Task Force HQ
Artemis entered the task force HQ with Butler to find everyone crowding around the computer. Light noticed him and turned to greet Artemis.
"Hey, Artemis, there's another message from the second Kira," Light explained, shaking Artemis's hand. A piece of paper slipped into his hand as he released. Light looked down, then back up at Artemis, who nodded slightly. Light stuffed his hands into his pockets, putting away the paper to see later.
"So, what's this message?" Artemis asked with eagerness.
"The second Kira sent us a journal," L explained. "The entries are from last year, but they reveal something very interesting. Look at these entries from May."
"May 30th looks promising," Artemis noticed. "'Confirmed our shinigami at the Tokyo Dome.' Then on the 22nd and 24th, he's meeting friends in Aoyama and Shibuya."
"Yes, but the infuriating thing is how stupid this move is," L hissed contemptuously. "Given how the second Kira has acted before, it seems natural that he wouldn't have considered how likely this is to cause mass panic and get the game canceled. On the other hand, this entry could be meant to distract us from his real purpose, meeting Kira at Aoyama or Shibuya. In that case, we should have people at those locations on those dates, looking for people with notebooks in Aoyama and people in clothing stores in Shibuya."
"I should probably go to Aoyama and Shibuya," said Matsuda, "since I blend in with the crowd there, you know?"
"I'll go, too," Artemis and Light volunteered simultaneously. Their heads instantly snapped towards each other, with expressions of puzzlement and amusement.
"Such enthusiasm, it's almost suspicious," L mused. "Your excuses?"
"I look the most natural hanging out with Matsuda," Light pointed out. "We need to look as little as possible like the police. No offense, Artemis, but you just wouldn't look natural. You stand out… well, anywhere."
"And you don't honestly think I'd let you go there alone, do you?" Butler interjected.
"Very well, Light, you win," Artemis admitted. A small grin played across his face. "You may face the imminent danger of a meeting between two Kiras at Aoyama."
Chief Yagami glared at Artemis. "Artemis, please, I hardly agree with the arrangements as they are." Fowl lost his mischievous air immediately.
Light left some time later. Saying his goodbyes, he walked out of the headquarters until he was sure that no one was in sight. Then he reached into his pocket and unfolded the paper Artemis had slipped him.
'Light, meet me at my hotel tonight at ten. Bring your notebook.'
He knows?! thought Light. This could be a trap. But if I don't go, then Artemis could turn me in anyway. At this point, I need to find out how he knows about the notebook, and what he plans to do with that information.
Hotel Room
Light appeared at Artemis's door at exactly ten o'clock. No sooner had he knocked than the door swung open. Light looked nervously to the side to see Butler watching him warily and clutching the doorknob. A computer screen cast a eerie glow on a high-backed chair. The chair swiveled to reveal the pale form of Artemis Fowl sitting at it. Light rolled his eyes. Theatrics. Ryuk, on the other hand, laughed hysterically.
Artemis rose as Butler flicked on the light switch. "So, Light, or should I say, Kira, you have the notebook with you?"
"Kira? I don't know what you're talking about."
"Please, Light, this will go much more quickly if you drop the act. We both know that you are Kira. You know I know about the Death Note, and yet have not turned you in to L."
Light paused for a few moments, in slight shock. "…All right, how did you find out?"
Artemis chuckled. "Please, Light, I thought you would have figured it out at this point. I am the second Kira."
"You can't be. The second Kira is an idiot, we've both seen that. You would never reveal that shinigami might be involved, or randomly kill people."
"I knew that if I mentioned the word shinigami, it might invoke a little fear among the detectives, as well as not do much to implicate supernatural forces. I counted on the police thinking it was a code. As for the random killings, I also had to distance myself from you. The task force had to know there were two of us, so that they would be hesitant to act and not be able to prove anyone guilty unless they had hard evidence."
"It all kind of makes sense. I wouldn't have taken those risks, but I can see how one might believe them to be worth it."
"I admit my judgment was a bit flawed, but on the whole I believe it was sound. Now, you'll be wanting proof. Will seeing my shinigami do it, or will I need to kill someone?"
"…I'll need to see both. I don't approve of killing random people, but here I need to be sure. I'm still suspicious of you being the second Kira. I think you could fake a shinigami if you really needed to, but killing someone at the precise moment through staged actions would be difficult."
"Very well," sighed Artemis. He walked over to the window and looked down at the street below. The way was clear, with only a single man on the sidewalk. "That man, Stefan Bashkir, will die of a heart attack in forty seconds." He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and wrote down the name. Light came over to the window to watch. Thirty seconds later, the man began to walk away.
"He's going to get out of our line of sight before we can see results," Light calculated. But he was wrong. The man had only walked a few yards before he stopped to tie his shoe. Then he stood up, walked a few paces, and suddenly halted again. He clutched at his chest, reeled backward two steps, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell to the ground, dead. Someone else walked by casually, noticed the body, and freaked out. Pulling a phone out of his pocket, the second man took the dead man's arm and pulled him out of sight, presumably toward a hospital.
"There," Artemis said, with a look of triumph. He pocketed his pen and turned to Light. "Now, perhaps, you will believe me?"
"I'm certainly more inclined to believe your story," Light admitted. "But now comes the moment of truth. Let's see your shinigami." He extended a hand with a page from the notebook. Artemis put out his own. They took each other's papers.
Hotel Room, A Few Seconds Earlier
No1, shielded and standing near Artemis, relaxed slightly. Creating and manipulating realistic images, like the dancing monkey and the soldiers back on Hybras, took effort, especially to make them look less like shimmering spirits and more like, say, a man having a heart attack and a second man dragging him out of sight. Now No1 had to focus on Artemis's paper. At the precise moment it touched Light's hand, he had to unshield. He imagined if he were human, he would be drenched in apprehensive sweat right now. This had to be pulled off right if they were to succeed.
Hotel Room, Different PoV
They took each other's papers. Instantly, Artemis saw Light's shinigami. He raised his eyebrows; clearly, Holly had left out some details. Light seemed surprised by No1's appearance as well.
"Obviously, our shinigami look nothing alike," Light noted. "Ryuk, do you know of any shinigami that look similar to…."
"Qwan," No1 finished.
"That look similar to Qwan?"
"All shinigami have different appearances," Ryuk explained. "I don't claim to know all the shinigami in our realm, so I can't tell you whether he's real or not. But I knew a guy named Gelus a while back that was about his height."
"Well, then, you're the real thing," Light concluded. "Now, how are we going to go about things?"
"I have to keep up the charade that I don't know that the police are sending me messages as a fake Kira," Artemis said. "We will, of course, be in regular correspondence. Right now, though, I can think of one thing we can do."
"What's that?" Light inquired.
"I can kill L. I have the shinigami eyes, as you know. I know his real name. I'll write his name in my notebook, and as a trade, you write one of my enemies' names in yours."
"Wait, why do you need me to write their name down? You have the name and the notebook."
Of course it sounds ridiculous, thought Artemis. But if I can get Light to believe me for just a few more moments, my mission will be accomplished. "This way we can consider it a sort of pact between us. A symbol of our alliance, if you will. My enemy, Opal Koboi, has some… underground deals going on that are quite despicable. At least one murder, kidnapping, attempted takeover of the government. She somehow has managed to stay unknown, at least until she attempted to drag me into her schemes. I haven't gotten around to killing her yet because I was concentrating on getting your attention."
This sounds all wrong, Light thought. He should have killed this Opal if she's so bad. There's no reason he needs to have me do it, unless he's not actually the second Kira. But I saw him kill that man down on the street. I see his shinigami. How can I pass up this chance to kill L? "Fine. Let's do this. I want L dead." Light whipped a pen out of nowhere and procured a page from his notebook. Artemis did the same, also retrieving a picture of Opal Koboi.
"Here is Opal Koboi. That's O-P-A-L K-O-B-O-I. Oh, and L's real name? Lawrence Ellis." He wrote the name on his paper, and Light did the same with Opal's.
Yes! they both thought. That's it! I've won!
"That's that," Artemis said jovially. "We both have what we want. Now, I shall have someone meet you in Aoyama. I would have made this exchange there, knowing L would want to stake out the cities I mentioned, but this was more convenient. I think we should leave it here for tonight. Any more would be too much to take in."
"Right. I'll see you tomorrow." Light turned, opened the door, and took Holly's Neutrino charge to the chest. He collapsed on the floor, a look of surprise on his face.
"Nice chat?" Holly asked sarcastically.
"I got what I wanted," Artemis informed her, taking the page from Light's notebook and showing Holly. "Now we no longer have to worry about two Opal Kobois."
"And the one in jail shouldn't be a problem," said Holly.
"About that…. You do realize that the free Opal was from the past?"
"Yes…."
"And that killing her would cause an enormous paradox?"
"Artemis, you killed the Opal that didn't even pose a problem?!"
"Now, wait a second. I knew that if we killed that Opal, then the past Opal would still be lured back to the prison, as long as we don't broadcast the news. Then we can both possibly capture her and be sure that we don't have two pixie masterminds on the loose. In addition, now I can figure out whether the notebook works on at least a pixie turned human."
"I hope you know what you're doing now, Artemis," Holly growled, attempting to contact the LEP about a mindwipe. "You'd better have a plan."
"I always do."
Author's Notes: Aaaaand it's finally Chapter 4! There are so many possibilities for this crossover, I'm not sure which direction to take it now. Thanks for all your feedback, and keep on reviewing!
