Task Force HQ

Holly Short froze. She was faced with a creature that was neither human nor fairy. He had a permanent grin on his gray face. He looked like a deranged rock star. And he knew her name.

"How...." Holly couldn't quite figure out which ending to that sentence to use. How do you know my name? How did you stay undetected until now? How can Foaly just act like nothing's happening? She instead whispered frantically into her microphone. "Foaly, you have to be getting this."

"Holly, what are you talking about? I can see straight through fairy shields on this setting, and there's nothing there."

"Whatever this is, it's not a fairy," Holly said.

"Hey, I can hear you, you know," Ryuk piped up.

"Foaly, just believe me, there is something here," Holly said pleadingly. She then turned back to Ryuk. "Who and what are you?"

"I am Ryuk, a shinigami," Ryuk answered. "If you want more, I suggest you give me something in return. I've never seen anyone like you before. Maybe you could tell me about yourself, and I'll tell you about me."

"I'm a fairy, more specifically an elf. Obviously, you already know my name. There, now we're on the same page about each other. Now, about these pieces of paper."

Ryuk laughed. "You're persistent. Maybe we should go discuss this somewhere else, where we can't be burst in on by three geniuses and the cops. How about we go get some apples?"

"Apples?" Holly repeated in puzzlement, with an amused expression. "So, gods of death who like apples. Who knew?"

"I did," Ryuk responded. "Let's go." Holly followed the death god out, becoming more confused by the second.

Elsewhere, Later

Holly and Ryuk sat in a small shop near the headquarters. The shop was deserted, since the mesmerized man tending it had put out the CLOSED sign and the blinds were closed. Ryuk was shoving apples down his gullet, while Holly tried to get information out of him.

"So, those papers, what exactly were they?"

"Oh, those were pages from the Death Note," said Ryuk as he paused his apple genocide. "I suppose you can guess what that does." He gave his signature chuckle and continued.

"So that's how Kira, or rather, Light, gets his power," Holly prompted. "How does it work?"

"First, right, and second, we're gods of death, who can't be seen by anyone who hasn't touched the notebook… and you're wondering how it works? I don't think you should worry too much about how things work."

"I know that, I'm wondering what the restrictions are on it. L said that you probably need a name and face to kill. Is he right?"

"Oh yeah, that's the basics of it. You don't have to kill with a heart attack, either. You can kill any way you want, as long as it's possible."

"And you can control people's actions before they die?"

"Yep. It's a useful little book."

"Anything else we should know about this book? For example, a way to kill using only a face?"

"Oh, you heard about that second Kira thing? Yeah, that guy must have made the deal to get Shinigami eyes. You see, anyone in possession of a Death Note can trade half their remaining lifespan for the eyes of a Shinigami, which lets them see a person's name and lifespan floating above their heads. I noticed you before you even started going through people's stuff, because there was a name hanging in the air without anyone to go with it. It's a useful tool, but it has to be worth the cost."

"I think Artemis will be very interested to hear this."

"Not that I'm on anyone's side or anything, but do you think Artemis would tell L about it?"

"No idea. He could, to give L even footing with Light, but he has other plans. I think he wants to settle those before he would consider telling L."

"Well, this has been interesting. Fairies living underground. I wonder why Shinigami don't know about them. Anyway, we should probably get back. They're probably finishing their meeting by now."

"Oh, and Ryuk…" Holly tossed him another apple. "You never saw anything."

"Right. That makes us even."

Task Force HQ

Light was running through his options in his mind. I just can't think of a way that I can kill this guy. I can't kill him now, after having just met him, obviously. I could start killing only crooked businessmen, then kill Artemis as part of that line. Then L would not only accept that it was coincidence, but that the part of Kira may have somehow passed to someone in business. But that Butler… if Artemis dies, he would probably go with our only lead and go after me. Obviously, Butler isn't his real name – or if it is, it's not his full name. Can I get his name too, to kill him? Would that be too suspicious? I need more time to think before I start anything.

L was also thinking, briefing Artemis and Butler without paying much attention. If Artemis dies now, then Light is definitely Kira. But Light wouldn't be that stupid. He would wait until suspicion could be lifted. Of course, Artemis hasn't died yet, and there's no motive for Kira to kill him now if he doesn't do anything illegal soon. So, if Artemis dies at all before coming into the news for a new heist – which he will not do under my supervision – then Light is Kira, and trying to pick off the detectives on his trail. Light knows me; if he is Kira, he has probably guessed that I will know if he tries anything. So, if Light is as clever as he's been so far… Artemis Fowl is invincible.

Artemis was not exempt from the mental race going on. I appear to be completely safe. Kira kills criminals whose names are in the news. Since I don't plan on doing anything illegal – or, for that matter, news-worthy at all – Kira won't think of me immediately. If Light isn't Kira, I'm safe. If Light is Kira, I have ample time to prepare a plan before he'll feel safe to kill me. So I'm safe for now. As long as Holly is able to dig up something on Light, I'll have a lead, and I'll be able to talk to him, convince him to help me kill one criminal. The only difficulty will be persuading Light to open up to me, since he'll suspect a trap set by L. I certainly would be. I can see this will all depend on what Holly has been able to find. I will have time to prepare afterwards.

"…And so, with the addition of a second Kira, I felt it was necessary to contact you, Artemis, and here we all are," L finished. "Now, it's getting late. I'm sure the flight from Ireland has disoriented you both."

"Yes, actually, I was thinking the same thing," Artemis agreed. "I'm sorry to have taken up time that could have been used to find more leads. It seems our one option so far is a little far-fetched." Chief Yagami grunted in contempt of L's theory.

"There's no reason to be sorry," Light told him. "You're going to be a great help to us, Artemis. We needed to be sure you weren't missing anything before we continued."

The Task Force left the room to go their separate ways, collecting their jackets and phones on their way out. Light got out of earshot, then muttered, "Anyone?"

Ryuk laughed. "You could see the footage, right? No human or shinigami came through that hall."

Hotel Room

Artemis sat back in his chair while trying to take in everything Holly had just told him.

"So, Light is definitely Kira," he mused. "And on top of that, we know where he gets his power."

"This doesn't surprise you, of course," Butler said with a slight smile. "You were expecting a magical notebook?"

"With this case, I knew it was nothing human or fairy," Artemis said. "Thus, it had to be something I wouldn't expect. A killer notebook was as likely as anything else."

"So how do we get Light to write down Koboi's name?" Holly asked.

"Well, it's not just the name," Artemis reminded her. "We have to have her picture as well. Fortunately, I brought a picture along with me, since I deduced, like L, that Kira needed a name and face to kill."

"Yes, but how do you convince Light?" Holly pressed on.

"As for that, I have a plan. No1?"

The demon, who had proceeded directly to the hotel, turned. "Yes, Artemis?"

"I will need your help in this plan. Your abilities will be instrumental in convincing Light to help me." No1 nodded. Things were about to get interesting.