The Atlantean Saga - Code Geass - First Interference Chapter 2: Saved, a code geass fanfic

Whew. This got more convoluted than I had initially planned. I'm proud of it though. In this chapter, you'll see the events covered in "The False Classmate" as well as some more background on Atlantis. Here's where the inspiration from Yu-Gi-Oh's DOMA arc becomes really obvious, but I assure you it's only the symbol, nothing else.

You'll also see some random other references in there, none of them really that subtle, so I hope you like them.

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass, nor do I own anything else referenced here, which I'll specify after the chapter so as not to spoil.

Chapter 1 - Saved

"What?!" exclaimed Clovis. He had heard the gun fire, and if he had heard it, he should be dead. After all, that was how sonic booms worked, the bullet should have already been in his head before he heard the bang. But he was sitting, alive, and in front of him, he could see the bullet, floating in mid-air. Behind it was Lelouch, still pointing the gun, completely frozen, as if time itself had stopped. Looking around, Clovis everything had a greyish tinge, except one thing. His eyes landed upon a young man, no older than Lelouch, with cyan hair and dark purple eyes, smiling at him; overall, a look that said, "Yes, you are seeing correctly."

The boy stretched out his arm, offering his hand.

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- An hour later -

C.C. opened her eyes. Not bad regeneration time, there. She moved around, now free to do so thanks to Lelouch. She looked up, and saw a face she thought… no, hoped she'd never see again.

"Hey, there, C.C., nice to see you," said Darian, smiling lightly.

Oh no, C.C. thought. Oh please no.

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The Next Day

Milly Ashford hit Lelouch over the head several times with a roll of paper; said buxom blonde proceeded to berate the fallen prince for falling asleep. "Wake up, Lelouch!" she shouted. "I know you were sleeping, your hand stopped moving."

"Well," said the black haired teen, "you don't have to beat me up over it, do you?"

"Huh, serves you right for ditching me like that," interjected Lelouch's blue-haired friend and fellow student council member, Rivalz Cardemonde.

"That's right," began Shirley. "What was up with you yesterday?"

"Oh, well…" Lelouch stopped talking, because suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"Oh," said Milly. "That must be the new student who sent me an email requesting to join the student council. Coming to a meeting before even attending a class, I like him already. Maybe I'll have a new loyal slave, since you've gotten lazy over the years, Lelouch."

"Excuse me?"

Shirley had already gotten up to answer the door. Opening it revealed the cyan-haired baron of Atlantis, not that any of them knew that. "Greetings," he began, smiling cheerily, "I'm Darian Rogue. Is this the student council?"

"Yeah, you're in the right place!" replied Shirley, equally cheerily. "I'm Shirley Fenette, nice to meet you."

"Rivalz Cardemonde, at your service."

Nina briefly broke her trancelike fixation on her computer to say, "Nina Einstein." That one's going to be a problem later, if I don't do something about it, thought the secret Baron.

Milly, of course, went up to the newcomer and made a large show of showing off her nice body to him. "Milly Ashford, the President, nice to meet you. I do hope you will prove to be a loyal servant." She turned to the rest and said, "Anyway, if we don't come up with a fix for the club activities budget, there won't be money left for anything at all."

"And if it comes to that point…" continued Nina.

"The equestrian club will be pissed. We don't want 'em comin' in here on horseback." This comment by Rivalz made Darian smile. I like this one. He has a sense of humor.

"Rivalz, can't you be a more serious student council member?" asked Milly as a member of the equestrian club passed behind her outside the window. This one… is… well let's just say I know her type. Pretends to be lecherous, but actually just wants love. Rivalz, here's to you getting a grip of yourself.

"You know, it would have been nice of you if you would have reminded us about this mess a day ago," said the orangette. This one… began Darian in his head. This one isn't exactly intelligent, but she isn't exactly stupid either. A clutz, really. Just a girl trying to live her life, a complete victim of Britannia's system as yet another member of the mindless masses that have been brainwashed by the government. Difference is, she inherently knows it's wrong, but doesn't know how to form that thought. Yet. Her father… has to die, for his involvement in Code-R, but at the very least she won't need to blame Zero, and by extension, Lelouch. Speaking of the devil. The boy in question had been rude and not introduced himself, still obviously in a daze from the day before.

"I would have to say a day later," said Rivalz. "Then we would have given up."

At this point the secret baron decided to contribute to the conversation. "Hah, now that's the kind of plan I can get behind."

"It is a great idea," said the raven-haired Lelouch. "We can still do that." And, thought Darian, here it comes.

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Meanwhile, in Atlantis

"Hm?" said Timaeus out loud, while still sitting on the throne, drawing his sword slightly. "What was that?"

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"GUUUUUUUUUUUUTS!" shouted Milly.

Darian continued listening as Lelouch and Rivalz attempted to make fun of Milly for still believing in magic (Heh, how ironic.) and Milly proceeding to demonstrate her bisexuality towards Shirley. (Yeah, I went there.).

"What, what are you talking about, you perv!" shouted Shirley in embarrassment.

"Well, I do believe the Vice President, who so rudely didn't introduce himself to me, and I can take care of this budget thing alone. We're both quite skilled with money, after all." Darian turned towards the revolutionary in question, who now had a little surprise on his face.

"Yeah, Lulu, that wasn't nice!" shouted Shirley, grateful for the change in topic.

Lelouch merely blinked. "How do you know I'm so skilled with money?"

"Well," began the baron. "I suppose it takes one gambler to know another." This proceeded to shock everyone in the room. Before Shirey could indignantly reprimand him with something about gambling being bad for him, he continued. "Of course, it's a very different kind, I suppose, but still. I know all about you, Lelouch Lamperouge." At the point he was looking at Lelouch out of the corner of his eye.

Lelouch, for his part, felt a tinge of fear. Does he…?

"You," the baron continued. "who have most of the nobles in the Tokyo Settlement in your pocket, thanks to your high intelligence and incredible skill in chess. One can't help but wonder what you're planning, but I suppose it's none of my business." Lelouch continued to grow suspicious. "However, there's something about your gambling that makes us even more similar. You know you're going to win, every time, because there are very few people currently in the Empire, perhaps the world, that could beat you, and you know that. In other words, you're hardly gambling at all, am I right?"

Lelouch hesitated, but finally managed to respond, "Are you saying you also hold all the cards in your hand before you make the bet? Just what exactly is it you do?"

At this, Darian smirked. He moved in such a way as to face everyone in the room.

So, thought Lelouch. He seems to have a flair for the dramatic as well. He seems to know more about me than he lets on. Is he an enemy? Or an ally? Lelouch looked back up, because he was actually curious to know the young man's answer.

"Hm," began Darian, never losing his smile. "Do the words insider trading mean anything to you?"

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It was true. Every Atlantean citizen in every universe, every corner of the entire multiverse, had a role to play. Every single one was given important assignments. And of course, many of these assignments involved infiltrating important companies around the multiverse and providing information on its state. All for the good of Atlantis, of course. With this information, Baron Darian Rogue was able to attain a substantial collection of every single kind of currency of corporate civilizations in the multiverse.

Of course, the members of the student council didn't need to know that. He just implied he had a lot of friends in big companies. Shirley, of course, confronted him, saying what he was doing was illegal. As much as he wanted to shout in her face that the laws of mere mortals don't apply to Atlanteans, he merely shrugged it off and said that while it may have technically been illegal, "His Majesty Emperor Charles would be proud." He said those words with a tinge of sarcasm, just enough for Lelouch to detect, giving the fallen prince a slight bit of optimism that perhaps Darian could be his ally after all.

Of course, Lelouch didn't need to know that the real Emperor Charles… the man he is behind closed doors… would most certainly not be proud.

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I am truly sorry, Charlie-boy, thought the Baron. I know you mean well, but… He blinked and stood up. "Well, that's done, budget's balanced."

"Great," said Milly, who promptly left the room, leaving the other student council members in the extremely figurative dust.

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"They used poison gas?"

"Man, that's freaky."

"Shinjuku's only thirty minutes from here."

"Oh my god! I saw smoke rising over in Shinjuku, it must have been the gas."

"Are they saying anything else about it?"

While Lelouch came up with a lame excuse for Shirley and wondered why the military was covering up Clovis's death, Darian walked over to the computer screen everyone was watching that footage on.

"Hey, check out the footage of those dead Elevens."

"Oh! Don't look at that!"

"Yes," said Darian. "Check out that footage indeed." Darian, being a new student, got a few questioning looks, some people even going so far as to ask him who he was, but he did not deign to answer. "Well, I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure poison gas doesn't cause bullet holes. Judging by the caliber, I'd say they're a Britannian make, too." At this point he closed his eyes and smiled. Why not? I'm in an anime, after all. "And since those victims in particular seem unarmed, I'd say they were civilians, not the terrorists being retaliated against or anything." The students were, of course, all speechless by this point. "Our beloved Britannia, even committing massacres now. Yeah, this country just keeps getting better and better. Isn't it wonderful?" At this, he walked away, and Lelouch was now almost certain Darian could be trusted, perhaps even with the fact that he… he never got to finish the thought, as he had to rush to the bathroom to throw up.

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Meanwhile, at the entrance to a government complex

A knight dressed in red watched as a car was ushered inside. So, Jeremiah Gottwald is in that car, thought Hermocrates. I hope you know what you're doing, my lord. The knight went off to find a way to infiltrate the complex.

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Lelouch had reacted as predicted to seeing Kallen in class. He was preparing to go confront her after witnessing her bee-swatting shenanigans, but he realized someone had grabbed his shoulder. Looking behind him, it was Darian.

"Oh, hello, Darian," he greeted. "Is there something you wanted?"

The secret baron merely gave a stoic look. "Careful, Mr. Black Prince," he replied, causing Lelouch's eyes to widen considerably. "Your Geass only works on a person once."

Lelouch gasped. Just who is this guy?

"Don't worry, my friend. I'm on your side. I just thought I should let you know." Darian smiled, and secretly, he had activated his powers, a green Seal of Atlantis appearing inside his eyes.

Lelouch, for whatever reason, felt he could trust the boy in front of him, and returned to smile. He then began to go back to Kallen, but stopped when he realized that perhaps he could get answers from Darian instead, and save his Geass. "You know anything about her?"

"Well," replied the Atlantean, "we should go somewhere more secluded for this discussion. Your room in the clubhouse then. I know you don't care if you skip a class. Take separate routes? See you there." He swiftly left, leaving Lelouch in the dust.

The exiled prince darkly thought, He may be trustworthy, but he's annoying, while clenching his fist and teeth.

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"Who are you!" Lelouch demanded as he entered his room. "How do you know so much?"

"That information will only be revealed on a need-to-know basis," Darian replied, "and you do not need to know."

"How can I trust you? For whatever reason, I inherently feel that I can, but I still feel conflicted."

That's odd, thought the baron. Did his Geass give him minor resistance to the Suggestion? Putting it aside to investigate later, he said, "Well, I can't tell you who I am, but I can tell you a little about your power. The girl who gave it to you would tell you… well, no, she wouldn't… but she's a little-"

"Dead?"

"No. Indisposed. You cannot kill a Code bearer. Not permanently, anyway?"

"She's… immortal?" Lelouch asked incredulously.

"And unaging," replied Darian. "Her name's C.C., she'll probably show up here eventually… and then proceed to frustrate the living hell out of you. Don't worry though, I'll pay her back tenfold."

"What?"

"For whatever reason, she hates me."

"So you've met her before." It was a statement, not a question.

Darian hesitated. Technically what Lelouch said was true, but the baron didn't want to reveal just yet that he was also immortal, in different way. So, he merely said, "Yes," choosing not to reveal that the time in question was several hundred years earlier.

"Alright, then. Tell me what you can, and," Lelouch activated his Geass, "tell me your true intentions."

Darian's eyes turned briefly golden, surprising the young revolutionary. "That won't work on me." He chuckled. "But I'll tell you. I wish to help you. Those are my intentions, for now. As for your power, it needs direct eye contact, as you've already figured out, and can only work on a person once, as I told you. It has a maximum range, though you'll have an easier time figuring that one out. It will continue to work for an infinite period of time, and you could probably use trigger words to ensure continued loyalty to you. If you commanded someone to obey you, that's all they would do, so be careful." Lelouch shuddered. "I do believe mirrors will be able to reflect your Geass, so you could hypothetically use it on yourself." The boy shuddered a second time. "It also will evolve."

"E...evolve?" asked Lelouch tentatively.

"First, it will become permanently active, though you shouldn't have to worry about that for a while. We'll deal with that when we get to it." Darian already had a plan to prevent the SAZ Massacre in place, and he was proud of it, he wasn't going to let Lelouch take his own precautions and ruin his dramatic and awesome plan. "Then it will spread to your other eye, still permanently active. Finally, you'll be able to control it again after that. Then," Darian sighed briefly, "if C.C. has her way, you'll take her immortality, giving her the death she so longs for, losing your Geass in the process."

Lelouch didn't know quite what to say at that. "She expects me to kill her… after she helped me?"

"Well, by that point you'll either hate her so much and want to do so, or, if her only other living contractor is any indication, you'll have fallen madly in love with her and be unable to."

"...What?" Lelouch asked, with wide eyes.

"A Chinese man named Mao. His Geass gave him the ability to read people's minds. You can imagine how well that didn't go when it finally became permanently active. Geass doesn't work on people like C.C.-"

"There are others like you and her?"

"I'm not like her… but yes, there are others like her. Geass don't work on her, so C.C. was the only way Mao could have silence. I think you can figure the rest out. Don't worry about him though, I think I can take care of him." Darian smirked.

"Okay…" said Lelouch. How does he know so much, anyway? "Anything else I need to know?"

"Yes. Your father, Charles zi Britannia, … don't look at me like that, he's still your father by blood, if not by action, … has a Geass power as well. His allows him to rewrite memories. That's all I can tell you for now. If you can figure more out on your own, maybe I'll let you hear a little more."

Lelouch attempted to intimidate the young man before him into telling him more with a glare, but Darian, of course, refused to budge.

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Meanwhile, in the government complex

The red knight walked through the hall, overhearing General Bartley's plan to move Code-R to Narita. Just like in Geass-prime. Good. We'll take care of that easily, thought Hermocrates. Now, to find Jeremiah.

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"Now, then," started Lelouch. "About Kallen-"

"You already know everything you need to about Kallen Stadtfeld," said the young-looking (and, by Atlantean standards, actually young as well) baron. "About Kallen Kōzuki, however…"

"A… half blood?" asked Lelouch, somewhat surprised. That was not one of the possibilities he had come up with for her being part of a terrorist group.

"Yes. She prefers her Japanese side. I do hope you at least plan to reveal yourself to her-"

"What?!" asked Lelouch incredulously. "Why would I do that?"

"In these coming weeks, you need someone that was already in a pre-existing terrorist cell that trusts you, that knows your face. If you trust her with the secret of your identity, she'll trust you. End of story. You don't need to reveal your heritage or Geass if you don't want to, but you should reveal yourself as the one who helped her."

"Okay… but how do I discreetly get her in private with the two of us?"

"Us?"

"I think it's pretty clear you're in on this as well. If you wanted to have me arrested or something, you already would have."

Darian laughed. "You're quite right. I do believe Milly was planning to induct Kallen onto the student council. I have a plan, and if it goes correctly, not only will we get her in private, we might even manage to get some videos of her coming out of the shower."

"I… what…" asked Lelouch, dumbfounded, but Darian merely laughed.

"Rivalz. Champagne."

A few seconds later, the exiled prince connected the dots and grinned. "I like the way you think, Darian."

"Really?" asked Darian, faking surprise. "You mean you're really just stoic and not gay after all?!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!"

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Meanwhile, in Atlantis

Timaeus sat in the throne, worried about the actions his lord might take. For all his greatness, Darian Rogue had one flaw: his hatred for a certain man. The man had used a demonic tool to attempt to ascend to godhood in several universes, which enraged Darian beyond all common decency. The baron had condemned the man to death in every universe in which he existed, even those in which he was innocent.

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Shinjuku Ghetto

Darian looked down at the body of the young Japanese man in front of him. "You know," he said out loud, "I'm actually somewhat surprised you even exist in this universe, with the extremely divergent history and all. Still, though, if George Washington and Napoleon can, I guess you can as well." He closed his eyes and turned around. "You're lucky you were already dead when I found you, otherwise I would have made sure you experienced pain beyond all measure." He began to walk away. "Farewell, then… Light Yagami."

Nobody really noticed the knife in his hands, or the Seal of Atlantis carved into the body.

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The Military Complex (trademark)

"Jeremiah Gottwald."

Hm? Jeremiah turned around to see what looked like a knight dressed in red armor. "Who are you? How did you get in here?!"

"Who I am is not important, though if you must, you may call me Hermocrates. You may want to look at this." The red knight gave the future orange knight a photograph.

"What the…?" was all Jeremiah was able to get out.

After a few minutes of surprise and explanation, Jeremiah understood. His prince needed him, even if it meant going against the Emperor. "What do I need to do?"

"We need you to pretend there's a project called Orange."

"Orange?"

"Yes. Important details… check the back of photograph. Carry out your business as you otherwise would." With that, he left. My task is complete, my lord. The rest is up to you.

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The Next Day or So, It's Not Really Clear

"You know the plan, right?" asked Darian, walking to class next to Lelouch.

"Of course I do, I was there when we came up with it," replied Lelouch.

"What's this we? Oh, and by the way, do try to be nicer to Shirley, if you even paid a little bit of attention to her she might gain some more confidence."

"...What?"

Seriously, is that all he knows how to say when I tell him something unexpected? "I'm just saying that her crush on you is really obvious."

Lelouch's eyes were wide in surprise. "She has a crush on me?"

What? Is he that clueless? "Seriously? For all your intelligence you can't even tell when a girl likes you, especially when it's that obvious?"

"I guess I'd never really thought about it. I have bigger things to worry about, especially now. I don't have time for a woman in my life."

"I've had one… sometimes several… in more strenuous times than this."

"What? How old are you again?"

"Just think about it, okay? You could really have something with her." With that, Darian picked up the pace, once again leaving Lelouch in the dust.

"Hey!" Lelouch called after him. "That doesn't answer my question!"

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"Hey Lulu," asked Shirley tentatively, "you coming along?"

"Sorry," Lelouch replied, "maybe some other time." Then remembering what Darian said earlier, he added, "Really, I'd love to, but I have a favor to take of for Milly. Perhaps you should go wait at the clubhouse?" gesturing to Kallen with his head. After a few seconds, Shirley realized and nodded in understanding, leaving the classroom.

He went over to Kallen and asked her if she should spare a minute. "I need to talk to you."

Kallen, not having any real reason to suspect him in this universe other than his voice, said, "Um, sure, about what?"

"Just follow me," grabbing her arm and kidnapping her to the clubhouse, Maes Hughes style.

"Um…" was all Kallen could say, the place being too public to drop her sick act.

Meanwhile, Kallen's "friends" all looked on in confusion, quickly getting the wrong idea.

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"Sorry to drag you out of there," said Lelouch. "But as Student Council Vice President it's been made my duty to kidna- I mean, recruit you to the Student Council."

"Just like that? No election or anything?" asked Kallen, still barely holding onto her sick act.

"Members are appointed, and Milly's a weird one. You'll get used to her, but she'll do anything to throw a party, in this case, for you. Since you're too sickly to join any other club, we figured you could join the student council, since joining a club is still required."

At this point they arrived at the clubhouse, causing the waiting student council members to introduce themselves. Then Nunnally wheeled in out of nowhere (because as we all know she secretly has magical powers), introducing herself to Kallen.

"Hey, Lelouch," said Darian. "I'm new here too, you haven't introduced me to your sister yet."

"Oh, really?" asked Lelouch. "Well, good luck with that."

Before Darian could respond, Nunnally said, "Don't be mean, big brother. Hi, I'm Nunnally."

I know who you are, girl, thought the baron, and you have no idea the importance you hold. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Darian, Darian Rogue. I've only been here a few days but your brother and I are already good friends." Payback time. The Atlantean put the boy in question into a headlock. "Isn't that right, Lelouch?" At this point, everyone except Lelouch and Nunnally laughed.

"Right," began Rivalz, pulling out a bottle. "Shall we kick this off with a toast?"

Darian whispered to Lelouch, "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?" Lelouch smirked in response.

"Champagne?!" shouted Shirley.

The roughhousing between Rivalz and Shirley began, until the secretary shouted, "Darian, help!" Rivalz tossed the bottle over to the baron, who caught it easily, and proceeded to shake the bottle up for a few seconds, throwing it to Lelouch as Shirley closed in.

"Don't think you're getting away with this, either, Lulu!" shouted Shirley, tackling her poor crush to the floor. At this point, the pressure was too much for the bottle, and things went about as expected from there.

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"This is why I hate Britannians," Kallen muttered to herself in the shower.

"It's Darian. I've brought you a change of clothes," came from outside the door.

"You can come in, I've already drawn the curtain."

"Lelouch is a bit of a coward, he didn't want to come face your wrath himself. He does apologize for all this, they can all be a bit too much."

"It's okay. Nothing wrong with cutting loose once in a while."

"These are some of Lelouch's clothes. Hope that's alright."

"It's cool, don't worry about it." Then she pictured the weak-looking boy. "That was fast. Did he go to the boys dorms already?"

"Actually," said the secret baron, "he lives here. It'd be pretty hard for his sister to live off in the dorms. The principal of the school lets them stay here as a favor."

"I see." Then she thought about how familiar Lelouch's voice sounded, and tried to pry some more information out of Darian. "What sort of person is Lelouch, anyway?"

"Hmm?" Darian questioned, setting the clothes down on the table. "Why, you interested?" he asked, looking at Kallen's silhouette through the curtain. Gino Weinberg, you lucky bastard.

"What, no!" Kallen defended, blushing. "I just… I'm just curious."

Darian laughed. "Oh, don't worry, I'm kidding. If you must know, he's a man with a tragic history. Any more, you should probably ask him yourself." With that, Darian left the shower room, heading straight for Lelouch's room.

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Hmm, thought Kallen, while stepping out of the shower, that was odd. Then she looked at the shirt Darian had brought her. In the pocket was a note. She curiously took it out and began to read.

Want to know more? Come to my room. I'll explain everything. Including Shinjuku. -Lelouch

"So it was him?!" Kallen asked out loud to herself, incredulously. Then she noticed a flashing green light. Looking down, she noticed it coming from one of the shirt buttons. She grabbed the offending object, bringing it up to her face. Is that… a lens? Then her eyes widened as she finally realized what she was looking at. "PERVERTS!" she shouted, crushing the micro-camera in her hand.

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Meanwhile, in Lelouch's Room

Lelouch and Darian watched as the feed on Lelouch's computer screen cut out. "I can't believe that actually worked for as long as it did," said Lelouch.

"I know," said Darian happily. "I kind of wish we recorded it."

Suddenly, a wild Kallen appeared, kicking in Lelouch's door. "Alright! Which one of you put the camera there!"

Lelouch and Darian merely pointed at each other wordlessly, which of course caused Kallen to slap them both. Darian felt no pain, of course, but the same couldn't be said for the exiled prince.

Still, thought Lelouch from the hard floor he was now laying on. It was worth it.

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"Now," said Kallen, who had finally calmed down. "What was with that note? Were you the voice in Shinjuku?"

"Yes, that was me, Q-1," replied Lelouch, dropping his pitch to the commanding voice he used during the battle. In response, Kallen tried to draw her switchblade-pouch, only to realize it wasn't there.

"Looking for this?" asked Darian, holding up the object in question. "I swiped it while you slapped me. Gotta say, it's pretty clever."

Kallen's eyes widened as she realized Darian was more dangerous than she thought and that she had no line of defense left. "What is this? What's going on?"

"The beginnings," replied Lelouch, "of a revolution."

"But I don't understand, why would Britannians-"

"In my defense," interrupted Darian, "I'm not Britannian."

Kallen glared at the baron. "What, then?"

"Need to know," he replied tersely.

"As for me…" started Lelouch.

What will you do, Lelouch? I told you you didn't have to reveal your identity or Geass to her.

"The Britannian system is one that puts the strong at the top. This I have no problem with, it makes sense. However, it's what the strong do with their power that matters most, and also what they base their standards of strength on. The strong should protect the weak, not kick them while they're down. Otherwise, what will happen to Nunnally?"

"But why go so far," asked Kallen. "You're pretty smart, from what I hear. You could figure out another way."

"Well, that's just it. I want to change the world, and I can't do that from within for one very important reason."

I see, thought Darian.

"What do you mean?"

"Seems you'll need a bit of a history lesson." Kallen's eyes widened at that. "Very well. The year 2009 a.t.b. Empress Marianne vi Britannia is killed, supposedly by terrorists. Her daughter was blinded and crippled in the same attack." Kallen's eyes suddenly became slightly angry, as she was able to see where this was going. "Of course, she was a commoner by birth. She was held in contempt, and the Aries Villa's security was far too tight to allow in terrorists. It's pretty obvious it was an inside job. Her son confronted his father the emperor; Charles zi Britannia merely said he had no use for such weaklings, and, after his son renounced his claim to the throne, exiled the vi Britannia children to Japan as political hostages. Then, just when the children had finally found a place they could call home again, along with their first real friend, Suzaku Kururugi, it was all taken from them, again. Marianne's son swore vengeance upon Britannia for all it had taken from him. The children went to take shelter with the Ashford family," Kallen gasped. "They were prime supporters of Marianne that lost everything when she died, so of course they'd be willing to help her children. The children took their mother's maiden name, Lamperouge, as an alias." Kallen looked on in understanding, no longer angry, for she should see Lelouch's hatred for Britannia was real, and greater than her own. "That's right." Lelouch smiled. "I am Lelouch vi Britannia, and I will obliterate this country."

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And so a bond of trust was formed between the trio. Darian, of course, still held out on his identity, but it's not like they would believe him anyway. Kallen was told to gather her friends at Tokyo Tower the next day.

And then, of course, came the announcement Lelouch and Darian had been waiting for.

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"Lelouch, it's terrible!" shouted Nunnally.

Yes, Prince Clovis was dead, but there was something in the report, after Jeremiah's speech, after the announcement of Suzaku being the main suspect (which was already shocking enough for Lelouch), that confused Lelouch. What… what is this?

"Prince Clovis's body was found shot in the head with a strange green glow coming from his chest. Inscribed into his body was a unicursal hexagram inscribed in the circle. The word "Oreichalcos" was written in Enochian lettering inside said circle. Enochian was an occult language first known to be used by John Dee and Edward Kelley. The word "Oreichalcos," according to initial investigations, seems connected to ancient myths surrounding the city of Atlantis. The entire symbol was… glowing green."

I didn't do that, thought Lelouch, confused.

Impressive, thought Darian. They've already figured out that much about the Seal of Atlantis, once called the Seal of Oreichalcos. He started to leave the clubhouse. Nobody noticed the Golden Seal of Atlantis on the back of his jacket. He quickly sent a text to Lelouch and Kallen that they'd discuss their course of action later. Then he returned to Atlantis.

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A Few Days Earlier

The boy stretched out his arm, offering his hand. "Do you want a chance to atone?"

"Atone?" asked Clovis confusedly, standing up.

"Atone for the massacre you initiated here." The boy gestured out the window. "Those are people, Clovis. People with families. Women, children. Elderly. Innocent. All for what? For a sick experiment that deep down you knew wouldn't really ever work."

"I just…" began Clovis, finally realizing the full impact of what he had done. His eyes began to water. "I just wanted to be able to bring Lelouch and Nunnally back to life. I had their bodies preserved… or, what I thought were their bodies," he finished looking at Lelouch's grey form in front of his throne.

"Yes," said the boy. "You've been lied to by your father. Lelouch is now on a path of blood that will eventually end up with him going directly against the Emperor. Do you want the power to protect him from your father and from himself?"

"Yes," said Clovis. "More than anything."

The boy chuckled, then laughed. "When a person dies, his body, mind, and soul drift apart. However, there are ways to make sure that, when someone dies, the mind and soul stay together. This is known as a specter. They cannot fully die until they wish it, and no longer confined to a body, they are infinitely more powerful than any mere mortal."

Clovis's eyes widened. "Is that what you are? A specter? Who are you?!"

The boy grinned. "I am Darian Rogue, the Baron of Atlantis. Yes, I am a specter, a powerful being that exists outside of the regular confines of time and space… just like my beautiful city."

"Atlantis? But… that's just a myth!" Clovis exclaimed incredulously. "And even if it's not, it sank!"

"Listen carefully to what I just said."

Clovis thought back and then realized what Darian was alluding to. "You don't mean… Atlantis is… spectral?"

"Yes. That is the real reason it disappeared. Its baron at the time realized that having a multiverse-spanning Empire was difficult if each universe was not already at peace. So, he broke up the Empire and removed the city from physical space. Now, for thousands of years, we've been doing our best to arrange peace in the multiverse so that one day our glorious Empire can be reestablished."

Clovis's eyes hardened. "What do I need to do?"

"Become one of us. Work for the betterment of Atlantis… but help Lelouch as well. You'll be trained. You'll become powerful. And you'll be given assignments. You'll start at the bottom and move up to the top, just like any other. One day, I may even give you a spot as a Knight of Atlantis." Darian gestured towards the floor, where a golden glowing Seal of Atlantis formed. "All you need to do is to step into this seal… and become a specter."

And from that moment on, Clovis's life changed. The next thing he saw was three knights, dressed in green, red, and yellow, standing in an elaborate throne room.

"Greetings," the one in green said. "I am Sir Timaeus the Green, First Knight of Atlantis."

"I am Sir Hermocrates the Red, Third Knight of Atlantis."

"I am Sir Socrates the Yellow, Fourth Knight of Atlantis."

"We regret that Sir Critias the Blue, Second Knight of Atlantis, could not be here to greet you today, Clovis la Britannia," said Timaeus. "Please follow Socrates. Your training will commence immediately."

Meanwhile, back in the G-1, Darian had watched as the Seal consumed Clovis. And of course, the green version of the seal appeared in his chest. Darian steadily sat Clovis's body back upon the G-1, making sure to raise up his head so that the bullet would hit correctly. His eyes glowed golden, time restarted, and finally Clovis's body died.

And Lelouch never even noticed the Seal of Atlantis in his chest.

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A Few Days After, In Atlantis

"Welcome back, my lord," greeted Timaeus. "There's a situation you probably want to know about in Homeline-"

"If you're referring to the Malaysia Airlines crisis with the Ukrainian separatists," said Darian, "I'm already aware. Unfortunately, there's not much I can do to check Putin's ambitions right now. I'll go pay my respects to the deceased when I can. If Atlantean intelligence held up in Homeline courts, believe me, I'd have Putin locked away for good. But I can't get rid of him yet, someone even worse will take over. I know he wants to reestablish the Soviet Union, but better the devil I know than the devil I don't. How's our guest?" he asked as he started walking down the hallway towards the communications center, Timaeus close in step.

"He's progressing remarkably quickly. Already he can play chess at the level he used to think he was actually capable of-"

"He could take on Lelouch now?"

"Well, maybe not quite yet. But he's good. He also shows promise in physical aptitude."

"And the Seal powers?"

"Well, as far as green goes, he seems adept at manipulation of minds. Fitting, politician as he was. Haven't tried the other colors yet, but-"

"Well, its all certainly better than I expected. If you'll excuse me," Darian said, opening door to the comm room, "I have to contact Critias."

"Of course my lord." Timaeus left back to the throne room, while Darian stepped inside the comms room, turning on the system. Critias's face soon appeared on the screen.

"Hello, my lord," the knight greeted warmly.

"Hello, my friend. Report," prompted the baron.

"I may yet be able to prevent Ned Stark's death without using too much Seal power. If not, then Robb's life is certainly assured."

Yu-Gi-Oh and the Seal of Orichalcos belong to NAS and Konami. In this case it doesn't really belong to Kazuki Takahashi because that was an anime-only arc.

Oreichalchos, though, was an actual concept in Atlantean mythology. Just to put that out there. And in case you were wondering, the symbols in the Seal of Orichalchos are indeed Enochean, and they do indeed say "Oreichalcos."

Death Note isn't mine.

A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones belong to George R. R. Martin/David Benioff & D. B. Weiss.
...Maes Hughes style... haha I even cracked myself up with that joke. Obviously, he's not my character.

The concept of specters is inspired by Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's concept of the same in the Chzo Mythos (which, if you haven't played, I highly suggest you go do. Those games are lifechanging in the same way that Code Geass is).

Anyway, hope you liked it, review or something.