A/N: The title of the chapter is meant to be (sort of) ironic. It's all from Mello's P.O.V.

Mello cringed as they drew closer to this valley. A part of him hoped it was all a lie; Beyond with unlimited power nauseated him. Beyond never deserved glory. Beyond never deserved Mello. The strange words echoed through his head. Sure, he always placed himself on a pedestal, but after what he did to Matt, he figured he was beneath everyone-including Beyond. He bit his lip, spotting the dip into the valley ahead.

Too late to turn back. 'You messed up real good this time,' he chuckled to himself. Stuck in the middle of desert with an abusive lover who Mello despised more and more each day. And Light Yagami, Kira, who destroyed his face. His angelic face. Unconsciously, he raised his hand and touched the burns on his cheek. Maybe he deserved it. After all, Mello locked him in that closet. He never stood guard, either. And after the incident, Mello just forced work upon him.

Mello swung his head back, watching the clouds as they reached the edge of hill. There was absolutely no point to feel guilty; he couldn't do anything about it. Besides, Light handled himself well. He glanced towards him just as he stumbled forward, nearly toppling down the hill.

'Yep, just fine,' Mello snickered.

Suddenly, Light's panicked voice broke the silence. "We can't do this. This can't happen. We have to go back! Lawli, we gotta go back!"

Mello rolled his eyes. Over-dramatic Light. It would be just fine. Mello nearly laughed at himself for worrying. Life was too short to focus on small things.

Like breaking the love of his life's heart.

Or destroying another man's innocence. See-tiny, insignificant problems.

"Shut up Light," Beyond snapped, turning sharply to face the doped-up boy. His eyes glazed over with anger as Light ignored him, continuing to beg L to leave. L only looked solemnly at the floor as if he couldn't say anything to comfort him. How naive he was; love revolves around comfort and passion. But the dolt stood there, staring at the damn rocks under his feet. The ground couldn't teach him about love.

Mello wondered if he couldn't, either. Was it his place to instruct someone how to express their emotions? He shrugged: why not? Feelings were just feelings.

Beyond practically dragged Light down the cliff. As they descended, so did the pit in Mello's stomach. Something gnawed at him, like someone was watching him. God? No. Mello never trusted religion, so why would God watch over him? He took each step carefully, digging his toe in the dirt first. He stayed a few paces behind Beyond, who held Light in a head lock. Beyond strapped one hand over Light's mouth to ensure his pleads would end.

When they finally reached the bottom, the group suddenly stood frozen, staring at the view before them. For a moment, Mello's iciness melted: no more anger, no more pain. He understood why people sacrificed everything for love. Humans weren't evil in nature; misguided nurture and confusing feelings simply through some into a strange spiral of events. Like Light. For a moment, Mello couldn't hate Light, Beyond, or himself.

"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Beyond murmured as he headed towards it. He let go of Light, who collapsed onto the dirt. His lips bled from the pressure of Beyond's hand. L knelt beside him, cleaning the blood off with his shirt.

Mello tried to move, only to find his knees buckled in place. The scene in front of him was miraculous. Water streamed from the top of the valley, pouring into a small pool. The fountain, however, was nothing compared to what spread around in. Life leaked from the pool; grass sprouted from the supposed infertile dirt and flowers...yes, flowers. He only saw cactus flowers. His fingers trembled as he watched the flowers dance in the breeze. If only Matt were there; he would've loved it. A lump formed in Mello's throat.

Beyond stepped onto the grass carefully. His feet sunk into the wet, moist dirt. "Mello," he called, snapping Mello from his state of awe. "Come here and taste the water first."

"Why?"

"In case it's a trick," he grinned callously at L, who just shook his head softly. "I don't want to be poisoned."

Mello's eyebrows furrowed. "I ain't gonna test your shit for you. If it's poisonous, you die 'cause of your own will. Don't ask me to sacrifice myself."

Suddenly, Beyond's gun aimed right at Mello's head. "I'm not asking you, Mello," he smirked; his teeth almost resembled fangs.

Mello sighed and headed towards the awaiting Eden, trying to avoid Beyond's dark, viscous eyes burrowing into him. Mello made the mistake of looking into his eyes more than once. Beyond's cold, callous eyes sucked out parts of his dignity, dragging Mello further into a state of helplessness. They hypnotized Mello. With one glance, Beyond became Mello's puppeteer.

Mello stopped before he touched the luscious grass. The closest he'd ever come to walking on grass before was a carpet. He pried off his shoes and dipped his toe on it. He took a step, surprised how moist and squishy it felt. Wet dirt nearly buried his feet each step he took. He wondered if he was dreaming.

"Go on, then," Beyond demanded.

Crystal clear water poured into the awaiting pool, splashing Mello's cheek lightly as he approached the fountain. How could Beyond think something so beautiful would hurt him? Mello knelt down in front of the pool and cupped some water into his hands. His blood boiled as he brought the water up to his mouth.

Suddenly a shot rang out. The piercing noise of a bullet zoomed right by Mello's head. He yelped and fell backwards, sprawled out on the grass. It took a moment for him to realize he wasn't hit. He turned his head towards the direction of the original shot. The intruder stepped from the shadows, revealing himself. For a moment, he wondered if he drank the water and completely forget and he was, indeed, poisoned. But it was when the vision spoke that he realized the water never touched his lips.

"Beyond, raise your hands. I'll shoot you if you do anythin' else."

Mello thought he was looking at a stranger. The man's movements, confidence, and stance didn't belong to the face hidden behind the orange goggles. Mello knew the face and the body so well, but the aura he radiated differed completely. It was as if someone invaded Matt's body and took over, completely obliterating the old Matt Mello loved such a short time ago.

Yet, this stranger captivated Mello. His red hair stuck up on all ends; a quirky smile lay carefully on his lips; his long arm aimed the gun steadily and confidently at Beyond. Even the cigarette dangling between his teeth seemed to taunt Mello. How fantastic Matt looked!

"Well, Matt, this is a pleasant surprise," Beyond grinned maliciously as he raised his hands above his head. "Isn't it, Mello, darling?"

Mello couldn't answer. His tongue swelled in his mouth as he continued to admire Matt. Emotions he'd buried deep in his heart suddenly burrowed to the surface, reminding him why he would have sacrificed everything for Matt. He swayed up from his bed of grass, his eyes never leaving Matt.

"Don't move, Mello," Matt barked. "I could turn this gun just as easily on you."

His voice echoed across the valley, sending shivers up Mello's spine. And the way he spoke his name...This wasn't the Matt Mello first fell in love with so many years ago, but Mello felt he was falling in love all over again. His head spun as Matt began to speak again.

"How are you doin', L? Hangin' in there? And Light? Y'all okay?"

"Yes," L nodded, pulling Light to his feet. "I'm glad you found my letter."

A smile beamed across Light's face. "I knew you had a plan," he chuckled, his eyes still glazed from the morphine. "Lawli, you're a genius."

"Where's everyone else, Matt?"

"Back at the town, fightin' off all of Beyond's stupid goonies. You know, Beyond, you really surrounded yourself with stupid people."

Despite Beyond's obvious loss, a mischievous smile was planted on his lips. It itched at any comfort Mello felt finally seeing Matt again; what was Beyond planning? His arms stayed straight in the sky, submissive to Matt's demands, but the glimmer in his eyes hinted something else.

"Aw'right, Beyond," Matt called. "Your reign of terror is over. The governor's had enough of it, the people have had enough of it, and fuck, I can't stand you so I've had enough of it."

"Oh," Beyond snickered. "Have you? Well, Mello hasn't. Doesn't his vote count for anything?"

Mello immediately caught what Beyond was doing. But Matt held a steady, confident smile as if he'd expected Beyond to lash at his heart, as if he'd prepared himself. But Beyond was relentless. "Do you know," he purred. "How Mello got the bruise on his eye? Well, he disobeyed me. Imagine that! A disgusting dog like Mello thinking he could go against my orders."

Mello's fists shook. He stopped himself from lunging towards Beyond in fear that Matt would pull the trigger. Beyond never deserved Mello; why did he ever let Beyond touch him? Matt continued to hold the gun firmly, unfazed by Beyond's words. In fact, Matt cocked the gun and waited for Beyond's next remarks.

"He rarely mentions you, but I'm sure he thinks about you all the time. Isn't that right, my puppy?" Beyond laughed casually. "Every night, though, he forgets about you when I tear off his clothes and fuck him until he cries."

"Shut up," Matt yawned. "You're voice ain't the prettiest thing about you, I'll tell you what." He started to walk towards Beyond, but Mello saw it-Matt stretched his fingers wide at his side; Beyond was getting to him.

"So, you're gonna kill me, Matt? Then what?" Beyond's confidence never faltered as Matt got closer. "Take Mello back? After all those nights he let me fuck him? Maybe you'll kill Mello, too. He deserves if, after all. He cheated on you. The first night we fucked, he told me about you, but still let me kiss him and slide my hands down his pants. I threw him on his knees and he told me he had never been on the receiving end. Imagine that; you were fucked by a dirty, worthless dog. I bet you loved it, too. He certainly can't get enough of it. He screamed so loud that night, I had to gag him to shut him up. After, he had this look on his face like he never felt such satisfaction before. You might have loved him, but he never loved you."

Suddenly, Mello found himself mumbling, "that's not true. I love you so much."

His words were what finally broke Matt. For one moment, his rage and pent up sorrow released in a frustrated, nearly silent exhale. But it was enough for Beyond. He yanked out his gun, cocked and shot it before Matt could pull the trigger. The gun flew right from Matt's hand. He gazed in shock at his hand; his index finger fell from it's place, hanging loosely by a few strings of skin.

Beyond suddenly appeared at Matt's side, pressing his knife right against his jugular vein. "Did you hear that?" Beyond muttered. "Mello loves you. Doesn't that make it all worth it?"

Matt whimpered as Beyond ran his blade down his neck. Beyond hushed him, running his other hand through Matt's hair. "It's okay, you tried hard. And you almost succeeded. You're effort earns you a nice, slow death."

Blood trickled down Matt's neck. Mello watched in horror as Beyond dug his knife a bit deeper, right next to the vein. Even through Matt's goggles, Mello saw the confidence drain from his eyes. He glanced towards Mello, his lip trembling. Mello suddenly remembered how soft his lips were and how good they always tasted. His heart beat hard in his ears as Beyond dragged Matt towards the fountain.

"So, Matt, do you think your sacrifice was worth it? You tried to save a murderer, a dog, and an emotionless stone. And this fountain, which you'll never get to taste."

"I thought you didn't kill anyone unless it was their time," Matt breathed hoarsely.

"I can make exceptions for my darling Mello," Beyond sneered.

Mello found his hand on his gun. Suddenly, it pointed itself at Beyond. His finger cocked it. He pulled the trigger.

Beyond let out a bellow as the bullet sunk into his side. He dropped Matt and limped towards the fountain. Mello fired another bullet. Beyond slumped down, blood leaked from his thigh, but he never stopped inching towards the pool. Fire burned in his determined eyes as he pulled himself closer and closer.

"WAIT!" Mello heard Light shouting behind him, but he couldn't stop himself. He emptied his chamber on Beyond whose fingers finally touched the water.

"NO!" The last bullet struck his head. Beyond's body slumped over the pool, his blood contaminating the crisp water.

Suddenly, the water stopped pouring from the top of the cliff. The water in the pool evaporated too quickly into the air, completely drying out before Mello had a chance to blink. Unsure whether he should be concerned that the fountain disappeared, he glanced towards Matt. Matt was already watching him and pushed his goggles from his eyes up to his head. Mello gazed into the mismatched eyes and for the first time in months, was content.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. Matt smiled weakly.

"No," Light moaned behind Mello. L's body wavered as blood suddenly poured from his gut.

A/N: So why Mello's P.O.V? Well, I figured he needed a chance to redeem himself...that's pretty much it.
I feel like there's no one reading anymore, which is a bit depressing, since this is the longest story I've ever written and the hardest I've ever worked on any piece, so any reviews, critical or complimentary, are fantastic. Please read, review, and enjoy! There are only two chapters remaining.