Greetings, dear fanfic readers, I have returned.
Now, I know a few of you have noticed this submission that are followers of mine both veteran and new and let me assure you that my three Rosario + Vampire projects are not abandoned. Just need to get back to the groove of writing them….
Anywho, this little plot bunny kinda came to me rather recently after reading a few fanfictions on the general subject at hand. As far as I can tell, only one other fanfiction author had ever conceived a similar idea and it was only with the main protagonist Lulu himself. So I figured why not go the full nine yards and do it to other characters?
However, I'm getting ahead of myself since I'm not really going to turn this one-shot cliffhanger or whatever the correct terminology would be into another project. I have six other projects to deal with, with half that number being in preproduction and of that number one of them has actually been committed to paper. So to speak… This is just to exercise my creative ability in storytelling to get myself back in the grove of writing to, hopefully, get back to those projects and get at least a chapter out for the published fanfiction projects sometime after xmas.
"Sometime" being rather subjective mind you all.
Now then, enough rambling, it's time to start this story with the usual disclaimer followed by the title.
Disclaimer: I do not legally own nor claim to have any possession upon the intellectual property known as Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. Instead, these are properties of their respective owners such as Sunrise and all that I can remotely claim is the scenario and plotlines that are the focus of this story and all other elements are borrowed without written permission of the creators themselves in order to execute this story idea.
Lelouch of the Quantum Venture
Chapter 00: Proposal Bizarre
The individual once known as Zero, Lelouch Lamerouge, Lelouch vi Britannia the Ninety-Ninth Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire, the Demon Emperor and the most reviled creature ever to walk the earth, found himself descending into a pitch void. He knew not if this was common an experience in the afterlife or if this was but the calm before the inferno that was heralded by fire and brimstone that deep down he knew was to be his ultimate fate. After all, what other outcome could there be for the myriad of crimes and atrocities that he had committed such as his Magnum Opus of despiration: the Zero Requiem?
Yet, through such dreamless sleep, his scenes noticed that from the very singularity of the abyss floated strange, ethereal lights. Some took upon the shape that was all too familiar to him: the Geass Sigil. Others took upon a corporeal form that was best described as eggs with misshapen and misplaced facial features. Many others took upon caricatures and forms that he could not immediately recollect their shape or meaning. In the grand scheme of Lelouch's destiny, it ultimately mattered little for he had changed the mortal world with his actions and ultimately his martyr sacrifice as he felt that he approached his final destination.
Finally, he saw the familiar gas giant that was represented the collective consciousness within the World of C, god itself as he descended towards and then through its myriad of clouds that made up the famous Great Red Spot. Lelouch could only conclude that he was to be brought to the court of the collective consciousness to which his damnation will be decided, a thought that would bring utter fear into any mortal man was but a trifle to him. In fact, it was expected.
However, as Lelouch descended through the cloud layers towards the core of the collective consciousness, he found that the so-called "clouds" were actually the ectoplasmic spirits of human beings who have passed from the corporeal and into the ethereal throughout the ages. And they were in pain, so many of them in utter agony that he could not conclude if they were punished or were the status quo of the collective consciousness of humanity. All he could do was give thanks to whatever other powers that be that he could not see anyone else from his previous life within this quagmire of damnation. At least, not anyone he held dear.
It was then, when Lelouch's vision was saturated with the ectoplasmic aether that made up the material representation of the collective consciousness in an eternal decent, when the directions of up and down were not so visibly segregated that he felt a strange sensation. A heartbeat, familiar yet alien at the same time, echoed from the very depths of the Jupiter-like projection as if it were truly alive. An echo that grew louder as the slain emperor came ever closer to his ultimate destination at the very apex of a grand vortex.
Finally, through the turbulence of ectoplasm and other supernatural material, Lelouch had reached his unknown goal. Before him was a strange, massive lump of flesh that one would compare to a heart in the very center of the vortex. The anomaly before him had "breathed" in ethereal matter through one set of tricuspid valves and "exhaled" out from another set of mitral valves, the great organ even moved like the cardiovascular organ, but he logically knew that it was something more within the World of C.
From the various folds upon the surface of the free floating mound of flesh emerged numerous eyes. Eyes that quickly turned their attention towards the former revolutionary in a disturbingly human manner.
"Welcome Human" The thing spoke, but not with any orifice that Lelouch could recognize. Rather, it appeared that the voice emerged from the vortex itself and the deformed sentient organ before him at the same time. It shook him as if it were a grand church bell or massive drum.
It took Lelouch a few moments to gather his own thoughts, for he did not expect to encounter the collective consciousness of humanity commonly known as God to be represented by an individual being. It would appear that there are exponentially more vast mysteries of the World of C then he had initially believed, that his paternal predecessor Charles zi Britannia had known. "So then, you are God?"
The thing scoffed, or at least a rough representation of such a reaction before it spoke again. "Why does everyone keep on calling me that? My name is not God, it's Bob!" The entity known as Bob exclaimed.
Lelouch, for his part, did not expect such a reaction for something that is possibly the very core of the collective consciousness. "Bob? Shall I assume that it is short for some other grandiose name?"
Bob moved to answer, but paused in thought, akin to one who contemplates philosophy and the meaning of existence before it spoke again. "…Good question, it never really crossed my mind if it was short for anything. For as far as I know, I've preferred to be called Bob so I guess my name is Bob. I really should look into that when I got the time."
Lelouch, however, felt the familiar pang of annoyance. It would so far appear that the quagmire of human misery was not out of malcontent by an angry deity, but rather the absentmindedness of a forgetful god. "So…. 'Bob', this lump of flesh is you?"
"Oh nononono- I mean," Bob then cleared its throat, or made the noise that represented such an action, before it continued. "What you are seeing is a part of me. My core. Look around you."
"This strange vortex?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow.
"An ocean of feelings all humans have deep within their souls. A common consciousness that transcends individuality, their collective consciousness. Its dark side is this swelling ocean, and from these swells I was born as the Ego of this world." Bob answered. "This world itself is I, the darkness that dwells in every human heart. The Idea of Evil."
"Are you really going to do this?"
"I rarely get any visitors down here, okay?! It's one of the few times I even get to be all ominous and foreboding and I really worked hard on it so at least humor me!"
Lelouch then groaned in annoyance. "Fine, but tell me, what is this 'Idea of Evil'?"
"So glad that you asked!" The raven-locked youth already regretted his decision as Bob continued. "Humans desired reasons. Reasons for pain, reasons for sadness, reasons for life, reasons for death. Reason why their lives were filled with suffering, reason why their deaths were absurd. They wanted reasons for the destiny that kept transcending their knowledge. And I produce those, as it is what I've been brought into existence for. I control fate. Obeying the essence of humankind, I weave every man's destiny."
"And I assume that it is one of those reasons why I am here now?"
"It was established that you would be here since a distant past." Bob answered "By influencing the lower levels of human consciousness and merging blood with blood, I created the lineage that would give birth to the man you are. To pave the way for the times you would be born in, I manipulated history and created an appropriate context for you-"
"No, I mean why am I here, right now instead of hell or heaven or whatever comes closest to that kind of afterlife?" Lelouch interrupted.
Bob looked disappointed when it asked "You sure you don't want to hear the rest of how I changed things around to-"
"I would prefer to not spend eternity to listen to what I already know by now."
"Alright, fine! Spoil sport..." Bob groaned in its annoyance. "I'll give you the short, abridged version. Because of what you did as the 'Demon Emperor', all of mankind wants to see you suffer in eternal damnation."
"I have figured that would be the response. So what have you decided then?"
"I was getting to that!" Bob then continued. "Anyway, I figured that damnation isn't exactly appropriate considering the contributions you have brought to, well, keeping me existing along with bringing peace and harmony onto mankind and all that jazz. So, I figured out the perfect solution for you!"
"Which is….?"
"Let you be some other deus' problem." Lelouch inexplicably found the palm of his hand slammed against the side of his forehead. Whatever damnation humanity had in mind would have been paradise compared to the antics of this deity.
And then the words became a realization when Lelouch spoke once more. "Wait, there are others like you?"
"More or less." Bob answered. "In fact, there are an infinite number of me's and, well…. Not-me's scattered across the multiverse with continuums both alike to this world and vastly different and alien compared to what you know. An endless variety of human drama and history played out upon a grand stage of existence, where one's altered choices are made concrete in another universe!"
"So you're basically putting me in the shoes of an alternate version of myself?"
"Geeze, and here I thought that you liked theatrics."
"Only when I do them." Lelouch countered.
"Figures…." The numerous eyes of Bob rolled before he continued. "Anyway, I'll just plop you into one of these alternate pasts as a reward for picking the choices that lead to me still existing while at the same time you're no longer part of the collective consciousness. It's a win-win for everyone! Well, except for that other deus, but I'm pretty sure it'll understand."
"Choices…?" Lelouch echoed before the realization had crashed into him. "Like when I had to kill Euphie because I accidentally Geassed her?!"
"I didn't say that they were 'good' choices." Bob countered as he turned around to work upon the task at hand, which was rather redundant since it has eyes all around itself. "Now give me a minute while I find the right alternate past for you."
"Alternate past?"
"Basically I'm going to put you in the exact moment when you accepted the Geass contract so you can start all over again but with the knowledge of your successes and failures and create the happy ending that you desired instead of the one you had to work with. Like I said, win-win for everyone!"
"You can do that?!"
"Yeah, it's easy as one, two….. One, two…. One…- Stop that!" Bob roared in annoyance.
"Is there a problem?"
"Yeah." Bob answered. "Apparently the idea is so popular that other people, including me's and not-me's are doing it and it's getting rather difficult to get the exact continuum that I'm looking for since everyone is snatching it up like hot cakes." Then Bob paused in thought. "Actually, hot cakes sound good right about now…."
"Does that mean that your idea won't work?"
"No, there's plenty more to work with! I just have to find a continuum that hasn't been nabbed yet by someone else so that I can execute this idea. And look and behold, I found one- Oh….." Bob stopped itself when it realized what it had chosen out of what was already available.
"What's wrong now?" Lelouch asked in justified annoyance.
"Well…..this one's going to be a bit an issue, but you're smart enough to wing it! I have confidence in your abilities to adapt to this!"
"Adapt to what?!"
"It's nothing too bad, don't worry! Though before I do this, I might want to make mention that it only happens once a month so you should be ready and not worry about it so much. It's perfectly natural."
"What's natural?" Lelouch asked in pure confusion as a blink of an eye later, he found himself back at the dilapidated warehouse where he had gained the power of Geass. With a smirk, he rose from his knees and faced the Royal Guard of Clovis that was so sure that they had won.
"Say, how should a Britannian who detests his own country live his life?" He asked them as he covered the left eye that now held his Geass. It was as if he relived an old memory, which was quite an accurate assessment?
"What are you blubbering about? Are you some kind of radical?" The officer of Clovis' Royal Guard before Lelouch asked, yet he paused just as Lelouch remembered.
"What's wrong? Why not shoot? Your opponent is just a school boy. Or have you finally realized the only ones who should kill are those prepared to be killed?" He then revealed his left eye and the sigil of Geass appeared.
"Wh-what's happening here?" The Royal Guard officer asked in utter confusion and fear.
"I, Lelouch vi Britannia, command you! Now all of you, die!"
"Happily your highness!" The Royal Guard officer exclaimed as the others pointed their handguns to their necks. "Fire!" He ordered as each one pulled the trigger, thus ending their miserable lives.
Lelouch, for his part, stood there rather calm rather than horrified of his new powers as he recalled of his past. He smiled evilly as he knew that everything will change to his own will rather than that of fate itself. All the mistakes he had made since acquiring Geass will be changed, altered for the better. All that time he had wasted to chase after an answer he already now knew can be better spent towards strengthening his own military might to accomplish his goals of obliterating the Britannia of his father. And he could not fathom the strange draftiness between his legs.
That was not the only inconsistency as he immediately recalled how his voice was not immediately familiar as his own, that it was a higher octave then what he remembered. True, he was in another Lelouch's body, but there was something odd about this body that he could not put his finger on as he looked down to see what that infernal draft was all about.
Only to look upon alien body parts that were not his own. Very feminine body parts upon his chest that were covered in a uniform not his own, yet were the usual Ashford Academy school uniform. He then reached down into his skirt to check if it was as he had feared had happened, the cryptic warning Bob had given him before he found himself in this new body.
His fingers confirmed that he lacked a certain phallic organ that he recalled being born with as his eyes widened in response. It was then that he recalled a detail that he easily overlooked when he turned towards C.C.'s body. He found that she had a noticeably more masculine body build with the notable absence of a pair of mammary organs that he had now suddenly gained with this transfer from one universe present to another altered past.
Then it flashed before him, memories of a different self that almost played exactly the same as he remembered but with one major difference. A difference that made it all the more logical and yet horrifying at the same time.
With fists clenched tightly, Lelouchia faced the sky and yelled out in brilliant anger "BO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-OB!"
And there you have it folks, my little Code Geass plot bunny! This came to me after a quick look at a similar story of one AgentofAlcor, but with a slight twist not clearly apparent in this one-shot: A good chunk of the cast is gender bent instead of just Lelouch.
And no, it's not the entire cast of Code Geass. Though I have a feeling that there's at least someone out there in internet land who has contemplated the idea of a gender bent Charles, an idea that I'm sure will haunt many of us. Just the cast that are approximately the same generation as Lelouch, with some minor exemptions here and there. In fact, I've come up with a list of alternate, gender bent names for the characters:
Suzaku Kururugi – Suzume Kururugi
Kallen Stadtfeld/Kozuki – Kevin Statfelt/Kozuki
Milly Ashford – Millard Ashford
Rivalz Cardemonde – Riva Cardemonde
Nina Einstein – Norbert Einstein
Sayako Shinozaki – Saburou Shinozaki
Naoto Stadtfelt/Kozuki – Naomi Statfelt/Kozuki
Kaguya Sumeragi – Kazuki Sumeragi
Rakshata Chawla – Rakesh Chawla
Odysseus eu Britannia – Olivia eu Britannia
Guinevere su Britannia – Gaillard du Britannia
Schneizel el Britannia – Schwanhild el Britannia
Cornelia li Britannia – Cornelius li Britannia
Clovis la Britannia – Carla la Britannia
Euphemia li Britannia – Euphemios li Britannia
Carine ne Britannia – Kieran ne Britannia
Gino Weinberg – Gina Weinberg
Gilbert G.P. Guilford – Gilberte G.P. Guilford
Villetta Nu – Vivien Nu
Lloyd Asplund – Lyda Asplund
Cécile Croomy – Cecil Croomy
Kanon Maldini – Candice Maldini
Alicia Lohmeyer – Eliseo Lohmeyer
As for a brief commentary, I try to match the altered name of the genderbent character with the original's name pronunciation or original meaning to make it near logical that if they had been born a different gender, that would have been their name. Most of the time. However, a few names on this list don't appear and this is largely because their name is unisexual or rather they don't have a specific gender.
Heck, there's even a GUY named Nunnally for a first name. Though speaking of the kid, it's also possible that she could have been named Rolo if born a boy and Rolo be born Nunnally if born a girl just to make things even extra twisty and disturbing for Lelouch/Lelouchia if one is evil enough. Can't be that hard to imagine Nunnally as being an assassin with the manga Nightmare of Nunnally in mind.
And this is pretty much where I leave this story off. I have no interest in continuing this particular story idea in the foreseeable future, but I can assume at least one reader would be interested to write out such hijinks to their inevitable conclusion such as male Shirley trying to ask Lelouch on a date. Awkward doesn't even begin with that one. Anyway, feel free to do so but don't forget to give credit where credit is due. Especially if one uses the above name suggestions.
As an added bonus, an internet cookie for one who can guess where Bob was originally grafted from.
Oh, and before I forget, I know that this story is probably not that good initially so neither flames or brutally honest reviews are needed. I can do that myself, thank you very much.