Author's Note : Everything written like this are toughts or dream.
19th August, 2010 A.T.B. Tokyo Settlement suburbs
It have been a long journey. From Kyoto, to the north, until they arrived Tokyo. Then, it was only a matter of finding the good address. A task he had just achieved, The golden plate ate the entrance of the property victoriously showing :
Ashford Academy.
He knew where did the academy was being built, but he ignored if he would find there the man he was looking for. And he better had to fin him soon : Exhaustion and hunger had already took the best of him. But he couldn't fall, not now, not with nunally on his shoulders.
He difficultly manage to walk the last few meters before he was stopped by a large wooden door. His best chance at finding him, considering it was the only building of the whole campus to have lights on.
With the remnants of his strength, he knocked at the door, and waited. However, when the door opened, and that a gush of nice hot air in this cold night blew over him, he was unable to muster the strength to resist the power of Sleep, felt in a deep slumber, and onto the floor.
Well, he was catched before impact by a young japanese maid, which, with great care to her precious luggage – Two imperial siblings – walked through the hall and into the dining room to present her most recent catch.
« Master, those to children knocked at the door, they are unconscious » shouted a worried Sayoko, earning glare from Lady Eugenia Asford, and her husband, James Ashford. Fortunately, this was not the reaction of Ruben Ashford, Or his grand-daughter, Milly Ashford.
« Good god ! They are alive ! » Exclaimed more for himself than for his family the obvious about the Vi Britannia Siblings. He quickly rose from his chair and took in his own arms an unconscious lelouch, which at the time was shaking from the cold he had to endure. Yes, they were alive. But for how long ? He could feel how Lelouch was famished, it seemed like he had only skin and bone !
« Armand, please, prepare some soup for those two fellas, Sayoko and I will find them a bed where to rest. »
In a mere matter of minutes, a dull dinner had become a frantic fight against death. Ruben knew that if he failed to give Lelouch and Nunally enough strength to avoid hospitalization, then they would be most likely found by the imperial forces, and would be bring back to their fathers, only to be used as bargaining chips again and again.
And next time, he would not be in the same country building an academy to save them.
Nunally was generally feebler, but she had been spared the need to walk. Lelouch, stronger, had suffered from the long walk from god knows where to the Academy. They were both in a concerning situation, but right now Nunally was awake and eating her soup, while Lelouch was in Ruben Ashford arms and refused to wake up, much to the old man's dismay.
« Wake up, lelouch, it's not the time to be a lazy imperial brat » whispered, in an almost pleading tone, the leader of the Ashford family. Only to be stopped in his toughts by a giggle
« I know how to wake him up, Gandpa » Said a little demon. Quickly, Milly climbed on the bed, getting close enough to lelouch to start pinching his effect was less spectacular than usual, but Lelouch did woke up, if he grumbling and jerking in Ruben's arms were of any sign.
Five minutes after, Lelouch was still semi-conscious, but somehow the smell of soup put him in automatic eating mode. Ruben was happy, he felt like he had just saved a newborn child from a way too early end. It amazed him how Lelouch looked like a 10 years old big baby. Of course, it was Milly who did not missed to point it out with delight, while taking a picture with and old polaroid. She called it « her first tool to blackmail Lulu » with a devilish grin.
Nunally was already tucked in bed and sleeping soundly, while lelouch was at his third bowl of soup. Ruben did not knew what happened, but knowing the young prince's devotion to his sister, it would not be surprising that he starved himself almost to death so that Nunally would have almost normal meals.
It was another reasons that would make Lelouch's death unacceptable : He was not only smart, but kind, and selfless. Ruben had always tought that Lelouch would became the next emperor. He was as smart as Schneizel. However, he did not grew up as a respected member of nobility. He was the son of a commoner, and as such, despised. He had inherited from his mother the desire to conquer, to climb up, and to show to the others his full potential.
Schneizel, as smart as he was, only got a meek desire for conquest. For schneizel, everything he was not already possessing would need only a bit a discussion and conviction to obtain. All in all, Schneizel was a diplomat deep at heart.
Ruben was sure of it. Lelouch will be haunted by his past until he get full payment for what he suffered.
The old lord of Ashford would have one duty : Educate Lelouch, so that he would not loose himself in his fury and desire for revenge, and transform a path for justice in a trail of tears.
20th may of 2023 A.T.B. Antarctic coasts
It have been Five years since he had started his rebellion. And what have been achieved ?
Nothing.
Well, that was not true. He had raised armies, created nations, saved a godlike creature …
… Killed his family.
He remembered the death of his first sibling. A pansy prince with no connection with the real world, killing thousands of innocents to achieve horrid goals. He had felt no guilt, and yet he had threw up.
The second sibling he killed was an accident. He accidently killed the soul of a gentle, kind-hearted, selfless princess that would have been the jewel of the crown. Then he destroyed her body. Killing all hope his best friend ever had, and turning said friend into a monster of his own.
The third one died because he had been betrayed by this very friend he turned in a monster. The thir dof his siblings was his full-blood sister. His reason to fight in the first place. When she died, he had been unable to move on, until he was betrayed by his men. He ran away, thanks to the sacrifice of his adoptive brother. Another death.
He found where his father was trying to kill God. And also discovered his mother there.
Everything he had believed in had fallen appart. So he killed them. His father, responsible for his exile, his separation from his sister. His mother, who in fact never cared about him or his sister. He destroyed their plans of destroying god, and ran farther away.
He have been at peace here, in antarctica. This scientific outpost belonged to the geass order, so noone really knew it ewisted. He finally forgot everything and everyone.
He became a snowflake.
Until today, when they came to him.
Her green long hairs, her yellow cat eyes had missed him. She hadn't changed in so long.
His blue hairs were longer, and ended up into a tail.
Her dark green hairs were most discheveled than before. Her glasses were still as ugly as her face.
Her blonde hairs and blue eyes were still shining. But her devilish smirk had disappeared..
She was more mature than the last he saw her. She looked angry at him. He had trouble to remember the details, it was a painful moment he had almost successfully forgotten. But her fiery red hair and a ocean-like eyes reminded him of how much she deserved.
They were all here. Silent. Did they expected him to speak first ? He haven't spoken for so long ! Would he remember how to speak ?
He gulped.
Only seeing them made him remember. How dare they make him remember ?! After all the pain he had to suppress those feelings, those memories, they were here, to reopen his wound ! Why would they come ! How stupid were they no to understand that a man's only reason to live alone in Antarctica was obviously not to be disturbed by other stupid human beings !
His anger broke and disappeared when the boy … no, the man now, when the man gave him a bear-hug. All the others came to hug him, with maybe the exception of the ugly girl.
It took him only two seconds to understand. He was not angry at them, but afraid of them, of what they meant. Responsibility, awareness, life. He did not wanted to forget, he wanted to stop the pain.
This day, and for the first time since the day of his dear sister, Lelouch Vi Britannia cried.
22th August of 2010, Ashford Academy
The sun was bright in the sky, and birds should have been chirping in the air. But all that could be heared if you opened the windows was the noise of building workers. Ashford academy was almost completed, as Ruben Asford wished to open the school at the same date as every other academy of Britannia. A symbol of how fast things vere evolving in Japan, of should we say now, Area 11. Lelouch and Nunally would most likely attend school here. But they couldn't use their names anymore.
« Hey, Brother, what are you thinking about ? »
« Well, nunally, I was thinking about school. I wonder if I will be ready to attend school when it start »
And it was true. While Nunally have been in good condition at the morning, his body was taking time to heal. Of course, it had to do with the superior amount of exhaustion, and him sacrificing his meals to Nunally's well being. Ruben had laughed to his heart content's while hearing this, saying that he had guessed it well. And he had laughed with renewed viguor when he saw Lelouch grumbling about 'not being so predictable'.
But it was now 3 days ago and he was still to weak to walk !
He swore he would remedy to this lack of strength, immediatly after doing more important things of course.
« Don't worry brother, I am sure our teachers at Aries gave us a good education and that we have a bit of time before you need to actually work » said the ever-happy blind girl.
It was true. He had time. And School would be a good way to prepare for what he had in mind. He had been really close to death, he could not allow it to happen again. Nunally shouldn't be alone. He won't abandon her.
« I am not worried, Nunally. Just curious. »
Nunally just nodded her head, and settled herself on the bed, next to Lelouch. It was a calm afternoon, and for her, it could not be more perfect : she was with her brother. She wondered how Euphie was doing, in pendragon. She hoped the pink-haired princess would found another game partner. She felt a bit guilty about this. Euphie must feel alone …
She stopped worrying when she heard a small whimper. Or was it a snore ? Lightly, she touched Lelouch's face. No answer. She still felt a bit sleepy herself, and quickly nestled her head against Lelouch's shoulder.
When Sayoko arrived to check upon the young pricne, she found the two siblings cutely sleeping together. Nunally was especially cute, she looked like she was protecting her big brother. However, as she looked with more attention, Lelouch looked in discomfort. The maid checked for fever, but it was not that. A nightmare, maybe ? The young boy must have seen horrible things.
There was no ground. No sky. Everything was dark, except a bright light far away, and a big blue ball, with white, brown and green. Earth ! It was planet Earth ! It was so calm … and strange. The strangest dream the young boy had ever done.
« Finally, it is working. » a booming baritone voice said behind him, forcing the young lelouch to turn around and look in his surroundings, only to find a naked man. It was getting really weird.
The man was naked, but seemed genderless. He had no colors, except for his red eyes who also beared two bird-like sigils. His long hairs were black, and encompassing his shoulders was another bird-like sigil, which was the only bit of skin with color. His face made him uncomfortable, it felt foreign and familiar in the same time.
« Who are you ? » asked a bewildered young lelouch. « And why are you naked ? »
« Souls have no use of clothes. Look at yours. » answered the man. Young lelouch instinctively reached to cover his most intimate parts, except that there was none.
« Do not panick. Your body is perfectly complete, and you are as sane as you could be. I contacted you during your sleep, to bring you here, in the realm of souls. And as for angels, sex is useless for souls. » The mysterious man explained, smirking.
« WHO ARE YOU ? WHAT DO YOU WANT ? » screamed the young lelouch. It was too much. This dream was turning into a nightmare.
« I am one of your possible future. And I want to help you. I understand that you have little to no patience today, after what happened during the last week. It was just a first contact, a trial for us. I will contact you again in a week, so sleep well ! » And with that the man turned around and started to walk away in the void.
« Wait ! » lelouch wanted to run after him, to stop him, but to no avail. The bright light was becoming stronger, it was getting near, until …
« WAIT ! »shrieked lelouch, almost jumping out of his bed, waking up Nunally and startling Sayoko. He had little time to understand where he was as Sayoko and Nnunally glomped him to calm him down.
17 March 2026 A.T.B. Antarctic coasts
Lelouch had just 'woken up' and was taking in his surroundings when Nina entered the communication room.
« The datas are incredible. We did managed to create and maintain a trans-temporal communication link. I should be able to create a way for usual minds to do it. According to the radiations levels, should a non-immortal human try this out, his brain would fry. Eh, are you listening to me ? »
No. He couldn't focus on her monotone and emotionless voice. It have worked, obviously, and he was still there, since he was also immortal. He had more bothering things to take care of.
One of them being Nina.
« Tell me Nina, you really don't feel any subsiding anger against me ?
-As I previously explained you, the Tetra-Methyl-Hormon number 57 I created force my brain to maintain a certain emotionnal equilibrium which prevent ...
-Yes » said lelouch, cutting Nina's declaration. It was always the same one anyway. « But Why would you suppress those feelings ?
- After the launch of Damocles, I understood that s, that no matter how smart I was, my emotions made my brain inefficient. I cured this by controlling every emotionnal aspect of my psychology. And actually I am working over suppressing other useless body functions such as reprodu …
- But does it make you less human ?
- Less human than what ? My creations killed millions peoples, And from the very start I was not interested in having kids.
- I see.
- And you, Lelouch ?
- Me ?
- Do you consider yourself Human ? Are you angry after me, knowing that the weapon I created, FLEIJA, killed Nuna…
- Stop. If I hadn't killed Euphemia, you wouldn't have started to build FLEIJA in the first place.
- I think I would. It was the natural evolution of my work. Observe the behaviour of sakuradite on microscopic scale was good, but not enough. We do live In a macroscopic world. I would have needed FLEIJA to analyze the properties of Sakuradite. Without it, the Higgs-Graviton reactor would not even be a dream.
- I know. How the prototype is going after all ?
- The preliminary tests have been rescheduled because of the snow storm. Yet it is expected to achieve a 100g initial acceleration over a duration of slightly less than one milliseconds.
- With that, damocles will not stand a chance.
- Lelouch, why do you bother to free this world ? With the trans-temporal communication array, you could just guide your younger self in this new timeline.
- I might be creating a peacefull world with him, it won't be ours.
- So, you are still dedicated to create peace in this timeline ?
- Yes, nina. At all cost.
And here it is ! OMEDETO !
PS : I just copied Lloyd shaking his arms and screaming omedeto. My bottle of water lay on the ground and my feet are wet. I can really congratulate myself.
So, what his happening ? What is this strange stuff ? Lelouch talking to lelouch ?
It is in fact a slight uchronia. The first diverginf point is in 2018 after Lelouch had killed his father. OTL, he take up the throne of britannia and goes for the kill. But here, unable to keep going on, he run away, in an old base in Antarctica. It should be the same location as the base seen in « The Thing » a horror movie of John Carpenter released in 1982.
So it would locate the scene in Mary-Bird Land, in real life it is the last part of lands that have not been claimed by a country. The base in Carpenter's movie is an old base that was truly used by scientists and US navy in antarctica. I tought it would be a good reference.
This New Time-Line (NTL) differ because OTL Lelouch will try to train NTL Lelouch so that stuff like shirley's death won't happen.
Next chapter : Lelouch's childhood from 2010 to 2017 NTL, and Lelouch's preparation from 2026 to 2051.
Yes, time is not running at the same rate, because while young Lelouch will be contacted on a weekly basis, old lelouch will have to work carefully with what changes are occuring in the timeline because of him, and how he is changing … himself.