Chapter 32

A/N: Do me a favor, and listen to "Our Solemn Hour" By Within Temptation. I will ask you to do so again for another chapter, but we shall start here. This song is the whole reason for this fic even being. Thanks.

Everything felt so cold; quiet, like a grave. Matt thought nothing of it though for he was too busy trying to coax Mello out of the shell he seemed to have enveloped himself in since the news of Nears death. Mello's eyes did not see, merely stared on into space. His lips did not move from their parted position. Even his breathing had stopped all together. Mello was nothing more than a statue, a portrait of perfect pain and fear...just like the replica of Christ above them in the church.

To say it unnerved the redhead was an understatement. It froze his blood in his veins and he felt heavy, as if reality and the weight of the world had both double teamed and had him pinned in place. He felt so useless. For really, what could he say that anyone else hadn't already said? What could he say to fix all this? To make everything all better again...Nothing.

There was no fixing this. No amount of words, or comforting would bring Near back. He was gone.

Celestria was still seated on the couch motionless just like Mello. Her pretty pink lips etched into a frown, her brow creased in worry, she said nothing. Matt felt so helpless. There were two statues in the room, and it made him feel strangely claustrophobic. He had to do something, or else he would snap.

He lifted his hand with great difficulty, up to Mello's cheek. He had long since taken off his golden gloves, his mask. His skin looked a lot less pale when it was against the blond vampires flawless skin. "He's okay now Mello. He's probably damn happy right now that he's finally with his family." It's all he could think of to say and he instantly regretted it, for as soon as the last word left his lips, Mello released a low menacing growl.

"I am his family!" He yelled suddenly, making the redhead yelp in surprise. "What do you know?! Your parents weren't even in the process of being conceived when Near and I were together! What would you know about us? About him!? You-"

"Mello," Came Celestria's warning tone, but the blond ignored her, his voice rising in volume in his effort to speak over her as if she wasn't speaking at all.

"...know nothing! Nothing!" And then the blond lifted his arm and Matt flinched, closing his eyes tight.

He waited for the blow. The explosion of pain that would surely spread across his cheek, but it didn't come. Slowly, he blinked them open and as he did so, a single frightened tear slid down the length of his rosy cheek. Standing there with a look as fierce as a mother bear protecting her cubs, Celestria was gripping Mello's wrist, her fangs bared threateningly.

"You are not in your right mind child! You realize that in your rage, you could strike him hard enough to kill him! Then what will you have gained? And what of all we have taught you? What then, Mello? You would have taken a human life!"

Then she brought her own hand down hard against the blonds' cheek with such force that the blow made him slump onto his side.

Matt watched as Mello slowly sat up. His whole body shook, and blood started to ooze from his bottom lip -due to his fangs- and down his chin, dripping onto the pale wooden floor beneath him. He was fighting. He was fighting to stay human. And from the look in his ice blue eyes when he finally looked up at the redhead, Matt could see that he was winning. "I'm sorry...I'm an idiot...I-I Christ!" He shouted the last word as he fisted his blond locks.

The neat ribbon that held his pony tail together slid to the floor, more hair falling over his face, hiding the blonds expression from Matt. "I...Agh! Fuck...fuck! Get away from me!" He shouted and in that same second, two strong hands hoisted him up from under his armpits and the next thing he knew, he was being carried away from the cursing Mello. He was finally losing it. Nears death had been the final nail in his coffin. He was losing it...Light would win.

"Hear me now!"

Aaron's voice boomed in the distance and echoed thrice around the dark walls of the hall way. Matt didn't know where Celestria was taking him, nor did he ask.

Everything was starting to fall apart, and in all honesty, if it was going down, he'd rather fall ignorant; blissfully so. Mello, as far as the redhead was concerned, was gone just like Near. He was no longer the Mello he knew. His humanity was slipping with every second. Soon, he would be like Light. A cold hearted animal, with nothing but hate coursing through his cold veins. Lusting after human blood and life. Ripping it from them with pleasure. Light...would surely win if he hadn't done so already.

"The vampire, Light has declared war on vampire-kind! He has broken the most sacred rule...he has destroyed one of our own. One of his own! This will not be tolerated!"

The rest was a blur. There were no more echoes, no more darkness. The room he was in was the color of a bleeding sun set and the bed he sat on was softer than a cloud. The mattress just molded around his body. He didn't care though. Matt just stared up at the ceiling, watching the colors blur as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"As of tonight!~"

"Darling, don't cry. Mello is just having trouble cooping with the situation. He will gain control of himself soon." Celestria reminded him so much of his mother and in that second, Matt didn't think that was very good at all. It just made him want to cry even more. Cry for all he had lost and for all he was still to lose. He just wanted to cry, breakdown and have no one try to pick up the pieces again.

Something landed beside him and he couldn't help but look to see what it was. They were a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt.

"Put those on."

He did as he was told, mostly for something to do. Anything to keep him busy. He was on auto-pilot though; he felt the denim slide up his legs, and the t-shirt felt loose, but comfortable around him, but he couldn't really recall doing any of it himself. His fake boobs were disposed of, so was the wig. They were no longer needed. Remembering, he reached up and wiped at his face.

He kept this up for quite some time before Celestria left and returned seconds later with a damp rug, with which she used to wipe the smeared make-up from Matt's tear streaked face.

"We are!~"

"Honey," Celestria cooed once she was done wiping away the make up and tears. "everything will be alright. This will all be over and done with before you know it.

Light, will no longer be able to harm Mello and you will be free to stay with him."

"No. He doesn't want me anymore." Matt almost didn't recognize his own voice. It sounded so broken, defeated and hollow. Just what he wanted. "So," He kicked off his faux glass heels before looking into Celestria's eyes. "what happens next?"

The vampire was quiet, pondering Matt's question. Then; "The future is never certain."

Not exactly what Matt wanted to hear right now. He wanted facts, percentages -high ones preferably- because those were certain. Those were comforting. Uncertainties and guess-timations were not. "As long as Mello lives..."

"Hush, child. What you saw in that room was a vampire trying his damn hardest to remain in control. He would not fight so hard if it were not for the reason, that he has something to live for. And that something my dear, is you." Her voice sounded a lot angrier than she probably intended it to be due to the fact that her accent was a lot more noticeable now. She wasn't trying as hard to hide it; she was too worried, to busy thinking of guess-timations to replace facts because even the immortal appreciated comfort from time to time.

Could she be right?

"At!~"

He so wanted to believe her. Mello was not weak the way Light thought him to be. If anything, this would make the blond that much stronger. Light had just awoken a sleeping beast, and it would be knocking down his front door soon enough.

"War!"

Matt just had to believe. So, it was with closed eyes and a heavy heart that he said. "You're right."

And not far, in the main room, the vampires erupted into cries of joy and excitement.

So began the war.

A/N: I took forever again, I know. Sorry, guys. Just getting some shit together. So, yeah, war...look out Light, your ass is going down. Mkay, not much to say on the chapter, just that it sounds a little dramatic HA yeah, i love drama. But its just the way I saw it in my head. No, Near isn't coming back. This isn't a disney movie folks. He is not-coming-back-for-the-sequel dead. Sorry.

Reviews mean updates.

~ Matt.