A/n: So…I don't have the French dialogue for this chapter, but I should get them from my translator soon. I wanted to wait, but Savina is nice and told me to post right away. So here it is, remember, French dialogue in italics. Oh and the poll was very informative, L won -- and oh the unhappiness. Raito was leading at first, but then L came in and swept the rug from right under his feet. Somewhere in the middle they were exchanging blow for blow, but in the end Raito lost 13-17. Eight were undecided or liked them both, and the rest of you were like Mello's sunglasses so totally kick both their asses! Or was that just me…?
--The Tolling of an Epiphany--
January 1, 2005
The three crosses were the first thing Raito saw of the Cathedral as he stepped out of the car and onto the snow-covered pavement. Rem was perched on the zenith of that wooden trinity, slit eyes gazing down at him.
She knew.
L stepped out after him and they silently made their way towards the entrance, the sounds of the morning Mass carrying through the doors.
People were kneeling down in the nave and offering prayers before taking their seats.
L knelt down and Raito did the same.
After a minute, he impatiently glanced over at L, noting that he was staring down at the floor and appearing deep in thought.
Was he actually…?
"L…are you praying?" he asked, perversely curious.
Standing up and giving him an odd look in the process, L replied, "You do not need to be religious to hope."
He then quietly took a seat on a nearby bench. Raito sat next to him.
The choir sang the Ave Maria in accompaniment with the organ; their swelling voices echoing within the church, sweet and morose, like that of a thousand weeping cherubs.
Raito dared not close his eyes to listen. The voices were suddenly frightening; he could feel his heart beating intensely, so intensely that he feared he might be taken away from himself…
But when faced with conflict that threatened to tip him out of its favor, how could he remain calm? This feeling was at the very core of what made his battles with L so gratifying.
Without this nervousness, without this fear that felt like it was simultaneously trying to tear out his heart and choke him, none of this would be worth it.
Raito held onto that thought, gripped it like he had L last night, as the voices rose to unsettling volume and pierced through his body.
He knew what he had to do and he would do it without fail.
…………
"Happy New Year," Ignatius jovially greeted.
"Happy New Year, Father," Raito greeted back, smiling and taking one of the man's bigger palms in his, "I also hope your Christmas was spent in as enjoyable company as this morning's services."
"The same to you – I've always believed that a man should be surrounded by close ones during this time of the year. Luckily for me," he said, spying at the church's entrance, "everyone that comes through those doors I consider a part of my family."
"You have a big family then," Raito understated, which made the other chuckle. Although that laugh faded as the old priest watched his vicar solemnly walk off to go collect chairs, not even a greeting in passing.
"Please do not mind Rene. He will come around to you, as I have," he urged frankly, for which Raito smiled warmly and followed him up the nave and towards the lectern.
…………
It was apparent by the Father's welcome and the very familiar way he continued to speak to him that Raito had already won over his confidence.
"I'm sorry about being so forward like this; the questions I asked were of a personal nature and really none of my business, but I certainly am grateful for the tolerance on your part."
Raito shook his head. "It's your basic right to know the kind of person you'll be placing your trust in. Please do not hesitant to ask me anything more."
"No, that's quite all right. I've been enough of a nuisance for today," rubbing his hands together as if rinsing them in a sink, Father Ignatius stood up from his seat and dallied in front of the altar.
Hesitantly he walked towards his vicar, hand gesturing for him to stand. "Rene, would you watch the doors for me -- not to be deceitful of my brothers at this church, but it would be wise if we had no witnesses other than the Virgin."
Rene gave him a peculiar look. "I do not agree with any of this," he paused, "but I will be at the doors if you need me."
"I am in your debt Rene" the Father replied, quickly moving towards the altar and the grand ivory screen behind it, the colorful images and imbedded statues of Mother Mary staring down at them from her high post.
He brusquely passed the retable and down he went to the three stairs that brought him to the very back of the church. The Father brushed aside a narrow red and gold-trimmed banner that flowed down the apse wall and to the floor, revealing an arched doorway caged with bronze bars.
"Would the two of you follow me please?" he asked and the gate was opened with a key retrieved from his black cassock.
When all filed through the entrance, they were met with a long, dark corridor that smelt strongly or dirt and incense.
"After the first sighting of Mother Mary in 1858," Father Ignatius suddenly started up, "it was quickly decided by the papacy in the area that a small chapel should be built here."
He began to thread down the unlit path, counting on only the sunlight at their backs, streaming in through the Cathedral, to guide the way.
"Of course," he resumed, "a small chapel does not remain small when its pilgrims continue to grow; additions were naturally made…"
As they turned the corner and the darkness grew thicker, the Father reached into his pocket and flipped open a lighter.
Raito stared questioningly at it.
"I smoke off and on," he replied with a chuckle, laugh somewhat uncomfortable and showing that he wanted to move on. Raito smiled and let him.
"Now many of the extensions haven't always been in the name of God, as you've probably seen the many shops catering to the tourist around these grounds. I am not so old-fashioned or sheltered by my way of life to understand that funds are necessary to keeping any institution going."
"But when the church resorts to feeding off the grievances of its supporters…" the father said, suddenly trailing off mysteriously before resuming out of nowhere.
"You might not know this, but a few years after this Cathedral was built, this place served as an underground cemetery. You see, we have a high rate of terminal patients who come to drink from the springs in hope that they can be healed by the Virgin…"
"…Unfortunately, these patients are usually on their last legs, after all forms of medicine and advice from doctors have failed them. It is sad to see them walking about the grounds, not wanting to return to any hospital, but wanting to live out their last days with a semblance of peace."
"Many have died here so it is no surprise that in their wills they express a last desire to be buried at Lourdes and remain near the Holy Mother. But this last wish makes it very difficult for their families to heed their instructions, because Lourdes at the time did not have a cemetery and did not allow the dead to take up residence."
Father Ignatius then shook his head, as if contradicting himself. "We supposedly did not allow burials, but the church dishonorably made exceptions for wealthier patrons who were nearing that age and wanted special consideration."
"Then they began to open up this offer to others, those who had no status, but who were more than willing to pay. It also did not help that our clergy at the time was promising their blessings for those who put out the most profit."
"They took advantage of the families wanting to lay their loved ones to rest here, taking their money and then sending them on their way. These catacombs were dug out for the very purpose of carelessly tossing the caskets down here, keeping them out of sight and mind."
Father Ignatius swept out his hand to the surrounding darkness. "All these chambers and corridors – just imagine coffins everywhere. Rats and vermin of all sorts crawling about, drawn to the smell of rotting flesh. To think that under the beautiful exterior of our fair Marian shrine this existed…"
"And the worst part of it all was that decades went by and no one even raised a finger, so even as a young man, I got to see firsthand what was going on down here." He shook his head hotly, pace quickening.
"It was only made to close down because of the stench, not because of the health hazard it posed or the injustice done to the families who wanted a proper burial for their loved ones."
Even in the semi-darkness, Raito could clearly see the wrinkles on the priest's forehead bunch together in aggravation. "Everyone involved was not asked to leave the church – or even given lesser positions; it was as though it never happened."
Ignatius went tight-lipped when they turned a corner, like he was holding himself back from saying some very uncivil things about his fellow priests.
It was clear that the old man had been holding this in for some time now, patiently waiting to admit this to someone he trusted…
Not that he really cared, Raito thought, looking around the hall they travelled through and more surprised that something as complex as this could exist under the Cathedral.
When Wedy had gone over the schematics of the main building and the other chapels, she had not even mentioned this. Although…
Raito glanced over at L, the flickers of illumination from the lighter adding another dimension of shadow under those already coal-stained eyes.
L did not appear to be the least bit surprised by his surroundings. Knowing him, he had probably gotten private updates over the phone from Wedy.
Raito hoped private updates were all he got. L had a nasty habit of surprising the hell out of him when his back was turned. If Wedy had been able to sneak her way down here from another entrance, she could have very well run across the deathnote…!
But L had been so stubborn about allowing anyone under his services prolonged stay within the main building. And if Wedy had snuck down here, she would have had only a minimal amount of time to snoop around before reporting back. This place was practically a maze; there was no way for someone, even with her skill of dealing with unfamiliar environments, to navigate this area and have the time to spare for searching.
In such a vast space, the death note could have been hidden anywhere.
Raito watched the priest halt suddenly, his eyes squinting in the near darkness, the lighter in his hand swinging back and forth like a pendulum between a group of coffin-sized openings in the wall.
Raito's eyes widened. He was searching along with the priest now, eyes, the only thing moving, as they darted quickly from one pitch-black crevice to the other.
But dammit…how could you tell?
There were no markings, no anything to give away where he had placed it, and the color of the deathnote made it that much harder, blending in so completely that where the book began and the darkness ended was indistinguishable.
Raito felt frustrated that he could not find his prize before this man whose vision was probably half his. But his annoyance was quickly forgotten as the priest blindly reached into one of the holes and suddenly pulled out…
…the death note!
Thinking that the anticipant glaze to his eyes would surely give him away and fearing discovery, Raito began to move more into the shadows, away from the light's radius --
L suddenly grabbed him by the hand. Raito was brought up short, but saved himself from a tumble in the darkness by bracing against the wall.
"What?" Raito asked, not even trying to mask his annoyance.
He immediately noticed that the Father was not paying attention to them, his head turned towards the low ceiling; he seemed to be listening for something. L seemed to be listening for something too and Raito went absolutely still as he heard what it was.
"I knew Priest Coeur had not long to live, but how very sudden this is," Father Ignatius said, regretfully and more to himself. "Bless his heart," he lamented, as he got down on his knees and began praying for what Raito assumed was a fellow priest on his deathbed.
The passing bells were ringing slowly and solemnly, emanating their mournful song from even in the pits of this Cathedral where they all stood transfixed.
Under the cover of darkness, the hand on his tightened, and the bells seemed to reverberate that much louder, chanting the doleful recount of a faceless man's years of life.
Raito counted them out as they came, ninety-two in all, a long life, he thought momentarily before he squeezed the hand back in his grasp and let it go.
He felt L's eyes on him as he moved away and towards the kneeling priest, his hand outstretched to help him up.
"I'm so sorry for your loss," Raito told him and the man shook his head, dismissing his condolences and suddenly laying the death note to rest in one of his palms.
Raito looked down at it surprised and the man moved away.
"I do not think I can properly mourn my friend if I am holding onto such a thing," he explained. "I also do not think I am strong enough to bear the weight of this secret anymore. Please forgive me if I am hasty – but I do not want that book near this church. I cannot trust anyone with it here and neither do I want to. So please, Mr. Nikolai" he entreated, "Take that thing away with you and find and punish this person that hates humanity so much that he would use it on us."
Raito stood stunned at the man's plea, answering only from habit "Of course, you have my word. I will do everything in my power to bring this to an end. I promise you, Father Ignatius."
"Thank you" he heard the father sigh out, as if those fragile, unreliable words could assuage the pain in his heart. "Thank you so much" he repeated and stepped lifelessly back onto the path, all his energy extinguished, as if handing over the death note was the only thing that had kept him going until now.
Raito stared after the old man but what really had his attention was the death note in his hands. His heart was hammering a mile a minute, and as he caught L in his peripheral, staring at him so strongly, it felt like it was about to explode.
L wanted the death note. That bastard wanted to see if the rules he suspected false were indeed as such. But Raito was not going to make it easy for L; he would not hand it over to him yet and L would not ask for it in front of the Father.
A long spear of light was what confronted Raito as they neared the exit -- and those bells again, they were suddenly clanging terribly, reverberating through his chest and his head and driving him absolutely crazy.
Raito walked faster out of the avid darkness, letting out a quiet breath of relief as he left the catacombs and the tinny of bells ceased.
Light was flushing in through the stained glass on all sides of them, with even more sunlight leaping in through the immense rose window over the west entrance, the red color in the mosaic of Christ's Crucifixion projecting out onto one of his hands and the space between him and L.
"Give me the notebook," he heard L say, his voice low so the Father with his back to them could not hear.
Raito did not say anything, handing it over without hesitance --
And the doors at the west entrance suddenly slammed shut; the light that it once cast lost, a block of shadow now in its place, as the crimson from that rose window continued to flow out and the radiant spears of light pierced all around them.
L stared at the door, the death note forgotten in his hands.
Raito suddenly felt L roughly take hold of his elbow and pull him towards the east entrance. "We are leaving now," he said, taking out his cell phone and already dialing a number.
"But Father Ignatius – what about --?" Raito stuttered out in his best impersonation of puzzlement. He did not need to keep it up for long, not as Rene stepped through the door they were heading to, a group of six following behind.
"Rene?" Father Ignatius questioned, as he turned towards the commotion. He noted the faces behind his vicar. "I did not know you had a group study today…well you may use this room, but I would just like a few more minutes with –"
Rene walked right up to them, while a tall blond man, separating from the group, grabbed the old priest and began to usher him towards the right arcade of the church, where there was an antechamber that led to a small chapel.
"What – what do you think you're doing? Take your hands off me. Rene! What in god's name does this man think he's --"
"Please do not interfere, Father," Rene dismissed, and without further ado, the blond man disappeared with the old priest into the antechamber.
"Is this L?" one of the men behind Rene piped up, reaching inside his jacket and pulling out a gun. He pointed it directly at him and Raito felt his blood run cold.
"Yes – and that one" Rene pointed at L "is the bodyguard."
"Got it," another man, this one in a black coat, stepped out from the group and moved towards L. He aimed his gun directly at the detective.
The sound of a gunshot echoed eerily off in the distance, towards the antechamber and inside the chapel.
"If you know what's good for you," the man in the black coat suddenly spoke up "you'll hand that over to me now," and with the gun's muzzle, he was indicating the deathnote.
Raito saw that L's hands were shaking as he gripped onto the deathnote -- but by the look on his face, the emotion he was experiencing now was not fear…
Frustration.
It was frustration for coming so close. It was the single frustration of watching all your hard work and preservation go down the drain right in front of you. L's eyes were so hard and yet so expressive, so bitter and angry; it was the look a child had when they had built up a mighty tower only to see it come crashing down.
"Is this guy deaf?" the gunmen mocked when L did not readily comply. The blonde man who had disappeared into the antechamber with the old priest was returning, the gun limp at his side and eyes a little unsteady.
"Well fuck him then," someone else from behind Rene blurted, pulling out a gun of his own and also aiming it at L. "We only need L as a hostage, so put this bastard out of his misery and let's go already."
Raito hastily stepped in front of the immobile detective, the move startling one of the gunmen, but Rene raised a hand and halted him.
Clutching L tightly by the arms, Raito tried to get his attention, but L only stared blankly forward, face completely void, as if something had finally snapped in his head.
"Raito…" he mumbled and Raito with bowed head could finally feel those eyes on him --
They knew, they knew what he had done, they knew without a doubt, but they still wanted to believe…
Raito raised his head and for once faced that stare truthfully -- and everything about L seemed to stand still as he in turn faced the person cruelly smiling back at him.
Raito had never wanted to give L hope.
He had only wanted to crush him.
"You should have never tried to take me head on. It was stupid of you to think you could win against God, but really none of that matters anymore, because either way L…"
Raito sank his fingernails into L's arm, the smile on his face widening as he fed off the splintering gaze that stared back at him.
"I win."
Raito was suddenly yanked back by Rene and L faltered forward one step, a small step, but one that was more than enough reason for the trigger-conscious man to his right to act upon…
Falling to one knee, Raito watched blood spread out on the floor under L, soaking through the dark dress pants he wore and flooding from a wound in his thigh.
"Raito…you…!"
"Gag him so he won't utter blasphemies in our Church" Rene commanded, still holding onto Raito to make it appear to his men that he was their hostage.
These inept morons! Raito swore, angered that they hadn't immediately killed L. Someone who could fire under pressure should have taken the first shot. What the hell were these idiots doing?
Gazing angrily down at L, the detective being gagged and held down, the death note forcefully taken away, and despite his cautious side warning him, Raito could not deny the sudden satisfaction that image brought on.
It wasn't just the fact that he knew he had won; no, there was more justice in watching, he realized, in witnessing L's downfall, for at this very moment, he was taking away something that never failed L; he was taking away the one thing that would make L absolutely powerless…
He was taking away his ability to speak.
Raito smiled, all the while, keeping his head bowed, an acceptable amount of intermittent struggling against Rene thrown in to fool the cameras and his unaware pawns.
One of the braver subordinates was walking towards the helm of the group, arm suddenly extended and gun pressing right into L's forehead.
Raito could hear the hammer as it slowly cranked away, ready to set-off at any second.
The anxiety of this moment was gnawing away at his insides to the point where he felt sick.
Shoot him. Hurry up and shoot him. For my pride and the justice of this new world --
SHOOT HIM!
Shots one after the other suddenly resounded throughout the Church and Raito felt his heart soaring, a second of total relief, until that triumph plummeted, collapsing on itself like the men closest to L.
Three of them – they hit the floor like sandbags, stiff and heavy; more blood than Raito had ever seen in his life flowing from the messy cavities in their skulls.
"My god," Rene said in disbelief before they all heard the sound of glass shattering and they watched another man fall before their eyes.
FUCK! Raito realized that Watari was reacting faster than expected and was sniping from somewhere closer to the Cathedral. From the trajectory of his shots, it seemed he was moving along the roof of the chapel adjacent to this one.
They really needed to hurry the hell up and kill L before Watari found some way to get down here. Raito looked around at the pawns that were left, three in all, counting Rene behind him.
Hearing the sound of more glass shattering from above, Raito watched in horror as a canister was dropped into the Cathedral, a smoke screen suddenly lifting from it and blanketing them all.
It sent the rest of the men into panic and they began to shoot blindly at the ceiling, the smoke only thickening until no one could even see two feet in front of their face.
Pissed beyond belief, Raito broke away from Rene and hurried over to the spot where L had been left unsupervised --
But the only thing he was met with when he got there was a blood trail that disappeared into the smoke.
Oh god…
Raito felt panic leap into his chest, his mind flashing --
He broke out into a run, searching for the man that had died with the death note in his hands…
God if he knew L…
Raito stopped in front of the body and breathed out an immediate sigh of relief as he found the death note, the corpse still gripping onto it.
He heard Rene moving beside him, the priest walking ahead of him suddenly and bending over to take up the death note.
Raito narrowed his eyes and without even a second thought, he swiftly reached into the waistband of his slacks, pulled out the gun tucked away there and shot Rene two times in the back of the head.
Stepping over the body, he picked up the deathnote, and then dropped his gun haphazardly to make it look like self-defense gone wrong. He pulled out a handkerchief from inside his suit jacket and reaching into the deceased man's garments he retrieved his weapon.
Rene might be dead, but Raito would make sure he took the fall. He had planned to kill him from the very start, so really, what did it matter if it was sooner than later? The cameras were practically useless to him now that this smoke screen was up and he should have known better than to trust a bunch of incompetent fools to finish his job.
He would kill L himself.
Turning off the safety on the gun, Raito began to cautiously follow the convenient blood trail left for him. It led him all the way past the quire, towards the imposing mural of the Archangel's call to Battle, and right where the Bishop's throne was majestically displayed.
L was on the floor in front of it.
Raito's eyes widened as the smoke began to thin ahead of him, the outline of the detective becoming clearer and the scene unraveling in front of his eyes nightmarishly…
A death note splayed open…
…his name written messily in red across one of its pages…!!!
L's head hung limply forward; blood was soaking through the makeshift bandage he had created out of his gag and was seeping out onto the floor; his hands were smudged red, the finger that he had most likely used to write his name hanging over the page…
"You bastard…!" Raito cried out, aiming his gun in fury, and realizing too late that L had somehow snuck the other death note out of the hotel this morning without anyone noticing.
At his exclamation, L slowly began to raise his head; Raito noticed that his stare was wavering, like he couldn't focus properly.
"I…knew it. I knew. I wasn't wrong…" he mumbled, sounding delirious from the blood loss. His head tipped forward and his stare suddenly grew wide and clear, like he was finally waking up from a dream.
"No…" L suddenly murmured, his index finger tapping the page under it. "You're not getting off so easily. I haven't written out your entire name – I only have to make the last stroke for the character God. But if you would like," he ground out, "I can always finish it and transform you into the real thing; there is probably a nice throne waiting for you down in Hell."
Raito stood deathly still; rage and terror compelling him to reaffirm his grip on the gun and snarl down at the other. "Do it and see how fast I put this bullet through your brain."
L tilted his head, eyes going wild as that threat dawned on him. "And you should realize that you have no control over this situation; my nerves are very unsteady right now and unless you want me to kill you where you stand, please rest down your gun and give up."
Raito clenched his other hand, feeling his fingernails bite into the flesh of his palm. His eyes were clouding over from impossible anger and getting blurrier with every second that he watched this person defy him in every possible definition of the word.
He hated L.
There was never a moment in his life where he hated a person as much as he did L.
He was scared too, so scared. More scared than he had ever been in life. He didn't want to die; dying was the same thing as losing. He didn't want to die.
He wasn't ready to die! Not yet! – Not when his world was only beginning to take shape.
Mind racing faster than he could think, Raito felt overwhelmed by helplessness; his senses clawed out for anything in which he could cling to, anything that would save him from the dismal fate L's blood would spell out for him.
The flapping of wings breaking the air was that for him.
Raito could only watch, as Rem, white wings outstretched and like the miracle descending down in his ultimate time of need, lowered into the church and took her place at his side.
His eyes went wide with glee, his simper also restored to its former glory, and voice roaring deadly intent, Raito handed the shinigami his deathnote.
"Rem, kill this bastard now!"
Rem obediently took out her own deathnote, her writing utensil held between her fingers -- but unmoving.
Raito's smile faltered as the seconds went by and she continued to do nothing.
"What -- WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! KILL HIM! You think he's just going to leave Misa alone! He'll execute her!"
Raito's voice went up a pitch. He was frantic for her to write L's name down, but he was even more desperate for her to write his own name in the two death notes.
If writing the same name on more than two DEAtHNOtES is completed within a 0.06- second difference, it is regarded as simultaneous, the DEAtHNOtE will not take effect and the individual written will not die.
If she saw L writing in his name, she was the only one who could stop him. He needed her to stop him.
But Rem continued to do nothing, her gaze impartial to his shouting.
"And what about you?" she suddenly said, "You're going to use Misa and kill her too." The black slits in her eyes tapered even more. "Misa is not safe with you either."
L smiled directly in Raito's direction as the other gaped at the shinigami in frustration. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! JUST KILL HIM!"
"Rem," L cut in and a screeching Raito turned furious eyes on the detective. "I would like to make a deal with you --"
"NO! REM, I ORDER YOU TO KILL HIM NOW! MISA CAN'T BE HAPPY WITHOUT ME. SHE'LL COMMIT SUICIDE IF I DIE!"
Rem seemed to seriously consider this, but her eyes were fastened on the detective, like she too was looking for hope within this bleak present.
"Speak, I would like to hear what you have to say," she ordered and Raito went absolutely batshit.
"YOU BACKSTABBING BITCH!"
"That's the way to negotiate with her," L said dryly, turning towards Rem. "I can see that you do not want Misa-san to die. I am certain that at the moment she has lost all her memories of the murder-notebook and the ability to kill without knowing the victim's name in advance."
"I can't fucking believe this," Raito interrupted and moved towards Rem. "Are you going to listen to this liar? He's going to kill her as soon as you give him the chance. C'mon Rem, think with your damn brain, or whatever the hell you have up there!"
"Misa-san," L cut in right back, "is Raito's pawn and he will force her into making the trade, for what reasons he does not make the trade himself I am unsure, but I can conclude that it is not good."
"The trade is half your lifespan," Rem told him, no longer holding back.
"Then that drastically changes things; Misa-san is in danger. If she has originally halved her life and Raito makes her trade with another shinigami, then Misa-san will only have a few more years left, if even…"
"Don't you see that he'll say anything to live!" Raito urged. "Sacrifice your life for Misa's benefit. I won't make her do the eye trade – there won't be any use for it if you kill L!"
L seemed to be considering his words. "Is it true that you will die if you kill me? If that is the case, then you can not be sure that Raito will not renege on his deal. On the other hand, if you put your trust in me and walk away, you will be alive to see me carry out my promise. I will not kill Misa-san, because I in turn do not want to be killed. I will also keep Raito's death a secret from her, and there are even methods to tampering with her memory so it will be like they never met."
"You can't be serious!" Raito shouted and tried to get Rem's attention, but it was too late, the shinigami had been caught hook, line, and sinker by the words "…like they never met."
"Misa-san will be as carefree as the day she was born" L negotiated, "and all you have to do is walk away and leave Raito-kun to me."
"No…" Raito seethed and couldn't believe this was happening to him.
Rem was expanding her wings, the two death notes that she held, now tucked away in her possession.
"You can't do this to me…"
She stared down at him.
"This is goodbye, Raito Yagami."
"NO!" he shouted, and Rem did not even glance back as she flew towards the colossal wheel-window in the ceiling, the vivid glasswork of the Fall of Man not impeding her flight any as she phased through it and disappeared in a flutter of white wings.
Abandoned, Raito stood there and stared at L staring back at him, the two of them locked in vision, neither backing down.
"Repent," L demanded, clutching his wound.
"Get down on your hands and knees and repent for all the atrocities you brought down on this world."
"LIKE HELL!" Raito shouted in rage. "If anyone here has anything to repent for it's you, you fucking hypocrite! I haven't done anything wrong!"
L's jaw went tense, his eyes wide and unsteady. "You have no intention of stopping and I have absolutely no intention of letting you continue to murder. You will be punished, Raito Yagami, I will see to that myself."
"You're just like the rest of them L," Raito fired back, anger splintering him to the core, "Blind and stupid! This world isn't going to change by itself, someone has to take the responsibility, someone needs to make the sacrifices; I'm the only one who can save this world…"
Raito shook the tendrils of hair from his eyes, now gripping the gun with both hands.
"…And I'm going to do it. This world – you'll see," he said, voice becoming frighteningly optimistic, "you'll see L. If you just let me, I know I can change this world for the better. I can do so much."
"Enough," L said and he had a pained look on his face as he gazed at Raito. "It's sad listening to you. Are you so far gone that you can't even see what's happening to you!"
He slammed his fist down and smeared blood in an arc across the floor.
"I…" he began and stopped when the eyes staring back at him registered no guilt, no understanding of the crimes he had committed; those eyes were so uncomprehending of all the horrible things he had done that it was like looking into the eyes of a child…
A very cruel child…
L gave up and looked to the ground. "I will never forgive you," he said, the pain in his leg now unbearable, "You want to be a god so badly I'll crucify you in front of the whole damn world!"
"Then pick your bleeding corpse off the floor if you're going to threaten me!" Raito screamed back. "At the rate you're hemorrhaging I won't even have to pull the trigger to see you dead." He laughed right in his face, "so go ahead L, try to get up, remember that all this blood on the floor belongs to you. Not me! I'm not the one who's going to die a dog's death in this godforsaken church!"
"If I feel my end approaching,"L promised, "I will simply finish writing your name and be on my way."
The dark eyes watching him seemed to grow darker, but not dimmer; whatever it was that kept L from passing out seemed to be the same thing that was upturning the corners of his small mouth.
L smiled and held out a hand to him.
"You won't let me love you when you're alive, so maybe the opposite will be true in death."
Terrified at the disturbing proposal directed at him, Raito felt his feet backing away of their own accord.
A cold sweat had stuck his bangs to his forehead, the rapid palpitations in his chest, skipping every so often, made it hard to tell if he was having that heart attack that was almost imminent…
For a second Raito could not breath, assured that L had made that last stroke…
But there was a flash of shadow in the smoke, another kind of terror took hold of Raito as he realized too late that Watari was now behind him, catching him off guard and grabbing him by the gun hand and the throat.
He struggled fiercely, but the grip on his neck would not relent; it twisted his wrist and the gun fell to the floor clattering, an anguished cry ripping through the air as the older man continued to tighten the fingers on his throat, cutting off his air supply and slowly bringing him down, gently, almost sickeningly merciful, the vision of L, several feet away and finally passed out from the blood loss, getting blurrier…
And all Raito could do was scream and scream in agonizing defeat.
A/n: I hope this was an intense chapter, oh and you guys have probably guessed it by the cliffhanger but this is not over yet, far from it. Bwahahaha -- okay enough of that. I'm going on vacation very soon, so I might be late again with the next chapter, so I'm apologizing in advance.
1. Rene – means "reborn"
2. Ignatius – means "born of fire"
3. The passing bell – wrung slowly when death is imminent within the parish, it's wrung as a reminder to pray for the person when they pass on. After the spirit has departed, the bell will toll out their age. Another interesting note, bells are seen as a safeguard against lighting and violent tempests and so they are wrung vigorously during storms, so it made sense that L went out looking for the sound of a bell during a storm…"The conditions are favorable today so you can't help but hear them."