A/N: Geez, this week could not end sooner. Long story short, I hate homework, and I'm not too fond of my teachers and classmates. -_-

Anyway, glad to be writing again. And I hope you all enjoy the chapter. :)

Reviews welcomed!

(Near P.O.V)

Not a word. Not one word from Matt. I couldn't begin to think…

I felt sick for the past two weeks. My stress had reached unimaginable proportions, causing me to stop eating as much. Halle, Gevanni, and Rester were all concerned for my health at this point. Gevanni had tried to get me to eat but it was useless. I was too frightened of what had happened.

Naturally, I never told them all of my fear. I needed to look like I had everything together… even if I didn't.

The fake L told me about the explosion. How he'd lost someone because of Mello. I didn't want to believe the blonde would go so far, but I couldn't ignore the possibility. Even so, thinking that Mello was there, actually in the explosion, that he might have died… no… he couldn't have died. He was smarter than that, and he wouldn't have allowed himself to just get blown up.

Then again, power and reluctance can drive a man to do foolish things. If only Matt would contact me.

I couldn't say I was a child anymore. In fact I was verging on the age of eighteen. I looked a lot younger than I was, but make no mistake. I had been out of the adolescent years for some time. The fact that I played with toys meant nothing, really. There were far worse things for me to be doing.

But I seemed to have digressed.

What I was initially saying was, that even though I was no child of five anymore, the simple thought of death made my stomach ache in a way nothing else could. More specifically, when it was someone I cared very deeply for. L was one of them, this was true, but if I lost Mello or Matt… the thought made my heart tear into pieces.

At that moment I was slowly eating a bowl of soup, only to have it churn uncomfortably in my stomach. But the rest of the SPK wanted me to eat, so I was somewhat forced to do so. I think that's when I got the call from Roger.

I didn't speak with him directly like I had with Matt, but rather over the phone. He seemed to have gotten the news.

"Near, what's this about an explosion? Is Mello alright? Where's Matt?"

I kept calm, though my mind was more than shaken. "Matt is in and undisclosed location, I would believe, and Mello… may no longer be with us."

There was silence on the phone for a long minute. I suppose the news was hurting him just as badly.

I made an effort to say something else, when the monitor began beeping. Someone was trying to contact me for a wireless chat. It couldn't be…

"Roger, I'll have to call you back."

"But Near –!"

I hung up right before he could speak. "Gevanni, connect me to the wireless feed, now!"

He did as told and within a split second, Matt was right in front of me. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing he was alright. Something was wrong though. He looked ragged and overworked. Not to mention the fury carved on his face. There was no doubt in my mind that he was angry with me. I knew why too, but I couldn't allow my team to get involved.

"All of you, leave the room immediately. I will call Lidner's number when you are allowed to come back."

I suppose the seriousness in my voice scared them because they did as told without hesitation. When they were gone, it was just me and Matt.

And he let out his anger.

"I ought to find you and shoot you, Near! How could you allow something like this to happen?!"

"I'm sorry for Mello, Matt. I didn't know -"

"Shut up! You knew Kira would come after him, yet you did nothing to help! Mello's been in a coma for two weeks! I've had to feed him with a tube!"

I jolted in surprise. "He's alive!?"

"Barely! He might as well be dying at my feet right now! All because you let Kira know about him! All because you had to know! Jesus, have you forgotten all the times he's helped you out?! All the times he stopped those bullies for you?!"

"Matt, calm down. Screaming at me won't help your problem. Is Mello at your hotel right now?"

"Yes. I've debated on taking him to a hospital, but I think that may just cause more problems for him."

"Good. Keep him there. It's far too late for him to be taken to a hospital now, and he would only be arrested right after waking up anyway. But Matt, you have to listen to me now."

"Why should I do that? You were the one that almost got him killed."

"Wrong, Matt. It was Mello that caused the explosion. He was trying to take down his enemies but I think it only backfired."

"What? Why would he…?"

"He was cornered, and he saw no way out. He wouldn't allow Kira to take his life, so he tried to take it himself. It was pure luck that you were around to help him, and I doubt he knew that you would do so anyway. So now you have to do the right thing."

He looked at me now with a bit of fear. "What do you mean?"

I honestly didn't want to say this, but it was what's right. Especially for Mello.

"Matt, if Mello were up and walking right now I'd say for you two to come to New York and help me with the investigation. However, you say Mello's been in a coma for two weeks, correct?"

"Yes."

"And the police are still looking for him?"

"Yes?"

I swallowed back a tear. "Then it's best that you let him go."

I could almost feel the rage emanating from the man. "WHAT! ARE YOU INSANE!?"

"Matt, you can't save him…"

"I can try!"

"And you have tried. And how do you know that he'll truly wake up and be fine? For all you know he won't even remember you. What's more, his physical condition won't be up to fighting or anything that involves this case. He's lost the battle against Kira, Matt. That's why he blew up his headquarters, because he wanted to take his own life. Not give it to Kira.

"You're his best friend, Matt. You have to do this. Otherwise, Mello will only suffer more."

He was silent now. Only the sounds of sniffles and tears came from him. He knew I was right…

But love can do crazy things to people.

"Fuck you, Near."

He shut off the transmission and only static followed now. I was alone once again.

So I began to cry. For Matt… for Mello… For L and everyone else I lost now. It was the first time for a long time that I'd cried. I always held back the emotions, to remain as strong as the others. But now, it didn't matter to me.

My mind rushed back to the days of the Wammy house, when it was myself, Matt, and Mello. When we were young and had nothing but grades to worry about.

I remembered a specific day; my eighth birthday. Moreover, the week I'd spent in the hospital with Matt, L, and Mello. This was a time I needed them most, and they were there to help me. They had gotten me my favourite robot that same week. My birthday gift, and the greatest one I'd ever gotten. Why? Because it was from my family.

I remembered building the card tower with Mello. The only time we spent together that wasn't awkward or forced. It was a genuine time of happiness. Not only that, but we found out that we worked quite well together. L had even seen it.

I recalled what he'd said about us being gods. Of course, we had just been joking about it at the time. But what he'd said…

"The gods, when they worked together, founded a great masterpiece we know as the world today. But once it was done, they fought like mad to make it so as only one would rule all. Those that got the short end of the deal, usually did whatever they could to bring down what they built up, so that they were all left with nothing once again. This is what power does to people. It changes them, makes them believe in things that are untrue."

This is what happened to Mello. He got the short end of the deal, had lost everything, and had become mad with power once it was in his reach. Had I stopped him from leaving the Wammy house… if had I just forced him to work with me…

I instantly regretted what I'd told Matt to do. No matter what, I had to be there for my family. Mello had done the same for me, and he barely liked me. It was my turn to do the same.

I made a call to Matt, something I hadn't done before. I'd only ever had him call me.

He answered soon enough, but wasn't pleased. "Near, it's not…"

"Does he have any burns?"

He went silent for what seemed like minutes. "Excuse me?"

"Did he get burned?" I asked a bit more forcefully.

"Y-yes. Um… around his left side, and over his eye a bit."

"Did you put aloe on the burns? Also, what are his injury counts? Broken bones? Ruptured organs? I need to know."

"N-no, nothing serious. I think he may have a concussion, but other than that and the burns, he's alright."

"Then I was purely wrong to assume he was a goner. Listen, Matt, you need to elevate his legs, get the blood flowing to his brain and it should help with the concussion. Cold compress on the head will help the healing process as well. It should help him wake up too."

He listened intently, even writing a few things down. I could tell how desperate he was now.

"Also, if you see any movement from him, react to it. It could mean he's ready to wake up. The best method is ice."

"Ice?"

I grinned slyly at the thought. "If you think he has a chance at waking up, put the ice down his pants. I have more than enough faith that that'll wake him."

He snickered at me. "Well, I suppose it's a little more humane than other ideas. Anything else?"

"Yes. If he has burns over his eye, then get a patch or cover it with something. I have a feeling it may need more attention than the actual eyelid itself. He may be blind in that eye as well, so be careful. He may not like finding it out himself, so try to calm him when he wakes."

I spout off a few other ideas, and soon Matt was ready to go. Before he left however, he asked as to why I'd changed my mind.

I simply told him that I owed him this much. And that it would have been wrong of me to sit back and allowed him to die. He seemed pleased with my answer, and soon we bid farewell until our next talk.

My mind whirled with thoughts of Mello now. I wondered if he'd be alright. If I'd see him again. Even more, how much the explosion had changed him.

I pushed the thoughts aside though. I had to pull myself together and get things done. First and foremost, I needed to call Roger and tell him the news. Be it good or bad, I was unsure. But I had to have faith that it was good. That Mello would live, and that someday I'd get to see him once more.

I grasped my pocket which held Mello's photograph. "Kira will pay for this, Mello. I promise you that."