a/n: all praises go to Mattman324 for convincing me to make this a twoshot, to detail Lelouch's and Euphemia's battles through the vicious cycle of reincarnation in order to see Nunnally again.
disclaimer: i own nothing.
chapter two
"You want to apply for reincarnation?" the Original said sharply, a gleam in its eyes that almost looked like amusement. Lelouch ignored it, keeping his eyes on the bloodstained cleaver that the Original held.
"Yes," Euphemia smiled, "We think we're ready."
The Original looked skeptical but it handed them a pile of forms nonetheless, "As you might be aware, reincarnation starts at the level of a cockroach. If, during that time, your soul tends to do evil, then you will be reborn as an even lower life form, moving down the food chain to single-celled organisms."
"And if your soul tends to good?" Euphemia asked, now holding Lelouch's shirt to prevent him from sneaking away.
"Then you steadily go up the food chain, dying and getting reborn as a higher life form until you finally make it to human. After that, it's up to you – heaven, or hell."
Euphemia nodded, bowing slightly to the Original before backing away, releasing her grip on Lelouch. To her surprise, he hesitated, lingering in front of the Original as if he had to say something.
"I saved your life," he said finally, his tone changing to aristocratic, commanding, powerful – the very same tone Euphemia heard moments before his Geass had turned on her.
"Excuse me?" the Original said, tilting its head to one side and looking adorably confused, if it wasn't for the pale fingers softly caressing the stained handle of the bloody cleaver.
Lelouch didn't falter – she had to give him credit for that. Instead, he swallowed nervously before drawing up to his full height, the mask of the 99th Emperor of Britannia settling around him like a comfortable mantle.
"The Sword of Akasha," he replied imperially, "I killed my own parents to destroy their work – to restore reality and the flow of time. To save you."
Marianne and Charles – barely visible behind their small mountains of paperwork – seemed to have frozen, watching the Original with wide eyes.
The girl considered Lelouch for a second, before conceding his point, "You're right. I would have been destroyed if they succeeded. I owe you a debt, Lelouch vi Britannia," it smiled, a little girl's smile that seemed just wrong on its wise and cruel face, "And I always pay my debts."
The amusement in its eyes was a mockery of human emotion, "I'll grant you one wish – one wish to honor our agreement and balance our debts. Ask wisely, Geass wielder."
Euphemia looked at Lelouch out of the corner of his eye, wondering what he was up to. Lelouch closed his eyes, deliberating for a second before he opened them and fixed the unnaturally focused orbs on the Original.
"I wish that our memories be retained throughout our journey."
"What kind of questions are these?" Lelouch scowled at the application forms, "Who cares what flavor of lollipops I like to eat?"
Euphy bent over her own paperwork, very intently filling out her favorite animal, trying extremely hard not to laugh.
"It was strawberry, last time I checked," Cornelia replied dryly, "I remember that you were always the one who stole the pink lollipops that Empress Marianne bought."
Lelouch shot her a glare as Euphemia stifled her giggles.
True to word, they were born as cockroaches. Euphy couldn't stop laughing at Lelouch's squeaks at being stuck in the mortal, degrading form.
Luckily, they died three days later, when a human spotted them and sprayed an insecticide.
"Lelouch," Euphy twitched her antennae to create a high-pitched sound as she hovered over a particularly delicious-looking flower.
The insect next to her shot her an irritable look as he contemplated the best way to get the nectar without covering his body in sticky pollen.
"Apparently, no other member of Britannian royalty has ever tried for reincarnation," she remarked conversationally as Lelouch decided to dive straight in.
"I can't imagine why," he clicked back as he flew out of the flower, covered in yellow dust.
Lelouch's delight at being born as a spider had frightened Euphemia so much that she had killed him herself.
Seconds later, when they fluttered around as the butterflies they had been two lives ago, Euphemia realized that the Original had granted them two favors – it had let them keep their memories and tied their lives together.
Whenever one of them died, both would automatically be reborn.
"You're enjoying yourself too much, Euphy," Lelouch grumbled from where he was moping. He sulked even more as he heard the soft whimper his voice had reduced to.
Euphemia, meanwhile, had never been happier. Smiling, she frolicked around in the meadow, bouncing and giggling in the form of a bunny.
It was when they were both in the guise of hawks that they'd seen Suzaku. It was obvious who he was – Lelouch pointed out the unusually noble sentiments of the snake that slithered through the grass, debating with itself on the morals of eating the rat that it stalked.
Euphemia didn't even have the time to restrain him before Lelouch dove in for the kill, shredding the snake with a viciousness she'd never seen before.
But they went back to being bunnies after that, so all was good.
"A tiger," Lelouch said appreciatively, rolling around in the cub's body, testing his limits just as Euphy struggled to her feet, marveling at her tiny paws. A few feet away, their mother watched them, looking proud as her children began exploring the world around them.
"We're close, Lelouch," she growled, "Just a few more steps and we'll be there – human."
Lelouch agreed with her, happily prancing around in his striped coat.
They stayed as tigers the longest – their mother watched over them protectively, keeping them safe from all possible threats. Soon, they had other brothers and sisters and the days were spent in frolicking and playing and mock-fighting.
They were always careful to be on their best behavior – neither of them wanted to repeat the disastrous time they spent as cheetahs – but they had fun, laughing and playing with their siblings.
Euphemia wondered if this was what having a family felt like – wrestling and preening and sharp teeth too timid to be a real threat and a jaw at her neck that carried her like a small child, warm in her mother's embrace.
They enjoyed themselves, growing up to truly fearsome adult tigers, safe in the harsh and treacherous world of the wild jungles, catching their prey, hunting like they'd been born to do it.
That all changed when a hunting party stumbled upon them and shot their entire family – Euphemia died at Lelouch's feet, tears dampening her gorgeous orange and black fur.
They were lions for a fortnight before their pride got absorbed in another. The leader of that pride quickly decided that the new cubs – children of the previous pride leader – posed a threat.
He killed their mother first and Lelouch second, Euphemia falling a few seconds later. The sharp agony of claws raking across her face was the last thing she remembered before the blackness took her.
This time, the blackness lasted longer than a few seconds – it continued for what seemed like hours before Euphemia finally opened her eyes, bawling, to see the artificial white of a hospital ceiling.
"She's adorable, honey."
"Yes, but she – she seems a bit strange."
"Strange? She's perfect, darling. Why do you call her strange?"
"Look at her eyes, dear – have you ever seen such old eyes on an infant?"
The next few years were probably the longest of her life. She and Lelouch had mostly always been born side-by-side, or at least very close to each other. In animals, that was no problem – however, humans were not as pack-oriented.
She was the dutiful daughter, going to school, making new friends, bringing home great grades. She prayed, she volunteered at the hospital, she made friends with animals – most claimed that Erin Myah was the perfect child.
Still, her dreams were filled with dark hair, sharp angles and purple eyes that haunted her every time she closed her eyes.
She thought of Lelouch all the time – she searched for him in crowds, she looked for him in parks, she scanned every face she saw, desperate for a jolt of recognition.
"Erin, sweetie, who are you looking for?"
"Huh? Oh – no one, Mom."
"Are you sure, dear? You look like you're searching for someone."
"It's nothing, Mom."
In the meanwhile, she grew up – she graduated high school with high honors and got accepted into the college of her choice. She studied hard, taking up science courses in order to become a doctor.
She had many friends – her presence attracted them, drew them to her like flies to honey, like a moth to a flame – for no one wanted to offend the pretty girl with black hair and green eyes.
No one commented on the constant faraway look on her face, a look that implied that she was always thinking about something else. Or someone else.
"I'm worried for Erin."
"Hmm?"
"Remember when I told you that she seemed a little strange?"
"You mentioned something about the look in her eyes."
"Look at her when she comes home, dear, and tell me that I'm wrong."
Euphemia was tired of waiting. She'd waited almost twenty-five years, searching for Lelouch. She'd even searched the hospital's birth records, only to give up in frustration, wondering where to begin.
Still, she plastered a smile on her face as she blew out the candles, laughing as her friends and family sang out, cutting cake and handing her presents. She didn't noticed the darkly significant look her mother sent her father as her smile slipped for a second, revealing eyes who'd seen too much, who'd witnessed too much suffering and death and loss to be truly happy.
Twenty-five.
Another year in which she failed to find her half-brother, her king, her everything.
"So?"
"You're right, sweetheart. Our little girl was never truly little – not with eyes like that."
"What do you suppose she is? An angel – a demon? A witch?"
"It doesn't matter."
"What do we do, dear?"
"What we've always done – hold our arms open in the hope that she might need them, someday."
She found him by complete chance.
One minute she was running, late on her first day of internship and the next she was sprawled on top of someone, her coffee decorating the floor as tired purple eyes gazed into her own.
"Lionel?" Euphy tried hard not to smile but failed miserable. Lelouch, or Lionel Roque as he was called now, shot her an annoyed look, but melted upon seeing her face.
"I haven't seen you for twenty-five years," he murmured, tracing the outline of her face with a pale finger, his eyes drinking her in like a dehydrated man with a cup of water – his eyes wandered over her features. He frowned as he rubbed her black hair between his fingers, "I don't know why, but I was expecting you to look, well –"
"More like myself?" Euphemia joked, sinking into his touch and content to sit there, looking at him, until time ended.
They made a life for themselves. Lelouch's parents had died a few years back in a car accident, leaving him a small fortune. Euphemia's parents couldn't be happier to see her leave – a fact that disturbed her until Lelouch pointed out how unnerving her appearance was.
Erin Myah was basically Euphemia li Britannia, only with a thin, unnatural skin stretched over her soul.
She and Lelouch bought a small apartment in the nicer part of town. Euphemia went to work as a doctor, every day, as Lelouch left for his job as a manager. A year later, he proposed to her, reasoning that if they were going to live out the rest of this life together, they might as well make it official.
There was a small wedding and Euphy shed real tears of joy as her father walked her down the aisle, her mother finally looking happy at the sight of her daughter getting married. They said their vows, the scene so cozy – so perfect, exactly what Euphy had always imagined her wedding to be like, even down to the groom.
They returned to their routine soon after – she would get up, make breakfast, and leave to go to work. Lelouch would stumble out of his room an hour later, eat her breakfast and head off himself. They ate dinner together, and found time to do a few good deeds – neither of them wanted to go back to hell with the knowledge that they failed – before retiring for the night.
Once in awhile, Lelouch would surprise her with a trip to the beach, or a romantic cruise, winning her heart with his sweet gestures.
They had unanimously agreed not to have children – they intend to depart these lives with nothing tying them back.
Still, Euphemia's resolve was tested when she thought of how adorable Lelouch had looked when he'd been a child.
"Where are we going today?"
"The animal shelter. Clara asked me to help out. Is that fine?"
"Yes, as long as you promise not to adopt any more creatures."
"Lulu."
"No."
"…Please?"
Euphemia quickly learned that all she had to do to persuade Lelouch was tilt her head, bit her lip and open her eyes wide.
The accident came when neither of them had been expecting it. Euphemia had seen a little boy, hurt and crying in the middle of the road, and had immediately gone to his defense. She soothed the child with soft words and was just about to move him to a safer location when she heard the screeching sound of tires – the sound that they made when they were moving too fast to brake properly.
She hugged the boy to her – the child she could never have – and closed her eyes, calmly accepting death, waiting for the impact that would shatter her bones.
Instead, something pushed her out of the way and she opened her eyes to see Lelouch's mangled corpse caught in the tires of the car, his eyes staring right at her as he mouthed three words to her.
She let go of the child and ran to him, brushing his hair out of his beautiful eyes, wiping the blood off of his pale cheeks, babbling nonsense as she begged him not to leave her alone.
Lelouch died in her arms with a smile on her face.
'I love you.'
Euphemia died twenty years later, at the age of fifty.
She had devoted herself to work after his death, and saved countless lives. She'd distributed her wealth among charities, she'd cooked meals for the homeless, she'd participated in every volunteer organization she could find.
And yet, those purple eyes had haunted her for every day of those twenty years – she'd regained that faraway look, the slight disconnect to reality as she lost herself in the memories of her brother, her friend, her protector, her lover, her husband.
It was cruel – she had only five years to spend with him before death had spread her cold wings and taken him. For five years she exalted in heaven and for forty-five years she suffered.
She died peacefully – she'd contracted a rare disease and chose to die with dignity rather than accept the taxing operations which, if they succeeded, would only prolong the mockery of a life that she wished to end.
She summoned the energy for one last thought before she drifted away.
'I love you too.'
"Euphemia," Lelouch smiled at her, looking every bit the boyish prince that she'd fallen for. Behind him, Nunnally smiled radiantly, the flowers in the hair fluttering as she softly danced to a tune only she could hear. She stood in a field of grass, the blades swaying much like they did, long ago, when she'd been a young rabbit playing in a meadow.
"I've been waiting for you."
le fin
a/n: there you have it.