B: Aw, someone liked Sophia after all. ;w; I tried to give her a little more character near the end of her life... Ah, Max? No, he's not dead. :3 It was revealed in chapter 20 that Max is among the Lost, those people stuck for eternity in the In-Between. It's presumed he simply wished for home without a DN-world person in contact with him, and so he went to the In-Between and got stuck there to live forever and ever in isolated madness. uvu
But yes, he will at one point become relevant.
Ohh, really? I inspire you? ;v; That...you flatter me. Really. Funny how my characters match the names of yours; so Sam's still close to L...and Natalie gets Near. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be all too thrilled. xD
Actually, I used to be terrible at fluff (I still don't think I'm exactly 'good' at it either, even now), which is why I originally planned to have no pairings in this story. Then I started writing the sequel, whereupon Real-Life Sam and Real-Life Sierra insisted upon pairings. So...there we are. ^^;
Hm, maybe tainted Natalie should take some time to reflect on everything. Ah, I know for a fact she'd enjoy the music. Though I have to say the boop on the nose for Light's treatment I have to say made me smile, because now all I can imagine is someone booping him on the nose. His expression is so...confused~
You know, I guess you're right. Maybe Sierra really did just need a Mello. Though Mello himself might get a little tainted instead. :T Oh Mello.
(Oh, goodness, what else do I write? Well, I used to write Naruto fanfiction - but you don't want to read those. .-.; Those are terrible...though not quite as bad as the Ed Edd 'n Eddy fanfiction I wrote when I was first getting into writing. ^^; But I've been writing a lot of one-shots lately; mostly for Durarara or the Kagerou Project - god, I love Kagepro, even though it isn't completely widely known yet. That or for the video game Ib. .w.)

Mrs. Lawliet: Haha, don't worry, I still figured it was you~ Psh, of course Matt's gotta be happy about the chloroform. I mean, who wouldn't be happy to put a sometimes-lethal sedative into use when you normally have no use for it? And hooray for Mello's seeming change of heart~ Sparkles and rainbows all around~ :D (Actually that would be creepy when we're talking about Mello here.)

Enjoy the extra chapter!~ This one's a pretty major chapter. *nod*

I woke up the next morning to find myself tied to a chair. "Well, meh," I muttered as I pulled slightly at the rope. Too tight to get out of, that was sure. I tried using my feet as leverage to wriggle my way out (or at least get myself into a comfortable position). It didn't work all too well. In fact, I ended up finding myself tilting backwards. It wasn't a nice sensation. "Oh god oh god oh god—" I said, my voice fast and rising in pitch as I tilted farther back, slow at first before I found myself crashing to the ground with my eyes squeezed shut. It didn't hurt, but I stopped breathing for second at the impact. Then I was taking deep breaths. I was laying there for a few seconds before I realized how stupid that was. And I laughed. But the laughter made me cough and wheeze, and each hard breath brought on a pulsing pain in my head. I vaguely remembered waking up the night before to find myself being carried by two people. So I'd freaked out, and suddenly the cloth was in my face again and I was asleep. At least, that was what I remembered. Memories are known to be untrustworthy when fogged by sleep, or sedatives, or perhaps both.

I stared patiently at the ceiling, idly wondering when Mello or Matt or Sierra would realize I'd fallen over. I giggled. Wow, I really could be an idiot. Even with a practical genius taking up half my head. Of course, Light was preoccupied at the moment. Apparently Mikami had broken out of jail. It was funny; I could actually recall a hazy memory of visiting him in prison. I don't know what either of us said to each other, or even why I'd gone there at all. I wanted to assume that I just wanted to say hi, but… Light's theory that we had been Kira was probably right. I felt guilt and anxiety pressing down on my chest, and pushed the memory away. I hoped that maybe my mind would convince itself that that had been a dream.

"This ceiling is so interesting," I commented. It really wasn't, though. It was cement, with a single crack, fine and thin, running in a softly meandering line across it. It wasn't all that long, either. "This room is so dull," I added as an afterthought. The walls were grey, the ceiling was grey, the floor was grey…. "At least it's cool at night. That's nice." It was, too. Being below ground was generally cooler, and as summer had just recently come upon us officially, the feeling was nice. Indeed, it did, at least, made sleeping more comfortable. "I wonder what my parents would say if they knew I were kidnapped," I mused, then blinked. "I'm hungry. What the hell? They didn't give me dinner last night!" I sighed, tried to sit up, and failed. "Oh, this is fun." I smiled drily. I thought on my situation for a moment, and soon decided to do something I used to do when I was two or three. I remembered that whenever I woke up and saw light in the window, I would stand up in my crib and call, "It's morning!" declaring that it was morning, and it was time for Mommy and Daddy to wake up. So, with no way to move, in an awkward position, and hungry, I called to the ceiling, "It's morning!" as loud as I could. My words echoed off the walls and rang in my ears.

I waited silently for a response, then called it out again. "It's morning!" Come on, at least take care of your hostage. And surely it was morning, wasn't it? It was night when the cloth was shoved in my face again, so certainly it was morning by now. Right? There were no windows in here…. Oh well. If they were up, then at least I'd be annoying Mello, if he could hear me. I giggled again, but didn't call out this time. I decided to stay silent, stare at the ceiling, relax, and wait. That crack in the ceiling would become familiar, wouldn't it? Hello, crack in the ceiling. You and I are going to be good friends.

I heard a few clicks, and I craned my neck to try and look through the opening in the wall where I thought there would be stairs. Well, I was right. There were stairs there. They were also cement, of course. But I could only catch a glimpse of them before I just laid my head back down on the chair's back as I listened to a door creak open. Footsteps. "Hi!" I called out. "Who's coming down to put me upright? Is it Mello, Matt, or my niece? Am I allowed to ask that?"

No one answered, but soon Matt was leaning over me with a single eyebrow raised. "What'd you do to get yourself stuck like that?" he asked me.

"I was in an uncomfortable position. I tried to get comfortable. It didn't work."

He laughed slightly and set me upright. "Just know that Mello's gonna be pretty strict with you…." He pulled a sandwich out of a plastic bag and held it in front of my face. I stared at it blankly, wondering if I was supposed to eat it. "I'm only telling you because, as Sierra's aunt, you matter. Because of that, I guess I'm supposed to care. So…." He looked at me, and for a moment, I could see his eyes behind the orange. "…You know you're supposed to eat that, right?"

"Oh," I said stupidly, and took a bite. I chewed a second. Stopped. It was peanut butter. I swallowed anyway. I hated peanut butter. Too bad, Natalie, you were just kidnapped. You will eat this sandwich and you will enjoy it, little girl!

I took another bite.

"Sometimes I worry about Sierra, you know," Matt told me as I chewed, and I looked at him as I swallowed. "As her aunt, I think you should know that she tried to commit suicide."

I chewed slower, suddenly. It was harder to swallow this time. I felt a little sick.

"It was just last Sunday, actually…."

"What happened?" I asked him seriously.

"I don't know. She just…." He shrugged. "She's getting better, though. At least for now."

"Yeah, that's good…." I heaved a sigh. I thought back to the days we had together, my time with the nieces back in my world of origin…. I thought of how she mentioned suicide like a casual afterthought; almost like she thought of it all the time. And maybe she did, all things considered. I thought of the teary nights where Sam would talk to me about how she just wanted to die already. I thought of how she had told me that she really was worthless, even though she was so wrong. I thought of the times when I realized that both of them had hurt themselves before to get it out, and the ache in my heart I'd felt. But somehow, none of it had been so bad once we'd reached this place. Sam was away from the idiots who put her down at school, away from her stepfather, and away from all of those bad things that were slowly breaking her. Sierra was away from the mother that went to court to try to gain her back, even though it was just for money. Away from the reminders of people like Tony and Mike and anyone else who hurt her. They were still there, but it was… better. If only a bit. Funny how it was an alternate universe that had helped them, in the end. And as time passed, it seemed like things really had gotten better, even though it really wasn't; the pain was all just hiding. Some of it had gone, sure, but this…. Sierra had nearly done it. And I hadn't been here. If I had lost her….

"She's been like that for a long time, though…," I mumbled, and took another hesitant bite of my peanut butter sandwich. The taste seemed even less appealing.

"Has she? Makes sense…."

"Thank you for telling me."

"Yeah," he said. He took a deep breath. "But other than that, I can't give anything away. That's where my info stops. I may try to think of you like I care, but I'm still on the side of my best friend, and you are involved with Kira…."

"Am not!" I snapped, then took a large bite of sandwich and ripped the piece away. There was an underlying fear, though, that it really could be me, but I tried to ignore that. Above that was a layer of anger, frustration, and injustice. It was like that time back in Kindergarten, when a student told a lie and I spoke the truth, but they believed the other girl and I was distrusted the rest of the year. I kinda wanted to slap that girl. Or the teacher. Or both. I barely remembered how any of them even looked anymore anyway. Ha.

It didn't take much longer to finish my sandwich, and when I did he gave a smirking farewell, wishing me luck for the rest of the day. I responded heartily, and I soon found myself just waiting there for awhile. I often found myself staring at my new friend, the crack in the ceiling. Hello again, little crack. Care to have a conversation with me?

I often found myself closing my eyes and just sinking; sinking backwards into a different consciousness. Then I'd be in SPK headquarters, gathering information and waiting. In either place, I was waiting, but at least there I could move. Plus, Anna was there, and sometimes I would inwardly smile in her direction, even though she couldn't see it. In Light's head, his concern for me was more pronounced, which I'll admit was odd, only because I wasn't all too worried. But I was, too, because he was. And the existence of an emotion always overtook the lack of one, typically, when it came to the Bond. I was staring at the crack in the ceiling long after Matt had left when I frowned at myself and tilted my head down again. I hadn't told them about the nail in my shoulder. Damn it. Oh well.

It was awhile before I heard a beep from the speakers. I almost didn't hear it, halfway between there and SPK headquarters, but I knew for sure to come back when I heard Mello's voice. "How are you doing in there, Natalie?" he asked.

"Great!" I answered brightly. "How are y—?"

"It's been only one night," he interrupted, "but I'll ask this now: are you ready to give us the information I'm asking for?"

I frowned deeply. "Well, no. I don't have any information to give. What am I supposed to say? Matsuda stained his favorite tie the other morning. The police are still looking for you, even though they are now also on the Sinful Murder cases. Light and I are no longer allowed on that case, either, ever since Misa was killed."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," Mello said. I could feel the frowning irritation in his voice.

"Fine, you want secrets? BB's alive! Beyond Birthday is alive! How about that?"

"BB's alive?" I heard somewhere in the background on the speaker. I supposed it was Sierra speaking.

"And if you really want to know so much, then know this: Light and I were working on the Sinful Murder cases behind the NPA's back! All of this is all I have to give, so stop trying to pry!"

"I know for a fact that you know far more than that," he said calmly. Coolly. "You are in league with Kira. You may even have the notebook. You may even kill. If it helps to persuade you, no matter what you say, the fact that you're kidnapped will affect Kira, and will eventually inevitably give you away."

I frowned. "You know, I really don't have information," I told him.

"You do! And you know what?" I could almost feel him smiling, even though it seemed a little out of place for Mello. "I have more than just the general proof that Near has."

What's he talking about?

Make him angry. Make him say what he's talking about.

I know.

"Near's much farther along than you are!" I snapped. "And I know, because Light's in SPK headquarters right now, Mello."

Was it alright to say that?

Yeah, it was.

We're fine.

"I'm much farther along than Near could ever be!" I heard a slamming sound, when he next spoke his voice was lower. "I have something that Near couldn't possibly have. I have an advantage now! I have the notebook itself!"

My breath caught in my throat. Then I was breathing again. How had he gotten a notebook at all? Why? And what the hell was he implying?

"You can go ahead and have Light tell Near I have it. In fact, go ahead and have him inform L, and the police. Because I have one of the Kiras in my custody, and once the Kira case is solved, I will be the one to get to the top. Kira may fall, but I will be number one, and I'll kill anyone I have to to get there!"

He'd really do it, too. He would. He was Mello, after all…. I swallowed, then gazed steadily into the camera. "You wanted so badly to beat Near, to be the one first in line to be L's successor, but you know, you're straying closer to Kira's path than you are L's. I'm sorry, Mello, but at this point you're nothing but a killer, just like Kira. And I'm going to tell you right now, even if you catch Kira; make sure he's dead; stab him in the chest and twist the knife so it really hurts; just discard him and leave him to rot in a cell; whatever…. Even if you catch Kira, I know for a fact that you will be caught next. And I can tell you right now that Light and I will make sure you're caught before you kill a single innocent person!"

There was another slam. "You won't." There was another, different sound. "I'll win!"

There was a somewhat distant "What are you doing?" from Sierra in the background. Then she repeated it. More frantic, or maybe angry. "What are you doing?!"

In the old main Kira task force headquarters, Mello had pulled out a pen and begun to write. He scribbled the name quickly. Matt stood up. "Mello," he said, "you know you can't kill her."

"No," Mello frowned, "but I can kill him, can't I? Light."

"What?" Sierra yelped, grabbing his arm. "No; don't!"

"Knew this'd happen," Matt mumbled, but his words were lost.

"I'm not going to let anyone stop me from reaching the top!" he snapped at Sierra, jerking his arm out of her grasp. She only grabbed hold again. He kept trying to write anyway.

"Mello!" she protested.

"I'm doing it for you, too! We'll be there together!" In Sierra's momentary confusion, Mello got closer to the speaker and spoke directly to me. "You won't. I may not be able to kill you, but I'll kill him, and you won't get me. I told you; no one will stop me!"

Sierra thought that maybe it wouldn't work on him either, not with me and him at the final stage, but she still kept trying to stop him anyway, just in case it did work, because it could, and it was the Death Note, it was….

I was just staring at the camera blankly then, feeling the blood drain from my face. I felt kinda sick. No, I didn't like the idea of Light dying. I didn't like that idea at all…. I pressed my lips together. In the main room, there was a pause as the name was written. Sierra was still yelling. It was only a matter of time before we could tell whether it would work. And whether it did or didn't… it was written anyway. And how it should be, well…. It is written. It's just how it is.

In the uneasiness of apprehension, I felt just a little bit sick again. I thought again of what my parents would be thinking of me right now, if they knew, and for a moment, I really missed them. I closed my eyes. I'd forgotten some of the little details of my house, and trying to push away the fear for Light – He'll be fine; he'll be okay; we're at the final stage; we're Bonded; the Death Note can't hurt us – I tried to remember these little things. The teapot on the shelf in the kitchen; what had that looked like? I clutched at my stomach. No, I didn't like thinking of Light's death at all, though somehow the concept seemed to be slipping away… melting into contentedness, even.

Wait. How could I clutch my stomach when I had my hands bound behind the chair?

I opened my eyes. White light. Blues and greens flashing past. I looked behind me, knowing Light was there too. He raised his eyebrows as he gripped my wrist; wouldn't want to lose each other in this place. He didn't have to say anything. 'Were you really so worried that you took us here?' But he was smiling, so I smiled back. You know, this was a nice place, and it was starting to seem like Light would be okay after all. No reason for this place anyway. Hey, at least I'd get a glimpse of Maxey Island again; that would be nice—

But suddenly the contentedness ended. It was a sudden, horrible pain right in the middle of the chest. Oh shit we're dying was my first thought, but then I remembered somewhere of what had happened to Near, and I wondered if we would freak out like he had, if we lived. I hoped we'd live, though. I didn't want to die. The blues and greens were running red, and Light and I just looked at each other for a moment. His hand was squeezing my wrist and our eyes were agonized as the pain only got worse. In one jerking movement, we pulled each other closer, as if knowing that we needed every small comfort we could get now because it was only going to get worse. And it did. I curled forward, but it did nothing and he tried holding me – you gotta give him some credit there – but it did hurt for him too and soon neither of us could move at all. We were just frozen there, the pain overtaking our senses. I couldn't even feel him there anymore. And that scared me, even though I knew he was there, and he was, he was right there, but both of us were dead and it hurt it hurt it HURT!

I was never a person for pain tolerance. Ever. This was beyond any pain I'd ever felt, and whenever I thought that it couldn't get worse, because if it did, I couldn't stand it; I couldn't stand it anymore; but it would get worse even when it wasn't even a heart attack anymore and we were just dead. And it would be this horrible, ultimate pain of death that began at the extremities, where the insides were dying from lack of oxygen because we couldn't breathe, and then it would creep inward toward the chest, and soon we were just there, dead, living in agony, being dead in agony and I just wanted it to end; I didn't care how. Somewhere in the back of my head I wanted to scream, but at one point the brain shut down to the point where there was literally nothing but torturous agony blotting out every one of our senses…..

Sierra and Mello didn't see any of this. My image was moving out of its restrictions of the chair, and it was flickering in and out, but they saw none of it. Soon after Mello had written Light's name, Sierra had stopped protesting so abruptly and had just fell to the ground. She just… collapsed. Mello only froze. Stopped moving. Swayed a little. That was all.

Matt looked around. "Uh, Sierra?" He paused. "Mello?" Their eyes were dazed now, and Mello was swaying a little more. "Shit," he muttered and put a chair beneath him before sitting him down. He looked to the screen through his orange-tinted goggles. He was about to tell me Just a moment, but then he saw that I was dying and so he just straightened up, looked around him one more time, then stood there awkwardly as he figured out what he was supposed to do.

There was a bit of confusion at SPK headquarters. Light had turned to Near, and had started to say something. "Near, Mello has in—" was all he got out. Then he just stopped talking and stood there with his eyes blank, somehow transparent, even though he wasn't.

"Um, Light?" Anna asked him, but he didn't respond.

"You alright, there?" Gevanni asked.

Near was looking at him.

He seemed okay, at first. Just unresponsive. But then the pain shone his eyes, and he had a heart attack right there in SPK headquarters.

"Light!" Anna cried. Halle and Gevanni were there in moments, trying to give him his help, but even as he fell to the ground, even as they grabbed his arm to get him to respond, it was almost like they couldn't feel him there…. He was there, but he wasn't, and the two teammates looked at one another confusedly. Anna could almost see the linoleum tiles of the floor right through him. Rester stood. He recognized exactly what this looked like. Halle and Gevanni soon got it as well. Why he was having a heart attack was still unsure, but he wasn't quite here anymore; he was going through the same thing Near had.

Near was still staring at him, his face still a mask of stone. There was no change in expression, but Anna thought she saw something in his eyes. Perhaps he was remembering. Remembering that time, in that place where the air was red and the voices were crying out; that place where he'd died.

"Mello has a notebook," said Near, and all those in the SPK looked to him. Somehow, it was the only thing that could make sense. And they believed him. They looked at Light and watched, but knew that they couldn't do anything now; only wait for it to end.

Oh, but it seemed like an eternity for us. I kept thinking I couldn't stand it anymore, but it just kept going, and it's not like I could die; I couldn't because we were already dead and oh God did it hurt…. I was still dimly aware of Light's touch, but really everything was pain now, so it didn't matter. Our only comfort was the knowledge that it would end; it had to end…. And it would; it did end at some point…. It was such a relief, but also a shock as suddenly the pain stopped and I was thrown to the cement ground of the basement. I slammed my knee, but I didn't feel it. I gasped for air. I could breathe; we could breathe. And at first I laid there, staring at the ceiling with the little crack with my eyes wide open wondering if we were really okay, but then I turned on my side and curled up like that, my eyes still wide. At SPK headquarters, Anna was hugging Light the moment he gasped and lived again, and Halle and Gevanni were kneeling on the ground nearby, watching. Rester was standing, still eyeing the scene. Near had stopped looking. Light, his senses slowly overcoming the shock of reality again, slowly hugged Anna back. Anna seemed to have tears in her eyes. We were alive again, but damn, we wouldn't be forgetting that anytime soon…. Thank God we were in that place, thank God we were alive, thank God it was over, thank God we were here and not there and not dead.

Matt had sat Sierra in the chair next to Mello, wondering if maybe this was the final stage. I mean, it would only make sense if they had to get used to it, right? So he sat in his own chair and waited, watching me die and then watching me live again, idly wondering if he was supposed to tell me anything and wondering how I was on the floor and not in the chair. At one point Mello had grabbed for Sierra's hand. Matt didn't notice.

Light was comforted by Anna's fretting and hugs and tears, I was comforted through Light, and Sierra and Mello slowly worked their way through the initial shock of reaching the final stage while Light and I worked through the shock of having died.

Before all of us knew it, the day would end and everything would lapse back to normal, exactly the same but somehow different, somehow not the same but still back where we started nonetheless.

Fun Fact: I did indeed cry out 'It's morning!' when I was young and still in a crib, in order to (loudly) inform my parents it was time to get up.

Review? For that friendly crack in the ceiling.