"I should hope I resemble myself," Near whispered, frowning even more.

"I had to be sure." Roger smiled. "Wow...look at you...you look like a little boy."

"I am a little boy," Near informed. "I am thirteen."

Roger knelt down and wrapped his arms around Near- hugging him gently.

Near tensed up a little and frowned even more, looking at Roger in confusion. "I would appreciate an explanation."

"You do realize that you're now removed from your own time...correct?" Roger asked.

"I do, yes," Near informed, slowly. "What I want to know is why Roger is aware of this fact..."

"Is that... is that really...?" A voice came from the door way and Near turned to see Nancy standing there, a look of shock on her face and tears of joy in her eyes.

"...Looks a little older than the gal we got to play her." Mail commented. "Then again, that was for a flashback."

He shrugged.

"Nancy, it's him." Roger stood up and nodded. "I have no doubts...just like we remember him."

The woman ignored Mail and rushed over, scooping Near up and crushing him to his chest. She let out after a few seconds however, since it was obvious he was uncomfortable. "You are alive... you're here!"

"Yeah, we can all see that." Mail replied. "Uhh...so you guys apparently know who we are and what we're doing here, so when are you filling us in?"

The woman glanced at Roger, before shooing them out of the front room and back into one of the offices, making sure that none of the students saw them.

"Man, what the hell's going on?" Mail frowned.

"Understand that this is a very delicate situation in which we have some very specific instructions to follow." Roger explained. "You see...someone already informed us that this would be happening."

"Someone?" Near pressed, before he frowned. "...Nate?"

"Try not to say too much out loud." Roger warned. "In the later years, more and more ears opened in the walls here."

"I would appreciate knowing what is going on," Near whispered. "I would also like to know if-"

He was cut off as Nancy put a finger on his lips.

"As we said," She whispered. "We have specific instructions... and one of them is to not answer your questions."

"That's pretty convenient, but are they just 'his' questions or mine too?" Mail asked.

The woman completely ignored him. "For now, we need you to get to a room and get out of those clothes," She eyed him with a deep frown. "We're going to call 'him' up and you two can get something to eat and some rest while we do so."

"You trust the two of us together?" Mail asked. "Left unsupervised and to our own devices?"

"I trust him," She informed, motioning to Near. "You obviously don't know him well if you can't see why."

"I was talking about me, but that's fair." Mail smirked before taking Near's hand again. "C'mon, lets get outta their way."

Nancy pulled out a phone and Near watched in awe as she pressed the buttons like she'd been doing it her whole life.

"Nancy uses text messages now?" He inquired.

"Wammies went digital," She informed, smiling weakly, before looking up as a twenty something year old young man stepped into the room.

"Wow... he really is here," The boy said - he was Japanese with long hair pulled back into a ponytail. "And he looks... like a hooker?"

"You're one to talk." Mail snorted- looking the new arrival over.

"I don't consider jeans and a t-shirt to be what hookers wear, but perhaps in America?" The young man commented. "Near, why are you wearing that?"

"It is good to see Zero again, too," Near informed, moving over and peering up at the boy. "...Zero became taller."

"Near became shorter," Zero replied, smiling sadly. "...I've missed you, chibi-chan. Hey, I can actually call you that now!"

"...Oh wow, are you gonna hug?" Mail asked the two- looking between them. "So there's a 'Zero'?"

"He's a feisty one," Zero commented. "Come on, Near- I'll take you to your room."

Near waited for Mail to follow before the two of them stalked after Zero.

"Wammy's isn't known for its creative nicknames," Zero informed. "With names like 'Near', 'Matt', and 'L', though, are you really surprised? Ahh, here we are... your old room."

They stopped in front of a door and Near paused, turning to look at Zero. "This is... my old room."

"That's what I said," Zero confirmed. "We haven't changed it."

Slowly, Near turned the handle and peered inside, only to gasp in surprise.

Mail blinked and hurried forward- pushing the door open to look inside.

It looked like a normal bedroom to him - black curtains to hide from the sun, a toy box in the corner, a neat and tidy bed...

But to Near... it hadn't changed. Not from when he had been in it only a little over twenty four hours ago... everything was exactly the same - but it had been years!

"Mello and Matt made us keep it the same," Zero informed, gently.

"Where are those two?" Mail asked curiously. "I'm sure Near'd love to see them."

"I'm not allowed to answer that and I'm going to get out of here before Near weasels the answer out of me," Zero informed. "I'll swing by with some food in a little bit!"

He practically bolted as Near took a seat in the center of the floor.

Mail stepped in and closed the door.

"...So how would you have gotten him to talk?" Mail chuckled.

"I wouldn't have tried," Near whispered. "I am far too confused and shocked. And getting Zero to speak about something he doesn't want to talk about is like pulling my hair out, anyways."

"What's up...something's buggin' ya." Mail walked over and sat down beside Near.

"This room... is how I left it," Near whispered, looking at Mail. "Eight years ago... It has been dusted, but nothing has been moved."

"They cared that much about you...I thought you'd be happy." Mail blinked.

"Mail doesn't understand..." The little boy turned to look at him. "That means that I didn't return to my time line."

"...Huh?" Matt tilted his head.

"I never go back in time," Near whispered. "I am stuck in the future."

"We don't know that...maybe you're just not here because you haven't gone back yet." Mail offered.

Near's shoulders fell - obviously the words hadn't comforted him - and he let himself fall forward onto the floor, laying on his stomach and pressing his cheek against the carpet.

Mail leaned over and rubbed the boy's back gently.

"...You can't lose hope." He offered. "If you do, then you'll never get back home."