Author's note: You know you've been writing Death Note fanfiction when you start typing 'He flipped the Lights on'. Ah, muscle memory. In regards to this chapter, I'd just like to say that I'm not trying to make light of anyone's faith by what Mikami says in this chapter. He's not right in the head, you see. Also, if Maia is still reading this: JAM?

February 23rd, 2004

Willium Q. Shaym Institution

It had been easy once Beyond had bit him.

Mikami had not understood at first, so blinded was he by pain, but it became clear what the other man had intended when he had been taken to the infirmary of the institution. The various doctors and orderlies had been panicked, disorganized, and distracted enough to not even notice as Teru Mikami hid scalpels on his person.

They had stitched up his face as best they could and sent him along with a promise that Beyond Birthday would be muzzled, never to so much as speak to Mikami again. But Mikami knew better.

Beyond Birthday was a soldier of God now, and he would be made free just as Mikami would be made free... because Mikami would make him free.

He had had to wait for things to die down first, however. After B had bit him, he and Mikami had been watched very closely. And then there was that questioning a little while ago... They had found most of the scalpels then, but not all of them. No, Mikami, in his endless devotion to his God, had managed to hide and keep one of them.

And Mikami could wait no longer. Earlier that night, as he had been taken back to his cell, he had pulled the scalpel on the orderly and killed him.

Killing someone with his bare hands was very different from purging them with the Death Note. It was difficult, and messy, but equally rewarding. Mikami felt the warm blood flowing over his hands, and it was blood spilled in the name of his God. So he had killed his guard, and the guards in the hall, and all of the other guards who had come to stop him, and taken their keys and identification, in the name of God.

"My God," Mikami incanted as he strolled through the halls of the institution, trailing his fingers along the wall, searching, searching... "Hallowed be your name. Just kingdom come, your will be done, to make this earth a heaven."

Mikami halted at a heavy door and began to disarm the lock. In the security center of the institution, an alarm was going off. Flashing lights and bells went off, but there was no one to respond to them. No one living, in any case.

Mikami paused to wipe the blood off of his hands, then swung the door open. "Protect the innocent, and punish those who would violate that protection." He flipped on the lights on.

From within his restraints, Beyond Birthday smiled widely.

"And lead us into a pure future, and deliver us from evil," Mikami continued, trailing blood not his own as he strode forward to release Beyond from his restraints. "Divine is your kingdom. Power and glory to you, forever and ever." The last restraint fell. "Amen."

B tugged the gag out of his mouth with an odd chuckle. "Did you come up with that yourself?" Mikami didn't respond, and B trailed his eyes over his form, stained in red. B licked his lips. "Is that raspberry?"

Luxury hotel, Tokyo

"Dead... All dead?"

Watari nodded somberly. "Yes. Two escaped- Teru Mikami and Beyond Birthday."

Not good. "Do we have the security footage?"

"It's been destroyed."

Worse. L sat crouched, thumb in his mouth, working out just what could have happened. "They're working together, that's clear enough. Beyond must be manipulating Mikami- Mikami should hate him. What could he- Me. He talked Mikami into helping him by promising to help him get revenge on me. That bite... camouflage? A distraction? No. An opportunity. Mikami must have gotten a weapon that day, then waited until the opportunity presented itself... even I didn't expect that he was capable of murdering twenty plus guards with his bare hands..." L bit his thumb. "Who knows what B is planning. Do they know about the second Kira?... Could they be responsible? No. Impossible... If they had access to a Death Note, I would already be dead. They'll find out soon enough. They'll come to Japan... They'll be aiming for Light and me at first, but with the new Kira, they'll almost certainly try to find the new Kira, in order to use him to help get to me- and the new Kira will help them, because I'm a common enemy." L yanked his thumb away from his mouth, making uneasy eye contact with Watari, who looked grave. "If they find Kira before we do, I will die."

London, England

"Kira," B tried the word out on his tongue, staring down at the newspaper he had picked up off of a nearby bench.

Mikami glanced at him from under his large hat and glasses. "Yes?"

"Oh, no," B's lips stretched into a wide, predatory smile. "Not you. There's a new one, you see."

"What?"

"Henh, henh, henh."

Tokyo, Japan

L turned away from the many televisions he had set up, each one displaying a high-traffic area of Tokyo. He picked up his cell phone and hit the speed dial. Light answered on the first ring.

"Have you found anything?"

"Not on the Kira investigation, no. I'm afraid you won't like this news."

"I don't like half of the things you tell me."

L swallowed. He did not want to be the one to have to tell Light this... he suddenly realized that this wasn't a conversation that he should be holding over the phone. Too late now, he supposed. Might as well get it over with. "Teru Mikami has escaped from prison."

There was a long silence on the line. L knew that Light had not hung up, but the lack of response was troubling. Damn it, he should have gone to see him.

"...Please tell me that this is a terrible joke."

Light's voice was shaky and pleading. L shook his head, then, because he was on the phone, said, "No. He is now on the loose, accompanied by a dangerous criminal by the name of Beyond Birthday."

"And they're not planning to take up a quiet life on a farm somewhere, I take it."

"As one of them was Kira and both of them have very large grudges against me, I think the chances of that are very slim."

"So you think they'll be coming after you?"

"It's a strong possibility- but they are more likely to attempt to find the second Kira first, then come after me. And, in all likelihood, you."

Light sighed heavily. "Right. Shit. Okay. Okay..." Light stood, pacing back and forth in his room. "What can I do? What does Beyond Birthday look like?"

"You can't do anything right now except be vigilant. Don't go anywhere alone, don't go anywhere with Misa Amane, and do not say anything negative about Kira in public."

"I can't," Light said quickly, and L was thrown for a moment.

"You can't not say anything negative about Kira in public? I know it's against your principles, Light, but in the name of self-preservation-"

"No, I can't stay away from Misa Amane," Light corrected, sounding incredibly frustrated. "After her stalker incident, she asked if she could visit sometimes, and she's become close to Sayu. Even if I shut myself up at home, I couldn't avoid her without looking suspicious."

L gnawed on his thumb for a moment, then said, "Very well, but be careful. As for what Beyond looks like, if you get close enough to him to make out his features, you will most likely already be beyond help. He's a genius whose goal in life was to kill me so that he could become me."

"So he looks like you?"

"More or less."

"Well, fuck."

"You curse a lot."

"Only around you."