This chapter was harder but it was super fun to write. Please review and let me know what you think.
L Lawliet P.O.V.
People were starting to notice the increased rate of heart attacks. Some were connecting it to the anime that we had come from, but for the most part, the people in this world were trying to blame it on something in the atmosphere. Some said it was global warming, some said it was gas, some said it was a new plague, but no one had figured it out properly. People can be so thick.
After Kira finished the prisons, he started targeting dictators and world leaders that didn't fit his mold of innocence. This world had a completely different set of people in it, so there had to be somewhere he was getting his names and faces. He must have access to a computer somewhere.
The majority of killings were currently happening in America, so I had Watari hack into the NSA's database to pinpoint every computer that had searched for the same people who'd died of heart attacks. After I put a timeline of the deaths together, we found a trail of public computers that had searched for the names of people just before they died. Kira was being smart about not staying in one place.
We did, however, find a pattern. "If you mark all these places on a map," I explained, drawing a dot on each of the suspicious computer locations for Yagami and Ellie's reference, "and then connect the dots in order," I drew a line, connecting them, "you can see him clearly moving west. All these places are relatively large cities; this tells us that Kira is attempting to mask his presence with high populations."
"Can we look at these places' surveillance cameras," Ellie asked, "It could answer a lot of questions. Plus, we'd know for certain if it's Light Yagami, or if it's just a death note that found its way here. We still don't know if he ever actually came here."
"I already took the liberty," Watari said, "The surveillance didn't show anyone at the computers during the times they were accessed."
"The computers had always been accessed during the early and late hours in the day, when no one else was likely to be around," Yagami pointed out, "it's possible he was hiding from view. He's certainly smart enough to avoid surveillance cameras, or even trick them."
Ellie played with her bottom lip, her face thoughtful. After a moment, she said, "Is it alright if we all look at them together? Maybe there was something you missed that someone else might pick up on."
"That would be best. I would like to look at them myself," I agreed, signaling for Watari to pull up the tapes.
He did as instructed, pulling up the first incident. It showed a large library with about a dozen computers. They were all lined up with the screens facing away from the cameras.
After a few minutes of nothing, Ellie suddenly jumped up shouting, "There! Pause it, pause it, quick, look!"
Watari did as instructed, but even I didn't see anything. She pointed to an empty spot on the screen saying, "it's him, see! It's Light Yagami. He's surrounded by a bunch of shinigami."
This earned her nothing but odd looks. I stared hard at the spot she was pointing to, but saw nothing. What was she seeing?
"There's nothing there," Yagami mentioned, earning a look of confusion from Ellie.
"What are you talking about? He's right there," she argued, "See? He's even wearing that red tie he always has on. He's looking right at the camera, there's no mistaking it." She moved her hand to point to another spot on the screen, "And there's Ryuk."
"You can see Ryuk," I asked, surprised. I had touched his notebook before, but I couldn't see him. Perhaps it was something to do with coming to this world. The absence of Mello's scar suggested that the bodies we now inhabited were not the same ones we had died in. Since this body has not touched the notebook, perhaps we no longer had the ability to see Ryuk.
"No," she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice, "I'm making it up to mess with you."
"Hold on," Yagami said, "I thought you were from here, so how could you have touched the notebook?"
"Are you guys honestly going to stand there and tell me you can't see Light standing right there, surrounded by a plethora of shinigami?" She was staring at us as if she couldn't believe what we were saying.
"Watari, please un-pause the video," I requested. "Tell me, which computer is he using?"
Ellie looked at the screen for a moment, then pointed to the one third from the left. "That one, he's typing something."
I leaned in, studying the image before me. The computer she indicated was glowing slightly, which was hard to notice since it was facing the other direction. Could it be that Ellie was able to see Light, as well as the shinigami when we could not?
My suspicions were confirmed when I saw the computer's mouse move on its own. "Watari, I need you to pull up all the surveillance footage at once. As soon as Gabrielle says to pause one, do so."
Yagami looked at me, "What did you find?"
"She may be able to see Light and the shinigami without having to touch the notebook." I pointed out the small glow coming from the screen as well as the moving mouse.
He looked at Ellie with awe and fear, "how can that be?"
She shrugged, "I'm just as confused as you are. They're right there, clear as day. Unless I'm hallucinating."
"No," I said, squishing a gummy bear slightly between my fingers, "if you were hallucinating then the computer wouldn't be on." I popped the chewy treat in my mouth. Whatever the reason, this beautiful woman just became an invaluable asset.
Watari put the other twelve instances on the other monitors. Ellie indicated when to pause them each time she saw Light on the screens. I asked that these images be printed out and placed into a file. Ellie confirmed that she could still see both Light and the shinigami surrounding him in the photos. If ever we became capable of seeing Light Yagami or the shinigami around him, these may prove useful.
"Now all we need to do is lure him into a trap. If we can get him to end up someplace of our own choosing, we might be able to get his notebook. Based on his pattern of behavior so far, the next city he'll visit will be Las Vegas, Nevada. Luckily that's only a short drive from where we are now. We know he'll need a public computer to look up names. Therefore, I suggest we cause a blackout everywhere but a section of the city that has only one place with public computers." I turned to Ellie, "You will go there and pretend to be working on homework until Kira arrives. When he does, act like you can't see him. If he thinks he's invisible, you can get as close to him as you need to. As soon as you have the chance, take his notebook and get outside. Watari will be waiting to take you away in the car. Above all else," I looked her square in the eye, "do not let him, or any of the shinigami see your face.
"Actually," she said, "I think I have a way that it wouldn't matter even if he did."
Yagami raised his eyebrow, "How? If they find out you took Light's notebook, the shinigami will likely kill you."
She smiled, giving us all a charming wink, "I have my ways."
I grabbed another gummy bear. "Very well. Kira will be there tonight, which means we need to be ready. We should avoid turning off the power until later. Until then we'll get everything set up."
"Great! Sounds like fun," Ellie seemed oddly excited about this, "I'll go get ready. It may take a few hours, but when I come back, you won't even recognize me." She turned to Watari, offering him a smile, "could I have a ride to campus?"
"Actually," I spoke up, "I'd like to see how you plan to make yourself immune to Kira. I'll take you." I stood up, Watari handing me the car keys.
She nodded, "Good idea. We can do you too. I don't want you dying on me… again." She grabbed my sleeve and dragged me down the hall, overly enthusiastic.
I put my mask on before stepping outside. While we drove, Ellie pulled out her phone and dialed a number.
"Weston? Hey babe, this is Ellie. – I'm good, how are you? – Fabulous. Anyway, I have a favor I need from you. Could you meet me in the theatre dressing rooms with your makeup kit in ten minutes? – Yeah, there's two of us, we need your skilled hands. – It's ok, we'll reimburse you for any materials we use up. – Yes; wigs, liquid latex, makeup, the works. – cool, thanks. Oh, also, can you keep this a secret? – Heh, yeah, something like that. – No, don't worry, it's nothing weird. Well… no weirder than my usual antics. – Ok, awesome. You're a doll. – love you too! Bye." She hung up, sticking her phone in her pocket. "Okay," she said as we got closer to her college campus, "we'll want to pull into the parking lot next to the theatre. It's over there," she pointed.
The parking lot was mostly empty. That was a good sign, it meant there wouldn't be too many people to interrupt us. Ellie took us through the performer's entrance into a dark room with only a small blue light. "That's a ghost light," she explained, "it's tradition to always have at least one light on in a theatre to keep away any mischievous spirits. You'd be surprised how superstitious the theatrical world is."
"Are you superstitious," I asked, only mildly interested.
"Absolutely," she grinned, then flipped several switches, turning on the backstage lights. "You know, this theatre is supposedly haunted with three ghosts. One is a man in a top hat who watches every single production. It's said that if you scan the audience carefully, there will always be a man in a top hat somewhere in the crowd. Another is a ballerina who people claim you can see still dancing on the stage if you come in the wee hours of the night. The story goes that the man in the top hat fell in love with her, but she rejected him, so he killed her and then himself. The third is a baby who died down in the tunnels underneath the theatre having been abandoned by its mother. If you don't say good night to it when you're the last person to leave, everything will be in a shambles in the morning. Or so they say."
A man wearing bright colors walked in the door behind us, a large case in tow. "Hey hey, Ellie May," he walked up and gave her a hug.
"Hello, Weston, you beautiful human," she hugged him back gladly.
He noticed me and jumped, startled. "Oh shit, you scared me half to death," he clutched his chest, "What's with the creepy mask?"
Ellie answered for me, "He's wanted by the police. You're here to help him escape so the government doesn't find him on any surveillance cameras." There was a playful glint in her eye. She wasn't entirely lying. The government was still trying to catch whoever it was that hacked into their system. They'll never catch us, of course, but she was still technically telling the truth. I wondered why she would reveal that to this man.
He stared for a moment, then broke into a loud laugh, "Oh honey, you're too much. I'm surprised you didn't come up with something more outrageous. I'm almost disappointed in you; I was expecting something more along the lines of aliens or alternate dimensions. You're always spouting the most entertaining nonsense."
She grinned, the started walking down a staircase, "Maybe that's why I said something a little different this time," she said, "I gotta switch it up now and again, keep you on your toes. Can't have you going soft, can we?"
He laughed again as we descended a labyrinth of stairs and hallways, each labeled with a different purpose. When we got to the one labeled 'dressing rooms', we walked through the doorway and switched on the lights. We were in a somewhat cramped area, full of vanity desks, each with their own mirror and set of lights. To the side were shelves of various costume pieces and props.
"Alrighty," Weston set his case on the ground and opened it, revealing an impressive collection of cosmetics. I noticed Ellie subtly locking the door. "Who's first?"
Ellie raised her hand, "Me," she sat in a stool, adjusting her long hair behind her shoulders. I sat in a chair to watch, my hands resting on my knees. Weston raised an eyebrow when he saw how I sat, but shrugged, deciding to ignore it.
"And what would you like me to do, exactly," he questioned as he laid out a few objects on one of the desks.
"well," she said, "I called you up because you're the best drag queen in the state-"
"Damn straight," he said proudly.
"-So I need you to make me a man. I have to be completely unrecognizable. I'm pulling an elaborate prank and it's riding on this. Everything from the shape of my face, to the color of my hair, to the fact that I have boobs; all of it needs to change. You can do it, right?"
He gave her a look, "Can I do it? Do you even know who you're talking to? Honey, when I'm finished, your own mother won't recognize you."
"Perfect! Let's get going, we need it done asap."
"As you say, babe. First thing's first: I'm gonna need you to take off your shirt and bra." He pulled some stretchy fabric out of his case and started unrolling it. To my surprise, Ellie did as she was told, turning around so I could only see her back. She had a birthmark on her left shoulder blade.
Weston bound her chest with the fabric to give her a masculine figure. I watched as he put layer upon layer of makeup and cosmetics onto her face, all the while with her back turned to me. He stuffed her long hair into a wig pinning it to her head. It took nearly an hour before Weston stepped back to look at her, "Damn, if I didn't know you were a woman I'd be asking you on a date right now. You look fabulous! Here," he handed her a pile of clothing, "put these on and you're done." She did as instructed, not bothering to leave the room to change.
When she turned around I was genuinely impressed; My Ellie was a man. Weston was clearly skilled. Standing in front of me was a handsome, red-headed guy in a fedora, a bow tie, and suspenders. There was no way Kira could get her now, even if he stared at her for a solid five minutes.
"Your turn," I heard Ellie's voice come from this new person.
"Okay," Weston turned to me, "I'm gonna need you to take off the weird horror-film mask. And you'll need to put your knees down so I can put some knockers on you."
I did so slowly. I could feel my reasoning ability dropping with my change in position. I mentally cursed.
When the mask was off, Weston gasped, "Oh, honey have you ever even seen the sun?" He took my chin in his hand, turning my head this way and that to appraise my appearance. I fought the urge to pull back out of his grip. I hated being touched, especially by people I didn't know. "You look like you just stepped out of a basement for the first time in your life." He ran his thumb over the bags under my eyes.
"Hey, be nice, that's my boyfriend you're talking to," Ellie scolded.
He looked like Christmas had come early, "Ooooooh, Ellie, honey, why didn't you tell me you had a beau!? Here I was trying to set you up with my ex. Haven't you been single for like, ever?" He looked me over again, this time with excitement in his eyes, "He's a strange one isn't he. Perfect for you and your adorably weird brain. We'll have to get together sometime and gossip about it." He poked me in the chest, "You treat her right. This girl is under my protection. If you hurt her I will hunt you down and glitter glue those pretty eyes of yours shut." I fought the urge to hit him.
He chatted away about nonsense as he worked on my masquerade. I let Ellie direct Weston's design, I couldn't care less what I looked like. The sponge was cold as he dabbed some odd goop all over my face.
I hated this.
He'd tried to put me in a dress, but Ellie didn't let him. "As much as I'd love to see that, he might go insane not getting to sit with his feet on the chair," she explained.
It took even longer to finish my disguise than Ellie's had, but when we were done I looked in the mirror to find a moody old woman glowering at me. My hair was no longer its familiar black, but a light grey ratted on top of my head. Weston had put me in a floral-print blouse, black khakis, and a cardigan. Worst of all he put me in heels.
Immediately I missed my comfortable jeans and plain white shirt. My only consolation was that Kira wouldn't be able to recognize me while on this mission.
Ellie thanked Weston and reminded him to keep this whole thing a secret. He kissed her hand and she walked out. I could not have gotten out of there faster. I raced us home, desperate for something sugary.
When we walked into the control room Yagami pulled a gun on us, "Who are you? How did you get in here?"
"Please calm yourself, Yagami. It's just us." Pushing his gun out of my face I sat down. I picked up a brownie and stuffed it into my mouth whole.
Ellie gave a little turn, showing off her costume, "How do I look?"
He gawked, speechless. "Erm…"
Watari walked in, stopping when he saw us. His eyebrows raised in the most surprise I've seen on his face in quite some time.
"Are the preparations ready," I asked.
He snapped out of it quickly, "Yes. I've secured a different vehicle for the trip. The blackout will start when you give the word." He held up a remote with a single switch on it.
"Good. Let's not waste time then." I stood up, grabbing a handful of marshmallows and shoving them into the purse that Ellie had insisted I carry.
We all climbed into a large black van and drove towards the most dangerous mass-murderer mankind has ever known.