Our beloved chocolate-covered strawberry will be missed. I'm sure he was delicious.

Ellie Lawliet's P.O.V.

"Hi, Mom and Dad," I smiled and waved to the webcam, reigning in as much light as I possibly could. It took a lot of concentration to appear normal, but I think I got it well enough. If I slip up, I'll just blame it on the camera. The brown contacts were annoying, but thank goodness Weston had them. I almost forgot about my eyes and my human parents definitely would have noticed the change in color. I still hated lying to them, but it was for their own good. Once everything was over, I'd explain all of it and I could stop dancing in circles every time I call them.

"Hi, sweetie, how have you been?" My mother greeted with a smile, "You haven't called since our grandson started kicking. I want to see him!"

I laughed, reaching down to the floor where Nate was sitting and lifted him onto my lap. "Say hi," I lifted his arm to wave at my mother, "That's your grandma and grandpa." Nate responded by sticking his spider toy in his mouth.

Mom gasped, "Oh wow, he's gorgeous…"

My dad looked him over, "where did he get those eyes?"

I shrugged, "Couldn't tell ya." It wasn't a lie. I literally can't tell them. "They're cool though, huh? Oi! Lawrence," I called out, "come say hi to your in-laws."

L looked up from his bowl of ice cream, "Why?"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh for heaven's sake, put the mint chocolate chip down, and get over here," I demanded.

He didn't put the ice cream down, but at least he joined our skype session. "Hello." He said shortly, returning his attention to the large bowl of sugar in front of him, holding the spoon with two fingers like the wonderful oddball he is.

"Hi there, Lawrence. How've you been treating our daughter?" My dad asked.

He took another bite of ice cream, clearly uninterested in this conversation.

I took the reins, "He spoils me rotten," I joked, "When he's not working, his attention is on me or Nate." I tickled my son's sides, making him giggle and squirm.

"Well that's good," My mother commented, "Otherwise I'd have to slap some sense into him."

That'd be an entertaining encounter. I imagined my mom, going into her fiery mamma-bear mode, telling L off while he stared blankly at her. I briefly wondered how he'd react if she tried slapping him. Not that it would matter; I wouldn't let them wage war on each other even if they wanted to.

"So, mom, where are the girls," I referenced my two little sisters, "I haven't heard from them lately."

"They'll be home from school any minute now," She explained, "But I still feel bad making you get up so early. What time is it there?"

"It's about 5:30 in the morning. But it's okay, we're usually up by now anyway."

My dad raised his eyebrows, "Really? I thought you hated mornings. You were always late to school because of it."

Perhaps I used to, but I don't sleep anymore. "I kinda like the mornings here," I told her instead, "they're different. More energetic."

"Hold on," my mother stopped me, "if it's 5 am, then why is the baby up? Shouldn't he be in bed at this hour?"

"He was being fussy," L mumbled coolly, his mouth full of ice cream, "so we decided he could stay up to see you. He'll be put back to sleep when we're done."

"And there will be absolutely no chloroform involved at all," I joked, "Nope, none at all." I darted my eyes side to side comically for dramatic effect.

My mom laughed, "That's one way to get a baby to calm down. I wish I'd thought of that when you and your brother were babies, it would have saved me a lot of time and energy."

"Because that's not sketchy at all," my dad said sarcastically.

"No need to be so serious," L commented. I smiled at his humor. I adore this pale sweet-toothed man.

I heard a door open from their end followed by the voices of two arguing girls, one of them accusing the other of 'being mean.'

"Hey, girls, Ellie is on skype, com say hi," My mother ignored their fighting.

The younger one, Andrea, moved in front of the screen and waved, "Hi Ellie! Is that my niece?"

"Nephew," I corrected, "And yes, he is."

The older one with the red hair joined us. She was obviously grumpy, "Who is that?" she pouted.

We talked about life and such for a while. My dad told me about the newest update on the MMO we liked to play. I hadn't had much time for it lately, but he was still a die-hard fan. My mom talked about the latest episode of Doctor Who and my little sisters each fangirled about the latest books they've read.

I love my nerdy human family.

Our conversation was cut short when L received a phone call. He pulled it out of his pocked and hung it from his thumb and forefinger beside his ear, "Yes? – I see. – No, don't do anything. – That's correct. – If you do that it will ruin the whole operation, say nothing, do nothing. Watch and wait, that is your assignment. – There's no need to get upset. – If you wish to conduct your own independent investigation then do so. – No? Then do as I instruct. – Yes. – Goodbye." He put his phone back in his pocket and leaned down, "I'm afraid something has come up, we will speak with you later."

"Oh, okay. Well, goodbye then. I love-" My mom got cut off as L closed my laptop.

"That was rude," I said, "You could have at least let her finish her sentence."

"No time," L said picking our son up and placing him back in his crib, "Teru Mikami just escaped from prison, and Misa Amane has contacted him. She's keeping him in her apartment."

"That's important and all, but I don't see why it couldn't have waited five more seconds."

"Let's go," He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the control room.

I sent my mom an apology text, "Sorry, Lawrence just got a major work thing pop up. It's time-sensitive, and it requires both of us, so… That's a thing." I pressed send and left it at that. "So," I asked, "What's the plan?"

He typed something on one of the keyboards, "You are."

"Care to elaborate?"

"You are going to stroll right up to them."

I'd ask him if he was crazy, but I already know that he is; At least a little bit. "How could that possibly help? What would I even do?"

"You'll float through the wall in full glow, then dim down just enough for Mikami to see your face," He handed me an earpiece and I put it on, "I'll instruct you from there." He pushed the button to his microphone, "can you hear me?"

His voice came from him as well as the little device. I nodded, "yeah, loud and clear. Should I get the others?"

"Get us for what?" Mr. Yagami appeared in the doorway, "did something happen?"

"Yes. Yagami, please fetch Watari, Yori, and Weston. I will explain when everyone is here."

I took my contacts out and tidied up my hair. I was going to put on a show, after all. I must look my best. Straightening my white dress, I headed out, flying like a rocket to Misa's house. I didn't bother hiding; no one can see me unless I touch them. The only reason everyone could see me in the hospital room was because my actual father had already given the ability to do so. They were special that way. In order for my human family to see me, I had to fly all the way home and sneak into their rooms while they slept.

Misa and Teru did not have the ability to see me quite yet. L had needed me to set up hidden cameras and wire taps all through her building while I was still invisible. It took forever, but it had paid off in the past few weeks. After they can see me, there'll be no hiding from them again, but I suppose I don't need to anymore.

L's scrambled voice sounded in my ear, "Are you there yet?"

"Just about." I came up to a cheap-looking apartment complex. Inside were two of the world's craziest serial killers. I peeked in to see Misa sitting on a chair, writing names. Teru stood in the corner, changing out of his prison garb. I melted under the floor until just my hand was sticking out. I used it to touch their ankles, giving them the ability to see and hear me.

Taking a deep breath, I let my shine turn red. Usually it only does that when I'm super mad, but if I concentrate I can do it manually. If I wanted Mikami to continue thinking I was the devil, I had to pull out all the stops. Glowing red would only support our little demonic lie.

I released all my light; It was like taking my socks off after a long day. I hadn't noticed how uncomfortable keeping it in was making me. Everyone else said it was blinding, but I could see just fine; What's wrong with a little light? (Unless that Light happens to be a psychopathic mass-murderer, but that's a separate circumstance.)

"Ready?" I heard in my ear.

The cameras would only be able to see a bright red spot, so I had to whisper aloud, "Yep. Operation Lucifer is a go."

"Operation Lucifer? Is that what we're calling it?" I could hear the sarcasm even through the scrambler.

"Yes. I'm going in."

"Make us proud."

I took another breath, then began slowly ascending through the floor.

The curtain rises…