:::^*^:::
Masquerade Hunt
Silver: For Personas... I was thinking of adding some from the Seelie and Unseelie Court and from the Brothers Grimm. Why? Because this is a different world from the AD timeline, because of that there is a possibly that there are different folklores and myths and some are forgotten. The Personas that are sure to appear in this story are from myths and folklores before Julius Caesar's failed campaign on Britannia. There is a possibility that I might add the Super Celtic King, considering he's a legend in that universe, definitely in the Emperor or Strength Arcana... for now, I'm looking for possible myths and folklore to add as Personas.
(Disclaimer: I just own this crossover and the OCs in it. Code Geass rightfully belongs to Sunrise and CLAMP and Persona to ATLUS)
Masquerade Hunt
Let's Begin the Game
Eyes immediately snaps open, startled by the noise and nearly falling off the seat. As she ponders on the dream she have, the door beside her opens.
"We're here." The driver said stiffly, not looking at her as she takes her bag and steps out of the car. She looks at the place she'll be staying, her family considered this as a vacation house. Three stories high, 7-8 bedrooms and a big backyard, the place is a little bigger than ordinary houses other folks can afford.
"And she has arrived."
She turns to see a man in his late thirties at the front door, he is looking at her with disdain in his dark blue eyes. He sighs in annoyance as he push back his brown fringes away from his face. "Of all the things that is placed upon me, why babysitting duties?" as his driver closes the car's door loudly, startling her. "Come, I'll show you where you'll sleep."
The girl quietly follows him into the house, as the driver takes the car back to the garage. Inside, the place is filled with expensive furniture and decorations, the walls are painted in light colors to illuminate the interior and has a few painting on it. They then stop by the hallway near the kitchen and the laundry room, and there they were greeted by a maid who is so startled on seeing them.
"M-my lord, what brings you here?" The maid nervously asked. The girl notices that the maid is Japanese... well, in Britannia, they call them by their designated Area Number, but she would never calls them that.
"Showing this niece of mine, her room." he points out with arrogance in his voice, and looks at the girl. "This is your room, Robin. The rest of your luggage in there too." As he points at the door next to him.
"But, sir, that's the servant quarters!" The maid said in shock, as the girl is surprise as well. "I mean, she's your niece, shouldn't she be-?"
"Quiet!" the man yells at the maid and then looks at his niece, who avoided his eyes by looking down. "Consider this as a small kindness from me, that stunt you pulled back nearly cost us everything, you unruly brat. While we still retain our status, what you did put a stain on our family's reputation. Now you'll behave yourself while you're here, but cause any trouble and I'll throw you out of this house." Then he huffs in displeasure and frustration, as he takes out a letter and a plastic card from his coat and gives it to his niece. "Tomorrow, you'll be attending Ashford Academy."
"Ashford...?" the girl asked, looking a bit confused but she takes both item. She then notice that the plastic card is actually a school ID.
"You're not here for a vacation during your exile, brat. I expect not to see you in this house, till after school, got it? And tomorrow, you'll be taking what every commoners use every single day. You'll be commuting to school." he notices that she's about to say something about it, so he immediately shuts her up with the following. "Do not expect me or MY driver to take you to school. If you want that, you hire your own servants!" he berates her, then turns and walks away. "This is a waste of my day."
Both maid and the girl looks at his retreating back, as they just stand there in the hall way. "He really... does not like you." the maid noted absentmindedly, which is followed by nearly choking on her own spit as the girl looks at her. "O-oh sorry, um, w-welcome to your new home, miss. I'm Keiko Fujita, the maid of this household. Uh..." the maid introduces herself to the newest addition of the house and she looks a bit nervous.
Before Robin could reply, they flinch at the sudden shout from one of the rooms "OI! THE ROOM IS STILL A MESS! WHERE'S THAT DAMN MAID?!"
"Eek! I-I better go!" Keiko squeaks out and runs to the said room.
The girl just stood in the hallway for a moment, before releasing a sigh and goes inside her room. Inside, the room is small, a twin bed, a mirror on the wall and a closet is set but the latter is unable to use due to her two suitcases and boxes placed in front of it. She have to find a space to place the boxes and so that she can access the closet. She have to move the boxes out of the room for a while, and check if the closet has enough space for her clothes and a box or two.
'... Starting today, this is where I'll be staying.' She thought, as she place her bag on the bed and looks at the mirror. The image of a brunette teenage girl with matching brown eyes reflects back, then she sets herself to work on moving the boxes and unpacking her stuff.
:::^*^:::
Placing the suitcases under the bed, Robin takes a good look on her work. "Well... this is what I can work with." she tells herself with a small smile.
The clothes she unpacked and hanged in the closet are mostly casual, with a box of her sleepwear beneath it. The remaining boxes contained her formal wear and some items she can't unpack, due to the small size of the room. Also, these boxes are placed and stack beside the bed, making it a makeshift bedside table but it also blocks one of the closet doors. But she is okay with the placement as long as she has access on the other closet door.
As she wonders why the maids back home packed her gowns, she sees no point of bringing it here and there's no formality she have to go to, when someone knocks on her door. "Miss?" a nervous voice asked and the brunette opens the door.
She is greeted by the maid she met this morning, and she is carrying a tray of food and drink. "Good evening, miss. It is dinner time and I've been ordered to deliver your dinner to your room." Keiko said.
"Evening already?" Robin asked as she took out her phone to check the time. 'Yep, it's night time alright.' she thought, as the time 8:15 pm blinks at her before pocketing the phone away and looks back at the maid. "Thanks for bringing my food to my room, but shouldn't we be eating at the dining area?" as she takes the tray from the maid.
"Ah, w-well... the master..." the maid tries to explain but her voice keeps trailing off, and the brunette sighs.
"There's no need to explain. I think I know why he does not want to see me." she noted with a bitter smile, as she sets the tray on the makeshift table.
"O-oh..." but then the maid jump when her master yells her name. "I'll be right there, sir!" She then looks back at the girl, tells her that she'll return for the tray later and bids her a good evening.
The brunette closes the door and sits on her bed, she takes a look at the ceiling and then at the floor as she thought of the past. '... Exiled huh...?' she thought, as she remembers her grandfather, in his office back in Euro Britannia, telling her about her banishment to this settlement.
"You bought shame to our noble family. Not only you exposed your mix heritage, but you also raised your voice at the emperor!"
"Because he is wrong! And he never takes the situation seriously!"
"He is the emperor, he is above such petty events."
"More like he's apathetic to such events. He's no emperor if he does not care for his people."
"QUIET! That's the reason why we nearly lost our place in society, you can't keep your mouth close!"
"But-!"
"ENOUGH! You will do what the emperor's decree and that is final!"
'I still can't get over that, it wasn't right...' she thought with a sigh, as she takes her plate and eats her dinner.
Outside, just by the window, is a blue butterfly flutters by.
After eating her meal, Robin changes into her sleepwear and place her used clothes in the laundry room. The maid returns and takes her tray back to the kitchen, she bids her a good night and goes back to her job. Before she turn for the night, she takes a quick look on the web for the direction to the said academy. It didn't take long for her to find a few routes with less time, which require her on taking the bus, a train and walking. She made a mental note on getting a student pass card after school tomorrow. Once she memorizes the routes, her phone alerts her on a new message...
?.?.?: "Do you want power?"
That simple message made her confused and wary, as there is no contact detail. Thinking that it is possibly a prank, she just deleted the message, closes her phone and turns in for the night.
:::^*^:::
She hears a soft tune from a piano and a gentle voice singing... it is very calming.
But the sudden sound of howling and followed by a loud crack, causing her eyes to snap open once again. She feels woozy from the rude wake-up call, but another crack forces her to focus and clear her head.
And the first thing she sees is... a rather freakish old man.
'What the-?!' that's the first thing she thought, as she is taken aback by the old man's long nose and bulging, blood-shot eyes. He is sitting on a blue and black, Victorian-styled sofa with a black table at the front of them.
Next to this... bizarre man, is a young man with platinum-blonde hair and golden eyes. He is standing just beside the old man at one corner of the sofa, holding a huge book on his side. The teen boy wears a blue and black butler outfit with gold accents and a yellow tie. She looks around the area and finds herself in an elegant, circular, Victorian-styled room. Everything in the room is blue with hints of black and gold accents in it, from the colors of the wall to the curtains and to the limited furniture in this place. However, there is a lack of stairs, as well as lot of doors and the windows that are barred and chained, as if to prevent someone from exiting the room. One door is made of glass and leads to a balcony, which is also barred and chain. But it also shows the source of the noise and the unpleasant weather outside...
A storm.
"My, my, this is quite a surprise." the bizarre old man said and chuckles a bit. "Welcome to the Velvet Room. My name is Igor, I am delighted to make your acquaintance."
"Where am I?" she demands, looking back at the old man with a glare and is on her guard. 'What is going on? Did these people kidnapped me?' as she looks around the room again, looking for the exit. She noticed that there are a bit of broken chain and scratched bars on one side of the room, as if someone attempted to break out through the barred-window.
"There is no need to be in distress, for the 'real you' is fast asleep in the real world." Igor reassures her. While it eases her a bit to learn that she is dreaming, her guard is still up. "You see this realm exist between dream and reality, mind and matter. This place can be only be access by those who are bound by a 'contract'. Perhaps such fate awaits you not far off in time. Now then, why don't you introduce yourself...?"
There is, perhaps, a rule in the 'stranger danger' guideline about giving names to random (and bizarre) people. Yet the calm atmosphere of the room and the serene melody, despite the loud winds and thunders outside, seems to puts her at ease. Even though the old man appearance is... outlandish, he is polite, composed and welcoming towards her. "... My... name is Robin Leaford." she answers, deciding to give this man a benefit of the doubt.
"Ah... I see. A bright name for a peculiar guest." the old man said with a chuckle. "Nothing meaningless happen in this room, my dear. Certain factors have restricted most your moves and your future is out of your reach, your chance of attaining triumph is almost none. However, you are here in this very room, there may still be a possibility open to you. My duty is to assist you in your journey and to refine your abilities, so that you can seize your destiny... Ah! I may have neglected introduce my assistant to you." He then turns to the young man. "This is Felix. He's a resident of this place, like myself."
"I'm pleased to meet you, Lady Robin. I will be here to accompany you on your travels." Felix said in a calm manner and bows at her.
Then she suddenly feels sluggish, her eyes wants to shut close but she's resisting because she still want answers. How did she get here? What do they mean that her future is out of reach? And a journey?
"It seems time marches on in your world, we shall attend to the details at another time." Igor noted, as her view began to blur, unable to keep her eyes up and her body slackens. "Until we meet again."
Everything fades to black.
:::^*^:::
Her eyes opens as she is greeted by the sound of faint clanging and tapping. She sits up on the bed and looks around her, a little bit befuddled. "... A dream?" Robin wonders, then looks at the clock and noticed that she have 2 hours before school starts. Pushing that odd dream on the back of her mind, she got out of bed and gets ready for school.
It didn't take long for her to get dressed in the Ashford middle school uniform, that was set on the door's hook last night. The uniform is consisting of a white, long-sleeve shirt, a pink pinafore, the red necktie with the school's logo on it, grey tights and black, oxford shoes. She once takes one more look on the mirror, adjust her headband and fix her twin braids, then grabs her bag and left the room.
"Good morning, miss." Keiko greets the brunette as she places a plate of a full English Breakfast on the island counter. "Today is your first day of school, right? You better not skip breakfast, otherwise you'll run out of energy, like a car running out of gas."
"Yeah, thank you Ms. Fujita." the brunette replied with a smile, as she takes a seat on one of the stools and places the bag on the other.
"Just call me Keiko, miss." the maid said, as she pours tea to a cup and then places it on the side of the plate, before setting the teapot on one corner of the island. She immediately consume her breakfast, as the bus stop is a long walk from here. Once she finish her tea, she immediately grab her bag and heads for the bus stop. The brunette nearly bump on the driver, who yells back on nearly charging on him, on the way out. On arriving at the stop, she checks if she has enough change to pay the fare. As she waits for the bus, a small group of Britannian office worker are chatting loudly about the incident yesterday.
"Did you watched the news last night?"
"No, I was buried in paperwork. I swear the manager hates me."
"Seriously? The one who killed Prince Clovis appeared during the motorcade!"
"But man... That Zero guy got guts to appear right in front of the Purist!"
"Yeah, he even took that Eleven guy, who suppose to be the killer but Zero declared he did it!"
The bus came, pays for the fare and finds an available seat not far from the back entrance. As the bus makes it route to the station she needs, a small TV screen, which is attached on the side above the bus interior, shows the news discussing about Zero. Robin looks out of the window, disinterested with the trending news and watches the scenery go by as the bus moves. It didn't take long for the bus to arrive at the 3rd stop and the brunette gets off, as she mentally checks on what train station she needs to take. As she looks for the said station, her phone alerts her on a new message, she takes it out and opens the app...
?.?.?: "Do you want power?"
'This guy again ...' she thought as she is about to delete the message again, when it is followed by a series of messages from the unknown sender.
?.?.?: "If I grant you power, you'll become someone different from any other."
?.?.?: "A different providence, a different time, a different life. Someone unique..."
?.?.?: "However, you'll be outcast, set apart and beyond from what is considered normal for humans."
?.?.?: "And if I grant you this... what will you do with it?"
She just stare at the messages before her, with a brow raised. Then she decided to text back, wanting to know who's behind this by making this person slip it's identity with a series of messaging.
Robin: "Who are you?"
"You did not decline.Very well, that is enough."
The brunette instinctively tense on hearing that, which sounded like a pair of voices speaking in unison. One voice sounds deep and gravely and the other sounds like a young woman. She looks around to find who said that... only to be startled on the sight of the empty city, the people are missing. She looks around, to find if there are any sign of a person in the area when...
There is a loud clash of thunder and the buildings around her crumbles. Strong winds nearly knock her down and the howls sounds like angry voices of the people, yelling for destruction of one another or salvation for themselves. The sky which turns red... a very unsettling color.
A flash of blue, she turns to see a pillar of blue flame behind her. Within the flame, is a silhouette of a figure... it looks female but the height of it is about half as tall of a Knightmare Frame.
Then there is a flash of white... and everything is back to normal.
She looks around with a befuddled look and sees that the people are back, making their way to their work or school... as if it nothing happened. Looking back at her phone, the sender did not immediately message her. So she decided to close the app and thinks of a way to find the sender's identity. So she continues on her way to school, finally locating the station and buying a temp pass.
Unknown to her, something flickers in one of her eyes. Colors shifting from red to blue and back to her brown eyes.
:::^?^:::
Speeding thru the area, a small figure hops up on top of a structure. The said structure looks unstable yet it still stands tall in the midst of the storm, which should've toppled the buildings with such force.
Then there is a scream, the small figure turns and is not that pleased. "Seriously, who's doing this?" the figure said to itself before jumping off the structure. As it free falls, it opens a contraption to slow it's fall and landing on another building. It then races towards the source of the scream.
Variant: Okay... a bit of note, I named my OC: Robin Leaford, is because Code Geass is more on about the English lore. More so on the Arthurian Legends, as parts of the show are inspired from it. In this crossover, it is about another english lore: Robin Hood. I know there is a spin-off manga where Zero and the Black Knights are written like Robin Hood and his Merry Men, but here they are each a different group. Robin is obvious but what about the surname/noble family name: Leaford? It came from one of the many interpretations of the character: Maid Marian, in that version, she is a noblewoman from the house of Leaford.
This chapter... gave me a lot of trouble, cause I have overhaul the idea on how Robin became a Persona user. First, the original idea is that the mirrors are the gateway to the other world. Eventually, I watched Akito the Exile and on episode 5... yelp, we got entities messing up realities with cognition powers! Like Persona 5. I change the idea that she instead received a Geass, which will be the way to enter and exit the other world instead. Because of that, her Geass is called the Absolute Gateway and it's ability is to allow the user to enter the mindscape of their targets. There are other Geass users who also have this geass (or similar to this), but none have awaken their Personas. They can only enter the other world for a short time and must leave quickly, because either the dark creatures (the shadows) or the other world's atmosphere will kill them.
As for the last bit... it's the mascot. Every Persona series and Code Geass has a mascot (or two). Persona has a dog, a bear, a cat (and a Chie! LOL Yosuke XD), and Code Geass has Cheese-kun and Arthur. So what kind of mascot we have in this crossover?
It's a bunny... this mascot is based on CLAMPs Mokona and the Bloody Bunny.
Anyway, thank you for giving some time to read and comment, I'll start on the next chapter soon. My updates are irregular mind you, but I hope you can still enjoy this story.
I'll see you all soon, on the next chapter! Ja ne!