Light's Prize

It was... unnerving, to say the least. Standing among the hundreds, no, thousands of people that you had personally ended the lives of. As Light looked around, he recognized face after face, all of them looking dull and hopeless, walking on towards wherever the river ended. Was this real? Were these people really here, walking slowly towards whatever fate awaited them, trapped in this grey world of fog? Or was this merely the illusions of people, like Ryuk had said, and all of them were really in Heaven, Hell, or Mu? Light didn't know, but it was scaring him. He didn't know what the rest of the Trial would be like, but this... This was horrible. He had one clue, from the L that wasn't L, but it wasn't enough.

"Door?" he asked the doppelganger, Beyond Birthday.

Beyond giggled. "There is a door at the river's source. That is the end of this stage of the Trial. That is where you have to go." He reached out, grabbing Light by the upper arm. "Walk with me. We'll find Naomi Misora-san."

Light figured that it wouldn't be a good idea to fight with a deranged killer, and started walking. "How do you know that I'm in the Trial?"

"Because there are always one or two people who know that they are merely illusion, and they can help you if you find them. Or..." Here Beyond laughed again. "Or they can refuse, and taunt you instead."

"And are you helping me?"

"I'm explaining things, aren't I?" Beyond said sourly, suddenly frowning. "Look, there's Misora! Oi, Misora-san!"

A woman in a leather jacket stopped walking and turned to face them. Naomi Misora, exactly as Light remembered her. She blinked at him suspiciously, then sighed. "We know it is illusion, but you honestly want to help Kira, Ryuzaki?"

"You're Ryuzaki?" Light said in surprise.

Beyond laughed again, his good humor restored. "L never told you, Little Kira? He won his names of Coil and Deneuve in a detective war with the real detectives with those aliases, so he won my name when he defeated me. Ryuzaki Rue was my alias. L and I grew up together."

Light stared at him. This must be the LABB murders. L had mentioned them once, but Light hadn't pressed for details, because L had seemed unhappy with them even being brought up. This murderer, though... He had grown up with L. He had a story. It was the first time that Light had ever thought about these people as more than a crime and a name on a page. All of them were human beings, and all of them had lives beyond the crime that they had committed.

This wasn't even everyone that "Kira" had killed. Many more had died at Misa's hands, and if Light understood right, they weren't even here. This was just the people whose deaths he alone was responsible for.

Naomi Misora was staring at him appraisingly. "Did you tell him about the door? He always must find the door."

"I told him, I told him." Beyond too looked at Light, head tilted curiously. As they resumed walking, he asked eagerly, "So, Little Kira... You aren't dead. What is your prize for finishing the Labyrinth?"

Light hesitated, then looked at the ground. "I let a Shinigami steal his soul away... L's soul... I have to get him back."

"WHAT?" Both Beyond and Misora stopped dead and stared at him. Naomi managed to speak first, breathing in disbelief, "L? You let them take his soul for the Labyrinth?"

"That's worse than what you did to us!" Beyond howled. "At least we died, at least we had a chance to move on to somewhere else! His soul will remain to serve the Labyrinth until it becomes nothing!"

Light took a step back from them, and realized with a start that they had been walking with the flow of the river, away from where he needed to go. He took another step back. "You tricked me. We're going the wrong way!"

"I told you, Little Kira..." Beyond's smile now was cruel, no trace of mirth or playfulness left. "Our purpose, once you realize yours, is to keep you from reaching the door." Both he and Naomi lunged, but Light dodged their grabbing hands, turning to sprint in the other direction. Beyond's wicked laughter followed him as he ran for his life in the direction of the supposed door. He didn't know where it was or what it looked like, but he knew he had to reach it to move on.

People stepped into his path no matter how he dodged, and he furiously elbowed them out of his way. He didn't know what would happen if he ended up at the other end of the river, but he certainly didn't want to find out. But he slowed down upon seeing a small family of three, a mother and her two children. He... he wouldn't have killed them, would he? If they weren't criminals...

As his purpose changed, the door forgotten for the moment, the people around him ceased grabbing and chasing, leaving Light free to approach the woman.

"Um..." he began awkwardly, but the woman glared at him.

"Murderer!" she cried. Light took a step back, and she shook her fist at him. "We are dead because of you!" Her children, one about ten and one about four, hung back, looking sad.

"I don't understand..." he said. It hurt to admit it, but he honestly had no idea. Even he would have thought twice about 'judging' children.

"My husband was wrongly imprisoned, and you killed him! We had no way to earn enough to pay for food, healthcare, anything! You killed us, just as you killed him!"

Light stepped back, frightened. How many of the people in here were like this woman, dead not because they were criminals, but because of someone he had killed? Killing L would have extended Misa's lifespan, thus killing Rem, which was why she wouldn't do it originally. But it proved that one person's lifespan affected another's. If killing someone could lengthen one person's lifespan, could it shorten someone else's? If everyone's lifespan was connected...

He turned and ran, using the valuable seconds he had before they tried to stop him. The river of mist was narrowing, and Light could imagine that it was about the width of a normal sized door.

There it was, up ahead! A simple wooden door, set into a stone wall that apparently marked the end of the 'room'. It was the only wall that Light had seen, but at that point, he didn't care. He sprinted for it, dead on, but at the last second was grabbed from the side.

"Light!"

Light stared in horror at the blonde model clinging to his arm. Dead by his actions, even if it wasn't intentional... "Misa?"

"Of course!" she chimed, hugging his arm tighter. "Misa is sad that you're dead, but now we can be together forever and ever!"

"Misa, no." Light said, trying to extricate his arm from her grip. "I have... I'm on a mission."

"While you're dead? Don't be silly!"

"I'm not dead, Misa. I'm doing a... a Trial. To... to save L."

Misa froze abruptly, looking up at him for a moment before stepping back. "L?" she whispered. "Even here... you still...?" She looked down, seemingly crushed.

"Misa..." Light tried, but she blinked at him mournfully.

"Misa-Misa saw it. The way that you looked at him. You must love him a lot, to even come here for him." she said. "I... I guess I can't compete with true love, right?" And unlike everyone else he had met so far, she stepped aside, to let him go.

Light hesitated a second, then hugged her. "Thank you, Misa. I'll never forget this. You'll get to Heaven, I know it."

"Misa will always love you, Light." the blonde girl said, hugging him back. "Goodbye."

Light ran for the door, seeing out of the corner of his eye the other people catching up. He sprinted through the door, and it slammed behind him as he found himself in a dim, featureless room. The only thing in it was a simple bed, and asleep in the bed...

Was L.

Light walked over, peering down at him apprehensively. Like the L he had left on earth, this one slept peacefully, and didn't stir even when Light shook his shoulder gently. Light sank to the floor beside the bed, his head in his hands. What was he supposed to do? He fought through a river of the dead, for this? An L as unresponsive as the one he had left?

Briefly, he thought of his foolish idea, the one that hadn't worked before. But things were different now, so maybe... He scrambled to his feet, looking down at L's still form for a moment before pressing a single quick kiss to his lips.

For a few moments, nothing happened. Then L stirred, blinking sleepily before gazing up at Light. "Who... are you?"

The elation that Light had felt at L actually awakening with his kiss evaporated. Did he not remember? He stared deep into ebony eyes, and said softly, "It's me, Light. Do you remember?"

L frowned, thinking for a second before looking distressed. "No. I don't remember anything. Why can't I remember?"

"Your name is Lawliet." Light said quickly. "But everyone called you L. I'm your... friend, Light." It must be something to do with the Labyrinth. It had taken L's memory, as another challenge for Light to overcome.

"My friend...?" L sat up, looking around. "Where are we?" Panic filled his eyes briefly as he looked around the small room. "What's going on?"

Light sighed, deciding that the truth, or at least part of it, would be the easiest. "We're in a room in a place called the Labyrinth. You... You were captured, and I have to finish the Trial to get you out."

Memoryless, trusting L stared at him apprehensively. He thought for a second, then, as inspiration struck him, said, "I bet I have to finish more challenges, to get your memory back. Then we can go home."

L looked down for a second, his hair covering his eyes in a familiar shade, leaving Light once again unable to tell what he was thinking. He looked back up, and Light saw a flicker of old suspicion in his eyes. "How do I know that you're telling me the truth?"

"Please, L." Light said quietly. "Please trust me, just this once." He didn't know if it was the tone of his voice, or the look on his face, but L looked away for a moment, then looked back and said quietly, "I don't think you're lying to me. I... I will trust you."

"Thank you." Light looked around the small room. There was a second door on the wall opposite the way he had come in. "I bet I have to go through there to reach the next part." He smiled, glancing back at L and said, "I'll come back. I promise." Then he walked to the door, opened it, stepped through, and was gone.

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Aww. XD

So AMA was AWESOME! I got random hugged all over the place, and got to meet Chuck Huber, and bought an L plushie eating cake! :D Life is good.

(I also got an "I heart yaoi" button, and refused to explain what it meant to my dad. XD)

Hugs!
Li