"The only ones who should kill…are those prepared to be killed."
Escaping The Imperial City
Prologue
The Pieces of a Mosaic
The Demon King's corpse had already been transferred into a plain coffin when it was returned to the palace and left in the hands of the morticians to be tended. The group of men, all clad in pure white uniforms, wore grim expressions as they carried the heavy casket to where they would tend the body. It was tradition for such services to be ready at the palace at any time; however, few expected to be tending the late Emperor that day.
The hall was silent, oddly immune to the chaos outside. The 100th Empress of Britannia had been taken in by her brother's closest guards and cared for while his corpse was taken away. The entire process had been difficult to oversee, though all the morticians carrying the casket were unnerved and guarded. Generally, the warmth of life was gone from a body relatively fast - it was unusual for it to last so long after death.
They had no time to investigate it further before the transport was completed. They marched somberly down the hall when a woman slipped silently through the door a few yards away from them. She wore a tight dress with a unique symbol on the chest and high boots, her long hair falling freely around her waist. She stood out amongst most women, but at that moment, the most eye catching part of her appearance was the pistol in her hand.
"Pay attention, since I'm only explaining your instructions once."
The red light settled on the man carrying the right side of the bottom, directly over his heart. The room was bathed in bright, colored light from the stained glass ceiling. Her instructions and the conversation that surrounded them played through her mind as she pulled the trigger.
"Don't shoot the two carrying the front of the casket first. Shoot the two in the back, then the two in the middle, and finally the ones in the front. They are unarmed, but this will prevent them from having time to react properly."
She made a slight adjustment in aim and fired a second time; the two men carrying the bottom of the coffin both stumbled and collapsed.
"And? If they're unarmed it doesn't matter if they have a few seconds to react."
The other four who remained all whipped around, as she shot the two men in the middle. They all released the coffin at once as the last two made an attempt to reach for their phones to call security.
"And I don't need a concussion to add to things. They'll drop my head first otherwise."
They had no time.
She fired the pistol two more times, causing both of the remaining morticians to collapse. They were dead before they hit the floor. Her expression was impassive as she murdered the six men; only the slightest shadow of worry could be recognize upon her features, though it had nothing to do with guilt. If someone didn't know her well, they wouldn't have noticed it at all. She lowered the weapon and hurried forward, running to the casket though there was no reason to hurry.
Sunlight flooded the room through the stained glass murals in the ceiling, dying the entire room a tinge of red. She grabbed one of the dead man's arms and dragged him a few feet away from the coffin. She carelessly placed her pistol on the floor and nearly tripped over his body as she scrambled over to the coffin.
She cursed inwardly at her foolishness, unable to help but overreact in the unusual situation. She took a deep breath before the stench of death filled the air completely before pushing the heavy lit aside. It only gave slightly, as it was made of the finest material; weight wasn't considered when the coffin was made. Her hands trembled slightly as she gave it a second push, leaning her full weight against the lid. It moved several feet and she slid to her knees in the process, her ankle leaning against one of the dead mortician's hands. The man groaned and attempted to grab her ankle in his last moments of life, but his eyes became clouded before he had the chance to accomplish anything.
I must not have hit his heart directly…
She cringed as she rose to her feet, her worry and anxiety increasing by the second. Her eyes settled on the face of the man in the casket. His expression was peaceful, calm enough to make it seem as thought he were sleeping. She found herself involuntarily holding her breath as she waited; she had tried to remember every fleeting detail of the first time she had died, but the situation had played out very differently all those centuries ago.
His disorderly black hair fell around his closed eyes, though not even the slightest sign of movement could be discerned. In the many days and nights she'd spent at his side, he seemed more peaceful than she'd ever seen him before. Even on the earliest days, his mind had been whirling with plans and cunning traps to set for his enemies. His hands were folded over his chest, just beside the wound that dyed his clothes dark red.
"Are you saying that you love Lelouch?"
"I don't know. But I believe the time has finally arrived for me to stop accumulating experiences and start living."
She reached out and gently lifted his hand, lacing her pale fingers between his bloodstained ones. He still felt warm. Even though his fingers didn't move, they still felt warm and very much alive. She waited rigidly, but the moments felt like small eternities. She almost felt her eyes filling for a second time but refuse to let the tears fall. She held onto his hand tightly, the thoughts and memories in her tired mind frozen.
Finally, after what felt like a small lifetime, she felt his chest rise. She let out the breath she'd been holding as she listened to him exhale and inhale again. His fingers tightened around her hand as his violet eyes opened, at first unfocused. She smiled at him warmly, the shadow of worry fading away. The expression was unusual for her, and he smirked slightly as he sat up.
Never one to let even the soberest of romantic moments stretch on, he released her hand and rubbed the back of his head. "I told you to not to let them drop me on my head," he said lightly, his voice still hoarse.
She chucked and shook her head; feeling relieved enough to simply play along. "Well, I shot them in the order you specified, but they all dropped you at the same time when they heard the gunshots."
"I figured they might do that, but apparently it wasn't preventable," he said as he straightened, grimacing slightly. "How long before this wound closes, witch?"
"Well, regeneration takes longer for new Code bearers. It won't get any worse but it probably won't be healed for another day or more," she explained, taking a step away as he stepped out of the coffin.
"What's the status of the plan? Is Jeremiah on his way with the replacement corpse?" he asked as he stood up. "Have the other witnesses been killed?"
"Yes. I already killed the guards who brought you here with Jeremiah. The replacement has been tended and is already dressed in another set of your clothes; you can change in the room down the hall and I'll burn the blood stained ones. The secured area around my quarters is still intact."
"Excellent. Ensure Suzaku's location is where we decided, not anywhere near the palace. Call Anya and remind her not to launch her temporarily, replacement Knightmare indiscriminately. She has no common sense and we can't have her blow our plan at this point. Make sure the coffin is moved before they come to clean up these bodies. Jeremiah has to do it, not Morgues 'R Us. It would seem like a security breech if any external organizations were involved."
"Of course," C.C. agreed with a nod. "I met him before coming here, he's fully aware of his orders."
"Let's go, then," Lelouch said, turning toward the exit on the far side of the hall. I need to be in disguise before anyone arrives."
The serene smile she had worn since he woke up didn't falter as she took a step closer to him, closing her eyes and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He returned the embrace gently, at first surprised by the uncharacteristic display of affection. A single tear escaped her closed eyes and rolled down her cheek, but she doubted he noticed.
"You're not acting like yourself at all today," he remarked, sounding a bit bemused.
"You've been making me worry a lot..," she said quietly, "Lelouch."
Final Hikari: I don't own anything from Code Geass. And if I did, there might have been a kissing scene where Lelouch made the first move and didn't end up getting slapped. XD But forgive me! When I write too many words a day, weird things like Morgues 'R Us pop up. XD
Euphemia: -slight frown- That sounds somewhat familiar…
Final Hikari: It's from Code Geass Abridged by TAS. It's the best abridged series for CG…I highly recommend it to anyone surfing YouTube, looking for a laugh. XD
Euphemia: But it kinda killed the moment…
Final Hikari: Eh heh heh. XD Anyway, this is just the prologue; the next few chapters will be quite a bit longer, despair not. And please consider how unusually C.C. was acting throughout those final episodes before I get any crap regard characterization. -sweat drop-