All The Way Here

Author\'s note: Apparently it\'s really bad form to take a scene from the cannon and rewrite it with an alterative point of view.



Oops.



Mind you, as Matt would say, it is nice to know what the rules are before you willfully break them; and I was so good during the actual writing of \'All The Way Here\'...



Here is my thank you for 1000 hits. Love you all. 8D ~ Matilda xxxxx



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Two groups stood in a warehouse in a stand-off, waiting. In a moment all or none of them could be dead. It all depended upon just how good Near was. The tiny teenager knelt on the floor, white pyjamas too big for him, skirted by people with guns and being stared at by Yagami Raito. Kira. They all gave him a wide berth though, allies and enemies alike, and Near\'s head was bowed so no trace of his face could be seen underneath a mop of white hair. Only one person touched his shoulder and he was unseen by the boy on the floor. Watari standing there, lending his strength to the survivor.



He wasn\'t the only ghost in that room. Matt, leaning up against the wall, wondered why the place wasn\'t heaving with them. All the dead of Kira, all the dead of his pursuers, but instead it was only those who had fought. Those who could have been where the fabled Near was now, but instead lay in mostly unmarked graves out on the battleground. L was in front of Raito, staring at him with an unblinking intensity, his finger crooked against his lip. What L thought, none of them could guess, as the atmosphere in the room heightened and fear ran through the pores of all of those still alive.



Mello was by the door, whether seeking escape or watching the waiting x-kira outside, it was difficult to say. They could pretty much appear as they wanted to, dressed in whatever took their fancy, so Mello\'s outfit surprised his lover. It was the Mafioso blond who paced there like a caged tiger. Long, black leather coat down to his feet and long black feathers fanning out around his neck and shoulders. He still had the scar, though sometimes he didn\'t. The man was invited inside and Mello stepped back, glaring daggers at him as he made his progress into the warehouse itself.



The timer ran out and no-one died.



L walked away with a curious smile upon his face. It was the proof right there, the end of Kira. But only if Near could pull it off on behalf of them all. L joined Watari, flanking the crouching boy and suddenly Matt didn\'t want to stand by the wall anymore. He didn\'t dare even glance at Mello, but took up position beside Watari. The older man smiled at him, but Matt just shrugged, lighting a cigarette and glaring at Raito.



Near looked up and started speaking. His gaze fixed confidently on Kira, his words arriving coherently. Evidence piled upon evidence, each explained in detail. Matt just concentrated on willing him to do well, flinching slightly as boots clicked across the paving stones and Mello marched into the midst of the Japanese policemen. He stopped dead in front of the tall Shinigami and none of them could see the look he gave it. They all could imagine it though. Only Mello could confront the God of Death himself and cause the being to take a step backwards.



This all meant that, when Near coolly announced, "I owe this to Mello", they were all perfectly positioned to watch the blond swish around. Mello stared in absolute shock at his long-term rival and, as the reasoning went on, they watched his shoulders sink. The fire draining away. It flared briefly again, as Nate said, "Even if he didn\'t surpass me..." Then Near\'s sentence petered out and he stared at his Mello puppet with a pensive look on his face. He whispered, uncertainty creeping into his tone, "Even if he didn\'t..." For a moment, it seemed like Near would crawl off into a corner somewhere to work out his conundrum, while Mello was going to faint at the implications being aired here.



Matt shouted out, "Nate, he fucking pwned you! Now forget it and concentrate on this!" He had stepped out, trying in vain to touch the boy.



Watari stopped him, commenting wryly, "You are asking him to apply himself, Mail? Really?" There was no humour in his voice, though his eyes twinkled. His hand never left Near\'s shoulder, while, on the other side, L crouched with his knees up, those fathomless, black eyes flicking from the puppets to Raito.



All eyes were on Near then, as he made a decision. Rising up with a sudden confidence, with both his own and the Mello puppet on his fingers, he made a grand speech. It was all about how individually they couldn\'t surpass L, but together they could. L rolled his eyes, muttering, "It wasn\'t about beating each other." But the announcement was for Near himself. He needed to sort it out in his head before he could continue his confrontation of Kira. He could carry on now, throwing words like barbs, condemning Yagami Raito. He spoke of \'we\', himself and Mello together having brought this man to justice.



They all watched Raito crumble and confess to the whole room that he was Kira. A whole melodrama played out that stunned them all, pride rippling through all of the assembled Wammy House, as Near played it perfectly. Calmly and coolly solving the puzzle and defending his case against all of Raito\'s clever retorts. Then there was a scream from Rester, "He\'s got a note hidden on him!" People froze; no-one alive moved, even as the scratching of his pen was audibly heard. But Mello did. Still stalking in the vicinity of the Shinigami, his automatic was in his hand blasting useless bullets into Kira. Mello knew it was hopeless, but he ran and they watched him disappear.



Matsuda had been on his hands and knees in absolute despair over the proceedings; seeming to all of them to be on the verge of a mental collapse. Suddenly, he rose like a demon, lifted his gun and fired. The truly frightening thing for those watching from both sides of the veil was that, as he did so, there was clearly visible a burn scar running across his eyes and down his cheek. Then Mello reappeared to Matt\'s gasping relief and prowled to Raito\'s blood-splattered side. "It\'s ok." He spat. "He only got as far as Nate." Mello stood, automatic pointing down at Kira\'s head, glaring furiously, but it was too late to pull the trigger now. Behind him, Matsuda sobbed.



Raito began to write again, in his own blood, seeking to complete Near\'s name, and Mello\'s shout matched Aizwaka\'s in warning. Matt sprinted the length of the warehouse. "Don\'t possess him again. They have to do it on their own! Mihael!" But it wasn\'t necessary, Matsuda had fired on his own. "Fucking Hell." The bullets had passed straight through himself and Mello to reach their target. Raito fell backwards onto the ground. There was so much blood. This is what it looked like to see someone shot.



Mello took Matt\'s shoulders and peered into his face, "Look at me. This isn\'t the time to freak out."



"I\'m not fucking freaking out."



"Good." Mello looked over at Near, thoughtfully. Even in death, the blond\'s mind was ticking over constantly processing data, coming up with strategies. As Near calmly called out the killer words, as Raito argued even now for his life, Mello released Matt\'s hand and stalked over to the Shinigami again. His tone dripped venom. "You will pass on my regards to Sidoh, won\'t you?" The Shinigami looked uncomfortable. In fact, to Matt watching on, the creature looked scared. "Only I\'m on this side of the divide now and isn\'t it interesting?" Behind them, Kira screamed for Ryuk to write the names of those present, to kill Near, to save his life. The Shinigami blinked, Mello\'s gaze only inches from his own. "I could haunt him. We could be together all the time. Wouldn\'t that be nice?" Mello smiled darkly and when Ryuk wrote in the book, it was only one name: Yagami Raito. Light Yagami. Kira was dead. "Good choice." Mello smirked and opened his arm to receive Matt under it.



They returned to the others then. Watari and L standing jubilant, while Near merely sat, unsmiling, not speaking. Mello stood in front of Near so that, if he could have been seen, he would have been blocking his view. "You said surpass L together. You didn\'t finish the sentence. You\'ve implied, by omission, that I beat you, but I couldn\'t beat L without you. You\'ve just said I was number one!"



L yawned, "Mihael, it\'s not important."



Matt broke rank again, releasing Mello\'s hand and barking at L, "You have no fucking idea how important it was. It mattered more than Kira and it nearly cost us the day. Ok?" The fury rose and, if Mello hadn\'t pulled him back, they all knew he would have thrown a punch at L\'s half-amused, appraising face. "You need to recognise what you did."



"Boys." Watari sighed.



L held up his hands, in mock innocence. "Ok, who was number one? It matters."



"Mail, leave it." Mello seemed unaware that there were two ways in which L\'s turn of phrase could be interpreted. He circled Watari and stood behind Near. "The important thing now is supporting Nate." They all stared at him then and Mello just smirked. But then his gaze met the Shinigami\'s again and he was pure Mafioso, or an avenging Catholic dark angel, or just Mello.



Matt turned away and stared at the ceiling. Then, calmed with another cigarette, turned to view the tableau of The Wammy House. They all thought they were number one now. Mello because Near had said so; L because he surpassed everyone on his own; Near because he\'d just beaten Kira, believing it to be single-handed in this final battle; and himself, because hacked computers meant that he\'d activated the Mario Clause and beaten Mello and Near. Did that make them all winners or losers? What did it matter in the end? He took out his handheld and switched on the game, losing himself in a little world where everything was simple.



"Mail?" Mello hugged him from behind. "Me and you... let\'s go explore eternity."



Matt brightened and signalled the game over. He turned and beamed into Mello\'s face. "Yes, let\'s." Then he kissed him.