A few things to note:
- The Twilight books will be set in the 'Holy Britannian Empire' instead of the 'United States of America'. Yes, I'm going with the Code Geass universe for this one, where Washington lost the Revolution. This means 'Washington' will be known as its former name, 'Columbia', and it will be 'Area 3'. There will be no other drastic name changes to reduce confusion. (e.g. Forks, Columbia, Area 3) — Sorry about this! ^^;
- When the Geass is used, the red ring does not exist. The symbol is only visible to other Geass holders (or equivalent, like C.C.). This will be explained.
Zero Gravity
by N. Silvutra Mayhem
Advent 01: First Impressions
When you're on the run with the world's greatest criminal and woken without warning, it's never good news.
Suzaku wrenched his eyes open, at a poke to the side, expecting the dark—
—before falling into a bunch of crates when twin amber orbs appeared too close to his face. He hoped no one heard him yelp; they were supposed to be stealthy, after all.
"Is it my turn to keep watch?" he asked.
The amber orbs disappeared as C.C. blinked. She leant back to sit on her legs, green hair swishing as she did so. "No. Lelouch wants you."
"What time is it?"
Shrug. "Sundown, probably."
Suzaku pulled himself to his feet and lifted the makeshift curtain put up to hide the back of the truck. To his surprise, Lelouch wasn't in either seat, and he found the familiar mop of black hair peeking over the open bonnet. As if sensing his gaze, Lelouch looked up and gestured; the universal wave for 'come here'. Suzaku squished down the conflicting emotions of camaraderie and loathing that surfaced every time he met those demonic purple eyes, and did what he was asked.
As he jumped off the bottom step, he spoke first.
"Why have we stopped?"
"Do you have the torch?" Lelouch asked back.
Suzaku pat himself down, finding the miniature torch they'd gotten somewhere in Minnesota, and handed it across. Lelouch nodded, silent thanks, and then leant over the truck's internals with the tiny light to guide his way. For the next few moments, Suzaku ran a hand through messy brown hair and leant against the side.
He glanced around. In every direction he looked, there was nothing except the highway and the solar farms bordering it. Nobody else was on the road. He stuffed both hands into the pockets of his cheap trousers, wishing he had some other clothes. Even the stiff tailored Rounds uniform would have been favourable, but he and Lelouch had burnt it and Zero's suit to avoid being tracked.
They weren't turning back, so why bother keeping them?
A few soft footfalls made him start momentarily, footfalls belonging to Lelouch as the prince walked around to the door.
"C.C.!" he called.
Suzaku noted the tone, pitched in a way to ensure the words carried to where they needed to be and no further. A small shuffle later, C.C. poked her head through the curtain.
"What."
"Look for the backup-battery."
She rolled her eyes and retreated, not before Suzaku asked: "Why?"
"The battery is dry," Lelouch said. "These solar-powered transportation trucks usually have a spare."
"If there isn't?"
Lelouch didn't even blink, but the eyelids twitched open imperceptibly and leaving no doubt to what the action alluded to. "We'll have to make-do."
"Not your Geass again."
"Do you know of another solution?"
"We didn't need to use it to get this truck," Suzaku defended, even though he knew he'd buried his own grave as he did so.
"No," Lelouch agreed. They'd gotten it in Alberta, where he demonstrated his skills in hotwiring after Suzaku's stubbornness ("Hotwiring is different, there's always a chance you'll be caught!"). "But such an opportunity would not be present in this situation. Geass is the only option."
Suzaku glanced around again, to the endless, empty highway. Lelouch was right, there wouldn't be any cars lying around unattended, but before Suzaku could concede his pride was saved by C.C.'s reappearance.
"There isn't one," she said. "What now?"
'What now' indeed. Lelouch likely (—definitely – it was Lelouch after all) knew as well as he did that they needed the truck, because it carried a Sutherland Frame they'd borrowed and there was no knowing when they could get another. But the only way it could move again was if they could get power to it. With a dead battery and no sunlight to activate the solar panels on the roof, though...
Suzaku looked to Lelouch, and found the prince staring at the solar farms around them. He had that look in his eyes, the super-analytical one, where calculation after calculation ran through his mind at lightning-fast speeds, the one he no doubt wore under the Zero mask every time—
A sudden too-bright flash of light appeared from the end of the highway, and when the light split into two Suzaku's assumption was verified. But Lelouch beat him once again. He waved a hand across his face, removing the contacts, and stepped further into the car's way whilst extending an arm with thumb pointing down.
Hitchhiker's sign.
The car approached, a shiny black convertible with a raised hood, and then slowed. Visible through the lit interior, the female driver scowled. Only when the car stopped could they see the shadow across her face was a large pair of sunglasses, perched on a dainty nose, and the short hair clipped just before her jacket's raised collar. She wound down the window and leant out, and Lelouch ran around to her side of the car.
Suzaku knew– sunglasses meant no direct eye-contact, which meant no ability to use Geass.
"What do you want, Brit?" she asked.
Lelouch smiled, disarmingly. "Our truck broke down, and I hoped you could give me a hand." She adjusted the sunglasses, looking further down the road again in an attempt to see past the truck in the way, but before she could speak Lelouch continued. "Would those be prescription, by any chance?"
She blinked. "Wha—How did you know?"
"It's simple. There would be no other reason for wearing sunglasses when it's so dark, and all your lights are on, brighter than usual."
"So what?"
Lelouch smiled. "Could I take a look at them? I've always been interested in optometry."
"Will you let me pass if I do?"
"Of course. You have a curfew to match, after all."
Her eyes narrowed, yet she hesitated. "Can you do whatever when if I just hold them?"
"I can—I'm only interested in inspecting the shape of the curve."
After a pause she nodded sharply, once, then wrapped her fingers tightly around the arms before removing them. Yet no matter how firm her grip would be, and no matter how briefly she intended to keep them off, Lelouch struck the instant her eyes weren't obscured.
"Do as I say!" he commanded.
Upon the Geass' activation, a faint tingling sensation occurred in the back of Suzaku's skull. It was probably from all the exposure to the power, and especially with his venture into the collective conscious making up C's World. He probably wouldn't get used to it, didn't want to get used to it, but knew he was getting used to it. The sinister ability responsible for tainting Euphy's final hours.
"Give me your phone," said Lelouch.
The woman did, handing over a slim blue cellphone which she retrieved from the glovebox.
Suzaku frowned at the ease in which Lelouch took it before inputting a number. "What are you going to do?"
"Call for another battery delivered," he said.
"How did you know she had a curfew?"
"A guess. She was in an abnormal hurry."
Lelouch cut the conversation there as he lifted the phone to his ear. He turned away during the call so Suzaku couldn't hear, the action through habit more than on purpose, and Suzaku occupied himself with staring alternately between his feet, the solar farm and the sun waving its last rays as it ducked below the horizon.
"Suzaku."
Suzaku looked back to his friend(—nemesis), finding that stunning(—bloody) purple gaze his way. As quickly as the overlayed image of Charles li Britannia appeared, it was gone. "Yeah?"
"Get back in the truck. You need to rest."
Initially, Suzaku wanted to argue, since despite the fact that he was running on a few hours of sleep, Lelouch probably didn't sleep at all. But a pointed glare from Lelouch's way spoke volumes: Lelouch would handle everything because he was the only one of them who could handle everything, and allow them to continue without raising untoward suspicion. Even if the Geass was necessary in doing so – the less people with a chance to see the three together, the better.
Suzaku grit his teeth. "Fine. But..."
"But?"
"Remove the Geass' effect from the girl when you're done."
Lelouch watched him, and those bastard purple eyes bore through him again. Finally, he nodded once, the action sharp. "Very well. I understand."
A sense of disappointment accompanied those words, and Suzaku cursed what was surely his greatest weakness once more.
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A/N: I'm sorry for the lack of Twilight characters, but rest assured the woman is in fact one and important in getting Lelouch-tachi and Bella-tachi to see each other. Next chapter you'll meet some more of the Twilight cast.
This story is at war for updates with my other Code Geass xover (read it! :D). And I use reviews to judge. Just so you know. :)
Next— Advent 02: A Not-So Pleasant Encounter
