Author's Note Part 1: Hello, people of the internet! Most of you probably have no idea who I am, but that's okay, considering this is my first-ever Code Geass fanfic and all of my other stories have either been related to Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds or Professor Layton and I have no idea if any of you are fans of either series.
In any case, this idea initially started as my own time travel AU (because there are just SO FREAKING MANY of them in this fandom) combined with my own "What if THIS event happened differently?" ideas during my first watching of Code Geass.
But I wanted my story to stand out. As I said before, there's an abundance of time travel AUs in this story. So it morphed into this: What if prior to any of the events in Code Geass happened, Lelouch had frequent nightmares about the most horrifying/sad/extremely important moments in the show? Initially, he'd be skeptical of them being of the future… but if they were to start happening… would he go out of his way to stop the events in his nightmares? (Fingers crossed that no one else has done something like this already.)
Aha, this is going to be SOOOOO much fun to write.
I don't own Code Geass or any of its characters. I hope you all enjoy the first installment of Code Geass: Memories of Destruction!
**The nightmares are depicted in italics, and are more or less copied directly from the dub because I'm one of those people who prefers it to the sub**
Stage 1: The Cursed Eye
The room was dim, the only source of light being a window. He stood inside the darkness, a gun in his hand. It was pointed at the only other man in the room: Clovis la Britannia, Viceroy of Area 11, Third Prince of Britannia… and his half-brother. The blonde man was sitting on his throne, clearly tense.
"Are you satisfied?"
"Very. Well done," the one hidden in the shadows replied.
Clovis lifted up an arm, choosing to prop his head up on it. "And what shall we do now? Sing a few lively ballads, or perhaps a nice game of chess?"
"That has a familiar ring." He discarded his helmet, but remained in the shadows. The dim room seemed to become a little brighter without the visor over his eyes. "Don't you recall? The two of us used to play chess together as boys. Of course, I would always win."
"What?" The prince leaned backward slightly as the stranger removed the safety from his gun.
"Remember? At the Ares Villa?"
Clovis narrowed his eyes, anger now crossing his face. "You… Who are you?"
"It's been a long time," he stepped into the light, "Big Brother."
Upon seeing the face of his assailant, Clovis stood up. He gasped—the man in front of him was supposed to be dead.
"The eldest son of the late consort Marianne, and seventeenth in line to the Imperial Throne," the man with black hair and violet eyes said. He kneeled down, bowing his head. "Lelouch vi Britannia at your service."
"L-Lelouch?! B-But I thought…!" The shock gone, Clovis stared ahead in horror.
"That I was dead?" Lelouch interrupted. "You were wrong. I have returned, Your Highness. And I've come back to change everything." No longer would he kneel to his half-brother. Lelouch stood up, once again pointing the gun at Clovis.
"I-I'm overjoyed, Lelouch!" The Third Prince's voice wavered as he sat back on his throne. "They said you died when Japan was brought into the fold. What a blessing to have you back! We should depart for the homeland immediately!"
"So you can use me as a tool of diplomacy? It seems you've forgotten why we were used as tools in the first place."
Clovis gasped again, his eyes widening. He remembered why.
Images of his mother's death danced in front of his vision. Lelouch blinked them away. "That's right. It was because my mother was killed," he said. "Mother held the title of Knight of Honor, but was a commoner by birth. No doubt the other imperial consorts held her in contempt. Even though you made it look like the work of terrorists, I'm no fool! You people killed my mother!"
What little composure the blue-eyed prince had left vanished. "It wasn't me! I swear to you it wasn't!"
"Then tell me everything you know. The truth cannot be hidden from me any longer. By whose hand was she slain?" There. His left eye pulsed as he felt energy build up within it.
A red glow surrounded Clovis' eyes. The blonde relaxed almost immediately after the power took effect. "My brother, Second Prince Schneizel, and Second Princess Cornelia. They can tell you."
"…They were at the heart of this?" No response. Lelouch closed his eyes, feeling the power die down. "That's all you know, isn't it?"
Released from the power, the panic returned to Clovis. He let go of his throne, trying to look as innocent as possible. "I swear it wasn't me!" His hands shielded his face. "I had… nothing to do with it!"
Lelouch lowered his gun—if only for a moment. "I believe you." His half-brother lowered his guard. "However…" the violet-eyed man continued, pointing the gun at Clovis' face once again.
"Please, you can't!" Clovis screamed. "We may have different mothers, but you and I are still blood!"
"You can't change the… world with…out ge…tti…ng you…r ha…nds… dir…ty…"
Lelouch Lamperouge woke with a shout. That dream—that vivid nightmare—was one of many that haunted him. This one, where he confronted Clovis, had been haunting him more frequently as of late. It seemed so real, like a true memory, despite the fact that the Third Prince was not dead, Lelouch had not confronted him, and he certainly did not have the power to bend others to his will.
It was a common theme amongst the nightmares, though. The burning in his left eye, the red rings around his victim's eyes, those under his spell being powerless to fight back. Geass, he reminded himself. That power was called Geass in my other nightmares. He pressed a hand to his face. No, there is no such thing as "Geass". Why do I delude myself into thinking these nightmares are real events?
Regardless, he had another entry to add to his journal.
Parasites. That's all the Britannian noblemen were. But they did pay up; he was 200 pounds richer than he was just nine minutes ago. Perhaps gambling wasn't the best way to obtain such funds, but there was no way he would lose a match of chess. Not unless he was playing against Schneizel…
The black-haired student stifled a yawn. He hadn't been able to go back to sleep after the nightmare just last night, and it had only been three in the morning. Combined with other nights where the nightmares would keep him from sleeping… It seemed logical for exhaustion to finally catch up to him.
"Rivalz," Lelouch said, looking up at his friend that was driving the motorcycle, "I need to take a quick nap. Wake me up when we get back to school, alright?"
"Yeah, no problem," his friend said.
"Thank you…" His violet eyes shut tightly, and he let his mind succumb to the exhaustion...
"Yes… I hereby accept the terms of your contract!"
His left eye burned, though he covered it with his hand. He was inside of an old warehouse, surrounded by Britannian soldiers and the dead bodies of at least a dozen Elevens. And the mysterious green-haired woman… she, too, lay dead at his feet.
"Say…" he said suddenly, confusing the soldiers that were ready to kill him. "How should a Britannian who detests his own country live his life?"
The leader of this group of soldiers adjusted his gun, pointing it directly at the trapped student. "Are you some kind of radical?" The man narrowed his eyes a little. "Huh?"
They would not answer him, then. "What's wrong? Why not shoot? Your opponent is just a schoolboy. Or have you finally realized… The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed!" Finally, the time to test this new power. He lowered his hand, the burning in his left eye intensifying.
The soldier's arm trembled. "What's happening here?!"
There would be no going back. No more hiding in the shadows—though, it's not like these soldiers would be able to tell their superiors about his true identity. He held up his left arm. "I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you! Now, all of you…" He threw his arm to the side, bowing his head slightly. "Die!"
His eye had never burned so badly before, but his command still took effect. The commander took a step back before laughing; the laugh of a madman. "Happily, Your Highness!" he exclaimed.
They all held their own guns to their necks.
"Fire!"
And then all he could see was red.
His eyes snapped open as he involuntarily sucked in a deep breath. That was a new one… a new demon to haunt him… and the first to occur when he was just trying to take a nap. The first use of that power called Geass… to make Britannian soldiers commit suicide? The strange actions that his dream-self would take…
The honking of a truck was what pulled Lelouch out of his haze. The vehicle was directly behind them—he and Rivalz would be crushed if it was any closer.
"Waaaaah! We're gonna die!" the purple-haired teen screamed, desperately slamming on the accelerator.
It didn't seem to make a difference—the truck still swerved off of the highway, through a barricade, coming to a complete stop only once it slammed into a building on the other side. Rivalz stopped immediately, and they both stared at the smoke and dust created by the crash.
"Eh… was that our fault…?" Rivalz still sounded upset, but also relieved that they hadn't been hit by the truck.
"I don't think so," Lelouch replied, getting out of the passenger car. He walked over to the edge of the bridge and stared at the wreckage. He could have sworn he saw a green glow above the truck if only for a moment.
Never mind that, the driver and any passengers in that truck might be hurt. And with all those idiots just standing there, some simply taking pictures of the scene… I doubt they've even called for emergency services. He threw his helmet into the car he'd been sitting in, ignoring Rivalz as he ran to the crashed vehicle.
"Hey! Are you alright?" he called even though debris blocked the driver's door. No one answered him—they could be unconscious, or just not hear him, or even be dead… The other door—could it be unblocked? Lelouch started to run in that direction, but the ladder on the side of the vehicle caught his eye. He could get inside the truck that way…
"Can you hear me? Are you okay?!" Lelouch called into the opening at the top.
His vision blurred for a moment, surrounded by blue. "It's you… finally, I have found my…!"
He blinked. The woman's voice stopped, the blue vanishing from his sight. "But where…?" Where could that voice be coming from? "Are you in there?" he called once more into the opening.
Then, the truck suddenly started back up again. He lost his grip on the ladder, tumbling into the small space, tumbling inside the truck.
Lelouch was trapped, and he had no idea where he was being taken to.
Author's Note Part 2: So? What did you guys think?
Yeah, I know half of this is just scenes right from the anime, but OBVIOUSLY they were very important and had to be included anyways. Just wait a few chapters and it will turn into massive AU instead of just being a slight one. Also, don't worry, all of your questions will be answered eventually. I can't give away EVERYTHING at the beginning, right?
Please, leave a review saying how I did! If I screwed up on some detail, let me know! If you have some sort of constructive criticism for me, share it! And if you don't have anything to say regarding issues, you should still leave a review anyways! Depending on how much feedback this story gets, I might give it the same priority as my main ones in the Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds fandom!
