I would advise everyone to read my other fanfic, "The last night," before reading this one. There is a small/vague reference to it here, however if you haven't read it, it won't ruin the experience for you. i hope you enjoy
Disclaimer: I do not own Code geass or any of the characters portrayed in the story. They are the property of Sunrise Studios.
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Endless
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The snow drifted slowly onto the ruins of the Narita region. A shrine had been erected by the Japanese after the fall of the JLF at the hands of Cornelia el Britannia, although many shrines had been erected during that time in history. A young lady stood there examining the words engraved into marble, the wind ruffling her long black hair.
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In memory of those whom have their lost their lives
In the battle of Narita
a.t.b. May 27th 2017
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The shrine had been erected years after the actual battle. The empress of Britannia at the time felt that battles where large numbers of lives were lost should remain untouched and remembered. The battle scars left by the battle for Tokyo and Pendragon remained similarly untouched, except by the natural flows of time.
"Excuse me," came a voice nearby, the lady turned her head in the direction of the sound, a small boy was tugging on the side of her pants, her golden irises widened slightly in surprise. "What does the thingy say?" he asked, pointing at the plaque. He was no older than 4 or maybe 5.
"Now, now Vavrick!" came a motherly yet stern voice, "You mustn't bother other people!"
"I'm sorry mummy!" was young Vavrick's energetic reply.
"I'm terribly sorry for my young son; he is still learning his manners." Vavrick's mother apologized bowing.
"Young boys will be like that," the young lady replied, shrugging ever so casually touching the carefully engraved words.
"Mummy what does it say!" Vavrick asked his mother, jumping up and down in an attempt to catch a glimpse at the words.
"It says, to never forget what came before you," came the young lady's voice as Vavrick's attention became fixated to her voice, "and to never forget what people had to go through for you to live." Vavrick's mother examined the young lady oddly, as her son started pulling on her sleeve.
"I'm sorry may I ask your name?"
"Cecaniah," Cecaniah replied.
"That's an odd name for this day and age, is that your real name?" Vavrick's mother replied as Cecaniah just shrugged in response. "Well my name is Marianne and I am a history teacher at Ashfold Academy."
"What of it?" Cecaniah questioned, her gaze never leaving the monument.
"Today is a millennium since the fall of the Demon Emperor," Marianne explained. "There have been debates whether it's time to let these things go; it is after all ancient history."
"Is that so… may I ask your point?" Cecaniah asked boredom evident in her voice.
"There is no point," Marianne replied, a small smile spreading across her features, "You just seem like someone that has also studied history, it's best if you don't let it get the best of you. When I read of Demon Emperor's rule I was shocked to the very core. However I didn't let it get the best of me. No man that evil exists today. It's hard to believe that the Demon Emperor and Empress Nunnally were related in any way."
"I suppose that is true, a millennium is a long time," Cecaniah commented, her attention never wavering from the words engraved.
"I hope it helps," Marianne replied, "Come on Vavrick! We need to go!"
"Okay mummy!" the young boy replied, jumping up and down in excitement.
"It's been a pleasure to meet you Cecaniah, however I must be off. My husband Charles can get into a fair amount of trouble if left alone," Marianne explained chuckling to herself, "Please think about what I said."
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Cecaniah sighed as she heard the footsteps of the mother and son pair fade into the distance. The current date was a.t.b. December 17th 3019. The world the Demon emperor had left in his wake was nothing but ash waiting to be rebuilt by the pair of Zero and Empress Nunnally. The road the pair walked wasn't an easy one, but all the sadness, all the fighting and all the grief, all of it was washed away when the Demon emperor became nothing more than a mere memory.
Cecaniah looked up into the morning sky. The clouds were overcast today, the first signs of the oncoming snow. Touching the monument once more, Cecaniah left in the directions of the mountains.
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It's a funny thing memory. It can play tricks in one's head at the oddest of times. It can bring ideas, concepts and beliefs back with a single random thought while keeping so many hidden from view.
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The Narita Mountains had been turned into a small tourist attraction. Walk ways had been set up to examine the ruins of where the JLF made its last stand and how from their defeat the Black Knights had their first victory. Cecaniah looked up over the cliff that saw the devastated battle grounds. The snow had slowly started to fall, resting ever so softly onto her shoulders, as well as the young male who stood examining the battle grounds next to her.
He smelled of pine needles and snowflakes, more than the environment that surrounded him. It was the smell of a person that was unrestrained by time. He was resting; elbows bent against the walkway frame, overlooking the view. His black school uniform contrasted greatly against the white backdrop that continued to fall from the sky. The most striking thing about him, however, was the helmet which he wore upon his head. It was the iconic Zero helmet.
Cecaniah walked up besides the male, staring questionably at the helmet he wore.
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"Can I help you?" he asked, shifting his gaze from the ruins to the young lady beside him. Her golden iris's widened in shock at the sound of his voice. It wasn't the synthesized voice that normally came from the enigma that was Zero, but a voice that was both familiar and foreign at the same time. Cecaniah didn't reply, she could only continue to stare at the male. "It's the helmet isn't it?" he continued aware Cecaniah's state, "the iconic Zero helmet it's amazing how easy it is to purchase one of these." He laughed in the morning air smiling under the mask.
"May I ask your name," Cecaniah asked, as she came over her shock. His voice lingered in the back of her mind, a memory impossible to grasp and tie down.
"Now that is an appropriate question to ask someone you just met," he continued, " however a name is just the prattle of sounds, it doesn't necessarily hold any power." Annoyance flashed across Cecaniah's features, were people always this frustrating? "But I suppose for this lifetime you can call me… Zero."
"Zero?" Cecaniah asked as Zero nodded in confirmation.
"He was one of the greatest hero's in history," Zero explained, "So for the purposes of this conversation you may refer to me as Zero Miss-?"
"Cecaniah," Cecaniah replied, looking at the man in front of him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Cecaniah," Zero greeted bowing low. If he were wearing a cape, it would have easily been picked up by the winter wind.
"So tell me Zero, why are you here today?" Cecaniah asked, turning her attention to the now falling snow, it was quickly covering everything in a blanket of white.
"Trying to remember," Zero replied chuckling all the while, "Trying to remember a promise I have already long forgotten."
"Then we are one and the same right now," Cecaniah replied, looking out to the ruins alongside the man known as 'Zero.' "It's funny what time can do to a person's memory." The pair gazed out over the Narita ruins in silence. Zero stood as if in thought or even a dream while Cecaniah was merely a companion besides him. Neither person knew how long the quiet lasted; there was no reason to keep track of time. "How many life times have you lived?" Cecaniah finally asked, her voice almost lost in the frost that existed in the air. Zero shrugged in response.
"Does it matter? I have gone by many names and have had many different lives," he explained, his voice devoid of any emotion.
"Is that why you wear the mask now?" Cecaniah asked as if probing ever so slowly into Zero's shell. Like the original 'Zero,' a man made up of secrets and lies.
"The mask doesn't really matter," Zero continued to explain, "The mask is never changing, merely a symbol. If I were to take it off, each life I have ever lived would have the same face staring straight back at me."
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Cecaniah once again sighed as she leaned on the railing like the man next to her. Silence had once again enveloped the pair but there was no need to rush things for those that had time. "So what's your role in this life time?" she asked eventually, as Zero continued to gaze forward.
"Nothing out of the ordinary as the previous lifetimes to be honest," Zero shrugged, "Protect the peace so the world is in balance, do what is needed to be done so those that those alive continue to appreciate life. People's hearts are ever so easy to manipulate once you know how to do it. I've had all the time in the world."
"You must have had a lot of time to perfect such things," Cecaniah commented, watching Zero slowly climb the railings. His feet now dangled over the cliff edge, his back resting against the fence admiring the view. The snow continued to fall.
"I suppose I have," Zero agreed, making himself comfortable against the railing. "All living things want attention, regardless if that attention is real or not. If the person believes the attention is real, then they will believe and put their trust in it. That is the key to a person's heart. That is the key to bend a person's will."
"How many different lives did it take for you to figure that out?" Cecaniah asked, watching Zero's back. He merely shrugged in indifference.
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Zero sat in silence, Cecaniah a lone companion next to him. The snow had blanketed the Narita ranges yet neither seemed to feel the cold.
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"But… there was a girl who was different," the masked unknown finally spoke, his voice barely a whisper. He reached out catching a single snowflake and watched it melt in his hand.
"Oh? Is that so?" Cecaniah asked, resting her head upon her arms. The sun had now settled higher in the sky. How much time had passed? Did it really matter? "What was she like?"
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Zero remained silent for a while. His head now rested against the post looking up at the hidden sky. "Her hair was green… or was it red, orange or pink?" he started, his gaze never removed from that cloudy sky. "She was always an annoyance or was she an air-head? I'm not so sure anymore. Either way, she represented an anchor for me in this world. She may have been a slave once, or maybe she was a princess. She may have been with me since the beginning or left me half way through. I may have commanded her or she commanded me." Zero explained, his gaze now lingered on the snowflakes dancing across the Narita fields, "What I do know is, when I attempted to control her, she stood right up to me and stole my heart as payment… I don't think it was ever returned."
"Which lifetime was this?" Cecaniah asked, her voice now barely above a whisper.
"Before I started wearing this mask," Zero chuckled in response.
"All those lifetimes ago, do you remember this person whom stole your heart? What was her name?" she asked, Zero brought his hand up to his mask as though in deep contemplation.
"You know something… I don't remember," he answered, reaching out to catch another snowflake. Cecaniah let out a weary sigh, there was a tinge of a forgotten emotion in his voice. An emotion that echoed more loudly than the words could ever accomplish.
"Memories can barely last half a lifetime, for you whom have lived so many different lives, names and masks. It's no surprise that they have started to disappear," Cecaniah commented casually.
"I suppose that is true. I have lived to many lives, lessons learnt are forgotten. Things that only exist in memory fade away and disappear forever when forgotten. Death is far kinder then forgetting." Zero explained, as snowflakes melted one by one in contact with his skin. Cecaniah slowly lowered herself to the ground. Seating herself with her back against Zero, she was facing the opposite direction.
"If something is forgotten easily, than it wasn't worth remembering in the first place," Cecaniah started, as Zero turned his gaze over his shoulder to stare at the young female, "If you need to remember something, the world itself will never let you forget. That's why we erect monuments and shrines in their place, so we always remember and never forget."
Zero paused before shrugging casually. "If you lose too many memories you will lose yourself. It doesn't matter anyway; they will fade when they will fade."
"Are you afraid?" Cecaniah asked, as she mirrored Zero's actions of catching snowflakes.
"Why be afraid of something out of your control?"
"Perhaps because you have already lost yourself, you have already forgotten who you once were," Cecaniah suggested, shaking her head in sad amusement. "Does the name Lelouch mean anything to you?"
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Zero didn't answer as the snow fell heavier covering the pair. Cecaniah chuckled in amusement at her partner's lack of an answer. "I'll see you next lifetime Zero." were her last words as she left. The snow swallowed up her footsteps as though she was never there in the first place.
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Cecaniah sighed softly against the window. The Narita mountain side rushed past her, as the train headed back towards civilization. Really it was only a trip born out of boredom, but it had yielded an interesting conversation and development. She smiled softly at her reflection, a genuine smile which hadn't graced her lips for how many lifetimes? Her green roots were slowly growing back, a red bird sigil sat upon her forehead covered by her fringe.
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"Yes, I took your heart as payment for our contract," Cecaniah whispered to her reflection, "However during our final night, you took mine as compensation. I've waited a millennium for you… I can wait a little longer. After all, my wish has yet to be granted Lelouch."
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The young man remained there, watching the snow drift from the heaven's to the fields below. Somewhere in the back of his mind there was a memory. A memory of a bedroom, of someone dressed like him dancing across the room, a lady in his arms. And a forgotten promise between the two. What was it again?
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He sighed wearily, scratching at his chest. A red bird sigil was there, under his jacket burning ever so slightly like it always did. A constant reminder of what was missing, of what was stolen and never returned.
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It didn't really matter; there was little that mattered in this world anymore. For his existence was endless.
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I am thinking of continuing this, with other parts, but not sure if i should or not, please drop a review and let me know if i should continue!