A/N: The prologue is damn long. Seriously, its longer than I intended. Before any of you ask: YES THERE WILL BE CHARACTER DEATH! And before any of you ask again NO I WILL NOT SPARE A CHARACTER YOU LIKE IF YOU ASK ME. Everything is already planned...and nothing is what it seems. Remember how I like my twists.

This story will be both Mello's POV and Matt's POV.

Enjoy ;)

I've never been so nervous to publish a story before today. I'm really freaking psyched that this story is FINALLY getting out there! I hope everyone enjoys this!

Prologue: The Beginning

Mello's POV

"Let me go!"

"What's going on?"

"Where are we?"

"I want to go home!"

"Everyone shut the fuck up!" Every single person in the room turned to look at me as I gave them all my infamous icy glare. "Now, before you all start talking again, listen up. I don't know where we are or why we're here or who we all are but if we don't cooperate with each other, then we're not going to get out of here. I know there are four people from the orphanage here-"

"Five." A timid looking boy answered, biting his bottom lip as tears streamed down his face. "I want to go back. I want to go back to Wammy's-"

"Stop crying and shut up. We can't have other people knowing about us alright?" I said, giving the other five strangers a shifty eyed stare. There was obviously a reason we were all here and I wouldn't put it past me if Kira was somehow involved. But no matter what, I would make sure our identities were safe. "We're all going to stay calm and make a plan. If we let ourselves panic or let our pride get in the way then everything will fall apart. So anyone whose not smart, don't say anything."

No one said a word, which was relaxing as it was annoying. We had all obviously been drugged which explained my pounding head and as much as I wanted to give myself a hand massage, I couldn't since my hands - as were everyone else's - were handcuffed to the wall.

I swallowed back the fear that crept into my heart and forced myself to be strong. I would not panic and lose myself as my parents did. They were weak. I am strong.

"Okay then. I'm Mello. I suggest everyone say a codename of some sort in case we've been kidnapped Kira and he's looking for the chance to take us all out one by one."

"That would make sense." One of the girls I didn't know said excitedly. "My fiance and I have been searching for Kira for a long time. Maybe this is the reason we're all here."

"Which wouldn't be a good thing N." The guy next to her said, his voice low. "If Kira's got us captured because we're a threat, then we're probably not going to make it out of here." His words sunk into the room like a poisonous gas that threatened to choke us all.

No. There was no way I had been captured by someone who didn't even know our identities, let alone our location. It had to be someone else. Because I would be damned if I died by Kira's hand.

"My oh my are you an amusing bunch."

"Oh my god...its...I can't believe it." The girl who had spoken before was now staring at the speaker in the ceiling with shock. "L."

"L? I don't think so Naomi Misora." Naomi's eyes could not get any bigger if they were ripped out of her skull. The shock on her face twisted into horror and the man next to her began to growl.

"Then who are you if you aren't L? Show your face you coward!" He spat at the speaker, his eyes screaming murder as every single pair of eyes in the room stared at the ceiling. It was silent for a few minutes, agonizingly, painfully silent. I wondered for a moment if I was going crazy.

"Raye Penber. Sexist, controlling, and desperate to be the best by putting down others. You've always thought yourself as special because you're an F.B.I. agent but you hate being one-uped, even by your fiance. I suppose that's why you tried so many times to get her to quit. You and Naomi have always been excitable. Its quite amusing. But I'm afraid, your time for fun has just run out. And by afraid, I mean unbelievably excited."

"Its Beyond Birthday isn't it?" We all turned to look at the red head - Matt I think his name was - and he nodded as if to reassure himself. "I read about you at school. Everyone at the orphanage had to do a report on a killer and I chose you." Now I remember. The goggle headed kid who just so happened to be right behind me in the race to be L. He mostly kept to himself at Wammy's but there was always something mischievous about him. Especially in the way he smiled. "People said you killed yourself though. To escape imprisonment. Obviously enough you faked your death."

"Its always nice to meet a fan. But Matthew...or should I say, Mail Jeevas, if you want to know the mystery behind my death - and I can tell you do - you'll just have to try and meet me face to face."

"Well I can't do that when I'm handcuffed." Matt said, wiggling his fingers. "Any chance you'll let me go?"

"Soon Mail, soon. I'll let you go when I'm finished with the rules." No one asked what the rules were because it was obvious we would find out.

"Now, you'll all pay attention to my introduction since I abhor repeating myself. I am Beyond Birthday as Mail so kindly told us. I am the world's greatest serial killer, so great that not even the all powerful L could destroy me." There was something fanatical in the way he spoke, something so disturbing that chills raced down my back. "L is the great detective that you all know and love...or hate, as Kira would say. Oh, I forgot to mention, did you all know that Kira is in the room with you right now? Yes, he is one of our many special guests."

"Kira is here?" Naomi whispered, looking at everyone with a passionate anger, as if she could instantly expose who Kira was.

"Yes Naomi Misora. It was always your dream to catch killers, wasn't it? You dreamed of saving the world, ridding it of evil, much like Kira in a sense. It must be shocking to find yourself so similar to a murderer. Which doesn't make sense of course. To think that you could have been like him, if the circumstances were different. You're exactly like Kira's other half...or should I say Light Yagami."

Light stiffened as we all turned to look at him, although it surprised me that everyone in here seemed to know who he was.

"Light Yagami, the infamous Kira, who has killed hundreds. Almost pathetic really, how such a god like figure can be taken and discovered so easily." Light clenched his teeth and looked like he wanted to scream. But he didn't just as I realized that this Beyond Birthday knew who we all were and that he was going to reveal our identities. "I bet your precious ego is just dying. For once in your life, you're not as special as you think you are. You're just the same as everyone else here." I watched with interest as Light's body shook but he said nothing to defend himself.

"You know, you weren't the first to receive the shinigami's notebook. There's dear Taro Kagami, who thought he could erase his mistakes and escape the past." I looked around the room until I saw one figure hanging their head in shame: Taro. "You can't erase the lives you destroyed, the families you hurt, the people you killed. I bet the guilt is just eating you alive. I can almost hear your pain, feel it from here."

"I-I didn't kill anyone. I never knew." He whispered.

"And then there's Kira's lackey Teru Mikami. Otherwise known as the fourth Kira. Bullied mercilessly at a young age...such a shame. Killing others must raise your self esteem. But tell me Mikami, do you get off on knowing you're murdering people proven innocent? Or do you just pretend that their guilty so you can feel less like a bully and more like a hero."

"I am a hero!" Mikami screamed, his face contorted in a mix of emotions: hate, rage, fear. Beyond wasn't just exposing who we all were. He was exposing our darkest selves, our inner fears. Our vulnerabilities.

"Heroes don't kill for fun. That's why you're here Mikami. That's why you're all here." There was a raspy noise for a moment, almost as if the speaker was being moved and then there was silence. "Then there are the Wammy children. L's beloved little successor's." The words were like poison to my ears. It finally hit me that he had taken the first five successors to screw with L. That's what this was really about.

"There's Nate Rivers. Number one. Perfect in every sense. Except for the fact that to be the best, you had to cut off all contact with your loved ones and sever all emotional ties. You are empty, lonely, and pathetic, all because you tried to be the best." There was something hostile in his tone, something that perked my interest. He had a special hatred for Near - no surprise there - and I think I realized why.

If I remembered correctly, Beyond was number one in the race to be L. But something went wrong obviously enough and he was replaced. And now he has a personal grudge for Near. Again, not very surprising. "And all to be like precious little L. But take away the brains Near, like L did with me, and you're nothing more than expendable."

"Number two? Where are you? Oh Mihael Keehl, I didn't see you there in the shadow of your competitor." I blinked back shock and hurt and tried to keep a straight face in case he was watching us for weakness. "You've never been shown true human kindness have you? Your parents put you last, when they so cruelly committed suicide. You struggled to follow in your idol's footsteps, but he only had eyes for number one. Wouldn't it be wonderful if you were someone else?" Something beeped overhead from an unknown location and Beyond sighed loudly.

"And then there's number three. You're rather content in your position Mail Jeevas. High enough to be valued but low enough to stay out of the limelight. You don't let people get close to you in fear that your pesky emotions will get in the way. You just care about the world too much but you've always seen this as weakness. Caring too much for others who will never care for you." Matt - or Mail - looked as unemotional as I wanted to feel. He didn't seemed bothered by Beyond's little fun facts about him and at that moment, I envied and respected him. "Though I must say that personally, I feel as if you would have been a fantastic L. Unemotional and focused on what had to be done. You're smarter than you let on and you could've been number one if you applied yourself. But you love your identity too much correct? What would have happened if you were number one?"

"Number four. Is that you A? Really and truly? Its been years since I've seen you. Raised from birth to be L's successor...we were such good friends then weren't we? Pity you were only meant to replace L, which means you weren't very important. So unimportant, that you're only a letter to them. The pressure to be L turned out to be too much didn't it? That's why you're number four. That's why you think of suicide every single day." The one who had been crying early was full out sobbing at this point and a pang of guilt ran through me. He had been one of the originals but no one ever thought twice when we took over. It was obvious that Beyond's words had hit home with A the most.

"And last but not least, number five. Linda. It must be an honor to be the only girl in the top five. So exhilarating, despite the fact that no one has ever loved you enough or cared to even name you. Twelve years spent living on the street as the world's trash, nameless. If you hadn't given yourself a name for L's sake, you would have been Kira's greatest adversary. Immortal in the world of the Death Note even. But of course you didn't, which is the reason why you are number five."

"There are five of you from the outside world, obsessed with the mysteries of the Death Note. There are five of you from Wammy's who are in desperate need of being L or being discarded. To think that any of you liked L at one point disgusts me."

"I never liked L." Mikami screamed, looking at Light with adoring eyes. "There is only my god."

"Yes about that. Your little god is about to be put through the ultimate test of survival, as will all of you if you wish to be the best. Because that is the ultimate similarity between you all. No matter what you believe in, in some way shape or form, you want to be the best. And this is why I created the game."

There was a clicking noise and all of a sudden, the handcuffs were undone, dropping all of us to the floor. I rubbed my sore wrists which were covered in aching blisters and watched as everybody came to a standing, all staring at the speaker expectantly.

"What do you want?" Taro asked calmly, holding his hands together and looking perfectly calm despite the situation we were in.

"I want you all to play." A sudden whirring noise came from one of the walls, and everyone backed away from it. The center of the wall split open and a tv-like device fit the space perfectly, sealing itself between us and the outside.

No one approached the TV except for me. I looked at the massive screen that was almost six feet tall and banged my hands against it. As I believed, it was reinforced and there would be no breaking this thing apart.

"Play what exactly?" I said, looking at the speaker.

The TV suddenly flickered on and words appeared before me.

The Rules:
-One will survive, nine will die
-Dead bodies will go down the chute, which is only unlocked when someone has died
-Three are to die by guns
-Three are to die by poison
-Two are to die by a knife
-One will be sacrificed by the group
-If you kill another in any other way not listed above you will be killed
-There is no specific order to how you all die
-You have one week
Let the Games Begin

"The next time I speak, it will be to my new successor face to face. That's right everyone. I'm following in the great L's footsteps. The chute to distribute the bodies is to the left of the screen and the weapons will be distributed through a crate from the ceiling. A timer will appear at the bottom of the screen, letting you all know how much time you have left. The only way to escape is to live. Let the games begin."

A/N: So what do you all think? Are you confused? Intrigued? Excited? Hope you all liked this. Just know that I LOVE twists so you never know what will happen. I'd love to hear what you are thinking so PLEASE review!

P.S. If you want to know what I'm updating, when I'm updating, or what stories I'm currently writing/planning to write, check out my profile page where it says Stories, Future Stories, and Next To Update.