"Kymander…" Junichi murmured, sitting uncomfortably on Misa's bed

Here is the final chapter of Death Note: Final Passage. I hope you enjoy, I made it extra long! We begin with a flashback and "exciting revelation."

...

"Kymander…" Junichi murmured, sitting uncomfortably on Misa's bed.

"What's wrong?" smirked the Shinigami. "You pissed at me?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Kymander laughed again. "What's that?"

"You said those who use the Death Note don't go to Heaven or to Hell. Where do they really go then?"

Kymander stared at him silently.

"I think… I know where…" whispered Junichi.

"Oh?"

"At first I thought they would just go to some sort of limbo… But then I figured… The Shinigami have to come from somewhere, right? So people who use the Death Note… they go to the Shinigami world, don't they?!"

Kymander continued to stare at him, and then chuckled.

"That would be convenient, wouldn't it? You thought I was Light Yagami?"

"Huh?"

"Sure, Shinigami have to come from somewhere, but not from there. If you really want to know what happens to you, I'll tell you. The fact that those who use the Death Note don't go to Heaven or Hell is absolutely true… only because there is no Heaven or Hell."

"What?!" said Junichi in shock.

"Heaven and Hell are fantasies created by human minds. Good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell, right? It's an easy way to outline two paths for people to walk. If you are good, you will be rewarded, and if you are bad, you will be punished.

"There is nothing waiting for men after they die. There is no afterlife, there is no paradise or eternal torment. Only nothingness into which your soul vanishes into all eternity. Only silence. People think their actions on earth decide a certain outcome after they die, especially for those with Death Notes. But actions are just actions, after all. Perhaps it is more fitting… that all humankind is united at the end."

...

Junichi suddenly grabbed his chest and grunted in pain. Both Stephen Gevanni and Near gasped as the boy slid off his chair and writhed in pain, coughing and grunting as he held his chest.

Gevanni shouted and dove to the ground by his side, but Near stayed put, knowing what had happened, and that there was nothing either of them could do.

"Misa…" Junichi croaked, his eyes almost bulging out of his sockets as he stared at Near. "Please… st—"

He let out a long grunt, and then fell still.

"No!" shouted Gevanni, beginning to give CPR.

"It's useless, Gevanni," said Near. "This was a death delivered by the Death Note. There's no way you can bring him back."

Near stared for a minute at the lifeless body of Junichi, then slowly raised his eyes to the Shinigami standing over him. Kymander stared down at the boy for a second, then looked up at Near, before bursting into laughter. He was the only one who had touched the piece of the Note, so Gevanni neither heard nor saw it, but Near narrowed his eyes.

"Well, looks like it's really going to be interesting… eh, Nate River?" croaked Kymander. "I have a feeling I'll be seeing you again real soon. I'm off to my new owner."

Kymander then floated backward, laughing, before vanishing through the wall.

"Gevanni…" said Near after a pause. "We have a bigger problem."

...

Misa screamed around a corner and jumped the curb into the parking lot of her apartment. She had managed to stall Lidner by running a light that had just turn red. She made it through, but before Lidner could follow, cross traffic had cut her off.

She jumped out of her car, leaving the door open, and made a run for the door, the Death Note in one hand. But suddenly, Kymander plopped down in front of her, and Misa gasped and grinded to a halt.

"So you did it huh? Killed an innocent young boy. I'm surprised, for such a cute girl, I didn't think you could be so cold."

Misa smiled. "Then I guess you don't know me well enough. I've killed plenty of innocent people before in the name of Kira, even just to get his attention."

Kymander laughed. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. This is going to be quite fun."

"I'll get right to the point. Trade me for the Eyes!"

Kymander grinned, and without a word of complaint, reached forward to put his hand over Misa's face. When he removed his hand, Misa's eyes held the familiar red glow of the Shinigami Eyes.

With that, Misa turned and ran into the apartment. As she jumped the threshold she quickly tore out a page of the Death Note and shoved it into her shirt, just in case she were to drop the notebook. Shortly after, she heard the screech of tires in the distance.

She leaped three steps at a time to reach the landing of her apartment, and turned the handle quickly, confirming that she had left it unlocked as she burst into her apartment. Now where did she leave her cell phone?!

She ran into the living room and swept everything off the coffee table, but the cell phone wasn't there. Then, looking up, she saw it laying on the counter, in plain sight. This was her only chance! She leapt for the phone and quickly flipped it open, searching for the photo she took that day at the school…

...

Halle Lidner kicked open the door to the apartment, and looking straight ahead, she saw Misa Amane right in front of her, pencil set to a black notebook before her on the kitchen counter. She leveled the gun in a split second and fired, hitting Misa square in the left shoulder, and she screamed and fell to the ground.

She then raced over and pointed the gun right into Misa's face, whose eyes widened in horror, and she threw up her hands in surrender. Lidner wrenched her over and kneeled onto her legs as she whipped handcuffs on and snapped them on.

"You have the right to remain silent," said Lidner forcefully. Though she wasn't in America, reciting the Rights was a habit for her. "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you."

She sighed and stood up, gun still pointed at the handcuffed, facedown Misa Amane. She then looked to her left, to the open Death Note on the counter, making sure that Misa hadn't yet written her name down in the Death Note.

She went pale.

Halle Bullook – Heart attack

She unflinchingly obeys all commands given to her by the owner of the Death Note, Misa Amane. This includes actions she would normally object to, including taking her own life or life of a comrade. She dies only after Misa

She dropped the gun, her pupils dilating, and her breath becoming erratic. Her true name was in the Death Note. Even though the instructions hadn't been completed, the fact that her name was there meant that she would die. It could not be changed.

A watch alarm suddenly went off, and Lidner jumped and looked down at Misa. On her wrist, her watch was beeping. The digits 6:40 were displayed on it.

Lidner's eyes glazed over, and her arms became limp as she stared at the wall.

Misa smiled. "Uncuff me."

Obediently, Lidner bent over and placed a key in each cuff, freeing Misa, who stood to her feet and straightened her clothes. She then casually flipped the Death Note closed and tucked it back into her shirt.

Misa smirked at Lidner, deciding to take a quick test. "Shoot yourself through the left hand."

Without even flinching, the woman picked up the gun with her right hand, raised both arms, and shot sideways through her left hand.

"Good," said Misa. "Now take me to Near."

...

"Lidner… Lidner, are you there?" called Near over the radio.

There was a short pause. "Yes, I'm here," came the reply. "I have Misa in custody. We've just entered the building." Behind Near, Gevanni sighed in relief. Near, however, frowned.

"Please display the two of them on the large monitor."

On the large monitor on the wall, up flashed an image caught by security cameras of Lidner and Misa starting toward the elevator. Misa was walking in front, with Lidner behind, gun drawn at her side. Something immediately struck Near as wrong about the two, watching them as they started up the elevator.

"Why is Misa Amane not cuffed?" remarked Gevanni. Near glanced over at him, then back at the monitor. That was obvious of course, but it was something else. Misa seemed so relaxed, even with a gun drawn at her back. Nothing about her body language indicated that she was worried at all about her situation.

"Zoom in on Misa."

The camera zoomed up, showing a close up of Misa's face. For a short time, her face was unreadable. But then, she glanced behind her to Lidner, and smiled ever so slightly.

"Gevanni, do you have your gun?"

"No, I gave Lidner the only gun we have."

"Please listen closely," said Near urgently. On the camera, the two were headed down the hallway toward them. Lidner had taken point. "Quickly, refer to rule 39. Access the camera over the main doorway."

Gevanni raised his eyebrows.

"Do it!" cried Near, and Gevanni jumped and opened a document on his main screen, accessing a camera on another. After a short moment, he opened his mouth to ask Near a question.

Before he could, the door was kicked open, and a gun was leveled straight at Near, sitting in his chair in the center of the room. Lidner was holding the gun, Misa behind her opening up the Death Note. Gevanni halfway leapt to his feet.

"Don't move!" cried Misa. "Or she will shoot!"

Gevanni paused and looked at Near, who nodded at him. Slowly, he returned to his chair and turned away from them. Out of sight, he reached into his right pocket and slid something out.

Misa smiled. "Nate River… and Stephen Loud. This is where it all ends. No guns, and no chance of reaching me before your names are in the notebook!"

She quickly clicked her pen and began writing. Even as she finished "Nate," Near only glared, and Stephen remained turned away from them. Finishing Near's last name, she then moved on to quickly scrawl "Stephen Loud," before snapping shut the notebook.

"Kira is avenged!" Misa shouted triumphantly. "You can lower your gun now, Lidner." The woman obeyed, and as soon as the gun was down, Gevanni leapt from his chair all of a sudden and ran across the room, tackling Lidner and taking the gun from her. The gun in his possession, he backed away, holding Misa at gunpoint.

"It's no use!" Misa giggled. "In twenty more seconds, you'll both be dead! Then no one can stop Kira!"

She smiled evilly as she stared down at her watch and watched the time pass. Near still stared the same way, but Gevanni began sweating profusely, the gun shaking slightly.

And time continued to pass. Misa's smile faded quickly, staring up in complete confusion. Obviously, Near and Gevanni hadn't died. Near was still staring, curling his white hair with a finger, and Gevanni held them both at gunpoint.

"I… I don't understand…" she said in a shaky voice, and she quickly raised and reopened her notebook.

A gunshot rang out, and Misa screamed as the notebook was blown from her hands, a clean bullet hole through the middle of it. Then she trembled and backed up against the wall.

"Rule number 39," said Near calmly. "If the same name is written on more than two Death Notes is completed within a 0.06 second difference, it is regarded as simultaneous; the Death Notes will not take effect and the individual written will not die."

"What?!" cried Misa. "That's not a real rule!"

"Of course it is. Junichi had extensive knowledge of the Death Note rules, courtesy of his Shinigami. That is your undoing."

Misa whimpered and looked behind Near to the desk where Gevanni had sat. On the desk were a small piece of paper and a pen, which Gevanni had hidden from Misa's view. She also noted one of the monitors; it gave a view from the top of the doorframe behind Misa, which would have given him perfect view of Misa's notebook.

"0.06 seconds? There's no way he can match me that close…"

"Then you underestimate Gevanni's skills. I have complete trust in him. Only he—who was able to completely forge an entire Death Note in one night—could match the name writing on our piece of the Note simultaneously."

"No… no…" whimpered Misa, falling to her knees.

Kymander, hovering in the doorway still, looked down at her with a crestfallen look. "How disappointing… The Death Note should have gone to someone much smarter."

With that, the Shinigami slid his own Note out of a satchel in his side and flipped it open.

"What are you doing, Shinigami?!" cried Near in alarm.

Kymander only laughed as he wrote. "You don't really think I cared for any of these humans, do you? My fun is over. And I'll be honest, the only reason I took interest in Misa Amane—in fact, the only reason she caught my eye in the first place—is the enormous lifespan hanging over her head."

Near gasped. Of course… Although Misa has had her lifespan cut in half twice, two Shinigami died for her. Gelus died to save her from a crazed stalker, and Rem died to save her from imminent execution by L and Watari. When a Shinigami saves someone's life, their own lifespans are added to the human's. Thus… Misa's current natural lifespan had to be incredible, even with an original quartered lifespan.

"Yes," cackled Kymander, snapping shut the notebook. "And now that lifespan is mine. And something else you've probably learned from Junichi. Ryuk didn't kill Light Yagami just because he wanted to, or just because he didn't feel like sticking around anymore. Provided his lifespan isn't already too short, the Shinigami possessing a Death Note owner must write that owner's name in the Note."

"No," croaked Misa, crawling up. "You can't… You're kidding, right?" She started to walk toward Kymander, but she suddenly screamed and pitched forward onto her face. Gevanni cried out in shock, but by the time he rushed over, Misa's face was already pale, her eyes rolling up into her head.

"No…" she croaked. "L-Light…" Then she shuddered and died.

Almost immediately afterward, Lidner suddenly croaked and grabbed her chest, still on the ground. Gevanni cried out again, and Near was finally taken completely aback.

"Lidner!" Near shouted, rushing over to her with Gevanni. The latter was grinding his teeth, tears coming down his face. Lidner hardly made another noise before falling still.

Above them, Kymander laughed. "Well, I got a lot of fun out of it, just like Ryuk said. So, I'll see you losers later. You can do whatever you want with that Death Note."

As Gevanni sobbed over Lidner's lifeless body, Near leaned over and plucked the Death Note off the ground opening it to the last page that had been filled out. Gevanni looked up, reading the notebook with him.

"She unflinchingly obeys all commands… She dies only after Misa…" said Near darkly. "Since she didn't complete it—she probably was going to write 'after Misa commands her to die'—the notebook took it to mean she dies after Misa dies."

"Why did it have to end this way?" croaked Gevanni.

"Because these are the risks you must take to achieve justice," said Near straightly, without hestitation.

...

Thank you very much for reading my fanfic. There is still going to be a short epilogue I'm going to write in a little bit, probably tomorrow. - This was a really fun project for me, thank you all for reading and favoriting my story.