Chapter 9
-Disclaimer: The Maiden of Autumn owns nothing.
-In answer to ElizabellaLight's question, no, the story has not explained the details of why Light gave up the notebook, for certain reasons pertainting to plot. It will be explained later, though, so no worries.
-As always, she thanks her readers and reviewers, and hopes they continue to enjoy the story!
Light disconnected the call to Watari and replaced the phone in his pocket before he turned back to Beyond, who had twisted his head and was examining the gash in his shoulder with a look that was a mixture of awe and smugness.
"Wonderful," Beyond breathed, an excited light in his red eyes. "The enhancements have worked wonders on him. Delightful," he cackled, tossing his head back and laughing hysterically. "Never, in my wildest dreams, had I thought the serum would bond so completely to his DNA and alter his body as much as it has. Without the chip, there's no trace of humanity left in his mind."
"You're sick," Light growled, leaning down and grasping Beyond's wounded shoulder, enjoying the gasp of pain the man gave. His eyes raised, locking with Light's own infuriated ones. "How can you be happy about this?" He gave Beyond's shoulder a small shake, and Beyond only laughed through the pain, grinning like the maniac he was.
"It shows me how far L has fallen, how well the serum twisted his mind into exactly what I desired and wished for it to be. The great L, reduced to nothing more than a beast- you have no idea how delightful it is to see him like he is." Beyond's eyes widened, a look of wonder gleaming in them. "It would seem that I've won… unless you figure out how to make that microchip, there's nothing you can do to bring his humanity back. He's helpless… what lovely thought…" Beyond trailed off.
"Tell me where the blueprints are!"
"No," Beyond said, a secretive smile flirting at the edges of his lips.
Light was silent for a moment, scanning Beyond's face, before a vicious smile of his own twisted his lips. "I think you will," Light said softly, shifting his grip to dig his thumb into the hole L's teeth had caused.
Beyond let out a sharp cry of pain, his eyes squeezing shut and head flying back as Light's thumb traveled deeper into the bloody hole, tearing apart already damaged muscles and nerves. It must have hurt extremely bad, Light thought idly, watching in satisfaction as Beyond writhed in pain in his grasp.
"You'll tell me exactly what I want to know," Light whispered, leaning closer, "or my thumb goes until it hit the bone. Your choice," he told Beyond, moving his thumb slightly deeper.
"And you call me sick!" Beyond cried, a single tear leaking out of the corner of his eye.
"You're the one who tortured L for over a year with your sadistic experiments. Think of this as divine retribution for your crimes against him. I would have loved to see him tear your throat out as revenge for your actions, but I still need you, unfortunately," Light said, smiling down at the man in his grip.
"Divine retribution? Kyahaha," Beyond breathily laughed, panting and grinning up at Light. "That seems almost…Kira-like, wouldn't you say?"
"What the hell are you insinuating?" Light growled. He had been cleared as Kira after the case fizzled out when Beyond had kidnapped L. There was no evidence against him as Kira- what the hell was this psycho saying?
"Nothing, nothing… you really are a bastard, aren't you? The blueprints are buried in the ground, under my bed in the warehouse. Remove the first layer of dirt, and there's a hatch. Twist it three times, and a capsule with the blueprints will pop out. Now, remove your thumb from my shoulder," Beyond grimaced, jerking it away from Light.
He released Beyond and stepped back, wiping his bloody hand on his pants disgustedly.
At that moment, the door to the cell opened and Watari came in with a bag in his grasp, taking in the scene around him silently. "The medical kit, sir," was all he said, raising his arm and offering the bag.
"Good. Patch him up," Light pointed at Beyond with a dismissive gesture. "We might still have need of him later on."
Watari went to do just that and Light sighed, rubbing his forehead before he turned to L with some reluctance. He hadn't wanted to pull the nerve pinch on him; after all L had been through, it didn't seem right to do something like that to him. But he needed Beyond- he wouldn't be able to give out information if he was a mangled, dead mess, and so Light had been left with no choice.
Kneeling down, Light gently brushed some hair off of L's face, trailing his hand down L's pale cheek. "I'm sorry," he whispered, reaching up to rest his hair on L's ears and stroke them. "It wasn't my intention to hurt you."
He sighed, and at that moment, L's eyes snapped open, flashing around the room hazily. They stopped suddenly, locked onto the partially-hidden form of Beyond. L's lips curled into a sneer and with a lightning-fast movement, he had flipped himself over and was on his feet, muscles coiled to spring.
Light quickly got to his feet and grabbed the back of L's neck, burying and twining his fingers into he strip of black fur that streaked down L's spine. He held it firmly, forcing L's head up to meet his eyes. "You will follow me out of this room, L," L said firmly, giving a firm yank to L's fur as black eyes attempted to dart away, not wanting to meet Light's domineering gaze. "And you will fucking listen to me."
L was silent for a moment before his ears swiveled back, his tail curling to fit in between his legs, and he let out a quiet whine.
"Good," Light breathed, knowing that L was submitting to him. He had been out of control before; now that he had re-asserted his dominance, L would listen to him again. He released L and turned to Watari. "You can leave him here- he's not going anywhere," Light said, regarding Beyond with distaste. "Perhaps it will give him a chance to reflect over his actions."
"As you wish, sir," Watari said, tying off Beyond's bandages and tucking everything back into the medical bag.
Behind Light, L stared at Beyond, not moving towards him, but regarding him with hate in his eyes. The sneer was still present on his face, and for some reason, that caused Beyond to grin widely. "Don't worry about me," Beyond laughed. "I'm sure I'll be fine."
"You're disgusting," Light spat, turning away from the bloodstained maniac.
His words only caused Beyond to laugh harder, doubling over slightly as far as his restraints would let him. "Sticks and stones, sticks and stones. You had better watch out for the sticks and stones coming towards you, pretty, because they're not so kind as to just be words. Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt. My sticks and stones will harm both you and him, so be careful, very careful," he cackled, an insane glint lighting his eyes.
"You've lost it," Light told him succinctly, folding his arms. It was unnerving to see Beyond come so unraveled; he had never been like this before.
"That may be so, may be so. Kira was insane too, then, wasn't he? Ah, never mind. I'll be seeing you soon, L, very soon," Beyond grinned, looking past L and right into L's yellow eyes.
L's sneer only grew and he let a snarl rip through the room, leaning down into a crouch. His ears twitched, irritated by Beyond's hysterical, grating laughing.
"No!" Light whirled on L, forcing him to back down. "We're going. Now," Light said firmly, ignoring Beyond's chuckles.
He grabbed the back of L's shirt and led him to the door, shoving him roughly outside and barring the door with his body so that L wouldn't come back in. Light looked up, right at Beyond. "You had better not be lying, for if you are, what I did to you before will be nothing compared to what I'll do to you later."
Beyond said nothing in response. He simply smirked and gave Light a wink.
Seeing as nothing more was to be said, Light left, Watari following closely after him.
"It's really too bad for you that you forgot what you were going to ask before L so kindly interrupted," Beyond whispered, watching as Light left the room, shutting the door and leaving him in silence once more.
His head dipped, and a small, secretive smile played at his lips. "But… I think this will make things even more fun, won't it… Kira?"
Watari followed them to the locker room. The gear was already waiting for them, Light was pleased to see, and as Watari got suited up, Light started the task of getting L fitted into his gear as well.
It was nothing like the heavy Kevlar vests that Light and Watari wore; he had a feeling L would be opposed to even more covering and so had had Watari find a light-issue, protective vest that was thin yet strong.
He removed L's shirt, tugging it off over his head and being more careful of L's ears this time, and was unable to help the small smile that slid onto his face as L gave a shake, obviously pleased to have the restricting piece of clothing off.
However, the shirt was soon replaced with a black, long-sleeved turtleneck.
Watari had recently designed and perfected a new material that had special fibers weaved into the cloth, and while it would not stop a bullet, it made the material stronger and harder to get through. He had been working on it for the past few weeks, and had in fact, finally declared it ready for use a few days before their raid on the warehouse to get L from Beyond.
It was better and more lightweight than the bulky protective gear that they had been using for awhile, and Watari had made three sets of clothes from the material as a prototype for when they went into the warehouse.
The strength of the material was proven as Light slid L's arms through the sleeves and his claws occasionally snagged against the material, but didn't tear through the sleeves. Light wasn't taking any precautions- he didn't know what other surprises Beyond had left behind in that warehouse, but he was determined to be as prepared as possible.
"I think the material is a success, Watari," light murmured, holding up L's arm and plucking at the material. A few threads had come unraveled, testaments to L's snagging them on the cloth, but there were no rips, as should have been when faced with the sharpness of L's claws.
"I see that, sir," Watari said, regarding the sleeve with a pleased look. "I just hope it holds up to expectations when it counts most."
In a way, he felt horrible about taking L with him- taking him back to that place was sure to be a negative experience for L. But, L might be useful as well, and Light didn't feel comfortable with leaving L behind. He had searched Light out before when he had been left alone; what would happen If Light left and L attempted to follow?
Grimacing at that thought, Light carefully tugged the neck over L's head, folding the neck over once and smoothing out L's mussed hair. He was growling softly, obviously displeased at the new item of clothing but Light disregarded it, instead rubbing L's ears, making sure the fur fell in the right way and wasn't irritating the skin.
L tilted his head into Light's hands, his eyes slipping shut and a pleased growl emanated from his chest as his tail waved slowly back and forth.
"See, that wasn't so bad… it's for your own good, you know," Light murmured. He went about the process of changing L's pants next, replacing the jeans with a black set of more fitted pants, made of thicker fabric, but with the same fibers as the turtleneck.
Watari politely looked away while Light was doing this, and Light, this time around, was more careful. L didn't fall over this time, although he looked even more displeased at the more restraining pants.
He tugged L's tail free and then glanced down at L's feet. Light himself had thick-soled boots with thin metal plates placed between the lining to prevent getting shot or otherwise injured in the foot. However, it would be painful to force L's feet into them; they were too crooked and wouldn't fit comfortably into them. But he wasn't worried about the bottom; it was the exposed part on the top that did.
Light couldn't see any sort of other option, so he reluctantly left L's feet alone, instead slipping L's arms through the vest and pulling it over his torso, zipping it up.
"Right…" Light said, stepping back and surveying L's wriggling form as he tried to get used to the additional layers. "I think that's the best I can do under the circumstances, Watari."
"I understand, sir. I think he shall be fine- Beyond, with his meddling in L's DNA, designed him to be faster and stronger than most humans."
"Still," Light said, biting his lip in worry as he got changed himself, pulling on his own turtleneck and black pants, "I can't help but think that something is going to go wrong. Beyond mentioned that L was his most successful experiment, which implies that he had more. I find the thought unsettling – if there were failed experiments, Beyond must have had some way to dispose of them, and we've never found any bodies that are like… well… Like L," Light said, casting a glance at the former detective, who had lain down and was watching Light through lazy, slitted eyes.
"Beyond Birthday is a psychopath that nears L's level of intelligence. I am sure that if he had any bodies, he would have found some way to dispose of them without anyone noticing him doing so and making them undiscoverable, sir," Watari assured Light, holding Light's own heavier vest for him to don.
Taking it, Light slipped it on and zipped it on, then pulled on his gloves as well. Watari handed him a headset and Light fixed it over his ears. He shot a glance over at his handgun and rifle, nestled safely in his locker, debating.
As used to guns as he had become, he still disliked them. But, this was Beyond's warehouse that he was talking about…
Sighing, he reached for his handgun, drawing it out, checking it and placing it into his belt. He glanced over at L, but his eyes were closed, and for all appearances, appeared to be dozing. Is being half-wolf really all it took to finally start getting some sleep? Light thought amusedly, regarding L's napping form with a small smile.
Shaking his head, he tucked his knife into his boot and then reached to grab his rifle, grabbing it by it the neckstrap and slinging it around his neck. He closed the door to his locker and turned to Watari, who was already fully suited and was folding Light and L's clothes. "I think… we should go."
Watari nodded and sent the clothes off to the side, gathering up his gun as well. "Very good, sir. How shall we deal with L?"
Light glanced over to L, who had slitted his eyes open once more and had pricked his ears forwards, appearing to be napping for all intents and purposes, but Light suspected he was fully awake and watching. "I'm not sure," Light admitted. "He didn't respond to the elevator well, so I'm not sure how he'll deal with the car."
"Perhaps it would work better if I drove and you sat in the back with him?" Watari suggested.
"That may be the best option," Light nodded. L had clambered to his feet by now, sensing that something was going on. "Beyond's warehouse his waiting. Let's go." Watari nodded and exited, going to get the car with Light right after him, L following right on Light's heels.
Watari had the car pulled up by the time Light and L finally got there- he had intentionally taken his time in order to give Watari time to get there. L jumped slightly as the car screeched to a stop and growled at it, eyeing it with great distrust, his fingers tensing.
Light ignored L's reaction and opened the back door of the small, sleek, inconspicuous black car, gesturing for L to come to him. He did, although he was very reluctant. Light grabbed the back of L's vest once he was close enough and gently pushed him into the car, L tumbling in with a short yelp and Light quickly slid in after him, closing the door to prevent a scrambling L from getting out.
L was breathing fast, eyes wide and gazing around him, but Light simply buckled himself in and waved his hand at Watari in a casual, 'go-ahead' manner.
The car started rolling ahead and L growled sharply, panic overtaking him at the unfamiliar sensations. Light glanced over at him and sighed, shaking his head. "Come here," Light muttered, throwing and arm around L's shoulders and tugging L's tense body against his. He reached up to thread his fingers into L's soft hair, scratching gently behind L's ears in an effort to calm him.
Which seemed to work. After a few minutes, L seemed to have gotten more used to the car and started leaning away from Light, reluctant to be touched now that he no longer wanted nor needed the contact.
It didn't take them long to get to the warehouse, and though it seemed as though L had gotten used to the car on the way there, he leaped out of the car with what seemed like great relief once Watari had pulled the car to a stop and Light had opened the door. He leaped right over Light, sailing out of the car and coming to a skidding halt on the gravel.
He gazed up at the warehouse, alert yellow eyes skimming over the rise of the building. Light and Watari exited the car in a less hurried manner, locking the door after them. Silently, they made their way to the door of the warehouse, as cautious as before, since they had no idea what could be waiting for them in the psychopath's home.
L's feet were eerily quiet on the gravel; the smoothness of his movements barely made any noise other than a slight rustle as the gravel shifted and resettled under his feet. "I'll be in front, Watari, so that L will be right in the middle and you can follow him and keep an eye on him. Keep your headset on and connected to base, just in case something happens."
"I understand, sir," Watari said quietly.
Light nodded and shifted his grip on his gun, holding it more firmly. He glanced back at L, seeing him watch him with an alertness that surpassed any intenseness that he had possessed before. Light knew that he could sense and smell emotions; he must have picked up on the seriousness of this situation.
His ears were raised and pricked forwards, his tail raised slightly, held perfectly. Light nodded to himself, satisfied that L was aware of this situation in his own way. "Alright," he muttered, hefting his own gun," let's get this over with."
In an odd way, it made him feel better to have L at his back. There was no Beyond Birthday waiting inside, and his friend's life was not hinging on the line- although, Light realized with a jolt, it sort of was.
If he failed to get the blueprints, L would be stuck as he was for the rest of his life. He would not be able to be human, to enjoy being human. That was stripped from him, and in a way, this infiltration of the warehouse was even more vital than the first.
At least that first time, it was a life or death situation. Black and white. Either L was alive or dead- if he was dead, it was the end and they would have to grieve and recover from it, but life would go on. If he was alive, his wounds could be healed and he could get help for the mental repercussions being held by Beyond would have etched into his mind.
But this… if he didn't get the blueprints, L would be like this, doomed to be an animal in a humans' body for the rest of his life. L's mind, his future hinged on this, and if he failed, he would never forgive himself.
That thought firmly fixed in his mind, he took a deep breath and opened the door to the warehouse. Light slipped inside, L and Watari following closely after him.
The main room was dark and eerie as usual, but nothing popped out at him, nothing happened as he stepped inside. L came to a halt right behind him, close enough so that he could feel his warm breath fanning over the back of his neck. It comforted him, knowing that L was behind him, deadly and capable.
He moved farther into the room, heading straight for the trapdoor he knew was there. The lock was broken from their last visit so Light simply reached down and flipped the door open, gesturing for Watari to go first.
He jumped through and then quickly moved out of the way so that Light and L could jump through. He glanced back at L once, making sure that he was still watching him and knew what he was doing before gripping his gun firmly and jumping through the hole, landing with his knees bent. He got out of the way as well- just in time too, for L jumped down, landing in his crouch before standing up straight, shaking himself off in a disgruntled manner.
Watari moved to get the ladder that they had found last time and place it at the mouth of the hole, ready for use for their return. Light let out a breath and ran a hand through his hair once, trying to settle himself.
Remembering what had happened here… it unsettled him, and he couldn't help but imagine yellow, glowing eyes watching them from the shadows, waiting for their chance much like L had not too long ago, when he was still under Beyond's influence. "Fuck, but this place is creepy," Light muttered, shaking his head and turning to Watari. "This place feels wrong- I don't like it," Light told him, glancing around. "Let's get what we came for and get the hell out of here- L! What are you doing?" Light called, cutting himself off as he saw L edging forwards, further into the tunnel out of his peripheral vision.
L didn't respond other than to flick his ear back to Light, and then it returned to its frontwards facing position. L's tail had stilled, held firmly down and his whole body was tense and coiled, head slightly raised.
"Perhaps we should simply follow him- he has better senses than we do, and he's sure to alert us if he senses anything amiss," Watari spoke up.
"You may be right, Watari," Light said softly, never taking his eyes off of L.
It was amazing, the change that the situation had upon him. While L had always moved with a certain grace after having these changes inflicted upon him, the effect was now more profound than ever. He walked on the very balls of his oddly-shaped feet, his movements quick and sure as he moved further in the dimly-lit tunnels whose lamps were still powered by some sort of remaining power source.
L's ears twitched and flicked at sounds that Light and Watari could not hear, and his head whipped back and forth, yellow eyes flashing about the tunnel with an extreme wariness. He made no sound whatsoever as he moved, and watching him now, Light knew it would be easy for him to meld into the shadows, to become invisible, and unseen pair of eyes watching as he and Watari traveled into the tunnels.
"Beyond really did his job well," Light whispered, slightly awed, and beside him Watari nodded.
'Beyond Birthday has never been anything but thorough. In fact," Watari said, his eyebrows furrowing slightly, "it was odd that he tested and used the microchip before it was totally perfect- that was very unlike him…"
"You're right," Light replied, thinking more on the matter himself. Yes, Beyond Birthday was the type to obsess over the smallest details, to plan and ponder and not leave anything to uncertainty or chance. The fact that he had used something on L that was not perfect and foolproof was indeed, odd. It niggled at his mind, but Light pushed it away, another solution coming to mind. "Although, from the way you described him, I suspect it was his insane obsession for revenge against L that drove him to do this."
"I suppose… but I'd be careful, sir. I made the mistake of underestimating Beyond Birthday once, and it was what led to our current situation. Never stereotype with this man, and predict the unpredictable," Watari said quietly, cautioning Light. "I would not want to see something happen to you as well."
Surprised, Light glanced over at Watari, seeing him staring ahead with a deadly intent expression. His eyes softened, and a small smile tugged at his lips. "I won't make that mistake," Light assured Watari. "You worry so much… it's only a testament to how much you care. Now," Light said, looking forwards, "we should go before L leaves us behind."
Watari gave a little laugh and then nodded. "Indeed."
Stepping forwards, Light followed cautiously after L, flicking the light on his gun on. L's ears tilted backwards towards them and he shifted, turning his head to look back at them. L's eyes caught the light and gleamed a bright, burning yellow for a single, brief moment before Light lowered his gun's light as L snarled at the irritation to his sensitive eyes, looking away sharply. "Oops," Light muttered, grimacing. "Sorry about that, L."
The former detective only huffed once, taking off into the tunnels, Watari and Light forced to follow along at a fast clip lest they be left behind. He ran like a wolf, with his head tilted down and tail held level with the ground, running at a long, comfortable lope.
Light had read that wolves could maintain this speed for a full day without tiring, and for a moment, he wondered if L's human body had been altered enough that he could keep up with that pace. It was certainly intriguing, and Light had to admire the way L moved in that moment, as if his body was perfectly in sync with itself.
Beside him, Watari kept a steady pace, starting to breathe a bit heavily but in remarkably good shape for one his age. Luckily, the tunnel wasn't too long and they arrived at Beyond's main room in less time they had the first time. Of course, they had been going slowly and cautiously the first time, stopping to check things a few times, but they were running after L this time around, so it took less time.
L waited at the threshold of the opening for him, staring into the space intently and Light hesitantly stepped through, not hearing the small click that came as an invisible wire was tripped. L followed Light in, Watari covering their tracks.
The room was empty, and though Light was expecting this, it still made him feel slightly better, and took a weight off of his shoulders. He let his gun fall around his neck and rubbed a hand over his face, sighing wearily. "Alright… Watari, you remember what he said, right? Let's move that bed, and-"
Light was cut off as a ferocious snarl ripped through the room and startled, Light grabbed his gun and whirled, only suck in a breath in shock as a black blur flew past his vision, colliding with something with a firm thump.
Light raised his rifle, eyes widening in shock as he saw L rolling and jumping to his feet in a quick, fluid motion, his face twisted into a vicious sneer. He crouched, tail held high and let a growl rumble from his chest, loud and threatening, his yellow eyes narrowed and focused firmly onto something.
Light followed his gaze and his breath hitched in a mixture of horror and disgust.
There was… another L facing his L. But, it wasn't L. It was some horrid, awful mockery of L, as if his features had been twisted beyond belief. Not his human features, though- his wolfish ones.
It has to be one of Beyond's experiments, Light thought to himself, still in shock.
The experiment looked nothing like L- it had black hair that was perfectly straight and fell to the thing's shoulders. Its face was horribly twisted, the lower part of its face elongated as if it was attempting to forma muzzle, and part of its nose had widened, becoming a dark black and melding onto the face, while the other half of the nose was human and normal.
Long canines were exposed sticking out of the deformed muzzle, and ne of t's eyes was brown while the other was yellow, although Light had no doubt that it was fully under the influence of its wolfish side. Its claws were longer than L's, and only possessed four fingers, the fifth sprouting off to the side, like a dewclaw. Sparse black fur dotted the experiment's hands, though Light was glad to see that it was shaped like L from the waist down, with no other deformities.
Light was thankful it was dressed, in a ripped shirt and cut-off jeans, feet bare. Its face was twisted into a hateful snarl, and though it was ugly in appearance, it moved with the same predatory grace L did, except it seemed much more erratic, its hands and ears twitching, as if it couldn't hold still.
The mismatched eyes were fixed firmly on Light, and he jerked at this realization, freezing as the thing's insane, hate-filled eyes locked firmly at him. Fists curling, it stalked towards him, snarling. He was just about to raise his gun when something crashed into it, sending it sprawling on the floor.
With a jolt, he realized it was L, rising to his feet and backing off slightly, sidestepping so that it was in front of Light.
L was protecting him.
L…
"You fool," Light whispered vehemently, watching horrified as the thing shook and rose to its feet, a few inches taller than L. "You're going to get yourself killed." His heart clenched at the thought, and Light watched with worried eyes as L snarled at it, challenging the other experiment by raising his chin and raising his tail straight up, exerting the sign of dominance.
The experiment's focus was no longer focused on Light, but on the other "wolf" challenging him. "Watari," Light whispered, not wanting to draw any attention to himself. "You go and retrieve the blueprints- be as quiet as you can, and keep your gun ready. I'm going to try to get a clear sight on that thing and kill it," Light continued, stopping Watari before he could protest. "I don't want to give it a chance to hurt L."
Watari was silent for a moment before he nodded and moved off, skirting around the experiment and L, not wanting to disturb them and have the thing come after him.
Light quietly clicked the safety on his gun off and raised it-
Only to abruptly let out a quiet, frustrated curse as the thing jumped at L, causing them to tumble to the ground, thrashing and squirming. The thing snapped at L's throat, clawing at whatever he could get to and L was doing the same, desperately trying to get a hold on the experiment's throat while avoiding its twisted, deadly jaws.
There was too much movement for Light to get a clear sighting and he watched, horror and worry gnawing at him as he stood and watched, unable to do anything. He would not interfere physically; doing to might distract L and give the experiment an opening.
With a mounting sense of apprehension, he watched the two roll around on the floor.
It was nothing like his and L's fight; he had been simply trying to subdue L, and L was fighting to kill him, yes, but also for domination and possession of what he saw as his territory. Their fight a=had been shorter and more ordered, more graceful, because L had had to fight Light as partly human.
But here…
There was only savagery; this was a fight to the death, nothing more. Either L or the experiment would be dead at the end, and Light could only desperately pray that it wouldn't be L.
The experiment was physically matched with L; Light was thankful for small favors. But it was disturbing to see L like this, his face twisted in a snarl as he snapped and clawed with all his might at the experiment, thrashing in its grip and attempting to gain the upper hand.
There was a sudden cry and splatter of blood from the two bodies struggling on the floor, and Light's heart clenched as he saw L rip himself away from the experiment, stumbling backwards and falling to his knees, panting harshly. Numerous scratches littered his face, and a small nip had been taken off of his left ear, no doubt caused by a grazing clip of the experiment's teeth.
But what worried Light was the way his vest had been slashed through, right over his heart- if he hadn't been wearing that vest, L would have surely been dead by now, Light realized. There were numerous tears in L's clothes where the experiment's teeth or claws had been able to get through it, and suddenly, Light feared for L as he hadn't before.
He had been hoping… desperately hoping that the material would hold up against that thing, but it wasn't protecting L like it needed to be.
There was a deep gouge in L's right arm, Light saw, and it dribbled blood continuously, a weeping gash. L looked up as the thing approached him and his face twisted into sneer. He tried rising to his feet but accidently used his right arm to brace him and fell back with a small, harsh cry, before trying once more with his left arm. This time, L succeeded and proceeded to rush the experiment, throwing himself into it and knocking it to the ground once more by barreling into it with his shoulder.
The impact sent the experiment onto its back and made L skid on his side a few feet away, but he recovered, getting his feet back under his and jumped on top of the experiment, jaws snapping and fingers extended to rip into the experiment.
L was lucky- the impact had momentarily stunned the thing, and it allowed L to close his jaws around the thing's wrist, his teeth clamping together in a bone-crushing grip, his clawed fingers raking over the thing's shoulders at the same time leaving a set of red gouges behind.
The howl the experiment let out was horrible- pained and enraged. Infuriated, it took advantage of L's distraction and vulnerable position to raise its free hand and plunge its clawed fingers into Ls' side, in his upper ribs. It caused L to release the thing's wrist, letting out a choked scream as the claws scraped horribly over the bones and cartilage of his ribs.
"No!" Light jerked forwards, seeing L still atop the experiment, the fingers buried firmly into L's side. "L!" Quickly, Light brought up his rifle, aiming it directly at that motherfucker's head that had dared to hurt L so badly, but before he could pull the trigger, L grasped the experiment's fingers and ripped them out of his side and struck, his jaws widening and canines sinking into the experiment's throat.
It let out a gurgled, choked scream as L's canines crushed its windpipe, tearing the jugular wide open. L let out a growl, triumph sounding in his voice as he jerked his head and ripped a gash in the experiment's throat.
It thrashed and struggled under L, attempting o dislodge him, but L never released his death grip, only singing his teeth further into the flesh as the thing's movements grew weaker and feebler until they stopped altogether. The thing let out a last sigh before it relaxed, its body falling limp under L.
There was a beat of silence before L shifted, slowly releasing the thing's throat and staying still for a moment.
A small creaking sounded and Light flicked his eyes over to see Watari pulling a metal, rusted cap off of something in the ground, although his relief at the blueprint's location being found was dimmed by Ls' situation. A slight rustling returned his attention to L, who was finally moving.
Crawling off of the dead body of the experiment, L dropped to his knees, panting heavily, his arms shaking as his hands placed themselves firmly on the gourd, trying to still and brace his trembling form. He shook his head as Light took a step towards the bloodied form of his friend, and unseen by Light, a small piece of broken metal and plastic shifted in the back of L's head. This small action caused L to still, his legs giving out. He dropped to the ground, on his side, although his arms refused to give up and kept his upper body braced, although his head hung low and his shoulders hunched over.
"L!" Light called, worry etched onto his face and woven into his voice. He took another step forwards, desperate to help his friend, but reluctant to see the extent of L's injuries, of how badly the rogue experiment had torn him up.
"Light…?"
Light froze, hearing his name uttered in that achingly familiar voice, husky from disuse, but familiar all the same. The voice washed over him, sounding weary and slightly frightened, but it was familiar and was something that he had been longing to hear once more for so long.
"L," Light breathed disbelievingly, eyes wide and fixed upon the fallen, trembling form of his friend. "L!" Snapping out of his shock, Light dropped his gun, rushing to drop to his knees in front of L. His hand was shaking as he tilted L's face up, his breath catching at seeing confusion and bewilderment written across L's pale face.
"L! You're back!" Light grasped L's face gently, staring hard into L's grey-black eyes. His breath hitched at the sight, his heart giving a painful thump.
Grey.
Not yellow, but grey.
"Light. What…what happened…?" L whispered, coughing once, blood coming up and splattering the ground underneath him. Bewildered at the sight and the situation, L's eyes grew huge and he looked up fully at Light. "I don't… I can't… I know Beyond, but what…?"
"Shh," Light said, desperately trying to hush him. He didn't want L moving around, not with the injuries he had sustained. Didn't want to risk something ruining this, something from preventing him from getting L out of here alive and with his brain intact. "Don't move too much. You can't remember because there was a microchip implanted in your brain, putting you under the control of Beyond Birthday."
"Microchip…?" L mumbled, raising his hand before Light could stop him, pressing at the very base of his neck.
There was a small clicking sound, like plastic or metal shifting as L's hand pressed against the base of his neck, and he froze, his fingers tensing. His eyes widened, and Light's heart almost stopped as he saw L's eyes flicker back and forth erratically between familiar, warm grey and the hated yellow.
Eventually, they settled on yellow once more, banishing any trace of the grey that Light had been so longing to see. L blinked once, and then, to Light's horror, he let out a small sigh and fell limp, his head falling to the ground with a thump.
No.
No.
"No," Light whispered, his voice echoing his horrified thoughts. "L, fuck, goddamnit, don't do this! I thought I had gotten you back," Light gasped, pulling L's body up and turning him over. His ears fell back limply and his body was dead weight in Light's hands, tail dragging over the floor. "I had hoped… No…"
Thoughts of how L's eyes had reverted to grey for those few precious seconds made him stare at L's eyes, willing them to open and be that color, not the yellow that he was slowly starting to hate because it was not his friend's color.
It was not L in possession of that mind; it was simply an animal, a beast, and for a brief second, Light felt hatred for L, for what he now was, flash through him. But thoughts of that were erased when a small patter drew Light's attention to L's upper arm, where a large chunk of skin and muscle had been gouged out by the experiment's vicious teeth. Blood trailed down L's arm, dripping in small rivulets that splattered onto the ground because of the elevation of his arms.
Realization made Light jerk and he felt an immense guilt settle through him as he shifted L's body into his arms.
L, animal or not, had nearly been killed in his pursuit to protect Light. That feeling of hatred that had burned so briefly within him made him feel vaguely sick now that he had a chance to think and reconsider.
L didn't deserve to be hated, damn it. He deserved to be fucking loved and respected after all the shit that he had gone through with Beyond, after all that he had been forced to go through. This wasn't L's fault; this should never have happened to him. This should not, and would not be blamed on L.
He closed his eyes once before opening them, narrowing them into slits. He had the blueprints; he would work as fast and as hard as he could to get that microchip perfected and get L's mind back.
But even if that microchip failed…
Even if L never was human again, he'd still stay with L. He'd stay and be L's friend, his alpha, his leader, no matter what. Because L was fucking L, the man who had saved countless lives and put thousands of criminals in jail, and he didn't deserve to get locked up and tossed aside like trash when his brain was no longer the one the world could use.
Beyond's words suddenly came back to him:
Sticks and stones, sticks and stones. You had better watch out for the sticks and stones coming towards you, pretty, because they're not so kind as to just be words. Sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt. My sticks and stones will harm both you and him, so be careful, very careful…
This was what Beyond was talking about, Light realized. They hadn't been careful; they must have tripped something, caused the thing to be released.
He had underestimated Beyond. And that had gotten L hurt worse. He had been the one to cause this; he had basically ripped L up himself.
But it was Beyond that had set this up; it was Beyond that had set the trap to release the rogue experiment. A sneer twisted Light's handsome face as he thought of the psycho.
Beyond would fucking pay. He'd slit the bastard's throat and make it gush red, the same red that was pouring out of L right now. And eye for an eye, L had always said, had always stuck by as his personal code, and Light knew that since L could no longer extract the eye he deserved from beyond for doing this to him, it was Light' right, his privilege, his duty to do so for L.
"Watari!" Light barked, causing the elder man to stop riffling thought he blueprints and look up, worry clouding his eyes. "We leave now. I don't care if those aren't complete; we'll deal with that later. L needs medical attention."
Watari nodded shortly and in a swift movement, had the blueprints rolled up and shoved into the case, the lid capped and the case slung over his shoulder. "I'll call the team and make sure that the streets are clear of traffic for us- time back to base is seven minutes. Infirmary will be ready," Watari continued, going to the door and opening it for Light, who had stood to his feet and was running as smoothly as he could down the tunnel. Watari was right behind him, swift and spry for his age, but Light supposed that to be L's operative, he had to be so.
"Good," Light hissed, glancing down at L, before looking over at Watari. "Have Beyond back in the interrogation room- remove him from his current location in the cell and restrain him in the other room. There are some things that need to be cleared up, and he will not be getting out of answering them this time around. Understand?"
Watari was silent for a moment before nodding, the pace they were going at making the movement look jerky. "Of course, sir."
Light didn't say anting else, just focused on pacing his breath so that he wouldn't get winded before they got out of the tunnel. His mind involuntarily traveled back to that moment, that brief, bittersweet moment when L had looked up with grey eyes.
"Light…?"
L's voice had been such a shock to hear, but it was a nice shock, one that had washed over his senses in a welcome, sweet flood, and Light closed his eyes, remembering. He longed to hear that voice once more, but even if he wasn't able to… it would be okay.
Because…
You came back.
Even if it was for the briefest second, the smallest moment in time, you were you, L.
And we'll get that back.
I'll get that back.
And then… maybe after that…
Just maybe… it'll be alright again.
Good. Things were going so well, so very, very well.
It was only a matter of time before he replicated the microchip and placed it inside the subject's head.
And then… then, the revenge would be complete.
It was no matter the experiment was dead;it had been a failure, and failure was not an option.
It never had been.
One doesn't play a game with these kinds of stakes to think of loss; one had to be determined to win to do so.
