(AN: The music is short, so I'd go to the video, click settings, then click "Loop video." But please try to listen because it sounds really cool with this chapter!)

2nd Person POV

Present 

You freeze.

You hear your heartbeat in your ears.

A burning feeling forms in your lungs.

No matter how hard you try, you can't move. Time seems to have frozen you in this horrible, horrible moment.

"L.....?" You whisper, looking up at the wooden plank.

You begin to tremble. Your heartbeat gets louder and your breathing speeds up.

"No," You whisper, your voice sounding broken. "N-no..."

You slowly start taking strides towards the castle, speeding up with each step until you're sprinting faster than you've ever sprinted before. You feel as the tears start to stream down your masked face.

"L!" You cry as you run. "L!!!"

You burst onto the roof. Your stomach feels sick. "NO! PLEASE, please no!"

You gasp when you get to the plank. "L!" You cry, quickly walking out onto it. "L! NO NO NO! PLEASE!"

You kneel down when you get to the edge and look down at him.

Because... 

Hanging from that wooden plank is the alternate L, a rope around his neck. His body, lifeless. His head lies slightly tilted to the side, his yellow eyes still barely open.

He gently swings with the faint breeze, his hat gone and his lips blue. His hair gently blows with the wind and you want to be sick.

You reach for the rope, undoing it at the top, and pulling him up, squeezing your eyes shut, and praying that this is just a horrible nightmare. Once you pull him onto the plank you hug him tightly, resting his head on your shoulder. Then, you gently lift him into a classic princess carry and bring him back to the roof, gently setting him down.

You lie him on his back and press an ear to his chest, listening in for a heartbeat. Does he even have a heartbeat? If he was never really real, then would he even have one?

No, he must have. Because he felt things. 

You feel your breath hitch when you detect nothing. You lean up and look down at him, panicking.

"L?! L, listen to me! Y-you gotta get up! Please, PLEASE WAKE UP! Y-YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! PLEASE!" You sob, grabbing his hand. You immediately throw your mask off and hold his lifeless hand to your face, letting your tears fall onto it. 

"Please," You whisper softly. "Please, L.... no one listens to me. Please..."

He doesn't reply.

He can't reply.

Not because he can't talk, but because he's dead. 

He's dead. 

"L..." You whisper, leaning down and hugging him to you. "L, don't leave me alone. I... I don't want to be alone anymore...."

You start to loudly sob, not caring that time is running low. "I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE ANYMORE!" You cry.

You cry because he's gone. And he felt things. Everything that happened to him, he felt every moment of it.

And... you cry because you remember how his smile seemed true when he was reading about the real stars. About the real world. He wanted to be real. He wanted to feel. He wanted to live,

And he never got the chance to.

He never got the chance to.

You hug him tightly and cry.

Why even go back at this point? Why go back if you can't take him with you. Why go back if you can't show him what it's like to live, and to truly live.

Why-

Your thought is interrupted when you notice a small roof trap door. You cock your head to the side, then slowly let him go, fresh tears still falling from your face.

"H-huh?" You mutter. "I don't remember this on castle Bleck..."

You slowly open to door and look inside. It appears to be some sort of... sewing room?

You slowly look back at Mr. L's body, bruises covering his neck where the rope is. You begin to tremble, but decide you'll do this one last thing for him. You slowly walk over, then gently undo the rope from his neck.

There are bruises all over his face as well. He doesn't look at peace or like he's resting. He just looks dead. He looks like he died in pain. Died in fear.

You undo the rope and throw it aside, then gently lean down and kiss his forehead.

Then, you put your mask back on and turn to the sewing room. You use the trap door and climb down into it.

It's pitch black, so you pull out the flashlight from earlier. You raise the monocle. There's no glowing, so the last eye isn't in here. But, you don't leave quite yet.

Because you see your doll, torn apart on the fabric table, being in the process of being made into something new.

You frown. "What... what is this?"

You shine your flashlight around the room until you see a small piece of notepaper.

You read.

All the old souls have completely hollowed out. I had to dispose of them and find new targets.

"New targets?" You ask, before continuing. 

Target one -Blumiere - Easy target. Unhappy due to being separated from the love of his life. I'll take the form of her and offer him a happy family life. Easiest target, by far.

There was a red X next to his name. You shiver and think of the tophat Pixl.

Next,

Target two -Timpani - Slightly harder. Unhappy due to being separated from Blumiere in the Overthere. Offer her passage through the garden. Take the form of Blumiere and offer her a loving family and a happy marriage. Also, offer the heroes as friends to seal the deal.

Then, there was a small note.

The last target nearly failed due to all the beings having no true feelings. She nearly refused but changed her mind when I offered a real, permanent family. She said that it wasn't real enough. I had to work hard to convince her otherwise. I could program them to be nice, but their forced sincerity could never compare to the real deal. For this next target, I'll create one of my beings with true emotions and feelings to help persuade the target to be more inclined to stay.

You shiver as you read the next paragraph.

Target Three - Dimentio - Will be easy to persuade, but difficult in the long run due to higher intelligence. His goals are more ambition-based and less love-based. Will take the form of Bleck and offer the perfect world he oh so desired in life, where all his former teammates bow down to him. 

There's a side note.

About the emotions. I've had a difficult time deciding who should get them. I considered Nastasia and gave her a small amount, but in the end, I changed my mind, since she'll hold a key role in this world, and giving her full access to her feelings could be potentially catastrophic. No, I think I've found a better solution. I've found that in the real world, Dimentio thinks Mr. L talks too much. I believe this is the better choice. That way, I can test the emotions, and if he were to turn on me, he wouldn't be able to say anything to the target! For the emotions I'm giving him, I'm just going to perfectly replicate the emotions the real Mr. L already feels, but remove his ability to speak. Leaving nothing but mere perfection, just like the target likes.

You gasp, then look at the final paragraph.

Target Four - Mr. L -

You stop and feel your blood run cold. You feel your hands start to shake, as you swallow.

Unlikely target, Doesn't seem unhappy. Even with Blumiere's disappearance, he keeps himself occupied. Don't waste time on him.

You let out a sigh of relief when you see the next words.

Target Update -

"Oh no," You whisper. "Oh no no no no no."

Target Update - Mr. L actually would make a potential target. He's had a change of heart. Once Dimentio's mine, I'll switch my world to fit him. He was told countless times that it was preferable to be alone than to be with him by someone whom he had feelings for. This placed him in a downward spiral which he covered up with a mission to find Blumiere. The task is simple. Offer him a world where people want him around, and he'll be mine.

You tense up as you read the next words.

I will take the form of Dimentio.

You shake your head, and raise your gaze to the sewing table, where the Dimentio doll was being taken apart, 

And turned into a Mr. L doll.

"No," You whisper. "NO!"

You drop the flashlight and rush back to the roof, seeing the Alternate L one last time.

Your breath hitches at the sight of him, but then you glance up at the moon. It's nearly covered, and you still have one eye left to find. 

"I'm so sorry," You tell him. 

You need to leave, you remember him writing. Even if I feel things, I'm not real.

"Pl.....se, .... g....o." You remember him saying.

So, you go.

You go because even if you can't save him, you can save the real L. 

He'd want you to save to real L.

The one with the quirky voice, the one who you used to find annoying, only now you realize that his presence was comforting. The real L who was so desperate not to be alone, that he hopelessly searched for Blumiere, using everything he could find to try to prevent himself from being alone.

The L who spoke as well. You were the one who wasn't listening to him. You didn't even realize that he was lonely, and now he could be in danger because of it.

The real L, who no, wasn't perfect, but was real. His smile wasn't perfect, but it was quirky and it was his. He spoke too much, but now you're thinking he didn't speak enough. You'd give anything to hear his voice right now. To see him wearing that silly welder's helmet.

He was real. And he was who the alternate L was based on. The eyes of the dolls spied on him to replicate him. It was him. Those feelings he was allowed to feel were Mr. L's feelings. Even if the smile wasn't his, the thoughts were. 

Mr. L loved you. The real one did, which is why this one felt so much. Why this one cared so much. Because the real one cared too!

But, this one still felt. So, before you leave, you leave behind a part of yourself. So he can have something real with him. You grab ahold of your mask, and you gently place it in his hand.

"Sleep well," You whisper, giving his hands a soft squeeze. Then, you slowly stand up, looking down at him.

It hurts...

He never got to be real.

"Ciao, Mr. L," You whisper.

Then, you leave.