Author's Note: Here it is, your final chapter :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note, or anything remotely associated with it.

Spoiler Alert: This chapter contains material to episode 37... Yes, the end.

Teru, a crazed look in his eye, checked his watch. "Thirty seconds," he answered, "Thirty-one, thirty-two..." as he neared forty I felt the people around me tense up, "...thirty-nine,"

"Well Near," Light cut in, "looks like I win."

"...FORTY!"

Poor Matsuda looked as though he was going to have a heart attack whether the Notebook was responsible for it or not. "W-we're still alive," he finally managed. "It's been over a minute and we haven't died!"

"Didn't I tell you all that no one was going to die?" Near, I don't care how certain you were, you had to be at least a LITTLE worried.

"But why! Why won't they die!" Teru hollered; and what he said next drove the final nail in Light's coffin, "God!" he cried out, addressing none other than Light, "I did everything you told me!"

I breathed a sigh of relief and my hazy world seemed to brighten ever so slightly. Somehow I wasn't so numb, somehow I wasn't in as much pain. It was going to end here today... and it was going to end in our favour.

"Rester, Giovanni! Take him NOW!" Near ordered.

The two men from the SPK charged after a stunned Teru with handcuffs and guns. A fearful cry escaped Teru's mouth, and the Notebook went flying out of his hands.

"Giovanni, the Notebook please," Near requested, hand reaching. Giovanni handed the Notebook to Near and we all waited while Near examined it. "If you didn't believe me earlier, then see for yourselves," Near held the Notebook in front of everyone to read.

Across the top of the page was written: Nate River, Anthony Carter, Stephen Loud, Halle Bullock, Jessica River. Underneath those names were four more: Kanzo Mogi, Touta Matsuda, Hideke Ide, Shuichi Aizawa.

"I can confirm that the first five names are definitely the real names of the SPK members; the remaining four are the names of your team. The only name that hasn't been written down is, 'Light Yagami.' If that weren't enough, Mikami also addressed you as 'god,' and said he did what you asked him to. It's settled.

I sensed an objection ready to come from one of the members of the Task Force.

"Don't tell me you didn't realise" I finally spoke up. "Think about it! Do you really think it's just a coincidence that L, Near and Mello all found evidence that points to Light being Kira! Do you really think it's a coincidence that Light's name keeps coming up, or that every time LIGHT finds out something new KIRA takes action!" I jabbed my finger at Light and was pleased to admit to myself that being able to face him like this was igniting a new fire in my soul.

Light began to tremor in front of us, no doubt he was about to crack. After something like six years of playing his intense, sick, twisted game with opponents like L, Near and Mello, I think anybody would be ready to be committed.

"This whole thing is a set up!" Light cried. "This is all part of Near's plan to frame me! Isn't it a little odd that no one died after having their name written in the Notebook! This proves it's a trap!" Light's expression was downright frightening, his eyes were crazed and his movements erratic.

"I believe I already told you that no one would die because I modified the Notebook," Near, always the voice of reason.

"No! You! Ah... It can't be!" Light was losing it. The calm, innocent facade he held in place for so long was crumbling around him. "This is a set up! I don't know this guy!" Light directed his assault at Teru, who wore a horrified expression at Light's words. Teru hunched over, and whined like beaten dog... or more like, a beaten dog with rabbis perhaps.

I wondered if at any point either of them had been truly sane. Had the Death Note drove them to this lunacy? Or were they both mental deviants from the beginning?

Aizawa walked over to Light and put his hand on his shoulder. "Light, it's too late to deny it; you know Near has won. Just a moment ago you were saying, 'It looks like I win.' How much more of a confession do we need?"

"Light," Matsuda voiced as he slumped to his knees, "why?" I think out of everybody, he wanted Light to be innocent the most. He believed in Light, and now...

Mogi walked over to Light, handcuffs in his hands.

"STOP IT!" Light bellowed and broke away before the handcuffs were locked. He ran and fell, got up and ran some more.

It was almost sad, almost pitiable. To watch someone break down in front of you; to watch them watch their hopes and dreams be smashed to pieces. You almost had to care about the pain Light must have been going through... ALMOST.

Light crashed into the concrete wall at the end of the building and stood there panting, hunched over and cowering like the rat that he was. His wheezing, pained breaths could be heard from the opposite end of the warehouse.

"Light Yagami. L. Kira. It's over, you lost the game." Near began, "Just a moment ago you proclaimed your victory, expecting us all to die. And to tell the truth, you might have actually won..." now isn't that just a terrifying thought, "...and I would have lost," Near paused, getting ready to explain what happened. "We ended up doing exactly what you expected us to, and altered the fake Notebook in Mikami's possession. However, when I said before that we had modified the Notebook, I was in fact referring to the real Notebook as well as the fake." I hadn't been made aware of Near's plan. No one had told me. But it wasn't as though I would have been paying attention if they had.

"We only switched part of the fake Notebook, but as for the real one..." Near bent over, and knocked the toy Notebook out of the Teru puppet's hands, revealing the word 'fake' written on the back, "...we replaced the entire thing." Near pulled out another Death Note from his shirt, "This one here is actually the real one."

Light recoiled in horror, "No! Impossible!"

"We used the same kind of pen Mikami used, copied his handwriting perfectly, and made the inside and the outside of our fake look exactly like the original," Near continued, "Giovanni was able to do it in a single night.

Of course since I had touched the real Notebook before coming, I've been able to see the Shinigami as well." And with that Near directed his attention to an invisible figure beyond Light's shoulder. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Shinigami, I'm Near."

I wasn't sure which Shinigami Near was talking about, I'd met Rem back when I was working under L, and of course I'd met Sidoh while I was with Mello, but I couldn't imagine this Shinigami as being either of them.

"Some of the edges of this Notebook's pages are torn, tell me, if someone's name was written on a ripped off piece of paper, would they still die?" I couldn't hear the Shinigami's response, but when Near followed with, "I thought so," I could only believe that the Shinigami had confirmed it. "I bet you were able to use that to your advantage," Near asked of Light, although it wasn't much of a question as it was a statement of fact. "I wonder how many times you deceived us with this," Near continued, "how many people you killed."

"Light Yagami, YOU are Kira."

Lights breathing was rough and ragged as he turned his attention to Mikami. Then as if Near could read Light's mind, he answered an unspoken question, "You're mistaken, this was all thanks to Mello."

At the mention of his name I found myself grabbing my chest, clawing at the invisible hole which had swallowed my heart. 'There you go Mello,' I thought silently, 'you finally got what you always wanted, Near acknowledges you, respects you. Now tell me, was it worth it?'

Near held up the Mello finger puppet and continued, "I believe if I explain this much, you'll begin to understand. Please take a look at this page of the Notebook," Near asked, flipping back a few pages. Along the top of the left hand page was Takada's name.

"God... you told me you couldn't move freely," Teru stuttered, "I had to make sure Takada was taken care of!" Teru looked like a wild, savage animal; one that had been cornered and caged... Light looked even worse off than Mikami did. "Wasn't that my duty to you!" he begged of Light.

Light, a wolf in sheep's clothing. No, a mortal in a god's clothing.

"You idiot!" Light cried, "I gave you strict orders not to make any unnecessary movements until today!" It looked as though Light wasn't worried about his innocent guise any more.

"It's all true," Near continued, "on the twenty-sixth, right after Takada's kidnapping was broadcast on the news, Mikami went to the bank."

"I'd been trailing him," Giovanni cut in, "I knew he went to the bank every month on the twenty-fifth, so it was odd for someone so methodical to go to the bank twice in two days. I followed Mikami to the bank as he headed for the safe deposit boxes; it was only at this time that he seemed concerned whether or not someone was following him or not. I got into his safe deposit box, inside was the real Notebook. Sure enough, Takada's name had already been written inside it."

I finally understood how Near had executed his plan. It was, like everything else Near accomplished in life: Genius.

"Do you understand now Light Yagami?" Near asked condescendingly, as though he was speaking to a child. In a way, Light was a child; a spoiled child who had to get his way, who thought everything revolved around him, who thought he was someone to be worshiped. "You didn't realise that Mikami had made a move on his own and had written Takada's name in his Notebook, because you had already killed her using a Notebook clipping yourself. This was the event that made me consider the possibility of a fake Notebook. We were able to stop you thanks to the efforts of one person... It was Mello who did it all."

My heart was aching and my mind was reeling in pain. Mello was gone, he was never coming back. I glanced over to Halle and there was no doubt in my mind that she was realising the same thing.

"I bet Mello knew in his heart," Near started, jolting me out of my self-induced misery... if only for the time being, "that working by ourselves, neither of us would be able to attain our goal and surpass our mentor L. But together, together we could stand with L! Together we could surpass L! And now..." was I hearing passion rise in Near's voice? "...acting as one, we face the Kira who defeated L and with solid evidence beat him at his own game!" Retribution. Justice. "Let's see you try and talk your way out of this one... If you can."

Light's expression was crazed and demonic, his eyes wild and his teeth gritted together. A maniacal laughter broke the silence as Light arched his head back. It made my blood run cold. I knew in that moment, the feeling of genuine fear. All the men around me starred at Light with alarmed expressions.

"That's right, I AM Kira!" An intense shiver ran down my spine. It had been known it for a while now, but to actually hear Light admit it, to hear it come from his own mouth, was still terrifying.

No one spoke, and not even the large industrial fan which was circulating the air at the top of the building seemed to make noise.

"And what can you do?" asked Light suddenly, "Kill me right here?" His voice was to taunting, like he still believed he was in control. "Hear this, I am not only Kira, but I am also god of the new world!" Light raised and dropped his arm in a dramatic flourish. "Kira has become law in the world we now live. He's the one who's maintaining order. I have become justice, the only hope for mankind! Kill me? Is that really the right thing to do?" Light turned his back to us, daring us with every movement to shoot him. "Since Kira's appearance six years ago, wars have stopped and global crime rates have been reduced by over seventy percent! But it's not enough! This world is still rotten, with too many rotten people." Rotten people like you, Light Yagami? "Somebody has to do this! When I first got that Notebook all those years ago I knew I had to do it! No, I was the only one who could! I understood that killing people was a crime; there was no other way, the world had to be fixed! A purpose given to me! Only I could do it! Who else could have done it!" Light turned back to us, arms extended like he was frantically searching for any sort of an answer. "Who else could've come this far! Would they have kept going! The only one who can create a new world, is me."

"No!" Near countered, "You're just a murderer Light Yagami! And this Notebook is the deadliest weapon of mass murder in the history of mankind.

You yielded to the power of the Shinigami and the Notebook, and you have confused yourself with a god." Near plucked the Kira puppet of the ground and squished it between his fingers. "In the end, you're nothing more than a crazy serial killer. That's all you are! Nothing more and nothing less."

The room was frozen in space and time. No one moved, no one spoke; I don't think anyone knew what to do, or say next.

"Near," Light called, "here's some food for thought: That Notebook you have, and the one that Aizawa brought from the Japanese task force headquarters, are they both real?" Light's tone was once again complacent and sane. The way he jumped from passionate yelling, so casual conversation was giving me whiplash and it was scaring me how he was still trying to get back into control. But like Mello had told me so long ago, Kira would never willingly give up his power.

Near's head lobbed to the side like a confused animal's. "At the moment, only I know where the real Notebook is," Light continued. He turned and started walking away. "If you truly want to defeat Kira, as well as test the Notebook that Aizawa's carrying, I guess you're going to have to write down either my name, or Mikami's." Don't fall for it Near, he's bluffing. Why on earth would he be telling you this otherwise... unless! He's trying to distract us! He was trying to buy time! "...It's the only way to see if it's real; or fake!"

"NEAR!" I cried into the darkness of the warehouse.

What happened next was a blur of motion, "He's hidden a piece of the Notebook!" someone cried, and I saw Matsuda reach for his gun.

Gunfire exploded, and Light's blood blasted from his arm. "Matsuda?" I heard someone ask with concern, and I looked down to see Matsuda trembling on his knees.

Light clutched his arm in agony and cried out, "Matsuda! You idiot! Who the hell do you think you're shooting at! Don't screw with me!"

"What was it all for then!" Matsuda demanded, standing up. "What about your dad! What the hell did he die for!"

"My dad? You mean Soichiro Yagami." Lights tone was highly volatile and unstable again, and his wheezed breaths were audibly difficult. "That's right Matsuda, in this world all the earnest people like him who fight for justice, they always lose!" Light's crimson blood began pooling on the concrete. I half expected green blood from him, or maybe black; something to suggest that he wasn't human, something to suggest that he was an alien or a demon. For me at that point, an alien or a demon would have been easier to accept. It would have been easier to accept that Light wasn't even human, than to try and believe, to try and comprehend that an actual human could have gone so far... I wondered vaguely if Hitler was human. "You want to live in a world where people like that are made to be fools?" Light continued. "I know you understand, so kill the others!" Light ordered. "Shoot them!"

Streams of tears were falling from Matsuda's eyes. A pair of waterfalls displaying his pain and anguish. "You led your own father to his death," Matsuda charged, he tried to level his gun, but his hands were shaking violently, "...and now he's gone you call him a fool!

"His blood!" Someone called behind us, and Matsuda let go with another four gunshots.

"I'll kill him!" Matsuda cried, "I'll kill him!" Matsuda stormed over to Light, his gun trained on Light's head. "He has to die!"

"Matsuda!"

BANG!

The final gunshot echoed through the hollow building, and steam rose from a bullet hole in the concrete; not two centimetres to the left of Light's head.

It took three men to restrain Matsuda as Light lay, heaving breaths, in a stagnant pool of water and blood.

Mikami stood frozen in a corner as Light attempted, rather shakily, to stand up. "Damn you, what the hell is this!" Light's voice was scratchy and pained. "Mikami! What are you waiting for! Write down their names! Write them down! Kill them now!" Light twisted and jerked in the pool of his own blood; his movements becoming more and more erratic.

"It's finally over, isn't it Near?"

"Yes."

"Where are you Misa?" Light wheezed, "Where's Takada? You had her killed Light, remember?

Suddenly, from behind us Mikami started screaming! I turned towards him only to be sprayed head to toe in his blood which was spurting from his chest.

"Ahh!" I whined, and threw my arms over my face.

"Mikami!"

"Quick, stop the bleeding!"

"It's already too late. He'll be dead in a few seconds."

In the excitement, Light had struggled his way to the door. He forced it open and hurried through.

"Wait! Light!" Matsuda called, as I wiped what blood I could from my eyes and face.

"He's getting away! Light!"

"Mr. Aizawa, it's unlikely he has any more pieces of the Notebook," Near mentioned, lifting Light's folded scrap from the floor, "and with those wounds, he's not going to go far. He'll stop running soon, even if we leave him alone."

"Near, I'm not going to follow your orders." Rude much.

"Very well then, I'll leave it up to you," Near genuinely looked insulted as twisted a lock of his hair around his finger.

And with that, all the remaining members of the Japanese task force took off after Light; I remained with Near, Halle, and the others from the SPK.

I looked over Near's shoulder at the scrap of the Notebook he held in his fingers and my heart nearly stopped. Written in Light Yagami's blood was one word, one name; 'Nate.' My brother's name. I had already lost L, lost Matt and lost Mello, and I had just come so unbelievably close to losing my brother. Losing the last person in the world who meant anything to me.

I fell to my knees beside my brother and wrapped him up in a very tight hug. I could feel the shock spread through him; I don't think I've ever in my life hugged Near, not even when we were little. I leaned my head on his shoulders and wept heavily.

"Near," I sobbed into his shirt. "Near I love you so much! I almost lost you and I never told you how important you are to me," I cried harder, but Near seemed to tolerate my invasion a little more anyway. "I... I'm sorry," I muttered through my tears.

Near remained unmoving but asked, "For what?"

"For invading your personal bubble," I chucked wryly, "and for getting blood all over you," I continued, pulling back and noting that the blood Mikami had splattered on me had transferred to Near and his once white clothes.

I didn't know how to make sense of what I was feeling anymore. I was filled with so many emotions. I was so glad Kira had been found out, I was so relived Near was alive, I was so angry and bitter about the death's... the murders of Matt, Mello, L and Watari. I was so sad for all those who had lost loved ones to Kira. But one thing I was not... I was not afraid. Not anymore.

It was over, Light could run but he couldn't hide. And in the condition he was, he wouldn't be doing much running anyway. It was the end of Light Yagami, it was the end of Kira.

"LIGHT YAGAMI! You will pay Light Yagami! You will pay for L's death, and all the countless other people you have murdered. I promise you this! And I promise you I will be there to witness your end!"

I recalled the words I'd sworn over L's body so many years ago.

"Well, I did it," I muttered.

"Hmm?" Near asked beside me. I'd almost forgotten he was there... and that I was still holding onto him. For his own sake I released my death grip on him.

"I fulfilled my promise." Near looked slightly confused, but accepting.

I strolled quietly out of the warehouse and sat on the bumper of one of the Mercedes parked outside. I watched the sunset, and I was at peace.

"Jewel?"

"Do you think it would be disgraceful of me? If I forgave him I mean?"

"Forgiveness doesn't mean you're too weak to hold on, it means you're strong enough to let go. I don't think L would have it any other way. He would want you to be happy, he would want you to let go of your pain. Letting go doesn't mean you have to forget after all."

"Thanks Near." I'd never heard him say anything so deep and profound before... but I wasn't going to question it.

Author's Note: Well, this is it; the last chapter. Next is the Epilogue and then my story will be complete :)