Disclaimer: Death Note is not mine. If it was, the ending would be THIS sappy. As for A Christmas Carol… do I LOOK over 100 years old? No.

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Past, Present, Future

Chapter Five: Finale

The first rays of sunlight filtered through the darkness of the night, marking the beginning of a new morning.

Christmas morning.

It was with these rays, and with the rare sound of a bird twittering outside the window, that Light Yagami awoke.

Awaking in the middle of a prodigiously tough snore, he jolted upright, and sent the book that had been resting on his chest flying onto the floor.

Ghosts… guns… handcuffs…

They were gone. All gone. Whether it was a dream or not, they were gone. Light sighed in relief…

… but faltered.

It was true. They were all gone. He was back in his room, sitting in his chair. There, in the bed, Misa was curled up after her late-night Christmas shopping. No mints littered the floor, the door was still attached in its frame… Nothing stood as testament to what happened in the night.

Except his thoughts.

He shivered to himself as moments flashed through his mind. He could still see the hazy outline of L's ghost, still smell the cigarettes and chocolate aroma from the car, still feel the life draining from him as the words "You've lost" forced their way into his consciousness.

Last night, he felt he was the victim in all of this. In the morning light, however, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that, to some degree, he was the villain, too. He had lost his passion – not only for minor things, but also for the things he desired most. The doctrine he was trying to teach the world had become skewed, and now he wasn't even sure that the results were matching up with his intentions… He had lost so many things along the way –

– And for what? True, his 'perfect' world glimmered from the outside… but its innards were rotten. There was no use trying to hide this fact any longer. Shiny enamel, but a rotten root; an impressive looking parcel with a pair of argyle socks inside: this was his 'perfect' world, and he was the god of all of it.

A god of a hollow world.

Silently, so as not to wake Misa, he rose from the chair and made his way to the window. Outside, the sky was still dark – though the rays of sunlight had begun their trek across the landscape, it was still far too early for even the world to have woken up. From here, Light could see a thousand darkened windows… and behind each one of them, someone would be sleeping. In just a few hours, they would be waking up, and doing the things that people do in the morning.

Simple things. Nothing big. Nothing that would change the world.

Just simple things.

Whilst simplicity was not a quality that Light was particularly fond of, the thought of this made him pause.

Light Yagami was a quick thinker, and a clever young man. Though his proactive attitude sometimes took him down the wrong path, it could never be said that his primary intentions were anything less than admirable. He stuck by his decisions, and that was what made him who he was.

He sighed, watching his breath imprint itself on the window and melt away.

He had been a victim. He hadn't deserved this.

He deserved better.

…

"Misa," he said.

The woman on the bed stretched and yawned, as a reflex reaction to him calling her name. "Mmwhat is it, Light?"

He smiled a little to himself. "There were some complications yesterday. The Task Force has started to suspect us again."

Despite her sleepiness, the words registered in her mind. She clapped a hand to her mouth. "What do we do, Light?"

Behind her, Ryuk drifted half-way through the wall. "Did I hear right? That those guys are back on your case? Hyuk hyuk… They must be cleverer than you thought."

Light pondered for a moment. "To a certain degree… yes. I suppose they are," he closed his eyes, and the smile grew stronger, "which is why – after a lot of deliberation – I have decided to take such drastic action to shake them off."

"So," Misa looked puzzled, "… what are we going to do, then?"

He clasped his hands together. "Simple…"

When the Task Force arrived at headquarters, prompt and early on Christmas morning, they found a message left on one of the computers. It read:

Merry Christmas everyone.

I've had a bit of a change of heart…

Hope you all have a good time with your families today.

L. Yagami.

"Are you sure this'll work?" asked Ryuk, as he was handed the small black notebook. "I mean, getting rid of every Death Note… that's a bit extreme, isn't it? How are you supposed to regain your memory and keep on… Kira-…ing?"

"First of all, Ryuk, Kira-ing is not a word. Don't insult me by saying things like that," said Light. "Secondly – I told you: I need to do something that confuses everyone – and I need to get the Task Force off mine and Misa's backs. That's why I gave them the day off, as a way of cooling them down a little… and also why I need you to take the Death Notes back to the Shinigami Realm. You do want to have fun, don't you?"

"Well, yeah," said Ryuk.

"And Misa trusts me, don't you, Misa?"

"Of course! Misa always trusts Light!" Misa squeaked.

"So take them. I don't care how long it takes – as long as you find every Death Note and take them back," said Light. "And don't worry… I promise to you, Ryuk – I'm in control. My plan is still going ahead. And this certainly isn't the last you've seen of me."

Ryuk shrugged. "Fine… Okay. I'll take 'em."

Without another word, he left.

The world froze.

And sparkled.

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Author's Note: So there you go. A nice warm slice of Optimism pie. I bet you've never had such a meaningful pie (sorry – in-joke)…

I won't spoil the huggly warmness I was trying to get into this chapter by going on too long with this. I'd just like to say…

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone.

Even bad guys.

The Author Wishes to Thank: Everyone who has ever read, reviewed, or even taken a passing glance at my fics. To those who put up with my sporadicness with A.I: Alternate Incarceration; to those who put up with my randomness in Loose Threads; and especially to those that put up with me – period… I wish you all a happy 2009… even though I'll still be posting things and annoying the hell out of you. XD