Code Geass: The Seed of Freedom
Stage 01: Free Wings of Azure
"In order to create something, something of equal value must be given." –Equivalent Exchange, Fullmetal Alchemist
The Holy Empire of Britannia... it is a colossal behemoth whose influence has already covered one third of the entire world. Several nations have fallen to its might, and many stand in opposition. In this world, three nations currently exist: The Holy Britannian Empire, the EU, and the Chinese Federation. Seven years ago, Britannia had declared war on Japan, seemingly for no reason at all other than the Sakuradite metal mines on Mt. Fuji. At first, it seemed as though both countries were evenly matched. However, amidst the countless deaths, Britannia had unveiled its latest weapon: the Autonomous Armored Knights, or the Knightmare Frames.
In less than a month, Japan fell to Britannia. Its people were stripped of their rights, their culture, their history, their lands, and soon enough, even their own name was taken away from them.
Area 11. What was originally a prideful name was replaced by nothing more but a mere number. It has been seven years since then, and now, the world is on the verge of a great change, a change that has never been seen before...
And to think, it all began with the tolling of a bell.
~~~Free Wings of Azure~~~
Seven Years Ago, Nagoya...
Lelouch could no longer hold it in.
It was all too much for him.
The smell was becoming putrid, right to the point of rotting.
Grasping his mouth tightly, Lelouch ran over to a nearby corner and felt vile liquid flow out from his mouth, splashing against the ground with traces of green and brown. He could still taste the lingering vomit in his mouth, a trail of it leaking down his chin and dripping unto his pant's leg. He could still smell it, even from here, and the smell was only growing stronger.
He lifted his head up, and saw a mangled corpse lying on the ground not far from him. It was a woman with burned hair, her skin pale and her eyes wide, mouth agape and a giant hole in her lower torso, her clothes ragged and torn. In her arms was a child who looked Nunnally's age, a boy judging from the looks of it. His face was buried deep in her chest, his tiny hands clinging to her shirt for dear life.
Lelouch had never felt so horrible in all of his life. He tried to ignore the smell and stood up, moving his arm to wipe away the drips of bile from his mouth and walked over to his friend and sister, patiently waiting for him. Suzaku was sitting on a rock with both hands balled into fists while Nunnally sat beside him, her hands playing with the hem of her dress.
Ever since this whole thing started, Suzaku had been a shadow of his former self. Lelouch didn't like him when he first met him, and the feeling was certainly mutual. Suzaku was rebellious, outspoken, and above all else, an arrogant prick that held his nationality with pride. Now, he was quiet, hardly ever spoke out, and withdrawn, nothing like how he used to be. Nunnally was still the same as ever, however Lelouch, for the first time, was thankful that Nunnally could no longer see. He would never dare to wish her subjected to this sort of hell.
'How could humans have done this?' Lelouch asked himself once, looking among the dead corpses of Japanese, all of them young, some mothers, others children, and men among the piles of rotting death. Like Suzaku before any of this, he held his title as prince with pride, but the death of his mother had changed his outlook. This world was at the bottom of an ocean painted red with blood, and the ocean was only getting bigger.
"Lelouch?"
The raven-haired child looked up to see Nunnally looking at him in concern, her hands now at her lap. "Are you okay?" she asked in worry. Though her eyes remained closed, she could always tell without looking when Lelouch was sad or troubled, or even angry or happy. However, she had never seen him like this before, and frankly, it was heartbreaking. "You're crying."
Lelouch touched his cheek, and felt something wet brush against his skin. He must have been crying without realizing it. "It's... it's nothing, Nunnally." Lelouch said, trying his best to assure her as he gently picked her up and placed her on his back, his arms wrapped around her legs and her arms at his shoulders. "Let's go... I don't want to stay here any longer."
"That makes two of us." Suzaku nodded solemnly, standing upright. "So... where do we go?"
"I heard there's a refugee camp not far from here. A day's walk, maybe."
"You think Tohdoh-sensei and the others are there too?" Suzaku couldn't help but ask hopefully. He still hadn't told Lelouch just what he had done, and the more that time went by without telling him, the more the guilt gnawed away at him.
Lelouch shook his head, but his eyes held some sliver of hope. "He's a soldier, but, if he is, then-"
Then, without warning, the two boys were nearly sent flying when a building at the left side exploded, a giant blast of smoke flying everywhere and obscuring the two's vision. Nunnally coughed hoarsely, he lungs taking up the foul-smelling air.
As the smoke started to clear, Lelouch lowered his arm away from his face, only for his eyes to widen in horror when he saw his executioner. Suzaku was in a similar state, his body trembling and his eyes having a blank look.
In front of them... was a Glasgow Knightmareframe, armed with a giant rifle.
The machine moved its body towards the right before it found the three and sharply turned around, its face splitting into four, revealing a black sphere with rings flowing from the center and outward. The face placed itself back together, and aimed its rifle at them.
"Run!"
The scream ripped itself from Lelouch's throat as he and Suzaku scrambled to get away, the bullets blasting away behind them and following them. Lelouch pushed his legs right to the point where it felt like fire was ripping away at his muscles with his skin ripped off. Suzaku was running right beside him, pushing himself just as hard as he looked over his shoulder to see the Knightmare chasing after them, speeding away and quickly closing the distance.
"Lelouch!" Suzaku shouted when he saw that the rifle was aimed at Nunnally's back, and Lelouch's in turn. He quickly tossed himself against his friend, his shoulder slamming into him and down to the ground. Right where Lelouch once stood was a dent-sized crater with the ground cracked all around it. "Y-you okay?" he hurriedly asked. Lelouch groaned as he got up, Nunnally gripping at her brother tighter as the Knightmare seemingly leered at them, slowly raising its rifle.
Lelouch looked around wildly, looking for an escape route of any kind. "Suzaku, over there!" he shouted, looking at the entrance to a nearby alley. Suzaku nodded and followed after him, doing the best they could to avoid being blown to bits by the Knightmare. As soon as they were near it, Lelouch ducked into the corner, only to stop dead.
He had just trapped them. It was a dead end with a giant wall not far from where he was, and there was no door to enter for the adjacent buildings, or any place to hide. Suzaku stopped alongside Lelouch, eyes widening at their mistake. They were about to run away from here when they heard something come to a screeching halt.
Lelouch slowly turned around, and saw the Knightmare standing right in front of them, the muzzle of its gun directly at Lelouch's face. Tears were beginning to form while all Suzaku could do was stay still, fear gripped his legs down tightly and just left him there to watch as his best friend was about to die right in front of him.
I don't wanna die...
Lelouch could see the Knightmare's face split open again, as if mocking him for his little mistake.
I don't wanna die.
The metal finger was practically twitching against the trigger.
I don't wanna die!
Everything was trapped in a slow caption. The Knightmare's finger was pressing against the trigger slowly; Lelouch unable to move or say anything while Nunnally was in tears, sobbing against his neck. 'Is this where... we're gonna die?' his mind shouted, screaming to every part of his body. 'In this god-forsaken place? ...No, we can't die here! Not when I need to protect Nunnally!'
'I don't wanna die...' those four words continued to repeat in Lelouch's head like a mantra, over and over and over again.
'I DON'T WANNA DIE!'
And then, everything came to a screeching halt. Lelouch had no idea what happened, all he could do was stare with large eyes at the gaping hole that had formed in the Knightmare's cockpit. All he saw a stream of light shooting down, and then the hull was breached.
The Knightmare seemingly moaned as it fell backwards, exploding into a giant crimson cloud of flames. Suzaku felt relief wash over him, his body failing him and forced down to his knees, tears running down his eyes while sobbing in joy of being alive.
Lelouch could hear something other than the sobbing of Suzaku and Nunnally and the flickering of the flames. He also recalled that the stream of light fell down from the sky. Did something shoot at it? Did someone save them? Were they in the sky somehow?
That last question forced Lelouch to look up, and there he saw it. It was by far the biggest machine he had ever seen, the Glasgow not even able to reach up to its waist. With the exception of its torso, the entire unit was colored white with black hands, a long rifle in its grasp. It possessed a crimson red chin and a golden v on its forehead, the torso colored blue with red trims. Lelouch couldn't see what was keeping it up, but he heard what sounded like a loud hymn, like the sound of plane engines running at full speed. The most prominent feature about it, however, was the eyes.
Lelouch felt like an ant being watched. The eyes were strangely human-like, unlike anything he had ever seen. It was almost as if it was watching him, debating whether or not it was a threat. However, to Lelouch, he could only stare at it in awe.
It was almost like laying eyes on a God.
~~~Free Wings of Azure~~~
Tokyo Settlement, Present Day
"Man, you are truly the God of chess, you know that, Lelouch?"
The Tokyo Settlement was probably one of the most technological advanced cities in all of Britannia, save for those in the mainland. Several trains curved sharply along the towering skyscrapers, streets full of people, many Britannian and few Honorary Britannians. In a bird's eye view, it was a giant city painted silver.
Making their way towards the street were two teens, both of which wearing matching black uniforms with golden trims. One had a goofy grin on his face with wild blue hair and somewhat tanned skin, wearing biker gloves and a helmet both in hands. The other was a handsome youth with raven black hair that reached down to the collar of his uniform while the bangs brushed up against his brow. His defining feature would be his rich purple eyes, a rare eye color for someone like that.
They were Rivalz Cardemonde and Lelouch Lamperouge, members of Ashford Academy's Student Council. The two were just on their way back after having done something that Lelouch usually didn't take part in, but even he was willing to admit that playing against arrogant nobles had a certain feel to it. Rivalz was the one who brought Lelouch into this, and he didn't regret a single moment of it.
Although...
"How exactly did you drag me into this?" Lelouch asked in exasperation, shaking his head as he and Rivalz went for the bike parked along the road. Lelouch normally didn't partake in gambling and betting unless Rivalz somehow managed to get him to go, usually via blackmail or bribery.
Today was blackmail: Rivalz threatened to tell Milly about something that happened in class the other day, which Lelouch was more than embarrassed about: he had accidentally caught a glimpse of Shirley's panties, and if Milly found out, well... let's just say that teasing would be the least of his worries.
"Ah, come on buddy!" Rivalz grinned from ear to ear, his hands behind his head with his helmet strapped on to his head and his goggles hanging around his neck, walking backwards in front of his friend. "You know you enjoyed kicking that guy's butt!"
Lelouch sighed, a hand on his forehead. "While I did enjoy the satisfaction of knocking him down a peg, I'd rather be in school studying. Speaking of which..." This time, it was Lelouch with the triumphant smirk. "How are your grades, Rivalz?"
The mere mention of the word "grades" could deflate Rivalz's attitude in a heartbeat, as his face dropped and looked away, causing Lelouch to laugh slightly at his friend's expense before they exited the building.
Once they were outside, they saw a few Britannians gathered near a monitor. "Huh?" Rivalz blinked, trying to get a better view. The monitor was showing a young man with blonde hair wearing extravagant clothes fit for a prince. Lelouch recognized him immediately, and grimaced. The man was Clovis la Britannia, one of the many heirs to the throne, and Viceroy of Area 11, as well as Lelouch's half-brother.
Though there were very few who knew him, Lelouch's real name was Lelouch vi Britannia, the eleventh prince of the Holy Empire, and son to the late Empress, Marianne vi Britannia, better known as Marianne the Flash, the previous Knight of Two. However, when his mother died, and his younger sister Nunnally lost both her legs and eyes, he and his sister were exiled from Britannia and sent to Japan before the invasion, meant to be used as mere bargaining chips for the ongoing civil war for Sakuradite, a powerful metal that was used as the core for many Knightmareframes.
"My fellow Britannians!" Lelouch resisted the urge to roll his eyes. If there was one thing that he didn't like about Clovis, it was the fact that he was a Prima Dona, he always had to do things in an "over-the-top" fashion. "Today, my heart was torn from my chest, and crushed before me! A group of Elevens invaded a military base, and killed many of our fellow brothers! Why can they not see that we are, for all purposes and pretexts, equal?"
'Equal? Please...' Lelouch mentally scoffed before his eyes glazed over with pain, staring at the ground with his hands balling into fists. 'If we are equal, then why did you choose to attack people when they didn't do anything to provoke us? Besides, if we really are equal like you say, then why call them Elevens?'
"Please, my fellow brothers and sisters!" Clovis said, his voice raised and his hand placed over his chest. Once again, he was one for theatrics, preferring to do things in style. Of course, this was to be expected of Clovis, as he was a skilled actor and painter. "Join me in silence for our fallen brothers, who died in hopes of protecting the peace!"
"Man, talk about dark." Rivalz sighed as he grabbed the spare helmet in the passenger car and tossed over his shoulder towards Lelouch. He snapped out of his stupor and grabbed it before it could hit him in the face. "Eh? Ain't you gonna join in, Lelouch?" he asked, turning to face his friend and saw that his eyes had this distant look in them, his mouth curved in grimace. "Lelouch?" he called out for his friend, frowning when he saw his face. "You okay?"
"...I just don't get it." Lelouch muttered, though it was loud enough for his friend to hear it. "What's the point in killing? All it does is breed more hatred, and before you know it, you'll have another war."
"Well, what can you do, Lelouch?" Rivalz shrugged as he hopped on his bike, his hands on the handles. "I say to try and ignore it. Oh yeah, before we left, Professor Asplund said that he has another project for you to work on."
That snapped Lelouch out of his depression, only to sigh as he strapped on the helmet and jumped into the passenger car. "Come on, I'm not even close to done with the last project he gave me! Seriously, why doesn't he ask Nina to help him out for once?" he whined, throwing his arms up in the air.
Rivalz laughed as he revved up the engine and took off with Lelouch in tow, heading back to Ashford. Their teacher, Professor Lloyd Asplund, was certainly an odd duck, as his habits were beyond strange, and even more insane was that he was an Earl, and much to Rivalz's dismay, he was to be betrothed to Milly Ashford, the girl of Rivalz's affection. He would ask Lelouch for help in a few projects, though for some reason, he was forbidden to show or talk about it with anyone else other than his friends. Lelouch was at the top of his class, even in P.E., despite the fact that he rarely ever showed up. It was because of his incredible brain that Professor Asplund asked him in the first place, though there were times when he pushed Lelouch a bit too far, and resulted in him asking for help in the form of Nina Einstein, the smartest person in school. She may have been timid, but she was well known for thinking outside the box in Professor Asplund's lectures.
"By the way, do you mind if I ask you something, Lelouch?" Rivalz asked while keeping his eyes on the road. Lelouch looked up from his book, raising an eyebrow. "Why did you start with the king?"
Lelouch shrugged his shoulders and went back to his book, flipping to the next page. "If a King doesn't lead his subordinates, how can he expect them to follow?" he stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Although, there are times when even then they won't follow him, depending on his character."
"What's up with that? You planning on running a company one day?"
Lelouch chuckled at that one. Him? Running a company? He couldn't see it. "No way, that'll be bad for your health." Rivalz chuckled at his joke, only to pale and immediately scream, his grip on the handles tightening as he maneuvered past an oncoming truck. This startled Lelouch and his book went flying out of his hands. "W-what the?!"
"Dude, the hell?!" Rivalz stopped the bike and looked over his shoulder while Lelouch turned to see the truck running down a ramp and into an abandoned building under construction. The fact that the truck was on a different side than what it was supposed to be on was frightening enough as it is, but for it to smash into a building straight on? Was the driver drunk or something? "Uh... did we cause that?"
"I have no idea." Lelouch said as he got out of the passenger car. When the smoke started to thin, he could see that the truck was unusually big, maybe a carrier for supplies. 'But, why would you need that much material?' he asked himself, narrowing at the carrier. 'Also, why was it on this side of the road? Were they drunk or...'
His line of thought stopped when he saw something strange. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but it was still there. It was like a sparkling green mist floated above the carrier, right from the roof. "What in the...? Hey, Rivalz, do you see this?"
"Yeah, and I'm starting to feel sorry for the poor guy." Lelouch stared at Rivalz in disbelief. Could he not see it? "Ya think we should help out?"
His answer was Lelouch tossing him his helmet and running down towards the construction sight. "H-hey, Lelouch?!" Rivalz called out to him, but he ignored his friend for now. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw people standing by the sidewalks and balconies, just staring at the sight with a few holding their phones aimed at it, probably taking pictures or recording a video of the incident. 'If they have time to gawk, they have time to help people!' Lelouch seethed. 'Why is it so hard for people to find a reason to help someone?!'
When Lelouch reached the truck, he saw that it the driver portion of the vehicle was stuck under several metal beams. "Hey, are you guys okay?!" he shouted, trying the best he could to get to the driver portion. "Hello?!"
No answer.
"Dammit." Lelouch swore under his breath before he took hold of the holder next to him. "Hope they don't mind me..." he muttered before climbing on top of the carrier. He saw a small portion along the top, big enough for him to get into, though strangely there was no latter to use to enter it, meaning he would have to jump inside. Though he couldn't see very much inside of it, he could see a strange object sitting on the floor, easily taking up most of the front. "What in the...?"
It's you...
Lelouch blinked, his head snapping to behind him. "W-who's there?" he called out, looking around. He couldn't see anyone around him except for the gawkers and Rivalz, who was shouting at him to get back to the bike.
I've finally found you, my...
'Who is that?' Lelouch asked himself in his head, unable to understand what it was talking about. 'What do they mean they finally found me? It's a girl, but...' He got no farther than that when suddenly the truck began to shake and jerk with the sound of the engine revving back to life. The shuddering of the vehicle moving out was enough to force Lelouch forward, stumbling on his feet and into the carrier.
~~~Free Wings of Azure~~~
Meanwhile, at Ashford Academy...
Inside the Student Council room, an orange-haired girl with deep brown eyes was puffing out her cheeks. "Stupid Rivalz, taking Lelouch out like that..." Shirley Fenette muttered angrily before she went back to her assignment. "Why does he always try to get Lelouch to go out gambling with him? I swear!"
She heard a chuckle from behind and looked over her shoulder to see a beautiful blonde girl with steely blue eyes, wearing the female variation of the uniform. Unlike the boys', which was black with gold trims, the girls had to wear a white buttoned shirt underneath a pale yellow jacket and black skirt, complete with the annoying black tie. "Venting your frustrations, Shirley?" Milly Ashford asked with a teasing grin. "So, I'll wager a guess and say Rivalz convinced Lulu to go out gambling with him again?"
"Yeah..." Shirley sighed, reclining in her chair before pouting again. "Lulu's always said he prefers staying at school and studying like everyone else, so why does he do this?"
"You forget, when it comes to Rivalz, he's always got something planned." Milly giggled before propping herself on the table. "Oh yeah, he called me not too long ago. Look's like he'll be late."
"And where did he go this time...?" Shirley asked, sighing heavily and slumping down on the table with her forehead on her arms.
"Actually, it sounds like Lulu got kidnapped by a drunk driver." Milly shrugged and said it casually. Shirley, however, immediately shot up from her seat, causing it to fall backward with her arms planted on the table, her eyes wide in horror. "There was an incident, and Lelouch, being Lelouch, tried to help, and right when the truck started to move, fell inside the carrier."
"Oh no... Is he going to be alright?" Shirley asked, paling at the thought. It was no secret that Shirley had a crush on the popular Lelouch Lamperouge, in fact almost every person in school knew about it, and Milly was always teasing her about it, and whenever she got the chance did something in front of Lelouch just to embarrass her.
Milly smiled, gently touching her shoulder with a reassuring nod. "I'm sure he'll be fine. After all, this is Lelouch Lamperouge we're talking about here, Shirley."
~~~Free Wings of Azure~~~
"A-achoo!" Lelouch sneezed violently, nearly falling forward for a moment because of all the swaying of the carrier. "Great... now I'm catching a cold."
He wasn't sure how long he had been passed out, but he could tell that he was in the last place he wanted to be. He saw the strange object right in front of him, which was shaped like a giant capsule with black rods sticking out, and valves around a few parts. Of course, that wasn't the only thing that was there. Right where Lelouch had fallen was a giant tarp covering something massive, most likely the reason as to why the carrier was so enormous.
"Judging from the sounds outside..." Lelouch placed his ear against the wall, hearing a few voices outside, along with the familiar sound of gunshots. "It sounds like I'm on board a terrorist hijacked truck... Perfect!"
Lelouch was definitely not happy with this predicament. Out of all the days Rivalz had convinced him to go gambling with him, it just HAD to be the day when he got mixed up in something that would, undoubtedly, give Nunnally a heart attack if she ever found out. Still, with the way things were as of now, he doubted that he could get out of here in one piece. However, since he was Britannian, there was a small chance that the military would protect him.
However, the problem was that he was inside of a cargo truck hijacked by terrorists. If they learned about that small tidbit, he was sure to be gunned down under suspicion of aiding them. As much as he wondered what it would be like to have a bullet in your body, that wasn't something he was willing to find out just yet.
As the truck began to shake and sway, Lelouch heard voices coming from the front. One was male, maybe in his early twenties, while the other was a woman, young from how she sounded. "Why don't we use it here?!" the man shouted in desperation. Then again, they were in the middle of being shot at by either Knightmares or attack helicopters.
The girl had a fierce tone when she shot back at her companion. "Do you have any idea what would happen?! We'd be killing millions of innocent people!" Lelouch's eyes widened and immediately turned to the capsule and the mystery object covered by the tarp. 'Christ, these people really are terrorists...' he thought, horrified by what he had just heard. 'Just what the hell did you people steal?' Curious, Lelouch walked over to the tarp and lifted it up. The moment he saw what was under it, his eyes widened. "T-this is...!"
Staring him right in the face... was the machine from seven years ago. The very same Knightmare that had saved him, Nunnally, and Suzaku from the embrace of Death at the hands of a Glasgow that had tried to kill them. He recalled the feeling of awe as he trembled at the mere sight of it, thinking it a God to be revered. He didn't know what happened to it after that, he just saw it disappear, flying off somewhere and to never be seen again. He thought it was a test unit or something, considering he had never seen a Knightmareframe of that design or spec before.
When Lelouch looked at the machine closely, he realized that while it did possess the same features, it was not the one he saw from seven years ago. It bore an additional "v" on its forehead with a black torso, carrying blue and red trims and black shoulders, strange blue fins lined along its back. Right beside it was a long, white rifle. "It's design is different, but..." Lelouch murmured, staring at the mecha in wonder. "It's definitely like that one from Nagoya. Still, who built it? The Britannians? No, that Glasgow belonged to Britannia, yet that white Knightmare destroyed it. Was it possible that it belonged to that resistance group? The Japan Liberation Front?
Before he could ask himself any more questions, he heard the sound of machines whirring and the door sliding open. 'Shit!' Lelouch quickly ducked inside the tarp and lowered himself into a crouch, hearing the woman's voice again with slight agitation. "Idiot! That's why I'm here, remember?!"
The footsteps grew closer with a quick pace, making Lelouch's heart thump harshly against his chest. If she caught him here, what could he say? Would she believe him? Of course not, she was a terrorist that had hit a Britannian military facility for God's sake!
It was when the woman passed by him, thankfully without noticing the newly formed bulge in the tarp, that Lelouch caught sight of the female terrorist. Instantly, his mind began to whirl and click, recognizing her from somewhere. She was beautiful, and without a doubt she would be even more attractive if she didn't have that scowl on her face. Her eyes were fierce and cold, completely in contrast with her fiery red hair, which was wild and all over the place. She tossed the white coat that hugged her body away from her, landing in front of Lelouch with a walkie-talkie hanging out from the pocket.
Lelouch sucked in his breath and held it for as long as he could, watching the girl leave the cargo hold before entering whatever was in back. Finally, he breathed a heavy sigh and removed himself from the tarp. He took one last glance at the mech before taking the walkie-talkie from the coat. 'I can contact the outside world, but the problem would be the military. Would they even want to protect me?' The images from seven years ago flashed by in his head, forcing him to grimace. 'That Glasgow was definitely piloted by a Britannian... Why do they prefer blood over peace?'
Before he could use the object in his hand, he felt the truck shudder again, the cargo visibly shaking. Lelouch groaned as he felt his back flare up in pain from smacking against the walls. "These people need to learn how to drive!" he scowled, trying to get up when he heard something strange:
There wasn't any gunfire or shouting anymore. It was but clear silence. 'Are we... in the subway?' Lelouch thought deeply, bringing up a mental image of the city map in his head. If there was one thing people had to know about Lelouch, it was the fact that he possessed a photographic memory and could remember even the slightest detail, no matter how insignificant. 'We were right around Shibuya when we ran into the terrorists on the truck, and if I recall correctly, there's an abandoned subway tunnel that leads right into the Shinjuku ghetto... That explains why we haven't been shot at. Still, what's in that capsule thing anyway? Whatever's in there, I'd rather not stick around to find out.'
And that was when the truck shuddered again for the last time, except this one practically jerked everything forward, causing Lelouch to fall face-first and was sent tumbling forward. His back collided with the wall near the driver's area, causing him to scream. "Gah... What the hell happened?"
He couldn't feel the truck moving, and the cargo wasn't shifting either, so that meant they had come to a stop. 'We... must have run into a hole or something...' Lelouch realized, recalling that the subway wasn't exactly in the best of conditions, especially since it was abandoned and right near the Shinjuku ghetto. 'Maybe... I can find a way out of here...'
No sooner did the thought enter his head did the door on the right side slide open, revealing a ruined subway platform with several chunks missing from the ceiling, scrapped pieces of concrete laying about everywhere on the ground. "I knew the ghetto was in bad shape, but..." Lelouch started out as he stepped out of the carrier. "I wonder which part of town I'm in... If I ask for help, then..."
"Don't move!"
"H-huh?!"
Lelouch's head snapped to the right and saw the last thing he wanted to see right about now: a gun in someone's hands aimed directly at him. "W-wait, don't shoot!" Lelouch immediately threw his hands up in the air, expecting that to be the man's orders. He couldn't see them very well since they were standing shadow, but he could recognize a foot soldier's uniform just about anywhere.
The soldier slowly stepped out, his gun held in both heads, nice and steady. He stopped for a short second, looking at his clothes. "...Are you a student?" he asked, to which Lelouch nodded wordlessly. "What were you doing in that truck?"
"I-I got mixed up in all of this..." Lelouch tried to explain it to him, though something in the back of his mind was nagging at him. That voice... it sounded so familiar for some reason. "I was trying to help whoever was in the truck when..."
The soldier didn't lower his gun, but Lelouch saw his features relax somewhat as his right hand moved to his flak jacket's collar. "Command, I've secured the capsule. Sending coordinates now."
"Well done." Lelouch faintly heard over the com link. "Is there anyone there?"
"A Britannian student. Says he got mixed up in all the chaos." the soldier replied. Lelouch was starting to sweat. When you say something like that to a soldier, the worst case scenario is that they think you helped them out and you're lying, and the next thing you know, you have a bullet lodged in your head. Was he going to be shot him now?
"Just keep him there for now. Don't let him near that poison gas! Las thing we need is..."
That was when all fear and anxiety left Lelouch, his ears catching the words "poison gas" clearly. The rest of his words were drowned out, and his head was lowered, the fringe of his hair hiding his purple orbs while his frame visibly shook. They were chasing people for poison gas? They just went and created something that could kill millions of people? "Right, understood." the soldier nodded before placing his hand on his gun. "Don't even think about-"
"Why?"
The soldier's body tensed up again, his finger wrapped around the trigger, as if ready to shoot at a moment's notice. That was when the raven-haired Britannian lifted his head up for the soldier to see his eyes, narrowed into a fierce glare. "Why would you create something like that!"
"What?"
"Does killing people solve anything?!" Lelouch shouted at the soldier, who was now confused. He didn't care, he was angry. Why couldn't they understand it? "You people always start a war for no reason, and millions of people die because of it! Don't you understand that war breeds hatred and more war?!"
Lelouch was still shaking in anger, glaring at the soldier with intensity. He couldn't care if he was going to shoot him at this point, these people made him sick. He had seen what war was capable of, and he saw that you couldn't gain anything from it. There wasn't any glory to be had, nor was there any fame for it either. All he saw was death, corpses piled as far as the eye could see, blood splattered everywhere like it was raining crimson. He couldn't understand why Britannia was unable to see that.
For some reason, the soldier finally lowered his gun, and seemingly stared at him in wonder. "It can't be..." Lelouch somewhat calmed down, but found himself confused when he heard the soldier ask that. Why did he mean by "it can't be"? And why does he sound so familiar? He knew he heard this voice somewhere before, but where...? "Is that you... Lelouch?"
And that was when his mind clicked into place, and Lelouch's arms fell to his sides while his eyes widened in realization. He knew he heard that voice before, and why shouldn't he have? He had heard it so many times before seven years ago when Japan was under siege from Britannia. As it just so happened, that voice belonged to someone Lelouch had owed his very life to, no matter how trivial it was.
"...Suzaku?"
As if having confirmed it, the soldier removed his helmet, revealing the face of a teen Lelouch's age, his hair chestnut brown and messy while he carried soft amethyst green eyes. This young man was, without a doubt in Lelouch's mind, Suzaku Kururugi, son of the late Japanese Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi. "Lelouch, it's really you..." Suzaku breathed, staring at his friend in wonder. "But... what are you doing with a bunch of terrorists?"
Lelouch snapped back to reality and shook his head. "No!" he told him, holding his hands up in defense. "That is the last thing I want to do in my life!"
Suzaku didn't say anything for a while, but he gained a small smile when he saw how Lelouch was acting. "...Right, ever since that time, you've always hated violence." he recalled wistfully. "Still... it's good to see you again."
Lelouch smiled back, lowering his hands back down to his sides. "Yeah... it's been a while." The smile vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. "But... what are you doing with the military?"
Suzaku scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "That's... kind of a long story. But, listen, we need to get you-"
He was stopped mid-sentence when a loud 'hissing' could be heard inside the truck. Lelouch looked inside to see the capsule with the poison gas slowly starting to crack open, slivers of light appearing in the faint slits on the surface. The moment Suzaku heard the sound, his face went pale and rushed at Lelouch, slamming the gas-mask portion of his helmet into his face. The force of the slam was enough to send Lelouch tumbling to the ground while Suzaku covered his own mouth. Time was practically slowing down to a halt as the two looked at the chamber, expecting it to bust open with a colored cloud exploding everywhere.
However, this was not what happened. The rods sticking out of the capsule twisted and slammed into the capsule like a pile driver used at a construction site, the capsule split in four, falling to the ground as if mimicking a blossoming flower. The golden light had yet to fade, even as water spilled out of its contents. However, both boys were focused on the girl that sat there, unmoving, bathing in the golden light. Her hair was vibrant green and fell to her back, her eyes colored butter yellow. Her entire body was covered in a white bodysuit that resembled a strait jacket, straps and zippers and buttons intersecting at several points, binding her legs and arms.
"That's... not poison gas..." Suzaku finally said as he removed the mask from Lelouch, who was still staring at her with wonder. The girl looked at them, her head tilted as if confused before she fell to her back, her eyes rolling to the back of her head and the lids closing.
Lelouch had no idea who she was, yet he still couldn't, for the life of him, remember where he had seen her. He had seen her before, but where? Was it seven years ago? And why was she inside a capsule that was supposed to have poison gas? Who in the hell was she?
His thoughts were so scrambled and focused on the girl; he didn't even hear the sound of a machine humming. Underneath the tarp, the white Knightmare's eyes flashed bright green.
And so... the Seed fell from the tree, and took root within the ground. The Wheel of Fate has begun to turn, and there is no stopping it now... The Black Rebellion has begun.