(A/N) Hello all! This is my new DN fic, published in honor of Halloween! And, of course, L's birthday! *squeals*
Each chapter will be narrated by a different Wammy Boy. All of them are featured at some time or another. I think all you need to know is in the summery! I hope you all enjoy!
No pairings. Definitely no yaoi. If you don't know who Beyond Birthday and A are, I would suggest you turn back now and read Death Note: Another Note and then come back later. Thanks! Spoilers to the end of the series. Rated for some rather graphic descriptions later on, though nothing that shouldn't be manageable.
I do not own Death Note. Just a half a ton of candy... Sophomore year in HS is not too old for Trick-or-Treating, okay? Everybody has fun dressing up and getting candy!
I came to the conclusion that I would most likely…
What? Die? No, that was wrong. It seemed like… an outdated thought.
There was no realization.
There was no death.
There was no 'I.'
Only darkness.
I tentatively tried my body, and it worked… sort of. My fingers and toes twitched, and my facial muscles seemed fine. I blinked twice, but everything stayed dark. I felt so… strange. Kind of like I had felt that time I had stayed up gaming for 78 hours straight, with only a ham sandwich and massive amounts of caffeine; twitchy, but kind of numb.
I lifted my hand, the appendage feeling so light that it was almost a phantom feeling. It hit an obstacle about six inches above me; rough-cut wood.
I drew a breath.
My first one.
My lungs suddenly burned, my throat unbearably dry. I coughed, the loud sound making my ears ring and the wood surrounding me rattle. I wheezed, smelling choking dust and musty rot smell.
Panic gripped me abruptly, and I banged on the wood above me. I was lying on my back, in some sort of box. I was trapped, trapped, suffocating…
The lid gave way with a tremendous clatter, and I bolted into a sitting position, panting and gasping raggedly. My spine felt like jelly and I coughed, my chest spasming and my throat on fire from dryness. I looked up slowly, squinting my aching eyes.
And found myself staring at a skeleton.
This was nothing from a video game. It was real. And killer frightening.
Trembling violently, I looked around slowly; there were other bodies, and caskets. The only dim light came from a narrow grate in the corner of this stone horror house. Fear fluttering inside me, I looked down at myself.
My skin was smooth, unblemished, unmarked by even my childhood scars; the skinned-knee-scar was missing, as was the Beyond-Birthday-accidentally-or-not-so-accidentally-stabbing-me-scar. The more recent ones –Mello's handiwork, or perhaps the bullet wounds…
Bullet wounds?
That outdated thought… Takada's bodyguards… bullets…
"Oh sweet Zelda…" I whispered.
I took a closer look at myself. My clothes hung in tatters, and my stripped shirt had holes in it, and was faded to the point where it was no longer striped, but one monotonous shade of grey. My jeans were in similar condition.
I was sitting in a coffin.
I wanted to scream, but couldn't. Grotesquely bright carnage flashed in my head as I remembered getting shot, remembered dying. Finally, shaking badly, I climbed out of the casket and picked my way across the room. My whole body was full of pins and needles as the blood flow started again. I kept one hand pressed to my neck, on my pulse, to assure myself that I was actually alive.
When I reached the door, I fumbled desperately with the latch, desperate, now, to get out. When the door yielded, I stumbled forward, falling to my knees on the leaf-strewn earth. The scent of rot was drowned in the deep, rich soil scent, and I gazed up at the full moon and stars in utter relief.
A soft chuckle interrupted my thoughts.
"Sure took you long enough, Matty."
My ragged breath caught, and I looked up.
Sitting on a nearby headstone was a blonde boy, his leather clothes hanging in shreds on his thin frame. I swooned, nearly falling over. I tried to talk, to say his name, but my throat was swelled shut. I swayed sideways, but he leaped off his macabre perch and caught me on his lap. He took out a water bottle and held it to my lips.
"Drink," he urged. "I was thirsty, too, at first."
I drank obediently, the liquid soothing my throat and coolness spreading through my whole body. After the bottle was empty, I sat up slowly, and turned to face the blonde angel.
"Mello," I whispered. "Mels."
He chuckled again. "Hey, Matty. Welcome back."
"What… happened…?" I asked.
Mello shrugged. "I'm not quite sure," he admitted. "Do don't ask me, ask him." He motioned over his shoulder.
I peered around him, and saw a person I had thought that I would never see again.
B.
Beyond Birthday.
The sight of him put the fear of god into me.
He was emaciated, more so than usual, and looked oddly fragile. His skin was almost grey, and his eyes were half-closed. There were streaks of grey in his black hair, though he didn't seem to have aged. He looked sick and worn. Even so, he smiled.
"Hey Matty. It's been a while."
I was speechless. He just seemed so tired!
He laughed. "You look surprised. What, have I lost my good looks? Well, bringing back the dead really takes it out of a guy."
"B-But…y-you're…" I stammered, then finally blurted, "you're dead!"
Beyond tipped back his head and laughed, his whole body shaking. When he got himself under control, he grinned at me.
"Yeah, sorta," he said, shrugging his shoulders and unfurling huge red wings.
"Just one more stop," B told us, his near-silent wing beats sending little gusts of wind down on Mels and I. He had said that he lacked the strength to walk; we believed him.
Mello and I were stumbling; I was so hungry it felt like my stomach was eating itself, and Mello was holding his own belly. Beyond looked down sympathetically.
"I'm sorry," he said, for about the hundredth time. "The spell only works tonight, since it's a Halloween full moon, so we have to keep moving and get this done before the moon sets. There's lots of food back at my place, I promise."
I was still in shock. I had been dead half an hour ago. I had been rotting, with maggots in my heart and worms in my eye sockets. I shivered, and Mello put his arm around my shoulders. We were both feeling the same torrents of emotion.
On our way to the graveyard, we passed through a small town. Children shrieked excitedly, running all around us. Beyond was no walking, even though he was lurching unsteadily, his wings dragging on the ground behind him. Mello and I flanked him, ready to catch him shoulder he fall, which he looked ready to do at any moment.
By some (lucky) twist of fate we had all been buried in Japan, and relatively close to each other, at that.
"I think it was Near's idea," Beyond commented idly, as though to distract himself from his own shuffling steps. "L was already buried here, and Near's HQ isn't far away. I think he wanted to keep everyone close, even in death."
I nodded absently; that made sense. But I couldn't spare a moment to consider it right now.
One child raced up to us, a silly grin plastered on his face. "Whoa, your costumes are awesome! Two zombies and a Death God! So cool!"
I smiled, and Mello patted the child on the head. He ran off in search of more candy.
We made it to the cemetery without incident. Beyond looked about ready to faint, his red eyes hazy and his body swaying unsteadily. He spread his wings and flew the rest of the way. Sitting on the leaf strewn ground, beside a six foot deep hole, was a moldy, cheep, wooden coffin. I nearly started crying at the inscription on the non-descript headstone:
Rue Ryuzaki
Justice
Will
Prevail
"I dug it earlier," explained Beyond, his voice raspy, "like I did with you, Mello. Matt, you were inside that thing, so I had to bet that it could be opened from the inside. We'll put the empty casket back in the ground just like we did with Mello's."
We both nodded numbly. Beyond continued solemnly. "I don't know what this will do to me, so just be prepared." We nodded again, Mello more firmly than I. Beyond Birthday spread his wings…
And began to chant.
The words were in some ancient tongue that I didn't recognize, but it enchanted me, weaving an entrapment of pure moonlight. The full moon seemed to dance, and Beyond's voice rose and fell like the tide.
Tendrils of silver and purple smoke began to rise from Beyond's body. He started to tremble, and his voice changed in pitch. The shimmering smoke extended, soaking into the casket as cried of 'Lawliet' joined the haunting lyrics. Beyond grew thinner- impossibly –as the smoke left him, and new grey raced through his hair. He fell to his knees, then his hands, but the chant never slowed or wavered. With one final cry, it ended, and the last of the smoke desolved into the coffin. Beyond crumbled, spasming slightly. We dropped down beside him, but he struggled into a sitting possiton beside us.
All our eyes were riveted on the casket. The seconds stretched and contorted, becoming longer and longer.
The lit moved slightly.
The silence was broken by a bout of coughing, and then the quiet seized us again.
The lid moved again, and there was a scratching noise. The casket abruptly burst open, the lit splintering as it flew open.
Slowly, he sat up. His raven-feather hair was ruffled, and his dark eyes were wide and bright. As he pulled himself into a sitting position, his legs were drawn up to his chest automatically and his thumb found its way to his mouth. I realized that I was holding my breath.
"Well," L Lawliet said, "isn't this an interesting development?"
(A/N) So... what did you guys think? In thanks for leaving a review, I'll PM you with a hint for the next chapter! It should be up soon! Have a Happy Halloween, and Happy Birthday L!