Fated Fatality
It happened in the most fleeting of moments. It ended as soon as it began, with the spray of bullets dyeing the world red. The palace's guards had no hope of reacting quickly enough. It was the instant after everything seemed to slow in which time stopped.
At least, during that not forever changing, bloodstained moment, a small eternity passed for Lelouch vi Britannia.
The glass windows shattered as the tiny projectiles flew though them, sending shards and sections of the colored panes across the floor of the entrance hall. Even the elegant, thin metal that held the more intricate designs together was mutilated, torn apart, and left broken by the force of the assault.
He had hurried up the stairs, ahead of the others, as he normally did. It was the unforgettable, unfathomable bang of gunshots that caused him to stop abruptly and turn around. The first thing he saw was one of his mother's two guards hurriedly running up the stairs toward him and stretching his arms out wide. A bullet coming a diagonal angle shot through the man's heart. His body lurched forward and his expression became stricken as the light of life disappeared from his eyes. He collapsed against the stairs, his blood splattering over Lelouch's clothes and hands as he fell.
The bullet had undoubtedly been aimed at the young prince's head - or at least that was how the memory was written. He watched in a state of numb disbelief as his mother grabbed Nunally and pulled the small girl in front of her. She gripped her mothers hands tightly and closed her eyes.
The motherly, sacrificial movement wasn't enough to save her completely. Some of the first bullets hit Nunally's legs, blood nearly erupting from the injuries. Her eyes opened and widened as her tiny hands slipped out of her mother's grip as she began to sink to the stairs, her body protected in front of her mother.
The bullets pierced their mother's body, sending dark red blood splattering everywhere. She lurched back and forth, unable to maintain her balance injured. But the bullets didn't stop. They kept coming, hitting her and her daughter mercilessly. Nunally shrieked and clung to her mother's dress as Marianne fell to her knees.
She somehow had the strength to clasp her arms around Nunally's trembling body as her own fate was sealed. The last of the spray of bullets shot through her back, creating bleeding wounds and holes in her shoulders and stomach. The single, fatal bullet that would have ended her agony faster never came. Instead, her body lurched forward and she collapsed on the stairs with a sickening thud.
In the last glimpse of her face he saw, her eyes were dull and void of the loving brightness of life. She had always been so protective toward her children, taking meticulously care of them. The brilliant shade of violet he had always looked up to see was replaced by a dark shade of red. It happened too quickly for anything but the lifelessness to be emblazoned in his memory.
Her arm was still wrapped protectively around Nunally as her blood soaked through the satin material of her dress and formed puddles on the floor. Her life drained away and all he could do was watch as her chest moved up and down, every breath coming and going with greater difficulty.
The two men in suits who were supposed to have been protecting her also lay dead on the stairs below him - one who had died meaninglessly lay on the stairs between them in addition to the one who had sacrificed himself for Lelouch. The earlier who had undoubtedly failed - a bodyguard who wasn't able to save a single life.
His mother attempted to lift up her head to see him one final time, but lacked the strength. She stretched out her hand, though her arm trembled violently and her expression was one excruciating pain. The puddle of blood around her was getting larger and deeper. It dripped off the stairs she was sprawled out upon and onto the steps below. Holes created by the force of the bullets decorated the stairs in a horrific testament to what had just happened. They ones in close proximity to her body were filled with the crimson color of life.
He wanted to move - he wanted to run to her side and seize the hand that was extended out to him. But instead, he was help back by invisible skeletal hands that kept him rooted to the stop at he tope of the stairs. More blood trickled and poured out of the bullet wounds. He couldn't bring himself to move - it happened all too fast. The weight of reality that shattered the world he knew was too immense; he couldn't accept her life was there and gone with a swiftness all but befitting for Marianne The Flash.
As the brief seconds melted into the sea of blood and endless flow of time, the trembling of her hands intensified before her life was extinguished. Her arm fell and dropped into the puddle of blood with a nauseating splash. Droplets of the sticky, warm substance landed on Nunally's cheek. Her pupils contracted in horror as she watched her mother's face become blank and felt her last breath against her forehead. Her chest fell one final time as her body went completely limp.
She was dead.
She was gone.
The familiar warmth they both knew was replaced by cold stiffness. The stench of death and blood started to permeate throughout the room bewilderingly fast.
Marianne Lamperouge's was extinguished like a candle's fire. Burning brightly with the strength and strength of life, but just as briefly, forevermore engulfed in darkness. No innocence remained in the eyes that stared down at her. Only one realization dawned on him as he watched.
How can life be so fragile?
It felt as though one of the bullets had shot through his heart as well. It might as well have; though the blood on his hands was not his own, and the realization did not occur to him then, but was in that flash that the person behind the name of Lelouch vi Britannia died. With his mother gone and his sister's fate uncertain, absolutely nothing remained inside; a perfect, empty zero.
Lelouch Lamperouge sat up abruptly, fully awake and eyes wide open. His heart was racing from the vividness of the nightmare and he felt a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead. He had nearly tumbled off the bed rising so quickly, since the immoral witch that had taken up residence in his room made him sleep on the very edge. More commonly, he'd end up sleeping on the couch or floor. She had a bad case of sharing issues and absolutely no comprehension of how a guest was suppose to act.
His room at Ashford Academy was dark, though no shadows of the past marred the present. The only brightness to pierce the darkness was the constantly blinking blue standby light of the laptop that rested on his desk. He shook his head slightly and took a deep breath, wanting to rid his mind of the memory's clarity as quickly as possible. Even with all his intelligence, cunning, and natural suspicion combined, he never could have guessed the memory wasn't real.
He stared blankly at the torn, bloodstained cloak that had been carelessly tossed upon the sofa on the opposite side of the small bedroom. The golden trim was marred by splatters of blood in more places than one. The darkest stain was in the middle of the back, but on the interior. It blended in with the material's color, but the tattered fabric along the bottom was in need of attention. He had been waiting until the next mission in which he had to make an actual appearance before the Black Knights to repair it; it had become difficult to purchase cloaks of similar style since the infamous terrorist, Zero, appeared in opposition of Britannia.
He didn't doubt his minions would be endlessly entertained if they knew he often had to sew his own uniform. C.C. had already given him far too much trouble over the matter. She went as far to call it a 'costume' rather than a 'uniform' and sarcastically asked where he recommended material and thread should be bought.
He glanced over at the sleeping immortal, somewhat surprised he hadn't awoken her; though there was always the chance she was awake and simply ignoring him. He suspected she didn't need to sleep very often and frequently pretended to. She probably didn't realize he noticed even the slightest irregularity in her breathing when he was up late working on his computer making preparations for battles and reviewing member applications. She was constantly watching him and overseeing his actions. She had been more of an inconvenience than an assistance for the most part, but she knew far too much about him and his roll as Zero to roam free. There was always the chance he could make use of her inability to die when she masqueraded as Zero. She could always take a fatal bullet in his place when hiding behind the second copy of his mask.
He had also overheard her talking to herself on more occasions than one, though not long enough to hear very much.
He stood up and walked over to the desk, opening up the computer and stepping away while it powered on. He glanced over at the familiar cloak a second time and his expression darkened. There was a great deal of blood on his hands: with each passing day, the weight of fatality he had to bear grew heavier with every life lost. He had caused the deaths of Japanese, Britannians, and civilians of both races. Many of the deaths were indirect, resulting in the choices he made and the commands he issued.
He had every intention of extinguished the life of the person who robbed his mother of her life and his younger sister of her sight with his own hands.
He'd already given one the siblings he had grown up with the privilege of being killed by Zero's hand. Though he did still have relatives in the Empire he would rather have serve him instead of becoming causalities, he expected to have to kill every single one of them if they stood in his way. The 'Power of the King' only confirmed his fate. He would have his revenge and create the gentle world his sister wished for at the end of the path of blood in which he walked.
Final Hikari: A Code Geass oneshot this time; I don't know how many people have already novelized Marianne's death, but I figured there was no reason not to give it a try myself. The angst was enjoyable. XD
C.C.: You're a sadist…
Euphie: That last statement was more than a little concerning…
Final Hikari: We'll get along really well, then. I don't own anything from Code Geass - and if I did, I would have already lost my mind trying to make up all of the crazy plots of Lelouch's…XD Also, before anyone asks, it seems that Lelouch and C.C. were indeed actually sharing his bed for a while in the first season! I was quite surprised when I took the screenshot, though I did notice Lelouch was wearing quite a bit more than usual. XD
Euphie: Is this really appropriate to discuss…?
Final Hikari: XD Not sure. Anyhow, does anyone want to see a continuation of this? I don't know how many of the picture dramas on the DVDs covered this portion of the timeline, but it might be interesting to novelize what happened after this recurring flashback. Review if you want to read more!