Author's Note: Once again, I don't own Death Note.

Short because the end is good.

Read, enjoy, or don't, and review.

4 - The Battle Begins

He found himself on top of L. He had no plan. He did have motive. The man who killed his father and saved his life was a younger version of L. He could have been no older than 13 or 14 at the time. He was truly grateful to L for saving him. But two things made him resent L from then on. One, was L's inability to save his mother. The other was his own. He didn't say it was a good motive.

L kicked him off and attempted to stand up. The applicant charged again and tackled L in the stomach. They both fell out the window.

Luckily for them, the window was only on the second floor. It helped that the grass they landed in hadn't been mowed for months. It didn't help that they landed on their heads in the debris of the things the applicant threw out the window.

She was the first to his bedside when the news broke that he regained consciousness. She visited him every day for the past three weeks. She was his protege. She had shoulder-length dirty blond hair. She claimed to be in her late teens, but was probably only 13 or 14. She was 5"5'. In other words, slightly taller than whatever age she actually was. In the end, it didn't really matter. He didn't care how old someone was. He only cared about success.

"Maria?"

She had chosen the name as an alias during her initiation. He had warned her to keep her name a secret. She took that to heart.

"Yes, L-sama?" His voice is so faint. "What is it?"

Silence. L had fallen asleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Damn him!" The applicant was sitting in an armchair in an ill-lit room. He woke up two weeks ago. He had contemplated killing L, but rational thought finally returned to him. He finally remembered the plan and thought better of it. He also found it difficult to fully use his right arm.

"Is everything alright?"

"No, you fool!"

"Is there anything I can do?"

"N-" The applicant thought about it. Plan A was finished. Foiled in it's very first phase. It was time for Plan B. "Yes... There is... It's time for that plan."

The man shuddered. "Are you sure?"

"I need you to gather the right number of suitable participants."

"Yes, sir." The man turned to leave.

"Wait."

His right hand man stopped. "Yes?"

The applicant stood up and made his way to his right hand man. "From this day forward..." He reached into his shirt pocket as his right hand man held out his right arm. "You shall be know as..." The applicant took out a syringe filled with a yellow-orange liquid and injected it into his right hand man's right arm. "From this day forward, you shall be known as Uret Imakim."

"Yes, sir." He knew he was to gather the other participants required for the plan's success. He knew who he was to kill. He left.

The applicant sat back down and took out another syringe. This one contained a light blue liquid. This time he injected it into himself.

"Now, L, let the battle begin."

The stage was set. L versus the man who hated him. The Agency versus Plan B. The battle was ready to begin.

A man known only as BB set both plans backwards.

L had first encountered BB in 2002 in Los Angeles. He partnered with FBI Agent Naomi Misora to bring him down.

Stupidly, they let him live...

Author's Note: Hooray for BB!!

I've noticed that when I say "Read, enjoy, or don't, and review." a lot of you don't do the last thing... Just saying...

People need to learn how to follow directions.

Oh yeah, things are about to get weird for a bit. But only for a few chapters!!