There's a reckonin' a comin'.

[cyclopticsadist]

Who: Niles, L, Azura, Henry, Myr, Connor,
When: Backdated to the 7th, through the rest of the month.
Where: A seedy motel, then an abandoned warehouse in the refugee district.
What: Sometimes people cut off their rival's fingers as self care. Don't judge.
Warnings: Niles cuts off all of L's fingers, it's gonna get nasty.



Mello vanishing was both a boon and a tragedy for Niles' plans. Getting a live grenade out of the picture made things much simpler, but it meant he had no secondary player to keep Myr's attention. The longer that Mello was gone, the more attention would be focused on him, no matter how much he sweet talked L's lackeys. This full moon was his best chance at success, and L was ever so helpfully acting out his self destructive schedule early. The night of the full moon was the perfect time to pounce, and the moment he saw L going for the bottle he gathered his supplies.

Time to get to work.

Comments

[plasticasshole]

[Connor fishes in his pocket for the necklace Niles always wore, holding it up for L to see.]

I found this on the body. I realise that alone means nothing, but I scanned the body for inconsistencies and despite the state it was in... it was definitely him.

[Contrary to what L might believe, this isn’t just to save Niles. This is an attempt at giving L the chance to turn away from revenge. He’s seen what it does to people. It’s ugly and all-consuming. And L is in no state to do more than seethe right now. Maybe if he thinks Niles is truly dead... he can focus on recovery instead.]

[hearthebell]

[The body. One L hasn't seen or evaluated with his own eyes, one he can only trust Connor to report on accurately. It makes the real question, here, how much he actually does trust Connor, because there are three possibilities.

Connor is incompetent, and believes that he's telling the truth. Connor is competent, and is telling the truth. Connor is competent, and is lying. They strut and flourish like contestants in a pageant, but only one can take home the crown, right?

His eyes travel from the necklace to Connor's face. There will be considerably more blinks, in the near future.

H-I-S W-A-T-C-H?

[Raised brows, wide eyes, emphasizing that it's a question.]

[plasticasshole]

Missing... convenient, I know. I didn’t look very hard for it, admittedly... and I didn’t move the corpse to check it more thoroughly. But that seemed pointless when I had already determined it to be him.

[He frowns.]

It seemed to me that it was best to... leave him be.

[Not that Connor would be above disturbing a corpse if he had to, of course.]

I wish I had more proof for you... all I can do is give you my word.

[He looks earnestly at L as he speaks. Oh, it feels awful to lie like this, but he tells himself it’s best for everyone. And he truly believes it is.]

[hearthebell]

[L shakes his head insistently, hating that he can't press more fiercely or fluently. "Hating" might not even be a strong enough word, because so much about this just doesn't fit.

Maybe it's best to start with basics. Get a premise to work from, something that he can build theories off of like any decent foundation. He can use it, whether or not Connor is telling him the truth. Cracks always show, if the material isn't quality, and knowing how to see them is what separates a good detective from a great detective.

Not that L is certain he still deserves that title, after all of this.

He sits forward, getting closer to Connor, blinking out only three letters this time.

H-O-W?]

[plasticasshole]

A combination of being crushed and being burned.

[He winces. Not a pleasant death.]

It seems there was a fight of some kind, which is unsurprising given the power of the full moons this month. From what I could gather, he was hiding in a tree when it collapsed due to an explosion. Trapped underneath it, he was then burned alive. The area around it was still burning, so I didn’t stick around very long to gather more evidence... excessive heat dries me out. But I did examine the body and even if he’d escaped the tree somehow, he was bleeding internally.

[He can tell L isn’t buying it but he’s going to stick to his guns here. He’ll offer up what Niles left behind, describe what he saw, and if it’s not good enough then it’s on Niles. It’s his “death” after all.]

[hearthebell]

[Even more convenient. It meant that identifying the body would be even more difficult, and the evidence easier to exaggerate or falsify outright. Enough to fool a machine like Connor is doubtful, but motives are everything. It's all about who Connor wants to protect, and how, and whether or not Niles' death was a senseless accident or something more sinister came to call.

He listens to Connor's elaboration with deep scrutiny, the kind of attention he can only focus when considering what he'll say next isn't as much of an option.

W-H-O

E-L-S-E

K-N-O-W-S?

Cross-referencing is always an option, at least. Once he figures out some things, communication-wise.]

[plasticasshole]

The Coven. The search was conducted by the guard, but I found the body. I suppose they couldn't scan the area for clues the way I can, so it makes sense.

[He isn't bragging, it's entirely factual.]

I alerted them after finding it. I'm sure they'll have ways of proving who it is.

[Which he's a little worried about, but that doesn't show on his face. He has to trust that Niles thought this through.]

I did ask for the necklace afterwards, and he also had this.

[He pulls out Myr's watch from his pocket, setting it on the bedside table.]

It's Myr's. Make sure he gets it when he next comes to see you, okay?

[hearthebell]

[As reluctant as L is to admit it, some of these pieces do fit. The Coven would of course be alerted; Myr wouldn't stay silent about the crime committed against his Bonded or who was behind it. The guard would be hunting for Niles, even considering the widespread chaos of the full moons, and... who's to say that Connor wouldn't hunt with them, contributing unique skills and capabilities to the endeavor?

The heel of his hand goes to the center of his forehead, rubbing at the space, a substitute for the way he used to pinch the bridge of his nose when stressed or frustrated, but he nods. Myr's watch is important; of course he'll get it back to his Bonded, who never leaves for very long, though L feels the weight of every moment Myr is present, resents that their ability to communicate has been devastated by the ways Niles chose to cripple him.

Niles left him with a stomach, but also with a shredded tongue that stripped eating of all its pleasure. He left him with his life, but no way to earn a livelihood, when his steady, careful fingers allowed him to etch his famously intricate and clever runes. He left L with Myr, but severed one of their most important connections, and that alone glazes L's stunned trauma with dark fury. It's felt through the Bond, certainly, adding insult to injury, a reminder that what paltry little L could contribute positively to their union has been obliterated, leaving a useless, mute invalid to anchor down one who has already suffered so much on his behalf.

I-N-V-E-S-T-I-G-A-T-I-O-N

O-N-G-O-I-N-G?

He can find out more, compare notes, glean more answers than what Connor can (or is willing to) give him. He's sure of it, if only because he must be sure of something when he leaves the hospital.]

[plasticasshole]

Yes. I've of course given them my theory on what happened, but they'll still need to comb over the scene themselves.

[Though with how chaotic these full moons were in particular, he can't imagine L will hear anything soon.

His expression softens as he studies L. He may be lying to him, but he honestly feels that this is for the best, both for him and Niles. He likes L, he doesn't want him to get caught up in an endless revenge cycle until one of them actually dies.]

You need to focus on resting, though. The Coven will handle it. When will you be released?

[hearthebell]

[Deep breaths are critical, right now, even if they don't quite manage to have the tranquilizing effect of a good sedative. He wants a more complete picture, an envelope of available evidence, a compilation of expert opinions and lab analyses. Some of which he feels Connor should be more than capable of giving him, which only leaves the question of whether or not he is competent to handle what it might reveal.

He's spent a week resting. It's exhausted him, ironically, but leaving also feels insurmountable. So he blinks out what he knows, what he's been told, what he has to make true even if it's difficult.

S-O-O-N

Whether or not it is sort of remains to be seen.]

[plasticasshole]

I realise it must be hard to just sit here and do what feels like nothing, but... you needed this rest, okay?

[He contemplates reaching out, and decides better of it. L doesn't seem like he'd be very receptive to that right now.]

I'm sorry I couldn't have been more help that night. If I hadn't been stuck in my pool...

[He's never felt more useless, honestly.]

[hearthebell]

[At first, it seems like Connor is considering some kind of comforting gesture. L is conflicted about how he'd feel about that, and fortunately, he doesn't have to think too much about it. Connor makes the decision for him, ultimately choosing not to reach out. A relief, perhaps, all things considered.

Something is odd about Connor's statement, though. He blinks out only a few letters this time.

W-H-Y?

Connor was stuck; Connor also couldn't have known what was happening. What reason would he have to feel guilty?]

[plasticasshole]

Niles came to visit me that night. I was blind, so it wasn't hard for him to take my watch. I realised he must be about to attempt something when I couldn't find it where I left it.

[He sighs, shaking his head.]

Akechi came to visit me afterwards, so I used his watch to send a message to Myr. Ultimately, it doesn't seem like it helped.

[Especially since Niles had taken Myr's watch too.]

...I'm sorry. I couldn't have predicted it... I should have been able to. I wasn't programmed to fail people like this.

[He seems troubled, shifting in his seat and looking disappointed with himself. It's less that he has any legitimate reason to feel guilty, and more that it's been drilled into him that he is an advanced prototype detective who should just know these things. Because the only other option is failure, and failure is unacceptable.]

[hearthebell]

[L rubs distractedly at his temple with the heel of his mutilated hand. While he's too savvy to properly buy any of this, he is also unable to properly question it. Even Connor's profession of regret seems fully genuine, to the point where L fully believes it. That's frustrating, rather than reassuring, because so many pieces are still missing, and there are robots better than L at offering comfort even at the best of times.

Which... these currently are not, of course.

He chuffs a breath out through his nose, a humorless sound as he tensely shrugs one shoulder and looks away.]

[plasticasshole]

[He glances at L, and clears his throat.]

I should get going, at any rate. You should rest as much as you can.

[He gives L a genuine, if not slightly sad, smile.]

I hope you recover quickly.

[He stands, ready to excuse himself.]