Okay, so I'm not very good at the whole author's note thing but I just wanted to say that, as this is my first story, please be kind and respectful, comment, yatta yatta... Anyone with idea, please don't be shy. I actually appreciate the input very much, and uh, hope you like the story so far.
(-.- I promise it's better than my stupid author's note.)
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass, nor any of it's characters. All I own is the sleep-deprived madness you see below.
XOX
THE WORLD HELD ITS BREATH AS A SHOT RANG OUT. That day, the black king was killed and his army destroyed. Those masquerading in white were the champions. And, as history is written by the victor, so was Zero rewritten by the white king.
This was his end.
He was dragged before the false king and forced to the ground, only able to watch helplessly as the man lumbered toward him, a dissatisfied grin plastered across his face.
"Lelouch," he spoke, and the world went black.
Several minutes later, his screaming would be but an echo thrown across the palace walls as his body fell limp into the arms of the white knight beside him.
"Take him," the king commanded. His men instantly moved forward and seized the unconscious boy by his waist. "And make sure Mister Kururugi is well prepared for his ceremony." he added.
"Yes, your Majesty." And, just as they were instructed, they escorted him out.
Suzaku watched as his friend was carried off in the opposite direction. No, not friend. Zero.
For this was his end.
Chapter 1: Rebirth
He tapped his fingers thoughtfully against the bed rail, well aware that the pattern he was tapping them in had changed.
Again.
It had been six weeks since he'd been entered into his hospital, or at least that's what they told him. To be honest, it could've been six weeks or six years and it still would've felt the same. Hot, boring, and monotonous, both in color, and in stimulation.
He stopped tapping and reached for the remote. Channel surfing had lost it's splendor in week two. Every thing was new, but all that seemed to be on was Zero this, Zero that. It seemed that even the news reporters had grown to rely on this Zero person. But honestly, even he knew that the man was just a symbol of false hope. The Elevens, whose freedom they'd forfeited long ago, should've realized by now that theirs was a lost cause.
The world wasn't going to change for one man. As long as there were people with power, they would continue to oppress the weak and justify their actions by blaming it on another. Even Zero.
At least, that's what he believed.
"How is he?" a young girl asked the doctor. They stood alone in the viewing room, watching this not-so-unusual scene unfold.
"Well, all his vital systems seem to be fine and there was no head trauma," he answered absently, too busy scribbling down notes on his clipboard to notice the girl's expression shift.
She put her hand up against the glass and stared in at the dark haired boy, glad for once that he couldn't see her.
"But we still haven't located the cause of his condition…" the doctor continued, trailing off as his notes began to, once again, take precedence over the young visitor.
"Yeah well, look all you want." The girl replied.
Hearing this odd responce, the doctor finally looked up, but she was already gone and there was a fresh twenty dollar bill attached to his clip board, so he went back to his scribbling and thought nothing more of the green-haired visitor or her strange comments as she snuck her way back out of the hospital.
Lelouch, you silly boy, she thought as she strode back down the hallway of the hospital and out the door. What have you gotten yourself into?
This is his end, he told himself for what seemed like the thousandth time today. The man who killed her, his worst enemy, and, his best friend...
Kururugi Suzaku sat in a plane, on his way to visit 'an old friend' in the hospital. Or at least, that's what he told the stewardess.
On the outside, he was the picture of calm, a model citizen willing to fight for what he believed in; Kururugi Suzaku But in truth, he was still human, and as long as humans live they will feel regret and sorrow, longing for what could've been, even if they themselves knew that it shouldn't have been.
No, he shook himself. He'd done what needed to be done. Zero was dead, now maybe Lelouch could come back to life.
Two-sixteen. That was the number assigned to his room. Suzaku stared at the number for several moments and took a deep breath, bracing himself for what lay inside.
He pushed open the door and took in the surreal scene.
It was a classic hospital room. Cold with stark white walls, one of which was devoted entirely to windows, and a plain white bed in the middle of the room. On that bed, a dark haired boy sat facing away, boredly tapping out a strange melody on the metal railing.
Suzaku unconsciously took a step forward, knocking his leg into the wall and causing Lelouch to spin around, his amethyst colored eyes fluttering wildly.
"Lelouch…" he breathed. Lelouch narrowed his eyes and gave him a strange look.
"W-Who are you?"
"Lelouch Lamperouge," the white-haired woman said as she slid a thin folder marked 'Confidential' across the table. "He's been stationary at the hospital for the past month. No visitors, no breaks in our surveillance footage. As of now, he is being escorted home by Kururugi Suzaku, his temporary guardian."
The men sitting at the table around he nodded in approval. By now, his name was something to fear. Kururugi Suzaku, the famous White Reaper.
"Miss Villetta?" one of the younger members stood. Villetta turned to face him. "I don't really understand, why do we need so much security on one man? Isn't he still injured?"
Her lips curved into a sneer. These noobs really didn't know anything did they? On any other day, she would've taken the time to drill it into him but today, especially today, she didn't feel like dealing with it.
"Classified. Besides, it's not him we're worried about." She answered.
He began to form his next question. "Than wh-"
"Now," she interrupted. The man, wisely, decided to take his seat. "I want surveillance teams on them at all times. Now that he's left the hospital, our risk factor has gone up at least thirty-six percent."
The men quickly did as they were told, and sent out the message to keep an eye on him and to report immediately if they were see anything out of the ordinary. Meanwhile, Villetta was already moving on.
"I also want guards on points three, five, and eleven." She said. But while the others may have thought this overkill, Villetta was the only one who knew what they were up against, and apparently, the only one with enough audacity not to trust Kururugi Suzaku to take care of things.
She'd disagreed with this plan from the very beginning. Mostly because if it failed, they would practically be handing Zero over to the Black Knights, even in his current condition.
Kururugi Suzaku, she thought bitterly to herself. You better not lose my target.
"This is P-9," the radio crackled. "Target in sight. I repeat; target is in sight."
"Q-4. I've got eyes from above." A second voice suddenly joined in.
"He's heading South on 41," a third joined in.
"Go West," the last said. "We can cut them off from there."
This voice, however, was different from the last. For one thing, it was female and, it was the voice belonging to Zero's second in command, Kōzuki Kallen.
"They've got guards on the West," another voice broke through.
"Then block them off. They know he'll notice if they go out of their way to follow," said instructed, turning off the microphone, and taking a breath. Playing Zero was harder than it looked, she realized.
Even a small rescue like this took a lot of planning, and if anything went wrong, they may never get the chance again.
"This is P-9. The guards are moving off course. Target is unguarded."
"Okay, we're moving in."
Kallen suddenly jumped forward. "No! Hold your position; we've only got one chance!" she said.
If she was thinking like Zero, this could just as well be a trap. They knew that the government was after C.C. and Lelouch was not very likely to go with them without his memories. If they moved too soon, C.C. could just as easily be captured.
But if she was thinking like herself and it wasn't a trap, they may be giving up the only chance they had.
"Pull back toward the target and see if they follow." She ordered.
The radio stayed silent for a moment and she held her breath. One, two, three, four…
"This is P-9," the radio crackled. "They're not following. We've lost them."
"Pull back," she said, taking in the new information. "Don't get too close to the target."
So it was trap, she thought. In that case…
"Q-4, push them forward, keep them from turning." She said. "The rest of you, see if you can prevent the guards on the East side from following."
If she was right, which hopefully she was, this would lead them into a narrower street and the enemy would be forced to drop their guards. And if they only had to deal with the guards on the North, it would be easy to use them to their advantage.
Unfortunately, the guards weren't the only ones they had to deal with. Suzaku noticed as several of the approaching cars suddenly spun off and replied in turn.
He sped toward the exit, throwing Lelouch, who was sitting next to him, back in his seat, then quickly slowed when the car next to him matched his speed. The car sped past while he dropped down to the lower level and into another wave of traffic.
"What happened?!" Kallen almost yelled into the microphone.
"We lost him," a voice responded almost instantly. "They just disappeared."
"Well, find them," she commanded. "We can't afford to lose him now!"
Suzaku slowed and blended his way back into traffic. He checked the review mirror but no one seemed to be following them any more.
Lelouch stared at him.
"Crazy drivers," Suzaku smiled back.
They moved faster than I was expecting, he thought to himself. But who's leading them?
As if on cue, a rogue car sped out and drove him into an alley. Suzaku cursed under his breath.
"Target confirmed," the radio crackled. "We've got eyes."
Kallen nodded to herself and started thinking of her next move.
Lelouch probably wont go with us in his current state but if we move now, we risk losing C.C.
No, she decided. They couldn't risk it yet.
Instead, she commanded them to do something almost as risky; wreck it.
Suzaku made mental note as two more cars appeared on his right side. No, only one of them was a terrorist.
Suddenly, it spun out and drove straight toward him. Even Suzaku wasn't expecting the sudden shift and was completely helpless as it crashed through him and knocked th car into the wall.
He groaned and pulled Lelouch from his seat.
No injuries, he noted. Thank god.
What were they thinking? If Lelouch had been hurt… He pulled the half conscious boy up and helped him out of the car.
"What was that?" he asked, grabbing the back of his head.
Suzaku didn't have time to answer. Instead, he grabbed the boys wrist and pulled him down the nearest alley. They only made it a few yards before stopping.
Lelouch took the opportunity and rested his hands on his knees, panting.
Suzaku, however, used the opportunity to search for terrorists.
None, he realized. Did we lose them?
"Damned… jock…" Lelouch managed between breaths.
Despite himself, Suzaku almost smiled. If he could forget about Euphy, his mission, and the terrorists chasing after them, it was almost like a normal day.
Unfortunately, the peace did not last.
Just as he was thinking this, Kallen was busy making her move. The guards had realized quickly what was going on and, as most of her soldiers were preoccupied, she would have to be the one to retrieve Lelouch.
A Knightmare would be too obvious and there was no way a car would fit through those narrow alleyways. She had to go in by herself and pray that who ever they got to escort Lelouch hadn't had military training.
She sprinted down the alley, keeping this in mind. It wasn't until she reached the clearing that she realized who she was up against.
"You," they said in unison.
Kallen instinctively reached for her gun but Suzaku was too fast. He tackled her and pinned her to the ground before her hand could close around the weapon.
"So you're the one behind this," he growled. "You could've killed Lelouch!"
She kneed him in the stomach and took the opportunity to pin him under her, quickly grabbing her gun and pulling it between them.
"Like you care!" she said. "You handed him over to the King!"
Suzaku grimaced and quickly looked around. His gun had spun out and landed several feet away when Kallen tackled but with her on top of him, there was no way he could reach it.
"Terrorist!" he shouted.
"Traitor!" she screamed.
He twisted and pushed her to the side, diving for the gun. But before he could grab it, someone else had already found it.
Lelouch's hand wrapped tightly around the guns handle and he raised it shakily between himself and the two people standing before him.
It was then that they realized the reason why this fight had started in the first place, and it was now standing, horrified, about five feet away.
"Lelouch…" Kallen said, unconsciously lowering her gun.
Suzaku tried to mask his anger as he stared at the amnesiac boy.
Nice way to make a first impression, he thought.
Lelouch took a step back, the terror from his first day back showing itself through his dramatic purple eyes.
Kallen lowered her gun. "Lelou-"
"Stay back!" he shouted, defensively pulling his own gun between them.
Kallen's eyes widened. It's true, she realized. He really doesn't remember…
Suzaku stood and began to take a step forward, obviously thinking himself the victor. That is, until Lelouch turned the gun toward him.
"Stay!" he commanded. Suzaku froze midstride. "Now I want someone to tell me what the heck is going on."
Kallen and Suzaku looked at each other.
"Lelouch," Kallen tried once more. Suzaku cut her off.
"This is Kōzuki Kallen, a known terrorist," he explained. "She's here to kill you."
"That's a lie!"
"She'll tell you anything to get you to go with her," Suzaku continued calmly.
"He's lying," Kallen said once again. "Look, I'm not here to kill you."
Just to prove her point, she slowly put her gun to the ground and kicked it forward. Lelouch looked down at it for a moment, then turned his attention to Suzaku, probably expecting an explanation.
"See?" Kallen said when he remained quiet.
Lelouch's expression softened a little.
A shot rang out.
Kallen fell to the ground, grabbing at her bleeding leg, as Suzaku appeared above her, a grim expression on his face.
No doubt he'll tell Lelouch that he… did this to protect him, she thought as she felt herself losing consciousness. That he… didn't kill me… out of mercy…
Her body slumped and everything went black. It wouldn't have really mattered if she was conscious anyway. Suzaku told Lelouch exactly what she thought he would.
"I had to, Lelouch," he finished with the most trustworthy face he could make.
Lelouch stared at him. His expression had changed again but this time, in his eyes was something new. Something he hadn't had for the past month.
Recognition.
He took a step forward, almost like he was giving in, then quickly shot Suzaku in the shoulder and dashed off down the alley. Suzaku fell to his knees and grabbed at his bleeding shoulder.
Lelouch, he thought angrily. The boy had begun to regain some memory.
At that time however, Lelouch still had no idea what had just happened. He didn't know who Suzaku was or why he'd decided to shot him but he knew one thing, they'd met before, and not on good terms.
That gunshot, it reminded him of something…
"Ah…" he winced, pulling a hand to his face. It was painful to think about somehow.
He stumbled out of the alleyway and into the light where a group of people were already waiting.
There was nothing uniform about them. They all had different expressions, different clothing. It was impossible to name exactly what it was that made him think they were a group, that bound them together. Maybe it was the familiar glimmer in their eyes when they finally spotted him. Almost… hopeful.
One of them grinned threw his arm around the young man. All eyes were suddenly on them.
"Nice to see your back," he said. "Zero."
Lelouch was suddenly on guard. His eyes widened and he threw the man off of him. The others all looked stunned, then their eyes fell on something in his hand. He looked down and realized he was still holding the gun he'd used to shoot Suzaku.
His heart skipped a beat.
"Easy now," one of the more rational members said, holding their hands up calmingly.
Their gesture could do nothing to help the troubled boy, not anymore.
He dropped the gun to the ground, then fell to his knees alongside it, suddenly feeling sick, and grabbed at his hair. His mind was reeling.
The Black Knights stared down at him, trying to comfort him and, maybe try to discern exactly what had just happened.
Above them, someone was watching with a smirk draw subtly across her face.
"You silly boy," she said to no one in particular. "Now we're going to have to start this thing all over again."
XOX
Thanks for reading, and please comment because, as I'm not an especially confident person, posting even the first chapter of this has been hard. So... yeah, review, tell me what you think, and I'll, uh, post the next chapter when I hear back.
Arigatou,
-SSXOX