Chapter 4

Light and L left the restaurant and made their way to the nearest information stand to grab a map of the park to find the ride they had mentioned at breakfast. Light suggested they take a leisurely walk to it to let their breakfast settle before shaking it around on a roller coaster and L agreed, if only because he was eager to explore the surroundings as well.

They ended up in the area that looked like a 50's style of amusement park with a dinosaur theme. Light scoured the map for more information as to why it looked so different from the rest of the park and discovered the explanation.

"Apparently the theme here is that dinosaur bones were found here and they built up an amusement park in that theme and here it is. Apparently there is a particularly interesting ride called Dinosaur here. Would you like to try it or do you think it would scare you?" he asked smirking and L looked at him defiantly.

"A children's ride could not scare me," he told him and Light laughed.

"Come on then, I imagine it would be a bit calmer than the roller coaster and easier on my breakfast," he said and led L to where the ride was located.

They got into the line which weaved inside the building where the ride was located, the area full of dinosaur themed items, pictures, and a set of dino bones in the middle of the room. Once they had made it through the original line they were led into a room where they saw a movie in which the "Director of the Dino Institute" explained to them that they were about to ride a special car that would take them into the past to see dinosaurs and then another man came on telling them that what they were really going to do was go back in time and snatch one particular dinosaur and bring it back..all before the big meteor hits that destroys the dinosaurs. Light chuckled and then looked at L who was studying the film, his thumb to his mouth.

"Something wrong?" Light asked him and L shook his head.

"This is all part of the amusement? I do not recall ever hearing of a Dinosaur Institute," he asked and Light nodded laughing.

"It's atmosphere. They want to give you more than just a dark ride, give you a little story to go with it. It makes it more fun!" he said and L nodded.

"I see," L answered and Light laughed again as L looked completely serious as the short movie continued. Once the film was over complete with instruction to keep your seat belt buckled, they were led to the loading area where they were seated in a large jeep looking vehicle where L and Light ended up being seated in the front. The vehicle began to move and went through what was made to seem like a time warp and they were plunged into complete darkness with only the voice of the supposed operator in their ears.

"Light, it smells of sulfur and rotting plants," L commented as they moved in the darkness and the voice and Light laughed.

"What did you expect to smell in the dinosaur age?" he asked and L snorted.

"I was merely pointing out…" and he stopped as a dinosaur suddenly appeared in front of them, "A stegosaurus…hmmm" he said as they rode past it, the computerized voice of the ride warning them of a meteor shower.

"Something tells me that meteor shower is going to be important," Light said and L shrugged.

"How can they do that in here?" he asked as they passed another dinosaur in a leisurely fashion. He turned to Light trying to see him in the darkness, "So far this is rather unremarkable but…"and he stopped when suddenly the entire vehicle lurched to one side and it's leisurely pace suddenly disappeared and they were lurching forward at what seemed to be an incredible speed, lurching from side to side. He heard Light start laughing as other riders began to scream at the sudden change. Suddenly the car lurched to the left and a huge horned dinosaur was roaring at them, teeth bared and almost reaching into the car. The riders behind them screamed in horror as L stared at it in surprise, even Light made a noise at the suddenness of it. The vehicle lurched again in the other direction, feeling as if it were spinning out of control and nearly ramming into another equally large and ferocious dinosaur.

They were told a pterodactyl was incoming but in the pitch black they could see nothing until suddenly it was directly in front of them, screeching and causing everyone in the vehicle to scream loudly and Light to involuntarily duck as it swooped over them. Suddenly the computer announced there was no traction on the vehicle and it began to slide…into another roaring dinosaur which turned and began to lean towards the vehicle causing more screams and laughter from Light who tried to look at L and saw him staring wide eyed with his thumb at his mouth. There were flashes that represented meteors falling all around them, the vehicle appearing to careen out of control in trying to avoid the falling meteors into the unending darkness and into various roaring reptiles, the sound of nearly deafening. Suddenly the voice was yelling at the computer to pull them out before the major meteor hit yelling "Brace Yourselves!" as red lights began to flash and suddenly the largest dinosaur they had seen yet began to run at them head on. The screaming was deafening and L found he couldn't tear his eyes away from the autoanimatonic creature that seemed to get closer and closer and looked as if it as about to bite his head off. Then just as suddenly it was gone and they were at the end of the ride and it was pulling back into the docking area.

Light was laughing as the rest of the car continued to voice their excitement over the ride and he looked over at L who turned to look at him, his eyes still wide with excitement.

"Well…did you enjoy it?" Light asked him as they climbed out of the car.

"It was well done, Light I could almost believe what they were trying to put forth, it was quite enjoyable but it did not frighten me," He answered and Light grinned at him.

"What about that last one, don't tell me it didn't startle you!" he said and burst into laughter again when L neglected to answer him immediately. He instead looked at his partner who continued to grin at him as they made their way outside.

"I would never have imagined when I first met the cold and calculating Light Yagami that lurking underneath was someone who enjoyed such amusements," he said trying to change the subject which Light was having none of.

"Stop trying the get the focus off of you Ryuzaki," he said, "You know I had become what I was molded to be by boredom and extreme expectations from all sides. I wasn't allowed or given the time to enjoy such things after a certain age and so I shut them from my mind just like someone else I know," he told him and stopped walking to face L directly, "And all that statement tells me is that the big bad dinosaur made your heart rate rise a bit more than you expected!" he said and knew he was right as L's nose lifted into the air as he walked away from him.

"I am in need of something sweet," he said as he moved away and bumped into a worker who was placing barriers in front of them. L turned back to Light in confusion.

"Has something happened, is this a criminal situation?" he asked and Light shook his head.

"You would think that wouldn't you, but no they're just setting up for something," he answered and looked as his map of information, "Most likely a parade of some sort," he added as he refolded it and put it back in his pocket. Music began to blare from hidden speakers and it was announced that Mickey's Jamming Jungle parade was about to begin. L's face registered what almost looked like horror causing Light to laugh again; he couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so much in such a short period of time.

"Are we trapped here and forced to watch this…parade?" he asked and Light shook his head.

"Of course not, we can walk around this area but no doubt we'll run into it anyway so you might as well just wait until it's over. Perhaps Mickey will wave at you," he added and watched as L's eyes reflected sudden revulsion. The children around them suddenly began to react loudly as the music began to get louder. They looked in the direction everyone was looking and could see the vehicles of the parade arriving, Disney characters waving at the crowd. Light snuck his hand around L's as it hung at his side and whispered in his ear.

"Steady now, it only lasts a few minutes," he said laughing again as L stared at the oncoming parade. He began to watch the crowd as the characters began to pass by and their reactions began to fascinate him. All ages seemed to be filled with excitement and joy, waving and calling out to the characters, the young children dancing where they stood, clapping and giggling and completely enamoured. He looked at the parade as it went past, the characters seemingly feeding off the frenzy they were creating.

Of course he knew of Disney and the movies, the empire that it had become; but as a child he had never been introduced to that world, and never had the desire to do so as he became older or the time. Because of this he couldn't understand what appeared to be the emotional ties the crowd seemed to have with these characters, no matter what the ages. He continued to watch the crowd, his thumb coming to his mouth as he studied their reactions. Light noticed L going into his "thinking" stance and leaned towards his ear.

"What are you studying so hard?" he asked.

"When we get back to the hotel I must study this phenomena of how the crowd seems to be reacting emotionally to the characters. I don't understand what the attraction is that seems to span all age groups."

"I see. I think you'll need to watch a movie or two to really understand and I'm not sure you can take that," Light answered and L turned to face him a completely serious expression on his face.

"I have endured watching the most heinous of crimes in order to solve them; I am sure a child's movie will not be a problem," he nearly spat and Light smirked at him.

"Yes and that child's ride didn't just make your heart rate shoot through the roof either," he said and L's eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Perhaps you should stop talking for a while," he warned and that only made Light fall into another round of laughter. He watched his partner as he continued to watch the crowd, extremely happy that the fear that was plaguing L was nowhere to be seen.

He had been a little concerned about the ride, but it seemed as long as the situation had nothing to remind him of what had happened, it didn't affect him. He sighed, he would have to do some research on his own about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrom; he knew that was what L was suffering from and felt that pain in his chest when he remembered it was because of his actions that L was suffering from it in the first place. But right now he wouldn't think about that, right now he was enjoying watching L enjoy himself and that was the entire reason why they were there. He squeezed L's hand and was rewarded by one of L's beautiful smiles before he turned back to the parade, the warmth of his love for him completely wiping out the worry for the moment.

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