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Near shook his head, croaking something and looking rather upset at the idea.

"Near, what is it?" Matt leaned closer to the boy's mouth- trying to hear him through the mask. "What's wrong?"

"He's likely suffering from hypothermia." One of the nurses stated. "We have to make sure he's stable."

"No... Mello..." Near choked, weakly, staring up at Matt. His eyes were shutting as he lost consciousness.

"He'll be here soon Near, I promise!" Matt said as he was pushed away and Near was wheeled off. "...Shit."

He looked back down the hall and then towards the doors Near had been drug through. What the hell were they going to do now?

--Scene Change--

Zero let out a soft groan as lights swam around him. There was a quick beeping that went along with the pounding in his ears - or maybe it was the pounding in his ears - and people speaking in rapid voices that he couldn't understand.

"He's coming to!" Someone called before darkness overtook him once more.

When his eyes opened once more they were clouded and he felt heavy. The beeping had slowed, but it was still pounding in his ears.

"I don't care, I'm gonna see him!" The voice was so distant- slow like it was passing through water.

The world was still pretty much in black and white- wavy and hazy like in a dream.

He was vaguely aware of something inside of his throat, but he couldn't really feel it. His entire body was numb and he felt like he was floating... it was almost like being a kid again and being given drug after drug while things were done to him...

"Get off me!" Suddenly there were footsteps- echoing in his head and in his chest even.

Someone was coming and coming fast- he could tell even in his foggy, drug-induced state that they were. They seemed like small steps, but it was hard to tell. Suddenly the was the sound of his door crashing open- how familiar that was to him...was he going to be taken again...maybe there was even more than one of them this time. The bed shifted and face came into view. Not the face of some sex craved pervert, but the face of a little boy- his eyes wide with concern.

"Zero?" He called. "Zero!"

Zero... did he know that name? Zero...

"Without Zero, there would always be something. Always one, or two… or so on. Zero means that there is nothing. When there is no one in a room, there are Zero people there… if there was no Zero, every room in the world would have to have a person."

He felt himself frowning. Who had said that...? Was it... important...?

"Are you insulted? Zero is a very important number."

...A very important number...

"...Zero?" The little boy reached out and touched his face with his fingertips- they were so cold against his skin right now.

Was that face familiar? Where they familiar with each other?

I am nobody...

Zero... because not one person wanted him..

I am nobody...

He couldn't be Zero... because he was wanted... right?

More people came in then, grabbing the boy and trying to pull him away.

"No, he's hurt!" The boy fought- they always fight.

Was he fighting for him?

He wanted to call out to the boy... to tell him to stay... he tried and tried but then the pain started. Every vibration burned and every burn hurt and every hurt caused him to yell, making his throat vibrate even more.

"NO!" The boy screamed. "Don't touch me! Get off! HELP!"

He was ripping off the sheets as he was drug away- his fingers curled into the fabric.

"ZERO!" He cried out- reaching for the Asian boy on the bed.

The teen heard the heart rate machine speeding up, but all he could feel was pain. All he could hear was his own screams.

Then the darkness swallowed him back up.

--scene break--

Mello was jostled awake as the plane landed and blinked around.

"Nghm?" He rubbed his head. "Fuck, we here?"

He looked out the window as the airstrip came up on them.