To start off, this was a request from someone who does not want to be named; today, we will explore how exactly Kallen ended up at Babel Tower on this fateful day that Code Geass R2 began at. Off we go!
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"You're late."
Not that Kallen would particularly mind if her... 'roommate' was gone for a while. She could keep the windows open and get the smell of pizza out of the bedroom for a bit; or at least make the attempt. It still reeked of cheese even after the redhead threw out all those boxes the immortal woman had draped over her half of the room.
Sadly, her arrival was foreshadowed by the renewed smell of pizza; Kallen did not even need to turn around or hear her steps, although she did both. With her green hair swaying after her, C.C. entered the room and sat down on her bed, another box in her hands. Golden eyes took in the surroundings and obviously noted what she did.
It was nerve-wracking at times; this woman could read her like an open book at all times, although she mostly just smirked and left it at teasing her a bit. They were allies, the redhead found at least this much to be true. Both of them had good reasons to keep Lelouch alive and help him out of this elaborate trap he was in; however, it was still difficult to remember that this person she shared a room with -and decided to put on a curry-diet for another three days- was probably centuries old. C.C. would not speak of anything regarding her past, but she mentioned her immortality and explained the basics of Geass... as much as Kallen hated to admit it, her explanations had made sense. Especially after she shot the lime-haired woman point-blank and saw her get up as if nothing happened...
"I had a few things to take care of; we might be done hiding out here very soon."
She mentioned this between bites, which had the Black Knight look up from her pistol again; she was almost done cleaning it and from the look of it, the statement had just been an appetizer to spark her curiousity. They played this game quite a bit during their stay here and she was growing tired of it; therefore, Kallen just returned her gaze to the weapon and continued with her work. C.C. kept quiet herself and went on with her meal.
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The minutes passed and she actually enjoyed hearing nothing put the soft clinks of separated parts reuniting; it was difficult to get these weapons to malfunction, but she wanted to be on the safe side.
"He will be gambling again. His opponent will meet him in Babel Tower, about two days from now."
Looking up, the redhead found that C.C. had finished her meal; she put down the box while Kallen cast a glance her way; this was oddly specific. "Did you arrange this?"
She was given a smirk in return and the immortal stood up. "I went around the usual places and learned a few interesting things. That one was a stroke of luck, though; I met a drunk butler in one of the bars... let's say a bit more alcohol did wonders in making him boast about how his lord would soon smash some student."
That had indeed been luck. In this kind of business, most people preferred secrecy over everything else... such as Lelouch, which they learned a while ago. Kallen wondered how that noble even found out their opponent's occupation and whether it was a trap, but she found C.C. to be reliable in judging their sources. If she thought it believable, the redhead would trust her. However, Babel Tower was well-protected; could they really manage to sneak inside without anyone noticing? If Britannian intelligence saw even the smallest sign of trouble, they would probably reinforce security on a massive scale.
"Okay... Babel Tower it is... any plan how to get inside? Did Urabe-san call?"
Urabe Kotetsu was leading the remaining handful of free Black Knights besides them, staying out of sight and standing ready for this one attempt they had at freeing Zero. He was also touring the more shady places to get his hands on valuable information to relay over to them.
C.C. just shook her head, though. "No, nothing for now. I heard that the police is raiding yet another facility, so maybe he has to lie low for at least today. Don't worry about the details, Kallen; I already have an idea."
And going by how amused the older one's smirk just grew, this would not go well for her.
The redhead already had this feeling of dread; she would not like whatever the immortal had in store for her. No, she definitely would not like it. Still, if it gave them a chance to get to Lelouch, she had to do her part. This was more important; she had to get clarity over all of this; was she under his Geass or not? He had to answer this question, no matter what.
"What kind of idea?"
C.C. apparently decided that she was done for today, though; she slipped out of her dress and just dropped it onto the now free ground next to her bed before lying down. The only indicator she would tell her now was that the immortal made no attempt for her blanket. She kept lying down and eyed Kallen with her usual smirk; that she only wore her white turtleneck-and-hotpants-combo, her substitute for underwear, went ignored. The younger one was used to this by now. They were both women anyway.
"I can get you in there very easy and without anyone getting suspicious, you know? I just need to sell you to them."
Of all the things she could have proposed for them to do, this one was so far down on the list that Kallen did not even think about it. Her eyes buldged in shock and her mouth fell agape; she could only stare at C.C., who seemed to be serious about what she just said.
"A... Are you out of your mind?!", an indignated scream found its way out of her. Sneaking in she could do; fighting her way in she could do; heck, she might even be able to seduce her way in. But being sold inside as a slave? No, definitely not. This she would not do... and then there was this small part of her that wondered why. Why not do it this way? No one would suspect a slave to be a terrorist in disguise.
Still, the thought frightened her. She heard a few things of what happened to slaves, especially girls and women. The mere thought made a shiver run down her spine.
"I'm not. If you get the tracker on him there, we can get you out during the assault. You're strong enough to take down all the guards by yourself if necessary."
"So can you. How 'bout I sell you instead?", the redhead returned with a certain trace of venom. Why exactly should she go when both of them could lead an assault? She crossed her arms with a huff and stared at the surprised immortal. "So? Why don't you be the slave?"
Only for C.C. to flinch as if she just received a boot to the face and turn around. This was unusual; she would just smirk and give another retort, probably even a suggestive one after this kind of question normally. What happened?
"Um... C.C.?"
No reaction. Did she say something strange?
Kallen could not find anything wrong, so she slowly got to her feet. Was the older one feeling insulted over something? If so, she had no idea what; or was the thought of becoming a slave herself so difficult to take? Fine, Kallen could not judge her for something like that after her own reaction, but still... she could at least answer.
Walking over to the immortal, she gently placed a hand on her shoulder... no reaction, which she deemed a good sign. C.C. could have shaken her off after all. At this point, Kallen really felt bad; she might have hit a landmine there without even noticing... maybe something from the lime-haired woman's past. "Look, I'm sorry if I offended you, but..." "It's fine. If you don't want to, I will think of something else."
Maybe it was just her imagination, but C.C. actually sounded hurt for a change. She never did, so whatever it actually was really got under her skin.
Great... just great.
Unfortunately, now that she was far less upset over the whole idea, Kallen could see C.C.'s reasoning even without having been told. Britannian intelligence was probably looking for the immortal, but not for her. Kozuki Kallen was known only to a handful of people, but neither of them gave her data to the police yet. She was safer going in and doing what had to be done.
God damn it all!
And now she just convinced herself to being sold off as a slave. Just perfect.
With a sigh, the redhead let go of C.C.'s shoulder and sat down on the ground, with her back leaning on the immortal's bedside. "You know what? I'll do it. But you owe me big time."
There was rustling behind her, but neither of them spoke for now. That probably was as much of a surprise to C.C. as it was for her... but they needed something that worked... and unfortunately, this plan might do the trick. It was cunning, more than anything the older woman ever proposed before. It was almost Lelouch-level cunning, which was almost scary in its own right.
"I see. We will take care of everything tomorrow; that should be fine. Good night, Kallen."
More rustling and when the redhead turned her head at last, she found the immortal buried under her blanket. Sighing once more, she got up. "Yeah, g'night."
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It did not even take half a day for Kallen to regret her decision. Mostly because C.C. told her to put on something she bought the day before just for this reason.
Now she stood in front of the mirror with her legs and arms revealed completely. Of course she knew that a leotard worked that way because one wore it for gymnastics or something like that; it had to have the legs free. She just never wanted to wear something like that, especially not like this.
"Why exactly do I have to do that?"
"Because they need a reason to choose you, so why not show off a bit? You have the curves to pull it off after all."
"Yeah, I'm not happy about hearing that right now."
Kallen blushed nonetheless and eyed herself in the mirror once more. This small piece of cloth really left nothing to the imagination even while covering her whole body sans limbs and head. Still, the area around her chest was almost bursting open and she got the feeling that C.C. deliberately chose one a few sizes too small for her; it was tight all over and her breasts actually hurt a bit from the pressure.
"Remind me to kill you when we're done with this."
"You can have a try if you want."
However, the immortal did not smile or smirk for a change. She was serious despite what she just said, way more than Kallen saw her being on anything they did before. Of course she was still teasing, but far less than usually; her mood from last evening was apparently not yet gone. On top of that, it was probably a bad idea to ask about that at all.
She sighed and flopped back onto her bed, noting the bright sunshine coming through the window; at least the wheather would be good. Over her annoyance however, the fright of what might happen during those hours returned; she would be a slave for at least a whole day...
"I need to make a few more arrangements; go and see if you can reach Urabe in the meantime."
Looking up, she saw the immortal walk past and out of the room, her hair swaying after her just as usual. Kallen's stomach was churning and nervosity already seaped into her mind. This would probably be something she never wanted to repeat in her whole life.
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Noon passed and C.C. had not yet returned. However, she got into contact with Urabe and put him up-to-date over the situation without mentioning her own predicament. The last free member of Tohdoh's warriors was competent and a nice person to boot, so she did not want him to worry; he promised to call them a bit later in the day, once the other woman was back. They both expected her to join the remainder of their group once she dropped off Kallen.
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A while after the clock struck one, the sound of a door opening alerted the redhead from shifting through the pictures of Lelouch they had. There was not much else to do when their course of action was decided, after all.
"Welcome ba... what the?"
When she lifted her head to greet the immortal, she saw her walking in wearing a female business-suit and with her hair done up quite admirably. C.C. cast a glance her way and raised an eyebrow, probably because Kallen was once again wearing the leotard. She took it off in-between, but figured that she should better get used to it for the time being. "We have an appointment to have you examined in two hours."
Thankfully, there was no comment about her clothes.
"I see... so that's it then? I mean... if this works, we're done here, right?"
It felt a bit strange to maybe leave this place for good. It was not a bad flat after all; Kallen was not particularly attached to it, but still...
"Yes", C.C. agreed with a glance around before setting her eyes on the pictures she held. "We should use the time to clean up and get something to eat."
Destroying evidence and a last meal it was, even when the older woman made it sound nicer. Kallen had to suppress a sigh after looking at all their hard work one last time. "I guess you're right."
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Their weapons and what few notes they actually bothered to take were collected and put into a small suitcase C.C. would take along. All the pictures they made went into a small box they would set on fire once they were out of the general vicinity. Then they cleared out most of the leftovers from the fridge... and were about done. The rest would just speak of a few messy people living here, nothing else. With their work done and still more than an hour left however, Kallen became nervous once again. She did not have her Knightmare to fight in and could not even use her strength; that would betray the purpose of making a sneaky entrance... Kallen actually never felt this helpless before and it did not even start.
"Put this on and hide it with your coat", C.C. advised while they made themselves ready. The lime-haired woman would hide her suit under a long coat that might not exactly fit the wheather... but it was not that warm yet, so most people would not pay much attention. That was a good thing, seeing that Kallen could protect her modesty for the time being. Resigning, the redhead took the collar she was given and put it on, making sure that it would not leave any marks on her throat. Just why was she going along with this, she wondered once again. With every movement Kallen made, the realisation of what she was about to do made her imagination run wilder; her hands started to shake and she had to make a concious effort to calm herself.
Just stay calm... everything will go well; I'm out of there within fourty-eight hours, it will be fine.
While she still tried to reassure herself like that, she felt herself being moved; before Kallen actually realised what was going on, she found herself pressed against the immortal, who gently stroked her back. "I know it will be difficult; just stay strong and endure. No matter what happens, you will not stay at this place."
C.C. seemed to radiate warmth in this very moment and with these very words. When she let go of her however, the older woman's expression was calm and collected; no sign of the kind promise she just made. Still, it was touching to hear her say this. The redhead felt a familiar stinging in her eyes, but she quickly blinked the tears away and nodded. "Thanks; I'm counting on you."
They nodded at each other and left the flat, never to return.
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"What do you think?", C.C. asked with a knowing smirk while keeping her gaze on the two men they were meeting with. Both of them were Britannian and clad in black suits, their eyes covered by sunglasses; however, even Kallen could tell how their gazes were going up and down her body after she was told to drop her coat; she slid out of it just like her companion told her to do, but this was really, really uncomfortable. They looked at her like a piece of meat, not like a person; to make matters worse, the redhead knew how tightly fitting this leotard was. She did not dare raise her hands to cover at least some parts of her from those looks. Britannians were pigs, she always knew that... but now she would be at their mercy for a while.
They were at one of the lower levels of Babel Tower after C.C. had somehow organised a black car they used to drive up to the place. Those people apparently belonged to the casino further up.
The smaller of the two men nodded at the redhead with an appreciative smirk, almost of the same kind the immortal was currently faking. "She looks good, I give you that."
At the same time, his friend walked over to examine her a bit closer. Still, Kallen did not dare moving for fear of doing something wrong. C.C. just told her to act submissive and never look any of them in the eyes, so she had her gaze cast to the floor and continued to shiver slightly in the cool air. Her left arm was taken and she let him move it, apparently examining the skin.
"She had no bruises before this, so be careful."
"I am", the guy grunted before circling around her and nodding a few times. "Looks fine, boss."
"I told you so", C.C. noted with another of her smirks. "I know what I'm doing after all."
The man took his eyes off of Kallen for a moment to look back at the immortal he was sitting with, then tapped a finger against the table between them in thought. "You are right, miss Spacer. The girl looks fine and I will get back to you over additional transactions once I saw how she works. I hope you understand that this one seems... oddly unharmed, so I will remain sceptical for the time being. Five thousand."
This was apparently the offer, although Kallen was not sure whether that was much or not; going by C.C.'s unwavering smirk, it was about what she expected... or her companion was just that good in hiding her actual feelings.
"Ten thousand; a virgin is worth that much at least."
This time, she could not stop a faint blush from crawling over her cheeks. Why would she even go so far as to tell them something like that... and on top of that, how did she even know?!
The man's gaze darted over to her once more, she could feel it; after a moment however, he turned back to C.C. with a small nod. "I only have your word for that, though. Aside from that, your business is just starting up and you have no reputation to speak of. If you became one of our regulars or more well-known in this business, we could talk about prices like these. Eight thousand."
C.C. put a finger to her lip, casting a probing glance towards Kallen, who felt more awful than ever before, then back at the man. "Hm. You do have a point; deal."
They shook hands and signed a small piece of paper before a bank draft was filled out and handed over. So that was it. She was now sold and a slave...
The lime-haired woman stood with an appreciative smile before walking over; the henchman made a step aside while C.C. petted her loosely falling hair. "Be good, my dear. This is your new home now."
She did not dare meet the other woman's gaze, who carefully took the leash she recently put on the collar and handed it over. Then she put up and exchanged a nod with the boss before leaving... but stopped at the door. "I don't know how you usually work, but give her one or two days to get accustomed to how things work around here. You have my number, so please give me a call next week and tell me how she does; I'm always curious about that kind of thing."
"Sure, sure. Have a good day, miss Spacer."
"So do you, mister Carter."
And she was gone.
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Weird, she thought. She should have figured that this would go easier, be easier... and C.C. continued to wonder over leaving Babel Tower, getting the money transferred to their bank account and contacting Urabe. It was difficult to keep her mask on in there, the immortal noticed. She did all kind of things in the past; with the recent events, she could even add 'creating a civil war' to the list... but selling someone into slavery had been a first. A very bitter first.
Maybe it was due to her own childhood, which she spent as an object to her respective masters herself... but C.C. rarely felt this bad after anything she had done. The only thing she could do to ease her conscience for now was to believe that her work had stopped the personnel at Babel Tower from abusing Kallen already. With any luck, they would leave her alone to adjust for the remainder of this day, just as she told them to. This was also why she pressed the tracker deep down into the embarassed girl's cleavage earlier; she could keep it hidden there.
Still, all of this did not make her feel much better. Not that Urabe could notice this, seeing how they relied on the phone to stay in contact. Still, she would be back to her usual self only after making sure that the child was alright after getting her out of there.
The immortal witch C.C. did many things others would call atrocities... but even the most vicious of Geass was nothing in comparison to what could be done to a slave. This one time, she could not just get over it.
Stay safe, Kallen...
She really grew too fond of this one.
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The night was weird; they brought her up to a small room she had to share with five other young women, all of them probably older than her. There, Kallen was advised on their curfew and given a short meal... as well as the notion that she would start working the next morning, so she should better be ready. The other women arrived one by one in the evening, each of them wearing a bunnysuit much like what Kallen had been given earlier. However, only a friendly blunette even talked to her there, mentioning that the other girls always waited for whether she would make it through the first day before becoming acquainted. Weird... but maybe appropriate, she was not sure.
They were ushered to sleep and quickly did so; at least she was given some underwear to sleep in, which meant that she could finally get out of this tight leotard. These small bunk beds they were given were not really comfortable, but she had worse before.
Nonetheless, Kallen could not sleep this easily; her original anxiousness was gone and she might be in luck. No one did anything to her so far and half of the time she had to wait through was over. Lelouch would come the next day, so if she could keep it up until then...
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Apparently, she still fell asleep at some point. The nice blunette shook her awake in the morning. Seeing that her eyes opened, the older woman smiled understandingly and helped her sit up. "Sorry for the early wake, but you should get dressed; we get breakfast in a few minutes and have to get to work right afterwards."
So that was it. Kallen returned the smile while rubbing her temples. "I see. Thanks, Mirai-san."
"Not for that, Ko-chan."
She had already been given a nickname, apparently. The redhead got up and turned towards the bunnysuit with a mental sigh. Just a few more hours...
She would get through this. It would work out. Kallen would get to Lelouch, she would fulfill her part of the plan and C.C. would get her out of here. They would return to being the Black Knights. After all these agonizing months of waiting, gathering intel and being unable to do anything impactful, the redhead was slowly filling with determination. She became calm and collected, just as C.C. always was. They would finally be back to challenge Britannia.
She would not fail; it was time for Zero to return.
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Granted, this contradicts a few snippets of the series proper -such as Kallen asking why she had to be the bunny later on-, but I hope you can forgive me for that.