Thank you all who faved/followed and thank you Moonlit Sapphires and PlaidOtaku for the reviews last chapter.

There is nothing left of you

I can see it in your eyes

Sing the anthem of the angels

And say the last goodbye

(Anthem of the Angels: Breaking Benjamin)

/

Light had to physically stop himself from checking to see whether or not he was visible when L looked straight at him in order to greet him. The way the detectives eyes kept flickering told him that L had simply guessed at his position.

"Hello L, long time." He responded, a wearied note in his voice as he bypassed the still on edge detectives to collapse into an empty swivel chair by L's side. The man hadn't changed much since Light had last seen him. There were still the signs of sleepless nights etched under his eyes, his position was still in the familiar crouch, black hair a curled mass that Light knew was soft and silky despite its looks and the white sweater, blue jean, barefoot ensemble he rarely changed up. Light felt a wave of fondness wash over him, L understood him in a way nobody else ever had and it was now that he was free of the dark, twisted influence of the Death Note he acknowledged that they would have been quite the team had they met under different circumstances.

"What are you doing back here, monster? Are you the one responsible for the current events?" Soichiro asked in a harsh tone, but Light could see that his father's hands were trembling around the gun and the slight spark of hope in his eyes.

'I'm so sorry for everything I did to you, mum and Sayu. I never deserved anything you did for me, and now that I can see what I had, I'm no longer human.' Light looked away as sadness washed over him, blinking away the tears that started to form before softly clearing his throat.

"I've actually been dead for the last three months, and by that I mean my soul was lost in the void. I literally reawakened only a few hours ago." L had startled slightly when Light had begun to talk, his attention focusing on Light even though he couldn't see him. The rest of the task force following L's lead and Light shifted uncomfortably under the combined gazes; even though they couldn't see him, before he continued. "As for the 'monster' bit, I am technically half-angel, half-demon, so take that as you will."

"You're not a shinigami?" L asked, shock in his tone even though Light was certain he was the only one who heard it.

"What are you then if not some freaky kind of ghost?" A young blonde teenager dressed in leather asked. Light flicked his gaze up, reading the teens name before glancing around and taking note of the other two teenagers, memorizing their names also before dismissing them and focusing on L.

"Shinigami are born, reapers are the souls of spirits who hadn't crossed over. I'm an Angel of Death." Light crossed his jean clad legs and picked at the top of his combat boots. "I'm here to locate six missing shinigami and then I'm off." It was said dismissively but Light could already feel the tug of death calling him to respond, it'd been growing increasingly once he'd decided to make his way to the Taskforce headquarters. The members of the task force remained silent as they processed what Light had said, the tense feeling in the room and the insistent tug within him causing Light to stand abruptly and begin pacing.

"You claim that there are six shinigami missing. Should we take that to mean that there are six Death Notes here on Earth?" The kid with the platinum blonde hair asked, twirling a curl around his index finger even as his eyes remained focused on the now empty chair.

"I suppose," Light shrugged his shoulders even as he folded his arms, everyone's heads turning to pinpoint the location of his voice. "Technically they could do all of this with only a single notebook. That being said, if they're a bunch of simpletons they may be unwilling to test out the full extent of the Death Note, in which case there would be six Death Notes for the six missing shinigami." The internal tug had become a sharp pull, the call of death echoing in his head and Light struggled to ignore it slowly realizing that he wouldn't be able to for much longer. He was in his true form and out the window without a word, streaking away from the building following the pull before he even fully registered the action.

/:/:/

"You wouldn't happen to know anything else would you?" Mello asked of Light, even though they couldn't see the deceased teen-turned-Angel-of-Death. They waited for a response, when none came suspicious looks were replaced by ones of confusion.

"How can this even have happened?" Soichiro asked, slumping down upon the couch and resting his gun upon his knees, a weary look in his eyes as he struggled over the fact that his eldest had returned a different being all together. Nobody had an answer for him.

"Can I just ask who this guy is?" Matt cut in, goggle covered eyes fixated on his handheld Gameboy even as his fingers repeatedly smashed upon the controls.

"Light Yagami was the original Kira." Aizawa said from where he sat, Mogi sitting beside him nodded in confirmation. "He was killed three months ago when we caught him trying to kill us with the Death Note, he was shot in self-defense."

L couldn't help but flinch at the memory that comment brought up. Light screaming madly on the floor even as blood gushed from his wounds, the teenager deranged in his pain and rage. The moment Light's heart stopped beating for good. The moment L accepted that he was once again alone in the world. "Light-kun was only 18 when he was killed." His successors fell silent at that, even Matt's fingers pausing momentarily on the controls, Near twisting his hair as he paused in his construction of a block tower.

"If he'd been at the House, where would he have placed?" Mello asked, looking between Watari and L in question.

Watari looked briefly at L before looking back to the three successors. "He would have gotten the title." Watari said with a note of finality, stunning the successors even as the rest of the gathered team struggled to comprehend what they were discussing.

"He's that smart?" Mello whispered, though his whisper was still audible to the rest of the room.

"I believe that he's smarter then even me." L admitted, turning away to look out the window. 'Where did you run off to? Do you truly have no hand in the murders currently occurring in your name?' L nibbled on his thumb as questions flew through his mind. "We need to continue finding links between the deceased and the Elite." There were no complaints offered, everyone returning to the lists of names they'd been given.

They worked in silence, minutes passing followed by hours. L kept waiting for Light to announce his return, upon realizing what he was doing L tried to put himself in check, attempting to keep his mind from drifting to the alluring teenager. What did he look like now? Was he really as human as he sounded? What did his rank as an Angel of Death mean? Why wasn't he here now?

"There's no point looking at the people being killed, there's literally no pattern save for those who speak out against Kira." L looked towards the sound of Light's voice, completely forgetting his plan on acting as though the teen had no effect on him. The rest of the task force didn't fare any better, Matsuda sending a cup of coffee onto the floor and the others jumping in surprise at the silence being broken.

"Geeze ghost-boy, some warning would be nice." Mello snapped, picking up the chocolate bar he'd dropped.

"Oh calm down Mihael Keehl, it wasn't even open." Lights tone was dismissive despite the tension that flared up within Watari, Matt, Near and Mello, L had expected the subtle threat to be made.

"Light-kun, I wondered where you'd gotten to." L looked away from where Light's voice had come from, no longer interested in trying to spot the invisible teen. "We're trying to work, so unless you're going to offer some advice." L trailed off, not truly expecting Light to answer as he'd been out of the loop for three months.

…