=ch1=

Extended to Infinity and Beyond

By Khorose

Summary: A vacation in L's summer home became a disaster. L, Watari, Light, Matt, Mello, Near, and Beyond must find out who was responsible. Suspicions arise, danger lurks in the mansion, and Light's the prime suspect.

AN: This is AU, which means 'Alternate universe' or 'Alternative universe'. Which means that the things in canon did not happen, a killing notebook don't exist, and Death Note is a regular diary without any supernatural powers.

Chapter 1: The Calm Before the Storm

What's done is done
There is still a sun.
Rebuild the shelter, invite all in.
Maybe we'll survive when the Storm begins.

"Are we there yet?" A chorus of voices complained. A black car sped down the dirt road inside a forest. It was getting dark, it was raining, and the mood inside the car was miserable.

The sky was grey and cloudy, thick mist shrouded the scenery, and the forest trail was steep and bumpy. The forest was a secluded place in Japan, and could almost be described as a rain forest, had the animals there not been so few. All they got there are woodland creatures rabbits; squirrels; snakes; and raccoons.

But this unlikely group was heading here for a reason, to to L's summer home as a vacation and bonding time (according to Watari) to get to know each other more. Some of the kids just recently joined the group, like Near, who came a few weeks ago, and Light who had reluctantly joined them a month before that.

Watari sighed behind the steering wheel. It was not easy babysitting six rowdy kids, and it was practically suicide to confine them all in such a tight space.

The eldest child, L Lawliet, was sixteen years old. Yet all he could do was to munch on a cookie as he watched the others bicker about. He had messy black hair that swept sideways to his left, like it was attacked by a giant hair-dryer. It was messy, very much so. His big, wide eyes made him look like a child younger than he actually was. He wore a simple white shirt and baggy jeans, and no shoes whatsoever.

Fifteen-years-old Light Yagami was not doing well either. He was trying to get his diary back from Beyond Birthday. The thirteen-years old was cackling as he dangled the black notebook from Light's reach. Light kept his chestnut-colored hair neat, even though he wove around Beyond in trying to snatch his book. His face was scrunched up and angry, like a child pulling a tantrum.

Beyond dressed similar as L, but his shirt was black instead of white, and he wore sneakers. His hair was slightly neater than L's, and it was longer too, hanging down to his shoulders instead of being swept sideways. His eyes, the most remarkable feature on his face, was red. It was the bright shade of red you would probably associate with rubies or any other glowing gems, and his pupils are ringed with a circle of white.

Beside them in the back seats, seven years old Mello was pulling on eight years old Matt's hair, and five years old Near was trying to pull his white teddy bear from the crevice where it was stuck in.

Mello wore a leather jacket, and a fuzzy scarf made of animal fur, a gun was strapped to his belt, and his blond hair constantly reminded of a walnut. Matt had red hair and had glasses on, and his hands were fiddling with an electronic device, even when Mello pulled on his hair for his attention.

Near had only looked away from his plush bear for a second, but it was enough for it to fall - and wedge itself into the space between his seat and the floor. He pulled on it, but it refused to budge.

"Give it back!" Light wailed, trying to get his diary. The two of them wrestled for a moment, but Beyond used the advantage of his longer limbs (despite the fact that he was younger than Light) to keep it out of the other boy's reach.

"Not a chance," Beyond smirked, then started flipping through the pages, "Ooo, Death Note. Interesting name for a diary. And what's this? You're writing stories? Of our deaths? I'm honored," he snickered. The scratched up letters of the Death Note was written in white, while the entire cover was black. Inside the yellow pages, there are short stories and rants, everything Light write here to expel his anger.

"I- I have anger management issues, okay?" Light gritted his teeth, "Now hand it over!"

Beyond rolled his eyes, "You're such a wuss, keeping a diary in your age. I can't believe you're older than me."

"L wannabe!"

"Cocoanut-head!"

"Atheist! "

"Narcissist!"

"Boys," Watari said at the front, "My patience is wearing thin. We've got ten minutes left until we get to L's summer home. Stop bickering, and settle down."

The noise creased from inside the car, leaving only nervous breathing and the splatter of rain hitting the window. The next ten minutes were silent except for crunches from L biting down on the cookie. Nobody dared to breathe and risk Watari's wrath, and for those who had experienced it before, it was the most frightening thing in your life. The car rocked again, and the mist was fading - revealing their destination.

The car suddenly screeched to a halt and stopped in front of a huge mansion. It was white, with ivy wrapped around some of the pillars supporting the tall building. Rows upon rows of window appeared on the sides, and statues were carved at the side of the gate. On the door, elegant patterns were engraved on it, and the garden was large. Rose bushes poke out from the sides, and there was even a lake at the sides. The children's jaws dropped upon seeing it.

"L... this is your summer home?" Mello asked incredulously. The others couldn't believe it either, "This..house.. You're RICH and you didn't tell me!" He exclaimed.

Beside them, Light was a bit stunned too. It seemed that one cannot judge L by his cover. Based on his scrawny looks and cheap clothes, one would have never assumed L to have this much money. But then again, they should have expected this. L was very good at his job after all.

"I am the world's greatest detective. I don't solve cases for free. I completed every single case I ever came upon. What do you think?" L's tone was bland, and he spoke slowly, as if telling something to a dumb child. Even though all (except for Watari) of them are children.

"You never told us..." Mello repeated, still shocked. In the end, Matt had to physically drag him inside of the house and out of the rain. Black clouds rumbled ominously in the distance, the weather became heavier, like an air of foreboding, and a storm is fast approaching.

There was still a bit of sun outside, but it was decreasing little by little. Watari was worried, he had only brought three days worth of food. They were prepared to stay here for two days, but judging by the size of the storm, he might not have packed enough. It may last days and days while they would be stuck here without any connections to the outside.

Luckily, the distance between here and the next town is very close. If they get past this house and through the other side of the woods, there would be a village with plenty of food and a police station there. There are also phones, but only out of the woods. Watari spent the next few hours showing the children around the town, and have them memorize the path from there to back.

"It would be hard to get there while the storm is at its peak, so we'd better stock up now," Watari commented as he bought the bag of hot chocolate. Beyond saw the jars of jam they bought, and began to devour them like no tomorrow.

"We're going to run out of jam, you know,." L sighed as he watched his backup acting like a child.

"I could say the same to you and your cake," Beyond retorted, his moth sticky.

When it got dark, and trickles of rain came down, it was decided to go to L's summer-house. They read the map on the layout of the mansion, and were surprised at how many secret passages and rooms there were.

"There's no internet connection here," Matt announced glumly, standing in the hallway like a dejected little puppy. He gave a sigh as he hit another button on his computer, and came up with nothing.

"Of course there isn't," Mello snorted, "We're in the middle of a secluded forest far away from civilization. Idiot."

"Hey!"

"Besides, we aren't here for playing video games, Matt. You can do that any time back home," Near said softly. Mello looked briefly surprised that Near was supporting him, but then turned back.

"Yeah! Like he said."

Matt muttered angrily before shuffling to the living room, where Watari had a fire going in the fireplace. L was sipping hot chocolate, Beyond was in an intense game of cards with Light. The two were arguing about something ridiculous, as they always had, and was now debating over the proper names to give to the fish on the cover.

Beyond was conveniently seated facing away from the fire, and the furthest from it. Many of the others were eying him strangely, but he only gritted his teeth and demanded to continue playing the game.

"Any threes?"

"Go Fish."

" No! You're supposed to say 'Go Shark' or something! Sharks are cool, and 'Go Fish' just makes no sense!"

"... But it's really called-"

"No. Sharks eat fish. Sharks are superior to fish, that's why it should be named 'Go Shark'!"

"But humans eat shark!"

"Well, 'Go Human' it is, then!"

"Oh yeah? Sharks also eat humans, so it's still 'Go Shark'!"

"Go Human!"

"Go Shark!"

"Go Human!"

"Go Shark!"

"GO HUMAN AND THAT'S FINAL!"

"GO SHARK AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!"

"GO HUMAN AND KICK YOU IN THE BALLS!"

"GO SHARK AND EAT YOU WHOLE!"

"You do know that this is the strangest conversation I ever heard?" L said drily from his chair, "Besides, death claim all living creatures, so shouldn't it be called 'Go Death'?"

"L! Not you too!" Matt stared at the detective, aghast.

"No," Beyond said firmly, ignoring Matt, "Death isn't a being, so that doesn't count. But it could be called 'Go Shinigami'."

"Shinigamis aren't real, B."

"Of course they are," Beyond snorted softly, "Believe it or not, I'm a Shinigami-human hybrid. Which is why I have red eyes and can see names and life-spans of people."

"Liar."

"How sad," Beyond said sarcastically, "Don't come crying to me when you're dead and didn't listen to my warning, Lawli."

"Don't call me that!"

"Uh, guys?" Light asked, "B, any fives?"

Beyond blinked, "Nope. Go Shinigami."

Matt had to laugh at that, "If you twist the rules to be more interesting, then I think I will join you two in playing 'Go Shinigami'."

They shrugged, "Go ahead."

Beyond smirked, "Go ahead? Maybe, but heads can't beat a shark OR a human."

Light whacked him, "You know what I meant."

In the background, Watari smiled fondly. Things are always interesting when you stick a bunch of child geniuses inside a room together. They tend to argue, but otherwise put their intelligent brains together. With more training, they would work flawlessly together into an unstoppable team. But the problem is, they don't work together flawlessly, or at all.

Meanwhile, Near and Mello were exploring the building. The hallways connecting the rooms together are large, and unthinkably long. They could barely see the speck of light that was the kitchen on the other side of the room, and this hall was straight. It was very spooky to walk around by yourself, and way too easy to get lost.

"There's a ton of unused rooms in here," Near spoke up. His voice echoed on the walls, bouncing across the halls, and piles of dust fell around them. Mello wrinkled his nose.

"'Course, L don't come here very much, obviously," Mello said, "Let's check all the rooms to search for any secret chocolate stashes."

"Not everybody's obsessed with chocolate, Mello."

"Really? Well nobody understands the simple pleasures of life, I suppose," Mello snorted.

"... I think chocolate is a substance that corrupts the brain, gives you cavities, and melt into big, sticky messes."

"Blasphemy!"

Near shook his head, "No, I'm just correcting an idiot from getting diabetes."

"I think L's the closest of all of us to get it, and WHAT did you just call me?!"

"True, L consumes more sugar than all of us combined, but we have not yet seen any affects it had on him. Sometimes I wonder if the sugar jut goes to a different place once it enters his mouth."

"His brain, perhaps it's sugar-powered?" Mello laughed,

"There's a 73% chance on that."

"First B, now you? Why is everybody trying to become L?"

"... Because that's why we enrolled in Wammy's house in the first place?"

Mello flushed angrily, "I know that! But isn't it creepy how you imitate his every move? How he acts, how he looks, and how he thinks? L is really a title, we don't really have to act like that all the time!"

"You do know that B and I have tried it, and now B and I are both above you in the ranking list."

Mello fumed, but didn't say a word. The two walked on silently, passing by a lot of rooms. The light was still on, but the creaking of the floor was creaking loudly. It was creepy, and the two kids didn't like it. A creeping feeling made the back hair of the back of their necks stand up, and it was like invisible eyes followed them from the paintings that decorated the hall.

"I feel like we're being watched," Mello muttered. A tense atmosphere settled as they continued. Near hadn't said a word, dragging his teddy bear close to him.

A while later, the feeling disappeared and the two reached the kitchen. Watari looked surprised to see them there.

"You could have gotten lost trying to find your way here!"

"The hallway's straight," Near deadpanned. Mello muffled a snicker.

"Still it was brave of you two to come a long way here," Watari commented as he continued to make hot chocolate for everybody. Mello bounced eagerly as he watched.

"I want extra marshmallows!"

"Me too."

And with the company of Watari, the two made their way safely back to the living room. L, Beyond, and Light was still playing that card game, and Matt was twitching on the floor. They had gotten fire started in the fireplace, and some of them were roasting marshmallows - or putting them into hot chocolates.

But none of them knew that what Mello had said was true, they're being watched.

A person hurried back to an unknown place, and started plotting.

Hi, it's me, Khorose!

I have decided to try writing a mystery fic. I've planned each chapter from here to the epilogue, and it will be your job to try to solve it before the end!