I honestly do not know much about SAO after the 1st season, so I would appreciate any help with lore and such. I plan for this story to only reside in Aincrad, but I may change my mind. I am currently afraid that I will fail to capture the personality of Code Geass characters since they are so deep. However, I just might just go OOC with the Code Geass characters. Enjoy.
In New Pendragon's chapel, a beauty with lime-green hair was found, her white legs resting on a plush red kneeler, beautiful stained glass showering her in radiant light. The colorful curtains of light casted an ethereal aura around her, and, hands clasped in prayer, her soft honey voice made the scene even more surreal. To C.C., it all seemed surreal. The world was at peace after the death of the Demon Emperor, yet she had not found peace. Instead, she found only pain, having lost her warlock. Even weeks after his assassination, she continued to pray for his soul and hoped God rewarded him for his sacrifice despite all evil he has committed. Blinking her gold eyes, she failed to notice tear stains on the black sleeves of the dress that Lelouch had commissioned for when he became emperor.
Meanwhile, in the United States of Japan, Kallen desperately wiped tears from her eyes as she recoiled from a nightmare involving Lelouch. Similar to C.C., she was also suffering from the loss of the Demon Emperor, the man who destroyed the old warring world and succeeded in building a new peaceful one. She held her knees close to herself, head resting in the created space. Her aqua eyes no longer possessed the same fire that Lelouch came to love but sorrow. Kallen hated him, not for his deeds but for pushing her away. He pushed her to the other side to keep her safe, while carrying all the sins of the world on his back. Wiping fresh tears from her eyes, she casted a heartbroken glance at a huddle of picture frames at the corner of her desk. Even in the dark room, she made out the piercing violet eyes of her love in one of the pictures. Suddenly, a pillows landed of the pictures, pushing some off the desk and knocking others off their stands. As soft thuds are heard from the frames, a soft sob came from the red hair girl. A soft knock was heard at her door.
"Are you ok, Kallen?" A concerned voice asked.
"I'm fine!" Kallen woefully cried between her tears.
Kallen heard a sigh before her mother retreated from the door. She choked out another sob before resting her head between her knees once more. She wasn't going to get any peaceful rest tonight.
Back at the chapel, C.C. slowly got up and stared at the stained glass in dejected wonder. She began to leave the chapel. As her hand was moments from resting on the gold doorknob, C.C.'s surroundings faded to white. Looking up, C.C. found herself floating in white nothingness. The click of footsteps from behind turned her head.
"God", C.C. whispered as if a question before the deity stopped before her.
Even though she couldn't see him, she felt like he smiled. "Yes, my child. I am God."
"Why am I here?" C.C. asked, uninterested in introductions.
She heard a chuckle before a reply. "What are you willing to do to get your warlock back?"
"Lelouch?" She choked out, gold eyes widening.
"Yes. Lelouch vi Britannia."
"Anything" C.C. uttered quickly, without much thought.
She heard God let out a tired sigh. "Instead of Lelouch's soul being granted rest like I planned, it flung itself to a different dimension. It entered the digital world of said dimension and shattered into fragments. You have to go and gather Lelouch's soul back together. Once done, he will return, and we will then decide what shall be done. You have to be quick about this since Lelouch's soul has already altered the timeline of that dimension."
C.C. simply nodded, a determined look etched on her face.
With a flick of his finger, God opened a black portal to the other dimension. C.C. stared at the portal. This was the ticket to get everything she lost back. She would get her only warlock back. Gulping, she stepped forward. The click of her heel resounded in the white nothingness. She took step after step toward the portal eventually breaking into a run, the sound escalated like a rising staccato. Just as she put her a foot into the portal, God shouted, "Oh yeah! Kallen is coming with you!"
"What!?" C.C. shouted in surprise before being sucked into the portal.
After a burst of color, C.C. found herself falling onto a polished marble. Getting up, she motioned to dust off her clothes but noticed that her clothes were different. The black dress and its white sashes were replaced with a loose-fitting royal blue toga. While it offered a lot more freedom, C.C. felt like one wrong move would result in a wardrobe malfunction because the cloth didn't see a problem with exposing a lot of cleavage, not to mention her thighs. The revealing toga held itself up by an elegant sling around C.C. perfect neck. Flowing down, above C.C.'s slim waist, it was pressed together by a gold belt with a modified Geass symbol on it. Below where her hands would rest if she stood ramrod straight, two large gold pins also sported the modified Geass symbol and held the dress together. Instead of securing C.C.'s thighs from prying eyes, the dress exposed them as it smartly flowed back and down her legs, forming a blue curtain. Gold heels with wing designs replaced her previous white ones. Various jewelry pieces adorned her body from hairpins to bracelets.
Finished looking at herself, C.C. absorbed her new surroundings. It was a large bedroom. However, it was open, not only in terms of furniture but also in that the side of the room where the bed was situated against was completely open to the outside world. Round columns with cascading gold curtains that danced with the wind occupied that open face of the room. The architecture of the room was very similar to Britannia's architecture. It possessed Britannia's love for grand scale building and having cloth everywhere, yet C.C. saw some elements from ancient cultures like Egypt and Greece. More important than the interesting architecture was the bed. A white flag with the modified red Geass symbol hanged above it, and the humongous canopy bed had thin red veils hiding whatever or whoever was in the bed. Slowly walking towards the bed, C.C. stopped on its left side. She steeled herself and pushed the cover aside. C.C. immediately recoiled like she just touched fire, hand returning to her side. Covering her mouth in shock, she stared through the veil. Her dainty hands once more moved to cast aside the veil, but, this time, she moved like it was about to disappear and take away with it what she treasured most. Breathing in, she violently threw the veils aside. In the bed and covered in ruby silk sheets was the resting form of Lelouch vi Britannia.
"Lelouch?" C.C. whispered to herself.
Lelouch's face was tranquil, without creases or wrinkles that indicated distress. His ebony hair showed no signs of age. Breathing could be heard from the Demon Prince. He was alive! Fearing that he would disappear from her life again, C.C. softly clasped Lelouch's hands in her own. Out of nowhere, she began to brawl. Her cries bounced off the white marble walls and could be heard by people outside the room.
Through a red curtain, men encased in polished black armor charged into the room with vicious weapons ready to tear apart anyone. Tearing her eyes from her love, C.C. stared at them through teary eyes.
Seeing the source of the commotion, the men visibly relaxed as their massive shoulders slumped. A man with a red plume on his helmet stepped forward.
"Lady C.C., is something the matter?" The guard asked, a question laced with concern. Through the helmet slits, his eyes eyed her wearily, not approving of the close proximity of the Emperor and the leader of his Council.
"Why is he like this?" C.C. asked as she composed herself.
The guard let out a sigh. "Lady C.C., even though you are the leader of the Emperor's Council and the current leader of the Geass Empire, you cannot address the Emperor as 'he'. Furthermore, Lady C.C., do you not remember that the Emperor is plagued by a mysterious disease and is in a coma? You were by his bedside when it happened."
Playing along and wiping her face, C.C. replied, "I'm terribly sorry. The stress of being the leader of the Geass Empire is getting to me. It is truly impressive that the Emperor was capable of handling all this work and with efficiency."
The guard remained silent for a moment before speaking. "I sympathize with you, Lady C.C., but my duty comes before my sympathies. So, I politely ask you to remove yourself from the Emperor's bed."
Jumping up from the bed, C.C. moved to a respectable distance from the bed. The guard nodded in approval. The other guards one by one exited the room, until the guard with the red plume was left. Stopping at the exit's threshold, the guard bowed to C.C. and said, "If you need anything Lady C.C., we will be right behind this cur-"
SLAM! The guard was now on the ground. The sharp plume was now a mess, and his helmet was dented from impacting the marble so hard. On top of the sprawled guard was a familiar face.
"Kallen!?" C.C. cried in recognition.
"C.C.!?" Kallen shouted.
"Captain!" The other guards screamed.
Getting off the defeated captain, Kallen enveloped C.C. in a hug while the guards rushed to their fallen leader's side. Releasing C.C., Kallen asked, "I rushed here as soon as I heard a cry that sounded like you. Are you ok?"
C.C. simply nodded.
"What happen?"
C.C. marched to the bed and pushed aside their curtains, allowing Kallen a perfect view of the sleeping Emperor. Kallen instantly jumped onto the Emperor's bed. "Lelouch! Wake up, you bastard! How dare you pull something like that!?"
A groan is heard from across the room as the captain rubbed his hurting head. "General Stadtfeld!" He shouted in surprise and jumped to his feet at attention.
Kallen ignored him and proceeded to violently shake the Emperor in the hopes of waking him. The guards watched nervously, fearing she would break the Emperor's neck.
"Uh. General, please stop shaking the Emperor. Also, like I said to Lady C.C. before, please remove yourself from the Emperor's bed."
With her hands still on the comatose Lelouch, Kallen glanced a fiery glare at the guards' direction. They visibly took a step back.
"General, I'm begging you. I don't want to use force to remove you."
With a humph, Kallen let go of the Emperor and got off the bed.
"Thank you. Now, as I was saying before, if you two need anything, we will be right behind this curtain." The captain said, who then with his fellow guards hastily left the room.
Glancing at Kallen, C.C. took in Kallen's new appearance. Kallen's red hair was similar to her old style but was much longer, and a gold ribbon tied her hair into a ponytail, which reached her hips. Instead of the revealing toga that C.C. was wearing, Kallen was donned in a large set of armor that was strangely similar to Kallen's Guren. Sharing a large breast plate with the Guren's design, the armor heavily covered Kallen's left arm with a layer of armor and chainmail. While the left arm was heavily armored, the right arm was less so. Chainmail with an arm slit hanged loosely from the arm's joint with the body. Only black armored leather gloves and a vambrace covered the right arm. Similar to the Guren, its massive knee guards were quite prominent. Unlike the other guards, Kallen's armor had gold trimmings and red stripes.
"So, did God bring you here too?" Kallen asked, arms crossed.
Crossing her arms in a similar manner, C.C. replied, "Yes. I assume he also told you of the situation with Lelouch's soul." A nod answered her, and C.C. continued, "Do you have any information of the world we are in?"
Having questioned people on her way to the bedroom, Kallen relayed how they were currently in a virtual world that was designed for a game. "The only problem is that our knowledge is limited, but, from what I gathered, there exists stairways that allow us to travel up or down a 'floor'. Apparently, we are on Floor 99, so we can assume there are at least 98 floors below us."
Holding her chin thoughtfully, C.C. said, "Since I am the acting leader of this so-called Geass Empire, I can send out the army to search for these stairways. Once we find them, we can begin exploring this world and finding Lelouch's scattered soul."
Kallen nodded before glancing at the occupied bed. "I can't believe we have this chance to bring him back."
Sighing, C.C. spoke, "I know. We need to be vigilant though. We are in an unknown world that is most likely hostile. There even might be enemies within the empire since the Emperor fell ill somehow. He could have been poisoned."
"I'll promise I'll protect him."
Seeing the fire and passion in Kallen's eyes, C.C. smirked, "So, you love Lelouch?"
Blushing madly, Kallen denied. "I DO NOT!"
Giggling to herself, C.C. said with a distant look, "It's ok. Me too."
"Wha-? You-? How-?" Kallen gasped out.
Catching a glimpse of the flabbergasted Kallen, C.C. just laughed and walked to leave, waving her hand. "Oh, Kallen. I'm sure Lelouch will be willing to have 2 women in his life. I mean, after all, his father had over 100 consorts."
Kallen became redder than her flaming hair at the thought of having to share Lelouch with the green-haired immortal. Lifting the red curtain to leave, C.C. smiled at Kallen. "Come on, General. We have work to do. Make sure the army is ready for anything. I feel like we will need it."
C.C. disappeared and left Kallen alone in the bedroom. Casting one last look at the sleeping Lelouch, Kallen whispered, "Idiot", before also disappearing behind the curtain.
Over the weeks, C.C. and Kallen quickly absorbed themselves in learning how this world, known as Aincrad, worked. The intricacies of this videogame world remained elusive to them since they haven't met any entity other than A.I.. Having been at the Demon Prince's side since the very beginning, C.C. easily adjusted to being leader of the Geass Empire. The same could be said for Kallen as she founded the Knights of the Round and gathered the most elite warriors the empire had to offer. When not juggling with politics, C.C. played with magic, and, to her surprise, she retained the ability of forming contracts. C.C. quickly used her magic and Geass-granting abilities to strengthen the Geass Army's ranks. All the while, the Geass Army searched for the two staircases, one that led to Floor 100 and the other that led to Floor 98.
Meanwhile, the clearers just defeated the floor boss of Floor 98. A black swordsman stood in the center of the boss room, panting from the taxing fight. A soft hand grasped his shoulder, causing him to turn. The hand belonged to his wife, Asuna, who smiled sweetly at him.
"You, ok?" She asked as she handed him an uncorked canteen.
Muttering his thanks, he drank deeply from it. "Yeah." Wiping his face with his sleeve, he returned the canteen. "I just can't believe we are almost there."
"I know." Asuna smiled softly.
Kirito pressed his forehead against Asuna's. Eyes closed, they enjoyed the moment before ending it with a chaste kiss.
"Hey, love birds! Let's go!" An annoying yet endearing voice shouted.
Separating from Asuna, Kirito shouted in reply, "Coming, Klein."
Pulling on Asuna's hand, Kirito joined Klein and other clearers as they began to climb the staircase to Floor 99. As he climbed, Kirito thought about all that has happened. It has been almost 3 years since they had been trapped in the death game, Sword Art Online. He had found pain yet also love. He turned and smiled affectionately at Asuna, who caught him looking at her.
"What?" She asked through a smile. "Is there something on my face?"
"No." Kirito whispered to her. "Nothing at all." He promptly returned to his thoughts.
After Floor 75, clearers adopted more cautious practices, which helped lower the amount of deaths per floor boss. The boss they had just defeated was very tough and had taken an uncomfortable number of lives. Even though he was level 157, he feared what was on Floor 99. He feared he would lose Asuna, but the remaining 5,000 souls trapped in SAO were close to freedom, Asuna's freedom. After this floor, they can reach Floor 100 and end this death game. They can return to their real lives and not live everyday in fear of death from monsters or PKers.
The creek of large iron doors snapped Kirito from his thoughts. He soon saw the bright lights of stars through the opening doors. The clearers slowly pushed the heavy iron doors open. Finally, the doors slammed wide open, rocks tumbled down in reply. The clearers rushed out the door and took in the new floor. It was beautiful and not naturally hostile. Some shuddered, remembering the floor that was mostly harsh rocky terrain with deadly lakes of lava.
Elsewhere, Geass Army's Ashford Division mobilized upon reports of a loud sound coming from the Ashford Forest. The clinking of armor and weapons and thundering of hooves accompanied the scouting party as it moved into the woods to investigate. Stopping in one the clearings, the soldiers dismounted from their horses.
"Scout the area!" An officer shouted.
"Yes sir!" 50 soldiers dived into the thicket in search of what disrupted their night's sleep.
A couple of soldiers soon spotted the clearers setting up camp around the cliff face that had two huge iron doors installed in it. Rushing back, they reported to their officer.
"Sir, it looks like a group of bandits, but we are not sure. They have strange weapons and armor, and they came out of a cliff face. However, they seem to have just arrived since they are setting up camp."
"Hmmm. It may be the stairway that Lady C.C. and General Stadtfeld have ordered us to find."
"Could be, sir"
"Order the men to move into position. I want these strangers surrounded and taken alive. Alive I say! ALIVE!" The officer clenched his fist and shook it in the air.
The soldiers quickly followed his orders and rushed to their positions.
As the soldiers moved into their positions, Kirito heard a rustle of leaves. Pulling out his trusty Elucidator and Dark Repulser, Kirito shouted into the darkness, "Who's there?"
The other clearers pulled out their weapons as a figure exited a bush and approached them. Their displays lit up and labelled the figure as a level 152 monster. This alarmed them, and all tightened their grips on their weapons. They had never met a monster this high of a level. The clearers usually outleveled the floor monsters by 10 or even 20 levels. They had adopted the practice of outleveling the floor monsters to lower death rates. They expected to still outlevel new floor monsters, yet one that outlevels some of the clearers is approaching them.
The 'monster' approached the cautious clearers. The light of their torches slowly climbed up the entity's figure as it approached. To their surprise, they saw a human figure emerge from the darkness. It was wearing heavy black armor and a sword was strapped to its side. On its head was a black helmet with a red plume.
Softly pushing the readied Asuna behind him, Kirito asked, "Who are you?"
Like a trained soldier, it stood at attention. Its voice reverberated out of its helmet. "I am a captain of the Geass Empire. You are to put down your weapons and surrender yourselves to us."
"What is the Geass Empire?" Kirito slowly asked.
"It is the glorious nation founded by our holy Emperor after 3 years of civil war!" Pride seeped into the captain's voice as he pounded his chest with a closed fist.
"Why should we put our weapons down? There are more of us than you." A voice stated.
"I think not stranger." Other figures wearing similar armor emerged from the dark forest with weapons drawn. The tips of spears and edges of sharp swords glowed in the torchlight. Farther back, Kirito spotted several figures also with weapons drawn on armored horses. All these monsters had levels slightly lower than the captain and put all the clearers more on edge.
"Wait. What do you need us for?" Kirito questioned, desperately searching for a way out of the unfavorable situation.
"I am to take you all alive and bring you before our leader, Lady C.C.."
"If I go with you, will you leave my friends alone?"
"Wait, Kirito. You cannot go alone!" Asuna gasped out in fear.
"No. I cannot guarantee that. However, I think I can take a few of you to her Excellency while leaving the rest under guard." The guard thoughtfully rubbed the chin of his helmet.
"I'll go with him!" Asuna volunteered assertively.
"Me too!" Klein announced.
"Wait, guys. You can't-" Asuna's furious eyes silenced Kirito, who raised in hands up in defeat.
The captain clapped his gloved hands in glee. "Okay. You three come with me. Your weapons please." He stretched out his arms, hands open to receive.
"Do we have to?" Klein hugged his katana.
"Yes!" The guard rumbled seriously.
Hesitantly, Asuna handed in her Lambent Light, Klein his katana, and Kirito his two swords. The captain nodded approvingly. The soldiers encircled the three and guided them away from their fellow clearers.
"Kirito!"
Kirito turned and saw Heathcliff, concern etched his face.
"Stay safe."
Kirito nodded, and the three clearers disappeared behind a wall of black soldiers. Kirito, Klein, and Asuna were led through the forest and saw over 100 soldiers still hidden in the darkness. It was a good thing that Kirito sought a peaceful solution instead of fighting. Following the captain, the trio entered a clearing, where horses waited for them. They imitated the captain and mounted the horses. A kick from the riders spurred the horses into a trot. Exiting the forest, Kirito, Asuna, and Klein looked back and hoped their friends stayed safe. They were in Aincrad after all.
I think that was a good stopping point, and I hope you enjoyed the beginning.