KK: Got-deng, has it really been two months? I meant to update last week, or the week before… Really, this has been twisting and festering in my brain, growing moldy and colorful. The first chapter was a random brain fart, but that fart turned into a nuclear bomb… in short, this story will either be shit or the shit. :P

So, here are some warnings: I will have one or more OC. One of them is quite integral to the plot. I don't quite know if she is a Sue yet and I request your feedback concerning her. She's not appearing in this chapter though. Um, what else, what else? You will NOT like how obedient L is at first. It'll get better, but it's gonna get worse first. Oh, and we have a character death. And cannibalism. And slash. Can't forget the BL. Actually there's boyxgirl love, too. Normally that wouldn't be a warning but the Death Note fandom is screwy like that.

Sugar-sweet shout out to HaHaHarley for being first reviewer! :D Alerting and favoriting is awesome too, but I love opinions and if you have some, tips and pointers.

Chapter 2

The orange glow from the fire tinted Light's face as he stared contemplatively at the remnants of his dinner. He could hardly believe what he had seen tonight, in that alley. But as he examined the situation further, he realized there was no other possibility.

Frankenstein monsters had been a myth, even more so than most of the undead, simply because they weren't possible. Vampires, werewolves, zombies – they all had souls, however distorted. But frankenstein monsters? Scientifically created life?

To be blunt, it was just… freaky. He couldn't believe they had done it.

There was a tapping at the door. Light did not bother to make a move towards it, because his visitor let himself in anyway.

"Oi, Light-o. Catch anything?"

Light glanced at Ryuk, then nodded towards the table.

The creature, barely able to fit through the door due to his unnatural height, grinned as he closed the door behind him. "Whoa, nice! All prepared and everything. Wow, the kids'll love me tonight!"

Light raised an eyebrow. "Of course, I did all the work."

The zombie grinned. "Aw, you'll tell them it was a joint effort, yeah?"

"I'll say nothing when they ask nothing." Obligatory small talk aside, Light decided to cut to the chase. "Has one of your children escaped recently?"

"Ah? No, don't think so. Everyone's accounted for as of an hour ago."

The vampire frowned. "In that case… tonight, I think I saw a frankenstein monster."

"A Franky? For real?"Ryuk leaned forward, his deep-set eyes bulging. "I thought those were legend!"

He gestured towards the door behind him, open by a few inches. "He's asleep. See for yourself."

Ryuk's blue mouth dropped."Wha? You brought him here?" He headed towards the door and pushed it open.

There, atop the covers of Light's bed, the creature lay. The stitches that formed harsh lines across his face were even more pronounced in the glow of Light's dim lantern. They could see where the eyes had been sown in, and where the nose had been replaced.

"I hit him on the head, and he collapsed."

"Just hit him? Aren't they supposed to be stronger than that?"

"That's what I've heard. Maybe something happened to him before I found him."

"Heh. He kind of looks like a cute little baby in this light."

Light's eyes narrowed. "He's dangerous. He's proof that the humans are going too far."

"Then why'd you bring him here?"

The vampire glowered. "And leave him wreaking havoc wherever he goes? A woman died running away from him!"

Ryuk looked back at Light. "Ah? So you didn't kill her? Here I thought you were finally seeing things my way."

Light frowned. "I told you already. You want a food supply, you let me do it my way."

"Yeah, yeah." It was a half-hearted debate. With each technological revolution, it had gotten harder for Ryuk's kind to face up to the machines humans had created. They were a slow species, where Light, a vampire, was fast. And while zombies had far fewer weaknesses than vampires, the humans' utilization of fire and electricity was enough for zombies to stay away from them if they wanted to survive. Vampires, while they could be burned and electrocuted, had a higher tolerance and were less likely to die.

But Ryuk had a whole civilization to look after, and he needed food, however scarce it was. His people could only last on animals for so long, and they relied on Light's abilities. Light, while willing to help, refused give up his principles.

Ryuk crinkled his nose. "I can smell the electricity in his veins." It was something only zombies could detect, with an odor not unlike burning paper.

Light nodded. "I wondered why I could barely hear his blood flow, until I realized that it was actually electricity keeping him alive. Look," Light said, gesturing to a patch of duct tape on the creature's neck. "I drew some of his… blood. Here." He pulled out a small glass vial from the nightstand by the bed, revealing a thick viscous liquid inside. He offered it to Ryuk.

"This ain't blood," Ryuk said. "Is it?"

"It's what's flowing through his veins." The liquid was not only pure white (which was strange enough in itself, even compared to Ryuk's green blood, and Light's, which was black) but glowing, though faintly.

"Liquid electricity," Light said. "Touch him."

Ryuk looked at Light dubiously. "With that stuff inside him? No way, I'm not getting shocked!"

Light grabbed the zombie's hand and placed it on the creature's hand. "H-hey!"Ryuk protested.

"His skin is some type of mixture of human skin and rubber. It doesn't conduct electricity. And it was difficult for me to bite."

Ryuk pulled his hand away nervously. "Well, I'll be damned," he remarked.

"I found notes in his pocket," Light said. He handed picked up a leather-bound book from the nightstand and handed it to Ryuk. "I don't expect you to understand them all, but look at the name on the inside cover."

With a long finger, Ryuk flipped the cover open. "V. Frankenstein," he read. "No way… he's a fictional character, isn't he?"

"Apparently Mrs. Shelley's novel may not have been as fictional as we thought. This notebook has to be at least four hundred years old. I think someone found Frankenstein's notes on how to create life out of corpses… I have skimmed through some of these equations and they are nothing short of genius for his time."

"Well, shouldn't be a problem for you to figure out, ne, Light-kun?"

Light shook his head. "I haven't touched science in a long time, Ryuk. It would take me at least several months to decipher all of this."

Ryuk cackled. "Where for a normal person, it would take several decades, ne, Light-o."

"I suppose so," he placed the notebook back on the nightstand. "But I'd rather not associate with this type of stuff."

Ryuk watched Light turn back to the creature. "He's starting to wake up," the vampire observed.

They both watched him intently as his breathing pattern changed and his eyelids flutter open. A bit like a human, Ryuk thought.

Light put his fingers on the creature's wrist. "Whatever's keeping him alive is pulsing at thirty beats per minute. Much slower than the average human, even for one just waking up," Light said.

"Cool," Ryuk said, uninterested. He leaned over the creature, until their faces were parallel, and peered into eyes which were deeply black – Ryuk could not tell the pupil apart from the iris. "Hiya!" he called loudly. "How you feeling, Franky?"

He leaned back to allow the creature to sit up. "Franky?" the creature repeated.

"That's what'cha are. Why, do you have a name?"

The Frankenstein monster blinked. "I was identified with the letter L," he offered.

"Cool. Hey, Light, it's Ellie!"

"I heard."

"Do you eat or drink?" Ryuk inquired.

"I can," L said. "Sugar and oil most efficiently sustains me. I assume this me you aren't planning to kill me."

"Besides the fact that I don't quite know what would kill you," Light said curtly. "I also don't know how many of your kind there are. Would you be willing to supply either of those answers?"

"I can die just like any other human," L said. "I just have a much stronger body and am immune to sickness."

"Thanks for the tips. What about my second question?"

"I am aware of seven who are still alive."

"And where can I find them?"

"Do you wish to kill them?" L asked.

"We'll see."

"I don't know where they are."

"Geez, Light. What do you got against him? We don't gotta kill him, he's not human."

Light turned around, his face revealing anger that Ryuk realized the vampire had been holding back. "He's not one of us either. He's just some concoction made by those damn idiots who can't seem to keep their noses out of anything!" he said disgustedly.

"What… the Tenshi? You think he came from them?"

"I know it. Look right below his neck. I saw it while I was putting the duct tape on him."

Ryuk turned skeptically to L. "'Scuse me, Ellie," he said. "Need to see your neck."

L obeyed, exposing his neck. Ryuk pushed him lightly forward to get a view of the back of his neck. There, just below the nape, was a small but elegant tattoo, depicting a small set of wings in red ink.

Ryuk inhaled sharply. "Well, damn. It's really them."

"They're fucking hypocrites," Light raged. "Saying we're the abominations, and they come out with something like this?"

"Hey, hey," Ryuk warned, pointing a knobby thumb towards L. "He's right here."

Light scowled at L, who just stared back blankly, seemingly unaffected by the whole conversation. Somehow, that made Light angrier, and he stormed out of the room.

Ryuk sighed. "That kid…" He looked at L, who stared at the place where Light had stood impassively. "Stay," Ryuk commanded, not unlike a human to his dog, before following the vampire. Light was in his kitchen, pulling a bag of human-manufactured potato chips out of the cupboard. The stuff was useless to his body, but Ryuk knew it was a comfort food for him.

"Hey, got any apples?"

Light rolled his eyes. "You know I don't. Fresh fruit wouldn't last long enough."

"One can wish. Ne, Light-o," he said casually, but just enough for it to be serious. "You're getting a little too emotional about this aren't you? The Tenshi probably don't even remember you."

"Of course they don't. Those idiots don't notice any of the lives they destroy."

"To be fair – not that the Tenshi are – but they didn't really consider you a living creature at the time."

Light bit the manufactured potato snack vigorously. "Whose side are you on, Ryuk? You do realize that if the Tenshi knew about your little colony, they'd burn it to ashes in an instant?"

"Light. I'm not. Stupid," Ryuk stated coldly, the warning in his voice enough to make Light check himself reluctantly. The zombie returned to his friendly demeanor. "But you know, Ellie's interesting, isn't he? You don't want to just get rid of him."

"Of course not," Light murmured. "I need him to lead me to his friends and make sure they aren't a threat."

"Yeah," Ryuk agreed. "But I mean, be a little more polite about it."

The brightly colored chip bag crumpled sharply under Light's grasp. "Since when have you cared about social niceties, Ryuk?" he asked suspiciously.

Ryuk shrugged with a guilty grin. "What can I say? He's cute."

Light sighed in exasperation. Ryuk was always like this, looking for new toys and other forms of entertainment. "Why don't you take him then?"

"Can't. Franky or not, he's still made up of human bodies. I'm tempted to take a bite out of him myself, even though it'd taste pretty overcooked with that blood of his. A lot of the kids like a barbecue, though. Speaking of, I should prob'ly be heading back or Rem'll skin me." He grabbed the produce off of the living room's coffee table, expertly drained and dried by Light. "Thanks, Light-o. Have fun!"

Light watched him go, then sighed. He hated it when the zombie was right, in his own, roundabout way. L was interesting, Light realized, as a longing he hadn't known he carried made itself known. He licked the oily salt off his fingers thoughtfully, then made plans to take a trip to the city later for some sugar.

.-.-.-.-.

Naomi Misora straddled a large paper bag on her hip while she reached out towards the number pad to the door and entered the code. With a soft hiss, the door opened.

She walked in, flipping on the light switch and placing the groceries on a marble kitchen table. Humming to herself, she began to restock the cupboards and refrigerator. She enjoyed spending time in this kitchen; it was so much cleaner than her own, and the appliances were state-of-the-art. She couldn't overcook a frozen TV dinner if she tried.

It really was a shame that this place had to be underground; sunlight would really do this place wonders. Of course, there was no way that the organization would allow the Experiments that were kept in here to be seen.

Naomi frowned to herself. She really didn't approve of all this – creating life where it shouldn't be created. It was hypocritical of the Tenshi to hunt the undead, while turning around and committing the same deed, albeit through more scientific means.

Granted, the Experiments were far less dangerous than the undead. They didn't feed off of human flesh or blood, and they didn't have corrupt souls – they didn't have any souls, actually. This meant they had no selfish desires – well, except for when they project the memories of their past bodies. But those weren't real. Whoever once owned the body parts that made up the Experiments had long passed on.

Naomi headed towards the door to the bedroom, where she knew Watari was sleeping. The man was getting weaker, but he still threw himself into his studies. Even when the Tenshi told him to stop, Watari still wasn't satisfied and tried to continue, even at the age of ninety. Naomi had gotten in several arguments with him about this, but nothing could stop him.

In the end, though, Naomi wasn't able to leave the sad old man's side, despite her moral convictions. She grabbed a newspaper, which she had special-delivered from a small publishing company that had survived the Information Revolution of the 50's (of the twenty first century), and headed to Watari's room.

"Mr. Watari, don't tell me you aren't awake yet…" She knocked lightly on the door and listened. There was no reply, but it was already seven o' clock in the morning. She tried the knob and saw that it was open. Was he inventing something? He tended to get trapped in his own thoughts whenever he had a scientific epiphany.

Pushing the door open, she peeked inside. She couldn't see Watari. She was about to turn away when her peripheral vision caught a pale, wrinkled hand on the floor from behind the desk.

"Watari!"

She rushed over to her employer, taking in with a sick stomach the man's limp body, and the pool of cold blood seeping into his gray-blue carpet. She knelt down, lifting the man's head up slightly. "Watari? Watari! God, what happened?" She pressed two fingers to his thin neck, ignoring the disturbingly low temperature there.

At the contact, Watari's eyes weakly opened. "Na… Nao…"

"Shh, save your breath!" Naomi urged. "I'll call a med—"

"Th – L…" Watari whispered. The Tenshi agent had to lean close to hear his words, relying more on the minute movement of his lips rather than his breath.

"She… she did…"

"Watari!"

"J… she'll kill…"

"Kill who?" Naomi asked, gripping him tightly, death creeping into her hands.

"Save him… Naomi… Save L…"

Without even a shudder, ancient eyes paled and life surrendered its hold.