Title: Death Note Cell. (Actually, I'm kind of proud of this name now. :D)
Rating (of d00m!): Sorry guys, it's gonna have to be Mature this time. There's a lot of violence in this one, and references to…adult…things. ¬ ¬ ANYWAY. MOVING ON. Lol :D?
Authors Note: First and foremost: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!! All right, I'm done with that. But, you're probably wondering: Sweet Jesus, why are you screaming?! I will tell you. I am screaming because I have the best life ever! First off, let's just say I had been wanting to see "L Change the World" desperately for quite some time, and since I'm in the US and I don't speak Japanese, I was worried I would have to wait for a subbed version to come out here, which could take years… D: unhappy moment, people. But then I drug myself to YouTube one day, (While I was procrastinating and not working on DN Cell, by the way. Aaah! Don't hurt me!) And found that some wonderfully magnificent person had subbed the whole freakin' movie, created their own channel and put it up for the world to see. Needless to say, for the next two and a half hours I was completely glued to my screen, a puddle of drool collecting on my keyboard in front of me. As if that wasn't good enough, I just bought Death Note Volume 13: How To Read. (The only thing I didn't know was the characters heights, but that's a different story…) But anyway, it has all these really cool things in it, and a pilot chapter that was written before the original Death Note, I think. Anyway, it's really cool, and anyone that has the money should buy it. It was only like, 15. So, on to the story. :D
Summary: … - - Just read the previous chapters, okay? Okay. I don't feel like explaining it all again, thanks.
Pairings: Well, I felt the need to update this section thanks to a slight adjustment that changed the way I view the entire freakin' world. Well, okay. It didn't change the way I view the world, but it definitely switched things up a little bit. Instead of being obsessed with L being an Uke, I've put that aside for a while and decided (thanks to the help of one very special person) that Light makes a pretty bad ass Uke, too. And cue the coming forth of the LxLight pairing.
Disclaimer: Okay, I own absolutely no characters from Death Note, and the concept of Cell belongs to Stephen King and him alone. Not me. Though if I had come up with that idea, you can bet your asses you would see my shit in bookstores instead of here. The only thing I do own is my original characters. No, seriously. That's about the only thing I own… TT 0 TT All right, adding on to the disclaimer. I do not own the movie "The Mist", which will have some striking similarities to DN Cell very soon. Just a coincidence, but Mist is also a Stephen King novella. :D
All right, people. Get ready for some serious action and shit here… this is where the story starts getting to the road to being very, very serious. And… I put a lot of work into it to try and keep it serious, so thanks a lot for reading.
Chapter five: Sanctity.
I could feel my heart skip one, two, maybe even three beats as my eyes darted around frantically, searching for any signs of them. But I couldn't see them anywhere. I had definitely lost them, but the worst thing was I didn't know how long ago I had lost them. I just blinked and they were gone. I could have lost them five minutes ago, and they could have very well been dead. Rue, whose only direction he had to look was behind me, called out: ":What is it? Why did you stop running?:"
":They…:" I stuttered, still looking around in somewhat of a daze. ":We…we lost them.:"
":What?!:" He shouted, and begin to struggle to get out of my arms.
":No!:" I shouted, holding him tight. ":You can't run, and I'm not having you slow me down.:" The words came out a little harsher than I had intended them to be, but he still stopped struggling. I turned around and began to run the way I had came, keeping my eyes out for Abigail and Sonja. I could hardly believe that I had paid so little attention that I had ended up losing them. I wondered how panicked they must be, but I knew Abigail was quick on her feet and had the ability to stay calm in almost any given situation.
Every where I looked, I expected to see them standing near us, or just far enough so I could call out to them and they would notice us, but I couldn't find any trace of them. My heart pounded in my chest, the vibrations sending a new pang of fear through me each time. I pushed myself harder, though my legs were so sore I could hardly feel them anymore, and I was worried that I could be in danger of collapsing. Tears of frustration and fear began to gather at the edges of my vision—as if I hadn't cried enough that day—and I tried to blink them away, but that didn't work. 'Okay…' I tried to reason with myself. 'Crying is not going to get you anywhere, Raito. Honestly… calm down, try to think about where they might be. Where would you be if you were lost…Oh! That's too goddamn stupid! I'd be right here, looking for them!' I battled with myself internally until I finally lost, a hoarse cry of desperation leaving my lips unwillingly. I stumbled backward until I hit the wall of a shop behind me that I probably never paid attention to.
":That's it.:" Rue murmured, and was able to push himself from my grasp. I wasn't paying attention, anyway. He braced himself against the wall, which I noticed, idly, was a window. ":We're not going to get anywhere with you sitting here crying…although I don't necessarily blame you… and--:" He stopped suddenly, and I could hear his breath hitch in his throat. I turned my head toward him, attempting to wipe away the remainder of tears on my cheeks. He stumbled backward as best as he could, grabbing me by the crook of my arm and dragging me along with him.
":What?:" I whispered, turning around. I immediately regretted it. In the store behind me, at least thirty to forty crazies wandered around aimlessly, bumping into each other and uttering the occasional cry of distress. It made me think of "Night of the Living Dead" in some strange, fucked up way. My mouth fell open laxly, and I reached for Rue's waist to pick him up again. I grasped him around the middle and somehow, in my confused and frightened state, I managed to pick him up. Luckily, the crazies hadn't noticed us yet, they were too off in their own little world to, I supposed. But Rue made sure they did.
":No, let me go! I can handle this!:" He shouted, and I immediately felt like strangling him for making them notice us. All at once, their lolling and listless heads turned in our direction, some silent agreement among them that eating us would be a kick ass idea. They begin to change their course of direction toward us, and were much faster than the zombies in "Night of the Living Dead". When they reached the glass, however, they seemed confused as to what to do to get to us on the other side. ":Yagami-san, you need to let me go! Let me down and they won't get us!:"
I didn't know what to do.
Rue could always be wrong, and if I let him go, he could be killed. I couldn't live with that.
And if I didn't let him go, those crazies could always figure out a way to get through the fucking glass. And then we would both die… ":Let me go…:" He pleaded, his voice both scared and strong at the same time. Reluctantly, I released my grip on him, clinging to his shirt just a few seconds before I felt him slip from my arms. He didn't walk over to them immediately; he stood looking at me with his intense eyes for a moment. I felt him place a warm, almost comforting hand on my shoulder.
":I'll be fine.:" With that, he turned and began to walk—the best he could—toward the glass. I couldn't look. I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking that if I ever opened them I would see him ripped to shreds in front of me. The inarticulate mumblings of the crazies stopped very abruptly, and I opened my eyes slightly. Rue stood before me, both hands on the glass and a look of stern concentration that I couldn't mistake on his face. I watched his chest move up and down rapidly, as if he was exerting a lot of energy just by standing there. Sweat glistened on the back of his neck, and without turning, he spoke to me: ":All I have to do is hang around until they die. You go and find Abigail and Sonja. If they figure a way out, I'll be fine. I can defend myse--:"
":No!:" I shouted, furious. I wasn't going to leave him there alone, it was better that we stick together. 'But,' The more logical side of me argued. 'What about Abigail and Sonja, hm? You can't leave them on their own, can you?' ":Promise me you'll be okay?:" I shouted to him, as if he was on the other side of the world. Which, in a way, I suppose, he was.
":Yes, I'll be fine. You have to trust me, all right?:" He paused, taking a deep breath. ":I can tell you don't trust people all too easily, do you? I don't blame you, neither do I. But for me you'll just have to make an exception. Now get out of here. Find them, and make sure they're safe.:" I hesitated, not wanting to leave him out of my sight for just one agonizing second. ":Go, Raito! Go!:" He yelled, making me jump.
And I ran off, wanting to find them as quick as possible, but in the back of my mind, I knew there was always a chance that I would come back and find Rue dead. What would I do then? Just chalk it up to one other casualty among the rest of them? I could never do that. Not with him, because I knew who he was…
Every street and corner and everything that should have told me where I was running had absolutely vaporized from my mind, I supposed only the essentials were left now. 'Take away the one thing from mankind that we need the most—communication—and everybody goes ape shit…' I thought suddenly to myself. And if I had been able to catch my breath, I would have laughed at how goddamn true it was. Finally my legs collapsed underneath me. I lurched forward, and as instinct pushed itself to the front, stopped myself with my hands. The force of the impact rattled my body, and I sat, stunned for a moment, staring down at the concrete.
I tried to stand up, once, twice, but I could barely stop my hands from shaking let alone run. ":Nnn….Aaah…:" I gasped, feeling the hoarseness in my throat. 'No, I can't sit here…I'm supposed to be finding them…' ":P-pull…yourself to-together…:" I spluttered, hearing my voice crack and thinking for a moment that it was someone else. ":Just…you…I…nn…Aaagh!:" I finally screamed, losing the last threads of control that had held me together so far. I screamed as loud as my dry throat would allow, hoping that maybe somebody would hear me, and maybe that someone would be Abigail and Sonja… but it didn't happen. I just sat in the middle of the sidewalk, among gruesome carnage that I didn't even recognize, screaming my pounding head off. Tears began to fall down my cheeks, and compared to how hot my face felt, they were cool.
":Fuck! Damn it! Aaaagh!!:" I felt my body shake uncontrollably, but as if I was watching it from very far away. I went on screaming until I couldn't anymore, and then I just sat and cried, unable to do anything else.
Over my gasping breaths, I didn't hear her call my name. But I felt it when she finally wrapped her arms around me, jolting me back into everybody else's reality. "Light…" She whispered, holding me close to her. I was too shocked to do anything else but cry. I felt her hair against my cheek, and for a moment I thought it was all a dream, that I would never feel her hold me again. She ran her fingers through my hair soothingly, then took my face in her hands and looked me in the eyes. "Light… we're okay…" She smiled, and I saw that she had been crying, also.
"You're okay…" I repeated dumbly. I looked to the side and saw Sonja standing not too far from my reach, her eyes large and watery. Seemed like everyone had been crying. I reached for her, picked her up and cradled her against me, and with my other hand, pulled Abigail near me, also. I was just so happy to have them back and close to me again, that I almost forgot about Rue.
"Come on," I said, struggling to stand. I still hand Sonja in my arms, and she snuggled against my chest contentedly. I guessed she was happy to see me again. "Come on, we have to go and find Rue. There's a bunch of them over there—they're trapped in a store…" My voice trailed off, trying to find the best way to explain everything to her. "You just have to come with me…" I squeezed Abigail's hand and forced myself to smile, letting her know that I hadn't lost it just yet.
"Is he okay?" She asked as I dragged her along to where I still thought Rue was. We turned a corner, and Abigail screamed. I shouted in disbelief also… I never thought it would happen.
They were all dead.
Everybody inside the store, which—to my knowledge—had consisted entirely of crazies, was dead. They lay on the floor as if they had just fallen where they stood, some still shouting their final cries of desperation before falling limp. Rue stood in front of the windows, panting loudly and heavily, his hair and the front and back of his shirt soaked with sweat. In almost slow motion, I watched his eyes slowly close and his body fall to the ground lifelessly. I covered Sonja's eyes with one hand and stood, horror-stricken as Abigail rushed over to see if he was alive.
"He's breathing!" She called, ushering me over. "He's alive, he's okay!" I ran over to him as fast as I could, handing Sonja to Abigail. I looked over his unconscious face, an expression of great pain frozen on his features. His flat chest rose and fell weakly, and I could barely hear the rasping of his breath as it was pushed forth from his dry lips. Now he really seemed on the other side of the world. I slipped my hand under his back and was about to pick him up when his dark eyes fluttered open just a little.
"Ryuzaki-san…" I whispered, watching his eyes flicker toward me feebly. "Are you all right? What happened?"
"I told you…" He started, a grin cracking across his pale face. I felt like slapping him, and then kissing him, I was so happy to see him alive. "I told you I would be okay. Didn't I?" I didn't reply, so he persisted even more. "Didn't I? Didn't I tell you?"
"Yes, you fucking told me! Now what happened?" He laughed, a dry hoarse laugh, before attempting to sit up rather unsuccessfully. I kept him from falling, and he leaned into my arm, closing his eyes for a few seconds.
"They died." He whispered, as if it was almost nothing. "I told you, if they stay around me too long, they just die. I just have to think really hard about it, and then it happens…" I was in utter disbelief. 'How is that possible? But…' I looked back into the store. 'It has to be. They're all dead, aren't they? I just…need another explanation for now…' "It gives me a headache like you wouldn't believe." I laughed, and so did he.
":I'm just so glad you're okay.:" I pushed a strand of wet, dirty-blonde hair out of his eyes. A strange look flickered across his face for a moment, but then it was back to the stoic mask it usually was. I ran my fingers across the pale skin of his forehead that I wasn't used to seeing, and a smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. He turned his head to the side and wiped any traces of it off of his face.
"That's enough. I'm fine." He pushed himself up from the ground and I stood up also, but he had to lean on me for support. Once again, he turned his face away. Was it just me, or did he look embarrassed?
"It's way too dangerous to stay out on the streets like this." Abigail said. She was right. "We need to find somewhere to stay, somewhere to barricade ourselves… fast." I nodded.
"Yeah… let's start looking." I reached to pick up Rue, but he stepped away.
":I-it's alright. I'll just lean on you, all right?:" I agreed silently, and he put his arm back around my shoulders, albeit reluctantly.
"Come on, let's go." Abigail motioned us on.
(Break)
I didn't know how long we had been walking, although it didn't seem all that terribly long. Rue was able to get along very well without me carrying him, he was actually starting to use his twisted ankle again, and he had said it didn't hurt as much anymore. Though I was worried about Abigail and Sonja. I didn't know when they had last eaten, or anything like that, and I was naturally going to put them in front of myself and Rue. Sure, I was a little hungry, but whatever. They mattered before I did. I looked at my watch. 3:31 PM. 'Wow…' I thought. 'It's been a while since this whole thing started. Not even a day, but it feels like forever.'
"What time is it?" I heard Sonja ask from Abigail's arms.
"It's about 3:30, sweetie." I replied, running a hand through my hair. Rue hadn't said anything for a while. ":How are you holding up?:" I asked.
":Fine.:" He replied, somewhat curtly. I shut my mouth.
"Light, look!" Abigail grabbed my shoulder and shook me vigorously.
"What? What is it?" I cast my eyes where she was pointing, and saw that there was a small store ahead, a little bigger than the one we had found all the crazies in. From what I could make out, there were people inside. Normal people, from the looks of it. But I wanted to get closer before I decided to go inside. There weren't that many people, just about six or seven. "That would be great. If we can convince them to let us in. Safety in numbers, I think…" I muttered.
"Why wouldn't they let us in? Rue's hurt and we have a little girl with us. I think if they have any shred of human decency left in them they would." Abigail countered, making me think something that I hadn't since I was a teenager. 'Human decency? That's a damn joke. Nobody's going to help us now, it's every man for himself…' I sped up a little bit, hoping Rue could keep up with me. He stumbled and almost fell, but I caught him.
":Could you please go at the injured person's pace instead of your own?:" He said sarcastically, giving me a cold glare.
":Sorry, I just want to get there soon. I'm sure you can understand.:" I looked away and took a deep breath. ":All right. What's with you?:"
":What do you mean? I'm tired, I have a bitch of a headache, I'm hungry and my ankle hurts like nobody's fucking business. Anything else?:"
":I thought you said it didn't hurt as much.:" He looked at me, dark blue eyes daring me to say one more word. ":Were you lying?:"
":Yeah.:" He spat angrily, his intense glare sending a chill through my body that only one person could do. ":I was lying. Got a problem? It was to benefit you, so what the hell else do you want me to do?:"
":Tell me the truth!:" I shouted, my temper flaring dangerously. Everything stopped as he hung his head down, not saying another word. I could feel the eyes of Abigail and Sonja on me. ":Just… tell me the truth.:" I whispered, wrapping my arm tighter around his thin frame.
":I told you the truth.:" He replied, still not looking up. I recognized that voice. My heart skipped a beat and I looked down at the top of his head.
L.
":I told you a long time ago, Raito.:" A searing pain shot through my chest, and I couldn't stop myself from stumbling a bit. 'Shit… it really is him…'
"Light… we…" Abigail started. I looked up to see the store in front of me, six people staring at us through the glass. "We're here."
Author's Note: WOW. I have one thing to say. Light Is Fun. With a capital "F". I know this might sound mean, but it's just so fun manipulating his emotions and toying with him until he snaps. Anyway, about that. I've stopped looking out of that little black notebook and transferring it over here. It takes too much time , and I'd have to change about two chapters, and I really don't want to do that. So, this is going to be kind of confusing for me, because I really, honestly, don't know what track this thing is on anymore. I know how it's going to end, and I know what events come next and stuff, but the dialogue and the interactions with the characters and the things in between… totally out of my head now. Like, this whole chapter, for instance. Just spawned from my fingers while I was sitting here typing. I kind of just crapped it out of my head, in a way. :D
But, nonetheless, I have a question. Do you think, that when Light refers to the zombie like people as "crazies" that it sounds almost too childish? I've been trying to think of a new term for them, but I don't want to take any terms from Cell. I'm just not having any luck, but… oh well. All right, next order of business: Light makes some very inarticulate sounds in this chapter. I hope they weren't hard to understand, and I really hope they didn't take away from the feeling of what I was trying to write, which was he was cracking a little. If they're laughable, then… I failed. If they're dramatic, then… I win. So… I don't necessarily know. I'd like some feedback.
Next: I had the craziest dream. No, I'm absolutely serious. O.O it was so strange, you wouldn't even believe it. But, to put it short, seeing as it was actually very long and I don't want to talk for that much longer…
L's pants fell off.
Well, come on. You knew it was going to happen one day! He wears absolutely no belt, and they're so loose… But anyway. That's not the scary part. So… his pants are falling off, and they fall off… blah blah blah, but instead of underwear or whatever underneath, guess what he had on?
Another pair of pants.
Wait, what? Yeah. He had on two pairs of pants. And they didn't just materialize to protect me from scarring if I ever saw L in his underwear, they were already under there. D: I called my best friend up and told her and she said: "That makes sense! He's so weird, he might actually do that!" I agree with her. Anybody else? Well, before I take up more space than the actual chapter, I'd better close it off. Thanks for sticking with me, and we're not even a fourth of the way through! YAY!! Okay, bye!