A/N: Alright, hi there. This is a role play me and my friend Dukki-chan are working on at the moment. This is MY first submission to the Death Note fandom, but not hers so I hope it turns out ok. It IS going to be mainly a MelloxMatt story, but there will be a few twists thrown in here and there. I really hope you guys can give me some good feedback on this, it would be deeply appreciated. I hope you all enjoy it. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note; the only thing I own is my three characters in here(JJ, Mika, and Kai) and Dukki owns her own characters(Iggy, Icarus and Pip).

Chapter One-- Fallen Force

It was 2009; Kira was beginning to enjoy his uncontested reign as God of the New World. L was dead, cold in the ground, dust, nothing, which left only his heirs behind him in his wake. The SPK had sprouted soon after the death of the great detective back in 2004, but not even the superior brain of Near could stay afloat for long in the sea of godly might that quickly flooded the earth.

That left Mello. Just Mello. It was now his job to take up L's torch and defeat the evil that had swallowed world whole.

The blonde in question was at the moment leaning against the railing of a church's bell tower. The church--one of the old style Catholic churches--had been serving as the anti-Kira force's hideout for nearly a year now, and it had yet to fail them. Mello trusted in the seclusion and stone walls to protect him and his team.

Mello pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket and snapped off a sizable chunk. The sugary treat melted over his tongue, providing some sort of pillow for his over-stressed mind to fall back on.

To interrupt Mello's reverie, a young girl with short dark hair stepped out onto the bell tower. "Mello?" she said. "There's someone here to see you."

Mello waved a hand. "Let them in, please, Pip."

The girl moved away from the door. The first thing to enter the room was not even a person, it was smoke. The man behind the smoke was someone Mello hadn't seen in quite a while. It was Matt; Wammy's House number 3.

The redhead walked out onto the bell tower without even looking up from the PSP in his hands. His finger, deciding that it was time to pay attention to the real world now, flicked across the console and hit pause.
He looked up and gave the blonde a cocky smile.
"Hey."

Mello's face moved from confusion to wide-eyed owlish surprise in a matter of moments. Hell, if he had been more of a cliche, his chocolate bar would have slipped from his fingers and landed in the puddle of rainwater at his feet. "M-Matt?"

The redhead took a drag on his cigarette and blew a smoke ring out above his head.
"Been a while, huh?" He smiled and moved closer to Mello. "You have no idea how big a pain it was to track you down."

Mello crossed his arms for a moment, giving Matt a once-over. "Glad to hear we gave you trouble. If even the Master Hacker can't get in, then Kira's motherfuckers should have real trouble." A smirk crossed the blonde's face. "Shit, Matt. I thought you'd been killed or something..."

Matt gave a small chuckle and punched Mello's arm. "Please, give me a little credit Mello. I'm like a cockroach; doesn't matter what you do, you can't get rid of me."

Mello rolled his eyes. "Matt, you've gone beyond the level of cockroach and reached STD. You're THAT hard to get rid of."

For a moment, the two young men stood there, smirking at each other like cocky rivals. But finally, Mello's features softened ever-so-slightly and he put his gloved hand to Matt's shoulder. "It's good to see you, Mail," he said softly.

Matt smiled and wrapped his arms around the blonde in a tight hug, "Likewise Mihael." Matt pulled away and looked Mello in the eyes, a serious expression now on his face.
"What's been happening lately?"

Mello sighed and ran a hand through his golden locks. "Well I'm sure you know that Near failed. Light Yagami has him imprisoned--along with Halle and the others--in an unknown location. I couldn't give a shit about Near, but I don't want to leave Halle there to die... We've been working on finding them."

"And how has that been going for you?"

"It's like finding a Hershey's Kiss at a diabetic convention." Mello leaned against the railing once more and looked out over the landscape. In the distance, he could see the spires of Kira's First Holy Church.

Matt shook his head at the metaphor and took another drag. He looked at his friend, somewhat worried, but unwilling to say so.
"You're not going to try anything stupid are you?"

Mello gave Matt a sidelong glance. "Does busting into Kira's fucking high holy gates with guns blazing count?" He was only half-joking.

Matt glared at the blonde and gave him a shove. He looked out into the distance and sighed, "Just...don't get yourself killed okay? I'd never forgive myself for letting you do something so stupid."

Mello rolled his eyes. "Oh please, Matt. Don't be melodramatic -- that's my job." For a moment, silence was allowed to exist between the two as each turned over their thoughts. With a loud snap, Mello broke off a square of chocolate and pushed himself away from the railing. "Hey, why don't you come with me? I'll introduce you to the gang."

Matt hesitated, not quite sure he wanted to get involved with Mello's 'gang'. The other man had always attracted trouble as a kid and he was sure it would be no different now that he was a grown man. In the end though, he sighed and walked over to follow Mello.

Mello led Matt down the many steps of the bell tower and into the main part of the church. They had to keep the main nave clear of any signs of life, just in case Kira's Kingdom decided to pay a visit. It was in the basement, however, that the Anti-Kira members made their shelter. Mello had always appreciated the irony in that they found their true sanctuary closest to Hell.

The heavy double doors leading to the catacombs were pushed aside. Mello led Matt down the cement stairs and, finally, into the true Headquarters.

"Alright, geeks, put down your shit and listen up," Mello addressed the half a dozen people assembled throughout the main part of the basement. The one kick Mello got out of his day was getting to throw his authority around. It was the only thing he had left.

They all looked up from their computers at once. It was obvious then to Matt why Mello had called them all "geeks." There were ten computers in the room, and each and every one of them was in use. Matt saw one young man watching two monitors at once with equal intensity. He couldn't help but be reminded of L or Near.

"Guys, this is Matt," Mello said, beginning the introductions. His arm was draped casually around the redhead's shoulders.

"Wait, THE Matt?" said a teenage girl with short black hair. She stood up from her station and went over to the leader and his new arrival. Although she was the one who had shown Matt inside, no proper introductions had been made. Matt of course had been checked for wires, bugs, and weapons, but she was unable to find any, which was the only reason Matt had been allowed entry.

Matt sniggered in Mello's direction. "Oh, so I have a reputation?"

Mello rolled his eyes and shoved Matt lightly away from him. "Yes, Pip, this is the Matt I told you guys about."

The girl called Pip grinned at the goggle-wearing gamer. "My name is Pip. Actually," she continued, "my REAL name is..."

"Shut it, Pip! You know we aren't allowed to tell our names to anyone," said the boy that
Matt had seen reading off of two computer screens.

Pip frowned. "Oh, right, I forgot…"
Mello sighed; sometimes he felt like a high school teacher. "Icarus," he addressed the purple-haired boy, "where's your brother?"

Icarus shrugged. "I think he was out getting food."

Mello nodded and turned to Matt. "You'll meet Iggy later, I guess."

"He's my twin brother," Icarus explained.

A small squeal came from behind one of the screens and a head soon followed, causing the five already standing by the door to turn. A petite girl came out and stood in front of Matt, bouncing.
"O.M.G! I've always wanted to meet 're so cool and you are way cuter then I thought you'd be!"

Mello rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed. "This little ball of energy is JJ. JJ," the blonde man said, turning to the girl with a resentful smile on his face, "who gave you coffee?"

"I did."
A tall blonde man came over and grabbed JJ, pulling her back like a dog trainer would an overzealous puppy. He looked quite a bit older then the girl. "Sorry about that, but she wouldn't stop whining until I did." Mello grumbled, but nodded; ANYTHING was better than hearing JJ whining.

Matt looked around and spotted someone still at their computer. It was another man; he was sipping tea and reading something on his screen. He looked incredibly bored.

"Who's that guy?" Matt asked the blonde man attempting to corral JJ.

"That's Kai, he doesn't talk much."

"And you are...?"

"Mika."

Mello ate up the last of his chocolate bar and balled the wrapper in his fist. "Ok, that's it for now, guys. I'll be back in a while for a status report. Let me know when Iggy gets back." Mello always made sure that he knew where the task force members were at all times. He didn't want his team to take any risks.

The others nodded and returned to their maps and charts. They were still hard at work attempting to locate the SPK.

"C'mon," Mello said to the redhead. Without further explanation, he led the way into an adjoining room to the tech lab, which served as his own private chambers.

The room, beside the few main essentials, was bare. Matt looked around at the haphazard lists and charts Mello had lying around and smiled at how disorganized it all was. It seemed that some things never changed.

Mello sank onto the mattress and ran a hand through his hair. "It's pathetic, eh?" he said, laughing bitterly. "Just a few years ago, I thought I would one day live to be L; to have a giant apartment and hordes of policemen at my beck and call. Now what do I have? A bunch of above-average teenagers and some out-dated computers..."

Matt snatched up a chocolate bar that Mello had left lying around and tossed it to the blonde. With a small smile, he took his rightful seat next to his old friend. "Just be glad you're not L right now, I mean look where Near ended up." The gamer took another cigarette out of his pack and lit it, taking a drag.

Mello was forced to chuckle at that. "Near deserves what he has. I hope he's getting ass-raped by Kira as we speak." The blonde bit into his one true vice and chewed thoughtfully. "Matt," he said finally, "please tell me you're here to stay. I can't believe I'm saying this, but... I really do need your help."

Matt looked over at his friend, a little surprised at how he sounded. Could that have been the subtle musk of neediness that Matt smelled? Nevertheless, he nodded reassuringly and put his arm around Mello and gave a weak smile.

"Of course I'm staying. I wouldn't let you have all the fun."

Mello laughed quietly and snapped off some more of his chocolate. "Fun? I haven't had fun in ages. Fun used to be kidnapping the deputy director's daughter or waving my gun in some punk-ass goonie's face. This isn't fun. This is stagnant."

Matt knew all too well what happened when Mello got too restless; he blew shit up, he took people down. Things could only sit still for so long before Mello took a nose-dive off the deep end.

Matt sighed and pulled Mello closer, "You need to take a break some time. This shit is gonna be the death of you." He took another drag and started coughing, too many years of smoking catching up with him.

"Hypocrite," Mello chuckled under his breath. "Why don't you take a break from smoking, then?"

Matt only rolled his eyes stood up, pulling Mello with him. "Come on, you can show me what I've missed and we can make a plan. Together."

Mello nodded at the general cheesiness of the moment. "Yeah, man, whatever you say."

~*~

By the time that Mello had Matt all caught up on their progress -- which wasn't much -- Iggy had arrived with dinner. Although they had equipped the old church with computers and TVs, they had yet to get their hands on a refrigerator. Therefore, all meals and perishable provisions had to be brought in from the outside.

Matt and Mello walked out of the bedroom to find everyone crowding around someone, although Matt couldn't see who. The redhead spotted JJ and asked her what was happening.

"IGGYBROUGHTFOODANDI'MREALLYHUNGRY!!!"

Mello winced at the sound of JJ's hyperactive voice. "JJ!" he shouted. "Continue to say everything on one breath and you will be the newest addition to the gargoyle family on the roof!"

Iggy looked up from the cartons of Chinese food he was unloading and laughed. "In a good mood today, Mel?"

"Isn't Mello ALWAYS in a good mood?" asked Icarus, smirking.

"Oh always. He has such impeccable manners, after all," agreed Iggy.

Mello, whom was stuffing his face with a mouthful of almond chicken, flicked the twins off. Good-naturedly, of course…

Matt snorted and accepted a carton of sweet and sour chicken. He watched as the others took their food and sat down, talking to one another. A sudden whistle from the back of the room drew everyone's attention. It was the quiet guy, Kai. He had a remote in his hand which he used to click on the TV.

"What are we watching?" Matt said to no one in particular.

Mika turned and answered, "It's time for Kira's Kingdom."

Matt could only raise an eyebrow in question. He had never seen reason in watching the "religious" cult show, choosing instead to ignore Kira's existence as best as humanly possible.

On screen, a cute Japanese girl with shiny yellow hair and big blue eyes was speaking solemnly to the studio audience as she read from a massive tome. It was her job to deliver the rules of Kira.

The redhead nearly choked on his chicken. Matt stared at the screen in shock, eyes wide and mouth agape.
"What the--IS THAT MISA AMANE?!? THE Misa-Misa?!"

The others began to laugh.
"Of course that's Misa-Misa!" Pip said. "She's one of Kira's wives."

"ONE OF THEM?!"

Pip nodded. "Misa Amane and Kiyomi Takada. They hate each other, of course, but somehow they love Kira."

Icarus rolled his eyes. "People treat it like it's a soap opera. They're turning a murderer into a God and a pop idol all at once."

Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing. Man, he really had missed a lot hadn't he?
"This is ridiculous...how is this even possible...?"

"It's possible because Light-fucking-Yagami is letting it be that way," Mello said, a dark glint in his eye. "But I can't believe you didn't know all of this already, Matt. Have you been living under a rock?"

Matt turned away from the blonde, merely grunting, so that his beet red complexion wouldn't be made visible. It wasn't so much that he had been living under a rock, it was that...he hadn't really cared to hear about it. The world. After finding out about L's death, Matt had sunk into a deep depression. He didn't give a flying fuck what happened to himself or the people around. Except for one ornery blonde, of course. In all truth, if it weren't for Mello, Matt wouldn't have bothered with the physical world again. There was no point, anyway. L was dead; the only real goal Matt had ever had in life gone with him. Kira was winning; it was better to run inside and hide.

Mello watched Matt carefully. What was he not telling him? No matter, Mello thought, he would coax it out of the redhead later.

"As you all know," Misa-Misa was saying on the TV, "tomorrow is the day for our God Kira's weekly visit. BUT, tomorrow will be unlike anything you have seen before! Judgment carried out live by the God of the New World for you all to see!"

Mello sat up straighter at this. His eyes narrowed in muted curiosity. Judgment? Did that mean Kira was going to kill somebody on TV? Surely even Light Yagami wouldn't have the balls for that…

Matt just stared at the TV, horribly confused. Kira...the bastard was going to kill someone. And on live television no less.

What the hell was this world coming to? Matt stood up suddenly and walked out of the room. "I-I'm going to get some air," he said, barely loud enough to be heard.

Mello showed no sign of noticing Matt leave. His eyes were plastered to the TV. Even as the show reached a close and the credits rolled, the blonde sat back in his chair and ran a hand over his face. There was no way he could stop Kira from doing whatever it was he wanted to do... He had six teenagers, plus Matt, and maybe a dozen guns. Kira, on the other hand, had thousands, no, MILLIONS of followers. There was nothing to be done.

"I'm going to go make sure Matt is ok," Pip said. She had a reputation for being the self-appointed "camp counselor." If Mello was the uppity high school professor, Pip was the friendly first grade teacher.

The girl made her way out into the nave of the church where she found Matt smoking near a busted-out stained glass window.

Matt turned around when he heard footsteps, but went back to thinking when he saw that it was only Pip.

Pip put her hands in the pocket of her baggy wool coat. "Hey, I just came to check if you were ok," she said kindly. "But if you'd rather I leave you alone..." She started to backtrack for the stairs again.

Matt turned and looked at Pip, stress clearly showing on his face for the first time that day. "Just...stay here for a little bit? I just…fuck, I don't even know anymore." he cursed quietly, kicking a stray piece of rock and sending it skidding across the chapel.

The girl nodded and came closer. "What's wrong?"

"Everything! Kira's got control and no one has enough balls to do anything about it!" He started to pace. "I mean, I know Mello does, but-" the redhead heaved a sigh and flopped down on the floor, head in his hands.

Pip knelt down beside the boy, her brow knit in concern. "We're going to do it, Matt. We will. Mello is smart, I know he is. He's smart enough to beat Kira." She put a delicate hand to his shoulder and squeezed.

Matt just shook his head, "I know he's smart enough, that's not the problem. It's that he's too impulsive." Matt looked to the girl, his eyes red. "I don't need him to die too."

Pip smiled sadly at him. "You care a lot about Mello, don't you?"

"You could say that."

"Well don't worry, Matt. Now that you're here, I'm certain we'll make it. All of us." Her smile intensified in warmth.

Matt started to laugh. God, he loved optimists, the only people in the world who could see the small gem of hope in this shit-pile world.

Pip started to laugh as well. "Why are you laughing at me?" she giggled. "I was telling the truth!"

"Forget about it." Matt stood and stomped out the butt of his cigarette. "Let's just go back, huh?" He ruffled the girl's hair playfully and headed for the stairs.
Pip shook her head, giggling, and trailed behind him.

Back in the basement, dinner had been cleaned up and each member of the task force was beginning to prepare for the coming of night. People like Mello, who didn't sleep, were setting up camp on the couch with a cappuccino in one hand and a bar of chocolate in the other. The blonde looked up as Matt and Pip entered.
"Where'd you two run off to?" he asked.

Matt gave the blonde a cocky grin, "Oh wouldn't you like to know?"

Mello rolled his eyes and returned his attention to his laptop. "Just don't go violating my staff, Matt. Not all of them are of legal age."

"I'm nineteen, thank you very much," Pip said, haughty all of a sudden, and stuck her tongue out at Mello.

Matt giggled, his mental breakdown momentarily forgotten. He sat down next to Mello and pulled out his video game, "So....now what?"

"Now, Matthew, is the time that most humans go to sleep. Notice the dark sky outside?"

"No need to be an ass-hole, Mel," Matt said as he chewed on the butt of an unlit cig. "Why aren't YOU going to bed then, huh? Mister Smart-ass?" Matt stuck his tongue out at the blonde before returning his focus to his game.

"He doesn't sleep, Matt," Iggy said, yawning.

"Yeah. He's like a vampire," Icarus added.

"I think he gets it from L, actually..." Matt mused. "Everyone at Wammy's House knew that Mello wanted to be just like L, after all."

"Fuck you, Matt."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

That was pushing it one rung too far for Mello. The lithe blonde got to his feet, knocking aside his laptop and coffee, both of which fell to the floor. "Cocky bastard..." he cursed under his breath as he slammed the door to his bedroom.

The others winced.

"Looks like you pissed off Papa Bear," Iggy said.

Matt cocked an eyebrow at the door and shrugged. "Touchy, touchy, touchy..." He continued to press buttons on his games.

Eventually, everyone else wandered off to their respective beds to catch a few hours of sleep. Mello was still shut up in his room, which left Matt the option of going in and apologizing or grabbing a piece of couch for the night.

Matt sighed and decided to apologize, figuring that if Mello was still mad he might try to kill him in his sleep. He went up to the door and knocked at it softly.
"Mello? You asleep?"
He didn't receive an answer. Matt again had two choices: forget it and sleep on the broken, lumpy couch or kick down the door.
"Mello! Open the fucking door!!"
He REALLY wanted to sleep in a bed.

Mello threw open his door, dressed in only a pair of loose-fitting black sweatpants and his usual crucifix necklace. "What the fuck do you want, Matt? You're going to wake the whole fucking house!" he hissed between his teeth.

Matt pulled his goggles around his neck and ran a hand through his hair.
"Well, if you had opened the door in the first place..."

The blonde rolled his eyes and stepped aside. "Get in, you big baby."

Matt strolled into the room, scratching at the back of his head nervously. Mello shut the door and started to tap his foot, clearly impatient.

"Well, if you got something to say then say it already."

Matt sighed, "I'm...sorry. You know, about the comment. Didn't think you'd react so badly to it."

Mello tensed for a moment. "Oh, that. Well. Let's just forget about it. The twins hauled in an extra mattress for you, if you'd like to use it. The couch isn't very comfortable." The blonde kicked the twin mattress with a toe.

Matt looked slightly disappointed.

Mello cocked an eyebrow. "What is it? You didn't want to sleep on that dirty old couch, did you?"

"No...I just thought I would get to sleep with YOU." Matt looked up at Mello through his eyelashes.

Mello's wide-eyed surprise lasted only as long as it took Matt to break into giggles. The bastard was teasing him.

Ah, Matt thought even as Mello chucked a heavy combat boot in his direction, good times were here again.