AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Neither Death Note nor the cover art are my own... even though I envy the talent of the creators that made both of them...

It had been a half an hour since the men had discovered the blood and hair inside of the first cell. L was starting to get frustrated with the cops, as they were moving too slowly. There were so many areas to check, but they hadn't even finished checking through the first floor of the prison. The car L had seen in the video footage outside of Wammy wasn't anywhere present. That could only mean that the men had managed to escape, so the best course of action right now should be to search areas nearby to find the car with the same licence plate. He'd even presented this idea to the officers, yet they insisted on finishing the investigation on the entire building first. L sighed, glancing at his watch clumsily. It was 1pm now meaning it had been more or less three days since the boys had been taken. He would be lying if he said he wasn't worried for them. He couldn't imagine how scared they must be, especially when Wammy refused to pay the money. They probably feel as if they have no hope... L was shaken out of his thoughts when he heard a cop yell for the others to come. His voice seemed pretty far away, and L noticed a couple of the cops make their way behind the large building. He let his curiosity get the better of him and decided to follow. When he reached them, he noticed that there was a large number of cops gathered around something. He pushed in for a closer look, and couldn't believe what he saw. It was the kids. they were… Alive. Matt was panting on the ground, while Mello sat on the ground with Near firmly gripped in his arms. They looked to be in terrible shape, especially Near, who seemed ready to contradict L's previous statement about them being alive. One of the cops had called the ambulance to their location while a female cop seemed to be trying to comfort the shaken up kids. L stepped forward past the swarm of rushing police men and stared at the children with worry. He had known prior to this moment that something could have happened to them throughout their capture time. Despite this, he had still hoped that by some miracle, they were all perfectly well. His hopes, unfortunately, hadn't been answered. He felt horrible seeing all three of the kids in such bad condition. They didn't even seem to notice he was until the blonde boy finally looked up, acknowledging his presence with a gasp.

"L…" he mouthed, eyes widening when he realized that the man in front of him wasn't an apparition, but actually there. The black haired man kneeled down worriedly glancing at the white haired boy that Mello had just silently handed to the woman trying to help them. L was shocked to see the blood that was dribbling from the youngest boy's mouth. He concealed his concern knowing that if the other two kids saw that he was anxious right now, it would only make everything more scary for them. Instead, he leaned forward and gave them both a warm embrace. He felt them shaking In his arms and released the hug only to notice that Mello refused to let go of him. There were tears trailing down the blonde boy's cheeks and L felt his shirt getting soaked as the kid continued crying on him. Rather than complaining, he tightened his grip on the blonde boy, letting him finally have a chance to break down. There was no doubt about it. All of them were terribly shaken up from this ordeal, and I felt personally responsible. These kids were promised a safe place to live when they were taken into Wammys. Nothing like this should have happened while they were in the custody of the staff at the orphanage. He felt like he had lost trust in his only home as he held Mello tightly in his arms. No matter how smart these kids were, they were still just kids. No kid should have to go through whatever hell they had just faced. L silently vowed to make everything right for them. He wasn't about to let this happen ever again.

The ambulance had arrived shortly after the kids had been discovered. Mello had finally let go of L's shirt, silently drying his tears while Matt placed a hand on his shoulder. They had escaped, but for some reason, Mello felt even more horrible than when they were trapped in that cell. This wasn't over yet. He couldn't allow himself to be relieved until it was confirmed that Near had come out of this whole ordeal, alive and well. There were now nurses surrounding him and Matt, carefully checking for any wounds. They constantly asked if they were in any type of pain, earning no response. Mello kept his focus on Near, who was already being taken into the ambulance on a stretcher. He tried to push through the crowd of paramedics and officers to get to him.

'Kid, calm down," one of the male nurses said firmly, "Tell me if you have any injuries." Mello shook his head violently, and again tried to push past the man again. The man secured his arms tightly, not allowing him to move.

"W-What are you doing!" Mello yelled, "L-let me go!" The nurses were now all staring him down in confusion.

"We're only trying to help, why are you running away from us?" The male nurse questioned. Because I'm not the one who needs help. Near is probably afraid right now, I've gotta be with him. This is what he wanted to say, but none of it came out. He ended up just breaking down in angry sobs as the ambulance in which Near was in, drove away. Apparently the paramedics had called L to get control of him, because a few seconds later, he felt someone wrap him in an embrace.

"Mello, he's going to be fine… Calm down" L whispered gently. Mello's voice broke as he replied quietly,

"L, we've gotta go… He's alone," Matt and L were left shocked at his words. Mello had never in his life cared for Near. It was highly known that he hated Near with a passion. Where could these words possibly be coming from? What could possibly have happened during their time captured, that would cause Mello to be concerned about his rival. Even Matt seemed to be confused, which meant that Mello had to have experienced something that he hadn't consulted even his best friend about. know something that he hadn't revealed to the brunette. Though this question remained unanswered, L suddenly felt another one hit him. How had the children escaped? The men couldn't have just let them go, could they? He had to ask...

"Mello, we're going to go to the hospital to see Near soon, but for now… please tell me." L took a breath before continuing, "How in the world did you manage to escape?" He asked. Matt's face seemed to go pale, and he didn't respond, even Mello seemed to look slightly… ashamed?

"I…" Mello started, he looked down and continued in a lower voice, "I shot him… the man that hurt Near." Both of the kids were surprised to see that L didn't look shocked or angry. He just calmly nodded and stood up, causing Mello and Matt to do the same.

"Mello… I understand why you did what you did. This action falls under self defense and the police will take care of it from here. For now, I just want you both to give your testimony to the officers." L stated, reassuring the boys. "I also understand that you both want to see Near, so I promise that after you have talked to the officers, I will personally drive you both to the hospital." L knew that it wasn't right to question the kids so much right after such a traumatic experience, but this was the only way they could pass justice onto the criminals involved as quickly as possible. Both Matt and Mello nodded at this idea and L sighed in relief. Right on point with his timing, the chief of the police force, Soichiro Yagami, came into view. He smiled at the children sympathetically, motioning them to follow him to the police car. Once they were all seated in the car, he started driving.

"I'm going to take you boys to the police station for a bit. We're going to ask you a few questions when you get there and please tell us everything that you remember about what happened." He had a firm voice, yet he seemed trustworthy, at least to Mello and Matt.

When they arrived at the police station, they were taken to a private room occupied only by officer Yagami. He was in fact the person who was going to question them for the case. Both of the kids were given some food and drinks while L was given a seat and offered some coffee. After they had eaten their fill of the food Mello hastily told his whole side of the story, allowing Matt to add details that the brunette saw fit to include. Mr. Yagami noted down most of this information while L listened with dismay. He was not happy with the extent of horrors all three of the boys had to go through. He was especially worried for Near though. When Matt explained that the man had taken Near away and upon being brought back, he'd been covered with wounds, the raven haired man suddenly felt really protective. He was worried that the man might have done more than just the damage they could see at the moment; something unspeakable. He really hoped that he was just overthinking and this wasn't true in the slightest.

The questioning didn't last too long, only about forty-five minutes. The officers had taken pity upon the shaken up kids and decided to conclude it quickly. They had, though, informed L that the police might need to ask them more questions later on, so he should be prepared to bring them back at all times. He hadn't hesitated to say yes. As soon as they walked out of the police station, there was a large limousine stationed outside waiting for them. The boys gaped at the sight, as they had never before seen such an expensive looking car. A man walked out of the car and walked over to their side. He opened the door for L to get into the front seat, and then allowed the kids to step into the rear seats. He then hopped into the driver's seat without a word at all. Matt and Mello were still gushing over all the new features in this car, it was a short lived happiness as they both remembered where they were going soon enough. The mood of the car dimmed again, and even the driver seemed to notice, who chimed in to lighten the atmosphere.

"How old are you kids?" He asked cheerily. Mello was a bit surprised to be dragged out of his worries. He glanced at Matt who seemed to be equally surprised, and since he wasn't responding, Mello decided he would be the first.

"I'm fourteen, and so is Matt." Mello responded. The man passed them a genuine smile and continued. He was getting a small look of approval from L who also seemed glad to have someone attempt to distract the boys from their grim thoughts.

"Are you both doing well in your studies?" The man asked in a sort of teasing way, not to be confused with rudeness.

"Oh yeah, Mello and I are one of the top students in our school!" Matt explained "We're also best friends so we help each other study when needed! Mello is really good at everything honestly. He's super smart and also super strong!" Matt seemed to be ranting at this point, it wasn't exactly a bad thing though. Both him and Mello were distracted, Mello being too busy nervously denying every compliment that Matt gave him while Matt continued showering him with more. The car ride flew by a lot faster than it would have without the distracting words. Before they knew it, they had already arrived outside of the hospital. The mood was definitely better than it previously had been and L, especially, had been grateful for that. He really didn't like seeing these kids upset. Especially when he felt responsible for not being able to help them sooner. L stepped out of the car first, being anxiously followed by the two boys. They weren't as tense as before, but still worried. Once they got into the building, L immediately walked over to the reception desk, probably asking about any status reports on Near. while he was talking, Matt and Mello fidgeted in their seats, silently wishing that L would come back with some good news. Although it felt like an hour it had only been a couple of minutes, and L had returned to them with a doctor by his side. The doctor gave them both a gentle smile and sat in a seat in front of them. Mello and Matt were both curious, was he going to tell them some good news, or… No, Near couldn't be… He snapped out of his thoughts just in time to hear the doctor introduce himself.

"Hello, I'm doctor Gevanni. I've been taking care of your friend Near." The man's voice was gentle and they could tell he was trying to make sure that they wouldn't freak out. That could only mean that there was something that they wouldn't want to hear though….

"Is he alive?" Asked Mello immediately. He really was out of patience with their whole situation. Right now all he wanted was for this man to tell him that Near was alive, and would make a full recovery. Then everything could finally go back to normal. He could go back to Wammys with Matt, go back to studying and back to wanting to be number one... That's all he wanted right now, nothing more and nothing less.

"Yes, he is alive. It's a miracle actually, the wounds inflicted on the boy were horrifying. He had internal bleeding and broken ribs. If you had arrived a bit later, one of the ribs could have punctured his heart or lungs." The man explained solemnly. Of course, this kind of diagnosis would only make these kids feel even worse than they already did, so the man sighed and continued to a more important topic. Unfortunately, although necessary to discuss, this wasn't much of a lighter subject. "I don't suppose that your friend had anything to eat while you were all captured?" so he knows about how Near ended up in this condition; L must have told him that we were kidnapped.

"Umm, yeah" Matt replied hesitantly, "he ate a granola bar…" Mello recalled that memory, after all he had been the one to force the white-haired boy into eating it. The man nodded at this, and then started talking once again.

"Yes… I believe that he could have been allergic to something inside of that bar. He might have been feeling a bit ill afterwards. Do you recall that?" Mello's eyes widened. He did fall sick right after he ate the bar... This was my fault all along. He was allergic. He was refusing to eat it… He probably knew that he was allergic and I still refused to listen to him, and now… both the man and Matt seemed to notice his distress. L seemed to be busy talking on his phone and making some sort of reservations, but he too would have noticed if he weren't so focused on his current task.

"Mels, it's fine, you didn't know." Matt whispered. Mello shook his head."It doesn't matter Matt. He didn't want it, and I still forced him to eat it! It's my fault." Matt grabbed his arm and gripped him tightly, causing Mello to look his way in confusion.

"You were only trying to help. You made a mistake, sure, and even though he ended up suffering more because of it, he's still alive Mello. Once you get the chance, just apologize to him for it. He'll forgive you for sure." Mello shook his head violently.

"And just how do you know that!? He has no reason to forgive me so how do you know that he will? I've always hurt him, so he should hate me by now!" At this point L joined the conversation with a soft smile on his lips.

"He'll forgive you Mello, and don't think that way because he's never ever hated you. He's looked up to you more than you know." Mello started feeling a bit embarrassed now, once he realized that the doctor was still there. This long overdue conversation was happening in front of a complete stranger. The doctor grinned nervously.

"Yes, I'll leave you three alone for now, a nurse will come and give you any more reports on your friend," the man stood up and gracefully left. Once the man had left, Mello looked down at his feet. He felt horrible. How could Near look up to someone like him. After all I put him through, just because I wanted to be first. Why did it seem so stupid now? Mello had always tormented Near for something he couldn't control. Yes he was smarter, but why did that even matter? Now that he brought himself to think about it, he would have hated Near even more if the boy had forced himself to fail his classes purposely just so that Mello could be first. He didn't want to be looked down upon like that! There had never been any possible way for Near to get out of Mello hating him. No matter how hard the boy could try, Mello would always be able to find something to get mad about. Now that he was realizing these things, it was finally dawning on him. He didn't want to go back to hating Near, he had no reason left to hate him… But now, Near had every reason to hate Mello. That's what hurt the most. The blonde boy could feel tears prick at the corners of his eyes, but quickly wiped them away before anyone would notice.

"Matt, and um… L, I'm gonna make it up to Near." The blonde stated quietly. Despite the wavering in his voice, Mello sounded confident in what he had just stated. He could see Matt's eyes widen and even L seemed to look a bit surprised at his words. Something had to have happened between them for Mello to change this drastically. But… I suppose good things can come out of bad situations, thought L. He was glad at the sudden change of heart from Mello. If Near and Mello worked together, he was sure that they could both be an unstoppable team. Even Matt seemed to be proud of his friend, suddenly reaching forward and giving Mello a big hug. Mello was confused at first, but soon melted into the embrace. L watched with a fond smile, and let them have their little moment. They deserved at least this much after everything they had had to endure. Without warning, popped out of nowhere with a neutral expression on her face.

"You both are Near's brothers I presume?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thank you to everyone who is still with this story! Just to let you know, I have been proof reading previous chapters closely and have begun to notice a lotttt of errors in my writing. I have changed a lot of the first two chapters but the first one has probably been the most thoroughly edited. Once I edit the chapters, I'm just going to replace the old ones with the new ones. If anything seems a bit plothole-ish, it's because I edited the chapter after you guys read them... If that makes any sense... Well anyway ONTO THE BONUS...

BONUS:

L: so... how did you both manage to escape?

Mello: I KILLED THE DUDE THAT HURT NEAR *screeching*

L: How many bullets...?

Mello: SIX I THINK

L: Well Mello, I'd say that was a job well done. *Pats head*

Matt: ... wAt!?