Chapter 3: Musings from a Fossil.

When I originally wrote it as "Zero's Requiem", I honestly didn't think it would take 13 chapters before I finished the prologue. I chose to delete the story and re-brand it as a separate story, basically as my interpretation of the circumstances surrounding Marianne's death.


Hovering high atop a vast array of dark orange clouds was a floating, gray-white structure situated on a flat, rectangular platform. At the middle of the platform was an assortment of circular pillars, in patterns of two to four, connected to several rectangular ceilings, positioned in a formation resembling an elongated letter "U". At the front were two columns of pillars curved forward, like the number seven, but slightly upwards. The columns were connected to circular pillars within the temple, but were protruding through the ceilings. To the left of the temple was another section of pillars connected to square-shaped ceilings, merged with another two square-shaped platforms on either side. There was a broken pillar situated next to it. To the right of the temple was a second broken pillar, destroyed to the point where the bunk was all that was left. Four pillars, connected to the same rectangular ceilings, were positioned on the sides of the second broken pillar.

In between the curved pillars was an old man, silently observing the inside of the temple. He was a towering figure, possessing long white hair styled into four enormous curls on either side. Carrying an exotic purple uniform, the old man sported an upturned collar, a purple and red cape, orange shoulder pads that hold the cape in place, and coat-tails on the sides instead of the back. The left coat-tail had an imperial insignia, resembling a cross between an eagle, a spear and a crossbow. Underneath his neck was was a white handkerchief tied into a puffy knot below his goatee. The arrows on his uniform served as buttons, supported by long yellow strings. The left shoulder pad had two yellow chains connecting it to a badge, designed with the same insignia as his coat-tail.

The old man bore a scowl on his face, sharply furrowing his brow. Suddenly, a gray, bone-like altar jettisoned from the floor, violently shaking the ground. Within the altar was an enormous, black-coated blade with rows of gray, untranslatable letters all over its figure. Unlike the rest of the sword, its hilt was curved and ovular, but made with the same steel as its blade. Its edges had a gray outline, encompassing the sides to the very tip. The altar had curved spikes surrounding the sword, almost protectively. Unfazed, the scowling old man slowly moved his long arm forward, bringing his hand through the spikes and lightly touching the cold steel of the blade. Once contact was made, an insignia had appeared, designed as curved eagle symbol, complete with slender wings. It materialized at the area between the hilt and the blade. Twelve lines began to glow around the insignia, six piercing the upper and lower halves of both wings; both the insignia and the lines were glowing white. The blade's outline turned white, illuminating the outer rim of the blade, including the tip. Above the sword was an elongated, dark grey circle, with its center appearing jet black. As the old man removed his hand, the insignia, the lines, the circle and the glows dissipated. The scowl on the old man's face turned into an annoyed sneer.

"Still can't figure it out?" A feminine voice echoed the walls of the temple.

His sneer replaced by his earlier scowl, the old man slowly turned his head to the right, shifting his right eye into see the person who spoke. A fairly youthful, black-haired woman came into view, decked out in a white military uniform with gold trimmings on her jacket and pants.

"You can help any time you wish, Marianne." The old man retorted, annoyance evident in his tone, though his expression remained unchanged.

A smile was plastered on her face, as she tilted her head forward, chin grazing her collar bone. Her eyes coyly gazed at the old man, ignoring the sharp impact of the old man's own voice echoing through the chamber.

"I'm not one for researching the unknowable, Charles." She replied coolly, the smile never leaving her expression. "You have your brother for that."

Unperturbed by her courteous, yet informal tone, Charles briefly uttered a light growl, knowing she was right. Observing the blade once more, Charles looked at the markings. He mentally cursed his brother's slow progress at translating the markings.

"This isn't something mankind should've discovered." Marianne warned, her smile falling ever so slightly.

Darting his eyes at her direction, Charles regarded her with slight suspicion. "You never objected beforehand. Why do so now?" He asked her, his brow raised curiously.

Her smile returning in full, Marianne chuckled lightly, her head tilting diagonally to the left. "I'm not objecting to anything, Charles. I want this as much as you."

"I'm only reminding you of how easily this can blow up in our faces." She made sure to clarify, as coy as her voice was.

Charles began to form a retort, before she cut him off. "Take my appearance here." Marianne lightly grazed her upturned hand over the purple shirt underneath her jacket. "You never noticed me until after I spoke." She pointed out, somewhat nonchalantly. "If others find out about the Sword of Akasha, it'll turn into a bloodbath, and not the kind either of us want." It was a warning laced with politeness and assertiveness, befitting her nature.

"Let them come." Charles assured her, welcoming the prospect of anyone finding out about the Sword of Akasha. "Conflict breeds growth, Marianne. If they find the Sword of Akasha, they'll face us before they discover its true potential." Charles boasted, smirking as his words echoed once again. Marianne, for her part, smiled as her husband displayed his trademark confidence.

"As you wish, Emperor of Britannia." Marianne bowed courtly, placing her left foot backwards. Turning her foot, so it faced the staircase, Marianne's body contorted to do the same, as she elegantly strode to a giant reverse pyramid. At the center of the pyramid was a square-like platform, where Marianne stood. The square turned green, the light enveloping Marianne and evaporating her from view.

As he witnessed his wife teleport away, a thought itched the back of Charles' mind. "Why did she bother to come here if she was only going to relay a warning?" He wondered, furrowing his brow as he attempted to read his wife's intentions. "Perhaps I should've asked before she left." He mused in his thoughts, thankful that none could hear his mind at present time. An Emperor admitting a mistake isn't one for public appearances.

"She feels that someone will find the Sword of Akasha, Charles." Another voice echoed through the chamber. This time, it was distinctly masculine, but with an airy, boyish tone. "She's concerned that a coup might occur, that someone might target us personally."

Charles' brother was standing in front of the altar to the blade. Possessing long blond hair combed to the back, Charles' brother wore a similarly imperial uniform, but his most striking feature was his incredible youth, appearing as a boy barely in his pre-teens. Despite the airy tone of voice, Charles' brother wore a blank, disinterested expression.

"Someone like Schneizel; your own son, I might add." He made sure to specify. It was no secret that the Emperor's second eldest son felt that he was better suited for the throne, and though he was far from the only one, he was certainly the most prevalent.

"If you were any other man, allowing your most vocal opponent to become the Prime Minister would've led to your death." Charles' brother mused, turning his head to the right; coolly observing the altar. He slowly motioned his eyes back to his elder brother as he finished the sentence.

"We're more than capable of suppressing a coup, Vivicar." The Emperor, a giant of a man, towered over Vivicar, whom was no shorter than 4'4.

"I prefer 'V.V' to my real name, Charles. You should know this by now." V.V. frowned in annoyance, his brow furrowing. He raised his hand, upturning it to the side, the palm facing up. His wrist tilted backward, his pointer finger and thumb were situated horizontally, facing Charles' direction. The other three fingers curved forward, almost enveloping the palm from view.

Motioning his head to the left, Charles noticed how V.V. was pointing directly at Charles' head, as if questioning his brother's memory. "You need not relegate yourself to an epithet while in the presence of your brother." Chuckling briefly, Charles let out a smirk, amused at his brother's childishness.

"If you were named 'Vivicar', you'd prefer any name as opposed to your real one." V.V. scowled irritably, annoyed at the condescending tone Charles exhibited at the last sentence, though his voice remaining dispassionate.

"Heh, you could be right." Charles relented, knowing his brother wasn't one to listen anyway. "It's a relic from the past." Charles shrugged, motioning his eyes to the sword.

"If Schneizel is willing, I'll fight his coup." Charles tilted his head up, a confident smile plastered on his face. "The winner will emerge stronger." He boasted, eagerly clenching his hand into a fist.

"Other than that, I care not for the political machinations of the world." Charles unclenched his fist, horizontally positioning his upturned palm out, with all fingers facing the Sword of Akasha. He swiftly darted his hand diagonally, thereby bringing it back to his side, as if to emphasize his indifference.

"No, these are more important." He leaned forward, his eyes making contact with his brothers'. An orange, eagle-like sigil appeared in both his eyes.

"We've spent the last 30 years researching Geass, its properties, its origins, and it is through Geass that we shall never lose!" Charles flashed a large grin, his bombastic side rearing its head.

"And it is because of Geass that we are here." V.V. smirked, amused at the theatrics of his brother. "Though I'm taking care of the lion's share of the research." V.V. couldn't help at adding an extra snark, tilting his head to the left and placing his hand on his neck.

"You're so lazy you need your brother to materialize the Sword of Akasha in your place. Afraid your finger might break when you touch the control pad?" V.V. teased, his childish side slipping through his usual stoic expression.

"You heard the Knight of Two." Charles looked up at the Sword of Akasha, studying it as he continued talking. V.V. shifted his eyes back to his brother, raising a brow curiously.

Why would Charles refer to his wife by her title? V.V. wondered in his thoughts, noticing how Charles' statement wasn't uttered out of respect.

"You're the one tinkering with the tech." Charles continued, looking back to his brother, his purple eyes meeting V.V.'s own. "You've always found results, and you're still finding results."

A light chuckle escaped V.V.'s lips, bemused at the compliment from the Emperor. "I am a genius, after all." He put two fingers on his chin and motioned his head slightly upwards, eliciting a small smile amid the mock-smugness.

"This place materialized our codes when we first discovered it." Charles suddenly recalled from a distant past, receiving a nod from V.V, who dropped the smile. A code bestows the power of Geass upon others, such as V.V. to Charles. The code, a Geass sigil, appears on the palm of a hand.

An idea hatched into Charles' head. "What if we used both our codes to activate the Sword of Akasha?" Charles raised his brow curiously, as did V.V.

Both looked over at the Sword of Akasha and shifted their eyes back to one another. The two walked over to the altar, placing their hands on the black blade. The Sword of Akasha lit up nearly all of the markings, sans those at the very tip of the blade. The black circle rotated faster, analogous to a whirlpool, the dark energy twitching violently. The sky surrounding the temple turned to nighttime, a strong breeze encompassing the temple. The brothers removed their hands from the altar.

"We should've done this ages ago." Charles said with a grin. Vivicar looked at the Geass sigil on his palm, then back at the Sword of Akasha.

"We need a third code to activate the Sword." He deduced, rubbing his thumb over his pointer and middle finger.

The Emperor grinned widely. He brought his left arm over his cape, motioning to the pyramid. "I know where we can find her."