0o0o0o0o0o0
One Hour Later
- Britannian Mainland 23:00 BST -
(Britannian Standard Time)
0o0o0o0o0o0
It was cold.
How very barbaric his surroundings were. Stone slab floor, stone walls, a solitary barred window sitting tantalizingly just out of reach. A makeshift cot resided in the corner, simple straw on top of a creaky iron frame, bolted to the floor. In the other corner - a hole, where he was allowed to defecate like an animal at his leisure. Opposite the window, a low, iron plated door rested in the wall, its many locks dimly shining in the light of the setting sun. Simple, yet effective. Hardly a pinnacle of Britannian engineering.
He yawned, continuing the fruitless task of digging through the wall with a small jagged stone he had managed to break off, his fingers and knuckles bloodied and bruised with the effort. Was he in a tower? In a dungeon? Not that it mattered, he wouldn't be getting out anytime soon - Zero had made sure of that.
Scratch, scratch, whispered his improvised pickaxe.
"Is that what you think?" he whispered back, glaring at it.
The curved surface of the stone seemed to smirk back at him, the full moon outside illuminating a mere half of it, leaving the rest in darkness. With a growl, he threw it across the room, hitting the door with a jarring, hollow thump that echoed for far longer than it had any right to.
How long had it been? Days? Weeks? Months? He had tried to keep track of time, the roughly scratched lines on the stone wall above the cot attesting to his efforts, but slowly - oh ever so slowly, the silence had stifled him, burying any hope below layers and layers of loneliness and hatred.
The door to his cell suddenly opened with a slam, making him turn around and growl in anger at the sudden entry. This wasn't normal. Not a part of his schedule. Not planned. He had things to do, why would the plebeians distract him?
A pair of men dressed in full Royal Guard armour, their helmets on with the masks slid to cover their faces walked in, rifles at the ready. He smiled, happy to see them - finally, his father had remembered him, "Ah, my father's Royal Guard, the praetorians! What news do you bring?" he asked cheerfully before giggling. The two men looked at each other before one of them spoke in a rough tone distorted through his mask, "Prime Minister, we're here to check on your health. Would you take a seat on the bed, please?"
He looked at them suspiciously before carefully sitting on the edge of the bedframe and spreading his hands, "Of course!" he replied cheerfully as they moved towards him, "What dreadful business, this Zero rebellion! Don't you think? I wonder if my father is going to do anything about it." he paused with another giggle as one of the men carefully removed a one use injector from a pack on his belt and handed it to the other who sat beside him,
"But no! What does he say? Schneizel, my boy, I'm leaving this mundane matter all to you!" he screamed out the last word, waving his hands up in the air, "Mundane, he says! Absolute disaster!"
"Now." whispered one of the men. With a quiet hiss, the syringe proceeded to slam into Schneizel's arm as the other obeyed the order, holding the prisoner's arm down. The former Prime Minister quickly lost all of his strength, lying limply on the bed a few seconds later as the potent medicine knocked him out. One of them hefted him up on his shoulder with a grunt, the other quickly cuffing him before walking outside of the small cell where Zero was waiting.
He nodded, "You know where to go. The new facilities have been set up for a few weeks, but we need to move him now, I'm taking no chances. Make sure no one sees you."
The pair of men nodded and walked away, quickly followed by a dozen more of their comrades, all of them equipped with ceremonial lances as they surrounded the pair and marched off into the darkness. Suzaku blink clicked an icon in his helmet to check the time, then sighed. Now that that small problem has been dealt with, it was time for him to explain the situation to the Empress.
He was not looking forward to it.
0o0o0o0o0o0
An Hour Ago
- Tokyo, Japan, 08:10 AM -
(Standard Japan Time)
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It was irresistible.
The size, the texture, the colour, even the smell itself. It was driving her absolutely crazy. It had been so long, oh so long since she had last had the opportunity to enjoy such a magnificent specimen of its kind.
She hesitated, choosing to savor the moment before proceeding. They were people around, some of them watching her, but she didn't care - no, she wouldn't care. It has been far too long.
Her luscious red lips opened, the pink tongue coursing out towards her target, almost touching it, but not quite. Honey gold orbs peeking out from half closed eyes ever so slightly, pure bliss etched on her face as she moved even closer.
"Stop that."
The two golden pearls jerked up, an eyebrow furrowing in irritation. A short pause ensued, the invisible clash of their wills nearly audible in the surrounding murmur.
"Will you deny me this simple pleasure?" she whispered.
Lelouch, the baker boy cap pulled low over his fine aristocratic features was torn between irritation, exasperation, and amusement as he gave her a long look "You're making this harder than it needs to be."
Her lip twitched a few times, looking between him and her target, before seemingly giving up on the argument and pouncing in. Ripping and tearing, she devoured her victim in mere seconds. Lelouch barely paid attention to his companion's eating antics as he continued scanning the Pizza restaurant they were currently in. The place was slowly filling up with workers eager for some breakfast, yet they had a fairly sized table for themselves, enough for him to use his laptop while she devoured her third slice in the past five minutes.
"No news yet." he mentioned absentmindedly, after searching through the Royal Herald, the official Britannian News Network as well as half a dozen international ones, frowning.
"I've anonymously checked in with some of my sources in the mainland. So far, nothing too unusual has been reported." he concluded, closing the device with a quiet clap and pulling his… drink of some sort closer. He wasn't a huge fan of sugary drinks that contained ice-cream, but he wasn't about to refuse one either.
"I am truly in your debt, Lelouch." she mentioned, sitting ramrod straight in her seat and gently patting her lips with a table napkin, as if she had just finished her cakes in a Britannian Royal tea party.
He leaned back in his chair, sighing "Even my cold, black heart couldn't resist that sad expression of yours." he said, lips twitching as he remembered the puppy-dog eyes she had given him when they were passing by the restaurant, bag slung over his shoulders.
"How unseemly of me."
"Quite."
A waitress came by, collecting the empty pizza box with a small bow, before leaving them once again in comfortable silence, as trashy pop music that seemed to be so popular in this grim, dark future played from the wall mounted speakers.
"Those green contacts look good on you." she innocently mentioned, making him frown, "How long before we need to move again?" she asked, folding her pale hands on top of the table and playing with her half-empty glass.
"I'm waiting for Orange." he replied, tapping his fingers against the surface impatiently "It has been over an hour. If the system had tipped them off, he should be calling me any minute-" he was interrupted by a shrill vibration from his pocket, sounding far more sinister than it had any right to be.
C.C. took a deep rattling breath, "Should we...?" she asked, gesturing towards the door.
With a shake of his head, he bowed low over the table and brought the matte black phone to his ear, his heart thundering away in his chest.
Beep - the phone sounded as a secure line was established.
"Valencia wishes Bishop. Sanctuary by dawn's light? Confirm." came the clipped tone of his loyal bodyguard, prompting a shaky sigh from the raven haired teen as he relaxed.
"Confirm." Lelouch softly replied.
"Dove in cage, messenger safe by the tower."
Lelouch nodded, clutching his hand into a fist "Pattern yellow? Confirm."
"Pattern yellow denied. Pattern ivory."
He paused, contemplating "Confirm. Bishop out."
He closed the phone with a clack, depositing it in a pocket close to his heart. Folding his arms on the surface again, he looked at her, "She knows." at her worried look, he continued, "Combining what he had told me with the news one of my sources gave me, there is a… possibility someone else does as well." he paused.
"A few men were murdered in one of our data collection centers, but the failsafes activated just in time. They probably wanted to take the original as well, to keep the Palace from finding out.", he savored the sugary taste through the straw for a moment, "As it is, we believe someone else has seen the footage."
C.C. sighed, leaning over the table and taking his cold, pale hand between hers. Nunnally knew Lelouch was alive, yet he appeared so calm about this. All that planning had gone to waste, ruined by a small miscalculation on his part.
They had hid for months, traveling across former Area 11, avoiding cities for precisely this reason. Lelouch seethed at his own stupidity, clutching her hand tightly. After months of planning, careful preparations, even more careful movement, getting the bare minimum of interaction with others, and even going across the world, he had still failed. Again.
It would have repercussions, as all things did. As long as he still drew breath, her reign - and by extension, world peace was at a risk. If another nation had found out, they would be at Britannia's throat faster than you could say 'World War'. Even worse, they'd have a chance, especially with how weakened the military forces were. He had to do something, and he had to do it now.
He stood up and threw a few bills on the table, lifting his bag "Come on. We need to get going."
She followed suit, arms lazily swinging by her sides as she trotted behind him towards the door "Where are we going?"
He thought for a second before replying, "We'll lay low for a while, like we have so far. But tomorrow, I have a call to make."
0o0o0o0o0o0
- Narita Settlement, Same day, 10:25 AM -
(Standard Japan Time)
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"Good morning."
Lin Shòu was not having a good day so far. Immigrating into Area 11 shortly after its independence, she had bought the former love hotel for practically a steal, owing to the almost complete destruction of the town during the subjugation of a rebellion group.
With the recent rebuilding efforts, financed by the United Federation of Nations, business had boomed. The workers needed a place to take the local corner girls to, and she, with her reasonable prices per hour, was only too happy to oblige.
The downside of the massive subsidies the UFN had given them, though, was that competition had increased sharply, and, owing to her distance from the city, nearly completely driven her out of business. With only two pairs of guests yesterday, the future was looking bleak.
Therefore, it was quite a surprise when a voice dragged her away from the news she was watching, followed by an impatient tapping of fingers on the wooden surface of the counter.
Tall, dark, and somewhat handsome from what little of his expression she could see beneath his cap, the man was a bit younger than her usual clientele. However, the wad of bills in his other hand drove away all doubts about why on earth someone would want a room in a love hotel before noon as she swiftly rose up, patting her blouse down and heading to the counter.
As expected, he had company. In sharp contrast to the usual girls, she was dressed rather modestly, in a faded pair of trousers and a dark red jacket. Shy golden eyes peeked out between her straight green bangs, half hidden behind the man's back. A young couple, then.
All of this went through her mind in a mere second as she automatically went for a card below the countertop, placing it on the surface.
"Room number four is free, Sir. That will be ten crowns for the day." she chirped out, smiling.
He raised an eyebrow, surprised that Britannian currency was still used in the now-independent country, "We might be staying for a few days, actually. I assume that's not going to be a problem?" came the quiet, refined voice.
Her eyes widened in slight shock, but her mouth was already moving, "It's no problem, Sir. That would be fifteen crowns per night and-" he cut her off by putting down a hundred crown bill and passing it over without a comment, grabbing the plastic object and nodding his thanks, "No change is needed. I do prefer my privacy, though. Do you understand?"
She nodded shakily, her shining eyes not moving the bill. "Of course, Sir."
Turning towards the staircase, he was halfway up the first flight of stairs before he noticed something was missing and turned around, narrowing his eyes at the sight of his companion looking at the television with narrowed eyes.
"Cera!" he said sharply, drawing her attention. Blushing, she hurried behind him, shooting a thankful smile at the owner as they rounded the bend in the staircase and disappeared from sight.
Lin shook her head in amusement, "Children these days." she muttered in Chinese, taking a seat in the rickety chair and changing the channel to a drama, pleased with the business so far.
0o0o0o0o0o0
"I know we're trying not to draw attention, but why are you in such a hurry?" C.C. said as they walked down the brightly colored hallway.
Lelouch, his face set in a perpetual frown during the entire day, merely grunted in reply, his fake green eyes flashing from one neutrally brown door to the other.
Skidding to a halt - and causing the green haired girl to bump into him, he nodded in satisfaction at the number on the door and slid the card into the receptacle, unlocking it with a click. He turned around to reply, looking left and right in suspicion, only to pause at her offended expression as she rubbed her smarting nose in dissatisfaction.
"I'd prefer not to leave anything to chance," he said, messing up her hair affectionately as she looked up at him angrily, "The sooner we get inside, the better." he continued, pushing her inside before closing and locking the door after one last look.
"While you were running off," she began before skidding to a halt and smirking at the massive bed pushed up against the far side of the room, "I took a look at the news downstairs."
"Oh?" he hummed disinterestedly, striding over to the window and pulling down the blinds while peering outside suspiciously, "Anything interesting?" he asked, turning around and analyzing their lodgings for the next few days.
Unlike a typical hotel room, the bed seemed to take up a disproportionately large amount of space, the - he grimaced - disturbingly pink sheets nearly hurting his eyes with their sheer suggestive intensity. A desk sat against one of the walls, and a small television screen on it was accompanied by a phone, with a large chair pushed up against it. On the opposite wall, what he presumed was an on-suite bathroom resided next to a large closet.
She stayed silent, frowning at the small mirror above the desk and reached up to attempt to fix her hair, the long green locks contrasting sharply with the jacket she proceeded to take off and drape over the chair.
"Cera."
She glanced at him in the mirror, then turned her chin and rose her nose in the air, accompanied by a theatrical "Hmph." He sighed, putting his bag on the bed - it being by far the largest flat space in the room - and rummaged through it, pulling out a vague yellow blob. Taking a seat on the bed, he called for her again "Look what I got while you were waiting for me at the train station."
Peeking out of the corner of her eye, she let out a gasp and strode over, taking the distinctly smaller version of Cheese-kun with a squeal and hugging it, her face positively beaming with happiness.
Pulling her into his lap, he patted her head affectionately as she continued to hug the toy, "Now be a good girl and tell me."
"I do hope you didn't use your Geass to get this for me." she murmured, peeking at him above the top of the blob. "Nonsense," he replied "I didn't know you thought so little of me."
"I'll accept your offering, I suppose. In any case, there was nothing interesting, it seems our secret is safe for now." she finished, leaning back into him, her head draped over his shoulder with the green locks spilling down his back, "Not that I've doubted it. After all, your sister is the last person in the world who'd want to do you harm."
"You're probably right. I don't think it's safe to call Orange again so soon, so we'll wait and see." he then smirked, pushing her forward and prompting a groan as she moved from the comfortable position "Last person in the world, you say? What about you, then?"
Turning to face him, she settled for a mock frown, "Sometimes, Lelouch, it is quite tempting." before ducking his flick to the forehead and standing up "I'll go take a shower. Don't touch him."
He looked up at her in confusion, "Him?" before laughing as she deposited the yellow toy into his lap "Have no fear, he's in good hands."
Smiling, she dug out a change of clothes from her own backpack and trotted into the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her.
Getting his laptop out, he pulled the toy off of his lap and plopped it next to him, before immersing himself in gathering information and planning their next move.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Feeling significantly more refreshed after having a chance to use her new shampoo, C.C. made her way back into the room, clad in a pair of thin black trousers and a short-sleeved white shirt with a rather happy Cheese-kun on the front, happily advertising a certain pizza restaurant chain.
Frowning, she found herself reminiscing about the days where she would enjoy her days in utter comfort, wearing nothing more than one of Lelouch's shirts and doing nothing more than rolling around in one of the massive beds Ashford Academy provided. While she would love to be able to go back to those days, it would be rather impractical to try and run from an angry mob in nary but a shirt, hence her current attire.
Shaking her head in amusement, she walked by Lelouch, the expected frown already on his face as he read through the UFN projects scheduled for this year.
"Amazing," he murmured "I expected help with the reconstruction from the UFN, but the sheer amount of volunteers and funds they've been pumping into Area Ele- Japan since last year is staggering. I suppose they're not too concerned about a potential confrontation with Britannia, if they can afford to be this careless with their money."
With a quiet squeal, C.C. threw herself onto the luxuriously soft bed, rolling around happily with her eyes closed, before ending up on her stomach. Supporting her head on top of her hands next to him, her long, shapely legs slowly started going up and down in boredom "I suppose your wife still has some sort of influence, being the Chairwoman of the world's largest federation and everything." she quipped, winking at him pointedly.
Groaning, Lelouch patted her head, "We'll be here for a few days. You can get started on some of the books I've put on one of those datapads." he said distractedly, pointing a thumb at one of the dropped bags.
"How nice of you! Buying me lunch, a Cheese-kun, and then providing me with some entertainment! Would you like a reward?" she breathed next to his ear, startling him hard enough to nearly drop his device to the floor. Turning to glare at her, he sighed instead, rubbing his eyes "Milly must have rubbed off on you more than I thought."
The blonde teenager had been a regular visitor at Pendragon in the weeks before his supposed murder, Lelouch's soft side coming through as he allowed her to visit the prisoners. She had apparently met C.C. in the Palace, with the green witch latching onto her gleefully as soon as she realized Milly had known Lelouch for far longer than her, eager to learn everything about him.
Undoubtedly one of the worst decisions he had made, he thought. Cocking his head, he then shook it from side to side. C.C. had precious little friends, and calling it a bad decision would be lying to both himself and his companion.
Standing up, he pulled out a sandwich he had bought earlier, sitting down to eat and mull over their next move. On the other side of the room, C.C. was already doing her best to relax, her green hair splayed innocently over both pillows, Cheese-kun clutched tightly to her chest with one hand while she held a datapad with another, settling in for a rather lazy afternoon.
"You know, speaking of Milly." Lelouch started, scratching his chin in thought, "I think I would have prefered to bring her along instead of you, she'd probably be a lot more thankful for everything I do." he glanced back at his companion who was doing an admirable job of ignoring him.
"And she's a lot prettier. And knows how to make a good lunch." he added, taking a bite out of his sandwich and grimacing in distaste, "And wouldn't make me go to the store for everything - in fact, she'd probably go to the store for me." the man complained, looking down at his meal.
Taking another bite, he looked out the window in thought, "I should have stolen her when I had the chance, to hell with propriety and this Geass business." A pillow from across the room hit him in the head, putting an end to his musings as silence finally settled on both of them.
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A/N: Thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you enjoyed it or have any comments or criticisms.