Author's Note: This story may or may not be in the same universe as Habeus Corpus. I haven't decided yet. This story takes place 32 years after Zero Requiem.
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On a sunny day in June, the camera crews were crowded at the edges of the Rose Garden at Albion Mansion to capture Zero and Prime Minister vi Britannia taking a walk. The weather was warmer than usual, yet Zero appeared unaffected despite being swathed in black cloth and covered by his helmet. Rumor had it that his outfit had some kind of climate-control system built in.
As for the Prime Minister, she wore an enormous hat and a pink sundress, so she looked cool despite not feeling it. A silent bodyguard, almost an accessory, trailed some distance behind her just out of frame.
The scene was rather dull, actually. The media were there mainly to take more stock footage. No shotgun-style microphones were allowed, so the conversation between the dignitaries couldn't be heard or recorded. Nobody was expecting any real news to occur until the press conference the next day.
Prime Minister vi Britannia and Zero stopped by the fountain. The Prime Minister's gaze followed a butterfly. She grinned and made an admiring comment. She looked up at Zero and said something amusing. Zero turned to her and bent down so that his mask was by her face. One of his hands gripped the handle of her wheelchair. Another hand held the armrest. A moment later, he knelt down beside the Prime Minister.
The camera-people stirred. Something irregular appeared to be happening.
The Prime Minister beckoned to the bodyguard who ran quickly to the pair. The Prime Minister said a few words. The bodyguard's eyes narrowed. He began talking into the communication device that looped over his ear.
Zero's grip on the wheelchair began to shake. Suddenly, his hands went limp. He slid down into the arms of the bodyguard. Zero's cloak wrapped around him so that he looked somewhat like a crumpled bat.
The Prime Minister's security detail arrived and began shooing the reporters out of the Rose Garden.
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The suit had been designed to be cool, but merely looking at the sweating, wilting people around him had been enough to make Zero imagine that he also felt hot. As he walked along beside the Prime Minister, he tried to ignore the all-capturing lenses of the media.
The Prime Minister's wheelchair stopped rolling. A smile lit up her face as she said, "Look, Zero. A butterfly. You know, I never get tired of looking at them."
Zero, however, had noticed something somewhat ominous just past the butterfly on the other side of the fountain. Normally, everything he saw had a slightly bluish purple tint to it, an effect of his mask. However, in crisp, vivid color, standing at that very spot was General Tohdoh.
There was no mistaking it. The man was wearing a kendogi, his white jacket and blue hakama trousers. The right panel of his jacket was crossed over the left. Remarkably, there was hardly any gray in his hair even though it had all been gray the last time that Zero had seen General Todoh. He stared at Zero seriously. The butterfly settled on a flower and flapped its wings once, twice, thrice. Just as Zero blinked, the apparition disappeared.
The vision left a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He preferred that the dead stay in his nightmares.
"Zero, you're being awfully quiet." The Prime Minister looked up at him. Her delighted expression suggested that she was about to tease him mercilessly or else propose his imminent defeat at poker later that evening.
"I'm reserved. It's in my character," he murmured.
"And yet, shy people can turn out to be some of the most brilliant actors," she said.
"All the world is a stage," he played along quoting Shakespeare. Despite the dimming tint that normally distorted his view, the colors of the garden flowers were starting to glow noticeably under the intensity of the sunlight. The effect contributed to a feeling of unease in Zero as his knees began to feel a little wobbly.
He leaned in close to the Prime Minister, placed one hand on the handlebar of her wheelchair, the other hand on the armrest.
"There's no need to whisper," said the Prime Minister raising an eyebrow. "They can't hear us."
"I…. I…."
"Yes, Zero?"
"It's…." Feeling very tired, he dropped slowly to his knees. He coughed.
"Is something the matter?" The Prime Minister inquired.
"Hard to breathe," Zero began to gasp. The Geass behind his eyes began screaming at him. "Need help."
The Prime Minister beckoned to the bodyguard. He walks slowly, Zero noted mentally. Noticing the bodyguard's familiar appearance, Zero recognized the man as Aurelius Guilford-li Britannia.
Whatever did Guilford and Cornelia-hime feed their children? Zero thought thickly, This one seems to have turned out anemic.
"He's getting sick," the Prime Minister's voice sounded distant. "Get the reporters out. We need an ambulance.
Getting sick? I am, Zero realized as he began to feel a mild gag reflex kicking in.
Have to get a grip, he told himself. Wait for the audience to file out.
But then, he was falling, down to someplace warm, soft and comfortingly blank.