Dead Note

AkatsukiMemberWoolfy

MattMello

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Chapter 6

-o-

Mello stared at Matt, realising what he had warned him about only yesterday...

I fear that I will make the wrong choice...

This was what he had meant. The decision between saving Mello's life and not writing down Near's name. Matt had known all along what Kira's plan had been, but he had not been able to foil his plot...He had not been able to kill either of them. "Don't do it, Matt! You can't write down Near's name!"

"...I have to..." The red head's voice was low and desperate. "...I can't lose you again...I barely survived the first time..."

"...Matt..." Mello didn't know what to say. This man was willing to do anything for him...he had even said so himself. To save his life he was willing to risk a thousand others...

"Untie me and I will write down his name." Kira laughed and walked over to the red head, pulling a familiar knife from his belt.

"This is the same blade you used to kill Takada, right?" Light examined the silver, a grin on his lips. "You at least managed to ruin that side plan on mine. By revealing herself as a spy, she was able to get Near to show her his face. All she needed to do was leave the Facility during her night of watch and I would no longer have had need for you...or for Mello." He shrugged and began to cut at the red head's ropes, knowing that he wouldn't betray the brunette while the blonde's life was on the line. "Near could have executed you for murder, but you killed her all the same."

"For the things she said I would have killed her whether she was a spy or not." Matt broke free of the ropes and stood up, making no move against Light. "I knew that Near would not confront me on the matter."

"Yes, and if he did then you could have just told him that you were J. You could have told him about my plan, but you chose to leave him in the dark. After all, if he had found out then he would have killed Mihael the moment he walked into the Facility. You wished that your little lost lover would never come back into your life, but you prepared for the possibility all the same..." Light grinned and Matt moved in front of Mello, crouching down to his height.

"...I'm sorry." He leaned forward and connected their lips in a kiss. Unlike the time Kira had kissed him, he immediately leaned into the red head's lips, his body seeking the man like a moth to a flame. Hands began to explore his body and a soft moan escaped the blonde's lips against his approval. He wanted to hate the red head for choosing his life over the others, but he couldn't bring himself to blame him.

"Okay, enough of that." Mail pulled away as Kira aimed his gun at Mello once again, "You have a job to do." Matt nodded and began to ascend the left staircase, his feet heavy with dread. "You remember what I told you to write?"

"What is the current time?"

Kira hesitated temporarily before looking away for a moment, towards his wristwatch. "3:58pm."

"DON'T DO IT, MATT!" The blonde glared at the red head but his gaze was avoided at all costs. "IF YOU WRITE DOWN NEAR'S NAME HE WILL KILL US BOTH ANYWAY! YOU'RE PLAYING RIGHT INTO HIS TRAP!"

Matt picked up the pen and flipped the white notebook open to an empty page. Pen met paper and he spoke aloud as he wrote. "NateRiver...enters Kira's hideout alone...at exactly 4pm...with his face...uncovered."

A wave of nausea coursed through Mello's body...Why Matt?

A bout of mad laughter rose from Kira, filling the flaming air with its thickness. "YES! YES! YES! JUST AS PLANNED!" More laughter. "FINALLY I HAVE WON! THE WORLD CAN NOW BE REBORN IN JUSTICE!" He looked at his watch, the fire in his eyes reflecting a vicious red glow. "3:59! IN LESS THAN A MINUTE MY PLAN WILL BE ACHIEVED!"

Mello felt sick...Why was he feeling so ill all of a sudden? Was it because Matt had played along with the plan even though he had known about it all along? That fathead Near! He should have just killed them both! Mello could already imagine him now, pacing down the hallway towards the room, twirling pale hair in his grimy little hands. The same stupid pyjamas he wore day to day! His-...!

Huh?

Mello suddenly looked at Matt, seeing the red head's face twinge in caution and...triumph? 4pm.

The door suddenly opened and a stranger stood in the hallway beyond. He wore strange plain pyjamas and he had hair that was oddly white. The boy twirled a lock in his hands, and his face...was covered by a mask.

...This was Near?

Light stared in shock, especially once three soldiers ran past the albino. "WHAT?" The soldiers grabbed him and jerked the knife away from his hand.

Mail picked up the white notebook and read what he had truly written aloud. "'Mihael Keehl and Mail Jeevas both forget what NateRiver looks like'. Checkmate Light." Matt suddenly lifted up his shirt and revealed a plastic bag that had been taped to his chest all along. It was filled to the brim with a brownish liquid...Petrol? "You see, I ran into Near on my way over here. I told him that in order to beat you once and for all we would have to work together. I informed him about the notebooks, and I told him that I could trick you into thinking that he would come alone with his face uncovered, and we set the time of 4pm." He pulled the bag of petrol from his chest and flung it onto the table, the brown liquid bursting from the plastic like a water balloon, drenching both notebooks.

"Yes," Near's voice was even and bored, "although I was still sceptical about the plan...especially once I learnt of the existence of supernatural notebooks."

Matt grinned triumphantly and suddenly drew forth his lighter. Mello paled and realised that the red head must have stolen it from his pocket while they had kissed. That devil! Nevertheless, Mello had never wanted to kiss someone so badly before! That idiot was a genius! A stupid fucking genius!

"I WON'T BE BEATEN SO EASILY!" Suddenly the other door burst open, a horde of Fleshlings standing in its wake. "KILL THEM ALL!" The zombies screamed and flocked into the room, a mob of about twenty.

"BURN THE BOOKS, MATT!" Mello cried out, knowing that they were still unarmed. The man hesitated as they both realised that the Fleshlings were headed straight for the easiest prey; the tied up blonde.

Matt closed the lighter and ran, forgetting about everything else entirely. "Matt! Catch!" Lidner threw something across the room and Mail caught it in one sweep of his hand. The hunting knife.

He jumped off the top level's ledge and was at Mello's side in moments, desperately cutting at the ropes while two of the soldiers gunned down the first line of the zombie flock. "Forget about me!" Mello gritted his teeth and stared at where the notebooks sat, drenched in petrol and waiting to be lit. "Burn the fucking books!"

The first zombie reached them both and Matt had to pull the knife away to stab the cretin in the neck, killing it mid-yowl. "I won't leave you, babe! Not again!" He lunged forward to stab two more, keeping them away from his lover. Mello began to pull at the loosened ropes, trying to break what little of the cord remained.

Near was backed against a wall. Gevanni and Lidner were struggling to protect him while Commander Rester fought to keep a tight hold of Light. "We used all of our grenades getting through the forest!"

Kira laughed madly and continued to struggle against the man's grasp. "IT'S OVER! YOU CAN'T FIGHT THEM OFF FOREVER!"

Matt suddenly pulled out his lighter, flicking it on. It was impossible for him to reach the notebooks now, so what was he thinking...

In one swift motion, Mail Jeevas had thrown the lit lighter across the room. Everyone held their breath as the fire flew brightly, aimed at the table...

It hit the table, but bounced off before the flame could lick at the liquid.

All hope was lost once another mob of zombies ran through the open door, joining the first. "Matt, I fucking hate you sometimes!" Mello managed to snap the cord and his rope fell to the ground, but he had no weapon to fight with...oh wait!

Mihael wrenched his crucifix from around his neck, pulling the end of it off in one motion, revealing the hidden blade from within. A Fleshling leaped close and he dug the knife deep into its skull repeatedly until it was crippled on the floor. Matt and Mello stood back to back, fighting the demons that surrounded them with every inch of courage that remained.

But they all knew it was hopeless. There were only six of them, and there were thousands of Fleshlings all seeking their flesh.

They were as good as dead...

"You are getting sloppy, Light." All eyes turned to the new voice, noticing a man standing on the second level of the room. The Fleshlings were indifferent about him; perhaps they had grown too used to his scent to see him as prey. "Are my 'little letters' too great for you to handle?"

None other than L stood before the mahogany table, with Matt's lighter held delicately between his fingers. "You're alive!" Matt's voice was shocked as he sliced through the neck of an approaching Fleshling, his eyes locked on their predecessor.

"Yes, but my sugar levels are quite low." He shrugged and almost pouted, panda eyes turned towards the notebooks. He lit the lighter with a simple flick. "I think it best to end this now."

"NO L!" Light struggled desperately and finally managed to break free of Rester's grasp, rushing through the swamp of decaying flesh. "WE CAN STILL SAVE THIS WORLD! MATT! STOP HIM! I CAN BRING BACK MELLO'S MEMORIES IF YOU STOP HIM!"

"That's impossible. You said so yourself, Light." The red head looked at the detective and nodded. "Do it, L."

"Woops." L dropped the lighter over the notebooks, taking a step back as he did so. "My bad."

The Dead Note and the Life Note went up in a blaze, flames almost reaching the ceiling.

The Fleshlings screamed as their names were burnt, writhing in agony as they began to turn to ash. Matt linked arms with Mello, keeping him close as they both watched the end of the apocalypse and the dawn of a brave new world.

-x-

He awoke with a start, wondering when he had fallen asleep. His mind throbbed and the world around him was a blur as he sat up. The first thing he registered was the feeling of sheets covering him and the second was the slouched figure standing next to the bed. "Welcome back, Light."

The brunette looked up at the man and it took some time for his vision to return to normal. "...Ryuzaki?" He looked around, finding himself in an unfamiliar room surrounded by white walls. "Where are we?"

"Do not worry, Light Yagami." L childishly put a hand on his head, ruffling his brown hair as though he were an infant. "You have been asleep, but you are finally awake to help us rebuild."

"Asleep?" He frowned in confusion but he could not remember anything except for his own name and the man beside him. "How long have I been asleep?"

"For five years you have been possessed by a Shinigami." L removed his hand and slid his fingers into his pockets. "You became a villain by the name of Kira and you brought on the apocalypse."

"I did what?" Light stared at the detective, disbelieving the words he spoke. "That's impossible, Ryuzaki! I couldn't have started the apocalypse!"

"You didn't, Light. It was Kira who started it." Light looked at his hands, realising that he was trembling. "You are currently in a building named the Facility. This is where the survivors in this region lived during your reign, but there are other places like this with survivors. Now that the Fleshlings have been wiped out it is finally possible to rekindle society."

"I see..." Light pulled the covers off and he got to his feet, wobbling as if he hadn't stood for days. "I have to help then...If I really have been possessed these past few years, then I have to regain my identity...I need people to know that I am not their enemy any longer."

"That will not be a problem with the majority of the people." L placed a hand on his shoulder, although Light didn't know who he was trying to support. "Most people here don't know anything about you, or your involvement in the apocalypse. There is only a small few, and most understood me when I told them that you had been possessed...although there was one who-"

"Mello! You heard what L said!"

"I DON'T FUCKING CARE!" The door suddenly opened, revealing two strangely familiar people...Oh! J and M! He remembered them! They both stopped at the sight of Light, and the blonde suddenly leapt at him. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Light stepped back but it didn't matter since the red head had already grabbed 'Mello' from behind, resisting the man's struggle. "He's not the same man, Mello! This is Light; Kira took control of him. It isn't his fault."

"LET GO, MATT! I NEED TO AT LEAST PUNCH HIM!" Mello continued to struggle but to no avail.

"You can punch me instead if it helps, but you can't punch him, Mello." Matt sighed a breath of cigarette smoke, shaking his head. "The past few days have been stressful for everyone."

"TRY THE PAST FUCKING YEAR!" Mello glowered but had stopped his struggling at last, and Matt was finally able to let go of him. "OR JUST THROW IN MY ENTIRE PAST WHILE YOU'RE AT IT!" The blonde looked like he really was going to punch either Light or Matt, but instead he aimed his fist at the wall, hitting it hard. He hissed and glared at the brunette before storming out of the room.

Matt sighed and looked back to Light, shrugging his shoulders. "He'll come around eventually...if we're lucky...It's good to have you back to your usual self."

"It's...good to be back..." Light wondered what he had done to make M so vengeful towards him...It must have been bad.

Matt turned and left in pursuit of Mello while L just pressed a finger against his lip. "He will never trust you, but perhaps one day he will accept you. After all, he can't even remember the torture that you put him through...I am the only one who knows, and I will never speak of it to anyone."

Light didn't ask and Light didn't want to know. It hadn't been him...

It hadn't been him.

-o-

Mello was storming down the hallway of the Facility and Matt was pacing behind him, waiting for the blonde to calm down. "I can't stand that man! We should have left him to burn alive in his lair!"

"I know you find it hard to believe but Kira and Light are two different people." Matt picked up his pace to walk at the blonde's side, attempting to reassure him. "I know you can't remember our time spent with L prior to your memories being erased, but if he says that Light was possessed then I do not have a single doubt."

"You're too loyal, Mail." Mello glared at him but could not remain angry at the red head. It was still so strange. At times this man still felt like a complete stranger to him and he knew that deep down that feeling would never go away. "I mean while we were going to Kira's lair he could have controlled me at any point in time! We could have just been walking down the street innocently then the next moment I may have been filling your body with bullets!"

"The only thing that Kira did was give you directions and a story, while he used his Fleshlings to simply hurry you along. Besides, it was impossible for him to make you kill someone with the notebook." Matt sighed and Mello just sniggered, wondering how the idiot could be so nonchalant about the situation.

"Don't forget about the hallucinations." Yes, the hallucinations. That was the only theory that they could come up with as to why the blonde had perceived the gamer's eyes as red in the darkness. "With or without orders, I could have popped a bullet in your head for that alone."

"But you didn't." Matt stopped walking and Mello followed his example. "And even if he had written orders in his notebook for you to simply harm me, I don't think you would have." Mihael opened his mouth to complain but the red head cut him off by pushing him against the wall. "When you knocked me unconscious you didn't kill me, even though I had just tried to kill you. I know you, Mello, far better than you even know yourself. If I had been anyone else I would not be here right now for the stunt I pulled."

Mello flushed and looked away from the red head, unsure of how to respond to the idiot. "...I just didn't want to get blood over me..."

"..." Matt took hold of the blonde's chin and pulled his face back to look at him. He connected their lips without hesitation, his cigarette falling onto the floor, already forgotten. Mello melted immediately as he always did at the feeling of this man's mouth, all ire disappearing in a moment. His body still craved this idiot, and somewhere deep inside of his chest he knew that he was in love with this imbecile. What he could not tell was where the emotion originated from; was it a remanent of the man who had existed before, or was it a feeling created from his own emotions...Perhaps it was both.

The man pulled away before the kiss could escalate further, or maybe he was just weary of the camera's gaze...unless this was another one of his camera blind spots. "Matt...I don't want to know anything about my past...I don't want to know when we met or where it was...Those memories belong to someone else."

"I know." Matt smiled up at him and the red head pulled his goggles down so that he could look him in the eye. "But no matter what, I will never leave your side, Mihael. I don't care if you're M or if you're Mello. I know what it is like to live without you, and I know that I would rather die than go through that again."

"...You are a fool...A loyal little fool..." His voice was a whisper, but it still caused Mail to laugh.

"Only in comparison to you."

Mello leaned forward and kissed the man, feeling the magnetic pull of his body as he did so. He refused to think about what Kira had done to him in his year of forgotten confinement. He had only been told that he had not had his deforming scar prior to his time spent with Kira. What had he done to make his body feel so repulsed by that nightmarish kiss? No, he didn't want to know. And neither did he want to know why his body possessed such a craving for this stranger before him. That was all someone else.

Yet even if this man would always seem a stranger to him, he knew that he could never leave him. It wasn't because of their history and it wasn't because of his body's longing for his touch. It was because of this man...

As stupid as a rock, as annoying as an insect, and as loyal as a canine. He had risked the end of humanity for the slim chance that they would both survive. They were complete opposites and part of him hated the idiot. Yet he loved him, and he could not face this brave new world without him by his side.

The world would rebuild. The wounds would heal. The scars would be forgotten.

"...I still want to punch Light in the face..." Matt laughed at the comment and they pulled each other apart. They walked for a while, little idea as to where they were headed until they reached the open doorway. A gentle breeze blew through and they stepped outside into the darkness of night. The spotlights no longer lit the landscape, and they relied on the light of the moon and stars to guide them.

They walked across the bridge to the earth, knowing that monsters no longer lurked amongst the shadows. Together they sat on an old metal bench that sat on the side of the once bustling street. Phantom figures ran around them; ghosts of children, of women carrying bundles of groceries and of men laughing at their own small insecurities. They almost heard the honk of car horns and the sound of engines in the cold winter night. The air was crisp against their skin and the shadows came and went of their own accord.

Yet they were alone in the rubble of the old world, amongst the people who had died long ago to a hand whom had sought only justice.

The world would never be the same...but humans would persevere. They did not need fangs or claws to survive, for they had their wits and they had their will. The brave new world would be built, and when that day came Mello knew that they would still be by each other's side.

They would survive, and they would do it together.

The End