Sol of Luna: Near and Far

Author: Gakusangi

Author's Notes and Acknowledgements:
RECAP – After a perilous journey across the sands, the children descend down into the Serpent's Nest, a task that in and of itself is more than what they bargained for. Once safely at the bottom, they make their way through the snaking canyon, and soon come across an ancient monument. A colossal, stone head, etched out of the cliff face. Its gaping mouth is the entrance to the Labyrinth, and beyond it, the abode of the Emerald Sage. Meanwhile, L and the Emerald Sage begin their game. The Sage plays the Golem card, which results in the massive, stone guardian that attacks the children soon after they enter. Quick thinking on Matt's part, and L playing the Essence of Fire, results in the creature's destruction. But then the Sage plays the Quake card, and the children fall into the openings it makes. Now we must see how they fair individually…

This is a Death Note fan fiction. Many of the characters presented here are not mine, but the legal property of writer Tsugumi Ohba, and artist Takeshi Obata.

Chapter 20: The Labyrinth, Part II

L leaned forward, looking fearfully upon the card in the center of the table. The old man chuckled.

"Together, they are very strong." The old man said. "But now we see how well they fair apart."

The old sage drew four cards from the top of his stack and set them face down in the center of the table. L leaned back in his seat, looking paler than usual. The old man flipped the first card over, revealing it to his opponent.

The Hall of Mirrors

(XXX)

Linda's feet patted lightly across the carpeted floor as she made her way slowly down the corridor. It was late, well after curfew. She had woken from a nightmare, the same one she had every evening, for the past several months. The difference between this evening, and all the others, was that this time, she chose not to wake her brother. She wasn't stupid. She could see how her late night episodes were affecting him. His sleep deprivation encroached on his studies, wearing his body during exercises and weapon drills. She didn't want that. She wouldn't hold him back, no matter how frightened she was. So instead, she chose to sneak out of their room, and wander around the compound.

It was with no intent on her part that she ended up outside the open door of very odd man, whom she'd never seen the like of before. He had messy, raven hair, which emphasized his pale complexion. His body was thin, gangly, almost sickly looking in its gauntness, and it was covered in loose fitting clothing. His attire was simple, consisting of nothing more than a white t-shirt and faded jeans. She noticed that his feet where bare, his toes occasionally curling around themselves. What really caught her attention was how he sat in the armchair behind his desk. He wasn't so much sitting as he was squatting, with his knees to his chest, and he feet set upon the cushion.

At the moment, the bizarre looking man was busy reading a book in one hand, while writing on a notepad with the other. His face never turned from the book he was reading as his pencil scratched rapidly across the paper. After a moment, the book came down, and dark, lifeless eyes settled upon her. She felt a shiver run through her under those black, dead eyes. She felt the need to flee, to be as far away from this person as she could. But a voice, just as empty as his eyes, drifted to her.

"Hello." The man said to her.

"Hello." Linda repeated for the sake of being polite.

"Would you like to come in for a moment?" The man asked, his tone even, his voice calm.

Linda wasn't sure why, but her feet crossed the threshold, and she stepped inside the room, quietly approaching the desk. She didn't look up at him. She didn't want to meet his bottomless eyes.

"Have a seat, please." The man said, indicating one of the other chairs set in front of the desk.

She complied, crawling into the chair, her feet dangling above the ground. The man set down the book he had been reading and leaned forward. Reflexively, Linda leaned back in her chair, as if repelled by the man. But he didn't seem to notice this…or maybe he just didn't care enough to acknowledge it.

"Can't sleep?" The man asked, and though she was sure he was trying to be sympathetic, it wasn't evident in his voice.

She nodded all the same. He set his feet on the ground and rose from his chair. He walked over to a nearby shelf. Linda saw how he hunched, wondering if maybe he had something wrong with his back. But as he straightened and reached up to grab something off the top of the shelf, she realized that this was not the case. She fought the urge to recoil as he walked silently over to her, and stood beside the chair she was seated in. He held out what he had retrieved from the shelf. It was a tattered, brown teddy bear. One of its eyes was missing, and it had more than a few patches, with bits of stitching still coming undone in some spots. The man urged her to take it. She did, thinking it polite to do so, and hugged it close to her chest, still avoiding making eye contact with the man. He nodded, as if satisfied, and shuffled back over to his chair.

"Sometimes," The man said as he sank back into his seat, "All you need is a little companionship, to help you sleep."

Linda took her attention from the man, and instead looked upon the notepad he'd been scribbling on. She frowned in confusion at the series of squiggly and curved lines that marked the paper, unable to decipher their meaning. She could read. In fact, she could read quite well, thanks to the private tutoring her parents had paid for her and her brother. But these weren't letters, at least not any she was familiar with. It looked as though he had simply been running the pencil over the paper in order to have something to do with his free hand while he read.

"Shorthand." The man's voice almost made her jump in her distraction.

She looked up, and met those blacker than black eyes again.

"I was copying the book, so that I could reference it at any time." The man explained. "To save time and space, I've been writing in shorthand."

Linda looked back at the paper. It was hard believe that any meaning could be garnered from the seeming random designs before her, but she was in no position to challenge.

"Would you like to learn how?" The man asked, catching Linda off guard.

He opened a desk drawer and reached inside.

"Can you read?" He asked.

She nodded, and he withdrew a small book from the drawer. He held it out to her, and she reluctantly accepted it.

"It will teach you how to read and write shorthand." The man explained.

"Thank you." She replied.

He brought his thumb up to his lips, and looked upon her thoughtfully for a moment. Linda was uncomfortable with the scrutiny, and Looked away.

"Maybe next time," The man said around his thumb, "You could help me take notes."

Linda looked up at him again. She wasn't sure why, but something told her that she that this was somehow a great gesture.

"Thank you." She said again with a nod.

(XXX)

Linda awoke in total darkness. At first she couldn't remember how she ended up here, but then the images played out in her mind at a rapid pace. They had fought the rock monster, and then there was an earthquake…now she was here. She looked around frantically.

"Matt!" She called into the darkness, her voice bouncing off the walls back at her. "Mello! Near!"

Nothing. Just the sound of her frightened voice filled the emptiness. Linda took a breath to calm herself. If she had survived the fall, then there was a good chance so had they. She just needed to find them. There was a hissing sound, and Linda glanced over her shoulder. Part of a nearby wall lifted, revealing a brightly lit chamber beyond it. Linda rose to her feet, drawing the Kris Knives, and started for the new opening. The light bleeding out of the passage was so intense when compared to darkness she had awoken in that Linda could not see through it. A rectangular, white blur, it was almost like staring into a solid object. Linda cautiously stepped through, and stood squinting, letting her eyes adjust to the new lighting.

It was disorienting to say the least. Everything – the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling – had been polished to a mirror finish, reflecting Linda from all angles. She swayed a little from a sudden sense of vertigo, and closed her eyes. She went to take a step back, when that familiar hissing sound came again. She whirled around in time to see a mirror slide into place, barring her way, and sealing her in the mirrored room. There was no turning back, not now. She turned, seeing a hundred amber haired young girls staring back at her. She sighed heavily and started forward, taking one careful step at a time, and using her outstretched arms to warn her of impending collision.

It didn't take long before she was utterly lost, with a headache settling deep within her temples and the back of her neck. This place was so dizzyingly confusing, and visually it was nightmare. You couldn't make heads or tails of anything, her sense of direction was sent spinning, along with her head. She closed her eyes again and took a few breaths. Once the dull pain and slight nausea had subsided, she continued in whatever direction she had been going. She didn't notice as the refection of her back in the mirror just behind her began to turn of its own accord. She didn't see as figure that was identical to her in appearance, save for the white, featureless mask it wore, drew the long, wavy blades from the sheaths at its back. She did, however, feel the eyes upon her, staring out at her back from a V pattern eye slit. And it was this feeling that caused her to whirl around.

Linda caught the flash of steel in her periphery, and leaned back as she turned around. The blade passed just over the tip of her nose. Linda cartwheeled backwards, kicking both of her legs of her head, one followed swiftly by the other. The maneuver not only acted as a dodge, but also a counter attack, as she struck the wrist of the knife wielding hand, sending the weapon it had been clutching up into the air. When Linda's feet touched down, she was upright again, and reaching for her opponent's weapon as gravity pulled it back down. But before her fingers could lock around the handle of the Kris Knife replica, the figure was leaping through the air above her head, and snatched the blade back. The figure landed and rolled out of sight, leaving only a hundred or so shocked looking Linda reflections looking frantically about.

This was a bad situation. Her opponent, who appeared to be a reflection of herself, knew how to navigate this place, leaving Linda with a severe disadvantage. Further more, as a reflection, it possessed all of Linda's finesse. It was like fighting another Linda, an idea that she was shocked to find both intriguing and very frightening. Linda was still milling this thought over when movement off to the side caught her attention. She turned as the masked Linda leapt out of a mirror beside her, lashing out with a Kris Knife. Linda stepped back, but her reflexes failed her this time. The blade bit into the flesh of her left arm, leaving a deep line of crimson, which began to paint the limb down to her elbow. Linda gritted her teeth and countered with one of her own Kris Knives. It struck one of the mirrors, cracking its polished surfaces, but there was no one there except her own reflection staring back at her.

Linda glanced down at her wound. It was bad. The skin was flayed, the flesh peeling back into a scarlet blossom, and blood flowed freely and rapidly. Luckily her assailant hadn't struck an artery or nerve. Otherwise Linda would have been in lot more than just pain at the moment. She didn't have time to dress the wound, so she had to hope that the blood loss wouldn't affect her too much. She needed to stay sharp. She needed to be ready. Linda's eyes narrowed, she forced her breath to remain steady, and even. She couldn't lose it now.

Everything was eerily still for a moment. Like being in the eye of hurricane, knowing that at any moment the calm would pass and the turbulent storm would resume. Linda's muscles tensed, poised and ready for action. The Kris Knives were out, and clutched tightly in both hands. She knew that her left arm would be weakened from the damage it had sustained, so she would have to compensate for it. Waiting was the most unbearable part of a battle. Waiting for the first move, the first mistake, the first to fall…

The reflection came down from above this time, descending upon Linda with its twin knives leading the way. Linda leapt back, letting her opponent drop in front of her. It was back on its feet and laying down a vicious assault in no time, forcing Linda into a series of defensive counters. Linda was pushed back by her foes flurry of aggressive attacks. She could feel the force of them jarring against her blades, numbing her palms with each strike. She was in trouble. She had to seek out an opening, and she had to make it count.

The masked Linda loosed one final attack with both knives at once. Linda deflected, but the force of the strike knocked her down. Her opponent was coming down on her, and Linda swung blindly in her panic. The steel of the Kris Knife bit into her opponent's seemingly identical weapon. But it wasn't identical. It wasn't a real Kris Knife. Linda's blade cut cleanly through its mirrored foe, taking the top half of her opponent's replica knife off. The masked Linda looked down at her severed weapon in surprise. Linda seized the opportunity. She thrust out her other knife, burying it deep into her assailant's abdomen. There was no blood, there was no scream, the reflection simply fell back, crashing through the mirror behind it, shattering the surfaces in chorus of broken glass.

Linda rose slowly, watching the unmoving body of her opponent for any signs of life. It lay still and silent on the ground. Linda noticed then that the mirror it had shatter had been a covering for another passage…or maybe the same chamber she had entered from. It was hard to determine, since she could have been easily turned around at any moment during the fight. Linda stepped forward looking down upon the featureless mask. She reached out slowly, and touched it smooth, ivory surface. Then she gripped the edge and threw the mask off, revealing her opponent's face…but there was no face there to reveal. Just a void, empty and bottomless. Linda shivered and stepped over the body and into the passage beyond.

(XXX)

L scooped up the pile of cards in the center of the table and set them over with the cards he had won in the first round, smiling all the while. Linda had pulled through. But the old sage seemed to have set himself, his expression unmoving as he flipped the next card over. L looked upon it, and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

The Columns

(XXX)

Linda was standing next to Matt, staring at the unmarked grave in front of them. Roger was there, a hand laid gently on each of their shoulders, offering what little comfort he could. But there was no comfort to be had. This was unlike anything they had experienced before. Even when compared to the deaths of their parents, this…this stood alone.

"Do you want to say anything?" Roger asked gently.

Matt pulled the goggles down over his eyes, trying to hide away the tears that were brimming in them.

Boys aren't supposed to cry.

But that was his uncle's voice he was hearing. He wasn't with his uncle anymore. He never would be again. But still, he hid them away, bottling the heartbreak, and burying it deep inside. Linda stepped forward, and laid a flower atop the blank headstone. As she came back, she pressed her face into Roger's coat, and let the tears flow, sobbing openly. Roger ran his fingers gently through her hair. It was all he could do. He pulled Matt a little closer. Matt went to protest, but his voice caught, and he only managed to draw in a shaky breath. Small, wet trails bled from the edges of the goggles.

He couldn't take it anymore. How could things have gotten so bad? Why did the people who loved them have to die? Why did the people who were supposed to love them only hurt them more? Why did he have to die? Why did he have to leave them alone like that? Matt dropped to his knees and pressed his face into his hands. He cried. He cried more than he had ever cried, letting all the pain, all the hurt run out of him in a torrent of tears. One of Roger's old, calloused hands rubbed his back. He didn't shy away from it. He needed it, he wanted it, what little comfort he could have.

(XXX)

Matt's eyes fluttered open. He was in less than a thrilling mood, given the recent turn of events. First there had been a blundering rock monster, which forced him to use his only stock of black powder. Then there was his plummet into certain doom, only to have fallen unconscious and suffer recalling one of his least fond memories. Now he was awakening in total darkness, unable to determine where he was, or even if he was injured, since shock could have already numbed him to the pain of broken bones and ruptured organs. Matt rose slowly to his feet. They seemed strong enough, so he was sure he could move, and that was something.

He could see a light not far off, apparently some kind of passage, with rough stone walls. Since it was the only way presented, he made for it. With his spear held at ready, he cautiously stepped in and started down the passage. Because of the limited light, Matt was forced to push his goggles up, so that he could see clearly in the gloom. The open air felt odd, yet refreshing against his exposed eyes. The coloring of things were now restored to their natural state, the grays, browns, and deep blacks all seemed foreign to his eyes, so accustom to the offset coloring of tinted lenses. But the disorientation faded quickly, and he progressed with a little more haste.

He rounded a sharp corner and came into a large chamber. The walls were still unworked here, and there was a massive, gaping chasm between where he stood, and a small passage on the other side. Set in the chasm was series of stone columns lined up in rows. It was obvious that he would have to cross over the tops of these columns to get to the other side but…there was something unsettling about all this. For starters, the columns weren't very wide, and he wasn't sure if their bases were intact, which could make them unable to support his weight. Not to mention, they were spaced pretty far apart, and he would have to leap from one to the other.

Matt glanced up. Really it was just to think, but he was captured by what he saw. The darkness above his head seemed almost unnatural. Nothing could be seen beyond it, so it was impossible to glimpse ceiling. Images of falling stalactites filled his head. Given where he was, it wasn't an entirely out of the question type of scenario. Matt stepped cautiously over to the edge, and looked down. He could only find one word to describe the void below. Bottomless. His pulse quickened a little. It was obvious from where he stood, that the spacing between the columns was not only wide, but also varied. He would have to gauge each jump carefully.

Matt took a breath, and then made the first jump. It was easy to clear the space between the ledge and the first column. When his feet touched down, his ears filled with an alarming scratching sound. At first he thought that maybe the column was giving, but it didn't move. The sound progressed for another moment before dying out completely, as though it had never been. Matt's eyes flashed up to the darkened ceiling. It was motionless and black, just as it had been before. Matt felt the small hairs on his arms stand on end. There something going on in this place, and Matt was certain that did not bode well for him. Nothing had since he and his friends first entered the cave, so why would they now?

Matt steeled himself for the next jump. He ran forward and leapt, letting out a small grunt with the effort. He glanced down into the darkness as he passed.

Whoosh!

Something passed over Matt's head, causing his hair to stand rigid, and he felt a cold gust pass over him. Matt fanned out in alarm, slowing his crossing, and causing it to come up short. He reached out, and just barely managed to catch the edge of the column. He dangled for a moment, his thoughts whirling fearfully within his mind. He looked up into the darkness. But there was nothing there. Matt wasn't so sure of that though. Since one hand still clutched his spear, Matt had to hoist himself up with only his free hand. It wasn't too difficult. He was in pretty good shape after all, despite his slenderness. When he was up, he remained in crouched position, not too eager to bring himself closer with shadowed ceiling.

Matt thought for a moment. Whatever it was, it only stirred when he leapt. He looked down and spotted a rock near the edge of the column. He couldn't afford to mess up his jump with this next one. It was too far for error. He reached out and clutched the rock in his hand. If it was accustomed to the darkness above, then maybe it couldn't see too well. It was a gamble, but Matt was always up for taking one. He tossed the rock out to the side, letting it strike against the far wall. Something dark, with leathern wings, much like those of a bat, swooped out of the darkness and caught the rock. At that same moment, Matt leapt across the expanse and made for the next column.

Whoosh!

Matt felt his blood chill, and his heart raced inside his chest. Something bit deep into his back, and raked across from one shoulder-blade to the other. Pain and panic flooded Matt's senses, but luckily he had gauged his jump correctly, and he sprawled across the top of the column, panting and injured. He sat up, wincing with the effort, and reached back. His fingers were met with a warm dampness, and he brought his hand back before his paled face to see the blood staining the tips of his fingers. His blood. Matt hadn't considered the possibility of there being more than one creature, and judging from the scraping, scratching noises that echoed above his head, there could be hundreds that he couldn't see.

He was in trouble. That much was a certainty. And he still had one column to clear before he got to the ledge on the other side. The pain was intense in his back, but it was slowly drifting over the rest of his body, hot and then numbing. The numbing was far more alarming. It was attributed with blood loss, and gauging from the dampness he could feel rapidly spreading across his back, and soaking into his shirt, Matt guessed that it was pretty severe. He silently cursed himself for being so stupid, for not weighing out all of the possibilities. L would have. He should have. But there was no point in dwelling on it now.

Matt scooped up a handful of pebbles and rose to his feet. He pushed his goggles back over his eyes, and took a few breaths. Then he threw the pebbles out in the fanning motion, making sure that they spread over a wide area. A chorus of little sounds filled the air, and with them, the creatures from the darkness above descended. Matt waited a moment, letting the creatures swoop about blindly before he started his run. He dashed across the top of the column and leapt with all the strength his legs had remaining in them.

Whoosh!

Another creature came swooping down at him, but it was low. Matt tucked in his legs, allowing the creature to come beneath him. Then pushed his legs down, and kicked off the thing's back, using it to carry him the rest of the way across and over to the next column. He landed hard and rolled forward, almost slipping over the edge. He rose and glanced about frantically, looking for any signs of danger. Which he found. One of the creatures was dive-bombing him, three red eyes set in a triangle pattern in the center of its large head. Matt thrust his spear, planting the tip in the middle of the triangle. An earsplitting screech filled the air, and Matt's forearms were drenched in thick, cold, black gore. He flicked the thing off the tip of his spear, and let it fall into the bottomless pit below.

With the adrenaline still pumping his veins, and entirely caught up in the moment, Matt leapt again, even before the creatures had stopped fluttering blindly about. He touched down on the ledge and rushed forward into the passage. He could hear something large and heavy land behind him. Matt ducked his head and ran as fast as his legs could carry him, all the while hearing the sounds of whatever had landed at his back tapping closely behind. He rounded a corner and whirled around to face the thing pursuing him. He caught a glimpse of a large shadow against the wall. And then claw tipped, leathern wing came into view.

In his panic, Matt glanced up, and saw the loose rocks above his head. Before the creature had a chance to shoot around the corner and pounce on him, Matt thrust the tip of his spear into the loose rocks, dislodging them. When he removed his weapon, the rocks began to fall. Matt leapt aside, covering his head as the passage began to collapse with a thunderous sound the echoed off the rough walls. Once the noise was gone and dust had settled, Matt rose cautiously to his feet. He looked over his shoulder and saw the wall of stones that now separated him from the chamber of columns, and creatures that dwelled there. He breathed a long sigh of relief, the feeling returning to his body, and along with it the pain of his injuries. But he chose to ignore those for the moment. Lifting the goggles from his head once again, Matt started down the chamber, grinning with the thought of another challenge to overcome.

(XXX)

"Well, I seem to be progressing nicely." L cheeked as he added to his victory stack.

"Don't get cocky." The old man warned. "You still have two left to go. And then it's final moves."

"I'm confident in their abilities." L stated. "This is really just a formality."

"Really?" The old man said with mock wonder.

Then he the next card on the table. L leaned over it.

"I don't think that he'll find this much of a formality." The old man said with a smile of his own.

The Shadow

To Be Continued…

Author's Comments

The Labyrinth Part II is finished. I really liked this one, it allowed me to show the characters fighting on their own. Matt's sequence was especially exciting for me, very Stephen King-ish in my opinion, or Lovecraftian.

Part III is on the way...