{Pendragon Imperial Palace, 2009 ATB}
"Euphie, you mustn't do this!"
Euphie, who was a girl long, pink, straight hair and purple eyes whirled around to face the one who told her this. It was an older woman who had purple hair and matching eyes, and from the tone of her voice, the younger girl could easily tell that the purple-haired woman was very concerned about what she was about to do. The older woman was surprised as she looked at Euphie's eyes; they were narrowing not only in determination, but also in anger.
"Don't try to stop me, Sister Cornelia," Euphie told her sister sternly. "I just can't stand by and watch as my siblings are sent to a foreign land as bargaining tools," She then clenched her hand tightly to her chest. "Especially not after Lady Marianne's death, their mother!" The small pink-head turned back; her eyes blazing in determination once more. "I'm sorry, Cornelia, but no matter what you say, you can't stop me."
Cornelia then ran in front of her sister and put her hands on her shoulders. "Please, Euphemia! Don't do this!" She begged once more. "What if His Majesty sends you to Japan as well?!"
"Then at the very least, I'll be with my siblings," She replied while smiling. "They won't be alone."
"But what about me?"
"If you really care about them, then help me in convincing His Majesty to not send Lelouch and Nunnally to Japan."
"I can't…" The older woman admitted sadly and fearfully; her body started trembling as she looked down. "I can't go against His Majesty's orders."
"I see." Euphie simply said before she continued walking to the throne room.
"Presenting her Royal Highness the Third Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, Princess Euphemia li Britannia!" Announced one of the guards as the doors of the room opened, revealing the young princess.
The room was huge. Many nobles were gathered in the hall to see what will the young princess seek from her father, the Emperor. Said man, who was large, wearing a white-colored wig and had dark purple eyes was sitting on his throne that was located on the top of a platform. A set of stairs were connected to it. The pink-haired princess walked confidently and determinedly on the red carpet that extended all the way to the throne. She then stopped in front of the stairs, looking at the Emperor without any hint of fear.
"Hail, Your Majesty," She greeted the Emperor. "I came to request a favor from you."
"A favor, you say?" He asked, not the least bit surprised by her slightly defiant tone. "And what might that favor be?"
"I request of you to not send my siblings Prince Lelouch vi Britannia and Princess Nunnally vi Britannia to Japan as bargaining tools."
While there were gasps in the crowd of nobles, they were overwhelmed by the sounds of whispers, so Euphie didn't hear them, not like she cared about either of them anyway. They were stunned and shocked at the audacity of the young princess. When did she become so bold? Did that boldness come from the fact that she doesn't want her siblings to be used as bargaining chips? Or was it because of the influence her brother Lelouch had on her? Or was it both?
The Emperor, on the other hand was surprisingly unmoved. His face remained firm and stern as he continued to look down at his young daughter. "And why is that?"
"It does not seem fair to me," She replied bluntly. "Their mother, Lady Marianne vi Britannia was just murdered in front of their eyes and Nunnally was crippled in the process," She pointed out to him before her eyes glared fiercely at her father. "And because of that, you called her a weakling whose only use is as a bargaining tool for Sakuradite alongside Lelouch." Her expression now softened considerably. "How can you do this, Father? Is maintaining the title of the most powerful nation in the world more important to you than your own children?" She was on the verge of tears as she asked these questions.
The Emperor, finally becoming irritated by his daughter's whining, shouted at her. "You know the answer to that question very well, Euphemia!" He then proceeded to descend down the stairs, causing his daughter to back away a little. "As I have told Lelouch before, this is the price of royalty."
Euphemia's eyes widened before she glared once more at her father with all the loathing and hatred she could muster. "And like Lelouch had said before: I give up my claim to the throne!" She shouted, causing the nobles to gasp once more, but this time, almost all of them gasped, and again she did not care. "And if you're going to repeat your speech about me being dead from the moment I was born and how you have provided to me all of those luxuries, then spare you breath!" She shrieked again. "I have already heard you telling that to Lelouch so there's no need to repeat yourself!"
He gritted his teeth in anger before he descended down the stairs swiftly. "EUPHEMIA!" He screamed her name before his large hand grabbed his daughter's neck. His grip wasn't strong enough to strangle her, however.
The small girl gasped and tears gathered in her eyes once more as she struggled to free herself from her father's grip. The nobles were just shocked at what was happening before their eyes, but none of them dared to do anything about it. That included the guards as well.
Suddenly, the doors of the throne room burst open to reveal a young boy with short, raven hair and violet eyes. His eyes narrowed in shock at the sight before him. He gritted his teeth in anger before charging towards the Emperor. "STOP IT!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "Leave Euphie alone!"
The ruler of the most powerful nation on Earth noticed the young boy running towards him before flinging his daughter at the boy, who caught her. She sobbed on his chest. "Lelouch… I'm sorry…"
His eyes glimmered sadly at the sight of his sister crying shakily in his arms before that glimmer got replaced by a hateful glare aimed towards the Emperor. "How dare you!"
The towering man said nothing as he gave his back to his children and walked on the stairs. "Guards, take these impudent children away," He ordered. "And also, prepare Euphemia's belongings for she will be sent off to Japan as a bargaining tool with Lelouch and Nunnally."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" As the guards dragged the young prince and princess away, the former's eyes widened in shock at that announcement. He gave his father one last glare before turning away.
Outside, they were met by Cornelia, who quickly knelt to check on her sobbing sister.
"Euphie! Are you alright?!" She asked frantically. "What happened?!"
She sobbed, but despite that, she managed a shaky smile. "I'm going to Japan with Lelouch and Nunnally…" She responded through her tears. "They won't be alone there after all, Cornelia…"
"What?!" The older sister asked in shock and disbelief.
"I'm happy that I got to go with them…"
Cornelia hugged her sister tightly. "Oh Euphie…" She cried as well.
"Aren't you going to do anything, Cornelia?" Lelouch deadpanned.
The purple-haired princess looked at Lelouch. "Lelouch… Euphie… I promise you that I will bring you all back to the homeland," She told them. "Just give me more time to gather soldiers that will help me in retrieving you."
"I see," His deadpan did not crack. "I'm counting on you, Cornelia." He stated before walking past his sister.
For some reason, the older princess felt as if he wasn't quite happy with what she told him…
When a Demon is Born
{Ashford Academy, March 21st 2017 ATB}
"Euphemia! Your phone is ringing!" A female voice shouted.
"Huh?!" The now teenaged pink-haired girl snapped out of her thoughts and looked down at her phone before picking it up. "Hello, Rivalz?"
"Seriously, Euphemia?!" The boy known as Rivalz shouted on the phone, causing her to flinch. "This is the third time this week!"
She scratched her head in embarrassment. "Sorry, Rivalz."
"Anyway, I've called to tell you that I've lost Lelouch."
Euphie raised an eyebrow in confusion and worry. "What do you mean 'you've lost Lelouch'?"
"Well, you see, when we were on our way back to school, a truck almost ran us over," He replied to her, causing her to gasp. "But don't worry! The truck actually crashed into a building that is still under construction, and your brother decided to play hero and went to help the people in the truck… and that's how I lost him."
"Oh my," She said worriedly. "Haven't you tried to contact him?"
"Yes, but it seems that wherever he is, the signal is either very weak or there is no signal at all."
"Well, since he was trying to help the people in the truck, he may have gotten in there and didn't come out." Worry washed over her face once again at that possibility.
"You think so? Because I saw the truck speeding away to the ghettos."
"What?!" She asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," He confirmed, becoming worried as well. "Should I tell Madame President about this?"
"No. We shouldn't concern the Prez and the others about Lelouch."
"Well, how about telling the police?"
"NO!" She shouted frantically before realizing that. "I mean, there's no need for that, Rivalz."
"Are you serious?!" He shrieked. "If the ones who drove the truck went to the ghettos, then that means they're Eleven terrorists!" He proclaimed. "Are you sure you don't want the police to look into this matter, Euphemia?"
She has her own reasons for that, of course. If the police went to look for Lelouch and eventually found him, they may recognize him as the Britannian prince who was thought to be dead for seven years, Lelouch vi Britannia. This will cause problems as Lelouch did not want to be recognized and thus might be forced back into the Royal Family.
Not only that, but if the police found out that a Britannian student got lost in one of the ghettoes, they may turn it upside down in order to find him, something that neither her brother nor her wanted to happen.
"No, I don't," She replied. "I'm sure Lelouch can take care of himself."
"Really, Euphemia?" He asked incredulously. "I mean, you and I know very well that Lelouch SUCKS at physical activities."
"I know, but…" She sighed, getting tired of arguing with the boy. "Please, Rivalz. Don't tell anyone about this. If Madame Prez asked you or anyone from the Student Council about Lelouch, tell her that he ditched you."
Rivalz actually chuckled at that. "Yeah, that sounds like something Lelouch would do," He stated. "Alright then. We won't tell anyone about this."
She smiled. "Thank you, Rivalz." She then hung up the phone before sighing again. "Lelouch, I hope you won't involve yourself in something dangerous."
"Euphemia! We'll be ready for rehearsal in one minute!" A male voice announced.
"Coming!" She ran to the stage.
{Somewhere in the Tokyo Settlement}
Lelouch didn't know how to feel about his current situation. First, a truck almost ran him and Rivalz over, and then it crashed into an under-construction building. When he climbed the ladder of the truck to help the people inside, he heard a voice call out to him, a voice belonging to a woman. The driver apparently regained his consciousness and immediately sped off, causing the boy to fall in the back of the truck. Unfortunately, there was no ladder to climb out, so he remained there until someone opened the door to the back of the truck and entered. His eyes widened in shock at the person he saw. It was a girl who looked like she was the same age as himself. She had a red hair that was spiked up and blue eyes.
K-Kallen…? He thought in shock as he watched her remove the white jacket she was wearing. B-but how…? Why is she working with some terrorists?!
He remained hidden as he watched the girl he had identified as Kallen remove a white cloth from something. That thing was revealed to be a red machine that looked somewhat outdated.
Is that a Glasgow? He asked himself, still stunned from the fact that Kallen is working with terrorists. Is she going to pilot that thing?!
That turned out to be true as the redhead entered the machine known as Glasgow. His shock increased as he watched her attack a helicopter with a hook-like object that was attached to a black wire, get out of the truck and into the street and engage a more powerful-looking purple machine.
When the other machine overwhelmed Kallen's Glasgow, he looked visibly worried about her. Kallen...
{Ashford Academy}
Euphemia stretched her body after exiting the drama club building. The rehearsal on the song was better than last time, and that made her really happy. This musical is one of her all time favorites, and so she wanted to perform the best she could in it.
Euphie then saw an orange-haired girl with olive eyes approaching her. "Hi Shirley!" She greeted happily. "Is something the matter?"
"Yeah," The girl known as Shirley replied while frowning. "Can you believe that Lulu ditched Rivalz and made him come all the way back by himself?" She asked in irritation. "And then when I tried to call him, he immediately hung up."
Euphie's eyes widened in surprise; since Shirley was able to contact him, then that means he was in a place where there was a signal. But where could he have ended up in? She thought to herself. I hope he's not in one of the ghettoes.
"Euphie," Shirley called. "Are you listening to me?"
"Huh?" The pink-haired girl snapped her head to the orange-haired girl before regaining her composure. "I don't know, Shirley. I'll contact him in a while."
"You better do!" The other girl huffed. "Seriously, Euphie. Your brother is smart yet he wastes that gift on stupid things like gambling."
Euphie smiled nervously. "Well, that's Lelouch for you."
Shirley sighed. "Anyway, I have to get ready for my swimming practice now," She stated. "If your brother keeps skipping classes like that, he's gonna get expelled."
She smiled sheepishly. "Obviously."
{Shinjuku Ghetto}
The former prince of the Holy Britannian Empire didn't know if this day was the worst or best day of his life… well, in terms of the worst day, nothing can top that day, so this day has won the silver medal for the worst day of his life. In other words, it is the second worst day of his life. However, at the same time, it had also won the gold medal for the best day of his life.
It is the second worst day of his life for the following reasons: He almost got ran over by a truck that he later found out was a terrorist truck; Kallen, a girl he knew was working with these terrorists; the truck driver made it to the Shinjuku ghetto; he had a very short-lived reunion with his childhood best friend, who became a Britannian soldier and then was shot dead by the Royal Guard's captain; the capsule that the terrorists have stolen actually contained a girl with green hair and golden eyes (His best friend told him that it contained poisonous gas according to what his superiors told him), the Viceroy ordered a purge of the Shinjuku ghetto and it was all because of that girl, and finally the Royal Guard caught him and it was all because of his cell phone ringing at the worst possible time… and also, the girl protected him by taking the bullet that was meant for him in the middle of her forehead.
BUT, it is also the best day of his life for one and ONLY one reason: He had gained an incredible power known as Geass.
"Say, how should a Britannian who hates his own country live his life?" He asked the Royal Guard while covering his left eye.
"What? Are you a radical?" The captain asked back.
"What's the matter?" Lelouch began, ignoring the captain. "Why don't you shoot? After all, your opponent is just a schoolboy… or have you finally realized that the only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed?" He removed his hand away from his eye, revealing a maroon-colored iris with a bird sigil in it.
The captain's hand trembled after seeing that. "W-what's that…?"
"Lelouch vi Britannia commands you…" He said, swiping his left arm to the left side. "All of you… obey me without a question!"
The sigil mark flew from his eye and into the eyes of the Royal Guard. At once, red rings surrounded their irises. The captain put his hand on his breast and bowed; his subordinates doing the same. "With pleasure, Your Highness!"
The former prince's eyes widened before grinning devilishly. With this amazing power, he'll be able to achieve his long-awaited goal: To obliterate Britannia, the very country that abandoned him and his sisters in a foreign land and waged a war on this nation one year later, not caring whether him and his sisters were dead or alive.
He looked at the members of the Royal Guard; their expressions showed that they were completely under his control. "I want you to look for Sutherlands," He began his command. "Once you do, use them to engage Britannian forces. Help the resistance group and do whatever it takes to defeat them. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Your Highness!" They all bowed once more before running off.
Excellent, Lelouch remarked with a smirk. This will make the Britannians think that a group of terrorists got hold of Sutherlands, or if they were smart enough, they'll think that they were betrayed by their own comrades.
His train of thought was interrupted when the wall crashed, revealing a purple-colored Knightmare. A Sutherland? He raised an eyebrow before grinning. Might as well steal a Sutherland for myself.
The pilot of the Sutherland was pleased that all of these 'filthy Elevens' were killed by their own forces. Serves them right for killing Lady Marianne's children as well as their sister, Princess Euphemia. He thought to himself gleefully.
However, behind the corpses of the Elevens stood a young man wearing a student uniform. The pilot zoomed on the young man to see his face. He looks familiar… He thought before uttering a gasp as realization hit him. He can't be...! The pilot wanted to make sure of something regarding this student. "What is a Britannian student doing in a place like this?!"
Lelouch did not reply, and this somewhat irritated the pilot. "I command you to get out of the Sutherland!" The boy ordered.
The Britannian soldier blinked; only members of the Royal Family had such a commanding tone. Could he really be…? "Alright then. I'll come out to make sure of something about you."
The raven-haired teen frowned; make sure of something about himself? What did the pilot mean by that? His eyes then widened in realization. Is it possible that the pilot recognized me? He thought frantically to himself. Then that also means that the power doesn't work without direct eye contact! Even though he was annoyed about this drawback regarding his newly acquired power, he knew that this is the least of his worries at the moment. If this Britannian soldier recognized him as an exiled prince of Britannia who was thought to be dead for seven years, then he will probably take him to the Viceroy and as a result, will be forced back into the Royal Family. He gritted his teeth in frustration; as soon as the pilot exits the Sutherland, he'll have to use his Geass so he could steal the Knightmare and hightail it out of here.
When the pilot exited the Knightmare, Lelouch saw that it was a man who looked like he was in his late twenties with turquoise-colored hair and orange eyes. Both men's eyes widened simultaneously as they recognized each other.
Jeremiah… Gottwald?
"Prince… Lelouch?" He uttered. "Is it really you…?" He could not believe his eyes.
Lelouch didn't say anything and just turned away. "I don't know what you're talking about," He replied. "And I can assure you that I am not a prince."
"You cannot fool me, Your Highness," He then knelt before the young prince. "Jeremiah Gottwald at your service, Your Highness."
He raised an eyebrow at that; as he recalled, Jeremiah Gottwald was a guard at Aries Palace, a guard of his mother. "Do you mean what you have said, Lord Jeremiah?"
The older man looked up, confused. "About what, my lord?"
"About serving me," He replied. "Will you really serve me, even if it means betraying Britannia and most importantly, the Emperor himself?"
The Britannian soldier's eyes widened in shock at the young prince's proposal. Is his prince going to lead a rebellion against his father and homeland?! "My Lord… if you don't mind, may I ask why are you going to betray your own father and country?"
"You really don't know, Jeremiah?"
"I'm afraid I do not know, My Lord."
Lelouch frowned. "My mother was killed in front of my eyes," He began, his eyes becoming stern. "Nunnally was crippled, the Emperor didn't do anything about Mother's death, called Nunnally a weakling and decided to send us both to Japan as political hostages," He clenched his fists. "Euphemia was the only one who stood up against the Emperor, but unfortunately for her, she was also sent to Japan with us."
The former guard smiled, finally understanding what his prince meant about leading a rebellion against Britannia. "I see," He nodded. "Emperor Charles and Britannia aren't the ones I serve," He admitted. "I have sworn my loyalty to only Lady Marianne and her children, and this is why I will follow you till the end, Prince Lelouch."
Lelouch smiled, quite pleased with the older man's answer. "Then rise, Jeremiah Gottwald and help me burn my father's empire, his beliefs and ideals to ashes."
Jeremiah did as he was told. "Yes, Your Highness."
TBC…
Now if anyone is going to complain about Cornelia and Euphemia being a little OOC at the flashback scene, then all I have to tell you that this is an AU and a little OOC-ness won't hurt from now and then.
I didn't really want to repeat scenes from the anime, so I summed them in descriptions.
Thanks for taking your time to read. Hopefully you've enjoyed my story. Please leave a review if you will.
