This is a fanfiction with an alternate ending to the anime because I, personally, just didn't like how it finished.
In this, (I won't mention how the original ended in case of spoilers) Mello is still in his long-running competition with Near to bring down Kira, but when that actually happens... Have they captured the right man, or is there another Kira still at large? L is still trying to bring Light to justice, but is Light still the problem?
Pandora is a username on a popular Kira-supporting forum, and the alias of a growing opponent. The more Pandora posts on his account, the more followers he gains.
In his own opinion, Kira is an incompetent killer and he believes he could be so much more than a murderer, and wants to be a god of a newer, even more peaceful world...
Until stakes run high and even the most peaceful of protesters realise that this battle is never won until the best man snaps.
I do not own Death Note or the characters (aside from protesters, pedestrians and Pandora himself) and never will.
Also, flashbacks and dreams of character childhoods may be included to run through a character development, even with the official characters.
Enjoy.
It was dark outside the fogged windows, although it was still early in the day, and bare skeletal tree limbs reached their brittle claws out to scrape the window. The moon was shielded by clouds, stars were dimmed and L couldn't see the street lights as they shone in the distance like he usually could.
He pressed his hand flat against the cold glass and stared out into the silently dancing snow, trying to pinpoint the exact location of the distant street lights that always seemed to make him feel at peace. Seeing nothing, he allowed his arm to drop carelessly to his side. He felt alone, like he never really belonged here. He was definitely above the other children in terms of intelligence, skill and deductive ability; he was also above average at tennis, but the one thing he could never have was genuine happiness. Not since his parents...
His parents.
L sucked in a breath and bit his lip to avoid tears passing his emotional barrier. He couldn't remember. He felt like he knew everything, but he would never know what he felt was most important to him. He couldn't remember the most important part of his life up until now, and that destroyed him inside. He closed his fingers around the silver 'L' necklace he always wore beneath his shirt and looked to the clouded sky, willing his parents to show him they were there.
"Ridiculous..." He whispered to himself. "I'm being ridiculous. They're gone." He looked down slowly, shifting onto his knees by the window. "And they won't be coming back..." He leaned against the wall and hugged his knees to his chest, closing his eyes and trying to think of his mother's arms around him, or his father's hand on his shoulder.
Nothing.
He was truly... Alone.
Another day slowly drew in beneath the sunrise, another day with a murderous shadow looming over a city of innocents. L lay on his own bed in headquarters, watching the light slowly climb up from the horizon and stretch over the tall buildings outside of his window. He had been thinking about this case, catching Kira, but he just didn't have enough solid evidence to accuse Light Yagami just yet. Tired of thinking; he had retired to his room in the early hours to rest his legs and weary eyes, but he had only managed a few hours of sleep; but even then, he'd had that same dream. The dream of when he was first brought to Wammy's House, when he'd sit by the window and wait for a sign.
"Ridiculous..." He murmured to himself, turning onto his side. "I was being ridiculous."
"Ryuzaki!" An overly enthusiastic voice exclaimed on the corridor, the sound carrying excited footsteps that were headed to his door.
Oh wonderful. He thought, sitting up and waiting for the disturbance to reach him.
"Ryuzaki," The voice hollered again. "I have a lead!" It cried, beginning to knock furiously.
Rising slowly, L shuffled over to the door and allowed it to creak open, much to the annoyance of the desperately pacing detective on the other side.
"Yes, Matsuda?"
"I have a lead!" He yelled breathlessly, thrusting an envelope into his stomach.
Cautiously, L took the envelope between his thumbs and forefingers, slowly slipping the paper out to read it.
"Let's see..." He murmured, beginning to read the first few lines. "Kira's taken another break?"
"Yeah, but keep reading!"
He skimmed the page, not bothering to take the rest in.
"Why are you showing me this, Matsuda?" He asked, head snapping up to look him in the eye.
"W-Well, I just thought... You know, maybe they could be linked! I thought we could, y'know... Carry out a surveillance investigation on him..."
"Interesting." He nodded, handing the letter back. "I shall bear that in mind, thank you, Matsuda." L made to close the door, but he was resisting.
"Wait, you didn't read it!"
"I can assure you that I did, thank you again." He sighed.
"Just read it carefully!" He insisted, holding it out once more.
Giving in, he took the letter from him and read the lines over again slowly.
"Yes, you have a potential suspect you would like to investigate with hidden cameras and microphones because his schedule fits the current pattern of Kira killings." He handed it back to him once more. "That much I got from skimming the first time."
"Oh, well..." He choked on his words.
"Goodnight, Matsuda." He nodded, once again going to close the door.
"But, Ryuzak-"
The door shut finally, and he was alone at last. Considering the evidence that had just been placed in front of his eyes a moment earlier, he lay back down on the bed and thought over his next move.
It's definitely enough to initiate a full-length investigation, He concluded before he began to think about method and consequence. We have his schedule, and it matches the murders... It shouldn't be too difficult to conclude that this man is in fact working as Kira, and if not the original then a possible suspect for the second...? No, he seems to have careful planning in his stride, too careful for the second Kira... Maybe a third? Possibly. He shifted into his usual crouched position on the bed to increase deductive ability. It could be essential to our investigation to set up some form of surveillance system in the places that he frequents and, of course, his own home... Yes, I shall have Watari arrange that once everybody is awake. He lay down himself, closing his eyes and drifting off slowly to the sound of the rain outside.
L opened his eyes finally, unaware of how much time had passed. Sunlight was just emerging and illuminating the room he was sat in.
It was plain, with plain faded walls and a slightly worn carpet. A plain wooden bed was pushed against the far wall, and there was a wardrobe against the wall opposite. Not much else adorned the small room, aside from a chest of drawers and mirror above it.
Dragging himself up from his seated position, he turned to glance out the window and, seeing nothing but snowy fields, he realised where he was. He'd been taken from his home by a man with a hat and greying hair. Away from his parents. His parents...
His memory was hazy, but he could still hear the scream and feel the warm blood on his hands. In his hair. On his shirt. He could still hear his father's cries, his mother's shaky last breaths. He felt the trembling against his back as his mother held him close, and then-
He shook the thoughts away, still gripping his 'L' necklace.
"They were killed..." He whispered into the quiet room, trying to shake the feeling that this was all just a dream. "They're... They're gone..." He whimpered.
Tears strained against the barrier, and he was still fighting back. "No..." He mumbled. "I won't let him get away with this. I promise." His hand clasped the necklace tighter, so tight his knuckles whitened. "I promise, nobody who takes someone away from anyone will ever go free again..." He wouldn't let anybody else feel the same pain that was tearing him in half.
Forcing the tears away, L looked down and took a step toward the door. He would never break that promise, he would never be broken.
He would be L, the world's greatest detective.
He wouldn't let anyone else lose someone and feel that pain.
He wouldn't let anyone else feel alone.