Wind whipped at Jubilee's hair as she stood on the roof of the building, panting from the exertion of running to catch up with the others. Before her sat a helicopter, it's blades whirring. Watari was in the pilot's seat, and Light and L were climbing into the passenger seats.

Jubilee stared at the helicopter, then glanced at the open night air all around them and gulped as a sudden sense of vertigo hit her. The loud reverberations of the helicopter, coupled with the the cold night air and the tense energy surrounding her, made her head throb once more. L's thoughts, still whirling visibly above his head and audibly through the air like the chopper's blades, seemed to collide with the distressed yellow around Light and the echo of Misa's pink and oily tinge from downstairs. The pain in her head increased and she winced, but bravely took a step forward to join the others. When she reached the helicopter, however, she suddenly gasped and stumbled before catching herself, then shook her head.

"I can't," she said, her breathing shallow. "I don't know if I—" She glanced frantically around herself , at the skyscrapers surrounding them and the dark night sky. The sight made her feel even dizzier than before and she put a hand against the helicopter to steady herself. "I...was never very good with heights, but...this is..." She broke off, squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her teeth against the dull ache in her cranium. Forcing herself to take a deep breath, she looked up again into L's gray eyes. "I think I'm overwhelmed," she whispered to him helplessly, barely able to grasp onto her thoughts as the physical and mental noise all around her roared through her mind.

L assessed her calmly. "You will feel better once you're inside the helicopter," he stated matter-of-factly.

She began to shake her head again. "No—" she began, before another wave of pain hit her, worse than any migraine she'd ever had. She bent over, clutching her head in her hands. "I—I—it's too much," she stuttered incoherently. "I see...too much, and...and..." Images of Higuchi's red eyes, the purple-haired demon, the black notebook, the roar of the chopper's blades and everyone's screaming thoughts assaulted her mind. Her brain felt like it was going to short circuit. She babbled on, "I hear everything, everyone's fears and thoughts and doubts, and..." She gave a sudden weak and slightly hysterical laugh. "And I'm afraid of heights, and..." She winced again, tightening her grip on her skull. "My head..." she whispered through the haze of pain, unable to think straight. "Is...killing me..."

A hand suddenly rested on the top of her head. Her senses stabilized ever so slightly. Taking a deep breath she looked up again, expecting to detect Hellenos, but instead she saw that it was L who had reached out and placed a hand over her head.

"Miss Amachi," he said quietly, but still loudly enough to be heard over the helicopter. "I know that it feels hard right now—perhaps more than I can know or even relate to. But," he continued, his gray eyes holding her gaze steadily, "You must remember that you do not have to be enslaved to how you are feeling. That, however challenging it may be now, is only temporary. I promise you can have all the rest you need when we get back, but this task right now, this moment, is critical. And you need to be there for it."

For a moment she wanted to shout at him, to scream at his utter lack of compassion for the state she was in. But she felt the warmth of his hand on her hair and saw the straight line over his head, and knew that the opposite was true. That he was showing her compassion—but that he also had the boldness to push her past her pain and her problem, rather than commiserate with her in them. Even so, Jubilee felt her courage and fortitude failing.

"No," she said, shaking her head again. It still hurt, though not as badly as before. She was suddenly eager to get off this roof, out of this roaring wind, and away from this whole situation for a little while. "You don't need me there. Your plan is perfect. Go on without me—"

L removed his hand from her head. Thankfully, the high level of pain from before didn't return, though there was still discomfort.

"You are mistaken," he said, his expression aloof. "You believe that you are not necessary for the plan because you don't have a specific part in it. Indeed, you often believe that you are not necessary to the entire investigation." He paused, before going on, "But nothing could be further from the truth. The task force needs you." He gazed at her a moment. The lights over his head brightened, then softened, even as his gray haze grew more shadowy and veiled. He continued firmly, "I need you, Miss Amachi...for the case, and for this plan, to be there and do what only you can do."

Jubilee gaped at him, speechless. I need you, he had said. For the case, but still. She was struck by both the uncharacteristic sentiment of his statement, and his unwillingness to flatter or to manipulate. Bright colors shone and flashed through his haze, brightening and dimming again and again. There was still no pink mist. But the line over his head stayed straight and true.

In the space of silence between them, L held out a hand to her in wordless invitation. As the helicopter blades continued to roar and the wind continued to whip at her hair and clothes, Jubilee looked at his hand and considered it. It held the unsaid invitation to walk out of her fear and her pain, and into faith and trust. To accept mutual trust with another person. And, perhaps, even find a friendship. And that, she suddenly decided, was something she could accept. Slowly, she reached out and took L's hand, allowing him to help her up into the helicopter.

Instantly, the remaining pain in her head lifted. Blinking, she saw Hellenos already seated beside her, on her left. He beamed at her.

She turned to L on her right. "Thank you," she said quietly. For more than you may know.

He gave her a short nod, then faced the front.

"Watari," he called over the roar of the engines. "We're ready."

Once Jubilee was buckled in to her seat, L rose from his.

"What are you doing?" she asked, looking up at him wide-eyed.

He didn't answer her and addressed Watari instead, who had also risen from the pilot's seat. "You've packed what you need, yes?"

"Yes, Ryuzaki," answered Watari, shifting himself back into the passenger area. "It's right here." He knelt down and opened a long, black case on the floor. Inside was a rifle. Jubilee gaped, and Hellenos' presence winked out from beside her.

"What-" she began again, but L spoke once more.

"Light, join me up front, please," he said, climbing into the pilot's seat and buckling himself in.

Light wordlessly unbuckled his seatbelt and obeyed. Without further hesitation, the helicopter began to rise into the air.

"I didn't know you could pilot a helicopter," remarked Light, slipping on a headset with a mic. L had already done the same. "That's pretty incredible."

"It's fairly simple," responded L. "You can figure it out with intuition."

Jubilee would've been impressed at witnessing yet another one of L's many talents, but she was preoccupied with the current state of affairs. The two men's voices drifted softly into her mind, their volume amplified over the roar of the helicopter by her heightened senses.

"Hey," she yelled over the din. "If you've got so much intuition and knew you were going to be the one flying, why didn't you just get in the pilot's seat from the get-go? Also, why does Watari have a gun?"

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

L gave a brief, quizzical glance backwards at her. "I suppose you really do hear everything, like you said," he commented placidly, facing front again. "Interesting."

"I hear you not answering my question either," she shouted back. While she could hear them, her own voice still took effort to be heard.

"First of all, that is a sniper rifle," responded L smoothly. "This," He fished out a pistol and held it in the air between thumb and forefinger. "Is a gun. Speaking of which—" He extended the firearm to Light. "Perhaps you should hold on to this, Light, just in case."

"No thanks," said Light. "Firearms aren't allowed in Japan, unless you're a police officer."

"You know," said L, withdrawing the weapon, "I'm sure your father would say the exact same thing."

"Excuse me," called Jubilee from the back, squashing down her shock at seeing yet another weapon. "None of that answered my questions. You're not planning on killing anyone, are you?"

"No, Miss Julie." It was Watari who spoke now. He paused from cocking and loading the rifle and looked up to give her a reassuring smile. "This is just a precautionary measure to apprehend Higuchi, should he try to make an escape in his vehicle. I don't intend to hit any flesh." He winked and added, "Don't worry...I'm a very good shot, even at my age."

Jubilee shook her head in wonder. An old man who's handy with a sniper rifle, and a genius loner who can pilot a helicopter?

"The two of you are just full of surprises, aren't you?" she said.

Watari gave a little bow at the waist, then turned away to position himself next to the helicopter door.

"To answer your other question, Miss Amachi," began L again She started, having forgotten that she'd asked another question. "The reason I delayed getting in the pilot's seat was because, one, Watari was already starting up the aircraft for us when we were making our way upstairs. And two—" He turned again to give her a pointed, but not unkind, look. "I anticipated that you might need some encouragement. You didn't seem to be doing too well while we were downstairs, and I deduced that you were experiencing a sensory overload."

Jubilee blinked. So he had noticed what was going on with her, even before they'd gone on the roof.

"Dad, Higuchi's on his way to Sakura TV," said Light, who had opened a channel to Soichiro over his headset. "He'll be there in less than fifteen minutes. Are you ready?"

"I don't need my son asking if I'm ready," Soichiro's response drifted into Jubilee's mind, though only Light and L should have been able to hear it. "Of course I am."

L spoke up. "Wedy should be joining you shortly to prepare for the ambush, along with Aiber and Mogi."

"Understood."

The minutes passed by in a blur as they flew. Jubilee drummed her fingers nervously against her seat and occasionally asked questions.

"How will the others ambush Higuchi if they can't let him see their faces?" she yelled towards the front. "Won't apprehending him be dangerous for them?"

"They'll be wearing tinted helmets," responded L, not bothering to raise his voice.

"Oh," said Jubilee, feeling stupid. Duh. She lapsed into silence again, then asked a few more questions before she got tired of yelling and stopped speaking entirely.

Has fifteen minutes passed? she wondered to herself, and then took a few deep breaths to calm herself. Keep it together, Jubilee...

"They should be ambushing him right about now," said L quietly from up front.

Just then, Jubilee felt a quick but sharp pain sear her right arm. "Ouch!" she cried in surprise, grabbing her arm.

Before L could turn to question her, another voice crackled over the men's headsets and into Jubilee's mind. It was Mogi.

"L, Higuchi has a gun on him! The Chief's been shot...Higuchi is escaping!"

Alarm filled Jubilee, and the yellow tint around Light spiked with worry, before Soichiro's voice came across the headsets as well.

"I'm alright," said the older man's voice, sounding slightly strained. "It's just my arm. If we pursue him right now, we can still catch him. Let's hurry!"

Light breathed out a quick sigh of relief, before catching sight of the console's monitor that was tracking Higuchi's vehicle. "This is bad," he muttered. "Higuchi's escaping from Sakura TV." The yellow around him darkened once more.

Around L, too, colors darkened. His voice was tense when he spoke. "This leaves us with no choice. We'll have to move in and apprehend him." He called towards the back, "Watari, are you ready?"

"Yes," answered the older gentleman, sliding open the side door and positioning himself on his stomach. Cold air whooshed into the aircraft, sending goosebumps along Jubilee's exposed skin.

L retrieved the gun again and, without turning around, extended it behind himself to Jubilee. "For you, Miss Amachi," he said. "Since Light won't deign to take it."

"What?" she said dumbly, forgetting to shout to be heard.

L deduced her hesitation when she didn't take the firearm from his hand. "For self-defense," he explained, still not turning around. "This is Kira we're about to catch, after all."

Jubilee stared at the weapon that was being offered to her. She had never handled a firearm before. The thought entered her head that she might accidentally shoot the wrong person in a state of panic. Lord knew she didn't need anything else added to her criminal history.

"I don't know how to use one," she shouted back at last. "I could be more of a danger than Kira with that thing."

"Very well," said L, withdrawing the gun. More softly, he added, "I suppose you're likely to be safe anyway."

Jubilee blinked at the new color that suddenly flickered around him, one that couldn't be described in human words and that she had never seen from him before. Was that...concern? She'd seen it before over worried parents, older siblings, and even some of the volunteers at Wakahisa. The sight warmed her heart.

"Yes, I am," she affirmed cheerfully. L's shoulders tensed, like he hadn't expected her to hear him.

Such newfound confidence, Miss Jenkins, said Hellenos, winking back into view beside her.

"Well, I've got you and I've got Dad, haven't I?" she said, not bothering to lower her voice. No one human could hear her over the roar of the helicopter. "What could go wrong?"

Hmm. Much as I enjoy the optimistic side of you, I do recall that that is usually a bad question for humans to ask.

His tone was flippant, but for a brief moment Jubilee wondered if the statement wasn't entirely a joke. Before she could say anything, however, the helicopter slowed to a halt midair and she caught sight of bright lights directly below them.

"Police!" she gasped, staring at the road blockade made up of dozens of cop cars, which they were hovering thirty feet over. "I thought you told them not to get involved," she shouted to L.

"I did," answered the detective thoughtfully. "The only person who would do this must be—"

"Aizawa," Jubilee and Light exclaimed at the same time.

"Precisely," said L.

Jubilee felt her heart swell inside of her. For a moment she sensed the ember of Aizawa's presence below them, fierce and determined, at the front of the road blockade. The old gang's all back together again, she thought with a small smile.

Higuchi's car screeched to a halt in front of the blockade. Jubilee dimly heard the sound of the man's raging and panicked thoughts as he hastily backed the car up and tried to veer off again. Just then, a shot fired from Jubilee's right, making her jump. Watari had shot his rifle.

Below them, the car's front tire popped loudly, followed by a hiss, and the entire vehicle careened into a guardrail, finally coming to a stop.

"It's over," breathed Light.

Jubilee's heart pounded. L swiftly but smoothly landed the helicopter. She caught sight of Higuchi's face through his open window, looking terrified, then resigned, and all of a sudden, full of resolve. A dark, black tendril snaked out of his ear and curled itself around his neck as he held up a pistol for all to see, then pressed it against his temple. Jubilee gasped.

"Stay back!" he screamed. "Stay back or I'll—"

Another shot from Jubilee's right, and Higuchi yelped as the pistol fell out of his fingers.

"No flesh, just as I said," said Watari cheerfully, turning to give Jubilee a wink.

"Ryuzaki," Soichiro's voice filled the men's headsets. "Please let me go and make the arrest now." Jubilee could sense the former Chief's presence in a car directly in front of them , alongside Wedy and the others.

"I'll go with you, Chief," said Mogi's voice.

"I understand everyone's enthusiasm," replied L. "But just remember that this is Kira. Be sure to take every precaution when you approach him, and do not let him see your faces." He turned to the back. "Watari, if Higuchi tries anything or makes any sudden moves—"

"Understood," said the older man before L had to say anything else. "I will shoot to stop him—not to kill."

Jubilee watched anxiously as, before them, several officers wearing tinted helmets approached the red sports car with guns raised. Leading them was Soichiro, followed closely by Mogi, both of them unarmed.

"Higuchi," commanded Soichiro in a loud voice. Although he was no longer the chief of police, his tone still carried the weight of authority in it. "Step out of the car and put your hands in the air."

Higuchi, looking completely resigned now, slowly opened the door and stepped out, holding his arms high above his head. In an instant he was pushed to his knees, blindfolded, and handcuffed.

"We've apprehended him," Mogi declared triumphantly through his headset.

Jubilee felt her heartbeat slowly return to normal and her shoulders relax. "It really is over," she breathed to herself.

Then, her breathing suddenly hitched and her heartbeat skyrocketed again as another someone—or something—got out of the car as well.

She had forgotten about the demon.