had been to hate someone just because they were better than him. Now that he was thinking back on it, Near had never rubbed his superiority in his face at all. He had just kept his test results to himself, Mello had been the one to always force a peek at them. Was it too late to make up for all that unfair treatment. He had to make this right between them so… Near has to survive. He glanced at the white haired boy who hadn't responded to the blonde's sudden outburst. He had just sighed quietly and slumped to his side.

All of a sudden there were loud footsteps and the man from before, Wade, was fumbling with his keys, rushing to open the cell. What's going on...? Something had definitely happened. The man's change of demeanor since they saw him last gave it away. He was panicking. Had someone actually come for them? Is that why he was rushing, so that they could move us somewhere else? Mello didn't have time to ask these questions because as soon as their cell door had swung open, the man hadn't hesitated in strutting through it and roughly grabbing Near. He hoisted the pale boy onto his shoulder without paying mind to him gasping in pain.

"Hey! What are you doing!" Mello yelled without thinking. The man shot him a glare.

"Shut the hell up you brat! We have to get going now, someone called the cops here!" Mello's eyes widened. So he was right; someone had come to save them!

"Stop starin' at me and move!" The man yelled suddenly, pulling out a gun from the side of his belt and aiming it at Near. "If you don't move, he dies." Before he could even have a chance to react, Mello felt his arm get grabbed by someone, no, Matt. He shook his head to clear away the thoughts, they had to follow him, or else Near would die. "Good. Now follow me, and if I see you boys try anything funny, this white hair brat gets the bullet." Wade growled before bursting into a sprint with Matt and Mello following closely behind.

L walked out of the police car analyzing the condition of the place the evidence had led him to. It was a prison, and seemed to have been abandoned for some time now as the grass around the building had grown and moss was beginning to cake it's stone surface. The police were already inside, checking for the children, but L had a feeling that this inspection was taking too long. The police had been here for half an hour by now, and hadn't given him any sort of news about the kids. In this amount of time, the criminals had most definitely found a way to escape the building with the kids. Everything he had done so far would be in vain if they had already had enough time to cover their tracks.

"Sir! We found something!" One of the police officers explained, leading L to an open area inside of the building. He noticed the cells lined up side by side only being separated by their own stone walls. The first cell is what caught his attention though. The other ones seemed to be completely unused, but not this one. He walked in, noticing a small pool of dried blood. His suspicions of this were confirmed when he noticed a single strand of hair on the ground. White. That pure white strand could only belong to Near; The boy who was first in line to succeed him. They had taken the kids and escaped as soon as they saw the police cars. Damn it, L cursed.

They had been running for a while now. Currently, they seemed to be in some sort of forest that was directly behind the prison itself. Matt looked to be completely out of breath but Mello was still going strong, his athletic ability finally being given a moment to shine. He slowed down intentionally, to match Matt's pace so that the brunette wouldn't be left behind. They couldn't tell whether or not Near was ok at this point. He hadn't moved at all since the man had picked him up. He probably got knocked unconscious… That guy holding him like that would put a lot of pressure on his stomach, and the bruise… Mello felt nauseous thinking about it. Suddenly the man came to a halt, and placed Near down. Matt and Mello quickly caught up and then stopped running as well. Mello glanced at Matt who was gasping for air. His vision then cut to the man who was now dangerously close to Near.

"What's up with this kid? He dead or something?" The man barked. Mello felt panic rise in the pit of his stomach. No way, he told himself; there was no way that Near was dead. He rushed up to the white haired boy quickly and placed two fingers on his neck, feeling for a pulse. Nothing. His heart was pounding now, but he didn't give up. He pushed his fingers harder, gasping when got the same result. He was on the verge of crying now, tears welling up in his eyes, but he ignored them. Near isn't dead, he told himself repeatedly. He wasn't about to give up on the younger boy so easily. He lowered his fingers to the Near's pale wrist, frantically feeling for the beat, eyes widening when he finally felt something. A weak, wavering pulse; It was small but it was there. Mello let out a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding and wiped his watery eyes. Matt had somehow managed to find the strength to run over to them both and was now panting next to the blonde.

"H-he's not d-dea- '' Mello cut him off before he could even finish the last word.

"No… he's alive" the blonde whispered.

"Well that's good to hear," Wade boomed, "The market wouldn't wanna pay for a corpse, would they now?" The man cackled and snorted at his own words. He laughed so hard that he almost lost his balance even while sitting on the ground. This time Mello couldn't take it anymore, without warning, he rolled his arm back and shot it forward punching the man in the jaw with all of his might. The man howled in pain, falling to his side, hand protectively clenching at his mouth. Before he was able to get up to retaliate, the blonde had already taken action, grabbing the gun the man had clipped onto his belt and aiming it directly at him. His hand was shaking but he refused to think twice about what he was about to do. He placed his finger on the trigger and shot, each bullet hitting the man. His chest, his arms, his legs. He was now covered in multiple bullet wounds. Matt watched wide-eyed as his best friend shot the man repeatedly. He ran up to Mello and grabbed him around the waist in a pathetic attempt to get him to stop,

"Mels!" He yelled… " Mels you've gotta stop… please" he was openly sobbing onto Mello's back now, not even noticing that Mello had, in fact, stopped shooting. Mello tossed the gun onto the ground, far away from the writhing man.

"Matt, we're gonna have to run back." He explained urgently to the brunette. Matt nodded, rubbing his eyes with the back of his sleeve to try and dry his tears. Mello bent down and tucked his arms under Near, carefully lifting him up. He was more than surprised when Near coughed and curled up again causing both him and the blonde to fall back onto the ground. The pale boy coughed and gagged until, what could only be, bile mixed with blood escaped his lips disgracefully. Mello grabbed him before he fell into the revolting puddle of puke. The blonde rubbed his back soothingly but the white haired boy did nothing but gasp painfully, failing to gather enough oxygen. Mello couldn't help but feel worried when he saw the trail of blood dripping from Near's pale lips. He's getting worse by the second, I can't afford to waste any time.

"Near, I'm gonna carry you ok?" Mello whispered gently, trying again to pick up the trembling boy in front of him. Near didn't protest; or rather, he was too weak to protest. At this point, all he could feel was fatigue overwhelming his body. His eyes were starting to droop and he was beginning to succumb to the darkness. Mello acted immediately and carefully scooped him up again, making sure to avoid causing him any unnecessary pain. He subconsciously noted how Near was extremely light. Mello had assumed that running with another person's body weight would be really difficult. This probably would have been the case, in fact, if not for the white haired boy's lack of weight making it a lot easier for him. Mello glanced behind him to check on Matt, sighing with relief when he saw that the brunette had somehow managed to pull himself together in the time it had taken the blonde to coax the white haired boy into his hold. He took one last look at the form of the man he had shot ruthlessly, bleeding on the ground, before he started running in the direction they had come from. If they could make it back quick enough, then the police might still be investigating. Near needed some medical attention right now. The police would know what to do.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Guys, I know I'm torturing Near too much, but don't worry, things will get better:

...before getting worse again...

Wow, I'm mean.

Bonus -

Matt: heyyyy why am I such a crybaby in this story?!

Mello: because that's how you normally are.

Matt: NO! Prove it!

Mello: *snatches Matt's game* I wonder what will happen if I delete all of your progress...

Matt: NOOOOOOO *Sobs*

Mello: Wow... That's all it took

Near: Well Matt, at least you're not dying...

Mello: ...

Matt: ... Yeah, actually I'm glad I'm not Near...